Saturday 31 May 2003

Pic of the day: Solitario, king of karaoke. Watch the girls go "Wheeeee!"

The Sims Superstar, Day 1

I admit that my previous entry was full of obvious statements for anyone who has played The Sims, not to mention read a brief preview of Superstar or even looked at the official web site. Today, there is meat.

It is quite possible that this is the "hardest" expansion pack. Not the most irritating, that dubious honor goes to Unleashed (although I guess if you love pets, you may think otherwise). No, I am talking about The Sims becoming a strategy game rather than a doll house. There has been an element of that from the start, but this takes it one level higher. I think only the real strategy player can "win" the Superstar career without cheating. Of course, you can always cheat, and probably should if you are playing alone and not competing with anyone. Then again, some take pleasure in beating the game by the rules. They have a challenge ahead of them.

***

If you don't have Hot Date, don't even consider it. Hot Date introduced a wealth of new social actions and changed some old ones; even the basic nature of friendship and romance was redefined and the two were partly separated. Well, it happens again. The fundamental nature of your relationship with the world will be shaken. Subtly, deceptively subtly, your own attitude will be changed. The game lures you along, until you start to think like a star. Your friendships will never be the same again. Indeed, your friends may not be the same either.

Stars are not like other people. They will not talk to you about common interests, and they will not appreciate you grabbing on them, including handshakes. You cannot tell them jokes or flirt with them. It is literally not possible. They will however give you autographs if asked nicely. When you are a fan and meet a high-level star, that is in fact the only social action available: Ask for autograph. As long as you don't overdo it, you will get them too. But the high-level stars (superstars) will be beyond your reach, walking icons rather than characters.

Stars of slightly lower levels will allow you to stammer out your confession that you are a fan, but that is pretty much it. You can greet them, tell them that you are their greatest fan, and then leave. Not a very satisfying relationship, but at least they will show up in your friends list ... usually with 0 points after a day or two, but hey. You got their number, even if they're not likely to answer.

Aspiring stars will also randomly walk up to you and say something about themselves. If this happens repeatedly over an evening, they may actually still remember you the next day! Keep up the good work; all the other fans do, after all.

And then you take the plunge. You quit your job and call an agent. Kiss your old life goodbye ... stardom waits. Sort of.

***

Before you do this, however, a few words of advice. Don't create a new character and go for stardom. It is best to have an established family with a good supply of cash and items to fill your every need effectively. Don't sleep on the couch and eat cola or salad for dinner. A loving spouse, or kid, or robot is also recommended. The life of a star is hard. But above all, improve your skills first. One of my stars never had a job or a spouse or even a roomie, but is still doing decently, because she bought a used house and went all-out painting and preaching. Creativity is definitely a central skill in music at least, probably acting, I am not sure about modeling. Charisma may also be in there, I am not sure ... I raised charisma first so it has never been a question. But you will also need body skills as you work your way to the top ... performance is harder than it looks. After a few hours you will be worn out and aching.

If you lack creativity, you are so doomed. Learn from other people's errors: As you enter one of the yuppie coops in studio town, you see some confused fan trying to do karaoke or stand-up comedy without the needed skill. You start to pity him before he has even started, as he stammers and clears his throat; and then any bystanders will boo him down. Don't let it happen to you. This is not the way you want to be remembered.

But if you have the necessary skill, pick up the tabloid (the smaller paper, you got two of them now) and call an agent. They will welcome you, but don't stay at home. Call a taxi to studio town, your agent will pay! Once there, feel free to greet the people, but don't expect it to make a difference. Now seek out the karaoke bar or stand-up scene. This is your ticket to fame. If there is no such object on the premises, call the cab again and go elsewhere. (You can select lots with specific services from the top menu before you arrive.)

The more people around, the better. Even if they are not in the room (probably not), they should hear you and come in from the neighboring rooms. Just keep performing. In short order, people should stand before the scene and clap and talk about you. After each performance, collect the tips – typically §10-15 per onlooker. Not enough for a living, perhaps, but it helps. And karaoke is fun. You will be tired when the evening is over, but you have had fun and you got some cash. More to the point, you have been noticed.

(There are other activities available once you get your first half star. If you sing, do a jingle. If you pose, take a picture for the tourist brochures. Confer your manual for a list of what new, more profitable assignments are available at each level. But these are progressively more difficult too. You may want to have fun with the karaoke from time to time before you head home. ^_^)

After your first performance, you get a half star-point (fame point). You are now officially a star, but most people won't particularly bother. Keep singing, though, or standing up, and after a few more performances you will advance to a whole star point. With each advance, check your job screen. Perhaps there are requirements for further advance, such as famous friends or higher skills than you have. You need to fix these things before you can advance, much like in another job.

However, friends are not friends anymore. You need a certain number of fame points among your friends, not a number of friends. Ordinary people are worthless as friends now. They will still fill your social needs, but then again so will a pet. There really is no difference anymore. This is kinda creepy once you think it through. But you probably won't think it through, since there is always something happening, you just get sucked into it.

Getting friendly with the stars is a nightmare. Those that are above your level will at best give you an autograph or accept your compliments, neither of which is likely to raise you to friend status within a lifetime. Check the "who's hot" section of your tabloid for people who are near the bottom, perhaps they will accept your advances. But don't try to treat them like your neighbors. There are other protocols to follow here in the world of the famous. And everybody is so sensitive, you have to proceed with care. Everyone is so busy, they won't stop and wait for your attention.

***

What I recommend for the beginning Superstar player is to create three wannabe stars, each skilled and financially afloat. Make them close friends before they attempt the road to stardom. Then advance them in parallel. That way, when they are all 2-star artists, they will each have 4 stars worth of friends. (Actually you only need 2 stars worth of friends when you have two stars yourself, but it gets worse from there.)

Why before and not after? That is the heart of the matter. You see, when you become a star, people won't react like normal. Even with just a couple stars, when you go to Downtown, people will not talk with you about interests. They will let you talk about yourself, possibly about show business, but they won't get personal. Now the roles are reversed: Random people ask you for autographs, but if you want someone to discuss food or computers with, good luck. Suddenly you realize that you are alone.

Well, not entirely alone. Your old friends are still your friends, if you make the effort to keep the friendship alive. (This won't be easy if you pursue a full time career in show business.) But making new friends is a nightmare. There are fans, and there are rivals. Converting any of them into friends is still above my capabilities. If I find out how to do that, I may come back with more info. For now, take my advice and stock up on friends before you become famous.

Somehow, I guess this might be useful advice for real life too: Stock up on friends while supplies last!