The Sims 3

[rk47]

You can also bring her back as a ghost you can control for $5000 or sometimes they will offer you an opportunity to resurrect your loved ones for free at the Science Lab. 

I made a lich king basically with all his undead servants and wife. Eventually he'll live on as a ghost too in a dark, gloomy mansion near the cemetery.

[Musashi]

I thought the funny part was that he lived on Uranus.

[Bunk]

There's an adjuster under options to set the total lifespan for all sims in game. You can change it anytime. 

[Ratman_tf]

Also, what's up with the lack of orders for this game from my affiliate link. I know for sure most of you folks are buying it for yourselves secretly or for someone else (but secretly). So, what gives?

Clickthrough ads are ass. I'm getting my copy at Fred Meyer. I shall bear my copy openly and proudly out the door. Possibly cheering in simlish on the way out.

[Yegolev]

When the football team beats you up, do you cry out in simlish also?

[schild]

Also, what's up with the lack of orders for this game from my affiliate link. I know for sure most of you folks are buying it for yourselves secretly or for someone else (but secretly). So, what gives?

Clickthrough ads are ass. I'm getting my copy at Fred Meyer. I shall bear my copy openly and proudly out the door. Possibly cheering in simlish on the way out.

Clickthrough ads? I don't even know what you're talking about.

[Tarami]

Also, what's up with the lack of orders for this game from my affiliate link. I know for sure most of you folks are buying it for yourselves secretly or for someone else (but secretly). So, what gives?

Clickthrough ads are ass. I'm getting my copy at Fred Meyer. I shall bear my copy openly and proudly out the door. Possibly cheering in simlish on the way out.

Personally I'm going to cosplay a Sim.

[Merusk]

There's an adjuster under options to set the total lifespan for all sims in game. You can change it anytime. 

Yeah, I found it today after writing that.  I figured I should check the options before bitching too much.     I don't recall the first sims game having a lifespan other than "Dying horribly to fires, drowning or starving."  All of which was way more fun than the game itself because the sims were so damn stupid.

This one's a ton of fun and the little lifetime goal minigame + the wishes minigame is a blast and a half.  I think what helps it greatly is having a lot of the expansion stuff like pools, different job tasks, parks and 'walk around' neighborhoods rolled into the base game.

[Reg]

So all they have is a global aging dial? I liked the way they had it in Sims 2 where you could buy a Fountain of Youth water dispenser and let you Sims be immortal or not using that.

[rk47]

Also, what's up with the lack of orders for this game from my affiliate link. I know for sure most of you folks are buying it for yourselves secretly or for someone else (but secretly). So, what gives?

Clickthrough ads are ass. I'm getting my copy at Fred Meyer. I shall bear my copy openly and proudly out the door. Possibly cheering in simlish on the way out.

Personally I'm going to cosplay a Sim.

create a cardboard cutout of that 'green gem' and attach a stick to it. Stick it on your collar so that green gem will be over your head. That'll do it. 

[NiX]

So all they have is a global aging dial? I liked the way they had it in Sims 2 where you could buy a Fountain of Youth water dispenser and let you Sims be immortal or not using that.

Huh? I don't see the problem. You can extend their life, turn off aging or let them age normally. You shouldn't have to grind out a way to stay young if you don't want your sim to die.

[Reg]

But can I do it on a sim-by-sim basis or does the dial affect all of them? I want to control who gets old and who doesn't.

[Merusk]

There's 2 toggles. One that affects the neighborhood and one that affects only your sims.  You can have immortals that continue on as all their friends and family die off around them, or short-lived creatures that live in a static, unchanging neighborhood.

There's also toggles for average life age of a sim. 90 sim days is the default, then 2-300 and the max is 640. 

From the cheats my wife looked up the Ambrosia is in the game as well, so you can work towards discovering immortality food while your sim ages naturally.

[tmp]

Now if only I could turn off aging as my Romantic partner has suddenly become old and I don't want to marry her anymore since she'll die in a few days and I'm just barely halfway there.   All that relationship work for naught.

There's apparently a slider in gameplay options for that. You can either adjust the length of lifespan up to some hundreds of days, or plain turn off the aging whatsoever.

edit: feck, missed it's already covered on last page. nvm.

[Ratman_tf]

Also, what's up with the lack of orders for this game from my affiliate link. I know for sure most of you folks are buying it for yourselves secretly or for someone else (but secretly). So, what gives?

Clickthrough ads are ass. I'm getting my copy at Fred Meyer. I shall bear my copy openly and proudly out the door. Possibly cheering in simlish on the way out.

Clickthrough ads? I don't even know what you're talking about.

You're talking about that "Buy Stuff!" link in the top right corner of the screen right? I just call them all clickthrough ads, because they all look the same to me.
I don't think I'll lose any sleep if I got the terminology wrong.

[schild]

It's an affiliate link to the frontpage of regular old amazon.com...

[Ratman_tf]

When the football team beats you up, do you cry out in simlish also?

I just throw them wine coolers and issues of Cosmo. Calms 'em right down.

[Bunk]

There's 2 toggles. One that affects the neighborhood and one that affects only your sims.  You can have immortals that continue on as all their friends and family die off around them, or short-lived creatures that live in a static, unchanging neighborhood.

There's also toggles for average life age of a sim. 90 sim days is the default, then 2-300 and the max is 640. 

From the cheats my wife looked up the Ambrosia is in the game as well, so you can work towards discovering immortality food while your sim ages naturally.

Found the Ambrosia last night. It's a recipe book you purchase for cooking: $10,000.

[Cyrrex]

I might stop reading this thread soon, because it's about a Sims game and yet it manages to sound awesome.  Damn you people.

[Ratman_tf]

I might stop reading this thread soon, because it's about a Sims game and yet it manages to sound awesome.  Damn you people.

Sims is like Guitar Hero. (Or a lot of other junk, GH is a good example though.) People hate on it without playing it. Really bash it, and then if they give it a chance, they might actually like it.

[schild]

I really played Sims 1 and 2 and I can really tell you that it's really nothing like Guitar Hero.

Cyrrex, It's easy to make pockets of the Sims sound awesome, but nothing can describe some of the monotony. There's just no comparison in gaming. I generally spend 5-10 hours with each one and never play them again.

[Cyrrex]

Okay, that's what I needed to hear.  You should consider a job in gaming journalism.

[Yegolev]

It's not a horrible set of games, really, but there is just a bit too much frustration in there for me.  Some dumbass manages to set himself on fire while making dinner and leaves a tombstone in the kitchen?  There goes a few hours of my life.  But really, if I have any disdain for The Sims, it's actually disdain for EA's programming staff and for the modding skills of the community.

[tazelbain]

I really played Sims 1 and 2 and I can really tell you that it's really nothing like Guitar Hero.

Cyrrex, It's easy to make pockets of the Sims sound awesome, but nothing can describe some of the monotony. There's just no comparison in gaming. I generally spend 5-10 hours with each one and never play them again.

This is my fear.

[schild]

That's not fear you're smelling. It's reality.

The Sims' lows are as low as real life lows. They're drab and invoke total apathy from the user. The highs are nowhere near as high as real life highs. It takes a certain brain to truly enjoy the Sims and play it as much as some people do. And I'm not sure any heterosexual guy who loves games in general is going to get much out of it. They'll have fun torturing the Sims for a bit and seeing how much they can fuck with them, but mostly it's just a digital ant farm. The AI makes the game annoying, the art design is fairly uninspired, and the actual characterizations of the characters remain funny for about 5 minutes.

Women and gay dudes love it. I can't tell you why because I'm not a woman or gay dude. But, I'd wager, they can't tell you why either. They can most certainly try to explain it, but in the last decade I've never seen a good explanation - and I've looked.

I'd love to like the Sims, but it's just not for me.

[rk47]

You can't really play the game expecting longevity, that much is true. The first 12 hours of the game is probably the strongest part where you had so many options to pursue and you are unsure which path to take. But after more and more paths become known, much like Princess Maker 2, all that's left is number crunching and monotonous grind. I'm burning through careers at rapid rate and I can't see myself playing much beyond that until they add some new content in the game.

Case in point: I was absolutely hating the gardening. I just want to make the Ambrosia for the heck of it, it requires a deathfish, which needs max level of fishing (no problem) and a life fruit, which you have to grow by yourself. That's nice, but there's just no goddamn shops or ways to harvest seeds in this game. You just have to manually LOOK on the ground when swooping your camera on outdoor sites for little seeds that says 'Special' type. And it would be unknown, sometimes you grow money tree out of it, or a GREAT watermelon vine, how very unhelpful.

[Yegolev]

Women and gay dudes love it. I can't tell you why because I'm not a woman or gay dude. But, I'd wager, they can't tell you why either. They can most certainly try to explain it, but in the last decade I've never seen a good explanation - and I've looked.

The explanation is dead-simple in my mind: it's playing with dolls.  Now, what's the difference between playing with Barbie in her Dream House and He-Man in Castle Greyskull?  Mostly that Barbie never punches the fuck out of Skeletor; by which I mean it's mostly how you play with things and somewhat how they are designed to accommodate you.  As a toy, Barbie and your Sims are better suited to go shopping with tiny dogs in their purses.  You can play with them in other ways, but that would be sub-optimal.

But after more and more paths become known, much like Princess Maker 2, all that's left is number crunching and monotonous grind. I'm burning through careers at rapid rate and I can't see myself playing much beyond that until they add some new content in the game.

rk47, I submit that you are doing it wrong.  The people who play The Sims for years do so in spite of the game elements, at least in my experience.  I really don't know why they design in all that bullshit, to be honest.  The long game is house-building, dress-up and dating drama.  Maybe also running a store or being a super-spy.  Not something that I really get into.

Also remember that people like me will make fun of you.

[schild]

Women and gay dudes love it. I can't tell you why because I'm not a woman or gay dude. But, I'd wager, they can't tell you why either. They can most certainly try to explain it, but in the last decade I've never seen a good explanation - and I've looked.

The explanation is dead-simple in my mind: it's playing with dolls.  Now, what's the difference between playing with Barbie in her Dream House and He-Man in Castle Greyskull?  Mostly that Barbie never punches the fuck out of Skeletor; by which I mean it's mostly how you play with things and somewhat how they are designed to accommodate you.  As a toy, Barbie and your Sims are better suited to go shopping with tiny dogs in their purses.  You can play with them in other ways, but that would be sub-optimal.

Caveat: The Sims are often stupider than dolls.

[Yegolev]

Man, you got that right.  I never had He-Man accidentally drown in a pool because he was too stupid to climb out.

[rk47]

I think my main interest is all about seeing what every objects and features of the game would 'do' rather than 'having a life' in simtowns, so when i'm out of new things to do or explore in Sims games that's probably when I put it down and eventually uninstall.

[Yegolev]

Well, maybe you'll be pulled back in with each expansion.

[Sjofn]

The explanation is dead-simple in my mind: it's playing with dolls.  Now, what's the difference between playing with Barbie in her Dream House and He-Man in Castle Greyskull?  Mostly that Barbie never punches the fuck out of Skeletor; by which I mean it's mostly how you play with things and somewhat how they are designed to accommodate you.  As a toy, Barbie and your Sims are better suited to go shopping with tiny dogs in their purses.  You can play with them in other ways, but that would be sub-optimal.

Maybe YOUR Barbies never punched Skeletor. Mine lived quite the life of mystery and danger. There actually isn't a difference between playing with Barbie in her dream house and He-man in Castle Greyskull, except the sex-role baggage attached to it. Both are taking a tiny little proxy and making believe with them. That one is expected to shop and the other to fight isn't a real difference, because you're making believe. You can CERTAINLY go shopping with He-man (I am sure he has, in fact), there's nothing sub-optimal about it. The Sims IS playing with dolls, but it's playing with dolls in a more constrained manner than real-life dolls. It expects you to want to play with your dolls in a mostly social way instead of swashbuckling, fightin' way. And that's fine for me, if I want to play with dolls that way instead, I have any number of RPGs.

Anyway, I think the thing here is actually revealed in your last sentence in this quote. "Sub-optimal." I don't subscribe to schild's weird ONLY THESE KINDS OF GAMES ARE REAL GAMES philosophy, but playing the Sims like a game you can win, rather than an open ended thing where you do whatever, is setting yourself up to burn yourself out right quick because you're trying to win rather than just play. If you approach the game with a mindset of "I have to grind up my skills to max my career as fast as possible raar," yeah, the game is going to suck, because you spend all that time staring at your Sim reading a book or whatever.

Also, I don't know why you people have idiotic Sims. Mine never die by accident.

[schild]

I don't subscribe to schild's weird ONLY THESE KINDS OF GAMES ARE REAL GAMES philosophy

What are you talking about?

I reserve shit like that for Wii Fit. Things that are very obviously not games.

There's a reason I brought up the Natsume games.

[rattran]

Also, I don't know why you people have idiotic Sims. Mine never die by accident.

Well sure, if you kill them off too quickly they don't have a chance for accidents. Walling up the children in a room was always my favorite in Sims 1. Or having a party, and walling up the bathroom on the first person to enter. Even better when the creepy clown showed up AND NEVER LEFT.

That said, I'm one of those 4-5 hours and I'm done with it forever people. So not really worth buying or acquiring for me.

[Sjofn]

I don't subscribe to schild's weird ONLY THESE KINDS OF GAMES ARE REAL GAMES philosophy

What are you talking about?

I reserve shit like that for Wii Fit. Things that are very obviously not games.

There's a reason I brought up the Natsume games.

I KNOW I have seen you say the Sims is Not A Game.