Cross-Forum Fervor! Let's Play The Sims 3!

4:00 AM is the perfect time to deliver a repaired shower, because you won't get to where you're going until about 5:30 thanks to living on top of a goddamned mountain.




That makes things easier. One party, two cakes.


Trar checks the mail while waiting for the carpool to show up and take him to work. Inside is a certificate celebrating Beat's hard work in the field of Athletics.


I'd hang it over his bed, but basement wall weirdness rears its head once more.


He puts it by the door instead.


An IRL raise of $33 per hour would literally quadruple my income.


Wow, look at those rewards. Better not miss this one.


But even without all that stuff, Vixen earns her next promotion.


So does Trar.

This isn't entirely something added by the patch, but it was greatly expanded upon from the plain' ol' regular 1.0. It's possible to buy into local businesses and reap a share of the profits each week. The part added by the patch is that you can also purchase public lots for a bit of income, or other houses to (presumably, I actually haven't done this yet) charge rent. Trar's got an itch to invest, but in which company?


There's only one answer: the Outstanding Citizen's Warehouse Corporation.


So now the police officer has directly financed the criminal enterprise that employs two of his housemates. There will be a payoff of a couple thousand Simoleons every week from here on out.




Look at that Wish lineup. Both of those are asking the same thing, level 10 is the top of the career path. So achieving that will get both Wishes at once, for 20,000 LAPs.


Don't forget, that would also satsify Trar's Lifetime Wish, for a total all together of 50,000 LAPs.


Oh, nice. I know I post pictures of Opportunities a lot, but this is actually a big one. I'll elaborate as soon as Vixen gets the produce together.

And the guests brought food, which means M'dair can enjoy himself instead of cooking for everyone. Downside: one of those plates is tofu dogs.

I mean... ew.


Wait, who's that? Not only was she not invited, but I don't even know if anyone in the house has met her before.


Looks like she's got the hots for Wild, though.


Everyone pairs off to chat, except Vixen, who's a bit late to the party. Trar mercifully invites her in to talk to him and Ayesha. (Of course Ayesha showed up, you knew she would sooner or later.)


Wild goes to blow out the candles. Please ignore that the cake is frosted with the words "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEAT SKELETON WILDKIN"

This is the part where my PC slowed to a crawl and the program I use to take screenshots chimed its chime so much it trilled. I thought the game was crashing! But no, apparently the keyboard key for "take screenshot" got stuck and I actually took about a hundred shots of this scene. The slowdown was from creating and saving dozens of large image files at once.


Much like real life, it's a rule of the Sims that your phone will ring at the most inconvenient, inopportune times. Such is the case here! But it's probably just Wild's mom, calling to wish him a happy birthday, not realizing he's in the middle of the party and can't talk.


And after blowing out the candles, there's a massive dronejam as nine people lunge for the cake at the same time.


It's so bad that Tori grabs a slice of key lime pie out of the fridge instead, earning a major side-eye from Ayesha.


By the time Vixen gets a slice of cake, the dronejam is people getting up and trying to wash all their dishes. The pathfinding around the dining table fails once again.


Man, Wild. I remember when she hated you.


Next time I'll see about getting some better entertainment.

In the final push to get the last Wishes out of the way before I wrap session, Wild masters his Athletics skill. Pretty good milestone for the night of your birthday!



Beat: LAPs 32,348, Attractive, Professional Slacker
Wishes: Read a Book About Logic +850, Reach Level 10 of Criminal Career +10000, Become a Business Partner +1000
Skills: Logic 6, Athletics 10

Wildkin: LAPs 34,121, Opportunistic
Wishes: Earn a Raise +750, Reach Level 8 of Criminal Career
(both wishes should be attained after next work shift)
Skills: Athletics 10, Handiness 8
Opportunity: Case the Joint (having done it, return to work)

Madhair: LAPs 10,036, Fast Learner, Never Dull
Wishes: Master Painting Skill +7500, Master Cooking Skill +7500, Improve Charisma Skill +1000
Skills: Painting 8, Charisma 7, Cooking 8
Opportunity: The Study of Art (paint something worth $1000 and deliver it to the Science Facility)

Trar: LAPs 26,077, Steel Bladder, Observant
Wishes: Reach Top of Law Enforcement Career +11000, Reach Level 10 of Law Enforcement Career +9000, Improve Painting Skill +1000
Skills: Logic 7, Painting 7, Writing 1

Vixen: LAPs 24,781, Multi-Tasker
Wishes: Grow Flame Fruit +300, Upgrade 10 Objects +1250, Improve Gardening Skill +1000, Grow a Grapevine +500
Skills: Fishing 4, Gardening 8, Handiness 6
Opportunities: A Meeting of Minds (give seminar at the corporate towers), Uncommonly Good (deliver 20 "Excellent" grade produce to restaurant)


Cash on Hand: $9583
Lot Value Assets: $52801+15000

LP Rules update, since I hadn't thought about it before: It's possible to invest money in local businesses and reap the profits in subsequent weeks. This doesn't add any money to the household value as displayed in the game, but for purposes of scoring the Let's Play I'll count the cost of the investment as part of the household value anyway.

I think it's also possible to buy additional private lots and rent them out for zero-effort cash, too. If this is the case the Lot Value score of the secondary property will add into the household's own Lot Value for scoring purposes. (Since switching between active households fucks with Wishes and Needs, I'm not going to buy out a second property and move part of the team onto it.)

In fact, I think I'll just refer to it as "Assets" from here on out. Assets is a combination of Furnished Lot Value of all real estate owned by the team plus the cost of any business investments or buyouts.

Pretty good party!

I'll say. With any luck we'll bring volcano lair get-togethers into vogue.

This wasn't in the original plan, but, you know, it's all according to plan anyhow.

Please tell me we can buy up a bunch of other businesses and get the whole town under our thumb, because I for one have plans

OH MY BEAT!

I have Important Science to do!

ONLY THE MOST DANGEROUS DRUGS WILL SUFFICE

ALSO NEW AVATAR LOL

Vixen's the youngest Tyrant. (The Tyrants, on the whole, are a couple of days older than the Brontos. This is not something I had any control over.)






That's... an odd moodlet to get for drinking a potion without using a Scroll of Identify first. The moodlet only lasts until Vixen leaves work and gets some sun, so it's not a big deal.


Speaking of strange problems, this is M'dair trying to look at the painting on the wall, but he can't because the lamp is in his way.


Beat stops off before work to buy into another local business.

Uh... yeah, sure!


She's already in the little park behind the volcano base.


And without any prompting from me, they immediately get to flirting.


Turning our attention away for a moment, we find that Wild has earned another promotion, moving up in the organization he's given so much blood, sweat, and tears to.


This may be because Beat has earned his final promotion and is now running the entire crime ring. That's his Lifetime Wish, too, so he's swimming in LAPs!


He's also so happy about reaching his life goal that he has +75 to his mood for a week. That'll top off his mood meter almost no matter what, so he'll keep getting LAPs for a while.


Finally, he gets a menacing aura as his true skeletal form seeks to find a way to escape its fleshy prison.


You guys need this, so I'm spending Beat Points on it.






The physical Pad is near the entrance stairs, but it's cellphone-activated. You guys can now skip the lengthy climbing of stairs to get out of the house, and can skip any commute times when going home!

Here, like this.




Whoops! Remember to change out of your jammies before you teleport out of the house, since the game skips the "change into an outfit appropriate for the destination" step if you're not using a car or bike to get somewhere.


Another buy-in. I take 'em as the money comes in.


Trar was teleporting to the grocery store to pick up some cakes. He and M'dair have the same birthday, and thus celebrate at the same time.


It's not a party party, but it must have gone all right, because the cops showed up near the end.


There's no "What seems to be the problem, officer?" option, so I'm not actually sure what this cop was doing snooping around the base.

I was ready to scrap most of Vixen's garden and replant with higher-quality stuff, but no need! She got the high-grade vegetables she needed for her Opportunity and delivered them. Now she can plant hunks of cheese to grow Cheeseplants, and plant eggs to grow Eggplants. Did you ever think it was odd that Sims can grow their own vegetables, but can't own laying hens or dairy cattle? Well, that's because eggs and cheeses grow on bushes in this game.

It's only fitting for the character whose scientific pastime is an affront to all God's creation, really.


After dropping off all her produce, Vixen stops to eat at the diner... and it's free. Investing in some businesses has nice side effects.


Hey, good job, let's see what we've got here...


Ambiguity Itself...? Isn't that...?


HOLY MOTHER WILD JUST STOLE A NINE-FOOT-TALL ABSTRACT ART

Just like

put it in his pocket and walked away

probably whistled a little tune

(That thing is worth $30,000; it's one of the most expensive home decor items in the game.)

Trar might need glasses. He and M'dair painted the same thing, but Trar's version is blurrier.


If the Sims get hungry and don't have time to eat a proper meal, I have Vixen send them some of her fresh produce for a quick snack to keep them from getting snippy about it. The unadorned tomatoes and apples and grapes are just fine. The raw potatoes are a bit strange. But the raw garlic actually gives a moodlet I've never seen before. It's probably the opposite of Minty Fresh Breath, the post-toothbrushing moodlet, and hampers social interaction. But Beat's just going to bed, so it wears off before he has to talk to anyone else.


Vixen has her birthday, but everyone's so sick of celebratory and leftover cake by now that she just lets the celebration slide.


That'll wrap, I think.

Beat: LAPs 12,188, Attractive, Professional Slacker, Teleportation Pad
Wishes: Become a Partner at Several Businesses (currently 3 of 5) +4000, Master Logic Skill +8500
Skills: Logic 7, Athletics 10
Opportunity: Becoming More Logical (having increased Logic skill, check in at science institute for cash)

Wildkin: LAPs 43,017, Opportunistic
Wishes: Reach Level 10 of Criminal Career +9000, Become a Partner at Several Businesses +3500, Steal Something +300
Skills: Athletics 10, Handiness 9

Madhair: LAPs 15,131, Fast Learner, Never Dull
Wishes: Master Painting Skill +7500, Master Cooking Skill +7500, Improve Charisma Skill +1000, Become a Partner at Several Businesses +3500
Skills: Painting 9, Charisma 7, Cooking 8
Opportunity: The Study of Art (paint something worth $1000 and deliver it to the Science Facility)

Trar: LAPs 32,094, Steel Bladder, Observant
Wishes: Reach Top of Law Enforcement Career +11000, Reach Level 10 of Law Enforcement Career +9000, Paint Something Brilliant +500, Become a Partner at Several Businesses +3500
Skills: Logic 7, Painting 8, Writing 1

Vixen: LAPs 29,612, Multi-Tasker
Wishes: Become a Partner at Several Businesses +3500, Upgrade 10 Objects +1250, Grow a Grapevine +500, Reach Level 10 of Science Career +9000
Skills: Fishing 4, Gardening 9, Handiness 7
Opportunities: Substitute Instructor (teach a class at the military base)


Cash on Hand: $10,124
Assets: $110,468
Lot Value: $82468
Partnered With: Outstanding Citizens Warehouse Corp. ($15000), Divisadero Budget Books ($7000), Hogan's Deep-Fried Diner ($6000)

This is one of the best threads on Talking Time.

This is glorious.

420 BLAZE IT MOTHERFUCKER

It's a criminal organization, what did you expect? Something not banned by federal law and the laws of forty-eight states?

We own this goddamn town now. Only reason I can think of for Wild being able to cover up his theft of the nine-foot tall objet d'art.

I'd be totally willing to do a follow up LP of SimCity 4 Deluxe that continues in this fashion, because that game lets you make Sims and import them from Sims 2 to live in your cities. The direction of the city(ies) would be mostly up to you guys.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Please do.

Well, I reinstalled the game and am having pretty good progress configuring my mod set for it. I might do it after all. If you guys have any ideas, feel free to voice them here.

Didn't you already do this? Oh well, measure twice and cut once, I always say.


In other news, Beat's last promotion means he no longer has to hail a cab to get where he's going. No sir, a man this important gets chauffeured around in his own limousine.

As a side note, this is image #420 in this Let's Play thread. $420 is also what Beat gets paid per hour at the job that netted him this nice vehicle. Coincidence? Yes, actually.


Wait, is this broken thingamajig the thing Wild has to go scope out again and again? The timetable available for this Opportunity is late at night, just like the time when Wild has to go do his... pretty suspicious, if you ask me!


Trar also has an Opportunity, but it's just reading a dumb book and doesn't have anything to do with stealing expensive equipment from the science lab.

Without even having to fix the thingamajig, Vixen gets promoted to job level 9... her Lifetime Wish! A boatload of LAPs is hers.


And I'm pretty sure she didn't grow this in the garden. Vixen is protected from death once.


Hey, man, remember when she hated you? Way to turn it around, playa.


Wild stops on the way to take a phonecall from his personal trainer.


Man oh man this is gonna be so awesome


Huh, I didn't realize that was an option. If you're talking to your boss, you can ask for a raise or a promotion. Wild doesn't, because he's dead-set on having an awesome time with Ayesha and keeping business out of it.


Aw man this is perfect, the two of them can geek out about sports and how great it is to work out and--


DAMMIT WILD I TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU FOR ONE DAMN SECOND

Ayesha had already wandered away by this point.

All right, let's see here...


Beat managed to swipe a couple more paintings, a trellis full of flowers, and a garden gnome.


You can place the Mysterious Mr. Gnome anywhere you like, and even give it a name. Here it's on the top level of the volcano caldera, overlooking the front door.






But it never stays put. When you're not looking, the lawn gnome will move to a different spot and change its pose. Weird! Eerie!

I understand that the labyrinthine volcano base you guys asked for is not adequately labyrinthine and intend to address this deficiency in future remodels. Until then, enjoy the twisting, winding paths in the third basement, connecting each character's more-or-less-private nook. Beat and Wild share the gym, with the shower moved from the second bathroom upstairs. M'dair and Trar have moved their easels down here; Trar also has a computer desk. Vixen's is... mostly empty, with only her collected meteorite display right now, but I'm intentionally leaving space open for a workshop to upgrade devices the house purchases before they're put into their intended spot.

Everyone has a spiral staircase from their bedroom into their own branch of this basement level. There's also a fridge and some dining seats. Since every refrigerator on the lot is connected through a shared inventory, whenever M'dair puts a plate of leftovers he's cooked into the fridge in the kitchen, it becomes accessible down here, saving anyone who needs a quick nosh the trip up two floors. Once I remember, I buy a dishwasher for the dirty dishes this process generates, and Vixen fixes it up to be Unbreakable.


Nobody in this house has the Bookworm trait because reading's for nerds, but I changed the room that was previously the gym into a reading room anyway. Sometimes people get reading Opportunities (like Trar's current one) or need to sit down with a skill book for a few hours.

Dolla dolla bills again.


When Wild gets an item from work, it's an expensive work of art. When Beat gets an item from work, it's a creepy lawn gnome. When Vixen gets an item from work, it's... a mediocre head of lettuce. idgi


Hey hey, another promotion, another Lifetime Wish fulfilled. I didn't spend many points from all of the ones you guys earned, because I want you to have a chance to give some input on where you want them to go. I'll spend them next update whether you tell me to or not, so speak up if you've got anything in mind.

As a Dynamic DNA Profiler, Trar can spend a few hours running computer analysis to get a cash bonus for the extra work.


The bonus money I will invest in local businesses, since you guys have been pretty clear that's something you want done.


This one's trickier than it sounds. Quick Burst is such hard work that Beat can only do it for about 45 minutes at a stretch, and it makes him as sore as working out for several hours at a normal pace would. It takes several workouts over several days to make it happen.


What, again? It's good to be da boss.


Another painting -- Beat's bedroom walls are starting to get pretty full -- and a decorative statue. This one doesn't move around.

Whoa, lookit the stones on this guy. Breaking into the volcano lair where the mob boss and a top-tier cop live!


The alarm automatically summons the police, and freaks out the would-be thief enough that he doesn't ever get downstairs.


There are three people who can fight off a burglar. One is the NPC police officer you can call as a service or have the burglar alarm auto-summon. One is anyone with the Brave trait. And one is any player character in the Law Enforcement career, like...


...this slow piece of shit right here, who is only just now getting to the base of the stairs.


It's at this point that Beat and Wild leave work and start on the way home.


: "FREELANCER, HUH?"
: "Amateur, more like it."

After delivering the foiled burglar to the police car, the cop will come back into the house to return any stolen goods. It's possible to free the burglar while the cop is thus occupied, but why bother? Maybe he learned an important lesson today.


Wild, quit flirting with the police.

Incidentally, I'm not sure why Wild is still in the stripes-and-domino-mask outfit from work.


Because apparently the work outfit for a Cat Burgler is a goddamn ninja costume.

Anyway, the pathfinding in this game is still terrible. Here's Vixen throwing a tantrum because she can't find the coastline to get any fishing done.


For the record, Vixen, those are found in the water. Water is that stuff just to your left.


Trar has painted something vaguely disturbing in his sub-sub-basement studio.


Another investment nails down the Wish everyone had to do that five times.


Whew, finally! M'dair is about 1/3 of the way toward his own Lifetime Wish, which would catch him up with Beat, Trar, and Vixen. Well, he's more than 1/3, since it's not like he has zero levels in the other two skills he needs.

Basements can make it pretty confusing to look down from being way zoomed-out, but hey! Everyone is in this picture. Beat and Wild are in the reading room with Logic and Handiness books respectively, Vixen is coming in from her fishing trip, Trar is asleep the next level down, and M'dair is off to the right in his studio wrapping up another painting.

Beat: LAPs 21,971, Attractive, Professional Slacker, Teleportation Pad
Wishes: Master Logic Skill +8500, Be Worth $200,000 +5750
Skills: Logic 8, Athletics 10
Opportunity: Sprint to the Finish! (Use Quick Burst for another 20 minutes.)

Wildkin: LAPs 43,017, Opportunistic
Wishes: Reach Level 10 of Criminal Career +9000, Reach the Top of Criminal Career +11000, Master Handiness Skill +5000
Skills: Athletics 10, Handiness 9

Madhair: LAPs 29,575, Fast Learner, Never Dull
Wishes: Paint a Masterpiece +750, Paint 2 Masterpieces +750, Learn All Recipes +5000, Master Cooking Skill +7500
Skills: Painting 10, Charisma 7, Cooking 9

Trar: LAPs 91,738 (!!!), Steel Bladder, Observant
Wishes: Master Painting Skill +7500, Improve Painting Skill +1250
Skills: Logic 7, Painting 8 (on the cusp of 9), Writing 1

Vixen: LAPs 67,298, Multi-Tasker
Wishes: Upgrade 10 Objects (currently 9) +1250, Reach Level 10 of Science Career +9000
Skills: Fishing 5, Gardening 9, Handiness 7
Opportunities: Funny Looking Fish (Catch a Tragic Clownfish)


Cash on Hand: $5792
Assets: $148,381
Lot Value: $95381
Partnered With: Outstanding Citizens Warehouse Corp. ($15000), Divisadero Budget Books ($7000), Hogan's Deep-Fried Diner ($6000), Doo Peas Corporate Towers, Everfresh Delights Supermarket

Meanwhile, in an alternate dimension...