In the last edition of DID (Deigning In Downtime), I mentioned a handful of my favorite rituals, some regarding characters that I wanted to keep in the same place for eternity.
There are a couple of reasons I do this. First, I like how they look, and that they make me happy for some reason I have made up, as part of the rituals. But, over time and function, they have become part of the decorations…the style that gives my town unique flavor.
But, a couple of these take real planning…and a bit of luck…and sometimes a lot of patience (or stubbornness…you choose).
First of all, it is relatively unfortunate that EA doesn’t allow us to simply highlight and move a character EAsily. It would make it more fun to be able to move characters the ways we can move buildings and decorations. But, as I’m sure you have found out, when you store a character, then go to place them again, it is a pretty random exercise. The game pretty much places them in an allotted algorithmic location, that changes with each replacement. Try this yourself…you’ll see that placing, storing, and replacing, can at best, allow you to find a place that is relative to where you wanted the character.
But, if the character is a building/character combo, it is super easy to move the character, by storing and replacing the building. This really only works well for task routines that remain stationary. Otherwise, you’ll go nuts, trying to keep a character in the same zone.
One of the EAsiest, and in my case, a true “part of the design,” is Lee Carvallo’s “Show No Love” task. It gives my new golf course an actual golfer. (I got the idea from one of my favorite neighbor’s who ALSO built a golf course). Thanks Kyle!
The steps of making this work are pretty straightforward…
1. Store the “Mini Golf Castle”- which also stores Lee
2. Retrieve and place the “Mini Golf Castle” where you want him on your golf course.
3. As soon as he starts to move, immediately select the “Show No Love” task.
4. Move the Mini Golf Castle back to it’s proper location.
Now… as long as you just keep clearing his task, and making him do the same 12 hour task over and over, he stays put…always working at hitting a good shot toward the 3rd green.
The second one is similar, although if I forget that I cleared it when tapping near the zone, and have to come back and replace it…Shary can be a real PITA (Pain In The A$$). I’ll repeat it again…the reason I keep Shary airborne 24/7, is in punishment for what EA put me through to get her in the first Easter update. The wHell, and other gamed algorithms made her impossible to “win.”
I keep her airborne by the Mapple Store in the vicinity of the SuperCollider…because weird stuff happens there.
The ritual for this one is a bit more complex. If I blow it, and let her wander around for a bit, the only way to get her back to “Collider Square” is to do a bit of building shuffling.
1. Have Shary do the “Teach Evil Deeds” task….which actually places her in the Flanders House for an hour (unless I speed it up with donuts).
2. Store the Mapple Store
3. While the task is running, move the Flanders House over to the spot where the Mapple Store stood.
4. As soon as Shary clears her task and emerges from the Flanders House, hit the “Fly On Her Umbrellla” task.
5. Move the Flanders House back to it’s original place
6. Replace Mapple Store from Storage.
Spit spot…easy as a spoonful of molasses.
The final example today, requires a bit of all three elements; craftiness, determination, and luck.
Getting my Femme Fatale character to “Do Dangerous Gymnastics” in front of my SkyFinger monument, came about over several days of trying to get her to move into the right vicinity. I spent more time than I’d like to admit, to storing, placing, storing again, placing again, over and over and over, until she finally popped up close to my SkyFinger area. At this point…I had to watch, and wait, and wait, and wait, and wait, for her to actually cross paths in the location in which I wanted her to perform. And once there…I have had to be extremely careful to clear…and wait for her to run her short pattern of walking away, and then back to the same spot…only to be “captured again,” for another 4 hours.
**HINT- if you watch, most characters when cleared will eventually wander back to the place they originated from when you cleared them. You have to be patient. It may take a while. But, they pretty much walk a pattern, once cleared…unless you leave them to wander for hours. Then, good luck!
This ritual has become so pridefully consuming, that it is the first I perform every 4 hours…or every time I open my game…just to be damn sure she is going to stay where she is supposed to stay.
I have on occasion cleared her by mistake…and then have to watch for minutes (sometimes many) as she wanders close, then away, then close again…all around the area (often walking across the water). I’m not proud of this obsession…but I claim it…and marvel at her “bendiness.”
Ironically…as I was trying to do this demo…I hit the wrong character, and FF got away...and I had to wait a couple of cycles to get her back! UGH! FF is so Fickle!
Yes…that is my mumbley voice that just burbles when I am creating. Needless to say, Mrs. Miller does not allow it at the breakfast table.
Am I obsessed? Am I nuts? Who can say? But, these, along with countless others, have become part ritual and part decoration in my town.
Try some. And then let us know your results and your favorites.
I’ve never cared about tagging, even though I realize others certainly care lol. As has been said, it is part of the game so why not enjoy it if you like it! I used to notice which neighbours would tag me and tag them back since it was clear they didn’t mind. Other than that I don’t tend to tag just because I didn’t want to upset those who take this silly game as seriously as they feel they have to LOL!
These days none of my neighbours ever tag me, likely out of concern they may be rudely called out for it as others have been. I would never but they don’t know how chill I am 😁
When I discovered that Countess Dracula could activate the Drive-in with her 24-hour task, I kept her doing it as often as I could.
Kirk is my permanent scarecrow with his 16-hour “Protect the Crops” task.
I think a show-off with “favorite character scenes/activities” would be a fun way to help fill the down time. Would love to see some of the ways my neighbors have “activated” their towns. 😁
Agree! I’ll do that next DID.
Another week with no major update. 😢. Very sad.
Or even a minor one…
I have Sherry on the ocean flying near the tropical island with the crashed plane. (Yes, I had to get her on the boardwalk and then remove tiles until she went where I wanted, and it took awhile, and she is never leaving.)
I also have Lampwick and Patches & Poor Violet begging in front of the Helter Shelter, while Cletus dis through garbage in the back. (Actually… I might need to put Cletus back there, he might have had a daily challenge task. At least it’s pretty easy to move the dumpster around.)
I have a bunch of others. Charcoal Briquette is constantly making food in front of my Guilded Truffle. The magician guy is always on my Vegas strip summoning a hell skank. Future Bart and future Maggie are by the school bus so they can jam with Otto. Future Lisa reads in front of the library. Ralph plays wiggle puppy in his backyard, surrounded by Easter eggs. The nerds sit outside channel six doing their hacking thing. The sumo wrestler enjoys tea in the temple gardens. Pin pal Apu polishes balls outside the bowling alley. Janey plays on her laptop outside the computer store. Laura Powers does calisthenics outside the gym. The hippy hackey-sacks by Woodstock. Young Marge is burning bras in front of a government building. I’m probably forgetting some. Seriously, I love this sort of stuff. I’m very good at putting characters where I want them (thanks, brown house, and your endless tasks) but it can be a pain sometimes.
Oh my…that IS good.. “I have Sherry on the ocean flying near the tropical island with the crashed plane. (Yes, I had to get her on the boardwalk and then remove tiles until she went where I wanted, and it took awhile, and she is never leaving”
I think I have at least 15 little vignettes in my town, all with permanent characters. These two are kinda fun…
https://imgur.com/a/YJkOi5p
https://imgur.com/a/KC7C2uF
Haha! Your town is always ladened with great hidden design items.
Thanks for tips on how to relocate Shary! I keep her flying 24/7 also for the same reason you do! It was so difficult to win her. I have Duffman earring buffet meal all the time because he gets on my nerves. Sometimes we get a little weird in this game. Love your comments, Patric!
Haha! I like Duffman frying over the stadium…but often forget.
When I remember I like to put all the bikers on the road, and all the skaters also the stonecutters sing the song, but getting lazy these days and end up sending all on 12hour tasks, I had all the seared characters in one place more than one, lots of work with that one, will try to find the screenshots, I like the characters that do the same thing, 😁
That is a lot to remember… luckily, a lot of those are also 4 hour tasks…or 12 hour tasks. Both are easy to repeat.
I was gonna ask if you let the irs building cause large areas to clear….
That part.makes it a pain to maintain character location fun.
I have not increased my IRS reach very far…for another reason. I hate the IRS (as many self employed business folks do), and I like keeping the building looking shabby. So..it takes a while longer clear everything…but give me more control.
Hi, someone know why we don’t have more updates? Do you know if there will be in the near future?
MIne for the longest time was keeping Booberalla burning at the stake at the apex of one of my designs… I actually felt a bit guilty about it but it was sort of nice. Hmmm. Maybe I should create a religious district and have her getting toasty there. I like the Sky finger FF idea, but it is yours. I should have her doing her thing in front of Booberella… I do wish there was a way to easily move characters as well. Would improve game play quite a bit.
Sadly it is after 10 on Wednesday and still no update. I guess i had best send my characters on tasks.
Not a fan of burning booooooobs. I think she is hot enough…
So… no word on the update??
There wasn’t one.
How’s that?😁
I used to try to keep the baby sitter at the Bad Dream House but I let her get away. Yesterday she was right infront of it and I wasn’t really paying attention and assigned her Take Care Of Children task. Oops
Hey, thanks for the shout out. I, too, am a little nutso with some of my characters. As mentioned, I keep Lee and Ike on the golf course, L.T. Smash has to stay in front of the drive in theater to keep it activated (and can be a real PITA when he gets away, just like FF), cavemen Moe is bartending in the Badlands, along with Lloyd journaling apocalyptic thoughts, right before the entrance to Dante’s Inferno, where jesus is sad because no one remembers his birthday. Also in the Badlands area is my Burning Man festival, where Meathook recites poetry and the refrigeratorium guy broadcasts his demands. Rod and Todd are forever being caught in the webs in the insect house at the zoo, and Cocoa Beanie is forever getting the crap kicked out of him because I think he’s annoying (kinda like your punishment for Shary). Also, I keep Quimby tending his “dubious plant” and Scorpio interrogating Mr. Bont on the death table. I try to keep rabbi Krustofsky playing chess but sometimes I forget about him….ok…I might have problem🤪 but it’s all in good fun, right?
Ha! You may be more nuts than me. I’ll check out your town in more detail next visit!
Are you obsessed? Yes.
Are you nuts? Yes.
Are you special? Yes.
Are you unique? Yes.
Are you our Patric? Yes.
Therefore, thanks for your DIDs <3
Am I grateful? Yes!
Thanks.
Patric, I can always count on you for a good laugh!!!😂😂😂😂😂. LMAO every time I think about this post. Thanks so much for making my day a little more tolerable in these trying times. 😎
Happy to be of assistance.