Playing Sims 3 on Origin Offline

I'll keep this brief.  I lost my internet connectivity all morning and thought it was a good time to test Origin and Sims 3.  All that I've seen online suggests that Sims 3 will only work online due to Origin's insistence of logging in when running the game.  So when I ran Origin, it gave me a login window and a note that Origin was not available (due to the internet).  I logged in anyway, and then Origin went to my library but also setting the client to Offline mode.  I was able to launch Sims 3 and Mass Effect 2 like this without issues.

A small note on Mass Effect... you will not be able to connect to the Cerberus Network.  You will get an error message but you'll be able to load your save just fine.

Some ramblings...

Just a few things.  The stock gallery in Android really sucks.  When I finally got a microSDHC and moved all my photos and videos, this stupid app kept re-scanning the card and inserting duplicate thumbnail entries for each picture and video there.  Talk about stupid stuff.  I learned a few things on the Acer Tablet Forum.  Putting in the .nomedia file in the folder means that the apps (at least ones I've checked) will ignore this and treat it like there's no media files in there.  Second, from Settings > App > All, I can select Gallery and tap on Disable to turn the damn app off.  Lastly, I installed QuickPic which proved to be so much better.

On Sims FreePlay, if you need your Sim to go to work with low hygiene for that 1 LP reward, just send the sim to kick his own trash can and clean up that mess repeatedly.  Kicking a friend's trash can means hurting the relationship.

Mass Effect Infiltrator should not have had any walking parts in the actual combat.

A few thoughts...

I'll keep this short.  Figured out that deleting Sims on Sims FreePlay is a matter of customizing the Sim for their clothes and hairdo.  There's a red icon on the upper left corner.

Been getting some sweet stuff out of GOG lately.  I'm plan to play Fallout and (finally finish) Witcher Enhanced Edition.

Sims FreePlay: Relocating Pets

Every once in a while, this menu pops up with the 'Relocate' button and I'm befuddled as how I got that.  I've tried searching EA's FAQs for an answer to a different way of relocating Sims.  Apparently, the menu that I got was on relocating pets.  Double tap the dog you own and you'll be able to select which household the dog goes, or you can put it up for adoption.  Sometimes, I wish I got the memo!

Sims FreePlay

I've been playing Sims FreePlay for a while now on my Acer IconiaTab A500.  It's a nice decent game that isn't quite Sims-ish if such a word exists.  I think a lot of people are at arms with how it's real time and you have to literally wait 6 to 7 hours for your Sims to wake up from slumber.  Me?  I'm not that peeved, to be honest.  It seems that what I've done pretty much in the game is to give them really long tasks, sometimes tasks that take a day to complete.  Doing this seems to have several advantages.

First off, the game gives plenty of XP and money (provided that the task does let you earn) returns for completing tasks.  Second, while your sim is locked in his or her task, your Sims's needs do not go down. If you give him or her a 7 hour task and come back later, the needs (hunger, cleanliness, etc.) should still be relatively intact, which makes looking after them quite a breeze.  Just be the task master!

Another oddity I noticed is that to maintain your Sims's needs, you really should look into the following to bring it back up quickly.  For hunger, you need a refrigerator.  Using only a couple of seconds, you can satiate your Sims's hunger rather quickly.  For cleanliness, you should just use the sink which I find is the quickest way of bringing that statistic back up.  A shower is fine if it's really low though.  For sleep, use the couch for daydreaming.  A minute is all you need to satisfy that need.  For the social need, you can either interact with another Sim or use the phone.  For entertainment needs, just about anything your Sim interacts with should be fine.  I usually go with baking or gardening since that gives money.  Lastly, we all know what the toilet bowl is there for.

If you're the kind not to care about the goals, you'll be fine with the game and the daily grind you put your Sims into.  It's when you start wanting to 'advance' so-to-speak where the freemium aspects of the game can get grating as you feel the need to spend real money on Lifetime Points.  Me?  I'm not one to care.

Oh, and invest in a dog.  Really.