strangetomato | Sims talk: Free Time

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Sims talk: Free Time

I really want to chat about the Free Time EP. I'm getting really excited about it, but I definitely won't be installing it until I see if there are any potential issues with it, and the first patch is released (since we all know that there will be one). So, if you don't mind some spoilers, let's chat.

I found this page, and it gives a lot of detail about the new features. I've already read about a lot of these things, but a couple of "news to me" things did catch my eye. Especially this part:

Secondary Aspiration

One of the options that players will more enjoy will be for sure the possibility to choose a secondary aspiration. In this way our Sims will have an even more complex and realistic personality. To set a secondary aspiration you just need to click on Aspiration Benefits icon and choose the aspiration you like, Grilled Cheese aspiration included.

*squeals with delight*

Do you have any idea how excited I am by that? There are so many characters in Strangetown that should have this, in my mind. I love, love, LOVE how this will make them more complex. And it's a way to have them change over time, while not changing their basic aspiration (which I don't plan to do with the Maxis premades).

The new creature is a genie, like in Sims 1. This doesn't excite me all that much. He's not even playable, which seems unfair. Shouldn't he just be an NPC? And didn't they already do the wishing well? *sigh* I really wanted another playable creature with breedable genetic qualities! They just haven't been able to come close to doing anything as good the aliens, have they? Not even close.

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I'm itching for this one, too. (true confession, I just ordered the prima guide--I even paid for shipping, well, I couldn't get freebie shipping since I didn't spend enough).

But anyway. . .

I've been sniffing around the threads at MATY (since the sims 2 comm is not giving me any details I can USE--come one people!) and I saw this:

Children can use the toddler toy (table?) with toddlers. OOOh, that excites me.

You can see baby's needs (so no more having to make them selectable--though I never did that, if they're crying it's only because of three things, figure it out, right?)

Sims can sing to babies/toddlers (not sure on that) and teach them lullabys etc. Oooh, so effing cute.

And there was something (I'm confused on this, so I might be wrong) sims can "get better" at their aspiration (maybe that's the secondary aspriation thing) and they get perks as they "get better" at their aspiration (or perhaps that was their hobby?). Again, the conversation was weak on that so. . .

All the kid/toddler/baby stuff has me wiggling.

I really want this expansion (even with my secur rom fears). I wouldn't get it until after I finish off Peculiar Book 1, though. That would be the best time to try out new stuff (and have to go without inSim/SimPE--might wait for inSim if it looks like it will update quickly--I hardly use simPE anymore and could go on a cloning spree before having to go without it).

I haven't read about any major bugs yet, either. Though I know they're there. People were reporting annoyances (like stuck hobby objects and the "hobby guy"--sounds like he's akin to the garden club woman--hand delivering an announcement and being dumb) but those can easily (and quickly) be addressed by the MATY folks.

I'm still worried about secur rom, though. I've read so much stuff (horror stories from BV) that I can't even figure it all out anymore. But if FT is relatively bug free (and even half as interesting as it seems) I'll risk it.

What I still want to know is: Will the "more" likes/dislikes from BV be included?

OH (yeah, I'm rambling, sorry) NEW CAREERS!!! (I just made a sim of my wife and he could give up his culinary career for architecture, though to hear him bitch about his real life job, maybe his sim self is better off in the kitchen!)

There seems to be way more interaction between the different age groups, which is so great. I'm very excited about that.

I saw something about "getting better" at the aspirations. It does apply to their normal aspiration, and it's sort of like the business perks. For example, a romance sim can unlock things that make their hygiene decay more slowly or give them an extra chemistry boost. It sounds cool.

New careers are exciting too. (And I didn't know that your wife is an architect. That's cool.)

I'm willing to risk it for this EP too. It seems to be really worth it. I'll give it at least a week to be safe.

I do think I will be lost without InSIm, though, for the story. Does that usually update quickly? If not, I may have to do a couple of chapters where the characters just take up new hobbies. (No. I refuse to have that happen. There will be no "look at my new EP" chapters in Strangetown.)

Ooh, the "getting better" is like business perks. I'm just starting to really explore those and some of them are GREAT. I really should give OFB more attention, it gets shafted as a bad EP but it's really one of the best.

I read that for family aspirations, you get things like "comfort" benefits and the higher benefit is increased twin chance (I see that as being potentially borked, like how the cheesecake is auto twins not just slightly increased odds).

(yup, my wife's an architect--almost licensed, too--two more tests to take and pass and then he's an Architect--which means it's time to hit the boss up for a raise)

I think I can hold out about a month before I cave and get FT. The prima guide will help tide me over. A month is plenty of time to get Peculiar to a good break point (and then launch into Top Model!)

I'd be pretty stuck without inSim, too. I use it all the time now (my sims haven't gone shopping in so long--that pile of clothes is so much easier). I think with BV it did update quickly. But with FT having the "second string aspiration" it might make more work to update. BUT, inSim is basically just a way to access debug mode, so maybe it won't take longer. (simPe takes forever since it's a stand alone item--I could live without it for a while)

OOH, my amazon guide should get here by the weekend. Maybe by then someone will post some pics from the new EP. There's suppposed to be lots of new stuff (besides the ep specific things, that is).

Random added on thought: I wonder if there will be any alien pollinator weirdness. I know that's probably not going to happen but there was a point (at nightlife, I think) where there were two pollinators, so products of abduction could be impregnanted. I guess I'm hoping that happens again. If FT is the last EP, it could be maxis planned to have two PT's all along and it just got messed up (eaxis mess up?) along the way (like when people "discover" secret outfits then two expansions later we see they're just new career clothes).

I've never understood why people dislike OFB. It adds a really unique extra feature to the game. I suppose it might be how your game begins to revolve solely around the business, but it's so good for gameplay varied (and not so different from going to work)

I read that twins thing too. An increase in chance would be interesting, if you want to be surprised. I like the surprise. I've had so few random twins lately. In my long gone Pleasantview, almost everyone had twins. Don Lothario must carry the "twin gene", or something (yeah, most of the babies were his. *snicker*). I'm sort of hoping that Circe might have twins. I'm going to go pop her kid out soon.

I love that InSIM pile of clothes! You still have to buy the clothes, but you don't have to deal with loading the community lot to do it. It's such a lifesaver. I can't live without InSIM now that I'm hooked on it. Especially not for the story.

Pollinator changes would be cool. They should have given us 4 pollinators, just like the default replacement set does. There needs to be more variety in genetics. Don't they realize how many people love the aliens?

They really might have done something with it for this EP. Remember all the focus on the telescope in the trailer? One of the hobbies is science, right? Hmmm...

Butting in real quick (getting FreeTime todaaaay! Todaaaay! Unless Gamestop decides to be a meanie to me), but mas oui, one of the FreeTime perks is directly alien related. To be precise, one of the top ones for Knowledge Sims is automatic abduction. :D I think the description was something along the lines of the Sim knowing how to send out a signal to attract any randomly passing by UFOs that happen to be in the area, something like that. You can see it for about 0.5 seconds in the Freetime Designer walkthrough on the main site.

Nice. I love it. Is there anything different about it, though? Or is it just an instant abduction? I would love there to be a different sort of animation. I could REALLY use that in my story.

There's no information on if there's a new animation, BUT... You can apparently use either telescope with it! That's kinda cool. :D

Re: Look at my EP chapters.

You could save that for your metafictional thing. Then you could get it out of your system but it's not really in the story. Something funny like "Ripp enjoys. . .(list hobbies, show doing, pic spam, make everyone want the ep!)"

With FT it should be easy to just work the new stuff into the story casually. Not like Seasons where all the sudden they have weather.

Yeah, that's a good idea. (But Ripp's "hobbies" aren't included in this EP. *snicker*)

It is a good EP for working it in slowly. My first plan is to get Buck a sewing machine. That's going to be fun.

The sewing sounds really interactive too, which is very cool. You can select and combine different elements and patterns/colours to make different things. Or so they say... (I need more info on that. And pics.)

I really want the sewing to be more than just access to the clothing buy screen. And I'd love it if it could "mess up" like the makeover chair. Like you'd get randomly paired patterns that would rival the bad transition outfits! (or better, you could make an "evil" teddy bear like the "evil" jack in the box and it would scare little kids!).

I'm really looking forward to the toddler/child stuff what with all the twin hatchlings I have on the cusp of toddlerhood. They can play together! (I hope they can "fight" too, like fighting over baby bottles).

I need pics, too. But even then, I'm always disappointed because the person posting pics never focuses on what I want to see (they show all the stupid hair dos or something).

I read something that made it seem more customizable that just the clothing buy screen. I really, really hope it will be like that, and allow for mess-ups. If it's like real sewing, then it should have them. *snicker* I've made some awful stuff.

I'm going to go pic hunting. (I agree. Who really cares that much about the stupid hats? They're funny, but I'm dying to see something good.)

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Sims talk: Free Time

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