Sims Translation
when watching tv….the tv says with news bullitin music in the background
“fer button Grawl”
i’ve associated it with ” and ..this just in”
She says “Gew naft - fer button grawl, gess toob.”
Which is obviously:
“Good evening, with the news - Gus Tube.”
(Source: superaddmom)
Sim-pull
EA has just introduced a new game: it is a Facebook version of The Sims called The Sims Social. It’s been available in beta since August 9th, and open to everyone since Aug 22. I only started playing a few days ago, but I have picked up a few pointers that I’d like to pass along, for those interested in playing. If you aren’t interested, well, move along - there’s nothing to see here.
I’ve always loved playing The Sims, and this version of it doesn’t in any way diminish the original concept. It simplifies some of the mood aspects that have been becoming increasingly complex (I’m looking at you Sims 3), but adds a completely new social aspect thanks to your interactions on social networking.
I’m going to proceed on the assumption that you understand the basics of a Sims game. If you aren’t already familiar with The Sims, the in-game tutorials and quests should teach you what you need. Most of the elements of the full Sims game (with the exceptions of jobs/careers) are there, including gardening.
Without further ado, here are some pointers for getting your tiny-person micromanaging groove on:
Get Inspired!
When you get all of your sim’s NEEDS and his/her mood fully green, they become INSPIRED. While inspired, you gain bonuses - some of them substantial (see Skills, below) - extra energy, extra experience (XP), better item drops, and more. Do everything you can to spend most of your time INSPIRED.
Skills Pay The Bills
Use every training item you have available to train your Sim. You start out with a microwave, a guitar, and a computer (at least, I think everyone does). The microwave can be used to improve your COOKING level by using the CATER functions; look for gold chef hats icons on those tasks. The guitar is used for your MUSIC skills - you will see golden musical notes for COMPOSE tasks. The computer is used for your WRITING skill (a golden pen icon designates these tasks). The one skill you have no way of improving by default is your ART skill (golden paintbrush). For that, you will need to buy the basic easel and place it someplace in your home/yard. Your skills are your job in this game - they are how you earn income. While inspired, you get a 50% simoleon bonus as well. Once you have trained in a skill, you can then go back and earn money by performing those jobs again. Each item only has a limited number of skills which can be learned, so as you level up you will need to buy the ones you unlock with your skill level. For example, your basic easel will get you to Art Skill 11 - but at Art Skill 10 you unlock the portrait easel, which will give you more levels of training - and the ability to unlock other items like a drafting table or drawing tablet computer.
Won’t You Be My Neighbour?
If you have facebook friends who are playing the game, you will be able to invite them to be your neighbours. There is a bar at the bottom of your screen with arrows at the ends. Bella Goth becomes your first neighbour automatically, and she occupies a position at the right side of your lower screen, but she can fulfill only a small number of your social needs in-game. In fact, some players abuse her to make her into an enemy because ALL interactions in the game have to potential to provide you items/bonuses - be they positive or negative. You MUST have neighbours in order to build new rooms on your house, as they do all the work, and Bella Goth is no help there.
Be Sociable
This isn’t your grandpa’s Sims game. You can’t only interact with imaginary, in-game characters. You will require gifts and cooperation from real people - some quests and builds will demand the assistance of as many as 5 neighbours. Some items can only be gained by requesting them from other players (e.g. charcoal, newspapers, and coffee beans). So, help out your Sims-playing facebook friends so they can help you. Check their walls for posts from Sims Social - many of them are just simple rewards for you to collect (like simoleons or social points), but others are requests for needed items like paint brushes - items required to complete quests and character advancement. *ADDENDUM NOTE* I completely forgot to mention this: if someone sends you a “gift” of something, then always try to ‘send one back’ - the game should give you the option to do so, and it gives you a way to let people know you need an item and “trade” for it. FYI: Items/gifts you send are NOT taken from your inventory.
Traiter!
You have slots for TRAITS you can select - they are purchased with your Lifetime Points (the small, blue and white treasure chests). Some of them are a bit useless (although maybe in the future they’ll become more meaningful). Try and select traits like SLOB and OGRE that will reduce your need for in-game socializing, since it is the one NEED that almost always requires the use of your limited ENERGY to refill.
Gear Up
Some stuff isn’t worth buying. Yes, there are rewards for increasing the value of your house, but you should focus on getting things which allow you to improve your SKILLS - a new stove, a coffee maker and a bar-be-que are things which will help you improve your cooking skill level because they provide more CATER options and Cooking Skill levels. As you increase your skills, more skill-related items unlock, like musical keyboards and drafting tables (for music and art skills, respectively). It is far less important in this version of the game to keep your sim happy with nice items, furniture, and decor than it has been in others. As I mentioned, most things that satisfy needs are free (sleeping, eating, peeing, bathing and fun).
You Can Dig It
When you plant items in your garden, they grow in real time. Since your garden is a great source of income, it’s a good idea to keep it planted all the time - but it is a complete waste of the cost of planting if you won’t be back in time to pick it. Planting doesn’t use energy, but harvesting does. If you enter the game and plant 4 strawberries, 5 minutes later you will need to have kept 4 energy in reserve to harvest them, or they’ll start to wilt and eventually die. So, look carefully at the times it takes for things to grow. If you can’t play until the same time tomorrow, plant watermelons (24H). If you think you can play in 4 hours, plant pumpkins. There are lots of choices.
Organization IS Important
I am sure that if you posted every single time the Sims game asked you to, you’d drive your friends nuts. However, every one of those things gives a bonus to other players if they click it. Sure, you could just cancel/ignore the postings to keep your facebook wall cleaner, but then you would not be providing those perks to your friends. Also, some quests and skills demand that you ask for items from other people - without those requests you cannot progress in the game.I’ve dealt with this in the only way I can think of: I made a list of the facebookers that are my Sims neighbours. When the game asks to post an update to my wall, I post it so it is only visible to that list (if you are on my facebook and would like to be added to the list, let me know). Looking at that list will also help you find their Sims Social-related wall posts.
The other problem is, with so many freebies to claim (assuming your friends are allowing them to be posted), how do you know if you took one already? What I have been doing is marking them by clicking the like button. If I took it, I liked it and now I know not to try and claim that bonus again. You might be thinking, “What’s the point? It’s just a few tiny rewards.” Well, the point is this: I went through the posts from my 3 family members who are playing and collected the stuff they posted over 2 days. It amounted to well over a thousand simoleons, one hundred+ social points, plus numerous other miscellaneous items like GOODWILL that are your in-game recipe/formula building blocks. Taking 10 minutes to claim those wall items in your “downtime” - that is, when you have exhausted all your in-game energy - it will benefit your gameplay tremendously.
Final Tips
You regenerate an energy point every 5 minutes of real time, until you reach the maximum of 15. After 75 minutes, your meter is fully charged and cannot get any fuller. If you want to be a true power-leveller you won’t want that meter to stay full without being used. In fact, you’d probably want to play hourly to ensure you never over-top that cap. BUT: It is not necessary in any way to play that often. The regeneration happens whether you are signed into the game or not, so you don’t have to leave it running in a browser tab or anything like that. Just pop in when you want to play, use up your energy, and move on to something else. As I’ve mentioned, some things depend on other people to give you stuff and if they aren’t as gung-ho about the game as you, you’re going to spend a LOT of time waiting - or just mowing your lawn.
Finally, this is a game with purchasable items. You can certainly speed up your progress if you are willing to plunk down mucho dineros to buy stuff that you don’t have right away. Just remember - you do not need to do that at all. If you work with your other fb friends who are playing Sims Social, you will be able to get things that you need - you just have to be patient. Honestly, I don’t see the point of spending money just for faster levelling - but some people will want to do it. You can buy furniture items for your home as well, but again, you shouldn’t NEED them. If you want to spend real money on virtual items, feel free to do so - I just know I won’t. But whatever you do, don’t let your kids have access to your credit card if they’re playing!
Anyway, that’s it. All TL;DR of it. I hope it helps you get going. I’m looking forward to having you as my virtual neighbour!
