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Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#26 Old 17th Jul 2014 at 11:11 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Peni Griffin
Yeah, I don't understand why there's no chemistry set in Freetime! They had one in Sims1 that made potions that did random things, and you had to learn which colors had which results, and figure out if you wanted to sell the potion, or influence someone else to drink it, or drink it yourself. All my scientist sims had it; and I had a custom version that the kids could get fun and logic off of, but not the potions. Because of course the kid version was non-toxic.

I would download the hell out of that if someone made it...Just saying.


So would I!

There is this https://www.modthesims.info/d/196894 That's about the closest thing.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
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Original Poster
#27 Old 17th Jul 2014 at 11:52 PM Last edited by Pizzatron-9000 : 18th Jul 2014 at 12:15 AM.
Quote: Originally posted by freeasabird
I am a science nut and I agree that there is not enough for my guys to play with. I love the biotech station, its detailed and looks the part but the babysitting really does suck the paint off a battle ship! lol I am sure that my guys have discovered loads of planets while on the scope? At uni its a great way for them to top up their cash. Maybe its because a lot of them are in the zone while watching. I have a bunch of mods to cancel out the annoying bits you mention above, bees, crumplebottom, no alien preggie etc so for me its all about the performance. I do wish there was more across all the hobbies, the clubs/lots all seem to have major errors which for me makes them unplayable (the kitchen has no bloody windows?, the science place has a toilet door that can't be accessed). Like you I am attempting to build some labs for my Uni students, would be great to get the biotech station and that medicine reward down there, still thinking though how, as the buyable rewards mod doesn't work for me.

Aspirational Laboratories also has an island counter that Sims keep getting stuck in somehow (and it's usually one of the grand vampires who gets stuck in it, oddly enough). If we could edit hobby lots, I wouldn't hesistate to delete that counter. Too bad we can't edit secret lots; several of the hobby lots could use fixing, like you mentioned (and I'd like to add a few more trees to Hidden Burrows while I'm at it).

The Biotech Station would be radically improved if it behaved more like the toymaking bench or the Robot Crafting Station: just click on it and select Make Many. Your Science-loving Sim would then make a dosage of medicine, stick it right into her inventory and move on to the next one. The medicine could come in four types: a placebo (the worthless kind that you have to dispose of), good/over-the-counter medicine (that sells for pocket change), great/prescription medicine (that sells for 50-100 Simoleons) and a miracle drug (that sells for even more). That way, your scientist's work could only be interrupted by that damnable chance of accidentally concocting a disease, along with the usual stuff (dropping into a red mood, somebody sets the oven on fire, et cetera).

As for the sicky stuff, I'd say that the Make Virus option should actually do something, whether selling it for even more Simoleons (probably to some questionable contact, or perhaps to the CDC to aid them in their research) or passing it off to someone you don't like in the hopes that they'll be bedridden (and off your lot) for a few days. And for goodness sake, could we also lower the odds of your Sim accidentally getting sick from using the Biotech Station? This is supposed to be some top-of-the-line equipment here! You would think that the onboard diagnostic computer would say "Uh oh, I'm detecting some nasty airborne free radicals inside the centrifuge. Here, let me just siphon all the gases out of the centrifuge and funnel them into the autoclave for extermination."

But the Biotech Station does have a certain charm to it, I agree. My longest-lived vampire, who lives in a creepy mansion atop a tall, black hill, has three Biotech Stations in her lab. (She's a Science hobbyist with Knowledge aspiration and she has worked her way up to Mad Scientist three times. Having a Physics degree helps, of course. Yes, I'm also aware that college grads with sufficiently good Skills can just repeatedly do job searches on a computer to score as many Career Rewards as they want, but I don't do that because it's a lame thing to do.) But those Biotech Stations are just for show, because the stars will probably burn out before I ever force her or any other Sim to toil with a Biotech Station ever again (barring the installation of a mod which actually makes the use of Biotech Stations worthwhile, perhaps).

Quote: Originally posted by Charity
I didn't know about some of the interactions, so thanks for the info.

You're welcome.

Quote: Originally posted by Charity
I want more from the Science hobby, damn it! It had the potential to be such a good hobby for my nerdy sims. I don't really care about money making, but come on. A few more objects that build Science enthusiasm would have been nice. What about a microscope that they can use? There is a mod for the Biotech Station that makes the medicine etc. more useful, but although I have it I haven't even tried using the thing yet lol. Bug collecting should build Science enthusiasm too. Ever heard of Entomology?

Heh, you poked a sore spot. But Science could have been so much better.

Oh. There is a mod that improves on the Biotech Station? Is it on Mod the Sims, by chance? I may have to go find it.

I think I agree with you about entomology and collecting bugs. Nature already has more than enough goodness to it, and the bulk of the hobby's activities make bug-collecting a bit pointless by comparison. So why not hand bug-collecting over to Science instead? Perhaps filling your Sim's bug box with a specimen of every beetle, spider and butterfly known to Sim could earn some sort of special reward, like a visitor from the International Entomology Review Board saying "Hey, you've done a tremendous job with your field research, so here's $2,500 and a big plaque which repeatedly improves the Social rating of anyone standing near it. Have a nice day." Something like that. Or is there already some sort of bonus you get from filling the bug box? I've never quite succeeded in accomplishing that.

We can just leave butterfly-catching and firefly-catching to Nature, though. It's not like you're subjecting the poor critters to any sort of study, close examination or cataloging; all you're doing is oohing and ahhing at them before you open the jar and let them flit away (or forget about them and leave them to die in their bleak, mocking prison of cold, unyielding glass, as I've accidentally done a few times).

Quote: Originally posted by Peni Griffin
Chess creates game enthusiasm, too, Pizza, and that, of course, increases logic. Chess is the great friendship builder for shy sims; and it's very satisfying when your shy little chess nerd husbles videogames when dragged to a party. "Oh, what does this button do?...Beginner's luck. Best two out of three? You'll beat me this time." And they triumph again.

Now now, I did mention chess and Games enthusiasm back there. *points back to the bit on Games*

But speaking of hustling, I did forget to mention that Games enthusiasts do a tidy job of hustling billiards for cash, though. I wonder if I have room for a few pool tables at that privately owned casino that I've built, come to think of it....

Quote: Originally posted by Charity
Er, Pizza?

Oh and I'd really like to see that microscope if you can remember where you got it from.

"Pizza" being shorthand for "Pizzatron-9000," apparently.

And I wouldn't mind having a look at that microscope mod either.

Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
Some things to help science be not be suckish.

Building robots builds science not tinkering http://modthesims.info/d/476334
Chess builds science not games http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=527048
Term paper for science http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=278734
Homework for science http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=278733

The term paper and the homework have promise, but I can't agree with the other two mods, as they feel too much like robbing Peter to pay Paul. Taking away something minor (like, say, Nature's bug collecting) and giving it to Science is all right in my book, but chessboards are staple Logic-building objects for many a beginning Sim family, and the Robot Crafting Station is, without a doubt, the best thing that Tinkering has going for it. Even the mighty Junk Car must kneel before it.

But I do admit that the field of robotics is a gray area here. Is there enough raw application of mechanics and electronics to make it Tinkering, or is there enough computer coding, theory and experimentation to make it Science? The jury may be out for a while on that one.

But there's no way that the game of chess, time-honored though it may be, could ever be considered a contributor to the annals of science, not as I see it. So that mod's never going to grace my Downloads folder.

Quote: Originally posted by gazania
Without Katy 76's modded microscope, I think science would indeed be a suckfest. That microscope also builds logic skills somewhat quickly. It's an essential feature in my Science building on Uni lots. The game's hobby lot is "meh" as well.

"There's a mod for that" re sports ...Axe-throwing builds body skill, fitness and sports. Thank you, Sophie-David. http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=435442
Re Fitness: Log-rolling builds fitness: http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=446789. Again, thanks to Sophie-David because really, these two make sense. According to the description of this mod, log-rolling also builds Sports enthusiasm. Admittedly, though, many lots can't exactly stick a log-rolling pit on the premises.

I subscribed to this thread. Very useful info. Thanks!

I'm definitely going to have to look into that microscope.

It would make sense that axe-throwing should at least have some minor effect on Body; anyone who has ever thrown a hatchet at a large tree stump (or a mini-sledgehammer at an old TV, as I've also done for entertainment here in the great state of Texas) knows that dealing with that sort of exertion and fatigue is no small task. Logrolling does already build Body, though, and my Sports dorm features two logrolling pits in lieu of exercise machines; they wouldn't want to lose anyone to that rascally Fitness camp, after all.

Quote: Originally posted by EmeraldFalcon
Pizza, that was a very good read--Entertaining, thorough, and informative.

Thank you to you too.

Quote: Originally posted by EmeraldFalcon
I have a few contributions:

An additional good thing about Cuisine is that everyone eats, so most sims have some enthusiasm in it. It's the hobby I most often have my sims talk about to other sims to get that want out of the panel.
An additional bad thing about Cuisine is that my sims who really get into it sooner or later find themselves fat. They usually want to serve a meal, instead of making one plate of food for themselves, and the food they make is often of such high quality that it has way more food points than needed to fulfill the occasional peckish feeling. I don't think I'd want this changed, because it makes sense that sims who really liked food would be on the heavy side, but I do consider it a negative because sims themselves often don't want to be fat and will roll wants to get fit or fears of being fat. (Silly little pixels should enjoy it when it doesn't entail the health risks that it does in real life!)

This is true. But now that I think about it, drinking juice from a bar or a wine rack (admit it, Maxis, it's a wine rack) also builds Cuisine enthusiasm, and I have yet to see any of my Sims turn fat while they're out binge-drinking at Sue's Secret Kitchen. Perhaps drinking juice and nectar is a welcome alternative to building Cuisine, rather than sitting down to a fifth helping of bass with squash.

But then, Cuisine can go hand-in-hand with Fitness or Sports as well. Gorge on food, then hit the logrolling pit or go jogging with your friends. My married pair of chefs (both Cuisine hobbyists) have two treadmills right there in their dining room, and that's no mere coincidence; they're both pretty strong in Fitness enthusiasm as well. So if you don't mind subjecting your Sims to an Oprah-style roller coaster of weight gain and weight loss, you could probably score some decent Aspiration points from filling multiple "Get Fit" Wants that way (particularly since the "Get Fat" Fear doesn't seem to exist).

Quote: Originally posted by EmeraldFalcon
A very important benefit of science that you forgot (or maybe didn't know about? It seems to be an accidentally well-kept secret) is that the "Watch for UFOs" interaction on the big telescope actually increases a sim's chance of being abducted. I do not know what it's increased to, but under normal circumstances, the chance is 0.5%, or so I've read. That's incredibly slim odds for a non-knowledge, non-Curious, non-Strangetown male sim who you want to have a baby, so I'll take whatever increase I can get. In fact, I just did this ingame with a girl called Sonja--she grew into a teen and before I'd even rolled her aspiration, she rolled the want to get the Extraterrestrial Reparations Grant. I locked that post-haste, and she rolled Fortune. I guess she was willing to do whatever it took to get that hunk of cash! Anyway, when her science was high enough to Watch for UFOs, she got abducted the same night. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I kind doubt it.

I was wondering if there was any benefit to searching for UFO's, since I've never seen a Sim earn a single Simoleon from doing that. It does make sense, though; if you can see the aliens, chances are pretty good that they can see you too. And they might just get the idea to come down and have a word with the Peeping Tom about that.

I'll try that little experiment sometime, though. "Okay, Fred Sim! Get on that telescope and Search for Planets. Joe Sim! Get on the other telescope and Search for UFO's. Jill Sim! Get on the third telescope and do some casual Stargazing. Let's see who gets abducted first, people! For Science! Annnnnd....begin!"

Quote: Originally posted by EmeraldFalcon
But regarding Science--
I just discovered how frustrating the hobby is for myself ingame yesterday. I was looking into alternatives to continue the Mann family line, (since Candy is holding onto her newborn ball of blackmail tighter than a life preserver in a sea of middle-class morality) and the thought occurred to me that Junior might unfortunately find himself a father to a little someone from the Great Green Beyond. I wanted to use "Watch for UFOs", since this was Widespot and Junior is Fortune, but his science wasn't high enough to get there. After one night of stargazing, he was at three points--still not high enough to browse the web. I started looking at alternatives for him to use during the day to get his hobby enthusiasm up, only to find that there were none! Just the ant farm. So now I have a collection of pictures of Junior Mann pretending to be an ant over and over all day because he has nothing better to do with his life.

Well, Career Rewards of varying worth aside, there is another alternative to building Science enthusiasm during the daytime: the telescope. Using telescopes to spy on your neighbors still builds Science enthusiasm. Unfortunately, it comes with the downside of being interrupted at times whenever the oldest storyline Sim in the neighborhood notices you peeping around and comes barging through your house to confront you about it. Carmilla von Carstein (my Science-loving, three-time Mad Scientest Sciencey Vampire of Science living in that creepy hillside manor back there) used to have a steady rivalry with Mortimer Goth broiling over her indiscriminate uses of her telescopes, but that rivalry has cooled--and its source negated--ever since some dastardly grand vampire went up to her and nibbled on her neck. So since then, Doctor Mal Evolence (my Tinkering/Science hobbyist and leader of an army of robots who shall surely rise up one day in a contentious bid for global conquest) has taken up the cherished role of "Esteemed Daylight Telescoper and Persistent Thorn in Mortimer Goth's Wrinkled Backside" in her stead. :D

Quote: Originally posted by Sunbee
Science is one of my favorite hobbies. My sims easily average $1000 a night from the telescope. For non-knowledge sims who want an alien baby (yeah, yeah, but they're family sims with locked baby wants so close enough for me) there's search for UFO's. I know I've heard that sometimes the UFO doesn't impregnate them, but I haven't had that happen yet.
I don't like film and literature--that should be two separate things and I wish my bookworm sims would stop rolling watch movie wants and vice versa. Likewise with music and dance. I feel that it would have made more sense to combine sports and fitness, which at least are closely related activities, than film and literature and music and dance.

I can see why Film and Literature would be combined, though, with as many books which get turned into movies and vice-versa. It all started with someone taking the movie projector's great granddaddy back in the late 1800's and using it to cast their friends and families in silent film versions of Bram Stoker's Dracula and Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (long before the lofty careers of Charles Laughton and Bela Lugosi were but twinkles in Tinseltown's eye, mind you), and books have enjoyed a steady relationship with movies ever since (even if that means all-too-commonly subjecting the masses to such squallid storytelling as the Twilight movies as well as literary adaptations of such cinematic offal as Bloody Chainsawfest VII: It Came from the Charnel Pit or whatever).

Joining Music and Dance isn't much of a stretch, either. If Madonna can spin a 30-year career out of composing songs, singing said songs, thrash-dancing in questionable attire before the eyes of millions and dry-humping someone's groin in a music video every now and then, anyone can do it.

Quote: Originally posted by Sunbee
EmeraldFalcon, have him watch the weather channel and check the weather report in the newspaper until he can read the relevant newspaper section--if someone hasn't stolen the newspaper. This is Widespot, after all, though at least Junior lives with the worst newspaper thief! (Too bad the stolen papers don't show up in Rich's inventory, huh?)

Did you ever wonder why Sims have such an easy time cleaning their birdcages?

It kind of makes you wonder where all those newspapers have been going, doesn't it?

Okay, that was a very long post. I'm going to take a nap now. See you later, Simmers.
Field Researcher
#28 Old 18th Jul 2014 at 12:08 AM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
The hatred comes from them having nothing fun to do, especially kids. There are no contests that they can enter, nothing they can make. You don't find it really fun to watch them as they watch stars all night do you? That's what they are talking about, which is why I suggested those mods. I use both the chess and robot station ones as that way the kids can play chess and gain science enthusiasm and the older ones can make robots. What would have been cool was if science types could have had a chemistry kit like in Sims 3 or built some kind of models like a solar system mobile for their rooms or an atom stand or a microscope that worked. EA fell short on this hobby.


Well, as I'm usually playing 6-8 sims at a time with freewill off, I always have tons to do. And if everyone's outside stargazing I just set it to fast forward. I never focus on kids' hobby enthusiasm or skills as they spend most of their time playing with siblings/cousins/distant relatives or gardening.

I loooooooooved the chemistry set from TS1. I wish they had included it in FT. The monster was great. The only useful potion I recall from the TS3 set was the teleportation one, but I think it had some sort of drawback, like you could only use it to go home and not vice versa...?

They should have made a Do-it-Yourself Volcano kit for kids (the kind you see at children's science fairs). That would have been great. :D
Mad Poster
#29 Old 18th Jul 2014 at 12:24 AM
Pizzatron, SophieDavid has a hack that lets axe throwing build body and I think it does fitness as well. It's here on MTS.

Jo, I don't watch them while they stargaze, I watch what the rest of those troublemakers are up to and keep an eye open for aliens.

Pics from my game: Sunbee's Simblr Sunbee's Livejournal
"English is a marvelous edged weapon if you know how to wield it." C.J. Cherryh
Field Researcher
#30 Old 18th Jul 2014 at 12:39 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Pizzatron-9000
(particularly since the "Get Fat" Fear doesn't seem to exist)


Totally exists, man. :P


http://kahonseecity.livejournal.com/ < - New Prosperity Challenge. Last update: 6/9/14
Inventor
Original Poster
#31 Old 18th Jul 2014 at 1:46 AM Last edited by Pizzatron-9000 : 18th Jul 2014 at 1:57 AM.
Hello again. It was a very short nap.

Quote: Originally posted by k6ka
As mentioned above, I have this mod to give my science Sims something else to do, rather than just watch planets. Seriously, EA may as well just call Science "Telescope enthusiast" and be done with it. I do have a lot of my Sims engaged in Fitness and Sports, though for Fitness - I wish there was a decorative object that boosts Fitness enthusiasm when viewed. I just have thoughts of grabbing a weight or something and sticking it onto my wall so my Fitness Sims don't need to go through the ridiculous hassle of changing into their athleticwear to use the treadmill, or clear out everything and everyone in their small apartments just so they can jump rope.

It does seem like a fair compromise to give the Robot Crafting Station to Science in exchange for taking the toy making bench from A&C and giving it to Tinkering. The toy making bench already relies on Mechanical skill, and such toys as the Clown-in-the-box, the Twirl, Tilt and Wobble and the Water Wiggler have enough moving parts to justify this change (even if the dead-simple Sir Bricks-a-lot and the slightly more complicated Brinks' Kite do not).

I'm not sure about making Flower Arranging a Nature activity, though. Aren't fishing, gardening, raking, composting, hiking, catching insects, smelling flowers, talking to parrots and petting skunks already plenty enough for Nature's portfolio? Besides, anyone who has ever been to a wedding or a funeral knows that some of those bouquets, garlands, floral wreaths and other floral arrangements do have a certain artistic flair to them; you can't just tie a clump of posies together and call it done.

But I'll definitely take that toy bench/robot bench swap into consideration, thanks.

Quote: Originally posted by BeckyBoo8
I think you got it pretty much right about the hobbies. I have always been disappointed with the science hobby, science is everywhere! Yet it seems like there's not nearly enough things for our science Sims to do. I think I'm more fond of the fitness hobby than you are, no particular reason why. But yes again I agree that the sports hobby sucks just as much as science. Those hobbies just seem to be incomplete and neglected.

In my opinion, the Fitness hobby isn't terrible; it's just that it could be so much better. That said, one of my favorite Sims is my Charlatan-fighting werewolf sorority girl, and she's a natural at the Fitness hobby. Every time she wolfs out at dusk, her Hunger takes a nosedive and I send her right to the fridge for about two or three protein shakes, so I think that Fitness and lycanthropy suit each other well. I've already had another Fitness hobbyist open her own gym (in a previous generation), and I'm thinking of having the werewolf follow the same path. I could call the gym "the Wolf Pack Fitness Center" or somesuch. Is there any possible way to make a portmanteau of "wolf pack" and "six-pack" without making it sound stupid?

Quote: Originally posted by simsfreq
I think my favourites are Arts & Crafts, Fitness, Nature and Tinkering. I wish they hadn't merged Music & Dance (but understand why they did) Film & Lit, Cuisine and gaming are quite boring to play IMO, I like Science and Sports for personality/story purposes but in real life I hate sports so that's meh, and there are not nearly enough science objects - though I tend to let my science and tinkering sims be the only ones who get aspiration rewards.

I detest sports as well, particularly after growing up in a sports-loving family who insists on taking their uninhibited fandom to increasingly deeper nadirs of human stupidity. Welcome to the club.

Quote: Originally posted by simsfreq
Don't forget for sports and fitness, you can earn money on community lots by coaching other sims.

How soon I forget! And after my aforementioned werewolf girl has earned so much money as a personal trainer during her college tuition, too. She just moseys over to the campus gym, spends a little time on her own treadmill, then ambles around and starts taunting and ridiculing all of the other students who are taking their own turns with the treadmills. And they pay her for doing that! Apparently she's not smart enough to help them with their assignments, and the sorority house doesn't come with any cafeteria workers, so the gym is all she has.

Then again, if I can have DJ Verse and Sarah Love running their own toy shop, perhaps my beloved Jolene Lupina should get a head start on opening that gym, earning better money (along with those wondrous Perks) and growling at all the other gym rats on her own terms. It's not like she can take her college money home with her, after all.

Did I also forget to mention that yoga is good as a Social activity as well as a Body and Fitness one? Jolene hosts plenty of group yoga sessions at that gym too. She doesn't earn any money that way, but it saves her a few trips to the showers, and it's so adorable to watch her bounce her feet over her head like she does.

Quote: Originally posted by Peni Griffin
Yeah, I don't understand why there's no chemistry set in Freetime! They had one in Sims1 that made potions that did random things, and you had to learn which colors had which results, and figure out if you wanted to sell the potion, or influence someone else to drink it, or drink it yourself. All my scientist sims had it; and I had a custom version that the kids could get fun and logic off of, but not the potions. Because of course the kid version was non-toxic.

I would download the hell out of that if someone made it...Just saying.

I have some fond memories of that chemistry set from TS1. Half of those memories involve the police coming over and telling my Sims to knock it off, alas.

Quote: Originally posted by darthesp
They should have made a Do-it-Yourself Volcano kit for kids (the kind you see at children's science fairs). That would have been great. :D

A science-fair-style paper mache volcano? Yes, please.

Quote: Originally posted by Sunbee
Pizzatron, SophieDavid has a hack that lets axe throwing build body and I think it does fitness as well. It's here on MTS.

Thank you. I'll give it a whirl.

Quote: Originally posted by Sunbee
Jo, I don't watch them while they stargaze, I watch what the rest of those troublemakers are up to and keep an eye open for aliens.

Oh, trust me, you don't have to keep an eye open for aliens. When they decide to drop in for tea and a sudden abduction, they'll let you know.

Quote: Originally posted by EmeraldFalcon
Totally exists, man. :P

Ah. Clearly I've been living a charmed existence.

And that poor, unemployed woman should really pursue that Business career. The Execuputter is a must-have for any household.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#32 Old 18th Jul 2014 at 2:55 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Pizzatron-9000
The term paper and the homework have promise, but I can't agree with the other two mods, as they feel too much like robbing Peter to pay Paul. Taking away something minor (like, say, Nature's bug collecting) and giving it to Science is all right in my book, but chessboards are staple Logic-building objects for many a beginning Sim family, and the Robot Crafting Station is, without a doubt, the best thing that Tinkering has going for it. Even the mighty Junk Car must kneel before it.

But I do admit that the field of robotics is a gray area here. Is there enough raw application of mechanics and electronics to make it Tinkering, or is there enough computer coding, theory and experimentation to make it Science? The jury may be out for a while on that one.

But there's no way that the game of chess, time-honored though it may be, could ever be considered a contributor to the annals of science, not as I see it. So that mod's never going to grace my Downloads folder.


Woah, that was a long post to scroll through to find my bit. :P

Chess still teaches logic, only it changes enthusiasm from games to science. The thinking behind that is that many gamers do not play chess, it tends to be seen as a quiet serous 'game' it's said that it builds certain type of thinking skills. It's not like a game of Kerplunk where people laugh or a lively game like soccer which is also a game but it builds sport enthusiasm I think? So a few hobbies do overlap. That is fine, except they didn't include anything but an ant farm as an object for science types. Gamers already have enough stuff to do, they can play 'Don't Wake The Llama's' Ma-hjong(sp) as well as the pinball and stand up machines? They also have games they can play with other sims like red hands. So to me they seem well covered and won't miss chess. Not that you have to get the mod, just pointing out why I use it.

Tinkering to me is a trickier area, but they do have the junker car which they can do up and it actually makes something useful, while science types have nothing to make at all.
I have it set that Toy making builds tinkering so they can still make things, the flower station builds nature, and robots give science.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#33 Old 18th Jul 2014 at 4:32 AM
I wonder if an alien baby is the aliens' way of slapping you for spying on them through the telescope. XD

Is it not possible to have an item give enthusiasm in more than one hobby? e.g. the chess table give you enthusiasm in Science and Games

I wish they'd made something like the chemistry set in Sims 1 too. That was cool. And the volcano sounds cool too. Someone must make this. XD
Inventor
Original Poster
#34 Old 18th Jul 2014 at 6:24 AM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
Woah, that was a long post to scroll through to find my bit. :P

You will read my long-winded posts and you will like them. You will like them a lot. >;]

Even if Games enthusiasm and chess don't mesh very well because of the Playful/Serious schism, I still don't see how that could make chess a game of science. I do have my own Games Sims play chess when they need to work on Logic, though. They may whine about it at first, but they'll do it.

It's nice that the bowling alley gives Sims--Games hobbyists and otherwise--some Body gains, just like chess builds Logic. You're not just throwing a sixteen-pound mass straight forward; you're also applying enough side-to-side muscular control to keep it out of the gutters, and maybe enough wrist control to give the ball that smidgen of english and send it straight in between Pin 1 and Pin 3. It's like pitching a baseball, except that the baseball weighs as much as a watermelon and it never leaves the ground (or if it does, well, it shouldn't). Plus, there's the legwork and the little last-moment twist at the waist, but it's mostly about the arm muscles. There's a reason why professional bowlers tend to have some pretty well-toned right arms, right?

I wish that I could be a meshmaster too. I'd like to leave the Robot Crafting Station the way it is, but clone it to make some sort of mutant-spawning genetic force growth tank so your Sims can have a few servile clones or mutated abominations moseying around the house in place of robots, picking up rotten food (or eating it and turning it into flowers or blue pee or baby PlantSims or whatnot) and scaring off the gnome thieves. That way, Science Sims could get their own productive doodad without taking anything away from the Tinkering Sims, only instead of robots they get some fleshy, monstrous bio-freaks, Frankenstein monsters and eerie clones from the Uncanny Valley. Everyone would win that way, I think. Except for the gnome thieves.

Quote: Originally posted by Charity
I wonder if an alien baby is the aliens' way of slapping you for spying on them through the telescope. XD

Maybe. Or it could just be that PT-9 is a Romance Sim with some unusual sexual preferences. How PT-9 Woohoos the Simmy man is a question best left unanswered, just like "How does a man push a baby out of his belly without ripping his nethers in half?" is.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#35 Old 18th Jul 2014 at 7:45 AM
Yes Sir *tugs peasant forelock before snickering behind the stables*

I've been playing too much Skyrim...

You can get default replacement robots. This one here: http://nixedsims.wordpress.com/cate...ds/conversions/ Blacksmith anvil was made for me as a secret scuba present over on Leefish. It comes with some crazy defaults. Not that they are scientific, but if you wanted to use the mod to make the regular robot bench for science you could use the anvil bench for tinkerers. They are still robots but most of the items don't look like robots, but flying household items. I bet there are more defaults around.

Bowling alley, yet another item for gamers/fitness nuts.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Inventor
Original Poster
#36 Old 18th Jul 2014 at 1:08 PM
I had to look up "forelock," I'll have you know. Google search even has "forelock tugging" as a second-place search suggestion. How often do people talk about this? :p

...oooh, would you look at that lovely TSM Stereo? Oh...that's right. I was looking for this anvil. I've never been to this Nixed Sims site before, to be honest. That anvil should be worth a download, though, especially if it comes with that charming water barrel right next to it. Oh, how I want that stereo....

(EDIT: There wouldn't be any way to turn off the Auto-Links on these forums, would there? They're getting to be very annoying. Sometimes, the word "search" is just the word "search," you know?)
Lab Assistant
#37 Old 18th Jul 2014 at 1:36 PM
For those of you that are interested in other hacked objects that increase Science enthusiasm, I found this little gem the other day (as long as you don't mind outlandish-looking stuff - I'm thinking of putting this into Strangetown's community lab lot so sims can go there instead of attempting to fit this into their homes):

http://blueheavensims.blogspot.mx/2...cience-lab.html
http://blueheavensims.blogspot.mx/2...cience-lab.html

It also includes a redesign of katy76's microscope, which I think I saw linked earlier. I'm not sure if all objects build enthusiasm, though.

Here's another redesign of katy76's microscope + some laboratory clutter, for those that are interested (the original blog has been deleted, but I think the DL link still works):

http://ilikefishfood.tumblr.com/pos...ash-clutter-set

Most of my sims are gaming nerds, though. Especially the Bluewater Village kids - they're mostly stuck at the chessboard or office computer all day when they go along with their parents to their owned businesses, or are left home with the nanny and no one else to interact with. Either that or Music & Dance/Fitness enthusiasts, especially the Popularity/Romance sims. The best part with running gyms as businesses is not needing to try to cram an exercise machine into the house and/or waste precious time and energy working out when the sims want to get fit. Tinkering and Nature are my least faves - I can't cram Junk Cars and Robot Crafting Stations into every household with a tinkering enthusiast, and outside of Riverblossom, I don't have many sims who do a lot of gardening. (Fishing is fine, but I mostly save that for the vacations.) I personally also have a phobia towards insects, so that may be part of the reason too, lol.
Mad Poster
#38 Old 18th Jul 2014 at 2:03 PM
Hmm. I am thinking if anyone is good at meshing, you could probably adapt one of the smaller fountains as a volcano, maybe the little one which supposedly makes them pee faster (because it goes on a table). Make the volcano have its mouth where the top of the fountain is, rename the interaction "add soap" to "add baking powder" and then look at it go!

A chemistry table would be awesome, or perhaps if it was possible to make a hacked/cloned version of the Biotech station in which you can make the various potions like the love potion, plantroconic -C or whatever it's called, the other curing potions, etc.

I really wish I didn't suck at learning code
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#39 Old 18th Jul 2014 at 2:20 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Pizzatron-9000
I had to look up "forelock," I'll have you know. Google search even has "forelock tugging" as a second-place search suggestion. How often do people talk about this? :p

...oooh, would you look at that lovely TSM Stereo? Oh...that's right. I was looking for this anvil. I've never been to this Nixed Sims site before, to be honest. That anvil should be worth a download, though, especially if it comes with that charming water barrel right next to it. Oh, how I want that stereo....

(EDIT: There wouldn't be any way to turn off the Auto-Links on these forums, would there? They're getting to be very annoying. Sometimes, the word "search" is just the word "search," you know?)


Hehe, sorry it's probably a British/Australian expression. I forget that not everyone speaks our lingo.

It should have been on that page-or did the link not go directly to it? Not sure what auto links you are referring to. It's under the tag TSM conversions.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Inventor
Original Poster
#40 Old 18th Jul 2014 at 8:38 PM Last edited by Pizzatron-9000 : 18th Jul 2014 at 8:53 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by SnowyDreams
http://blueheavensims.blogspot.mx/2...cience-lab.html

Want!

Quote: Originally posted by SnowyDreams
http://blueheavensims.blogspot.mx/2...cience-lab.html

Waaannnt!

Quote: Originally posted by SnowyDreams
http://ilikefishfood.tumblr.com/pos...ash-clutter-set

Yes, please.

I wonder if any of those recolors include Just Plain Red. What color is "Klingon," and would it look good in a vampire's Frankensteinian science lab?

Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
Hehe, sorry it's probably a British/Australian expression. I forget that not everyone speaks our lingo.

This forelockless Yank forgives you, mate.

Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
It should have been on that page-or did the link not go directly to it? Not sure what auto links you are referring to. It's under the tag TSM conversions.

Oh, I found the anvil on that page, thanks (and the pic of that dainty little blue butterfly lifting that big block of metal out of the barrel gave me a good laugh). I just went off on a tangent about the Auto-Links on this forum right here. If I type the word "search" here, the forum Auto-Links that word to the forum's Search feature. What's with that? Has it become unfashionable to expect us to find the Search link at the top of the page?
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#41 Old 18th Jul 2014 at 10:18 PM
Hmm, well I'm still on classic view so I'm not sure about your view, but search is at the top of the page for me.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#42 Old 19th Jul 2014 at 4:04 AM
I love that blacksmith thing, but if only it wasn't a default replacement for the robots. I want both. XD
Mad Poster
#43 Old 11th Jun 2023 at 10:55 AM
I feel like science would be cool hobby if it returned in TS3 University Science Skill or made as that skill carried over in TS2 has a mod. Science as activity was very fleshed out and I could kinda wish somebody improves it or very least if I get into modding, lol.

P.S. Sorry for my bad english.
Mad Poster
#44 Old 11th Jun 2023 at 5:40 PM
There is this now, which is pretty fun Though maybe more tinkering than sciencey.

https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=592293

I notice I said in this thread that I reserve aspiration rewards for my Science hobby sims. I still do this! I feel like it makes sense for a Science hobbyist to have a weather controller or use the mood energiser thing rather than sleeping.

I use the sims as a psychology simulator...
Mad Poster
#45 Old 11th Jun 2023 at 11:31 PM
Well, I like simple solutions to problems. More than one hobby is not only possible, it works very well, especially since cooking and cleaning (Nature) go with the Science career.

And they can play the paino as well if they want to

(The crafting stations are nice, though, and I will use them too).
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