December 2003
WARNING: "Pack Rats" (You Know Who You Are)
Posted Tuesday, December 30, 12:39 PM GMT by webmaster
MAN TRAPPED UNDER MOUNTAIN OF JUNK IN APARTMENT
UPDATED: 12:48 PM EST December 30, 2003
NEW YORK -- A New York man is in stable condition Tuesday after spending two days trapped under newspapers, magazines and books in his apartment.
Patrice Moore, 43, said he called for help when the mountain of mail, books and other paper items collapsed on him Saturday. However no one heard him.
He was found at 1:45 p.m. Monday by his landlord.
Emergency workers, neighbors and about 20 firefighters dug through the debris to reach Moore, filling 50 garbage bags with paper. He was freed at about 2:15 p.m.
Moore is hospitalized with leg injuries.
The incident recalled the legendary case of the Collyer brothers, who in 1947 were discovered dead in their house in Harlem after one of the brothers was found trapped under a pile of papers and the other died of starvation.
Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All rights
reserved.
The Sims2 - THE NEXT GENERATION
Posted Thursday, December 25, 2:53 PM GMT by webmaster
If you aren't new to the Sims community you already have heard something about the next generation of the Sims (Sims 2) coming out around the middle of next year.
MOTS will help keep you updated on its progress and will be offering Sims 2 creations for subscribers.
Now for some Sims 2:
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THE Sims™ 2 is the first entirely-new generation of The Sims, the ground-breaking game that allowed players to create and control people.
The Sims 2 challenges you to direct the journey of your Sims' lives as they grow from infancy through childhood, teenage life and adulthood.
Starting with a personality that you give them (or that they inherit from their parents), your Sims will develop in unique ways based on your choices and influence. Have Questions?
As they progress through life, your Sims will collect memories which shape who they are, what options they have and how they behave. These experiences can have a short or long-term effect on relationships between family members and friends. Experiences between Sims when they are children can affect their relationships as teens and adults. Your Sims can have casual friendships or make life-long enemies.
Your Sims live in a realistic and vivid 3-D world of your own creation. When you build their homes, you'll have new options that will allow you to create decks, attics, and build on hillsides. You'll be able to choose from hundreds of new objects, many of which can be customized from within the game. And once you've built the perfect home, you'll be able to zoom in close to see every detail of Sim life, from the food in the refrigerator to the expression of moods and feelings on your Sims' faces.
Rounding out the experience, The Sims 2 delivers dozens of features requested from fans over the past four years. A new "Create-A-Sim" feature will allow you to easily make unique and detailed character faces with a variety of hair styles, facial hair, make-up and accessories. You'll also be able to choose from a wide selection of casual, formal, cool and crazy clothing styles. And carrying on the tradition of giving players the ability to customize their game, The Sims 2 is designed to allow players to easily integrate content created by players outside the game.
Prepare to experience the wild ride of life through the eyes of your Sims in 2004.
SOURCE: EA
The Sims2 FAQs
Posted Wednesday, December 24, 12:55 PM GMT by webmaster
The Sims™ 2 FAQ
WHAT IS THE SIMS 2?
The Sims 2 is the first entirely-new generation of The Sims, the ground-breaking game that allowed players to create and control people. The Sims 2 challenges you to direct the journey of your Sims' lives as they grow from infancy through childhood, teenage life and adulthood.
IS THE SIMS 2 A STAND-ALONE OR AN ADD ON PACK?
It's first entirely new stand-alone version in four years, since the original launched in 2000.
WHEN IS THE SIMS 2 COMING OUT?
The game is slated to release in early spring 2004.
WHAT ARE THE PC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS?
Check out the System Requirements to learn more.
HOW WILL AGING OF THE SIMS GO?
Players will guide their Sims' lives as they grow up. You will be able to guide them thru key life phases including baby, toddler, child, teen, adult and seniors. In The Sims 2, actions will have repercussions, and decisions made when your Sim is a toddler, child or teen will affect their life choices and ultimate happiness as an adult. As your Sims age, they will collect a variety of memories over the course of their lives that shape who they are.
HOW LONG WILL EACH LIFESPAN BE?
Each Sim lifespan will progress thorough six different stages: infant, toddler, child, teen, adult and elder. As Sims age into elders, they will live long enough to experience their grandkids growing up. The exact time table, in game time, has not been finalized.
I OWN THE SIMS AND EXPANSION PACKS FOR THE SIMS. WILL ANY OF THE EXPANSION PACKS FOR THE SIMS WORK WITH THE SIMS 2?
No, The Sims 2 is an entirely new version, based on the original game. There will be new expansion packs for The Sims 2.
WILL PLAYERS BE ABLE TO CREATE CONTENT FOR SIMS 2?
Yes, absolutely. We've already been working on a special stand-alone Sim creator tool for players to make their own content before the game ships. The free, downloadable tool will be released on our website in December.
WHAT TYPES OF OBJECTS ARE THERE FOR SIMS OF DIFFERENT AGES?
We are working on a variety of objects that are appropriate for Sims of different ages. For example toddlers will have special toys, including xylophone, teddy bear and building blocks.
WILL THERE BE CHEAT CODES JUST LIKE THE ORIGINAL VERSION AND THE EXPANSION PACKS?
The Sims 2 will have cheat codes, but we anticipate that they will be new.
WILL THERE BE A COMMUNITY AREA IN THE GAME OR WILL WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR AN EXPANSION PACK?
In The Sims 2 you'll be able to take your Sims to an all new community neighborhood that's separate from the residential neighborhood. At this point we're planning on letting you take your Sims to this community area to go grocery shopping or purchase clothing.
WILL THE NEWBIES AND GOTHS BE IN THE SIMS 2?
Yes, of course. It wouldn't be a Sims game without them.
WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF SIMS IN A HOUSEHOLD?
There will be a total of eight in each household to keep it manageable for the player.
WHAT WILL THE NEIGHBORHOODS LOOK LIKE?
The neighborhoods in The Sims 2 will be much richer and more customizable. You'll be able to import your own sculpted territories from SimCity 4 to shape the landscape of neighborhoods in The Sims 2. When you are in a lot, you will not see the grey background like in the first version of The Sims.
WILL THERE BE DIVORCES?
Yes, the Sims will be able to get divorced.
WILL TEENS BE ABLE TO "PLAY?"
No, but adults and elders will be able to play. However, there will be unique social options for each age, including teens.
WILL SIMS KNOW WHICH ROOM IS THEIRS, AND NOT SLEEP IN THEIR PARENTS ROOM, AND PARENT SLEEP IN THE KIDS ROOM?
They will not initially automatically know to sleep in their own bed but you will be able to teach them to.
WHAT BUILD AND BUY MODE OBJECTS CAN BE PLACED IN DIAGONAL WALLS?
You can place windows and doors in diagonal walls. At this time we are still exploring the details around other objects.
WILL SIMS OF SAME GENDER BE ABLE TO BE MARRIED?
Yes, they will.
©2003 Electronic Arts Inc.
The Sims2 - SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Posted Monday, December 22, 4:48 PM GMT by webmaster
If you have a T&L CAPABLE VIDEO CARD with at least 32 MB of video RAM (such as nvidia GeForce 2 or better or ATI Radeon 7000 or better) then you need at least:
600 MHz P3 processor
256 MB RAM if Windows XP
128 MB RAM if Windows 98, Windows ME, or Windows
2000
If you have a NON-T&L CAPABLE VIDEO CARD (such as NT2,Intel, or Rage for example) then you need at least:
1.5 GHz processor
256 MB RAM if Windows XP
128 MB RAM if Windows 98, Windows ME, or Windows
2000
Recommened video cards (and the more video memory
the better):
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
Nvidia Geforce 4
From the nVidia website's glossary Transform &
Lighting (T&L) definition:
Two separate engines on the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) that provide for a powerful, balanced PC platform and enable extremely high polygon count scenes.
Transform performance determines how complex objects can be and how many can appear in a scene without sacrificing frame rate. Lighting techniques add to a scene's realism by changing the appearance of objects based on light sources.
Some other notes about video cards:
T&L video cards started shipping around 3 years ago, so if you got your computer in the last couple of years you should check and see if you have a T&L card.
It's always a good idea to make sure you have the most current drivers for your video cards. The manufacturers usually have the video drivers on their sites for you to download. Visit the nVidia site or the ATI for the latest drivers for those video cards.
Source: EA
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