The Sims Medieval - Now With More Pirates! (and Nobles too)

[Razgon]

I thought that horrible rumor was the main selling point.

Bingo.  This was never an expansion pack.  This was an adventure title.

from peoples reaction about the forums, I dare say either you are wrong, or EA failed to communicate what a Sims Medieval game entails

[CeeKay]

here's the official FAQ on the game. I'm not sure how people could have been unclear as to what the game is.

[Razgon]

here's the official FAQ on the game. I'm not sure how people could have been unclear as to what the game is.

from that FAQ:

Start with an empty field and build up your kingdom, deciding its ultimate ambition and working to achieve its destiny

Would you consider, in light of the fact that EVERY other Sims game has had this feature, that this meant you could design, build and plan your buildings? Why yes, so would I.

And appearently, I havent played the game, but appearently, this isnt so.

edit: Meh, nevermind - I can't be arsed to defend myself in this respect, since this is the internet, and no one will ever admit the slightest possibility, no matter how great an argument others have, that they could be wrong. Suffice to say, others though the same as I.

[CeeKay]

that part is under a section called 'Kingdom Building', so I assumed that meant earning the buildings that are mentioned further on in the FAQ:

The buildings are custom-crafted for each profession, from the Monarch’s Great Hall in the castle to the Tavern for the Bard to the Wizard’s Tower.

I never expected to be able to custom build every single building; I was actually looking forward to not having to worry about that.

However, everyone interprets stuff differently.

[Razgon]

However, everyone interprets stuff differently.

No they don't.!!!

[CeeKay]

just out of curisity, what other forums for this game have you found?  the EA forums seem a bit dead and I don't see any others listed on the game's site.

[baelthazar]

FWIW, I read or heard somewhere that you could customize the building's style, i.e. the wall hangings and such. I thought it was in the webisodes, bit I didn't see it when I looked again. I also know that one of the pre-order perks was a cool "Evil" throne, so I know you can make choices as to what your furniture looks like.

But I think you "unlock" stuff from your kingdom points, and from the videos it looks like the external parts of the buildings are indeed fixed.

[Razgon]

just out of curisity, what other forums for this game have you found?  the EA forums seem a bit dead and I don't see any others listed on the game's site.

Just the reactions I got from over at Qt3 and here, to be honest.

And sorry, I'm a bit worked up today, and I think it shows - my apologies if I came off to idiotic.

[CeeKay]

And sorry, I'm a bit worked up today, and I think it shows - my apologies if I came off to idiotic.

no more than usual 

* CeeKay flees.

[wonderpug]

Here's what I read on Wikipedia on the matter:

In a change from other Sims games, the character creation, simulation, and architectural aspects are significantly reduced and altered to enforce a sharper focus on RPG-style gameplay. For example, players will be able to customise the aesthetics and layout of building interiors, but they will be unable to alter the basic structure and shape of buildings. Instead, the game will involve the player upgrading a kingdom, choosing an ultimate goal for that kingdom (such as wealth or popularity) and then fulfilling quests that contribute to that goal. The goal can be completed through the use of heroes (or specialists).

[hepcat]

I bit.  Just got back from BB with my copy.  I'll install tonight and post impressions tomorrow.  I'm fine with not being able to go all Frank Lloyd Wrong on the architecture as I've always been more about trying to make my Sim into a cannibal or drive him crazy by locking him in a room without doors or windows.  He's like a little hepcat in that regard...

[baelthazar]

just out of curisity, what other forums for this game have you found?  the EA forums seem a bit dead and I don't see any others listed on the game's site.

Just the reactions I got from over at Qt3 and here, to be honest.

And sorry, I'm a bit worked up today, and I think it shows - my apologies if I came off to idiotic.

I see your problem Razgon.   That place is a cesspool of negativity. I've never seen ANYTHING talked about positively over there.

And I'm downloading now. Should have impressions later.

[hepcat]

I think I'll hold off unwrapping my copy until Bael posts his impressions.  I'm getting skittish again.   

[CeeKay]

just grabbed the PC download off of Amazon for $48 plus a $15 video game credit, which will probably go towards Crysis 2 (which also has the same deal).

[CeeKay]

played through the tutorial, and I have to say there seems to be a lot going on, enough that I wish I had a hard copy of a manual.  I may look into getting the strategy guide for quick reference.

[coopasonic]

played through the tutorial, and I have to say there seems to be a lot going on

I played through the tutorial and I have to say "meh"

The relationship building seems to be copied straight over. The combat is uninteresting. The decisions seem to come from nowhere and the impact is questionable.
You do get to play interior designer. Maybe it will improve but so far, I'm not impressed.

[CeeKay]

random thoughts:

so far I have 3 Sims I can send out on quests.  When you build a new building you can create a Sim to fill the job it makes (marketplace needs a merchant, barracks a night) or you can choose a pre-made one.  Each Sim has 3 traits, 2 'positive' and one fatal flaw, and when you create them you get to pick which ones you want or make it random.

anywyas, I took my female knight out on a quest to find a lost child, and during a point where I had to wait for the plot to move on I had her romance a merchant prince and win his hand in marriage.  I can't quite figure out how to get the actual ceremony done-  the game says you can have a wedding in any building but I can't find the option to do so.

decorating gives you a bunch of options, but it feels like the prices are out of whack.

questing gets you resource points for buildings.  they are in fixed locations, all you get to do is click buy and create the Sim for them.  you can also do interior decorating for them.

quests cost quest points, and once your out of QP the current ambition (which looks to be what they're calling levels) is over.  I'm not sure how the others unlock on the main menu as I haven't finished the first one yet; you strat out with 50QP and so far most quests are 1-3 points.  quests are also fairly aerodynamicized so far, the game holds your hand quite a bit.

[baelthazar]

So I played this until far too late into the morning, but I blame the "decaf" espresso I had that I'm pretty sure was mislabeled.

I have to be honest, I don't know what to think quite yet. The game is completely different from the Sims 3, other than the relationship feature and moods. They copied over the inventory system, but Sims Medieval (hereafter... err... S&M... err... SimMed) takes this to far more extensive use. The actions you can take are all revamped, many many new things and most of them contextual for a particular item or area.

Now, key points. SimMed is far more "linear" than the other Sims titles. You pick a quest, then you are given a series of actions pertaining to that quest. AFAIK you cannot play your characters without having a quest chosen (this could be me misunderstanding how to access characters). On the other hand, I don't think there is a "time limit" to finishing your quests, so you can basically just chose one and then do what you want (making sure your mood is high to boost a general "quest performance" bar). What character you play will depend on what quest you pick - I happen to have a Monarch and an Abbess, and most early quests use the monarch, but one quest allowed me to play as the abbess. You can travel freely around the (in the beginning, sparse) kingdom when controlling the characters.

There is a lot going on here too, and some if it I am unclear upon (so I guess I need to read my online manual). For instance, my king and abbess have popularity bars, but I don't know what any of that is for. My abbess can convert people to Peteran Watcherism, but what is the purpose. She can pray (a lot) and sometimes it increases her mood. She can also study the Watcher (God, or the player) and write religious tracts about the Watcher. Again, no idea why, other than from a role playing standpoint.

And from that RPG standpoint, there is a lot of things that have potential in SimMed. For instance, the King can enact decrees that have an effect in raising or lowering the relations with other nearby provinces (you start with two "annexed" provinces that provide supplies to your village shops). Ostensibly you can meet with dignitaries from other provinces, although I just unlocked this so I haven't gotten to see how this works.

The much discussed lack of architecture is absolutely true. You are, as said above, basically an interior designer. You can't create new churches or castles. But what is different about SimMed and the Sims 3 is that, when you enter a building, you go into this little "diorama mode," and the building looks a little like a dollhouse - several floors but no depth. This is actually a bit handy and works pretty well, particularly since you can't build more onto the building. You get a wide variety of different aesthetic devices to use in designing your buildings, and you can add other "domestic items" but - for the most part - the items you need for your role are already present in the buildings when they are unlocked (so no need to build a lectern for the abbess, although you can reposition the existing one).

This could be a deal-breaker, if you want to fully build everything. However, as the game is far more focused on character development, I don't think it will be a big problem. And character development is a BIG aspect of the game. Characters level up, have traits, have a religious affiliation (none, Jacobian, Peteran, and possibly more), have a popularity rating, have skills (like Sims 3). As you complete quests, you can use resource points gained to unlock new buildings for your kingdom, which also changes the kingdom's "stats" of security, culture, knowledge, and some other one that is basically "comfort or living quality." Also, as you level up, your buildings will gain new "wings," like my castle gained an audience hall for foreign dignitaries just before I quit last night.

However, I played the game wrong - and it is likely that you will too when you first boot up. I was completely focused on doing the quest that I had, to the exclusion of everything else. If you do this, you will probably get bored. The quests lead to you from point A to B, tell you to talk to person X, use item Y, wait until time Z, etc. If you doggedly pursue this, you feel like you have little freedom to do what you want or role play your character. I suggest that you do a few parts of the quest, then take a few ingame "days" to putz around. Chat up the ladies, put a dude in the stocks, explore the cave, pick some flowers, train on the training dummy. Whatever you want. Then pick the quest back up. Sure, dogged persistence in the quests will lead to unlocking new buildings and roles, but if you don't take time to mess with them - what good are they for?

The quests do have a neat "choose your own adventure" quality to them, which is fun. You are called upon to make loads of choices, in both quest actions and regular job actions. I very much like this part.

Lastly, there are several different "goals" that you can chose when starting up your game. In the beginning you are tasked with one "building up" goal, but more will unlock as you complete this first goal. I've not gotten to explore this part either, but I assume that this will flavor the different actions you take.

If all that sounds equivocal, well, that's because it is. I had a pretty good time, despite the quest rails I put myself on (and this was largely my choice, in retrospect) but there is a lot of "unknown" that I'm not sure how it will play out. I think I will enjoy the game in the long run, once I give up some of my pre-conceived notions from the Sims 3 and learn the system better.

[CeeKay]

I just went from point a to point b on the tutorial because the game won't let you save during that portion, and halfway through I realized there was something I needed to do but I didn't want nto have to restart later.

some more randomness:

you can adjust the pitch of your Sims voice, but I was annoyed I couldn't make him sound like a chipmunk.

one of the execution options is a nod to a certain horror b-moive.

not sure if I'm a big fan of the diorama look for the buildings.  I'd rather they let me zoom in and out on fixed points instead of having to click on a button to switch floors.

the font of the text seems kind of small at 1920x1080.  I didn't see an option to embiggen it.

I watched a guard get into a duel with the merchant prince I mentioned earlier.  Princie went down but wasn't killed.

your subjects seem to get transfixed on some things.  I had the master builder wander into the kings bedroom and tsratb listening to a music box just as the king went to bed, and when I hit fast forward he stayed there all night long listening to it.

[vizionblind]

I just went from point a to point b on the tutorial because the game won't let you save during that portion, and halfway through I realized there was something I needed to do but I didn't want nto have to restart later.

some more randomness:


your subjects seem to get transfixed on some things.  I had the master builder wander into the kings bedroom and tsratb listening to a music box just as the king went to bed, and when I hit fast forward he stayed there all night long listening to it.

lol

[hepcat]

thank goodness i haven't opened my copy from BB yet.  methinks I'll be returning it later.   

[baelthazar]

thank goodness i haven't opened my copy from BB yet.  methinks I'll be returning it later.   

I would say, if you have doubts, return it. It will always go on sale in the future and they won't "sell out" of digital copies.

I think it is going to end up being rather fun in a crazy and more directed way than the Sims 3, but I can see a lot of people being less enthused about the more "directed" style of gameplay.

[rittchard]

I'm holding off on more impressions til I've seen a little more of the game.  So far I'm really not thrilled.  Even in the tutorial I think I missed something so I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be doing, and then apparently they don't let you save in the tutorial?!?  The interface seemed less intuitive than I thought it would for a Sims game, I kept bouncing out of the view I wanted.  So in the end I just spent 5 minutes flirting with the Master Builder, who seemed to enjoy it.  So I guess I should be happy that like DA2, this game supports gay romance lol.  Is EA like the gay romance game company now?

[baelthazar]

Oddly enough, I was told by the tutorial pop up bubbles that "now would be a good time to save." Imagine my shock when I quite to reset my video settings and found that it didn't save.

[coopasonic]

I've played through a couple missions with the blacksmith, up to level 4 there and I'm revising my opinion somewhat. Some of this is repeating what others have said.

If you loved the prior sims games, depending on what you really loved about them, this may not be the game for you. What makes it different is what I am growing to like. There's still something of a sandbox nature to it, but it's a guided sandbox. With the other sims games I eventually got bored of setting my own goals. With this one I can pick from a list of goals or do my own thing. Yes you have to be on a quest to be playing, but you can generally start a quest and then ignore it for an extended period of time.

If you liked the relationship building of the other games that's largely unchanged here, with the added bonus of being able to duel and kill anyone you don't like.

If you liked maxing out professions, that's here and probably better. There is more variety, not just writing novel after novel until you are the great american novelist.

If you liked designing houses from scratch, wait for the next traditional sims game.

[Gryndyl]

I don't have this yet but I can't resist the chance to scoop Ceekay

Patch is out.

Spoiler for Hiden:

   * New Quest! Contents: Genie – A magical genie in a bottle has been found! Your Heroes could use its power to fulfill their wildest wishes or they could take it upon themselves to free the genie from its abnormally small living quarters. It’s up to you to decide!
    * New Quest! Crab Bandit – A mysterious crab monster lives under the town! How will you deal with the beast? The Monarch could coerce it into becoming a powerful new ally or your Blacksmith may have some other, more creative, ideas for it.
    * New Quest! Book Burning – Peasants are burning books and you need to stop them! Will you utilize your Bard or Monarch and teach the peasants to read or will your Wizard and Bard scare the peasants into thinking the books are alive through magic?
    * Gameplay: Golem no longer becomes invisible in certain situations.
    * The Spy will now earn XP for pick pocketing.
    * Gameplay: Added more edicts for conquered territories.
    * Tuning: Sims now always get a fun buff from WooHooing.
    * UI: Arrows now indicate how quickly Quest Performance is rising or falling.
    * Gameplay: Can “Watch” stage performances.
    * Gameplay: Selected speed preserved when switching modes.
    * Gameplay: Reception Hall alternate scene timing adjusted.
    * Gameplay: Bards can now make money performing plays.
    * FX: Zzz’s no longer continue when Sims WooHoo after napping.
    * Text: There is now a message of what items were successfully traded by ship.
    * Tuning: Reduced the number of servings for large food portions.
    * General: Added Lessons for performing plays and market stalls.
    * Gameplay: By Default, Sims will now sleep until they receive the Well-Rested buff.
    * Gameplay: You can now discard food that is not finished cooking and start cooking a new meal.
    * Gameplay: There is now a 2 hour grace period on the 11:00pm sermon.
    * Text: Making bets on the gaming table now show how much money is being bet.
    * UI: Traits of Pre-made Sims names can be changed and they now have visible traits when selecting a hero for a building.
    * Gameplay: The children of Hero Sims now return home at a reasonable hour.
    * Gameplay: Sims can no longer fall asleep when inside the Pit of Judgment.
    * Gameplay: Fatal Flaws no longer leave negative buffs when replaced with a Legendary Trait.
    * General: Added Lesson for “Patrol road to…”
    * Gameplay: Recruited actors now charge a fee.
    * Animation: Fixed various animations.
    * Gameplay: Religious Sims can pray at Prayer Boxes.
    * UI: Adjusted various hovertips.
    * Text: TNS announces amount of stolen simoles when mugged.
    * FX: Flames FX fixed.
    * UI: ‘Add to cart’ button disabled when no items are available.
    * UI: Item Stats display when mousing over Blacksmith recipes.
    * Tuning: Value of meals scales to remaining portions.
    * Gameplay: Fixed ‘exit game’ hangs.
    * FX: Fire appears during “Warm Hands”.
    * Gameplay: Can’t repeat queue quest socials.
    * General: Game doesn’t save cancelled changes.
    * Gameplay: Children spar more.
    * FX: Leech FX no longer disappear.
    * Tuning: Maximum profit values set sold items.
    * UI: Various Aspect Panel fixes.
    * Gameplay: Unkempt Sims not disgusted by spoiled food.
    * UI: “Add Ingredients” grays out when there is nothing to add.
    * Gameplay: “Elixir of Allure” gives appropriate buff.
    * Audio: Fixed various sound FX
    * Gameplay: Can’t call household to eat spoiled meal.
    * Gameplay: Autonomous blacksmithing less mistake prone.
    * UI: “Eye of the Watcher” button disabled in Kingdom Mode.
    * UI: Sound added during “View Edicts.”
    * Gameplay: Tired sims can perform necessary interactions.
    * UI: Can save display settings during tutorial.
    * Gameplay: Priest sub-menu doesn’t show on children.
    * UI: ‘Select a Hero’ UI can’t opened in Live Mode.
    * UI: UI refreshes when custom designs are removed.
    * Gameplay: Constable not deleted if unable to route arrest.
    * Gameplay: Food buffs properly overwrite.
    * Tuning: The Lovely Lute buff appears after Bard is level 5.
    * Gameplay: “Enjoying Music” buff only pushed when music box plays.
    * Gameplay: Player told sim is unmarryable before attempting marriage.
    * UI: Simoles correctly added during the Filled Coffers ambition.
    * Gameplay: “Recently Performed” TNS appears if Bard made Simoles on previous play.
    * UI: Made the “Missing Required Object” dialog easier to read.
    * Art: Fixed various Z-fighting issues.
    * Gameplay: Adjusted “Turn Sim Marker On” maptags.
    * Gameplay: Appropriate buffs removed when drinking “Drunk-Me-Not”.
    * Gameplay: Listening to an Echo gives appropriate buff.
    * Gameplay: Various assorted quest fixes/tuning
    * Gameplay: Only Physicians determine baby gender.
    * Gameplay: Jacobans negatively impacted when proclamations are torn down.
    * Gameplay: Peteran priests can WooHoo.
    * Gameplay: Growth Spell cooldown adjsuted.
    * UI: XP bar length adjusted.
    * UI: Various fixes to wall and floor patterns.
    * Gameplay: Threatening Bandits can’t be ignored.
    * Tuning: “Steal funds from messenger post” adjusted.
    * Tuning: Bandits sword sharpening reduced.
    * Gameplay: Unused trade goods remain in the ships’ hold.
    * Gameplay: Can’t delete Steve.
    * UI: Royal Treasury funds displayed on appropriate buildings.
    * Gameplay: Babies can’t be invited to location.
    * Gameplay: Sims only react to the Monarch if in their LOS.
    * Gameplay: Abner the Transient doesn’t speak about Transients.
    * UI: Adjusted Map tag color for Merchant responsibilities.
    * UI: Various icon fixes
    * Gameplay: XP is now properly rewarded for Tournament of Honor: Sabotage Advorton’s Champion approach.
    * Gameplay: Ship interactions no longer disappear after opening the cargo hold, but closing the inventory.
    * Gameplay: The “Eye of the Watcher” tutorial no longer times out.
    * Gameplay: Field Rations added to recipes.
    * Routing: Many inefficient routing paths are now fixed.
    * Gameplay: Quest recipe ingredients in Village Shoppe.
    * UI: “Ask to Buy” no longer shows up on children.
    * Gameplay: More time to win the drinking contest in Tournament of Honor
    * Gameplay: Sims can no longer get out of being arrested by cooking food.
    * Gameplay: It is now easier to tell who won a Kingball game.
    * General: Added toggle option to turn off telemetry.
    * UI: Bribery amounts are now displayed.
    * Gameplay: Bloodthirsty Sims no longer get the “Lost a Fight” or “Punched in the Face” buffs after performing a non-fighting negative interaction with another Sim.
    * Gameplay: Can no longer sell Fountain of Legend quest book.
    * Tuning: Absolving and Converting Sims now give greater XP.
    * UI: A TNS is now appropriately shown when inviting a Sim over.
    * Art: Fixed several instances where TNS messages were showing incorrect thumbnails.
    * Gameplay: Sims that have been killed as part of a quest no longer come back to life.
    * Tuning: Fewer angelstalon fragments are needed for making angelsguard.
    * Tuning: Number of combat levels lost for being wounded has been reduced.
    * Gameplay: Impart Wisdom now gives an appropriate buff.
    * Gameplay: Game now modified speed changes based on controllable Sims instead of household Sims.
    * Tuning: Sims will visit the tavern more often when the barkeep is actually there, working.
    * Gameplay: Surgery success rate is now dependent on the Physician’s focus instead of the patient’s focus.
    * Gameplay: If two Hero Sims are being controlled, they both gain XP when Practicing Military Strategy With each other.
    * Tuning: Gain rates of XP are increased when a Sim is being trained on the training dummy.
    * Gameplay: Sims performing the Train interaction on the Practice Dummy now receive XP.
    * Gameplay: Combustion Cordial is now a poison.
    * Tuning: Merchant can only “Ask to Buy Goods” once per Sim per day.
    * CAS: Fixed issue where eye colors no longer update properly when spending long intervals in CAS.
    * Furnish Mode: Can no longer Undo when the “Choose Material to Replace” UI is open.
    * Gameplay: Fresh food no longer stacks with spoiled food in the inventory.
    * CAS: Custom eye colors now properly update the color selection boxes.
    * Gameplay: There are now two wedding rings available for sale at appropriate times.
    * Gameplay: Fixed Map Tags that point to the incorrect location.
    * Gameplay: Objects in inventory can no longer be sold while in use.
    * Tuning: Pain points for performing surgery are based only on the worst wound and not on all wounds.
    * Tuning: Drunkard Sims no longer need drinks quite as frequently.
    * Tuning: The amount of Simoles for the “Make a Bet” interactions were raised.
    * Gameplay: Blacksmiths and Merchants now gain the “Made some Simoles” buff when they make a profit.
    * General: Saved game is no longer deleted when selecting Save As… just before entering Plan Outfit in CAS.
    * CAS: Add Outfit button no longer changes hair color when Planning an Outfit.
    * Quests: Fixed markers that showed the incorrect Sim portrait during Quests.
    * FX: Realigned the flames on the Jacoban Ceremonial Altar.
    * UI: The Village Shoppe now shows the correct quantity of wedding rings in the Sim’s inventory.
    * Gameplay: Fixed several situations where Sims can bear children in inappropriate places.
    * Gameplay: New quests cannot be taken if the Kingdom does not have a Monarch.
    * Gameplay: The achievement “Well-Versed” now correctly completes after the Bard recites 50 poems.
    * UI: The quest completion screen will now properly display the amount of XP rewarded relative to your current XP.
    * Furnish Mode: Favorites are now saved only to the Favorites folder.
    * Gameplay: Monetary reward visual effects now properly show when a Bard performs poetry.
    * UI: Bard’s inspiration can now be rearranged in the Sim’s inventory.
    * UI: Date stamp added to saved games.
    * Furnish Mode: Sim no longer remains transparent after switching to Live Mode.
    * UI: Inventory now closes when switching Sims after viewing proposed edicts in the tactical map.
    * Gameplay: Stacks of objects can now be properly be sold when dragging them onto the market stall.
    * General: User can now appropriately save the game after completing an Ambition and leveling up the “Watcher’s Level.”
    * Text: Marked for Death now properly states its origin.
    * Text: Fixed text issues in several languages.
    * Furnish Mode: Bassinet can no longer be placed in un-routable positions.
    * UI: Territory Map text is no longer erased if the territory is clicked on after text entry.
    * Furnish Mode: Tactical Map no longer gets stuck when entering Furnish Mode while looking at Edict Results.
    * UI: First Sleep interaction is no longer performed if there are multiple in the queue and the first one is cancelled.
    * Tuning: Fighting with the Pit Beast now awards XP.
    * Gameplay: The NPC now drinks the Prototype Anti-virus after it is administered.
    * Gameplay: Simoles from selling at the Village Shoppe now go to the appropriate Sim.
    * UI: Fixed situations where the quest button becomes grayed out.
    * Gameplay: Sims can now properly join an existing military strategy interaction on the Tactical Map or an existing card table game.
    * Gameplay: Can no longer equip armor from previous quests via the Change Outfit interaction.
    * Gameplay: Merchants can no longer Ask to Buy Goods or Bribe children.
    * Furnish Mode: Fixed cursor state issues when selecting objects.
    * Routing: Purchasing crafts will no longer cancel if done from a different lot.
    * Gameplay: Sims no longer get stuck at sea if switched out while on the Free Time quest.
    * Gameplay: Fixed several situations where Sims get stuck in objects.
    * Gameplay: Sims can now remove objects from forges from other lots.
    * Gameplay: The controlled Sim now appropriately cheats when user selected the Cheat interaction on the gaming table.
    * Furnish Mode: All objects with inventories transfer their goods to the Inventory of the lot owner.
    * Furnish Mode: Sims no longer fall through the floor when the camera is on a different floor and the Sim is routing when re-entering Live Mode.
    * Gameplay: Fixed several “soft lock” instances due to rapid key clicking.
    * Furnish Mode: Can no longer delete required objects from the Family inventory If there isn’t already a duplicate on the lot.
    * Art: Fixed various texture issues.
    * Gameplay: Sims can no longer perform the Whale Hunt quest interaction without the whaleboat or the harpoon.
    * Furnish Mode: Can not place the Puplatice Manual Cabinet into the Household Inventory.
    * General: Sims no longer constantly gain XP after performing certain actions.
    * Gameplay: Lute no longer displays when cancelling one of two queued up “Perform Song” interactions
    * UI: Fixed scrollbar functionality in the Hotkeys window.
    * Gameplay: Potentially Fireproof buff properly times out after the Dragon quest.
    * Furnish Mode: Household Inventory “Sell All” functions properly.
    * Gameplay: Level 1 Wizard can’t use high-level staves.
    * Gameplay: Quest ingredients return to inventory if item creation fails.
    * Gameplay: Jealous Warlock can duel.

[CeeKay]

I don't have this yet but I can't resist the chance to scoop Ceekay

what can I say, I don't roll out of bed before 9:35am 

[The Grue]

I don't have this yet but I can't resist the chance to scoop Ceekay
 

At least you did more than just post a link.

[CeeKay]

wait a minute:

    * New Quest! Contents: Genie – A magical genie in a bottle has been found! Your Heroes could use its power to fulfill their wildest wishes or they could take it upon themselves to free the genie from its abnormally small living quarters. It’s up to you to decide!
    * New Quest! Crab Bandit – A mysterious crab monster lives under the town! How will you deal with the beast? The Monarch could coerce it into becoming a powerful new ally or your Blacksmith may have some other, more creative, ideas for it.
    * New Quest! Book Burning – Peasants are burning books and you need to stop them! Will you utilize your Bard or Monarch and teach the peasants to read or will your Wizard and Bard scare the peasants into thinking the books are alive through magic?

I had those in ym quest log on release night.  this must be the day one patch that the game autoupdated with when I launched it.

[Gratch]

I'm a little surprised at the complete lack of mainstream reviews for this one (Metacritic only has 3).  Keep the impressions coming...they're helpful to those of us still on the fence.

[hepcat]

I'm a little surprised at the complete lack of mainstream reviews for this one (Metacritic only has 3).  Keep the impressions coming...they're helpful to those of us still on the fence.

ditto.  i've been checking the site since tuesday and have seen little activity.

[Nth Power]

I wish it didn't take so long to walk to the Village Shoppe.  It seems to take forever.  Some kind of fast travel would be nice.

Other than that, I'm having fun with it so far.

[CeeKay]

I wish it didn't take so long to walk to the Village Shoppe.  It seems to take forever.  Some kind of fast travel would be nice.

Other than that, I'm having fun with it so far.

you could always hit fast forward.

[MaxSteele]

What is keeping me from getting this is the reports of the repetitiveness and resets of work done.  Here's a post from the Gamespot forums:

I just finished the first ambition/level and decided to go on to the next one. I am quite disappointed that the next level is just a reset of your previous town. You have to go through the same process of naming your kingdom and designing your monarch. What's worse, is it still has that tutorial quest as the first one available.

Are people like this missing a part of the game?  Are they just playing the same area over again?  I don't want to spend all of the time playing a level, only to have the next level reset everything I had done.

[CeeKay]

What is keeping me from getting this is the reports of the repetitiveness and resets of work done.  Here's a post from the Gamespot forums:

I just finished the first ambition/level and decided to go on to the next one. I am quite disappointed that the next level is just a reset of your previous town. You have to go through the same process of naming your kingdom and designing your monarch. What's worse, is it still has that tutorial quest as the first one available.

Are people like this missing a part of the game?  Are they just playing the same area over again?  I don't want to spend all of the time playing a level, only to have the next level reset everything I had done.

I haven't gotten that far yet, so I can't comment on it.

[coopasonic]

I wish it didn't take so long to walk to the Village Shoppe.  It seems to take forever.  Some kind of fast travel would be nice.

Other than that, I'm having fun with it so far.

you could always hit fast forward.

yup, hit 4 and you're there pretty fast

[Victoria Raverna]

What is keeping me from getting this is the reports of the repetitiveness and resets of work done.  Here's a post from the Gamespot forums:

I just finished the first ambition/level and decided to go on to the next one. I am quite disappointed that the next level is just a reset of your previous town. You have to go through the same process of naming your kingdom and designing your monarch. What's worse, is it still has that tutorial quest as the first one available.

Are people like this missing a part of the game?  Are they just playing the same area over again?  I don't want to spend all of the time playing a level, only to have the next level reset everything I had done.

I think you only reset your previous town if you start a new game. You only need to start a new game after you run out of Quest points or win the game which pretty much mean you finish the game, just like playing any other game, you finish then if you want to play, you restart from beginning.

[MaxSteele]

What is keeping me from getting this is the reports of the repetitiveness and resets of work done.  Here's a post from the Gamespot forums:

I just finished the first ambition/level and decided to go on to the next one. I am quite disappointed that the next level is just a reset of your previous town. You have to go through the same process of naming your kingdom and designing your monarch. What's worse, is it still has that tutorial quest as the first one available.

Are people like this missing a part of the game?  Are they just playing the same area over again?  I don't want to spend all of the time playing a level, only to have the next level reset everything I had done.

I think you only reset your previous town if you start a new game. You only need to start a new game after you run out of Quest points or win the game which pretty much mean you finish the game, just like playing any other game, you finish then if you want to play, you restart from beginning.

Ok, I see what you're saying.  So my question is - about how long does it take to play a 'game' from start to finish?  And if you start over again, is there enough variety that it feels like a new game, or are you just doing the same stuff over again?

[Victoria Raverna]

I think it depends on how you play, if you just focus on doing the quests then you can probably finish it in a very short time, but you don't have to play that way, during the quest storylines you can choose to postpone finishing to do other activity. You can take your time and do the daily tasks (you get two everyday which reward you with focus) or you can do your own stuff.

As for if it'll feel like a new game, I guess the first playthrough is probably more interesting, but since there are more quests and some quests have multiple approaches, there are enough variety. Also since this is The Sims game that allow you to create your own characters with their own traits and fatal flaw, you can choose different traits for your second play which is going to play differently. The order you build buildings also allow different variety.

To make it easier to understand, I wrote a condensed gameplay walkthrough:

Spoiler for Hiden:

When you start a new game, you get 50 quest points, you spend those in doing quests (quests in this game is the scenarios). Different quests cost have different QP cost.

First you choose the throne room style. Based on what you choose, you'll get different furnishing in the throne room. Not sure if everyone have the same choices or depend on the version you have, you get different choices. I have the limited edition from EA store and I have choices like standard, princess's dream (maybe fairy tale style), barbarian, and dark magic style.

Then you create the monarch since you don't have other profession buildings. You can choose two traits and one fatal flaw. Let's say you choose Adventurous and Loner traits with Bloodthirsty fatal flaw). Then you choose the quest to play and since this is the first quest, you're going to play the tutorial quest which cost 1 qp and you have 49 QP left.

Now that you start the quest, you can go to the live mode and play the game. You follow and do each of the sub goals and finish the quest which reward you with 10 resource points (RP). Since you choose adventurous and loner traits, your monarch love to go out adventuring and when alone but hate it when people are around. You get negative focus when it is something that your sim doesn't like and you positive focus for something that the sim like. With bloodthristy fatal flaw, your sim love to fight and get negative focus if it is too long since the last fight.

With 10 RP, you have enough to choose to build one of the profession buildings if you want. Choices are building like barrack, tavern, one of the two churches, mage tower, smithy, market, etc. Based on which you build, you get access to a new profession. It also let you access to the building in your future quests. Let's say you choose mage tower, now you can create a second sim, the mage also with two traits and one fatal flaw.

Now you start your second quest, you can pick from a list of quests and some quests have two or three variety. For example the genie quest you get from the first patch have two variety, you can play as monarch and try to find the genie to get your wishes or you can play a mage to release the genie. So let's say you choose to play the monarch version of the quest which cost 2 QP and left you with 47 QP.

In the second quest, you have access to the mage tower so you can visit there and deal with the mage but you're still playing and controlling the monarch. Then you finish the quest and now you earn some more RP and you can build the second profession building (which is now more expensive than the first one) or you can choose to build a non profession building.

You repeat this steps until you end the game by reaching the ambition (end game goal) or run out of QP without reaching the ambition.

You pick a new ambition (alias new game) which reset the kingdom, you repeat from the start but you can play different type of characters, choose different quests to do, and different building orders.

I think if you like to play The Sims series to experience the daily lives of Sims then you're going to like this game.

[MaxSteele]

That's the kind of overview I've been looking for.  Thanks for that!

So each 'game' is composed of spending quest points and moving toward your ambition goal.  If you spend all your quest points before realizing your ambition, you lose.  If you realize your ambition before running out of quest points, you win.

It sounds like every quest in the game can (probably) get completed by any of the heroes you can eventually create, which would bring in the variety of how you go about completing those quests.

Then, once running out of QP or completing your ambition, you can start the game over again, choosing a new ambition.  The base quests you get will be the same, but you can choose to have the mage do a quest instead of the monarch, or another character if you have them.

Does anything carry over when you start a new ambition, or is it completely wiping the slate clean and starting with all new heroes?