I noticed that about the gold bar. The Tiggy027 Metro window finally kept Sims away from it. Honestly ... if I walked up to a bank in real life and insisted that I must see where the money is stored so I could stare at it, I'd probably be banned or even arrested! So far, I'm not getting any stompy behavior. My Sims seem to be keeping busy there.

The more I'm working on this bank, the more I'm truly amazed at Monique's work, even years later.

By NPCs, we're talking about the cashiers and the burglar, correct? I did put only two terminals in there initially, and am glad I did. I've seen bank sets where people used 6 or more terminals, which of course would spawn 6 or more cashiers.

The NPC's called up are those in your game, so you know how the game makes a teen cashier for an unowned shop, so one of those. The parcel service works the same way. The only added NPC I have found in Katy's stuff so far is a doctor that comes with the bag and she is easy to spot in the file and leave out.

I thought I found a candy dish for my bank. (Many banks have candy dishes for kids/customers with a sweeth tooth.) TheNinthWave made an interesting one. However, the dish is HUGE. I deleted the download as soon as I saw it on the counter. It takes up almost the entire space. I should have noted the scale in the picture. Since I didn't direct any of my Sims to try any, and as far as I know, there is no "eat candy" memory, I think I'm OK. My Sim didn't even notice it. It wasn't autonomous, either. I'm looking for another "Sims catnip" item that attracts them and makes them do stuff. Preferably G-rated stuff that will not harm their relationships or my hood. The candy dish is a cute idea for a house, though. (http://www.theninthwavesims.com/201...rmints-and.html)

I'm eyeing this item. A water cooler in the lounge or back area could work very well in a bank; indeed in many buildings. It's autonomous. There are bathrooms in the bank. My Sims should be OK if they drink the stuff like mad. This is an older download, though. Have any of you tried this in your businesses? Is it an oldie but goodie, or a remnant of a previous time that should stay in the past? Bobishman, like TheNinthWave, was certainly no slouch as a creator!

http://modthesims.info/d/119030

(EDIT ... I'd rate it an oldie but goodie. Its design is somewhat basic for 2016, but not so basic as to stand out. It works. And it's perfect for an office or bank!)

Or even:

https://rdnussimaginethat.blogspot....i-see.html#more

Raynuss' site is amazing. I should have known better than to go there. I never download just ONE item when I do! That site, like Plumbbob Keep, GoS, this site and others, can keep you occupied for a while.


Now it's off to those branches. Fiddling around with the Katy, Monique and Sunni items in Sunni's (main building) bank lot and reading the excellent comments here has given me a rough idea of the type of tiny bank branches I could try making.

I saw a nice candy container at ATS3 but don't see it at ATS2. It was a clear glass jar with a lid which is more hygienic than an open bowl. Or does it have to be usable? I wouldn't mind that deco one if they had it for sims 2.

I was looking for an autonomous one. The Parsimonious chocolate boxes are autonomous, but banks usually don't have chocolate boxes.

The water cooler is certainly autonomous! Maybe a little too much so, but it is!

One trick I use for hotels or community lots is to have more than one autonomous or attractive item that lures Sims. I call it Sims catnip. The danger, though, is an item that is TOO autonomous (I had that problem with the Carrigon peppermint stick. I keep it around if I decorate for the holidays, but if you put it on a community lot, Sims all gravitate to it. block routes, and get all stompy if they can't get to it quickly enough. The same goes for those blue bank books and the gold bar. The chocolates, cooler, and water fountain have about the right amount of autonomy for me; enough to attract them, but not enough to encourage a stampede to get to it.

I gave up on the candy dish for now. The cooler does the trick.

One thing, though ... I'm reading about a conflict between Monique's ATM and her computers? Something concerning the novels? I read the original description, read Babahara's comment, and deleted the ATM's original controller files, since I also have the computer (Chaavik update). I hope I'm understanding this comment correctly. According to Babahara, I'm supposed to use the three matching BV (NOT the AL) bank files in the ATM's file. However, I'm reading on Simbology that Chaavik advised AGAINST getting rid of the older files? I"m hoping Chaavik didn't mean the original files, though I do have them in case. Monique says to use the recent hacked computer files, and the note is from March of 2007. BV came out in September, so I don't think she meant BV at the time. (Chaavik fixed that.) Unless she was psychic, she definitely didn't mean the FT or AL files!

My brain hurts. (Source concerning the conflict: http://modthesims.info/download.php...958#post3608958)

I have a backup. That's the beauty of these things. If I'm getting crashes/confused/conflicts, I still have Sunni's ATM, which is just the arcade machine. My Sims will have to bank at home. After reading about this ATM hassle, though, I can see why Sunni didn't go with it. :/

Have you checked the Exnem stuff on the Booty? I use the fruit bowl from there that might be a good alternative to candy. For their stuff though I found I had to modify the advertising and such or Sims will ignore everything else and stuff themselves to fatness. Someone wrote a good tutorial on it (I forgot who, I can check my bookmarks if you'd like) and I didn't break anything.

Sorry this is disorganized as shit.

I'm a bit better now, so I managed to dig it up. Post #2138:
http://modthesims.info/showthread.p...omments&page=86

So I am bumping my thread to show off my new fire station. I did not build this, but I did gut and remake it (mostly top floor) so it doesn't look very much like the original found here: http://modthesims.info/d/375820 Number 2. My fire station always doubles as a family home where my chef of police lives.

That looks nice! Did you use spiral stairs? Children (and adults, if you use a hack) can slide down the railing.

EDIT: Oh I am so dense and didn't even see the spoiler.

Jo, doesn't inge have a colored key system where you can assign which sims can open a door? Does that mod not work for you?

Thanks. AL spiral stairs are there as well as the ascension steps for the fireman pole. Pretty sure child up can use the ascention piece. Maybe I should take photos with Fraps seeing the floor plan looks a bit tiny with the game camera.

See the white fire alarm on the wall, that is Simlogicals security system, it says it is set to allow Birdie and Mark and ban Jacob, except it doesn't. I tried it in the gym to see if it would work there, nope. I've never had luck with the key system either. Now I have downloaded some doors from here which are supposed to work but it has no option on it. I think I will need to go read over the download thread.

Ooh, can you actually wash the fire engine?

No, I wish you could. That's just me thinking of all the things they would be doing.

I'm planning on probably creating a theater on some point of time, although it's not really not my type of thing to do. I'm not using mods, or at least I'm not gonna use them until I finish the BACC challenge, so it might be a little bit more difficult to make that type of lot/venue functional. I'm thinking it might work out: starting by building a stage, and locking/imprisoning sims in there (hiring 8 sims as employees should be alot easier to direct them to there), and placing bunch of objects for those slaves--- erhhh, I mean 'actors' to interact, while the outside viewing front is occupied with chairs for the audience to sit and watch the show.

Sucks that I can leave the actors there to "act" after I leave my lot (I think, because wouldn't you be force to free them upon leaving the lot?). It would be a great experence for your other playable sims (that do now own the lot) to pay at the ticket machine just to watch the play.

Jo, that's sucky that the mod doesn't work right for you. If I'm remembering correctly, the colored keys do require specific doors to be used with it.

@SneakyWingPhoenix, I would have never thought to use actors for a theater in my hood--I guess that's cuz when I first think theater, I think movie theater. Personally, I'd download a huge tv screen that covers all or most of a wall and build an auditorium around it and have sims go and watch movies there. I might even make some longer videos for them myself. If I was doing a live theater, I'd probably have to focus on a dance or music theater and run it as an ofb lot. And I'd only do special performances every once and a while.

I wonder if anyone ever separated the animations from the play pirates interaction. I think that'd help make a good play.

Yeah, movie theaters are awesome and easier. Bad thing that maxis didn't introduces popcorn (*looks with envious abomination towards TS4) s. Anyway :D, I could just have the manager serve cookies/chips instead as a replacement I guess.

Another thing, on a another thingthread, (and I seen a glance even in here) of a repair services mention. I'll quote it:

Can't find the thread, but basically install a mod that allows access to inventory in community lots, then go to a community lot as a playable customer, place your broken object and leave the lot. Switch to the household that runs that lot, and have the sim fix the item for you. Quite useful when you need to repair stuff that you don't have the time to or lack in mechanical skill. (y)

@SneakyWingPhoenix, I think this popcorn machine is functional:
http://crispsandkerosene.tumblr.com...s-converted-for

Anyway, this is the quote I was referring to (from the "Is OFB fun to pay?".Haven't check it all out really, but that thread probably has more ideas for businesses too).

Popcorn: We don't need Maxis we have C&K for that. http://crispsandkerosene.tumblr.com...s-converted-for

Sims can be told to play musical instruments for the theatre. Sim wardrobe has a musical controler. They will stand and chat if told to. Then there are backgrounds available by Honeywell I think. I know also some at MoonlightDragon.

Erk, sorry Phantom I am still asleep, totally didn't see that you threw up a link already. All C&K's food machines are functional.

I have a repair shop although so far I have my repair man come to the House. Build and Buy enabler http://modthesims.info/d/204467 Don't use the Pet file, go into the comment section and find the BV updated version. Unless you happen not to have other EP's of course.

If you have an active servo in the game (either living in another household or by itself), you can always teleport them in to befriend them or influence them to fix that broken whatever it is. Far cheaper than having the repair person coming in and charging $50 every time to fix your crappy TV or dishwasher. You can give them some money by making them selectable and giving them some coins or other nice things as recompense.

As for businesses, I built a movie theater with the dessert cart and the "all in one" bathroom-it's great for those who have a bit of spare time and want to meet their friends to watch a movie. Best thing I've built yet!

I want my repair man to come and fix it, that's his job. This isn't an NPC, this is one of my sims, he gets paid by the wallet token controller.

Yeah, I knew that mod and I haven't tested it. Arggh, you're urging me guys to start modding my game but I'm hesitated a little bit xD. Even thought I had never problem installing them before, but I would rather prefer to do so after finishing my challenge, so that I wouldn't have to reinstall my whole game if they happen to lead to its demise (quite lazy person I am xD).

Alternately: Teleport them, make them selectable, have them repair the object, and have the houseowner send money via Pescado's money order or SimWardrobe's chequebook or Monique's computer.

Although he hasn't had any customers yet, Cyd Roseland runs a pet boarding service. If you want to go on vacation but have a pet, it makes you call the nanny - but then the nanny leaves in a huff because you don't have any kids! So instead, I'll use the Sim Transporter to move the pet over to Cyd's house temporarily; he'll charge around $100 and $50 for each day the owner is on vacation (around $450 if you're gone a week). Then at the end of the vacation just transport the pet back.

As both Larson twins ended up with music as their hobby, their first business was, appropriately, a music shop, run out of home (I'd link to the lot but...it's been deleted?). It sells both playable instruments and a few decorative ones from AroundTheSims (which I later found out weren't compatible with the OFB shelves and wouldn't restock properly...grrr...). I have a few pictures too.



It got so busy that they had to hire an extra employee just to handle restocking.

C&K's popcorn won't lead to the demise of your game, maybe to your sims waist lines but not your game. As to mods and your game blowing up, you know the in game tools EA gave you to mess with have a very high chance of blowing your game up while mods a very tiny chance, most that cause a glitch are fixed as simply as removing the file. The mess Maxis tools can create not so easily fixed. be scared, very scared of those little buttons not mods. Also some mods are essential to preventing your game blowing itself up, like No Unlink on delete so I do hope you have those.

I used to have a nanny come and watch pets and never had her leave in a huff. I only just added an island getaway and have one family there, a boarding kennel sounds like a good side line for a breeder.

There's only two types of mods you should worry about: Ones that add NPCs (anything that moves around) and ones that add extra socials (which can lead to the Super-Duper Hug Glitch if you don't have a hack to suppress it).