IllusoryThrall's Sims 4 Hub
- Challenges, Tips & Stories
I started this WordPress Blog back in 2012. At the beginning, I assure you, I had no idea what I was starting. I posted a few things… but it wasn’t for several years that my blogging really took off. I dabbled in a few Sims 3 stories (which are still accessible on this site – just check my retired & completed simlit section). By August 2016, however, I was well and truly hooked on blogging, although at that point, I was still waffling between Sims 3 and 4. The waffling didn’t take too much more time, though, before I was thoroughly addicted to Sims 4. Once I hit this point, I’ve never gone back. I still had (and have) periods of writer’s block and inactivity, but I always come back.
Sometime in 2023, this blog really tripled in traffic. And it did so on a very consistent basis. Which made me really start seriously considering the thoughts and ideas for it that I’d had in the back of my head for YEARS. The host I was on prior to this one, wordpress.com .. was great. It was cheap, it was reliable, and it was easy to use. However, the amount of customization and control I had over the website design and add-ons was, well.. very very low. And even if I doubled the cost of the plan I was on, it was going to remain virtually the same…. which is exactly the opposite of what this growing blog needed. With my challenges gaining in popularity, and my livestreaming, I really wanted to be able to upgrade the graphics, layout, and things that the website offered… By October, it was clear my blog was getting 25,000 to 30,000 hits per month on a very stable basis – so when I noticed that my two year subscription to wrodpress.com was ready to renew on the 26th, I decided, spur-of-the-moment, that there wasn’t going to be a better time to upgrade. So I immediately started looking for a way to pay for a new webhost, and researching where I wanted to go, as well as finding out exactly what upgrades I wanted and needed for the site. Originally, I was going to do a fund-raising stream for the money, but a very lovely friend of mine kindly donated the full amount I needed to pay for the next THREE YEARS of hosting. When that’s almost up, I will certainly be looking for ways to raise the money for the next web-hosting fee, but that’s a problem for future me. (If you’re interested in helping to support this site and my streaming, check out my Support Me page. 100% of donations will go to the website and my streaming.)
All that being said, I do try to be pretty transparent on the effort that goes into this website – the background work, the time for upgrading, the work involved in moving the site, as well as what it takes to keep my challenges updated. I’m also in a long process of adding a knowledge database to this website to share the Sims 4 knowledge I’ve accrued over the years (expect that to start happening by January 2024 – I do have a few other major things on my list before I start devoting a ton of time into the toolsnlinks section, but it’s coming.) This transparency led to the need to have a page devoted to collecting the posts about website news and information…. so that’s where this page comes in. Obviously, there’s no real reason to go back to the news I was posting at the very beginning of the website, but it’s there buried in the archives if you’re ever curious!
I spent a few hours over the last couple days, and have completely re-vamped the header menu. New stuff has been added that wasn’t there before, and the whole thing should be more comprehensive. I split up my current challenges by how they’re written – story-based vs. just commentary, so if you’re looking for a story to read, check under “stories”, and if you’re looking for my challenge attempts, they’re now under “challenges”. The “on hiatus” section should be self-explanatory, and “history” just means stories or challenges that are retired completely or on the shelf for long enough that I doubt they’ll ever come back. Also, the listed menu items are now in alphabetical order, so they’ll be easier to find, I hope. This change is LONG overdue, and – I really hope – a positive one for everyone who visits the site. Feel free to let me know what you think!
Also, I’m starting to use a new site editor, so I’m just trying to get used to it. It does some things I couldn’t do with the old one, but I still haven’t decided whether it makes writing easier… or harder. It’ll definitely take getting used to.
Continue reading →(This is for when Simnano finishes, starting in August, although I may get some done before then… who knows. Just wanted to post to show how much I’ve already gotten done!)
Challenge Rules:
Townie Rotation:
Site Updates:
And Finally: get back to playing!
Well, with Simnano coming up starting in July, I’ve decided it’s time to dive back into Sims. If I post one post per day from now ’til then, I’ll have time to do a full rotation of my other stories as well as get the backlog of posts I have not published out of the way. Which will give me the ability to really concentrate on my Simnano stories in July. Which will be… (drumroll) … my Ramblers and Tails of Sulani. I’m going to be alternating days posting them during July, aiming for one post a day. That’ll give me the break from the story driven Tails every other day, and reduce the difficulty of posting every day. I hope. At least, that’s the plan.
So, here’s the schedule:
After that, it’ll be switching days back and forth between Ramblers and Tails each day until August. Once August hits, I’ll probably take a short break, and then get back to my Townie To-Do list, as well as the full story rotation, with all the stories ready to begin play again and nothing hanging over my head. Which will be a huge relief!
The only other thing I need to do/plan to do before July hits is update the Master Simmer Challenge rules to get it caught up with the Eco Lifestyle expansion.
Again, I apologize for the extended Simming break, but with my son and partner living at home for the last few months, I simply haven’t had extra time to Sim. They just moved out a week or two ago to their first “official” apartment, so things are finally settling down to “normal” again.
Anyway, wish me luck on getting everything done!
Continue reading →Challenge Rules:
Townie Rotation:
Site Updates:
And Finally: get back to playing!
If you haven’t noticed, I’ve started a major overhaul to parts of my blog site in preparation for getting back to some serious Sims playing after a long break, which I apparently sorely needed. I’d started working on this to-do list back when Island Living came out, and then I got into some serious procrastination. Which turned into a break – a rather long one. Anyway, this is the status of the site update at this time. As you can see, there’s lots to do, so I’ll be working on things a little bit at a time. I don’t want to completely overwhelm myself all at once, and I still want time for gaming on the side. I don’t plan on doing anything with the site’s theme or basic structure, as I think it’s still working out okay and I still really like this theme, so don’t worry about that changing any.
Challenge Rules:
Townie Rotation:
Site Updates:
And Finally: get back to playing!
Continue reading →Well, now that I’ve tried the schedule I’ve made, I have decided to make it less stressful, and turn it into a rotation. That way I’m not getting all upset and stressed when something happens and I can’t play on a certain day.. or don’t feel like playing, etc.. Also, I’m taking my Townie Rotation out of the mix for a while and putting it on hiatus. I’m just not feeling it right now. You’ll also notice I haven’t linked the two new challenges on the list. I haven’t set up a welcome page for either of them, yet. But those will be coming. If you want to see what’s next on the agenda, just check what my last post was in, and see my home page for this schedule.
First – Thrall’s Master Simmer Play two weeks, & post 1 / Who’s Crazy Now post 2
Second – Tails of Sulani (Mermaid Legacy) Play two updates worth & Post 1
Third – The Ramblers (Drifter Challenge) Play two weeks & Post 1
Fourth – Those Crazy Irish (ISBI) Play two weeks & Post 1 / Master Simmer post 2
Fifth – Island Spirits (Sulani History Challenge) Play one update & Post / Tails post 2
Sixth – Who’s Crazy Now? (Backwards ISBI) Play two updates & post 1 / Ramblers post 2
Seventh – Foreshadowed Sunset (Vampire Lineage) Play one update & Post / Those Crazy Irish post 2
Eighth – Bundles From Sixam (Alien 100 baby challenge) Play one update & Post
**First week of every month is set aside as a break/build/catch-up week and is the exception to the above “Rules”
Continue reading →Just posting a note that my computer is ALREADY!! back and fixed. The technician even fixed a problem that the computer wasn’t necessarily in the shop for.. which means that I now have a working microphone! I was fully prepared to wait a week to get it back, and she had it done within a day of delivery. So very awesome!
Continue reading →Just as an update for those who read my other stories, my computer died yesterday. Spectacularly. And strangely. Some things work – like Sims, and several other games – but I can’t get to 90% of my other programs, including any internet browsers. So.. I’m able to play and take screenshots, but not post them. Which is weird… and I have no idea how to fix it. This one’s going to take a professional.
Consequently, for my mermaid story and SimsNaNoWriMo, I’m playing way far ahead and putting screenshots on a flash drive and just hoping I’ll have enough updates that I can post from my hubby’s computer to last for as long as my computer is gone. Which is also weird, because I NEVER play that far ahead.. I’m always worried I’ll forget what the screenshots I took were for. So this will be an adventure.
On other notes, I won’t be able to start my new posting schedule until I get my computer back. I’m hoping that will be fairly soon.. but I guess it depends on what is ultimately wrong with it. Anyway, the computer goes in early morning tomorrow.. so today is my last day of Sims playing until it gets back. Hopefully my playstation will keep me occupied while the computer is gone!
Continue reading →I’ve decided to start a new posting schedule. Since I have seven stories (currently), it’s perfect to focus on one of them per day. In a perfect world, I’ll be able to get more than one post out of a play session and get a couple of these stories moving along a little bit faster (Stories in question: townie rotation for SURE, the Master Simmer since it’s 26+ generations, and the Ramblers, again, because there’s so many generations to go still.)
On another note, I’ll be taking a “break” the first week of every month for building challenges, and to pull out my Settlers challenge I have on hiatus. (That will start next month) This month, the “break week” is more getting caught up on my Tails of Sulani story, because I’ve played way ahead of where I’ve posted and need the catch-up time. In other words, expect this full schedule to start next Monday. *grin*
Just for informative purposes, I will also be posting this schedule on my “home” page, so it’s easily accessible and you can see what’s coming.
Monday – Thrall’s Master Simmer Play & post 1
Tuesday – Tails of Sulani (Mermaid Legacy) Play & Post / Townie Rotation post 1
Wednesday – The Ramblers (Drifter Challenge) Play & Post 1
Thursday – Those Crazy Irish (ISBI) Play & Post / Townie Rotation post 2
Friday – Island Spirits (Sulani History Challenge) Play & Post / Master Simmer post 2
Saturday – Townie Rotation Play & Post 3 / Ramblers post 2
Sunday – Foreshadowed Sunset (Vampire Lineage) Play & Post
So here’s how things are working out…. I’ve been taking a short break from Sims in “preparation” for the new expansion, because I expect I’ll be on Sims 24/7 for a little while after the release. Well, maybe not that much.. but it’ll be close. (If you wondered where I’ve been, I’ve been playing a lot of Civilization VI.) I have decided that updating my two challenges ASAP after the release is my first priority, but there’s a couple things in consideration before I can do that…
So.. With that in mind.. my other stories will be going on a short hiatus, and I’ll be debuting two new stories.
The first is a Mermaid Legacy (kinda color-themed) that I got the basic rules for off the Sims Forums, then rewrote for my use. I’ve titled it “Tails of Sulani” and, yes, I’ve already started with the game play being that it doesn’t actively start in the new content area. The prologue for this will be up later today.
The second is a project I’ve been sitting on for a while, and being that the creators of the challenge have been kind enough to update it for Island Living already (and it fits the pack perfectly!!) .. I’ll be starting this, as well. I’ve been wanting to start a History Challenge since the last time I started one and failed miserably with it due to the fact that I started it shortly after Cats & Dogs release, and added a few too many pets to my family.. and they really messed things up. This will be non-mermaid, and it will probably debut in the week after the Island Living release, but I don’t have a firm timeline on that yet. I do have a tentative name for the project, though, in “Island Spirits”.
There also is the possibility I’ll be making a third save just for exploring the new pack, but we’ll see. That one won’t be blogged. I do this with nearly every new pack, just to get a handle on the new stuff, but I don’t know if I’ll need two with the other two stories I have going.
With that being said, I WILL be getting back to my Ramblers, Irish, Master Simmer, Forgotten Sunset, and my Townie Rotation.. it just may be a couple to a few weeks before I have the challenges updated and am ready to add them back into the mix. In the meantime, hopefully you’ll enjoy my new stories!
Continue reading → 
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!
Chapter One – Starting Anew
November 2025 Dev DiarySuperSweetBot Commands for Mods & BroadcastersOctober 2025 Dev DiaryProgress Report!Hacking Situation ResolvedHey all…
Welcome to my new webhost!!
Progress Report on Not So Berry & TimelineExtended Not So Berry 2.0 is coming!!
OMG A Thrall Post?? What?Not So Berry Updating
Jaynie’s Gems: By-The-NumberToday
