The Sims Wiki:Newsletter/September 2012
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Player Stories are gone!
In a rare case of TSW actually achieving consensus on something, it was decided that Player Stories would be removed from The Sims Wiki. So, on the 24th of August, a historic spamming of the deletion log resulted in the removal of the feature in its entirety from TSW.
Reactions to the deletion have been mixed: upon asking the IRC Channel, IRC user Uji said that the feature "gave insight on how people played their game". IRC User Pikachu said that, upon being asked about the deletion of Player Stories, "I've never used the Sims Wiki". After this insight, it is obvious that the deletion has attracted a mixed response.
PollWhat do you think of Supernatural? Horoscopes
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Sunlit Tides Review
Sunlit Tides, released on August 15th 2012, is a paradise neighborhood based on a tropical island with sparkling beaches and palm trees.
Pre-made Sims
Daniel and Mary-Sue Pleasant make a return in this neighborhood as a newly married couple enjoying their honeymoon. Their personalities compute with what will happen to them later – Mary-Sue is a perfectionist and a workaholic, who in the future gets obsessed with her career and pays little attention to her husband Daniel, who is afraid of commitment and feels stuck to a relationship, which would later led him to cheat on her. However, their honeymoon will look more like an eternal honeymoon (since they can’t be moved to Pleasantview, after all!) if the neighborhood is played for a while. In the end, their storyline will be different from that of ‘’The Sims 2’’. The remaining playable Sims are good. A weak point is that they have all the same kind of personal biography. There is a connection between Appaloosa Plains and Sunlit Tides because the Parrott family was implied to have lived in a Hawaiian island before moving out and three Parrott sisters live here. In terms of appearance, the clothes are colorful and designed with flowery patterns, fitting the Sims perfectly; making most of them look native neighbors, with the exception of the Pleasant couple.
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Layout
The road layout is very different from previous store neighborhoods’. Due to being based on paradisiacal volcanic islands, like Hawaii, the terrain is very irregular and the island seems to be in geological expansion. Although the irregular terrain had a consequence – some places have to be reached by feet, such as Hideout or the relaxing center, located in a volcano and in a mountain, respectively; the layout is really good and unique compared to others.
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Houses
From rich to poor, most houses are decorated with luxurious items and many houses have swimming pools. In general, the houses are all modern, except the smallest ones which have the oldest native neighborhood living in them. In general, they are very good.
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Cost and Advertising
This parameter is usually what brings down the neighborhood ratings. There are two versions of this town: the standard, which costs 2450 SimPoints, and the gold version, which costs 4350 SimPoints. These prices are quite high for the product you are buying. Yes, the town might be very beautiful but buying a city seems pointless, because the items do not add that much of gameplay, it’s nothing compared to an expansion pack. Yet, EA has adopted this as strategy to gain some extra money. There is not really a gap between the standard and the gold versions, despite the gap in the prices. There is only one extra item that adds gameplay in the gold version; the remaining items are purely decorative.
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Content included
The gold version adds the Infinite Zen Massage Table. This feature is enjoyable and fits in the paradise theme of the island. As said before, the other items are decorative and have no impact on gameplay. The standard version content (also present in the gold version) includes new rabbit holes, the steam-up sauna and decorative objects, such as blue starfish, many types of flowers and plants. The content made its job to make this town a wonderful vacation island, based on Hawaii islands.
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Verdict
This store neighborhood is well-made and it is enjoyable to pay. The content included gives some gameplay even though it’s not enough to consider the prices suit it. Overall, the neighborhood is a good addition to the game. However, the newsletter advises that, if you want to buy it, buy the standard version because the gold one doesn’t offer much to justify a difference of 950 SimPoints.
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My thoughts on: TS3 Supernatural
Hi guys. I admit I haven't written a column for... a while but I've been busy with RL and couldn't think of anything to write about. However, I thought it would be a nifty use of this column to write a little about what I think of the recently released The Sims 3: Supernatural. If you've read my announcement blog way back when it was released, or discussed favourite EP's with me or something along those lines, you'll know that Makin' Magic is my favourite expansion pack by far. When I heard about the release of Supernatural, I was both excited as it would bring back some of the gameplay elements from the original game, but also a little concerned that it wouldn't do justice to the original.
I went out and bought the Limited Edition of the game which was for some reason the same price as the regular edition (wat), and a little while later it was installed and ready to go. Upon loading the game, I loaded a few of the set families to try out the different life states. The witches play more or less like their TS2 counterparts, however they don't need ingredients to cast spells anymore, a welcome change. I was somewhat surprised with the Fairies in the game, I found them to be useful in their auras which they can use, but overall they play like a slightly different Witch. The zombies added with the game were good for a laugh at first, but eventually I got a bit bored with them hanging around my house at the full moon, although I admit it was fun to use a spell to freeze them into an icecube. Finally, the werewolves added with the game disappointed me. If I had to say what the weakest lifestate is, I would say the werewolves. Other than the ability to transform, there is no real practical reason to become one, all of the other life states offer some type of incentive, be it improved skill gain, cool powers, etc.
Some other things about the EP: I think that Moonlight Falls is very well designed and fits in with the theme of the Supernatural very well; I can't help but feel it was copied from some cheesy 1950's horror movie.
Finally, I also enjoyed the huge range of things added with the EP - there is something like 70 outfits, 30-ish hairstyles, and easily ~120 objects, a large amount of which have a gothic motif which fits in very well.
Overall, I would recommend Supernatural. And, for my closing words, inb4 the exchange has over 9000 Edwards and Jacobs on it.
Review: Our Relationship
Our Relationship is a fanon written by GEORGIEGIBBONS. It's about a young-ish man who meets a fun student named Allegra, who was 10 years his junior. He falls in love with her, and this is their story.
The story has links for humorous effect, as well as the striking of words which is very, very funny. It feels like the man is talking to you and is very easy to read. Good pacing too.
The story is a bit short, but very well written and is quite philosophical and makes me feel I should respect other people more. The ending is very good as well, and I think it suits the story.
It would be good if Georgie created another fanon, the same story, but from Allegra's point of view. Georgie is excellent at writing, and I'd love it if he made more fanons. Well done Georgie!
I give Our Relationship 4 stars out of 5.
Auror's Take: Interviewing Alia
Alia is a bot which was recently re-introduced into #wikia-sims, our IRC channel. She gives random responses when asked a question, and it is possible to have somewhat of a "conversation" with her, even if her responses often lack any form of grammar whatsoever.
<auror> Alia do you like boys <Alia> auror: And i told you to play ts2, only ping me if you like boys. <auror> Alia who controls you <Alia> auror: I might be back for myself... He who controls the spice, controls the universe... And what piter didn't tell me all the time doesn't mean me... <auror> Alia do you eat bananas <Alia> auror: Part of me i was about to ask "who or what did you eat bananas.<auror> Alia why are bananas good for you <Alia> auror: So we need the following and sorrow. But is this i don't get me ln and gen, what would you eat bananas. <auror> Alia Is Drake the best rapper <Alia> auror: !Danpin is a rapper. <WoganHemlock> this seems legit <Pikachu> hah <auror> Alia the interview is done :) <Alia> auror: Breathing and walking provide the link i gave you, you better be here from now on an interview i found.
From the Editor...
I hope you guys enjoyed reading this edition of the newsletter, and that I did a pretty good job with my first issue as editor following DanPin's resignation.
Just so you know, I'm always looking for people to help with the newsletter. If you'd like to write something, feel free to leave me a message on my talk page or talk to me on IRC. It doesn't matter what you write, all contributions are valued :)
Until next time,
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