PreviewsPreviewsPreviews1970-01-01T01:00:00Zhttp://www.thesimsresource.com/articles/posts/Previewshttp://www.thesimsresource.com/articles/posts/Generations EP 'hands-on'http://www.thesimsresource.com/articlesview-post/post/20969/2011-04-19T01:00:00Zh3The Generations Event, London./h3
pOn Thursday April 14th I was invited down to London to get 'hands on' with the next Expansion Pack for Sims 3 and to talk with one of the producers on the game, Graham Nardone. Having already read many interviews that had been posted quoting Graham from his wild press tour of Europe I felt as familiar with his answers to the same questions I had already seen as I think he was. So rather than posting the same interview that every other fansite is posting I'll just incorporate what I learned from him in my article. We aren't allowed to call it a review, or a preview, so an article it is (probably because this is an early build of the game and may or may not incorporate all of the features and objects mentioned here, so don't be surprised if they pull something as they have done in the past)./p
h3So... what do you think? (asked countless times an hour all day)/h3
pa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788512.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-397h-220-1788512.jpg border=0 width=397 height=220 style=float: left; margin: 10px; //aUnconventional. That's how I summed up Generations when people asked me what I thought of it. That's not a bad thing, but Generations doesn't quite follow the usual principle of Sims Expansions. There are no new neighborhoods, no new locations to visit, no pets, no snow. I've span style=text-decoration: line-through;previewed/span got 'hands on' with most of the EP's from the games and this was quite different from all others. Generations is more about bringing it back to being about the Sims as Graham put it when I asked what the initial objectives were for EP4 in the early development plans. The reason you don't need all the new locations, 'hoods and places to visit with Generations is because this pack injects tons of new content into your existing Sims lives and worlds. It's a huge enhancement to the base game really, which I have seen criticised around the community already, with people suggesting that all these things should have been in the base game from the start. Well, we have to consider that The Sims 3 can be improved upon in almost countless ways, so if the Dev's tried to incorporate all of the Generations features (and all the others EP content that people say should have been included) the game would never actually ship. It's like a work in progress, it will never be complete, and so EP's are the way that the developers build on this 'work of art'. Just had to get that off my chest before I delve into the goodies ;-)/p
h3Seen it, read it, know it/h3
pLike me (as a Sims fan) you probably read all the other articles already posted about Generations, so during my time with the game I tried to find new stuff and delve deeper into things we may already know. I'll have to include some of the obvious content because it's so prominent (use it as confirmation if you will) but read on for more juicy details. I'll stop waffling now!/p
pLoading up the game, the usual addition of imaginary loading scripts sweep across the bottom of the screen. Whittling canes... Sparking imaginations... Timing mood swings... They give an idea of what to expect when your game loads for the first time!/p
h3Life: The long and short of it/h3
pBouncing into the game settings, the first thing I noticed was that you now have more control over the Lifespan of your Sims. Rather than a generic 3 settings, you can now choose length in days for each of the life stages, so if a long retirement is more your thing, a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788514.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-347h-195-1788514.jpg border=0 width=347 height=195 style=float: right; margin: 10px; //amax out the oldies to 365 days. If you don't like baby or toddler chores, drop them down to 1 day so they grow up super speed or if you're a glutton for punishment, raise them up for maximum cuteness time. Effectively you now have a choice of lifespan for your Sims from between 7 and 1930 days! Here are the options:/p
pBaby:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 1 to 65 daysbr / Toddler:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 1 to 150 daysbr / Child:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 1 to 150 daysbr / Teen:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 1 to 300 daysbr / Young Adult:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 1 to 450 daysbr / Adult:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 1 to 450 daysbr / Elder:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 1 to 365 days/p
pa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788475.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-102h-194-1788475.jpg border=0 width=102 height=194 style=float: left; margin: 10px; //aWriting of Elders, they don't miss out on having their generation enhanced with this pack. They can sit with their grandchildren and tell stories, reminiscing of days gone by, but if you buy them a cane they can also hobble around berating the world or anyone and anything that crosses their path./p
pnbsp;/p
pBabies and Toddlers get a few enhancements with strollers, new toys and interactions with their families. Children and Teens get a great boost with fun stuff to do from dressing up in costumes and playing in tree houses to boarding schools and pranks./p
pnbsp;/p
pAdults and Young Adults get to have more intimate relations with engagements and weddings being prominent once again, wild parties and the return of memories bring with them grudges and mistrust./p
h3Boarding Schools for the Gifted/h3
pa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788488.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-127h-310-1788488.jpg border=0 width=127 height=310 style=float: right; margin: 10px; //aI just mentioned the new Boarding School so lets delve into them deeper. This EP does not bring with it all the detail of the University EP from Sims 2 but it does allow your Sim kids to get out of the house more to enhance their learning. Boarding Schools offer a unique educational experience for Child and Teen Sims if their parents are willing to take on the tuition costs. There are 5 styles available, each of which train students in different skills and advocate certain traits. They are:/p
pFort Starch Military School:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;800 per childbr / School of Peace and Love:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;800 per childbr / Dribbledine Sports Academy:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;1,200 per childbr / LeFromage Art School:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;1,200 per childbr / Smuggleworth Prep Schoolnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;1,600 per child/p
pThe kids also get to go on field trips (if you, acting as their parents? allow them to).They can be kicked out of school for poor performance but once graduated will leave with additional life skills which will certainly help them progress in later life./p
pOne of the most memorable events of a Sim Teen's life is attending Prom. Teen Sims get an invite with the time and date of their school's annual dance. They could go Stag but they might be invited by a friend to go as a date, or they could ask a secret crush to the Prom. Once at the Prom they can tear up the dance floor or even reign as Prom King or Queen. Sims elected to the Prom Court receive a special object in their inventories./p
h3Tree House Horrors/h3
pGrahame gushed over the tree houses, one of his favourite additions to the EP, of which there are 3 types:/p
pKids Clubhouse:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;1,000 - Fun 7br / Sci-Fi Hideaway:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;nbsp; sect;1,500 - Fun 7br / The Princess and the Pauper Castle:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;1,500 - Fun 7/p
pKids climb up into the trees to play and can act out all kinds of
fantasies up there. For example, my kids were pretending there was a
pirate invasion, so we saw cannons exploding all around while pirate
music played away in the background, bringing you into the world of
your Sims kids imaginations! Word has it, adults can use the Tree
Houses too, for a little WooHoo! Here are some screens of the 3 tree
house types (as with all images, click for a larger version):/p
p style=text-align: center;a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788473.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-159-1788473.jpg border=0 width=215 height=159 style=margin: 10px; //aa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788482.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-160-1788482.jpg border=0 width=215 height=160 style=margin: 10px; //anbsp; a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788480.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-160-1788480.jpg border=0 width=215 height=160 style=margin: 10px; //a/p
h3Daddy Day Care/h3
pAs I already mentioned, this unconventional EP doesn't add a lot of the common additions to the game but there is one new profession to add to those that you might already have from Ambitions. These aren't like the base game jobs as you need to pretty much manage the Sim in their work. Welcome to what I would consider my worst nightmare... the Daycare Profession!br / Every weekday, several toddlers will be dropped off in the morning until the parents pick them up in the evening. You will need to feed, change and play with them all as happy kids lead to happy tips and rewards! The better the daycare specialist the more kids will turn up and the more money will be earned, including school age children after school. These kids will need to be encouraged to get their homework done during this time to get the best rating and rewards./p
h3Just don't blow yourself up/h3
pa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788492.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-340h-193-1788492.jpg border=0 width=340 height=193 style=float: left; border: 0; margin: 10px; //aBoys eh? I had one, every kid I knew had one, and I'm sure it scared the wotsits out of our parents when we played with them. Chemistry Sets have made their way into the game and can be used to make all manner of potions which can be used for both positive and negative effects on Sims./p
pSims who are adept in the Logic Skill can mix potions into drinks, creating a mysterious drink that looks like colored water. Put it in the fridge or leave it on the counter for other Sims to find and drink. Potions I discovered included the 'Ninja Vanish Potion' which teleports Sims home instantly (great for getting out of trouble fast), 'Ghost Potion' which lets Sims spend some time on the other side, 'Mood Enhancer' which brings happiness,nbsp; 'Bladder Flow' which causes a Sim to empty themselves post-haste and the 'Radical Repairium' which gives and instant Handiness Skill boost. Here are the others with costs, which I was able to create in my short time:/p
pa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788479.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-238h-134-1788479.jpg border=0 width=238 height=134 style=float: right; margin: 10px; //aMood Enhancer:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;5br / Stink Juice:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;10br / Liquid Horror:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;20br / Radical Reparium:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;50br / Bladder Flow:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;75br / Sleeping Elixir:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;90br / Ghost Potion:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;125br / Ninja Vanish:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;250br / Imaginary Friend Metamorphium:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;4,500/p
pGrahame suggested that there were 10+ potions so there are still some for you to discover for yourself using the Catalyst Chemistry Lab Station./p
h3More about the things you already knew.../h3
pa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788485.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-407h-222-1788485.jpg border=0 width=407 height=222 style=float: left; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; //astrongVideo Cameras/strong allow your Sims to film their surroundings and to use
these videos later in life to reminisce or teach kids about their
ancestors. The videos can also be used as incriminating evidence when
challenging spouses! The great thing about Video Cameras is that it
allows you as a player to see the game world from a Sim's perspective
as game view drops down to Sim level while you act as director and
cameraman. Videos are stored on memory cards which can be extracted and
carried and played on almost any TV screen your Sim comes across. Sims
in the area will respond to the video being played just as though they
were witnessing the event happen, which is crazy impressive! And yes, Video Cameras can be used in Tombs! 'The Mummy Returns', anyone?/p
pstrongMemories and Facebook /TheSims.com integration:/strong When a significant event happens in one of your Sims lives an entry is made in their new Scrapbook. You can browse and edit these entries but you can also create your own during gameplay whenever you want to save a moment for prosperity, marking it as either a positive, negative or neutral event. These memories can then be shared via Facebook or TheSims3.com./p
pstrongCostume Chests/strong allow your Sim kids to dress up as a Dinosaur, Astronaut, a Prince or a Princess. Interestingly, kids of either gender can be Princes or Princesses (a bit of cross dressing never hurt anyone), and there are a choice of 3 different colors for each outfit (might change before final release)./p
p style=text-align: center;a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788493.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-399h-225-1788493.jpg border=0 width=399 height=225 style=margin: 10px; //a/p
pstrongSleeping Bags /stronghave been introduced mainly for the benefit of Slumber
Parties, allowing your Sims to have friends over for late night
shenanigans without them having to leave with the party in full swing.
We don't yet know if these can be used in Tombs or outside the
Bookstore awaiting the release of the latest thriller, but that would
be a nice touch!/p
pa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788472.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-402h-225-1788472.jpg border=0 width=402 height=225 style=float: right; margin: 10px; //astrongLifetime Rewards/strong see 7 new additions including the Hover Bed which costs 20,000 points. I was just able to achieve 20k in the time I had to buy this, the cheapest of the rewards available. Bask in the glory of the quickly thrown together screenshot! Sims can of course WooHoo on this causing it to tip and tilt all over the place. Other rewards include the Clone Voucher, Super Nanny, Clean Slate and more./p
pstrongThe Catalogue Filter:/strong It returns! The filter allows you to turn on and
off content from each of your installed Stuff and Expansion Packs to
make it easier to find the content you are looking for. View just one
pack or several, or you can filter only EA Store content or Custom
Content you downloaded or created. No option to create your own
collections yet but I did raise this with Graham, pointing out the
foundations were now set for them to include collections and sets with
the next pack ;-)/p
pstrong/strong/p
pstrongImaginary Friends/strong are the talk of the town with this EP so you have probably read all about the way that your Sim kids can play with them, that only they can see them and that you can actually control them, switching between real and imaginary Sim after drinking the 'Imaginary Friend Metamorphium'. But I couldn't resist showing you this screenshot I took showing the differences between having the child Sim selected and not:/p
p style=text-align: center;a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788487.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-396h-222-1788487.jpg border=0 width=396 height=222 //a/p
h3So... what do you think?/h3
pGo on.. say it.. Unconventional! Do you agree?/p
pI had a great time playing with Generations but as usual with these events, there just isn't enough time to see and do everything in the game. TSR Featured Artist BlackGarden was with me at the event and has no doubt covered different things in her report so be sure to check that out on a href=http://www.thesimsresource.com/artists/BlackGarden/blog/view-post/post/20997 target=_blankBlackGarden's Blog/a. I know for a fact she has some screens from a bachelor party her Sim girls threw where half nekkid firemen turned up! You will also find more details about the Lifetime Rewards there./p
pa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788510.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-424h-237-1788510.jpg border=0 width=424 height=237 style=float: right; margin: 10px; //a/p
pPlenty of comedy in this pack as usual and I think people will generally be happy to see all of their existing families benefit as much from all the new content, rather than just those in a new neighbourhood./p
pI'll finish with a bunch of screenshots of things which I was unable to elaborate on as time just didn't permit for game exploration that deeply. One thing there are plenty of pictures of (because I knew you would ask) is one of the new Houses that come with Generations. Remember the Dolls House that kids have been playing with since base game? Well, that has been faithfully reproduced into a beautiful, very playable house for your Sim families to live in, so enjoy the many interior screens from there./p
pFeel free to post comments about the article in the news post and tell us what you do and maybe don't like about Generations along with a scale of 1 to 10 of how much you're looking forward to EP4 (1 being that you had to be woken up just to get this far in the article, 10 being that you have actually soiled yourself in the chair with excitement).br / Bye for now!/p
p/Steve/p
h3Screenshots/h3
p style=text-align: center;a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788490.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788490.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788484.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788484.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788477.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788477.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a/p
p style=text-align: center;a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788478.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788478.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788499.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788499.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788483.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788483.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a/p
p style=text-align: center;a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788481.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788481.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788474.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788474.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788476.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788476.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a/p
h3The Demo House/h3
p style=text-align: center;a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788494.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788494.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788495.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788495.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788496.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788496.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a/p
p style=text-align: center;a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788497.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788497.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788498.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788498.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a/p
h3The Dolls House/h3
p style=text-align: center;a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788510.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788510.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788501.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788501.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788502.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788502.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a/p
p style=text-align: center;a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788503.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788503.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788504.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788504.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788505.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788505.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a/p
p style=text-align: center;a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788506.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788506.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788507.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788507.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788508.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788508.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a/p
p style=text-align: center;a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1788509.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-215h-120-1788509.jpg border=0 width=215 height=120 style=margin: 10px; //a/pThe Generations Event, London.
On Thursday April 14th I was invited down to London to get 'hands on' with the next Expansion Pack for Sims 3 and to talk with one of the producers on the game, Graham Nardone. Having already read many interviews that had been posted quoting Graham from his wild press tour of Europe I felt as familiar with his answers to the same questions I had already seen as I think he was. So rather than posting the same interview that every other fansite is posting I'll just incorporate what I learned from him in my article. We aren't allowed to call it a review, or a preview, so an article it is (probably because this is an early build of the game and may or may not incorporate all of the features and objects mentioned here, so don't be surprised if they pull something as they have done in the past).
So... what do you think? (asked countless times an hour all day)
Unconventional. That's how I summed up Generations when people asked me what I thought of it. That's not a bad thing, but Generations doesn't quite follow the usual principle of Sims Expansions. There are no new neighborhoods, no new locations to visit, no pets, no snow. I've previewed got 'hands on' with most of the EP's from the games and this was quite different from all others. Generations is more about bringing it back to being about the Sims as Graham put it when I asked what the initial objectives were for EP4 in the early development plans. The reason you don't need all the new locations, 'hoods and places to visit with Generations is because this pack injects tons of new content into your existing Sims lives and worlds. It's a huge enhancement to the base game really, which I have seen criticised around the community already, with people suggesting that all these things should have been in the base game from the start. Well, we have to consider that The Sims 3 can be improved upon in almost countless ways, so if the Dev's tried to incorporate all of the Generations features (and all the others EP content that people say should have been included) the game would never actually ship. It's like a work in progress, it will never be complete, and so EP's are the way that the developers build on this 'work of art'. Just had to get that off my chest before I delve into the goodies ;-)
Seen it, read it, know it
Like me (as a Sims fan) you probably read all the other articles already posted about Generations, so during my time with the game I tried to find new stuff and delve deeper into things we may already know. I'll have to include some of the obvious content because it's so prominent (use it as confirmation if you will) but read on for more juicy details. I'll stop waffling now!
Loading up the game, the usual addition of imaginary loading scripts sweep across the bottom of the screen. Whittling canes... Sparking imaginations... Timing mood swings... They give an idea of what to expect when your game loads for the first time!
Life: The long and short of it
Bouncing into the game settings, the first thing I noticed was that you now have more control over the Lifespan of your Sims. Rather than a generic 3 settings, you can now choose length in days for each of the life stages, so if a long retirement is more your thing, max out the oldies to 365 days. If you don't like baby or toddler chores, drop them down to 1 day so they grow up super speed or if you're a glutton for punishment, raise them up for maximum cuteness time. Effectively you now have a choice of lifespan for your Sims from between 7 and 1930 days! Here are the options:
Baby:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 1 to 65 days Toddler:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 1 to 150 days Child:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 1 to 150 days Teen:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 1 to 300 days Young Adult:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 1 to 450 days Adult:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 1 to 450 days Elder:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 1 to 365 days
Writing of Elders, they don't miss out on having their generation enhanced with this pack. They can sit with their grandchildren and tell stories, reminiscing of days gone by, but if you buy them a cane they can also hobble around berating the world or anyone and anything that crosses their path.
nbsp;
Babies and Toddlers get a few enhancements with strollers, new toys and interactions with their families. Children and Teens get a great boost with fun stuff to do from dressing up in costumes and playing in tree houses to boarding schools and pranks.
nbsp;
Adults and Young Adults get to have more intimate relations with engagements and weddings being prominent once again, wild parties and the return of memories bring with them grudges and mistrust.
Boarding Schools for the Gifted
I just mentioned the new Boarding School so lets delve into them deeper. This EP does not bring with it all the detail of the University EP from Sims 2 but it does allow your Sim kids to get out of the house more to enhance their learning. Boarding Schools offer a unique educational experience for Child and Teen Sims if their parents are willing to take on the tuition costs. There are 5 styles available, each of which train students in different skills and advocate certain traits. They are:
Fort Starch Military School:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;800 per child School of Peace and Love:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;800 per child Dribbledine Sports Academy:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;1,200 per child LeFromage Art School:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;1,200 per child Smuggleworth Prep Schoolnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;1,600 per child
The kids also get to go on field trips (if you, acting as their parents? allow them to).They can be kicked out of school for poor performance but once graduated will leave with additional life skills which will certainly help them progress in later life.
One of the most memorable events of a Sim Teen's life is attending Prom. Teen Sims get an invite with the time and date of their school's annual dance. They could go Stag but they might be invited by a friend to go as a date, or they could ask a secret crush to the Prom. Once at the Prom they can tear up the dance floor or even reign as Prom King or Queen. Sims elected to the Prom Court receive a special object in their inventories.
Tree House Horrors
Grahame gushed over the tree houses, one of his favourite additions to the EP, of which there are 3 types:
Kids Clubhouse:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;1,000 - Fun 7 Sci-Fi Hideaway:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;nbsp; sect;1,500 - Fun 7 The Princess and the Pauper Castle:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;1,500 - Fun 7
Kids climb up into the trees to play and can act out all kinds of
fantasies up there. For example, my kids were pretending there was a
pirate invasion, so we saw cannons exploding all around while pirate
music played away in the background, bringing you into the world of
your Sims kids imaginations! Word has it, adults can use the Tree
Houses too, for a little WooHoo! Here are some screens of the 3 tree
house types (as with all images, click for a larger version):
nbsp;
Daddy Day Care
As I already mentioned, this unconventional EP doesn't add a lot of the common additions to the game but there is one new profession to add to those that you might already have from Ambitions. These aren't like the base game jobs as you need to pretty much manage the Sim in their work. Welcome to what I would consider my worst nightmare... the Daycare Profession! Every weekday, several toddlers will be dropped off in the morning until the parents pick them up in the evening. You will need to feed, change and play with them all as happy kids lead to happy tips and rewards! The better the daycare specialist the more kids will turn up and the more money will be earned, including school age children after school. These kids will need to be encouraged to get their homework done during this time to get the best rating and rewards.
Just don't blow yourself up
Boys eh? I had one, every kid I knew had one, and I'm sure it scared the wotsits out of our parents when we played with them. Chemistry Sets have made their way into the game and can be used to make all manner of potions which can be used for both positive and negative effects on Sims.
Sims who are adept in the Logic Skill can mix potions into drinks, creating a mysterious drink that looks like colored water. Put it in the fridge or leave it on the counter for other Sims to find and drink. Potions I discovered included the 'Ninja Vanish Potion' which teleports Sims home instantly (great for getting out of trouble fast), 'Ghost Potion' which lets Sims spend some time on the other side, 'Mood Enhancer' which brings happiness,nbsp; 'Bladder Flow' which causes a Sim to empty themselves post-haste and the 'Radical Repairium' which gives and instant Handiness Skill boost. Here are the others with costs, which I was able to create in my short time:
Mood Enhancer:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;5 Stink Juice:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;10 Liquid Horror:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;20 Radical Reparium:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;50 Bladder Flow:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;75 Sleeping Elixir:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;90 Ghost Potion:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;125 Ninja Vanish:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;250 Imaginary Friend Metamorphium:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; sect;4,500
Grahame suggested that there were 10+ potions so there are still some for you to discover for yourself using the Catalyst Chemistry Lab Station.
More about the things you already knew...
Video Cameras allow your Sims to film their surroundings and to use
these videos later in life to reminisce or teach kids about their
ancestors. The videos can also be used as incriminating evidence when
challenging spouses! The great thing about Video Cameras is that it
allows you as a player to see the game world from a Sim's perspective
as game view drops down to Sim level while you act as director and
cameraman. Videos are stored on memory cards which can be extracted and
carried and played on almost any TV screen your Sim comes across. Sims
in the area will respond to the video being played just as though they
were witnessing the event happen, which is crazy impressive! And yes, Video Cameras can be used in Tombs! 'The Mummy Returns', anyone?
Memories and Facebook /TheSims.com integration: When a significant event happens in one of your Sims lives an entry is made in their new Scrapbook. You can browse and edit these entries but you can also create your own during gameplay whenever you want to save a moment for prosperity, marking it as either a positive, negative or neutral event. These memories can then be shared via Facebook or TheSims3.com.
Costume Chests allow your Sim kids to dress up as a Dinosaur, Astronaut, a Prince or a Princess. Interestingly, kids of either gender can be Princes or Princesses (a bit of cross dressing never hurt anyone), and there are a choice of 3 different colors for each outfit (might change before final release).
Sleeping Bags have been introduced mainly for the benefit of Slumber
Parties, allowing your Sims to have friends over for late night
shenanigans without them having to leave with the party in full swing.
We don't yet know if these can be used in Tombs or outside the
Bookstore awaiting the release of the latest thriller, but that would
be a nice touch!
Lifetime Rewards see 7 new additions including the Hover Bed which costs 20,000 points. I was just able to achieve 20k in the time I had to buy this, the cheapest of the rewards available. Bask in the glory of the quickly thrown together screenshot! Sims can of course WooHoo on this causing it to tip and tilt all over the place. Other rewards include the Clone Voucher, Super Nanny, Clean Slate and more.
The Catalogue Filter: It returns! The filter allows you to turn on and
off content from each of your installed Stuff and Expansion Packs to
make it easier to find the content you are looking for. View just one
pack or several, or you can filter only EA Store content or Custom
Content you downloaded or created. No option to create your own
collections yet but I did raise this with Graham, pointing out the
foundations were now set for them to include collections and sets with
the next pack ;-)
Imaginary Friends are the talk of the town with this EP so you have probably read all about the way that your Sim kids can play with them, that only they can see them and that you can actually control them, switching between real and imaginary Sim after drinking the 'Imaginary Friend Metamorphium'. But I couldn't resist showing you this screenshot I took showing the differences between having the child Sim selected and not:
So... what do you think?
Go on.. say it.. Unconventional! Do you agree?
I had a great time playing with Generations but as usual with these events, there just isn't enough time to see and do everything in the game. TSR Featured Artist BlackGarden was with me at the event and has no doubt covered different things in her report so be sure to check that out on BlackGarden's Blog. I know for a fact she has some screens from a bachelor party her Sim girls threw where half nekkid firemen turned up! You will also find more details about the Lifetime Rewards there.
Plenty of comedy in this pack as usual and I think people will generally be happy to see all of their existing families benefit as much from all the new content, rather than just those in a new neighbourhood.
I'll finish with a bunch of screenshots of things which I was unable to elaborate on as time just didn't permit for game exploration that deeply. One thing there are plenty of pictures of (because I knew you would ask) is one of the new Houses that come with Generations. Remember the Dolls House that kids have been playing with since base game? Well, that has been faithfully reproduced into a beautiful, very playable house for your Sim families to live in, so enjoy the many interior screens from there.
Feel free to post comments about the article in the news post and tell us what you do and maybe don't like about Generations along with a scale of 1 to 10 of how much you're looking forward to EP4 (1 being that you had to be woken up just to get this far in the article, 10 being that you have actually soiled yourself in the chair with excitement). Bye for now!
/Steve
Screenshots
The Demo House
The Dolls House
Sims 3: World Adventures Previewhttp://www.thesimsresource.com/articlesview-post/post/14298/2009-11-01T00:00:00ZpstrongEA Redwood Shores/strong, the Halloween sprit is well and truly in the air as staff arrive in full costume for the annual parade, while Sims fans are sat busying themselves, tearing into the first Expansion Pack to come out of the studio for The Sims 3. Exciting times, what with the release of Create A World as well. But what will this pack offer the game players, builders, storytellers and custom content creators of our community? Let's find out.../p
h3But haven't our Sims travelled before?/h3
pa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1339248.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-250h-196-1339248.jpg border=0 width=250 height=196 style=float: right; border: 0; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; //a OK I admit, I came here expecting to see the Sims 3 version of Vacation or Bon Voyage, based on the first snippets of info to come out about World Adventures. One reason being that because I have known for some weeks that I would be here previewing the EP, I tried to avoid reading most of the earlier sneak peeks posted by the big gaming sites because I wanted to write an article based on my own experience of the game without thinking about those other comments and comparisons./p
pAs it turns out, I now see that you can't really compare World Adventures to the earlier Vacation based EP's as rest and relaxations is certainly not what Adventuring is about. I'm over that comparison now and I see World Adventures as more of a mini-game within the game, like the old, original role playing games seen on the PC. And that's not a bad thing. You could totally loose yourself as an adventure. In fact, by collecting relics and treasure and building your skills as you go, it's entirely possible (and tempting to me) for a Sim to make a career out of Adventuring!/p
pSo what about all those earlier previews of the game? I found it really strange that EA released so much information about this EP before the fan event. These get-togethers of players are usually the first source of juicy info about the games for our communities but this time was different, maybe due to Create A World, I never did quite get to the bottom of it. But as it makes it a bit harder for us to write fresh articles that aren't full of things you already know, I'm going to try and focus on the smaller things about the game, and areas that haven't yet been explored (excuse the pun) in such detail by the big gaming sites, but I will gloss over the big stuff for those of you that live in TSR land :-)/p
pIf you see a picture you like in this preview, click it for a larger version./p
p style=text-align: right;emstrongUse Page Nav to continue to page 2.../strong/em/p
EA Redwood Shores, the Halloween sprit is well and truly in the air as staff arrive in full costume for the annual parade, while Sims fans are sat busying themselves, tearing into the first Expansion Pack to come out of the studio for The Sims 3. Exciting times, what with the release of Create A World as well. But what will this pack offer the game players, builders, storytellers and custom content creators of our community? Let's find out...
But haven't our Sims travelled before?
OK I admit, I came here expecting to see the Sims 3 version of Vacation or Bon Voyage, based on the first snippets of info to come out about World Adventures. One reason being that because I have known for some weeks that I would be here previewing the EP, I tried to avoid reading most of the earlier sneak peeks posted by the big gaming sites because I wanted to write an article based on my own experience of the game without thinking about those other comments and comparisons.
As it turns out, I now see that you can't really compare World Adventures to the earlier Vacation based EP's as rest and relaxations is certainly not what Adventuring is about. I'm over that comparison now and I see World Adventures as more of a mini-game within the game, like the old, original role playing games seen on the PC. And that's not a bad thing. You could totally loose yourself as an adventure. In fact, by collecting relics and treasure and building your skills as you go, it's entirely possible (and tempting to me) for a Sim to make a career out of Adventuring!
So what about all those earlier previews of the game? I found it really strange that EA released so much information about this EP before the fan event. These get-togethers of players are usually the first source of juicy info about the games for our communities but this time was different, maybe due to Create A World, I never did quite get to the bottom of it. But as it makes it a bit harder for us to write fresh articles that aren't full of things you already know, I'm going to try and focus on the smaller things about the game, and areas that haven't yet been explored (excuse the pun) in such detail by the big gaming sites, but I will gloss over the big stuff for those of you that live in TSR land :-)
If you see a picture you like in this preview, click it for a larger version.
Use Page Nav to continue to page 2...
Create A World Previewhttp://www.thesimsresource.com/articlesview-post/post/14277/2009-10-31T00:00:00Zpa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1338224.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-250h-196-1338224.jpg border=0 width=250 height=196 style=float: right; border: 0; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; //a strongCreate A World/strong will be the first Official custom content tool from EA for The Sims 3. It will enable players to create whole new worlds for their Sims to live innbsp; just like the Riverview town released by EA.nbsp; It was created using a version of this very tool, as are the new locations in World Adventures.br /br /Although it's a standalone tool, it will require a full install of The Sims 3 to be able to use it. It has to be said though, before too many players start jumping for joy and declaring themselves the future of world builders, this tool is not for the faint hearted! With Sims 2, players could use Sim City 4 to terraform new neighborhoods with relative ease, but with World Builder the terraforming aspect, though not too difficult in itself, is only the beginning of what will become a far more technical process. br /br /Creating the land of your new world is much the same as using the terrain tools in game. You can create hills and valleys, mountains, lakes, rivers and ponds, place roads and sidewalks (or footpaths) with relative ease and flexibility, and you can even spray on custom terrain paints like lava, snow or pink cotton candy. But the difficult part will come in placing the necessary community lots, career rabbit holes and liveable housing lots in such way that it works well for both the game and the player./p
pa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1338230.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-250h-131-1338230.jpg border=0 width=250 height=131 style=float: left; border: 0; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; //aMy first impressions from using the tool is that there may only be a small niche group of people within our community that will pull this off well. Of course, there will be a huge amount of people that will love to download and use these creations in their game too, so either way, you should find the release of this tool will enhance your gameplay no end!/p
pThe tool is planned to be made freely available via download in December and will come with a help document and a pretty substantial list of rules that creators should follow in order to make their Worlds realistic in a playable, game compatible sense, even if not in a worldly sense. They cover: Lot location and routing, Performance, Gameplay and aesthetics, Technical and Other areas for consideration. If I get time later I'll post some of these tips to give you some more insight into the power of the tool and the way EA themselves use it./p
pa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1338232.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-250h-196-1338232.jpg border=0 width=250 height=196 style=float: right; border: 0; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; //aObject placement is a breeze and the way the tool works will allow for easy management of a large amount of content. People familiar with Photoshop will quickly get used to using layers for their content types and attributes for many of the plopables. Items can be manipulated on placement with rotation and height placement. Objects can float, be stacked, or partially buried in the ground./p
pResidential properties can either be imported from your game bin or you can drop out of the world editor and into a cut down version of the game which is basically build/buy, so that you can build on your lots and switch back to the editor seamlessly. Lots themselves can have attributes set too, such as the property value and vista bonus values for rooms with a view and Lots that provide Sims with the Vista moodlet./p
pThe game can open preset lands for players to build upon but something you cannot do is open up an exported World and then start editing it. This means your masterpiece creation that will likely take days if not weeks to perfect, cannot be opened up and plagiarised by others, which many creators will be happy about I'm sure. Right now the plan is to make Worlds available on the Exchange via direct upload in the same was as game exports are managed, but if the export is a .sims3pack as is planned at this stage, there is no reason why you could not share them on your own sites or with friends. Expect pretty big file sizes though!/p
pa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1338233.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-250h-196-1338233.jpg border=0 width=250 height=196 style=float: left; border: 0; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; //aNew Worlds can also be created by importing a height map. I tested this using an image of a plumbob. Once converted to greyscale this acted as my height map for a new world, as can be seen in this image. You could use anything from your face to a logo or just a beautiful formation of shades to create rolling hills and valleys. Water levels can be adjusted too so that you can flood certain areas.br /br /Any Expansion Pack, Stuff Pack and Store content you have installed can of course be used in your Worlds too. Custom Content is most likely useable but as yet we don't know how those files would be packaged. World sizes can range between 2048x2048 and 256x256.br /br /Oh, and during the demo we learned a trick about object placement on Lots which explained something many of us are unaware of. The rotation of the mailbox on a Lot determines the angle that the thumbnail image is taken from, so if you want your Lot thumbnail to show a particular side of a building, that's the way the mailbox needs to face. Useful tip? We think so :-)br /br /I hope this helps you understand some of the power of Create A World, and its complexity. It's clearly not going to become a mainstream tool used by masses of people to create quality content. On the plus side, harnessed by the right people, this tool will eventually provide all players with a wealth of new and exciting places for your Sims to live, work and even take adventures in!/p
p/Steve/p
pTSR Featured Artist, strongMurano/strong, attended the Simposium event and spent some time working with Create A World. Check out his a href=http://www.thesimsresource.com/artists/Murano/blog/view-post/post/14268blog/a for his perspective and some more technical details./p
pa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1338244.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-708h-106-1338244.jpg border=0 width=708 height=106 style=float: right; border: 0; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; //a/p Create A World will be the first Official custom content tool from EA for The Sims 3. It will enable players to create whole new worlds for their Sims to live innbsp; just like the Riverview town released by EA.nbsp; It was created using a version of this very tool, as are the new locations in World Adventures.Although it's a standalone tool, it will require a full install of The Sims 3 to be able to use it. It has to be said though, before too many players start jumping for joy and declaring themselves the future of world builders, this tool is not for the faint hearted! With Sims 2, players could use Sim City 4 to terraform new neighborhoods with relative ease, but with World Builder the terraforming aspect, though not too difficult in itself, is only the beginning of what will become a far more technical process. Creating the land of your new world is much the same as using the terrain tools in game. You can create hills and valleys, mountains, lakes, rivers and ponds, place roads and sidewalks (or footpaths) with relative ease and flexibility, and you can even spray on custom terrain paints like lava, snow or pink cotton candy. But the difficult part will come in placing the necessary community lots, career rabbit holes and liveable housing lots in such way that it works well for both the game and the player.
My first impressions from using the tool is that there may only be a small niche group of people within our community that will pull this off well. Of course, there will be a huge amount of people that will love to download and use these creations in their game too, so either way, you should find the release of this tool will enhance your gameplay no end!
The tool is planned to be made freely available via download in December and will come with a help document and a pretty substantial list of rules that creators should follow in order to make their Worlds realistic in a playable, game compatible sense, even if not in a worldly sense. They cover: Lot location and routing, Performance, Gameplay and aesthetics, Technical and Other areas for consideration. If I get time later I'll post some of these tips to give you some more insight into the power of the tool and the way EA themselves use it.
Object placement is a breeze and the way the tool works will allow for easy management of a large amount of content. People familiar with Photoshop will quickly get used to using layers for their content types and attributes for many of the plopables. Items can be manipulated on placement with rotation and height placement. Objects can float, be stacked, or partially buried in the ground.
Residential properties can either be imported from your game bin or you can drop out of the world editor and into a cut down version of the game which is basically build/buy, so that you can build on your lots and switch back to the editor seamlessly. Lots themselves can have attributes set too, such as the property value and vista bonus values for rooms with a view and Lots that provide Sims with the Vista moodlet.
The game can open preset lands for players to build upon but something you cannot do is open up an exported World and then start editing it. This means your masterpiece creation that will likely take days if not weeks to perfect, cannot be opened up and plagiarised by others, which many creators will be happy about I'm sure. Right now the plan is to make Worlds available on the Exchange via direct upload in the same was as game exports are managed, but if the export is a .sims3pack as is planned at this stage, there is no reason why you could not share them on your own sites or with friends. Expect pretty big file sizes though!
New Worlds can also be created by importing a height map. I tested this using an image of a plumbob. Once converted to greyscale this acted as my height map for a new world, as can be seen in this image. You could use anything from your face to a logo or just a beautiful formation of shades to create rolling hills and valleys. Water levels can be adjusted too so that you can flood certain areas.Any Expansion Pack, Stuff Pack and Store content you have installed can of course be used in your Worlds too. Custom Content is most likely useable but as yet we don't know how those files would be packaged. World sizes can range between 2048x2048 and 256x256.Oh, and during the demo we learned a trick about object placement on Lots which explained something many of us are unaware of. The rotation of the mailbox on a Lot determines the angle that the thumbnail image is taken from, so if you want your Lot thumbnail to show a particular side of a building, that's the way the mailbox needs to face. Useful tip? We think so :-)I hope this helps you understand some of the power of Create A World, and its complexity. It's clearly not going to become a mainstream tool used by masses of people to create quality content. On the plus side, harnessed by the right people, this tool will eventually provide all players with a wealth of new and exciting places for your Sims to live, work and even take adventures in!
/Steve
TSR Featured Artist, Murano, attended the Simposium event and spent some time working with Create A World. Check out his blog for his perspective and some more technical details.
Sims 3 Creators Camp Bloghttp://www.thesimsresource.com/articlesview-post/post/10031/2009-02-05T00:00:00ZpIn January 2008, EA held a Creators Camp event at Redwood Shores which TSR attended. During the week I was blogging, live from the event. The following article is made up of those blog posts, full of interesting information about Sims 3 as well as what was happening at EA during the week./p
h3TS3 Creator's Camp: Day 1, 06:30/h3
pIt's 06:30 in a still dark Redwood City, California. I'm always awake early on my first morning due to the 8 hour time difference from home, but it gives me some time to freshen up and start blogging for you all before I head over to EA!/p
pAccording to my info pack there will be a total of 22 Custom Content Creators at the event from around the Simming community and from all over the world. 6 of those are from TSR so we have a great turnout! Our boys and girls are a class=null href=/artists/Estatica/Estatica/a, a class=null href=/artists/HatshepsutHatshepsut/a, a class=null href=/artists/Padre333/Padre/a, a class=null href=/artists/UlkrhsnUlkrhsn/a, a class=null href=/artists/DOT/DOT/a and a class=null href=/members/tdyanndtdyannd/a. They will be blogging on their own profile pages during the event too so be sure to check them out sometime this week./p
pAs well as the Sims 3 Demos, creator workshops and time with the developers, EA have some weird and wacky events planned as usual, just to keep us on our toes! These range from Plumbob Cookie and Cupcake decorating to time in the sound studios recording some Simlish, so expect some light-hearted storytelling in these blog posts as well as the more serious business of Sims 3 and Custom Content./p
pI'm off to hit the shower. My next post will probably be from within the walls of EA!/p
p/Steve./p
h3TS3 Creator's Camp: Day 1, 17:00/h3
pa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1050304.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-294h-218-1050304.jpg border=0 width=294 height=218 style=float: right; margin: 5px; //aDay 1 got off to a flying start with breakfast! Signup at the lobby was the first time many people had met in person for the first time. After many years of chatting with some of our own site staff this was that first time I actually got to meet any of the TSR FA's and Artists that attended. There are many familiar faces here too, from other fan sites and official sites from around the world who have attended these events before.br /br /After breakfast we went into the Triangle Room for the game demos and some updated info from the developers. We got to see more about 'Build Mode' than we have seen before in any previous demos, but there is still an embargo on certain things that we are not yet allowed to report about. I'll find out what I can tell you and post more later in the week (hopefully).br /br /As this whole event is about custom content we got to see for the first time exactly how custom content, custom editing and content sharing works. As expected, all of this CC is done within the game. There are currently no external tools like CAS or HomeCrafter which we saw in Sims 2, and with good reason; the game does it all so much better!br /br /As I write this update for you, all the CC creators are already creating! Wellhellip; creating their accounts on the new Sims 3 Exchange so that they can start sharing their first creations with strongyou/strong! After that they are jumping right into the game and getting hands on, learning the new interface and the techniques they will be using for the rest of the week.br /br /I'm off to do the same! Expect more later if I can get the go ahead to spill the 'Build Mode' beans ;-)br /br //Steve/p
h3nbsp;TS3 Creator's Camp: Day 2, 07:00/h3
pa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-1050683.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1050/1050683.jpg border=0 alt=description here width=354 height=255 style=float: right; border: 0; margin: 5px; //aCouldn't sleep again.. awake since 4am! I didn't have a relevant picture for this blog entry so have a look at the nice January Sunshine of the EA Campus yesterday instead :-)/p
pSo as I mentioned in yesterdays blog we saw some new things about the game during Day 1's demo that was not shown during the a class=null href=/articles/sims3Sims 3 Preview/a which I wrote about last year. The main thing being Build and Buy modes as they were 'off limits' before, but now we have some more info about that which I'm allowed to share with you!/p
pWe also learned a lot more info about the custom content processes. The game tools are actually so powerful that pretty much all of the items which you will see in the basic game CAS and Buy Catalogue have been created in the game by the art team and content creators within EA. They didn't need flashy external tools to make all this stuff you truly do have the power at your fingertips to create content just as good as EA. The base meshes (shapes of the items) are imported to the game a default blue, then the artsy type get to work on them. That's pretty much how third party CC will work too./p
pThe biggest power feature is Create a Style. When editing clothing, hair, accessories, walls, floors, furniture, build itemshellip; anything in the game that's customizable, you have the option to either do simple pattern or color adjustments, or go the whole hog and drop into Create a Style. Kinda hard to explain, especially given that I can't share pictures with you, but basically any item has between 1 and 4 channels to it. A bed for example might have the wood frame and the bedding, so 2 channels. A sofa might also be 2 channels, the fabric and the wood frame. Once you create the bed that you like from the range of hundreds of patterns and textures, and infinite colors for each of those, you can save them as a style and then apply them to any other item. And the process is a simple drag and drop. So place your bed in the bedroom, add a desk, a sofa and any other furnishings you like, then drag the style from the bed to all the other items. You now have a fully matching bedroom set designed by and probably unique to the Simming world! You can even drag it to the walls and have the pattern as paper and the wood as kick board and chair rails. And why not drop it on your chosen floor pattern too! Wildly open ended and freeform!/p
pYou can then share these Styles or individual creations with other players either through the exchange or your own websites./p
pLet me talk a bit about strongBuild Mode/strong! You builders out there are in for the treat of your life with Sims 3! Power tools are abundant here as well, for example, expanding your home as funds allow is so quick and easy! If for example you want a bigger bedroom, grab the outer wall and drag it out as far as you wish, the bed, side tables, window and any other objects along that wall will move with it too. The floor will expand in the same pattern, walls are redecorated and even the roof will free form around it in real time. Same goes for reducing rooms, or you can drag out an entire outside wall of a house and have all rooms enlarge, maintaining their scale and object positioning as accurately as it can./p
pstrongStairs /stronghave changed a lot: no longer do you have modular or internal stairways, they are now the same thing and just behave differently depending on how you use them. If you place a stairway internally between floors it will take the guise of an internal stairway, and will even box in the area below it with walls and finish it with the deacute;cor you already have in the room! These can be removed though if you want an open staircase. When placing modular stairs these can now be placed with a 90 degree L shape turn in them, making shaped stairways so quick to produce. You also have a width slider allowing you to place stairways between 1 and 10 tiles widenbsp;in an instant!/p
pstrongDoors /strongwill ship in 1, 2 and 3 tile sizes, and even with 1 tile doors that sit in the center of 2 tiles to allow more freedom in design than ever./p
pstrongLighting/strong has had a major overhaul too. Internal and external lighting is better realized and put to best use when you build with open spaces in buildings, like courtyards. You can leave the roof off an area of the house and unlike previous Sims games, these will be recognised as outdoor, and lit accordingly. The lights that you place can be set to many different colors to provide ambiance and mood, with the ability too to set them to either dim, bright or normal!/p
pstrongRoofs /strongare now truly dynamic and with the roof height slider you can make anything from flat roofs to tall spires instantly. They reform as you change the shape and size of your house too./p
pOK, I'm gonna leave you with that info overload for now and go freshen up for another day. I still have lots to tell you about Create a Sim so I'll start blogging again from EA later./p
p/Steve/p
p style=text-align: right;strongemContinued.../em/strong/p
In January 2008, EA held a Creators Camp event at Redwood Shores which TSR attended. During the week I was blogging, live from the event. The following article is made up of those blog posts, full of interesting information about Sims 3 as well as what was happening at EA during the week.
TS3 Creator's Camp: Day 1, 06:30
It's 06:30 in a still dark Redwood City, California. I'm always awake early on my first morning due to the 8 hour time difference from home, but it gives me some time to freshen up and start blogging for you all before I head over to EA!
According to my info pack there will be a total of 22 Custom Content Creators at the event from around the Simming community and from all over the world. 6 of those are from TSR so we have a great turnout! Our boys and girls are Estatica, Hatshepsut, Padre, Ulkrhsn, DOT and tdyannd. They will be blogging on their own profile pages during the event too so be sure to check them out sometime this week.
As well as the Sims 3 Demos, creator workshops and time with the developers, EA have some weird and wacky events planned as usual, just to keep us on our toes! These range from Plumbob Cookie and Cupcake decorating to time in the sound studios recording some Simlish, so expect some light-hearted storytelling in these blog posts as well as the more serious business of Sims 3 and Custom Content.
I'm off to hit the shower. My next post will probably be from within the walls of EA!
/Steve.
TS3 Creator's Camp: Day 1, 17:00
Day 1 got off to a flying start with breakfast! Signup at the lobby was the first time many people had met in person for the first time. After many years of chatting with some of our own site staff this was that first time I actually got to meet any of the TSR FA's and Artists that attended. There are many familiar faces here too, from other fan sites and official sites from around the world who have attended these events before.After breakfast we went into the Triangle Room for the game demos and some updated info from the developers. We got to see more about 'Build Mode' than we have seen before in any previous demos, but there is still an embargo on certain things that we are not yet allowed to report about. I'll find out what I can tell you and post more later in the week (hopefully).As this whole event is about custom content we got to see for the first time exactly how custom content, custom editing and content sharing works. As expected, all of this CC is done within the game. There are currently no external tools like CAS or HomeCrafter which we saw in Sims 2, and with good reason; the game does it all so much better!As I write this update for you, all the CC creators are already creating! Wellhellip; creating their accounts on the new Sims 3 Exchange so that they can start sharing their first creations with you! After that they are jumping right into the game and getting hands on, learning the new interface and the techniques they will be using for the rest of the week.I'm off to do the same! Expect more later if I can get the go ahead to spill the 'Build Mode' beans ;-)/Steve
nbsp;TS3 Creator's Camp: Day 2, 07:00
Couldn't sleep again.. awake since 4am! I didn't have a relevant picture for this blog entry so have a look at the nice January Sunshine of the EA Campus yesterday instead :-)
So as I mentioned in yesterdays blog we saw some new things about the game during Day 1's demo that was not shown during the Sims 3 Preview which I wrote about last year. The main thing being Build and Buy modes as they were 'off limits' before, but now we have some more info about that which I'm allowed to share with you!
We also learned a lot more info about the custom content processes. The game tools are actually so powerful that pretty much all of the items which you will see in the basic game CAS and Buy Catalogue have been created in the game by the art team and content creators within EA. They didn't need flashy external tools to make all this stuff you truly do have the power at your fingertips to create content just as good as EA. The base meshes (shapes of the items) are imported to the game a default blue, then the artsy type get to work on them. That's pretty much how third party CC will work too.
The biggest power feature is Create a Style. When editing clothing, hair, accessories, walls, floors, furniture, build itemshellip; anything in the game that's customizable, you have the option to either do simple pattern or color adjustments, or go the whole hog and drop into Create a Style. Kinda hard to explain, especially given that I can't share pictures with you, but basically any item has between 1 and 4 channels to it. A bed for example might have the wood frame and the bedding, so 2 channels. A sofa might also be 2 channels, the fabric and the wood frame. Once you create the bed that you like from the range of hundreds of patterns and textures, and infinite colors for each of those, you can save them as a style and then apply them to any other item. And the process is a simple drag and drop. So place your bed in the bedroom, add a desk, a sofa and any other furnishings you like, then drag the style from the bed to all the other items. You now have a fully matching bedroom set designed by and probably unique to the Simming world! You can even drag it to the walls and have the pattern as paper and the wood as kick board and chair rails. And why not drop it on your chosen floor pattern too! Wildly open ended and freeform!
You can then share these Styles or individual creations with other players either through the exchange or your own websites.
Let me talk a bit about Build Mode! You builders out there are in for the treat of your life with Sims 3! Power tools are abundant here as well, for example, expanding your home as funds allow is so quick and easy! If for example you want a bigger bedroom, grab the outer wall and drag it out as far as you wish, the bed, side tables, window and any other objects along that wall will move with it too. The floor will expand in the same pattern, walls are redecorated and even the roof will free form around it in real time. Same goes for reducing rooms, or you can drag out an entire outside wall of a house and have all rooms enlarge, maintaining their scale and object positioning as accurately as it can.
Stairs have changed a lot: no longer do you have modular or internal stairways, they are now the same thing and just behave differently depending on how you use them. If you place a stairway internally between floors it will take the guise of an internal stairway, and will even box in the area below it with walls and finish it with the deacute;cor you already have in the room! These can be removed though if you want an open staircase. When placing modular stairs these can now be placed with a 90 degree L shape turn in them, making shaped stairways so quick to produce. You also have a width slider allowing you to place stairways between 1 and 10 tiles widenbsp;in an instant!
Doors will ship in 1, 2 and 3 tile sizes, and even with 1 tile doors that sit in the center of 2 tiles to allow more freedom in design than ever.
Lighting has had a major overhaul too. Internal and external lighting is better realized and put to best use when you build with open spaces in buildings, like courtyards. You can leave the roof off an area of the house and unlike previous Sims games, these will be recognised as outdoor, and lit accordingly. The lights that you place can be set to many different colors to provide ambiance and mood, with the ability too to set them to either dim, bright or normal!
Roofs are now truly dynamic and with the roof height slider you can make anything from flat roofs to tall spires instantly. They reform as you change the shape and size of your house too.
OK, I'm gonna leave you with that info overload for now and go freshen up for another day. I still have lots to tell you about Create a Sim so I'll start blogging again from EA later.
/Steve
Continued...
The Sims 3: First Previewhttp://www.thesimsresource.com/articlesview-post/post/2742/2008-07-19T00:00:00Zpimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/738/738315.jpg border=0 width=150 height=156 style=float: left; border-width: 0px; border: 0; margin: 10px; /On Friday, July 18th 2008, Tug and I visited EA Redwood Shores (for the second time in 6 weeks), this time to have a first preview of The Sims 3! The game was not shown at E3 this week and was only represented by the a href=http://thesims3.ea.com/home.phpofficial video/a released to coincide with the event. The information that will be published here and by our fellow fans that attended the event will be your very first detailed look at the game and is exclusive to our communities, even before the big gaming magazines and websites get near it!/p
pUnlike one of my usual in-depth previews, things will be a little different this time around. Here you will find bullet pointers and notes that I took during the event which have been somewhat hurried together in preparation of our live chat, held the day after the event and hosted by myself and Tug from Redwood Shores./p
pUnfortunately there were many aspects of the game that developers were unable to talk about for varying reasons. Some features are simply not developed yet, others were buggy and anything at all to do with custom content was taboo this time around. Obviously very much more solid detail will be released nearer the 2009 release and later this year when custom content is finalised and work starts on building out the tools./p
pIn the meantime though, take a look at all the juicy details of the things that we do know and join us in the live chat if you are in time, or in our new a href=http://forums.thesimsresource.com/forumdisplay.php?f=641 target=_blankSims 3 discussion forums/a to discuss all things good (and bad) about The Sims 3./p
pI can tell you also that the game is far from Alpha, so if you have any desperate issues with features or really want to see something specific in the game, be sure to discuss it. EA will be sniffing around the community to see what people are saying and are still taking on board feedback that can influence final game tuning./p
pIf the notes don't make a huge amount of sense to you, I'll try and clear things up in my summary at the end :-)/p
pstrongDisclaimer stuff:/strong As usual, this preview has been written based on an early build of the game, so some of the content I talk about might be different in the final version./p
h2 class=nhpIntroduction/h2
pstrongAll info points are numbered so that you can refer to them when commenting in the chat or forums./strong/p
p style=text-align: center;a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-738317.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-514h-306-738317.jpg border=0 alt=Click to enlarge width=514 height=306 style=border-width: 0px; border: 0; margin: 10px; //a/p
p1) Ben Bell, Senior Producer of Sims 3 opened the demos by giving us a brief outline of the major changes between Sims 2 and 3. TS3 offers a richer, deeper experience with more emotional characters (Sims) with real depth to their personalities. The new world (or environment) is interactive and comes to life in front of your very eyes./p
p2) Thanks to new attributes, each Sim will be virtually unique in its behaviour, attitude, looks and even sounds! EA called this the 'snowflake effect'./p
p3) Wishes replace wants - more dynamic to actual life experiences./p
p4) The town is fully customizable and allows you to remove and change Lots and Sims./p
p5) Young adult is the new default age and is changed to represent life between 18 and 30 years./p
p style=text-align: center;a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-738318.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-522h-291-738318.jpg border=0 alt=Click to enlarge width=522 height=291 style=border-width: 0px; border: 0; margin: 10px; //a/p
pnbsp;6) Adult now considered more 'middle age' and includes wrinkles./p
p7) The Town Centre plays a large part in gameplay and building socials./p
p8) The town is made of 'functional, plopable public buildings' as well as your own made homes and services./p
p9) Some old service NPC's remain and are joined by some new ones./p
pnbsp;/p
h2 class=nhpNew Gameplay/h2
p10) No loner individual Lots, player have realtime access to the 'Open World'/p
p11) No Loading when changing Lots or families, as the simulator is running for all Sims, all the time./p
p12) Everything in the game happens for a reason. If someone moves is across the street it's part of the dynamic population management and not some random action./p
p13) The base game with ship with several types of ownable cars./p
p14) Magical valet parking (car fades in and out) on all Lots and streets./p
p15) Job aspects that you can do at home called 'opportunities'./p
p16) Day/Night transitions over the town.. light changes and shadows move across the ground as the sun goes up/down./p
p style=text-align: center;a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-738319.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-534h-318-738319.jpg border=0 alt=Click to enlarge width=534 height=318 style=border-width: 0px; border: 0; margin: 5px; //a/p
p17) Teenagers sneak out at dusk and can be seen around town acting suspiciously./p
p18) Quick click icons on Sims face in UI to go quickly send them to work or home./p
p19) Map Tags float over areas of the hood - a quick way to find your way around./p
p20) Sims also have Map Tags so you can find them easily/p
p21) Can buy an empty bookcase and buy books in the game. There are lots of books!/p
p22) Can still get jobs from newspapers and online or browse the city and apply to workplaces near the home./p
p23) Sims can move nearer to their place of work, or even find work near home to reduce travelling time./p
p24) Currently an 8 Sims per family limit./p
p25) Next to the mood bar is a small bonus bar/p
p26) Socials are now more important.. not just good and bad/p
p27) New timeline dragbar which is specific to a few interactions. This lets you control how long a Sim spends on certain tasks like sleeping, fishing etchellip;/p
p28) High level logic allows a Sim to tutor other Sims - Cooking unlocks recipes (Moodlets like divine food) - Fishing unlocks bigger fish (Caught fish can be put in an aquarium at home, and even given a name)/p
p29) Careers have more gameplay - No longer just sent to work - Can now decide how hard to work - You can choose a less stressful day but will gain less skill - You could sacrifice hard work for doing more socializing at the workplace/p
p style=text-align: center;a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-738321.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-507h-308-738321.jpg border=0 alt=Click to enlarge width=507 height=308 style=border-width: 0px; border: 0; margin: 5px; //a/p
p30) Specific homework tasks for kids, like read a certain book or catch a certain fish./p
p31) Moodlets replace memories./p
p32) Moodlets are icons in the UI and are based on activities and events that are happening that day (moving home, being comfortable, getting married, having a kids etc.)/p
p33) Moodlets give an insight into why a Sim is acting the way it is./p
p34) Brush teeth is back - Gives a minty breath moodlet./p
p35) Cell phone notification system to noify you of opportunities and can be used for contacts etc. All Sims have one./p
p36) Funds and worth as 2 separate values now (worth includes property and object values)/p
p37) Difficulty levels per family (suggest how hard a family is to play based on personalities etc)/p
On Friday, July 18th 2008, Tug and I visited EA Redwood Shores (for the second time in 6 weeks), this time to have a first preview of The Sims 3! The game was not shown at E3 this week and was only represented by the official video released to coincide with the event. The information that will be published here and by our fellow fans that attended the event will be your very first detailed look at the game and is exclusive to our communities, even before the big gaming magazines and websites get near it!
Unlike one of my usual in-depth previews, things will be a little different this time around. Here you will find bullet pointers and notes that I took during the event which have been somewhat hurried together in preparation of our live chat, held the day after the event and hosted by myself and Tug from Redwood Shores.
Unfortunately there were many aspects of the game that developers were unable to talk about for varying reasons. Some features are simply not developed yet, others were buggy and anything at all to do with custom content was taboo this time around. Obviously very much more solid detail will be released nearer the 2009 release and later this year when custom content is finalised and work starts on building out the tools.
In the meantime though, take a look at all the juicy details of the things that we do know and join us in the live chat if you are in time, or in our new Sims 3 discussion forums to discuss all things good (and bad) about The Sims 3.
I can tell you also that the game is far from Alpha, so if you have any desperate issues with features or really want to see something specific in the game, be sure to discuss it. EA will be sniffing around the community to see what people are saying and are still taking on board feedback that can influence final game tuning.
If the notes don't make a huge amount of sense to you, I'll try and clear things up in my summary at the end :-)
Disclaimer stuff: As usual, this preview has been written based on an early build of the game, so some of the content I talk about might be different in the final version.
Introduction
All info points are numbered so that you can refer to them when commenting in the chat or forums.
1) Ben Bell, Senior Producer of Sims 3 opened the demos by giving us a brief outline of the major changes between Sims 2 and 3. TS3 offers a richer, deeper experience with more emotional characters (Sims) with real depth to their personalities. The new world (or environment) is interactive and comes to life in front of your very eyes.
2) Thanks to new attributes, each Sim will be virtually unique in its behaviour, attitude, looks and even sounds! EA called this the 'snowflake effect'.
3) Wishes replace wants - more dynamic to actual life experiences.
4) The town is fully customizable and allows you to remove and change Lots and Sims.
5) Young adult is the new default age and is changed to represent life between 18 and 30 years.
nbsp;6) Adult now considered more 'middle age' and includes wrinkles.
7) The Town Centre plays a large part in gameplay and building socials.
8) The town is made of 'functional, plopable public buildings' as well as your own made homes and services.
9) Some old service NPC's remain and are joined by some new ones.
nbsp;
New Gameplay
10) No loner individual Lots, player have realtime access to the 'Open World'
11) No Loading when changing Lots or families, as the simulator is running for all Sims, all the time.
12) Everything in the game happens for a reason. If someone moves is across the street it's part of the dynamic population management and not some random action.
13) The base game with ship with several types of ownable cars.
14) Magical valet parking (car fades in and out) on all Lots and streets.
15) Job aspects that you can do at home called 'opportunities'.
16) Day/Night transitions over the town.. light changes and shadows move across the ground as the sun goes up/down.
17) Teenagers sneak out at dusk and can be seen around town acting suspiciously.
18) Quick click icons on Sims face in UI to go quickly send them to work or home.
19) Map Tags float over areas of the hood - a quick way to find your way around.
20) Sims also have Map Tags so you can find them easily
21) Can buy an empty bookcase and buy books in the game. There are lots of books!
22) Can still get jobs from newspapers and online or browse the city and apply to workplaces near the home.
23) Sims can move nearer to their place of work, or even find work near home to reduce travelling time.
24) Currently an 8 Sims per family limit.
25) Next to the mood bar is a small bonus bar
26) Socials are now more important.. not just good and bad
27) New timeline dragbar which is specific to a few interactions. This lets you control how long a Sim spends on certain tasks like sleeping, fishing etchellip;
28) High level logic allows a Sim to tutor other Sims - Cooking unlocks recipes (Moodlets like divine food) - Fishing unlocks bigger fish (Caught fish can be put in an aquarium at home, and even given a name)
29) Careers have more gameplay - No longer just sent to work - Can now decide how hard to work - You can choose a less stressful day but will gain less skill - You could sacrifice hard work for doing more socializing at the workplace
30) Specific homework tasks for kids, like read a certain book or catch a certain fish.
31) Moodlets replace memories.
32) Moodlets are icons in the UI and are based on activities and events that are happening that day (moving home, being comfortable, getting married, having a kids etc.)
33) Moodlets give an insight into why a Sim is acting the way it is.
34) Brush teeth is back - Gives a minty breath moodlet.
35) Cell phone notification system to noify you of opportunities and can be used for contacts etc. All Sims have one.
36) Funds and worth as 2 separate values now (worth includes property and object values)
37) Difficulty levels per family (suggest how hard a family is to play based on personalities etc)
The Sims DS Apartment Pets Previewhttp://www.thesimsresource.com/articlesview-post/post/2732/2008-06-04T00:00:00Zpimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/680/680740.jpg border=0 width=240 height=208 style=float: left; margin: 0px 24px 24px 0px; border-width: 0px; border: 0; /On Friday May 30th I accompanied Steve to Electronic Arts in Redwood Shores for a Community Event. It was a pleasure to be back to see the venerable Maxoids and various sim webmasters. I was lucky enough to preview 2 new products for the Sims franchise. After you have a thorough peruse through my first review, you can read Steve's preview article of Apartment Life a class=null href=/articles/view-post/post/81/ target=_selfhere/a./p
pDisclaimer stuff: Please note that the version of the game we were playing was 'Alpha', meaning that final decisions have not yet been made regarding gameplay and content. Features which I talk about here may not make the cut into the final release of the game. Likewise, other changes might make this info contradict the final shipped version of the game./p
pnbsp;/p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/680/680868.jpg border=0 width=256 height=384 style=float: right; margin: 0px 0px 24px 24px; border-width: 0px; border: 0; /This DS game introduces a version of both Apartments and Pets for you to get your little hands on. The usual sim interface applies, with the chance to change the head, and clothes for your character. The apartment is a fixed unit, as you expect. You can only change furnishings and decorations. Most landlords don't like you demolishing their walls and rooms anyway, so I've learned./p
pThe best part of this game is the pets. You can interact with cats, dogs, rabbits, hamsters, and snakes. I did ask about the crocodiles in the sewers, but that might not make the final version of the game./p
pThe story begins with your sim moving in to your Uncle's apartment where he also owns a Pet Spa downstairs. The apartment building is full of interesting neighbors and lots of pets that need seeing to. At various times, well meaning people drop off strays for you to care for. The little 4-legged visitor comes with its own pet description as a way of introduction. This gives you the chance to help with anything s/he may need. The needs range from dirty to messy to smelly, as indicated with the smelly cheese icon. Once those needs are seen to you can dress up and play with the animal. Their well being is measured with the heart, for health, and smilie face for, well ... happiness./p
pnbsp;/p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/681/681001.jpg border=0 width=255 height=344 style=float: left; margin: 0px 24px 24px 0px; border-width: 0px; border: 0; /In addition to the cats and dogs the 3 other caged animals will delight you with various costumes. Shouldn't all pet snakes have a Viking helmet?/p
pYour sim is also the manager in the Pet Spa downstairs. With the pet in the treatment area you need to diagnose and treat the cat and dog customers. Yes, customers. You will be paid for successfully treating the animal. But be careful, an unhappy animal will run away and you won't get paid. There is a shop assistant at the Pet Spa when your sim isn't there, but you will earn more money when you are. As if this grooming and pampering wasn't enough there are also 3 mini-games to delight us. There's buried treasure for the dogs and cats, snake charming for the rabbit, no - that can't be right - oh, snake charming for the snake! And with much hilarity, bird boogie for the parrot. These games let you unlock yet more toys, clothing, furniture and accessories./p
pIn conclusion, this game is a very entertaining installment in the console play genre. It combines the cutesy pet dress-up with object oriented pet care as well as mini-games for incentives. While the target audience may be for young tweens it certainly has the charm and addictive qualities that are the mainstay of the entire sim franchise./p
pnbsp;/p
p/tugcopy;/p
pstrongLinks:/strongbr /a href=http://thesims2.ea.com/about/platforms_index.php?pid=More_games target=_blankSims 2: Apartment Pets Official Site/a/p
pa href=http://www.thesimsresource.com/profiles/guestbook.php?mid=4367 target=_blanktugcopy;'s Guestbook/a, in case you want to leave feedback about the article :-)/p
pnbsp;/p
p style=text-align: center;img src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/681/681164.jpg border=0 width=256 height=384 /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; img src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/681/681274.jpg border=0 width=256 height=384 //p
pnbsp;/p
p style=text-align: center;img src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/681/681404.jpg border=0 width=256 height=384 /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; img src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/681/681519.jpg border=0 width=256 height=384 //pOn Friday May 30th I accompanied Steve to Electronic Arts in Redwood Shores for a Community Event. It was a pleasure to be back to see the venerable Maxoids and various sim webmasters. I was lucky enough to preview 2 new products for the Sims franchise. After you have a thorough peruse through my first review, you can read Steve's preview article of Apartment Life here.
Disclaimer stuff: Please note that the version of the game we were playing was 'Alpha', meaning that final decisions have not yet been made regarding gameplay and content. Features which I talk about here may not make the cut into the final release of the game. Likewise, other changes might make this info contradict the final shipped version of the game.
nbsp;
This DS game introduces a version of both Apartments and Pets for you to get your little hands on. The usual sim interface applies, with the chance to change the head, and clothes for your character. The apartment is a fixed unit, as you expect. You can only change furnishings and decorations. Most landlords don't like you demolishing their walls and rooms anyway, so I've learned.
The best part of this game is the pets. You can interact with cats, dogs, rabbits, hamsters, and snakes. I did ask about the crocodiles in the sewers, but that might not make the final version of the game.
The story begins with your sim moving in to your Uncle's apartment where he also owns a Pet Spa downstairs. The apartment building is full of interesting neighbors and lots of pets that need seeing to. At various times, well meaning people drop off strays for you to care for. The little 4-legged visitor comes with its own pet description as a way of introduction. This gives you the chance to help with anything s/he may need. The needs range from dirty to messy to smelly, as indicated with the smelly cheese icon. Once those needs are seen to you can dress up and play with the animal. Their well being is measured with the heart, for health, and smilie face for, well ... happiness.
nbsp;
In addition to the cats and dogs the 3 other caged animals will delight you with various costumes. Shouldn't all pet snakes have a Viking helmet?
Your sim is also the manager in the Pet Spa downstairs. With the pet in the treatment area you need to diagnose and treat the cat and dog customers. Yes, customers. You will be paid for successfully treating the animal. But be careful, an unhappy animal will run away and you won't get paid. There is a shop assistant at the Pet Spa when your sim isn't there, but you will earn more money when you are. As if this grooming and pampering wasn't enough there are also 3 mini-games to delight us. There's buried treasure for the dogs and cats, snake charming for the rabbit, no - that can't be right - oh, snake charming for the snake! And with much hilarity, bird boogie for the parrot. These games let you unlock yet more toys, clothing, furniture and accessories.
In conclusion, this game is a very entertaining installment in the console play genre. It combines the cutesy pet dress-up with object oriented pet care as well as mini-games for incentives. While the target audience may be for young tweens it certainly has the charm and addictive qualities that are the mainstay of the entire sim franchise.
nbsp;
/tugcopy;
Links:Sims 2: Apartment Pets Official Site
tugcopy;'s Guestbook, in case you want to leave feedback about the article :-)
nbsp;
nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;
nbsp;
nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; TS2: Apartment Life Previewhttp://www.thesimsresource.com/articlesview-post/post/81/2008-05-30T00:00:00Zp style=text-align: left;img src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-159h-200-535506.jpg border=0 width=159 height=200 style=float: left; /On Friday, May 30th 2008, I was at EA headquarters in not so sunny Redwood Shores, California (for my lucky 7th visit), this time to preview Sims 2 Expansion Pack number 8! You probably already know this pack as Apartment Life, but I don't think the name will have really given you even half the idea of what this pack will bring to your game, so I'm guessing you are here to find out more!/p
pI should warn you in advance that this is probably my most in depth EP preview ever, and as such includes many spoilers. If you are so excited about Apartment Life that you are looking for as much juicy info as you can, then read on. If you prefer to explore a new EP to find all the hidden treasures yourself, you might be as well to scan through the headers and skip to the conclusion at the end of the article./p
pstrongDisclaimer stuff:/strong As usual, this preview has been written based on an early Alpha build of the game, so some of the content I talk about might not even make it to the final version, or might be edited or enhanced. Many objects don't yet have their proper names or bios and some were still only placeholders, so will not be included./p
h2 class=nhpMeet the Neighbors/h2
pa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-535494.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-282h-211-535494.jpg border=0 width=282 height=211 style=float: right; margin-left: 9px; margin-right: 9px; //aLet's start by taking a look at the new 'hood. Welcome to Belladonna Cove!Absolutely no point in showing you what it looks like right now because it will certainly change, but I can show you some of the new Lots and Plopables ('hood decorations) that you will see in AL./p
pFirst up is a celebration of the name of the hood, and someone you might recognise this statu which will tower over the hood for all to see. This is one of the more elegant items, the rest are pretty much scrap and rubbish. Literally. You see, Apartment Life conjures up the image of comfortable accommodation, but this pack has also been designed to accommodate those people that have wanted to build trailer parks and other low-grade areas. We will look into those in more detail later, but so that they fit in with their surrounding, you will now find Plopables such as alleyways and trash piles that can be used to really bring an area down./p
h4And what of the residents of Belladonna Cove?/h4
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-280h-210-535495.jpg border=0 width=280 height=210 style=float: left; margin-left: 9px; margin-right: 9px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; /Well, the story is still being created but the sample ones we saw suggest that there will be a wide variety of wacky families for you to interact with as usual./p
pSome new Lots are thrown in as usual which include 2 Secret Lots (more later), some great Community Lots such as the Library, new Coffee Shops and Grocery Stores and lots of Parks, all designed to suit a range of classes of society. Some great new residential homes are a result of the new build mode features that we will see soon, but one Lot of note which must be seen by all is the reproduction of San Francisco's very own Painted Ladies. A different family can live in each of the identical houses. Gorgeous, no? We all loved the illusion of being built on a hill!/p
h2 class=nhpNow you've met them, it's time to interact!/h2
pa href=/screenshots/view.php?id=114148 target=_blank/aimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/535/535515.jpg border=0 width=280 height=210 style=float: right; margin-left: 9px; margin-right: 9px; /With AL, your Sims will be spending much more time with others, so it's right that we be given some new ways to interact with them. New to this pack is the ability to share gestures with other Sims, including High Five, Earthy Hug, Fake Out, Kiss Kiss Darling and Tough Handshake. Kids can torment each other with hilarious animations and all ages of Sim can now dance the Classic Dance (until one steps on the toes of the other). Sims can play alone with the new Jump Rope (Skipping Rope) and toddlers have a new toddler on toddler interaction of Huddle. Maximum cuteness guaranteed!/p
pThis might be a nice time to mention a new behaviour too, although it's not an interaction as such. Very low aspiration Fortune Sims will often be seen whipping out a pot and begging from other Sims for their spare change. It's pathetic, but I've long been a fan of Schadenfreude (gaining delight in someone else's misfortune), so it made me smile :-)/p
h2 class=nhpApartment Life (er.. this IS where the EP gets its name)/h2
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/535/535500.jpg border=0 width=280 height=177 style=float: left; margin-left: 9px; margin-right: 9px; /I guess we should get on to the idea of what this EP is all about. Although the name suggests living in an apartment, the flexibility of the game (as always) allows you to use your own imagination to take your Sims wherever you want to take them. I have already used the example of Trailer Parks but you can use any situation where you want multiple families to share a Lot without them having to merge, like the Painted Ladies Townhouses, or sheds in a park if your Sims are uber poor!/p
pYou can have up to 4 families living on a single Lot, although you can build more apartments/accommodations than that, allowing for NPC's to move in around you. If you have a block of 6 bedsits, after you move in, other Sims will take the rooms around you. You can visit them, build relationships with them and even complain about them, but you can't control them./p
pIn fact, you will only ever control one family when you are on a Lot (you choose which one when you load it up, as can be seen from the family selector screen here). Your other families will be around so you can build relationships with them still, but you can't control them./p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/535/535498.jpg border=0 width=280 height=210 style=float: right; margin-left: 9px; margin-right: 9px; /The process for renting an apartment is very much the same way that you choose a room at a hotel in Bon Voyage, so may well be familiar to you. On entering the Lot for the first time you can click on the apartment doors and see what the rent will be for claiming it. Once you claim your chosen accommodation, a week of rent is pre-paid and your Sims move in to their new digs. The landlord will make a timely appearance to welcome you and let you know to call him should you have any problems or repairs that need attention. You see, one of the luxuries of having a landlord is that he will take care of broken items, so you don't have to. He calls regularly and checks out all the accommodations on his Lot./p
pBuild Mode is disabled in rented accommodation so you can't go ripping out walls or adding extra rooms, but you can change the deacute;cor so wallpaper and floors are about your limit. You can of course buy as much as you can cram into your own space. Now would be a great time to show you some of the fantastic new objects that have been introduced which are 'shared accommodation' friendly./p
pThe Murphy Bed is a space saving delight which folds up against the wall when not being used. The Trash Chute saves you having to take your trash all the way downstairs if you are in a high-rise block, and the new mailbox has a 'pigeon hole' for each of the residents, and a note box for the landlord./p
p style=text-align: center;img src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/535/535505.jpg border=0 width=160 height=120 style=border-width: 0px; border: 0; margin: 5px; / img src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/535/535516.jpg border=0 width=160 height=120 style=border-width: 0px; border: 0; margin: 5px; / img src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/535/535504.jpg border=0 width=160 height=120 style=border-width: 0px; border: 0; margin: 5px; /br /emThe Murphy Bed, Trash Chute and Apartment Mail Box/em/p
p style=text-align: center;nbsp;/p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/535/535512.jpg border=0 width=211 height=131 style=float: left; border-width: 0px; margin-left: 9px; margin-right: 9px; /You can offset the cost of renting a large, maybe even multi story apartment by taking on a roommate. Advertise in the local paper or search online for a perfect partner to move in and help with the rent. They won't bring any new objects (you have to provide the furnishings) but they will help with relationship scores and chores around the house./p
pPick one that's got high scores in cooking and cleaning and they can be a great help! You don't have any control over your roommate but you can see their satisfaction in the roomie satisfaction screen in their bio, shown here./p
pnbsp;/p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/535/535508.jpg border=0 width=280 height=210 style=float: right; margin-left: 9px; margin-right: 9px; /I mentioned earlier about complaining about apartment neighbors. This can be a result of noise coming from next door (your Sims have an interaction to bang on the wall when noise occurs), or if they are particularly smelly, leaving rubbish lying around. I'm yet to resort to this, but I'll post more info and screens when I see it./p
pLater on you will see how having the Pets EP will add a new dimension, but just in case you don't, you might like to take advantage of the new apartment friendly dogs that live in a suitable pen. These little 'lap dogs' need to be fed, cleaned and played with but will give back love, affection and fun to anyone where space or access to a yard is limited. A nice touch, and some great animations for the interactions. And no Pets EP required! Currently there are 4 varieties to adopt, all of which you can name when you choose them./p
h2 class=nhpSocial Change/h2
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/535/535511.jpg border=0 width=280 height=209 style=margin-left: 9px; margin-right: 9px; float: left; /Here's some info I found in the Sim Encyclopaedia that might interest the serious relationship builders in the game!/p
pSims can now develop reputations based on how they interact with the other members of the neighbourhood. The way you choose to socialize can have a drastic effect on how other Sims view you. For example, depending on your Sims reputation, he or she may receive a slight relationship boost or penalty upon meeting someone new. Performing friendly socials will increase reputation, while unfriendly socials will lower reputation. You can view your Sims' reputation in their personality panel./p
pThere are new Social Groups in AL. Each group has some identifiable characteristics like a greeting and a unique story interest. They tend to dress a certain way too. You may find that the Sims from a certain social group can be found in greater numbers in certain areas of town. Learning how to greet them and what their interests are can increase your Sim's pool of friends./p
pOK, sharing a Lot and socials/relationships are great and I could go on about it for ages, but lets move on to some other exciting stuff.../p
On Friday, May 30th 2008, I was at EA headquarters in not so sunny Redwood Shores, California (for my lucky 7th visit), this time to preview Sims 2 Expansion Pack number 8! You probably already know this pack as Apartment Life, but I don't think the name will have really given you even half the idea of what this pack will bring to your game, so I'm guessing you are here to find out more!
I should warn you in advance that this is probably my most in depth EP preview ever, and as such includes many spoilers. If you are so excited about Apartment Life that you are looking for as much juicy info as you can, then read on. If you prefer to explore a new EP to find all the hidden treasures yourself, you might be as well to scan through the headers and skip to the conclusion at the end of the article.
Disclaimer stuff: As usual, this preview has been written based on an early Alpha build of the game, so some of the content I talk about might not even make it to the final version, or might be edited or enhanced. Many objects don't yet have their proper names or bios and some were still only placeholders, so will not be included.
Meet the Neighbors
Let's start by taking a look at the new 'hood. Welcome to Belladonna Cove!Absolutely no point in showing you what it looks like right now because it will certainly change, but I can show you some of the new Lots and Plopables ('hood decorations) that you will see in AL.
First up is a celebration of the name of the hood, and someone you might recognise this statu which will tower over the hood for all to see. This is one of the more elegant items, the rest are pretty much scrap and rubbish. Literally. You see, Apartment Life conjures up the image of comfortable accommodation, but this pack has also been designed to accommodate those people that have wanted to build trailer parks and other low-grade areas. We will look into those in more detail later, but so that they fit in with their surrounding, you will now find Plopables such as alleyways and trash piles that can be used to really bring an area down.
And what of the residents of Belladonna Cove?
Well, the story is still being created but the sample ones we saw suggest that there will be a wide variety of wacky families for you to interact with as usual.
Some new Lots are thrown in as usual which include 2 Secret Lots (more later), some great Community Lots such as the Library, new Coffee Shops and Grocery Stores and lots of Parks, all designed to suit a range of classes of society. Some great new residential homes are a result of the new build mode features that we will see soon, but one Lot of note which must be seen by all is the reproduction of San Francisco's very own Painted Ladies. A different family can live in each of the identical houses. Gorgeous, no? We all loved the illusion of being built on a hill!
Now you've met them, it's time to interact!
With AL, your Sims will be spending much more time with others, so it's right that we be given some new ways to interact with them. New to this pack is the ability to share gestures with other Sims, including High Five, Earthy Hug, Fake Out, Kiss Kiss Darling and Tough Handshake. Kids can torment each other with hilarious animations and all ages of Sim can now dance the Classic Dance (until one steps on the toes of the other). Sims can play alone with the new Jump Rope (Skipping Rope) and toddlers have a new toddler on toddler interaction of Huddle. Maximum cuteness guaranteed!
This might be a nice time to mention a new behaviour too, although it's not an interaction as such. Very low aspiration Fortune Sims will often be seen whipping out a pot and begging from other Sims for their spare change. It's pathetic, but I've long been a fan of Schadenfreude (gaining delight in someone else's misfortune), so it made me smile :-)
Apartment Life (er.. this IS where the EP gets its name)
I guess we should get on to the idea of what this EP is all about. Although the name suggests living in an apartment, the flexibility of the game (as always) allows you to use your own imagination to take your Sims wherever you want to take them. I have already used the example of Trailer Parks but you can use any situation where you want multiple families to share a Lot without them having to merge, like the Painted Ladies Townhouses, or sheds in a park if your Sims are uber poor!
You can have up to 4 families living on a single Lot, although you can build more apartments/accommodations than that, allowing for NPC's to move in around you. If you have a block of 6 bedsits, after you move in, other Sims will take the rooms around you. You can visit them, build relationships with them and even complain about them, but you can't control them.
In fact, you will only ever control one family when you are on a Lot (you choose which one when you load it up, as can be seen from the family selector screen here). Your other families will be around so you can build relationships with them still, but you can't control them.
The process for renting an apartment is very much the same way that you choose a room at a hotel in Bon Voyage, so may well be familiar to you. On entering the Lot for the first time you can click on the apartment doors and see what the rent will be for claiming it. Once you claim your chosen accommodation, a week of rent is pre-paid and your Sims move in to their new digs. The landlord will make a timely appearance to welcome you and let you know to call him should you have any problems or repairs that need attention. You see, one of the luxuries of having a landlord is that he will take care of broken items, so you don't have to. He calls regularly and checks out all the accommodations on his Lot.
Build Mode is disabled in rented accommodation so you can't go ripping out walls or adding extra rooms, but you can change the deacute;cor so wallpaper and floors are about your limit. You can of course buy as much as you can cram into your own space. Now would be a great time to show you some of the fantastic new objects that have been introduced which are 'shared accommodation' friendly.
The Murphy Bed is a space saving delight which folds up against the wall when not being used. The Trash Chute saves you having to take your trash all the way downstairs if you are in a high-rise block, and the new mailbox has a 'pigeon hole' for each of the residents, and a note box for the landlord.
The Murphy Bed, Trash Chute and Apartment Mail Box
nbsp;
You can offset the cost of renting a large, maybe even multi story apartment by taking on a roommate. Advertise in the local paper or search online for a perfect partner to move in and help with the rent. They won't bring any new objects (you have to provide the furnishings) but they will help with relationship scores and chores around the house.
Pick one that's got high scores in cooking and cleaning and they can be a great help! You don't have any control over your roommate but you can see their satisfaction in the roomie satisfaction screen in their bio, shown here.
nbsp;
I mentioned earlier about complaining about apartment neighbors. This can be a result of noise coming from next door (your Sims have an interaction to bang on the wall when noise occurs), or if they are particularly smelly, leaving rubbish lying around. I'm yet to resort to this, but I'll post more info and screens when I see it.
Later on you will see how having the Pets EP will add a new dimension, but just in case you don't, you might like to take advantage of the new apartment friendly dogs that live in a suitable pen. These little 'lap dogs' need to be fed, cleaned and played with but will give back love, affection and fun to anyone where space or access to a yard is limited. A nice touch, and some great animations for the interactions. And no Pets EP required! Currently there are 4 varieties to adopt, all of which you can name when you choose them.
Social Change
Here's some info I found in the Sim Encyclopaedia that might interest the serious relationship builders in the game!
Sims can now develop reputations based on how they interact with the other members of the neighbourhood. The way you choose to socialize can have a drastic effect on how other Sims view you. For example, depending on your Sims reputation, he or she may receive a slight relationship boost or penalty upon meeting someone new. Performing friendly socials will increase reputation, while unfriendly socials will lower reputation. You can view your Sims' reputation in their personality panel.
There are new Social Groups in AL. Each group has some identifiable characteristics like a greeting and a unique story interest. They tend to dress a certain way too. You may find that the Sims from a certain social group can be found in greater numbers in certain areas of town. Learning how to greet them and what their interests are can increase your Sim's pool of friends.
OK, sharing a Lot and socials/relationships are great and I could go on about it for ages, but lets move on to some other exciting stuff...
The Sims Castaway Franchise Previewhttp://www.thesimsresource.com/articlesview-post/post/2733/2007-08-03T00:00:00Zpimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/677/677479.jpg border=0 width=280 height=146 style=float: left; margin: 0px 24px 24px 0px; border-width: 0px; border: 0; /Hopefully you already read my article from last week previewing the next Expansion Pack, a href=http://admin.ibibi.com/article/bonvoyage1Bon Voyage/a. Well, while at the same EA event I was lucky enough to have some play time with the other upcoming games to grace the Simming world. Please put your hands together for the strongCastaway/strong franchise!/p
pNow, don't be confusing these games with Bon Voyage. There are some similarities but they are very different games. A vacation on a beach island is a little different to being stranded on one you know!/p
pThe Castaway franchise is a range of games to be released for a mix of consoles, just like Pets was around a year earlier. In this case we are looking at console games for the Wii and PS2, and handheld games for the Nintendo DS and the PSP. Castaway Stories joins the laptop friendly variation of the Sims 2 game to complete the line-up./p
h2 class=nhpWii and PS2/h2
pSo the story goes... Your Sim was heading off on vacation but has ended up on a remote island having been shipwrecked. After the basic survival stuff has kicked in, you are going to want to explore, expand and ultimately escape, returning home to civilization. But the journey will be long, rewarding and exciting (if all goes to plan)./p
pa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-677572.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-281h-158-677572.jpg border=0 alt=Click to enlarge width=281 height=158 style=float: right; margin: 0px 0px 24px 24px; border-width: 0px; border: 0; //aYou are not alone on these islands however. You will be able to meet up with fellow crew members, also castaways on the islands. Once you meet them you can invite them to join you, thus giving you control of these crew members to be able to increase your productivity. As you build up your team (to a maximum of 6) you could instruct some Sims to build, some to hunt, others to forage etc./p
pYour Sim has the same 8 basic needs (motives) as the Sims 2 game, but they are not all unlocked at the start of the game. Having been washed up on the beach, the least of your concerns would be your hygiene, so it makes no sense for it to be there until you meet up with more Sims and start to build relations, as an example./p
pAs your Sim settles down to island life he is going to want to develop the area around him. To make things like shelters and campfires, a Sim first needs to figure out the resources required. He can then go out into the jungle and gather those items before building. There is no buy mode here!/p
pa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-677652.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-281h-158-677652.jpg border=0 alt=Click to enlarge width=281 height=158 style=float: left; margin: 0px 24px 24px 0px; border-width: 0px; border: 0; //aThere's lots to do on the islands (yep, there are actually 3, with many different locations on each) including learning about an ancient civilization to unlock content, learning to fish, hunt and cook in new ways. Sims start out recognising things they may have experienced at home, like coconuts and long beans, but there are many things on the island that are new to him, and he's going to have to learn about them to put them to good use. The more food types a Sim collects, the more they can experiment with cooking, with the result varying greatly as the game progresses./p
pCrafting will be a major thing for castaways too, starting out with a makeshift craft bench, a team of Sims can eventually build impressive structures with a bit of team effort and experience. You will almost certainly come across Chimps too! Chimpanzees are natives of the jungle and can make for useful friends and can even be helpful around the island, but they can also cause your Sim some distress! These cheeky characters can steal your Sims meagre possessions like their homemade Sand Buddy's head (coconut shell and grass) and taunt them with it!/p
pUltimately, there are several ways your Sim can leave the islands and get back home, but they will always be able to come back. They might like their new surroundings more once they get home and realize real life wasn't as much fun as they remembered it, leaving some nice open ended gamplay ability for you once you complete the basic tasks of the game./p
pI have a confession to make. Until the time I picked up the Wii controllers to play Castaway, I had never actually used one before. But now I have that off my chest I'm pleased to announce that I am no longer a Wii virgin! Better still, I was broken in (??) playing The Sims 2 Castaway! I found the controls to be fun, but importantly, intuitive. It seemed obvious to me what I should be doing with the controls very quickly after getting into the game, which is good for us die hard mouse clickers. The PS2 took a little more getting used to, but if you are a regular player of controller based Sims game you'll get to grips with it in no time./p
pnbsp;/p
p style=text-align: center;a rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-677726.jpgimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-281h-196-677726.jpg border=0 alt=Click to enlarge width=281 height=196 //a img src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/677/677772.jpg border=0 alt=Click to enlarge width=283 height=196 / br /Images from the PS2 Version/p
pnbsp;/p
h2 class=nhpNintendo DS amp; PSP (Play Station Portable)/h2
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/677/677868.jpg border=0 alt=Click to enlarge width=140 height=210 style=float: right; margin: 0px 0px 24px 24px; border-width: 0px; border: 0; /Gamplay on the Nintendo DS is predictably very different and allows for short bursts of pick up and play game time. It uses the features of the hardware very well (split screen, microphone and controls). I got quite into this game as I'm a fan of the exploration and mini games that this product is built around (although I felt a bit of an idiot trying to light a fire.. rubbing the stylus across the sticks on the screen while franticly blowing on the microphone to boost the flames (don't try this in a public place))./p
pThe story is pretty similar, you are thrust onto a desert island and have the desire to stay alive, and get back home. This is achieved by exploring your surrounding and meeting some odd characters that you come across on your travels. You can strike deals with these people (such as the chef that fell off a luxury cruise ship who has an obsession with cheese) who will give you items to help you, like upgraded spears for catching bigger and more satisfying fish./p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/677/677907.jpg border=0 alt=Click to enlarge width=140 height=210 style=float: left; margin: 0px 24px 24px 0px; border-width: 0px; border: 0; /There are many different mini games to play, but they all have some relevance to the game and can be an absolute must for progression, but are sometimes just for fun. Splatting bugs can generate different dye's for example, which can be used on the painting easel to create your own colorful pictures which can be used to decorate your island, or to change the color of your clothes./p
pMost of your time is spent beachcombing and exploring though, looking for hidden items that you can use on the crafting bench to make things like axes, shovels, watering cans and other fun stuff. Plant your own fruits and vegetables and use these to trade with others, or gather parts of a treasure map.. there's lots to do and you certainly have plenty of time to do it!/p
pAlas, the PSP version of the game was in no fit state for us to get our hands on it a couple of weeks ago but expect a mixture of the detail and graphical quality of the Wii/PS2 game with some of the more pick up and play accessibility of the DS version./p
pnbsp;/p
p style=text-align: center;img src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/677/677967.jpg border=0 alt=Click to enlarge width=283 height=144 / br /Image from the PSP Version/p
h2 class=nhpCastaway Stories/h2
pLast up for this franchise is Castaway Stories. Like 'Life Stories' and 'Pet Stories', this is a cut down version of The Sims 2 designed to be played on a laptop. It has mobile friendly features like running in window mode, hot keys and the ability to pick up and play for short bursts of game time, but very much unlike Sims 2, there is plenty of objective based and story driven gamplay to keep you moving. Open ended classic mode is always available too, if that's your thing./p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/678/678044.jpg border=0 width=280 height=210 style=float: left; margin: 0px 24px 24px 0px; border-width: 0px; border: 0; /Again, we didn't get our hands on Castaway Stories for our own game play time but we did see an impressive demo of the game running by game producers Bim M. and George P. Being a much later release, we were viewing a production version of the game, so content may change!/p
pBeing stranded on an island, many of the home comforts a Sim is used to will not be available in Castway Stories. Get used to washing in the ocean, peeing in the bushes and having to catch or hunt your own food, rather than using the refrigerator!/p
pCastaway Sims become industrious and gather resources, build their own shelters and transportation (you wont be on the island for the entire story) and even make their own clothes./p
pChopping through bamboo canes will open up new areas of the islands and therefor expand opportunities and adventures! New items will regularly wash up on the beaches to make your Sims lives a little more interesting./p
pExpect more info to spread out about Castaway Stories nearer to its release date./p
pThe Wii, PS2, DS and PSP versions of Castaway are due in stores October 22nd. br /Castaway Stories is due next year in February./p
pMy thanks to the teams at EA for the opportunity and information. I hope you find this new information useful and/or informative :-)/p
p/Steve/p
pstrongLinks:/strongbr /a href=http://sims.yahoo.com/about/castawaystories target=_blankSims 2: Castaway Stories Official Site/a/p
pnbsp;/p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/678/678092.jpg border=0 width=581 height=196 //pHopefully you already read my article from last week previewing the next Expansion Pack, Bon Voyage. Well, while at the same EA event I was lucky enough to have some play time with the other upcoming games to grace the Simming world. Please put your hands together for the Castaway franchise!
Now, don't be confusing these games with Bon Voyage. There are some similarities but they are very different games. A vacation on a beach island is a little different to being stranded on one you know!
The Castaway franchise is a range of games to be released for a mix of consoles, just like Pets was around a year earlier. In this case we are looking at console games for the Wii and PS2, and handheld games for the Nintendo DS and the PSP. Castaway Stories joins the laptop friendly variation of the Sims 2 game to complete the line-up.
Wii and PS2
So the story goes... Your Sim was heading off on vacation but has ended up on a remote island having been shipwrecked. After the basic survival stuff has kicked in, you are going to want to explore, expand and ultimately escape, returning home to civilization. But the journey will be long, rewarding and exciting (if all goes to plan).
You are not alone on these islands however. You will be able to meet up with fellow crew members, also castaways on the islands. Once you meet them you can invite them to join you, thus giving you control of these crew members to be able to increase your productivity. As you build up your team (to a maximum of 6) you could instruct some Sims to build, some to hunt, others to forage etc.
Your Sim has the same 8 basic needs (motives) as the Sims 2 game, but they are not all unlocked at the start of the game. Having been washed up on the beach, the least of your concerns would be your hygiene, so it makes no sense for it to be there until you meet up with more Sims and start to build relations, as an example.
As your Sim settles down to island life he is going to want to develop the area around him. To make things like shelters and campfires, a Sim first needs to figure out the resources required. He can then go out into the jungle and gather those items before building. There is no buy mode here!
There's lots to do on the islands (yep, there are actually 3, with many different locations on each) including learning about an ancient civilization to unlock content, learning to fish, hunt and cook in new ways. Sims start out recognising things they may have experienced at home, like coconuts and long beans, but there are many things on the island that are new to him, and he's going to have to learn about them to put them to good use. The more food types a Sim collects, the more they can experiment with cooking, with the result varying greatly as the game progresses.
Crafting will be a major thing for castaways too, starting out with a makeshift craft bench, a team of Sims can eventually build impressive structures with a bit of team effort and experience. You will almost certainly come across Chimps too! Chimpanzees are natives of the jungle and can make for useful friends and can even be helpful around the island, but they can also cause your Sim some distress! These cheeky characters can steal your Sims meagre possessions like their homemade Sand Buddy's head (coconut shell and grass) and taunt them with it!
Ultimately, there are several ways your Sim can leave the islands and get back home, but they will always be able to come back. They might like their new surroundings more once they get home and realize real life wasn't as much fun as they remembered it, leaving some nice open ended gamplay ability for you once you complete the basic tasks of the game.
I have a confession to make. Until the time I picked up the Wii controllers to play Castaway, I had never actually used one before. But now I have that off my chest I'm pleased to announce that I am no longer a Wii virgin! Better still, I was broken in (??) playing The Sims 2 Castaway! I found the controls to be fun, but importantly, intuitive. It seemed obvious to me what I should be doing with the controls very quickly after getting into the game, which is good for us die hard mouse clickers. The PS2 took a little more getting used to, but if you are a regular player of controller based Sims game you'll get to grips with it in no time.
nbsp;
Images from the PS2 Version
nbsp;
Nintendo DS amp; PSP (Play Station Portable)
Gamplay on the Nintendo DS is predictably very different and allows for short bursts of pick up and play game time. It uses the features of the hardware very well (split screen, microphone and controls). I got quite into this game as I'm a fan of the exploration and mini games that this product is built around (although I felt a bit of an idiot trying to light a fire.. rubbing the stylus across the sticks on the screen while franticly blowing on the microphone to boost the flames (don't try this in a public place)).
The story is pretty similar, you are thrust onto a desert island and have the desire to stay alive, and get back home. This is achieved by exploring your surrounding and meeting some odd characters that you come across on your travels. You can strike deals with these people (such as the chef that fell off a luxury cruise ship who has an obsession with cheese) who will give you items to help you, like upgraded spears for catching bigger and more satisfying fish.
There are many different mini games to play, but they all have some relevance to the game and can be an absolute must for progression, but are sometimes just for fun. Splatting bugs can generate different dye's for example, which can be used on the painting easel to create your own colorful pictures which can be used to decorate your island, or to change the color of your clothes.
Most of your time is spent beachcombing and exploring though, looking for hidden items that you can use on the crafting bench to make things like axes, shovels, watering cans and other fun stuff. Plant your own fruits and vegetables and use these to trade with others, or gather parts of a treasure map.. there's lots to do and you certainly have plenty of time to do it!
Alas, the PSP version of the game was in no fit state for us to get our hands on it a couple of weeks ago but expect a mixture of the detail and graphical quality of the Wii/PS2 game with some of the more pick up and play accessibility of the DS version.
nbsp;
Image from the PSP Version
Castaway Stories
Last up for this franchise is Castaway Stories. Like 'Life Stories' and 'Pet Stories', this is a cut down version of The Sims 2 designed to be played on a laptop. It has mobile friendly features like running in window mode, hot keys and the ability to pick up and play for short bursts of game time, but very much unlike Sims 2, there is plenty of objective based and story driven gamplay to keep you moving. Open ended classic mode is always available too, if that's your thing.
Again, we didn't get our hands on Castaway Stories for our own game play time but we did see an impressive demo of the game running by game producers Bim M. and George P. Being a much later release, we were viewing a production version of the game, so content may change!
Being stranded on an island, many of the home comforts a Sim is used to will not be available in Castway Stories. Get used to washing in the ocean, peeing in the bushes and having to catch or hunt your own food, rather than using the refrigerator!
Castaway Sims become industrious and gather resources, build their own shelters and transportation (you wont be on the island for the entire story) and even make their own clothes.
Chopping through bamboo canes will open up new areas of the islands and therefor expand opportunities and adventures! New items will regularly wash up on the beaches to make your Sims lives a little more interesting.
Expect more info to spread out about Castaway Stories nearer to its release date.
The Wii, PS2, DS and PSP versions of Castaway are due in stores October 22nd. Castaway Stories is due next year in February.
My thanks to the teams at EA for the opportunity and information. I hope you find this new information useful and/or informative :-)
/Steve
Links:Sims 2: Castaway Stories Official Site
nbsp;
TS2: Bon Voyage Previewhttp://www.thesimsresource.com/articlesview-post/post/88/2007-07-21T00:00:00Zpimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-150h-190-541280.jpg border=0 style=border: 0; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: left; /On Friday 20th July 2007, I was once again invited back to Electronic Arts in Redwood Shores for a Community Event to have a preview of the upcoming Sims 2 Expansion Pack, this time being 'Bon Voyage'. These events are great for our community as they allow us, the fan sites, to be first to present you with all the information you want to know about the upcoming expansions. We can see the packs from a Sims players' perspective and will come away with more of the juicy details than a magazine journalist will do, so big thanks to EA for keeping these events going!/p
pThis preview will hopefully share loads of new info with you, to help you decide whether The Sims 2: Bon Voyage will be on your shopping list when it hits the stores on September 5th 2007./p
pstrongDisclaimer stuff:/strong Please note that the version of the game we were playing was 'Alpha', meaning that final decisions have not yet been made regarding gameplay and content. Features which I talk about here may not make the cut into the final release of the game. Likewise, other changes might make this info contradict the final shipped version of the game. The User Interface screenshots had to be taken with a digital camera so the quality is a little lacking, sorry./p
h2 class=nhpBon Voyage! (Have a good trip)/h2
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/541/541317.jpg border=0 width=280 height=210 style=border: 0; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: right; /Bon Voyage will be the 6th Expansion Pack for Sims 2 and once again takes its basic idea from a rather successful Sims 1 EP called Vacation, or On Holiday, depending on where in the world you bought it. But as you should by now expect, the actual content and gameplay is quite different. With Bon Voyage there are three distinctly different locations of the Sims world which your Sims can visit, each having unique themed objects, games, dances, characters and more. Rather cleverly, the NPC characters from each area behave quite differently to each other, fitting their surroundings perfectly./p
pLets take a look at the new features in a bit more detail... I know you want to see the details ;-)/p
h2 class=nhpWe're all going on a, summer holiday.../h2
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-280h-209-541302.jpg border=0 style=margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: left; /The concept of travelling has bought new challenges to the game as each trip your Sims take ads to their traveller ranking (which starts out at Stumbling Sightseer) and can earn them new benefits in the game. They can also collect up to 45 mementos of their travelling experiences, each of which is a challenge to find in itself. These combined features make taking vacations a very rewarding experience for both the Sims, and you, the players!/p
pTour Guides can take your Sims on far flung adventures, new friends and relationships can start with the locals and you may even experience the presence of a folklore legend!/p
h2 class=nhpThe Travel Agent/h2
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-280h-178-541290.jpg border=0 width=280 height=178 style=border: 0; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: right; /The fun all begins with a simple phone call. Direct a Sim to use the phone to call the travel agent and plan a trip where he or she can select up to 8 other Sims to join them on the trip of a lifetime. These guests can be both friends and family, so is a great way to rebuild relationships with those who have strayed over time. You can choose for the trip to start immediately, or on any given day in the next Sim week. Booking early can save a lot of money on airfares, with the scale ranging from an immediate flight costing sect;1000, to just sect;600 when booked 7 days in advance./p
pThe duration of the vacation is also decided when booking, and this can range from 3 to 7 days and also affects the cost of the total vacation. Rooms at hotels and resorts are charged by the night, so a full on week vacation in a 5sect; resort could cost a few thousand Simoleans for the family (quality ranges from sect; to sect;sect;sect;sect;sect;). At this stage you don't need to specify where you want to go, those choices are presented after you leave home./p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-264h-176-541296.jpg border=0 width=264 height=176 style=border: 0; float: left; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; /Time off work is not required to take a vacation as time in the family home effectively stands still while you are away, just as it does when you visit a Community Lot./p
pOn the day of the trip, a Taxi will arrive to collect the party and their luggage. As you can see here, Taxi's sport ads for vacations and come in new colors such as green and red. Sims leaving for vacation can be identified by their snazzy brown suitcases, waving to remaining Sims on the Lot as they pile into the taxi./p
h2 class=nhpChecking In/h2
pOnce your Sims are safely in the taxi and on their way, you are presented with your vacation options. Bon Voyage ships with 3 unique locations for your Sims to visit and you can of course create your own as well, but the base locations each have their own style: Takemizu Village is a far Eastern resort, Twikkii Island is a tropical beach location, and Three Lakes is a mountain retreat./p
pAt this stage you also choose which vacation Lot you will stay on from the following choices:/p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-262h-180-541310.jpg border=0 width=262 height=180 style=border: 0; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; / strongTakemizu Village:/strongbr /Flaming Dragon Hotelbr /Jade's Exclusive Villasbr /Steaming Dragon Hotelbr /Takemizu Village Resort/p
pstrongTwikkii Island:/strongbr /Blossom Wood Hotelbr /Double Palm Resortbr /Potterhouse Bungalowsbr /Twikkii Beach Hotel/p
pstrongThree Lakes:/strongbr /Axe Wood Campgroundsbr /Blau Hills Resortbr /Hunter's Bedrock Innbr /Sky Vista Motelbr /Three Lakes cabins/p
pOnce you arrive at your resort, each Sim needs to identify their choice of available rooms. The larger and more luxurious the room, the more it will cost per night. All that's then left to do is head over to the ConciergoSum Desk and get checked in. Sims can also check out from their vacation early by using this desk, should things not be going to plan!/p
p style=TEXT-ALIGN: rightstrongContinued.../strong/p
On Friday 20th July 2007, I was once again invited back to Electronic Arts in Redwood Shores for a Community Event to have a preview of the upcoming Sims 2 Expansion Pack, this time being 'Bon Voyage'. These events are great for our community as they allow us, the fan sites, to be first to present you with all the information you want to know about the upcoming expansions. We can see the packs from a Sims players' perspective and will come away with more of the juicy details than a magazine journalist will do, so big thanks to EA for keeping these events going!
This preview will hopefully share loads of new info with you, to help you decide whether The Sims 2: Bon Voyage will be on your shopping list when it hits the stores on September 5th 2007.
Disclaimer stuff: Please note that the version of the game we were playing was 'Alpha', meaning that final decisions have not yet been made regarding gameplay and content. Features which I talk about here may not make the cut into the final release of the game. Likewise, other changes might make this info contradict the final shipped version of the game. The User Interface screenshots had to be taken with a digital camera so the quality is a little lacking, sorry.
Bon Voyage! (Have a good trip)
Bon Voyage will be the 6th Expansion Pack for Sims 2 and once again takes its basic idea from a rather successful Sims 1 EP called Vacation, or On Holiday, depending on where in the world you bought it. But as you should by now expect, the actual content and gameplay is quite different. With Bon Voyage there are three distinctly different locations of the Sims world which your Sims can visit, each having unique themed objects, games, dances, characters and more. Rather cleverly, the NPC characters from each area behave quite differently to each other, fitting their surroundings perfectly.
Lets take a look at the new features in a bit more detail... I know you want to see the details ;-)
We're all going on a, summer holiday...
The concept of travelling has bought new challenges to the game as each trip your Sims take ads to their traveller ranking (which starts out at Stumbling Sightseer) and can earn them new benefits in the game. They can also collect up to 45 mementos of their travelling experiences, each of which is a challenge to find in itself. These combined features make taking vacations a very rewarding experience for both the Sims, and you, the players!
Tour Guides can take your Sims on far flung adventures, new friends and relationships can start with the locals and you may even experience the presence of a folklore legend!
The Travel Agent
The fun all begins with a simple phone call. Direct a Sim to use the phone to call the travel agent and plan a trip where he or she can select up to 8 other Sims to join them on the trip of a lifetime. These guests can be both friends and family, so is a great way to rebuild relationships with those who have strayed over time. You can choose for the trip to start immediately, or on any given day in the next Sim week. Booking early can save a lot of money on airfares, with the scale ranging from an immediate flight costing sect;1000, to just sect;600 when booked 7 days in advance.
The duration of the vacation is also decided when booking, and this can range from 3 to 7 days and also affects the cost of the total vacation. Rooms at hotels and resorts are charged by the night, so a full on week vacation in a 5sect; resort could cost a few thousand Simoleans for the family (quality ranges from sect; to sect;sect;sect;sect;sect;). At this stage you don't need to specify where you want to go, those choices are presented after you leave home.
Time off work is not required to take a vacation as time in the family home effectively stands still while you are away, just as it does when you visit a Community Lot.
On the day of the trip, a Taxi will arrive to collect the party and their luggage. As you can see here, Taxi's sport ads for vacations and come in new colors such as green and red. Sims leaving for vacation can be identified by their snazzy brown suitcases, waving to remaining Sims on the Lot as they pile into the taxi.
Checking In
Once your Sims are safely in the taxi and on their way, you are presented with your vacation options. Bon Voyage ships with 3 unique locations for your Sims to visit and you can of course create your own as well, but the base locations each have their own style: Takemizu Village is a far Eastern resort, Twikkii Island is a tropical beach location, and Three Lakes is a mountain retreat.
At this stage you also choose which vacation Lot you will stay on from the following choices:
Takemizu Village:Flaming Dragon HotelJade's Exclusive VillasSteaming Dragon HotelTakemizu Village Resort
Twikkii Island:Blossom Wood HotelDouble Palm ResortPotterhouse BungalowsTwikkii Beach Hotel
Three Lakes:Axe Wood CampgroundsBlau Hills ResortHunter's Bedrock InnSky Vista MotelThree Lakes cabins
Once you arrive at your resort, each Sim needs to identify their choice of available rooms. The larger and more luxurious the room, the more it will cost per night. All that's then left to do is head over to the ConciergoSum Desk and get checked in. Sims can also check out from their vacation early by using this desk, should things not be going to plan!
Continued...
TS2: Stories Previewhttp://www.thesimsresource.com/articlesview-post/post/2736/2007-01-16T00:00:00Zpa rel=lightbox[item] href=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-721h-650-672933.jpg/aimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-160h-226-673014.jpg border=0 width=160 height=226 style=float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; border: 0; /Recently I was invited back to Electronic Arts in Redwood Shores for a Community Event (I'm racking up the airmiles), during which time I was lucky enough to have a demonstration of the upcoming Sims 2 Stories game, and then to get some hands on time to play it./p
pI'd like to share my experience of Stories with you, even if your evaluation after reading is that you wont be interested in Stories, you will hopefully be better informed about what you (and others) can expect from the game./p
pstrongDisclaimer stuff:/strong Please note that the version of the game we were playing was 'Pre Alpha', meaning that final decisions have not yet been made regarding gameplay and content. Features which I talk about here may not make the cut into the final release of the game. Likewise, other changes might make this info contradict the final shipped version of the game. Unfortunately, the screenshots had to be taken with a digital camera rather than Print Screens, so the quality is a little lacking, but I think I cleaned them up quite well :-)/p
h2 class=nhpThe meaning of Life!/h2
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/672/672933.jpg border=0 width=292 height=213 style=float: left; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; /Stories bring a new experience to playing The Sims 2, but if you are a seasoned player of the game already, it's fair to say that Stories may not bring enough to make you want to part with your pocket money, but then again, you aren't really the target audience for this product. If on the other hand, you are a Sims 1 player who has not yet evolved into Sims 2, or if your hardware is the only thing holding you back, Stories could be just the ticket!/p
pBilled as a laptop friendly version of Sims 2, there are some obvious suggestions that the game runs on lesser hardware than most desktop PC's, and as Stories does not require a video card (unlike Sims 2), your cranky old PC might very well match up to the (as yet unconfirmed) hardware specifications that will allow you to run Stories and experience the 3D World of Sims 2 on your Sims 1 friendly PC./p
h2 class=nhpLaptop, Desktop... it's ALL friendly!/h2
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/673/673822.jpg border=0 width=292 height=178 style=margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: right; /So why the Laptop Friendly claim? Well, I already mentioned the lower hardware requirements, and although the game will run equally on desktop PC's, there is a feeling of more light-hearted gameplay than its big brother, Sims 2. It's all a bit pick up and play, with the game running in a window to allow you to do other things at the same time. Stories could also be considered less daunting than Sims 2 because if you are a Sims 1 fan or newcomer to the Sims scene who is a little overcome by the size and scale of Sims 2, Stories is a great place to start./p
pThere are some great little features added to Stories that I know many Sims 2 players yearn for, all tucked in nicely to make the game easier to handle on the move, like the keyboard shortcuts. Excuse the poor quality image, but as you can see above, many actions have a quick key that enable you to play without the need to scroll around and find things on the Lot. For example, pressing strongK/strong will instruct the active Sim to clean everything dirty in the house. strongY/strong sends a Sim off to take a shower, without needing to first go and find one to click on, and there are many more useful keys, like the one to bring up the fridge menu, chat to nearby Sims or meet all new visitors on the Lot for example./p
h2 class=nhpCustom Content... Not so friendly!/h2
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/673/673901.jpg border=0 width=292 height=211 style=margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: left; /I usually leave the bad points until the end of an article, but I feel we should get this out of the way before delving into the details. And besides, this could be the make of break for some people that might decide not to read any further. I hope you will though, as there is more sweet stuff to come, and I'd like to end the article on a high ;-)/p
pStories is so close to Sims 2, it's almost the same game, but the main reasons it's not for the hardened Sims 2 player is that there is no functionality for Custom Content. I know, I know... It's a bummer! Its one reason the game is able to run on lesser hardware, but let's not forget the point of Stories, and it's not about building a huge Lot full of custom content!/p
pAs you can see from this screen, you can still create your own Sims, but you are restricted to the shipped game content. There is no downloading/uploading from an Official Exchange either (I meant it when I said no Custom Content) although there is still the possibility for EA to release official downloads in the future./p
pStories is not intended to be played to death like we do Sims 2 (whether that's the death of the Sims or the players I'm not sure.. the hours we put into it can't be healthy). So now that we have that point out of the way, and you're still with me, let's look at more of the good stuff!/p
p style=text-align: right;strongContinued.../strong/p
Recently I was invited back to Electronic Arts in Redwood Shores for a Community Event (I'm racking up the airmiles), during which time I was lucky enough to have a demonstration of the upcoming Sims 2 Stories game, and then to get some hands on time to play it.
I'd like to share my experience of Stories with you, even if your evaluation after reading is that you wont be interested in Stories, you will hopefully be better informed about what you (and others) can expect from the game.
Disclaimer stuff: Please note that the version of the game we were playing was 'Pre Alpha', meaning that final decisions have not yet been made regarding gameplay and content. Features which I talk about here may not make the cut into the final release of the game. Likewise, other changes might make this info contradict the final shipped version of the game. Unfortunately, the screenshots had to be taken with a digital camera rather than Print Screens, so the quality is a little lacking, but I think I cleaned them up quite well :-)
The meaning of Life!
Stories bring a new experience to playing The Sims 2, but if you are a seasoned player of the game already, it's fair to say that Stories may not bring enough to make you want to part with your pocket money, but then again, you aren't really the target audience for this product. If on the other hand, you are a Sims 1 player who has not yet evolved into Sims 2, or if your hardware is the only thing holding you back, Stories could be just the ticket!
Billed as a laptop friendly version of Sims 2, there are some obvious suggestions that the game runs on lesser hardware than most desktop PC's, and as Stories does not require a video card (unlike Sims 2), your cranky old PC might very well match up to the (as yet unconfirmed) hardware specifications that will allow you to run Stories and experience the 3D World of Sims 2 on your Sims 1 friendly PC.
Laptop, Desktop... it's ALL friendly!
So why the Laptop Friendly claim? Well, I already mentioned the lower hardware requirements, and although the game will run equally on desktop PC's, there is a feeling of more light-hearted gameplay than its big brother, Sims 2. It's all a bit pick up and play, with the game running in a window to allow you to do other things at the same time. Stories could also be considered less daunting than Sims 2 because if you are a Sims 1 fan or newcomer to the Sims scene who is a little overcome by the size and scale of Sims 2, Stories is a great place to start.
There are some great little features added to Stories that I know many Sims 2 players yearn for, all tucked in nicely to make the game easier to handle on the move, like the keyboard shortcuts. Excuse the poor quality image, but as you can see above, many actions have a quick key that enable you to play without the need to scroll around and find things on the Lot. For example, pressing K will instruct the active Sim to clean everything dirty in the house. Y sends a Sim off to take a shower, without needing to first go and find one to click on, and there are many more useful keys, like the one to bring up the fridge menu, chat to nearby Sims or meet all new visitors on the Lot for example.
Custom Content... Not so friendly!
I usually leave the bad points until the end of an article, but I feel we should get this out of the way before delving into the details. And besides, this could be the make of break for some people that might decide not to read any further. I hope you will though, as there is more sweet stuff to come, and I'd like to end the article on a high ;-)
Stories is so close to Sims 2, it's almost the same game, but the main reasons it's not for the hardened Sims 2 player is that there is no functionality for Custom Content. I know, I know... It's a bummer! Its one reason the game is able to run on lesser hardware, but let's not forget the point of Stories, and it's not about building a huge Lot full of custom content!
As you can see from this screen, you can still create your own Sims, but you are restricted to the shipped game content. There is no downloading/uploading from an Official Exchange either (I meant it when I said no Custom Content) although there is still the possibility for EA to release official downloads in the future.
Stories is not intended to be played to death like we do Sims 2 (whether that's the death of the Sims or the players I'm not sure.. the hours we put into it can't be healthy). So now that we have that point out of the way, and you're still with me, let's look at more of the good stuff!
Continued...
TS2: Seasons Previewhttp://www.thesimsresource.com/articlesview-post/post/9783/2006-12-04T00:00:00Zpimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103966.jpg border=0 width=160 height=225 style=float: right; margin: 10px; /On Friday 1st December 2006, I was invited back to Electronic Arts in Redwood Shores for a Community Event to have a preview of the upcoming Sims 2 Expansion Pack, 'Seasons'. These events are great for our community as they allow us, the fan sites, to be first to present you with all the information you want to know about the upcoming expansions. We can see the packs from a Sims players' perspective and will come away with more of the juicy details than a magazine journalist will do, so kudos to EA for keeping up with these events!/p
pAlthough I have robbed some intro bits from my previous a href=http://www.thesimsresource.com/article/pets target=_blankPets Preview/a, what follows will hopefully bring loads of new (or confirmed) info to help you decide whether The Sims 2: Seasons will be on your shopping list this Winter. The shipping date by the way, is strongFebruary 27th 2007/strong, so it will make a great Valentines gift from your loved one (hint, hint). As far as we are aware at this stage, unlike Pets, this EP has a simultaneous worldwide release./p
pstrongDisclaimer stuff:/strong Please note that the version of the game we were playing was 'Pre Alpha', meaning that final decisions have not yet been made regarding gameplay and content. Features which I talk about here may not make the cut into the final release of the game. Likewise, other changes might make this info contradict the final shipped version of the game. Unfortunately, the screenshots had to be taken with a digital camera rather than Print Screens, so the quality is a little lacking, but I think I cleaned them up quite well :-)/p
pLarger versions of most of the images in this article can be found in my own a href=http://www.thesimsresource.com/screenshots/list.php?postedByMemberID=1525 target=_blankScreenshots Collection/a under my profile./p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1104/1104002.jpg border=0 width=292 height=185 style=float: left; margin: 10px; /The development team started off, as usual, by showing us Seasons in action, highlighting some of the main features of the pack and putting us all in awe of their creativity. On the left you can see strongHunter Howe/strong (mad as a box of frogs), one of the Lead Designers on the game, demonstrating Seasons to us. (That's actually a 17 Monitor. Hunter is very small)./p
pAfter that we were given loads of play time to get hands on with Seasons, during which time I tried to gather as much information as I could to pass on to our active community, eagerly awaiting the release of this latest addition to our favourite game!/p
pSo dig in.. it's a long read!/p
h2 class=nhpThe Fifth Expansion Pack/h2
pTake your Sims outside all four Seasons of the year. That was the opening line from EA and I guess it pretty much sums up the objectives of this latest Expansion Pack, but as ever, there are many hidden extras and new tangents to send your Sims spinning off into, in search of that more realistic life that we play so hard to avoid!/p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103975.jpg border=0 width=292 height=219 style=float: right; margin: 10px; /After all, if you are sat indoors reading this because outside its cold and wet, you want to know how you can inflict this same misery on your Sims, right? Well now you can, but more on the details of precipitation later. Another headliner for Seasons is that it allows you to have more fun on home lots, which players invest much of their time building. Sure, community lots are cool, but home is where the heart is!/p
pThe main additions with Seasons are weather and gardening, with the wet and dry stuff adding an entirely new visual experience to the game, and the muddy boots bringing some great new gameplay options that will allow your Sims to expand their knowledge, their business and even their stomachs! As Hunter put it, Classic Sims gameplay at its best./p
pSeasons also brings us a new neighborhood to delve into. strongRiverblossom Hills/strong gives us new characters like the Greenman Family, NPC's in the form of Penguins, a snowy backdrop and a whole world of new adventures for you to explore./p
pNew build tools for pools, new buyable items for houses and yards/gardens, new careers, new social interactions, calendars, climates, skills.. new, new, new.. its all new, and its all here!/p
h2 class=nhpThe New Stuff!/h2
pOther than the main features of the game which will be detailed later, lets take a look at some of the new offerings from Seasons./p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103993.jpg border=0 width=292 height=219 style=float: left; margin: 10px; /The new visual experience I mentioned before comes from the amazing detail in the weather systems, especially that of snow. The developers have very cleverly made the layering of snow effects procedural (that's one of their big technical terms)./p
pAs a result, the awesome effect that you can see here where snow lays on the wooden decking, the handrails, BBQ and even the light fittings and door/widow edges, will also be true for custom content!/p
p6 new careers are included: Adventure, Music, Law, Journalism, Education and the ultimate in slacker careers, Gamer! I can't wait to make one of my Sims a Space Pirate! Each new career path also comes with a fun reward object, such as the heavy metal guitar./p
pPools can now be built with curves to create some amazing shapes, and a new Pool Slide object allows for more fun and frolicking in the water, as do new games and social interactions like snowball fights and Marco Polo./p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103978.jpg border=0 width=292 height=219 style=float: right; margin: 10px; /New object sets are included as usual, which this time include decorative items for kitchens and bathrooms. Although these have no functionality, they add a dimension of realism to rooms (although the editing community have been doing this since Sims was released)./p
pA few of the new additions to help with the daily routine include the ability to click on the Mail Box and choose to Pay all bills which will include any that have been removed and left in the house or in the snow (this saves having to go looking for them)./p
pNeeds will decay slower when outside, enjoying the great outdoors. This will reduce the need to keep running indoors with muddy boots, or generating excessive yellow snow (no, yellow snow didn't appear in the game, before you ask)./p
pA great addition is that leftover food can now be put away in the 'fridge to be consumed later without going off. This saves on wasted food and money, and allows for instant gratification of quality food like Lobster, should you make up a batch in advance and store it away!/p
pSo let's check out the main features of the Seasons EP in greater detail./p
On Friday 1st December 2006, I was invited back to Electronic Arts in Redwood Shores for a Community Event to have a preview of the upcoming Sims 2 Expansion Pack, 'Seasons'. These events are great for our community as they allow us, the fan sites, to be first to present you with all the information you want to know about the upcoming expansions. We can see the packs from a Sims players' perspective and will come away with more of the juicy details than a magazine journalist will do, so kudos to EA for keeping up with these events!
Although I have robbed some intro bits from my previous Pets Preview, what follows will hopefully bring loads of new (or confirmed) info to help you decide whether The Sims 2: Seasons will be on your shopping list this Winter. The shipping date by the way, is February 27th 2007, so it will make a great Valentines gift from your loved one (hint, hint). As far as we are aware at this stage, unlike Pets, this EP has a simultaneous worldwide release.
Disclaimer stuff: Please note that the version of the game we were playing was 'Pre Alpha', meaning that final decisions have not yet been made regarding gameplay and content. Features which I talk about here may not make the cut into the final release of the game. Likewise, other changes might make this info contradict the final shipped version of the game. Unfortunately, the screenshots had to be taken with a digital camera rather than Print Screens, so the quality is a little lacking, but I think I cleaned them up quite well :-)
Larger versions of most of the images in this article can be found in my own Screenshots Collection under my profile.
The development team started off, as usual, by showing us Seasons in action, highlighting some of the main features of the pack and putting us all in awe of their creativity. On the left you can see Hunter Howe (mad as a box of frogs), one of the Lead Designers on the game, demonstrating Seasons to us. (That's actually a 17 Monitor. Hunter is very small).
After that we were given loads of play time to get hands on with Seasons, during which time I tried to gather as much information as I could to pass on to our active community, eagerly awaiting the release of this latest addition to our favourite game!
So dig in.. it's a long read!
The Fifth Expansion Pack
Take your Sims outside all four Seasons of the year. That was the opening line from EA and I guess it pretty much sums up the objectives of this latest Expansion Pack, but as ever, there are many hidden extras and new tangents to send your Sims spinning off into, in search of that more realistic life that we play so hard to avoid!
After all, if you are sat indoors reading this because outside its cold and wet, you want to know how you can inflict this same misery on your Sims, right? Well now you can, but more on the details of precipitation later. Another headliner for Seasons is that it allows you to have more fun on home lots, which players invest much of their time building. Sure, community lots are cool, but home is where the heart is!
The main additions with Seasons are weather and gardening, with the wet and dry stuff adding an entirely new visual experience to the game, and the muddy boots bringing some great new gameplay options that will allow your Sims to expand their knowledge, their business and even their stomachs! As Hunter put it, Classic Sims gameplay at its best.
Seasons also brings us a new neighborhood to delve into. Riverblossom Hills gives us new characters like the Greenman Family, NPC's in the form of Penguins, a snowy backdrop and a whole world of new adventures for you to explore.
New build tools for pools, new buyable items for houses and yards/gardens, new careers, new social interactions, calendars, climates, skills.. new, new, new.. its all new, and its all here!
The New Stuff!
Other than the main features of the game which will be detailed later, lets take a look at some of the new offerings from Seasons.
The new visual experience I mentioned before comes from the amazing detail in the weather systems, especially that of snow. The developers have very cleverly made the layering of snow effects procedural (that's one of their big technical terms).
As a result, the awesome effect that you can see here where snow lays on the wooden decking, the handrails, BBQ and even the light fittings and door/widow edges, will also be true for custom content!
6 new careers are included: Adventure, Music, Law, Journalism, Education and the ultimate in slacker careers, Gamer! I can't wait to make one of my Sims a Space Pirate! Each new career path also comes with a fun reward object, such as the heavy metal guitar.
Pools can now be built with curves to create some amazing shapes, and a new Pool Slide object allows for more fun and frolicking in the water, as do new games and social interactions like snowball fights and Marco Polo.
New object sets are included as usual, which this time include decorative items for kitchens and bathrooms. Although these have no functionality, they add a dimension of realism to rooms (although the editing community have been doing this since Sims was released).
A few of the new additions to help with the daily routine include the ability to click on the Mail Box and choose to Pay all bills which will include any that have been removed and left in the house or in the snow (this saves having to go looking for them).
Needs will decay slower when outside, enjoying the great outdoors. This will reduce the need to keep running indoors with muddy boots, or generating excessive yellow snow (no, yellow snow didn't appear in the game, before you ask).
A great addition is that leftover food can now be put away in the 'fridge to be consumed later without going off. This saves on wasted food and money, and allows for instant gratification of quality food like Lobster, should you make up a batch in advance and store it away!
So let's check out the main features of the Seasons EP in greater detail.
TS2: Pets Previewhttp://www.thesimsresource.com/articlesview-post/post/9782/2006-07-24T00:00:00Zpimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103930.jpg border=0 width=162 height=204 style=float: right; margin: 10px; /On Friday 21st July 2006, I was invited along to Electronic Arts in Redwood Shores for a Community Event to have a preview of the upcoming Sims 2 Expansion pack, 'Pets'. The development team started off by showing us Pets in action, highlighting some of the main features of the pack. After that we were given some play time to get hands on with Pets, during which time I tried to gather as much information as I could to pass on to our active community, eagerly awaiting the release of this latest addition to our favourite game!/p
pHopefully it will bring some snippets of new (or confirmed) info to help you decide whether The Sims 2: Pets will be on your shopping list this Fall/Autumn. The shipping dates by the way, will be October 17th for pretty much everywhere except Europe. We have to wait (as usual) until October 20th. Booo!/p
pPlease note that the version of the game we were playing was 'Pre Alpha', meaning that final decisions have not yet been made regarding gameplay and content. Features which I talk about here may not make the cut into the final release of the game. Likewise, other changes might make this info contradict the final shipped version of the game. Unfortunately, the screenshots had to be taken with a digital camera rather than Print Screens, so the quality is a little lacking./p
pNB. This article ended up being almost 4,200 words! It's all too easy to get carried away when writing about something you really enjoy ;-)/p
h2 class=nhpThe Fourth Expansion Pack/h2
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103928.jpg border=0 width=212 height=139 style=float: left; margin: 10px; /Many people cannot help but ask about comparisons between Sims 2: Pets and Sims 1: Unleashed. A fair point, as on face value, they pretty much add the same content to both games. As Tim LeTourneau once said of Nightlife, If we don't cover basic stuff from TS1 expansion packs then we won't represent real life./p
pWell, yes, Pets adds animals to our game, but it does it in a far more advanced way than Unleashed did. After all, Sims 2 is way more advanced and has the power not only to make the animals look more cute and cuddly, but to make them more dynamic. In Pets, you do not have any direct control over the animals, you control them through commands given by your Sims (a true representation of life), but they do play a much bigger part in the game than they did in Sims 1. Far more interactions make the dogs and cats in particular, feel like they really are a part of the family (just look at these two sharing a bed). They have big characters and a mind of their own, which although can be tamed, often result is anything from destruction to WooHoo!/p
h2So what's new?/h2
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103943.jpg border=0 width=292 height=225 style=float: right; margin: 10px; /Before we go into the detailed features, here's a rundown of the latest and greatest additions to the game... Unlike other EP's which add whole new areas of gameplay to The Sims 2, Pets concentrates on the animals. That's not to say there are no new challenges in the game because there are. Raising a family is one thing, but trying to do it with cats, dogs, birds and the odd pest in your face makes it all the more demanding! However, don't expect to see new body meshes, a new downtown area or indeed, any new clothing. There strongare/strong some new decorative items including furniture, walls and floors, such as this Space Theme shown in the picture. Some new build mode tools are included, but we will cover those in detail later. Unlockable content makes its debut to the game too. More on that later. Oh, and a new radio station providing music on a 'Country' theme./p
pIn Unleashed (the Pets pack for Sims 1) we saw the introduction of gardening and produce sales. Nothing like that here, as we already have Businesses, and I have a sneaky suspicion that gardening and harvesting could have a place in a future pack, so don't expect any of that in Pets. So, it's all about the animals!/p
h2 class=nhpCanines and Felines/h2
pnbsp;/p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103935.jpg border=0 width=292 height=212 style=float: left; border: 0; margin: 10px; /Dogs and Cats bring the vast majority of the content to Pets. They are fully interactive and bring a large amount of humour with them (as in real life). You could leave your four legged friend to manage their own life if you wish, as long as you look after them by filling the food bowls and providing some light entertainment, you shouldn't go far wrong./p
pBut the real idea is to nurture your animals: Play with them, train them, make them feel part of the family! If you don't, you could find yourself trying to manage an unruly hound or tom cat!/p
pAs with real animals, there is a natural instinct to destroy your prized possessions. An unchecked mutt will think nothing of clawing and chewing at your furniture until all that is left is a pile of ugly rubbish, fit for the bin. This is where the 'scold' interactions and training really come to play. In this picture a chair is getting a hammering from a Lassie wannabe that needs a finger waving in its face!/p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103938.jpg border=0 width=292 height=191 style=float: right; margin: 10px; /Trash cans are also attractive to dogs, who just love to tip them over and roll in the trash. Of course, once trained, dogs loose the desire to carry on with such behaviour, so you are almost certainly going to want to spend some time with your new Pet to get him to a standard of behaviour which suits your Sim family./p
pOf course, some of this unruly behaviour needs not to be discouraged, just given new direction! Dogs can be trained to bark at the mail and newspaper delivery staff./p
pFights are inevitable among the animal world. Dog on dog, cat on cat, and of course the always fun to watch, cat and dog fight. In this scrap which took place next to the trash, the cat won after much fur flying, hissing and spitting./p
pWhen the dust cleared a rather sheepish looking dog got up and crept away, while the cat washed itself looking totally satisfied!/p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103945.jpg border=0 width=212 height=161 style=float: left; margin: 10px; /Animals, like Sims, have wants and needs, memories, learned behaviours and even special interests which include: Playtime, Scary Things, Weather, Food, Toys, Outside and Sleeping./p
pThey will also interact with items on the Lot, such as the Remote Control toy, which can be seen here being pursued by a playful cat. Later in my game it was tearing away from an angry pack of 5 dogs! It got away ;-)/p
h2!-- pagebreak --/h2
h2Get a job (Sha na na na, sha na na na na)/h2
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103936.jpg border=0 width=292 height=165 style=float: left; margin: 10px; /A pleasant surprise from the game, came when we learned that animals can actually go out to work! Yep, a pool car turns up and takes your mutt away to work. It's a shame we cant do strongthat/strong in real life! Career tracks are Security, Showbiz and Service and include jobs like Acting Extra, Vermin Chaser and Snooper Deterrant. Jobs can be found in newspapers and can be viewed on the same popup as job offers for Sims, as seen in this picture. Days and hours of work, and of course salary, reflect the job level (up to level 5 in each career track) just as they do for Sims, and require training to improve them./p
pAs well as Sims being able to train their pets through interactions, there is also an option to use the phone to hire an Obedience Trainer. This a more expensive option but gets faster results. We don't yet know the value of a highly trained, top level dog, but the developers did point out that it's quite possible to raise a few well trained 'dogs with jobs' and have the Sim family live off the animals careers!/p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103937.jpg border=0 width=212 height=165 style=float: right; margin: 10px; /Pets can also be taught fun tricks and games. One of the funniest interactions I saw was a Sim trying to teach a dog the 'play dead' interaction. The Sim starts out putting his hands around his throat, staggering around choking before collapsing to the ground and laying still. The dog's first reaction is to sniff the Sim, looking genuinely concerned that they might be dead, only to jump back and wag its tail when the Sims stands up. The dog's turn now, as it stands up on its back legs and mimics the Sim in pretending to die. This is the funniest thing, as the dog strongway/strong over acts the roll and staggers around like a drunk before hitting the floor, opening one eye to see if people are still watching. Hilarious!/p
pOf course, animals have a vicious streak too. We saw a Sim have his 'Hug' interaction rejected by a cat. To add insult to injury, the cat leapt up on the sofa and curled up to sleep in the spot the Sim just stood up from!/p
h2 class=nhpWhat is feathered, wet and furry?/h2
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103929.jpg border=0 width=211 height=191 style=float: left; margin: 10px; /Well, pretty much all the other Pets in the game actually, though not all at once! Other than cats and dogs, Sim families can also be blessed with Birds (parrots), Fish (a new saltwater aquarium) and Womrats (Is Hamster Mr Faulty). Actually, a Womrat is a Sim Guinea Pig, and you will be pleased to know that unlike Unleashed, Sims 2 Guinea Pigs have been vaccinated against the virus that saw off so many pixelated families of old./p
pFor these animals, a cage or tank must first be purchased in Buy Mode. You then have the option to restock which of course costs more money (Womrats are currently sect;45, while Parrots cost sect;75). Womrats can be removed from their cages and played with, and also need to be fed and cleaned regularly./p
pnbsp;/p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103947.jpg border=0 width=292 height=196 style=float: right; margin: 10px; /Parrots live in a huge cage and can also be taken out by a Sim. In the version of the game we played, the Parrot sat on a Sims arm, but the developers are working to try and have them sit on shoulders, Pirate style. We'll wait and see on that one! Parrots can also be taught to talk, as you can imagine, with hilarious results./p
pI made the mistake of leaving my Parrot's cage door open when my Sim wandered off. The Parrot escaped and flew around the Lot for a while before eventually flying back to his cage ./p
pThe only other animal Sims are likely to come in contact with are Skunks. Needless to say this can be a pretty nasty experience if they get to close to a surly Skunk that chooses to spray the Sim with a head shot! Keep an eye out for that one./p
h2 class=nhpDaddy, where do babies come from?/h2
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103931.jpg border=0 width=292 height=179 style=float: left; margin: 10px; /We already know that caged animals appear on demand. You should also know that they have no breeding capabilities, but how about Cats and Dogs? Well, there are actually four ways to acquire them in game. Lets look at each option:/p
pstrongCreate A Family/strong./p
pThe impressive 'Create-A-Pet' uses the same technique as 'Create-A-Sim' and is every bit as powerful. The game will ship with many predefined breeds (around 30 dogs and 20 cats) but each of these can be modified at will. Of course, some pretty hideous alternatives can be made with the dozens of sliders and adjustments that can be made: short or long snout, pointy or floppy ears, long or short legs etc. In fact, you start out with some basic principles of animal size and shape./p
pDogs and Cats can be created as either Adult or Elder (with baby, these are the only 3 stages of the dog and cat lifecycle). Babies cannot be made in Create-A-Pet. For Dogs you get to choose Large or Small breeds, as you could have anything from the Daschund to the German Shepherd, but Cats are strictly 'one size fits all' (although with the size and shape sliders you can make anything from an agile sprinter to an obese lap cat)./p
pClothing for animals for the PC Expansion (Sims 2:Pets Consoles are covered later) are restricted to the color and style of a collar, but the coat color and markings are something else! Like Ogres, our Cats and Dogs have 'layers'. We found while playing the game that the layers functionality was a little tricky to handle, but the developers took this on board and will look at improving this feature, but handling aside, these layers are a very powerful tool to enable us to create really unique and interesting looking Pets. Remember earlier I mentioned 'unlockable content'? Well, this is where you might have the ability to unlock the Zebra fur layer for example, or Leopard Spots for your animal. Layer them together for something spotty and stripy maybe, the possibilities are endless!/p
pAfter you have created the look of your new family Pet its time to give them a personality! As you can see in the 'Adopt-A-Pet' screen below, animals somewhere between each of 5 personality traits: Genius amp; Dufus, Hyper amp; Lazy, Independent amp; Friendly, Aggressive amp; Cowardly, Pigpen amp; Finicky. My test dog, Nobby, was a wild combination: A hyper, friendly, cowardly, pigpen dufus! A recipe for disaster (which, incidentally, categorised him as a Sagittarius), resulting in much demolished furniture in the house!/p
pstrongPet Adoption Service/strong./p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103927.jpg border=0 width=291 height=237 style=float: right; margin: 10px; /Your Sims can use the phone to call up the Pet Adoption Service at any time. On doing so you will be presented with a screen showing all of the animals looking for a new home at the time. This screen shot here does not show the finished screen as it will include all of the animals personality types, training record and abilities etc. Here, you do not have the ability to change anything about the animal. Your Sims will need to craft its personality through training once the little tyke is delivered to your door./p
pAdopting a Pet is not free, and just like trying to adopt a Child Sim, you need to meet a financial requirement before being allowed to look after an animal (around sect;1000+). Prices vary. You could in fact adopt a fully trained career successful animal, but this will cost much more than a basic grade mutt. The picture below shows our adopted Pet being delivered to the door!/p
pstrongBreeding (WooHoo)/strong./p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103926.jpg border=0 width=292 height=192 style=float: left; margin: 10px; /I couldn't resist, I had to see it! I love the comedy elements that working with animals brings! As you would expect, animals can breed, given the right conditions and circumstances. One of the developers explained to me what this mix was, so I quickly put it into action! I set the scene, got the animals in the right mood and then went for it, selecting the 'Try for baby with..' interaction on a trustworthy animal (er, before your imaginations runs away with you, its an instruction for the dog, right?)./p
pSure enough, two dogs were seen disappearing into their kennel, soon followed by much shaking and rattling followed by fireworks and clouds of smoke as all the Sims on the Lot gathered around the clattering kennel cheering and whooping! Once it had all calmed down, two dogs crept out low on their bellies looking sheepish and somewhat embarrassed in front of the crows! Another hilarious moment! Try it, how can you resist?/p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103948.jpg border=0 width=212 height=248 style=float: right; margin: 10px; /Of course, the result, 2.5 days later, would have been a littler or little puppies which, as is the case for Sims, will look like a combination of their parents, and adopt many of their personalities. Where are the pictures of the puppies? Well, I had a little accident!/p
pWhile being so concerned about making Doggy WooHoo, my neglected Sim died. With nobody to feed my two excited doggy parents-to-be, the Animal Welfare Officer came and took them away :-(/p
pstrongAdopt a Stray/strong./p
pFinally, your Sims will see Pets wandering past their home just as they see neighbours. Sims can interact with these animals in much the same way they can their own. If they like what they see they might like to offer a stray pet the opportunity to move in with the family and take them on as one of their own!/p
h2Doggy Heaven?/h2
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103932.jpg border=0 width=212 height=258 style=float: left; margin: 10px; /Animals have a lifecycle, and although it has less stages than a Sim, there has to be an inevitable end! I have already mentioned one way in which we can loose our family friends (I learnt the hard way so you don't have to!)./p
pYou can also put your animal up for adoption if you no longer want the burden of filling and cleaning food bowls, or have had all of your furniture destroyed. Adoption is just a phone call away, but remember kids.. a Pet is for life, not just for Christmas!/p
pIt should also be noted that Womrats are delicate little creatures when around aggressive Dogs! They will die if neglected, yes, but too much attention from the hound can result in Wommie being scared to death! This poor chap went unnoticed while I tried out some game tools, only to be found later with a green cloud and flies above his upturned lifeless body. Oh well... sect;45 later, the cage was restocked with a fit and healthy replacement :-)/p
h2!-- pagebreak --/h2
h2Quick build, quick sell!/h2
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103940.jpg border=0 width=212 height=216 style=float: right; margin: 10px; /A couple of new tools and features are added to Pets that will make building in the game a little bit easier and slightly more interesting. One of these features I've kind of let you down a bit because time run out before I could play with it in detail and get some pictures for you :-(/p
pFirst up lets take a look at the new 'Flatten Land' tool, identified as you can see on this picture under Build Mode/Terrain by a flat line with an arrow pointing down. This is simply a quick and easy way of flattening any Lot which is not built on. If like me, the first thing you do when buying most plots of land is get the terrain tool out and level all the land to give you maximum build space, then this new tool is for you. Nothing groundbreaking, but could save some time and frustration./p
pThe next new tool isn't so much for creation, but high speed destruction! Currently in the game, if you wanted to remove a fence you would need to go to Build Mode, select Fencing, and then use the undo tool to get rid. Likewise, if you wanted to sell a table and anything on it, you first needed to remove the items strongon/strong the table piece by piece first. Not any more!/p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103964.jpg border=0 width=212 height=158 style=float: left; margin: 10px; /Bring on the Sledgehammer Tool (seen in action in this picture). With this baby selected, you can demolish anything, from Build Mode creations to Buy Mode objects. Click to sell back a table and each of the items sat on it will also be sold back. Its a quick and easy way to clear a space in a house and knock down those walls and decks in preparation for extending. If you think it doesn't sound much, wait until you try it. You'll wonder how you ever managed before!/p
pOf course there are also some new objects in the catalogue that are Pets related. The version of the game I played had four Kennels for Dogs, ranging from slum to palatial, there are food bowls and toys, animal cages and a new Saltwater Aquarium./p
pnbsp;/p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103946.jpg border=0 width=292 height=216 style=float: right; margin: 10px; /I already showed you the Space Theme Set and there are also some Pet themed Doors and Windows too. Here is a picture of the Paw Print Door, the Paws-Way Passage from Pawsome Furnishings. There are windows to match. I can already hear people thinking these would look great as a frontage for their new Pet Store! Lots of pet related art work appear in the catalogue too./p
pDiagonal Roofs were touted by the developers, but alas, I ran out of time before I could finish a building to investigate. I was too busy with the animals to worry about what was going on above my little Simmies heads, sorry :-(/p
pStill, it leaves you something to investigate when you get your game this October. I'm sure there are plenty of other things too that we missed, and the Developers kept under their hats for some last minute surprises and Easter Eggs for the players to discover!/p
h2 class=nhpTools, Tips AND Tooltips!/h2
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103944.jpg border=0 width=292 height=242 style=float: left; margin: 10px; /If, like me, the first thing you do when you load up a game or new piece of software is turn off those annoying tooltips, you are probably missing out on some useful information. The Sims 2 has, especially if you install all of the Expansion packs, tried to tell you about loads of useful snippets of information in the past but where are they all now?/p
pWell, who cares, because Pets brings us the Tool Tip Encyclopaedia! This screen shot is of a 'work in progress' so dose not look as polished as the final release will be. Identified by the stack of books icon, the Encyclopaedia can be found at any time under the game settings tab and includes all of the tips from all the packs you have installed, so a great resource to come back to now and then when you feel you don't quite understand something./p
h2 class=nhpChallenge Everything/h2
pIf you are a PC player, reading this article because you are hungry for information about what your next EP purchase will bring you, you might not be overly excited about what I'm about to touch upon, but hold on there one minute before you scroll off to the summary!/p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103941.jpg border=0 width=292 height=171 style=float: right; margin: 10px; /'Sims 2: Pets' is just an EP to us PC players, but it's a whole new standalone game coming to lots of other platforms too! The console and handheld games will ship around the same time as our EP and will appear on the PS2, Gamecube, PSP, DS and GBA (the PSP version ships a month after the rest)./p
pThe handheld versions were particularly interesting, as although you cant actually take your PC Simmies away with you on walkabout, you can play with other Sims and Animals in different ways to the PC game. You can still adopt pets but you can take them to the town of Barkersville and teach your Pets tricks, enter then in shows etc. There a loads of mini games included for you and your four legged friend to work your way up a career ladder, learn new tricks and cook all kinds of weird and wonderful food./p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/1103/1103934.jpg border=0 width=292 height=236 style=float: left; margin: 10px; /Definitely check out the reviews that are about to flood the Internet and take a closer look for any console or handled machine you own, you might be pleasantly surprised by the dept of gameplay and sense of challenge and achievement that you might not be getting from the PC./p
pInterestingly, the Console versions of the game allow for the very first sign of Custom Content sharing! After creating an animal you can take the Pet Creation Code and pass it to other players to type in to their Unlock Pet Code screen, giving them a replica of your Pet. Alas, clothing is not included (on the console versions you can dress your animals up in all manner of hideous clothing items), but it's a start, and something the developers are keep to progress with, especially with the next-gen hardrive based consoles./p
pnbsp;/p
h2 class=nhpEnough already!/h2
pOK, 3,890 words later you're bored of my ramblings, I can tell... So lets summarise!/p
pWhen I previewed Nightlife I concluded that even if you were not interested in the dating aspect of the EP you would still find lots in the pack to expand your game. Alas, with Pets, if you are not interested in bringing animals to your Sims lives then there will be very little of interest to you here./p
pThere is no doubt that I have not included all of the great new addition that Pets brings to our game, so expect to have more to find when you play your game this October. I do hope that I have helped you to understand what Pets brings to The Sims 2, and to help make an informed decision as to whether or not Pets will be on your shopping list!/p
pOne think I haven't talked much about (because the developers didn't) was the ability to Unlock amp; Share content across platforms. For example, if you are planning your game on PSP and achieve something special you will be given an unlock code to open up some new content, like the Zebra Stripes I mentioned earlier. These codes could be shared with your friends on any other platform to unlock something special in their game too. How far this extends to PC we don't yet know, but it's something to look out for. Maybe you'd like to ask about it on one of the upcoming Developer Chats at the Official Site?/p
pThat's it. I'm done!/p
pMy thanks to the team at EA for the opportunity and information, and to my Sims Community colleagues who attended, making the day informative and enjoyable./p
pKeep an eye open for an article about the EA trips in our upcoming newsletter ;-)/p
p/Steve/pOn Friday 21st July 2006, I was invited along to Electronic Arts in Redwood Shores for a Community Event to have a preview of the upcoming Sims 2 Expansion pack, 'Pets'. The development team started off by showing us Pets in action, highlighting some of the main features of the pack. After that we were given some play time to get hands on with Pets, during which time I tried to gather as much information as I could to pass on to our active community, eagerly awaiting the release of this latest addition to our favourite game!
Hopefully it will bring some snippets of new (or confirmed) info to help you decide whether The Sims 2: Pets will be on your shopping list this Fall/Autumn. The shipping dates by the way, will be October 17th for pretty much everywhere except Europe. We have to wait (as usual) until October 20th. Booo!
Please note that the version of the game we were playing was 'Pre Alpha', meaning that final decisions have not yet been made regarding gameplay and content. Features which I talk about here may not make the cut into the final release of the game. Likewise, other changes might make this info contradict the final shipped version of the game. Unfortunately, the screenshots had to be taken with a digital camera rather than Print Screens, so the quality is a little lacking.
NB. This article ended up being almost 4,200 words! It's all too easy to get carried away when writing about something you really enjoy ;-)
The Fourth Expansion Pack
Many people cannot help but ask about comparisons between Sims 2: Pets and Sims 1: Unleashed. A fair point, as on face value, they pretty much add the same content to both games. As Tim LeTourneau once said of Nightlife, If we don't cover basic stuff from TS1 expansion packs then we won't represent real life.
Well, yes, Pets adds animals to our game, but it does it in a far more advanced way than Unleashed did. After all, Sims 2 is way more advanced and has the power not only to make the animals look more cute and cuddly, but to make them more dynamic. In Pets, you do not have any direct control over the animals, you control them through commands given by your Sims (a true representation of life), but they do play a much bigger part in the game than they did in Sims 1. Far more interactions make the dogs and cats in particular, feel like they really are a part of the family (just look at these two sharing a bed). They have big characters and a mind of their own, which although can be tamed, often result is anything from destruction to WooHoo!
So what's new?
Before we go into the detailed features, here's a rundown of the latest and greatest additions to the game... Unlike other EP's which add whole new areas of gameplay to The Sims 2, Pets concentrates on the animals. That's not to say there are no new challenges in the game because there are. Raising a family is one thing, but trying to do it with cats, dogs, birds and the odd pest in your face makes it all the more demanding! However, don't expect to see new body meshes, a new downtown area or indeed, any new clothing. There are some new decorative items including furniture, walls and floors, such as this Space Theme shown in the picture. Some new build mode tools are included, but we will cover those in detail later. Unlockable content makes its debut to the game too. More on that later. Oh, and a new radio station providing music on a 'Country' theme.
In Unleashed (the Pets pack for Sims 1) we saw the introduction of gardening and produce sales. Nothing like that here, as we already have Businesses, and I have a sneaky suspicion that gardening and harvesting could have a place in a future pack, so don't expect any of that in Pets. So, it's all about the animals!
Canines and Felines
nbsp;
Dogs and Cats bring the vast majority of the content to Pets. They are fully interactive and bring a large amount of humour with them (as in real life). You could leave your four legged friend to manage their own life if you wish, as long as you look after them by filling the food bowls and providing some light entertainment, you shouldn't go far wrong.
But the real idea is to nurture your animals: Play with them, train them, make them feel part of the family! If you don't, you could find yourself trying to manage an unruly hound or tom cat!
As with real animals, there is a natural instinct to destroy your prized possessions. An unchecked mutt will think nothing of clawing and chewing at your furniture until all that is left is a pile of ugly rubbish, fit for the bin. This is where the 'scold' interactions and training really come to play. In this picture a chair is getting a hammering from a Lassie wannabe that needs a finger waving in its face!
Trash cans are also attractive to dogs, who just love to tip them over and roll in the trash. Of course, once trained, dogs loose the desire to carry on with such behaviour, so you are almost certainly going to want to spend some time with your new Pet to get him to a standard of behaviour which suits your Sim family.
Of course, some of this unruly behaviour needs not to be discouraged, just given new direction! Dogs can be trained to bark at the mail and newspaper delivery staff.
Fights are inevitable among the animal world. Dog on dog, cat on cat, and of course the always fun to watch, cat and dog fight. In this scrap which took place next to the trash, the cat won after much fur flying, hissing and spitting.
When the dust cleared a rather sheepish looking dog got up and crept away, while the cat washed itself looking totally satisfied!
Animals, like Sims, have wants and needs, memories, learned behaviours and even special interests which include: Playtime, Scary Things, Weather, Food, Toys, Outside and Sleeping.
They will also interact with items on the Lot, such as the Remote Control toy, which can be seen here being pursued by a playful cat. Later in my game it was tearing away from an angry pack of 5 dogs! It got away ;-)
Get a job (Sha na na na, sha na na na na)
A pleasant surprise from the game, came when we learned that animals can actually go out to work! Yep, a pool car turns up and takes your mutt away to work. It's a shame we cant do that in real life! Career tracks are Security, Showbiz and Service and include jobs like Acting Extra, Vermin Chaser and Snooper Deterrant. Jobs can be found in newspapers and can be viewed on the same popup as job offers for Sims, as seen in this picture. Days and hours of work, and of course salary, reflect the job level (up to level 5 in each career track) just as they do for Sims, and require training to improve them.
As well as Sims being able to train their pets through interactions, there is also an option to use the phone to hire an Obedience Trainer. This a more expensive option but gets faster results. We don't yet know the value of a highly trained, top level dog, but the developers did point out that it's quite possible to raise a few well trained 'dogs with jobs' and have the Sim family live off the animals careers!
Pets can also be taught fun tricks and games. One of the funniest interactions I saw was a Sim trying to teach a dog the 'play dead' interaction. The Sim starts out putting his hands around his throat, staggering around choking before collapsing to the ground and laying still. The dog's first reaction is to sniff the Sim, looking genuinely concerned that they might be dead, only to jump back and wag its tail when the Sims stands up. The dog's turn now, as it stands up on its back legs and mimics the Sim in pretending to die. This is the funniest thing, as the dog way over acts the roll and staggers around like a drunk before hitting the floor, opening one eye to see if people are still watching. Hilarious!
Of course, animals have a vicious streak too. We saw a Sim have his 'Hug' interaction rejected by a cat. To add insult to injury, the cat leapt up on the sofa and curled up to sleep in the spot the Sim just stood up from!
What is feathered, wet and furry?
Well, pretty much all the other Pets in the game actually, though not all at once! Other than cats and dogs, Sim families can also be blessed with Birds (parrots), Fish (a new saltwater aquarium) and Womrats (Is Hamster Mr Faulty). Actually, a Womrat is a Sim Guinea Pig, and you will be pleased to know that unlike Unleashed, Sims 2 Guinea Pigs have been vaccinated against the virus that saw off so many pixelated families of old.
For these animals, a cage or tank must first be purchased in Buy Mode. You then have the option to restock which of course costs more money (Womrats are currently sect;45, while Parrots cost sect;75). Womrats can be removed from their cages and played with, and also need to be fed and cleaned regularly.
nbsp;
Parrots live in a huge cage and can also be taken out by a Sim. In the version of the game we played, the Parrot sat on a Sims arm, but the developers are working to try and have them sit on shoulders, Pirate style. We'll wait and see on that one! Parrots can also be taught to talk, as you can imagine, with hilarious results.
I made the mistake of leaving my Parrot's cage door open when my Sim wandered off. The Parrot escaped and flew around the Lot for a while before eventually flying back to his cage .
The only other animal Sims are likely to come in contact with are Skunks. Needless to say this can be a pretty nasty experience if they get to close to a surly Skunk that chooses to spray the Sim with a head shot! Keep an eye out for that one.
Daddy, where do babies come from?
We already know that caged animals appear on demand. You should also know that they have no breeding capabilities, but how about Cats and Dogs? Well, there are actually four ways to acquire them in game. Lets look at each option:
Create A Family.
The impressive 'Create-A-Pet' uses the same technique as 'Create-A-Sim' and is every bit as powerful. The game will ship with many predefined breeds (around 30 dogs and 20 cats) but each of these can be modified at will. Of course, some pretty hideous alternatives can be made with the dozens of sliders and adjustments that can be made: short or long snout, pointy or floppy ears, long or short legs etc. In fact, you start out with some basic principles of animal size and shape.
Dogs and Cats can be created as either Adult or Elder (with baby, these are the only 3 stages of the dog and cat lifecycle). Babies cannot be made in Create-A-Pet. For Dogs you get to choose Large or Small breeds, as you could have anything from the Daschund to the German Shepherd, but Cats are strictly 'one size fits all' (although with the size and shape sliders you can make anything from an agile sprinter to an obese lap cat).
Clothing for animals for the PC Expansion (Sims 2:Pets Consoles are covered later) are restricted to the color and style of a collar, but the coat color and markings are something else! Like Ogres, our Cats and Dogs have 'layers'. We found while playing the game that the layers functionality was a little tricky to handle, but the developers took this on board and will look at improving this feature, but handling aside, these layers are a very powerful tool to enable us to create really unique and interesting looking Pets. Remember earlier I mentioned 'unlockable content'? Well, this is where you might have the ability to unlock the Zebra fur layer for example, or Leopard Spots for your animal. Layer them together for something spotty and stripy maybe, the possibilities are endless!
After you have created the look of your new family Pet its time to give them a personality! As you can see in the 'Adopt-A-Pet' screen below, animals somewhere between each of 5 personality traits: Genius amp; Dufus, Hyper amp; Lazy, Independent amp; Friendly, Aggressive amp; Cowardly, Pigpen amp; Finicky. My test dog, Nobby, was a wild combination: A hyper, friendly, cowardly, pigpen dufus! A recipe for disaster (which, incidentally, categorised him as a Sagittarius), resulting in much demolished furniture in the house!
Pet Adoption Service.
Your Sims can use the phone to call up the Pet Adoption Service at any time. On doing so you will be presented with a screen showing all of the animals looking for a new home at the time. This screen shot here does not show the finished screen as it will include all of the animals personality types, training record and abilities etc. Here, you do not have the ability to change anything about the animal. Your Sims will need to craft its personality through training once the little tyke is delivered to your door.
Adopting a Pet is not free, and just like trying to adopt a Child Sim, you need to meet a financial requirement before being allowed to look after an animal (around sect;1000+). Prices vary. You could in fact adopt a fully trained career successful animal, but this will cost much more than a basic grade mutt. The picture below shows our adopted Pet being delivered to the door!
Breeding (WooHoo).
I couldn't resist, I had to see it! I love the comedy elements that working with animals brings! As you would expect, animals can breed, given the right conditions and circumstances. One of the developers explained to me what this mix was, so I quickly put it into action! I set the scene, got the animals in the right mood and then went for it, selecting the 'Try for baby with..' interaction on a trustworthy animal (er, before your imaginations runs away with you, its an instruction for the dog, right?).
Sure enough, two dogs were seen disappearing into their kennel, soon followed by much shaking and rattling followed by fireworks and clouds of smoke as all the Sims on the Lot gathered around the clattering kennel cheering and whooping! Once it had all calmed down, two dogs crept out low on their bellies looking sheepish and somewhat embarrassed in front of the crows! Another hilarious moment! Try it, how can you resist?
Of course, the result, 2.5 days later, would have been a littler or little puppies which, as is the case for Sims, will look like a combination of their parents, and adopt many of their personalities. Where are the pictures of the puppies? Well, I had a little accident!
While being so concerned about making Doggy WooHoo, my neglected Sim died. With nobody to feed my two excited doggy parents-to-be, the Animal Welfare Officer came and took them away :-(
Adopt a Stray.
Finally, your Sims will see Pets wandering past their home just as they see neighbours. Sims can interact with these animals in much the same way they can their own. If they like what they see they might like to offer a stray pet the opportunity to move in with the family and take them on as one of their own!
Doggy Heaven?
Animals have a lifecycle, and although it has less stages than a Sim, there has to be an inevitable end! I have already mentioned one way in which we can loose our family friends (I learnt the hard way so you don't have to!).
You can also put your animal up for adoption if you no longer want the burden of filling and cleaning food bowls, or have had all of your furniture destroyed. Adoption is just a phone call away, but remember kids.. a Pet is for life, not just for Christmas!
It should also be noted that Womrats are delicate little creatures when around aggressive Dogs! They will die if neglected, yes, but too much attention from the hound can result in Wommie being scared to death! This poor chap went unnoticed while I tried out some game tools, only to be found later with a green cloud and flies above his upturned lifeless body. Oh well... sect;45 later, the cage was restocked with a fit and healthy replacement :-)
Quick build, quick sell!
A couple of new tools and features are added to Pets that will make building in the game a little bit easier and slightly more interesting. One of these features I've kind of let you down a bit because time run out before I could play with it in detail and get some pictures for you :-(
First up lets take a look at the new 'Flatten Land' tool, identified as you can see on this picture under Build Mode/Terrain by a flat line with an arrow pointing down. This is simply a quick and easy way of flattening any Lot which is not built on. If like me, the first thing you do when buying most plots of land is get the terrain tool out and level all the land to give you maximum build space, then this new tool is for you. Nothing groundbreaking, but could save some time and frustration.
The next new tool isn't so much for creation, but high speed destruction! Currently in the game, if you wanted to remove a fence you would need to go to Build Mode, select Fencing, and then use the undo tool to get rid. Likewise, if you wanted to sell a table and anything on it, you first needed to remove the items on the table piece by piece first. Not any more!
Bring on the Sledgehammer Tool (seen in action in this picture). With this baby selected, you can demolish anything, from Build Mode creations to Buy Mode objects. Click to sell back a table and each of the items sat on it will also be sold back. Its a quick and easy way to clear a space in a house and knock down those walls and decks in preparation for extending. If you think it doesn't sound much, wait until you try it. You'll wonder how you ever managed before!
Of course there are also some new objects in the catalogue that are Pets related. The version of the game I played had four Kennels for Dogs, ranging from slum to palatial, there are food bowls and toys, animal cages and a new Saltwater Aquarium.
nbsp;
I already showed you the Space Theme Set and there are also some Pet themed Doors and Windows too. Here is a picture of the Paw Print Door, the Paws-Way Passage from Pawsome Furnishings. There are windows to match. I can already hear people thinking these would look great as a frontage for their new Pet Store! Lots of pet related art work appear in the catalogue too.
Diagonal Roofs were touted by the developers, but alas, I ran out of time before I could finish a building to investigate. I was too busy with the animals to worry about what was going on above my little Simmies heads, sorry :-(
Still, it leaves you something to investigate when you get your game this October. I'm sure there are plenty of other things too that we missed, and the Developers kept under their hats for some last minute surprises and Easter Eggs for the players to discover!
Tools, Tips AND Tooltips!
If, like me, the first thing you do when you load up a game or new piece of software is turn off those annoying tooltips, you are probably missing out on some useful information. The Sims 2 has, especially if you install all of the Expansion packs, tried to tell you about loads of useful snippets of information in the past but where are they all now?
Well, who cares, because Pets brings us the Tool Tip Encyclopaedia! This screen shot is of a 'work in progress' so dose not look as polished as the final release will be. Identified by the stack of books icon, the Encyclopaedia can be found at any time under the game settings tab and includes all of the tips from all the packs you have installed, so a great resource to come back to now and then when you feel you don't quite understand something.
Challenge Everything
If you are a PC player, reading this article because you are hungry for information about what your next EP purchase will bring you, you might not be overly excited about what I'm about to touch upon, but hold on there one minute before you scroll off to the summary!
'Sims 2: Pets' is just an EP to us PC players, but it's a whole new standalone game coming to lots of other platforms too! The console and handheld games will ship around the same time as our EP and will appear on the PS2, Gamecube, PSP, DS and GBA (the PSP version ships a month after the rest).
The handheld versions were particularly interesting, as although you cant actually take your PC Simmies away with you on walkabout, you can play with other Sims and Animals in different ways to the PC game. You can still adopt pets but you can take them to the town of Barkersville and teach your Pets tricks, enter then in shows etc. There a loads of mini games included for you and your four legged friend to work your way up a career ladder, learn new tricks and cook all kinds of weird and wonderful food.
Definitely check out the reviews that are about to flood the Internet and take a closer look for any console or handled machine you own, you might be pleasantly surprised by the dept of gameplay and sense of challenge and achievement that you might not be getting from the PC.
Interestingly, the Console versions of the game allow for the very first sign of Custom Content sharing! After creating an animal you can take the Pet Creation Code and pass it to other players to type in to their Unlock Pet Code screen, giving them a replica of your Pet. Alas, clothing is not included (on the console versions you can dress your animals up in all manner of hideous clothing items), but it's a start, and something the developers are keep to progress with, especially with the next-gen hardrive based consoles.
nbsp;
Enough already!
OK, 3,890 words later you're bored of my ramblings, I can tell... So lets summarise!
When I previewed Nightlife I concluded that even if you were not interested in the dating aspect of the EP you would still find lots in the pack to expand your game. Alas, with Pets, if you are not interested in bringing animals to your Sims lives then there will be very little of interest to you here.
There is no doubt that I have not included all of the great new addition that Pets brings to our game, so expect to have more to find when you play your game this October. I do hope that I have helped you to understand what Pets brings to The Sims 2, and to help make an informed decision as to whether or not Pets will be on your shopping list!
One think I haven't talked much about (because the developers didn't) was the ability to Unlock amp; Share content across platforms. For example, if you are planning your game on PSP and achieve something special you will be given an unlock code to open up some new content, like the Zebra Stripes I mentioned earlier. These codes could be shared with your friends on any other platform to unlock something special in their game too. How far this extends to PC we don't yet know, but it's something to look out for. Maybe you'd like to ask about it on one of the upcoming Developer Chats at the Official Site?
That's it. I'm done!
My thanks to the team at EA for the opportunity and information, and to my Sims Community colleagues who attended, making the day informative and enjoyable.
Keep an eye open for an article about the EA trips in our upcoming newsletter ;-)
/SteveThe Sims 2: Console, Handheld amp; Mobilehttp://www.thesimsresource.com/articlesview-post/post/2737/2005-08-23T00:00:00ZpOn Friday August 12th 2005, I was invited along to EA in Redwood Shores to have some hands on time with the upcoming Sims 2 games for Consoles, Handhelds and Mobiles. I went along with a sense of wondering, given that TSR's focus is on custom content and file sharing, and that I'm a PC gamer at heart (not a big fan of console gaming), but I came away with mixed feelings and some of those were very positive!/p
pPlease note that the version of the games we were playing were 'Pre Alpha', meaning that final decisions have not yet been made regarding gameplay and content. Features which I talk about here may not make the cut into the final release of the game. Likewise, other changes might make this info contradict the final shipped version of the games./p
pThere are already lots of previews scattered around the net, especially on the major gaming sites, written by professional journalists who would do a much better job that me, so I won't try to replicate it all. But I guess what I do have to say comes from a slightly different perspective./p
h2The Consoles/h2
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/676/676521.jpg border=0 width=300 height=210 style=float: right; margin: 10px; /The first thing that us existing PC players of Sims 2 notice with the console versions of the game are the distinct lack of custom content and sharing abilities. I played Bustin' Out on my PS2 and have to admit that I probably didn't play it more than 3 hours total before I lost interest. I just didn't warm to it./p
pBut after Scott Amos plonked me in a chair and put a PS2 controller in my hand before scooting off to fetch coffee and cookies, I found myself being drawn into Sims 2 Console. I found it so much more welcoming to existing Sims players than the previous console Sims. I was also drawn into exploring all the possibilities of the game and lapping up all the humor that been added by the bucket load (seeing Death run in from the rain holding a rotting newspaper over his head to keep dry was a classic moment). There are many things about Sims 2 Console that PC Sims players have been crying out for and it was these that I was rushing off to find first./p
pThings like Enhanced Cooking were great. Being able to buy and harvest raw ingredients before inventing your own dish for Sims to create and serve (I cooked up a dish using Llama and felt I had personally betrayed Will Wright and all he stands for). Hopefully this will make it to a future Expansion Pack for PC (take note Tim)./p
h2 class=nhpThe Handhelds/h2
p class=nhpimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/676/676644.jpg border=0 width=334 height=194 style=float: left; margin: 10px; /The handheld games were quite a new experience for me, as I was (quite openly) a handheld virgin, having not had my sticky mits on either a GBA, DS or PSP before. I found these games to be quite different from The Sims 2 and saw them more as adventure games than open ended and expandable storytelling environments. Puzzles have to be solved and certain things have to be done in order to allow you to progress through the scripted storyline that defines the game. There is a Sims 2 feel to the games but they are clearly headed for a different genre./p
pMy favorite of the handhelds was the PSP version, but I guess it was inevitable given the lush graphics and better game play allowed by its superior hardware. This is one version I will actually look forward to playing, especially if I can find another PSP player who I can share my Sims with!/p
h2 class=nhpThe Mobiles/h2
p class=nhpimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/676/676736.jpg border=0 width=186 height=220 style=float: right; margin: 10px; /Surprisingly for me, the newest version of the game which caught my attention the most was The Sims 2 Mobile, designed for Mobile (Cell) Phones. I personally don't play games on my phone and was wondering just what could be done with The Sims 2 to be able to play something created from a few lines of basic code to run on such basic hardware. I was surprised at the results./p
pOK, so we aren't talking anything like the power of Sims 2, I found it to be more like retro gaming for Simmers. It's like having a cut down version of Sims 1 in your hand, crossed with the multi user game play of The Sims Online! Designed for short, sharp bursts of play rather than digging in for a 3 hour long thumb workout, there is more than enough going on to keep you busy. You will be able to unlock rare items and then sell/trade them with your real life friends, or you can upload your progress to your Sims Exchange profile to show off to the world./p
pGiven that The Sims 2 Mobile will work on around 180 existing handsets of varying power and quality, and that the retail price will be in the pocket money bracket for the game (around $8 to $10), I think this could be something that could take off as the latest mobile craze when it hits the networks in both the playground and the office. I know I'll be there!/p
h2 class=nhpThe Summary/h2
pIf you own a console, handheld or mobile device you might like to start looking into these new avenues of pleasure to feed your Sims addiction, but expect an onslaught of new information and reviews to flood all kinds of media outlets on the buildup to their release anyway./p
pAlthough Custom Content will not really play any part, TSR will be there to support these games with a new section for Console, Handheld and Mobiles with strategy guides, tips, cheats and forums. Expect to see more from us soon./p
p/Steve/pOn Friday August 12th 2005, I was invited along to EA in Redwood Shores to have some hands on time with the upcoming Sims 2 games for Consoles, Handhelds and Mobiles. I went along with a sense of wondering, given that TSR's focus is on custom content and file sharing, and that I'm a PC gamer at heart (not a big fan of console gaming), but I came away with mixed feelings and some of those were very positive!
Please note that the version of the games we were playing were 'Pre Alpha', meaning that final decisions have not yet been made regarding gameplay and content. Features which I talk about here may not make the cut into the final release of the game. Likewise, other changes might make this info contradict the final shipped version of the games.
There are already lots of previews scattered around the net, especially on the major gaming sites, written by professional journalists who would do a much better job that me, so I won't try to replicate it all. But I guess what I do have to say comes from a slightly different perspective.
The Consoles
The first thing that us existing PC players of Sims 2 notice with the console versions of the game are the distinct lack of custom content and sharing abilities. I played Bustin' Out on my PS2 and have to admit that I probably didn't play it more than 3 hours total before I lost interest. I just didn't warm to it.
But after Scott Amos plonked me in a chair and put a PS2 controller in my hand before scooting off to fetch coffee and cookies, I found myself being drawn into Sims 2 Console. I found it so much more welcoming to existing Sims players than the previous console Sims. I was also drawn into exploring all the possibilities of the game and lapping up all the humor that been added by the bucket load (seeing Death run in from the rain holding a rotting newspaper over his head to keep dry was a classic moment). There are many things about Sims 2 Console that PC Sims players have been crying out for and it was these that I was rushing off to find first.
Things like Enhanced Cooking were great. Being able to buy and harvest raw ingredients before inventing your own dish for Sims to create and serve (I cooked up a dish using Llama and felt I had personally betrayed Will Wright and all he stands for). Hopefully this will make it to a future Expansion Pack for PC (take note Tim).
The Handhelds
The handheld games were quite a new experience for me, as I was (quite openly) a handheld virgin, having not had my sticky mits on either a GBA, DS or PSP before. I found these games to be quite different from The Sims 2 and saw them more as adventure games than open ended and expandable storytelling environments. Puzzles have to be solved and certain things have to be done in order to allow you to progress through the scripted storyline that defines the game. There is a Sims 2 feel to the games but they are clearly headed for a different genre.
My favorite of the handhelds was the PSP version, but I guess it was inevitable given the lush graphics and better game play allowed by its superior hardware. This is one version I will actually look forward to playing, especially if I can find another PSP player who I can share my Sims with!
The Mobiles
Surprisingly for me, the newest version of the game which caught my attention the most was The Sims 2 Mobile, designed for Mobile (Cell) Phones. I personally don't play games on my phone and was wondering just what could be done with The Sims 2 to be able to play something created from a few lines of basic code to run on such basic hardware. I was surprised at the results.
OK, so we aren't talking anything like the power of Sims 2, I found it to be more like retro gaming for Simmers. It's like having a cut down version of Sims 1 in your hand, crossed with the multi user game play of The Sims Online! Designed for short, sharp bursts of play rather than digging in for a 3 hour long thumb workout, there is more than enough going on to keep you busy. You will be able to unlock rare items and then sell/trade them with your real life friends, or you can upload your progress to your Sims Exchange profile to show off to the world.
Given that The Sims 2 Mobile will work on around 180 existing handsets of varying power and quality, and that the retail price will be in the pocket money bracket for the game (around $8 to $10), I think this could be something that could take off as the latest mobile craze when it hits the networks in both the playground and the office. I know I'll be there!
The Summary
If you own a console, handheld or mobile device you might like to start looking into these new avenues of pleasure to feed your Sims addiction, but expect an onslaught of new information and reviews to flood all kinds of media outlets on the buildup to their release anyway.
Although Custom Content will not really play any part, TSR will be there to support these games with a new section for Console, Handheld and Mobiles with strategy guides, tips, cheats and forums. Expect to see more from us soon.
/SteveTS2: Nightlife Previewhttp://www.thesimsresource.com/articlesview-post/post/87/2005-07-01T01:00:00ZpOn Thursday 30th June 2005, I was invited along to EA Europe (Chertsey, Surrey, England) for a Community Event to have a preview of the upcoming Sims 2 Expansion pack, Nightlife. Tim LeTourneau, Senior Producer of the EP gave us a demo, while showing off some of the biggest and best features Nightlife brings. Afterwards I got some 'hands on' time playing the game and gathering as much info as I could to put together this preview for your viewing pleasure. Hopefully it will bring some snippets of new (or confirmed) info to help you decide whether Nightlife will be the resolve to all your Simmies needs!/p
pPlease note that the version of the game we were playing was 'Pre Alpha', meaning that final decisions have not yet been made regarding gameplay and content. Features which I talk about here may not make the cut into the final release of the game. Likewise, other changes might make this info contradict the final shipped version of the game. Unfortunately, the screenshots had to be taken with a digital camera rather than Print Screens, so the quality is a little lacking./p
h2 class=nhpThe Second Expansion Pack/h2
pInterestingly, Tim started out by clearing the air in regard to comparisons between Nightlife and the second Sims 1 expansion, Hot Date. He admits that the two packs have very similar elements but they have been executed very differently. The inevitable has happened in that Hot Date added lots of typical behaviors in every day domestic life (that's 'real life'.. remember that?), so given that The Sims is a people simulator, 3D Sims need to have their basic needs realized just as 2D Sims did. As a result you can be sure that other TS1 expansions will have their content and ideas built into upcoming TS2 packs. As Tim explained, If we don't cover basic stuff from TS1 expansion packs then we won't represent real life./p
h2 class=nhpSo what's new?/h2
pBefore we go into the detailed features, here's a rundown of the latest and greatest additions to the game.../p
pGetting the bad news out of the way first, you will still only be able to have 8 Sims living on a Lot. But that's it.. That's all the bad news, so I guess we did OK there!/p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-292h-222-537235.jpg border=0 width=292 height=222 style=border: 0; float: left; margin-left: 9px; margin-right: 9px; /The new Pleasure Aspiration will add quite a lot of new possibilities however you play your game. Tim described pleasure seeking Sims as wanting to go out, have fun and try out new foods. Variety will be their spice of life. The new restaurants will certainly be one of their favorite locations then, given that another new area is being 'bolted on' to neighborhoods with Nightlife. Just as University added a 'College Town', Nighgtlife adds 'Downtown' in exactly the same way, meaning you can create more than one Downtown area for your Sims to visit. Of course, owners of mixed expansions have the added bonus that they work at enhancing the game together, so your college Sims and their study buddies can head Downtown for some serious Ramp;R./p
pMany of the new objects have been talked about in earlier chats with the development team or in previews on the bigger gaming sites, but I can't not include them here, along with some juicy new info Tim let slip. He appreciates that we get more excited about these things than journalists!/p
pMore power has been added to the swatch tool which lets you pick the colors or decorations of many buyable items. It's now easier to create themed rooms, with many chair, table and furniture color options matching existing walls and floors to add true coordination to your rooms./p
pYour Neighborhood view can now be switched between day or night view, so you get to see all the pretty lights twinkling away while deciding where to send your Simmies on their big date./p
pSpeaking of lights, they can now be 'swatched' as well, so that you can choose the color of glow which they give off. Create truly stunning, or totally hideous effects in your rooms by adding a tint of color to the illuminations./p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-291h-197-537234.jpg border=0 width=291 height=197 style=border: 0; float: right; margin-left: 9px; margin-right: 9px; /Given that here at TSR, we focus on Custom Content, let me explain the new tools that have been introduced for the players who download from the community. New to the Option Panel are settings for allowing or including the use of Custom Content in the game. So for example, you can choose whether or not to show Custom Content in the build and buy mode catalogs, allowing you to make Lots that use only basic game or expansion items (great for websites wanting to offer building competitions based on official content only, I might add). There is also an advanced dialog which can be shown when the game loads, whereby you can actually choose the Custom Content you wish to load from of your entire downloads collection. Again, a great utility if you want to just check the latest stuff you downloaded or are building for a specific theme, either for screenshots or storytelling. From the screen shown here you might also be able to pick out the 'Lot View Options' allowing you to specify whether neighboring Lots and neighborhood decorations show in the background while playing a Lot (and the draw distance)./p
pOne of Tim's favorite additions are the 'Sectional Sofas'. These are provided with or without arms and allow you to make seating areas of differing size and shape. You could put a box of seats around feature topiary, or make a cozy booth for Sims to relax in. Coffee tables can also be placed in front of them./p
pAlthough community creators have been churning them out for some time, Rugs now make an official appearance in the game, and come in a selection of shapes and patters including round, oval and rectangle. These can also be given the swatch treatment, with patterns being included for kids rugs to match the walls and floors in game for the kids bedrooms./p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-286h-222-537231.jpg border=0 width=286 height=222 style=border: 0; float: left; margin-left: 9px; margin-right: 9px; /Something that will undoubtedly please a lot of people, but added as a necessity now that moving around plays a focal part of Sim life, is the addition of a new dialog which pops up when using transportation. Instead of waiting for a preview of the 'hood lo load before choosing where you and your Sims want to go, you are given an address book of all available places to visit, making your transition much quicker and easier. You can see an example in the screen shot to the left./p
pThe new Poker Table item is a favorite of Mrs Crumplebottom, the 'Old Prude' from Hot Date which makes a return to TS2./p
pOh, while I think of it... there is a sneaky new trick to placing and moving the new Poker Table object which Tim explained would be making its way to dining tables in some future update. When you place a Poker Table, and then put chairs around it, you pick up and shift the whole lot by simply grabbing the table. All the chairs will follow, making the positioning of seating arrangements a breeze. We'll be looking forward to that one Tim!/p
pThe absence of a Kitchen Sink in the game has also been addressed, meaning you no longer need to use bathroom sinks set into kitchen work tops. As Tim says, Its square and everything. Nice work team! Look out too, for wall mounted furniture such as wine racks./p
pOh, and lets not forget the new Aspiration Reward, the ReNuYu-Senso Orb, which lets your Sim change their aspiration!/p
pOK, let's move on to the detailed stuff.../p
h2 class=nhpA Song And Dance/h2
pThe DJ Booth is a great new addition which when combined with other new elements, allows a lot more to happen in game than a Sim changing the background music. There are new Ramp;B tunes along with some fantastic techno remixes of existing Sims 2 music to bop your noggin' to while playing the game. Tim loaded up his now infamous The Hub to show us the way Sims will slow dance or Smustle given the opportunity, the latter of which is hilarious to watch. Imagine a handful of Sims on the dance floor trying to pull of some cheesy dance routine in step with each other (think line dancing on steroids)! New lighting effects can be added using the corner or top down disco lights. Selecting different light loops for individual units will create a multitude of patterns and colors for you to set the scene exactly as you like it./p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/scaled/w-267h-204-537238.jpg border=0 width=267 height=204 style=border: 0; float: right; margin-left: 9px; margin-right: 9px; /Interestingly (given that we had Tim on our own turf in Europe), it was pointed out that the research into the clubs for the EP came from their European offices rather than being North America bias. As we saw with the addition of Soccer (Football (or is it the other way around??)) on University TV's, EA are taking on board that European Sims have wants and needs too. Unfortunately, this also meant that some of the disco fashion in the game is somewhat questionable. Been to a European bar on a Saturday night recently? Think ABBA video and you are pretty close!/p
pBut hey, if you need your Sim to put a smile on your face, have them strut their stuff up to the karaoke machine (image to the right) with low skills and hear them destroy a Sims classic! Yep, the songs on the karaoke are also taken from the game, so you actually get to see your Sims singing (or trying to) in Simlish either alone or as a duet. The Sim that Tim humiliated for our viewing pleasure absolutely destroyed a Sims 1 classic as all the cats in Chertsey lined up on the fence outside in sympathy./p
p style=text-align: right;strongContinuned.../strong/p
On Thursday 30th June 2005, I was invited along to EA Europe (Chertsey, Surrey, England) for a Community Event to have a preview of the upcoming Sims 2 Expansion pack, Nightlife. Tim LeTourneau, Senior Producer of the EP gave us a demo, while showing off some of the biggest and best features Nightlife brings. Afterwards I got some 'hands on' time playing the game and gathering as much info as I could to put together this preview for your viewing pleasure. Hopefully it will bring some snippets of new (or confirmed) info to help you decide whether Nightlife will be the resolve to all your Simmies needs!
Please note that the version of the game we were playing was 'Pre Alpha', meaning that final decisions have not yet been made regarding gameplay and content. Features which I talk about here may not make the cut into the final release of the game. Likewise, other changes might make this info contradict the final shipped version of the game. Unfortunately, the screenshots had to be taken with a digital camera rather than Print Screens, so the quality is a little lacking.
The Second Expansion Pack
Interestingly, Tim started out by clearing the air in regard to comparisons between Nightlife and the second Sims 1 expansion, Hot Date. He admits that the two packs have very similar elements but they have been executed very differently. The inevitable has happened in that Hot Date added lots of typical behaviors in every day domestic life (that's 'real life'.. remember that?), so given that The Sims is a people simulator, 3D Sims need to have their basic needs realized just as 2D Sims did. As a result you can be sure that other TS1 expansions will have their content and ideas built into upcoming TS2 packs. As Tim explained, If we don't cover basic stuff from TS1 expansion packs then we won't represent real life.
So what's new?
Before we go into the detailed features, here's a rundown of the latest and greatest additions to the game...
Getting the bad news out of the way first, you will still only be able to have 8 Sims living on a Lot. But that's it.. That's all the bad news, so I guess we did OK there!
The new Pleasure Aspiration will add quite a lot of new possibilities however you play your game. Tim described pleasure seeking Sims as wanting to go out, have fun and try out new foods. Variety will be their spice of life. The new restaurants will certainly be one of their favorite locations then, given that another new area is being 'bolted on' to neighborhoods with Nightlife. Just as University added a 'College Town', Nighgtlife adds 'Downtown' in exactly the same way, meaning you can create more than one Downtown area for your Sims to visit. Of course, owners of mixed expansions have the added bonus that they work at enhancing the game together, so your college Sims and their study buddies can head Downtown for some serious Ramp;R.
Many of the new objects have been talked about in earlier chats with the development team or in previews on the bigger gaming sites, but I can't not include them here, along with some juicy new info Tim let slip. He appreciates that we get more excited about these things than journalists!
More power has been added to the swatch tool which lets you pick the colors or decorations of many buyable items. It's now easier to create themed rooms, with many chair, table and furniture color options matching existing walls and floors to add true coordination to your rooms.
Your Neighborhood view can now be switched between day or night view, so you get to see all the pretty lights twinkling away while deciding where to send your Simmies on their big date.
Speaking of lights, they can now be 'swatched' as well, so that you can choose the color of glow which they give off. Create truly stunning, or totally hideous effects in your rooms by adding a tint of color to the illuminations.
Given that here at TSR, we focus on Custom Content, let me explain the new tools that have been introduced for the players who download from the community. New to the Option Panel are settings for allowing or including the use of Custom Content in the game. So for example, you can choose whether or not to show Custom Content in the build and buy mode catalogs, allowing you to make Lots that use only basic game or expansion items (great for websites wanting to offer building competitions based on official content only, I might add). There is also an advanced dialog which can be shown when the game loads, whereby you can actually choose the Custom Content you wish to load from of your entire downloads collection. Again, a great utility if you want to just check the latest stuff you downloaded or are building for a specific theme, either for screenshots or storytelling. From the screen shown here you might also be able to pick out the 'Lot View Options' allowing you to specify whether neighboring Lots and neighborhood decorations show in the background while playing a Lot (and the draw distance).
One of Tim's favorite additions are the 'Sectional Sofas'. These are provided with or without arms and allow you to make seating areas of differing size and shape. You could put a box of seats around feature topiary, or make a cozy booth for Sims to relax in. Coffee tables can also be placed in front of them.
Although community creators have been churning them out for some time, Rugs now make an official appearance in the game, and come in a selection of shapes and patters including round, oval and rectangle. These can also be given the swatch treatment, with patterns being included for kids rugs to match the walls and floors in game for the kids bedrooms.
Something that will undoubtedly please a lot of people, but added as a necessity now that moving around plays a focal part of Sim life, is the addition of a new dialog which pops up when using transportation. Instead of waiting for a preview of the 'hood lo load before choosing where you and your Sims want to go, you are given an address book of all available places to visit, making your transition much quicker and easier. You can see an example in the screen shot to the left.
The new Poker Table item is a favorite of Mrs Crumplebottom, the 'Old Prude' from Hot Date which makes a return to TS2.
Oh, while I think of it... there is a sneaky new trick to placing and moving the new Poker Table object which Tim explained would be making its way to dining tables in some future update. When you place a Poker Table, and then put chairs around it, you pick up and shift the whole lot by simply grabbing the table. All the chairs will follow, making the positioning of seating arrangements a breeze. We'll be looking forward to that one Tim!
The absence of a Kitchen Sink in the game has also been addressed, meaning you no longer need to use bathroom sinks set into kitchen work tops. As Tim says, Its square and everything. Nice work team! Look out too, for wall mounted furniture such as wine racks.
Oh, and lets not forget the new Aspiration Reward, the ReNuYu-Senso Orb, which lets your Sim change their aspiration!
OK, let's move on to the detailed stuff...
A Song And Dance
The DJ Booth is a great new addition which when combined with other new elements, allows a lot more to happen in game than a Sim changing the background music. There are new Ramp;B tunes along with some fantastic techno remixes of existing Sims 2 music to bop your noggin' to while playing the game. Tim loaded up his now infamous The Hub to show us the way Sims will slow dance or Smustle given the opportunity, the latter of which is hilarious to watch. Imagine a handful of Sims on the dance floor trying to pull of some cheesy dance routine in step with each other (think line dancing on steroids)! New lighting effects can be added using the corner or top down disco lights. Selecting different light loops for individual units will create a multitude of patterns and colors for you to set the scene exactly as you like it.
Interestingly (given that we had Tim on our own turf in Europe), it was pointed out that the research into the clubs for the EP came from their European offices rather than being North America bias. As we saw with the addition of Soccer (Football (or is it the other way around??)) on University TV's, EA are taking on board that European Sims have wants and needs too. Unfortunately, this also meant that some of the disco fashion in the game is somewhat questionable. Been to a European bar on a Saturday night recently? Think ABBA video and you are pretty close!
But hey, if you need your Sim to put a smile on your face, have them strut their stuff up to the karaoke machine (image to the right) with low skills and hear them destroy a Sims classic! Yep, the songs on the karaoke are also taken from the game, so you actually get to see your Sims singing (or trying to) in Simlish either alone or as a duet. The Sim that Tim humiliated for our viewing pleasure absolutely destroyed a Sims 1 classic as all the cats in Chertsey lined up on the fence outside in sympathy.
Continuned...
TS2: University Previewhttp://www.thesimsresource.com/articlesview-post/post/2738/2005-01-18T00:00:00ZpOn Sunday 16th January 2005 I spent some time with strongSims 2 Senior Producer/strong, strongTim LeTourneau/strong, as he gave me a preview of the upcoming expansion pack 'strongThe Sims 2: University/strong'. This one-on-one session also gave me an opportunity to find out some other titbits of info about the game and its future. Before I went, I gave people in our forums the opportunity to put questions to Tim, which I also fired off at him at the end./p
pAs much of the information that I could absorb along with answers to many of the forumers questions are included in the following article. Given that many of my questions were somewhat different to those from average magazine Journalists, I think you will find quite a bit of new and interesting information. I know I certainly did!/p
h2 class=nhpThe First Expansion Pack/h2
pSo why an expansion packs about University? Well, Tim explained that something like this had been on the back burner for The Sims 1 for quite some time, but the restraints of the TS1 mechanics with regard to age and generation made it a tricky project, given that TS1 Sims did not grow up. TS2 and its age transitions made this a realistic project which Tim and his team grasped when given the opportunity. Actually, Tim says that you can blame him, as he pushed for University to be the first EP for several reasons./p
pOne of these reasons (the addition of the Young Adult age group) was part of a longer term plan. Tim wanted to see this new age group appear now so that it could be used for future EP's. If left until later down the EP road, it would be very difficult adding a new age group without affecting previous expansions and their playability./p
pTim also explained that the creation of EP's was also used to introduce items to the game that are not necessarily related to the EP, but are in high demand from the players. For example, the band items are not necessarily associated with University life, but as many players are creating music videos as part of their storytelling, EA wanted to provide them with an environment to take that further./p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/671/671398.jpg border=0 width=214 height=222 style=float: left; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px; /Ooohellip; Let me just touch on those now that I've mentioned them. The band items are great! Given the choice of Drums, Guitar and Piano, Sims can play solo or join/create a band. When two or more Sims are playing together they do actually create music, playing the same song and building on it the more instruments are involved. If they get good, Sims can play on Community Lots and earn Tips from their adoring fans./p
pBefore I move on the game play of University itself, let me brighten up your day with some info on a new cheat options made available. How does unlimited floors grab you? No more restriction on how many floors you can build your Residential and Community Lots on. If five levels are not enough for you, the sky is the limit (assuming that your PC can handle it). Skyscraper height building will be possible and every floor will be useable in the game, but there could be issues. For example, a Sim on the 19th floor is likely to miss his pool car for work.. It could take him 5 real-time minutes to make it all the way down! They will look great in the 'hoods though./p
h2 class=nhpThe Juicy Bits/h2
pSo.. University.. (As a matter of fact, there isn't actually a University in the game as such). Each Neighborhood has its own College in the form of a new area known as 'College Town'. These new areas are made up of Fraternities and Community Lots, and are where your educating Sims will move to when they fly the nest of their parent's homes. Community Lots comprise of Gymnasiums, Music Halls, Libraries and Lounge Bars (you can of course create your own). The only Residential areas in College Town are the Dorms./p
pimg src=http://images.thesimsresource.netdna-cdn.com/671/671450.jpg border=0 width=314 height=230 style=float: right; margin: 0px 0px 12px 12px; /On arrival you will notice some things about the existing Dorms that might come as quite a surprise, the first shocker for me being that there is no Build Mode. As you would expect of any apartment type building, you can't go in and start tearing walls down, so your options are fairly restricted. You can of course create your own though, which I will touch on later (there will also be a cheat to allow Dorm refurbs should you get desperate)./p
pThis is the point in which I had the most in-depth explanation of the way a door works in my life, and you could tell Tim had explained strongthis/strong a few times during the past few weeks!br /You see, it all comes down to rules (see, I'm now an expert!)./p
pEach Sim on Campus will have their own room (so no room shares, but they can have rooms right next to each other). This includes player controlled students, and NPC (Non Playable Character) Students. When you introduce a Sim to a campus you will allocate them a room, which they will consider to be their own space from that point on. A nice little touch included by the developers to help you identify rooms, is that a Sim will post a picture of himself on the outside of the door. Although they cannot hack walls down, Sims can decorate, so you are free to change wall and floor coverings and place furniture objects to suit your taste and needs./p
pEven NPC's will be allocated a room of their own, although these are managed somewhat differently. Once you allocate a room to an NPC, the contents of that room will fade out (it looks like an empty room until they vacate it). Also, an NPC Sim which enters their room will also fade (all that remains is a thought bubble showing their actions which appears above their room door). This, explains Tim, is to improve performance of the game. Not having to render images for NPC's that are doing irrelevant actions improves the game. If one of your Sims calls by to greet the NPC, their room content and the Sim will show when your Sim enters./p
p style=text-align: right;strongContinued.../strong/p
p style=text-align: right;strong/strong/p
On Sunday 16th January 2005 I spent some time with Sims 2 Senior Producer, Tim LeTourneau, as he gave me a preview of the upcoming expansion pack 'The Sims 2: University'. This one-on-one session also gave me an opportunity to find out some other titbits of info about the game and its future. Before I went, I gave people in our forums the opportunity to put questions to Tim, which I also fired off at him at the end.
As much of the information that I could absorb along with answers to many of the forumers questions are included in the following article. Given that many of my questions were somewhat different to those from average magazine Journalists, I think you will find quite a bit of new and interesting information. I know I certainly did!
The First Expansion Pack
So why an expansion packs about University? Well, Tim explained that something like this had been on the back burner for The Sims 1 for quite some time, but the restraints of the TS1 mechanics with regard to age and generation made it a tricky project, given that TS1 Sims did not grow up. TS2 and its age transitions made this a realistic project which Tim and his team grasped when given the opportunity. Actually, Tim says that you can blame him, as he pushed for University to be the first EP for several reasons.
One of these reasons (the addition of the Young Adult age group) was part of a longer term plan. Tim wanted to see this new age group appear now so that it could be used for future EP's. If left until later down the EP road, it would be very difficult adding a new age group without affecting previous expansions and their playability.
Tim also explained that the creation of EP's was also used to introduce items to the game that are not necessarily related to the EP, but are in high demand from the players. For example, the band items are not necessarily associated with University life, but as many players are creating music videos as part of their storytelling, EA wanted to provide them with an environment to take that further.
Ooohellip; Let me just touch on those now that I've mentioned them. The band items are great! Given the choice of Drums, Guitar and Piano, Sims can play solo or join/create a band. When two or more Sims are playing together they do actually create music, playing the same song and building on it the more instruments are involved. If they get good, Sims can play on Community Lots and earn Tips from their adoring fans.
Before I move on the game play of University itself, let me brighten up your day with some info on a new cheat options made available. How does unlimited floors grab you? No more restriction on how many floors you can build your Residential and Community Lots on. If five levels are not enough for you, the sky is the limit (assuming that your PC can handle it). Skyscraper height building will be possible and every floor will be useable in the game, but there could be issues. For example, a Sim on the 19th floor is likely to miss his pool car for work.. It could take him 5 real-time minutes to make it all the way down! They will look great in the 'hoods though.
The Juicy Bits
So.. University.. (As a matter of fact, there isn't actually a University in the game as such). Each Neighborhood has its own College in the form of a new area known as 'College Town'. These new areas are made up of Fraternities and Community Lots, and are where your educating Sims will move to when they fly the nest of their parent's homes. Community Lots comprise of Gymnasiums, Music Halls, Libraries and Lounge Bars (you can of course create your own). The only Residential areas in College Town are the Dorms.
On arrival you will notice some things about the existing Dorms that might come as quite a surprise, the first shocker for me being that there is no Build Mode. As you would expect of any apartment type building, you can't go in and start tearing walls down, so your options are fairly restricted. You can of course create your own though, which I will touch on later (there will also be a cheat to allow Dorm refurbs should you get desperate).
This is the point in which I had the most in-depth explanation of the way a door works in my life, and you could tell Tim had explained this a few times during the past few weeks!You see, it all comes down to rules (see, I'm now an expert!).
Each Sim on Campus will have their own room (so no room shares, but they can have rooms right next to each other). This includes player controlled students, and NPC (Non Playable Character) Students. When you introduce a Sim to a campus you will allocate them a room, which they will consider to be their own space from that point on. A nice little touch included by the developers to help you identify rooms, is that a Sim will post a picture of himself on the outside of the door. Although they cannot hack walls down, Sims can decorate, so you are free to change wall and floor coverings and place furniture objects to suit your taste and needs.
Even NPC's will be allocated a room of their own, although these are managed somewhat differently. Once you allocate a room to an NPC, the contents of that room will fade out (it looks like an empty room until they vacate it). Also, an NPC Sim which enters their room will also fade (all that remains is a thought bubble showing their actions which appears above their room door). This, explains Tim, is to improve performance of the game. Not having to render images for NPC's that are doing irrelevant actions improves the game. If one of your Sims calls by to greet the NPC, their room content and the Sim will show when your Sim enters.
Continued...