User:Nikel23/Sandbox

The Sims 2 Apartment Life (Sometimes spelled as The Sims 2: Apartment Life, TS2 AL or simply Apartment Life) is the eighth and the last expansion pack for The Sims 2. It was released on August 26, 2008. It's notable that apartments, despite the name, won't be the biggest asset of the game. Most community-requested features, including magic, butlers, ceilings, etc. are added. This is also the last Expansion pack to support Windows 98/Me and Windows 2000 while Mansion and Garden is the last Sims game (and EA's final game) to support those versions of Windows.

Description
''Your Sims are moving into a brand-new apartment, and their lives will never be the same! Adventure, fun, and drama await them as they meet new people and explore their new neighborhood. Will they take their kids to the local playground, mingle in coffee shops, or hit the park to learn from the breakdancers? Close quarters mean new opportunities-move in with compatible roomies for a thriving social life, advance your career with the right social network, or find true love just down the hall. Whether they live in artsy converted lofts, the ultimate studio bachelor pads, or luxury apartments with their own butler, your Sims will experience all of the excitement of apartment life!''

Belladonna Cove
Belladonna Cove is a new neighborhood shipped with Apartment Life. This neighborhood mainly features the apartments and social classes. Parts of the town include slummy urban area, middle class area, and luxurious socialite area. This neighborhood is said to be the best in The Sims 2. Some districts also feature trailer park, industrial area, lofty flats, and luxurious mansions.

Apartment
Apartment is the new type of lot for Sims to reside. Up to four families can live in the same apartment building, but occupy different apartment slots. "Neighbors" can now exist from living in an apartment, unlike living in ordinary residential lots, where "neighbors" are only walkbys from afar. Living in apartment will give some benefits for Sims, or even disadvantages. Sims can meet others in the same lot easily, or visit neighboring families on the next door. On the other hand, neighbors can also make noises behind the walls that irritates Sims.

Sims don't buy apartment. They rent the slot instead. Every Monday, the Landlord will come to charge the rent. Landlords are beneficial NPCs, because they will take care the common areas, tend the garden, take care of roaches, and fix the plumbing. Some Build and Buy modes are also locked from living in apartment.

Roommates
In order to lower the weekly rent, Sims can search for roommates. Roommates will live together with Sims, but they will be unplayable and take care of themselves. Roommates can be searched via computer, newspaper, or ads from phone. They could be nice to Sims, or maybe bothersome. If roommates find themselves not enjoying living with Sims, they'll leave.

Social Class
This Expansion Pack introduces new features to bring more realism of community living, Social class. From now, each lot, whether residential or community, calculates its lot class value. The value will indicate if the lot is high to low. The value is determined by the price of the furniture, the size of the lots, the number of household members, the messiness, and the values of surrounding lots.

Social Group Townies
Social Group Townies are new kind of Townies. They are the townies who will occupy vacant apartments and become the roommates. There are 5 kinds of Social group townies, they are Socialite, Tech, Jock, Bohemian, and Gearhead. Socialites and Techies will occupy expensive apartments while Bohemians and Gearheads occupy the worst. In contrast, they determine how "rich" they are and their surroundings.

Reputation
Sims now have reputations. Reputation is determined by how nice or mean a Sim interacts with others. Having good reputation will give Sims benefit while bad reputation will give Sims penalty. Townies will also react to the Sims' reputation.

Witches
The life state added in Apartment Life is a witch. Witches can be male or female, and are divided into seven groups: Infallibly Good, Good, Nice, Neutral, Mean, Evil and Atrociously Evil. These groups are determined by the Witch's "alignment". The differences between these alignments include appearance, types of spells cast, items created, and title. Teens through elders can be witches.

"Regardless of the path a Sim chooses to take, all witches get access to a secret community lot inhabited by the High Witch of Light or the High Witch of Darkness." There are individual High Witches of Light and Dark uniquely generated for each neighbourhood, much like service NPCs such as maids. Belladonna Cove's evil Witch is Frances McCullough, and its good Witch is Phoebe Adams.

Spells
Spells are organized into three categories: "Good", "Neutral" and "Evil". Casting more "Good" spells will result in a witch becoming "Good" or "Infallibly Good". "Neutral" spells have no effect on alignment, but if a witch who is good casts enough evil spells, or vice versa, they can become "Neutral". Once enough "Evil" spells are cast, a witch will become "Evil" or "Atrociously Evil". The most powerful good spell is "Expello Mortis" which banishes the Grim Reaper from a dead Sim, and this can save a Sim from death. The most powerful evil spell is "Vivificus Zombiae" this spell raises the dead and brings the dead Sim back to life but as a zombie.

Interactions
New gestures
 * High Five
 * Earthy Hug
 * Fake Out
 * Kiss Kiss Darling
 * Tough Handshake

New interactions
 * If neighbors become very noisy, use the "Bang Wall" interaction.
 * Peek-a-boo social for Toddlers and Toddlers can use the "Huggle" interaction.
 * Parents can read their children to sleep and swing children around by the arms
 * Sims can WooHoo in the sliding door closet and the ownable helicopter.
 * Students can walk to school if they miss the bus.
 * The player can lock roommates out of private rooms.
 * Sims have the new kiss interactions "Suck Face" and "Dance Kiss".
 * Teen, adult, or elder sims can walk to community lots.

New Dances
 * Break Dancing
 * Classic Dance

Social Groups

Mingle with Sims from all-new social groups: stylish socialites, artsy bohemians, sports jocks, gadget-collecting techies, or edgy gearheads. Gearheads and Bohemians are more prevalent in low rent districts while Socialites and Techies are in high rent districts. Social groups are similar to somebodies and anybodies from Sims Superstar.There is now difference between rich and poor Sims.

Building and furniture
Building is greatly improved.

New features include:
 * Ceilings, which can be customized like floors
 * Heating and cooling vents and radiators, which can moderate the temperature of any room
 * Spiral staircases
 * Decorative objects, such as pipes, cornice (skirting-like features that go around the top of walls) and support beams
 * Space-saving objects such as Murphy bed and closets, coming in "male" and "female" varieties
 * Fun objects for toddlers, children and adults, including a Jungle Gym and an Open Mic.
 * Snack and drink vending machines
 * Heart-shaped beds, they vibrate and light up.
 * Medicine cabinets
 * Secret bookcase that can connect rooms in a house or apartment, but not two different apartments.
 * New type of Elevator
 * Trash chutes which act like trash cans.
 * Hot Dog/Gyro stand
 * A measuring tool that counts the tiles when dragging the wall and roof tool.
 * Ability to move wall hangings up and down the wall.
 * A large apartment mailbox (only if living in apartments) which has 9 mail slots.
 * Two types of spiral staircases with a variety of colors and materials.
 * More additions to current objects, like doors and windows
 * More Pre-built lots
 * Town homes, Lofts, Penthouses and Apartment buildings.

Other features

 * New Life Skills: Fire Prevention, Anger Management, Lifelong Happiness, Physiology, and Couple Counselling.
 * New Death: Sims with low skills and needs can be crushed by the Murphy Bed.
 * New Vehicle: Sims can now own helicopters, as long as there is a heli-pad some where on the lot. Helicopters come in a variety of colors.
 * New Potions: Witches can brew potions existing from previous expansion packs as well as new ones.
 * New songs
 * New Clothes and hair.
 * New NPCs: street performers, a break-dancer and a human statue.
 * New pets: Sims can now adopt small, apartment-friendly dogs without the Pets EP.

Criticism over SecuROM in Apartment Life
The Sims 2: Apartment Life has been criticized for using SecuROM with 16 One Star reviews on Amazon.com, The Sims 2: Bon Voyage has also negative reviews relating to SecuROM. Unlike Mass Effect, Spore and Dead Space, Apartment Life does not have install/computer limits but the download version does which can be de-authorized at any time.

Also, it did not mention SecuROM on the back of the case. EA later mentioned SecuROM starting with The Sims 3 and any EA product released thereafter.

The Sims 2 Apartment Life Product Page Amazon.com

Amazon.com
Amazon.com's product page for The Sims 2: Apartment Life states that it will only run on Windows XP and Windows Vista even though it supports operating systems Windows 98, Windows ME and Windows 2000. (It predates Windows 7, but is also compatible with it.)

Video
Video:The Sims 2 - Apartment Life Official Trailer (PC)|The Sims 2 - Apartment Life Official Trailer (PC) Video:Katy Perry - Hot n Cold (Simlish)|Katy Perry - Hot n Cold (The Sims 2 Apartment Life)