The Sims Vacation and some questions

Cafe Society
1

Ok, as I can see by the results of my search, there are plenty of Doper Sims addicts. Likewise, my name is musicguy and I am a Sims addict.

So I just picked up vacation, which seems to be very cool. I also have all of the other expansion packs. But I have a few questions that I can’t find answers for so I turn to you, trusty dopers…

  1. I can’t get my Sim to go on Vacation. I call the cab. It arrives and before my Sim can go meet it, it takes off. i’ve tried over and over. Could it be because my Sim is unemployed, er, independently wealthy?

  2. Does anyone know what the limit is to the number of objects available to you. Not walls and floors, but things like lamps and appliances? I download a lot of objects but wonder if old objects will start disappearing if I reach the limit.

  3. I have heard that there is a program that allows you to create your own animations for the game. Has anyone heard of this or know of how complex of a task this would be. I have many modifications I think would be fun (yes, some are x-rated).

  4. I heard of a hint of “The Sims 2” on a website. Has anyone else heard this. I’ve invested over a hundred dollars in expansion packs for this damn game and would hate to think that I will have to start all over.

Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to provide. And thanks to my roomate for giving me this game for Christmas last year. A crack habit would have been less time consuming.

2

  1. No, it’s because your sims walk slow. Have them stop whatever they’re doing and wait outside; I’ve only had one sim miss their cab after starting to do this, and virtually all of them are jobless.

  2. There are no limits to buy mode objects. Build mode ones, though, like flowers and fireplaces, screw up and become other things if you buy too many. The limit is low, less than 100 of those.

  3. Yes, but it’s very difficult. It’s called T-mog (Transmogrifier) and you can get it at many sites like this one http://www.simprograms.com/ Basically, it dupicates an existing object and allows you to alter the animations in a paint program (which takes several hours for complex objects like the love beds) and create a new object(which, unfortunately, must have the same functions as the orginal object) There’s another called blueprint which may or may not work by now, and there’s rumors that the object creator MAXIS uses (edith) might someday be avalible when you buy a book on sim programing- though it was supposed to have been out by last christmas.

I’ve had pretty good luck with t-mog, but haven’t had time for months to make anything new. see? www.geocities.com/simthingdifferent

  1. The only date I’ve heard for Sims 2 is christmas 2003, and it has (sims 2, not the date) been mentioned in interviews with the MAXIS sims team, so it probably will be out eventually, though I wouldn’t hold my breath for it coming out as soon as that.
3

Thanks Elfkin 477 !

(Question #2)

Maybe that would explain perhaps why I have had some windows and doors show up in “Buy” mode instead of “Build” after downloading.

(Question #3)

Actually, I was more interested in seeing if I could alter what a Sim does, rather than an object. I’m relatively comfortable with changing the color of objects and such. For instance, could I change a hug into some other action? I think it is easy to imagine where I am going with this:)

4

You can probably change some actions. I have some beds that allow for very interesting actions.

5

Do you recall where you got them or did you make them yourself?

6

One was from the 8th Deadly Sim, which is a pay site ($3.25 a month, IIRC). One really good one came from Ophelia’s Little Page about the Sims. I recommend the antique love bed.

7

Hijacking the thread…
I finally got the Sims on Wednesday, and I’m not going to say how much time I’ve spent because that might mean admitting it to myself.

Do I want the expansion packs? What do they do? Should I just go online and look around there? And if so, any sites that I simply should not miss?

Thanks,
A

8

Oh yes. You want all the expansion packs.

Living Large gives you more careers, skins, options, furniture, and social interactions - but most importantly, dramatically ups the limit of how many user-created objects you are allowed to download and play with.

House Party allows you to throw parties, dress in costumes, play charades, roast marshmallows around an open fire. If you’re party is a bomb, the mime will show up to liven things up. If it’s going really well, you get a surprise celeb.

Hot Date gives you way more social interactions (40, to be exact), a downtown to take dates to, and 125 new objects. There are shops to buy things in (and expand your interests by buying and reading magazines).

Vacation allows you to send your Sims on a holiday. Plus - more objects and characters.

Sites not to miss?

7 Deadly Sims. Organized into the 7 deadly sins categories. Some good finds there.

The Sims Resource. Great additions to the game, as well as a complete gamer guide.

Sim Freaks. Excellent site!! I’ve downloaded a ton of objects from here. It is a pay site, but it’s only a few bucks a month, and well worth it if you play the Sims a lot, and have a PayPal account set up already.

Cheap Frills. Home of the martial arts mat, the magic broomstick, movie camera, ballet mirror, crystal ball, stare-out screen and many others.

But remember - you can’t use most of these objects without the expansion packs. Living Large & Hot Date will allow you to use most of the items you see on the web.

9

Actually, the doors and stuff show up in buy instead of build because they have not been categorized. You can download the SimCategorizer at www.simprograms.com. You can go through all your objects and put them in the categories you want them in (no more plants in the lighting section, a pet peeve of mine).

You might try uninstalling and then reinstalling the game to get your sims to meet their cab. Walking slow shouldn’t be a problem, my sims always stop what they’re doing as soon as the cab arrives and hop in.

I’ve heard about the Sims 2, but I don’t know what it’s all about. Apparently there will be no more expansion packs for the original. Something you might be interested in checking out is The Sims Online, which you can read about at thesims.ea.com/us/index.html.

I am hopelessly addicted to this stupid game.

10

I had a lot of trouble with several of my houses getting the family to go on vacation for the first time – sometimes the SUV would vanish a split second after it appeared, or sometimes my sim would walk out the door and start shaking his head in a “stuck” motion. In both cases, moving the MAILBOX and GARBAGE CAN to different locations fixed the problem. (Dunno why it worked, but it did.)

11

Just be warned, amarinth, the expansion packs have to be installed in the correct order: Sims - House Party - Livin’ Large - Hot Date - Vacation.

And of course, it’s addictive as hell, but you already knew that.

12

I guess this is a good time to ask a question about a bug I’ve encountered. I have all the expansions up to Hot Date, and sometimes when I have my Sims cuddle on the couch, the cuddlee will get up and walk away just as the cuddler is trying to put a move on. The cuddler then ends up permanently frozen in the ‘draped arm’ position, and all I can do is restart from my last save.

Is there any way out of this, and if not, has a patch been released to fix it?

13

Sublight, yes there is a patch that should fix that problem, and also add a few things to your game. Download the patch at http://thesims.ea.com/us/index.html. Click on “Get Cool Stuff” and then find the section on game patches.

14

In case you don’t notice it while you’re there, allow me to point out that there are three patches available.

15

First thanks everyone! And Benson, thanks for the program link. Very cool.

Here’s another question that has been bugging me. I can’t get two Sims to share the same bed, even if they live together. I always need to put two beds in the bedroom. It seems like if you set them up as a family, they should share the larger beds. Why won’t one get in bed if the other is already there?

16

To get two sims to share a bed, they have to be friends - not necessarily in love. If it’s a new family, make sure they interact some before you try to have them sleep in the same bed. From there you should be able to avoid having to buy two beds.

17

I just looked at the sims online preview from gamespy e3 report and well I might be a bit under whelmed

It sounds like the chat roleplaying you can get on aols ffgf rooms without the the fanatasy/ad&d ect bend to it and graphics

And if people rp ( roleplay) on this game like they do on the other online games and rooms theres going ot be either failed book writers or people talking about unrelated game stuff which will kill the mood ,

Well lets hope for the best

18

Um…recatogorizing them does more harm than good. Some people who make objects intentionally make them buy-mode (using that very program, btw) because of the problems players have with the build-mode objects limits. If you recatogorize them all to build-mode, you’ll surely have shrubs turning into fireplaces and other weird problems because you’ll fill up the limit faster.

19

The Sims Hangout has a good relationship guide if you’re having problems with friendships or relationships.

When I start a new family, I give them all single beds until I have strong relationships formed, then I switch to double beds.

20

No more expansions!!! Dang I thought the next logical step would have been Sims at Work. Follow one of your sims to their job and live out the day and get to work at getting promoted by doing actual work stuff. You know either by bootlicking or office gossip or actual hard work. Oh well.