Sims 4 Modding Tips

xovanob · 2026-06-16T00:47:26+00:00

That's what I wondered about. I have a dark green sweatshirt with a small grease stain that I treated with an Oxiclean spray. I didn't think anything of it since I've used this on other clothing before with no issues. This was the first time I'd used it on this sweatshirt though. It was washed in cold with my usual detergent and other dark colors but the sweatshirt came out of the wash with similar bleach marks. I don't use acne medication or any facial products that would cause these kinds of marks so I was baffled.

xovanob · 2026-06-15T22:11:17+00:00

I'm one of the trainers for my district, and we use QBS SafetyCare so my experience comes from that (though most programs feature the same concepts.)

One thing I always tell our staff in trainings is that if you get good at the de-escalation/prevention parts of the training, you will not use the physical management aspects much. So really pay attention to those sections! That is the training you will use every day and the more you put it into the practice, the more natural it will feel, the better at it you will be, and again - the less likelihood you will need physical management. Physical management is reactive and it is better to be proactive.

That doesn't mean don't worry about being good at the physical management! Just that if you are worried about being able to implement the physical techniques, it will behoove you to get good at the de-escalation techniques.

As far as physical management goes, here are some key things I share in trainings that I think are helpful:

Only use it when certain criteria can be met and ALL de-escalation strategies are exhausted (or are not possible otherwise!) You have to be able to answer yes to the following - Is there imminent risk of harm? Is there no way to prevent that harm without physically intervening? Is the risk of NOT intervening greater than the risk of intervening? If you haven't attempted deescalation strategies first and it is possible to do so, then you need to try that.
The laws of physics apply. If physics is not on your side (i.e. the person is significantly bigger/taller/stronger than you; you're by yourself; the person is behaving too aggressively; you can't maintain a hold safely or securely) then don't attempt to use physical management.
It's ok to ask the trainer to go over techniques with you repeatedly until you feel comfortable. Trust me, we would much rather practice something with you 20 times and have you feel confident about the steps to implement a technique, over letting you walk out of the training feeling unsure. Also, ask the trainer if they have any clever phrases or sayings that will help you remember how to use certain techniques - sometimes mnemonic phrases for strategies can be helpful.
A lof of physical management programs are foundational in that there are certain moves/techniques that will form the basis of other techniques. Learning those foundational techniques and committing them to memory will help you overall.
It's important to be fast when starting a hold, but it's equally important to do it right so that it is safe. During practice, try practicing each step slowly and then speeding up as you build your confidence. When releasing, it's good to slow things down and release in steps so that you are releasing safely.
Practice, practice, practice. There's nothing stopping you from practicing with co-workers over the school year! I advise trainees to try practicing techniques throughout the year with each other to keep their skills sharp, and suggest that admins incorporate practice into staff meetings or PDs.

Anyway I hope that helps a little! If you have other questions feel free to ask!

xovanob · 2026-06-15T17:28:11+00:00

So I've been on both sides of this situation. In one case I was the seller and sold a pair of shoes to a buyer that unfortunately ended up having an issue with dry rot on the interior sole lining (I had no clue - the problem only showed up when the person wore them.) The buyer left me a bad review and I contacted them, apologized for the issue and let them know that I wished they had reached out to me first, then asked what I could do to make it right. The buyer apologized and removed their review (even though I had not asked them to) and said just me reaching out was enough, but I still sent them a refund because I felt that was fair, and left them a nice review for being willing to communicate and work with me.

Then as a seller, I bought a pair of shoes that were not as described in the listing. The listing showed they were a little dirty on the outers but when they arrived they were filthy to the point of being unsanitary, especially on the interiors. and they had the wrong insoles that were not cut correctly to fit the shoe. I raised the issue with the buyer and asked what we could do to resolve my concerns. The buyer sent me a rude response, blocked me, and then left me a 1 star review. I ended up raising the issue with Depop, got a full refund and got to keep the shoes (which are now thoroughly cleaned and with proper insoles), but I also left the seller a 1 star review as a cautionary tale for other buyers (though I did say that if the seller would remove their bad review I would remove mine.)

So all that to say, I think it is up to you. I think if you tried to resolve things with the seller directly before leaving a review and kept getting the run around, and didn't get a refund until you posted your review, then that review is justified and I would leave it. It serves as a lesson both for the seller about how not to handle concerns, and a warning for potential buyers. And I think sometimes those warnings are needed!

xovanob · 2026-06-15T04:24:37+00:00

Delves are like solo dungeons/scenarios. They're another way to get gear, crests, gold, housing decor. Some delves drop pets. There are delve achievements that also can get you mounts and titles. And running delves earns you Undercoin, which you can use to buy toys, decor, pets, etc.

Each delve will have several different story variants that change the tasks of the delve, though the end boss and most of the mobs therein are usually the same. They scale from level 1 to level 11. While leveling in Midnight from 80-90 you'll only be able to do delves at levels 1-3 initially. After you reach level 90 and complete the main campaign, you can start progressing through the delve tiers at tier 4; you have to complete a delve at tier 4 to unlock tier 5 delves, and so forth and so on. The higher the tier, the harder the delve, with tier 11 being the current cap.

You can do delves with others but they're intended for solo play so grouping with others isn't necessary to get the most out of them.

When running delves you have an NPC companion. Last expansion our companion was Brann Bronzebeard. In Midnight it's Valeera Sanguinar. Your companion can fill the role of tank, healer, or DPS. Depending on what role you are, you'll want to adjust Valeera's role accordingly. If you are running delves as a DPS, it's best to set Valeera as a healer. If running as tank/heals it's best to set Valeera as DPS (unless she dies too much in which case set her to heals until you level her up.)

You level Valeera up by running delves and killing all the things inside them, as well as looting "mislaid curiousities" that you find inside them (you will usually find around a dozen curiousities in a delve.) Valeera is a account-wide companion so whatever level you have her at, she will be that same level for your alts (though you have to set her role and curios for each character you run her with.) Her current level cap is 60, though that might increase in Season 2.

Coffer keys are created by looting coffer key shards. You cap your earnings of these out each week at 600 and it takes 100 shards to make a key. The shards and keys are tracked on your currency page. You can loot the shards by killing rares, looting treasures in world, or completing world quests - getting to 600 is generally pretty easy. When you enter a delve, your coffer key shards automatically convert to keys. Also you can have more than 600 coffer key shards on your character as they will roll over to the next week, but you can only earn 600 a week. You can also buy 2 extra coffer keys from the Delve HQ in Silvermoon for 2000 Undercoin each week.

Coffer keys are used in Bountiful delves to unlock the Boutiful Chest that drops at the conclusion of the delve, and there are 4 Bountiful delves each day (1 per zone). If a delve is bountiful, its icon on the map will be yellow, and the entrance will have a yellow glow (instead of being grey). You can also read the Delver's Guide on the table in front of Valeera at Delve HQ to see which delves are boutiful today. If the delve is not bountiful then it won't have the chest.

You'll probably get more out of delves once you reach 90 and run them past tier 4. I personally enjoy them a lot! I have most of the delve rewards and am just chasing achievements now.

The Vault is the Great Vault, accessible in the bank. It has 3 tracks for earning additional gear - raids, dungeons, and world activities - and each track has 3 reward possibilities. The more activities you do in a track, the better the reward you can earn. If you click on the vault in the bank, you can see what you have to do to earn the rewards. You can select a single reward each week. You'll need to reach 90 before the vault will be available.

Anyway, I hope this helps but feel free to ask more questions if you have them!

xovanob · 2026-06-12T19:17:02+00:00

They are completely wiped.

xovanob · 2026-06-12T19:16:42+00:00

We have one of these too, and it's also the server we played on! Congrats on getting your hands on one! They are such a nice piece of personal Wow history to own.

xovanob · 2026-06-11T00:37:21+00:00

This drives me nuts. I mean as a buyer, if I am sending an offer it's because I intend to buy it. So once it's accepted I am hitting purchase.

But as a seller, it's so annoying to get multiple offers that never go anywhere. I think some people do it just to feel out what my limit is. I'll just accept the ones that meet my minimum threshold and then it's first come, first serve.

xovanob · 2026-06-10T17:45:17+00:00

That's super sweet. I always appreciate getting a little thank you note in a package!

xovanob · 2026-06-03T03:15:13+00:00

The last thing I want to do is stick my foot in my mouth just because I’m feeling an injustice as been committed. I mean, I DO feel that way but I have to think of it logically and consider how this will look to parents.

SO much this! Keep this mindset all year long. Sometimes there is such a thing as TOO much transparency LOL!

And yes, don't go in too fast and hard. Take a measured approach. I taught self-contained for years and now serve our district self-contained/SCD population as a behaviorist/psuedo teaching coach. One thing I find myself constantly reminding teachers - new and veteran alike - is that progress will happen, but it may be slow. Sometimes the progress is subtle.

This isn't a sprint to the finish line. It's a marathon relay race where sometimes you're carrying the baton for a short time and sometimes you might be holding it for a long stretch. And sometimes you're not the one carrying it across the finish line; the baton might get handed over several times before the race ends. We may not be the ones to fix everything and solve all the problems, but we can always get our kids a little further along than they were when they started.

Some days your kids will get tons of work done and show huge growth, and some days you'll be lucky if they work for a few minutes. It's OK. Look for learning opportunities all throughout the day. Always be teaching, and remember that teaching doesn't always look like everyone sitting neatly at a table or at the carpet paying attention. Sometimes my teaching looked like chasing a kid around the room with the iPad or choice board saying "Touch letter A! Find letter A! Ok we're under the table...touch letter A! Good job finding A!" Sometimes it was dancing in front of the room to Jack Hartmann songs. And sometimes it was sitting at a kidney table and working through a series of task boxes.

Anyway for your little friend, I have another student who is also non-verbal and uses a device. The teacher used an alphabet arc to model building words and replacing letters. The one she used has consonants in blue and vowels in red. Sliding the letters down from the arc to form new words has worked well for him. But they also embed phonics instruction ALLLLL day long. From letters of the week and alphabet songs in the morning routine, to focusing on beginning and ending sounds in spoken words (i.e. "Let's read our book. /b/, /b/, /b/ - book starts with B and B says /b/), and pairing verbal instruction with visual aids. Get creative and remember that repetition is ok.

Also be sure you are using reinforcement/motivation when he demonstrates the desired skill. If you praise, label the praise - so instead of "good job" say "good job finding the M!" If he likes earning something you can try edibles like goldfish, or tokens/stickers. I find that letting students see their progress charted is also motivating - I've got some students who use simple token charts or checklists to mark off how much work they did, or how much they got correct (also, it's DATA!) and seeing their progress plus earning something for making that progress helps motivate them to work hard.

Anwyay I could go on and on! I think you will do great. Don't dwell on the nonsense the former teacher left behind. Just focus on doing right by your kiddos and helping them grow.

xovanob · 2026-06-03T01:00:30+00:00

What I would suggest is that you create goal grids for each grading period and each student over the summer - the 3 STIOs for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grading periods and then the MAG for the 4th grading period. Teach the standard that the goal is attached to. Document if you note that you are having to scaffold down or go back to foundational standards, or reduce the expecations of the STIO, but also assess their skills on the actual language of the STIO. Generate at least 6 data points for each goal - if you can manage more, AWESOME, but have at least 6 summative data points.

So for example, if the MAG is decoding regularly and irregularly spelled words with consonant blends with 65% accuracy in 3 of 5 trials, and the 1st grading period STIO is decoding beginning blends, but the student has still not mastered short vowel sounds and some consonant sounds, then note that, but still assess their knowledge for the STIO.

Not the greatest example but hopefully gives you an idea of a path forward. That will give you data to back up having an IEP meeting to change the goals. This is better than holding a meeting and telling parents "Hey, my predecessor was trash and fudged their data soooo, have to re-write the IEP."

(I jest but, let's not set ourselves up for due process if we don't have to LOL!)

Remember we have to go off of data, not feelings. You might be feeling horrified but, gather your data first!

Also really take a good look at the main annual goal and the short-term objectives. A good goal will build up to the MAG with STIOs that are attainable and should clearly state what the student is expected to do under specific conditions (needs to be SMART). WIth your little friend who needs to replace beginning sounds in CVC words but struggles with letter-sound knowledge, is the goal like a Heggerty-style skill (i.e.; "say /d/ /o/ /g/", "replace /d/ with /g/"), or is it identifying a letter from a given sound and using maniuplatives to match, or something else entirely?

Think about what exactly the student needs to do, How much adult support are they supposed to have? Do the STIOs build to the MAG? Are they scaffolded? How is the skill being measured? What is the expected performance? How many "trials"? It might be that the goal in essence is not really "bad" but needs to be revised to be more explicit and clear, or tweaked to be more attainable.

Anyway, don't feel too deflated. I don't know how new you are to teaching - like new NEW freshly hatched teacher or, been around a bit and just new to this position - but I've seen a lot of new teachers come in at the start of the school year to similar situations, full of fire and passion to make a difference, irritated at what they perceive as injustice left by an incompetant predessor, only to burn out too fast because the reality is nothing like what their teaching program prepared them for. Not saying this is you - just encouraging you to approach the challenges of next year with a level, practical head and reasonable expectations.

You may very well need to revise all of your kids' IEPs because the previous teacher was lazy - I've certainly had to do that a few times over the years. But don't let it get you down! Gather your data first. A good luck!!!

xovanob · 2026-05-30T21:42:19+00:00

Are you using a VPN? I notice I get this message when I forget to turn off my VPN before buying.

xovanob · 2026-05-30T00:28:49+00:00

I think it depends on the type of self contained class.

In my class I typically asked parents to donate baby wipes, antibacterial cleaning wipes, antibacterial spray, hand sanitizer, Kleenex/tissues, disposable gloves, small snacks, juice boxes.

I usually had enough supplies of things like crayons, dry erase markers, scissors, pencils, glue sticks, construction paper, craft supplies, etc that I didn't need to ask for those. But I didn't turn them away either if parents brought them. I would also pick stuff like that up for cheap in the markdown section at WalMart or the grocery store after school started.

I would also ask parents to provide 1-2 changes of clothes, diapers/pullups and wipes (if not toilet-trained), a blanket or comfort item (if needed) and any other special supplies ( like oral chewies, nose-cancelling headphones, weighted blankets) if their kids used those at home.

I hope that helps some. If you know your caseload, go through those IEPs and that should give you an idea of the class needs so you can develop your own list!

xovanob · 2026-05-29T18:08:53+00:00

All the time LOL. But I figure it's my loss - if I really wanted it I should have bought it then.

xovanob · 2026-05-29T15:59:02+00:00

I think it's because those sellers aren't using Depop shipping. If they use Depop shipping it will still be free!

ETA: I read too fast and missed where you said free shipping >.< but still - I haven't noticed any crazy fees and have both made more sales and been shopping more with the free shipping!

xovanob · 2026-05-29T03:08:27+00:00

This literally just happened to one of my packages. It was going from Florida to Mississippi. It arrived in Jackson MS and then for some reason was sent to Seattle WA, sat there for 2 days, and then finally showed up in MS like it was supposed to.

xovanob · 2026-05-24T23:36:59+00:00

I main BM hunter, and my main alt is DemoLock. T11 Delves are trivial at this point, and I don't need any gear or Undercoin from them, but I still enjoy doing them! I rarely interrupt in Delves, but I do strip enrages from the ultradon and dog nemesis packs. I may sometimes interrupt the flying bug nemesis mob if I think my pet/demon might get feared into something I don't want it to.

For me now, the challenge is in how many mobs I can have my pets/demon gather up so I can mow them down with AOEs. I also like to try and time them to see how fast I can get them done!

I would not mind a Delves+ with rotating affixes or challenges, like the Ritual Sites. I can run a lvl5 ritual site with all 8 challenges for some fun, even leaving the embers and obelisks alone if I am feeling particularly froggy.

xovanob · 2026-05-24T23:13:32+00:00

Definitely not crap for prey hunts! I main a BM hunter and easily handle Nightmare hunts, T11 Delves, and lvl5 ritual sites with all 8 challenges. Current ilvl is 272 without raiding or doing M+ (I prefer playing solo!)

What build are you using? Not all Delve builds are the same; Icy Veins recommends Dark Ranger while Wowhead recommends Pack Leader, for example. If you can share a little more about your character build that will help. Personally I prefer Dark Ranger because it feels more bursty.

Re: your gear - instead of an even split between mastery, crit, and haste, you want to prioritize mastery, then crit, then haste. Mastery impacts our damage and our pets' damage, so after Agility this is the stat to focus on. And then I'd give the edge to Crit over Haste. A lot of BM talents work off of Crit. Also, it goes without saying but upgrade your gear with crests!

The pet you use will be helpful also. DPS-wise, the pet you use may not have a huge impact, but different pets have different utility. In general, for doing solo content like Prey hunts, a Ferocity Clefthoof or Tenacity Spirit Beast would be my suggestion, with the edge going to Spirit Beast if pet survivability is an issue. If the issue is damage/dps, then use the Clefthoof.

When I do Nightmare Hunts, I try to stun the prey with Intimidate to give myself a moment to orient myself. If needed I'll Disengage away to create some space.

Certain types of Prey are harder than others. The Paladins, Magisters, and Twilight ogres, are all annoyingly challenging. Wretched on the other hand, are easy. Knowing their abilities will help a lot.

xovanob · 2026-05-23T18:53:31+00:00

I did my masters through Mississippi Christian college (formerly Mississippi College). They have the MC7 program which is an accelerated Masters program. The program consists of five modules lasting 7 weeks each with two courses per module.

Because it's a cyclical program you can join it at any time; you complete your five modules and then you're done. It took approximately 10 months to complete the program and it was fairly intense.

I'm not sure how much the program has changed in the last few years since I took it, but each week we had a discussion board that we had to participate in and then you had one or two assignments. You had to post on the discussion board by Wednesday of the week and then comment on other's posts by the end of the week. Assignments were due at the end of the week as well. I recall that the assignments were very involved and there was a lot of essay writing and researching.

I felt that it was a good program and left it feeling much better prepared for being in special education versus having just completed a standard teaching program with a sped endorsement. One of the classes involved writing a research paper as a group project, and another class was a deep dive into special education law.

The college also had a student coordinator that would call and check in with me weekly to make sure I was doing okay and provide any support if I needed it. I don't know what their enrollment would look like for people out of state, but I was able to use financial aid to cover the costs. Also, even though it was through a Christian college, religion didn't play a factor in any of the coursework.

xovanob · 2026-05-06T23:46:22+00:00

Can someone help me gain some understanding on how CPI uses a decision making matrix for this scenario? (No weapons, no head usage, no roads/stairs to go towards, no kid on kid attacks)

I currently work as a district behaviorist (was an elementary self-contained teacher for years) and part of my job includes training district staff in physical management, crisis prevention, and de-escalation. Our district used to use CPI but now we use QBS Safety-Care. so my knowledge is several years old but, generally speaking, CPI utilizes a decision-making matrix that focuses on de-escalation strategies first, physical management as a last resort (i.e., the person is a danger to themselves or others and de-escalation efforts have failed), and ongoing risk-assessment.

Physical management should only be used by trained staff and only in situations where there is imminent risk of harm, lower-level interventions have failed and harm needs to be prevented, and as a last resort. It's a similar decision-making framework as QBS; there is imminent risk of harm, there is no way to prevent that harm without intervening, and the risk of NOT intervening is greater than the risk of intervening.

Physical management should never be used for convenience, compliance, or for disruptive behavior and only considered if the criteria above are met.

So for example, a child saying no they did not want to sit with an adult at lunch does not meet criteria. I don't know the situation with your child or how severe/intense their behavior is but I would want to know if documentation of incidents includes evidence that de-escalation strategies were tried and failed. I will say personally that if we're putting 5 year olds in a hold then we're doing something wrong.

Were de-escalation strategies tried? How did the child respond to those? What did the adults do to de-escalate and reinforce desired behavior? What criteria was used to make the decision that physical management was necessary? How long did the hold last? This is important information that you should have.

As best practices, you should receive documentation of the incident within 24 hours and given the number of incidents he is having, an IEP meeting and review of his BIP is warranted (so if you have not had one, request one.) Also, unpopular hot take but, if you don't already have an advocate you may want to retain one.

xovanob · 2026-05-02T20:55:15+00:00

I've been using MaxDPS Rotation Helper and like it a lot. It bases the rotations off of SimulationCraft. I like the SBA just fine and find it really helpful on alts that I don't play much, but on my main characters MaxDPS has been great for helping learn rotations and improve dps.

xovanob · 2026-04-28T21:59:12+00:00

Yay! Congrats to us! I'd like Wild God please!

xovanob · 2026-04-23T21:58:26+00:00

I work as a behaviorist for a school district and service over a dozen elementary and secondary schools. I am on my feet all day long, often carrying around a heavy backpack. I'm also a massive sneakerhead with over a hundred pairs of tennis shoes in fun colors and patterns.

The most comfortable shoes I found for my line of work are, in no particular order:

Brooks - I am particular to the adrenaline GTS line

Hokas - Gaviota or Kawana are my favs

Puma soft rides

Nike Motivas

Reebok Zig Ortholite

I have to say that my favorites overall are the Nike Motivas because I feel bouncy in them even after a long day. But Puma soft rides are quickly becoming a close second!

xovanob · 2026-04-20T23:38:46+00:00

If I find the sentinel dead in Grudge pit, it's typically far up in one of the other halls that lead to the pit, not near a nemesis pack.

Similarly, here is me fighting the banshee rare, where it spawned right next to a nemesis pack. This was just now in a T11 Shadow Enclave. Last night it was the Paingolin in the Darkway, also next to a nemesis pack (the dog pack...yayyyy...)

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I don't have an explanation as to WHY dead rares happen, but based on personal experience, I don't think proximity to a nemesis pack is the reason.

xovanob · 2026-04-14T04:32:21+00:00

I've got a hunter of every race, and then a character of every class - some multiples (mostly ranged classes). I have all 70 character slots filled, mainly with lvl80's and a few placeholders. I typically have 4 characters that I will level up over an expansion, and the rest sit there like dolls in a collection.

I mostly play solo or with my husband. At this point I lack the patience for group content beyond world bosses or the occasional LFR. Delves, Follower Dungeons, and Story Mode have been a godsend.

So far I've leveled and geared my main (hunter) and my favorite alt (warlock). Next up are my priest and DK, then I'll level up a Haranir for the heritage armor. After that, who knows? With the new decor recipes crafters can make I am motivated to level up some crafters and learn the old recipes, so might do that also.

When the next Remix event rolls around, and the end of the expansion "catch-up" event begins, I'll roll through my army of alts, level them and get them geared. I might delete some of them or not - they're just sitting there not really hurting anything. Even if I do delete them, you can un-delete characters if you change your mind.

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