LATEST UPDATE: This is the first version of this FAQ, begun on May 23rd, 2004,
and finished on June 26th, 2004. I had a bit of a two-week lazy time.
+====================+
| TABLE OF CONTENTS |
+====================+
PART A: BASICS --> The Soul of Your Sim
==================
1. Intro/Contact Info
2. Sim Needs
2.1 - Hunger
2.2 - Comfort
2.3 - Hygiene
2.4 - Bladder
2.5 - Energy
2.6 - Fun
2.7 - Social
2.8 - Room
3. Friends and Lovers
3.1 - Love and Marriage
3.1.1 - Proposing
3.1.2 - Accepting/ Rejecting Proposals
3.2 - Moving In
3.3 - Babies
3.3.1 - Interactions
3.3.2 - Losing the Baby
3.4 - Children
3.4.1 - Losing the Child
3.5 - Neighbors
3.6 - Jealousy
4. Disasters and Failure States
4.1 - Floods
4.2 - Fires
4.3 - Starvation
4.4 - Electrocution
4.5 - Burglars
4.6 - Fights
5. Building Your Home
6. Furnishing Your Home
6.1 - Basics First
6.2 - Losing Items
6.3 - Keeping It Clean
PART B: WORKING --> Sucks, But Necessary
==============================================
7. Getting One
7.1 - Carpooling
8. Career Tracks
8.1 - Original Sims
8.2 - Livin' Large
8.3 - Unleashed Career Tracks
8.4 - Jobhopping
8.5 - Keeping/Losing One
9. Other Ways of Bringing Home the Bacon
9.1 - Building Gnomes
9.2 - Painting
9.3 - Farming
9.4 - Making Preserves
PART C: OTHER AREAS OF THE SIMS --> Expand Your Horizons
====================================================
10. Downtown
10.1 - Going and Leaving
10.2 - Getting Company
10.3 - Dating
11. Vacation Island
11.1 - Going and Leaving
11.2 - Fees
11.3 - Awards/Souvenirs
11.4 - Bringing a Date
12. Old Town
13. Studio Town
13.1 - Going and Leaving
13.2 - The Tabloid
13.3 - Awards
13.4 - NPC's
13.5 - Career Help
13.5.1 - Acting
13.5.2 - Fashion
13.5.3 - Music
13.6 - Butlers
13.7 - Stalkers
PART D: EXTRA LUXURIES
====================================================
14. Pets
14.1 - Getting Ready
14.2 - Buying A Pet
14.3 - Adopting A Pet
14.4 - Pet Moods
14.5 - Pet Skills
15. Parties
16. Cheats and Tricks
16.1 - Resetting Moods
16.2 - More Money Cheat
16.3 - 'Selling The Rockey Explosion' Trick
16.4 - Marry For Money
16.5 - Use And Return
16.6 - Cheat Code List
PART E: CONCLUSION --> In Closing...
=====================================================
17. Contacting Me
18. Credits
19. Good Luck
+=============================================+
| +=========================================+ |
| | PART A: THE BASICS -> Heart and Soul | |
| +=========================================+ |
+=============================================+
+===========+
| 1. INTRO |
+===========+
This is where I will clear up many things. First of all, this FAQ is MINE. It
is Copyright 2004 I. "anduyn18" Bilic. If you want to use it as part of another
FAQ, please ask for my permission first. If you want to post it on your website
or link to it, feel free to do so as long as it ISN'T ALTERED IN ANY WAY. It is
made to help people, not to be stolen.
If you have something that you would like me to add, or if you'd like to ask a
question, you may, again, give me a shout, and I'll answer it, as long as I
haven't already done so in this FAQ. The most updated version of this FAQ will
always be found at:
http://gamefaqs.com
http://faqs.ign.com
Finally, I am in no way affiliated with Maxis or EA. All I did was write this
FAQ and play The Sims. Thanks!
When a Sim is under your control (and even when it isn't, for that matter), it
always has needs and motives. To see these motives and their levels, just click
on live mode to get the bar to pop up, and they will be next to your Sim's
face. To keep your Sim happy, all of these needs must be fulfilled. Your Sim
has eight of these needs. Hunger, Comfort, Hygiene, Bladder, Energy, Fun,
Social, and Room. I will go into detail about those in a second.
Making your Sim use different items will have an effect on each need. For
example, eating will make the Hunger bar rise, but it will somewhat lower the
Hygiene bar. How high all of these bars are affect your Sim's mood. More green
bars signify a very happy sim; more green bars signify an extremely unhappy Sim.
Your Sim's mood has an effect on anything they do. If they are extremely
unhappy, they won't want to do anything, saying they lack the motivation, and
they will most likely die (you unsensitive child!). It can also have an effect
on their interactions with other people. For example, two unhappy Sims are more
likely to get into a fight (I talk about this more in section 4.4), while two
happy Sims are more willing to get married. That might be a bit of an
exaggeration, but you get my point.
Finally, there are objects which are essential to keeping these bars green and
keeping your Sim happy. I will talk about these in detail, but an example would
be how the fridge is essential to keeping the Hunger need high.
--------------
| 2.1 Hunger |
--------------
This is one of THE most important motives. If this isn't fulfilled, your Sim
may die, and that's not fun, so feed them well, especially when the bar is low.
There are a few things I have to talk about here. First of all, you MUST have a
fridge. It has a few options to feed your sim. When you click it, you can have
a snack, a quick meal, a normal meal, or serve a meal. If you select a snack,
your Hunger bar is not filled very much, and you've forked over $5. If you ask
your Sim to make a meal, you will give up $10, and your Hunger bar will be
raised, depending on your Sim's culinary expertise. A quick meal is less
filling for your Sim, but takes less time to prepare. Finally, if you want to
serve a meal, then your Sim (if they don't start a fire) will make a meal that
has 6 servings, for the cost of $20. This is usually the best option for large
families, but if you have a single sim that eats only one portion, then just
click the 'Have Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner' option, unless they're starving.
Also, you can satisfy your Hunger motive somewhat by ordering Pizza. You can do
this from the Phone pie menu. Simply click on Services...'Order Pizza'. This
isn't very filling, unless you eat the whole thing, but is good if your Sim
often starts fires or is just plain lazy.
Finally, when you do cook, and want maximum efficiency, make sure to follow
this order of items.
+--------+ +-----------+ +------+
| 1 | | 2 | | 3 |
+--------+ +-----------+ +------+
1. Fridge
2. Counter with Food Processor
3. Counter with Range/Oven/Microwave
---------------
| 2.2 Comfort |
---------------
Comfort, obviously, is how COMFORTABLE your Sims are. This is weighed pretty
heavily. The comfort bar can drop severely in some situations. It will lower
sometimes when the Sim is standing, but not as much as it would if they are
sitting on an extremely uncomfortable piece of furniture, or working out.
When raising it, you don't really have to be a rocket scientist. If your Sims
have a decent couch, then they can raise their comfort bar while watching TV
while also raising their Fun meter. See, you're already multitasking. Every
couch can raise your Comfort bar all the way, but it's just the time they take.
A couch with a 10 comfort rating can raise it in a few Sim minutes, while a
couch with a 1 comfort rating might take MUCH longer.
If you want to REALLY multitask, watch TV with a friend, while sitting on your
nice couch. So here, you're raising the Comfort, Social, and Fun bars. Just
thought I'd add that there.
---------------
| 2.3 Hygiene |
---------------
If you cannot keep up your Sims' hygiene needs, then many things can be
affected. Again, the meaning of this one is fairly self-explanatory. This is
how clean your Sims are. This can be raised or fulfilled by bathing, showering,
or washing your Sims' hands in the sink. If your Sim is not clean, it affects
their mood and their interactions with others. To illustrate my point here, put
yourself in another Sims shoes. Would you want to interact with a Sim that
hasn't taken a shower in two weeks? I didn't think so.
Finally, to maximize the efficiency of your bathtub or shower, clean it often.
---------------
| 2.4 Bladder |
---------------
Aaahhh. Must I really explain what this is? It's kind of self explanatory. This
one, if it is low, must be taken care of quickly if it's low, because there ARE
consequences for low bladders. Your Sim, regardless of age, wets themselves
(and the floor). Not a valuable use of their time. It also makes the Hygiene
bar go all the way down to zero. Not fun.
It doesn't matter what kind of toilet you have. MOST of them will fill your
bladder bar right up, no need to worry, and your Sim can go and do whatever
they were doing. However, the accidental wetting may come from something other
than an exploding bladder. If your Sim is tickled [Extreme], they may just lose
control and go, wherever they are. Neat, eh? Gotta love it.
---------------
| 2.5 Energy |
---------------
Everyone has a need for some shut-eye now and then, so your Sims deserve the
same. This is how much sleep they get. The more they sleep every night, the
higher their Energy bar is. This is lowered substantially as your Sim goes
about their business during the day, and can be fulfilled by many things.
First of all, it's the obvious bed. Your Sims, if they have a really crappy
bed, can take up to all night to fully raise their Energy bar. They can miss
work if they sleep too long, still filling the Energy bar, so make sure that
you get them to sleep early. If they have a good bed, such as my favorite, the
Modern Mission, they can fill the entire bar in a few Sim hours. Your Sim will
get up automatically at 6 AM if their Energy bar is full. If not, they will
keep sleeping until you give them a command.
There is one special bed that I will talk about in detail later in the Children
section (3.4), but the children can come about as a result of this bed. It's
multipurpose. It can be used for sleeping, but you can also choose the option
'Play In Bed', if you have a spouse who is willing to join you. This raises
comfort and fun levels to the sky, but will decrease hygiene (ew!) and lower
energy.
If the Sims need a quick energy boost before work, you can have them drink
coffee or espresso. Not very much of a boost, but good if you just need a
little bit and don't want the Sim to nap. The children cannot use the coffee or
espresso machine, be thankful. They're enough to handle WITHOUT coffee.
A Sim, also depending on their active rating, can get OUT of bed in different
ways. They can either (if they're feeling REAL happy and active) literally leap
out. However, if your poor Sim got 1 hour of sleep, it can take up to 30 Sim
minutes to fully rouse themselves, because they will be busy throwing a fit and
screaming at you about sleep deprivation.
There is also a sleep difference between Child Sims and adult Sims. Your adult
sims are pretty light sleepers. Any sound in the room will wake them. If you
have a TV or computer in the room, make sure they are turned off, and no child
Sim comes to their room in the middle of the night to use them. Place your
phone somewhere like the living room, because the sound of a phone will also
wake your adult Sims. If there is a weight bench in the room, and another Sim
is working on it, the sleeping Sim will wake. So, overall, for adult Sims, its
best to just have the bed and nothing else in the bedroom to ensure good sleep.
Kid Sims, however, are very different. They are EXTREMELY heavy sleepers. The
only thing that they can be woken by is an alarm clock. This way, you can be
kind of cheap with your kids. They don't need a separate bedroom. They can
sleep in the living room, with the TV on and speakers blaring, it won't bother
them at all.
---------------
| 2.6 Fun |
---------------
Aaaah...fun. One of the easiest needs to fulfill. First of all, let's face it,
YOU don't like being bored with nothing to do. Therefore, neither do your Sims.
For fun, they can do many things to fulfill their need.
First of all, you can use any electronics that you may have at your disposal.
TV is nice, although I don't think it matters which show your Sims watch, and
so is the computer. Make sure, however, that you provide a seating area for
each of these uses. They can boost their comfort levels, too! Another
electronic appliance that your Sim can use is the virtual reality item. This is
a little pricey, and I usually don't have it, but whatever floats your boat,
hmm?
Also, your Sims can read a book. If they have low Playful ratings, that is.
With other Sims, they can do anything from watching TV to tickling to Playing
in the Bed and Hot Tubs. However, if you don't want a little bundle of joy
added to your family, I suggest you refrain from the Playing.
---------------
| 2.7 Social |
---------------
Every Sim needs to talk to others and interact with them. This bar is weighed
HEAVILY, and should be filled once every day. This is very easy to do if you
have a family, or a house with two people. If you have a single Sim, you might
need to ask someone to come over or enjoy a night on the town.
Many things can affect this meter, but some can affect it more than others. For
example, talking for HOURS will only fill the bar a little bit. However, a few
kisses of the passionate variety will boost it up all the way. You can talk to
other Sims to fulfill this, or if there are none around and you have the
Unleashed expansion pack, you can talk to and play with your pet.
If, for some STRANGE reason, you want to bring the Social meter DOWN, and your
Sim is in a really bad mood, there is an option to 'Attack', and thus fight
with the opposing Sim.
---------------
| 2.7 Room |
---------------
Finally, the last need. Room. I personally find this one rather useless. But
anywho, this is how spacious and beautifully decorated your Sims home is. Sims
love space, and lighting. However, lighting doesn't seem to help anything, so
its just optional if you want to make your room/house seem much more realistic.
Your Sim's room bar is filled all the way up if you have, for example, many
statues and paintings, because they all add to the room score of a house/room.
If your Sim's room is empty, and has many dirty dishes, pee puddles, and flies,
their Room meter will go down with a thump.
If your house is VERY dirty, some cockroaches may show as well. These can be
gotten rid of by 'Stomp'ing, which is really funny to watch.
If the room is small, just buy lots of paintings (if you have the money) and
buy lots of expensive furniture to raise the room score. However, the Room
score still applies outside. Here, you HAVE space, but its up to you to
decorate it as you see fit. Lots of flowers and trees can boost the outside
room score. If you're rich and enjoy water, (and have Hot Date) add some
fountains.
+========================+
| 3. FRIENDS AND LOVERS |
+========================+
Aahh...the wonderful social circles of Sims. It's bloody fantastic keeping
friends. There are many things associated with this. First of all, your Sims
can marry, cheat, marry MULTIPLE people, have babies, and deal with jealous
neighbors.
Here, if you are immature, you must turn away. I have to talk about Sims'
sexual preferences. Any sim can fall in love with any other Sim, except for a
child. That would just be sick. Your girl Sim can fall in love with a man, or
her girl roommate. One setback of having a bisexual or homosexual Sim is that
they cannot have babies with each other, and therefore must adopt. I talk about
this a little more later on, in the Adoption section.
The two bars beneath each picture in the Relationship section signify your
Sim's relationship with others. The top bar is the 'Daily' bar, and the bottom
is the 'Lifetime' bar.
----------------------------
| 3.1 Love and Marriage |
----------------------------
With every single other Sim they meet, your Sim has a relationship. This can be
good or bad. If good, it will escalate into Sim love.
Now, if your Sim has a 'daily' relationship rating of 100 with another, that
doesn't mean you can immediately propose to the other. The 'Lifetime' bar must
be high as well. If they both are high enough, the Sims can fall in love. And
falling in love can lead to Marriage and/or Moving In.
+=====3.1.1. Proposing=====+
First of all, your Sims must have a wonderful relationship in order for the
'Propose' option to even come up. The proposee, for a successful beginning of a
union, should be in a good mood. If they aren't in a good mood or they just
don't freaking like you, they will refuse your proposal. However, if they're
happy, they will accept.
+=====3.1.2. Acceptances and Rejections=====+
In order for the proposee to accept the proposal, they must be feeling pretty
damn good, and be in love with the proposer. They must be in a good mood, so
make sure that they have eaten and done their business in the John. If they do
accept, then they move in and--well, make a new room and up the expenses. But
they also make their own contributions. All of the money that they previously
had is now yours, as are the family friends. Also, if they had any unnecessary
baggage, such as children, they come along too.
However, should the proposee reject your proposal, they will probably leave the
house. The relationship will suffer and decrease, as will the proposer's mood.
Also, how they will react is random. They will often give you a reason, such as
"I'm in a bad mood today", or something along the lines of that.
------------------------
| 3.2 Moving In |
------------------------
If your Sims are of the opposite-sex variety, and they want to live together,
they have to have a good relationship, for starters. If, for example, your Sim
asks the other to Move In, and they are in a bad mood, they will most likely
refuse. If they do so, they will give you a reason. Usually "We don't know each
other well enough."
However, if they DO accept: ka-POW! Instant roommate. This roommate can bring
many things with them, as discussed above in the Marriage bit. First of all, if
they live alone, they bring all of their money and children. If they have
another person, all of this is left behind and all they bring is the family
friends. So your benefits depend on what the other Sim has at home.
Note: This option is NEVER available for opposite-sex Sims. They can only marry
if they want to live together.
--------------------
| 3.3 Babies |
--------------------
Do you know those wonderful children that come with families? Well, they were
babies first! Yeah! So therefore, if you want your Sims to have children, you
must have a baby first, and there are a number of ways to do so. First of all,
your Sims must be opposite sex for each one.
If you only have the original Sims, they can have a baby two ways. Many kisses
of the passionate variety can lead to a dialog box asking you if you want to
have a baby. Choose yes, and BOOM! There's your baby. Your Sims could also get
a phone call out of nowhere from the adoption agency asking them if they want
to adopt. Choose yes, and BOOM! There's your baby.
In the later expansion packs, your Sim can use the Love bed, available in
Livin' Large, I believe, to 'Play', and thus create a baby the realistic way.
This way is a little gross, but funny all the same.
When and IF you have a baby, after it pops up its gender will be determined FOR
you, as will its personality, and the only thing you get to edit is their name.
+=====3.3.1. Interactions=====+
While the baby is sleeping, NOTHING can be done to it. Its rather ugly bassinet
can't be moved, and you can't interact with it until it cries, which is one of
THE most annoying sounds on this planet. However, unless you want to lose your
little bundle of joy, you have to make it shut up. Unfortunately, you never
know what's happening, or what the baby wants, so you just have to do
everything.
When the baby is crying, it can wake all of the Sims that are in the room,
except for children, so just make sure that, unless you want the Sims' moods
shot to hell, that the baby is in a separate room. The interactions are as
follows:
Feed - Self-explanatory
Play - Again, self-explanatory.
Sing - Again.
Feel free to sing your Sim to the stars, but a hungry baby won't get any
happier, no matter how many times it hears 'Rock-A-Bye'. So I just find it the
safest to do all three.
A baby needs an adult in the house to care for it at all times. If you have
more than one Sim in the house, this is very good. Just alternate days and
you'll be fine, but NEVER leave the baby on its own if you want to keep it.
+=====3.3.2. Losing The Baby=====+
Yes, it can happen. You can lose your adorable (and bloody loud!) baby. If the
baby cries endlessly with no attention resulting from it, it will get very very
very hungry, and a social worker will give you a warning. If this continues,
the social worker will pay a personal visit to your home and snatch the baby
away.
--------------------
| 3.4 Children |
--------------------
AFTER THREE HORRIBLE DAYS, your SimBaby now grows to be a SimKid, which, in my
opinion, have no use whatsoever except to consume food and money. They can get
money, 100 bucks from grandpa for good grades, but that's pretty much it. No
jobs, and they can't ever grow up, unless you download something. But whatever
floats your boat.
They can't fall in love with anyone, but they can, of course, have good
relationships with their parents. They, as I discussed in the Energy section,
can't be woken by anything other than an alarm clock. They can't even be woken
by a baby crying, which is a miracle unto itself.
Your children go to school...forever. They can get good grades, but not on
their own. Another challenge for you. The kids have to study often in order to
keep good grades and keep bringing in the $100 from grandpa every now and then.
The children of the neighborhood can play with one another, and another
(sometimes unwanted) child will sometimes drop by your house to play with your
kids. If they stay into the night, their parents will come and take them home.
+=====3.4.1. Losing The Child=====+
Yes, you can lose your children. Other than death. If they do SO bad at school,
and they never study, they can get sent to military school. Unlike real life
(DUH! It's the Sims), they never return from this little scenario. But by then,
you may have gotten so sick of them you may actually be happy and--OK, I've
said too much.
--------------------
| 3.5 Neighbors |
--------------------
Neighbors are just that. Neighbors. They start everything in your Sim's world.
Your Sim can develop relationships, good or bad, with neighbors, and these
relationships can lead to new roomies or marriages, which can lead to children.
Which can also lead to money, if the other neighbor is living alone.
--------------------
| 3.6 Jealousy |
--------------------
If you are a sick sick person, or just trying to get a laugh, Sims get jealous
when their loved one is in a love triangle. For example, if Sim Jesse is a
stud, and both Sim Jen and Sim Jane love him. Now, Sim Jen plunks a big wet one
on Sim Jesse, WHILE Sim Jane is looking. Sim Jen and Sim Jesse will get a free
slap courtesy of Jane. Their relationships will also take a dramatic nosedive.
However, the jealousy will only unfold if the acts are acts of love (ie
passionate kissing, romantic hugging), and not friendly hugs. Also, the other
person must only be in the same room to experience jealousy. If they are
somewhere else, they most likely will not know. But if they ARE in the same
room, watch out, sparks will fly.
Children, the emotionless beings that they are, don't get jealous.
+================================+
| 4. DISASTERS AND FAILURES |
+================================+
There are a few disasters in which your Sims can die, or not die, it depends on
how you handle them. You can create them intentionally just to get a kick out
of it, or they can just happen. I'll talk about each, how they happen normally,
how you can do them intentionally, how you prevent it. That little technique,
i got from PyroFalkon's FAQ, thanks! His FAQ can be found at
http://faqs.ign.com//articles/409/409872p1.html
------------------
| 4.1 Floods |
------------------
Floods are not deadly, thank god. You have enough on your hands. They are,
however, a serious pain in the butt.
A flood happens when a toilet, sink, dishwasher, or any type of plumbing breaks
and water spills all over the floors in one giant puddle. It can spread
quickly, so clean it up and then call a repairman, or if you fancy yourself
Mr.Fix-It, fix it yourself. Be careful though, this can lead to electrocution.
I'll talk about that in 4.4.
This is one that you can't do intentionally. It just happens, and it happens
more if you have crappy plumbing. So earn some money and get that Fuzzy Logic
Dishwasher, and study to get yourself those mechanical skills to fix it when it
breaks down.
------------------
| 4.2 Fires |
------------------
Fires. Self-explanatory. They happen in a few different situations. Read the
following:
SITUATION A) Your Sim with absolutely no cooking skills decides to make a meal
for 6 people. They screw up the oven, and the whole thing catches fire
immedately.
SITUATION B) Your Sim, trying to set a romantic mood for their significant
other, lights the fireplace. Little do they know, that a spark from the fire
flew onto that gorgeous end table, and it caught fire. All of a sudden, the
whole living room is in flames.
SITUATION C) Trying to raise their Fun bar, your Sim sets up the rocket set,
which comes in Livin' Large or House Party, can't remember which, and in the
middle of jumping for joy watching those bursts of flame a rocket hits them,
and they can't on fire. Gotta love it.
To intentionally start a fire, just put a Sim with no cooking skill near an
oven and watch the events unfold.
To prevent a fire, it's only a matter of studying. Brush up on your cooking
skills, and make sure you have nothing close to the fireplace.
If a fire does start, and you HAVE AN ALARM, the Fire Department will come
running and put it out. If you don't have an alarm, you stupid child, there are
a few things you can do. You can call the Fire Department, and it will take
them a while, and your fire will probably engulf half the house by the time you
phone and they get there. If you have a death wish, you can click on the fire,
and try and fight it yourself. Again, whatever floats your boat. However,
trying to fight the fire might sink that boat. Anywho, I talk about death later.
------------------
| 4.3 Starvation |
------------------
This is barbaric. This cannot happen on its own, because your Sims autonomously
(meaning, on their own) eat. This can only be done intentionally, if you are
one sick puppy. To starve your Sim, just put them in a little square room with
no windows or doors, and watch them waste away. I don't really need to tell you
how to prevent it, do I?
-----------------------
| 4.4 Electrocution |
-----------------------
This is one of the funniest to watch no matter how sick it is. This happens
when an inexperienced Sim tries to fix a broken appliance. It rarely happens on
its own, and it will mostly happen when YOU make it happen.
To make electrocution happen, you may need the "move_objects on" code.
First you need to wait until something breaks. To MAKE something break, use the
potion making kit (Livin' Large) to make a purple potion, drink it, and your
Zombie Sim will break things.
Then use the Move Objects code (covered in Cheats section) to move a puddle
right in front of the broken appliance
Then, simply have a Sim with no Mechanical skill fix the appliance. And sit
back and watch. It's rather funny.
To prevent it, don't fix things unless you have high Mechanical skills. If
something breaks, call a repairman.
------------------
| 4.5 Drowning |
------------------
This, you also have to set up, and you also have to have a bit of Simoleans to
make happen. This happens when your Sim has NO ENERGY, and they decide to take
a swim, and obviously drown and die.
To make it happen, you need to get your Sim into the pool, and remove all
ladders leading out of it, so that they have no way to get out. It could take
as much as a whole day, but your Sim will eventually just sink down, and a
tombstone will appear next to the pool.
To prevent it, just make sure that you have exits leading out of your pool, and
that your Sims never get into the pool when they have extremely low energy.
------------------
| 4.6 Burglars |
------------------
In every single neighborhood, including your Sims', there will be a burglar who
tries to clean out your whole house and take all of your more expensive items.
For this one, I can only tell you how to prevent it, because it happens
randomly, and you can't MAKE a burglar come and rob you. I don't see why you
would want to, anyway.
Burglars walk right into your house and stuff anything and everything into a
tiny bag. You'd be surprised what they can get in there! Once, a burglar took
my TV, computer, and a few paintings, and stuffed them all into that damned
tiny bag.
But anyway, to prevent burglaries, you MUST get a burglar alarm to every door
that leads outside. If you only get one to the front door, then the burglar
will simply go around and enter through the back door. This way, the police
come running, and your Sims don't have their beauty sleep interrupted.
When a burglar is caught, you get $1000, and also you are reimbursed for
anything that they have stolen so that you can buy it back. But if they aren't
caught, they can just walk off with your things.
The funny thing about burglars is that the minute that they enter your
property, you're locked out of Buy and Build mode, so that you can't use ANY
cheat to get him off your property, so just save that money and buy an alarm,
it's a good investment.
------------------
| 4.7 Fights |
------------------
Your Sim, when they really hate another, can just choose to fight. This can
lead to moving out, among other things. Both Moods will suffer, and one Sim
might just up and leave because they can't take it anymore. Fights, though
strange, are very entertaining to watch.
When the active Sim chooses 'Attack', both engage in such a heated fight that
it looks like a ball of smoke, with little feet and hands poking out every now
and then. Should your Sims get in a fight, take a picture, it's something to
remember.
------------------
| 4.8 Illness |
------------------
Illnesses, just like for yourself, suck for your Sims. Most of the time, they
can't deal with them. But other times, they can just make it through the
struggle
Your Sim can, either intentionally or accidentally, can catch a disease from an
unhappy Guinea Pig. It's called the Guinea Pig Plague. If a Guinea Pig is
unhappy, and they bite your Sim, that Sim MAY catch the disease. To see if they
have the disease, look to see if your Sim is throwing fits, coughing, and
generally feeling crappy. They probably have that disease then.
Now, to prevent this disease would be to simply not get a Guinea pig, but if
your Sims do get it, there's a few things that you can do. First, you can have
your Sims drink plenty of coffee, and then have them read the poem on the
"Forgotten Guinea Pig" picture that you can buy. You can also (If you have
Livin' Large) make a potion that cures it immediately. I forgot what color it
is, I think it's blue, but I'm not sure.
--------------------------
| 4.9 The Tragic Clown |
--------------------------
This guy annoys me SO MUCH, it's not even funny. He appears when a Sim is
depressed, or they have the Tragic Clown Painting in their home. That hideous
piece of crap.
*Ahem* Now, if you want to make him come to your house and annoy the dickens
out of you, then you need to buy that Tragic Clown painting and have your Sim
view it. Then, that Sim must get depressed. When they do, the clown will arrive.
You cannot control him once he is there. He has good intentions, trying to make
your Sims feel better, but he ends up making things worse. You CAN interact
with him, by slapping him in the face. But this won't make any difference.
To get rid of him, you can do it in two ways. One, you can raise your Sim's
mood to max, and then politely ask him to leave, and he will, seeing that
you're in a better mood. The next way is to phone the Clown Catchers. This
makes the Men in Black people come, and shoot the clown with their Clown Gun.
This is wuick and easy, but it costs money. $500 of your money, to be exact. I
find the mood-raising method better, but whatever you want to do.
To prevent this, just don't buy one of those freaking paintings. If your Sims
get depressed, but there is no Tragic Clown painting, then he won't appear,
simple as that.
-----------------------
| 4.10 Death |
-----------------------
This is slightly strange, and might require some explanation. First of all,
when a Sim dies, they just lie there for a bit, and then the Grim Reaper
appears and take their corpse, and all you will have is their ashes in a little
bowl. If the dead sim was outside, then it's a tombstone.
But if one family member just CAN'T handle losing the other, then they can
plead with the Grim Reaper to leave the dead. If he's in a bad mood, he'll just
take them. If he's in a good mood, he let's you play a game of Rock, Paper,
Scissors with him. This is nice, playing rock, paper, scissors with Death.
Anywho, if your pleading Sim wins, the dead sim is raised from the dead to live
again.
If your Sim loses the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, then he'll either just
take the body, or have mercy on you and make them a zombie. They live normally,
but have a nasty, see-through green tinge to them, and have NO personality
whatsoever. Literally.
If your Sim drowned, you can't save them. Period.
You can place the Urn or Gravestone anywhere on your property, and the only
option that comes with it is Mourn. However, if you have one of these, a zombie
will scare people in the house and/or wake them. If you don't want this, you
can sell the urn or tombstone for $5 in Buy Mode. Cruel, but sometimes
necessary.
You can cause this by doing any of the above things that I just talked about.
There. I just explained death and everything that causes it to you. Do you feel
any more knowledgeable now? I sure do. Now we can move on.
+==================================+
| 5. BUILDING YOUR DREAM HOME |
+==================================+
If you are playing this game without cheats, then your first home will not be
your dream home. In fact, it will probably be the furthest thing from it, but
there are a few tips to help save those necessary Simoleans.
However, before I begin, I just want to make sure that you newbies know how to
buy a lot and get going. In the Select a Family screen, simply click on the
family that you want to move onto a lot or into a home, and then click on the
home. Every family starts out with $20,000 and each time you buy a home or a
lot, the money is taken away.
Usually, a lot is around 3-5- Simoleans. This leaves you with around 15,000
Simoleans to build the house AND buy the furnishings. This can be freakishly
expensive, but, as I said, there are a few tips to help you on your way.
ROOMS AND WALLS - Walls are around $70 per section. That can be REALLY
expensive, especially when you're trying to build a whole house. For your
rooms, you don't really need walls to separate all of them. I will use an
example from PyroFalkon's FAQ, which is linked in the Credits. For this
example, let's say that your rooms are 5 tiles by 5 tiles. The rooms are
Kitchen and Living Room
This can be good, if you have the money, but then you need a door between them,
and that's even more, so kaBOOM! you're wasting your Simoleans, especially if
you only have a few. If ALL of the walls that are in these two rooms cost $2450
Simoleans, that's a lot for two rooms. Now, DO THIS:
See, now, you have one big room that's 10x10, but doubles as two rooms. It IS
big enough after all, and that wall that we took out will now save you $350,
which is enough to get a burglar or fire alarm. So we're all happy.
*Note: I got these drawings and this method from PYROFALKON's Faq, which can be
found here: http://faqs.ign.com//articles/409/409872p1.html *
DOORS & WINDOWS - These are --DUH!-- important because they allow your Sim to
get in and out of the house, and the windows allow light to get in. The tool in
Build Mode is --DUH again-- a door, and if you click it you get many door
options. Just pick one, it doesn't really matter, and place it where you want.
One thing, though, with doors. If you have house party, and the doors with the
girl and guy on them, do NOT use these for your main door. The girl door means
that only girls can go through it, and the same for guys. If a guy is standing
outside a girl door, he can't go through it, so he will just stand there. So
don't use those doors for your main ones. Use they for bathrooms all you want,
though.
Windows are the light-bringers. For a 5x5 room, you will only need one or two.
For bigger rooms, you will need more windows. You can do a double whammy and
get a door with a window built in. They're more expensive, but they should be
for the 2-for-1 service.
WALLPAPER & FLOORING - Wallpaper is used to, obviously, decorate your home.
Like everything else here, it IS optional, but it just makes your Sim's room
look much nicer. There are outdoor and indoor ones, but there are no
restrictions. Meaning, you can put a brick wall inside, and a nice baby balloon
wallpaper outside. Whatever you think looks nice.
Flooring is important, unless you want your poor Sims walking on grass. A lot
of carpet really isn't that expensive, but once you start getting into tile and
hardwood, it gets more expensive.
To fill an entire room with flooring OR wallpaper, just hold Shift and click.
ROOF - Roof is simple. Just click on the little Roof icon in build mode and
pick a roof that you think looks nice on your Sim's new crib. These don't cost
any money to change. You can also change the 'steepness' of your roof. You can
make it flat to look like a trailer, or very high to look like a church.
POOLS - Pools are for the rich. Click the water tool, and then click and drag
to make a pool. These usually only go outside, but if you want to make an
indoor pool, do this. First make a pool outside, then build a wall around it,
because if you try to make a pool inside a room, it won't let you. Just make
sure that when you're building a pool, you make ladders so that your Sims can
get in and out.
+====================================+
| 6. FURNISHING YOUR DREAM HOME |
+====================================+
--------------------
| 6.1 Basics First |
--------------------
For this, start simple, then work your way up. But if you're using the cheat,
then you really have no business looking here. Start with the bare necessities
to fulfill your Sims' needs, then add the luxuries.
For hunger, and the kitchen, you should start with a fridge, chopper, sink, and
microwave all on counters. This is the cheapest way to go. The fridge, chopper,
and microwave help make the food. When you get some more money, you can replace
the microwave with an oven. The sink is for washing dishes, and this can also
be replaced later on with a dishwasher.
Room, Comfort, and Fun can all be fulfilled in the living room. Here, I
recommend a TV, couch (and chair if you want), a phone on a small table, and a
few small art items. The TV and couch fulfill Fun and Comfort, the phone is
just necessary, and the art items help the Room bar. If your Sim is more
serious, you can substitute the TV for a bookcase. This can also, in addition
to providing Fun, can help your Sim improve their skills.
A bathroom is needed for Bladder and Hygiene. Here, for starters, you have to
have a toilet, sink, and bathtub/shower. I recommend starting with a shower
instead of the bathtub. Here, you may also want to have a mirror and counter,
but save that for later.
Finally, buy a bed ONLY for the bedroom for starters. This fulfills Energy and
Comfort.
Some other items that you may want to have in addition to these are a burglar
and fire alarm. These help security, and don't really cost very much.
--------------------
| 6.2 Losing Items |
--------------------
If you've spend more money than you're bringing in, you're not going to be able
to pay those pieces of paper that come in the mail asking for money. Yup,
bills! Bills are never fun, especially when they put a hold on that new Fuzzy
Logic Dishwasher you've been saving for.
Anyway, if you don't pay your bills, the 'Repossesion Man' will come and take
away one or a few of your items so that they will pay for the bills. This isn't
fun, and you can't delete him or anything.
To resolve this, just PAY those bills!
-------------------------
| 6.3 Keeping it Clean |
-------------------------
Keeping your house clean is important, especially to raise those room ratings.
If you don't, then your house can get flies, cockroaches, and will just look
very unpleasant to visitors. And trust me, no one wants to make children in a
house full of puddles and cockroaches.
Anyway, the cheapest way to get the house clean is to do it yourself. Tell your
Sim do to so, and they'll run around the house putting away dishes and mopping
the floor. The only problem with this is that it lowers Hygiene and Energy. And
it's just not very fun for your Sim. But if you're pressed for cash, then this
is your only method.
The second cheapest method is hired help. You can hire a maid by phoning the
maid service, and asking them to send someone. The maid comes every day at 9 in
the morning, and cleans. She charges around $10 an hour, but it's well worth
it, because she's very effective and you don't have to lift a finger. You can
be as much a slob as you want, and the maid will clean it. She will leave when
there is no more work to be done, or after she's worked all day.
One of the most expensive methods comes with Livin' Large. Servo the Robot does
the job of a maid, gardener, AND repairman. He is extremely efficient, keeps
the lot clean and beautiful, and saves you the trouble. You need some extra
moolah to get him, though, as he costs a whopping 15,000 Simoleans. Start
saving up.
Finally, its the method that comes with the Superstar expansion pack. The
butler. He can be hired through the phone, and he arrives the following day at
9 in the morning. The only job that he will do himself is clean, but if there
are things to clean, repair, or water, he will call and hire the appropriate
people. He brings in the mail paper, and fills pet dishes (If you have
Unleashed). He will cook at every mealtime, so your Sims are saved the trouble,
and for your Sim superstars, he will slap the stalker that comes to your
property and spies on you. He, unlike the others, stays late, even though there
may be nothing to do. He will take care of babies during the day as well!
However, his problem is his cost. If you want a butler, you have to shell out
$500 EVERY day! But if you can afford it, he really is the best method of
housekeeping.
+========================================================+
| +====================================================+ |
| | PART B: WORKING -> It sucks, but it's necessary | |
| +====================================================+ |
+========================================================+
I had to build an entire section for working because it was ridiculously messy
on its own, so this way, it's much more organized and easy to find. Also
because I had quite a bit to say about working.
Jobs are a necessary part of Sim living. Your Sims need them to bring in the
dough to support themselves and their families. If your bum Sim is only
concerned with the next episode of 'Days of Our Lives' while their children and
their houses are wasting away, you better get them a job and buckle down.
In this section I'll discuss how to get a job, keep one, what the career tracks
are in each expansion, and other ways that your Sims can bring the money home.
I'll also discuss losing a job.
+=====================+
| 7. Getting One |
+=====================+
This is the first think you need to know about working Sims. Before they can be
bringing down $1000 every day, they need to get that dream job first, and there
are a couple of ways to do this.
The first way is incredibly cheap. Your Sims get the morning paper every day
from the little paper girl. Once it is delivered, send a Sim outside to get it,
and tell them to 'Look for Job'. The paper, however, will only have one job
offer per day. So if you don't like the one on that particular day, you can
always look tomorrow. Along with the job name, the paper will also list the
hours, carpool arrival, and a job description.
The next method is a little bit better. Your Sim can sit down at the computer
to look for work. Tell them to sit down and 'Look for Job' on the computer. The
computer will list THREE job options instead of just one, and you can either
accept one, or keep looking.
--------------------
| 7.1 Carpooling |
--------------------
When your Sim accepts a job, they will tell you that a carpool will arrive at
such-and-such a time. This means a car will arrive to pick up your Sim to take
them to work at a certain time.
When you want to go to work, and you want your Sims' needs to be all green,
make sure you go to sleep early and wake up a few hours earlier so that you can
fulfill their needs. Usually, if the carpool is coming at around 9 AM, I will
have my Sim up by 4 or 5 AM, because everything takes them SO ridiculously long
to do. But I do get them to sleep early, so their energy bar is full, and so is
everything else by the time they go to work.
When the carpool arrives, it will show in a small window at the bottom of the
screen. The car will honk endlessly until you get in. Thankfully, if you aren't
ready at the exact time that the carpool is there, your Sim has one hour to get
in the car before it leaves.
There, I think I've covered carpools well enough. We can move on.
+=====================+
| 8. Career Tracks |
+=====================+
When choosing a job, your Sim has plenty of choice. There were some choices in
the original Sims, and now there's many more thanks to the new expansion packs.
I will discuss all of these, along with their payments and rankings. They will
be arranged into their respective groups: Original Sims, Livin' Large, and
Unleashed.
The wages are PER DAY.
-----------------------
| 8.1 Original Sims |
-----------------------
+-+-+-+ Career: BUSINESS +-+-+-+
JOB WAGE
Mail Room $120
Executive Assistant $180
Field Sales Rep. $250
Junior Executive $320
Executive $400
Senior Manager $520
Vice President $660
President $800
CEO $950
Business Tycoon $1200
+-+-+-+ Career: ENTERTAINMENT +-+-+-+
JOB WAGE
Waitress $100
Extra $150
Bit Player $200
Stunt Double $275
B-Movie Star $375
Supporting Player $500
TV Star $650
Feature Star $900
Broadway Star $1100
Superstar $1400
Campaign Worker $220
Intern $300
Lobbyist $360
Campaign Manager $430
City Council Member $485
State Assembly $540
Congressman $600
Judge $650
Senator $700
Mayor $750
+-+-+-+ Career: PRO ATHLETE +-+-+-+
JOB WAGE
Team Mascot $110
Minor Leaguer $170
Rookie $230
Starter $300
All-Star $385
MVP $510
Superstar $680
Assistant Coach $850
Coach $1000
Hall of Famer $1300
+-+-+-+ Career: SCIENCE +-+-+-+
JOB WAGE
Test Subject $155
Lab Assitant $230
Field Researcher $320
Science Teacher $375
Project Leader $450
Inventor $540
Scholar $640
Top Secret Researcher $740
Theorist $870
Mad Scientist $1000
+-+-+-+ Career: X-TREME +-+-+-+
JOB WAGE
Daredevil $175
Bungee Jump Instructor $250
Whitewater Guide $325
Xtreme Circuit Pro $400
Bush Pilot $475
Mountain Climber $550
Photo-Journalist $650
Treasure Hunter $725
Grand Prix Driver $825
International Spy $925
-----------------------
| 8.2 Livin' Large |
-----------------------
These careers are available ONLY if you have Livin' Large installed.
+-+-+-+ Career: HACKER +-+-+-+
JOB WAGE
Daredevil $175
Support Technician $150
Webmaster $200
Hacker $240
Security Consultant $400
Game Designer $610
Internet Entrepreneur $800
Software CEO $1100
Venture Capitalist $1300
Information Overlord $1550
Golf Caddy $90
Convenience Store Clerk $110
Lifeguard $150
Record Store Clerk $180
Party D.J. $220
Projectionist $280
Video Editor $350
Freelance Photographer $400
Personal Tour Guide $450
Professional Party Guest $600
+-+-+-+ Career: MUSICIAN +-+-+-+
JOB WAGE
Subway Musician $90
Piano Tuner $120
Wedding Singer $190
Lounge Singer $250
High School Band Teacher $320
Roadie $400
Backup Musician $550
Studio Musician $700
Rock Star $1100
Celebrity Activist $1400
+-+-+-+ Career: JOURNALISM +-+-+-+
JOB WAGE
Typesetter $120
Game Reviewer $200
Tabloid Writer $230
Papparazzi $340
Newspaper Reporter $420
Meteorologist $510
TV Reporter $660
Investigative Reporter $850
National News Anchor $975
Talk Show Host $1200
Playground Monitor $120
Substitute $180
Kindergarten Teacher $190
Junior High Teacher $210
High School Teacher $290
Principal $310
Asst. Professor $490
Tenured Professor $600
College Dean $700
Minister of Education $900
JOB WAGE
Dishwasher $90
Drive Thru Order Taker $120
Fast Food Shift Manager $130
Sous Chef $180
Head Chef $220
Restaurant Critic $335
Cookbook Author $580
Restauranteur $690
Celebrity Chef $760
Candy Bar Magnate $930
+-+-+-+ Career: FASHION +-+-+-+
JOB WAGE
Department Store Clerk $130
Tailor $190
Makeup Artist $210
Painter's Model $235
Fashion Photographer $450
Tradeshow Model $600
Runway Model $650
Supermodel $875
Fashion Columnist $1050
Fashion Designer $1350
-----------------------------------
| 8.4 - The Art of Jobhopping |
-----------------------------------
First of all, you need to know what jobhopping is, and then I'll let you know
how it's profitable. Say that your Sim is very bored with their current
position, but has very high skills and family friends. This makes them easily
able to change career tracks. Jobhopping is, in a nutshell, changing from one
job to another for profit. You can also start over at the same job.
Why is this profitable, you ask? It is profitable because, once you start over
and are easily promoted, you get many bonuses. Starting over and over again
with high skills will let you enjoy these bonuses without much work, as well as
your daily pay.
----------------------------------
| 8.5 - Keeping/Losing Your Job |
----------------------------------
To keep your job, you just have to be there. If you are not there for two
consecutive days, you get fired and have to start all over again. However,
simply being there may not be enough for you. To advance in your job, just get
the skills needed and the friends, and your status should skyrocket. To bring
in a little more money, see Jobhopping above. However, the most basic rule for
keeping your job is to keep your mood up and not abuse the carpool.
You can lose your job in one of two ways. First of all, you can quit by
changing career tracks. This is the less painless way, but you can also get
fired. You get fired if you miss two straight days of work. A phone call will
come after you miss your second carpool, saying that "YOU ARE FIRED!", and you
will have to begin again in your chosen career track.
+=============================================+
| 8. Other Ways of Bringing Home the Bacon |
+=============================================+
If your Sim isn't the working type, you can have them do other things to bring
home the much-needed moolah. There's building, painting, cooking, and farming,
as far as I know. Each of these methods has their advantages and disadvantages,
and I will discuss those.
-------------------------
| 9.1 Building Gnomes |
-------------------------
Using the new Workshop item in Livin' Large, your mechanically-advanced Sims
can make little garden gnomes to sell. Just click on the item, and click "Build
Gnome". Your Sim will get to work. It won't take them very long to build that
gnome, but the money they get from it is different. To sell your gnome, go into
buy mode, and simply sell it by clicking on it and pressing "Delete". However,
if your Sim has a very high Mechanical skill, their gnomes will sell for much
more (around $100, I believe, correct me if I'm wrong) than a Sim with very low
Mechanical Skill. The low-skilled Sims' gnomes will sell for $1-2 Simoleans.
This can be a VERY GOOD money-earner, though it may not seem like it. For
example, put your Sim outside, and set them to work on gnomes. If your Sim has
10 Mechanical skill, they can boom out around 20 of the little wooden men. Keep
in mind that they have to be in a good mood upon beginning their work. At the
end of the day, sell all of those little men. They can make you a 2000 SIMOLEAN
PROFIT, if you make 20 and they each sell for $100. If you do this for 5 Sim
days, there's an easy $10,000! This is a great way to earn money without having
to get so many friends and skills.
-----------------------
| 9.2 Painting |
-----------------------
If you believe that your Sim is the next Van Gogh or Picasso, you can get them
to paint. This may not be as effective as gnome-making, but you can live on it
sometimes, if your Sim has 10 Creativity. They can make around 2-3 paintings a
day, and each one sells for around $160. That can leave you with around $450 to
spend. Gnomes are a much more effective way to earn money, but if you're
dedicated you can scape buy with just painting.
---------------------
| 9.3 Farming |
---------------------
This is one of my favorite ways to earn a living, though, without proper garden
care, it can be disastrous. If you have a huge farm and produce coming in by
the ton, Simoleans flow.
To farm, you have to buy a plot to plant the plants on. I would start with
around three or four. These plots can be found in the Plant Tool section of
Build Mode for $65. Then, you have to buy the seeds. These can be found by
going to Custers Market (lot 61). They're fairly cheap, and you should only
need a few packs to start with. If you talk to the resident farmer, you can ask
questions or buy his plant tonic. It can make your crops HUGE, which can yield
a large profit, or it can kill them. It's a judgment call.
To plant your crops, just click on your plot, and your active Sim will have a
choice of what to plant, depending on what seeds you bought. You should water
and weed the plants every day, and after a few Sim days, they will be ready to
harvest. After harvesting, you can store them in the pantry (available in the
Kitchen section) or go to Custer's Market and sell them. It makes more sense to
sell them to me, but again, a judgment call.
Now, it wouldn't be this easy to rake in the money, would it? No, there are
pests that often try to destroy your plants. Bunny rabbits aren't that bad, but
gopher's are your worst nightmare. They can destroy your entire vegetable
garden. There are two ways to prevent this, one is the honest/expensive way,
the other is the dishonest/free way. You can either get a cat for $300, which
will hunt down and kill the animal, but this takes time. The other way is to
pause the game quickly as possible, and press Ctrl+Shift+C. Type in
"move_objects on" and you can go into Buy mode and sell those pests.
Finally, I will discuss the crops. Tomatoes are your dream crop, and I
recommend that you start with these. They're quick to grow and harvest, and
bring in good money. Carrots = DO NOT GROW THEM. They attract rabbits and
gophers. The other two, peas and cabbages, are fine, but take VERY long to
grow. So, overall, I recommend that you grow tomatoes. It will save you time
and money.
--------------------------
| 9.4 Making Preserves |
--------------------------
This is an interesting way to make money, though not very good. You can buy a
preserve-making table, and if your Sim has high Cooking skills, can make fruit
preserves to sell, or give to other Sims.
As preserves don't sell for much, I don't recommend this method.
+========================================================+
| +====================================================+ |
| | PART C: EVERYWHERE ELSE --> Expand Your Horizons | |
| +====================================================+ |
+========================================================+
The addition of being able to leave your Sims' home was a great idea by Maxis.
With the addition of new expansion packs, we can now go on vacation, on a date,
or go somewhere to become someONE. In this section, I will discuss these
different Sim destinations, and what you can do while there.
+=========================+
| 10. Downtown |
+=========================+
The Downtown area came with Hot Date, and will not work if you do not have it.
With Hot Date, your Sim can catch a cab and go downtown. Then can take a date,
or go by their lonesome.
When downtown, you can do anything you want, pretty much. You can eat, you can
shop, or scope for a new guy or girl. Wherever you are, there will always be
other Sims, no matter what time it is. A little strange, but true. But I'm not
sure that you want ot be hanging around at 3AM. (Don't you have other things to
attend to at that time?) Also, one important thing to note is that Sims don't
see other Sims from other neighborhoods. For example, Sam Simmy from
Neighborhood 1 won't see Stephanie Simmy from Neighborhood 2 downtown.
---------------------------
| 10.1 Going and Leaving |
---------------------------
Going and leaving Downtown is simple. From home, you have to have a phone
(obviously), and click 'Go Downtown'. For $50, a cab will come and take you
downtown. To go home, find a big yellow phone. With these, you can either go
somewhere else downtown for another $50, or go home for free.
--------------------------
| 10.2 Getting Company |
--------------------------
Your Sim doesn't always have to be alone when Downtown. You can bring someone
as your date in a variety of ways. If you have someone at home (such as your
spouse) that you want to invite downtown, click on them and 'Invite Downtown'.
If your invitee is in a good mood, they will agree and you will both go to
downtown automatically for the $50 fee.
If you are already downtown, and you're talking to a sim, there's two options
that you can take to ask them to join you. Click on them, and choose the Ask...
option. Then, you can either choose 'Let's Hang Out?' or 'Let's Date?'. There
will be different responses for each, as hanging out is for just friends, and
dating has more romantic implications.
Finally, you can phone your significant other to ask them to join you. Click on
the phone, and choose the sim that you would like to join you. Then a box will
pop up asking you if you want to 'Talk', 'Invite Over', or 'Invite Somewhere'.
If you click Invite Somewhere, you will be given the 'Invite Downtown' option.
Click this, and your Sim will take action. The response of the other Sim
depends on their relationship. If they accept, you will meet downtown at your
chosen location.
------------------------
| 10.3 Having a Date |
------------------------
If your date has successfully accepted your downtown invite, there are a few
things you should know. Firstly, you CANNOT control them while downtown. There
will be a small crystal above your date's head. This does not indicate that
they are the active sim, but it indicates their mood. The bluer it is, the
happier they are, simple as that. The only way you can make them happier is
talk and do fun activities.
If you are inviting your spouse downtown, you have a certain advantage, because
you can make them the active Sim at home, and make sure that they're in a great
mood before inviting them downtown. This way, their mood crystal will stay blue
for the majority of your stay.
Another thing about your date is that you can't really get rid of them, other
than saying goodbye, because they will follow you everywhere. If you are
partaking in a social activity, they will be there. For example, if you go to
the dance floor to get your groove on, they'll join you, and if you decide to
go to the bar for some..*ahem*..they will go to and you'll pay for their drink.
If your date is in a fairly good mood, the 'Invite Home' option will appear for
use. Be very careful with this, because your invitation can be shot down if not
introduced properly. The date can end if your invitation home is rejected,
because your date may get very angry with you and decide that their time is
better spent elsewhere.
If you ask someone that is already downtown to hang out/date with you, the
crystal will appear and you can go on as normal.
+===========================+
| 11. Vacation Island |
+===========================+
Vacation Island, introduced in the Vacation expansion pack, allows your entire
Sim family to go to an exotic destination for a few days and kick back and
relax.
---------------------------
| 11.1 Going and Leaving |
---------------------------
To go to Vacation Island, it's the same as going downtown. You use your phone
and Call Cab>Go on Vacation. If you click yes in the popup menu, you are
whisked off to Vacation Island for a price of $500, and you get to choose where
you would like to go in the "Neighborhood."
However, one thing you need to make sure when going is that the entire family
is home. You cannot go to Vacation Island if someone is at school or at work.
To leave, you should check out of the hotel/resort that you are at first. To do
this, simply go to the main desk, click on it, and select Check Out. Then, use
the phone to call and leave, just like you would downtown.
You can stay on Vacation Island as long as you want, because job and/or school
status is not affected.
-----------------------
| 11.2 Fees |
-----------------------
Although the island is a great place to go with many new things to do, it has
many fees that go along with it. First is the $500 transportation fee. This is
just to get there.
Checking in costs you around $120, but you'll only have to do this once, even
if you're planning on staying somewhere else! This is strange, but the key that
everyone in the family receives works for every hotel on the island! This gives
you the opportunity to switch resorts if you get bored. This is good
considering that all the key gives you is access to a bed, dresser, and
bathroom.
It will cost $20 for food per person, I believe. You can either grill your own
food (If there is a grill at your chosen destination), or you can grab some
munchies at the buffet table.
Overall, to stay on Vacation Island longer than two days, and be comfortable,
you should need around $2000 for your family. If you have a large family that
you want to accommodate for a week or more, try for close to $4000 extra.
----------------------------
| 11.3 Awards/Souvenirs |
----------------------------
You can get many awards on vacation. These are rare, but you can get them if
your family is in a good mood over an extended period of time, and has fun
using the facilities. I once got a golden pineapple. If you would like to learn
what the vacation director has to say about awards, click on her, and say Ask
About>Awards.
Souvenirs are a fun item to get. These can be "purchased" with tokens, and the
tokens can be earned while playing arcade games. There are lots of games for
you to play as much as you want, though you need to be aware that they do cost
money. You usually receive good amounts of tokens at the chicken game and the
other, which is square shaped and requires you to smash things. I don't know
its name. You can redeem your tokens for souvenirs at the souvenir booth, which
is always near the games.
---------------------
| 11.4 Activities |
---------------------
There are many activities at your disposal on Vacation Island, and I've already
talked about one of them, games. I won't discuss all of the activities, because
that would just take too long, but I'll talk about some of them.
If there is a rental shack near you, you can rent a metal detector and go
treasure-hunting. You usually won't find much, but sometimes you just may
strike it rich. Or you could also find a boot. You never know.
When with your spouse, there are other fun things that you can do. If you are
in a tent, igloo, or hot tub, your Sims can 'Play' inside. Their social levels
will go through the roof, but Comfort and Hygiene may go down.
Finally, a way to have fun while building relationships is volleyball. At the
beach resorts, there are volleyball courts that your Sim can play on, and start
a game with the others. It's pretty much neverending, and your Sim can join and
leave as they please.
--------------------------
| 11.5 Bringing A Date |
--------------------------
Bringing a date on vacation is very similar to bringing a date downtown. You
can phone them, or ask them while they are over. If they accept, which will
most likely be the case, then you will immediately phone the vacation shuttle,
and you will go.
An advantage to bringing a date on vacation is that your family won't go with
you. For example, if you have a single mother and a child living in one home,
and the mother decides to go for some R&R on vacation with her current
boyfriend, the child will not accompany her.
A disadvantage, however, is that your date has a ridiculously short memory.
Because of this, you must run the whole vacation as you would run a date: One
action at a time.
Finally, just like downtown, your date is out of your control and has the blue
crystal over their head. This is easy, just make sure that they're well-fed,
entertained, and rested. Entertainment should NOT be a problem while on
vacation, seeing as that is their specialty.
Relationships are a very easy thing to uphold and improve while on the island.
This is so because many of the activities are made for groups, and they can
really boost your social rating with your date.
+======================+
| 12. Old Town |
+======================+
Unleashed is an interesting addition to the Sims. It allows for many more
activities. It has also made a whopping change to the neighborhoods. Now, there
are 41 LOTS in one neighborhood.
With Unleashed came Old town. Now your Sims can go shopping for a pet or just
take a walk in what is a rather different perspective on 'Downtown'.
I've already talked about Farming in section 9.3, but another addition with
unleashed is PETS! I will talk more about the furballs in section 14.
But one thing I will talk about in Old Town is the new NPCs (Non Playable
Characters). If you are eating, the saxophone player may come and play for you.
He is like the violin player downtown. You can request a song or you can tip
him. Also, there are pet judges that can judge your pets abilities and
grooming. I have yet to experiment with them. However, one of the most
interesting characters is Miss Lucielle. She can do three things for you; one
is reading your palm for a meaningless fortune. This isn't very important. If
you have a pet, she can really help you. She can read your pets' minds, and
find out for you exactly what they want. However, her most useful action is
that, for a fee, she will bring back the dead! If your friend/spouse/child has
been made into a zombie, she will revive them.
+=========================+
| 13. Studio Town |
+=========================+
This is going to be one HECK of a section, because the addition of Studio Town
in the Superstar expansion pack, your Sims can survive without jobs, and be
internationally recognized to boot!
If your Sim is a dreamer, and wants to be famous, Studio Town is the place for
you. But before you can undertake a career, however, you MUST GET an agent. The
way to do this is reading the tabloid, which I will talk about soon, and
clicking 'Get an Agent'. This will kickstart you on your road to superstardom.
----------------------------
| 13.1 Going and Leaving |
----------------------------
To go to Studio Town, all your Sim has to do is Call Cab>Go To Studio Town.
A car will arrive shortly to take you there. Leaving is the same, just find a
phone, call a cab, and you'll go.
One thing, though. After you get an agent and you decide to go to Studio Town,
the car that picks you up depends on your star level, which is located in your
Career section. It works just like work. If you have a very low star level, you
will be picked up in a beat-up green car. However, if you have a very high star
level, a nice stretch limo will take you to Studio Town in style.
Another thing that you need to know about Studio Town careers is that you
should treat them like your job. If you do not go every day, you will lose
things. I'll compare it with the job. If you miss going to work for two
consecutive days, you're fired. Studio Town isn't as harsh, but you lose one
star level if you do not go for two consecutive days. So you really need to
juggle relationships and trips to be successful.
-----------------------
| 13.2 The Tabloid |
-----------------------
The SimCity tabloid arrives every morning just like your newspaper. With it you
can Read, Find an Agent, or find out Who's Hot. Reading is pretty
self-explanatory. Your Sim sits down and reads.
Finding an agent is fun, because it helps get your Sims' career moving. You
must do this before attempting any kind of Studio Town career. You click on
Find Agent, and your career is started for you. Now all you need to do is go to
Studio Town and build it.
The 'Who's Hot' feature allows you to see what your status is in Studio Town,
and it all depends on your fame. The Who's Hot section lists the top ten in the
business, and with some hard work, you may be one of them.
-------------------
| 13.3 Awards |
-------------------
Awards are given only to the finest. There are two types of awards, Achievement
and Performance. If your Sim is getting an award, an award presenter with a
very high star power will arrive at your home in a limo, with a paparazzi in
tow.
To receive Achievement awards, you need to have at least two and a half stars.
There are also two different kinds of Achievement awards, the Simmy and the
Sim's Choice Award. The Sim's Choice Award goes to a Sim that has a good
relationship with their many fans. Finally, the coveted Simmy award goes to a
Sim with very high star power.
The Performance awards are divided into the three career categories: Fashion,
Music, and Acting. These are given once a Sim successfully completes enough
tasks and/or does very well in Studio Town. These are easier to win if you only
focus on ONE career track. Performance awards are given IN STUDIO TOWN, not at
home, in bronze, silver, or gold.
-------------------
| 13.4 NPC's |
-------------------
There are seven new NPC's (Non Playable Characters) in Studio Town, and I will
briefly discuss each of them.
LANA, Studio Town Production Assistant - Lana is extremely knowledgeable, and
can give you insider information about anything in Studio Town, including
managing your fans, getting awards, and name dropping. On your first visit to
Studio Town, Lana will automatically come and welcome you, but afterwards, you
need to visit her on your own. She is usually dressed in brown and black, and
carries a clipboard.
PAPARAZZI - This guy will take pictures of almost anyone, anywhere. He will
find you during good times, and unfortunately, bad times. However, any
publicity is good publicity, eh? If your Sim isn't being noticed, he or she may
need to stage a little publicity stunt of their own, in order to get the
attention of the paparazzi.
DEVOTED FANS - These are your key to superstardom, and don't forget them. Be
sure to remember when you were on the outside looking in when dealing with your
fans. It doesn't take much to make them happy, just a wave, or an autograph
when they ask for it. Basically, if you keep them happy, you will be happy.
Ignore them, and they'll go to any lengths to see you.
OBSESSED FAN - See section 13.6
STUDIO TOWN TEAM - These are the photographers, directors, producers,
designers, and choreographers that keep studio town working. Be nice to them,
because they can make or break your career. It doesn't matter to them if you
believe that you're the next Justin Timberlake, you have to have the talent to
back it up.
AWARD PRESENTER - These superstars of Studio Town may visit your home to
present your Sim with an award to rocket them to new levels of superstardom.
They usually arrive in a limo, with a paparazzo. For more on awards, see
Section 13.3.
BUTLER - See section 13.6
-----------------------------
| 13.5 Career Help |
-----------------------------
These are little mini-walkthroughs and tips for each career in Studio Town.
Keep in mind that these are just tips, and that you should make your own little
twists and variations on them.
+=+=+=+=+ 13.5.1 ACTING +=+=+=+=+
Before starting your acting career, build up some charisma and creativity
(around 3-4 each) by practicing in front of the mirror. After you've done this,
you can go to Studio Town and begin your acting career. The only item that you
can start with is the Open Mic. This is like a karaoke stage, only you don't
sing, you entertain. Keep using this until you reach 1.5 stars.
Once you reach 1.5 stars, you can use the Commercial TV Set. Here, you can act
a commercial. Do not act the inheritance or death scenes yet. Keep this up
until you reach around 2.5 stars. Keep an eye on your skill requirements.
Anyway, keep up commercial acting until you reach around 2.5 stars. Now, you
can act on the same set, but now you can begin the Inheritance and Death
scenes. Once you choose to act one of these, you get three options to choose
from. These options are ways to act the scene (Eg. Dramatic, comedic). The
trick to getting paid is to get these in the correct order in THREE ATTEMPTS,
and I have a VERY good method for doing this.
Say that your options are Dramatic, Comedic, Seductive. These aren't the actual
ones in the game, but they're just my example. Keep in mind that you have three
attempts to get it in the correct order.
OK, the first time you try, choose Dramatic, Dramatic, Dramatic. If your
directors reaction is: Yes, No, No, that means that they liked your intro, but
not the middle and ending.
Next choose, Dramatic, Comedic, Comedic. If the director's reaction is Yes,
Yes, No, that means that they liked your intro and body, but not your ending.
To solve this, just add the Seductive option to the end, and there it is, your
winning routine: Dramatic, Comedic, Seductive. This method might sound
complicated, and if you have any questions about it or need help feel free to
email me (ibilic@msn.com).
Use the above method, and you should be pulling down around $300 a scene for
your acting.
Keep up the soaps until your rating reaches 4.5, and you can take your talent
from the small screen to the big screen with the movie sets. This is the very
large one with a set of stairs and a table. In order to act these, you need a
co-star, but all you have to do is wait and someone will show. As usual, you
will be given three options for how you want to act the scene. But here you
only get TWO chances to act out the scene correctly, but you only need to get
two out of three right. If you get the two out of three, then you should be
bringing down $700-$1000 a scene! Life is good.
The trick to every career is PATIENCE. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither
will your fame. Take it one step (and relationship) at a time, and you should
be basking in riches fairly quickly.
+=+=+=+=+ 13.5.2 FASHION +=+=+=+=+
So you wanna be the next Tyra Banks, eh? Well, you should have the funds to
back it up, or have a two-person family, which is what I usually do. Since this
choice is very money-dependent, I have one sim go to work and bring in the
moolah, while the other pursues their fashion career.
To start this career, do the same thing you did in Acting. First build up
around 5 Creativity skill, and then go to the open mic and sing. Keep this up
until you reach 0.5 stars. Once this is accomplished, go to the set with a
Print ad shoot. This is a small set with a backdrop. Here, you should select
Model..Print Ad. Don't model swim or winterwear yet. You should earn around
70-80 Simoleans for your print-ad troubles. Keep making these ads until you
reach 2 stars.
Once you hit 2 stars, you can use that same backdrop to now model Swimwear or
Winterwear. Again, just like acting in soaps, you'll have three chances to nail
the scene. Use the method I mentioned in the acting section and you'll be fine.
If you get it right, you should get around $111.
Keep lookin' pretty until you hit 3.5 stars. For models, this is where the fun
begins! You can now use the runway, where you can earn up to 400 Simoleans per
walk. To use it, click on it and choose Model Clothing, at which point you will
receive three styles of clothing to choose from (in place of the acting methods
mentioned before). Use the elimination method. There are two catches for
modeling, though. Like the movie sets, you need a costar, for whom your Sim
will just stand and wait. And also like the movie sets, you only get two
chances to get two out of the three clothing styles, but you only need to get
two out of the three correct. Keep walking and strutting your stuff, and you
just may earn that coveted Simmy award.
Even though it may not seem like it, Fashion is the highest-paying of the three
careers, once you get to be a Superstar. Once you get to this highest level,
the runway people will pay you more to walk on their runway. I once got $1000
Simoleans for modeling clothing, so keep on trucking!
+=+=+=+=+ 13.5.2 MUSIC +=+=+=+=+
This is the easiest career to get into, I think, though it may not pay as much
sometimes. To start, do what you did for the past two careers. Belt out the
tunes at the open mic. Make sure you have at least 5 Creativity skill in order
for people to really love you. If they hate you, your star rating plummets. For
each song you belt out, you'll receive between $5-15.
Keep this up until you reach 2 stars. Now, you can sing jingles. To do this,
you need to go to a recording booth. Click on it, and choose Jingle. Don't
click anything else because you won't be able to do it. For each one that you
sing correctly (there are no options here), you should receive around $70. Do
this enough, and you should be up to three stars in no time.
What happens at three stars, you say? Well, now you can cut your first single,
and you can use the same recording booth as you did before. Just click on the
genre of song that you would like to perform, and as usual, you will be given
three ways to perform the song. Use my method mentioned in acting, and you'll
be fine. If you nail the song, you will get paid between $250-500, depending on
your star level.
Keep cutting these singles until you reach 4 stars, at which point you can
begin doing music videos. This is just like doing movies in acting. Again, you
will be given three options, but you only get two chances to get them correct.
You only need to get two out of three right, although you won't get paid as
much as you would if the song was perfect. Just choose the first choice for all
three parts, then change the wrong parts to the second option. This pretty much
guarantees you to get at least two right.
Your payment for music videos depends on your star level and your ability to
get the song right as mentioned above. You can get paid up to $1000 per video
if your star level is high and the song is good. If you get good at videos, a
music award just may come your way.
-------------------
| 13.6 Butlers |
-------------------
There are certain perks to being a superstar, and the butler is one of them.
Once you're rich, you can afford this guy, but at $500 a day, he's worth it.
When he arrives in the morning, he can make you your breakfast, though his
meals aren't very filling. He can remove all visitors if you don't want them,
and he'll fill food dishes of your pets if you have them. They keep your house
clean and in working order. They call the necessary people, and makes your
house run smoothly. One of their good functions though is their ability to take
care of a baby. Whenever the baby cries, they pick up the little twerp and give
it what it needs.
His hours are from around 7 in the morning to around 11 every night. That means
that they can't take care of the baby at night, or do anything, but that's that.
Also, if he's feeling a little bored with nothing to do, he'll jack a vodka or
two from your bar or liquor cabinet, if you have one. He also won't follow you
to Studio Town/Vacation Island/wherever you're going.
It's up to you if you want a butler, but one of his wonderful (and rather
funny) services is getting rid of the stalker, whom I will talk about next. He
walks up to him, and gives him a good old SMACK in the face, and that stalker
runs away screaming. He can, of course, return the next day. Now, I will talk
more in-depth about these stalkers.
---------------------
| 13.7 Stalkers |
---------------------
These obsessive fans are the downside of fame. Though fun and interesting at
first, these slobs eventually get weird, and just downright creepy. These
weirdos (that always look the same) hang around around your house, and often
dig through your trash. They take out a pop can, but then take pictures of your
house.
They don't only stay on the outside, though. They'll break into your house,
WITHOUT setting off the alarm, mind you, and take pictures. Most prominently,
they'll steal your hard-earned awards. There are two ways to prevent this. One,
get a dog. The mere presence of a pooch will prevent him from entering your
home, but he can still hang around outside. Two, put a door with a star on it
(available in the doors section in build mode) as the entrance to your trophy
room. No one can enter through this door unless they have at least a 3 star
rating.
To get him off your property during the day, get a butler. He'll calmly strut
up to the stalker, and pop him one across the face. Rather funny, but he does
come back the next day, only to get slapped again.
To entirely prevent getting one of these idiots, just treat all of your fans
well, give them autographs, and keep the cockiness to a minimum.
+========================================================+
| +====================================================+ |
| | PART D: EXTRA LUXURIES --> Have some fun! | |
| +====================================================+ |
+========================================================+
Now let's face it. The Sims' life would be pretty boring without those small
things that make life fun, like pets and parties. You can also make that
boring, and rather disgusting, poor Sim into one that's wallowing in money.
Some of these things can be done honestly, but others, we just cheat.
+=========================+
| 14. Pets |
+=========================+
Pets can either be really fun, or really annoying. It depends on what your
opinions are on pets. Some are really useful, and others just lie there like
lumps. In this section, we'll briefly discuss them.
----------------------------
| 14.1 Getting READY! |
----------------------------
This is an ESSENTIAL part of getting a pet. If you're not ready to have one at
home, then it'll most likely die. It's the cold truth.
Focus on the basic necessities of the pet, then look at luxuries. If you're
getting a bird, iguana, fish or turtle, all you need to do is buy it the
appropriate cage/housing, and it's fine. For the birds, you can have a normal
cage or an aviary. For iguanas, it's the aquarium, etc.
The dogs and cats require more money, as well as more attention. To prepare for
these pets, you need to buy a bed, and a food bowl. If you have a cat, you may
want to get it one of those playground-like things available in the Pets
section of buy mode.
--------------------------
| 14.2 Buying a Pet |
--------------------------
This is the most common way of getting a pet, but it's not the only way. I'll
discuss this more in a second. Go to Old Town by phoning a cab, and choose one
of the commercial lots that has pets for sale. Use the filter at the top of the
page to see which ones sell pets.
If you want to buy an iguana or a turtle, look in a dimly lit room. This is
where they're usually housed in Old Town. An iguana will cost you $199, and a
turtle will cost $99. The fish are in that same room, in large aquariums, and
one of these will cost you $15.
The birdies are in big cages, and you can either buy a Budgie or a Love Bird. I
don't think there's a big difference between the two, but the Budgie costs $35,
and the Love Bird is $59. They each only require a cage and minimal attention.
On the other hand, if you'd like to go buy a cat or dog, look in the
square-shaped stands that have little dogs or little cats in them. Once you
click on one of them, you will be given two options. You can either 'Adopt
Dog/Cat' or 'Play With Dog/Cat'. Adopting will cost you a nice sum of $399.
Once you choose to Adopt, your Sim will then have a choice of what color
dog/cat they would like.
Then, you will go to the cash register to pay for your animal, after which you
will have a chance to name it. After you name it, you can continue whatever you
were doing in Old Town, or you can go home.
----------------------------
| 14.3 Adopting a Pet |
----------------------------
If you're cheap, then you can adopt a pet for free by helping one of the
neighborhood strays. This could be a pretty good way of getting a pet, because
you can get one with very high skills and/or abilities.
This method takes a long time to do, but it could pay off for you cheap people.
Now, to adopt a neighborhood stray, just feed it and interact with it for a
long time, until it decides that it wants to be part of your family.
To find out if a pet is a stray, then all you need to do is meet it, so it
shows up in your relationship screen, then click on it to see its last name. If
the last name is Stray, then it's a stray (e.g.- FiFi Stray).
----------------------
| 14.4 Pet Moods |
----------------------
These are all the same that your human Sims have; Hunger, Comfort, Hygiene,
Bladder, Energy, Fun, Social, Room. To fulfil hunger, just buy a food dish and
fill it often. Pets fulfil Comfort on their own by sleeping.
Hygiene is different for dogs and cats. Cats care about how they look, so they
groom themselves. Dogs, on the other hand, don't care, so you have to bathe
them often with the pet bath object. Bladder is an interesting one. Cats, being
angels, will go in clean littler boxes. Dogs have to be trained to go outside.
Energy is pretty self-explanatory. Buy the pet a dog/cat bed, and they'll catch
their Z's whenever they want to. Fun can be fulfilled the same way as social.
You can play with your pet to raise both meters. Pets can also play with other
neighborhood dogs and cats. Cats also get a kick out of killing mice and
gophers.
Room is the same as your Sims' Room rating.
------------------------
| 14.5 Pet Skills |
------------------------
Your pet has three different skills that you can help along: Tricks, Obedience,
and Housebreaking or Hunting. Housebreaking is only for dogs and Hunting is
only for cats.
You can train your pet to do a trick by clicking on it and going Tricks...Train
Trick. Your pet, much like the sims, will have a blue bar over its head to show
progress. When it fills, it gains a point in the trick category, again much
like the sims. If you don't want to take the trouble to do this, talk to the
pet trainer at the adoption agency, and he'll take care of it for you.
Obedience is an easy one. Just keep asking your pet to 'Sit and Stay', and the
blue bar will fill up, and it'll gain a point, like it does when it learns
tricks.
For cats, you can train them to hunt. It's very good for you, because the cat
will (happily) keep the house rodent and pest-free. Even if they have no
hunting skills, cats will, after a while, automatically find the pest and kill
it. However, a cat with a higher hunting skill will do it faster. After a
successful hunt, the cat gains a Hunting skill point.
Dogs must be housebroken, unless you want them making little mini-lakes inside
your house. Cats don't need to do this, because they'll do their thing in
litter boxes. To train the pups, just click on them and select 'Scold' whenever
you see a puddle INSIDE. This will give them a point. If they're doing that
outside, wait until they're finished, then click on them and select 'Praise'.
+=========================+
| 15. Parties!!! |
+=========================+
If you have the House Party expansion, then you have the option on your phone
to 'Throw Party'. These can be really fun and crazy, but if you're not properly
prepared for them, it can be a disaster.
There are three NECESSITIES that your guests need fulfiled. These are food,
bladder, and entertainment. They must be fulfilled on a LARGE scale. That means
that one bathroom with one toilet CANNOT satisfy all guests.
For bathrooms, make a room separate from the rest of your house, one that has
toilet STALLS. Why is this? Because, even if your room has 50 toilets, Sims
won't go if there's other Sims there to watch. And if they hang out in the
bathroom, they won't leave, they just like to talk there. So if you get stalls,
then they'll go and be able to keep their privacy. Also add sinks.
In a room NEXT to this one, make all of your party stuff. Here, you must add a
buffet table. You can fill the table yourself, which will cost you $100, but
the best thing to do would be to call the caterer. He'll come, and fill the
table for you all day whenever it needs to be filled for a price of $350.
For entertainment, you can make things indoors and outdoors. Make a party room,
or you can just cram this stuff in your house. You choose. Have a fire pit
outside, and inside have pool tables, dance floors, dance cages, a stereo or DJ
table, and anything else that will make sure that everyone will be entertained.
You could also buy something that looks like a big cake, found in the Misc
Items section. When you click on this, you can hire a stripper, which is great
entertainment for everyone. Just make sure that when you do this, a lot of
people are in the room to watch.
If your party is horrible, then you will get an unwanted guest. The mime will
show up, and imitate the guests. This is an indication that your party is
awful, and you really don't want him there. Just check what you did wrong, and
fix it next time.
However, if you have a really really stupendous party, Drew Carey will show up.
He arrives in a limo, at which point all of your guests run to the street with
his face in a speech bubble. He just goes around and talks to people, and
really makes no difference whatsoever, but his arrival just means that you
hosted a kick-ass party.
+=============================+
| 16. Cheats and Tricks |
+=============================+
If you've had enough of honestly playing the Sims, earning your money and
toiling over your children, you can cheat and make things interesting.
Note: For ALL CHEAT CODES, you must press Ctrl+Shift+C. A grey text box will
come up in the top left corner of your screen. There, you can enter the code.
---------------------------
| 16.1 Resetting Moods |
---------------------------
If your poor neglected Sim's needs are all in the red, and you don't want to
bother fixing them honestly, use this cheat code.
In the cheat text box, (Ctrl+Shift+C), type move_objects on. Then go into buy
mode, and click on your Sim. Press delete to sell them. Now, in live mode, your
Sim should have a little red X in a circle on their picture. Click on that
little red X, and they'll pop back to life, in a REALLY great mood.
This cheat code works for pets and kids too. It does not work for visitors of
any kind.
------------------------
| 16.2 Money Cheat |
------------------------
Aahh...the big one. If your Sims are dying because you can't afford food and
you're too lazy to get a job, use this cheat code.
In the cheat text box, type rosebud. This will give you $1000. This is probably
not enough, and you don't want to keep typing rosebud 100 times. So, now, AFTER
you've typed rosebud, bring the box up again and type the following.
!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!!;
Notice that there is no semicolon between the last two exclamations. This
allows you to HOLD the enter key. Press it and hold it, and watch your money
soar. There will be a box that goes up and says "There's no such cheat", but
your money goes up anyway.
------------------------------------------------
| 16.3 'Selling The Rockey Explosion' Trick |
------------------------------------------------
For this, use the move_objects on code, and have your Sim play with the
fireworks kit (this is from House Party, I believe.) Right when they set off
the rocket explosion, and its in the air, switch to Buy Mode. Enter the code,
and then select the rocket explosion. You can now sell it.
--------------------------------------
| 16.4 Marry for Money and Friends |
--------------------------------------
This is rather fun, even if it is kind of cruel. Have your Sim meet a townie,
and make them both fall in love. Then, marry them. Now, the townie may not have
a TON of money, but he/she will have at LEAST 30 friends. This is a GREAT thing
for job promotions.
-------------------------
| 16.5 Use and Return |
-------------------------
This is a popular method if you don't have a ridiculous amount of money, and
you only need to use something once. Just buy it, and use it, and return it.
Heh. And as long as the item is returned that SAME DAY, then you'll get the
same amount of money back as when you bought it. If you return it the next day,
they a certain amount of money is lost.
--------------------------
| 16.6 Cheat Code List |
--------------------------
THANK YOU PYROFALKON for this cheat code list!!!
Code > Result
rosebud - 1000 Simoleons
hist_add - Add new family history stat to the current family
Architecture tools automatically set the level as needed (auto_level)
Automatically import and load indicated FAM file (import )
Automatically load indicated house, no questions asked (house )
Check and fix required lot objects (prepare_lot)
Crash game (crash)
Create-a-character mode (edit_char)
Display personality and interests (interests)
Draw all animation frames disabled (draw_all_frames off)
Draw all animation frames enabled (draw_all_frames on)
Draw colored dots at each person's origin (draw_origins)
Dump entire memory to core_dump_[date:time].txt (core_dump)
Dump selected person's most recent list of scored interactions to a file
(dump_happy)
Dump selected person's motive contribution curve to a file (dump_mc)
Enable debug flag to show outcome choice dialogs for social interactions
(debug_social)
End sim logging (sim_log end)
Execute "file.cht" file as a list of cheats (cht )
Floorable grid disabled (draw_floorable off)
Floorable grid enabled (draw_floorable on)
Force an assert for testing (assert)
Log animations in the event log window (log_animations)
Map editor disabled (map_edit off)
Map editor enabled (map_edit on)
Move any object (move_objects on)
No tutorial object generation when tutorial house is loaded (tutorial off)
Prevent web browser crashes (browser_failsafe)
Preview animations disabled (preview_anims off)
Preview animations enabled (preview_anims on)
Programmer stats (tile_info)
Quit game (quit)
Read in behavior tuning constants from Tuning.txt (#import)
Rebuilds entire control panel/UCP from scratch (rebuild_cp)
Refresh the BMP_ resources for all people whose IFF files are writable
(refresh_faces)
Rematch dependent textures and regenerate bitmaps for all user characters
(refresh_textures)
Restore tutorial (restore_tut)
Rotate camera (rotation <0-3>)
Routing debug balloons disabled (route_balloons off)
Routing debug balloons enabled (route_balloons on)
Invisible objects (genable_objects off)
Run series of random operations on unhoused families (fam_test )
Save currently loaded house (save)
Save family history file (history)
Say "plugh" (plugh)
Say "porntipsguzzardo" (porntipsguzzardo)
Say "xyzzy" (xyzzy)
Selected person's path displayed (draw_routes on)
Selected person's path hidden (draw_routes off)
Set event logging mask (log_mask)
Set free thinking level (autonomy <1-100>)
Set game speed (sim_speed <-1000-1000>)
Set grass change value (edit_grass )
Set grass growth (grow_grass <0-150>)
Set lot size (lot_size )
Set maximum milliseconds to allow simulator (sim_limit )
Set time of day for unpatched game version (set_hour <1-24>)
Set z offset for thought bubbles (bubble_tweak )
Sets the neighborhood directory to the path ()
Sets up the borders of the lot with non-editable flag. Requires rotation
(lot_border)
Sets whether menu items appear for in use objects (allow_inuse)
Show memory view window in debug builds of the game (memview)
Start sim logging (sim_log begin)
Swap the two house files and updates families (swap_houses )
Ticks disabled (sweep off)
Ticks enabled (sweep on)
Tile information displayed (tile_info on)
Tile information hidden (tile_info off)
Toggle allowing visitors to be controlled using the keyboard (visitor_control)
Toggle assets report (report_assets)
Toggle camera mode (cam_mode)
Toggle music (music)
Toggle sounds (sound)
Toggle web page creation (html)
Total reload of people skeletons, animations, suits and skins (reload_people)
Trigger sound event (soundevent)
Write out an RTE file every time a route is found (write_routes)
Write out behavior tuning constants to Tuning.txt (#export)
+========================================================+
| +====================================================+ |
| | PART E: Conclusion -> In Closing... | |
| +====================================================+ |
+========================================================+
This is to finish my FAQ. I hope you liked it, and that it helped you with the
Sims. KEEP IN MIND that this FAQ is Copyright "anduyn". That means that I WROTE
it, and any people that contributed or that I got information from are properly
credited.
IF YOU BELIEVE that I stole something from you, and I did not credit you
properly, feel free to contact me, let me know, and I WILL credit you.
+=============================+
| 17. Contacting Me |
+=============================+
If you want to contact me for any reason, my info is as follows:
AIM: anduinx
MSN: teenageangst_18@hotmail.com or ibilic@msn.com.
Please DO NOT contact me asking for a serial number, or a copy of my game.
Pyrofalkon for the cheats list, and several other small things located
throughout this FAQ. You wrote an awesome walkthrough!
No one else that I know of, because this FAQ is new, and no one else has
contributed.
+===================+
| 18. Good Luck |
+===================+
Well...this is the last thing in this FAQ. I hope that you learned something,
and that you enjoyed reading this little bit of knowledge from me.
Again, if you need more help, or want to contribute, feel free to contact me.
Just one last rant, however. This faq is MINE. Not to be rude, but if you steal
it and claim it as your own, I will NOT be happy. I spent a good deal of time
writing this so that people could read it and learn from it, and I DO NOT need
anyone stealing it. Just ask, and I will most likely say yes.
