We interrupt this extended break for... another interruption from me. Yay.
Just to let you all know, I've been having computer problems this past month, so rebuilding and getting my blog back on track have been on hold for longer than I expected. It's all sorted now though, so anyone who reads this can look forward to more updates from KS - er - sometime before New Year, preferably. *hates building*
In other news, while I've been messing about with reinstalls and backups, I've had a lot of time to think about the future of Kulo Seeri - and new blood is desperately needed, since the most distantly related members of the Nuidya tribe are second cousins. So, for the first time in Nuidya history, the hood is allowing outsiders to join the tribe, keeping in mind that it is a tribe, not a suburb of SimCity - we're talking self-sufficiency, horse-drawn carts and no electricity here. (Although they do have indoor plumbing now they're actually somewhere permanent.) Any Sims who are still willing to move to Kulo Seeri knowing that would be welcome. Kenja Sena Seerijata hopes that the new KS will be able to combine the best of both worlds, expanding the hood and allowing more "modern" stuff while still retaining the cultural identity of the tribe.
The next post you read on this blog WILL be a Sim update. Promise.
Friday, December 09, 2011
Saturday, November 05, 2011
Ignore Last Post
I have come to the conclusion that Kulo Seeri has been FSBS too long for me to just up and shift it into another universe. KS will remain a Sims-to-Sims blog, but I am going ahead with the new look, so it is still on hiatus while I finish building bigger houses than the previous two-room huts. You can still expect it to be very different in style from your average suburb of SimCity.
- VT
- VT
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Kulo Seeri Jumps the Shark
The good thing about it is, you'll likely be seeing a lot fewer interruptions from me.
Anyway, Big Announcement time: Kulo Seeri is moving away from the FSBS angle.
(oh brother, I really hope my handful of occasional readers don't hate me now!)
You see, I was feeling a bit constrained by "the Sim thing" as far as storytelling went. I wanted to really show the ways in which my Nuidya are different from most other hoods, but I'm paranoid and I kept thinking all the other Simmers would think I'm weird. I was feeling under pressure to be "generic modern" even though I don't want to and I know there's no pressure to do that anyway. And I wanted to show the hood as being under threat from an extradimensional enemy without getting myself chased by a mob of angry T"S"3 players.
So, as of now, Kulo Seeri is an alternative science-fantasy drama set in a world that is similar to the one inhabited by most Sim hoods, but is actually not. That's how I prefer to work anyway, and my writing is for me first and anyone else who might read it second, so for me it's better this way.
(Alternative science-fantasy, for those of you who don't know, is a genre fusion containing both supernatural and technological elements; the "alternative" bit means it goes easy on the major clichés such as tree elves, evil alien empires and prophecies. I am fairly certain I have invented this term, but I probably haven't.)
The blog is on hiatus while I rearrange things and work out what I'm going to do next, but we will be back ASAP with a new style and possibly a new look, for those of you who are still interested.
- VT
Anyway, Big Announcement time: Kulo Seeri is moving away from the FSBS angle.
(oh brother, I really hope my handful of occasional readers don't hate me now!)
You see, I was feeling a bit constrained by "the Sim thing" as far as storytelling went. I wanted to really show the ways in which my Nuidya are different from most other hoods, but I'm paranoid and I kept thinking all the other Simmers would think I'm weird. I was feeling under pressure to be "generic modern" even though I don't want to and I know there's no pressure to do that anyway. And I wanted to show the hood as being under threat from an extradimensional enemy without getting myself chased by a mob of angry T"S"3 players.
So, as of now, Kulo Seeri is an alternative science-fantasy drama set in a world that is similar to the one inhabited by most Sim hoods, but is actually not. That's how I prefer to work anyway, and my writing is for me first and anyone else who might read it second, so for me it's better this way.
(Alternative science-fantasy, for those of you who don't know, is a genre fusion containing both supernatural and technological elements; the "alternative" bit means it goes easy on the major clichés such as tree elves, evil alien empires and prophecies. I am fairly certain I have invented this term, but I probably haven't.)
The blog is on hiatus while I rearrange things and work out what I'm going to do next, but we will be back ASAP with a new style and possibly a new look, for those of you who are still interested.
- VT
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Seriously Worried, Longday 29
Midquarter, Longday 11th 29 A.G.S.
Claire zan-Avira (54), Joe zan-Avira (52), Daniel zan-Avira (12)
Daniel's Journal
Keep Out
This Means You Alexa
...but Alexa's not here any more, is she? Not that I mind about that. She just sees "Keep Out" as an invitation to snoop. I pity all the other single girls in the Women's Lodge. Bet they get no privacy at all.
I should be in the Men's Lodge now myself. Me and Armando... but he's not here any more either. It's been about a year and a half since we lost him, and I still feel like it was this morning. It's still hard to believe it happened at all. He was always the life of the party, with a wisecrack for every occasion and a barrel full of tall tales about his life in SimCity, before we adopted him.
I still want to know what a "TV" is. He never finished telling me.
Claire zan-Avira (54), Joe zan-Avira (52), Daniel zan-Avira (12)
Daniel's Journal
Keep Out
This Means You Alexa
...but Alexa's not here any more, is she? Not that I mind about that. She just sees "Keep Out" as an invitation to snoop. I pity all the other single girls in the Women's Lodge. Bet they get no privacy at all.
I should be in the Men's Lodge now myself. Me and Armando... but he's not here any more either. It's been about a year and a half since we lost him, and I still feel like it was this morning. It's still hard to believe it happened at all. He was always the life of the party, with a wisecrack for every occasion and a barrel full of tall tales about his life in SimCity, before we adopted him.
I still want to know what a "TV" is. He never finished telling me.
We still have his book collection - I sort of inherited them. I've been reading through them all - most of it's about spaceships and aliens and machines that do all sorts of incredible things. I'd love to have stuff like that. I know most of the tribe prefers not to rely on technology for everything, but if you ask me, a laser cannon would be way more useful than our slings and spears if that new dimension invasion everyone's been babbling on about since the time of the dinosaurs ever actually happens.
I think I'd like to work with machines myself. I've talked to Dad about finding me a mentor that knows about that sort of thing, now they've changed the coming of age rites so I need one. He just thinks I'm crazy, though.
Ha. I'm crazy? That's like the ocean calling a raindrop wet. What does he call cuddling an old sack, then?
He's been like that ever since Armando died, and I think he's getting worse. Talking to the flour sacks is definitely a new one. Mum and I are really starting to worry about him.
At least he retained enough of his sanity to remember her birthday was today. She's officially one of our elders now, so she's retired from the fields - and guess who gets to take over the bulk of the farm work? Anyway, Dad got her some sort of thing full of flowers that you make, er, bunches of flowers with. It would have been much easier to just get one bunch of flowers, but hey, he talks to flour now.
It's given me an idea - but I'll have to make sure I don't tell anyone. (Score one for Alexa not being here! If she was, it'd be all over the village by tomorrow noon.) I am going to try building one of those things myself. Not for flowers, mind. I'm going to get myself some gadget parts - don't ask me how - and learn how to make super-machine-things like the ones in those space books. Oh, they'll all call me crazy, but when the tayzi do invade and I save everyone with my giant fighting robot, we'll see who's crazy then!
Question: How do I hide a giant fighting robot while I wait for us to need one?
*****
VT says: I'm experimenting with a new style, trying to figure out what works best for me and also to get inside my Sims' heads a little more. I think I might have a mix of first- and third-person perspectives in the updates.
I'm not sure where Daniel gets his interest in technology from. It's certainly not Nuidya, but I do plan to run with it and see what happens.
Tayzi, by the way, means "Sim from the new dimension" in Maltiazi, my Universal Sim Language. The Nuidya have never trusted the new dimension - to this day, the number 3 is very unlucky over there.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Stranger Things Happen, Bluesky 29
Skyday, Bluesky 24th 29 A.G.S.
Rommy zan-Ace (55), Zareb zan-Ace (6)
One year had passed since the Nuidya tribe had settled in Kulo Seeri; one year, for former chief Rommy zan-Ace, without the responsibilities of leading the tribe. For nearly thirty years, ever since the Great Storm, the Nuidya had looked to Rommy to get them through the difficult times that followed. Now that he had retired, those duties belonged to young Sena Seerijata zan-Avira, in whose honour the new settlement had been named.
Rommy had never seen himself as a leader before the Great Storm. He had always been the quiet, bookish type, preferring to keep to himself rather than socialising and chasing girls like his brothers had. Remy, his twin, used to call him... what was that funny city word he used to use? A dirk, or a dark, something like that. But the storm had changed all that, forcing the survivors - all seven of them - to take on new responsibilities. Still, that was twenty-nine years ago. A new generation was growing up, and Rommy could enjoy his retirement... and there was one aspect of his new life in Kulo Seeri that he was particularly enjoying.
She had arrived at the village gates late last spring, saying she "wanted to meet her new neighbours", as if this was a suburban neighbourhood in SimNation and they had just moved in next door. She introduced herself as Jill Taylor, and spoke of strange, mystical things, great power and how to use it for good. Rommy's niece Soleil had even begun to learn some of these skills from the elderly woman, and more recently, so had Rommy himself.
He had to admit, he did look quite good in the hat and coat.
Mostly, though, he wore the fancy outfit to impress Jill. It was almost as if he was under a spell himself. Neither of them were young any more, but he was beginning to feel like a lovesick teenager again. The more they saw of each other, the stronger the feeling became, and over the next year, the sense of loss that had been with him since his ex-wife Manewa left began to fade.
Rommy now spent every spare moment studying, as he had done in his younger years - this time, though, knowledge itself was only half the motivation. This time, he mostly wanted to show off in front of a woman. Remy would have been proud.
Zareb, Rommy's young alien son, was equally fascinated by the newcomer. Whenever she visited, he would rush to meet her and immediately let loose a stream of questions ranging from "how do you make the brush fly?" to "where can I get one of those hats?"
She seemed to have infinite patience with the small child, although she couldn't always explain things in a way his six-year-old mind could easily grasp.
It was easily the most excited Rommy had ever seen his son, too - mostly Zareb, the only child in the village, was alone with his toys and books. Maybe he would develop similar powers when he grew older. Stranger things have happened, after all - Rommy still remembered his parents howling at the moon.
He had known what he needed to do for a long time, but was only just beginning to gather the courage to put his plans into action.
On Jill's next visit, the twenty-fourth of Bluesky by the new calendar, Rommy invited her to his home for the evening. Nothing unusual about that, he thought, she was around often enough. Nothing unusual about the visit, either, at least as far as there can be nothing unusual about a witch, a warlock and a half-alien child sharing sandwiches. As she was about to leave, however, Rommy prepared to take things to the next level.
"Wait - before you go, there's something I need to ask you."
(Zareb crouched in the vegetable patch behind them, under the pretence of pulling weeds)
As Jill turned around, Rommy made his move - city-style, with a ring and everything.
"I know this is a little sudden, but... but I love you, and I want us to be together... will you marry me?"
The words came out much more easily than they had thirty years earlier, when he asked Manewa the same question. There was a greater fear of rejection this time, but he couldn't put it off any longer. Trying to keep calm, he waited for the answer.
"Rommy, you are crazy..."
Oh, no... is there a rock I can go crawl under?
"But you are the sweetest crazy man I ever met. Of course I will."
Rommy leapt up to embrace his new fiancée.
Did that tomato plant just say "eww"?
*****
VT says: I actually wasn't planning on having any NPCs in the hood at all. I just forgot to tell the Visitor Controller to block them, and when Jill showed up, I thought I might as well have a couple of my Sims learn a little magic... and I certainly wasn't planning on her having two bolts of chemistry with Rommy, but what can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic, and (IMO) they are the cutest elder couple I have ever seen in four and a half years of playing the Nuidya.
Saturday, October 01, 2011
Li Yoo Visits
Kulo Seeri, starting 28: Aurora zan-Sophie (30) & John zan-Sophie (28); Li Yoo of Apple Valley is visiting
It wasn't Apple Valley Metro, that was for sure. But then what could one expect from a newly settled hood in such a remote place? This was one of the reasons Li had been invited to visit - the Nuidya were hoping to turn their new settlement into something more, and Li's experience as a city planner was, well, certainly much better than theirs, as one of the locals she met there explained.
"It's been the same old routine the same everywhere we've lived. Arrive, put up a few simple houses, wait for a storm to blow them over, leave. We've never had anything more than that, because we've never expected to stay anywhere. This time we want to have a proper community, with more places to get together and houses that aren't just three rooms."
Roma zan-Avira, the young Sim in charge of the Kulo Seeri building projects (well, the only Sim currently working on them) was eager to learn how things were done in SimNation, and what sort of projects Li had worked on in Apple Valley. After a discussion of plans and designs, Li returned to the house she was staying in to find two more Sims she didn't recognise - although how could she, when she hadn't been there a day - having a rather loud conversation with John about something she couldn't quite make out.
The two newcomers turned out to be Aurora's older brother Ben and his wife Angel, the one other member of the Kulo Seeri Wolves. Li had to admit that she found Ben rather attractive, but something about him reminded her vaguely of her ex-husband Tobi Sweeny. Maybe it was the hair.
Ben left after a brief "hi, welcome to Kulo Seeri", leaving Angel to explain why.
Before either of them had time to think about it, well, Li had lost one of her sort-of friends.
Things were very different after that. For the most part, no one in the house would speak to the other two.
Li's daily routine was disrupted as well, as she found herself needing to sleep in the middle of the afternoon...
...and then waking up at midnight with a craving for some food or another.
The wait ended in early summer, with the arrival of a baby girl named Kim.
Once Li recovered from the birth, she would move on to a new hood, a new assignment. Kim would be staying behind.
The first birth in Kulo Seeri. There is irony in that somewhere, most of the Nuidya agreed. We're just not quite sure how exactly.
*****
VT says: Boy, was it hard work keeping this post to a reasonable length! All this took place over the course of a season (and pre-Solupian Calendar at that!), which when you always play one day at a time is Way Too Long as far as both picture-taking and playing one family are concerned. Kim is a little bundle of adorable though, and I have enjoyed the drama factor, which is always a bonus in the first few rotations.
Kim will be staying in Kulo Seeri with her dad and stepmother; Apple Valley's player has said this is probably for the best. Given Aurora's fertility problems (it would be the Family couple who got the bad die roll!) she looks set to become the first "only child" in Nuidya history. We'll just have to wait and see what side effects that will have. :)
"Welcome to Kulo Seeri, Ms. Yoo. I'm John zan-Sophie, captain of the Wolves - the Nuidya military - and..."
"...and there's only one other member and she's been there longer..." the woman behind John interrupted.
John ignored her comment, and continued, "...and this is Aurora, my wife. So what about you, do you have anyone special in Apple Valley? Any family?"
Li hesitated for a moment. How would these Sims react to hearing about her family life? It hadn't exactly been perfect, but then... what was? She explained that she had been married, but it hadn't worked out, and that her children were now with her ex-husband - most of them.
As she had predicted, her hosts were unsure how to react to that piece of information. Aurora broke the awkward silence with an offer to show Li what few sights the new hood had to see.
*****
"It's not much, but it's somewhere we can get together," Aurora said as they arrived at Kulo Seeri's one community lot, the park in the centre of the hood. "We haven't had much time to set anything else up, since we've only just moved in."
It wasn't Apple Valley Metro, that was for sure. But then what could one expect from a newly settled hood in such a remote place? This was one of the reasons Li had been invited to visit - the Nuidya were hoping to turn their new settlement into something more, and Li's experience as a city planner was, well, certainly much better than theirs, as one of the locals she met there explained.
"It's been the same old routine the same everywhere we've lived. Arrive, put up a few simple houses, wait for a storm to blow them over, leave. We've never had anything more than that, because we've never expected to stay anywhere. This time we want to have a proper community, with more places to get together and houses that aren't just three rooms."
Roma zan-Avira, the young Sim in charge of the Kulo Seeri building projects (well, the only Sim currently working on them) was eager to learn how things were done in SimNation, and what sort of projects Li had worked on in Apple Valley. After a discussion of plans and designs, Li returned to the house she was staying in to find two more Sims she didn't recognise - although how could she, when she hadn't been there a day - having a rather loud conversation with John about something she couldn't quite make out.
The two newcomers turned out to be Aurora's older brother Ben and his wife Angel, the one other member of the Kulo Seeri Wolves. Li had to admit that she found Ben rather attractive, but something about him reminded her vaguely of her ex-husband Tobi Sweeny. Maybe it was the hair.
Ben left after a brief "hi, welcome to Kulo Seeri", leaving Angel to explain why.
"Don't mind him, Ms. Yoo. He's not exactly the friendliest of Sims anyway, but when it comes to visiting other hoods... well. He's got a twin sister out in New Eden, see, and he won't admit it but I know he misses her. We just can't afford to spend what little we have left after fifty million moves to go out to visit or anything. As you might have guessed, we don't have a lot in general right now."
*****
Li was already beginning to miss the comforts of home by the next morning, although she didn't say so to Aurora or John. It was obvious that Kulo Seeri was a relatively poor hood as a result of so many disasters, but its residents still seemed to be very proud of their hood and culture.
Roma had made it clear that the Nuidya weren't interested in skyscrapers and high-tech gadgets. (Li wasn't even sure they were interested in indoor plumbing - although that could just have been a side effect of being a newly settled area.) Aurora had also explained that it would be a long time before anything major got done, with hardly any of the residents having the skills to work on any building projects.
Li was starting to get a little restless. Aurora, Angel and Roma were all sort of her friends now, but she really wanted a little male company - perhaps now, in this new place miles from everything she knew, more than ever. That was the main reason she didn't argue too much when John, who she had noticed seemed to be avoiding her lately, suddenly started giving her a little more attention than maybe he should.
Before either of them had time to think about it, well, Li had lost one of her sort-of friends.
Things were very different after that. For the most part, no one in the house would speak to the other two.
Li's daily routine was disrupted as well, as she found herself needing to sleep in the middle of the afternoon...
...and then waking up at midnight with a craving for some food or another.
She wished she could blame jet lag, but after four children, denial can only take you so far.
On the upside, it wasn't long before Aurora managed to forgive them both... maybe a little too soon, but at least the awkwardness was starting to lessen.
Until, that is, the subject was brought up again over breakfast one morning.
"Li, we've noticed... you haven't been quite the same since... well..." Aurora began, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. "I was just... er... are you..."
John finished for her, getting straight to the point.
"Are you going to have a baby, Li?"
Of course, the answer to that was "very likely yes".
*****
Li stayed in Kulo Seeri longer than she had planned, waiting for the baby to arrive. Her international travels had to be put on hold, and she had to admit she was going a little stir-crazy.
The wait ended in early summer, with the arrival of a baby girl named Kim.
Once Li recovered from the birth, she would move on to a new hood, a new assignment. Kim would be staying behind.
The first birth in Kulo Seeri. There is irony in that somewhere, most of the Nuidya agreed. We're just not quite sure how exactly.
*****
VT says: Boy, was it hard work keeping this post to a reasonable length! All this took place over the course of a season (and pre-Solupian Calendar at that!), which when you always play one day at a time is Way Too Long as far as both picture-taking and playing one family are concerned. Kim is a little bundle of adorable though, and I have enjoyed the drama factor, which is always a bonus in the first few rotations.
Kim will be staying in Kulo Seeri with her dad and stepmother; Apple Valley's player has said this is probably for the best. Given Aurora's fertility problems (it would be the Family couple who got the bad die roll!) she looks set to become the first "only child" in Nuidya history. We'll just have to wait and see what side effects that will have. :)
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Introducing the Solupian Calendar
Yes, the post on Li's visit is coming already. I've just been busy puzzling this one out for the last couple of days.
Those of you who remember my last post will know that I've been having problems explaining time differences since I started the blog. Thanks to the comments of Apple Valley and Em, the complaining companion I like to call my mother and several gallons of tea, there is now a solution so I can get back to playing, blogging and finishing that post.
Introducing the Solupian calendar, the new way of dealing with time, seasons and aging in this blog.
How does it work? Well, basically I have decided to adapt the systems used by other Simmers (see "thanks" section above) to suit my playstyle. One rotation in Kulo Seeri is still a day long, but the houses won't all be on the same day and season any more. I'm doing what Em does, setting the first few houses to spring, the next few to summer and so on, and incorporating months like AV does. Only I've gone the whole hog and come up with an entire calendar. With days and weeks and everything. Wow, right?
In more detail: Each season is now three days long, making the seasonal year 12 days long. My calendar has 12 months, three for each season, and each month is 28 days long (because I'm also using a seven-day week and I don't want to have to do complicated calculations every time I finish a rotation!). Each household represents one day of whatever year it is. The seasonal "date" - whether it's the first day of autumn, third day of spring etc. - determines the month, and the day of the week is simply the Nuidya equivalent of whatever day the game says it is. From there, I look at my actual Nuidya calendar, and pick one of the four dates that match the month and day. That household is then set to that date, and I play in order of the dates. If a Sim moves out to another lot, the new lot is set to at least three weeks after the move-out, depending on what dates are free.
What are the months and days? The three "days" of Spring correspond to the Nuidya months of Snowmelt, Newbud and Greentree. Bluesky, Longday and Warmsun are the summer months, followed by Redleaf, Coldwind and Cropstore in autumn and finally Frostlake, Darknight and Burnflame are the winter months.
A week is actually called a "quarter" by the Nuidya, and the seven days of the Nuidya quarter are: Startquarter (the equivalent of Monday, as that's what day it always is when a Sim moves to a new lot), followed by Seaday, Skyday, Midquarter, Fireday, Stoneday and Quarterend.
I am hopeless with names but doing it all that way just seemed to fit the tribal lifestyle of the Nuidya without being too goofy-sounding.
The Solupian Calendar in action: Let's say Vari zan-Example (Vari being a word in Maltiazi, my "universal naming language" meaning "year") has just moved out of her parents' house. When she moved out, it was a Thursday on the third and final day of Summer, which translates to a Midquarter day in the month of Warmsun. Because dates always fall on the same day of the week, Midquarter is always either the 4th, 11th, 18th or 25th of the month; for the purpose of this example, it was the 18th.
So, since my rule is that new households start at least three weeks after the one they left, Vari's new house will be played as the 11th of Redleaf at the earliest. Since she moves in on Monday/Startquarter and I have decided to play the new house as soon as possible, that means it is either the 15th or 22nd of Redleaf when I play the lot. Looking at my calendar, I have another household scheduled for the 22nd, so I write Vari down for the 15th and play her before the other household to keep things in the right order.
This also means that families will move about in the calendar each year, so that Vari's parents will be in Redleaf themselves next rotation, and it will be any of the four Firedays in the month.
Anything else? I intend to add in holiday dates, birthdays, that sort of thing later. For now, I'm keeping it simple so I can set it up and play again. The only drawback is I've lost my original coming of age idea, as I can't see a way of making it work when one rotation goes through all the seasons. But I am working on a replacement.
OK, why "Solupian"? Because, for the purposes of the blog, the calendar was devised by Apprentice Shaman Soleil zan-Ace and her cousin Wolfie, who is not a shaman or stargazer of any sort, but he is good with numbers. :)
Cookie for you if you read through all that waffling, and double choc chip cookie if you understood it, because I'm not sure I do myself. XD
- VT
Those of you who remember my last post will know that I've been having problems explaining time differences since I started the blog. Thanks to the comments of Apple Valley and Em, the complaining companion I like to call my mother and several gallons of tea, there is now a solution so I can get back to playing, blogging and finishing that post.
Introducing the Solupian calendar, the new way of dealing with time, seasons and aging in this blog.
How does it work? Well, basically I have decided to adapt the systems used by other Simmers (see "thanks" section above) to suit my playstyle. One rotation in Kulo Seeri is still a day long, but the houses won't all be on the same day and season any more. I'm doing what Em does, setting the first few houses to spring, the next few to summer and so on, and incorporating months like AV does. Only I've gone the whole hog and come up with an entire calendar. With days and weeks and everything. Wow, right?
In more detail: Each season is now three days long, making the seasonal year 12 days long. My calendar has 12 months, three for each season, and each month is 28 days long (because I'm also using a seven-day week and I don't want to have to do complicated calculations every time I finish a rotation!). Each household represents one day of whatever year it is. The seasonal "date" - whether it's the first day of autumn, third day of spring etc. - determines the month, and the day of the week is simply the Nuidya equivalent of whatever day the game says it is. From there, I look at my actual Nuidya calendar, and pick one of the four dates that match the month and day. That household is then set to that date, and I play in order of the dates. If a Sim moves out to another lot, the new lot is set to at least three weeks after the move-out, depending on what dates are free.
What are the months and days? The three "days" of Spring correspond to the Nuidya months of Snowmelt, Newbud and Greentree. Bluesky, Longday and Warmsun are the summer months, followed by Redleaf, Coldwind and Cropstore in autumn and finally Frostlake, Darknight and Burnflame are the winter months.
A week is actually called a "quarter" by the Nuidya, and the seven days of the Nuidya quarter are: Startquarter (the equivalent of Monday, as that's what day it always is when a Sim moves to a new lot), followed by Seaday, Skyday, Midquarter, Fireday, Stoneday and Quarterend.
I am hopeless with names but doing it all that way just seemed to fit the tribal lifestyle of the Nuidya without being too goofy-sounding.
The Solupian Calendar in action: Let's say Vari zan-Example (Vari being a word in Maltiazi, my "universal naming language" meaning "year") has just moved out of her parents' house. When she moved out, it was a Thursday on the third and final day of Summer, which translates to a Midquarter day in the month of Warmsun. Because dates always fall on the same day of the week, Midquarter is always either the 4th, 11th, 18th or 25th of the month; for the purpose of this example, it was the 18th.
So, since my rule is that new households start at least three weeks after the one they left, Vari's new house will be played as the 11th of Redleaf at the earliest. Since she moves in on Monday/Startquarter and I have decided to play the new house as soon as possible, that means it is either the 15th or 22nd of Redleaf when I play the lot. Looking at my calendar, I have another household scheduled for the 22nd, so I write Vari down for the 15th and play her before the other household to keep things in the right order.
This also means that families will move about in the calendar each year, so that Vari's parents will be in Redleaf themselves next rotation, and it will be any of the four Firedays in the month.
Anything else? I intend to add in holiday dates, birthdays, that sort of thing later. For now, I'm keeping it simple so I can set it up and play again. The only drawback is I've lost my original coming of age idea, as I can't see a way of making it work when one rotation goes through all the seasons. But I am working on a replacement.
OK, why "Solupian"? Because, for the purposes of the blog, the calendar was devised by Apprentice Shaman Soleil zan-Ace and her cousin Wolfie, who is not a shaman or stargazer of any sort, but he is good with numbers. :)
Cookie for you if you read through all that waffling, and double choc chip cookie if you understood it, because I'm not sure I do myself. XD
- VT
Monday, September 26, 2011
We Interrupt This Blog...
This is an emergency broadcast from VT. Regular Simmy updates will be resumed as soon as I resolve my aging issue.
VT here, with three announcements to make. The first is this: my post about Li Yoo's visit to Kulo Seeri will be up (hopefully) tomorrow. It's just taken me a while to play through the visit, sort out a reasonable amount of pictures and explain what's happened. I'm having to write it in short bursts due to lack of blogging time and general short attention spa... ooh, shiny!
Second announcement: while I try to write (mostly) serious stuff about my Simmies, I've found that it does tend to degenerate into random silliness about halfway through. I would like to blame my silly daft Sims, but this is my fault as much as theirs. (please see "shiny" jokelet above for an example of what I mean) BUT I happen to have invested four and a half years of my time in this hood, and I don't want to end up with a blog riddled with the goofy gags I tend to default towards.
What I did want to do when I started writing this was to focus on the more dramatic side of things (with certain light relief moments of course) and to showcase as many of the unique cultural aspects of Nuidya tribal life as possible. I'm sort of thinking along the lines of The Tribe, an old favourite show of mine.
So from now on, once I get my Li post up and resolve the issue in Announcement #3, I am going to try to do just that. Moving along...
Third announcement: It is starting to annoy me that all the events of each rotation take place on the same day. It's even more annoying when there are birthdays involved early on, so I could show Sim A becoming a teen at 6pm and then, when I'm posting Sim B's update, Sim A is walking around as a teen at 12 noon and it's the same day. Not to mention the season thing, where Sims age five years before the season is out...
Since the Nuidya have no access to a time machine, I have an issue I need to resolve, and I need the help of my readers... all one of them. :) I've considered using a month system like Apple Valley's, or something similar, but I just can't think of a good way of handling it. I need suggestions! I need advice! Pretty please?
This was an emergency broadcast from VT. Feel free to either comment or completely ignore it.
VT here, with three announcements to make. The first is this: my post about Li Yoo's visit to Kulo Seeri will be up (hopefully) tomorrow. It's just taken me a while to play through the visit, sort out a reasonable amount of pictures and explain what's happened. I'm having to write it in short bursts due to lack of blogging time and general short attention spa... ooh, shiny!
Second announcement: while I try to write (mostly) serious stuff about my Simmies, I've found that it does tend to degenerate into random silliness about halfway through. I would like to blame my silly daft Sims, but this is my fault as much as theirs. (please see "shiny" jokelet above for an example of what I mean) BUT I happen to have invested four and a half years of my time in this hood, and I don't want to end up with a blog riddled with the goofy gags I tend to default towards.
What I did want to do when I started writing this was to focus on the more dramatic side of things (with certain light relief moments of course) and to showcase as many of the unique cultural aspects of Nuidya tribal life as possible. I'm sort of thinking along the lines of The Tribe, an old favourite show of mine.
So from now on, once I get my Li post up and resolve the issue in Announcement #3, I am going to try to do just that. Moving along...
Third announcement: It is starting to annoy me that all the events of each rotation take place on the same day. It's even more annoying when there are birthdays involved early on, so I could show Sim A becoming a teen at 6pm and then, when I'm posting Sim B's update, Sim A is walking around as a teen at 12 noon and it's the same day. Not to mention the season thing, where Sims age five years before the season is out...
Since the Nuidya have no access to a time machine, I have an issue I need to resolve, and I need the help of my readers... all one of them. :) I've considered using a month system like Apple Valley's, or something similar, but I just can't think of a good way of handling it. I need suggestions! I need advice! Pretty please?
This was an emergency broadcast from VT. Feel free to either comment or completely ignore it.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
28: The Trouble with Retirement
28 A.G.S. Monday, Spring 1
Elders' Lodge, Kulo Seeri: Binidu zan-Arzep (55) & Waylon zan-Arzep (50); Cassie zan-Avira (55) & Jorthu zan-Avira (55); Viru zan-Avei (55) & Lily zan-Avei (50); Casey zan-Ellen (52) & Manewa zan-Ellen (55)
please note: all ages are estimates.The old hood records were lost in the Great Storm, so no one born before that is quite sure how old they are.
The latest group of teens leaving for Kulo Kor left four older couples with no children still at home. Rather than staying in four separate 'empty nests', they had decided to move in together, setting up an Elders' Lodge. While everyone there was, of course, concerned about their children being on their own for the first time, it wasn't long before some found their thoughts turning to other things...
"You've got some nerve talking to me about love and loyalty, Manewa - you, of all Sims, who said you'd always put your family first, then ran off with the first outsider to show up!"
Binidu was trying hard to keep herself under control. She and Manewa had always been good friends, but it was so hard to forget that Manewa had left her first husband and children when Casey, a distant cousin of the Nuidya, had arrived several years earlier - especially when Binidu herself had been raised by her cousin Viru's mother, always knowing that her own parents hadn't wanted more children. Even now, nearing elderhood, that knowledge hurt more than anything.
Manewa didn't bother trying to defend herself this time; the two women had had this argument often enough.
"All I'm saying, Binidu, is... you might want to keep a closer eye on Waylon. I think he's getting a little too friendly with Cassie over there."
Sure enough, Binidu's husband - who had always been a devoted family man himself - was flirting with Cassie zan-Avira, when both of their spouses were in the same room - and neither Binidu nor Cassie's husband Jorthu had missed it.
Binidu's reaction was pure impulse; she flung herself at her cousin, knocking her to the floor. The other residents of the lodge quickly dropped everything and gathered to watch the two of them brawling in the middle of the living room. The initial worry soon gave way to an almost primal frenzy of whoops and cheers that wouldn't have seemed out of place at an ancient gladiatorial contest (although Waylon did seem to be taking the wrong side on both counts).
As the day wore on, it seemed more and more likely that the residents of the Elders' Lodge were starting to lose their minds. Casey zan-Ellen attempted to comfort Cassie after she lost the 'match' with Binidu by congratulating her for accepting Waylon's attentions in front of Jorthu.
Waylon himself, meanwhile, was outside in the vegetable garden, splashing in the rain puddles. Exactly what this was supposed to achieve, no one was quite sure.
Fortunately, Cassie did seem to want to make things right before the day was out.
"Waylon, I just wanted to congratulate you on falling in love with Binidu. You've had a good 23 years together. Don't blow it."
Just where was all this going to end up?
*****
VT says: Chaos! Utter chaos! The annoying thing is Waylon has a Family aspiration, and he and Cassie have no chemistry whatsoever! I would also like to note that there was very little VT intervention here - all pictured events happened on their own. I was just going "HUH?!" Oh well, at least it'll shake up the hood a bit. :)
Elders' Lodge, Kulo Seeri: Binidu zan-Arzep (55) & Waylon zan-Arzep (50); Cassie zan-Avira (55) & Jorthu zan-Avira (55); Viru zan-Avei (55) & Lily zan-Avei (50); Casey zan-Ellen (52) & Manewa zan-Ellen (55)
please note: all ages are estimates.The old hood records were lost in the Great Storm, so no one born before that is quite sure how old they are.
The latest group of teens leaving for Kulo Kor left four older couples with no children still at home. Rather than staying in four separate 'empty nests', they had decided to move in together, setting up an Elders' Lodge. While everyone there was, of course, concerned about their children being on their own for the first time, it wasn't long before some found their thoughts turning to other things...
"You've got some nerve talking to me about love and loyalty, Manewa - you, of all Sims, who said you'd always put your family first, then ran off with the first outsider to show up!"
Binidu was trying hard to keep herself under control. She and Manewa had always been good friends, but it was so hard to forget that Manewa had left her first husband and children when Casey, a distant cousin of the Nuidya, had arrived several years earlier - especially when Binidu herself had been raised by her cousin Viru's mother, always knowing that her own parents hadn't wanted more children. Even now, nearing elderhood, that knowledge hurt more than anything.
Manewa didn't bother trying to defend herself this time; the two women had had this argument often enough.
"All I'm saying, Binidu, is... you might want to keep a closer eye on Waylon. I think he's getting a little too friendly with Cassie over there."
Sure enough, Binidu's husband - who had always been a devoted family man himself - was flirting with Cassie zan-Avira, when both of their spouses were in the same room - and neither Binidu nor Cassie's husband Jorthu had missed it.
Binidu's reaction was pure impulse; she flung herself at her cousin, knocking her to the floor. The other residents of the lodge quickly dropped everything and gathered to watch the two of them brawling in the middle of the living room. The initial worry soon gave way to an almost primal frenzy of whoops and cheers that wouldn't have seemed out of place at an ancient gladiatorial contest (although Waylon did seem to be taking the wrong side on both counts).
As the day wore on, it seemed more and more likely that the residents of the Elders' Lodge were starting to lose their minds. Casey zan-Ellen attempted to comfort Cassie after she lost the 'match' with Binidu by congratulating her for accepting Waylon's attentions in front of Jorthu.
Waylon himself, meanwhile, was outside in the vegetable garden, splashing in the rain puddles. Exactly what this was supposed to achieve, no one was quite sure.
Fortunately, Cassie did seem to want to make things right before the day was out.
"Waylon, I just wanted to congratulate you on falling in love with Binidu. You've had a good 23 years together. Don't blow it."
Just where was all this going to end up?
*****
VT says: Chaos! Utter chaos! The annoying thing is Waylon has a Family aspiration, and he and Cassie have no chemistry whatsoever! I would also like to note that there was very little VT intervention here - all pictured events happened on their own. I was just going "HUH?!" Oh well, at least it'll shake up the hood a bit. :)
Sunday, September 11, 2011
28: First Day Away, Part 2
28 A.G.S. Monday, Spring 1
Girls' Camp, Kulo Kor: S'Ahmisa zan-Ace (15), Larkspur zan-Avei (15), Uchenna zan-Avira (13), Elle zan-Ace (12), Clarisse zan-Avei (12)
"I'd love to know who came up with this brainwave," Clarisse grumbled. "Why can't we just have a party or something when we come of age? I could handle a party. A whole season in the wilderness, on the other hand..."
"...is supposed to build character and create strong bonds between the young adults of the tribe." Uchenna zan-Avira completed the sentence, though not in the way Clarisse had intended.
"Anyway," she went on, "if you don't want to stay and become an adult with the rest of us, Your Highness, then you can just pack up right now and go back to SimNation."
Girls' Camp, Kulo Kor: S'Ahmisa zan-Ace (15), Larkspur zan-Avei (15), Uchenna zan-Avira (13), Elle zan-Ace (12), Clarisse zan-Avei (12)
"I'd love to know who came up with this brainwave," Clarisse grumbled. "Why can't we just have a party or something when we come of age? I could handle a party. A whole season in the wilderness, on the other hand..."
"...is supposed to build character and create strong bonds between the young adults of the tribe." Uchenna zan-Avira completed the sentence, though not in the way Clarisse had intended.
"Anyway," she went on, "if you don't want to stay and become an adult with the rest of us, Your Highness, then you can just pack up right now and go back to SimNation."
"Shut up!" Clarisse shouted, sticking her fingers in her ears. True, she wasn't technically Nuidya, having come to the tribe from foster care in SimCity. Maybe she wasn't quite cut out for the Nuidya life. Why did she have to live with the constant reminders?
*****
At the other end of the campsite, the two oldest girls sat on the grass, talking about the next four days, what they would do when they returned - and, strangely enough, about SimNation and the rest of the world outside Kulo Seeri.
It was a subject that S'Ahmisa zan-Ace had been thinking about a lot recently. She had always known that she was named after a resident of Apple Valley, who had been a friend of her father and visited one of the old villages when she was a baby. What she didn't know was what things were like out there, and now, approaching adulthood, she wanted to find out.
"Maybe I could travel to another hood one day," she said to her best friend Larkspur. "I think it would be different travelling because you want to go somewhere new, not just because you have to."
Larkspur rolled her eyes. No Nuidya could survive in the city, everyone knew that. It was crazy to even think about it. Still, she wasn't going to crush her friend's ambitions.
"I guess so. I mean, Sims have come here from SimNation before, so... maybe it would be OK for one of us to go there." she replied after a moment's hesitation. And maybe the moons will land in the village centre and tap dance for us, too, she thought. A Nuidya in SimNation is like a fish in the desert.
*****
Kulo Kor is not a desert, and there is no shortage of fish in its waters. Both boys and girls had been given fishing equipment before leaving Kulo Seeri, and with the day moving along, Elle zan-Ace was taking the opportunity to learn to use it before what little food they had brought ran out.
"Need any help over there?" Uchenna picked up one of the spare poles and joined Elle at the side of the pond. "We could use some more supplies, and I could use some intelligent company. That Clarisse - I'm so glad our family didn't get stuck with her!"
Elle just managed to suppress a snort. Like Clarisse, Elle was one of the six children the tribe had taken in seven years ago. The two had known each other from preschool before being adopted, and Elle would be the first to admit that her friend's demanding ways drove everybody crazy. But...
"There's a good heart beneath the diva exterior, you know. It's just hard to notice it when she's flouncing about in that ridiculous dress, looking for a show to steal."
Uchenna quickly learned not to try recasting while laughing at sarcastic remarks.
*****
Meanwhile, the subject of the conversation was lounging on her bed inside the larger of the two cabins. Her daydreams were starting to give way to thoughts of her parents, who would have moved into the Elders' Lodge now that both their daughters were away.
Dad should be telling me to get up and help with the chores right now.
Mum should be doing that irritating mock bow when I walk in. I kinda miss that.
Never thought I'd miss them this much. Are they missing me, or are they just relieved that I'm out of the house?
I wonder if there are bears on this island? They wouldn't let us go if there were... would they?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of four other teenage girls outside the cabin door, yelling something about cooking fish.
Ick. I hope they're saying they've done it so I don't have to.
*****
VT says: I started this post yesterday, but didn't have time to finish it. Coming on today to find I've got my first follower gave me the motivation to finish it. I don't know who you are, but thank you. Major confidence boost there.
Saturday, September 03, 2011
28: First Day Away, Part 1
28 A.G.S. Monday, Spring 1
Boys' Camp, Kulo Kor: Hestrie zan-Avira (13), Shiloh zan-Arzep (13), Amin zan-Arzep (12), Andrew zan-Avira (12), Eric zan-Ellen (12)
"Armando should have been here," Andrew said, walking over to stand beside his brother. "No way it's going to be the same around here without him."
Hestrie just stared at the two cabins that had been prepared for their group. The three other boys who had come with them stood close to the nearest cabin; Hestrie could hear one of them muttering something about "built yesterday and already look like they're falling down".
"He should definitely be here," he agreed. Armando zan-Avira, their adopted cousin, had fallen ill during the tribe's long journey to their new home of Kulo Seeri; in the middle of a remote area with very limited supplies, there was very little that could be done, and he was dead before the Nuidya had reached their destination. If he had survived, he would have been the eleventh of the new teens coming of age at the season's end.
"Knock it off with the doom and gloom already!" Amin zan-Arzep grabbed Hestrie in a headlock and explained that "We're practically in paradise here - no adults to tell us what to do, and the girls can't tell us off for goofing around either, 'cause they're in a separate camp... and when we come back, we'll be men and we can join the guard or the council or something. But right now, we're out on our own for the first time, and Armando would have wanted us to have fun! Four days until we have to start being responsible, let's make the most of them!"
After a similar discussion with Eric zan-Ellen, Andrew decided to head for the small pond in the centre of the campsite. The boys were going to need food for the next four days, and if anyone was going to get credit for the first catch, he decided, it was going to be him.
Long after night fell, they were still wide awake, and starting to discuss the possibility that maybe having girls in the camp wouldn't have been so bad.
*****
Boys' Camp, Kulo Kor: Hestrie zan-Avira (13), Shiloh zan-Arzep (13), Amin zan-Arzep (12), Andrew zan-Avira (12), Eric zan-Ellen (12)
"Armando should have been here," Andrew said, walking over to stand beside his brother. "No way it's going to be the same around here without him."
Hestrie just stared at the two cabins that had been prepared for their group. The three other boys who had come with them stood close to the nearest cabin; Hestrie could hear one of them muttering something about "built yesterday and already look like they're falling down".
"He should definitely be here," he agreed. Armando zan-Avira, their adopted cousin, had fallen ill during the tribe's long journey to their new home of Kulo Seeri; in the middle of a remote area with very limited supplies, there was very little that could be done, and he was dead before the Nuidya had reached their destination. If he had survived, he would have been the eleventh of the new teens coming of age at the season's end.
"Knock it off with the doom and gloom already!" Amin zan-Arzep grabbed Hestrie in a headlock and explained that "We're practically in paradise here - no adults to tell us what to do, and the girls can't tell us off for goofing around either, 'cause they're in a separate camp... and when we come back, we'll be men and we can join the guard or the council or something. But right now, we're out on our own for the first time, and Armando would have wanted us to have fun! Four days until we have to start being responsible, let's make the most of them!"
After a similar discussion with Eric zan-Ellen, Andrew decided to head for the small pond in the centre of the campsite. The boys were going to need food for the next four days, and if anyone was going to get credit for the first catch, he decided, it was going to be him.
It wasn't long before he got what he was looking for, prompting Amin and Shiloh to grab a couple of spare rods and hopefully outdo him with a bigger fish or two.
However, things didn't work out exactly as they had planned.
Meanwhile, Eric challenged Hestrie to a few rounds of rock-paper-scissors, in the hope that it would take his mind off the loss of his cousin and get him into the "vacation" spirit.
"Rock smashes scissors! Whooo! I am Emperor Rock and I crush your puny scissors with my bare hands!"
"Sena spear it, Hestrie, you're so irritating when you get it right... what is the matter with you?"
As the day went on, the mood gradually changed. The fact that there should have been six boys in the camp, although not quite forgotten, became less depressing, and silliness started to take over. In four days, they would return to the village, leaving their childhood behind on Kulo Kor. For now, they would make the most of it.
From Shiloh's declaration that "A giant robot with laser eyes couldn't get a ball past me! Nyah!" to Eric and Amin's discussion of genies and lamps in the outhouse, it was beginning to seem that the boys were more like children now than they had ever been.
Towards the end of the day, with everyone starting to get hungry, Shiloh attempted to cook one of Andrew's fish. For a first attempt at cooking, everyone agreed, it wasn't half bad.
*****
VT says: I am so glad I went with a group camping trip as the Nuidya coming of age rite. These boys are hilarious to play - especially when I'm mostly letting them run around on free will.
Part 2, the first day in the girls' camp, will be up next.
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