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Mad Poster
#26 Old 22nd Aug 2016 at 1:36 PM
I've had children teleported into a community lot during business hours without adults. Inge's automated teleporter is great for increasing the numbers of repeat customers.

Receptacle Refugee & Resident Polar Bear
"Get out of my way, young'un, I'm a ninja!"
Grave Matters: The funeral podium is available here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/e6tj...albits.zip/file
My other downloads are here: https://app.mediafire.com/myfiles
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Theorist
#27 Old 22nd Aug 2016 at 1:43 PM
In my game, children only show up at Le Train where sims can buy plates of grilled cheese and cheesecakes.
Field Researcher
#28 Old 22nd Aug 2016 at 6:09 PM
Quote: Originally posted by FranH
I'm gonna be obnoxious and ask if he has a lot of aspiration points? Like about 11,000? Then he can get out the old pinball machine, set it up and the customers will be flocking like crazy to his site. Put in a mood flamingo and they'll be happy all the time. I think the dessert cart by ex-nem is all right for the ep's you have, so you can have food on the lot as well. I don't know but perhaps you can put in the expresso bar as well, so they can have some coffee while drying off, too.

Between the ticket machine and the pinball machine, it should make enough money to expand to have other items as well.


What pinball machine are you talking about? It's not the first time I've heard about such an item, but the only pinball machine (in my game, with all EPs + FF + Celebrations + M&G) that's not buyable with simoleons is a career reward? Is it an aspiration reward that comes with another SP or something?
Mad Poster
#29 Old 22nd Aug 2016 at 6:53 PM
It's the career reward, but you can download a buyable version.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
Mad Poster
#30 Old 22nd Aug 2016 at 8:01 PM
Actually, it's a personal aspiration reward-it's the big honking pinball machine (located just before the ballet barre in the aspirations panel) that earns 5 simeoleons for the owner of the lot it's on. It is recommended that the player be in 'platinum' aspiration lest the side effects (haven't seen those yet) do damage.

But of course you can also put up some money trees on the lot and earn bucks that way to afford an expansion of the business.

Receptacle Refugee & Resident Polar Bear
"Get out of my way, young'un, I'm a ninja!"
Grave Matters: The funeral podium is available here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/e6tj...albits.zip/file
My other downloads are here: https://app.mediafire.com/myfiles
Mad Poster
#31 Old 22nd Aug 2016 at 10:41 PM
There's no ballet barre in my aspiration reward panel. That's a career reward, too. Game is gamer, barre is dancer. Is it possible you have a mod that puts career rewards into the aspiration panel, and forgot about it?

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
Mad Poster
#32 Old 22nd Aug 2016 at 10:48 PM
The pinball machine is the career reward for Gaming. I believe it's a career that came with FreeTime or Seasons.

Also, if you use money trees, make sure to lock them up. Visitors are all too happy to help themselves otherwise.

EDIT: Checked. It's Seasons.

I'm secretly a Bulbasaur. | Formerly known as ihatemandatoryregister

Looking for SimWardrobe's mods? | Or Dizzy's? | Faiuwle/rufio's too! | smorbie1's Chris Hatch archives
Mad Poster
#33 Old 23rd Aug 2016 at 12:54 AM
Sorry for the double-post but I want to confirm that kids are able to pay for items.


I'm secretly a Bulbasaur. | Formerly known as ihatemandatoryregister

Looking for SimWardrobe's mods? | Or Dizzy's? | Faiuwle/rufio's too! | smorbie1's Chris Hatch archives
Top Secret Researcher
#34 Old 23rd Aug 2016 at 4:27 AM
And quite handsomely too! How much allowance does that little one get?

I've got one or two things on MTS, but most of my stuff is on my main site here:
http://simcessories.blogspot.com/
(Now recruiting budding creators.)
Theorist
#35 Old 23rd Aug 2016 at 6:58 AM
That's a loaded child.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#36 Old 23rd Aug 2016 at 7:10 AM
You know, this morning I looked at that picture quickly not realizing there was more to the side and was very confused as I only saw an adult female. I saw a child on Jessa's lets play purchase a safe from the bank, kids must have gold cards.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#37 Old 23rd Aug 2016 at 7:53 AM
I don't think her parents will be too happy once their rotation comes up again.

I'm secretly a Bulbasaur. | Formerly known as ihatemandatoryregister

Looking for SimWardrobe's mods? | Or Dizzy's? | Faiuwle/rufio's too! | smorbie1's Chris Hatch archives
Mad Poster
#38 Old 23rd Aug 2016 at 12:57 PM
Usually, anything a pixel buys does not reflect in their family funds..as far as I know. Perhaps there's a mod to change it, but if my pixels buy something expensive, it just goes into their inventory-but it'd be nice to have one that did exactly that-reduce the family funds by X amount of whatever they spent at those community lots.

They'd all be in the poor house overnight, for sure.

Receptacle Refugee & Resident Polar Bear
"Get out of my way, young'un, I'm a ninja!"
Grave Matters: The funeral podium is available here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/e6tj...albits.zip/file
My other downloads are here: https://app.mediafire.com/myfiles
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#39 Old 24th Aug 2016 at 11:18 AM
Thanks for all your suggestions. Sorry for taking so long to get back. You probably all thought I'd abandoned my own thread! Actually the problem was that I broke my computer chair (by sitting on the edge of it instead of sitting back properly). I could use the mouse ok, but trying to type standing up was giving me a very sore back. I've now got a temporary fix by borrowing a dining chair, while I think about repairing or replacing the computer chair. Oddly enough I saw a perfect chair for me in one of the sites that Jo recommended (I think it was Veranka or Sims2Artists), but sadly that chair is only for Sims. Since I'm so good to my Sims (at least compared to the players who torture them or blow them up), I think that Andrew, who has plenty of Simoleons since the Monopoly Game Town contest, might buy the chair and give it to me, but I don't think it works that way!

Anyway, to get back on topic, it's a pity I can't use Julian's Aspiration Points to "buy" that pinball machine that FranH suggested. He's got 162,250 of them! I've been playing him since December 2012 and he's never used any. But like Andrew, he's got plenty of money now, as I split the closing balance at the end if the Monopoly Game Town contest between them. (It was their construction company that I entered.) So he can easily buy a pinball machine if he wants to. When I saw that suggestion, I wondered about using aspiration points to get a love tub instead of paying thousands of Simoleons for a hot tub, but Julian has his heart set on that one sunk into the ground that's already there. (One of my Sims in New Desconia has a love tub in an owned nightclub.) If you put a pinball machine on an owned lot, can you actually charge Sims to play? Or does it just make the lot more attractive so they're more willing to pay at the bandatron?

I'm glad to see that children probably can use the bandatron ticket machine. Julian says he'd rather let them in free than that they didn't come. He's like that. He's opening the lot as much as a service to his fellow youth in the neighbourhood as a way to make money. Financially I think he'll be quite happy if it covers its costs (which I think will mainly be depreciation). Julian has got over §200,000 available that he could spend it but he's quite a sensible lad, and he's set himself a budget of about §40K for this project.

I and my Sims are used to small lots. Both of the two owned businesses I've created so far are on 2-square lots. Both started as 1x1 lots and I then used the Lot Adjuster to add the adjoining square. So to me, 2x2 seems quite a big lot. Sims who really want to do some serious distance swimming can use the big outdoor pool at the Veronaville Swim Centre -- that pool takes up most of a 4x4 lot - huge by my standards. (It was the first lot I built, thought it has seen quite a few changes since it first opened.)

We'll probably go for the cheap barbecue and CC vending machines for food. The vending machines I use sell a powerful energy drink for §25, and my Sims often buy it so they can go home from a long community lot visit with enough energy to face the rest of the day. Unfortunately both the ice cream stand and the espresso bars need University which I still don't have. I've downloaded the ice cream stand though, ready to use it, should I ever add University. (University is the one EP which I know I could add safely to my game, but adding it could massively change my game, a lot of which is currently about teens enjoying themselves like there was no tomorrow. One of these days I'll start a thread about whether or not I should add Uni -- it really needs a thread of its own.)

I agree that in its present form the rectangular pool is boring to look at, and giving it a more irregular shape will be a improvement. I'm also at a loss to explain my love affair with Discrete Concrete. I think it's just because it matches the Maxis sidewalk. At §10 a tile, it's not even particularly cheap. I'll have a look and see what flooring other people (including Maxis) put round their swimming pools. I'll also see about adding some vegetation -- even a little more grass! I'll probably have Inge's teleporter shrub, so a few other plants certainly wouldn't come amiss! We did try out the existing pool steps and diving boards, while it's still a community-owned lot, and they all work. Milburn Pennybags, the financial driving force behind Monopolis, and Tybalt Capp went and tried them out. Milburn took Tybalt, his first friend in the neighbourhood, with him as I wasn't sure if he, fresh out of CAS with no Body points, would be able to use the diving boards. (He could.) So there would be no accidents, I added stalls, urinals and washbasins to the male toilets before I sent them, bringing the price of the lot up to §34,945. (Wall- and floor-coverings and electric lighting are still to be added.) But reducing the size of the pool should allow Julian to recover some of that. Of course he should do that as soon as he buys it to minimise any depreciation losses. I have downloaded the all-in-one bathrooms that Jo's pool owner suggested, but, having built and equipped conventional public toilets, I think I'll keep them on this lot. Without Uni, I can't use the Maxis communal showers, but I have added some cheap, if a little bit naughty, showers from SexySims by Numenor, that look like communal showers. I just hope that they don't stop children coming. (Julian has on occasion taken his little brother and sister to some rather inappropriate venues (nightclubs) because that's where he and Andrew wanted to go, and I have noticed that no other children turned up. So I wonder if some Maxis coding stops them appearing on more "adult" lots.

My reason for wanting to add "extra" attractions is to try to attract more Sims to the venue. I really don't understand what affects the number of Sims turning up on community lots. The Veronaville Swim Centre was the very first lot that I built, as I wanted my Sims to go swimming from the very beginning of my game. When I first opened it, it was little more than a huge irregularly shaped swimming pool in a field. There was (is) a toilet block, but when I first sent Sims there, it was unfinished, lacking both steps to get in, and any actual toilets inside. The first Sim I sent there was Garry Mackay, created to be a boyfriend for Gloria. When he arrived, there was only one other Sim there -- Trista Shaw, the Veronaville townie, was swimming in the pool in her bikini. I clicked on her, and it said, "There are no action available," so Garry got in and started to swim. He never interacted with Trista, and no other Sims turned up. Garry eventually went home, still not knowing another Sim in the world. (Trying to get him to meet Gloria was what caused me to make my first post on MTS -- they were literally made for each other.) Not long afterwards I sent Andrew to the still unimproved pool. At that time I was giving my Sims 3 good meals a day, whether they were hungry or not, and Andrew woke up one morning and realised he was getting fat. Desperate to lose weight, he went straight to the pool after school. Again there was only one other Sim there, but I can't remember who. But Andrew was there for serious swimming, not socialising, so he got in and started swimming lengths. After a while, he had worked hard enough to lose the weight he had put on, but by now he was needing the toilet, and the toilets still weren't finished! He phoned for a taxi to go to Stratford Strip, but he couldn't hold out until the taxi came. Being a Virgo, he immediately got out a little mop and cleaned up the puddle, but he'll never let me forget the day I sent him to a swimming pool without a working toilet. He has a recurring fear of using public toilets, but, as he still tells me, "It's better than there not being a toilet at all!" Perhaps I should draw a veil over the rest of that day, with the social bunny lolloping along the sidewalk after Andrew. Both he and I thought it had come to taunt him for not having any friends! After that I completed the toilets, after opening Maxis lots in Build Mode to see how they did it, and I added do-it-yourself eating facilities. Slightly more Sims started to come, but it was only after I later opened a poolside restaurant that the lot became reasonably busy. Most of them just come to eat at the restaurant though, and very few swim autonomously. I now use the Visitor Controller to make them all wear swimwear, so at least they all look the part. In contrast to the early days at my swimming pool, there were always plenty of Sims there, if I sent mine to Maxis community lots. In Downtown I built Paintboyz, a nightclub just for gay teen boys, where adults, elders, females, and heterosexuals are all banned by the Visitor Controller. It's a 2x2 lot (originally 2x1) and it's always busy with boys on the dance floor. In addition to the 2 NPCs who work there, there are usually 10 or more visitors. When I sent Milburn and Tybalt to this new lot (i.e. the one Julian's thinking of buying), 4 or 5 other Sims turned up. Mostly they used the hot tub -- they didn't swim, but at least they changed into their swimwear. So, all in all, I'm at a bit of a loss to understand what the mechanism is to determine how many Sims turn up at a community lot. Obviously Julian and I would like this one to be busy, and it looks to me as if adding more attractions can increase numbers.

The new pool is currently called "The Water Hole". As yet, Julian hasn't thought of a better name.

Well, sorry again for taking do long to reply, and for the length of my reply now I have responded. I'm very impressed at the size of response I've got. I wasn't sure how much interest there'd be in young Julian's plans. Thank you all for responding. This really is a good forum.

All Sims are beautiful -- even the ugly ones.
My Simblr ~~ My LJ
Sims' lives matter!
The Veronaville kids are alright.
Theorist
#40 Old 24th Aug 2016 at 12:06 PM
On an owned lot, the number of customers is based on the business rank.
It'll start with 2 customers showing up.
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#41 Old 24th Aug 2016 at 12:18 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Essa
On an owned lot, the number of customers is based on the business rank.
It'll start with 2 customers showing up.
Can he get more by just inviting friends round?

All Sims are beautiful -- even the ugly ones.
My Simblr ~~ My LJ
Sims' lives matter!
The Veronaville kids are alright.
Mad Poster
#42 Old 24th Aug 2016 at 12:55 PM
You know, I once had a business Sim who invited his friends over to his business after hours. By that time, he had a BBQ and a hot tub at the back, and they had some jolly good socials - and it did wonders for his business ranking. (
Mad Poster
#43 Old 24th Aug 2016 at 2:51 PM
Under Fixes - OFB www.simwardrobe.com has a hack to charge sims to play arcade games on an owned business lot.
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#44 Old 28th Aug 2016 at 2:13 AM
Julian has bought the swimming pool and opened it. He paid §33,776 to buy it, and spent about another §4.500 on improvements before opening it. So far he's taken §15 in receipts! But he's still smiling!

I'll post pictures soon.

All Sims are beautiful -- even the ugly ones.
My Simblr ~~ My LJ
Sims' lives matter!
The Veronaville kids are alright.
#45 Old 28th Aug 2016 at 12:48 PM
I'm actually curious to see how long it'll take him to break even from the initial expense.
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#46 Old 30th Aug 2016 at 1:50 AM Last edited by AndrewGloria : 17th Feb 2023 at 4:17 PM.
It may take a very long time indeed to break even, especially with Julian's attitude: "They're just kids. I can't ask hem for too much money. They haven't got it," he says. The §3 an hour custom price he's currently asking is less than the "ridiculously cheap" price. I doubt if he'll ever put the price up past the "cheap" level.

Anyway here are the pictures I promised. I was in two minds whether to put them here or in the picture forum, but I think logically they belong here. I'll spoiler them:



There are more pictures of Julian and his first customers on the day of opening here.
Screenshots

All Sims are beautiful -- even the ugly ones.
My Simblr ~~ My LJ
Sims' lives matter!
The Veronaville kids are alright.
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