NoblePlumbob

I was originally going to post Civic Center and Magnolia Promenade this week, but I wasn't feeling up to it and there's not much to talk about in Magnolia Promenade so I decided to just post this one. Maybe I'll create a post for Magnolia Promenade some other time, perhaps... perhaps not. Lol.

For those who don't know, Civic Center is a sub-neighborhood that came with Get To Work and is the location for the police station and the hospital that are only accessible by Sims in the Police or Doctor career, and pregnant Sims in labor and one companion. The Noble Save version of these two took me a lot of time to build especially the hospital but had a lot of fun building them. I also finished them a long time ago, I just wasn't able to talk about them here with all that's been going on IRL. Moving on to the builds:

Since I built this long ago, I can't remember if I bulldozed the original lot or just modified the layout, but here it is now, a more modern and fresher take on the then dark and dingy police station. Below are a few snaps from the interior:

Now for this one, I am certain I just modified the original building and obviously added an actual 2nd floor, and funnily enough, a helipad. This build took me a lot of time, but as you can see by the addition of the helipad, I had fun doing this one. As for the name, I thought that hospital was an international one so I thought I don't need to explain it. But if you are in the Philippines, specifically in Manila, I think you would already know which hospital I referenced this to, which also explains the more upscale interiors you can see below:

There are a lot more areas on both of these, but I don't want to bombard this post with too much photos. Even the grid already feels a lot for me. I guess you just have to see the rest for yourselves soon! I also love the last minute headers I made for this post, and if I have the time I would do the actual logos of the buildings, but I just want to get this post out for now. Maybe I'll update them at some point.

And even though this isn't an actual neighborhood, I still have my general description for Civic Center below:

After the major facelifts of both the then Police Station renamed to Magnolia Police District (MPD) and the then Willow Creek Hospital rebranded to St. Mark's Medical Center (SMMC), both these buildings increased in revenue for years. While SMMC took pride in their Sim-centered services and world class facilities, the MPD's reputation on the other hand is facing troubled waters after the public heard the news that they misplaced a crucial case file of an important investigation. The people thought it was irresponsible of them, while the others thought it might be an inside job to cover up a crime. But which one is it really? Whatever it is, and if this debate ever turns violent, SMMC is just on the other side ready to take very good care of you!

It's been 2 months since I last posted here. Things have become hectic, which is surprising because I finally quit one of my 2 jobs as I mentioned here and the load should be less heavy. But just a month after quitting and just 2 weeks ago as of writing this, I got laid off on my other job. It happened so fast and I did not anticipate it, which pretty much sent me down a spiral of many, many unpleasant thoughts and unpaid bills and debts. Adulthood, right?

But instead of just thinking of the things I can't control, I decided to take that 2 weeks to take a break from anything work-related and diverted my attention to The Noble Save, which right now is the only thing I have, aside from family and friends of course that are super understanding of my situation. I am also back at square one for job hunting, but until I get that job, I'll still continue working on my save.

Onto the less depressing part of this update, as mentioned above, I did take that 2 weeks break to work on my save and actually finished Willow Creek, Oasis Springs, Newcrest, half of Windenburg, and many other builds on other worlds. And by "finished" I mean including the parts of lore on those worlds since the lore on my save is not closed off to one world only. Does that make sense or I just made it more confusing? Lol. This is also one reason why I sooo badly want to release it already and play in it, because of the lore and the nicer builds of course haha!

Below are some snaps from the save, but I won't tell you where those exactly are, you just have to find out soon!

Looks familiar?

Also looks familiar? Maybe not. Lol.

These two are somewhere in Windenburg and San Myshuno.

This living room, well the photo itself, I looove so much. I don't know if it's the lighting and angle but it looks so realistic to me every time I look at it.

And there we have it, folks! Thank you for all of you that have been following me and reading through my lengthy posts. I think I'll have another one or two posted by this week so get excited!

Shine bright like Starlight Boulevard

As per my hiatus post a year and 5 months ago, I was originally going to post Starlight Boulevard next here before all the drama and RL events happened and yes, here we are finally. However, I think I'll just make this post Del Sol Valley in general since Starlight Boulevard is just one part of this world and the event that took place here pretty much happened in the entirety of the world. But still, thank you past self for guiding me what to post next.

So without further a do, on to Del Sol Valley. Designed to be the perfect setting for a rags to riches + fame storyline is the beautiful world of Del Sol Valley modeled after Los Angeles. One of the neighborhoods is the downtown area Starlight Boulevard, a hotspot for celebrities and THE place to be seen whether sipping juice on the lounge, stalking celebrities during the Starlight Accolades, checking out the museum, or hitting the gym. But like the not-so-great lighting in Del Sol Valley and the missing toilets on some lots, this neighborhood with the existing lots is just plain sad to be called the place to be seen. I do love playing in Del Sol Valley though, but with my lots of course, lol!

With this disappointment in mind, I got an idea as mentioned on my intro post, and I quote:

"In the course of that 8 years, there were three major disasters that happened, all of which will be covered on the descriptions of lots and families affected on the save."

And I knew one of that disaster has to be in Del Sol Valley so I'll have an excuse to redo most of the lots which gave birth to the great Del Sol Valley Earthquake. This earthquake wiped out majority of downtown Del Sol Valley particularly Orchid A Go Go, Plumbob Pictures Museum, Studio PBP, and partial damages to Pectoral Fitness gym, but good thing it happened in a not so busy time which led to very few casualties except for one annoying celebrity that I won't mention here (it's not Judith Ward if you're asking, she's a queen!). I'll probably leave the grave somewhere for you to find out.

5 years later after the earthquake, the rebuilt structures Crimson nightclub, Plumbob Pictures Museum, Del Sol Grand Theatre, Pectoral Fitness gym, alongside Ward Memorial Park that houses the Paper Crane Memorial Fountain erected to commemorate the tragedy remains standing, for now. Below is my general description for Del Sol Valley:

After our move to a new place, juggling 2 jobs, dealing with the pandemic, and being on hiatus for 1 year and 5 months, I am very excited to say that The Noble Save for The Sims 4 will be back on track!

I honestly thought that I won't be able to finish my save and that The Sims 4 would be already done by now, but it looks like it's still going and that simply means I get to finish what I started here and I'm super pumped to work on it again! I've been working on some lots in Tartosa since My Wedding Stories came out and I've been enjoying building there so much, but I'll soon go back to working on lots on earlier worlds 'cause that's where they usually need help the most lol, and I'll try posting some long overdue posts I wasn't able to put up. Plus, I'm going to start stitching some stories up if I remember my plans correctly.

Lastly, I'm in the process of quitting one of my two jobs because the amount of toxicity there is just out of this world now, which means I will soon have more time to work on my save. And if time permits, I might even be able to upload content on my Youtube channel, but that's not a priority for now. What matters now is The Noble Save is back.

But yes, yes it does.

So in a previous update, I said I will have the Noble Save released by November, or before they announce the latest expansion pack. And since I've heard there is a trailer dropping next week October 20th, I think it would be the perfect time to address this.

On top of the jobs I have, I've managed to work on my save in a good pace and in a way I won't feel too overwhelmed and I was positive I was gonna finish. I've done more builds, working on residential lots, and starting to populate the worlds and see it come to life slowly but surely.

Until one fine, unassuming morning when my laptop just stopped working. I troubleshooted it myself, and it worked once and was able to open it again and backed up the most important RL things and yes, including the Noble Save and my other saves. I didn't save any photos since I thought it was fine, but I wish I followed my gut feel and backed them up too 'cause on the next day it didn't work again and no matter what I do, it just didn't want to anymore. Sure I can just take it to a technician, but that requires going out and talking to people. And I think for me if it's dead, it's dead, I need a replacement.

Even though this sounds devastating, I kind of realized that this might be a good thing. 'Cause on top of all that's happening, we are also in the process of moving to a new house before December. That includes but not limited to sourcing for furniture, finding the vibe, paint, flooring... all those stuff. Basically, we're doing the Sims 4 build mode for real, and it's not as easy as pulling walls, pressing shift to tile a whole room, changing swatches of furniture... NOT EASY! And it feels like the move and the Noble Save are things I want to be done all at the same time, so I feel like eliminating one option can really help me focus on one thing first. I could've chosen one before, but this one chose for itself. And now I’m stuck with my work laptop that can’t run Sims 4.

So how would this impact the Noble Save? For now, since I'm mainly focusing on the move, and since I can't afford a replacement for my laptop yet (buying a PC instead), and moving ain't cheap and motherlode doesn't work IRL, the Noble Save will be on hiatus for now. I'm not abandoning this project since I do have the backup, and I worked hard on this and kept me sane during quarantine, and I will finish this. I don't know when will I be having a PC to work on this again, but hopefully not a long wait and that the Sims 4 is still a thing.

Before all this drama, my next post was supposed to be Starlight Boulevard in Del Sol Valley, but since I can’t for the time being, you can just download the builds on the gallery except the park. The museum is named Semaj Renrut Museum I think... when I joined James-Turner-formerly-known-as-TheSimSupply's artbuildsforsemaj, but on the save I just named it back to its original name, that you won't see until who knows when. You can also download several builds you see on some post here in Tumblr and some that are not posted including the unrelated photo for this post, Canal Corner (Reno).

Here are the deets for your reference:

Gallery ID: KingM30

Sad NoblePlumbob IG: @nobleplumbob (Probably won't have updates as well)

As promised on my update post, here is Olde Platz, Windenburg in the Noble Save!

Being the 2nd expansion pack for The Sims 4, Get Together is definitely one of my long time favorites to this day. Windenburg alone still being the biggest world in the game is definitely worth getting. This vast world is pretty much inspired by Europe wrapped in one big package. I've never been to Europe, but I plan to move there someday, hopefully on any of the Scandinavian countries as long as it's Norway lol. So that's one reason why I adore Windenburg so much, it gives me a taste of Europe. Also, I love the architecture, the Tudor style, but in general, I really admire traditional architectures and I love doing them in The Sims.

On to the deets. As you may have noticed, this post is different from the others. Since Windenburg neighborhoods are spread out, this one included, I couldn't get a decent bird’s eye view (there's some below) that'll give justice to the landmarks here. With this, I decided to take many photos and do a grid, but not just upload them all here and let Tumblr do its job. To me, for a place like Olde Platz, it'll most likely be packed with tourists, so I decided why not have a bit of fun and add tourist-y postcard-like greetings which I would love to receive in real life lol.

For the first set of postcards above, we have Simus Plaza which is a name I derived from the name of that fountain "Birth of Simus". Not to be confused though, the build on the top photo is named Simus Plaza just to represent this whole area as Simus Plaza. But in theory, both these tall builds are called Shops at Olde Platz. Currently, the Simus Plaza build is a residential lot, home to a familiar household, but you can easily move them out and easily convert it to a retail lot to maybe have a European shopping spree here. The last two photos are the renovated South Square Coffee and Old Quarter Inn which to me looks more alive than it was before.

For the second set of postcards is the Bernard Shallot Library. This build is a relocated and renovated version of the Quad Manor library. My idea here was to relocate this historic library to somewhere more prominent and to rename it to Bernard Shallot to commemorate how he helped shape Windenburg to how it is today, or just so he also has a building named after him since Mimsy has a coffee shop named after her at the countryside lol. This lot used to be where the Behrs’ live.

For the third set of postcards, we have the main attraction and the centerpiece of Olde Platz, the Frieden Cathedral. To this day, this build still amazes me how I was able to do such an intricate and iconic structure, and this was an old build too, with the addition of the catacombs just last year, I think. When I decided to finally do my save, this build is a 500% must-include. The last two are the Havisham House with a modern extension, and home to again, a familiar household and the Proprietor's Square expanded but staying true to the Tudor style, and is fully-furnished, and probably expensive.

For the last set of postcards, we have the bird's eye view which I mentioned didn't give justice to all the builds, but gives you a nice idea of how big Windenburg is in general compared to other worlds. So, with that being said, below is my general description for Olde Platz:

When Olde Platz was losing its prime, nearly fading due to the outdated establishments, and when not enough people cared and restoration and renovation expenses are astronomical, a group of individuals decided to give this old timer another chance and invest what they can to save it. This is when the Windenburg Historic Commission (WHC) was formed consisting of successful individuals on different fields that are generous enough to help out. From the rehabilitation of Olde Platz hotspots South Square Coffee and Old Quarter Inn, demolition of The Narwhal Arms, construction of high-end boutiques, relocation and renovation of the then Quad Manor, and to the reconstruction of the Frieden Cathedral that once perished in the great fires from centuries ago, this Windenburg old timer, with the help of WHC has once again restored its former glory.

With your footsteps clopping on cobblestones, surrounded by historic sites, high-end boutiques, hotspots, and a short hike to the ancient ruins, Olde Platz is a must-visit for a historical stroll back in time and an upscale shopping destination experience for history buffs and shopaholics alike.

Exactly 2 months ago today was my last post here and I just feel the need to give an update. And NO, this is not a saying goodbye post or me abandoning the save, we are still on track.

So the update... I am still working from home, but I got another remote job, so technically I have two jobs now. It’s actually going well despite the lesser time of sleep, but the main issue is that I didn’t really think about my save when I accepted the job, which in return made my progress slow. The only time I was only able to play work on my save was on weekends, and sometimes only a day ‘cause on the other, I would just catch up on sleep. But 2 weeks ago, I decided to go on a social media detox (FB, IG) due to a ridiculous amount of toxicity that is just disgusting and energy-draining, and doing just that gave me a bit more time to go back and work on my save on free times. 

Enough about RL updates, here’s what’s happening on the Noble Save: 

Within that 2 weeks of social media detox (still ongoing), I managed to finish 2 big builds, 2 parks, and a small rental house. The other big build is a 50x50 which took me a week to build, or roughly around 3-4 days combining the hours. I’m not telling what that build is on this post, but I will probably soon. In general, I only need 7 or 8 more community/special lots to build/reno and I can finally start working on the many, many residential lots, households, and stories that goes with them. 

On the Noble Save, I won’t be populating every single neighborhood with sims except on a few. Because to me, it won’t feel as immersive and fun if you can’t move your sims anywhere without evicting a family first. Same goes with the builds, there are some neighborhoods with semi-furnished houses you can finish yourself, and some I left with an empty lot to try and build your heart out to the same style of the neighborhood, or completely stand out from it.

Regarding the release... my original plan for the Noble Save was way back in June assuming the lockdown would be over, but no, it got extended and extended, so it moved continuously. Previously, my goal was to finish the save before the next gamepack will be released, but considering it might be announced soon, I think the earliest I can finish would hopefully be around November, or at least before they release a new expansion pack, as they always do on Q4 (Get Famous, Discover University). 

Oh... and one more thing. Remember Sandro on my very first post? The guy that lives on a shack? Yes, him! He finally has an actual house now and I’m really happy how it turned out. I would personally love to live there. And I don’t know if you noticed on the photo, but it is more cluttered than I always do on builds. This is because he has a pivotal role on the save and I can’t wait to see it all add up.

Before I begin, let me just tell you that I got carried away again. Originally, before this part of the post, I shared some thoughts about The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle, but upon proofreading, it’s just sooo irrelevant for this one, so I decided to just put it aside for another post, most probably something to do with Eco Lifestyle. Now that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the Ridgeline Drive neighborhood in Newcrest.

I finished this neighborhood from quite some time now, way before they named the neighborhoods of the earlier maps. I was originally just gonna call this neighborhood “Newcrest East” ‘cause it sounds very real-estate-y, but since it has an actual name, why not use it. I really enjoyed building up this neighborhood having a mix of my original builds, a repurposed one of my build, and a Maxis build renovation. 

In my mind, this neighborhood is quite family-friendly, and focuses on wellness having a yoga studio and a vegetarian restaurant. If you also noticed on the 2nd photo, Twigs and The Tavern (1st and 4th lot) looks mirrored. That's because I was having a bit of a creative rut at the time, so I decided to mirror the bar to be the restaurant’s shell, and I’m glad it turned out well. To make it more interesting story-wise, I decided that they are owned by a similar owner. See?Interesting. Residential lot-wise, there's only one, but it's a townhouse with 3 semi-furnished units for you to play 3 different families in one household, or maybe have some roommates, or you know, evict it and build your own. Whatever you decide, that’s up to you. It will eventually be your save too anyway. Here is my general description for this neighborhood:

From a long strip of empty land and few hiking trails, to a modern playground full of life for families and wellness enthusiasts. The newly built Ridgeline Drive on the eastern side of Newcrest consists of four modern and well-equipped establishments: Twigs, for a hearty vegetarian meal, Aham Ashram Yoga Studio for your body and mind's wellness, The Tavern bar for a relaxed night out with friends, and Crimson Gaming Complex for a family fun time, or a romantic date on Crimson Lounge on the third floor. Decided on moving here? Why not occupy one of three units of the Hillside Townhouse at the heart of it all? And while all establishments here are different on their own, like many other neighborhoods, Ridgeline Drive has its own unifying symbol: the continuous pathways all throughout the five lots. So whether you're just visiting, or decided to move in, Ridgeline Drive will be here ready to welcome you to the family.

As an introvert (an INFJ, Myers-Briggs-wise), wild parties, social gatherings, and the ever dreaded small talks are probably at the bottom of my list. Thanks to The Sims, I don't have to experience it myself and let my sims  suffer  enjoy the parties, social gatherings, and small talks even on a random stranger you literally just met. I've been to parties, sure, I think that's a given part of college life, right? But if I we're to choose an ideal party, I would just go for a chill night with a few good friends, good music, good food, and  booze  juice. I actually miss college life, you know, or maybe school in general, when the only thing you really have to worry about is to graduate, and not miss a payment on bills, loans, and surviving the corporate world. Sigh. I could go on and rant, but hey, we're here to make our sims party!

So, the Crimson Club's Humble Beginnings...

When The Sims 4 Spa Day first came out on July 2015, I fell in love with the minimalist Asian aesthetic of it (I have Japanese roots so I appreciate that pack so much), and that glowing animated wallpaper and floor combo were something I badly want to use, and so I did and built the very first Crimson Club. Then came December that year, The Sims 4 Get Together was released and it gave a good amount of nightclub items in the game. I did a renovation of the original club and called it Crimson Dos. I don't exactly remember why I chose the red swatch, but I guess it reminds me of that club we used to go to back in college, and maybe you know, it's a club... it's lit. And it all began with those glowing wallpaper and floors.

The Crimson Entertainment Inc.

I've used the Crimson Dos club in almost all of my games, but as new packs get released, sometimes it can already look dated, and I can't constantly renovate the same club over and over, so I decided to branch out. When The Sims 4 Bowling Night Stuff was released, I built a modern commercial complex with an arcade, a bowling alley, of course, and a fancy lounge on the third floor, but wasn't sure what to name it, then I realized I also used those glowing wallpaper and floors in a teal swatch, and it hit me and the inner architect in me said "Why not make this a part of Crimson?" I named it Crimson Gaming Complex, and I called the lounge Crimson Tres. During that time, the Noble Save was still not looking into fruition and that a certain "company" with a name owns these properties.

A few packs later, The Sims 4 Get Famous was released and I know I've got to build a nightclub in Del Sol Valley and replace that sad Orchid A Go! Go! lounge and so I did... Crimson Quatro. I wasn't learning Spanish yet at the time so I didn't know "Quatro" is supposed to be spelled as "Cuatro," but on the save, I just renamed it to Crimson, to symbolize a new era of the Crimson franchise. So, that's where the company Crimson Entertainment Inc. (CEI) was born. On the Noble Save, I made a family that will represent CEI, of which the father desires to monopolize the entire entertainment industry, and has his reasons as to why. And who knows, maybe a little rivalry with the Landgraabs? So, as a take away for this post, if you see a nightclub, bar, or lounge on the save with that signature glowing wall and floor combo, it’s a CEI property.

So what is The Noble Save? First of all, it's not about royalties, that's just the name.

"The Noble Save" is a customized Sims 4 save (still a work in progress) set 8 years later from the moment you start a new save normally within the game. Many existing lots are either renovated or replaced entirely. Some lots might have served as one thing in the past, and now works as something else. For instance, the Willow Creek Archive library, with the existing shell of it, is now a fancy, expensive restaurant Nancy Landgraab might frequent. (Fun fact: Nancy was there when I was play testing. Lol)

The existing townies are an age older, or almost the next life stage, and some might have already met with Grim himself and are already resting on the cemetery I am yet to build. (Edit: This will only apply to townies from packs prior to Eco Lifestyle and future packs. Maybe minor iterations to CAS, but their age will be the same as they only existed when I already have the plans for my save.)

In the course of that 8 years, there were three major disasters that happened, all of which will be covered on the descriptions of lots and families affected on the save.

What you see on the photos above is the new Oasis Springs Commercial District which is the first neighborhood I finished. Below is my general description for this neighborhood:

Hello there, my name is King (hence the "Noble" on NoblePlumbob), I'm just one of many Simmers out there leaving a mark on the community of this game we all know and love.

I started playing this game since the first one and its expansions sans Superstar and Makin' Magic. I haven't got the chance to play The Sims 2 except when they gave away the complete set a while back, then comes The Sims 3 and 4. Basically I grew up with this game, the only game I religiously played. I played other similar games but not as much as this in quite an alarming rate. But hey, this game has been with me during hard times too, and probably helped shape who I am today. Like many other simmers out there, this game was and still is an escape from the harsh reality of life.

So, 2020 has been quite a ride for many of us... we've got wars looming, volcanoes erupting, bush fires, deaths, and now on its new season, a pandemic affecting the entire planet, just cancel this year already. With this, many countries established lock downs limiting movement and working tirelessly together to flatten the curve.

Being affected by the lock down, and me wanting to do something meaningful and fun, aside from working from home, I decided to finally make my own save for The Sims 4. I've wanted to do this for so long, but didn't really have the time 'cause of a 9 to 5 job and commuting to and from it also takes time, energy... and did I mention how Manila's traffic can suck the life out of you? The time I get home, I just want to sleep. On weekends I just want to play Sims, but not do an entire save 'cause that's a lot of work, and the weekends just flashes before our very eyes, almost as fast as dying from a Murphy Bed. But since I'm working from home now, I didn't need to commute and have more time, so I said to myself "Why not?"

About the sim above, that's Sandro, and behind him is his temporary shack while I'm still building pretty much the worlds he'll be walking on to. Since I play test on a different save,  it's still Day 1 on the actual save and he hasn't left his shack, but I do have plans for this guy, and he will not be living in a shack. (Pose by Katverse on The Sims Resource. Not sure which set, but you should find it there.)