The Sims 2 FreeTime Patch Available

Maxis has put up the FreeTime patch again for download with a LOT of patch notes. Will it fix whatever bug bugs YOU the most? Take a look and find out.

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Maxis Wants YOUR Help! Troubleshooting FreeTime Patch

From the keyboard of MaxoidDrea:

As most of you know, we had put out a patch for FreeTime but had to recall it because of installation issues. Some of you were getting an error with the objects.package when trying to install the patch. We're currently trying to troubleshoot this issue and need your help. If you had an issue with the objects.package while installing the patch, we've provided the below FTP instructions. It would be a great help if you could provide us this file so we can look into the issue and make the correct fixes to the upcoming patch.

We appreciate your help! [Emphasis hers.]

Personally, I did not have problems with the old patch, and it is installed in my game. But if you would like to help Maxis, now is your chance! Details in her post on TheSims2.com BBS.

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New FreeTime Patch REMOVED!

There's a new patch available for The Sims 2 FreeTime expansion pack, and you can get it at TheSims2.com - Updates. Maybe the Hobby Leaders will give their phones a rest!

Looks like it's been taken down due to installation errors.

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Freebie Friday - The Sims 2 - 6 Wanderlust Road

Today I have a lot for download. I like houses that you can move a new sim into straightaway--and this little bungalow costs only $19k or so. It's fully furnished, but be warned: You must have all the expansions (you don't need the fun packs, though) because, though I used only Maxis content, I have all the packs, and don't know exactly which ones I used items from! Anyway, I hope it's right up your alley, or down your street. Or something.


You can download it here!

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Freebie Friday - The Sims 2 - Shamrock Undies - SimPE Updated

For the upcoming holiday, I bring you Shamrock Undies for Adult Sims, a freebie from me to you once again hosted by the fine people at Mod the Sims 2.
Download it here.
Also, SimPE - The Sims 2 Package Editor has been updated for FreeTime. A brand new version, it's still in the alpha stage, but if you need to make changes in your game right now, you might want to give it a try. I unzombied my zombie sim with it. You can, too!

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Paladin's Place

No, it's not a kid's show--it's a GREAT place to get spiffy free content for The Sims 2. The URL is http://www.simwardrobe.com/ because of a remarkable program he'd made for The Sims that lets you easily change skins and bodies. Now it's chock full of fantastically useful tchotchkes for the Sims 2, my personal favorites being the robots and shelves.

BUT, the best thing he has up right now is his Predestined Hobby Adjuster (look under Sims 2> Objects> Other Objects), which lets you change a sim's favorite hobby with a few clicks. As far as I know, sims can still get a lot out of ANY hobby, whether it's the one they're suited for or not. But this might make it easier to max out that hobby enthusiasm.

(You also might want to check out Paladin's "Bigfoot in a Box". Yes, you. No, I'm not judging. Just sayin'.)


It's not what you think. Those are rainbows.

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Not Enough Free Time (Part 2)

Custom clothes...if you are talented.

Oh, the hobbies! Hobbies to make things, hobbies to break things, hobbies to get more skills! Hobbies to share things, hobbies to wear things, hobbies to pay them bills!

Sewing drapes & clothes in the game seemed really cool to me, so I worked hard on getting Vampira here enough badges to make clothes. She got up to her silver talent badge and has enough enthusiasm for sewing that she gets "in the zone"--a white glow that keeps her focused on her task by slowing her needs decay. As you can see, she learned to make this sexy dress. When you unlock the "custom clothes" ability on the sewing machine (by getting a silver badge), it lets you choose to make something from your custom clothing sets. After you make the clothes, they're in your inventory, and you can set them out and sell them in your OFB (Open for Business) shop or click on them & add them to your wardrobe, like Contessa Kana did. Stupendous!

Many of the hobbies seem like they will be profitable enough to make businesses out of them, if you have OFB. Although I'm not sure how much time I want to spend making drapes. A car lot for a tinkerer might be cool, though. I'll have to give that a shot next. Overall, this xpac seems focused on one main thing: slower decay of needs & friendships, two things that seem to aggravate most players when they want their sims to actually do something other than use the toilet (Yeah, I know The Sims was originally "The Toilet Game." That doesn't mean that's all I want them to do). The Best Friends Forever (BFF) feature, like "The Zone," keeps good friendships from decaying so you don't have to spend as much time on them. I'm not sure if this makes the game more or less realistic--do you spend less time with your true friends, or more time? Hmm...

Anyway, something I didn't mention the last time was that the head of the tinkerer's club, Mr. Humble, appears on your lots to give you a special gift. There are screenshots of this gift in my flickr slideshow for FreeTime--view them, if you dare!

Aside from the new items that are included in FreeTime (which I really enjoy, as I love new items), there are also some new features, like being able to modify the terrain of your neighborhood. They also added Advanced Neighborhood Options (a little house symbol with dots under it that appears middle-screen-ish on your neighborhood screen) that lets you connect neighborhoods from other xpacs. I haven't yet tried either of these features, but they sound pretty good on the surface. Still longing for the day when I can have a text search option for game items. Ah, well. Maybe they'll have it in The Sims 3.

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Not Enough FreeTime (Part 1)

Hobbies That Make Even a Vampire Smile

Years ago, when The Sims was still new, I made a sweet house in the game and filled it with sims. Then I put it on fast forward and let it run overnight. Just to see how they would survive. If you guessed "not well," you were right. I'm still not even sure what happened to some of them as their bodies were never found.

Since then, I've learned to be a lot kinder to my sims. I've come to realize that The Sims (in all its many forms) is a game you play, not an antfarm. If you keep that in mind, you can get a lot of enjoyment from The Sims. If you don't, you are destined to be disappointed. FreeTime packs a lot of enjoyment into $29.95 with just a little disappointment. It gives your sims more variety in their wants and interests, which makes it seem like they are thinking more for themselves. You still have to guide them along to satisfy their wants, but they want more and different things.

(Incidentally, since that FreeTime link above talks about EA's direct download of the game, I'd like to say that there are two things about the direct download not mentioned up front: The first is that you have to have XP or better to download it, and the second is that once the xpac you downloaded is installed, you have to be connected to the internet every time you start up The Sims 2 in order to play.)

Now, because I'm sure I'll probably miss something, I'd like to point out that there's a really good Prima Guide for FreeTime available. And you can read 13 pages of it for free online! Not too shabby. They list the new careers, objects, cheats, all that good stuff in detail. (By the way, I don't make any money from any of the links in this post. Any links are to things I sincerely find helpful.) If you're into free stuff, you can sign up on The Sims 2 message board and ask questions there, at a vibrant and helpful community.

Some of the new things in this pack that I really enjoy are the "Lifetime Aspiration scoring system" and the Secondary Aspirations. Basically you get different points now (in addition to the points you got before for aspiration rewards, like the money tree and such) but these are called "aspiration benefit points." They can give your sims new abilities like sleeping less or eating more or not having to empty their bladders as much. Fun! They can also negotiate for more pay or plead with the social worker if they have the points for it. What I did was take my family with the man-eating plant and give the husband the ability to attract more people to their house. I think if you guessed what would happen to my sims at the beginning this post, you can guess where I am going with this one. If you can't, just imagine that the guests grabbed for the cake and got it! Mmm, cake!


The hobby system is a great way to liven up the old skill ups that sims had to do to grow in their jobs. Now when they read a book, watch tv, or play, they're growing enthusiasm for their hobbies, which is fun. As they grow in enthusiasm in a hobby, they can go to secret lots, unlock new abilities, and even make new things for themselves or others. My only complaint is that right now, every time a sim gains some enthusiasm, they get a phone call from the leader of the hobby club, telling them something useless, like, "I see you gained some enthusiasm!" This==Phone ringing, ringing, ringing! Phone BAD! Hopefully this will change in a patch. Though, right now, you can just throw out your phones. Easy fix.

Some other nice things that are included are songs like "Pocket Full Of Sunshine" by Natasha Bedingfield, which sounds in Simlish (which sounds like mumbling) like, "Ooo, get a pocket get a pocket full of sunshee." I once had a pocket full of sunshee. But it got really soggy and the smell never came out. From now on, I carry my sunshee in the box it comes in. Charlotte Martin's "Keep Me in Your Pocket" is on the playlist, too, which makes for a whole lot of pockets and not much sunshee to go around. Truthfully, I seem to prefer the simlish versions to most of the real versions--the singers seem to put more oomf into them or something because there's no real meaning to get in the way--you place whatever meaning you want on each made-up word. What if real words were like that? We'd all be talking like the poem Jabberwocky. It would be so cool. But probably not much would get done.

(To Be Continued...)

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