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News Archive - March, 2005
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Tuesday 1 March 2005
Objects at 45 Degrees
Written at 01:01 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
A new cheat that will be included in University will allow you to place objects diagonally. This is revealed by MaxoidTom, a Maxis employee, in this post at the ModTheSims2 forums. He won't reveal the cheat yet, but Snooty from SnootySims does reveal that boolprop mayPlaceDiagonally [true/false] might be the cheat in question. It's unsure if this is the actual cheat, but it does exist in the original Sims 2 files but is disabled. It might be enabled in University. This is said in a post at the SimParool forums (post and most of the site in Dutch). It's unsure if this is the actual cheat or not, but Maxis will probably reveal that later.
 
T-Mail 6 - The End
Written at 10:28 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
Because University has officially shipped, Tim has sent his last community e-mail regarding this expansion pack. He once again gives some basic info of the expansion, and says goodbye for now. He will be back in a few weeks though, quite possibly for Nightlife. For now he's sent another movie, and two wallpapers to download. You can find those below. Read on for Tim's exact words.

  • Movie, Low resolution (1.4 Mb)
  • Movie, High resolution (5.6 Mb)

    University Wallpaper 1
    800x600
    1024x768
    1280x1024
    1680x1050
    University Wallpaper 2
    800x600
    1024x768
    1280x1024
    1680x1050
     
    Read More!

  • IGN University Review
    Written at 18:57 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    After GameSpot and GameSpy, entertainment network IGN has now also posted its review of the Sims 2 University. SimJim appears in the screenshots posted in the review again, although he's mentioned in no more than just one paragraph. IGN's main downside about the game are graphical glitches and bugs, whereas the animations are excellent. With an 8.5 of 10, and an Editor's Choice award, they think it's a good expansion pack. Read the review to get their exact thoughts.
     

    Thursday 3 March 2005
    Sims 2 for Mac in June
    Written at 00:29 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    Despite May 2005 was planned to be the month for the release of the Sims 2 on the Mac platform, Aspyr has delayed the project by a month. It's now in Beta stage (see Aspyr's Product Status page), and so is feature-complete and in the debugging stage. An exact release date hasn't been given by Aspyr yet, but we'll keep you posted. For more information about the Mac version of the Sims 2, see its info page.
     
    New University Cheats & Hacks Info
    Written at 00:41 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.
    Now the Sims 2 University is out, many people are trying things out with the game. The first problems have also arrived, mainly having to do with installed hacks. It is said old versions of the hacks don't work properly anymore after installing the first expansion pack. Some hacks even cause major problems, and it's advised that you uninstall any of those prior to installing the first expansion pack. More information about the problems can be found in this thread at ModTheSims2, which also has a list of hacks that do and do not (yet) work with the expansion pack. Currently all our objects for the Sims 2 that you find on this site are expansion pack ready, and should not cause any problems in your game. If you want to be sure that you got a proper version, it might be wise to redownload and reinstall those objects.

    Other news concerns some new cheats. We already gave one cheat to place objects diagonally earlier, but that one is not right (as may have been expected). The other two were known, but now some more details are given:
    • changeLotZoning [residential | community | greek | dorm | secretsociety]: Changes the zoning type of the lot. Before rezoning a lot using this cheat, make sure there are no Sims currently living in the lot. To use this cheat, enter the lot that you would like to rezone, and then enter the cheat, choosing one of these zoning options.
    • boolProp dormSpecificToolsDisabled [true|false]: Enables build/buy mode tools that would normally be disabled when in a dorm lot.
    • boolProp allow45DegreeAngleOfRotation [true|false]: Allows users to rotate any object in 45 degree increments instead of the 90 degree increments used for most objects.
    These cheats, as well as the descriptions, are placed in the Readme file of the Sims 2 University. Thanks to SP Zone and AlphaZedPrime in this thread at N99 for the info.
     
    Tim LeTourneau on G4
    Written at 00:44 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    Today at 4pm PST (7pm EST), which is only minutes away, Tim LeTourneau will appear on the US show The Screen Savers broadcasted on G4. In the show Tim will talk about the Sims 2 University. The episode will be repeated a few times in the next few days, in case you miss(ed) it. See the information page of the show for more details.
     
    Looking Back at Five Year Sims
    Written at 22:47 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    It's been five years since the first Sims game was released, and became a major success. 7 Expansions, a sequel (with one expansion so far) and 3 console games further, GameSpy looks back on those years with several developers and producers of the games. Character designers, producers, animators, and other Maxis employees tell about their experience developing whatever titles they've worked on. If you want to look back as well, read the article.
     
    SIMposium - Movies
    Written at 23:18 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    I wasn't the only one who attended the SIMposium event. In fact, there were about 20 people visiting Maxis during the event. One of them was baconandeggzie (Eggzie) from Sim Movies. He's written an article about the new Sims 2 movie making features in the future, which has kindly been submitted to this site. In it he also says it's been hinted that new movie making tools for the Sims 2 might be released this month. You can now read the article in our SIMposium Special.
     
    New Poll
    Written at 23:52 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    You may already have seen it, or you may not, but we've added a new poll again last night. This time we want to know from you what you think of Nightlife, the rumoured (but almost certainly true) second expansion pack for the Sims 2. You can give us your vote on the right, or on our latest poll page.

    Last week we asked about handheld devices, like mobile phones, MP3 players and handheld gaming systems. These are all available in University, so your Sims can now make use of them. Well over 55% of you voted that your Sims will be using all of these three. The Mobile Phones are the most popular of the three, with 22% of all 208 votes. Second are MP3 players (12%) and finally the game devices (8%). The Sims without any of these will be just 2% of the population. See the exact results on the results page in our archive.
     

    Saturday 5 March 2005
    Chat Transcript
    Written at 16:17 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    As announced earlier this week, Maxis held a chat about the Sims 2 University last Thursday. The expansion pack has shipped and so almost all information that was given during the chat is old. The new information is that Sims can move to another college in town, as they're put in the Student bin when you move them out. This bin is shared between the colleges, so you can move them in anywhere else and continue their education. There's also the cheat to increase the number of allowed floors:

    setHighestAllowedLevel [X] where X is a number that sets the maximum number of floors you can have.

    To get to know the rest - if you don't already - read the transcript for the info.
     
    TS2U Reviews and Installation Problems
    Written at 16:38 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.
    Several new reviews of the first expansion pack of the Sims 2 have appeared the past few days. While we've already covered a few, there are three new ones we haven't told you about yet. In these reviews, the most criticizing notes are that going to college is really hard work - there are no vacations whatsoever - and that the game takes a long time to load. But all in all, the reviewers are positive about the product as an expansion pack, and think it's worth it. Click the links for the reviews.

    Meanwhile there are several reports of the expansion not installing properly. This seems to happen only if the first patch is installed, but not the second one (which includes the first). Having no patch, or the second one installed seems to be alright, but otherwise you might have trouble installing the game. In that case, download the second patch from http://thesims2.ea.com/update/ and install it. That way you should be able to properly install the Sims 2 University. Thanks to SimsZone for the info.
     
    University Guide Preview [Update]
    Written at 20:58 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    Prima has recently published the official Sims 2 University Strategy Guide (available in our shop). If you're not sure whether to buy it yet, a preview might help. On their website, Prima has posted two pages of chapter 5 of the book as preview. See the "Look Inside" for some first-hand information from Prima.

    [Update 7 March, 23:05] Besides on the main Prima site itself, another preview has been posted on the eStore site. This Look Inside shows one page of a number of chapters, as well as the index of the book. You can take a look at by clicking the Look Inside image on the eGuide details page. Thanks to XPDude for submitting this link.
     
    My first Neighborhood and a very nice Outfit
    Written at 22:48 by Starrats - 0 comments.
    This time I give you all my first neighborhood (like I promised in february). Place the neighborhood file in C:\Documents and Settings\My documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\SC4Terrains. There are 4 pictures included in the download (2 pictures with the lush neighborhood, and 2 with the desert neigborhood on it.)

    I also give you an outfit that I am very proud of. Enjoy!

     

    Sunday 6 March 2005
    The Sims 2 Review - The Sequel Is Working
    Written at 18:42 by Andy - 0 comments.
    An Honest Day's Work is the latest section of our review of The Sims 2

    We look in detail at all of the honest ways of making money, looking at the ten career tracks and other ways to make money.

    It's all in here!
     

    Monday 7 March 2005
    Huge Spring Update
    Written at 18:26 by Sumit - 0 comments.
    If you got the clue right...there are now paintings!
    First off, these paintings are recolors of paintings, so just like other recolor objects you will find this under their base paintings. Just click through the paintings and you should find these on the color options.

    Next off, we have brand new fabrics for the Love Seats that come with University. You will need University to enjoy these Love Seats.

    Find everything here!





     

    Tuesday 8 March 2005
    Wright's Own Home
    Written at 00:14 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    After building many virtual ones, Sims fans can now see how the creator of the Sims, Will Wright, lives. SnootySims found a somewhat old movie of November 2004, in which Wright gives a tour through his place. If you want to see the 4 minute movie, head over to its movie page. Note that this linked page checks that you are using Internet Explorer, so using an alternative browser might not work without digging into your settings.
     
    BetaVille Full City
    Written at 00:23 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    In The Sims Online a new test city called BetaVille opened about two months ago. In that city, Free Will is enabled, and Sims can play the game in a style that's closer to the original Sims game. If the city proves to be popular, the Free Will feature will be developed further and might head to the other cities as well. If it's not, Betaville will remain open, but it won't be worked on anymore and focus will stay on the traditional TSO gameplay. The city will not be wiped or closed before it becomes a real city, but through a version update other features of the normal game will be added to Betaville. See the newspost at Stratics for more info.
     
    New Extra - the "testingCheatsEnabled" Cheat
    Written at 01:03 by Neil - 0 comments.

    Fans of the "move_objects on" cheat will love this. There is another cheat in the Sims 2 game which makes move_objects look useless by comparision. It's the "testingCheatsEnabled" cheat, which unlocks dozens of new menus, many new choices and allows one to manipulate the actual sims like never before. So I wrote an extra about it.

    With this cheat you can kill anybody in any way you like (kids can die from old age for example), you can give a sim a bladder problem by fiddling with the appropriate need to keep it down, or give everybody a boost with one mouse-click. Alternatively have papers delivered in the evening, or summon a burglar on demand.

    Click here to read all about it: -> Read The Extra.

     
    University Avatars on UK Forum
    Written at 16:07 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    The official UK site has updated the forums with a bunch of new avatars. These new ones are of young adults, the new life stage that comes in the Sims 2 University. To use one of the new icons, go to the official forum and go to edit your profile. There you'll find the option to change the avatar as well. All 20 new ones are in the "University" category.
     

    Wednesday 9 March 2005
    Nightlife Article
    Written at 23:10 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    GameSpot has posted a small article about the Sims 2 Nightlife, the second expansion pack announced in the box of the first one, University. The main news from the article is that EA still has nothing to say about it, and won't acknowledge the expansion pack's existence. Of course we'll keep you updated, but for now here's the jewel case insert again - this time of somewhat higher quality than the one we were forced to remove earlier.

    EP2: Nightlife
     

    Thursday 10 March 2005
    The Sims 2 Review - The Sequel Has Aspirations
    Written at 01:06 by Andy - 0 comments.
    Aspire to Greatness is the penultimate section of our review of The Sims 2

    In the last-but-one part of this review, we look further at aspirations, wants and fears. How a sim can be rewarded for getting what they want and the effects of getting what they don't want.

    It's all in here!
     
    New Poll
    Written at 01:22 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    This week we have added yet another poll. It is now about the goals you set for your Sims - what do you hunt for when playing the game? Is there a specific feature you go for, e.g. great aspiration scores or careers, or do you just let the Sims develop your stories? Give us your say on the right or the latest poll page.

    In our previous poll, we asked if you think Nightlife, what is most likely going to be the second expansion pack for the Sims 2, will be any good. 269 People voted, of which the biggest group, almost 43%, said it does sound nice, but they're not too sure yet. Those who say it'll rock no matter what it's all about are second with 36%. Tied on third are those who think it doesn't sound too great, and those who haven't heard about it, each with 10%. The final two votes, less than 1%, said they won't like it no matter what. For a better overview of the results, head over to the poll's result page.
     
    The Sims 2 Review - The Sequel Is In The Can - Memories and Bugs
    Written at 20:20 by Andy - 0 comments.


    It's A Wrap is the last part of our review of The Sims 2

    In this section, we look at how you can save your family's memories, and also a look at small features that spoil an otherwise excellent game.

    It's all in here!
     

    Friday 11 March 2005
    SimDay
    Written at 11:52 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    This week brings a fairly small SimDay to the official site. The first is one to Georgia Tech's Technique college newspaper. They've posted a review of University. Besides that, on the help page, you can find the first two chapters of the Sims 2 University's strategy guide by Prima. These describe what's new in the expansion pack, and the "Atonomy of a Young Adult Sim." They come in 6Mb and 8Mb PDF files, available from the help page. That's all for this week.
     
    Wright Wins Game Designer's Challenge [Update]
    Written at 12:05 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    For the second year in a row, Will Wright has won the Game Designer's Challenge. Held at the Game Developers Conference 2005, Will Wright, Peter Molyneux and Clint Hocking were challenged to build a game around Emily Dickinson's poetry. Determined by the applause of the audience after the presentations of each design, Will Wright won this challenge with his "USB Emily," on a USB stick. But in the game's name, USB stands for "Unstable Synthetic Brain." Clint Hocking on the other hand made up a game called "Muse," in which the player would have to inspire Dickinson to write her poetry. Molyneux gave the project the name "The Room." His design was quite different - you have a set of rooms next to each other, connected by mirrors, with all kinds of interactive objects in them. You can find more details about the challenge and the different designs in a GameSpy article covering the event.

    [Update 22:30] An additional article about the challenge can be found here on GameSpot.
     
    New Life in TSO? [Update]
    Written at 12:18 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    EA is launching a new marketing campaign to draw players who left the Sims Online once back to the game, or to invite new players to it. People who opted in for receiving e-mails and past subscribers can expect an e-mail from Maxis soon, in which they are invited to download the 14-day free trial. The e-mails are not sent all at once, so some might receive it before others. All e-mails should be sent in about two weeks though.

    TSO has undergone some changes lately, and with Free Will now being available in a real city, players of old might be tempted to play the game again. Maxis is also bringing in a special "War Game" object that will be for sale in the game for a very short time. The repo man won't touch it and it's fire proof. Once the e-mail marketing campaign is over this objects will become available temporarily, and it will be announced on the Stratics TSO site. For more information see the Newspost at TSO Mania.

    [Update 22:45] It seems the campaign has started. I've received an email, which you can find below, in the Read More part.
     
    Read More!

    TSZ Goes Poland - Part 2
    Written at 12:28 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    Similar to just before the Sims 2 release (see this news), the Polish gaming magazine Komputer ŚWIAT GRY has published a Sims 2 special magazine. The Extra comes with a lot of information about the Sims 2 University. Included is a cover disc, which has downloads from EA and various fansites on it. The Sims Zone is one of them. They've published some of our Sims 2 downloads and made them available on the CD. If you're in Poland and want some of our files on a nice CD, buying this extra might be worth it.
     
    TS2U and Urbz DS Released
    Written at 12:40 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    Today it's official: The Sims 2 University has been released in Europe as well. Well over a week after the US release, the game should now be available in stores across Europe. Besides that game, EA has also released the Urbz on the in Europe recently launched Nintendo DS (Dual-Screen) platform. The game, similar to the GameBoy Advance version of the Urbz, uses features such as the touch screen, and it has unique features like pets and special locations and mini-games.

    Both games are available in our shop.
     
    Spore Info
    Written at 23:23 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    The Game Developers Conference ended with a bang from Will Wright, creator of the Sims and SimCity. There's has been a lot of rumour about his new project, Spore (or SPORE), lately. It's a sim game that allows players to control life in every possible way - "from the Cellular level to the Galactic level." At first you start as a cellular life form, after which you grow to be a more advanced creature. After upgrading the creature's hut, you'll be playing a mini-SimCity, a simplified version of that famous game, in which you manage technology and interact with other cities in the world. Eventually you can even buy a UFO and explore the universe, travel between planets and even star systems. Those can be populated, conquered and observed.

    The game will be based on custom content a lot, as the creatures and everything that develops will be based on algorithmic procedures, resulting in a lot of variation. So far real details of the new game aren't available, but it might be that this is the game that will be shown at the E3 this year. Of course we'll keep you updated with any information as we receive it. For now, check out this GameSpot article for more information. Thanks to TheSidDog for the link.
     

    Sunday 13 March 2005
    A White Dorm Door
    Written at 00:48 by Sumit - 0 comments.
    This was requested. So here. :)

    If you want a quick request done, I suggest requesting recolors/retextures. I am working on "new" objects, but for now recolors stand till the time comes.

     

    Tuesday 15 March 2005
    Spore Info and Images
    Written at 13:23 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    Over the weekend a lot of new Spore information has been posted, and even some pictures taken during the presentation were published. There are several articles at 1Up.com, ShackNews, IGN and GameSpy, after the first info of the presentation came out. All the information comes from Wright's presentation at the Game Developers Conference 2005 in San Francisco. The several stages the game will take the player through are described and named. Look inside for info - and screens.
     
    Read More!


    Thursday 17 March 2005
    New Poll
    Written at 01:00 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    Sims like to read - at least, so we think. Why else would their masters be reading this? Anyway, we've compiled a list of authors of Simlish books, and we'd like to know which ones are read the most by your sims. Let us know by choosing the author on the right, or on the latest poll page. Don't forget to click the Vote button!

    Last week we wondered what your goal was when playing the Sims 2. It turns out most people, 26.6% of the 342 people, just want to make families happy. Others go for making money (13%) followed by the 12.3% telling stories. 11.7% doesn't have any goals and 9.1% just builds and buys. The career hunters are sixth with 7.9% followed by the ones who just destroy families (6.7%). After that is the group of people that focus on the Aspiration gameplay (5.9%), Legacy Challenge players are 5% of the total, and finally the movie-makers are 1.8%. Got lost? See the results page for the details.
     

    Friday 18 March 2005
    Late Simday
    Written at 23:10 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    This week's (belated) SimDay comes with three things. The first is a University Giveaway by American magazine Teen Scene. You can enter by just filling in your details - once a day until 15 April. The contest is open only to US and Canada residents of 13 years and older. Go to the giveaway for more. Besides that the official site has updated the cheats page, and made a university cheats page along with it, listing some of the new cheats that came with the expansion pack. Finally, there's a bit about the SIMposium. A video was made during the event, in which several fansite webmasters were interviewed. You see several in-game shots of the expansion packs, as well as the people who visited and other shots taken during the event. You can find the video on the video page.

    For those wondering when we're continuing the SIMposium coverage and posting the interview with Will Wright: it's been delayed due to limited time, but all will be done in the next few weeks.
     

    Saturday 19 March 2005
    Another Spore Article
    Written at 01:13 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    After the lot of info and images we got earlier, another website has now published an article about Will Wright's presentation at the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco. During that presentation Wright showed Spore, his new game. This article describes the presentation itself a bit more, but there isn't really any new information. Read the article itself for the details and some pictures of the presentation.
     
    TS2U Buddy Icons
    Written at 01:22 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    If you chat a lot, you probably know about buddy icons or avatars. If you're a Sims fan, EA has now some AIM buddy icons for you. The official UK site has posted 12 new buddy icons based on the Sims 2 University theme. If you want to get one - or more - of them, see the TS2U Buddy Icons page.
     
    GameSpot on Simlish Music
    Written at 02:46 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    Gaming site GameSpot has posted a feature about the music in the Sims 2 and the Sims 2 University. In the article Audio Director Robi Kauker talks a bit about making the music that appears in the game. He says how artists like to sing in the strange, made up language, and what easter eggs some place in their lyrics, like shout outs to their buddies. As for the Sims 2 University, Kauker said it was the first time they used real bands to sing their songs in Simlish. Some of them even made the lyrics so correct, that the Simlish words were consistent in meaning with the English ones. A lot more can be read in the article, with thanks to TheSidDog for the link.
     
    New Maxis Object
    Written at 02:54 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    After the social bunnies that come with the game, Maxis has now published an easter bunny doll as a download. It's not really a bunny though, it's a mix of a rabbit and a bear, as a result of modern science:
    "This adorably fluffy abomination of modern science updates the classic Teddy Bear with lovingly hand-stitched snippets of rabbit DNA sewn right into the fabric of the doll. Perfect for tea-parties, playing house, or playing God."
    To have your Sims play with this little fluffy create, download it from the official site.
     
    The Sims 2 University Review - Part 1: Installation & Admissions
    Written at 08:32 by Andy - 0 comments.
    The Sims 2 University Review gives you our appraisal of the first expansion for TS2 and as part of this short course, we include a detailed report on the college life of Giselle Jones from Regras Gorge.

    If you want to go straight to the first lecture, then it is held right here!
     

    Monday 21 March 2005
    The Sims 2 University Review - Part 2: Dormitories, Interactions & Academic Practice
    Written at 06:07 by Andy - 0 comments.
    The Sims 2 University Review continues with details on some of the new interactions, an overview of life in a dormitory and details on how to pass your courses

    The second lecture is right here!
     

    Wednesday 23 March 2005
    The Sims 2 University Review - Part 3: Influence, Majors, Music & Moving
    Written at 19:32 by Andy - 0 comments.
    The Sims 2 University Review enters the realm of influence and majors, merging households and how music can help your students and other sims make a living.

    The third and penultimate lecture is right here!
     
    TS2U Guide by IGN
    Written at 20:59 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    If you're not doing too well with University, the first expansion pack of the Sims 2 that is, then IGN has a solution for you. They've published a guide which takes you through the most important parts of the game. New items etc. are briefly introduced, followed by a College 101 which is all about creating and going to college. Some special places at the campus are discussed after that, followed by a few notes you can't miss. If you can't afford the comprehensive Prima guide or just don't want that, this might be a good (free) solution instead. It might not be as big, but it should get you started. Go to the guide for the info.
     
    Tim about University
    Written at 21:13 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    On the official UK Sims 2 site a Q&A with Tim LeTourneau, producer of the Sims 2 University, has been posted. He talks about the expansion, including the gameplay and why the theme was picked. Tim doesn't reveal any new info about the next expansion pack, Nightlife, but you can still read the interview for more.
     

    Thursday 24 March 2005
    New Poll
    Written at 01:00 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    Last week we decided to investigate which author of books is the most popular among the Sims. Fiction has won big time, with J.K. Simling being first with 55 of 258 votes (21.3%), followed by S.I.M. Tolkien with 46 votes (17.8%). However, even more Sims don't read - that option got 60 votes, which equals 23.3%. Another popular author is William Simspeare, which got 10.9% of the votes. The Sima Strategy guides, the for Simmies series, Albert Simstein, Sim Twain, Charles Dicksims, Bill Simton and Helen Fieldsim are obviously less popular, with just 1.2% (Helen) to 6.2% (Sima Guides) of the votes. If you'd like to see the exact results, check the results page.

    This week we're back to a familiar poll: what do you think of the Sims 2 University now it's out for a few weeks? Is it really that great as you expected, or do you absolutely hate it? Or don't you have it (yet)? Let us know by voting on the right, or on the latest poll page.
     

    Saturday 26 March 2005
    The Sims 2 University Review - Part 4: Secrets, Graduation and Homelife
    Written at 00:06 by Andy - 0 comments.
    The Sims 2 University Review comes to its end as it looks at the secret society, the benefits of having a university education and what else the university brings to the neighborhood.

    The final lecture is right here!
     

    Sunday 27 March 2005
    SIMposium Special - The Future
    Written at 22:48 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    It's been a while since the last parts of the SIMposium coverage were posted, but we've now continued it. This time the afternoon workshops are covered. They consisted of discussions about what the fans want in the game, and about the official website. If you want to know what has been discussed and what ideas were spoken of, then check out the latest article in our SIMPosium Special.

    This is the last article from me regarding the SIMposium event, but there's just one treat left to be posted later this week: the interview I had with Will Wright at the event. Come back in a few days to find that posted here.
     

    Wednesday 30 March 2005
    Focus Group at 6 April
    Written at 00:50 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    Maxis will be holding a Sims 2 focus group again at 6 April. During about 90 minutes, you can tell what you think of the game. You do have to live in the San Francisco Bay Area to be elegible to enter though. Those interested in participating should read the official post for more information.
     
    Easter Pictures
    Written at 01:23 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    This post is slightly late as easter is over by now. Nevertheless, SP Zone has found and posted a few Easter artworks from the Swedish site that were posted a couple of days ago. They aren't too big, but slightly larger than the thumbnails below. Click those to see the full versions. Happy belated easter!

    Happy Easter (1) Happy Easter (2) Happy Easter (3) Happy Easter (4)
     
    SIMposium Special - Will Wright Interview
    Written at 21:45 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    As promised, it's been posted. I have interviewed Will Wright during the SIMposium event at 18 February 2005, and finally the interview you've all been waiting for has been posted. Will Wright, creator of SimCity, The Sims and the upcoming Spore, speaks about The Sims 2, University - the first expansion, and several previous game. Even the Maxis logo is being discussed... Want to know more?

     

    Thursday 31 March 2005
    New Poll
    Written at 02:05 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    Have you ever been lost? Well, we sort of did. We are asking you how to get to Pleasantview, the famous neighborhood in the Sims 2. Let us know where it is by checking the option that you think is right on the right of this page, or on the latest poll page.

    Last week we asked you what you think of University, and the results are quite stunning. 457 People voted, of which 39.4% (180 people) says the expansion rocks. 38.5% (176) hasn't played it yet, followed by the group of 81 (17.7%) of those who think it's just alright. 3.1% (14) Absolutely hates the expansion, and finally 1.3% (6) isn't too enthousiastic about the game, but doesn't hate it either. See the results page for more info.
     

    Friday 1 April 2005
    SimDay
    Written at 00:52 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    Maxis has updated their site again with several things as it's SimDay again. The first is a link to our Will Wright Interview posted yesterday. For those watching our community news, will be familiar with the SimSurfari contest launched by WorldSims too. But there's more, directly from Maxis.

    The first is a new download. The "Runs With Scissors Playset by ADD" is the perfect item for April Fool's day tomorrow. You can download this and let your Sims use it, but it may damage your Sim's health if they do it for too long... Other than that, Maxis has launched a new RSS feed (also check out our feeds) with all the news of the official site. If you want to keep up-to-date, get it by using the XML button at the homepage (scroll down a bit to see it). They also have some more information about it. Finally, there's a new intro promoting three unique lots on the exchange. That's all for this week.
     
    Spore Pictures
    Written at 01:05 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.
    After publishing an article about Will Wright's new game, Spore, GameSpy has now added some screenshots to the article. The six of them, of which some might look similar to older pictures, can all be seen below as thumbnails. Click the thumbnails to see slightly larger versions. As before, the quality isn't too great as they are pictures taken with cameras during the presentation. That means they're not live captured, and so may not really represent the actual graphical quality of the game. For more information from GameSpy, check the article itself.

    Spore Picture 1 Spore Picture 1 Spore Picture 1 Spore Picture 1 Spore Picture 1 Spore Picture 1