SIM's Fans Out There?

[TerranRich]

How? I can't even FORCE it to run at 1024x768. I only have the option to use 800x600 from within the game, and I even tried to use the "-" switch command after the file name in a shortcut to force it at 1024x768, but it still runs at 800x600. Was it an option in-game for you, Haddas?

[Pelican]

Has anyone found that it messes with your internet settings? After I've been playing the game, my internet options have been set to 'never connect'. This happens every time I play the Sims 2. It's a nuisance have to change it back after so I can use the internet.

[Haddas]

Was it an option in-game for you, Haddas?

Yes, it's an option in-game, although it was already on 1024x768 by default for me.

[TerranRich]

Weird. I have to try to figure this thing out. I want it to play at 1024x768... I even updated my graphic card's drivers from Dell.com and everything. Hmm.

EDIT: And yes, they hired different actors for the elders, adults, and teens. Even the toddlers and babies (obviously). They had like 2-3 times the number of actors. Damn, now I wanna play it again.

[[Cameron]]

I used to have the sims and the first three expansion packs. Then I lent them out and forgot who i lent them to. Now i eagerly await the sims 2 for christmas.
Regards,


Alec

[Nellie]

Has anyone found that it messes with your internet settings?

Pelican: YES!Ã,  I have no idea why it does that, but it's extraordinarily irritating.Ã,  I hadn't linked the IE screw up to the Sims yet, so thanks for pointing out the cause for me.Ã,  I assumed I'd fixed the problem with IE, but now I know it's because I haven't played the game for the past couple of days.


And how about some links to people's stories on the Exchange, if they've done any?Ã,  Here's one for y'all:

clicky clicky

[Anarcho]

I too play it a few times a year, but it always gets on my nerves.  It just devolves into the game of capitalism...buy more and better stuff to make your idiots happy.  And while I love Monopoly, and silly things like "morals" rarely prevent me from playing such wholesome games as GTA3, playing the sims for too long just makes me feel dumb.

[TerranRich]

Oh my God, Nellie, that is one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen in my life. Frickin' funny as all hell!

[wat10]

hey i LOVE the sims
this one time my sim died and (because im a cheater) i deleated death and
my dead sim was just lying there and there was a spooky sound that i couldnt get rid of it but it was all good 

[Andail]

One thing that profoundly disturbs me is that the game has to be so hip and funky.
I try to create some sort of introvert, half-crazy scientist/politician as a character, living in a murky house with mostly bookshelves as furniture.

Regardless, five minutes into the game, there is a teenage party in my livingroom.

I guess this game is aimed at a younger audience, or people who like to lead an extremely social life. Anyway, I still don't see what the game is about. I built a character and a house, but so far, the gameplay is about leading him to the bathroom and back, watch him eat, watch him sleep...then he is off to work, and I have to fast-forward the game until he returns.

I guess you're expected to hit off with your neighbours, select a girl and start trying to pick her up. If you're not interested in that, the game will be rather empty of meaning, right?

[FruitTree]

that all depends on your creativity

I tried the bathroom/eat/work game experience a while and one moment I just kinda went psycho not funny I know, but the boredom finally got to me I killed my wife and after that I just tried to fill my yard with as manny tombstones as possible, er... am I the only one that does that?

...I should go into therapy again, right?

[[Cameron]]

Having the ultimate frredom to mould a character to work as you wany them to would be great but the amount of scripting and the high quality of the AI in the game is probably unatainable as so far. I beleive that this freedom while great for the hardcore fanatic would alienate the mainstream audiance a fair bit. Although I would love to see this happen and create my own rich Socialite by day, serial killer\criminal mastermind by night, it will probaly be a fair wait.
Regards,



Alec

[Mr Jake]

Must download + buy

[Nellie]

QuantumRich: Thanks!

Andail: Yeah, the Sims seems to have a contradictory dual purpose.  On the one hand, the designers claim it's good for 'sandbox' (freedom to do what you like) play, while on the other, they put in quite a strict system of needs that require you to make all of your sims pursue the same type of activities to prevent them being screwed up.

I guess you're expected to hit off with your neighbours, select a girl and start trying to pick her up. If you're not interested in that, the game will be rather empty of meaning, right?

The game is empty of meaning by default, really, and the point is to make of it what you want.  For example, the appeal to me is to create some unusual characters in a neighbourhood, get them to interact, then improvise a story for them all in storytelling mode.  The very first time I tried to play the Sims (original), I went the ordinary route of: go to work, get the girl, meet the neighbours, etc. and it bored the hell out of me.  Now the 'purpose' of the game for me is to create some strange soap-opera/sitcom hybrid in storytelling mode, and hopefully entertain my friends and a few random strangers on the 'net. 

[Andail]

I see. My biggest mistake was probably to create and run only one character, as if it was an adventure game, or solo rpg, and await something interesting to happen.
The strength is in the interaction between several sims, I guess.

Well, I don't have the time to play it much more, but it was an original gaming experience, I guess.

[TerranRich]

Something you could try are creating a house full of guys (roommates) and have different, conflicting traits. Use the zodiac thing that's somewhere in the game to see which signs conflict with whom and which are matches. Put in some conflict. Make your Sim(s) do negative things to others, such as tease, brag, etc., which will put the "friendship" at a negative and allow you to do other nastier things. I wonder if you can murder another Sim... would be interesting...

[Haddas]

Hmmm... The Sims 2: Big Brother

[Domino]

As much as i love the Sims 2, i've gotten quite bored of it.Ã,  Which also happened many times while playing the first Sims.

But another game which i am really looking forward too is Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, which is now fully 3D and the demo is amazing.

So any tycoon fans out there who enjoy building amusement parks.Ã,  This is something you should check out.Ã,  Download the demo and give it a whirl.Ã,  This looks to be a real promising title.Ã,  You can find the demo somewhere on the RCT3 site.

http://www.atari.com/rollercoastertycoon/

Shawn

[TerranRich]

Funny, I haven't gotten sick of Sims 2 yet. Maybe because I've been takinig it easy, qutting before I get bored of it.

[Nellie]

Man, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 looks superb.  For the first time one of these games is going to have a coaster cam that genuinely gives you a sense of speed and disorientation.  I hated the cams in Theme Park World and that naff Disney roller coaster builder thing.

I just know when I eventually get the game I'll be downloading everybody else's rollercoasters and 'riding' them for kicks.


By the way, if you rename one of the TutorialX.dat files to 'Demo.dat' and put it in the main installation folder, you can play on the tutorial maps (ie, completely empty landscape) for 45 minutes rather than the demo map, plus you get unlimited funds.  But remember to backup your original 'Demo.dat' file somewhere.