A Fresh Start - For Real

It's been a while since my last post here. Since then, what play time I had (or allowed myself) at the computer was spent with Hogwarts Legacy, the game I wanted and got for my birthday back in March.

Now I am housebound with Covid (yes - after going through the "pandemic years" without catching it, my Mum has now passed it to me...) but not so unwell as to have to lie down all the time.

The weather outside is beautiful, and were it not for me being ill, you bet I'd be out there, walking my heart out in the spring sunshine! But since I can't do that right now, I thought I'd tackle my Sims 2 "issue".

I have thought long and hard, but with the many issues New Maximiliania was presenting (the unsolved disappearance of the Roth family, one or two Sims having become nearly unplayable, graphics problems cropping up in neighbourhood view, seemingly random changes of lifetime wants), I have decided to start afresh.

This time, I am going to play the Maxis-made neighbourhoods separately. I think about it as a "meant to be" style of playing: I will treat each household and each Sim according to the mini storyline Maxis have written for them, but will not necessarily stick to it. Instead, I will use it as a base to build their lives on, ultimately trying to fulfill their lifetime wants.

The rules will remain basically the same: Sims are played in order of their surnames, a Sim-week each. During that week, at least one visit to a community lot is planned. Passing residents of the 'hood should be greeted whenever possible. Money cheats are not used; but I will use from time to time the "move_objects on" cheat as needed.

As before, births will happen only if they are necessary for a Sim's lifetime want OR they happen "naturally" by Alien abduction. Of course, Sims that are pregnant when the game begins will have their babies.

Deaths will occur as before - either from old age or by fire. I am not deliberately out to kill off my Sims, but if they don't stay away from flames, it's not my fault, is it :-D

To start with, I try to keep each household in their assigned place, unless it is VERY impractical to play. When that is the case (for example, with the Summerdreams' house in Veronaville), I will alter at will or move them to a different place.

Each 'hood has all three vacation/holiday destinations, but each hood has only one uni assigned to it, and some 'hoods have deliberately no shopping district or downtown. I will introduce these as I go along.

Should I get too fed up or really hanker after my dear old New Max - it still exists as a backup, but right now it is unlikely I'll be reviving it anytime soon.

Fingers crossed - not only for smooth gaming (loading time is SUPER fast on this new machine!), but also for you, my readers, coming back to my stories when start posting them!