More Awesome Than You!

Long time lurker here, getting up the courage to risk losing my lips by posting.  :-*

I am so bored with the game that even tho I own NL I haven't bothered installing it yet.

So what are the bare necessities of mods/hacks that you've all installed that make the game less tedious?  Is there anything that can actually give Sims a personality? ::)

I know I could read all 3,453 threads here but my ADD gets in the way.

Thanks,

Sabs

Hmmm...I would download the hacks in Pescado's section for Nightlife, and a lot of the hacks/mods by Twojeffs and Crammyboy are more for interesting things, rather than fixes.  I also have Merola's Mind Control Mirror and a couple of other minor mods.  Just read through the hacks sections, and see what sounds interesting to you.

OMG....I'm ADD too...ok, ADHD.  And the only way I kept my ADD from getting in the way, was to play the sims while doing something else, homework, cycling, reading, etc.  Because seriously to wait for them to finish, and tell them what to do all the time is soooo tedious.  Every hack I download is aimed at making them more automous.  LizLoveBed, JM Rampage, JM AutoIdle, JM AutoSoc, JMAutoYak, JMBathroomUsesYou, JMSleepClock, IngeBookcase, IngeToddlergetofcrib, etc.  Besides what I love is seeing how each sim develops and is their own person.  If I controlled them, they would all come out the same, knowledge sims that get married and then excessively study for the rest of their lives.  *boring*

Hey, cool. I'm ADHD as well. Surprise surprise.

Merola's multi painting
Allen ABQ's skins over at MTS2
Motoki's clothing tool here in the peasantry
I could list endless hacks that help the game but his awesomsenes will rip my lips for mentioning the two of them. my Game thrives on Hacks and CC  and a nother Simmer's Sims

I don't know how to ADD, but I've been told that I am negative.

Allen ABQ's skins?

yep they are custom and awe some http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=61922

Justin and Joe use one of those skins, Blue.

alot of my sims use them he has all shades and hair colors

I got them for Joe back when he had those skins at TSR, I think, and Justin inherited them. Or just the one, rather LOL

Oooh, thanks.  I will download when I get home.  I only have Jamie of yours, so I'll download the skins off MTS2 later.

Jamie has some other skintone, it maybe the default medium. That's what his mom has.

I don't know exactly what it is, but it's a really nice tan.  Him and his wife both have it in my game.

I have very tan sims...I like them that way.  ;)

Eh, at least you're not infatuated with a certain pre-made Pleasantview Romance sim in his younger years...

Don, I'm guessing? lol
Did you see what I did to poor Don?
It's a legend in my own mind.

Oh, and I'm infatuated with my own sims. How bizarro is that?

Are you the one who had poor Don (like it or not) open something of a home for unwanted children?

In any case, I think it's AncientSim who has quite the thing going for young Don with the 'floppy' hair.

Yes, that would be me. He has 9 adopted kids, now. Mwahahahahaha!

Who mentioned the teenage Don with the floppy hair?  What are you trying to do to me?  I'd forgotten about him since going back to the old Pleasantview and seeing him as an elder again.  And how do people play the Sims while they're cycling?  Or is it an exercise bike? 

I sometimes wonder if I'm really here at all.

I thought you meant "cycling" as in hormonal cycling LOL. I was comfuzzled.

I'm not coordinated enough to balance my laptop on my handlebars...

Only you would go directly to that, Brynne.  :D

I'm mooning you again. You just can't see me.

 ;D ;D ;D

Don is entoute to my neighborhood he is going to be the unwitting  home for unwanted teen mistakes in my game. he will likely wake up some morning to a houseful of newborns and toddlers

I deleted Pleasantview.  What in God's name am I missing with this Don Lorathio Character?

I spent my weekend playing with the naughty bits on one of my UNI streakers, thanks to Crammyboy!  :D  My husband thanks you, Crammyboy!!!!!! ;)

Don Lothario is a  Slob and a Romance sim that has bedded 3/4 of the eligible and not so eligible women in pleasant view who is engaged to Cassandra Goth and jilts her at the altar sending her into aspiration failure

I chose his house for Bella and Joe to have their billionuptlets in simply because it is a small easily-played house with just one member. Bella could birth away in fast-forward mode, giving birth to however many children it took for me to find the two that I needed. She ended up having 11 kids. Joe kept two, and "gave" the rest to Don. I did not plan to give him all those kids, I just couldn't kill them. So I stuck 'em with Don.

Do you play this house with all those kids?

That'd be a big fat "nope".  ;D

aah those little ones are adorable its not their fault Daddy is a wanna be Don Juan

Two have actually been aged to teens. And one is now dating what should've been his niece...the other dated Xander, who would have been her nephew. She's now dating Xander's brother, her other "nephew". Shhhh...I'm not telling them. It's a secret. They're not related anymore. 

your family has odd  family trees anyway so one more ut oh  cant make much difference :P

Yeah, but this is a little different...
My usual family tree quirks (can you have "usual quirks", anyway?) do not involve the backwoods-country intermingling of blood relatives. And I'm conveniently forgetting that they are, in fact, blood relatives. Well, sim-blood relatives, anyway...pixel-relatives?

Do you have pics of this Young Don with the Floppy Hair?  I want to see this!  Also, I just wanted to thank you for changing your avatar now that a certain youngster on another forum here has taken to using the one I used to associate with you!

It's impossible for them to be blood-relatives.  Sims don't bleed.

Yeah. That's what I thought. So, it's all good, then.

Yep.  Whatever works!  LOL  I think I'm probably ADD too.

I think this explains why you like big busy homes... or at least why I do. I prefer micro managing several Sims at all times, watching an empty lot tick by is so boring that I'll make a kid skip school to 'keep me company' if need be.

Rainbow-
I got tested in college, my sister suggested it as during her testing, the psychologist told her I was more likely to have it than her (when asked for a family history) It was actually good because I had the option of doing exams in a private, quiet room with a comfy chair and a lamp (hate florescent lights) vs.a gym with 500 students unwrapping candies, coughing, erasing etc...

Here, it's something Psychologists do, (more or less a variety of iq type/behavioural/personality tests)  I think most people have it to a degree, I was told that the reason I got the diagnosis was because on a below, average and above, I scored freakishly high on most, then below freakishly low on pretty much anything requiring concentration. Apparently 'normal' people score roughly in the same range in all areas... or the explanation I got anyway... seriously, I'm not sure I was paying attention.

I have a hard time learning/paying attention if I'm not interested. My mom never thought of it as a learning disability, more like being a brat, I still can't help but wonder if this is at least partially true, I have a hard time sitting through a ½ hour tv show, yet can sit for 10+ hours straight in front of a computer. (it's interactive)

Yeah, that kind of stuff drives me nuts, people coughing, unwrapping candy, etc.  I hate being the one asking everyone to be quiet all the time when it doesn't seem to bother anyone else.  I think that's why I like playing larger families too.  I get bored easily and I'm always hitting the spacebar and cycling through my sims to see if anyone needs anything, hitting pause to make sure everything is set up right, then hitting 3 to speed through it, LOL.  I tried to play one sim in a house, and it was so maddening watching them take a shower, eat, sleep, study, etc.  That's whyI like Macrotastics and the Skillinator because I can just fast forward through that without having to worry about their needs, and I can tend to other household members.

Could very well be. Good point.

Does that mean you all can't zone? I get bored easily and can't sit still and the like. My oldest son was diagnosed ADHD, and at the time they said it was likely both my husband and I had it tho we weren't tested, but later it turned out that wasn't a very good diagnosis

But despite that, if I do something creative/right-brained and get into I can totally zone and lose hours or even days without realizing it. I have test anxiety so it's not easy to do while testing, but if I *can* get to "concentrate" level, I can easily block people moving around (and a fire alarm for that matter).

Though there's nothing right-brained creative about watching sims study and that stuff will drive me insane in about two seconds. I add more sims quickly and fast forward if I can't find something to do - tho I don't use the "do it yourself" hacks, as I prefer to do it MYself :) I like to feel like I'm doing something and as long as I have something to click on (or think about) I'm ok. I have to be moving if I'm not zoned out.

Oh, I can definitely get into a zone. But only if it's a zone I want to be in.  I can go for 48 hours without sleeping when I'm in one of those zones. But if you put a text book in front of me I'd be stuck reading the same sentence over and over again.   

Me too.  I can zone when I'm playing sims, losing track of time for hours.  The same with a movie or TV show that I really like.  But if the plot is moving too slow or it's something that doesn't really hold my attention, I'll be looking for something to help hold my attention, like cutting my toenails or writing or brushing the dog's hair, LOL.  My family gets annoyed because they want to watch what's on TV, but I keep wanting to talk about it and go off on tangents because it doesn't interest me enough to hold my attention.  I can't seem to play sims while I watch TV though, because I can't follow the story on TV while worrying about what my sims are doing. :P

I've been diagnosed ADD. I've been on Ritilan, Concertra, and Dexidrene(sp).

I also have some kind or another of ASD (Autism Specturum disorder) was originally told Asperger's Syndrome, but I don't fit the criteria for that. I don't fit the criteria for much of anything. Except weird, and nerdy.

Was that too much information?

Nope. You sound like my son. He's considered asperger's, now, though he doesn't fit that mold completely. He was PDD for many years. He's also ADHD and OCD. He's been the entire alphabet, just about!

My niece was just diagnosed ADHD and I watch her while my sister works 5 days a week.  It actually works out to where I spend more time with Arianna than my sister does-any words of wisdom on how to help her (my niece)?  My sister is a complete idiot and I can't trust her to give me any info or instructions.   

Cycling, I have a special mouse with a rolly ball on top, so I sit on my exercise bike and play the sims at the same time.  for the longest time my husband insisted that I could not be getting a good workout, until he started riding the bike and found out that I go faster than him. which is funny because he is in excellent shape, and I'm well I'm soft and shapely. 

My mother also insisted that I'm lazy or a brat, and not really adhd.  I was diagnosed when I got to law school, and while my LSAT scores were high, I was struggling through law school.  After testing, it turned out the reason is that in my law school, it is frowned upon to keep raising your hand and talking in class, as a result I would zone, miss a whole lecture.  I've adjusted, but it was suprising to find out so late in life that I'm adhd, but boy did it explain a lot of things.

And yes, my husband uses the computer as evidence that I'm not adhd.  How can you, he says, spend 10 hours straight on the computer if you have a poor attention span.  You just don't want to listen when someone is talking to you.

Jamie is custom its called Para Medium

ohhh...yes I've seen that file in my downloads folder. He inherited it from his mom, then. I think I actually made that the default medium.

its not my default Skin I just Downloaded and installed  the best default Skins Ive ever seen from MTS2 GunMod put them up and  for defaults these look so real. I got a good look at them when I aged Arcadia Bradshaw Back to adult and did surgery on her and Gave her a Makeover next time she shows up at Justin's house I will give her a new out fit Kaylynn as a new makeover and minor surgery.getting back to the skins the elder skin actually has fine wrinkles on it.

Cool. I set mine as default way back when. Actually, no. I take that back. The only one I set to be default is the one that I use for Josh, Jacob, Joey Jr., etc. Because it fits well with their added anatomy. *ahem*.

I thought Kaylynn was already very pretty.  I never touched her. But Arcadia...yeesh almighty. Yeah, she's had extensive surgery. I think she was a notch on the bedpost for all my Bayfield romance sims, post-transformation, of course.

I'm adding some more pics to the forum, Bangel. Jamie's mom, Jennie. Thought you might want to see a better pic of her...

the only thing I did to Kaylynn was soften her pointy nose and gave her a new hairdo and some make up oh I changed her hair color as well to a warm brown. Calista the gardener  had extensive surgery as well. Justin went Ga-Ga over the new Kaylynn   http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=88245

I'm just amused by the way this thread has turned into a fine example of ADD/ADHD in action. Watch the derailment!

...oooh, shiny!

I tried those skins after hearing everyone rave about them, but I just didn't like them.  They made my sims look strange.  While they looked good on some sims, on others it just didn't look right.  I couldn't put my finger on it.  They look waxy, and on the males, they look too feminine to me.  Is it just me?

Hmm, what did you say, baratron? :)

Hmmm, Bangel...that butt's a bit too hairy for my taste. Oh, that was a gross way to phrase that. Bleah.*cough* *spit* *gag*
Who's skins are too feminine, rainbow? Joe and Justin have hair on their chest and arms and legs. I hope you don't mean that...lol They are very masculine skins, IMO.

Calista! That's the gardener I couldn't remember. She and Ericka (another gardener) both had a bit of surgery, and were both flames of Justin's a while back. Of course, so was Kaylynn and Arcadia, hee hee. He is quite the npc-lovin' stud.

I meant the Ultimate Defaults for which Bangelnuts posted the link to on MTS2.  Not Allen ABQ's skins.

Not to be subject-hoppy (too late, I know), but I have never once gotten Don to put Cassandra in aspiration failure. And I've tried.

Was this since NL?  Or did you try before?  The new chemistry system makes it almost impossible if you try the scene after installing NL.  However, there are a number of factors that can affect this scenario without NL.  Basically if you do anything to raise their relationship before they go to the arch, that increases her chances of successfully marrying Don.  This includes any interactions they may have on other lots if you play them before the Goths' house, like Don's condo, for example, or even lots where they are visitors.  If you immediately have them get married upon entering the Goth house, the chances for failure are much higher.    I am not sure what that point is because I've never studied it, although with mods available now such as Merola's mirror, you can select Don and see what his relationship score is, then you can figure out at what level he will accept marriage.  Mood also plays a role in it as well.  When I first got TS2, I played this scene a couple of times and didn't save.  Once she got married, once she failed, and the third time she failed again, and I left it that way because I didn't want to go through it again. :P

I tend to like skins that appear realistic on NPC's as my own sims all use custom skins. everyone has different tastes. I use sim enhancer to get rid of the default skins on Sims that I have made players in my game such as the resurrected Tricou Family its the simplest way to change actual genetics they are all running around in Custom Skins now

I like it here--no one stays on one topic for very long. ;D

I've got one son with severe ADHD and another with Asperger's--daily life is quite the challenge.

BTW, I tried some of the mods you all recommended, and the game is more fun. :) Now I've got to get the nerve up to install NL.

I don't have Uni--is it worth getting?

yes/no.  yes, b/c its really helpful to have your sims graduate from college b/c they start off at higher levels at work when the graduate.  Plus being a knowledge sim, I think everyone should go to college.  No, b/c it becomes tedious after a while.  I mean at first it's really cool, b/c it has a new interactions, and actually I think it was cooler than nightlife.  However, after a while, you just want to get your sims through college as fast as possible. 

Recently Uni has taken on a whole new spin for me b/c I found a hack that allows you to let your sims live on campus.  With a caveat, it is a difficult hack to manage.  Sometimes I have a lot of troubleshooting I have to go through, especially when a sim is going to college or graduating.  I can't tell you the name, however, Brynne probably knows which hack I'm talking about, and since she is senator, it would be safer for her to tell you about it.   ;).  However, seriously, it is not a perfect hack, and may end up causing you more trouble than its worth.  Me, I don't mind trouble, b/c fixing a problem is half the fun.

All in all, I say if you can afford uni, buy it.  If not, forget about it, its not that important.

Welcome to the wonderful world of ADD!  :D



I'll bet. I just have the one son, and he's an Asperger's/ADHD combo. Can't imagine two of him!

ooh which hack? Brynne? anyone?

My son has Kallmann's syndrome

Nope, this has been every time I regenerated Pleasantview (12 or so times lol) since I first got the game.  Maybe I'll have them be mean to each other with the help of some hacks and do it on purpose LOL...I would love to play an alternate story.  I did once have her catch him cheating, divorce, and put her with Darren Dreamer where she belongs :D  Unfortunately by that time she had little Lothario Goth in tow :p

*de-lurks*

One trick a friend of mine told me, is that when there's no medication available or they've already taken their dose and they're starting to spin out of control anyway... a really cold drink or sucking on ice cubes can sometimes help ground them again. Also in some forms of ADD/ADHD caffeine actually works to help calm them down. 

You know that's a circular definition (logical fallacy), not a diagnosis, right?

You can't pay attention because you have can't pay attention disease.  All you're doing is naming a symptom.  What is the cause?

Sorry.  I just finished an Educational Psychology class, and my teacher REALLY HATES LABELS!  I don't think I'll ever forget that discussion.  :D

But anyway, back on topic (talk about ADHD!  ;)).  I would definitely install Nightlife and mess around with the vampires and cars.  They have definitely made the game more fun to play (and I LOVE the Pleasure Aspiration!).  :)

Yep. It's definitely weird in the face. The creator put shadows to sort of bring out the cheekbones, which creates a prob. b/c while on thin sims who already have cheekbones, it merely enhances them, on sims w/ rounder faces it just looks like they have dirt on half of the face. And the men - yeesh. I think they really went overboard on their cheekbones. And on top of that the lighter skintones are washed out, w/ a lack of definition in the face.

I only use the medium and dark skintones for my sims, after adding a lot of tweaks to the medium one. Now, w/ all my personal fixes, the med. tone is my fave skintone in the game! The dark one is just perfect - didn't need any tweaking, but I'm still partial to the med. skin.

Ok, I don't get this ADHD.  If it's not interesting you space out?   Your mind runs like a steamtrain through a thousand different thoughts to find solutions?  You can't sit still when you watch formulated predictable stereotyping tv shows?  Sounds perfectly normal to me.   I think there may be something wrong with people who pay attention to, retain and regurgutate stuff that doesn't matter.

You have a point there Muisie.  But what is normal, anyway???

Everybody else ;)

Hmm, that's helpful. ;)  I always knew I was abnormal!