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751. Sims 2 @ Game Developers Conference

Written on Saturday 29 January 2005 at 17:47 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Every year game developers from around the world gather at several conferences. And from 7 to 11 March there will be another one: the annual Game Developers Conference will take place in the Moscone West Convention Center in San Fransisco. During those few days, there will be conferences, speeches, and an expo of the latest games. At the end of the 3 days, the 2005 Game Developers Choice Awards will be presented by IGDA as well. Of course EA and Maxis will be part of the whole event.

On the first day, March 9, there will be a Game Design Challenge, which Will Wright won last year. Last year the group had to design a game with a love story, this time they have to base one off the poetry of Emily Dickinson. On the conference itself, the ideas from Will Wright (Maxis), Peter Molyneux (Lionhead Studios) and Clint Hocking (Ubisoft) will present their final result of the challenge. Of course we'll let you know if Wright wins.

But there's more to check out there. Jake Simpson, Simulation Engineer at Maxis, will hold a 60-minute lecture about SimAntics, the scripting language objects and Sims in the Sims (and other Sim-games, including the Sims 2) are coded in. Will Wright will also hold another lecture titled "The Future of Content," in which Wright will tell more about his thoughts about the future of content in the gaming industry. More information about the entire conference can be found on www.gdconf.com.

752. SimDay

Written on Thursday 27 January 2005 at 20:32 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

This week's SimDay there are really just a few things. The first is a multi-functional snowman object, with which your Sims can play in the snow. The snow doesn't melt as it's fake:

"Have a ball building your own snowman! Each of the pieces of this versatile set are stackable, and can add up to a snowman or anything else you can imagine. The snowman base and middle sections can be used alone as unique coffee tables, or stacked to reach greater heights. Made out of non-melting snow substitute for indoor or outdoor use year-round."

Furthermore there's a link to the GameSpy article we mentioned Tuesday. And of course there's the Sims 2 University developer chat tonight, which was announced last Monday.

753. New Poll

Written on Thursday 27 January 2005 at 01:00 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

A week ago we asked you what you think of the Cowplant that will be introduced in the Sims 2 University. The plant gives Elixir of Life, but only when it's been fed a Sim. The results of the poll are in, and 172 people voted in total. 38 of them (22%) would've liked to see people they don't like go down thanks to the plant, but unfortunately it only eats Sims. 18.6% didn't really seem to like the question, and 16.9% says it's the perfect punishment for students with bad grades. 15.1% Thinks the plant is unethical and should be stopped, whereas 12.8% is alright with it if it ate them. Finally, 13 people (7.6%) would like some more Elixir, and 12 people (7%) wonder if it comes in a goat-shape as well. To see the exact results, head over to the results page or our poll archive.

This week, the Llama is in the spotlight. Where do you think it went? We have several options for you, and they're all on the right and on the latest poll page. Share your thoughts with us!

754. Sims Franchise Strong in 2004

Written on Wednesday 26 January 2005 at 01:27 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

EA has released their quarterly results of the third quarter of financial 2005 for EA. The Sims has been the most successful franchise for EA in calendar year 2004. In total, the games sold over 16 million copies during calendar year 2004. The Sims 2 has been number one in both the United States and Europe. The Urbz sold over 2 million copies during the last quarter, which means it's reached platinum status. The Sims 2 sold more than 1 million units in the same quarter. In Europe, both the Urbz and the Sims 2 sold over a million units.

EA thinks the current generation consoles is still strong, and will continue developing games for it during the next year, despite the next generation consoles (X-Box 2, PlayStation 3) to make their entrance in 2005 or 2006. However, premium prices for premium games on those new consoles are expected to be higher than current prices, at least at first. As EA will continue to develop games on multiple platforms, it's quite likely the Urbz 2, mentioned earlier, will be released on both current generation and next generation platforms. EA hopes to be the main player on the market for the next generation consoles as well. The Urbz 2 was not mentioned anymore - not in the press release or the conference call - but the earlier announcement by EA Netherlands doesn't make it unlikely the game is in development anyway.

755. TS2U European Pack Shot and Rating

Written on Wednesday 26 January 2005 at 00:42 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

EA UK has released a European pack shot of the Sims 2 University that will cover the cds in (at least) Britain. Remarkable is the rating shown on it. As noticed earlier, this is 12+ contrary to previous Sims games, all of which (except the Urbz) were rated at 7+. Although no information is shown on the PEGI Website yet, it's quite definitively the final rating. The US rating has not yet officially been confirmed yet, though it's most likely going to be T (Teen, 13+) again as with all other Sims games. The official European pack shot is shown below, and it's most likely the definitive version as well.

756. First objects by me

Written on Friday 21 January 2005 at 23:02 by Starrats - 0 comments.

My first object set is online, enjoy.

757. SimDay

Written on Thursday 20 January 2005 at 20:45 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

So far this week's SimDay is fairly small. What you might notice at first is another new intro on the official site showing the Sims 2 University. But more interesting is the news that The Sims 2 became the best simulation game of the year 2004, according to GameZone. Like many other gaming sites, they've awarded many games with several "Game of the Year" awards and in this case the Sims 2 won the award for best Simulation game. There's a small article about the award as well. And finally, so far anyway, there is a link to the second designer diary by Charles London. We already mentioned it early this year, but if you haven't read it yet you can still do so.

758. New Poll

Written on Thursday 20 January 2005 at 19:53 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

As you may have seen already, we've added a new poll again last night. This time, we ask you about the (in)famous cowplant, that will join sim-students in the Sims 2 University. If you have an opinion about it, let us know on the right or the latest poll page.

Last week we asked you about the second Sims 2 patch, and the results are in. The biggest group of the 165 people who voted are those who hadn't heard about it or at least didn't give it a go. They were with 44% of everybody. With less than half of that, are the options "It's good they fixed things, but I don't see too many changes" (31 votes, 19%) and "I don't see any difference really" (30 votes, 18%). 15% said the patch makes things work even better, and the final 4% hate the patch, because it just breaks the game. See the exact results for more precise percentages, and our archive for more polls.

759. TSR Talks to Tim

Written on Tuesday 18 January 2005 at 23:26 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

TheSimsResource, one of the biggest Sims fansites, has met Tim LeTourneau last Sunday and spoke to him about the Sims 2 University. Some new information is given, including the reason to pick University as first EP. This was done with future packs in mind. It would be harder to add the "Young Adult" age group afterwards, and blend it in well enough with other expansions. Besides that, expansions bring new objects, like the music objects and the pool table, that add more general gameplay rather than - in this case - the typical university life. Besides that information, there are of course also some old and new details regarding the first expansion:

• It's again confirmed there will be a cheat to make buildings as high as you want, where the sky is the limit. It's said though, that a Sim on the 19th floor, may take 5 real-time minutes to walk down missing his carpool.
• There will be a cheat to redecorate dorms, in case you're desperate. Normally though, build mode is disabled there.
• Sims can move out of one family, and into another. This also allows multiple families to live in one household, as it was during the development of the Sims 2 (see our Sims 2 University special, which despite the name has nothing to do with this expansion).
• The US terms for things, like majors, GPs, etc., are also discussed, and specifically localization of these names. In the end the idea is simple: Sims learn, get grades, and passes or fails. That's it.
• Contrary to what was said before, each Semester lasts 3 simdays.
• Failing 2 semesters in a row means the Sim's booted off university, back to the family they came from.
• You can feed NPCs and even teachers to the famous Cow plant.
• What I previously translated as "DIY Plastic Surgery Set" is actually called the "Home Plastic Surgery Kit."
• The object to resurrect Sims with (by bribing the Grim Reaper), is called the "Resurrect-anamonotron." Spelling may be incorrect.
• There's a new radio station, the "College Rock" station. Songs on it are recorded by real-life "up and coming" bands, that helped Maxis by making Simlish versions of their songs.
• Maxis will release a new tool to create new swatches, i.e. object textures. A tool to edit their shapes will most likely not be released though.
• Maxis is already developing expansion 2, and the details will be revealed sooner rather than later. Nevertheless it's still a close guarded secret.
• A full-time butler or maid will not be in "this expansion pack."
• Sims in college can visit their parents at home, and then also go to the regular community lots.
• The police can bust up frat parties.
• Sims cannot enter a dorm room without the owner of the room present.
• No cheating at university!
• Togas aren't fireproof... Watch out with those bonfires!
• There won't be too many new food types in University, though there probably will be in future expansions.
• The basketball hoop might return in a future expansion pack.

Read the entire article for the rest.

760. EA and SEE break up

Written on Monday 17 January 2005 at 23:32 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

SEE, the advertising company which has created TV commercials for many EA games including the Sims 2, will no longer make any more ads for EA after March 31. Electronic Arts has announced they will not be renewing the contract after it expires. EA and SEE have worked together for over 10 years, and the advertising company has helped a lot in "growing EA's brands and businesses into what they are today," says Carolyn Feinstein, Vice President of Marketing Communications at Electronic Arts. EA will announce a new agency they will cooperate with in a few weeks.