Just an amusing shot I caught over the weekend :)
Jack "guns don't kill people, video games kill people" Thompson is on trial. Apparently this has been going on for a while but today's the first I've heard of it. And the charges are....wait for it...ethics violations. This is the man who accused the Sims 2 (possibly the least offensive/violent teen-rated video game ever) of being porn, giving pedophiles "practice," and being "worse than Hot Coffee." Bwah hah hah! Apparently his baseless accusations and outright lies aren't confined to video games and music lyrics; he's made some pretty slanderous statements about all sorts of folks. Ironic how he so loudly asserts his Christian beliefs yet manages to be such a scumbag. Now, I'm a little rusty on my Ten Commandments and all, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing in the Bible that advocates lying your ass off with malicious intent.
]]>Although I like to build my own lots, I like downloading others' lots too. I find I tend to do certain things a lot and it's cool to find a lot that has things I would never have thought to do (and then I can steal them bwahahah ;)) And even though I have a fairly decent computer, I am trying to keep my CC level steady and I am getting increasingly annoyed with the huge amount of CC that creators put in their lots.
Besides the issue of CC creator policies on distribution, frankly I don't want that much crap in my game. I don't want something I'll only use for that one lot. I don't want crappy walls or floors or tons of terrain paints clogging my download folder. I pretty much uncheck most or all CC in the Clean Installer in the lots I download before I install them, but then I end up with houses missing walls and floors and have to redecorate as soon as I move someone in. I flatly refuse to download anything that has a huge list of CC that's included in the lot. I don't care how pretty the house is, I can recreate that if I want. I'm not downloading a huge lot file with tons of stuff I don't want. I have come across so much stuff in the game that I am sure I didn't download...I'm sure lots of it came packaged with a house or something that I downloaded.
When I built for TSR, I was one of the first members of TSRAA (a group of creators allowing others to distribute their CC in lots uploaded to TSR). I was so excited to be able to use CC in lots I uploaded and filled up my building account's downloads folder. This was back around University/NL, so we didn't have a lot to work with then.
Now however, I've done a full 180. Anything I upload from now on will contain Maxis content only. If the downloader wants to use heaps of CC in their lot, they can add and replace to their hearts content. But I'm not going to weigh down their downloads folder. Plus, the smaller file size is friendlier to folks on slower computers and connections. Seriously, how painful must it be for someone on dial up to download a 7000 KB lot! Frankly, the quality of EAxis stuff has been pretty good in the last few EPs and stuff packs, and with all of those add-ons there is so much variety now I really don't feel I need CC to decorate a nice lot. The graphic artists they have are amazing, the graphics just blow me away sometimes. And it's a fun sort of challenge to try to stick to just what ships with the game :)
Wow it's been a while since I have posted here! I didn't realize it had been since early August. Just a lot of things going on...C has deleted her account here, as some of you have no doubt seen...I am not sure if she plans to return to the community :( If not, I will continue the LitSim (such as it is lol). I still intend to do a redesign but haven't yet :P I'm such a slacker lol.
Anyway, I have gotten BV and am generally enjoying it. I kept getting crash-to-desktops when trying to go to a secret lot the other day :P but I'll have to give it a try again some other time. I got sick of the lag of the huge EA beach lots and the fact that none of them have actual restaurants (seriously, for $25 the crap they sell at those food bars should be a lot more filling :P) so I built my own beach lot lol. Maybe when I get around to putting stuff up on LitSim I'll put up a CC-free version of it. I played it for a few Sim hours yesterday and it works quite nicely.
]]>Just an amusing shot I caught over the weekend :)
My Mill District lots have *already* been culled. Geez :P I'll upload them properly to the Literate Sim Web space soon and post new links here.
Okay, I just created a new group to host the Literate Sim blog portion. It seems I am unable to import the old posts, probably because of the changes that Google has made to Blogspot/Blogger :( I'll try to figure out a way to make them accessible from here.
The Literate Sim Web site will get a facelift in the coming weeks as well as a change in direction. The new group will replace the old blog and feature members' takes on the game and the community. The new group is at http://theliteratesim.groups.vox.com :)
Just for the hell of it I uploaded the first six Mill District lots to the exchange. Get 'em here :)
]]>Here are a couple of shots of the entire project to date. I've got an H&M store in progress as well.
I really did mean to post more pics sooner lol.
When I first started this series, it was really only for me, so I used lots of CC. Later I decided I might want to upload them, since I was so pleased with the series, so I went back an redid this and #2 with Maxis content only.
This is sort of a one-stop type of community lot. It has a bookstore (magazines), a gadget kiosk outside, and a clothing store. There's a sort of lounge for socializing, too.