I've been waiting to see if someone knew the answer to my question:
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/696239.page


So, this is for anyone who bought any of the gambling machines. I really wanted to have a casino in my resort and in the store description it said that you would make money putting it on your home lot. So, I put a slot machine on my resort, but I haven't seen any funds being added to my household. Does this only work on home lots and not owned community lots? I'm just confused because I see the money come up as +$2 or whatever, but it doesn't add.
Does anyone else have this set and know how it works?

you make money by winning bets. Only the sim who is actively using the items wins the money. It's kind of like the arcade machines on community lots. It costs money to use them, but that money does not go to the lot's owner.

So, if you place the slot machine on your home lot, and use it, you can "win" money. If the item is on a community lot, and your sim uses it, they can also "win" money. If you own a community lot, and a different sim uses it, only they "win".

The only real benefit to placing them on a resort, I believe, is that they can contribute to the total amount of decoration, so sims can get positive moodlets, and for fun gameplay options for story or asthetic reasons.

thanks

The only stuff that really contributes to a resort is the stuff that came with Island Paradise (the Resort Tab) and the professional bar from Late Night. EPs are heavily partitioned, so don't expect to just use anything and expect it to work wonders - we just have to take the good with the bad.

This isn't to say that those items are completely useless for resorts, though. Sims will use them, and that does keep fun and social moods up.

I just wish there was more integration with previously released items. Like the Magic store set was patched for Supernatural, to allow them to work with skills/jobs for that pack. A casino resort sounds like a no-brainer to me, I don't see why it wasn't included.

Most of the stuff from resorts would be a no-brainer, but the design goal was for everything to fit in Sunlit Tides. EA (Redwood) has specified when they have a world, what they build must bit the world. The oversight being make it flexible enough for any world, but, obviously, include content for a tropical, modern or wherever, for location purposes.

No snow boarding resorts. Shame.

Objects that change your Resort Score/Profit:




also LandscapingObjects[buildmode], Sculpture, Painting, ResortPoolObject, GymObject.

Things that decrease your score:

Dirty or Broken objects, ScenarioRoach, Unmade Bed, TrashPile, Puddles, Burnt tiles,

1. where part of the gameplay data package (or where ever) is that from? :O

2. If we add something to the list, like a grill, would it help? As it stands now, they'd didn't really opt to add many options. Even gym equipment and beds aren't even available. Why are EPs so partitioned?

I wonder if there's a way to mod in other objects.

1. they are just ENUM (define type) from script.

2. nope. I think the only way to change it is creating a core mod.

I found the GymObject and ResortPoolObject too.

Ugh. Limitations... everywhere...

I also noticed that while landscaping does help the resort score, it appears to only benefit from the landscape objects that came with the EP, not even base game foliage. When I add an IP palm tree, I get a blue + sign, but if I add a base game plant, nothing. I can understand limiting foliage to the EP and base game, as foliage from other EPs normally wouldn't count (can't mix those EPs, right?), but everyone has the freaking base game. Why can't those trees and plants count? Also, you only get a positive score from the hot tubs in the EP as well. I have several cc hot tubs I really like using, but again, no little blue + signs when placing them.

So, as long as you add the objects found in the resort tab of the build mode, your resort score will increase. Even if you use the ugliest, most distressed looking wall coverings, moth eaten looking benches, and tons of unattractive crap scattered around (but not garbage), folks will still LOVE your resort because of all the "amenities". How discerning sims are.

That's just sad.

EA can have some great ideas in this series but their execution is terrible. I know the game engine is limited, but it doesn't excuse why base game items (such as foliage) wouldn't count towards the resort score. I want EA to stop boxing in our creativity. Who want tropical foliage in a mountain resort? Or are we not suppose to have that kind of resort in the game?

The lead designer needs to be fired, and if the lead is being given heavy restricts to follow, than the higher up needs to be fired.

I just looked for the coding of this. The effect is triggered when any tree, flower, shrub or rock is placed. However, if there are already more landscaping objects than the ones defined by the variable "kLandscapingObjectRequired" (EA's default is 50) then the object won't affect your score and you won't see more visual effects.

So you probably had 49 landscaping objects. Then you placed the 50th (the IP palm tree), triggered the visual effect and then placed a base-game tree and saw no effect.

The effect should also be triggered for every hot tub no matter if it's from an EP/SP/CC. But again, there's a limit. Once you have enough "resort score objects," the effect isn't triggered.

I know EA's restrictive most times, but it would be insane to lock this feature to IP objects.

You mean like creating two entirely different apartment systems, 2 entirely different means of time travels, having a food register that goesn't served all the food available in the game, and Sims rolling out beach towels on resorts in the middle of rural France...

This is EA. Where tunnel vision is no bigger the diameter of a drinking straw.

I don't understand why EA does that. They already had a treasure chest system (with cool features to allow tomb behavior). So instead of revamping it, they create another one (the IP chest cannot be linked to tomb behavior).

Take a look at EA's script and you'll find that several functions are repeated. I can imagine their workflow: "We need to make this. Let's create a new function! // Isn't there one already? I believe we included the functionality… // Shut up, there's no time to look for it!"

Can you force resort stars and then keep the rating? like in a mod or something?

^I think that would have saved them a lot of time. It was rare, but in the Sims 2, things got repeated, for continuity, like the restaurant stove being in both Nightlife and Open for Business. They could have provided plays with alternative versions of chests from WA, and just added on to what they already had for islands- modular design. I know the team have a love-hate thing with WA, but adding on to the system probably could have saved them time, and made them look better in the long run.

I fail to understand how a company misses the boat. Every. Single. Time.

Anybody happen to know if sim-made paintings count as "paintings" per Douglas's post above?

I have an artistic resort owner sim that I've been having paint pictures to decorate the resort. Didn't think to look for the plus sign, though.

In a somewhat related question... I've noticed that I can't put items placed in the resort into the owner's inventory. The above sim changed his mind and wanted to use a painting he'd already hung towards a painting opportunity... but while he could move it around the resort, there didn't seem to be any way to get it into his inventory, or the family one.

Sim-made paintings and sketches should count as art objects as long as your lot has less than the number defined in the "kArtObjectsRequired" variable (ResortManager XML). Sim-made sculptures count too

Because the people at EA lack the capacity to plan anything.

It is possible without a core mod!

OMG, did you just make a breakthrough, Sims MX!!??