Hello and Happy New Year! How did you get the residential cars to stay on your Silver Rocket Service Station lot? I am building my own, but the cars disappear when I rezone it back to a community lot. Thank you!
Happy New Year! :)
I didn't do anything special, just used the MoveObjects On cheat. But I've only ever built the Silver Rocket as a residential lot, so if you want real (functional) cars on a community lot you'll need a mod or some other workaround. For example, you can hunt down car statues as decoration.
One mod you might find helpful is Build/Buy Enabler on MTS. This mod unlocks Build/Buy mode AND sim inventory on community lots. However, it doesn't change item availability meaning you can't access residential items on community lots and vice versa. Since cars are considered a residential item, this mod won't save you BUT with a little trickery you can fill your sims pockets with cars then place them on the community lot. Cars placed this way won't function properly but it makes a good shortcut for storytelling purposes.
Reblogging because I found myself coming back to this question. A storytelling scene I'm working on for Whibley presented the same problem: How do I get cars on community lots? But I had no issue using the changelotzoning cheat to solve this:
Steps:
1. Start with a residential lot. Place your cars. Save.
2. Enter cheat: changeLotZoning community
3. Save again, then exit lot. Your next reload back into the lot will complete the process.
4. Enjoy your community lot with cars on it!
The cars are not functional, as my boy Brandon W. is demonstrating for us here. The cars are essentially statues with no interactions. Sims will walk around, but that's it.
One requirement of the cheat is that you need the University EP, but other than that I'm unsure why cars are disappearing if you're building the Silver Rocket per the steps above, @letthemeatcake8 . If anyone has suggestions for us, share in the comments of this post please. :)
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I'm not sure if I will use these. It's maybe a touch silly and cartoony for the moment (a flashback to their Three Lakes trip during a conversation that's more sad, wistful, bittersweet), but I do think it's a pretty accurate depiction of Ripp in that moment.
Hello! I downloaded your Strangeytown from a post link and while the Storytelling bits are all present, the hood itself is just vanilla basegame Strangetown without any new builds or sims
Me, trying to help:
First, you did download the hood file in question from either my blog here, or on MTS, or from the new as of 2025 Mega Folder ... right? Just double checking, because "from a post link" sounds very internet ominous. π¬π¬
Second, which version is the problem occurring: Main Hood, or Subhood?
I tested a freshly re-downloaded Strangey Main Hood from SFS. (This is also the longest living download link for the hood, btw.) I'm happy to say nothing was missing:
u guys im ngl, like im v happy its out and i hope everyone enjoys it, but as someone that has never seen a word abt this game outside of simblr, this entire time part of me thought u were making paralives up
expression practice with the lovely cassandra. iβm forever tweaking and adjusting how i draw her, sheβs my biggest muse lol. i wanted to play around with using her pigtails to push the expressions further, i liked how it turned out.
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I just wanna let you know that I have finally, successfully, finished Frankensteining together your PSP and GBA/DS Strangetowns with the new map and everything. I still need to transfer over sim and household bios but I have everyone situated in their lots and every time I look at it, it fills me with glee. You did such an incredible job and I really want to thank you for putting all the puzzle pieces out there for us. I haven't had so much fun with a premade neighborhood since I was a kid. Its delightful. Thank you again <3
Congratulations!!!!!!! Wow. What patience! I am in your awe. If you decide to share pictures, I know we'd all love to see Strangesttown in full form so tag me so I can reblog, etc. :D
Heyo! To answer your question, I donβt think Dominic created the concept of a Cow Cult. Based on things weβve seen I think we can easily determine that the concept already existed long before.
I do however think that the cult SPECIFIC to Sinjin was made by him. He needed it for a plan, Sinjin was already down on his luck with his previous cult failing, Dominic likely already knew about this religion, so he simply used what was already in place to make something believable that could also work for him.
You are generously kind to reply when the answer is easily findable:
I forgot about Dom's El Toro alias completely, and the phrasing from your piece somehow did not link me to the Kine Dairy Farm. Big whoospie misreading on my part. Tysm for clarifying! <33 I'm absolutely giddy to be alive when sims lore essayists exist. :D!!
Dominic Newlow: The Simsβ Saturday Morning Supervillain (a character analysis).
Intro:
You know, thereβs an interesting case to be made about Dominic Newlow and how the fandom sometimes perceives him, but I think a large part of that also stems from the way Simmers tend to play their games. Thereβs nothing inherently wrong with it - itβs a simple dollhouse game at the end of the day, and everyone can enjoy it however they want! But after taking a break from the active side of the community for a while, talking to a new friend (shout out to @ibbywondrous ), and watching them play the PSP game for the first time, they made some very interesting observations that got me thinking.
Dominic Newlow might be far less of a pristine and serious evil mastermind (who also happens to care a great deal about his status) than one might think. If anything, heβs likely trying to escape this life in favor of something far more whimsical and pretend-play, suffering from a God complex along the way. To properly explain what Iβm getting at, weβll first take a look at Sims 1 and Sims 2, the intent behind those games, and their inspirations - and then move on to the Sims 2 PSP game and the media that I think actually inspired Dominic Newlow.
Sims 1 & 2 and their satirical view on life and media:
As a person whoβs played Sims her entire life, starting with the original two, I always felt there was something uniquely strange about these earlier installments. Nothing new here, and I think once Sims 4 released, it became even clearer why Sims 1 and Sims 2 feel so different. Even Sims 3, which by all accounts is still a good game, doesnβt carry the same energy. Its saving grace is that it still had a decent chunk of comedy and gameplay chaos to offer in return.Β
The defining feature of Sims 1 and 2, in my opinion, is their unmatched sense of humour combined with just enough uncanny valley to keep you mildly unsettled. These games have a very specific flavour of absurdity: cheerful on the surface, vaguely threatening underneath, and always one step away from turning into a horror comedy.Β
And honestly? I canβt think of many other games that pull that off so effortlessly. What game will casually mix dark humour with pop culture references, social commentary, and a soundtrack that sometimes sounds like a mall elevator having a breakdown, and still feel oddly comforting?Β
The Sims at its core was designed as a satire of consumerism and modern life. Itβs something the franchise has clearly drifted away from over the years, but the DNA is still visible if you look at the earlier games.Β
There are obvious examples: the Grim Reaper, Veronaville, the Loch Ness Monster. All things that already push the βlife simulatorβ label into the realm of supernatural sitcom. But the real charm is in the less blatant references, the ones that feel like Maxis devs giggling to themselves while sneaking them into the game.
Because then you start getting stuff like checks notes:
Pleasantview being very likely inspired by the movie Pleasantville, complete with overlapping names and that same βperfect suburb hiding rot underneathβ vibe. And even the song Mr. Pleasant sounding like itβs narrating the Pleasant householdβs downfall in real time.Β
The Cowplant being a pretty obvious nod to Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors, a very over-the-top, campy musical focusing on a florist taking care of an alien plant that promises him gifts in turn for his blood and human flesh.
The Social Bunny being a likely reference to Donnie Darko, a psychological thriller focusing on a troubled teenagerβ¦ and while it may seem weird at first that theyβd be inspired by a creepy bunny hallucination from that film of all things, it does make sense when you consider the movieβs greater message about fate, control, and every living thing following a set path.
Strangetown having a ton of references to The X-Files, and while Jonathan Knight doesnβt remember much of it, several devs that Iβve spoken to did point out: if it looks like it was inspired by The X-Files, it very likely was (which, again, makes sense for the time this game was developed).
The Flying Pig in Sims 2 being a reference to a literal Pink Floyd production where an inflatable pig broke free!
The many, manyyy pun names given to the premades!
Belladonna Cove including a home referencing the Baba Yaga hut, because of course it does.Β
Sims 1 letting you climb a beanstalk to meet a gigantic Will Wright, because nothing says βlife simulatorβ like meeting your creator at the top of a fairy tale plant.Β
The Sims 2 GBA/DS soundtrack taking inspiration from Talkie Walkie by Air, because even the handheld spinoffs were out here curating vibes.Β
I even went out of my way to watch or read a bunch of the media that The Sims was inspired by, and as different as the genres are (or as random as the references might be), The Sims almost always manages to make a satire out of it. And thatβs the thing: The Sims doesnβt just reference media. It filters it through satire. It takes something recognizable, twists it, exaggerates it, and then makes it feel like it belongs in a suburban nightmare where your kitchen catches fire because you tried to make cereal.Β
Even the item descriptions are basically little stand-up routines about daily life. The jokes are rarely random, theyβre commentary. Consumerism, convenience culture, social expectations, the grind of routineβ¦ Sims makes fun of it all, while still letting you participate in it. Which is probably the most Maxis thing imaginable.Β
And if we look at the neighbourhoods, you can actually see the tone shift depending on the references theyβre pulling from. Veronaville feels oddly serious because itβs directly anchored to Shakespeare and doesnβt have quite as much modern satire layered on top. Meanwhile Strangetown is basically βwhat if your entire neighbourhood was one big government experiment and nobody acknowledged it.βΒ
And then we get to the spinoff games, which are arguably the purest form of early Sims insanity. The DS and GBA titles were completely unhinged. Who decided that Sims should become βrun a hotel while fighting crime in a rat suit?β Who pitched that in a meeting and got approved? Give me their email. I need to shake their hand.
All of this is to say: The Sims was never a neutral simulation. It was a satire of real life, stuffed with references to pop culture, horror, sci-fi, fairy tales, and whatever weird niche thing the dev team was obsessed with that week. Half of it feels like commentary from that time period, and the other half feels like inside jokes.
And sometimes it literally was inside jokes. Developers have mentioned on multiple occasions things like: βOh yeah, I remember this. X colleague brought it up, maybe ask them.β And sometimes those colleagues would even show up and join the conversation. Veronaville, for example, exists because several of the devs were massive Shakespeare fans, I even remember one of them having an entire website dedicated to it.Β
Dominic Newlow is essentially the Riddler:
While I might make a full in-depth analysis about the latter sometime (because there is way more I want to share), letβs go back to Dominic Newlow for a momentβ¦ the reason I began to write this document in the first place.
Dominic Newlow is a fascinating character, so much so that heβs been living rent-free in my brain ever since I discovered him years ago. And over time, my interpretation of him has shifted dramatically. Part of that is because heβs obscure enough that fandom perception isβ¦ well, limited. Considering I was the first person to ever make fanart of this guy and one of the very few to speak openly about him, I didnβt exactly have a lot of existing content to bounce off (finding content for him is like trying to find water in the Sahara Desert). So I built my own interpretation, which originally was far more silly, with just enough sinister undertone to keep him interesting.Β
And frankly, that early interpretation made sense, because Dominic is like trying to categorize a man who simultaneously wants to be taken seriously and wants to wear a superhero costume unironically.Β
Then, after taking a break from the lad, it took watching a friend play through the game for my perception to shift once again, and likely now for good.
They pointed out multiple things that I either hadnβt considered or simply hadnβt thought about in years, one of these being that heβs very likely inspired by Saturday morning cartoon villains. Think DC and Marvel, and no, Iβm not talking about the edgy superhero era that came with the live action movies from the early 2000s. Iβm specifically talking about anything before the year 2000. The era where villains had dramatic laughs, themed gimmicks, and plans that were about 30% strategy and 70% theatre. Dominic is less βserious evil mastermindβ and more βSaturday morning cartoon villain who thinks heβs Lex Luthor.βΒ
And once you consider that possibility, suddenly everything about him makes sense.
At first I wasnβt fully convincedβ¦ but then they drew parallels to the Riddler, and while going through some of the art his concept artist made it was quite obvious he too enjoys superhero media. And at that point the puzzle pieces started locking into place. Because Dominic is incredibly Riddler-coded, and once you see it, you canβt unsee it.Β
For those unfamiliar with the Riddler: heβs a character created by DC for the Batman franchise, and as his Wikipedia page will say: βThe Riddler is depicted as a criminal mastermind in Gotham City. He has an obsessive compulsion to incorporate riddles, puzzles, and death traps in his schemes to prove his intellectual superiority over Batman and the police.β
And tell me that isnβt Dominic.
A man who constantly tries to prove heβs smarter than the player. A man who makes puzzles and schemes he considers brilliant. A man who lays out the trail of breadcrumbs just so you can follow it, because whatβs the point of being a genius if nobody is forced to witness it?
And unlike most villains, Dominicβs ultimate goal isnβt even power in the traditional sense. Itβs recognition. Control. Validation. The ability to say: βSee? Iβm real. I matter. Iβm not just a toy.β while he proceeds to take over your body, so he can live out an actual life.
Dominic can be serious. He is a doctor, after all. He knows how to present himself as intelligent, respectable, and above the chaos. But the mask slips constantly, and the longer the story goes on, the clearer it becomes that the βaristocratic mastermindβ persona is less his identity and more his costume. He simply wants to play pretend, take over the reins, and do what he wants because heβs sick of βplaying by the rules.β
And I mean that literally. Because the moment you find his lair, he is dressed like he robbed a discount supervillain aisle.
Letβs put it all into perspective for a moment, shall we?
At the start of the game, when you first meet him, heβs already giving you this smug attitude. He conveniently places a phone next to the empty lot that used to be a garage. Not only does he dance around giving you answers: he straight-up stole the garage, your car, and the literal mechanic. Thatβs not a mastermind plan, thatβs cartoon villain logic. Thatβs βSims 3 patch notes: Kleptomaniac Sims can no longer steal Subway Stations from lotsβ levels of absurd.Β
Then, when you finally return to Paradise Place and confront him again, he still refuses to be helpful. He keeps just enough of his doctor persona intact so youβll still treat him as a respectable figureβ¦ while also demanding that you sell him secrets. What does he need those secrets for? God knows! Because even after you give them to him, he still refuses to tell you where your car is.
He basically pulls a βThanks for the information, loser,β and teleports away.
Itβs like some kind of high school bully who refuses to give back your lunch after you pay him.
And this is where any remaining seriousness dies completely.
He teleports to his βhiddenβ lair, and I say βhiddenβ very generously, because it is visible to almost any unseasoned player. And when you enter, Dominic is in full supervillain cosplay: plumbobs, a fanny pack, a caplet (couldnβt even commit to a full cape), and the kind of outfit that screams βI have a monologue prepared.β
He then demands you call him Doctor Dominion from that point on, because of course he does. Nothing says βI am to be fearedβ like renaming yourself mid-plot. And he acts like heβs finally found his perfect worker ant, ready to carry out the plan he cares about so deeply.
But⦠did he just sit there waiting? For how long? How long was he planning to wait here? Did he practice the laugh? Did he design this outfit in advance? Did he order it online? The questions are endless.
And honestly? Considering he likes 60s spy movies and dresses like heβs on his way to Comic Con, itβs not even far-fetched to assume heβd be obsessed with old comic books too and designed the costume all by himself based on that.
From that point onward, heβs just teleporting everywhere, throwing tasks at you, watching you run around like a little pawn, and the further you go, the more ridiculous the plan becomes.Β
For one, the only unique dialogue this guy has (which Iβm pretty sure is also some of the only unique-sounding dialogue in this entire game) is him laughing in the most dramatic and flamboyant way possible.
And then we get to the Beelzebeef situation.
Dominic needed an actual Cow Demon Goddess for his plan. Why? Presumably because he thought demonic milk would allow him to break free of the game and enter the real world. Which is an insane leap of logic, but itβs exactly the kind of insane leap of logic youβd expect from a man who thinks heβs a genius.
He also started an entire cult for it. An entire cult. Complete with structure, roles, and a leader - despite the fact that he is technically the leader. This is not the type of stuff any βefficient, evil, mastermindβ would have pulled, especially when combined with all the other stuff he does on the side. This is βIβm bored and want to see if I can start a cult for funβ behaviour. Itβs worse when you consider that he likely didnβt even need all of this to get his hands on Beelzebeef.Β
And honestly, that might be the most important key to understanding Dominic.
Because what Dominic seems to enjoy most isnβt the end goal. Itβs the process, the chaos, the theatricality. The power trip of pulling strings and watching Sims dance.
He already believes heβs above everyone else. He believes heβs the only sane one in the simulation, the only one who isnβt a scripted NPC. So naturally, he starts testing what he can get away with. Not because itβs necessary, but because he wants to see the limits.
And thatβs where the darker implications come in.
Because while itβs unclear how much of the townβs chaos was caused by the previous player and how much was caused by Dominic, later analysis makes it seem like most, if not all, was done by him.
What else did he do because βMr. Evil Supergeniusβ (something the devs literally called him, and likely how he perceives himself) didnβt like how the player played with him?
Mind-controlled Circe Beaker into having an affair with him. The most obvious example.
Hazel Denteβs dead husbands? Likely done by Dominic. Absolutely ridiculous on paper, yes, but so is everything about him and we already know heβs very much capable of mind controlling people into doing his bidding.
Vidcund handing Tycho over to the Men in Black? Also likely done by him.
And then the question becomes: Why?
Why would Dominic go to such extreme lengths to ruin lives, cause tragedies, and warp the entire townβs history?
And I think the answer is⦠painfully simple.
He was bored.
He wanted to see what he could do with his device. He wanted to test the boundaries of control. There was no narrative reason for Tycho to be handed over. There was no practical reason for Hazelβs husbands to die. There was no strategic reason to force Circe into an affair. He did it because he could.
Which is, ironically, exactly what a Sims player would do.
And thatβs where Dominic becomes fascinating, because Dominic isnβt just βa villain in the Sims.β Dominic is the Sims player archetype turned into an actual character. The embodiment of βwhat if the person causing the chaos in your neighbourhood wasnβt youβ¦ but one of the Sims?β
Because when Dominic talks about his old life, he constantly describes it like a prison. Forced to go to work. Forced to build skills. Forced to get promoted. Forced to improve his house. Sleep, eat, repeat. Itβs basically a Sims version of a capitalist 9-to-5 nightmare. The kind where your only reward for success is more work.
And Dominic hated it. Not disliked it. Hated it.
He also explicitly implies that the player wasnβt listening to him. Which suggests his previous Watcher wasnβt fulfilling his wants, likely resulting in aspiration failure. And since Dominic is implied to be a Knowledge Sim, that might seem strange at first, because Knowledge Sims usually enjoy skill-building and career progressionβ¦
But the key detail is that he wasnβt just working. He was being forced. Forced into routines, forced into upgrades, forced into decisions he didnβt make. If he started with very little, then his entire existence may have been nothing but βwork harder, improve more, repeat.β
And Sims do become miserable if you only focus on one thing. Dominic just became self-aware enough to recognize the pattern.
So when he found a way out - or at least what he believed was a way out - he snapped.
He threw a fit because he decided he was done being a puppet.
And what does Dominic do with freedom?
He doesnβt run away. He doesnβt start a peaceful life. He doesnβt even try to fix anything.
He tries to become the Watcher.
Because Dominic simply wants to be in control and do what he wants.
He starts playing with everyone around him. He tests the limits. He breaks the system. He cosplays as a supervillain. He gives himself a dramatic title. He creates a lair. He recruits followers. He makes you run errands like a henchman.
Not because itβs logical.
Because itβs fun.
He likely does not want to be a doctor. Itβs possible he never even wanted to be a doctor to begin with and was simply forced into it. With him liking spy movies, playing piano, and having a million books, itβs very possible he wouldβve loved the Intelligence career a lot more.
In his eyes, you forced him into it and made every decision about his life without his consent.
While Dominic is certainly a great candidate for angst, letβs also take a moment to remember that this is the same guy who created this entire scheme because he was unhappy with how his previous player handled him.Β
One could almost laugh a little when you think about it, because to some degree, itβs hard not to find that a little relatable. Many of us are stuck in repetitive lives, forced into routines, jobs, expectations, endless upgrades with no satisfaction. Every day the same, every day scripted.
And when Dominic found an opportunity to break out of that loop, he grabbed it with both hands.
He snatched that chance to be true to himself, to chase happiness, chaos, and whimsyβ¦
β¦however problematic and also incredibly stupid that might actually be, lol.
This is a worthwhile read! I enjoyed the analytical approach and comparisons to old(er) super villain tropes. And I admit Iβm inclined to agree with many of your points, too. Considering whatβs being put forward here, Dominicβs βseverityβ is cut in half. Yay!
Maybe my favourite point is when itβs mentioned that Dominic is *like* a player sim who has become self-aware. A throughline in the PSP game is dealing with Free Will. Pretty much every quest/mission is designed to make the player engage with this daunting philosophical question. Roberta Rossum? Hazel Dente? Annie Howell? Literally every character has this baked into their conception. Dominic Newlow is, of course, no exception. Thank you for this reminder!
Genuine question: Is Dom really responsible for *creating* the cow cult of Strangetown? Iβm not denying his role in the PSP Beezlebeef arc, but cow cult(s) transgress into other Sims games, namely GBA/DS with Ava Cadavra.
Was so thrilled to sit down with the incredible @spockthewok this week to talk about how on earth he fixed The Sims 2. Thank you Will for so graciously allowing me to pepper you with questions (since day 1, lol) and for your time and expertise.
You're going straight to the hall of fame, my dude πβ€οΈ
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Maybe you went a little further than you meant to in that photobooth last night. Β Maybe you wanted another baby, but youβre a housewife raising two boys in a trailer and the husband who was supposed to provide for you died in a tragic pool ladder accident right around the time the morning sickness kicked in. Β Maybe you were innocently working on a logic point in your own backyard when you were abducted and impregnated against your will. Β Whatever happened, itβs going to be okay.
If youβre lucky enough to put two and two together when you start losing your breakfast, itβs simple and easy: go to any sink and take one pill with plenty of water.
If you donβt know until you stop fitting into your jeans, itβs still under control. Β Call a nanny if needed, make sure your pets are fed, and then use any phone to call the local abortion clinic.
Theyβll send a taxi to collect you, and youβll come home a few hours later none the worse for wear β maybe a little tired, but ready to move on with your life.
Download here, and please consider donating to Planned Parenthood.
Edit 25/01/30: Fixes: taxi showing in catalog; option sometimes incorrectly not showing up on sink; problems with multiple pregnancies on lot. Mod is also now one file rather than three.
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