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(^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^) /\ | | __________ \/
( ) / \| | / ________| __ _ __ __ ____
^^^^^^^| |^^^^^^^ / | | / | | | |/ | \ / ___|
| | __ /__ ___|____ | | | | | | | | \___ \
| | | | | || ______| \ \________ |__| |___|__|_| |____/
| | | |__| || |____ \_______ \
| | | __ || ____| \ \
| | | | | || |______ | | Designed By Maxis
| | |__| |__||________| _______/ / Published by EA (Electronic Arts, Inc.)
--------|__|-------------------------|_________/-----FAQ by MaxisMaster (Joe Kaiser)-----------

By Joe Kaiser
The Sims FAQ


Everything you'll need to know
______________________________________________________________________________________________
-If you have anything to add, email me at Bigjoekaiz@aol.com with "The Sims FAQ" as the
subject
-Everything I know about The Sims will be in this guide, and I will update as needed.
-The most recent version of this FAQ can be found at http://www.gamefaqs.com
-If you wish to put this FAQ on your webpage, email me at Bigjoekaiz@aol.com with "The Sims
FAQ"
as the subject
-Please refer to the Coming Soon section - I need suggestions!
-A list of all the downloads:


_____________________________________________________________________________________________
|Item | Other Comments|
|_____________________________|_______________________________________________________________|
|Cuckoo Clock | Cuckoos every six hours - 6AM 12AM 6PM 12PM |
|Moose Head | Antlers are an indicator of family happiness - the higher the |
| | antlers, the happier the family. |
|Weird Skins | Includes Warriors, a Detective, and Wizards |
|5 New Houses | A good variety |
|Wall Lights | Very Useful |
|Slot Machine | Use it when you are depressed to get better odds. |
|Guinea Pig | It may make you sick - make sure you clean it often. |
|Plants | Some Miscellaneous Plants |
|"Physical" Skins | Very interesting.
|
|MTV Skins | Skins from MTV ads. |
|Topiaries | Hedge Llama, Dolphin, Skyscraper, etc. |
|Coped Flowers | Flowers inside a concrete border |
|Party Balloons | Attracts people to your house |
|The White House | A Sim Model of the white house (but no toilet) |
|New Trashcans | Elephant's foot and Sleek Black
|
|Flamingo Neon Bar Sign | Really nice for the real man's den
|
|Game Upgrade | Fixes lots of bugs |
|Jukebox | Not actually for the game - desktop item. Get it at: |
| | www.rankit.com/sims/simsoffer2.html |
|Art Studio | Your own artwork in the game
|_____________________________|_______________________________________________________________|

Updates

Version 2.6 | 9-08-00 | Added 1.5 Livin' Larger, Added 11 Contest. Boy, Livin' Large is
sure worth
it!
Version 2.5 | 7-09-00 | Added Handy Dandy Download Chart Above, Added Chapter 7 Ideas for New
Objects and Concepts
Version 2.4 | 7-05-00 | I'm baaaaack! Changed FAQ Layout, updated the Review/Overview, added
5.52
Dealing with Death, added 5.32 Money Theory, added 5.33 Everyone's Favorite Strategy, Added
"Joe's
Comment" to the Complex Furniture Description Chapter, and added 5.6 Livin La Vida Loca in The
Sims
Version 2.3 | 6-13-00 | Boy, it's been a loooong time. Added Horoscope FAQ in 4.5, Updated Job
rankings, Finished on the furniture, changed ii. NOTES! to ii. NOTES AND NEWS!, added MUCHO FUN
STUFF to it, added a new link (I highly suggest you visit it), added iii. Official Maxis Chat with
Will Wright and iv. Chat with "The Sims: Livin' Large" Developers
Version 2.2 | 4-26-00 | Added 4.51 More on Marriage, added a new bug, added to 4.5, added more to
3.8, started statistic deficiency on 4.35 (will change ratings soon), added to known bugs.
Version 2.1 | 4-12-00 | Miss me? Started Chapter 3.8 The Complex Furniture Description Chapter,
Updated Codes
Version 2.0 | 3-29-00 | Updated Known Bugs
Version 1.9 | 3-25-00 | Updated codes, added 2.8 Cool Ideas, Updated FAQ
Version 1.8 | 3-12-00 | Did a much needed spelling/grammar check, started FAQ, added new code.
Version 1.7 | 3-09-00 | Added 1.1 The Neighbors, Added i. Review / Overview, (Please look at
coming soon! I need your help!) Added 9. Last Time I Played...
Version 1.6 | 3-06-00 | Worked all week on this. Added 2.65 A Place For The Kids, Added to Table
of Contents and Updated section i (You GOTTA See This.), Added 4.25 Sim Health, added 7 Known
Bugs, and - it took a lot of time - ADDED 4.35 THE JOBS
Version 1.5 | 2-29-00 | Big Update! Fixed minor errors, Added more in Section 1, Added 4.4 School,
2.25 A Very Nice Touch and 2.6 The Great Outdoors, Added 7 Coming Soon, Changed ASCII art slightly
Version 1.4 | 2-28-00 | Added 3.7, changed minor errors, added 4.3, changed old 4.3 to 4.4
Version 1.3 | 2-21-00 | Changed minor errors, added 4.3, added Cheats and other stuff
Version 1.2 | 2-20-00 | Added ASCII art, changed minor errors, added 3.6, started section 4!
Version 1.1 | 2-20-00 | Fixed Table of Contents, added 2.6, Wrote Section 3!
Version 1.0 | 2-20-00 | Everything's New!

Table of Contents
1. General Game Stuff
1.1 Review / Overview
1.2 NOTES & NEWS!
1.3 Official Maxis Chat with Will Wright
1.4 Chat with "The Sims: Livin' Large" Developers
1.5 Living Larger
2. Building A Family
2.1 The Neighbors
3. Building A Home
3.1 Walls
3.2 Doors
3.25 A Very Nice Touch
3.3 Windows
3.4 Wallpaper and Flooring
3.5 Bragging Rights
3.6 The Great Outdoors
3.65 A Place for the Kids
3.7 Suggested Homes
3.8 Cool Ideas
3.81 The Apartment
3.82 Casino
3.83 Restaurant
3.84 Bar
3.85 Really Good Idea
3.9 Final Words On Building
4. Furnishing your home
4.1 Four Basics
4.2 Living Room
4.3 Kitchen
4.4 Bedroom
4.5 Bathroom
4.6 Security
4.7 Lighting and Decorations
4.8 The Complex Furniture Description Chapter
5. Living the Sim Life
5.1 The Basics
5.2 The Eight Needs
5.25 Sim Health
5.3 Money and Jobs
5.31 The Jobs
5.32 Money Theory
5.33 Everyone's Favorite Strategy
5.4 School
5.5 Love, Life, and Death
5.51 More on Marriage
5.52 Dealing with Death
5.6 Livin La Vida Loca in The Sims
6. Cheats and other stuff
7. Ideas for New Objects and Concepts
8. Links
9. Known Bugs
10. FAQ
11. Contest!
12. Coming Soon
13. Last Time I Played...
--------------------------
INTRODUCTION
--------------------------

The Sims is a Maxis game somewhere between SimCity and SimAnt. In my opinion, it is the best yet.
It is a realistic simulation of family life, containing all the twists and turns you could ever
hope to see. It covers everything from making lunch to making friends to making babies to making
money. Yep, it's all about making. Your Sims (simulated people) can live in a shack or a
mansion.
They can have a pool or a pool table. And if you have the money, both!

--------------------------
1.1 Review / Overview
--------------------------

I officially was hooked in September 1998.

Maxis games grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I slowly became addicted to Maxis, after grabbing
a
copy of SimTower from Maxis's website and having a copy of SimTown lying around. But I was
itching
for more. I wanted SimCity 2000 like it was the apocalypse. But I had no cash at the time. So I
waited until Christmas until a relative was thoughtful enough to give me SimIsle plus "The
Ultimate Collection" - SimCity 2000, SimCopter and Streets of SimCity.

Then I was really hooked.

As I stumbled through the boxes, I saw an offer for $20 off SimCity 3000. I'd been watching
the
website for months, waiting for a release date. The sheet said Fall 1998, but that had come and
gone. So I waited the month until late January, when I discovered... could it be... YES! SC3K
(Maxis Junkie Slang for SimCity 3000) would be out on February 2nd! I grabbed every cent I could
find and ordered it from Maxis. I would go to Best Buy every day and look over the box until it
came.

Then I was incredibly hooked.

I played for months, until mid June when my city building fantasies slowed. I got 4 months out of
it, and a recent trip to the museum hooked me on RollerCoaster Tycoon. So I bought that and played
it until it's expansion pack, which I bought and played some more. But in September, I vaguely
remembered a video clip on the SC3K disk. The Sims, was it? Hmm. I grabbed the disc from the rack
and watched the clip. Wow! I went to SimCity.com and found The Sims had a website. In almost a
deja vu of last year, I checked the site every day. And soon I found that The Sims would be
released exactly one year and two days after SC3K.

I was so hooked that I couldn't get out.

So on the first day it was out I hastily called Best Buy and checked if they had it in stock. No.
Dang! The next day I checked Babbages. They had it, and for $40 too! It was an average price, but
I went and checked Best Buy regardless. They had it for $50, but I wanted to use a gift card and
got them to lower their price. I bought it and played immediately.

I am hopelessly hooked.

For the past month I've been making families, from the family of a successful doctor to
the family with two black brothers living together to a bachelor who ended up moving out to a
family based on the three most known people at Maxis (Will Wright, Luc Barthelet, Lucy Bradshaw -
maybe later I'll add Ocean Quigley as a neighbor.) It's an incredibly original idea, as it
isn't
like the millions of Doom clones out there. It keeps you hooked because you haven't done it
before. You are the dictator. Hey, want to put a shower right by the pool, like at gymnasiuns?
Whatever! I've explored so many of the possibilities in this game, and I'm hoping Mr.
Wright has
more in store for us. Or else I'll kill the Sim I made of him! Bwhahahahaha! But I still
can't
stop playing the game, regardless. There's always more motivation for me, like if I want to get
a
pool table, a big screen TV and a computerized toilet.

I'm going to be hooked for a long time.

Graphics: 9/10
Wow! This is something that I thought Maxis wouldn't ever do. The characters are 3-D, and look
pretty good none the less. The furniture and architecture were obviously cared for greatly, as
seen by the detail put into it. The people just look plain great, and their wardrobes are simply
smashing (How would you like a blonde with a tube top and leather jacket on over it? Huh?). They
even get you with lighting, as lights in one place will show up there more than further away.

Gameplay: 10/10
First of all, it just doesn't get old. I could have 8 families running and want more. The
interface is simple, as you can select a character and click on the object you want to use. One
thing I would've liked is a "house map" for easy navigation.

Sound: 10/10
Geez! These Maxis fellows were so articulate with the sound that my family thinks the doorbell
rang when it's only the SimDoorbell. You can hear them "ouch"ing when they cut
themselves, or the
shower running in the bathroom. Best of all, it fades out as the view gets further away, like in
real life. You don't hear a shower throughout the house, but it isn't silent either.

Wow Factor: 10/10
I play this the first time and say, "Oh. My. God." This game is like none other, and even
a junkie
like me who knew what to expect was shocked.

Overall Rating (Not an average): 98%. This game is the best I've ever played and I must
recommend
you GO OUT AND BUY IT RIGHT NOW (unless you already have it).

UPDATE!!!
In April or May, my interest in Maxis slowed. Then, I bought SimCity 3000: Unlimited. I played for
a few days and I realized that I was slowly re-addicted to Maxis. Now I've started yet another
family.

--------------------------
1.2 NOTES & NEWS!!!
--------------------------

You can give your Sims free will or not using the options menu, but free will will let them do
things themselves. No free will lets you be the absolute ruler of them.

STRAIGHT FROM MAXIS!
YOU CAN GET MORE THAN ONE NEIGHBORHOOD!!!

How can I save more than one game?