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'Accidental' drownings skyrocket as The Sims 4 adds pools
Making good on its earlier promises, developer Maxis has added much-requested swimming pools to virtual life sandbox The Sims 4. According to EA, the build options for pools have been greatly expanded, allowing players to build pools not just in the backyard, but also on the second and third floors of their virtual homes. The update also brings with it a new swimwear line so that your virtual people can look sharp as they lounge near the water. Eventually, all Sims players develop a sadistic streak and decide that maybe the Sim universe would be better off if their virtual people met a watery demise. The pool comes in handy there too, though EA notes that any ghosts created by drowning may carry a fear of water with them to the afterlife. It's unknown how this might affect a ghost's actions beyond the terrifying spectral neuroses seen in the above screenshot. [Image: EA]
Ghosts, pools, Darth Vader coming to The Sims 4
Hoping to appease fans upset that The Sims 4 lacks a number of features that have long been a standard of the series, publisher EA has outlined plans to add a host of new content to the virtual life simulation over the next few months. In the October update, The Sims 4 will receive costumes based on iconic Star Wars characters, as well as new ghostly forms for your deceased Sims. According to EA, these ghosts will behave much as they did prior to death, but the manner in which they died will grant the apparition wholly new behaviors. Those ghosts will come in handy once the November update arrives, as the mortality rate of your Sims is expected to skyrocket once pools are finally added to The Sims 4. Then, in December, EA and developer Maxis plan to introduce new career paths that are slightly less likely to result in your Sims drowning in the backyard. There's no word on when exactly these updates might be released, but they will each be free additions, requiring only that players log onto EA's Origin digital distribution service to download each update. [Image: EA]
Sea Turtle irregularities
Crygil's been getting to the bottom of the sea -- sea turtle, that is (sorry about that one). Some players wondered if it's getting picked up in just Northrend pools or all over Northrend waters, but as we originally told you in our guide to getting one of the game's coolest new mounts, it is supposed to come only from fishing in pools in Northrend. People are reporting it appearing from elsewhere, but straight from Blizzard's blue text, that's where it's supposed to come from.As for when you'll get it, that we don't know -- all we know so far about droprates is that it's "extremely rare," which is about as rare as items in Azeroth get. We've heard from quite a few people who've gotten it already, but for any given catch, the chance is really, really small that you'll pull up a mount along with your fish. Still, it's not impossible, and especially if you're leveling fishing (which you should be -- it's lots of fun nowadays), it's definitely something to keep your eyes open for.
iRobot intros the Verro 100 and 500 poolbots
The folks at iRobot updated the Verro pool-cleaning robots much to the chagrin of our pool boy, Philip, who's getting his walking papers next week. The new 100 and 500 models join the current 300 and 600 to cover a wide array of price ranges, and probably meet most -- if not all -- of your exacting standards for water-body cleanliness. The 100 comes in at the low-end of the spectrum at $399, though it will navigate and clean any flat-bottomed pool you throw its way; the Rolls-Royce of poolbots, the 500, will do floors and walls alike for $999. Of course, you won't know anything about that -- you'll be busy lounging, working on your tan, and trying to figure out whether you want the Bentley Brooklands or Azure (hint: the Azure!).
Announcing the new TUAW Desktops Flickr group and series
Fire up your screen capture software and keyboard shortcuts TUAW readers, as we are announcing a new Flickr group and post series titled simply: TUAW Desktops. That's right ladies and gentlemen, in addition to immortalizing you in our archives with the Rig of the Day series, we want to dive a little deeper into just what makes your Mac, your Mac. Are you a wallpaper connoisseur, or perhaps you have the busiest Dock this side of Cupertino? Is your workspace decked out with utilities like iPulse, Konfabulator widgets and ShapeShifter themes, or do you want to share you mastery of clutter-free desktop feng shui? Join our new TUAW Desktops group on Flickr and upload your screenshots. On Saturdays, we'll pick out and round up the best of the desktops to share here on TUAW, complete with credit attribution and a link to your site, if you have one.Speaking of credit, we should probably lay down some rules here: First rule about TUAW Desktops: you do not talk... If you can (or would like), please attribute any work like wallpapers or icons to their original authors, and we'll do our best to include those attributions in our posts. It's fine if you don't know who that is when you post your shots - trust us, we have hundreds of wallpapers and we don't remember where we found every single one - but at the very least, don't take credit for someone else's work. This is the internets, and the readers *will* call out stunts like that. On the other hand - if something *is* your original work, by all means - let us know, and we'll be sure your creativity gets a mention in the spotlight. Try not to overload the pool with submissions that are too similar to your previous submission(s). We're looking for fresh desktop shots; that little 'extra something' that really makes them leap off the display. Desktops that have that element which is difficult to describe, yet impossible to miss. Keep it clean. This is a family blog, and we like to keep our Flickr groups and other community endeavors family-friendly as well. Last rule (for now): Unless you went all-out using products like Stardock's to make your Windows desktop look and act like Mac OS X (it's do-able - I used to, before I actually got my first Mac), we'd like to stick with Mac desktops only. After all, you are reading The Unofficial Apple Weblog. With that said, get on to showing off your desktops and let the submissions begin!
