Sims 2 - explain the expansion packs to me

[Zee]

So say you install sims2. then install 7 of the expansions in order of the release dates.

So are you supposed to just play the last one, (lets say the last one i installed was "bon voyage"), to play all of them? Or you have basically have 7 different versions of sims2 that is played independently?

 

[Kromis]

It doesn't matter which one you play. It's the same game just different splash screen.

 

[Zee]

Originally posted by: Kromis
It doesn't matter which one you play. It's the same game just different splash screen.

so after i install, say sims2 Pets, and sims2 bon voyage...

if i load either one, it's just a diff splash screen but the same game once you're in?

 

[QueBert]

The way Sims 2 works is, if you install the Pets expansion, when you launch Sim2 it will launch Pets, which is an expansion, so you're still technically playing Sims 2. My GF bought all the expansions and they all integrate, so when she plays it's everything as one. You launch one and get all the content. The expansions do add a lot to the game play. While I don't like Sims or really understand it, I use to watch her play and there was a lot of shit going on. I believe she had every expansion installed lol.

 

[Skott]

My daughter plays Sims2 and has most of the expansion packs. I've watched her play it from time to time but I never could understand it either. I consider it like that old Seinfeld series. The show thats about nothing. Sims2 is like that to me. A game about nothing but entertaining to those that enjoy it.

 

[acheron]

I enjoyed both Sims 1 and 2 for a little while each, but never got into any of the expansions or anything. I will probably pick up Sims 3 when it comes out, unless it has Spore-style DRM. (And since it's from EA, that's a good possibility.)

 

[Scooby Doo]

Each expansion adds new features/stuff to the existing Sims 2 game. (installation order is more or less irrelevant in Sims 2)

Uni = goto college, influence points, 2 additional want slots after graduating, sub-hood (college campus), zombies, natural science career, dorms

Nightlife = downtown subhood, chemistry (turn ons/offs), lifetime wants (or was this in uni, can't remember), perm platium (ditto), vampires, Mrs Crumplebottom, cars

Open for Business = ownable business lots, badges (for restocking/cashering/salesmen/flower,toy,robot making), toy, floral, and robot making workstations, elevators, sevros (sim robots), lockable doors

Pets = pets (dogs and cats only, birds and hamsters are simple objects), pets can get jobs, werewolves

Seasons = seasons (summer, winter, fall, spring), snow, rain/lighting/hail, failing leaves, gardens, growable tomatoes, peppers..etc, temperatures, build snowmen, snowball fights, more badges (gardening...), plant sims, ability to put leftovers in fridge.

bon voyage = vacation subhoods (asianish, lumberjackish, and tikish), hotels, beachs, saunas, bigfoot, treasure hunting (digging dirt), more jewelery options

Freetime = hobbies skills, more workbenches (includes working with clay, rebuilding car..etc), more badges, contests

Apartment life = living in apartments (more than one family can live on a lot, each family treated seperately), lot more kids toys (monkey bars..etc), circular staircase, ceilings, witches, ownable helicopter

Off the top of my head thats what they mostly do (give or take i missed something important) The cheaper stuff packs (glamor life, IKEA, family fun...etc) just contain stuff, no new code features. The christmas packs do include a Santa sim and baking cookies, though.

 

[Kelvrick]

Holy shit. I should get my gf sims 2 and all the expansions. Maybe she'll let me play the witcher in peace.

 

[Kromis]

Originally posted by: Zee

Originally posted by: Kromis
It doesn't matter which one you play. It's the same game just different splash screen.

so after i install, say sims2 Pets, and sims2 bon voyage...

if i load either one, it's just a diff splash screen but the same game once you're in?

Correct

 

[pcslookout]

I hear The Sims 2 with all expansion packs take forever to load up even with a super fast pc. Sucks because I kinda like playing the game. I am not surprised though sense the game is created by EA all their games are ram hogs. Just look at Simcity 4.

 

[Pelu]

the sims 2 is great... but sandboxish... that means one thing... freedom of fun to people who like to create things and show what is in their minds and such... but for people who like... give me something to do... is like.... what is this!!!!

 

[Zee]

Originally posted by: Kelvrick
Holy shit. I should get my gf sims 2 and all the expansions. Maybe she'll let me play the witcher in peace.

bingo. im trying to install for my GF and just wanted to know what I was doing. Keeps her busy

 

[coldmeat]

My sister has all of the expansion packs. My parents keep buying them for her for her birthday and Christmas, but she rarely plays it. I used to play it a little. Once you get playing, it gets really time consuming. Hours will go by so fast.

 

[mooncancook]

All the expansions are combined into one big game. I installed Bon Voyage last, and that's the disc I need to play all of the contents. But it seems that if I insert another expansion disc in there and try to start BV it would ask me to insert the BV disc.

 

[Scooby Doo]

Originally posted by: mooncancook
All the expansions are combined into one big game. I installed Bon Voyage last, and that's the disc I need to play all of the contents. But it seems that if I insert another expansion disc in there and try to start BV it would ask me to insert the BV disc.

Correct. Each expansion (note not stuff it pack like glamour life) comes with a brand new executeable. It's built off the previous expansions executeable.

For the most part, things built into the execute are available in latter expansions, like prem platnium or turn ons/off. Game content, like cars, garden plants, etc are availble only in that expansion. The program will load the data from all the previous expansions if available.

 

[Raduque]

My mom plays it, but not really. She only uses it to build giant mansions. I call it "Super Happy Fun Time House Builder!!"

 

[Maximilian]

Well from my understanding of it if you have the sims 2 and buy sims 2 cutesy pie expansion and then buy sims 2 cuddly stuff expansion you will get both cutesy pie and cuddly stuff content in the sims 2. They add themselves into the core game rather than play like a separate program.

 

[acheron]

Originally posted by: Raduque
My mom plays it, but not really. She only uses it to build giant mansions. I call it "Super Happy Fun Time House Builder!!"

That was Will Wright's original idea -- a SimArchitect kind of thing for building houses. The people were more of an afterthought.

 

[Scooby Doo]

Originally posted by: Maximilian
Well from my understanding of it if you have the sims 2 and buy sims 2 cutesy pie expansion and then buy sims 2 cuddly stuff expansion you will get both cutesy pie and cuddly stuff content in the sims 2. They add themselves into the core game rather than play like a separate program.

Somewhat correct.... but game stuff (clothing/objects/even wants) from an expansion is only available in that expansion.

For example, cutesy pie has a new Cutesy Chair and a Cutesy house rating (the cutier the house the higher it goes). Now if you buy only Cuddly Stuff (assuming Cuddly came out after Cutesy), the Cutesy Chair wouldn't be there, but the house rating would be there. One is built into the game engine, the other in the objects.package file (or similar file).

If you bought both, then you'd run Cuddly program which will load Sims 2 objects and Cutesy objects along with it's own.

A real example: All expansions since Nightlife has a car buy mode entry, but if you don't have nightlife it'll be greyed out (or empty).

 

[Zee]

Originally posted by: Scooby Doo

Originally posted by: Maximilian
Well from my understanding of it if you have the sims 2 and buy sims 2 cutesy pie expansion and then buy sims 2 cuddly stuff expansion you will get both cutesy pie and cuddly stuff content in the sims 2. They add themselves into the core game rather than play like a separate program.

Somewhat correct.... but game stuff (clothing/objects/even wants) from an expansion is only available in that expansion.

For example, cutesy pie has a new Cutesy Chair and a Cutesy house rating (the cutier the house the higher it goes). Now if you buy only Cuddly Stuff (assuming Cuddly came out after Cutesy), the Cutesy Chair wouldn't be there, but the house rating would be there. One is built into the game engine, the other in the objects.package file (or similar file).

If you bought both, then you'd run Cuddly program which will load Sims 2 objects and Cutesy objects along with it's own.

A real example: All expansions since Nightlife has a car buy mode entry, but if you don't have nightlife it'll be greyed out (or empty).

unless you specifically load up nightlife?

 

[Scooby Doo]

Originally posted by: Zee

Originally posted by: Scooby Doo

Originally posted by: Maximilian
Well from my understanding of it if you have the sims 2 and buy sims 2 cutesy pie expansion and then buy sims 2 cuddly stuff expansion you will get both cutesy pie and cuddly stuff content in the sims 2. They add themselves into the core game rather than play like a separate program.

Somewhat correct.... but game stuff (clothing/objects/even wants) from an expansion is only available in that expansion.

For example, cutesy pie has a new Cutesy Chair and a Cutesy house rating (the cutier the house the higher it goes). Now if you buy only Cuddly Stuff (assuming Cuddly came out after Cutesy), the Cutesy Chair wouldn't be there, but the house rating would be there. One is built into the game engine, the other in the objects.package file (or similar file).

If you bought both, then you'd run Cuddly program which will load Sims 2 objects and Cutesy objects along with it's own.

A real example: All expansions since Nightlife has a car buy mode entry, but if you don't have nightlife it'll be greyed out (or empty).

unless you specifically load up nightlife?

Expansions go in this order (oldest to latest release)
base game
uni
nightlife
open for business (OfB)
pets
seasons
bon voyage
freetime
apartments
[stuff it packs don't count, they don't have a executable]

The execeuteable you run will be the latest release one you have (i.e. if you have pets, seasons and freetime then freetime will be the one ran) That program will then load up all the previous expansions data included. (consider all the previous expansions executables obsolete). In fact if you tried running Nightlife with newer expansions I believe it would tell you to run them instead. (the game isn't backwards compatible)

So if Cuddly and Cutesy came out after Nightlife, and you have nightlife installed, then you'd run Cuddly and have cars available for you.

Hope this made sense.

 

[Oyeve]

We need an M or AO rated Sims game.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: Oyeve
We need an M or AO rated Sims game.

There was one.
Well, it wasn't a "Sims" game, but it was clearly attempting to be this

 

[Scooby Doo]

Originally posted by: Oyeve
We need an M or AO rated Sims game.

There's plenty of mods that provide this.

If nothing else, it provides more realizism anyways.

 

[zerogear]

Originally posted by: Skott
My daughter plays Sims2 and has most of the expansion packs. I've watched her play it from time to time but I never could understand it either. I consider it like that old Seinfeld series. The show thats about nothing. Sims2 is like that to me. A game about nothing but entertaining to those that enjoy it.

Think of it as a virtual doll-house where they can 'live' their imagined perfect lives.

As for me, when I played I just kinda had a sim in the middle then built a wall with no doors around him/her and watched them starve to death.