Sims 3

omgwtfbbq I am pumped!!!

The system requirements for the sims 3 has been released and it's not as steep as one might expect

XP (Service Pack 2)
Processor: Pentium IV 2.0 GHz / Athlon XP 2000+
Memory: 1 GB
Graphics: GeForce FX 5900 / Radeon 9500
Graphics: Ram 128 MB
Vista (Service Pack 1)
Processor: Pentium IV 2.4 GHz / Athlon XP 2400+
Memory: 1.5 GB
Graphics: GeForce FX 5900 / Radeon 9500
Graphics Ram: 128 MB

Laptop

XP (Service Pack 2)
Processor: Pentium IV 2.4 GHz / Athlon XP 2400+
Memory: 1.5 GB
Graphics GeForce: Go 6200 / Radeon mobile 9600
Graphics Ram: 128 MB
Vista (Service Pack 1)
Processor: Pentium: IV 2.4 GHz / Athlon XP 2400+
Memory: 2.0 GB
Graphics: GeForce Go 6200 / Radeon mobile 9600
Graphics: 128 MB

While my computer is a PC with XP sp2 I just meet the requirements. I'm going to buy a stick of 2gb ram and a "new" 256 mb video card which will cost about 30$ each plus game. So that will cost me like 120$ overall. Well worth it though as my first plan was a new computer for 1500$.

I am soooo excited for that game!!!

This was originally the end of my last post but I got so excited I decide to go on about features.

They have redone the create a Sim. You get a lot more control over your sims appearance. I mean sims can be fat I don't just mean that pudge in the sims 3 but actually fat. The weight is distributed more properly instead of the way they had it in the sims 3; 2 body types stick and pear. The features seem a little bit easier to manipulate. I always found the create-a-sim daunting in the sims 2. I mean you could tweak things a lot but you never could escape from more than like 4 face feelings. My favourite was how often sims could wind up with jowls. In this one, faces seem to be more unique.

Another cool feature is the material editor. If you have played MySims it is more like that. Anything can have any material. Got a redneck family that loves urban camo? why not paint all their furniture the same colour as their shirts so it will work? Wanna put that nice red colour on the couch so that it matches the walls? Go ahead. That is very exciting for customization. Also They have introduced a lot of "clutter" objects. Things that don't actually do anything but can be placed to make a room seem more real. Like toilet paper dispensers etc.

One of the features I am most looking forward to is the trait system. They have done away with personality bars and instead have given you a pool of 60+ traits in which you will give your sims 5. This makes a lot of sense because no one describes themselves as 2 bars neat but instead they will say they are sloppy or clean if they are in the middle they won't mention it. They actually searched personal ads to see how real people describe themselves.

Another cool thing is the abolishment of load times. One of my big gripes about the sims 2 was that I always felt as if I wasn't getting the full worth of the expansion packs due to the fact that I was hesitant to leave my lot because it would take a good 3-6 minutes to get downtown. While I suppose this is truer to reality lol it does make for some boredom. So I would prefer to stick around at home with my sims doing their thing. No they have made it seamless. Wanna go for a walk well lets go visit the neighbors.

Rose is hesitant about this next change but I think it will be cool. Your sims are a lot more autonomous. So that means their basic needs will require less work then before. On one hand it does make me fear that it will lose that "Sims" feel but on the other hand I hated having more than 2 sims in a household (omg don't get me started on the well practiced ballet that 2 parents a child and surprise twins takes to all keep from pooping themselves.) So I'm thinking it might be more fun to have a big household.

The focus seems to be more on telling your sims story rather than living their life day to day. This I feel will result in a more driven gameplay as I think most people made up stories and quirks for their sims. I mean while no sims really understood what I had set aside for them I knew where they were eventually going to wind up. The sims 3 is going to bring that story element more the the forefront of the gameplay.

Speaking of telling stories. I have not seen the feature but I have heard it discussed. The sims 3 will have a much more robust video recording/editing feature. Apparantly it will be stronger that you will be able to record edit and create sim videos without having to leave the sim 3. How well this works remains to be seen but I for one am pumped to make stupid music videos :D.

To get you all in the Sim mood here is a music video made with the sims 2