I want to give a lot of prominence to the elderly in Aberon Garden (a neighborhood still under construction), it seems to me to be a very fun stage of life in the Sims 2, which can be given some twists.

If you have Sophie-David's mods and you send your uni sims to a lecture, one of the elders (depending on the subject) turns up to teach them

We? Elder? I'm only 30.

Some of us are slightly older

That's one thing I like about Sims 2. It has an ability to attract people of all ages and despite our differences, we all come together... *queue Beatles song*

For some of my retired sims- especially sims who had very active jobs or long hours like athlete and dancer- I'll have them get one of the Teen-Elder job as more of a hobby, like politics or journalism. It seems realistic to me that elderly retired sims would be involved in volunteering for political campaigns or writing a movie blog. Even Aerobics Instructor seems like something an active elder could do for 3 hours a few times a week for fun. I don't stress over promotions or skills, it's just a reason to get them out of the house. My parents are retired and they're always involved in different activities, like church groups or hobby groups.


I think I mentioned at some point I was trying to set up a summer camp business lot. I finally got it built and had my first test sessions.

Kinsley Hernandez owns the summer camp. It's on a community lot. I currently have cabins for only 8 sims because that seemed like a manageable number, so I chose 8 boys and 8 girls who seemed like a good fit. Each household sends Kinsley a check for §2000 per child for the week and I put the kids in the camp uniform (because Gussy Up was bloating her household wardrobe with a billion kids clothes).

On Monday morning, Kinsley goes to the lot and I use Inge's pupil token to summon each kid and assign them a cabin (class) #. I'm still trying to find the balance of a schedule that allows for an activity plus meals, bathroom, and the annoying energy loss of children that I'm either going to mod out or institute a naptime. There's a bunch of activities on the lot and I either have 2 cabins (4 children) go do 2 different activities or all 8 kids do an activity together each day, plus free time to play. The kids make new friends, get skill points, badges, and vacation memories. The only other institution mod I use is Inge's crowd controller for summoning the kids because it's quicker than manually directing them. Since the activities and schedules are pretty flexible, I didn't bother setting up teachers or classes or anything.

Current plan is to use Inge's boarding school to send the kids away for week during summer season when it's their rotation, since the original intent was having the children of working parents occupied for the summer. I'm still trying to figure out how to do Kinsley's schedule so she can do a boys camp week and a girls camp week since I only have room for 8 for now. Maybe when I'm more comfortable with the system and have employees, I can combine the 2 groups and have 16 campers together. Either way, §2000 X 16 = §32,000 minus expenses, so I don't think she'll need to work during the off-season.


Lessons learned so far:

-Kinsley needs to hire an employee and immediately make them a manager to control them since this isn't a normal business lot and there's nothing to sell or restock. I had to find a sim who had badges already, who wasn't a necessary employee elsewhere, who has a decent personality for a summer camp counselor. Current plan is employee working day shifts since I don't think the OFB employee system could handle 5-day shifts even with overnight sleeping breaks

-Original plan to have the whole camp in cute matching t-shirts was tossed because it was difficult to tell the children apart, so now each cabin has a matching t-shirt color and they look like Legends of the Hidden Temple contestants

-Pupil token de-selects students when you leave Live mode, so each night I'm saving and making any necessary purchases or building edits and then reselecting the kids in bed so they don't zap off the lot because if I do it during the day, it's really hard to find all 8 children across a wooded 6X6 lot

-The season day stays static throughout the week. I had switched Kinsley's home lot from spring to summer to test it, but the weather never advanced so the first test session was Spring Day 1 weather for 5 days and the lake never unfroze

-The business reached level 3 by Saturday morning the first week and she got customer stars throughout the week even with the kids all selected, so the normal OFB functions are working even though I wasn't expecting that

-CLT worked fine for Kinsley being gone for 5 days except for bills, people kicking over the trashcan and watering her flowers. I ended up having to select a passerby to pay her bills so the repo man wouldn't show up before she got home and hired a maid and gardener just in case for the second session



I realized I only took 1 picture the whole boys session, but I got a few more of the girls. I still have to do terrain paint, I was waiting to see which were the most-traveled paths. But overall, I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out so far.

I had two MailBoxes, one was out of world and I didn't know about it. It might have happened because my mouse is broken and it double-clicks and buys another item. The postman would drop the bills at the edge of the lot near where the out of world mailbox was and where I couldn't see them. The repo man almost came to Landgrab's house. My walking from college would also stay at the edge of the lot.

Malcolm Landgrab's cash cow 10 star electronics store has new inventory, packed with maximum density. We smuggled blue personal computers from Beladonna Cove, a giant Pancake television that nobody yet has, and a made in China knock-off Rod Humble's computer. We also figured out that there was a demand for Neukum wall speakers and executive design telephones. That is why people love this store. We sell what nobody else even thought was legal. Too bad I can't snap stuff into forbidden slots because it doesn't snap back on restocking.

We have a manager who is the husband of Lucy Burb. He demanded a ridiculous pay of §95 because of a bug, but this store earns so much that it is fine. He needs this money to cater to girls on his mind. I'm surprised that the money actually goes into his household cash.

Tammy King may need to come backafter she was fire for starting a fire in Club Dante.

Maybe I need to redecorate this hellish flat design wall. Maybe the customers will not be as dazzled by the Number 1 sign then.

Josh Anderson has bought the shop at 1 Bond Street that Jones & Moltke Construction (Veronaville) Ltd. just built for him. But he was too tired to go there and open it last night. After a good night's sleep he hopes to go and start trading there tomorrow. Josh has big plans for his shop.

Simwardrobe made an auto bill payer that would help with the bill part. Here is a link to the folder on Sim File Share that has it: https://simfileshare.net/folder/87858/

I made a Sims 2 version of a Sims 1 starter house (tho the lot size is far smaller). I've been considering to make some families to make my build lots for the business contest a bit more lively and this is the first built home in the subhood.


Now, I did add some stuff that wasn't in the Sims 1 version such as a stove and a sink for the bathroom. So it's a small upgrade. But like I said, the lot size is on the small scale, while the Sims 1 lots are massive. So it evens out.



edit.

Now we're getting started. John moved into the house above. Now, I did chose to give him the last name Andersen as a way to celebrate my danish heritage (my grandad was from Denmark). He said hello to the welcome wagon and spent most of his first day entertaining them. It gave him a reputation boost which is probably good for the business.



Second day was spent making toys. He then went home. For a brief moment I was confused why the sun was still up then I remembered that in Sims 2, time doesn't passes while on a community lot, duh.
Anyhow, he went home and took care of his needs. Then next day he went back for the "second day" at his business. He sold out of all the toys he had made and got a good review! So, great start to his business. I decided to not give him any badges, so he can only make bricks. (Though I did give him some skill points in handiness and creativity because he should "always have been good at making stuff"). It's hilarious how they take this cubic meter of a block and make 1 tiny brick. Such a waste.

The summer camp lot looks like so much fun to play!

I'm admittedly putting off my play sessions because there's a certain town tragedy that I have to plan for, but in the meantime I still have to play through Jenny Curious's and Rick & Jane Smith's college days. Rick, who is a culinary major, mainly mans the dorm cafeteria as a part time gig, while Jane, who is a show business major, got into cosmetology. She's been practicing on her dormmates. Really makes me wish I could do the same with their clothing, I mean, c'mon, pink slacks, olive green tee, and red/green bowling shoes!? I know this is university, but how much do you have to hit the bubble blower until you think that looks good?

Also, Lazlo's a teenager now.

Hoo boy, where should I start with? Even one story will be a long essay...


I'll talk about the short university days of Enrico Pleasant, grandson of the late Lilith Pleasant and the only real man amongst his 8 siblings (2 manly sisters don't count), and probably the only one of his generation.


Rough and gruff, Enrico always wants to be a military man since his childhood. Enrico grew up from his teenage days not knowing free time - wake up at 4, breakfast for 1-and-a-half hours, and then school. In the afternoon, if he had a day off, then he helped run his aunt's home shop, selling kitchen appliances and counters and make other families poorer; else, he returned home stinky and discomfort, as expected of a young soldier... Nevertheless, he chose to be a hard-studying history student alongside Jeanne Burb, one of the 3 daughters of his uncle Barabus, and therefore his 1st cousin. She is singing a duet with him in the 1st picture.

Enrico had not been familiar with her beforehand, so it was only expected that he follow the families tradition and befriend her and anyone else he was not familiar with here before he graduated with full honors. He also took up being the secondary chef for his cousins, making something other than Pork Chops and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.



There were 2 dudes accompanying him at the dorm - Danilov Kemkov, fellow cool bro with shades and the only non-relative, and Lee Pleasant, 1st cousin and the primary cook of the groupie.

Danilov was invited to join the Pleasant family; he could be counted amongst them, but the Kemkov family is an affluent one and thus has earned the respect from the rich and mighty Pleasant family. Danilov used to be similar to Enrico in that he wanted to be a wealthy family man, but the Burb household he spent his teen days at had a man-eating woman... He still wants to be a family man, just caring little who will mother his future children, for he can take care of them himself!

I don't want to tell you this, but Lee is an incestuous byproduct between 2nd cousins... I find him second only to Enrico as far as being a real man goes, and he sacrificed his time making food, burning them time to time, particularly his beloved Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, for everyone to enjoy. It was therefore only appropriate that Enrico would help him out.



I wasted little time getting the boys to know each other; finding opportunities, as well as young adults' slow pacings, was the main issue! Here, Lee had found a rare time to fence with Danilov to build up relationship on top of fitness, Body skill, and Sports enthusiasm! (Credit to SimWardrobe, I will release my modded version some day.) Sometimes, Enrico just had to settle on having dinner with Veronica Pleasant, the only person of the groupie he had been very familiar with beforehand... (As in being a BFF with all-time 100/100!)



Speaking of Barabus' daughters, they were born by a trio of seriously flirty women. Their long-gone grandparents are the college rejects that Kaylynn Langerak, the late stewardess of the old Pleasant house, befriended. They carry on their mothers' traits of being flirty and promiscuous, one of the 2 kinds of women in Pleasantview. The 3rd kind exists, and in bulk, but they should not be talked about for fear of them being persuaded!

The blonde Jeanne is a wicked witch, bestowed such powers by her wicked witch aunt, who is the mother of the black-haired Morgan Kratz. Jeanne is a meanie and laughs a lot, but she is not really a bad person by any means, and had promised not to SimVac'd somebody else for her lost skill point! Red-haired Veronica is rebellious and defies her mother and aunts' expectation by being cool and flirty both, but she is just being superficially different! Morgan, on the other hand, is the clear winner for simply regarding her love quest a side objective - making money and being more successful than her half-sisters are what make her really happy.



Still, Enrico and Danilov were the oldest of this groupie, and they had 3 days to spend as proper adults in this circle. Therefore, Enrico had invited his sisters and cousins on the other side of the university to a graduation party... More like a luncheon, I will say! Since he and Danilov already knew them, it was up to Lee and the half-sisters to solidfy their friendship with as many as 6 cousins! Finally, Enrico got to dance with Morgan who was pretending to be a sister of his, graduating with big thanks to Lee for kindly being the DJ and letting everyone get the precious Family Reunion memory.


Alas, Danilov wouldn't get to graduate as spot-free as Enrico! In the 7th picture, he is being slapped by the villainous woman who most vilely polluted his mindset in the first place! Charlotte malfunctioned and ignored her ACR setting upon seeing Danilov flirting with Enrico's flirty sister... No one in the party liked how Charlotte the Man-Eater and Danilov the Casanova marred the event, so the 3 would have to spend days fixing relationship after this!



In the end, Enrico returned to an uptown of SimCity No. 12, where the majority of his family lives at. He had to spend at least 500,000 Simoleons just to get his fortress of a house furnished! The price of my modded objects these days! Enrico spent his remaining 3 days as a Flight Officer, building up the Mechanical skill in his hard-butt face with CandK's shooting range, and finally getting married with his teen love! And also getting the children he had with her prematurely under his care...

In truth, Enrico has been harboring some regret not being present with his twin children. They tried to befriend him, but his interests have been very bad to this day... He had no time either as a teen, for he had to help run his aunt's home shop. His mother the Supreme Leader of the Pleasant and Burb families views them as in need of attitude adjustment... personality adjustment. Paulo the son is fine as he is, and his 3 Neat points comes in handy after meals. He is just unlucky to not be picked to spawn at community lots, despite being an extrovert. Iris the daughter, on the other hand, needs to be serious and outgoing. I, the cruel and unforgiving Overlord, had traded her Fun for Bladder once. Enrico has the personality to encourage her so, but only from now on that he finally has the time to...

It is! It's so fun to let sim kids be kids and not have to worry about school or homework. I went to summer camp every year so I wanted to recreate that experience. This is much easier than sending every family on vacation to Three Lakes just so their kids can try fishing or the log roll.

I can share the lot, but half the battle is setting up the business and institution stuff



Thanks. It was one of those "Oops! Forgot about that!" moments.

I finally got around to build the planed club in my city. It's inspired by Pan Europa from the Sims 4. It got two bars, a DJ boot and a karaoke machine. I didn't know there was karaoke machines in the Sims 2. So I added it to my club for funsies.

I named it "Pulse Dance Club" because a) I found these neon lights that look like a heartbeat and b) in honor of the Pulse nightclub shooting of 2016.

I also moved in a Sim I made prior. I watched a video where RyanPlaySims tried to survive of DJing.. It inspired me to make a Sim DJ. We'll see if I stick to just DJing or if I get a job too.


The "fenced" off area in the last pic is my "VIP" section. Own bar and nice comfy chairs. (Except the game doesn't seem to spawn a bartender for that bar. I don't know why)