1st TS4 Expansion!

We’re now less than 2 weeks away from release (so it’s pretty late for me to be reporting on this now) but I’m honestly impressed with what we’ve seen so far. This pack seems to take the best aspects of TS3’s Ambitions and TS2’s (and by proxy, TS3’s store content that came with Midnight Hollow) Open for Business and puts them together.

Oh and did I mention aliens are back (and all that implies)?

That’s not all either, soon everyone will be able to build basements in game (yay!), up to two of them! That feels like less than we had in TS3 although the number of above-ground floors we can build is being raised by one so they’re essentially doubled the number of levels possible in the game (whether we own the EP or not).

At just under 2 weeks, let’s see if I can hold myself together or explode from the anticipation of waiting on both this and the new TF2 comic (oh Valve time… you so crazy!)

We’ve Moved!

Since this blog was just sort’ve sitting around on blogger, I decided to migrate it to WordPress (a service I use more frequently anyway). You’ll have to excuse some of the technical bugs we’ve been experiencing (ie: pages turning into posts and having to be deleted/recreated), I’m hoping this is a temporary issue and will correct itself.

Sims 4 and huge updates!

Hey guys, it’s been a loooong time since I’ve been able to post here, but I assure you I’m not dead yet!

Let’s start with the basics here, I finally managed to acquire a copy of Sims 4 (the premium edition was harder to come by as some retailers only carried a few or thy ran out’ve stock online. I ended up going with Amazon and my order shipped within a couple of days even though I was told it could take up to 10). Also, mods have been coming out at an alarming frequency and CC is not far behind, as Sims 4 CC is now easier than ever to create yourself!

If you can get your hands on Sims 4 Studio. it’s fully integrated with Blender (no more Milkshape) which is completely free to download. No trial, no expiry date, no worries!

That’s where my own plans come into play. I have plans to start producing my own Sims 4 content, and now that there’s a tool that plays nice with Blender, I can! Other than that, I plan on busting out some nice Graphic T-Shirts as you can never get enough of those!

But in the meantime, here are some Sims 4 Studio Tutorials by Youtube user Patrick Toutant! These cover texturing/recolouring and meshing (making your own 3D models).

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/tGKokE7njNY&source=uds

This tutorial requires the Blender 3D software, found here. Sims 4 Studio can be found here, and there’s a support forum along with it.

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/HLcPhkIeCxQ&source=uds

You’ll need a graphics program for editing textures, as well as a plugin for the software you’re using.

Photoshop DDS Plugin (Assuming you have a copy of Photoshop)
Gimp Plugin | Gimp
Or alternatively, you can use Paint.net which has native DDS support.

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/kq20CmcnzsI&source=uds

In terms of Sims 3, I’ll continue to work my way toward making cc for that game, albeit it’ll probably take a bit longer since I’m still looking for the Blender plugin that can handle Sims 3 meshes. I want to avoid Milkshape as much as possible as a 30 day trial really isn’t enough for me to wrap my head around most software.

TS4 Preorder Bonus

While it’s still fairly soon in the game’s development (last I checked the game was still pre-alpha), preorder bonuses have already been decided on. There’s a limited edition of the game and a digital deluxe edition, which seems to be trying to entice players to get the digital copy rather than the physical (at this point).

I’m really hoping there’s a physical deluxe edition that’s just yet to be announced. For all that’s gone into the ‘Up All Night’ content (recipes, party types and a light show) gamers are probably going to be ticked off if this means they have to get the digital version in order to get access to any of the content.

TS4 mods

We still have plenty of time until Ts4 hits store shelves, but I’ve been thinking lately about mods. Yeah I know, way too soon for that. Or is it? Perhaps Ts4 will be easier to mod than Ts3. Maybe the future Ts4 modders never got into modding Ts3 because they assumed it was complicated. Maybe someone reading this post will become a modder.

Unlikely as it sounds, the possibility isn’t zero.

Depending on the strengths and limitations of this shiny new game engine we’re supposed to be getting, mod functionality may end up in an ep, even the base game. I’m hoping for the possibility of households that span beyond the traditional cap of 8 sims. Realistically, if the sims team was going to do that the cap might only double to 16. 24 would be absolutely amazing!

True, most people may not like to micromanage that much, but raising the cap would just make it a possibility for crazy people like me!