Hit by Satellite while Stargazing

Today one of my sims, David, got hit by a satellite while stargazing on the ground. Almost as soon as he lay down it seemed like he suddenly became a huge ball of fire and smoke. I think I’ve heard of Sims also spontaneously combusting, but after the smoke cleared there was a piece of satellite in his place. Grim reaper was on his way over, so I quickly got his wife Caryl out of bed and pleaded for his life (click on Grim reaper as he has his clipboard out). She won and he was resurrected! The piece of satellite can be sold for 1999 simoleons or put in their inventory. I think I’ll try selling it in a shop, but I don’t think it will be possible. Just another memento in their home.

Limo doesn’t show up after Wedding party

I’ve had a few wedding parties recently where the limousine does not show up afterwards. I’m starting to wonder what the requirements are. I thought just getting married using the wedding arch would allow the limo to come when the party ends, but that hasn’t happened. Maybe it has to be a great party first, but I thought one of my parties was pretty good. Maybe since I have Bon Voyage, no limo comes unless I book a honeymoon in advance. That is what the answer at http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071016092607AABE3BC says. Some people have had problems with endless wedding parties before their scheduled honeymoon, so I don’t think I’ll try that right now (see http://community.livejournal.com/thesims2/4447464.html)  Let me know your experiences.

Guests will not stop playing instruments

I get tired and frustrated with my guests immediately going to the piano, guitar, or drums as soon as they arrive (unless I start talking to them or distract them with something else first). Even when these items are on the 2nd story or far away from the front door. They don’t seem to ever stop until their needs are very low, even if it’s past time to go home (around 2am for adults). I have thought about removing these items, but why prevent the homeowners from enjoying them? The first option to get them to stop is to initiate an interaction (talking, playing, etc) with them or the “shoo” option if you want them out of the room. My trick is to use the “Call Over” option every now and then to stop them from playing. That way your sim won’t have to walk all the way over there if it’s far away, and you can make your guest come to you while you can continue what you were doing. I know playing instruments can be fun, and increases creativity, but once your fun bar is full it’s probably time to work on another need bar. If your playable sim is on an instrument when it’s time to go to work or school, do they stop automatically?

How to rotate floor tiles and objects

I always forget the keys used for rotating floor tiles and other objects. For some objects, such as flowerbeds, you can click and hold down the mouse button, and then move your mouse around in a circle to rotate the object. Once you release the mouse the object will be placed. But for floor tiles this doesn’t work because clicking once will place the object. For any object you want to rotate before placing, use the angle brackets (< and >) to rotate the object and view before clicking to place the object. The < key is the same as the comma key, and the > key is the same as the period key. This keyboard shortcut may require a certain expansion pack, does anyone know? Does anyone have other good keyboard shortcuts?

Little Baker Oven – Can’t delete object

Has anyone else become frustrated by not being able to delete the kids’ oven once the kids have grown up? This is the Rip Co. Little Baker Oven that gives children fun and increases their cooking skill. If they were in the process of baking something, you can see a small pan of food on top of the stove. You will not be able to delete the object when this pan is visible. “Can’t delete object with something on it or in it”. But if the kids are all grown up, there’s no one who can finish baking so you can delete the object! The only way I know of is to use the “move_objects on” cheat to delete it. I immediately use the “move_objects off” to restore the normal gameplay, so nothing gets messed up in the game. To enter a cheat, press Ctrl-Shift-C at the same time, type in the cheat, and press enter. Or press Esc to get rid of the cheat window.

Do Adopted Children Count Towards “Marry Off 6 Children” Want?

Unfortunately, I do not think adopted children count towards the “Marry Off 6 Children” lifetime want. I get this Lifetime Want frequently, since I frequently choose the Family Aspiration. The first time I tried to complete it, my couple had 5 children and adopted one. All are married now, but the want was not fulfilled. I’m currently trying again and making sure none of the children are adopted. Has anyone else confirmed that adopted children do not count? It doesn’t seem very fair.

Making Fantastic Gardens

Today I found a really cool link that explains the common pitfalls of creating flowerbeds and gardens. Ever get annoyed that something prevents your sims from trimming the bushes or watering the flowers? Find out how to place edging and pavement properly (especially with the triangle flowerbeds) and how to place flowerbeds on slopes and on raised platforms. The only problem is some things require the moveobjects cheat, so you may not want to resort to that. But check it out: http://website.lineone.net/~andrewhdknock/GardeningTutorial.htm

Trouble getting Golden Anniversary

My favorite aspiration is Family, so I have gotten several Lifetime wants of Golden Anniversary. But I have never achieved one!!! I’ve read about how to achieve it and I thought I had all the requirements, but after the anniversary party, the Sims never recognize a golden anniversary or get platinum status. I have read where you should just keep trying. I have tried several times with some families to no avail. But I will try on all of my families, even if they don’t have it as a Lifetime want, to see if I can reach it. Maybe one of the sims has had an affair I don’t know about!!

Tips for Getting into Private School

Getting into private school for children and teens in The Sims 2 is quite easy, given a little time and effort. First, start increasing the cooking skill for one family member, the higher the better — at least to level 6 or so. Second, the headmaster won’t even come unless the kids are getting good grades and your family has a good amount of money. Third, make sure at least 4 rooms have a high environment score. Invite the headmaster in the morning when you’re ready, and he’ll arrive around 5. Greet him when he arrives and give him the tour of the nice rooms. Have the good cook serve a big meal such as pork chops, salmon, or even lobster, if you’re confident of your skill. Remember to click on the headmaster and call him for dinner. If you got a good enough score on the tour and had a good meal, these two things alone will get your score high enough. I usually do these things as quickly as possible to avoid a bug where the headmaster gets stuck on the lot.

Tip: Wait until all children are of school age, so you’ll only have to invite the headmaster once. Any toddlers that become children after the others are already in private school will not automatically be enrolled.