PC Game: The Sims 2Nightlife Expansion Pack

	Publisher:	EA Games
	Developer:	Maxis
	Genre:	Strategy/Simulation
	Release Date:	September 13, 2005
	ESRB Rating:	Teen (13+) Crude Humor Suggestive Themes Violence

I bought the Nighlife expansion pack yesterday. Spending most of my game time building houses, I want the expansion pack because it allows you to put in a garage. That also means the sims can now own cars and use them too to visit community lots instead of calling for a taxi. This is in contrast to the car objects in the original sims which were merely decorative. Another thing I like is that one can now have restaurants in community lots, as the podium and industrial stove objects automatically gives you a chef, at least one waiter/server, and a host.

For those who like to play characters, they would enjoy the dating feature ... there is even a gypsy matchmaker to help sims look for dates. For those who don't like ordinary human looking sims, they can have their sims transformed into a vampire. As another website noted, the Sims2 initially gave us aliens, then University gave us zombies, now Nightlife gives us vampires.

How I ended up buying Nightlife

I was in the mall, there was an hour before the movie starts, so I end up going to the computer game store to see if they've got Nightlife. Ended up buying myself a copy.

For someone who's mostly into building SIM houses, I just love the half walls, the additions to the pool tools (I've had enough of the drab square and rectangular ones), the driveway/garage builder, and the new furniture. Seeing the neighbor's house is also one cool trick.

Had to uninstall the old SIMS game though to make space for more expansion packs. I play SIMS2 mostly anyway.

PC Game: The Sims 2University Expansion Pack

	Publisher:	EA Games
	Developer:	Maxis
	Genre:	Strategy
	Release Date:	February 28, 2005
	ESRB Rating:	Teen (13+) Crude Humor Suggestive Themes Violence

I bought the Expansion Pack last March 23, 2005 but installed it only April 17 because I haven't had the hang of the original Sims 2 yet. I'm addicted to the game as a whole that I could play it all day. I could stand not reading the latest Harry Potter installment as long as I have my Sims 2. Maybe I had it coming when the PC conked out last July 17 after I played the game for nearly 24 hours. My computer is working now but it's still not in good form ... so I'm not playing Sims 2 again just in case I totally destroy what's left of my PC.

In my opinion, it's too soon for an expansion pack budget wise, but I bought this one anyway because:

1. I wanted to be able to combine households;
2. I liked the idea of Sims stuck in a dormitory, interacting with NPCs that live in the same house; and
3. I enjoy creating houses so I must have those new objects

One thing I don't like about this game is that the play game is so short for a character. A semester is over too soon, and the Sim ends up studying a lot. Before you've made the Sim actually enjoy college, it's graduating! There may be cheats, but I generally hate using cheats. Another thing that annoys me is that some NPCs just freeze. I have no idea if it's the game or if I need to upgrade my PC.

Things to note:

• In making dormitories, you must use the dormitory door (with the corkboard/other stuff pinned on it) for the bedrooms if you want NPCs to arrive and take residence.
  
• In dorms, use the stove that came with this expansion pack (I think it's called the cafeteria stove) if you want a cook to come in every morning to prepare meals the whole day.
  
• In dorms, your Sim can work as a cook part time by clicking either the real cook or the stove.
  
• Your college Sim can skip studying if he or she is chummy with a current professor - which is a professor that student met for the first time for that particular semester.
  
• Your college Sim need not cook and can live on pizzas if he or she lives in a fraternity/sorority house.
  
• If there's a newly vacated dorm room, it will remain vacant for the rest of the term unless you have a Sim move in. A new NPC will arrive to occupy it only when the next term starts.
  
• If your Sims do not move into a fraternity/sorority house or dormitory at the same time, then the start and end of term will be different for each Sim, depending on when they moved in.
  
• Your college Sim gains more days per term if he or she stays in a community lot, while the others in the "household" (not NPCs) remain in the dorm/house. You can extend a Sim's stay in a community lot without passing out from lack of sleep. Sims can't sleep in a community lot but they can also skip sleeping by drinking lots of coffee. When the Sim finally returns to the house, it's as if no time has elapsed. It's different though if your Sim is alone in the "household".
  
• A good way to meet secret society members is by hanging out in community lots. The same member often goes to a particular lot at the same time of day.
  
• Some guests tend to disappear into a dormitory room upon arriving. Your Sim may find himself having to stay in that room just to chat with the guest.
  
• You can enter another occupied dorm room as long as there is no "Do not disturb" sign hung outside of it. It's one way to corner an NPC that's been avoiding hanging out with your Sim.
  
• Your Sim can work part time as a barista in a community lot by clicking the coffee machine or the NPC barista.
  
• Since Sims cannot sleep or even nap in community lots (yet), you cannot place beds in them too.

I've gotten tired of making houses lately, I'm looking into making stories next.

Retiring Old Uploads

I guess I have to "retire" some of the old houses if I want to keep uploading new ones... Did modify two then re-uploaded them.

Been playing with one of the houses and it now has most of the rewards in there. I might upload it later - for those who want to get those rewards the easy way... But I'm not done playing with the house yet :)

Strangerhood

Only discovered strangerhood and how funny it is. But having gone throught the short list of episodes, I wanted some more entertainment.

That's why I've started looking into the uploaded stories. Before, the only "stories" I've opened were really tutorials or lot showcases.

It's like going into fanfiction.com but with pictures included. As in fanfiction.com, I see lots of teenage angst - whether its about school, parents, "relationships" or sexual identity issues.

Some are really entertaining. Haven't seen anything as hilarious as strangerhood, though.

Noticed a proliferation of incorrect spelling. Now, haven't tried uploading a story myself, so I have no idea if it's even possible to have someone beta test a SIMS2 story before you upload it.

Building Fortresses

I've got this coffee table book, called Fortress of Empire, which has pictures of the many different forts built in the Philippines during the Spanish era.

Decided to make them into commercial lots. Only managed to make two ... spent a LOT of time with the Intramuros model.


Funny thing was, when I uploaded both, it was the smaller fort (Little Castle Park) that had a bigger file... and I had a swift time building that one.

Why I prefer the "Build" mode

After spending most of yesterday trying to make a sim fulfill her desire to woohoo somebody, I remember why I chose to build houses rather than play with characters in the Sims/Sims2 game ... after I build a house, it is "finished", but playing a sim family is potentially endless ... and I have to go to work!!!

That's why I'm back to building ... dorms this time.

Tagaytay "Retreat"

Back from accompanying a friend on a retreat and sort of spent the time checking out the grounds and wondering if I can recreate them in Sims2. Now, the nuns would be shaking their heads if they realized what I was doing. He he he! Anyway, my friend's the one still in college going on this retreat as a requirement. What I'm doing there with her is the question.

I think they believe I'm distracting my friend who's supposed to be meditating. Either that or she has a reputation for not doing what she's supposed to do.

Sims2 Residential Lot: Andromeda 0.25

It's petite and is hip inside. Catchy name, too. The blueprint I copied from actually had a quadruplex. I just made 1 of the 4 - hence the "0.25" added to the name.

Sims2 Residential Lot: Duplica 9A

It's pink, it's cute, it reminds you of Barbie.

You think those are reasons enough to download this house? I hope so.

Sims2 Residential Lot: Cordillera

I really liked making this house ... in fact, I love it. It's a pity the first snapshot you'd see of this house in the Sims2 exchange does not give it justice.

Sims2 Residential Lot: Zaragoza

This is another simple house that got downloaded more than times than I expected. Which proves a point that users prefer functional houses more than fancy ones.

Sims2 Residential Lot: Tijuana

Creating A-frame houses which have rooms in the attic can be quite tricky, like this one. Since the plan called for a balcony at the attic, I had to delete some parts of the wall created by the roof and replace them with real walls.

Sims2 Residential Lot: Sampaguita

This house doesn't look much from the outside but it sure is fully furnished inside. I could think of that as the reason those who downloaded it liked it enough to rate it as good (4/5).

Sims2 Residential Lot: Honeysuckle

There's something to making starter homes for Sims 2... lots of people creating new sim families would download it... as the case with the Honeysuckle model I uploaded. It's simple and cheap. Someone even wrote me to tell me she liked it.

Renewing an addiction

wow...almost 2 months since I visited...almost done with my "withdrawal" symptoms, then I just had to buy sims2 university and get addicted again ...

:-)

now, I'm playing the original sims2 in my pc, while my i'm figuring out the ep on another pc ... i may just have to buy a new pc if another ep comes out (some would probably think I'm crazy to even consider getting a better pc just to play ONE game).

PC Game: The Sims 2

	Publisher:	EA Games
	Developer:	Maxis
	Genre:	Strategy
	Release Date:	September 14, 2004
	ESRB Rating:	Teen (13+) Crude Humor Suggestive Themes Violence

Please note there is a patch downloadable from www.thesims2.ea.com to correct some bugs in the original game.

I installed this last January 16, 2005, but didn't register the game until about a week later. Players of the original Sims will find that families from the old game have also made the transition to Sims2. You get 3 communities at once with the game - with families already having established relationships, careers, and ready to be played. You can add more communities or delete the existing ones. The cool thing is, if you don't like the templates provided with the game, you can create your own in SimCity4 (use small size). One thing I liked with this game is that the Sims grow up, get old and die. This was more realistic, and the idea of a Sim family existing for generations is cool.

I wasn't into playing households really. What I was immediately hooked to was building houses. I would building house after house after house in one community. We've got lots of magazines full of floor plans of houses. My parents bought them when they were building our (real) house.

I started uploading my houses to the sims2 official site in February. Then I deleted them afterwards when I realized while playing a Sim family that I made the houses too big. Only left the "San Marco model" because someone signed my guest book to say he liked the house. Remade all of the models and plan to upload them soon. Have to do that before I install the first expansion pack (University) which I bought tonight on a whim.

Things I've noted:

1. On Sims
   • No matter how old your Sim is when you create it, if you attached a family aspiration to it, that Sim will want to have at least one child or go loony thinking it.
     
   • You cannot create a Sim with alien features. You can only get the green skin if you marry an alien who happens to live in one of the communities.
     
   • Children always bring home assignments and you have to take note where they place those lest you forget to make them do homework and get a D.
     
   • If you forget to give the kids study tables, they'll do their assignment sitting on the floor.
     
   • Your Sim may get hit by debris from a satellite if it watches clouds too long ... that means death.
     
   • You can have another Sim bargain with Death to bring back a dead Sim.
     
   • Some Sims like to play in a bathtub if they have nothing more entertaining to do.
     
   • You can flirt with the "service" NPCs (maid, newspaper boy/girl, gardener, etc.)
     
2. Building Houses
   • A flower bed may be cheaper than a bush, but in the long run it's best to get the bush because it's low maintenance. You don't have to water bushes, potted plants and trees.
     
   • There is actually a shortage of good, cheap, practical, and small houses. Most people who upload like creating fancy lots.
     
3. Uploading Lots to the website
   • The default screen shot that goes along with the uploaded lot is always taken from the front. Upload additional screen shots (max. of 3) so that your creation will look attractive to those looking for lots to download.
     
   • If you connect to the site via dial-up, an message box will appear telling you there was an error in uploading, when actually if you look at your Sims webpage, your lot is already uploaded. This is a bug in the either the game or the website.
     
   • Some players would not be bothered by building houses, so there will always be someone downloading your lots.
     
   • If you install a lamp in an empty house/building while it is night outside the lot, the light is turned on for that lamp. This is cool if you want to take "night shots" of an empty building/house.

Just purchased Sims 2 University

I haven't explored all of the original Sims 2 and here I am buying the expansion pack (EP). The one thing I'm looking forward in this EP is that you could have characters with different family names staying together. It's the frustrating thing in the original game - you could have as much as 8 sims living in one lot but they must all have the same family name.

Am also looking forward to the new objects and the fact that apart from residential lots and commercial lots, I could now have dorms.

Hopefully the loading of the game won't be long as it was in Sims (1) wherein if you have all the EPs installed and you create a new neighborhood, it takes almost an hour (okay, I may be exaggerating) to load them all.

Happy New Year

Kung Hei Fat Choy!
Happy Chinese New Year!
It's also Ash Wednesday.

The Obsession with getting Sim twins

Why are some people so preoccupied with how to make their sims have twins to the point of desperation? And if to test your theory you try it 100 times and your sims get twins about 70% ... what do you do all those twins?

Sims2 Residential Lot: 74 Queen Victoria Avenue

There's a blue print in the Home Ideas 1981 magazine called the San Marco ... I tried to recreate it but the house ended up having such a tall attic that I realized could house about 3 floors. I placed in those additional floors and added dormers. As far as following a plan is concerned, it was a failure as it turned very different from the blue print. What amazes me is that it was downloaded 47 times and got a 4/5 rating.

Checking out the Exchange

Nils from Belgium signed my guestbook... and I decided to check out his page.

Decided to check out other pages as well, but with the thousands registered, I started with the webpages of other folks from the Philippines... their uploaded houses are GOOD ... special mention to cliffkinscoatic.

Sims 2 Exchange Upload glitch

Tried uploading a house I've "constructed" and always got the "timed out" error so kept trying. Then checked the BBS if others are having the same problem ... I'm not the only one!

Someone said your house is uploaded even you get the error msg so I checked my upload page and found 12 copies of the same house!

My Sim Page

Being addicted to the Sims game, I had to buy Sims2 as a Christmas gift to myself. Ofcourse, once you register, you get your own sim page at thesims2.ea.com - if you want to see my page, click the link at the title above.

I usually play the game to create houses ... and I've dusted off some home design magazines in the house (some as old as 1981) with the intent of recreating the nice houses in those pages.