Sims 3 - tips, discoveries, and discussion [Archive]

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Vigil80

06-04-2009, 01:55 AM

Thought I would start a thread for sharing info about this neat game. There's quite a few odds and ends that could easily go unnoticed, and this seems like the spot to share. There's some good info over in the review post (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=9029) already.

To get us started, here's some things I found.

-The laptop can be used from your sim's inventory, but not (currently) upgraded from there. To upgrade a laptop, it has to already be sitting on a tabletop. Could be a bug, might get fixed.

-I haven't been able to use the laptop while at the park or similar public places. The options are greyed out, with the error popup "not usable at this lot." This definitely seems like a bug, since it defeats the purpose of the laptop being "portable," and I see NPC sims with their laptops out at community lots all the time.

-Sims don't wake up when they're supposed to 100% of the time. It's a good idea to get an alarm clock just for good measure. No need to set a time, just activate it and it automatically goes off before work. My sims haven't overslept often, but often enough that it bugged me.

-If you have a "brave" sim who attacks burglars on his own, the recovered items get placed in the household inventory, in the buy menu (f2). I saw no notice for this, so the first couple of times I mistakenly thought my sim was chasing off the burglar but still losing his property.

-Some actions have timers, and can be adjusted. Watch for grip ridges on the activity icons that can be dragged to change the time spent on an activity.

I wouldn't mind some tips on keeping a fit sim. My little guy has almost mastered athleticism, but he still manages to stay chubby most of the time.

Ink Asylum

06-04-2009, 06:14 AM

- Be sure to check the Special tab when you click on another Sim to interact with them. Many of the personality traits have options which show up in unique tabs rather than the regular ones.

- Becoming a work-from-home artist is easier than ever. You can get a part time job to make ends meet and spend the bulk of your time working on the writing and painting skills. Paintings sell like they always do, and books get you weekly royalties.

- Look for community lots like the Theater and Stadium to have their spotlights on, indicating a special event like a concert is active.

- Your Sim will have a lot of books in their inventory if they read a lot. You can tell them to put them back on the shelf or sell them right from the backpack. You can see if you've already read them just by clicking on them and seeing if the option is "Read book" or "Reread book"

Farsight

06-04-2009, 06:30 AM

To stay slim, eat less (art mimicks life!). Sims get fat from eating when they aren't hungry.

Gardening is the key to immortality. If that resembles real life, it's a very well-kept secret.

Ink Asylum

06-04-2009, 07:45 AM

Yeah, you can be heavy and muscular in the game, as well as scrawny and out of shape. Muscles depends on exercise and weight depends on food, I would guess. Eat only when you're really hungry.

Wraith

06-04-2009, 07:50 AM

I don't have the game yet, but subscribed to the thread.

Anyone have a sim die yet?

Matthias

06-04-2009, 02:02 PM

I completely skipped over Sims 2 when it came out (basically because it was $50). Do you think this is worth the $40 discounted price from GoGamer? Also do the Mac and PC versions coming together, like a Blizzard game?

Ink Asylum

06-04-2009, 02:12 PM

Did you enjoy the Sims 1? The Sims games are definitely love it or hate it. If you enjoy the Sims type of gameplay this is well worth $40.

Wraith

06-04-2009, 02:14 PM

Also do the Mac and PC versions coming together, like a Blizzard game?Yep.

From the Sims 3 support site (https://easims.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/easims.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=22252&p_created=1244065485&p_sid=ar9pHxzj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfc m93X2NudD0xMDQsMTA0JnBfcHJvZHM9JnBfY2F0cz0mcF9wdj0 mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9ub CZwX3BhZ2U9MSZwX3NlYXJjaF90ZXh0PU1hYw**&p_li=&p_topview=1):The physical retail package available at most major electronics stores, which includes a DVD disk, is compatible with Mac. If you wish to purchase a digital copy of the game for your Mac, however, you should not use the EA Store. Since the EA Store uses the EA Download Manager to distribute digital downloads, and the EADM is not Mac-compatible, you will need to purchase a Mac-friendly digital download from a different retailer.

We recommend getting your Mac-compatible digital copy of The Sims 3 from Game Tree Online. If you would like to proceed to purchase The Sims 3 for Mac from Game Tree Online, follow this link (you will be re-directed to the Game Tree site).

Goronmon

06-04-2009, 02:18 PM

Damnit, you guys are making me want to pick this up. I enjoyed the first, but grew tired of the tedium that took up most of the day like going to the bathroom, washing hands, showering, etc.

Vigil80

06-04-2009, 02:33 PM

Damnit, you guys are making me want to pick this up. I enjoyed the first, but grew tired of the tedium that took up most of the day like going to the bathroom, washing hands, showering, etc.

Not only have these things been reduced, but there are perks your sims can get which reduce the need to eat, shower, and go to the bathroom even more. Or there's one that makes meals at restaurants free. Either way, your sim may never have to cook again.

My sim eats and uses the bathroom about 1.5 times a day. Which is even a drag sometimes because I bought all this food for the fridge...

Matthias

06-04-2009, 02:37 PM

Did you enjoy the Sims 1? The Sims games are definitely love it or hate it. If you enjoy the Sims type of gameplay this is well worth $40.

Yeah I really liked the first Sims (except for the tedious stuff, but as you guys have repeatedly said, that's been reduced). Initial price of Sims 2 and then the flood of expansions kept me waiting on a purchase. I was just about to look into finally buying the game when I heard about 3.

I may have to pick this up then. My sister absolutely loves the game too, so I imagine I can get my mom to purchase it, with the dual OS compatibility.

Wraith

06-04-2009, 02:39 PM

The 1up review (http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3174568) and a number of Amazon reviews mention bugs and performance issues. Any CoGers seeing this?

Vigil80

06-04-2009, 03:06 PM

The worst issues I've encountered so far were textures popping in when I zoomed across the landscape quickly, and sims legs bending in odd ways when they struggle on the treadmills.

After several hours, I have yet to encounter any crashes or other, more serious technical problems. I have all graphical settings turned on and maxxed, except for edge smoothing and high detail lots, which are at medium/middle settings. Framerate is good, and slowdowns while locations load are minor. 1280x1024 resolution.

WinXP SP3
Intel Core2Duo 3.00ghz
4gb (3.25gb) RAM
GeForce 8800GTX

Wraith

06-04-2009, 03:12 PM

XP Pro, C2D 2.2GHz, 2GB, 7900GTX 512MB. I should be ok.

I'm sure if I tried it on my Macbook, it'd choke & die (while the fan runs @ 100% the whole time).

I just ordered from GoGamer, should have it next week.

Vigil80

06-04-2009, 03:22 PM

So who's tried the eat-less, bathe-less, or pee-less perks yet? I'm wondering how they function. A sim that never needs to eat would never get fat, but wouldn't he also miss the beneficial moodlet from having a good meal? Same for bathe-less sims and the "squeaky clean" moodlet?

Also, here's something else to watch out for. If you have a smoke detector which is set off by a fire, but a brave sim in the house puts the fire out before the fireman arrives, the fireman will nail you with a $500 fine for wasting his time.

I guess the lesson is that brave sims don't need smoke detectors or burglar alarms.

Wraith

06-04-2009, 03:41 PM

Camel

06-04-2009, 03:46 PM

Damnit, you guys are making me want to pick this up. I enjoyed the first, but grew tired of the tedium that took up most of the day like going to the bathroom, washing hands, showering, etc.
Trying to cram all these little things into the day was always my favorite part. I thought it was HILARIOUS when my Sim would have to go to the bathroom, but would then pass out in the yard and pee himself because he was too tired to make it back to the house. My Sims always had such dysfunctional lives...I never once played in a house with more than one person, because I could barely keep one person alive and happy.

Vigil80

06-04-2009, 03:49 PM

Here's a few things that bugged me in Sims 2, wondering if they've changed at all in 3

I'm not positive on these, I'll look out for them when I play tonight.

One thing I can say is that comfort and environment have been removed, and thank goodness. Those were the two I always had the most trouble with. Now a comfortable or well-decorated spot just gives positive moodlets. I have yet to see negative moodlets for comfort and environment, except for one caused by garbage and trash.

Aggort

06-04-2009, 03:53 PM

Here's a few things that bugged me in Sims 2, wondering if they've changed at all in 3:

Seems whenever you had guests over, someone would always walk in on someone else in the bathroom. I wished Sims could lock the door when they're on the can.
I read that there's no more "Comfort" or "Environment" bars to manage. Does lighting matter anymore? In Sims 2, sims would always lose environment points in poorly lit areas. "Auto" lights always seemed like they wasted power, and they never turned on during the day.
Is pathfinding any better? And do sims still get "stuck" in a chair when someone's standing too close to them?

To answer your first question, I haven't run into any issues aside from one bug, but that had nothing to do with my PC rather just game programming, I'm sure they'll patch it and patches are VERY simple!

I'm fairly certain you can keep your door locked, but I haven't had that problem yet, so I am not sure. Comfort and Environment are indeed gone. I haven't noticed an issue with lighting outside of the fact that I don't think my Sim enjoyed reading in the dark. I wasn't sure wtf he was doing. Pathfinding is greatly improved!

JayK47

06-04-2009, 04:03 PM

To you guys on the fence on whether to buy or not, this is the best Sims ever. So if you like Sims even a little bit, you should pick this up. If not right this second, maybe when the game is on sale for $30 or so.

Thanks for the tips guys. Keep them coming.

There are a lot of things that you can do. It feels like I have only touched the surface. I like how you can ask someone if they are single, dating and so on.

Camel

06-04-2009, 04:05 PM

Man JayK, you've almost sold me! I might go take advantage of that GoGamer deal...

Amazon reviews drive me crazy sometimes. There are sooooo many 1 star reviews there, but pretty much everything I am hearing from CoG people and review sties say the game is great.

Wraith

06-04-2009, 04:12 PM

Amazon reviews drive me crazy sometimes. There are sooooo many 1 star reviews there, but pretty much everything I am hearing from CoG people and review sties say the game is great.I have to figure that:

Some of these people are experiencing legitimate bugs that will have to get patched.
Some are running it on low-end hardware or generally poorly-performing systems.
Some are disappointed that you can't do everything you can do in Sims 2, especially with the expansions.

JayK47

06-04-2009, 04:28 PM

I have to figure that:

Some of these people are experiencing legitimate bugs that will have to get patched.
Some are running it on low-end hardware or generally poorly-performing systems.
Some are disappointed that you can't do everything you can do in Sims 2, especially with the expansions.

Possibly. I do miss some Sims 2 features. I always liked having a full set of band equipment in my house and inviting people over to jam. I'm not sure if the equipment came with expansions though since I did pick most of them up. Right now all I am seeing in Sims 3 is a guitar. But you can bring it along and play it most anywhere. So I can be a bum and play for money in the park. I hope I will eventually be able to get other instruments by individual purchase or expansions. I haven't had a lot of time in Sims 3, so I don't know if I can get a hot tub or not. Another good item for when guests come over.

Stoke

06-04-2009, 04:47 PM

One of my favorite things so far is my hobo sim. I just moved him into a vacant lot and didn't build him a house. I now have him living in the park. He earns money to eat with his guitar in between sleeping outside and pestering the AI sims. He smells pretty bad.

Vigil80

06-04-2009, 05:38 PM

My one real complaint so far is the new pricing scheme on additional content. Looks like they've taken inspiration both from the console DLC marketplaces as well as the subscription fansites that created items for Sims 2. Now you go online with simpoints and buy clothing and objects that can be installed via the game launcher.

1 cent = 1 point, but it doesn't matter much since points can only be bought in $5, $10, and $20 increments. Items are pretty expensive too. Most clothing items are $0.75 - $1, and a set of 45-50 furniture items is about $20. This is a substantially decreased value from the stuff packs of Sims 2, I believe. On the other hand, you can truly pick and choose only the items you really want, and it should decrease the amount of "Sims 3" labeled boxes on store shelves.

Edit: Don't know what to do with all these Sims 2 boxes now, either. Now that I've dove into 3, I can safely say I'll never install them again. Nobody takes PC game trades anymore, do they?

Jackel

06-04-2009, 07:24 PM

Inspector Fowler

06-05-2009, 01:26 PM

Ink Asylum

06-05-2009, 01:44 PM

I notice on a lot of the premade houses there's a driveway with a speed bump at the end. I would look for that in the build/buy menus. In the Sims 2 you had to use specific oversized driveway tiles.

Vigil80

06-05-2009, 03:57 PM

Yep, there's a parking space item that's also needed. It replaces the driveways from Sims 2. Bicycles work the same way, requiring a bike rack to stick one on.

Edit: There's a benefit from the charisma skill that prevents friendship decay, and there's a perk you can get with lifetime reward points that keeps friends from becoming "distant friends." Do they overlap? Does having the charisma benefit negate the usefulness of that perk?

MagGnome

06-06-2009, 12:14 PM

Hellbug

06-06-2009, 01:05 PM

Is there still the option to lock the sims in a house and when it burns down, to barter and plead with the Grim Reaper over the dead or dying sims?

Savok

06-06-2009, 01:05 PM

Yeah I'm pretty much sold on this too after ignoring Sims 2.

Shit.

Vigil80

06-06-2009, 05:53 PM

After playing for some hours, I've seen that it could use a patch after all. Nothing really gamebreaking like some folks have complained about, but annoyances nonetheless.

Apparently EA's been promising a patch toot sweet. No idea what issues they're addressing, but I'd expect something within the next week.

nnanji

06-06-2009, 09:37 PM

Stoke

06-06-2009, 10:02 PM

So my wife tried building her first house today and ran into a problem. I was hoping that one of you kind folks could help shed some light on this. She dug a pit and laid a foundation so that she could make a basement for her house. Unfortunately, the dimensions must have been a bit off, because her first floor does not line up properly with the outside, and her sim won't walk up the slight hill to her front door. Here is the problem, she wanted to build some stairs that would lead up to her door, but can't get the stairs to fit. Is there any way to customize the size/shape/etc. of her stairs, or is she stuck using the pre-set stair types?

I apologize if this isn't very clear, I've never played the Sims, and am just trying to find answers for her based on what she is growling about. Thanks!

From your description, she dug down into the ground, and built the first story, put a second on top of that that is not quite level with the ground and wants to build a staircase leading from the ground to the door?

Going from that I just went in and did a quick build of my own and it seemed to work fine. The top row of stairs are pre-sized for one story of the house to connect to another, but the bottom row adjust to wherever you try to put them. What I did was place a door in the wall of the second (first) story, when you do that the game automatically will make a little overhang in front of the door that extends one square out past the wall. Select one of the bottom row of staircases and place your cursor over one of the overhang's tiles. It should automatically adjust the length of the staircase so that the other side reaches the ground.

Shjinta

06-06-2009, 11:12 PM

I really need to stop reading these threads. My poor wallet doesn't like it.

I'm holding off on this game for now, but reading this and the other Sims 3 thread here on COG has definitely piqued my interest.

Yeah me too man. If I had a job I'd be so over buying this right now. But, alas no munies.

MagGnome

06-06-2009, 11:19 PM

Yeah me too man. If I had a job I'd be so over buying this right now. But, alas no munies.

I just bought an Xbox Live Gold card as well as Assassin's Creed, Penumbra Collection, and King's Bounty for the PC. My gaming budget is done for the month, at least!

Still, reading this thread and the Sims 3 Review thread brought back a lot of memories of the time that I spent with the first game. I had so much fun with that one doing all kinds of crazy stuff. I have a lot of fond memories of that game, but the second one never really grabbed me. In fact I barely recall playing the sequel at all.

Anyway, the point is that I really want this game now!

Saladin

06-07-2009, 03:22 PM

Is there still the option to lock the sims in a house and when it burns down, to barter and plead with the Grim Reaper over the dead or dying sims?

Yes, though like previous games you can't remove the door once the fire starts, so you have to lock them in there when they start cooking, then just make them cook over and over hoping for a fire.

The cool thing is now the Grim Reaper is a character in his own right, and will hang around after the death for a short while, giving you the regular conversation options and building up your relationship with him :) Maybe having a higher relationship will make bartering with him better later on.

Oh and one tip I found useful - most of the previews talked as though the need bars (bladder/hygiene etc) were removed in favour of moodlets, but they are actually still there on the last tab. I was trying to manage my sims just on moodlets e.g. sleeping only until the tired moodlet was gone, which led to some very grumpy sims most of the time.. Once I discovered that the bars were still there it got a bit easier to manage.

Farsight

06-07-2009, 04:24 PM

Is there still the option to lock the sims in a house and when it burns down, to barter and plead with the Grim Reaper over the dead or dying sims?

You can now acquire Death Flowers that let you buy your way out of death. Alternatively, smart sims can challenge Death to a game of chess for their soul. :)

nnanji

06-07-2009, 05:01 PM

From your description, she dug down into the ground, and built the first story, put a second on top of that that is not quite level with the ground and wants to build a staircase leading from the ground to the door?

Going from that I just went in and did a quick build of my own and it seemed to work fine. The top row of stairs are pre-sized for one story of the house to connect to another, but the bottom row adjust to wherever you try to put them. What I did was place a door in the wall of the second (first) story, when you do that the game automatically will make a little overhang in front of the door that extends one square out past the wall. Select one of the bottom row of staircases and place your cursor over one of the overhang's tiles. It should automatically adjust the length of the staircase so that the other side reaches the ground.

Thanks for the tips! Like I said, I had never played a Sims game before, and the interface is nice and simple, but not always clear about all of my options. Your advice really helped, I just wish it had fixed the problem. Even after I managed to get some stairs built, the sims had definite pathing problems, and frequently failed to get inside. Once she got inside, she tried to put her baby in a crib, and ended up walking outside and dropping the baby on the ground outside the nursery!

Eventually we just leveled the place and moved the sims into a new, bigger house. Everything seems to be working fine now.

SilentScreams

06-07-2009, 09:01 PM

Does anybody know how to make a garage? I obviously know how to put a garage door in place but for the life of me I can't figure out what else I need to make it the official car storage area in the game.

In the same list as all the cars there is a driveway type item. You have to put that down and it designates the spot as a car parking area.
Likewise, to get a bike, you need to have a bike rail.

Rune_74

06-08-2009, 01:20 PM

Guys check out planting some of the vegtables you buy...I have a fridge full of apples and tomatoes right now. I could see being able to make a pretty good living doing just gardening....especailly if you plant a ton of trees.

My problem now is I got a girl to make a baby but she is married to someone else and when I ask her to leave she says if you want me to chose between you and tim I chose tim....and she is showing with my baby....and I get elder state in 5 sim days hehehe.

Wraith

06-08-2009, 03:16 PM

Huh. I ordered from GoGamer Thursday. Game shipped late Friday (USPS priority, 3-5 business day). Tracking shows it was delivered today (was expecting I'd get it Wednesday, at the earliest). Guess I know what I'm playing tonight.

And I'm guessing I'll probably have to run at less-than-maximum settings (since I run 1600x1200 native)...

Wraith

06-08-2009, 03:31 PM

This site (http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,685777/The-Sims-3-CPU-benchmarks-and-new-quality-comparison/Practice/) has some basic benchmarks & screenshots comparing min/med/max detail settings.Although The Sims 2 was smoothly playable at maximal details on a single-core processor, this is not possible with The Sims 3 - only if you lower all details to the minimum. With an older dual-core running at the same clock speed the game is twice as fast and thus fluidly. But The Sims 3 is lagging even on high-end hardware hen you switch between zoom levels. The Sim3 Engine is optimized for multi-core system that a quad-core is about 14 percent faster than its dual-core counterpart. For smooth gameplay we recommend the older Core 2 Quad Q6600 or AMD's slightly faster Phenom II X3 720 BE. A Phenom II X4 is beating a Yorkfield based Core 2 Quad when running at the same frequency. Unfortunately we can't offer results for Intel's core i7 because our review code of The Sims 3 did not run on such a system because of unknown reasons.

As long as your CPU is fast enough, an entry level graphics card like a Radeon HD 3870 or Geforce 9600 GT is enough to run The Sims 3.

SilentScreams

06-08-2009, 06:09 PM

I don't think it's too hard on most mid-range PCs.
My brother is running it maxed out on an E8400/HD4850 rig with no problems. The only difference between his and mine (Q9550/HD4870X2) is that I can max out the high detail lots, while he has to leave it on 4 at most.

Wraith

06-08-2009, 06:42 PM

I log in with my Spore account details, try to register and it keeps telling me: "You are already a registered Sims 3 User. Please login using your EA Account details." Logging in just brings me back to the same Complete Your Registration page. :confused:

Vigil80

06-08-2009, 08:20 PM

Very weird, Wraith. Turn in a support ticket I guess, and then get ready to wait. It doesn't require you to register before you can play, does it?

Wraith

06-09-2009, 07:57 AM

Yeah, I submitted a support ticket. I was able to play the game just fine, but I probably wouldn't be able to access any community features without logging in...

The game ran pretty well on my system. There were maybe two settings that weren't maxed (and one required a restart so I didn't try that one yet).

Played for about 5 hours last night, and really liking the improvements so far.

Wraith

06-09-2009, 02:04 PM

Some of my impressions from playing last night:

Going to community lots is a lot easier than in Sims 2. Even beyond the seamless jump in/jump out functionality. In Sims 2, everything would slow down pretty bad, especially on larger lots, and it was hard to actually do much at the community lot without your sim's meters dropping really low. But in 3, it's pretty easy to just have your sim hop on a bike and ride down to the pool, swim & socialize for a while, take a nap if energy's running low, and you just click a button next to the sim's icon when you want to head home. And everything runs pretty smooth. Sure the framerate dips here and there, but not to the point that it really bothers me. It doesn't feel like the game is crawling along, barely able to handle the game.
Screenshots (click 'C') are taken at your screen resolution, instead of some low-rez default.
Moodlets are a lot more interesting than simply having your sim's mood controlled directly by the Need meters.
Being able to change colors & patterns on individual items (clothing, furniture, wallpaper, etc.) seems like a small thing, but it really feels like a big improvement over Sims 2. You're no longer stuck with the same few color options for every item.
From what I've played so far, advancing in careers seems a bit easier. It's not as dependent on having x-many points in certain skills. My first character is in the law enforcement career, and her promotions depended on logic skill, mood, and how she gets along with her partner. There are also occasional Opportunities you can take advantage of to advance in a career.
You're no longer stuck at home starving if the fridge isn't stocked.
Positioning items has a lot more flexibility. (For example, you can put your alarm clock in the middle of a night stand, or on the edge, at an angle, etc.)

A few questions:

How do you go in and edit a family you've created? I couldn't find the option, and had clicked Accept Family before I was done adding sims.
Is there a way to track down where another sim (outside your family) is besides zooming out and checking their house?
How do you jog or go for a bike ride? (Clicking on the bike in the rack gives me nothing, but the sim will take the bike or jog when going to other locations.)

Ink Asylum

06-09-2009, 02:20 PM

How do you go in and edit a family you've created? I couldn't find the option, and had clicked Accept Family before I was done adding sims.

I did the same thing and as far as I know you can't. I had to ditch a family and start over when I clicked the wrong button.

Is there a way to track down where another sim (outside your family) is besides zooming out and checking their house?

Again, not as far as I know. If they are the subject of an opportunity they will show up on the map. If you know them personally you can call them and have them come to your location.

How do you jog or go for a bike ride? (Clicking on the bike in the rack gives me nothing, but the sim will take the bike or jog when going to other locations.)

The Sim bikes automatically, but it doesn't improve their athletics skill to my knowledge. If you want to jog you click an empty area and choose "Jog here..." You may need at least one point in athletics before the jog option appears, but I'm not certain.

Wraith

06-09-2009, 02:28 PM

I had to ditch a family and start over when I clicked the wrong button.I wasn't about to do that. I spent a lot of time creating just one sim.If you know them personally you can call them and have them come to your location.I'll have to do that, then. Sometimes I was at a community lot and wanted to go where a friend was. Calling over would be easiest.If you want to jog you click an empty area and choose "Jog here..." You may need at least one point in athletics before the jog option appears, but I'm not certain.ok, thanks. I didn't see that option, but was only clicking on nearby empty areas. I've got like 4-5 athletic points.

Saladin

06-09-2009, 02:39 PM

I wasn't about to do that. I spent a lot of time creating just one sim.

In the "Edit my town" screen from the main menu you can add new family members, though I think you have to create them under a new family first, then merge that family with your existing one.

Wraith

06-09-2009, 02:43 PM

By main menu, you mean the menu from the (...) button (along with options, save, etc.)? Must have missed that one.

Ink Asylum

06-09-2009, 03:11 PM

Merging families is one option, but if you do that you won't be able to establish family relationships. If you wanted two characters to be siblings or parent/child you have to do it when you initially create the family.

Wraith

06-09-2009, 03:14 PM

Hopefully they add that in a patch. At least so you can edit a family that hasn't moved in yet (like in Sims 2).

Is there even an "Accept Sim" button now, to click before you start on the next sim, or do you just click an empty sim icon when you're done with the current one? I'll have to look more carefully, next time I start a new family.

JayK47

06-09-2009, 04:15 PM

I was hoping every person in town lived in town so you could just go over to their house. But it seems like some people do live off site and can only be called in.

Wraith

06-09-2009, 04:34 PM

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3316/3598445877_e3cb899f30.jpg

Alice and Kev: The story of being homeless in The Sims 3 (http://aliceandkev.wordpress.com/2009/06/09/alice-and-kev/)

Vigil80

06-09-2009, 04:50 PM

Hehe that's great.

Here's another general tip. You can assign a view and camera angle to keys 5-9 by holding down ctrl then pressing the key. Then you'll come back to that spot and angle when you hit the key again.

I've found this very useful for coming back to a favorite view, especially after zooming around the town map. You could even pick views over certain places in town, then use the keys as shortcuts to get to those places.

SilentScreams

06-09-2009, 04:53 PM

Hotcod

06-09-2009, 05:04 PM

that is, strangely, rather damn cool. I'm clearly going to have to buy this game when it drops in price and make some really messed up people and see how they interact

Wraith

06-09-2009, 09:40 PM

Is anyone else getting this? - Both times I've played, my network/internet connection was not working after I Quit out of the game. Last night, I tried rebooting my router and DSL modem. Tonight I tried just logging out, logging back in. Neither worked. Had to restart.

I was rummaging in someone's trash can (as part of my job, of course) and found some plutonium. I sent it in to get it forged and got two plutonium ingots back in the mail. They're worth like 2500 simoleons each, but haven't found a way to sell them yet. Wonder if it's bad to just carry these around in inventory, since they're radioactive...

SilentScreams

06-10-2009, 05:40 AM

I was rummaging in someone's trash can (as part of my job, of course) and found some plutonium. I sent it in to get it forged and got two plutonium ingots back in the mail. They're worth like 2500 simoleons each, but haven't found a way to sell them yet. Wonder if it's bad to just carry these around in inventory, since they're radioactive...

To sell them, I think you just place them in your house/lot and sell them in Buy Mode.
That's what I did when I found a big meteorite worth 5,000 in the cemetary.

Goronmon

06-10-2009, 07:48 AM

Damnit, I don't think I am going to be able to resist picking this game up for much longer.

Ink Asylum

06-10-2009, 08:19 AM

I've gotten two Sims shacked up and at the top of their careers. One of them has accomplished their lifetime goal. Once the second does I'll dive into child rearing to see what has changed.

Goronmon

06-10-2009, 08:21 AM

Apparently that "much longer" lasted about 5 minutes.

Stupid CoG website.

SilentScreams

06-10-2009, 08:40 AM

Apparently that "much longer" lasted about 5 minutes.

Stupid CoG website.

The indoctrination is clearly working (I just got done playing through Mass Effect...it seemed like the word to use).

On topic:

I started out with a lone Sim modelled on myself as I always do, and set about getting him to the top of the Rock branch of the music career.
It was kind of annoying to me that Pop Star is stage 9 of the Rock career path, but at least stage 10 is Rock Star, so they acknowledge that it's a step up :D
I now have no defined working hours. Whenever I need cash, I just go play a concert, hold an autograph session, or just play my guitar for tips, which can make me a couple of thousand very quickly if I pick a busy spot.

I've also married one of my band members, who has now quit and is working from home as a writer, and we have a little girl who is in the Child stage at the moment. She looks like her mother.

Ink Asylum

06-10-2009, 08:44 AM

Haha. The Music career sounds like a lot of fun. :) I'll have to try that with one of my Sims.

The "Me" Sim is at the top of the Journalism track. Works four days a week and brings home plenty of cash. Not too many perks, but I get to interview other Sims and review businesses for articles. I'll probably have him quit his job once he has a kid. I can make plenty of money selling paintings or writing books to earn royalties.

Wraith

06-10-2009, 09:29 AM

I know there are some bugs in the game, but this one might be worth avoiding:Bug: A neighbor comes over to visit, then leaves and steals the active family's baby.

Solution: If a Sim is holding a baby and you ask them to leave, they will more than likely leave with the baby, and it will be removed from your family. Be sure to take your baby back before kicking them out of the house by interacting with the baby.IGN (http://cheats.ign.com/articles/992/992994p1.html)

Savok

06-10-2009, 09:33 AM

HAHAHAHAHA

God, even the bugs are awesome.

Ink Asylum

06-10-2009, 09:34 AM

That's hilarious. I want to have a Sim baby just to try that now.

Illuminus

06-10-2009, 09:36 AM

Wraith

06-10-2009, 09:42 AM

Heh, interesting game. My current social experiment is an old lady and 7 toddlers. I think the most funny moment was when a bunch of guests came over and all the toddlers started crying! Now the really question is.. will the toddlers be able to become adults before the old lady kicks the bucket :p.I was actually wondering about that exact situation (kids living alone after elder parent dies). I'm interested to know what happens...

I haven't played enough yet to know, but I'm assuming there's no way for toddlers to earn money, and probably not for children. And I don't think toddlers have any way to eat without an older sim to help them.

Ink Asylum

06-10-2009, 09:50 AM

That's like some creepy kind of reality show.

I'm thinking about putting together some kind of dysfunctional household like homeless Kev that I will largely just let run with as minimal input as possible. Any suggestions? Should I just go "Real World" and make a bunch of young adults with conflicting personalities? Three's Company style, get a guy romantically involved with two girls in a house then let the household act on free will and wait for drama?

Here's something I'm curious about: What won't a Sim do on their own? I know they won't get a job, but they will keep one pretty well, getting out of bed on time and automatically going to work. They seem to socialize easily and make friends at work or in community lots, but I don't think they will use flirtatious actions with people they aren't already in love with, so they don't make the friend to lover jump without prompting. They won't call people on their own but they do get phone calls which can lead to conversations or hanging out.

Ink Asylum

06-10-2009, 09:51 AM

I was actually wondering about that exact situation (kids living alone after elder parent dies). I'm interested to know what happens...

I haven't played enough yet to know, but I'm assuming there's no way for toddlers to earn money, and probably not for children. And I don't think toddlers have any way to eat without an older sim to help them.

In previous Sim games I believe child services would show up and take the kids, meaning they were essentially removed from the game.

Wraith

06-10-2009, 10:05 AM

I think my next family is going to be eccentric/slacker/hippie and earn money just from gardening and playing acoustic guitar.

Savok

06-10-2009, 11:55 AM

Bah, it's going to be a week before Sims 3 arrives, stupid fuck up with Prototype.

First Sims? To me it's obvious (http://www.charlesatnc.com/images/bestfriends.jpg). Side note, if you're at work, don't put their names into an image search.... well not unless you have a really cool boss.

Ink Asylum

06-10-2009, 12:53 PM

Savok

06-10-2009, 12:57 PM

Fuck sake you beat my lesbians.

Ink Asylum

06-10-2009, 01:03 PM

Fuck sake you beat my lesbians.

Sim lesbians are too easy. :) Though I'd like to see what your Harley and Ivy Sims look like. It's cool that you can choose whatever skin tone you want now.

I just finished watching Spaced last night for the second time, my girlfriend's first. It's just such a great set of characters and with all the new personality traits it'll be easy to recreate them.

Savok

06-10-2009, 01:23 PM

Plus Brian could actually make money off his work for once :p

Ink Asylum

06-10-2009, 01:39 PM

That almost seems wrong. :) He'll sell one painting and have the rest cluttering his room.

Trying to picture the house in my mind. I know I won't get a perfect Sims recreation, but I'd like to be close. If I'm right, Tim and Daisy share a bathroom with Brian, and it has two doors, one from their apartment and one from the hall. Brian's apartment door is under the stairs going up to the second floor, off the hallway leading from front to back door. Marsha's apartment is rarely glimpsed, but likely is a den, two bedrooms, a bathroom, and probably a small kitchen that is it's own room. I can't recall seeing her kitchen on the show.

Vigil80

06-10-2009, 01:45 PM

Wow, there is just a ton to do. Just when I think I'm having fun with my sims, I come on here and read about something awesome someone else has done.

One thing that's been disappointing - well, depending on how you look at it - is that a sim's body type gravitates toward whatever it was at creation. I found this out when I created a chubby sim with the thought that he'd triumphantly get fit later on. He can thin down and muscle up for a little while, but eventually he always goes back to chubby. Eating salads, eating only when he's hungry, doesn't seem to ultimately matter. Later, I made a fit sim in CAS, and true to form, he's stayed that way.

I guess for sims that are born and raised in the matrix, so to speak, it's random.

Wraith

06-10-2009, 01:49 PM

The sim I made (Young Adult age) started out just a little heavy, and fairly strong. Every time I gained a fitness level, she appeared to lose weight. I haven't just let it run for a while to see if the weight goes back on, though.

Ink Asylum

06-10-2009, 01:49 PM

Perhaps you're picking their genetics at the start. Someone who is prone to being overweight will have to work out more often to stay that way than someone naturally thin.

Or it's a bug.

Saladin

06-10-2009, 03:02 PM

Had a nasty bug last night.. Was trying to get one of my sims killed in a fire, he had the "unlucky" trait to try and facilitate this which as it turns out isn't so great as unlucky sims can actually cheat death because the grim reaper takes pity on their misfortune. After dying for the 3rd time the reaper turned up, took his soul out but then they both got stuck for some reason, the fiery soul and the reaper just standing there for ever with no interaction options.. The soul/ghost would even wet himself every so often.

I stupidly tried "save and exit" then re-enter to see if that jolted them free, which it didn't and that pretty much killed the plot with them both standing there all the time and the other sims always wanting to go mourn the ghost and getting the mourning moodlet day after day as he was stuck in a state of dying.

So for kicks I got one my other Sims killed in a fire to see if the reaper would come for him, but he stayed stuck, so now that Sim is stuck as a pile of ash since the reaper never came to extract the soul..

In the end I got so frustrated I just deleted the whole town, since while a sim is dying you can't even get to the "Edit Town" section to switch active families.

Oh, and apparently you can't pull the old "remove the pool ladder" trick to kill Sims anymore, they're smart enough to climb out on their own (though I haven't tried walling the pool in yet).

JayK47

06-10-2009, 04:03 PM

MagGnome

06-10-2009, 07:07 PM

I think this will be my next Sims 3 household.

http://jennifersaylor.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/spaced.jpg

Just going to build the house (probably with a money cheat), wind them up and let them go.

Hell yes!!

I just finished watching both seasons of Spaced after someone on here recommended that I do so. To whoever that was - THANK YOU!! That is such an amazing show, and I might never have seen it otherwise. I'm seriously considering picking up the DVD, which is something I never do these days.

Damn, that show was just so great....

Ahem, anyway, reading through this thread is making it hard to not pick up the game. Curses!

SilentScreams

06-10-2009, 07:21 PM

I know I've plugged Spaced on here a couple of times, but I don't remember specifically recommending it to you.
If it was me, you're welcome. :)

The whole Spaced cast is probably very doable on Sims 3 too with all the little personality traits. Making the flat (not bed-sit) might take a little while though. I'd probably have to put one of the Spaced DVDs in again to remember what it's like.
And where would you put Twist and Mike?

MagGnome

06-10-2009, 07:39 PM

Mike lives with Marsha, duh. :p Twist would have to have her own place.

Edit - I'm curious as to why there were only two seasons of the show. I suppose I could look online and find out.

SilentScreams

06-10-2009, 07:46 PM

Mike lives with Marsha, duh. :p Twist would have to have her own place.

Edit - I'm curious as to why there were only two seasons of the show. I suppose I could look online and find out.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that...I should re-watch it myself I guess! :)

They did consider a third season for a while, but with Pegg and Frost in particular going on to make movies, the moment passed and they now say they're "too old" and I think Pegg is worried about ruining it.

The alternative answer would be because I liked it, and all TV shows I like seem to get canceled.
It's the reason I've more or less given up watching TV.

Ink Asylum

06-10-2009, 08:00 PM

Untrue as it might be to the series, I feel obligated to move Twist in with Brian. There will be more drama that way.

MagGnome

06-10-2009, 09:22 PM

I've mostly given up on television as well. I watch pretty much all TV online or on DVD now, except for the CNN, which I'll turn on while cooking dinner.

I suppose at this point it's far too late for a new season of Spaced. It's understandable, yet too bad. That show has such excellent characters.

Saladin

06-10-2009, 10:32 PM

Can you remove what the reaper is stuck on? That sucks if you have to start a town over from scratch. Sims 2 had a lot of console cheats that would let you get around bugs. My wife knows them all;) I had an item get stuck once and a console command freed it up. I imagine Sims 3 has console commands as well.

They were both standing in an open field outside the house. The Reaper had to pull his soul through an outside wall which might have screwed things up.

Definitely console command would have helped - didn't mind deleting the town though, they were my first family moved in and I was trying to kill off the parent to set up a teens home alone setting to see how they'd cope, so I wasn't very far in.

Now the one old woman with 7 toddlers idea sounds even better... Can even give her the Dislikes Children trait for extra fun (and name the 7 kids after Dwarfs)

Savok

06-11-2009, 02:15 AM

Be glad they were smart enough to not make more Spaced. Too many shows have been ruined by dragging it out too far, this has been especially true of English shows.

Vigil80

06-11-2009, 02:35 AM

Be glad they were smart enough to not make more Spaced. Too many shows have been ruined by dragging it out too far, this has been especially true of English shows.
Did I hear someone mention Dr. Who? No? Nevermind then.

*ducks thrown debris*

Savok

06-11-2009, 05:11 AM

There's a reason Doctor Who "died" for awhile. Luckily thanks to the very nature of Doctor Who you can reboot the whole thing without actually rebooting anything at all.

Ink Asylum

06-11-2009, 06:25 AM

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii286/inkasylum/Screenshot-7.jpg

Took a quick shot after moving my Spaced Sims onto a lot. Didn't have time to make the house yet. They're all a bit tired and miserable here because they got moved in in the middle of the night and are all incredibly tired. I made a great Brian, I believe, not so sure about Daisy.

SilentScreams

06-11-2009, 06:29 AM

Very nice, Ink. I love it.
Brian is the best I think, and I like Twist too. Daisy looks fine to me.

Be sure to post screens when you get around to making the flat.

Ink Asylum

06-11-2009, 07:23 AM

Thanks. :) I'll probably try that tonight.

For anyone that wants to set up family pictures like this, the best way to do it is to turn off free will under options. It would also help to do it when their moods are high so they stop thought bubbling their needs. At any moment one or two of them were yawning and thinking about sleep.

Wraith

06-11-2009, 07:39 AM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/thumbnails/Screenshot-2_th.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/Screenshot-2.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/thumbnails/Screenshot-17_th.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/Screenshot-17.jpg)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/thumbnails/Screenshot-45_th.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/Screenshot-45.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/thumbnails/Screenshot-49_th.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/Screenshot-49.jpg)

I got my sim to the top of the law enforcement/spy career path last night. Also started gardening with some apple trees, tomato plants, and a few others.

Ink Asylum

06-11-2009, 07:46 AM

Cute outfit. She looks like an old-timey female baseball player.

Wilkz07

06-11-2009, 07:59 AM

Any tips on making a Sim pure evil?

Ink Asylum

06-11-2009, 08:05 AM

Give them the following trait: Evil

Other traits to make a Sim incredibly unpleasant: Hot-headed, Inappropriate, Insane, Kleptomaniac, Mean-Spirited, Snob

Wraith

06-11-2009, 02:47 PM

I found that I don't really want to jump between different families in the same town because when you switch the active family, your current family's wants and opportunities get cleared out. (Sim inventories, too?) And of course you give up control of the family while you play another one, unlike Sims 2 where your other families were pretty much frozen in time.

There's a "disable storyline mode" in the options, but all reports online suggest this doesn't actually work yet.

For the time being, I'll probably start a new town to play another family.

Ink Asylum

06-11-2009, 03:00 PM

I've turned off aging. Because the entire town ages when you're playing one family, unlike in the Sims 2, I don't like to lose that much control over when characters grow up and die. Even with epic lifespans a lot of the premade Sims in the neighborhood will become elders before long. If I ever feel the need to age up Sims I can go into their homes and force them to with birthday cakes.

In Sims 2 I hardly ever let Sims get old, let alone die. I always earned enough reward points to buy the Potion of Life serum and kept my Sims eternally adults.

Wraith

06-11-2009, 03:06 PM

Well I like having sims age, as it's a bit more realistic. I just want to be controlling them while it happens.

Wraith

06-11-2009, 03:13 PM

One other thing I noticed - can't hire a gardener. Unless the maid can take care of gardening duties...

SilentScreams

06-11-2009, 04:13 PM

One other thing I noticed - can't hire a gardener. Unless the maid can take care of gardening duties...

Probably because they've added gardening as a skill and you are rewarded with cooking ingredients among other things for doing it. Hiring an NPC to do it would take away the challenge.
Also, I could be wrong, but I don't think regular plants die anymore. Or at least none of mine have yet.

As for aging, I've turned it to epic lifespan, but I have left it on. I think Sims getting old and dying is a way to keep things fresh.
My Rock Star Sim has entered the Mick Jagger stage of his life now, and I like the idea of him eventually dying, but leaving a kickass house for his daughter after starting out with very little.

MagGnome

06-11-2009, 04:55 PM

I hated the aging factor in Sims 2. I like that you can turn it off in the third, something that I will definitely be doing when I pick up the game.

Great pics guys! Keep them coming. :)

Ink Asylum

06-11-2009, 04:55 PM

I'm glad they've given people options to tweak the life cycle without cheats to suit their playstyles. I'll probably end up killing off some Sims just to experience Death, the ghosts, and other elements of the game. Still, I would hate to lose my favorite Sims just because I play the game a lot.

Vigil80

06-11-2009, 06:19 PM

One other thing I noticed - can't hire a gardener. Unless the maid can take care of gardening duties...

Gardening as you knew it in the previous games is gone. There's no need to water flowers or trim hedges any more. The only kind of gardening is for vegetables and such in Sims 3.

Goronmon

06-11-2009, 07:22 PM

Boo, I think my game is messed. My Sims stopped responding to commands and when it tried to Save it just sits there and won't let me do anything. It's been going for over 5 minutes.

Eventually ended the process, reloaded, things worked for about 5 seconds, then one Sim turned invisible and walked out the door while the other froze in place.

Goronmon

06-11-2009, 08:15 PM

Awesome tip that saved my ass for anyone who has a Sim freeze/disappear/etc.

Shift+Control+C
RESETSIM Firstname Lastname (at the prompt)

Resets the given Sim to your house good as new.

Wraith

06-11-2009, 09:11 PM

New family:

Free Waterfall (Absent Minded, Green Thumb, Loves the Outdoors, Mooch, Vegetarian)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/thumbnails/Screenshot-61_th.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/Screenshot-61.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/thumbnails/Screenshot-69_th.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/Screenshot-69.jpg)

Ganymede Waterfall (Artistic, Loves the Outdoors, Technophobe, Vegetarian, Virtuoso)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/thumbnails/Screenshot-60_th.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/Screenshot-60.jpg)

Lily Waterfall (Artistic, Slob, Virtuoso)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/thumbnails/Screenshot-71_th.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/Screenshot-71.jpg)

house

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/thumbnails/Screenshot-56_th.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/Screenshot-56.jpg)

BlackPete

06-11-2009, 10:13 PM

Stoke

06-11-2009, 11:34 PM

Seanbaby had a go at Sims 3 with a psycho and a baby (http://www.cracked.com/blog/exploring-the-mysteries-of-the-mind-with-the-sims-3/). Hilarious stuff. :D

Loved the idea of making the sim hydrophobic, then put a swimming pool in front of the fridge!

Oh wow, that was brilliant. This just proves I have not worked nearly hard enough in finding ways to torture my sims.

Wraith

06-12-2009, 12:37 AM

At the near end, a room with beds, couches, books. At the far end, a building with a bathroom and kitchen, with tables outside.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/thumbnails/Screenshot-96_th.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/Screenshot-96.jpg)

The first identical quintuplet into the maze.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/thumbnails/Screenshot-99_th.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/Screenshot-99.jpg)

Almost there...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/thumbnails/Screenshot-103_th.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/Screenshot-103.jpg)

A shot with all six sims (5 quintuplets and their father) in transit.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/thumbnails/Screenshot-106_th.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/wraithakamrak/sims3/Screenshot-106.jpg)

Lint of Death

06-12-2009, 09:07 AM

Oh wow, that was brilliant. This just proves I have not worked nearly hard enough in finding ways to torture my sims.

Apparently Wraith has, though, that magnificent bastard.

Ink Asylum

06-12-2009, 09:17 AM

How much Sim time does it take to get from one side of the maze to the other? Does the pathfinding have trouble going through that?

Wraith

06-12-2009, 09:35 AM

Apparently Wraith has, though, that magnificent bastard.After reading Seanbaby's experiment, I had to throw together something a little bit devious.How much Sim time does it take to get from one side of the maze to the other? Does the pathfinding have trouble going through that?I didn't time it exactly, but I think it was like 4 hours? (I'd hate to see how long it would take on a larger lot.)

Pathfinding didn't seem to be an issue. There's only one entrance, one exit, no alternate paths. I had two sims meet and they were able to pass each other (though it was at a corner, I think they can pass each other on a straightaway).

The first guy in was going on his own initiative (to view a painting) and stopped halfway through, forgetting/giving up on it. I told him to go prepare a meal and he kept on going. (Though I had him stop and view the gnome in the middle, sitting under the yard light.)

I think these kids are going to be late for school a lot. Though they really won't get very far if they try to have breakfast after waking up.

amberella

06-12-2009, 03:16 PM

I've been playing Sims 3 non-stop since its launch date, so a load of sarcastic thanks to torrefaction for linking me this thread and getting me to actually re-register (why does my PiRi login not work? I digress...) to throw in my two cents.

Yes, this is the best Sims ever, though if you had all the expansion packs for Sims 2 you will be sorrily disappointed that they pulled most of that extra content (pets, weather, dance clubs) but as EA is wont to do lately, it seems like they are just pitching us the engine at this point and will add all the other stuff later (much to the chagrin of people on the official forum). And that engine is gorgeous. The graphics (on a nice system) are beautiful, and the light and shadows finally make the world have real depth.

The Create a Sim system by which you make + add people to your game has been MUCH improved and better integrated. They really made it possible to create almost any look, and the randomly generated sims the computer throws together almost always look decent enough from the get go (this was not the case in previous versions). Here's a sim I made that's gotten some decent download action off the Exchange. You can see how beautiful the skin & stuff is:

http://llnw.thesims3.com/sims3_asset/sims3_asset/thumb/000/001/259/32/headshot_large.jpg (http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=125932)

The moodlet system is basically like buff management (for you MMO people). In reference to a previous post, they did indeed remove the environment "need bar," and you get no negative mood for being in an ugly room, but if you've put up expensive stuff you can get a positive moodlet that is aywhere from +10 mood for reasonably decorated to +40 for beautifully decorated. If you have the radio on, they get a nice Beautiful Music moodlet. If you eat leftovers from your cheap fridge, you get a -10 "Tastes Like Fridge" moodlet. It is pretty fun to see all the ways in which the sims react to their environment and what effects them.

The traits system also replaced several things (too many things, IMO, like the memory system). If your sim kisses another sim with the Great Kisser trait, for example, you'll get a +15 Great Kiss moodlet for a few hours. If your sim has the Evil trait and they see someone else get electrocuted, they'll get a positive moodlet for enjoying the suffering of others. Built in schadenfreude? Win!

While the "open neighborhood" is beautiful and fun to explore, they chose to make some of what would have been Community Lots in Sims 2 (like the grocery store or spa) empty storefronts where you enter and then just get a menu of what you'd like to do inside. This is meh, since you can still go in to the more interesting lots like the library. Completely lacking is the ability to go out on a date to a community lot and go somewhere like a dance club. This sucks, but is clear expansion pack territory.

There's plenty more stuff I could mention, but I'm sure this is a wall o text as it is, so I'll leave it at that. I'm happy to field questions if anybody's curious about anything.

Ink Asylum

06-12-2009, 03:25 PM

amberella

06-12-2009, 03:31 PM

Something about mood and moodlets people might not have noticed. If your mood bar is filled up past the bottleneck into the bubble above you will constantly have lifetime achievement points ticking upwards for you to eventually spend on rewards.

This is true, though it seems like the rewards pretty much suck. Besides the big daddy reward being a teleportation pad that is rather useless in such small towns, once one sim has something like a food replicator it's good to go for all the generations thereafter. This means that after a few gens, you end up with sims with ALL the lower level rewards (like steel bladder, fast learner, etc) because they never need to save up for the higher level ones and they lose that "ooh let's work towards that goal" kind of feeling.

Ink Asylum

06-12-2009, 04:32 PM

I'm sure expansions will add plenty of new rewards to work towards.

amberella

06-12-2009, 04:56 PM

Yes, much like Spore, the game shipped with only half a serving of fun. The rest of the fun will be added at a later time, for the low low price of more than you already paid.

Lint of Death

06-12-2009, 05:51 PM

Yes, much like Spore, the game shipped with only half a serving of fun. The rest of the fun will be added at a later time, for the low low price of more than you already paid.

Sounds like a pretty large half-serving though; I want this game. But I also want Demigod and probably can't buy either of them :(

torrefaction

06-12-2009, 06:46 PM

lulz. Leave it to amberella to write a dissertation on Sims 3 as one of her first posts.

One of the many reasons she's awesome and hilarious at the same time.

Vigil80

06-13-2009, 12:04 AM

It's true, they are primed and ready for the expansions. But, I can't in good conscience say I wouldn't follow a similar model if I were Mr. EA. They've got a good thing going.

That said, the reviews aren't lying when they say that it's the same sims feeling, but with a lot of work under the hood. I'm one of those folks who had many of the expansions and stuff packs for Sims 2, and uninstalled them all before I even had my hands on Sims 3. I haven't regretted it, and I couldn't go back.

Sure, there's a sense of "here we go again," but of the mere handful of titles that are similar to the Sims, none of them come anywhere close to doing it well. I'll give them my cash for being the only game in town, and still making a fun game.

Savok

06-13-2009, 12:12 AM

Thing is, same can said of other titles with multiple expansions, the sequels almost always scale back, hardly unique to Sims.

JayK47

06-13-2009, 12:12 AM

Thanks for Rebecca Ansley .

Farsight

06-13-2009, 12:37 AM

The important thing about this Sims game is that the core is MUCH more ready to handle those expansions. A lot of the Sims2 expansion content felt like the spackle and duct tape that it was. What good is being able to visit 1000 different places if it takes 5 minutes to load each one, and time stops while you're there?

Between the open world, the engine improvements and the refinements to the gameplay, I expect expansion content to be significantly more varied and fun. And if it is, I'll keep paying for it. I'd much rather pay for content in chunks than have to wait another 5 years for it, or not get it at all.

Rune_74

06-13-2009, 01:15 PM

Anyone run into some sims at a park in your game that had internet style name like the hackzorz....seemed weird for maxis to name their guys like that....do other peoples sims show up when you play?

Stoke

06-13-2009, 04:17 PM

Anyone run into some sims at a park in your game that had internet style name like the hackzorz....seemed weird for maxis to name their guys like that....do other peoples sims show up when you play?

I've run into a couple guys like, I think one was named w0lfbl1tzer. I'm pretty sure it can grab some sims from the web or Maxis is just screwing with us.

SilentScreams

06-13-2009, 06:00 PM

Anyone run into some sims at a park in your game that had internet style name like the hackzorz....seemed weird for maxis to name their guys like that....do other peoples sims show up when you play?

I had a Cycl0n3 Sw0rd or some wierd combination of numbers and letters roughly equivalent.
I'm pretty sure it's just a bit of Maxis humor.

Ink Asylum

06-13-2009, 06:54 PM

Cycl0n3 Sw0rd works in the Journalism career track. He's your boss. Apparently him and others with similar names are their idea of internet bloggers and journalists.

JayK47

06-14-2009, 10:03 AM

Ink Asylum

06-14-2009, 04:10 PM

Before downloaded stuff will show up in game you have to open the launcher, go into the "Downloads" tab and tell the game to activate the new content.

Wraith

06-14-2009, 09:10 PM

So I have downloaded and installed amberella's sim Rebecca Ansley. Where is she in game? I have a custom sim in the premade sims under the create a sim, but her hair is different. Does Rebecca Ansley use custom hair that needs to be downloaded or purchased?When you look at the Exchange page for the character, it says "Contains Premium Items," and clicking reveals which item(s) were used.

It probably replaced the Premium hair with a default in your game.

Vigil80

06-14-2009, 11:38 PM

I've run into Cycl0n3 Sw0rd too. I think it's cute. As long as they stick to these relatively tame parodies. The first time I see someone named DEES NUTTZ 95* I'm throwing him in a walled off room with nothing but a cheap grill and a swimming pool, then taking bets with myself on how he finally dies.

Wraith

06-15-2009, 12:13 PM

the bugaler (http://www.thesims3.com/contentDetail.html?contentId=10941)

Wraith

06-15-2009, 12:45 PM

Looks like there is a way to disable story progression:Hi All – I’ve seen many conversations popping up about our game feature called Story Progression and the fact that the option to turn it off doesn’t work. We’ve been investigating this and have found that the toggle is not doing what it was intended to do. We are working to address this asap but in the meantime there is a workaround for PCs.

For PC:

Find your game executable. It should be here: C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Game\Bin
Create a shortcut on your desktop to the TS3.exe.
Right-Click on the shortcut and choose “Properties”
In the top line “Target:” go to the end of the line and add this tag –disablestoryprogression
** You Simmers have been awesome and pointed out you need to make sure there is a space BEFORE the dash in your target line. Thanks guys!
From this point on you will need to run your game from this shortcut and NOT through your launcher.

JayK47

06-15-2009, 05:01 PM

When you look at the Exchange page for the character, it says "Contains Premium Items," and clicking reveals which item(s) were used.

It probably replaced the Premium hair with a default in your game.

That is it. It contained the high ponytail which I now have. Thanks.

MagGnome

06-15-2009, 05:18 PM

the bugaler (http://www.thesims3.com/contentDetail.html?contentId=10941)

Yikes, I watched about half of that video before I shut it off and shuddered in disgust.

Lint of Death

06-15-2009, 05:32 PM

Yikes, I watched about half of that video before I shut it off and shuddered in disgust.

That's longer than I lasted.

MagGnome

06-15-2009, 05:47 PM

That's longer than I lasted.

I'm a glutton for punishment.

SilentScreams

06-15-2009, 05:58 PM

I watched the whole thing just to laugh at the bad spelling. I really hope whoever put this together is either foreign or a very young child.
Whatever that "music" was, it was awful. I muted it and the experience as a whole picked up a little.

Wraith

06-15-2009, 06:43 PM

Ah, I watched it without audio, just amazed at the speeling prolbems.

finaly no bergalers

its nothing how long u stain

I'm guessing that music's from the Sims 3 radio stations?

SilentScreams

06-15-2009, 06:44 PM

It may be from the radio stations. That would make sense.
I put a load of Megadeth in my custom music folder and all my created sims have custom as their preference, so I rarely hear any of the others.

Matthias

06-17-2009, 12:24 AM

so I caved and bought it at Best Buy today. This game is awesome! I'm actually setting real goals and living through them instead of cheating a bunch of money and building awesome houses. I haven't even messed with house design yet.

Does anyone know of a decent guide/FAQ/wiki that's already up? I'd like information on stuff like career paths and that sort of thing. I'm interested in a computer-related path, but all I've heard is that you "can make money for being a hacker" and the closest actual "career" I've seen is science.

Harv

06-17-2009, 11:32 AM

I setup my two Sims and modeled them after my wife and myself.

I must not have been paying attention to how old I made myself because I ended up going into the elderly age pretty quickly after I started the game. Probably only 20 days in and I was there. At that point I was loathe to actually turn off the aging because I wanted to have a kid. So the old coot proceeded to get his young wife pregnant and wonder of wonders two boys popped out.

Now, I still had them both working so I kept them going to their jobs and hired the baby sitter a lot. The game doesn't seem to like that because after they got to young adult age it proceeded to tell me that due to the two boys hard upbringing I would not be allowed to choose their next trait. One of them ended up with the "absent minded" trait and the other got the "hates art" trait. I thought that was amusing.

The next batch of kids just came out and I've got twin girls. So, four kids and I made one of the girls with the insane trait so we'll see how that goes. I'll try cuddling more and see if they grow up a bit more well adjusted. At this point the sim version of me is bumping up against death, but I'm again loathe to turn off aging because then my kids won't grow up (right?).

I'm considering setting up a loner sim with the evil and insane traits and putting him on the criminal career track.

The only thing is if you start another sim does the story progression thing run your other sim family at the same time? I'd rather not have that happen.

Wraith

06-17-2009, 11:36 AM

The only thing is if you start another sim does the story progression thing run your other sim family at the same time? I'd rather not have that happen.There's a stop story progression option. While the setting under Options doesn't work at all, there's another way to do it by creating a shortcut that adds a flag that turns off story progression. Details in my earlier post (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showpost.php?p=288964&postcount=141).

Stoke

06-17-2009, 11:38 AM

Vigil80

06-17-2009, 12:39 PM

At this point the sim version of me is bumping up against death, but I'm again loathe to turn off aging because then my kids won't grow up (right?).
You can send any sim to the next stage of their life at any time with the birthday cake item, whether aging is turned on or not.
The only thing is if you start another sim does the story progression thing run your other sim family at the same time? I'd rather not have that happen.
Yes, if you change households, the game will run all other sims in town. As an alternative, you could start a new town with the other sim you wanted to play with, and keep both saves separate. Each household you wanted to play would have their own version of town.

Ink Asylum

06-17-2009, 12:41 PM

What is the story progression, anyway? Is it stuff that happens to the premade families in the town?

Wraith

06-17-2009, 12:41 PM

Does one have to log into have access to the Riverview town option? All I have is Sunset Valley, and my registration issue still hasn't been resolved. (I'm thinking I'll have to make a brand new account under a different e-mail address, unless Support comes up with a solution for me.)

Vigil80

06-17-2009, 01:09 PM

I think you do have to log in to get Riverview, but I'm not totally sure.
What is the story progression, anyway? Is it stuff that happens to the premade families in the town?
Basically it's the game "playing" the sims that you aren't controlling. They'll get jobs, lose jobs, make friends, get married, have children, etcetera. It's not perfect, as I've seen reports of babies popping up at the homes of single men, but it does seem to keep the town from stagnating.

Savok

06-17-2009, 01:34 PM

You can grow your kids easily enough with the birthday cake.

After some practice I made my Harley and Ivy. Harley for some reason demanded to take up painting, which she's been doing inbetween hitting things randomly with a hammer (which she started doing all by herself too), at least the bath self cleans now.

Ivy's garden is a ton of work for almost no payoff, but at least her gardening skill is up to 7 now, need to find some better stuff to grow.

Harv

06-17-2009, 01:40 PM

Savok

06-17-2009, 01:57 PM

Why I turned aging off.

If you must age, at least stick it on epic, some of the life stages on normal speed you haven't got time to empty your bladder.

Harv

06-17-2009, 01:59 PM

Why I turned aging off.

If you must age, at least stick it on epic, some of the life stages on normal speed you haven't got time to empty your bladder.

Yeah, the default setting is ridiculous.

There must be a cheat code to de-age your sim.

Ink Asylum

06-17-2009, 03:45 PM

After some practice I made my Harley and Ivy. Harley for some reason demanded to take up painting, which she's been doing inbetween hitting things randomly with a hammer (which she started doing all by herself too), at least the bath self cleans now.

Pics or it didn't happen! Preferably in undies.

Panthera

06-18-2009, 08:55 AM

http://aliceandkev.wordpress.com/2009/06/09/alice-and-kev/

So sad, yet strangely gripping!

Savok

06-18-2009, 10:20 AM

Pics or it didn't happen! Preferably in undies.

http://www.savok.pcis-studios.com/Harley1.jpghttp://www.savok.pcis-studios.com/Harley2.jpg

In other news Harley's paintings are getting creepier, might be time to buy her a writing desk instead.

http://www.savok.pcis-studios.com/Harley3.jpg

And for those curious, Ms Isley (http://www.savok.pcis-studios.com/Ivy1.jpg).

Wraith

06-18-2009, 10:28 AM

Got my registration problem sorted. Apparently the "Persona" I selected from the dropdown, same one I used for Spore, was not available for Sims 3. Thing is it didn't tell me that was the problem. It said that my account had already registered (and I hadn't). Changed the persona to something else and then it went through.

So really it was inaccurate error text in the registration process that was the real problem.

Harv

06-19-2009, 09:54 AM

So what exactly triggers the "bad upbringing" with the kids? I thought I did everything right with the second batch, but apparently not as they had the same issues. One is insane now. I'm a terrible Sim parent. Were the beatings too much?

I switched to my Evil Genius Sim for a while and I must admit that after having four to six Sims having only one Sim to run is a bit boring. Lots of time waiting for him to sleep with nothing to do. Plus he hasn't been able to do anything really evil yet (not that I expect they allow you to do all that much).

Ink Asylum

06-19-2009, 09:55 AM

Maybe referring to your kids as a "batch" has something to do with it.

Harv

06-19-2009, 10:12 AM

Maybe referring to your kids as a "batch" has something to do with it.

Next thing you'll tell me is that referring to the wife as a "baby factory" is bad too. Sheesh.

Savok

06-20-2009, 01:32 PM

Matthias

06-20-2009, 05:00 PM

Well Harley and Ivy are getting it on finally, even to the point Harley proposed. Harley also made the leap from Fertilizer Specialist to Resident Doctor, which says a lot about the healthcare system. A few things I've picked up on.

First thing you do with any new Sim is send them off for charisma training, once it hits lvl 1 it'll start to naturally grow in conversations.

(Hot lesbian) Sex is the ultimate in fun, a morning romp before work is a damn good idea.

Writing books takes a really long fucking time.

Never call a repairman, do it yourself because the skill boost from repairs is huge.

You can't hit burglars with giant mallets, this is a terrible oversight.

Ooh nice catch with the charisma training; I think it was like that in Sims 1, but I had completely forgotten about it.

And the only time I've called a repairman is when I've had multiple things break at once- unless I missed something, the repairman will fix everything on your property and only charge $50 total. Not a bad deal when you're running late for work.

JayK47

06-21-2009, 11:56 AM

So my game crashed on me last night and I lost about 6 hours of gameplay. I know, I should save more often. I wish the game had an autosave. My game only seems to crash during birthday parties. I guess I won't be doing those any more. I'm pretty pissed right now. Wondering if I should take a break or waste another day of gaming to get back to where I was before the crash. Damn.

Savok

06-21-2009, 12:39 PM

The game needs an autosave, I haven't lost anything yet but considering it's designed to suck you in for 6 hours without you knowing, well, it fucking needs one.

Also needs more animations. I understand having to close whatever book they're reading to answer the mobile (or indeed stop whatever they're up to at the time) but must they also have to get off the chair and move 5ft away from it? It's silly and time consuming.

In Harley and Ivy news, I got them both to grind out 20 friends for the non-decaying friendships buff, that was rather annoying. They got themselves gay married then, so now they get a mood buff most times they can see each other, though I did have to change Ivy's name back to normal afterwards. Harley also finally finished her seemingly fucking epic romance novel, whole thing sent her writing skill through the roof at any rate.

Harley has also taken up guitar, because music is in her blood (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp6wLXj4-5A).

Harv

06-21-2009, 09:08 PM

Never call a repairman, do it yourself because the skill boost from repairs is huge.

One thing, if your Sim gets zapped trying to repair an electronic device chances are you should not try again. My Sim that I picked up from around the neighborhood (Gobias, an obvious Arrested Development bit considering he was bald with glasses and had the Never Nude trait) had bad luck and got himself electrocuted to death. He then proceeded to come back as an electrified ghost and make out with his grieving wife to the chagrin of her new husband.

Now she married the fireman that came to put out a blaze that occurred on the premises (from one of Gobias' earlier attempts to fix something) and unfortunately the jerk only has three traits not the usual five when you're an adult. I only noticed this after she married him. Now I'm considering divorcing, but that's usually a bad time for a while.

rein

06-21-2009, 10:09 PM

http://aliceandkev.wordpress.com/2009/06/09/alice-and-kev/

So sad, yet strangely gripping!

My daughter and I sat here and read the entire blog. That is a very compelling story. I've never felt so much emotion for a video game character in my life. Especially one that I am not playing.

Farsight

06-22-2009, 03:46 AM

Now she married the fireman that came to put out a blaze that occurred on the premises (from one of Gobias' earlier attempts to fix something) and unfortunately the jerk only has three traits not the usual five when you're an adult.

Firemen have hidden traits, including two that can be passed on to their children: Pyromaniac and Fireproof.

Harv

06-22-2009, 08:27 AM

Firemen have hidden traits, including two that can be passed on to their children: Pyromaniac and Fireproof.

Ah! I remembered reading something about those traits being passed on, but didn't realize they were hidden.

Savok

06-26-2009, 11:33 AM

Harley and Ivy are still going strong, with Harley writing children's books and Ivy now a master painter, the money is rolling in, going to make them a proper house soon.

Ivy's art is interesting though... I think this is what happens when you hang around Harley too long.

http://www.savok.pcis-studios.com/art.jpg

Lint of Death

06-26-2009, 09:22 PM

I now own this game but won't be able to play for a few days yet. Accursed vacations! :p

Wraith

06-26-2009, 09:43 PM

Have to say, I like the artwork. None of my sims have gotten quite that far with their painting skills.

Matthias

06-26-2009, 10:00 PM

I have to say I really don't like that you have to learn gardening for the science track... especially that it's the primary skill. My first sim is a Sim-me, and while I think science is my best career track, gardening is right down there with fishing as skills the real life "me" is interested in. Of course now I have to learn that as well I was picturing logic and tinkering being much more important to science, then maybe the other skills being very secondary.

Lint of Death

06-26-2009, 10:37 PM

I just read through what's up so far on that Alice and Kev serial. Fascinating stuff! I am eager to play.

rein

06-26-2009, 11:01 PM

I just read through what's up so far on that Alice and Kev serial. Fascinating stuff! I am eager to play.I have read it every day since discovering the link in this thread. Kev is one crazy bastard.

Matthias

06-27-2009, 12:34 AM

Wraith

06-28-2009, 02:04 PM

Patch was released. Looks like it was a few days ago, but hadn't seen anyone mention it.Latest Update for: 1.2.7
06/25/09

Complete list of changes:

Addresses some issues with Speed 2 and 3 moving too slowly. Some machines will have better results when using Speed 2 and 3 now.
Fix to story progression on/off selection toggle.
Fix for a possible crash with audio code.
Fix for babysitter routing off lots with babies.
Addresses some issues with Vsync and refresh rate problems.
Addresses some issues with DVD authentication errors and drive compatibility on startup.
This update deals with some issues on Mac systems that can crash the game while connecting to AFP servers.
Fix for a freeze that can occur when Sims attempt to clean out bad food from the fridge.
http://www.thesims3.com/game/patches/-1206416818

Lint of Death

06-28-2009, 10:23 PM

Yeah I feel pretty uncreative after reading that blog... I don't do a lot besides work, train skills, chill with my now-fiancee, and balance my needs bars. The shower was the best purchase I've made so far, for how much it cuts down my morning prep.

If it makes you feel better, most of what goes on in that blog is a natural development of the characters and the lot they were placed on rather than direct storywriting. It's emergent plot, not much creative energy necessary except when it comes to finding a compelling way to tell it to Internet readers.

13+hours later edit: installing! I'm honestly excited :o

Lint of Death

06-30-2009, 06:23 PM

Vigil80

07-28-2009, 07:26 PM

Glitch question:
When I have the game loaded into my DVD drive and I turn on my computer, my PC tries to boot from it. Since this obviously wouldn't work, it just stays stuck on that screen until I eject the disc. Something similar seems to happen if I pop it back in before the Vista loading screen has shifted to the login screen. Anybody else have a similar issue?

(Vista 64-bit, by the way)

I believe this is simply because your machine is set to try to boot from CD, a setting you can change in the BIOS. I suspect it would happen with most any disk you used.

In other news, an extensive patch - judging by the fix list - was released today. Here's the changelog for patch 1.3.

Complete list of changes:

* After getting promoted in a job with a night shift the Sim will only receive the day off if their next shift starts within 8 hours.
* Exporting and Sharing a Level 10 Gardener Sim properly maintains their special abilities.
* Fixes to Story Progression. Babies will no longer be born to single parents. Player created or controlled households are now "protected" and will no longer be removed through "Story Progression." Warning: Story Progression will no longer remove previously player controlled Sims. Users who take control of too many Sims in the same game may experience poor performance as the neighborhood can become over populated.
* Switching between multiple saved outfits of the same type no longer has the potential to wipe out saved outfits.
* Waterlillies now have a smoother level of detail transition when zooming the camera.
* Camera memory hotkeys now properly remember floor level.
* Certain situations will now properly stop socialization and disallow asking other Sims to join.
* Bait picker for fishing has been improved.
* Sims no longer automatically exit the bathtub before receiving the “Bathe until Tranquil” moodlet.
* Sims can no longer interview non-playable ghosts.
* Addressed an issue where distant audio could occasionally be heard while the player is focused on a Sim is inside their own home.
* Changing jobs no longer fulfills the "Meet All Co-workers" Wish.
* Playable ghost teens and children are now properly assigned to a school.
* Custom paintings can now be properly placed above objects that are placed up against a wall and leave enough wall space.
* The "Call Over" Interaction is now available on seated Sims.
* Reduced the urge for neat Sims to put away fire pits.
* Neighbors will no longer gather to watch a burglar that hasn't yet stolen anything.
* The "Maywood Glen" community lot is now properly classified as a park.
* "Omni-Plant" opportunity has a higher chance of appearing.
* Painting valued painting wishes are easier to fulfill.
* Number of Books Read in the writing skill journal now counts number of books finished instead of the number of books started.
* Sims will no longer attempt to use laptops when they are ungreeted visitors.
* "Befriend All Co-workers" wish is no longer fulfilled by switching to a job with no coworkers.
* Fixed a problem where the incorrect clothing was displayed on a Sim in the game launcher icon.
* Harvestables on harvest ready plants will not get occasionally lost during import/export.
* Opportunity to improve athletic skill will no longer appear when athletic skill is full.
* "Play a Game with Sim" wish now fulfills from "Playing Foosball."
* Sims will now get the "Witnessed Divorce" moodlet from watching other married Sims break up.
* Stocked ponds are properly preserved when shared.
* Sims will no longer occasionally fail to walk a path involving four or more flights of stairs.
* A player is now able to complete the "Upgrade Audio Lite by LoFi" Wish.
* Prevented a game freeze that occurred when placing a lot while in "Cameraman Mode."
* Sims no longer have the rare chance of getting permanently stuck while socializing.
* Non-player Sim autonomy now runs more quickly for Sims on screen and nearby (neighbors won't spend time standing in their front yards or not moving on community lots)
* Fixed a rare case in which the skewer thumbnail of an NPC could disappear during a private wedding.
* "Become Enemies with Child" wish no longer appears.
* "Quit Job" wish will now fulfill if Sim gets a new job and is forced to quit the old one.
* Stairs are no longer allowed to be deleted while in use.
* Prevented a case where toddlers were allowed to escape a lot and wander freely.
* Fixed a rare case where a toddler's teddy bear could get permanently stuck in their inventory.
* "Clean High Chair" wish properly fulfills.
* "SimLife Goggles" are no longer duplicated after moving.
* The "Raid Criminals" interaction can now be properly resumed after saving and loading while it is in progress.
* Sims will no longer get a wish to ask their husband to be their boyfriend.
* Fix for a possible crash when disconnecting headphones during gameplay.
* Relationships are properly preserved when merging a newly created household into an existing household.
* "Play with Toy" wish properly fulfills when a child Sim plays with the teddy bear.
* Fixed an error that occurred when deleting an outfit preset that a Sim was wearing.
* Lot pricing was corrected in edit town. The price of trees and bushes is now properly accounted for. Various community lot objects no longer provide negative value to a lot.
* "Woohoo" interaction now counts as a romantic interaction.
* Wish to "See Child Become a Genius" now auto cancels once it is no longer possible to fulfill.
* Sheet music can no longer be chosen from the bookshelf interactions. This prevents a situation in which Sims could no longer learn particular songs.
* Fixes a rare case where a revived ghost could become stuck in the science lab if a household was split.
* "Eat Food at Park" wish now fulfills properly.
* Parents will no longer wish to "See Sim Get Married" for their already married children.
* Kleptomaniac Sims can no longer return items currently being used by other Sims.
* Fixes a rare case in which a blank thumbnail could appear in the family inventory after a Sim had been kicked out.
* Fixes a rare case in which a blank thumbnail could appear in the family inventory after a Kleptomaniac Sim swiped something.
* ATI video driver's "Adaptive Aantialiasing" option conflicts with ingame "Edge Smoothing." The combination causes visual corruption. A note has been added to the readme encouraging players not to enable these two features at the same time.
* Medium-sized, high quality in-game videos can now be successfully uploaded via the launcher.
* Fixed a case where "Breakup with Sim" wasn't correctly fulfilling.
* Fix for a case where rapidly clicking on Sim traits could crash the game.
* Toddler's body no longer deforms when "Watching TV" after "Learning to Talk."
* Sims can now use "Charming Introduction" on Sims invited over to a home lot.
* Gardening skill gain no longer continues if gardening channel viewing is interrupted.
* Child Sims no longer deform after "Watching a Concert."
* Eating specific prepared meals no longer has an impact on an unborn baby's gender.
* Fixed a hang that could occur when moving away from a house with harvestable plants growing on it.
* Merge household bed and fridge requirements are no longer enforced on lots that are being abandoned.
* Fixed a problem, where through specific timing, objects could become unusable if the game is saved while they are being placed in a Sim's inventory.
* The Sims 3 is now properly categorized as a game in the Windows Vista Games Explorer.
* A selected object in buy or build mode now stays attached to the cursor as the player scrolls the camera with the direction keys.
* Fences no longer occlude sound.
* Terrain enclosed by walls and a roof is now properly lit.
* Puddles will properly conform to uneven terrain.
* Prevented problematic routing behavior that occurs when replacing an object mid route.
* Corrected various grammar and spelling mistakes.
* Deleted screenshots no longer remain listed in the launcher.
* "Dance Together" and "Tutor Sim in Skill…" no longer appear on Sims at inappropriate times.
* "Non-hydrophobic" Sims will no longer panic while swimming.
* The Magic Gnome text notification now displays the proper icon.
* Exposed floor tile edges have changed in color.
* Fixed a problem where counters would occasionally turn black while selecting certain objects in build mode.
* Fixed a rare instance where at map level the bulldozer tool could leave a blue hole in the ground.
* The option to "Adjust Tree Detail" now properly displays a "Restart Required" message.
* "Spying on the Cuisine" opportunity can now be fulfilled by selecting to "Eat Outside" at the Bistro.
* Refreshing doors no longer causes them to lose their front door status.
* A child that ages to a teen will no longer receive the wish to "Talk about New Job."
* "View" interaction will not be duplicated when placing objects on the "Nearly Perfect Pedestal."
* Up arrow can now be used when placing a house from the library.
* A faint line is no longer visible on the heads of babies.
* Fish are no longer duplicated in the fridge when moving homes.
* All dfc-gorilla (update installer) messages will now appear properly translated.
* Fix for a rare case in which a Sim could be teleported to an invalid location if the game was reloaded while they were "Changing Outfit."
* Fixed a problem where bulldozed lots were not being properly lit at map level.
* Sims who run into obstacles placed directly in front of them, no longer get stuck.
* Babies and Toddlers will no longer be left alone if the household is split up or merged through edit town, a babysitter will be called.
* Fixed a rare case in which a Sim remains on the wrong lot after moving.
* Guitar Skill level 10 text notification no longer mentions purchasing new songs from the bookstore.
* Fixed a rare case where the social worker's vehicle could be left behind on a lot.
* Korean GRB rating is now available to use in Windows Parental Controls.
* The Sims 3 now supports more than 2000 concurrent save games.
* Custom Music will no longer be assigned as a favorite randomly.
* Fixed a rare case where "Accept" would be unavailable in Create-A-Sim after undoing while accepting a Sim from "Play with Genetics."
* Children Sims will no longer attempt to knock over blocks at the same time.
* Fixed child animation when putting away the birthday cake.
* Fish no longer appear on dry ground of lots that have been coverted to residential lots .
* Bulldozing a lot with collectable spawners no longer destroys the spawners.
* A family with only a toddler is no longer allowed to be saved to the library.
* Placing small objects on the front slot of the dresser will no longer block the dresser from being used.
* Sims no longer fail to view decorative objects placed on a fireplace mantle.
* Sims now build relationship through the "Tutor" interaction.
* Fixed a minor error that occurred while loading a game where the dresser was in use.
* Fix for misaligned water effects on a particular sink.
* "Likes Work" moodlet is now properly removed if "Workaholic" trait is changed or removed.
* Purchasing "SimLife Goggles" now fulfills the "Buy Video Game" wish.
* Canceling the installation of a queue of downloaded items now works properly.
* "Collection Helper" is properly displayed when picked up in buy mode.
* Fixes some cases of objects being improperly assigned type in the launcher.
* The player can no longer delete a tombstone that is being used by a ghost.
* Fixed a rare routing failure that could happen when attempting to route to an enclosed object on an inactive floor.
* Televisions no longer play video after they are burned or broken.
* Under certain circumstances, Sims will now choose smarter lot entry locations.
* "Amateur Olympics" Opportunity notification now mentions event times.
* Sims can no longer "Try for Baby" with the Grim Reaper.
* Fixed a rare case where a Sim could start painting but the canvas was not visible.
* Fixed a rare case where the police cruiser could be left in front of the police station.
* "Sabotage" interaction is now available under more conditions.
* Deeds will now stack in the inventory and a "Collect All" interaction can be used on them.
* The Riverview download now displays the proper size for the entire duration of the download.
* Fix for children playing improper animations when trying to cook.
* Fixed an error that occurred when removing the moodlet manager from the inventory of a Sim that was in the process of using the moodlet manager.
* "Upgrade Object" wish correctly filters out gates.
* Various premade Sims downloaded from the exchange are now sorting into the correct age catagory.
* Buildings will keep the appropriate lights when zooming in and out at nighttime.
* Fixed a very slow memory leak triggered by the "Fertilize" interaction.
* Adding support for the NVIDIA Ion.
* Roofing is now visible on low end Intel video cards.
* Replaced a duplicate hat style for elder females.
* Game speed no longer affects the playback of audio stings.
* NPC's automobiles are no longer purged from inventory.
* Added support for the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250.
* Mac Only: Custom Content, Screenshots or video added to Documents/User/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/… while the game is running will now show up in the Launcher.
* Mac Only: The Mac version of The Sims 3 now supports Shader Model 3.0 graphics features. (excluding the NVIDIA GeForce 7300GT and 7600GT cards)
* Mac Only: The high lighting quality Sim shader has been enabled in Create-A-Sim.
* Mac Only: Added a warning message upon attempting to delete a downloaded world (Riverview) that associated save files will be lost.
* Mac Only: Enabled depth texture support (shadows) on all supported video cards.
* Mac Only: The user interface is no longer improperly displayed in ingame reflections.

OldeWolf

07-29-2009, 10:14 AM

*Wonders why people can't just do the same thing in their own lives as they make their Sims do on game.*

To me, Sim has the same era and society as modern America ... and we play that instead of living it out? *scratches head*

But I digress. Carry on folks.

Savok

07-29-2009, 10:36 AM

Sadly some of us can't have lesbian sex in real life.

Goronmon

07-29-2009, 11:32 AM

Sadly some of us can't have lesbian sex in real life.This...plus I'm pretty sure it takes you longer than a few hours to become an astronaut.

Lint of Death

07-29-2009, 11:34 AM

*Wonders why people can't just do the same thing in their own lives as they make their Sims do on game.*

* Sims can no longer "Try for Baby" with the Grim Reaper.

Well, now the game and my life offer the same opportunities.

Vigil80

08-11-2009, 11:42 PM

Patch 1.4 is out.

Complete list of changes:

* PC Only: Addressed an issue where a user was unable to uninstall The Sims™ 3 if the 1.3 update was interrupted.
* Mac Only: Fixed a problem that prevented players from installing custom content after installing the 1.3 update.
* After getting promoted in a job with a night shift the Sim will only receive the day off if their next shift starts within 8 hours.
* Exporting and Sharing a Level 10 Gardener Sim properly maintains their special abilities.
* Fixes to Story Progression. Babies will no longer be born to single parents. Player created or controlled households are now "protected" and will no longer be removed through "Story Progression." Warning: Story Progression will no longer remove previously player controlled Sims. Users who take control of too many Sims in the same game may experience poor performance as the neighborhood can become over populated.
* Switching between multiple saved outfits of the same type no longer has the potential to wipe out saved outfits.
* Waterlillies now have a smoother level of detail transition when zooming the camera.
* Camera memory hotkeys now properly remember floor level.
* Certain situations will now properly stop socialization and disallow asking other Sims to join.
* Bait picker for fishing has been improved.
* Sims no longer automatically exit the bathtub before receiving the “Bathe until Tranquil” moodlet.
* Sims can no longer interview non-playable ghosts.
* Addressed an issue where distant audio could occasionally be heard while the player is focused on a Sim is inside their own home.
* Changing jobs no longer fulfills the "Meet All Co-workers" Wish.
* Playable ghost teens and children are now properly assigned to a school.
* Custom paintings can now be properly placed above objects that are placed up against a wall and leave enough wall space.
* The "Call Over" Interaction is now available on seated Sims.
* Reduced the urge for neat Sims to put away fire pits.
* Neighbors will no longer gather to watch a burglar that hasn't yet stolen anything.
* The "Maywood Glen" community lot is now properly classified as a park.
* "Omni-Plant" opportunity has a higher chance of appearing.
* Painting valued painting wishes are easier to fulfill.
* Number of Books Read in the writing skill journal now counts number of books finished instead of the number of books started.
* Sims will no longer attempt to use laptops when they are ungreeted visitors.
* "Befriend All Co-workers" wish is no longer fulfilled by switching to a job with no coworkers.
* Fixed a problem where the incorrect clothing was displayed on a Sim in the game launcher icon.
* Harvestables on harvest ready plants will not get occasionally lost during import/export.
* Opportunity to improve athletic skill will no longer appear when athletic skill is full.
* "Play a Game with Sim" wish now fulfills from "Playing Foosball."
* Sims will now get the "Witnessed Divorce" moodlet from watching other married Sims break up.
* Stocked ponds are properly preserved when shared.
* Sims will no longer occasionally fail to walk a path involving four or more flights of stairs.
* A player is now able to complete the "Upgrade Audio Lite by LoFi" Wish.
* Prevented a game freeze that occurred when placing a lot while in "Cameraman Mode."
* Sims no longer have the rare chance of getting permanently stuck while socializing.
* Non-player Sim autonomy now runs more quickly for Sims on screen and nearby (neighbors won't spend time standing in their front yards or not moving on community lots)
* Fixed a rare case in which the skewer thumbnail of an NPC could disappear during a private wedding.
* "Become Enemies with Child" wish no longer appears.
* "Quit Job" wish will now fulfill if Sim gets a new job and is forced to quit the old one.
* Stairs are no longer allowed to be deleted while in use.
* Prevented a case where toddlers were allowed to escape a lot and wander freely.
* Fixed a rare case where a toddler's teddy bear could get permanently stuck in their inventory.
* "Clean High Chair" wish properly fulfills.
* "SimLife Goggles" are no longer duplicated after moving.
* The "Raid Criminals" interaction can now be properly resumed after saving and loading while it is in progress.
* Sims will no longer get a wish to ask their husband to be their boyfriend.
* Fix for a possible crash when disconnecting headphones during gameplay.
* Relationships are properly preserved when merging a newly created household into an existing household.
* "Play with Toy" wish properly fulfills when a child Sim plays with the teddy bear.
* Fixed an error that occurred when deleting an outfit preset that a Sim was wearing.
* Lot pricing was corrected in edit town. The price of trees and bushes is now properly accounted for. Various community lot objects no longer provide negative value to a lot.
* "Woohoo" interaction now counts as a romantic interaction.
* Wish to "See Child Become a Genius" now auto cancels once it is no longer possible to fulfill.
* Sheet music can no longer be chosen from the bookshelf interactions. This prevents a situation in which Sims could no longer learn particular songs.
* Fixes a rare case where a revived ghost could become stuck in the science lab if a household was split.
* "Eat Food at Park" wish now fulfills properly.
* Parents will no longer wish to "See Sim Get Married" for their already married children.
* Kleptomaniac Sims can no longer return items currently being used by other Sims.
* Fixes a rare case in which a blank thumbnail could appear in the family inventory after a Sim had been kicked out.
* Fixes a rare case in which a blank thumbnail could appear in the family inventory after a Kleptomaniac Sim swiped something.
* ATI video driver's "Adaptive Aantialiasing" option conflicts with ingame "Edge Smoothing." The combination causes visual corruption. A note has been added to the readme encouraging players not to enable these two features at the same time.
* Medium-sized, high quality in-game videos can now be successfully uploaded via the launcher.
* Fixed a case where "Breakup with Sim" wasn't correctly fulfilling.
* Fix for a case where rapidly clicking on Sim traits could crash the game.
* Toddler's body no longer deforms when "Watching TV" after "Learning to Talk."
* Sims can now use "Charming Introduction" on Sims invited over to a home lot.
* Gardening skill gain no longer continues if gardening channel viewing is interrupted.
* Child Sims no longer deform after "Watching a Concert."
* Eating specific prepared meals no longer has an impact on an unborn baby's gender.
* Fixed a hang that could occur when moving away from a house with harvestable plants growing on it.
* Merge household bed and fridge requirements are no longer enforced on lots that are being abandoned.
* Fixed a problem, where through specific timing, objects could become unusable if the game is saved while they are being placed in a Sim's inventory.
* The Sims 3 is now properly categorized as a game in the Windows Vista Games Explorer.
* A selected object in buy or build mode now stays attached to the cursor as the player scrolls the camera with the direction keys.
* Fences no longer occlude sound.
* Terrain enclosed by walls and a roof is now properly lit.
* Puddles will properly conform to uneven terrain.
* Prevented problematic routing behavior that occurs when replacing an object mid route.
* Corrected various grammar and spelling mistakes.
* Deleted screenshots no longer remain listed in the launcher.
* "Dance Together" and "Tutor Sim in Skill…" no longer appear on Sims at inappropriate times.
* "Non-hydrophobic" Sims will no longer panic while swimming.
* The Magic Gnome text notification now displays the proper icon.
* Exposed floor tile edges have changed in color.
* Fixed a problem where counters would occasionally turn black while selecting certain objects in build mode.
* Fixed a rare instance where at map level the bulldozer tool could leave a blue hole in the ground.
* The option to "Adjust Tree Detail" now properly displays a "Restart Required" message.
* "Spying on the Cuisine" opportunity can now be fulfilled by selecting to "Eat Outside" at the Bistro.
* Refreshing doors no longer causes them to lose their front door status.
* A child that ages to a teen will no longer receive the wish to "Talk about New Job."
* "View" interaction will not be duplicated when placing objects on the "Nearly Perfect Pedestal."
* Up arrow can now be used when placing a house from the library.
* A faint line is no longer visible on the heads of babies.
* Fish are no longer duplicated in the fridge when moving homes.
* All dfc-gorilla (update installer) messages will now appear properly translated.
* Fix for a rare case in which a Sim could be teleported to an invalid location if the game was reloaded while they were "Changing Outfit."
* Fixed a problem where bulldozed lots were not being properly lit at map level.
* Sims who run into obstacles placed directly in front of them, no longer get stuck.
* Babies and Toddlers will no longer be left alone if the household is split up or merged through edit town, a babysitter will be called.
* Fixed a rare case in which a Sim remains on the wrong lot after moving.
* Guitar Skill level 10 text notification no longer mentions purchasing new songs from the bookstore.
* Fixed a rare case where the social worker's vehicle could be left behind on a lot.
* Korean GRB rating is now available to use in Windows Parental Controls.
* The Sims 3 now supports more than 2000 concurrent save games.
* Custom Music will no longer be assigned as a favorite randomly.
* Fixed a rare case where "Accept" would be unavailable in Create-A-Sim after undoing while accepting a Sim from "Play with Genetics."
* Children Sims will no longer attempt to knock over blocks at the same time.
* Fixed child animation when putting away the birthday cake.
* Fish no longer appear on dry ground of lots that have been coverted to residential lots .
* Bulldozing a lot with collectable spawners no longer destroys the spawners.
* A family with only a toddler is no longer allowed to be saved to the library.
* Placing small objects on the front slot of the dresser will no longer block the dresser from being used.
* Sims no longer fail to view decorative objects placed on a fireplace mantle.
* Sims now build relationship through the "Tutor" interaction.
* Fixed a minor error that occurred while loading a game where the dresser was in use.
* Fix for misaligned water effects on a particular sink.
* "Likes Work" moodlet is now properly removed if "Workaholic" trait is changed or removed.
* Purchasing "SimLife Goggles" now fulfills the "Buy Video Game" wish.
* Canceling the installation of a queue of downloaded items now works properly.
* "Collection Helper" is properly displayed when picked up in buy mode.
* Fixes some cases of objects being improperly assigned type in the launcher.
* The player can no longer delete a tombstone that is being used by a ghost.
* Fixed a rare routing failure that could happen when attempting to route to an enclosed object on an inactive floor.
* Televisions no longer play video after they are burned or broken.
* Under certain circumstances, Sims will now choose smarter lot entry locations.
* "Amateur Olympics" Opportunity notification now mentions event times.
* Sims can no longer "Try for Baby" with the Grim Reaper.
* Fixed a rare case where a Sim could start painting but the canvas was not visible.
* Fixed a rare case where the police cruiser could be left in front of the police station.
* "Sabotage" interaction is now available under more conditions.
* Deeds will now stack in the inventory and a "Collect All" interaction can be used on them.
* The Riverview download now displays the proper size for the entire duration of the download.
* Fix for children playing improper animations when trying to cook.
* Fixed an error that occurred when removing the moodlet manager from the inventory of a Sim that was in the process of using the moodlet manager.
* "Upgrade Object" wish correctly filters out gates.
* Various premade Sims downloaded from the exchange are now sorting into the correct age catagory.
* Buildings will keep the appropriate lights when zooming in and out at nighttime.
* Fixed a very slow memory leak triggered by the "Fertilize" interaction.
* Adding support for the NVIDIA Ion.
* Roofing is now visible on low end Intel video cards.
* Replaced a duplicate hat style for elder females.
* Game speed no longer affects the playback of audio stings.
* NPC's automobiles are no longer purged from inventory.
* Added support for the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250.
* Mac Only: Custom Content, Screenshots or video added to Documents/User/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/… while the game is running will now show up in the Launcher.
* Mac Only: The Mac version of The Sims 3 now supports Shader Model 3.0 graphics features. (excluding the NVIDIA GeForce 7300GT and 7600GT cards)
* Mac Only: The high lighting quality Sim shader has been enabled in Create-A-Sim.
* Mac Only: Added a warning message upon attempting to delete a downloaded world (Riverview) that associated save files will be lost.
* Mac Only: Enabled depth texture support (shadows) on all supported video cards.
* Mac Only: The user interface is no longer improperly displayed in ingame reflections.

Gwinny

08-12-2009, 12:35 AM

I wonder if my adoption 'issue' is just my game: Every single baby my gay couple adopted was black. Kind of... er... racist? And it wasn't just one or two children, because one of the guys had the "Surrounded by Family" lifetime wish so they adopted like seven kids. All black. They all grew up to be handsome and adorable, unlike in Sims 2 where the game-created adopted kids would be hideous, but it's weird that there aren't a wider range of skintones in the adoption pool.

Farsight

08-12-2009, 04:53 AM

That's funny! You should give them all traditional African names...

Like OJ! :)

Savok

08-12-2009, 05:47 AM

Your Sims just want to be like Madonna or Angelina.

Vigil80

10-13-2009, 04:56 PM

So... am I the only one willing to admit that I'm rather excited for the first expansion, World Adventures (http://www.thesims3.com/game/ep1)? Let me hit some of the highlights.

-Visit France, China, or Egypt.
-New skills such as photography, nectar (wine) making, and martial arts.
-Martial artists can spar and teleport, among other things (http://www.thesims3.com/community/news.html?selMonth=9&selYear=2009#851175583).

Hell, I'd buy the expansion just for the chance to watch two sims fight without the looney tunes dust cloud. And the videos (http://www.thesims3.com/game/ep1/videos), in my expert opinion, look pretty sweet.

Gamespot lists the release date as November 17.

Vigil80

10-22-2009, 05:28 PM

New screenshots have been added from the expansion pack (http://www.thesims3.com/game/ep1/screenshots), mostly showing off new interiors, and a couple candids featuring the grim reaper.

New music for the expansion is also being provided - in simlish - by some popular artists. How much you care will depend mainly on your tastes.
IGN - The Sims 3 World Adventures Gets an All-Star Soundtrack
LeAnn Rimes, Fefe Dobson, Natalie Portman's Shaved Head and more each sing a tune in Simlish. (http://pc.ign.com/articles/103/1034525p1.html)

Finally, two furniture sets - Hewnsman and Storybook - are on sale until Oct 29. The two sets are $6 and $5.70 off respectively for the complete sets. Couple that with the free item you can get with your next Simpoint bundle until Nov 30, and it's one of the best deals they've offered yet.

Vigil80

10-28-2009, 11:42 PM

For every me, myself, and I that's following the info, here's another update.

More info about the sim-France (http://www.thesims3.com/community/news.html?selMonth=9&selYear=2009&intcmp=eaint219#-1175244253) that's coming in the expansion was released on the official news feed. Most notable are the brief explanations of two new skills: Nectar Making and Photography.

Also, there's apparently some sort of event taking place this week. Shades of BlizzCon?
On October 29-30, 2009, we’ll be hosting our first SIMPOSIUM Fan Event to preview The Sims 3 World Adventures expansion pack – and we want you to share in the fun!

We'll have a special page starting tomorrow where you can watch our real-time updates on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr live from the event! Get the exclusive scoop from the game team and attendees as they come in!

Stay tuned for more info.

JayK47

10-29-2009, 04:29 PM

I'll be picking up the expansion. I wonder how they will deliver it. Online only? I'd like to get a hard copy.

Vigil80

10-29-2009, 09:46 PM

Holy crap another person. I feel like a hermit in here. :p

Definitely not online only. I have a box preordered. I guess I'm a neanderthal like that.

Here's the spot where they're covering their Simposium. (http://www.thesims3.com/game/fanevent)
I haven't seen anything that is more exciting than the usual news, but I also haven't been following it. Just took a glance at it. One piece of perhaps interesting news, they are releasing something called the World Builder. It's touted as "the same robust world-building tool (the developers) use to create your own Sims world..."

Gwinny

11-01-2009, 05:14 PM

I'll grab the expansion too, probably! I still play often enough to warrant it. I'll probably buy a box this time, since my experience with the EA digital store was kinda sucky.

Vigil80

11-18-2009, 04:49 PM

Patch 1.6 has been released, apparently alongside the expansion. Most exciting would appear to be the addition of a basement tool, allowing for basements 4 levels deep to be added to houses. See the complete list of changes in this .pdf (http://llnw.thesims3.com/content/global/gameupdate/ep1/gameupdate_v1_5_en_us.pdf).

I'm off to pick up the expansion this evening. Probably won't be long before I post some impressions.

Karak

11-18-2009, 08:03 PM

Holy Wow. Its good. Damn good expansion.

JayK47

11-19-2009, 04:01 PM

$40 good? In one way I was surprised to see it going for $40. But then again this is EA. The expansions for Sims 2 were too damn much. Why not ask for more for Sims 3 right?

Lint of Death

11-20-2009, 10:52 AM

I'll grab the expansion too, probably! I still play often enough to warrant it. I'll probably buy a box this time, since my experience with the EA digital store was kinda sucky.

My computer refuses to read the Dragon Age DVD, so I'm thankful it exists. Two wrongs make a right? :)

Vigil80

11-27-2009, 05:40 AM

I'm going out on a limb and saying that, yes, this expansion is worth the price of admission. I've been playing since the original Sims release way back when, and I can honestly say this expansion is unlike others they released for previous iterations, at least that I can remember. They really added a lot. The travelling and exploring gameplay is a real change of pace, much different from the routine in the vanilla game. The light puzzle gameplay that goes along with exploring some of the tombs and caves is surprisingly engaging.

I've only visited two of the three destinations. Each one seems almost as large as the original town. I've played around with the nectar and martial arts skills, and they're at least as addicting as the others. The addition of items such as tents and dried rations really open up some neat possibilities, and there's tons of new collectibles for a sim to hoard or sell.

I find I latch on to one sim to perfect and play with, keeping him young while everyone around him ages and passes on. I really ought to experiment with having more in the household, but I like to micromanage. I wish there was a way to set the autonomy level for individual sims. I'd like to have one or two more sims to either bring along or leave to their own devices.

I know issued commands override the ones that a sim comes up with on their own, but if I'm constantly wrangling a sim, it's going to get annoying. What's your experience with sim autonomy, folks?

Saladin

11-30-2009, 12:48 PM

On vacations if I take more than 1 sim I generally only have 1 doing stuff like tombs and the rest I set on long duration activities and just let them manage themselves. e.g fishing, jogging across the map or martial arts training. Trying to manage two sims in separate tombs at once is near impossible. Though if one of the others gets a phone-in opportunity that doesn't involve tombing I can generally manage that fine.

At home I'm fine with up to around 6 Sims - it helps to have one neat sim because then you can use the "Clean house" command which keeps them occupied. Usually just set most of them to various skill trainings when they're not at work. I like that you don't have to micromanage relationships like you did in the first two games, once you get the perk to stop relationships decaying it's really easy.

nixpayn

12-01-2009, 12:51 PM

i know im not alone here, but most of the joy i got from the sims games always came from making them miserable.

i put a character in a funny death loop the other day.

My sim went to bed, so i surrounded her bed with tiki torches-some were against the wall tho, and eventually when the bed caught fire, she couldnt get out of bed to die, and the fire department was stuck cuz they couldnt reach the torches in the back, or put out the top of the bed.

So basically, my sim was in a permanent burning hell!

I think i have picture at home somewhere.

and of course.. inappropriate sex.

This is my main guy, Ron Jeremy.

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs109.snc1/4634_183416610452_617025452_7024129_5611748_n.jpg

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs089.snc1/4634_183416600452_617025452_7024127_4467035_n.jpg

what you cant see is the full wall mirror at the far end, and the whole wall beside the bed on the bottom is glass facing outside so the neighbors can watch.

and then, the neighbor displeased me, which is never wise.

http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs089.snc1/4634_183416620452_617025452_7024131_5120449_n.jpg

I need to get that basement expansion so i can Silent of the Lambs peoples asses

Vigil80

12-09-2009, 12:20 PM

An announcement: if any of you find/create lots with interesting basements, I want to see.

Lint of Death

12-09-2009, 12:25 PM

My sim went to bed, so i surrounded her bed with tiki torches-some were against the wall tho, and eventually when the bed caught fire, she couldnt get out of bed to die, and the fire department was stuck cuz they couldnt reach the torches in the back, or put out the top of the bed.

So basically, my sim was in a permanent burning hell!
----
and then, the neighbor displeased me, which is never wise.

http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs089.snc1/4634_183416620452_617025452_7024131_5120449_n.jpg

You are clearly one of the best Sims players :)

Saladin

12-09-2009, 02:23 PM

An announcement: if any of you find/create lots with interesting basements, I want to see.

I was a bit disappointed that basements can't open out onto ground at the same level, so the only way in or out is via stairs. Guess that's what makes them basements, but I was hoping the tool would make for easier multi-level homes without having to manually level the ground at exactly the right height.

Matthias

12-10-2009, 10:20 AM

I was a bit disappointed that basements can't open out onto ground at the same level, so the only way in or out is via stairs. Guess that's what makes them basements, but I was hoping the tool would make for easier multi-level homes without having to manually level the ground at exactly the right height.

That is upsetting, as I know it's pretty common for basements to be able to open out to ground level if the house is on a hill or whatever. Sad day.

Vigil80

12-10-2009, 01:30 PM

Could you set stairs from the outside, like a cellar door? It might not be a door directly outside, but it would be the next best thing.

Saladin

12-10-2009, 02:24 PM

Yeah cellar door is possible, but things like basement garages are out from what I can see (well not totally out since you can park the cars there and they'll magically teleport to it like the cars always do).. You can still do it by manually levelling the ground, but I've always found that rather tricky.

Vigil80

12-20-2009, 09:39 PM

I just noticed that one of the books available in China - of the expansion - is The Dragon's Age. A nod to another game under the EA umbrella, or just a coincidence? You decide. :p

Savok

12-21-2009, 03:15 AM

God dammit, stop talking about this game, I want to go buy the expansion now :p

Wraith

12-21-2009, 10:22 AM

I haven't played in a while, but noticed that there's a Create a World Tool (or something like that) for creating your own town areas. Anyone try out the beta? It looks relatively complex (more like a basic 3D modeling app than a terrain editor), looking at the tutorial PDF.

Vigil80

12-21-2009, 01:50 PM

I do well to log actual playtime thanks to my pickiness when it comes to house building and decorating. I don't dare start fooling around with the world builder.

IGN has done an interesting preview (http://pc.ign.com/articles/105/1055170p1.html) of the tool.

Savok

12-24-2009, 09:04 AM

So you fucks have had me playing it for days now, basically on a "collect and do everything while having lots of lesbian sex with everyone" binge.

So I've dled a new house for myself (I'm incapable of making them). It's a 30x30 and I've stuck it on a 40x40 lot so I've got room for plants and shit. Only problem is the game is hell bent on centring it, which I don't want, I want it up against the street with a full backyard to play with. Only I can't work out how to drag the entire house around... help?

LordDon

12-28-2009, 04:04 PM

A $30 sale at Best Buy combined with money left on a gift card has created the perfect storm for me picking this up. I'm thinking of making Dr. Horrible and Moist as roommates to start off with.

Vigil80

12-28-2009, 04:24 PM

By request, here are some shots of the domicile my sims currently live in, which I confess was inspired to some degree by Fallout & Dungeon Keeper. The best introduction probably comes from the original creator of the lot (http://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-lots-residential/title/Missile%20Silo%20R-21-A/id/933389/) over at The Sims Resource (http://www.thesimsresource.com/). You can also see some screens of what the place looked like before I started making modifications.

During the Cold War, the military would set up radio bunkers or missile silos in rural areas where land was flat and cheap. But as technology advanced these places soon became obsolete and available for purchase by the public. This silo has been converted into large home for a large family as the facility was originally built to house a military staff. Features include an over-equipped kitchen, Two large public restrooms, a great room, and study. The bedroom level includes a former infirmary master bedroom, and 5 former offices that can be used as bedrooms or for whatever. The large 4-story silo is untouched and meant for your family to decide what they would like to do with.

From the street, and even from the air, it's a very unassuming locale.
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/8222/screenshotnn.th.jpg (http://img9.imageshack.us/i/screenshotnn.jpg/)http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/4135/screenshot2gy.th.jpg (http://img301.imageshack.us/i/screenshot2gy.jpg/)

But underneath, a network of rooms that the vault dweller would appreciate. :D
http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/1741/screenshot3dy.th.jpg (http://img706.imageshack.us/i/screenshot3dy.jpg/)

Quin (the sim) added steel-reinforced flooring to turn each level of the old silo into a large room. On level two, that room is a research lab, along with the lounge and dining areas.
http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/6977/screenshot4li.th.jpg (http://img691.imageshack.us/i/screenshot4li.jpg/)

Level three holds the domiciles. This silo level has been converted to a gym, and a private study was dug out next to the master bedroom, along with a women's bathroom. It isn't a military facility anymore, after all. ;)
http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/4641/screenshot5m.th.jpg (http://img121.imageshack.us/i/screenshot5m.jpg/)

On the bottom level, storage, water treatment, and the bottom of the silo converted to a vault in which to secure and display valuable artifacts. You can barely make out some gemstones and stacks of precious metal ingots in the image.
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/9748/screenshot6oe.th.jpg (http://img9.imageshack.us/i/screenshot6oe.jpg/)

Ink Asylum

12-28-2009, 05:16 PM

Pretty slick home. I don't have the patience to make really complex and architecturally interesting houses on my own but I love seeing what others come up with. In The Sims 2 I imported a fairly cool interpretation of the Weasley house from Harry Potter.

LordDon

12-29-2009, 12:00 AM

This could've been taken from real life:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v129/Lord_Don/jercelestesimread.jpg

Saladin

01-13-2010, 05:43 PM

Oh man, played this for so long and I only just figured out that reading the newspaper gives you a summary of goings on in the neighbourhood e.g. births and marriages etc.

Never figured it out before because my Sims never read the newspaper on their own, unlike Sims 2 when they seemed to like doing it to the exclusion of near anything else, so I just neglected it in favour of things that offer more fun bar.

I started a new game after my main game got corrupted by World Adventures e.g. family tree missing on all sims, possibly because of fathering too many illegitimate children while overseas and faceless tourist friends who would crash the game if I invited them to my lot. This time round my first family is so poor they didn't have anything else to do but read.

Still wish it kept a proper log of those things though so you could see a neighbourhood timeline of sorts.

Vigil80

06-05-2010, 09:41 PM

It's alive! Alive!
http://www.thesims3.com/content/en_US/promo/static/header/ep2/may_blog_inventrobot.jpg
Bumping the thread again with some updates. First, there was an update at the end of May. The good news is it reportedly made the build tools even more expansive. The bad news...
This game update enables dynamic ad serving capabilities in The Sims 3. However, there are no immediate plans to activate any content of this kind. The Sims 3 EULA has further details. See http://www.ea.com/1/product-eulas.
Not sure what that's supposed to mean. Why add the capability if you don't plan to use it? Full details of the update here (http://www.thesims3.com/community/news.html?selMonth=4&selYear=2010#920859580).

Second, the Ambitions expansion pack (which the above image is from) released June 1st. The focus of this expansion was new career paths and interactions. Summary here (http://www.thesims3.com/game/ep2). You can read about some of the quirkier activities in Ambitions here (http://www.thesims3.com/ep2_blog_may27), such as building an android or ghostbusting.

Personally, I'm holding out for a Sims 3 version of the Pets expansion.

Savok

06-05-2010, 09:59 PM

Bad EA, very bad.

Savok

07-17-2010, 02:51 AM

Necro post for the first custom world I've seen worth a damn called Sanctuary (http://www.simscave.com/index.php?topic=17142.0).

It's huge and does slow down your system a little, terrain paints are a little samey in places and even with the save it's quite sparsely populated, but, it's well worth looking at, well worth it.

Farsight

07-17-2010, 07:23 AM

I think I'm pretty much done with the Sims 3 until/unless they add a system where the city remembers your deeds. A reputation, a legacy, whatever. But currently, everything you do seems pointless and all the people seem like mannequins to pose, simply because they have so little recognition of your actions.

When my original Sim impregnated every eligible bachelorette in town, nobody got angry, or even noticed. So so disappointing. :)

Vigil80

07-29-2010, 08:26 PM

Another expansion has been announced, Late Night. Looks to be bringing some of the Nightlife style content to Sims 3.

For the first time ever, your Sims can experience late night fun as a VIP!

Get your Sims an all-access pass to the hottest spots in town. Whether they mingle with celebrities or enjoy a casual night with friends, your Sims’ social lives are getting a boost! But keep in mind that some scenes are more exclusive than others, so make sure your Sims have the right connections to get past the bouncers at the hottest clubs. Wherever your Sims go, they’ll discover new things to become—adored celebrities, all-night partiers, rowdy bandmates, or sexy vampires. What will your Sims get up to after dark?

FEATURES

•Hang out at the hottest spots in town, from dive bars to dance clubs to chic lounges, complete with bouncers.
•Gain fame and fortune as a member of a music band, mixologist, director, or local celebrity.
•Wander into a certain part of town and your Sims just might uncover the secret to becoming a vampire.
•Gain access to exclusive areas and enjoy celebrity perks like penthouse living, luxury hot tubs and cars.

JayK47

07-30-2010, 01:22 PM

I hope it also expands the romance options in the game. Otherwise it sounds good. I am really enjoying the latest expansion, Ambitions. I was not having much fun with Sims 3 without it.

Savok

07-30-2010, 01:38 PM

From what I've read, it doesn't really. I am looking forward to Downtown though, as it is a fully functioning world. Create a new master Sim for it too I think.

Gwinny

02-06-2013, 09:02 PM

Thread arise!

I've got a Sims itch, I think it's mostly SimCity anticipation but I'm going with it. So:

Eight or fifteen zillion expansion packs later, is anyone still playing? And which expansions would you recommend, if I had to pick two or three?

Ink Asylum

02-06-2013, 09:09 PM

I've also gotten that itch lately. I have The Sims 3 base game but none of the expansions. I thought about getting just one of them, but I decided to wait for a sale before I do.

Wraith

02-06-2013, 09:21 PM

Most of my recent PC game time has been in GW2, but I played a bit a couple weeks ago, getting the itch after watching a giant bomb Sims 3 Quick Look (from back when the console version launched). I only have two expansions: Late Night and Generations.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8226/8452669628_f3629a229c_z.jpg (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8226/8452669628_baba76e4fa_o.jpg)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8371/8451566355_e97161dc91_z.jpg (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8371/8451566355_048eb12b85_o.jpg)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8229/8452658120_bccce254c7_z.jpg (http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8229/8452658120_e6d8aeb719_o.jpg)

Karak

02-06-2013, 09:22 PM

I sadly...have every expansion and play this and Sims Medieval all the time. In fact, I just noticed I think I have more time in those games that anything else. Glad to see others joining in.

Adventures is a great game as well if you guys do get any expansions

Ink Asylum

02-06-2013, 09:26 PM

Wikipedia has a decent rundown on what to find in each expansion. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_sims_3#Expansion_packs)

The ones that look the most interesting to me are Ambitions, Late Night, and Pets.

Karak

02-06-2013, 09:28 PM

Vigil80

02-06-2013, 09:30 PM

Ambitions and Generations are well regarded for what they add. I've only spent significant time with maybe half the expansions so far, but I enjoy World Adventures. Lot of collecting and exploring in it.

This page (http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/expansionpacks.php) has summaries of what the packs add. You can skip stuff packs unless you get in really deep.

Edit:
The wikipedia list works too, but I think the above link goes into a little more detail.

Karak

02-06-2013, 09:32 PM

First. In my opinion they are all good. With those NOT being as good labeled as ok.
Adventures due to how it really changes up things
Generations due to adding to the totality of your life of your sim
Supernatural again due to the change up
Showtime because Sims seems based on this anyway and it actually makes Sims somewhat the way you think it should be.

The rest are all at LEAST ok.

Farsight

02-06-2013, 09:32 PM

I sadly...have every expansion and play this and Sims Medieval all the time.

I preferred Medieval to the base game by a large margin. The realm-building, questing, and generally being a terrible King took a long time to get old.

I wish they'd try more of these spin-off titles, as I think there's a ton of interesting ideas they'd never risk trying in the core game.

Karak

02-06-2013, 09:33 PM

Double post.

Karak

02-06-2013, 09:34 PM

I preferred Medieval to the base game by a large margin. The realm-building, questing, and generally being a terrible King took a long time to get old.

I wish they'd try more of these spin-off titles, as I think there's a ton of interesting ideas they'd never risk trying in the core game.

I do as well to be honest. But I seemed, in the thread I made about it here, to be somewhat alone.

I found that Medieval and Adventures both were really great adds to the world. With Medieval having a good mix of the shallow Sims gameplay added in with some more unique content that I wasn't expecting(realm building, writing laws)

Vigil80

02-06-2013, 09:36 PM

I'm looking forward to trying Showtime, and I'm a sucker for pets. I'll probably end up with all of them by the end of the month.

I enjoy Medieval too. The funny thing was that I found it to be too restrictive at times, at least relative to what I was expecting.

Karak

02-06-2013, 09:38 PM

I'm looking forward to trying Showtime, and I'm a sucker for pets.

I'll probably end up with all of them by the end of the month.

They went on sale a bit ago and man it was a good sale. Not sure if they still are.

As I said above Showtime is nice because it makes the Sims promise of "becoming famous" and so forth a bit more in tune with the world. Pets is cool except I found that it added more hassle than fun. Their AI for the pets is...uhm...questionable and losing a pet due to unhappiness you can't track happens often.

For example the skew of responsibility in Pets is.

Pet
Career
Kids
Yourself.

I mean it. Its that high. And a company is ALWAYS watching to make sure that the pet isn't unhappy. So you can literally lose everything and the dog gets taken away anyway. I think in maybe 50 games I kept the single pet maybe 3 times. I admit I may have not had the right career to also own the pet. But damn.

Ink Asylum

02-06-2013, 09:54 PM

Shjinta

02-06-2013, 10:05 PM

Man Sims 3 is quite the expensive investment. it's like 180$ for the game and all expansion packs. I hope they start releasing physical bundle packs.

Gwinny

02-06-2013, 10:29 PM

Karak

02-06-2013, 10:44 PM

Now I want to try Medieval. Hmmm.

Thanks for posting those links! I think I'll grab Generations, Showtime, and Seasons, because I loved that expansion for Sims 2. Having actual weather makes the game feel 100x more immersive to me.

Or maybe skip Showtime and get Medieval instead. ... hmmm.

Seriously get Medieval its a fresh change with enough Sims to enjoy and some crazy additions. Honestly very enjoyable and has some more game bits than a normal sims. I will warn you it has boats of content even without the expansion.

Karak

02-06-2013, 10:48 PM

What does Adventures change up? I figured it was mostly about travelling to new locations and exploring. Does it change much back at home?

Also what's bad about the three I mentioned? Just not enough changes?

EDIT: Now I see your explanatory post about the pets. That does sound annoying. I was hoping they would be interesting to have around, not huge time sinks.

Adventures changes the game play a bit and actually adds some game style things to Sims that I was not expecting. It freezes the real world while you travel to so you don't have to worry about your home. But if you are an adventurer you actually go and adventure. It feels a bit like medievil in that aspect. I don't know it not perfect but I loved it.Things like exploring temples solving riddles and such.

Ink Asylum

02-06-2013, 11:10 PM

That sounds interesting, but I'm much more of a "dollhouse" player when it comes to The Sims. I like customizing their lives and setting up relationships whether those are families, friendships, or romantic.

Karak

02-08-2013, 08:54 AM

50% off everything!

Did we already know that?