_______________________________________________________________________________
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
oo,o,
,o, ,o,,
, ,,, ooooo,, ooo
oooo,,o oo,,oo ,ooo, oo,, ,oo
oooooooooo oooooooo ,oooo,,,,,,,oo,,oo,
oooooooooooooo oooooooo oo, ooo,,o o,, ,
,oooooooooooooo, ,oooooo ooo, oooooo ,oo
ooooooooooo ,o, ,o,,oo ooo
ooooooooo, ,oooooo ooo, oo, , ,ooo,o,
oooooooo, ,oooooo oooo ooo, ooooooooo,
ooooooooo ,oooooo ooooo ooooo ooooooooo,
oooooooooo ,oooooo oooooo oooooo, oooooo,
,oooooooo,, ,oooooo ,oooooo ooooooo ooooo,
oooooooo,o, ,oooooo oooooooo oooooooo ooooo,
T H E ,oooooooo,o ,oooooo oooooooo, ooooooooo oooooo,
,oooooooooo, ,oooooo ,ooooooooo,oooooooooo ,oooooo,
,oooooooo,o ,oooooo ooooooooo,,oooooooooo, oooooo,
,ooooooooo, ,oooooo ,oooooooooooooooooooooo ooooo,o,
ooooooooo ,oooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooo, ooooooo
ooooooooo ,oooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooo, ooooooo
ooooooooo ,oooooo ,oooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooo
oooooooooo, ,oooooo oooooooo oooooooo ooooooo,ooooooooooo,
,oooooooooooo, ,oooooo ooooooo, ,oooooo oooooooo oooooooo,
oooooooooooooooo, ,oooooo ooooooo oooooo ,ooooooo oooo
ooooooooooooo oooooo, ooooo ooooooo
,ooooooo, ,oooooo ooo, ooooooo
ooooooo oooooo,
T H E S I M S & L I V I N ' L A R G E & H O U S E P A R T Y
& H O T D A T E & V A C A T I O N &
U N L E A S H E D
_______________________________________________________________________________
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
The Sims (PC, Mac) &
The Sims: Livin' Large (PC, Mac) &
The Sims: House Party (PC)
The Sims: Hot Date (PC)
The Sims: Vacation (PC)
The Sims: Unleashed (PC)
The Complete Guide
January 22, 2005
Version 8.11
Written by: Dan Simpson
Email: dsimpson.faqs@gmail.com
Subject: Sims v 8.11
Email Policy:
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
Emails without the proper subject MAY BE DELETED!
Do NOT email me asking for a Serial Number.
If you see any mistakes, or have anything that you want to add
please email me! I will, of course, give you full credit for
your addition, and be eternally grateful to you.
Before emailing me with a question, be sure to check out the
Frequently Asked Questions section.
Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The most recent version of this FAQ can be found at:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/
http://www.cheatcc.com/
http://www.gamewinners.com/
Den nyeste norske versjonen kan finnes pċ:
http://www.danielthesim.cjb.net
La versione Italiana della mia FAQ si trova a
http://www.nonsologiochi.it/
If you wish to translate this FAQ into another language, just email me
telling me about it, and where it will be located (the URL). You still have
to give me credit for writing the FAQ, though.
In case you cared, The Sims has broken the SimCity 3000 sales record for the
first month of sales. SimCity 3000 went on to be the best grossing game of
1999 (it didn't sell the most copies, RollerCoaster Tycoon did that, SC3K
simply pulled in more dollars due to a higher cost-per-sale average), so we
can safely assume that The Sims will be one of the top games of 2000! It
already sold 1 Million copies! If you haven't bought it yet, what are you
waiting for? The Sims is now the best-sellingest PC game of all time.
There are now FOUR Expansion Packs out now for the Sims! Check out section
1.2 Information on the Expansion, Livin' Large for an introduction to
the Expansion Pack as well as section 1.3 Information on the Second Expansion,
House Party. 1.4 covers Hot Date and 1.5 covers Vacation. Unleashed is
the FIFTH expansion, but I don't have it yet, so no comment.
Be sure to check http://www.thesims.com/ every Thursday for a game update!
Updates so far (can be downloaded, also included with Livin Large):
http://thesims.ea.com/us/getcool/index.html
Cuckoo Clock
Moose Head Decoration
5 New Skins
5 New Houses
Wall Lights
Slot Machine
Guinea Pig (Pet)
Note: With the Guinea Pig, if you fail to keep its cage clean, your
Sim may catch a disease from it!
New Plants
New "Physical" Skins
"Elwood" Skin
MTV Skins
Topiaries (Hedge Animals and such)
Flowerbeds
Jukebox (actually at http://www.rankit.com/sims/simsoffer2.html)
The White House
Two New Trashcans
Glowing Flamingo
Art Studio, a tool to create custom Wall Hangings
Upgrades not included with Livin' Large
Jack O' Lantern
Turkey Dinner
Cookies
Telecom Upgrade (Sims can call each other to say "hi")
Vacation Island Beach Blanket
Hungry Hungry Hamster Game
Promotional Balloon Fence
Holiday Mistletoe
Triple Bull Dartboard
Pepsi Machine (North America only)
House Party Potty Pack
Nouveau Nites Party Lights
Queen Vivanco Roses
'Ukulele Lady Lamp
AND
A complete Game upgrade to The Sims version 1.1 (not needed if you
have Livin' Large)
A patch to Livin' Large
http://thesims.ea.com//us/getcool/gamepatch/LLpatchindex.html
A patch to Hot Date
http://thesims.ea.com/us/getcool/gamepatch/HDpatchindex.html
This FAQ looks best in Courier New at about 9 points.
This Document is Copyright 2000-2005 by Dan Simpson
The Sims is Copyright 2000-2002 by Electronic Arts
I am not affiliated with Maxis, Electronic Arts, or anyone who had anything
to do with the creation of this game. This FAQ may be posted on any site so
long as NOTHING IS CHANGED and you EMAIL ME telling me that you are posting
it. You may not charge for, or in any way profit from this FAQ.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
___________________
What's New in 8.11:
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
Changed my email address and some small format changes.
For a complete Version History, check out the Final Words Section at the end
of the FAQ.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i.) What is The Sims?
1.) Getting Acquainted
1.1) Understanding Your Sims
1.1.1) What a Sim Wants/Needs
1.1.2) Why A Sim Does What He Does
1.2) Information on the Expansion, Livin' Large
1.2.1) Multiple Neighborhoods
1.2.2) Cockroaches
1.2.3) The Grim Reaper
1.2.4) Genie in a Bottle
1.2.5) The Chemistry Set
1.2.6) The "Love" Bed
1.2.7) Beejaphone Guitar
1.2.8) Woodworking Table (or the Work-at-Home career)
1.2.9) Madame Blahbatfry Crystal Ball
1.2.10) Servo
1.2.11) Horrowitz "Star Track" Backyard Telescope
1.2.12) The Tragic Clown
1.2.13) Voodoo Doll
1.3) Information on the Second Expansion, House Party
1.4) Information on the Third Expansion, Hot Date
1.4.1) New Social Interaction Options
1.4.2) Controlled Sim Interactions
1.4.3) Interests and Inventory
1.4.4) Downtown
1.5) Information on the Fourth Expansion, Vacation (forthcoming)
1.6) Information on the Fifth Expansion, Unleashed
2.) Creating a Family
a.) Creating a Sim
b.) Of Neatness and Maids
2.1) The Bachelor Sim
2.1.1) The Bachelor Gets Married
2.2) The Full House (8 Sims)
3.) Building a House
3.1) Building a Better House
3.2) Who Needs Walls?
3.3) Housebuilding, Especially on a Budget
4.) Furnishing a House
a.) Lighting and Lamps
b.) Decorations
4.1) Cooking (or, a Meal fit for a Sim!)
4.1.1) Food Strategies
4.2) Room Rating
4.3) Alternative to Alarm Clocks
4.4) Who Needs a Trashcan?
4.5) Sims' Interaction With Objects
4.6) Moving Trash Yourself
4.7) The "Cluster" Method
4.8) "Quick Use" of Items (the Buy/Use/Return method)
5.) Of Friends and Lovers
a.) Socializing
b.) Marriage and Moving In
5.1) Befriending Mean Sims
5.2) Carrying on Multiple Romances
5.2.1 The "Love Shack"
5.3) Maintaining Relationships the Easy Way
5.4) Sending your Sim Out of the House!
5.5) Creating Friends the Old Fashioned Way
5.6) How to Befriend SimKids
5.7) Sim Personalities and Compatibilities
5.8) Getting the Desired Interaction
6.) Working (and Not)
a.) Quitting
b.) Job Events
6.1) The Jobs Chart (a.k.a. the Career Paths)
6.1.1) Livin' Large Careers
6.1.2) Unleashed Career Opportunities
6.1.3) Alternate Job Chart
6.2) Abusing the Carpool
6.2.1) Early Morning Social Call (while Abusing the Carpool
no less!)
6.3) Quitting for Fun and Profit
6.3.1) Job Hopping Analysis
6.4) Job "Shifts"
7.) Running an Efficient Household
7.1) Working the Pause
8.) Expanding the House
8.1) Building that Second Story
8.1.1) The "Flying" Second Story
8.1.2) The Balcony
9.) Babies and Children
9.0.1) Baby Tips
9.0.2) Baby Personality Matrix
9.1) Children and School
9.2) What Kids Do
10.) Everything Else in the Neighborhood
10.1) Death and Ghosts
10.2) Did you Know?
11.) Cheats & Tricks
11.1) Deleting Trash (and Bills too!)
11.2) Paying only Every Other Bill
11.3) The Newbie Trick
11.4) Washing Dishes Faster
11.5) Deleting your Characters, and resetting their Mood
11.6) How to Max out all the Personality Stats
11.7) Starting a Sim with random Job Stats
11.8) Speeding up your Sim
11.9) Better Personalities through Chemistry (Livin' Large)
11.10) Sell the Rocket Explosion
12.) Customizing Your Game
12.1) Changing the Radio Station Music
12.2) Skins
12.2.1) The "Nude" Patch
12.3) Setting up Multiple Neighborhoods
12.4) Download Surprises
12.5) Playing Without the Sims CD
12.6) Creating your own Objects
12.7) Custom Interface Graphics
13.) Known Bugs
14.) Getting the Most from "The Sims"
15.) Wish List
Frequently Asked Questions
Livin' Large Frequently Asked Questions
Final Words...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i. What is The Sims?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Sims, simply put, is the People Simulator from the creator of SimCity.
So, what is a People Simulator? Well, you get to run the lives of everyone
in a neighborhood (not all at once, of course). Taking on one "family" at a
time, you try to guide them to success in life, love, and the workplace.
Left to their own devices, the Sims tend to simply tread water (i.e. they
live without a goal), and that is where you come in. I like to think of the
player as the Sims' ambition, their goals in life, if you will. You are that
little voice in their head that tells them to study Mechanics, or to take a
shower, in order to get that promotion. Without you, their ambition, the
Sims will tend to lounge around, fulfilling only their most immediate desire,
without any eye on the future.
Sim (noun) : A simulated person in a Maxis game. Ex: The Sim went to
SimCity to buy a bagel.
Updates to The Sims:
There are several new downloads available at the Official Site
(www.thesims.com of course!). These aren't any great Patches, but are some
neat new objects and skins. Maxis promises that every Thursday that they
will have some cool new thing on the site, and therefore every Thursday is
called SimDay. So far they have had 9 downloads: a Slot Machine, a Cuckoo
Clock, a Moose Head, 5 Warrior Skins, 5 Houses, New Plants, Wall Lights,
new Physical Skins, "Elwood" Skin, MTV Skins, Topiaries, Flowerbeds, a
Guinea Pig, the White House, Two New Trashcans, a Glowing Flamingo, a tool
to create custom Wall Hangings, Turkey Dinner, Jack O'Lantern and a
Jukebox.
Mini-Review:
This is the first time a review of mine will be found in my FAQ. I just
felt that I needed to express my opinions on the game in a more
editorialized fashion than the normal FAQ sections allow.
I have been looking forward to The Sims since I heard about it back in
November. I couldn't quite put my finger on why this game sounded good to
me, but I was certainly intrigued. Controlling people's lives? Sounded
(strangely) like fun.
After having played it non-stop since I bought the game, I can sum up my
experience in one sentence: One of the most strangely addicting and
compelling games I have ever played. I haven't played a game this much
since Rollercoaster Tycoon, and that was back in April '99. That's almost
a year. I have stayed up many a night until 1 or 2 am, and only going to
sleep then so that I could get up the next day and play some MORE Sims!
In The Sims you take control of a family of Sims and try to guide them
through life. Along the way you develop friendships, work your way up the
career ladder at work, and try to keep your Sims fed and happy. You can
sit back and watch the Sims interact with each other, or you can take a
more active hand and FORCE them to do your bidding. You can even shut off
their Free Will.
Personal interactions between the Sims is often the most amusing part of
the game. Watch as someone will shoo another Sim out of the bathroom so he
can take a leak. Or as a Sim attempts to give another Sim a back rub, but
is pushed away. Then there are always the Sims who like each other... a
lot, and start getting passionate.
I also really enjoy the differences between the Sims. One may be very
neat, and like to clean up messes, and another may be extremely mean, and
prone to get into fights. Very interesting variety.
All in all I really enjoyed this game, and give it a 9.5.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Getting Acquainted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to the crazy world of The Sims. I'm assuming that you have gone
through the first Tutorial, and if not, then you probably should. It teaches
you all of the basics of the Sims and their needs. Once you have finished
with that little tutorial, save it and go back to the Neighborhood.
Note: There is a neat little trick that one can do with the Tutorial,
check out section 11.3 The Newbie Trick for details.
Note: There is only one neighborhood! Therefore there is also only one
Save Slot. Of course, there are lots of houses in the neighborhood,
so do you really need more than one save slot?
The first thing you should know, is that you control the entire neighborhood.
Not at the same time, but one house at a time. When you aren't directly
controlling a house, NOTHING HAPPENS THERE. It's like they are in stasis.
They can be called over to your current house (assuming you've met them), but
they won't actually do anything. They'll be exactly as you left them when
you go back to them. So, if you play one house, then switch to another, then
switch back to the first, it will be as if nothing has happened. If house 1
was eating breakfast, they'll still be doing that when you get back.
Note: There is ONE exception to the "nothing happens while you're away"
rule. And that is Relationships. If you have the Sims in your
current house flirt with the Sims from the other house and their
relationship improves, then that will carry over.
Another thing to know at the Neighborhood level is that the people you put in
the neighborhood are the only ones you can be friends with. That is, there
are no "random Sims" wandering about. Since your Sims require the
friendships of lots of other Sims (some careers require that you have lots of
friends)that means that you will have to work on the Neighborhood as a whole,
rather than single-mindedly working one house. (more on this in section 5. Of
Friends and Lovers)
Free Will: A quick little note here on Free Will. You CAN turn free will
off if you'd like to take full control of the Sims. With only
one or two Sims under your command this is an easy thing to do.
However, once you get up to 5 to 8 Sims, then it can get very
difficult to control all of their separate actions at once.
Free Will is useful to some extent--the Sims will do things
that are quite beneficial to themselves, such as cleaning up
the house, or talking to the neighbor. Although you should
know that the Sims aren't very efficient in what they choose to
do. Suppose that you need to improve both Hygiene and Comfort.
The best choice (if you have the Time) is a bath. Well maybe
the Sim wants a shower. Or what if the Sim takes the bath just
as the carpool pulls up. Therefore you can't totally give over
to free will. But neither should you destroy it and control
their every move.
Sims WILL ignore your commands if what you're telling them to
do seems contrary to what they need most. A starving man won't
go play basketball (or at least, is far less likely to!).
Well on we go! Click on the Create a Family button to get things going.
(You could, of course, play the Goths, or the Newbies, but you will need to
create a new family to start filling in the Neighborhood)
The following subsections deals with the Sims themselves, and why they do the
things that they do.
Note: Throughout this FAQ I often refer to Sims as "he" or "him". This is
a fairly arbitrary choice of gender, basically because I myself am
male. This is not because all Sims are male, I just refer to them
that way.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.1 Understanding Your Sims
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even if you don't have Freewill turned on (and you don't HAVE to, check the
Game Options) you should understand a few things about your Sims. What they
like, why they like it, etc. For example, why does a Sim choose what they
do on their own? Why do they stop doing it when they do?
In the first subsection we'll talk about the 8 motives (or as I prefer to
call them, Needs) and their effect on your Sim, then in the next subsection
we'll talk about the reasons behind your Sim's actions, and how to better
control them.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.1.1 What a Sim Wants/Needs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each Sim has 8 Needs that constantly need to be met. And at most you can
satisfy 2 or 3 needs at a time.
Note: The Hot Tub CAN satisfy up to 4 needs at a time, depending on
whether there's more than one person in the Hot Tub. Also, Sims
will stay in the Hot Tub until all 4 of those needs are filled.
(these Needs are Hygiene, Comfort, Fun, and if someone else is in
with them, Social)
Also realize that the needs are weighted differently. That is, Hunger counts
for more than Room does, although both count when computing mood. So, your
Sim will try to satisfy Needs based on the most serious Need first, which
may not be the Need that needs the most work done on it.
The Needs: (in no particular order)
Hunger -- fairly self-explanatory. Satisfying hunger can be done mostly at
the fridge. In a pinch you can also call the Pizza delivery guy
(under Services on your phone), but that isn't nearly so
satisfying as a good home cooked meal.
The following factors go into how satisfying, and therefore how
much of the Hunger Need is filled, a meal is:
- The Type of Fridge you have, the better the more satisfying
the meal.
- The Type of Preparation surface used. A food processor here
is best, followed by a bare counter, then by using the
surface on a dishwasher/garbage compactor. So don't count on
the surface of the dishwasher, as it makes less appealing
meals.
- The type of cooking implement used, again the better the
equipment, then the better the meal will be.
- And the skill of the cook comes into play here. The more
cooking skill points your Sim has, the better the meal.
If you have the best in all 4 of the above categories, then you
can and should let your hunger rating drop lower than you would
if you didn't. Otherwise you are wasting all those nutritional
points by eating a great meal when you only needed a good one.
For more information check out section 4.1 Cooking (or a Meal
fit for a Sim).
Room -- How appealing the room you are in is. This is covered in depth
in section 4.2 The Room Rating.
Social -- Sims are social creatures, and need companionship. Some Sims
(the High Outgoing Sims) need Social more than others. (i.e.
their Social rating will drop faster than the less outgoing Sims)
The "High Level" interactions, kissing, hugging, etc., have a
better effect on this than merely talking.
The best way to keep Social satisfied is to socialize at least
once a day. Work your way up on other Sims relationship charts,
dance with them, tell jokes, etc. Do that and you should be just
fine.
Bladder - Just use the toilet before this one hits Pure Red (empty) or you
might pee on the floor. Not only that, but having this little
"accident" cuts into their other Needs too, such as Hygiene.
Your sims will need to "use the facilities" after drinking coffee
or eating a meal.
Note: Non-neat Sims won't flush automatically after using the
toilet, so you will have to make sure that they do it,
or the toilet could clog up.
Energy -- Two ways to get Energy up, sleep, and Coffee. Sleep is the
better solution, and the better the bed (or couch in the case of
naps) the more Energy you get back in less time. If you fail to
get to sleep or drink some coffee before your Sims' Energy bar
hits Pure Red, then he will collapse on the floor and sleep
there. THIS IS NOT GOOD! Your Sim will wake up with NO Comfort,
and far less Energy than if he had slept in a bed. So before
Energy gets too low, send the Sim to bed!
Note: Espresso is better than Coffee, but takes longer to
drink. Usually I prefer Coffee, as you can drink it
several times in a row quite quickly.
Comfort - A gauge on how your Sim is FEELING. Low comfort is similar to
how you would feel Sore after exercising. Comfort is a Need that
you should never bother with on its own. You can always increase
Comfort while doing something else, for example, while eating
your Sim sits on a chair, or while watching TV he sits on a
couch.
Note: The Best Toilet also increases Comfort. Also the main
reason to get the top of the line Tub (not the hot tub)
is because it helps Comfort as well as Hygiene.
Hygiene - How clean your Sim feels. This naturally decays throughout the
day, but is also decreased by using the toilet without washing
your hands, or accidentally peeing your pants.
Fun -- And lastly there is Fun. A bored Sim is an unhappy Sim. Keep
your Sim entertained by having him read the Paper, a Book, or
Watch TV, Dance to the radio, etc.
There are some activities that help out 2 or more of the Needs. Some of
these are: Sitting in the Hot Tub (Hygiene, Comfort, Fun, Social), the
Hygeia-Matic Toilet (Comfort, Bladder), Eating while Sitting with Others
(Social, Hunger, Comfort), Dancing with a Guest (Fun, Social), Joking with a
Guest (Fun, Social), etc.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.1.2 Why A Sim Does What He Does
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why do some Sims like to watch TV and others like to read a book? Why does
one Sim like cartoons and another the horror channel? Why does your Sim
STOP doing a certain activity even though he still hasn't filled that Need?
And why do they keep doing an inefficient activity when there are better
objects to fill that need around? Let's find out!
Here's where we get into the PERSONALITY of your Sims. (We won't actually
be CREATING our Sims for the moment, we're just looking at them first so you
can know what you're dealing with) Just like people, every Sim has his own
personality. One Sim may be a happy little go-getter, while another is a
slob who can't shut up. Obviously then, not all Sims are going to like doing
the same things.
The Personality Types:
Neat, Messy -- Neat Sims are like little Maids, they clean up not only
after themselves, but others too. They also wash their
hands after using the Toilet, and after eating with their
hands. They do the dishes, they take out the trash, and
are generally nice to have around. Messy Sims are the
opposite. They don't wash their hands, they don't do
dishes. They also tend to leave puddles when using the
shower.
0-2 Slob: So I occasionally leave a pizza box or two
lying around, and I don't mind the flies buzzing
all over. Why clean up when everybody else is
willing to do it?
3-7 Occasional Cleaner: When it comes to cleaning up, I
have a few basic rules. I flush when I'm done,
throw away my own junk, and take out the trash
now and then.
8-10 Neat Freak: I'm known to wash a dish as soon as I've
finished eating. The trashcan's barely full
before it's taken out. The paper is recycled as
soon as I've finished reading. And the house is
always spotless whenever I'm about.
Outgoing, Shy - Outgoing Sims crave conversation with other Sims. As
discussed in the last section, their Social Need will drop
like a rock if they don't have some friends over to chat
with. They're more likely to have the Higher Level social
interactions pop up, and react better when someone does one
on them (for example, they are less likely to push a hug
away). Shy Sims still need Social, but on a smaller scale.
0-2 Shy: Being self-conscious and introspective, I don't
have a great need to be social. It's hard for me
to meet new people and make friends.
3-7 Member of the Crowd: I'm a little reserved, and it
takes me a while to warm up to new people. You
won't see me in the middle of huge crowds at
parties, but I won't be sitting quietly in a
corner either.
8-10 People Person: I am an extrovert. I love to talk to
everyone. I crave social interactions. Basically,
I'm a social animal.
Active, Lazy -- The Active Sim wants to go out and play some Hoops, or do
something other than sit around watching TV. They Dance,
they Swim, and enjoy moving around. Lazy Sims are your
couch potatoes. Their Comfort score will drop faster than
for active Sims (to reflect their overwhelming desire to
sit). Lazy Sims also have troubles getting out of bed.
0-2 Lazy: Is there anything worse than getting out of bed
in the morning? Who needs ambition--a warm couch
and a good TV show is all anyone needs.
3-7 Laid Back: Though not always on the go, I am somewhat
motivated. Though I tend to linger a little too
long in a nice cozy chair, I won't be caught
sitting there all day either.
8-10 Energetic: Some say I'm a live wire. Some say I have
ants in my pants. Either way, it just means that
I'm always on the go and anxious to get there.
Playful, Serious -- Playful Sims like to play around with other Sims (i.e.
jokes) or with games (Pool, Computer, Pinball). Serious
Sims are your bookworms. They also like Newspapers.
0-2 Serious: Sims who spend their time joking around just
irritate me. Don't they understand that their
frivolous folly is meaningless? So much more
fun can be gained by reading a good book.
3-7 Amused: I laugh at good jokes, dance if there are other
people on the floor, and like to play games.
Generally, I like having fun, but I don't go
overboard.
8-10 Life of the Party: When I'm not telling jokes, I'm
laughing at them. I've never seen a game I
didn't want to play. That's why everyone knows
the party is always at my house.
Nice, Grouchy -- This mostly effects how well your Sim will interact with
others. Remember the old saying "Doesn't play well with
others", well that's the Grouchy Sim. I refer to them as
the Mean Sim as they like to insult, tease, taunt, and
brag.
0-2 Mean: Everything makes me mad, especially when someone
says I have a temper. If everything wasn't always
broken, or other Sims weren't always bothering
me, I probably wouldn't have to blow my stack so
often.
3-7 Easy-going: While some Sims can get on my nerves a
little, overall I'm pretty good-natured.
8-10 Compassionate: I like giving hugs and compliments. I
love making friends with everyone. If everyone
were more like me, the neighborhood would be a
nicer place.
Following your Sims' personality type will make them happy, but may make
others unhappy. (i.e. the Mean Sim insulting people) So try to work within
the boundaries of personality, but don't let it run their lives.
Best Fun Objects Based on Personality:
Playful -- Aquarium, Computer, Doll house, Guinea Pig, Piano, Pinball, Pool
Table, Train Set, TV (Cartoons), VR Glasses -- INTERACTIVE
Objects
Serious -- Newspaper, Book, Chess Table, Looking at Paintings
Active -- Basketball, TV (Action), Pool, Radio
Lazy -- TV (Any Channel!), Computer
Outgoing - Hot Tub, TV (Romance)
Mean -- TV (Horror)
Note: Train Set, Toybox and Playground are for kids only, but playful
Sims seem to enjoy them more. (broadstrong)
For a more thorough look at Sims and their interactions with various Objects
check out section 4.5.
Tip: Holding the mouse pointer over a CONTROLLED Sim speeds his movement.
Holding it over an UNCONTROLLED Sim slows him down. (broadstrong)
Check out section 11.8 for more information on this.
Now let's actually create that Sim Family!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2) Information on the Expansion, Livin' Large
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a cursory explanation about the Expansion Pack for The Sims, Livin'
Large. This section summarizes everything in the Expansion Pack, and then
lists where you can find more information on each subject. For example, the
new careers are listed in section 6.1.1.
First and foremost, Livin' Large is an Expansion Pack for The Sims. It is
NOT, I repeated, NOT something that you can download for free. You must go
to a store and purchase it. Try Walmart. Or Target. Or Babbage's/Software
Etc. The suggested retail price of Livin' Large is $29.95.
Dozens of new situations and objects:
Alien abductions
Roach infestations
A chemistry set
Genie in a lantern
Fortune telling crystal ball
Exploding garden gnome
Holiday decorations
Five new career paths featuring 50 new jobs:
Musician: subway musician, piano tuner, wedding singer, lounge singer
and more
Sloth: golf caddy, convenience store cashier, lifeguard and more
Paranormal: Tarot card reader, UFO investigator and more
Journalism: game reviewer, weatherman, TV show host and more
Game industry: beta tester, game designer, programmer and more
New architecture and decor:
Castle: Build the perfect creepy setting for the neighborhood mad scientist
Vegas: Outmoded but not cheap aesthetic, such as clashing colors and odd
decor
Retro: A revival of the 50s-60s "mod" craze, upscale and chic, with
graceful curves and a minimum of ornamentation
The next information here came from Computer Gaming World, courtesy of Joseph
Peitler. (Computer Gaming World issue 192, July 2000, in the read.me section,
there is an article about the Sims Expansion Pack, titled THE SIMS: LIVIN'
LARGE. Here are some items that MIGHT appear in the game coming out in the
Fall.)
New objects that have deeper repercussions:
- An antique lamp that inhabits a genie (but be careful, wishes can
backfire when you get stuck with an incompetent mystical being)
- A new workbench to make gnomes (but a low mechanical skill will result in
lawn ornamentation that basically functions as a proximity mine)
- A crystal ball (to predict a Sim's future)
- A voodoo doll (to torment other Sims)
New characters:
- Space aliens (that can abducts Sims)
- A Tragic Clown (who shows up and performs disastrous tricks and never
leaves)
- The Grim Reaper (who you can bargain with for the life of your perished
Sim)
Sean from Maxis mentioned the Grim Reaper in the recent chat:
The current design of the grim reaper is that he shows up
occasionally when people die. If you make the right bargain with him,
or win a little game, you can come back from the dead...but with..uh,
some... uh, drawbacks of course.
There was recently a chat with the designers, and Wendy Zupack summarized
some of the major points:
- In the Pack, there will be a vibrating bed where the naughty Sims will be
able to 'Play With' each other. This, of course, produces babies. Also,
it decreases energy and other needs severely, while increasing social
(duh).
- There will be about 125 new objects added, including objects now
available as downloads from TheSims.com
- There will be many more objects to increase Skills, such as an electric
guitar for Creativity and telescope for Logic (Beware, the telescope
brings on aliens!).
- There will be more 'sets' of furniture, such as a dining table that might
go with counters and chairs.
- Wallpaper, flooring and furniture will have increased compatibility.
- There will be vacations for all the working Sims.
- The chemistry set and getting abducted by aliens both alter Sim
personality, either temporarily or permanantly.
- There will be triple the number of doors and windows (there are stained
glass windows, boomerang-shaped windows, etc.)
- It has been released! Check out the next few sections for more
information. [ and it will cost $29.95 USD ]
- New Items List:
= Egg-shaped chair
= Velvet Sofasauras Funk sofa
= Wood burning stove (perfect for those log cabins!)
= Coat of Arms (for the medieval people out there)
= Stainless steel table set
= Guinea pig painting
= Tiki lamps
= Head in a jar on pedestal
= Ceremic elephant end table
= Vibrating bed
= Black velvet painting
= Electric Guitar
= New piano
= Instruments of torture (not working implements of torture)
= Suit of Armor (the most expensive decorative item at §15,000 each)
= Throw Rugs (extra decoration)
To cure guinea pig disease, buy the "Forgotten Guinea Pig" painting and
hang it up. Your sim should be cured within a day. (JediPika88)
The party balloons has a chance of attracting 1 neighbor every 30
minutes. Once all the balloons are popped or you have five neighbors, no more
come. It does not work late at night. (JediPika88)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.1 Multiple Neighborhoods (Livin' Large ONLY)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the most common fan Utilities is the Neighborhood Manager that allows
a user to create more than one Neighborhood. Now with the Expansion,
Livin' Large, everyone can create up to 5 unique Neighborhoods.
When the game first loads up you will be at the original Neighborhood Screen.
In the top left corner is a number with a LEFT and RIGHT arrow by it. If you
click the right arrow it will take you to Neighborhood 2, left to 5, etc.
These new neighborhoods exist completely separate from one another. That is,
you can't have Sims from one neighborhood visit another. And of the new
neighborhoods, only the 2nd neighborhood starts with houses and Sims already
in it. The others are completely blank.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.2 Cockroaches (Livin' Large ONLY)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the more annoying additions in Livin' Large (well, they can't all be
happy fun new gadgets) are the cockroaches. They appear in a little swarm,
and need to be Sprayed. Roaches usually appear when there has been a mess
for awhile -- even an unmade bed counts as a "mess". To prevent them from
appearing, then, you must keep everything clean. Cockroaches will kill the
Room rating.
Also Roaches can walk through walls, go under any object, and generally make
a nuisance of themselves.
Getting rid of Roaches requires having a Sim click on the Roach, then select
the Spray option. There are a number of quirks with this action, however.
One: the Spray command MUST be the ONLY thing in your Sim's action Queue.
So you can't set them to Spray after they do something else, Spraying
must be the ONLY thing that they are set to do.
Two: if the Roaches move after you click them, then the Spray option
vanishes, and you must re-click the roaches.
Three: If you start Spraying roaches, and there are more than one swarm of
roaches around your property -- even if they are outside your house
-- your Sim will seek and destroy EVERY roach group that he can
find.
Maids will sometimes clean out the Roaches for you, but not all the time.
In fact, since installing Hot Date, she never bothered with Roaches again.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.3 The Grim Reaper (Livin' Large ONLY)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before Livin' Large, when a Sim died, he was dead. Nothing could be done
about it (short of simply not Saving the game). Your Sim was gone. Not
anymore! Now when your Sim dies, Death will come for him in the form of
the Grim Reaper that we all know and love.
When Death comes, anyone else in the family may go up to Death and [Plead]
with him to not take the dearly departed away.
At this point, Death can do three things:
1. Ignore your Plea, and take your dead Sim anyway. You still get their
remains as a Tombstone or Urn, though.
2. Play you in a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors and you win. The Sim is
brought back to life, and Death goes on his merry way.
3. Play Rock-Paper-Scissors and you LOSE. He might take pity (or not) and
bring the Sim back. But as a zombie.
Hey, it's better than nothing!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.4 Genie in a Bottle (Livin' Large ONLY)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the new Miscellaneous Objects in the game is a plain brass lamp.
Anyone who has seen "Aladdin" (or any other cartoon dealing with Genies)
will immediately recognize this as a Magic Lamp.
To get to the genie, select the lamp and [Clean]. It also has a very minor
effect on Fun when [Viewed]. The genie can be used ONCE PER DAY. (every
night at 12:01 a.m., he can be used again)
Note: Before ever using the genie, I'd be sure to have a Fire Alarm in
each room of your house. You can check out why under "Bad" for FIRE
and LEISURE.
The genie will make you choose between two things, and then he will "act."
Each choice that he gives you has both a GOOD and a BAD effect. For example,
choosing Money (from Love or Money) can give you either BILLS or a POT OF
GOLD. Here are the choices:
Love - Good - Summons forth a neighbor, who will immediately fall in
love with your Sim
- Bad - Ruins a relationship that you have
-- or --
Money - Good - Gives you a Pot of Gold worth between §1141-2918 (well
that's what I've gotten)
- Bad - Gives you three bright red, nearly-due bills
Friends - Good - Teleports someone there, and now they like you MORE
- Bad - Teleports a friend there, and they're now angry at you
(my person went down to -75 on the relationship-meter)
-- or --
Family - Good - Anyone living with your Sim has their relationship with
your Sim improved
- Bad - Creates a "family crisis" where another family member will
like you less (usually it just subtracts about 20 points
from their relationship, so if it was 100 it might now be
80)
Fire - Good - Improves your Sim's Comfort and Social Needs
- Bad - Starts an actual fire in your Sim's house
-- or --
Water - Good - Summons a fountain (for your Sim to play in, no doubt)
- Bad - Floods the house (about 8-12 "water" spots on the floor)
Work - Good - Gives a +1 to 3 different Skills (Logic, Body, Mechanical,
etc.)
- Bad - Deletes some of your Sim's Skills (for example, a Sim with
4 Cooking skills will have only 2 after this)
-- or --
Leisure - Good - Gives your Sim the Big Screen TV or another Leisure Item
- Bad - Sets one of your "leisure" items on fire (I've had
everything from the "love bed" to the good toilet burn up)
Earth - Good - Summons forth three indoor plants
- Bad - Summons five dead plants, which can't be deleted, though
your Sim can throw them away (an interesting side-note is
that if the "move_objects" cheat is activated, these
plants can be deleted in furnish mode for full price!)
-- or --
Air - Good - Summons forth about a dozen pink flamingoes on the lawn
- Bad - Plagues your house with lots of cockroaches
The chance of getting a BAD effect to a GOOD effect SEEMS to be about 3 to 2.
(so on average, every 3 bad events will be followed by 2 good effects) This
naturally makes using the Genie a VERY risky proposal! Here are the choices
that I would choose to minimize your risk:
Fire or Water:
Water (if the Fire burns something large, such as a bed, you won't get
the fire extinguished before it destroys the item!)
Love or Money:
Money (early in the game this makes a great deal of sense, a pot of gold
can net you almost §3000, and your 3 bills will add up to
considerably less)
Love (late in the game this makes more sense, you probably have a lot of
friends and a lot of money, therefore you won't need more money)
Earth or Air:
Earth (the plants sell for more than the flamingoes, PLUS it's easier to
clean up dead plants than it is to get rid of cockroaches)
Work or Leisure:
I have never had Work do anything beyond zap my skills, so I have to say
Leisure, despite the Fire risk. Hopefully it will be something small and
easy to put out.
Friends or Family:
Family (this one has almost no risk at all! Losing about 20 points with
someone you LIVE WITH is all too easy to fix, and occasionally it
will actually improve your relationships!)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.5 The Chemistry Set (Livin' Large ONLY)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the best new items in the expansion is the wonderful Chemistry Set.
(Called the Concoctonator) Its primary purpose is to improve your Sim's
Logic (it isn't fun). However, once you [Make a Potion], you can then
[Drink Potion], and depending on the COLOR of the potion you get a variety
of neat side effects:
Blue Potion - The most common type of potion. This will completely
fulfill THREE of your Sim's Needs randomly. One time this
potion will fill up Energy, Hunger and Fun, while another
time it will fill in Social, Bladder and Hygiene.
Dark Green - Creates an Evil Clone of your Sim. By "Evil Clone" it means
that this Sim is your exact duplicate. This means that this
Clone may not actually be evil. If your Sim is a jerk (low
Nice), then this Clone may be a really nice guy. You can't
get rid of a Clone, but eventually they just fade away.
Evil clones will ruin your Sim's relationships with other
Sims.
Yellow - Permanent Reverse Personality. Yep, your Sim will have
their entire personality flip-flopped. If you had 3 Nice,
you will now have 7. If you had 10 Neat, you will now have
none. There is a really cool trick involving this potion,
see "Tip" below.
Purple - Turn your Sim into a monster. Monsters just don't listen to
you! I had one that painted a picture (he didn't gain
Creativity, but I sold the picture for §166, and this was at
a mere 3 Creativity!). Monsters also tend to wake up
sleeping Sims if in the same room. Monsters don't lose Need
points. If they were halfway hungry when they became a
monster, that's where they'll be later.
Worse of all, monsters also have a tendency to break most
things they use! Plus they seem to want to use (break)
everything in the house!
This effect eventually wears off.
Light Green - Ruins all of your Sim's Needs except Room, such that they'll
all have a mere sliver of green.
If this one happens to you, you have to very quickly work
on EVERY Need your Sim has all at once. I would do it in
this order:
Energy (a quickie coffee to keep them up long enough to
eat)
Hunger (get them food, STAT! If possible, eat with a
family member, but you don't have time to call
anyone)
Bathroom (actually let them pee their pants, this only
worsens Hygiene, but it was nearly empty anyway)
Energy (get them to sleep)
Hunger (when they wake up they need to eat again, and
if you can, get some friends to eat with you)
Bathroom (in the toilet this time)
Hygiene (shower or bath)
Fun & Comfort (have them watch TV with a family member or
friend)
Social (have them Hug anyone they meet)
And that should be that. It took me about 16 hours to
resuscitate a Sim this way.
Orange - Turns your Sim invisible. Therefore other Sims can't
interact with that Sim. However, your invisible Sim CAN
interact with the other Sims. This potion has the shortest
effect of all of them.
Red - Causes your Sim to fall in love with someone in the
neighborhood.
White - Cures your Sim of sickness. 10:1 odds that this will appear
when your Sim is sick (JediPika88).
And, of course, the Chemistry Set can always explode in your face!
Tip: Once the potion is created, there are two ways to get rid of it.
First you can just drink it. This isn't always desirable, if say,
the potion is a bad one. Second, you can sell the Chemistry Set and
buy a new one. This will lose you some money as your chemistry set
will have depreciated. Well there is a neat little cheating way to
get around this.
Activate the "move_objects on" cheat. (Press CTRL-SHIFT-C, then type
"move_objects on" without the quotes) Now before you drink the
potion, SAVE THE GAME. Then drink the potion. The bad effect hits
you. Go into FURNISH mode (F2), click on your Sim, and press DEL.
Go back to LIVE mode (F1), and click on your Sim's portrait to bring
her back. Since the Sim is brought back from the last save, she'll
be exactly as she was before drinking the potion.
This does NOT work very well for the MONSTER effect, as if you delete
the Monster, your Sim will never return!
This tip also works well for the Genie effects, such as when he
blasts away your skills.
Tip: The Chemistry Set is one of the most fun objects in Livin' Large, and
there is one fun thing to try with it. Create a Sim and give her
NO PERSONALITY AT ALL. Then use the Chemistry Set until you get a
YELLOW, or Personality Reversal Potion. Drink it and you will have
the ULTIMATE PERSONALITY. Sweet. Takes a while but it works!
Rob Sevening has another idea to remove unwanted Potions:
Another easy way (without cheating) to get rid of an unwanted potion is
to invite one of your Sim's friends over to your house. Make sure there
is no food for the friend to eat because the first thing friends look for
when they come over is something to eat. Anyway, once the friend arrives
have your Sim greet them and do nothing else. The friend will walk
directly to the potion set and drink the potion regardless of what type
it is. This has worked for me every time I wanted to purge a potion. If
it is the nasty green potion, the friend will leave immediately!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.6) The "Love" Bed (Livin' Large ONLY)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is a big cheesy red bed with a giant red heart. This bed allows your
Sims to finally do "it". Have one Sim get in the bed (under the [Vibrate]
command). They'll strip and get in the bed. Then have another Sim (one who
is in Love with the other Sim, naturally) go to the bed and do the [Play in
Bed] command. They will then proceed with gettin' it on. It is both Fun and
a Social activity. (naturally!) On the downside, it pulls down every other
Need you have quite dramatically.
The [vibrate] feature costs §20. There is also the [Relax] feature which
improves a Sim's Comfort like no other.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.7) Beejaphone Guitar (Livin' Large ONLY)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The new Guitar is both fun and it improves your Creativity at the same time.
Plus as a group activity, two people can share in the fun. Sometimes,
however, the second person (the "watcher") will Jeer the person playing.
This is usually caused by the first person being a horrible guitar player.
The better the Creativity level, the better the chance that anyone [Watching]
will "rock out".
Even with people listening to your Sim-guitar work, this isn't a Social
object.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.8) Woodworking Table (or the Work-at-Home career) (Livin' Large ONLY)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The KraftMatic Woodworking Table doesn't COST money, it MAKES money. (You
still have to buy it, but it will soon be rakin' in the dough for you!)
Used to increase Mechanical Skill while creating yard Gnomes. There is a
slight chance that the police will fine you §500 (saying that kids can smell
the fumes miles away). In any event, once a Gnome is completed it can be
sold, (only through the Furnish F2 function) and the more Gnomes you make,
the more money you get per Gnome.
The rate at which Gnomes are produced is a little slow at first, but as you
progress and your Mechanical Skill gets higher they take less and less time.
Also the later Gnomes sell for more money. So, your first Gnome will sell
for a measely §1, while your last Gnome will sell for §100. About every 3
to 4 Gnomes, the price rises by §1, and at every Mechanical Skill Increase
the price rises by about §10.
Lawn Gnomes do NOT appreciate in value like artwork (not the stuff you paint,
but the stuff you buy). So if it would sell for §2 when you made it, it will
still sell at that rate in 100 SimDays.
The value of your gnome is equal to your initial mechanical skill times your
updated mechanical skill (if it went up, otherwise they're the same). So, if
you make a Gnome at Mechanical 1, it will sell for §1. If, however, your
skill goes up to 2, but started at 1, then it will sell for §2. (with thanks
to Amy Lam)
The max price per Gnome is §100, which you will get when your Mechanical
Skill gets maxed out. Once that happens you are making a Gnome every
20 minutes (from the time the Block of Wood is put on the table, to the time
that the Gnome is put on the ground). Therefore you can make 3 Gnomes an
hour, for §300/hr. If you were to have your Sim work at the table for 8
hours you could make §2400 a day. Of course, the table is very stressful
for your Sim, and their Needs will drop while working at it.
Gnomes are decorations and improve the Room rating slightly.
Note: Gnomes are more interactive in Hot Date. Your Sim can pick them up,
and give them as a gift. "Just what I always wanted..."
If a Gnome is kicked, it might explode! I had a Sim turned into a Monster.
First thing he did was kick a Gnome, which exploded knocking him on his butt.
The ONLY way to get a Sim to kick a Gnome is through Free Will. You can't
force them to kick a Gnome.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.9) Madame Blahbatfry Crystal Ball (Livin' Large ONLY)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Madame's Crystal Ball is the other method to improve your Sim's personality.
What it does is it gives you a riddle. You must have your Sim do what the
riddle says, and you will have a permanent Stat increase. (such as
Playful +1) If it says to "seek pleasure", have some fun and become more
playful.
To gain your stat increase, simply do what you are told, and it will happen
naturally. No more work required. (some info below from JediPika88)
"be more clean" (have a clean house) - +1 Neat point
(have a dirty house) - -1 Neat point
"just enjoying yourself" or "fun not frown" (have fun) - +1 Playful point
(no fun) - -1 Playful point
"be nice" (improve a relationship by 20) - +1 Nice point
(don't be nice) - -1 Nice point
"befriend the neighborhood" (10 hours with
other Sims in your house) - +1 Outgoing
"active" (have a low comfort score) - +1 Active
And of course, sometimes it has no effect. (Possibly because you didn't fail
to meet its objectives, but didn't succeed either)
It takes 24 hours from the time you first look into the Crystal, to when it
adjusts your Personality.
Note: If you "Delete" your Sim (see Cheats & Tricks below) it will also
reset your Crystal Ball objective.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.10) Servo (Livin' Large ONLY)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The most expensive item in the game -- §15,000 -- is the robotic butler,
Servo. He can do just about anything, cook, clean, repair. In order to
function, his Pod must have one empty square in front of AND behind it. Then
simply [Turn On] and he'll patrol your house looking for things to do. Once
he runs out of tasks, he returns to his Pod.
Servo puts on different "hats" depending on the job he is about to perform.
He wears a brown cap if he wants to repair something, a little maid's cap to
clean and a Chef's Hat when he prepares a meal. If you see him wandering
around in the Brown Hat (for repairing) then you can assume that he WANTS to
repair something, he just can reach it. Find what it is (it's probably a
burnt out Wall Light), and clear the obstacle out of Servo's way so that he
can fix it.
To get Servo to COOK for you, simply click on his Pod again once he is
already out and about, and select [Serve Food]. Be warned, Servo is NOT a
good cook, and his meals are only slightly more satisfying than a mere SNACK.
Note: Servo's meals may be unsatisfying to your Sims, but they are FREE
and you can have him toss out LOTS of meals quickly. These meals
are the equivalent of a Pizza slice.
Servo MUST be [Turned On] EVERY TIME you want him to work.
One of the promotionals Maxis made prior to the release of Livin' Large
intimated that Servo might "rebel" against his human oppressors. I have not
confirmed whether this exists or not.
So in the end, is Servo worth it? No, not really. Even if you have the
money, a Maid and a Gardener are better bargains. A maid will cost you
usually only §10 a day, and a gardener is only §10 every 3 days. (we'll
assume that you repair your own items) At these rates, it would take 1127
days of owning and operating Servo before he becomes cost efficient vs. the
human help. Even if we doubled the Maid and Gardener rates (to §20 a day,
and §20 every three days respectively) it would still take over 563 days
before Servo is worth the money. Plus he has the annoying drawback that you
must activate him EVERY time you want him to do something. In that time, you
could probably do the very thing you were turning him on to do! If Servo
automatically sensed a mess, or something to repair, went out and cleaned it
all on his own, then he would be worth it.
Rob Sevening has this to say about Servo:
I've noticed that when my family has friends over and my robot is finished
with his chores he will sometimes approach one of the visitors and interact
with them. Sometimes he will entertain them (juggling act) or sometimes he
will dance with them. He has never done it to any member of my family only
to visiting friends. Another thing was he only interacted with the exact
same friend every time she was over. It was though he grew some
'attraction' to that particular Sim.
Servo may attempt to interact with a Sim if his social score is low.
(JediPika88)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.11) Horrowitz "Star Track" Backyard Telescope (Livin' Large ONLY)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increases a Sim's Logic Skill with only a slight chance of getting abducted
by Aliens.
Getting abducted by Aliens will mess up your Sim's personality. This hasn't
happened to me yet, so I can't say anything more specific about it.
Rob Sevening had his Sim's adbucted:
I don't use the telescope anymore because it seems every single time I've
had my Sims use the dang thing they get abducted. No aliens are ever seen,
but they get 'beamed' up in purple beams of light. My family members then
'grieve' at the spot they were abducted. They cry for a few minutes then
continue on with their business. The longest I've ever been gone was about
12 hours. The Sim then reappears in a random spot (usually near the
abduction point) with a picture of an alien in their conversation box.
Each time their personality was apparently randomized (no pattern found)
never to return to normal.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.12) The Tragic Clown (Livin' Large ONLY)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Tragic Clown will only appear in houses that have his portrait hanging
on their walls. Then the occupants must be sad, look at his portrait and he
will appear and attempt to cheer you up. Too bad that he is so depressed
himself, else he might actually be ABLE to cheer you up. As it stands, he
manages to make matters worse!
Hot Date & Vacation Note: The Clown can show up Downtown and in the
vacation areas. He does much the same stuff
there, but arrives without your having purchased
the clown portrait.
He does a variety of tricks (all of which fail miserably), but mostly just
wanders around your house crying, coughing, sneezing, and just generally
getting everyone down.
There are bunches of interaction options with the Clown, but the only one
that seems to make my Sims happy were [Insults].
There's nothing YOU can do to get rid of him, he simply has to leave on his
own.
Tip: Having trouble getting the clown to appear? Try this. Make potions
with the chemistry set and try to get the light green (The one that
makes you tragically unhappy yourself), then look at the clown's
portrait. This guarantees nothing, but the clown loves a good
tragedy!
JediPika88 has this to say about Clowns:
The tragic clown appears when the family's average motive drops below -20.
Do not try to trap him, if he cannot get somewhere he makes a hole, goes in
and pops up somewhere else. To get rid of him, get the family's motives up
to 25. He will then leave. Or you can put his painting above a fireplace,
remove smoke alarms, then light it. When the painting catches on fire, so
will the clown.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.13) Voodoo Doll (Livin' Large ONLY)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Used to beat up someone from afar. Can't see that it has much point, other
than pure annoyance. It can only be used on someone currently in the house,
and cannot be used on children.
I can't see much of a purpose to this item, except for sadistic pleasure.
If the voodoo doll victim is in the same room as the one using it, they
will attempt to slap the user. (JediPika88)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.3 Information on the Second Expansion, House Party
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I wasn't terribly satisfied with House Party, as an expansion. I just felt
that it didn't add enough to the Sims to justify the cost. Ah, well.
What's New:
3 New Neighborhoods (6-8)
Many new objects
New Characters (The Caterer, the Mime, the Raver, Drew Carey,
"Entertainer")
Parties - which are started by clicking the phone and selecting "Throw
Party"
A few things to know:
1) Good parties are expensive. First you need to buy just about every
party object in the game (which requires a large house to start with),
then you need to hire a caterer to feed the group. The quality of the
party can be measured by who shows up, if you get the Mime, your party
stinks, if you get Drew Carey, you probably have a good party.
2) The "Entertainer" (or, Stripper, if you want to be accurate) that pops
out of the big cake will flirt with members of the party who are around.
This can create a LOT of havoc in their lives! I saw one female
"entertainer" kiss about 4 different men before leaving, each one had
their girlfriend in the room at the same time. Result was a lot of
jealousy (and one completely ruined romance).
3) Mimes steal things.
4) Party crashers break things.
If you want additional information on House Party, I would suggest checking
out James Paterson's FAQ on House Party. This can also be found at
http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/game/30989.html
Molly B. found an easter egg in House Party:
1. Buy "Jungle Jumble Import Display," and hang it somewhere.
2. Tell your sim to *view* it. (NOTE: The sim must be in a GREAT mood for it
to work.
3. A picture of the Maxis staff, stangely dressed up will appear. Next to it
will be a narrorative, with a written out french accent, which is supposed
to be parody of a generic nature documentary.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.4 Information on the Fourth Expansion, Hot Date
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What's New:
-----------
From the Sims: Hot Date Readme:
New Downtown Area
---------------
Each Neighborhood can have its own downtown. Just pick up the phone and
call a cab. When you get downtown, visit one of the lots that Maxis has
made for you. If you want to get creative with all of the new objects,
hit the downtown button from the neighborhood screen and build your own
downtown lot. When building your lot, it is best to place 3 tiles worth of
sidewalk next to the street. We recommend that you limit the number of
animated objects you place on your lot. The more you have, the slower the
performance will be.
New Non-Player Characters
---------------
There are two sets of NPC's that are in Hot Date. There are the
"worker-bees", like the chef, waitress and store clerks and there are the
"dateable" NPC's. These "dateables" are Sims you can meet downtown and
strike up a relationship with.
New Catalog Sorts
---------------
Each catalog sort now has a subsort in order to better organize the objects
that are available. If you double click on the buy mode icon, you will
notice that at home you have both a room and a functional sort. In downtown
buy mode you have a Place and a functional sort. If you choose to place
skill objects downtown, your Sim will not gain skill. Skills are only
gained in your Sim's house. If you have previously downloaded objects from
www.thesims.com, you will need to go to the website and download the
updated versions so that they function correctly with Hot Date.
New Web Features
---------------
There is now a new exchange available to you on www.thesims.com. The
Downtown Exchange is where you can post your new downtown lots that you
have worked so hard on. You also have the opportunity to download lots that
other Sim fans have created.
Neighborhoods
-------------------------
The Sims Livin' Large and The Sims House Party support multiple
neighborhoods. The Sims Hot Date allows you to have a different downtown
area with each one of these neighborhoods. You can select new neighborhoods
by using the arrow buttons in the upper left portion of the neighborhood
screen.
There are five neighborhoods to start with, the first of which is reserved
for the existing neighborhood players have created.
Neighborhoods 2,3,4 and 5 are not created by House Party. This is to allow
for Livin' Large to install its neighborhoods in these spaces.
Neighborhoods 6, 7, and 8 have been created for your House Party houses.
It is possible for users to have even more neighborhoods in The Sims House
Party. Here's how:
- Make a copy the TemplateUserData folder. Place it in the same directory
as the other UserData folders.
- Rename this copy to UserDataXX, where XX is an unused number (check the
existing UserData folder numbers) up to 99. We do not recommend you use
neighborhoods 2-5 until after you have installed Livin' Large. See
the "House Party and Livin' Large" section for more details.
- You can do this before you run the game, or while you are alt-tabbed away
from the game. Either way, the game should pick up the fact that you
added a new neighborhood.
Here's an example:
- You're running the game, and you decide you want to add a new
neighborhood to hold some imported houses you just found on
www.thesims.com.
- You alt-tab to the windows desktop, find the installation folder for The
Sims House Party, and make a copy of TemplateUserData. Rename this
folder to UserData23.
- Alt-tab back to the game. As you scroll through the different
neighborhoods, "23" will show up. This refers to your new UserData23
directory.
***WARNING***
Do NOT rename the original UserData folder either while the game in running
or when the game is not in use.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.4.1 New Social Interaction Options (Hot Date)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are now far more things to worry about when your Sims interact.
First, you might not be able to control the reactions of each Sim in a
conversation. I'm not just referring to Sims who already lived together
that you FORCED to like each other, but also to Sims in the neighborhood.
Just switching from one household to the next to get 2 Sims to like each
other, propose and move in. Now some Sims are NPCs. That is, you don't
get to control them. You can meet NPCs at the new downtown area.
Note: These NPC's have the last name "Townie." They make a good way for
you to gain more Family Friends without having to simply fill up a
neighborhood with "filler" families.
The "Friendship Meter" used in previous versions is now replaced by a
"short term Friendship Meter." It works very similarly to the old meter.
Positive reactions to your Sim increase the meter, when it hits a certain
number (about 60) you make a new Family Friend.
Note: Remember that the meter represents YOUR SIM'S feelings, not the
total relationship. It won't tell you how the other person feels
about you, and THAT is critical in determing whether they become a
Family Friend.
The new "long term Friendship Meter" doesn't decrease nearly as often as
the short term (which decreases in value daily). It, as its name implies,
offers you a view on the long term relationship between your Sims.
Downtown ... while downtown you can only control ONE SIM. I imagine this is
what The Sims Online will be like. You can either "go it alone" with your
one Sim, or you can call/invite another Sim to go with you. This is like a
date, I suppose. While on your date, any time you do a "group" activity,
your date will follow you. That is, if you go to the restaurant and order
food, your date will automatically follow. Play pool, dance, etc.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.4.2 Controlled Sim Interactions (Hot Date)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hot Date also allows you to control just how far you want your Sims to go
with an action. For example, if you want to Hug another Sim, but don't want
that Sim to get the "wrong idea" you could do a quick "Friendly Hug." Or,
maybe you want to become good friends/lovers you would go for the "Intimate
Hug," where they embrace for several seconds. It's all up to you, now.
Tip: Remember to do actions that the other Sim enjoys the most. This is
(as before) based on that Sim's personality. For example, "Active"
Sims enjoy doing active things, such as Lively Dancing.
If a Sim consistently rebuffs your attempts at TYPES of actions,
then you know something about their personality, and what types of
actions to use on them. For instance, if a Sim always boos your
jokes/puppets/other playful things, you know they have a low
Playful rating.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.4.3 Interests and Inventory (Hot Date)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interests:
----------
The major changes to the Sim interface are the addition of an "Interests"
button and an "Inventory" button. Interests are literally what interests
your Sim. Ex. Dating/Sports/Money.
Note: To get your Sims to talk about Interests, click the Sim > Talk >
About Interests. If you are Downtown, you can actually ask the
Sims there what their interests are. Ask > What are you Into?
The major reason to ask a Sim what she is into, is if you can't just
check it yourself, for she is a Townie. (see Downtown below)
Each Sim has a rating in each Interest grouping. A Sim with a maxed out
Interest in Sports gets along well with other Sims who like Sports.
Conversely a Sim with NO interest in Sports gets along with other Sims who
hate sports. And just as you might suspect, the Sim that loves sports does
not get along so well with the Sim that hates sports.
In other words, a LACK OF INTEREST in a subject is itself a common interest
among Sims.
If you want to customize your Sims interests, go buy a Magazine from downtown
and read it. Each magazine contains 3 interests. Studying an interest in
the magazine will improve one Interest and drop another.
Interests
Magazine Cost Raises Drops
-------------------------------------------
The Avarix §6 Money Outdoors
Politics Sports
Technology Excercise
Livin Large §5 Music The 60s
Parties Technology
The 60s Weather
MAXISMUM §7 Travel The 60s
Outdoors Politics
Excercise Food
WhooNoo!!! §6 Romance Style
Hollywood Food
Style Technology
Victor's Digest §3 Food Hollywood
Sports Outdoors
Weather Outdoors
Inventory:
----------
Objects that your Sim is carrying. Typically this space is used to show you
what gifts you are carrying. (Gifts are bought downtown, or in the case of
Lawn Gnomes, built by your Sim) These gifts are then given to other Sims to
improve their friendship.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.4.4 Downtown (Hot Date)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The default downtown comes with all but one of the lots full. Each lot
typically has a bunch of objects and things to do in it. Typically every
Need is accounted for in these Lots (except Energy, i.e. there are no beds
around). So, as long as your Sim has lots of Energy, you can head off to
Downtown. The best lot of the bunch is probably the old converted Farm,
which is now a pricey restaurant and nightclub. It offers the best
entertainment value, dancing, which is free.
Note: To go downtown, use your phone and call a cab. (§50)
Note: Everything Downtown costs MONEY and usually a lot more than normal.
Meals at restaurants are considerably more than the §20 you pay at
home.
Tip: Easily the most useful thing to do is to Auto-Center (Right-Click) on
your Sim to keep from losing her. You can also right-click your
Date's portrait (in your Relationship bar) to auto-center on him/her.
Wouldn't want to lose track of your Date... or yourself for that
matter.
Tip: While in a restaurant, if you get the guitar player at your table,
tip him §20 to get a more ROMANTIC mood.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.5 Information on the Fourth Expansion, Vacation
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...
Forthcoming
...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.6 Information on the Fifth Expansion, Unleashed
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What's New:
-----------
From the readme:
New Family Members - your PETS!
-------------------------------
The Sims Unleashed offers many new pets to add to your Sims families. Dogs
and Cats are adoptable, and become family members! Birds, Turtles, Iguanas,
and Fish can be purchased and brought into your Sims homes from the local
pet store. Dont forget to buy them cages.
New Neighborhood
---------------------
The Sims can now see their much larger Old Town, thanks to the expanded
view and zoning opportunities of the new neighborhood in The Sims
Unleashed! The original neighborhoods from the Sims are still there, and
all your families are accessible - you can find them in the upper right
section of the new neighborhood screen. You now have 41 lots to play with
in each neighborhood! In this new neighborhood, you can choose whether
you'd like any lot to be a community lot for all your Sim families to
share, or a residential lot for your Sims to live on. You can do this by
clicking on the "Evict or Rezone" button at the top of the neighborhood
screen.
Community lots offer a different set of objects and opportunities from the
residential lots you're used to in The Sims. You can use our community lots
to have all your Sims socialize, adopt pets, pick up gardening supplies or
the fruits of other Sims' labor at a farmer's market, shop, play, eat, or
even enter your dog or cat in a pet judging contest! You can also build
your own community lots to delight or destroy the moods of your Sims. The
possibilities are endless!
Should your Sims want to visit any of the community lots in your
neighborhood, have them call a cab, so the Old Town Shuttle can pick them
up and take them wherever you'd like them to go.
New Lot Filters
----------------------
There are now new lot filters for your neighborhoods. The new filter
buttons in the Neighborhood Transit Screens sort the neighborhood lots by
Lodging, Food, Gardening, Shopping, Dogs and Cats, Small Caged Animals or
Recreation services. This makes it easy to choose which lot you want to go
to at any given time.
NOTE: If you have Vacation or Hot Date installed, then your Unleashed
installation will bring a Lot Filter toolbar to your Downtown and Vacation
Island screens as well. However, if you installed Unleashed AFTER Vacation
and/or Hot Date, you will need to save your Downtown and/or Vacation Island
lots for the Lot Filter toolbar to take effect.
New Phone Book
-------------------------
Gotten too popular for your own good? The Sims Unleashed has come to your
rescue with a brand new phone book system. Your phone pie menus now say
Call Neighbor
and when you select this interaction, a phone book appears
listing all the names of your friends families on the left, and the
individual family members on the right.
New Gardening
-------------------------
Finally, your Sims can now grow their own food! A new garden plot object
lets Sims grow a variety of vegetables at home, using seeds purchased at a
local market in Old Town. Proper care of the garden yields a crop that can
be picked and stored in a pantrya new entry into the Sims food chain. For
the first time ever, hard-working Sim families can now live off their own
land, or make a living by selling their homegrown vegetables at the market!
New Non-Player Characters
-------------------------
The Sims Unleashed has a wealth of characters to liven up the lives of all
your Sims including your pets!
Food and Entertainment: Be it saxophone or hand organ, coffee or
pastries community lots are the perfect place for a stroll in the
park with family and pets in tow.
The Maintenance Crew: Even in Old Town there are messes made and cleanup
is needed.
Animal Control: If your new litter of pups or kittens isnt well tended
to, count on someone from Animal Control to show up and remove them
from the home. You can also call upon these friendly folks to get rid
of skunks or raccoons who may visit your Sims from time to time.
Palm Reader: You can have your pets or palms read, and if you ask her,
the palm reader will tell you about all the other services offered by
the palm readers of Old Town.
Head Gardener: This helpful gent is a great source of advice for a Sim
who has an avid or passing interest in their garden. You can also buy a
great Plant Tonic from him, as well as vegetables, and hes happy to
buy any of the vegetables youve harvested and brought with you to sell
in Old Town.
Pet Judges: See the Head Pet Judge to enter your pet in the contest, have
your pet judged at a pet pedestal, and win fabulous prizes to take home
with you! The Pet Judges all evaluate your pets skills in a contest,
so training can pay off in the long run.
Pet Trainer: The Pet Trainer is available for hire anywhere there is an
Adoption Center pet display. Sims can ask him questions about pets and
training, and also hire him to train their pets for them.
Four-Legged Visitors: Rabbits, raccoons, mice, gophers, and even skunks
may pay a visit to Sims unexpectedly.
New Careers
-----------
5 new career tracks are coming to the classifieds in your Sims'
neighborhood! Your Sims can now choose to earn their living in Fashion,
Culinary, Circus, Education, or Animal Care, with new carpools and 10
levels in each career track.
Editor's Note: These are covered more fully in the Jobs section.
Fashion
Department Store Clerk
Skills: Charisma, Creativity, Body
Education
Playground Monitor
Skills: Logic, Charisma, Creativity
Animal Care
Dog Walker
Skills: Charisma, Body, Logic
Culinary
Dishwasher
Skills: Cooking, Mechanical, Creativity
Circus
Popcorn Vendor
Skills: Body, Charisma, Creativity
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Creating a Family
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ah, your first family (besides the Newbies). Unless you created a family
earlier that failed, and now you want to find out what you did wrong. Either
way, we're going to create a Sim Family! Nothing fancy, mind you, just
something to get started with.
We're going to create two Sims for this family. Two is, in my opinion, the
best number to start with. It isn't so hard to control as, say, eight, and
is infinitely better than just having one as having an extra person gives you
a great advantage over having just the one.
What we're essentially going to do is to divide the tasks that our two family
members are going to have. One person is going to get a job, and the other
is going to take care of the house, cook, clean, and be the primary socialite
You really don't need to employ both people at this stage of the game. This
strategy really helps in the mornings when one person has to get ready for
work (shower, toilet, etc.) the other cooks breakfast. When the worker goes
off to work, the other one stays home, cleans up, and meets the neighbors who
will all drop by (not all at once). Then later in the game, this Sim will
call up those neighbors and try to make them into Family Friends. Also your
stay at home Sim can answer the phone (which may be a Reward or another
beneficial Event), pay the bills, etc.
a. Creating a Sim
So now we need to create some Sims! Two, in fact. The stats that
you can give them effect what the Sims want to do, not what you will
make them do. So a low Neatness isn't all that bad if you are going
to be forcing them to clean up anyway. Of course, if you are a more
passive Sims player, (you don't plan on telling them EVERY LITTLE
THING that they should do), then SOMEONE should have a high Neatness.
Plus it's nice when the Sims will automatically clean the table after
eating.
Try to keep your Sims distinctive and different. The stay at home
Sim needs to be outgoing, nice, and playful, while the worker Sim
needs to be active and outgoing. Beyond that keep the stats somewhat
average.
Note: If you keep a stat blank (that is, empty), then that person
will be the opposite of that stat. So if he or she has no
Nice, then that person will be mean, and prone to piss others
off. That makes getting friends difficult!
Another thing that stats effect is what type of recreation they most
enjoy. Inactive people love the TV, while more active would like
Dancing or other more interactive entertainment.
Note: You don't need to use up all of the Stats points while
creating a Sim, in fact, you could use NO stats points at all
and make a surly, messy, lazy, mean, introverted Sim!
b. Of Neatness and Maids
One alternative to Neat Sims is to hire a Maid. This way you can
avoid using ANY neat points to spend them elsewhere, and still have a
wonderfully clean house. At most the Maid will cost you §70 a day,
which isn't all that expensive. Plus the Maid is quite attractive!
If you DO hire a Maid, then you don't really NEED a stay at home Sim
(although I'd still recommend it for the Socializing aspect).
Note: There are more consequences of having a Messy Sim than one
would think. When the messy Sim gets out of the shower, he
ALWAYS leaves a little "puddle". Also, he NEVER flushes the
toilet.
Warning: If you fail to pay for a Maid, or a Gardener, they will
"Blacklist" you, that is, they will refuse to come back
and work for you. This isn't a permanent problem, they
"forget" about it after 5 days, but it can be annoying.
Can't wait that long? You could just move out and back
in.
For now we don't want anymore than these two adult Sims. Once your family is
finished, you cannot add new members by simply creating them... The only way
to get new Sims is to Marry them, ask them to Move In (between Same Sex
couples, either as friends or lovers), or to have a baby.
Now let's build them a house. (or if you'd rather not build your own house,
there are several already in the neighborhood)
(The following 2 sub sections are alternative ideas to having 2 Sims, the
first having to do with having just one Sim, and the second to having an
Arkload of Sims, 8!)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.1 The Bachelor Sim
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When I say "Bachelor" I mean any Sim who is living alone, not just male Sims.
I have said that your first Family of Sims should probably be 2 Sims, well
here are a few different ideas on how to play. The first being the Bachelor.
The tricky thing about the Bachelor is that you have no one to help you.
There is no stay at home Sim. So your Bachelor must get a job, and while he
(or she, but for the purposes of this section, the Bachelor is a he) is at
work, you can't socialize (you can even watch as all your neighbors drop by,
and leave, because there's no one to greet them), nor can you clean up or
have a meal ready when he gets home. So the real problem here is TIME. You
simply never seem to have enough to Socialize, Work, and Improve your Skills.
So here are a couple ideas to having a good Bachelor:
1. Pick a job with decent hours. By this I mean stay away from the career
tracks that demand a lot of your time. I should suggest the Military
career track as it has good starting pay and fairly steady hours. Also
the Military requires the LEAST amount of Family Friends, and doesn't
require ANY until Level 5.
Note: The best way to pick and choose your Career is to use a
computer. If you can't really afford a computer, buy it before
you buy the rest of your things, use it quickly to get a good
job, then sell it before it has been 24 hours. If you sell
before that, you get all your money back!
Tip: The absolute best hours come from the Science track, with a final
hours from 10am-2pm.
2. Hire a maid. This way your Bachelor can live like a slob, and not
care. This frees him up to hit the exercise machine, or call a date.
The maid costs §10 an hour, and has a working hours of 10:00 am to
5:00 pm, for a maximum of §70 a day. However, if she runs out of
things to clean she leaves then.
3. Build a smaller house, and use the extra money to buy a better bed,
fridge, etc. Since you will have less time to do things (having no one
to help you) you will need the better things to be more efficient!
4. Go to work every other day (depending on how much money you need). In
the first few levels of your job, you will probably want to go everyday
because you need the money. But at the higher levels, you need TIME
more than anything, so skip a day. As long as you don't skip two days
in a row, you will be fine. Use that day to improve your skills, make
some friends, etc. You won't get paid or promoted, but it won't hurt
your chances of getting promoted either.
Of course, the challenge of trying to go to work every day and keep
relationships up is kinda fun.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.1.1 The Bachelor Gets Married
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your Bachelor Sim can't stay a hermit forever, he eventually will fall in
love, and want someone to move in or marry him. However, there is a better
way than simply having him marry someone.
Here's the idea. Your Bachelor Sim works fairly far up the career ladder,
possibly to the top without getting married. He's putting career before
relationships, only socializing to Gain Friends or Maintain Friendships for
work. Once he is at or near the top of the ladder, he will be rich, and
very likely talented as well. He'll have a great paying job, and lots of
skills.
Why not then, get your BACHELOR HIMSELF to move out?
Here's what I mean. Say you're starting up a new family. Wouldn't it be
nice if you had someone who had a nice high paying job? Well that's
precisely what you should do! Marry the bachelor from the OTHER SIM. That
way he will move out of his house, bring all his assets with him, PLUS he
will keep his great job. This is a great way to help out Beginning Sim
Families. If his net worth was §28k, then that family will gain that much
when he is married into the family.
Sweet deal!
Note: Once you've moved your Bachelor out in this fashion, his old house
will remain EXACTLY AS HE LEFT IT! Which might make it an ideal house
to have another Bachelor move into, as it would be cheaper (due to
Item Value Degradation) than buying it all new.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.2 The Full House (8 Sims)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Starting your first game with 8 Sims would be a little crazy. Just keeping
up with ONE Sim's needs is hard enough, much less 8 Sims who all need the
same things. Plus the most difficult thing about starting out with an 8
Sim Family is simply getting them all into a furnished house using only the
20k that you start with. I would normally just advise you to start with a
small family, then build up from there, adding members by marriage or child
birth.
However, there is a good way to start out with 8 members. Don't build any
special house, except having a longer bedroom. Stick in at least 4 beds in
here. If you have any children, place as many 2 person beds as you have
children. The bedroom will resemble a military barracks, but there's nothing
to be done about that yet.
Make sure there are at least 3 different Fun things for the Sims to do, or
they will all fight over their limited Fun items. A radio, bookcase, and a
TV should be enough.
Now get all but one adult Sim jobs.
Tip: Before fully furnishing your house buy the cheap computer and use
that to get your Sims jobs. This will give you the choice of 3
different jobs for each Sim. Then once they all have jobs, sell the
computer. If you sell it within 24 hours of buying it, you will get
a full refund.
With everyone working, you should get quite a lot of money, especially if any
of them get promoted.
Tip: If you start to get overwhelmed with these Sims, use the PAUSE
feature then decide what your Sims should do, then UNPAUSE. Remember
I did advise starting with only 2 Sims, a much more manageable
number.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Building a House
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our objective with building the house is to create a livable area and have
enough money left over to actually put THINGS in the house.
Here's our objectives: We need a good sized house (not large), with three
rooms (living room/kitchen/dining room, bathroom, and
one bedroom). The Sims don't require their own
private bedrooms, and will do quite fine in a
"communal" bedroom. (where everyone sleeps in the
same room)
We're going to start the house a minimum of 2 or 3 squares away from the
nearby sidewalk. Now we create the Living Room/Kitchen. A good size for
this is a smallish rectangle, about 11 x 6 squares. Build the entrance door
near the mailbox and trashcan. Now off to the side of the house build a
4 x 4 room to be your bathroom. You don't need any larger at the moment.
------------
| | Key:
| |
| Bedroom | e - Door -- - wall
| | Tr - Trash == - sidewalk
| |
----------------e------------- Note: Two horizontal characters
| | | is one "square" of SimLand.
| e Bath | So -- is one 1 x 1.
| Kitchen | room |
| | | Note: To build a "square", hold
| Living |-------- down the shift button while
| Room | building a wall outwards.
-----------e----------
=======================
Tr
As you can see, this is a very small type of house, but is perfectly suited
for two people. This is a "basic" house, and as your family grows you will
need to add to it. Notice that there isn't a wall between the kitchen and
the living room. This is quite intentional to aid in the parties that you
will be throwing here! The open space allows people to move about more
freely, and to prevent people from running into each other. Also note that
this leaves space to the left of the Bedroom which is ideal for building
another room, be it a new bedroom, or an entertaining room, or even just an
outdoor pavilion.
Once the basic floor plan is done, we need to apply wallpaper to the outside
of the house, and to each room individually. The last few wallpapers in the
list are specifically for the outside, and aluminum siding is cheap (§7).
Note: To apply a wallpaper to every available surface, hold down the SHIFT
key, then click. If you're doing this to the outside, it won't
affect the inside, and if you are wallpapering the interior of a
room, then it will only wallpaper that room.
For the kitchen I would use the Deep Jade or the Tuscany Tin (§6). The
living room you can do separate from the Kitchen if you want, although you
can't use the SHIFT function if you do, as they aren't really separate rooms.
In the bathroom I would go with a "Too Turquoise" (§6).
Now we need to add flooring (can't have your Sims living on bare grass).
Both the kitchen and the bathroom have their own matching floor sets (if you
chose Tuscany, the best flooring would be the Il Perrinni Italliante tile
(§20)). In the bedroom I would go with the simply Blue Carpet, it's cheap,
and effective.
Windows: Each room needs quite a number of windows to keep the room bright
and happy. This effects one of the Sims' eight needs, that of
Room. So place windows around each room until it is as bright as
it can be. Don't forget this! Also, when you start furnishing a
house, you need to place Lamps for when it gets dark.
Which window you pick is entirely up to your individual preference!
Note: Don't bother with a second story yet, as you don't need it, and you
probably can't afford it! See the section on Expanding the House
below for more information on Second Stories.
Tip: A backdoor is a very useful thing to have, as it allows your Sims
another way in or out (if the main entrance is blocked), and can
provide for a nice patio outside as well. Try putting in a flamingo in
the backyard, just for fun. Also the neighbors seem to like it.
Alternate Floor plan 1:
------------
| | Key:
| |
| Bedroom | e - Door -- - wall
| |-------- Tr - Trash == - sidewalk
| e |
----------------e----- Bath | Note: Two horizontal characters
| | room | is one "square" of SimLand.
| e | So -- is one 1 x 1.
| Kitchen | |
| |-------- This alternate version moves the
| Living | bathroom up 2 squares and builds a
| Room | door into the bedroom.
-----------e----------
=======================
Tr
Alternate Floor plan 2:
----------
/ \ Key:
| |
| Bedroom | e - Door -- - wall
| |-------- Tr - Trash == - sidewalk
| e |
----------------e----- Bath | Note: Two horizontal characters
| | room | is one "square" of SimLand.
| e | So -- is one 1 x 1.
| Kitchen | |
| |-------- This alternate version cuts the
| Living | square corners to be diagonal. This
\ Room / helps Room rating, and looks more
----------e--------- attractive.
=======================
Tr
Now that we have a house, we need to buy things for the house!
But first some ideas on Better Houses (i.e. Richer).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.1 Building a Better House
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not to be confused with Section 7. Expanding the House, this section deals
with building a house with more money to start with. After all, sometimes
it's easier to start over than to keep adding onto a current house.
--------------e---------------
/ e e \ Key:
| Bedroom ---e--- Bedroom |
| One / \ Two ----------- e - Door -- - wall
| e Bath e | | Tr - Trash == - sidewalk
| | Room | | Pool |
-----e-----| |-----e-----| Hall | Note: Two horizontal characters
| \___e___/ | | is one "square" of SimLand
| e Hottub | So -- is one 1 x 1.
| Kitchen Living | |
| Room |\ / Notice just how much larger
| | ---e---- this house is than the previous
\ / models. Also, it makes the
------e-------------e--------- attempt to "round out" every
+ + room to improve Room Rating.
+ +
+ + This is a very large and
================================ spacious house, but designed to
Tr keep most everything "close by"
Notice particularly the amount
of doors that lead into the
house.
Why two bedrooms? When you have a baby, place the baby, plus one caregiver
to spend the night in their own bedroom. Then when the baby wakes up and
needs attention, only one of your Sims will have to be awakened by it. Plus
this allows you to do separate Socializing (you know, kissing other people
than your wife).
Alternate 1: The Second Story
Key: e - Door -- - Wall
Floor One: SS - Stairs + - Path
Pool and Hot Tub Outside Tr - Trash
/------e--------------e-------------e----\ This house keeps the first floor
| SS | Bath | very spartan and uses half the
| SS e Room | space for an outdoor pool and
| Kitchen SS Living | | spa area. The Stairs lead up to
| SS Room |\ / a Second Story, which will
| SS | -------- contain 2 bedrooms, a bathroom,
\ / as well as an extra room, for
------e-------------e--------- fun.
+ +
+ +
+ +
================================
Tr
Floor Two:
/----------------------------------------\ You could always leave the
| | SS | | | "Extra" room wall-less and have
| e SS e e Extra | it be a balcony.
| Bedroom | | Bedroom | |
| ---e---- |\ /
| e bath e | --------
\ | room | /
------e-------------e---------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.2 Who Needs Walls?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thinking about this logically (and we Sims players are nothing if not
logical) there is only one thing Sims need privacy for, and that's going to
the bathroom. They don't seem disturbed when they sleep in a room with other
people (though they do seem to mind being put into the same bed with a
stranger).
So, if all you need walls for is a bathroom, then why not simply save on
money, and ONLY build walls around the bathroom? Walls are expensive! Save
your money for something really cool, like that Hot Tub!
Note: Well this strategy seems really cool on the surface, but there is a
bit of a downside. No one can sleep in the same room as an active
TV or radio. Which means that everyone will have to sleep at the
same time. In other words, if Sim Bob is on the nightshift and
Sim Betty is on the dayshift, they'll overlap, and one will want to
sleep while the other wants to watch TV. Other than that it works
great.
Note: This strategy works best with a Bachelor Sim, for reasons stated in
the previous NOTE.
A more extreme version of this is to build ONLY the 2x1 bathroom, and have
no house at all. This really saves on money as walls aren't cheap, but has
some odd drawbacks, such as your Sim refusing to get out of the shower if
even another Sim wanders by the lot, or your Sim getting stuck in the
bathroom because another Sim wants to use it.
However, it makes a great starting Bachelor house (although it looks very
Hillbilly), if you intend to have this Bachelor get married into another
household later.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.3 Housebuilding, Especially on a Budget (from Seeker)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Build Mode items, unlike Buy Mode items, depreciate as soon as you leave
Build Mode and only that once. With this in mind, it is very wise to have a
Sim who can lose money (usually just for this purpose, a shill) build homes,
then be evicted and then populated with the Sims you wish to have in that
house. This will amount to a savings of approximately one-third versus the
pre-depreciation value, more if you are not a very careful house designer and
have to delete and recreate walls, windows, or other items. That house that
would cost your regular Sims about $16,000 to build now can be yours for just
under $10,000.
I don't believe this works with items such as staircases and fireplaces, but
it will with walls, windows, doors, wallpapering, floors, and (most likely)
pools. Be sure that you don't outfit the house with Buy Mode items and then
evict the shill, because you will kick yourself when you have to do it all
over again.
Feel free to add as much flora as you wish from the Build Mode as well, it
has no effect on the property value other than raising your Yard score. In
fact, any item that can only be disposed of does not raise the cost. So go
ahead and add as many trees, shrubs, flowers, and topiaries as you like with
your shill.
Always make generous uses of corners, it not only increases your room scores,
it also saves money on building the house ($70 for a corner as opposed to
$140). For a little extra added effect, on interior corners do a diamond
pattern instead of a straight intersection. It costs the same and boosts
room score. It looks very good where four rooms meet. All of this can be at
the cost of space however.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Furnishing a House
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We're going to build things based on the Sims' Needs, with the most pressing
needs first. We'll start with Hunger (the only Need that your Sims can Die
of) and furnish the Kitchen.
Kitchen Objects you Need:
Refrigerator (§600 for the Llamark)
Cooking Appliance (§400 for the Dialectic Free Standing Range, stove)
Empty Counter
Dish Cleaning Apparatus (either a Sink or the Fuzzy Logic Dishwasher, §650)
Fire Alarm (§50)
Food Processor (§220)
Trashcan (or if you can afford it, a Trash Compactor)
Here's what I did. At the left end of the Kitchen is a 6x long wall. At the
top I put a Dialectic Range, then a Fridge, then a Counter (if you did the
Jade walls and floors, then do the Jade counter top, otherwise just keep it
cheap!), then a counter with a Sink, and another blank counter. This leaves
one square left in the bottom corner, but we'll use that later when we have
more money. (By moving the Counter with the Sink to the corner, and filling
that hole with a Dishwasher) Finally on the empty counter place the Food
Processor.
Note: When someone cooks a full meal it will go like this, they will take
the food out of the Fridge, and stick it into the food processor
(or onto a counter if you don't have one, but the food processor
adds more Food value to the meal), then from there onto the stove,
and from the stove to the counter where it is finished.
Tip: Be vigilant with who makes the meals! Every Sim when they get hungry
will go to the fridge to get a snack or to make a quick meal. But
you should let only the person with the most Cooking skill cook, and
then have them SERVE the meal. This creates 8 portions for only
§20 which is very cost effective. Plus the higher cooking skill
reduces the chance of Fire and increases the Food Value.
Now 2 squares away from that stuff place a Card Table (§95). Around it place
4 Chairs (the cheapest chair works fine, §80). Make sure the chairs face the
table.
Tip: One good way to place the chairs is to put all the chairs in the
corners, like this:
Ch (not to scale)
Ch .....
.....
..... Ch
Ch
What this does, is keeps the other corners not touched by the chairs
completely free for your Sims to put things on like the mail, and for
YOU to put things like Lava Lamps (§80) on. The Sims will be eating
closer together, but they don't seem to mind. This table is a 2x2
table, so how does this work with the longer Parisian table?
Ch (also not to scale)
Ch ..... Ch
.....
.....
Ch ..... Ch
Ch
This table is longer, and can hold more chairs. I recommend the
above pattern with the Parisian, as you fit more people, but keep the
same amount of Places for Sims to Drop things (like Gifts from other
Sims) or for you to put things (like radios).
Onto the Bathroom.
Bathroom Objects you Need:
Toilet (§300 for the Hygeia-O-Matic)
Major Hygiene Item (§640 for the SpaceMiser Shower)
Bathroom Sink (§400 for the Andersonville sink)
The placement of these objects isn't so tough, just put them in the corners,
making sure that they face the right direction. If you have the money, I
would suggest also putting a Medicine Cabinet in above the Sink. However,
the Medicine Cabinet isn't as useful as a plain mirror placed in the living
room. (Mirrors are used to improve the Charisma Skill) This is because
other Sims like to use the bathroom, and you don't want to hold them up while
you make a speech to a mirror. We want the shower right now because it is
cheaper, and more time efficient. Plus we're saving up for that REALLY good
bathtub! (The Hydrothera) Once you get the money, you definitely want that
good tub!
However, you will still want that shower. Nothing beats the quick shower,
plus your Sim won't always need a full bath.
Pressing onward to the Bedroom.
Bedroom Objects you will Need:
1 Bed for each Person (in this case 2, Spartan Bed, §300 each)
You won't spend too much time in the Bedroom, so you don't need too much more
than that. Don't worry about the Room rating much either, so don't worry
about lighting or decorations. One thing that you might want in the bedroom
is an End Table with an Alarm Clock on it.
Note: Alarm Clocks do need to be set by your Sims before they can be
effective. The alarm goes off 2 hours before your Sim has to be
to work. If you want more time than that to get ready, you can
always manually waken your Sim. Although, if you get a Sim up
before he or she is fully rested (full energy bar) they will stomp
about a bit trying to wake up.
Tip: The first beds that you can get aren't very efficient at getting your
Sims their Energy. So as soon as humanly possible get that really
expensive (and worth it!) bed.
And finally the Living Room.
Living Room Objects you will Need:
1 Couch (Contempto is §150)
Television (Monochrome is §85, Trottco 27" is §500)
Bookcase (§250 for the Cheap Pine)
Desk/Table (Mesquite Desk/Table is §80)
Radio (Down Wid Dat Boom Box is §100)
Phone (could also put this in the Bedroom, although it wakes them up!)
Security Alarm
Have the Television placed by one of the walls, and have the couch face the
Television about 2 squares away, and put the Bookcase next to the TV by the
wall, so that your Sims can read and sit on the couch. Now on another wall
place the table and place the Radio on it. Place the Phone on the wall
behind the radio, and the Security Alarm anywhere on the wall.
Tip: Placing the TV 2 squares away from the couch is more important than it
might at first seem. Why is that? Well suppose a Guest Sim decides to
watch TV, but there's no more room on the couch, they'll stand right in
front of your Sim on the couch. But now your Sim wants to go to the
bathroom, but now there's a Sim in the way! You'll have to wait for
that Sim to move on his own before your Sim can get anywhere. (or you
could just use the move_objects cheat, see the Cheats section below)
Note: All appliances, computers, etc., can break down and need to be
repaired. You can either repair them yourself (and maybe get
electrocuted and killed) or call the Repairman who charges you §50 per
hour. Until you get your Mechanical skills up (via reading) you
should probably just call the experts.
Note: An alternative to placing the Security Alarm in the living room is
to put it outside. Then the Thief doesn't even have to enter the
house to trip the alarm. There's more on burglars in the Section
Everything Else in the Neighborhood.
a. Lighting and Lamps
Now that we've adequately furnished the house (I say adequate, because
once you get money, you'll want to replace your shoddy items with better
ones, like your little monochrome TV for a HUGE Plasma TV), you will
want to start filling your house with Lamps. I would place 1 lamp in
the bathroom, and 1 in the Bedroom, and a lot in the Living
Room/Kitchen. Keep the lamps spaced out to keep the lighting in the
room even. (Say, 3 to 4 squares apart)
Check out the Sims website (http://www.thesims.com) to download the new
Wall Lamps, which are placed on the walls rather than on the floor, in
the same way that the Fire Alarm attaches to the wall.
Note: Lights can burn out, and need to have their bulbs replaced.
BEWARE! Your Sims can get electrocuted by doing this! There
isn't a good chance of it (maybe 1 in 5), but you may want to
call a repairman.
b. Decorations
The other way to pump up the Room value is to put decorations into a
room. And the easiest of the decorations to place, are the Paintings.
Since these go on the wall, they don't take up any space, and unlike
plants, they don't require water.
Most decorations also have a Fun value, which happens whenever someone
looks at it. For example, you can have your Sim check out a painting.
Also the better objects (such as the Plasma TV) also have a positive
effect on the Room.
Use Decorations to get the Room rating up, not only for your Sims, but
to help the Mood of visiting Sims. That helps you make friends! You
know the old saying, a happy Sim is a friendly Sim.
More on the Room rating in that section below (Room Rating).
I know your house seems rather Spartan (you even have the Spartan beds, no
doubt!), but this is just the starter equipment. As you go along, UPGRADE!
Replace that fridge as soon as you can, as well as the Range. These will
help alleviate your Sims' hunger rating better. Also replace those Spartan
beds with better ones. If you get your 2 Sims to like each other enough, you
can get a 2 person bed, and get them into it. I would also definitely get
rid of that couch the first chance you get, and also get rid of the cheap
lights in favor of the top of the line lights.
Generally you spend a good deal of the game replacing your old junk with the
better stuff.
Let's make some friends...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.1 Cooking (or, a Meal fit for a Sim!)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
But first, let's look a little deeper into the realm of Cooking for Sims. As
I have said a number of times, we want the Stay at Home Sim to be our Cook,
and therefore they should spend a good deal of time Studying Cooking.
Whenever they have a spare moment, they should grab that book and study until
they get all the way up to 10 Cooking Points. This helps in two ways: One,
they are far less likely to burn down the house (unless using the Grill), and
they prepare more satisfying meals.
Beyond simply helping the Cook become a better Chef, you can also improv