Introduction & Welcome

Good day, class. I am your lecturer for the short course listed as "The Sims 2 University Review" which is required learning if you wish to evaluate this expansion to the sequel to the best selling computer game of all time. These lectures are not to tell you what to do. I may give you my thoughts and perceptions, but this is to allow you to make your own mind up as to whether this expansion is worthy of a "magna cum laude" degree or whether it should be expelled from campus, never to return.

For those of you who were in my classes for "The Sims 2 Review", you will be familiar with the Jones Family. They have kindly agreed to be case examples of university life and Miss Giselle Jones has given us her permission to use some of her snapshots from her college life and to reprint emails she sent to her parents.

The first section of this lecture looks at what you are recommended to do in order to install this expansion on your computers. Please pay attention as this could avoid some disappointment at a later time. You may take notes but if you are found chewing gum, I hope you have enough for the rest of the class. (I can't stand the stuff myself).

Installation

Firstly, back up your user folder. If you don't know how to do this, I can be emailed to give you private tuition on how to do this. By default, this will be C:\My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2. You are advised to do this because University changes things somewhat and if you wish to go back to "vanilla" TS2, you have a way back.

Secondly, if you have any user mods in there, it will serve you well if you download a utility program from MTS2 to show you which of these will cause conflicts with TS2U. Teen Woohoo for one is now a big no-no, but as you are all now Young Adults, that should not be of any concern to you. Skins make the transition with no problem.

Once you are sure your user folder is clear of any impurities, you can go ahead with the installation. TS2U is on two CDs and should install with no complications. There are no games to play while you are installing but two CDs is not long to wait.

When you have finished installing, you are given the option to either play "The Sims 2: University", look at the readme file or exit. Looking at the "readme" is optional but is recommended reading for those who will be trying to live the university life to the full. This will give you credit for your final grading. When you load it up, you'll find the introductory video is unchanged from TS2. The loading screen has changed a little bit. There is a new logo and there are different cheery comments have changed. Reticulating graduated splines is one of them. This is a practice that Maxis has done with all of the expansions from the days of TS1 and looks like it will continue.

Giselle Jones, Freshman Student

Every neighborhood has to choose a university town to associate itself with. There are three "university towns" which follow the character of three original neighborhoods.

Sim State University (SSU) appears to be best associated with Pleasantview, La Fiesta Tech (LFT) looks like it was specially built for Strangetown and Académie La Tour (ALT) beautifully blends with the architecture and personality of Veronaville.

I have known the Jones family for a long time. It seems like only yesterday that Giselle was nothing but twinkle in Doug and Anne's eyes. When we last saw her, she had agreed to Doug's request that she puts her ideas of becoming a celebrity chef on hold, to go to college and get a university degree.

Regras Gorge is associated with SSU and that was where Giselle Jones was preparing to go.

Every student starts with a basic grant of §500, but this won't last you long. It pays all teens to turn on their computers or use the telephone and find out whether they are eligible for any scholarships. Not all of them are openly listed and you might be surprised what hobby or "invisible skill" can earn you a scholarship.

Giselle had a school grade of A+ and this made her eligible for a §1,000 scholarship. Once that was done, she used the household computer to apply to go to college, she was admitted and that was it. A taxi turned up, she left her home on Holland Way and immediately rematerialised in the campus "sim bin".

College courses at SSU or at any of the colleges cannot be done by correspondence. Sim students need to have somewhere to live on campus in order to attend lectures and carry out their studies. For "freshers" who are on their own, the cheapest and easiest course of action is to take a room in a dormitory. Giselle was no exception to this and chose the Pinenut Dorm.

When Giselle arrived at her dormitory, her father accompanied her and witnessed her sudden transformation from a teenager to a "young adult", acquiring a default outfit to replace those clothes she spent so much time and money to get. They had a teary farewell and she was about to enter the dorm, only for them to be briefly startled by ... well, you have a look when you get there yourself.

An Email from SSU

In the pack of handouts in front of you, you will find a hard copy of Giselle's first email home, which is available with her kind permission.

Dear Mom & Dad

Thanks for dropping me off at SSU's Pinenut Plaza Dormitory, dad. Quite an experience for us both. The dorm isn't far from the middle of the campus and it is easy for me to walk to my classes. It isn't far from the Campus Lounge or the shops. Before you panic, mom, I am NOT spending my scholarship on new clothes.

I think I picked one of the best rooms. I had to be quick as the other freshmen were choosing their rooms. The room might be small but this one has its own computer. This is why you are getting this email ... obviously. It will also be a big help when I have to knuckle down and do a term paper.

College is fairly easily paced for me now. Having some skills puts me in good stead. Some of the others here have to learn in order to get forward. The college admissions department are not expecting me to immediately pick a major so I am seeing what there is at the moment that might interest me. When the time is right, I'll know and I'll choose what is best for me. Anyway, I hope I make you very proud of me while I am here.

I'll write soon as I've got my first lecture to go to and I'll post this on the way.

Love

G xxx

University Town

This is one of the first views you will see of Sim State University. However, every "university town" - I prefer the term campus myself - is different and has its own personality and buildings. From small houses that are available for students to rent to large dormitories, from campus coffee bars to college libraries and gymnasiums, there is something on campus to please every student.

Oddly enough, in the same way you didn't get to see where your sims work, you don't get to see where your sim students go to lectures. Therefore, nobody will be able to find this lecture theater where we are now.

As in the neighborhood, lots are classified as residential or community. Some Residential lots are as follows.

Dormitories are your basic student accommodation. From what I have seen, these vary in size from 5 rooms to 16 rooms. Dorms have cafeterias that serve your students, small rooms for your students to live in, perhaps a lounge for your students to hang out in and even do some studying. Your sims are limited to what they can do to their dormitory. Redecorate and refurnish their own room is about all that they can do.

Greek Houses are for your fraternities and sororities. There is more scope for your sims to mould these as time goes by into a fraternity or sorority to be proud of.

Rented accommodation is like any normal house you'd find in the neighborhood ... only cheaper. It will take a few students who have either all got excellent scholarships and/or have done well in their exams. Also, they can join up with other students to chip together and move in together. However, this accommodation is not available once you graduate. You are expected to return to your neighborhood and find a career.

Some Community lots are as follows.

Gymnasiums are where your sims can get themselves fit and get some needed body points.

Shops are as important as ever, if not moreso. You need new threads as your default outfit might not fit your image. Also, the latest fashion accessories - a cellphone, MP3 player, handheld games console - are a "must buy". Thankfully, once you've bought your 'phone, you won't be troubled with having to buy top-up cards or use up your student grant. Anything you could buy in the neighborhood is available to be sold in shops.

Coffee Bars and Juice Bars are good places to hang out with friends and acquaintances. Also, you could work as a "barista" (Ed: Not a badly spelt form of British lawyer) or tend bar, which both pay quite well. This is a very good way to help increase your funds.

Libraries are a good place for your student to do their studies when they are not offscreen at lectures or in exams. You can research together with other sims, work on your assignments and even do your term paper on the computers.

There are other forms of building on campus that are worth a visit but will be looked at in one of the later lectures in this course.

For the next lecture ...

We will be looking at the sociology of dormitory life, the new behavioural interactions of sims and the ways and means of passing your courses with good grades.

Are there any questions? No?

Class dismissed.

Written at 08:28 on Saturday 19 March 2005 by Andy.