Maxis has combined it two best-selling franchises, SimCity and The Sims, in this new game... Even at this early stage, the game looks amazing.
Nieuws
25 mei 2000 - 23:40
25 mei 2000 - 23:20
This year's E3 Conference - an annual grandoise spectacle of the video gaming industry held this year in Los Angeles - has come to an end. But not before TheCitadel.net's Yoru Hikage managed to snap 19 more pictures of Maxis' booth for us! I'd like to again thank Yoru for going out of his way to get over fifty pictures and video of Maxis' area of the E3 floor.
25 mei 2000 - 23:10
What a great SimDay! Will Wright, creator of The Sims stopped by to talk, joke and answer your questions. Keep your eyes and ears open for more "Special Guest Chats."
25 mei 2000 - 23:00
The moment you've all been waiting for -- the winners of the Slum Lord contest! View the best of the worst homes on the Exchange.
23 mei 2000 - 23:00
For a chance to learn the nuances of Scenario Creation, check out an Unlimited Scenario script for London Fires. By studying this Maxis-made gem you will learn the tricks needed in creating your very own Scenario.
19 mei 2000 - 23:10
GameSpot has posted a Q&A preview of SimsVille! There's also a screenshot!
With the success of SimCity 3000 and The Sims, you could forgive Maxis for sitting on its haunches while it basks in the glory of its two latest strategy games. But the Walnut Creek, California-based developer, headed up by Will Wright, isn't taking any breathers. Already, the company has started development on two new games centered within the Sim universe.
One of those two games is SimsVille, a strategy game that combines the macromanagement gameplay of SimCity 3000 with the micromanagement of the more recent The Sims. Instead of creating cities or maintaining households, you will be able to design and manage your own personal suburban town complete with homes, businesses, and shops. The game stresses visual feedback, and more than any other Sim game before it, your town's prosperity or dire straits will manifest through a number of onscreen changes. We spoke with Maxis' Christine McGavran, executive producer for SimsVille, to find out more details about the game.
GameSpot: In SimsVille, the player will be able to impose direct control over an entire neighborhood at once, and not just a single household. Will the game be a micromanaged version of SimCity 3000? A macromanaged version of The Sims? Detail SimVille's basic gameplay mechanics.
Christine McGavran: It's definitely a challenge bridging these two products, but it's exactly the type of challenge we love to take on at Maxis. What we've focused on in our design is defining the set of interactions that is the most engaging and relevant for a village setting. While it's not practical to control every decision of each of your Sims at this scale, we're now able to explore a larger story involving the Sims' behaviors as these relate to the community they live in - investigating where they work, where they shop, community events, and politics. And because a village is much smaller than a city, we are able to provide a level of interaction that is more detailed and personal than would ever be manageable in a large metropolis.
The game focuses on a general goal of creating a successful and happy village for your Sims. Your most immediate objective is filling the basic needs of your Sims - these being a place to live, money, food, clothing, and friends. Your tools for doing this include giving them land to live on, successful businesses to get jobs at, stores to shop at, and other Sims to befriend. Once your Sims' basic needs are fulfilled, they begin the natural pursuit of happiness - a larger challenge for you, the mayor. Items factoring into happiness include, of course, worldly possessions, specialty stores and restaurants, community events, clubs, town services, and a quality neighborhood.
Control and graphics
GS: Since players can create both residences and businesses, will they be able to follow their Sims to work as well?
CM: Your Sims will find their jobs at the businesses you create, so yes, players will be able to follow the work lives as well as the home lives of their Sims. Jobs in SimsVille have a different and more complex role than in The Sims. In SimsVille you are working towards the success of both businesses and families - managing the whole town economy. If there are not enough businesses in town, some of your Sims will be out of a job. If a business does very well, it will be able to afford to pay your Sims a higher salary or employ more Sims. Some Sims may have an entrepreneurial spark and will ask you if they can start their own businesses. So, to make your Sims happy and wealthy, you need to make sure they have success both at home and at work.
GS: Since Sims will need to travel to and from work, will you be able to buy your own transportation, or will you still have to rely on carpooling?
CM: Sim families will indeed own and use their own vehicles. Cars play two major roles in SimsVille: First, they provide an essential means of transportation around town - for example, to work, to shopping, and to their friends (Sims can also walk to their destination, especially if it is close by). Second, cars are material possessions that indicate personality and wealth. For example, a family with kids might drive a minivan, and a single 20-year-old might drive a sports car. And a richer Sim would buy a much nicer car than a poor Sim.
GS: How many families will players be able to control at once?
CM: You're really controlling a village of families, businesses, and other institutions - the mechanic here is much different from The Sims. As the game progresses, you will be able to choose from a list of potential families desiring to move to your town, as well as businesses that want to establish themselves. If you do well, your town will be very popular, and many families and businesses will want to move in. You can choose to grow your town to have a hundred families, or keep it as a small, intimate community of just a few. It's up to you.
GS: Will SimsVille use a real 3D engine, or will you still use 2D sprite tiles?
CM: We are using a real 3D engine. It's quite beautiful and allows for some very nice special effects.
Businesses and careers in SimsVille
GS: How many career paths will players have to choose from?
CM: In SimsVille, the job focus is not so much on a general career path, but around where your Sims work and how well they are doing in that business. So the only jobs available in SimsVille are at the businesses you have helped to start. Sims will start their career based on available job openings, their interests, and where their friends work (a slight nepotism). As time goes on, they may be successful and be promoted within their current job, seek a better opportunity at another business, or, if they are very ambitious, start a business of their own.
GS: Will Sims be able to age? In The Sims, babies turned into kids, and that was it. Kids never turned into adults, and adults never became seniors.
CM: I'm going to put off answering this question for now....
GS: We've heard that Livin' Large will have a SimCity 3000-style castle, as well as alien abductions and roach infestations. What other sorts of SimCity gameplay elements, such as random occurrences, can we expect to see in SimsVille?
CM: Of course, in the Maxis tradition, we will continue with the level of comedy and surprise that is characteristic of our products. Don't be too alarmed if your Sims start talking about little green men in SimsVille.
GS: Will SimsVille have any kind of multiplayer component?
CM: Following in the footsteps of SimCity and The Sims, SimsVille will definitely have a strong Internet and Web component, though not specifically multiplayer. Maxis is currently developing multiplayer Sim game prototypes now, so you should see something from us soon on this front.
GS: SimCity 3000 Unlimited gave players the ability to change the surrounding landscape. Will SimsVille go one step further and feature changing seasons?
CM: Oh yes! We'll [be showing] you something cool [at this year's E3].
18 mei 2000 - 23:55
DailyRadar also has a small preview from The Sims Livin' Large. Click read more below to read it on our website.
The Sims Livin' Large Preview
Have you ever wished that The Sims had was even weirder? Read on...
The Sims: Livin' Large Although only a working title, The Sims: Livin' Large places your Sims into unexpected and sometimes outrageous new situations. This is the official Expansion Pack to one of the year's most intriguing and critically acclaimed games, and it's due out this fall. We're salivating already, and we'll let the facts speak for themselves.
New situations and objects include:
- Alien abductions
- Roach infestations
- A chemistry set that can create personality-alerting potions
- Genie in a lantern
- Fortune telling crystal ball
- Exploding garden gnome
- Holiday decorations
There are also five new career tracks and 50 new jobs including:
- Musician: subway musician, piano tuner, wedding singer, lounge singer, rock star, etc.
- Slacker: golf caddy, convenience store clerk, lifeguard, etc.
- Paranormal: Tarot card reader, UFO investigator, etc.
- Journalism: game reviewer (like that's a real job), weatherman, talk show host, etc.
- Hacker: Beta tester, game designer, programmer, etc.
Finally, expect to see new architectural and decor styles such as:
- Castle: Build the perfect creepy setting for the neighborhood mad scientist.
- Vegas: A tacky, but not cheap, aesthetic. Clashing colors and odd decor will have you creating the ultimate bachelor pad.
- Retro: A revival of the 50's-60's "Mod" look, upscale and chic, with dynamic lines, graceful curves, and a minimum of ornamentation
- Kevin Rice
18 mei 2000 - 23:50
IGN has posted a preview about The Sims Livin' Large, with screenshots, though these have already been posted through the GameSpot preview. Click read more to read the preview.
The Sims: Livin' Large
It's not just large, it's Vegas style.
May 11, 2000
E3 2000 Update
The official Sims site has already been giving fans extras for the game, everything from guinea pigs to MTV skins, but this fall get ready for an all new expansion set that should pump up the existing Sim world. While we're sad that there aren't more major changes in this expansion (like the ability to actually go to work), the new objects, careers and décor additions should make even the surliest Sim fans happy. So let's get to the meat -- what can you, as a major Sim fan, expect to see in the upcoming add-on? Keep in mind that these are just some of the additions:
New Problems and Objects
- Alien abductions
- Roach infestations
- Chemistry set
- Genie in a lantern
- Fortune telling crystal ball
- Exploding garden gnome
- Holiday decorations
This time around, if you're too much of a slob you might just see some roachies running around your linoleum floors. And if you play too much with your telescope, you might just catch the eye of some alien visitors who want to get a little personal. Pick up an antique lantern, and your wishes may come true with a Genie. The chemistry set is one of the most interesting additions so far, as it allows you to alter Sims personalities with a drink. Take that, mr/mrs. goodie two shoes.
New Careers
- Musician: subway musician, piano tuner, wedding singer, lounge singer, rock star...
- Slacker: golf caddy, convenience store clerk, lifeguard...
- Paranormal: Tarot card reader, UFO investigator...
- Journalism: game reviewer, weatherman, talk show host...
- Hacker: beta tester, game designer, programmer...
Hey! What's that about game reviewer being on the bottom of the list? As you can see, the career tracks are even more fun and funny, especially the slacker career, which I personally am all about partaking in. If it wasn't for the bullet in the stomach thing, being a convenience store clerk would be the peak of slackerdom in my humble life. Free food, free beverages, free money… how can you beat it?
New Architecture and Décor Styles
- Castle: Stone walls, thick floors, and big honkin' windows.
- Vegas: Tacky and plastic, with big big colors.
- Retro: 50's-60's Mod look.
Take a look at the screens, and you'll see what you can expect with the new houses. Vegas is truly tacky, while the Castle setting will give the appropriate doom and gloom to your more gothy families. Or you can throw the Bradies in it and pretend that it's a two-part cliffhanger episode. Just use their belts to get the keys off the wall, you're set.
From the looks of things, it looks like The Sims will get even weirder with the add-on, and we're all for it. Give us the hot tubs, the slots, the Vegas beds and the aliens, because here at IGNPC we're willing to do almost anything if it involves sitting behind a keyboard and not actually, you know, doing it.
-- Vincent Lopez
18 mei 2000 - 23:45
Gamecenter has written a report about The Sims Livin' Large on E3 2000. Click read more to read the report on our site!
The Sims Livin' Large Announced
By Glenn Rubenstein
May 12, 2000, 03:00 PM PT
The biggest game of 2000 (so far) is getting an expansion pack. The Sims Livin' Large adds new objects, locations, and careers to the massively popular game about nothing--not to mention a dash of tongue-in-cheek humor. Set to ship this fall, Livin' Large will provide hungry Sims fans with a plethora of new thrills, and hold them over until SimsVille ships next year.
The Sims Livin' Large will give players twice as many new objects as were in the original game. Maxis is making an effort to keep most of these additions a surprise, but at E3 they teased that chemistry sets, robots, voodoo dolls, and cockroaches were just a small sample of what will be available in the final game. One aspect they are hyping is that the more unpredictable nature of these objects will figure in heavily (similar to the potentially germ-infested guinea pig available for download on their site). During a demo, they showed a young boy looking through a telescope. Thinking along the lines of the original game, one would assume that this would give the boy logic points and boosted intelligence. Instead, aliens descend upon he and his family, vaporizing them into oblivion.
Among the new locations that were shown were a castle and a tacky honeymoon (read: charges by the hour) hotel, complete with vibrating bed. A male and female character actually disrobed (with blurred-out areas over appropriate parts), got into bed, and started engaging in some under-the-covers activity. At that point, another female (who presumably was the male character's wife) came in, and a catfight ensued.
Another scenario being shown included a mad scientist and his chemistry set. Apparently you can bargain with a Grim Reaper character in the game, and in the process you get turned into a zombie. The scientist was trying to cure his zombie friend by mixing a variety of potions. On a failed attempt the potion made him invisible.
Five new career paths will also be available in Livin' Large. Not all have been divulged, but the three confirmed are hacker, journalist (specializing in the area of game reviews), and work involving the paranormal. It was also revealed that the tragic clown character, who appears in a painting in the original game, will be a character in this game, so you can share his pain.
Maxis is playing up the humor aspects of this title, and you can bet there will be even more surprises in the finished product when it hits stores.
18 mei 2000 - 23:40
GameSpot has posted a Q&A preview about The Sims Livin' Large. Click read more to read the preview and view the screenshots.
With the success of SimCity 3000 and The Sims, one would forgive Maxis for sitting on its haunches while it basks in the glory of its two latest strategy games. But the Walnut Creek, California-based developer headed up by Will Wright isn't taking any breathers. Already, the company has started development on two new games centered within the Sim universe.
One of these games is the anticipated expansion pack to its people simulator, The Sims. Called The Sims: Livin' Large, the add-on adds five new career tracks that will spawn more than 50 additional jobs for your Sims to choose from, as well as three new decors for your humble abode. While there's still no multiplayer component, Livin' Large adds a number of quirky new gameplay features that are standard Maxis fare. To find out more about this game, we sat down with Maxis executive producer Sinjin Bain for a few minutes.
We'll let Sinjin take it away from here.
GameSpot: Let's get the most important question out of the way first. What is the deal with the game reviewer being the bottom rung on the journalism career track?
Sinjin Bain: Well, actually typesetter is the lowest rung of the journalism career. The journalism career track was constructed on a huge "reticulated career curve," where the typesetter is extremely low on the "curve" and all the rest of the jobs (including game reviewer) are packed very tightly at a much higher place on the curve. So really, game reviewer is virtually at the top of the ladder! What you should be asking is what the game reviewer "skin" will look like. I'll keep my lips sealed on that for now.
GS: You're a cruel, cruel man. Do the Sims retain their own unique brand of gibberish, or will they have actual spoken dialogue?
SB: The Sims will retain their now-famous SimLish language with thought/emote bubbles.
GS: A lot of people complained about the camera's sluggish behavior in The Sims. Have you addressed this problem in Livin' Large?
SB: The graphics performance will remain the same. Players seem far more interested in getting new objects that give more new gameplay than asking for performance improvement, and that is our focus with Livin' Large!
New changes
GS: The Sims in the original game had a problem with pathfinding, often causing difficulty in maneuvering around a simple object. Has the AI been improved on?
SB: With respect to pathfinding AI, I think we are handling the severe requirements of the game as well as can be done. Some problems that were perceived as pathfinding problems actually turned out to be problems with object placement or other tangential issues. We have addressed these as they are brought to our attention.
GS: Will you be able to follow your Sims to their new jobs, or is that aspect of the game still invisible to the player?
SB: Livin' Large careers will be handled the same way as in The Sims. Following your Sims to work would require an entirely new game design, not that it isn't a bad idea.
GS: Will a Sim's choice of profession have a more pronounced effect on character interaction (for example, if you're a cop, and someone else in the neighborhood is in the crime industry, will that affect your relationship)?
SB: The social-interaction engine remains functionally the same, although many of the new objects in the game have a wider range of ways that they will affect your Sims!
GS: Will players be allowed to make an "evil" Sim through starvation/abuse/neglect or other means? In the original, treating a Sim poorly only made him depressed and insubordinate.
SB: Again, the social engine will remain functionally the same. A Sim isn't naturally good or evil... it's how the players live out the story of their Sims' lives. If you check out some of the stories users have created and posted on TheSims.com, I think you'll find some truly "evil" characters.
However, many of the new NPCs and objects that we'll be introducing into the Sims world will significantly broaden the cause and effect of social interactions of your Sims and create new gameplay situations related to unanticipated changes in the state of your Sim! It could be that in Livin' Large you might be able to create an "evil" Sim.
Next: Music, decor, and multiplayer
GS: In the previous game, time seemed to move too quickly, and the only way to make sure everything got done would be to constantly pause and toggle different game speeds. Will the flow of time be changed or tweaked?
SB: The game was actually tuned as part of the patch to address this area a bit and seems to have been a good move based on input over the past month, so we'll use this new tuning currently in the patch for Livin' Large! The party balloons, which are available from TheSims.com and will also be added to Livin' Large, slow time down, which makes it much easier to host hot-tub parties.
GS: In addition to the Latin, country, classical, and rock-and-roll music that played over the radio, will there be any additional music in Livin' Large?
SB: No, but you can put new music files into the game's music folder, so in effect, you can have any music you want!
GS: Livin' Large will have three new decors, one of which is a medieval theme. Will players actually get to build a castle, or is this new option just an interior motif?
SB: Well, it's not really about three new decors; it's all about hundreds of objects that you can create virtually anything with. We merely chose three examples that we felt were as diverse as possible to show the range of environments you can create for your Sims. Once again, the goal is to expand the creative space as much as possible. Players can create tropical compounds you might find in Tahiti, or Germanic castles. Players can then populate their Tahitian compound with island girls or magic genies, or their castles with mad doctors, warped assistants, and monsters they've created... it's really up to the players! We haven't found the limits to what you can create yet.
The other important thing to remember is that many of the objects we create aren't just decorations or "functional," like a chair or table. They can actually change the game's simulation engine. The Sims: Livin' Large will give you a chance to put your Sims into even more extreme situations.