Freetime First Impressions? My observations so far. Adds a lot more challenge to the game in providing more things to balance. Bit tedious to start with on existing sims cos you have to waste time (IMHO) searching for the preferred hobby of your existing sims. (Like grandma got to age 90 without realising she was into restoring old cars and playing with train-sets ... yeah, right ... ) I like the advanced neighborhood browser and the new neighborhood terrain editing cheat. Still trying to figure out the angle on the secondary aspiration thing. Those who rely on Pescado's indispensible hacks will be pleased to know there is a Freetime set available - not causing problems in my game.
Matriach Kay Benjamin is making pot holders in the basement rumpus room Another view shows the model train table ... waiting on having scenery and stuff added to it, and the potters wheel ... no-one has the skills to make anything remotely resembling actual crockery. Note the ballet pumps hanging on the wall ... is there a dancer in the house?
Oo nice pumps! I like! And I like the look of FT too... I wonna get it but I have to wait till I get that new awesome computer... :-/
Could I just add too that you really have to remove the Insimenator from your game because it prevents a lot of the choices from appearing on the Sim's personal menu. It may do other things too as I noticed some odd things happening with their take-home pay. Hopefully we will get an updated version which will work fine in Freetime.
I've played Freetime once so far and it's good. Especially the genie . I brought back Noriko Aspir and she's now flirting/crushing on one of the bachelors that were already in the neighbourhood. The one thing I haven't fully played is using the points for lifetime benefits. It's in Bon Voyage as well if I remember correctly? I find the lifetime benefits hard to use because some of the options don't fit the situation. So far, it's been a good expansion.
If you go on the Aspir family on the Freetime Neighbourhood (something Valley), with Luis/Louis/Louie I think it is, it mentions something in the description about something he has hidden in the attic. So I ventured to his attic and found a golden coloured jar. If you rub it, the genie appears to grant three wishes. Once you have finished with it, you can sell it on. I do like how Rod Humble gives away a free computer to everybody.
The old gypsy woman sells or gives you the genie lamp if i remember. I do know there is a hack over at More Awesome Than You making the new computer buyable and stops Mister Humble from visiting your sims. Apparently some folks don't like his visits! LOL
Does it take a little while for Mr. Humble to show up? I ask because I had one family that was too poor to have a computer, they had just spent most of their money moving into a bigger house to make room for their third child. The dad was off work for a day or two before he could earn enough money to buy a computer. I thought cool I'll get a computer from Mr Humble and they won't have to buy one. Well Mr. Humble waited until after I bought them a new computer before showing up to deliver his. I didn't think having a computer was a prerequisite to getting him to stop by and deliver the new one. But now I'm not so sure. Ruthie
With my family, I had brought a desk and that's it. He takes a little while to show up like the visitors who come to welcome you do.
My sims moved in and Mr.Humble was already at the doorstep lol, he presented my sims with a computer, not sure if thats the standard gift for all families By far I really like the game, all my female sims are taking ballet, eventhough they're supposed hobby was 'cuisine'. Sims now have an option to go jogging/hiking, I like this addition as it makes the game more alive. In terms of new objects, they have a few new kitchen stuff (stove, trash compactor, dishwashes, microwave, food processor), a few new furniture for children & toddlers, and others. By far this is the first time Im using mostly their furniture instead of custom content, so Im saying Im loving it One thing bout FT is you gotta keep letting them do their hobby else it will decay? (bad choice of word I think? ) and the annoying box appears to tell ya they are losing interest in xxx hobby, laggin your whole game (trust me, I know .. I have 5 simmies in a home)
I am having so much fun with Free Time. I am almost tempted to say that I think this is the best expansion pack yet! I used to get bored with the sims because it was like when they had all their skills and their fun or social was not low they had nothing to do. Now there is always something they can be doing because they have so many hobbies. I really like that the sims can gain interest in different hobbies. I really feel like my sims are more realistic and unique from other sims. Yay!
I find that skill building is easier through their hobbies. I got one of my sims to the top of her hobby "arts & crafts" and now she randomly goes into the zone!
so far I'm only playing one family... humble computer delivered right away... and it seems like the child is in a perpetual state of platinum... even when tired or doing his homework. the mom is still making plates and the dad is supposed to love sport. he can almost catch the football.
Freetime First Impressions? A small warning about the genie lamp 'wish for beauty'. (potential spoiler ahead) My pregnant sim lady wanted to patch her failing marriage so hoped the genie's magic might help. The results were quite hilarious - a stream of visitors ringing the front door bell day in and day out and all hours of the night. The visitors were very persistent too. They would traipse around to the back door if no-one answered the front door and then try the front door again. I even got fed up enough to use 'smite' on Pescado's wonderful batman box and the unlucky, but resilient, visitor still rang at the door all charred and smoking. Fortunately my sim lives in a big house so the bell didn't bother her at all. I have no idea where all the visitors came from. I play in my own created neighbourhood lot with Downtown, a university and Blue-whatever attached. These were sims I had never seen before.
:knockedout:I know what you mean by 'almost catching the football'. Their true hobbies don't seem to have a lot to do with their actual abilities. On another note, one of my male sims - the cheating husband of the poor pregnant sim with the lamp - has become perma plat. He hasn't achieved his LTW but he has filled up all the ticks of the second aspiration.
