fuzzyspork | Egyptian Picspam and Stuff!

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*lotp: behind the scenes

Egyptian Picspam and Stuff!

I meant to post this last night, but Crap and Things got in the way, so here I am now. Just a wee tour behind the scenes of my legacy...

As you can see, the place is hardly a bustling metropolis. I only have two occupied lots so far: the plumbbob on the left is the pharaoh's palace compound and the one on the right is the estate where his brother and sister live. Otherwise it's just a few empty townhouses and some community lots...

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The community lots include a market street, which is actually two lots. (That's the pharaoh's siblings' house at the end of the street. His parents are long dead now.)

The death of Narmer's parents made me realize I need a third community lot in town...

I needed somewhere to send the graves of the deceased spares in the neighborhood, so I built this lot consisting of a mastaba (the rectangular structure on the left which was a precursor to the pyramids) as a "tomb" that will house all the graves. That building in the middle is the shrine (or, you know, the place where I hide the telephone), and on the right is a pavilion containing all the "fun" things to do. Because you gotta have FUN on a community lot despite this one being basically a burial ground. Sims don't care. "Ghosts? Pheh! Just give me a hot dog and somewhere to dance!"

Of course the game wastes no time generating plenty of inappropriately dressed NPCs to swarm my community lots with...

Though it is kinda cute that he made butterflies appear in the "telephone shrine".

Since the rest of the town's population is comprised entirely of a couple dozen townies that I made using simselves and legacy imports, there's no lack of those frequenting the community lots, too.

They come to dance badly and talk smack...

Fentet is playing with fire by bringing that up with "Rais" there. (He's the only sim whose hair I didn't change, because he would probably punch me in the face if I did.)

Actually Fentet (formerly Fire... I think. You all look alike in the same dresses and hair!) is right on target with that subject because Rais (formerly - or rather still very much - Rhys Fitzhugh) has already managed to toss his genes into the pool - with the ONLY playable woman who isn't one of the pharaoh's wives. The pharaoh's sister! (I don't think it's ACR so much as it's HIM.) Anyway, she had a daughter...

This is Shebi, the pharaoh's niece. She inherited her father's finger guns and The Nose. She's also a Family/Romance Scorpio with ten neat points and a single nice point.

She's... charming.

If I pretend those are pig stomachs filled with fermented donkey urine, the water balloon prank is WAY more insidious. ;D

Anyway! To the main house!
The pharaoh's palace compound actually consists of 6 separate lots, which I have color-coded in this picture so it's easier to see each individual component that makes up the whole shebang. All neatly contained in a single retaining wall...

The green lot on the left of the main lot is a working orchard and currently an unoccupied residence that will likely house a spare family member who seems like the gardening type. The green lot on the right is the stables and livestock pens and it's also a livable residence. It's basically there just for show since all the animals are only statues. :P (Really would have been great to get a farm EP at some point, EA!)

The lots in the back are yet to be built. In the center (blue) will be a temple that I might make a community lot for the sake of having somewhere for public weddings. The lot I've colored red will become an extension of the women's quarters where the unmarried daughters and some lesser wives will live in future generations. The barracks will be where the unmarried guys go. I guess they get to be soldiers and palace guards and manly stuff like that.

The main house sits on a requisite 5x5 lot. I posted some pictures of the grounds and the interior on my Tumblr HERE and HERE. Linking there so I don't have to post all the same exact photos here. (Lazy or efficient? You decide.)

Anyway, the house has been recently enlarged, since the family is loaded already. Here's the layout I have right now...

<MUCH LABELING>

(Click the image for a huger image with bigger labeling!) So, I like symmetry. >_> Also, I'm kinda skating a line between historical accuracy and sim-friendly functionality.

What is unlabeled at the bottom center of the image is the back entry and portico which overlooks the pleasure garden...

As seen here from inside the house. *sigh* I want to live there. All of this is a work in progress of course. As legacy houses tend to be.

Anyway! Life in the main house...

...also consists of inappropriately dressed NPCs the game needs to spawn on occasion. The Games Hobby guy is now creepier than ever. D: Esi looks like she's about to yank his bottom lip right off if he doesn't stop mouth-breathing on her painstakingly beaded hair.

Esi is of course the Grand Wife and the queen of Egypt. She's also the one who seems to call all the shots around the house and often has King Narmer deferring to her...

That's his "Is that okay with you, dear?" look, I think. She is a former simself after all.

She's also a SPACE PIRATE, so there you go. Don't mess with Esi.

There are two lesser wives in the house as well...

Zahra is another former simself, and while Esi became the career woman, Zahra became mother goose to all the kids...

All of her mothering has resulted in her becoming best friends with every one of the ten kids in the house.

Neithhotep is a CAS townie I made for the sole purpose of marrying Narmer as a lesser wife and she bears the name of the wife Narmer had in Real Egypt. She's very low-key and stays in the background mostly. But she gave me some very pretty kids.

Speaking of the kids!

This picture represents the one and only time I managed to get all TEN of them in one shot.

At this point I realized that Narmer would be halfway through his elder years by the time the youngest (who is also heir) became an adult. So my original plans of No College had to be changed. And playing this house with 4 adults, 10 kids, and a cat all living in it at once was stressing me out way too much!

So the four older teens got sent to Alexandria College (historically NOT even a thing during this period, but it's temporary at the moment until I get something better made)...

I may have gone a tiny bit overboard on building the dormitory. D:

But hey, "when in Egypt" and all that. I can't do anything about the dorm doors which kinda throw off the whole illusion. Not to mention the computers in their rooms. >_> And the kitchen equipment presented a little bit of a challenge...

So I hid it behind some curtains! :D Of course it looks a bit like a puppet stage now.

And it IS kinda like a puppet show when the lunch lady puts food out. I spent way too much time being entertained by this... >_>

Anyway, I hid other things, some less creatively...

Like the fact that there's a photobooth behind those curtains in the corner. :P But I can't hide the fact that I don't have any young adult clothes that are appropriate! The girls made due, but Raneb there in the foreground (flirting with a simself) has to go totally modern for the time being.

I'll get to Raneb and his lady friend in a minute. First let me show you the kids who are here now, starting with the girls (in no particular order):

This is Merneith. She's Neithhotep's eldest daughter and a neat, nice Cancer Popularity sim.

Nofret is Raneb's twin sister and Zahra's oldest daughter. She's a Family sim and a Scorpio.

Then there's Merit, who is the oldest child of the family. She's Esi's daughter, a Taurus and a Fortune sim.

Okay, Raneb back there...

Raneb is the oldest boy in the pharaoh's household, but not the heir because he wasn't the queen's son. He's a Virgo Knowledge sim. And not too bad on the eyes. Even with the Royal Chin.

This particular simself popped up as his ACR "the one" when he arrived at college. I didn't even realize he knew her, but with the population being so low right now and as often as they are all visiting the main house, I guess it makes sense. Anyway, I had him invite her over to see how things progressed autonomously.

As you can see, things are going well.

Her name here is Manet. Hint: she has red eyebrows under that fringe. (and there are no eyeglasses in Egypt) (and I think I might have altered her original eyecolor a wee bit in CAS... though it's in the same color family) (Because I NEED VARIETY with all the black hair in town!)

Unless Raneb decides differently later, Manet is well on her way to being married in. I wasn't going to let spares marry any of the simself population (if they marry at all, spares are supposed to marry distant relatives to help keep the population in check... but there aren't any distant relatives yet!) but Raneb has a rather important role to play in the story, and more specifically, his son. SO, Manet, I hope you are up to the task! All I ask is that you give me some boys.

ANYWAY. Back at the ranch...

Narmer is obliged to school his daughters on the finer nuances of Whap. This keeps him pretty busy with EIGHT of them to school.

Fortunately, for both of us, the number of school-able daughters in the house is down to 5 now. So let's have a look at the kids still at home, going from oldest to youngest...

(By the way, I do not expect you to remember ANY of these sims! The important ones will show up in the story and you'll know them then.)

Kesi is one of Esi's daughters and a one-nice-point Sagittarius Romance sim.

Nefru is Zahra's daughter. She's a Fortune sim and a Taurus. She's also 7 outgoing, 10 playful and 2 nice, which has lead to some problems around the house that I will detail later in this post. Remember that face (or the hair anyway) she's an instigator!

This is Nekhbet, one of Neithhotep's daughters. (there are a LOT of daughters) With 7 nice points she weighs in as the nicest kid in the house right now. By a lot. D: She's an Aries and a Fortune sim.

Nafre is Zahra's youngest. She's a Taurus and a Family sim. She is also the target of most of her sister Nefru's meanness. Full blooded sisters or not, they do NOT get along.

And FINALLY the youngest two! Khepri is Neithhotep's daughter, while Khufu back there is the baby of the family. He's Esi's only son and the heir to the throne.

But it's Teen Time for them. So here they are after getting put into more appropriate attire...

Khepri is an Aries and a Fortune sim. This first generation is very Fortune sim heavy.

And finally, the last kid on the roster...

Khufu, the future king. He got a lovely mix of both his parents' faces, including the Royal Chin. Khufu is a Sagittarius, 8-3-10-10-3. He rolled Popularity and wants to some day own 5 Top Level Businesses.

o___o

*changes plot for next generation*

Ah yes, spot the instigating hairdo of Nefru on the right. She is obsessed with picking on her little sister, Nafre. At this point they are well in the negative numbers on the relationship panel. I try to intervene when I see her heading for Nafre, but with this many sims in the house I can't keep an eagle eye on all of them!

And with five teenage girls in the house, there is always some kind of drama going on. Esi is congratulating her daughter, and it has something to do with that boy in the background.

Meet Thothmes, the ONLY teen boy in the whole neighborhood! He's a legacy import and a bi Romance sim. This works out well for all the bi and straight girls, and all the bi and gay guys. But being as there are only TWO guys born in the game so far, and they both randomized straight, Thothmes has been getting a rather large helping of GIRL lately.

Since both he and Kesi are Sagittarius Romance sims, they get along very well. Or, you know, as well as mutual single nice points get on.

"My god woman! I do you the unfathomable courtesy of paying attention to you because your brother isn't interested in my exceptional charm, and you go and treat me so inconsiderately! I hope you think long and hard about this while I spend the next two hours making out with you."

Anyway, it's a constant parade of out-of-place-and-time NPCs and identical-looking simselves.

I do know this is Hebi (formerly Heidi) - or at least I'm 99% sure... She looks absolutely confounded by this man's headgear.

I usually try to make someone greet the walk-by sims when I see them out there by the mailbox.

So inevitably there's some simself making friendly with the future pharaoh. e__e Seriously, it's like they KNOW.

The next sim morning I was about to save and quit the lot, since it's Narmer's last day as an adult and I want to make sure the other household is synced age-wise, when I heard a commotion in the kids' room...

Spot the instigating hairdo! D: Since Nafre has "be attacked" in her queue, this is entirely Nefru's doing. My gosh, I've never had full-blood siblings hate each other so much!

Oy. I guess it's time for Nefru to get her instigating hairdo to college. :P

Well, that ends my playing session and thus my picspam. Just one more pic to show what my heir Khufu was doing during this early morning mayhem...

He's staying firmly out of his sisters' business by weaving fabric in the wives' chamber. Well. I guess being raised around this many girls he's bound to be more in touch with his feminine side.

Or maybe he realizes he needs more material for those pajamas. >_>

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Woooooow, this is all so awesome Fuzzy! :D And lolacious.
And of course Egyptian!Rhys gets straight in there *eyeroll* though he has very pretty daughters... And yay Thomas! :D

This looks to be coming together so nicely. :) I am really, really looking forward to reading more about this!

Haha! Yeah, "Rais" didn't waste any time. Narmer's sister was actually living in the legacy house when the unauthorized "try for baby" occurred. e__e I needed her there to help with all the freakin toddlers at the time! So I was kinda miffed she decided to get herself into a family way with a booty call to HIM (how do they call Townies anyway? do they have phones in limbo?). She moved back home with her parents before the first bump. lol... But her daughter is pretty awesome. :D

Yes, Thomas! <3

Thanks! :) I'm trying. It's so frustrating that I have to make so much CC myself, and that is slowing things down considerably. I guess I just need to concede the fact that the first several chapters won't look "perfect" visually, and just get on with the story!

Hi Hebi! *waves* Behave for Fuzzy!

Looks amazing! Your game is getting added to my list of "I want to live in it!" ones.

The offer to retexture hair for you stands. Just let me know which ones you want and if you prefer Pooklet or MM. :)

Wow, it all looks great Fuzzy! :D

Yipes, so many sims in that house, good idea sending the oldest kids to uni. So many pretty girls, they all got nice different features too. But not so many nice points, by the looks of things.

Haha, Thomas will be Thomas, whatever time period he's in! :D

I love how authentic it all looks, floating lunch plates! LOL! Had to laugh at that.

Di makes a great first wife, (only simself I recognize) looks like she takes no nonsense.
You know you can be rid of the hobby people. I put on a hack so now all I get is a pop up rather then their pesky presence.

You have one more sim in your main house then I do in my OWBC main house-but differently configerated. (5 adults, 6 kids, 2 servos and 1 cat)

He needs more material for his pyjamas rotfl. Weave slowly boy there are lots of simselves around. :P

Hebi is one of the more well behaved ones in the 'hood right now! lol So far, anyway. ;D

Thanks Heidi! I'm not so concerned about how it looks when I play, but staging will be another story. D:

And thank you again for your offer to help with retextures! I will definitely call on your assistance when I reach that point. :) *hug*

Thanks Amy! :D

I don't mind having so many sims in the house really. It's kinda fun! But it's SO HARD to keep a close watch on them all. I'm scared someone is going to die, or the SoWo will come. D: I've got to come up with some sort of compromise next generation. Or at least take more control over the baby-making process. >_>

Thanks Jo! :)

I love Di's simself. I should have married her into all my challenges. Heh. Some of the others: Zahra = Lark. The one hugging Khufu is Gin (gintasticnecat).

Your simself is rare as a walk-by but she usually shows up on the community lots at some point. She likes the clothes shop. I'll have to do a whole "Simselves in Egypt" update just so people can see what their past lives are up to.

I don't mind the hobby people showing up that much. I think they spawn when Freetime loads in a new 'hood, so that doesn't help me keep the extraneous NPC population down anyway. So they might as well be free to walk around. :P I've been avoiding stuff like hiring a maid or bartender just to keep them from being generated by the game. As it is I seem to have a couple of unauthorized Townies... I'll have to go check them in SimPE, but I think they might be garden club members. But the 'hood character folder is still very light weight compared to what it WOULD be without my various clean templates and "no respawn" hacks!

I am in awe of your game (even with some of your more creative compromises ;) ) and am amazed you can manage to play that many sims in one household, I get to about six and my patience starts to wear thin lol!

http://zeussims.livejournal.com/1990.html
I just saw this and thought it might be something you would be interested in.
I hope you are doing well! :)

This amused me. I am glad to know that my simself is behaving herself somewhat. Although I totally want to know who is with my baby boy. I'm guessing Marina.

Although I need to smack my younger two. Sigh.

Your decorating is awesome. So lovely.

I am really looking forward to seeing this.

i've missed you terribly dear :) this all looks fantastic. i cant believe you went so far to even make a daggone college dorm! XD

Aw, thanks! :D Heh, I guess the key to having that many sims in the house is to not try to micromanage them all. (that would drive me insane) I have to keep one sim active as the food prep person and besides telling the rest of them to go to bed at a decent hour, that's all I intervene usually.

Thanks for the link, Liv! Man, I love you people who think of me when you see stuff like that! *hug!*

Are you kidding? Zahra has a man at her beck and call and a house full of BAYBEEZ to take care of! She's living in her own little family sim heaven, so of course she's behaved. ;D

And yes, that's Marina's simself your baby boy is all gaga for. :) He's got it bad, too. I think they will make lovely grand babies.

Oh lordy, the girls. At least they are not boring! :D In a household this size, the least forgettable you are the better your chances of getting special treatment later.

I'm working on it. Life is kicking my ass (per usual) and then I'm have to basically construct this whole world from the dirt up. Clothes and hair are the things I have nightmares about now. lol

Aw, thanks Jean. <3 I miss being around more!

lol The dorm. Well, at first I put them in a dorm that was in the bin and it just felt "wrong" while they were there, so I built them one that seemed more like home for them. ;D

OMG! She's alive! ;P Seriously Fuzzy, it's great to 'see' you and your wonderful creations again. :) Speaking of your creations, that neighbourhood looks great. It looks like a place Real me would like to live in.

Oh dear, sibling drama.

I hope my simself is not causing too much trouble for you.

I'm SUPER excited to seeing this.

Oh, and if you are looking for "real", animated animals for your stables check out xxxsims2.chez.com/sims2farm at the booty. They are the best horses, cows, chickens, etc. I've ever been able to find.

Edited 2012-07-14 03:01 (UTC)

Love the telephone shrine. :P

It's hard to keep sims from having too much money, isn't it? Yours may not work much, but even a little adds up quickly!

I love that the king gets as much bedroom/study space as EVERYONE ELSE IN THE HOUSE COMBINED. And there is NOTHING wrong with symmetry.

Of course the simselves know. They're not stupid, they just don't CARE what we think of them most of the time!

sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
!
!
!

(I would have added more Os, but my keyboard started crying)

The neighborhood looks amazing! Even with the mailman shorts and cowboy shirts lurking around the corners. ;P Can't wait to see more!

*waves* Hello my family! Lovely to see you and how well you are doing.

This looks awesome Fuzzy, I really can't wait to see the story. So exciiiiiiiited!

Oh inappropriately dressed npcs. Bane of any historical player's life. Luckily there are ways to change them, but they are so time consuming (not to mention tedious). D:

Aaaand the dorm doors. I really, really wish that someone would default them with better doors. Most other things historical simmer can work around, but not those. Also, I have an invisible recolour of the college stove that spawns the cook if you want me to point you in its direction. I use that, then put a more accurate range on top of it using move_objects on. It looks like the cook is using the range that way.

Also, also, you can use the wardrobe wrangler to set adult clothing for YA too. They may not be entirely appropriate for the age group, but it'd give you more variety.

Also, I meant to ask, have you seen these yet? http://www.medievalsims.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=80&t=3805 Camels!

Edited 2012-07-14 10:58 (UTC)

Love the pics, Fuzzy! I really love the way you set up the main legacy lot and the dorm. Very organized and creative!

For some reason, the pavilion in the burial ground pretty much reminds me of the "fun" stuff in Gothier Green Lawns (poker table, TV, computer, etc.). My brother once told me that it never makes any sense to have fun stuff in a cemetery or the like.

Ouch on the massive gender imbalance. I wish you luck on getting more males in the hood.

I was a big fan of your OWBC back when the exchange was open and somehow I stumbled upon your livejournal haha. But I am very excited to read your future legacy, now I have to go back and read all your old stuff so I am caught up!

Good luck with your legacy! Cant wait for the next update!

Your legacy neighbourhood is amazing! :O I'm so impressed with how you've captured the feel of ancient Egypt. I also like the way that it still has "Sim-friendly" features. Hiding modern items behind curtains (or inside shrines) is such a good idea!

I really enjoyed reading your commentary, too. I'm still cracking up over "the place where I hide the telephone" and "inappropriately dressed townies swarming the community lots"! :D

I LIVE! :D Aw, thanks. It's just super busy around the Real World lately.

Your simself is named Kasmut there. So far she's staying behaved!

Thanks for the info on the farm animals! I'll check that out. :)

LOL! Yeah, the king is the KING after all. ;D

Yes, making money is almost too easy. Which is why I came up with that OTHER challenge... I need to post that soon. I just wanted to get at least this first chapter out before I look like I'm distracting myself with something else again. >_>

Thanks! :D

OMG I saw a bunch of those gaudy cowboy shirts at a yard sale this morning! I am REALLY regretting that I didn't buy one. How cool would I be when/if I meet up with some Simming buddies and I'm wearing that shirt paired with some plaid shorts!?

You know, I don't know why I don't have the wardrobe wrangler yet! :O I know it's one of those things that when someone mentions it I think, "I need to get that." Then 2 seconds later I'm like, "OMG LOLCATS!" So... you know. >_>

I'm downloading it right now... I realized while playing the other day that I've got to remove everything from the "clothes" part of my downloads and organize it a lot better. I've got missing meshes, missing textures, and things that seem to be borking with some of the regular clothing. e__e

Yes, I have the camels! :D Thanks! And I want so bad for time to just stand still and give me a chance to get this all done so I can start telling my story. Maybe I can tell everyone I know that I'm joining the Peace Corps then just hole up in front of the computer for a few weeks, uninterrupted. "Where's Fuzzy?" "Oh she's in Africa or something." Heh.

Thanks Leonard! Hehe, "very organized". ;D Well, at least my Sim houses can look that way.

Yeah, the number of girls this generation is ridiculous! I need to get that harem built just so I have somewhere to PUT them all when they get back from college.

O HAI big fan of my OWBC! *waves* :D
I had to stop posting to the Exchange because I simply couldn't get anything to upload anymore! :P Silly EA and their "down for maintenance" stuff.

Glad you are here for the beginning of my newest thing! :) More stuff coming soon.

Thanks! I'm trying my best to make it look and feel authentic with the dismally minimal amount of CC I have for the time period. >_< The more clothes and hair I get made, and the more objects I can recolor, the better it will look. I hope. lol

I didn't think there was a lot of CC for ancient Egypt, but I thought you might have tapped into a soure I didn't know about. Kudos on making your own CC! :)

This is amazing! I AM SO EXCITED AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Everything looks brilliant! I love the main house so much, and the kids are great! How many are Esi's?

This is way awesome! Kudos to you for going all in for an immersed hood. It really looks great!

Where are you going to be posting your stories for this?

YAAAAYYYY! :D Thanks Cait. <3

Esi has 3 kids. Two girls (Merit, Kesi) and one boy (Khufu).

THANKS! :D

Well, I'll be putting links to the chapters here on my LJ and over at the boolprop forums. And anywhere else that will have me. D: I'm still trying to figure out exactly what slideshow site I want to use for them... I've been using Google Docs (which is now Google Drive) because I like that my images don't get compressed. So unless I find a better solution, I'll probably keep using that for the actual slideshow presentation.

ERgHH, don't get me started on real life! I've an essay due for uni, but I've had so much trouble finding "reputable sources".

Kasmut. Right, I will remember that. Good! So she actually paid attention to the longwinded lecture I gave her on "appropriate simself behaviour".

You are very welcome. I am really looking forward to your Egyptian legacy so I am glad to help in any way that I can. :)

Lovely picspam, the amount of WORK you have already put into this!

I was just thinking about what you might have done with the telephone box when I read about what the shrine contained. :P

Hey, the Unsavory Charlatan should have a fine time; from what I hear there should be lots of gold and treasures to pinch from there. How does an Egyptian Unsavory Charlatan costume look?

Perhaps - if we can't come and live there, can we at least come on Holiday there?

Ah the spawn of the Games Hobby guy did not improve his appearance, poor sod. Will you give him an Egyptian make-over? I'd like to see if that improves him.

ROFL at the food curtain puppet stage show. I'm mighty tempted to try something like that in my own game, just to see it.

For the most part, I do not know (or recognise) who of the simselves are who - were you planning to make a "who is/was who" of them? And the imported playables? Though it could perhaps be a bit too much work for you it would be really handy for someone like me who is a bit out of the loop. :)

I am so excited and can't wait to see your Legacy!

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Egyptian Picspam and Stuff!

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