From the chat there's info like it isn't possible to change the size of a lot after you decided it, though you can move it around in the neighborhood and even to others. The test version SimsZone is using still has a few bugs, like an object being frozen as 'in use' all the time, and the mood on parties going from good to bad in a second, but overall the game is stable. New since The Sims 1 is that all services now arrive by car rather than by foot. The change from day to night is sudden, like the Sims 1. As for the fridge, there are a few new things. It has more food options, and the skills of your Sims determine what they can cook. To fill a fridge you have to pay §400, which is without delivery (food can be delivered home if you want to, there's an NPC for that as well). The better the food, the faster your Sims are satisfied, but they also seem to take more from the fridge. Food can be ordered through phone and internet, and has to be done about once a week. As for small pets, there's only an aquarium.

The durations of all life stages have also been revealed during the chat. A Sim will be a baby for 2-3 days, toddler for 5, they're child for 8 days, the teen stage takes 15 days and the adult one 30 days. The final stage, old geezer, takes approximately 10-15 days, but there's no indication as to when the Sim dies, whereas there is one for how long it takes a Sim to grow up. It's unsure if these are the final values, as it is less than the previously mentioned 90-100 days. Either way it will be possible to turn off aging using a cheat, although it might make the game unbalanced.

If you'd like to bring life to a new Sim, there's a "Make Baby" option with the beds, separate from the "Play" option. You can simply pick it from the pie menu. Sims can be adopted too, but you can simply call the adoption agency this time, instead of them calling you. Parents can also invite a school director for dinner, to persuade him to get their child to Private school. Geezers can also play in the bed, and it'll improve their life score (for the aspirations) a lot. A baby will be born fairly suddenly ("plop and it's there" - no doctor or hospital). In the past there has been some talk of having Sims with different surnames in one household as well, but that is now denied by SimsZone. In the gameplay itself many small things, like looking out of windows and daydreaming have been added. Sims can even have nightmares and so they might wake up suddenly during the night. If you'd like to get your Sim some new clothes, that'll cost them about §200-400, but all the bought clothes will remain in your Sims' wardrobe so you can change whenever you like. Sims still don't change their daily gear automatically, so you'll have to instruct them to. And although doors can't be locked, Sims can't easily enter the bathroom anymore when another Sim is doing business there. Before you start the game it has to load, which is said to take shorter than in The Sims 1. It took about 1 minute on SimsZone's test system (2.4 Ghz with 1Gb RAM), depending on yours it may take a little longer or shorter.

As for importing SimCity 4 lots, the game will only use straight roads (no diagonals), one type of bridge, but no tunnels. Trees are put in the Sims 2 as well. It is not possible to edit the terrain within The Sims 2. Going on about teens, they of course have to go to school, and they have to do homework as well. Getting them into a (teenage) career is possible, but quite stressful, and they won't have much spare time left except on their days off. Teens are also the only ones who can sleep over, children or adults can't. If two teens are in love, and one of them grows up to be an adult, the love will be over. Friendship will remain though, and they can fall in love again whenever the other one grows up as well. Sims also get skills when they're teens, before that they're not available. Cleaning is a new skill, required for some careers, which will also speed up the cleaning of the Sims. Just like the Sims 1, Sims start off with no skills at all. Whenever a Sim ages, you can have a birthday party, and there are weddings as well. Holding a good party requires some Sims to be invited, and might be a bit hard. SimsZone hasn't been able to test that very well yet though.

The computer has been improved quite a bit. It's now possible to chat, read/write e-mails, look for a job or a new house, order food (for in the fridge) or to play on the computer. Phones are all wireless, and Sims can walk around the house with it. Phones now also give you the option to just quit your Sims' job, or to request a pension (20%), besides the talking to friends or calling services. Other Sims might regularly call you, to speak with another Sim who will have to call back. The prank messages aren't there anymore. Friendship might still be important for the game, but it's now much easier to maintain the relationships. They're also not so crucial for careers anymore.

Sims also get ill quite regularly. If they need to stay home from work for a day, then can use a (paid) holiday, by just staying away from work during a workday. If the energy of the Sims drops too low while ill, they might die. Sims can also still die from drowning in the pool (which has to be in a rectangular shape) if you take the ladders away, and fire is probably still fatal too. There's also still electrocution, but it's not necessarily fatal. The gravestones for all your Sims are the same. there are no funerals, but that the Grim Reaper does come over again when somebody dies, and using a cellphone (as shown in the Friday 13th movie) he makes sure he has the right Sim. Ghosts appear quite regularly too, and they can go through walls and floors now.

The chat itself has much more details, but quite a lot of that isn't really news. Nevertheless, check out the chat transcript (in German) if you want to know more.

Written at 15:55 on Sunday, 15 August 2004 by ChEeTaH.