Maxis has posted the transcripts from the chat last night, and there are a few new things in there regarding the Sims 2 University. Besides many new features and items, there will for example also be new "Life's Big Moments," the cutscenes that occur at for example a first kiss. The famous cowplant is actually called the "Laganaphyllis Simnavorii" and the "Ressurectonomitron will become available by reaching level 6 in the paranormal career, and allows you to change the looks of Townies too. Of course there's also a bunch of new socials (group conversations for example) and self interactions (including streaking), pranks (Water Balloon, Suds in the Fountain, Setting off the Sprinklers) and characters like punky cheerleaders, evil mascots, pushy coaches, lecherous professors, and even a cafeteria lady. But that's far from everything mentioned in the chat...
It's also said each neighborhood can have mutiple University campuses, although they won't be associated together. When a Sim lives there, they can go visit their parents at home, or they can have their parents come over for a visit. If they feel really homesick, they can drop out by using the phone or the computer, or by failing two consecutive semesters. As stated before, each year takes 6 Simdays, which are two semesters of 3 days. Each semester ends with a final. Failing one semester will mean the Sim has to do it over again, which results in a longer stay at University. Interesting is also the bit where DoctorVu said "On top of this, graduating with honors will also give your Sim a career boost!"Just like regular Sims, Zombies can go to college. They can do pretty much everything normals Sims can (and Sims can fall in love with them), except that they don't age, look green, limp and have a special personality that makes them messy, mean and unpleassant. Although they can't die of natural causes, they can still be killed. And as all Sims can now buy cellphones amongst other gadgets, those cellphones are accessed by clicking on the active Sim and then just using the regular phone options. Something else Maxis knows the fans want are elevators, but it's unsure if they'll be in the first expansion pack.
Finally, for the few Sims that do actually go to classes: they will walk there autonomously if they're in a good mood, pretty much like the regular jobs. Of course classes can also be skipped, but that won't improve the grades much. If Sims spend some time in the gym, whether during class or not, they can enjoy objects like wall showers, lockers, treadmills, new weight equipment and full-wall mirrors. Finally, the camera object works in a way similar to the easel, but this time you can get Sims to pose in different positions, and make a picture of it to hang on the wall.
Read the complete transcript for the exact answers from the team.
Written at 23:57 on Friday, 28 January 2005 by ChEeTaH.
