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641. Lucy's Mail: SimLish

Written on Saturday 24 July 2004 at 06:31 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.

This week's mail from Lucy is partially done by Robi Kauker (Audio Lead) and Claire Curtin (Game Designer). They tell there's a huge amount of samples from the various voice actors made, 40,620 to be precise, which are being worked with by at least 6 Maxoids. Included where two pictures (Robi and Claire), as well as a few samples of the SimLish. Click the links to download them. See the Read More part for the entire e-mail, which gives a lot more details about how SimLish is recorded.

Sample 1 (312 Kb)
Sample 2 (196 Kb)
Sample 3 (172 Kb)
Sample 4 (1.1 Mb)
Sample 5 (1.0 Mb)
Sample 6 (743 Kb)

Read More!

642. Submissions

Written on Friday 23 July 2004 at 17:51 by Steve - 0 comments.

I have just added the latest submissions to the site. To start we have a lovely (although slightly insane) roof design, which I personally love. Download this here, or click here for more roofs.

For those of you out there who own The Sims Vacation, we now have a blue version of the Lovebed available. This re-coloured object has been kindly provided to us by Buciaer. Download the file here.

A treat for all of you Livin' Large owners. Fancy a mansion? Well I have one right here for you. Thanks to Alex for this. A second house, also added is a very large, partly furnished mansion. You can download this here. (Please note this house requires all expansion packs).

If you want to submit a file to The Sims Zone then please goto the submissions page. Please follow the instructions there and send your file to us. Remember, if a file is too large to send us using the site, just give me an e-mail and I will give you further instructions what to do.

IMPORTANT: Due to the server move back in March, please could anyone who has submitted me files, that have not yet been added please re-send me these files. We will get them added ASAP. Unfortunately some submissions from before the move have gone lost. We are very sorry for any problems, or missed sumbissions due to the move, but hope you will keep submitting.

643. The URBZ new Logo revealed

Written on Friday 23 July 2004 at 15:04 by ChEeTaH - 2 comments.

EA has revealed a 'new' logo of the URBZ. It's appeared before in a few gameplay movies (since last week's Hot Summer Nights event). The logo is now also available as high-resolution image, and of course we have it. The official site still carries the old logo, but that will probably be updated sooner or later too. Check out the new logo below.

644. Staff News

Written on Thursday 22 July 2004 at 21:50 by Andy - 3 comments.

It is with sadness we must announce that Jen, who is one of the most talented designers this site has ever had the fortune to have working with us, has had to leave us due to responsibilities in the offline world. All of her contributions are still here to be downloaded and enjoyed and more of her work can be found at her own website. We wish her well and hope we have not seen the last of her.

It is not all bad news. We would like to welcome Neil to the team. His primary responsibility is moderating our Knowledge Database and he has already added a special section on NPCs which can be found here.

For those of you with some talent in creating things for "The Sims" and are even creating skins with Bodyshop for "The Sims 2", we do have vacancies on the site for designers in all fields. Please email me with your applications and attaching samples of your work.

645. Getting Mean Green

Written on Monday 19 July 2004 at 06:33 by Sumit - 0 comments.

How could I resist to remember when I first arrived at this site, I was saving the people from the hideous lime green couch. But times change, and it is time to celebrate all that is green, lime green that is. This stunning set throws off the boundaries of strap shirts and gold necklaces. This is mod at its greatest. The stunning colorful necklace was handmade by Mrs.Crumbblebottom's Preschool class during a lesson on cutting our circles from construction paper. Each piece was individually crafted to its greatest. P.S. If you haven't noticed, I tend to like the color green. :)

Check it all out here!

646. Lucy's Mail

Written on Saturday 17 July 2004 at 14:20 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Even though the Hot Summer Nights at EA took place last Thursday, Lucy has still managed to write half an e-mail. The rest has been written by Jonathan Knight and Tim LeTourneau this time. She tells a bit about the event and what she's been doing, although "the day gets a little blurry towards the end". Her notes helped her out. Included are also 7 photos taken during the day, which you can see below. Read more for the complete e-mail, which also mentions a contest...

Read More!

647. More from EA's Hot Summer Nights [Update]

Written on Saturday 17 July 2004 at 02:13 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Information from EA's Hot Summer Nights event (previously known as Camp EA) is popping up all over the internet. First of all there's a Sims 2 gameplay movie posted on both IGN and GameSpot. It shows stuff like a carpool (either a cool sports car or the helicopter), but also some romance, cooking, Don growing up, a fire (one of the first times that's visible), a Sim being abducted, and even a beggar and a teenager being brought home by the cops. There's a lot more in it too, and a must-see. GameSpot has also posted a 3 minute developer interview with Lucy Bradshaw who talks about the game. You see snippets of the other video during the interview too. She tells the game went Alpha (feature-complete) shortly after the E3, the event at which Maxis focussed on the Aspirations. After that they started really polishing the game, adding content and neighborhoods, etc. She also tells more about what has been mentioned in the previews again. As for the Movie making, she repeats movies will be saved as uncompressed AVI files, which will get big very quickly. She also mentioned the DVD version again. You can download it from this page.

As for the URBZ, one more preview has popped up at GameInformer.com. It doesn't mention much news when you've read the other previews though. Nevertheless, for those who want to see it, just read the GameInformer Preview. More interesting are the new gameplay movie and developer interview with Executive Producer Sinjin Bain (this time about the console version). Most noticable is probably the new logo on the right bottom corner in the gameplay movie. It's unsure whether this will be the new logo of the game or not. The gameplay movie shows a lot of fighting and urban life. The interview shows, just like the Sims 2 one, clips from the gameplay movie. Sinjin also repeats a lot of what's been said in the previews. For example, he mentions the different cultures and how your clothing affects the rep in a district. Jobs will also unlock the power social interactions. For that, and some urban rooftop Golf, dancing in front of a musical truck, and a lot more in-game material, check out the GameSpot Media Page.

[Update 17 July 1:55] A bunch of other gameplay movies of The Sims 2 have appeared. Besides the movie mentioned above, there are 8 new short movies, all showing Sims 2 gameplay. The movies are titled "The Mothership returns", "Tubbing it", "Picking fights", "Starting to lose it", "Alien loving", "Going to work", "Meet the neighbors" and "Stargazing, course-running". They all come in low quality Windows Media (around 3Mb each) and QuickTime (about 6 Mb each), and in high quality Quicktime (about 15-17Mb each) format. The QuickTime formats are available to Insiders only though. You can view them from this page (click the "Next" button for the last set and older videos).

648. URBZ (Handheld) Previews and more

Written on Friday 16 July 2004 at 20:05 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Besides the previews for the console version of the URBZ, there's also some material for the Handhelds: the Nintendo GBA and Dual-Screen (DS). The most info comes for the latter platform. There are a few screenshots and artworks, as well as a developer interview with Sinjin Baijn, Executive Producer, of well over 4 mins long, all at GameSpot. Sinjin talks a bit about the exclusive features of the game, but doesn't go into any details yet. All he really says is that the new technology allows Griptonite (the developer) to add a bunch of new mini-games and features. The way information is presented to the user is also much improved due to the two screens, and so you can check into inventory for example, without having to go more or less out of the game. He also says to expect the game on the Nintendo DS launch date, which according to GamesIndustry.biz will be 11 November in the US. The URBZ will be one of the 5 to 6 launch titles of the new platform. If you rather want to see just text instead of listening to Sinjin, about the same information is in the GameSpot Preview.

As for the GBA, there are some details about the mini-games. There will be 8 of them (both single- and multiplayer), and six have a name already: Squeegee Clean, Street Hoops, Dr. Max Stat!, Comic Explosion, Moo Goo Monkey and Soul Music. In multiplayer mode you can play the games with up to four other people. GameSpot also describes a few games in detail, so visit them for more. The game's nearing completion, and will be released in November, along with all the other versions of the Urbz. Check out both the GameSpot Preview and the IGN GBA Preview for more.

649. URBZ (Consoles) Buzz

Written on Friday 16 July 2004 at 18:51 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

There are a couple of new previews of the URBZ available on GameSpot and IGN. To start off with the console (PS2, GameCube, X-Box) version, there are two previews. They tell us the names of all 9 districts: Kicktail Park, Neon East, South Side Bridge, Gasoline Row, 125th Street, Cozmo Park, Diamond Heights, Central Station, and The Foundry, as well as that you need to dress in the style of each district to be cool. Also, each area has its own job which has 3 levels. On 125th Street, that's taming and selling ferrets. Your Urb will also have to develop three skills, mental, physical, and creative, to get better at the jobs. Machines can also evolve to a third level, for example an exercise machine with pedals. In level 2 it'll get a propellor, after which it turns into "a weird time machine ... with pedals."

The Power Social, which will help your Sim getting some better rep, feature also gets its first mention. You have to nail a meter and get the best results, similar to the game "Hot Shots Golf." But you don't necessarily have to be good to build a rep. IGN gives an example: kick a couple of bikes, and the bikers won't like you. The outsiders however, will get more respect for your Urb. Both previews also mention the new camera in the game, which allows you to get up close and personal with your creation. Creating your Urb is more detailed than ever before. Using a new morphing technique you can scale body parts, instead of just selecting them (but within limits).

As for special features, the URBZ will feature EyeToy support on the PS2. This, as mentioned before, will allow you to import pictures you make with EyeToy into the game, which will then appear there. On the GameCube and X-Box, this feature is simulated, as you can make pics of your Urb in-game, which will show up instead. The GameCube version will have some extra items to enjoy, while the X-Box will, as with the URBZ' predecessor Bustin' Out, support HDTV, i.e. high quality graphics.

Currently it's said the framerate of the game isn't very stable, but that's one thing Maxis will still be working on. You can read both previews by clicking the following links: Read the GameSpot Preview or the IGN Preview.

650. Sims 2 Previews

Written on Friday 16 July 2004 at 15:02 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

As URBZ producer Scot Amos told us last SimDay, EA's annual Hot Summer Nights event is taking place this week. It has started off, and several gaming sites sites are posting their previews of all the upcoming EA games. There are already 4 new previews of The Sims 2 online, at GameSpot, IGN, GameSpy and 1Up. There's a lot of repeat info in the previews, but there is some new stuff. For instance, we're being told of Gold and Platinum aspiration statuses. If your Sim does really well on the aspiration track, they can gain points and get extra objects or social possibilities with them. You can also choose to get the "elixir of life," which will extend the life of your Sim, or other "Aspiration Awards" like the money tree or the love tub. In platinum mode, little setbacks won't hurt your Sim. Sims will also get a rank in their aspiration track, e.g. "Hormonal Hurricane" or "Towering Tycoon." And if your Sim isn't doing very well on the aspiration track, expect a lot of trouble from them. Angry teens can actually swing on refrigerator doors...

Furthermore, there's some more talk about the three neighborhoods that ship with the game. Pleasantview is where Mortimer Goth has left off to. Bella has left him in a mysterious way (Luc Barthelet... perhaps?). Cassandra got a little brother Alexander shortly before her disappearance. Pleasantview is probably most likely somewhat similar to the current neighborhood in The Sims 1. Strangeland, on the other hand, is a bit like Area 51. It's a desert, with a UFO crash site. General Grunt and his two sons, Tank and Buzz, live in that neighborhood. Grunt, someone in the military, stays up late a lot to look through his telescope, suspicious as he is. He's not too keen with the Smith's, his neighbours. Pollination Technician 9 Smith has a blue-green skin and wants to settle down in the area with his wife and two children. The third neighborhood, Veronaville, is one that's divided into two by a river. In a Romeo and Juliet setting, there's something going on between a Capp and a Monty, whose families live on either side of the family. It's up to you to develop these stories further. The options to customise the hoods are also mentioned, and the 'ploppables' can now be put in the hood. There's even an enormous sunken stone head, which looks a lot like Sims creator Will Wright.

GameSpy also reveals some info about ghosts, which will be better than ever before. For instance, if your Sim was drowned, their ghost skin will be a bit blue and leaving puddles all over the place. If they burnt up in flames though, the gloom will be red, and the ghost might start a fire. Hungry ghosts empty the fridge, while the restless can haunt objects.

Of all previews, the GameSpy one is the longest and also gives most information. It's a definite must-read. IGN promises an interview with Lucy Bradshaw later. 1Up basically only mentions some bits of the screenshots, but it's not the most interesting preview. Click the links below to read the previews.

• 1Up
• IGN
• GameSpot
• GameSpy