Notable Additions and Notes

Notable Additions and Notes

If you are new to the series and plan to play all of it, there is every likelihood that you will pick up one of the special compilations and the expansions that are not included in it.  If you do that, or if you pick the games up as individual titles, it is important that you remember to install them in the order that they were released, mostly because of the patching system that is in place.  If you install them out of order it can (and often does) break small segments of the game, and cause bits of it to function in unusual ways.

So just to be helpful this is the order I will be writing the guides in, and it is also the order that you should be installing and patching the games in (and you should be sure to fully patch each game BEFORE you install the next):

(1) The Sims 3 base game
(2) The Sims 3: World Adventures
(3) The Sims 3: Ambitions
(4) The Sims 3: Late Nights
(5) The Sims 3: Generations
(6) The Sims 3: Pets
(7) The Sims 3: Showtime
(8) The Sims 3: Supernatural
(9) The Sims 3: Seasons

Now in addition to that there are some other factoids that you should be aware of.  When most gamers begin to play the game they will eventually join Sim fan sites at which a number of game unofficial add-ons (both free and paid) are available, including what are called "Nude Skins" as well as utility add-ons that allow you to automate some stuff and add more control over other things.  Perhaps the most popular item that most gamers will install is the anti-censorship patch/app.

What this does is remove the blur that appears whenever your Sims do something that modesty is attached to -- take a bath or shower, use the toilet, that sort of thing -- and there is really nothing wrong with that if you want to remove that censorship blur, but if you do there is something you need to be aware of.  The blur is implemented in the game as a particle effect -- and the small app that you install that removes it basically turns off particle effects to accomplish its purpose.  With me so far?

Opportunities include everything from special events to chores!

Unfortunately there are some other objects in the game that ONLY appear as particle effects -- among them certain bugs -- including beetles -- which means that if you go looking for bugs with the anti-censorship patch in place, you will not be finding them.  That being the case, and if you do decide to install that app, you need to remember to remove it when you are doing bug collecting and, when you are playing one of the games that has a mission or challenge that specifically requires you to find bugs (World Travels has one) you will need to remember to remove it. 

You can put it back later, no worries, but if you are out trying to complete a challenge or mission and you cannot find the object that is required, there is a good chance that it is a particle effect and this is why you cannot find it!

The Late Night expansion includes a focus on the vampire type of Sim -- and naturally it looks to the lore of the vampire that is popular in fiction, so your vampire has special needs as far as feeding is concerned, and that includes their choice of drinks...  No worries here mates, there are food options in the game for your vampire Sims...  With respect to that type of Sim, it is fair to say that they are the ultimate clubber Sim considering that they live in the night as it were.

You do not have to play as a vampire to really enjoy the many opportunities for nighttime recreation that this new expansion offers - from dancing and partying to simply taking in a side of the Sim world that you likely only experienced before from your bed, the Night Life includes discovering and developing your Mixology Skills (Bartending), and the content in this expansion touches upon just about every other aspect of the game, from careers (both traditional and not), the support skills like gardening, art and even fishing, and a wide selection of new objects and recreational activities (darts and arcade gaming are two prominent ones).