(PC) Mansion & Garden Stuff
EA releases many De-Authorization Tools: MySims, Spore, Apartment Life, Ikea and Mansion now available
Mar 31st
I hope EA is considering ditching SecuROM on all of their games. Today, they have made an effort to put one step further in the crusade against SecuROM by issuing De-Authorization tools for many of their games. They now have tools for MySims PC, Spore (actually Spore’s been available for some time), Spore Creature Creator, The Sims 2 Apartment Life, The Sims 2 Ikea Home Stuff and The Sims 2 Mansion and Garden Stuff.
Games released after May 2008 allowed users to authorize up to 5 computers to play the game on at the same time. By using these tools, an authorization slot will be freed up and will let you install the game on another computer. If you want to reauthorize, all you need to do is relaunch the game.
While sure, this isn’t exactly what we wanted, it’s a start. I’d love to see them take effort in removing SecuROM from the game’s exe file, but chances are that would require more effort as they’d have to recompile the game’s code again without the SecuROM program embedded…
Click the box to grab the De-Authorization Tool that you need. I’ll add these to SimPrograms sometime tomorrow – it’s getting late :P
NPD PC Chart for the week ending on January 3, 2009
Jan 12th
Great scott! For the first time in a long time, The Sims 2 is back at #1, knocking Warcraft to position #2. Looks like they pulled a “Honeymooners” on Blizzard: “Pow, right in the kisser!”
1. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
2. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack
3. Spore
4. The Sims 2 Apartment Life
5. World of Warcraft Battle Chest
6. Fallout 3
7. Left 4 Dead
8. Call of Duty: World at War
9. World of Warcraft
10. The Sims 2 Mansion & Garden Stuff Expansion Pack
Source: IGN
NPD PC Chart for the week ending on December 27, 2008
Jan 7th
EA cannot be stopped when it comes to the NPD PC results. They have published the sales chart for the week of December 21 thru December 27, and it’s full of Sim’s and Spore. Well, considering that it was close to Christmas time, it’s no wonder why! I guess you can blame me considering I picked up Sims 2 Apartment Life, Ikea Stuff and Mansion & Garden Stuff from the holidays. 
1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $39 (Average)
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $18 (Average)
3. Spore / EA Maxis / $47 (Average)
4. Left 4 Dead / Valve / $47 (Average)
5. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Exp. Pack / EA Maxis / $20 (Average)
6. Fallout 3 / Bethesda / $47 (Average)
7. Call Of Duty: World At War / Treyarch / $50 (Average)
8. World Of Warcraft Battle Chest / Blizzard / $32 (Average)
9. The Sims 2 Mansion & Garden Stuff Exp. / EA Maxis / $18 (Average)
10. Bejewled Twist / PopCap / $20 (Average)
Source: Shacknews
NPD PC Chart for the week ending on December 20, 2008
Jan 5th
The NPD results are in for the week of December 14th thru December 20th. Spore and Sims just doesn’t seem to die (which is a good thing)!
1. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack
2. Spore
3. Left 4 Dead
4. The Sims 2 Deluxe
5. Call of Duty: World at War
6. Fallout 3
7. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Expansion Pack
8. Bejewled Twist
9. World of Warcraft Battle Chest
10. The Sims 2 Mansion & Garden Stuff Expansion Pack
Source: IGN
NPD PC Chart for the week ending on December 13, 2008
Dec 22nd
Hey, what a surprise…no, not really. The PC NPD results from December 7 – December 13th are in, and the top dog for that week is no other than Warcraft! But Maxis is still staying on the list taking up 4 spots. Here’s the lineup:
1. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack
2. Spore
3. Call of Duty: World at War
4. Left 4 Dead
5. Fallout 3
6. The Sims 2 Deluxe
7. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Expansion Pack
8. Bejewled Twist
9. World of Warcraft Battle Chest
10. The Sims 2 Mansion & Garden Stuff Expansion Pack
Source: IGN
NPD PC Chart for the week ending on December 6, 2008
Dec 15th
IGN posted the PC NPD results for the week of November 30 – December 6 are in! As usual, it’s mostly the same games for the past few months. Warcraft continues to be a beast with the #1 spot while Spore comes in second place. The Sims series rules spot #3, 6 and 10.
1. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack
2. Spore
3. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
4. Call of Duty: World at War
5. Fallout 3
6. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Expansion Pack
7. Grand Theft Auto IV
8. Left 4 Dead
9. Far Cry 2
10. The Sims 2 Mansion & Garden Stuff Expansion PackCourtesy of NPD.
NPD PC Chart for the week ending on November 22, 2008
Dec 2nd
The sales results for the PC Gaming Charts from November 16th through November 22nd are in, and for a change, Maxis games aren’t ranked high for once! The Sims 2 are struggling to stay on the list, but the Mansion & Garden Stuff did find a nice cozy place at #4. The others are #8 (Double Deluxe) and #10 (Apartment Life). Spore is stuck in the middle at #6 while it’s latest stuff pack, Spore Creepy & Cute already dropped off the list! Shame…
1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $40
2. Left 4 Dead / Valve / $46
3. Call Of Duty: World At War / Treyarch / $50
4. The Sims 2 Mansion & Garden Stuff / EA Maxis / $18
5. EverQuest II: The Shadow Odyssey / Sony Online Ent. / $50
6. Spore / EA Maxis / $49
7. Fallout 3 / Bethesda / $50
8. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $20
9. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Collectors Ed / Blizzard / $69
10. The Sims 2 Apartment Life / EA Maxis / $20
Source: VooDoo Extreme
New cheat discovered for The Sims 2 Mansion & Garden Stuff
Nov 19th
First off, let me give a huge thanks to Frankie for finding this cheat. He has checked the readme file that came with the game and discovered that the Maxiods put in a new surprise:
setQuarterTilePlacement [on | off]
After entering this cheat you can turn quarter tile placement on and off using “Ctrl + F” anytime you are in Build or Buy Mode.Quarter Tile Placement allows you to place objects offset from the grid in quarter tile increments.
Note that some objects may become unusable or inaccessible for Sims if placed off the grid, so the use of this cheat is not recommended for anything other than decorative objects.
I cannot test this cheat or provide further details as I don’t own the game, but for those that have it, give it a shot and let me know how it works out for you! And thanks again, Frankie! 
You can view screens of the cheat in action at Nick’s post on the Sims 2 BBS.
*Update* 11/20/08
Frankie sent me an update on a few more special surprises the game has to offer. Looks as if Maxis sent the last (to be honest it’s hard to believe that, EA loves money) stuff pack with a huge bang. The list below is what he’s found in the game so far:
- First and foremost, you no longer need your latest EP disc, as this one relies on its own disc like Family Fun Stuff and Glamour Life Stuff had done. So that’s a plus.
- So far only children are able to slide down the stairway rails as an interaction, I assume adults only do it autonomously and I’m not sure about teens and elders yet.
- The kids get most of the adult hairstyles that came with this pack, but some of them are only for everyday/outerwear, like the hats. Teens get all the adult hairstyles.
- No new clothes, makeup, glasses, etc. Hairstyles are the only new Body Shop items.
- You have to manually turn on the ceiling fans to work but they are under decorations and not lighting like I thought.
- The more eco systems you have the cheaper are your bills… in fact… I never even got bills, what it does is that when you get your bills from the mailman, a notification pops up informing you how much you have been award and how much you saved. Yeah, you somehow get money back, I guess whatever you saved. Either that or maybe it’s only what you saved, not sure, I forgot to check the funds each time.
- You get to smell the flowers. Kids are more animated with it, they get down on their knees and literally have their noses too close to the flowers, I guess to be cute.
- I didn’t get a special download with my pack. I even wonder if there were any this time since most of the times there are.
All in all, it’s definitely a pack worth getting. One of the best SP’s, if not THE best! I got mine at Target for $16.99 and it would be that price through Saturday. I think it’s a great pack for being the last of the Sims 2 series. It literally is like a mini EP since it has new interactions and slightly revised gameplay. You’ll like it.
New features in The Sims 2 Mansion & Garden Stuff
Nov 19th
Nickloveslamas from the Sims 2 BBS posted a few new details regarding what Maxis has added in The Sims 2 Mansion & Garden Stuff. Here’s what Nick had to say:
I got Mansion Stuff today and think it is pretty darn good! There are quite a few new features I thought should have been added in an expansion!!! I was quite surprised they were added in a stuff pack. So, to make it short and sweet, here are a few reasons why you should get this pack!
1. New Roofing Options:
You all know the cheat, I’m sure, that came with University which lets you change the height of the roofs? While it is very nice, it wasn’t always so easy to use. Now, there is a whole new option in the roofing menu to click on any piece of roofing in your lot and change the size one by one. There is a slider that lets you pick the height and it is very easy!!! There are also several new roof patterns as well as the roof objects which we have seen in the pictures, all very nice.
2. New Architecture Menu in Build Mode:
You know all of the heating/cooling objects and crown moldings from AL and how it was rather hard to find all of them in buy mode? Well, Maxis added a new section in Build Mode called Architecture. In it, they took all of the AL objects and all of the new ones that came with Mansion Stuff (quite a few), and put them in one menu. Sounds simple, but it is so nice! It makes it very easy to find those objects and cleans up buy mode since most people are using those objects when they build houses anyways.
3. New Eco Opitions for Sims:
This pack comes with two new solar panels and a two tile windmill (like the one in the neighborhood) which can all be used on your lot. And, these objects actually give your Sims benefits! The more panels and windmills you have on a lot, the cheaper our bills are! It’s a win win situation.
There are just three reasons why this pack is a must have. Plus, you get quite a few new hairstyles, walls and floors, windows, doors, stairs, and more. Kids can slide down the new stair railings and there is also two new animations which have been discovered that Sims do. “Smell the flowers” “Shade eyes from sun”. Also, the three new ceiling fans are very nice! You can even set them to be on slow sped or high sped.
Hope this helps you guys get a better idea for this pack. The only thing I was kind of sad about was that there are no new trees. But, other than that it is a must have!
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Master Suite Stuff
Sims 3 Showtime
