Forum Announcement, Click Here to Read More From EA_Cade.

First experiences with The Sims (20th birthday)

EA_MaiEA_Mai Posts: 1,800 EA Staff (retired)
Tomorrow is a special day for the game that brings us all to these forums - The Sims 20th birthday!

This week we want to invite you to share some memories, stories, and chat about your experiences with the game. Whether you started playing 20 years or just booted up the game today, we are Simmers together, so let's celebrate The Sims!

e44e5cp6woqw.png

We are starting this week off with a trip down memory lane to our first gaming sessions with our little Sims. A time when we were 'noobs' and everything in The Sims universe was new.

What first mistakes, surprises or discoveries do you remember? :smile:

Comments

  • nerdfashionnerdfashion Posts: 5,947 Member
    This mistake just happened today, actually. I just bought Discover University about an hour ago with the sale, and I was enrolling my first sim, but I accidentally had them only take one class! I had to leave without saving and do the entire process over again.
    funny-gifs20.gif

  • ChuChuExpressChuChuExpress Posts: 3,228 Member
    edited February 2020
    Ooh, let me see. My first experience with the sims was when I played TS1 deluxe. Windows 95 PC. I also played TS1 PS2, UrbZ, Sims Bustin' Out, TS2 on DS and PS2...and then I tried out TS2 on PC. My sister let me try it out. Then I got TS3. Most of my Expansion packs and Stuff Packs were digital, except one, Katie Perry's Sweet Treats. That's a physical disk. And later, I got TS4. I have quite a few mistakes, too many to count...

    One experience did shake me a bit. During my Sunset Valley Furystrykar save on TS3, when I was setting up a scene, Rachel Applebee, the sim I was controlling at the time, decided to investigate a strange lightshow outside the house. I couldn't stop it from happening, and before I knew it, Rachel had been abducted by an interstellar interloper. That was not pleasant for me.

    During my Sims 1 sessions, I would deliberately place a fire place in a room, fill it with flammable objects and then tell the unfortunate sims to go into the room. I took away the door and watched the Grim Reaper have his work cut out.
    Post edited by ChuChuExpress on
    e6581e69b0d7d8f9e02cb1e30b50f464959bfb2a.png
    Sims 4 Family: Benjamin, Shine, Princess Roddy, Sophia and Hamish Furystrykar and Shelly Heart. Princess Roddy is my avatar, and he's a boy!
    Let those smiles spread!
  • NikolaiBanksNikolaiBanks Posts: 149 Member
    First time playing The Sims was back when my brother got the game, he had his Sim cooking food or something and when I took over to try out the game for myself, I accidentally let the house burn down. Luckily the fire didn't do too much damage and my bro was able to replace the stove and whatever else was burnt in the fire.
    'Fear not, for I am with you;
    Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
    I will strengthen you,
    Yes, I will help you,
    I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
    Quote from Isaiah 41:10
  • BluegayleBluegayle Posts: 4,175 Member
    edited February 2020
    Mine was somewhat similar to other Simmer's lets play stories.
    Husband left me after 25 years. Had married as a teen and being suddenly single was very scary.

    I stumbled upon the Sims when it came out in 2000 and it has kept me company ever since through all the series.

    It filled in lonely hours, made me laugh and occasionally cry. Seriously when I saw the first baby born in Sims2 I actually had tears.

    Its been a staple in my life which may sound strange except to Simmers of course. Thank you for so many years of laughter, tears, frustration (which usually led to laughter) & joy.

    Happy Anniversary

    I think my first "surprise" was the first time a Sim looked straight at me as if to ask what the heck I was doing. That was in Sims 2 and its never been as "real" as that first time.
    Post edited by Bluegayle on
    "Every child matters. If we fail our children, we are bound to fail our present, our future, faith, cultures, and civilizations as well."
    ZO6GpFg.jpg

    AHQ Champion
  • Felicity1169Felicity1169 Posts: 592 Member
    edited February 2020
    My first Sims game was the Sims Unleashed I loved playing with all the dogs and cats in the neighborhood and thought the raccoon that would steal your trash was really funny. I remember the first big surprise I had was when my sim died, her husband pleaded with the Grim Reaper and she came back as a Zombie!
    I also loved going on vacation I spent way to many hours trying to win tickets so my sims could buy souvenirs.
    Another big surprise was the ending of Sims Bustin Out on Gameboy Advance, I don't want to spoil it but it was a big twist!
  • HoveraelHoverael Posts: 1,230 Member
    edited February 2020
    Started in TS4 the middle of last year. created several sims (Tobias Lancaster, Ryan Jacklin, Sanders Family, Sandra Matthews, Garza-Schwindt, Harlow and others) then settled on a first lot, that lot built in Newcrest in comfy cubby was a starting point down a path of 2.3k hours ingame time. first sim i had to make use of the house lot; Sandra Matthews (sim in my avatar). She originally started as an adult originally but i pushed her age to teenager after realising she didn't have much time to do anything of note and too late to have children of her own.

    I remember first playing it, watching sims wonder past, usually Alex Moyer, Zoe Patel and Summer Holiday wondering around in the base game.
    Several of my sims have become successful in their own right but Sandra as a sim is one i enjoy playing.

    As far as mistakes are concerned? i didn't have that many at all, the game tutorial didn't teach me much at all, and it was trial and error from there on, more trial than error.
  • AprilDawnAprilDawn Posts: 795 Member
    I played Sims 1 some, but Sims 2 came out soon after and I loved it so much (still my favorite)! I started Sims 2 with a single mom and a daughter - Mortimer Goth came storming over one day and starting yelling at the child and I was so puzzled as to why he would do that - it took me a while to figure out she had been looking through the telescope during the day and he did not appreciate being spied on!
    I still play Sims 2, 3, and 4
  • fruitsbasket101fruitsbasket101 Posts: 1,530 Member
    Have told this story a few times on the forums already but my first experience with the sims was with TS1 for PS2. I spent the entire time trying to figure out how to get the baby in to the house (the crib and baby were outside for some reason) and no one could interact with the baby but the child age daughter for some reason so it kept getting taken away.

    I then moved on to TS2 for PS2, UrbZ, Bustin' Out for PS2 & DS, before moving on to Sims Stories as my first PC game. I eventually got TS3(and all the expansion/stuff packs as they came out) and Sims Medieval. Lastly, got TS4 and GTW.
    Have a super fantastic awesome splendid amazing day! -TheQxxn
  • RememberJoyRememberJoy Posts: 1,138 Member
    I started playing when I was 10 or 11 on an old windows 95 we had in the basement. I only ever got 2 expansions for both Sims 1 and 2 and both times they were the pets and vacation ones.
    When Sims 3 came out I bought the base game and World Adventures but than got caught up in college and forgot about it for awhile. When Sims 4 came out I decided to buy all the Sims 3 expansions for a discounted price and played that for a couple years until my computer just couldn't handle the game anymore.
    About that time Vampires and toddlers were coming to Sims 4, so I decided to give it a try. Bought some bundles and haven't looked back.
  • lillibattenberglillibattenberg Posts: 1,279 Member
    I couldn't find the dang stairs when TS4 first came out. My first four or five houses were all bungalows out of noobie necessity.
    Jacob_Banner.png
  • Frn0731Frn0731 Posts: 7,180 Member
    My male sim was gaining weight and try as I might he just got bigger and bigger . Then one day he gave birth to a baby. An alien baby! I was so shocked I didn't think it was possible. At that time I was never on the forums that much so you can just imagine how stunned I was. what a noob. B):*
    Laugh out loud. Often
  • FaberriesFaberries Posts: 1,354 Member
    In 2005, my older sister was gifted the Sims 2, and we were both obsessed with playing it. One time she spent over an hour making a small family consisting of a husband, wife and grandparents.
    The wife became pregnant and some time after she had given birth, her husband died by getting hit by a satellite. His ghost then came back and scares both his wife and grandma to death, so the only one left was the grandfather and the baby. All that happened in less than 30 minutes, and it’s one if my favorite sims related memories :lol: her reaction to the whole thing was hilarious 😆
    Star Wind Flower Sun
  • KimmerKimmer Posts: 2,370 Member
    edited February 2020
    After playing Sims Freeplay on mobile I finally decided to buy Sims game on PC, Sims 4. I've never regretted it. It's been so much fun. :)
    At first I had no idea what to do, for example I failed a lot on romance actions, because I didn't know that I should stop when it's an "awkward encounter". I just continued flirting until my Sim peed in his pants (I didn't notice that his bladder need was on red), became mortified and died of embarrassement. Game over. :D
  • logionlogion Posts: 4,712 Member
    edited February 2020
    Sims 1 and 2 was before I had a decent PC so I played mostly action and adventure games...I never really tried the sims3. I had trouble creating a sim that I liked in that game and I was not very creative back then.
    Then I tried out the sims4 create a sim demo and I ended up really liking it. I bought the sims4 on release and I have played it from time to time.

    I remember when I started playing in Oasis Springs and I think there was a bug in the beginning where my sims lost their job performance, so they ended up losing their jobs all the time so I had to earn money by writing books and doing other things...it was pretty fun actually.

    Other things I remember was if you had a save that was too large, then the game used too much RAM and crashed because it was only 32-bit.
  • NikkihNikkih Posts: 1,758 Member
    The sims 1 was when it started for me I was 7 there was quite a few expansions out when I started, couldn't keep any of my sims alive, house fires, starvation 😂, now at almost 25 I'm still trying to figure it all out hahaha, i love this franchise but I think that the sims 4 is the last one am going to complete and play
  • RainesimsRainesims Posts: 901 Member
    I started playing sims on console starting with SBO/ Urbz and Sims 2, went onto handheld, Urbz on GBA is still an alltime fave. I got onto PC sims with sims 2 and i was completley hooked. I got it for the uni pack and then just went on my way to getting it all. I tried 3 but i couldn't get into it on pc or console but then 4 came along and i hated it at first im not gonna lie but then i revisited it and I fell in love and its now my fave. It deffo the sims game i've invested the most in, I think its because im an adult now and I find more ways to enjoy the game for example i push myself to build better, create sims in CAS better, and its the first sims game that i've started writing stories with <3 i started writing sim stories back in 2016/2017 and took a break and ive recently come back to that, its the only game thats pushed me to create outside of the game, ive recently got into making custom content and poses for the sims 4. Most importantly though, the community, as a kid i could never appreciate forums and whatever but as an adult i love being part of this community and just chatting to other simmers and seeing what other people are making <3 The sims community is one of my fave gaming communities if not my actual fave. Simmers are for the most part just amazing people and i'm thankful to the sims for connecting me to so many creative people! Sims has also been kind of a safety net for me, at my darkest times its always been there as an escape, when i couldn't cope with reality, sims was there for me and i think that's one of the things that makes this game so magical. Its so therapeutic even in my game that has some crazy mods going on its still like snuggling up in a warm blanket everytime i play this game. Im getting soppy over a videogame but for real its not just a video game.. its the Sims . I've cried when sims have died, i've laughed at them for being dumb, and i get way too attached to my sims. My story sims especially they are like my babies. Sometimes the game can be frustrating but i love it and i dont think i'll ever stop loving sims :')
    QWO48ni.jpg

    gallery: RainesimsUwU
  • Bearpal64Bearpal64 Posts: 1,117 Member
    When the Sims 1 first came out I was hanging with my best friend at the time and we were talking about this cool new game that just came out from the makers of SimCity but it was focused on the people and their little lives. We both loved Harvest Moon but this was the game that really really cemented our friendship.

    Sims 2 though that was the game that had both of us hooked for many more years. I still love Sims 2 to this day. OFB and FreeTime were some of the best expansions released for that game. Seasons too. There are lots of things Maxis/Sims Studio can learn from Sims 2 that they can improve and implement in TS4.

    Adding in real life music artists songs but Simlish versions was something to this day I love and I hope it continues.

    Real life brands should be more considerate of choosing though. Things like IKEA and H&M (Sims 2 Stuff Packs) worked because they didn't need to showcase English at all to work and get the concept across.

    Mistakes
    I think TS3 being just so poorly optimized and with TS4 one mistake I feel is a combination of recycled animations /lackluster animations and just neglecting certain age groups over and over again. Take your time. Delay things if needed to give a more fuller rounded experience. Sometimes Sims 4 seems like a step back not a step forward. Oh also limitations. Sometimes it makes sense from a storytelling/world immersion thing but sometimes as a gamer who is given these tools it's baffling to be like why CAN'T I do this? Why won't the game let me?

    Thank you Sims for giving me a franchise where I can have fun telling stories, customizing Sims and building dream homes all without having to shoot people or kill aliens like in other mainstream popular games at the time. 🥰😋🐻🐾💚
  • mspr1ntmspr1nt Posts: 51 Member
    My best friend and I used to play Sims 1 in "shifts" over the weekend. I'd go stay at hers and we'd take turns playing because she only had one computer. We'd play all through the night, waking each other up for our "shift" every four hours or whatever.

    My friend passed away a few years ago, but I always think about how much she'd love little things from The Sims 4 like how mirrors reflect now.
  • GoldmoldarGoldmoldar Posts: 11,966 Member
    edited February 2020
    I had brought an few of the packs of Sims1 when it debuted but sadly I never got around ti installing them and gave them to my niece who was into the sims and I never thought about them until a few years later. The Sims was getting an lot of attention and it was at the end of its developmental stage and got the Sims 1 collection that contained the base game as well as all the packs and I was hooked but I did find it difficult meeting the Sims needs and being this was the first version so one could compare it to anything else even though Maxis had developed SimsTown which was alright and not as complex as the Sims itself. Even with all the difficulty with Sims1it was an blast until I played Sims 2 and ironically I did the same to Sims 2 didn't play it for awhile as I buy my games in bulk and when I loaded Sims 2 I dropped Sims 1 immediately as Sims was 3D and I found myselve addicted to it and the Sims was easier to control their needs and one was more close to the Sims in Sims 2 and stories can told in Sims 2 as it was not as effective in Sims 1. Sims

    2 will always be my favorite even more so than Sims 3 which was very innovative for its time but with all the new features The Sims itself lose a little of it's soul and quirkiness but it was still fun to play. I wish I could say Sims 4 was an blast but I can't as it upstart was full of controversy and less than meaty features and still that way to this day. Sure they allow the player to edit the terrain but that is it for me and my love for the Sims series is waning down. :(
    Omen by HP Intel®️ Core™️ i9- 12900K W/ RGB Liquid Cooler 32GB Nvidia RTX 3080 10Gb ASUS Ultra-Wide 34" Curved Monitor. Omen By HP Intel® Core™ i7-12800HX 32 GB Nvidia 3070 Ti 8 GB 17.3 Screen
  • February11February11 Posts: 12,608 Member
    edited February 2020
    My Stepson gave me Sims 3 for Christmas 2010 after seeing what a bad mayor I was in Sim City. He thought I'd have more fun with it, and the rest is history. I'm addicted. Unfortunately Sims 3 has fallen by the wayside, to a degree, with 12 generations. I only play that out of guilt now and again as I can't let those families be forgotten. After a shaky start with the closed world of Sims 4, I'm even more hooked.
    MLgj4Vx.png
  • SeaDragonSongSeaDragonSong Posts: 2,324 Member
    Gosh, I was... 3? When Sims 1 came out all those years ago. So I was raised on the series and as such don't really remember my "first" experience playing the game. However! I will share the latest experience I had with the complete edition of Sims 1 a couple months ago!

    I'd made a sim, who I'd decided was going to be a wizard with Makin' Magic. She was also in the Circus career if I remember correctly. So I had her do wizard stuff, work on her career, try to keep her alive, and I was doing pretty well at it as she was able to get a boyfriend and I was in the process of trying to convince him to marry her (Oh man, Simmers today don't know how easy they have it :joy:). Anyway, I finally saved up enough wizard coins to buy a dragon egg. When it hatched, it was the golden one. Well, I was spending a lot of time trying to keep my Sim alive and my poor dragon felt neglected and ran away. So I saved up more wizard coins and bought another egg, put the headphones on and off my Sim went to work. WELL... It was her last day of work as the egg hatched into a red dragon, who promptly lit the yard on fire. She got home, and put the fires out and all was well for... maybe 5 seconds before the dragon lit the shower on fire and she ran to put it out, only to die.

    Honestly, that's the first time in a really long time I've had a Sim die (mainly because I haven't stuck with a Sim that long. There was something about her that I came back to over a couple different start ups of the game rather than making a new Sim)
    Story_Banner.png
    Twists In Time And Space (Updated December 2nd 2018. New discord server!)
    Bob Bobson (Updated August 12th 2019)
Sign In or Register to comment.
Return to top