Restoring The Sims Online!

Welcome Back to TSO, Soon!

The game this blog was originally based upon: The Sims Online (TSO) which sadly shut down in August 2008, is being revived by a wonderful group of dedicated programmers from the forever loyal TSO fanbase.

Thus far, it has more than 4,700 members and have witnessed massive support and praise. However, in order to speed up the programming process and bring it back in a record time to the consistently supportive fans and members (to both PC & Mac for free!), the project is seeking more members/supporters, recognition, promotion, and most importantly programmers.

Therefore, we kindly ask you to visit the website, register and be active on the forums, apply for positions if you are qualified and willing to participate in this massive yet exciting project, and PLEASE spread the word. Also, there is a facebook fan page that you could ‘like’ in order to keep track of (almost) day-to-day updates.

Project website (TSO Restoration): http://www.tsorestoration.com
TSO Wiki:  http://www.tsowiki.com/
Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/RestoringTheSimsOnline

Here’s to the day we can all actually meet and hangout in our beloved game!
Go on and spread the word 🙂

SimWorld News 

Updates on Twitter

We will temporarily stop updating the website. However, updates shall continue on twitter. Please follow us: https://twitter.com/simworldnews

Major change

There is a very likely chance this blog would be active again soon.
Thank you very much for the constant support and visits.

You shall notice improvements and changes to this blog until everything is finalised until further notice.
Meanwhile, follow us on twitter here !

Thank you!
SimWorld News

New Features!

Hello,

Its been some time since I updated SimWorld News and the news section. I sincerely apologize to the lack of updates, but I have moved out of my country and started university, it was a hectic time to get everything ready and sorted.

Anyways, we got ourselves a fresh new theme, which i believe will give you a nicer, slicker and quicker access to all the news and the archives. We also added the “search” feature on the right. Most importantly, we added an Email Subscription service, where you will be notified of any new posts, there please enter the information required and you will be receiving notifications. Please be reminded that these email addresses are NOT collected by myself, but by WordPress itself, thus no worries about those being shared or distributed to any third parties… so, no spam 🙂

Moreover, we added a new poll … please make sure to vote =)

Most importantly, reminding everyone that we are on twitter! So, you can always freely follow us by clicking the link on the right (in the sidebar).

Thank you!
SimWorld News =)

Sims 3 World Adventures announced.

Sims 3: World Adventures (first expansion pack) coming November 16.

After weeks of spreading rumors and posts on various online stores and websites, the first Sims 3 expansion pack has finally been announced by EA.

In a press release on August 3 (offical release), EA announced that The Sims 3: World Adventures is in development and would ship the week of November 16, 2009.

Moreover, in an official post on The Sims 3’s blog, brief information was provided about the upcoming expansion pack. However, it is easily concluded that is similar to The Sims Vacation and The Sims 2 Bon Voyage expansions ( no new innovative ideas? ).

Landmarks of Egypt, France & China in the game.

Despite the similarity in the ideas, World Adventures seems to be a bit more promising with the new features that it would bring about. Possibly the most interesting feature yet known, is the ability to visit various destinations and landmarks that are existent in the world today.

The features mentioned in the Sims 3 post include:

• Accept challenges, find treasures, discover what’s lurking in hidden caves and more.

• Explore famous landmarks in China, Egypt, and France.

• Learn new skills like photography and pursue new opportunities. 

• Meet new Sims from exotic locations and share their cultures. 

• Customize your Sims homes with new styles & artifacts from their adventures. 

• Get $10 worth of free SimPoints for The Sims 3 Store, and additional online features to be announced. 

More information to be reported as soon as they are announced.

Patch 1.3 & related poll.

A new patch – Patch 1.3 has been released on 07/27/09 which fixes tons of bugs.

From the official Sims 3 post, here is the list of bugs that have been fixed:

Complete list of changes:

• After getting promoted in a job with a night shift the Sim will only receive the day off if their next shift starts within 8 hours.
• Exporting and Sharing a Level 10 Gardener Sim properly maintains their special abilities.
• Fixes to Story Progression. Babies will no longer be born to single parents. Player created or controlled households are now “protected” and will no longer be removed through “Story Progression.” Warning: Story Progression will no longer remove previously player controlled Sims. Users who take control of too many Sims in the same game may experience poor performance as the neighborhood can become over populated.
• Switching between multiple saved outfits of the same type no longer has the potential to wipe out saved outfits.
• Waterlillies now have a smoother level of detail transition when zooming the camera.
• Camera memory hotkeys now properly remember floor level.
• Certain situations will now properly stop socialization and disallow asking other Sims to join.
• Bait picker for fishing has been improved.
• Sims no longer automatically exit the bathtub before receiving the “Bathe until Tranquil” moodlet.
• Sims can no longer interview non-playable ghosts.
• Addressed an issue where distant audio could occasionally be heard while the player is focused on a Sim is inside their own home.
• Changing jobs no longer fulfills the “Meet All Co-workers” Wish.
• Playable ghost teens and children are now properly assigned to a school.
• Custom paintings can now be properly placed above objects that are placed up against a wall and leave enough wall space.
• The “Call Over” Interaction is now available on seated Sims.
• Reduced the urge for neat Sims to put away fire pits.
• Neighbors will no longer gather to watch a burglar that hasn’t yet stolen anything.
• The “Maywood Glen” community lot is now properly classified as a park.
• “Omni-Plant” opportunity has a higher chance of appearing.
• Painting valued painting wishes are easier to fulfill.
• Number of Books Read in the writing skill journal now counts number of books finished instead of the number of books started.
• Sims will no longer attempt to use laptops when they are ungreeted visitors.
• “Befriend All Co-workers” wish is no longer fulfilled by switching to a job with no coworkers.
• Fixed a problem where the incorrect clothing was displayed on a Sim in the game launcher icon.
• Harvestables on harvest ready plants will not get occasionally lost during import/export.
• Opportunity to improve athletic skill will no longer appear when athletic skill is full.
• “Play a Game with Sim” wish now fulfills from “Playing Foosball.”
• Sims will now get the “Witnessed Divorce” moodlet from watching other married Sims break up.
• Stocked ponds are properly preserved when shared.
• Sims will no longer occasionally fail to walk a path involving four or more flights of stairs.
• A player is now able to complete the “Upgrade Audio Lite by LoFi” Wish.
• Prevented a game freeze that occurred when placing a lot while in “Cameraman Mode.”
• Sims no longer have the rare chance of getting permanently stuck while socializing.
• Non-player Sim autonomy now runs more quickly for Sims on screen and nearby (neighbors won’t spend time standing in their front yards or not moving on community lots)
• Fixed a rare case in which the skewer thumbnail of an NPC could disappear during a private wedding.
• “Become Enemies with Child” wish no longer appears.
• “Quit Job” wish will now fulfill if Sim gets a new job and is forced to quit the old one.
• Stairs are no longer allowed to be deleted while in use.
• Prevented a case where toddlers were allowed to escape a lot and wander freely.
• Fixed a rare case where a toddler’s teddy bear could get permanently stuck in their inventory.
• “Clean High Chair” wish properly fulfills.
• “SimLife Goggles” are no longer duplicated after moving.
• The “Raid Criminals” interaction can now be properly resumed after saving and loading while it is in progress.
• Sims will no longer get a wish to ask their husband to be their boyfriend.
• Fix for a possible crash when disconnecting headphones during gameplay.
• Relationships are properly preserved when merging a newly created household into an existing household.
• “Play with Toy” wish properly fulfills when a child Sim plays with the teddy bear.
• Fixed an error that occurred when deleting an outfit preset that a Sim was wearing.
• Lot pricing was corrected in edit town. The price of trees and bushes is now properly accounted for. Various community lot objects no longer provide negative value to a lot.
• “Woohoo” interaction now counts as a romantic interaction.
• Wish to “See Child Become a Genius” now auto cancels once it is no longer possible to fulfill.
• Sheet music can no longer be chosen from the bookshelf interactions. This prevents a situation in which Sims could no longer learn particular songs.
• Fixes a rare case where a revived ghost could become stuck in the science lab if a household was split.
• “Eat Food at Park” wish now fulfills properly.
• Parents will no longer wish to “See Sim Get Married” for their already married children.
• Kleptomaniac Sims can no longer return items currently being used by other Sims.
• Fixes a rare case in which a blank thumbnail could appear in the family inventory after a Sim had been kicked out.
• Fixes a rare case in which a blank thumbnail could appear in the family inventory after a Kleptomaniac Sim swiped something.
• ATI video driver’s “Adaptive Aantialiasing” option conflicts with ingame “Edge Smoothing.” The combination causes visual corruption. A note has been added to the readme encouraging players not to enable these two features at the same time.
• Medium-sized, high quality in-game videos can now be successfully uploaded via the launcher.
• Fixed a case where “Breakup with Sim” wasn’t correctly fulfilling.
• Fix for a case where rapidly clicking on Sim traits could crash the game.
• Toddler’s body no longer deforms when “Watching TV” after “Learning to Talk.”
• Sims can now use “Charming Introduction” on Sims invited over to a home lot.
• Gardening skill gain no longer continues if gardening channel viewing is interrupted.
• Child Sims no longer deform after “Watching a Concert.”
• Eating specific prepared meals no longer has an impact on an unborn baby’s gender.
• Fixed a hang that could occur when moving away from a house with harvestable plants growing on it.
• Merge household bed and fridge requirements are no longer enforced on lots that are being abandoned.
• Fixed a problem, where through specific timing, objects could become unusable if the game is saved while they are being placed in a Sim’s inventory.
• The Sims 3 is now properly categorized as a game in the Windows Vista Games Explorer.
• A selected object in buy or build mode now stays attached to the cursor as the player scrolls the camera with the direction keys.
• Fences no longer occlude sound.
• Terrain enclosed by walls and a roof is now properly lit.
• Puddles will properly conform to uneven terrain.
• Prevented problematic routing behavior that occurs when replacing an object mid route.
• Corrected various grammar and spelling mistakes.
• Deleted screenshots no longer remain listed in the launcher.
• “Dance Together” and “Tutor Sim in Skill…” no longer appear on Sims at inappropriate times.
• “Non-hydrophobic” Sims will no longer panic while swimming.
• The Magic Gnome text notification now displays the proper icon.
• Exposed floor tile edges have changed in color.
• Fixed a problem where counters would occasionally turn black while selecting certain objects in build mode.
• Fixed a rare instance where at map level the bulldozer tool could leave a blue hole in the ground.
• The option to “Adjust Tree Detail” now properly displays a “Restart Required” message.
• “Spying on the Cuisine” opportunity can now be fulfilled by selecting to “Eat Outside” at the Bistro.
• Refreshing doors no longer causes them to lose their front door status.
• A child that ages to a teen will no longer receive the wish to “Talk about New Job.”
• “View” interaction will not be duplicated when placing objects on the “Nearly Perfect Pedestal.”
• Up arrow can now be used when placing a house from the library.
• A faint line is no longer visible on the heads of babies.
• Fish are no longer duplicated in the fridge when moving homes.
• All dfc-gorilla (update installer) messages will now appear properly translated.
• Fix for a rare case in which a Sim could be teleported to an invalid location if the game was reloaded while they were “Changing Outfit.”
• Fixed a problem where bulldozed lots were not being properly lit at map level.
• Sims who run into obstacles placed directly in front of them, no longer get stuck.
• Babies and Toddlers will no longer be left alone if the household is split up or merged through edit town, a babysitter will be called.
• Fixed a rare case in which a Sim remains on the wrong lot after moving.
• Guitar Skill level 10 text notification no longer mentions purchasing new songs from the bookstore.
• Fixed a rare case where the social worker’s vehicle could be left behind on a lot.
• Korean GRB rating is now available to use in Windows Parental Controls.
• The Sims 3 now supports more than 2000 concurrent save games.
• Custom Music will no longer be assigned as a favorite randomly.
• Fixed a rare case where “Accept” would be unavailable in Create-A-Sim after undoing while accepting a Sim from “Play with Genetics.”
• Children Sims will no longer attempt to knock over blocks at the same time.
• Fixed child animation when putting away the birthday cake.
• Fish no longer appear on dry ground of lots that have been coverted to residential lots .
• Bulldozing a lot with collectable spawners no longer destroys the spawners.
• A family with only a toddler is no longer allowed to be saved to the library.
• Placing small objects on the front slot of the dresser will no longer block the dresser from being used.
• Sims no longer fail to view decorative objects placed on a fireplace mantle.
• Sims now build relationship through the “Tutor” interaction.
• Fixed a minor error that occurred while loading a game where the dresser was in use.
• Fix for misaligned water effects on a particular sink.
• “Likes Work” moodlet is now properly removed if “Workaholic” trait is changed or removed.
• Purchasing “SimLife Goggles” now fulfills the “Buy Video Game” wish.
• Canceling the installation of a queue of downloaded items now works properly.
• “Collection Helper” is properly displayed when picked up in buy mode.
• Fixes some cases of objects being improperly assigned type in the launcher.
• The player can no longer delete a tombstone that is being used by a ghost.
• Fixed a rare routing failure that could happen when attempting to route to an enclosed object on an inactive floor.
• Televisions no longer play video after they are burned or broken.
• Under certain circumstances, Sims will now choose smarter lot entry locations.
• “Amateur Olympics” Opportunity notification now mentions event times.
• Sims can no longer “Try for Baby” with the Grim Reaper.
• Fixed a rare case where a Sim could start painting but the canvas was not visible.
• Fixed a rare case where the police cruiser could be left in front of the police station.
• “Sabotage” interaction is now available under more conditions.
• Deeds will now stack in the inventory and a “Collect All” interaction can be used on them.
• The Riverview download now displays the proper size for the entire duration of the download.
• Fix for children playing improper animations when trying to cook.
• Fixed an error that occurred when removing the moodlet manager from the inventory of a Sim that was in the process of using the moodlet manager.
• “Upgrade Object” wish correctly filters out gates.
• Various premade Sims downloaded from the exchange are now sorting into the correct age catagory.
• Buildings will keep the appropriate lights when zooming in and out at nighttime.
• Fixed a very slow memory leak triggered by the “Fertilize” interaction.
• Adding support for the NVIDIA Ion.
• Roofing is now visible on low end Intel video cards.
• Replaced a duplicate hat style for elder females.
• Game speed no longer affects the playback of audio stings.
• NPC’s automobiles are no longer purged from inventory.
• Added support for the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250.
• Mac Only: Custom Content, Screenshots or video added to Documents/User/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/… while the game is running will now show up in the Launcher.
• Mac Only: The Mac version of The Sims 3 now supports Shader Model 3.0 graphics features. (excluding the NVIDIA GeForce 7300GT and 7600GT cards)
• Mac Only: The high lighting quality Sim shader has been enabled in Create-A-Sim.
• Mac Only: Added a warning message upon attempting to delete a downloaded world (Riverview) that associated save files will be lost.
• Mac Only: Enabled depth texture support (shadows) on all supported video cards.
• Mac Only: The user interface is no longer improperly displayed in ingame reflections.

However, it is important to note that this patch have caused problems to so many people, including Sims will no longer use objects if it’s in another room. You have to manually move your Sim to the room in question and then use the object.
Other problems that people experienced are: Slowdowns, crashes, sound problems and custom content no longer working. (Snootysims.com)

Therefore, we created a poll (at the right) regarding this new patch. Please make sure to cast your votes. 🙂

Online store & lack of objects?

With the Sims 3 been released for 3 days now, one of the recent and most talked-about flaws of the game is the lack of sufficient objects and the need to pay for more objects on Sims 3’s online store.

Well, taking into consideration that this is just the BASE game, we are very much aware with a huge amount of certainty that we will be seeing more expansion & stuff packs to be released along the way in the future. These would definitely bring a range of new objects. It could be that we were all used to the huge range of objects available from The Sims 2 expansion & stuff packs, custom content and other downloadable mods.

I believe that having a limited number of objects is certainly a huge motivator to come up with our own custom content. It is clearly one of the objectives of EA that they want to see the huge increase in the community’s creative designs and works – its simply what makes the game more interesting and unique.

Moreover, the in-game object modifier or editor (colors…) helps create an lesser need for more objects. I personally would love to try all objects and apply whatever new feature available to them, if applicable. This would surely give me more gameplay time and certainly a more pleasurable experience.

One more point to consider is the free ‘points’ available for everyone who purchase The Sims 3, this provides a $10 worth of objects. You are not really forced to utilize this offer or purchase more points in the future, however it surely give a new scope of objects to try & use. Not to forget the endless custom content, mods and fansites that will provide free objects  to enhance your experience.

It might seem like a small setback at the moment, however the scope  and potential of this game would certainly help it succeed & ever improve the gameplay.
Enjoy playing The Sims 3. Happy simming =)

The Sims 3 released!

The Sims 3 has finally arrived! It is already receiving excellent reviews, mostly around 90%.

Please don’t hesitate to reply here and tell us what you think about the game!

Reviews:

– Gamespot: 90% – Gamespy: 4.5/5 – IGN: 8.9/10 – Eurogamer: 8/10 – GamePro: 4/5 – Edge-Online: 8/10

– Total videogames.com: 8/10 – PC World: 90% – Gaming Hexus: 9/10 – Cynamite.de: 10/10 – bit-tech: 9/10 – 3D Juegos: 8,3/10

Happy simming! =)

No DRM in Sims 3

Great news! The Sims 3 is officially DRM-free according to the post made on The Sims 3 website by Rod Humble .

The post…

Hello everyone I wanted to share news with you regarding our copy protection plans for The Sims 3.

We’ll have more information for you as we get closer to launch about everything we’ll have to offer on TheSims3.com and The Sims 3 Store, but we have heard your requests over the past months and here is our plan for The Sims 3.

The game will have disc-based copy protection – there is a Serial Code just likeThe Sims 2. To play the game there will not be any online authentication needed.

We feel like this is a good, time-proven solution that makes it easy for you to play the game without DRM methods that feel overly invasive or leave you concerned about authorization server access in the distant future.

We’re really excited to bring you the game for the PC and Mac starting June 2, 2009. The extra time we’ve taken to polish the game has resulted in an even better game experience for you to enjoy and we can’t wait for you to see for yourself!

Thanks for your passion and your loyalty.
Rod Humble

This news is relieving, leaving us more anxious to play the game.