This thread's foolest post. One's been warned.
This must be the very first time you arrive at our Sun-un-official Maxist High-Simulation Curatorship and enjoying our so-inconstant, assorted, free-time services; it would eventually happen, anyway. Even if you, like my self, are the sort with 402 different gaming design ideas per week but don't have the strength to kind of chuck them somewhere one can see, know that, in the real crisis that this madder-than-mad world accommodated itself, when it sort of reached the pinnacle of digital consumption/creation accessibility, it's all became a, um, competition where it's being wondered who's the fastest in the art of engineering the hungriest babel_tower.exe so they can touch the Lord's balls, you know?! Everything is horrible.
Our aim is to aid it a little, etc. Before the actual action, there is, obviously, the essencial stage of understanding the fundamentals of the crafting of things (and, by that, ok, we moooostly mean videogames {which, by the way, almost always involve everything The Sims}) in a time when the whole labor of love factor vaporized every single byte, and it was the normal; In our opinion, The Sims' complex and rich development history epitomizes this rather resilient and progressive crafting phenomenon the most, and maybe that's the reason why we chose this game to be the central subject of our research juices which, we hope, provide someone a little joy and ideas as they discover with us about their favorite game of all time after Sonic Adventure! And, oh, boy, and how it helps us to become better Google Searchers!
WELCOME!
POST'S HIGHLIGHT:
Game Developers Conference 2002 — Will Wright & Scott McCloud talk. Scott is the author of Understanding Comics, which is one of the books that influenced The Sims' overall visual language and, potentially, its intuitive User Interface and selective visual boundaries for the good old immersion's sake!
Great photograph and coverage by 奥谷 海人
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We will have to sort things by (estimated) year, this time.
☺ 1996-1997
Twinkling Alumni
Previous finds indirectly brought us to the attention of the Maxoid hang-out 'n' memories FB group. It is not the group's main subject, but, every now and then, some Sims artifacts would pop in there, it seems!
What appears to be a recent and unusual manifestation of undesirable users knocking at their doors asking for a vacant rooms made the group's administration to set all of its posts as private. It had a good bunch of some
really early textures that, for archival purposes, I'll be uploading here (LMK if I shouldn't, anyway!)
Hey, the first three ones pretty much respect our buddy
Archie's anatomy!
But... who are these other moody folks?
Archived scripts from this 1996-1997 tutorial scenario mention a cast of seminal Sims that Archie belongs to, also consisted of his fellows that go by the names Samantha, Darren and, oh,
Edith, allegedly the ginger beauty down here. Ah, the times when a bmp facial expression was worth more than a thousand plumbobs...
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☺ 1997-1998
A few more unused sprites
Some incorrectly processed URL in one of my posts somehow took @MrPowerGamerBR; and I to a kind convo upon the world's injustices and how sad would it be if history were forgotten forever, which sssssssomewhat forwarded me to the bloody long lost
Simplorer. Even though you can see it as the weakest brother of Bill Simser the blueprint guru's
SimExplorer, it is, in actuality, the *only* The Sims resource manager on this Terra that would not crash on me on my attempts of previewing Sprites.IFF's icons. It's almost as though there was some type of impenetrable type of holy cryptographic job within the resources' bodies. Maybe it's only because I am a permanent initiated! Mr PowerGamerBR is a saint. Now, we've managed to extract the handful of missing unused frames;
/Sprites.IFF
SPR# 300 - romance
SPR# 301 - friends
Well! Two more PowerPoint clip-arts for your collection.
SPR2 2001 - Head dots
Active character (but not their mood) indicator! The previously missing frames form this subtle flashing effect, as also seen @ the 'famigerated' Steering Committee build. These sprites were summarily scrapped on January 21, 1999
(TechnicalEmail, page 68) in the name of an arrow-shaped 3D prop that would be victim of quite a few minor tweaks, only to become what we know these days as the plumbob!
"Make Historical"
Although the ability to type down name and description to lots wasn't real until Hot Date, some of the base game's house files are internally named after the good old Steering Committee's scenarios.
You can confirm it via sim tools like EliSims or by just opening your House files with Wordpad, for example.
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☺ 1998-1999
Heavy Chair Zombie Found
So the "beta heavy chair" lived in our copy this whole time around! It only took us 22 years to realize it! Now, give us more 44 to find out how to fix its palette (EDIT: sorted.). As an unused sprite, it is within
"chairslr1tile.IFF" as the SPR resource ID 128, neighboring the actually used chairs. A simple sprite exporting routine from your multi-utility "Transmogrihopkins" is more than enough for you to check it yourself
You can see its palette is kind of messed up, and we can't blame it — perhaps we can solve it soon. (EDIT: sorted.)
Another dope find within the community,
documented by Sindle! Seeing the game's
regional differences will make u gawp, too
Some extra early 1999 SimWebCam finds
A common Michael Lawson narrative as a Maxoid-driven The Sims DEMO, broadcasted to the whole SimCity.com community on different Thursdays throughout 1999!
GAME PRO (USA) ISSUE 130 (JULY, 1999) PREVIEWS THE SIMS
☺ Unused strings (maybe not all, 'cause 2 many, welp)
If you're not familiar with the idea of Strings, think of them as all the interfaces between the program and the user in text, like the "I've got to feed my llama" message that comes in a box once you hit some unfriendly Sim up, or even the little "OK" underneath it, above a blue button-looking .bmp!
Unused strings are unused, a little weird... and untranslated. Makes the diggin' job easier. Some of them lack context, and might be older than we think.
Will throw some of my favorite ones here rather loosely before preparing them for tcrf later, I hope!
Shutters.iff
(Unused window shutters object)
STR# 301 Dialog prim string set
0 - "This house a cheap painting and it must be removed!"
Note: ????????
Fridges.iff
STR# 300 Behavior editor string set
0 - "Could not get to the fridge."
1 - "The fridge is bare."
Baby.iff
(The baby cradle)
STR# 301 Dialog prim string set
3 - The Baby is asleep.
Note: It is impossible to interact with the cradle if the baby isn't crying... or whatever they do with their diaphragms when they demand attention
PizzaDude.iff
(The Pizza delivering NPC)
STR# 301 Dialog prim string set
0 - "Whew! Had a lot of traffic but the pizza's still warm. Love that pizza furniture, don't you?"
Note: Very inadequate as he always arrives by foot, huh?
gardener.iff
(The female gardener NPC)
STR# 301 Dialog prim string set
1 - "Hi, I'm here to take care of your plants."
Note: Service NPCs always arrive residences already wanting to commence their work. Ain't got no time for hellos!
thief.iff
(BURGLAR!!!!!)
STR# 301 Dialog prim string set
0 - "AACK! I don't know what to say this situation!"
1 - "I am speechless. Words escape me at this surprising moment."
2 - "You don't have enough money to pay the Maid."
Counters.iff
(Kitchen/W.C. counters)
STR# 300 Behavior editor string set
0 - "I am just a lonely cabinet."
Note: No idea what this means either
foodproc.iff
(The food processor on the Kitchen/W.C. counters)
STR# 301 Behavior editor string set
0 - "I am just a lonely cabinet."
Note: No idea what this means
Easel.iff
(NY gridlock, Purple woman, Wedding, House)
STR# 301 Dialogue prim string set
3 - "@Congratulations!"
4 - "Art makes the world go round. $Me has gone up 1 Creativity Skill Point!"
Newspaper.iff
(...and its news)
STR# 301 Dialog prim string set
4 - "Support Uncle Sim. Entry-level recruits for the armed forces work 9 to 3 and make 250 simoleans a day. Start low, but aim high. Your ultimate mission could be to the moon."
Note: An unusually strong ad-like approach, on this Military career offer! Also, mentions a character from the real world, which was actively avoided by the used strings' texts
SocialInteractions.iff
(Sim-to-Sim blahblahblah)
STR# 301 Dialog prim string set
5 - "Gotta run, have a lot of stops to make."
Note: According to the string's embedded commentary, it was meant to be said by the Pizza Guy
5 - "Gotta run, have a lot of stops to make."
20 - "You already have enough people living in this house!"
22 - "I don't know if you've noticed, but there doesn't appear to be any extra space for me in your household!"
phones.iff
(All of the game's available talking hard plastic machines, and their quotes)
STR# 301 Dialog prim string set
1 - "Sorry, you can't afford it."
2 - "Sucker! You just bought some worthless swamp land. Even the alligators won't live there!"
5 - "To help scientific research for Health would you be willing to have your fingers bitten by rabid ferrets? This is a worthy cause and you will be paid $42."
Note: One of the most Steering Committee-ish things you're reading in here
6 - "The Gardener will begin tomorrow."
8 - "Hello, $Me, you're live and on the air! Congratulations you have just won $300 from KSIM radio. Remember that phrase that pays, KSIM means more money!"
9 - "Do you want to invite $Neighbor for a visit?"
10 - "Invite"
11 - "Just Chat"
12 - "$Neighbor didn't want to come over."
13 - "Sorry, $Neighbor is busy right now and can't come over."
14 - "$Neighbor already has other plans."
15 - $Neighbor says, "Well... I was thinking of watching Family Feud reruns at my place. But sure. Why not?"
16 - "$Neighbor says, "I guess that sounds a little better than a kick in the head. Give me a minute."
17 - "$Neighbor says, "Sure! This place is Dullsville. We can raise a little hell over at your place, no?""
18 - "$Neighbor says, "I don’t see why not. Unless... nah, never mind. I’ll be right over.""
19 - "$Neighbor says, "Giddy-up. I’ll be right over.""
20 - "$Neighbor says, "I thought you’d never ask.""
21 - "$Neighbor says, "Love to. I’m bored stiff over here.""
22 - "$Neighbor says, "Any time. Just give me a sec.""
23 - "$Neighbor says, "Would I pass up the chance to savor your aroma? Never. I’ll be there in a minute with my nose all a-sniff.""
24 - "$Neighbor says, "Mi-mi-mi-mi. A-hem. Yewww are the apple of my eye. Oh, save it. I’ll be right over.""
25 - "$Neighbor says, "If you’re thinking what I’m thinking, then of course I’ll come over.""
26 - "$Neighbor says, "OK. Be over in a jiffy.""
27 - "$Neighbor says, "Ugh, no. I have to clean my vacuum.""
28 - "$Neighbor says, "No, thanks. I’ve got to feed my llama.""
29 - "$Neighbor says, "I’d love to, but I’ve got some leftover SPAM I’ve been meaning to eat, so no.""
30 - "$Neighbor says, "I would, but I’m expecting the mailman to come sometime today.""
31 - "$Neighbor says, "Sorry, but I really have to wax my armpits.""
32 - "$Neighbor says, "No can do. I’ve got an appointment with the Avon lady.""
33 - "$Neighbor says, "No, thanks. I’m feeling a little bloated.""
34 - "$Neighbor says, "I have to stay home. My house guest just threw up on the sofa.""
35 - "So sorry. Just checked the records and we won't be sending anyone your way very soon. Try paying our service people next time, you cheapskate."
37 - "Continue"
39 - "You have already hired a Maid."
40 - "$Neighbor says, "Do you want me to bring a friend?""
41 - "$Neighbor says, "Do you want me to bring some friends?""
42 - "Would you like to hire a Maid?
61 - "OK, I'll be right over."
62 - "I don't want to come over."
63 - "The person you are calling ($Neighbor) could not be reached because they are at work. "
64 - "Prank call."
140 TO 159 - "Would you like to spend some money on something random? ($$Local:0). Variation 1 to 20."
PedPortal.iff
(The invisible objects in our lots' corners that summon or cancel NPCs)
STR# 301 Dialog prim string set
0 - ""$Me says, "I’m wiped out. I’d better get home before I crash."""
1 - "$Me says, "My back’s killing me. I’m going home to get cozy.""
2 - "$Me says, "I’m starved. See you later.""
3 - "$Me says, "Gotta go. I’m smelling a bit ripe.""
4 - "$Me says, "Know of any places I could actually use the bathroom? I’ve gotta go.""
5 - "$Me says, "Your place is really not doing it for me. Maybe some other time…""
6 - "$Me says, "Next time you invite me over, maybe you could pay me a little attention, huh?""
7 - "$Me says, "No offense, but I’m bored stiff over here. See you later.""
8 - "$Me says, "See ya""
9 - "$Me says, "I'll be back tomorrow morning.""
10 - "$Me says, "I'll see you next week.""
13 - "I've seen fancier ghettos. Later."
Note: Super early strings, I suppose. Here, Sims exceptionally display some notion of weeks, as well as scheduled visits?
HelpSystem.iff
(Stores the messages from the Help pop-up windows and teaches you how to play)
STR# 301 Behavior editor string set
2 - "*Sims can get electrocuted when changing bulbs. Maybe you should call a repairman to do it."
14 - "*This is Buy Mode! Here you can buy things for your Sims to provide a happy and more productive life. You can also sell items to get some quick cash. To sell an object pick it up and hit delete."
25 - "$Object is performing well at work. Sims can only get promoted if they are also qualified for the next job level. $Object does not have enough Mechanical Skill points for a promotion. Study Mechanical at a bookcase to increase $Object's knowlege in this area. $Object may also need some other skills. Check the Job Panal for $Object to see what the qualifications for promotion are. If you are unsure on how to do this then click on "Show Me How"."
26 - "$Object is performing well at work. $Object does not cook as well as the other Sims at work. Could this be holding $Object back? Read Cookbooks at a bookcase to increase $Object's knowlege in this area. $Object may also need some other skills. Check the Job Panal for $Object to see what the qualifications for promotion are. If you are unsure on how to do this then click on "Show Me How"."
28 - "$Object is performing well at work.Ah, the perfect body, it is a shame that $Object does not have one! Working out is a great way to earn more Body Skill Points as well as feeling better about oneself. $Object may also need some other skills. Check the Job Panal for $Object to see what the qualifications for promotion are. If you are unsure on how to do this then click on "Show Me How"."
29 - "$Object is performing well at work. $Object is having difficulty communicating at work. Try practicing speech at a mirror. After talking to yourself for a while you just may be able to talk yourself into a promotion! $Object may also need some other skills. Check the Job Panal for $Object to see what the qualifications for promotion are. If you are unsure on how to do this then click on "Show Me How"."
30 - "$Object is performing well at work. $Object is not as creative as their employer would like. Try painting $Object into a promotion with the Easel. A promotion can also be earned for a song, just try playing a piano for a while and find out how. $Object may also need some other skills. Check the Job Panal for $Object to see what the qualifications for promotion are. If you are unsure on how to do this then click on "Show Me How"."
44 - "*The objects in buy mode are displayed in the catalog sorted from the lowest cost to the most expensive?"
47 - "*If you do not have enough money for an object its price will display in red. It also will have a red outline around it in the description pop-up."
50 - "*You can remove windows and doors easilly by drawing a wall over them."
53 - "You can paint or wallpaper a whole room by holding down the Shift key. Click while holding the Shift key if you like it, or release the Shift key if you decide against it."
55 - "*You can download more wall paper from the web. Visit www.thesims.com!"
56 - "*You can make your own wallpaper. Download HomeMaster from the web. www.thesims.com."
Note: HomeMaster is how HomeCrafter, an official wall/floor creation program, used to be known as before The Sims went to the stores!
85 - "*When lowering terrian you can raise it by holding down the shift key. You can also hold shift to lower the terrian when in raise terrian mode."
Note: "terrain" mispelled 3x in a row here lol
87 - "To level terrain, click and drag out a rectangle. The land will all become the same height as the spot where you first clicked the mouse."
90 - "*$Object is performing well at work. Other Sims at work seem to be outsmarting $Object. Getting more Logic Skill would help to manipulate them into seeing you in a higher position. $Object may also need some other skills. Check the Job Panal for $Object to see what the qualifications for promotion are. If you are unsure on how to do this then click on "Show Me How"."
101 - "This room is too rough around the edges. $Object would prefer that it have wall and floor covering."
103 - "Provide light doors"
104 - "Placement for routing"
106 - "Stairs - auto-clear floor tiles"
107 - "Stairs - outdoors for balconies"
111 - "Floors - Room Score"
113 - "Floors - scroll for more"
114 - "Plants - Improve outside room score"
115 - "Plants - Move and delete"
116 - "Plants - Maintenance"
117 - "Camera Mode - What it is."
131 - "Click the Undo icon to reverse the last change you made--keep clicking it to undo previous changes. You will get money back for undone actions. Once you leave Build Mode, your changes will become permanent. After that, you can delete them, but you will lose some money."
133 - "If it's too late for Undo, you can get money back for most architectural items by deleting or selling them. Things that can be picked up can be deleted using the hand tool. Other architectural tools have more specific instructions. Click the thumbnail of one of the selections under each tool to learn how to delete it."
134 - "*Visit
www.thesims.com to download more floor patterns, wall textures, characters and objects. "
139 - "There are several wall coverings from which to choose. Use the right and left arrows on the Control Panel to scroll through the selections."
[i]Note: Omitted a few duplicates
URL VAULT!
News, interviews, previews, DEMOs, post-release reviews... this list isn't comprehensive whatsoever, but... they were undoubtedly vital for the construction of everything we've seen in the past year! And will be quite handy for the upcoming projects. Have a good read!!!
https://web.archive.org/web/2016030.../1994/01/wright
Will Wright: The Mayor of SimCity (1994)
https://web.archive.org/web/2008051...qa-simcity.html
How to Win at Life, NY Times (October 31, 1999)
https://web.archive.org/web/2002041...0/070818p1.html
PC Games: The Sims Interview (September 28, 1999)
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article...sims-video-game
A Brief History of 'The Sims' (June 3, 2021)
https://www.berkeleyside.org/2011/1...r-iosing-a-home
Will Wright: Inspired to make The Sims after losing a home (October 17, 2011)
https://web.archive.org/web/2015031...02/17/wright_5/
The world according to Will (February 17, 2000)
https://www.jeuxvideo.com/dossiers/...es-sims-001.htm
L'origine des sims (May 22, 2009)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/746700.stm
Lethal guinea pig kills virtual people (May 12, 2000)
https://web.archive.org/web/2001032...03/nycu/sim.htm
The new Sims on the block (May 03, 1999)
https://web.archive.org/web/2000120...Sims/index.html
Gamecenter.com previews The Sims! (May 25, 1999)
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la...8108-story.html
As new Titles Go Mainstream, Veteran Players Miss the Fun (May 17, 1999)
https://technewscollector.com/next-...soap-opera.html
Next in Sims series: A soap opera (May 14, 1999)
https://web.archive.org/web/1999082.../news/6625.html
Next-Generation Online: Good Game Design Wins the Day @ E3 (May 13, 1999)
https://web.archive.org/web/1999101...iews/11754.html
pc.ign.com: Sims, The Preview (July 23, 1999)
https://web.archive.org/web/1999100...61,1396,00.html
Gamespot E3 News - The Sims - Impressions (May 13, 1999)
https://web.archive.org/web/2001011...index.asp?d=1-2
E³ 1999 - Adrenaline Vault Coverage (May 1999)
https://web.archive.org/web/2001021...ms/TheSims.html
The Sims in The News (Various Dates)
https://web.archive.org/web/2001030...99/7:27:6.shtml
GA-Source - The Jack Daniels E3 Diary: The Sims (May 1999)
https://web.archive.org/web/2001041...om/e3/sims.html
Maxis: A Sim Too Far? - E3 '99 Article (21 May 1999 {MY BIRTHDAY})
https://web.archive.org/web/1998120...WillWright.html
Designing User Interfaces to Simulation Game (1998)
http://web.archive.org/web/20000309...y/0525/feat.htm
Forbes: Convergence - An imitation of life (May 1999)
http://web.archive.org/web/20000309.../news/8153.html
pc.ign.com: IGN's Best of E3 Awards (May 1999)
http://web.archive.org/web/20000303...72,6678,00.html
E3Games.net - E3 Preview: The Sims (May 1999)
http://web.archive.org/web/20000815...es/simspreview/
Firingsquad - The Sims Preview (May 29, 1999)
http://web.archive.org/web/20000303...2329264,00.html
ECTS99 - The Sims: Control Your own Pet Family (PC) (September 1999)
http://web.archive.org/web/20000516...2329435,00.html
ECTS99 - Tooling Around With The Sims (September 1999)
http://web.archive.org/web/20000305...sims/index.html
Luc Barthelet's The Sims DEMO for Gamers Central (September 1999)
http://pensivepuffin.com/dwmcphd/sy...t.Interview.pdf
Will Wright Interview
https://web.archive.org/web/2000082...nterviews/sims/
FullOn3D Interview - The Sims
http://web.archive.org/web/19990921...ame=sims&page=1
The Adrenaline Vault previews The Sims (May 28, 1999)
https://web.archive.org/web/2000030...1220gistc.shtml
GameSlice: Behind the Scenes of the Computer and Video Game Industry (2000)
https://web.archive.org/web/2000020...ews/thesims.htm
GameInterviews Interviews Roxana Wolosenko, a Designer of The Sims at Maxis/EA
https://web.archive.org/web/2000011.../the_sims.shtml
Strategy Gaming Online Interviews Luc Barthelet
https://web.archive.org/web/2000012...s/id/1001.shtml
EA-Central Sims Preview (September 14, 1999)
https://web.archive.org/web/2000030..._luc012000.html
Tales of SimCity (January 2000)
https://web.archive.org/web/2002110..._interview.html
The Sims Interview (June 16, 1999)
https://web.archive.org/web/2002121...ss_feature.html
The Proud and the Pixelated,part one (March 11, 2000)
https://web.archive.org/web/2002121...ms_feature.html
The Sims Feature (April 10, 2000)
https://web.archive.org/web/2002092...10/sims_e3.html
The Sims First Look (May 15, 1999)
https://web.archive.org/web/2002082..._interview.html
The Sims Interview (June 16, 1999)
https://web.archive.org/web/2002092..._interview.html
The Sims Interview 2 (June 17, 1999)
https://web.archive.org/web/2002092.../sims_ects.html
The Sims invade ECTS News (August 31, 1999)
https://web.archive.org/web/2002092...5/147/sims.html
The Sims Goes Gold News (January 19, 2000)
https://web.archive.org/web/2002112...7/131/sims.html
The secret of The Sims News (April 30, 2000)
http://web.archive.org/web/20000301...79,4615,00.html
GameProworld: Computer Game: ProTip Guide: The Sims (2000)
https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/0...-sims-interview
The Sims Interview (September 29, 1999)
https://web.archive.org/web/2004062...llwright_a.shtm
GameSpy.com - Interviews Will Wright
https://web.archive.org/web/2000060...jan00/sims.html
Games Domain Review (2000)
https://web.archive.org/web/2000120...00/sims2op.html
Games Domain Second Opinion Review (2000)
https://web.archive.org/web/2000062...review_542.html
DailyRadar Review The Sims
http://web.archive.org/web/20000520...79,4614,00.html
GameProWorld Review The Sims (2000)
http://web.archive.org/web/20000607...79,4359,00.html
GameProWorld Preview The Sims (1999)
https://web.archive.org/web/2000081...nsims/index.htm
Something Awful - A Week in the life of a Sim (2000)
http://web.archive.org/web/20000302...imspages1.shtml
bloodshot - The Sims - Get a Life
http://web.archive.org/web/20000424...ew.asp?ID=14784
Future Gamer The Sims Review (April 2000)
https://web.archive.org/web/2000050...hesims/main.htm
Will Wright talks Sim City and The Sims
https://web.archive.org/web/2000030...iews/sims1.html
RPOV Reviews The Sims
https://web.archive.org/web/2000030...hesims/link.htm
Game Guru Reviews The Sims
https://www.sfgate.com/entertainmen...rol-3239518.php
Playing Virtual God - San Francisco Gate (February 05, 2000)