Play Testing of Housenfluke Rest Final Version Released 6/14/2014 For the last month or so I have been play testing the final version of Housenfluke Rest which I distributed on June 14, 2014. I installed the Movie stuff pack and Into the Future expansion pack to play this world in that environment.
The world plays fine. I have found a few minor errors and will correct them.
1. The file NRaas_Tempest_Profile Tuning_Freeport.package in the Freeport Weather.Zip file had a miss-spelling in the place name and that caused two incomplete winter weather profiles. An updated version dated 7/21/2014 has been placed on MediaFire at
http://www.mediafire.com/download/5dib4dvzhudja00/FreeportWeather.zip 2. The house at 621 Island Circle had two windows with the window boxes inside. I edit with walls cut-away and missed this one.
3. There are brambles underwater in front the hidden island named, Privateer’s Treasure. One of my big failings is planting trees in the ocean because I forget to clear them or click too soon. I have moved them back to the shore.
4. I see cars in several garages. This just increases the cost of a house and may be duplication for a family moving with cars. I have removed all the cars in garages.
5. The Kubenka household and the Zimmerhanzel household have the wrong family funds. I had intended for them to have less than the initial $20,000 assigned when I populated the world.
6. Hanna Housenfluke doesn’t have a capital “H” on her last name.
7. James Zarella is a chef in the wrong restaurant. I have three restaurants and I suspect others are assigned to the wrong restaurant. It makes for a lot of boat travel.
8. While testing these fixes I discovered the Kolache Shop was not accessible. I saved an older copy of the shop to the library, deleted the shop and lot and reinstalled it. I had noticed the proprietor acting like there was a stage routing issue, so I moved the foosball and bubble machine to give more side stage clearance.
9. While testing these fixes, I noticed the Synatschk mother and daughter didn’t share the double bed in the Aquaholic houseboat. When I repopulate I will move them to the Bulkhead house.
I have fixed items 2 through 4 and 8 in the Housenfluke Rest NoPop file on MediaFire at
http://www.mediafire.com/download/5a9cljmte5w8eed/Housenfluke_Rest_NoPop.Sims3Pack I have fixed items 2 through 9 and reassigned jobs in the Housenfluke Rest file on MediaFire at
http://www.mediafire.com/download/upbj1qzjhtqqt7h/Housenfluke_Rest.Sims3Pack I will not fix the version stored on the exchange because the fixes are minor and you lose the recommendation and download count.
I have updated the design notes, file named HousenflukeCAW_Final.pdf on media fire at
http://www.mediafire.com/view/3l0daotl8yjy11d/HousenflukeCAW_Final.pdf A Few Stuck ChecksIn play testing I have found a few stuck checks, but will not do anything about them. The Overwatch mod cleans these out effectively. I find a horse occasionally stuck and for some reason small dogs get stuck in Varg’s. See the picture below.
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Before I released the final version in June I modified this area by taking out the counter, rope, and light, but the dogs still got stuck. I deleted Varg’s and reinstalled it and turned it 90 degrees from the Beta installation. The small dogs still get stuck. Again, Overwatch takes care of them.
On several occasions a motor boat has overshot the shore line. There appears to be no damage to the shore, boat or passenger. This must be some kind of a routing issue, but I don’t know how to fix it. See the picture below.
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Playing the Hobratsch FamilyI played the Hobratsch family for most of their adult lives. I wanted to retest the natural discovery of the hidden sites. This is the ideal family for this test. Denise is a life guard with friendly, brave, charismatic, nurturing and athletic traits. James is a diver with athletic, sailor, irresistible, good sense of humor and gatherer traits. Their daughter Bonnie is athletic, family-oriented and a book worm which makes her a good student. James discovered all the diving oriented hidden spots (Plumbob Island, Local’s Refuge, Treasure Hunt, and Scuba Surprise). Unfortunately as she is ready to retire Denise has only rescued 20 people. I also had this family buy Lake Pillsbury Resort and attempt to build it into a five star resort. Unfortunately at old age the resort was only a 4 ½ star resort. With these outcomes I did not naturally uncover two hidden spots, but I have uncovered them using the cheats and know the treasures are there and working.
As a small help or tutorial on funding and building a resort, I have added a little story description and resort improvement pictures. I hope this is helpful and enjoyable.
A resort takes a large initial cash investment. Jonker’s Resort is expensive and can be easily built into a 5 star resort because most of the amenities are already there. Lake Pillsbury Resort is the cheapest plus the building space is restricted because of the lake on the lot. Diving is one of the best careers for getting funds. James starts at level one and there is a treasure chest in the Training Spot that can be opened at level 1 and another at level 2 which is achieved on the second dive. With these initial funds, a trip to Egypt is in order. With a little exploring, you can come back from Egypt with more money than the trip cost. Between opportunities in Egypt, Bonnie went into the Copper Mine and removed most rubble piles and collected the copper and a few gems. After three days they returned home and did some more diving and life guarding. After recovering from the trip, they went back to Egypt. James who is a gatherer can go into the copper mine which has re-spawned metals and gems and just collect more valuable treasure.
It seems the treasure chest in the dive spots re-spawn after a trip, so by now James has the four map pieces and can find Greenbeard’s Treasure. Getting the treasure from the island and selling the island are enough to get the purchase money for Lake Pillsbury Resort. After the first day of operation the resort is a 2 star resort with complaints about bugs, lobby closed after midnight, needed a fire pit and no dessert or Dim Sun. The picture below shows the dining room had the basic breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
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James diving and a trip to France had made enough money for some resort improvements. Using the blueprint mode the Hobratsch’s purchased a second dining room and turned it around 180 degrees. This gives six buffet tables and six dining tables.
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Two walls are removed, the two parts are connected, and two buffet tables are added. The buffet tables are arranged for access (one couldn’t be turned because it was in use) and each is assigned a medium priced food (there are eight types). The restaurant has easy access from the lobby and a door at the back for access to the pool or island beaches and ports on the cove side. Notice the two tables added in the lobby. I placed cans of mosquito spray on them and will use them later.
Besides these improvements I increased the lobby shift to three.
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More diving and more treasure brings in more money. The next day the resort is rated 2 ½ stars, but there were complaints about lack of room service. The Hobratsch family turns on room service and upgrades the resort towers (the $5,000 upgrade).
The next day the resort is rated as 3 stars and review comments talk about good food. The Hobratsch family adds extra maintenance staff (two high and one medium) and all the food is upgraded to high quality.
The next day the resort is rated as 3 ½ stars and comments complain about roaches and lack of a fire pit. The Hobratsch family adds a fire pit and some walk way around it and to the restaurant.
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Denise goes to the resort determined to fix the bug problems. In anticipation of this problem they have installed tables with mosquito spray in the lobby. I had hoped the staff and guest would autonomously use the spray, but apparently not. In the game a Sim can buy spray at the grocery under the household sort and at the front desk. It is available in buy mode under outdoor activities.
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Denise sprays the lobby clerk and one of the wait staff. I know it is mosquito spray, but spraying the resort staff seems to take care of the roach problem. There have been threads that describe how to find the bugs and remove them in build mode, but the spray technique is easier and more in line with the game play.
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The next day the resort is rated as a 3 ½ star again. A guest complains about the lack of a hot tub. Between diving rewards and resort income (about $1,500 a day) the family has accumulated enough simoleans to purchase a hot tub for the resort.
While diving somewhere James discovers the rare map in a bottle that leads to Discovery Island (IP Plumbob Island). James also followed the adventure available at the resort front desk. This adventure ends with a map revealing the Simhenge Ruins. The treasure on the island and in the ruins plus the proceeds from selling the island and ruins give the family more than $50,000 simoleans.
Finding this rare bottle is just a matter of luck. Most dive spots have 4 Sea Shell and Bottle spawners. The Training Spot has five. Shark Jaw and Ships Ahoy have only three, but Ships Ahoy has a bottle spawner. Some beaches (North Beach for one) have Sea Shell and Bottle spawner and Sunset Beach also has a bottle spawner.
The next day the resort is rated a 3 ½ stars and guests complain about the lack of a food stand for snacks and a gym. Using blue print mode the family adds the lower priced Spanish style gym as a second floor on the restaurant. This gym is priced around $50,000, but it has four all in one bathrooms which are around $4,000 each. The family removes them and replaces them with showers and toilets. Leaving enough money to put floors and railings on the rest of the second floor and buy a food stand and place it near the hot tub and fire pit.
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The next day the resort is rated 4 stars. The family completes the second floor of the restaurant by installing a juice bar, tables and chairs. The maintenance staff is upgraded to three high quality employees and the hot tub is set to hot. Spa service is turned on in the resort towers. By now the resort is making about $2,500 simoleans a day
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The next day the resort is rated 4 ½ stars. That rating continues for several days and the family decides to enlarge the pool. The original pool was surrounded by plants and ground cover. These plants are all moved to different locations on the resort lot. Guest notice nice landscaping. The pool bar was moved to an enlarged end and a slide, waterfall and lounges were added to the pool.
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Ratings continue at 4 ½ stars and several days later the family adds two VIP rooms and a playground.
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The overall rating continues at 4 ½ stars, but individual ratings are starting to come in at five stars. Eventually this resort will be five stars.
