A Time for Change

It might be said that all of the work we have put in to the development of our Towns and the community that is the Population of our towns was all work towards this one finite point in time and space in which everything Changes...

There are certain Events in the lives of people - whether they be simulated or real - in which the effect - the impact if you will - has profound Consequences. Not always good, to be sure, but not always bad as well.

We have reached a cusp point in the advancing life of our town - and our Sims - that is directly related to and effected by certain decisions that were made by the Wizards who created this very fun, very emotionally attaching world of The Sims: FreePlay.

What we are talking about is a meeting of several different roads that come together at a junction that by its very nature creates a new route - a route that takes us forward and ahead!

There are two significant elements to this juncture - the cusp expansion points that we call Life dreams & Legacies and A Dance to Remember.

Life dreams & Legacies brings with it Death. A finite lifespan for our Sims. And a need to start making very calculated decisions on matters such as Career, hobbies, and what our Sims do in terms of building and maintaining their family.

A Dance to Remember has a different but perhaps no less important impact in that it widely expands the variety of hobbies that are available to our Sims and, in so doing, introduces a complete different set of Goals, values, and desires.

In spite of the significant differences in what these two cusp Events bring to the table, they also have a rather similar impact in that when we pull the trigger on each at that crucial point, we change the nature and the effect of play.

The Reason it all Slowed Down

Long time players and members of the SC Sims Community will recall that at a certain point nearly a year ago the forward progress in the guide - and its related Game Play - slowed way down.

The reason for that was simple: due to the Life dreams & Legacies Expansion content (and the Stables, Horses, a bunch of new hobbies, and concern over Death) we needed to halt all forward progress while we took the time to examine the current state of our Sims and our town.

A decision was made at that point to target all of the Careers, the hobbies, and perhaps even more important, the expansion of the town itself. Due to the time-consuming nature of these three issues the realization was made that it was in our best interest to cap-off as much of that content as possible, taking it to its maximum levels, BEFORE we allowed the finite lifespan to kick in.

So before we pulled the trigger on the Life dreams & Legacies Expansion we paused (figuratively) and worked towards the mastery of all of the professions in the game. We paused and worked towards the mastery of all of the hobbies - paying particular attention to the real time-burners such as pretty much all of the hobbies that related to Horses, as well as Quilting, Bird Feeding, and the like.

In the end we accomplished much. But as it was expected, we eventually reached the point where the trigger had to be pulled on the game-changing Events.

As much as we would like to have NOT had to make that decision, it was necessary and hey, while there are some bad parts to it, one of the good things it brings to the game is value for our Sims as individuals and care for them Thanks to the certainty that there IS a last chapter in each of our Sim lives!

We are very near to the trigger point now, so we thought it might be helpful to explain what will happen after we pull the trigger on these two expansions - what will change, and what will open up like a massive flower just bursting with colour and life!

A Brief Reminder on Goals

At the risk of repeating out guiding advice elsewhere, at a minimum we hope that you will have achieved the following prior to completing both the Life dreams & Legacies and A Dance to Remember Core Missions:

• All active Careers capped and mastered.

• All active hobbies capped and mastered.

• All core buildings completed.

• Neighbor Goals Met.

• Housing construction completed for the main town area.

• The Famous Sim Sign Completed.

• Your General Courtesy House Construction Completed.

• Your Haunted Courtesy House Construction Completed.

• Your Mansion Goals Completed.

• At Least Half-Way through the Mystery Island Monuments Path Completed.

• Your Life Point Bank Goals Reached.

• Your social Point Bank Goals Reached.

After the Trigger is Pulled

To summarize then, here are the Changes that completion of each of these expansions will bring to the game:

Life dreams & Legacies

In addition to the Introduction of Death to our game and Towns in the form of finite lifespans, when we fully complete the primary Quest for this expansion we will also enable the following very important and significant Events, which include new Careers, hobbies, paths, and directions!

• The Candlelit Fork Restaurant and the Cooking Hobby (Requires Level 16 and the completion of the "Sous Judgement" Missions)

• Pet Salon (Requires Level 26 and full completion of the LD&L Base Expansion Missions)

• Public Beach Completed (Requires Level 26 and the completion of the LD&L Base Mission)

• Mastery of the Orbs System.

• High Top Carnival Completed (Requires Level 26 and the completion of the LD&L Base Mission)

• Barkshire Pet Park Completed (Requires Level 26 and the completion of the LD&L Base Mission)

• Ice Ape Arcade (Requires Level 26 and the completion of the LD&L Base Mission)

A Dance to Remember

With the completion of LD&L the next logical step is to finally finish A Dance to Remember and its expanding elements. When we do that we will enable the following for our Sims and their home Towns:

• Sunset Mall (Requires Level 12, completion of the Sim Town Park, and full completion of the Base Mission for A Dance to Remember)

• Northern Glade Castle Completed (Requires Level 14 and the Sim Town Park completed as well as the full completion of the Base Mission for A Dance to Remember)

Not a Conclusion

It is very important to remember that the doing of all this is NOT a conclusion to our game, but rather it is the next step in its evolution. It is, literally and figuratively, a time for a change.

We need for that change to be a positive one - and Thanks to the new directions that the expansion content offers, as well as helpful nudges from our Alien mate, the expanding Population, and a lot of very clever new and entertaining ways to improve the life of each and every Sim on an individual basis, we honestly choose to perceive this as a change for the better.

So welcome to a New Era. Welcome to a new Sims: FreePlay. We hope that what you get out of your play here will be every bit as entertaining and fulfilling as we expect it to be for us!

This brave new world requires us to re-focus our guide and its function - and so we are certain that going forward from this point you will find it an invaluable aid in shaping and maintaining the lives of your Sims and your Towns.

The continuing story will be documented - and guidance given - in the Walkthrough Phase II so well met, mates! We will see you on the other side!