Slashdot Mirror
The Sims 2 Announced
An anonymous reader writes "Electronic Arts today announced that The Sims 2, the next generation of the #1 PC game of all time, is in development." Seems like the new 'unique selling point' for the sequel is "the.. addition of genetics, with the DNA of Sims passed down through generations", but there's a whole heap of other new bells and whistles. The game will be previewed properly at E3, and the franchise has now sold over 24 million units as a whole.
Until it has a first person shooter mode, and that is the main way it is played, count me out.
I mean, wasn't half the fandom surrounding The Sims based on recreating celebs or X-Men and stuff? Do we really want to take the time and energy to make Sailor Moon in The Sims and then have her get old and fat and sit around complaining about taxes until she croaks, then we get her mutant pink haired offspring running around?
More seriously, it's a bit like the problem with the sim-kids in the first game. You have no control over them beyond their name, so if you're trying to assemble a house of people from your own imagination rather than from a host of random 'DNA' variables, you're out of luck.
But hey, what do I know? Clearly Maxis understands why The Sims are fun better than me. Look at how great TSO is! ...right.
I played the first one for a couple of days straight when it was just hot and fresh and were really impressed. It was fun in a strange way and I enjoyed creatinge and setting up this little family .. but after a while things just got boring and you kinda could anticipate what was going to happen .. I hope they make each experience more unique and probably a bit more evolving than the first edition, but sure, the "simplicity" (i'm not calling it a simple game, that would be plain wrong) may have been the reason why it has sold so well and attracted so many non-regular gamers.
:-)
There's a good chance that this DNA-feature will make the sims a better, lasting game which kinda never stops and still evolves.. we'll see.
Looking forward to the E3, at least.
mats
One man's ceiling is another man's floor.
E3 starts up next week, 13-16 I believe.
http://www.e3expo.com/
Attention deficit disorder is a complicated issue, spanning several major... HEY LET'S GO RIDE BIKES!
I'd think it would suck to realize that the virtual people on your computer lead more interesting lives than you do. I'm all for escapism and stuff, but the seemingly addictive nature of this game for a lot of people is kind of creepy.
It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds. - Captain Hammer
sounds like SimHitler- i don't want any part of that action.
"Life is great; without it, you'd be dead." -Harmony Korine
Remember the game "Creatures" from a few years ago? They had kinda their own DNA and would take on traits from their parents.
I heard that Sims 2 was going to have full-immersion real-time rendering of a fairly complex physics model including lighting (ie, the ability to knock lights around and such, which would change the way the scene was drawn). I also heard that it would include not only some new never-before-seen haptic control devices and some new tactile feedback add-ons.
The best part is that this has already been released.
IT'S CALLED YOUR ACTUAL FUCKING LIFE. Go outside. Play with your kid or your dog for fucks sake. Ride a bike. Read a book. Wow! Look at those specular effects! Ooo! Ahhh!
I understand games where you get to be something else. But a game where you get to be a mundane human doing mundane things? Have you all gone positively fucking mad?
My
Limekiller
If you don't like the game, don't play it. Sheesh!
Wil Wright's games would come full circle if a Sim could spend a few hours playing a tiny version of Pinball Construction Set...
And I'd guess that's why they've been so popular. At least with my Mother I think that's true. :-)
Personally, I hope the Maxis folks optimize the loading of objects/the startup procedure. Since my mom has downloaded so many objects for the game she'll start it up and then go do something else while it loads. They've had plenty of expansion packs to try and do something about that, but I haven't seen much of a change.
They'll think I've lost control again and leave it all to evolution. -- Supreme Being, Time Bandits
Quite sad really.
http://www.remix.net/
Inbred Country Hick sims.
GPL'd web-based tradewars themed space game
does a black hole open up and swallow your house if you look at games.slashdot.org under a blacklight? There ought'a be a warning somewhere....
Shut up Twirlirp, no one cares.
I Hope they don't use the same developers that they used for The Sims Online. The Sims online is so boring and has no new content, not to mention the Lack of content. And to top it all off, the founding players (beta testers) are quiting and refusing to buy any more maxis stuff. Its sad to see this happening.
I can't wait for TheSims 3, the version where people have to actually get off their fat asses and go outside to interact with living human beings...
(Related issue: Sims have no ability to negotiate for shared resources. You can have major deadlock just from two Sims trying to cross each others paths. Never mind the major problems you have when a bunch of hungry Sims all try to grab a plate and find a seat at once. ("There's an empty chair! Wait, now it's occupied. There's an empty chair! Wait, now it's occupied. There's an empty chair...") Which is kind of disturbing in a real-time game! It's probably not a coincidence that the software itself seems to have a lot of race conditions. Has anybody at Maxis heard of the Dining Philosophers?)
So why is the game so popular? I think people just enjoy creating imaginary people and building houses for them. If you're artistically inclined (I'm not) that must be a lot of fun. But as a simulation, the game is a total failure. Which leaves me with low expectations for "DNA".
Which entertainment/mass market online site/tv/newspaper put this at the top of their greatest games of all time list?
Maybe I'll even make Aristos and start my own little Radiance War.
read Catherine Asaro.
I think they should give The Sims 2 (for free, of course) to people that have gone out and spent their hard-earned money on the original game, all 5 (soon to be 6) expansion sets, and played for a couple months with The Sims Online. If you figure the original game cost $50 when it came out, plus the $30 per add-on, that's $200. Then you add in the cost of The Sims Online (another $50), and $10 for one month (we'll be conservative), we're up to $260 for one franchise that's really only had ONE game. Is it REALLY too much to ask that we get a $50 rebate or something?
"It's better to have a gun and not need it than need a gun and not have it." ~ Christian Slater, True Romance
This game is STILL the electronic equivelant of watching grass grow. Dolemite ________________
Save the World! Use a Quote!
DNA? Genetic traits? So this next game is going to be X-rated?
Okay, probably not. But it's a thought.
----- Wtcher Dragon, UDIC
Morpheus: The Sims is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around. What do you see. Business men, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a Sim, and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to quit the program. And many of them are so inert, so hopelessly dependent on the Sims that they will fight to protect it. Were you listening to me Neo, or were you looking at the Sim in the red dress?
- Danny