Gameplay
Sim houses and neighborhoods will be entirely in one continuous map, and the developers state that "What you do outside your home now matters as much as what you do within." All the Sims in the neighborhoods age and live out their lives simultaneously, no matter where the player is in the game.
Of the eight needs of The Sims 1 & 2, only six—hunger, bladder, energy, social, hygiene, and fun—remain (removing comfort and environment). These will be represented by moodlets—attributes which are acquired special events, such as minor events like tooth brushing and major ones like a wedding, and affect the Sims' behavior. The needs will also have only 3 stages—red (extremely low), yellow (moderate) and green (completely full.) Several minor features from The Sims 2 expansion packs appear in the original The Sims 3, such as the "young adult" life stage and mobile phones (University). Private cars, personal inventories and restaurants (Nightlife), fishing and gardening (Seasons), jewelry and beaches (Bon Voyage), toothbrushing and ceilings (Apartment Life)[10][11] will be included, but none of the main features from expansion packs such as a Sim going to college (University) will be available yet.
As in previous games, Sims can paint, but paintings will now be more unique to each Sim based on their traits. Other new features are set difficulty levels for each family. There are also hospitals where pregnant Sims may give birth, and bicycles for riding around the neighborhood.[11]
Careers
Many careers are available to pursue and each has a workplace building in the neighborhood which Sims travel to for their shifts. Sims can also apply for jobs within these buildings. Though Sims are hidden inside buildings during the workday, the player can control their behavior at work to a certain extent. Like previous Sims games, the job yields "opportunities"—tasks that could be finished for a reward. There are also part-time jobs. Sims can also take actions to increase their productivity while not at work, such as bringing work home or working overtime. Each career has several rewards, instead of only one as in The Sims 2. Careers can also branch into several possible promotions. Each career branches off into different jobs that branch off as well. For example, if there were two Sims in the Business career track, they may not end up with the same jobs or duties even if they were on the same level in their careers. Nonetheless, a Sim who reaches the peak of a respective career can still receive raises, rewards, and additional payment if he or she keeps performing well at work.
Features
Create-A-Sim
Individual fitness bars have been added to adjust the Sims' obesity and muscularity between extreme levels. In The Sims 2, there were only three body types—fat, normal and fit. As in The Sims 2, body shape varies with diet and exercise, so that Sims created as overweight can become slim by exercising and Sims created thin may become fat by eating too much and not exercising. Skin color is also continuous, instead of the four colors of The Sims 2. When customizing hair, the player is shown a circle with all shades and hues of colors, and able to choose the base hair color, tips, roots, and even highlights. Texture for clothing follows a similar formatting scheme. Players will also be able to adjust the pitch of their Sim's voices.
According to those who attended the Creators' Camp event held, a "Create-a-Twin" feature has also been added, allowing players to create identical twins.[13]
Sims' personalities
Personality configuration for Sims has also been made more complex, with the original 'percentage bar'-style personality points replaced by a combination of traits, similar to those in the personals section of newspapers. Toddlers have two traits, and a new one is added for each new life stage, until they reach young adulthood—so they will have 3 as a child, 4 as a teen, then 5 as a young adult, which are the five traits they will stay with for the rest of their lives.
Create-A-Sim now features more than 70 unique traits to choose from.[14] It is not possible to give a Sim traits that contradict each other (such as Brave and Cowardly). The player can also edit a Sim's favorite color, music genre, and food.
Build and buy modes
The build and buy modes have been redone. The square outlines that appear on the ground (often referred to as a grid or tile) — apparent when entering build or buy mode — are now four times smaller to give the player more liberty to place objects where they want. The square grid allows the player to see where they can possibly place the objects in the game. There is now an option for experts to turn off the grid and rotate objects freely.[15] This feature will make objects easier to locate at the player's desired location instead of being restricted to a bigger tile. If a counter or connecting objects is placed on a diagonal wall, it will automatically snap into place. Certain pieces of furniture, such as chairs and tables, can easily be moved together. Also, many small objects can be put on a table very close together as long as they don't intersect each other.[citation needed]
The overall game has the option to "customize everything", choosing a color through all 32-bits and use different patterns (the game has predefined samples for objects, etc).
The "auto-roof" function updates the roof when walls are rebuilt. Wide staircases can be built easily. Basements are also easier to build.[10] Also, the spray paint terrain feature returns from the Sims 2, but this time you are able to spray square floor tiles. A "wall drag" tool allows the player to grow or shrink a room, moving the furniture with it. A new “slot” system gives several choices where to place decorative objects on surfaces, such as tables and dressers. Most existing objects can be recoloured and re-textured.
Neighborhood exploration
On March 19, 2008, EA revealed a new feature to The Sims 3: neighborhood exploration. Sims can now explore the world outside their homes without having to face strenuous loading times. Every lot is now synced to the main neighborhood time, whereas before the time of day (and weather) was different in each lot and would continue off from the last time it was played. Players can also interact with every building in a neighborhood. So, for example, the player can enter their neighbor's house by "ringing their doorbell". Every Sim will live out their lives simultaneously: people will move in, move out, get married, etc., all as they play. Each job will have a specific building designated to it. Players will not be able to see inside but will be able to have limited control of their Sims—tell them to work overtime, laze around, listen to the boss and so on.[16]
Sims can easily move around the city with various transportation devices like cars, bicycles, or running, while letting the rest of the family stay independent at home—another change from The Sims 2, where if a Sim went to a community lot, nothing would change at their home.
Movie making tool
The official website has announced that there will be a movie making tool allowing players to create and edit their own movies. The camera angles will be more accurate, the graphics will be better, and the player will be able to cut out clips and paste them together, just like an actual movie. These clips will be uploadable to the Sims 3 exchange.
AMBIL ALIH - Mengambil alih kendaraan berat akan memicu sebuah mini game.
