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531. IGN: Sims 2 Best of E3

Written on Saturday 22 May 2004 at 19:44 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

IGN has awarded The Sims 2 with the award for "Best PC Simulation of the Show" on the E3. Runner-up was the game The Movies, by Lionhead Studios (Peter Molyneux). "After seeing it working at the show, we're believers," says IGN. The URBZ hasn't won any awards, though it did become runner-up for "Best Strategy Game" for the PlayStation 2. For a bit about the Sims 2's award, read page 3 of the awards list. Another note for IGN Insiders: you can now download the Will Wright LiveWire interview, with video, from IGN Insider.

532. SimDay [Update]

Written on Thursday 20 May 2004 at 15:05 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

It's SimDay again, but not a huge one. First of all, the E3 trailer is now also available as download from the official site. You can grab it from the Videos page. If you haven't seen it before yet, make sure you get it. There is something fresh on the Sims 2 site though: a new Body Shop tutorial. If you need some help with making new clothes using the Body Shop - it really isn't too hard according to Maxis - you should check out the 6-page tutorial. It goes through the basics of editing the textures and alpha layers. Very useful for those beginners. The clothing made in the tutorial isn't available for download (yet), so you'll really have to make it yourself. Just go through the tutorial to make it yourself. For more links to tutorials, check out our BodyShop Round-Up.

[Update 21 May, 0:00] SimDay came a little late for the URBZ. On the official site a new Blog section has been opened. Every week, if possible, a member of the URBZ team will post a bit about the happenings at Maxis. This week it's Scot Amos, Senior Producer of the game, who talks about last week's E3 a bit. It can all be read at the official site.

533. New Poll: How was your E3?

Written on Thursday 20 May 2004 at 02:00 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

A new week, a new poll. The E3 is over, and there have been many updates with new screens, movies, interviews and info about The Sims 2, The URBZ and Bustin' Out on the N-Gage. If you followed the news on this site, we're wondering how much you liked all the new content. Tell us whether you followed the E3 news, and what you thought of it, by voting on the right or at the latest poll page. As for last week, we asked you about the Body Shop. With 28% loving it, and 42% of the 167 people who voted saying they think it's a cool tool to play with until the game is out, it seems to be quite a success. 21% Didn't have a clue what it was all about, while 7% doesn't really like the tool, and just 2% absolutely hates it. You can get a nice list of the results on the results page.

534. More Sims 2 E3 Impressions

Written on Sunday 16 May 2004 at 15:26 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

We've spotted two more previews of The Sims 2, from the E3. First there's one from gaming site 1Up. It's quite extensive, but we've really received all the new information earlier this E3 already. Nevertheless, here's a bit from the preview:

"What you can't change about the neighborhood is what your neighbors do. To make it feel less like your Sim is living in isolation, there'll be a whole fabric of relationships between your family and the neighbors, and if they see or hear about anything interesting in your family – news of a baby on the way, or Dad getting caught with his mistress in a public place – and soon everyone will know. Whatever happens to the family, for good or ill, will show up on the family tree, which you can open from a menu and take a broad view of."

If you want to read more, read the entire preview. The other E3 Hands-on preview is posted at Gamers Pulse. The same goes for this preview: there's nothing really new in it. Just read it if you're interested though.

535. Sims2 Packer Updated [Important Update]

Written on Friday 14 May 2004 at 19:34 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.

Last night I published a first version of the Sims2 Packer, which puts *.package files into a *.sims2skin file. These files are easier to install, since you can just double click them. I've just updated this (unsupported) tool, with two major new features:

• Pack multiple *.package files into 1 *.sims2skin file
• Choose your own name for the *.sims2skin file, without having to manually rename it
• Change the resulting names of *.package files in the *.sims2skin file

I've also added some usage instructions to the readme, and added a text file which explains the structure of the Sims2Skin file format. If you got the old version before now, or if you have The Add-on Handler 0.3.0b or later, or The Neighborhood Handler 4.11 installed, then get the No DLL version (28 Kb). Otherwise, you need the DLLs which are in the DLL version (1.30 Mb now).

[Update 15 May 15:25] DLLs are always a pain, and again there were some problems with DLLs being asked for. This has been solved, and no extra DLLs should be required (no more than in the first version anyway). If you have DLL problems, please redownload the No DLL version to solve them. I apologise for the inconvenience.

536. WorldSims E3 Impressions

Written on Friday 14 May 2004 at 15:31 by ChEeTaH - 2 comments.

Besides the entire press of the games industry, our affiliate WorldSims has also visited the E3 yesterday. They bring some news, for instance that The Sims 2 has been nominated for the "Best Simulation Game of the Year" award. But there's also some more information about those cars:

"What about Cars? Well they are nothing more but decoration folks, according to Tim. You can acquire them when you gain a significant level of wealth, however, well they don't serve much of a purpose other than decoration. "Maybe in a future expansion pack, who knows" Tim told me. On another note, our famous Riverside is now called "Pleasantville." I saw four neighborhoods at E3: Pleasantville, Waterside, StrangeCity and Veronaville. The house tools are really impressive. I was awed at this one house that was built in StrangeCity. It was just a house built with glass and columns, and stairs. It was really impressive and I MUST show you guys a picture. However the above aren't really what's important. What's important is the game has a new twist."

There are some other details about things people have been wanting. Weather, for instance, is definitely out of the game. As for basements, these will be possible, but it will count as one of the max. 3 floors. Basically how it's done is editing the terrain in such a way, that there's a floor underground. The length of all stages of a Sim's life are still being tuned, but Maxis is aiming for about 20 human hours for an entire lifetime. There's some more information in the complete article. You can also submit your last minute questions to WorldSims now, and they may be answered personally by a Maxoid.

537. Chat Transcript

Written on Friday 14 May 2004 at 05:58 by ChEeTaH - 0 comments.

A couple of hours ago, a chat was held on the official site about the Body Shop. Darren Futa (Producer) and Bruce Wilkie (Programmer) joined the chat and answered many (interesting) questions. Here are a couple of highlights:

calichica: "when will we be able to download from "showcase"?"
MaxisLucky: "We will be adding that functionality later. For now you can save out your Sims to your own server and share them."

kcstanton: "how many packs are there going to be?"

MaxisDarren: "The plan is to release more packs before The Sims 2 comes out, but we don't have a firm date yet. Right now everyone on the team is definitely focusing on getting the game as great as possible."

ananse: "There only seems to be one ear slider. The only way to get pointy ears is to pick the pre-fab face. Are there going to be updates with better ear sliders?"

MaxisBruce: "Currently, the modifiers you see in the BodyShop are all the modifiers we've created. However, it's possible for us to release more modifiers at some point, just a matter of time / getting them done."

emperorjess: "The preview of body shop only has a limited number of clothes and accessories (ie. make up, glasses, etc.) How many possible outfits, beards, cosmetics, etc. will there be when it is released with Sims 2?"

MaxisDarren: "I haven't counted recently, but there are many, many times more choices in the game. Body Shop is just a taste of the content goodness waiting for you in the game."

Twoyys4me: "When we buy Sims2, if we've already downloaded the Sim2Bodyshop, (who hasn't?!) will we need to delete that from our systems before loading Sims2?"

MaxisBruce: "After you install Sims2, and try to run the old BodyShop, you'll get a message telling you about the newer version, so while you don't *need* to delete it, you won't be using it any longer. The newer version included with the game will be the one to use."

Sims2_BodyMod2004: "Are there plans to allow users to modify/add to sim meshes in the future, including importing custom-made 3D models? If so, what 3D packages are planned to be supported?"

MaxisDarren: "The plan is to add mesh export/import capabilities, but that's in the future. When we do that, we're going to do our best to make them in a universal 3D file format, so it will be tool independent."

theevilwriter: "It seems that we can't make baby skins with bodyshop. Does that mean they'll all wear the same skin like in TS1? And if so, can we still make that skin custom like TS1 too?"

MaxisDarren: "Actually, when you export a Skin Tone, you'll notice that a baby skin is included. Change that skin, and when you bring that custom skin into The Sims 2, he/she will have it."

celtickitty89: "if i want an adult sim to have a beard, why does his teen self have to have one also?"

MaxisDarren: "Good question. When you're creating a Sim, the way you save them is how they will go into the game, so you really only have to worry about what the Sim looks like when you save them. There will be a way, though, to add something like a beard later on in life, if you decided not to give one to your Teen."

Deckmaster: "Why are the clothing files so large? 3mb each that's takes a lot of space on the hard disks.Can't you make them smaller??"

MaxisBruce: "Some are bigger than others - it all depends on what's inside. Things like custom skintones or hairtones have many textures - other things, like makeup, have only one, so they are smaller."

For even more, read the entire transcript of the chat.

538. Will Wright LiveWire Interview [Update]

Written on Friday 14 May 2004 at 05:40 by ChEeTaH - 1 comment.

Will joined IGN/GameSpy's LiveWire show from the E3 again this year, like he did a year ago. For about 25 minutes a few IGN/GameSpy editors, mainly David Lawrence who hosted the show, talked with the man behind the Sims and SimCity, and they discussed things like Sims 2, the URBZ, TSO, SimCity and more. The audio will be made available later at FilePlanet. Read more for details about what was said...

[Update 15 May, 16:00] The interview seems to be available at FilePlanet now. It's at the moment for paying members only though. Read More!

539. Body Shop: The Hidden Stuff [Update]

Written on Friday 14 May 2004 at 02:56 by ChEeTaH - 3 comments.

The Body Shop manual and tutorial do not reveal all. First of all, there are a few useful hotkeys that we found:

• F6: Stretch the arms of the Sim/mannequin. This does not toggle back though, so once they're stretched you can't 'undo' that unless you change something.
• F7: Zoom in to the face of the Sim.
• F8: Zoom out to see the whole body of the Sim.
• F9: Show/Hide the control panel. Useful for viewing those parts that are just a bit off screen, or for making screenshots

If you have discovered other hotkeys, feel free to e-mail me with the details. Furthermore, a 'hidden' webpage has been discovered. It seems that it'll be used from within the game, as portal to the exchange. However it doesn't have much content whatsoever yet, as the real exchange doesn't exist yet. Click here to get there.

Last but not least: I've made a small utility which allows you to put Body Shop parts (*.package) files into a *.sims2skin file, so they can be installed in a more user-friendly way. Those files can be easily installed by just double clicking them, which is more user-friendly if you're distributing your parts. Unzip the file anywhere to your hard drive and run the Sims2Packer file. All required DLLs are included in the zip file. You can download it from this page (1.3 Mb).

IMPORTANT NOTE: This tool is not supported by Maxis or EA. ChEeTaH and/or The Sims Zone are not responsible for any damage done by this tool. Support can not be provided, but suggestions are welcome. Using this tool is entirely at your own risk. Feel free to redistribute this program, but don't make any modifications to any of the files, which includes the zip file itself.

[Update 1:50] I accidently missed out 2 DLL files in the initial downloads. The file is now available again, redownload it if you were having problems. I've also posted a version without the DLLs (for if you have The Add-on Handler 0.3.0b or later, or the Neighborhood Handler 4.11 or later) at this page (23 Kb).

540. The Sims 2 Release Dates Confirmed [Update]

Written on Thursday 13 May 2004 at 19:39 by ChEeTaH - 2 comments.

The release dates for The Sims 2 have been confirmed by Maxis and EA. For the US, 17 September is the date to look forward to. This was posted by MaxisKitty in the official site's BBS:

"The Sims 2 will ship on September 17, 2004.

"We can't wait for you to get to play the game and appreciate your patience, support and excitement. The game team is thrilled with what they've seen you create with The Body Shop and it's been very inspiring to them as they work on the game.

"Maxis has the best game community out there - thanks for everything!"

-MaxisLucky

For Europe, not everything has been confirmed yet. EA Germany has posted 23 September on the official site. This is probably the most accurate date for most of Europe. However, the webmasters of the UK site have not yet received any confirmation from their boss, EA UK. The UK EA press site currently states 17 September as well. Several other official European websites I checked haven't posted a date yet. Once we received more confirmation about the European date, we'll let you know. Meanwhile, the countdown on the right is updated with the latest information already. The Knowledge Base will follow any minute now.

[Update 14 May, 13:15] EA UK has confirmed 24 September as release date. EA Netherlands had that as well at first, but has changed back to 23 September now. Release dates for other countries are not known by me (yet). We'll be using the UK Date date in our countdown (on the right), because of the amount of visitors from the UK we get :-) Thanks to Hikikomori for the tip.