Sunscreen and nostalgia..

So I just somehow noticed there was a Steam sale for some old titles, and just in the nick of time I managed to take advantage of that to (re)buy a couple of games I used to play, the games where my interest in anything Sims related began... ;)

..and that would be, of course, Sim City 3000 and Sim City 4. I used to spend hours playing this, especially the former back in the day, so this is good trip down memory lane for me.. I have always enjoyed more chill games of this type. I was never to much into the action or shooting games, really..

I haven't revisited Sim City 4 yet, but that is on the agenda once I'm satisfied with playing Sim City 3000.. the goal is atleast to reach 1 million inhabitants before moving on. ;)

..and yeah, earlier this year I noticed that in 2013 I was actually 'clever' enough to have bought Sim City 2013 too.. at full price.. then somehow forgotten I had done so.. completely! Though upon noticing that I do remember playing it some.. perhaps with a slight feeling of disappointment with it, atleast at first, having an online/multiplayer mode if I'm not mistaken.. and to small city maps.. 

Though I think Sim City 4 originally also had some form of online play in the beginning, which is just stupid for a game like this, the Sim City series probably peaked with Sim City 4...

Cities Skylines does look tempting, but as I haven't actually played Sim City 4 that much, I want to complete that game first, before considering moving on to the next generation of city simulation...


Ah, I do wish I had gotten a Steam account earlier, since judging from other peoples comments about it, it seams to be superior to the EA App.. but I've never considered myself a hardcore gamer, and so I didn't know about Steam until I saw people discussing on the Sims forums, and by then it was already to late, I had already walked straight into EAs trap by buying Sims 3 and most of the expansion packs on Origin already..

..and then came the EA app to begin messing things up. Just recently though I did get the World Adventures expansion pack for Sims 3, because it was on sale, but rest assured.. from now on, I have used the EA app for the very last time. I'm not gonna use it ever again.... and I hope that Steam will be as good of a platform as I am expecting it to be.. well, it can't be worse than the EA app, can it?

The Bushweeds album tour is now completed.

Chapter 12.11 – The Bushweeds Autumn Tour 2023: part XI – The final concert at The Red Rendezvous..

 

Yup after some days of spending time with their loved ones, or just chilling, after spending days on the road the band is now finally ready to play their last gig to complete the tour!

People are already flocking together outside the venue.. ;)

 Time to start the concert before the bartender starts complaining that you're not on time.. ;) Of course, this is The Sims, so the occasional strange surprise may just be in store, but overall their last concert was a success and the band can now take some well deserved time off for a while.. before they have to record their next album to keep the momentum going.. ;)

However, I don't think I'll build a story around this band that is this extensive again, because though it has been both fun and interesting it has on occasion also been a bit tiresome.. anyway, I hope you have gotten some enjoyment out of all this, because this is the end for them for now!

..or not quite, because I also made a bonus video to summarize everything, so if you have 9 more minutes of your life to waste, you can watch it here:

Until next time. ;)

Returning to the island..

 What should be the second to last chapter now of the bands tour has been posted. A short update where they leave Sunset Valley behind to return to their hometown of Bewickton where a couple of the band members will reunite with some of their loved ones..

Chapter 12.10 – The Bushweeds Autumn Tour 2023: part 10 – Returning to the island..

Their journey is now complete, having returned where they started. Now only one concert is left to celebrate and mark the end of their tour... (to come in next update).

The Beginning Of All Things That Will End..

Chapter 12.9 – The Bushweeds Autumn Tour 2023: part IX – The Beginning Of All Things That Will End.

Well hello again world. Here is the next chapter about the band, now as they head further south for the second to last concert of their tour...

Of course, their morning begins with the usual party spirit, before they have to get into the car again to drive for their next destination - good old Sunset Valley. ;)

The following day the band decides to split up to hang out at different locations on their own, seeing as how they have virtually (ha, virtually, get it..?) lived on top of each other for the past week or so..

Kajsa, beign the most avant-garde and interested in art pays a visit to the Sunset Valley Art Association (founded in 1904) to do the smustle dance and paint what she thinks could be their next album cover...

Sam goes to Amundsen and Co. Cartoon Store (the local nerd hangout...) to play arcade games, where he is noticed by the young aspiring politician Ingrid Kråkesen-Karlsen who just happen to skip work for the occasion...

Gerda being more of a collector goes to the local junkyard to look for treasure or trash...

Merete decides to go fishing at the Åtindbugen Fisherman huts, but since she didn't bring any bait, she has very limited luck getting anything special...

Then its time to head for tonights concert which will happen at the Garage pub. Will they get an audience this time...?

Yes they will, for a change! The powers that be found a way to hold a hand over them and finally give them the audience they deserved! However, they do act a little strange, preferring to watch the band from the side of the stage instead of directly in front, but atleast they're present and paying attention!

..and I'm not exaggarating when I'm saying the bar was chock full of people that night, with more things happening during the night than I could pay attention to or even cover without making the update atleast twice as long - probably! Not everyone chose to watch the concert though, as the stage is located in the basement and some visitors never went down there, but stayed in the bar on the ground floor.

So how did I do it? Well, the trick that I tried first, by setting every other venue and location to 'No Visitors Allowed' had no effect - the bar was just as empty as ever, but...

..then I discovered that if I click on the venue, select NRAAS -> Master Controller -> Invite Over - I got the option to invite sims to the lot by the usual categories (Gender, Career, First name, Last name, etc.), so I invited as many as I thought necessary, which was probably quite a few to many, because the place was literally packed, and not just in sims 3 terms, no it was actually pretty packed! So now I know that this works, and that I can successfully invite over a little less sims next time. ;) Cheerio!

The thirsty cave...

Chapter 12.8 – The Bushweeds Autumn Tour 2023: part VIII – The Thirsty Cave.

Next chapter about the band "The Bushweeds" autumn tour posted at the Bewickton blog.. this time with a concert as they head to the venue known as "The Cave" to play for the night.

The venue is literally a cave located in a former bomb shelter under the Newstead Park, now being run by students volunteering to keep this legendary rock club alive! ;)

"The Cave" here is based on a real place called "Hulen", which translates to as you may have guessed.. "The Cave". I used to spend my years there when I was a student myself and a much younger punk then I am now.. ;)

Sam had never seen such a venue before. This place was definately something special.. dark, damp and just the right amount of dirty.... looks like the perfect place for vampires and other such dark and twisted late night individuals... totally not me being nostalgic about a different time..

..then it was time for the band to play their concert, another one in a long line of concerts with not much of an audience. Even the paparazzo seemed to find the restroom signs more interesting than the band...

..but I think I've found a trick now which I'll try next time, to set all the other venues and hangout places to "No Visitors Allowed". That should hopefully generate a little more traffic... poor band, driving for miles and miles to play for empty rooms!

Not very surprising this takes a toll on their patience, and Sam and Gerda ended up fighting with each other after Sam accused her of skipping the line at the bar...

From dirty to clean and dancing at the festival grounds.

Next chapter is posted here:

Chapter 12.7 – The Bushweeds Autumn Tour 2023: part VII – Rags to riches, or so they say.

 

Gerda was feeling a little shameful this morning, after having found such an awful place for them to stay, and wanted to make it right by logging on to SimB'n'B again at the very last minute to see if she couldn't find something better.. everyone pretty much agreed over breakfast that this place was pure trash in every possible way...

Kajsa wasn't very impressed, but felt a little better now that Gerda atleast took the initiative on her own to get them out of this mess... but was the new place really any better, or would it be just to same all over again? :P

The new place took them a distance out of the main downtown area, but it was still at a relatively central location, and even if it was just a tiny bit better than their previous place it would probably be worth it...

..and of course it was. Their new apartment was a completely different world, clean, modern and simplistic, yet tastefully decorated. Perfect.. let's turn on some music and get the party going! ;)

Everyone was up for it, except Sam whose idea of partying was playing games on his computer, but hey, different strokes.

..but of course, they can't stay in their apartment all day, regardless of how nice it looks, so Kajsa takes them downtown to the festival grounds where they will continue their party until they have to go play their concert later this night.

The chapter ends with them leaving the festival grounds, because I already exceeded the amount of screenshots I normally use with a tiny amount and also since I haven't yet played through the part with their concert.

From Pleasantview to Wad Nahadau..

Chapter 12.6 – The Bushweeds Autumn Tour 2023: part VI – Old, derelict and dreadful.. 

The Bushweeds album tour continues as they leave Pleasantview behind to head south and westwards towards the coast again..

The rain from yesterday evening has not gone away, but only intensied further during the night, and continues to do so throughout the day, making the atmosphere in Pleasantview a little less than pleasant...

 

There's only one thing for the band to do then, and that is to get out of Dodge as fast as they can, before things get potentially even worse... ;)

Then after several more hours on the road and having their trip almost cut short by a near traffic accident in a roundabout they finally end up at the apartment Gerda has rented for them on Simb'n'b only to be disappointed when that too in no way lives up to any hopes and expectations they may have had of it..

 

..but its to late in the evening now for them to find a better place to stay, so they're just gonna have to accept what they can get, but ew, what a nasty looking place.. ;)

Click here or the title above to read the full chapter at the Bewickton blog.