Patch Notes, Paralives, and a Million Naked Charlies

Becca Hartwell: Hey everyone, welcome back to the Plumbob Report. Danny Reyes: Oh, we've got a stacked one today, like genuinely stacked. Becca Hartwell: Totally. So update 2.35 dropped same day across every platform and Danny, I actually gasped at one of these fixes. Danny Reyes: Wait, which one? Becca Hartwell: I'm not spoiling it. You've got to wait for the segment. Danny Reyes: Fine, fine. But speaking of things that are wild, Paralives just hit 1 million copies in its first month. Becca Hartwell: One month? Danny Reyes: One month, and apparently only 170 naked Charlies crashed the party, which, honestly, motherlode energy right there for a launch that clean. Becca Hartwell: I need the full story on that number. Danny Reyes: Oh, it's coming, along with whether that hype actually holds up long term. INTRO Becca Hartwell: Before I forget, we're also touring some upcoming life sim competitors. A vampire farming game, a monster hunting cozy hybrid, the whole thing. Danny Reyes: vampire farming I have questions. Becca Hartwell: Same. So many questions. Danny Reyes: And later, we're celebrating the community. There's a viral wedding build, a new proposal mod, some gorgeous fan art, too. Becca Hartwell: I love that segment every time. The creativity in this community never stops. Danny Reyes: Never. Becca Hartwell: Alright, so should we just get into the patch notes first? I've been dying to talk about this fix. Danny Reyes: Let's do it. I want to know if EA finally listened to us. Becca Hartwell: We want to hear from you! Submit questions via the web form in the description or give us a call at 747-677-1037 and leave your question. Don't be shy. Our AI assistant makes it super easy. Okay, the patch dropped, update 2.35 June 30th, and I already downloaded it before my coffee finished brewing. Danny Reyes: Priorities. What are we working with? Becca Hartwell: So Alex Ko covered it over at MP1st, and it's live on PC, Mac, Xbox, PlayStation, everywhere. Same day. That's not always a given. Danny Reyes: Right. Sometimes console waits like a week feels punished for no reason. Becca Hartwell: Exactly. And IGN's Patch Note Rundown, the byline list on that one is basically the whole newsroom, says we're looking at over 70 bug fixes and quality of life tweaks in this one. Danny Reyes: Seventy! That's not a patch, that's a renovation. Becca Hartwell: Kind of; and this is giving Sims, too, in the best way, honestly; remember when patches used to just quietly fix ten things and call it a day? Danny Reyes: Barely; I was busy setting things on fire back then. Speaking of fires, did they finally fix the thing everyone's been screaming about? Becca Hartwell: Yes! Okay, so ComicBook dot com (Amanda K Oaks wrote this) says the update patches one of the most annoying longstanding issues. Danny Reyes: Do not leave me hanging. Which one? Becca Hartwell: They're not naming it as one single thing; more like the whole cluster of fan voted annoyances. this people have been complaining about forever. So, so; and also what the heck, finally! Right? Danny Reyes: Okay, but real talk, is autonomy fixed because my Sims still stare at a burning stove like it's a Netflix show. Becca Hartwell: I can't confirm that one specifically, but Sims Community's June Patch Piece did mention new testing features rolling out alongside some Moola offers. Danny Reyes: Moolah meaning... actual in-game currency stuff or testing Becca Hartwell: Store offers, yeah. It's lighter than the May patch, from what Sims Community said, but still worth poking at. Danny Reyes: features always make me nervous though remember when a test feature just meant your Sim's hair vanished for two weeks we Becca Hartwell: I do, I do remember that. Danny Reyes: love a dumpster fire actually Becca Hartwell: Okay, but seventy fixes is a lot of plumbing to check under the hood. This is the kind of patch that doesn't get headlines but makes the game feel so much smoother day to day. Danny Reyes: Sure, but meanwhile, and I cannot believe I'm bringing this up already, Becca Hartwell: Oh no, what? Danny Reyes: the EA is over here fixing pool ladders and stove fires and there's a whole indie team that just quietly sold a million copies. Becca Hartwell: Wait, are we talking about... Danny Reyes: Yeah, yeah we are. Becca Hartwell: Okay, I feel like EA should be sweating a little right now, no? Danny Reyes: I mean, come on, one month on the market and already at a million? That's not nothing. Becca Hartwell: So, real question, is quality of life patching enough when someone new just showed up swinging? Danny Reyes: Guess we're about to find out. Becca Hartwell: Okay, shifting gears, the actual million copy number is even wilder than the tease made it sound. Danny Reyes: Right? One month. One! Anna Koselke's keys on GamesRadar just casually drops that Paralives sold a million copies in its first month of early access. Becca Hartwell: A million for a first-time indie studio? That's startling. Danny Reyes: And Sims Community backed it up too, calling it a major sales moment for the studio. Like in all caps practically screaming. Becca Hartwell: I love that for them. Okay, but the detail I actually can't stop thinking about? Danny Reyes: The naked Charlies? Becca Hartwell: The naked Charlies. Danny Reyes: Okay, so for anyone who doesn't know, Charlie is basically Paralives' default test character and apparently people love running around maps with no clothes on as a bit. Becca Hartwell: A Sims 2 streaking tradition, truly. Really. Danny Reyes: Exactly. And GamesRadar reported only 170 of those showed up uninvited across a million players. That's not even a rounding error. That's basically zero chaos. Becca Hartwell: Wait, 170 total out of a million people playing? Danny Reyes: 170. I was expecting way more, honestly. The internet usually finds a way. Becca Hartwell: Give it time, Danny. Give it time. Danny Reyes: Okay, but here's my pushback. One great launch month doesn't mean staying power. Sims 4 has survived, what, a decade plus of drama because EA keeps feeding it content? Can Paralives keep that energy up? Becca Hartwell: Fair, but the early signs are good. The Punished Backlogs early access preview from Alexia Dahlin called it a beautiful beginning, like the framing alone tells you the tone. Danny Reyes: A beginning, not a finished product. Managed expectations. Becca Hartwell: Right. And honestly, that reminds me of Sims 1 and 2,000. Janky, ambitious, everyone forgiving the rough edges because the foundation felt right. Danny Reyes: Okay, I'll allow the comparison. Becca Hartwell: But speaking of managed expectations, GamesRadar also confirmed the WickedWhims question everyone's been whispering about. Danny Reyes: Oh, the mod question. Becca Hartwell: Yeah, the dev straight up told Anna Koselke, quote, sorry, but that's not happening for Paralives. No NSFW animation mod like WickedWhims. Danny Reyes: Which honestly tracks. Different studio, different platform, probably different liability appetite too. Becca Hartwell: Sure, but fans in that article are already saying someone else will step up and build it anyway. The modding community does not take no for an answer. Danny Reyes: 22,000 Steam mods in a month, according to that same GamesRadar piece. Somebody's gonna try. Becca Hartwell: 22,000? Okay, that number I did not know. That's Sims-level modder energy already. Danny Reyes: It really is. And honestly, it's proof the whole life sims space just got It's got a lot crowded. Becca Hartwell: Crowded in the good way, though. Competition breeding actual features, not just pool ladder fixes. Danny Reyes: Low blow, but fair. And speaking of the field getting crowded... Becca Hartwell: There's a whole wave of new life sims trying their own angle right now. Danny Reyes: Vampires, monster hunting, hand-drawn anime worlds, it's a lot. Becca Hartwell: Sewell-Sewell to the competition, honestly. Let's get into who's actually showing up. Danny Reyes: Okay, flipping the lens a little, it's not just Paralives coming for the crown. There's a whole wave of these things. Becca Hartwell: Right, like the genre's just blooming right now, in a chaotic garden kind of way. Danny Reyes: Chelsey Quezada wrote about this one for GamesRadar, and I'm obsessed already. Moonlight Peaks is a farming sim, but your character's a vampire. Wait, Becca Hartwell: a vampire farmer? Yeah, Danny Reyes: you move into your family's abandoned farmstead. And it's mixing that cozy farm vibe with straight-up gothic supernatural stuff. And it's releasing July 7th. And it's releasing July 7th. Becca Hartwell: That's fast. Like, that's basically next week. Danny Reyes: I know. I'm building my whole aesthetic around it already. Becca Hartwell: Okay, but the one I keep seeing on my feed is Monster Fantasy. Danny Reyes: Ooh, tell me. Becca Hartwell: So IGN got hands-on with an early build, and Tristan Ogilvie described it as basically Monster Hunter Energy. be smashed into Animal Crossing chill. Danny Reyes: Wait, those feel like opposites, though. Becca Hartwell: That's the whole point. Automaton talked to the devs about this, and apparently combat is fully skippable. You can just go catch bugs and hang out with villagers if you want. Danny Reyes: So no pressure to actually hunt the big scary monsters? Becca Hartwell: None. You choose your own difficulty, basically. Big beast hunting or just vibes. Danny Reyes: The autonomy really said, choose violence. Or don't. Your call. Becca Hartwell: Exactly! It's built-in consent honestly kind of refreshing. Danny Reyes: Okay, that's genuinely appealing to me because sometimes I just want to decorate a farm and pet a chicken. I don't need a boss fight. Becca Hartwell: Same! So which one are you actually installing first? Danny Reyes: Uh, don't make me choose. Probably Moonlight Peaks, just because the release date's already locked. LOCKED. Becca Hartwell: Fair, but hold on, there's a third one and it might steal both your picks. Danny Reyes: Wait, what? Becca Hartwell: Vivarium: Explosion Network broke this one-hand drawn art style, straight up inspired by classic anime. Danny Reyes: Oh, that's giving Sims Two in the best way—honestly, that painterly nostalgia thing. Becca Hartwell: Right? No release date yet from what they reported but the art alone has people talking. Danny Reyes: Seriously. It's wild how none of these are trying to just be Sims-but-different. They've each got their own weird hook. Becca Hartwell: vampire farming, skippable monster fights, hand-drawn anime worlds. The genre isn't shrinking, it's splitting into flavors. Danny Reyes: Which, honestly, good. More options, more communities, more people building weird little worlds. Becca Hartwell: Speaking of the people actually building things... Danny Reyes: Oh, I love where this is going. Becca Hartwell: Because all these new games are cool, but nothing beats what our own community's been cooking up lately. Danny Reyes: Seriously, we've got a viral wedding build, a mod for actual in-game proposals, someone painting Sim screenshots like fine art. Becca Hartwell: And new Marketplace packs dropping too. It's a lot, and it's all next. Danny Reyes: Stick around, this next part's the good stuff. Shifting gears to something wholesome for once: Ella and Hannah's wedding build. Becca Hartwell: Okay, yes, I saw this. BuzzFeed brought them in to plan the whole thing in Sims 4? Danny Reyes: Right! They're engaged in real life, and they designed their dream wedding in game first. It's so sweet. Becca Hartwell: That's the most wholesome use of a build mode budget I've heard all week. Danny Reyes: And it's blowing up because it's genuine, you know? It's not some crazy mansion flex. Blacks, it's just two people planning their day. Becca Hartwell: Speaking of weddings, did you see the mod that goes with this energy perfectly? Danny Reyes: Ever After, right? Sims Community just put out a whole guide on it. Becca Hartwell: Yeah, the creators, ThatsSoJordy, and The Pitch is basically, what if proposals had actual stakes? Danny Reyes: Like your sim can get cold feet at the altar? Becca Hartwell: Apparently, Sims Community's Guide says it adds real tension to whether your sim says yes. Danny Reyes: I need this immediately. Base game weddings are so flat. It's just click, accept, and move on. Becca Hartwell: Right? No drama, no runaway bride moment. Danny Reyes: The autonomy just stands there and says, sure, I guess. Becca Hartwell: Exactly. So this mod's giving actual narrative weight to it. Danny Reyes: Okay, switching from weddings to something totally different. Have you seen Sasha Yazovs art? Becca Hartwell: Oh, the airbrush paintings, yes. Paul Moore covered this, and I've had the image... The images open in a tab for days. Danny Reyes: It's nice that ran the piece and it's Sims screenshots turned into actual paintings, like late 2000s game aesthetic but rendered by hand. Speaker 3: Mm-hmm. Becca Hartwell: There's something about seeing a loading screen or a build turned into like a real painting. It hits different. Danny Reyes: It's giving nostalgia but also fine art at the same time. I didn't expect to get emotional over pixel Sims but here we are. are Becca Hartwell: Same. It's wild how much love people put into just reframing the game visually. Danny Reyes: Okay, before I forget, we gotta mention the new Maker Packs, too. Becca Hartwell: Right. Sims Community posted this. Three new packs dropped in the marketplace. Danny Reyes: Two free, one paid. There's a Create-a-Sim pack from Boschiana. Becca Hartwell: And a build mode pack, too, both free. Danny Reyes: Excitingly, free CAS content and free build items in this- The same week! Take my download bandwidth. Becca Hartwell: The community makers are just out here working overtime! Danny Reyes: Honestly between the wedding build, the mods- Becca Hartwell: God, the art, the Maker Packs. This is such a good week for creativity in this community. Danny Reyes: It really is. Like every corner of it is somebody making something because they love it. Becca Hartwell: And EA didn't even have to do anything for half of this. Danny Reyes: The community is doing the heavy lifting as usual. Becca Hartwell: If you haven't checked the Gallery lately, genuinely go look. There's stuff in there that'll make you want to boot the game up tonight. Danny Reyes: Yeah, go find something weird and beautiful in there. Tag us if you build something wild. Becca Hartwell: We'd love to see it. Okay, so today in a nutshell, patch notes, indie Sims, and Danny's pool ladder jokes. Danny Reyes: I stand by that one. EA is out here fixing stove fires while an indie team quietly hits a million sales. Becca Hartwell: Right? That's the wild part of this episode. Big studios and scrappy indies both winning, just differently. Danny Reyes: And honestly, the fact that Paralives only got 170... The uninvited naked Charlies, that's giving surprisingly wholesome chaos. Becca Hartwell: 170! I was expecting way more. Danny Reyes: Same. Whether that momentum holds is the real question going forward. Becca Hartwell: Totally. Anyway, huge thanks for hanging out with us today, Simmers. Danny Reyes: If you liked it, subscribe, leave us a review. It genuinely helps people find the show. Becca Hartwell: And tell us your wildest Sims stories. We're at... at PlumbobReport everywhere. Danny Reyes: Soul soul simmers. Becca Hartwell: See you next time.