Okay, So We Have 1 Month Before Nightlife Ships

[Kristalrose]

Is anyone thinking about preperation for Nightlife? What I mean is thinking about the layout of their neighborhoods and their lots? Or looking at their current generation of toddlers and children and wondering which ones will you make "Pleasure" Sims?

I went to the official BBS and read some interesting information on a post here: http://bbs.thesims2.ea.com/community/bbs/messages.php?&openItemID=item.81,root.1,item.43,item.41,item.23&threadID=1cc0b2750dc984ccc92e906b6cb456ac&directoryID=81&startRow=1
And, yes, I gave him "benes" :rolleyes:

So I'm getting ready to load up my game and probably play until bedtime. I plan on looking over my neighborhood really hard to make sure it has the layout I want. As to the cars and the garages, I'm not really sure how to build them. I understand you can't park them on the street. So you need a place for a driveway, according the above thread, and then build around it to create the garage. Okay, so how many squares should I reserve? I figure the car will take up at least 6. So, the garage should be at least 9 squares, 3X3. And the driveway has to touch the sidewalk so the car can come onto the road.

Anyway, anything information I'm missing? Anyone else thinking about this? Or is it just me because I ordered it today and am now all-excited. :p

[Chee-Z]

I like the prospect of the cars and inventory. I just hope my yards have enough room for a driveway. :confused: I have a baby boom going on still, so I may save some Sims for the Pleasure aspiration. :rolleyes: I'm also making sure I don't move my elders (who are in families with younger gens) around too much so that I won't have my younger gens move out and sell Grandpa. :D

[slimsim]

I downloaded a house with a garage a few weeks after TS2 shipped, I'm just going to use it :P

[Randomzero]

I backed up my neighborhoods and Universities, as soon as I get my hands on Night Life, I'm wiping out everything and replacing them with the default neighborhoods and get a clean start. And to prepare for NL? I'm frankly going to play The Sims 2 a lot less, I'm going to do something REAL (...watch TV :D), give the F.E.A.R. demo a go again, playing a little Call of Duty, Battlefield 2, and Rome: Total War, or I just might go check out downtown for the hell of hanging out with friends. That, and I'll waste away waiting for Age of Empires 3 to come out (October 18th)

[surprised_by_witches]

Y'all have too much time on your hands. Says the woman with an average four posts daily. If I could figure out how to install Sims at work without getting fired for it ... but alas I am confined to the wee hours of the night, which for someone of my age means now (11:00 CST) sad to say.

I plan to wing it, much as I run most of my life.

It's worked OK so far. :D

[zydeco]

I'm afraid I don't understand everyone's excitement over the cars. I understand that you won't have to wait for the carpool or the taxi but other than that...what will they do? I guess I'm picturing all the sims jumping in their car and backing out of the driveway and....it disappears until you get to a community lot where you park it. If it's anything like real life, I don't want to circle the block for 20 minutes looking for a parking place. :(

[J. M. Pescado]

I'm picturing a horrible mass of car and vampire-related bugs and stupidities that we're going to have to fix.

[suitemichelle]

Ahhh, JMP! Ever the optimist.

[Kristalrose]

I'm more excited about the way that being able to see the neighboring lots during live mode will change my layout than about the cars themselves. Anything that adds a new dimension to the game and it's realism (or my fantasy of realism :rolleyes: ) is a bonus for me.

JMP: Is your agent getting you Nightlife like he/she did Uni? When are you planning on getting it and getting to work on all those bugs that yes, I'm sure we'll have. I just don't know how I'll ever keep my game from turning into a car-and-vampire-ball-of-flame-visible-from-space without your good patches. :D

[surprised_by_witches]

Yes, I'm very excited about my sims no longer living on the grassy Kansas plains, or so it would appear from the lack of neighbors. I went a little house-happy in my neighborhood, but few of them are actually occupied. I may put a few back in the bin to simplify things a bit and not crash my game.

As for cars, I guess I'll wait to see what value they add to my sims' lives. Not all improvements are good, and it's all subjective anyway. I for example don't mind the cell phones as they marginally improve my sims' social lives, but as mentioned hate the MP3 players. Other people, I know, have different opinions.

I do have a car I downloaded that's just an object that I haven't been able to bring myself to add to a lot because it just sits there. A working car might be cool.

[Mirelly]

I suspect the first thing we'll need after NL comes out is the FFS automaticcarfireextinguish.hack given Mister Wright's shocking proccupation with fire (everything in the simiverse is only slightly less flammable than boiling gasoline under a blanket of pure oxygen :p ) so given the tendency of American cars to explode into flames at the slightest impact I'm looking forward to larger, more lethal fireballs.

*wonders if there'll be an SUV that rolls over if it turns into the drive at speeds greater than a lame cockroach -- with 3 athlete's feet 2 ingrown toenails and a bunion all affecting different feet -- that is loaded down with some especially heavy shopping* ... hmm ... hmmmmm ... are you still here? Haven't got anything better to do? :p

[Kristalrose]

I suspect the first thing we'll need after NL comes out is the FFS automaticcarfireextinguish.hack given Mister Wright's shocking proccupation with fire (everything in the simiverse is only slightly less flammable than boiling gasoline under a blanket of pure oxygen :p ) so given the tendency of American cars to explode into flames at the slightest impact I'm looking forward to larger, more lethal fireballs.

*wonders if there'll be an SUV that rolls over if it turns into the drive at speeds greater than a lame cockroach -- with 3 athlete's feet 2 ingrown toenails and a bunion all affecting different feet -- that is loaded down with some especially heavy shopping* ... hmm ... hmmmmm ... are you still here? Haven't got anything better to do? :p

ROTF!!! Yes, I think that one of the job qualifications for a career at Maxis is "Documented Pyromania."

Another thing I read that will help my gameplay tremendously is the ablitiy to phone groups of friends. I am sick and tired of planning a shin-dig, then having to invite 8 friends over, then calling 3 or 4 more people who may or may not show up, and then they want to bring a friend! I use JMP's phone hack, and I love the way it calls friends and family, I wish it had an option "Invite all over". Maybe then I could put on a decent wedding!! :D ;)

[suitemichelle]

lol!! especially if they all bring gifts... you can never have too many toasters, right?

[cheeseygrin]

i'm not excited yet - when i installed uni all of my families were wiped and i had to start all over. even though i managed to get my neighbourhood back to how it was and then some, i'm STILL a little bit not over it. i will buy nightlife but that will be a very nervous afternoon the day i install it (i'm such a closet sim-geek):rolleyes:

[kuponutty]

I'm really excited about the new community lots, and the dating simulation. But won't it be a problem, what with the GIGANTIC amount of townies there. Oh well. As soon as it comes out I won't be able to afford it anyway. I'll just have to wait for another EP to come out so the prices will go down.

[J. M. Pescado]

I guess I could wait and get it on the 15th at Game Stop or whatever day they stock it at Wally-World. But with pre-ordering I get it on the 13th, plus I don't have the added inconvenience of having to rush out and buy it. It comes to my door. :D I don't have those dweebs at Game Stop laughing at me for being the "Crazy Sims Lady" (It sucks being the only Simmer in a small town!!).
My advice is to try mumbling, twitching, slapping at imaginary bugs, arguing with people who aren't there, and frothing at the mouth. That should keep people quiet.

ROTF!!! Yes, I think that one of the job qualifications for a career at Maxis is "Documented Pyromania."
Are you kidding? If that were part of the qualifications, they should have hired me by now. You obviously haven't seen the sole thing in Nightlife that I react to with glee (http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=212.0)....mmmm. Fire.

[Kristalrose]

My advice is to try mumbling, twitching, slapping at imaginary bugs, arguing with people who aren't there, and frothing at the mouth. That should keep people quiet.
What?? That's not normal behavior? shut up George!! I see the bugs!!!:D ;)


Are you kidding? If that were part of the qualifications, they should have hired me by now. You obviously haven't seen the sole thing in Nightlife that I react to with glee (http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=212.0)....mmmm. Fire.

ROTF!! Yes, Beavis, I was reading the thread on your home page where you were practiaclly drooling over the flaming decorations and the other people just didn't see the reasoning. So, how soon after Nightlife comes out can we expect the "Burnination" hack, where we toast nannies around the campfire? ;)

Did y'all see the "G-phoria" show? My son made me watch it. :( There was only one mention of TS2. They were spoofing the Memorial piece they always do on the Oscars, and showing several video game charecters dying during the course of their games. Think Lara Croft from Tomb Raider falling off a cliff, or the guy from Halo 2 being shot to death. Anyway, they had "Carrie Sparks" from TS2 burning to death, Grimmy showing up, her friends and relatives weeping over her. It was pretty funny.

[babewithbrains_14]

i'm not excited yet - when i installed uni all of my families were wiped and i had to start all over. even though i managed to get my neighbourhood back to how it was and then some, i'm STILL a little bit not over it. i will buy nightlife but that will be a very nervous afternoon the day i install it (i'm such a closet sim-geek):rolleyes:

Same here. When I got Uni I managed to wipe out my neighborhood as well, and I KNOW that I said I couldn't kill my sims. But I was too determined to get on with the game! I can always just make more Sims another time!

[suitemichelle]

bwb so sorry.... Mirelly has a great step by step when installing expansions. (she's so smart) saves a lot of heartache.

[babewithbrains_14]

Yeah, I bet. *sniffs* Don't worry about me, I'll be okay. *wipes away tears* What? What do I have in my hands? *trembles* Yeah, it's Prozac. So what?

Mirelly is just very smart.

[Mirelly]

If I'm so smart how come I managed to trash my 'hoods too and after starting over decided (a) to follow my own in advice in future and (b) to write a definitive step by step so no-one has to go thru the same misery. :o

[Kristalrose]

Oh, listen to what I did!?

I read JMP's great tutorial on MOREAWSOMETHANYOU about changing the terrain of a neighborhood without harming your sims. Well, I thought that was great! I am just sick and tired of that terrain, it's a year old, I'm ready for the new one. So, I did. And it worked just like he said, of course. But I had to dig my lots out from hillsides and under the water. No problem. So then the terrain was messed up. So then I redid it. And they were back in the water and in hillsides. :(

So I am going to make a perfectly flat terrain with no water and call it "Little Sims on the Prairie!" :rolleyes:

[surprised_by_witches]

Thanks so much now I have the theme song stuck in my brain and Melissa Gilbert keeps tumbling down that hill over and over and over ... AAAAAHHHH ...

[babewithbrains_14]

I've never seen it.

[J. M. Pescado]

I read JMP's great tutorial on MOREAWSOMETHANYOU about changing the terrain of a neighborhood without harming your sims. Well, I thought that was great! I am just sick and tired of that terrain, it's a year old, I'm ready for the new one. So, I did. And it worked just like he said, of course. But I had to dig my lots out from hillsides and under the water. No problem. So then the terrain was messed up. So then I redid it. And they were back in the water and in hillsides. :(
Redoing the replacement process should fix the messed-up-terrains. However, if you left the neighborhood file open in SimPE, you are blocking the save process, which is why the saves don't take. Also, savings are sometimes nonsticky, and it helps if you force the neighborhood to save by opening a different one and flipping back.

So I am going to make a perfectly flat terrain with no water and call it "Little Sims on the Prairie!" :rolleyes:
I started with that because it was easy to make. Then I decided I was too smooth and created "Ground Zero" by taking the same flat map and repeatedly bombarding it around the edges with the "meteor" tool.

[Kristalrose]

Thanks JMP. :) I think you are right, I had opened TS2 with SimsPE. I'll have to check it again.

BTW: Here's the link to his wonderful tutorial, if anyone's interested:
http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=151.0