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1291. Extra Extra! E3 Newsletter
Written on Tuesday 11 May 2004 at 13:52 by
ChEeTaH -
0 comments.
Maxis has sent out a special edition of their Sims Insider's newsletter. In it are a few new, but also some old things. There's some URBZ stuff that has been posted about quite some time ago already. However, there's brand new Sims 2 material. First of all there are the 2 screenshots and the artwork below (click to enlarge). There's also a new video of Veronaville, in which the camera flies through the neighborhood. You need
QuickTime to play it, and you can download it using
this link (4.8 Mb). It's only a matter of hours to the E3 and the Body Shop now, we'll keep you updated here as much as we can!
1292. Lucy Bradshaw Video Interview [Update]
Written on Tuesday 11 May 2004 at 04:19 by
ChEeTaH -
4 comments.
As she already
told us, Lucy has been interviewed by IGN. The interview is now
available for IGN Insiders. It's a huge download, 300 Mb in Quicktime or almost 150 Mb in Windows Media format, but I've downloaded it. It doesn't give much real new information about the game, though the in-game clips from it are nice to see. You can see some snapshots I've created at the end of this article (in the Read more bit). Most interesting from those videos is that it looks like Maxis has included some Superstar elements, as we can see a lady Sim on the red carpet, with body guards and flashing cameras around her. Other images show the building of the homes, but also Sims jumping on couches, kissing and wrestling. We can also see the creation of a Sim (in-game) for a bit. For more information about what Lucy and Steve Butts, Editor-in-Chief of IGN, had to discuss in those 20 minutes, read on... It's a nice summary of what The Sims 2 is all about again.
[Update 16:20] Some more pictures from the movie, not taken by me, can be found at
Snooty Sims. They're posted along with some other shots from recently published movies. You can see them
right here.
Read More!
1293. Body Shop Not Today [Update 2]
Written on Tuesday 11 May 2004 at 01:00 by
ChEeTaH -
1 comment.
Although it's appeared on the official
Sims 2 site for a very short while, the Body Shop will not be available today. It's coming very soon though, definitely later this week. In a video interview with IGN (which I'm currently downloading, more about that later), Lucy Bradshaw said the Body Shop will be released as "
early as the E3". The E3 starts tomorrow, so we may expect it then, although the actual Expo starts on the 12th. Here's a quote from MaxisKitty posted in the BBS at the
official site concerning the matter:
"I know you all are excited for Body Shop, we are as well, but I don't want you guys hitting reload all day, taking off from work/school/chores or anything like that to no avail.
"So just a heads up, Body Shop is coming very soon, BUT not today. So hold your finger of the reload button just a wee bit longer if you can."
Note that once it is out, you have to hope you're able to download it right away too. It's going to be a big download, and many people will want to get it at the same time. The server could easily be taken down by that load. Only time will tell though.
[Update 11 May, 2:30] Another page has appeared with some information about the Showcase. Basically it are some instructions on how to use the exchange. Check it out
right here. To upload your material, you need to
register at EA.com. Oddly enough it says the Showcase is not really an exchange, but that it's "
for uploading only". It looks like it's not possible to share your Sims this way.
[Update 11 May, 16:20] Snooty Sims reports that the webmaster of the official
Swedish Website has said the Body shop is set to be released today (Tuesday). That means it'll be here in a few hours already. We'll keep you updated about the matter and report any news as soon as possible!
Read More!
1294. The Add-on Handler 0.4.0b [Update]
Written on Sunday 9 May 2004 at 15:43 by
ChEeTaH -
0 comments.
It's here, finally! The Add-on Handler version 0.4.0b is finished and it's now available to everybody. This new version adds a few big features, like the "Export List" option, which makes a list of all the downloads you have installed. Using the comment field when installing downloads you can now also easily track down where you got your downloads from. The program has also been translated into several languages (unfortunately not all texts can be translated, but most of them can), with thanks to the translator team. They made it possible that the Add-on Handler is now available in your language as well. See
last week's announcement for some more details about what's new. The included readme file also has a more complete list of the exact changes since the last version. You can download the program from
this page. If you have version 0.3.0b still installed, or if you have The Neighborhood Handler 4.11 installed, then you can also download the
upgrade version, which is a bit smaller. They're both the same, with the only difference being the included DLL files. Enjoy it, and if you need help with it,
e-mail me. I'm also still looking for translators of The Add-on Handler in various languages, so e-mail me if you want to help out with that too!
[Update 10 March 15:30] Unfortunately an old .exe file was packed in the original installations, containing one bug on the Serials page: Livin' Large and House Party would show up as not installed, while they were. The proper file has now been packed and uploaded. Download the
upgrade version to fix this bug if it occurs in your installation. Note that the version number whatsoever has not changed because of this.
1295. Sims 2 Material
Written on Saturday 8 May 2004 at 18:01 by
ChEeTaH -
0 comments.
We're getting close to the E3, but even though it hasn't started yet quite a bunch of new screens and a new trailer have been discovered on the net. First the trailer: this is the second trailer since the E3 trailer last year, and has quite a lot of in-game graphics. It starts off with a Sim watching Sims 1 stuff happen on his TV, after which it goes on and tells you some highlights of the game. It can be downloaded exclusively from
IGN. Secondly, there are 5 new screenshots available on
IGN as well. Showing science, some odd art, a slumber party, kissing and a thief, these 5 screens are worth a look. There are also a couple of old ones from the Swedish site, but they haven't really been discovered until now. The same site has revealed the minimum system requirements for the Body Shop (which are similar to those for The Sims 2 itself):
- Windows XP/2000/ME/98
- 600 MHz Intel Pentium III or AMD K6 Processor
- 256 MB RAM
- 450 MB free disk space
- Graphics card with at least 32 MB
- DirectX 9.0b
Note that for each of these goes: the more the better. Besides all that, James Magenta has e-mailed me saying the latest issue of GameMaster states 24 September as release date for The Sims 2. This has been unconfirmed and is yet unofficial, but not totally unrealistic with the latest rumours, from EA Europe, saying September 2004. Click the thumbnails below for all the new screenshots from IGN and the Swedish site. Thanks go out to
SimsZone for this news.
1296. The Sims Gigaluxe/Triple Deluxe
Written on Saturday 8 May 2004 at 16:29 by
ChEeTaH -
4 comments.
There's some more information about The Sims
Gigaluxe, which seems to be just the Spanish name. The official
Swedish Site has posted a box shot of "The Sims Triple Deluxe". On it you can see some images which remind of the Sims Vacation, which makes it seem like Vacation will be included in the pack. It'll probably be in it along with The Sims, Livin' Large, Create A Sim, and possibly House Party (but that's still unclear). We'll keep you updated as usual.
1297. Lucy's Mail: E3 and Body Shop
Written on Saturday 8 May 2004 at 15:44 by
ChEeTaH -
2 comments.
We've received Lucy Bradshaw's weekly e-mail again, and unlike usual there is no screenshot, video or music to download. However, that will be compensated for next week during the E3, with an interview with Lucy on IGN, and with Will Wright on GameSpot. As if that's not all, a demo (which is probably a video, not a playable one) will be revealed during the E3 as well, and the Sims 2 team is working hard on making that be the best of the E3. The other part is about the Body Shop. The release day is coming really close now according to Lucy, so we can probably expect it next week. The latest rumours say 10 May, but it could also become SimDay Thursday (13 May). With the E3 in our minds, 10 May could be more likely as Maxis probably won't be doing much besides the E3 during those days. But we'll see what the near future really brings. Either way, the Body Shop is coming out really soon now and the wait is almost over. That's all from Lucy by e-mail this week, but stay tuned for all the latest sim-related news about the E3 happenings later this week. The entire e-mail is in the read more part of this article.
Read More!
1298. Sims Gigaluxe?
Written on Friday 7 May 2004 at 22:27 by
ChEeTaH -
0 comments.
Our affiliate
SimsZone.de reports that the EA Spain has put "
The Sims Gigaluxe" in their
release list. It has a release date of 16 June. Maxis or EA in general hasn't mentioned the title yet though. Considering the name it'll probably a combination of The Sims Deluxe (which is The Sims, Livin' Large, Create A Sim, and some extras) with another expansion pack (or even two). Any actual details are still unknown though, but don't expect something entirely new. As always, we'll keep you up-to-date with the latest news about it, and you'll read the latest news here as we get it.
1299. SimDay [Update]
Written on Thursday 6 May 2004 at 21:03 by
ChEeTaH -
2 comments.
This SimDay is, again, pretty small. Besides the MP3 we
gave you earlier this week and has been posted on the official site now as well, there's also some information about next week's chat. With the Body Shop coming available later this month (the latest rumours say 10 May, which is next week), Body Shop Producer Darren Futa will be joining the fortnightly chat next week on 13 May. We recently received an
interview with him from Maxis, and if you missed that you might want to read it again. The chat next week will be held at the usual time, 3pm PST, 11pm in the UK and Portugal, and midnight in most of Europe. There's nothing else this SimDay which means it doesn't really bring anything new, but that might be different next week. SimDays are getting less again, and if you're interested, you may want to read an old series of
editorials by Andy, "
Whatever happened to SimDay?" (
part 1,
part 2 and
part 3).
[Update 19:20] It turns out the official site of the URBZ also got a little update. There are now two more descriptions of the "Crew" of the Handheld (GBA) version. You can read all about Darius and Crystal at
UrbzSims.com (the Flash site), in the "Crew" section.
1300. New Poll
Written on Thursday 6 May 2004 at 14:10 by
ChEeTaH -
0 comments.
As usual on thursdays, there's a new poll. Last week we asked you about the smartness of your Sims. Opinions varied, and all results were pretty close. You can see the results on the
results page. This week there's a totally different topic in the poll: the death of your Sims. Do your Sims die from illnesses, electrocution, fire, water, lack of food or do they just run away? Or don't your Sims die at all? Let us know, and vote on the right, or on the
latest poll page.