The 7th Guest

Since I spent quite a lot in the steam store over Christmas - including buying the expansion and stuff packs I didn't yet have for the Sims 3 - I want to have another go at playing all the games I own.  I did try this before, several years ago, with the games I owned on disc.  I think I got to the Bs before giving up on that.  Anyway.  I have 126 games on Steam, and I'm going to try to play all of them this year, either in alphabetical order or based on preference, depending on my mood.  I'm definitely going to try to play the shorter puzzle or visual novel style games, especially those I haven't played at all before, but I may skip the ones I've played before, or at least leave the longer ones till last.

With all that in mind, the first game is my list is the 11th Hour, but since it's the sequel to the 7th Guest, I decided to play the 7th Guest first.  I have played this before.  It was one of the earliest games to be released on disc, and was for MS-DOS.  I played it on an emulator a while ago and, from memory, I don't expect it to take much longer than an evening.  It's a horror puzzle game.  Essentially, you walk around a mansion trying to figure out what happened to a group who were invited for dinner several years ago.  One interesting thing about the game is that it used video clips for cut scenes, which do look a bit aged now but which are still pretty impressive for the time.  Really, TV Tropes has a better description of the whole thing than I do.

A lot of the puzzles are moon-logic based (to reference TV tropes again), which does work thematically, but also makes it a weird one to play.  What you try is either right or wrong, and there sometimes aren't even sufficient hints on how to begin solving a puzzle or what you're trying to achieve - or the hints are in a totally different room that you might not have come across yet - so, honestly, I used a guide just to get an idea of what I was trying to do for some of them.  I found that more rewarding considering how frustrating some of them can be.  For the microscope puzzle, I used the book in the library to skip it entirely.  I also used this to solve the portrait puzzle, because it was 1am.

This post isn't really intended as a review or a guide or anything, more as a diary.

I Love You Colonel Sanders - Endings

I Love You Colonel Sanders is a free dating-sim parody/advert from KFC.  I truly admire it as a marketing gimmick - it's clearly made by someone who understands the genre and enjoys it, it's fun to play, and it made me crave fried chicken.  Good job!




There are several guides out there for how to get the best ending, but I couldn't find a list of all the possible endings, so I made one.  Here are the endings I found;

• Game over: stay in bed forever
• Game over: Offer Sprinkles a beef treat
• Game over: fail the pop quiz
• Game over: suggest making steak tartare
• Game over: get in between the colonel and Aeshleigh
• Game over: let Aeshleigh remain a chicken
• Game over: give up and drop out of culinary school
• Ending: receive a coupon for a complimentary side and a soda upgrade
• Ending: win love but not respect as a chef
• Ending: become the colonel's partner for business and romance, and adopt the spork monster

It's possible that there's an ending that involves becoming the Colonel's business partner without becoming his lover, but so many of the romantic events focus around cooking that I don't believe that ending exists.  One thing that would improve this game is having a gallery or achievements to confirm whether you've seen 100% of it or not.

Please let me know if you've found any other endings!

Zodiac Challenge: Interlude - A Monkey and a Dog

Having moved into a frat house, Remy and Dan begin making friends with their new housemates.  I didn't realise how tall they all are because they're usually standing next to relatives.  I blame Silas, Bunny's grandfather, who had his height-slider set all the way up.  Sequoyah is also quite tall.

Pretty soon, Remy and Dan need to attend the welcome event at the student centre.  Dan is quite attracted to this woman (I gave her a makeover), but she's a professor and quickly shuts him down.

Back home, Remy begins making friends with another housemate, but he isn't picking up what Remy is putting down.  Like an absolute bro, Dan steps in to convince the guy to flirt with his brother.

This move is very successful, and Remy finally achieves his first kiss!  Dan is calling that professor.  Presumably, he's telling her that he's actually very mature, way more mature than these gross housemates who have already made a huge mess of the kitchen.

Dan - and the other random housemate who wandered in - quickly fuck off as it turns out Dan's intervention was even more successful than we initially suspected.  I gave Remy and Dan rooms next to each other, with an adjoining door.  I did try locking the doors, but it interfered with Remy's woohoo-life so we just need to deal with people wandering in.

The next morning, Remy explains that he just wants to be friends.  His housemate does not take the news well.  Sims 3 needs a casual hook-up mod.

I built a dive bar, in the hopes that Monster Mash - Remy and Dan's band - will be invited to perform there.  Remy tried to return the favour, in getting this girl to flirt with Dan, but Dan wasn't into it, possibly because she's in a relationship.

Back home, a fire breaks out and like an absolute bro Dan runs over and immediately starts putting the flames out.  I don't know why.  I don't think he has the Brave trait, and there aren't any firefighters in their ancestry (except Bunny's stepdad, and the game no longer recognises that relationship since they moved towns).  He does have military and law enforcement in his ancestry - I wonder if that's a factor.

I think Remy - who inherited the died-in-a-fire aspect from their father - particularly appreciates this.

It also gave him the chance to hook up with the housemate he liked on the first day.  

His ex is not impressed.

The new guy also isn't impressed when Remy gives him the "let's be friends" speech.  I feel bad for him, he looks so sad.  

Later, Remy comes back from class to find his two exs playing with his drum kit.  I think this might be some kind of weird revenge.

The boys bought a Bonehilda for the house because absolutely no one was cleaning up (including them).  Remy wanted to chat with her, presumably about their shared woes as supernaturals.

While Remy prefers to hang out at the bar, Dan has been going to the local coffee shop and trying to flirt with women.  He has been very unsuccessful.  He is building a nice friendship with the barista, who he thinks of as "coffee girl".  I'd give her a makeover too, but she's always in uniform and the game won't let me.

Today, Dan visited the coffee shop in the hopes of seeing her, but she wasn't working so he just studied instead.  Both boys (I) have decided to start taking their degrees seriously, even though Remy's is only vaguely related to his interests, and Dan will learn a lot more on-the-job back at the ranch.

Quoting a previous post; "When Hialeah is 15, Remy is 10, Dan is 9, Richard is 3 and [Saoirse] is zero."  Since Hialeah and Richard are dragons, this means Remy is a Rooster and Dan is a Dog.  I quite like that I've not actually done those yet, so they can be a preview before I reach those heirs.  However, Rooster does not describe Remy at all.  So, I've decided that his birthday is early in the year, making him a Monkey rather than a Rooster.  The Travel China Guide describes Monkeys as follows;

"The monkey is a clever animal. It is usually compared to a smart person. During the Spring and Autumn Period (770 - 476 BC), the dignified Chinese official title of marquis was pronounced 'Hou', the same as the pronunciation of ‘monkey’ in Chinese. The animal was thereby bestowed with an auspicious meaning."


One of the challenges I'm following has this;

"Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Monkey thrive on having fun.‭ ‬They‭’‬re energetic,‭ ‬upbeat,‭ ‬and good at listening but lack self-control.‭ ‬They like being active and stimulated and enjoy pleasing self before pleasing others.‭ ‬They‭’‬re heart-breakers,‭ ‬not good at long-term relationships,‭ ‬morals are weak.‭ ‬Compatible with Rat or Dragon.‭

 Inventor, motivator, improviser, quick-witted, inquisitive, flexible, innovative, problem solver, self-assured, sociable, artistic, polite, dignified, competitive, objective, factual, intellectual. Can be egotistical, vain, arrogant, selfish, reckless, snobbish, deceptive, manipulative, cunning, jealous, suspicious."

While the other says this;

"You ignored your parents horrible marriage by taking refuge in jokes and mischief. You’re not sure you believe in love.

• Have Goofball and Noncommittal traits 
• Join the Criminal Career 
• Have two good friends 
• Do not marry 
• Have at least one child with the insane trait that is not heir"

A fair amount of this just doesn't apply, because Remy isn't the Monkey-Heir, doesn't follow a Goat parent, and won't be the parent of the Rooster-Heir.  There are some clear similarities though.  All of Bunny's children are clever, as part of her requirement that they have good grades, and Remy is a talented musician (he has the virtuoso trait and also practices a lot).  We've seen, in this update - which I played through yesterday, before looking up all this info and writing this post today - that Remy is a heartbreaker, and that he wants to have fun and play the field right now.  Since he has the non-committal trait and doesn't age, that might be the case forever.  He wants to have a successful band (I'm not sure if that's formally coded into the game as a wish, but that's my goal for him) and to become a five-star celebrity (ditto), which requires that he be artistic (as in, virtuoso), egotistical, and arrogant.  We've not yet seen any jealousy, but he could be considered selfish and manipulative, since his hook-ups don't realise they're hook-ups (which is really the game's fault).  Bunny and Sequoyah don't have a 'horrible' marriage, but it's certainly not perfect in many ways - he's a ghost who doesn't age, and the celebrity rumour-mill has been rife, almost breaking them up at one point (or, at least, making them not even friends until I fixed it).  I haven't really focused on it, but being married to an immortal ghost while you slowly get older cannot be good for the psyche, and never mind Sequoyah outliving Bunny and all that trauma.  I can see how, having inherited the ghost trait and wanting to be a celebrity, Remy might feel disinclined to find a spouse and put them through that, especially since he's commitment-phobic anyway.  He's not a goofball and probably won't have a child with the insane trait, but I think those are specific to the heir, not all monkeys.

As for Dan, here are the descriptions of the Dog;

Travel China Guide:

"Dog is man's good friend who can understand the human's spirit and obey its master, whether he is wealthy or not. The Chinese regard it as an auspicious animal. If a dog happens to come to a house, it symbolizes the coming of fortune. The invincible God Erlang in Chinese legend used a loyal wolfhound to help him capture monsters."

Fruits Basket:

"Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Dog are loyal,‭ ‬faithful,‭ ‬honest,‭ ‬distrustful,‭ ‬often guilty of telling white lies,‭ ‬temperamental,‭ ‬prone to mood swings,‭ ‬dogmatic,‭ ‬and sensitive.‭ ‬Dogs excel in business but have trouble finding mates.‭ ‬Compatible with Tiger or Horse.

 Honest, intelligent, straightforward, loyal, sense of justice and fair play, attractive, amicable, unpretentious, sociable, open-minded, idealistic, moralistic, practical, affectionate, sensitive, easy going. Can be cynical, lazy, cold, judgmental, pessimistic, worrier, stubborn, quarrelsome."

DeadlyFang:

"You don’t want to live your life focused on your career. You want to be a good person and find that one true love.

• Join Secret Agent or Detective career 
• Have a childhood friend 
• Start romantic relationship/marry childhood friend upon adulthood. 
• Have two eligible heirs 
• Adopt a child as well"

We know that Dan is loyal.  His brother is his BFF, and he's demonstrated love and protection in this update.  He's had trouble finding mates (despite the little white lies, like about how mature he is), and I'm happy for him to find "the one" at uni and settle down, especially since Hialeah and Remy will have much more varied romantic lives.  I didn't consider making him a detective, but I don't hate it.  I'm ignoring the childhood friend and the heirs/adoption parts because, again, those are specific to the Dog-Heir, which Dan is not.  It wouldn't be fun to have them live out the heirs lives before I even get there, and also I want to keep my tree/heirs linear rather than branching off (though I'm toying with the idea of doing another interlude to see how the non-heirs get on at a later point).  It's been fun looking at this descriptions and thinking about how they can influence the characters' motivations.

Sims 3: Zodiac Challenge - Chapter 5, The Dragon(s)

I've been getting a lot of cute pictures of day to day live, since I know Bunny is getting older and we'll be moving on soon.  Here, she's telling her eldest son that he will always be welcome here, even though he's nearly a grown man.

Remy - Bunny's eldest son - had his birthday later that day, which was very exciting for everyone.

At the party, I noticed Bunny had an "attractive sim" moodlet for the butler.  She also had some wishes to use her vampire powers, so she read his mind and then made him think about her.  Later, I had her evaluate her attraction to him, and it went away.  I guess it was just a hangover from when she was younger, before she realised she liked girls.

The elder three siblings - Hialeah, Remy, and Dan - celebrated by playing their instruments.  I then gave Remy a makeover.  Because I've now gotten the Supernatural pack - only £4.99 in a Halloween sale! - I can turn the 'ghost' trait on and off, and finally get a good look at Remy as a normal human.  I didn't realise he'd gotten a cross between Bunny and Sequoyah's jawlines, or that he'd inherited Seqouyah's eyes.  Look at Bunny' s handsome boy!

 

I gave him a full makeover now that I can see him properly.  I also took some pictures of Saoirse and Sequoyah.

Look at Bunny's pretty baby!  Her favourite colour is white.  I've been trying to incorporate all of their favourite colours into their outfits.  Saoirse looks a lot like Sequoyah.  Most of his family tree are Cherokee-inspired, but I did throw in two more European-looking ancestors as colonists/invaders, and that's where the blue eyes and Hialeah's red hair comes from.  The green eyes - which Hialeah has - are Bunny's.

And here's Sequoyah!  He will always look 25, because that's how old he was when he died.  Look at Bunny's handsome husband!

Hialeah and Remy celebrated by heading out to a bar which the game prompted me to install with the supernatural pack.  It was pretty dead, for want of a better word, so they just started jamming.

Hialeah came home a bit peckish and took a bite out of the butler.

The next day, Richard aged up into a teenager.  Here he is asking Hialeah for her 'protection', right before she begins teaching him how to drive.

 Bunny took a picture of her two studious babies!  Hialeah's improving her social media skill, since that makes sense for an architect/designer, and Dan is trying to get into uni.

Dan developed the 'shy' trait when he aged up into an adult, which I guess has something to do with growing up as a celebrity.

Remy still asked him to form a band though!  Also, check out the portrait of my founder, Starlight herself, Yuriko, in the background.

Remy and Dan set off for university together (Remy took a year or so out).  My next update will cover their adventures together!

Really, I should figure out what Chinese zodiac signs they have, based on the difference in ages between them and Hialeah.

Sims 3: Zodiac Challenge - Chapter 5, The Dragon(s)

Hialeah has been making friends with her housemates and then drinking their blood, so that's been working out pretty well for her.  She complimented this one on her cooking before asking for another dose.

Hialeah had three exams on the Friday, so she took a nap in between the last two.

It worked!  Hialeah has a perfect GPA and the highest grade she could achieve!

She waves goodbye to her university friends, and returns home to her family.  She has drunk from at least two of those people.  She's also been taking a drink or two from her architecture clients since she's been home.

Hialeah thought about telling her mother that she is now a vampire, but decided against the idea.  Saoirse now has an A-grade in school, like all her siblings, so Bunny has officially handed over the reigns.

I'm trying to build the relationship between Hialeah and Richard, since they're both Dragons.  This was an odd secret for him to share, because Rags is Saoirse's imaginary friend.

Remy has been working on his music while Dan has been gardening and upping his science skill.  I built Dan a greenhouse.  I needed to use carpet, to make it count as 'indoors' so the snow doesn't kill my plants, but used moveobjects on to let him plant in there.  I changed the pattern/colour of the carpet to make it look like soil.  I have no idea how Remy got up onto the roof, the drumkit was in his inventory when I told him to go practice.

It worked - Dan now has a much better score on the aptitude test, and will get a scholarship for his science and medicine degree!  I'm also working on getting his gardening skill high enough to grow more plasma fruit for his sister so she doesn't have to eat the neighbours.

Sequoyah is a technophobe, but he dealt with that to spend time watching TV with his youngest children.

I interrupted that to send him over to bond with Dan.  Dan is the only child Sequoyah isn't friends with, and I'm not sure why.  Sequoyah pulled Dan into a hug when Dan shared the results of his aptitude test, which was cute!

Sims 3: Zodiac Challenge - Chapter 5, The Dragon(s)

Back at uni, Hialeah goes to the meet and greet at the student union and runs into Connie Chung.

"I know what you are," Hialeah says.  "And listen - I want that too.  I want the world."

With a little more persuading, Connie agrees to turn Hialeah into a vampire.  This was very much done on a whim.  I haven't run into a vampire in the game before.  Remember, I only got city living when Bunny left Sunset Valley.  Hialeah is an ambitious, athletic, irresistible, avant-garde, genius (I forget her other trait), and, tbh, she seems like the type who'd want to be a vampire, to live longer (is it forever?  I'm not sure yet) and to be better at everything she does.  I'm now debating which of her siblings might also like to be a vampire.  Remy might - he wants to master every instrument and be a successful musician, and vampire might go well with that - he'd be out at night, he'd be in the big city, he'd manage.  Dan wants to be a farmer/gardener, so he would miss the sun, though he could grow the plasma fruit for his siblings.  I don't know about Richard yet, and Saoirse is neurotic and probably wouldn't like the blood, and would worry far too much about being discovered as a vampire, especially since she and Dan are going to stay in Appaloosa Plains

After a few days of classes, something in Hialeah...changes.  Also, Hialeah is spending a lot more of this semester focusing on what the uni can offer, in terms of extra classes and things, and less time going to parties.  She's doing 18 credits this semester, so that's 3 classes Monday and Wednesday and 3 exams on Friday.

She is still seeing Ayana though.