I’ve finished getting the Sims 3 hood mostly set up to how I want to play. There are still more things for me to do, such as building a working police station, a restaurant for The Willow, furnishing and decorating everyone’s houses. I hate rabbit holes, so they’re all being replaced with working lots using the custom rabbit hole rugs. The hospital, school, and City Hall have already been replaced. But the others will come as I play and as they’re needed. My first family to play was Tucker & Cynthia’s house, so their apartment was first on the list to be decorated. Then the next household was the college group, so I had to set up my Arcadia University area within the hood.
Most of the hood by day. (Click for a bigger view.) I’m using Awesims’ Redcliffs, which I highly recommend. I have made some changes and rearrangements to it and still have just a few more changes to make, but nothing major. It’s a great hood to work with and start from. The university area is on higher ground just behind where this camera angle is.
The hood by night. I’m using this lighting mod which makes the nights darker and sunset more orange. Again, you can click to get a bigger view.
Switching to Sims 3 is a big adjustment. There are a lot of things I still wish that Sims 3 could do that I could do easily in Sims 2. But then, I can get shots like this in Sims 3, with the seamless neighborhood providing cars driving by or other people doing their thing on various lots. This, by the way, is Ethan Carter, George Tang’s friend. He’s walking over to the townhouse that Mona, Madison, and Anna share because Mona invited him to a party she’s having tonight. That glowing thing on the left is the subway. He took the subway closest to his dorm to this subway near Mona’s townhouse and then walked the last couple of blocks. He did that on his own. I had expected him to either get a taxi or walk, but then I saw him disappearing into the subway.
Another picture of the seamless neighborhood. See how pretty Redcliffs (now Pine Hollow) is?
Of course, there are things I’m still working out. Until EA gives us a university EP, I’m having to fake my own college experience for my Sims. Right now, my college students are in their last semester so the real test of my plans will come with the next group (which won’t happen for several rounds). My plan so far is that the college students have to read books to earn a certain number of skills each semester in order to pass, and then have to write a nonfiction book as their thesis in their last semester. Also, I’m thinking of requiring them to take some classes around town (for example, you can visit City Hall and take a charisma class to increase your charisma skill). I’m working out how to determine the requirements for teens for going to college. I’m using these lots for Arcadia University.
This is from Twallan’s woohooer mod I believe and it made me laugh. Poor Tucker, he also had a “performance anxiety” moodlet, lol!
Another thing I’m working out is Tucker’s job in the new hood. He was in the natural science career in TS2. There isn’t anything like that in TS3. I’ve been looking for a custom career to use, but haven’t found one suitable yet. My options right now are the science career as a substitute for now, or a freelance career in fishing or gardening (going along with the “natural” aspect of it).
Or I try creating my own career based on the TS2 natural science one, if I’m feeling motivated.
This is also from the woohooer mod. I got a pop up while playing Tucker’s house that Waylon had improved his woohoo skills. Okay then, nice to know. I’m sure Viola is very happy! At least now I know what they’ve been doing over in their house without me.
Of course it would be Violet Craig whose very first want is to fight a vampire! Sorry kid, but I went around and cured all the vampires so hopefully no more will be popping up any time soon.
And a closer look at one of the first Sims I created:
Xander! 🙂
(I may start putting very light lipstick on the guys because a lot of them are having problems with their lips blending into their faces too much. It’s the skin I’m using, I’m sure, but it’s the best skin I’ve found that I like.)
Everything looks really great! I love Redcliffs and the lots you use for your university!
I never used the Woohooer but it seems like a nice mod.
Ha at Violet, makes sense 🙂
I’m enjoying seeing what kinds of experiences my Sims are having with the woohooer, lol. 😉 I like that it also includes autonomous woohoo and try for baby, so it’s kind of like ACR.
Violet cracks me up. 😀
Oooh, I LOVE it!!! And that lighting mod does wonders for the night! So pretty!
Oh, and that street shot! That’s what has me sold, honestly, and that’s what I always wish TS2 could look like as you look down a street, but even on the biggest views, there’s still just no comparison.
I’ll definitely be faking the whole college thing too. I didn’t get Uni for TS2 for a while after it was released though, so it’s actually something I’ve had to do before. And actually, for as little as I actually ended up using the Uni features in the end, after I made up my whole university, I bet a Uni EP for TS3 really wouldn’t even be necessary. I’d rather see pets or weather first.
Oh, but this hood is SO gorgeous! I’m still torn on whether I’d like to recreate LH on a custom map, or somebody else’s. I hear it’s a LOT of work to make a custom world, lol!
Everyone looks great so far! I can totally see their TS2 selves in the way you’ve recreated them! I hope I’m able to do as good a job with mine! 🙂
I’m very happy that my computer runs TS3 so well! I was worried that it might have problems, but it exceeds all the minimum specs and even with the number of downloads I’ve managed to accumulate so far it still loads TS3 faster than TS2, lol. (Although my computer seems to have decided it hates TS2 because it pops up all kinds of errors now whenever I start it. I had hoped that reformatting my computer would solve the problems, but no luck. Which was my biggest nudge for moving on to TS3 since my computer still likes it.)
I’d definitely rather see pets or weather before a university EP too! You’re right, the uni features didn’t get used as often with the in-hood uni so a whole uni EP isn’t entirely necessary. I guess it depends on what other features might be included with the EP on whether it would be worth it after figuring out my own fake college.
I considered recreating Pine Hollow all on my own and downloaded the Create a World tool. But once I started playing around with it, I changed my mind. I’m not that ambitious and motivated, lol! 😉 I have complete respect for anyone who takes the time to build their own hood.
Thanks! I had a hard time with getting some of the features just right, but I hope I’ve gotten them to a point that the Sims resemble their TS2 selves somewhat.
Oh, also, I think you can mix and match the face replacements from the bodies, can’t you? So if you like those skins, but want to change the male faces, for example, I think I’ve heard of people doing that.
I think you can mix and match the faces and bodies. But then, these faces are the ones I’ve found that I like best too, lol. There are a lot of them that look so good in the screenshots but then I don’t like the way they look in my game.
I haven’t really played TS3, it doesn’t run properly on my computer. Thanks for the peek. I had laugh at the bad experience of having disappointed woohoo. ~laughing~
You’re welcome! Sorry to hear about TS3 not running properly. 😦 I was worried that it wouldn’t run very well on my computer, but it turns out that my computer seems to like it better than TS2, lol.
That moodlet was very unexpected, but so funny! Poor Tucker, you would think he had enough experience by now to know what he’s doing.
Your hood is coming together very nicely, I love that you have also included a university…i built one in my hood, but have yet to play it as some of the dorms need still decorating and I haven’t been bothered. Also your idea how it would work is really interesting, this way they will actually learn something…i think I personally am to cosy to set anything like this up, but one can never say never right.
Also love that lighting mod and use it myself, it makes sunsets and sunrises so so so pretty.
Looking forward to first stories from the new Pine Hollow 🙂
Thank you! I need to finish redecorating the uni lots I downloaded to suit my tastes a little better, but I couldn’t be bothered to do it for this group since they were in their last semester anyway. I decided they would have to just live with how it looked and then I’d redecorate in the future. 😉
I like for my college students to at least earn a few skills while they’re there, but I still give them time to go out and have fun. The current group loves going out to the clubs and bars each night and then sleeping in late in the mornings, lol.
That lighting mod is so pretty! It really adds to the game. 🙂
My TS3 game is behaving at the moment (which is so rare!) so I totally just grabbed that lighting mod! I wasn’t sure if I wanted it but I saw how awesome Pine Hollow looks at night and decided that yes, yes I do. LOL. I also picked up that Kama Simtra thing – it looks like a riot!
Poor Tucker…he woohoos enough that he can make up for it next time. 😉
And aww, Xander – definitely one of my favourite Pine Hollow Sims! Still “awesome” in TS3! I’m impressed at the likeness.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted the lighting mod until I tried it. Like speechless said, it makes sunrise and sunset so pretty! The Kama Simtra pop ups keep me amused while I play. I’m so glad to know my Sims are getting skilled in the ways of woohoo. 😉
Ha, yes, I’m sure it won’t take Tucker long at all to work on his moves!
Thanks! Some of the Sims I feel like I just couldn’t get quite right (Darcy Chase is one of those, she just kept looking a bit off no matter what I did) but I’m really happy with the way Xander turned out!
OOoohhhh I’m super excited to see this! I can totally recognize your sims, which was my biggest concern! The hood by night is serious awesome! Wow! The seamless hood is one thing that I wish so much for with TS2.
LOL on the woohoo mod, the mods you’ve added look like they add some fun interest to the game. Poor Tucker though.
Thanks! I’m glad that you can recognize them in their TS3 versions. That was my biggest worry too. I was afraid they wouldn’t still feel like the same people and wouldn’t look familiar enough for me to get back into their heads. But I’ve played a few households already and I’m happy with the way that most of them have turned out. I played Sunny and Eric’s house last night and I think Sunny especially turned out well. She looks a lot like her TS2 self, which makes me very happy. 🙂
Those woohoo mods are hilarious!
You’re hood looks wonderful. And I think I have a ton of questions. Like the custom rabbit holes, if I wanted to make a school. Could I just build the school, fill it in with desks, gy, ect., then add the rabbit hole behind a door with a sealed off room for them to actually go to school? And how do you create a restuarant? This is so confusing to me. LOL
And, XANDER! He looks awsome!