The Sims™ 3 Community Blog
: September 2013
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Not all the Sims in Midnight Hollow are eccentric. The Doe family appears to be the epitomy of normal, but then again appearances can be deceiving right? Producer Lisa Smith does not seem to be fooled by their perfect appearance. Learn more about The Sims 3 Midnight Hollow, available Thursday, September 26th on The Sims 3 Store!

The Doe family appears to be the picture of perfection. Jane is the perfect housewife, John is rising in the ranks at his corporate job, and their children are respectful and accomplished. With a life this perfect, we can’t help but wonder what it was that brought them to Midnight Hollow? What are they hiding behind their bright smiles?


Good Afternoon, Doe Family! Thank you for letting us be here today. You have a lovely home. 
John: Well that’s all due to my wife Jane here.  The light of my life keeps my home perfect and welcoming.
Jane: Oh, John. You’re making me blush!

Aren’t you guys precious.  Let’s start off with you telling me a little bit about yourselves!
Jane: Would you like some more tea?

Uhm. No thank you.  The cup you gave me just moments ago with the fresh baked scones is excellent.
John: There’s nothing to tell really. I’m living the dream in the corporate life and I come home to a beautiful wife, a clean home and excellent children! 

Well, it all seems pretty excellent.  So tell me, what brought you to Midnight Hollow? It seems a little dark for your sunny family.
Jane: *a little frantically* Are you sure you wouldn’t like that tea?
Joseph: *Gets up angrily, walks out of the house and slams the door*
Jenn: *Sits quietly and stares ahead with an eerie blank expression*
James: *Giggles and plays happily in the corner*
John: Uh. Heh. You know. Just a change of scenery. You never know where the winds will take you and all that. 

Right.  

…  

So how about a tour of the house?
John: You know, it’s clear that Jane isn’t feeling too well. I think it’s time for you to go.

Missed the Midnight Hollow trailer? Watch it here!

Did you spot these two Sims in The Sims 3 Midnight Hollow Trailer? Get to know them a bit more in this interview! Only The Sims 3 Midnight Hollow comes packed with exclusive Sims!

Marina Vasquez is spitfire of an woman. Her personal philosophy of "I've lived this long, so why not?!" how amassed her a small personal fortune, eclectic (rich tacky?) taste, and a slew of failed marriages, but that won't slow her down. She's fallen head over heels for Fausto and though he's 25 years younger than her she just knows that he's the one! And if he's not? She's lived this long! So why not?

Fausto Vasquez has always been known for his good looks and his charming personality and he rode on those traits for most of his life. Now as he sees his youth fading and realizes he has no real talent or experience to speak of he realizes he needs a new plan. He can love someone significantly older than him right? Or at least pretend to for awhile?

 

Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Vasquez.  Thanks for meeting with me.  You have a lovely home.
Fausto Vasquez:  Thank you.  It’s a blend of vintage and modern.  I think it says a lot about who we are.

It looks like you two have a very interesting relationship.
Marina Vasquez:  We do.  He likes to shop online and I like him dressing up like the delivery boy to drop off a package.  

That’s probably more information than we need to know.
Marina Vasquez:  Look Sparky.  Do you mind if I call you Sparky?

Actually I kinda do.  My name is...
Marina Vasquez:  Sparky, I stopped caring what people in this town think six administrations ago.  Before I met my little Fauzy-bear I was going to leave my fortune to my poodle.  
Fausto Vasquez:  But now that Snuggles is dead, I’m the only one you’re leaving it too, right?  I mean, not that it matters.  But I AM the only one?
Marina Vasquez:  Of course!  But I’m sure we’ve got many happy years ahead of us.  
Fausto Vasquez:  Sure.  But you never know what can happen.  Just look at what happened to Snuggles.
Marina Vasquez:  Yes.  I don’t know how she got out of her crate and past the door. 
Fausto Vasquez:  …and the gate.  

Um… let’s move on.  Marina, you grew up in this town.  Is there anyone you would recommend I interview?
Marina Vasquez:  Have you met Wheeler?  If there was anyone that should have more money in town than I do, it’s him.  But you see him on the street and he’s this weird hobo.  

Thanks for your time.  

Sul sul! 


The thing I love the most about The Sims 3 Into the Future is that you can leave your mark on the future whether it is on a personal level or a grander scale. From influencing your family’s future lineage to manipulating the threads of time to create a happier or dirtier Oasis Landing, there are various ways for your Sim to have an impact. While experimenting with these changes, be sure to check out the Almanac of Time as it is a handy guide to all the impacts you can have on the future!


One way to affect the legacy of your Sims is through their descendants. Your Sims can actively change who their descendants will be, what they’ll be like, how many there will be, and even what kind of lifestyle they’ll have. Sometimes it’ll take a big change like winning the lottery to affect the descendants, but don’t be surprised if even something small will alter your descendants! Things like getting married, having children, dying, buying real estate, and traits can all influence your descendants. I love constantly modifying my Sims’ lives to shape and reshape their descendants, but don’t get too caught up and forget to visit them and say hello! Again, the Almanac of Time is a great resource for information on descendants and will even help you locate them in Oasis Landing! 

 


If your Sim is more interested in becoming famous in Oasis Landing, then he should try to achieve a Legacy Statue. There are five different Legacy Statues that recognize specific Sims for their contributions in shaping the future! You can earn one of these statues for yourself by performing specific tasks in the present day. After you’ve successfully accomplished this then the next time you visit Oasis Landing go check out that particular Legacy Statue and you might notice the statue now looks like your Sim!  The Almanac of Time shows how achieve each statue and the associated unique reward. 

  


But if your Sim wants to go big, then what could be grander than influencing the state of Oasis Landing for everyone!? There are two directions that you can help push the future towards: Utopian Oasis Landing and a Dystopian Oasis Landing. Once you’ve started to understand the future’s advanced technology a little bit better, you’ll be able to talk to the Time Traveler about changing the future and he’ll help guide you through the steps to affecting the future! You can’t expect to change the future without a little work. Don’t be surprised if you have to spend some time doing things like measuring cheerfulness or convincing other Sims that the sky is falling in order to set the present on a path of change.


If you decided to alter the future in a positive way, you will find Oasis Landing different than before! In this utopian flavored Oasis Landing, your Sim will quickly notice the colorful trees, delightfully oversized flowers, rainbows, and the visibly happy residents! The residents walk with a carefree spring in their steps, and enjoy dancing with themselves and hugging each other. Their whimsical happiness is contagious and if your Sims gets inspired by this wonderland then they might notice they too can inspire other Sims to dance and hug. 


 


There is plenty to do in this utopian world! The delightfully oversized flowers are not only pretty to look at, but you can also shake them to harvest dew. Throw dew at other Sims, or even yourself, to change their hair and skin color. You can also blow dew bubbles and have dew fights. 


If your Sims needs some quality alone time then they should go fishing. It’s no secret that I have an inexplicable fondness for snails, so if you do too then you might catch your very own Rainbow Snail by fishing while you’re here! And as your Sim is wandering out and about, he might just stumble upon a Rainbow Knoll, and if they’re lucky enough then they might find a Pot of Gold. So go exploring and enjoy Utopian Oasis Landing!



If you went the dystopian route then you will find Oasis Landing littered with not only trash piles, but with danger and the unexpected! Meteors falling from the sky, and geyser rifts cropped up all over the world! These geyser rifts are Designer Chris’ favorite part of the dystopia! If your Sim is feeling brave then she can jump into a geyser rift and do some exploring. Who knows what might happen to her while she is down in the ground! Maybe she’ll find a collectable, become a lightning magnet, start glowing green, or some other unexpected consequence! 

 


While this may all seem a little chaotic and overwhelming to your Sim, the Sims of Oasis Landing have adapted quite well. They don’t mind being a little stinky and you’ll see them not only searching through trash piles for useful objects, but you’ll also see them jumping in and playing with the trash! Their fondness for trash and geyser rift exploration aren’t the only oddities of their behavior as you might even see these Oasis Landing residents eating something surprising… 



Bugs! You heard that right! With all the bugs crawling around, the Sims decided to give them a little nibble and to their surprise found them satisfyingly scrumptious. Now your Sims can learn from their example and become a bug eating connoisseur! Your Sims might not like eating bugs right away, but once they become more comfortable eating these creepy-crawlies they’ll start to offer bugs to other Sims to eat. My favorite part is that once your Sims is scarfing down bugs like it’s no big deal, they can eat bugs no matter what world they’re in! So if my Sim is feeling a little hungry and is closer to the great outdoors then the nearest café then she can simply look for a bug on the ground. Super convenient!  


 


If, after all this experimentation your Sim just wants to get back to the normal Oasis Landing, don’t worry! At any point if you don’t like what you’ve done to the future you can always change it back to its normal state. Travel back to the present and ask the Time Traveler for his help with repairing the future and the future will be back to normal before you know it!


I can’t wait until everyone can check out all the fun things you can change and alter in The Sims 3 Into the Future! 


Happy Simming! 


Lauren

@SimGuruLauren


04:40 PM
09/19/13
Posted by: SimGuruLauren

Designer Alan Copeland has really outdone himself with Midnight Hollow! In this in-depth review of The Golden Ticket Toy Shop Venue, available exclusively in The Sims 3 Midnight Hollow Gold Edition, you'll find out exactly what makes this a one-of-a-kind venue! 

One of my favorite things about Midnight Hollow is its uniqueness. I love all of the wildly diverse stories you can tell around this town and The Golden Ticket Toy Shop venue, available exclusively with the Gold version of Midnight Hollow, adds a whole new dimension to that storytelling experience.  



This fun new shop comes with the Savvy Seller’s Collection that comes with Midnight Hollow, but also a ton of new items. While there is an old section of the store that shows a time when all of the toys were hand crafted, the upstairs shows how these items are made presently — The Titanic Toy Machine!



 

With over a dozen different toys that it can make, The Titanic Toy Machine has something for all ages!   

 
Some of the items include the new baby mat!


 

Everyone enjoys flying a kite!  But make sure you don’t get struck by lightning!


If your toddler moves to the beat of a different drum, then get them beating that drum as early as possible. Help your little virtuoso get an early start with the new toy drum. 


The new Clown in the Box can be a bit moody. Turn the crank to find out if he will be happy or sad.


We also have the return of Sir-Bricks-A-Lot along with a variety of other new toddler toys like the toy train.

 

And what kid doesn’t want remote controlled cars and robots?!

 

There are a lot more little items that come with The Titanic Toy Machine, including cute little things to decorate with, like these fun toy animal balloons.

 

 
 
 

This is easily the most Premium Content that we’ve ever put into one venue, so make sure you’re ready on September 26, 2013 to get the gold version of Midnight Hollow and The Golden Ticket Toy Shop!