Fishing seems like a great pastime and the lifetime wish of perfect aquarium sounds fun to complete. I had two questions: what is the order or rank of quality for the fish (which is probably the same for all food)? And where can I find an aquarium to hold 13 different types of fish? According to Mod The Sims, the quality ranking or degrees are:Â Normal, Nice, Very Nice, Great, Excellent, Outstanding, and Perfect. There are less than normal rankings for food as well. According to Carl’s Fishing Guide, there is no large aquarium yet. So you’ll need to use multiple small fish bowls (several can fit on one table). They can hold any size fish (the fish magically shrink to fit). I definitely recommend these websites — I think I’ll use Carl’s guide to help complete my Sim’s lifetime want.
Story Progression Not Disabled Bug
If you’re wondering why unchecking the ‘Story Progression’ option doesn’t seem to work in disabling the aging and progression of other families in your neighborhood, you’re not going crazy. This is a bug and unfortunately doesn’t appear to be fixed in the version 1.3 update that came out around July 27th. The work-around is to create a shortcut to the program and add a -disablestoryprogression tag to the target. I have yet to test this out. And you’ll need to use this shortcut instead of the Sims 3 launcher, which means we may not know when an update is available unless we open the launcher every now and then. Specific instructions for the workaround can be found here: http://www.riftblog.com/sims-3-workaround-story-progression-bug I’m curious, do you prefer it disabled or enabled?
Sims 3 – Story Progression and Graphics
I finally decided to go ahead and buy the Sims 3. I wasn’t sure how much time I’d have to play it, or if it was really different enough from the Sims 2 to be worth it. I must say, it’s almost like a whole new game. Since the game centers around the town as a whole instead of the household, there’s always a lot more going on at once. Which makes the performance seem a little slow. Perhaps I should lower some of the graphic settings to see if that will help. But it already seems like the graphics are not as detailed as the Sims 2 unless you are zoomed in very close (and I stay a little zoomed out to see everything). An interesting concept is Story Progression. I guess it would be handy to have all your Sims friends grow up at the same time he/she does. I tried it for a few days, but by the time I spend some time with one family, all the kids are grown up in another family, or some adults are almost elders and haven’t gotten very far in their careers. I would prefer having a chance to play each family throughout their development and guide them in what they do. So what if it means that my least favorite families are ‘left behind’ and never age. I try to make my rounds to each family. Luckily we can disable Story Progression. One disadvantage is that when you switch the ‘Active Household’, the current family loses their wishes that you’ve chosen. Not too big a deal, but when I come back to the family I’d want it to be the same as I left it. Another annoyance is how buying groceries and books work. Gone are the days where we can buy a bookshelf with all the books we’d ever need to learn skills. We have to buy each book separately based on the skill level we want to get to! And they are expensive!! And now you have to buy cooking ingredients separately based on the meals you want to make. Very annoying. Each family has a difficulty level — seems like based on the number of family members. Overall I think this game is more difficult, compared to the Sims 2. Needs may be easier to fulfill, but career progression (and therefore the lifetime wish) is so much harder. But these difficulties make the game more realistic and sophisticated (and still fun), so I won’t be switching back to the Sims 2 quite yet.
Sims 2 Castaway for the Wii
We got a Wii! And when I heard that Sims 2 Castaway was available for the Wii, I just had to check it out. I’ve heard of it before, but since it wasn’t available on the PC, I wasn’t able to buy it until now. I read the reviews, which said it can be monotonous and boring since you need to gather so many resources. But I found it for only $20 at Best Buy, so the decision wasn’t very hard for me as a Sims fan! I just ‘finished’ it last Monday (and bought it on the 11th)– I got off the island by building a seaworthy boat, and got off the island by sending an SOS. Both times I opted to go back to the island, where I searched for and found the hidden treasure from the treasure map. Later I went to the Sims 2 Castway website and watched some funny clips and got some cheat codes. I only had to look for help online a few times — to see where the clay and fine sand is on the Volcano island (I don’t think there is any), and to see how to fish a shark. I may make those into separate posts. Unlike the Sims 2 on PC, building a house is a pain! The camera angles and options to hide walls and roof did not help much in object placement and navigating through the house. That’s the only reason to keep playing now, to improve the house and create better furniture and clothing. I’m not that interested in that though; I’d rather start over from the beginning with new Sims. Overall, pretty good fun for only $20.
monotonous
Apartment Life: Butler vs. Servo Robot
In the Apartment Life expansion pack is a new NPC character, the Butler. He does many domestic chores, much like the Servo or Robot does for a family. So the question is: Which is best? Hiring a butler for a base fee of $20 and $25 per hour, or getting a Servo (Open for Business) to join the family? First of all, it is more difficult to get a Servo. You can build up the Robotics badge and build one yourself, you can become friends with an existing one and invite him/her to move in, or you can go to another Sims’ store to buy one that they have built (and pay the specified price). The butler can just be hired over the phone. One disadvantage to the Butler is that he seems to arrive around 10 am and leave sometime in the late afternoon or early evening, while the Servo is a part of the family and is there all the time. The Servo is controllable, so you can tell him which chores to do, and he doesn’t need to sleep much. He also has fun and social needs, so he will not do chores all the time. But he may play with the kids or pets. The Butler will cook and serve food, while Servo will make food but not serve it. This means children won’t be able to eat until another family member serves it. The Butler can also order groceries or hire repairmen/exterminators when needed, which is very useful. I read that he will also greet guests that arrive. I believe both will clean and do the gardening. What are your thoughts as to which is better in which circumstances?
Pass Along Business Rewards Fails
I just realized that the Pass Along… rewards option is only available to other members of the household, and will only work successfully if the relationship score is high enough. The business rewards are originally acquired by achieving each rank of your business. There are several categories to choose from. They include Connecions, Wholesale, and Perception rewards. I have two elder sims, Karen and Marion, who have several rewards, and I wanted them to pass their rewards on to someone before they die. Marion invited her friend Stacy to move in, and I had Karen start to Pass Along a reward to her.  At first it looked like Stacy was hesitant to learn, and then Karen did some sort of manipulation with swirly colors going towards Stacy. Since they don’t have a high enough relationship score, the pass along rewards didn’t work. It actually decreased their relationship score a little. When Marion tries to teach Stacy some business rewards, a skill meter appears above her head and it takes a while, but still works.
Sims Witchcraft – List of Magic Spells and Reagents
Here’s my current list of magic spells, whether good/bad/neutral, and the reagents needed to cast.
Neutral:
Aqua Deletus (clean up puddles) – 1 mystic dust, 1 moonbeams
Cleanius Corpus (increase hygiene?) – 2 mystic dust
Folium Deletus (clean up fallen leaves) – 1 eye of newt, 1 mystic dust
Corpus Athleticus (get thin) – 1 dragon scales, 2 mystic dust
Corpus Fleshicus (get fat) – 2 dragon scales, 1 mystic dust
Magivestigium (transport to spot on same lot) – none
Creatum Nutrimens (summon food) – 2 dragon scales, 1 mystic dust
Expello Simae (Make sim disappear) – 1 dragon scales, 1 eye of newt, 1 mystic dust
Appello Cattus Amicus (summon cat) – 1 dragon scales, 3 mystic dust
Purgomagus (remove curses/spells) – 2 dragon scales, 2 mystic dust
Appello Simae (summon sim) – 2 dragon scales, 2 mystic dust, 1 moonbeams
Magus Mutatio (teach magic) – 1 dragon scales, 2 eye of newt, 1 mystic dust, 2 moonbeams
Tempus Interruptus (stops time) – 2 dragon scales, 1 eye of newt, 2 mystic dust, 1 moonbeamsGOOD
Benemoodus Simae (good mood) – 1 Dragon scales, 1 mystic dust
Creatum Insecto Volucris (butterflies and fireflies) – 1 essence of light, 2 moonbeams
Exflammo – (put out fire) – 1 dragon scales, 1 mystic dust
Remedis Simae (heal sickness) – 1 essence of light, 1 mystic dust, 1 moonbeams
Beautificus Locus (beautify lot) – 1 dragon scales, 1 essence of light, 1 mystic dust, 2 moonbeams
Compello Acceptus (compel to accept socials) – 1 dragon scales, 1 mystic dust, 2 moonbeams
The next five socials directed at the target sim will count as having maximum mood and relationship scores
Appello Servantus (summon servant) – 1 dragon scales, 2 essence of light, 1 mystic dust, 1 moonbeams
Benemoodus Populus (make lot nice) – 2 essence of light, 1 mystic dust, 2 moonbeams
Mactoamicus (easier to become friends) – 1 dragon scales, 2 essence of light, 1 mystic dust, 2 moonbeams
Expello Mortis (save from death) – 2 dragon scales, 2 essence of light, 2 moonbeamsBAD
Spiritus Poultria (act like chicken) – 1 eye of newt, 2 mystic dust
Mellifera Attackum (bees) – 2 eye of newt, 1 Viper’s essence
Inflammo – (start a fire) — 2 eye of newt, 1 mystic dust
Heavus Ho – (make sick) – 1 eye of newt, 1 mystic dust, 1 vipers essence
Corruptus Locus (Storm, cockroaches) – 1 dragon scales, 2 eye of newt, 1 mystic dust, 1 viper’s essence
Compello Discrepo (Compel to reject socials) – 1 dragon scales, 2 eye of newt, 1 mystic dust
Next five socials directed at target will act as though has minimum mood and relationship scores.
Servantus Attackum (Summon Spectral Attacker) -1 Dragon Scales, 1 Mystic Dust, 1 Eye of Newt, 1 Viper’s Essence
Tabula Rasa (Clear all memories and relationship scores) (Permanent)) – 1 Mystic Dust, 2 Eye of Newt, 2 Viper’s essence
Extractum amorus (Remove love)- 1 Dragon Scales, 1 Mystic Dust, 2 Eye of Newt, 2 Viper Essence
Vivificus Zombiae (Raise zombie of a Sim) – 2 Dragon Scales, 2 Eye of Newt, 2 Viper Venom
Some of these I got from this great reference/guide: http://www.gamershell.com/faqs/thesims2apartmentlifewitchguide/1.1/
Spore Space – What do star and spice colors mean?
Certain colors of spice are more rare than others, but they mean different things to different empires and colonies (GamingSteve.com). I haven’t really figured this out yet, there seems to be a lot of different colors. The Spore Guide indicates that the star colors of different galaxies have a meaning: Blue stars have planets rich in spices; Yellow stars have planets with a good amount of spices, and Red stars have planets low on spice.
Now, what do the different ‘Wild’ icons mean when a planet is inhabited by wild animals?
Spore – Click on Gift Basket to Accept
In the Tribal level, your allies will periodically send you gift baskets of food. It says, ‘Click on the gift basket to accept’. But when I went to the food store, I could see no basket. Clicking on the message icon just takes you to the ally’s village. Well, the allies will probably take a few seconds to arrive at your food store, so the basket won’t appear right away. And as long as there’s a creature nearby that’s not busy, it will automatically accept the basket, so you don’t really have to do anything. I always make sure there’s at least one creature guarding the food from raiding wild animals, so it will also accept any incoming gift baskets too!
Can you send gift baskets to your allies? I’ve tried but was unsuccessful, the cursor doesn’t change to a green gift box. You really just need to give them to tribes who are less than neutral towards you.
Sims Serve Food in Common Area
I installed Sims 2 Apartment Life today! Some features sound really neat, like witches and magic. Others like the actual apartment living and roommates sound very similar to the dorm rooms in University. The first bug I’ve found that is starting to get annoying is that the sims will serve food on tables in the common area of their apartment, in addition to the tables that may be in their own apartment. The common area is usually far away, down some stairs! I think the first thing I’ll try to do is make sure I have enough open table places so that all the dishes are served inside the apartment. I think there’s only about 6 servings per meal.