New Blog and New Stories

I just wanted to update and let you know that I started a new blog for my The Sims Medieval stories.  The new blog can be found at http://enkelisim.wordpress.com/  I thought it would be best to create a whole new blog for those stories, since the type of characters and stories will be quite different from things I’ve posted on my Sims 3 blog.

I will keep this blog and will update it whenever the game is as stable as the Sims Medieval   I really do prefer to play a game that doesn’t crash or get unbearably buggy.  I’d love to continue my Legacies and other projects when the game is playable.

Sims 3 Contemporary Interiors tutorial

I posted my first Sims 3 tutorial in my studio at the Sims 3 website http://www.thesims3.com/contentDetail.html?contentId=302588  This is the first installment in a series of tutorials I’m putting together to help you create awesome contemporary style interiors in the Sims 3.  Contemporary Interiors: Apartments is a short tutorial on decorating a small apartment (or other small space).

New Sims 3 Challenges

I wanted to post a quick update to let you know that I’m developing some new Sims 3 Challenges.  I’ve found that playing the Legacy Challenge is often disappointing due to bugs with the game–neighborhoods tend to glitch up over time and can become unplayable. 

I decided to come up with some short-term gameplay challenges of my own.  I will post the first challenge in my blog as soon as I’m finished play-testing it.

Frost Legacy: Happy Holidays (Part One)

Christmas is a once-in-a-lifetime celebration for a Legacy sim.  The penthouse was decorated for the holidays,with special gifts under the tree, and the family began preparing for some extensive partying.  Everyone got dressed up in festive outfits.

The first party of the season was Destiny and Wogan’s second wedding.  There are a lot of new faces in Bridgeport, and Destiny invited half of them to the party.  Unfortunately Josie ignored her invitation even though she loves parties and knew about the wedding in advance.

The bride and groom got the party started while the guests shuffled around in the doorway until they could figure out how to get into the apartment.  Clayton was already a bit tipsy from drinks in the afternoon, and he had a great time dancing by himself.

Finally the guests were inside, and everyone gathered around to watch the wedding.

What a beautiful ceremony!  Unfortunately, Willow was preoccupied with her insecurities and wondered if she looked like a llama.

Sid freaked out a little over his holiday clothes, and he felt humiliated.  He was the first member of the family to grace the front page of the tabloids though.

“Woo!  Let’s dance!” Destiny cheered.

Willow was photographed several times during the party and she developed a few new admirers.

The spirit of the holidays filled the home with love and joy.  The wedding party was a roaring blast, and everyone had an amazing time.  The next morning, Sid and Willow practiced their dance moves.  They wanted to get loads of positive attention from the paparazzi when they went out clubbing later.

Clayton decided to stay home and take care of baby Shane while the others went out dancing.  As they waited for the elevator at the Brightmore, Arianna said, “Hey, since we’re all dressed up, we should go carolling!”

“We can’t go carolling because we don’t know any songs,” Destiny pointed out.

Wogan is a loner and he wanted to leave the group as soon as they got downstairs.  He complained, “There’s too many people here!”  Destiny sweet talked him into staying and dancing with her for a while.  Bertram was hanging out in the VIP section of the club, but he was on his own again. 

Wogan decided to leave and reminded the kids not to stay out too late.  “Pace yourselves,” he told them, “there’s still lots of partying to be done!”

The following morning, Arianna started the party quite early.  Willow wanted to make unique drink recipes to delight her family with.

“Don’t take my picture!” Arianna shouted at her husband.  She finished her drink and went back for another.

“Can’t she hear the baby crying?” Willow wondered.  Arianna seemed oblivious and her niece took care of Shane.

*Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time*

Frost Legacy: Superficial Shutterbugs

Sid was thrilled to see his parents together again!  Josie and Bertram decided to move out of the house to make room for Wogan to rejoin the family.  They purchased a small home on the other side of the bridge.

Destiny and Wogan began planning their second wedding, but first, they needed to celebrate Wogan’s miraculous resurrection.  They partied for three days straight!

Meanwhile, Arianna’s pregnancy was progressing smoothly.  She received a free “Soothing Salvation” package at the salon, and all the stress of their recent brush with bugs just melted away.

The paparazzi were always trying to get pictures of Arianna during her pregnancy, but the tabloids were filled with positive stories about what a great mother she would be.

Willow was very confused about everything that had happened.  “I thought my Daddy was dead,” she wondered as she stared at the spot where Wogan had died.  She didn’t know how to feel, and her parents were too caught up in each other to help her understand it.  Mind you, neither of them knew how it had happened either.

Word spread around Bridgeport pretty fast and people began worshipping both Wogan and Destiny.

They were photographed everywhere they went, but neither of them minded the attention.  They appeared to thrive on it, in fact, and Wogan got his revenge on those who said he looked weird.

Okay, okay, enough of that!

Arianna went into labour in the middle of the night.

Shortly after sunrise, Arianna and Clayton became the proud parents of a beautiful baby boy.  He was named Shane Frost.

It was also Willow’s birthday.  That evening, her parents told her to blow out her candles and get ready for an awesome night on the town.

Everyone was looking forward to see what Willow would look like, and which parent she would take after the most.  Would she finally get rid of that unsightly bloodstain on her chin?

Willow ran to her room after blowing out her candles, and she felt extremely self-conscious about her looks.

Growing up with a facial defect had a negative impact on Willow’s self-esteem, and she would probably never be able to see her own beauty.  The plain truth is that she was the most stunning child ever born to the Hemlock family!

Willow and her parents went to the Grind to celebrate.  Bertram was at the club too.

The owners of the Grind should look into hiring a bouncer to keep weapons out of their club!

Willow found out what’s so fun about dancing on tables, and she mastered club dancing in just a few short hours.

The paparazzi were treated to a rare photo opportunity when Josie showed up at the Grind, and they overheard the famous sisters chattering about the upcoming wedding.

Life was pretty much one big photo op actually…  The world and all the sims in it never looked better.

Even Shane!!

(continue reading…)

Frost Legacy: Signs of the Apocalypse

David was hurried out of the house and told to get a job.  The concerns of him spreading his genes around were mitigated by a strange epidemic of infertility that was squeezing the life out of Bridgeport.  It was one of the many Signs of the Apocalypse.

Another ominous sign was the stealthy woohoo Destiny and Wogan engaged in after being publicly disgraced…

That was just strange!

Clayton had spent the night after having such a great time at Arianna’s birthday–but he slept in David’s old bed.  In the morning, he couldn’t resist popping into Arianna’s room to see her even though it was their wedding day.  (Yes, so soon!)

They were both so enthusiastic about the wedding, but Clayton said he had to stop by his place to freshen up and pack his things.  Later that afternoon, the guests arrived and began celebrating.  Elvira declared it “the wedding of the century.”

Everyone was so happy, and Destiny was inspired to write another romance novel.

When everyone congratulated the newlyweds, Josie and Bertram made it perfectly clear that they wished for a grandchild to be born as soon as possible.  Clayton and Arianna talked it over and decided they would excuse themselves from the party and go try for a baby.

That’s when David demonstrated how annoying he truly was–he just had to interrupt right then to ask for his sister’s autograph.  Really, David?!

The following day, two maids showed up for work.  Rosemarie’s clone was there, and she had been coming to work every day.  She generally worked hard and did a decent job cleaning the place, although she rarely charged a fee.  Of course, when another maid showed up and worked equally hard, they both charged their usual fee!

It all seemed harmless enough, and no one was particularly alarmed by these strange occurences.  Later in the evening, Arianna found out she was pregnant.  Bertram went out to brag around town about his grandchild on the way.

Arianna wanted to learn how to do club dancing, so she went to the Grind with Clayton and invited Destiny to tag along (since it seemed Wogan wouldn’t appear that night, Destiny was just waiting around for him and looked lonely).

It was already very late when they got back home, but the second Destiny stepped out of the elevator, Wogan appeared in the livingroom.

Everyone loves it when Wogan is around!  Destiny danced with him.

They danced until they were both completely exhausted, and Wogan was yanked back into his urn in the bedroom up above.

Clayton and Arianna were both dreaming about their unborn baby.  Such sweet dreams… but when Arianna woke up, she was sucked into oblivion and held captive there for nearly thirty minutes!  She was horrified when she finally rematerialized in her bedroom.  At that point it was quite obvious that something wasn’t right with the matrix, and the clone maid was the top suspect.

Arianna headed straight to the maid and fired her, shouting, “Get out of my house, you buggy witch!”

When they realized that they were both brave, it somehow froze them in time.  As strange circles appeared beneath their feet, Josie yelled for her nephew.  “Sid… time machine… help!”

Sid is a true hero, and he risked his life for his family.  Clearly, things didn’t work out so well.  Sid failed and everyone found themselves outside the apartment, evenly spaced.

What could they do other than try to go on like nothing happened?  Josie was stressed out and needed a drink.  Arianna headed to the spa for a soothing massage, while Sid and Willow headed upstairs to work on their novels.  Bertram decided to train Clayton and help him get ahead in his sports career.

Destiny decided to head up to her room and rest while the sun was still shining.

WHAT?!

Wogan!!

Destiny gasped as he embraced her.  She couldn’t believe her eyes, and she touched his face, wondering, “You’re alive?!”

“Oh my god!”  Destiny almost cried, she was so happy.

Wogan scooped her up in his strong arms.

Destiny said, “Screw you, EA!  I’m keeping him!”

(continue reading…)

Frost Legacy: Get Over It

As he gazed into his widow’s loving eyes, Wogan confessed that he was growing weak and wouldn’t be able to stay much longer.  “Just hold onto me,” Destiny pleaded.  He tried with all his might, but after she fell asleep he quietly got up and returned to his urn.

Destiny woke up to a very harsh text message from Alexander, stating that Josie informed him about Destiny cheating.  She hurried downstairs and confronted Josie immediately.

“Why did you tell Alexander about me and Wogan?” she demanded to know.

Josie calmly explained that she didn’t think anyone deserved to be hurt that way, and she expressed deep sympathy for Alexander.

Destiny tried to convince Josie that it didn’t count as cheating because she and Alexander “were on a break.”  Josie didn’t fall for that old trick and made Destiny promise she would break it off with Alexander properly.

Damned elevator!

That night, Destiny tried to get Alexander to meet with her, but he flat out refused.  Josie offered to invite him over to facilitate the break up, and he accepted her invitation but then called right back to say something had come up and he couldn’t make it.  She was so frustrated and desperate to make things right with her sister that Destiny headed out to crash a house party looking for him.

Alexander wasn’t at the party, but she ran into an old acquaintance who hugged her and encouraged her to be strong.  That was sweet, and Destiny decided that woman should definitely be invited to their next party.  Then she thought to scope out Alexander’s apartment.

She let herself in and enjoyed some of his plasma juice while she waited for him.

Alexander was extremely upset when he finally arrived home.  He didn’t want to talk, but Destiny couldn’t put it off.  She tried to apologize to him for cheating on him, and he roared in anger at her.

“I’m sorry that I hurt you, but it’s better for both of us to just call it quits,” she said.

Alexander was heart-broken and he cried openly, then wondered if she would love him if he was dead like Wogan.

The next day was Arianna’s birthday.  When she got home from school, she was thrilled to say goodbye to the hassles of high school and homework forever.

The party was briefly interrupted when Alexander called to moan to Destiny about his broken heart.

She didn’t want to be cruel to him–they had some really lovely times together–but she wished she could tell him to just get over it all ready!

Arianna flirted shamelessly with Clayton after confirming that he was single.

At the same moment that she discovered they had strong astrological compatibility, Destiny’s acquaintance got very upset and started to cry.  For some reason, she thought Clayton was cheating! 

The other woman broke down and cried–but she seriously needs to get over it!  If she had a romantic interest in Clayton and never pursued it, that’s her own problem.  Arianna ignored her and asked Clayton to be her boyfriend.

Obviously she wasn’t the only one who wanted Clayton, so she rushed things a lot and asked him to marry her.

He accepted and threw his arms around her.

They spent the rest of the party making out.  Later that night, Wogan returned.  He was upset about the rumours Josie started–who knew a ghost could be publicly disgraced?

Destiny helped him get over it!

(continue reading…)

Frost Legacy: Love Matters

Destiny sought out her older half-sister for advice the next day.  She confessed to feeling torn by Alexander’s ultimatum.  Josie insisted that Alexander had every right to ask her to make a choice.  “But how can I choose?” Destiny questioned.  “I love Wogan, and I didn’t choose for him to die.  Don’t I deserve a tiny bit of happiness?”

Unfortunately, Josie had to go to work, but promised to talk about it some more when she got home.  Josie wanted to continue her acting career, and hoped she could pull together an amazing cast for a new blockbuster movie.  She headed down to the studio and began auditions.

Belisama Hemlock turned up for the open casting call, despite the intense sunshine beaming down on Bridgeport that afternoon.  Josie witnessed an unprovoked attack!

A bouncer showed up but didn’t intervene, and Belisama was beaten pretty badly.  Josie felt sorry for her and invited her to audition for the movie, while the elderly bully snapped a cellphone photo.

Belisama surprised Josie with a silly voice and a strange little dance.

Josie really had to thank Belisama for that bit of random hilarity.

At the same time, David was anxious about his upcoming birthday and his future.  He asked his older sister, “Are you going to get married to Clayton after your birthday?  Willow told me that if you or Destiny get married, someone will have to move out.”

Arianna tried to avoid the subject, telling David that she wasn’t sure what would happen after her birthday.  She secretly wished that David would leave and she could marry Clayton though.

The same topic was discussed at length between the adults that night.  Destiny wanted the opportunity to be married but Josie and Bertram argued for Arianna’s right to have a family.  The three of them were able to agree that regardless of future marriages, David should move out early.

David was loved, don’t get me wrong, but he was the least popular member of the household.  No one liked it when he tromped around the house in his underwear, and no one really wanted to see him produce offspring down the road either.

They threw a big bash for David’s birthday.  Destiny was looking fabulous again.

David aged up to teenager, but he was definitely upstaged by Clayton!

Arianna tried not to stare like a love-sick puppy, but most of Bridgeport already knew she was crazy about him.  That night, Arianna was dreaming about a happy life with Clayton when Wogan began haunting and possessed her computer.

She called for her aunt, ”He’s here!  He’s here!”  Destiny ran to her love, and Arianna stepped out of the room.

“Can you ever forgive me for being with another man?” she asked him.

He embraced her and said, “I only left to give you a chance to move on.  I wanted you to be happy, but I came back because he was treating you wrong.”

*sigh*  Wogan!

Destiny and Wogan went upstairs.  After some time, Josie overheard Destiny giggle and say, “I love it when you make spooky noises!”

“Not cool, Destiny!” she grumbled.  “Not cool at all…”

(continue reading…)

Frost Legacy: The Burden of Truth

The day after Josie’s birthday party, she received a strange package in the mail from Rosemarie, her obsessed fan.  Rosemarie didn’t come back to work for the family, but she sent a replacement maid named Norma Brandon, who looked like a clone of Rosemarie.  No one ever saw Rosemarie again.  Inside the strange box were some disturbing photos of the death of Morrigan Hemlock; the only evidence that could prove Josie’s guilt.

A note with the pictures explained where Rosemarie hid the remains.  Destiny was entrusted with the box of photos and Morrigan’s remains.  At the time, Destiny was quite upset about recent comments about her weight.  She decided to go jogging and get rid of the remains of her enemy (although she kept the awesome photos and decorative box they came in).

She got passed the paparazzi camped outside their apartment and jogged across the city to the graveyard.  She dumped Morrigan’s remains and checked to see if she was still fat.

Thankfully she did notice the oncoming paparazzi in time to protect herself.  She quickly read the reporter’s mind and used her mind control powers to keep him from realizing what she was up to.

He wrote about the sporty outfit Destiny was wearing and excused her for her recent weight gain.  He added that it’s better to see Bridgeport’s favourite vampiress ”soft and squishy around the edges” than to have her die of thirst like Morrigan!

Meanwhile, Arianna was spotted by paparazzi behind their apartment.  She was obviously admiring their close family friend.  Although she was still a teen, Arianna was already a four star celebrity and Clayton was about to become famous.

Arianna developed a very obvious crush on Clayton, despite their difference in age.  The next morning, she coloured her hair to look hotter for him and invited him over to hang out.

Bertram wasn’t at all impressed about this development!  He told Arianna to go do her homework, and then he asked Clayton, “What are you up to with my daughter?  She’s a good girl!”

“Oh I know, she totally brightens my day,” Clayton replied, not realizing what Bertram meant.

“Don’t let me hear that your relationship with Arianna has become scandalous!” he warned.

Finally it was Bertram’s birthday!  Everybody dressed up nice, and Alexander came by to celebrate.

Although Bertram had forgiven him for the cruel rumour he started, Alexander was clearly feeling awkward during the party.

Everyone could feel the tension in the air, and Bertram was glad that he had to rush out to work in the middle of the party.

Alexander also left the party early, but after dark he called Destiny and asked her to meet him in a private location.  She felt uneasy as she drove out to Bogaard Overlook.

Alexander was waiting for her and he didn’t look one bit happy.

“I have a feeling Wogan’s been around,” he said as soon as she was close enough to hear him.  “I want you to know I understand.  He was your husband, and the one who gave you the blessed bite.

“But I can’t be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t love me.”

Destiny swore she did love him, but he wouldn’t listen.  “Are you breaking up with me?” she wondered.

He told her, “I’m giving you a break to figure out what you really want.  If you want to be with me, then I want us to get married and I need you to let go of Wogan forever.  So you think it over real hard, but don’t take too long because I wont wait forever.”

(continue reading…)

Frost Legacy: No Shortage of Scandals

Sid was officially “the man of the house” while Bertram was away.  After a slight mishap with the time machine and a very lucky recovery from a time-space distortion, Sid kept his cool and went on like nothing happened.  He hid the time machine away in the family storage.

When Bertram returned from his first mission to the space station, he was totally exhausted and rather stinky.

Always a gentleman, Bertram decided to quickly change out of that smelly space suit.  Then he succumbed to exhaustion.

The poor guy was only a block away from home, but he just couldn’t make it!  Of course this embarrassing incident hit the gossip mill before dinner time, and photos of Bertram’s disgrace were plastered all over the internet.  The rumour was that Bertram peed himself and passed out, but it was only half true.

When Willow had her birthday, her disfigured half-sister, Belisama did show up for the party like she promised.  She seemed like a friendly vampire, unlike her nasty mother.  Willow was a cute child, but she was afflicted with a strange deformity and always looked like she had blood on her chin.

Anyways… Destiny was starting to get concerned about her relationship with Alexander when he didn’t show up for Willow’s birthday.  He had also been refusing to talk to her when she phoned him.  One evening she raided the grocery store for fresh plasma fruit…

Alexander happened to be passing by as shoppers ran out of the store screaming.  Destiny spotted him as she came out and immediately confronted him, asking, “What’s wrong with you, Alexander?  Do you have a bug in your shorts or something?”

“Uh… no,” he stammered.  He continued to act aloof before taking off at top vampire speed.

Destiny shrugged it off and headed home.

Damned elevator!

Bertram quickly got to work trying to restore his reputation and convince people that he really was an all right guy.

Finally one of the writers from the newspaper revealed her source for the embarrassing story was none other than Alexander French.  No wonder he was acting so weird.

Josie started feeling anxious about getting old and feared that she would lose all her adoring fans.  She started spending a lot of time in front of the mirror.

That’s what inspired Rosemarie to be bolder than ever and prompted her to ask for an autograph while praising Josie for her beauty and talent.  Josie signed the autograph and asked Rosemarie to be a special guest at her upcoming birthday party.

Somewhere in between shrieking “oh my god” and “I love you so much,” Rosemarie said she’d be there and promised that Josie wouldn’t regret it.

Josie looked so sad on her birthday.  Her friends and family members (other than David and Willow, who were too young for clubs) gathered around to watch her blow out her candles.  Rosemarie was there too, with a delicate flower in her hair.

Josie wished to never get old.

Too bad her wish didn’t come true.

Alexander was spotted at Josie’s party.  Destiny talked to him first and forgave him for what he’d done.  Then Bertram approached him to talk things through and he again made a run for it.

The party continued without him.  Arianna and Sid were sent home before curfew, and Destiny went home around midnight.  She was feeling upset because one of the paparazzi at the party told her she was getting “chunky.”

“Wogan!” she exclaimed when she walked into the kitchen and saw her beloved reading one of her novels.

She ignored her terrible thirst for plasma because she hadn’t seen Wogan in years.  She couldn’t hold back her love for him for one second.

Josie wasn’t impressed by Destiny’s behaviour because she thought it was a cruel betrayal of Alexander.  Destiny didn’t care who saw her or what they thought about it though.

Sid was thrilled to see his dad again, but he sure felt awkward.  Look at the face he made! 

Speaking of goofy faces…

(continue reading…)