The Sims Wiki:Newsletter/February 2012

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Under New Management The Sims Wiki Newsletter with a new image! By DanPin and MTDM, editors

After two months with no editions whatsoever of this publication, we are here proud to present the beginning of a new era of The Sims Wiki Newsletter! Since the last edition, new editors have been chosen (DanPin and MTDM), a new logo has been picked (made by Erry), some users came back from retirement and some users have gone absent.

During the holidays, the community participated in a gift exchange developed by our dear admin Wiryawan310 and most gifts shared in there were amazing, like a Big Brother house, a Fanon family or just Sims. More recently, the infamous Message Wall was released in Wikia Labs and a Collector's Edition for The Sims 3: Showtime was announced. More recently, several users discussed a wiki redesign, which you can discuss at the Community Discussion.

We hope you have a great time reading the new newsletters!

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Poll
By DanPin, editor What do you think of The Sims 3: Showtime? Looks great! I am totally going to buy it! It looks good, but I'm not interested in it. What is The Sims 3: Showtime? Meh. I don't have an opinion. It's just another money-making attempt by EA.

Horoscopes
By MTDM, editor

Short News
By GEORGIEGIBBONS, guest writer Wiki news
 * The community have uploaded an item for the game to share as a New Year celebration. Thanks to everyone who has shared an item!
 * DanPin and Mr. Totaldramaman have taken over as editors of the newsletter, starting this issue.

The Sims news
 * A new patch has been released for The Sims 3 with the aim to resolve issues caused by installing The Sims 3: Pets
 * The Sims 3: Showtime has been announced, along with a Katy Perry-themed Collector's Edition.
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Mod Battles: Awesomemod against NRaas Master Controller
By Andronikos Leventis, writer of The Mod & More Column The two most wanted mods in The Sims 3 community is the Awesomemod by J. M. Pescado and the NRaas Master Controller by Twallan. Both mods have received positive community input and do roughly the same thing: Altering the gameplay of The Sims 3 at a great extend. But which one is the best? Here is a review.

Gameplay Alteration
Awesomemod: Awesomemod can do whatever you want it do. All the options are set through an online configuration tool which allows you to select what you want and how you want it. Then, you download the mod into a package and install it. Or you can change the XML values through any plain text editor. What happens afterwards? You have configured your game to the maximum.

Master Controller: Through a new pie menu addition, all the configurations are done in-game. Do you want a specific object in a different fashion? Done! Or perhaps edit a Sim in CAS as if you were creating them for the first time? Set! This mod can change the way the game is played in an amazing way, making it either easier or more difficult.

Winner: Awesomemod - You just can't beat the way to configure almost everything, like programming the game all over again.

Updates
Awesomemod: Awesomemod was updated to the most recent patch (1.29) on December 15th. It is updated on a monthly basis and each version has the same name as the corresponding Patch, with major updates between them.

Master Controller: Strangely, the Master Controller for 1.29 was also released on December 15th. Updates also happen on a monthly basis and are categorized by Phases and Versions, making it easier to navigate for users.

Winner: Master Controller - The way it's organized makes it special.

Ease of Use
Awesomemod: Tweaks happen in the core of the game, and are actually just overwriting normal interactions to replace them with new options in order to change how they work. Changing something means re-configuring and restarting your game. Basically it's install and forget-ware, unless you want to change something.

Master Controller: All interactions go under a graphical user interface in a pie menu, which appears whenever you click. Under NRaas/Master Controller, we can find several categories, for Basic, Intermediate and Advanced users, each one with their own tweaks and sub-categories. It's simple, as long as you know what you click on.

Winner: Master Controller - Although Awesomemod is easily configurable, the Master Controller is more appealing to the user.

Compatibility
Awesomemod: As a core mod, Awesomemod, due to the nature of The Sims 3, is the only core mod you may ever install without a patch. Since it alters gameplay to a great extend, it is advisable to be used only with the safe Awesomeware.

Master Controller: The Master Controller is a script mod, and is therefore fully compatible with any other mod, as long as you don't alter anything you should not.

Winner: Master Controller - It just allows the player to install more mods, even though it's a heavy one indeed.

Secret Weapons
Awesomemod: When installing The Sims 3, few know that under the EULA's 4th section there is the condition that EA may collect anonymous data and also sell it to 3rd parties. Spyware? Sorta. Awesomemod removes it. The online configuration tool is of great use too.

Master Controller:There are many debug functions, including posing, that will help movie builders do their dream scene without a posebox.

Winner: Awesomemod - For the ones who don't want EA in their games, this is highly useful.

Verdict
Overall Winner: Master Controller

Don't switch right away, however. Look back to the first comparison. If you truly like gameplay configurations, head straight for Awesomemod. If you are a basic user, go to the Master Controller.

Review: Barnacle Bay
By Andronikos Leventis Barnacle Bay is one of the most infamous official worlds in TS3, often criticized as annoying and boring, as well as a rip-off. But is this really true? The following sections will describe what is really going on. I'l rate each one with stars out of five.

Pre-made Sims
Barnacle Bay offers a lot of pre-made Sims, especially into the pirate and spooky theme. It is notable for its ghosts and creepy characters. The Barnacle Bay also features the Caliente sisters, a very interesting couple of gold diggers, suggesting that is set after the events of Pleasantview in The Sims 2. For people who enjoy themes that exceed logic, Barnacle Bay is a good choice.
 * Rating: Four Stars

Layout
The layout of the roads in Barnacle Bay is definitely not the reason I'd pick it. Many parts of the town do not have any roads that lead to them and that makes navigating really slow. Without a teleporter, I'd be bored to even bother going around the city. For the one's who do filming in-game, however, I suggest it's pretty good if you like scenes with motion. For the casual players, I'd say no.
 * Rating: Two Stars

Houses
One of the other great flaws in Barnacle Bay is the houses. The Sims might be interesting, but the houses are not an eye-candy. Their architecture is terrible and they are boring without upgrading them. The community lots, apart from the pirate tavern and the pirate cemetery, are also a bit dull. I'd not recommend it for this reason.
 * Rating: Three Stars

Cost and Advertising
At the time of speaking, Barnacle Bay costs 2,000 SimPoints or about $14 somewhere online or in a code form, which EA released some months ago. I consider its advertisement a scam at some points. EA says it has a modern downtown. I disagree. What can truly be considered a modern downtown is the one from The Sims 2 or Bridgeport. Other than that, EA seems to remember its product. The price is not OK with me however. It is just too disappointing for that.
 * Rating: Two Stars

Other content included
Most of the other content included is a total waste in my opinion. Most of the clothes would not be of any use if you wanted to dress up a normal Sim and 90% of the items are not meant for a normal house in the 21st century. What else does it include? Nothing! And that's what makes it vulnerable in the first place.
 * Rating: Two Stars

Verdict
In summary, Barnacle Bay is one of the worlds you'd get only for The Sims as a casual player, but a hardcore Simmer may find it useful for filming purposes in the pirate theme.
 * Overall Rating: C or 2.6 stars

From The Editors
T  his newsletter doesn't appear here by magic! If you have an opinion or a suggestion, talk to us - we're open!

If there's something you think we missed, tell us about it and we'll do our best to include it.

- Happy Simming and editing!
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