(PC) The Sims 3
First hi-res screenshots for The Sims 3 appears!
Mar 18th
This is what you’ve been waiting for. You can find the first hi-res screenshots from The Sims 3 at Luniversims! They had a special correspondent which attended a Sims 3 presentation press. Not to mention they also have a pretty good writeup on the details from the game.
A Sim’s neighborhood will no longer be divided into different lots to be loaded individually. A huge zoom will allow us to see our Sim in his bed but also to take back to see the whole neighborhood. This means that there will be less loading time (not to write no loading time) to move from one lot to another.
Our Sims could left their home and go to their neighbour’s house or to the town-center without loading time. They can fish in a lake, chatting in the streets with neighbors or strangers. This in an environment more beautiful, richer and more alive… for example, a breeze will move the trees, the water will be superbly rendered, and so on.
Sims 3 could feature In-Game Advertisements
Mar 18th
Many EA games already have implemented IGA’s (In-game Advertisements) in their software, but they’ve yet to add it into one of their biggest franchises yet, The Sims. Well, that might change when it comes to The Sims 3. It appears that EA has re-newed a deal with Massive to continue having in-game ads in their games.
“What we’ve found in all of our research is that with sports games, in-game advertising actually adds to the authenticity of the game,” said Cox. “That’s sort of an easy way to do things. With other games like Need for Speed, you’re in this open world, so it still can add to the authenticity. It’s more just figuring out where you draw that line about the number of times a gamer sees that ad.”
“We’re never going to put ads in Harry Potter,” Cox laughed, reiterating that gamer comfort with the in-game advertising is EA’s primary focus.
Personally, I don’t see a problem with this. Should it be? The whole goal for The Sims is to be based on realism, and having ads will do the trick. It’s games like Spore or other non-realistic genre’s that I do not want the ads to appear.
Source – 1up.com
Sims 3 and Sims 2 comparisons @ SnootySims
Mar 16th
I have to give mad props to Snooty over at SnootySims. He has created scenes out of Sims 2 to compare to the scans from The Sims 3. And he did a damn great job if I must say. He created these using the “Moveobjects” cheat, the “45 degree angle” cheat and “Snapobjects to grid”. No pictures were photoshopped in any way. You can find these in his “Sims 3″ section of his website.
New Sims 3 scans from French magazine
Mar 15th
Sims De Toi has uploaded 10 pages of new scans for The Sims 3. Since it is a French oriented site, I have no idea what new information has been written, but they do show an inside of a Sim’s house.
Games for Windows Sims 3 scans
Mar 11th
Infinite Sims happened to have collected all of the scans from the April issue of Games for Windows magazine. Drop by their website to view them and to read the article!
The Sims 3 notes from Games for Windows Magazine
Mar 11th
SnootySims has a compiled list of notes that were taken from the April issue of Games for Windows Magazine. Here are a couple of notes from their page:
– “The number of attribute bars has been reduced from eight to three, with one — a “stress versus fun” meter — standing out as the most essential. Sims still need to bathe, sleep, and eat, but the gauge presenting liters of urine versus free bladder space is hidden behind the curtain. ‘We’ve added one-off mechanics like the buffs in World of Warcraft… In our case, if [your Sim's] out in the rain, he would have a debuff — we call them moodlets — that would just say that he’s soaked now and he’s miserable. Or if his mom dies, he’ll get a moodlet that makes him miserable. It’ll go away after a certain amount of time, or you can get rid of it. IF there’s a way to get rid of it.’ Moodlets range from simple things like “I’m thirsty!” with immediate psychological effects to “I just got a promotion!” that can grant a boost that carries for days.”
– “… your Sim will now walk out of your home and see and visit other Sims, other buildings, and other neighborhoods in real time. The world is changing and evolving around you, characters are going on with their lives, marrying, aging, and dying, as you proceed with your own life. And every action you take may have a ripple effect that spreads across the town and affects the lives of multiple generations.”
– “We’re going to be releasing world-building tools,” says Bell, “advanced tools definitely for the modding community. On TheSims3.com, there’ll be an exchange where you can download towns from other players.”…. Godat hints at how the exchange might operate: “People put hundreds of thousands of Half-Life maps out on the internet. The Web has a way of giving them a star rating, and people go and download the five-star maps– it’s the same kind of thing here. We know that people are gonna go and build new versions of our buildings. We can elevate these things through our connection to the community–find some way to tell a player that, ‘Yes, this building slows your game down.’ Find some other way to let them find the content that they’re really excited about and tell that story they want to tell. That’s what keeps it going for so many years.’”
Visit SnootySims for more notes!
First scans of The Sims 3 via PCGamer Magazine
Mar 10th
A kind member over at SnootySim’s forums has posted the first scans of The Sims 3 from PCGamer. The article branches over six long pages and covers many new details of the game. Since I’m not good in writing complete paragraphs, I’ll leave you with bullets.
- You will now be able to go to your job and bring work home with you. Completing the work will advance you a little closer to a promotion. So say goodbye to those hours of an empty house!
- Inventory system has been added. Go to the grocery store and buy groceries to store in your inventory to use for cooking and other uses.
- Apparently the score bars have been dropped due to the fact that they aren’t realistic enough. Sims will now tell you want they want. The game will now use “buffs” to determine how a Sim is feeling. Example would be that they could be in a bad mood for pissing themselves or in a good mood because they like sitting in a sofa. There are an infinite number of ways for Sims to tell you how they feel.
- Character creation is more richly defined. They dropped the numerical values and are now using traits. Traits are brief descriptions of your Sims and you can have up to six of them. Some include evil, playful, genius, shy, grumpy, and so on.
- Sims look more realistic. Their skin is more natural and real.
- There are sliders for weight and muscle, so now it is possible to create obese or muscular Sims.
- Many prebuilt characters will be shipped with the game for those that don’t want to create their own Sims.
- Players will be able to upload their Sims to The Sims 3 as well as their homepage for others to download.
- No multiplayer but there will be social networking, possibly much like the style Spore has set.
- Pleasantville makes a return!
- There will be expansion packs.
1UP Press Announcement for their exclusive preview of The Sims 3
Mar 10th
1UP sent out their press release today announcing that their next Games for Windows magazine will feature the first exclusive information for The Sims 3. It should hit newsstands around March 18.
1UP Network Unveils World-Exclusive Details of Sims 3 with Comprehensive Print and Online Coverage
NEW YORK, March 10, 2008— 1UP Network announced today that its print and online properties, including 1UP.com and GFW (Games for Windows: The Official Magazine), will be revealing world-exclusive details about Electronic Arts’ highly-anticipated Sims 3. GFW, the authority in PC gaming, will be unveiling a first-look at the game in its April/May 2008 issue, shipping to subscribers now and available on newsstands March 18.
“The Sims series’ immense popularity could constitute it as a national pastime,” stated Dan “Shoe” Hsu, editorial director for 1UP Network. “What has made the Sim franchise such a pop culture phenomenon over the past 19 years is that it appeals to a mass audience, not just traditional gamers. They have been able to successfully tap into the casual gaming community by defining the concept of a sandbox type of gameplay, with endless possibilities. Each new installment gains more and more fans and I’m very excited that the 1UP Network is the first to be able to give them the inside scoop on the game, with such a broad breadth of coverage.”
Providing Sims fans with the most in-depth, exclusive Sims 3 coverage throughout March and April, 1UP.com will debut a full game preview, divulge further details about the recently announced Sims Carnival, feature developer Q&As, host Retronauts and GFW Radio podcasts, both focused on the Sims series, and more.
The 12-page spread in the April/May 2008 issue of GFW includes first-look impressions, new screens, and revealing interviews with Sims Studio head, Rod Humble, Sims 3 executive producer, Ben Bell, and Sims 3 design director, Matt Brown, who all shed light on characters, environments, customization capabilities, and other game features. The issue also takes a look back at the evolution of the Sims series and what has made it the best-selling PC gaming franchise in the world to date.
To check out what the 1UP Network is all about, please log on to:
http://www.1up.com. For more information about the 1UP Network, please log on to: http://gamegroup.ziffdavis.comAbout 1UP Network
1UP Network (gamegroup.ziffdavis.com), a division of Ziff Davis Media Inc., and is the largest integrated gaming media publisher in the United States, reaching over 27 million gamers. 1UP Network publishes magazines including EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly) and Games for Windows: The Official Magazine, as well as the social networking and editorial hub 1UP.com, file download destination FileFront.com, video site GameVideos.com, community-driven game help site MyCheats.com, gaming news aggregator GameTab.com, and a set of podcasts including leading videocast The 1UP Show.
First email for “The Sims 3″ gets sent out to fansites
Mar 9th
I had this in my inbox for a few days but didn’t get a chance to post it. Benjamin Bell, Executive Producer for The Sims 3 has sent out the first round of fansite emails. It’s a lengthy read, so here is a short breifing of what you can expect:
- Sims now live in a completely seamless, living neighborhood
- No loading screens for the neighborhood
- View other sims and their lives (even by spying on them)
- Reinvented and realistic Create a Sim
- New realistic personality system called Traits
- Everyone will be able to customize the appearance of everything ingame
- Won’t need developer tools to make visual changes to the game
Well crude…if that’s the case then this site won’t be needed 
Hello,
My name is Ben and I’m an Executive Producer on The Sims 3. The last few years have been exciting for me personally. Since joining The Sims Label at EA, I’ve had the opportunity to work on dream projects such as The Sims 2 Pets, and The Sims 2 Castaway. However, things are about to get very exciting and I’m so happy to be sharing this news with you.
In the very near future, we are going to announce the first details of The Sims 3. As you can imagine, The Sims 3 development team is very excited because we have been working on the game for the past few years. Like you, we are all fans of The Sims and we can’t wait to talk to you about the innovations in The Sims 3. We know that there are so many expectations for this game. The Sims 3 team has been quietly listening to the community and incorporating suggestions to make this the best possible game. Many of our team members worked on The Sims and The Sims 2, so trust me, you are in good hands. We hope that you’ll be impressed by what we’re working on for The Sims 3.
What is The Sims 3? Very shortly, you’ll see magazine articles, websites and interviews on this subject. However, we want to share the announcement news with you first.
When the team first started thinking about what The Sims 3 could be, we asked ourselves the following question. What if you had to live your whole life in one location … and then one day, suddenly, you could step outside and go anywhere in the whole neighborhood?
The first thing you’ll notice about The Sims 3 is that the Sims now live in a completely seamless, living neighborhood. This means that they can walk next door, walk down the street, drive to the center of town, stroll through the park, and explore everything without ever encountering a load screen. Wherever you go in your town, you will see other Sims going about their daily lives. You’ll discover new things about the community that your Sims live in, and you will have the chance to participate whenever and wherever you like. As a player, this is an incredible innovation for me because now I can see what my neighbors are up to all of the time and go interact with them. Or if I am feeling devious I can peek through the window and spy on their every move. I can even shoot across town to see what the other families in my town are doing, any time of day or night. It’s an entirely new way to play with your Sims!
The second aspect of The Sims 3 that always impresses me is our completely reinvented and realistic Create a Sim. In The Sims 3, you have so much freedom to create the Sims that you want to make, yet it’s easy and fun. In the coming weeks, we will have some screenshots on our website that show you a small glimpse of what is possible with Create a Sim. The Sims can look like anyone you imagine. I’ve made my friends, my great grandpa, and many other important people from my life. We also have a new realistic personality system called Traits that allows you to determine the personality of every Sim. There are dozens of Traits that you can assign to your Sims. Every Trait will change the way that your Sims feel, think and behave in the game. You can choose several traits for your Sims, so it’s really possible to make any character that you can imagine and they will come to life in The Sims 3. Now imagine placing these unique personalities into your very own “Petri-dish” that is the new seamless, living neighborhood.
The third thing that I really want to share with you about The Sims 3 is that everyone will be able to customize the appearance of everything, right in the game: This is true for furniture, walls, floors, fashion, hair, and so much more. You will be able to customize the colors or patterns and apply them to everything (this is great for me in particular, as I am colorblind). You can make everything match, clash, or coordinate. It is so easy and fast, and it is incredibly powerful. What is really exciting is that you won’t need developer tools to make big visual changes to the game. We will be giving you a small taste of how this works on the website. However, I cannot wait to show you how fun this feature is when we have the final user interface in the game. The real power of this feature will be obvious when you get your hands on it. Fans of The Sims already make amazing things, and now it will be so much easier for to make and share creations.
While I have met many of you at fan events, I look forward to sharing more with you about The Sims 3 as we develop the game leading up to launch.
There is so much more that I would love to tell you about but we’ll save that for future emails. Please stay tuned.
Talk to you soon!
Ben Bell
Executive Producer
Electronic Arts
Loading ...
KP Sweet Treats
Diesel Stuff
SimCity 5
