Real People Series, Sim #1: Sarah Carroll

I've decided to start a series of Sims intended to reflect real people; some of them are people I know and others are fictional inventions, but what I've tried to capture in all of them is a certain element of uniqueness and realism. I'm a noob at creating truly unique Sims (I've usually just gone for "pretty" in the past), so it might take me a while to get into the swing of things when it comes to getting them right, but I'd like to think they are a little less cookie-cutter-esque than the average Sim. I may include some supermodel-pretty Sims in the collection as well (after all, supermodels are people too), but the emphasis will be on real, average-looking people...who hopefully aren't quite as fake and puddingy as the EA Sims, even if they are far from perfect.

The first Sim I'd like to share is Sarah Carroll, my own self-Sim. It seemed fitting to start with the person I know best; I'll probably be doing a Sim of my fiance next, but dressing boy dollies isn't as much fun so I haven't made him yet. :P Sarah's personality traits include bookworm, loner, perfectionist, neurotic and couch potato (exciting, aren't I?), and her Lifetime Wish is to become a professional author. Luckily, in terms of gameplay, her traits work well for that particular goal. Her favorites are spaghetti, indie music and the color hot pink, and her voice is approximately 30% of #1 but it would probably be higher if she didn't smoke so damn much. CAS screenshots (and detailed descriptions of all CC) are after the download links.

Her personality is pretty close to my own, and her looks are...well, the best representation of myself that I've managed so far. The resemblance isn't uncanny or anything (the nose in particular isn't quite right, and my face isn't so round), but it's not far off; the people I shared it with who know me personally were able to immediately tell that it was supposed to be me without being told. Anything I tweaked only seemed to make her look less like me, so I finally just stopped trying to figure out what the discrepancies were, and I'll worry about them if I ever attempt to make a Version 2. My own attire isn't usually quite this busy when it comes to patterns, but I love all the color combinations and I was hoping that the vivid patterns would help her stand out when she is surrounded by other Sims in town. The hair...that's pretty much spot-on. These are the exact styles that I normally wear in all these states of dress.

Download Sim Only

Download Sim & All CC

 

 

Download Sim Only

Download Sim & All CC

There is a fair amount of CC included, if you want her to look exactly as I made her. First of all, she was created using enhanced sliders (I use AwesomeMod, which I have set to enhance the sliders by a multiple of three, and you can get that here). I'm not sure if her features are extreme enough that you actually need the enhancement, but if so, they may snap back a bit if you attempt to tweak her in CAS, if you're not using slider enhancements yourself. She was also created with a slightly enhanced bust using Delphy's custom sliders (which you can get here), so if you don't have those installed she will have a bust that is a bit smaller than pictured.

Her eyes are from the Tiffany Glaze set by escand, which has smaller irises than the EA default; any old eyes will do, really, but she might look considerably different if you don't have custom eyes that make the iris smaller. The color was also set using these eyes, so they might look darker or lighter if you have eyes that are textured differently. You can get escand's eyes here.

Her body skin is Peggy's, available here; I never noticed before I took the screenshots that it has painted toenails, which I find somewhat annoying...but not annoying enough to do anything about it. There are plenty of nicer skintones out there, but I had Peggy's installed at the time I made her and took the screenshots, so I figured I should give credit where credit is due and allow downloaders to decide whether or not they want her to look exactly as pictured. Her facial skin is the beautiful Moonlight Skin by kanno, which you can get here; I honestly don't think I can rave enough about this skintone, which means I think I'll be installing the Moonlight body skins next; the file I uploaded includes all ages and both genders, just because I think they are so nice, but you can pick and choose which ones you want.

As for makeup, she's wearing my all-time favorites. Her lipstick is a neutral recolor of Elf Lip by Channy&Vivin, which is available here. It's an absolutely wonderful lipstick (the best I've come across so far) that takes color very well...at least once you figure out which channel does what. It works nicely in rich colors as well as neutrals so it can look very glam or very natural, and it can be worn by males and females, teen and up. Her eyeshadow is Faded Flare by Papercat, available here; her eyeliner, Outer Liner, is also by Papercat, and you can get it here. Both are very subtle and work well when you don't want your Sims to look too dolled up but still want that little touch of detail that makeup can provide, and they work on both genders, teen and up. Again, I've used very neutral shades on this particular Sim because I didn't want her to look like she was wearing much makeup, so you can make this makeup stand out a lot more if you choose.

She wears custom hairstyles and custom clothing (or at least custom patterns) in all states of dress, and a fair amount of the content is subscriber-only; in such cases, I'll give links to the originals as well as the free, redistributed files. Don't get them from the creators unless you enjoy spending money on things that should be free, while simultaneously supporting the illegal activities of creators who shouldn't be charging for Sims content in the first place. You don't enjoy that, do you?

Her everyday outfit includes hrekkjavaka's 50's Style Skinny Crop Jeans, which are available here, and the base game babydoll tee patterned with Zelia's (aka Annie_Zelia, aka Annie_Leduc) pattern Alpha Beta, available here. In this state, she wears Peggy's Female Hair #66, shown here and available for free here and here.

Her formal outfit consists of the shorter version of Anubis360's Jasmine Bridal Gown, available here, and sims2sisters' High Heels, which are shown here; they were once free and aren't up on the Booty yet, so here is a direct link to the file if you'd rather download it individually than with the Sim. The bodice of the gown has been retextured with RandomNoir's Sequin Sparkles pattern, available here. In tests where I removed my patterns folder, that dress takes the textures of the base game dress from which it was originally altered (although with the new mesh's shape), which means that you'll absolutely need this pattern or the dress will take on a very old-ladyish game texture (even if you have the dress installed) and therefore look totally fugly. If you really don't want the pattern but would rather avoid being caught unawares by the old-lady dress, just open the Sim in CAS to retexture her dress as you see fit; if you don't do that, you'll get the fugly EA textures by default. But then again,  I went with a somewhat unusual color combination, so you might think it looks fugly either way. :P Her formal hair (which really isn't formal-looking at all, but that's what I intended), is Peggy's Female Hair #10; it's free and you can get it directly from the creator here.

Her sleepwear is a simple recolor/retexture (with no custom patterns) of the long pajama pants, paired with a camisole by shakeshaft, which can be found in her Casual but Smart set here. I've retextured it with a pattern by Zelia (aka Annie_Zelia, aka Annie_Leduc) called Retro Paisley, which you'll find here. As in the case of the formal dress, without that pattern installed, the game will apply its own textures to the top even if you have shakeshaft's shirt installed, so unless you don't mind taking the time to retexture it in CAS or you don't mind the tank reverting to its original hideous appearance, you must download the pattern, too. She wears Newsea's Unisex Hair #16 ("Viking") in sleepwear, shown here and available for free here. And yes, I am aware that the hair clips through her breasts, but it's not terribly extreme unless you're taking screenshots where perfection is an issue. If that's the case, just change her sleepwear hair, because I thought this one was otherwise ideal.

For the athletic category, she wears Simal10's leisure tank which can be seen here and downloaded for free here (note: you'll have to download the whole week's worth of items, but it's in there). The top is worn with EA shorts that have been repatterned with Sinastra's Beryl pattern, which can be seen here and downloaded for free here. In this state, her hair is Peggy's Female Hair #55, shown here and available for free here and here.

Finally, her swimwear outfit is the EA haltertop one-piece textured with a pattern by Zelia (aka Annie_Zelia, aka Annie_Leduc) called Silhouette Floral, which you'll find here. Her hair is Peggy's Female Hair #37, shown here and available for free here and here.

As you can see, it's a lot of CC. Thanks a million to all the incredible creators who contributed to this Sim in their individual ways, and who generally make my gameplay more enjoyable. I'd also like to thank all the people who so generously share the content that is normally available only to subscribers at paysites, all the freesites that host so much wonderful content, and all the fantastic finds blogs that make it easier for players to locate great stuff. I'd have gotten bored with the Sims in a few hours if it weren't for all of you. Instead, it's an obsession many years in the making.

Phew. Sorry, guys. I talk a lot.

I hope you enjoy playing with her! Me. It. What?

Get the Word Out: Filesharing Sites Deleting Content!

There are many generous Simmers out there who take it upon themselves to share the custom content that they have downloaded from paysites with the rest of the community. Some of them contribute to sites like PMBD and Sims Cave, while others upload content to filesharing sites and distribute it through forums and blogs. Unfortunately, since this content is originally purchased, it is sometimes blocked or deleted from sites like RapidShare for "illegal content." Let's try to keep the content flowing (and the people sharing it from having their accounts blocked and reputations slandered) by contacting filesharing sites that engage in this practice and letting them know all about the EULA and it's rules on content distribution.

I decided to write an email the the powers that be at RS after visiting Antonella's blog and finding that a number of the files she is trying to share have been blocked. Putting pressure on sites to allow Sims content may or may not have any effect, but it's worth a shot. If you'd like to send an email of your own (to RS or any other site that deletes legal content for falsely believing that the uploader is breaking the law), here's a copy of the email I sent. You're welcome to copypasta it, but I've already posted it on two other blogs, so there's a chance that they'll get the same email a few times. We want them to let us share Sims content because it's the right thing to do, not because we annoyed them into it. ;) Besides, they could potentially just ignore our pleas out of irritation.

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To: abuse@rapidshare.de
Subj: "Pirated" Custom Content for The Sims 3

To Whom It May Concern:

Recently, I have attempted to use your service to download files for use in my copy of The Sims 3. I have found that a great number of these files are being regularly blocked or deleted as a result of perceived "illegal content," because said files were originally released on sites that charge for download access. I just wanted to drop you a quick note regarding the erroneous assertion that redistribution of these files is illegal, in the hope that these files may not be blocked in the future.

The EULA for TS3 makes it very clear that the redistribution of said pay-files is perfectly legal. The EULA explicitly states that a creator of these files "hereby waive[s] any moral rights of paternity, publication, reputation, or attribution under applicable law with respect to EA's and other players' use and enjoyment of such content contributions in connection with the Software." Furthermore, "when you contribute content through the Software, you expressly grant to other users of the Software the non-exclusive, perpetual, transferable, worldwide, irrevocable right to access and use, copy, modify, display, perform, and create and distribute derivative works from, your contributed content."

Of course, Electronic Arts has their own content that is sold at The Sims Store. These files are created and distributed directly by EA and it may very well be illegal to redistribute them. Hoever, all players and creators of custom content are completely free to redistribute or alter the files that are initially distributed on such Sims paysites as The Sims Resource and Peggy Zone, wherever they see fit. The original artists waive all ownership of the content the moment it is released into the community. Individuals and sites who choose to share that content, whether it be on their own servers or through filesharing sites like RS, have every right to do so. Many have already made the switch from RS to other filesharing sites, in part to avoid the hassle of their uploads being continually and pointlessly blocked.

I know that it is probably impossible to avoid all of the player-created Sims pay-files from being blocked on RS, but it is my hope that by bringing this to your attention (if no one has done so already), these files will no longer be actively targeted for deletion. Many thousands of players, with EA's EULA firmly on their side, would like to have access to such content, and using your site is one way that they attempt to do so.

Thank you for your time,
[my name and contact information]

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Aaaanyway, I know I've been pretty inactive since I started this blog, even though it wasn't that long ago. Things have been hectic in the real world lately: my fiance is recovering from surgery, my car broke down, and I'm in the process of starting the bookstore and starting a new part-time job on top of that. I already have quite a number of blogs drafted, mostly uber-noob guides on how to get started in the field of customizing TS3, but something has gone awry with the formatting and I simply haven't had the time to fix it. It's easy to multitask enough to check a blog here and there while I work, but major formatting takes more time and attention. I hope to get everything running in the next week or two, at which point I'll start posting new stuff. In the mean time, you're not missing anything, I promise. ;)

First Post!

Like anyone else who has found their way here, I love The Sims. I was a casual player of the original incarnation when the franchise was still new, and I loved how gameplay was augmented by the expansion packs so I collected them with fervor. By the time TS2 was released, I was immediately hooked and resumed my acquisition of expansion packs and stuff packs just as eagerly as before. I was late to the game in discovering the world of custom content, particularly after college when I stopped actively playing for a couple of years to get involved in that annoying thing called "real life," but by 2007 I was a hardcore downloading freak with gigabyte upon gigabyte of mods, hacks and general pretties cluttering up my Downloads folder. Now that TS3 has taken the Simming world by storm, I'm ready for action...and I'm already captivated by all the possibilities that the game provides.

This blog will be a chronicle of my adventures with TS3 in terms of gameplay and my favorite custom content discoveries, and hopefully my own creations, eventually. Although I love the game and I have a million ideas of what I'd like to see in it, I am not a custom content creator, at least not yet. I'm also not a computer expert, by any means, so I hope that by sharing what I've learned, I can help those players who are even less computer literate than I am. In this vein, my first few posts will likely be lengthy, and meant to provide the noob Simmer with a frame of reference upon which to get started; although I find it unlikely that inexperienced players will find my blog before they find the larger, more widely known sources, it seems like a fun project. This will not be my normal procedure, I promise.

Anyway, I've already gone on a little longer than I intended (but if you think this has been wordy, wait until you see the treatises I'm already considering for my next few entries). Stick around, and I hope I'll eventually be able to provide my fellow Simmers, whether they are long-time members of the community like myself or someone who is completely new to the series, with something interesting.

Happy Simming!