You are reading the most comprehensive guide to the mobile app The Sims FreePlay that is available online (at the time of writing), representing well over 200 hours of game play and counting, and encompassing the careful analysis and application of its variety of game play options, providing a comprehensive guide to play that continues to grow in both depth and quality as the game expands and a deeper understanding of its nuances through play is obtained.
While this guide started out as a brief overview based upon the first hundred hours of play -- a process that underscores the significant differences between The Sims: FreePlay and all of the other games that are part of The Sims empire due to its reliance on a real-time-clock and the inability of players to "speed-up" time, an option that is available in all of the other series and versions of The Sims but is not available in this version -- gamers can consider the information and guidance contained herein to be both hard-won and worthwhile!
As befits the rather simplistic nature of the game, despite the fact that this guide is packed with information that you will find useful as you embark upon building the 16 simulated lives that are under your control in this sandbox-style God game, it will also provide you with the special insight that is absolutely necessary due to the nature of this game -- and in so doing presents (and encourages) the sort of well-founded guidance towards developing patience and self-discipline that is required to progress in the game without spending real-world money in the process. That alone makes this an invaluable source of information for most players, but especially those who desire the pleasure of progress within the game world without having to pay for it...
Before you jump right in, I strongly urge you to read this entire guide, from start to finish, because there are pitfalls in this game as well as tips and tricks that will make your life in it ever so much easier (and cheaper) if you know about them.
-- The Slow Process of Adding Details and the facts behind "TBA" --
Due to the lengthy nature of the play process, which is very time-intensive and time-relative, you will notice that there are some bits of the game that are marked with the tag "TBA" -- this stands for "To Be Added" and represents information that, at publication time, was simply not available due to the fact that we have not yet arrived at the point in which we have completed the related action, activities, or builds that will provide that information.
We ask that you bear with us with respect to patience for that information to be provided; at no point in the play process as we researched and prepared this guide did we choose the expedient option of purchasing either Simoleons (money) or Life Points, because this is a guide that is intended to provide you, the gamer, with the information and strategies that you need to do precisely the same thing: play the game and not spend real-world money!
-- A Long and Arduous Journey --
We have been playing The Sims series since it first was published (the team behind the game play that has gone into creating this guide is just that, a team effort involving the author and his family who have worked together to share the play schedule in order to complete the processes efficiently), and we started playing Little Computer People back in the bad old days when our PC was made by Atari -- and then moved on to Sim City until, finally, The Sims appeared and it got more interesting. With all that in mind we thought that we should begin with a brief look at the history of simulated people gaming...
The Sims is an incredibly successful game franchise that was created by game designer Will Wright, whose previous ventures into the world of computer simulation gaming includes the also very popular Sim City series -- but it was The Sims that caught the imagination of gamers and that has logged an incalculable number of game hours over the past 12 years, running through three series versions (The Sims 3 is currently the most recent revision), with each new version adding to the reality presented to gamers.
Each new version of the series adds something new to the world of The Sims -- the first series began with the base game, The Sims, and then added the expansion packs The Sims: Livin' Large, The Sims: House Party, The Sims: Hot Date, The Sims: Vacation, The Sims: Unleashed, The Sims: Superstar, The Sims: Makin' Magic creating an epic game play experience that most gamers thought would be a challenge to top.
The release of The Sims 2 was met with frank and open confusion -- players who already owned the full set of the original series wondered why they would want to pay for what amounted to a new base game that supported none of the expansions previously purchased -- it was like stepping backwards in the series... But the pre-release videos and PR information made it clear why they would want to make the change to The Sims 2 -- as some of the expanded content from the first series was now part of the new series and, perhaps more important, the graphical environment and the experience of playing your Sims was exponentially better.
Among the significant differences was the fact that the Sims were now rendered in 3D, and supported fully customizable facial features, widely expanded animations, and now had a well-defined life-span that factored into game play with great significance. Collections were added to the game and other small and seemingly disconnected elements that together changed the game experience for most players. Careers were expanded and more interesting, and the building system of the game was also widely expanded. Gamer participation in creating objects was a feature and it worked well!
Following the release of The Sims 2 base game the anticipated expansion packs released at a regular pace, adding The Sims 2 University, The Sims 2 Nightlife, The Sims 2 Open for Business, The Sims 2 Pets, The Sims 2 Seasons, The Sims 2 Bon Voyage, The Sims 2 Free Time, and The Sims 2 Apartment Life which was, taken together, simply amazing content creating a huge and complex game world in which it felt impossible to do everything, and to experience everything that the games had to offer -- but that was not the end of it all.
In addition to the to-be-expected Expansion Packs, EA also presented gamers with a new content pack, called Stuff Packs, whose function was to add new items to the game (usually in groups of around 60) that gamers could use to further customize and make their world unique. The Stuff Packs released for The Sims 2 included the Holiday Party Pack, Family Fun Stuff, Glamour Life Stuff, Happy Holiday Stuff, Celebration! Stuff, H&M Fashion Stuff, Teen Style Stuff, Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff, IKEA Home Stuff, and the Mansion & Garden Stuff, offering gamers with an incredible variety of.. Well... Stuff!
When The Sims 3 was finally launched gamers were anticipating a major improvement to their Sim Lives -- and they got it. The June 2009 release for Windows PC and Mac OSX was followed by the release of versions for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, iOS, Android, Nintendo DS, and Wii, offering gamers a newly updated graphical world in which what your Sims do outside their homes actually matters as much as what they do inside their homes. The game world was tweaked in several ways, with the most obvious being the replacement of the previous goal-based system with the new Wish-based one. An expansion of the skills and career tree top-off the new game play model, and the series of expansions that quickly followed the release of the base game, World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Generations, Pets, and Showtime quickly expand play to exceed that of the previous generation.
-- Little Computer People? --
Before we move on to The Sims FreePlay we need to jump into the Wayback machine and take a quick look at the game that most veteran gamers believe served as inspiration for The Sims series: Little Computer People.
Developer and published by Activision, and designed by David Crane and Rich Gold, Little Computer People -- also called House-on-a-Disk -- was a life simulation game/god game released in 1985 for the Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum, with a version for Amiga following in 1987.
Each copy of the game generates its own unique character -- so no two copies play exactly the same -- and this little person who lived in your computer would move into the three-story house which appeared as a cut-away on the screen, doing everyday things like walking around, eating, sleeping, reading the paper, and playing games with the gamer, who can interact with the little computer person in a number of ways. Every now and then the little person living in your computer will write you a letter telling you how they feel, adding to the interactivity in the game.
While nobody is saying that The Sims are based upon Little Computer People, and the two games are very different in their approach and their style of play, Will Wright himself has said that he played Little Computer People prior to creating The Sims, and even received what he considered valuable feedback on The Sims from its lead designer, Rich Gold -- so any serious Sim fan will want to take a look at this game just for the fun of it!
The process of creating this guide turned out to be a mixture of persistence, patience, self-discipline, and the acknowledgment that creating a useful guide for you, the gamer, was our most powerful motivation. We are committed to staying the course as the game expands and is refined by the studio, so that you have a constantly updated and useful source of game play information, tips, tricks, and perhaps more important than that, a go-to source for answers to the questions that will invariably crop up as you discover the joy of playing God in this newest mobile incarnation of The Sims.
Now that we have come full-circle, it is time to take a look at The Sims FreePlay...
Playing Your First Sim
Now that you have created your first Sim you find yourself in his house, while you are shown a number of tips -- but before we do anything else we need to take a quick look at the controls and how we play the game...
At the top of the screen is a display that shows you your current level, the day and time, and below that from left-to-right your current Simoleon Bank, current Life Points Bank, the number of Sims you have in your town, and the value of your town.
If you tap the Simoleon or the Life Point displays you are taken to the Sim Store, where you can spend real-world money to purchase items like Simoleons or Lifestyle Points, or the Specials of the Day, which can range from a combination of Currency/Lifestyle Points and the item of the day, or just the item of the day...
The Game Interface
Tapping the Sim Count will take you to a screen that shows you how many Sims you have in your town, and finally tapping the Town Value icon shows you the current value and the next Reward Level target. If you just started out your town is worth $10,000 and your next reward is at $25,000.
On the bottom left corner is your Sim Status, which shows you their various needs and how well they have been fulfilled, such as Food, Hygiene, Bathroom Needs, Social Needs, Rest, and Happiness. Keeping all of those in the green will make your Sim inspired, which will provide them with better results from the actions and goals that they experience in life! A bar on the top of the Sim Status displays their current goal which tells you what you need to do to earn your next reward.
In the bottom center of the screen is the main menu controls, which include, from left-to-right, the Create A Sim Window, the Sim Store in which you spend in-game money rather than real-world money and in which the in-game items are obtained, the City Menu, and another button to take you to the Sim Store Window for spending real-world money. The center-bottom selection is the Pause Menu (three dots) which gets you to the Options Menu, the EA Games Window, and the Info Window.
The Options Menu allows you to change the sound levels for FX and Music, set your language, notifications, and finally, to reset the game.
The EA Window allows you to see what other games EA has for you and your iOS device, which you can purchase and install from right within the window.
The Info Window has buttons for About, Help, the End User License Agreement, Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, and the option to allow or disallow sharing of usage data (it is allowed by default, just in case you are Mozzie and need to know that)...
-- Your First Play Session --
Before you start playing you should know that each action that you make in the game takes a specified amount of time, and each action may result in obtaining one or both types of rewards, or accomplish some other goal such as using the bathroom, eating, socializing, that sort of thing... But the amounts that you receive for completing tasks is directly related to the mood (inspiration) of your Sim, so keep that in mind as you play!
Starter Home
As the game settles into its focus upon your first Sim, check the upper-right corner and you will see that there is a magnifying glass icon -- you can use that to zoom in on your Sim -- so do that and you will hear and see a stray dog entering your lot, and receive your first goal: shake hands with the dog!
Go ahead and do that, and you will earn your first Life Point -- and another goal, to make the dog dig for an item. Go to the dog's location and tap the icon over their head and they will dig you another Life Point -- well done!
Your next goal will be to satisfy your Sims Bathroom need -- and to do that you must access the Buy Menu which is now available -- and buy your Sim a toilet. Once you place the toilet have your Sim use it and you will have fulfilled that need! Fulfilling that need gets you another Life Point, and then the window showing you how all Sims have needs, the next one of which is to wash their hands since they just used the bathroom of course!
Your next task will be to purchase a Garden Patch -- it asked be to buy Bell Peppers -- so I bought the plot and placed it, then clicked the plot icon to tend to the Bell Peppers, which took a specific amount of time. After completing the action I then harvested four Bell Peppers and was given my next goal: buy a stereo and place it in my house...
Doing so gives you the option to listen to music (and dance) for the specified amount of time -- and this completes the basic tutorial for the game to this point, whereupon you are prompted to add another Sim to the neighborhood as your Sim needs a neighbor!
-- Adding a Neighbor --
Hit the City Menu button and then select Add a Sim in the lower left corner, and you will then select a house to place them in -- since we do not have money or Life Points to spend, the free house that is available is our only choice, and it takes five real-world minutes to be built -- so we have to wait for that event to complete, and that underscores the primary mechanism for this game: time.
Your New Neighbor's Building Timers
Basically the revenue stream for The Sims FreePlay is choosing whether to wait the real-world time it takes to accomplish various tasks, or spend real money and pay to complete them without having to wait.
You will notice that as the current action timer progresses, the icon that represents it begins to fill up with green to show you your progress. When the construction on your new neighbor's house completes, you then create the Sim who will live there, after which you get another goal, to spend $600 on walls and floors.
Once you finish that, you will be prompted to buy and place a refrigerator, and then a shower and lounge, and then a TV. At this point you will be placed into build mode to expand the size of one of the rooms, and then prompted to buy and place a bed -- at which point you have provided all of the items that your Sim technically requires to live in their new home.
-- Back to Your First Sim --
Your next goal is to use the Sim Tracker to locate your first Sim -- so do that now! He looks hungry so why not have a snack, and then have them go over and introduce themselves to the new neighbor! You will notice that you have a new goal -- to make a specific expression or action -- so during your socializing make that expression or action to fulfill the goal.
Continue to interact socially so until your relationship changes between the two Sims, and you have established an Acquaintance, which pays you 100 XP and well done mates! You should also level-up and unlock some new items like another Sim slot for your neighborhood! Again, well done!
Your next goal is to Inspire two Sims -- and to do that simply click on the Cupcake Icon and you will fulfill that goal instantly! The next goal is to get two Sims to Garden at the same time, so place another Garden Patch on the property and have your two Sims tend a Patch each -- using the Sim Locator menu to switch between them. Well done!
Adding a Sim Earns a Life Point
At this point you will be instructed to use the Town Menu to collect money that has been earned -- so do that now! When you pop back to the game screen you find that your next goal is to take a Power Snooze -- so do that to trade 4 minutes for 33 XP, then have a Turbo Snack before being prompted to add your third Sim to the neighborhood!
-- Adding Your Third Sim --
As you can see this is a progression of the basic tutorial mode of the game, but go ahead and add yet another Sim to your world so you have more options and the potential to earn more money and Life Points -- but bear in mind that this time around because we do not have sufficient funds to purchase one of the more advanced houses we have to go with the 250 Simoleon choice, which has a 30 minute build time! So we will have to wait half an hour for our next Sim to come into the neighborhood.
While we wait out that build-time we can head back to our other Sims to Garden, play with our dog, or socialize for XP and other rewards, as the timers for the different activities that are taking place in the neighborhood will run regardless of whether or not we are present to oversee them. Gardening is a good way to pick up money and XP, and of course keeping an eye on your dog in case they find something to dig up is another way to score additional rewards!
You do not actually have to remain in the game to progress the different activities -- that is one of the strengths of The Sims FreePlay, which is sort of like a very complex Tamagotchi in a way -- you can set the activities, go away, and come back and time will have passed since the game uses the real-world clock in factoring in-game time, making it an ideal game to play in small snatches throughout the day -- just try not to let your boss catch you, right?
Bear in mind though that as time passes, the needs for your Sims will lower, so when you do return you will need to tend to those needs or they will just get worse. That is why you do not want to go away from your game for more than a few real-world days -- and why we compare it to a Tamagotchi!
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar