Reply #24: The Sims

[RoyGBiv]

I actually had a hunch it was The Sims after you said it was EA. Its DRM schemes for the Sims specifically are notorious for causing the kinds of problems you were experiencing. I'll just summarize that part of the conversation by saying that my point is that it's the DRM that's causing the problem, in one way or another. I think it's absurd that you need to get rid of or change your security software because EA's draconian methods won't function properly otherwise.

Anyway ...

I'll preface my answer to one of your questions by noting that I have purchased Sims 1, 2, and now 3 and *every single* expansion except the Sims Stories things. (I still don't even know what those things are.) I've also bought all the Sims 2 expansions a second time for my daughter. I've paid my fees, in other words.

I installed it from DVDs, to answer that question.

I don't currently use a DVD or a CD. Without going into all the details, a friend and I were trying to get it to work under Wine or in a virtual Windows machine, and the DRM prevents that. We (mostly he, actually) fiddled with some things, but we couldn't get it to work under Linux properly. However, it did leave me with an installation on my Windows box that doesn't require the discs. I still have them, but I don't use them. Game runs faster too.

I had so many mods, if we include SimsResource objects, clothing, etc., for Sims 2 I filled a DVD with them. I screwed up once and just decided to install a ton of stuff all at once and discovered I had a conflict with one of the mods after I'd been playing for days. My lowest point of Sims addiction was sitting at my computer four hours and hours on end testing individual mod files trying to find the culprit. I mean, you know how long it takes to load the game. I had to remove a mod file, then restart, check if the problem still existed, then repeat. I was able to narrow it down to about a hundred possible files in the beginning by a process of elimination with where the problem was happening and what the mods did, but still. I found three files causing the problem eventually.

It was pathetic.

Sims 3 is ... different. I'm reserving judgment until I've played it some more. Most of the people complaining about certain aspects of it played it a full day before they blew their tops, and it's all really rather silly. It is different, and it requires a different approach to how you play.

One element I *love* about it is that you can walk across the damn street or next door or wherever and knock on your neighbor's door to say hello ... or rifle through their trash if you're inclined. It's a living neighborhood now, not just your house or individual houses working independently of each other.

It needs some expansions to give it the kind of flavor I'm used to with Sims 2, but it's keeping me interested with discovering things. I'll post a review of sorts later.