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Into the Future Blog: 1010 things you should know about Plumbots!

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Hey Simmers!
Today I’m happy to be able to share more info on one of my absolute favorite parts of The Sims 3 Into the Future – Plumbots! From the very beginning of this pack, we set out to make Plumbots feel like a natural evolution of everything fans loved about bots from older Sims games, just bigger, better, more customizable, and more durable. We had so much fun acting out bot animations and telling crazy bot stories. Here are a few fun facts to get you ready to play with the future and Plumbots!

1. Plumbots are an integral part of the household of the future. Most families in the future have at least one bot to help out around the house, and several service industries have enlisted Plumbots to do work like firefighting and pizza delivery.

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10. Programmable Personalities! One of the things that set Plumbots apart from all other beings in The Sims universe is their ability to change personalities with the flip of a trait chip. Without trait chips, bots are pretty simple creatures; you only need to keep their batteries charged and their chassis tuned. Trait chips hold the personality programming for your bot. With a simple Adjust Trait Chips interaction, you can change your bot from fun-loving to evil in a snap!

11. There are dozens of trait chips available for Plumbots. Competent Cleaner is a great trait chip for some instant help in a messy house. Need some help in the garden? With the RoBotany Gardener chip, bots will automatically tend the garden and fertilize plants – no ingredients needed! The Office Drone chip will allow your Plumbot to get a job and earn some simoleons for the household. If you’re looking for a bot with a little more humanity, give Sentience a try. This chip is the closest program to humanity that a Plumbot can equip. And of course the Efficient and Solar Powered trait chips are always good to have on hand since they will help your Plumbot run more smoothly.

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101. Create-a-Bot! With a little Bot Building Skill, you can use the Bot Workshop to create and customize a Plumbot in the brand new Create-a-Bot Mode. This mode allows you to customize everything physical about your bot. With tons of heads, torsos, arms, legs, and hovers to choose from, the options are endless! Try out patterns on your bot with Create-a-Style, and of course share your unique creation with friends on the Exchange when you’re done.

110. Bots are upgradeable! Improve your Bot Building skill to upgrade Plumbots. Upgrades will allow bots to equip more trait chips at once and expand their personality. With a high Bot Building skill, you can also improve the quality of your bot as you give them tune ups. Having a higher quality level will make your Bot run more efficiently and use less battery power. These upgrades increase the value of your Plumbot (should the day come that you want to sell your metal friend).

111. Plumbots are self-sustaining. Bots are capable of tuning and charging themselves, but with the right trait chips installed they can do so much more! Create a household full of bots equipped with Office Drone, Limitless Learning, and Sentience trait chips, and you never need a human again!

1000. Romance is in the silicon. With the Capacity to Love trait chip, Plumbots can simulate all the gushy feelings human Sims love to express. Bots can even woohoo with each other in a variety of places; for a great new woohoo spot, look no further than the Bot Workshop! Of course, since Plumbots aren’t human, they don’t reproduce like human Sims, but with the RoboNanny trait chip installed your bot will take excellent care of your little ones.

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1001. Plumbots can project the future! With a Holo-Projector chip, bots can help you contact your friends in the future so you can keep in touch, even when you’re separated by time and space. Who needs a phone when you have a Plumbot?!

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1010. While visiting the future be sure to swing by the Nuts n’ Bolts Bot Emporium. The Emporium is a great place to purchase bots with pre-programmed personalities. The helpful Sales Bots will also be happy to sell you finished trait chips for your Plumbot as well as a wide array of ingredients for making trait chips in your Bot Workshop. No need to use valuable Lifetime Happiness Points to buy a Plumbot! If you want a bot of your own without the work of making it from scratch, this is definitely the place to go.

Whew, that was a lot of bot-related info! I hope your circuits aren’t overloaded. Out of all the features in The Sims 3 (including Witches and I really liked that one), I had the most fun making Plumbots, and I really hope that you love playing with bots as much as I do. I can’t wait to see the fantastic creations and stories our amazing fans create with Plumbots! Happy Simming!

BLOG POST

Community Blog: Surf’s Up Sun and Fun Collection

I have a special surprise for you! Check out what Designer Alan Copeland has to say about this new hot summer set, Surf’s Up Sun and Fun Collection. Available on The Sims 3 Store August 1st!

Hey folks… what’s up? If your answer is anything other than “Surf” go back and reconsider your answer. That’s right, it’s time to grab your board and head on out to the beach because I’m here to show off the “Surf’s Up Sun and Fun Collection”!

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Set up your Surf’s Up Sun & Fun Wave Station in a pool, pond, ocean or any decent sized body of water, then it’s time to pick a board.

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Only a poser Sim goes to the beach without a custom board. So along with the six different presets you can also go in and fully modify the texture of your board.

Then it’s time to hit the waves!

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It doesn’t matter if your Sim wants to hang ten or try something a little wilder, the Sun and Fun Wave Station will let them show off their skills! Even Grandpa gets in on the fun!

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Wait… what is that under the water?!

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SimCity: A brand new Region

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Hello fellow mayors, Cartographer and SimCity Level Designer Kyle Brown here back again to talk about map making. Granite Lake is the next free region map we’re releasing with Update 6, and it is a stark departure from our previous regions. Granite Lake is designed to prominently feature both mountains and a beautiful lake.

The look and feel of this region is highly inspired by the state of Colorado. And also my own personal experience – about a year ago, I landed in Denver, Colorado and was unexpectedly stranded while waiting for a connecting flight. While there, I took this picture from my hotel room:

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This picture probably doesn’t do justice to what I saw. But in my delirious state with only two-ish hours of sleep, it was one of the prettiest things I’ve ever seen. Famous musician and Colorado-lover John Denver wrote all of those songs about this state for a reason I guess.

When designing Granite Lake, I looked at the Mountains in Denver for inspiration. They are stacked with a range of lower mountains in front of another range of higher mountains. This was something that I incorporated into the Granite Lake region. The city plots located in the upper cluster are on a lower range and the mountains behind them are higher. The city plots on the other lower end of the lake are a little bit flatter, for those who don’t want any obstructions.

When we finished the game, we had done most of the major terrain forms; coastal, river, gorge, island, archipelago, plains, valley, and combined them in various ways. Two major terrain forms are missing from this list: mountains and lakes. Generally, when creating maps, we have removed mountains or lowered their height. Regions start out with more mountains and we pare them back. In Granite Lake, I increased the height and the amount of mountains for this region. In the other regions, we were not using the upper end of the mountain height. Granite Lake is now the tallest region we have.

Mountains play a large role in the region not only in how the region looks, but also in how it plays. There are mountains that creep into almost every city plot. The reason I did this was so mayors who like to use wind power can setup swaths of windmills along the hill sides. In the regions currently available, wind power was largely only used when starting cities and then scrapped when users could afford a better power plant. With Granite Lake, because there are higher mountains, wind power becomes more effective as the peaks create more wind in the maps. This makes wind power a better long term solution for those who choose that route to power their cities.

The other major concept of this region is the lake itself. The lake connects the clusters together. The lower cluster and the higher cluster are connected by two cities on each side. Between the mountains and the lakes, I think this region will be a nice change of pace from what is currently available.

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The last thing about this map is the textures are different. As is the case with Edgewater Bay, Granite Lake got a new set of textures for the landscape.

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While the terrain forms are identical, the feel of each are completely different. One is a summer lake with good weather and the other is a high altitude lake somewhere that struggles to stay warm.

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This Region is meant to be challenging. The city plots have multilevel terrain, but building here has its own rewards. Cities created here will have to navigate the terrain and this will cause them to become unique. These unique cities will be framed by a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains. I was striving for something scenic, maybe not as picturesque as the Denver mountains at 5:30am, but close. Looking forward to hearing what you think of this region!

BLOG POST

The Sims 3 Movie Stuff: Lights, Camera, Action!

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Hi Simmers! SimGuruSarah here to tell you a little bit about our newest Stuff Pack: The Sims 3 Movie Stuff! This pack features dozens of objects and clothing inspired by three classic movie genres – Western, Horror and Heroes & Villains.

The Western content was inspired by the classic “Spaghetti Western” movies of the 1960’s. We wanted to do something fun that was not necessarily historical. We settled on a saloon theme and created objects to tell a story in that setting. We have a new bar with a matching barstool, a dresser vanity, a rocking chair, a saloon door, and several new wall pieces (one of which has an Easter egg…Bella! Tell me if you find her ;-)) Oh, and we have an All-In-One-Bathroom Outhouse!

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I absolutely love the new Western attire which features hair, shoes, and clothing for both genders, as well as a new mustache for the men. For female adults, we have a top and bottom set for a sheriff (with pants or a skirt option) and three full body dresses, including a classic saloon girl which shows off a lot of leg! For men we have a classic cowboy look with chaps and leather vest and a ten-gallon hat.

The second movie genre we chose for The Sims 3 Movie Stuff is “spooky horror.” This was both fun and challenging because we wanted to create clothing and objects that felt distinctly different from what you would find in The Sims 3 Supernatural. We settled on a mix of classic horror and quirky Gothic style. We have a tragic bride in her worn wedding dress and veil, and a leather outfit with straps and buckles (with matching shoes) for the ladies.

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The spooky objects are very unique and add an interesting spin to your Sim’s home. There is a coffee table with a spider web etched in the glass, a fireplace with glowing eyes, and two new horror themed doors. One of my favorite pieces is “The Doctor’s Spare Parts.” I’ll let you imagine what that might be…

All of the artists working on The Sims 3 Movie Stuff are comic book junkies, so the hero & villain content was definitely our favorite genre to brainstorm and develop concept art for! We thought about all of our favorite heroes (and villains!) and then we put a Sims spin on it. We came up with unique creations such as Freezer Bunny Man, Super Justice Llama, and the villainous General Skunk! There is even a sidekick outfit for the kids!

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There are some really unique objects you can use to build out your hero or villain’s lair. We have a new table that is a crime map of the city that has flashing lights to indicate where crime is occurring. There is an awesome new wardrobe with superhero logos on the front, and a dresser vanity that has lots of lights, knobs, and other high tech looking gadgets. One of my favorite new objects is the Laser Door! Lasers turn on and off as your Sim walks through the door, and you can change the colors of the lasers. Oh, and did I mention the phone booth that doubles as a shower?

What kind of stories will you create with all these objects? We’ll wait and see when The Sims 3 Movie Stuff Pack comes out! Look for it on September 10 in North America, and September 12 and 13 in Europe and APAC. We have a special behind-the-scenes set available only to those fans who buy The Sims 3 Movie Stuff through Origin.

Stay tuned for more fun stuff we’ll share from this pack!

The Sims 3 Movie Stuff Pack Official Announcement

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Click above to pre-order Movie Stuff on Origin!

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The Sims™ 3 Movie Stuff Origin Exclusive
Get More Movie Magic with The Director’s Set 
You’ve set the stage for your Hollywood-style epic—now give the set a behind-the-scenes look with items available only to those who purchase The Sims™ 3 Movie Stuff through Origin. On a movie set these props never appear on camera but they are essential to bringing illusions to life!

• It can be daytime any time with the Sunbeam Lighting Floor. Multiple spotlights let you simulate the sun’s bright rays while the supersized structure stays outside and above the action.
• Lighting is crucial to setting the right mood on the set, which is why your aspiring director Sims will want the Sunbeam Flood Light, theProfessional Mood Lighting rig, and the Big Night Searchlight.
• Give your leading Sim a place to rest in the comfy Director’s Cut Barstool.
• Your Sims’ movie set will look extra authentic with the Film Reel Canister Chest and Movie Accessories featuring the classic movie clapper board. Take 1!

Bring all of the glitz and glamour of Hollywood straight into your Sims’ homes with The Sims™ 3 Movie Stuff! Set the stage for more unique stories with distinctively themed décor, furnishings, and clothing inspired by iconic movie genres. With a wide range of items from a creepy crypt bed to a ten gallon hat, tell the tales of masked vigilantes, western cowboys (and cowgirls), and be inspired to create quirky horror stories. Deck out your Sims as silver screen legends as their town meets Tinseltown!

KEY FEATURES
• Comic Book Blockbusters
Fashion — Whether you’re creating a caped do-gooder or a nefarious über-villain, your Sim is going to look absolutely super in a range of tight-fitting, over-the-top costumes — including the mighty and mysterious Super Justice Llama!
Décor Create a lair or hideout fit for a masked hero or even their arch nemesis with sculptures, memorabilia and more inspired by the greatest comic-book hero movies. Your Sims can even feel like they’re about to resume their secret identity in their new phone-booth shower!

• Western Epics
Fashion — Time to rustle up some new duds, I reckon. With frilled chaps, smart vests, and ornate Victorian dresses, your Sims will look like they’d be right at home in some dusty Western saloon.
Décor — Give your Sims’ home a folksy frontier attitude that says, “Howdy, partner.” Old-timey furniture like a wooden vanity and a homey rocking chair will add some classic Western style to your Sims’ world.

• Creepy Features
Fashion — Terrify your Sims’ neighbors with playfully horrific costumes. Gothic garb includes selections in macabre colors like black and crimson with features such as prominent stitching, and lots of rips and tears for that just-risen-from-the-grave look.
Décor Your Sims are in for some scare … with flair. You’ll have a frightfully good time decking out your Sims’ homes in cheeky horror décor including a nightmarish bookshelf, a spider web door, and jars of who-knows-what.

• New Hairstyles, Hats, and Helmets — Top off your Sims’ cinematic look with a selection of show-stopping headgear and hairdos. From a winged hero helmet to an expertly tangled gothic ‘do to a ghostly bridal veil, your Sim will look ready for their close-up.

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The Sims 3 Into the Future Official Announcement

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Click above to pre-order on Origin!

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Get The Sims™ 3 – Into the Future LIMITED EDITION, including the exclusive Quantum Power Pack!

Pre-order The Sims 3 Into the Future Expansion Pack and get the exclusive Quantum Power Pack, featuring a hibernation chamber and multi-function power suit!

• Put your Sims on Ice – Place your Sim into the Quantum Power Chamber and stop the ravages of time – and put their needs on hold indefinitely.
• Tap Into the Benefits of Quantum Power – The Chamber can quip your Sim with a futuristic Quantum Power Suit, enabling them to teleport around the globe or scan the world for collectables!
• Put Your Sim in “Time Out” – Too busy to tend to your Sims’ needs? No problem. Just put them in the Quantum Power Suit and instantly bio-stabilize your Sims.

Fire up the Time Portal and send your Sims to their most exciting destination yet: The future!

Explore a bold new world, hundreds of years in the future, where your Sims can hone their Advanced Technology Skills to get the most out of advanced science and tech.

Have your Sims cruise around on hoverboards and jetpacks, traveling via monorail or tube elevator, or just get creative with futuristic hairstyles and clothing! Create and customize Plumbots with Create-A-Bot and use their “trait chips” to program them with a wide variety of customizable behaviors to demonstrate around your house.

Teleport between present and future worlds at will, and experiment with how your Sims’ actions in the present can have surprising effects on their own legacy, their descendants, and even the way of life for future Sims!

KEY FEATURES

• Take Your Sims to the Future – For the first time in The Sims franchise, you can play with life in the future! Enter the Time Portal and take your Sims to a new world that exists hundreds of years in the future where they can explore a whole new way life.

• Experiment with Future Technology – Witness how new technologies for entertainment, transportation, or the home will reinvent the way your Sims eat, sleep, travel, socialize, work, and have fun. Your Sims can learn how to use this all-new technology in the future and take their Advanced Technology Skill back to the present to get the most out of these objects there!

• Change Life in the Future – Your Sims’ present-day actions will lay the groundwork for their future legacy. Your Sims can even meet their future descendants and change their destinies by actions taken in the present! With opportunities to alter the fate of the future, will your Sims strive to create an ultra-utopian society or a world of chaos?

• Tell New Stories with the All-New Create-A-Bot – Build and customize a variety of Plumbots and add them to your Sims’ household! Create unique “trait chips” that you can then use to program your Plumbots. With the ability to hold up to seven trait chips, these Plumbots are bound to act and behave in surprising ways. What would happen if you combined the Robonanny and Sinister Circuits chips?

• Buy and Build the Homes of the Future – Futurize your Sims’ homes with holographic TVs, easels, plants and computers, and zip between floors through tube elevators. Install automatic-sliding doors, peaceful rooftop gardens, and glass floors and walls to give their homes that perfect futuristic touch. The home of the future is whatever you want it to be!

• Play with a New World Hundreds of Years into the Future – Strap on a jetpack and visit a futuristic shopping plaza to browse and purchase the latest gadgets and apparel from a variety of interactive pedestals. Enjoy a delicious synthesized meal served by Plumbots in the outdoor café. Take on futuristic careers by becoming a Plumbot dealer or a renowned astronomer at Stellar Observatory. Or, go way out to explore the vast wasteland – who knows, your Sims might find rare relics and perhaps clues as to what happened to the ocean!

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Into the Future – First Screenshots and info

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Via SimsDomination, iSims and SimsVIP! 😀

Travel with your Sims into the future

Activate the time portal and send your Sims to their most exciting destination: a whole new world that is hundreds of years in the future!

Your Sims to expand its leading technology capability on site to make the most of the technology of the future. Whether your Sims with your jetpack or hover-board nozzle through the area, travel by monorail or tubular elevator or try attractive futuristic hairstyles and items of clothing – you open a whole new game world to experiment and explore!

Create and customize Plumbots in Create Plumbot to add them to your household. You can program that influence their behavior, they feature a wide selection of chips.

Switch freely between the present and the future world and experiment with what startling effects of the acts of your Sims in the presence of their own heritage, their descendants, and even the future life of the Sims!

  • Travel into the future with your Sims! For the first time in The Sims series you can play fate in the future! Enters the time portal to travel with your Sims a new world that is hundreds of years in the future and in which they learn a whole new way of life.
  • Experimenting with the technology of the future. Witness how new entertainment, transportation and home technology revolutionize the way how your Sims eat, sleep, travel, socialize, work and play. Your Sims can learn in the future how to use this brand new technology, and return with their high-tech skills in the present to make the most of these objects there.
  • Customize the life in the future. Today’s actions are the foundation of your Sims their legacies. Your Sims can even get to know their future descendants and their present actions affect their fate. If your Sims have the opportunity to change the future, they will then create an ultra-utopian society or a world full of chaos?
  • Invent new stories with the brand new Create Plumbot. Create and customize a variety of Plumbots to add it to the budget of your Sims. Create unique feature of chips, which you can then use to program your Plumbots. They have a capacity for up to seven such feature chips, resulting in surprising actions and behaviors can arise. What would happen if one uses a Plumbot nanny Boshaftigkeits chips?
  • Buy and build the homes of the future. Hire your Sims homes with holographic TVs, easels, plants and computers a futuristic atmosphere and change the floors by elevator tube. Place automatic sliding doors, peaceful gardens on the roof, floors and walls of glass to create the perfect mood future. The house of the future can look exactly as you want it to you!
  • Games with a new world that is hundreds of years in the future. Continue with the monorail through the city or sit on a rocket pack to fly with friends over the place.Check out brand new places such as the shopping center of the future, to browse to a series of interactive base the latest equipment and clothing and to buy. Enjoy a delicious meal generated that is served to you in the outdoor café of Plumbots.Suggest a futuristic careers and become Plumbot dealer or a respected astronomer in the astronomical observatory. Or get thee outside to explore the vast wilderness. Maybe your Sims will find so rare relics or clues as to what happened to the sea.

Limited Edition for The Sims 3: Into the Future

If you pre-order the expansion pack The Sims 3 Into the Future, you will receive the exclusive Quantum power pack with a hibernation chamber and a power suit with different functions.

• Put your Sims and their needs in the Quantum power chamber on ice! Let your Sims get into this machine from the future to stop the effects of time and turn their needs indefinitely. It is also perfect to aufzubrummen times a Sim a break.

• Take advantage of the benefits of the Quantum Power suit. In addition, the Power Chamber has the function of your Sim equipped with a futuristic power suit.

• Sims can teleport in the game world in an instant from one place to another self and others.

• You can simply search the game world to make Collectibles identified.

• You do not have time to take care of all the needs of your Sims? No problem! The Quantum Power Suit can take care of that immediately!

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New Venue: The Business as Usual Bistro

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Check out what Designer Alan Copeland has to say about the new venue, Business as Usual Bistro, he created for The Sims 3!  The Business as Usual Bistro will be available on The Sims 3 Store July 18th. 
Design is a lot like shopping on a budget.  You only get so many days of development in each department –Art, Audio, Engineering, etc. – to make something really special.  Having a Non Player Character (or NPC for short) work on a Store item was always something that was too big for that budget… until now.
Thanks to our talented Development Team I’m proud to introduce you to our newest The Sims 3 venue, The Business as Usual Bistro!
Info from SimGuruCopeland: So the mailbox is entirely my mistake. I set the lot type to residential to keep my Sim there while I took that screenshot.

When placing it in the world, I’ve found that setting the lot type to “Visitor’s Allowed” is the best bet. Lots of visitors and you can take your Sims there for your dates, lunches, etc.

Even with this lot type you’ll be able to set up the It’s Business Time Industrial Oven just the way you want, even if you don’t own the lot. You simply won’t make any money off that lot unless you own it.

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The Business as Usual Bistro features the brand new It’s Business Time
Industrial Oven.

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This is no ordinary stovetop!  While you can fix a quick meal here, the magic really happens when you Hire a Chef and Set Your Menu!  Setting your menu allows you to customize the type of dining experience you want for your bistro.  Do you only serve vegetarian meals or the best cheesesteaks in town?You decide!

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When you Hire a Chef a townie will appear to come work that oven.  He or she will start prepping food in anticipation of that dinnertime rush.

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You get to set what hours you want them to work and what level of Chef you want them to be— Line Cook, Sous Chef or Executive Chef.  Higher levels open up better quality food and more recipes but demand a higher salary. Decide you want to demote your chef or if you choose not to promote them after long enough and they just might quit!

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You’ll also want to set up what the mark-up is going to be.  Higher quality food warrants a higher price tag but even that might not be enough to keep Frugal Sims happy.

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Make sure you place plenty of menus around on tables and counters so you’re Sims can have a wonderful dining experience and the Chef will come out, take your Sims order and hurry to bring them their food!

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Just one more day until the all-new Business as Usual Bistro venue is available on The Sims 3 Store! We had a great time making it and are looking forward to seeing how your Sims use it.
Happy Simming!

The Sims 3 Island Paradise Community Blog

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Wow! Can you believe The Sims 3 Island Paradise launch day is finally here!? What an adventure this project has been! In fact, it’s been exactly one year since the very first meeting we had to figure out the theme for the 10th expansion pack for The Sims 3 . And, despite it being the 10th in a long line of great The Sims 3titles, I’ve never been more excited for the launch of any game I’ve ever worked on! The Sims 3 Island Paradise is a huge expansion pack that adds major features for everyone – regardless of how you play The Sims . From houseboats and resorts, to uncharted islands and scuba diving, I can’t think of any other TS3 expansion that added so many new major systems and ways to play. But you guys already know all about what’s in the pack! So instead of using this blog to recap all of the great things in The Sims 3 Island Paradise, I thought I’d share a few tips and tricks so that you can dive into your very own paradise as soon as you get your hands on it.

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•    The easiest way to get into resort management is to “buy” Hobart’s Hideaway. This once, beautiful resort has fallen into disrepair and needs a lot of work, but it’s a great way to kick start your resort empire without too much financial commitment! Due to the state of the resort, it’s going for the low, low price of §0.00! It will get you into resort management much quicker than building one from scratch.
•    There’s a multitude of different ways to discover uncharted islands. Some can be discovered by simply exploring the area around them via boat, and others will take a little bit more investigation. Try talking to some of the local Isla Paradiso residents, as they have inside knowledge of the surrounding islands and may send you on a quest for discovery!
•    Scuba diving opens up a whole new underwater realm for your Sims to explore. But it can be dangerous! Make sure to acquire the Scuba diving skill by snorkeling first before you try heading out into the deep waters.
•    Keeping guests at your resort happy is a tricky thing to do! Amenities and fun objects found in the Resort Objects Tab in Build & Buy Modes are key to making sure your resort guests have a great time. Happy guests can mean a successful resort!

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•    When it comes to houseboat living, the ocean is your backyard! Move between ports whenever you’d like, or leave the landlubber life behind completely and make home sweet home in the middle of the ocean.
•    Scuba diving Sims may encounter a mysterious mermaid from time to time beneath the waves. Becoming friends with one is key to revealing the secret behind transforming your Sim into one of them!

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•    When it comes to building houseboats, there are many hull sizes and shapes to start with. If you’re building a smaller houseboat, ladders and the All-in-One Bathroom are crucial for maintaining a functional household in a cramped space.
•    AQUA SLED!!!!! Different boats travel at different speeds. So if you’re looking to get somewhere quick, save up and purchase an Aqua Sled or Speedboat for your Sims. Both will get you where you need to go (which can be a very long way in Isla Paradiso).

And there you have it – some hot tips to get you up and Simming on the sunny shores of Isla Paradiso. As always, and even more so with this expansion pack, I can’t wait to hear about all the fun you’ll have with The Sims 3 Island Paradise – I’m always amazed to see the content and stories that we didn’t even think were possible being told and created by you. Until next time Simmers, Shaka Brah!

-SimGuruRyan

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Source: The Sims 3 Community Blog

The Sims 4 Possible Game Features

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fivegigs Tumblr found a survey which states several possible game features for The Sims 4. I have to remind you that there was a survey for Seasons, and everything that they stated in that survey happened in the real game, so there is a possibility that we will see these features in The Sims 4!

  • World Creation Tool – With the world creation tool you can change the terrain, place environmental objects, and create a custom backdrop for your Sims’ neighborhood.
  • Real-Time Co-Op Gameplay – Invite a friend into your game to play cooperatively, share a home and manage your Sims together all in one online world that continually evolves even when you’re away.
  • Wardrobe Moodlets – Outfit your Sims with a diverse range of clothing and aspire to get your Sims’ selective fashion items that can directly affect their mood.
  • Aspirations – Assign your Sims a long-term goal called an Aspiration then achieve it by having your Sims compete relevant short-term goals throughout their life.
  • Cradle to Grave – Sims can experience age-specific gameplay and a true life cycle with big life moments such as birth, marriage, and death.
  • New CAS System – Just like modeling clay, Create a Sim is a powerful, easy-to-use tool that lets you directly sculpt face or body features by clicking and dragging to perfection.
  • Events – Easily host or attend events with your Sims to earn rewards, complete goals, enhance skills or jobs and discover new storytelling and relationship possibilities with neighbors!
  • Featured Looks – With Featured Looks you choose from a catalog of curated styles and outfit your Sims in designer looks with just one click.
  • Magazine View – Flip through Magazine View to choose from pre-configured, fully furnished room layouts, then drop the entire room into your home with just one click.
  • Group Socializing – Your Sims social interactions are more realistic and lifelike in social groupings.
  • Remote Sim Share – Use Remote Sim Share on the web, your mobile device or tablet to browse The Sims community’s creations then queue them up for download to your PC.
  • Multitasking – For the first time in The Sims, your Sims can now multitask by doing many actions at once, such as enjoy a drink while talking to friends and watching TV, giving them more realistic living and social behaviors.
  • Create a Sim Mobile – Harness the powerful new Create a Sim tool on your mobile device to create Sims on the go, then upload to your The Sims 4 game on your PC.
  • Traits – Create unique Sims with traits that change the way they can interact with the world around them. Watch as your decisions cause Sims’ traits to evolve and lead to surprising moments.
  • Live Stream – Use this built-in tool your game to an online streaming provider and give The Sims community the opportunity to watch you play.
  • Levels of Emotions – Your Sims’ emotions have varying levels of advancement, giving you the power and control to push their emotions to the extremes creating new and interesting gameplay opportunities to explore.
  • Account Achievements – Unlock Account Achievements for completing in-game tasks and earning accomplishments, then share or compare your progress with your friends.
  • Personalized Neighborhoods – Each section of a neighborhood is yours to personalize through shared content or Maxis creations that you place yourself.
  • Reward System – Earn new objects, outfits and Sim Traits for completing in-game tasks like completing Events, finding Collectibles, being featured in Sims Share, and unlocking Account Achievements.
  • Integrated Sim Share – Participate in Sim Share to instantly share and track your Sim or home creations with the world. Seamlessly browse creations made by The Sims community within the game.
  • Player-Run Events – Invite your friends to your own special Event like weddings and birthday parties to unlock new skills, level up your Sims and make progress together in a social environment.
  • Mobile Stats App – Get a robust breakdown of your game stats and your Sims’ activities by using this Mobile Stats App.
  • Environment Impact – Objects and decorative items in your home impacts your Sims’ emotions and mood, giving you the power to create a room that’s inspiring, romantic, depressing, or anywhere in between.
  • New Build System – Build the home of your dreams with a powerful new range of tools that allow such great control as moving an entire room with ease, placing new walls with prevision and adding detailed finishing touches.
  • Expressiveness – Quickly see how your different Sims may be feeling by watching their facial expressions, vocal tone, and body movements, not just a bar or icon in the UI.
  • Mobile Mini-Games – Take control of your Sims’ dreams while on the go by playing mini games that will effect your Sims’ emotion and advance their careers, then check their progress in game when you return to your PC.
  • Memory Moodlets – Create memories through captured screenshots and assign emotions to them – when your Sims reminisce about the memory, they’ll get that emotional buff.

Instead of Sims that live moment-to-moment with little/no memory, the new Sims game introduces meaningful possibilities that stem from your choices, and these choices can ripple into the future. Decisions relating to everything from interactions and objects to clothing and environments open up new gameplay options. A stylish house, flirtatious mood, and exciting event could lead to a sing-a-long that inspires a candlelit dinner and an intimate night between two admiring Sims. As you play, new possibilities relevant to your choices will continually emerge, adding greater realism and meaning to The Sims and worlds you create.

The Sims’ ability to feel and express deeper, richer emotions will bring a new level of immersion to your Sims experience. Through rich audio and video detail, your Sim’s emotions are vividly expressed in the way he or she walks, talk and interacts with the world. New unique interactions become available based on the emotional state of your Sim. You can create environments and objects that affect your Sim’s moods, and through Sim-to-Sim interactions and skill  building you can discover and play with every facet of your Sim’s inner and outer life.

The Sims world is designed for creative experimentation. Experiment to see what kind of homes, people and personalities you can create. An artistically inspired room and accompanying wardrobe can inspire your Sims to greater height of art. See how far you can push your Sims by putting him or her into situations to experience new depths of love, anger, and despair, among numerous other moods. Explore a world that empowers you to control and push your creativity, and your Sims, further than ever before.

Designer’s Blog: When Building & Ballet Go Hand-In-Hand

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Hi gang.
Ever since we released the Stone’s Throw Greenhouse, we’ve had a number of requests from players asking for more glass roof pieces. We’ve also had a number of suggestions for the return of ballet dancing, so we combined both ideas into the Skylight Studio for the Performing Arts!
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This venue includes the Light as a Feather Dance Barre that gives your Sim the ability to work out and learn a brand new Dance Skill! Whether your Sim’s an elegant swan or a bumbling goose, let them express themself with the new ballet dance. Even children can learn this exciting new dance. When they are ready to perform, move them over to the Stiff as a Board Dance Floor to strut their stuff! The new dance floor has a ton of dance floor interactions like, Ballet, the Smustle, the Mascot Dance, and even the Chicken Dance!
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And when your Sim gets sweaty from getting their groove on, they can check out the new It’s Not Gross Public Shower Station!
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But what I’m REALLY excited about are the eight new Sharper Edge Skylight glass roof sculptures and the matching Sharper Edge window! These are all combine for maximum customizability. Want to build a glass pyramid? Done. Glass gazebo? Also done. Want to extend your Greenhouse? Yeah, you can do that too. The sky (light) is the limit with these cool new items!
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As an additional bonus, this Thursday when we release this venue I’ll also upload my latest tinkering up to the exchange for you to play with.
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The Sims 3 Game Update 1.55

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Enter your The Sims 3 Launcher to start patching.

Be sure to remove all your mods before installing the new patch!

To install this update, please start your game and use the “Updates” tab in your Launcher.

This game update includes the following changes:

Launcher Updates

  • The Launcher will now show the Base Game version number instead of the highest installed expansion or stuff pack.

Base Game Updates

  • Added a new spiral staircase object.
  • Added a new ladder object.
  • Added a new modular arch object.
  • Added a set of new Stilted Foundation objects.
  • Lots can now be partially placed on water.
  • Holding down the Alt key while dragging out a foundation will now make a single step height foundation.
  • Sims can now purchase additional homes using the Real Estate system.
  • Sims can now move to a new Town using the Phone or Computer.
  • New Pool Blueprints have been added.
  • Players will now have more control positioning their lot when importing a lot from the bin to a larger empty lot.

Ambitions Updates

  • Fixed a crash that occurs when selling a Sculpting Station and sculpture then clicking the Undo button.
  • Makeover Room UI for the Stylist Profession now shows the correct text for non-English territories.

Showtime Updates

  • Games that are saved when paused will now correctly load paused.
  • Online In game messages now have headers to explain who the comment came from and where it was directed.

Supernatural Updates

  • Sims will no longer freeze when trying to Awaken Bonehilda on Bonehilda’s Coffin.
  • The Durasoft Rocking Chair now has correct functionality in Aurora Skies regardless of The Sims 3: Supernatural  installation.

University Life Updates

  • Sims can now ask their romantic interests to be roommates.
  • The ‘Invite to be Roommate’ social is now appropriately available only with The Sims 3: University Life installed.
  • PlantSims downloaded from the exchange can now use their powers and have the appropriate needs.
  • Love letters received at University are no longer converted into unusable bills when returning to home world.
  • Skill gain speeds influenced by the Increased Understanding moodlet have been corrected and are no longer ‘insanely fast’.
  • Photos taken from the smartphone while at University are now moved to the inventory upon returning to the home world.
  • The Murphy Bed has been made less lethal.
  • Sims in the Sports Agent career can now Negotiate Contracts without receiving any errors.
  • Sims invited to graduation are no longer duplicated in the relationship panel.
  • Roommates in the home world have been motivated and will now autonomously leave the house and go to work.
  • Teens who have maximum influence with a social group will now get the appropriate career opportunity when they age up.
  • Sims that skip class activities or lecture halls will no longer have their needs frozen.
  • Children can no longer gain influence with social groups.
  • Fixed a crash that would occur when installing store content while audio is playing.
  • The ‘Keep Me Logged In’ feature on the launcher has been fixed to work with the latest patch.
  • The Art Appraiser and Sports Agent careers are no longer available through cheats without The Sims 3: University Life installed.
  • Sims selecting the Education Career will now start at a higher career level if they have completed a degree from The Sims 3: University Life.
  • Having a PlantSim in a household and then uninstalling The Sims 3: University Life will no longer cause some PlantSim features to remain.
  • Care Packages will now correctly show up in the gifting tabs.
  • All Sims attending a protest in a group now have access to Podium interactions and will all receive the appropriate moodlet when the Protest finishes.
  • The Social Networking Skill statistic: ‘Total Simoleans Earned from Blog Donations and Buyouts’ now updates correctly in the Skill Journal.
  • When a Sim is en route to class in the University world, the corresponding tooltip now appropriately describes where they are going.
  • Selling a Bowling Lane from the Family Inventory and then clicking the Undo button will now correctly remove the Bowling Lane object from the world.
  • The wish “Play Sports at the Stadium” wish now fulfills correctly.
  • Sims in the University world will no longer get the wish “Talk About new Job”.

70s, 80s, & 90s Stuff

  • 80’s prom dress now appears under formal wear


Store Updates

  • Users who have a large amount of Store content installed will no longer experience their content disappearing from the launcher
  • Store Sets can now be purchased on the Main Menu.

Before installing an Update for The Sims 3, an Expansion Pack, or a Stuff Pack, it is a good idea to run through the following checklist to ensure your game continues to work smoothly.
If you have any questions about the below steps, please visit the Technical Support forum on the official Sims 3 community found at this URL: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/forums/show/10.page

Step 1: Disable Custom Content
Custom Content is all Sims content that did not come from an official The Sims 3 Update, The Sims 3 Store, Expansion Pack, or Stuff Pack. Custom Content is created by 3rd Party Developers that are not regulated by Electronic Arts or The Sims 3 Development Team and may not work with new updates. Custom Content may cause the game to behave unexpectedly or not function entirely.
To disable your custom content, undo whatever you did to install this content to get your game back into an unmodified state. If you placed it in a Sims 3 directory folder, move it to a new folder that is outside your Sims 3 file directory. Your Sims 3 file directory can be found using the paths listed below:
Windows File Directory: C:Documents and SettingsUSERMy DocumentsElectronic ArtsThe Sims 3
Mac File Directory: User/Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims/
Once you have installed the official update you may re-enable your custom content. If you experience problems, disable it again until the 3rd party developer updates their content to work with the official Update, Expansion Pack, or Stuff Pack.

Step 2: Back Up your Save Files
It’s always a good precaution to back up your save files before installing an Expansion Pack, Update, or Stuff Pack. To do this, copy the “.sims3” folders found in the Saves folder onto your desktop or another file directory.
Your Sims 3 Saves folder can be found using the paths listed below:
Windows File Directory: C:Documents and SettingsUSERMy DocumentsElectronic ArtsThe Sims 3Saves
Mac File Directory: User/Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims/Saves
After the Update is installed, run the game to verify your saves still function correctly.

Step 3: Let the Update Complete Entirely
Updates can sometimes be rather large and may take a while to download and install completely. Cancelling the update before it has completed may cause unexpected problems, so it is always best to let it finish entirely. Do not close the Launcher until you have confirmed the update is completely installed, as this will cancel the update.

TS3 Community Blog: Mermaid Madness!

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Mermaids are a new occult life state in The Sims 3 Island Paradise! Mermaids are a lot like regular Sims, but they like to spend their time swimming, preferably in salt water. As expected, Mermaids are more versatile in the water than regular Sims. They can swim faster, stay underwater indefinitely and, if they have the Evil trait, they have the special ability to Summon Sharks!

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Mermaids Sims have beautiful fish-like tails when in water and scaly legs when on land. Their scale colors can be adjusted using the “Change Scale Color” interaction on the mirror. Female Mermaids will also be able to adjust the color of the seashell tops they wear while swimming with this interaction.

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Mermaids have a “Hydration” motive that is fulfilled by water activities like swimming and bathing, and if you have The Sims 3 Seasons, even walking in the rain! It’s important to pay attention to this motive since Mermaids are creatures of the sea, they are easily dehydrated. If their Hydration motive gets too low they will start dry out! First they become chapped, then they get flakey (eww!) and finally they collapse from dehydration. If this happens, another Sim needs to revive the Mermaid by pouring water on them otherwise they’ll get a visit from the Grim Reaper!

Of course, Mermaids can have children. If a Mermaid falls in love with another Mermaid (woohoo!) they are guaranteed to have Mermaid offspring. A Mermaid and a regular Sim have a 50/50 chance of their children being Mermaids.

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Mermaids can eat the same foods as regular Sims, but they prefer tasty kelp and fresh fish. This makes them very popular with cats if you have The Sims 3 Pets! It is rumored that there is a secret, uncharted island known only to Mermaids. If your Sim is lucky and befriends a Mermaid they may let you in on the secret!

Be sure to tune into The Sims Live Broadcast on Tuesday, June 18 to see a see Mermaids in a live gameplay demo of Island Paradise as well as catch more information about underwater activities in this expansion releasing on June 25.

COMMUNITY BLOG LINK

A Designer’s Thoughts: Armored Black Dragons

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Check out what Designer Alan Copeland has to say about the Baby Dragons he created for The Sims 3 Dragon Valley! The Armored Black Dragon will be available as a bonus unlock when you own both The Sims 3 Dragon Valley and the Dukes of Bow Renn Faire venue – both available on The Sims 3 Store on May 30, 2013. 
Some have said that finding an Armored Black Dragon is a bad omen and surely its presence is a sign of evil on the horizon but the truth is that these mysterious critters are beyond the trappings of traditional “good vs. evil”. They are born with an inherent understanding of many of the Reaper’s secrets, a burden that often makes them detached and distant.
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For reasons the Armored Black Dragons think best to keep to themselves, being around them gives the Mark of the Black Dragon moodlet, benefiting their companions with bonuses of Energy and Hunger. Every Armored Black Dragon knows that the cycles of death are far, far, more logical than the cycles of life and will occasionally discuss those things with Sims to help them become more logical.
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Armored Black Dragons have conquered fear by twisting it into a powerful tool to use against others. If they find a Sim particularly annoying they can turn their onyx stare into a curse so heinous that some have even transformed into a soulless zombie!
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Armored Black Dragons have a kinship with the dead so they can summon ghosts that can haunt an area or give your Sim a chance to talk to those that have passed to the other side.
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But the reason the Black Armored Dragon is arguably the most powerful of all of the dragons is its ability to summon a free pass for the next time the Grim Reaper is around in the form of a Death Flower!
Armored Black Dragons are exclusively unlocked for those customers that have both the World and the new “Duke of Bows Renaissance Faire” venue.