Behind the Scenes: Belladonna Cove | Episode 3.3

Vivian hugging Timothy after he arrives for the birthday party ...

Back in episode 1.1 I mentioned a mod that has been on my mind for a while now, and now - with this episode, the last part with the lovely Cho ladies - I added in the Grow Up Wants Panel mod by Nopke. And I think that mod combined with Edukashun iz Gud and the Job Stopinator, I can really experiment with my sims. With their jobs and how successful they'd become. Would they have a high level job with a full aspiration bar or will they frequently get a visit from the shrink?

Vivian kept a close eye on Etsu and gave her everything she could, even ignoring her own needs (though I did help her by giving them the bed quilt, so maybe that's something to be reconsidered in the future*), and now Etsu's a happy little girl ready to tackle life. See how eager she was? Running around everywhere - what an eager beaver, indeed!

I really want variety with the families in Belladonna Cove. I want successful and unsuccessful sims but also the average type of sim who just lives one day at a time. I want sims with so many skill points, and sims with just a few skill points - I mentioned limiting the amount of skills a toddler can get in the previous blog post, and I'm seriously considering the idea to wipe the skill slate clean, if that makes sense, when the toddler becomes a child. I just feel that toddlers aren't skilled, and that's why I want a just-aged-up child to have a blank slate when it comes to skills.

So, I'm slowly adjusting my gameplay rules, which is really exciting for me. But so far with toddlers, I think I have:

• toddlers may only use the bed quilt for a nap during the day, but they're not allowed to be left alone at night, and then
• the skill set of a toddler must be wiped clean once the sim ages up.

And then, with other gameplay rules, to summarise: a sim can only reach the top of their career if they have a degree (Edukashun is Gud), but having a degree doesn't guarantee that they'll rise through the ranks (Job Stopinator, look at Gabriel Green), and even if they have a degree, they won't have all of their want slots (like the upgraded pre-made sims) so they have to focus on their most important want and probably make sacrifices.

And the whole idea of sacrifices makes me wonder which sim will be the first to gain an extra fear slot. Oh, it all just makes me cackle like an evil puppet master! 

*Here's what I mean with helping her. Vivian's story is about the struggles of a single mom, being exhausted and hungry and needing some fun in her life. But by adding the bed blanket (and having the mod that always allows toddlers to climb out of the crib), Vivian didn't need to get up in the middle of the night to tend to her daughter - take Etsu out of the crib when she wanted to get out, put Etsu back in when she needed to sleep. That meant Vivian didn't need to give Etsu that much attention and also meant Vivian no longer had her sleep interrupted. So she had more time to tend to her own needs, but in the end, that meant she was no longer struggling; no longer exhausted, hungry or needing to do something fun. That was good! But I made things easy for myself and for Vivian by adding the blanket and allowing Etsu to sleep on the quilt during the night. It made gameplay that much easier, but I no longer want that. So that's why I don't want toddlers to be left alone on the quilt during the night.