Thank Grog It’s Firday!
I have to admit, I have enjoyed Act II of this over-extended, insanely grind-tastic event. Mostly for selfish reasons. It has actually created some serious conversations between my wife and I about taking a “once in a lifetime” (actually twice) trip to Europe, before we croak.
As of late, the vast majority of our time and treasure has been dedicated to our kids, as in 5 college educations, 4 weddings (one to go) and a ton of travel to “see the kids” who are spread out all over the place, North, South, East and Northwest. Add grandkids (one due any minute!), and you have additional reasons to make your travel time, “family time.” There’s nothing wrong with that. But does lack a bit of variety (even though we turned one into a 9.600 mile, 30-day cross country trip a couple of summers ago).
But…we both did extended trips to Europe when we were young. For me…that was almost 50 years ago. I hear a lot has changed in 50 years… When I went, there was still a Berlin Wall…a Communist help Czechoslovakia, and a ton of debris left over from 2 world wars. So…yes…change is good!
When we began our “world tour” in TSTO, it got me wishing that could go back again, and see some of our favorite spots, as well as check a few boxes off of the “I really want to see that…” list that has grown over the years. I want to return to the British Isles, including Ireland (at least 2 weeks) and Deb wants to return to Spain and Italy, while adding France and Denmark into the mix for extended family. I also want to tour some WWI battlefields in France and Belgium, and want to go to Austria, Germany and Switzerland again. So…yes…this would be a HUGE, long trip, which we will have to wedge in between a trip to Uganda, another wedding, and who knows how many more grandkids. Retirement? Pfffffffftttttttttttt… not gonna happen.
But in the meantime, I can visit the imaginative towns and places that have cropped up as a result of my “Town Tours” feature, started a couple of weeks back. This week, I’m focusing on a couple more “Friends of Ebron,” as well one of my favorite neighbors, and a look at my own English homage.
I’m going to start with some bad news for those of you who waited…
I AM FULL UP for the foreseeable future. I have enough “look at my town requests” to fill up an entire year of Friday Fillers. So…at least for now…no more requests.
And for those who have been contacted by me from your requests…be PATIENT. It may be weeks before your town appears…M’kay?
And…again…I am always looking for “Gold Standard” designers who truly meet or exceed the standards set in my first couple of posts…Ebron, and Superbeast (check out the video tours in the last couple of posts for reference). But the bar is really high…so don’t bother if your town isn’t as good.
For this episode of Town Tours, I am going to do the video a bit differently, so we can cover more towns, without creating an editing nightmare. I will do a dialogue over screen shots…that allows me to talk, watch and critique. But, it is light on critique, as most of these folks have something that drew me in.
Let’s get started…
What do these towns from TippieTippie, Greengirl, and Jackie have in common (besides all being females…as I was corrected by Jackie/Jack)? They have LUSH design aesthetics with loads of details that make them realistic, or at least believably whimsical! And what is the primary limitation to creativity in TSTO? ITEM LIMITS!!!!
After talking with Ebron and others about the limits, even though I am now over 10,400 items and regularly get warned…I am going to keep designing until I hit the barrier (currently 10,900). I want my town to feel real…livable…and aesthetically pleasing as it can be.
EA is having SERVER ISSUES??? How about allowing us to dump stuff out of our storage units??? Those that KEM Farm, and do Mystery Boxes to increase their item limits must have full to the brim storage units. Start there, EA…but change your code, and TEAR DOWN THIS WALL OF ITEM LIMITS!!!
Ok…back to dreaming of our dream trip! Maybe in a couple of summers…if our youngest puts off getting married for a year or so!
Have a great weekend!