Hunter Howe has sent out his second e-mail for Open for Business, with a new update about the expansion pack. This time it's all about the new build mode features. Awnings come in various styles, and can be built in pretty much any shape. Elevators are also new, and are somewhat magical. They can rotate during their trip. Shaft pieces allow the elevator to skip a floor, whereas the door piece (2x2 squares big, 3x2 including the reserved tiles in front of the door) can let your Sims in and out. Plummeting elevators can drain the needs of the Sims in the elevator a lot, causing death as ultimate result if the needs are too low. Woohoo increases the risk of a crashing lift. Split levels are also new, and allow you to make stages or little pvaillions. Finally Hunter mentions the new dome, cone and octagon shaped roofs that you can put down instead of the usual ones. A new windmill ploppable can also be seen in one of the five included screenshots. You can see those together below, just click the thumbnails for large versions. The whole email, with the same screenshots, is behind the read more link (or below if that isn't here).
"Hey Sim Fans!
"What's this? Another H-Mail? What a rip off! Where's Tim?
"Well, I hope that's not what you guys are saying. It's Hunter, back to give you some more information about Open for Business. Specifically, a little info about our new building features in the pack. Everybody loves build mode!
"First off: awnings. These are awesome! Take a look at the picture below, which shows our modern awning in action. You can build them off of the building or as stand-alone structures (like gazebos.) The coolest thing is that you can build them out in all kinds of shapes, so you can make a T shape, a cross, or whatever. We have these modern awnings, some more traditional commercial awnings, and a really cute "storybook" style that feels like it's out of a fairy tale.
"Next up, elevators! You guys have all heard about how they work (at least I think you have), but here's a little refresher. You've got two elevators, and two pieces for each: a door/shaft piece and a shaft piece. Obviously, each floor you want Sims to be able to stop off at needs a door piece, which is a 2 x 3 object (2 x 2 with reserved tiles in front). These can go in any direction you want (yes, magical Sims elevators can rotate mid-trip), and require a shaft piece for any floors you want the elevator to "Skip". Elevators have the fun bonus of sometimes breaking and sending Sims for a crazy plummet that will slam the needs. Needs too low? Yep. Sim doom. If you want to avoid this fate, you should probably avoid WooHoo in it. Here's a picture of what the elevator looks like from the inside!
"Third feature: split levels! I've been hoping for these for quite a while. Personally, I've always been frustrated by having to build an entire floor as a flat space. When you're looking in the real world, especially in public places, you see raised areas to break the monotony. This tool allows you to create a raised area without workarounds or creating a new floor level. The tool doesn't create a new room, so these can actually be used as stages or little pavillions. I'm sure you guys will come up with some great uses for these. Here are some examples in a business setting and a home setting.
"Lastly, new roofs! We have added domes, cones, and octagons for your building pleasure. Just like with normal roofs, you just pick the tool and drag out the region that you would like the roof to be contained in. Here's a picture of a house that combines a number of the new options in one little package. The windmill in back is a new neighborhood "ploppable."
"Not a bad assortment! This is a great pack for for building. Our team is looking forward to seeing what realistic, elegant, or crazy businesses you guys choose to make."
-Hunter
"PS: This thing is gonna be in boxes soon! Yay!"
Written at 16:10 on Saturday, 4 February 2006 by ChEeTaH.
