I've been reading your BACC and recalled your old family tree. I know both are separate continuities but I had some questions. Are Annika and Anastacia comparative or just sisters of Marcus in different universes? Any Latal lore? How are Iziliel and Aruena related? Who was Remus' mother? And lastly, what happened to Godric's father Phillip?
Hi Peridotlionheart! (love your username! 💚)
First things first: thank you SO MUCH for your thoughtful message! 🥰 I'm actually stoked to know that people find my silly pixel world immersive enough not only to follow, but also to ask questions about it!
I have to say, I've given this ask a lot of thought. Your questions prompted me to take a deep-dive into my memories as well as my awful Pre-simblr 2010 Screenshots Folder™, which is always a fun trip. The result was an entire illustrated mini novel!
Because of this, I'm going to have to split the ask into several parts. Two warnings:
1) LOTS of old lore incoming!
2) Some of the old screenshots I unearthed are straight-up awful game-camera pics dug up from the 'Screenshots' folder. Yes, the 'Screenshots' folder. Turns out, a lot of my early gameplay was only documented with the in-game camera and nothing else. Don't say you haven't been warned! 💀
As a side note, this and the following posts will be divided into sections. That'll hopefully keep things more coherent.
And because no multi-part series is complete without a silly name, I'm calling this one: Esotheria Does Simchaeology.
For starters, a bit of background info: Around 2009-2010, the custom hood I played was called Maggie Town (named after my beloved pet. RIP Maggie, smartest dog I've ever known). Maggie Town was where a fair share of my oldest sims were born, including some featured in my current BaCC.
Circa 2012, Maggie Town got rebranded and became Margitaville, because the old name felt a bit juvenile.
Now, here's where the timeline gets a bit muddled. I know for a fact that the next name change for Margitaville was Neo Margitaville, and I want to be able to say that the name change occurred in 2014. Neo Margitaville was the last hood I played before starting my current BaCC in 2017, after all. However, while digging through my old pics, I came across screenshots of Margitaville that are dated 2014, and screenshots of Neo Margitaville that are dated 2012. I'm not sure how the math is mathing there, but maybe the timestamps just got messed up. What I can say for sure is that the timeline between 2009 and 2017 went like so: Maggie Town -> Margitaville -> Neo Margitaville.
It's worth noting that there were two iterations of Neo Margitaville: the older hood, and the newer, so-called RBACC edition (which stands for 'rebuild-a-city challenge'. I totally made that acronym up). The RBACC hood was on the same map I'm using for my current hood, and kinda looked like a blend of modern and medieval. It got quite a bit of screen time on my blog, and even has its own dedicated tag!
When I reinistalled TS2 after getting a new PC, I decided I'd start fresh with a real BaCC (I talked a bit more about my motivations behind it in this post from September 2017). So with a heavy heart, I said goodbye to RBACC Neo Margitaville in 2017 and started a new chapter on my simming journey.
The first pics of Wyvern's Bay dropped in October 2017, and by February 2019, I started playing my first families!
I feel that providing this context will be helpful for deciphering my confounding scribblings in the upcoming posts.
Hey, so. You may have noticed that I’ve been pretty quiet lately. The reason for it was that I was experiencing PC issues (again), which eventually led me to having to do a complete reinstall of Windows. I got most of my old software back now and my game files are also tucked away safely on my hard drive, but… I’ve been thinking.
You see, I’ve always been extremely tempted to try a real BACC with a clean neighborhood and a fresh, organized Downloads folder. So far, however, I never quite dared do it, and for several reasons: first off, reorganizing the mess that is my Downloads folder would’ve been hell; next, doing a BACC is time-consuming and I simply wasn’t willing to make that kind of commitment at the time; and finally, I wasn’t ready to give up my old, beloved custom hood of 5+ years and the sims inhabiting it. Whenever I started itching for a BACC I’d always tell myself that, if I ever had to reinstall my game from scratch, I’d start one then… and well, looks like that time has finally come now.
At the moment I’m in the middle of extracting all the old lots and sims that I want to keep around (the good news is, I plan on sharing most if not all of them once the process is complete :)). The next step is to take out my old folders and throw in the new ones, and create a clean or empty hood (still haven’t decided which one). Once that part is done, I’ll slowly start accumulating cc again (yes, I also intend to go through with the ‘rebuild my Downloads folder’ thing), and then, finally, I can get to the actual simming part… Yep, it’s gonna be a long haul. Bear with me, good people.
While I’m in the midst of the above described process, I won’t be able to answer wcifs or do cc lists (unless I have my old Dl folder in at the moment, like in the case of the nosemasks wcif from earlier), I probably won’t be sharing or creating much cc (though I do have a few projects pending, and I might add download links to the sims I extracted), and I won’t post new pics either, since I lost my Fraps folder (still got a few photosets sitting in my Drafts though, and naturally I’ll be reblogging posts from fellow simmers from time to time, too).
TL;DR: I have a new sims installation and want to start a new hood. It’s a long process and you may not see any results for a good while, but know that I’m still around and haven’t given up on simming. See you all on the flip side!
Got the PC to cooperate for a change, so more RBACC shenanigans it is. In this episode: a new and improved layout for the fancy coastal area (featuring @arielsims‘ lovely 156 Color lane and @alexbgd‘s Oceanside Cafe), and more building progress on the peninsula. What’s new compared to last time is that the peninsula now has its very own docks/ferry terminal, which... is still a major work-in-progress, so only hood-view pics for now. Gratuitous night shots for both sides, because of course I’d also add night shots. Of course.
Two opposite sides of the neighborhood: Fisherman’s Village vs. rural area.
The little peninsula is easily my favorite part of the hood after Old Town, but it’s still a work in progress. I plan to add a few more shabby beach houses, a little seafood restaurant, and a community lot with docks (maybe even a fish market on the same lot)... but meh, all in good time.
The rural area got a little makeover since last time: the layout is more complex now, and that empty spot in the middle? That’s a residential farm lot to-be. :D I made it so that the hood deco intersects the lot on certain parts, to give it that ‘open world’ feel. The two additional pics show how the hood deco looks from lot view: I added some grass around the pathway thingy, but so far, that’s all the ‘building’ I did on the lot. Once I feel inspired enough, there’s going to be a whole farmhouse there with a barn and tool shed and fields and orchards and all that jazz, but for now, I’m happy with my progress.
(P.S. I need to remember to download those damn hood cows)
New facade for the beach house + some interior pics. The place was meant to be lightly furnished, so I don’t think I’ll be adding anything more to it for now.
