Sims2 My Big Life State Experiment: The Chimera Sisters

Well, fudgecake. I didn't take any screenshots of the Romero House's cost from the collegehood view; one moment, I'm finishing up the sinks in the house's bathroom...


...the next moment, I'm getting ready to kick the Zombies out of Castle Von Carstein (with the Romero House visible next to the left edge of the screenshot)...


...and then the zombies are moving into Romero House. And I have no screenshots between the two.


They were halfway through their Sophomore year when they moved, and despite their slow speed I had done a very good job of keeping their GPAs high. So at most they had 18,000 Simoleons when they moved out of Castle Von Carstein and into the Romero House.


If only I could remember how many items they had bought before leaving the dorm. All I know is that they only had around $1,891 when they moved to the Romero House. And the only way I might learn how much the house cost to move into (an approximate figure, anyway) is to move the zombies out. But that can wait until they graduate, right?

(07-09-2018 03:24 AM)BoilingOil Wrote:  And now we're there... you got it all wrong! Sims don't BUY those houses in the uni hood, ever!! They RENT them. They pay a security deposit when moving in, and get (most of) it back when they move out! This security deposit, by the way, is a lot less then when they would move into exactly the same house in the main hood.
Only YOU are responsible for picking up and putting in their inventory, all the items that they bought, and which you want them to keep. Otherwise, they get for those items only as much as they are worth after devaluation! And everything that you leave behind, is destroyed as soon as the last resident has left.

Houses must be different from dorms in that regard; items left behind in a dorm aren't destroyed when the last Sim in a household leaves campus. That's why Castle Von Carstein has so much stuff! And the Abstractivism NOW! Arts & Crafts dorm has its own art gallery, and every student who lives in that hobby dorm must have his or her portrait painted and added to the gallery before leaving the dorm. It's one of my rules, and the gallery is slowly running out of wall space because of that rule. A few of the Simmy students were clothed when they posed for their portraits, but most...weren't.

(Benne's portrait is in the gallery too, of course. )

(07-09-2018 03:24 AM)BoilingOil Wrote:  And you must also remember, when sims graduate or flunk out, and go back to the main hood, the taxi only picks them up one by one, never as a group. So only the LAST person leaving, gets the refund. And that includes the security deposit as well as the bought items that they leave behind. And THAT is why you are required to keep track of the earnings yourself.

I know it's like that with the dorms too, as far as who gets all the money. Casey Gearsmith (whom I had mentioned back there) stayed at my Tinkering hobby dorm with four friends. The five of them built up a pretty nice fortune by flipping junk cars, and the dorm's garage could hold ten junk cars at a time. So whenever they weren't busy with college stuff, they would buy a junk car, restore it, sell it and buy another. Eventually they all graduated, and Casey was the last one to leave campus. That's how I learned the hard way that your Sims should sink all of their Simoleons into items which can be stowed in their inventories — and do just that — before leaving campus, especially if they amassed over $20,000.

But Casey bought a good-sized lot with his 20k handout, his four friends moved in with him and combined their 20k handouts into a pretty good three-story house with plenty of garage space, they all went right back to flipping cars and they bounced right back, so no big loss. Emma the Cow Mascot brought a little more money with her when Casey married her and brought her into the household, but it wasn't all that much. Apparently you have no time to do your classwork and finish semesters when you spend most of your time setting off sprinklers and belching in people's faces.

(07-09-2018 03:24 AM)BoilingOil Wrote:  What you originally said, sounded like you had them buy a house and make a Greek House out of it. That is never the right procedure. The only thing you achieve that way, is losing lots of money! You build the Greek house with all its amenities as a normal lot -- just a very luxurious one with all the trimmings. Then you use a special command in the console to make it into a Greek House. And finally, sims need to be moved in somehow.

I never knew that there was a way to do that! The way I understood Greek Houses, they have to be started by Sims who are already living in a campus house, by a phone call.

It's not the changelotzoning code, is it? I've used that code to make dorms and hotels, but I've never seen an option for making a Greek House. (I know that changelotzoning can be used to make apartment buildings too, but I've never tried building one yet.)

But if a house can be turned into a Greek House without any Sims living in it, does this mean that the Romero House will still be home to Zee-Zed-Zulu even after the Zombies move out?

(07-09-2018 03:24 AM)BoilingOil Wrote:  

(06-09-2018 10:58 PM)Pizzatron-9000 Wrote:  Witch hats might look good on some witches but not on all witches. Carmilla still has a portrait hanging over her grand staircase, a portrait painted of her back when she was just a neutral witch and not yet a vampire. She wore the standard brown-and-gray witch hat back then. I wouldn't even think of putting the witch hat on her now.

Speaking of which, I followed up on that "14 Witches to one PlantSim" guesstimate that I threw out back there.

MY WITCHIES

1 (Also seen: That old portrait of pre-vampirism Carmilla in her Neutral Witch outfit.)

2

3 (I forgot the mouseover name on Mordra Covenheart there, but it's not like you can't tell that she's a witch anyway. )

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 (Disregard the High Witch behind Fennel; she's Best Friends with about half the household, and she's just visiting.)

11!

MY PLANTIES:

...oh, wait. I never quite got around to turning Dawn and three of her friends into PlantSims, did I? Huh. I reckon they haven't sprayed enough bugs yet, seeing as I made their veggie garden outdoors — and not inside a greenhouse — for just that reason.

So I guess the actual count is more like 11 to 0...still a pretty great divide there. Removable witch hats shall remain removable, thanks.

And I may have counted Merelith and Scylla in advance, even though they haven't become witches yet. Speaking of which, I should probably throw out some progress reports and drag this topic back on-topic, huh?

What we have to be on Topic?

I like the pictures of your various Witches, I can do without the Hats though. I do not like the hats all that much.

(07-09-2018 08:55 AM)Pizzatron-9000 Wrote:  

(07-09-2018 03:24 AM)BoilingOil Wrote:  What you originally said, sounded like you had them buy a house and make a Greek House out of it. That is never the right procedure. The only thing you achieve that way, is losing lots of money! You build the Greek house with all its amenities as a normal lot -- just a very luxurious one with all the trimmings. Then you use a special command in the console to make it into a Greek House. And finally, sims need to be moved in somehow.

I never knew that there was a way to do that! The way I understood Greek Houses, they have to be started by Sims who are already living in a campus house, by a phone call.

It's not the changelotzoning code, is it? I've used that code to make dorms and hotels, but I've never seen an option for making a Greek House. (I know that changelotzoning can be used to make apartment buildings too, but I've never tried building one yet.)

I would *guess* that there is indeed some code for changelotzoning to do that.No, apparently not!! Problem is, I've never bothered with that stuff, so I do not truly know for sure. My sims usually live in a rental home on campus (if they already have all the friends and lovers they will ever need), or in a dormitory (if they are still looking for new flesh).

(07-09-2018 08:55 AM)Pizzatron-9000 Wrote:  But if a house can be turned into a Greek House without any Sims living in it, does this mean that the Romero House will still be home to Zee-Zed-Zulu even after the Zombies move out?

That's something I cannot truly answer (yet). Here's the thing:
I *think* that you must keep two things separated: There is "Greek House" the building, and there is "Greek House" the household, the organisation, the group of
sims. It seems to me that the former would be made in the way I explained above, and that the latter would indeed be started with a phone call.
If it is true that you can build the lot and make it into the Greek House building with changelotzoning, then it *should* indeed remain the same, even if your Zombies move out. But if this is NOT the case, then you must make sure that new members move in before the Zombies leave.

Oh, forget that nonsense... I'm not too proud to admit that I was horribly wrong!!! Apparently, the ZZZ house would no longer be a Greek House residence, once everyone moves out... better make sure someone else moves in first, to continue the tradition. (Thanks, @lordtyger9, for teaching me.)

I would build the lot the way I want it to be, and then I would make a test-sim in CAS. Then I would use a cheat to make this test sim rich enough to move into the house, and make the call to make it into a Greek House. Now, everything is set, and the test sim can invite the real members to move in without needing a lot of money. When the members are in, you send the test-sim away. Greek House is installed the way you want it!

The only problem then would be, that your members know this test sim. In reality, of course, they should need to know an existing member of the Frat-house, who will introduce them (without that, they couldn't get in in the first place). So maybe you could give the test-sim a normal name, age him up a bit after leaving the house, and make him a townie.

At any rate, I would NOT waste the money of my playable sims to build a lot for future generations. It's far too complicated, money wise.

But yes, we should get back to the topic!

Personally I love Greek Houses and I have 3 of them in my University Neighborhood that I play in {The one with the French name}. If you have the last members of a Green House leave the House then the Greek House will lose its Status and it will no longer be a Greek House. I have done this a few times for various reasons.

(07-09-2018 07:50 PM)lordtyger9 Wrote:  Personally I love Greek Houses and I have 3 of them in my University Neighborhood that I play in {The one with the French name}. If you have the last members of a Green House leave the House then the Greek House will lose its Status and it will no longer be a Greek House. I have done this a few times for various reasons.

Ah, thank you for setting me straight, my friend. So many years of simming, and I can still learn new things about the game!
Then I think that there is NO changelotzoning command for Greek Houses, either. This means that the method with the Test sim must be followed for best results.

From the Sims Wiki if I recall correctly, one of the cheats: changeLotZoning [residential/community/greek/dorm/secretsociety/hotel]
I can't say how well it works for making a Greek House, but it might work, I don't know as I have always moved some Sims into the building and then had one of them use the phone to make it a Greek House. Like I said I like Greek Houses. Especially the Toga Party. lol

The Price of a house in a University Neighborhood is not that high, a group of University Sims can afford one easily enough. I am pretty sure it is a Lease or Rental Price when the lot is in a University Neighborhood and not the Purchase Price which is higher in a Non University Neighborhood.

(07-09-2018 09:52 PM)lordtyger9 Wrote:  From the Sims Wiki if I recall correctly, one of the cheats: changeLotZoning [residential/community/greek/dorm/secretsociety/hotel]

And apparently the code to turn a lot into an apartment building is "changelotzoning apartmentbase". I'll have to try it out some time and see if it works.

(07-09-2018 09:52 PM)lordtyger9 Wrote:  I can't say how well it works for making a Greek House, but it might work, I don't know as I have always moved some Sims into the building and then had one of them use the phone to make it a Greek House.

That might be worth a try as well.

(07-09-2018 09:52 PM)lordtyger9 Wrote:  Like I said I like Greek Houses. Especially the Toga Party. lol

Zombie Toga Party!!!


The toga parties are cute, but what I like most about Greek Houses is how random members of that Greek House will wander off to Visit Campus; if the House is low-ranking, the Sims will come back with free pizza. But get a lot of friends and members for the Greek House and your Sims will start coming back with free video game consoles, free chairs, free end tables and whatever else. Who can say no to free stuff?

But only the Sims living in the Greek House's lot ever Visit Campus in my game; if they're members of the Greek House but living in a dorm or elsewhere, they never Visit Campus. Is everyone's game like that, or is it just mine?

(07-09-2018 09:52 PM)lordtyger9 Wrote:  The Price of a house in a University Neighborhood is not that high, a group of University Sims can afford one easily enough. I am pretty sure it is a Lease or Rental Price when the lot is in a University Neighborhood and not the Purchase Price which is higher in a Non University Neighborhood.

I know that the houses are typically too steep to afford in your Freshman year...unless you came into college with a bazillion scholarships, maybe.

Did you know that teen Sims going to college can also get a hidden scholarship if one of their parents happens to be at the top of the Education track? I forget the scholarship's exact name, but it's something like "Oxygen Consumption and Recycling Award". Basically, your kid gets a scholarship for breathing. Because Mom or Dad is the Education Minister. I had to Google around after one of my Simmy teens got that award, just to find out how she had earned it. The answer: She didn't. Ain't nepotism great?

(07-09-2018 11:56 PM)Pizzatron-9000 Wrote:  The toga parties are cute, but what I like most about Greek Houses is how random members of that Greek House will wander off to Visit Campus; if the House is low-ranking, the Sims will come back with free pizza. But get a lot of friends and members for the Greek House and your Sims will start coming back with free video game consoles, free chairs, free end tables and whatever else. Who can say no to free stuff?

Mary Lethe returns to the Romero House with a free pizza. Zombies eat pizza. It's a proven fact.

I'll have to get them to the campus library so they can make a bunch of new friends. Free televisions, here we come!

My Freshman typically have anywhere from 4 000 to 9 000 each and so if you have a group of 5 combine their money, they will then have 20 000 to 45 000 in funds. more than enough to rent one of the houses in my University Neighborhood. Note that before I send my Sims to University I make them work on skills and get an -A or higher in grades and frequently they had a job of level 3.

Yeah I think that the only one that get the Free Stuff are residents in the Greek House. I have never had any get anything Free without being a resident, I know that.

Hanging Out works well for making friends, also chatting on the phone works well.

Your Zombies look cool. Toga Toga!

My Freshman students seldom arrive with less than §5,000. Some will bring that much in from scholarships alone. Most of them will have had a level 3 job, and many of them will also have crafted and sold some stuff. Some would work in their parents' shops, and receive a fair percentage of the proceeds. It's rare, but not unheard of, that a Freshman brings in a fortune in excess of §20k. Most rental houses in the default Uni hoods are not so expensive that a tiny group of two or three of my sims could not rent it. The rare super wealthy ones who come in with over §20k, can usually afford to move into any building by themselves, and deck it out any way they like!

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: check out Inge's school page. I have several mods from that page.

In my game, whenever a teen reaches the A+ level in school, they are transfered to the home schooling system. But there is no schooling going on at home, so they are essentially free to do whatever... Some of my knowledge teens use that free time to fill out the entire skill-points page. One of those teens did not only that, but she ran her mother's business on the side. And she did that much better than mommy could. In my game, when a teen runs a business alone, all the proceeds for that day, all the profit made, is for that Teen!
That one girl, though, not only made money hand over fist for herself, but she ALSO improved the business value by 200%. So then I let her mother GIVE her the business, even BEFORE she went to college. Compared to her, Malcolm Landgraab III was a beggar! She had no problem choosing her own accommodations on campus.