Bag Analysis by Olivia & Lord Leon (show #4 ballet performances)

Hello It's time for more guessing! We now have clues from 4 shows, and it should be possible to nail the identity of some of those 4 remaining contestants in the ongoing The Bagged Talent TV-show! We - Olivia Clump and Lord Leon de Cavalier from the show's Panel have some suspects...

Jazz singer Olivia Clump & Lord Leon de Cavalier debating the many hints from the Winter Fest special.

We post our guesses one day before a new show is airing - scheduled for Saturdays, but you never know.

WARNING: SPOILERS - if our guessing is correct - you might like to watch show #4 before reading this blog post.

Royal Palace announces line up for Royal Court Year 230

(Year 230, Spring) The Royal Court takes place at the royal palace Chateau Peak every year on 1st day of Winter, aka Investiture Day. On this day all residents who are facing coronation, knighting or other ceremonial service or announcement relating to the large peerage, will dust off their finer outfit and bring their closest family to the palace.

A new county for Dominic Fyres (81). Pictured Year 201. 

This year's biggest announcement concerns the ongoing adjustments to the large peerage. Last year many "lordships" were replaced with baronies, and this year it is finally time for Dominic Fyres (Windenburg) to face some adjustments to titles. He is granted a new county, and shall be titled Count Dominic von Dresden. Accordingly, his previous remotely administrated Deadgrass lordship goes extinct.

Now Airing: The Bagged Talent - Part 4 of 6

The Bagged Talent show #4 has aired! Voting is open for 72 hrs. (closes Wednesday morning, US time).

Tonight the contenders will reveal their dancing skills (this time it's Ballet!) and with a certain Winter Fest vibe, there is also a couple surprise performances! One more contestant will unbag and leave! Did you guess their identity yet?

Voting is open, and you can vote for up to 2 favorites. Vote by posting those character names in a video comment, or if you don't have a Youtube account, post in the "The Bagged Talent" thread on the official TS4 forum.

There is a total of 6 weekly shows and we are now more than half way! Each show lasts 8-12 minutes, obviously a bit shorter as the contenders get fewer.

Host: Khloe Adrian

Panel: Olivia Clump and Lord Leon de Cavalier

Produced by Simmerville Studio

Enjoy :)

Bag Analysis by Olivia & Lord Leon (show #3 guitar performances)

 Hello again! Are you tearing your hairs out guessing identities in The Bagged Talent TV-show? We - Olivia Clump and Lord Leon de Cavalier from the show's Panel - are back to assist you keeping track on the many hints! We post our guesses one day before a new show is airing - scheduled for Saturdays, but you never know.

Jazz singer Olivia Clump & Lord Leon de Cavalier debating the many hints...

WARNING: SPOILERS - if our guessing is correct - you might like to watch show #3 before reading this blog post.

Gossips #6

(Year 230, Spring) Her is Antoinette Morck with more gossips from around the kingdom (and beyond)!

- Are you ready for some gossips? So much is going on right now! Spring is to be replaced by Summer, but the royal palace still did not announce the line-up for this year's Investiture Day - where nobles get their medals and knighthood. That announcement is traditionally made within end of Spring. And - there are several weddings coming this Summer, but we might need to get back to some of those events in my next issue.

Now Airing: The Bagged Talent - Part 3 of 6

The Bagged Talent show 3 has aired! Voting is open for 72 hrs. (closes Wednesday morning, US time).

Tonight the contenders will reveal their guitar skills and one of them will need to unbag and leave! Did you guess their identity yet?

Voting is open, and you can vote for up to 2 favorites. Vote by posting those character names in a video comment, or if you don't have a Youtube account, post in the "The Bagged Talent" thread on the official TS4 forum.

Each show lasts 8-12 minutes, obviously a bit shorter as the contenders get fewer.

Host: Khloe Adrian

Panel: Olivia Clump and Lord Leon de Cavalier

Produced by Simmerville Studio

Enjoy :)

Bag Analysis by Olivia & Lord Leon (show #2 performances)

Hello! While SimNation goes mad about guessing identities in The Bagged Talent TV-show, we - Olivia Clump and Lord Leon de Cavalier from the show's Panel - will assist you keeping track on the many hints! We'll post our guesses one day before a new show is airing - scheduled for Saturdays, but you never know.

Jazz singer Olivia Clump & Lord Leon de Cavalier debating the many hints...

WARNING: SPOILERS (if our guessing is correct - you might like to watch show #2 before reading this blog post)

Gala Dinner at Royal Palace

(Year 230, Spring) Yesterday the annual Grand Mazaloom Gathering (GMG) took place at the royal palace, Chateau Peak. This is a conference hosted by the The Royal Chamber, where all regional Mayors and Knights of the Baltazar (=the highest ranked nobility from each region) get together to debate actual community aspects. This year the GMG was titled «Local to Global, and back again». Most of the time was dedicated various levels of trading and exchanging, not only within Mazaloom, but also with other nations such as the two neighboring nations; kingdom of Sea and kingdom of Snorthia.

After the very busy day, the Royal Chamber and a few members of the royal House of Luxe-Hamper gathered for a gala dinner. Although the attire included both medals and expensive tiaras, the atmosphere of the party was quite relaxed. They gathered in Grand Salon Queen Evez, and shortly walked over to King Tybe Dining room.

Now Airing: The Bagged Talent - Part 2 of 6

The Bagged Talent show 2 has aired! Voting is open for 72 hrs. (closes Wednesday morning, US time).

Tonight the 8 contenders will reveal their dancing skills and two of them will need to unbag and leave! Did you guess their identity?

Voting is open, and you can vote for up to 2 favorites. Vote by posting those character names in a video comment, or if you don't have a Youtube account, post in the "The Bagged Talent" thread on the official TS4 forum.

Each show lasts 8-12 minutes (this one slightly longer), obviously a bit shorter as the contenders get fewer.

Host: Khloe Adrian

Panel: Olivia Clump and Lord Leon de Cavalier

Produced by Simmerville Studio

Enjoy :)

Bag Analysis by Olivia & Lord Leon (show #1 performances)

Hello! The Bagged Talent TV-show is on, and all over SimNation people are currently debating who are hiding inside the 8 paper bags. We, Olivia Clump and Lord Leon de Cavalier are here to assist you keeping track on the many hints! You might recall us as the Panel in each of the 6 shows. On the show we only get a few seconds, so we decided blogging about the hints - and a few guesses, too. We'll update on the day before a new show is airing - scheduled for Saturdays, but you never know.

Jazz singer Olivia Clump & Lord Leon de Cavalier debating the hints...

WARNING: SPOILERS (if our guessing is correct - you might like to watch show #1 before reading on)

King Tarriot vs Church of Similius

(Year 230, Spring) There were many speculations following the recent announcement from the royal palace, regarding His Royal Majesty King Tarriot's equality concerns. Today the truth was revealed, and reactions are already hitting the front pages and TV news. The King wants to reduce the political power of Church of Similius!

Never before a Monarch did arrest the stately Church of Similius. Ever since Year 140 the church had two seats of The People Chamber's total of 21 seats. He now threatens with taking away one of those seats, unless the church modernizes its very old view on females.

Now Airing: The Bagged Talent - Part 1 of 6

The Bagged Talent has aired! There will be 6 shows all to air on Sundays (morning US time), and voting is possible for 72 hours (Sun-Mon-Tue). I will need the rest of the week to prepare for the next show.

So - grab the popcorn and check out the 8 contenders singing their hearts out in this 1st edition. Voting is open, and you can vote for up to 3 favorites (normally 2, but we need a flying start, right?). Vote by posting those character names in a video comment, or if you don't have a Youtube account, post in the "The Bagged Talent" thread on the official TS4 forum.

Each show lasts 8-12 minutes, obviously a bit shorter as the contenders get fewer.

Host: Khloe Adrian

Panel: Olivia Clump and Lord Leon de Cavalier

Produced by Simmerville Studio

Enjoy :)

Gossips #5

(Year 230, Spring) Her is another issue of gossips from Antoinette Morck!

- Today I'm happy to share tons of gossips with you! Let's (almost) ignore the royal family for now, and rather check rumors from other corners of Mazaloom! His Majesty the King is busy addressing equality, but the announced press conference has not yet taken place and my in-palace contacts keep silence. But don't worry, we've got so much to focus on elsewhere!

Announcing New Inter-SimNational Advertising Service!

(Year 230, Spring) Would you like more variety when it comes to advertising in your city? How about displaying advertisements featuring artists and vacation destinations from other simmers, while they see similar poster ads from your TS4 universe?

Let's get creative with the What's Happening Sign (City Living pack required).

Wait no longer, because the Wazzup service is here! I'm starting a brand new updating service providing advertisement exchange! Let's actualize those boards together!

The Bagged Talent: Hostess announced!

 Today there was a quick press meeting at Simmerville Studio, regarding the announcement of who shall be hosting the upcoming TV-show "The Bagged Talent". And to everyone's surprise it was not any well known Actress or TV-personality, but the very unexperienced Khloe Adrian (25) from San Myshuno!

The Bagged Talent hostess Khloe Adrian (left) was introduced by CEO Fritz Mervil.

The brief session was held by Simmerville Studio's CEO and talk show celebrity, Fritz Mervil.

Coming very soon: The Bagged Talent!

Get ready for this Winter's great TS4 entertainment: The Bagged Talent!

Simmerville Studio proudly announces the sim version of the popular «The Masked Singer», also known as «Maskorama». This time the contenders are BAGGED, and you are invited to guess and vote through a series of 6 short episodes where they perform various activities to show off their talents!

Contenders:The Enraged, The Duchess, Long Gone, Mester Mellow,
The Knight, The Alien, Happy and The Flirty.

The contenders will reveal their skills (which will vary quite a bit) in Singing, Fitness and Dancing, to mention just a few of the activities during the 6 shows. They will also give clues to who they are. Costumes, voices and clues might be there to confuse you, but their performances will be the right thing - just bagged. The board panel consisting of two well known Mazaloomians will guess their identity, and the audience will probably, too! You are of course welcome to vote on your favorites!

The Moon Lisa painting coming to Mazaloom!

(Year 230, Spring) It's a masterpiece, it's a legend, and it has never before been exhibited in Mazaloom. No wonder National Museum curator Nancy D. Roxenfox (63) is super enthusiastic when announcing the arrival of famous Snorthia painting, «Moon Lisa»!

Famous painting «Moon Lisa» is coming to Mazaloom!

Today she invited a few journalists to her Gloomville office, to share the great news.

King Tarriot addresses equality

(Year 230, Spring) The royal palace has informed the press that there will be a press meeting later this Spring, addressing equality of genders. Now, a press meeting initiated by the royal palace is nothing new, especially not under the current Monarch, in fact there is a short press meeting most Mondays following their 3M (Monday Morning Meeting). But this time it will be addressing a specific subject, which happens to be one of His Royal Majesty King Tarriot's personal heart causes: Equality between genders.

His Majesty did once state that he would never have accepted the position as King of Mazaloom if it was a male only system. To many residents this is an echo from the past, as his grandfather, King Tybe, obviously shared this concern when the royal family was reinstated in Year 150. Back then King Tybe had the constitution adjusted to allow for oldest child to inherit the Crown, regardless of gender.

Adrian Triplets Celebrating YA Birthday!

(Year 230, Spring) There's no doubt the triplets Tamara, Khloe and Clara Adrian will make the single male population of Mazaloom line up, in fact - they probably already are quite popular! Last night they celebrated their young adult birthday at Planet Honey Pop! at Fashion District in San Myshuno.

Triplet's birthday party at Planet Honey Pop!

The 3 sisters had invited their friends to a hangout at the well known karaoke bar.

The Simmerville Show #3

(Year 230, Spring) Fritz Mervil is here with the 3rd issue of The Simmerville Show, recorded at Fun Factory with a live audience! This time the guests discuss high school, royal blood, acting and politics. You will recognize a couple guests even if you don't follow this blog.

The Simmerville Show is a nifty way for me to share stories and builds from my Mazaloom. There's plenty of references to the past, but you won't need any knowledge of my sims universe to watch, neither will there be many links between the shows. Each show lasts about 8-10 minutes.

I hope you'll enjoy :)

Internal Community Stats

 While waiting for the Simmerville Show to air (took a bit longer than planned, but nearly there!), I decided to share some tidbits from my internal stats!

These are facts from my universe that are not linked from neither this blog nor the associated website. It's simply not intended for the public view, but then I thought some of you might be interested in a quick look, anyway!

Airing soon: The Simmerville Show #3

It's been a while, but now the Simmerville Show is back with many guests and a live audience!

Host Fritz Mervil promises an interesting set of guests. And the live audience is as cheering as always!

Fritz Mervil is CEO of Simmerville Studio and is hosting the show.

- We found that the concept works very well with four guests per show - reduced to three if there is a longer out-of-the-house entry. There is a long list of people wanting to guest the show, which makes it a bless to pick a good combination. We want each show to offer something serious, some gossip and some celebrity. Some guests should be practically unknown to the TV audience, but then there will normally be someone who most viewers will love or hate.

This Blog, this Winter

I have tons of plans for both my game and content for this blog. The planned stuff is mostly for my own notes, but also because some of you might like to see how I play and perhaps get inspired to develop your own universe.

Don't hesitate leaving a comment on what you might like to read about! Here's some of those plans:

King Tarriot appoints Rob Wilder as Mazaloom's President

(Year 230, Spring) Following any election it's tradition for the upcoming President to visit the royal palace. The Monarch appoints the President, and the latter presents the new structure of The People Chamber. This week President Rob Wilder (RIGHT party) had audience with His Royal Majesty King Tarriot. Wilder's life partner, Holly Alto, joined him, but aside of greeting the Monarch, she had no related function at the meeting.

Wilder and King Tarriot spent nearly an hour in the king's office. The 21 seats of The People Chamber was shared between the political parties according to the election results, except 2 seats that have been reserved Church of Similius ever since Year 140. Now the 21 persons form the 5 departments - 5 members of the Law & Justice dept., 4 members of each of the other depts.

Educational Format Adjusted

(Year 230, Spring) The new Science & Education department has already proposed their first big case to The People Chamber, and today it was clear that all three chambers did approve on the Education Act.

The adjustments are minor, but will make it easier for everyone to navigate not only between possible school offers, but also through their own study.

The new Science & Education department visits The Showbiz Academy in Del Sol Valley. Left to right: Knox Greenburg, Evergreen Harbor (MIDDLE), Leader Emma Ratchild, Tartosa (RIGHT), Jurton Summerton, Britechester (LEFT) and Bianca Sterner, Crafthole (LEFT).

Last week the Science & Education dept. traveled to meet all Principals to discuss the new format with them, and also to see the many educational institutions.

What happened at Villa Vigna?

(Year 230, Spring) Not so long ago we learned that His Royal Majesty King Tarriot and Queen Venezia appeared in Tartosa as an off the agenda visit. There were rumors that Amalia Ellice Luxe-Hamper Hoffstar had thrown out the little working family!

Amalia Ellice had been given the temporary right to reside Villa Vigna, that is property of the Mazaloom Royal Trust, but she had no intention of sharing it wih the Laurent family, who produce Vino on behalf of the King. Had the family of four been directed to live in their nectar producing shed? Finally one of the workers, Hilary (Gallauppe) Laurent, spoke up and told us what happened!

Shiningham Barony in Trouble?

(Year 230, Spring) The Royal Chamber has addressed a warning to Bennet Ross, Baron of Shiningham (Henford-on-Bagley). It turns out that Bennet Ross (45) has been using the title Baron of Shiningham including the peerage's apple symbol illegally for several years, actually ever since his older brother, Jarret Ross (60), took over the Rossie dukedom after their late father in Year 212. Up to then Jarret and his family had resided at Shiningham Hall, which is known as the base of the barony.

Gossips #4

(Year 230, Spring) Antoinette Morck is back with more gossip! We're done with the election, so let's focus on the real celebrities!

- I expect some royal gossip coming up shortly, and it really is long overdue as TRH King Tarriot and Queen Venezia have not made any puplic appearance in a while. We learned that a new portrait was revealed at the palace's Gallery, and that's interesting but not really gossip-ish. It's a fact.

House de Cavalier: It's a girl!

(Year 230 Spring) Duke Charlopold (39) and Duchess Luna (39) de Cavalier proudly announces the birth of a daughter. The newborn is with good health, and the happy parents can hardly take their eyes off her.

This is their first born, after they got married last year. The little family resides alone with two servants at the large Chateau Cavalier, Brindleton Bay. A Governess will not be hired at this point, but might be concidered if the litle girl gets any siblings eventually.

The Gallery got a new Portrait

(Year 230, Spring) Prince Royal Blaise is finally on the wall!

At the royal palace Chateau Peak, there is a wide corridor called «The Gallery». It connects Queen Evez Salon with the Mazaloom Grand Hall. In this room hangs numerous portraits of adult members of royal House of Luxe-Hamper. The Monarch is to decide whether a member qualifies or not, and there are in fact a couple members not yet admitted.

Nobody ever doubted that His Royal Majesty King Tarriot would honor his younger brother with a portrait, though. In fact, in his short speech, the King stated this honor was overdue.

Download: CC Buttons

Personality is in the details, and now your sim can show off their personal opinion by wearing a statement button on your favorite outfit! This is a free download, it should work with base game.

I created this for my own game, especially because I focused a lot on my political parties lately, and as you might have noticed on the articles leading up to my Year 230 election, many of them used a button to show off their party. But there are also lots of options with simple symbols to state an interest, environmental concern or perhaps just supporting a hobby like gardening or baseball.

Building a Sim's Personality (2 of 3): Aspiration

I always paid attention to my sims' personality. In addition to additional DNA strings regarding both looks and mindset, I also have a routine for picking Traits, Aspiration and Likes/Dislikes, which I'm sharing in 3 articles.

Finally a teenager! It's time to pick the better Aspiration! 

These details are somehow passed down from parents to child helping me narrowing down the options, but also with a chance of personal uniqueness. This way siblings will often have some personality details in common, but not without a chance to stand out as the family's unique gem - positively or negatively. I love it when siblings resemble their parents in how they behave and react.

Servants and staff at Chateau Peak

(Year 230, Spring) The royal palace, Chateau Peak at The Pinnacles in Del Sol Valley, is quite small-scale compared to the main seat of most kingdoms. Still, with its 3 floors and 81 rooms plus towers, greenhouse and basement facilities like vaults, kitchen, sewing & laundry, storages and servant accommodation quarter - it certainly depends on a huge staff.

At the moment only TRH King Tarriot and Queen Venezia, and their twins, Prince Cecil and Prince Marcuz, reside at Chateau Peak. Crown Princess Emireza and Prince Bazillimus are both in boarding school at Dresden in Windenburg, and Prince Cecil is said to join them this Fall. With only 3 main house members present the daily tasks won't require as many servants as before, but their official schedule will of course still be as busy as before.

Yesterday the press was surprised by the palace sharing a photo taken on the first wok day of this new year, featuring most of the regular staff:

The core staff at Royal Palace, Chateau Peak. Photo taken in Mazaloom Grand Hall. Left half represents the indoor key functions, while right half represents key functions of Royal Guard and security.

Most of the key servants were educated at the Butler Academy. In addition there are numerous assistants that will step in on request.

Post Election Comments

(Year 230, Spring) The 5 years election surprised everyone with a strong RIGHT wind - or should we say storm? From having 8 of 19 elective seats at The People Chamber including the Vice President position (meaning LEFT had more power), the RIGHT party will now have 10 seats and the President position for the coming 5 years. Even their President candidate (and former Vice President), Rob Wilder (69), was «quite overwhelmed»!

RIGHT party's new core group (L to R): Lord Bennet Ross (Henford-on-Bagley), Emma Ratchild (Tartosa), Rob Wilder (San Myshuno), Charloman C. Dougham (Newcrest) and Ingar Wunderberg (Windenburg).

The video Region 12 NEWS - Year 230 Election TV special was released yesterday.

Region 12 NEWS Special - Year 230 Election

(Year 230, Election Day) 1st day of Spring is the big day in Mazaloom kingdom! Hood Contacts are found through election for hoods where minimum one active political party has a candidate. Even hoods with just one candidate will need the voting, because there is still the alternative of administratively assigned Hood Contact if the one political candidate on offer is not approved by local vote.

While Hood Contacts are very local, filling the 19 available seats of The People Chamber is national. Each of the 8 regions have a number of seats referring to the size of their population, and the number of Hood Contacts won, will decide how many of those seats each party shall fill. Detailed and complicated, but quite logical. Last period the LEFT party held majority including the President. Will Pepperstone get five more years?

Watch  the Region 12 NEWS special to find the results! Hosted by Simmerville Studio's news anchor, Paulo Caliente, assisted by Sabrina Grossing. Tomorrow there will be posted an article with reference to the political results.

Gossips #3

(Year 230, Spring) Antoinette Morck is here again with some gossip! 1st day of Spring is Election Day, but let's take a break from all Politicians and rather focus on the rich and famous - for other reasons than begging for our votes!

- I dressed up a bit, because I promised you a Del Sol Valley special, and here we are in the very heart of our kingdom, and the central stage of the entertaining industry: Del Sol Valley! I've dug up some not yet confirmed rumors, as well as a few fresh press releases that did not yet reach the press!

Noble Calendar Year 230

This calendar of upcoming events helps me planning the year of Region 12's royal and noble houses. It's Year 230!

Each featured house will typically host one or two major events and will accept one major invitation per year. In addition Social Season (Summer) is packed with smaller or ad-hoc events with less formality and shorter notice. On top of this everyone on a House's payroll (royal and dukedoms, mostly) will represent a couple times per year - royals a lot more. Formal events are normally roughly planned a year ahead, with details like exact date and theme to follow. This makes it easier for Aristocracy to avoid colliding of bigger celebrations.

Region 12 News - Year 229

Year 229 seemed like a neverending story. It's finally ended, and a new Reg12 NEWS video was released! Four minutes video with news, gossips and family notes. Hosted by Simmerville Studio's new anchor, Paulo Caliente.

Grey Sims annoyed by Commercial Boards

(Year 229) San Myshuno residents are complaining about the commercial boards taking up more and more of the public room. Grey Sims member, Sybil H. Rasoya (77), says Spice Market is bombarded with glowing signs with bright in-your-face ads. It has become even worse now before the Election. - This needs to be addressed!

Cybil H. Rasoya is not happy with the commercial boards!

- We are used to some commercials in the city, and I am not suggesting that all advertising must stop, but there is a big difference between static painted advertisements on a wall and glowing illuminated signs that might even blink or constantly switch ads. I never fancied roof top boards either, but those placed on the pavement are even worse! If you forgot your glasses at home you might accidentally walk right into them, then get dizzy and walk right into the traffic, and get seriously wounded! We can do fine without such a danger!

HRH Crown Princess Emireza Knighted

(Year 229) On Investiture Day - 1st day of Winter, anyone worthy of their investiture will attend the big Court event at the royal palace. This year was indeed special, as the future queen got knighted for the Order of the Royal Chamber!

The annual Court event will typically fill just half the seats in the Throne room, but this year the ceremony got some extra attention. There were several coronations, as the King earlier in the year created new peerages to replace a few of the old peerages that were poorly designed generations ago, a process that will not be completed until next year.

Building a Sim's Personality (1 of 3): Traits

I always paid great attention to my sims' personality. Because I want more to it than the basics, I added individual DNA strings with lots of details regarding both looks and mindset. I've shared tidbits from the DNA string previously (TS3 actually, have grown since). I also have a routine for picking Traits, Aspiration and Likes/Dislikes, which I'll share in 3 articles.

These essential bits of a personality are passed down from parents to child helping me to decide it all, but there is also a chance of randomness and uniqueness involved. As I think the game leans way too much on randomness, I made my own routine to make sure siblings often get some personality details from minimum one parent (often from both), but with a small chance to stand out as totally unique.

Let's start with the Traits, as they are the first thing you need to consider in a sim's life. My routine for picking the Traits can get a tad complex, especially in a larger household. Not only Parents' traits are involved, but also what traits siblings picked already will affect the options. And in some cases - which I love - a young sim is forced to pick a negative trait. In other cases the sim can choose quite freely.

100 Years: The Butler Academy

(Year 229) In Year 129 The Butler Academy was founded by Mr. Hector Golden. This weekend there was a grand celebration including a formal dinner arranged by former and current students, and yesterday Duchess Ribra Lynn of Rossie guested this fine institution.

The Butler Academy was located at Arts Quarter in San Myshuno for more than 80 years. Then it took over some old property in Del Sol Valley (which actually is closer to San Myshuno than you might think), and shortly the old factory was renovated to meet the school's needs. Being next door to the Showbiz Academy (orange build) might seem like two rivals lining up shoulder by shoulder, but they definitely aim for different students. The Butler Academy's mission is of course to provide servants for the aristocracy, but this is also a popular boarding high school attracting children of fine, noble Houses, preparing them for a future as a servant or even as the head of a finer estate. Many a finer Missus studied here, then served for a few years as Governess or Cook, before marrying into a good House bringing her good earned skills and character values. Students learn subjects like Gourmet cooking, Parenting and Handiness, but they also get acquainted to history and rules of the aristocracy.

The Royals spotted in Tartosa!

(Year 229) Out of the blue, locals of the small town Tartosa got themselves a big surprise this morning running into His Royal Majesty King Tarriot and HRH Queen Venezia! They pay Tartosa an unannounced visit, meaning they are here in personal affairs and only with a minor staff team.

Winter is a bit more chilly than the rest of the year, but in this region it's more like a hot day in Spring than a freezing experience. The royals looked rather casual despite dressing up a bit more than the average tartosian. Rumors have it they are not here on a vacation.

Mini Street Market

(Year 229) In my Gloomville, the streetfront of most community lots in the commercial hood look as they originally did. The content has been adjusted though, with a few extra features added on available small spots. With minor adjustments I made a much more useful and busy area.

The Municipal Muses Museum is already quite active, but the museum garden mostly looks like a wasted space. In my game's history this lot used to be the Villa Floretti, the estate of a House that I guess has its roots back in the Tartosa area. Sacariaz Floretti sold their estate for museum purposes, and rented the much bigger main estate from the old and now extinct Brixerwood clan. An estate that the Baron of Gloom is now moving back into, but that is a different story. Perhaps this is why the museum garden was never changed?

Well, today I learned something new!

Amailia Luxe-Hamper Hoffstar moves to Tartosa

(Year 229) Chateau Peak announced that His Majesty King Tarriot's half sister, Amalia Ellice Luxe-Hamper Hoffstar has celebrated her young adult birthday and moved to Tartosa. There she will stay until further notice at Villa Vigna, which is owned by the Mazaloom Royal Trust.

Amalia Ellice Luxe-Hamper Hoffstar posing in front of the portrait of her mother's parents.

The press release said nothing regarding Amalia's graduation at Summerfield High i Windenburg. Rumors had it that she did rather poorly building character values and only got a B grade, which would not even qualify for the school's diploma.

Y230 Election: The Toughest Battles

(Year 229) With only the Winter until the big Year 230 election is coming up, it's time to highlight a few of the more interesting local battles! Each hood will have its Hood Contact, and normally only in a few hoods there are candidates from all three political parties, RIGHT party, LEFT party and MIDDLE party. Now that the N.A.P. votes are in and the parties have publicized their ranked list of candidates, we finally know who will be running. In 32 hoods there will be minimum one Hood Contact candidate, but only 6 of those hoods will have a full 3 parties battle: Arts Quarter in San Myshuno (Region 12), Sable Square in Brindleton Bay (Region 12), Upperton in Gloomville (Region 12), Oldtown in Windenburg (Region 1), Crafthole Town (Region 4) and Tartosa (Region 3). Let's check out some of them!

In San Myshuno's Arts Quarter LEFT's Anaya Jang is the most merited Politician as she is currently leading the Culture & Entertainment Dept. of The People Chamber.

Abhrin Wusha (58, RIGHT), Anaya Jang (63, LEFT) and Chaos Kessler (35, MIDDLE).

Jang is likely to keep her position as Hood Contact, but also RIGHT party's Abhrin Wusha is a long timer, he might be a serious contender as he was 5 years ago only 4 votes behind Jang.

Sprucewood Prime - Young Students' Favorite

(Year 229) At the moment there are two private boarding schools, one for elementary students in Evergreen Harbor and another for high school students in Windenburg. They are both expensive (§1,000 per year, but with a discount if paying the total before 1st term), so they mainly reach out to high society. Previously I shared tidbits from the general system with uniforms etc, now it's time to stop by for a regular inspection, with info on the building and owners. And, we'll start with Sprucewood Prime!

It should not be necessary to suggest that Sproucewood Prime is extremely popular with the children. The colorful building works like a magnet, and I must admit it was quite fun mashing together crazy colors with no color scheme at all. 

This boarding school intends to be a playful stop in a sim's life, and this part is actually quite controversial, as most high society families are rather old fashioned clinging to the traditional values that brought them up where they are today. How can this school be so popular with the elite when it so obviously breaks with their aesthetics and traditions? Well, when their little Lord learns about Sprucewood Prime from other students, there is no escape. If the Monarch's children can study here, it's very hard for a Duke to explain to his child that this boarding school is no good.

The Royal Palace releases Portrait of Crown Princess Emireza

(Year 229) Chateau Peak has released a new photo of the Crown Princess. Not just a picture, but a collectors' object that can be bought in a limited number of copies at selected galleries and stores all over the kingdom.

The picture shows Crown Princess Emireza (18) carrying the family order that she was given two years ago, and there has already been suggestions the picture might not be brand new.

Sims By Numbers - Reunion Party

(Year 229) You met three of them at the Simmerville Show (episode 2), where the big reunion for the very popular blog show, "Sims by Numbers", was announced as a nice surprise. Guests, Ochana Mox, Ona Rosewood and Toby Twoller Greco were sent off to meet the other five contestants - what a treat 44 years after that old show closed (human year 2014)!

With a short delay, here is the report from their reunion, which was a very nice dinner at Simmerville Studio's entrance café, which was of course closed off for the occasion. Simmerville Studio is located in Gloomville, the same district where the show was run back then. Winner, Ochana Mox, got the house (a slightly shrunk version, that is), and she raised her four children there. The others spread to other districts: Surprisingly more than half of them settled in Oasis Springs, but also some in Newcrest and San Myshuno.

Gossips #2

(Year 229) Antoinette Morck is here to share some more gossip with you!

- Hello, again! I'm planning to base most of my gossips on the celebrity in Del Sol Valley, but you know, after Plumbob Pictures got some serious competition from Simmerville Studio in Gloomville, and both musicians and the acting crew spread all over the kingdom, Del Sol Valley is no longer the only hotspot out there! So, this issue will cover several other districts, and I promise a Del Sol Valley special in my Gossips #3!

N.A.P. votes are in!

(Year 229) Every 5 years the N.A.P. vote takes place prior to the main election. This sets the platform for the political program, and also might reveal in what districts each political party stands strong. This weekend the voting was on, and here are the results that will affect us in the years 230-234!

From the N.A.P. voting this weekend.

For this round there are 117 hoods, and the party getting the most N.A.P. wins per region will activate their main N.A.P. in all hoods of that region. In addition each party can activate each of their other N.A.P.s in one hood where that N.A.P. won the vote. Having strong local support might affect the upcoming People Chamber election, as candidates running for Hood Contact in a hood already "NAP'ed" by their own party, will normally grant their candidate some extra votes.

Download: Nylons

Ever since  base game release the general nylon leggings nearly made me  pull out my hair! Five swatches with only one brown which was very dark! Dressing up a bit classy would require lighter nylons, perhaps just a tad darker than your skin. Not dark brown that would work only with very dark dresses or skirts, and mostly if you want to look like a granny.

So, I finally  created some color versions. It was harder than I expected - I expected the skin color to affect the look, but at least my sims now have a wider selection. I'm not yet sure whether I will need to add more light tones, but I find these options better meeting my needs anyway. So, I'm sharing :)

Boarding Schools

(Year 229) My kingdom already has several private high schools where students can attend in order to focus on certain skills, without moving out. The Showbiz Academy is one, the traditional Butler Academy another. All those students technically just visit another lot occasionally to study harder.

Now I'm adding two real boarding schools where students will reside during the period that covers most of their life stage. One school is for children (primary) and the other for teenagers (high school), and because they are residential lots with minimum one Principal residing there, the number of students will be vey limited.

HRH Crown Princess Emireze (front left) studies at Summerfield High.

I'm not familiar with real life boarding schools (never was a big thing where I live), so my take on this might be a bit off the real stuff. Still, I'm very much looking forward to sending some kids there. When playing the royal family I quickly noticed that the house gets too full too quickly - there will hardly be room for more than one servant and definitely no pet dog. So what to do? Yup, send those Princes and Princesses away! Same goes for the families of Dukes and perhaps even Counts. They go by different rules, though: While a Monarch can send off all children (within boarding school capacity), the lower ranked peerages will only send their main heir. This way I think the household size limitation might feel less of a problem, and the boarding school capacity will normally be satisfying even if the number of students is very limited.

Gossips #1

(Year 229) You might recall Antoinette Morck either from co-hosting the REG12 News, or for being the city girl buying a cow farm in Henford-on-Bagley and moving there with her hubby and their 5 kids. Now she is back with a regular gossips section on this blog! Just another way to keep track on some of the celebrity stuff going on in this corner of SimNation!

- Welcome to this first edition of my brand new GOSSIPS column! Becoming a country girl does not mean that I'm not keeping an eye on the celebrities, and here I'll share some of the gossips with you - while I'm not busy tending my five children and four milk cows... I worked with TV and Media production for some time, and because I can prepare this from home, it won't be as time consuming. As soon as we've got this column running, I might pass it on to a younger reporter - contact Simmerville Studio if you are interested!

Problems grabbing my Downloads?

Please help me testing if the problem is solved!

Now that I am aware that several visitors to the blog can't get to my downloads, I tried to solve the problem. Although I don't release tons of downloads, this blog had a few TS4 downloads over the years - liked the CC ceilings, more red/pink nails, several sets of new backdrops for the Photo Studio object.

I'm now testing whether it will work better off Blogger, so I have created a download list on my Simmerville webpage. At the time thee are only 3 items available and you probably won't desire all of them, but I really need someone to help by testing at least to download the zip files. It is the downloading that is the problem, you won't need to install anything in your game.

Please comment on this blog post how it worked for you, and whether you had problems in the past.

If this new list works, I will add all my downloads to the new list during this weekend. I already added all downloads to the new page. Link to be added to related pages over the next couple days.

New list of my TS4 Downloads

Thank you!

History: Tartosa in Tredony

(Year 229) Region 3 was created as early as in Year 2 and is commonly named Tredony, after the old Porto Tredony. The old town was an important cargo harbor ever since the Medieval era, benefiting from its deep waters perfect for large ships. They had one of the earliest institutes, and early on students realized that commerce earned more than industry. Tredony county was created in Year 4, but in the early period also the Merchant Prince was powerful. Tredony disapproved on King Baltazar II assigning them with a regional signature crop and flower, they argued they already did very well with their trades.

This region also covers Tartosa and a few small and less populated islands. Tredony town is still the administrative center of Region 3, but Tartosa near by is about to win the tourists over. Tartosa not only provides picturesque wedding venues. The royal family hails from Tartosa and the kingdom's current President, Laurent Pepperstone (LEFT), is from Tredony town. But also the fact that the region's highest nobility, the Count de Tredony, actually a title held by the royal house for 225 years, was always seated in Tartosa and their Castello Tredony has become a tourist attraction. The old building is located just a short walk from the village.

History of Tartosa is not without community highlights (Mazaloom History Book), besides most of the lots have their own story up to the current owners. So, let's take a quick tour!

Porto Luminoso

In the old days Tartosa was even smaller, and all land was owned by the Mazaloom Royal Trust. The villagers made a living from fishing, and typically sold most of their harvest at the old town market in Tredony. Tartosians shortly discovered the beautiful art of nectar making, and for more than a century Tartosa has been widely known for its good nectars. They say grapes build a unique flavor in this area, and nobody can explain why. So why not just enjoy the lovely result - the nectar?

Mid picture (1) is Castello Tredony, Tartosa's oldest building.

The oldest build of them all is Castello Tredony (1), home of the Count de Tredony.

Perfume Ladies

(Year 229) Not long ago we heard about Nina Caliente's new perfume shop. Her business goes quite well, located in the gym at the commercial area of Oasis Springs. Nina Caliente (70) makes some perfumes herself, but she called for others to sell their perfumes in her shop, and now it seems the delivery is already satisfying. This is a new way to run a business!

Nina do produce Energizing Scent (Chrysanthemum), Mourning Scent (Dahlia), and Evil Scent (Begonia) herself, and while her perfume making skill is still building, she has been rather productive. Thanks to regular deliveries from others she can now offer most flavors. Only the higher level brands are still very much anticipated (until skills are built a bit more).