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Open for Business: Ask Tim LeTourneau
Expansion pack 3 for the Sims 2, Open for Business, was announced yesterday. Similar to what we did with Nightlife, we'll be getting the opportunity to talk to Tim LeTourneau, senior producer of the expansion, about the game. He's going to tour through Europe again next week to show the expansion pack to fans and press, TSZ included. You can now send us your questions about the expansion pack by posting a comment to this post, or by sending an e-mail. We can't guarantee that all questions will be answered, but we'll do our best. You have until 11 January to submit your questions to us, so start asking!

Written at 22:07 on Thursday, 5 January 2006 by ChEeTaH.

21 Comments
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Written at 03:46 on Friday, 6 January 2006 by Rich Hilborn (zujin)
I got a question: The Sims 2: Aliens, University: Zombies, Nightlife: Vampires. What's next?

Written at 11:28 on Friday, 6 January 2006 by Angie (bejewelled)
Part of the description for Open for Business states,
Quote:

" Hire employees with high sales skills and employ independent managers to run things while your Sim is away".
Does this mean that one playable sim may hire and train another playable sim or are all "employees" NPC's?

Written at 21:14 on Friday, 6 January 2006 by Angie (CaliAngel569)
Questions: What are pet bricks?
Are there pets in OFB?
Release Date?
hmmm.... I though I had a lot more.... O well :-(

Written at 21:54 on Friday, 6 January 2006 by Alicia (AJM1016)
What's the biggest surprise for players in OFB?

Written at 22:14 on Friday, 6 January 2006 by Sam (catrat222)
If we own a salon,will WE be able to choose the hair cuts for other sims? If so,is there going to be a pop-up that says like "Jen (just some sim) wants her hair to be long and not up in a ponytail."Maybe we could even dye there hair?
And if we give them the wrong cut,will they get mad and/or start crying (like in the videos)?
#1 british tomboy

Written at 23:33 on Friday, 6 January 2006 by Cindy (cindy_ve)
will there be weerwolfs?
and will aladin from the lamp return?

Written at 00:04 on Saturday, 7 January 2006 by Oliver (Oliver)
Will you be able to hire out a comunity lot, a shop on a comunity lot, a shop at home or can you do all of these? Other than the objects that we have allready seen, can you name us some other?

Written at 01:44 on Saturday, 7 January 2006 by Angie (bejewelled)
Farming? Will we be able to grow our own food and have a farmer's market?

Written at 03:27 on Saturday, 7 January 2006 by Grace (FaithLovexxx)
Will we be able to customize and create our own tattoo designs for the salon; and will we be able to place them anywhere on the visible sim skin or are there set places?

Also, can we have home buisinesses on residential lots or will it be more structured than that?

Written at 04:56 on Saturday, 7 January 2006 by TheShadowFox
Personally, I'd just like some insight into the robot in the movie. Aside from being something you can sell, I'd like to hazard a guess that it's going to be a bit of a cross between Servo and the robot from Bustin' Out (consoles), but a bit of official information would be helpful.

Along the lines of townies buying things, now... they currently join the household with some money and, generally, empty inventories. Not sure how their funds are generated or stored, but how are their purchases handled? Granted, money is generated in your own Sims' balance(s), but what about the consumer? Do they get what they buy (stored in their inventory for later), and are their purchases deducted from their "stash" of money which may or may not exist?

And lastly, aside from "buy" mode objects (sprinkler, to name one), I did notice something that appears to be... an elevator. Does this simply go up one floor, can it be "stacked" to have stops at multiple floors and if so, is it possible to create a form of "express" elevator, only going to certain floors?

Written at 06:18 on Saturday, 7 January 2006 by tracey (tlc10175)
can toddlers go downtown? Or were the toyshop screenshots from a home-based business?

Written at 09:47 on Saturday, 7 January 2006 by Brandon (girzim)
University is like Livin' Large and Nightlife is like House Party meets Hot Date. On Open For Business is like Unleashed but without pets. Those this means that for the future expansions there will be a Superstar, Vacation and Makin' Magic?
-Sims Area Productions-
www.simsareaproductions.co.nr

Home of "SiMusic"
www.simusic.co.nr

Written at 14:57 on Saturday, 7 January 2006 by GTNS (Gugas)
1. How can I create a Business? Is it at home, or at a community lot? If it's on a community lot, how will we be able to control the rest of the family?

2. What cool new objects will we be able to buy at home?

3. Are there objects that will only be buyable at a store?

4. Will some new neighborhoods (normal) be added to the game?

5. Will some new neighborhoods (like Campus/Downtown) be added to the game?

6. (If question 4 is No, and question 5 is Yes) Will new families be added to the game?

Written at 08:48 on Sunday, 8 January 2006 by tracey (tlc10175)
Will there be any cool new building options?

Written at 17:20 on Sunday, 8 January 2006 by Jess (2smis)
Instead of being the employer can we be the employe? Can teens have a business? Like part time? Can we make a mall where you only have a little place in the mall and all the rest of the booth are controlled by NPC's? My last question if you become the boss can you hire your family or friends that aren't NPC's?

Written at 02:33 on Tuesday, 10 January 2006 by Anthony (fauxfetus)
1.Will you be able to go to other sims' lots, considering you'l be able to oepn shops on your home lots?
2.Will the shops get any discount on buy mode objects? If so does this mean it will be cheaper to send my sims to my other sims' business lots to buy things?

Written at 09:20 on Tuesday, 10 January 2006 by Crystalle (PayneAs)
I would like to know more about unified time. Specifically how it works.

Sim A goes to work at his community lot, Sim B stays home but has school at 8 a.m. When you are done with Sim A at work and return to the home lot, what happens?

Theory 1 - Time goes back to when Sim A left, you play Sim B and at the time you left the community lot with Sim A previously, they will return to the home lot.

Theory 2 - Sim B is played by the game. It will assume Sim B went to school at 8 a.m. and returned at whatever time. You return to the home lot with Sim A at whatever time it was you left the community lot.

Written at 00:13 on Wednesday, 11 January 2006 by Sabrina (Sassybree)
I am also curious about going to other sims businesses. But here are a few more

1. I was unable to make the chat, but I have seen at least one who person post who said that the businesses are owned by individual sims, as the chat log will never be put up and I cannot see what context they got this from I dont know if this was incorrect wording by the poster or what. So, I would like to know if it is an individual sim who owns or a household that owns and if it is individual then how is it passed on to the next generation either before or after the sim dies?

2. Will stores get discounts when buying merchendise? If so will the more you buy give you a better discount?

3. Are the craftable items only available through the craft benches?

Written at 13:11 on Wednesday, 11 January 2006 by TickleOnTheTum (tickleonthetum)
I found the visitation aspect confusing so my question is:

If Family A own a community lot business, can Family B visit that business and buy stuff?

I only ask as so far it sounds as if only Townies can buy/visit your business which is useless.

Written at 20:14 on Wednesday, 11 January 2006 by Amber (Amber4002)
Can more than one person own a business? For example, can it be a family owned business or can only one person own it?
~Amber~

Written at 23:47 on Wednesday, 11 January 2006 by Dani (SapphireChick06)
Edited at 00:51 on Thursday, 12 January 2006 by Dani (SapphireChick06)
1) Will we be able to have bagels, subs, and muffins for our shops?

2) Are we getting new careers?


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