Friday 1 November 2002

Sim Brother II - Day 71 + Interview

Written at 04:00 by Andy - 0 comments.

Saturday 2 November 2002

Sim Brother II - Day 72 (TSO)

Written at 03:00 by Andy - 0 comments.

Sim Brother is letting all the housemates be someone else today with a reward at the end. Find out who was the best!

Coming Soon

Written at 23:40 by Sumit - 0 comments.

Stay tuned for the Aztec Set. Featured is a chandalier (a request) more of them to come anyways.

Sunday 3 November 2002

Sim Brother II - Day 73 (Saturday)

Written at 01:00 by Andy - 0 comments.

The Neighborhood Handler 4.0 RC1 here!

Written at 22:37 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Finally it's here. The Neighborhood Handler 4.0 RC1 (Release Candidate) can now be downloaded from this page. This version is only an update version, the DLL files of the older versions (3.x) are required. Note that the manual and proper readme aren't ready yet, it has been delayed due to RSI that I've had. I will be working on that this week, but it could still take up to a month before the final (and fully completed) release of The Neighborhood Handler 4.0 will be out. There's a whole load of new things, including the password-protecting of back-ups, giving regular neighborhoods name and comment details too, and a lot more. It's now also fully compatible with the Unleashed expansion pack. To download it go here. Due to a recent crash of my hard-drive the website has not been updated yet, so the latest files cannot be directly downloaded from there just yet. I will be working on all that as soon as possible. Have fun with it!

TSO Shifted again?

Written at 23:55 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.

There seems to be some good news for those who want to test The Sims Online a little bit longer. Amazon has its release date now put at 3 December, which is again 2 weeks later than expected before (18 November). Strange enough EB Games has the old date up for a few packages of TSO. The regular pack has been set to 3 December though, so that's pretty much confirmed. If you can't wait that long, haven't been invited to the play test yet and you are in the US, then you can order the play test separately for $4,95 from this page. You can also pre-order The Sims Online with play test combined together at several shops. It's not known if any stores in Europe have this offer yet.

Monday 4 November 2002

Sim Brother II - Day 74 (Eviction)

Written at 01:00 by Andy - 0 comments.

Sim Brother II - The 3rd Place Story

Written at 01:36 by Andy - 0 comments.

George W Bush is the 3rd Place winner of Sim Brother II. How does he feel about it?

Recalls

Written at 04:29 by Sumit - 0 comments.

All of my original objects have been recalled. Those annoying yellow lines around these objects have been removed!!! Now these beautiful creations look more simlike than ever without any yellow borders or such.

These are the recalled objects:
Witch Hat
Pumpkin
Red Lamp
Lamp Miracles

Please download these again and watch your sims jump with joy as the yellow barrier has been lifted! Download from over here.
Aztec Set coming your way!

Tuesday 5 November 2002

Sim Brother II - Day 75 (2 Days Left)

Written at 01:30 by Andy - 0 comments.

Wednesday 6 November 2002

Sim Brother II - "Inside Sim Brother"

Written at 04:00 by Andy - 0 comments.

Thursday 7 November 2002

Sim Brother II - Day 76 (Bonfire Night)

Written at 00:00 by Andy - 0 comments.

Sim Brother II - Evictees on the Outside

Written at 00:30 by Andy - 2 comments.

Sim Brother II - And the Winner is ...

Written at 01:00 by Andy - 0 comments.

Sim Brother II - The 2nd Place Interview

Written at 01:30 by Andy - 0 comments.

Sim Brother II - The Winner's Tale

Written at 02:00 by Andy - 6 comments.

SimDay: More SimCity

Written at 20:27 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

As if The Sims is dead and SimCity is alive, this week's simday is all about SimCity. There are 5 new SimCity 4 articles. if you're interested in "Sims, Trains and Automobiles", "I speak for the little people! Andtheir cars! Scripting Automata", "Personalization: Your City Your Way", "Region Play" or "Props" then hop over to SimCity.ea.com and read the articles. It's quiet in Walnut Creek, so it seems... as this is all the news from the official site. Probably more news next week - unless there's completely nothing.

(SimDay Part 2) Unleashed Patch Ready

Written at 23:28 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

When posting the SimDay report this wasn't there yet, but now it is at the official site: The patch for unleashed. This time it's not just for Americans only too, European, Asian and Japanese owners of the latest expansion can also apply this patch. Several things have been fixed, like the flooding under objects, skins losing bought skins, Sims will now watch TV sitting again, the routing has been improved a bit, and some memory leaks don't exist anymore. Finally there are a few fixes in the web pages: humans don't display pet statistics anymore, The Sims actually launches the web pages, and the Sims display the correct gender information. There are also some other important notes about it, so visit this page for important notes and the download link. If you can't wait and want to download the 3.17 Mb Patch right away, then just click here.

Friday 8 November 2002

TNHH 4.0 (RC1) Bug found

Written at 21:15 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

With thanks to Tom Ledford, the first major bug in The Neighborhood Handler has been found: The install a lot option doesn't work (installing families does work though). In other words, you cannot install any downloaded houses or lots using this latest version. Unfortunately I hadn't been able to find it myself earlier because my hard drive had crashed recently. I will be fixing this error. Due the the hard drive crash, a few (minor) old bugs sneaked back in too, which I will also have to fix again. Those are not in the 40 RC1 version. The next version of The Neighborhood Handler will be the 4.0 final, including a manual and full readme. I'm now working on that as well. I expect this final version to be released in about 2-4 weeks. For those who want to receive a fixed program file before this release: this will be ready next weekend (16/17 November). Those who want it can email me and I will send it as soon as it's ready. I will not be releasing this as a separate download on this site because no installation or anything will be included. I apologise for any inconvenience caused by this bug. I am working on fixing it as soon as possible. If you find any other bugs or errors in the latest version, please let me know so it can be fixed as well. Thank you.

Saturday 9 November 2002

SimDay Part 3

Written at 00:47 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

SimDay came in 3 parts this week. This last bit is just a bit more about SimCity 4: next week there will be a chat event with producer Sean Decker. The chat is at 3PM PST (or 11pm in the UK, midnight CET). You should enter the chat early so you can submit any questions you have about SimCity 4. I believe that's all for this week's SimDay, it's friday now so I doubt there will be a part 4 this week.

Sims Rejoice!

Written at 19:00 by Sumit - 1 comment.

Sims rejoice as another weekend passes by and yet they still have no weekend but to make up here is a new lamp ever sim wants! This beautifully carved lamp will bring magic to any home! All here:



Want to have your favorite furnishing in the game? Well then request it! Got a pic? Send it! Request me over here.

Wednesday 13 November 2002

Free play test download [Update]

Written at 22:17 by Sumit - 0 comments.

For all people who have not yet received The Sims Online play test go onto Fileplanet. You can get it for free now even if you aren't a fileplanet server member. So let us all rejoice as everyone can have The Sims Online Play Test now :)

Words of caution, It is a VERY big file of 1.2 Gigabyte, and it might take you days if you're on a modem connection. It could even take a long time on a broadband.

Update: I did say that it was free and filplanet says the same, but it requires a credit card for your billign statement for some reason. But if you want to go through with the long download and give your credit card, makesure when you click to install that you see the fileplanet window or your email for the CD key.

TSO November update

Written at 23:42 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

The TSO website has been updated again. There are again 4 new Gameplay articles. One of them includes a "Quick Tour" video, there's something about the player site, some beginner-tips, and help with contacting tech support for TSO. The "Cool Objects" article hasn't been updated (yet) and now has a dead link... Of course, there's also the MOMI Knows Best update. Read More!

Thursday 14 November 2002

Server problems [Update]

Written at 21:29 by ChEeTaH - 2 comments.

As you might have noticed, there are a few problems with our storage server (thesimszone.com) so images don't load and files cannot be downloaded from here at the moment. Emails sent to will probably also bounce. Unfortunately this is out of our (direct) control. We are currently working on fixing it, and the site should be back completely before our birthday. We apologise for any inconvenience caused during this downtime.

Note that the news, articles etc. can still be viewed, and you can also still browse most of the site. Only loading images, downloading files and sending emails doens't work at the moment.

Update 21:42: It turns out our host is moving our site to a different server. That means it will take up to 48-72 hours before the site is back completely again.

Friday 15 November 2002

Late SimDay: PS2 Previews

Written at 22:04 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

This week's simday was put up late, hence this late report. All that's interesting now is that there are 3 links to short previews of The Sims on PS2. There's on at IGN, another one at Gaming Nexus and another one at GameZone. The IGN one is just a development update really. However, there are some new screenshots. The same goes for the GameZone one, which also has a bunch of new screenshots. The Gaming Nexus one is a short product overview, with a list of key features:

The Sims in 3D - Explore an entirely new 3D world that harnesses the full power of the PlayStation 2. The controller-based interface makes controlling your Sims and creating their world a snap.

Level based game play Start with just one Sim in a shack and move into bigger and better homes as you advance through lifes big moments. Meet new neighbors and unlock objects along the way.

Play The Sims with a friend - For the first time, two players can now control their own Sims in the same Sim environments. Play all new two-player games for popularity points and money. Save your house and Sims on a memory card and play them on a friends system.

PlayStation 2 exclusive content Meet and interact with new characters and play with new objects not found on any PC version of The Sims. Customize your Sims appearance to a new level of detail found only on the PlayStation 2 console.

Open Ended Gameplay: Just like in the PC version of the Sims you can create and control your Sims in the no winners or losers gameplay. Set your own goals and play at your own pace to create your perfect Sims home.

The last bit of this SimDay is about last night's MySims featured chat. A transcript of it will be put up soon enough, for everybody who missed it.

TNHH Small delay, again :-(

Written at 23:49 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Due to some happenings in my personal life earlier this week, and recent crashes of my harddrive (3 times in 3 weeks, it should be fixed by now though), The Neighborhood Handler got delayed a bit again. I'm really sorry for that, but I can't help it either. This delay also is for the fixed .exe file with the "Install Lots" option working again - that will be finished within a week from now though. I also hope to be releasing the full version before the end of this year, which should be possible.

Contrary to earlier announcements, I will be releasing the fixed .exe in the form of a second Release Candidate (RC2) version when it's ready. Those who emailed me will get the file emailed to them, packed in a .zip file, as soon as it's ready as well. I really apologize for these delays, but will bring it all to you as soon as possible. I hope you understand that these delays are necessary to bring you a decent product.

Sunday 17 November 2002

First birthday!

Written at 14:00 by ChEeTaH - 3 comments.

Exactly 1 year ago, the first news item was posted at this site. TheSimsFusion had finally relaunched as The Sims Zone. At the moment we're 1 year, over 500 news post, 2 Sim Brother series, over 400 files, a few new sections, nearly 1500 members, close to 50 polls, a couple of affiliates, one host change and another server move (happening right now) and lots of other things further. To celebrate our first birthday, we will be bringing you lots of content to enjoy this week. Unfortunately, because of the current server problems there won't be a lot of new things today. But as most files are ready you will definately see those soon enough, so there's nothing to worry about. We hope you enjoy our birthday, and also the stuff that's coming very soon!

Want to know about the full history of this site until 6 months ago? Read this editorial written on our 6 month birthday as The Sims Zone.

Sims at Work ideas

Written at 20:25 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

IGN had posted an article about The Sims at work over a week ago, but only for insider members. Now there's a new article (The Sims Wishlist), the old article has been given out to everybody so you can also read the article. It contains some thoughts of how you'd be able to follow your Sims to work. Some thoughts are logical and could work out well, but are we waiting for another expansion pack?

"How could a 'Sims at Work' work, anyway? That's sort of an interesting thing to think about. The way I see it, the most logical route would be to make an all new 'Business District' area separate from the main neighborhood, not unlike how Downtown and Vacation Island are separate. Then you would have different lots, each one representing the different career tracks, perhaps. (How may career tracks are there now? Many, many, many). I say this is the 'most logical route' -- by that I mean, I believe that this is a programming problem that could be accomplished with the existing engine, since it follows the models of previously released expansion packs. Demanding something like, say, basements and third stories on every house would be probably be much harder, because it doesn't already exist in the game."

Read the whole article.

Anniversary Week: The Sims 2 Expectations

Written at 20:39 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.

The first extra for our birthweek comes from me - in the form of an editorial. I've been doing some guessing of what we can and cannot expect to get in The Sims 2. This game is yet unconfirmed but will quite definately come. There are even rumours of it coming out in the 2nd quarter of next year. From the looks and Gameplay I also gave other features a thought. Some are on the wish-list, some of these features were already seen in expansion packs. Take for instance gable-end roofs:

"If Andy keeps nagging enough, then we might see those in the new game. If there'll be an attic, then we'd probably also get gable-end roofs. If we're not so lucky - and to be honest I think that'll be the case - there won't be gable-end roofs in the game. Maxis shouldn't put them in the intro then though. We should wait and see if we're going to get those gable-end roofs."

It's a long article, but if you're interested in The Sims 2 then give it a read. If you have comments, post them in this news article (Members only, login if necessary). Have fun reading!

Server Problems Update: Layout fixed

Written at 22:44 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

As you can see, the layout of this site has been fixed. The layout images load up again. Please note that downloading files is still not possible, and we won't receive emails you send us as well. The Sim Brother images also won't load up. I currently can't say when we'll be back completely, but I also hope it'll be in the first half of this week. I apologise for all the inconvenience, but unfortunately there isn't much that I can do at the moment as well. Sorry.

Tuesday 19 November 2002

Server Trouble: (Temporarily) Solved

Written at 12:55 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

At the moment both our servers are working again. The old server's account has been enabled again so you should be able to download everything again. I currently don't know if the site will be down again later this week - it could be possible, but I hope not. For now everything's working again, so have fun enjoying TSZ!

Test a new EA game (UK Only)

Written at 13:20 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

I've been contacted recently by Wardle McLean about recruiting people to pre-test an upcoming EA title. I don't know what game it is (I couldn't be told), all I know is that it's from EA. Testing takes place in Central London. There was a test group yesterday, but unfortunately due to the (unexpected) server problems I didn't get the details for that soon enough (it was for female Sims players aged 18-25, sorry women!). There's another test group later today, so I'm not sure if you can still join that. Anyway, here are the details for the groups:

Male Age of Empires II players, aged 16-19, testing takes place today at 6.30pm

Male Age of Empires II players, aged 20-30, testing takes place on 21/11/2002 at 6.30pm

Male Sim City 3000 players, aged 25-35, testing takes place on 25/11/2002 at 6.30pm

Testers will get paid 50 and it should be great fun. Note that it's for the UK only! To join the testing, call 020 7234 9340 between 9.30am and 5.30pm. You can also email Luke Tipton at luke@wardlemclean.co.uk. I recommend calling for today's test group. Testers will have to answer short telephone questionnaire before they're told whether they can test or not. If you cannot test during one of those times, but you are interested in testing any other title later, then you should contact them as well. For those lucky enough to join: have fun.

Please do not contact me or anybody else at The Sims Zone to join testing, but contact Wardle McLean directly. Thank you.

 

Anniversary Week: "Andy's Autos" Open For Business

Written at 14:00 by Andy - 3 comments.

Celebrities in TSO

Written at 21:24 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

German site GameStar.de has posted news about celebrities promoting TSO. Until the US-release of the game, AOL Members can download the clips starring Avril Lavigne, Beyonce Knowles, LL Cool J and Ludacris as Sim-characters of themselves. They will also take a small part in a (virtual) TSO launch party.

Wednesday 20 November 2002

The Sims Zone Birthday Wednesday Update

Written at 22:29 by Sumit - 0 comments.

Welcome to wednesday and welcome to object celebration! A major update brings out everything from Sofas to Cheetah dolls! But wait! There is more to come, so stay tuned for the next update today. I'll make a post when its up, but enjoy these for the time right now :)
All this here
Cheetah (click pic to go directly to it):

Thursday 21 November 2002

Server trouble update

Written at 00:51 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

As you might've noticed, downloading was disabled again part of today. It's now been re-enabled but 404 (Not Found) errors can start appearing at any time again. This is because the thesimszone.com domain (which we use to store our files and images) still points to the old server. The account was deleted there. After some asking, we got our account back online on that old server. Unfortunately, because that server is going out of business, it can be deleted at any time again. The new server should be activated in 48-72 hours (2-3 days), but it could differ a bit per ISP or where you live. Between the time the old server goes offline again, and the new server gets activated, downloading files will cause 404 errors. Emails are being redirected to other accounts for now, so emailing us should be no problem. These problems are out of our control, and we're unable to solve them - it's basically just a matter of waiting now. We sincerely apologise for all this inconvenience last week - especially since it's our anniversary week - but there isn't much we can do. In a few days time, we'll be back like before without problems.

New Poll

Written at 01:00 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Last week's poll was about The Sims 2 and if you'd be getting it. As expected, most people (21 of 49, 43.75%) said they'd definately get it. Some others, 10 (20.83%) to be precise, aren't sure yet and want to see some (p)reviews first. 8 others (16.67%) are even less sure but say they will still probably get it. 8.33%, or 4 people, said TSO will probably be expensive enough so they're unlikely to get The Sims 2. 3 people, 6.25%, already spent enough on The Sims and its expansions, and won't be getting The Sims 2. 1 person (2.08%) will get the PS2 version, which is likely to be a bit similar, and another one answered to "Why would I?". A nice overview of the results are on this page. As for the new poll: we'd like to know what operating system you use. Are you using Windows, Linux or even a Macintosh? Tell us here (or on the right). Happy voting!

SimDay: TSO in the news

Written at 20:12 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

The Sims Online has been in the news recently. There's an article in NewsWeek as well as one at Time.com. The Time article writes a bit on how the first Sim idea was born:

"The founding father of this brave new world is an affable, bespectacled, 42-year-old polymath named Will Wright. In 1981, after five years of bouncing around three colleges without graduating, Wright decided to try his hand at writing a computer game. He called it Raid on Bungeling Bay. "It was basically a pretty stupid fly-around-in-a-helicopter-and-shoot-people game," he admits. The object was to fly over various islands and bomb them back to the Stone Age. But Wright became fascinated with these tiny islands. He found himself spending hours giving each one a detailed, working infrastructure tiny people in tiny factories loading products onto tiny ships. "Pretty soon," he remembers, "I figured out I was having a lot more fun creating these little islands than I was bombing them." Eureka: the original Sim. Wright had discovered a new way to have fun."

Both reads are quite interesting, but not too short either. More this SimDay is on the SimCity front: there are some new Desktop Images (640*480, 800*600 and 1024*768) and 9 new screenshots. Also, there will be another SimCity 4 chat next week, this time about the 'Region Play' feature. You can chat with producer Sean Decker. The chat will start tonight at 11pm British Time (Midnight in Europe, 3pm PST). Get your questions ready to ask. About last week's chat: you can check out the transcript right here.

Friday 22 November 2002

BIRTHDAY ITEMS and a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Written at 14:08 by Bettyjoe - 0 comments.

Happy Birthday this week to TSZ!!!! Due to the server problems, I have emailed my files to Cheetah. He will be posting them a.s.a.p. I will be leaving town early on Sunday morning, November 24. I am going to spend Thanksgiving with my parents!!!! I will be returning on Sunday, December 1st. I will have more new material for your Sims VERY soon!!!! Take Care and to everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!!! Bettyjoe :0)

BIRTHDAY GOODIES

Written at 23:20 by Bettyjoe - 1 comment.

"Bettyjoe's Creations" has worked VERY hard over the last couple of weeks to bring you these birthday specials.... you can check out all my newest additions if you click HERE. Hope you enjoy these, after a short holiday break for Thanksgiving, with my family, there will be some more new material hot off the design tables of "Bettyjoe's Creations". :0) ENJOY!!!! and HAPPY TURKEY DAY to you and your Sims.

Sunday 24 November 2002

Still More Birthday Downloads!

Written at 05:03 by Jendea - 0 comments.

More TSZ Birthday Gifts - better late than never! :)
I have added three new unleashed house lots, three new heads and a new mesh with two gowns in all skin tones.
You can see them all under my section here:

TNHH 4.0 RC2 Out

Written at 21:42 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

As reported before, the first Release Candidate of version 4.0 of The Neighborhood Handler was not working properly when trying to install houses or lots. This has now been fixed, amongst a few other (small) things. The "Save Reg Error 1" has been fixed as well, and the "Convert old back-ups" option has been moved to the main screen. To download the fixed version, go to this page. Have fun with it!

Tuesday 26 November 2002

The Sims PS2: More screens

Written at 00:14 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

IGN has doubled the amount of screenshots for The Sims on PlayStation 2 in one go. This "Sims Image Party" has resulted in 29 new shots. There's some socialising, partying, relaxing, skill-training and more going on there. Basically too much to mention in one go here. Go to this page for the whole list of shots, as well as the older images and the E3 trailer. Below is one of the new screenshots:

TSO Sneak Preview

Written at 00:26 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Coming thursday to GameSpot is a "Behind the Games" feature of The Sims Online. There's already a sneak-preview to be read of it:

"It was September, 2001, only a week after the terrorist attacks on America. While the nation was still recovering, the team behind The Sims Online at Maxis had its own serious issue to overcome: The follow-up to the best-selling computer game of all time was broken--and no one was sure how to fix it. 'Last September, the general sense inside the company was that this game couldn't be made within two years,' said Luc Barthalet, general manager of Maxis. 'The game code was like a big bowl of spaghetti. It was all tangled up, largely because we had kept iterating off the original Sims code that was started seven years ago.'"

Thursday Will Wright will reveal why TSO scares him more than anything he's ever done before. You will also get untold stories and some info behind the play test. The Behind the games will be up 3.30PM Pacific time at GameSpot, something probably worth to check out. For now, there's the Sneak Preview along with a shot of Will Wright and a 1 minute Teaser Video (11.0 Mb High Res, 8.0 Mb Low Res) of the Behind the Games feature.

Wednesday 27 November 2002

New submission

Written at 13:07 by Steve - 0 comments.

I have just added a wonderful new object. Komki's Kannonball Express coffee machine is a wonderful new object for your game. It increases your sims energy very quickly, and also increases their fun rating. If you want to download this great new object click here.

Submissions are always welcome here at The Sims Zone which is why we created the submissions page! Please make sure you check out the submissions page before sending a file in. If you follow all the instructions then your file will be added to The Sims Zone.

Thursday 28 November 2002

New poll

Written at 01:04 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

We've had another poll again (number 48 already). To be short about it, here are the results of the question 'What operating system do you use the most?':

Windows XP 58 (55.77%)

Windows 98/98SE 23 (22.12%)

Windows 2000 11 (10.58%)

Windows 95 4 (3.85%)

Other Linux Distribution 4 (3.85%)

Mac-OS (Macintosh) 3 (2.88%)

Mandrake Linux 8.0 Gaming Edition 1 (0.96%)

That makes a total of 104 votes. This week we want to know what screen resolution you play The Sims in. Is this 800x600 or 1024x768 (and do you maybe wish it could be even higher)? Tell us on the right or on this page. Old poll results can be found here.

 

Unleashed on Mac

Written at 23:04 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

As expected, Aspyr is converting the latest expansion pack of The Sims - Unleashed - to the Mac. The current date is set to December 2002, so it should be coming very soon. You can follow its progress a bit at their project status page. It will be pretty much the same as the PC version. This are the minimum system requirements:

MacOS 8.6, 9, 10.1 or later.

G3 processor at 233 MHz or faster (450 MHz recommended)

192 MB of Memory (additional 128M recommended if running OSX)

2 MB VRAM (8 MB recommended)

Hard drive, with 750 MB of additional free space

Quicktime 4.1.2

More info is at Aspyr.

 

SimDay: PS2 video

Written at 23:39 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Besides the announcement of the announcement of the German site launch, there's a SimCity 4 Fansite Kit (15.5 Mb) to be downloaded. Having said that, there's one final more interesting thing: a QuickTime video of The Sims on PS2. You see the biggest special features of The Sims PS2, like creating your Sims, the 3D neighborhood, the story mode and 2-player challenges. Definately worth a look for those interested in this game (or perhaps even in The Sims 2, as some features might/will be seen in that game as well). You need a QuickTime plugin for it. To check out this 25 seconds video, go to this page. Last week's chat with SimCity 4 Producer Sean Decker about the Region Play feature was also quite a success, and the transcript can be found here. That's all, more next week.

Saturday 30 November 2002

More server trouble

Written at 01:00 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Just like last week, our .com server has been taken down. Because there were serious speed problems at some times of the day for the last week (0.3kb/sec per connection sometimes), the host has decided to move us to a new server again which hopefully will be more reliable. We hope that the new server will be back up before monday, but at this point I cannot guarantee anything. At this point, downloading files has been disabled again until further notice. We hope this will be fixed very soon as well, but unfortunately I do not have control over this. You will be informed in the news here when the server is back online and can be used again - hopefully without problems then. We apologise for the inconvenience, and hope that you understand that we want to bring you a service that's as good as possible. Very slow downloading is unacceptable and and although it means some complete downtime it's better to have it serve at acceptable speeds so you don't have to wait hours to download a few files.

Once the server is back, we will be adding one new and necessary feature to the site. More details will be here soon, so keep checking the news! We should be back completely within a few days.