The Sims 2: Open for Business
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| The Sims 2: Open for Business | |
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| Developer(s) | Maxis |
| Publisher(s) | EA Games |
| Designer(s) | Will Wright |
| Engine | Custom |
| Latest version | 1.3.0.280 |
| Release date(s) | Windows NA March 2, 2006 EU March 3, 2006 Mac OS X |
| Genre(s) | Life simulation game God game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: T OFLC: M PEGI: 12+ |
| Platform(s) | Mac OS X |
| Media | CD |
| System requirements | Windows[1]
Mac OS X[2] |
| Input | Keyboard Mouse |
The Sims 2: Open for Business is the third expansion pack for The Sims 2, released on March 3, 2006, which allows Sims to run a home or community lot based business. Aspyr released a port of the game for Mac OS X on September 4th, 2006.
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[edit] Description
The Sims 2: Open for Business adds the ability for Sims to own and operate businesses, either on their own home lot or on purchased community lots. Several new gameplay features are added that relate to businesses, including a new "Talent Badge" skill system, the ability to craft new items from specialized workbenches and a "perk" system for business owners.
Like the previous two expansion packs, Open for Business introduces a new expansion neighborhood: a shopping district, meant to represent the main street of the area. Sim-owned businesses are not restricted to the shopping district, and may be opened in the base neighborhood or in the nightlife destination expansion neighborhood introduced in The Sims 2: Nightlife, though the game manual suggests that shopping district lots are more expensive and have higher foot traffic.
[edit] New additions
[edit] Changes to the main game
The main change to the core game introduced by Open for Business is a new neighborhood type - the Shopping District, the default one being named Bluewater Village. A number of Sims live here, such as a toymaking family, a woman who owns a home-based flower shop, a family bakery, and a rich tycoon who owns a nightclub and an electronics shop.
Community lots are made more flexible now, removing many of the gameplay restrictions that were present on them in the original game. Players can now save the game while their Sims are visiting community lots. Reloading their household automatically takes the player to the community lot where the Sims are located. The downside of this ability is that Sims can now die on community lots, but only on ones that the player controls.
Like the previous expansions, new Wants and Fears and interactions were added, including a new Lifetime Want and several new interactions for children. Some changes to items from the base game are also present, for example, doors are now lockable, to allow only one Sim, their whole family and/or their employees entrance.
Several features from Nightlife and University, such as turn ons and turn offs, are available to players without those expansion packs.
[edit] Running businesses
The entire new concept of running businesses is the game's main new feature, and a new direction for The Sims, as it now includes elements of a tycoon game.
New features related to the business concept/mode are:
- A Sim can own multiple businesses and hire managers to allow them to generate income in the owner's absence.
- Income can be generated in three different ways: sell other Sims items (either crafted or purchased from the buy catalog), charge them to use an item (such as a salon chair) or charge them admission to the lot by the hour using a ticket machine.
- When selling items, they can purchase and sell on any item from the Buy Mode catalog, such as toilets and teddy bears.
- Sims' businesses are able to sell whatever they want in the game world.
- Sims can run a home business or purchase any community lot, provided it is not already owned by another Sim.
- Customisable restaurant menus, allowing Sims to run anything from a burger joint to a gourmet restaurant.
- Players are able to change the layout of the store to best attract browsers, deliver friendly service to loyal customers, and charm high-maintenance shoppers.
- Sims can hire new staff as their business grows, though some will inevitably "slack off". Employees' wages are adjustable, as are their positions in the store.
- All Sims in the same household as the business owner automatically become their employees.
- Sims are able to earn talent badges by practicing corresponding skills, such as earning a Sales badge by attempting to make sales (regardless of their success). Badges also allow Sims to use more advanced social skills (such as Dazzle) on their customers.
- As their business rank rises through increasing customer loyalty, Sims may unlock perks to improve earnings, develop new social skills, reduce the cost of wholesale purchases, and boost their social standing. While these perks are not hereditary, Sims can mentor their family members in skill-based perks.
- Sims can select a mascot for their business, including knights, ninjas, divers, gorillas, and (in pre-ordered copies of the game) chickens. Each mascot has its own uniform and giant sculpture for decoration.
- Undercover reviewers will occasionally visit each business, posing as customers. A reviewer will award the business a score based on their enjoyment during their visit, increasing or decreasing customer traffic accordingly. Truly impressive businesses may be named "The Best Of The Best".
- Teenage Sims are able to work, manage and own stores.
- Children can start mini-businesses: lemonade stands
- The player may determine when a Sim's business is opened or closed, either by manually controlling a sign on the door or by having the store automatically open only when the player visits it.
- Businesses may be freely transferred between family members, and are passed on through the family when a Sim dies.
[edit] Around the house
- Sims are able to craft new items, including toys, flower arrangements or robots. These items can be sold, and Sims' ability to build them increases over time.
- The game features over around 125 new items, including display cases (for item), a beauty salon chair, a toy workbench, a floral station, a new cash register, mission furniture, pet bricks, and items aimed specifically at younger Sims.
- New foods include pies and cheesecake, which, if eaten by a pregnant Sim, will almost certainly result in the birth of twins.
- For Robots, each has a backfire that could make living in the house harder. Some of the handcrafted toys have a backfire as well.
- Servo, a popular robot from the Livin' Large expansion pack for the original Sims, requires a gold robot badge for a Sim to make him/her (The player can set the gender when they instruct a Sim to turn it on for the first time). Servo is now a part of the family, with its own motives (Power, which can be recharged in the day outside, and fun, social, and environment, which work as normal), wants and fears, while its aspiration and personality are the same as its creator. Servo can perform any romantic interaction (except try for baby, although it has the option to adopt). Servos have full cooking, cleaning and mechanical skills (all other skills are the same as the creator's) and a random set of talent badges that sims do not have. Servos do not age, when they "die" they backfire - when Servos backfire, they run around dirtying the house and shocking Sims; this may result in death of Sims on the lot, controllable or visiting. Servos can, however, be killed; the Cowplant (from the University Expansion), Satellites (through using the 'Watch Clouds' or 'Stargaze' actions) and Elevators plummeting can all kill a Servo, as it causes instant death, rather than relying on motive decay. Servos are initialized with full cooking, mechanical and cleaning skills.
- In addition to Servo, the game adds five other robots:
- Toy robots have no special functionality. If made correctly it will be a raise of fun for children to adults. If made wrong, or failed it will try and attack the person playing with it.
- HydroBots water plants and extinguish fires. When broken, the robot will spray water everywhere.
- CleanBots clean floors, and when broken, the robot will spread filth.
- The SentryBot delivers an electric shock from a Tazer in the top of the robot to anyone who attempts to steal household objects (including newspapers) or kick things over. If the robot breaks, it will shock random people, which may result in death.
- The MunchieBot fetches take-out, which costs as much as having it delivered but is faster. When it's broken, the bot will leave the lot and bring back dirty dishes.
[edit] Architecture
- Open For Business adds Elevators to the game. Elevators must be repaired if broken, or Sims may plummet to their deaths when riding them. Sims can also "WooHoo" in elevators-- though doing so dramatically increases their chances of causing a fatal mishap.
- Domed, conical and octagonal roofs in different sizes are now available.
- Players may now build split-level floors, treated as a single surface.
- Awnings, which are constructed like decks and foundations, were also introduced in Open For Business.
- The game now features new windows, doors, floors and wall coverings.
- Apart from the new doors, they may now also be locked by a home or business owner, to either; the selected sim, family or employees only.
[edit] Music
A new musical genre titled New Wave is included, along with its own speaker. Major bands from the 80s each contributed one of their major hits re-recorded in Simlish. In particular, the game features:
- Depeche Mode with "Suffer Well"
- Kajagoogoo with "Too Shy"
- Howard Jones with "Things Can Only Get Better"
- The Epoxies with "Synthesized"
Also, a new station known as Shopping has been included, which features music from The Sims.
[edit] Bugs and glitches
Many bugs and glitches have been reported for Open For Business by The Sims 2 Community. These include:
- Business Lots disappearing when going to the neighborhood screen.
- Stereo in a sims car not turning off when 'turn stereo off' action is clicked. (only occurs with 'new wave' genre of music).
- When in cars, the save button becomes inoperable when trying to leave a community lot.
- There was a rumor that the sub-routine for making a pregnant sim have twins when she eats cheesecake was not working properly. This rumor has since been disproved. The eating of cheesecake by a pregnant sim causes the chance of twins to be raised near 100%; therefore, feeding cheesecake to a pregnant sim will almost always result in the birth of twins.
Maxis are aware of these problems and are dealing with them by creating a new OFB patch for download. The version 1.3 patch, which addresses some of these issues, is available here.
[edit] Progress
The game was unofficially announced with its present name September 13, 2005 on the insert for the The Sims 2: Nightlife CD-ROM case. The name was announced officially two months later.
The expansion pack went gold (the master CD set was made) on February 15 and was shipped to retailers on February 28 with an official consumer release date of March 2. EB Games began selling the expansion pack on March 1.
[edit] Trivia
- The game's new radio channel, Shopping, allows the player listen to Buy Mode music from The Sims.
- Upon registering the game, some players received a tip from EA regarding the medicinal powers of cheesecake in the game, referring to the fact that eating cheesecake (introduced as a dessert in Open for Business) greatly increases the probability of giving birth to twins.
- "Bluewater Village" is named after the Bluewater shopping center in England with the same name.
- "Papaya Regime", a pre-made store/community lot in Bluewater Village, is a parody of the retail chain Banana Republic.
- "Cold Issue", a premade store in Bluewater Village, is a parody of the retail chain Hot Topic
- This expansion is known as "Funky Business" in Italy.
- In Israel the game is translated "סימס 2 עושים עסקים" which means "The Sims 2: Making Businesses".
[edit] External links
[edit] Resources
- The Sims 2 at MobyGames
- The Sims 2 website directory at the Open Directory Project
- Sims 2 Bug Tracker
| The Sims series (PC) |
|---|
| The Sims |
| Expansion packs Livin' Large | House Party | Hot Date | Vacation | Unleashed | Superstar | Makin' Magic |
| The Sims 2 |
| Expansion packs University | Nightlife | Open for Business | Pets | Seasons |
| Stuff packs Holiday Party Pack | Family Fun Stuff | Glamour Life Stuff | Happy Holiday Stuff |
| Related topic List of cultural references in The Sims 2 |
| The Sims Stories |
| Console ports and spinoffs |
| The Sims Online (PC) | The Sims | Bustin' Out | The Urbz | The Sims 2 | The Sims 2: Pets | The Sims Wii |
| Miscellaneous topics |
| Sim | Simlish | List of pre-made characters | List of NPCs | Simoleon | SimNation |
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