Hey. If people aren't aware, Microsoft admitted they know who you and where you are at all times and will give your info to the police.
They have a Global Device Identifier (GDID) Tracker that functions as a fingerprint for your PC that can surpass VPNs, proxy servers and countries. Although it can't survive a clean reinstall of Windows (it can survive updates), because Microsoft forces you to go to the internet and log in into a Microsoft account, they will be able to get to you.
Microsoft kept it secret and it was only found out when the FBI tracked a hacker thanks to the information Microsoft gave them.
You should be paying attention to this, and possibly consider moving away from Windows. If a government, especially the US government, doesn't like you for some reason, this could be seriously concerning.
This article specifically notes:
For journalism, activism, or domestic abuse situations, skip Windows and use Linux routed through Tor instead of a commercial VPN. A GDID doesn’t care which VPN you use, only that it’s still the same Windows installation.
GDID is the persistent Windows ID that helped FBI trace a Scattered Spider hacker despite VPNs. Here's how it works and how to limit it.
Other important quotes:
What has researchers uneasy is everything else the case reveals. Costin Raiu, a well-known malware researcher, asked on the Three Buddy Problem podcast how much of this exists on other platforms, and whether it is linked more permanently to hardware. Matthew Hickey, another security researcher, called Windows “surveillance software”.
Two things back that up:
There’s no consent screen. A GDID gets assigned when you sign into a Microsoft Account. Apple’s advertising identifier needs an App Tracking Transparency prompt and a visible reset; Android’s works the same way. GDID has neither, and a Windows reinstall only gets you a new number Microsoft can still get back to the same account.
Then there’s activation. Massgrave, the group behind Microsoft Activation Scripts, notes that Windows setup sends hardware info to Microsoft and gets identifiers back, the same tokens later used for Store access and licensing: “It’s impossible to prevent Windows from getting a GDID without breaking activation and UWP app[s].” Anyone who lost a license after swapping a motherboard has already met a smaller version of this.
Hey. If people aren't aware, Microsoft admitted they know who you and where you are at all times and will give your info to the police.
They have a Global Device Identifier (GDID) Tracker that functions as a fingerprint for your PC that can surpass VPNs, proxy servers and countries. Although it can't survive a clean reinstall of Windows (it can survive updates), because Microsoft forces you to go to the internet and log in into a Microsoft account, they will be able to get to you.
Microsoft kept it secret and it was only found out when the FBI tracked a hacker thanks to the information Microsoft gave them.
You should be paying attention to this, and possibly consider moving away from Windows. If a government, especially the US government, doesn't like you for some reason, this could be seriously concerning.
This article specifically notes:
For journalism, activism, or domestic abuse situations, skip Windows and use Linux routed through Tor instead of a commercial VPN. A GDID doesn’t care which VPN you use, only that it’s still the same Windows installation.
GDID is the persistent Windows ID that helped FBI trace a Scattered Spider hacker despite VPNs. Here's how it works and how to limit it.
Other important quotes:
What has researchers uneasy is everything else the case reveals. Costin Raiu, a well-known malware researcher, asked on the Three Buddy Problem podcast how much of this exists on other platforms, and whether it is linked more permanently to hardware. Matthew Hickey, another security researcher, called Windows “surveillance software”.
Two things back that up:
There’s no consent screen. A GDID gets assigned when you sign into a Microsoft Account. Apple’s advertising identifier needs an App Tracking Transparency prompt and a visible reset; Android’s works the same way. GDID has neither, and a Windows reinstall only gets you a new number Microsoft can still get back to the same account.
Then there’s activation. Massgrave, the group behind Microsoft Activation Scripts, notes that Windows setup sends hardware info to Microsoft and gets identifiers back, the same tokens later used for Store access and licensing: “It’s impossible to prevent Windows from getting a GDID without breaking activation and UWP app[s].” Anyone who lost a license after swapping a motherboard has already met a smaller version of this.
Published: 1-21-2024 | Updated: 7-10-2026 (Stair Arch Fixed)
SUMMARY
“Redoing your downloads folder and looking to declutter your catalog? Welcome in!”
Here are additional files from BuggyBooz’s More Nooks & Niches series (2012) – recategorized as Build > Architecture via the Object RelocatorV3.2 (Pick n’ Mix/WHoward, 2023).
Since this set contains functional furniture items, choose from two versions. One download contains ALL items as architecture while the other only moves decorative alcoves/arches to Build > Architecture. Only play with ONE version in your game at a time.
DETAILS
Requires all EPs/SPs.
Build > Architecture
**Beyond catalog location/hood visibility, the objects have NOT been altered. All existing repo's and recolors will work as intended. The “Nooks and Niches” set contains the file BB_NICHE1_MASTER, which is REQUIRED for all sets to work properly in-game.
DOWNLOAD (choose one)
More Nooks and Niches- (ALL files as architecture)
from SFS | MEGA
More Nooks and Niches- (ONLY the alcoves/arches as architecture, other files are still included)
from SFS | MEGA
Get the Extras for this set and other BoogyBooz sets as architecture HERE.
CREDITS
Thanks: @tirion-picture-gallery for pointing me to the additional files. Sources: Beyno (Korn via BBFonts), EA/Maxis, More Nooks and Niches (BuggyBooz, 2012), Nook Folly Garden (BuggyBooz, 2012), Nooks and Niches (BuggyBooz, 2012), Offuturistic Infographic (Freepik).
UPDATE: 7-10-2026 (CRITICAL FIX)
The "undefined slot error" on the original Under Stair Arch has been addressed. If you have "simmons-bbnnARCH-extrasMAIN-ALL" or "simmons-bbnnARCH-extrasMAIN-Partial" sets, please redownload and replace old files.
This isn't an object I use normally in-game - so credit goes to @nosferatusim for reporting the error.
Yes? Well, tough - here's a collection of small plugins that don't deserve any major fanfare, but that you may still find useful. There's only two of them at the moment, but I'll likely be releasing additional ones once in a blue moon (whenever I find something minor that's bothering me, basically).
TS2CineDrawDistance
This one improves the absolutely disgusting terrain draw distance during cinematics. No idea why they don't just use the draw distance settings you already have applied, but whatever.
Vomit-Inducing Vanilla:
Pleasure-Inducing Patch:
TS2MovieSkipper
I may have shamelessly stolen this idea from TS2 Extender, but I made this for myself to help my sanity while debugging, and to reduce the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome from repeatedly mashing the ESC key. It simply patches out those abrasive intro movies, so you'll never again have to have your ear drums blown out by "SUL SUL!".
So I know there is a debate about the use of AI in the community that I won’t get into but saw that one of its supposed uses was for defaults.
I just wanted to put out there that if anyone has questions, needs troubleshooting, to be walked through the process, or me to look at their files to see if I can spot an issue, I’m really happy to do so. I’m literally happy to help as much as can either over tumblr’s messenger thing of discord if you have it. Just want to be helpful x
Please, I beg, I know it's hard to reach out, trust me I used to be super shy and constantly checking myself over the smallest thing (I still do it, it never really goes away).
BUT, if you need help, however insignificant you think the issue might be, or just want someone to vent your frustration over some stupid problem: feel free to reach out. I don't always respond the quickest, but I always respond. AND, never assume helping others (you) is a waste of time. I cannot tell you how many things I have learned from helping others. I love figuring stuff out! Sometimes, I might fail at doing so, even.
Human connection is the only true constant in these uncertain times. I know it's a struggle, but it's worth it! AI is the anti-thesis to all that.
Same here - I'm always happy to try to help.
Let's share and celebrate the collective knowledge we have in the Sims 2 community - it's a beautiful thing!
I'm not much of a creator, but I'm happy to listen to ideas, test things, or when it comes to stories I can absolutely beta read!
The Sims 2 community is seriously so helpful and friendly, there's actual people with the knowledge needed not only to tell you steps but to help you troubleshoot if you run into problems.
Adding my "same here" onto this. Everything I've ever learned to do with this game has been just me figuring stuff out (including making defaults?!) and my asks are always open.
Replaces the head and the social bunny textures. Clean textures (with missing eye restored) are by Phaenoh, I included them because I edited a few pixels around the eyes to make the blinking animation look better.
Both eyes are animated.
Compatibility: Not compatible with texture or mesh defaults.
Credits and thanks
Phaenoh for the clean social bunny default replacements
l-1-z-a, justmiha97 and paluding for the discussion on face blends.
Recommended mod
Social Bunny outfit unlocked for all categories by lelzito
Did you know?
Sims 2 lighting has a mode that enables room color reflections, which will reflect two color reflections in objects, based on which colors the room is and which walls and floors are lit.
This mode also enables base game materials which have been gone from the lighting files for a long time.
setf roomLightingType 0,1
setf roomLightingType 4+
These new materials are much more reactive to direct and room (bounce) lighting, and need balancing, which is what I'm doing now. The whole lighting mode was really buggy, and inconsistent, and I think I've fixed it... for now.
Also, a lot of the Maxis object materials are not optimized for this lighting, so a lot of them will also either have ZERO shine, or TOO MUCH shine.
Exibit of shinyness:
This table maxis made is extremely shiny, both for direct and indirect light, so if there's a bright wall/floor combo near it, and that area is lit, the table can even reflect light almost as bright as the lamp that's on it.
Important thing to note is, this was broken for me on Windows, completely. I was only ever able to restore both direct light specular reflections, and room bounce specular reflections, once I installed Linux.
I would like to see if some of you can still get this to work on Windows.
The option in the lighting file is called: setf roomLightingType
So I tried to recreate the beta lighting as best as I could, but it's so hard to get that sharp falloff without throwing off the rest of the lights off balance. This one looked super nice in this setting, but in a normal light it ends up way too bright.
Sorry for disappearing - my phone decided to go to silicon heaven a few weeks ago and because I have 2FA set up, I couldn't log in to my accounts until I got a new phone :/
Anyway, I just wanted to give an update on that water mod I showcased a while back, as it's basically all I've been working on.
This is going to be a long one, so I'm going to make use of that post cut feature for once. I don't mean to be a tease, but there will be a download link provided below :)
Firstly, the good news is that I managed to fix mirror reflections!
I did have to switch back to using the vanilla OceanReflection effect to do this, instead of the ScreenReflection one used in Castaway (for reasons I'll explain later), but fear not - the water is still visually identical and is just as reflective as Castaway.
In fact, I managed to get everything to reflect in the water - check out those roads and clouds!
And yes, even Sims are visible in the water!
It's kind of hard to see because of the ripples, but Chloe Curious is indeed present in that reflection.
Another benefit of using the vanilla OceanReflection effect is that Castaway's shaders aren't required for the reflections to work. This means the plugin will work with the vanilla water shaders, or a different water mod like Voeille's, if you prefer the look of those.
Something else I've tried to do is reduce the visibility of that annoying gap that can be seen between the lot skirt and the ocean's surface. It's not perfect by any means, but it's certainly an improvement over vanilla imo:
Unrelated to the ocean, but I was made aware of the fact that pools don't reflect the terrain. This has also been fixed:
I'm happy with what I've produced so far, so I've published the mod on my GitHub if you're interested in giving it a try:
https://github.com/spockthewok/TS2ReflectiveWater
There are two files available to download. One is the plugin itself, which patches the game to allow for the extra reflections and reduces the lot skirt gap, and the other is a modified version of Castaway's ocean shaders. I've provided a version of the shaders that incorporate the edits from dreadpirate's shader fixes mod too. Again, these shaders are completely optional - if you only want the extra reflections, you only need to download the plugin!
What about pond reflections???
Okay, this is where I have to give the bad news. Pond reflections are not currently included, because they're an absolute nightmare to figure out.
For a body of water to be reflective in TS2, it needs either a reflection plane (which is what the ocean has), or a reflection camera (which is what pools have). Lot terrain has no such functionality to support this in TS2 (ponds are classed as terrain tiles), so Castaway added a load of extra functionality to make ponds reflective.
It's not feasible to backport all of Castaway's new code to give ponds their own reflection method, and even if it was, it introduces another problem with the game's engine - it really does not like two separate reflection contexts using the same render type.
If you ever happen to look at Sims 2's various reflection functions, you'll see several magic numbers being thrown around. These are the game's render types, and the number that corresponds to each type is defined in the same shader code as the pink soup (I'm never going to be able to escape it). Here are a few examples to feast your eyes on:
Remember the issue with the mirrors? That was related to this. Basically, if the ocean and mirrors are using the same render type for their reflections, the game can't figure out which reflection belongs to who and the reflections start fighting each other to be displayed.
How did Castaway solve this? It didn't, mirrors are broken in Castaway too, because everything is using render type 2 (ScreenReflection).
They mostly work if they're placed indoors, but place them outdoors and, oh boy...
Likewise, if you patch the ocean to use the pool reflection render type, the pool reflections start fighting with the ocean reflections for dominance.
So, if we can't create a separate reflection context for ponds because there aren't enough unique render types to use, we're stuck trying to get ponds to use an existing reflection method.
Let's start with the simplest one - the ocean's reflection plane. If you recall the issue with ponds from my previous post, that was caused by this same plane. As discussed, ponds don't have a way to render reflections, so the reflection visible in the pond was actually created by the ocean and therefore being displayed at the ocean's height, which is why the reflections appeared super far down.
Unfortunately, the game only allows one ocean plane at a time, so if you try to create a second one at the pond's height, it just replaces the ocean's plane. This does give accurate pond reflections, but at the cost of cutting off the ocean reflections:
I did try and hijack the reflection plane used by the neighbourhood water as it shouldn't technically be in use in lot view, however all this did was give me a one-way ticket to crash city :(
Evidently, we need a method that supports rendering multiple reflections at varying heights at once, which leaves us with two options (to my knowledge):
The reflection camera for pools.
The reflection camera for reflective floors.
I don't think floor reflections are a thing in Sims 2, despite there being code for a reflection camera in the game's binary, so who knows if it even works. The floor shader code contains this quote:
"reflective floors are currently dead. might ressurect them in an expansion pack"
Great, now we're down to pools as our last hope.
As you probably know, if ponds use PoolReflection, they appear black without a pool present on the lot. Maybe if we lift this restriction, things will start working? Think again:
I have no idea why there is a chess table(?) baked in to the reflection texture.
I guess that makes sense - the game also isn't creating the pool reflection camera, as it only does so if a pool exists. What if we allow the camera to be created regardless of the presence of a pool?
While doing this allows ponds to now 'reflect', the reflections are still broken, being displayed at the wrong height and sliding around with the movement of the camera. It expects to be given several bits of information to work properly, such as a node for it to be attached to, the bounds of the pool, and the depth of the water - all things ponds are not giving it.
Compounding this is the fact that ponds have very little functionality to work with to provide this information. You can get the elevation of the water (which I suppose could be used as the depth), but other than that, all there really is is a way to check if a specific terrain tile is a pond tile.
This creates all sorts of headaches, like how to differentiate between multiple ponds on a lot, getting the width and height of them, what the camera should be attached to, yada yada yada...
It was at this point that I started to wonder - is this really even worth it? Sure, placing a pool tile on a lot to get pond reflections working is a bit janky, but would whatever Frankenstein's monster of a pond reflection system I might be able to create be any less janky?
For this reason, I have decided to take a short break from pond reflections, as I was starting to get a metaphorical concussion from banging my head against the keyboard to try and figure something out. I know it's disappointing to hear, but hopefully the fancy new ocean reflections will soften the blow somewhat.
If anyone has any suggestions for pond reflections, I'm more than happy to hear them :) I'll return to the trenches soon...
rosemary, my fav, who had every right to be bitter but stayed positive anyway and put all the energy she had into her husband and son. never thought to hate him after he left her while she was pregnant and being hunted by the patriots. she only knows how to love and that is both her biggest weakness and biggest virtue
sniper wolf, who hasn’t taken a bath in 6 months and reeks of wet dog and will literally sit in a puddle of her own piss for a week if it means blowing solid snake’s head off (also probably lezzing out for meryl). she falls in love with every target she locks on, but only one target ever truly loved her back.
naomi hunter, who loved her brother so much she was driven to revenge, only realizing her hatred was misplaced when it was too late and she died alone and surrounded by pity, not by friends. (hal, you’re crying? for me? after everything i did to you?)
meryl silverburgh, who was so focused on being connected with her absent father and trying to understand him that she forgot she was a woman, and grew to resent her feminine side as much as she mourned it. who eventually learned to embrace both her femininity and her love for fighting, wearing a bullet earring in mgs4 and found a lipgloss color she liked. maybe rose picked it out for her. she wore it on her wedding, when her father finally showed up and walked her down the isle
nastasha, who’s mouth tastes bitter with coffee and cigarettes, scorned by her chud ex-husband. a career woman, knowledgeable on all things weapons and wrote an entire book on her experience with shadow moses, spreading the word about solid snake and the existence of metal gear
paramedic, or dr. clark, a crazed scientist with an obsession with genes. she’s a flirty movie nut, an excellent conversationalist who was shamed for speaking. no one expected her to rip frank jaeger’s body apart and turn him into her personal human experiment. her obsession with the human body drove her to insane depths that her younger self might’ve been disgusted with. she’s an artist, and genes are her tools. who cares about a medical license when you can hold a man’s liver in your hands and feel that he’s still alive after being ripped to shreds? why let someone die when you can keep them alive, heart beating but brain shattered? why end a bloodline when you can create life from scratch?
strangelove, driven absolutely mad trying to make sense of her grief. she can only think logistically, and if she can’t bring her love back to life, she will make a new love. if she cannot make a baby with her love, she will find a way, even if it involves a man. she is driven by lust and tries to sleep with any blonde she can find on the base, anyone who can even resemble the joy that was robbed from her.
mei ling, a career woman who slowly climbed up a ladder that was going against her. she started off as a data analyst, but worked her way up to being a commander, the way she always dreamed. but she never lost sight of herself, she still loves her quotes and facts and always puts emotions first and that’s what makes her a good commander. she’s not scared to admit that she’s afraid
olga gurlukovich, a mother who fell in love with a baby she didn’t want. she lost her father and the only way she could bring him back was keeping sunny alive for him, keeping her safe, even if it means giving into the patriots’ orders. her heart was with the unit, but maybe if things were different she would’ve been able to be the mother that her father knew she could be
sunny emmerich, the genius who saved the world before she was even 10. she finished FOXALIVE, not just to kill the patriots, but to kill them in a way that wouldnt destroy the economy or flow of commerce. she can’t cook eggs, and she can’t speak very well, but she can build a military fighter jet. her mom would be proud. she’s already lost one parent, so she’s doing everything she can to keep snake alive. raiden, too. i hope she didn’t blame herself when snake died
the joy, a mother who was robbed of absolutely everything by the government, but still ended up giving more just to keep her country safe. she knew she would die as a terrorist traitor, and she is too far gone to realize she’s a woman, not a weapon. she knew what had to be done, and let it happen to her
fortune, helena dolph jackson, a woman who was robbed of everything. her father, her mother, her husband, her unborn child. she was motivated by revenge, but even more motivated by the need to just die already. in the end, she was robbed of her luck, too. but her sheer spite and hatred allowed her to give one last fuck you to ocelot, not motivated by revenge but instead to protect
emma emmerich, a girl with an unfortunate past that caught up to her before she could stop it. her stepfather tried to kill her, her brother disappeared, and the only connection she had to them was to go into engineering like they did, to be closer to them. she’s like meryl in that way, she got so wrapped up in trying to understand someone who is gone that she forgot to be her own woman. she didn’t get the chance to fix it like meryl did
julie, proof that not all women are good, that some of us are just plain evil and it’s okay to show that sometimes. i dont like her, i dont like the way she was written, but the fact she exists at all is incredibly important. some women are just bad apples
eva, unsure of her own motivations, just wanted to fulfill her promise to the boss and the KGB. she spent her life sacrificing herself and her body just to get where she needed for her country. she took everything volgin did to her because that was just her mission, that was what she had to do. she doesn’t like that she had to do that to snake, to one of the only people who didn’t see her as a toy, but in the end, the mission comes first. her feelings continuously bleed into her mission, when she tries to stop them. she doesn’t want to feel that way towards the boss or towards snake, but she does. she didn’t mean to love the babies she was forced to birth, but god she did. she never got to hold eli before he died, but david got to hold her when it was her time and that was enough. those were her babies and the only part of her body she ever felt was truly hers. she only gets off her bike when she falls in love (john) or falls dead (david).
paz ortega adrande, pacifica ocean, who was used as a pawn by cipher with no care to how she might feel or what might happen to her. she double crossed snake and tried to kill him, but when cipher wouldn’t help her, he was the one who did, despite everything. she repayed him with one final sacrifice, refusing to let him die with her
quiet, another one of cipher’s pawns who fell for a different boss’ charms. she had no way to express her love, but she felt it all the same and everyone could tell. she spent her whole life being treated like a killing machine and an object, but ahab was the only one to ever look at her like a person. he didn’t kill her when he had every right to, and, like paz, she repayed the favor
gustava heffner, an olympic figure skater who was killed the second a man ever treated her right. kind of a running theme, huh? she should’ve turned frank jaeger into a statistic
cécile kosima caminades, one of the only blue collar characters in metal gear. overall uninvolved, she gave the information she needed to and headed back home to france, only a slightly different woman. she loves birds and cigarettes and flight, maybe she went back and got the pilot’s degree she was talking about getting.
amanda, a sister who acts more like a mother, who would step infront of a moving train to keep chico safe, but she’d never tell him that. it would go straight to his stupid baby head. she’s a strong soldier and a stronger leader, so young but entirely prepared to die for her country and family
courtney collins, a clumsy girl who probably finds raiden extremely attractive, but at her heart she’s a girls girl and she’s not afraid to put him in his place and remind him he’s a married man. she’s seen as weak by her coworkers, but she believes in the cause just as much as them, and begs them to let her contribute what she can because those kids deserve to be safe. she stands up for every hostage and every child raiden encounters, clearly distressed but excellent at keeping a level head and telling him what to do and how to fix it. she can cry later, but for now she’s going to do her job and do it good.
and yes, even the b&b corps, written to seduce snake but becoming overcome by emotions and dying curled up in a ball, begging for it to stop, because in all of their hearts, they’re terrified. i love them too.
Yeah no, Kojima is terrible at directing women, i believe it's the editors and storywriters who pulled something out of it and still, we have them explaining their story while you mash left/right stick to jiggle their physics. I don't even have to say what happens to the Beast unit.
All the kudos to Naomi, honestly, for never being objectified and remaining complex villain / antihero.
I do appreciate Eva, too, with her triple motives, but she still delivers them with camera zoomed in on her chest.
Emma, Olga, Sunny and Fortune honestly needed bit more. Especially Olga and Sunny. I need that scrapped game of rescuing Sunny more then i need a Bayonetta-like spinoff.
Very hot take, but my least favorite character of the franchise is Joy. Such a great idea executed in such Kojima way of infodumping.
15 minutes in "i was first ever, i was there, i was also there, did you know i was also the first, i also" i zoned out and wished he knew he can chose few impactful things that concisely symbolize her as incredible, and not sound like he is trying to add more to the disconnected list of feats to prove to the audience it's the case.
At some point it started sounding so made up, i never manged to get this sense of any achievement.
Perhaps if these disconnected achievements were delivered in organic way through the game, it could have painted a more believable picture of her being always the only solider ever chosen for the missions, from war to espionage to nuclear tests to space, before we arrive at the finale. Delivery on the battlefield part is it's own can of worms (It was jarring idea before, but it's even more jarring after DSs. They didn't have second in command to replace 9 month pregnant unit commander?)
In terms of who got the shortest end of the stick, I'd say it's between Beasts, which got their severe ptsd sexualized in "camera mode" and Paz who just....
PT 2 -rose because of "error"
My fav game is def mgs2 and i love Rose as a villain, her actions are absolutely deplorable from every rational angle and i like what she brings in villainy department as a female in power (for people who forgot: gaslighting her severely PTSD affected government-assigned patient who, among other things, struggles with memory and survivors guilt, into thinking she is just a girl, doesn't know him, doesn't know his past, doesn't have his government profile, is not her assigned mission in which he was planned to be subject of more violation/abuse, and pretending she is interested in dating him, pretending they are a couple, using her degrees in psychology in "relationship" mindgames and eventually breaking him by using that same survivor's guilt she is expert on; "everyone else accepted being child solders but you run away" is probably most vile guilt line in that game, and Solidus is there.)
Their ending is, if we take a game as casual relationship struggles metaphor and disregard CPTSD survivor dating a doctor (ending is sorta dreamlike/fantasy/dissociative) not entirely bad. Could convey "people should talk more in their relationships" (really hard to disregard patient-doctor thing tho)
It had no business being in mgs4 however. The dreamy "what if you were just a girl and im just a guy" metaphor ended in mgs2, should have stayed in mgs2, adding more context and realism of them actually dating is just moving it back into deplorable territory and on top of it, someone thought the best way to convey this message is with more victim blaming. She's a pretty great villain character in the first game but honestly, a confusing mess in a second. Confronting that they are abusive gov agent/psychologist in power and abused, unknowing gov subject and quietly separating or not appearing in mgs4 at all could have been the best for both if writers weren't ready to confront what it means for the victim. Turning him into a one-sided monster to override the story of the government agent's expert manipulation did not make Rose's character better, at all. Not to mention she loses that massive agency she had as a scientist in the psychology field if we accept mgs4's idea that she didn't expect PTSD victim to react to gaslight as PTSD victim would (basics?)
rosemary, my fav, who had every right to be bitter but stayed positive anyway and put all the energy she had into her husband and son. never thought to hate him after he left her while she was pregnant and being hunted by the patriots. she only knows how to love and that is both her biggest weakness and biggest virtue
sniper wolf, who hasn’t taken a bath in 6 months and reeks of wet dog and will literally sit in a puddle of her own piss for a week if it means blowing solid snake’s head off (also probably lezzing out for meryl). she falls in love with every target she locks on, but only one target ever truly loved her back.
naomi hunter, who loved her brother so much she was driven to revenge, only realizing her hatred was misplaced when it was too late and she died alone and surrounded by pity, not by friends. (hal, you’re crying? for me? after everything i did to you?)
meryl silverburgh, who was so focused on being connected with her absent father and trying to understand him that she forgot she was a woman, and grew to resent her feminine side as much as she mourned it. who eventually learned to embrace both her femininity and her love for fighting, wearing a bullet earring in mgs4 and found a lipgloss color she liked. maybe rose picked it out for her. she wore it on her wedding, when her father finally showed up and walked her down the isle
nastasha, who’s mouth tastes bitter with coffee and cigarettes, scorned by her chud ex-husband. a career woman, knowledgeable on all things weapons and wrote an entire book on her experience with shadow moses, spreading the word about solid snake and the existence of metal gear
paramedic, or dr. clark, a crazed scientist with an obsession with genes. she’s a flirty movie nut, an excellent conversationalist who was shamed for speaking. no one expected her to rip frank jaeger’s body apart and turn him into her personal human experiment. her obsession with the human body drove her to insane depths that her younger self might’ve been disgusted with. she’s an artist, and genes are her tools. who cares about a medical license when you can hold a man’s liver in your hands and feel that he’s still alive after being ripped to shreds? why let someone die when you can keep them alive, heart beating but brain shattered? why end a bloodline when you can create life from scratch?
strangelove, driven absolutely mad trying to make sense of her grief. she can only think logistically, and if she can’t bring her love back to life, she will make a new love. if she cannot make a baby with her love, she will find a way, even if it involves a man. she is driven by lust and tries to sleep with any blonde she can find on the base, anyone who can even resemble the joy that was robbed from her.
mei ling, a career woman who slowly climbed up a ladder that was going against her. she started off as a data analyst, but worked her way up to being a commander, the way she always dreamed. but she never lost sight of herself, she still loves her quotes and facts and always puts emotions first and that’s what makes her a good commander. she’s not scared to admit that she’s afraid
olga gurlukovich, a mother who fell in love with a baby she didn’t want. she lost her father and the only way she could bring him back was keeping sunny alive for him, keeping her safe, even if it means giving into the patriots’ orders. her heart was with the unit, but maybe if things were different she would’ve been able to be the mother that her father knew she could be
sunny emmerich, the genius who saved the world before she was even 10. she finished FOXALIVE, not just to kill the patriots, but to kill them in a way that wouldnt destroy the economy or flow of commerce. she can’t cook eggs, and she can’t speak very well, but she can build a military fighter jet. her mom would be proud. she’s already lost one parent, so she’s doing everything she can to keep snake alive. raiden, too. i hope she didn’t blame herself when snake died
the joy, a mother who was robbed of absolutely everything by the government, but still ended up giving more just to keep her country safe. she knew she would die as a terrorist traitor, and she is too far gone to realize she’s a woman, not a weapon. she knew what had to be done, and let it happen to her
fortune, helena dolph jackson, a woman who was robbed of everything. her father, her mother, her husband, her unborn child. she was motivated by revenge, but even more motivated by the need to just die already. in the end, she was robbed of her luck, too. but her sheer spite and hatred allowed her to give one last fuck you to ocelot, not motivated by revenge but instead to protect
emma emmerich, a girl with an unfortunate past that caught up to her before she could stop it. her stepfather tried to kill her, her brother disappeared, and the only connection she had to them was to go into engineering like they did, to be closer to them. she’s like meryl in that way, she got so wrapped up in trying to understand someone who is gone that she forgot to be her own woman. she didn’t get the chance to fix it like meryl did
julie, proof that not all women are good, that some of us are just plain evil and it’s okay to show that sometimes. i dont like her, i dont like the way she was written, but the fact she exists at all is incredibly important. some women are just bad apples
eva, unsure of her own motivations, just wanted to fulfill her promise to the boss and the KGB. she spent her life sacrificing herself and her body just to get where she needed for her country. she took everything volgin did to her because that was just her mission, that was what she had to do. she doesn’t like that she had to do that to snake, to one of the only people who didn’t see her as a toy, but in the end, the mission comes first. her feelings continuously bleed into her mission, when she tries to stop them. she doesn’t want to feel that way towards the boss or towards snake, but she does. she didn’t mean to love the babies she was forced to birth, but god she did. she never got to hold eli before he died, but david got to hold her when it was her time and that was enough. those were her babies and the only part of her body she ever felt was truly hers. she only gets off her bike when she falls in love (john) or falls dead (david).
paz ortega adrande, pacifica ocean, who was used as a pawn by cipher with no care to how she might feel or what might happen to her. she double crossed snake and tried to kill him, but when cipher wouldn’t help her, he was the one who did, despite everything. she repayed him with one final sacrifice, refusing to let him die with her
quiet, another one of cipher’s pawns who fell for a different boss’ charms. she had no way to express her love, but she felt it all the same and everyone could tell. she spent her whole life being treated like a killing machine and an object, but ahab was the only one to ever look at her like a person. he didn’t kill her when he had every right to, and, like paz, she repayed the favor
gustava heffner, an olympic figure skater who was killed the second a man ever treated her right. kind of a running theme, huh? she should’ve turned frank jaeger into a statistic
cécile kosima caminades, one of the only blue collar characters in metal gear. overall uninvolved, she gave the information she needed to and headed back home to france, only a slightly different woman. she loves birds and cigarettes and flight, maybe she went back and got the pilot’s degree she was talking about getting.
amanda, a sister who acts more like a mother, who would step infront of a moving train to keep chico safe, but she’d never tell him that. it would go straight to his stupid baby head. she’s a strong soldier and a stronger leader, so young but entirely prepared to die for her country and family
courtney collins, a clumsy girl who probably finds raiden extremely attractive, but at her heart she’s a girls girl and she’s not afraid to put him in his place and remind him he’s a married man. she’s seen as weak by her coworkers, but she believes in the cause just as much as them, and begs them to let her contribute what she can because those kids deserve to be safe. she stands up for every hostage and every child raiden encounters, clearly distressed but excellent at keeping a level head and telling him what to do and how to fix it. she can cry later, but for now she’s going to do her job and do it good.
and yes, even the b&b corps, written to seduce snake but becoming overcome by emotions and dying curled up in a ball, begging for it to stop, because in all of their hearts, they’re terrified. i love them too.
Yeah no, Kojima is terrible at directing women, i believe it's the editors and storywriters who pulled something out of it and still, we have them explaining their story while you mash left/right stick to jiggle their physics. I don't even have to say what happens to the Beast unit.
All the kudos to Naomi, honestly, for never being objectified and remaining complex villain / antihero.
I do appreciate Eva, too, with her triple motives, but she still delivers them with camera zoomed in on her chest.
Emma, Olga, Sunny and Fortune honestly needed bit more. Especially Olga and Sunny. I need that scrapped game of rescuing Sunny more then i need a Bayonetta-like spinoff.
Very hot take, but my least favorite character of the franchise is Joy. Such a great idea executed in such Kojima way of infodumping.
15 minutes in "i was first ever, i was there, i was also there, did you know i was also the first, i also" i zoned out and wished he knew he can chose few impactful things that concisely symbolize her as incredible, and not sound like he is trying to add more to the disconnected list of feats to prove to the audience it's the case.
At some point it started sounding so made up, i never manged to get this sense of any achievement.
Perhaps if these disconnected achievements were delivered in organic way through the game, it could have painted a more believable picture of her being always the only solider ever chosen for the missions, from war to espionage to nuclear tests to space, before we arrive at the finale. Delivery on the battlefield part is it's own can of worms (It was jarring idea before, but it's even more jarring after DSs. They didn't have second in command to replace 9 month pregnant unit commander?)
In terms of who got the shortest end of the stick, I'd say it's between Beasts, which got their severe ptsd sexualized in "camera mode" and Paz who just....
By popular demand (I saw two people asking) I thought I would throw together a quick guide to using the road editor tool in the newest version of SimPE! You'll see that this is a very easy tool to use, and best of all, goof-proof. If you do mess up (you probably will) it's very, very easy to correct.
Very, very, very important to make a backup of your hood before you ever do any tinkering in SimPE! I also recommend practicing on a test hood you don't actively play in to get a feel for it before you do anything to your main hoods.
We're starting with a vanilla Strangetown. I would recommend going in your game and taking a nice overhead screenshot of the hood like this first to look at for reference of where everything is situated the way that you're used to looking at it.
2. Open SimPE, go to Tools> Neighbourhood> Neighbourhood Browser and open the hood you're wanting to work on. If you're not so familiar with SimPE, opening your hood can take some time. Touch nothing until it's loaded!
3. Once it's all loaded, from the Resource Tree list pick Neighbourhood Terrain Geometry (NHTG). Then you'll see one file populate the Resource List - click that. Make sure on the bottom that you have Plugin View tab selected.
4. Now you should see this map of your hood pop up! There are different things you can toggle, I like to check the Show Lots box when I'm editing the roads. Then click the Road Editor button on the right.
5. To be able to see better, I've pulled this Plugin View window up a bit - it may rearrange the Resource List and Resource Tree windows a bit to accommodate. You can also press the Zoom 2x button to see closer, and then you'll have to use the scroll bars to move around the map and the road editor tool.
6. The road editing tools here will be placed down in the same orientation as the map. So the two parallel roads running through Strangetown from this perspective are the vertical straight road pieces (top row, second from left).
When you select a road tool, above it will indicate which tool you have selected.
Also - I recommend having Handle Stop Signs ticked.
7. Once you have the correct type of road selected for the spot you're working on, simply click on the map - it lays it down one tile at a time. If you miss a spot like shown here, just fill it in.
8. If you want to create an intersection, first delete the section of road where the intersection will go.
9. Then choose the type of junction for the intersection you're making, and add that piece in. You'll see a red circle appear (unsure if this is because it's an intersection or because you have handle stop signs selected, but I recommend you do have that selected either way).
10. Once you're done making all your changes, click Close Editor.
11. This is the part where you save your changes! First click Commit in the top right of the editor. Then, File> Save!
12. Load your game to check! Looks pretty good with all those new roads!
13. However, we have indeed made some mistakes! Which were absolutely for illustrative purposes and not truly an accident.
14. Never fear! Simply reload the hood in SimPE - I've deleted the spot where the T-junction should go and added one in, and deleted where the road just ended abruptly and added a proper end piece.
I have not experimented with what happens if you try to build a road through hood deco - if you have, please let us know in the comments how that went!
I also have barely touched the terrain editing tools, so that's outside the scope of this tutorial.
I hope this helped!
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