Welcome to my FAQ/Walkthrough which will hopefully assist you in the way you
play Lion head Studios all new game The Movies. This is my first proper
attempt at an FAQ/Walkthrough so if you spot anything that should or
shouldn’t be here please let me know.
This is a Work In Progress and because this game has only been out a short
while I don’t know how to work the game perfectly get either.
Thanks, I hope you enjoy the FAQ/Walkthrough and also hope that it helps you.
1.0. Contents
1.1. Copyright Notice
1.2. Version History
2.0. FAQ
2.1. Main Menu
2.2. Credits
2.3. The Movies Premiere Edition
2.4. Minimum System Requirements
3.0. Stars
3.1. Hiring Stars
3.2. Making Stars Happier
3.3. Addictions
3.4. Relationships
3.5. Selling and Retiring Stars
3.6. Press
3.7. Star Maker
3.8. How your stars are rated.
4.0. Your Studio
4.1. Buildings in your studio
4.2. Studio Prestige
4.3. Achievements
4.4. Awards Ceremonies
4.5. How your studio is rated.
5.0. Movie Making
5.1. Genres
5.2. Sets
5.2.1 Comedy Sets
5.2.2 Romance Sets
5.2.3 Sci-Fi Sets
5.2.4 Action Sets
5.2.5 Horror Sets
5.3. How your movies are rated
5.3.1 When Released
5.3.2 In the charts
This FAQ/Walkthrough may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except
for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise
distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on
any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited,
and a violation of copyright.
Guide Copyright 2006 Mark Eastaugh
ASCII Artwork Copyright 2006 osrevad
The following websites may host this guide :
www.gamefaqs.com and websites that it permits.
www.absolutcheats.com
www.neoseeker.com
www.1up.com
www.supercheats.com
www.cheathappens.com
If you see any other websites hosting the whole or part of this guide please
let me know.
If you would like to host this FAQ please email me and give me the address
of the site. I will only let you host this guide if your site is not full
of advertisements ect and that this faq is hosted without any ads and banners
on the same page.
*************************
* 1.2. Version History *
*************************
19/2/06 - Thats it! Unless anyone emails me anything to include I am declaring
this a completely finished guide. I hope the guide helped you! Ill be covering
the new expansion pack when it comes out later this year, so watch out for
that too. Thanks to all of you this guide has, as of today, 17,000 hits!
15/2/06 - Added ASCII Artwork. Ornament and Furniture taking longer than I
thought but it will be here eventually.
11/2/06 - Started on a major task, the names, price and descriptions of all
ornaments, furniture ect. This will span out over the next week or two.
9/2/06 - Finished Walkthrough.
7/2/06 - Added more to research packs.
3/2/06 - Started on research packs.
27/1/06 - Finished Awards. Started writing the second part of the walkthrough
externally.
25/1/06 - Started work on Awards. Changed afew errors.
24/1/06 - Added info about The Movies Premiere Edition. Added Minimum System
Requirements. Added the Movies Online section - all content in this section
is by Mortalitis_Infinitas.
23/1/06 - Added additional information on action sets. Also added the first
section of the walkthrough.
21/1/06 - Added additional information about studio buildings.
20/1/06 - Added information about how your Studio, movies and Stars are rated.
Also added the Action sets.
19/1/06 - Added Main Menu information and Sci-Fi Sets.
18/1/06 - Added Information about Sets. Also added a few buildings I had
missed out.
17/1/06 - Writing of the FAQ/Walkthrough Begins
If you have a question for the FAQ you can send it to my email address, which
can be found at the bottom of this guide. If I know or can find out the
answer then it will be posted here in the next update.
******************************
Where can I register my copy of the game?
******************************
You can register your copy of the game by going to
www.themoviesgame.com/register
******************************
How do I upload movies?
******************************
After setting up an account, go into Post Production in game and when ready
click Export Movie. This can take a lot of time for longer movies (A 12 scene
movie written by scriptwriters can take up to an hour). For very long movies
and movies that use voiceovers and a lot of extras, it might not be a bad idea
to export overnight. After exporting is finished go into the online option in
the main menu. Here you can select the movie you exported from a list. Your
movie will now be online! Be warned that you have a limit of 25MB and that
this can easily be filled up with large movies.
******************************
How do I delete buildings?
******************************
To delete buildings hold a building over the bomb and wait for the small
squares around it to fill. Let go of the builder and you will be left with a
load of rubbish to clean up, so make sure you have plenty of janitors before
destroying a building. If you want to simply move the building then drop it
on the icon next to the bomb.
******************************
How do I delete ornaments and plants?
******************************
Hover your hand over the ornament/plant you wish to delete and wait for it
to be highlighted. Hold your left mouse button to drag it away from its
current position and then right click.
******************************
How do I upload voice files?
******************************
You can record your own voice in game so there is no need for importing them.
Click the microphone button in Post Production. Once recorded you can select
where it should play and which actor should lip-synch it. Be warned that
lip-synching doesn’t work very well.
******************************
How can I raise my stars wages?
******************************
You can pick up your star and drop them into the finance room in the
production office. This will take you to a screen where you can alter the
wages. The same thing happens when you place the floating information icon
into the finance room.
******************************
How do I add subtitles?
******************************
Put your film into Post Production and open up the bottom toolbar. Click the
ABC button and type in the text you want to appear. Click ok and then you can
move the subtitle to where you want it to appear at the bottom of the screen.
******************************
How do I improve my Stars image?
******************************
There are several ways to do this. One is by giving them a make over in the
Make Over Department. Another is by giving them cosmetic surgery, which is
unlocked later in the game.
******************************
How do you delete Ornaments?
******************************
First you need to highlight the ornament you want to delete and then left
click it to drag it from its position. You then click the right mouse button
to delete it.
******************************
How much should I pay my stars?
******************************
Pay your stars just enough so that their salary bar is full. If you pay them
more than they actually want then it’s wasting your money, which could be
used for better things.
******************************
Should I get this game?
******************************
If you like game such as The Sims and Roller coaster Tycoon or would like to
try something a little different then I would most certainly recommend it to
you. I wouldn’t recommend this game to you if you cant handle a challenge, as
there are no cheats in this game.
***********************
* 2.1. Main Menu *
***********************
Here is some information about the Main Menu, which is what you will see when
you have just loaded The Movies.
Game - Clicking this takes you to a sub-menu which shows the following:
Learn the basics - This teaches you the very basics of The Movies.
Recommended for first time players.
New Game - This starts a new game. You can select whether or not you wish to
play the tutorial or jump straight into the game.
Sandbox - Sandbox is a way of playing The Movies without any computer set
objectives. This lets you customize your game play so you can play in a
manner that suits you.
Load - Loads a previously saved game.
Online - Clicking this takes you to the log in screen for The Movies Online.
Once logged in you can adjust which of your movies should appear online.
Movie Player - Takes you to a screen of all movies that you have maid in
either Story Mode or Sandbox mode. Includes movies even if the save they came
from has been deleted.
Options - This is split into four different sections. They are:
Video options - This section changes graphical detail, screen size and colour
depth.
Audio options - This section changes the sound effects volume, music volume,
radio options (Whether you want the Dj, News or both), PA Assistance and
speaker set-up.
Game options - This changed the level of assistance provided and how often
the game should Autosave.
Online options - This section is for users who connect to the Internet via a
proxy server. They should enter the details here.
Credits - Shows the people who were responsible for making The Movies.
Exit - This leaves the game (As if you didn't already know)
****************
* 2.2 Credits *
****************
Unlimited thanks go to Mortalitis_Infinitas for providing all the information
in the section about The Movies Online. Thanks Again :D
Thanks to Queb for information on two other awards.
Thanks to jcwordlife for information on the 9th certificate.
Also thanks to clarkdude for additional information about the Municipal
Building Set.
Thanks to osrevad for the ASCII Artwork. Visit his site here -
http://www.osrevad.com
Also many thanks to all readers of this guide. The guide has now recieved
over 8500 hits in the first month it has been online.
*************************************
* 2.3. The Movies Premiere Edition *
*************************************
The Premiere Edition of The Movies only has afew extra features to the normal
edition. Here are the extras you get with the Premiere Edition :
An audio CD with the music from the game.
Marketing Videos
Concept Artwork
Extra Costumes
All in all you don't get much extra but if you want that extra something then
The Movies Premiere Edition might just be for you.
*************************************
* 2.4. Minimum System Requirements *
*************************************
Here are the Minimum System Requirements quoted from the back of the box for
The Movies. I dont understand alot of it, im just quoting what it says on the
box. This is for the DVD version of the game.
- 3D Hardware Accelerator Card Required- 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible 32MB
Hardware T&L-capable video card and latest drivers.
- An English version of Microsoft Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP.
- Pentium III 800MHz or Athlon 800MHz processor or higher.
-256MB RAM.
- 2x Speed DVD-ROM drive and latest drivers.
- 2.4GB of uncompressed free hard disk space (plus 500MB for Windows swap
file).
- 100% Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP compatible mouse, keyboard and latest drivers.
- DirectX 9.0c.
****************
* 3.0. Stars *
****************
This section of the FAQ/Walkthrough will give all the information you ever
wanted to know about your Stars. From their personalities to abilities. From
how to handle their addictions to giving them Liposuction!
To hire Stars you just first have a Stage School building. When construction
on it has finished, people will start to line up out side of it. Pick them up
and drop them into the hire actor room or hire director room. You can also
import stars by picking up people in the line and dropping them into the
Import Star room. You then pick a star that you made in Star Maker and import
them into the game. Often the people who want employment get stressed easily
and this is why I would recommend stars from the Star Maker.
*****************************
* 3.2. Making Stars Happier *
*****************************
There are many things that affect your stars happiness. I have listed a few
below.
Salary - If a star feels that they are underpaid they will start to feel
unhappy. Make sure you check how happy stars are with their salary regularly
because as their star rating rises they will demand more pay. If colleagues
are being paid more than they are your stars may feel jealous. This will also
make them want a higher salary.
Entourage - As stars become more famous they will want an Entourage. You can
hire entourage from any employment line apart from the one at the stage
school. Simply place them next to your stars. As time goes by Stars will want
a larger Entourage, so check up on this regularly.
Image - A stars image is VERY important. It affects their star rating as well
as their happiness and also their Genre fit for certain roles. There are
several ways to do raise image. One is by giving them a makeover in the
Makeover Department. Another is by giving them cosmetic surgery, Choose from
Implants, Liposuction or Nip & Tuck. These will make stars stressful but can
change image and how old the star looks.
Trailers - I recommend that every star has a trailer and that when new
trailers are unlocked that you upgrade as soon as possible. Trailers are a
place where your stars can relax and they go from fairly cheap to fairly
expensive. The higher the prestige of the trailer, the happier it will make
the star.
When stars eat/drink in the restaurant/bar they will slowly develop
addictions and even though eating and drinking is needed for your star to
recover from stress, you should be cautious. If your star eventually does
develop an addiction, you will need to send them into Rehab. This takes a lot
of game time and your star will be unable to do anything else while here. If
your star becomes addicted and you don’t do anything about it then they will
start to eat/drink more often and will find it hard to form relationships
with other stars.
When your stars have relationships with other stars it has its benefits, but
it also takes a very long time form them, so it can be a pain. The major
benefit of star relationships is that your movie ratings will be higher.
Start off by having your stars talking to each other, then as their
relationships get better make them join each other in the Bar, VIP Bar,
Restaurant and then finally the VIP Restaurant.
You can find out if your stars are comfortable with another star in a certain
place by the speech bubbles that appear above their heads. If you try to rush
them into things then they will let you know.
************************************
* 3.5. Selling and Retiring Stars *
************************************
When your stars reach 70 they will have to Retire. They will retire
automatically so you don’t need to click anything. Make sure you don’t start
a long project or you may find yourself having to re-shoot the whole film!
Alternatively you can sell your Stars in the Star and Script selling
facility. You can fetch a pretty good price for your stars depending on their
age, star rating and their image.
We know that in the real world that the press always has something to say,
whether it’s positive or negative, about celebrities. It is no different in
the movies. A stars Press rating affects their star rating. You can increase
your stars press rating by having a photographer taking a stars photo. To do
this drag a photographer from the front gate to your stars when they are
having a conversation with another star and they will take a photo.
Don’t over do this or it will cause your stars press rating to decrease.
Another way is to drop your stars into the PR room in your Marketing building.
*********************
* 3.7. Star Maker *
*********************
In the Star Maker you can create your own stars which can later be imported
into the game. Creating Stars in Star Maker can be very beneficial because
you can adjust their personality to say how well they deal with stress or how
much they need to drink for them to become addicted.
When using Star Maker I would recommend not giving your stars any points in
the different genres, because these can be practiced in game, unlike their
stress rating.
**********************************
* 3.8. How your stars are rated *
**********************************
You have heard me go on about a Stars star rating. This section will cover
the 9 factors which affect this rating.
Overall - Your star has an overall star rating which takes in all of the
factors. Maxing out all the factors of your star will give them five star
status.
Movie success - Rated out of five stars.
If your star has been in many movies that have had success this rating will
increase.
Salary - Rated out of four stars.
The higher your stars salary the higher this rating will be.
Performances - Rated out of four stars.
A stars performance is rated like this -
Mood + Experience + Genre fit = Performance.
Image - Rated out of three stars.
A stars overall image rating is determined by several things.
Looks, Physique and Fashion. The higher these are the better your star rating
will be. This is not to be confused with how happy your star is with their
image.
Entourage - Rated out of three stars.
A star gains a whole star for every two entourage they have. If a star has
six entourage then this rating will be at its maximum
Trailer - Rated out of three stars.
The larger and more prestigious a stars trailer is, the higher this rating
will be.
Press - Rated out of three stars
A star with good press will have a higher rating here. Try dropping your
stars into the PR room in the Publicity Office.
Relationships - Rated out of two stars.
If your stars have good relationships with each other then this rating will
be higher.
Awards - Rated out of two stars.
The more awards your star wins the higher this rating will be.
*********************************
* 4.0. Your Studio *
*********************************
This part of the guide will help you run your studio. You will find out about
all the different buildings and how to keep that all important Lot Prestige
rating high.
**************************************
* 4.1. Buildings in your Studio *
**************************************
There are many different buildings needed to operate your studio. This part
of the walkthrough lists all these buildings and what their main purposes are.
Staff Office - This building is located near the entrance of your studio. It
allows you to hire builders and janitors and also fire/reject them. Builders
are needed to construct buildings and sets and also to repair existing ones.
Janitors are needed to clear up litter, which will help raise your lot
prestige.
Stage School - Here you can make stars by hiring actors and directors. You
can also import custom actors here from Star maker. Extras are also hired
here.
Casting Office - Here you assign roles to your Stars, extras and crew are
also assigned here. After the script has been rehearsed move it into the
shoot it room and the shooting of your movie will begin. If for some reason
you have to return to the casting office at any stage whilst shooting your
movie, you should be warned that putting actors into different roles or
getting a new director will make your movie start shooting from the start.
This does not happen when changing crew or extras.
Crew Facility - This building lets you hire crew or fire existing members of
crew. The crew work all the equipment needed to make a movie. You can't train
your crew so they have to be crew in movies before their experience rises.
Production Office - This is where you can release your movies. Simply drop it
into the release movies option and you will see the final rating for your
movie. Once movies stop making money you will be notified. This means its
time to archive them. Once you have archieved a movie you can still watch it
in the movie player. You can also check out reviews of your stars by dropping
them into the reviews section or raise their salary by dropping them into the
finance section.
Script Office - Comes in four different classes - Basic, Intermediate,
Proficient and First Class. Drop scriptwriters into the room that corresponds
with the genre of movie you want to make. You can speed up the process by
dropping more scriptwriters into the Script Pool. You may make more scripts
than you need so you can sell spare scripts in the Star and Script selling
facility for a small cash boost. The level of your Script office also
determines the maximum script rating for movies you make in the Custom script
office. The Proficient and First Class scriptwriting offices have to be
unlocked by winning awards.
Custom Script Office - You can write your own very advanced scripts in this
building. The max quality of the script is determined by what type of script
writing office you have. The advantages of making a movie in this way is that
you don’t have to wait for your scriptwriters to write a script for you and
you can begin casting straight after you have wrote the script. Time is
frozen when you are writing a script.
Publicity Office - This building lets you raise the public awareness of your
movie and also the Press rating of your stars. At any point during filming
drop the movie into the PR room and its public awareness will be raised. You
can also drop an uncasted script and stars associated with the movie in here
to raise the awareness even further. This also allows you to market your
movie. When your movie is ready for release drop it into one of the five
boxes in the Production Office. This will increase its overall public
awareness. If a movie with little public awareness is released with a massive
marketing campaign then your reviews will suffer because of it.
Makeover Department - This building is for raising a stars image. Drop them
into the Auto room for an automatic makeover, these take longer than a normal
makeover but it guarentees your stars will be happy about their appearence.
You can also customize the way they look by dropping them into the Makeover
room. Make sure you dont give them outdated fashions or their image rating
will suffer.
Cosmetic Surgery - This Building also helps raise a stars image. Drop them
into either the Nip & Tuck, Liposuction or Implants room to get started. Be
warned that this causes stress and some rooms must be unlocked before they
can be used.
Snack Van - This is a good place for your stars to get rid of stress when the
Restaurant and Bar are not yet avaliable. Addictions can develop by eating
too much so make sure you don't use is excessively.
Bar - A place for your stars to hang out. This is the second stage after
talking on the street that your stars should go to form relationships. There
is a VIP section which is for stars who are extra famous.
The bar is one of the best ways for your stars to recover from stress, but is
also a place where they can form drink addictions.
Restaurant - Another place for your stars to hang out. This is where you put
your stars when their relationships are starting to get high. There is a VIP
section which is for stars who are extra famous.
Another good way for your stars to recover from stress, but if your stars
stay here too long they will put on weight and develop food addictions.
Rehab - A place for your stars to recover from food and drink addictions. Be
warned that this is a very long process and takes up a full in-game year to
complete.
Trailers - Every star needs a trailer in order for them to remain happy. They
start cheap and become very expensive. Pick the right one depending on the
star rating of your stars. Trailers come in five different classes - Rickety,
Cheap, Comfortable, Plush and Palitial.
Post Production - Here you can edit your movie when it has been shot and add
things such as voiceovers, music and subtitles. You can also watch your
movies here and export them, which means you can upload them to The Movies
Online.
Star and Script Selling Facility - Here you can sell your stars and unwanted
scripts. You will be told the estimated selling price when you hover the
star/script over the building.
Restrooms - This is where your stars are headed if it says they are off to
squeeze one out. Restrooms increase your studios Sanitation rating, so make
sure you have plenty. Restrooms come in three classes - Small, Large and VIP.
Upgrade as soon as you can because the small restroom requires alot of
maintenence and decreases your lot prestige rating. Make sure you put plenty
of trees around your restrooms.
Laboratory - In the laboratory you can research new things such as new sets
and costumes. Drop scientists into one of four rooms -
Mainstream Packs - Unlocks things such as costumes, props and sets for
Action, Romance and Comedy movies.
Cult Packs - Unlocks things such as costumes, props and sets for Sci-Fi and
Horror movies.
Stars and Studio - Unlocks new buildings and also new clothes for your stars
to wear when giving them a makeover.
Movie Making - Unlocks new technologies which can give you a massive
advantage over other studios if you unlock them in time.
In the early stages of the game I would focus on the Movie Making option as
this allows your technology rating to outshine rival studios. To see what is
included in the pack you are researching, click the right mouse button over
the appropriate room.
****************************
* 4.2. Studio Prestige *
****************************
Keeping your studio prestige level high is very important. Firstly, if your
studio prestige is high more people will join your stage school line, which
you will be thankful for as your existing stars become old. Below are a few
ways to increase your studio prestige.
Plants and Ornaments - Placing plants near undesirable objects such as
toilets and bins will help the area become 'Green', therefore raising your
overall Studio prestige level.
Paths and Connectivity - If all the buildings in your studio are connected
together with paths then the prestige level will be raised.
Cleanliness - If there are only very small amounts of litter on your lot this
will make the prestige level higher.
Set and Building Maintenance - Maintenance is very important to your prestige
level. If the overall maintenance of your buildings and sets is bad then you
can expect your overall lot prestige to suffer.
Catering - The more catering facilities that your studio has the higher the
catering rating will be. This will increase the overall studio prestige
level. Have at least one snack van and one restaurant.
Sanitation - All stars have to go at some point. The more toilets you have
the higher this rating will be. This will also increase the overall studio
prestige level. Toilets come in several classes, make sure you upgrade as
your stars become more famous.
As you achieve certain things during the course of the game you will be
rewarded for it by receiving a certificate. I have achieved the first seven
tasks and am working on the 8th task now.
Here are the rewards you can unlock and what you need to do to unlock them.
Once unlocked in the Story Mode you can use these objects in
Sandbox mode.
Certificate 1 - Wannabe Big Cheese
Reward: Custom Scriptwriting Office
Achievements-
Release 5 movies
Earn $500,000
Release movies with a total rating of 5 Stars
Certificate 2 - Junior Studio Manager
Reward: Rural: Forest Set
Achievements-
One of your stars reaches 2 Stars
Release a 2 star movie
Studio reaches 2 star rating
Certificate 3 - Promising Studio Manager
Reward: Script Writing office: Proficient
Achievements-
$1,000,000 in your bank account
Win 2 awards
Release 5 movies above 2 star rating
Certificate 4 - Respected Studio Head
Reward: Publicity Office
Achievements-
One of your stars reaches 3 Stars
Release a 3 star movie
Studio reaches 3 stars
Release a total of 15 movies
Certificate 5 - Celebrated Studio Head
Reward: Urban: Wall Set
Achievements-
Earn $7,000,000
Movie Star total = 35 stars
$4,000,000 in bank account
Win 8 awards
Certificate 6 - Highflying Moviemaker
Reward: First Class Script Office
Achievements-
Release 5 movies above 3 star rating
One of your stars reaches 4 Stars
Release a 4 star movie
Studio reaches 4 stars
Certificate 7 - Big Fish
Reward: Palatial Trailer
Achievements-
Release a total of 25 movies
Earn a total of $15,000,000
Movie Total = 60 stars
$8,000,000 in your bank account
Certificate 8 - Movie Mogul
Reward: Urban: Municipal Building Set
Achievements-
One of your stars reaches 5 stars
Release a 5 star movie
Studio reaches 5 stars
Win 25 awards
Release 5 movies above a 4 star rating
Certificate 9 - Movie-Making Legend [Thanks to Jcwordlife]
Reward: Suburban School Library Set
Achievements -
Release movies with total star rating of 150
Earn a total of $35,000,000
Receive 50 awards
Release 50 movies
Have at least $20,000,000 sitting in your bank account
Awards Ceremonies take place every five years starting at 1925. Winning
awards increases the star rating of your stars and also your studio rating.
But winning awards also have alot of other benefits.
When you win an award things will happen which will make running your studio
alot easier. Here is a list of some of the different awards and what they do.
Some of these awards will not appear for quite some time. Generally, a new
award is added every year. All prizes are kept until the next awards ceremony.
****************************
* Highest Charting Star
****************************
How to win this award - Have your star at the top of the charts at the time
of the awards ceremony. You will find it difficult to get this award for the
first few ceremonies. Winner can be an actor/actress or a director. All the
times I have won this award it has been with a Director.
Prize - Trend Setter - The public will like your movies no matter what genre
they are.
***********************
* Best Direction
***********************
How to win this award - If your director directs alot of successful movies
and is high in the Star charts then he may well win this award.
Prize - Midas Touch - Ups the quality of any movie made by the award winning
director.
****************************
* Best Acting Performance
****************************
How to win this award - If your actor/actress stars in alot of successful
movies and is high in the Star charts then they may win this award.
Prize - Super Star - Ups the performance quality of the award winning actor.
************************
* Most Prolific Star
************************
How to win this award - Have your stars perform in loads of movies, make lots
of movies in quick succession but make sure you don't get them stressed or it
will threaten their chances of winning this award.
Prize - Perfect Fit - Your stars will fit in any role, their appearence and
age are not taken into consideration. This is good if you have very old, high
charting stars that you don't want to get rid of.
******************************
* Highest Charting Newcomer
******************************
How to win this award - Hire a new stars and work them extremely hard. Only
give them as little time as possible to regain stress levels. Give them great
trailers, entourage ect.
Prize - Quick Learner - Stars and Staff get experience faster. Great for
training up new crew/scriptwriters.
*****************************
* Highest Charting Movie
*****************************
How to win this award - Quite simply get your movie to the top of the chart.
This is the easiest award to win, as you can make your movies great by having
the technology at cutting edge.
Prize - Easy to please - Stars are easier to please, you can expect to see
your stars green bars flashing alot more often when you have this award.
*****************************
* Highest Charting Studio
*****************************
How to win this award - Get your studio to position number one in the studio
charts. This is also an easy award to win when you reach 1950's
Prize - Half Price - Pay your stars half their salary. This is done
automatically.
************************
* Most Prolific Studio
************************
How to win this award - You need to make more movies than rival studios since
the last awards ceremonies.
Prize - Free Love - Stars can form relationships better.
****************************
* Highest Climbing Studio
****************************
How to win this award - Climb higher than all rival studios since last awards
ceremony.
Prize - Party On - Stars will not form food and drink addictions.
*******************************
* Most Prestigious Studio Lot
*******************************
How to win this award - Your Lot Prestige rating has to be higher than that
of all rival studios.
Prize - Age Of Discovery - Scientists research things faster.
***************************
* Movie Quality Output [Following two awards thanks to Queb]
***************************
How to win this award - Bombard the public with quality releases in order to
outclass the competition and have the world uttering your studios name.
Prize - On the Radar - Boosts the effect of PR and Marketing on all your
movies.
*************************
* Best Employer
*************************
How to win this award - Keep all your stars in a state of bliss and pander to
their every whim and this award could be yours.
Prize - Brainwasher - Helps make your movies appear fresh to the audience,
whatever their content
PLEASE EMAIL ME IF I HAVE MISSED OUT AWARDS!!!!
I do not have the details for the other awards. Please email me at
mark_eastaugh@fsmail.net if you have information on the other awards. You
WILL be credited!
*********************************
* 4.5. How your Studio is rated *
*********************************
Your overall studio rating is determined by many different things. This
section will cover the 5 factors which affect this rating.
Overall - Your studio has an overall star rating which takes in all of the
factors. Maxing out all the factors of your studio will give it five star
status.
Capital - Rated out of five stars.
The more money you have the higher this rating will be.
Movies - Rated out of five stars.
The higher the quality and box office takings of your movies, the higher this
rating will be.
Stars - Rated out of five stars.
If you have stars with good star power then this rating will be higher.
Lot Prestige - Rated out of three stars.
The more prestigious your studio lot as a whole, the higher this rating will
be.
Awards - Rated out of three stars.
The more awards your studio wins the higher this rating will be.
**********************
* 5.0. Movie Making *
**********************
This section of the guide will most likely be the longest. The movie making is
so advanced in this game and so this part of the guide will include everything
from the different genres to all the different sets that are available to you.
There are five different genres included in The Movies. Below is a list of all
the genres available to you in the movies.
Comedy - The one aim of a comedy script is to make the audience laugh. Whether
they laugh at or with the characters it’s laughing all the same. Some recent
real life blockbuster comedies are The Wedding Crashers and Meet The Fockers.
Romance - With Romance films there are many roads that can be taken. In real
film making, Romance is usually paired up with another genre, most commonly
Action or Comedy movies. Most likely, two people who have never before met
each other fall in love, then there is something that causes them to split
before the ending which unites them once again. Some recent real life
blockbuster romances are King Kong (Tied with action) and also the biggest
blockbuster film of all time - Titanic.
Sci-Fi - The one thing that almost all science fiction films have in common is
that somewhere along the line there are going to be aliens. Try and experiment
with some of the great alien costumes that can be found in game. One of the
most recent Sci-Fi releases was War of the Worlds.
Action - Where else can you find explosions, gun shootouts and car chases than
a good old action movie. I don’t really like action movies, but the most
famous of them all is the James Bond series.
Horror - The main aim of a horror movie is to scare the audience. If the
audience are not scared by what is supposed to be a horror movie, then the
movie has most likely failed. A recent example of a horror movie is House of
Wax.
Here is a list of all the sets that you start with at the beginning of the
game, and also ones that you unlock in the laboratory. Several of the sets
listed are also ones that are unlocked by winning awards. Next to each set
is its price also its size. Sets have been put into sections depending on
what genre they are most suitable for.
Just because a set is under a certain genre doesn’t mean it can't be used for
others. The sets are listed simply by what genre is practiced on them. I felt
this would be the best way to list the sets as a lot of people only like to
build the sets for the genres of movies the studio makes.
Suburban: Living Room 1
Price - $37,000
Size - Medium
Description - The soft sofas make for a perfect smooching setting or slobbing
session.
Suburban: Living Room 2
Price - $71,000
Size - Medium
Description - Will fill your scenes with domestic comforts.
Tropical: Beach
Price - $71,000
Size - Very Large
Description - Sun, sea, sand and sex... or sandcastles. The decision is yours.
Urban: Bar
Price - $67,000
Size - Small
Description - Great for romantic encounters and bottle-breaking bar-room
brawls.
Urban: Office
Price - $19,000
Size - Small
Description - Idea for forbidden office liaisons, though don't discount the
pulling power or office politics.
Urban: Plush Hotel Bedroom
Price - $39,000
Size - Small
Description - Can be checked into a variety of movies.
Urban: Shabby Hotel Room
Price - $26,000
Size - Small
Description: Somewhere to sleep or do something seedy.
Wild West: Saloon
Price - $8,000
Size - Medium
Description - The perfect place for romantic encounters, comic capers,
drinking and brawling.
Rural: Shack Exterior
Price - $67,000
Size - Very Large
Description - Secluded and terrifying, only an alien or axe-wielding maniac
would live here.
Rural: Shack Interior
Price - $29,000
Size - Small
Description - A den fit for a recluse, a kinky couple or... a murderer.
Suburban: Bathroom
Price - $17,000
Size - Small
Description - Ideal for preening, plucking, makeovers, manicures... and
murders.
Urban: Rooftop
Price - $72,000
Size - Large
Description - Will help your movie rise above the crowd.
************************************
* 5.3. How your movies are rated. *
************************************
Your movies are rated in two different ways. Once when you release them and
then in a different way in the charts.
*************************
* 5.3.1 When Released *
*************************
When you release your movies you are taken to a screen and each aspect of the
movie is rated. The following lists what affects the ratings of your movies.
Script Quality - This rating is determined before you start shooting the
movie. Although it looks as if the maximum script quality is five stars, the
highest type of script office you can get writes four-star movies. Therefore
I think the maximum quality for a script is four stars. Please correct me if
I am wrong.
Star Performance - The better your stars perform the higher the overall movie
quality will be.
Star Relationships - This rating is higher depending on the relationships of
your stars.
Repair of sets - This rating covers the maintenance of the sets at the times
they were being used for shooting. Sets that are well maintained will make
this rating higher.
Crew Experience - You have little control over this as there is no way for
crew to gain experience without shooting movies. The more experienced your
crew become the higher this rating will be.
Movie Quality - All the above things are taken into consideration when
calculating the movies quality. It is rated out of five stars.
Star power - If more famous stars are in your movie the higher the final
movie rating will be.
Genre Interest - You can find out the interest in certain genres by hovering
one of your scriptwriters over the script writing office. World events
change genre interest from time to time and it is also affected by how many
movies of a certain genre you have released.
Novelty Value - This takes into account the novelty rating of both your stars
and sets. You can make the novelty value higher by not using certain stars
and sets from time to time.
Technology - The more advanced your technology the higher the final movie
rating will be. It is not hard to get this rating to ''Cutting Edge''. Just
make sure you prioritise Movie Making in the lab.
PR & Marketing - Determined by the overall Public awareness and how big the
marketing campaign was for the movie. This doesn’t appear unless you have a
Publicity Office.
Final Movie Rating - This takes absolutely everything into account and
determines the final rating of your movie. Good luck on reaching five stars!
*************************
* 5.3.2 In the charts *
*************************
In the charts your movies are rated on two things.
Quality - This is the rating from all the things in the section above.
Box Office - The more money the movie takes in at the box office the higher
this rating will be.
************************
* 6.0. Research Packs *
************************
This section of the guide will focus on research packs and the default years
in which they would be unlocked, the name of the pack and also what it
includes.
Remember that in most cases you will unlock these packs before the date listed
if you have plenty of researchers. Some packs can be unlocked up to 20 years
prior to the dates listed, other only several years.
Basic Tech - 5th March 1937
Includes:
Motorized Camera
16mm film
Smoke effects
Intermediate War - 15th February 1939
Includes:
War Bombed Street
Enough military themed costumes to dress an army
9 props
7 backdrops
Basic Household - Between 1930-1939 (Missed the date, Email me if you have it)
Includes:
Suburban Living Room set
Wide variety of domestic props
2 backdrops.
Intermediate Facilities - 29th March 1940
Includes:
The Restaurant
Extra ornaments and plants
Intermediate Horror - 27th March 1942
Includes:
Shack Exterior set
2 props
4 backdrops
Intermediate Household - 14th March 1943
Includes:
Urban Office set
More Household props
1940's Costumes - 2nd February 1944
Includes:
10 costumes
Functional Tech - 12th February 1945
Includes:
Realistic Makeup
The Dolly Rig
Hand-colored film
Basic Action - 4th Januray 1947
Includes:
Traveling Vehicle Automobile set
Urban shabby hotel room set
Urban subway carriage set
4 costumes
Number of action themed props
4 backdrops
4 new cars
Classic Horror - 28th January 1948
Includes:
Shack Interior set
7 costumes
5 props
2 backdrops
Advances Wild West - 25th February 1950
Includes:
Wild West Street set
8 wild west costumes
8 props
1 backdrop
Quality Facilities - 24th March 1951
Includes:
Cosmetic Surgery
Nip & Tuck Room
Comfortable Trailer
VIP Restrooms
Ornaments including gym equipment, a water tower and extra plants and trees.
Classic Household - 9th January 1953
Includes:
Suburban School corridor set
Rural Field set
7 props
1 backdrop
1950's Costumes - 5th January 1954
Includes:
A vast number of costumes
Advanced Horror - 27th February 1955
Includes:
Rural Graveyard set
4 costumes
1 prop
1 backdrop
Advanced Household - 4th February 1957
Includes:
Tropical Beach
Suburban Living Room
A number of props
2 backdrops
Intermediate Action - 1st March 1961
Includes:
Urban Alleyway set
Urban Bar set
Urban Subway Station set
Vast number of costumes
Selection of props
4 new cars
3 backdrops
Quality Tech - 26th February 1962
Includes:
Color Film
Reflex Camera
35mm film
Intermediate Sci-Fi - 26th Januray 1964
Includes:
Sci-Fi Starship Bridge 2 set
Sci-Fi Corridor 2 set
Alien World set
Latex technology (Alien Costumes)
Vast number of costumes
Alien shrubbery and weaponry
6 backdrops
1960's Costumes - 24th February 1964
Includes:
8 costumes
Advanced Action - 18th January 1968
Includes:
Urban Plush hotel bedroom set
Urban Rooftop set
Selection of weapon props
3 backdrops
Impressive selection of new cars
High Quality Tech - 19th February 1969
Includes:
Stereo Sound
Advanced Facilities - 20th February 1970
Includes:
Plush Trailer
Implants Room
More Plants
A Pinball table and drinks machine.
Ultimate Action - 11th February 1973
Includes:
Urban City Street set
Urban Modern Bank set
May also have included costumes/props but I missed what they were.
1970's Costumes - 14th January 1974
Includes:
Vast number of costumes
Ultimate Household - 4th February 1977
Includes:
Urban City block corridor set
Suburban Street set
Bundle of props
2 backdrops
Advanced Tech - 27th March 1979
Includes:
Pyrotechnics
Monitor Camera
Late 1990's costumes - 21st March 1999
Includes:
9 costumes
3 mobile phone props
Impressive selection of new cars
***********************************
* 7.0. Landscape and Ornaments *
***********************************
This section of the guide will include a list of all Landscape and Ornaments
including their in-game description and price. As there are so many items
this section will take a fairly large ammount of time to complete.
The Decoration section will be split into two parts - Cars and Landscaping.
As cars are the main thing that should be used for decoration they are the
only ornaments that will be listed in the guide. Cars can be added to the
***************
* Cars
***************
The following is the description for all of the cars:
A car speaks volumes about it's owner and is always a great way to have fun
and let off steam.
Here is a list of all the decorative cars in the game:
Standard 1900s car - $500
1924 Chrysler six - $1050
1934 Chrysler Airflow - $1200
1940s ORV - $1300
Standard 1940s car - $1600
1948 Chrusler Town and Country - Price Coming Soon
Standard 1950s car - $1950
1957 Chrysler 300c - $2125
1960 Chrysler 300f - $2200
1960s Sports car - $2500
Standard 1960s car - $2600
1976 Chrysler Cordoba - $2875
1970s Black Limo -$3500
1970s Pink Limo - $3400
1970s White Limo - $3300
Standard 1970s car - $3450
1986 Chrysler leBaron - $3750
2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser - $3750
1990s Red Sports car - $3875
2005 Chrysler 300C - $4000
2005 Chrysler crossfire SRT-6 - $5000
Chrysler Firepower - $6000
Chrysler ME4-12 - $7000
Chrysler Pacifica - $3500
2010 Sports Car - $7500
Path - $20
Description: Paths get your staff and stars around the lot very efficiently,
Although they improove the look of your lot, avoid placing hige slabs of
bathway, as this will have a negative effect on the look of your studio.
Delete Path - $5
Description: Select this option to delete unwanted pathway.
Grass - $10
Description: While it might look pretty, grass isn't cheap and requires a
great deal of maintenence.
Sand - $5
Description: It may be cheap and moderately pleasing on the eye, but sand can
seriously slow people down.
Tarmac - $5
Description: A hard slow wearing surface that requires little maintence and
provides easy access around the lot. It's hardly the prettiest though.
This is the Walkthrough part to my FAQ/Walthrough. I won't go into too much
detail as the different sections explain alot already.
If you are playing for the first time I would suggest starting the game with
the tutorial, play until you have made your third movie, and then exit
without saving. Basically the tutorial sets you up with a disadvantage. You
dont have the flexibility on what genres you want to focus on. If you feel
that you are doing really good after the tutorial then you could always just
play on.
*************************
* 8.1. The First Stages *
*************************
Before you even load The Movies, open up Star Maker and make about eight
stars. Dont give them any points in any genre, just make sure that you max
out how well they can cope with stress/boredom and how well they can cope
with addictions. Genres can always be practiced but you cant change a stars
stress rating.
Ok. Load The Movies. If you know all the basics then start a new game without
the tutorial on. Select a Studio name and a logo. Hire four builders and two
janitors and start constructing your studio. Have at least one of every
building you have avaliable to you. For this guide you will need to focus on
four genres. I would reccomend Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi and Romance, Reasons
being is that there are so many action sets which are extremely big.
Pick two genres and build the sets for that genre which you have avaliable.
Hire four stars that you made in star maker earlier. Two Directors and two
actors/actresses. Hire two scriptwriters. Pick one of your two genres and
have them write a script. Select one director and one actor and get them
practicing that genre none stop. Select your other actor and director and
have them practice on your oter set. When the first script is finished start
writing another one straight away.
Your first movie will only need one actor so start casting. Check how many
crew and extras are needed and hire the appropriate ammount. Once rehearsing
is finished start shooting your movie. Your other script should be finished
shortly.
Once you have made two movies in each genre build the two other sets for
genres you haven't got the sets for. Start practicing with your stars,
keeping the same actor and director working with each other. Your reviews
will say the novelty values are bad, but this doesnt really matter at this
point in the game. Nothing you do at this stage will allow you to be the
number one studio or have the number one movie.
Make sure to work on your stars relationships over time and keep them
practicing. Dont worry about your scripts being only one star, the
intermediate script writing office is coming soon.
Somewhere near 1928 you will unlock the Laboratory. This is a great building
as you can research all kinds of different things. Hire four researchers and
drop them into Stars and Studio. The quicker you set up the laboratory the
better, as you can get the next grade of script writing office faster.
This is where it gets tricky. Two star movies written by script writers have
two actors/actresses. Because you currently have two actors each with two
different genres, you should now hire two more. Have one practice the two
genres of one actor and the other one practice the two genres of the other
actor. There is currently no need to hire more directors.
Keep shooting more and more movies and making your actors and directors more
experienced. Focus on researching Sets and Technology. Eventually your
studio, movie and stars star rating will increase. This will allow you to
unlock things such as the Custom Script Writing Office and the Proficient
Script Office - Which will be covered in the next section.
************************
* 8.2. The Real Deal *
************************
Your stars will begin to get angry if they don't have a good trailer or a big
enough entourage now. Make sure that you don't use up all the spare staff in
the lines as entourage, build them up slowly. You should also keep an eye on
your stars salary.
This part sounds complicated but it really isn't if you pay attention. Hire
one more actor/actress and have them practice one genre from one of your
movie
making teams and a genre from your other movie making team. Start writing a
script in the Proficient script office. It will have three main roles. Put
the star you just hired in a supporting role and two from the right genre
team
into the lead and other supporting role.
You should then write your own script for the other team in the custom script
office. Make sure it fills up most of the three stars.
After both movies are finished, give some time for your stars to rest and
then do the same again but put the new actor into a movie from the other
team. As I said earlier it does not matter what the storyline of your movie
is because most likely you will not want to upload them to The Movies Online
until you have unlocked everything for sandbox mode.
If you have unlocked the Publicity office I highly suggest that you use it.
Drop your stars in twice in a row and their press status will be full for
awhile.
Well, you are on your own now. The First class script office provides scripts
with roughly 12 scenes. Follow the same strategy as you did for the 3 star
scripts but make sure to have a break after about 6 scenes to help with
stress. This is also a great oppertunity to raise your movies public
awareness.
Also, Watch for stars retiring. Also atch the ages of your crew. If one of
the crew reaches 70 then the movie will need to be put back in casting
office and more crew assigned. You would only have to re-shoot your movie if
one of the directors or stars retired.
***************************** [Lots of thanks go to Mortalitis_Infinitas]
* 9.0. The Movies Online * [Who provided all the information for this]
***************************** [section of the guide. ]
The Movies Online is an online element of The Movies where users can showcase
their movies. This section of the guide will tell you all about The Movies
online and what is and isn't allowed.
The charts is the center for the ranking of movies. Ranking helps determines
a movies overall success and how many virtual credits it receives. The Box
Office Factor is calculated for every movie on the site using the three
following numbers:
Average Community Rating
Number of Community Views
Number of Days Since Release
The higher your movie's average rating is, and the more registered users who
have seen it, the greater your box office factor will be. However the longer
your movie has been released for, the harder it is to achieve high box office
factors.
A user receives virtual credits when he or she does one or more of the
following:
Movie Views - Every time a registered and logged-in community member views
your movie (once per member), you're awarded with a small amount of credits
(200 VCs a view).
Winning Awards and Competitions - Monthly and special competitions will
certainly assist in your state of financial affairs if you've got the talent.
A High Charting Movie - Every month, an award ceremony takes place wherein a
snapshot of all the online charts is stored for posterity. The top 25 movies
overall, and in each genre, the top 25 studios, and the top 25 stars all
receive significant credit bonuses.
*********************
* 9.3. The PropShop *
*********************
Once you have uploaded at least one movie, you are able to buy and download
extra content for your game installation. You will see the amount of virtual
credit you have in your account at the top of the screen. Visit the PropShop
and browse the content available. When you have selected your items, click
the checkout link to preview and check your purchase, then click the purchase
link. Once you have purchased your items, start the game and go to the online
screen from where your downloads will be detected and installed. You must
restart the game after the downloads have been completed for the content to
be available.
NOTE: The Download progress meter seen on the online screen tracks the file
transfer process only. After transfer the files are installed locally by the
game, during which time the progress meter may stay at 99% and the game
window may be unresponsive for a short while, before informing you of
completion.
ALSO NOTE: For Windows XP and Windows 2000 users, you must be logged onto
your system as an Administrator with full administrator access and privileges
for the items from the Propshop to install correctly.
It's sometimes difficult to know what to do when it comes to copyrights.
Often times it is hard to decided whether or not something has been given a
copyright to begin with. In general, the best slogan to subscribe to for this
is: When in doubt, don't! However, for clarification, please read the
following terms when dealing with issues of copyright:
Copyright is legal protection provided by the laws of the United States, and
enforced by the United States and most other countries (some countries do not
apply) that gives the authors of original works exclusive right to publish or
reproduce those works; and to seek compensation from those who make
unauthorized copies or reproductions of those works. Chances are, if you are
reading this guide, your country supports and practices the USA’s copyright
laws. If you did not make or create it and you use material from novels,
videos, plays, poetry, movies, CD-ROMs, video games, paintings, sheet music,
recorded music performances, software code, sculptures, photographs,
choreography, architectural designs, scripts and graphics, you probably are
committing copyright infringement.
Phrases, facts, select fairy tales, deities, etc. cannot be copyrighted.
Anything published on the Internet is not public domain. Anybody tells you
differently, they are simply wrong. There is only one exception to this rule
and that is if the author died over fifty years ago, and/or specifically
placed the work in the public domain by stating, “this work is dedicated to
the public domain.” If this is not the case, the material is not within the
public domain. No matter how much you want it to be. In short, if you didn’t
make it you should not use it.
The following applies to those interested in uploading music using eJay. Ejay
states that:
The samples that are contained within the software are royalty free and are
completely free of rights. The samples can be used in the creation of any
type of Audio Tracks. Audio tracks that you create including the samples
provided can be sold without any authorisation from eJay or Empire
Interactive Europe Limited. You can use your audio tracks for promotional use
or for inclusion in audio/video presentations without obtaining authorisation
from eJay or Empire Interactive Europe Limited. You are not allowed to sell
eJay demo tracks in their original form as supplied with the eJay software,
but you can remix the demo tracks as long as you inform us first before
selling any remixed eJay demo tracks that you create. It is not compulsory to
credit eJay or add the eJay logo to any packaging that you create regarding
your audio tracks, but if you would like to include the logo we can provide
the file you require on request. So if you are concerned as to whether or not
you can use eJay music in your films, the answer is yes.
If you believe that any Material or Content appearing on any Lionhead Web
Site has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please
forward the following information to Lionhead Studios Limited, 2nd Floor, One
Occam Court, Surrey Research Park, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7YQ, UK ( Fax: (+44)
(0) 1483 401101) marked Attn: Legal Department :
Your name, address, telephone number, and email address;
A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
The exact URL or a description of where the alleged infringing material is
located; A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the
disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf
of the owner of the copyright interest; and A statement by you, under penalty
of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that
you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's
behalf. The details of coypright infringement continue on, however for the
sake of time and space this is the extent of description that I'll be giving
on this. Use common sense and when in doubt, don't!
****************************
* End Note & Contact Info *
****************************
Lionhead have announced an expansion pack for The Movies which will deal mainly
with stunts. This guide will not be updated anymore unless people submit things
to me via email, which i will try and fit into the guide. I feel I have covered
everything to the best of my ability and I hope I have helped you with your game
OTHER THINGS - If you feel there is something important that i have not yet
included, this could be a very in-depth guide on a minor thing. Anything that
will help people when they get stuck.
Email me if you have any questions or would like to contribute anything to
the guide! My email address for emails about the guide is
Mark_Eastaugh@fsmail.net
My guides for other games can be found here -
The Sims 2 - Open For Business FAQ/Walkthrough -
http://db.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/sims_2_ofb.txt
