Sims talk: Free Time

[strangetomato]

I've been pretty excited about this expansion pack since I first heard it mentioned as a possibility. I'm sure that you've noticed that I fully enjoy the leisure activities already available in the game, and these things are especially great for storytelling. More hobbies means more possibilities for creating unique character details.

These are the things that I'm really looking forward to:

- The sewing machine! 
- More things to cook.
- The messy art supplies on the desk.
- An actual object where toddlers can interact.
- Some really nice clothing - sweater vest and cardigans.
- Don't Wake the Llama game.

Have you watched the teaser video on the TheSims2.com? There is a little Grunt brothers cameo appearance in it, about 3/4 of the way through. Well, not really, but there are three guys working on a car together, and they have the same hairstyles (in the same colours) that the Grunts do (well, the "Buck" has the hair that I put on him, but close enough). You can see it here.

The new arts and craft objects really excite me the most. My Buck Grunt really NEEDS a sewing machine, and you can bet your ass that he'll be getting one as soon as it's possible. He'll be sewing up some mighty fine curtains. The sports thing, while less exciting to me as a person, will make it possible for Johnny to be into sports a little more than just "in theory". And maybe we'll see him coaxing his less athletic friends into playing with him, despite their protests.

It's kind of funny that I'm already planning how I'll use this EP, since I haven't even installed Bon Voyage yet, even though I do own it. Why am I so reluctant about it? I just have a bad vibe from that EP. Is it just me? I do really want to have some of the details, but maybe not others. I want to get those massage tables really badly, and the sauna (sauna woohoo - awww, yeah!), but I don't want vacation obsession to infect the game, and I'll miss the honeymoon limo. Destination weddings, on the other hand, would be nice. I'll have a few weddings coming up (not exactly soon, but still). Why am I such a wuss about BV? I'll be eating up Free Time as soon as it hits the shelves.

How do you feel about Free Time? Do you have (or plan to get) Bon Voyage?

Comments

[madame-ugly.livejournal.com]

I'm still not interested in Bon Voyage. My big beef is the whole secur-rom thing. I'm sure I'm pre-worrying about something that probably wouldn't even affect me, but that's just the way I am. The only thing about BV that I wish I had was "new" turn ons/offs (like being turned on by unemployment, that cracks me up). I'd like to have it for the animations, too (especially if you can do "dirty" things with the massage animations--my whore house could use that). I was interested in Big Foot too, until I realized you couldn't have your sims marry/breed with him (and when I saw a snap of him I was mighty disappointed--just not what I had expected).

BV seems VERY buggy. And it's BAD bugs, like NPC's spawning at game destroying levels (there's a fix for that at MATY) and vacation sites just not working correctly. And quite frankly, a lot of my sims don't even have jobs, so what do they need to take a vacation from?

I also avoided BV because of the SimPE thing. But now that I have inSim (and use it to adjust ages) I could probably live without SimPE (though I'd have to go on a cloning binge lest I want someone and not be able to have them).

I agree with you on the Free Time interest. I think FT will make Open for Business that much more fun. Sims could really outfit their own stores with handmade stuff (though the thought of all those teddy bears makes me gag). But I want to see how buggy it is before I get too excited. MATY has a thread where people can make predictions on what they think will be messed up with FT. The safe bet is the whole car repair thing will be effed up and bird watching/birds will cause lag like the bug houses/water balloon fighting do.

I'm also still leery of the whole secur-rom thing. But I'd be willing to risk it for FT (after FT has some MATY fixes and inSim is updated).

I won't install any new expansions if I can't have inSim. I'd like to have simPE, too, but like I said, I can work without it. I also won't install a new expansion without knowing the major bugs and have their fixes/work arounds ready should I encounter them.

(I did like the video, especially the Grunt car repair part. But the video just makes me wonder how much of the cool stuff will either be "oh, we didn't have time to get to that" or just plain broken)

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was that NPC bug that really turned me off from Bon Voyage. I have H&M, so I supposedly already have Secur-Rom (and it came with Teen Style too), but I think it maybe doesn't cause the same problems until you launch through BV. I was hoping they would patch BV again, and then maybe I would consider installing it. They can't have all the bugs out yet.

I always wait a long time before installing a new pack, but it will be hard to wait with Free Time. I don't want to be a bug tester (unless someone wants to pay me to do it). I'd rather sit back and let others do it, and then download the patch.

They've updated SimPE for Bon Voyage now, I believe. Does InSIM work with BV?

I want those turn on and turn offs too. Really badly. It would make it more interesting. And the massage tables really send out a siren song for me. I was thinking that one of my romance-minded ladies (like maybe Bella) could work at one of "those" types of massage parlors.

Big foot doesn't interest me at all. He never did. For one thing, the werewolf is already a big hairy beast, and the lack of possible interactions with him is lame. As is the fact that there are only male bigfoots. How is he any better than an NPC? They should have included something better, like centaurs or something (dirty, dirty centaurs).

Not feeling the teddy bears? *snicker* I wish they had included cooler handmade toys (and maybe not just the same mesh recloured). They seem to have no problem including trendy clothing in the game, so why not the craze for oddball stuffies? I also wanted knitting, and it would have tied nicely into Seasons. I think I read somewhere that they can sew new clothing at the machine (and curtains), so that's cool. I like the quilt too. It would be nice if it became available as a recolour of the bedspread after you made it, as well as a wall hanging (really, how many quilts actually end up on the wall?).

Doesn't that look like the Grunts? Not if you look closely at the faces, but it's still funny. All happily working on that car together. Then the "Ripp" even uses it to pick up a lady.

[saunasims.livejournal.com]

I've got BV and I've only found one SecuRom issue myself: it lags at startup. On the other hand, once it actually gets going and loading it's faster than it was before, so I think in the end for me it's about the same. Both SimPE and Insim are updated for it, by the way, as is Inteen. Afaik the Maxis patch takes care of the endless respawning of Tour Guides etc that they had before, too. I recommend Bon Voyage. I don't recommend it highly-above-all-others like I do with Seasons and Nightlife, but I think it's a solid EP that's got an undeservedly bad rep. I'd say it's neck to neck with OFB. Especially if you get the player-made fixes that makes the bellhop and housecleaner act like they should rather than like they were lobotomized. ;)
The massage tables are made of awesome. Since I'm mostly playing the Legacy challenge right now I've been focusing on the extra-energy boost that the acupuncture provides, but the others are all very cute. And I got a thingie from SimWardrobe that can have me run a business offering massages if I want to! :D
Finally, I am so getting Free Time. Violin playing! I hope there're more instruments to be found along with that. But. Violins! <3 I'm also going to get that very last stuff pack that's rumored, the Kitchen and Bath stuff one? The name cracks me up. It's like Maxis ran out of ideas, sort of like calling Pets Pets.

[saunasims.livejournal.com]

Oh, and re: new life form, I'm hoping for a mummy or a Frankenstein's monster. That'd both fit with the crafting (sort of) and it'd complete the classic monster line up they've got.
I suspect we'll see fairies/a fairy, though. As I recall back when they were doing their big poll, that was the most popular choice.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

My game has lagged at startup for a while now. It just pauses for several minutes at the title screen. There are no issues once in the game. Now I wonder if this started back when I installed H&M stuff? Hmmm...

I wasn't even thinking about the fact that the massage tables gave benefits! That's very cool. I'd want them for the animation alone.

Kitchen and Bath stuff? That can't be confirmed, right? It sounds like a rumour to me. I would be very curious to see how they could possibly find enough stuff on that theme to make a whole EP, though I do enjoy both kitchens and baths, and my head is already concocting a list of things I would love to see - like tea in the kitchen (the Far East tea ceremony thing is nice, but my English heritage is crying out for a nice big pot of tea on the counter). Tea is the solution to every problem.

I just wish that they'd add more social interactions to the game, regardless of the theme of the EP. That's what I REALLY want. Could we possibly get a new type of kiss or something? Or maybe a new hug? "Leap into arms" isn't even really a hug, so there are really only three there.

[aledstrange.livejournal.com]

I'm impatiently waiting for Free Time! :)
Already love the idea of sports tho I'm personally not much into it, after watching the preview I can't stop imagining Johnny playing basketball and getting a Strangetown soccer team together! LOL! I certainly loooove the Art and Crafts things. Can't wait for that! My Buck is also an artist and I'm planing a huge studio for him! Sweet! It seams to have soo much stuff on it! I'm counting the days ....
I got BV some time ago, first thing sent everyone on vacations. Its fun, but mostly love it for the couple of features that included in to the main game like 'walking to walk' (that is the best feature so far, imo!) and beach lots! .. beach lots are amazing. Love the tents too (tho those can be risky :P )

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I'm going to love deciding on how to use all of the hobbies for my characters.

Your Buck is an artist too? That's great. He just seems like that type to me - a quiet, introspective artist. One that actually draws or paints, instead of making big showy conceptual works.

How are the tents in BV risky?

[isleofthyme.livejournal.com]

I understand your reluctance to install BV, I had to reinstall my system after I installed BV. Most unpleasant. I followed the instructions at MATY and my system is securom free. So I am going to wait until installing FreeTime, that's for sure.

But there are some great new additions to this pack. I am most excited about judging cooking contests. I think there is a dance contest too?

Thing is, I can't help feeling that these things should have been added in the BASE game, not over three years out. Sigh...EA sucks.

As to BV, I love the new trees. They really made Thyme so beautiful. Excellent in the backgrounds of my stories. I have not taken anyone on a vacation yet, and won't be for many months. The massage table is also a nice addition.

:-)

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

It seems like it's always a good idea to wait a little. I was very cautious about Seasons too, and I only just installed it before starting on Strangetown, Here We Come. Initially, I wasn't all that excited about the weather. I missed the perpetual sunshine of the sim world, but I'm getting used to it, and I do like the rain when it comes at a convenient time for the story.

I like those contests that seem to come in Free Time too. A dance competition would be cool (it seems to be a smustle contest). I'll have to get Johnny, Ripp, and Ophelia to keep practicing. They'll be unbeatable by the time I get the EP.

I didn't even know anything about new trees! That's cool. I'd love to see more types of flowers added to the game too.

[spud14.livejournal.com]

The one thing that I absolutely adore about BV is that it stops people from calling you at 4 PM to ask if you've been ABDUCTEDDDDDD ZOMG.

And I cannot wait for Free Time. I never really thought about the fact that Sims have pretty boring lives right now, really.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Oh, does it stop the annoying friends (or, as I call them, Ripp's booty calls) from calling? I have that hack that keeps them on the phone to chat instead of complaining about not hearing from you, so it doesn't bother me too much.

The sims don't have completely boring lives, but they could always use more options. It would be great to have so much variety that no two sims had the same interests and hobbies.

[pixelcurious.livejournal.com]

I'm still undecided about both Seasons and Bon Voyage. But Free Time does look really cool for me. And Aspyr is getting much better about porting the EPs for Macs in a timely fashion, so I might not have to wait for months. (The stuff packs are another story -- I'm waiting impatiently for the H&M stuff pack!)

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I enjoy Seasons, but I'm not as in love with it as many people seem to be. I'd never rate it more highly than University, for example, but I may be biased because of the instruments and the bubble blower - I love all those "college life" details (I don't even find that going through university takes too long). I have just started to get into the gardening in Seasons and I do really like that. The weather had to grow on me.

I do have some interest in Bon Voyage, like I said, but not nearly as much as Free Time. I'm really looking forward to it.

I love H&M stuff. The vast majority of the clothes I use are from that pack, or are recolours or edits of it. Johnny, Ripp, Ophelia, Tank, Jayne, and Stella all wear something that is connected to that SP in some way, so I'm pretty attached to it.

[redqueenofevil.livejournal.com]

I think there's actually two Grunt scenes in there. The car scene, but just before, three similar looking boys on the train set.

I'm hoping HOPING that with the sewing and music making, it will have some traits found in games like Animal Crossing- where you can design your own patterns, or melodies. How awesome would that be? I mean, it's one thing to be able to craft, but it's another to be able to have that option (just like with the paint option.

And yeah, I'm excited. I was really mad at EA for the sucky-rom (as I call it) ordeal, not that what they had before was good, but still. As it is, my game crashes a lot now, and I can't really take my sims downtown anymore, let alone to in-town lots. Is it Secu-rom that's to blame? It's possible. I still haven't found what's causing the crash.

Re: BV, it has some great things going for it. However, the bugs outweigh the good, unless you're a fan of installing hacks. I'd kept my game hack free until BV, and now, there's no choice. I haven't set up a massage parlour community lot yet, but I have set up a local beach, and a couple of other things. It's nice. But trust me- you'll need those hacks if you get BV.

Sorry to ramble.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I think that's because those are the same sims, just grown up in the next scene.

Yeah, having some ability to customize would be great, but I really can't see that happening. It seems like it might be too complicated on top of everything else already in the game, but you never know...

Which hacks would you consider necessary for Bon Voyage? I don't mind hacks, but I try to keep them to a minimum.

There's no shame in being a rambler around here. ;)

[ikichi.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty excited about FT, even though I'm pretty sure my system as is can't run it. I've been wanting to make more craftables for AGES, and yay for toddler stuff.

I mostly want BV for the massage tables and the furnishings. I don't really care about going on trips, but if I update my system enough for it, I'm sure I'd have less lag in other lots. Community lot weddings seem less awesome than we expected. The biggest draw though is more turn on/offs (how come they cam be attracted to vamps but not servos and werewolves?! I get why no aliens unless they're (sorta) included in eye color.) And I want more official careers- but alas, no seasons.

I'm not worried about Secru-Rom yet, as it still seems to be a PC only issue. But having pets has lagged the daylights out of my game. ):

[cindyanne1.livejournal.com]

Yes, another one who's excited about FT here! I know my kids can't wait! My son loves the ant farm in the previews!

I can so see the Grunts all working on a car together!

And yes... what *will* the new alternative life form be? There's been one in every EP... surely this one will be no different. But what ALF would "go" with Free Time??? Hmmmmm... **ponders**

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that ant farm seems really cute too.

The funny thing is, I really can't see the Grunt brothers doing that, at least the way I've interpreted them. Well, maybe Tank would, but I'm not even really sold on that. My Buck certainly wouldn't do that, and Ripp and Tank would hardly work on a project like that together. It was like their crazy world doppelgängers, at least for me. I'm sure they just made that one guy look something like Ripp because most players seem to agree that he's attractive for a sim. Though, I think that Don Lothario would have been equally well-received, and would have been more appropriate for "pimping his ride".

I don't really have any ideas on the "creature" either. Anything would be better than Big Foot, I figure.

[simgarooop.livejournal.com]

I usually have to wait a long time to try a new EP. For some reason, they take AGES to come out in my country, while it's easier to find the SP's.

I recently went to the US and finally got my own copy of Seasons, so I was able to ditch the No-CD patch I had to install to run my borrowed version of Seasons (from a friend). While I was at the store, I also got Glamour Life (and erased all the custom furniture, so I'm gonna use only Maxis stuff in my houses from now on) and took a long glance at Bon Voyage.

In the end, I didn't buy it. I didn't like Vacations very much in the Sims 1 days and the whole Sucku-Rom drama really turned me off getting this EP. My computer is getting old and I don't want to damage it with a Sims Game. Plus I've read there are a million bugs and erros, so in the end I prefer to save disk space and memory for Free Time.

The new turn-ons, the community lot Weddings and the option to walk to them sounded pretty neat, though.

I'm really excited by Free Time, though. There are a ton of rumors around the Net, from new careers (and if they are true I'm already sold with the Psychology one), crystal walls, spiral stairs, Medusa as the new "creature" and even a gender-bending machine! I think those are just hoaxes, though.

But I'm also interested in the new hobbies, the toddler-interactions and in general, more stuff to do for toddlers, kids and elders. And I agree they'll give more options for storytelling.

And yup, I think the Grunts (or their clones) are in the trailer. The kid with the train set that grows up to fix a car looks a lot like Ripp.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

After you said that about your country, I checked your profile, and I had no idea that you were in Mexico. It amazes me how spread around the world everyone on here is. We have quite a few latitudes separating us! I'm now envying how long your days must be (or, at least, how consistent the length of the days would be). It's gets dark at 5:00 pm right now, and that really does something terrible to the mind.

I'm the same way that you were about Bon Voyage, though I was given a copy. I was very tempted to install it for certain reasons, like I mentioned, but all the bugs and the drama over Secur-Rom have turned me off, even if it's mostly supposed to be fixed now.

New careers? That's always a good thing. I'd love to see a community service type career, where you work for non-profit organizations, and things like that, since I fall into that general realm of employment. I could probably think of other careers that I would like too, but not right off the top of my head.

A gorgon would be pretty cool as the new creature, if that's true.

I'm especially interested in a gender-bending machine, if by that you mean something that would switch the sex of the sim (I always make a distinction between gender and sex). That could be very interesting indeed, but might it be too risque for them?

I agree. Lots of benefits for storytellers with this new EP. It should be very interesting.

The Grunt clone of Ripp in that video is more like a clone than the other two. He has a similar nose and chin, but he seems a little broader and butchier to me. He's not quite as gaunt looking as the real Ripp.

[dothesmustle.livejournal.com]

I recently got BV and I don't exactly have issues with it. Sims rarely roll wants to go on vacations. And I think the whole "gesture" obsession is cute.

The voodoo doll is hilarious. The first person I had my sim try it on was the Witch Doctor. Big mistake. I got nervous and thought he took the voodoo doll away, but *phew* he didn't.

I have a family on a beach lot, and it gets annoyong when they stop everything to build sandcastles (and in my case, with my evil alien and his kids, destroying them - gotta love an alien sim's extreme personality!) I love beach lots, though, so beautiful.

In order for me to even get Free Time to function on my computer, I'm going to need to upgrade my RAM. BV definitely made it lag, but I also have Windows Vista, so that explains a lot.

SAUNA WOOHOO IS LAME! Hammock woohoo is absolutely hilarious, though. It looks extremely uncomfortable, I was dying of laughter, especially when her husband got off directly after to eat some pineapple dish. - which is one thing I find silly with BV, they have new foods, but your sims can't cook them. D:

In Free Time, I'm really excited for the birdwatching and the new clothes. I love the idea of dancing contests and baking contests and EEK! I'M REALLY EXCITED. POTTERY! VIOLIN! YAY!

Buck and his sewing machine! Making little teddy bears!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Well, that's reassuring. I was hoping they wouldn't want to go on vacation every day. That wouldn't make any sense. As for the gestures... they sound like they might be fun, but moderation is key. I hope they aren't the only autonomous action that sims do after BV. It probably wouldn't bother me too much, since I just laugh at the constant dirty jokes and pillow fights right now.

I haven't heard much about this voodoo doll. What does it do?

I really like the idea of the beaches. I could make something that actually resembles my home. Well, minus the sand (though they do have that in some areas here).

I have Vista too, but I disable all of the fancy graphics and things like that, so it looks like classic Windows. You can do some minor things like that to spare RAM and help with the lag.

What do they do in sauna woohoo to make it lame? Is it like car woohoo? That's lame to me. They could at least have a hand print on the steamy window, or something. I forgot about hammock woohoo! That's cool. I'd love to have that.

I was really hoping that they could could the food at home. *thumbs down* Someone at MTS2 made it so the foods served downtown in nightlife can be accessed at home, so maybe someone has done that for BV too. I'd look into it. I'm obsessed with food, by the way. You can probably tell by reading my story. *grin*

Me too! I'm so excited about all of those things.

Buck will rock that sewing machine like the hero that he is. No doubt about it.

[cindyanne1.livejournal.com]

When I first got BV, I had problems. (gee that sounds like some kind of disease... lol) I had that bug where it created, like, ten-thousand NPC's or whatever that was. BIG HUGE game lags. Then I got the patch and re-installed it (luckily I hadn't done much yet) and all was well. Even better once I bought the new Alienware and put it on there. ;)

Best parts about BV are beach lots (!!!) the walking to the lots and the digging for treasure. Legacies will never be the same... need money? Go out into your yard and dig for a while... soon you'll find an expensive statue or a treasure chest to sell!

My sims only roll occasional wants for vacations and they roll away fast. I will say that the CONSTANT TAI CHI (once they learn to do that) is annoying as HELL... especially since they change into their workout clothes to do it. I need a hack for "no autonomous tai chi" lol!

Oh, isn't the voodoo doll a riot??? My first sim to get the doll was Pascal Curious. Hee. He had fun with it.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Hehee. Do we need a support group for people who have BV? That's too funny.

That NPC bug was really scary. I'll never install an EP now until it has been out for a while, thanks to that.

I like the idea of beach lots too, and walking to the next lot is nice. I love the buried treasure! Very cool. I'd love them to have bicycles, and it would have be great to include that in Free Time. It would fit the theme. I would have preferred that to car repair. *yawn*

[80sfiend.livejournal.com]

I can't wait for Free Time either!!! I'm excited for all the same reasons you are. :) I just think it'll add some really cool things to the game. :) As for BV, I'm waiting to get that one too as I've heard it's very glitchy. :(

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there is much to look forward to with Free Time. I'm so excited!

[saunasims.livejournal.com]

Update re: breeding Bigfoot! With the Tombstone of Life and Death I was able to successfully impregnate another Sim with his spawn. I had her have quads. The only oddity is that all the children (four girls) came out with exactly the same face as their mom. However, this could be purely random.
But yeah, the L&D Tombstone works just foine.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. If they all look exactly like the mother, how do you know it worked? Do they have any Bigfoot-like traits?