So it came up in a comment recently if you could or couldn't steal from your neighbours. Naturally, I had to investigate and find out. And I'm happy to report, you can!!

I went roaming the streets on Nicky looking for a car to steal. I needed to steal another so I could sell it and afford to build a garage for the original car I stole. I mean... I don't want it stolen lol. It needs to be protected.

So I found a car, a crappy little one, parked in a drive way. But the people were home. Feeling self coincious at having been standing around inspecting the car for 5 minutes and, um, realising one of the members of the house hold was standing right there, I introduced myself. You can steal something when being watched anyway.

I got invited inside which allowed me to check out the rest of their house, and I have to say, I liked what I saw. Unfortunately, the house seemed to be over flowing with Sims and very rarely was I alone long enough to pinch anything. I was eyeing off their dining room table set however, and wondered if I'd have to steal the table and then each chair, of if they'd come together.

Luckily I was left alone long enough to find out, but unfortunately Nicky stole a wall candle / light thingy. Damnit! And I didn't get another chance as it was "getting late" apparently and I was asked to leave. And double damnit, when I got outside the car was gone - it must have been a guests. I did find another one on the way home however so my car is now safe begind it's garage doors free from sticky fingers.

But yes, my research has shown you can steal from your fellow neighbours. Yay!

Comes around!! I decided to make my Gardener/Cook Sim tonight as I wanted to get her garden set up. I blame Farm Town on Facebook for need... damn plants and harvesting. Anyway, I picked her outfits and set up her home. Popped into town to take a gardening and cooking class and while I was there, picked up a job at the fancy restaurant.

By then I was tired so headed on home and crawled straight into bed. First night there - I get ROBBED!! Some damn burglar snuck in and pinched my divider and a lamp. Bastard!

It doesn't help that I have a house with no walls, but that's not the point! How dare he steal from me. Damnit this is what happens when I went around stealing everything on my other Sim earlier in the week.

In EQ and WoW it was called alt-itis. It's the playing of many characters. In WoW you tend to have one 'main' character, and then you have your alts, or, alternative characters. I suppose you could call it the same for Sims, but since I haven't even managed to land on a main family yet, it's simply Sim-itis at this stage... I think.

Since Nicky (the thief) discovered those seeds and planted them, it's been making me want to tend a garden. But really, a thief... gardening? Just doesn't fit in with my image of her. Although at least all black clothing won't show the dirt too bad lol.

My very first family included a wanna-be chef. I knew I'd play a cook before the game was even released, right after I heard that you could follow that career path. I had planned to own my own restaurant, but of course there is no Open for Business portion to TS3. I have since found out you can own shares in community lots, and eventually buy the business out. So I want to look into that avenue.

Anyway, getting sidetracked. Since having the garden, which Nicky has neglected as it just takes too much of her time being evil and stealing things, I've wanted to do it properly. Last night laying in bed, I was day dreaming of making yet another Sim! I want to make an athletic (likes to jog), fantastic cook who jogs through the park to find seeds to create her master garden. Which of course become the ingredients in her simply fantastic cooking.

I was also thinking I could throw party animal in there and treat it more as a hosting of dinner parties than throwing all out raves. Basically any excuse to cook...

That will be my 4th city save spot though. I'm kinda glad they only give you 4 right now. I'd jump between all my Sims depending on what mood I am in that night, but do you think that will take away from the game play a bit? People get so attached to their sims that they stick through generations of them. Me? I don't even hit adulthood before I'm jumping ship to the next new thing lol.

Maybe I'll look it more as a Sitcom... my families are just the different story lines.

One of my Sims, Nicky, is a thief. It's a very fun avenue to play. The only problem I had was the complete lack of information out there on how to steal and what you can steal. It can cause the first few days to be somewhat frustrating.

So, I decided to take note of everything I discover and compile it into a single location for others to use.

First of all - HOW to steal.
Obviously, your Sim needs to have the Kleptomaniac trait in order to steal. You don't, to a degree, get to dictate what you steal, it's fairly random. But, if you position your Sim beside something you would like to steal, you have a greater chance of taking that item. All you need to do is click on the ground and select Swipe Something.

Note: You can only steal at night time. I believe it's after 6 or 7pm...


WHERE you can steal from...
I play my thief in Sunset Valley, so all the locations will reflect that city...

Community Locations:

• Graveyard - Graves (god knows why you'd want one)
  
• Central Park -
  
• The Museum - Art work out the front, lights...
  
• The Gym - Treadmills, TV, lights...
• Swimming Pool - Toilet, shower, seats...
• Library - Computer, bookshelves, chairs, lights...
  

What you can steal!
Um, pretty much anything that's not nailed down! There are some items that are worth paying close attention to...

Cars
This can be pretty lucrative if you sell them after you steal them. All you need to do is scour the neighbourhood (either with your sim, or just my looking with the camera) for a car parked outside a house. As in, NOT instead a garage. Once you've found one, position your Sim on the footpath in front of it, and click the ground to swipe it. If you want to make sure you take the car and not something else, put your Sim right near the car.


How to access your stolen loot
Everything you pinch will be places in your Family Inventory. To access that, go into Buy mode and it's the cardboard box at the bottom.

If you wish to place the goods in your house, simply place them like you would any other furniture. If you wish to sell what you've stolen, you can place it first and then flick back to the furniture tab and sell it like you would any other piece, or you can click on the stolen goods and then the furniture tab and sell without placing it down first.

Of course, you can also return anything you've stolen via the mail box.

Tips and Fun Facts
- Your Sim can also swipe things without your interaction. Check your family inventory regularly.

- It's a good idea to recolour anything you've stolen, especially if you've stolen it from a friends house, as it's less likely to be recognised by the original owner.

- You can not steal if someone is watching you, including the ghosts as the graveyard. If the option to swipe something is greyed out, check to see if someone's watching.

- If you want a little realism in your life, steal and sell to use the cash to expand your house and/or buy items you want if you can't steal them. Think of like hocking things off to pawn shops for the money instead...

I was meant to be doing some work last night, but I think I'm still a bit under the weather as I could barely keep my eyes open. Instead, I decided a night playing The Sims would be in order - work would be there tomorrow. Damn, that means tonight...

I jumped on Nicky and continued playing. I had found some seeds in the local park (on my jog home one night) and decided to plant them. I don't think they'll last long, gardening is time consuming! It does however give me an idea for yet another sim - a Gardener/Cook. And I thought I'd run out of ideas for playing... pssht.

I'd received two promotions in my play time last night, which had shifted my hours of work to 9pm - 3am, which meant my sleeping habits and everything else were shifting to match. This meant I was up a lot more at night time. It was great to have the town so quiet, although I wish I had of chosen the Loner trait to match my lifestyle. Maybe I need to find a partner in crime to keep me company. Then I can have lots of little evil babies haha.

The one thing that I find lacking in TS3 is the information on how to actually do some stuff. Like, steal. There's no instructions on how to steal, what you can steal, etc. I was hoping to furnish my entire house with stolen goods, but that was going to prove problematic if I couldn't actually pinch the stuff in the first place.

I did a quick google and apparently you can steal from the Museum. My fitness level is rising, so took a jog down - I figured catching a cab, with the intent to steal, might get me caught. When I arrived I found that if I clicked anywhere on the ground, the option to Swipe Something became available.

The first thing I stole?

Um, hello?! Could it BE any bigger? Obviously this means I am a natural thief, but geez Louise, that thing will give me away in a flash!! Apparently you can return anything you steal via your letterbox, and doing so gives you a positive moodlet as Sims are happier to return something that keep it. Which just doesn't make sense...

The next night I decided to go back to the Museum to see if they had replaced it. No, they hadn't. I decided to swipe again and see what I end up with.

Oh great, lets LIGHT UP the big bloody statue I stole. No really, go head, it's not like it wasn't obvious enough as it is. LOL! I ended up stashing the statue in the family inventory and using the light as a front door light. Bonus, didn't have to buy one.

Like the lack of information on how to steal, there is the same lack on what you can steal. There's the youtube video of the Sims stealing candy from a baby, and you see her creeping through a house. So far I've yet to creep anywhere. I also haven't been able to steal from any house.

I did a bit of googling and found out that you can only steal at night. Which makes sense. As for where and what you can steal, there's no real list. So, I decided I will make one! I took some time to wander around the town to see what places I could steal from. It seems there are a lot.

First I went to the grave yard as I had a wish to visit it anyway. You can steal from there, but at the time I was being watched by a ghost so couldn't. Which is fine, I like the fresh smell of spring in my house, not rotten corpse. Next was onto Central Park which you can steal from, and of course we already know the Museum.

The night after my first wander around, I went to the gym to work out. Being there at 1am is a bonus - I get my choice of treadmills! Then it hit me, why should I have to go to the Gym to work out? Wouldn't it be better if I had a treadmill at home? This is where I learned you can, do a degree, dictate what you steal. Although it is relatively random, if you position your Sim beside something you want, they tend to go for that first.

One treadmill - mine! The Gym TV looks pretty good too doesn't it? Swipe! I tried a third time to get the work out bench, but I mustn't have been close enough as I got a light instead. And you can only steal 3 times a day, so that was it for the night.

Still, awesome score huh?!

I know they're going for some sort of realism, but really, rush-hour traffic? Um, yeah, I don't think so. I'd love to see The Sims implement mini 'movie' scenes with in the game. Remember in The Sims 2 you had the opportunities pop up at work where you had to make a descision? Like do you or don't you go and get the donuts for your work mates? You had to choose yes or no. I'd like to see something similar implemented in TS3, but depending on what answer you pick, you got a movie cut scene...

I'm a get away driver, and I'm parked outside a job. I see a police car. I get the option - wait for my fellow theives and risk a high speed chase when the Police spot us? Or make a break for it now? Then, depending on what I choose, you'd get this movie scene of it happening.

What do you think? Cool? Or no...?

Playing an evil sim really is amusing. I take fiendish showers, evil slumbers and generally get a kick out of tormenting other people. I had to laugh when I saw this possitive moodlet pop up at work yesterday:

I loved it when I discovered you could have a toilet roll and towels hanging in your bathroom - for some odd reason it's something as small as that, that really makes The Sims 3 much better than previous versions. Makes the rooms much more complete, which in turn, makes the game feel so much more 'real'. Well, real in the sense that it's more believable my Sims are living a proper life lol.

Apparently, if you go to the store where you buy groceries and look under household items, You can get a lil ducky for your Sims to play with in the bath, and also buy bubble bath! All you then need to do is place either of those on the bathtub to be used. I thought that was rather nifty.

Last night I found you can also get a small fish bowl under the entertainment section. Not exactly cool, but still nifty...

As I mentioned recently, I was getting a bit bored with Melani. I really think it is the kid factor. So last night I decided to create a new Sim, an eeeevil Sim! I still couldn't decide if I was ready to let Melani go yet, so wasn't going to replace her until I was sure. I decided to create a new town, another Sunset Valley. Just looks like more rich people there, and if I'm going to be stealing, I might as well make it worth my time!

I went the predictable route - black hair, dark eyes and all black clothing. I figured it makes sense if I'm going to be creeping around at night. Although I'm thinking I might lighten her clothing load a bit, my husband put in his 2 cents on my 'hot sim' and said she should be in short skirts to distract all the men she'll be pinching stuff from. Yeah, um, we'll see...

I decided to make her an Evil Genius Kleptomaniac who is extremely Exciteable and Clumsy just to mix it up a bit. I'm curious to know if the Clumsy side will inhibit her abilities to steal - like if she'd drop something and get busted. And of course Exciteable for the thrills of it all.

I had the lifetime wish choices of being an Evil Mastermind, or be a Master Theif. I chose the theif route because although she is evil, and a genius, I don't want to play the super evil role. I sort of picture her more like Angelina Jolie in Gone in 60 Seconds - great theif, super cool.

The first thing I did was build her a little house. I'm curious to find out just how much stuff I can steal, so put only the bare minimum and cheapest options in. I'd like to see if I can not only furnish the entire house, but expand it with things that I steal...

After that, it was time to hit up the criminal career center for a job. Which, as my husband pointed out, I have to work even though I've chosen a life as a theif. I mean really, isn't that how people get into stealing in the first place? They don't want a job? *rolls eyes* I've put it more down to learning the ropes than working for now, but I'd really like to see if I can make a living just from being bad...

I found it amusing the first wish outside of the 'get a job' one was to steal candy from a baby. The mother instincts part of me almost stopped me from accepting it. But I have to realise it's just a game and the kids aren't real lol. Unfortunately though I couldn't find a child with candy to steal it.

So far I've not really done anything more than work out (you need to be able to get away), work and hang about. Unfortunately I didn't get as much play time as I wanted last night as my real toddler decided that 10:30pm was a fantastic time to get up and refuse to go back to sleep. Joy.

The only exciting thing I really got to do was deliver a package. Work asked me to do it, and it was fun running around the backs of the buildings to deliver it. I laughed when I saw that I wasn't allowed to drop it - oops clumsy trait concern lol. But thankfully I'm not that clumsy and it made it there safely. I found it amusing that I had to deliver it to the City Hall - I naturally assumed they were corrupt, hubby said it was a bomb!


Other than that, I got the option to kick over a trash can. And yes, I did. =p I can also eat fiendishly, and instead of sleep, I get the option for an evil slumber. Apparently the evil side of me isn't left at work...

Sunset Valley is the only neighborhood shipped with The Sims 3 - the other one downloadable upon registration of a genuine copy. It is very large compared to the neighborhoods in previous The Sims games, having a total of 97 lots with various playable characters. There are lots of different types of houses like, a rustic home on a hill, a modern house in the suburbs, a house by the beach and many more. The main part of the town is the park, where you can have a picnic, go fishing or take a stroll and maybe meet someone new, there are also cinemas, gyms, restaurants, shops, pools, and other recreational facilities. Tons of places to work, where Sims can live out their dreams or crash and burn. Sims can now visit all their friend's and neighbor's homes and call up their friends with the new cell phone, and go out on the town and party. Sims also now can have a laptop.

Sunset Valley is not part of Simcity because Sunset Valley has all of its own services.

There are 21 available empty lots for you to build on. They are priced from $1200 at the cheapest, to $14,700 as the most expensive. The amount of space (in squares) for building goes from 19x29 at the smallest to 60x60 at the largest. The most expensive lot, 15 Summer Hill Court, is on the same hill and offers the same stunning vistas as the Alto estate.

When you start the game this is the Sunset Valley Story: "Before Pleasantview, there was Sunset Valley, founded by the Goths and built up by the Landgraabs to be a quiet, peaceful town. But when the Altos arrive with uptown ideals, will the townsfolk feel the need to choose sides?"

Sunset Valley is Pleasantview before the original in The Sims, which the neighborhood is named Old Town. The Goth Family are there as their younger selves, Mortimer as a child with his parents, as well as a few other familiar families, including the Bachelor Family.

New Families

The Alto Family - Simply described as "Nouveau Riche and Evil." Their family name may be a pun on the television series "The Sopranos." They seem to have a rivalry with the Landgraab Family. Their teenage daughter is Holly Alto.

The Andrews Family - Consists of married couple, Beau Andrews and Victoria Andrews.

The Bunch Family - Here's the story: Two working parents juggle family, household chores, and their careers while their four children run wild. What is the right balance for this family of six to stay sane?

The Clavell Family - Xander Clavell is an party animal still living in his parents' house. Buster is tired of Xander's mooching, and wants him out. Will Bessie have to choose between her son, and her husband?

The Frio Brothers - The Frio brothers may have a nice house, but they have personality issues which make them less than ideal as boyfriend material. Will Jared face the challenge of fatherhood?

The Hart Family - Father, Mother, and teen daughter. Sound boring? Hardly! Both parents have the Insane trait! Bebe is just trying to be a normal teenage girl, but how can she when her dad is wearing bunny slippers to her family's picnic and her mom is swatting imaginary pixies in the air?! Consists of Gus Hart, Dorie Hart, and Bebe Hart.

The Jolina Family - Jamie Jolina is an intelligent as she is beautiful. Can she prove to the world that two traits can coexist?

The Keaton Family - Try to keep up the sporty Keatons. Mrs. Keaton is a police officer and her husband works as a toddler sports coach in the Athletic Carrer.

The Koffi Family - Gobias Koffi is a well-meaning single sim who just hasn't met the right women. Is this because he actually prefers the company of his male friends?

The Roomies Household - Five young adult Sims with different and unique personalities living together.

The Ursine Family - Claire Ursine is a single lady who lives alone and loves to fish. She might seem like a normal woman, but it turns out she's pregnant (the father is Jared Frio) and she has a job in the Criminal Career!

The Wolff Family - A newly married couple living along the beach. It seems like they have the perfect life, but it turns out they rushed into their marriage to quickly before finding out that Thornton Wolff is against fatherhood, while Morgana Wolff wants to have as many children as possible.

The Single Moms Family - Fiona McIrish is used to living alone with her teenage daughter, River. But when Fiona's best friend needed a place to live with her own daughter, Fiona readily invited the two to live in her home. Will Molly be the perfect housemate or Fiona's biggest regret?

Families in the Family Bin

The Baker Family - Svetlana and Heathcliff love their daughter Becky, so of course they took her in when she and her son Topher needed a place to stay. But will they be able to enjoy their retirement with a noisy toddler in the house?

The Funke Family - Some might say that Sabrina and Rhett Funke are too flaky to be successful at raising kids. Will their three talented tots turn out ok in the end, or will they let the pressure get to them?

The Glover Family - Roommates Gwen and Holden are an odd pair: she's artsy and outgoing; he's spacey and bookish. Will they be just good friends, or something more?

The Lum Family - A family of three, with the teen son Lawrence needing to choose whether to follow his father Theodore or mother Lily's footsteps.

The Martinez Family - Lovebirds Pablo and Jennifer Martinez are outdoorsy folk looking to explore nature. Will they thrive in a new town, or will the suburban lifestyle eventually drive them to tears?

The Williams Family - Aimee Williams is a marvel in the kitchen, but her husband Marley is a bit of a dreamer. Will he be able to support the two of them and little Malika, or will Aimee have to use her skills to earn some dough?

Returning families
Families returning from the Sims 1 & Sims 2 nearly 50 years earlier are:

The Bachelor Family - Jocasta Bachelor and Simis Bachelor are raising their children Michael and Bella.

The Crumplebottom Family - Agnes Crumplebottom as her younger self, and her dead husband Erik Darling

The Goth Family - The Goth Family are the founders of Sunset Valley and are very wealthy. Since this is before The Sims 2, Gunther Goth and his wife Cornelia are adults, with Mortimer Goth as a child. (Mortimer Goth seems to have a crush on Bella.)

The Landgraab Family - Live the good life with the Landgraabs as long as your name isn't name Alto. The family consists of Geoffrey Landgraab, Nancy Landgraab, and their child son Malcolm Landgraab.

The Langerak Family - Kaylynn Langerak is a playable child Sim. She comes from a wealthy family which consists of Dustin Langerak, Iliana Langerak, Iliana's sister Zelda Mae, and their children Parker Langerak and Kaylynn Langerak.

The Pleasants, Burbs and other families from Sims 1 and 2 are not in the game, but it is possible to recreate them in Create-A-Sim.

When I want that break from my main Sim of choice, I can't. I get attached to my town and the people in it, but I don't always want to be playing the same Sim. Max is still waiting for me to get bored of Melani and come complete his music career - thank GOD Sims in other cities don't continue to age while you're away. Oh crap, I hope they don't!

I'm getting bored of Melani though. I think it's the kids factor. It's really bizarre - prior to me having children in real life, I always longed for the 'family' life in The Sims. Now, I have my own needy, attention seeking toddler and I'm wishing I had of focused Melani more on her career. I miss those morning jogs to work, the walking into town to do a spot of grocery shopping. The, freedom.

Part of the problem is the lack of prams. That really bugs me. No where do people carry their child everywhere they go - and I should know, I've got one of the most hip loving, velcro babies around. But still, I use a pram. So why can't Melani chuck Seth and Ricky into a tandem pram and walk to the shops? Hell for that matter - why can't she hold/carry TWO children at once. Sure, it's not the easiest thing in the world, but any woman who's had two children close together can agree with me that it can be done.

So yes, I'm getting a bit bored of the same routine that playing Melani brings. Get up, let Seth out, change Ricky, feed Seth, take a mouthful of food herself, feed ricky, let screaming Seth out, grab another mouthful of food, clean up Seth's mess, comfort Ricky, go to the toilet, play with Seth, change Ricky's nappy, cuddle Seth, blink. *takes a breath* Feed Ricky, feed Seth, grab a bite to eat and shower. Cuddle Seth, cuddle Ricky, change Ricky, put Seth in bed.... collapse. Sleep.

Rinse and repeat the very next day.

So I want to start a new Sim. I want to LIVE for goodness sakes!! I'm toying between having a really athletic Sim, but doesn't follow the athletic path. Or, going for a really fun way to play and making an insane, genious, kleptomaniac and seeing what 'wishes' they are given.

The only hurdle stopping me making another Sim, is the fact that I want them in THIS town, but I can't. In order to play a new Sim in the same town I have to give up Melani and let her age as the game sees fit. I'm not ready to say goodbye to her yet. But, if I put my new Sim in a new town, it doesn't feel the same. I want to be able to pass my own Sims, but without them getting a life of their own. But I want them to age, but I don't want them to split up or GOD FORBID have anymore children.

Ahh, the dilemnas. I think I'll just make a new town, but it's frustrating...

Seriously. Over... it! I got ONE DAY reprieve from the blocked head-ness of last week, to wake up this morning with a horribly sore throat. I actually had a really good day yesterday, which resulted in me getting a lot of work done. I was hoping to then be able to Sim it up tonight, but I'm thinking a night on the couch and some movie will be more the go.

Did make me realise tough, apart from morning sickness when pregnant, our Sims don't get sick. I find it amusing in a game that's meant to replicate real life, that all the yucky stuff like runny noses, colds, food poisoning and yes, the wonderful world of diarrhoea is not a part of their lives. I mean we all know that the weather is pefect one day and, well, perfect the next, but hopefully The Seasons expansion will be one of their first.

That said, I would like my Sims to be able to get sick. Surely I've built up sick days at work I can use...

Ok, so I have to somewhat retract my last comment. Not all babysitters are wastes of oxygen. Sally Hustev is an awesome babysitter! Miss Granny Nanny (she's old... well, she has white air) is not only taking FANTASTIC care of my two rug rats, she mopped the bathroom floor (my shower broke, again), picked up all the toys and is now spending some quality time just holding Ricky.

How do I get THIS nanny every time?!

.... into OBLIVION!! Melani's first day back at work since having Ricky. Babysitter is called and organised, and shows up when? FORTY MINUTES after Melani left for work. OH. MY. GOD! Are they serious? A new baby and a toddler left alone for forty minutes!

I was within seconds of hitting the 'go home' button as I was slightly freaking out at the kids being left home alone...

As I am meant to still be doing my work assigment, I've been leaving Melani running on my laptop (I work on my PC) in the background. I find it ironic that she was only meant to be placed to capture her for my avatar, and yet, she's seeing more play time than my actual Sim I created to play - Max.

Two kids is HARD though! I somehow managed to completely stuff up everyone's sleeping pattern and had us up all night, and sleeping during the day. Thankfully I managed to fix that as it's just no good for your social ability.

Melani had a mini melt down and needed to get out of the house. She called a baby sitter, rang Jebidiah (the new Dr in town *roawr*) and begged to meet him at the Octegon House (Museum). Jebidiah is very handsome, but also has a mistress of his own - his work. Every time they get together and Melani takes a breath, he whips out his laptop. But, Melani's attracted to him, and ignores the annoying trait. At least it's not another woman...

The babysitters are USELESS by the way! I had a quick glance over at the house to see both children left to cry, poor Ricky in his soiled nappy and the babysitter just standing there with her hands over her ears. Useless!

Melani had to abandon her date, erm, outing with Jebidiah and return home to look after the kids. I tried to fire the babysitter when I got home, but the second my foot was in the door, she said she had to go, took $75 and left. Grr!!

Seriously EA - As if the Nanny in TS2 wasn't bad enough... now you give us useless help we can't even schedule! Give me a break!

I haven't been able to log into my Sims the past few days due to being unwell. So when I logged in tonight, everything was still at the "just birthed Ricky" stage. Hal had walked in and promptly fallen asleep on the bed like a useless waist of space. Poor Melani couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and had fallen asleep herself. Thankfully Seth was already asleep in his cot, but poor Ricky was left on... well... the floor.

Melani can't afford a second cot just yet ($60 to her name), and The Sims haven't caught up with the times and allowed Co-Sleeping, so poor Ricky's just going to have to tough it out. It actually breaks my heart a little seeing him on the floor... but he's giggling to I'm just waiting for the next day when Melani gets her maternaty leave money and a cot will be the first thing I buy!

3am rolls around and I notice the time has slowed. Why? Because Hal's getting up. And what does Hal do when he gets up? He walks into the Nursery where Seth is sleeping soundly, WAKES HIM UP and tickles him. Before Melani can haul her poor tired ass outta bed and tell him to stop doing that, Hal puts Ricky down, shrugs and says "I better be going now".

WHAAAAAT?! You wake Seth up in the middle of the night, TICKLE him, place him on the floor and then LEAVE?!?! And why at 3am?! Oh, to go home to your other woman I suppose?!

That's it! Melani has had enough. No more Hal!!

Welcome to Melani's latest addition to the family - Baby Ricky!

Melani went into labour RIGHT as she got into bed. Oh the poor thing was at the end of her energy bar as it was, crawls into the nice, comfy bed and literally as her head hit the pillow, her waters hit the floor. Baby time! At first I couldn't figure out why she was getting straight out of bed, then I got the message that the baby was on it's way.

As mentioned in the OMG what stupid babysitters!! post, Melani had Ricky at the hospital. I was surprised to learn that because I hadn't read any pregnancy books (hello?! I read them with Seth, I can remember you know), and due to the emotional turmoil *glares at Hal*, I wasn't given the privelage of choosing Ricky's traits. I was able to choose his name, but that's all.

What did I get given? Light Sleeper and Slob. Brilliant. Just what I need in a second child when there's no husband (or man in general for that matter). I'm tired enough as it is, I don't need a baby that's going to wake every 5 minutes to then turn into a child who can't pick up after themselves. Oi!

Although, on the other hand, it does make the game feel a little more real. After all, you don't get to pick and choose your childrens traits in real life do you? (Oh how I wish!) It would be almost like Pod People as we chose things like neat, clean, easy going...

What did surprise me is that Hal rocked up to the Hospital. I didn't call him, but he was there. And he even took the cab ride home with me, walked inside the house and promptly put Ricky on the floor. He then stole MY side of the bed and fell asleep. Damnit! I just laboured the child out of me, on a night of no sleep - HAL should have stayed up to look after him while I slept.


Good to see Men are just as useless in game! *ducks rotten tomatoes*

Baby Seth had a birthday, and is now officially a Toddler. I thought it was kind of cool to see he has inherited Melani's hair, almost to the strand!

I also LOVE how carry the toddlers practically everywhere. Although hello EA - give us Prams please? I find it fitting since I have a toddler (almost 20 months) of my own who doesn't get off my hip lol.

A few things I did notice that were glaringly unrealistic.

• You can teach a Toddler to walk in a day. From crawling everywhere to being able to walk nearly everywhere. My daughter (real life) was very quick to walk, but still not that quick!
  
• You can apparently teach them to talk in a day. In the same day as walking if you want to clear your schedule. Of course, I've got no idea if Seth really is talking, because, well I don't understand sim speak.
  
• I put Seth down in his cot when he had about 1/4 of his energy bar (awake) left, thinking he'd be ready for sleep. Nope, but for THREE STRAIGHT HOURS he was happy to just sit in there. Then he fell asleep on his own. HA! I wish my life could be so easy!
  

Then again, it's not really surprising given how unrealistic the babies are. You can let them practically LIVE in their cot and they don't seem to care. So long as you pick them up once or twice a day and give them a single cuddle, they are happy.

Glad he's a toddler now, especially since #2 is due to arrive any minute! Literally... any minute!

Originally posted by pepperlime on The Sims 3 Forums. Posting here as I thought it was pretty helpful and will hopefully help others.

It took me a while to figure out how to talk to other sims and get what I wanted. Honestly the dialogue/relationship system feels oooold old, like ts1 pre-Hot Date expansion. Sims don't talk to one another over meals (wtf?), there's just one relationship bar, and you can get someone to marry you in like a day.

First I get the "Observant" lifetime reward asap, because discovering traits of other sims is a big relationship boost right off the bat (if they're the same as yours). With this reward, you know 3 traits right as you introduce yourself. But sometimes getting the next 2 takes forever.

Think of the opinion of the other sim as something you build up (over and over) to let you do what you want. If it says "... thinks you are being very social" you can do the most advanced friendly interactions, like asking them to move in. If it says "... thinks you are being extremely irresistible" you can do the most advanced romantic actions, like woohoo or ask to marry. Often, when you choose an advanced option, their opinion of you resets to "... thinks you are okay" (so you used up whatever opinion-power you had built up). The exception to this is "first kiss", which the game doesn't consider an advanced romantic option (apparently). Or if you chain 5 romantic options and then a friendly option, it will reset and your progress in the romantic direction will be lost.

Yeah, moving in is more of a rooommate/friendly thing, even if they're your boyfriend/girlfriend. It's an advanced option of the friendly category.

Once the bar is 1/3 green, you can flirt (I play this safe). After that it's only a short time until they marry/woohoo, assuming they don't run away randomly from the conversation. If they're over your house, inviting them in keeps them from doing this as often.

If you mess up and the other sim's opinion becomes "... thinks you're awkward" or "creepy", apologizing can reset it back to "... thinks you're okay".

Dancing together makes your relationship bar go up slowly but steadily.

Talking about a trait or job two sims have in common is the only way I've found to get a double "++" positive interaction.

Chatting on the phone makes your relationship go up, but only in tiny tiny amounts. It's much better to invite a sim over, go to their house, or go to the park and try to accidentally run into them. If they don't want to come over when you invite them, try again a few times. Even if your relationship bar is only a tiny bit green, they might say ok after a few tries.

Relaxing on the bed gives you the option to woohoo/try for baby right away, but if your relationship bar isn't at full, then you should try chatting/cuddling first. Otherwise the other sim will reject your advances and then think you're awkward or creepy.

Added by beaynidSim

To get a couple engaged, you need to build up the relationship and interactions to 'go steady'(it will make them a couple), then after that they can 'propose marriage' and become engaged, and finally its either throwing a wedding party, or get married privately

Ok, so I realise the Nanny from The Sims 2 was never the brightest tool in the shed, but she had least had some common sense about her! Melani's just gone into labour (why does it happen just as she was crawling into bed for a goodnights sleep?!). Last time I tried to birth at home it took forever, so I thought if perhaps I sent her to the hospital it might go a bit quicker. Plus, I'd heard that if you send them to the hospital, the babies daddy shows up. Given it's just before 11pm, I thought that might be a good thing - let's see Hal explain THAT to who ever this other woman is if they're together.

So Melani calls a cab, and, leaves Seth asleep in his crib. I kinda thought she might have grabbed him, but oh well. I get a message saying Seth can't be left alone (whew) and that I either need to call a babysitter or stay home. I decide to call a sitter.

This STUPID woman walks into the house, WAKES sleeping Seth to... to what? TICKLE HIM! Oh, my, god! Who in their right mind wakes a sleeping toddler at 11pm at night, to pick them up and tickle them? Who wakes a sleeping toddler period?! I mean seriously, all she had to do was sit in the house. That's it! SIT!

Arg, I should have stayed at home. I wish I was there right now as I'd slap her senseless. I'm sure it wouldn't take long...


(( Oh yes, P.S. Read the next two posts below to learn why Melani as just gone into labour.... again. ))

A few nights ago Melani through a house party. It was the end of her first week back at work since having Seth and she wanted to let her hair down. She had been really struggling with her feeling since finding out about Hal's other baby, the party was to also act as a distraction.

Everything was going great until the trouble maker himself decided to gate crash. Yup, Hal just rocked up, uninvited. The fun times quickly ended as Melani launched into a full on attack against Hal, who played clueless and played it well. One by one the uncomfortable party guests shuffled towards the door and left. With Seth in his cot to witness the entire ordeal, Melani yelled, and stomped about. Hal managed, somehow, to weasel his way out of it all and get back in Melani's good books.

I noticed him stroking her cheek, her guard was dropping. There was some hand holding, a warm embrace and then... a kiss. WHAT was this woman thinking? Oh boy I'd just love to know what a smiley face, a farm yard barn and a telescope meant. What story did Hal tell her?!

Hal begged and pleaded to stay the night. Melani agreed on the condition that there was a lot more to discuss. Apparently, discussion can only be done in the bedroom and before she knew what hit her, she was woo hooing it up like there was no tomorrow. No talking was done for the remainder of the night.

At 5am Hal sneaked out the front door, leaving Melani to wonder if she had done the right thing. She couldn't shake this uneasy feeling in her stomach, why was she feeling so sick?

I had twittered that I wasn't going to Sim tonight, I think I'm coming down with my daughters cold, was feeling crap and very tired. I had planned to let Melani do her own thing while I just lied in bed and watched. Then she bloody went and threw up on me which could mean only one thing - pregnant! One night, one night Hal comes over and this is what she gets!

This explains that sickly feeling she had the morning after. It wasn't the niggling thought she had done the right thing by forgiving Hal (however temporary that forgiveness might be).

Realising that there would be another child on the way, and the fact she was struggling to fit her current few pieces of furniture into her trailer, she realised she would have to move. She had never planned to stay so long in the trailer, it was intended as nothing more than a holding cell when she first moved to Riverview. But she grew attached to it, feeling very homey in it's small spaces. She didn't need a lot of room, and although this side of the river left a little to be desired, it was a calm and quiet area.


But, there was no way a second cot was going to fit without causing problems, and Seth was already sleeping in the loungeroom. It was time to move.

The first of a few new houses had just been completed in a new estate over on Hidden Grove Lane. It was small, but modern and very nice. Especially for the funds she had available to her. It would leave her with next to nothing, but not only did it have everything she needed (2 bedrooms), it was gorgeous and she fell in love with it upon first inspection. She decided it was an opportunity that couldn't be missed, even if it meant living skint for a couple of weeks.

Over the weekend, she packed up what few belongings she had aquired and said goodbye to her trailer. If she was going to have children, she was going to do it right. And right meant a proper house with a proper yard... and neighbours with teeth.

I bring you, our new home!




The loungeroom (bottom right) is huge, as are all the rooms really. Melani's bedroom is at the front (bottom left), with Seth and the new baby to share the other. The bathroom is a bit on the small side, but there is room to expand it.

Unfortunately the entire house looks very bare as she didn't have a whole lot of furniture to begin with (not a lot fits in a trailer!), but did pick up a few extra pieces. Hopefully she'll be able to fill it out more soon.

I thought I'd fight living in a proper house as the trailer did just feel so right, but oddly enough I'm really happy. The bareness does bring a real "new house" feeling to it, and I'm already attached.

Melani was tinkering with her Microwave last night and raised a skill point in Handiness. With three points now in this skill, I got an awesome new ability that allowed me to upgrade my household objects to self cleaning! SELF cleaning! ie cleaning without my needing to do it.

As soon as this skill hit, I practically dropped Seth and bolted for the shower. No more was I going to clean that sucker. It takes a while to upgrade appliances (or at least the shower) and the point was driven home by the wailing coming from the loungroom by Mr I need socialing...

I think this is a fanastic improvement for the game. Apart from the fact hello? Self cleaning appliances, it really makes me feel like it's worth it to raise my skill. This is awesome.

No idea what I can make self cleaning yet. I've only touched the shower so far. I may live in a trailor, but hot damn it's going to be the best trailer in the lot! And that said, Melani is feeling very squeemish at the moment, so I'm wondering if I'm going to have a need to move into a proper house soon... O.o

Apparently at level 4 Handiness you can upgrade your Stoves, to make it fireproof, which is something I think I really need as I've had two kitchen fires because of the stupid thing.

So, Melani got herself pregnant. She was fooling around with Hal, who by the way, I discovered has "commitment issues", bugger him, and she got herself knocked up. You know, it doesn't surprise me. She does live in a trailor park! I had pondered the thought of moving her out into her first proper home, but if she's going to tramp around and get knocked up before marriage, well she can just stay there.

Ok, that's kinda harsh. She's trying to be a good girl. It's her up bringing really. She moved to Riverside to start a fresh, but her past keeps knocking on the door.

I thought I'd help her out a bit by sending her to Wright Reading Room on the hunt for a pregnancy book. I didn't realise my timing would be so good. After the last page was turned, the book was dropped to the floor... panting could be heard, followed quickly by screaming and panic.

Melani, had gone into labour.

I managed to hit the video record option straight away and caught the face pulling, panic causing labor in all it's glory. Everyone was freaking out around her, but Melani just stood there panting and grabbing her stomach. Like real life however, birthing isn't over in a matter of minutes and soon everyone realised there wasn't much need for the commotion and continued doing their own thing. Some went to the toilet, others finished their book.

Melani... grunted.

I was very happy to see that I could give birth in a public place. I thought that was pretty cool. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Near the end, Melani was summoned to County Care General Hospital.

How did she get there? ON HER BIKE!!

That's right, my labouring Sim jumped onto her bicycle and rode herself to the hospital. Apparently, just in the nick of time as she was only in there for maybe 30 seconds before emerging, thin, with her new baby boy.

Welcome to the world Seth Banks!

Unfortunately, I can't seem to get the video of the whole thing to work. No idea why. When I try to play it, Windows Media Player gives me the error message, "Windows Media Player cannot play the file. The Player might not support the file type or might not support the codec that was used to compress the file."

I can't upload it to Youtube, and the Sims Launcher won't upload it either. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. I've love to share it.

Not 5 minutes after I finished posting the happy news that Melani has a new baby, am I shocked, furious and teetering on the verge of putting Hal six feet under. I was curious to know if Seth's family tree would show Hal on there as, while he is the father, him and Melani are not married.

I am pleased to report, it does show him.

AND ANOTHER BABY!!!

At first I was confused. See, Melani is actually a reincarnation of her previous self. She was the Melani I was playing before Max (my rockstar back in Sunset Valley). This Melani is the doppleganger of the mother in the heart breaking story of A Dingo stole my baby!! So when I saw this other baby, a boy no less, my first thought was to her previous life. But, I was wrong.

(( Site Note: In actual fact, this copy was only placed so I could edit her in the CAS screen to share and use her as my avatar on the official Sims 3 forums. She was never meant to live... This is just what happens when you leave The Sims running while you're meant to be working. They get a life, you get attached. /coy ))

Anywho, back to the REAL problem. WHO is this other baby?! I mouse over his picture, and the realiality of it all sets in. That baby is Hals OTHER child!! He's fathered more than just my Seth!

I just finished vacuuming my floors. My real floors. The soft carpety goodness my toes are enjoying at the moment. And it hit me. My sims don't vacuum! I can pay a maid 125 simolions a day, and he or she will never plug in a vacuum. We are able to lay miles upon miles of carpet, but really, do we want to now? I can't begin to think of what might be festering in there...

Come to think of it, they don't sweep either. So really, our floors must be beyond disgusting. And what exactly am I paying my maid for? I can fluff a few bed covers, I can pick up a plate. Clean my floors to goodness sakes! THAT's the stuff I don't want to do!

I know we can clean our floors, we have the ability. I see it every time my bloomin toilet brakes and spurts the toilet water I love so much all over my floor. I grab a mop, I clean it up. Clearly the action is there.

EA! Let us sweep and vacuum!! Melani may live in a trailor, but damnit, she likes her trailers clean!

*After thought*
Whole point is kinda mute really. I mean, either I have 7 copies of the same 'everyday' outfit, or I don't wash my clothes either. Since you can't buy washing machines, I don't want to think on that for too long...

If you're anything like me and constantly forget to pay your bills, don't fret. The Sims 3 introduces a last day reminder that pops up on your screen in red, letting you know you have one day left to pay your bills.

Note: You have to be on your lot to have this message, but I've always gotten it first thing in the morning when I'm there anyway.

The added bonus to this message is it provides you with a pay them now button that instantly pays your bills. This means your sim doesn't have to walk to the mailbox and waste time to pay them. It's yet another 'big brother' aspect to looking after your sims...

Melani is in a relationship with Hal - some random town member that is also her partner at work. (She's a police woman). I had a wish to invite my Boss over, so I did. I purposely didn't touch her while he was over as I wanted to see what played out without my interaction. I'm starting to think that certains sims are attracted to other sims without a player assisting it along. I've had some wierd relationship (friend and other) matches that I wouldn't have picked in a million years, yet my Sims can't stop wanting to be around them.

So I wanted to see what happened between these too...

There was some chatting, some joking and then my Boss questioned me. What the? That seemed a bit weird, but my current employement status says to question people to improve so shrugged it off. There was a quick snack and my Sims yawned. Clearly my Boss is just super enthralling to be around.

She walks into the bedroom, BEHIND her boss, and crawls into bed. I'm practically on the edge of my seat wanting to know why he was walking into my bedroom. Why was he fluffing the pillows?? WHY WAS HE GETTING INTO THE BED?!?! I mouse over the icon and it says sleep until rested... whew. I was really worried it was going to say "relax" which is what leads to "woo hoo"!

But nope, she just fell asleep. And... SO DID MY BOSS! Check this out, he's snoozing beside me. Thankfully Hal is no where to be seen or I'd have some serious explaining to do. I didn't invite my boss to stay the night, and I certainly didn't invite him into my bedroom. I mean sure, I live in a trailor so there's not exactly many places to go, but c'mon....

Melani was sitting at her disk filling out paper work and reports when a recently apprehended criminal broke free from her handcuffs and made a run for it. Melani was quick to her feet and tackled her before she got away. Melani's boss and co-workers were impressed!

Yay, go go my little police woman! I knew all those mornings jogging to work were going to pay off!

I got a notice last night that I had aquired 25 aquiantances and completed the celebriy skill challenge. Awesome stuff.

Max started playing his guitar in central park before work, and before I knew it there were Sims dancing all over the place. I guess I must be getting good.

On a suprising note, I'm finding I'm really enjoying listening to not only Max play, but the general music with in the Sims. In The Sims 2, I used to put my own custom music in (what ever I was listening to at the time) as the game provided music used to drive me up the wall. But not with The Sims 3.

Earlier last night, Max was helping out at a gig, setting up, what have you. As it was a work commitment, I couldn't see inside the building so was twittering and checking emails on the PC. All of a sudden I realised I was nodding my head to the music and wondered what it was. I realised... I was bopping to the concert tunes.

And just now, when Max was playing his guitar, again, I found myself enjoying the sounds. I think that's really cool. Or really sad. I can't decide which...

Along side playing God and Cupid to our little sims, we can also play house keeper. As if my own todder didn't create enough mess for me to pick up at the end of each day, I've just learnt that you can pick up after your Sims.

Dirty plates left out? No problem. Just drag and drop them over your nearest trash can to clean up. They left a book out? Easily fixed. Just drag and drop them over the book case! What about those rotting newspapers left outside? You got it - drag and drop into the rubbish bin.

While I don't really relish the though of yet more house work, particularly housework for someone else, this is a huge time saver. I do all this cleaning while my Sim sleeps to not only save my awake time for more productive endeavours, but also to give me something to do.

Ironic that I also do my real life housework while my toddlers asleep? Hrm...

Max currently starts work at 3pm. I don't know why the car pool pick him up at 2pm, an entire hour earlier when it takes less than 15 minutes for Max to walk to work. As he's an up and coming rock start, I've started making him walk to central park and play a few hours guitar before work. Then, I've been walking him to work from abou 2:45pm onwards.

Today I wasn't paying attention (damn twitter lol), and realised there was only 5 minutes left to get to work on time. No problem, he's on one side of the park, work (theatre) is on the other. So I click the 'go to work' button and what happens? A freaking taxi pulls up!!

That's right, a taxi took him from one side of the park to the other. HELLO??? Just walk through the park?!

EA might be lazy and want to catch a cab, but c'mon. That's rediculous. Let's start teaching some 'saving the earth' techniques and make our sims walk to work!

Melani just turned her radio on when she got up in the morning (such a sim after my own heart) and I would have sword I was about to hear a Maroon 5 song. I didn't think they had put real world songs in game, and I was right. But hot damn the music that was playing HAD to have been a Sims version of Maroon 5's This Love.

Has anyone else heard that tune yet? Am I imagining it? I captured a video of the song in game, but the launcher never lets me upload them, so can't get it to show. But here's the youtube version of the real song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaS1FmkYFh4

Have a listen in game, I'm SURE there's a song in there based off it...

My sim got a call earlier from a friend of hers inviting her to come over which I thought was pretty cool. It's not just left up to us to initiate get togethers with friends, apparently they can do it to.

Melani was having a party tonight, and I wasn't paying much attention - my toddler decided it was more fun to draw all over herself than the paper I provided lol. I looked up when I heard the Pizza man arrive with my party food, and it was then that I noticed there was a car in my Sims driveway. Someone at the party must have driven, and parked in the driveway.

I thought that was pretty cool...

What do you think of the current system to purchase additional Sims content via their sims store. Real life money for in game objects. It's not a new system, games have been doing it for a while now (second life? There.com, etc). But I'm a bit surprised at the prices personally... once I use my free store points, I certainly won't be purchasing any more.

There's currently a Petition for lowering Store Prices. that is now up to some 20 pages. Have you signed it? Do you think the store is too expensive?

Personally I will be trying find as much free content to download.

Just found out a really cool tip -you (the player) can turn off your Sims radio and TV without needin their interacton. My sim fell asleep at her party (I know, some party animal huh?) and I noticed both the radio was left on, and someone had turned the TV on.

Not only does this rack up bills, but the sound was distracting hehe. So I clicked on the radio and selected turn off expecting it to wake my sim up. Nope, radio just turned off. I did the same with the TV and again, my sim stayed asleep while the TV was turned off.

This is a MASSIVE improvement over The Sims 2 and very awesome!

The following is from The Sims 3 Game Guide Collector's Edition.

Not sure how many of these are correct. I've heard that a few don't work. The Sims 3 is the first game that I've not used cheats in, so haven't tested them myself. Personally, I don't think you need the cheats - my Sims make enough money very easily, and the greening doesn't take anywhere near the length of time it used to.

To enable the cheats, press Ctrl (Control) + Shift + C at the same time (Windows). Once done, a blue bar will appear at the top of your screen and you can type in the following cheats:

General Cheat Codes: (Command - Effect)

help - Lists all commands available at the moment.
enableLlamas - Gives a message that says, "Llamas enabled."
jokePlease - Posts a random (and silly) joke on-screen.
fullscreen - Toggles between full-screen and windowed modes.
resetSim - Resets the named Sim with neutral motives, no moodlets, and teleports Sim back home.
fps - Toggles framerate indicator in the upper-right corner of the screen.
quit - Exits the game.
TestingCheatsEnabled - Enables cheat functionality.

Money & Lifetime Points: (Command - Effect)

kaching - Adds 1,000 to active household's funds.
motherlode - Adds 50,000 to active household's funds.
freeRealEstate - Ignores the cost when buying a lot for the current game.
shazaam - Gives 2,500 Lifetime Happiness Points to active Sim.

Build & Buy: (Command - Effect)

moveObjects - Removes footprint limitation for all object placement in Buy Mode and Build Mode. Removes limitations placed on hand tool for when objects are in use, or are normally non-movable objects.
constrainFloorElevation - Allows all terrain adjustments regardless of objects, Sims, and other structures on them. Walls, floors, and objects will move with the terrain, allowing you to create sloped walls and floored hills. However, placing new walls/floors will still flatten terrain, and placing objects will still require the terrain to be flat initially if the objects normally require it.
disableSnappingToSlotsOnAlt - When on, objects will not snap to slots while holding Alt.
shazaam - Gives 2,500 Lifetime Happiness Points to active Sim.


Visuals: (Command - Effect)

hideHeadlineEffects - Hides all meters and effects in the game, such as the plumbbob and skill meter.
fadeObjects - Toggles whether objects fade when the camera gets close to them.
slowMotionViz - Puts the game in slow motion. Optional parameter, value 0 = normal speed and 8 = slowest.
snapObjectsToGrid - Toggles how objects snap to the grid. If true is given, behavior is normal. If false is given, then by default, objects do not span to the grid (and holding Alt will snap them to the grid).
snapObjectsToAngle - Toggles how objects rotate. If true is given, behavior is normal. If false is given, then by default, objects do not span to 45 degree angles when rotating them (and holding Alt will snap them to the 45 degree angles).

Sims: (Command - Effect)

Modify Traits - Interaction to bring up a trait-modification windows. Can set/clear traits.
Add to Household - Add the active Sim to the current household.
Set Age - Set the age of the Sim.
Edit in CAS - Takes the Sim back into Create A Sim and allows you to make physical and personality changes.

Career Buildings: (Command - Effect)

Force Opportunity - Click on carrer building you work at to force an opportunity.
Force Event - Click on a career building to give you a random career event.
Force All Events - Click on career building to display all events for the career consecutively.

Mailbox: (Command - Effect)

Force Service Sim... - Force a specific Service Sim to show up.
Force Visitor - Force a neighbor to show up.
Make Me Know Everyone - Make the selected Sim know every other Sim that exists in the town. Set them to acquaintances.
Make Friends For Me - Make a few random friends for the selected Sim.
Set Career... - Give the selected Sim any career at any level.
Make Happy - Set the mood/moodlets of everyone in the house to perfect. Remove all negative moodlets.
Make Motives Static/Dynamic - Make motives static/dynamic for the entire household.

Information regarding cheat codes by members of the official Sims 3 Forums:

Petreak wrote:

I have tested some of the cheats and I have some info you might find interesting. You might want to update the list.

"TestingCheatsEnabled"
You need to put True on the end of it for it to work. Like this:
TestingCheatsEnabled True
and to turn it off replace True with False.

"shazaam"
That cheat doesn't seem to do anything for me at all.

"Edit in CAS"
I really need this cheat, but I can't get it to work at all. Anyone have any luck?

"Modify Traits"
Doesn't seem to work, but if you have TestingCheatsEnabled turned on, you just hold down the Shift key and left click your mouse button on your Sim and you get the option to Modify Sims's Traits.

"Set Age"
Doesn't seem to work, but if you have TestingCheatsEnabled turned on, you just hold down the Shift key and left click your mouse button on your Sim and you get the option to Trigger Age Transition on your Sim.

"Mailbox:"
The stuff for the mailbox only shows up if you have TestingCheatsEnabled turned on.

"Teleport"
This isn't an actual cheat code. If you have TestingCheatsEnabled turned on and if you hold the Shift key and left click your mouse button anywhere, you will get a Teleport option instead of the Go Here option. Comes in handy for getting around fast.

"familyfunds"
Here is a code to set your family up with as much money as you want.
This is an example of how to use it.
Say you have a family named the Brown family. While you are in their house, go into the cheat window and type this:

familyfunds Brown 1000000

Your money will change to that amount. Just replace Brown with the family's last name and replace 1000000 with what ever amount you want.

I'll keep playing around and see what else I figure out.

So loving that Max sims in the shower. No idea why, just find it really amusing. Although, for a "rock star", he's awfully la la la when singing. It does raise my eyebrows considering the fact that the first party he threw saw him spend nearly the whole time chatting to Dave Ramsey, his very quickly aquired 'best friend'.

Things that make you go hrm...

So, I'm REALLY enjoying The Sims 3. Way more than I ever did with Sims 1 or 2. I have my Sims twitter account (Sim_Fan) and have enjoyed chatting to like minded sims fans. I just went to tweet a message and received an error: "Wow, that's a lot of Twittering! You have reached your limit of updates for the hour. Try again later."

Hahaha, so yeah, I talk to much! ROFL! That's the other reason for my starting this blog. I have this unexplainable need to share what my sims are doing and what's happening in game. It's been so long since a game grabbed me this much. My last purchase was Spore, and that was a huge waste of money. $100 shelf ornament...

Really liking being this addicted to a game, been too long.

Sims 3 Improvement #108

The ability for me, the player, to pick up a rotting newspaper and drag it over to the rubbish bin!

Not only does this save me the hassle of trying to get my sim to do it, but it saves time. This is a great move on EA's part. Course, the downside is now I have to remember to clean them up. Bugger. LOL!

So, Max's shower broke. Water spurting everywhere. He calls the repair man, but realises it's pointless mopping up the current puddle while the shower is still spurting water everywhere. He ends up going to bed thinking he'll clean up the puddle in the morning.

Over night however, the puddle keeps "drying up" - it gets smaller and smaller until eventually, it's gone! How awesome is that, Max didn't have to clean it up. It evaporated.

Awesome stuff!

Anyone else experienced this?

Change of plans... after a more exciting life than a food loving (and eating) chef. Time to play the life of a rock star!!

Also my first male sim...

I bring you the creation of Max Amillion! His traits include Virtuoso, Flirty, Daredevil, Charismatic and Party Animal. I figured they suited a rock star image pretty well.

Time to become famous and sleep with all my groupies!

So, I just can't get over the ruin that is my last family. I had their story lines picked out, was loving them as a family (even if it took a little longer than desired to get her shacked up with Mr Hunky neighbour), and generally having fun.

Then it all went down the toilet.

So, time to move on! I've left them to live their lives as they see fit. I like putting my sims into the same town, once I've moved on from a family I find it very hard to go back, so am happy to let them do their own thing and live their lifes. It's also kinda fun to run into them in town...

Today, I created Sookie. I was watching Gilmore Girls this morning, pondering up my next Sim. My very first Sim wanted to be a chef, so I decided to reinvent that career path.

Introducing... Sookie St. James!

Her looks aren't based off the actor (Melissa McCarthy), as I prefer my sims to be more "me". I'm not here to play clone wars...

I've changed my avatar to match her, as I didn't want the default sim. I plan to keep my avatar current to which ever Sim I am currently playing. Since I only play one family line at a time, it shouldn't change that often.

This is also the first 'fat' sim I've made. It almost feels wierd as I've only ever played thing Sims before...