That's the way it is in Minnesota, that's the way it is in Oklahoma

[vovat]

The problem with playing The Sims 2 when I'm bored is that I get hooked on it, and then want to play it when I have better things to do (like sleeping, for instance). I decide I want to play until I reach a certain point, and then it either takes me a long time to reach that point, or I reach it and decide I might as well play until I meet the NEXT goal. But I'm sure I'm not saying anything new to anyone else who's played the game.

One thing I've noticed about the Sims is that they like to stand around and gawk at things. For instance, when someone undergoes an age transition, everyone in the house has to come watch it before it happens. Granted, if someone in MY household suddenly aged several years all at one time, I'd want to watch it, too. {g} But it's annoying that the transition won't take place unless everyone is there. It took me a while to figure that out when trying to make babies grow into toddlers. And when there's a fire, the Sims in the house will all run RIGHT UP TO IT and start panicking and yelling. Come on, even animals know to run AWAY from fire, right? But I guess if the Sims weren't utterly stupid from time to time, it would remove some of the challenge from the game.

John Linnell of They Might Be Giants was interviewed for the Onion AV Club. It's an interesting read, but he pretty much says he's given up on the State Songs project, which makes me sad. The first State Songs album was such a great record (I'm listening to it right now, in fact), and it's a shame that he's presumably leaving it at fifteen songs (or sixteen, if you count "Louisiana" from the single B-side). True, he didn't specifically say he was NEVER going to do any more State Songs, just that he gave up on doing all fifty. Still, it's disappointing.

And speaking of songs with state names in their titles, the video for the Dresden Dolls' "Shores Of California" can be seen here.

EDIT: Oh, also, happy belated birthday to twobitme and colbyucb, as well as to the aforementioned Mr. Linnell.

Comments

[obsessical.livejournal.com]

The Sims2 is incredibly addictive. Right now I'm facing a little problem where I gave this couple a baby, then it grew into a child, and I don't like it that much anymore. I don't want ot kill it and make the couple sad, but I normally turn the aging off because I don't want the couple to grow into elders and die. So I'm basically trying to figure out if there's a way I can grow an child into a teenager into an adult without having his parents age that much.

I'll let you knwo if I'm successful in my endeavor.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Have you tried using the Elixir of Life? If a Sim's aspiration meter is at gold level or above, one drink will add three days to their life. If it's below gold, it will subtract three days. If you have enough aspiration points to afford a few coolers of the stuff, it could probably solve both of your problems. I never use the cheats, but I make frequent use of the elixir. Honestly, I'm not sure I'd enjoy the game much without it. The Sims' normal lifespan is barely long enough to accomplish anything. Maybe that makes it more realistic, though...

I wanted one of my Sim families to have two children, but my attempt at the second resulted in twins (for the third time in my game; the neighborhood must have fertility drugs in the water {g}). This is going to mean buying some extra stuff to accomodate the extra person, and make the toddler stage even more annoying than usual. Oh, well. Actually, when my Sims have a baby, I always want to play the game straight through until the baby grows into a child, but I rarely have the time.

[obsessical.livejournal.com]

I have not tried the elixer. That is an excellent idea, thank you.

However I've run into the akward situation where my teenager's best friend is a child NPC he met at school. I really wish there was a way to make her grow up so they could still be friends and maybe start dating. It's just sorta weird for him to hang around an elementary schooler all the time.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the fact that time is so relative in the Sims 2 universe makes it really crazy, and the fact that NPC's can't age is annoying. You can ask adult NPC's to move in with you, but the child and teen ones are eternally stuck in their roles. I think a better design would have been to give the young NPC's parents, and let you move in the kids with the parents. Maybe they'll fix that for The Sims 3, if it ever actually comes out.

On the bright side, it's pretty easy to maintain a friendship with a kid. You always know when they're going to be home, and they're not subject to jealousy. But yeah, it gets kind of weird when adults are friends with the neighbors' kids. I know the game doesn't allow for creepy interactions, but still.

[bethje.livejournal.com]

He should be court ordered to finish the State Songs. I mean, if he knew he was going to crap out on us, then he should have only done some kind of 13 Colonies project.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

What about House of Mayors? He has a lot more of those to do. Actually, he might prefer those, since they don't involve writing lyrics. They're nowhere near as good, though.

[revme.livejournal.com]

I saw that too. I mean, for reals, like, most of the state songs didn't have anything to DO with the state -- and a third of them were instrumental! So, y'know, why not just do a bunch more songs and just, like, shout the names in the middle or something.

Also -- I got to hear The Else! It is _awesome_. More rockin' than I was expecting! And more shared vocals, too.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I saw that too. I mean, for reals, like, most of the state songs didn't have anything to DO with the state -- and a third of them were instrumental! So, y'know, why not just do a bunch more songs and just, like, shout the names in the middle or something.

Maybe he should just rework recent stuff that he's not planning on releasing into State Songs. I mean, "Diving Board" has the same number of syllables as say "Florida," right? Or how about "I'm Your Kansas Now"? :P

Also -- I got to hear The Else! It is _awesome_. More rockin' than I was expecting!

I've only heard a few actual album tracks, but I've been pleasantly surprised by most of them. I liked "Climbing The Walls," "The Shadow Government," and "The Mesopotamians" when I heard them live, so I'm hoping the coolness carries over into the studio versions. On the other hand, both of the live versions of "Upside Down Frown" that I've heard sounded kind of lackluster, so in that case, I hope the album cut has...well, more luster.

[revme.livejournal.com]

"Climbing The Walls" looks like it's going to be the first single, which seems like a pretty good choice. "Upside Down Frown" works out pretty well, though it is very definitely an Album Track or maybe even a B-Side. It ain'ta gonna be burnin' up the charts any time soon, but it's not BAD or anything.

I lurved "The Mesopotamians" though AND "The Shadow Gov't".

How about "I'm your boyfriend now, KANSAS!" so it's all like a threat. "What's the Matter with Kansas? Maybe that I'm its boyfriend! AND I'M ABUSIVE!"