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Locked thread | Replies: 234 (Who?), Viewed: 96160 times. | Locked by: mangaroo Reason: rest in peace, little zombie thread of predictions
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Angstrom
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#201 Old 3rd Jun 2011 at 4:34 PM
Seems like Generations is really different from most of these expansion packs. A-Plus is the only one of them getting close: http://www.modthesims.info/showthre...071#post2796071
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Angstrom
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#202 Old 24th Jun 2011 at 2:41 AM Last edited by Angstrom : 28th Mar 2012 at 6:19 PM.
Review of The Sims 4: Old Friends Stuff Pack
Published in December, 2014
Quote:
The Sims series is notorious for a revenue model based on a stream of expansion packs and downloadable content. The Sims 4 came in three versions: The Sims 4 Free: a wing-clipped online release stuffed with product placement, a "regular" single-player game The Sims 4 Life, and the pay-by-month MMORPG Sims 4 The World, so we thought that the franchise was moving away from physical game boxes in brick-and-mortar shops.

However, EA has still made an effort to publish a "stuff pack"; that is The Sims jargon for a minor expansion pack, containing flavor objects. The release of stuff packs used to trail behind release of the gameplay-twisting expansion packs, putting them in the shade. This time, however, EA chooses to start out small, and the Antique and Retro Stuff pack was released this March, before the first major expansion pack had even been announced. Though bland and without surprises, Antique and Retro caught the community attention, and sold well.

Just in time for the holidays, comes the Old Friends Stuff Pack, with content deserving a review on its own. A major disappointment with The Sims 4 was the discontinuity from earlier games. Well-known characters from previous Sims games, not least the Goth family, were completely absent, and the community started contests for creating look-alikes. Old Friends Stuff saves the day, containing a house with eight of the Goths from the Sims canon, with appropriate traits and skills, ready to be placed into any neighborhood. The box even contains plastic miniatures of Mortimer and Bella Goth; the first official physical Sims figures! In the virtual world, the player also receives Mrs. Crumplebottom, Malcolm Landgraab, the Broke family and several other characters from previous games.

This nostalgia rush seems to be calculated by the marketing department, to make players cough up their $16.99. The Old Friends Stuff pack also contains clothing, furniture and other objects from The Sims, The Sims 2 and The Sims 3, but these don't make Sims veterans half as emotional as the returning characters do.
Angstrom
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#203 Old 24th Jun 2011 at 4:14 AM Last edited by Angstrom : 5th Apr 2012 at 1:43 AM.
Review of The Sims 4: Metropolis
Published in February, 2015

Quote:
Some themes for Sims expansion packs are recurring. For instance, The Sims, The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 each had expansion packs containing pets, and The Sims 4: Pets will be a question of time. And since The Sims: Hot Date back in 2001, we now get the fourth expansion pack that allows Sims to do a pub crawl between the skyscrapers of a big city. But The Sims 4 Life already had much of the typical "urban" content: homes for rent, snack shacks, and public bars, so where is The Sims 4: Metropolis going? Of course we get much of what we remember from previous nightlife-themed packs: tall buildings with elevators, dance floors, vampires, celebrities, subways and a Film career. It's all set in Singhalagoon, a multicultural South East Asian, extremely crowded city with neon lights all over the place, making Bridgeport look like a ghost town.

Most of these are back with a vengeance. Elevators provide Elevator Music, and the elevator flaws from The Sims 3 are largely solved. DJ booths and Vampire coffins have made a comeback, and Vampires are truly weakened during daytime, even when indoors. They'll need either a basement, or the Bleeding Black Blinds in front of windows, to avoid sunstroke.

The Fame meter is combined with the Infamy meter we got from The Sims 4: Crime and Punishment, so that a Sim can get interesting results when having high Fame as well as Infamy. Politicians can acquire both. As The Sims 4 did not feature a political career from the beginning, The Sims 4: Metropolis offers a fleshed-out political profession, with many new features. The first steps on the political ladder are side-jobs, paying close to nothing, that may be held beside a regular job. In contrast to regular Sims careers, little of the politicians' time is spent in the rabbit hole (which, in turn, is just part of the Capitol building). They speak at the Convention Center (between stand-up comedy or singing performances), inspect public buildings, and greet people. They do actually get to make some decisions, too: At a middle level they get flavor decisions such as driving on the left and right, school uniforms, and decoration of public buildings. At high levels, they can regulate taxes and excises, affecting prices and wages across the city, as well as their own income, and popularity with different Sims. Slightly similar to The Sims Medieval monarch, but more hands-on. The new Public Transit career is one where wages are affected by political decisions. But workers can call a strike if the city does not pay them enough.

Photo booths, fancy restaurants and bowling alleys are back, much as we remember them from The Sims 2: Nightlife. And helicopters, for the filthy rich who want to avoid the subway strikes and traffic congestions. Helicopters create noise. This expansion pack makes Sims more sensitive to noise, when they try to read, practice speech or anything else that requires focus. This makes the public library provide an edge for readers and students.

Sub-cultures are based on the Social Classes in The Sims 2: Apartment Life or Districts in The Urbz, but better finished this time. A Sim who is Teen or elder can assemble Status in a Sub-culture. Socialite status is mainly achieved by spending money in shops and nightclubs (fitting well with the Fashionista and Materialist traits). Outsiders have replaced the Gearheads of Apartment Life; looking much like an interbreed of Punks, Hip-Hopers and Skinheads, having good use for the Frugal and Tough traits, they admire tattoos, graffiti, brawling, playing instruments and simple living. They share the latter two interests with Bohemians, who in turn have a common passion for writing and visual art with the Geeks. Jocks might be the most narrow-minded, just being into work-out. High-status in one sub-culture carries admiration by others of the same sub-culture. Since The Sims 4 relationships are asymmetric, one Sim can like another, but get disliked back. That brings us to the Journalist Sims. Whether played by the player or not, these can take celebrity photos and interviews for money and a career boost. A proud celebrity might even frame them on the wall. As we said, The Sims 4 brings up two sides of each relationship. The Sims 3 called them "paparazzi". But as a know-it-all pointed out, paparazzi are just those who take illicit photos. Of course, any Sim with a camera and a decent Visual Art skill can do that too. Celebrities and Politicians can hire a Bodyguard NPC, steering away pesky journalists, obsessed fans and protesters.

By the way: Sexual orientation can now be set to "other sex", "same sex" or "both". But why would anyone choose other than "both"?

On a whole, The Sims 4: Metropolis shows that simulation of bustling city-life is far from exhausted yet. There are always new angles.
Angstrom
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#204 Old 29th Jun 2011 at 11:15 AM
What expansion pack would you like to read about? The Sims 4: Globetrotter? Or The Sims: Revolution?
aurica
Lab Assistant
#205 Old 29th Jun 2011 at 11:45 AM
Was this thread just necroed or did i missed something
TMBrandon
Theorist
#206 Old 29th Jun 2011 at 2:19 PM
.-., How many times does someone have to say: THE THREAD IS NOT REAL, IT'S ALL FAN FICTION. He said it himself on Page 5 or 6, anyhow, I'm loving this, but just a correction in your timeline Sim Social is sorta the online version of the sims :P
Johnny_Bravo
Alchemist
#207 Old 29th Jun 2011 at 2:28 PM
OMG EL-O-EL! I've noticed the name of the 2nd ''new hood''- Armistice, I swear there's a thread on the CFF about a WIP called Armistice!
I come in peace
__________
Need help building? We'll help.
HarVee
Mad Poster
#208 Old 29th Jun 2011 at 3:28 PM Last edited by HarVee : 29th Jun 2011 at 3:43 PM.
"The Sims 4: Not Enough Stuff pack"

Quote: Originally posted by Angstrom
What expansion pack would you like to read about? The Sims 4: Globetrotter? Or The Sims: Revolution?


Tell us more about this "The Sims: Revolution".
Angstrom
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#209 Old 30th Jun 2011 at 11:32 AM Last edited by Angstrom : 16th Feb 2012 at 11:23 PM.
Review of The Sims 4: Globetrotter
Published in August, 2015

Quote:
With nearly 30 major releases a year during 15 years, the Sims franchise has now sold 200 million copies. Each iteration of the series has been expanded into the urban lifestyle, with The Sims 4: Metropolis as the most recent add-on. And now, Maxis (owned by EA during its heyday, until the United States v. Electronic Arts settlement) re-invents the adventurous travelling experience.

The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 both had EP:s with fictional vacation resorts. The "vacation" part was part of these expansions' weaknesses; they left little room for character development, which is fundamental to the series' appeal. So, The Sims 3: World Adventures added some new twists. First, Sims could travel to "real" countries: France, China and Egypt, each as sincerely depicted as in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Kung Fu Panda and The Prince of Egypt. Second, and more important, they focused on tomb-raiding; each "country" offered dungeons waiting for intrepid explorers, with an adventure storyline. There were some plot holes; why would these excavations stay unexplored up to present day, when so close to a developed city? And why do so few of the residents have proper jobs?

The Sims 4: Globetrotter makes new interpretations of foreign cultures, with a more realistic view. While The Egyptian al-Simhara makes a comeback the Greek island Simhos, the Simsuyu valley in Peru, and a Japanese town called Simeji are all new to us.

In contrast to earlier "travel" expansions, these neighborhoods are fully inhabitable, allowing the player to control domestic Sims. Each country contains a mixture of traditional architecture and modern buildings; schools, airfields and powerplants seem to look the same around the world. They also have domestic crops and foods, such as avocados, olives and oranges, though they tend to be similar, as all resorts are sub-tropical. A Sim from original SimNation neighborhoods may stay at a hotel or a campsite on a tourist visa, improving their immigrant status by relationships with locals, or completion of adventures. At higher levels, they can buy a house, send their children to school, get a work permit, and eventually a citizenship, for rooting permanently in the country. This way, Sims can fulfill lifetime wishes such as owning three houses in different countries, or becoming a Consul of a foreign country. The airfield is not only for arrival, but also for the Aviation career. Starting out as Lost-and-found clerks, Sims can advance to get perks such as free flights or improved visa levels.

Japan of course features the Martial Arts system, introduced in The Sims 3: World Adventures, with a few add-ons. Title fights in the Academy arena now generate some prize money. Martial artists kan now use their skills against any Sim, but when used in a non-defensive fight, they lose Japanese Visa points, and will in the end get expelled from the country. We tried an exploit: earning a good Sim Fu level in Japan, flying home to SimNation, beating up townies and stealing their money. After a few bouts, our Sim was stripped of Master title, and not welcome back to Japan for a long time. After continued abuse of powers, a Japanese Shihan (Grandmaster) appeared in SimNation, and beat the delinquent Sim to the ground.

There are some tomb puzzles in each country in The Sims 4: Globetrotter, but there is a catch. Since the modern world is more present, most of them are patrolled by security guards, who merely allow tourist Sims to see the first rooms for a hefty price. When visitors who try to enter the restricted areas, the guards use their Martial Arts, and players might suffer a loss of Visa points. So, there are several options to start the adventure: Reaching a suitable visa level, buying an excavation permit, or incapacitating the guard. Then the tomb-raiding begins! The puzzles are more complex than they used to be in World Adventures. More time is spent in each chamber, so the puzzles last longer, though smaller tombs. Some Egyptian and Inca tombs are guarded by Mummies, also known since The Sims 3.

Mummies are not the only exotic creatures: the Greek countryside is roamed by Nymphs and Satyrs. These male and female members of a nocturnal, forest-dwelling, flute-playing (yes, the game has flute models for Japan, Peru and Egypt too) race have a habit for seducing player Sims, woohooing them in a cloud of mist, stripping them of money and inventory, and vanishing. Befriending a Nymph or Satyr is really difficult, but they are a grateful player race: sleeping comfortably on the ground, always clean, camouflaging when standing still outdoors, and constantly yearning for romance.

The Sims 4: Globetrotter features more new neighborhoods and creature classes than any earlier expansions. Though the basic ideas, and many of the features, are recycled, it keeps raising our expectations for the series.
vllygrl
Instructor
#210 Old 30th Jun 2011 at 11:00 PM
Angstrom, you are great! I love love love your writing and your ideas! EA should hire YOU!!!!

rofl and wishing . . .
Vllygrl
Santi990
Test Subject
#211 Old 6th Jul 2011 at 1:00 AM
Your ideas are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I can't wait 'til you post "The Sims: Revolution"!
BTW, a musical-themed expansion would be GREAT! Consider it
HANGRYANGRY
Test Subject
#212 Old 6th Jul 2011 at 4:04 AM
EA,
Hire this guy. He has more genius than a few of you combined.

Great ideas, if only they were real >.<
DigitalSympathies
Mad Poster
#213 Old 6th Jul 2011 at 7:53 AM
I'm going to put a word in the next (and first) time I ever go to an EA office for anything about this guy.

Angie/DS | Baby Sterling - 24/2/2014
This account is mostly used by my sons to download CC now, if you see me active, it's probably just them!
Angstrom
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#214 Old 28th Jul 2011 at 9:36 PM
The Sims Medieval gets expanded with pirates and domestic birds, as predicted in the The Sims Discovery: http://ene.modthesims.info/showthre...145#post3304145
Angstrom
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#215 Old 29th Jul 2011 at 5:48 PM Last edited by Angstrom : 16th Feb 2012 at 11:22 PM.
Review of The Sims 3: Walmart Stuff
Published in December, 2011
Quote:
Product placement in gaming is a hot issue. As The Sims 2 had two stuff packs named by real-world companies, with virtual replicas of their product, The Sims 3 has now found a new sponsor. And of course, the real Walmart stores offer the Walmart Stuff pack for the mere cost of $4.99, half of the standard retail cost.

One gameplay issue in The Sims 3 is the high cost of many basic appliances. The player usually has a hard time setting up a home for a new family, even with all low-end options, and a young couple starting to breed before their careers have taken off, often find themselves in trouble.

In contrast to the previous stuff packs, that contained generic objects, The Sims 3: Walmart Stuff offers furniture, appliance and toys, of some real-world brands (Black & Decker, your zone etc), with the Walmart icon frequently visible, and a price far below standard. While some of these objects are nearly identical to existing ones, such as a lightbulb fixture for as little as 15§, some are simpler, such as a 55§ chess-set that needs to be put on a table or a 199§ open shower wetting the floor around it, each of them is as functional as the lowest-end object in the base game, and not as prone to breakdown as we first suspected. However, they are rarely worth repairing. Low-cost versions of expansion pack objects also appear, such as the Gnubb game and laundry machines from Ambitions, bar furniture from Late Night, and bunk beds from Generations.

As the icing of the cake, the pack features a Walmart store, ready to be placed down in any existing neighborhood. Half of the store is fully interactive, with a cash register allowing Sims to buy more Walmart stuff (giving a mood bonus to Frugal Sims), and the other half is a rabbit-hole, allowing Sims to make a career in Walmart uniform, for all that it's worth.

Facing criticism and controversy wherever they go, this retail giant needs all the positive publicity it needs. We cannot guess how much Walmart paid EA, but they can surely take the investment back in more than one way. All political debates set aside, this pack encourages players to play on with low-income Sims, instead of just abandoning them. Previously, the player had to stick to the same base-game furnishing items; now even (and especially) the poorest families can fill their homes with cheap Walmart stuff. Even though SimNation isn't officially the United States of America, the similarities are apparent.
Celebriton
Instructor
#216 Old 30th Jul 2011 at 9:21 AM
Hi Angstrom,

I like your idea. I do have my own ideas.

May be we should open our own video games studio. ;D

Our first project will be Life Simulation genre, better than The Sims series with more interactions, items, realism and bigger-complex world.
Sammisu
Test Subject
#217 Old 1st Aug 2011 at 11:03 AM
Quote: Originally posted by GuardStud08
That would be lovely. A Sims game based off the 1950s. I would LOVE that.


Totally! They could call it 'The Sims 3: 1950's' or 'The Sims Retro'. Or maybe they could name it after the neighborhood it takes place in rather than the theme (like they did with Sims 3 Barnacle Bay).

I'm actually working on a Sims 3 neighborhood that takes place in the 1950's. Want me to send you the link when I'm done with it?
TMBrandon
Theorist
#218 Old 1st Aug 2011 at 3:11 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Celebriton
Hi Angstrom,

I like your idea. I do have my own ideas.

May be we should open our own video games studio. ;D

Our first project will be Life Simulation genre, better than The Sims series with more interactions, items, realism and bigger-complex world.


Good luck getting the thousands of dollars for the rent, equipment, coders, classes, and employees.

On Topic: I'm loving the ideas you have, I thought this was real at first until I read through all the comments :P
Angstrom
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#219 Old 24th Aug 2011 at 11:25 PM
Review of The Sims 3: Holiday Stuff Pack
Published in December, 2011

Quote:
The very first expansion pack for The Sims 2 contained holiday stuff. Focused on anglo-Saxon Christmas object, the pack also contained some objects from other, holidays from different cultures. That stuff pack made a strong comeback for Christmas 2006, containing NPC:s Santa Claus and Father Time.

The Sims 3 has been in stores for three years without a holiday expansion, but at last it comes! First, the pack contains plenty of Christmas stuff, just as its predecessor. Sims can host a Christmas party. If there are good children or teens in the house, Santa shows up, bringing some gifts; at last a good reward for a good report card! New Year's Parties feature fireworks, and a more interactive Father Time. Then we have Halloween, where kids can dress up as monsters, trick-or-treating their neighbours. Christmas or New Years Parties can be thrown anytime, but they have a cooldown time of 12 SimDays. Since there are no seasons yet, we will get used to green Christmases, as in Los Angeles or Australia. The packs also contain clothing, decorations and foodstuffs from other holidays, such as Easter, Eid Al-Fitr, S:t Patrick's Day, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and some interactive objects such as sky lanterns. These can be used at the player's discretion.

Though the expanded Sims 3 still has no weather, this stuff pack has been expected for long, and fits well into existing material.
Angstrom
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#220 Old 1st Nov 2011 at 7:17 PM
The Sims 4: Animal Kingdom is coming up!
Angstrom
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#221 Old 16th Feb 2012 at 11:20 PM
Looks like Sims in Space is for real!

http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/498806.page
Angstrom
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#222 Old 26th Mar 2012 at 6:59 AM Last edited by Angstrom : 5th Apr 2012 at 1:39 AM.
Review of The Sims 4: Animal Kingdom
Published in February, 2015

Quote:
Most people like animals, so there is no wonder that each game in the Sims series has got a pet-themed expansion. Each of them contains cats and dogs, and The Sims 3: Pets added horses, deer and even unicorns. As the fourth Sims game has given us three expansions with bustling cities, The Sims 4: Animal Kingdom contains Grande Ferme, a village among woodlands and fields, that could be located in North America as well as Europe.

The player can control dogs, cats and horses that are adopted into the household, but there are many limitations now, depending on the animal's personal traits. Alpha pets have a greater opportunity to influence non-Alpha pets, Independent pets can do many things themselves, Pack pets follow the Alphas, while Companion pets prefer to obey a Sim. None of these traits is apparently better than the other, they just allow different play styles. There is also more variation in size, than just "small dog" or "big dog".

Just as Sims, Pets have spontaneous Whims, and long-time Challenges. Pets can get sick, from fleas, food poisoning, broken legs or venomous bites. Sims can develop skills for dog- cat- or horse-care. These skills facilitate training, and allow curing of diseases. A Sim who has mastered a care skill, can selectively breed new pets of any appearance or traits. The care skill is also essential for the new Petkeeper career. The first level is simply about baby-sitting an individual cat or dog over a day, but at higher levels the Sim is promoted to a veterinarian/obedience trainer. The Dog Handler career uniquely includes a Sim and a Dog, going on quests together, to recover lost objects, pets and Sims. This profession is the most faithful depiction of working animals so far in the Sims series, and the "mission accomplished" animations truly display the friendship between Sim and animal.

Cats don't have an equivalent, but they have new abilities to jump around on furniture, invading trashcans and kitchen cupboards, creating toys of whatever objects they find, to worry their owners. The Horses introduced by The Sims 3: Pets had some flaws in animation and economic balance. In Animal Kingdom, Horses are mostly the same, but smoother. Unicorns are gone.

A revolutionary new kind of creature, are Catbots and Dogbots, which could be constructed at the Metalwork Bench, or mail ordered (at an enormous cost). As a pet dies, the personality can be transformed to a pet robot. Cat- and Dogbots only have three needs: Activity, Power and Maintenance. With no real abilities beyond "real" pets, they merely serve as a tool of life extension for beloved individual pets.

The Sims 4: Animal Kingdom also features NPC animals. Snakes, lizards, birds and rodents are familiar from The Sims 3: Pets. Rats appear outdoors every night, and take any opportunity to find food, even trying to eat a hole through a wall. That's a good reason to get a cat or a dog. The skunks and Wolves from The Sims 2 make a re-appearance. Wolves are bitter enemies of cats and dogs, fighting them and breaking their legs. Still, Sims can befriend Wolves, and turn to Werevolves, able to sleep intensely outdoors.

The game also contains birds; Sparrows and Crows are as ubiquitous as rats, while others are rarer. Bird traps can catch birds, and allow them to be put into a cage. As The Sims 3 core game featured a long list of fish species, fishing in The Sims 4 was simple, with very few species. The Sims 4: Animal Kingdom re-adds a fish-catching system with new rods, hand nets and other equipment for catching different species, put into a better context than the wacky fish of The Sims 3. Certain fish and birds are powerful pet food, allowing cats and dogs to get smarter or healthier.

As said before, this pet pack is based on re-cycled material, but it uses the material well. Adorably well.
Angstrom
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#223 Old 22nd Aug 2012 at 12:33 AM
With The Sims 3: Seasons coming up, looking back at the 3-year-old prediction of The Sims 3: Climate could be interesting.

http://www.modthesims.info/showthre...638#post2782638
Angstrom
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#224 Old 17th Dec 2012 at 12:40 AM
Also compare The Sims 3: University to The Sims 3: A-Plus.

http://www.modthesims.info/showthre...071#post2796071
BL00DIEDHELL
Mad Poster
#225 Old 17th Dec 2012 at 12:54 AM
Oh my God stop necroing the thread.
Locked thread | Locked by: mangaroo Reason: rest in peace, little zombie thread of predictions
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