The real truth about the mini Tudors

For the last few days, I've been trying to squeeze really tiny starter homes in 10x10 lots. But that's not all. Each of these homes include an underground cellar that can only be accessed if you perform a particular action. You may have to remove a book from a shelf, or a gem (or even an innocent looking gnome) from a display to visit the hidden room.

Why, you might ask? Why make something so small you hardly find room for a mailbox?

I could say the lots are easier to load if they are small and can fit virtually anywhere on the map and the hidden cellar are just a fun little feature... but that would only be a fraction of the truth. The real reason it's all part of my evil plot to dominate your town. There, I said it! Just don't make me repeat it again. 

*this message will self destruct in 5 seconds*

Gerhard Starter Home	Friedhold Starter Home	Ewald Starter Home

Tomb is finished!

Legend says Kahotep found the secret to eternal life. Centuries later, no one can find him or his treasures! Will you be the one to solve this mystery? Put yourself to the test, solve logic puzzles and watch your sims discover all the secrets in this lot. Disclaimer: No mummies were harmed during the making of this tomb, although they should be prepared to attack your sim in case they get too greedy. Difficulty: Medium. *NO custom content*

Of course, I couldn't have done this without the help of Blackgarden who taught me how to work with the processor and Locustus who is the most awesome beta tester of all time. <3

Suspicious looking video - aka my next project

It's suspicious, it's creepy and it's my next project!

http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a160/hadlespink/?action=view&current=Tombtesting.mp4

Yeah, that's one of the chambers in the tomb that I'm working on at the moment. I only discovered World Adventures Expansion last week, but I'm having so much fun in Egypt that I had to make an addition to the scenery. Thanks to Blackgarden, who's been teaching me how to work out the processor, I've been setting up cool puzzles for you to solve. The tomb will be filled with them, dark corridors, mysterious warp wells, triggers and traps and, of course, treasure, lots and lots of treasure! :D 

Is it a bird, is it a plane?...

Is it Superman?! NO! 

It's just me, I'm afraid. Sorry to disappoint you all, but I have this tendency to make dramatic entrances when I'm about to make small announcements that no one reads.

After a year of inactivity at TSR, and after reading this awesome review Strawbz made of Sims 3 Ambitions (http://technology.iafrica.com/games/pc/2471620.htm), I have resumed my gaming activities. You can expect to see this minisite being updated frequently with new stuff, so stay tuned! :)

Guestbooks and ungratefulness

Yeah... this time I can't access my guestbook or anybody else's, as there seems to be some problem with the site.

But I do appreciate your comments more than I like cookies. I really do. In fact, I'm kinda spoiled right now. I just don't know where I put my tiara. I may have left it in the cookie pit.

Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying your game! :D

Apologies, apologies...

I must apologise to everyone who left me cool comments and never got any answer. Truth is, real life has taken me hostage and when I'm not doing boring stuff (not really that boring - work and friends do have its moments :D), I'm most likely daydreaming about Sims 3.

Anyway, I really can't wait for June 2009! :D

Long rant ahead!

It was brought to my attention that some people believe I'm being bribed, along with other FAs, into posting the EA's announcement on my blog.

If there were times when I was reluctant to share my opinion and see my words taken out of context and turned against me, now I realise that it will happen anyway, regardless of what I choose to say or not in my blog. And while I can only respect the decision of others who were also accused but prefer to keep silent, I for one refuse to shut up on this matter.

Is it so hard to believe that I want to share EA's announcement with everyone who is willing to read? After seeing my content shared against my wishes for months, why shouldn't I post EA's announcement on my blog?

I don't know what motivated others to do the same as I did, although quite honestly, I suspect they probably felt something similar to what I felt at the time. I wanted to share the news and I expressed it in my blog. That's it. I didn't disrespect anyone's views and I didn't attack anyone in my blog. I merely expressed what I felt was important to me.

For the record, I will continue to respect people who don't agree with my views, and I don't mind if they bash my work on other sites. What I find quite frustrating is to realise that my integrity and my honesty is being questioned and there's basically nothing I can do about it.

So, for the few people who care, I will continue to speak my mind freely here in my blog and no money in the world, no malicious statements on other sites can influence that decision. And if there ever comes a time where I am not allowed to do so and someone here at TSR tells me to shut up, I'll take that as a sign to leave this place.

End User License Agreement - clarification

As some of you must have read already, the Sims team issued the following statement (bolding is mine):

The Sims celebrates creativity, humor, and community. We strive to provide players with tools that enable them to customize and personalize their game experience. We are proud that so many of The Sims and The Sims 2 players create their own art for the games and share it with others. Sharing art online is a hobby that involves an investment of time, energy and money. Whether players choose to share their original artistic creations with the community is up to them: some custom content creators design work for a fee; some host their works on sites that organize, store and serve an enormous amount of content for subscribers; some artists request donations; and some artists allow all players to download their creations for free. These artists set their own terms for how they want to share their talents with the community at large. Those terms should be respected by other players.

You can check the original link at sims2.ea.com

Create-a-style in Sims 3

This was definitely my favourite feature in Sims 3. Although this was explained several times before, I realised some people are still a bit confused about how it works. So I made a sketch from what I can remember while playing the game.

When I say "objects", I mean furniture, walls, build items, clothes, etc. Basically anything that is made with patterns can be customisable using the create-a-style feature. A player can spend hours just using this tool and making unique stuff. And the best part is that they can make virtually anything inside the game match! :D

I hope this sketch helped!

Ana

Abbey Fence Set free for a month

The set will be available for non subscribers throughout February. I hope you guys have fun with it! :)

Abbey Fence Set