The Sims Deluxe - Why I bought it - Why I like it!!

The Sims Deluxe - Why I bought it - Why I like it!!

I have not entered the Sims Deluxe discussion as to whether it is fair or not for Maxis to put out this packaging for several reason. Most software companies eventually put several of their titles out in a 'package' at some point in the marketing cycle and usually this package gives you noting more then a small price break for buying 2 or 3 titles instead of just one. Most times they just republish the software with no improvements, fixes or enhancements and rarely give you anything more then just buying the titles separately would give you. For the most part no one yells that its a way for them to get a bit more money out of a title. Maxis never had to give anything for the Sims away for free - they could have saved every object, every add on and included them only in expansion packs. The fact that they have, from time to time given some away amidst the advertising has at least kept me coming back to read the ads... Good marketing, and nice of Maxis.

Now they package up The Sims and LL and include a couple of things they could have given away free as incentive for you to buy it .. again good marketing, and everyone goes bonkers over it. Folks, in realities of life they don't owe us anything but a good game for the money we spend on it - and that is what we got. They do not owe us things like The Creator as a freebie - if they want to sell it to us they can. If you read on you will see why I think this is not a case of "reselling an old product or charging for something they should have given away free". This is not Bob Newbies old The Sims and Living Large... and The Creator is not a 'little tool'....

Now ... why did I buy Sims Deluxe?

I bought the Sims Deluxe first and foremost cause I am a Sims nut and want a copy of every version/expansion they release, if for no other reason then to say I have it. Its sort of like being a collector .

Secondly, I am a serious object maker - if there was one new object in there that I could could use as a base I wanted to have my own original - I did not want to clone someone elses clone.

Yup I wanted "The Creator" - if the only way to get it was in the Deluse version - well so be it - I would buy the thing.

ANd NOW...

Why I like The Sims Deluxe:

This is not just a re-run.

Interestingly enough, it was not the new objects (which are very nice - more in a minute) or The Creator that grabbed my attention but the increased performance.

Walking away from EBX with my purchase and opening the package as I moved through the mall my curiousity was raised whe I noticed the install instructions saying that if you already owned HP, HD and VAC then Deluxe should be installed AFTER these are installed and if you later buy any or all of the other expansion packs (although if you have delux you do not need the LL expansion reinstalled) then you should uninstall Deluxe, re install the Sims and then install the expansion pack(s) and THEN re-install the Deluxe version.

Now, this seemed to me to be much nore like an upgrade then a replacement and with those instructions obviously it changed things in all packs... I do remember reading a post from someone from Maxis saying this was not just a repackaging with The Creator added - perhaps it was....I could not wait to get to my computer.

First, thing I did was install Deluxe as a stand alone. First noticable thing was that it was much 'crisper' then The Sims with the LL expansion pack and it ran super on the crappy little under powered backup machine I tried it on (this machine is a bit less then Maxis claims is minimum requirements - ME on a 133 PII with 64 MB RAM).

I spent some time looking at the new ojbjects - a Roman bathroom set, a SciFi bed room and Greco-Roman living room furniure to name a few. One nice thing that delux brings to you that you did not have with just The Sims and LL is the with the wardrobe - like in later releases you get a window that allows you to preview clothing without having to change outfits over and over - you now have that with Deluxe.

So I uninstalled it (plan to get a second copy to run on little crappy abckup machine since it does) and set out to see what happened on my primary machine with The Sims and all the expansion packs installed.

The installation appears to remove and replace some game files and adds in its own .far for Deluxe. Athough no real mention was made in any of the writings about this version that I remember that there was performance improvements its was immediately noticable soon as I loaded the game. I presently have over 4500 objects that I load and even with them packaged into far's my load time is usually about 7-10 minutes. With Deluxe installed I loaded in 4-5 minutes.

The game runs smoother then before, it scrolls nicer and the graphics appear cleaner and crisper.

I was a bit excited about this and popped into The Sim's chat room to comment that although I had not heard that there was performance enhancments there obviously were some. I then learned that some of the Maxis folks had mentioned that there were - apparently the were not kidding

And now a few words about The Creator. Once you load this you realize why this was not really a 'give-a-way' item. Its good enough to sell as a stand alone tool. There is a great wizard that takes photos and applies then to the Sim, a great collection of textures, and paint tool that rivals PSP for usability, and the logo tool to add logo's or designs to clothing is a nice addition. The Creator is very user friendly and I was able to take a snap shot of my daughter, apply her face to a mesh, and make her a new outfit in under 15 minutes.

The down side of The Creator will be for all the mesh makers and skinners out there. The Creator uses all teh skins it finds loaded into the game as meshes/skins to be used in the tool - and I expect this will cause "giving credit" nightmare's and arguments galore.

Having had some time to play with the new objects and to clone a few I will warn you that these objects are made in the same way that Maxis changed objects for Vacation, or are affected by Vacation being installed - and you will need a way to convert/patch/clean them up after cloning to use them for recolors if you desire to do that with them.

All in all .. I went to buy The Sims Deluxe just to have it, but I was not necessarily that excited about it....

Now I am really excited... its a great addition to my Sims!

Rentechd :bunny:

 

wow... I think I need to find out more about this!! I LOVE making objects, and faster performance would be GREAT considering it now takes about 18-20 minutes for my game to load up!!!

 

Thanks for that infomation. I've been wondering whether or not i should by it.. i most probably will now..

 

At first, I was almost certain that I'd never purchase TSD. Now that I've learned more about it, I think I might. I'm not sure though, I only have so much money

 

On the subject of 'only so much money' and two Sim releases in the same month; I would opt for Unleashed and see if it too contains any performance pluses - it just might or it might not. Its been my opinion that most of the performance issues were the result of the underlying original version and none of the other expansions contained much that affected it - but since Deluxe apparently replaces some of those original files it was a good way to make that fix.

If I had limited amounts to spend I might wait and get Unleashed - then see what people say that have both Deluxe and Unleashed - compare it to your experience with Unleashed and the buy Deluxe if your able.

I still think anyone who can should get Deluxe - I think you will love it as much as I do - on the other hand I am a realist - you will get a great deal more objects plus puppies and kittens that interact and that next to 25 new objects and a performance improvement... well there is no argument - you have to get Unleashed.

But if you can afford it - its definately worth the money...

Okay I am off to make all the pics I took of Family and friends into Sims

Hey Josh.. send me a pic... we will make a Manager Josh Sim!!

 

I had pre-ordered TSDLE in order to review it for TSZ and to tell people probably not to buy it. From everything I am reading, I think my review may be on a more positive note.

Don't expect me to shout Maxis's praises from the rooftops. I am sure there will be something in the review that will not be so complimentary.

Review of TSDLE & SU scheduled for 1 week after UK release.

 

Stalking, Josh..not stocking.

 

Maybe he is afraid they will put him in stockings?? heehee!

 

I thought he meant stocking as in stocking him in a store as a sims download

I had visions of 100 sim sites all offering various versions of Josh...

he is right a very scary idea

 

haha yeah my first thought was putting boxes of stuff on shelves.... Hey, we're fresh outta ManagerJoshes!! Go get another load outta the back!! hehee!

 

...OK now I just had an Army of Darkness flashback... anyone see that movie? There is a scene where there are lots of little miniature imp versions of the main character running around wreaking havok....

 

LOL!!!! I would love to have Josh as a skin!!! At least I could make sure to beat him in chess that way...
Anyway.
According to SMCarol this morning you should first get the exp. packs if you haave sims already.. then deluxe. So that's hoe I am gonna do it... even if it takes some time...

 

ok so what if all you have is the sims and house party do you need to uninstall them to put the sims delux on? cuz i sold my sims game to my friend since i could run house party and didnt need the sims to run house party and my friend moved and i havent heard from them in a month so i dont know where they live

 

whens delux come out?

and when does sim delux come out?