Cher Shares

Cher, how cool is this!
The Florida Firecracker beach house that Andrew was kind enough to build for SP was based on THIS house plan at Architectural Designs, I believe.
I can't wait to see your version of it come to fruition. Andrew did a great job on his!
Love the exterior design, esp!

Good luck with Isle of Demeter.  I know it's a challenging 'hood to work with, but it IS a rather pretty design!
The Tres Lagos 'hood I am using came with the game, I believe (called Three Lakes? Not sure!).
It has the same cliffs, hills & valleys, as you may recall (in July 23rd post).

I have no doubt Ulli and Toni will be honored to learn their Sims abodes have made it into your Isle of Demeter 'hood.
Thank you for your ongoing support of our little site, Cher. It means so much.   

Great job on your beach home!
I love the design of the back of it, especially all the windows and the covered porch!  

Twerplina wrote:

I'm really enjoying watching this family grow. Gorgeous kids, but then the parents are quite good looking themselves.

I really like that beach house. I can see that you've really been working hard not just on the story but on the new hood you're creating. Keep up the great work!

Oh thank you! I've built a couple more houses and a community lot and I'm ready for a break. Building is not my strong point.   It's time to get back to the Sandpipers for a bit.

Sugah, I do remember looking at your Tres Lagos hood. You've done a great job decorating it and setting up the houses. I'd been playing a pre-made hood for quite some time before getting my new computer and having to start over. I'd forgotten how hard it is (for me, anyway) to figure out where I want to put lots and how I want to set things up.

Sugah wrote:

I love the design of the back of it, especially all the windows and the covered porch!

Thank you for the kind words about my hood so far. I can tell you, if I had a house on the beach, I'd want the beach-side covered in windows so I could always see the ocean!

I don't yet have the close-ups of all of Ulli's casas in my hood yet, but here's another one of the houses I've built recently. This one and the last one are in my island section; you may see some of Toni's and Ulli's beachy lots in the background there. The original design came from here. I don't have the patience to try to figure out how to make that roof work, while still having usable rooms upstairs, but I think what I have will work in my game pretty well. I haven't done any landscaping on this lot, obviously. The furniture is only there to show what the rooms are.

Cher, do you have plans to upload any of your beach houses? I really like the look of your latest one too.

I installed keef's Pirripirri beach as a vacation hood in my previous game, but didn't actually use it a lot. However, most of my beach lots are by him as he's designed many for the Maxis hoods -- so they place without problems -- and they don't require SPs.

Thank you so much! I could try to upload the lots. I've never done it. I've packaged lots before, just to back them up in case I lose my game. I assume the first part is to make sure all CC is OK to include, then after that, I don't know what to do.    I'll work on it, though. A word of warning: This hood is crazy with different elevations and few flat spots. I don't know if or how that will make a difference when placing them in another hood. For some of the beach lots I've downloaded, I've had to place an empty lot, then bulldoze it, and then place my downloaded lot. It's made my coastline a little funky in areas, but I can live with it.

I enjoyed Pirripirri beach and had managed to get a family in most of the lots before I changed computers. His lots were a nice size, and easy to play.

I'm editing this because I forgot why I originally stopped in this time: I know several people here use Nengi's Sea & Surf build set. I love it and made sure I hunted down the whole set to download it. Yesterday I found recolors at Leefish. The download includes all the meshes, including a fixed door mesh that allows light to come in through the door. Since I haven't actually played one of the lots with the doors, I hadn't noticed there was a problem. I did download the fixed mesh and recolors, though, and thought I'd share the link in case anyone else wants the fixed mesh.

I hadn't seen that particular set of Nengi's. Thanks for the link. :)

And thank you for considering to upload your beach lots. I've never uploaded a lot, but lots of folks here have, so I'm sure you can get help if you need it.

I haven't forgotten about trying to upload some lots, but it may take me a while.

Meanwhile, I thought I'd show you all a picture of what happens with Ja-Viera's sky when your lot is too close to the end of the world. It doesn't bother me; I just adjust the view so it doesn't show.



This is what Jack and Ella do whenever they get a chance. Gavin is thinking, "Dad, please, not in front of all my school mates."  



Ella had a rough day at work. She had a group of elderly ladies taking up space at the restaurant without ordering anything since the coffee they ordered when they first came in. A large group of teens came in and got a little rowdy while waiting for the big table to open up. She tactfully suggested to the elderly ladies that they might move on and open up the tables for the waiting teens. Apparently, she wasn't as tactful as she thought, and she got demoted from Hostess to Fast Food Manager, and was sent home early.



It's winter again, and Jack can't take the boat out. He uses his down time to get the house nearly finished, and to play a little football with Gavin. On the front porch, as I'm sure we all do. Gavin is excited to play football and loves it, but it looks like Jack needs to give him a few more pointers.



Paloma got an after-school job in the dance career and has been promoted to Backup Dancer. Ella was promoted to Hostess again the next day at work, and the day after that, those dang old ladies were taking up space at the big table again when the teens showed up looking for a table. This time, Ella asked the teens if they would mind sitting at several smaller tables, and offered them some free appetizers to make up for the inconvenience. The teens are happy with that, since they'd been refused service everywhere else because the managers thought they looked like trouble. The tell the manager what a great Hostess Ella is, and she is immediately promoted to Waitress. That must be some volatile manager Ella has, constantly demoting and promoting her. Ella came home from work excited to tell Jack all about her day.



Paloma was promoted to SimJazzer Instructor. Gavin grew up into a nice-looking teen. Looks like it's time to redecorate his room.



To celebrate all the great things happening in their lives, Jack and Ella decided to splurge and eat out at a local diner. They seem to be the center of attention!



Jack is a bit of a neat freak. That's not even his plate.

The pre-made (Pirripirri Beach - Vezz Island) hood you downloaded is awesome, Cher.
What a fabulous job keef1973 did on it! Great choice!
I really like some of keef1973's Coral Reef lots and need to revisit those.

Cher wrote:

I can tell you, if I had a house on the beach, I'd want the beach-side covered in windows so I could always see the ocean!

The same applies if I had a house on a lake, too!  

Cher wrote:

I could try to upload the lots. I've never done it.

The authority on that subject here is our very own Toni (aka ilikefishfood).
If you are in need of knowing the BEST and safest way to upload a lot, I would send Toni a PM.
I am sure she wouldn't mind advising you.
She has uploaded some fully loaded lots and knows all the ins and outs of making sure they are safe to download here.  
Oh, and the rules for donating gifts to SP are HERE, FYI.

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I know several people here use Nengi's Sea & Surf build set. I love it and made sure I hunted down the whole set to download it. Yesterday I found recolors at Leefish. The download includes all the meshes, including a fixed door mesh that allows light to come in through the door.

Awesome! Thank you! I shall be downloading Leefish's recolors and fixed door mesh, too!

The picture you shared of Ja-Viera's sky when your lot is too close to the end of the world is wild, Cher.
I love how your marina looks in that shot, btw.  

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Apparently, she wasn't as tactful as she thought, and she got demoted from Hostess to Fast Food Manager, and was sent home early.

Bummer! Note to self: Never try to nudge a bunch of old ladies when they're schmoozing at the local diner.  
I'm glad Ella worked it out with the teens the next day (free appetizers, etc). Good for her!
Congrats on her promotion to waitress.

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Jack is a bit of a neat freak. That's not even his plate.

 

Sugah wrote:

The authority on that subject here is our very own Toni (aka ilikefishfood).
If you are in need of knowing the BEST and safest way to upload a lot, I would send Toni a PM.
I am sure she wouldn't mind advising you.
She has uploaded some fully loaded lots and knows all the ins and outs of making sure they are safe to download here.  
Oh, and the rules for donating gifts to SP are HERE, FYI.

Thanks, Sugah. I should have thought of that; I've downloaded enough of her lots to know that she's an expert in it!

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I love how your marina looks in that shot, btw.

That marina is one of my favorite hood deco objects; I like when I can get it into a picture. My big hood has a cruise ship, and I get a kick out of seeing that in the background, as well. All by Criquette, of course.

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Bummer! Note to self: Never try to nudge a bunch of old ladies when they're schmoozing at the local diner.

Haha! I go to lunch at the same place with a friend every 2-3 weeks, and I'm pretty sure the staff wouldn't dare mess with us, either!

Here's a southwest-y beach lot based on this odd-shaped floor plan. Again, no landscaping. I often don't do much landscaping to help keep the cost down. When a family moves in and has a little disposable income, then I do some landscaping.









I don't usually like diagonal walls because they can be such a pain, but I really liked the shape and setup of this house for a beach lot.

Oh, I really like your beach houses. Very nice! I have the same problem with that custom sky. I really like it, but haven't been able to use it yet, because the original sky shows through in the same way.

Sorry I am so late in commenting! I am so enjoying your sharing of your game. Your family is so beautiful and I love their beach living! Will try to keep up more :)

Sugah wrote:

Bummer! Note to self: Never try to nudge a bunch of old ladies when they're schmoozing at the local diner.

Cher wrote:

Haha! I go to lunch at the same place with a friend every 2-3 weeks, and I'm pretty sure the staff wouldn't dare mess with us, either!

Terrific new beach house, Cher!
I used to not like diagonal walls, but once I learned the "move objects off" "snap objects to grid false" and "allow 45 degree angle of rotation" cheats, I could at least spiff up those diagonal walls a bit with decor (those that were/are window-less).

I love all the windows in the back of your southwestern style beach abode and the big, tiled patio.
The steps down the hillside are a cool idea, too!
Thank you for sharing, as always.

Thank you for the nice words about my beach houses. They take me forever to build because they have to be just so, and then you don't even want to know how long it takes me to furnish and decorate a house for my sims. I try almost everything once, just so I won't miss that one wall that turns out to be the perfect wall covering.  

Twerplina, some time ago you asked me if I was considering uploading a beach lot. I have finally uploaded one here. I'll probably upload that first one (with all the windows facing the beach) at some point.

Lately, I've been working on my hood. I've copied and modified a few community lots to create public beach areas for my sims, and a marketplace.

The haciendas:



General southwest area:



The island zone:



Something vaguely European:

Cher wrote:

...and then you don't even want to know how long it takes me to furnish and decorate a house for my sims.

I hear ya, Lady C, and am so with you on that!

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Twerplina, some time ago you asked me if I was considering uploading a beach lot. I have finally uploaded one here.

Yaaaay! And I am so glad you were up to the painstaking challenge of uploading a lot to SP, Cher.
I know it's a tedious business to do so, but we are honored that you decided to share your Kingfisher here with us.  

I like your idea of having different types/styles of abodes (eg SW, Island, European) in the same hood.  
As a matter of fact, I've been pondering doing that myself in Tres Lagos, rather than having several different hoods going at once.
Haven't decided yet, but I really like what you've done in your neighborhood thus far, Cher.  

Thank you for sharing and keep up the good work!  

Thanks! I don't know why, but except for Uni and the occasional vacation, I don't like dealing with subhoods. This way, it's almost all right there in my main hood.

Next up, I'm working on a Gypsy camp and some more coastal areas.

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Next up, I'm working on a Gypsy camp and some more coastal areas.

Looking forward to that, Cher!

Looks awesome! You do have a lot of patience!!

Sandy, I'm not sure if it's patience or if I'm just procrastinating about playing in that hood. I think I'm afraid, after all that work, I'll end up doing something with my sims that somehow messes everything up! Especially now that I've downloaded all the Sugah's Place self sims. What if I get it all wrong and make them miserable?  

The Gypsy camp


Sorta Florida


Downtown


I still want to have a farming zone, mountain area, and Mediterranean style area. There is also a stretch of coast where I can put beach lots and houses that don't fit any of the particular styles in the zones I've already set up. I want to make a self-sim, though I don't like any of the skins I've found. I want to make my house. But I want to start playing, too. I did move Marguerita and Enrique into apartments, hoping they'll hit it off when they meet. I figured out which mod was making my apartment rent actions and removed it, so hopefully the apartments won't be a problem to play. I remodeled some downloaded no-CC apartments for them:


Toni's Enrique, his new apartment, and the first thing he did upon arrival on the lot:




Sugah's Marquerita and her apartment next door to Enrique:



I already had a hair very similar to the one packaged with Marguerita, and it was binned, so I used it. Other than that, they're just the way I downloaded them. I like Ella and Jack so much, and they make such beautiful babies, I'll probably put them in this hood, as well.

Those are cute apartments!! Where did you find them? Enrique and Marguerita , hopefully they will like each other,
they would make a cute couple!

Thanks, Sandy. It was a major redecoration of these condos at MTS2.

Thanks so much Cher!

Cher wrote:

Especially now that I've downloaded all the Sugah's Place self sims. What if I get it all wrong and make them miserable?

Quote :

I want to make a self-sim, though I don't like any of the skins I've found.

What, in particular, are you looking for, Cher? You might want to post a request for some help in our Q & A section. We have a couple of gals here who probably have some awesome bodyshop CC in their games, who can help, no doubt!

Cher, I really like the gypsy camp idea and your separate coastal region (sorta Florida ), but I especially like those SW style apartments. They look terrific!
And I am extremely flattered that you have downloaded and moved my Marguerita into your fabulous complex.
I love the hair you chose for her. It's lovely!
Here's hoping she and the snack-o-licious Enrique have all kinds of chemistry, as I think they'd make a gorgeous couple and have very pretty babies (like Ella and Jack).
Thank you so much for downloading Marguerita and for your ongoing support. It means so much.

 

Sugah wrote:

Here's hoping she and the snack-o-licious Enrique have all kinds of chemistry, as I think they'd make a gorgeous couple and have very pretty babies (like Ella and Jack).

Spoiler: They definitely had chemistry! I think I'll probably recreate Ella and Jack as a couple, with all the same stats, and put them in the Isle of Demeter hood. I really like them together.

Mountaintop section:


Marguerita spent her first day in her new apartment finding a job (Dance career), swimming, and meeting some neighbors. Later, she had a little snack and a nap.


After resting up, she visited The Plaza, where she met Enrique and Toni.



Later, Enrique met up with Marguerita at the mailbox and asked her out on a date.

They went dancing at The Plaza, then back to Enrique's place where they got along very, very well.


No pictures, but both took the first step toward fulfilling their LTWs. For Marguerita, a Romance sim, that means having 20 simultaneous lovers. For Enrique, a Popluarity sim, it means 50 dream dates. Which is ridiculous. Not that 20 simultaneous lovers isn't ridiculous. I hope the gypsy drops off a lamp in the near future.

Everything looks awesome

Cher64 wrote:

For Marguerita, a Romance sim, that means having 20 simultaneous lovers. For Enrique, a Popluarity sim, it means 50 dream dates. Which is ridiculous. Not that 20 simultaneous lovers isn't ridiculous. I hope the gypsy drops off a lamp in the near future.

Love the pics of your 'hood and I'm looking forward to hearing of your sims' adventures.
Regarding LTW, I use the appropriate LTW for the Maxis careers. For the non-Maxis, I favor 20 best friends or 100K simoleans. I've also done max out all 7 skills (difficult) and (once) 20 woohoos - a lot of work

You can use The Sim Blender to pick the LTW you want. (Not all are available for all aspirations, but you can change aspiration then change back) Also good for name changes and setting family relationships.

I also use the wonderful Sim Manipulator ( Aaroneous) to tweak likes and dislikes to increase attraction when I want to. You can also use it to change aspiration. It has a pregnancy info option, too - which tells how far the pregnancy is and allows you to select singleton/twins. (I, for one, find twin toddlers just too much! )

Love the gypsy and her lamps, I use these exclusively to give "Peace of Mind" to those sims with non-Maxis careers.

Thanks Sandy and Mac.

I have the Sim Manipulator in my game, too. In the past, I have made mostly knowledge sims because I find them the easiest to play. They get the boost for learning skills, and then I would change their LTW to whatever I wanted it to be if I didn't like the one assigned to them. I decided to challenge myself by randomizing my sim creation process a bit more (except for the staff self-sims where specifics are provided). I've never had either of these LTWs. I don't know if I can handle them!

I like the max 7 skills LTW for sims born in game because, by the time they're at the end of their teens, they're often nearly there. It's really hard when you're starting with an adult sim, though.