# SIMS - Can somebody explain it to me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 28, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542 "2004-09-28T19:18:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/21 "2004-09-28T22:32:58Z")
I thought we were talking about The Sims, not 2. So you can seduce the maid now? Who else can you seduce? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/22 "2004-09-28T22:42:11Z")
While we’re on the maid. What does ‘NPC’ Stand for? Non something Character? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/23 "2004-09-28T22:43:46Z")
P.S. Anyone else adore their language? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/24 "2004-09-28T22:47:59Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > While we’re on the maid. What does ‘NPC’ Stand for? > Non something Character? Non Playable Character. You can’t control them, but you can interact with them. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/25 "2004-09-28T23:36:56Z")
You can interact with all NPCs; cops, firemen, service people, etc. Once you initiate contact with them, they become part of your friends network and you can invite them over, romance them, and eventually, even marry them (if you so choose). However as loong as they remain NPCs, they don’t age. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/26 "2004-09-28T23:48:27Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > P.S. Anyone else adore their language? Yes. In some of the expansion packs (for the original game), my favorite bits are the new stuff they do with Simlish. In particular in _Unleashed_, how the pimply teenaged ice cream vendor would speak in squeaky voice-cracking Simlish, and in _Superstar_ how the sushi chefs would do Simlish with a vaguely Japanese accent. The best bits are the music tracks, though. Cajun, heavy metal, disco/dance music, all good stuff. And the karaoke machine in _Superstar_ – you can do power ballads, dance tunes, and it changes as you build your skill in singing. They’re hilarious. Oh yeah, and the “Iron Chef” show in _Sims 2_. Sounds just like Fukui-san and Ohta talking in Simlish. Pure gold. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/27 "2004-09-29T00:09:43Z")
I loved SimCity but just couldn’t get interested in The Sims. I’m annoyed that Will Wright’s attention was drawn away from development of new versions of SimCity so he could work on The Sims. ---
**Author:** ![kka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@kka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kka)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/28 "2004-09-29T03:13:12Z")
Does the game ever _end_? How much time do you spend playing it? When I played on the PS2, I played for hours and never really achieved anything. I invited people over, they yelled at me and refused to come, I forgot to take out the trash and flies overtook the kitchen, and I didn’t have proper hygiene skills. Is it really possible to do all the things they need to do to advance their lives? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/29 "2004-09-29T03:41:37Z")
I’m a huge cheater-I usually make my Sims millionaires, with big fancy houses, and fancy clothes, huge pool, fountains, koi ponds, you name it. Downloads are fun, especially hacked objects. Like items that raise all your bars, so in an emergency, if you’re low on too many, you can raise all of them, if you have to go to work, or whatever. And the adult items, like love rugs, and vibrators, torture chambers, electrocuting showers. It’s addicting. Plus, you can make Sims of people you hate, and then torture the shit out of them. So you’re basically playing God. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/30 "2004-09-29T03:56:49Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I compare it to owning a virtual dollhouse. > Create little people that live in a house you created and furnished. > Sleep, eat, go to work, yawn! It \*\*\*is \*\* \* a virtual dollhouse, that’s what the orginal name was, in fact. If you don’t think it’s fun to have an alien sim seduce a woman, have her move in with her roommate, get both of them pregnant, marry one and have the other one crying theatrically all the time, the game’s not for you. Otherwise, you can download the family on my [MySims page](http://thesims2.ea.com/exchange/lot_detail.php?asset_id=9587) 😃 Disappointingly, neither kid is green. But Hope’s pregnant so you never know what baby #3 will look like. (if you click on my screen name on that page, you can see other things I’ve uploaded too, if you care.) I love doll houses, and I love writing because you play god with your characters. This is a fun way to act out stories, with no toys to clean up after. Kka, no it doesn’t end. That’s not the point of this sort of game, there’s no way to win, to beat it, you just play as long as you want. In the new game sims now age (and grow up and can move out of their parents house. or not, your choice) so you can play them until they die, or you can enter the code to turn aging off. ---
**Author:** ![BonoVox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@BonoVox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BonoVox)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/31 "2004-09-29T04:02:06Z")
The one thing I loved about the sims1 were all player created models. I once had Wolverine, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Angel, Collosus, Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper all living in neighborhood. I tried to make their personalities as close to the characters as possible. Wolvie was mean, Supes was really nice, Etc. It was my fantasy version of the surreal life. Darth Vader and Batman fell in love, Wolverine loved canning food, and Wonder Woman turned into a real slut. ---
**Author:** ![kka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@kka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kka)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/32 "2004-09-29T04:14:29Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > So you’re basically playing God. I think I finally understand! ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/33 "2004-09-29T05:06:20Z")
> [@kka](#): > > Does the game ever _end_? How much time do you spend playing it? When I played on the PS2, I played for hours and never really achieved anything. I invited people over, they yelled at me and refused to come, I forgot to take out the trash and flies overtook the kitchen, and I didn’t have proper hygiene skills. > > Is it really possible to do all the things they need to do to advance their lives? Yes, it’s possible, but you have to find the right routine to get everything done under the time pressure. One thing to be aware of is that, IMO, the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox version of the game is actually a good bit different than the PC one. The console versions are more goal-driven, while the PC version is a lot more open-ended, because there’s more memory and more hard drive space, and you’re just more likely to spend more time playing the game on a PC than you would sitting in front of a TV. I definitely prefer the PC version, since the whole reason I play the game is to try to make up my own situations and make my own characters, as well as build my own house. The console side is too “gamey.” (Although a lot of people I’ve talked to don’t like the PC version but love the console ones). ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/34 "2004-09-29T13:47:02Z")
I’m going to put in my two cents again about the building. I don’t even have to play their little lives sometimes. I can just build, and build, and build. I also cheat, so I have these grand plataial homes. With Sims 2 I have made a new neighborhood and am slowly stocking it with my own people. Some have kids, some are singles looking for a good time, some have tight little families that will probably make kids. Soon i will build a shopping mall and maybe a park or something so they can hang out together. But I got wrapped up in the Body Shop. I’ve been learning how to make clothes with Paint Shop Pro. So far I’ve been sticking to easy stuff, so I made a bunch of **underthings & nighties with stockings!** Last night I made a new type of eye, a much darker shade of green. I tried to fiddle with the hair but that was damn hard and I don’t think I can do that. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/35 "2004-09-29T13:48:04Z")
> [@Elenia28](#): > > plataial p-a-l-a-t-i-a-l Is that right? _palatial_. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Stainz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Stainz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stainz)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/36 "2004-09-29T17:27:47Z")
**Elenia28** - how do you make the clothes and stuff? And the new type of eye? I love the Sims but dont’ have much time to play, so I never get anywhere! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/37 "2004-09-29T17:41:33Z")
> [@Elenia28](#): > > I’m going to put in my two cents again about the building. > > I don’t even have to play their little lives sometimes. I can just build, and build, and build. I also cheat, so I have these grand plataial homes. I like the fact that you can just enter an empty lot and build to your heart’s content, without having to worry about money or using the money cheat. > [@](#): > > But I got wrapped up in the Body Shop. I’ve been learning how to make clothes with Paint Shop Pro. So far I’ve been sticking to easy stuff, so I made a bunch of **underthings & nighties with stockings!** Last night I made a new type of eye, a much darker shade of green. I tried to fiddle with the hair but that was damn hard and I don’t think I can do that. Where can I find these? I like lots of clothing choices. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/38 "2004-09-29T19:35:13Z")
Ok, it’s not easy but it’s not difficult. \*\* Needs\*\* First, you need a good paint program. Paint Shop Pro (PSP) is what I use. **Exporting File** Next, you need to export the file. So go into your Body Shop, and we’re going to export a black bra & panty set. Click on the item, export, and it will tell you where it saved it. Alt-Tab over to your PSP.Click open, then “browse”. Look for the file. **Making stockings** Ok. For panties, you have three files. I forget what they’re called, but one is all gray. Ignore this. One is the color of the item. We’ll get back to this later. One’s got a black background and is mostly black. Open up the one that’s got a black background. Now, you’re going to insert a box that’s about the level of where you want your stocking to begin. So several inches below the bottom of the panty leg. Make this box cover the entire bottom part of the blackness. Click on ‘Color’, ‘Adjust Brightness’. Make it…oh, say 255 or so. Click OK. Your box should now be white, so you have (from top to bottom) bra black area panty black area large white box. Create another box on the very top but inside your previous box. This will be your stocking hem. Go back to ‘Color’, ‘Adjust Brightness’. Set it to 255. Do this a couple of times, so it’s much brighter than the bottom box. Save this file. Keep it open, and open up the color one. Now line them up as evenly as you can. Keep the colored one on top, and draw another box at the same height you just put your stockings on the other file. So again, it should cover the entire bottom of the box. Save it. **Changing Color** Now this will create stockings exactly the color of the outfit. If you want to make a new color, you then stay on the colored one and close the black one. Click on ‘Color’ ‘Red Green Blue’, and adjust the colors as you like. For example, if you’ve got a blue outfit, you want to minus the blue and + the green and red to change colors. In the right hand box, you should see the changes. Save it. **Enjoy!** Go back to your Sims program and Import it. It’s usually the first item on the list. Try it, and if you need more help, post here and I’ll try to help more. I know it sounds confusing, but it;'s not that bad! ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/39 "2004-09-29T19:43:16Z")
**The eye.** Forgot all about this. You do all the same things, export it, etc. Then you go into your PSP browser, and open up the colored version of the eye. Zoom in real close. See all those little pixels? You have to replace every freakin’ one. It’s easier to go darker, because then you don’t have to worry about the subtle details of shading, etc. I eyedroppered a dark green from the center of the eye,a nd used a 1-pixel paintbrush to replace them. Don’t destroy the pupil. Don’t destroy the white part, as it gives it a gleam. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542/40 "2004-09-29T20:38:17Z")
> [@Amp](#): > > He even scheduled a four day weekend the week the game was released so he could play it non-stop. … > He is the resident young office stud all the women and girls drool over. There are some inconsistencies in these statements that I am having trouble reconciling. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sims-can-somebody-explain-it-to-me/266542.md?page=3)