Machine Dolls

Greta Kreuz

2009-06-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

First up - the new patch available at the official sims 3 site really improved game play for me. My game is now much faster and I can finally control story progression. I also finally got around to installing Aikea-guinea's fabulous custom Sim skins & eyes (available at Club Crimsyn) and they're a big improvement over the standard ones that come with Sims 3. Hopefully I'll be able to make my own eyes sooner or later.

Here's a few pics of my new favorite Sim (Greta Kreuz) with Aikea-guinea's custom skin & eyes. Her great tattoo was created by Robokitty @ MTS

Sims 3 "Clouds" Wallaper

2009-06-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

Sims 3 Desktop Wallpaper: 1683x1050

Sims 3 Graffiti Wallpaper

2009-06-16T19:34:00.000-07:00

When I was taking pics of the skully hoodies I made I snapped one that I really liked and decided to play with it a bit in Photoshop and turn it into a desktop wallpaper. I figured I'd share it just in case someone else found use for it too. Click on the image to see the fullsize WP.

Sims 3 Desktop Wallpaper: 1680x1058

Please excuse any anti-aliasing & shadow problems with the image, but I'm still waiting for the patch EA has promised Mac users to help improve graphics.

Skully Hoodie & Recolors for Female Sims

2009-06-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

This is just a few simple recolors of the hoodie for female adults & teens that comes with the base Sims 3 game. I liked how they turned out so I thought I'd share them. You can download one or all 4 and play around with recolors in your own game. Download them here:

Adult & Young Adult Female Skully Hoodies:
- Hot Pink
- Lime Green
- Black and Gray
- Neon Violet

Teen Female Skully Hoodies:
- Hot Pink
- Lime Green
- Black and Gray
- Neon Violet

Lillian and Lom Nightshade

2009-06-15T16:18:00.000-07:00

I'm having trouble getting my Sims in Sims 3 to initiate romantic relationships (lots of kissing and hugging, but no serious commitments like boyfriend/girlfriend/partner or marriage offers) so I decided to create a married couple (Lillian and Lom Nightshade) with similar likes and dislikes and moved them into their own place together. Unfortunately things didn't go as I expected . . .

Introducing Lillian Nightshade (the current "Machine Doll" mascot). She's a childish, hopeless romantic who loves cooking and reading old recipe books. She hopes to become a Culinary Librarian someday.

Lillian showing off her new dress.

Childish Lillian enjoys putting on puppet shows for an invisible audience.

Introducing her husband Lom Nightshade. He's hot-headed and scowls a lot. He's also a computer whiz and very handy. When he's not tending to his garden he likes tinkering around a lot and wants to become professional Tinkerer.

More scowling!

Lom smiles once in awhile too.

He also stands around contemplating his life a lot.

When Lillian's around Lom likes to make goo-goo eyes at her. (Notice the neighbors in the window across the street? I've got a lot of "Peeping Toms" in my Sim neighborhoods!)

Lom convinced Lillian to get into bed and cuddle. Since Lillian is a "hopeless romantic" I thought it would easy to initiate a little whoo-hoo between the married couple.

Obviously I was wrong. Lillian was having none of it! Poor Lom looks devastated.

The look of disgust on Lillian's face was priceless. This marriage obviously has it's problems. I suspect that Lom's bad-temper and Lillian's childish ways don't mix very well.

Hits & Misses

2009-06-15T15:37:00.000-07:00

More observations about Sims 3 after a weekend of extensive game playing . . .

I hate playing without being able to control "Story Progression" and I can't imagine how in the world EA released the game without realizing it this problem. A fix or "patch" is in the works for PC users, but they haven't promised anything for Mac users yet and the game's been out for 2 weeks. Really frustrating and it makes game playing hard - if not impossible - if you want to try writing stories, creating legacy families, etc.

I'm also still not too keen on "Create a Sim." I think it's really hard to make a good looking guy in Sims 3. I do love the pattern options for clothing though and the game should improve once there are more custom hair, skin and makeup options.

Currently planning to add more RAM to my computer soon to see if it improves game play and after it's installed I'm going to get Boot Camp up and running on my Mac so I can create my own patterns.

6 things I really like about Sims 3:
1. Customizing options (so many possibilities!)
2. Personality traits
3. Extended and detailed neighborhood view
4. New game play options (jewel quests, fish quests, etc.)
5. The ghosts and ghost babies
6. New cooking recipe options

6 things I really miss in Sims 3:
1. Astro signs and lighting bolts explaining a Sim's romantic interest
2. Animations for big events (birthdays, engagements, whoo-hoo, etc.)
3. Memories
4. Vampires/Zombies/Aliens
5. Musical instruments besides the guitar (piano, bass, etc.)
6. Uni option

First Impressions

2009-06-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

Like many Sims 2 players, I had mixed reactions to the preview images & videos of the Sims 3. I didn't really care for the look of the new Sims, but I was intrigued by the new game play and customizing options. After playing for two weeks and getting used to the new game, it's really grown on me. It won't take the place of Sims 2 since they're really two different games in some ways. But I'm looking forward to seeing how Sims 3 develops and morphs into its own with custom creations, game mods, etc.

When I first got the game I created two "test" characters who I used while I learned how to use the new game functions and play options. They are a sister and brother called Eloise and Evan who both love the color red. I personally think it's much easier to create attractive female Sims with Sims 3, but I'm still getting used to using the new "Create a Sim" options. Here's a few images of the first Sims 3 characters I created: