Modding Diary - Complete cake cutting animation, break announcement (Patreon)

Hi guys! I hope you all are well! 😊

This week I finished the rest of the cake cutting animation, added facial expression as well as voice over. The animation is pretty similar to what you saw last week except its a lot more smoother.

So im just going to quickly show you all the screenshots I grabbed today

and the following is what I didn't have last week, they go in for a little hug after the pregnant sim puts the cake down

and that's all for this animation.

Yesterday I also released a bug-fix update for those of you who were unable to use the "read to baby" interaction, make sure to grab it if you haven't, You do not need this update unless you are experiencing this specific issue 

Some person stuff

I try to keep my personal stuff to myself, but I think you all deserve to know

As some of you can tell from the headline of the post, I have decided to take a 2-week break from modding. Im actually going on vacation with my partner, we have been planning this vacation for almost three years now 🤭Originally I wanted to bring my laptop with me so that I can still work on the days when we are not doing anything, but some stuff happened recently and made me realize I really just need some time to completely step away 😔.

Truth be told I have been experiencing burnout for over a year now. It's funny because I never knew what burnouts are and almost didn't believe it was real, and now I realize I was completely wrong. 🙃 I've always had an unhealthy work habit. When I first quit my job at the end of 2021 I was so excited that I finally get to focus all my time on modding, but I would also feel like I was committing a crime if I wasnt spending every waking moment modding, that means 7 days a week and working till 1-2 am everyday, don't get me wrong, I genuinely enjoyed modding, so I didnt mind at all. I was able to break that mentality at the beginning of this year, and gradually begin to take evenings off. And in the last few month I have been trying to take the weekends off as well but I still struggle with it sometimes.

What's up with modders and burnouts? I wish I can tell you, I'm incredibly grateful to be able to have such a fun job and be my own boss, but it's also impossible for me to relax. I remember when I just had a full time job I would look forward to getting off work everyday and I'd look forward to the weekend. That feeling simply doesn't exist anymore because there's always more work to do. Another reason I believe is that modders are generally pretty isolated since we technically just work by ourselves with our computer. We do talk to and help each other, but it's still very different than regular work settings where you work with other people, do your job and everyone work as a team towards a common goal.

I've been really struggling to focus recently, the more I can't focus, the more I have to work on the weekend to catch up, and the more I experience burnout. I haven't been as productive as I wanted  and I have been having brain fog sometimes which sucks when you really need to be able to think clearly to make mods. 

So i've decided to take the opportunity and step away fro two weeks. If me doing so does not live up to your expectations, you are free to dm me and ask for a refund, I will process them once I get back. I will likely still check my discord and answer simple questions. 

The next modding diary post will be released on Nov 17th.

The gender reveal update will likely be released in December. 

I hope you all have a good weekend and Happy Halloween! 🎃🎃