New EP Next Month!!

Guys you can't deny... we are being pampered lately... New career, terrain manipulation and a new EP???

So yesterday we got a nice shiny teaser... Showing of a Sim surrounded by fans... Social media exploded .. we're not used to two EPs per year and that was a huge surprise ... We like how things are going...

Today we got the awesome Get Famous Trailer that got us on our toes... And OMG I can't wait. looks soo good , and even if it's not my cup of tea, I do feel excited about it

There is also a new Blog Post about it. You might want to go and check it out.

And of course what a release would that be , if there weren't any leaks... Apparently Origin made a blooper and leaked a few info.... 

According to The Sims Community Origin.com loaded a nice Expansion Pack store named Get Famous.. and of course awesome pics were included...

And a few key features have also been leaked from Origin....

Reach for the stars Rise to stardom as an actor or influencer and navigate the wild turns of wealth and fame. Audition for career-making roles, attend wardrobe fittings, buy a mega mansion & cruise through Del Sol Valley in style.
You’ve got fans The famous life was made for your Sims, so show off your fab celebrity lifestyle.
Claim Your Fame Embark on a glamorous career path and face the challenges that come with being a pop culture icon.
Act the Part Audition for commercial gigs or land a breakout role in the latest blockbuster
Run This Town Be the talk of the town when you find yourself in a mansion at The Pinnacles with a spot on the walk of fame.
Live a Lavish Lifestyle Go from extravagant set costumes to chic street wear as you strut down Starlight Boulevard

Original Article  on The Sims Community

Sound quite promising doesn't it? Can't wait for November 16th!

Terrain Manipulation

Finally!!!!

During the first Maxis Monthly live stream, Gurus informed us there's a new neat career coming in the next patch.

A work from home career, Style Influencer, where you can makeover other Sims. The higher your relationship is with target Sim, the most likely it is for them to accept a make over. Get higher on the career, and successful makeovers may end up being trends around the neighborhood. Finally we'll be able to get those horribly dressed NPCs , look decent... or not (insert evil grin here)

And just before the live stream ended ,and while Kate started talking about the Game Changers program .... SimGuruRomeo stole all her limelight. I'll be honest here. I watched the live stream a few times, in none of which did I manage to get a gist of what Kate was talking about ... It was all blah blah blah .. I'm sorry Kate, but I bet NONE of us managed to pay attention to what you were saying , while SimGuruRomeo was sitting there playing with shiny brand new TERRAIN MANIPULATION tools.

It has been one of the most asked features since day one. A feature a lot of people had given up on because "the Sims 4 wasn't built to support it"... And yet SimGuruRomeo happily sits there and playing with it while Kate is casually blabbing away about game changers like nothing was a big deal, or as if she didn't notice, what was going on at the screen next to her.. Well my beloved SimGurus , you know how much I respect and love you , but I have to admit, this was the biggest troll and tease ever!

Chat went wild ..people sending hearts and hugs and asking for more info.... Well we will be getting a live stream on October 11th at 11am PDT/8pm CET/7pm BT hosted by SimGuruKate, SimGuruRomeo and SimGuruGhost

Game Changers

Who are they? What do they do? How does someone become a Game Changer? Why is Bella Goth a Game Changer and Goopy Gilsgarbo isn't? He has more and better content than her!

So many questions in the community! I see them everyday in the social media, and the forums. So here are a few answers. By a Game Changer that has too little content to show off. Me.

Hi, I'm Geminia (as you might have noticed) and I am a Game Changer. And proud of it. In fact , the moment I got that precious E-mail, I wanted to get out to the balcony, in the middle of the night and shout about it. I'm pretty sure the neighbors wouldn't be as happy about it, as I was, and wouldn't care at all anyway.

Why was I happy?? Free content you say? Nope! If that's what Game Changers is to you , you have definitely been misled. If you are thinking of becoming one, just for that, think again, cause you are missing the point here. I was happy because I love The Sims, been playing it for years. Being able to somehow be a part of something I love so much, and offer anything, even the littlest thing I could to make it better in any way, feels your soul with so much happiness, so much joy. It's a feeling I wouldn't change for all the packs in the world.

What are Game Changers?

''Game Changers is EA’s community partnership program that fuses content creators and expert players directly into the game development process enabling early collaborative feedback for improvements. We also empower innovative storytelling by granting creators early access to gameplay capture."

Source and More info

Like it or not, The Sims team is made out of human beings, that have very demanding jobs, real lives, families, and there are just a few of them. They can't be everywhere , anytime. The can't read ALL the comments, in every single post/thread/blog in the entire Internet. That's where Game Changers come in.

There are a lot of "types" of Game Changers. Youtubers, Streamers, Gallery and CC creators, Bloggers , Tumblr, there are even Game Changers that have made AHQ their second home, just to help our fellow simmers. The Sims team is reaching out to everyone. All different people, from different countries, and different content or even almost no content at all. All this different people have also a different audience. And this is the key here.

 What do the Game Changers do? Feedback. It's Feedback. Feedback both ways. (And no we are not kissing EA's butts.) So different audience, means broader audience. Awesome feedback flow. We are spread in different parts of the community, and we can get feedback from everywhere to the team and from the team to every part of the community. We do not sugar coat anything. If we don't like a feature in the new pack, we say it. It's called Constructive Criticism. And that's what the team wants to see. No blames, no insults, no rants. Again the main reason Game Changers exist, is to make the voice of the community heard, to bring the community and Dev team closer, and make the game better. Without honest feedback there's no need for Game Changers to exist. So any Game Changer not being honest or sugar coating, would instantly kill their purpose as a Game Changer. We all have one thing in common. We are simmers , so part of the community ourselves. We are your voice. We are some of you.

And yes, you , who is now reading this blog post can be a Game Changer too. How? Let's ask a more important question here first. Why?  Why do you want to be a Game Changer? Do you want to give to the game you love? Do you want to help and make it better?Do you want to somehow feel to be a part of it? Do you want your own part of the community's voice heard? Then you are in the right track.

SimGuruKate had an awesome twitter thread explaining a few things.

So no you don't need to be a Super YouTuber or streamer with thousands of followers. Nor your content need to be super perfect, like HD videos, with perfect sound. You need to be active in the community in any way. You need to be kind and respectful. And your content need to be T rated of course. Yes quality of content is considered, but not in the form of what your hardware can pull off, but in the form of your skill as a simmer. That's all you need. Just keep an eye on Twitter, as Sim Guru Kate often tweets when the program is open for new applications. Don't fret! If you think you have what it takes and for the right reasons , go ahead and apply!

You applied and didn't get in? It's OK. You can apply again. There are thousands of applications each time, and only a few can be selected each time. Don't give up!!! Try again and again. If you think you aren't good enough and your skill isn't enough , do what our Sims do! Skill up! Watch tutorials on YouTube, try different things with your builds for example. Just don't give up!!!

And for Sims sake, do not bash a fellow simmer who got in , and you didn't. Because this, my friend, is your ticket "out" . This is the kind of attitude the Sims team do not want to see in a Game Changer. Don't let jealousy take you over. Turn it around and try harder. What they did better than you? Work on it! And try again!

Anyone, and I mean it when I say anyone, can become a Game Changer if they have what it takes. If they want it enough, they can do it. Follow your heart and chase your dreams. It's your life, you can make it the way you want it to be! It's all in your hands to mold the shape you want it to be! Don't give up!

Minor Sim News And Personal Update

Hey guys :)

We are living for "vacation" on Saturday. We'll be visiting my folks for two weeks. So not actual vacation, but at least change of scenery and family and friends reunions (haven't seen them since Easter)

Currently uploading my first video on YouTube. It's nothing special , just a House Flipper video, sped up , and me rambling so ppl can get to know me. The sound is horrible, the editing is horrible, the voice over is horrible, and the video has filmora's watermark (My bad as I didn't research it well and had no clue until I tried to export) Bare with me as I'm still trying to figure out the tools, and get used to speaking to "public" in English. Plus I'm on a Razer Electra head set which is not the best , but it's all I could afford atm.

We are expecting a new update at some point. SimGurus say "soon" but no idea when that will be. They did mention though that there is going to be a fix for the blurry screenshot issue.I think it was SimGuruKate on twitter.

I've seen numerous complains about that issue, and i really don't get it. I know blogs need to be updated, Screenshots need to be shared so lots and Sims can be showcased. Be patient my fellow simmers. No game is bug free, and will never be. I once had a mammoth stuck on a tree on Skyrim. The only way to get it out of there was to restart the game. A few friends of mine have mentioned they use FRAPS as an alternative, so maybe check that out?


For more gallery issues see here:

Gallery Issues on AHQ

There is also some frustration about how the gallery is showcasing the uploads. Most popular seems not to be that popular (pun?) The team is looking into this. 

Well that's it for me now. I'll have more builds showcased in the future. Some are old with CC and no gallery links, and I'll also start working on new ones as soon as I get back from vacation. Already working on a Challenge by Simarchy, but it's gonna take a while (I'm a slooooow builder) 

See ya next time guys , and Happy Simming 

Gallery Update

As promised, I took some nice screens from the new gallery tonight. I'm really in awe. Looks so sleek and it loads so freaking fast!!!

Once you open the gallery, you immediately find yourselves looking at other simmers creations. Let me say here that I found myself looking at some jaw dropping builds I've never seen before

Clicking on a a creation will bring up the details , with the comments now on the side. Much easier to read and add comments, favorite or add to library now (featured build here is randomly picked, the first on my list. Still freaking awesome though)

Next, there is your usual "news" tab

Then we have your profile tab , where it showcases your creations, in a big window and then random creations around it. It also lists your overall stats like downloads , followers and shared content. It also has two buttons. "Friends" which obviously brings up your friends list  and a "view catalog/view profile" toggle, for which will talk about next

The "view catalog/view profile" toggle will take you to your uploaded creations page, where you can see everything you've uploaded, and clicking on it again will take you back to your main profile page.

Last but not least , there is "my library" tab where you can see whatever you've saved in your library (obviously🙄)

So that's all for now. I'm really happy with this update , as it seems the gallery is way more efficient. And as it was mentioned in both the stream and the patch notes , there are several more gallery updates to come, and I 'm really looking forward to them.

As a side note, I'm also looking forward to more streams as SimGuruKate mentioned. We finally get more communication and IMHO, it is really needed. Exchanging feedback between the community and the Gurus, is a definitely something we need to cherish. It will help our beloved game get better and more fleshed out , exactly the way we want it to be.

That's it from me today. Enjoy the rest of your day and Happy Simming!!! 

New Patch Guys!!

Hey guys there's a new patch out!! It seems The Sims team has finally started Upgrading the gallery. YAY!!! Also there are several bug fixes as well. Finally our sims will be cooking and washing dishes where they are supposed to, and not in the thrid floor bathroom.


Patch notes by SimGuruGrant

UPDATE: 07/31/2018 - PC 1.45.62.1020/ Mac 1.45.62.1220

Hello Summers!
Hopefully the weather isn’t too hot in your neck of the woods, because then you’d be...Simmers. *cough*
In addition to several fixes and tweaks to improve your game experience, we’ve overhauled the Gallery! This is something we’ve been working on for a while and is the first step to keep enhancing the Gallery to make it an incredible platform for this community to share its creations.
Read below to find out what we changed with the Gallery as well as various improvements throughout the game.
Gallery Update
Our goal with the Gallery is to shift the focus towards the creators making incredible content and make it easier to download the content.

• We’ve re-arranged the content images so that you can now Follow the creator, Favorite the content, and download the content on the front page.

• We’ve moved the Search bar and popular hashtags front and center.

• Popular Now is the default filter, which means you should see more fresh, different content.

• We’ve renamed and re-arranged the tabs. You now have Gallery, for content, News to find out who is uploading and sharing content, your Profile (with your name), and your Library, to see your downloaded content.

• We’ve updated the art and visuals throughout the Gallery.

• You can now download and place Lots and Rooms from the Gallery even if you begin in Live mode. Hurray! At last!

Just a reminder in case you haven’t used the Gallery before: The Gallery will not download custom content or mods to your machine. There is a filter to see items created with custom content, but it will not install the custom content for you. So, you can rest assured that items downloaded from the gallery will not break your game.
The Sims 4

• You can now move Easels into your inventory and Live Drag them, which means you can paint out and about in the world! Be sure to pick up your easel before you leave!

• Removed unnecessary “seams” that appeared when wearing some full body toddler outfits.

• Sims should now use the closest counter to prepare Garden Salads of any portion size.

• Sims should now use the closest sink to wash dishes.

• Sims should now only use a single Kitchen space to prepare a meal, even on Lots with multiple kitchens.

Get to Work

• The “Ask About Suspect” interaction is now available during an APB event in the detective career.

Get Together

• You can now select Hot and Cold Weather attire via the Closet.

• Sims who belong to an Infamous Club no longer get the Intimidated by Fame moodlet at a gathering.

Seasons

• The temperature in the Kiddie Pool is now consistent with other pools. Sims will get the “Uncomfortable Chilled” moodlet, but won’t immediately begin freezing to death.

• Vampires are now protected from the Sun when using an umbrella, though it probably gives things away, wouldn’t you say, Vlad?

• Decorations no longer clip through the rooftops when viewing a Lot in Free Camera mode.

• Electronic objects will now function properly during the rain, assuming they are indoors and beneath a roof.

• Sims will no longer freeze to death while playing basketball in cold weather. One could say that as a result of their skillful play, they’re on fire.

• Father Winter has been banned from all Clubs and will no longer appear when adding Sims to a club. Seems Father Winter has been naughty.

• Pets will no longer stretch bizarrely while Sims are opening presents.

• The Sing Together… interaction is now available on the Kinara, Menorah, and Holiday Trees when a Holiday Tradition is active.

• The Flower Bunny no longer appears on random holidays and events, which is good, because Flower Bunnying is a full time job and they were really slacking.

• Sims with the Responsible Trait now have their Daily Tasks automatically completed for the Gardening Career. R-E-S-P-O-N-S-I-B-L-E doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. Sorry, Aretha.

• Sims who die while skating now die like you’d expect them to die. There was some weirdness, but now there isn’t. Just good ‘ol standard death.

• Sims were sometimes slipping indoors while walking TO a mud pile, which is silly. They now slip and fall like you’d expect.

• Sims disturb their bees less frequently. We told them to buzz off.

• Plants pollinated by bees will now evolve more quickly, which is how they bee better.

• Facial hair now appears while the Hot and Cold Weather filters are active.

• Banana, palm, and fern trees no longer drop leaves.

• While using the randomize function with a mannequin you can now see Hot and Cold Weather options appear.

• We fixed various typos in the Scouting Career. Apparently our Scouts didn’t earn the spelling merit badge…

• Handiness Whims are now completed when Handy Sims work on the Sprinklers and Weather Controller.

Jungle Adventure

• Vegetarian safe options purchased from local vendors are now actually vegetarian safe.

• Purchasing items from a vendor now contributes to the Jungle Explorer Aspiration progress.

Perfect Patio Stuff

• Broken Sparks visual effects now go away once you repair a Hot Tub.

Backyard Stuff

• Birds will once again appear when a bird feeder is placed.

Vintage Glamour Stuff

• The vanity table should now apply makeup appropriately once more.

Laundry Stuff

• Clothing should no longer disappear after hung on the Model T Clothesline.

I'll try to get back later with screenies. Need to watch the stream though and  get the kids to bed. So it might take a while

ETA: A little note from SimGuruNick on Twitter

A Different Sim

Trying to fiddle with my files and get a CC free save. Mostly for challenges, gallery builds or showing off new content. I need a sim to start the file.. Gemmy (my sim self that looks nothing like me) is the most appropriate one. She is representing me everywhere, hiding the face I'm too shy to show off. She deserves that.

Searching my library ..There she is with Mike and the kids..all black, bold and naked (Mods folder is sitting comfortably on my desktop) ..Oh well it can't be that bad making them over a bit ....

Yeah, about that... No just no... LOL It's scary. Well ok not that scary, but I'll need to get used to them. Especially Gemmy... I already miss her dark purple hair. Why don't we have a dark purple swatch for hair? I needz it!!!

She is pink now. I thought it was light lilac , but nope. It's pink..Cotton Candy pink. Don't get me wrong I love that pastel shade of pink. In fact she is actually wearing pink. But not on her hair. She is all I want to be, she is the "inside" me . I can't do purple hair irl. Not unless I keep visiting the hairdresser once every 10 days. I can't do that , my fragile hair will abandon me. She is the one who has to sport it... She doesn't look like me at all , she is 4 times smaller than me, and not worn out by life. She is also a YA , when I'm already past my mid thirties..

Oh well I'll get used to it.

The family also needs a home. Just placed them in an empty lot in Willow Creek, it's early spring and it's raining. I'll need to get working on that , but not tonight. It's already 3am. The real Gemmy will need to go to bed at some point, and building a house usually takes me quite a while.

You know what? I might even record that and upload it as my first speed build. Hoping my headphones and mic will arrive soon so I can do a voiceover, as I'm pretty sure that if I use random music on it I'll end up using copyrighted stuff. I'm a total newb LOL . I'll get there ... hopefully

For now good night , sleep tight and have fun . Carpe Diem - Seize the Day
Happy Simming

5 Years Later...

And I'm back... So many things happened, I really have no idea where to start.

I have two kids now

Older one turned 4 last March, and younger one enters the Terrible Twos on September, even though he is already throwing tantrums all over the place for a few months now.

Both kids seem to be late talkers.
Older one finally started talking once he hit three, but we are doing speech therapy any way , just to help him clear up. He has done awesome progress so far. He even seems to like English too, as he easily learned a few words and even can count to 10 in English.  He is starting pre-school this September.
Little one has yet to blurt out a word, besides "Dada" He does communicate by pointing pretty well though. We've appointed a speech evaluation right after his second birthday.
All in all , they are good kids, quite active and happy. Always finding way to keep me running. I admit I'm a helicopter mom, mostly because of my anxiety. Def need to work on that and chill out a bit.

My hands have been full. And still are. Two kids, a house to take care of, hubby coming home from work late, away from my friends and family and with no help at all.. Struggling to keep up with everything and me time squished somewhere between midnight and 4am, where I force myself to go to bed. Still, finding it hard to relax and sleep, and usually managing to do so around 6 am.

And the money issues... Paycheck by paycheck would have been nice. We're struggling. Hubby got a serious pay cut 3 years ago. They literally halved his salary. It was supposed to be a temp thing. And it was, in a way. He did get a raise at some point , but still not as much as he used to get payed. I don't want to be ungrateful though. We have my family behind our backs. They might be 200km away, but they are here. My father, my mother and her husband, my uncles, they are all supporting us however they can..

Somewhere between all this, I felt I was loosing myself. I was getting cranky, impatient (and patience is a thing I'm known for), and soo bored. I was bored to even do the things I loved so much like play the sims. Most likely bored with my life I guess. Not that I wasn't happy. I can't say that. It was just all this stress, the everyday routine, not being as creative as I wanted to...they started taking me down

A couple of months back, I forced myself to get up. I have two children and a spouse and this people need ME. My family needs ME. The real me. Not the shadow I was turning into.I HAVE to do something. I started being more active in the community, started playing sims again, and creating houses that I so much loved. What if I started a YouTube channel ? Or streaming ...Nah I don't have and can't afford the hardware or the software to do that. And there was this EA Game Changers program I've been reading about that had lit a fire in me... But how, haven't been active for ages, I'm no youtuber nor streamer. I don't have "the audience" needed..

I started researching. Graveyardgirl started out YouTube with here phone as a camera. LuckeySimsYT had mentioned his low end hardware a couple of times and yet his videos are just fine for me, and really fun to watch. They all started somehow...Why not me?? I kept researching. Seasons released and I managed to upload a couple of builds , before giving in and getting my CC back in my game. I love my CC.

My builds are usually loaded with CC and I hate linking them. So I can't really upload them. I could start that YouTube channel I was thinking about and do speed builds or walkthroughs of them. But would people be interested if I didn't list my CC? I did a poll on twitter about it. The results came back , with the whooping amount of two votes, that they didn't really mind... OK convenient result , low number of voters though.. not enough to push me to actually do something

And then it happened....As I was checking my email, I see it ... It's an invite to join the Game Changers Program. I don't know how, I don't know who. All I know is that as soon as I opened it, I blurted out "OMG YES!" I felt all warm and fuzzy, I felt so much energy , like it opened my eyes to see that I CAN do something. I can get up and take a step forward. It was the push I so much needed.

I downloaded OBS, and Filmora. treated myself with a nice razer set of head phones and microphone (cheap but for now its ok), checked out a few tutorials and ...oh wait I somewhere have a blog too

And here I am writing down those lines, trying to figure out my plans better. Looking back , not that back really, where I was, where I am and where I want to be.Hoping that someone might read this , and get the push they need to get back on their feet and take the next step forward. Because in the end you can do whatever you want or at least something similar (I'd love to work at EA in The Sims, but yea that's a few hundreds of miles away) all you have to do is keep your eyes open and let NOTHING get you down.

As for this blog, I'm planning to be more active from now on, I'm just moving things around a bit, adding new links, killing old ones, so bare with me until I've set everything up and running. The blog seems to be the easiest of all of what I'm trying to accomplish, but as I'm starting up again from almost ground zero don't expect any fireworks just yet. Taking minor steps slowly and carefully. At least now they are going forward.

If anyone actually reads this...Cheers, patient reader , kudos for reading all that essay of nonsense. To you. Cause for me it was a weight on my chest that I had to lift. Thank you for helping me with that.

See ya!!! (Soon hopefully)