More Awesome Than You!

JM, I loved the tables you did on skill-gaining and the chance cards. So I have a special request--can we get something that explores the stat gain on Fun for all ages?

I am currently composing a new challenge and some of the requirements are making it near impossible to keep the kids happy enough to finish their homework. Hence, social worker visits because the kids are failing. I want to see if I'm just dumb and not using the best objects or actions to increase fun gain. I'm squeaking by on the teenagers (although the social worker doesn't care about them, so it's not a big deal), but the children are impossible! I hate the fun-sucking school and homework!

Real school was not as bad as Maxis makes it for the Sim kids.

Go for the Sport Of Kings. Everything else pales in both efficacy and efficiency to the Sport of Kings, especially with the low-micromanagement launcher on Macrotastics: Flamingo Kicking. Accept no substitutes.

Most fun objects vary widely based on a large number of factors, and there's a lot of them, making it infeasible to document them all. Just go for the Sport of Kings: Each kick yields 15 fun points instantly. Tombstone-kicking falls slightly behind at 10 points per kick, but they never fall over, so that brings them back up.

Yeah, I was quite surprised when the kid, after finishing his homework, ran to the flamingo and kicked it until 'fun' was back up all the way. He then proceeded to eat and use the bathroom, and all with 'free will' off. Needless to say, I used the 'macrotastic-do homework' on him.

G.

Ooh! I didn't even think of those! Do mean sims get more fun from kicking flamingoes than nice sims?

Oops, never mind. The roomie shot that one down. He claims it's too "redneck" for this particular challenge and we're debating whether or not a plastic flamingo counts as a graven image.

Anyway, I've been *trying* the swing, but they won't use it if they are totally in the red. And then there are obsessive visitors who won't leave it alone. When I play normally I go with the TV or radio as they seem to work the fastest, but they are off-limits in this challenge. (Hence, it being an actual challenge.)

I doubt a plastic flamingo counts as a graven image, given the level of respect (repeated kicking) it is afforded.

However, the only really worthwhile alternative to the plastic flamingo is hand-slapping. Between the silly hand game and the plastic flamingo, you shouldn't have fun problems. All other fun objects are essentially worthless except for the piano and other musical instruments, for gaining creativity, and the chessboard, for logic. The chessboard actually has shitty fun refill, but it simultaneously functions as a socialization object, a skill object, and marginally as a fun object.

Too bad the flamigos don't come in different colors then (at least I don't know if they do) :D. On the other hand, it has potential, seeing that it is so terribly abused. Visitors who look at them usually have these funny reactions too.

I agree, the swing business was incredibly annoying. Thank goodness for JM's fix, now they leave it alone and the kids actually have a chance to use it. Good luck with the challenge, although I don't play challenges, I like listening to people who do. Reggikko is an avid challenge player, and she is very good at tackling them.

G.

Well, except Email. Reggikko is currently at -1600 in Email. Email consistently eludes her. :P Truly it is a challenge and not simply an exercise in annoyance.

Oh, but she keeps on trying. Besides, it makes for such a funny story. I like her stories very much, I wish I could take such funny pictures.

Reg is determined to beat that challenge, and I for one wouldn't be a bit surprised if she made it. That was, by the way, a brilliant idea JM. Talk about keeping those stats up; that alone is a daunting task, at least for me. I'm too impatient I guess.

G.

I've now been told kicking is too violent a behavior for this challenge. Man, I'm thinking this was a bad idea. It gets more un-fun all the time...

Ok, we found a compromise. Kids can kick the flamingo but only if an adult does not see them. I can live with that.


For whatever reason, my kids always get shot down for Mary Mack, and Cops and Robbers is so slow to refill fun. By the time that does the trick, they have to go to bed and haven't done their homework. Toys from the toy box are slow, too, although they will play with those when they are red. If they are in the red, they refuse to play the piano or chess. (I hate these kids!) I haven't tried bed jumping yet, though. Hmm.

Hmm, I have always found the doll-house to be able to have the sim-kids gain fun pretty fast. Not as fast as the flamingos, but it's not too bad.

G.

This challenge offends me.

Probably not gonna happen, as flamingos must be outdoors, and with the exception of flamingos, there are no reasons to be outdoors. :P

I'm pretty sure if nondestructively kicking a flamingo is too violent, the dollhouse will similarly be too violent. Not to mention expensive and prone to getting stuck in manner fixable only by buyable fires.

Bastard! :P

I've really gotten into the challenge thing. I get bored playing without some kind of goal or rule set. But then I get bored with the goal or rule set and have to find something new! I still have to try Email, but I have a sim all created and ready to go when I decide to finally get to it. I've started Legacy and Prosperity and am only on Generation 2 in both. The only challenge I finished was Toddler Mania (because it's short) and, wow, I sucked at it. But I would try it again now that I now what not to do.

I don't play enough to get very far with challenges (or my non-challenge families) and sometimes I just want to build. I love reading people's stories (like Reggiko's) and would love to do stuff like that myself, but I get so caught up in playing I forget to take pictures.


That's gotten the approval of the roomie, however, I feel weird having the boys play with it (and so far all my kids in this have been boys). Maybe it's because Mom wouldn't let me play with the GI Joe's and Transformers I wanted when I was little. I'll give it a shot though.

If I were the kind that likes to type LOL, I would certainly type it here. I didn't mean for the sim-kiddies to kick/smash it JM, I had the old fashioned playing in mind. Yeah, I know, I'm a wuss, and I will duly report for kicking...

Reg, I am so shocked (not). Ah, learning at the feet of the master, tis' a wonderful thing isn't it?

G.

Ardin, he means red-hands. Preferably with a parent, the fun is full in a couple of games.

That's pretty violent, too. It's a great simulation of spousal abuse. In other words, it sorta resembles the familial dynamics of my own family, but without the unilaterality.

No, not preferrably with a parent. Preferrably with a sibling! Kill two ducks with one stone. Mmmm. Tasty.

So Amish people offend you? Is that what you're saying? You, cultural elitist!


Well, in one house, it will work as I have two teens and a child living together and for this challenge, teens can do whatever they want so they aren't going to care if the kid is doing it. So long as I keep the adults busy inside at my other homes, the kids can kick free.

I'm pretty sure if nondestructively kicking a flamingo is too violent, the dollhouse will similarly be too violent. Not to mention expensive and prone to getting stuck in manner fixable only by buyable fires.
As long as they don't break the dollhouse, it should be cool. I haven't had a problem with the dollhouse-stuckage yet. ::knocking on wood::


Oh. I forgot about that one. Mary Mark involves hand-slapping though so I'm not totally dumb!    ;)

I just tried to report but he's idle again. And I've used words much worse than that since way before I knew Pescado. I'm trying to protect my delicate reputation here.  ;)

John Waterloo came very close to not surviving last night. My finger was so itchy to drag his hunger bar down to zero after he peed himself. Good thing I don't like waffles anyway.

Somehow I didn't picture you for the old-fashioned kind Ardin :D

I didn't have any problems of letting my kids play with any toys they wanted, heck, I was happy when they played and I had some peace. They were both inquisitive little...kids, always exploring, experimenting, it was a trying time. Try to imagine the doll-house as a castle, with knights' armour, dungeons, and torture chambers. We have one of those old castles close to where I live, completely intact with all the ammenities. I always gave me a creepy feeling down in the torture chambers, I even thought I'd seen blood on the spikes of the iron maiden...definitely not your average play-house.

G.

Well, maybe if you hadn't fled while I was busy making FUN OF YOU HERE....next time, hold still for longer than one minute so I can kick you! I'm very busy!

Aww, and I was so rooting for him. Dang the dude. But tell me Reg, where oh where did you get Aphrodite you addiction sim from. The one picture of her could truly give you nightmares.

Ardin, now I'm really curious about your challenge.

G.

Don't the Amish have shotguns? That's pretty violent. I've never met the Amish, but the idea that kicking an inanimate object is TOO VIOLENT simply offends me! Besides, I'm sure the Amish have kicky-things.

As a child the boy across the street was an almost-brother to me. He played with my barbies. I played with his GI Joe's. We both had Star Wars figures (kids in the 70's). My 3 yr old son likes to play with my (9 yr old) daughters old barbie radio. It may be early to say, but he seems a lot tougher than my other (currently 10 yr old) son ever did. I have no problem with kids crossing gender stereotypes when it comes to toys. If they keep it up when they are teens however...
Oh, well. If they are tough enough to stand up to the teasing, let 'em play however they want. And with pixel people? Screw it. Give the boy a dollhouse. Blame Maxis/EA. After all, if the RC car wasn't buggy, you could give them that.

You're not the first person to tell me that!  :) My mom was a tomboy, so when she had me, she wanted a little girl, not a little tomboy. I got all the Barbies and My Little Ponies I could ever want. But I loved when my cousin came to visit because then I could play with "boy" toys--Star Wars, GI Joe's, etc.

Mom Betty-Crockered me as much as she could. I blame her for my lack of physical prowess at sports.   ;)


Thank you! I tried the shotgun argument on my roommate and (as usual) my lone opinion wasn't enough. He's totally caved. Flamingo kicking is in.

Oh, and since we are on the topic of flamingoes:

(http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/8673/flamingos5kc.jpg)

This is from the aftermath of the tornado that hit Clito, GA in 2003. My roommate took it.

Funny, absolutely funny. Type "JM was here" underneath and it's perfect.

G.

I waited for like 30 minutes! You could at least have the decency to abuse me in person.  :-*

You were there for ONE MINUTE. Possibly 30 seconds. But not 30 minutes. 21:07 on server system to 21:08 on server system. Of course, system time is completely wrong, as right now, the clock says it's 21:39, which does not agree with my watch or any time zone at all, but still. You are a fat, lazy Reggikko! Get back here!

http://thesims2.ea.com/exchange/lot_detail.php?asset_id=179030

She's a hoot to play, too.

I was talking about this afternoon. I waited for a long time. Tonight, I popped in, saw you were IDLE and came over here to see what mischief you were up to.

I was in a battle. When the battle was over, you had fled in terror like the weak, cowardly Reggikko you are.

Which do you mean? Here here or there here? I'm so confused.

Wait, there's more than one here? Now I'm confused...

Here here=this forum. There here=chat.

Ah, I don't chat. I type too slow.

It was very fruiful Senators' Conference...:)

When are you going to open the Senate section?

Well, not really. Just a few posts of Reg trying to defend herself; me cowardly (and successfully) stepping out of kicking distance; Hook was missing. That is not a real session. In a real session Hook and I would've received the full treatment too... no stepping aside allowed :D

G.

By the way, where is Hook? I didn't see him here at least 3 days.

I didn't see you or Gali there. ??

Your roomie is Amish? And he plays The Sims?!

Or you're doing an Amish challenge? How does that work? How do they manage without a phone?

Oh that's funny. Gali probably means here, as in the forums here. Don't worry, I'll be there, I've been working too hard the last week, heat gets people all riled up :D

G.

No, the roomie is not Amish, he's just a cracker. However, I am doing an Amish challenge. It was the roomie's idea, but I'm the one who plays Sims more so I get to test it.   ;D

We're still working out the rules, but as for the phone, we are allowing one phone per Amish home but it has to be outside, away from the house. I used to live in Lancaster for a short time, but I've learned more about the Amish in the last week than I ever did living there. We are taking the view that the Sims would have to be New Ordnung Amish or they would die--no fridge would mean no food. Some orders of the Amish community allow phones but keep them in the front yard. So we're working with that.

I'm still working thorugh the challenge to see if there are any problems that will pop up with the mating requirements we have and any other technical issues. I will be sure to share the complete rule set once we have one though. Thus far, it has been extremely challenging for me, especially with keeping the kids happy! Not having a TV or a radio sucks.

You stick family members up your nose?

Please do, Ardin. It sounds fascinating.