A little while ago Senior Producer of the Sims 2 Sam Player sent out an e-mail giving an update on the status of Seasons, the upcoming fifth expansion pack for the Sims 2. These producer e-mails have been around since before The Sims 2 was released, and after skipping any for Pets they're back again. Sam mentions the fan event back in December last year, and he addresses the key features of the expansion pack. He names the possible heat strokes and freezing to death, as well as custom content features for the pack. Little touches make the game complete, including the pool upgrades, the new careers and the ability to set unique hairstyles for each outfit type. Leftovers get a quick mention too, as well as the recently posted trailer. Sam doesn't really mention anything completely new, though he does confirm the 27 February release date. Read on for the entire e-mail.
"Hey there Sims Fans!"So The Sims 2 Seasons was announced just before the holidays and I know you're scouring the web for every tidbit of information that you can find. I've read the message boards and we're just as excited to get the game to you as you are about hearing more details! We had an awesome Fan Day here on December 1st, where we invited about 20 Sims fansite creators from all over the world to our EA campus in Redwood City, California and gave them a preview of the game and a ton of playing time. I'm not going to speak for them, but from my vantage point they seemed pretty happy with what they saw. A number of them returned home and wrote about their experience and, of course, the game before the holidays. You can check out a list of their sites here.
"So I guess the biggest hit in this Expansion Pack is pretty easy to guess: your Sims are getting all 4 seasons! We've brought to life dramatic and detailed weather effects including rain, snow, hail, lightning and vibrant fall colors to give you a ton of brand new experiences in The Sims 2. Snowy Winters, cool Falls, wet Springs, and hot hot Summers with your Sims. The different seasons not only offer a ton of cool new activities, like snowball fights, raking leaves, gardening and fishing, but they affect your Sim in funny ways as well. If you don't keep them cool in the summer they could pass out from heat stroke! Or they could freeze to death if you keep them exposed to the cold too long. So be careful!
"And content creators should love that your new object, building, and clothing creations will work with our weather effects too. Your retextured objects can be covered in snow, and your custom Outerwear will keep you warm just like our original items will.
"In addition to adding in the seasons and all its details, we made sure to include lots of other little touches to really help complete the experience. For example, one thing that we're really proud of is the pool upgrades. Your swimming Sims will cast real-time shadows beneath the water surface on both pool walls and floors, we also added reflections of objects and Sims in the water, and customizable pool floor and wall designs.
"Other fun additions are 6 new Sim careers, the ability to set a unique hairstyle for each outfit type, and leftovers! Never will your Sim waste food again! :-)
"And last but not least, we just released an official video for Seasons. Make sure to check it out!
"All in all, this EP is a ton of fun to work on and we are totally stoked to ship it on February 27th! Make sure you post all your thoughts on the BBS once you get it.
"Talk to you soon,"
-sam (a.k.a MaxoidSam, Sims 2 Senior Producer)
Written at 01:15 on Thursday, 8 February 2007 by ChEeTaH.
