Sims 2 Open for Business: How do you like it?

I know I’m not the only one who was planning on getting OFB. How do all of you like it so far?

I’m really pleased with this expansion. Frankly, I wasn’t that excited about the concept at first, but now I’m loving it. My sims haven’t gotten “real” jobs since I got OFB. I haven’t trudged through the University years just to get better jobs like I used to either. It’s definitely my favorite expansion pack to date. Before, I found myself getting bored with my sims after awhile, especially the ones who got rich. I enjoy instead of just sending them off to work, being able to manage what they do at work.

So far, I’ve been sticking with home businesses, with the home-crafted items and baked goods. I’ve found it difficult to try to run a business outside of the home, but hope that once I’ve become more accomplished at running a business, I’ll be able to work on that. What kind of businesses have you run?

I don’t know if any of you attempt the legacy challenges, but that’s what I’m trying to do right now, with a twist. I’m not allowing my sims jobs outside the home, and let me tell you, it’s difficult. Then again, I’m only on the second generation. Still, it took me forever just to make enough to buy walls. There’s nothing on them, and the floor is grass, but there are walls! So, fellow Simmers, tell me about your latest escapades!

Boing! I blew a spare gift card on this yesterday, took it home, and spent the next hour installing the original game, three expansions, and the patches. :stuck_out_tongue: (I reformatted recently and didn’t have it on there).

So far it looks pretty cool, although I haven’t done much of the business stuff yet. I actually didn’t really know where to start, but your post gives me an idea of how it works, so I’ll be trying it out tonight. :smiley:

Well, the sims I mentioned in my original post are officially rich. I’m on the fifth generation now, and they’re worth about 300,000 simoleons, with about half of that just sitting in their reserves for everyday use. They’ve got a nice three-bedroom, four bathroom house with a separate space on the first floor for their store. Not too shabby for sims who have never gone outside of the home to work. I started out selling bakery stuff, then went to paintings because my sims were high creativity. That’s where I really started to make money, selling some paintings at 800 simoleons a pop. Now they’re buying and reselling artwork and making 5,000-15,000 simoleons a day.

Good luck with the game! Have you played the Sims 2 before this, or are you starting out new with the Sims 2 and all the expansions? If the latter, you’ve got lots to discover.

I’ve played before, but my time in the game has been pretty limited. I’ve played one family through at least three generations, getting at least one character to the top of the political profession (helicopter is the only way to travel).

I’ve also played the University pack to a lesser extent. I hadn’t played Nightlife at all (or OFB obviously), so yeah there is lots of cool stuff to check out.

My first Sim I started with the expansion went with the criminal career track, and as a result I have his creativity almost maxed out, so I think I may try to open an art gallery at the house. I have plenty of money to build on a room to house the business stuff, so I’m going to play with that tonight.

Now if I can get his wife to stop shagging everyone she meets. :stuck_out_tongue: (he married one of the Caliente sisters - who apparently is whatever aspiration likes to meet new people) :wink:

A tip if you’re going to add on a room for the business: there’s a “lock door” function in OFB. It’s fantastic. It allows you to lock the door to keep people who come to your business from loitering around the rest of the house and using their stuff. You can lock a door so just the household and employees can use it, or even just certain sims.

I’ve been mostly playing ES4: Oblivion, but I’ve made the time to play OFB for a few hours. Chester Gieke runs a toy store out of his home, and things are going slowly but well. He hired a really good salesman, so he’s starting to do well, and he found someone who can make toys better than he can. I set custom prices for just about everything, and I don’t seem to have a problem selling (the dollhouse sells for $210 at the moment). Oh, and he’s in love now, too. He didn’t realize when Cara kept calling him at home to chat that she was hitting on him, but he eventually got hit with the clue-by-four and had the courage to ask her out on a date. It was such a dream date that now they’re madly in love. I’m sure he’s going to ask her to marry him soon.

I love the new locking doors. Being able to keep everyone out of your damn bedroom and private bath is a nice feature.

I have absolutely no idea what that is, but I see there is a huge thread on it here in CS, so I’m assuming that’s what the cool kids are playing these days. The Sims is more suited to my gaming skill level (which is zero). I can’t help it. My parents made me play educational games when I was a kid.

I haven’t gone too far into the toy-making. What’s the highest-level toy the sims can make?

My roommate has been playing it…he’s raking in hundred thousands a day. Somehow he converted his house into this adult playground with oxygenbars etc and Sims are popping down 5K at a time just to hang out at his house for days on end.

Wow! That’s some serious cash. If I weren’t doing a legacy right now, I’d be trying that tonight. I just can’t imagine trying to manage that plus 5+ sims. I’ve got enough problems as it is. Yesterday one of my sims dropped dead and I don’t know why. I think she may have been scared to death. Does your roommate use the electronic ticket thingie to charge people for hanging out there?

I’ll ask him if I see him tonight. I looked over his shoulder maybe once or twice while he was playing, but watching someone play Sims must be one of the most boring experiences possible

I have only gone as far as university. On my seventh generation worth over 500,000… anyway. Is nightlife worth it? Or will it just cause my slow computer to run the game even slower?
OFB seems kinda silly but so did the bygone hot date and I bought that one.

I personally prefer Nightlife to University, but YMMV. I never had Hot Date, but I’m guessing Nightlife is the Sims 2 equivalent of that. What I like about Nightlife:

  • Dating. In NL, sims have chemistry, and can have different levels of attraction to one another. It makes it fun to find/choose a mate compatible with your sim. Dating is also a quick way to boost your sims’ aspiration levels up to platinum. You can also get other rewards from dates (I’ll let those be a surprise).
  • Cars. No more carpool if you so choose. Plus, if your kids miss the bus, you can drive them to school. You can also drive your car to a community lot and not have to take the taxi. Woo hoo can also be achieved in cars.
  • New downtown area. You can assign a downtown area to one of your neighborhoods. You can also build your own downtown with stores, restaurants, and clubs. You can go out for dinner with friends, family, or a date, and go dancing too.
  • New objects. New objects are pretty much the reason I buy any expansion pack. I get tired of using the same old objects when decorating my sims’ houses. New hairstyles and clothing are always a bonus with any EP as well. OFB has a lot of cool new objects/building tools too.
    If those things appeal to you, then go for it. I can totally relate to computer slowness though. We just recently got a new hard drive (mostly to accommodate my simming) so my game is running much better now.

I’m waiting for OFB to be released here, can’t wait!

Speaking of NL though… if I had to choose just one expansion pack, NL would be it. I’ve had the expansion for a few months now, but only recently started really using the NL features. I absolutely love the contacts feature, and the fact that there’s a benefit to hanging out with someone who is highly skilled! And my jaw just dropped the first time I got one of the aforementioned “rewards” for a dream date - it was a doozy! (Though lately my current Sim is so freakin popular that everytime someone sneaks into the yard for a drop off, there’s always someone outside, which apparently scares the sneaky one off!)