Ok, I have 3 gameplay questions I've been wondering about, and rather than make 3 different topics, I thought I'd just put them all here:

1. I have a family in the original neighborhood, and I'm just wondering, if I start a new game in Riverview, will it be completely independent of the other neighborhood? In other words, while I'm playing that one, my family in the other won't up and move out or have babies or kill eachother and all that nonsense while I'm gone, will they? I know they would if I had another family in THAT neighborhood, but I'm just curious if it's different when I start a new game... (I haven't gotten the AwesomeMod to work yet...) And if so, how do I do this? When I start up the game I have the option of resuming my saved game with my sim family, but where do I go to start a new one in Riverview?

2. Pool parties... Um, I have a pool on my lot, and when I throw a party with swimsuit attire, no one gets in. They eat or dance or socialize, but never swim... And if I make my sims swim, there's no "ask to join" option when I click on the guests...

3. I've seen several places around the forum, people use the phrase "play guitar for tips"... I know you could in the Sims 2, but can you do this in TS3? I know you can play guitar anywhere you want... but I don't get a "Play for tips" or "Perform" option... Do I have to skill up first, or am I missing something, or are people just using artistic license when they talk about this?

Thanks in advance!

1. No, playing Riverview shouldn't affect your other neighborhood.

2. Pool parties suck. Haha. I've had trouble with them as well. There's not really any interactions in the pool either other than "Splash" and "breath holding contest" or whatever it is, and I'm not sure whether or not the relationships are changing since theres no icons. Pathfinding is terrible anyway.

3. I think you can only play for tips in community lots. You get the "Perform" option after learning songs, which you do while skilling up or from reading a book.

1. Not only can you play Riverview and not effect your sims you can have multiple copies/saves of the same neighborhood that won't effect each other.

2. No idea. I barely ever throw parties.

3. You have to have a guitar skill of 5 or higher to play for tips.

Muchos gracias!

You only need to be outside to play guitar for tips including your own front yard.