I was looking over on Tumblr and came across a post by someone who shared a Sims 2 Wiki article about the fruit juice in The Sims 2.
In case you didn't know, we have a juice extractor, The Main Squeezer 235X, where we can make apple juice, lemonade, orangeade and more, which is great for the gardeners in the game who like to grow fruit and vegetables. I already knew about the pureed boot which is a boot that you can get during fishing. What I didn't know was that if you combine certain fruits and vegetables, you can get different effects, which is really cool. So after 20 years of playing The Sims 2, I've found something else out.
As you will see from this table screenshotted from the TS2 Wiki article, there are a few combinations that give different effects, much like the nectar making in The Sims 3 that gives different nectars:
I did have a look on YouTube to see if anyone else had done a video about this but I couldn't see anything so thought I would make my own.
My Sim earned a random skill point with the Eggplant Juice, had an energy boost with the Pepper Punch and even managed to get to platinum aspiration with the Strawberry Lemonade even though she was nearing a nervous breakdown!
Although I was unable to try out the Orange Juice, Strawberry Juice and Tomato Juice, all of the other combinations seemed to work really well. I really liked the Strawberry Lemonade as having platinum or gold aspiration allows your Sim to use the lifetime rewards, such as the Smart Milk for toddlers.
If you would like to see the effects that different combinations of fruit and vegetables have on a Sim, then check out my video below - the pureed boot is not to be missed!
Let me know in the comments section below if you have ever tried out these fruit and vegetable juices or if, like me, you never knew about them! I would love to know what you think.
As I've said before, I don't usually play with pets in The Sims 2 but after building 21 Trailer Creek and playing with the new family of Sam and Bob, I decided to make their own little series entitled "One Man and His Dog".
I took quite a liking to this little family and I enjoyed playing them. I recorded my gameplay just in case something interesting came up that I could use for a short on YouTube and, as is usual in The Sims 2, nearly always, something happens which is of interest.
So, I chopped up my video gameplay which was over a period of 3 Sim days and created a "no commentary" video showing the antics of Bob whilst Sam was at work and things that they both got up to together.
Although I don't have time to play Sam and Bob on a regular basis, I will be playing them again and uploading videos to add to the series.
I was watching Lilsimsie build a trailer in The Sims 4 and decided to create my own in The Sims 2.
So I built 21 Trailer Creek and although the trailer is quite small, it is big enough for a couple of Sims. There is also a front yard with a barbecue and seating area and although I didn't place any gardening plots, there is space for them if you want your Sim to do some gardening and perhaps be a little more self-sufficient.
To test the lot out, I created Sam and his dog Bob and, as you will see from the gameplay video at the end, Bob seemed very happy in his new home, digging holes and playing with his bone. Sam on the other hand, although happy in his new home, had trouble with one of the neighbours who stole his gnome and then proceeded to try and sell his dog! He asked her to leave and later went back to retrieve his gnome from her.
This lot is available for download should you want it in your game and you can download from one of the two links below:
In my own Sims 2 gameplay in Pleasantview, I have quite a few families that I play rotationally, which I may have mentioned before. One such family is Harry and Heather Barrington-Smythe.
Harry is one of the younger sons of my original couple, Charles and Victoria, who are now no longer with us. Even though Harry is a romantic Sim, he is happily married to Heather and they have two children who are now at University. This means that when either Harry or Heather are not working, they have quite a lot of free time to do as they want. Their work schedules are such that Heather works in the morning and Harry works in the afternoons.
Harry enjoys gardening and fixing old cars whereas Heather has taken up flower arranging and also enjoys chasing after butterflies.
Heather knows that Harry chose her over all the other ladies that he dated in the past and she also knows that he has remained faithful to her over the years. However, there is that little nagging ache inside of her that causes her to think that it would only take one little thing, one little instance in life, that would make him do something naughty.
Harry on the other hand, is quite convinced that he is a changed man. Until Andrea Hogan turns up on his doorstep one morning when Heather is at work.
It could be the genie's lamp that caused this "little problem" or it could just be Harry's enchanting personality and charm that caused Andrea to suddenly have a crush on Harry. Or maybe it was the rose that Harry innocently offered her on his doorstep. Either way, hopefully, Harry won't ruin everything for a townie.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I play The Sims 2 rotationally and record my own gameplay. I have quite a few families in Pleasantview who are the children of my original couple. They also have children where most of them have gone to University. The eldest son always comes back home but the rest of the family make their own way in life on new lots where they too will eventually marry and have children.
One particular family that I have are the Bartletts.
As a teen, Charlotte was a Goth and has continued her "way of life" into adulthood. She lives with her husband in Bartlett Manor, a large mansion on a hill.
They have quite a few graves in their garden, due to the cowplant that they have fenced in next to the graveyard. Unfortunately, sometimes they forget to lock the gate and a few unsuspecting neighbours try to steal the cake which the cowplant offers them when hungry.
To make matters worse, Charlotte decided to become a witch, albeit a good one, and she has learned quite a few spells and made quite a few potions. She is really becoming quite adept at it.
I've never really played with witches in The Sims 2 as I prefer to play families, watching the children grow and learn and eventually go to University and then have children of their own but I'm actually quite enjoying playing a witch in TS2.
But, I digress...
The Bartletts are really quite a "normal" family, living their day-to-day lives, going to work, taking their children (who are both at Uni) out to dinner and this next episode shows just how "normal" and happy they are.
Again, this episode is lots of short clips of my gameplay over a period of three Sim days.
I don't usually play with pets in The Sims, mainly because in The Sims 2, you cannot control them. So I thought it would be a good idea to come out of my comfort zone and create a little cottage that is pet friendly and move in a Sim with her cat.
At one point in real life, I had six cats. Yes, you read that right - I had six cats. I love cats. I just don't usually play with them in The Sims.
I used to have a ginger tom named Rhubarb and he was absolutely beautiful but unfortunately, he has now passed away. He was very friendly and wanted lots of cuddles, rather like a little dog.
So I decided to create him in The Sims 2 for my Sim. So here is Rhubarb and he lives with Jane in Rose Cottage. He seems very happy there and Jane adores him, giving him lots of cuddles and treats.
If you would like to have Rose Cottage in your game, you can download it from the link in the video. Unfortunately, it doesn't come with Jane and Rhubarb but it does have furniture and a brand new car in the garage.
And, if you'd like to see a few of Rhubarb's antics, check out this short video:
Whenever I start a new game in The Sims 2, I like to start with young adults at University. I feel that this gives my Sims a good start in life by learning skills and meeting their lifetime partners.
When doing this, I enjoy making a Greek House for the boys and another for the girls. I do this separately to allow more Sims to go to Uni in my hometown, such as sons and daughters of my Legacy family and their grandchildren and cousins. I then create a partner for Sims that have been born to families and they all join the Greek House that my original Sims have made.
These Greek Houses become bigger and better as time goes on, with families contributing items such as televisions, pool tables and anything else that the Greek Houses may need, including career reward items that families have two or more of.
I tend to cheat a bit when I first make the Greek Houses, such as taking items from the dorm to place inside the house, just to start them off. However, I only do this once and then either delete the old dorm or replace everything in build/buy mode.
So, for posterity, I decided to create a video on how I do this, using my Sim that has just gained access to the Secret Society.
If you would like to see how I create a Greek House in The Sims 2, or if you ever wanted to create a Greek House but wasn't sure how to do it, then hopefully this video will help you or at least give you an idea. Of course, you can cheat some Simoleons to build the house but I just prefer to take the stuff from the dorm, as my Sim has already paid for it in rent 😃
As with the Open for Business expansion pack for The Sims 2, I have also been asked how Sims can join the Secret Society at University.
I don't always get my Sims to join the Secret Society when playing, only my Legacy or Goth-type family, so as to keep the Society a bit of an enigma for others.
Although Sims are able to go to the Secret Society house where there are some cool things, such as career reward objects and lifetime aspiration reward objects, I usually have these things after a few generations, in my Greek Houses which I set up from scratch. They are also able to hack their grades and seem to automatically know about the "secret handshake" which only members can perform.
So, I decided to make a tutorial showing you how your Sim can join the Secret Society in The Sims 2 University. It took just over three Sim days which I thought was pretty good, considering that my Sim had to get skill points, do his term paper and make friends with three of the Secret Society members during that time.
I have been building quite a few Sims 2 lots lately, recording as I go and turning them into speed builds for posting on YouTube. My latest is "9 Mill Lane" and I'm pleased with how it turned out.
I did use custom content in this lot, mainly for the flowers in the garden which are converted from TS4 Cottage Living to TS2. These plants are seen as "objects" and don't need watering or trimming, so that saves your Sims a lot of time in the garden! As with all lots, if you download this, all custom content is included in the file.
As you will see from the end of the video, my Sims seemed to settle in very well in their new home 😃
So, without further ado, here is the video - enjoy!
As a die hard Sims 2 fan, I really enjoy sharing my gameplay with others. Every day on Twitter, I post a snippet of my Sims 2 gameplay which my followers seem to enjoy and I get quite a few likes, views and retweets.
I decided a while back to put all these little snippets into separate little videos and post them on YouTube as long form videos but alas, viewers didn't seem to be as enthusiastic as my Twitter followers. So, I decided to post some shorts on YouTube. Little snippets of my Sims 2 gameplay, just like I do on Twitter.
Again, viewers seem to love these little snippets and I have gotten quite a few views and gained some extra subscribers in doing so.
So, I had another idea...
How about if I put little snippets, a few seconds each, into a long form video. Scenes that switch from one to the next quite quickly would hopefully keep the viewer more interested to see how the video plays out rather than watching something that is more drawn out, so to speak.
So, I thought I would give this idea a go and "Greek House Shenanigans" was born.
In my personal Sims 2 game, I have three Uni students that live in a Greek House. Two are brothers and both are of the "Romance" aspiration. One is now engaged, having had his fun in his early years and is ready to settle down. His younger brother however is just starting out and has met a few young female sims that he is interested in. Not happy with dating just one sim however, he has three of them which he is seeing and canoodling with.
They haven't found out about each other yet but I'm sure that if they do, all hell will break loose.
Until then however, my sim is having a lot of fun as you will see if you watch the video above.
I was able to get quite a few little snippets/scenes into this 2 minute and 27 second video so I would love to know what you think of this "new style" of video that I have made. If you enjoy "shorts" then I think this video will be right up your street!
There has been a lot of talk lately about a new game pack on the theme of Weddings coming to The Sims 4.
I have only had a couple of weddings in the past whilst playing TS4 but it didn't seem as exciting as previous The Sims games.
The Sims 2 has always been my go-to for comparisons as I feel the game had so much depth to it and so whilst playing my own personal game, it got to the point where two of my Sims were to be married. I decided to record everything and I'm so glad I did!
There was quite a lot that I had forgotten about, such as the cutting of the cake and making a toast. Of course the in-game wedding vows video also came into play which brought back so many memories!
My Sims booked their honeymoon before the wedding and the car automatically came to pick them up after the party was over, taking them to their chosen vacation world. I think this is a lovely touch to the game, something that we haven't had since in The Sims, as with a lot of things.
If EA do release a wedding pack for The Sims 4, although it will look pretty, as does the game, I am not sure if it would bring the gameplay that we had in TS2. I would love to be proven wrong but so far...
I would love to hear what you think - let me know in the comments section below!
I really enjoy gardening in The Sims 2. It is somewhat different to what we had in The Sims 3 and now, in The Sims 4.
First of all from build mode you have to place earth dirt, one square at a time, just like laying a foundation. Then the Sim can fertilize each square before digging and planting the seeds.
There wasn't much to choose from by way of seeds. When starting out, a Sim can only plant tomatoes, however, once a gold talent badge had been acquired for the gardening skill, a Sim could then plant tomatoes, cucumber, strawberries, pole beans, peppers and eggplant which was the majority of seeds available.
Purchasing a ladybug loft will keep all the bad bugs away from your plants and having a compost bin allows your Sim to compost all kitchen waste, and even the newspaper, to use for fertilizing the earth next time you want to plant something.
Gardening seemed a lot harder in The Sims 2. If you overwatered your plants, they would drown and die. Talking to your plants kept them happy and vibrant, allowing their health level to increase, but this could only be done once you had a gold talent badge for gardening. Once this is achieved, it is a lot easier to keep your plants happy but until your Sim gets to that point, keeping your plants happy is hard work.
There were three trees available in gardening in The Sims 2, namely Ambrosial Lemon, Ambrosial Orange and Ambrosial Apple, all of which can be purchased fully grown from the gardening section in build mode.
These trees need to be trimmed, which is something we didn't have again in future The Sims releases. Trimming your trees keeps them happy and of course, as with all plants in The Sims 2, talking to them keeps them healthy and all plants then give great quality fruit and vegetables. All produce can be placed in the refrigerator for future use and if you have a juicer, fruit and vegetables can be placed in there for a fresh and healthy drink!
Bushes, such as rose bushes, and hedges all bought from build mode would grow, spurting out little shoots that had to be trimmed. This is something that we never had again in The Sims. Weeds would also grow not just within plants but on the grass too.
I have quite a few little snippets of gardening in The Sims 2 so decided to pop them all in a video.
Do you enjoy gardening in The Sims 2? Or perhaps you prefer gardening in The Sims 3 or maybe 4, or maybe a mixture of each? Let me know in the comment section below!
Following on from my video "Kids Stuff", I have captured more things that kids done in The Sims 2 which we don't have in The Sims 4 and most things that we never actually got again, even in The Sims 3. Simple things like playing games with friends and siblings such as cops 'n' robbers and running to greet a parent home from work were little details that made The Sims 2 so great.
All of these little snippets I have placed in this video entitled "Kids Stuff 2", even if only for posterity. I am sure that I will get even more bits and pieces and odds and bobs as time goes on.
I hope you enjoy this little video and that it brings back some good memories for you if you ever played The Sims 2 or, if you've never played this version of The Sims, that you enjoy watching some cool stuff from an old, but still very popular, game.
Getting snow in The Sims 2 was a little different than in TS3 and TS4. You couldn't skate on an icy pond like you could in TS3 although there was an ice skating rink venue that you could place to send your Sims to. Much like in TS4 where the ice skating rink shows up in parks in various worlds.
You could build a snowman and create a snow angel and of course have a snowball fight, just like in future games although building an igloo wasn't a feature until The Sims 3.
A couple of things I do miss from The Sims 2 regarding snow that we never had again was when it starting snowing, children and adults alike would run to the window and look outside. Children would get excited and so would some adults. They would also get a memory of "first snow"! However there were adults that weren't very happy with this and would shake their heads, just like in real life!
Another thing was the way Sims would walk in the deep snow; I don't believe we have had that type of animation since.
And of course the penguin! Who could forget that lovable penguin that ventured onto your lot when it snowed! If you had a snowman in the yard, the penguin would walk up to it and chat to it.
In this video I have pieced together all the little video snippets that I have of snow in The Sims 2. I hope you enjoy it! Don't forget to comment below and let me know what you think!
When The Sims 2 Freetime was released, we were given the One Man's Junk Car that Sims could build from scratch. This was a hobby item which allowed Sims to gain the mechanical skill.
The Sim had to work on the car engine and body parts and in the end gained a totally usable car which the Sim could take to have a car alarm installed.
It took a long time to build the car and sometimes whilst working on the engine, the car would backfire and set off black smoke at the Sim. It was well worth it in the end though, to have a totally usable car to get around in.
This car was reintroduced in The Sims 3 Roaring Heights pack which was only available from The Sims 3 Store, albeit it looked a lot different.
This video takes you through a Sim building the One Man's Junk Car in The Sims 2 and as it took a long time for him to build it, I have edited it through. However, you can see that he worked on it through day and night and the seasons!
As with my Bits 'N' Bobs video, there are a few things that kids done in The Sims 2 which are unrelated to each other but put together as another 'odds and bobs' make a great video. Most, if not all, of the things shown in this video were ever given to us again, such as showing off to parents and jumping up and down on the bed.
The dancing with dad clip, where the child stands on her father's feet while he dances with her brings back so many memories of me and my father, who used to dance with me like this when I was a child at family get-togethers.
So much detail was put into The Sims 2 which made it a really great game to play. Even today, I think it surpasses The Sims 4 for detail and gameplay.
I have been playing The Sims 2 again in earnest for quite a while and it's amazing how, just after 20 minutes of gameplay, so much can happen as The Sims in TS2 are so quirky!
I always have OBS running so that I can catch all the little things that happen and also the stuff that we don't have in TS4. In fact, most of the things we had in TS2, we never had again.
I have been uploading these snippets to my Twitter and TikTok accounts and Simmers have been loving them! Some of the stuff is related, such as snow snippets and gardening but there are other things that remain one-offs.
As I have loads of "one-off" video snippets, I decided to put them all in a video and upload them to YouTube.
So "Bits 'N' Bobs" came about through having many snippets of little bits and pieces and things and stuff we had in The Sims 2, all unrelated and bunched together in a bigger video.
Now you may be thinking, "if I can see them on Twitter and TikTok, why would I want to watch your video on YouTube?". Well, first of all, you may not have or even like Twitter and/or TikTok but there's also a catch! I haven't uploaded ALL of the snippets to Twitter and TikTok, only some of them. I kept some back for the YouTube video so there will be clips that you won't see on my other social media accounts!
If you're into The Sims 2 or have never played it, I hope you enjoy watching my Bits 'N' Bobs video! If you do, be sure to follow me on my other accounts (if you're into Twittering or TikTokking) for more Simlish Shenanigans!
