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971. SimDay

Written on Thursday 15 July 2004 at 15:48 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

It's a rather small SimDay this week, as Maxis is probably getting read for Camp EA. This year it's called "Hot Summer Nights" though, according to Scot Amos' blog on the URBZ website. He tells that Maxis will show the URBZ to the press. Three of the new districts will be shown: "Tar Beach" (the rooftop environment on 125th Street), the city outskirts of "Gasoline Row" and the "stunning underground city-hub of Central Station". The Action Cameras are something to look forward to this weekend, when the gaming sites put up their info. Scot is very excited about them, and says they've got to "be seen to be believed". Furthermore, the URBZ Website has a link to IGN's Feature in the Buzz section, as well as a few brand new character descriptions. Meet the lady urbz of the game: Lil Bit, Alley Stile and Toot Sweet. You can also still watch and read about the other Urbz, of course. That, and the weekly blog, can be found on the Urbz website.

As for The Sims 2, there's one link to a new article about Women and video games at Equipped for Success. With 50% of the Sims players being female, the game is of course mentioned in the article. Lucy Bradshaw talks a bit about Maxis and the success of The Sims amongst the female gamers:

"Lucy Bradshaw, vice president and executive producer, said that women involved early in "The Sims" production process "brought a lot of rounding out" including, she said, an insistence by one female member during the early design process that the kids portrayed in "The Sims" not act like "deadweight."

You can read the entire article for more women and games. Furthermore this Simday brings screenshots we already posted last weekend, and the press release of the DVD edition of the Sims 2. That's all for this week.

972. New Poll

Written on Thursday 15 July 2004 at 02:00 by ChEeTaH - 2 comments.

The results of our old poll are in, as it's finished to make way for a new one. 268 people commented on the interface of The Sims 2, and the majority, 65%, says it's looking great. 21% says it's looking good, yet familiar. About 10% said they don't care - as long as it works. The other options weren't very popular, and got just 1, 5 or 6 votes. For more details, check the complete results.

This week's poll is also about The Sims 2. While the status of a release of the DVD edition, with several extras including a "Filmmaking 101" and 60 minutes of interviews, tips and tricks, outside the USA is still vague, a lot of discussion has broken out on forums since yesterday's press release, stating it'll be released in "North America only for the same price as the CD version". Besides the discussion in several major forums (on both official sites as fansites), there's even a petition that you can sign if you want the DVD version to be released in Europe as well. The poll jumps in on this matter, and you can let us know now if the DVD version should be released outside the USA as well. Vote on the right or at the latest poll page.

973. Sims 2 DVD will be released in Europe [Update - perhaps not?]

Written on Tuesday 13 July 2004 at 19:26 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

Although we got a semi-confirmation yesterday, stating that a European release of the DVD edition of The Sims 2 wasn't definite yet, Computer and VideoGames posted an article shortly after I received the e-mail from EA. They're saying that EA has confirmed to them the DVD definitely be released in Europe. The same site has been a reliable source before, as they've been (almost) right when giving away the release date for The Body Shop and The Sims 2 back in March, before any official announcements were made. I haven't had any definite confirmation from EA yet. An exact release date is still unknown at this point, so it could be the same date as for the CD edition, but it could also be later. Read CVG's entire article for a bit more details. We'll keep you updated as usual.

[Update 18:50] The DVD edition has just been officially announced with a press release. That press release contradicts what's said above: "This is the first DVD release in the highly successful The Sims franchise and initially will only be available through pre-orders at major retailers. This DVD will be available in North America only at the same price as the CD-ROM version." This makes the situation only more confusing, but we'll keep you updated on this matter as news flows in.

974. 54(!) New Sims 2 Screenshots

Written on Monday 12 July 2004 at 00:08 by ChEeTaH - 8 comments.

A Taiwainese site, GameBase.com.tw has posted 54 new screenshots of The Sims 2. They're all in-game shots, and show stuff like the loading screen, the importing and selecting of a neighborhood, the interface for creating photo albums or movies, but they're mostly shots taken while playing the game. Although the quality isn't great, you might also finally be able to recognise the sizes of a house. They seem to be either 3x2 (with the road on the long side), 3x3, 3x4 or 4x3, 3x5 or 5x3, 5x5, 5x7 or 7x5 and 7x7 (Don't pin me down on that, it's hard to see!). You can also see there's an interface for placing props on the neighborhood, something which was still questioned at The Sims 2 University but hasn't really been mentioned since. Click here to see all screenshots. Click the Sims 2 logo on that page, to see the first screenshot. Click the orange text at the right bottom each time to skip to the next picture.

975. More Sims 2 Screenshots and DVD/Bonus CD Info [Update]

Written on Sunday 11 July 2004 at 17:56 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

EA has revealed a new batch of screenshots and graphics, of which two screenshots were already posted yesterday. The new ones, a rich girl, a popular guy, and another shot of the money tree, are shown below (click the thumbnails to enlarge). There's also the final version of the box shot. It's been shown before, but this time it's also from the side. There has been some confusion in forums about whether this would be the final version or not, but it looks like it is.

On other news, GameSpot gives a few more details on the DVD edition. The DVD will feature some "Expert Interviews," which include tips and tricks on playing the game, the "Filmmaking 101" which gives all the info you need on creating a film starring your Sims, some in-game movies, and a few outtakes, which show some hilarious bugs that have been in the game during the development. Furthermore, an extra CD will be included if you pre-order the game from EB-Games. That CD, which will ship with both the CD and DVD versions of the game, will have some more interviews about making the game (including Will Wright) as well as interviews about the new features of the game. At The Sims 2 University some interviews were held with some of the webmasters as well, which will be included too (unfortunately I won't be on it as I more or less forgot to get myself interviewed during the day :-( ). Furthermore, some graphics and goodies, the fansite pack, several 'sizzle' movies and mini-games will also be on the bonus CD. Currently it's still unconfirmed if the DVD and bonus CD will be available in Europe as well.

[Update 21:00] I forgot to post two shots that were new as well. One shows Don and Sarah when they decided to get married, the other the grim reaper in action. Enjoy them below.

976. Lucy's Mail: Ghost Stories

Written on Saturday 10 July 2004 at 04:14 by ChEeTaH - 5 comments.

Are you sitting? Good, because this week Lucy's e-mail might be slightly scary. It's all about ghosts this time. She tells us that ghosts in The Sims 2 are a virtual reality, and Sims will react to them in their own way. If your Sim has the Knowledge aspiration track, they might be interested in meeting a ghost or two. Other Sims might be scared - sometimes literally to death. Just like in The Sims 1, ghosts will appear near gravestones. Look out for them and get scared, once the game is out anyway. Included are the three screenshots below, which show off those ghosts. Read More to read Lucy's entire e-mail.

Read More!

977. Sims 2 Videos

Written on Friday 9 July 2004 at 17:17 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

There are two videos about The Sims 2 for you to enjoy. The first one has been spotted before at IGN, as it's the complete video of Don and friends, with commentary by Tim LeTourneau. This time it comes in high quality though, as a zipped file of over 130 Mb. A broadband is highly recommended. See this page at the UK Site to get it, it's called "Producer Walkthrough". You need to login to be able to download it.

In the second movie, General Manager of Maxis Neil Young tells you why you should buy The Sims 2. He starts off in Swedish, but as Neil doesn't turn out to be too great at it he continues in English. It's been posted by EA Sweden (hence the Swedish) and you can click here and scroll down to the "Videoklipp" section to get it. Click Neil's picture to download the Quicktime video (14 Mb). Currently that's the second video on the page. Enjoy.

978. New Sims 2 Details

Written on Friday 9 July 2004 at 16:26 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.

There's more news from The Sims Creation besides the artworks. They've attended a press conference, from which they were able to get the following info:

• You won't be able to see the houses next door when playing, but instead you will be looking at a lot of grass and sky.
• There will be between 6 and 9 tools for each part of your sim’s face in Create-a-Sim (CAS)
• There will be a lot of clothes in CAS, more than 50 for the normal clothes and more than 20 for the formal clothes.
• Night starts at 7pm (19.00 in military time)
• There will be an unlimited number of neighborhoods (each identified by a name instead of number)
• Sims can follow more that one aspiration track because of the genetics. Babies will have the same aspirations as their parents.
• When you choose a sim character traits in CAS they will act like that. For example, if your Sim has many personality points on 'clean', he will actually try to keep the house clean. On the contrary, if your Sim doesn't have those points, he will stick his finger in his ear and look what has come out of it! There are also many more animations for the other traits.

There is also some new information from an interview held recently with Nancy Philippine and Tim LeTourneau. They revealed that the (monster) PC used to capture the videos we see is equipped with a Pentium 4 2GHz processor, 1 Gb of RAM, and an ATI Radeon 9800 graphics card. Nevertheless the game will run on a much lower system (600 Mhz, 256 Mb RAM and a GeForce 2/3 is the minimum). It's also said that the DVD edition will probably out later than the 4 CD version. Since this interview was taken in France, this goes for Europe only. Maxis also tells us again that more tools for creating objects etc. will be released after the game itself. The well-known Rosebud cheat is also mentioned, but the real code won't be revealed until after the game's out. Concerning time, it will be about the same speed as in The Sims 1. However, actions take less time, e.g. a shower doesn't take an hour anymore. More about the gameplay is also said, for instance that when you marry an NPC, which is possible, the NPC will lose their job. Finally, they explain the possibility of having more than one family in the same lot a bit more: "It will not be possible to let several families live on the same lot, in the same house. It will be on the other hand possible for you to simulate two families in one.".

For the complete interview in French, check the articles section at The Sims 2 Creation. For those who aren't so great at French (like me), read the interview at SnootySims, who translated the interview with permission from The Sims 2 Creation. Thanks to both sites for the info.

979. WarCry Interview Part 2

Written on Friday 9 July 2004 at 02:49 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

WarCry has posted part 2 of the interview with Lucy Bradshaw. Part 1 was posted last week. This time there's one little bit of news, namely how you can change the clothes, hairstyle, etc. of your Sim during gameplay: you just pick a mirror or visit a community store, and get a new outfit with that. Also, it's said that you won't be able to change the face of your Sim during their life, so no plastic surgery for your Sims:

"There are some reasonable limits set to the player customization of their Sims. For example, Bradshaw mentioned that, 'Their facial features are set at the time of creation, whether in Create A Sim or via a birth in the game.' Once these are set, there is no turning back, 'but you can choose new hairstyles, colors, accessories and clothing at any time in the game, by using any mirror in the game or by visiting a community store that sells clothing (or magazines, video games etc.) This is pretty important, since as your Sim grows up, you probably want to help them select styles that are fitting to them. Another fun thing in regards to a Sim growing up, is the use of the Design Tool, in the Build and Buy modes. You can outfit a child Sim's room in all pink and stuffed animals but when they become a teen, you can simply re-decorate and not have to buy all new furniture.'"

Furthermore there's some talk about The Body Shop and going through the life of your Sims. Just read the entire article for all the details. Thanks to David for the tip.

980. SimDay [Update]

Written on Thursday 8 July 2004 at 15:08 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

This week's SimDay is small compared to last week. There is a bit of news though. First of all, Maxis is still asking people to join the Focus Group 12 July, about The Sims on the consoles. See this page for more. Furthermore there's a Sims 2 piece about installing custom content to The Sims 2. It was included in Lucy's Email as well last Saturday, but you can now read it again on the official site. There's also a new preview of The Sims 2 by Yahoo! Games. It once again goes over all the new things like aspirations, genetics and graphics. Just read the preview for all the details.

On to the URBZ, Maxis has posted 8 shots of the game on the GBA. They've been seen here before though. Brand new are the 11 sketches that have been posted though. They show some objects and places in their very first stage of design. Finally, the blog this week is about the "First Playable" version that was talked about last week, but also about an upcoming annual event called "Camp EA". It will be held next week, 15 July, and Scot Amos will tell some more about it then. This is a bit of what he has to say about the game this week:

"On the game-side, we have three districts packed with new characters, new micro-game jobs, tons of new objects to play with, and stunning new social interactions with new in-game 'action cameras'; they make the game feel like you're in control of a living sitcom!"

You can find the screenshots, the sketches and of course the blog on the official URBZ Website.

[Update 18:25] By playing an online game, "Poppit!", between 20 and 30 July, you can win The Sims Mega Deluxe or any of the Sims expansion packs. You can find the game on EA Pogo. You need an EA.Com account to sign in.