The Sims 2 Presents: Foster's Valley!

[Cassini90125]

Originally Posted by jekylljuice

Wow, is this a Truman Show-esque conspiracy in the making?

Let's find out...

The sun set right after Madame Foster dropped her little bombshell on Sparky. Both went inside, Sparky going online and Madame Foster going to the dinner table to await the evening meal. Unfortunately, the chief cook and her chief assistant, both of whom were sick to death of doing all the cooking and cleaning, decided dinner wasn't their problem, they were going to have fun on the swings and that's all there is to it:



And they did indeed have a good time. Oh, you Sims and your swings... anyway, xxxClaire didn't want to wait on them, so she went ahead and took a shot at making dinner herself:



One huge platter of spaghetti and meatballs, coming up. Cooking isn't her favorite activity but she knows what she's doing; most of the residents have a point or two in the skill. Jekylljuice and Luanne joined Madame Foster to wait to be fed:



Luanne is still being cranky but with the prospect of food on the way she's more polite now than she was earlier. The conversation wasn't about anything in particular, although the suitcase icon appeared several times so I think travel was the main topic. Dinner commenced soon thereafter, another haphazard affair, with people drifting to and from the table as hunger took them (and as seats became available). More talk followed the meal; Sims happily chatter away without any prompting from me, except for the really shy ones. Sparky hooked up with Samira Marville in her office:



A pleasant change for Sparky, no doubt; Samira is probably the most level-headed guest they've had at the Forum house. Back in the dining area, Linestra caught up with Madame Foster and the two had a lively chat:



They're discussing the enviroment, although you'd never know it from watching them. It's the icons in their speech balloons that tell the story; I've played the game enough now that I can often follow whole conversations. Nearby, Jekylljuice cornered Luanne:



"So, Mrs. McBride, I hear you have four sons about my age. Are they cute?" Oi, vey. I'd add the "rolling eyes Bloo" smilie here but it'd put me over the image limit. At that moment, Imaginary Light finished her painting, sold it, and having had no socialisation for several hours, promptly got on the phone:



She and the guy on the other end both have lightning bolt icons in their relationship panels, so I think the Serious Conversation I've mentioned a few times will be coming up soon. Just friends right now, and I'm not too worried, but they're on the Watch List. Outside, well, here we go again:



The swings burn no calories, and Madame Foster is starting to get a little heavy, but she's having a good time. At least she was, until Sparky called her into the office. More on that in a moment. Samira and Luanne, tired from the day's events, went home soon thereafter, and most everyone else went to bed. Lynnie stayed up late with a cookbook, studying for the soon-to-be-played Headmaster Scenario:



If she wins, everybody wins, and y'all will be off to private school and get embarassing spiffy new dork outfits school uniforms. In this pic, she'd clearly like the cameraman to take a hike.

Back to Sparky's office; she wants some answers, as I'm sure you all do, too. So late that evening, past midnight, really, she sat Madame Foster down and asked:



"Are you serious? No one in the House knows that they've been animated and that Cartoon Network has been running a series about them for the past four years? How is this possible? Why haven't you told them?" Sparky asked.
Madame Foster sighed. "They're very private people, especially my grandaughter and Mr. Herriman. It's easier here in the Valley; CN isn't broadcast here. Back in the Pacific northwest I had to quietly convince everyone that the channel had nothing to offer. I showed Wilt a few episodes of Squirrel Boy and Gym Partner, plus an extra gross episode of Billy & Mandy; that convinced him to stay away from it and to keep the youinger residents from watching it. Eduardo was easy; five minutes of Adult Swim was all it took. He won't go near CN. Coco never watched it anyway, when Bloo lived with us I steered him to videogames, and my dear Mr. Herriman regards CN as 'intellectual rubbish that rots the mind as surely as candy rots the teeth'." She smiled at the memory. "Bendy and Berry weren't with us very long at the time and when they rejoined us in the Valley, it didn't matter anymore."
"Very clever," said Sparky, "But what about the internet? My Forum, for instance. How'd you keep them from finding out that way?"
"Blocking software and sophisticated search filters."
"You blocked my Forum? Nevermind. What about trips out of the House?"
"We never took any, at least not to places with TV's. If we had to go to the mall I'd check CN's schedule first. Oh, there were some close calls but it all worked out in the end."
"I see. What about Frankie? The IF's may not have anyone to visit but she must have. What about her? And why'd you do this in the first place?"
"I did it for the money." Madame Foster sounded quite unhappy. "Donations were almost nonexistent. Our savings were dwindling. Do you have any idea how much it costs to run Foster's? I met Craig McCracken by chance one day. We talked, he mentioned that he was looking for an idea for a new show, and I talked him into using us as characters and stories from our lives as plotlines. I gave him everything he needed; we drew up a contract, he animated us from the tapes I gave him, and it went from there."
"Tapes? And how'd you keep Frankie from finding out?"
"The House security tapes. I don't know what's on them, and I don't watch the show. I don't watch because I don't want to be reminded of what I did to my poor grandaughter to keep her in the house." Madame Foster had a tear in her eye. "And now it may all be for nothing. I moved us here because the taxes are lower, and I remember that they were, but now there's a huge gap in my memory, the taxes are higher than I thought they'd be, and I hear rumors that because of some stupid musical instrument that nobody wants to talk about, they're going to go higher still. And now with the show ending, pretty soon we're going to start running out of money. In the not-too-distant future, we may have to shut down."

Madame Foster politely excused herself and went home. Sparky went to bed. There was nothing left to say.

(To be continued...)

[Lynnie]

Aah, I see how a TV show was made of them without their knowing. ...I think. So they're the ones the show is based upon, the show's not actually of themselves. I fear for them at finding out now though. Once again Madame F's weaker judgement comes out to play, although she did it in the interest of the whole house.

Haha, I'm swinging with steletto heels! I can't imagine...!

Oh my, the teens could be headed off to private school? I guess it would be cool in the game, but yeah, let's be glad it's not in real life. I never liked school uniforms. They might be fun at first, like a costume or somethng, but after having to wear them every day and not being able to show one's individuality, ugh. Not to say the schools are bad, because they're usually really good. But for their sake, I hope they don't get sent to private school and are forced to wear uniforms every day.

Heheh, JJ doesn't seem to be the type to go around asking women if they have cute sons. That made me crack up. Ooh, IL's making a friend. nice. And thank you Claire for cooking! I'm sure it was delicious.

[jekylljuice]

Originally Posted by Lynnie

Heheh, JJ doesn't seem to be the type to go around asking women if they have cute sons. That made me crack up.

Yes, that was unusually forward of me. But it made me laugh. You'll have to let us know if it ever gets me anywhere.

[Cassini90125]

Originally Posted by Lynnie

Oh my, the teens could be headed off to private school? I guess it would be cool in the game, but yeah, let's be glad it's not in real life. I never liked school uniforms. They might be fun at first, like a costume or somethng, but after having to wear them every day and not being able to show one's individuality, ugh. Not to say the schools are bad, because they're usually really good. But for their sake, I hope they don't get sent to private school and are forced to wear uniforms every day.

It's better in the game; private school is less draining on a Sim's various needs than public school. Also, public school attendees occasionally get cash awards, which are useful, but their private school counterparts get skill points instead, which in the long run are far more valuable.

Originally Posted by jekylljuice

Yes, that was unusually forward of me. But it made me laugh. You'll have to let us know if it ever gets me anywhere.

That's pretty much up to you. I haven't posted any comments on that aspect of the game as yet because there hasn't been any need for it but that will no doubt change over time. Rest assured, guidelines will be forthcoming very soon, For now, two basic rules:

1. Everyone is fair game for everyone else, subject to what y'all want to do.
2. Almost all of what (if anything) happens will have to be handled via PM.

Everyone might want to think about this fairly carefully for a bit.

I played the McBride family several hours ago. Long overdue for that, too; they were stuck on Monday while most of the rest of the neighborhood has advanced to early Thursday morning. Had a blast; the game failed to crash, things ran fairly smoothly, and the random elements conspired to give me some new avenues for advancing the plot. I love it when things work out well. Some of the pics may be up soon. Just one for now, but it's one hell of a pic indeed:



Actually it's two pics sliced together, as you can tell. By sheer chance I pressed the Pause button at the exact moment when the bolt struck. I spent a few moments staring at it in wonder, then moved the camera back as far as I could and got to work. Needless to say, I was pretty happy to have caught this.

[Cassini90125]

I hate posting back-to-back.

This is from last night's game session. Luanne McBride, having gained her fourth point in Cooking skill, is eager to try it out. She'd skipped breakfast earlier and is very hungry, as is her husband Travis. Their four sons, Kenneth, Neal, Quentin, and Robert, will be home from school soon, no doubt with guests, and all of them are likely to be hungry, too. What better way to feed a mob like that than with a big pot of chili? Unfortunately, while four points of Cooking skill allows her to make chili, it doesn't guarantee that she'll get it right, and sure enough, she doesn't:



Notice how she doesn't seem to be aware of the fire. The McBrides are a fun family to play but they're not the brightest bunch in the Valley. She does see the fire a moment later, as does Travis:



Virtually identical reactions. They're so in-synch with each other. If it were me I would've thrown her over my shoulder and been out the door by now, waiting for the fire department to show up. The fire truck arrived moments later, summoned by the smoke detector, and the fireman springs into action:



Why they don't get the hell out of his way is a mystery to me. I guess standing around and screaming is more fun. The fire was out soon thereafter. Travis was more than a little upset by all this, and I don't blame him one bit. Luanne, on the other hand, thought the event was kind of funny:



"Aww, c'mon, honey, don't be such a big baby! You did say you like your chili hot, right?" He did, but I think he was referring to the peppers.

[Sparky]

That last picture is *really* funny, I love how she's just grinning like that. And what's up with the abandoned bowl on the floor, lol?

[Cassini90125]

The bowl was left there by Kenneth, the eldest son, after the previous night's dinner. Seems that the extra three feet to get it to the sink was too much for him. Dude makes Terrence look like a genius.

[Lynnie]

I love that lightning shot. I bet it was awesome in real life. Was there a boom of thunder at the same time? Curious how it happened under a clear starry sky.

Oh my, a raging fire in the kitchen. I've been there too. It was actually my father who started a fire on the stove top, and we managed to get it put out before calling the fire department. The stove top was pretty messed up after that, though, all charred and some pieces melted. Blech. From what I can see, their stove is still ok. And no smoke staining on the walls and ceiling? How did they manage that?

Poor Travis. I feel your terror, buddy.

[Cassini90125]

Please note that effective immediately, I am not allowing any new Forum Sims in Foster's Valley. I do not care to discuss my reasons. This decision is final.

Originally Posted by Lynnie

I love that lightning shot. I bet it was awesome in real life. Was there a boom of thunder at the same time? Curious how it happened under a clear starry sky.

Oh my, a raging fire in the kitchen. I've been there too. It was actually my father who started a fire on the stove top, and we managed to get it put out before calling the fire department. The stove top was pretty messed up after that, though, all charred and some pieces melted. Blech. From what I can see, their stove is still ok. And no smoke staining on the walls and ceiling? How did they manage that?

Poor Travis. I feel your terror, buddy.

There was a thunderclap, and it was a loud one, too. As for the sky, well, I don't even pretend to understand how weather works in the Valley.

The lack of smoke damage is because the game designers didn't include it in the graphics, although they did include messes for nearly everything else. A fire causes a very large drop in hygiene as well, for those standing near it. Lunch was delayed by another hour while both of them hit the showers. After that, it was chef salad for the rest of the day; no stove involved.

[antgirl1]

Originally Posted by Cassini90125

Please note that effective immediately, I am not allowing any new Forum Sims in Foster's Valley. I do not care to discuss my reasons. This decision is final.

Okay then. I guess I won't appear in your game...=P