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Sims News
21 Sep 2004 - 23:00
19 Sep 2004 - 23:00
3 New screenshots in The Sims 2 Scoop newsletter.
18 Sep 2004 - 23:00
Greetings Sim Fans,
Are you actually reading this? Shouldn't you be playing The Sims 2?
Well, if you insist on continuing to read this missive, I suppose I'll continue.
It's always hard when a project that's demanded so much of you both physically and mentally draws to a close. It's incredibly rewarding to see the countless person-hours put in by yourself and scores of others pay off in the form an amazing game like The Sims 2 (I'd be more modest, but have you played the game? It seriously rocks), but there's a bittersweet element to it as well. Suddenly, there's this big, Sim-shaped hole in your life. The pace of your existence slows down (if only briefly) to manageable levels. You have time for little things like laundry, right on up to the big things like spending time with family. The return to normalcy is incredibly welcome, but something feels off, like the phantom pains of a missing limb.
It has been great fun sharing stories about the development process with you all, and teasing you with all the exciting new features found in The Sims 2, but now that the game is on shelves (and hopefully in your Sims-lovin' mitts as well), it's time for all of us here at Maxis to listen to what you have to say about the game. The secret to our success has always been the support, the love, and even the criticism we receive from you, our biggest, best and most knowledgeable fans. Believe me when I say that we'll be looking to you all to help us make The Sims 2, and the successive Expansion Packs, every bit as successful as the original The Sims games.
So, it is with no small amount of sadness that I report to you that this is the final Lucy Mail. Sure, there will probably be additional communications from members of the Maxis team in a few months, when we have more exciting news to share, but now is the time for all of us to go live our own lives, as well as the virtual lives of our simulated pals in The Sims 2. It's time build the perfect Sim-family, and help them realize their dreams and aspirations. It's time to upload your stories and movies to The Sims 2 Exchange. In short, the work is done – it's time to play!
And you can sense that sense of play here in the office. The team has a brief respite right now, and there's a real sense of pride among us all, and a feeling of victory and a job well done. We've made a little movie that shows how we feel:
http://thesims.simbeta.com/us/sims2/images/local/special/the_sism2_140.movAt the office, we all worked with one another so closely for such a long time, it's kind of like everybody melded together to form some kind of crazy super-organism. We even started to dress and coif ourselves similarly. If you don't believe me, we've got pictures to prove it. It's a bit frightening, actually:
And if you want your Sims to look like authentic Maxoids (I can't imagine why – I mean, you saw the photos, right?), well, we're only too happy to oblige:
http://thesims.ea.com/us/sims2/images/local/special/ATFemale_hairpgchopp...Farewell, Sims Fans!
Lucy Bradshaw
The Sims 2 Executive Producer/Brain of the Super-Organism
P.S. When the site launches, please go to the Fansite page in the Community Section to re-submit your site (http://thesims2.ea.com/community/fansites.php). Use this as an opportunity to update your information and polish your description.
We're really looking forward to seeing all the new things The Sims 2 fansites do with The Sims 2. Thanks for being such an important part of our community! We're all hanging out on the boards as much as we can realistically afford to right now, so keep a close eye out for people with official “Maxoid” names (e.g. I'm MaxoidLucy) if you have any questions.
18 Sep 2004 - 23:00
Greetings Sim Fans,
Are you actually reading this? Shouldn't you be playing The Sims 2?
Well, if you insist on continuing to read this missive, I suppose I'll continue.
It's always hard when a project that's demanded so much of you both physically and mentally draws to a close. It's incredibly rewarding to see the countless person-hours put in by yourself and scores of others pay off in the form an amazing game like The Sims 2 (I'd be more modest, but have you played the game? It seriously rocks), but there's a bittersweet element to it as well. Suddenly, there's this big, Sim-shaped hole in your life. The pace of your existence slows down (if only briefly) to manageable levels. You have time for little things like laundry, right on up to the big things like spending time with family. The return to normalcy is incredibly welcome, but something feels off, like the phantom pains of a missing limb.
It has been great fun sharing stories about the development process with you all, and teasing you with all the exciting new features found in The Sims 2, but now that the game is on shelves (and hopefully in your Sims-lovin' mitts as well), it's time for all of us here at Maxis to listen to what you have to say about the game. The secret to our success has always been the support, the love, and even the criticism we receive from you, our biggest, best and most knowledgeable fans. Believe me when I say that we'll be looking to you all to help us make The Sims 2, and the successive Expansion Packs, every bit as successful as the original The Sims games.
So, it is with no small amount of sadness that I report to you that this is the final Lucy Mail. Sure, there will probably be additional communications from members of the Maxis team in a few months, when we have more exciting news to share, but now is the time for all of us to go live our own lives, as well as the virtual lives of our simulated pals in The Sims 2. It's time build the perfect Sim-family, and help them realize their dreams and aspirations. It's time to upload your stories and movies to The Sims 2 Exchange. In short, the work is done – it's time to play!
And you can sense that sense of play here in the office. The team has a brief respite right now, and there's a real sense of pride among us all, and a feeling of victory and a job well done. We've made a little movie that shows how we feel:
http://thesims.simbeta.com/us/sims2/images/local/special/the_sism2_140.movAt the office, we all worked with one another so closely for such a long time, it's kind of like everybody melded together to form some kind of crazy super-organism. We even started to dress and coif ourselves similarly. If you don't believe me, we've got pictures to prove it. It's a bit frightening, actually:
And if you want your Sims to look like authentic Maxoids (I can't imagine why – I mean, you saw the photos, right?), well, we're only too happy to oblige:
http://thesims.ea.com/us/sims2/images/local/special/ATFemale_hairpgchopp...Farewell, Sims Fans!
Lucy Bradshaw
The Sims 2 Executive Producer/Brain of the Super-Organism
P.S. When the site launches, please go to the Fansite page in the Community Section to re-submit your site (http://thesims2.ea.com/community/fansites.php). Use this as an opportunity to update your information and polish your description.
We're really looking forward to seeing all the new things The Sims 2 fansites do with The Sims 2. Thanks for being such an important part of our community! We're all hanging out on the boards as much as we can realistically afford to right now, so keep a close eye out for people with official “Maxoid” names (e.g. I'm MaxoidLucy) if you have any questions.
17 Sep 2004 - 23:00
Laat je vrienden weten dat Sims 2 er is! Verras ze eens met een Sims 2 Kaartje!
17 Sep 2004 - 23:00
Laat je vrienden weten dat Sims 2 er is! Verras ze eens met een Sims 2 Kaartje!
16 Sep 2004 - 23:55
Anyone that purchases The Sims 2 at the San Francisco Virgin Megastore can get their copy of TS2 signed by Will Wright from 5-6 pm. The first 50 people that buy the game starting at 5 pm on Friday will get a T-shirt.
16 Sep 2004 - 23:50
Each day through Sept. 20, 1up.com will be updating their diary with their latest impressions, observations and misadventures.
16 Sep 2004 - 23:45
Editors Choice Award
"The Sims are back and they're better than ever."
Pros:
Excellent cinematic graphics and viewing options. Sophisticated life cycles for Sims. Fun and addictive.
Cons:
Slow startup and high system requirements.
Bottom Line:
The Sims are back—and they're better than ever. The Sims 2 is just as addictive as the original. Now bring on the expansion packs.
If first-person shooters don't exactly knock you dead and racing games make you feel like you're going around in circles, we have good news: The Sims are back—and they're better than ever.
For those unfamiliar with the PC universe's most popular game ever, the Sims is an alter-world in which you create characters and live their lives for them, guiding their careers, looking for romance, and upgrading their homes. The original spawned several expansion packs as well as console, handheld, and online versions.
Now those virtual people have made a giant leap forward with The Sims 2. We're happy to say that it's as much fun as it is great-looking. The first things you'll notice are the cinematic graphics and the ability to change the viewing angle in any way, including zooming in or out. Creating new Sims is a blast with the completely customizable controls, which let you get the exact look and personality you want. Create a family and the kids will inherit genetic traits from their parents. Sims now grow old and eventually die.
You choose from five aspirations for your Sims—wealth, knowledge, family, romance, or popularity—that give you targets to strive for and stop the game from feeling random. Your aspirations determine what you'll see on the new Wants and Fears Panel, which provides short-term goals. Fulfilling wants also improves your Sims' mood.
The game includes three neighborhoods: Pleasantview (which houses the Goths, a Sims staple), Strangetown (the place for UFO encounters and unusual medical experiments), and Veronaville (where a familiar romance has bloomed between two teens in the feuding Capp and Monty families). There are dozens of odd characters to play if you don't feel like creating your own.
Starting up The Sims 2 is slow, since there's so much information to load, and the system requirements are high. But we found it just as addictive as the original. Now bring on the expansion packs.
16 Sep 2004 - 23:40
"If you were a fan of the original, you're going to love this."
The Sims 2 Review
By Andrew S. Bub
The Sims is easily the most interesting, most ambitious, and most successful PC game series of all time. It delivers the complexity of human interrelationships, the power of imagination, and the thrill of voyeurism. For the sequel, Maxis has remade the game from the ground up, listened to its fans, and enhanced every single thing that worked in the original.
Sims 2, quite simply, blows The Sims away. If you were a fan of the original, you're going to love this. If you were lukewarm to the original game, maybe you should take another look. This is one serious piece of software.
For those who missed the original, The Sims 2 is a virtual doll house. It simulates human interaction and lets players live virtual lives, create alter-egos, tell stories, or play the benefactor or cruel controller to their Sims. After creating a Sim-character, you place them in a house and neighborhood. Money is called "simoleons" and is used to buy furniture and decorations.
Each Sim has certain goals and stats (which you influence), as well as certain needs. Keeping an eye on their energy level, hunger, bladder, cleanliness, etc., is key as you manage time during the day and teach them to interact with their world. For example: if you tell them to flirt a lot, they'll start doing it on their own. If you tell them to clean up after themselves, or shower every morning, they'll do that on their own too.
With the first game, people complained that The Sims was more like a toy than a game. That hasn't changed. Fans will find all the custom creation tools they've come to expect. They've included the tools to build and design new homes, furniture, outfits, and more. This is still the best landscape and interior design tool available, only now it's wrapped in a gorgeous graphics engine. The Sims are customizable, and you can tweak almost every part of their bodies (OK, the "fat" size is still absurdly thin).
Best of all is how the Sims interact with each other. Every gesture is exaggerated and adorable. From the innocent flirtation, to ravenous make-out sessions, to baby's first steps... all are captivating to watch. Roommates, spouses, co-workers, and parents will stop and watch what you're doing. It's just that interesting. The new graphics engine also solves some problems with the original game. Now Sims push chairs in, climb stairs easier, move around furniture, and take less time doing it.
Time-management is still the overriding factor here. Like real life, you can't always do what you want when you want. Sims must attend to bodily functions, have fun, maintain relationships, cook and clean, go to work, and if they have kids, all heck can break loose.
This leads to some interesting gameplay enhancements; Sims now have aspirations. These include overriding goals like success, romance, family, etc. Not meeting these goals, or failing at them, can send your Sim into a pity-party spiral that hard to recover from. Also there's a "slot machine"-like feature that presents three random desires and fears. These directly affect your Sims' happiness. Say SimAndrew's goals today are to learn a new skill and kiss SimLinda, while he fears being rejected by SimLinda. I can lock one of those goals and pursue the others, while avoiding the fears completely. Or, if cruelty is your goal (a valid way to play), you can maximize the fears and cause a breakdown.
It was a mistake last time to freeze the ages of the Sims at adulthood. Now there are several stages and you can choose when your Sim advances. This means you can begin with a single Sim, have him date, marry, have kids, raise them, grow old with his spouse, and eventually die. Then you can play the progeny and continue the line and family name in perpetuity. This is a brilliant allowance for the more gameplay and story oriented players, making The Sims 2 the ultimate real-world role-playing game.
Despite the "Teen" rating, the Sims do have sex, making this more of an adult dollhouse. All nudity is covered by pixilation and all "woohoo" (as it's called in the game) is done beneath the sheets. Once again, Maxis has smartly tackled complex social issues by simply not addressing them. Homosexuality and gay marriage/adoption are possible in the game, but are voluntary. Your Sims won't flirt with the same sex without you first ordering that behavior.
The Sims 2 ships with three neighborhoods. Familiar Pleasantview (the neighborhood from the first game), conflict fueled Veronaville (everyone is just star-crossed), and bizarre Strangetown (a desert berg with an X-Files bent). There's a camera, a video recorder, and a diary in place for players to make their own storylines, movies, and slideshows, and then export them to the Internet.
There's plenty more to praise, but the best way to sum it up: The Sims 2 includes everything from the first game and its expansion packs, and it does it all exponentially better than ever before. It's no longer about potential and a great concept; it's now about the stellar execution. The Sims have truly arrived -- make room for them on your hard drive.