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

By Joe Kaiser
The Sims FAQ
-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!


Updates
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
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. Links
8. Known Bugs
9. Coming Soon
10. 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? 
The Sims design is to play one neighborhood at a time.
If you want to save several different neighborhoods, you can copy the 
\\UserData folder located within \\The Sims folder on your hard drive. Copy 
this folder into a different location and that neighborhood will be preserved. 
When you want to play those houses, remove the current \\UserData folder and 
place the backed up folder into \\The Sims folder. 

You heard it here.

NEWS!!!
Guess what?
A Sims Expansion Pack is on the way!!!
That's right. Named "The Sims: Livin' Large", it will include:
New Careers: Musician, Slacker, Paranormal
New Decoration Styles: Castle, Retro, Vegas
New Objects: Genie in a bottle, Crystal Ball, Exploding Lawn Gnome, Vending 
Machines, Telescope, Personality-Altering Chemistry Set
New Disasters: Alien Abduction
I can't wait until September - It'll cost 29.99

SimMultiplayer?
Will Wright recently discussed "The Sims" Multiplayer Prospects with Computer 
Gaming World. More to come...

-----------------------------------------
1.3 Official Maxis Chat with Will Wright
-----------------------------------------
Q: I'm 10 years old and I LOVE YOUR game!!! Thank you for making it, and I 
want to ask: How long did it take you to do this? 
Will Wright: Games take a long time to make. My first game took...about a 
year; the Sims took about 4.5 years. 

Q: When we Sim players are playing your game The Sims, what thought would you 
like us to keep in the back of our mind? Such as something important that you 
want to share to add our appreciation for your creation! 
Will Wright: I think the most important lesson to be learned for me was..and 
how we choose to spend it..has a big impact on our happiness. 

Q: Have you worked on all "Sim" games made by Maxis? 
Will Wright: No, probably less than half, the ones I worked on...are SimCity 
Classic, SimEarth, SimAnt...SimCity 2000, SimCopter and The Sims. 

Q: How long did it take you and your crew to create the Sims? 
Will Wright: I first started on the Sims about 7 years ago. I worked on it on 
and off...for a few years and then non-stop for the last 3 years or so...I 
probably spent 4.5 years total on it. 

Q: What will we expect in Simsville? 
Will Wright: I'm not really working on that project, however...it will sort of 
be between SimCity and The Sims. 

Q: What bands (of music) do you like? 
Will Wright: Enigma, Jethro Tull, Genesis, Pink Floyd, and many more. Vince 
Guarldi also. 

Q: When will the Sims expansion pack be out? 
Will Wright: The expansion pack should be out around the beginning of 
September. 

 Q: Are you working on making it possible to put windows, doors, so forth on 
wall that cut diagonally across a square? 
Will Wright: Not in the expansion pack, I really want that also though...so 
I'll be trying to find a way to get it in some future patch. 

Q: It seems the direction of the Sims is headed to the more kitchy/bizarre 
side of things in the expansion pack, etc., what will be done to make it more 
of a realistic imitation of life in the expansion pack and beyond? 
Will Wright: Well that has a lot to do with how you play...there will also be 
many new decorative style in the expansion pack...which should allow you to 
more closely model your own house, etc. 

Q: When are we going to get another download? 
Will Wright: I'm not sure, I haven't been keeping up with the downloads at 
all...sorry I don't know more. 

Q: Can there be wether in the expansion pack? 
Will Wright: I assume you mean weather. Not really but we're looking 
into...the possibility in a future object though. Maybe a weather controller. 

Q: How old are you? 
Will Wright: I'm 40. I don't feel 40 though (more like 34). 

Q: Mr. Wright, I think that The Sims represents not just a major stepping 
stone in artificial intelligence, but also as a demonstration that computer 
games CAN be commercial successes. Do you feel that with the recent 
introduction of  "high-end" consoles (like the PS2), the PC will no longer be 
the leading platform for more "experimental" games? 
Will Wright: It will always be easier to experiment on a PC than a game 
console for many reasons...The polish of the programming and art tools being 
just one example....So no, I think you'll still see most of the unique games 
on the PC first, because  costs are lower. 

Q: Who is your favorite Sim out of the ones that you start the game with? Such 
as the Goths and the Newbies. Also, what is your favorite object? 
Will Wright: Probably Bella Goth, I made the Goth family myself...and I feel a 
certain responsibility for them...my favorite object is a harder call...either 
the flamingo, hot tub, pool table, or clown painting. 

Q: Will there be a way to change the pictures and sounds on the Sims' TV sets? 
Will Wright: Actually I think you can change the sounds now by dropping .wav 
files...into the correct directory with the correct filenames...I forget the 
filenames off hand though. 

Q: What's Simsville? 
Will Wright: Simsville is a new "Sim" game we're releasing early next year. 

Q: How old were you when you came up with this? Or did I already ask that LOL 
Will Wright: I was about 33 when I first though of making a game like The 
Sims. That's a rather depressing thought.

Q: Are you married? 
Will Wright: Yes, I'm married and have a 13 year-old daughter. 

Q: Why don't they have sex in the game? 
Will Wright: We would have had to put a M rating on the game, which would have 
limited...the sales to about 1/2 of otherwise. And prevented many kids from 
playing it...that might really enjoy it. 

Q: Are there going to be any more pets/animals in The Sims Living Large? 
Will Wright: Good question, I can't remember if the parrot made the list or 
not. 

Q: How long until we get a coat hanger for our closets? What happened to: 
walking in the door, Honey I'm home then hang up coat: This is no way for a 
Sim to live. 
Will Wright: We though about an object that is like a door but has a 
closet...inside (without sticking out the other side of the wall)...I think 
this will be part of the expansion pack. 

Q: Will this game, with me being 13 years of age, lead to materialism when I'm 
older? 
Will Wright: No it will cause you to rebel against our capitalistic 
society...you will then move to India...and seek out the root cause of all 
suffering in life...high on a mountaintop, near the Tibetan plains. 

Q: Why is your nick name MaxisTurl? 
Will Wright: Turl was the friend and associate of Klapaucius. 

Q: Can u include more fat skins with the expansion pack? 
Will Wright: If we go too fat the characters start to poke through the 
furniture and such...that puts a limit on how big they can be. 

Q: When I get a job I want to do what you do...what advice do you have for me? 
Will Wright: Read a lot. Start simple, learn to program (maybe in Java)...make 
many simple games yourself and you will learn a tremendous amount. 

Q: What about Sims getting sick and then calling a doctor eg.. services menu. 
Is this possible? 
Will Wright: We have a new medicine cabinet in the exp. pack that will cure 
sickness. 

Q: How did you become who you are? 
Will Wright: Well, that's straightforward...I lived my life until I got to 
this point.????? 

Q: Do you think you are as smart as Bill Gates? 
Will Wright: No, I'm just very persistent. 

Q: What are your best tips for making the best out of your Sims time? 
Will Wright: Try holding the cursor over the selected Sim to make him/her walk 
faster...very few people seem to know this one. 

Q: Hi! Just curious, but do you play the games you created in your spare time? 
Will Wright: I play them a lot when I'm working on them...after I finish them 
I usually come up for air and play...the other games I was missing...to get a 
sense of what's popular and cool at the time. Popular that is.

Q: I heard that certain architect programs inspired your creation of the Sims, 
which ones and are there any you would recommend for the novice "arm chair" 
architect? 
Will Wright: Actually it was an architecture book...I would highly 
recommend...A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander...as far as programs 
go...I would say that 3d home architect by Broderbund is the best I've seen. 

Q: Will, when did you figure out that you would get to play video games for a 
living? 
Will Wright: Well, when I was about 22 I decided to try making games for a 
living...it took about a year or so for me to make my first game...and sell it 
to find out that I actually COULD do it. 

Q: What was the first programming language you learned to start out? 
Will Wright: I learned FORTRAN in college and found computers boring at that 
time...later I learned BASIC and PASCAL on my first computer (Apple2)...then 
later taught myself assembly (6502) we I got serious about it. 

Q: What is your favorite game of all time? 
Will Wright: The board game of "Go". 

Q: Did you expect your game to become such a world-wide hit? 
Will Wright: Not really. I hoped it would do well...But I really didn't think 
it would do THIS well. 

Q: How are you tonight, Mr. Wright? 
Will Wright: I am just fine. I had a very nice day. Digging through piles of 
metal scrap. 

Q: Why isn't there a teacher career? 
Will Wright: We're adding a few new careers in the exp. pack...The teacher 
career was hard to populate with 10 different levels. 

Q: How many new disasters will the expansion pack have?? 
Will Wright: About 6-8 some are surprises. Not as bad as the guinea pig 
though. 

Q: When the expansion pack is released, will there be any new ways that your 
Sim will meet an end? 
Will Wright: I believe so. And ways to save a Sim who has meet their end. 

Q: Will, this isn't a question, but you are the best in the PC gaming biz. 
Will Wright: Thanks that's a nice thing to say, but Shigeru Miyamoto is far 
better. 

Q: Which game are you most proud of making? 
Will Wright: I'd probably say The Sims now, before The Sims I would have said 
SimEarth. 

Q: Do you personally handle the new stuff that you have at The Sims? 
Will Wright: If you mean the downloads no, not really. I'm rather busy on new 
projects. 

Q: Do you review Sim sites? 
Will Wright: I don't review them, but I visit them almost daily...I really 
like several of them MOTS, SizOnline, Sims Resource, Project Sims. etc. 

Q: Why is Maxis so crazy about llamas? 
Will Wright: Llamas are our company mascot. 

Q: What are the chances of later allowing SIMS to age? 
Will Wright: Maybe in a later version of The Sims. I would be very hard to add 
that to the existing...version of the game. 

Q: Will there be more cheats in the Sims expansion pack? 
Will Wright: There will be cheats of sorts (like if the genie can get his 
spells right). 

Q: Any more skins being made? 
Will Wright: Yes, we seem to always be making more skins (as are the fans). 

Q: What will happen to Sims abducted by aliens in Livin' Large? 
Will Wright: They will return some time in the future and then be very 
different. 

Q: Is the guinea pig really the source of a sickness? 
Will Wright: Yes, if the pig bites you when his cage is dirty you can get 
sick." 

Q: What is your favorite color? 
Will Wright: Black. 

Q: What will the nature of new activities, if any, allowed for children in the 
expansion pack? 
Will Wright: That's a long answer, pretty much similar to the adult things 
(telescope, chemistry set, etc.) 

Q: Is it very fun being a programmer? 
Will Wright: I don't do that much programming nowadays...I do mostly 
design...programming is very fun though if you have the...temperament for it 
(patient and meticulous). 

Q: Can you make superheroes in your expansion pack? 
Will Wright: Well we have new NPC's (genie, grim reaper, tragic clown)...I'm 
not sure I'd call any of them heroes though. 

Q: What's the longest you've ever played a Sim game in one sitting? 
Will Wright: Probably about 6 hours (when I was younger, and before I had a 
kid). 

Q: what is your professional title? 
Will Wright: It changes every month...this month it's Metaphorical 
Cartographer. 

Q: I have always wondered, what game designers have as personal goals, besides 
the material ones, what is a personal goal you have with your visionary games? 
Will Wright: To help alter the world in some slight way for the better...I 
know that's quite hard to measure...but games are a very Powerful new 
media...and it seems like they have the potential to do much good in this 
world. 

Q: Are you personally obsessed with The Sims like most of the fans? 
Will Wright: At this point I'm probably more obsessed with the fans...I spend 
a lot of time surfing the fan sites to see the new skins and walls and other 
stuff the fans are making for the game...I also spend time checking out the 
family albums on our site. 

Q: What do you enjoy more: Living, buying or building? 
Will Wright: Build. That's always been my favorite part of the game. I can 
spend hours ...making new homes. 

Q: Were you more hippy or disco? 
Will Wright: Much more hippy (in a sort of nerdy way). 

Q: is there a way to prevent or treat the guinea pig sickness? 
Will Wright: Yes, just get a little more rest than usual and it will go away 
over time. 
And keep to cage clean to prevent it entirely.

Q: I'd like to know your answer to the "dinner party question"...Which 3 
people from history would you most like to have at a dinner party? 
Will Wright: Mmmmmmm...let me think....Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and maybe 
Galileo…or Ptolomy. No Turing. Definitely Alan Turing. 

Q: How well do you think you score as a husband & father? How do you juggle 
between work and family?
Will Wright: I guess you'd have to ask my family. We all get along very well 
though...even though my daughter is officially a teenager. She still likes to 
spend a lot of time with us. 

Q: Why can't friends hug (or dance) without loved ones getting jealous? 
Will Wright: We were trying to really simulate...a caricature of real 
life...so we exaggerated many things like that. 

Q: I love The Sims! Can I ask in the Expansion Pack did you make it where the 
Sims can get hot or cold or is that yet to come? 
Will Wright: Yet to come. 

Q: Do you have a favorite user created skin? 
Will Wright: I like many of them, I use the Mulder and Sculley skins and some 
of the Trek skins quite a bit. 

Will Wright: Thanks everyone...for showing up. Sorry that I couldn't...answer 
all the questions...but with 2200 submitted questions that's inevitable.

--------------------------------------------------
1.4 Chat with "The Sims: Livin' Large" Developers
--------------------------------------------------
MaxisChris: Chris Baena, Associate Producer
MaxisPatrickB3: Patrick Barrett, Engineer
Maxis_AnimatorX: Eric Hedman, Animator 
MAXISean: Sean Baity, Assistant Producer

Is it true that in the expansion pack, Sims will be able to have sex!? 
MaxisPatrickB3: In the expansion pack The Sims will be able to play in bed on 
the vibrating bed. What play is, is up to you. 

What new objects will the expansion have? 
MaxisPatrickB3: The expansion pack consists of three distinct themes that can 
be mixed and matched with our current objects. Anything from a genie lantern 
to a chemistry set. as well as new rugs, couches, counters, etc. 

When will the expansion pack be released? 
MaxisChris: The Expansion Pack will be released in September.

I realize that the Sims game is not really a home designer, but it is good 
none the less. I know that some new stuff is being added to the build mode, 
could you please specify what is being added? As well, will the build mode bug 
be fixed? 
MAXISean: Build mode will have new windows, new doors, new floors and new 
walls. We are basically tripling the number of walls and floors and tightening 
up their compatibility with each other and the furniture. What bug are you 
talking about? 

What will the highest career level be for the slacker? 
MaxisChris:  You will have to wait and see.

Will the expansion pack just be game add-ons, like new furniture, clothes, 
etc. or also game enhancements like weekends or other engine 
enhancements/changes? 
MAXISean: The expansion pack will have very unique new game play additions in 
addition to the add-on like features. You will get a vacation for instance. 
Tons of new furniture. I want to leave some room for surprises, but at E3 we 
showed off an egg shaped chair, the Velvet SofaSaurus Funk sofa, an wood 
burning stove, a coat of arms, stainless steel tables etc etc etc 

When will the expansion pack be available, and how much will it cost? 
MaxisChris: The Expansion Pack will be available in September for $29.95 
MaxisPatrickB3: $29.95 USD 

What is this genie that we have all been hearing about? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: The genie is a unique game play addition. A basic character 
addition that can increase your fun, affection...as well as accidentally bring 
in some new situations. Not unlike the guinea pig perse. 
MaxisPatrickB3: With Will Wright there are also some surprises in the objects. 
The Chemistry Set may turn a Sim into a monster for a while for example. There 
are a lot of normal objects as well. 

Will the genie grant wishes, and if so what kind of wishes? 
MaxisPatrickB3: The genie grants wishes but sometimes things don't always go 
the way you would expect. There are about 10 different wishes each with a 
couple different outcomes. 

What is your personal favourite new object? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: Vegas Fantasy Motel Love Bed. Gotta love a padded head board 
and the magic fingers. 

Will there be castle designs? 
MAXISean: Yes. If you look on some of the game review pages like gamespot, you 
will see we have extensive antique floors, walls, furniture and windows. They 
don't have to be called "castle" as they can be used as expensive antiques 
too. But now you can make medieval stories easily. 

What do u think the coolest thing is in the new pack and when can we get it? 
MaxisPatrickB3: The coolest object has got to be the genie lantern. It is very 
well done. It is the first time we have mixed an object with a 3D NPC. 

What will the highest career level be for paranormal? 
MAXISean: Paranormal career.... well we wanted a career that fit in nicely 
with the crystal ball, genie, ghosts, etc... so we have the paranormal career. 
I won't give it all away, but you start as a palm reader and work your way up 
through things like "ghost buster" to well... I won't tell the top level... 
.to controversial. 

Will the limit to the number of walls and floors be changed? 
MaxisPatrickB3: The game is currently very limited with the amount of user 
created walls & floors. This will be corrected in the expansion pack to allow 
for 256 while still being compatible with the Exchange. 

Will there be anymore window designs? 
MAXISean: Lots of new windows...we made special efforts to increase the 
variety and style of windows. There is a boomerang shaped one, there are 
stained glass windows, we sort of got away from the square idea. 

Will there be any brand new interactions that will come out of the new 
objects? 
MaxisPatrickB3: All the new objects contain new interactions, such as clean on 
the genie lamp, make potion on the chemistry set, or launch on the toy 
rockets. 

Will there be implied sex in the game? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: Sex and intimacy is implied in the game. I am of the opinion 
that as soon as you quit the game all the little sims are running around going 
at it anyway. There is a frisky new set of animations for the new bed. 

The Sims is currently in development for the Mac, will there be any 
developments for "Livin' Large" for the mac? 
MaxisChris: We will be looking into the Mac version, but no promises. 

Will the release date be the same for Canada? 
MaxisChris: The release date for Canada will probably be close to US. 

What are the two career tracks that haven't been mentioned yet? 
MaxisChris: You'll have to wait and see.... 

Is it true there is going to be alien abductions and roach infestations? And 
if so, what triggers these events? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: Fox TV series? 
MaxisPatrickB3: The rumours are true, alien abductions are pretty rare, the 
Sims will have to watch the skies very carefully. Roaches are just an 
expansion of the trash system. They are spawned from leaving dirty objects 
around such as trash piles 

Are there any plans for future "The Sims" games past the expansion pack? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: Are there plans? I hope so. 

Could you give us a summary of some of the new furniture included in the 
expansion pack? 
MAXISean: Furniture, guinea pig painting, Tiki dresser, ceramic elephant end 
table, head in a jar on pedestal. 

Will it be possible to place doors, windows and artwork on diagonal walls in 
the expansion set? 
MaxisChris: No. 

What are the three themes? 
MAXISean: I would not say we had three themes. We made three distinct houses 
out of the expansion pack objects we had available at the time. It looked like 
three themes as they are so different from each other. Those E3 themes were a 
castle with mad scientist, a futuristic house with high-end designer 
furniture, and the trashy honeymoon hotel. 

Is it going to be an add on or will it contain the full game with it? 
MaxisChris: It's an add-on. 

There is a rumour that you can "Play With someone of the opposite sex is that 
true? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: Yes darling. It is indeed true.. Playing in the Giant Hearted 
Headboard bed is very good but tiring. 

Will there be more surprises like the Guinea Pig (that we'd all like to see 
dead!!!)? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: Yes...but even better. 
MaxisPatrickB3: First of all, the guinea pig only hurts when it is kept 
unclean. You have to take care of your pets. If you aren't going to take care 
it, don't buy one. ( Man, I sound like my mom! ). There isn't anything hidden 
in the expansion pack but it depends on what you consider hidden. 

What ever happened to the in-game jukebox? 
MaxisChris: The Jukebox is available on the Visa website and will be available 
soon on our website to put in the game. 
Maxis_AnimatorX: The Jukebox is really cool. Look out for it. 

Will we have to load the whole thing up onto our hard drive or can we play off 
of the new CD? 
MaxisChris: Files will be put on your hard drive but you will need the new CD 
to play. 

What would you say is the best improvement to the game with the expansion? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: The expansion pack makes the game truly variety filled. Just 
so much stuff can be matched with so much other stuff. I like being able to 
put together a room that looks like a liveable room. With the expansion pack 
you can have complete sets of furniture as well as go eclectic and still make 
something awesome. 
MAXISean: Best improvement? We are trying to add multiple. If we pull that off 
it will make a lot of people very happy. 

Will there still be "Sim Days" where users can download new objects, etc. 
after the Expansion Pack is released? 
MaxisChris: Yes, Sim Days will continue after the Expansion Pack. 

How many possibilities do you now of with the chemistry set? 
MaxisPatrickB3: The chemistry can make about eight different potions ranging 
from personality altering, temporary invisibility, to changing into a monster 
for a while. Some are good though. 

I saw something about a Grim Reaper. Will he show up when you die and take you 
away, also how do you barter with him? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: Don't fear the reaper. 
MAXISean: The current design of the grim reaper is that he shows up 
occasionally when people die. If you make the right bargain with him, or win a 
little game, you can come back from the dead...but with..uh, some...uh, 
drawbacks of course. 

Is there a way to change the personalities back once the aliens have gotten to 
them? 
MaxisPatrickB3: Well they could always try to get abducted again. Other than 
that, nothing can be done. See what happens if you get abducted. 

Any new electronics in the expansion? 
MAXISean: Yes there a couple new electronic devices. One being the handy dandy 
Robot. Use him and you will have more free time to amp up your creativity with 
our new electric guitar! 

What is the age rating recommendation for this new expansion pack? 
MaxisChris: The Expansion Pack will also have a T (Teen) Rating. 

Is the genie and alien abductions through chance cards? 
MaxisPatrickB3: The genie and alien abductions are generated from objects. Not 
chance cards. 

Will the genie be able to kill you? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: I don't think the genie will be able to kill you. Of course 
there may be a side effect of asking for something you can't handle based on 
your characters personality attributes etc. 
MaxisPatrickB3: The genie cannot harm YOU. 

Aside from the Vegas hotel, and the castles, what is the last theme? 
MAXISean: Well, keep in mind those "themes" were just for E3 really...so the 
Vegas stuff, if combines with the right other furniture could look really 
classy...some of it will never be classy, like the black velvet painting. But 
there are "castle" things, there are "futuristic" things, there are "retro-
glitzy" things. 

Since there's a new Musician Career, will there be new objects to go along 
with it? 
MAXISean: The musician can use the new guitar and new piano. 
Maxis_AnimatorX: So far we are designing and building a musical instrument. 
It's a beautiful guitar. Any character should be able to pick it up and play 
it. The Guitar is gonna be really cool. You will be able to play using 
different techniques 

How can a sim let the other sim know that they wanna do the nasty? 
MaxisPatrickB3: A sim can select the "Vibrate" interaction on the bed. While 
lying there, they can click on another Sim and "Play in Bed" will appear. 

Is there a new game all together or will we be able to add this on to our 
current game? 
MaxisChris: You add it to the original Sims. 
Maxis_AnimatorX: Add on. 

What are the other 2 career tracks? 
MAXISean: Careers are paranormal, musician, slacker, hacker and journalist 

Are there suits of armour for the Castles? 
MAXISean: Suit of armour...plus torture device for the uh, less than non-
sadistic members of the community. 

What's the deal with the zombie? 
MaxisPatrickB3: The Chemistry Set may create a potion that will turn the Sim 
into a monster for time going around and wreaking havoc. 

AnimatorX, what do you mean by "...so much stuff can be matched with so much 
other stuff."? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: The furniture in the original game was cool, but in the 
expansion pack, we have designed full sets. Couches and chairs, etc etc 

What is the strangest "request" you've had for an add on item from players? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: Bondage equip. 
MaxisPatrickB3: The oddest I have seen was for knitting. After a number of 
requests I finally asked someone in the chat why they would want that, turns 
out the chat censorship was replacing what they wanted. 
MAXISean: The strangest request? Gosh..let me scratch my head....I didn't get 
many strange one's really. People want guns...but that is expected, not 
strange. People want the kids to grow up...but so do I...I guess the strangest 
request was for a way to turn a sim into a plant. 

Will you ever release past Sim Day items on a CD - It's a bummer to re-
download if your HD crashes! 
MaxisChris: Yes, the SimDay downloads will be on the Expansion Disk. 
MaxisPatrickB3: Gotta get that guinea pig around to those who couldn't 
download it. 

When the Aliens get you, do you die? 
MAXISean: Aliens don't kill....they probe. I think they seeing if the Sims are 
ready to "harvest" yet. 
MaxisPatrickB3: No aliens do not kill the Sims. 

Is the release date purposely timed so that me and other students will have 
something to distract us from school just as it starts in the fall? 
MaxisChris: Of course! 
MaxisPatrickB3: Would you rather we released it just before finals? 

What the heck is reticulating splines? 
MAXISean: Reticulating splines was a process from Sim city by which points in 
space can be randomly generated using a fractal algorithm to generate game 
play randomization tables by which we can insert chaos into the game. Our 
animation architect ported it to the sims and it is used in randomizing 
terrain, personalities, baby occurrence, and a lot of hidden variables. It is 
also used to randomize the idles. 

What program do you use for animation? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: I do all my animation in 3DStudio Max. We use Character 
Studio which is an add-on module. 

Heard a rumour that the crying clown from the painting will be a NPC. Care to 
comment? 
MaxisPatrickB3: Yes it is true, the sad depressed clown will be brought to 
life as a NPC to try to entertain the Sims. Also do not forget that in the 
expansion pack the Guinea Pig gets a painting! 

So what does the crystal ball actually do? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: Look pretty? Keep your whites their whitest? 
MaxisPatrickB3: The crystal ball offers challenges that if completed can help 
your personality but beware of disappointing it. 

With the new expansion pack coming out, will we be seeing any new simday 
downloads anymore due to the fact that all the new stuff is in the expansion 
pack? 
MAXISean: We are making more simday downloads, and they will also be on the 
expansion pack. 

Will the previous Simday downloads be included in the expansion pack? 
MaxisChris: Yes. 

What about ASIA? Will the expansion pack be available for the Asian region, 
and if so, when will it be due out? 
MaxisChris: Yes, we will try and have it out at the same time like we did for 
the original version. 

Will we be able to control the monster? 
MaxisPatrickB3: The monster cannot be controlled. The Sim will not respond to 
commands while in this mad mode. They do come back to normal though. 

Hey, any chance on getting some bagpipes for my Sims? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: It's possible. 

If playing in the Heart Bed makes you tired, does it also raise your Body 
levels? 
MAXISean: That's FAAAAAABulous Heart Bed. The heart bed will increase some 
motives and decrease others. 
Maxis_AnimatorX: Body fluid levels? It makes me tired just watching it. 

Will you make doors that take up more than one square? 
MaxisPatrickB3: The art director and I have been discussing doors that take 
more than two tiles for a while now. We are running some experiments to see if 
we can. If we can they would be downloads rather than in the expansion pack. 

How did you guys get your jobs? 
MAXISean: Jobs? I got the newspaper and did "find job" on it. A car arrived in 
the morning. I actually did answer an ad in the paper. 
Maxis_AnimatorX: I started out testing animation software. I have been working 
in videogames for about....holey moley...8 years. I have worked at 4 
companies. 5 if you include Maxis. But I came to work here after it was bought 
by EA who was my first employer. 

Will there be pool toys or outside furniture in the expansion pack? 
MAXISean: We may have a new item for the pools. If we make it it will be a 
download objects and decorative only. 

What do you use to create the objects in the sims? 
MaxisPatrickB3: The objects are a complex system. We use a special programming 
language called Edith to write the code, the art is made in 3D Studio Max, and 
the sound guys use lots of equipment. It takes a team for each object. 

How does the guitar work. Like the piano? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: It is styled like standard solid body electric with a unique 
prong head. 

What programming language was used for the sims? 
MaxisPatrickB3: The game shell is written in C++, all the objects and the Sims 
themselves are written in a special language created for Maxis. 
Maxis_AnimatorX: Vizyool Sim++ 

Will there be new services (ie maid, gardener, etc) available in the expansion 
pack ? 
MAXISean: New npc's are like the genie, grim reaper, one other surprise 
visitor. 

How much of the add-ons are already finished-percentage wise? 
MaxisChris: About 80%. 

Is there any validity to the 'Evil Sim' rumour? 
MAXISean: Evil sim? There is a great tutorial at www.evialanvil.com...that is 
all I know. Being evil is up to players. 

So will the guinea pig painting kill people too, like fall down and bonk a Sim 
on the head or something? 
MaxisPatrickB3: No that isn't designed. It is a regular painting, though now 
that the idea has been planted in my mind, hmmmmm..... 

How many new jobs will there be? 
MAXISean: 5 new careers. 

Is there going to be more social interaction opinions in the sims livin large? 
MAXISean: A few social interactions depending on the new objects used. 
MaxisPatrickB3: "Play in Bed" sounds a lot like a new social interaction to 
me. 

When will it be released in the UK? 
MaxisChris: It will be launched in the UK at approximately the same time. 

Are there going to be any new Body/Mesh shapes in the pack? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: NPC's (Non-Character Player), guaranteed.  

Will this expansion pack be available for Brazil? 
MaxisChris: Yes, it will be available in Brazil. 

Are you going to make any locked doors for the game? Float toys for the pool? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: Why bother locking doors. 
MAXISean: No locked doors, no floaties. But we are making some rather scary 
imposing dungeon doors...great for Goths like Alyssa. 

Can you have babies from fooling around in the vibrating bed? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: Duh. 
MaxisPatrickB3: Well, yes. 

Will there be more expansion packs? 
MAXISean: Hopefully people will be making their own expansion packs by then. 

Will there ever be a slide for the pool? 
MaxisChris: No slides for the pool. 

What Games does maxis plan for the future of the company in the 
SimGamingseries? 
MaxisChris: We are working on a game called SimsVille. 
MAXISean: I proposed the SimMaximumSecurityPenitentiary...but got shot down in 
a meeting. 

Which one of you decided to put all the cheesy carpets and wallpaper in? 
MAXISean: Well I wasn't the one who PUT the cheesy stuff in, but I designed a 
lot of it. Cheesy is wrong word...kitchy is better. 

What are your 15 favoured social interactions and objects? 
MAXISean: 15 favoured interactions? Like I can even remember them all. Hug, 
backrub, kiss, slap, insult, joke, join-hot tub. I really like the Train sets 
and stereo's. 

Hi Eric Hedman what is it like to be the animator? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: It's a lot of work, moving the little computer puppets 
around, you have to plan out the interactions that are given to you by 
production and see if they actually accomplish the goals of the interactions. 
The best part is when something like the genie WORKS. Where the animator and 
the producer and the programmer all have something new to be proud of. 
Especially when someone like Bill Shatner likes it. I don't know if Spielberg 
saw it. 
MAXISean: Yeah he saw it...Steve's kids really like the game and so does he. 

As an expansion, or an add-on, is there any possibility of a single unit 
entertainment center, with both music, and tv potential? 
MAXISean: I don't think we showed any entertainment centers at E3. 
MaxisPatrickB3: No entertainment center. It is too late to add anything to the 
expansion pack. One never knows what will be available as a download though. 

Can you please give some details on that freaky "head in a Jar?" 
MAXISean: I can give you the description of the head in jar from the 
catalog...Found in the basement of the Sim City Scientific Society, legend now 
surrounds these specimens. While the identities remains a mystery, the heads 
appear on the record books as an anonymous donation to the SCSS in 1901. In 
1897, the Society was scandalized by a failed exploration to the Peruvian 
interior. Searching for the headhunting Jivaro tribe, Professor M.I. Crane and 
his party were tragically lost. Or were they? 

How much the pack cost, and is it a separate cd? 
MaxisChris: The Pack is a separate CD and will cost $29.95. 

Will you have to have 'The Sims' to get Livin Large, or will Livin Large have 
the rest of the game? 
MaxisChris: Livin Large is an Expansion Pack. You will need The Sims. 

Why September? That's so far away! 
MAXISean: It takes a long time to make, add sound, test and write for all the 
objects and new characters...believe me we are full steam ahead. 

My Sims feel exposed inside their house with no curtains on the windows...will 
any new windows have curtains on them? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: No curtains. 
MaxisPatrickB3: I am working with our art department on the possibility of 
curtains in the future. There will not be any in the expansion pack though. 
MAXISean: All the new windows are pretty big. 

What are some of the new styles of decorations? 
MAXISean: New styles are loosely "future", "antique" and "50's glitzy. 
MaxisPatrickB3: The expansion pack contains new windows, doors, walls, floors, 
skins, and lots of objects. 

Is there is all the team on the expansion pack here? 
MaxisChris: Sean and I are producers, Patrick is a programmer, and Irk is the 
lead artist. 

I have download many of things for my game, is the Expansion will delete them? 
MaxisPatrickB3: The expansion pack is fully compatible with the existing 
downloads. It will install any downloads that you missed as well. 

Will the sims be able to interact with each other in the pool? 
MAXISean: No changes to pool. 

What does the genie do? 
MaxisPatrickB3: The genie tries to grant wishes. 

Will there be any new car styles on the expansion pack? 
MAXISean: Cars stay the same. 
MaxisPatrickB3: No new cars. 

Eric what is your favourite item? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: Honeymoon bed, genie lantern, I really like the tiki torches 
too. 

For the hacker career what are some upgrades for the job? 
MAXISean: The careers are not finalized yet. 

Will there be a karaoke machine in the expansion pack? 
MaxisChris: No karaoke machine, but there will be a jukebox. 

Are there going to be new plants and trees? 
MAXISean: I think we already have enough new plants and trees in the downloads 
section. 

Are we still going to be limited on the amount of custom wallpapers we can 
have? 
MaxisPatrickB3: You will still be limited by a number of walls and floors but 
the new limit will be much higher, 256 is the new limit. 

Will there be any new objects for outside on the patio? 
MAXISean: New patio objects? Are there old patio objects? What is a patio 
object? There is nothing new for the pool if that is what you mean. And I can 
only discuss E3 objects. 

Will you ALWAYS get abducted when you use the telescope, and can you ever get 
those sims back? 
MaxisPatrickB3: The Sims do not always get abducted and they always come back. 

Will more cheat codes be added/removed? 
MaxisPatrickB3: No cheats will be added or removed by the expansion pack. 

Will there be more objects that you can train skills on, or is the chessboard 
for example still going to be the only way of earning logic points? 
MAXISean: Definitely more skill opportunities with expansion pack. 

Where can I send suggestions so that there's a chance they'll be considered 
for inclusion in the Expansion Pack? 
MaxisChris: Post them on the BBS. 

Are there going to be any drinks for the kids to energize off of.. like a 6 
pack of pop? 
MaxisPatrickB3: The kids can already get soda from the wet bar. 

Any new *fun* objects you can reveal? like the pool table, etc... 
MaxisChris: There are approximately 125 objects in the Pack. 

Is there going to be any stained glass windows? 
MAXISean: Yes to stained glass windows. 

Will there be holidays and seasons in the new pack? I saw that there wil be 
holiday decorations. 
MAXISean: Holidays were not part of E3...BUT since I mentioned them at E3... 
we might have some holiday objects 

Will there be weekends? 
MaxisPatrickB3: Time does not pass in The Sims except for hours in the day, 
therefore there are no seasons or weekends. No weeks for that matter. 

When the sims talk what new things will they be able to do? 
MAXISean: Nothing planned for talk improvement. 

What happens when they DO get abducted? 
MaxisPatrickB3: The aliens perform some medical experiments on the Sims. The 
ones taken so far have not been quite the same when they returned. 

Will there be a way added for other families to adopt orphaned sim kids? 
MaxisPatrickB3: No, not in the Expansion Pack. 

Is it fun to work on this game? 
Maxis_AnimatorX: I have fun no matter what I do. 

I would like to see more child activities, are there going to be anything like 
science sets that if they have a bad grade it explodes in their face? 
MaxisPatrickB3: No but the children can interact with many of the new objects. 
They can even improve their grades using the telescope. 

Will there be curtains or shutters? 
MaxisChris: No curtains or shutters. 

Sean, are most of your ideas shot down a lot? 
MAXISean: Yes, but I have come to enjoy having them shot down...and typically 
there is a darn good reason they got shot down...it protects the consumer from 
ME. 

Can you name some skill building objects? 
MaxisPatrickB3: Yes there are new skill building objects in the expansion 
pack. The Telescope for example builds logic on adults, and builds study on 
the children. 

Will there be more services to call for? 
MAXISean: Services no...but new characters that will either annoy or help you. 

Will there be any behaviour/attitude altering sunstances? The wet bar only 
makes my sims go pee. 
MAXISean: There will be quite a few opprtunities for altering the personality 
for good, or temp. No drugs. No booze. No loose..well. 

What kind of holiday decorations will there be and when can you put them up? 
MaxisPatrickB3: Yes, there will be holiday decorations.

Any new things for the sims to eat? 
MAXISean: No new food but new things to make foods with. 

Is there still time to put more things on the pack? 
MaxisChris: We pretty much have a complete asset list of what's going to be 
contained in the Pack. A lot of it came from our fans!

--------------------------
2. Building a Family
--------------------------

Unless you use the tutorial family or the pre-made one, the Goths, you can't 
operate a house without a family inside, even if it's only a bachelor. You can 
use the pre-made families, such as Pleasant, Roomies, or Bachelor, but it's so 
much more fun to create your own. When you go to the Family building screen 
(accessible from the neighborhood screen), click Create New Family and then 
add its members, one by one. You can change their name, gender, skin color, 
age (Child or Adult), and personality (or choose a pre-made personality by 
selecting their astrological sign - geez, everything's pre-made!) 

The Personality Points include:
Neat: This determines how likely your Sims are to clean up after themselves. 
If you find it a pain telling your Sims to put their dishes in the sink or to 
flush the toilet, put this up.

Outgoing: This is how well your Sims will be socially. If your Sims always 
decide against what they were going to do, like talking to someone, you might 
want to make your next Sims high in this.

Playful: This will determine what a Sim likes to do. This isn't too crucial. A 
serious Sim will rather read a book than sit in front of the TV and a playful 
Sim the opposite.

Active: This will determine how long it takes for a Sim to wake up, and it 
will also affect how a Sim has Fun. A lazy Sim likes lounging on the couch 
watching TV more than playing basketball. But an active Sim will be a monster 
on the court.

Nice: This will also affect social. If your Sim is a nice Sim, they will have 
a higher success rate while talking or interacting with other Sims in general.

My advice is to keep everything leveled out when you have a bachelor. If you 
want to focus more in any area, my advice is to take a few points from 
Playful. Outgoing would be your next choice to pull from. My shy Sims had 
short conversations, and then as they liked each other more, the conversations 
lengthened, until the shyness was cancelled out. But in a family of two, you 
should have one of them very neat (though the other should be up there) Both 
should be very active, or at least the one who stays at home and cooks meals, 
etc. be active (can cook breakfast with little delay). Make them nice, too, so 
that they can get others to be friends and advance in careers.

So you don't WANT a leveled out person, hmm?

Here's a suggestion: first fill each meter about a third of the way. Then 
bring Neat and Active up to about 3/4 of the way up. Finally, add the 
remaining points to the other 3 equally. If you find you have an odd point 
left out, add it to nice or outgoing.

Another suggestion is to stagger on neat and put everything else up, and hire 
a maid.

2.1 The Neighbors

Well, there are two ways to go. First, you can make a feeder family. This is a 
family where you don't do things with them. Just make eight people and stick 
'em in one family. Make their horoscopes agreeable with your Sims'. Build a 
home with a wall and a phone on that wall (or a phone and an end table - 
whatever.) Then use them to advance in your career. But if you're like me - 
restless - you're going to want to play these families too. A family of two is 
good to start out with. Later on they can have kids, get married or you can 
get really ambitious and make a family of eight right from the start.

Remember! Once you finish a family, YOU CANNOT GO BACK AND EDIT IT. You may, 
however, edit each individual family member during the process of family 
building. When you finish, you can select "Move In Family" to put them in a 
pre-made house, or try your hand at...

--------------------------
3. Building A Home
--------------------------

3.1 Walls
Walls are extremely important. Without them your Sims would have an extremely 
low room rating - more on that later. You could also not place fire alarms, 
paintings, the cordless phone, windows, etc. etc. etc. They also make the 
house a heck of a lot prettier. You will want several rooms - a bedroom, a 
bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room. Walls can be placed by clicking and 
dragging, or a complete room by shift-clicking and dragging. Delete walls by 
control-clicking. One thing I found which saved me money and made my Sims 
happier is to not place a door between the kitchen and living room - to 
connect them freely. So if it looks like this:

______________________________________________
|                     |                       |
|                     |                       |
|                     |                       |
|                     |                       |
|                     |                       |
|    Kitchen          |    Living Room        |
|                     |                       |
|                     |                       |
|                     |                       |
|_____________________|_______________________|

Consider changing it to this or something similar.

______________________________________________
|                     |                       |
|                     |                       |
|                     |                       |
|                     |                       |
|                     |                       |
|    Kitchen          |    Living Room        |
|                     |                       |
|                     |                       |
|                                             |
|_____________________________________________|

This will save you money on walls, smoke detectors, burglar alarms, and your 
Sims will have a higher "Room" rating. Be warned: you have to make this large 
room well lit by using windows and lighting frequently. You do, however, want 
to put walls / doors in between bedrooms and bathrooms, because if you're 
running the stereo and someone's trying to sleep, you could be in trouble. And 
Sims don't usually like other Sims barging in on them when they are on the 
john.

3.2 Doors
For your first home you will want 3 doors - Bedroom, bathroom, and front. Do 
not overdo it with too many doors because you ARE on a budget. After 
purchasing that expensive lot and building lots of walls, you need to spend 
even more.

3.25 A Very Nice Touch

If you're looking for a very nice touch to make you look rich when you have a 
second story and still staying economical, try this

If your front wall looks like this:

________________/______________ / = Door ___ = Wall

Try changing it to look like this


         _____/_____
________|C  P   P  C|__________ / = Door ___ = Wall C = Column P = Potted 
Plant

You'll be surprised at what a small front porch can do for your house.

3.3 Windows
Windows don't do too much except light the room during the day. The bigger the 
room is the more windows you will have to build. Again, you are on a budget so 
stay economical and buy the cheapest model.

3.4 Wallpaper and Flooring
Wallpaper is something you can do without, but it also makes your house unique 
and nicer looking. You should probably add wallpaper last, as if you run out 
of cash you can do it later when your Sim gets a job. Flooring is also 
unnecessary, unless you build a second floor - a task I recommend you approach 
when you have saved up for it. Then flooring is absolutely necessary, as you 
don't want your Sims falling through the floor.

3.5 Bragging rights - A Second Floor and a Pool
When your Sims start rolling in dough, you can build some spiffy add-ons to 
their house. First off is a second floor. The first thing you'll want to do is 
add a staircase and switch to second floor view. You can then build flooring 
around it - in front of and connecting to the stairs. After that, build walls 
surrounding the flooring and you'll have your basic second floor. You'll 
probably want to have a bathroom on the second floor, and at least one bedroom 
(give the kids a view). You'll also want to have some form of entertainment. 
But the staircase alone costs a lot, so you may want to wait to buy these. 
When you build a pool - rather expensive - you build it square by square - or 
in a large rectangle by holding down shift and dragging. You will then want to 
add a ladder into the pool, and optionally a diving board. I would recommend 
you go for the pool first, because it increases the aesthetic appeal of your 
house more, it's fun, it gives you a work out, and only the real rich people 
(or people who saved for a long time) have a pool (whereas even _I_ have a 
second floor.). And it costs less.

Let's say you have built a one room second floor with an area of a measly 6x5. 
We're going to stay cheap as we can here. Which means the wallpaper will be 
ugly. You give §900 for the cheapest stairwell. §1540 for the 22 walls needed 
to encompass it. §176 for 44 squares of very cheap wallpaper (inside and out). 
§150 for thirty squares of cheap flooring. §2776 WITHOUT FURNITURE! But with 
that same money, you could buy a 6x5 pool, a diving board and a ladder to get 
out with. And it's so much more useful. Adding a bed upstairs? Could be 4 more 
squares of pool.

3.6 The Great Outdoors

Your Sims may find that their room rating drops when they go outside. You need 
to add things to make the outdoors look nice, like plants, hedges, etc. Being 
the fool that I am, I did not build up my yard until more than a month after 
my Sims moved in. So they would always walk out and go to work in a bad mood 
all because of that one room rating. So, the first thing I did is described in 
"A Very Nice Touch" above (section 2.25). This did a little bit. But soon I 
added more. Here's a diagram of my patio.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPH
HP              PH
HPPPPPPP PPPPPPPPH   P = Plant
HFFFFFFF FFFFFFFFH   H = Hedge
HF            GGFH   F = Fence
HF     C  C     FH   G = Grill
HF     TTTT     FH   T = Table
HF     TTTT     FH   C = Chair
HF/_L__C__C__L__FH   / = Door
                     L = Wall Light (Downloadable from thesims.com)

It's very very very pricey - One hedge alone costs §150 - §180. You can ignore 
the hedges if your cash is limited, but it is a nice touch. 

3.65 A Place for the Kids
Well, kids may find it's fun to go outside. Why not make things more 
accessible to them? You might want to try building them a playhouse or even 
put their room outside. Heck, you could have an entire little house for the 
kids to do everything in.


First Floor
__
  |
  |
  |       ____________
H |      |B   CCC     |   \ = Door          PC = Computer
o |      |            |   B = Burglar Alarm TV = TV
u |      \           S|   S = Stereo      SWSW = Stairway
s |      |C           |   C = Chair       JJ = Jungle Gym (Outside)
e |      |PC___TVSWSW_| CCC = Couch       JJ
  |            JJ
__|            JJ

Second Floor
__
  |
  |
  |       ____________
H |      |   CCC    BS|   \ = Door       P = Phone
o |______|            |  BS = Bookshelf     
u \______\ BBB        |SWSW = Stairway
s |      |           P| CCC = Couch
e |      |_BBB___SWSW_| BBB = Bed
  |      
__|
Note that I added a passageway from the kids' house to the main house. This is 
for midnight bathroom breaks and passageway to breakfast when it's night and 
the room rating will fall if they walk outside. Plus, add a few big windows 
and you have a mock highway overpass.


3.7 Suggested Homes
Note: The intention of this is to give you an idea of how to build a house. 
You can work off these and change them or whatever.
KEY:
x = Window
\ = Door
One by one square on design = 2 by 2 square in game
_ or | = wall

= = sidewalk

On A Budget

 _______x__________x______x_____x____
 |                          |       |
 |             |            |       |
 |             |            \ Bed   x
 |             |            |       |
 x Kitchen     |Living Room |_______|
 |             |            |       |
 |             |            \ Bath  x
 |______x______|__x___\__x__|___x___|


======================================


Rich

_______x________x_________x___________x____
|          |                    |          |
|          |                    |          |
|          |                    |          |
x Kitchen  |  Den               | Bath     x
|          |                    |          |
|          |                    \          |
| ______________\_______________|____\_____|
|                     |                    |
|                     |                    |
|                     |                    |
x     Living Room     \   Bed              x
|                     |                    |
|                     |                    |
|____x_________x____\_|_____x________x_____|



==============================================
3.8 Cool Ideas

3.81 The Apartment
Well, one thing which is hard to control and requires cheating is an apartment 
complex! That's right. My favorite idea: On the first floor, make a large room 
for the landlord - very lavish. Make a smaller room next to it - the "front 
desk" area, including a desk, a couch, an office chair, a computer, and some 
kind of decoration. Then add two or three rooms next to it. You can opt for 
their main doors to lead into a hallway, or outside. You'll want to furnish 
all these rooms with a bed, a chair, a TV, a phone, and a bathroom (shower, 
sink, toilet). You'll want to put in a dining room and an expensive kitchen. 
The key in furnishing these rooms: When the rooms are public, like a game 
room, a dining room, a front desk or a kitchen, make them costly. Private 
rooms should be cheap and only the bare essentials. The second floor should 
have a couple private rooms too. I also added a game room. When you make more 
money, you can call this a hotel by adding a pool, a casino, a restaurant, and 
a bar. I'll cover those later. But you might want to turn on Free Will for a 
while. It's hard to control 8 people.

3.82 Casino
You could try playing with the apartment - instead of putting a front desk and 
private rooms downstairs, put the front desk in this room and put the 
apartments upstairs. Make the downstairs a casino. Download the slot machine 
off thesims.com and make rows of slot machines in the room. Then call a party 
and have everyone go gambling. You could probably ever add the touch of public 
restrooms.

3.83 Restaurant
Well, if you want to get adventurous, make the first level a restaurant. Place 
a grid of tables and then put down a row of counters to separate the dining 
from the cooking. Then create state of the art cooking facilities. Serve 
dinner and invite everyone over. So everyone takes a plate and sits and eats.

3.84 Bar
Put in a row of counters and put seats in front of it. Then put seats in front 
of it. Make a drink bar behind this row of counters and you have a bar. You 
could even put a TV nearby like all bars do.

3.85 Really Good Idea
Combine all 3 of these into one room! Put a casino-restaurant with a bar and 
watch how sweet it'll get. Then add a wood floor and a stereo and you have a 
stage. Have people dance to the music and you have entertainers.

3.9 Final Notes on Building
To delete a wall control-click when the tool is a wall, To delete wallpaper do 
the same with the wallpaper tool, etc. Shift-click using the wall tool and 
drag to create a rectangle, as well as with fences, pools, etc. Shift-click 
with wallpaper, flooring, etc. to cover a whole room. And don't overdo it! You 
have to buy furniture, pay bills, and eat, among other things.

--------------------------
4. Furnishing your home
--------------------------

4.1 Four Basics
There are four basic things to remember when furnishing a house. Eat, Sleep, 
Poop and Polish. You must have a refrigerator (or a phone to order pizza), a 
bed, a toilet, and a shower (or a bath - you get my drift). By the way, After 
I list something here, I won't list it elsewhere.
Starting Out - one person:
Llamark Refrigerator (Eat) §600 plus food costs (§20 for Serve Meal, §10 for 
Meal/Quick Meal, §5 for Snack)
Spartan Special (Sleep) §300
Hygeia-O-Matic Toilet (Poop) §300
SpaceMiser Shower (Polish) §650
Total: §1850
Recommended - one person:
Porcina Refrigerator Model P1g-S (Eat) §1200 plus food costs
Spartan Special (Sleep) §300
Flush Force 5 XLT (Poop) §1200
Sani-Queen Bathtub (Polish) §1500
Total: §4200

4.2 Entertainment and Accessories
For Entertainment, you should have a stereo, a TV, a computer, or something 
else like that. Start off with only one of them; then you can go back later 
and get more if you have enough money. You should also have a chair, or if you 
have more than one person in the family, a couch or two. Be aware there may be 
hidden costs, such as a couch for the TV or a desk and chair for the computer.
Starting Out - one person
Monochrome TV - §85
Sioux Wicker Chair - §80
SCTC Cordless Wall Phone - §75
Total: §165
Recommended - one person:
Trottco 27" Color Television - §500
Zimzants Component Hi-fi Stereo - §650
Indoor-Outdoor Loveseat - §160 (For TV)
Moneywell Computer - §999
Posture Plus Office Chair - §100 (For Computer)
London "Cupertino" Collection Desk/Table - §220 (For Computer) 
SCTC Cordless Wall Phone - §75
Total: §2704

Suggested Layout:
 ___________________________
| S           P             |   P = Phone
|                           |   TV = TV
|                           |   PC = Computer on Desk
|                           |   C =  Chair
|                   C      T|   CO = Couch
|                   O      V|   S = Stereo
|                           |
|                           |
|             C             |
|____________PC_____________|


4.3 Kitchen
Sure, You can live with JUST a fridge, but you'll be so much less hungry if 
you buy other things. You need to cut the food (you can use the food processor 
or just the Sim's hands, a cutting board and a knife) and cook it too (Note: I 
never use a stove for risk of fire. A microwave will do you well). Now you sit 
at a table and eat (Note: When the food is cooked, it is brought to the 
closest possible counter/table space. If you have a serving table, put it 
nearer to the microwave/stove/whatever than the table). Then you need to 
dispose of any trash and wash the dishes. Ahhhh, a chef's life.
Starting out - one person:
Numica Kitchen Counter (x3) - §450
Brand Name Toaster Oven - §100
Hydronomic Kitchen Sink - §250
Mesquite Desk/Table - §80
Werkbunnst All Purpose Chair - §80
Total:§960
Recommended - one person:
Tiled Counter (x3) - §750
Positive Potential Microwave - §250
XLR8R Food Processor - §220
Epikouros Kitchen Sink - §500
Colonial Legacy Dining Table - §200
Touch of Teak Dinette Chair - §200
Total: §2120

Suggested Layout:
 __________
|   S F M R| T = Table
|          | C = Chair
|   TT     | S = Sink (on counter)
|   TT     | F = Food Processor (on counter)
|    C     | M = Microwave (on counter)
|          | R = Refrigerator (on counter)
|__________|

4.4 Bedroom
The Bedroom is easy. All I ever put in there is a bed, although you may opt 
for a lamp, a dresser, or an end table
Starting out - one person:
Nothing!
Recommended - one person:
Anywhere End Table - §120
Love 'N' Haight Lava Lamp - §80
Pinegulcher Dresser - §250
Total: § 450
Suggested Layout:
 _____________
|             | B = Bed
|     BBL     | L = Lava Lamp (on end table)
|     BB     D| D = Dresser
|     BB     D|
|             |
|_____________|

4.5 Bathroom
Once again, The bathroom is easy, because there are only 4 items you need.
Starting out - one person
"Andersonville" Pedestal Sink - §400
Total: §400
Recommended - one person
Medicine Cabinet - §125
"Andersonville" Pedestal Sink - §400
Total: §525

Suggested Layout
 _______________
|      T        | B = Bathtub
|             BB| T = Toilet
|S            BB| S = Sink and Medicine Cabinet
|             BB|
|_______________|

4.6 Security
The next two things you'll need is 1 fire alarm (§50) and a burglar alarm 
(§100). Place one burglar alarm by each door out of the house and a fire alarm 
in every room with a fireplace, barbecue, or stove(if, for example, there is a 
half wall between the living room and kitchen, you don't need to put an alarm 
in both).
Total: §250

4.7 Lighting and Decorations
Not only do these two increase aesthetic appeal, but also the room rating. 
Other furniture such as dressers and pianos increase this, not to mention 
windows, but these two categories in general are all about room. Outside you 
may choose to use plants, hedges, and trees to increase this (along with the 
fountain and some statuary fron the decorations section and some wall lighting 
downloadable from thesims.com). Indoors you may want to place decorations in 
places where you could not place a window, or even lighting. Have a place in 
the middle of the room where your Sims' room rating plummets, it's nowhere 
near a wall and you're on a tight budget? Buy yourself some lighting that 
doesn't need a wall or a table. And remember: While a fire alarm may cover a 
whole room, one light fixture won't. The bigger the room, the more lights (or 
windows) you'll need! And spread them out. If you have a large, well-lit room, 
the room rating will still be higher nearer those lights. Decorations are a 
nice touch, but sometimes get pricey. If you're an art dealer, it could be a 
smart move to invest in these, for, as normal items plummet in value after you 
use them, these will rise in value and bring you a nice profit after you wait 
for their value to rise. Room and cash. A nice deal, if I do say so myself.

Total - One Person - Starting Out: §3625
Total - One Person - Recommended: §10249

4.8 The Complex Furniture Description Chapter

4.81 Seating
4.811 One Person (Chairs)
Name                            Price Stats Area           Joe's Comment
Werkbunnst All Purpose Chair      §80   C2  1x1     This looks like it's worth 
§2
Sioux Sity Wicker Chair           §80   C2  1x1     Ugly!
Posture Plus Office Chair        §100   C3  1x1     Nice looking computer 
chair
Deck Chair by Survivall          §150   C3  1x1     Looks good inside too.
Touch of Teak Dinette Chair      §200   C3  1x1     Looks very classy.
Country Class Armchair           §250   C4  1x1     Blue and Flowery. Mmmm...
"Back Slack" Recliner            §250   C6  2x1     Retro Alert! Retro Alert!
"Citronel" from Chiclettina Inc. §450   C7  1x1     Very... Bright.
"The Saarbach" by Werkbunnst     §500   C6  1x1     Sleek.
Empress Dining Room Chair        §600   C4  1x1     Expensive. Looks Modern.
                                        R2
"Von Braun" Recliner             §850   C9  2x1     Futuristic.
                                        E3
Parisienne Dining Chair         §1200   C6  1x1     Ritzy.
                                        R3
4.812 2 Person (Loveseats)
Contempto Loveseat               §150   C3  2x1     Ick.
                                        E4
Indoor-Outdoor Loveseat          §160   C3  2x1     Very nice looking for the 
price.
                                        E4
Parque Fresco Del Aire Bench     §250   C2  2x1     A little expensive 
considering stats.
Country Class Loveseat           §340   C5  2x1     Ooooh... more blue 
flowery... 
                                        E4
Pinstripe Loveseat from Zectuime §360   C5  2x1     Stripey.
                                        E4
Luxiare Loveseat                 §875   C8  2x1     Nice looking.
                                        E4
                                        R2
4.813 3 Person (Sofas)
Recycled Couch                   §180   C2  3x1     Looks like it's from a 
mountain lodge.
                                        E5
Contempto Couch                  §200   C3  3x1     Ick.
                                        E5
SimSafari Sofa                   §220   C3  3x1     Bachelor Pad!
                                        E5
Pinstripes Sofa from Zecutime    §400   C5  3x1     Stripes!
                                        E5
Country Class Sofa               §450   C5  3x1     Oooh! Triple Blue Flowery!
                                        E5
"The Deiter" by Werkbunnst      §1100   C8  3x1     I love it.
                                        E5
Dolce Tutti Frutti Sofa         §1450   C9  3x1     Bright!
                                        E5
                                        R3
4.814 Single Beds
Spartan Special                  §300   C6  3x1     Blah.
                                        E7
Tyke Nyte Bed                    §450   C7  3x1     Kid's room. Definitely.
                                        E7
4.815 Double Beds
Cheap Eazzzzze Double Sleeper    §450   C7  3x2     Okay.
                                        E8
Napoleon Sleigh Bed             §1000   C8  3x2     I like it!
                                        E9
Modern Mission Bed              §3000   C9  3x2     I love it!
                                        E10
                                        R3
4.82 Tables and Counters
4.821 End Tables
Pinegulcher End Table             §40       1x1     Ick.
Wicked Breeze End Table           §55       1x1     Yecch.
KinderStuff Nightstand            §75       1x1     Kid's room, no doubt.
"Anywhere" End Table             §120       1x1     I have the same thing. 
It's nice.
Imperious Island End Table       §135       1x1     Nice as a serving table
Modern Mission End Table         §250   R1  1x1     Oooh! For the modern 
house.
Sumpto End Table                 §300   R1  1x1     Pretty nice.

4.822 Tables/Desks
Mesquite Desk/Table               §80       2x1     Not half bad.
NuMica Folding Card Table         §95       2x2     Eeew.
"Colonial Legacy" Dining Table   §200       2x2     Yessir.
Backwoods Table by Survivall     §200       3x2     Works inside too.
London "Cupertino" Collection... §220       2x1     Classy.
London "Mesa" Dining Design      §450   R2  3x2     Modern.
The "Redmond" Desk/Table         §800   R2  2x1     Snazzy.
Parsienne Dining Table          §1200   R3  3x2     It's nice.
4.823 Counters
NuMica Kitchen Counter           §150       1x1     Goes with the card table - 
'nuff said.
Tiled Counter                    §250       1x1     Works well with the 
matching walls/floors.
Count Blanc Bathroom Counter     §400       1x1     For the bathroom, 
definitely.
"Barcelona" Outcurve Counter     §800   R2  1x1     Snazzy!
"Barcelona" Incurve Counter      §800   R2  1x1     Works well with it's 
cousin.

4.83 Decorative
4.831 Plants

African Violet                    §30   R1  1x1     Nice
Spider Plant                      §35   R1  1x1     Okay.
"Roxanna" Geranium                §45   R1  1x1     Getting better
Rubber Tree Plant                §120   R2  1x1     A tree!
Echinopsis Maximus Cactus        §150   R2  1x1     Mmmm... Cactus.
Jade Plant                       §160   R2  1x1     Nicely planted.

4.832 Paintings and Other Decorative Wall Stuff
"Tragic Clown" Painting           §45   R1  1       Yecch!
Watercolor by JME                 §75   R1  1       Real nice.
Cuckoo Clock                     §180   R2  1       Classic!
Bi-Polar by Conner IM            §240   R2  2       I enjoy it.
"Delusion de Grandeur"           §360   R2  2       Nice looking.
Landscape # 2001 by Manny Kopees §750   C9  2       Looks like a city.
Snails with Icicles in Nose     §2140   R5  2       Ooooooookay...
Portrait Grid by Payne Pitcher  §3200   R8  2       I like this one.
Still Life, Drapery, and Crumbs §7600   R9  2       A masterpiece

4.833 Etc.
Pink Flamingo                     §12   R2  1x1     Spiffy.
Posiedon's Adventure Aquarium    §200   R2  1x1     Fun! Fish!
                                        F1
Fountain of Tranquility          §700   R2  1x1     Splashy Splashy!
                                        F1
Bust of Athena by Klassick Repro §875   R3  1x1     Museum Quality.
Scylla and Charybdis            §1450   R4  1x1     Sounds greek.
Grandfather Clock               §3500   R7  1x1     Excellent.
Blue China Vase                 §4260   R7  1x1     Nice vase!
Large Black Slab by ChiChi...  §12648   R12 1x1     Creative name...

4.84 Electronics
Firebrand Smoke Detector          §50       1       Only if you have a 
fireplace or stove.
SCTC BR-8 Standard Telephone      §50       1x1     Out of the 50s.
SCTC Cordless Wall Phone          §75       1       Mount on any wall.
Urchineer Train Set by Rip Co.    §80   F2  2x1     For the kids.
Monochrome TV                     §85   F2  1x1     Yeccch.
Down Wit Dat Boom Box            §100   F2  1x1     Nice for the party room.
SimSafety IV Burglar Alarm       §250       1       A must have!
Trottco 27" Color Television     §500   F4  1x1     Pretty.
Zimzantz Component Hi-Fi Stereo  §650   F3  2x1     Retro.
OCD Systems SimRailroad Town     §955   F4  3x2     All aboard!
                                        R3
Moneywell Computer               §999   F3  1x1     Good first computer.
Microscotch Covetta             §1800   F5  1x1     Good second computer
"See Me, Feel Me" Pinball Machine1800   F5  2x1     Party! Everyone! Pinball!
SSRI Virtual Reality Set        §2300   F7  1x1     Futuristic.
Strings Theory Stereo           §2550   F5  2x1     Streamlined Stereo.
                                        R3
The Brahma 2000                 §2800   F7  1x1     Another computer?
Soma Plasma TV                  §3500   F6  2x1     Mmmmm... Big screen.
                                        R2
Meet Marco                      §6500   F9  1x1     Expensive, eh?

4.85 Appliances 
Mr. Regular-Joe Coffee            §85  B-1  1x1     Need an extra jolt?
                                        E1
Brand Name Toaster Oven          §100   H1  1x1     Go with the nuker.
XLR8R Food Processor             §220   H1  1x1     A good buy.
Positive Potential Microwave     §250   H2  1x1     Good value.
Wild Bill THX-451 Barbecue       §350   H4  2x2     Need cooking skill.
Junk Genie Trash Compactor       §375       2x1     Beats a trash can.
Dialectric Free Standing Range   §400   H5  1x1     Not til you can cook, 
young man!
Gagmia Simore Espresso Machine   §450  B-2  1x1     Mmmm... java.
                                        E2
                                        F1
Dish Duster Deluxe               §550       2x1     Oooh! Dishes!
Llamark Refrigerator             §600   H6  1x1     Blue?
Fuzzy Logic Dishwasher           §950       2x1     Shiny.
The "Pyrotorre" Gas Range       §1100   H7  1x1     Again, wait til you can 
cook.
Porcina Refrigerator Model P1g-s§1800   H7  1x1     Good buy.
Freeze Secret Refrigerator      §2300   H8  1x1     Shiny! I like shiny.

4.86 Plumbing
Hydronomic Kitchen Sink          §250  Hy2  1x1     Breaks often.
Hygeia-O-Matic Toilet            §300   B8  1x1     Ahhhh...
"Andersonville" Pedestal Sink    §400  Hy2  1x1     For the bathroom.
Epikouros Kitchen Sink           §500  Hy3  1x1     Two basins!
SpaceMiser Shower                §650  Hy6  1x1     Cheap and compact.
Justa Bathtub                    §800   C3  2x1     A good buy early.
                                       Hy6
Flush Force 5 XLT               §1200   C4  1x1     Mmmm... Auto-flush.
                                        B8
Sani-Queen Bathtub              §1500   C5  2x1     Maxis likes shiny things.
                                       Hy8
Hydrothera Bathtub              §3200   C8  2x2     Like a hot tub, only... 
not.
                                      Hy10  
WhirlWizard Hot Tub             §6500  Hy2  2x2     Don't use it as a bathtub 
- just a luxury.
                                        C6
                                        F2
4.86 Lighting
Bottle Lamp                       §25       1x1     Made at a craft sale.
Halogen Heaven Lamp by Contempto  §50       1x1     Good for a ground lamp.
Garden Lamp by Lunatech           §50       1x1     Outside.
Love 'n' Haight Lava Lamp         §80   R2  1x1     Retro... Groovy...
Ceramiche Table Lamp              §85       1x1     Pretty nice.
Lumpen Lumeniat Floor Lamp       §100       1x1     Retro again?
Elite Reflections Chrome Lamp    §180       1x1     Then again, I like shiny 
things too...
SC Electric Co. Antique Lamp     §300   R1  1x1     Antique, like the name 
says
Torchtosteronne Floor Lamp       §350   R1  1x1     Modern.

4.86 Misc.
Trash Can                         §30       1x1     Get the compactor.
SnoozMore Alarm Clock             §30       1x1     I want more shiny!
Magical Mystery Toy Box           §50   F2  2x1     For kids.
Narcisco Wall Mirror             §100       1   + charisma   I see you!
Medicine Cabinet                 §125  Hy1  1   + charisma   Brushin' the 
teeth...
Narcisco Floor Mirror            §150       1x1 + charisma   Retro AND shiny! 
fun!
Will Lloyd Wright Doll House     §180   F2  1x1     Adults like it too.
"Dimanche" Folding Easel         §250   F2  1x1 + creativity Makes money!
Pinegulcher Dresser              §250       2x2     Uggggggly!
Chear Pine Bookcase              §250   F1  1x1 + cooking, mechanical Ick.
Kinderstuff Dresser              §300       2x2     For kids only.
Chuck Matewell Chess Set         §500   F2  1x1 + logic      Get the pun?
Amishim Bookcase                 §500   F2  1x1 + cooking, mechanical Nicer.
Traditional Oak Armoire          §550   R1  2x2     What I call a dresser!
SuperDoop Basketball Hoop        §650   F4  3x1     He scores!
"Exerto" Benchpress Exercise...  §700       3x1 + body       Love it.
Bachman Wood Beverage Bar        §800   H1  2x1     Glug glug glug... Aaaah. 
Hiccup!
                                        F3
                                        R2
Libri De Regina Bookcase         §900   F3  2x1     Ritzy
Antique Armoire                 §1200   R2  2x2     Nice dresser.
The Funinator Deluxe            §1200   F5  3x3     For the kids.
Chimeway & Daughters Piano      §3500   F4  2x2     Tickling the ivories.
                                        R3
Aristoscratch Pool Table        §4200   F6  3x2     A must have for high 
income families.

--------------------------
5. Living the Sim Life
--------------------------

The best part of life is living, and the best part of The Sims is also living. 
Although it may be a bit frustrating at times, it's gonna be fun.

5.1 The Basics
The main thing you'll want to keep your eye on is the mood meter. At first, my 
Sims were unhappy - i.e. the mood meter was at 0 (5 being highest, -5 being 
lowest.) But as I got the hang of the game, their mood soared to 3, and at 
times even 4! In The Sims, it's all about the mood. With a good mood, things 
move faster, you get promotions at work, and you make more money to buy more 
items to increase your mood. And up it goes, until you're so attached that 
when your Sim is happy, you are happy, and when he's sad, you feel like 
beating the computer. But the one main thing to keep the mood up is to satisfy 
all your Sim's needs.

5.2 The Eight Needs
-Hunger
Hunger is satisfied by a meal, whether it is a snack, meat and potatoes, a can 
of beans, or pizza. Usually meat and potatoes, whether it be for breakfast, 
lunch, or dinner (Beans and pork chops for breakfast. Mmm.) will be the most 
satisfying, especially if the person who cooked it has a high Cooking skill. 
As their skill gets higher, the meals they prepare will fill them up more and 
more until one plate will be enough food for 12 hours. Pizza is for people 
who: a) don't have the money for appliances b) will set something on fire if 
they cook or c) just think pizza is cool and don't care how it doesn't fill 
their Sims up. A snack could be for when the kids are hungry and their parents 
are at work, or if they just need a little more on the hunger meter. Word to 
the wise: DO NOT LET SIMS COOK DINNER ON THE STOVE IF THEY ARE UNEDUCATED IN 
COOKING. I, actually, never use the stove. I use the microwave or a toaster 
oven.

-Comfort
I've always noticed that sitting in front of the TV replenishes fun and 
comfort, which are often the only two that are low, and sleeping boosts 
comfort and energy, which, for me are also very low often. But those are the 
best solutions if any of those two are problems. What to do if Comfort is the 
only thing low? Study. Go to the bookcase, get a book and study cooking, 
mechanical, or, for kids, study for school.

-Hygiene
After a while, The Sims do get dirty. (And if they're real dirty for a long 
time, they start sniffing themselves and saying, "eeew") There are sinks and 
showers and tubs to solve this. When I wake my Sims up (quite early - SimRob 
has a 9 to 5 job and gets up at one to get ready) I send them to the bathroom, 
where they use the bathroom and hit the shower. No sink in between. When 
everyone gets up, Hunger, Bladder, Hygiene and Fun all are low for everyone, 
So I'll have my Sims switch off between the TV, the dining room and the 
Bathroom. One by one they come out sparkling fresh. The shower and bath do 
seem to leak a lot, so be ready to grab the mop. If you wash your hands 
frequently you can spend less time in the shower, though.

-Bladder
When you have to pee, you have to pee. Out of the eight needs this is the 
easiest to keep up because a run to the toilet will relieve you in ten seconds 
(real time, not Sim time) while it may take five minutes of the TV to boost 
the fun rating to the max. Once again, Sims in my house take a shower after 
"going". Don't let your Sims have "accidents", or else their Hygiene rating 
will fall like a muffin dropped from 30,000 feet. You can have trouble when 
Sim after Sim doesn't flush, as I only had one Sim who would ever flush out of 
four.

-Energy
This is a tough one. Although it seems like my Sims never have the energy to 
have fun after school/work (I guess they shouldn't be waking up at 1!) I can't 
change it around. First off, energy can only be replenished by Naps, Sleep, 
and about 40 cups of coffee. The coffee is so insignificant that I hardly 
bother (unless I want to hear the funny noise they make). Naps often last for 
merely an hour, and that isn't nearly enough time to regain energy. And sleep 
is only once a day, and if your Sims wake up too early (like mine) they'll 
have to go to bed at 3 or 4 (like mine). NOTE: Since the original publication 
of this section, my SimKids have learned to get ready quicker (watch that TV 
at night!) and have been waking around 4. They now stay up until eight, if I 
push it. SimRob the same - He temporarily got a 10 PM - 4 AM Job and took it 
easier - when that 9 to 5 job came back, he was waking at 3 and 4

-Fun
There's one way to relieve your bladder - pee. There's one way to relieve 
hunger - eat. And there's one way to relieve energy - sleep. Fun is the most 
diverse, as there's so many you can do, and so many other needs that can be 
relieved while having fun. For example, the Espresso maker has a little bit of 
fun and a little energy put together. Sitting down and using the computer, 
watching TV, or reading a book boosts comfort too. You can grab a friend and 
play basketball and get the social up too. And the most diverse of them all is 
sitting on the couch watching TV with a friend while chatting, bringing up the 
Fun, Social, and Comfort ratings. It seems that different kinds of Sims will 
like different kinds of fun, as the more playful may jump at the dollhouse and 
the serious one will like a book. And a serious Sim will enjoy that Romance 
show on the tube, as a more playful one may prefer Action or Cartoons.

-Social
The phone can call the cops, the pizza guy, the maid, or the repairman. But 
most importantly your friends. (LET ME STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF A PHONE HERE!) 
For example, imagine SimJim and SimKim. SimJim calls SimKim one day and asks 
her to come over. SimKim is busy so SimJim tries the next day. SimKim seems 
excited at the prospect of seeing SimJim and comes over. They talk for a while 
until SimJim gets tried and asks SimKim to leave. SimJim and SimKim are now 
great friends, but don't talk for a while until SimJim gets lonely and calls 
SimKim. SimJim gives SimKim a hug and finds the social rating goes up quicker 
than while just talking. Soon they compliment each other daily and start 
kissing, and their Social ratings rocket up. SimJim is never lonely with 
SimKim.

-Room
Room is something that happens automatically. If you step into a large well 
lit room your Room rating skies, if you step into a dark bathroom it falls. 
Decorations help, as do windows and lighting. But trash and broken items and 
other messes make it lower. Room is basically the Aura of your house - how 
good it feels just so sit there. Surprisingly, my Sims do not like being 
outside as much as inside. But the better the house is, and the better it is 
kept, the higher the Room rating will be.

5.25 Sim Health
Although it was previously thought to be left out from the game, your Sim CAN 
get sick. Here are the words directly from Maxis.

My Sims are coughing and sneezing a lot. How can I cure them? 
When Sims get sick, they need lots of rest and hot liquids. Keep their energy 
bars really high. They'll get better in a few days. You might need to take a 
sick day off from work. It's also a good idea to keep sick Sims away from 
healthy ones, or they might infect them. 

You heard it here.

5.3 Money and Jobs

You need money to pay the bills, eat, and buy new stuff. And the only ways to 
get money is selling things, getting an important phone call, or working at 
your job. Now, selling things will not get you the money you started with, as 
a used coffeemaker isn't worth as much as a new one. Important phone calls are 
very random and you can't rely on them (but if you get one, you get lots of 
money - often more than a job gets in a day). But a job is the best way to let 
those Simoleons roll in.

There are a variety of jobs - Law Enforcement, Medicine, Science, X-Treme, 
Athlete, Politics, Military, Business, Entertainment and Life of Crime. Most 
of them are the same thing - i.e. you don't get a VCR or something like that 
if you enter the Entertainment career track. But things like skill points 
needed, uniforms, pay, amount of different jobs in the career track, or job 
descriptions change. First you have to get a job - look in the paper or try 
the computer (If you have one). You'll get a window that pops up that tells 
you the job opening and it asks you if you want to take the job. If you're 
searching online, you can look again for a better job. So you take the job. 
Always have one person be a stay-at-home mom/dad/husband/wife to make friends, 
do chores and get IMPORTANT money making phone calls. You have to be up from 
bed in order to catch that carpool. It will be a very very ugly old car. Of 
course, the carpool doesn't have to leave until your shift starts - exactly 
one hour after it comes. So you have about one extra hour to do your thing. 
You can miss the carpool for a day off (no pay, though). Don't miss two days 
in a row, though, or else you'll be fired.

If you want a promotion, improve your mood and get the requirements you need. 
You can find them in the Job screen. The requirements could be getting more 
friends or increasing skills.

THE SKILLS
Mechanical
This comes in handy around the house. It makes it easier to fix that shower 
that's been plaguing you or that burnt out bulb that needs replacing. Plus it 
saves the cash you spend on the repairman. You read books about mechanical 
stuff to increase this. It's often needed in careers like Medicine (Mechanical 
work on bodies).

Cooking
The only other one that helps around the house - cooking is crucial to filling 
that Hunger meter and preventing fires. Once again - you're reading a book. 
One career that likes this is Military (KP duty).

Charisma
It's all in the talk. Don't stutter and others will look at you better. 
Practice speech in front of the mirror and it's smooth sailing. Politics seems 
to like this, as public speaking is important.

Creativity
New, unique ideas are the key to success in careers like Crime (I guess 
there's more than one way to snatch a wallet). Play the piano or Paint to work 
on this. Personally, I recommend painting because: a) It's fun - as is the 
piano b) it's cheaper c) you can make money by selling those paintings. The 
first few are worth 5, 6, and 7 Simoleons, but soon my paintings went for 
§40 or more!

Body
Looking good and being strong come in handy when you're an athlete, among 
other jobs. You can work out on the exercise machine, or swimming in a pool. 
Myself, I like the pool, but you can use the exercise machine if you have a 
low budget. In the pool, your Room rating plummets while the Fun rating rises. 
Plus, Speedos and Bikinis! The exercise machine keeps your stats the same as 
they would be if you stood around doing nothing for a while - most stats 
slowly dropping. One quick drawback to the pool - It takes four times as long 
to work out there than on the exercise machine.

Logic
Playing chess increases Logic - valued in Science among others. This is 
another job where there's only one way to increase it.

When you get a promotion, your carpool gets better, your hours change, and, 
most importantly, you make more money.

5.35 The Jobs

How The Jobs Will Be Ranked
I will take into account wage, hours, stats lost (i.e hunger, energy, etc.) 
and overall skills/family friends needed. I will determine wage, stats lost, 
and hours by how much money you made/how many hours you worked if you made it 
all the way up, spending 2 days at each job.

FF - Family Friends
M - Mechanical
Co - Cooking
Ch - Charisma
Cr - Creativity
B - Body
L - Logic
Note: THIS IS HOW MUCH YOU NEED TO IMPROVE, NOT WHAT YOU NEED TOTAL.
How They're Listed
Job.....................HOURS-HOURS|WAGE|FF|M|Co|Ch|Cr|B|L
Politics
Campaign Worker.........9 AM - 6 PM|§220|0|0|0|0|0|0|0
Intern..................9 AM - 3 PM|§300|0|0|0|2|0|0|0
Lobbyist................9 AM - 3 PM|§360|2|0|0|1|0|0|1
Campaign Manager........9 AM - 6 PM|§430|2|0|0|1|0|1|0
City Council Member.....9 AM - 3 PM|§485|2|0|0|1|1|1|0
State Assembly..........9 AM - 4 PM|§540|3|0|0|0|1|1|2
Congressperson..........9 AM - 3 PM|§600|2|0|0|1|1|1|1
Judge...................9 AM - 3 PM|§650|3|0|0|1|1|1|2
Senator.................9 AM - 6 PM|§700|3|0|0|3|1|0|1
Mayor...................9 AM - 3 PM|§750|0|0|0|0|0|0|0

Mechanical: 0
Cooking: 0
Charisma: 9
Creativity: 5
Body: 5
Logic: 7
Total Stats: 26
Total Hours (Worked at each job for two days): 140
Total Pay (Worked at each job for two days): §10,070
Stats Lost (Worked at each job 2 days): 1946

Job.....................HOURS-HOURS|WAGE|FF|M|Co|Ch|Cr|B|L
Entertainment
Waiter/Waitress.........9 AM - 3 PM|§100|0|0|0|0|0|0|0
Extra...................9 AM - 3 PM|§150|0|0|0|2|0|0|0
Bit Player..............9 AM - 3 PM|§200|2|0|0|0|0|2|0
Stunt Double............9 AM - 4 PM|§275|2|0|0|1|1|1|0
B-Movie Star............10 AM- 5 PM|§375|2|1|0|1|1|1|0
Supporting Player.......10 AM- 6 PM|§500|2|0|0|2|1|1|0
TV Star.................10 AM- 6 PM|§650|2|1|0|1|1|1|0
Feature Star............5 PM - 1 AM|§900|2|0|0|1|3|1|0
Broadway Star...........10 AM- 5 PM|1100|2|0|0|2|3|1|0
Superstar...............10 AM- 3 PM|1400|0|0|0|0|0|0|0

Mechanical: 2
Cooking: 0
Charisma: 10
Creativity: 10
Body: 8
Logic: 0
Total Stats: 30
Total Hours (Worked at each job for two days): 136
Total Pay (Worked at each job for two days): §11,300
Stats Lost(Worked at each job for two days): 1776

Job.....................HOURS-HOURS|WAGE|FF|M|Co|Ch|Cr|B|L
Law Enforcement
Security Guard..........12 AM- 6 AM|§240|0|0|0|0|0|0|0
Cadet...................9 AM - 3 PM|§320|0|0|0|0|0|2|0
Patrol Officer..........5 PM - 1 AM|§380|1|2|0|0|0|0|0
Desk Sergeant...........9 AM - 3 PM|§440|1|1|0|0|0|2|0
Vice Squad..............10 PM- 4 AM|§490|2|0|1|1|0|1|1
Detective...............9 AM - 3 PM|§540|2|0|0|1|0|0|2
Lieutenant..............9 AM - 3 PM|§590|2|1|0|1|0|1|1
SWAT Team Leader........9 AM - 3 PM|§625|2|0|0|1|2|1|1
Police Chief............9 AM - 5 PM|§650|2|0|0|2|2|0|3
Captain Hero............10 AM- 4 PM|§700|0|0|0|0|0|0|0

Mechanical:4
Cooking:1
Charisma:6
Creativity:5
Body:7
Logic:10
Total Stats: 33
Total Hours (Worked at each job for two days): 128
Total Pay (Worked at each job for two days) : §9950
Stats Lost(Worked at each job for two days): 1954

Job.....................HOURS-HOURS|WAGE|FF|M|Co|Ch|Cr|B|L
Business
Mail Room...............9 AM - 3 PM|§120|0|0|0|0|0|0|0
Executive Asst..........9 AM - 4 PM|§180|0|2|0|0|0|0|0
Field Sales Rep.........9 AM - 4 PM|§250|1|0|0|2|0|0|0
Junior Executive........9 AM - 4 PM|§320|2|0|0|0|0|0|2
Executive...............9 AM - 4 PM|§400|3|0|0|1|2|0|1
Senior Manager..........9 AM - 4 PM|§520|2|0|0|1|0|2|1
Vice President..........9 AM - 5 PM|§660|2|0|0|1|1|0|2
President...............9 AM - 5 PM|§800|2|0|0|1|2|0|1
CEO.....................9 AM - 4 PM|§950|2|0|0|2|1|0|2
Business Tycoon.........9 AM - 3 PM|1200|0|0|0|0|0|0|0

Mechanical: 2
Cooking: 0
Charisma: 8
Creativity: 6
Body: 2
Logic: 9
Total Stats: 27
Total Hours (Worked at each job for two days): 140
Total Pay (Worked at each job for two days) : §10,800
Stats Lost(Worked at each job for two days): 1776

Job.....................HOURS-HOURS|WAGE|FF|M|Co|Ch|Cr|B|L
Life Of Crime
Pickpocket..............9 AM - 3 PM|§140|0|0|0|0|0|0|0
Bagman..................11 PM- 7 AM|§200|0|0|0|0|0|2|0
Bookie..................12 PM- 7 PM|§275|2|0|0|1|1|0|0
Con Artist..............9 AM - 3 PM|§350|1|2|0|1|0|0|0
Getaway Driver..........5 PM - 1 AM|§425|1|1|0|1|0|1|1
Bank Robber.............3 PM -11 PM|§530|2|0|1|0|1|1|1
Cat Burglar.............9 PM - 3 AM|§640|2|2|0|0|2|0|1
Counterfeiter...........9 PM - 3 AM|§760|2|0|0|3|1|1|0
Smuggler................9 AM - 3 PM|§900|2|0|1|2|2|0|1
Criminal Mastermind.....6 PM -12 AM|1100|0|0|0|0|0|0|0

Mechanical: 5
Cooking: 2
Charisma: 7
Creativity: 8
Body: 6
Logic: 4
Total Stats: 32
Total Hours (Worked at each job for two days): 134
Total Pay (Worked at each job for two days) : §10640
Stats Lost(Worked at each job for two days): 1886

Job.....................HOURS-HOURS|WAGE|FF|M|Co|Ch|Cr|B|L
Medicine
Medical Technician...... 9 AM- 3 PM|§200|0|0|0|0|0|0|0
Paramedic...............11 PM- 5 AM|§275|0|2|0|0|0|0|0
Nurse................... 9 AM- 3 PM|§340|2|0|0|0|0|2|0
Intern.................. 9 AM- 6 PM|§410|1|1|0|0|0|0|2
Resident................ 9 PM- 4 AM|§480|1|0|0|1|0|1|2
GP......................10 AM- 6 PM|§550|1|1|0|1|1|1|0
Specialist..............9 PM - 3 AM|§640|2|2|0|0|2|0|1
Surgeon.................10 PM- 4 AM|§700|2|1|0|1|1|1|2
Medical Researcher......9 PM - 4 AM|§775|2|1|0|2|1|1|1
Chief of Hospital.......9 PM - 4 AM|§850|0|0|0|0|0|0|0

Mechanical: 8
Cooking: 0
Charisma: 5
Creativity: 5
Body: 6
Logic: 8
Total Stats: 32
Total Hours (Worked at each job for two days): 136
Total Pay (Worked at each job for two days) : §10440
Stats Lost(Worked at each job for two days): 1846

Job.....................HOURS-HOURS|WAGE|FF|M|Co|Ch|Cr|B|L
Military
Recruit................. 6 AM-12 PM|§200|0|0|0|0|0|0|0
Elite Forces............ 7 AM- 1 PM|§325|0|0|0|0|0|2|0
Drill Instructor........ 8 AM- 2 PM|§350|0|1|0|1|0|0|0
Junior Officer.......... 9 AM- 3 PM|§450|0|0|1|0|0|2|0
Counter-Intell.......... 9 AM- 3 PM|§500|1|1|0|2|0|0|1
Flight Officer.......... 9 AM- 3 PM|§550|2|1|0|0|0|1|2
Senior Officer.......... 9 AM- 3 PM|§580|2|3|0|1|0|0|2
Commander............... 9 AM- 3 PM|§600|1|3|0|0|0|3|1
Astronaut............... 9 AM- 3 PM|§625|2|1|0|2|0|2|3
General................. 9 AM- 3 PM|§650|0|0|0|0|0|0|0
Mechanical: 12
Cooking: 1
Charisma: 7
Creativity: 0
Body: 10
Logic: 9
Total Stats: 32
Total Hours (Worked at each job for two days): 120
Total Pay (Worked at each job for two days) : §10440
Stats Lost(Worked at each job for two days): 2036

Job.....................HOURS-HOURS|WAGE|FF|M|Co|Ch|Cr|B|L
Athlete
Team Mascot.............12 PM- 6 PM|§110|0|0|0|0|0|0|0
Minor-Leaguer........... 9 AM- 3 PM|§170|0|0|0|0|0|2|0
Rookie.................. 9 AM- 3 PM|§230|1|0|0|0|0|3|0
Starter................. 9 AM- 3 PM|§300|2|1|0|1|0|1|0
All Star................ 9 AM- 3 PM|§385|2|1|0|1|0|1|0
MVP..................... 9 AM- 3 PM|§510|2|0|1|1|0|1|0
Superstar............... 9 AM- 4 PM|§680|2|0|1|1|1|1|0
Assistant Coach......... 9 AM- 2 PM|§850|2|0|1|1|1|1|0
Coach................... 9 AM- 3 PM|1000|2|0|1|3|1|0|0
Hall Of Famer........... 9 AM- 3 PM|1300|0|0|0|0|0|0|0
Mechanical: 2
Cooking: 4
Charisma: 9
Creativity: 3
Body: 10
Logic: 0
Total Stats: 28
Total Hours (Worked at each job for two days): 120
Total Pay (Worked at each job for two days) : §11070
Stats Lost(Worked at each job for two days): 1854

Job.....................HOURS-HOURS|WAGE|FF|M|Co|Ch|Cr|B|L
Science
Test Subject............ 9 AM- 3 PM|§155|0|0|0|0|0|0|0
Lab Assistant...........11 PM- 5 AM|§230|0|0|0|0|0|0|2
Field Researcher........ 9 AM- 3 PM|§320|1|0|1|0|0|0|1
Science Teacher......... 9 AM- 4 PM|§375|2|0|0|1|1|0|1
Project Leader.......... 9 AM- 5 PM|§450|1|2|0|0|2|0|0
Inventor................10 AM- 7 PM|§540|1|2|0|0|1|0|2
Scholar.................10 AM- 3 PM|§640|2|1|2|1|0|0|1
Top Secret Researcher...10 AM- 3 PM|§740|1|1|0|0|3|0|2
Theorist................10 AM- 2 PM|§870|2|1|1|1|3|0|1
Mad Scientist...........10 AM- 2 PM|1000|0|0|0|0|0|0|0
Mechanical: 8
Cooking: 2
Charisma: 5
Creativity: 10
Body: 0
Logic: 10
Total Stats: 35
Total Hours (Worked at each job for two days): 128
Total Pay (Worked at each job for two days) : §10640
Stats Lost(Worked at each job for two days): 1766

Job.....................HOURS-HOURS|WAGE|FF|M|Co|Ch|Cr|B|L
Xtreme
Daredevil............... 9 AM- 3 PM|§175|0|0|0|0|0|0|0
Bungee Jump Instructor.. 9 AM- 3 PM|§250|1|0|0|0|0|2|0
Whitewater Guide........ 9 AM- 3 PM|§325|1|1|0|0|0|2|0
Xtreme Circuit Pro...... 9 AM- 4 PM|§400|1|1|0|0|0|0|1
Bush Pilot.............. 9 AM- 3 PM|§475|1|2|0|0|0|2|0
Mountain Climber........ 9 AM- 3 PM|§550|1|1|0|2|3|0|0
Photo-Journalist........ 9 AM- 3 PM|§650|2|1|0|1|1|1|2
Treasure Hunter.........10 AM- 5 PM|§725|2|0|0|2|3|0|2
Grand Prix Driver.......10 AM- 4 PM|§825|2|0|1|3|2|1|1
International Spy.......11 AM- 5 PM|§925|0|0|0|0|0|0|0
Mechanical: 6
Cooking: 2
Charisma: 8
Creativity: 9
Body: 8
Logic: 9
Total Stats: 32
Total Hours (Worked at each job for two days): 124
Total Pay (Worked at each job for two days) : §10600
Stats Lost(Worked at each job for two days): 1898

Here are the results for the jobs' rankings:

10. Politics - Score.........15.8
9.  Law Enforcement - Score..19.4
8.  Medicine - Score.........19.5
7.  Life of Crime - Score....20.3
6.  Business - Score.........25.5
5.  Science - Score..........28.1
4.  Entertainment - Score....31.5
3.  Military - Score.........31.7
2.  Xtreme - Score...........32
1.  Athlete - Score..........45.6

After the recent addition of stat deficiency, not much changed, but some did! 
Xtreme took over the military's #2 spot, Entertainent almost toppled the 
military, and law enforcement lost two places, from #7 to #9.

If you want reasoning behind these scores, email me.

5.32 Money Theory
Ever wonder why a meal costs §10? Or why you can bring home §16 an hour as a 
waiter? Here's my theory. I figure a simoleon is worth §0.25 American. In this 
way, A meal costs 2.50, you make minimum wage as a waiter, and many more 
prices make sense.

5.33 Everyone's Favorite Strategy
Well, I talk to some "strategic" Sims players, and they all have a similar 
strategy. If you've gotten to the top of a job and have lots of stats, go for 
another job. Everyone's favorite is Entertainent, due to short hours and high 
pay in the top level.

5.4 School
Just as adults have to work, kids must go to school. Every morning that you 
have kids, a school bus will come to pick them up. Now, kids don't get fired 
from school after skipping 2 days, but if they slack off and their grade goes 
down, it's off to military school. Those kids will be gone. To keep their 
grade up, they should study on the computer or in a book and you have to keep 
their mood up. So don't be a tyrant and make them spend every moment studying 
and doing chores - all work and no play equals no more kids. But don't think 
that this isn't like a job - If they do well in schoolwork, grandparents will 
be generous in rewards for good grades. 

Kids are a tax deduction: For every kid you have, your bills are 10% less.

5.5 Love, Life, and Death
There are three big things that define the life cycle after one is born. One 
falls in love, has kids, and dies. Then it starts over again with the kids. 
The same thing happens with your Sims. Let's take the story of SimJim and 
SimKim above. Now, they fell in love with each other by chatting all the time, 
kissing, etc. (Other social actions include Fight, Tease, Brag, Compliment, 
Tickle, Give Back Rub, Play, and Tell Joke). If SimJim proposes to SimKim (in 
the same way that they would talk to each other previously), and SimKim 
accepts, then SimJim and SimKim move in with each other. Now, If SimLynn 
becomes very good friends with SimKim, then SimKim can ask her to move in with 
her. It's like propose, just with same-gender Sims. But when SimJim moves in 
with SimKim, or vice versa, then all their money is pooled together, and, if 
either is living alone but with kids, then the kids come too. If there's 
another adult, then the kids stay with him.

This From Austin Muldoon:

Zodiac Sign    Most Compatible         Least Compatible
Aquarius      Capricorn Sagittarius     Scorpio Virgo
Aries	        Gemini Taurus             Cancer Libra
Cancer        Taurus Scorpio            Gemini Aries
Capricorn     Aquarius Taurus           Leo Gemini
Gemini        Pisces Virgo              Capricorn Aries
Leo           Sagittarius Cancer        Capricorn Gemini
Libra         Virgo Cancer              Pisces Scorpio
Pisces        Scorpio Gemini            Leo Aries
Sagittarius   Pisces Capricorn          Libra Scorpio
Scorpio       Pisces Leo                Libra Aquarius
Taurus        Aries Libra               Virgo Cancer
Virgo         Aquarius Sagittarius      Leo Taurus


In The Sims there is an incredible amount of jealousy. If SimLynn and SimKim 
both love SimJim, then when SimLynn sees SimJim and SimKim kissing, SimLynn 
will go up and deliver a great big smack across SimKim's face and they won't 
like each other very much. SimLynn's social rating will fall. But if your 
couple makes a quick escapade to the bathroom to smooch, the possibilities 
could be endless.

Now, SimJim and SimKim are married. They are so happy together that they now 
can sleep together. One day you may get a window asking, "Do you want to have 
a baby?". A good idea would   be to smooch several times. If they just live 
together, are two same-gender Sims, or just SimJim living alone the window 
will ask, "Do you want to adopt a baby?" Babies are a real pain in the but, 
but you can manage them effectively. If you only have one adult (assuming 
there are two) tending to the baby at a time, and you let them alternate, 
things will work out. While SimJim is tending to the baby, SimKim could be 
watching TV, cooking dinner, or taking a bath. And Later, during SimKim's 
turn, SimJim could repair that fussy sink, shoot hoops, etc. If it's bedtime, 
let SimJim sleep on the couch and keep SimKim in bed by that fussy little 
monster. When the baby's crying, everyone (except kids) in the room wakes up 
from their naps and complains about him. So let SimJim get a good night's 
sleep and SimKim can tend to the baby (But let SimJim watch him tomorrow). 
Don't neglect the baby! My first kid cried all night in the living room while 
Rob and Jean (my Sims' names) snoozed away upstairs. Pretty soon, El Social 
Workero came and busted us and took little baby away. But I learned better and 
now it's a family of four, with Joanna (looks like she likes Barbies) and 
Allen (Ultra-Nerd. He has a pocket protector and thick glasses!). When tending 
to babies, there are 3 options. Feed, Play, and Sing. When the baby wakes up 
crying you should probably feed him, play with him and sing him to sleep. If 
he's still awake, feed him again and sing to him again. Feed and sing until he 
falls asleep. After exactly 72 Sim Hours, your baby will have grown up. He's 
now a kid. Kids don't require much looking after by the parents. All you have 
to do is let adults cook for them (they can only grab snacks from the fridge) 
and they do the rest, sleep themselves, have fun themselves, etc.

Finally, there's death. Death occurs when: A)You starve B) Your oven sets on 
fire and kills you C)You get electrocuted from attempting to fix something 
D)You drown in a pool. If they die then an urn or a tombstone (depending 
whether they die indoors or out) is placed. There is 24 hours of mourning by 
the family, and then they're free to do whatever. But they can go back and 
mourn if they want. But if there's death, there's a ghost who'll come around 
the house randomly and spook whoever comes near...

5.51 More on Marriage
I tried to get married, and it's a hard thing to do. You have to fulfill your 
fiancč's every need and you must love each other. But just remember: Marriage 
costs money. When Jim Webeley married Bella Goth, it cost §1000.

5.52 Dealing with Death
A death in the family can be horrendous, especially if it's the moneymaker of 
the family. What to do? Let's say "Steve", the moneymaker of the family, dies. 
"Lynn" a housewife who makes friends and cleans the house all day, is 
devastated. She gets a job to support herself. The first thing she buys with 
any money left? An espresso machine. She uses lots of energy working and has 
little time for romancing a neighbor, so this boost really helps. She invites 
another guy over and pretty soon, gets hitched. Then the working structure is 
back on its feet.

5.6 Livin' La Vida Loca in The Sims
     This is the story of a sim living an excellent, wealthy, life in a 
simhouse. Take a hint from Tim. Tim lived in a small house which he designed 
himself. He had a Trottco 27" TV for fun, an Amishim Bookshelf to study, a 
folding easel for some extra dollars, a microwave, a fridge, and a food 
processor for cooking, a dishwasher, a trash compactor, a telephone, a nice 
big couch from Werkbunnst, a bed, a Justa Bathtub for hygiene, an ordinary, 
everyday toilet to relieve himself, a pedestal sink to wash, and a dining room 
table and chairs. He had everything he wanted for a Sim just starting out.

     Tim took the first job he could - a career in politics. But he didn't 
want bribes and scandals, and knew much better because he read this very FAQ. 
So, as soon as he got a promotion, he put that money to work with a Moneywell 
Computer. He started looking for a job. He decided on a career in the 
military. He would get home early enough to do things and would stay up til 6 
or 7 at night - longer with coffee. What did he do with that extra time? He 
had fulfilled all his needs in the morning. He had a good mood and almost 
every need he had was satisfied. So he took that easel and painted. Soon, his 
good mood resulted in promotions. With his bonuses, he bought all he needed to 
get new promotions - a weight machine, a mirror, and a chessboard. He got his 
skills up, because when he started working, time just flew by... or perhaps 
the speed was turned up. Well, in his free time he painted a lot and fixed any 
needs that needed fixing. His next big project was a second floor. To be 
continued...


--------------------------
6. Cheats and other stuff
--------------------------

From www.gamewinners.com

The Sims Cheat mode: Press [Ctrl] + [Shift] + C during game play to display a 
prompt in the upper left corner of the screen. Enter one of the following 
codes to activate the corresponding cheat function. Note:, enter [Exclamation 
point] at the prompt to repeat the last cheat entered. Enter a [Semi-colon] 
between codes to enter multiple codes at the same time.
Result
1000 Simoleons (unpatched game version) - klaupicus
1000 Simoleons (patched game version) - rosebud
Add new family history stat to the current family - hist_add
Appends the route destination list to AllRoutes.txt every time a route is 
found - write_destlist
Architecture tools automatically set the level as needed - auto_level
Automatically import and load indicated FAM file - import 
Automatically load indicated house, no questions asked - house 
Check and fix required lot objects - prepare_lot 
Completely flush app to VM file when running Windows NT - flush
Crash game - crash
Create moat or streams - water_tool
Create shrunk_text_#.bmp files - shrink_text  
Create-a-character mode - edit_char 
Display personality and interests - interests
Draw all animation frames disabled - draw_all_frames off
Draw all animation frames enabled - draw_all_frames on
Draw colored dots at each person's origin - draw_origins
Dump entire memory to core_dump_[date:time].txt - core_dump
Dump selected person's most recent list of scored interactions to a file - 
dump_happy
Dump selected person's motive contribution curve to a file - dump_mc
Enable debug flag to show outcome choice dialogs for social interactions - 
debug_social
End sim logging - sim_log end
Execute "file.cht" file as a list of cheats - cht 
Floorable grid disabled - draw_floorable off 
Floorable grid enabled - draw_floorable on
Force an assert for testing - assert
Log animations in the event log window - log_animations
Map editor disabled - map_edit off 
Map editor enabled - map_edit on 
Move any object - move_objects
No tutorial object generation when tutorial house is loaded - tutorial off
Prevent web browser crashes - browser_failsafe 
Preview animations disabled - preview_anims off
Preview animations enabled - preview_anims on
Programmer stats - tile_info
Quit game - quit
Read in behavior tuning constants from Tuning.txt - #import
Rebuilds entire control panel/UCP from scratch - rebuild_cp
Refresh the BMP_ resources for all people whose IFF files are writable - 
refresh_faces
Rematch dependent textures and regenerate bitmaps for all user characters - 
refresh_textures
Restore tutorial - restore_tut 
Rotate camera - rotation <0-3> 
Routing debug balloons disabled - route_balloons off
Routing debug balloons enabled - route_balloons on
Run series of random operations on unhoused families - fam_test 
Save currently loaded house - save
Save family history file - history 
Say "plugh" - plugh
Say "porntipsguzzardo" - porntipsguzzardo
Say "xyzzy" - xyzzy
Selected person's path displayed - draw_routes on
Selected person's path hidden - draw_routes off
Set event logging mask - log_mask 
Set free thinking level - autonomy <1-100> 
Set game speed - sim_speed <-1000-1000> 
Set grass change value - edit_grass :
Set grass growth - grow_grass <0-150> 
Set lot size - lot_size  
Set maximum milliseconds to allow simulator - sim_limit  
Set sim speed - sim_speed <-1000 - 1000> 
Set time of day (unpatched game version) - set_hour <1-24>
Set z offset for thought bubbles - bubble_tweak  
Sets the neighborhood directory to the path - 
Sets up the borders of the lot with non-editable flag. Requires rotation - 
lot_border    
Sets whether menu items appear for in use objects - allow_inuse Show memory view window in debug builds of the game - memview Start sim logging - sim_log begin Swap the two house files and updates families - swap_houses Ticks disabled - sweep off Ticks enabled - sweep on Tile information displayed - tile_info on Tile information hidden - tile_info off Toggle allowing visitors to be controlled using the keyboard - visitor_control Toggle assets report - report_assets Toggle automatic object reset feature - auto_reset Toggle calls to PeekMessage within sim loop - sim_peek Toggle camera mode - cam_mode Toggle display of unavailable interactions in person control menus - all_menus Toggle music - music Toggle object compression in save file - obj_comp Toggle quaternion transformations - quats Toggle sound log window - sound_log Toggle sounds - sound Toggle web page creation - html Total reload of people skeletons, animations, suits and skins - reload_people Trigger sound event - soundevent Write out an RTE file every time a route is found - write_routes Write out behavior tuning constants to Tuning.txt - #export Information in this section was contributed by Chris Mitchell and Jonny Hansson . Quick money: Enable cheat mode and enter the klapaucius code. Display the cheat prompt again and type !;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!:!;! (up to sixty total commands may be entered). Information in this section was contributed by Jonny Hansson . Easier repeat cheats: To make it easier to repeat a code, such as the money code, first enter the code, then make a mistake after what you have repeated. For example enter the money cheat, then enter !;!;!;!;!;!: (note the colon at the end instead of a semi-colon). The game will respond "Sorry, invalid cheat" but you will have the amount that you requested. When you click "OK", the cheat will still be at the prompt. Press [Enter] again and click "OK" for another repeat of the cheat you entered. Information in this section was contributed by ZambordaWizard . Hint: Easier relationships: Create a family with a male and female adult that are of the same category (such as Virgo and Virgo) and move them into a house (or created house). Immediately after selecting live mode make them kiss approximately ten times in a row to set their relationship meter to be 100. If you continue kissing the female should ask to have a baby. Information in this section was contributed by Bills656 . Hint: Selling the dead: This is a useful trick if you had a Sim die. When Sims die, they leave an urn or a gravestone behind them which your Sim will mourn for 24 hours. After this time you can pick it up in furnish mode and sell it. You only get about 3 to 10 Simoleans for it, but it is better than turning your garden into a cemetery. Information in this section was contributed by Howard Blanchard . Hint: Magic garbage bag: The following trick saves the time needed to take the garbage to the street. Buy the 30 simolian garbage can. Order your Sim to empty it, then cancel the order just as they remove the bag from the can. Then, order them to pick up the mess that they just created. Your Sim will return the full bag to an empty can. Repeat this each time it fills and trash will never have be brought outside again. Information in this section was contributed by Jonny Hansson . Hint: Double phone message: Place more than two phones in your house and wait for the phone to ring. Direct two of your Sims to answer different phones. By doing this, two messages will appear for each of your Sims. Sometimes the game will even offer some generous amount of money. Information in this section was contributed by Razzpberry . Hint: Never take out the garbage: Buy the small blue 30 simolian garbage can. Whenever it is full, sell it for 30 simolians. Then, just buy a new one, and you will never have to take out the garbage again. Information in this section was contributed by Matt Stokes . Hint: Less bills: Keep an unpaid bill until the mailman delivers the next set of bills. Pay the original bill when your mailbox is filled with the next set of bills. This should cause the bills inside the mailbox to disappear. Information in this section was contributed by Jonny Hansson . Hint: Less time needed to pay bills: When you get the bills, your Sim will normally walk inside put it on a table before they can be paid. Cancel the table action and that person will put it on the ground. Click on the bill and pay for it immediately. Information in this section was contributed by ETsnookie4u . Hint: Never pay bills: Enable the "Move any objects" code. Then, pick up the mailbox and erase it. Bills cannot be delivered if you do not have a mailbox. Information in this section was contributed by Metallicat1313 . Code This code from slynx@singnet.com.sg (slynx) I had a bachelor (been playing bachelor from the start.) with 10 in all stats except creativity. How? move in a house, build, lets say, a workout gym, and work the day away! when tired and upset, save, go to neighbourhood,evict,re- move in,work again. repeat as needed. can be done with all activities! ALL!!! -------------------------- 7. Links -------------------------- The Sims Homepage - www.thesims.com GameFAQs - www.gamefaqs.com GameWinners - www.gamewinners.com The Sims Fan Page (I work there!) - www.geocities.com/the_simms_ca/ -------------------------- 8. Known Bugs -------------------------- All These Bugs can be fixed with patches on thesims.com Sim Twitches and Melts into Ashes Sim Walks Around Nude Sim Permanently Censored Sim Killed by Guinea Pig Sim Changes Clothes due to Guinea Pig Repairman Dies Neighbor tells Sim to come visit Can't Delete Desks Can't Take Night off for jobs without being fired Staircase Says "In Use" when it isn't No Comfort from Recliner Carpool Doesn't Arrive Can't Clean up snack from floor These from apieper@vt.edu (Aaron Pieper) (No Patch) Repairmen can't walk up or down hills to repair things, only to repossess things. So if your entire house is elevated below or above the sidewalk (I know one lot starts out like this, lot 2 I believe), and you call a repairman, they will just stand in place for 8 hours, bill you, and leave. If a sim "Sam" is watching TV on a couch, and another sim "Stanley " tries to interact with them, then Stanley will simply stand in front of Sam waiting for Sam to stop watching TV. However, Sam will be blocked from standing up, because Stanley is standing in front of them. Even if you cancel Stanley's "interact with Sam" action, Stanley won't be able to move. They will be stuck doing nothing for a few hours - possibly missing work, or urinating on themselves. Similarly, if a Sim, "Escher" is painting and another sim "Dopey" is standing behind them trying to interact with them, Dopey will block Escher again. However, this time Escher will be able to stop painting, and he will occupy the same square as Dopey, so that neither of them can move under any condition. The only way to resolve this situation is to evict everyone in the home. Not done yet! If you have guests, and they are swimming in your pool, you can't ask them to leave, or even to stop swimming. They will swim and swim and swim, sometimes until they just climb out of the pool and collapse in front of the pool ladder. If there are any sims in the swimming pool when the pool ladder is blocked, they will all die. If you have an angled wall on top of a carpet, you can't remove the carpet without removing the wall. Oh! And a HUGE glitch. If you delete any picture in a scrapbook, then the caption for the picture is automatically overwritten. From Joseph Pietler (megnetto@hotmail.com) on the neighborhood option site, when I highlighted one of the family friends/financial stats, it said I have 13 friends. Yet, when I go into that family playload, it said I only got 11. This one is similar to the ones Aaron Pieper described, but not as bad. Sim"Jim" was working out, while the visit sim "Tim" was walking towards him, to speak to him. I cancelled Jim workout order, but not before Tim was standing over him, blocking the workbench exit. You know the character finishes his workout, his arms drops and he says "WHEW!" Well, Jim was doing that 5 times before Tim moved away to a distance. He was a visitor, so I couldn't control him at that time. One of the floor lamps burned out, so I made my character call the repairman. He came over, touch the lamp and got electrocuted. Thanks for the patch, he didn't die (there is a joke in there, somewhere). He finish it and went on as usual. It was funny seeing him light up like a Christmas tree, though. I have 8 sims in a household. One works at night. Four starts work at 8, the last three at 9. When 8 o'clock carpool arrived, the four got to work with no problems and the work pictures showed up on their face photos. When the 9 o'clock carpool arrived, the first one went at 9:30, the second one at 9:45. I had trouble getting the third one out of the swimming pool (It seems that I had to click on the "get out" order before the "go to work" order, because she kept swimming and swimming, ignoring the "go to work" order). By the time she went towards the car, it was 10:10, the car went off. When that happened, ALL OF THE SIX PEOPLE WHO WENT TO WORK MAGICALLY APPEARED IN THE READING ROOM OF THE HOUSE WITH THEIR WORK PICTURES GONE. This is not the first time it happened. It seems that whenever any one sim misses work, the other sims who work the same or close to it job time, who is already at work appears back home. This also happens to my other 2 sims in a different house (in the bathroom, this time), but not as much as the 8. I got the version 1.1 patch when this happened. The bad news is those 6 sims won't get paid, even though they went to work. -------------------------- 9. FAQ -------------------------- Q: What is The Sims? A: A new game from the creator of SimCity simulating life. Q: How can I find out more? A: Read my FAQ, or go out and BUY IT! NOW! Support Maxis Games. Q: Is it worth my $34.99? A: YES! It's on the top of the charts. It got 96% from PC Gamer. It got an A- from Game Revolution. A 9.1 from GameSpot. And it got a 98% from me. Q: Hey! I spent $50.00 on this game! Where did you get it for $34.99? A: Best Buy. It was on sale the first weekend. Q: Weird things have been happening in my game... A: Check Section 7 Known Bugs and check if your problem is up there. Q: I have a male and a female Sim. How can they have kids? A: If you continue to have them talk, they will like each other more. When their rankings with each other are over about 75, they fall in love and you can get with the real Romantic stuff. The higher they are, the more likely you'll be to have a baby. It won't happen right away, but with patience, it will come. Q: How can my Sims get married? A: First, get their stats up to 100 with each other. Then get her in a real good mood, and propose. If it doesn't work the first time, keep trying. Q: Do kids or adults age? A: Nope. Q: Can you take custody of a kid from a neighbor the same way you ask a neighbor to move in/propose? A: Nope. But if you ignore their SimParents, you can keep em for days. Q: Why don't you update the FAQ as much as you used to? A: I'm running out of new ideas, but I'm doing my best to add new stuff. -------------------------- 10. COMING SOON -------------------------- As soon as the expansion pack is released, I'll be adding a lot to this FAQ. -------------------------- 11. Last Time I Played... -------------------------- Another job, another gadget. Say hello to the weight machine. Copyright 2000 MaxisMaster (Joe Kaiser)