New Exchange Item: Ford Fusion

I was saying "yehey" with delight like a little girl when I saw this on the Sims2 exchange: a new car for download! Courtesy of Ford again. This would be the third car for the Sims2 game provided by Ford (the previous 2 were the Mustang GT and the Focus). If you count the Ford Pinto that was available for download from the Sims 2 UK site, this would be the fourth. Don't ask me the link ... I forgot how I came across that one (as usual: by accident, as it was technically not announced on the site).

Funny thing: was browsing the exchange and merely hit the "back button"... now I'm seeing the site in French.

There are probably more cars out there for download, but I stick to objects the official sites offer since I'm never sure if the other customized objects will harm my gameplay.

The site finally put a teaser on the latest expansion pack: Hobbies. There's been discussion about this in the forum for some time.

Aieeee! I'm still not ready to buy a new computer!

Speaking of Llamas...

Just realized there's something different on my Sim Page profile...

Community Rank: Professor of Llamology

That made me laugh... especially since it is a fact that any picture or mention of Llamas automatically makes me think of the "Sims".

By the way, I find it amusing that the character Carl from the animated Nickelodeon show Jimmy Neutron lists "Llamapalooza" as his favorite video game.

The Sims Onstage Beta

EA has finally jumped on the social networking site bandwagon by launching the simsonstage.ea.com site. Ofcourse I signed up!!! :-)

They just realized that simmers are a ready made community/social network that just needs transposing to an official networking site... that allows others to join - without having to register a bought game. Ha ha ha!

Fact is, the sims/sims2 sites are already social networking sites ... what with the exchange, the commenting on blogs, the BBS - same stuff you find on other sites.

SimsOnStage is actually a fun site ... I just started looking around and enjoyed the karaoke page ... EA has a list of music you can sing to, complete with lyrics scrolling across the screen. If you think you're good enough or just in it for fun, you can record yourself singing to the song and post it so others can view your clip and rate you. Lovely, eh?

Orkut entry

This is what getting stuck at home during vacation because of bad weather does ... I've managed to look up a lot of Google services .... and since I already have gmail, blogger, YouTube and Picasa ... why not add Orkut? Although I have no idea if someone I know is in this network. Ha ha ha!

Like I said, don't know anyone who's in Orkut ... so I did some searching using keywords like my school, my city, and ofcourse my country. Found something amusing ... if you'll look at my bookmarks, you'll find accounts opened in the name of Philippine actresses. I doubt the owners of those sites are who they claim to be. I could be wrong. I'm probably right.

Decided to join a community instead ... two actually, but the membership for the second one is still pending... they're communities interested in Sims 2 ... the only video game I can say I am addicted to. Before this, the only forum about Sims2 I've visited is the official one (thesims2.ea.com) ... so it's a different experience to actually see a few posts about obtaining the game illegally and using crack codes. He he he!

MySpace and Facebook

Having been invited by friends to sign up to different networking sites (ringo, bebo, hi5, friendster, etc.), I've got too many memberships that I've ignored myspace and facebook. Problem is, to be able to download a Transformers poster, I had to sign up to myspace ... and since the sims2 site has linked itself to myspace via maxoid monkey, I decided to finally sign up. The look I chose for mypace is the Sims2 Pets layout.

As I was looking up the Sims2/H&M fashion contest entrees, I couldn't ignore the link to facebook so I signed up today. I know it's there because Yahoo links to facebook, but I signed up anyway because it's on a Sims2 site on yahoo.

:-) Yeah, kinda silly, I know.

Technorati

Added this blog to Technorati today.

The Gieke Identity

Created By: Orangeade73
Country: Philippines	Created: 05.04.2006
Language: US English	Last Updated: 05.04.2006
Rating: 3.68 out of 5	Number of Entries: 24
A weird costume, a profession he doesn't exactly want everyone to know, and a very nosy neighbor.
Meet Chester Gieke, the guy who bought Old Peterson's house.
The neighbors liked him immediately, for he is a friendly person.
No one really knows what he does for a living. They just assumed that his work has something to do with his hobby, which is making robots.
Some think he likes to gamble, for the notorious bookie, Benjie Long, would sometimes drop by his place.
In reality, Chester is Benjie's boss. He is the criminal mastermind whose identity the police has yet to uncover, and whose capture would make a millionaire of the informant.
Chester often leaves his home at night and comes back before dawn, when most people are asleep and no one would notice his comings and goings.
One day, one of his men called to inform him that their latest project has encountered a major setback. Chester told them he would be right over and rushed out of his house, even though it was broad daylight.
One person, Christy Stratton, saw him come out ... and the unanswered questions about Chester resurfaced in her mind, demanding to be answered. She decided that she'll have the answers within that day.
It was midnight when Chester was brought home by the limousine.
Chester did not hear Christy approach as he checked through his mail.
Christy cleared her throat then called out to him. Chester was a bit startled, and watched warily as Christy came nearer. "Hello Christy. It's too late to be out jogging, you usually do it before the sun comes down," Chester greeted her. Christy saw a falling star and found her reply. "I heard there was a meteor shower tonight so I came out hoping to see it. Hey, look there! Looks like we could see the shower from here," Christy said and pointed to the horizon.
The two of them looked up and stayed silent until the heavenly display was over. "You don't see that every night! Hey, want to come over to have a bite?" Christy asked, hoping she'll get Chester to talk over dinner. "No, thanks, I'm a bit tired," Chester replied as he moved towards his back door. Christy didn't leave at once. When he opened the door, Christy took a peek inside. "What are you doing?" Chester asked, a bit annoyed.
"Oh! There's your robotI I saw him hover down the street earlier, bringing a package with him, he is so adorable!" Christy exclaimed. Chester grabbed a remote control and clicked it at the robot. It hovered to its corner and shut down. "Oh, you didn't have to turn him off!" Christy admonished. "I should have turned him off earlier, so he need not hover out to buy Chinese food for me," Chester said, eyeing the boxes on the table with disapproval. "Erm, if you are hungry, you could ..."
"Thanks!" Christy replied, and immediately entered the house to grab a box and take a seat. ..."take some of them home," Chester muttered the last part of his sentence. As it was rude to turn her out now, he shrugged his shoulders and decided to join her at the table.
"That'a a weird outfit. Where did you go wearing that?" Christy asked the question Chester was avoiding. "I came from a costume party," he replied.
"Yeah right. You go to costume parties every night? This is not the first time I see you wearing that outfit when you leave the house. What do you do for a living? You can tell me the truth, I won't blab to other people," Christy said bluntly.
"Okay, the truth is I'm an actor who's currently in a futuristic play. Our boss picks us up every performance night so I go to work already wearing my costume," Chester explained. "I thought it was something like that!" Christy said, delighted to have guessed something correctly. "Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if you said you were one of those superheroes."
"Don't you think they're a bit crazy to think they must have some kind of costume? If they want to do good and not be identified, it's more sensible to wear clothes that won't catch people's attention. Now take this current mastermind that's giving them a headache ... no one has seen him or her, or know his or her name. That person doesn't need a costume and is smart enough to know it." Christy continued.
"So what's the title of the play? Maybe I'll go out and see it when I have time," Christy asked. "Well, it's not that good. I only accepted the role to earn some money. I don't think you'd want to see it," Chester replied. "Is it x-rated?" Christy asked shyly. This made Chester pause. "What do you mean?" he asked, a bit puzzled.
"Don't be offended, okay ... but every night, a limo comes to pick you up and the same limo drives you home, you say you're in a play where you have to wear this tight costume, and you'd be embarrassed if I see it ... I just thought that maybe, you know, it's one of those private shows," Christy explained. "It is most definitely NOT that kind of show!" Chester said indignantly.
"Oh, I know, you work in one of those gay bars! They put on these fantastic shows where the actors impersonate just about everybody. I could enjoy watching that... hey, is that Benjie your boyfriend? Anyway, just give me the name of the bar and the time of your show, and I'll ring up a couple of friends and we'll watch it." Chester firmly denied he works in a gay show.
Christy would make a few more guesses after that, and Chester would repeatedly say that she guessed wrong. The night dragged on for Chester, I'm sure. Maybe Christy finally guessed right. I wouldn't know about that.
You see, no one saw Christy Stratton after that night.
But we'll definitely hear more about Chester Gieke.

Chester Gieke is a character created by Maxis, and he comes with the Open for Business expansion pack. I played with the character for a while and this story is what came out of it. Christy Stratton is a non-playable-character (NPC) in the Sims2 game. When this story was initially posted it had a 4/5 rating. Someone even wrote me to say she liked it:

Thursday, 04 May 2006
The Gieke Identity
Ive just read your story and I thought it was really good! Lemme know if you decide to do a sequel. Cool avator and Happy Simming! ~ amy300789

Annoying Cashier

Wanted to watch a movie last Friday but didn't want to watch alone so I ended up malling ... and buying the Celebration! Stuff Pack in Datablitz Makati.

The sales clerk asked if I got the original game. I said yes... .. even though I bought most of my Sims2 EPs and SPs there they don't remember me. Then she asked me if my copy is genuine. That annoyed me big time. I asked her if they'd give a prize if I have bought the all the Expansion packs and Stuff packs. She answered no. Now that I think on it, if I wanted to annoy her I should have asked if they sell pirated copies because I bought all my Sims2 stuff from them.

I find it annoying because it is crazy that someone who wouldn't spend for the genuine base game is willing to pay for the genuine STUFF PACK - something a SIMS2 gamer could do without. I know where the pirated Sims2 game, EPs and SPs could be bought, but I DON'T buy my SIMS2 packs from those stalls. I love and appreciate the game. I buy the originals.

But then, I'm talking for myself. Maybe in this world, I am crazy to pay 5x more for something I could buy cheap.

Logged in today to find out there's another Stuff Pack due out - and it is fully sponsored by H&M. Can't help begrudge thinking that Maxis is going to be paid by both H&M and the gameplayers for this stuff pack ... and they know it will sell - it is about fashion and a lot of Sims2 players are women.

Just hope this one is CHEAPER since this stuff pack is going to help advertise the H&M brand.

Using the new Seasons Theme on my simpage ... notice the Seasons logo appearing all over the page? Not much creativity there in my opinion.

Looking for a new PC

Installed the Seasons EP Saturday afternoon ... surprised I could play the game. Neighborhoods take longer to load, but lots load easily. The gameplay is actually smoother than when I first loaded Pets.

Went to two malls yesterday (Sunday) hoping I could upgrade my PC ... but most shops still didn't have Core 2 duo. Some that did won't take credit card payments. I actually have enough money to buy a new PC but I don't like bringing that much cash with me. Besides, I prefer earning reward points from my credit company.

Complink did have the processor and they accept credit card payments. They just didn't have the motherboard, memory chip and video cards I wanted. I could end up buying the processor from them and buying the rest from PC Express, with PC Express doing the assembly for a fee. Their service fee's a bit higher than some shops, but I am partial to PC Express because that's where I bring my current PC for repairs ... they usually have the latest models when it comes to parts, and their tech people tell you which parts should really be replaced. Other shops in the mall would try to sell you more stuff than necessary.

I find it interesting that Ayala Town Center prices are cheaper than Festival mall prices. My friend bought a dual core from Festival Mall's Octagon Computer Store ... for the same price she paid she would have gotten a core 2 duo OR her monitor would be LCD instead of CRT. Actually, the sales person at Octagon didn't even know half the specs my brother and I asked.

Anyway, I decided to wait for PC Express to tell me the parts I wanted are available (hoping that would be this coming Saturday or Sunday). I ended up buying Glamour Stuff and Family Fun Stuff from DataBlitz. A month ago I'd never consider buying the Stuff Packs. Just didn't want to end up empty handed after an afternoon in the malls I guess.

Saw that Flushed Away was still showing at Festival Mall so my brother and I watched it instead of 300 - as we may not be able to watch it in any movie house next week. The Ayala movie houses had already replaced Flushed Away with a newer movie.

An Expansion Pack and a Stuff Pack

Bought "Seasons" 2 days ago ... can't help it.

Got the Holiday Stuff pack too ... it bums me that a lot of the halloween and christmas downloads available from the exchange are included in the pack ... what's the point of registering your game to avail of the online perk of free downloads from the exchange when the EA guys will make those objects available in a future CD? Not much of a perk, is it?

I've installed Seasons in my PC just now but haven't run it yet (chose to register the game online first). If the game won't work, then I'm buying a new processor tomorrow. That means a new motherboard and maybe a new video card.

I have installed the base game and the Seasons EP in an office PC ... so I have already seen how the game works. Got me excited to play it at home. My home PC's specs is higher than my office PC's ... but I've got all EPs installed, so I don't know if Sims2 will still run with Seasons added.

Never thought I'd be one of those saying this but ... it's not Vista that drove me to upgrade my PC ... it's the Sims 2 EPs!

My Old PC

"Seasons" is out, and I still haven't upgraded my PC. My computer is already slow running Pets ... there were times I've actually fallen asleep waiting for the game to load or save a large or fully populated lot.

Thing is, Core 2 Duo is fairly new, and history tells me to expect that better and faster processors than what's available now will be released soon ... so I'm holding off on buying that new processor and motherboard.

Ahh.... Patience is a virtue... I wish had more of. Upside is: by the time I've upgraded and bought Seasons, the expected patch is available. He he he!

... wonder when a "Seasons" web page theme/style will be available ...