Saturday 1 November 2003

Bustin' Out Preview, Shots and Movies

Written at 14:51 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

GameSpot has checked out Bustin' Out on the PlayStation 2, and posted a review with some screenshots and 4 movies. They look into the Muliplayer (online) mode, the smoother graphics (comparing it to the other 2 consoles), the soundtrack and the Single Player 'Get-A-Life' mode:

"The game will once again follow the standard goal-oriented structure the series is known for. However, the pacing has been tweaked quite a bit. Whereas you had a rather lengthy to-do list before being able to flee the nest in the previous game, Bustin' Out's pacing has been tweaked considerably and should have you out of the house pretty quickly. The game starts out by toying with your emotions in what will be an ongoing form of mental torture, as land baron Malcolm Landgrabb appears to repossess your scooter with a diabolical-looking teleporter rifle. You should get used to the abuse as Malcolm Landgrabb will appear anytime you arrive at a location where there's something remotely cool--and he'll promptly snatch it away! Getting back your stuff and thwarting his evil practices are one of the major bullet points on your to-do list."

There are many comparisons to last year's "The Sims" on the consoles. GameSpot's posted this preview with 18 new screenshots. Those can be found here, while the 3-page preview starts here. Finally, there are 4 new movies for GameSpot Complete members... Read More!

The Sims 2: Shots and Info

Written at 20:50 by ChEeTaH - 4 comments.

We have some brand new screenshots, directly from Maxis again. But before those, we also have some info about the gameplay. There's nothing completely new in this. First of all, as we know, Sims will grow up in 6 stages: from infant, toddler, child, teen, adult to elder. Elders will live long enough to see their grandkids grow up, but the definite lifespan is still undetermined. Of course the Newbies and the Goths will be back, and if you like it you can make them divorce. Finally some building info: you will be able to place doors and windows on diagonal walls, and Sims will be able to learn which bed is theirs. You have to teach them though. Ok, now the things you've been waiting for: the screenshots. The first one shows a couple of toddlers, the second one a pregnant woman. Click the shots below to see bigger versions:

Thursday 6 November 2003

New Poll

Written at 01:26 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

To our question "Which version of The Sims Bustin' Out will you be buying?" we got 145 answers. Most people (63) of those 145 aren't getting it (43%). The most popular version seems to be the PlayStation 2 one, which got second in the poll with 44 votes (30%). For all results, click here. For the new poll, which is not really a question but just "Sims are still Cool", you can vote on the right or at this page. Happy voting!

SimDay: Bigger than you'd expect

Written at 20:35 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

This SimDay comes in two parts, one from the official Sims 1 site, the other part from The Sims 2's official site. One thing that's on both sites is tonights chat: this time it'll be about Bella Goth and The Sims 2, and Luc Barthelet will be joining it. If you want to come tonight, be there at 3PM PST, 11PM if you're in the UK, or midnight in Europe. Then there are 3 downloads: 1 Makin' Magic Bookshelf, and 2 Makin' Magic wallpapers. You can store your magical ingredients on the shelf. Go here to get it. The wallpapers are right here. And as you might knowThe Sims gets nominated for nearly every game award that exists. This time the official site asks you to vote for The Sims for 2 award shows (and several nominations). There's EGM which has teamed up with MTV to create a game awards show which will be aired 2 February. There's also SpikeTV where The Sims has been nominated in quite a few categories. As for part 2: the screenshots page at TheSims2.ea.com has been updated, though they don't have any new screenshots. You can click here to check them out. There's also a new FAQ, and even though there's nothing completely new you might want to check it out. Click here for that FAQ.

Bustin' Out Screens

Written at 20:57 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

There are many new Bustin' Out Screenshots again. First there are 5 new ones from GameSpot, showing a disco, some kind of nuclear device, a museum and create a Sim (twice). All of those are right here. Then the official UK site shows a geyser, a disco (two different shots though), a rocket gnome, a car (which is red like the scooter), and creating a female sim. All of that is right here. As if that's not enough, there are also pictures from a Press event held in Germany last week. The official German site has posted an article (2 pages) plus an interview with Virginia McArthur (1 page) along with several pictures on this page. It's all in German, but if you can't read that you can still watch the screenshots. Click "Mehr Bilder" for the pictures, include a few screenshots.

Sunday 9 November 2003

Post-Simday

Written at 23:09 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

It's been Simday a few days ago, but since then a few more things have happened at the official site. The first thing is an ad for a "focus group", which Sims fans who live in the San Francisco Bay area can sign up for. If you're between 14 and 34, then you can sign up to give your opinion about The Sims on Monday 17 or Tuesday 18 November (which is in just over a week). You can earn a $75 fee, for just one and a half to two hours of 'work'. More information is right here. Secondly, and finally, there's the chat transcript of last Thursday's chat, with Luc Barthelet, about The Sims 2 and Bella Goth. About 500 people entered the chat, which made it very busy for the moderators. A lot of questions got answered in 1 hour, but there were many left unanswered too. Some of the major new things are that 'CAS' (Create A Sim, which Luc hopes will be named "SimExtruder") won't be released until December, simply because it's not ready yet. Marrying an NPC (yes, it is possible apparantly), won't mean the NPC will lose his/her job. They'll even have a personality. Like the tragic clown, we won't see Servo in The Sims 2. There will be tutorials for creating body meshes etc. As for cheats: The Sims 2 will have them, and rosebud, which Will Wright came up with, will still exist. The length of one part of a Sim's lifecycle is known: babies are only 2-3 sims days, before they'll grow up to toddlers. The final system requirements should arrive in a few days. There's also a bit of news about the amount of floors. According to Luc there will be 4 floors in total (3 plus an attic), but with the "I believe" after it we can't be 100% sure. Thought bubbles will now be in colour, and of course there will be gnomes and pink flamingoes again. Two of the unanswered questions (well, the french one was answered with "Je ne sais pas" which means "I don't know" are "What kind of weather will there be? Just rain and sunshine" and "Je sais que vous comprenez pas tous le francais mais es ce que Sonia et Sandra seront cancer?". Many others probably never saw the screens of the visitors, or made it to the transcript. For the complete transcript, with many, many more questions and answers, click here.

The Sims 2 Media

Written at 23:50 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

This weekend we can provide some media for The Sims 2 again, directly from Maxis. This week there's one movie and 2 screenshots (of which one old one). But first: a The Sims 2 newsletter. Maxis has launched a new one for The Sims 2, "The Sims 2 Scoop", which will provide in-depth info about The Sims 2: screens, videos, special offers and more. You can sign up for that at http://preferences.fun.ea.com/ea/mf_TheSims2.asp. On to the movie: remember the shy and outgoing girls who starred in the filmstrip 2 weeks ago? They've now been seen in full motion, telling the same story: who kisses the boy next door first? We can give it to you in two versions: high quality (14 Mb) and low quality (3 Mb). You'll need QuickTime to see it. Finally, the two screenshots, which this time show how easy you can change the entire look of a room. Note that these images are quite big and might take a while to load:

Monday 10 November 2003

Ask your Sims 2 questions

Written at 17:50 by ChEeTaH - 3 comments.

Later this week, I'll be heading off to California to attend the "Sims 2 University", a special event where webmasters of fansites will visit the Maxis studios to see the latest of The Sims 2. Of course the developers will be there too, including Will Wright, and I'll have the opportunity to ask them questions. Now here's my question to the visitors of The Sims Zone: if you have any question about The Sims 2 or the creation of custom content for The Sims 2, submit them! A lot of questions have already been answered in chats and FAQs, so it won't be very useful submitting those. Only the original ones, which haven't been answered (clearly) yet will be asked. You can submit questions by posting a comment (members only), or by e-mailing me. Submit your questions before Wednesday 21.00 (9pm) GMT and you'll make a chance of getting them answered. After the "Sims 2 University" is over, a report will be posted at The Sims Zone. There you'll see if your question has been answered or not.

Tuesday 11 November 2003

Bustin' Out Preview

Written at 16:08 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

IGN has posted a preview of Bustin' Out on the consoles a few days ago. Besides discussing Create A Sim, the campaign mode and some technical things, they also discuss the special features of each version:

"PS2, GameCube and Xbox owners are each getting some unique features. The option for a 720p display will be available for the Xbox. PS2 owners will get an online option where they can host a "Sims Weekend" event where everything that you've unlocked in your game will be open for you and other players to enjoy online. Players come over to your town and trade items and other goodies. It's basically a cool interactive way to cheat and get items that you otherwise wouldn't have unlocked. Think Animal Crossing but without the bizarre looking critters and leaves. The connectivity between GameCube and GBA allows you to buy an arcade cabinet in the console game that your sim can walk up to and "play." When he or she does, the GBA game then becomes a minigame player that lets you run through up to eight mini games if you have the GBA version of Bustin Out and 4 if don't have the GBA cartridge. The money you earn in your minigame session will be transferred to your GameCube character's account. While you're playing your minigame on GBA, your GameCube sim is standing at the arcade doing his or her "videogaming" animation."

There are many comparisons to the PC version of the game, but less to the console version that's been out for a while too. Besides this preview on this page, there are also two new pieces of art in the Bustin' Out GBA section at IGN. You can see them right here.

Thursday's chat

Written at 16:13 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Maxis has already published some information about Thursday's chat. As every week, there's a chat on the official site about one of the Sim-games. This week it'll be Cooper Buckingham (MaxisProducer) and Sean Hngunin (Lead Tester at Maxis) joining the chat. If you have any questions about the Makin' Magic gameplay, or what it's like to be a games tester, visit the chat. You can get there through this page, where you can also find the transcripts of the previous chats.

10 The Sims 2 Screenshots

Written at 16:20 by ChEeTaH - 8 comments.

Affiliate SimsZone.de has posted 10 (!) new screenshots of The Sims 2, coming from the Game Convention held in Germany a couple of weeks ago. These shots show a couple of new things, for instance a little stairway near the front door, because the house is built a bit above the ground, a helicopter ("3Sat" flying over?), a close-up on a painting, and a couple of other close details. Although the quality isn't superb, it's all pretty good and worth a look. Check out SimsZone's frontpage, or de "Screenshots" section under "Die Sims 2" to see them all.

Wednesday 12 November 2003

Sims 2 System Specs

Written at 21:06 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Maxis has announced the final system requirements for The Sims 2 today, which are the same as told in September. Here they are again for those who forgot:

• Processor (CPU): 600 MHz
• 128 MB of RAM on Windows 98, 2000, or ME, 256MB of RAM on Windows XP
• Graphics: GeForce or Radeon Series or better (older models require a better CPU, about 1.5 GHz)
• Screen Resolution: 800x600 minimum (like with The Sims 1), 1024x768 recommended.

Of course, the better your system, the better the game will run. Although it's not mentioned, it'll probably require at least DirectX 8, or perhaps even 9. Note that these are minimum requirements, and the game may not perform well if you only just meet them. Also, it's quite logical that when you expand the game with downloads, or get bigger families, the performance might decrease. You can check out this page at the official Sims 2 site for more information about the graphics card requirements.

Saturday 15 November 2003

The Sims 2 - New info

Written at 07:47 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.

Live from San Francisco, I can give you the latest news about The Sims 2. Together with about 20 other webmasters from the Sims community we’ve attended "The Sims 2 University" today, where we got to see a demo of the game, CaSIE (the official name of Create A Sim, which will be released before Christmas), and we even got some hands-on play time on the game. Of course we’ve also been able to ask a lot of questions to the developers of the game, including Will Wright. It was a great day and a special about it will follow soon, but I’m giving you some information right now already. Read on for more... Read More!

Sunday 16 November 2003

TS2: Build mode

Written at 05:18 by ChEeTaH - 9 comments.

Still from San Francisco, I'm going to give you some more information about TS2. Like yesterday I'll be writing a bit about the game. It's only a small bit though, as we did receive too much information to write about here. You can still expect the special to be put up later this week. Read more to find out about the new building options in TS2... Read More!

Monday 17 November 2003

Happy Birthday TSZ

Written at 03:18 by Jendea - 0 comments.

Tuesday 18 November 2003

Newsround

Written at 00:26 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

I've been away for a few days, and haven't really been able to keep the news up-to-date. So here's a newsflash with the latest news of the past couple of days. We have SimDay, and a lot of screenshots, as well as a magazine article. First the screenshots: there are 8 new Bustin' Out screenshots from GameSpot. They're for the GBA version, and you can see them right here. Some more Sims 2 shots are available at The Sims 2 Creation. Click "Screenshots", and then follow the "Les Screenshots à voir absolument!" link. The last 6 of them are new. Another site, Sims2Center has posted a scan of a 2-page article from PC Gamer magazine. Click here to load it. At SimDay there were a few new things. The first thing is a little layout change - the "BBS/Fans" item has been renamed to Community. Of course there was also a chat with MaxisProducer Cooper Buckingham and Lead Tester Sean Hugunin from Maxis. Check out the transcripts. You can now also download the Makin' Magic commercial, which you download it from this page. A new Makin' Magic wallpaper has been added as well, which shows Mortimer dancing with the skeleton maid. Go right here to download it. Finally there are some links to several reviews of Makin' Magic, which you can find over here. That's the quick newsround, of course it'll be kept up-to-date as before again from now on.

TSZ's birthday

Written at 00:57 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

As Jen already mentioned, it's TSZ's second birthday today (17 November). This week we'll be bringing you the Sims 2 University special, as well as the Sim Brother III downloads. Make sure to check back here often to see the latest Sims 2 news and the latest files. I also want to thank everybody in the team of TSZ for helping me with getting this site where it is now. I couldn't have done it without them. Of course I also thank you - our visitors - for visiting us all the time. Thank you everybody, and let's hope for another 2 years and after that many many more.

TS2U Special Part I posted

Written at 22:56 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

The first part of the special about The Sims 2 University, which I've visited last weekend, has just been posted. So far it only covers the new neighborhood (part of which has been discussed before), but of course there is a lot more to write about. All of that will follow in the next few days. The special will be spread over several pages. The first one has an introduction, the second one has the details about the neighborhood. It's easy to find it all, just click here to read it. If you ever feel like reading it again and you don't want to look for the news items, follow the link to the editorials archive and you'll find it as well. Enjoy the read, and be patient for much, much more...

Wednesday 19 November 2003

Chat tonight

Written at 18:16 by ChEeTaH - 2 comments.

Instead of the usual thursdays, this week's weekly chat will be held tonight. This week the event will be about SimCity. The time is the same as usual (3pm PST, which is 11pm in the UK and midnight in Europe), and the guests of honour are Mike Cox, Dr. Vu and Kevin Hogin, producers of the SimCity games. You can enter the chat through the official site.

Thursday 20 November 2003

TS2U Special Part II

Written at 00:41 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

The special about The Sims 2 University has been updated, and part 2: "The House of your Dreams" has been added. This part contains information about the improved build mode in The Sims 2. Just to give you a sneak-peek: here's a snippet:

"After selecting an area to build on, it's time to actually build that house of your Sims' dreams. New to The Sims 2 are the foundations, which will allow you to build on hilly terrain. In The Sims 1 hills caused a lot of problems when you built your house, but that's no longer an issue. Simply place blocks of foundation - either straight or diagonal - anywhere on the lot, within the available tiles anyway. The foundations will be placed a bit higher than the ground itself. Because Sims don't like to take high steps, you should also place some modular stairs. Because the stairs and its railings can be placed manually, you're able to create many different stairs, with no, 1 or 2 railings, in any combination you like."

You can read the new part here. To read the entire special from the start (yesterday's bit has been changed a tiny little bit), click here. Come back soon for more content!

New Poll

Written at 01:00 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Last week we had a poll running about how good you think Makin' Magic is. A lot of people (348) voted, and nearly half of that group (162 people, 47%) says "It's awesome!". 80 People (23%) say it's just "Pretty good". 11%, 39 people, voted for "I've been living under a rock and don't know what it is" (they probably don't have it too)... All the results are on this page. In our new poll we want to know how your Sims pay their bills and goods. Or at least how you think they pay. Tell us by voting at the right or on this page.

SimDay

Written at 19:49 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

This week's SimDay is pretty small again. First of all, there's a Desktop Gnome, which will give you hints and tips about Makin' Magic, and ask you questions about how you play the game. You can click here to download it. Secondly, and finally, there's the transcript of yesterday's chat, right here. A lot of SimCity questions have been answered, for instance about Rush Hour, BAT, the Lot Editor, and 64x64 cities (which can be used for Sims 2 neighborhoods). It's worth a read if you're a SimCity fan.

Friday 21 November 2003

The Sims 2 U

Written at 00:00 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

I've just posted part 3 of our The Sims 2 University special. This time, I'm covering the buy mode, and how your Sims can get their hands on the latest items. It's a must read for all the fans who are looking forward to The Sims 2 next year. You can find the new part on page 4. If you haven't read the rest yet, click here to read it from the start. I will be adding more content in the short future. Other sites have also reported about The Sims 2 University recently, including our affiliate SimsZone.de, WorldSims, TheSimsResource, Secret Sims, SimFreaks, Well Dressed Sim, SimSational, and TheSims2Resource, and the official site. Keep checking this site for updates on our in-depth special!

New Bustin' Out Shots [Update]

Written at 20:25 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

GameSpot has posted a couple of new shots of Bustin' Out. Four of these contain some gnome-creating, Create-A-Sim, and Sim-eating plants (thumbnail below). For all of GameSpot's screenshots, including older and these new ones, click here.


[Update 22 November, 1:45] Something I apparantly missed with the screenshots was the third Designer's Diary that came with the screenshots, as well as a video interview. This diary is about the several sounds (simlish, music and ambient sounds) in Bustin' Out, and Mike Perry, Game Designer, is talking about it:

"Where did simlish come from? The original The Sims, created by Will Wright, launched in February 2000. This is when the world was first introduced to simlish, the wacky language of The Sims. Simlish was initially going to be based on the Navajo dialect because Will was fascinated by the Navajo codetalkers of WWII. Ultimately, the team decided against this strategy because of the difficulty in finding Navajo voice actors. They also wanted to use a language that couldn't be translated so that its meaning would be left up to the imagination of the player. Thus, simlish, the gibberish that fans know and love, was born."

Read the whole article on this page. A video interview for GameSpot Complete Members has been added as well. It's a big download - nearly 140 Mb - but worth the download for the members and those who are interested in this game. It's all about SimLish, and it gives you a behind-the-scenes look on who's behind the Sims' voices.

Saturday 22 November 2003

TS2U: How to create Sims

Written at 02:13 by ChEeTaH - 4 comments.

It's a bit later than usual, but this part of the special took me quite some time to write. Part 4 is about creating Sims and their personalities. It's not about the separate tool, CaSIE, that will be released in December, but about the in-game Create-A-Sim. Here's a small part of the new article:

"After selecting the basics of the Sim, you can add some accessories to the face, like hats and glasses. You'll be able to overlap some of these accessories, so your Sim can have both a hat and glasses, but your Sims can't have two glasses. In the current pre-alpha version, there weren't too many options in this stage yet. The next step is to fine-tune the face. You can select the hairdo and colour, to which you off course can add new custom colours whenever you like. You can even adjust the eyebrows to make your Sim look angry, very happy, or something in between. As if that's not enough, you can tune the nose any way you want to. A nice example we saw after this step was an old (grey) Luc Barthelet (see picture) with a French barret and a huge nose."

You can read the whole article right here. If you've forgotten about the previous articles, or if you just want to read them again, go here for the first page.

Be In Control part I posted

Written at 17:28 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Yesterday I was late, today I'm early with posting the next part of the special about The Sims 2 University. This time it discusses the live mode. As there are so many changes since The Sims 1, I've already filled a page and I'm still not finished. Part 2 will follow later, probably tomorrow. If you feel like reading this part already, then have a go. If you rather read the whole special again: No problem. And if you don't want to read it at all: No problem either, just ignore it. The special is still far from finished and there is a lot more to write about besides part 2 of "Be In Control". In later articles I will discuss the technology behind The Sims, containing some general changes, Maxis Fansite hosting, and of course CaSIE and object creation. Come back here every day to see something new again. Enjoy the parts that have been written so far right here!

Monday 24 November 2003

New Sims 2 & CaSIE Shots

Written at 00:48 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.

The official site of The Sims 2 has posted 2 new screenshots of The Sims 2, which show how the grandfather of a toddler teaches her how to walk. These can be found here. We've also received 6 new screenshots of CaSIE, the tool to create Sims for The Sims 2 with. Click the thumbnails below to see them completely:

Bustin' Out GBA: Earlier than expected

Written at 01:04 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

With the official site opening up a new section for Bustin' Out, Maxis has also posted the final release dates for Bustin' Out on the consoles. The GBA and PS2 versions will come a bit earlier than expected: 2 December this year, instead of 16 December like on the X-Box and GameCube. In Europe all the versions will be released at the same time. And instead of being later than the US (as usual), Europe is a bit earlier on the last 2 consoles. The game will be released at 12 December 2003 - on all platforms. The GBA version has also gone gold already, while the other editions should follow soon. The same site has also posted a new fansite kit for Bustin' Out, which you can download from this page. If you want to read the complete press release about Bustin' Out going gold on the GBA, click here. Thanks to both ToTheGame and SimsZone.de.

TS2U: Part 6 posted

Written at 01:07 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

A couple of minutes ago, I posted part 6 of the Sims 2 University special. This is "Be In Control" part II. It's also the final part which is about the gameplay. However, the special is still not complete. In the near feature you'll be able to read more about the technical details behind the game, the creating of custom content (including CaSIE), and Maxis Fansite hosting. All of that will be covered in several articles, which will only make the special grow larger and larger. Until then, enjoy Be In Control part II, and of course the rest of the special.

Tuesday 25 November 2003

Technology of The Sims 2

Written at 00:18 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

If you want to know more in-depth information about the technology behind The Sims 2, you should now check out the updated TS2U Special. Today I've covered stuff like how easy it is to install and uninstall expansion packs, downloads, and some tech stuff about the graphics and sound. It's not so much about the gameplay itself, as pretty much all of that has been covered already previously. You can read the new part right here.

New Sims 2 Screens

Written at 08:44 by ChEeTaH - 2 comments.

GameSpot has posted 5 new screenshots of The Sims 2 in their database last night. They don't have any completely new stuff on it though, and so there's not much new to see. Nevertheless it's worth a check, as you can once again see the level of detail the game has. One of them actually shows the outgoing sister of the (famous) shy and outgoing twins putting her thumb up while her sister is socialising with the boy next door. One other shot shows the both sisters again, where the outgoing is talking to the shy girl. The rest of them show some more hot tubbing, as we've seen many times before. You can find all the screenshots right here. GameSpot has also posted 114(!)l skins and EA programs and patches. You can find all of those downloads by clicking this.

Wednesday 26 November 2003

Screenshots from WorthPlaying

Written at 23:44 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Worthplaying has posted two sets of screenshots (and concepts of art). These show the Sim we've seen many times before, in several stages. On backyardpark on a few shots, in a swimming pool, the library, on the farm, and a few other places. You can find both sets at this page and this page. Besides that, they've also posted 3 new shots of The Sims 2 (and one old one). One contains what we've seen many, many times before: the hot tub. The second one shows a kid jumping on the couch, and her mother sitting on it. As you can expect, the mother doesn't really appreciate the jumping... The third - and last - shows a family at the table, eating turkey for thanksgiving. The old one shows the first kiss of two young teens (the shy ones). You can find this set right here. Enjoy it all!

Thursday 27 November 2003

New Poll

Written at 01:25 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.

Just like last week, we've added a new poll again for this one. The question is: "Where do most of your Sims work?". You can tell us easily, just choose your option on the right, or click here. Last week we wondered how your Sims usually pay whatever they buy. The results where slightly surprising: most Sims carry around a lot of cash, as it got 58% of the votes. Other popular paying methods are the credit card (14%), sending money by mail (13%), and online wallets (11%). The least popular is the bank transfer: just 4% of the Sims usually pay with that. This survey has been taken by The Sims Zone under 176 Sims from all over SimEarth. Representative enough, isn't it?

CaSIE in the Special

Written at 01:30 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

After skipping a day, I updated the special a few minutes ago, this time with information about CaSIE. If you want to know what you can expect from the tool that will be released in less than a month (in English first, other languages will follow later, but when is unknown), you should definitely read this article. Instead of pictures from EA Headquarters and Maxis people, I've included some (old) screenshots of CaSIE (which was still known as (SA)CAS until a few weeks ago). If you look at these shots again now, you'll notice how the interface has changed over the course of time. But that's not the most important thing - that's creating the actual Sim of course. More about that can be read on page 9 of the special.

SimDay: Thanksgiving

Written at 12:20 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

This SimDay Maxis seems to be taking a bit of a break, hence it's pretty small. There won't be chat tonight, but they say they've got a pretty good line-up for next month. Then there's a review of Makin' Magic in the new issue of PC Games, but without a link we can't show you more... Then there's an interview with Jerry from KillerSims at TheSims2.com, which you can find here. If you live in California (near Sunnyvale), you're between 15 and 34 years old, and would like to talk about The Sims with other fans for 3 hours, and even earn some money with it, then go here for more info. New in the spotlight this week is Freddie Prinze Jr. You can download him to go into your Superstar game now, as NPC. Check out this page for that information. Finally: Happy Thanksgiving from Maxis (and The Sims Zone).

Friday 28 November 2003

New article in Sims2U Special

Written at 23:07 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

I've just added a new article to the Sims 2 University special, which this time covers the creating of custom content. This is one of the last articles already - there will be a couple more, but I've given away most of the info I received. Meanwhile this is already the 9th article so far, which means there is a lot of information. I suggest you check it all out over here. If you've read the rest already and don't want to read it all again, you can skip to the new article immediately by clicking this link. Of course the complete special will stay up as long as The Sims Zone exists, so you don't have to worry about it being deleted soon. If you want to read it again in the more distant future, then go to the editorials archive and follow the link to the "Sims 2 University Special".

Sunday 30 November 2003

The Handlers Update

Written at 01:29 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.

I'm currently working hard on both The Add-on Handler and the Neighborhood Handler, to make them Makin' Magic compaible. Although the Neighborhood Handler won't contain any new features, the Add-on Handler will and I've had a bit of trouble with it, and other things like the Sims 2 University and the special have also taken up quite a lot of my time. Hence there's a delay of approximately 2 weeks before I'll release new versions of both programs. Until then, both programs will still work properly, except... Read More!

Sims 2 Neighborhood Screeenshot

Written at 14:26 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

EA Games has released a new screenshot of The Sims 2. This time, it contains a picture of Riverside neighborhood, which was shown at The Sims 2 University. You can see it (in full-size, it's not bigger unfortunately), below: