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Spend 48 hours torturing loved ones for free in The Sims 4
- EA's latest addition to its Origin Game Time vault is The Sims 4, meaning you can download it now and enjoy a free 48 hours of playing God. To do just that, get your godly ass to Origin. Those 48 hours are real-time rather than in-game, so unless you're planning an unadvised binge you won't get the full two days of free-ness. You can start the free time whenever you want, however, as the 48-hour countdown only begins after you launch the game for the first time. Also, if you later buy The Sims 4 then your Game Time progress does transfer over.
The Sims 4 update gets paid time off, adds holiday cheer
EA updated The Sims 4 this week, adding a significant amount of new content to the life simulation game. Your sims can now go after an athletic or business career like Hall of Famer or Business Tycoon and accrue paid time off for any of their occupations, plus they can take family leave from their jobs to celebrate new life entering their families. The developer also changed career objectives, cleaning out repetitive or overly specific goals and tweaking ones that were too difficult to complete. The update also introduces the free, downloadable Holiday Celebration Pack, which adds a wreath, snowman, holiday decorations and festive sweaters to the game. Additionally, sims are now able to eat the fruits and vegetables they harvest from gardening activities, and can also die at venues. EA also fixed a few game-crashing bugs and other issues, such as a crash that occurred when players tried placing roofs away from their lot. Head to The Sims 4's patch notes page to see the full list of changes. [Image: EA]
Seinfeld, Friends casts reunite in The Sims 4 custom content
No one told me life was gonna be this way. Talented The Sims 4 custom content creator IanRoach has duplicated a series of familiar sitcom settings using EA Maxis' life sim franchise as his canvas. Search for Origin user "ian8000" in The Sims 4's Gallery feature and you'll find a faithful recreation of Jerry's apartment from the '90s comedy series Seinfeld, letting you reenact your favorite nihilistic moments with pre-created doppelgängers of Jerry, Kramer, George, and Elaine. Friends fans, meanwhile, can download the show's full cast and five locations ripped straight from the series, including Monica and Rachel's apartment, Joey and Chandler's apartment, Ross's apartment, Phoebe's apartment, and coffee house Central Perk. If the screenshots here and here leave you speechless, don't worry -- I'll be there for you (like I've been there before). IanRoach has also created environments inspired by Arrested Development and The Golden Girls, if you're interested (hint: you are). [Image: EA Maxis / IanRoach]
The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection free through Origin this week
After recently ending official support for the PC version of 2004's The Sims 2, Electronic Arts is now offering all Origin users a copy of The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection for free, through the end of the month. Users can redeem the expansion-bundled freebie by entering the code "I-LOVE-THE-SIMS" after choosing "Redeem Product Code" from the Games tab after firing up the Origin front-end. Downloads will remain available through July 31st at 10 a.m. PDT, so act fast if you want to add the classic human-torment simulator to your Origin library. [Image: EA Maxis]
EA addresses exclusion of toddlers and pools in The Sims 4
The Sims 4 producer Rachel Franklin addressed fan concerns in a recent blog post, explaining why the latest game in the series lacks previously introduced features like pools and the toddler life stage. Franklin explains that The Sims 4's redesigned technology base required the team to focus on new features, rather than trying to get lower-priority legacy mechanics up and running. "The bottom line is that when we sat down and looked at everything we wanted to do for this game, all the new tech we wanted to build into it, the fact was that there would be trade-offs, and these would disappoint some of our fans," she notes. "Hard pill to swallow, believe me, but delivering on the vision set out for The Sims 4 required focus. Focus on revolutionizing the Sims themselves." Franklin continues: "So, rather than include toddlers, we chose to go deeper on the features that make Sims come alive: meaningful and often amusing emotions; more believable motion and interactions; more tools in Create A Sim, and more realistic (and sometimes weird!) Sim behavior. Instead of pools, we chose to develop key new features in Build Mode: direct manipulation, building a house room-by-room and being able to exchange your custom rooms easily, to make the immediate environment even more relatable and interactive for your Sim." A fan-issued petition seeking the return of pools and toddlers in The Sims 4 recently topped 15,000 signatures. The Sims 4 will launch for PC and Mac platforms on September 2. [Image: EA Maxis]
SimCity offline update launching today, some server downtime
Update 10, which brings offline play to SimCity for the first time, is launching today after successfully coming through final testing. An announcement on the EA forums reads, "Today at 6AM PT we will be releasing Update 10 with Offline play. This involves server down time and the game servers will be unavailable for a few hours." EA unveiled Update 10 and the new single-player mode back in January, after a 2013 in which the publisher came under severe criticism for implementing an "always-on" system for the city-building sim. That system backfired when servers buckled under the weight. EA has already said players can access their previously downloaded content in the single-player mode, and they can save their files locally. A new FAQ reveals players still have to sign into Origin to launch the game, but Origin can be put into an offline mode while the single-player mode is being played. [Image: EA]
The Sims 4 ships for PC in fall 2014
The Sims 4 will launch worldwide for PC platforms in the fall of next year, Electronic Arts announced today. Developed by EA Maxis' The Sims Studio, The Sims 4 ups the series' surrealist life-simulation ante with more lifelike Sims and a new creation-focused player toolkit. An Origin-exclusive Digital Deluxe version is up for pre-order at The Sims 4's official website, offering players bonus "Life of the Party" and "Up All Night" content packs when the game premieres next year.
SimCity developers exploring potential offline mode
EA Maxis revealed today that it is exploring the possibility of adding a long-requested offline mode to its city-building strategy game SimCity. "Right now we have a team specifically focused on exploring the possibility of an offline mode," Maxis Emeryville's General Manager Patrick Buechner said. "I can't make any promises on when we will have more information, but we know this is something that many of our players have been asking for." Overloaded servers and other issues left many SimCity players unable to access the online-only game after its launch earlier this year. Responding to player feedback, Maxis later noted that SimCity's online connection requirements were essential to the game's operation, though rumored insider claims and player mods suggested otherwise. "While the server connectivity issues are behind us, we would like to give our players the ability to play even if they choose not to connect," Buechner adds. "An offline mode would have the additional benefit of providing room to the modding community to experiment without interfering or breaking the multiplayer experience." Buechner notes that Maxis is also looking into the possibility of expanding player city size, and has opened discussion regarding support for user-generated content.
Maxis: SimCity installation issues on Mac have been resolved [update]
Newly inaugurated Sim-mayors are reporting technical problems with the recently launched Mac version of SimCity, ranging from installation issues to technical glitches. Currently, a widely reported bug prevents the Mac version of SimCity from running in full-screen mode. Some players are unable to complete installation, rendering the game unplayable. For Mac users, the problems encountered thus far seem to stem from technical hiccups, rather than the server-side issues that plagued the Windows version after its launch earlier this year. EA Maxis has acknowledged the reported problems in a recent update, and has suggested solutions for affected players. [Update: A Maxis spokesperson has contacted Joystiq, noting that many of these problems were fixed in the game's latest update. "We are pleased to advise that the installation-related issues some players experienced with SimCity on Mac have been resolved," the spokesperson said.]
How The Sims got its same-sex relationships [update]
Update: While Graham originally called out lead engineer Jamie Doornbos as the one responsible for same-sex relationships in The Sims, it was actually one of the general engineers, Patrick J. Barrett III, who added it in. The article has been updated accordingly. The Sims was one of the earliest mainstream video games to include actionable same-sex relationships when it launched in 2000. Rather than being a concerted effort on the part of developer EA Maxis, the equal-opportunity Woohoo (a euphemism for sex in the game) was implemented by engineer Patrick J. Barrett III – an openly gay man who had a reputation for getting the programming done. "He just did it," said David "Rez" Graham, The Sims 4 lead AI programmer and a panelist at EA's GaymerX panel on creating more LGBT-inclusive experiences this past weekend. "He just went in there and it was a thing one day" and "nobody really questioned it, which was cool."
EA Maxis folks leave to open new indie sim studio, Jellygrade
Jellygrade, a new indie studio dedicated to creating simulation experiences on mobile platforms, has been formally announced today. Jellygrade is made up of former EA Maxis creative director Ocean Quigley, former engineering lead Andrew Willmott and former lead gameplay engineer Dan Moskowitz. In a tweet, Quigley says this first mystery project is about the dawn of life. "We're making a simulation about the dawn of life on earth; about lava, water, rock and the emergence of the first primordial creatures." Nothing else about this first project is known, though Jellygrade promises it'll have something to show soon.
SimCity 2.0 fixes bugs but adds new ones, users complain
The big SimCity 2.0 update dropped on Monday and even though it fixes its fair share of bugs, the update seems to have introduced new issues. Players have taken to Reddit and the EA forums, complaining of increased sewage levels and spontaneous pollution.Taxis are crowding cities and some SimCity players have found their production rates slowed when in Cheetah Mode. Others are complaining of impotent firetrucks, unable to combat fires across the city, while others are reporting their cities are reverting to older saves. For some, buildings are endlessly mired in construction and never finish.EA has yet to comment, so we've contacted the company to find out how it plans to address these complaints. SimCity currently has over 1.1 million players and is slated to launch on Mac in June.
SimCity 2.0 update on April 22, mayors getting mansions
EA will issue a patch for SimCity on Monday, April 22 at 4pm ET. SimCity v2.0 will be the game's first substantial update, adding mansions for mayors, fixing issues with Colorblind mode and squashing some of the bugs scurrying around in the game code. EA Maxis says players should expect server outages "for a few hours" while the update rolls out.Some of the issues surrounding city processing will be resolved, as will problems with spontaneous fluctuations of tourists, school buses getting stuck, sudden air pollution creeping in, and more. The full list of changes is published on the EA Maxis forums.Meanwhile, SimCity for Mac is still set to arrive in June.
SimCity sales surpass 1.1 million in two weeks
Despite all of its launch complications, EA Maxis' series reboot SimCity has managed to sell over one million copies since launching two weeks ago. EA reports this is the biggest launch for the franchise, the majority of players – 54%, EA says – choosing to download SimCity. In fact, EA says 44% of total SimCity sales went directly through the publisher's digital distribution platform, Origin.Two weeks ago, EA disabled some "non-critical" SimCity features in the interest of improving server issues. Also, EA added more servers and sought to quell dissatisfied customers with a free PC game. If you purchase and register SimCity before next week, you can choose between a free copy of Mass Effect 3, Battlefield 3, SimCity 4, Need for Speed: Most Wanted or one of several other eligible games.
Tomb Raider ascends to the peak of this week's UK charts
Lara Croft is the leader of the UK pack for the first time in nearly seven years, and she's there in some style too. Not only does Tomb Raider slot into the top spot in this week's UK charts, but it's easily the country's biggest launch of the year so far. True, the game's first week sales are boosted by arriving on a Tuesday rather than the typical Friday, but the same can be said for Aliens: Colonial Marines, the UK's previous biggest first-week seller in 2013. Tomb Raider's opening week beats that of Colonial Marines' by over double, which is particularly telling. After all, according to Crystal Dynamics, Lara's reboot notched up a million sales in under two days.SimCity is the week's other big name release. Despite releasing on a Friday and, more pertinently, all its troubles across the ocean, the city builder installs itself in second place. On that Sim-note, the newly released University Life expansion for Sims 3 provides a timely reminder of the franchise's selling power by scoring fourth place, beaten by fellow new release Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, which arrives in at a very respectable third place.That means after two weeks at the top, it's down to sixth for Crysis 3, while Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance clings onto the top ten in ninth place. Tumbling their ways out are Colonial Marines and Dead Space 3, down in 15th and 19th respectively.
Rumor: EA Maxis takes 'full responsibility' for SimCity issues via internal memo
An internal memo from Maxis general manager Lucy Bradshaw details the state of the developer, who is hard at work trying to get SimCity fully operational in North America. "SimCity is an online game and critics and consumers have every right to expect a smooth experience from beginning to end," she wrote. "I and the Maxis team take full responsibility to deliver on our promise. Trust that we're working as hard as possible to make sure everyone gets to experience the amazing game we built in SimCity."Polygon claims to have the internal memo in question, presented in a series of quotes. It claims that the issues experienced in North America are starting to spread overseas. "It's also now evident that players across Europe and Asia are experiencing the same frustration." It also claims 700,000 cities were built in the first 24 hours after launch.Yesterday, EA Maxis disabled certain non-critical features in SimCity in an attempt to help lighten the load on the servers, which are also growing in number. SimCity is dependent upon a constant online connection. Being an unavoidable part of the experience, server woes have caused us to hold back our review.Update: An EA representative has confirmed with Joystiq the internal memo in fact leaked today; however, this representative did not go into any further detail than that.
From city-builder roles to caring for citizens in SimCity
Regions are the beating heart of Maxis Games' upcoming SimCity revival. The always-online game places a lot of emphasis on community, but it's less about the global fellowship and more about the ties that bind neighboring cities together.Players face a choice when they're first starting out: break ground in a small region with only two or three city-sized plots of land to develop ,or jump into a more expansive location, one that supports as many as 16 cities. The cost/benefit for each choice is simple enough to break down; it's the difference between carving out your own, private space in the world versus leaving the door open for other players to join.All of SimCity's regions are created in-house at Maxis – there's no plan to let players mold their own regions – and each plot of claimable land comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. A helpful status bar pop-up points out which resources are and aren't available when an unclaimed plot is highlighted, so you know what you're getting before you settle on a civilization site.Maxis has been working to test against a whole galaxy of possibilities in the run-up to SimCity's March 5, 2013, release. It's to the point that sizable portions of the working day at the studio are now devoted purely to play, with staffers being assigned to a range of discrete city-builder roles. "It's hard to go into every nook and cranny of the game because there's just so much. The breadth of the game is really large," lead designer Stone Librande told Joystiq. "We have different designers who are assigned to different tasks. Like, 'You're making university town, you're making casino town, you're making ore and coal mining town.'"%Gallery-179241%
SimCity and the art of amassing wealth
Cities don't just start out as metropolises, full to the brim with wealthy shoppers who live in penthouse suites. No, a city must work hard to become a bustling shopping mecha and beacon of wealth – and in SimCity, it's all about having a city full of Wealthy Sims.Attracting Wealthy Sims to your town is the easy part; however, keeping them around is tough because Wealthy Sims are more sensitive to their needs and vocal when ignored. "Education, pollution reduction, better crime suppression, and consistency in all your services will become a priority as your Sims go up in wealth," EA says. A dearth of disasters probably helps, too.Another crucial aspect is increasing land value, a byproduct of putting services and public transportation systems in place. As you build infrastructures, you'll start to shape your city and attract the corresponding kind of Wealthy Sim. It's key to build parks around your residential areas, giving the Wealthy Sims a much-needed place to go and offer condescending looks at the other, poorer Sims.
Look around SimCity, don't get bogged down in charts
"I want more time," I thought leaving my first SimCity hands-on experience. "I must go deeper!" There's just so much I wanted to try out, poke around, but the rails were firmly set to give the tiniest taste of what's to come. Needless to say, I'm ready for the SimCity entree when it launches in February 2013 on Mac and PC.The demo I tried out went through the super basics of building residential, commercial and industrial zones; along with how the city infrastructure is built out. All of it quite instinctual.%Gallery-157342%
SimCity Social, a Facebook game you may actually care about, launches today
In writing this post informing you that SimCity Social is now live (in "open beta") on Facebook, I may or may not have played SimCity Social for 25 minutes without realizing it. And then I discovered full screen mode, which makes it look even more like SimCity.What I'm trying to tell you is that the game is live. And that I want to go play more of it. Because it's SimCity. You should probably check it out too, right here.Perhaps you'd like to know more before proceeding? We've got that covered too!
