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Mad Poster
Original Poster
#1 Old 13th Aug 2008 at 9:48 PM Last edited by frankie : 2nd Jun 2009 at 2:57 AM. Reason: Updated.
All TS3 English Info In One Thread Prior To Game Release (FINAL UPDATE: June 1, 2009)
For your very own convenience, I decided to condense all Sims 3 English info ever posted on the Internet here in one thread (i.e., fan event reports, articles, previews, reviews, etc.) as well as future ones. This is a convenient collection project I started and I will continue to do this until the game is released. If I'm missing any links, please let me know so that I can update this!

Also, if any of you want to join in and add new info onto this thread along with new photos and videos, please feel free. Just make sure to add a title to your post and an icon so that it can be easier to notice when scrolling through this mega thread (not required, just recommended).

Thank you to all posters of the original articles and to all the posters of current and future original articles, as well as the ones who originally found the sources!

Official Site: www.thesims3.com

List Of TS3 Info:

*First email from Ben Bell: http://bbs.thesims2.ea.com/communit...directoryID=154

*Games For Windows Magazine: http://www.snootysims.com/thesims3index.php?id=gfwinfo

*GamePlanet Preview: http://www.gameplanet.co.nz/pc/prev...550.The-Sims-3/

*MCV Interview: http://www.mcvuk.com/interviews/226...-FOCUS-The-Sims

*IGN Preview: http://pc.ign.com/articles/860/860744p1.html

*Eurogamer Preview: http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=94996

*1up Preview: http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3167001

*1up Q&A: http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3167273&p=1

*GameIndustry.biz Report: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...ping-the-sims-3

*Yahoo! Games Interview: http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature...roducer/1198553

*EarthTimes First Impressions: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/...the-sims-3.html

*RockPaperShotGun's Interview: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/200...ms-style-stuff/

*PC Gameplay Interview With Lindsay Pearson (posted at Snooty's): http://www.snootysims.com/thesims3i...hp?id=interview

*Edge TS3 Feature (formerly Next-Gen.biz): http://www.edge-online.com/magazine...r-little-people

*The Sims 2 Brazil TS3 Sneak Peek: http://www.simprograms.com/?p=991

*1up (2nd Preview): http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?p...t=0&cId=3168651

*Sim Parool Dutch Preview (translated to English at Snooty's): http://www.snootysims.com/thesims3i...hp?id=simparool

*Sterling Sims 2 TS3 Fan Day Event: http://www.sterlingsims2.com/phpBB2...der=asc&start=0

*TSR Review: http://www.thesimsresource.com/article/sims3

*Skye Sim's TS3 Review: http://www.sterlingsims2.com/phpBB2...opic.php?t=1850

*GameSpy: http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/the-sims-3/891476p1.html

*Play.tm: http://play.tm/story/18292

*IGN (2nd Preview): http://pc.ign.com/articles/901/901432p1.html

*GameSpy (2nd Article): http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/the-sims-3/902155p1.html

*GameSpot: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy...ws&subj=6196978

*GameDaily: http://www.gamedaily.com/games/the-...s-3-first-look/

*VentureBeat: http://venturebeat.com/2008/09/12/q...ing-the-sims-3/

*MTV Multiplayer: http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008...-sex-and-candy/

*Newsarama (partially about TS3): http://www.newsarama.com/games/0809...sEverthing.html

*IGN (3rd Preview): http://pc.ign.com/articles/911/911354p1.html

*Game Informer Interview (thread posted by happycowlover but I need official source link please!): http://forums.sims2community.com/showthread.php?t=62157

*GameIndustry.biz: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...-the-theme-tune

*Electronics Arts UK Fan Day Report: http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/...s-pg-2-a-2.html

*GameSpot (2nd Preview): http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy...ws&subj=6200517

*SnootySims TS3 Fan Day Event: http://www.snootysims.com/thesims3index.php?id=fanevent

*Pocket-lint: http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/review...irst-look.phtml

*The Sims 3 Preview - Producer Tour The Netherlands: http://www.simprograms.com/the-sims...he-netherlands/

*DMS2C Sims 3 Preview: http://www.dms2c.net/info/?p=242

*TS3 Massive Q&A Tells All: http://kotaku.com/5090633/massive-sims-3-qa-tells-all

*TS3 Preview by Jack at SimPrograms: http://www.simprograms.com/the-sims...-traits-wishes/

*TS3 : EA Maxis' Ben Bell Interview: http://games.kikizo.com/features/th...nterview-p1.asp

*Times Online Exclusive TS3 Preview: http://technology.timesonline.co.uk...icle5311511.ece

*IGN (Video + Q&A): http://pc.ign.com/articles/937/937310p1.html

*GamesRadar TS3 Preview: http://www.gamesradar.com/pc/the-si...106113750640058

*1up (3rd Preview): http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3171960&p=1

*GameInfoWire.com Details: http://gameinfowire.com/news.asp?nid=13286

*Ben Bell Interview @ 3djuegos.com: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-CG...player_embedded

*TS3 Creator's Camp Megapost by JudHudson: http://www.simprograms.com/the-sims...camp-mega-post/

*IGN (4th preview, 1st hands-on + 3 new pics): http://pc.ign.com/articles/946/946029p1.html

*SimTimes.de Developer Meeting: http://74.125.95.101/translate_c?hl...puW2YOXNnTz0YAw

*Gaming Angels - CES 2009 - TS3 Preview: http://www.gamingangels.com/modules...php?itemid=1335

*GameSpot (3rd Preview): http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy...ws&subj=6203550

*GameSpot (4th Preview): http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy...ws&subj=6203650

*GameSpot Interview With MJ Chun: http://www.simprograms.com/gamespot...-of-the-sims-3/

*GamingHeaven.net Preview: http://www.gamingheaven.net/gamingr...hp?reviewid=697

*GirlsOfGEN - Sims 3 at CES 09: http://www.simprograms.com/girlsofgen-sims-3-at-ces-09/

*Alala Sims Brazilian Fan Event: http://alalasims.com/thesims/thesims3/eventovip_en.php

*Kachu Sims Brazilian Fan Event: http://www.kachusims.net/sistemas/p...=sims3/eventoen

*OSimbr Brazilian Fan Event: http://www.osimbr.net/homets3.php?p...sims3/evento_en

*Prima Games Author Blog - Sims 3 An EA Visit: http://www.primagames.com/blog/2009...-3-an-ea-visit/

*Destructoid TS3 Preview: http://www.destructoid.com/preview-...-3-121525.phtml

*GamePlanet TS3 Q&A Session With Grant Rodiek: http://www.gameplanet.co.nz/feature...-3-Q-A-session/

*Ugo TS3 Preview: http://gamesblog.ugo.com/index.php/...preview_pc_mac/

*IGN - DICE 2009 - TS3 Wrap-up: http://pc.ign.com/articles/955/955957p1.html

*Answers From A Sims 3 Developer: http://www.simsgamer.com/2009/02/21...ms-3-developer/

*GameSpy (3rd Article): http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/the-sims-3/957180p1.html

*Kotaku TS3 Occult Connection + New Screen Shots: http://kotaku.com/5160481/the-sims-...lus-new-screens

*Kotaku TS3 Smooth Criminal Preview: http://kotaku.com/5160481/the-sims-...lus-new-screens

*A+E Interactive TS3 Preview: http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/20...sims-3-preview/

*GiantBomb TS3 Preview: http://www.giantbomb.com/news/the-s...en-simsier/971/

*GameSpot (5th Preview): http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy...ws&subj=6205762

*Prima Games Author Blog - Create-A-Style: http://www.primagames.com/blog/2009...create-a-style/

*Prima Games Author Blog - Making Me: http://www.primagames.com/blog/2009...ms-3-making-me/

*IGN (5th preview + new screen shots + new video): http://pc.ign.com/articles/961/961065p1.html

*CVG News: http://www.computerandvideogames.co...210256#comments

*Eurogamer (2nd preview): http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/the-sims-3-hands-on

*TVG Preview: http://www.totalvideogames.com/The-...view-13845.html

*TVG (Q&A Session): http://www.totalvideogames.com/The-...ture-13851.html

*Videogamer TS3 Preview: http://www.videogamer.com/pc/the_si...eview-1560.html

*Videogamer TS3 Interview: http://www.videogamer.com/pc/the_si...eview-1575.html

*CVG Interview: http://www.computerandvideogames.co...e.php?id=210635

*UK Fan Day Event Info Post by JudHudson: http://www.simprograms.com/the-sims...post/#more-5021

*GameSpot's GDC 2009: http://gdc.gamespot.com/story/6206682/

*GameDaily (2nd preview): http://www.gamedaily.com/games/the-...-3-impressions/

*Wired Preview: http://blog.wired.com/games/2009/04...-on-sims-3.html

*GameSpot AU TS3 Q&A: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy...ws&subj=6208245

*EuroGamer Chat With Grant Rodiek: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/l...rrow-blog-entry and if link doesn't work http://sims3nieuws.blogspot.com/200...ant-rodiek.html

*London/Manchester Hands-on Event Info Post by JudHudson: http://www.simprograms.com/the-sims...ter-and-london/

*IGN (6th preview): http://pc.ign.com/articles/980/980951p1.html

*MCV: http://www.mcvuk.com/retail-biz/previews/399/The-Sims-3

*GameSpy (4th article): http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/the-sims-3/981256p1.html

*PC Zone Magazine Review Scans: http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/...score-92-a.html

*NY Times Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/b...4adco.html?_r=1

*What Laptop Hands-on: http://www.whatlaptop.co.uk/node/1529

*GameSpot (6th preview): http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy...topslot;thumb;1

*JudHudson's Dutch Fan Event Megapost: http://www.simprograms.com/the-sims...land-mega-post/

*EuroGamer (3rd preview): http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/t...-final-hands-on

*Bit-tech.net: http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/pc/2...nds-on-preview/

*PCGZine Issue 30: http://www.gamerzines.com/downloading-pcgzine_30.html

*Fidgit (Diary 1): http://fidgit.com/archives/2009/05/...new_commute.php

*The Hollywood Reporter: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr...77d15e571926d3a

*PCWorld: http://www.pcworld.com/article/1655...r_ben_bell.html

*CasualGaming.biz: http://www.casualgaming.biz/news/28...er-Grant-Rodiek

*Fidgit (Diary 2): http://fidgit.com/archives/2009/05/...ife_through.php

*VG Nett Chat With MJ Chun: http://tpn.vg.no/intervju/index.php?Inr=1938

*Adweek (Article): http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_di...9d63103d05021c2

*Fight (Diary 3): http://fidgit.com/archives/2009/05/..._got_in_its.php

*TIME: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/a...1901468,00.html

*Gamasutra Interview With Lucy Bradshaw: http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/ne...php?story=23841

*Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...3273411052.html

*Prima Guide Info From Snooty's: http://snootysims.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=29573

*GamesIndustry.biz Interview With Rod Humble: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...humble-part-one

*Bit-tech.net (2nd Article): http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/pc/2...-sims-3-review/

*A&E Interactive (2nd Article): http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/20...iew-the-sims-3/

*GameSpy (5th Article): http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/the-sims-3/988471p1.html

*SFGate: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic.../e080258D50.DTL

*IGN (7th Preview): http://pc.ign.com/articles/988/988108p1.html

*PCWorld (2nd Article): http://www.pcworld.com/article/1657...y_executed.html

*VentureBeat (2nd Article): http://venturebeat.com/2009/06/01/e...ompanys-future/

*Hexus.Gaming: http://gaming.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=18660

*TVG (3rd Article): http://www.totalvideogames.com/The-...view-14185.html

*GameSpot (7th Article): http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy...ms3/review.html

*Edge (2nd Article): http://www.edge-online.com/magazine/review-the-sims-3

*EuroGamer (4th Article): http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/the-sims-3-review

*GamePro: http://www.gamepro.com/article/revi...-3-page-1-of-3/

*Fidgit (Diary 4): http://fidgit.com/archives/2009/05/...3_gardening.php

*Fidgit (Diary 5): http://fidgit.com/archives/2009/06/...culate_conc.php
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Top Secret Researcher
#2 Old 14th Aug 2008 at 12:01 PM
This narrows down things. I really want TS3 now, seeing all those reviews and views. :nod:
Field Researcher
#3 Old 15th Aug 2008 at 3:07 AM
I am excited about the game, but the online registration every ten days...... I hope they take that out
Thank you for getting all the info!
Top Secret Researcher
#4 Old 15th Aug 2008 at 3:31 AM
Quote: Originally posted by NickM406
I am excited about the game, but the online registration every ten days...... I hope they take that out
Thank you for getting all the info!

They already did after a multimillion person collective shitfit.
Unfortunately no such shitfit occured over the 3installs per disc, which I am much more concerned about... tis a pity.

The humor of a story on the internet is in direct inverse proportion to how accurate the reporting is.
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#5 Old 15th Aug 2008 at 11:22 PM
No, it's not three installs per disc, it's three computers per disc. I believe this, too, was changed.
Lab Assistant
#6 Old 16th Aug 2008 at 12:26 AM
Thanks Frankie, now that i read through all that, i'm quite excited for sims3. My only worries, is that my laptop might not be able to run it.
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#7 Old 16th Aug 2008 at 2:25 AM
Well EA had stated numerous times that they are trying to make the game very friendly to many older computers, so you may be okay. If anything, there may be a graphics option to change it to low. I know it may not be as gorgeous as a higher setting but it's better than nothing.
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#8 Old 23rd Aug 2008 at 4:34 AM
IGN's Review
The IGN one has been added. I know that the following from IGN'S review's community posts is just a comment and that it does not confirm anything, but I thought this was very refreshing:

Quote:
You have to realize that Sims 3 has been in development far longer than Sims 2 was and that's why we're seeing actual gameplay first, and not a pre-rendered teaser like Sims 1 and Sims 2 did (with the baby swinging on the ceiling fan). So most of what we're seeing is going to make it into the game. They have also been VERY upfront in the previews with what may or may not make it before release, and what definitely won't be making it. So they're being VERY open with their development process which should make you more hopeful on what will be and what wont be included in the game.

And when it comes to them saying "older machines will be able to play it." that means 3-4 year old computers TOPS. That's just how the industry works. If you can play Sims 2 with maxed out settings, you'll be able to run Sims 3. The graphics really aren't the drastic upgrade that's going to require a $2000 beast of a computer. You have to realize that Sims 3 has been in development far longer than Sims 2 was and that's why we're seeing actual gameplay first, and not a pre-rendered teaser like Sims 1 and Sims 2 did(with the baby swinging on the ceiling fan). So most of what we're seeing is going to make it into the game....

Posted by: Iguanajd2003 on August 22, 2008 15:48 PDT


I really hope this is true. But you know what? If you really think about it and compare what we have been seeing for Sims 3 than to what we had first saw for Sims 2, it sure seems like what we see for Sims 3 is more legit.
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#9 Old 24th Aug 2008 at 8:27 PM
GameSpy's Preview
Updated with the new GameSpy preview. It does have a bit of new info and it gets more into detail about things than other previews. I quoted the new info:

Quote:
For one, the Sims themselves are much more dynamic, defined with a series of traits that make them more compelling and (at times) even more creepily human.


Quote:
For instance, when Arnie (a schmoozer) decided to talk politics with Herman (who's hot-headed), Herman got all worked up and angry.


I can't stress enough how cool this is!


Quote:
"Where you live actually matters," Lio explained, panning out the camera to reveal a quiet beach town with a mix of small houses and luxurious mansions surrounding a city center with a park and a town hall. The location of your house determines your neighbors, how far your commute is to work, and so on.


I don't remember this being so detailed in previous info but this is really cool. I wonder if it means that we can have a bad area of town and a good area.

Quote:
Also gone are many of the statistics that defined a Sim's mood. Only energy, bladder, entertainment, and food are tracked. It sounds like players can focus a lot less on micromanaging their Sims and more on interacting with their personalities. Characters still have wants, we noted, as well as long-term wishes. Fulfilling a Sim's wish can give you points that you can spend to purchase special bonus traits -- such as "Haggler" (pay less for stuff you buy in stores) or "Steel Bladder" (you don't have to use the bathroom anymore).


This is really cool! So you get benefits for fulfilling wishes. I guess wishes are like the new wants but just more revamped and they now work more towards traits.

Quote:
Finally, instead of Sims having a single mood score ranging from red to green to silver, they now have "moodlets" that determine how they feel. A Sim who just met a need might feel "fulfilled." Sims returning home to find garbage everywhere might get the "disgusted" moodlet. Those losing loved ones will have to deal with the "mourning" moodlet for a while. The moodlet that your Sim is experiencing changes how he or she interacts with the world and what he or she gets out of it. For example, heading over to the library might give your Sim the "studious" moodlet, which makes him or her learn things faster.


I knew moodlets would be a good idea. They are so much more realistic. In Sims 2, I hate how when a Sim's loved one dies, a random Sim can immediately tell them a joke and it'll be like if nothing has happened. Well, not anymore! I am glad this has been changed.

Quote:
You can not only adjust the character's mouth, you can even go in and adjust the parameters of each individual lip.


This is too cool! We truly do get to make Sims exactly how we want them to look like. Great for self-Sims!

Quote:
The clothing system and the furniture system both share a mechanism allowing you to customize the textures and patterns on things.


Okay, I didn't realize that you can change the texture. I just thought it was only colors and patterns. Cool.
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#10 Old 25th Aug 2008 at 4:13 PM
*SimTimes - GC08 is in German but has plenty of new screen shots, including where you get to choose the traits and the patterns/colors, too.

*PC Games is in German but there is a video interview in English.
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#11 Old 29th Aug 2008 at 6:19 AM
Game Spot's Detailed Preview
*Game Spot - a new detailed preview and there are a few new things mentioned:

Quote:
A lifetime achievement is essentially your sim's single life goal, and if you care to, you can choose one for each sim you create, or not...and let life fill in the blanks.


Wow, we can now choose the lifetime goal! Cool!

Quote:
In addition, the "wants" system from Sims 2 has been streamlined down to a new "wish" system with up to three active slots.


The first change I noticed, it used to be four slots, now it's down to three. If you look at the bunch of photos we had the other week, you'll see that it was four slots.

Quote:
We watched a demonstration of the game in action that showed two roommates having a house party with guests. Like in previous games, you can throw a party by having your sims pick up their home phone and using a "throw a party" option, but this time around, there will be many more types of parties you can throw, including a political fundraiser, which one of our sims held in the hopes of raising some campaign donations along his political career aspirations.


Oh my God, this made my night, seriously! Maybe that means that we can now have baby showers and wedding showers and even bachelor parties?

Quote:
Choosing the political career track unlocked the ability for one of our sims to hold the fundraiser at home, inviting over other friends and acquaintances to chat, schmooze, and ultimately, to leave behind a couple hundred "simoleons" to further the cause. The Sims 3 will do a better job of arranging your characters' relationship into various groups (love interests, family, friends, and others), and will also have social options that make more sense in context. Depending on your relationship with whichever other sim you're talking to, for instance, you'll be able to take your conversation in different directions, from romantic options (that will appear only for sims you have a romantic interest in) to more-hostile, argumentative options for sims you don't quite get along with. You won't, for instance, be required to repeatedly use the same social option over and over to build up a better relationship, as in previous games. Also, though sims will still talk using cartoon speech balloons that have various graphical icons in them, there will be many more icons and they'll be tailored to fit the context of the situation, so you'll be able to get a better sense not only of who's connecting in conversation, but also, on which topics they agree.


Wow, wow, wow, this is just very impressive! More icons for conversations and more specific ones, too! I'm glad that you romance options will now only appear with appropriate Sims. This will definitely prevent unwanted autonomous romantic socials.

Quote:
Our fundraiser ended successfully with our black-tie-and-ballgown guests filing out the door and leaving some nice chunks of change for us. We then took our character to head down to SimCity hall in the center of town by driving our car directly there. Once there, we observed a civic demonstration of unhappy sims, waving picket signs and hollering in The Sims' trademark nonsensical gibberish, simlish, about their concerns. Their grievance this time around: Hamsters, apparently. After watching the demonstration, we were then given a career-based opportunity to steal a bit of money from the campaign contributions we had garnered--you'll apparently get these open-ended choices to pop up every so often, along with various tasks that may require you to travel across town or gather one of dozens of different items that may include food items, fish, and other stuff to build out your sims' personal collections. Unfortunately, our would-be political maven got caught in the act of stealing, and was fired from his job.


Now we finally know the story behind those photos, lol. And that is cool that we get to have little "quests" or tasks to give us more to do.

Quote:
Like in The Sims 2, in the sequel, should your sims give birth to a little bundle of joy, the new addition to the family will share facial and body features from both parents, though the genetic makeup of your children will be a bit more consistent this time around (Sims 2 players will remember that every so often, due to random genetic matching, children ended up looking a bit...off).


What a relief! This is so much needed!
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#12 Old 11th Sep 2008 at 8:27 PM
Game Daily's Preview
*Game Daily - a new preview but nothing new. However...

Quote:
This being The Sims, every aspect of this world and its 90-plus inhabitants can be fully customized by the player. There are literally tens of thousands of objects in the world to interact and build with.


Now we know that there will be over 90 Sims in the town, it was not quite confirmed before, just that it had said it was around 90 lots, not Sims.

We also know that there will be way more objects in the base game than in The Sims 2 base game.

Quote:
"You can use the traits to push the game in any direction you can imagine," said Bell. "I think it's pretty wild to be able to have these types of character traits that you can combine in the game. They'll give you skills and interactions and reveal different looks and animation in the game. They give each Sim a unique soul."


This is just me emphasizing how truly unique our Sims will be. I still want to know if they will still act differently if they had the exact same traits as each other. Would one trait of the 5 traits you choose be more dominant than the others or would all 5 traits that you choose work equally together? I was not sure if there was a primary trait or not.
#13 Old 12th Sep 2008 at 12:07 AM
Thanks Frankie!!! I think now I'm an addict to the sims 3 info!!!! :loco:
Test Subject
#14 Old 12th Sep 2008 at 12:29 AM
Thats really amazing. It makes it harder to wait.

[SIZE=3][COLOR=DarkOrchid]*flip flops..belly tops..lemonade under the shade..blue skies..hot guys..late nights..water fights..ice cream..sweet dreams..party time..looking fine..sleeping in..sneaking out..thats what us girls are all about!*[/COLOR][/SIZE]
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#15 Old 13th Sep 2008 at 1:24 AM
New TS3 Blog By Lyndsay Pearson
More new info! The Sims 3 Official Site has now updated a new blog describing more in depth about the Wishes, Lifetime Happiness and Lifetime Happiness Points... A MUST-READ!

Quote:
Wishes and Lifetime Happiness
September 12, 2008 17:00 PM

Greetings , Simmers! You may remember me from The Sims 2 Expansion chats and posts. I now work on The Sims 3, and today I'm going to tell you all about Wishes and Lifetime Happiness in The Sims 3.

Wishes are a new system in The Sims 3 that provides you with a wide selection of requests that keep your Sims happy as well as working towards some neat short- and long-term goals and rewards. You can choose to promise to help your Sims with a wish or you can throw it away. Satisfying a promised wish gives your Sim Lifetime Happiness Points and a feeling of fulfillment! What good are those you might ask? You'll be able to use these Lifetime Happiness points to buy Achievement Traits for your Sims, and fulfillment keeps their mood up! The Achievement Traits are sort of like the traits Ben told you about before, but they’re extra advantages you can purchase and unlock. They range from time saving (Steel Bladder: who doesn't like the idea of never having to pee?), economically wise (Haggler: all your shopping is cheaper), or even more extreme traits (Mid-Life Crisis: change what were permanent traits into better, worse, or just different ones for a change of pace!). There are more than 20 Achievement Traits to pick from!

Now that’s the quick overview of progression. Here’s my Wish gameplay style!

When I play with wishes, I look at them as the things my Sim thinks about doing or thinks about working towards that I'm helping her to achieve. Wishes are little (or large) goals that my Sim encounters as she goes about her day. She may wake up and wish to “make waffles” because her favorite food is waffles. Later, when she's at work, she might wish to “get promoted” or “improve a skill”. After work she can visit the park and get a wish to “meet somebody” since she’s friendly or “go to the art gallery” because she’s artistic. All throughout the day she will get these wishes and I decide if I want to help her to achieve those things or if I want her to pursue something else. It’s a fun system to play with. If I’m busy, I can choose a smaller wish to work on and feel like I helped her out. If I’m in for a long, marathon Simming session, I’ll focus on helping her become a “Master Chef”—something more time consuming, but ultimately more rewarding.

We’ve looked back on our experience with Wants from The Sims 2, and think that you’ll find the Wish gameplay feels really different and better than Wants. You’re now free to pick or ignore your Sims’ wishes without fear of some sort of mental breakdown. Instead you really get to focus on telling the story and making decisions; your Sim just makes suggestions along the way. If you promise that you’ll help your Sim get married, then decide to throw that wish away, your Sim will be a little sad (who wouldn’t be!) but otherwise it’s really all up to you.

Wishes come from anywhere and everywhere, based on your Sims’ traits, her job, her skills, her friends or coworkers, where she is in town, or what she might be doing. It makes the wishes feel very dynamic and interesting. Long-term wishes really give you something to strive for and focus on, a goal and purpose for your Sim. I think you’ll really enjoy seeing the wishes you will come across by playing a Shy, Artistic Sim or an Evil, Insane, Genius Sim. It’s a different experience every time!

Thanks for reading and happy Simming!

- Lyndsay


Link: http://thesims3.ea.com/view/pages/b...fetimeHappiness

This is great! So this is very similar to the lifetime benefit points that Free Time EP introduced to us, only rather than things in relation to jobs, motives and secondary aspirations, we will get over 20 exclusive traits that are only available via these benefits. The steel bladder will be very nice for when we want our Sims to have a nice and uninterrupted romantic dinner with wine, since wine in Sims 2 seems to really make Sims pee more frequently.

Also, I'm not too impressed with Lyndsay's self-Sim. I mean, yes, it does look like her as in you can tell it's her when seeing her name next to it, but it's not as scarily real as the team has been making it out to be all this time when being able to make whoever you want. I mean, yes, it is obviously a better result than Sims 2, but you'll still need special CC skin tones from the community, especially with celebrities. So I guess I can still see most people relying on CC skin tones again. I doubt most people will still stick with the Maxis skin tones. While they may be better than Sims 2, I am sure CC will always beat Maxis. Let's just see how much larger will the file size for CC downloads will be.

But I'm still not complaining, this game is way too good to not want and it is truly getting harder and harder to wait. I want it now!
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#16 Old 14th Sep 2008 at 6:13 AM
VentureBeat's Q&A Session With Ben Bell
*VentureBeat - Q&A Session With Ben Bell on making The Sims 3. Not really new info but definitely some important highlights that weren't specified previously...

Quote:
VB: With The Sims 2, the graphics overhaul and introduction of 3D gameplay was a huge step in the franchise. What role do the visuals play in this game?

BB: The first thing that people will notice about The Sims 3 is the world around them. If you see it, you can go there. In the past, The Sims players were confined to playing on little levels that we called lots. Now there are now boundaries. The technology is incredible because we can show you the tiniest detail of your home, like the petals on a flower. A few seconds later you can look at the tiniest freckle on a Sim on the other side of town. This all happens in real time.


Could this truly mean that our Sims will have freckles? Oh please EA, let this be true! I want freckles that won't have to be treated as CC makeup like in Sims 2.

On another note, it is very nice to finally see that the zoom will definitely be very close as to see the pedals of a flower or a freckle on a Sim.

Quote:
VB: What impact has the development cycle for Spore had on the creation of The Sims 3? Were there specific gameplay elements applied to The Sims 3 based on the direction of Spore?

BB:
As developers, we’re always looking out for inspiration. Spore was definitely on our radar because they also let players create and share content, but I don’t think that anything specific carried over. If you ask any fan, or anyone who has played The Sims, they’ll tell you that creating and sharing is at the heart of The Sims experience. We want to make it better and easier.


I do wonder about this. I like how Spore is set up with the sharing, so I hope it gets to be this way with Sims 3.
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#17 Old 16th Sep 2008 at 5:24 AM
MTV Multiplayer's Blog Review
A blog-style review with some new info, including the first official mentioning of "woohoo":


Quote:
Making “Woohoo” in different locations — I also asked Pearson if sex in the game (called “Woohoo”) was treated the same as in the past. She assured me that Sims can still woohoo “all the time.” And they’re now allowed to do it in other places outside the home. “We’ve expanded that into the open world as well,” she explained. “Your Sim can go on a tour of City Hall and while they happen to be there, they could woohoo there. Then they might get caught and run out in their underwear or they’ll run out in an outfit from a job there or something like that. Or if your spouse works at the science lab, you could go visit them in the middle of the day… [laughs] So you know, we support that. That’s cool.” However, Sims can’t woohoo anywhere your dirty minds can imagine. “You can’t go to the park or anything like that,” she said. “We have a couple of specific ones that we picked that sort of made sense that you might be there. And you can’t woohoo at school. We have to draw the line in some places.”




That is so cool that woohoo has been revamped and that it can be done in many more places. I can wait to make my first "player" Sim.

Quote:
A simpler, user interface – The user interface for “The Sims 3″ looks more complex than that of previous games in the series. Its main screen includes more tabs and meters that go into more detail on a particular Sim’s relationships, personality traits and moods. However, Pearson told me the team was actually trying to make the interface “more approachable.” She said the game’s tutorials are designed to ease players — both longtime and new — into the gameplay. “People that are a little daunted by the game, we really want them to understand it’s about how you want to play,” she said. “And we’ll teach you the basics, but then if you don’t want to pay attention to [certain aspects], you don’t have to. If you just want to play this part, that’s cool. It’s totally up to you.”


This should alleviate some of you who were already complaining about the UI.

Quote:
Easier house customization — Pearson promised that customizing one’s house in “The Sims 3″ was easier than before. The tools are the same, but they’ve made a few changes to help out the players, like being able to drag walls to make rooms bigger and smaller (versus manually building and deleting walls), and simplifying the ways players can paint walls and floors. For obsessive “Sims” players who might’ve been bothered by not being able to center a two-tile television in front of a three-tile couch, well, the dev team’s fixed that by allowing objects to be centered in the game.”Now you can actually center things!” Pearson said with enthusiasm. “And now you can set it up however you want — you can set things on diagonals and you can really get more realistic with things than you were able to do before.”


Wow, we can now drag walls instead of only being able to build and destruct them? That is super cool!



Quote:
Torturing your Sims — The core gameplay of “Sims” games are always good and fun, but I wanted to know: Could you still torture you Sims? Like build four walls around them? Pearson laughed, thankfully, and said, “You will still be able to mess with them. In fact, in ‘Sims 3′ you can mess with other people now, too. You can go into your neighbor’s house and steal their stuff or break their TV, so you can actually be more devious on a grand scale than you have been before.” These deviant behaviors are related to the new personality traits system, where each character can have five distinct personality traits that shape how your Sim behaves and interacts. “You can be a kleptomaniac, you can be evil, and actually, evil Sims will steal candy from babies,” she said with a laugh. “It will be a little toddler sitting there and then you get this special social to go steal candy from them; then they walk up to them and just like take it. We always pay attention to the audience that likes to likes to continue to kind of mess with their Sims.” So the “Sims” developers kept me in mind.




Wow, stealing candy from toddlers? You could truly make a real bully! I hope that we now get a social reputation in the game like in AL so that it can be more of a challenge to be a certain self.
Inventor
#18 Old 16th Sep 2008 at 5:37 PM
Thanks, Frankie. It's really cool to have all this info in one thread.
Lab Assistant
#19 Old 17th Sep 2008 at 1:28 AM
Quote:
“You will still be able to mess with them. In fact, in ‘Sims 3′ you can mess with other people now, too. You can go into your neighbor’s house and steal their stuff or break their TV, so you can actually be more devious on a grand scale than you have been before.” These deviant behaviors are related to the new personality traits system, where each character can have five distinct personality traits that shape how your Sim behaves and interacts. “You can be a kleptomaniac, you can be evil, and actually, evil Sims will steal candy from babies,” she said with a laugh. “It will be a little toddler sitting there and then you get this special social to go steal candy from them; then they walk up to them and just like take it.

This makes me so happy. I was worried that TS3 was going to be nothing but rainbows and butterflies. I like to mess with my sims, so knowing that I can still do that and torture other sims is awesome. I'm definitely making an evil kleptomaniac!
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#20 Old 17th Sep 2008 at 2:46 AM
Newsarama's Interview With Aaron Cohen
Newsarama posted an interview with the Sims Label marketing director Aaron Cohen about the different Sims games like MySims Kingdom, The Sims 2 Mansion & Garden Stuff, SimAnimals and of course The Sims 3. Some new info is revealed about The Sims 3! Also, it states that Apartment Life and Mansion & Garden Stuff are the last EP and SP, just so you guys know. It makes more sense, start off the new year with a new game.

Anyway, on to the highlights about the new TS3 info!

Quote:
NRAMA: You’ll have pets right away for example? COHEN: No, not pets, sorry about that. But your Sims themselves will be more lifelike, because the different personality types will be much more broad, and much more interesting. The behavioral styles, it’s an extremely large change, the kinds of unexpected situations that these “people” are going to be in.


Ugh, so looks like we are definitely getting yet another Pets remake! LOL Jeez, this will be the third damn remake. But it makes sense. Cats and dogs are just too much focus to be included in the base game and they probably need more work as far as more realistic animations and sounds, etc. But it's good to know that it is official that pets won't make it into the base game. Then again, maybe this is better because some people do not want cats or dogs and so they won't have to be forced to have them in the game by not buying the EP. But still... I am not looking forward to the continuation of "ZOMGPETZ!" That really has gotten on my nerves, lol.

Quote:
NRAMA: How about the home types. Will you be able to go from Apartment to Mansion right away in the Sims 3? COHEN: Yeah, the home types will all be there. So you can go from small apartment to large mansion, and there will be different lots you’ll have to earn. If you’re playing the strategy game, working your way up, getting rich, getting a job, falling in love, all of that is there, at a bigger level.


Oh my God, are we getting apartments in the base game? I hope so! I know that at first in one of the fan events it was stated that there weren't apartments in the game but maybe it was because the team was working on that and not wanting to reveal any of it? The more features from Sims 2 EP's we get in the base game, the more room for newer EP ideas. I'd rather have newer ideas than remakes.

Quote:
NRAMA: And of course, there will be expansion packs for The Sims 3. COHEN: Oh Yeah!!

NRAMA: Do you have any scheduling idea, how fast those are going to roll out once the game is released?

COHEN: Uh, we don’t have a date for the first one yet, but the first one is on the drawing board and is getting ready. People expect that and we’ll definitely give it to them.


I knew there would be and I think most of you knew that, too. The Sims evolve around EP's and it just wouldn't be the same without them. My guess is that it will still be the same 5-7 month wait between Ep's as usual. And the first one is already being worked on! Yay! I wonder what it'll be about!
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#21 Old 17th Sep 2008 at 5:12 AM
Quote: Originally posted by appelsapgodin
Thanks, Frankie. It's really cool to have all this info in one thread.


You're welcome! It just makes it easier and more convenient than to have many threads about each topic.
Lab Assistant
#22 Old 17th Sep 2008 at 8:26 PM
Quote:
NRAMA: How about the home types. Will you be able to go from Apartment to Mansion right away in the Sims 3?
COHEN: Yeah, the home types will all be there. So you can go from small apartment to large mansion, and there will be different lots you’ll have to earn. If you’re playing the strategy game, working your way up, getting rich, getting a job, falling in love, all of that is there, at a bigger level.

Strategy game? Sounds interesting... I guess, that is where the difficulty levels will come into play.
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#23 Old 18th Sep 2008 at 4:58 AM
Yes, I remember that there will be about three difficulty levels, or was it five? I forget exactly how many but it is cool that we are getting levels in the game this time. Are any of you guys going to start with difficult first? I'm not. I am going to start with easy so that I can get the feel of the game first. It will be so revamped and new that it may not even be THAT easy to begin the game with an easy level. I hope we get a guide section like Spore has in-game. That is very nice because in case you don't have a physical guide or you lost it, you can just go in-game and read it. In fact, I'd rather have a guide than a tutorial.
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#24 Old 18th Sep 2008 at 7:26 PM
IGN's 2nd Preview
IGN posted their 2nd preview and explained more about traits, goals, moodlets and rewards. Not really new info but more explained than before which could seem like new info in some ways.

Quote:
First up, traits. As you probably know, the way your sims' personalities are determined is completely different from previous games, with the player choosing five traits from a massive pool. Some examples include: athletic, natural cook, paranoid, neurotic, kleptomaniac, clumsy, conversationalist, materialistic, party animal, schmoozer, ambitious, brave, loves the outdoors, vegetarian and hot-headed. There's no fixed number of traits just yet, as the team is constantly tweaking the set – adding in new ones and removing ones it doesn't like, but you can rest assured the final game will have plenty to choose from. If you want to create a certain type of sim, you'll be able to.


I actually really liked the idea of there being over 80 traits and now it seems like we won't be getting that many. The more we get, the better so that our Sims can keep being more unique and less predictable.

Quote:
Not only does the trait system mean that there's a stack of behavioural variety and complexity in each sim, but it adds another layer to the process of getting to know other sims. When you first meet a sim, you won't know any of his or her traits and must learn them over time. Thus, you actually will get to know them better and work out how best to interact with them. It's all about peeling the onion…


I like this. This will make for a fun challenge so that you can have to "guess" what traits they possess. Imagine finding a hot Sim townie and that may be ideal for your Sim to be with until later finding out it was an evil Sim, lol.

Quote:
Your choice of traits will have a big impact on how your sim behaves and his or her strengths and weaknesses, but it won't lock you out of content. Any sim, for instance, can choose any career, but if your traits are really at odds with a particular career you'll certainly have a harder time. By way of example, if you make a sim who's hot-headed, rude, inappropriate and evil, and then choose the political career – a path that requires charisma and lots of relationship building – progressing through that career may then be quite difficult.


Thank God! Now I don't have to worry about corrupt leaders in my game, lol. Actually, this is very nice because now we get to really face jobs as more challenging because of the traits we chose.

Quote:
Your choice of traits will, however, influence the goals you'll be given in the game, as will a number of other factors – where your sims are and what they're doing in the world, what job they have, what relationships they have and what skills they have. Goals will range from small, simple to perform tasks through to much longer term projects, such as lifetime wishes (and again, you get to pick these based largely on what your traits are, so your choice of traits will – right from the start – play a large role in determining what sort of sim you are and what you can do with your life). This way, you can hop into the game for half an hour and still achieve something. You can have up to five goals at a time, and you can pick and choose the ones that you want and discard the others.

The reward for completing goals scales depending on how involved it is. Say your sim has a lifetime wish to be an astronaut (which is the tenth level in the military career). If you complete that you'll get way more lifetime happiness points (yes, that's what they're called) than if you complete a goal to, say, make friends with a particular sim.
Lifetime happiness points can be spent on all sorts of permanent perks and benefits. For instance, you may spend your cash on the Hardly Hungry reward, which obviously reduces the need for your sim to eat. Other examples would be being able to eat at restaurants for free or being really good at cultivating romantic relationships – the sort of things that are going to make your life easier at the same time as giving you new ways to play the game.


I guess the exclusive reward traits are indeed permanent. I thought they weren't. Well I don't mind that so much for some of them but for the "steel bladder" one to never have your Sim pee again would be too much of a cheat. It's like having house and never having to use the toilet that you have in it. What's the point?

Quote:
The moodlets system is also shaping up really well. It replaces the old needs system of previous sims games, meaning you no longer have to micromanage your bars for hunger, tiredness, hygiene and so on. Instead, your sims achieve happiness in their life by actually doing things – do something that your sim likes and – BING – a moodlet pops up and you'll get some kind of buff to your abilities or demeanor for doing it. It's no longer about looking at bars and trying to top up the right categories; instead it's about discovering the activities that your sim enjoys and that will keep him or her happy.

These can, of course, be used quite strategically, and in many instances are just common sense. If you take the time to give a sim a solid eight hour sleep, for instance, you'll get the Well Rested moodlet, so your sim's going to be happier for the day. If you've got high cooking skills and take the time to cook a meal, using all the right ingredients, you may get the Amazing Meal moodlet. Combine that for dinner with a good night's rest and your sim will be in a fantastic mood the next day, and will be much more efficient and effective in whatever he or she does. There's no limit to the number of moodlets that can be active at once (although the current GUI only has room to display four), so you'll really be able to maximise your sim's mood if you want to.

Different personalities will have different moodlets. One sim may get one for sitting, relaxing by the fire (in the form of a mood boost), while another – probably a more stressed out active sim, won't. Some moodlets are far more obvious than others, and there are moodlets for all sorts of things. If your sim brushes his teeth you'll get the Minty Breath moodlet. We've no idea what bonuses that confers, but we imagine it probably gives you a bit of a boost when socialising.


This is all very nice. I think brushing your teeth should affect socializing in that the points can go up higher because talking to people with a fresh breath helps a lot. I actually like these moodlets. Now we can really feel like our Sims are rewarded when sleeping enough hours or cooking the right meals. No more prediction!

Quote:
During the demo we were also told about an interesting new option that players will have when their sim goes to work each day. You'll actually be able to choose what your sim's focus will be for the day. You can choose Work Hard, for instance, which will be a plus for your sim's career but he or she will be stressed and in a bad mood at the end of the day. You can choose Meet Coworkers, which lays the social groundwork with other sims at the workplace so that building a relationship with them about town is easier. You can also choose Socialise With Coworkers, which obviously helps your sim build those relationships further while at work. There were also a couple more, but we didn't get the chance to check them out.


This is so cool that we get to choose how our work days turn out. It now makes jobs more challenging, especially if you want to work hard and then come home in a bad mood. But at least working harder will get you that promotion more quickly. I still want to know if school can be programmed the same way. It should! Imagine studying harder in school but getting A's quicker than others. Maybe our kids won't have homework EVERY DAY like in Sims 2. In fact, maybe studying harder can also reduce the amount of homework your kids bring home.

I can't wait to play this game, as it is getting harder and harder to wait!
#25 Old 19th Sep 2008 at 1:48 AM
Thats so neat!! i love how you can pick what your sims do at work.. That'll make some fun things happen i'm sure.. Like, socializing too much. Lol!
Locked thread | Locked by: mangaroo Reason: thanks, frankie!
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