Transitioning From Sims 2 to Sims 3

[Havisham]

I'm a giant Sims 2 nerd.

I recently got the Sims 3 and I really like it. The expansion of several things, like careers (I actually like how doctors get called in at night and journalism interviews) and the trait system is really fun. There's so many fun new things that I'm getting a little overwhelmed. :P

My issue is that I've played the Sims 2 for so long and got so invested, I'm finding it a little difficult to switch into the Sims 3. For example, I find I'm keeping my Sims 3 sims trapped in their houses for days except to go to work, and think I'm not fully experiencing the open-world layout out of Sims 2 habit.

So, though it may sound silly, I'm looking for tips or things I should try to get out of the funk. Any small challenges, or tips and things my sims can do would be greatly appreciated! :)

Oh, I only own the Sims 3 and Generations.

[ButchSims]

It can be hard to make that transition, because your mindset is just so accustomed to how things worked in Sims 2. Maybe you can make a new save with a single sim, give them a job with open hours, like painting, where it can be easy to make a quick buck when you need it. Then, just have that sim explore. Roam around town, go collecting, visit a different lot everyday. Many traits that seem like they would be bad at first have some fun positives that balance them out, so picking a set of traits that you normally wouldn't consider can shake things up a little. Since you have Generations, and that can with a lot of fun outdoor things for kids and families, make a new park using them all, that way, you have more incentive to visit there, since you made it yourself! It would also be good to learn the cheats, even if you don't plan on using them in your "real" game, because then you'll have a good idea of what is different, what is the same, and can introduce you to some of the wacky stuff in the game.

[Anniversary]

Start a new family and spend all but 1k building their house (no furniture). Don't get them regular jobs, only part time jobs, and spend the rest of the time going around the neighborhood taking advantage of the open world to earn money and to survive, and then to upgrade your house.

Collect gemstones, collect seeds, collect bugs, collect animals (if you have pets), fish, have a klepto sim who steals 3 things each night, have an inventor collecting scrap (if you have ambitions) and get him started on the path to inventing, eat food from the diner, buy bargain stuff from the consignment store, entertain your sims at the beach or park, have them shower at the gym, maybe even have one of them be insane and have them stalk an NPC sim as they travel around the world or something.

By the time your sims can fund the basics of furniture you'll have explored a lot of the town and gotten used to being out of the house.

[birdyfly]

I had a similar issue when it came from transitioning from Sims 2 to Sims 3. The only reason I made the transition was due to watching Headbutt's (http://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewArcade/featured) Sims 3 let's plays and saw that there were a lot of features I didn't know about. Slowly, I went from playing mostly Sims 2 to playing with mostly Sims 3. With that said, there are still things in Sims 3 that I am annoyed with. The biggest issue for me is that the pool section is desperately needed for an upgrade. There is only a ladder, a small light, and I believe a pool sign. I am still waiting for my diving board. :(

Also, I find my game hard to play without having NRASS's mods (http://nraas.wikispaces.com/). My game is laggy and crashes without the mods in there. Also, the gameplay feels even more open with them.

There are little things as well that I miss, which is the private schools. Nrass pretty much fixed this issue though in his mod to make it so you can have private schools in different venues.
Here is what I feel is missing in the Sims 3 (leaving out the bugs since it seems either some people have them or don't).

Things left out but added later or added through mods:

♦Aspiration and Aspiration Awards - Uses lifetime happiness and happiness rewards
♦Slacker Career - Now uses part time jobs
♦Private School - Nrass has made them using the Careers Mod (http://nraas.wikispaces.com/Careers)
♦Visible/Interactive Stores - Ani_ (http://www.modthesims.info/member.php?u=3002461) has made some mods to open up the rabbit holes. Open Cinema (http://www.modthesims.info/d/444244), Shop For Clothes (http://www.modthesims.info/d/412721), Shop From Inventory (http://www.modthesims.info/d/409607)
♦Memories - Has been added in Generations
♦Creating custom neighborhoods/worlds. You now use a tool called Create A World (http://www.thesims3.com/game/tools/world/)
♦ Inheritance - You either get it from Generations as a reward or you can use NRASS MasterController (http://nraas.wikispaces.com/MasterController) to add the inheritance.
♦ Dreaming? - Seems like it has been added in one of the patches.
♦ Astrological Signs - Added in Late Night, but are essentially useless
♦ Influence - Added in Late Night
♦ Mechanical Skill - Is now called Handiness
♦Creativity Skill - Has been broken up into their own separate skills.
♦ Meditation - Has been added in World Adventures
♦ Gardener - douglasveiga has made a gardener NPC mod here (http://www.modthesims.info/d/459967)
♦ Nanny - Now you have babysitters. userunknown has made an Elder Babysitter Mod (http://www.modthesims.info/d/353824)
♦ Shop Assistant - Added in World Adventures and Ambitions
♦ Bartender - Added in Late Night as a mixologist with it's own mixology skill
♦ Piano - Added in Late Night
♦ Pinball Machines - Added in the Sims 3 Store
♦ Hot Tub - Added in Late Night and Outdoor Living Stuff
♦ Collections - Added in Generations
♦ Wedding Arches - Added in Generations
♦ Sub-neighborhoods. You can travel and live in different worlds thanks to NRASS's Traveler (http://nraas.wikispaces.com/Traveler) mod.
♦ Bakery. May still be achieved using Ani_'s shop from inventory mod and Edible Food CC (http://mysims3blog.blogspot.com/search/label/Edible%20Food)
♦ Controllable Business. Ani_'s shop from inventory adds a "mock" business for sims though.
♦ Dj Booth - Added in Showtime
♦ Photo booth - Added in Showtime
♦ Chemistry - NRASS's Woohooer (http://nraas.wikispaces.com/Woohooer) adds this to some standard.
♦ Custom Pet Store. There is a Limited Edition Petstore and also, Nrass's Consigner (http://nraas.wikispaces.com/Consigner) adds an ability to buy and sell pets.
♦ Werewolves. Added in next expansion pack coming out in September.
♦ Vacation Homes. NRASS added this in the Traveler.
♦ Voodoo Doll - added to the Sims 3 Store
♦ Yoga - Made by Kitabalibar (http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=470223&c=1&ht=0&page=5&pp=25#startcomments) with own custom animations.

Things left out:

♦Fears
♦Underwear (has been combined with pajamas, which I do miss them being separate categories)
♦Interests (has been replaced with favorites)
♦ Aliens/ Alien Abductions
♦ Tending flowerbeds/bushes
♦ Room and comfort needs are gone. You still get them through moodlets though.
♦ Illness/ Disease
♦ Photo albums. You do have a camera though from World Adventures and a Video Camera from Generations.
♦ Cockroaches due to being messy. They are in the game for you to collect.
♦ Bodyshop
♦ Crossword Puzzles in newspapers
♦ Bathing babies and toddlers. You just change their diapers.
♦ Cleaning Skill. It is now part of traits your sim has. Buzzler made a housecleaning mod (http://www.modthesims.info/d/411634) though.
♦ Exterminator
♦ Headmaster
♦ Hula Zombies
♦ Social Bunny
♦Therapist
♦ Career reward objects - Some Sims 3 careers still have reward objects, but it's not as detailed as Sims 2 was.
♦ Diving Board
♦ Specialized Weight Machines - They have been combined into one weight machine
♦ Magazines to change interests. The magazines in Sims 3 are just for decoration.
♦ Changing Tables
♦ Slow Dancing
♦ Getting out of vehicle animations
♦ Animations while in car
♦ College/University. There are still Young Adult sims
♦ Kites
♦ Flower making
♦ Lemonade Stand - Kids use bakery stands
♦ Business perks and customers/ hiring and firing employees
♦ Talent Badges
♦ Dating. Sorry, but I do not believe the "dating" in generations counts. It feels half done and is just the group function in late night with hearts.
♦ Crushes
♦ One Sided Relationships
♦ Restaurant System
♦ Coffee Stand
♦ Vampire Coffin - Vampires use an altar now
♦Smustle
♦ Turn offs and Turn ons
♦ Pet jobs and Pet shows
♦ Skunks
♦ Bigfoot
♦ Momentos
♦ Tai Chi
♦ Hotels. We have basecamps now, which cost nothing. There were rumors NRASS was considering trying to make Hotels for the Traveler, but not sure if that went anywhere or if it was just a rumor.
♦ Room Service
♦ Local Dance Styles
♦Witch Doctor NPC
♦ Fire Dancing/ Fire Dancer NPC
♦ Log Rolling
♦ Vacation Benefits.
♦ Jet Lag. You can't travel again for three sim days though.
♦ Saunas
♦ Massage Tables
♦ Swimming in the beach

I would add the things that are in Sims 3 and not in Sims 2, but this post would get way too long. You can find more comparisons here: http://sims.wikia.com/wiki/Comparison_between_The_Sims_2_and_The_Sims_3

It seems that EA is slowly adding Sims 2 content into Sims 3 or mods are doing it for them. The biggest thing with Sims 3 right now is just playing the waiting game for some of your favorite features to come back. What helped me mostly was looking at LPs of Sims 3 to see what features there are.

I do enjoy the open world greatly and I love the CAS system. It is nice to be able to recolor your CC instead of installing 20 other different colors of the same item. :bunny:

[jenieusa]

♦ Career reward objects

some of the careers so have them...can't remember all but the culinary career
top end gets you a fantastic new fridge....which i believe nothing spoils....

[Kestie Freehawk]

I'm a giant Sims 2 nerd.

So, though it may sound silly, I'm looking for tips or things I should try to get out of the funk. Any small challenges, or tips and things my sims can do would be greatly appreciated! :)

Oh, I only own the Sims 3 and Generations.

The first time I really got off the lot in Sims 3 and broke the Sims 2 habit was when I found out how fast charisma grows if you do the prompt. It will roll a wish to use a freindly greeting and you can go down by the store and greet everyone you see. by the time you are done you have gained a lot of contacts and charisma. Try it .. its fun. My Superstar Athlete had a autograph signing where I just signed everything and went from 8 to 10 in charisma in minutes. You can do that in front of the store or stadium. If you stand there they will come.

[Kestie Freehawk]

#2 complete the Perfect Fishing Challenge with Steele, you have to catch all the kinds of perfect fish and put them in fishbowls. You can read the bait books but fish fish fish and sell the fish... when you are at level 10 fishing you can start collecting perfect ones. I did it straight out in 48 hours the first time, fish till you get a perfect one and then stock it and try all the pools. That big window is perfect for a modern house and the digital fishies are great. It just showed up after I finished the challenge. I just put out 4 cofee tables with the fishbowls on them and then if you roll over the lable it will tell you how many you have, I cant remember how many you need but I think there are 25 and I put the bowls and tables outside. Once you catch the first perfect fish and stock it you have 48 hours till it needs to be cared for or it will rot. I cant keep them perfectly so I just get as many as I can in the 48 hours and usually get my number.

[hipster90]

♦ Yoga


Yoga is available with this mod (http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=470223) . I use it all the time and love it!

[birdyfly]

I updated the list. Thanks, guys. :bunny: If you see any more errors in it, or things missing, let me know. :)

[lisfyre]

I know exactly what you mean because I had the same problem. After a few starts with all the cheats and buying my sims everything, I decided to play a really simple challenge. Don't give them everything, just buy the house and make them earn their money. Just buy them the basics, make them go to the gym for workouts, the library to read their skilling books, the park to play chess and visit the rest of the world. You can do a tour of the theatre, make them take classes instead of reading in the library. You can even start them out in a part time job instead of a full time one so that they earn money slowly and so you can spend time exploring your hood. You can play with Epic lifespan so you can do everything you want to do... or at least almost everything :) The possibilities are endless. I don't use mods in my game but LOADS of Store and 3rd party CC - 13 GB worth and growing :lol:

BTW, I didn't uninstall my Sims 2 until almost a year later. I kept all my CC on my external hard drive and still downloaded CC for it up to a year after I uninstalled it... just in case I wanted to go back and play it again. I've never gone back but you never know :) Whatever you decide, have fun!! Welcome to Sims 3 and happy simming ;D

[Havisham]

Thanks, these are all helpful!

I'm listening to all the sims wants to greet people like Kestie Freehawk suggested, and I'm making my sims try and earn most of their skills in other places (working out at the gym or playing chess at the park, etc.) They're spending more and more time out of the house! Good, it's cheap anyway! ha ha

[Kestie Freehawk]

I took a challenge at one time to build the smallest lot possible and to create a house and garden on it, so I chose Xander (not the best choice) and moved him onto a bare 10x10 lot. I built an encloshre with an elevator and a fire pole. He could climb up the fire pole to use the inventing bench and go down the elevator for his bathroom kitchen and bedroom. The rest of the lot was garden. I did manage to get him up to a perfect garden and then moved him out and made the lot a comunity lot with a bathroom and a barbeque and picknick bench outside. I took out the bedroom and put a couch and toybox downstairs. Now all my simmies could go to the park, garden, shower and eat to their hearts content and if needed invent with their own scrap. Its like a sims 2 skill lot but it gives new gardeners the chance to pick perfect fruits and vegitables to start with for their own house lots. The plants dont seem to wear out so you dont have to water or fertlize. Xander was much happier when he didnt have to shower on the upstair deck next to the inventing bench and the community loved the garden. Occasionaly the tomatoes dissapear but its not a lot of work to buldoze it and lay down another one.

[MiniMimi]

Make a homeless sim! Buy an empty lot, dress him appropriately, maybe add him a dog and give him a tent from the buy debug menu (WA) or a sleeping bag (GEN). Now go live in the nature with him, fish for your food, steal harvest around town and pluck your tent/unroll your sleeping bag whenever you want. Play guitar for tips at the park to pay your tiny bills, take showers at the local pool or at the gymnasium... :)

[el_flel]

Some of the times my sims get out of the house the most is on dates. I can't remember which EP dating came with - forming groups came with Late Night I think - was it Generations?

Anyway, I send a sim on a date and have them do typical 'date' things. Go to a movie, then have dinner, and then go to a bar/club. If the date goes well then I sometimes finish up by going to a local beauty spot for a bit of smooching. That gets you exploring a bit.

I also try and have routines with some of my sims. For example, my daycare owner spends all day with children so every night after work I send her to have dinner down at the diner.

Otherwise a good way to force exploration is to have your sim make its money by collecting gems and rocks. You'll find loads of neat little places that you probably wouldn't find otherwise.

[Artimis]

Things left out:

♦Fears
♦Underwear (has been combined with pajamas, which I do miss them being separate categories)
♦Interests (has been replaced with favorites)
♦ Aliens/ Alien Abductions
♦ Tending flowerbeds/bushes
♦ Room and comfort needs are gone. You still get them through moodlets though.
♦ Illness/ Disease
♦ Photo albums. You do have a camera though from World Adventures and a Video Camera from Generations.
♦ Cockroaches due to being messy. They are in the game for you to collect.
♦ Bodyshop
♦ Crossword Puzzles in newspapers
♦ Bathing babies and toddlers. You just change their diapers.
♦ Cleaning Skill. It is now part of traits your sim has. Buzzler made a housecleaning mod though.
♦ Exterminator
♦ Headmaster
♦ Hula Zombies
♦ Social Bunny
♦Therapist
♦ Career reward objects - Some Sims 3 careers still have reward objects, but it's not as detailed as Sims 2 was.
♦ Diving Board
♦ Specialized Weight Machines - They have been combined into one weight machine
♦ Magazines to change interests. The magazines in Sims 3 are just for decoration.
♦ Changing Tables
♦ Slow Dancing
♦ Getting out of vehicle animations
♦ Animations while in car
♦ College/University. There are still Young Adult sims
♦ Kites
♦ Flower making
♦ Lemonade Stand - Kids use bakery stands
♦ Business perks and customers/ hiring and firing employees
♦ Talent Badges
♦ Dating. Sorry, but I do not believe the "dating" in generations counts. It feels half done and is just the group function in late night with hearts.
♦ Crushes
♦ One Sided Relationships
♦ Restaurant System
♦ Coffee Stand
♦ Vampire Coffin - Vampires use an altar now
♦Smustle
♦ Turn offs and Turn ons
♦ Pet jobs and Pet shows
♦ Skunks
♦ Bigfoot
♦ Momentos
♦ Tai Chi
♦ Hotels. We have basecamps now, which cost nothing. There were rumors NRASS was considering trying to make Hotels for the Traveler, but not sure if that went anywhere or if it was just a rumor.
♦ Room Service
♦ Local Dance Styles
♦Witch Doctor NPC
♦ Fire Dancing/ Fire Dancer NPC
♦ Log Rolling
♦ Vacation Benefits.
♦ Jet Lag. You can't travel again for three sim days though.
♦ Saunas
♦ Massage Tables
♦ Swimming in the beach


God that 's allot of stuff missing, I wish they are inculded in some way sometime soon.

[zigersimmer]

1) Get Twallan's MasterController, StoryProgression and ErrorTrap immediately. You can add other mods later as you become more familiar with the things in TS3 that drive you nuts (and there are plenty of things EA did that will drive you nuts) and need fixing. Twallan has a mod to fix pretty much anything fixable in the game.
2) Accept that the open-world approach means that the sims outside the family your are playing are outside of your control. Let StoryProgression take care of them.