Latest / The Plumbob Report / Console Chaos, EA Buyout Tea, and Mods That Break Your Save (In a Good Way)

Transcript

Console Chaos, EA Buyout Tea, and Mods That Break Your Save (In a Good Way) · The Plumbob Report

• 0:13
  [Becca Hartwell] Welcome back to the Plumbob Report.
• 0:15
  [Danny Reyes] Hello, hello. Good to be here with you, Becca Hartwell.
• 0:18
  [Becca Hartwell] Okay,
• 0:19
  [Becca Hartwell] so console players,
• 0:21
  [Becca Hartwell] your time has come.
• 0:23
  [Becca Hartwell] Marketplace is hitting PS4 and Xbox and we're going to ask if this is yay more content or oh no,
• 0:31
  [Becca Hartwell] tiny paywalls everywhere.
• 0:33
  [Danny Reyes] Right. And speaking of mysterious forces,
• 0:36
  [Danny Reyes] we've got that Kushner-linked EA bid, the community petition.
• 0:40
  [Danny Reyes] And even Lil'
• 0:41
  [Danny Reyes] Simsie talking Sims politics with a U.S. rep.
• 0:44
  [Becca Hartwell] The real question is, who's actually controlling our poor Sims at this point?
• 0:48
  [Danny Reyes] I mean, come on, if my Sim can't decide not to eat spoiled grilled cheese during a fire,
• 0:54
  [Danny Reyes] should billionaires really be in charge either?
• 0:56
  [Becca Hartwell] Exactly.
• 0:58
  [Becca Hartwell] Then we're flipping it and talking mods and chaos.
• 1:02
  [Becca Hartwell] Abandoned baby mod,
• 1:03
  [Becca Hartwell] UI cheats for formative moments,
• 1:05
  [Becca Hartwell] SimsPancake CC.
• 1:07
  [Becca Hartwell] Kits creeping back onto EA app and Steam.
• 1:10
  [Danny Reyes] Plus, enjoy dipping into early mod tools and how all that lets players grab the steering wheel back.
• 1:16
  [Becca Hartwell] And before I forget, we're checking in on non-Sims life sims like Paralives, Actually Alive Towns versus Sims 4's cardboard neighbors.
• 1:26
  [Danny Reyes] Also,
• 1:27
  [Danny Reyes] first impressions on Petit Planet from places like Beebom,
• 1:30
  [Danny Reyes] GosuGamers,
• 1:32
  [Danny Reyes] PC Gamer,
• 1:32
  [Danny Reyes] and a quick look at Pokémon's...
• 1:34
  [Danny Reyes] Pokopía as cozy escape territory.
• 1:37
  [Becca Hartwell] So yeah,
• 1:38
  [Becca Hartwell] stacked episode today,
• 1:39
  [Becca Hartwell] lots of chaos,
• 1:40
  [Becca Hartwell] lots of hope.
• 1:41
  [Danny Reyes] Pumped? Let's hit it.
• 1:43
  [Becca Hartwell] Let's jump into the Marketplace console update and what it means for your game saves.
• 1:53
  [Becca Hartwell] We want to hear from you!
• 1:54
  [Becca Hartwell] Submit questions via the web form in the description,
• 1:57
  [Becca Hartwell] or give us a call at 747-677-1037 and leave your question!
• 2:03
  [Becca Hartwell] Don't be shy!
• 2:04
  [Becca Hartwell] Our AI assistant makes it super easy.
• 2:12
  [Becca Hartwell] Okay,
• 2:12
  [Becca Hartwell] so,
• 2:13
  [Becca Hartwell] um,
• 2:13
  [Becca Hartwell] Marketplace on Console.
• 2:15
  [Becca Hartwell] That just dropped like a piano out a window.
• 2:18
  [Danny Reyes] Yeah,
• 2:18
  [Danny Reyes] that patch note was not subtle.
• 2:20
  [Danny Reyes] One day nothing,
• 2:22
  [Danny Reyes] next day,
• 2:22
  [Danny Reyes] Hi,
• 2:23
  [Danny Reyes] here's a store in your menu.
• 2:24
  [Becca Hartwell] Right?
• 2:25
  [Becca Hartwell] According to GameRant,
• 2:27
  [Becca Hartwell] the new Console update adds the Marketplace tab plus a bunch of fixes,
• 2:31
  [Becca Hartwell] so PS4 and Xbox folks now see that little shopping bag PC has.
• 2:36
  [Danny Reyes] And GameSpace pointed out it is front and center on the main menu.
• 2:39
  [Danny Reyes] Not hidden,
• 2:40
  [Danny Reyes] not in settings,
• 2:41
  [Danny Reyes] it's like, Hey,
• 2:42
  [Danny Reyes] buy some stuff while your save loads.
• 2:46
  [Becca Hartwell] Which on Console is a whole loading screen on its own.
• 2:49
  [Becca Hartwell] So quick recap.
• 2:50
  [Becca Hartwell] Marketplace is EA's built-in shop for creator-made items.
• 2:54
  [Becca Hartwell] Think curated CC packs,
• 2:56
  [Becca Hartwell] builds,
• 2:57
  [Becca Hartwell] that kind of thing.
• 2:58
  [Danny Reyes] Yeah, almost like mini Kits,
• 3:00
  [Danny Reyes] but from creators,
• 3:01
  [Danny Reyes] and on PC,
• 3:02
  [Danny Reyes] it already launched with those first creator Packs.
• 3:04
  [Danny Reyes] KeenGamer called it a controlled CC storefront,
• 3:08
  [Danny Reyes] which is such a polite way to say,
• 3:09
  [Danny Reyes] we see your Patreon.
• 3:12
  [Becca Hartwell] Controlled is doing a lot of work there.
• 3:15
  [Becca Hartwell] But the big thing from Push Square and MP1st is that console got more than just the store.
• 3:21
  [Becca Hartwell] They mentioned crash fixes,
• 3:23
  [Becca Hartwell] better stability, and some UI smoothing, too.
• 3:25
  [Danny Reyes] Right,
• 3:26
  [Danny Reyes] so it's not only here give us money,
• 3:29
  [Danny Reyes] there's actual bug fixes in the same patch.
• 3:31
  [Danny Reyes] Strategic timing,
• 3:32
  [Danny Reyes] maybe.
• 3:33
  [Becca Hartwell] Yeah,
• 3:33
  [Becca Hartwell] they definitely bundled the medicine with a spoonful of sugar.
• 3:37
  [Becca Hartwell] Console players have wanted closer parity with PC forever.
• 3:40
  [Becca Hartwell] Ever Gallery,
• 3:42
  [Becca Hartwell] more control,
• 3:43
  [Becca Hartwell] fewer missing features.
• 3:44
  [Danny Reyes] And now they're like,
• 3:45
  [Danny Reyes] 'Congrats,
• 3:46
  [Danny Reyes] you're closer to PC Also welcome to microtransaction town.' You know what I mean?
• 3:51
  [Becca Hartwell] Exactly.
• 3:53
  [Becca Hartwell] I keep seeing that split-Hype because finally console is not an afterthought; Nerves because people are scared this turns into every cute item living behind a price tag.
• 4:03
  [Danny Reyes] Reddit has gone on fire.
• 4:05
  [Danny Reyes] My notifications are
• 4:06
  [Danny Reyes] are cooked.
• 4:07
  [Danny Reyes] The main meme is that console finally got Mods and they cost more than the base game sale price.
• 4:13
  [Becca Hartwell] Wait,
• 4:14
  [Becca Hartwell] really?
• 4:15
  [Becca Hartwell] Of course.
• 4:16
  [Danny Reyes] Yeah, and TikTok jokes about kids borrowing the family Xbox,
• 4:19
  [Danny Reyes] loading The Sims,
• 4:21
  [Danny Reyes] and accidentally buying a cottage core sync set.
• 4:24
  [Becca Hartwell] That fear is real, though.
• 4:25
  [Becca Hartwell] The sources all stress that marketplace items go through EA.
• 4:29
  [Becca Hartwell] There's curation, there are terms,
• 4:31
  [Becca Hartwell] but console players remember how slow.
• 4:34
  [Becca Hartwell] Oh, free updates can be.
• 4:35
  [Danny Reyes] So the question is,
• 4:37
  [Danny Reyes] does this mean more love for console or more pressure to spend?
• 4:40
  [Danny Reyes] Like, is this new content on top or content that would have been in a stuff pack before?
• 4:46
  [Becca Hartwell] As a creator,
• 4:47
  [Becca Hartwell] that is my thing.
• 4:48
  [Becca Hartwell] On PC,
• 4:49
  [Becca Hartwell] I already live in CC land.
• 4:51
  [Becca Hartwell] I build,
• 4:51
  [Becca Hartwell] I download a thousand couches,
• 4:54
  [Becca Hartwell] Marketplace just sits next to all that.
• 4:56
  [Becca Hartwell] On console,
• 4:57
  [Becca Hartwell] there is no free CC safety net.
• 4:59
  [Danny Reyes] Right.
• 5:00
  [Danny Reyes] Marketplace is not supplementing a Mod scene.
• 5:03
  [Danny Reyes] scene there; it basically is the Mod scene.
• 5:05
  [Becca Hartwell] And mods on PC are chaos,
• 5:08
  [Becca Hartwell] but they are free chaos.
• 5:09
  [Becca Hartwell] You get weird toilets and broken eyelashes,
• 5:12
  [Becca Hartwell] but you also get performance fixes,
• 5:14
  [Becca Hartwell] autonomy fixes,
• 5:15
  [Becca Hartwell] like actual upgrades.
• 5:17
  [Danny Reyes] Plus, if you don't like something,
• 5:19
  [Danny Reyes] you delete the package file.
• 5:21
  [Danny Reyes] On console,
• 5:22
  [Danny Reyes] if a Marketplace item feels bad or buggy, you're stuck waiting for EA to patch it.
• 5:27
  [Becca Hartwell] GameSpace did say the update improves stability in general.
• 5:31
  [Becca Hartwell] general,
• 5:31
  [Becca Hartwell] which is good.
• 5:32
  [Becca Hartwell] But it's funny that the day we get a stronger engine feel on console is the same day a store shows up.
• 5:38
  [Danny Reyes] You're saying the coincidence is suspicious.
• 5:42
  [Becca Hartwell] I'm just saying my first Sim set herself on fire with mac and cheese,
• 5:45
  [Becca Hartwell] so chaos is kind of the brand here.
• 5:47
  [Becca Hartwell] I don't trust the timing.
• 5:49
  [Danny Reyes] Totally. And people are worried about paywalls on fixes.
• 5:53
  [Danny Reyes] Like will we see bug fix items bundled into paid lots?
• 5:57
  [Danny Reyes] Or will EA keep gameplay changes in free patches and Marketplace for vibes?
• 6:03
  [Becca Hartwell] I lean optimistic on that. Just based on talking to devs over the years,
• 6:07
  [Becca Hartwell] they know locking core systems behind microstores would be a disaster.
• 6:12
  [Becca Hartwell] But cosmetic creep?
• 6:13
  [Becca Hartwell] That's where I get nervous.
• 6:15
  [Speaker 3] Same. I think we're going to see a lot of pretty clutter,
• 6:19
  [Speaker 3] cool builds,
• 6:20
  [Speaker 3] and maybe some light gameplay objects.
• 6:22
  [Becca Hartwell] And on PC at least,
• 6:24
  [Becca Hartwell] Marketplace has to compete with decades of free CC.
• 6:27
  [Becca Hartwell] On console,
• 6:28
  [Becca Hartwell] there's no competition.
• 6:29
  [Becca Hartwell] Only vibes
• 6:31
  [Speaker 3] There's no competition only vibes is such a cursed business model.
• 6:37
  [Becca Hartwell] Put it on the box.
• 6:39
  [Speaker 3] One upside,
• 6:40
  [Speaker 3] though,
• 6:40
  [Speaker 3] Push Square mentioned that console players finally feel noticed.
• 6:44
  [Speaker 3] Seeing the same Marketplace tab as PC is like,
• 6:48
  [Speaker 3] oh, we matter to the roadmap now.
• 6:50
  [Becca Hartwell] Yeah, and that part I love. More aligned updates,
• 6:54
  [Becca Hartwell] less PC first console maybe.
• 6:56
  [Becca Hartwell] be later.
• 6:57
  [Becca Hartwell] That's huge.
• 6:58
  [Speaker 3] But it also reminds everyone
• 7:00
  [Becca Hartwell] And that the people making these calls aren't just the "devs" who care; it's the bosses,
• 7:05
  [Becca Hartwell] the shareholders,
• 7:06
  [Becca Hartwell] the folks signing off on this store.
• 7:08
  [Danny Reyes] Exactly,
• 7:10
  [Danny Reyes] when a new way to make money shows up inside your game it is a reminder that someone higher up is steering the ship.
• 7:17
  [Becca Hartwell] And if the ship is headed in a weird direction,
• 7:19
  [Becca Hartwell] people start asking bigger questions like:
• 7:22
  [Becca Hartwell] Who actually owns the wheel now?
• 7:24
  [Danny Reyes] Yeah,
• 7:25
  [Danny Reyes] if Marketplace on console is one little symptom...
• 7:28
  [Danny Reyes] What does that say about the bigger decisions behind this game?
• 7:37
  [Danny Reyes] Yeah.
• 7:38
  [Becca Hartwell] So,
• 7:39
  [Becca Hartwell] politics are in your Sims game now.
• 7:42
  [Danny Reyes] Yeah,
• 7:42
  [Danny Reyes] you're not just managing bladder and fun bars,
• 7:45
  [Danny Reyes] you're managing Congress.
• 7:47
  [Becca Hartwell] OK,
• 7:47
  [Becca Hartwell] quick table set.
• 7:48
  [Becca Hartwell] According to Sims Community and Aftermath,
• 7:51
  [Becca Hartwell] there's this reported plan where an investment group linked to Jared Kushner is trying to buy EA.
• 7:57
  [Danny Reyes] Right,
• 7:57
  [Danny Reyes] and Reuters reported the US is actually investigating Kushner's Saudi-backed fund for possible
• 8:03
  [Danny Reyes] possible foreign influence; so people see 'that guy,' 'that money'
• 8:07
  [Danny Reyes] buying EA and alarms go off.
• 8:10
  [Becca Hartwell] Because EA owns The Sims,
• 8:12
  [Becca Hartwell] so suddenly it is not abstract finance,
• 8:15
  [Becca Hartwell] it is "who controls the game where my kids spend five hundred hours?
• 8:19
  [Danny Reyes] Exactly; and fans moved fast:
• 8:21
  [Danny Reyes] Sims Community covered a big petition pushing EA's board to walk away from the deal.
• 8:26
  [Becca Hartwell] That thing exploded.
• 8:28
  [Becca Hartwell] My Meme account kept getting tagged on screen shots of this signature.
• 8:31
  [Becca Hartwell] Like,
• 8:32
  [Becca Hartwell] people were speedrunning civic engagement,
• 8:35
  [Becca Hartwell] like,
• 8:35
  [Becca Hartwell] new scenario,
• 8:37
  [Becca Hartwell] Influence Corporate Board in seven days or less.
• 8:41
  [Danny Reyes] New scenario.
• 8:42
  [Danny Reyes] Influence Corporate Board in seven days or less.
• 8:46
  [Becca Hartwell] Complete with a sad moodlet,
• 8:48
  [Becca Hartwell] uneasy about private equity.
• 8:50
  [Danny Reyes] But like, for real,
• 8:52
  [Danny Reyes] this is one of the first times I've seen players connect who owns EA directly to are my Sims safe.
• 8:58
  [Danny Reyes] Safe from weird political agendas
• 9:01
  [Becca Hartwell] And that got even louder when Aftermath reported on this leaked EA response to creators:
• 9:07
  [Danny Reyes] Yeah,
• 9:07
  [Danny Reyes] so Sims Community and Aftermath both talked about an email EA apparently sent some big creators who raised concerns
• 9:15
  [Becca Hartwell] The gist from their reporting was:
• 9:17
  [Becca Hartwell] we hear you,
• 9:18
  [Becca Hartwell] we care about The Sims,
• 9:20
  [Becca Hartwell] your content is important,
• 9:22
  [Becca Hartwell] nothing to share right now.
• 9:24
  [Danny Reyes] Which is the corporate version of your Sims smiling while
• 9:27
  [Speaker 4] you play
• 9:27
  [Danny Reyes] while the kitchen is on fire.
• 9:29
  [Becca Hartwell] Exactly; like technically reassuring,
• 9:32
  [Becca Hartwell] but the stove is glowing red.
• 9:34
  [Danny Reyes] I get why they cannot legally say more; but it left a lot of players going "Cool,
• 9:39
  [Danny Reyes] so that told me nothing.
• 9:42
  [Becca Hartwell] And then you have this wild crossover episode where Lilsimsie is on stream with a sitting member of Congress.
• 9:45
  [Becca Hartwell] According to Sims Community's write up,
• 9:49
  [Danny Reyes] she talked with Representative Jeff Jackson about all of this.
• 9:51
  [Danny Reyes] Yes,
• 9:54
  [Danny Reyes] on Twitch,
• 9:55
  [Danny Reyes] in front of Sims fans.
• 9:56
  [Danny Reyes] That is such a sentence!" my favorite builder talked to a lawmaker about M&A risk.
• 9:57
  [Becca Hartwell] Forget University Expansion Packs,
• 10:04
  [Danny Reyes] this is the Civics course.
• 10:07
  [Danny Reyes] What I liked from the clips was that he treated it like a serious consumer issue,
• 10:09
  [Becca Hartwell] not just ha-ha, silly game kids.
• 10:13
  [Becca Hartwell] Yeah, he talked about media concentration,
• 10:16
  [Danny Reyes] about one deal shaping what millions of young people interact with.
• 10:19
  [Danny Reyes] about one deal shaping what millions of young people interact with.
• 10:23
  [Danny Reyes] That matters.
• 10:24
  [Becca Hartwell] And he kept coming back to this idea that games are part of culture,
• 10:28
  [Becca Hartwell] so who funds them is a public conversation.
• 10:31
  [Becca Hartwell] Not just a stock chart.
• 10:32
  [Danny Reyes] Which is kind of the core fear here.
• 10:35
  [Danny Reyes] People are not just mad my fave might change.
• 10:38
  [Danny Reyes] They're scared that someone with very specific political ties could steer tone,
• 10:43
  [Danny Reyes] representation,
• 10:45
  [Danny Reyes] even what stories feel welcome.
• 10:47
  [Becca Hartwell] Now, do we know that would actually happen?
• 10:49
  [Becca Hartwell] No.
• 10:50
  [Becca Hartwell] We're in speculation land.
• 10:52
  [Danny Reyes] Yeah,
• 10:53
  [Danny Reyes] this is vibes and risk,
• 10:54
  [Danny Reyes] not proof.
• 10:55
  [Danny Reyes] But when Reuters is talking about probes into foreign money and then the same
• 11:00
  [Danny Reyes] names pop up around EA?
• 11:02
  [Danny Reyes] Players connect dots.
• 11:03
  [Becca Hartwell] And honestly,
• 11:04
  [Becca Hartwell] Sims has always been quietly political.
• 11:07
  [Becca Hartwell] Who you can marry,
• 11:08
  [Becca Hartwell] which families get good traits,
• 11:10
  [Becca Hartwell] and how the game treats cops,
• 11:12
  [Becca Hartwell] landlords,
• 11:13
  [Becca Hartwell] social services.
• 11:14
  [Danny Reyes] Exactly.
• 11:15
  [Danny Reyes] So when people say,
• 11:16
  [Danny Reyes] why do you care who owns EA?
• 11:18
  [Danny Reyes] It is just a game.
• 11:19
  [Danny Reyes] I'm like,
• 11:20
  [Danny Reyes] have you ever watched a Sim get fired for pregnancy?
• 11:23
  [Becca Hartwell] Or seen the debates every time they add a new identity option.
• 11:26
  [Becca Hartwell] option.
• 11:26
  [Becca Hartwell] That stuff shapes how players feel about themselves.
• 11:29
  [Danny Reyes] So yeah,
• 11:30
  [Danny Reyes] seeing a Congressman and a Sims YouTuber talk about consolidation and safeguards feels wild,
• 11:37
  [Danny Reyes] but it tracks.
• 11:37
  [Becca Hartwell] I also think it shows how powerful this community is. A petition,
• 11:42
  [Becca Hartwell] Creator letters,
• 11:43
  [Becca Hartwell] press articles,
• 11:44
  [Becca Hartwell] suddenly lawmakers are paying attention.
• 11:46
  [Danny Reyes] And it speaks to what we talked about earlier,
• 11:49
  [Danny Reyes] this feeling that big decisions are happening far away from the...
• 11:52
  [Danny Reyes] from the people who actually live in this game.
• 11:54
  [Becca Hartwell] Exactly. Players are like, if you will not listen in boardrooms, we will knock on Capitol Hill.
• 12:01
  [Danny Reyes] At the same time, I get the burnout.
• 12:04
  [Danny Reyes] Not everyone wants to read SEC filings to decide if they can enjoy BuildBuy,
• 12:09
  [Becca Hartwell] Yeah, some folks are coping in the most Sims way possible,
• 12:12
  [Becca Hartwell] by breaking the game until it looks like their version of reality again.
• 12:16
  [Danny Reyes] which is such a mood.
• 12:18
  [Danny Reyes] If you can't control the shareholders,
• 12:20
  [Danny Reyes] you can at least control the chaos in your save.
• 12:23
  [Becca Hartwell] Speaking of chaos,
• 12:24
  [Becca Hartwell] after the break, we're going from boardrooms to basements.
• 12:28
  [Danny Reyes] Grinning, Mods,
• 12:30
  [Danny Reyes] dark storytelling,
• 12:31
  [Danny Reyes] cursed babies,
• 12:32
  [Danny Reyes] and way too much control over your Sim's tiny digital lives.
• 12:36
  [Becca Hartwell] So grab a snack, maybe back up your saves,
• 12:40
  [Becca Hartwell] and we'll get into how the community rewrites the rules next.
• 12:49
  [Danny Reyes] Now flip that on its head.
• 12:52
  [Danny Reyes] Imagine loading your save and there's just a baby in a cardboard box on the sidewalk.
• 12:58
  [Becca Hartwell] The baby is on the curb in this economy.
• 13:02
  [Danny Reyes] This is that Abandoned baby mod people keep sending us.
• 13:06
  [Danny Reyes] It literally spawns a baby on a lot with no parents in sight.
• 13:11
  [Becca Hartwell] And not like social worker cutscene,
• 13:14
  [Becca Hartwell] like Congrats, you've unlocked a side quest. Who left this infant and why?
• 13:19
  [Danny Reyes] Exactly!
• 13:20
  [Danny Reyes] Storytellers are eating this up. Legacy players get instant drama without killing a Sim or doing some weird affair setup.
• 13:28
  [Becca Hartwell] Yeah, instead of 12 generations of, I met someone at the school.
• 13:31
  [Becca Hartwell] And at the Spice Festival it's "I found you in a box behind the gym!
• 13:35
  [Danny Reyes] And suddenly your Gen four heir has abandonment issues,
• 13:40
  [Danny Reyes] a secret family,
• 13:41
  [Danny Reyes] and a pending true crime docuseries.
• 13:43
  [Becca Hartwell] I love that Sims players looked at the adoption system and went,
• 13:47
  [Becca Hartwell] "Cool,
• 13:47
  [Becca Hartwell] but what if it was way more messed up?
• 13:50
  [Danny Reyes] To be fair,
• 13:51
  [Danny Reyes] that chaos is still opt in. You install the mod because you want that darker storyline in your save.
• 13:57
  [Becca Hartwell] Right; and then Autonomy kicks in.
• 14:00
  [Becca Hartwell] And like,
• 14:00
  [Becca Hartwell] "Oh,
• 14:01
  [Becca Hartwell] there's a baby; I'm going to walk past it and mop a puddle.
• 14:04
  [Danny Reyes] Ugh,
• 14:04
  [Danny Reyes] grill hot dogs-I swear,
• 14:07
  [Danny Reyes] my Sims would step over the baby to grab a veggie burger.
• 14:10
  [Becca Hartwell] So Storytellers end up screenshotting that,
• 14:13
  [Becca Hartwell] writing captions,
• 14:14
  [Becca Hartwell] turning it into this whole saga.
• 14:16
  [Becca Hartwell] The mod is just the spark.
• 14:18
  [Danny Reyes] Yeah,
• 14:19
  [Danny Reyes] the appeal is control over the type of chaos:
• 14:22
  [Danny Reyes] you pick "Abandoned baby drama," not whatever the random townie generator serves up.
• 14:26
  [Danny Reyes] serves up.
• 14:27
  [Becca Hartwell] Speaking of control freak energy,
• 14:30
  [Becca Hartwell] UI Cheats just updated for Formative Moments.
• 14:33
  [Danny Reyes] Yes!
• 14:34
  [Danny Reyes] So if you missed it,
• 14:36
  [Danny Reyes] UI Cheats now hooks into those popups where kids decide traits and teen vibes.
• 14:41
  [Becca Hartwell] Before you had to wait,
• 14:43
  [Becca Hartwell] hope the game rolled the moment you wanted,
• 14:45
  [Becca Hartwell] or cheat with a bunch of menus.
• 14:47
  [Danny Reyes] Now you can just right click that little icon in the panel and swap outcomes on the fly!
• 14:52
  [Danny Reyes] Like,
• 14:53
  [Danny Reyes] you're not a mean girl,
• 14:55
  [Danny Reyes] you're an overachiever.
• 14:56
  [Danny Reyes] Boom.
• 14:57
  [Becca Hartwell] This is like god mode for storytellers-you can line up traits with your plot instead of rewriting your plot because the game decided "high spirited.
• 15:05
  [Danny Reyes] And for people who hate RNG,
• 15:08
  [Danny Reyes] it turns The Sims into more of a visual novel.
• 15:11
  [Danny Reyes] You're curating arcs, not rolling dice.
• 15:14
  [Becca Hartwell] I do like a little chaos,
• 15:16
  [Becca Hartwell] though-I'd probably keep one random,
• 15:18
  [Becca Hartwell] then adjust if it ruins the plot.
• 15:20
  [Becca Hartwell] The winds of the vibe.
• 15:21
  [Danny Reyes] Same-I'll let the game pick; then if it clashes with the story Bible in my head,
• 15:25
  [Danny Reyes] I nudge it.
• 15:26
  [Becca Hartwell] Plus UI Cheats is already that I can't play without it mod.
• 15:30
  [Becca Hartwell] Needs,
• 15:30
  [Becca Hartwell] money,
• 15:31
  [Becca Hartwell] relationships,
• 15:32
  [Becca Hartwell] this just adds personality tuning.
• 15:34
  [Danny Reyes] This is how you end up with a perfect legacy spreadsheet and zero flirty Cowplant deaths.
• 15:40
  [Becca Hartwell] Look,
• 15:40
  [Becca Hartwell] I said a little chaos,
• 15:42
  [Becca Hartwell] not OSHA violations.
• 15:44
  [Danny Reyes] Okay,
• 15:45
  [Danny Reyes] quick CC hit list before we run out of time.
• 15:47
  [Becca Hartwell] Yeah,
• 15:48
  [Becca Hartwell] SimsPancake dropped those new sets and my Tumblr dash went feral.
• 15:52
  [Danny Reyes] The clutter pack with the tiny consoles and headphones?
• 15:55
  [Danny Reyes] Incredible!
• 15:57
  [Danny Reyes] Builders are staging the most detailed teen rooms I've ever seen.
• 16:00
  [Becca Hartwell] And that soft,
• 16:02
  [Becca Hartwell] slightly messy furniture set-it looks like every first apartment where you stole a chair from your cousin.
• 16:08
  [Danny Reyes] It's that lived in but still cute style that the base game couches just cannot do.
• 16:13
  [Becca Hartwell] Also-
• 16:13
  [Becca Hartwell] So EA finally putting Kits back on EA App and Steam for people who lost access?
• 16:19
  [Becca Hartwell] About time.
• 16:20
  [Danny Reyes] Yeah,
• 16:20
  [Danny Reyes] that whole removal saga was rough.
• 16:23
  [Danny Reyes] At least folks can re-download their stuff now without tech support roleplay.
• 16:26
  [Becca Hartwell] And outside Sims,
• 16:28
  [Becca Hartwell] InZOI showing off modding tools already is interesting.
• 16:32
  [Danny Reyes] Very.
• 16:33
  [Danny Reyes] Even just seeing them talk about creators,
• 16:36
  [Danny Reyes] editing,
• 16:36
  [Danny Reyes] animations,
• 16:37
  [Danny Reyes] and assets this early makes my world-
• 16:39
  [Danny Reyes] WORLD BUILDER BRAIN PING
• 16:41
  [Becca Hartwell] It sets a bar.
• 16:42
  [Becca Hartwell] If other life sims bake modding in from day one,
• 16:45
  [Becca Hartwell] it pressures everyone else to keep up.
• 16:47
  [Danny Reyes] Which is perfect, because next we're hopping over to those other games-Paralives, Petit Planet,
• 16:53
  [Danny Reyes] even that Pokémon Life sim thing.
• 16:55
  [Becca Hartwell] Yeah,
• 16:56
  [Becca Hartwell] if mods are how you spice up Sims, then those games are like ordering a whole new flavor of digital chaos.
• 17:02
  [Danny Reyes] So,
• 17:03
  [Danny Reyes] stick around.
• 17:04
  [Danny Reyes] We're leaving the baby in the box,
• 17:05
  [Danny Reyes] but we're-
• 17:05
  [Danny Reyes] But we're definitely visiting some new neighborhoods.
• 17:07
  [Becca Hartwell] Not literally. Don't cancel us.
• 17:10
  [Becca Hartwell] New worlds, new drama coming up next.
• 17:18
  [Danny Reyes] Shifting gears real fast,
• 17:20
  [Danny Reyes] so anyway,
• 17:21
  [Danny Reyes] when Sims is being messy,
• 17:23
  [Danny Reyes] where are we running off to now?
• 17:24
  [Danny Reyes] Paralives?
• 17:25
  [Becca Hartwell] Oh yeah,
• 17:26
  [Becca Hartwell] Paralives just dropped those new town animations and I am obsessed.
• 17:31
  [Danny Reyes] Same-all those little background moments-people actually crossing streets,
• 17:36
  [Danny Reyes] bikes rolling by,
• 17:37
  [Danny Reyes] cars stopping at lights.
• 17:38
  [Becca Hartwell] Mm hmm. Great!
• 17:39
  [Becca Hartwell] And the way characters lean on railings or sit on those tiny docks-it feels less like a backdrop and more like,
• 17:46
  [Becca Hartwell] okay,
• 17:46
  [Becca Hartwell] this is an actual neighborhood.
• 17:48
  [Danny Reyes] From a builder brain,
• 17:49
  [Danny Reyes] that hits hard.
• 17:51
  [Danny Reyes] I spend hours lining up clutter and then the world outside the lot is frozen; in Paralives,
• 17:56
  [Danny Reyes] the whole map looks like a giant build you can walk through.
• 17:59
  [Danny Reyes] True.
• 18:00
  [Becca Hartwell] And the lighting shifts with those buses and shadows moving makes me want to build an entire street just to watch it exist.
• 18:07
  [Danny Reyes] The same energy as watching ants in a farm. You set it up, then just stare at the tiny guys living their best lives.
• 18:14
  [Becca Hartwell] Exactly.
• 18:14
  [Becca Hartwell] And like when Sims routing freaks out,
• 18:17
  [Becca Hartwell] Paralives is over there going,
• 18:19
  [Becca Hartwell] cool,
• 18:19
  [Becca Hartwell] here's someone dragging a suitcase down the sidewalk.
• 18:22
  [Danny Reyes] Okay,
• 18:23
  [Danny Reyes] jumping to Petit Planet for a sec.
• 18:26
  [Danny Reyes] Beebom and GosuGamers were really into the cute factor.
• 18:30
  [Becca Hartwell] Yeah,
• 18:30
  [Becca Hartwell] they both talked up the cozy vibe-tiny planets,
• 18:33
  [Becca Hartwell] plants everywhere,
• 18:34
  [Becca Hartwell] that whole floaty pastel thing.
• 18:37
  [Danny Reyes] PC Gamer was more mixed; they liked the creativity,
• 18:40
  [Danny Reyes] but said the story pacing drags and some quests feel like busywork.
• 18:44
  [Becca Hartwell] Which fair," taking a moment to think; "but they all agreed that core idea is fresh:
• 18:50
  [Becca Hartwell] you're literally terraforming your own little globe.
• 18:53
  [Becca Hartwell] Ovens,
• 18:53
  [Becca Hartwell] stacking houses sideways,
• 18:55
  [Becca Hartwell] breaking every building rule.
• 18:57
  [Danny Reyes] As a builder,
• 18:58
  [Danny Reyes] that makes my spine tingle.
• 19:00
  [Danny Reyes] Gravity?
• 19:01
  [Danny Reyes] Never heard of her.
• 19:02
  [Danny Reyes] It's like if debug objects got promoted to entire world design.
• 19:06
  [Becca Hartwell] And that kind of weird experiment puts pressure on EA because if a tiny team can give you wild planet building,
• 19:13
  [Becca Hartwell] people start asking why their big franchise still has that one tree you can't delete.
• 19:18
  [Danny Reyes] Right,
• 19:19
  [Danny Reyes] so Petit Planet might not nail story yet,
• 19:21
  [Danny Reyes] Yet, but it's clearly showing what cozy can look like beyond cottage core with chickens.
• 19:26
  [Becca Hartwell] Speaking of weird spins,
• 19:28
  [Becca Hartwell] can we talk about Pokémon's Pokopia for a minute?
• 19:31
  [Danny Reyes] Oh, absolutely!
• 19:33
  [Becca Hartwell] It's basically,
• 19:33
  [Becca Hartwell] what if your villagers were Pikachu and friends,
• 19:36
  [Becca Hartwell] and instead of grinding gyms,
• 19:38
  [Becca Hartwell] you're hanging out,
• 19:39
  [Becca Hartwell] decorating,
• 19:40
  [Becca Hartwell] doing little daily routines?
• 19:42
  [Danny Reyes] It feels like someone stuffed Animal Crossing,
• 19:45
  [Danny Reyes] a life sim,
• 19:46
  [Danny Reyes] and a Pokémon plush into one cartridge.
• 19:48
  [Becca Hartwell] And you can tell why people are hyped; folks want chill spaces where relationships and collecting matter more than high stakes combat.
• 19:56
  [Danny Reyes] Yeah,
• 19:57
  [Danny Reyes] whether it's Paralives with hyper detailed towns,
• 20:00
  [Danny Reyes] Petit Planet with chaotic planets,
• 20:03
  [Danny Reyes] or Pokopia giving you Pokémon roommates,
• 20:06
  [Danny Reyes] players keep asking for the same thing:
• 20:08
  [Danny Reyes] let me live somewhere cool and tell my own story.
• 20:12
  [Becca Hartwell] And that's good news for us,
• 20:13
  [Becca Hartwell] because when our main game acts
• 20:15
  [Becca Hartwell] to max up there's this whole buffet of digital lives waiting.
• 20:18
  [Danny Reyes] Exactly.
• 20:19
  [Danny Reyes] We're not stuck in one save file anymore; we can world hop until something feels like home again.
• 20:31
  [Danny Reyes] Okay,
• 20:31
  [Danny Reyes] so,
• 20:31
  [Danny Reyes] uh,
• 20:32
  [Danny Reyes] Marketplace dropping on console like a piano out a window is where we started,
• 20:36
  [Danny Reyes] and I feel like that sums up this whole episode's vibe.
• 20:40
  [Becca Hartwell] Total chaos,
• 20:41
  [Becca Hartwell] paid mods,
• 20:42
  [Becca Hartwell] corporate mystery bosses,
• 20:44
  [Becca Hartwell] and somehow we still end up talking about abandoned baby storytelling like it is art.
• 20:49
  [Danny Reyes] Right?
• 20:50
  [Danny Reyes] If there's one takeaway,
• 20:51
  [Danny Reyes] it is this.
• 20:52
  [Danny Reyes] Players keep grabbing the steering wheel back,
• 20:55
  [Danny Reyes] whether it's mods,
• 20:56
  [Danny Reyes] CC,
• 20:57
  [Danny Reyes] or jumping to other life sims when things get...
• 21:00
  [Becca Hartwell] That weird?
• 21:01
  [Danny Reyes] Exactly; and we want to hear how you're doing that.
• 21:04
  [Danny Reyes] Tell us your wildest Sim stories and Marketplace hot takes on socials at PlumbobReport.
• 21:11
  [Becca Hartwell] So soon,
• 21:12
  [Becca Hartwell] Simmers!
• 21:13
  [Becca Hartwell] Subscribe and drop a quick review so more goblins like us can find the show.
• 21:17
  [Danny Reyes] Thanks for hanging out with us today,
• 21:19
  [Danny Reyes] seriously.
• 21:19
  [Becca Hartwell] We appreciate you!
• 21:21
  [Becca Hartwell] Back up your saves!
• 21:22
  [Danny Reyes] And maybe check that pool ladder twice.
• 21:25
  [Becca Hartwell] We'll see you next time on the Plumbob Report.
• 21:27
  [Speaker 3] Thank you.