Friday Filler – Becoming a Scofflaw With TSTO Item Limits

Thank Grog it’s Firday!

I have to admit, that when I saw that EA had raised the limit on items you can place in your town, froqm 10,300 to 10,400, I laughed. As in laughed out loud…LOL!

I had just received a “BUILDING WARNING” that I currently had 9,800 items, and that it could create “performance issues” with my game. Pfffftttt….

Come on. I’m old…but, I’m not so old that I have “performance issues” with any part of my game!

Oh. Wait. That’s right…they were talking about TSTO.

But, even as it pertains to TSTO, I have been around the block enough to know that they always raise the limits…because they HAVE to. Why? Because they keep giving us so much clutter in every update, that we are forced to “place or store” countless digital baubles, and if they don’t raise the limits…the truly dedicated players would simply quit.

I have to admit…knowing this has turned me into a bit of a TSTO Scofflaw! (one who scoffs at the law).  But, this isn’t the only aspect of my life where I am prone to ignore the rules. I’m a renegade…a rule breaker…a guy who lives on the edge!
I have been known to run with scissors, swim right after a meal, and eat ice cream right after eating spicy foods!  That last one produces disastrous results, and some serious Porcelain God Worship (sitting position, not kneeling).  But I digress…

I am that guy who sets his cruise control 9 miles over the speed limit, because a police officer friend of mine, admitted that they don’t really give out tickets until you are at LEAST 10 miles over the posted speed limit. It has something to do with the fine amount being too small to warrant the paperwork and potential court appearance.  This makes for some AMAZING driving in states that have posted speed limits of 80 MPH.

 You haven’t lived until you’ve hit a large bird (a buzzard) on a rural Texas Highway, doing 89 miles per hour.  It gets your attention. But, I digress again…

There are countless ways we all fudge the rules in real life. The fact is, the only people I don’t trust, are people who repeatedly say, “Trust me.” But, let’s not go there.

What I am trying to say…is that TSTO is a game meant for building. And that means loads of buildings, loads of trees, shrubs, flowers, and loads of decorations.  It takes time and real estate to make a great Springfield, and limiting our creativity is dangerous…because it limits our interest in the game.

If this game was just a bunch of grinding to get some completely unrelated Simpson’s characters (don’t get me started on the “Trolls” origins…Barfy? Lewd? Really???) I’d stop playing.

Wait…let’s GO there…

To make my point…this update has TONS of activity, and related clutter for three characters who barely, and I mean barely, appear in an episode.  They in fact, aren’t even IN the episode, they are in the “Couch Gag” of “Four Regrettings and a Funeral” (S25E3). And by barely…I mean for a full, 3 seconds…before they appear (in a pretty clever send-up of The Hobbit) and then turn to stone.

Crackle POOF…they are gone.  So three seconds in an episode, and we are now chasing/enchanting/releasing them almost perpetually for 6 weeks???? We could just as well have had the “beloved Chip Davis” who only appears as the guy who NEVER appeared in an episode, but some called “the Sixth Simpson.”

If it weren’t for building, I would have stopped playing months ago. Grinding is boring…hence the name. It’s the building that keeps me coming back.

And for the love of Gawd…if they are so worried about us placing too many items, why on earth are they cramming items down our throats with the “free clutter” we are “awarded” on every 4-hour “release session” with Kearneymon and Lewd?  How many chaise lounges, dance platforms and cases of swill do we need???

My storage is already bursting with clutter from other events…why would I want more than a couple of anything???  They don’t DO anything. They are just decorations. I’d rather place a tree or a shrub.

It has been the case for months now that, Major Events = Clutter. Lots of clutter. The crafting options on this update are just silly…with the “best stuff” being things I already have from previous Halloweens, and have stored or placed in my town.  I have LOADS of flying bats, almost all of the buildings, decorations, and yes…even Werewolf Flanders.  So, am I compelled to craft? No. Not so much.

What I will do, is continue to use my game cash to buy whatever I want from the cash inventory of decorations that matter…fences, walls, flowers, trees and more. It just makes my town look more realistic if something other than dance poles are growing there.

Look…I’m not telling you to cheat on your taxes, or rob a bank, or even drive 35 MPH in a School Zone.  But, what I am doing, is telling you to ignore the warnings…and just have fun.  10,400 is a LOT of room with which to design…especially when you eliminate the clutter that comes with major updates.

Have fun. Plant more trees and flowers. Put the rest in storage…then it’s EA’s problem.