New Supernatural Blog one week before release. This time it's a Q&A Session. (
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Hi Simmers,
SimGuruHydra here! Last week, I had a chance to sit down with Senior Producer Kari St. John for a final Q&A about The Sims 3 Supernatural. I put out a sticky on the forums to see what questions were at the top of your lists and I thank you for sending them through. They helped me frame up a good majority of the questions I asked Kari and I tried to get as many responses as I could.
Here's how the Q&A went:
SimGuruHydra: Hi Kari, thanks for sitting down with me today! We have lots of questions about The Sims 3 Supernatural and are excited to hear what you have to say. I'll get right to it. We're curious about pre-made Sims. Will there be any featured in Moonlight Falls that have appeared in previous games?
Kari St. John: Hello! Thanks for having me, happy to answer our community’s questions. The families of Moonlight Falls are not directly taken from other games, but they do have family ties to several important Sims families. The Goths, Crumplebottoms and Wolffs all have offshoots in Moonlight Falls, to name a few. There are even more connections with the townies that we're hoping our Simmers find!
SimGuruHydra: Does the population control testing cheat turn random Sims into the supernatural Sims we have chosen to create if we decide to incorporate supernatural Sims in our world? What happens when we adjust those population control settings? Will the supernatural Sims in our world turn back to ordinary Sims? What other cheats are available to control the supernatural population?
Kari St. John: Before we can get into the fun stuff, please keep in mind that if you choose to use any of the testing cheats, you are on your own if you encounter technical issues. These cheats are not actively supported by EA Maxis. The 'add' supernatural Sims cheat will pick from the available Sims living in the world and adds the selected supernatural status to them. Using the Population Control Options will disable a supernatural group while a game is in progress, and will stop the game from trying to auto-populate the world with that supernatural type in order to balance the newly set world percentage. The cheat doesn't remove any existing supernatural Sims of that type that are in the world; that’s what the testing cheats are for. Finally, using the 'remove' supernatural Sims cheat will strip the existing Sims in the world of the chosen supernatural type.
SimGuruHydra: Do werewolf packs have to be part of a household or can they be NPCs?
Kari St. John: Werewolves can group with any Sim, including those outside of their household, to make a pack.
SimGuruHydra: Are the amount of rabbit holes in Moonlight Falls the same as in other expansion pack worlds?
Kari St. John: There are very few rabbit holes in Moonlight Falls. We've put a lot of effort into detailing all-new venues such as Aleister’s Elixirs and Sundries (also known as the potion shop), the Red Velvet Lounge and Varg's Tavern. We're very happy with the amount of character and personality we’ve infused into these venues. We really believe that our players will appreciate the new possibilities for exploration, great experiences and exciting stories to tell in these places. We also have outdoor venues such as the Fae Ray Arboretum and Moonlight Point which fit in wonderfully with mysterious Moonlight Falls.
SimGuruHydra: Will the Ambrosia dish from The Sims 3 base game cure zombification?
Kari St. John: Ambrosia is used for ghosts to bring them back to living status. Since zombie Sims are simply cursed, but not dead, Ambrosia does not affect them this way. Zombie Sims need to use a Cure Elixir or Sunlight Charm to bring them back to their normal status. In The Sims 3 Supernatural Limited Edition Expansion Pack, players will receive the exclusive Plants vs. Zombies Peashooter. The Peashooter will sometimes revert zombie Sims, but not every time.
SimGuruHydra: We hear that witches can resurrect Sims and when they do, they return as zombies. Can zombie Sims who have been resurrected be cured with an elixir or spell? Can witches resurrect Sims as living Sims, instead of just coming back as zombies?
Kari St. John: Witches have the innate ability to channel magic and cast spells. When they've reached a high enough wand skill level, they will be able to perform a 'Reanimation Ritual' that will raise a Sim from the dead. The Sim will come back to life as a permanent zombie and yes, once they are resurrected as a zombie, they can then be cured by a Cure Elixir or Sunlight Charm. Witches are only able to resurrect Sims as zombies, but using the correct elixirs and charms witches can then turn those zombies back into living Sims.
SimGuruHydra: Can supernatural Sims keep their identities a secret? Do others know a supernatural Sim from an ordinary Sims? For instance, in The Sims 3 Late Night, Sims would get an unfriendly vampire moodlet if around a vampire.
Kari St. John: Your fellow Sims neighbors in town, both supernatural Sims and ordinary Sims will know that you are a supernatural and what supernatural you are. Just like you can tell what a Sim is by conversing with them, other Sims in town will be able to tell what your supernatural Sim is by interacting with them. Sims with the 'Supernatural Skeptic' trait will avoid supernatural-related venues, such as Varg’s Tavern and the Red Velvet Lounge, and they will have a series of interactions that are impolite towards supernatural Sims. However, Sims who have the 'Supernatural Fan' trait will have special perks when it comes to the paranormal. They will have a bonus in their Alchemy skill and receive a 'Wow, a Supernatural' moodlet when they talk to supernatural Sims. This will increase the more times they talk with supernatural Sims.
SimGuruHydra: Can you build a fence around your lot to keep zombie Sims out?
Kari St. John: During the full moon, zombies can spawn out of anywhere on your lot, with no regard for the location of your fence. If a zombie spawns outside of your fence, then yes, the fence will keep them off your lot. However, if a zombie spawns within the parameters of your fence, I'd prepare a second line of defense.
SimGuruHydra: What about imaginary friends? Are they affected by The Sims 3 Supernatural?
Kari St. John: The Sims 3 Supernatural does not affect imaginary Sims.
SimGuruHydra: Will children inherit the same werewolf form as their parents? Normally facial structure, hair color and eye color are passed down. Will a child’s features be a mash-up of the parents?
Kari St. John: Yes, a werewolf child of two werewolf parents will take on the genetics of those two parents, the same way a child would of two ordinary Sims parents would.
SimGuruHydra: One last question. We loved seeing Argus' awesome mansion in the Producer Walkthrough video last week. Can we expect that mansion to come in The Sims 3 Supernatural? If not, will it be available on the exchange?
Video link Kati St. John: Yes, Argus's mansion was pretty awesome, wasn't it?
It's not included in The Sims 3 Supernatural Expansion Pack, but starting on September 4th (the day the game launches!), Argus's mansion can be downloaded from The Sims 3 exchange and be added to Moonlight Falls, or any other world with enough room for the lot (the mansion is pretty big). We're providing two packages, one with the household and one without. Please note that without The Sims 3 Supernatural, the mansion will be missing specific objects and Sim attributes, so if you plan to download this mansion, we recommend getting the full experience by having The Sims 3 Supernatural installed!
Thanks for reading our Q&A! This Friday, August 31st, SimGuruMegan will be on Twitter taking your questions live from 10:00-11:00 AM PST. Remember to @reply to us with your question with the tag #TS3Supernatural and we'll try to get to as many of your questions as we can. September 4th is just around the corner and we can't wait for you all to experience The Sims 3 Supernatural for yourselves.
Thanks a lot!
