How do you feel about FREE TIME?

[auntiejokisses]

where you find the Genie?

[abaris]

where you find the Genie?

Look at your frontlawn. The lamp is sitting there. I don't know if some event triggers it, but I certainly didn't consciously bargain for its appearance.

OK, back to the troublesome calls. I downloaded the nice assault gun from the simwardrobe and I will try it on the next uninvited hobby NPC showing up. But since EA saw fit to implement that nuisance feature, I guess they keep respawning after having eaten lead. One of my Sims might even pay them a visit at their hobby shops - I just want that darn phone to stop ringing.

[PegasusDiana]

I have my Sims ignore the NPC's that show up. And why is it always the Gypsy and the Plant lady first? I have some Sims in University right now and here they come. Ok firstly their living in a dorm lady. There is no place to grow plants. Go away. Secondly I hardly think they'll need a love potion. They're going to be concentrating on getting good grades and dating several people. Not one. For the phone, I'm to the point they don't get one. If there is a teen in the house they get a cell phone. That's it. For the adults I take their cell phone out of inventory till they want to make a call. They email everyone else, so they're not doing real well in the friends dept. But I'll fix that when Insim is updated, to make up for me taking their phones.

[abaris]

The gipsy and the ones from the previous games are quite harmless. With FT, EA has taken the nuissance to a whole new level. The phone keeps ringing day and night, virtually, during every activity your Sims are taking, just to tell you something along the lines of "oh, you took some pleasure in farting ..." - well, you get the picture when playing FT in a matter of minutes.

[gskremser]

Is it one of the best EPs?
  No, I think the business EP was the best one.
Is it one of the worst EPs?
  No, I think that Seasons was the most disappointing for me.
Is it worth the money?
  Always.
What are your favorite things about Free Time.
  Making clothes and pottery.
What should have Maxis done differently.
  Added more "new" clothing options for the sewing machine.  :-)
Are you experiencing any problems, any funny glitches.
  Still crashes after a while--always has, always will--I have  2GB Ram on my HP laptop but it's appears to be a problem with the graphics card (NVIDIA 7600).  :-(
Any advice for those still on the fence?
  You can never go wrong with a Sims expansion pack in you're truly a fan of the game.  Even if some are more fun than others, it's still cool!
-Gail

[SimDipsy]

I like FT, but it is definitely not my favorite EP. If this is truly the last EP for TS2, I think EA went out on a somewhat low note. I don't like the long, tedious hours I have spent getting my characters hobby interests up, the "hobby people" are really annoying when they constantly show up at my house, the phone is ALWAYS ringing, and the bugs I have experienced have been a headache. Again, it's okay but not great.

[lewisb40]

The phone ringing has been stomped by Pescado @ MATY with the nohobbyspam you can find on this list.

I only get the subscription phone call, all the other info come in pop-ups.

[Micke]

Finally Thanks for the link lewis!

[abaris]

Thanks for posting this long needed fix

[JoeyClone]

Is it one of the best EPs?
No. No it isn't.
Is it one of the worst EPs?
Eh....none of them are BAD.
Is it worth the money?
I'd wait for the price to go down, honestly.

What are your favorite things about Free Time.
Having hobbies, of course!
What should have Maxis done differently.
Let you choose your natural talent. -____- I have gone through over 20 new sims trying to get one to like art. Seriously, I get tinkering almost always. I haven't had Film, Art, or Cuisine and I've only had one fitness, two sports, one game, and two dances. The rest are nature, science, and tinkering. This is with over 20 sims made.
Are you experiencing any problems, any funny glitches.
Yes, whenever my sims go to work, their paycheck says something like: $-30000. They don't lose the money, but they don't earn it, either.
Any advice for those still on the fence?
Wait for the price to go down and wait for the patch.

[lewisb40]

I have stopped trying to have my sims be interested in one hobby. Mine go with whatever they are enjoying at the moment. ^^ JoeyClone, do you tend to have many sims with the same aspirations?  I tend to go more toward knowledge sims, but I still have a good variety of hobbie choices. Also personality comes in play, do you have a large amount of the same personalities? I try to get my sims to have different personalities. I knew right away which sims would get certain interest in certain hobbies, but now my sim kids, are having interest in their parents hobbies. LOL, oh well, I would love to have chosen my own hobbies also.  I have some sims with high points in 3 different categories.

[Foxybaby]

I'm the same. I really like the idea of it, love the hobbies & items. The only thing spoiling it for me is the swapping of interests. I know that you can have more than one hobby, but I get kinda sick of the pop-ups telling me they're losing interest in a hobby I never even noticed they gained, just by swimming in the sea or reading someone elses magazine grrr! However, I haven't played much since installation as was waiting for the new InTeen, but now I have it-I will be on it all the time!! (i.e. couldn't get up for work this morning due to playing until 3am :spank2: )

[tiecg1]

The objects in Freetime are cool. I really think the pack is all about the objects it included, not the actual gameplay. But in conjunction with OFB, I made this really great dance studio and the dance instructor who can not only charge people to use the dance studio but instuct them in dance and music and share hobby tips (her enthusiasm is high). So I love all the objects, and the hobby options. But the best is still Seasons followed by OFB for me and the worst is Pets.

1. Seasons
2. OFB
3. Nightlife
4. Freetime
5. University
6. Bon Voyage (beach lots save this pack)
7. Pets

The gap between 6 and 7 is big though. For an ep I thought Pets was the worst. 1-5 are pretty close in my book though. All are pretty good however.

[lewisb40]

Foxbaby, I got a hack that stops the losing interest in a hobby, but I can't find it now. I will post when I find it.

[winterglow]

free time is an interesting and useful EP but I prefer Seasons