February 2010

  • Restore Just One Sims 3 Neighborhood From Backup

    By erika on 2/24/10 9:48pm
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    I recently developed a few weird problems with my game. Then I noticed something interesting: although my Riverview family had problems, my Sunset Valley family did not.  In fact, Sunset Valley played fine.

    I am a fanatic about making backups.  And I have restored my entire game from backup before.  However, this would overwrite everything that happened in Sunset Valley in the two weeks since I had last made a backup!  I really didn't want to lose that gameplay.

    I went looking around, and found this article on the official Sims 3 forum.  It turns out that you can indeed ONLY restore one neighborhood from backup.  In this case, I was able to successfully restore Riverview with my two-week-old backup, while leaving Sunset Valley unchanged.


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  • Moving Out Your Sims!

    By erika on 2/22/10 4:53pm
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    Moving DayMoving DayThere are a lot of changes to the way Sims can move out in Sims 3.  Back in Sims 2, you just made a phone call, then walked off into the ethereal blue mist.  Or you could evict the entire family, and move them into a new house.  You could invite other family members to move in with you, but the whole thing was very clunky.  I groaned whenever I had to do anything involving the Family Bin, because somehow I always screwed it up.

    In The Sims 3, all you have to do is place a call (or click on the computer, or use the newspaper).  (And who are you calling, anyway?  They never do explain that part…)  You then get a dialogue box which gives you your existing Sims household on one side, and the new household on the other side.  This is the same as the marriage dialogue, and accomplishes basically the same goals.


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  • Sims 3 Transportation

    By erika on 2/15/10 5:01pm
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    There are a lot of new ways to get around in The Sims 3 - and a lot of odd quirks, tips, tricks, what have you!  I thought I would take the time to go through all the ways your Sim can get around:

    Teleport: This is the most expensive Lifetime Happiness reward available.  It costs 75,000 Lifetime Happiness reward points!  It lets your Sims instantly teleport off to a location of your choosing.  Once they are done, your Sims can use their cell phone to "Teleport Home."

    Tip: If you have a Sim with a high enough Handiness skill, set them to work upgrading the Teleport Pad to be 100% reliable.  


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  • Sims 3 Martial Arts

    By erika on 2/11/10 5:07pm
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    Sparring SimsSparring SimsMartial arts is another complex skill introduced by the World Adventures expansion pack.  Superficially, martial arts is fairly simple - you learn how to fight, spar with other Sims, and eventually have the chops to beat up a mummy.  But there is a lot more to martial arts than just fighting - this may be the most complex skill available in The Sims 3.

    Learning Martial Arts

    Sims can pick up martial arts by getting trained by  a master, or by simply buying a training dummy and taking a crack at it.  (The training dummy is available for purchase in Shang Simla.)  Amazingly, Sims can teach themselves martial arts fairly well - please note that your real-life experience may vary!


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  • Sims 3 Traits: Easy To Please

    By erika on 2/10/10 4:31pm
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    Neurotic Sims occasionally have to check the sinkNeurotic Sims occasionally have to check the sinkEvery once in a while I'm successful enough with a young Sim that the game lets me choose their new trait when they grow up.  (It doesn't happen as often as it could, I am ashamed to admit.)   The question always becomes, which trait should I choose?

    If you have an idea for where you want your Sim to go in life, obviously there are traits that can help with that.  Artistic Sims paint better, Genius Sims learn the logic skill faster, and so forth.  But let's say you have already chosen the important trait, and now you just need something to round out the roster.


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  • The Mystery of Sims 3 Nectar

    By erika on 2/9/10 5:22pm
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    With the World Adventures expansion pack came the ability to make (and enjoy) nectar.  Sims 2 had "juice," of course, in the form of juice bars where you could get a sugary drink that would make you have to pee a lot.  Nectar ups the ante, by giving you a positive moodlet for good nectar, plus no significant bathroom effects.  (Flame fruit nectar will give you an extra boost of the "warm fuzzies.")

    Nectar comes from France (oui oui!) where you can purchase a Nectar Maker (a still by any other name…) for your very own.  Although it costs $1,500 so be sure to budget accordingly!  Nectar making is a skill just like Photography or Fishing, and it is about as lucrative.  Which is to say, "not very."  Not compared to a "real job," anyway.  


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  • Field Guide to the Sims 3 Mummy

    By erika on 2/5/10 11:44am
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    Mummies were introduced with the World Adventures expansion pack.  They live in Al Simhara (the Egyptian world), inhabiting underground tombs.  

    Finding A Mummy

    To find a mummy, look for a sarcophagus.  They sleep there - all the time, apparently!  (Mummies must be even lazier than I am.)  You can awaken the mummy by right-clicking on the sarcophagus and instructing your Sim to look inside.  Mummies may also spontaneously awaken if you start stealing treasure from their tomb.

    Fighting The Mummy

    Once the mummy awakens, it will pick a fight with your Sim.  If your Sim loses this fight, they will receive the mummy's curse.  


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  • How To Kill Your Sims in Sims 3

    By erika on 2/3/10 2:30pm
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    If you have been playing Sims 3 for very long, you have probably noticed that there are not as many ways to kill off your Sims as there were in the previous games!  This is partly true because each expansion pack introduced new ways to die, so that collectively if you owned every expansion pack for Sims 2, there were at least a dozen possible deaths.

    The Pool (Drowning)

    You may also have tried to drown your Sims, only to learn that they can now get out of the pool even if there isn't a ladder!  They just climb out the edge!  I literally laughed out loud the first time I saw this happen.  Methinks the EA developers are having a bit of fun at our expense.  I wonder how many Sims drowned in pools over the years?  It certainly must have been one of the top causes of death.


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  • Sims 3 Life Stages Strategy: Teen

    By erika on 2/1/10 3:53pm
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    Sims 3 Teens Enjoy FishingSims 3 Teens Enjoy FishingThe teen years can be frustrating, because you have the ability to do almost everything that adults can, but you can't stay out past 11PM, drop out of school, or move into a home of your own.  Kind of uncanny how true-to-life this game can be at times!

    A teen's curfew is raised from 10PM to 11PM, but the cops are out in force.  I guess there isn't a lot of crime happening in Riverside, because I've never had a teen stay out later than 11:07PM without being caught by the cops.  Too bad, because teens love staying out past curfew - and they get really bummed when the cops take them home.  It's embarrassing for one thing!  And a parent always comes out to lecture you.  LAME.


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