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 Released September 2nd, 2014, TS4 is the latest entry in the long-running The Sims franchise. The Sims is a series that needs no introduction, so instead let's skip to: New Features
These are the major new features, in addition to smaller improvements to the series' gameplay, such as an increased number of Sims in each public area to interact with, extra time in the day to do said interacting, being able to travel between worlds with a single household, etc. I heard EA cut a ton of stuff from the game? Well, yes. Create-a-style is no longer in the game. The game is no longer open-world, instead having loading screens between distinct lots. Story progression has been excised. Babies age directly into children, as toddlers no longer exist. Many of the classic careers were gone, though between a free patch and the first expansion I think military is the only classic career yet to return. Ghosts and pools were absent at launch but have since been re-added with free patches. Those are all the major omissions I can think of, though there are plenty of smaller ones, like your Sims no longer getting the newspaper delivered. Expansions Get to Work - Adds in three new careers (law enforcement, science, and medicine) similar to the professions in TS3: Ambitions in that you control your Sim at their job, rather than having them simply disappear off-screen for 8 hours. With the new and improved Law Enforcement, Medicine, and Science careers, you can examine the evidence until you can identify, arrest, and interrogate the perp, diagnose and cure diseases, or perform bizarre experiments in a mad scientist lab. Or be your own boss and open your own store, hiring employees, setting prices, and closing sales. Bookstores, bakeries, toilet emporiums, and more are all possible. This is also where aliens make their return. Playable aliens have a range of special abilities, and scientists who build a portal machine or astronauts exploring with their rocket ships can even explore their homeworld. Get Together - Adding a new World, the European-inspired Windenburg, Get Together adds many new possibilities for socializing, from new locales like cafes and nightclubs to new skills like DJing and dancing. The main draw, however, is the new Clubs. Pick your members or make membership open to all, select a hangout, and customize the club's preferred and dispreferred activities. Book clubs, dance groups, fishing teams, fight clubs and more can be made. As clubs perform their preferred activities, you gain points that let you customize the club even more with perks and rewards. City Living - Another new World in the form of San Myshuno, this reintroduces apartments to the series, adds traits such as Good Schools, Haunted, or Lively Neighbors to lots themselves, and adds festivals and conventions your Sim can attend on the streets of San Myshuno, in addition to many smaller new features and items, like basketball courts and karaoke bars. Also adds a lot of Indian-themed art and clothes, which I like. Cats and Dogs - Reintroduces pets to the series. Fully customizable create-a-pet (including costumes and accessories, if you're the kind of monster that puts sweaters on dogs) allows you to create a cat, dog, puppy, or kitten for your Sims to play with, train, and care for. Also introduces the veterinarian active career and the new town of Brindleton Bay, inspired by Maine harbor towns. Seasons - Adds weather effects like wind, rain, snow, and intense heat as well as associated activities such as ice-skating or playing in fall leaves. Also introduces holidays and festivities, with the ability to make your own in a manner similar to Get Together's clubs. Also adds a botany/gardening career. Get Famous - Introduces a new fame system so your Sims can become celebrities, with bonuses and maluses for fame and infamy. Also introduces an acting active career and a career as a social media influencer, and the new town of Del Sol Valley Game Packs A new level of content between expansions and the old Stuff Packs, Game Packs provide not only new items but new mechanics as well, though not as much as a full expansion Outdoor Retreat - The first gameplay pack adds a new campground/national park world that your Sim can access at any time to take a vacation, similar to a smaller-scale version of World Adventures. Pitch a tent or rent a cabin, gather around the campfire for roasted marshmallows, find new collectibles to make potions in the new herbalism skill, or teach your Sim the ways of a master survivalist. Spa Day - The second gameplay pack adds spas. Like the libraries, gyms, lounges, and other community lots in the base game, spas are no longer the rabbitholes they were in TS3 but a fully interactive building your Sim can enter. Spa activities like massages, meditation, mud baths, saunas, and yoga are available to your Sim, as well as a new Wellness skill that unlocks new abilities within these activities. Dine Out - Reintroduces restaurants to the series as proper lots, not the rabbitholes they were in TS3. Also allows your Sim to run their own restaurant. Vampires - Create vampire Sims, ranging from pretty sparkling vampires to Count Orlok and everything in between. Vampires are immortal and have supernatural powers like flight and hypnosis. Also adds the Gothic-themed town of Forgotten Hollow, along with plenty of vampiric decor. Mods http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=534925 - Adjust relationship decay. http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=535156 - Reduce chance of breakages. http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=534081 - Unlock all locked objects in Build mode. Having problems with the game lagging or stuttering, or loading times upwards of ~30 seconds? In the options menu, turn off all the automatic online options (you will have to go online in order to access the Gallery) Feel free to discuss previous games in the series here as well! Punished Chuck fucked around with this message at 15:21 on Nov 22, 2018 |
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Dec 8, 2014 05:22
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 15:46 |
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I love the Sims, but I hate how EA nickle and dimes you. I wish there was an alternative. Are you forced to play the game through origin? That would be a deal breaker for me.
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Dec 8, 2014 05:34
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Military and Medicine really need to come back soon. I'm happy for the new job patch, but it just isn't enough
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Dec 8, 2014 05:48
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I hope this thread eventually comes to have as good sim stories as the last one. The stuff in the Sims 3 Thread is some of the hardest I've ever laughed at this forum.
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Dec 8, 2014 06:12
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Lord Windy posted:Are you forced to play the game through origin? That would be a deal breaker for me. I believe so, but I've never had much of a problem with Origin. Why's it a deal breaker?
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Dec 8, 2014 06:37
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Take this with a grain of salt, but it looks like the first expansion pack will include aliens in some capacity.
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Dec 8, 2014 07:29
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Lizard Wizard posted:I believe so, but I've never had much of a problem with Origin. Why's it a deal breaker? It used to be pretty bad, but to be honest it's perfectly serviceable now, however there are still holdouts out there who won't touch it at all, kinda like Steam used to have years and years ago.
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Dec 8, 2014 09:11
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Shima Honnou posted:It used to be pretty bad, but to be honest it's perfectly serviceable now, however there are still holdouts out there who won't touch it at all, kinda like Steam used to have years and years ago. Origin's perfectly serviceable these days and they even hand out free games fairly regularly!
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Dec 8, 2014 17:41
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Also TS4 is currently on sale for $10 off on Origin, and it's probably gonna hit half price again as we get closer to Christmas.
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Dec 8, 2014 18:10
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IMO this is the best base game sims so far. It's a tiny bit anaemic on the content front but the free expansions have been wonderful and I'm super looking forward to real expansions. The lack of a content store is also a really great sign.
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Dec 8, 2014 19:50
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Shima Honnou posted:It used to be pretty bad, but to be honest it's perfectly serviceable now, however there are still holdouts out there who won't touch it at all, kinda like Steam used to have years and years ago. Yeah basically. Also you can buy Sims Medieval through it, which owns.
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Dec 8, 2014 20:24
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Lizard Wizard posted:Take this with a grain of salt, but it looks like the first expansion pack will include aliens in some capacity. The tweet they mention also references being frozen, so maybe they're doing seasons first this time. Also aliens were in Seasons for the Sims 3, but there's no real reason for them to do that twice so that doesn't necessarily mean much.
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Dec 8, 2014 22:45
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It could also mean that aliens like freezing people.
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Dec 8, 2014 22:52
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You accomplished what few goons cam do, and what Lizman couldn't. You made the thread. 
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Dec 9, 2014 05:25
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Babby Sathanas posted:IMO this is the best base game sims so far. It's a tiny bit anaemic on the content front but the free expansions have been wonderful and I'm super looking forward to real expansions. I miss being able to create a style using materials like in Sims 3, but other than that and a lack of items/hair and stuff, it is pretty good. Lady Naga posted:Origin's perfectly serviceable these days and they even hand out free games fairly regularly! I know someone who, despite wanting to try out the Sims series, outright refused quite autistically to download Origin and take advantage when Sims 2 and all expansions were available for 100% free.
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Dec 9, 2014 05:31
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A. Beaverhausen posted:Military and Medicine really need to come back soon. I'm happy for the new job patch, but it just isn't enough I agree, those are the two I'm really missing now that Business and Athletic are being patched in. I wonder if they're holding on to Medicine until the University expansion? It was a little weird that you needed a degree to be an art appraiser or w/e but not to be a doctor. Segmentation Fault posted:You accomplished what few goons cam do, and what Lizman couldn't. You made the thread.  Shima Honnou posted:I miss being able to create a style using materials like in Sims 3, but other than that and a lack of items/hair and stuff, it is pretty good. I said this in the last thread, but I played The Sims 1 and 2 from when the first game was new to the launch of TS3 without ever buying a single expansion pack for either, and I didn't buy any expansions for TS3 until after a year or two when they dropped in price, so I've spent a lot of time with Sims base games and in my opinion this is easily the best base game yet. I'm really excited to see how they build on it because it's a very solid core.
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Dec 9, 2014 10:24
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I have the same problem with this game as I do with Skyrim. I keep thinking some character would be fun to play, so I start a new game instead of continuing on an existing save file. I've never made it past a 3rd generation with a Sims family, and the only time I beat Skyrim was when my brother challenged me to beat the main quest as quickly as possible. I still have fun in this game coming up with families and playing them, but I have yet to come up with something that holds my attention for more than a few hours.
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Dec 9, 2014 10:59
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Lizard Wizard posted:I believe so, but I've never had much of a problem with Origin. Why's it a deal breaker? I don't have anything against quiet DRM. It's mostly because I just want to download and play a game, not deal with the bloat that comes with it. Sims 4 is the only game I am likely to play from EA so I don't want to deal with Origin. The reason I put up with Steam is because they basically sell every other game in the world. If there was a marketplace like Steam without actually having to run Steam I would say goodbye to the platform. Also I suspect that Origin would have even worse regional pricing then Steam, with none of the fun sales. EDIT: It's $90 dollars, I hate EA.
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Dec 9, 2014 11:23
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Lord Windy posted:I don't have anything against quiet DRM. It's mostly because I just want to download and play a game, not deal with the bloat that comes with it. Sims 4 is the only game I am likely to play from EA so I don't want to deal with Origin. The reason I put up with Steam is because they basically sell every other game in the world. If there was a marketplace like Steam without actually having to run Steam I would say goodbye to the platform. Sims 4 is region locked, so there's a good chance it won't work for you depend on where you are (As a US Citizen, I can't buy it from here), but if you can successfully add to cart here without it giving you any pop-ups about your region, it's $38.44 US. If you do get a region error, just forget about it, otherwise you might only be able to play while in South America or Brazil, depending on how region locking on Origin works.
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Dec 9, 2014 11:45
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Shima Honnou posted:Sims 4 is region locked, so there's a good chance it won't work for you depend on where you are (As a US Citizen, I can't buy it from here), but if you can successfully add to cart here without it giving you any pop-ups about your region, it's $38.44 US. If you do get a region error, just forget about it, otherwise you might only be able to play while in South America or Brazil, depending on how region locking on Origin works. Thanks for the try, but I got a region error when I hit purchase. I'll wait until it's on some kind of super sale and also keep an eye out at game stores.
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Dec 9, 2014 12:00
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Lord Windy posted:Thanks for the try, but I got a region error when I hit purchase. I'll wait until it's on some kind of super sale and also keep an eye out at game stores. Shame. Keep that site in mind anyway, though. For games that aren't region locked, you can get insanely sizable discounts pretty often for brand new releases.
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Dec 9, 2014 12:10
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Lord Windy posted:I don't have anything against quiet DRM. It's mostly because I just want to download and play a game, not deal with the bloat that comes with it. Sims 4 is the only game I am likely to play from EA so I don't want to deal with Origin. The reason I put up with Steam is because they basically sell every other game in the world. If there was a marketplace like Steam without actually having to run Steam I would say goodbye to the platform. Their regional pricing creates a rather funny situation where Steam now operates in CAD but Origin doesn't, making it cheaper for me 
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Dec 9, 2014 16:39
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Lizard Wizard posted:It could also mean that aliens like freezing people. That's true. I hope they add in weather soon, though.
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Dec 9, 2014 22:49
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Chamale posted:I have the same problem with this game as I do with Skyrim. I keep thinking some character would be fun to play, so I start a new game instead of continuing on an existing save file. I've never made it past a 3rd generation with a Sims family, and the only time I beat Skyrim was when my brother challenged me to beat the main quest as quickly as possible. I still have fun in this game coming up with families and playing them, but I have yet to come up with something that holds my attention for more than a few hours. I had that real bad with TS3. It got to a point where I never played a household for more than one session, any time I loaded the game up I'd end up making a new household. I think video games have done bad things to my attention span.  I seem to have settled on 2 households for this one, though. Something about having made them in the demo ahead of the game's release makes me like them more than any of the Sims I've made since.
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Dec 9, 2014 23:36
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WeaponGradeSadness posted:I seem to have settled on 2 households for this one, though. Something about having made them in the demo ahead of the game's release makes me like them more than any of the Sims I've made since. I made about 20 households in the demo, still haven't played them all. I'm also still making new Sims.
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Dec 10, 2014 02:39
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WeaponGradeSadness posted:I had that real bad with TS3. It got to a point where I never played a household for more than one session, any time I loaded the game up I'd end up making a new household. I've always felt that this is a perfectly valid way to play. Sometimes I just make a household, move them in, and then get bored and never touch them again.
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Dec 10, 2014 07:37
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I'm pleasantly surprised that the Sims 4 might actually be worth picking up a few expansions in. Good for you EA.
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Dec 10, 2014 07:42
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I hate that you can't just send your kids to school and click the option to meet new friends. Now you have to send the kid to the park to play on the pirate ship for hours and hope some other kids show up.
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Dec 10, 2014 12:34
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New ad campaign, apparently. Kinda cute.
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Dec 11, 2014 06:51
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The game certainly likes resetting actions. Or, at least, it does at bars. I think I've thrown $30 down the well of drink orders that get lost. My Sims won't get themselves drunk, you know. 
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Dec 14, 2014 00:54
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This is...an odd question. I am a person who was interested in 'The Sims' a time ago. To the point of buying 'The Sims: Busting Out' on the XBOX way back when(My PC was terrible, what can I say). I kinda want to play a Sims game again. I don't really know what the best option is for me, really, if I wanted to get a Sims game. Bloodly fucked around with this message at 11:29 on Dec 14, 2014 |
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Dec 14, 2014 05:03
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Bloodly posted:This is...an odd question. I don't really think there's a wrong way of going about this. If you want a buttload of content (which some may consider overwhelming, especially because you're a bit behind on the series) The Sims 3 is a great place to start. I'd probably wait out for a Christmas sale so you can snag a healthy amount of expansion packs for cheap. Otherwise get TS4 (which has no current expansion content yet) but is allegedly snappy and quick performance wise. I'd probably go with TS4 personally speaking. But not having played 4 I can't give you a fair answer. Either option you're going to see a huge explosion of features over Busting Out, which was a really really good game and something I'm kid of nostalgic for now.
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Dec 14, 2014 06:22
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I would go with Sims 4. It runs well, and there should be an expansion out by the time you get bored with it.
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Dec 14, 2014 11:22
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Sims 4 just has a bunch of quality-of-life improvements over the previous games, I can never go back now.
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Dec 14, 2014 11:41
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TSims 3 remains pretty expensive - the Starting Pack is honestly a bad deal (you only get one expansion, basically, and it's not even one of the great ones, imho) and it costs the same as TS4. So unless you are willing to buy more expansions, I'd recommend TS4. Also buying TS4 now ensures that you won't have to buy it later once new expansions start coming out.
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Dec 14, 2014 11:49
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All I have is the base Sims 3 game. I was hoping the release of Sims 4 would mean I'd be able to pick up a bundle of expansions on the cheap, but that hasn't happened yet. Do any of them improve the game enough to make it worthwhile to continue waiting on this hypothetical sale someday, or should I just jump ship and grab 4? It's weird there hasn't been more discussion about it here. I heard they'd removed create-a-style and so was just like 'meh I'll wait until I read an LP or enough hilarious stories on the forum before I buy' but then that never happened.
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Dec 14, 2014 18:56
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Next time TS4 goes on sale, all the expansions will probably get cut to $10-$20, but it's up to you to decide if you want mountains of content or a new actually functional game. Supernatural, Ambitions, University, and Into the Future or World Adventures are probably the ones that make the most changes to base gameplay if you want to stick with TS3.
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Dec 14, 2014 19:03
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I'd say wait for some kind of sale for Sims 3, with a couple expansions packs you'll have 10 times the game Sims 4 is now, while Sims 4 is polished it really needs at least a couple of expansions before I'd recommend it. By the time you get tired of Sims 3, they'll probably exist then, too! Of course which is get is wholly dependent on taste. Ambitions is probably the most worthwhile, I really like World Adventures but it's really buggy, Seasons adds nice weather and I'm pretty sure that's the one that adds holiday events around town. Nothing is as good as Open for Business for Sims 2 so maybe just pass out entirely.  I still have fun with the Sims 3 even if it's issues are Also all the Sims 4 discussion you were looking for was happening in the Sims 3 thread! Blame the lizard for being lazy or something
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Dec 14, 2014 19:10
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Zoe posted:All I have is the base Sims 3 game. I was hoping the release of Sims 4 would mean I'd be able to pick up a bundle of expansions on the cheap, but that hasn't happened yet. Do any of them improve the game enough to make it worthwhile to continue waiting on this hypothetical sale someday, or should I just jump ship and grab 4? There was The Sweatbox on the end of the Sims 3 thread (http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3525882&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=148#post435419382). But yeah I want more. mycot fucked around with this message at 23:12 on Dec 14, 2014 |
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Dec 14, 2014 19:11
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 15:46 |
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The Supernatural is definitely a must have, it adds a number of life states that are quite unique in that they open up whole new game mechanics, unlike the lame vampire state in Night Life (the expansion you get with the Starting Pack). I haven't bought the futuristic expansion yet, but from what I've seen it adds a ton of new sleek looking items, and a whole new robot making gimmick.
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Dec 15, 2014 01:40
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