Don't want it, won't get it because of their draconian copy protection method. Just sayin.

I'm still not getting it.

I agree for the most part, except for the admonishment: "I would love to see those who do nothing but complain on the Sims2 BBS give that a little thought. It’s easy to sit back and whine when you don’t actually have to do the work!" I thought that was tacky

I was somewhat surprised to find the EA apple-polishing in the first few paragraphs, but I guess if you want to have the inside scoop you can't really be berating the company out of the other side of your mouth.

Hello Fellow Simmers!
I wanted to share some of our current Sims3 fan-site day details with you but first I want to thank some of the great people at EA who did such a great job planning the day and with the presentations. First I’d like to thank MaxoidDrea who, as always, made our day run smoothly and with a great sense of humor and professionalism. I also want to thank and mention those Sims3 Designers who made the presentations:
Ben Bell – Executive Producer
Lyndsay Pearson – Game Designer
Ray Mazzo – Game Designer
JoAnna Lio – Producer

I also had the pleasure to meet MaxoidHydra for the first time and see again several others who I had met at previous events at EA. One of the things that I think the average Sims fan doesn’t realize is how hard everyone at the SIMS label works to make a truly fine product. Not only that but they seem to really love what they are doing and their enthusiasm shows in the way they present their work and talk about it. I would love to see those who do nothing but complain on the Sims2 BBS give that a little thought. It’s easy to sit back and whine when you don’t actually have to do the work! I assure you that they all DO listen to your concerns and requests; not everything is as easy to implement as you think! Like all companies, they have deadlines, budget concerns and many in-game conflicts that prevent or delay some things from happening.

It was great to see again some of the Site-Owners I had met on previous occasions and to meet new ones. One of the most fun things about these events is to be around people who understand your enthusiasm for the game and can talk about the game! We also give each other ideas and trade contact info. After a short meeting most of the fan-site Owners went on a tour of EA which I declined since I think I have been on it 3 times already. I opted to stay behind and eat myself silly at the buffet with Drea and Steve and Tug from TSR. After that we went for the first demo of the Sims3! Although I was disappointed to learn that we wouldn’t get any hands-on with the game this time, I should have realized that this far out the game wouldn’t be ready for that sort of thing. In all we saw four Demos during the day led by each designer listed above. While they could answer many questions about the game there were many they were not allowed to talk about yet. Two of the main things they could not talk about were returning or new characters in the game and any Custom Content tools or info for the game. Believe me, we tried!

As for the look of the game itself and for the potential of what it will do...awesome! The neighborhood we saw was the best laid out neighborhood I have ever seen in a sims game and it was simply beautiful with many different areas to explore, live and create in. One of the neatest things for me is we seem to have wind for the first time in the Sims so all the trees and plants are flexi and sway in the wind! The houses and plot-ables are also much more detailed and classy than usual. There is a beach area, a town center, a farming community with streams, a cliff area with luxury homes over-looking the sea and a nice park. They would not tell us if we would be able to upload custom neighborhoods or not so that’s still a mystery but I certainly hope so! I do know that we can customize this neighborhood and make it anything we like! We also have difficulty levels to choose from for a more or less challenging game depending on how you like to play.

As for game play, there is no load-times between lots; you simply use icons when you pan out in the neighborhood to get from one place to another. Your sim can walk, ride in a cab or take their car. Cars appear and disappear from their locations instead of driving in and out of driveways and roads. Aside: Right now there are tiny rubber ducky’s driving the cabs, I doubt that will stay, but it does make a statement on some cab drivers in San Francisco! This fadeout effect makes placing driveways on the diagonal possible. There are no garage doors in the base game but there is a driveway tool so you can make carports and such.

One of the most exciting things for me as a creator/designer were the new build tools. We can now place items on a1/4 grid which means we can center a two square with a three square item easily. There are also tools for easy diagonal placement and gridless placement. We have multiple slots for object placement on tables and other surfaces. I am sure they will add some more in the months to come but that was in effect in the version I saw. There is also a Custom Content button on the menu but we got the “We can’t talk about that now” answer for that one. We can also move lots from place to place so if we build in one place then want more room for that lot we can move it to a larger location. Objects like tables and chairs and beds and nightstands can be moved together to save time. Stairs can be widened with a tool. There are tons of new plants and trees and attractive cliff rocks. We now have a Rubber band tool which allows us to drag a shape over an area to select items to mass delete, Yay!

The CAS screen has been completely revamped. You can now do so much more with it! Skin-tones (pale to green), muscle-tone and eye color are on sliders, hair has 4 different parts to customize; roots, base, tips and hi-lights.. There are now slots for shoes, jewelry, gloves, socks and stockings. All facial and body features can be customized this way too. I noticed that the sims have better smiles now, they don’t look as dorky as before! You have a Save-Sim bin to store your sims in so if they die you can easily recreate them. At this moment the Zodiac signs have been removed so if you want them then let the Maxiods know! Your Sims also have voice tone control with 3 different voices and a slider to customize them.

I think the most effort in Sims3 has been toward story-telling and creating a sim that is intricate in character. They have added an Age to the Sims called Young Adult. Young Adults are age 18-30. Then there’s Adult which is middle aged (yay) then elders. So the ages are Toddler, Child, Teen, Young Adult, Adult and Elder. Our Sims now have 3 favorites in these categories: Food, Music and Color. You choose the favorites and your Sim will react accordingly. The Sims now have character traits (over 70 to choose from) and little “moodlets” on the menu that tell you from moment to moment how your Sim feels and is reacting to things. These moodlets change as your Sim’s day wears on and does different tasks. Toddlers get 2 traits, Children 3, and then the rest 5 traits. Here’s a list of some of the current traits:

Dislikes Children
Inappropriate
Party Animal
Snob
Excitable
Virtuoso
Artistic
Evil
Handy
Natural Cook
Genius
Computer Wiz
Flirty
No Sense of Humor
Daredevil
Vain
Hates the outdoors
Crybaby
Green Thumb
Dreamer
Grumpy
Insane
Schmoozer
Mean-spirited

I think all these developments in our Sim’s will open up a while new world for game play and fun! These traits combine with each other in ways that even the game designers haven’t completely explored yet!

A few other things we were told or saw. Day progresses seamlessly into night and the behavior of our Sims changes after dark! Our Sims now have a cell phone attached to the menu screen for communication. Certain things like staying fit can extend life. Many of the cheats in Sims2 will carry over to sims3. There are tons of new plants and trees and attractive cliff rocks. Basements are easier to make. Cooking is more detailed in the game. Plants can be bunched for a more realistic look. You can drag and drop objects around the neighborhood or on your Sim. They have added a Super Speed to the game which is even faster than the previous fast speed. They said there were new camera options but we didn’t discuss those yet. They refused to tell us about new characters or if Bella would be in Sims3 but they did say some characters would cross over and we would have new ones.

I also requested a few things...I asked for true split-level houses. I asked for a Base-Game installer tool which will allow creator’s to play each expansion pack independently of each other so we can create items for those who don’t have all the future EPS. I asked for a program such as Simpe only more user friendly to the average player( this may be part of the CC thing already). I asked for a way to package lots using only what is in the lot and not multiples (recolors) of that item. It is my hope that all or at least many of these things can be implemented for those of us who love to create!

I have to say I was very impressed with the game even in the early stages! I can hardly wait to see what they do in the months to come and I promise to keep you informed as much as I am allowed to!
 

Skye

don't know, kev. i look more to actions than persoality traits. for every time i've re-installed my game [had to do that a lot] and played that family, lilith would retaliate, but angela and mary-sue would always start it, usually by slapping her. somehow, i don't think the nice score matters much.

when you consider the fact that the girl's mother and twin hate her and that her father is indifferent at best... i don't think lilith is the mean one in that family.

yay!! witches! first on my list will be the not-so-pleasant Pleasant sisters. Lili neutral, Angie evil.

That would be so awesome. It'd be like Harvest Moon...sims style xD I'd definitely buy it.