Walden95's Blog
:
May 2010
Excuse me for a moment.
POSTED ON
05/28/10
Okay, it seems that I can not access the forums anymore when logged-in. For 4 days now, I\'ve been tiring to at least make a single post but it always errors out. But before any rumors start, I\'m not banned; the forum just error outs on me.
Be back later when it begins to work.
Be back later when it begins to work.
Working slowly, but making progress.
POSTED ON
05/15/10
Well, unlike a few months before, I\'m finally able to make some progress on Keystone City. Summer is drawing close and along with it, summer vacation is too. I\'m still terraforming the land and prefecting the landscapes. I haven\'t reached building the town yet but I may get there soon. With summer, I can finally get some actual work done. Things seem to be going pretty well with the the town so far.
Just a small update for you who wanted to know.
Just a small update for you who wanted to know.
Expecting Ambitions to be buggy but I'll get it. Why?
POSTED ON
05/13/10
Well, even though EA has been doing a pretty lousy job ridding their game and their site of some of the major bugs, I\'ll try to keep a promise for other Simmers here and attempt to complete one of my projects. Keystone City
. I\'ve been having trouble with it.
For one, I\'ve haven\'t been having the most free time around so progress has been slow. Also, while tiring to replicate my image for the town, I quickly come to the question, \'How am I going to make the city aspect look unique and yet similar to blend in like the image in my head?\' I\'m working with an estimate of 30-40 buildings and possibly even more compacted into that tiny peninsula.
I might be raising the requirements of this town too high but I feel that Ambitions will help me a lot in the long run. I personally like creating shops more than houses so building should be more enjoyable. As a extra plus to you guys looking forward to this town, I\'ll attempt to add in all of these new career buildings and possibly a few extra features. This raises yet another good point for me to include this EP in the town: there would be a need for too many Sims to populate the town. I\'m not sure if the game has a population limit but if it does, I don\'t want it to look or feel abandoned.
As an extra update on the game, my goals for this town include...
For one, I\'ve haven\'t been having the most free time around so progress has been slow. Also, while tiring to replicate my image for the town, I quickly come to the question, \'How am I going to make the city aspect look unique and yet similar to blend in like the image in my head?\' I\'m working with an estimate of 30-40 buildings and possibly even more compacted into that tiny peninsula.
I might be raising the requirements of this town too high but I feel that Ambitions will help me a lot in the long run. I personally like creating shops more than houses so building should be more enjoyable. As a extra plus to you guys looking forward to this town, I\'ll attempt to add in all of these new career buildings and possibly a few extra features. This raises yet another good point for me to include this EP in the town: there would be a need for too many Sims to populate the town. I\'m not sure if the game has a population limit but if it does, I don\'t want it to look or feel abandoned.
As an extra update on the game, my goals for this town include...
- Have a town where you see Sims jogging on the streets to work in the city area.
- Make it feel like a small town and not a wide open suburb
- Make it feel more lively then Sunset Valley or Riverview
- Add a little history (uncovered by exploring the town)
- Allow just about every feature in the game + the 2 EPs required to be possible to do without having to build stuff yourself.
- Stay under the limits (listed in main thread)
Why do I wear this badge? (Part 2)
POSTED ON
05/13/10
It looks like Sims all across SimNation are voicing their need for a better exchange.
Protest by XOX1
Cool Sig by Jasnik82
[img]http://i42.tinypic.com/11qo94y.jpg[/img]
Protest by XOX1
Cool Sig by Jasnik82
[img]http://i42.tinypic.com/11qo94y.jpg[/img]
Why do I wear this badge?
POSTED ON
05/10/10
Well if you have ever visited the exchange, you would know why. It\'s broken, it\'s slow, and items don\'t even show up in there until days after they were uploaded. Such items unfortunate enough to suffer this fate of not being put up run a high risk of being culled. If you take a look at culling, you see that it\'s not such a bad thing. At least it shouldn\'t be. The main goals of culling were to save space on EA servers and increase the speed of browsing it. I don\'t know about the fist objective but the second objective wasn\'t fulfilled. There are more things, but I\'ll end my rant here.
If you want to support this, please include a button like badge in your avatar or include the image in your signature. The more people wear this button, the better and more persuasive we are to getting EA to finally fix this issue which has gone on for too long.
Here is the button in signature size
To include it in your signature, copy the code below and place it in your signature slot on the forum by clicking on \' My Preferences\' near the top.
[img]http://i43.tinypic.com/1zdyn9y.jpg[/img]
To include this button in your avatar, you will have to know a little about photo editing programs to get sizing and photo type right. You will also need to download this program which should be self explaining.
One of my post is apparently getting popular.
POSTED ON
05/10/10
If you ever check the hot list on the forum, you may notice one of my threads about half way up slowly inching it\'s way to the top. The post\'s name: Free \r\nStuff, Sales, & Offers at the Sims 3 Store!
. I just thought it was interesting. If I reach the top, I pretty much did all but three thing here on this site. They are: being rewarded the master Recommendation Badge, Being Featured, and becoming a Moderator.
Well while I\'m at it, I might as well include something useful in this blog post. If you want to be successful here on the forum, it takes patience, endurance, and to ability to be kind and respect others. Being helpful is one way by guiding the newbies to the right areas or helping a fellow Simmer set up a challenge. If you see someone who needs help, help them; don\'t ignore it or post \'facepalm.\' We are supposed to be a friendly and respectful community. Also, this post gives a few extra tips you may find helpful if you are new.\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Well while I\'m at it, I might as well include something useful in this blog post. If you want to be successful here on the forum, it takes patience, endurance, and to ability to be kind and respect others. Being helpful is one way by guiding the newbies to the right areas or helping a fellow Simmer set up a challenge. If you see someone who needs help, help them; don\'t ignore it or post \'facepalm.\' We are supposed to be a friendly and respectful community. Also, this post gives a few extra tips you may find helpful if you are new.\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Super Mario Galaxy 2
POSTED ON
05/10/10
If you have ever played the first Super Mario Galaxy, you would you know that it is a unique game. No, it\'s not the story line; it\'s the gravity. In Super Mario Galaxy, you play as Mario (or Luigi if you collect all 120 stars) hopping around and navigating planet after planet as you try to reach the star and complete the level.
Unlike classic Mario style games such as the new New Super Mario Bros, Wii, Super Mario Galaxy is in complete 3D. I don\'t know about you but Mario games always seem to have superior level design. Even if they are easy, they are still fun enough to make you want to play them over and over. For those who did want harder levels, and if the reviews are correct, you will get them.
(Click to enlarge photos below)
There would be many other things that I would love to talk about but this blog only allows 3,000 characters. I don\'t want to overdo it. So for a more detailed information + a few videos and photos, check out IGN ; they have a lot of information about this game. (Has a few spoilers but it won\'t give away very much)
The game comes out on May 23, 2010, (about a week or so before the Ambitions expanchion pack) and it won\'t disappoint.
Ok, who reads my blog?
POSTED ON
05/09/10
Just curios. I do not want to be writing for nothing.
If you have read this please check in to my May Blog Census.
I have just spent about a half of an hour blogging today because the forum is so slow, and it\'s a Saturday!
Click here to check in.
If you have read this please check in to my May Blog Census.
I have just spent about a half of an hour blogging today because the forum is so slow, and it\'s a Saturday!
Click here to check in.
A great fansite for all SimCity fans!
POSTED ON
05/09/10
I probably could have posted this long ago since I\'ve been a member for so many years. It\'s called Simtropolis. Simtropolis
is a community dedicated to SimCity and games alike it. Their forum is about as active as this one; it\'s no disappointment; Simtropolis has an intelligent community with a forum of fair rules. They allow for OT discussions such as worldly events and other games besides SimCitys and Cities XLs. It\'s been going pretty strong for 7 years which is an achievement! I\'m not saying to ditch this forum to go to theirs; I\'m just letting you SimCity fans who haven\'t heard about it know and benefit from it.
Back to the site, you may notice their exchange. I\'d have to say that this exchange is tremendious in terms of added game-play and new features added to it\'s main game which it\'s a fan site for: SimCity. If you upgrade SimCity 4 with the essential CC from this site, your game play will more than likely double several times over if you are a fan of the game. You would just have to see it for yourself. I\'ll just explain a few: trams in the road, EL over road like the ones in in Chicago, trees changing with the seasons, job generating landmarks,...ect. It\'s just awesome.
There are more parts to this site and I recommend to give it a look if you are a SimCity fan.
Back to the site, you may notice their exchange. I\'d have to say that this exchange is tremendious in terms of added game-play and new features added to it\'s main game which it\'s a fan site for: SimCity. If you upgrade SimCity 4 with the essential CC from this site, your game play will more than likely double several times over if you are a fan of the game. You would just have to see it for yourself. I\'ll just explain a few: trams in the road, EL over road like the ones in in Chicago, trees changing with the seasons, job generating landmarks,...ect. It\'s just awesome.
There are more parts to this site and I recommend to give it a look if you are a SimCity fan.
Something Interesting Better Happen.
POSTED ON
05/09/10
I remember when this place was lively and fun. Now it\'s like a ghost town; I\'ve been asking myself the same question day after day: \'Why am I still here\'? then I think to myself, \'my directory, my special posts, and Keystone City\'. As the days go past and the forums grow weaker, these reasons don\'t seem as big as they used to be. Not that many people use my directory now, the audience for Keystone City has shrunk, and EA continues to make things worse around here for it\'s own greed. Hopefully, the summer + the Ambitions EP bring back some members. If not, I\'m going loosing hope fast. I may move on; I may just update my info posts only; I may just give up on this completely.
This is an issue and something need to be done in the favor of the community. Releasing new items and EPs do not count because that\'s business. Fixing the already present bugs is a start. What we need to get this community back together is a deal more fair for the consumer. If the game is all about it\'s comunity, give it more leeway instead of constricting and limiting it. I beleive that we can deal with culling and a few reasonable business decisions but the community deserves respect. It can only take s much; eventually, it will disappear and move on. I don\'t want that to happen.
This is an issue and something need to be done in the favor of the community. Releasing new items and EPs do not count because that\'s business. Fixing the already present bugs is a start. What we need to get this community back together is a deal more fair for the consumer. If the game is all about it\'s comunity, give it more leeway instead of constricting and limiting it. I beleive that we can deal with culling and a few reasonable business decisions but the community deserves respect. It can only take s much; eventually, it will disappear and move on. I don\'t want that to happen.
City One - By IBM
POSTED ON
05/08/10
Since I\'m a major SimCity fan, I was bound to be exited for really anything that would add to gameplay. I\'m not talking about the kind like the puzzle piece SimCity Societies that came out a few years ago. Unlike so many other games today, SimCity (excluding societies) is one of the few games that make you think, plan ahead and develop a strategy.
I know some of you might be thinking oh wait, don\'t you have to develop a plan for some other games whatever it may be? My response to that is that most of those are role playing games. They make you think but there aren\'t that many outcomes; it\'s really just a you fail or you win possible a few in between outcomes as well. But really, you are just playing along specific outcomes. In games like SimCity, everything you do affects your game. See the below.
Thought about building a highway to reduce traffic congestion in your city? Think again; bulldozing houses and utilities to make way for the new road has cost your city millions of dollars not to mention loss of taxes from the residents and business you cleared for the new system. Also expect in the coming years for the highway to develop possibly severe noise pollution plummeting nearby hoses\' prices which could lead to abandonment and crime. This may be a problem for years to come as you try to balance your budget and continue to develop your overgrowing metropolis.
Everything you do affects your game. Maybe instead of that highway project, you could have integrated a bus system which may have not been as effective in reducing traffic as the highway but led to less issues in the end. There are endless possibilities. SimCity is a game that makes you think \r\nand plan. There are really no other games like it that.
If you look at this trailer, you see that the issues are way more numerous than in SimCity 4. The only question is how great will gameplay be in comparison. Will there be neat animations to correspond with issues and everything else taking place in your city? Will this be set up like MMO part Cities XL but be more connected with the whole world such as problems of one city also become the problems of another?
City Once is supposed to come out in fall of 2010 so it\'s not too far around the corner. Check out the trailer. It seems promising with all of the subtitles like \'Costly Leaks\' when they show the water dam.
Click here to view the Trailer
Click here to visit the Site
What do you think? Vote!
Click here to vote
New Badges
POSTED ON
05/06/10
Unlike most of the material in My Page Goodies, badges that you earn actually have some meaning to getting them. You set goals and attempt to acheive them. Even better, EA now allows a feature that allows you to pick a favorite that will end up on the bottom corner of your avatar. This adds a little compressibility and allows you to show off your achievements.
Looks like I might be needing to set some goals too.
I\'m setting my eyes on the Blogmaster Badge
The others seem just to far out of my reach. I don\'t beleive that if you do set goals, don\'t turn them into personal expectations that will probably let you down. I had a goal here on this site to try to accomplish everything big from being a very helpful role model on the forums to being featured. Not all of my goals will be reached and I don\'t expect all of them too. These new badges are a great addition but don\'t let them take over your simming experience.
Looks like I might be needing to set some goals too.
I\'m setting my eyes on the Blogmaster Badge
The others seem just to far out of my reach. I don\'t beleive that if you do set goals, don\'t turn them into personal expectations that will probably let you down. I had a goal here on this site to try to accomplish everything big from being a very helpful role model on the forums to being featured. Not all of my goals will be reached and I don\'t expect all of them too. These new badges are a great addition but don\'t let them take over your simming experience.
The Sims Resource Takes Down Garden of Shadows
POSTED ON
05/04/10
It seems that the simming community has experienced yet another causality in the battle of the pay sites which really have no legal ground to stand on being all of the content legally belongs to EA. However, EA does not enforce their rules in this area so sites like The Sims Resource can be free to nickel and dime Simmers for content instead of that being EA.
Getting back to the main subject, The Sims Resource decided to target a free competitor. In their attempt to bring down the site Garden of Shadows, The Sims Resource successfully brought it down (at least temporary). It all started when The Sims Resource sent a complaint to GoDaddy, the server in which Garden of Shadows is located on, which claimed that Garden of the Shadows was redistributing copyright content. There is no legal ground that The Sims Resource stands on. There is a little truth in stolen content via links in the forum to the stolen CC on file uploader sites such as Media File. However, The Sims Resource managed to get GoDaddy to take down the site for at at least 12 business days. within those days, GoDaddy will scan the site and delete anything it believes is stolen.
The scary part to this is that this leaves questions open about other vulnerable sites. In the future, sites like Boolprop Fight The Addiction False also hosted on GoDaddy\'s serves may be prone to attack in the future.
(Click the image below for a bigger image)
To read on about the situation and what action is being taken, Click here .
Getting back to the main subject, The Sims Resource decided to target a free competitor. In their attempt to bring down the site Garden of Shadows, The Sims Resource successfully brought it down (at least temporary). It all started when The Sims Resource sent a complaint to GoDaddy, the server in which Garden of Shadows is located on, which claimed that Garden of the Shadows was redistributing copyright content. There is no legal ground that The Sims Resource stands on. There is a little truth in stolen content via links in the forum to the stolen CC on file uploader sites such as Media File. However, The Sims Resource managed to get GoDaddy to take down the site for at at least 12 business days. within those days, GoDaddy will scan the site and delete anything it believes is stolen.
The scary part to this is that this leaves questions open about other vulnerable sites. In the future, sites like Boolprop Fight The Addiction False also hosted on GoDaddy\'s serves may be prone to attack in the future.
(Click the image below for a bigger image)
To read on about the situation and what action is being taken, Click here .
