The Last of the Sims.

Oh, and have you not moved on to Sims2 yet? [Scorpio Frost]

Well, no, I haven’t. When Sims2 came out, I hadn’t gotten any gameplay out of Makin` Magic or Superstar. Hell, I still haven’t gotten the point of Vacation. So, rather than move on to The Next Big Thing, I decided to exploit my current software until I find nothing more to do with it.

That said, it’ll take me a long time before I ever consider myself finished with the Sims. This is at least my third run-through. My first time was over four years ago, on a now-ancient computer. That poor thing probably cried every time I alt-tabbed out of The Sims. That was when I only had the base and Livin` Large. I got a lot of life out of that. I exploited making and selling gnomes like crazy.

I remember my first family. I remember my first house. I remember remodeling and adding and tweaking. And eventually, it was.. perfect. It was the perfect two-person house.

Then I started having kids. That would have required even more remodeling. So I decided to take my bundle of cash and create a new house. And despite not having House Party, I managed to throw some incredible parties in that house. Without House Party, you had to individually greet guests. I got around this by exploiting my children. (That’s three times I’ve said exploit.)

I’ll be upfront about my view on SimChildren. They’re pointless. They’re useless. Once you get their needs fulfilled, there’s really not much use to them. That is, until I installed Unleashed. Advanced interactions aside, I like using kids to garden. Somebody has to plant the seeds. And somebody has to harvest them. And if you don’t feel like hiring a gardener, you can abuse kids to water an entire field of veggies! *evil laughter*

I’ve read people who think kids are good for being friend-hos, but I have to disagree.

As in real life, cats are the superior pet. Dogs require you to actually pay attention to them, whereas you can pester cats at your leisure. I like having two cats, so that they can interact with each other. All you have to do is feed them and have the maid change the poop box. And apparently, those little critters fuck like crazy. At least, the two cats my main character has. Immediately after a new kitten is born, they’ll breed again. Every time, I sell it and net over a thousand bucks. It’s by far the easiest money you can make in the game.

Superstar has really given me a challenge. I’m still working my way up the fame ladder. The time-warp caused by going to studio town allows me to fit nearly two days into one day. Sometimes three, if I feel like it. Six shots of espresso and two massive pees later, there’s a whole `nother day ahead of me! I’ve been exploiting Old Town. Hell, a new character I have is practically living there. All you need is a TV and satelite, a grill, and a ton of bathrooms. (Well, and a bunch of other stuff that I never use.) Invite somebody there, talk once, sit down on a couch and watch TV, make food on the grill, pee, hug/entertain a few times, and hug them goodbye.

Yes, I have a system for everything.

I have yet to create a party house. Blame it on my refusal to use the rosebud cheat.

I’ll move on to Sims2 when I’m good and ready. And when I deem it cheap enough. *laughs* Roxanne will tear through her, I have no doubt about that. A 256 meg video card, and a gig of RAM. (Without getting into detailed specs.) Yeah, I’ll be fine.

Maybe next winter. This will be my last hurrah for the original Sims. And there’s still so much for me to do! Now, if you’ll excuse me…