Patch Notes, Paralives, and a Million Naked Charlies

Becca HartwellHey everyone, welcome back to the Plumbob Report.

Danny ReyesOh, we've got a stacked one today, like genuinely stacked.

Becca HartwellTotally. So update 2.35 dropped same day across every platform and Danny, I actually gasped at one of these fixes.

Danny ReyesWait, which one?

Becca HartwellI'm not spoiling it. You've got to wait for the segment.

Danny ReyesFine, fine. But speaking of things that are wild, Paralives just hit 1 million copies in its first month.

Becca HartwellOne month?

Danny ReyesOne month, and apparently only 170 naked Charlies crashed the party, which, honestly, motherlode energy right there for a launch that clean.

Becca HartwellI need the full story on that number.

Danny ReyesOh, it's coming, along with whether that hype actually holds up long term. INTRO

Becca HartwellBefore I forget, we're also touring some upcoming life sim competitors. A vampire farming game, a monster hunting cozy hybrid, the whole thing.

Danny Reyesvampire farming I have questions.

Becca HartwellSame. So many questions.

Danny ReyesAnd later, we're celebrating the community. There's a viral wedding build, a new proposal mod, some gorgeous fan art, too.

Becca HartwellI love that segment every time. The creativity in this community never stops.

Danny ReyesNever.

Becca HartwellAlright, so should we just get into the patch notes first? I've been dying to talk about this fix.

Danny ReyesLet's do it. I want to know if EA finally listened to us.

Becca HartwellWe 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 ReyesPriorities. What are we working with?

Becca HartwellSo 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 ReyesRight. Sometimes console waits like a week feels punished for no reason.

Becca HartwellExactly. 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 ReyesSeventy! That's not a patch, that's a renovation.

Becca HartwellKind 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 ReyesBarely; I was busy setting things on fire back then. Speaking of fires, did they finally fix the thing everyone's been screaming about?

Becca HartwellYes! Okay, so ComicBook dot com (Amanda K Oaks wrote this) says the update patches one of the most annoying longstanding issues.

Danny ReyesDo not leave me hanging. Which one?

Becca HartwellThey'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 ReyesOkay, but real talk, is autonomy fixed because my Sims still stare at a burning stove like it's a Netflix show.

Becca HartwellI 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 ReyesMoolah meaning... actual in-game currency stuff or testing

Becca HartwellStore offers, yeah. It's lighter than the May patch, from what Sims Community said, but still worth poking at.

Danny Reyesfeatures always make me nervous though remember when a test feature just meant your Sim's hair vanished for two weeks we

Becca HartwellI do, I do remember that.

Danny Reyeslove a dumpster fire actually

Becca HartwellOkay, 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 ReyesSure, but meanwhile, and I cannot believe I'm bringing this up already,

Becca HartwellOh no, what?

Danny Reyesthe 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 HartwellWait, are we talking about...

Danny ReyesYeah, yeah we are.

Becca HartwellOkay, I feel like EA should be sweating a little right now, no?

Danny ReyesI mean, come on, one month on the market and already at a million? That's not nothing.

Becca HartwellSo, real question, is quality of life patching enough when someone new just showed up swinging?

Danny ReyesGuess we're about to find out.

Becca HartwellOkay, shifting gears, the actual million copy number is even wilder than the tease made it sound.

Danny ReyesRight? 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 HartwellA million for a first-time indie studio? That's startling.

Danny ReyesAnd Sims Community backed it up too, calling it a major sales moment for the studio. Like in all caps practically screaming.

Becca HartwellI love that for them. Okay, but the detail I actually can't stop thinking about?

Danny ReyesThe naked Charlies?

Becca HartwellThe naked Charlies.

Danny ReyesOkay, 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 HartwellA Sims 2 streaking tradition, truly. Really.

Danny ReyesExactly. 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 HartwellWait, 170 total out of a million people playing?

Danny Reyes170. I was expecting way more, honestly. The internet usually finds a way.

Becca HartwellGive it time, Danny. Give it time.

Danny ReyesOkay, 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 HartwellFair, 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 ReyesA beginning, not a finished product. Managed expectations.

Becca HartwellRight. And honestly, that reminds me of Sims 1 and 2,000. Janky, ambitious, everyone forgiving the rough edges because the foundation felt right.

Danny ReyesOkay, I'll allow the comparison.

Becca HartwellBut speaking of managed expectations, GamesRadar also confirmed the WickedWhims question everyone's been whispering about.

Danny ReyesOh, the mod question.

Becca HartwellYeah, the dev straight up told Anna Koselke, quote, sorry, but that's not happening for Paralives. No NSFW animation mod like WickedWhims.

Danny ReyesWhich honestly tracks. Different studio, different platform, probably different liability appetite too.

Becca HartwellSure, 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 Reyes22,000 Steam mods in a month, according to that same GamesRadar piece. Somebody's gonna try.

Becca Hartwell22,000? Okay, that number I did not know. That's Sims-level modder energy already.

Danny ReyesIt really is. And honestly, it's proof the whole life sims space just got It's got a lot crowded.

Becca HartwellCrowded in the good way, though. Competition breeding actual features, not just pool ladder fixes.

Danny ReyesLow blow, but fair. And speaking of the field getting crowded...

Becca HartwellThere's a whole wave of new life sims trying their own angle right now.

Danny ReyesVampires, monster hunting, hand-drawn anime worlds, it's a lot.

Becca HartwellSewell-Sewell to the competition, honestly. Let's get into who's actually showing up.

Danny ReyesOkay, flipping the lens a little, it's not just Paralives coming for the crown. There's a whole wave of these things.

Becca HartwellRight, like the genre's just blooming right now, in a chaotic garden kind of way.

Danny ReyesChelsey 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 Hartwella vampire farmer? Yeah,

Danny Reyesyou 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 HartwellThat's fast. Like, that's basically next week.

Danny ReyesI know. I'm building my whole aesthetic around it already.

Becca HartwellOkay, but the one I keep seeing on my feed is Monster Fantasy.

Danny ReyesOoh, tell me.

Becca HartwellSo 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 ReyesWait, those feel like opposites, though.

Becca HartwellThat'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 ReyesSo no pressure to actually hunt the big scary monsters?

Becca HartwellNone. You choose your own difficulty, basically. Big beast hunting or just vibes.

Danny ReyesThe autonomy really said, choose violence. Or don't. Your call.

Becca HartwellExactly! It's built-in consent honestly kind of refreshing.

Danny ReyesOkay, 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 HartwellSame! So which one are you actually installing first?

Danny ReyesUh, don't make me choose. Probably Moonlight Peaks, just because the release date's already locked. LOCKED.

Becca HartwellFair, but hold on, there's a third one and it might steal both your picks.

Danny ReyesWait, what?

Becca HartwellVivarium: Explosion Network broke this one-hand drawn art style, straight up inspired by classic anime.

Danny ReyesOh, that's giving Sims Two in the best way—honestly, that painterly nostalgia thing.

Becca HartwellRight? No release date yet from what they reported but the art alone has people talking.

Danny ReyesSeriously. It's wild how none of these are trying to just be Sims-but-different. They've each got their own weird hook.

Becca Hartwellvampire farming, skippable monster fights, hand-drawn anime worlds. The genre isn't shrinking, it's splitting into flavors.

Danny ReyesWhich, honestly, good. More options, more communities, more people building weird little worlds.

Becca HartwellSpeaking of the people actually building things...

Danny ReyesOh, I love where this is going.

Becca HartwellBecause all these new games are cool, but nothing beats what our own community's been cooking up lately.

Danny ReyesSeriously, we've got a viral wedding build, a mod for actual in-game proposals, someone painting Sim screenshots like fine art.

Becca HartwellAnd new Marketplace packs dropping too. It's a lot, and it's all next.

Danny ReyesStick around, this next part's the good stuff. Shifting gears to something wholesome for once: Ella and Hannah's wedding build.

Becca HartwellOkay, yes, I saw this. BuzzFeed brought them in to plan the whole thing in Sims 4?

Danny ReyesRight! They're engaged in real life, and they designed their dream wedding in game first. It's so sweet.

Becca HartwellThat's the most wholesome use of a build mode budget I've heard all week.

Danny ReyesAnd 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 HartwellSpeaking of weddings, did you see the mod that goes with this energy perfectly?

Danny ReyesEver After, right? Sims Community just put out a whole guide on it.

Becca HartwellYeah, the creators, ThatsSoJordy, and The Pitch is basically, what if proposals had actual stakes?

Danny ReyesLike your sim can get cold feet at the altar?

Becca HartwellApparently, Sims Community's Guide says it adds real tension to whether your sim says yes.

Danny ReyesI need this immediately. Base game weddings are so flat. It's just click, accept, and move on.

Becca HartwellRight? No drama, no runaway bride moment.

Danny ReyesThe autonomy just stands there and says, sure, I guess.

Becca HartwellExactly. So this mod's giving actual narrative weight to it.

Danny ReyesOkay, switching from weddings to something totally different. Have you seen Sasha Yazovs art?

Becca HartwellOh, the airbrush paintings, yes. Paul Moore covered this, and I've had the image... The images open in a tab for days.

Danny ReyesIt'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 3Mm-hmm.

Becca HartwellThere's something about seeing a loading screen or a build turned into like a real painting. It hits different.

Danny ReyesIt'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 HartwellSame. It's wild how much love people put into just reframing the game visually.

Danny ReyesOkay, before I forget, we gotta mention the new Maker Packs, too.

Becca HartwellRight. Sims Community posted this. Three new packs dropped in the marketplace.

Danny ReyesTwo free, one paid. There's a Create-a-Sim pack from Boschiana.

Becca HartwellAnd a build mode pack, too, both free.

Danny ReyesExcitingly, free CAS content and free build items in this- The same week! Take my download bandwidth.

Becca HartwellThe community makers are just out here working overtime!

Danny ReyesHonestly between the wedding build, the mods-

Becca HartwellGod, the art, the Maker Packs. This is such a good week for creativity in this community.

Danny ReyesIt really is. Like every corner of it is somebody making something because they love it.

Becca HartwellAnd EA didn't even have to do anything for half of this.

Danny ReyesThe community is doing the heavy lifting as usual.

Becca HartwellIf 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 ReyesYeah, go find something weird and beautiful in there. Tag us if you build something wild.

Becca HartwellWe'd love to see it. Okay, so today in a nutshell, patch notes, indie Sims, and Danny's pool ladder jokes.

Danny ReyesI stand by that one. EA is out here fixing stove fires while an indie team quietly hits a million sales.

Becca HartwellRight? That's the wild part of this episode. Big studios and scrappy indies both winning, just differently.

Danny ReyesAnd honestly, the fact that Paralives only got 170... The uninvited naked Charlies, that's giving surprisingly wholesome chaos.

Becca Hartwell170! I was expecting way more.

Danny ReyesSame. Whether that momentum holds is the real question going forward.

Becca HartwellTotally. Anyway, huge thanks for hanging out with us today, Simmers.

Danny ReyesIf you liked it, subscribe, leave us a review. It genuinely helps people find the show.

Becca HartwellAnd tell us your wildest Sims stories. We're at... at PlumbobReport everywhere.

Danny ReyesSoul soul simmers.

Becca HartwellSee you next time.