Jayce's Hood: Pacific Beach

Hi everyone! Just a few photos from Pacific Beach, a suburb in Palm Beach where my sims live. I didn't really plan my neighborhood, it just kinda "evolved" while my first batch of sims were at uni. I wanted to give them somewhere nice to live when they graduated and set off into the world!
Palm Beach contains most of the restaurants, nightclubs, beaches and surf breaks etc.. but few of the CC beach lots fit the way I liked, so I voila'ed a suburb and ended up with Pacific Beach. It has a nice, relaxed tropical feel about it (maybe because I went overboard with the palm trees) and, because my sims invite friends over for dinner all the time, everyone knows each other. Even new sims moving into the hood (I have 32 last count and haven't engaged or married anyone or reproduced. Yet.) end up the topic of dinner-table conversation!

This is the beach house of brothers Eddie and Ethan Vegas and Ethan's long-term girlfriend, Sarah Kincaid.


I love beach lots. That sound of the ocean and seagulls and the light when the sun first comes up. Decorating them is such fun

Ethan and Sarah have been together since uni. They're very domestic, always talking before they turn in for the night and acting very affectionate and concerned for each other. I plan on them marrying and having lots of kids!


This is Sarah.


Ethan enjoying the view.


Sarah in the kitchen. Yes, she loves to cook! Although at first I really did think I'd overdone it with the palms and the power-lines, I love the way they appear in the background and through the windows.


An overview of Pacific Beach from the Vegas house. You can, um, see what I mean about the palms!


I'm glad I went excessive, though, when I saw it at ground-level:


At night, the house becomes so different!




I'm really into "up-lighting" by placing an outside light under a table like this:


Or at the base of a palm and putting it close to a window like this:


I never set out to achieve any real lighting effects like this. They were purely accidental! I have always experimented with lighting, though. It's great how it changes the environment and the way sims look when they cross into it. Always a photo-op!


Like when Ethan's brother, Eddie, unwinds after a hard-night's DJ'ing down at Velvet nightclub. True, they don't often stoke the fireplace in the tropics, but it was thunderstorming that night and Eddie luxuriates in creature comforts. (Croissants in his fluffy bathrobe at 10am and a afternoon nap on the sun-lounge rate very highly with Eddie!)

Hope you enjoyed the visit. This is just one of the 13 houses I play. Next time, I'll introduce you to another group of my sims!

Welcome! Your 3 sims are very attractive people, and you're creating a wonderful atmosphere with your houses and lighting. One of the joys of the sims is how each person approaches the game system differently - and they all work!

Oh wow, your hood is so lovely!! I love all of the palm trees and the power lines are the perfect touch!

I too use lighting like that and you are right, it just sets the mood so perfectly!

Hi there Mac! Nice to meet you.

Thanks for your welcome and comments. It's always great to meet another simmer!

Mac, I was reading about your hood and game-play when I first visited Sugah's. It sounds amazing! I can't even imagine a hood that size, that's a huge number of sims! You have a great system for keeping a track of them, very inventive. Talk about taking the game to a whole different level

Hi Adrianna!

Thank you for your lovely comments! I'm really flattered (blush)...

Jayce wrote:

Mac, I was reading about your hood and game-play when I first visited Sugah's. It sounds amazing! I can't even imagine a hood that size, that's a huge number of sims! You have a great system for keeping a track of them, very inventive. Talk about taking the game to a whole different level

Well, that hood eventually became unplayable. I now do a more "modest" hood of around 120 sims (fewer households as I am pairing them up). But then the wonderful creators on this site do keep coming up with attractive and intriguing sims. What's a poor simmer to do???

I'm really into playing the sims, and much less so into decoration and houses. I admire what you're doing in your hood - it's really beautiful.

Love, love, love it Jayce! I adore that series of palm trees...you've done an amazing job! I totally agree with you about having interesting backdrops, and views through windows. I love the look! I too like you and Jen (Adrianna) use lights that way. Your night shots are gorgeous...and lets talk about your pretty simmies! Ooooooo la la!

I'm so thrilled that you're now sharing piccies and stories of your hood. I'm keeping my eye on this thread! Can't wait for the babies. Ethan and Sarah are so pretty!

It's great to have you as part of the Sugah's family...you'll find we get very involved in the goings ons in each others hoods.

Egads, Mac! I'm sorry to hear about your old hood ending up like that. It must have reached critical mass.

My first hood went a similar way, unfortunately, and fried my computer in the process. I mourned my lost sims! Were they somewhere in there thinking I didn't love them anymore??

Haha, I love your idea of a "modest" hood. That's still a huge amount of sims. Incredible! It's fascinating hearing about everyone's game-play. Sims 2 is a very personal, multi-dimensional game.

ilikefishfood, I'm so pleased you liked Pacific Beach!

I spent sooo much time landscaping before a single sim moved into any houses there, I thought, "they better really appreciate it!!"

They do seem very happy and relaxed when they go outdoors. A barbeque on the beach on a clear, balmy summer evening (I imagine they've put on some mosquito-repellant first!) has to be my sims' favorite way to entertain. Weather permitting, of course. I'd probably bbq ribs all the time, too, if I had my own private beach!

Only a few sims have "beach-front property." I had to choose carefully and not seem like I was "playing favorites" but some of them were really more suited to that lifestyle. One profressional couple (a plastic surgeon and a psychologist) I thought would appreciate unwinding after work in a landscaped garden overlooking the ocean. One of my pro-surfers lives in the beach-house next door to Ethan, Sarah and Eddie's place. His fun level goes up further than anybody's when he surfs! If they're happy, I'm happy!!

I'm glad you liked the look of Ethan and Sarah I love playing them, they're so adorable with each other. I believe "sim-love" is as deep and authentic and genuine as anything we feel...

Looking forward to more piccies. How's the baby-making coming along?

Jayce, I am so glad you have started your own thread in this section!

Jayce wrote:

I love beach lots. That sound of the ocean and seagulls and the light when the sun first comes up. Decorating them is such fun...

A man after my own heart. I adore all things having to do with the seashore.
Was THRILLED when Maxis allowed us to have TRUE beach lots so our Sims can swim in the sea, play in the sand and sunbathe...
...Not to mention how cool the ocean looks!!!

Sound of the gulls and sea? I must not have my settings correct.
I don't know if I have ever heard either before. Does Bon Voyage provide that or is it a hack you've installed?

I love the way your beach lot looks ... All the palms and the lighting ... SIMply fabulous!
Your screenshots are terrific. Lovely lookin' Sims, too.

Lady T wrote:

It's great to have you as part of the Sugah's family...you'll find we get very involved in the goings ons in each others hoods.

Haha, my sims spend more time practicing than making babies!

Ethan and Sarah are focused on their careers at the moment (he's a doctor, she's a fashion designer) and hosting lavish dinner parties. There's been an interesting, eclectic mix of guests this week and some of those casual introductions have blossomed into friendships all over Pacific Beach. They don't seem to mind me using them to break the ice!

I always promise my simmies they can do whatever they like once they've scaled the career ladder. And, of course, Sarah and Ethan will have to get married first. I'm an old-fashioned guy!

I'd like to introduce you to Ethan's brother, Eddie... Where Ethan is dependable and soothingly-domestic, Eddie is the complete opposite!



Eddie Vegas is my only Romance sim. Can't you tell from those eyes?? I love playing him amongst my Fortune-hunters, he really gives them something to think about! I hate what he does (that's the fourth girl this week, Eddie!) but I feel... compelled by his appetite. There's some gorgeous single ladies in Pacific Beach who, until they meet their match, enjoy the uncomplicated, carefree company of this "Mister Right Now."

Okay..Eddie is hawt!

I have such a weakness for bad boys! I can't help myself!

Hi Sugah!

Thanks for swinging by Pacific Beach! I'm so glad you liked it

I get so much inspiration from your comments!!

I think I get the whole "ocean experience" because I wear headphones when I play. I started the habit last year, when my big bro stayed with me for a few months. He always watched TV while I played my game, sharing my very-worn-in L-shaped couch with my cat and his dog as well (it's a big couch!)

Apart from keeping toasty-warm through the winter we didn't want to disturb each other doing our thing, so I bought a set of comfy headphones....

Sounds I'd never heard before were suddenly amplified! At night, cicadas and dogs howling. On my beach lots, gulls and crashing surf. I do have Bon Voyage installed and I'm not sure if the sound effects were there all the time and I just didn't notice them to that extent, but I always wear headphones now, even though I don't need to.

I think it enriches the game experience for me. I couldn't imagine Sims without it now!

Hi Toni

I'm so happy you like Eddie!

He's so much fun to play! I reincarnated many sims from my first hood, I just loved them so much. I didn't have any CC in those days so being able to reinvent them with new skin, eyes, hair, clothes etc was hugely exciting. I had such a strong sense of them and how they would look, dress, what they liked, they seem familiar but so... different. They've really "evolved" for me. And, in Eddie's case, beautifully

I'm more relaxed with my game-play now, too. I thank the big mod-creator in the sky for that. I've made Eddie less "two-dimensional" by getting him to maintain relationships instead of just putting notches on his bed-post!

Hmmm, I'm thinking since you like the look of bad boys so much, you might like this musician I know, Anthony D'Orlando...

With his Italian heritage and grunge "morning after" look (which turned out way better than I thought!), Anthony is a real contrast to the surfer boys around Pacific Beach.



I love getting him on stage, he looks so natural there:



I imagine he sounds like Thom Yorke from Radiohead.



Let's see if I can find some more boys you might like....

Take a look at this beach lot. Very dramatic, and a 2x5 rather than a 3x5.

Mac, I love how that house looks!!

I wish I could just move in there myself.
I use many of keef's gorgeous houses in Pacific Beach. I think it's having the views from the windows, but I feel like I never need to decorate them very much inside for them to look good.

I see what you mean about the palm trees! It does look like lot from the neighborhood view, but from within the lot it works really well. You've done a really nice job with the lighting. (That's something I really need to remember to work on in my hoods and screenshots.) I like Anthony's look a lot. The stage lighting looks really great. Thanks for sharing your hood and pictures with us.

Hi Em!

Love that little picture on your profile with the family, it's gorgeous! Everyone looks so content...

Thanks for all your comments, Em. Haha, I did go a bit .... with the palms!

Anthony was stuck in my sim-bin for months, poor guy. I was so caught up in my beach-bunnies surfing and urban-professionals having dinner parties, I nearly forgot about him!

I take a stupid amount of photos of Anthony. His face just seems to "absorb" the lighting (which I am constantly changing on him!) and often the best shots of him are more accidental than intentional. Sometimes he looks downright... satanic!

Hi folks

Thanks for all the wonderful comments. Really inspiring!

I've been getting the impression (I don't know how!! ) that some of you are, shall we say, not adverse to a little Sim-flavoured eye-candy.... so I gathered some of photos of my finest-looking gents!

This is Owen Jefferies.


He is the funkiest dancer in the hood! I leave the stereo on all the time in this house. Someone is always sure to bust out after dinner, it's usually Owen.

I think he's just showing off to his housemate there, Brooke. Owen is desperately and secretly in love with her (I didn't initiate anything, he just looked at her one day and "zing"). That's Brooke's regular casual boyfriend, David, she's dancing with (her other lover, since uni, is Eddie Vegas). The other guy dancing is David's housemate and one of Owen's surfing buddies, Scott.


Poor Owen doesn't know what to do.

I struggle with these complexities, along with Owen!

I don't know what to do about this, either. I'm seeing what develops...


Owen, I understand, truly. She is amazing, I know! (I confess to a bit of a boy-crush on Brooke myself...)

To not really help the situation for Brooke, this is her boyfriend, David Warren:


Here's David going for a surf with Chris Stone.

That's David's house directly across the road behind them.

Just to give you an idea how close they live to the beach, here's David's housemate, Scott (you met him dancing earlier!) on the porch.


Not everyone goes to the beach to surf. The girls always love to catch up!


Sometimes before they know it...

... a whole bunch of their friends join them!
That's Anthony on the far left, Chris Stone and his old dorm-mate from uni, Angelina Steele (who is also the long-time girlfriend of his brother), the guitarist from Anthony's band, Brad Cooper, and Sarah Kincaid, the gorgeous lady you met in my first post.

Hope you liked the pics. I've got more in store!

When it looks like it's going to be a beautiful day in Pacific Beach, I love to gather my surfer-dudes together and make a day of it!


That's Scott Lewis surfing the coral break.


Scott is natural surfer. He needed a high body skill to make it in the tough, competitive world of professional modelling. Those pretty-boy looks weren't going to be enough! Fortunately, all that working out for Scott to look "faabulous" for his photo-shoots really improved his surfing every time he hit the water.

I don't know whether it's a memory thing in the game, the lot or the sim, but the surfers tend to always enter the water at their same particular "spot" on the four different beaches.

Here's Chris Stone hanging ten. He always heads near the rocks and closer to the coral-reef than the others, which used to make me feel nervous when he wiped out all the time!


I shouldn't have worried about Chris. He's in the Marine Corps.


I don't know who was more proud of Chris when he became an advisor to the President: me or his girlfriend, Georgia! We both love him in that uniform!


Chris and Georgia are another couple I plan to marry and help populate Pacific Beach!


Eddie Vegas tried his luck with Georgia at Velvet last week....


No chance, Eddie!

Georgia and Chris have something truly special.


Georgia cooking burgers on the barbeque....

.... while the boys horse around in the pool.

That's Chris on the diving-board, Jason Edwards in the water and Chris' brother, Mike, about to join them.

Chris and Scott making the most summer!

Great pictures!

And Chris, David, Ethan, Sarah, Brooke, and Georgia are DDG! Are these your creations? If so, you should think about sharing them on this site!

Hey there, Mac

Wow, thanks so much! I take so many photos, I figured I should actually do something with them!

I'm truly flattered you like my sims! Everyone you mentioned, except for David, are my creations.

I'd be absolutely delighted to upload my guys. If you could direct me somewhere that has instructions how, that would be great!

Btw, I checked out your hood today. Amazing!!

Whoa, it's so past my bedtime! I'm going to be my alter-ego, Bobby Dum-Bum, tomorrow at work

Jayce wrote:

If you could direct me somewhere that has instructions how, that would be great!

I can't help you there, probably the sysad (Sugah) or one of the other contributors can help you there - not only on the how to, but any requirements that they may have.

I'm looking forward to adding Georgia , Sarah , and Brooke to my already femme overloaded 'hood - and adding some of the guys to even it out.