________________________________________________________________________________

                                                                oo,o,
                                                     ,o,       ,o,,
                           ,       ,,,             ooooo,,    ooo
                      oooo,,o     oo,,oo        ,ooo,   oo,, ,oo
                   oooooooooo    oooooooo     ,oooo,,,,,,,oo,,oo,
                oooooooooooooo   oooooooo    oo,   ooo,,o   o,, ,
              ,oooooooooooooo,   ,oooooo  ooo,     oooooo    ,oo
            ooooooooooo                      ,o,   ,o,,oo       ooo
            ooooooooo,           ,oooooo     ooo,           oo,   ,     ,ooo,o,
            oooooooo,            ,oooooo     oooo          ooo,       ooooooooo,
            ooooooooo            ,oooooo     ooooo        ooooo     ooooooooo,
            oooooooooo           ,oooooo     oooooo      oooooo,   oooooo,
            ,oooooooo,,          ,oooooo    ,oooooo      ooooooo   ooooo,
              oooooooo,o,        ,oooooo    oooooooo    oooooooo   ooooo,
   T H E       ,oooooooo,o       ,oooooo    oooooooo,  ooooooooo   oooooo,
                ,oooooooooo,     ,oooooo   ,ooooooooo,oooooooooo    ,oooooo,
                  ,oooooooo,o    ,oooooo   ooooooooo,,oooooooooo,     oooooo,
                    ,ooooooooo,  ,oooooo  ,oooooooooooooooooooooo       ooooo,o,
                      ooooooooo  ,oooooo  ooooooooooooooooooooooo,       ooooooo
                      ooooooooo  ,oooooo  ooooooooooooooooooooooo,       ooooooo
                      ooooooooo  ,oooooo ,oooooooooooooooooooooooo      oooooooo
                    oooooooooo,  ,oooooo oooooooo oooooooo ooooooo,ooooooooooo,
                ,oooooooooooo,   ,oooooo ooooooo, ,oooooo  oooooooo oooooooo,
            oooooooooooooooo,    ,oooooo ooooooo   oooooo  ,ooooooo  oooo
             ooooooooooooo               oooooo,   ooooo    ooooooo
              ,ooooooo,                 ,oooooo     ooo,    ooooooo
                                        ooooooo              oooooo,
________________________________________________________________________________


                                  The Sims

                             The Complete Guide
                            Version 4.9 (6-8-00)

                    by Dan Simpson (manymoose@hotmail.com)


                                Email Policy:
                                
         If you are going to email me about this game, please put
         The Sims as your email subject as well as the version number
         that you are looking at.  So your subject line should read "The Sims
         (4.9)" or just "Sims, 4.9" or some such.  Also please realize
         that I am not hiding cheats or any other information, i.e.
         everything I know about The Sims is in this guide.

         If you see any mistakes, or have anything that you want to add
         please email me!  I will, of course, give you full credit for
         your addition, and be eternally grateful to you.

         Before emailing me with a question, be sure to check out the
         Frequently Asked Questions section.


                              _______________
.--------------------========= N  O  T  E  S =========-------------------------.
|                                                               |
| The most recent version of this FAQ can be found at:                         |
|    http://www.gamefaqs.com/                                                  |
|    http://www.cheatcc.com/                                                   |
|    http://www.gamewinners.com/                                               |
|                                                                              |
| Den nyeste norske versjonen kan finnes p:                                   |
|    http://www.danielthesim.cjb.net                                           |
|                                                                              |
| La versione Italiana della mia FAQ si trova a                                |                                                                              |
|    http://www.nonsologiochi.it/                                              |
|                                                                              |
| If you wish to translate this FAQ into another language, just email me       |
| telling me about it, and where it will be located (the URL).  You still have |
| to give me credit for writing the FAQ, though.                               |
|                                                                              |
| In case you cared, The Sims has broken the SimCity 3000 sales record for the |
| first month of sales.  SimCity 3000 went on to be the best grossing game of  |
| 1999 (it didn't sell the most copies, RollerCoaster Tycoon did that, SC3K    |
| simply pulled in more dollars due to a higher cost-per-sale average), so we  |
| can safely assume that The Sims will be one of the top games of 2000!  It    |
| already sold 1 Million copies!  If you haven't bought it yet, what are you   |
| waiting for?                                                                 |
|                                                                              |
| There is also now an Expansion Pack planned for the Sims!  Check out section |
| ii. Information on the Upcoming Add-On, Livin' Large for any and all info    |
| on the Expansion Pack.                                                       |
|                                                                              |
| Be sure to check http://www.thesims.com/ every Thursday for a game update!   |
|                                                                              |
| Updates so far:                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|       Cuckoo Clock                                                           |
|       Moose Head Decoration                                                  |
|       5 New Skins                                                            |
|       5 New Houses                                                           |
|       Wall Lights                                                            |
|       Slot Machine                                                           |
|       Guinea Pig (Pet)                                                       |
|         Note:  With the Guinea Pig, if you fail to keep its cage clean, your |
|                Sim may catch a disease from it!                              |
|       New Plants                                                             |
|       New "Physical" Skins                                                   |
|       "Elwood" Skin                                                          |
|       MTV Skins                                                              |
|       Topiaries (Hedge Animals and such)                                     |
|       Flowerbeds                                                             |
|       Jukebox (actually at http://www.rankit.com/sims/simsoffer2.html)       |
|       The White House                                                        |
|       Two New Trashcans                                                      |
|       Glowing Flamingo                                                       |
|                                                                              |
|       AND                                                                    |
|                                                                              |
|       A complete Game upgrade to The Sims version 1.1!                       |
|                                                                              |
| This FAQ looks best in Courier New at about 9 points.                        |
|                                                                              |
| This Document is Copyright 2000 by Dan Simpson                               |
| The Sims is Copyright 2000 by Electronic Arts                                |
|                                                                              |
| I am not affiliated with Maxis, Electronic Arts, or anyone who had anything  |
| to do with the creation of this game.  This FAQ may be posted on any site so |
| long as NOTHING IS CHANGED and you EMAIL ME telling me that you are posting  |
| it.  You may not charge for, or in any way profit from this FAQ.             |
'--------------------=================================-------------------------'

__________________
What's New in 4.9:

  - Created section 11.8) Speeding up your Sim (thanks to broadstrong)
  - Added a lot of little additions all over the FAQ from broadstrong
  - Some other small changes

  For a complete Version History, check out the Final Words Section at the end
  of the FAQ.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  i.)    What is The Sims?
  ii.)   Information on the Upcoming Add-On, Livin' Large

  1.)    Getting Acquainted
         1.1)   Understanding Your Sims
                1.1.1)   What a Sim Wants/Needs
                1.1.2)   Why A Sim Does What He Does
  2.)    Creating a Family
             a.)  Creating a Sim
             b.)  Of Neatness and Maids
         2.1)   The Bachelor Sim
                2.1.1)   The Bachelor Gets Married
         2.2)   The Full House (8 Sims)
  3.)    Building a House
         3.1)   Building a Better House
         3.2)   Who Needs Walls?
         3.3)   Housebuilding, Especially on a Budget
  4.)    Furnishing a House
             a.)  Lighting and Lamps
             b.)  Decorations
         4.1)   Cooking (or, a Meal fit for a Sim!)
                4.1.1)   Food Strategies
         4.2)   Room Rating
         4.3)   Alternative to Alarm Clocks
         4.4)   Who Needs a Trashcan?
         4.5)   Sims' Interaction With Objects
         4.6)   Moving Trash Yourself
         4.7)   The "Cluster" Method
  5.)    Of Friends and Lovers
             a.)  Socializing
             b.)  Marriage and Moving In
         5.1)   Befriending Mean Sims
         5.2)   Carrying on Multiple Romances
         5.3)   Maintaining Relationships the Easy Way
         5.4)   Sending your Sim Out of the House!
         5.5)   Creating Friends the Old Fashioned Way
         5.6)   How to Befriend SimKids
         5.7)   Sim Personalities and Compatibilities
         5.8)   Getting the Desired Interaction
  6.)    Working (and Not)
             a.)  Quitting
             b.)  Job Events
         6.1)   The Jobs Chart (a.k.a. the Career Paths)
                6.1.1)   Alternate Job Chart
         6.2)   Abusing the Carpool
                6.2.1)   Early Morning Social Call (while Abusing the Carpool no
                         less!)
         6.3)   Quitting for Fun and Profit
                6.3.1)   Job Hopping Analysis
         6.4)   Job "Shifts"
  7.)    Running an Efficient Household
         7.1)   Working the Pause
  8.)    Expanding the House
         8.1)   Building that Second Story
                8.1.1)   The "Flying" Second Story
                8.1.2)   The Balcony
  9.)    Babies and Children
                9.0.1)   Baby Tips
         9.1)   Children and School
         9.2)   What Kids Do
  10.)   Everything Else in the Neighborhood
         10.1)  Death and Ghosts
         10.2)  Did you Know?
  11.)   Cheats & Tricks
         11.1)  Deleting Trash (and Bills too!)
         11.2)  Paying only Every Other Bill
         11.3)  The Newbie Trick
         11.4)  Washing Dishes Faster
         11.5)  Deleting your Characters, and resetting their Mood
         11.6)  How to Max out all the Personality Stats
         11.7)  Starting a Sim with random Job Stats
         11.8)  Speeding up your Sim
  12.)   Customizing Your Game
         12.1)  Changing the Radio Station Music
         12.2)  Skins
                12.2.1)   The "Nude" Patch
         12.3)  Setting up Multiple Neighborhoods
         12.4)  Download Surprises
         12.5)  Playing Without the Sims CD
  13.)   Known Bugs
  14.)   Getting the Most from "The Sims"
  15.)   Wish List

  Frequently Asked Questions

  Final Words...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i. What is The Sims?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  The Sims, simply put, is the People Simulator from the creator of SimCity.
  So, what is a People Simulator?  Well, you get to run the lives of everyone
  in a neighborhood (not all at once, of course).  Taking on one "family" at a
  time, you try to guide them to success in life, love, and the workplace.  Left
  to their own devices, the Sims tend to simply tread water (i.e. they live
  without a goal), and that is where you come in.  I like to think of the player
  as the Sims' ambition, their goals in life, if you will.  You are that little
  voice in their head that tells them to study Mechanics, or to take a shower,
  in order to get that promotion.  Without you, their ambition, the Sims
  will tend to lounge around, fulfilling only their most immediate desire,
  without any eye on the future.

  Sim (noun) :  A simulated person in a Maxis game.  Ex:  The Sim went to
                SimCity to buy a bagel.

  Updates to The Sims:

    There are several new downloads available at the Official Site
    (www.thesims.com of course!).  These aren't any great Patches, but are some
    neat new objects and skins.  Maxis promises that every Thursday that they
    will have some cool new thing on the site, and therefore every Thursday is
    called SimDay.  So far they have had 9 downloads:  a Slot Machine, a Cuckoo
    Clock, a Moose Head, 5 Warrior Skins, 5 Houses, New Plants, Wall Lights,
    new Physical Skins, "Elwood" Skin, MTV Skins, Topiaries, Flowerbeds, a
    Guinea Pig, the White House, Two New Trashcans, a Glowing Flamingo and a
    Jukebox.

  Mini-Review:

    This is the first time a review of mine will be found in my FAQ.  I just
    felt that I needed to express my opinions on the game in a more
    editorialized fashion than the normal FAQ sections allow.

    I have been looking forward to The Sims since I heard about it back in
    November.  I couldn't quite put my finger on why this game sounded good to
    me, but I was certainly intrigued.  Controlling people's lives?  Sounded
    (strangely) like fun.

    After having played it non-stop since I bought the game, I can sum up my
    experience in one sentence:  One of the most strangely addicting and
    compelling games I have ever played.  I haven't played a game this much
    since Rollercoaster Tycoon, and that was back in April '99.  That's almost
    a year.  I have stayed up many a night until 1 or 2 am, and only going to
    sleep then so that I could get up the next day and play some MORE Sims!

    In The Sims you take control of a family of Sims and try to guide them
    through life.  Along the way you develop friendships, work your way up the
    career ladder at work, and try to keep your Sims fed and happy.  You can
    sit back and watch the Sims interact with each other, or you can take a more
    active hand and FORCE them to do your bidding.  You can even shut off their
    Free Will.

    Personal interactions between the Sims is often the most amusing part of the
    game.  Watch as someone will shoo another Sim out of the bathroom so he can
    take a leak.  Or as a Sim attempts to give another Sim a back rub, but is
    pushed away.  Then there are always the Sims who like each other... a lot,
    and start getting passionate.

    I also really enjoy the differences between the Sims.  One may be very neat,
    and like to clean up messes, and another may be extremely mean, and prone to
    get into fights.  Very interesting variety.

    All in all I really enjoyed this game, and give it a 9.5.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ii.)   Information on the Upcoming Add-On, Livin' Large
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Information here taken from the Adrenaline Vault (http://www.avault.com/)

  Here is a short list of what is going to be in the Upcoming Add-On to The
  Sims, The Sims: Livin' Large.  The Expansion Pack will be released sometime
  in the fall.

  Dozens of new situations and objects:

    Alien abductions
    Roach infestations
    A chemistry set
    Genie in a lantern
    Fortune telling crystal ball
    Exploding garden gnome
    Holiday decorations

  Five new career paths featuring 50 new jobs:

    Musician:       subway musician, piano tuner, wedding singer, lounge singer
                    and more
    Sloth:          golf caddy, convenience store cashier, lifeguard and more
    Paranormal:     Tarot card reader, UFO investigator and more
    Journalism:     game reviewer, weatherman, TV show host and more
    Game industry:  beta tester, game designer, programmer and more

  New architecture and decor:

    Castle: Build the perfect creepy setting for the neighborhood mad scientist
    Vegas:  Outmoded but not cheap aesthetic, such as clashing colors and odd
            decor
    Retro:  A revival of the 50s-60s "mod" craze, upscale and chic, with
            graceful curves and a minimum of ornamentation

  The next information here came from Computer Gaming World, courtesy of Joseph
  Peitler. (Computer Gaming World issue 192, July 2000, in the read.me section,
  there is an article about the Sims Expansion Pack, titled THE SIMS: LIVIN'
  LARGE.  Here are some items that MIGHT appear in the game coming out in the
  Fall.)

    New Career Tracks:
    HACKER (from beta-tester to venture capitalist)
    MUSICIAN (starting from subway singer)
    PARANORMAL
    JOURNALISM
    SLACKER (Golf caddies and 7-11 clerks)

    New objects that have deeper repercussions:
    - An antique lamp that inhabits a genie (but be careful, wishes can backfire
      if you get stuck with an incompetent mystical being)
    - A new workbench to make gnomes (but a low mechanical skill will result in
      lawn ornamentation that basically functions as a proximity mine)
    - A crystal ball (to predict a sim's future)
    - A voodoo doll (to torment other sims)

    New NPC characters:
    - Space aliens (that can abducts sims)
    - A Tragic Clown (who shows up and perform disastrous tricks and never
      leaves)
    - The Grim Reaper (who you can bargain with for the life of your perished
      Sim)

    New architecture and decor:
    - Castle-setting (for mad scientists experimenting with the new,
      personality-altering chemistry set)
    - A garish Vegas-collection
    - Sleek retro 50's and 60's line


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Getting Acquainted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Welcome to the crazy world of The Sims.  I'm assuming that you have gone
  through the first Tutorial, and if not, then you probably should.  It teaches
  you all of the basics of the Sims and their needs.  Once you have finished
  with that little tutorial, save it and go back to the Neighborhood.

    Note:  There is a neat little trick that one can do with the Tutorial, check
           out section 11.3 The Newbie Trick for details.

    Note:  There is only one neighborhood!  Therefore there is also only one
           Save Slot.  Of course, there are lots of houses in the neighborhood,
           so do you really need more than one save slot?

  The first thing you should know, is that you control the entire neighborhood.
  Not at the same time, but one house at a time.  When you aren't directly
  controlling a house, NOTHING HAPPENS THERE.  It's like they are in stasis.
  They can be called over to your current house (assuming you've met them), but
  they won't actually do anything.  They'll be exactly as you left them when you
  go back to them.  So, if you play one house, then switch to another, then
  switch back to the first, it will be as if nothing has happened.  If house 1
  was eating breakfast, they'll still be doing that when you get back.

    Note:  There is ONE exception to the "nothing happens while you're away"
           rule.  And that is Relationships.  If you have the Sims in your
           current house flirt with the Sims from the other house and their
           relationship improves, then that will carry over.

  Another thing to know at the Neighborhood level is that the people you put in
  the neighborhood are the only ones you can be friends with.  That is, there
  are no "random Sims" wandering about.  Since your Sims require the friendships
  of lots of other Sims (some careers require that you have lots of friends)that
  means that you will have to work on the Neighborhood as a whole, rather than
  single-mindedly working one house. (more on this in section 5. Of Friends and
  Lovers)

    Free Will:  A quick little note here on Free Will.  You CAN turn free will
                off if you'd like to take full control of the Sims.  With only
                one or two Sims under your command this is an easy thing to do.
                However, once you get up to 5 to 8 Sims, then it can get very
                difficult to control all of their separate actions at once.
                Free Will is useful to some extent--the Sims will do things that
                are quite beneficial to themselves, such as cleaning up the
                house, or talking to the neighbor.  Although you should know
                that the Sims aren't very efficient in what they choose to do.
                Suppose that you need to improve both Hygiene and Comfort.  The
                best choice (if you have the Time) is a bath.  Well maybe the
                Sim wants a shower.  Or what if the Sim takes the bath just as
                the carpool pulls up.  Therefore you can't totally give over to
                free will.  But neither should you destroy it and control their
                every move.

                Sims WILL ignore your commands if what you're telling them to
                do seems contrary to what they need most.  A starving man won't
                go play basketball (or at least, is far less likely to!).

  Well on we go!  Click on the Create a Family button to get things going.
  (You could, of course, play the Goths, or the Newbies, but you will need to
  create a new family to start filling in the Neighborhood)

  The following subsections deals with the Sims themselves, and why they do the
  things that they do.

    Note:  Throughout this FAQ I often refer to Sims as "he" or "him".  This is
           a fairly arbitrary choice of gender, basically because I myself am
           male.  This is not because all Sims are male, I just refer to them
           that way.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.1  Understanding Your Sims
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Even if you don't have Freewill turned on (and you don't HAVE to, check the
  Game Options) you should understand a few things about your Sims.  What they
  like, why they like it, etc.  For example, why does a Sim choose what they
  do on their own?  Why do they stop doing it when they do?

  In the first subsection we'll talk about the 8 motives (or as I prefer to call
  them, Needs) and their effect on your Sim, then in the next subsection we'll
  talk about the reasons behind your Sim's actions, and how to better control
  them.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.1.1  What a Sim Wants/Needs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Each Sim has 8 Needs that constantly need to be met.  And at most you can
  satisfy 2 or 3 needs at a time.

    Note:  The Hot Tub CAN satisfy up to 4 needs at a time, depending on whether
           there's more than one person in the Hot Tub.  Also, Sims will stay
           in the Hot Tub until all 4 of those needs are filled. (these Needs
           are Hygiene, Comfort, Fun, and if someone else is in with them,
           Social)
                                                                                
  Also realize that the needs are weighted differently.  That is, Hunger counts 
  for more than Room does, although both count when computing mood.  So, your   
  Sim will try to satisfy Needs based on the most serious Need first, which     
  may not be the Need that needs the most work done on it.                      
                                                                                
  The Needs: (in no particular order)                                           
                                                                                
    Hunger -- fairly self-explanatory.  Satisfying hunger can be done mostly at 
              the fridge.  In a pinch you can also call the Pizza delivery guy  
              (under Services on your phone), but that isn't nearly so          
              satisfying as a good home cooked meal.
                                                                                
              The following factors go into how satisfying, and therefore how   
              much of the Hunger Need is filled, a meal is:                     
                                                                                
                - The Type of Fridge you have, the better the more satisfying   
                  the meal.                                                     
                - The Type of Preparation surface used.  A food processor here  
                  is best, followed by a bare counter, then by using the surface
                  on a dishwasher/garbage compactor.  So don't count on the     
                  surface of the dishwasher, as it makes less appealing meals.  
                - The type of cooking implement used, again the better the      
                  equipment, then the better the meal will be.                  
                - And the skill of the cook comes into play here.  The more     
                  cooking skill points your Sim has, the better the meal.       
                                                                                
              If you have the best in all 4 of the above categories, then you   
              can and should let your hunger rating drop lower than you would   
              if you didn't.  Otherwise you are wasting all those nutritional   
              points by eating a great meal when you only needed a good one.    
                                                                                
              For more information check out section 4.1  Cooking (or a Meal    
              fit for a Sim).                                                   
                                                                                
    Room --   How appealing the room you are in is.  This is covered in depth   
              in section 4.2  The Room Rating.                                  
                                                                                
    Social -- Sims are social creatures, and need companionship.  Some Sims     
              (the High Outgoing Sims) need Social more than others.  (i.e.     
              their Social rating will drop faster than the less outgoing Sims)
              The "High Level" interactions, kissing, hugging, etc., have a     
              better effect on this than merely talking.                        
                                                                                
              The best way to keep Social satisfied is to socialize at least    
              once a day.  Work your way up on other Sims relationship charts,  
              dance with them, tell jokes, etc.  Do that and you should be just 
              fine.                                                             
                                                                                
    Bladder - Just use the toilet before this one hits Pure Red (empty) or you  
              might pee on the floor.  Not only that, but having this little    
              "accident" cuts into their other Needs too, such as Hygiene.      
              Your sims will need to "use the facilities" after drinking coffee 
              or eating a meal.                                                 
                                                                                
                Note:  Non-neat Sims won't flush automatically after using the  
                       toilet, so you will have to make sure that they do it,   
                       or the toilet could clog up.                             
                                                                                
    Energy -- Two ways to get Energy up, sleep, and Coffee.  Sleep is the better
              solution, and the better the bed (or couch in the case of naps)   
              the more Energy you get back in less time.  If you fail to get to 
              sleep or drink some coffee before your Sims' Energy bar hits      
              Pure Red, then he will collapse on the floor and sleep there.     
              THIS IS NOT GOOD!  Your Sim will wake up with NO Comfort, and     
              far less Energy than if he had slept in a bed.  So before Energy  
              gets too low, send the Sim to bed!                                
                                                                                
                Note:  Espresso is better than Coffee, but takes longer to      
                       drink.
                                                                                
    Comfort - A gauge on how your Sim is FEELING.  Low comfort is similar to    
              how you would feel Sore after exercising.  Comfort is a Need that 
              you should never bother with on its own.  You can always increase 
              Comfort while doing something else, for example, while eating     
              your Sim sits on a chair, or while watching TV he sits on a couch.
                                                                                
                Note:  The Best Toilet also increases Comfort.  Also the main   
                       reason to get the top of the line Tub (not the hot tub)  
                       is because it helps Comfort as well as Hygiene.          
                                                                                
    Hygiene - How clean your Sim feels.  This naturally decays throughout the   
              day, but is also decreased by using the toilet without washing    
              your hands, or accidentally peeing your pants.                    
                                                                                
    Fun --    And lastly there is Fun.  A bored Sim is an unhappy Sim.  Keep    
              your Sim entertained by having him read the Paper, a Book, or     
              Watch TV, Dance to the radio, etc.                                
                                                                                
  There are some activities that help out 2 or more of the Needs.  Some of these
  are:  Sitting in the Hot Tub (Hygiene, Comfort, Fun, Social), the Hygeia-Matic
  Toilet (Comfort, Bladder), Eating while Sitting with Others (Social, Hunger,  
  Comfort), Dancing with a Guest (Fun, Social), Joking with a Guest (Fun,       
  Social), etc.                                                                 
                                                                                
                                                                                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.1.2  Why A Sim Does What He Does                                              
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                
  Why do some Sims like to watch TV and others like to read a book?  Why does   
  one Sim like cartoons and another the horror channel?  Why does your Sim      
  STOP doing a certain activity even though he still hasn't filled that Need?   
  And why do they keep doing an inefficient activity when there are better      
  objects to fill that need around?  Let's find out!                            
                                                                                
  Here's where we get into the PERSONALITY of your Sims.  (We won't actually    
  be CREATING our Sims for the moment, we're just looking at them first so you  
  can know what you're dealing with)  Just like people, every Sim has his own   
  personality.  One Sim may be a happy little go-getter, while another is a     
  slob who can't shut up.  Obviously then, not all Sims are going to like doing 
  the same things.                                                              
                                                                                
  The Personality Types:                                                        
                                                                                
    Neat, Messy  -- Neat Sims are like little Maids, they clean up not only     
                    after themselves, but others too.  They also wash their     
                    hands after using the Toilet, and after eating with their   
                    hands.  They do the dishes, they take out the trash, and    
                    are generally nice to have around.  Messy Sims are the      
                    opposite.  They don't wash their hands, they don't do       
                    dishes.  They also tend to leave puddles when using the     
                    shower.                                                     
                                                                                
                    0-2 Slob: So I occasionally leave a pizza box or two        
                              lying around, and I don't mind the flies buzzing  
                              all over. Why clean up when everybody else is     
                              willing to do it?
                                                                                
                    3-7 Occasional Cleaner: When it comes to cleaning up, I     
                              have a few basic rules. I flush when I'm done,    
                              throw away my own junk, and take out the trash    
                              now and then.                                     
                                                                                
                    8-10 Neat Freak: I'm known to wash a dish as soon as I've   
                              finished eating. The trashcan's barely full before
                              it's taken out. The paper is recycled as soon as  
                              I've finished reading. And the house is always    
                              spotless whenever I'm about.                      
                                                                                
    Outgoing, Shy - Outgoing Sims crave conversation with other Sims.  As       
                    discussed in the last section, their Social Need will drop  
                    like a rock if they don't have some friends over to chat    
                    with.  They're more likely to have the Higher Level social  
                    interactions pop up, and react better when someone does one 
                    on them (for example, they are less likely to push a hug    
                    away).  Shy Sims still need Social, but on a smaller scale. 
                                                                                
                    0-2 Shy: Being self-conscious and introspective, I don't    
                             have a great need to be social. It's hard for me   
                             to meet new people and make friends.               
                                                                                
                    3-7 Member of the Crowd: I'm a little reserved, and it takes
                             me a while to warm up to new people. You won't see 
                             me in the middle of huge crowds at parties, but I  
                             won't be sitting quietly in a corner either.       

                    8-10 People Person: I am an extrovert. I love to talk to    
                             everyone. I crave social interactions. Basically,  
                             I'm a social animal.                               
                                                                                
    Active, Lazy -- The Active Sim wants to go out and play some Hoops, or do   
                    something other than sit around watching TV.  They Dance,   
                    they Swim, and enjoy moving around.  Lazy Sims are your     
                    couch potatoes.  Their Comfort score will drop faster than  
                    for active Sims (to reflect their overwhelming desire to    
                    sit).  Lazy Sims also have troubles getting out of bed.     
                                                                                
                    0-2 Lazy: Is there anything worse than getting out of bed   
                              in the morning? Who needs ambition--a warm couch  
                              and a good TV show is all anyone needs.           
                                                                                
                    3-7 Laid Back: Though not always on the go, I am somewhat   
                              motivated. Though I tend to linger a little too   
                              long in a nice cozy chair, I won't be caught      
                              sitting there all day either.                     
                                                                                
                    8-10 Energetic: Some say I'm a live wire. Some say I have   
                              ants in my pants. Either way, it just means that  
                              I'm always on the go and anxious to get there.    
                                                                                
    Playful, Serious -- Playful Sims like to play around with other Sims (i.e.  
                    jokes) or with games (Pool, Computer, Pinball).  Serious    
                    Sims are your bookworms.  They also like Newspapers.        
                                                                                
                    0-2 Serious: Sims who spend their time joking around just
                                 irritate me. Don't they understand that their  
                                 frivolous folly is meaningless? So much more   
                                 fun can be gained by reading a good book.      
                                                                                
                    3-7 Amused: I laugh at good jokes, dance if there are other 
                                 people on the floor, and like to play games.   
                                 Generally, I like having fun, but I don't go   
                                 overboard.                                     
                                                                                
                    8-10 Life of the Party: When I'm not telling jokes, I'm     
                                 laughing at them. I've never seen a game I     
                                 didn't want to play. That's why everyone knows 
                                 the party is always at my house.               
                                                                                
    Nice, Grouchy -- This mostly effects how well your Sim will interact with   
                    others.  Remember the old saying "Doesn't play well with    
                    others", well that's the Grouchy Sim.  I refer to them as   
                    the Mean Sim as they like to insult, tease, taunt, and brag.
                                                                                
                    0-2 Mean: Everything makes me mad, especially when someone  
                              says I have a temper. If everything wasn't always 
                              broken, or other Sims weren't always bothering me,
                              I probably wouldn't have to blow my stack so      
                              often.                                            
                                                                                
                    3-7 Easy-going: While some Sims can get on my nerves a      
                              little, overall I'm pretty good-natured.          
                                                                                
                    8-10 Compassionate: I like giving hugs and compliments. I
                              love making friends with everyone. If everyone    
                              were more like me, the neighborhood would be a    
                              nicer place.                                      
                                                                                
  Following your Sims' personality type will make them happy, but may make      
  others unhappy. (i.e. the Mean Sim insulting people)  So try to work within   
  the boundaries of personality, but don't let it run their lives.              
                                                                                
  Best Fun Objects Based on Personality:                                        
                                                                                
    Playful -- Aquarium, Chess Table, Computer, Doll house, Pinball, Pool Table,
               Train Set, TV (Cartoons), VR Glasses  -- INTERACTIVE Objects
                                                                                
    Serious -- Newspaper, Book, Chess Table, Looking at Paintings

    Active --  Basketball, TV (Action), Pool, Radio                             
                                                                                
    Lazy --    TV (Any Channel!), Computer                                      
                                                                                
    Outgoing - Hot Tub, TV (Romance)                                            
                                                                                
    Mean --    TV (Horror)  

      Note:  Train Set, Toybox and Playground are for kids only, but playful 
             Sims seem to enjoy them more. (broadstrong)
                                                                                
  For a more thorough look at Sims and their interactions with various Objects  
  check out section 4.5.

    Tip:  Holding the mouse pointer over a CONTROLLED Sim speeds his movement.
          Holding it over an UNCONTROLLED Sim slows him down. (broadstrong)

          Check out section 11.8 for more information on this.

  Now let's actually create that Sim Family!                                    
                                                                                
                                                                                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Creating a Family                                                            
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                
  Ah, your first family (besides the Newbies).  Unless you created a family     
  earlier that failed, and now you want to find out what you did wrong.  Either 
  way, we're going to create a Sim Family!  Nothing fancy, mind you, just       
  something to get started with.                                                
                                                                                
  We're going to create two Sims for this family.  Two is, in my opinion, the   
  best number to start with.  It isn't so hard to control as, say, eight, and   
  is infinitely better than just having one as having an extra person gives you 
  a great advantage over having just the one.                                   
                                                                                
  What we're essentially going to do is to divide the tasks that our two family 
  members are going to have.  One person is going to get a job, and the other   
  is going to take care of the house, cook, clean, and be the primary socialite.
  You really don't need to employ both people at this stage of the game.  This  
  strategy really helps in the mornings when one person has to get ready for    
  work (shower, toilet, etc.) the other cooks breakfast.  When the worker goes  
  off to work, the other one stays home, cleans up, and meets the neighbors who 
  will all drop by (not all at once).  Then later in the game, this Sim will    
  call up those neighbors and try to make them into Family Friends.  Also your  
  stay at home Sim can answer the phone (which may be a Reward or another       
  beneficial Event), pay the bills, etc.                                        
                                                                                
      a.  Creating a Sim                                                        
                                                                                
          So now we need to create some Sims!  Two, in fact.  The stats that you
          can give them effect what the Sims want to do, not what you will make 
          them do.  So a low Neatness isn't all that bad if you are going to    
          be forcing them to clean up anyway.  Of course, if you are a more     
          passive Sims player, (you don't plan on telling them EVERY LITTLE     
          THING that they should do), then SOMEONE should have a high Neatness. 
          Plus it's nice when the Sims will automatically clean the table after 
          eating.                                                               
                                                                                
          Try to keep your Sims distinctive and different.  The stay at home    
          Sim needs to be outgoing, nice, and playful, while the worker Sim     
          needs to be active and outgoing.  Beyond that keep the stats somewhat 
          average.                                                              
                                                                                
          Note:  If you keep a stat blank (that is, empty), then that person    
                 will be the opposite of that stat.  So if he or she has no     
                 Nice, then that person will be mean, and prone to piss others  
                 off.  That makes getting friends difficult!
                                                                                
          Another thing that stats effect is what type of recreation they most  
          enjoy.  Inactive people love the TV, while more active would like     
          Dancing or other more interactive entertainment.                      
                                                                                
          Note:  You don't need to use up all of the Stats points while creating
                 a Sim, in fact, you could use NO stats points at all and make  
                 a surly, messy, lazy, mean, introverted Sim!                   
                                                                                
      b. Of Neatness and Maids                                                  
                                                                                
         One alternative to Neat Sims is to hire a Maid.  This way you can avoid
         using ANY neat points to spend them elsewhere, and still have a        
         wonderfully clean house.  At most the Maid will cost you 70 a day,    
         which isn't all that expensive.  Plus the Maid is quite attractive!  If
         you DO hire a Maid, then you don't really NEED a stay at home Sim      
         (although I'd still recommend it for the Socializing aspect).          
                                                                                
           Note:  There are more consequences of having a Messy Sim than one    
                  would think.  When the messy Sim gets out of the shower, he   
                  ALWAYS leaves a little "puddle".  Also, he NEVER flushes the  
                  toilet.                                                       
                                                                                
           Warning:  If you fail to pay for a Maid, or a Gardener, they will    
                     "Blacklist" you, that is, they will refuse to come back    
                     and work for you.  This isn't a permanent problem, they    
                     "forget" about it after 5 days, but it can be annoying.    
                                                                                
                     Can't wait that long?  You could just move out and back
                     in.                                                        
                                                                                
  For now we don't want anymore than these two adult Sims.  Once your family is 
  finished, you cannot add new members by simply creating them...  The only way 
  to get new Sims is to Marry them, ask them to Move In (between Same Sex       
  couples, either as friends or lovers), or to have a baby.                     
                                                                                
  Now let's build them a house.  (or if you'd rather not build your own house,  
  there are several already in the neighborhood)                                
                                                                                
  (The following 2 sub sections are alternative ideas to having 2 Sims, the     
  first having to do with having just one Sim, and the second to having an      
  Arkload of Sims, 8!)                                                          
                                                                                
                                                                                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.1  The Bachelor Sim                                                           
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                
  When I say "Bachelor" I mean any Sim who is living alone, not just male Sims. 
  I have said that your first Family of Sims should probably be 2 Sims, well    
  here are a few different ideas on how to play.  The first being the Bachelor. 
                                                                                
  The tricky thing about the Bachelor is that you have no one to help you.      
  There is no stay at home Sim.  So your Bachelor must get a job, and while he  
  (or she, but for the purposes of this section, the Bachelor is a he) is at    
  work, you can't socialize (you can even watch as all your neighbors drop by,  
  and leave, because there's no one to greet them), nor can you clean up or have
  a meal ready when he gets home.  So the real problem here is TIME.  You simply
  never seem to have enough to Socialize, Work, and Improve your Skills.        
                                                                                
  So here are a couple ideas to having a good Bachelor:                         
                                                                                
    1.  Pick a job with decent hours.  By this I mean stay away from the career 
        tracks that demand a lot of your time.  I should suggest the Military   
        career track as it has good starting pay and fairly steady hours.  Also 
        the Military requires the LEAST amount of Family Friends, and doesn't   
        require ANY until Level 5.                                              
                                                                                
        Note:  The best way to pick and choose your Career is to use a computer.
               If you can't really afford a computer, buy it before you buy the 
               rest of your things, use it quickly to get a good job, then sell 
               it before it has been 24 hours.  If you sell before that, you get
               all your money back!                                             
                                                                                
    2.  Hire a maid.  This way your Bachelor can live like a slob, and not care.
        This frees him up to hit the exercise machine, or call a date.  The maid
        costs 10 an hour, and has a working hours of 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, for  
        a maximum of 70 a day.  However, if she runs out of things to clean    
        she leaves then.                                                        
                                                                                
    3.  Build a smaller house, and use the extra money to buy a better bed,     
        fridge, etc.  Since you will have less time to do things (having no one 
        to help you) you will need the better things to be more efficient!      
                                                                                
    4.  Go to work every other day (depending on how much money you need).  In  
        the first few levels of your job, you will probably want to go everyday 
        because you need the money.  But at the higher levels, you need TIME
        more than anything, so skip a day.  As long as you don't skip two days  
        in a row, you will be fine.  Use that day to improve your skills, make  
        some friends, etc.  You won't get paid or promoted, but it won't hurt   
        your chances of getting promoted either.                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.1.1  The Bachelor Gets Married                                                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                
  Your Bachelor Sim can't stay a hermit forever, he eventually will fall in     
  love, and want someone to move in or marry him.  However, there is a better   
  way than simply having him marry someone.                                     
                                                                                
  Here's the idea.  Your Bachelor Sim works fairly far up the career ladder,    
  possibly to the top without getting married.  He's putting career before      
  relationships, only socializing to Gain Friends or Maintain Friendships for   
  work.  Once he is at or near the top of the ladder, he will be rich, and      
  very likely talented as well.  He'll have a great paying job, and lots of     
  skills.                                                                       
                                                                                
  Why not then, get your BACHELOR HIMSELF to move out?                          
                                                                                
  Here's what I mean.  Say you're starting up a new family.  Wouldn't it be     
  nice if you had someone who had a nice high paying job?  Well that's precisely
  what you should do!  Marry the bachelor from the OTHER SIM.  That way he will 
  move out of his house, bring all his assets with him, PLUS he will keep his   
  great job.  This is a great way to help out Beginning Sim Families.  If his   
  net worth was 28k, then that family will gain that much when he is married
  into the family.                                                              
                                                                                
  Sweet deal!                                                                   
                                                                                
  Note:  Once you've moved your Bachelor out in this fashion, his old house will
         remain EXACTLY AS HE LEFT IT!  Which might make it an ideal house to   
         have another Bachelor move into, as it would be cheaper (due to Item   
         Value Degradation) than buying it all new.                             
                                                                                
                                                                                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.2  The Full House (8 Sims)                                                    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                
  Starting your first game with 8 Sims would be a little crazy.  Just keeping   
  up with ONE Sim's needs is hard enough, much less 8 Sims who all need the     
  same things.  Plus the most difficult thing about starting out with an 8      
  Sim Family is simply getting them all into a furnished house using only the   
  20k that you start with.  I would normally just advise you to start with a    
  small family, then build up from there, adding members by marriage or child   
  birth.                                                                        
                                                                                
  However, there is a good way to start out with 8 members.  Don't build any    
  special house, except having a longer bedroom.  Stick in at least 4 beds in   
  here.  If you have any children, place as many 2 person beds as you have      
  children.  The bedroom will resemble a military barracks, but there's nothing 
  to be done about that yet.                                                    
                                                                                
  Make sure there are at least 3 different Fun things for the Sims to do, or
  they will all fight over their limited Fun items.  A radio, bookcase, and a   
  TV should be enough.                                                          
                                                                                
  Now get all but one adult Sim jobs.                                           
                                                                                
    Tip:  Before fully furnishing your house buy the cheap computer and use that
          to get your Sims jobs.  This will give you the choice of 3 different  
          jobs for each Sim.  Then once they all have jobs, sell the computer.  
          If you sell it within 24 hours of buying it, you will get a full      
          refund.                                                               
                                                                                
  With everyone working, you should get quite a lot of money, especially if any 
  of them get promoted.                                                         
                                                                                
    Tip:  If you start to get overwhelmed with these Sims, use the PAUSE feature
          then decide what your Sims should do, then UNPAUSE.  Remember I did   
          advise starting with only 2 Sims, a much more manageable number.      
                                                                                
                                                                                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Building a House                                                             
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                
  Our objective with building the house is to create a livable area and have    
  enough money left over to actually put THINGS in the house.                   
                                                                                
  Here's our objectives:  We need a good sized house (not large), with three    
                          rooms (living room/kitchen/dining room, bathroom, and 
                          one bedroom).  The Sims don't require their own
                          private bedrooms, and will do quite fine in a         
                          "communal" bedroom. (where everyone sleeps in the     
                          same room)                                            
                                                                                
  We're going to start the house a minimum of 2 or 3 squares away from the      
  nearby sidewalk.  Now we create the Living Room/Kitchen.  A good size for this
  is a smallish rectangle, about 11 x 6 squares.  Build the entrance door near  
  the mailbox and trashcan.  Now off to the side of the house build a 4 x 4 room
  to be your bathroom.  You don't need any larger at the moment.                
                                                                                
            ------------                                                        
            |          |                   Key:                                 
            |          |                                                        
            | Bedroom  |                   e - Door      -- - wall              
            |          |                   Tr - Trash    == - sidewalk          
            |          |                                                        
  ----------------e-------------           Note:  Two horizontal characters     
  |                    |       |                  is one "square" of SimLand.   
  |                    e Bath  |                  So -- is one 1 x 1.           
  | Kitchen            | room  |                                                
  |                    |       |           Note:  To build a "square", hold down
  |           Living   |--------                  the shift while building a    
  |             Room   |                          wall outwards.                
  -----------e----------                                                        
                                                                                
  =======================                                                       
             Tr                                                                 
                                                                                
  As you can see, this is a very small type of house, but is perfectly suited
  for two people.  This is a "basic" house, and as your family grows you will   
  need to add to it.  Notice that there isn't a wall between the kitchen and the
  living room.  This is quite intentional to aid in the parties that you will   
  be throwing here!  The open space allows people to move about more freely, and
  to prevent people from running into each other.  Also note that this leaves   
  space to the left of the Bedroom which is ideal for building another room,    
  be it a new bedroom, or an entertaining room, or even just an outdoor         
  pavilion.                                                                     
                                                                                
  Once the basic floor plan is done, we need to apply wallpaper to the outside  
  of the house, and to each room individually.  The last few wallpapers in the  
  list are specifically for the outside, and aluminum siding is cheap (7).     
                                                                                
    Note:  To apply a wallpaper to every available surface, hold down the SHIFT 
           key, then click.  If you're doing this to the outside, it won't      
           affect the inside, and if you are wallpapering the interior of a     
           room, then it will only wallpaper that room.                         
                                                                                
  For the kitchen I would use the Deep Jade or the Tuscany Tin (6).  The living
  room you can do separate from the Kitchen if you want, although you can't use 
  the SHIFT function if you do, as they aren't really separate rooms.  In the   
  bathroom I would go with a "Too Turquoise" (6).                              
                                                                                
  Now we need to add flooring (can't have your Sims living on bare grass).  Both
  the kitchen and the bathroom have their own matching floor sets (if you chose 
  Tuscany, the best flooring would be the Il Perrinni Italliante tile (20)).   
  In the bedroom I would go with the simply Blue Carpet, it's cheap, and        
  effective.                                                                    

  Windows:  Each room needs quite a number of windows to keep the room bright   
            and happy.  This effects one of the Sims' eight needs, that of Room.
            So place windows around each room until it is as bright as it can   
            be.  Don't forget this!  Also, when you start furnishing a house,   
            you need to place Lamps for when it gets dark.                      
                                                                                
            Which window you pick is entirely up to your individual preference! 
                                                                                
  Note:  Don't bother with a second story yet, as you don't need it, and you    
         probably can't afford it!  See the section on Expanding the House below
         for more information on Second Stories.                                
                                                                                
  Tip:  A backdoor is a very useful thing to have, as it allows your Sims       
        another way in or out (if the main entrance is blocked), and can provide
        for a nice patio outside as well.  Try putting in a flamingo in the     
        backyard, just for fun.  Also the neighbors seem to like it.            
                                                                                
  Alternate Floor plan 1:                                                       
                                                                                
            ------------                                                        
            |          |                   Key:                                 
            |          |                                                        
            | Bedroom  |                   e - Door      -- - wall              
            |          |--------           Tr - Trash    == - sidewalk          
            |          e       |                                                
  ----------------e----- Bath  |           Note:  Two horizontal characters     
  |                    | room  |                  is one "square" of SimLand.   
  |                    e       |                  So -- is one 1 x 1.           
  | Kitchen            |       |
  |                    |--------           This alternate version moves the     
  |           Living   |                   bathroom up 2 squares and builds a   
  |             Room   |                   door into the bedroom.               
  -----------e----------                                                        
                                                                                
  =======================                                                       
             Tr                                                                 
                                                                                
  Alternate Floor plan 2:                                                       
                                                                                
             ----------                                                         
            /          \                   Key:                                 
            |          |                                                        
            | Bedroom  |                   e - Door      -- - wall              
            |          |--------           Tr - Trash    == - sidewalk          
            |          e       |                                                
  ----------------e----- Bath  |           Note:  Two horizontal characters     
  |                    | room  |                  is one "square" of SimLand.   
  |                    e       |                  So -- is one 1 x 1.           
  | Kitchen            |       |                                                
  |                    |--------           This alternate version cuts the      
  |           Living   |                   square corners to be diagonal.  This 
  \             Room   /                   helps Room rating, and looks more    
   ----------e---------                    attractive.                          
                                                                                
  =======================                                                       
             Tr                                                                 
                                                                                
  Now that we have a house, we need to buy things for the house!
                                                                                
  But first some ideas on Better Houses (i.e. Richer).                          
                                                                                
                                                                                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.1  Building a Better House                                                    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                
  Not to be confused with Section 7. Expanding the House, this section deals    
  with building a house with more money to start with.  After all, sometimes    
  it's easier to start over than to keep adding onto a current house.           
                                                                                
   --------------e---------------
  /           e     e            \            Key:
  |  Bedroom  ---e---    Bedroom |
  |   One    /       \    Two    -----------    e - Door      -- - wall
  |          e Bath  e           |         |    Tr - Trash    == - sidewalk
  |          | Room  |           |   Pool  |
  -----e-----|       |-----e-----|   Hall  |  Note:  Two horizontal characters
  |          \___e___/           |         |         is one "square" of SimLand.
  |                              e  Hottub |         So -- is one 1 x 1.
  | Kitchen            Living    |         |
  |                     Room     |\        /    Notice just how much larger this
  |                              | ---e----     house is than the previous
  \                              /              models.  Also, it makes the
   ------e-------------e---------               attempt to "round out" every
         +             +                        room to improve Room Rating.
         +             +
         +             +                        This is a very large and
  ================================              spacious house, but designed to
             Tr                                 keep most everything "close by".
                                                Notice particularly the amount
                                                of doors that lead into the
                                                house.

  Why two bedrooms?  When you have a baby, place the baby, plus one caregiver
  to spend the night in their own bedroom.  Then when the baby wakes up and
  needs attention, only one of your Sims will have to be awakened by it.  Plus
  this allows you to do separate Socializing (you know, kissing other people
  than your wife).

Alternate 1:  The Second Story
                                               Key:  e - Door     -- - Wall
  Floor One:                                         SS - Stairs  + - Path
                Pool and Hot Tub Outside             Tr - Trash

  /------e--------------e-------------e----\   This house keeps the first floor
  |             SS               |  Bath   |   very spartan and uses half the
  |             SS               e  Room   |   space for an outdoor pool and
  | Kitchen     SS     Living    |         |   spa area.  The Stairs lead up to
  |             SS      Room     |\        /   a Second Story, which will
  |             SS               | --------    contain 2 bedrooms, a bathroom,
  \                              /             as well as an extra room, for
   ------e-------------e---------              fun.
         +             +
         +             +
         +             +
  ================================
             Tr

  Floor Two:

  /----------------------------------------\   You could always leave the
  |          |  SS  |            |         |   "Extra" room wall-less and have
  |          e  SS  e            e  Extra  |   it be a balcony.
  |  Bedroom |      |   Bedroom  |         |
  |          ---e----            |\        /
  |          e bath e            | --------
  \          | room |            /
   ------e-------------e---------


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.2  Who Needs Walls?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Thinking about this logically (and we Sims players are nothing if not logical)
  there is only one thing Sims need privacy for, and that's going to the 
  bathroom.  They don't seem disturbed when they sleep in a room with other 
  people (though they do seem to mind being put into the same bed with a 
  stranger).
  
  So, if all you need walls for is a bathroom, then why not simply save on 
  money, and ONLY build walls around the bathroom?  Walls are expensive!  Save
  your money for something really cool, like that Hot Tub!
  
    Note:  Well this strategy seems really cool on the surface, but there is a
           bit of a downside.  No one can sleep in the same room as an active
           TV or radio.  Which means that everyone will have to sleep at the
           same time.  In other words, if Sim Bob is on the nightshift and
           Sim Betty is on the dayshift, they'll overlap, and one will want to
           sleep while the other wants to watch TV.  Other than that it works
           great.
           
    Note:  This strategy works best with a Bachelor Sim, for reasons stated in
           the previous NOTE.
           
  A more extreme version of this is to build ONLY the 2x1 bathroom, and have
  no house at all.  This really saves on money as walls aren't cheap, but has
  some odd drawbacks, such as your Sim refusing to get out of the shower if
  even another Sim wanders by the lot, or your Sim getting stuck in the bathroom
  because another Sim wants to use it.

  However, it makes a great starting Bachelor house (although it looks very
  Hillbilly), if you intend to have this Bachelor get married into another
  household later.
  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
3.3  Housebuilding, Especially on a Budget (from Seeker)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Build Mode items, unlike Buy Mode items, depreciate as soon as you leave Build 
  Mode and only that once.  With this in mind, it is very wise to have a Sim who 
  can lose money (usually just for this purpose, a shill) build homes, then be 
  evicted and then populated with the Sims you wish to have in that house.  This
  will amount to a savings of approximately one-third versus the 
  pre-depreciation value, more if you are not a very careful house designer and 
  have to delete and recreate walls, windows, or other items.  That house that 
  would cost your regular Sims about $16,000 to build now can be yours for just 
  under $10,000.

  I don't believe this works with items such as staircases and fireplaces, but 
  it will with walls, windows, doors, wallpapering, floors, and (most likely) 
  pools.  Be sure that you don't outfit the house with Buy Mode items and then 
  evict the shill, because you will kick yourself when you have to do it all 
  over again.

  Feel free to add as much flora as you wish from the Build Mode as well, it has 
  no effect on the property value other than raising your Yard score.  In fact, 
  any item that can only be disposed of does not raise the cost.  So go ahead 
  and add as many trees, shrubs, flowers, and topiraries as you like with your 
  shill.

  Always make generous uses of corners, it not only increases your room scores, 
  it also saves money on building the house ($70 for a corner as opposed to 
  $140).  For a little extra added effect, on interior corners do a diamond 
  pattern instead of a straight intersection.  It costs the same and boosts room 
  score.  It looks very good where four rooms meet.  All of this can be at the 
  cost of space however.  

  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Furnishing a House
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  We're going to build things based on the Sims' Needs, with the most pressing
  needs first.  We'll start with Hunger (the only Need that your Sims can Die
  of) and furnish the Kitchen.

  Kitchen Objects you Need:

    Refrigerator (600 for the Llamark)
    Cooking Appliance (400 for the Dialectic Free Standing Range, stove)
    Empty Counter
    Dish Cleaning Apparatus (either a Sink or the Fuzzy Logic Dishwasher, 650)
    Fire Alarm (50)
    Food Processor (220)
    Trashcan (or if you can afford it, a Trash Compactor)

  Here's what I did.  At the left end of the Kitchen is a 6x long wall.  At the
  top I put a Dialectic Range, then a Fridge, then a Counter (if you did the
  Jade walls and floors, then do the Jade counter top, otherwise just keep it
  cheap!), then a counter with a Sink, and another blank counter.  This leaves
  one square left in the bottom corner, but we'll use that later when we have
  more money.  (By moving the Counter with the Sink to the corner, and filling
  that hole with a Dishwasher)  Finally on the empty counter place the Food
  Processor.

    Note:  When someone cooks a full meal it will go like this, they will take
           the food out of the Fridge, and stick it into the food processor
           (or onto a counter if you don't have one, but the food processor
           adds more Food value to the meal), then from there onto the stove,
           and from the stove to the counter where it is finished.

    Tip:  Be vigilant with who makes the meals!  Every Sim when they get hungry
          will go to the fridge to get a snack or to make a quick meal.  But
          you should let only the person with the most Cooking skill cook, and
          then have them SERVE the meal.  This creates 8 portions for only
          20 which is very cost effective.  Plus the higher cooking skill
          reduces the chance of Fire and increases the Food Value.

  Now 2 squares away from that stuff place a Card Table (95).  Around it place
  4 Chairs (the cheapest chair works fine, 80).  Make sure the chairs face the
  table.
  
    Tip:  One good way to place the chairs is to put all the chairs in the
          corners, like this:

                    Ch      (not to scale)
                  Ch .....
                     .....
                     ..... Ch
                        Ch

          What this does, is keeps the other corners not touched by the chairs
          completely free for your Sims to put things on like the mail, and for
          YOU to put things like Lava Lamps (80) on.  The Sims will be eating
          closer together, but they don't seem to mind.  This table is a 2x2
          table, so how does this work with the longer Parisian table?

                    Ch          (also not to scale)
                  Ch ..... Ch
                     .....
                     .....
                  Ch ..... Ch
                        Ch

          This table is longer, and can hold more chairs.  I recommend the
          above pattern with the Parisian, as you fit more people, but keep the
          same amount of Places for Sims to Drop things (like Gifts from other
          Sims) or for you to put things (like radios).


  Onto the Bathroom.

  Bathroom Objects you Need:

    Toilet (300 for the Hygeia-O-Matic)
    Major Hygiene Item (640 for the SpaceMiser Shower)
    Bathroom Sink (400 for the Andersonville sink)

  The placement of these objects isn't so tough, just put them in the corners,
  making sure that they face the right direction.  If you have the money, I
  would suggest also putting a Medicine Cabinet in above the Sink.  However,
  the Medicine Cabinet isn't as useful as a plain mirror placed in the living
  room.  (Mirrors are used to improve the Charisma Skill)  This is because
  other Sims like to use the bathroom, and you don't want to hold them up while
  you make a speech to a mirror.  We want the shower right now because it is
  cheaper, and more time efficient.  Plus we're saving up for that REALLY good
  bathtub! (The Hydrothera)  Once you get the money, you definitely want that 
  good tub!

  However, you will still want that shower.  Nothing beats the quick shower,
  plus your Sim won't always need a full bath.

  Pressing onward to the Bedroom.

  Bedroom Objects you will Need:

    1 Bed for each Person (in this case 2, Spartan Bed, 300 each)

  You won't spend too much time in the Bedroom, so you don't need too much more
  than that.  Don't worry about the Room rating much either, so don't worry
  about lighting or decorations.  One thing that you might want in the bedroom
  is an End Table with an Alarm Clock on it.

    Note:  Alarm Clocks do need to be set by your Sims before they can be
           effective.  The alarm goes off 2 hours before your Sim has to be
           to work.  If you want more time than that to get ready, you can
           always manually waken your Sim.  Although, if you get a Sim up before
           he or she is fully rested (full energy bar) they will stomp about
           a bit trying to wake up.

    Tip:  The first beds that you can get aren't very efficient at getting your
          Sims their Energy.  So as soon as humanly possible get that really
          expensive (and worth it!) bed.

  And finally the Living Room.

  Living Room Objects you will Need:

    1 Couch (Contempto is 150)
    Television (Monochrome is 85, Trottco 27" is 500)
    Bookcase (250 for the Cheap Pine)
    Desk/Table (Mesquite Desk/Table is 80)
    Radio (Down Wid Dat Boom Box is 100)
    Phone (could also put this in the Bedroom, although it wakes them up!)
    Security Alarm

  Have the Television placed by one of the walls, and have the couch face the
  Television about 2 squares away, and put the Bookcase next to the TV by the
  wall, so that your Sims can read and sit on the couch.  Now on another wall
  place the table and place the Radio on it.  Place the Phone on the wall behind
  the radio, and the Security Alarm anywhere on the wall.
  
  Tip:  Placing the TV 2 squares away from the couch is more important than it
        might at first seem.  Why is that?  Well suppose a Guest Sim decides to
        watch TV, but there's no more room on the couch, they'll stand right in
        front of your Sim on the couch.  But now your Sim wants to go to the
        bathroom, but now there's a Sim in the way!  You'll have to wait for 
        that Sim to move on his own before your Sim can get anywhere. (or you
        could just use the move_objects cheat, see the Cheats section below)

  Note:  All appliances, computers, etc., can break down and need to be
         repaired.  You can either repair them yourself (and maybe get
         electrocuted and killed) or call the Repairman who charges you 50 per
         hour.  Until you get your Mechanical skills up (via reading) you
         should probably just call the experts.

  Note:  An alternative to placing the Security Alarm in the living room is
         to put it outside.  Then the Thief doesn't even have to enter the house
         to trip the alarm.  There's more on burglars in the Section Everything
         Else in the Neighborhood.

    a. Lighting and Lamps

       Now that we've adequately furnished the house (I say adequate, because
       once you get money, you'll want to replace your shoddy items with better
       ones, like your little monochrome TV for a HUGE Plasma TV), you will want
       to start filling your house with Lamps.  I would place 1 lamp in the
       bathroom, and 1 in the Bedroom, and a lot in the Living Room/Kitchen.  
       Keep the lamps spaced out to keep the lighting in the room even.  (Say, 3
       to 4 squares apart)

       Check out the Sims website (http://www.thesims.com) to download the new
       Wall Lamps, which are placed on the walls rather than on the floor, in
       the same way that the Fire Alarm attaches to the wall.

         Note:  Lights can burn out, and need to have their bulbs replaced.
                BEWARE!  Your Sims can get electrocuted by doing this!  There
                isn't a good chance of it (maybe 1 in 5), but you may want to
                call a repairman.

    b. Decorations

       The other way to pump up the Room value is to put decorations into a
       room.  And the easiest of the decorations to place, are the Paintings.
       Since these go on the wall, they don't take up any space, and unlike
       plants, they don't require water.

       Most decorations also have a Fun value, which happens whenever someone
       looks at it.  For example, you can have your Sim check out a painting.
       Also the better objects (such as the Plasma TV) also have a positive
       effect on the Room.

       Use Decorations to get the Room rating up, not only for your Sims, but
       to help the Mood of visiting Sims.  That helps you make friends!  You
       know the old saying, a happy Sim is a friendly Sim.

       More on the Room rating in that section below (Room Rating).

  I know your house seems rather Spartan (you even have the Spartan beds, no
  doubt!), but this is just the starter equipment.  As you go along, UPGRADE!
  Replace that fridge as soon as you can, as well as the Range.  These will
  help alleviate your Sims' hunger rating better.  Also replace those Spartan
  beds with better ones.  If you get your 2 Sims to like each other enough, you
  can get a 2 person bed, and get them into it.  I would also definitely get
  rid of that couch the first chance you get, and also get rid of the cheap
  lights in favor of the top of the line lights.

  Generally you spend a good deal of the game replacing your old junk with the
  better stuff.

  Let's make some friends...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.1  Cooking (or, a Meal fit for a Sim!)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  But first, let's look a little deeper into the realm of Cooking for Sims.  As
  I have said a number of times, we want the Stay at Home Sim to be our Cook,
  and therefore they should spend a good deal of time Studying Cooking.
  Whenever they have a spare moment, they should grab that book and study until
  they get all the way up to 10 Cooking Points.  This helps in two ways:  One,
  they are far less likely to burn down the house (unless using the Grill), and
  they prepare more satisfying meals.

  Beyond simply helping the Cook become a better Chef, you can also improve
  your equipment, and how you prepare the meals.

  Let's start with the equipment.  The first step in cooking is the
  Refrigerator, and, no surprise here, the better the Fridge, the more
  satisfying the meals (the more it satisfies the Hunger Need, that is).  The
  next piece of equipment is the Preparation part, which can be either just a
  countertop, or the Food Processor.  The Food Processor is about twice as good
  as a mere countertop, and is faster to boot, so getting one of those is quite
  valuable.  Then comes the cooking implement, from Microwave (the worst) to the
  Gas Range (the best).  Finally you have to set the meal down on an empty
  counter top to serve the meal. (only necessary if you ARE doing a SERVE, if
  you are merely HAVING dinner this is skipped)
  
    Note:  To keep things moving efficiently, you should arrange the kitchen
           appliances in order of use, so place the Fridge, then next to it
           have the Food Processor on a Counter, then the Cooking Range, and
           finally a blank counter.  Why?  Saves time, and every second counts!

    Note:  If a step along the meal preparation chain is broken (say you have
           no preparation surface, or your range is broken, etc.) then you will
           get a different (and less satisfying) meal.  If you don't have a prep
           surface or food processor you end out with a Can (or cans) of Beans.
           If you prepare it, but have no way to cook it, then you get a salad.
           These results ALSO occur if you have the item, but can't get to it.
           So if another Sim is in between your Cook and the Stove, you could
           end out with Salad.

  Next is how you prepare the meals.  There are 4 basic options at every meal:
  Snack, Quick Meal, Have Meal, and Serve Meal.  I would heartily recommend
  doing ONLY "Serve Meal"s and having them cooked ONLY by your best Chef.  Then
  the meals will be very effective at removing hunger.  This requires that you
  constantly check your other Sims when they get hungry as they will want to
  have Snacks or Quick Meals.  It's much more cost efficient to have just the
  Big Meals (Serve Dinner, Serve Breakfast, etc.)

  Other Options:

    If you have no way of preparing your own meals, you can always call for
    pizza (40).  It also takes some time for the pizza to arrive, and it isn't
    very satisfying.

    Also you can use a Grill to grill up some food.  This isn't so satisfying
    and can cause a fire (if something is too close to the grill).

    Both these options do make for some good socializing, however.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.1.1  Food Strategies
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  This section is from Mark Hissett

  When you prepare a meal (fit for 6) the plate will remain fresh for about 8 
  hours.  However you can prolong this.  When you take plate of food off the 
  main dish, it will last 8 hours in itself.  So if the main dish is 6 hours 
  old and you take a plate off.  That one plate will not get flies above it for 
  approximately 14 hours.  So, one thing you might want to try is to make a meal 
  (that is not going to get all eaten of course) and after 6 or 7 hours.  Take a 
  plate off one at a time.  Do not eat them.  Just cancel the action after they 
  have taken the plate.  They will probably put it on the floor.  Now that food 
  will last another 8 hours.  When your sims get home from a hard days work, and 
  your homemaker sim needs a bit of rest.  You can control the sims to take that 
  food and eat it.  Also, guests do not eat food that has already been dished 
  out.
 
  Well aside from that, 6 plates takes up a lot of room.  And so does chocolate 
  and brownies.  In the build or buy mode you can move plates of food (the main 
  dish as well).  If you hover the food over the fridge, it will allow you to 
  "put the food in the fridge."  When you move the fridge any food inside will 
  remain inside.  I am not sure if there is a limit to how many dishes you can 
  put in or not.  Guests can take food that they have brought or take off the 
  main plate, but again, they will not eat food already dished out.  A couple 
  downsides to this are, snacks and meals cannot be made from that fridge.  The 
  fridge also does not give anymore time for the food to go rotton.  Another
  thing I am unsure of is when flies begin swarming the plate, if room value 
  goes down.  To get food out of the stocked up fridge, you will need to hover 
  the cursor over the middle of the fridge, so that the fridge does not light 
  up, this will give you the option to take plate or clean up.  Pizza cannot go 
  in the fridge.  I am not sure if the little vases of flowers can or not 
  either.
 
    Tip:  If you are busy busy in the morning getting sims off to school and 
          ready for work.  Make breakfast (though it will be called dinner, 
          unless made after 12:00 AM) around 10 or 11 the night before.  The 
          food will last then from 6 to 7.  A prompt sim should be up by at 
          least 6.  And the food is ready for them to enjoy.
 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.2  Room Rating
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  The Room Rating is influenced by quite a number of things, but we'll boil it
  down to the essentials.  One, is how well lit the room is.  This is influenced
  (in the day) by windows, and in the night by Lamps.  Two, is what is in the
  room that improves it, such as decorations.  Three, is what is in the
  room that degrades it, such as garbage and messes.  And four, the size of the
  room, the larger the better.

  In the early part of the game you probably can't afford the mighty
  Torchosterone lamp (the best lamp in the game, as it improves Room rating two
  ways, by being a Lamp, and by being a Decoration), but as soon as you get
  some steady cash flow, start replacing your old lamps with the good ones.

    Tip:  In the beginning of the game, only buy a few lamps.  It will be dark,
          and your room rating won't be so great, but you will save money (all
          objects degrade in value over time) so that you can buy the better
          lights later.  Also the good lamps tend to need less bulb
          replacements.

  All the good objects also have a Room rating attached to them.  Things like
  the Plasma TV, the good couches, etc.  Therefore, once you have all the neat
  gadgets in your living room, do you really need some art deco piece?

  The Outside Room rating is probably the most important, at least as far as
  your Job goes.  It's probably already well lit, and large, so the only two
  things that you can do to improve it are to keep it clean, and add some
  decoration.  A fountain and some flamingoes would go well out there.  Plus you
  could put a fireplace out there if you really wanted to.

    Note:  Keep in mind that if you let something go to Pot (such as a flower
           dying, or fish dying, a computer breaking, etc.) then it will pull
           down the Room Rating just like trash.  After all, if you can't use
           the object as it was meant to be used, it's not much more than trash!

    Tip:   The Fireplace has the best Room Rating (when lit anyway) of anything.
           HOWEVER, it can cause things (such as objects, or Sims) to catch on
           fire, and should be placed well away from anything!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.3  Alternative to Alarm Clocks
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  As anyone who has had to wake up to an alarm clock might say, it isn't the
  most pleasant feeling.  Yet the alarm clock is the only way to get your Sims
  up in time for work.  Or is it?

  Sims tend to sleep until their Energy Bar is full, then they also tend to
  keep on sleeping until an alarm clock goes off, or you wake them up.  So you
  could just wake them up as soon as you notice their Energy bar full green (or
  at any set time that you want, although Sims take longer to get up if they
  aren't fully rested), but I prefer this little trick.

  If the Sim is sleeping, but is fully rested, he will tend to keep on sleeping
  until he has a reason to get up.  Simply add something to his Queue (such as
  using the Toilet) and once his Energy bar fills up, he will wake up and start
  working on his queue.  This way your Sim gets to be fully rested.  This is a
  little more dynamic than simply waking your Sim with an alarm clock 2 hours
  before the Carpool arrives.
  
  Mark Hissett has this to add:
  
    A well rested sim will sleep to 6:00 AM.  That means, if a sims energy bar 
    is green at 4 or 5 AM, they will not automatically wake up until 6.  If you 
    tell them to do something while they are asleep, they will automatically do 
    it, as soon as their energy bar is full, which may be earlier than you 
    intended.  A not so well rested sim will wake up anytime after 6, as soon as
    their energy bar is full, or if you wake them up, or if the alarm goes off. 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.4  Who Needs a Trashcan?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  There are 3 forms of waste management in The Sims:

    1.  Your outside trashcan.  This is part of the Lot when you buy it, and
        you can neither move it, nor sell it.  This trashcan is here to stay.

    2.  A standard trashcan.  This holds trash, and can be put anywhere you 
        want.  When it fills up with trash (it doesn't take long!) it will take
        down the Room Rating until someone takes out the trash.

    3.  And finally there is the Trash Compactor, which not only can it hold
        more Garbage (because it compacts the garbage), but when it gets full,
        it does not take down the room rating, because the garbage is self-
        contained.

  However, you can probably get away with NOT HAVING A HOUSE TRASHCAN at all.
  You can never get rid of the First type of trashcan, so why should you buy
  any more trashcans?

  Here's what I'm talking about.  There are only THREE MAIN types of trash
  (there are more than 2 types, but you won't come across the others often),
  Snacks, Newspapers, and Gifts.  Consider for a moment that the place most
  likely to need a trashcan is the Kitchen area, which is notably near the
  exterior trash anyway (well it should be, it is in my designs).  Therefore the
  walk outside to the trash isn't much longer than that to go outside.  The
  important thing here is that we SKIP A STEP.  If you don't have an interior
  trashcan, you NEVER HAVE TO TAKE OUT THE TRASH.

  For a different, i.e. "cheating", tactic on this, see section 11.1 Deleting
  Trash (and Bills too!).


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.5  Sims Interactions with Objects
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  You may wonder why a Sim will go painting for fun when he doesn't need the
  Creativity, and he Needs more Fun than he can get out of painting.  Part of
  the reason is that when Sims choose what they are going to do, they pick their
  most pressing need (Hunger being the greatest Need, then the rest based on
  how Red they are), and checking the room for the best objects.  Once they
  have an idea of the best objects in the area, they'll randomly pick one and go
  to it.

  So it isn't entirely a random process, it's just not an entirely educated
  process either.  After all, Sims do get bored of watching TV, they need more
  than just one source of Fun.

  So, if your Sim needs some Fun, he'll take stock of the area, find all the
  available sources of Fun, and pick one.  They usually limit their choices to
  the better objects, so the more better objects you have, the better chance
  that they will pick at least one good object instead of going to something
  less than preferable.

    Note:  This Randomness doesn't seem to apply to Guest Sims (Sims who you 
           have invited over), they always seem to know what they want and
           use the best available method to get it.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.6  Moving Trash Yourself
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  You, the player, can pick up any object while in build mode, including dirty
  dishes, trash, bills, and other things.  What does this mean to you?  Read
  on!
  
  Red Phoenix sent me this:
  "While in Build mode, you can move any object that's currently not in use.  
  You can get this ability to do lots of micro-management.  For instance, before 
  you can afford a maid, you can help your Sims with clean up.  Gather all of 
  the dishes and stack them next to the sink.  Or gather trash and place it next 
  to a trash can.  If you're really cheap and lazy, you can create a garbage pit 
  at the side of your house where you can throw your trash."
  
  If you do create a garbage pit, make it in a small enclosed space that has no
  doors.  You will be able to move things in and out, but no one, thankfully,
  will be able to go in there.
  
  Also, you could just DELETE the garbage (see section 11.1 Deleting Trash and
  Bills too!) instead.
  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.7  The "Cluster" Method
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  So, what is the "Cluster" Method?  My latest attempt at efficiency!  Here's
  the idea:  Keep a cluster of objects around the mailbox/trashcan.

  That's the jist of it, anyway.  Here's a more detailed explanation.  Build
  your house about 3 squares away from the sidewalk, with your door being close
  to the mailbox/trashcan.  Pave a little walkway from your door to the 
  sidewalk.  Now on one side of the walkway, place a cheap desk, facing the
  walkway.  When you get the mail, your Sim will place the Bills on this desk,
  instead of walking who knows how far.

  On the other side of the table place a standard phone.

  On the opposite side of the walkway place an Easel, a Mirror, and a chess set
  with a chair (or two).

  Now when you call another Sim over to your house, you have a few things that
  you can do while waiting for them to actually arrive!  So, call someone, then
  start working on your Charisma (using the Mirror), or play some Chess, or
  whatnot.

    Tip:  If a Guest Sim arrives with an Object, such as candies, flowers, or
          whatnot, cancel AFTER they have given it to you, and your Sim looks
          for a place to put it (if you don't, it will possibly end up on your
          desk, candies likely end out in your kitchen), and your Sim will drop
          it there.  However, it's very close to your garbage can for easy
          disposal.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Of Friends and Lovers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Your Sims are going to need some friends in The Sims.  Not only to keep your
  Sims from going insane (Social being one of their 8 Needs), but also to
  advance in certain job fields you will need a certain number of friends.  (for
  example, on the political career track, to become a Senator you need 14
  friends, and mayor requires 17!)

    Note:  Your Sim does not personally need to be a friend with someone, as 
           long as SOMEONE in your family is friends with them, that is enough.
           In other words you only need family friends, not personal friends.

  When you first move into your house, various people from the neighborhood will
  come by and chat with you.  Make sure to greet them!  They might not come back
  if you don't.  Once that new Sim is greeted then that person is "known" and at
  any time, you can call them on the phone to get them to come over. (unless
  they are working at that exact moment, but you can call them before or after
  work)

    Note:  Yeah it sounds stupid but, the Sim you are calling also needs to
           have a phone for this to work.  I mention this because you might want
           to create a large 8 person family, stick them on a vacant lot, and
           befriend them.  If you want to do that, at least build one wall with
           a phone attached to it!

  Once greeted, this neighbor Sim will start working to fulfill his or her
  needs, just as your current Sims do.  If there is food out, and they're hungry
  they'll eat it (but they can't fix themselves any food, not even a snack).  If
  they have to go to the bathroom, they'll go (but they can't shower, or take a
  bath).  Mostly, however, what they want to do, is to socialize!

    a. Socializing

       When you first start socializing with someone, keep it simple.  Just 
       talk.  As your relationship gets better (10+ or so... depends on the
       Sim), start complimenting them, and telling jokes.  Avoid doing anything
       else for awhile.  Also, if they try to do something too intimate to you,
       and your "rating" (click on the Relationship button to see the number
       rating of how much you like them.  By the way, they also have a number
       for you, and they may not be the same number...  You might love them, and
       they might not care for you!) is not very high, you may want to cancel
       their action.  So if you see "Be Hugged" by someone you just met, you
       may want to click it to get rid of it.

       As you get to know someone (40+) you want to start dancing, and hugging.
       Dancing is not considered sexual, and doing it is not coming on to them.

       And as you get even higher (70+) you may want to start flirting, and
       maybe even kissing!  This all depends on where you want this relationship 
       to go.  Although you can be in love with EVERYONE in the neighborhood
       (except children), you probably won't want to.  It makes parties awkward
       if you are in love with everyone there.  Someone might want to kiss you,
       and if you are in love with everyone in the room...

    Tip:  If you hear the "bad" music (meaning usually that something is going
          wrong, it sounds like a bad trumpet) and you just flirted with someone
          (or kissed, hugged, or danced with them), then you probably just
          flirted with someone's significant other!  Check your "queue" to see
          if someone is going to slap you, and if so, click it to stop them.
          (Pause the game, if that helps)

          So how do you come onto someone else's significant other?  Go into an
          empty room (if none are available, go outside), and Call Over that
          Sim that you like.  Then flirt away!

          By the way, it doesn't matter if you hug them (or kiss them...) or if
          they hug you, their significant other will still get mad.  Although
          maybe not at you...

    b. Marriage and Moving In

       When you get someone higher up on the Relationship-O-Meter, you will get
       the option to ask them to marry (propose) or move in with you.  Whether
       they say yes is based on their mood, and their opinion of your Sim.

       Getting someone to marry/move in with you is simply a two stepped
       process.  First you must get them to love you.  This is built up
       gradually.  Start out with a friendship, then gradually work up to love. 
       (Getting them in love with you is not necessary for Move Ins)  Once you
       believe that they love you enough, now you have to work on their Mood.
       Sims will only marry you if all their needs are being met, and are 
       therefore happy enough to marry.  As such, you will want to feed him or
       her, entertain them, and generally keep them comfortable and happy.
       Propose, and they're in!
       
       When a Guest Sim (anyone you call over) comes to your house, their Needs
       are usually in an atrocious state.  They are hungry, bored, and need to
       talk a LOT.  This counter will reset every time you invite the Sim over,
       so if you fail to get them to marry your Sim in one sitting, you will
       have to start all over the next day.
       
         Note:  If your Sim is turned down, the other Sim will give a reason,
                such as "We don't talk enough." (which means, that their Social
                Need needs work)  They give what they think is the thing that
                would help their mood out the most, saying "We don't talk 
                enough" tells you that you need to work on Social a lot, but
                that might not be the only thing that they need, merely it is
                the most pressing Need.

         Note:  Moving In is only between Same Sex couples, whether they are
                lovers, or just roommates.

       Whenever someone is brought into the family through marriage or moving 
       in, they not only bring any children they have with them, but if they are 
       the only member of their family, they will sell their old house, and 
       bring that money plus the cash they had on hand to their new family.

         Warning:  When someone joins the family, they can no longer be
                   considered a family friend!  Although they remain a close
                   personal friend (and possibly a lover) they are no longer
                   counted in the Family Friend count. (Although they ARE
                   counted as such in the Neighborhood, if you hold the mouse
                   over their house)

         Note:  So, you had someone marry you, and they were the last in their
                family, and so sold the house.  Well the house is still in the
                neighborhood, and furthermore, it is in EXACTLY the same
                condition as it was when the person left it!  So if someone new
                moves into it, they might find dirty dishes!

  All relationships wither over time, and as such, you need to constantly keep
  on socializing with your family friends to make sure that they STAY family
  friends!

    Tip:  When working to maintain a relationship, you needn't work as hard at
          it as when you were building the relationship.  So call the Sim over,
          talk a bit, maybe give a hug or two, then once the Rating is back up,
          tell them to go home.  Then move onto the next Sim...

  Social Activities:

    Talking -- usually the most successful for simply improving the rating.
               This one also happens, to a lesser degree, when two Sims are
               doing the same thing, such as both watching TV or eating dinner.

    Compliment -- depending on how much they like you, and what type of person
                  they are, the Sim you compliment will likely be impressed by
                  this.  They might, however, take it the wrong way.  (best if
                  done over 10)

    Entertain -- adults juggle dice; kids play with yoyo.  Increases Fun and 
                 Social.  Best for 30+ or so, but not quite good if the other 
                 party is not so playful (3-4 bars or less), especially around 
                 30 or so. (from broadstrong)

    Tickle -- an activity that increases Fun and Social, but only best for good 
              friends (75 or more) and the other party should be quite playful.
              (from broadstrong)

    Give Gift -- gives a nicely wrapped present.  Will only appear when 
                 relationship reaches 40 or so.  Seems like the other party will 
                 ALWAYS accept.  Also seems like this does not increase Social 
                 (need to confirm this). (from broadstrong)

    Joke -- depending on how playful the Sim is, and how much they like you,
            this will help your relationship.  Best if used over 10.  Also
            increases both of your Fun ratings

    Hug -- a better social activity, best between good friends, and lovers.  Can
           make the other Sim's lover(s) jealous, though.

    Back Rub -- increases the Sim's comfort level, and helps socialization.
                Also will increase jealousy.

    Dance -- increases Fun rating, and makes others jealous.  Best if used only
             between good friends (40+ or so).

      Note:  There are two ways of dancing with someone.  One is to click on
             the Sim and select Dance, and the other is to wait for someone to
             dance by the Radio, and then click on the radio and click Join.
             The second one will help Fun, but won't help Social (but they're
             less likely to turn it down!).

    Flirt -- for when you want the relationship to go further.  Use this on
             friends to make them lovers.  Best if used over 80.  And you
             guessed it, makes other Sims jealous!

    Kiss -- the ultimate sign of affection!  Also the most likely to get someone
            slapped, if either of the kissing Sims is already attached.

    Others:  Brag, Tease, and Fight

      Joseph Peitler sent me this:

        I discovered another speaking action that a sim can use.  When a sim 
        starts flirting with sim mate 1 and is seen by sim mate 2 (that's when 
        you hear the trumpet sounds of the "Woody Woodpecker" theme), that sim 
        can over and "apologize" to sim mate 2 after the damage is done.  It 
        doesn't eliminate all the negative relationship points, but it does get 
        rid of sim mate 2's negative reactions, such as slap, shove, and fight.

  Note:  So, can Sims get into homosexual relations?  Yes, but only if you make
         them.  They won't seek it out on their own.  But it's just as easy to
         get 2 same sex people together as two of the opposite sex together.

  One final thing here.  What do you do when you want someone to Move OUT?  Well
  you could kill them (there ARE ways...), but if you're less bloodthirsty than
  that, here's what you can try.  Load up another household somewhere, with
  another family that you aren't too likely to play often, and who has room for
  one more.  Call up the person that you are trying to get rid of (or if they
  just moved into the neighborhood, wait for him or her to come around).  Then
  socialize the Sim until you can get them to move in with you.  Now they've
  left your first Sim family and joined a new one.

    Note:  Sims may also pack up and leave if they get into a fight.  At which
           point they disappear forever.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.1  Befriending Mean Sims
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Just a quick note on how you should go about making friends with a mean Sim.
  The mean Sim tends to like to Taunt, Brag, and Insult the other Sims.  This
  makes them happy (and gives THEM a better opinion of YOUR Sim, but makes YOUR
  Sim hate them).  But it won't ever get them any friends, which is where you
  come in.

  In any social situation with a mean Sim, just keep an eye on your Sim's
  Queue to check for "Be teased", "Be insulted", etc.  Whenever any of these
  pop up, just cancel them.

    Tip:  Keep social interactions with Mean Sims simple (just Talking) until
          they start to like you.  Once they like you, they are far less likely
          to be mean to you.  So after your Sim is done talking, PAUSE, talk
          again, then UNPAUSE.  Allow no other interaction to take place.

    Tip:  Another way to avoid mean actions is to enter Group Interaction.  Have
          the Mean Sim eat dinner with your Sim, or watch TV.  This grows their
          relationship slower, but safer.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.2  Carrying on Multiple Romances
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Your Sim(s) can fall in love with anyone and everyone.  Sims are rather easy
  about who they fall in love with, all they have to have is a pulse.

  However, things start to get really sticky when one Sim is having relations
  with multiple other Sims.  You know what I mean, Jealousy.  When a Sim sees
  her boyfriend kissing someone else, she tends to react badly.  She might slap
  someone, or stalk off, or even get into a fight.  You could completely lose
  someone's friendship this way.  They might even leave the game if provoked
  enough (via fighting that is).

  Yet the "romantic" actions are very common at the high levels of a 
  relationship.  You can't very well go without hugging a friend, can you?  In
  fact, as you get closer to 100 in relationship points, you start losing the
  basic things, such as Talking, Telling Jokes, and Compliment.  Which means,
  that the only way to maintain good relations, is to Hug, Kiss, and Flirt.

  But how to avoid that thorn of jealousy?

    - First off, never EVER do your socializing outside where everyone can see
      you.  This does not include areas that are hidden behind a fence.  Sims
      can tend to wander the neighborhood, and what if the husband of the girl
      you are kissing wanders by?

    - Second, if you are having many people over, and you THINK that 2 of them
      may already be romantically "linked", then go into an unoccupied room, and
      do a CALL OVER to get the right Sim in that room.  Bedrooms work great for
      this.  Once the Sim is alone with you... well...

    - Third, try to avoid falling in love with 2 people who are already in love.
      These love triangles are just begging for trouble.  Even if you aren't
      caught in the act, you might catch THEM in the act which is just as bad.

  With just a little careful planning, your Sim can pretty much have it all!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.3  Maintaining Relationships the Easy Way
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Every relationship your Sims have will naturally degrade by 2 points every
  day.  That means that no matter how in love with you they may be, they'll
  eventually fall out of it if you don't call them up for a visit.  Therefore
  before too long, they won't even be your Family Friend any more (although you
  will get a phone call reminding you to socialize with them before that 
  happens).

  So, obviously your Sim has to keep working on his current friends to keep them
  as friends.  Now, you COULD just wait for that phone call to invite them over,
  then wine, dine, dance, and kiss them; or you could call them over when they
  are at about 70 relationship points.

  Once the Sim is over, talk to them once, compliment them once, then hug them
  until they hit 100, and then Ask them to Leave.  Once they're gone, find the
  next lowest relationship, and call that Sim over.  You can probably work on
  3 Sims a night, and 1 in the morning (call after 6:00 am, see 6.2.1 Early
  Morning Social Call).

    Note:  Maintaining a 70+ relationship is a lot easier than starting from 0
           and working your way up.  Therefore you need take less time doing it.
           And as such, I like to Ask them To Leave.  Why?  So you can cleanly
           work on the next Sim.  You could just leave the first Sim alone, but
           this works better without interference (see the last section).


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.4  Sending your Sim Out of the House!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  So, you can't actually go to another Sim's house while playing as one Sim.
  But there is another way, you can simply go back to the Neighborhood screen
  (save first), and then play one of your neighbors, and have THEM call your
  first Sim.
  
  Red Phoenix sent me this:
  "You don't have to wait for your friends to come to you.  You can go to them.  
  Go to your neighborhood selector and choose another house.  Then call up the 
  Sim you are working on and invite him or her over.  Then, bombard the Sim with 
  social options.  This works great with large families.  The Sim you've invited 
  can interact with three or four other Sims and boost his relationship rating.  
  An extra bonus to this technique is that it doesn't cost the Sim and time or 
  energy.  When you go back to the original Sim's house, no time will have 
  passed."
  
  Note:  You are NOT in control of your original Sim, you now control a 
         different family.  That means that you might not be able to even get 
         your first Sim to come over, and lord knows he might not get along with 
         these Sims.
      

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
5.5  Creating Friends the Old Fashioned Way  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Some jobs require a LOT of friends.  In fact, if you are playing your first
  family of Sims, your neighborhood will be rather sparse, and you will need to
  start new Families just so your first one has a few people to talk with.
  
  Red Phoenix sent me this:
  "If your Sim is in dire need of new friends, create a large family of new Sims 
  and move them onto a lot.  You don't have to worry about completely outfitting 
  a new house, or building any house at all.  Just give them a phone.  Without a 
  phone, you can't call the new Sims and invite them over."
  
  What this amounts to is creating a Family specifically to be used by a Sim
  who you like more.  Fun!

  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
5.6  How to Befriend SimKids  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  If you've ever tried befriending a Sim Kid, you may have noticed that as the
  night gets going, their parent will come and collect the kid.  This cuts the
  time short that you could use to befriend the kid. (you could just avoid this
  altogether by not HAVING any kids in the neighborhood, but where's the fun in
  that?)
  
  Red Phoenix sent me this:
  "Having good relationships with neighborhood kids can be tough for the working 
  adult due to narrow window of social time between school hours and the eight 
  o'clock curfew.  But there's a way around this.  If a kid is visiting and the 
  kid's parent comes over to collect the kid, ignore the parent.  Don't answer 
  the door and keep the kid occupied.  Eventually, the parent will go away and 
  you keep the kid well past midnight."
  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.7  Sim Personalities and Compatibilities
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  This section comes to us courtesy of Mike Fenton.

  Sims are described by a "zodiac" label that gives you an idea of their 
  SimFate.  Here's how they are numbered (in the tables below):

    1 "Aries"
    2 "Taurus"
    3 "Gemini"
    4 "Cancer"
    5 "Leo"
    6 "Virgo"
    7 "Libra"
    8 "Scorpio"
    9 "Sagittarius"
   10 "Capricorn"
   11 "Aquarius"
   12 "Pisces"


  Compatibility
  -------------

    Compatibility is a measure of how well Sims can socially interact. Generally 
    speaking, Sims that share similar traits tend to get along, as long as they 
    avoid competitive behaviors.

    Sims that have the exact same personality have similar interests, but 
    mutually-exclusive activities can cause problems. Sims who share too many 
    activities can crowd each other or become obstacles to each other.

    Sims that have exactly opposite personalities rarely share interests, so 
    their chances for interactions are minimal.

    Sims that are the most compatible tend to have the best ability to adapt 
    to give-and-take roles in their interactions.  For example, one tends to 
    prefer starting a conversation or leading a dance or telling a joke, and 
    the other prefers to be lead.


  Sims compatibility chart (++ most compatible, -- least compatible)
  ------------------------

          1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9  10  11  12
    -----------------------------------------------------------
    1         ++   ++   --             --
    2    ++             --        --   ++
    3    --                       ++                 --      ++
    -----------------------------------------------------------
    4    --   ++   --                       ++
    5              --   ++                       ++  --
    6         --             --                  ++      ++
    -----------------------------------------------------------
    7                   ++        ++        --               --
    8                        ++        --                --  ++
    9                                  --   --       ++      ++
    -----------------------------------------------------------
    10         ++   --        --                          ++
    11                             --        --   ++  ++
    12    --        ++        --             ++
    -----------------------------------------------------------


    Mutual compatibility or lack of compatibility is convenient in that it gives
    you an idea of how difficult a relationship is to maintain between the Sims.  
    An Aries-Taurus relationship is easy, but a Taurus-Virgo relationship is a 
    bit of a challenge.

    Oppositely compatible is odd in that it gives you an ideal match one way 
    that really stinks the other way.  For example, Aries is most compatible 
    with Gemini, but Gemini is least compatible with Aries.

    Mutually compatible:  Aries-Taurus, Gemini-Pisces, Scorpio-Pisces, 
    Capricorn-Aquarius.

    Mutually least compatible:  Aries-Cancer, Taurus-Virgo, Gemini-Capricorn,
    Leo-Capricorn, Libra-Scorpio, Scorpio-Aquarius.

    Oppositely compatible:  Aries-Gemini, Cancer-Taurus, Virgo-Aquarius.


  Default personality scores
  --------------------------

    There are over 8,800 combinations of scores that total 25 points. These are 
    the scores that appear if you just click the name of the sign.

           Neat  Outgoing  Active  Playful  Nice
      ------------------------------------------
      1      5       8        6       3       3
      2      5       5        3       8       4
      3      4       7        8       3       3
      ------------------------------------------
      4      6       3        6       4       6
      5      4      10        4       4       3
      6      9       2        6       3       5
      ------------------------------------------
      7      2       8        2       6       7
      8      6       5        8       3       3
      9      2       3        9       7       4
      ------------------------------------------
      10     7       4        1       8       5
      11     4       4        4       7       6
      12     5       3        7       3       7
      ------------------------------------------

  Sorted in order of social relevance (Outgoing, Playful):

           Neat  Outgoing  Active  Playful  Nice
      ------------------------------------------
      5      4      10        4       4       3
      7      2       8        2       6       7
      1      5       8        6       3       3
      ------------------------------------------
      3      4       7        8       3       3
      2      5       5        3       8       4
      8      6       5        8       3       3
      ------------------------------------------
      10     7       4        1       8       5
      11     4       4        4       7       6
      9      2       3        9       7       4
      ------------------------------------------
      4      6       3        6       4       6
      12     5       3        7       3       7
      6      9       2        6       3       5
      ------------------------------------------

  Personalities high on this list are the most rewarding but the most 
  demanding.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.8  Getting the Desired Interaction
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Most of the time, your Sims will just want to Talk, even though that isn't the
  best thing in terms of getting a better relationship going.  In fact, most the
  time you want your Sims doing things such as Hug, Joke, or Kiss to get a good
  relationship in the quickest amount of time.
  
  But often (especially when you first meet someone) you won't get the same
  choice two times in a row.  For example, you talk to someone, then joke, but
  then the only option you get is to Talk again.
  
  Well, Jon Mars has a little trick about this:
  
    "One of the tactics that I have employed to increase the efficiency of my
    Sims' interaction with other Sims has been to simply queue up a bunch of
    behaviours then delete the alternate behaviours so that they will only
    actually complete the ones I want them to. Example: Queue Talk, Joke, Talk,
    Joke, Talk, Joke... then go and cancel all the Talks... the end result is
    that my sim will just Joke all the time (or whatever behaviour I desire
    them to do). Generally I just do this on the fly, but pausing the game may
    be easier for others to implement. If done properly you can raise a
    relationship from 0-100 in half the time."

 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Working (and Not)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  One Sim per household should definitely stay home.  Any others should then
  try to find a job.  To keep things interesting, I try to get each Sim on a
  different career track.  So one Sim may be on the Law Enforcement track, while
  another takes the business track.

    Note:  The starting pay of each career track has nothing to do with the
           final pay.  The starting pay for the business track is low, but the
           final pay is high (1200).  Politics starts out relatively well, but
           ends out somewhat low (750).  A full list on these pays can be found
           in the next section 6.1 Career Tracks below.

  I have already discussed the importance of why you leave someone home (to
  socialize with the neighbors, of course!), another good reason is that when
  you first start out, you really don't need the money that badly.  As long as
  all your needs are met, your expenses will be low.  You have a 40 per day
  bill on food (assuming you do a "serve breakfast" and "serve dinner") and
  likely around 200 to 300 in bills every 3 days.  Most jobs start out around
  200 a day, and you should be able to get quickly promoted to around 300 or
  so before the bills come.  So money won't be crucial.

  Depending on the job you take, you'll need to increase your "stats".  Things
  such as Creativity, Body, Logic, etc. are needed to advance past the most
  entry level jobs.  And some jobs don't require some stats, researchers don't
  need to develop their body, and so forth.  To find out how much stat increases
  you need to get the next promotion, click on the Jobs button.  The first few
  skill points are relatively easy to get, a short time studying will get you
  your first cooking point, for example.  But the later stat points may take a
  LOT longer.

  SimSkills:

    Your Sim has 6 Skills that may need improving to get a job.  These are:

      Cooking -- Study Cooking at a bookshelf to improve.  Useful to prevent
                 kitchen catastrophes, and many jobs require at least 1 point
                 for the higher levels.

      Mechanical -- Study Mechanical on a bookshelf to improve.  Useful in that
                 now your own Sims can repair broken items rather than that
                 expensive repairman.  Most useful in the military and scientist
                 career tracks.

      Logic --   Play Chess on a chess set, you can do this alone or with others
                 to also improve your social skills.  Logic doesn't help you out
                 around the house, however.  Used in the scientist career track,
                 although most career tracks require a little bit of logic.

      Charisma -- Practice a Speech in front of any available mirror.  No
                 practical use around the house.  Used in the Entertainment and
                 Political career tracks mostly, but again, most career paths 
                 need some Charisma.

      Body --    Work out on that exercise machine to improve.  You can also
                 try swimming, but this never worked for me.  Used in the
                 military and law enforcement tracks, but most require at least
                 one point here.  Also you can Swim in the pool for Body, but
                 it takes 4x as long in the pool as on the Machine.

      Creativity -- Play the Piano or Paint a Picture (which can then be sold,
                 starting out at a mere 5, but eventually going up to 166,
                 also at that point your Sim will actually LOSE Fun by 
                 painting!) to become more creative.

    Note:  When the Carpool arrives, your Sim will automatically add the "Go to
           Work" item to his or her queue of things to do.  However, in many
           cases, this Sim will not cancel what they are currently doing (at
           least until they "finish" doing it), so you may need to cancel that
           thing for them so they get to work on time.  You have until an hour
           after the Carpool shows up to get inside the car to get to work on
           time.

  There are 3 things need to get a promotion at work.  One, is to make sure you
  have all the right stats at the right levels; two, is to make sure that you
  have enough family friends; and lastly you have to be in a good Mood to get
  a promotion.  Happy Sims are productive Sims.  Again, everything you'll need
  to know about this can be found in the Jobs button.  It also has a description
  of how well you are working (bad, average, good, excellent) which is based
  on your Sims' mood.  Below that will be how many Family Friends you need
  (if it isn't there, then you have already met that requirement!), and to the
  right are all the stats.

    Note:  You can sometimes miss one day of work, but missing two in a row is a
           guaranteed firing.  You can miss alternating days of work, but you
           will miss out on a lot of money that way.  Also, the night shift
           tends to be more strict about missing shifts, and may fire you on the
           first missed shift.

    Tip:  If you need a lot of friends for a promotion (the politics career
          track especially), then create an 8 person family, and wait for your
          Stay at home Sim to come over to socialize.  Get each of the 8 to
          talk to this Sim at least once, then go back to your original Sims.
          Now you have a lot of people that you can call up!


    a. Quitting

       So, that new career as a Scientist just isn't working out.  Or maybe, you
       just want to try out something else.  Well there are several ways to quit
       your job.  As we saw in the above note, you can just stop showing up to
       work.  They'll get the hint.  Or you can just check the paper and take
       the job from there (it will warn you that doing so will get rid of your
       first job).

         Warning:  If two Sims are sharing a carpool, and one of them gets a
                   new job at a different time, then that carpool won't show up
                   for EITHER person!

       I would also assume that if you did your job very poorly, or got caught
       doing something really bad at work (see "Job Events" below), you may also
       get fired.

       How you quit depends on your goal from it.  If you just want to stay at
       home and be lazy, then by all means, just skip work.  If you really are
       tired of your career path (maybe you'd rather be an actor), then just
       take that waiter job.

         Note:  Whenever taking a different job, you always start out at the
                lowest rung on the ladder.  So don't just quit to see what the
                other jobs are like.  That's very inefficient.

                Although, if your Skills are high enough, jumping to a new
                career may be quite profitable!  (see Section 6.3 Quitting for
                Fun and Profit)

    b. Job Events

       Every once in awhile, a major event will happen to your Sim at his or her
       job.  These events are quite random as to when they happen, and they only
       happen once.  These are usually just little things like, "Taking a Bribe"
       or "Scandal".  They will often give you a choice, which amounts to doing
       the right or wrong thing, and if you do the wrong thing you can get
       caught.

       Some other job events are less good vs. evil, such as the actor in the
       remake.

       In any event, these Events have 2 outcomes, a good one (whatever it
       was succeeded perfectly) and the bad one (it failed miserably), and
       depending on the severity of the choice, you get rewarded or punished.
       Some punishments are rather severe (your family leaves you) or just
       annoying (a fine, or loss of stats).  But the rewards may be worth the
       risks...

       There is another type of random job event, and that is the Job Swap,
       where you are fired from your Level 10 job and given a Level 6 (or so)
       Job in another Career.

       Mark H. Dove sent me this about it:

         Here it is. I reached the top of the career ladder with my guy, he
         became a General, and I was very satisfied about that result, then, 
         once all of a sudden one day when he came back from work I got a 
         message about a random event that was about something like: "Military 
         downsizing:  You've been fired due to excess personnel in the base, but 
         because of your high ranking postion and your knowing of military 
         strategies you easily find a job as a Swat Team Leader".  So my 
         military career (level 10) automatically changed (and I had no way to 
         choose if to accept it or not) to the Law Enforcement Career (Level 6). 
         It also happened to me other times from Level 10 Business Tycoon to
         Level 6 Politcian, from Level 10 Law Enforcment to Level 6 
         Entertainment.

         But remember it does happen JUST if you reached the top of the career
         ladder.

       This may actually end out good in the end, as some careers have much
       better final pay, which you can see in the Job Chart in the next section.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.1 The Jobs Chart
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Note:  When I say "To Get Promoted" that is what you must work on to get to
         the next job level.  So in Politics at the Intern Level it says that
         you need "+2 Charisma", that is you need that much of that stat to
         get to the next level, Lobbyist.

    Career                         Hours               Wage   To Get Promoted

    Politics:
               Campaign Worker    9:00 am - 6:00 pm    220       --
               Intern             9:00 am - 3:00 pm    300     +2 Charisma
               Lobbyist           9:00 am - 3:00 pm    360     +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                2 Family Friends
               Campaign Manager   9:00 am - 6:00 pm    430     +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                4 Family Friends
               City Council Mem.  9:00 am - 3:00 pm    485     +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                6 Family Friends
               State Assembly     9:00 am - 4:00 pm    540     +1 Body
                                                                +2 Logic
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                9 Family Friends
               Congressperson     9:00 am - 3:00 pm    600     +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                11 Family Friend
               Judge              9:00 am - 3:00 pm    650     +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +2 Logic
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                14 Family Friend
               Senator            9:00 am - 6:00 pm    700     +3 Charisma
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                17 Family Friend
               Mayor              9:00 am - 3:00 pm    750       --

               Final Stats:  Cooking    -- 0
                             Mechanical -- 0
                             Charisma   -- 9
                             Body       -- 5
                             Logic      -- 7
                             Creativity -- 5

    Entertainment:
               Waitress           9:00 am - 3:00 pm    100       --
               Extra              9:00 am - 3:00 pm    150     +2 Charisma
               Bit Player         9:00 am - 3:00 pm    200     +2 Body
                                                                2 Family Friends
               Stunt Double       9:00 am - 4:00 pm    275     +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                4 Family Friends
               B-Movie Star       10:00 am - 5:00 pm   375     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                6 Family Friends
               Supporting Player  10:00 am - 6:00 pm   500     +2 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                8 Family Friends
               TV Star            10:00 am - 6:00 pm   650     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                10 Family Friend
               Feature Star       5:00 pm - 1:00 am    900     +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +3 Creativity
                                                                12 Family Friend
               Broadway Star      10:00 am - 5:00 pm   1100    +2 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +3 Creativity
                                                                14 Family Friend
               Superstar          10:00 am - 3:00 pm   1400      --

               Final Stats:  Cooking    -- 0
                             Mechanical -- 2
                             Charisma   -- 10
                             Body       -- 8
                             Logic      -- 0
                             Creativity -- 10

    Law Enforcement:
               Security Guard     12:00 am - 6:00 am   240       --
               Cadet              9:00 am - 3:00 pm    320     +2 Body
               Patrol Officer     5:00 pm - 1:00 am    380     +2 Mechanical
                                                                1 Family Friend
               Desk Sergeant      9:00 am - 3:00 pm    440     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +2 Body
                                                                2 Family Friends
               Vice Squad         10:00 pm - 4:00 am   490     +1 Cooking
                                                                +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                4 Family Friends
               Detective          9:00 am - 3:00 pm    540     +1 Charisma
                                                                +2 Logic
                                                                6 Family Friends
               Lieutenant         9:00 am - 3:00 pm    590     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +2 Logic
                                                                8 Family Friends
               SWAT Team Leader   9:00 am - 3:00 pm    625     +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +2 Logic
                                                                +2 Creativity
                                                                10 Family Friend
               Police Chief       9:00 am - 5:00 pm    650     +2 Charisma
                                                                +3 Logic
                                                                +2 Creativity
                                                                12 Family Friend
               Captain Hero       10:00 am - 4:00 pm   700       --

               Final Stats:  Cooking    -- 1
                             Mechanical -- 4
                             Charisma   -- 6
                             Body       -- 7
                             Logic      -- 10
                             Creativity -- 5

    Business:
               Mail Room          9:00 am - 3:00 pm    120       --
               Executive Asst.    9:00 am - 4:00 pm    180     +2 Mechanical
               Field Sales Rep.   9:00 am - 4:00 pm    250     +2 Charisma
                                                                1 Family Friend
               Junior Executive   9:00 am - 4:00 pm    320     +2 Logic
                                                                3 Family Friends
               Executive          9:00 am - 4:00 pm    400     +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                +2 Creativity
                                                                6 Family Friends
               Senior Manager     9:00 am - 4:00 pm    520     +1 Charisma
                                                                +2 Body
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                8 Family Friends
               Vice President     9:00 am - 5:00 pm    660     +1 Charisma
                                                                +2 Logic
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                10 Family Friend
               President          9:00 am - 5:00 pm    800     +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                +2 Creativity
                                                                12 Family Friend
               CEO                9:00 am - 4:00 pm    950     +2 Charisma
                                                                +2 Logic
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                14 Family Friend
               Business Tycoon    9:00 am - 3:00 pm    1200      --

               Final Stats:  Cooking    -- 0
                             Mechanical -- 2
                             Charisma   -- 8
                             Body       -- 2
                             Logic      -- 9
                             Creativity -- 6

    Life of Crime:
               Pickpocket         9:00 am - 3:00 pm    140       --
               Bagman             11:00 pm - 7:00 am   200     +2 Body
               Bookie             12:00 pm - 7:00 pm   275     +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                2 Family Friends
               Con Artist         9:00 am - 3:00 pm    350     +2 Mechanical
                                                                +1 Charisma
                                                                3 Family Friends
               Getaway Driver     5:00 pm - 1:00 am    425     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                4 Family Friends
               Bank Robber        3:00 pm - 11:00 pm   530     +1 Cooking
                                                                +2 Body
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                6 Family Friends
               Cat Burglar        9:00 pm - 3:00 am    640     +2 Mechanical
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                +2 Creativity
                                                                8 Family Friends
               Counterfeiter      9:00 pm - 3:00 am    760     +3 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                10 Family Friend
               Smuggler           9:00 am - 3:00 pm    900     +1 Cooking
                                                                +2 Charisma
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                +2 Creativity
                                                                12 Family Friend
             Criminal Mastermind  6:00 pm - 12:00 am   1100      --

               Final Stats:  Cooking    -- 2
                             Mechanical -- 5
                             Charisma   -- 7
                             Body       -- 6
                             Logic      -- 4
                             Creativity -- 8

    Medicine:
               Medical Technician 9:00 am - 3:00 pm    200       --
               Paramedic          11:00 pm - 5:00 am   275     +2 Mechanical
               Nurse              9:00 am - 3:00 pm    340     +2 Body
                                                                2 Family Friends
               Intern             9:00 am - 6:00 pm    410     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +2 Logic
                                                                3 Family Friends
               Resident           9:00 pm - 4:00 am    480     +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +2 Logic
                                                                4 Family Friends
               GP                 10:00 am - 6:00 pm   550     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                5 Family Friends
               Specialist         10:00 pm - 4:00 am   625     +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +2 Logic
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                7 Family Friends
               Surgeon            10:00 pm - 4:00 am   700     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +2 Logic
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                9 Family Friends
               Medical Researcher 9:00 pm - 4:00 am    775     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +2 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                11 Family Friend
               Chief of Hospital  9:00 pm - 4:00 am    850       --
               
               Final Stats:  Cooking    -- 0
                             Mechanical -- 6
                             Charisma   -- 6
                             Body       -- 7
                             Logic      -- 9
                             Creativity -- 4


    Military:
               Recruit            6:00 am - 12:00 pm   250       --
               Elite Forces       7:00 am - 1:00 pm    325     +2 Body
               Drill Instructor   8:00 am - 2:00 pm    350     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +2 Charisma
               Junior Officer     9:00 am - 3:00 pm    450     +1 Cooking
                                                                +2 Body
               Counter-Intell.    9:00 am - 3:00 pm    500     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +2 Charisma
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                1 Family Friend
               Flight Officer     9:00 am - 3:00 pm    550     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +2 Logic
                                                                3 Family Friends
               Senior Officer     9:00 am - 3:00 pm    580     +3 Mechanical
                                                                +1 Charisma
                                                                +2 Logic
                                                                5 Family Friends
               Commander          9:00 am - 3:00 pm    600     +3 Mechanical
                                                                +3 Body
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                6 Family Friends
               Astronaut          9:00 am - 3:00 pm    625     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +2 Charisma
                                                                +2 Body
                                                                +3 Logic
                                                                8 Family Friends
               General            9:00 am - 3:00 pm    650       --

               Final Stats:  Cooking    -- 1
                             Mechanical -- 10
                             Charisma   -- 7
                             Body       -- 10
                             Logic      -- 9
                             Creativity -- 0

    Pro Athlete:
               Team Mascot        12:00 pm - 6:00 pm   110       --
               Minor Leaguer      9:00 am - 3:00 pm    170     +2 Body
               Rookie             9:00 am - 3:00 pm    230     +3 Body
                                                                1 Family Friend
               Starter            9:00 am - 3:00 pm    300     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                3 Family Friends
               All-Star           9:00 am - 3:00 pm    385     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                5 Family Friends
               MVP                9:00 am - 3:00 pm    510     +1 Cooking
                                                                +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                7 Family Friends
               Superstar          9:00 am - 4:00 pm    680     +1 Cooking
                                                                +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                9 Family Friends
               Assistant Coach    9:00 am - 2:00 pm    850     +1 Cooking
                                                                +2 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                11 Family Friend
               Coach              9:00 am - 3:00 pm    1000    +1 Cooking
                                                                +3 Charisma
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                13 Family Friend
               Hall of Famer      9:00 am - 3:00 pm    1300      --

               Final Stats:  Cooking    -- 4
                             Mechanical -- 2
                             Charisma   -- 9
                             Body       -- 10
                             Logic      -- 0
                             Creativity -- 3


    Science:
               Test Subject       9:00 am - 3:00 pm    155       --
               Lab Assistant      11:00 pm - 5:00 am   230     +2 Logic
               Field Researcher   9:00 am - 3:00 pm    320     +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                1 Family Friend
               Science Teacher    9:00 am - 4:00 pm    375     +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                3 Family Friends
               Project Leader     9:00 am - 5:00 pm    450     +2 Mechanical
                                                                +2 Creativity
                                                                4 Family Friends
               Inventor           10:00 am - 7:00 pm   540     +2 Mechanical
                                                                +2 Logic
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                5 Family Friends
               Scholar            10:00 am - 3:00 pm   640     +1 Cooking
                                                                +2 Mechanical
                                                                +2 Charisma
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                7 Family Friends
            Top Secret Researcher 10:00 am - 3:00 pm   740     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +2 Logic
                                                                +3 Creativity
                                                                8 Family Friends
               Theorist           10:00 am - 2:00 pm   870     +1 Cooking
                                                                +1 Mechanical
                                                                +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                +3 Creativity
                                                                10 Family Friend
               Mad Scientist      10:00 am - 2:00 pm   1000      --

               Final Stats:  Cooking    -- 2
                             Mechanical -- 8
                             Charisma   -- 5
                             Body       -- 0
                             Logic      -- 10
                             Creativity -- 10

    Xtreme:
                Daredevil         9:00 am - 3:00 pm    175       --
                Bungee Jump Inst. 9:00 am - 3:00 pm    250     +2 Body
                                                                1 Family Friend
                Whitewater Guide  9:00 am - 3:00 pm    325     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +2 Body
                                                                2 Family Friends
              Xtreme Circuit Pro  9:00 am - 4:00 pm    400     +1 Cooking
                                                                +1 Mechanical
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                3 Family Friends
                Bush Pilot        9:00 am - 3:00 pm    475     +2 Mechanical
                                                                +2 Body
                                                                4 Family Friends
                Mountain Climber  9:00 am - 3:00 pm    550     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +2 Charisma
                                                                +3 Creativity
                                                                5 Family Friends
                Photo-Journalist  9:00 am - 3:00 pm    650     +1 Mechanical
                                                                +1 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +2 Logic
                                                                +1 Creativity
                                                                7 Family Friends
                Treasure Hunter   10:00 am - 5:00 pm   725     +2 Charisma
                                                                +2 Logic
                                                                +3 Creativity
                                                                9 Family Friends
                Grand Prix Driver 10:00 am - 4:00 pm   825     +1 Cooking
                                                                +3 Charisma
                                                                +1 Body
                                                                +1 Logic
                                                                +2 Creativity
                                                                11 Family Friend
                International Spy 11:00 am - 5:00 pm   925       --

                Final Stats:  Cooking    -- 2
                              Mechanical -- 6
                              Charisma   -- 8
                              Body       -- 8
                              Logic      -- 6
                              Creativity -- 9


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.1.1  Alternate Job Charts
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  I realize that the above chart isn't the most user friendly of charts 
  (although it looks fine to me) and I realize that it does have an annoying
  flaw in it.  So here are some Different Styles of charts that contain roughly
  the same information.

  Most of these charts compare all the jobs, rather than show you all the
  information for a particular career path. (since that information can be found
  in the previous section)

  The Money Chart Comparison:  (allows you to simply compare Pay of each job at
                               each level, Sorted by Final Pay)

                                          Career Level
     Career      |    1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9      10
     ----------- |  ------------------------------------------------------------
     Entertainer |  100  150  200  275  375  500  650  900  1100  1400
     Athlete     |  110  170  230  300  385  510  680  850  1000  1300
     Business    |  120  180  250  320  400  520  660  800   950  1200
     Crime       |  140  200  275  350  425  530  640  760   900  1100
     Science     |  155  230  320  375  450  540  640  740   870  1000
     XTreme      |  175  250  325  400  475  550  650  725   825   925
     Medicine    |  200  275  340  410  480  550  640  700   775   850
     Politics    |  220  300  360  430  485  540  600  650   700   750
     Law Enf.    |  240  320  380  440  490  540  590  625   650   700
     Military    |  250  325  350  450  500  550  580  600   625   650


  Hours Worked Per Day Chart Comparison: (shows the number of hours that your
                                         Sim will work at each level per day,
                                         sorted from lowest final to highest)

                                          Career Level
     Career      |    1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10
     ----------- |  ------------------------------------------------------------
     Science     |    6     6     6     7     8     9     5     5     4      4
     Entertainer |    6     6     6     7     7     8     8     8     7      5
     Athlete     |    6     6     6     6     6     6     7     5     6      6
     Business    |    6     7     7     7     7     7     8     8     7      6
     Crime       |    6     8     7     6     8     8     6     6     6      6
     XTreme      |    6     6     6     7     6     6     6     7     6      6
     Politics    |    9     6     6     9     6     7     6     6     9      6
     Law Enf.    |    6     6     8     6     6     6     6     6     8      6
     Military    |    6     6     6     6     6     6     6     6     6      6
     Medicine    |    6     6     6     9     7     8     6     6     7      7


  Hourly Wage:  (this is for the 10th level only!  Sorted from best hourly wage 
                to the lowest hourly wage)


     Career      |     Final Wage          Final Hours       Final Hourly Wage
     ----------- |  ------------------------------------------------------------
     Entertainer |       1400                 5                 280 / hr.
     Science     |       1000                 4                 250 / hr.
     Athlete     |       1300                 6                 217 / hr.
     Business    |       1200                 6                 200 / hr.
     Crime       |       1100                 6                 183 / hr.
     XTreme      |        925                 6                 154 / hr.
     Politics    |        750                 6                 125 / hr.
     Medicine    |        850                 7                 121 / hr.
     Law Enf.    |        700                 6                 117 / hr.
     Military    |        650                 6                 108 / hr.

     Note:  This is just another way of deciding which job ends out being the
            best.  You can see that Science and Entertainer are incredibly good,
            Science being only 4 hours a day (from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm) and
            Entertainer bringing in the most money.
            
            
  Final Stats:  (this is for the 10th level only!  Sorted from the Career that
                requires the least stats, to the one with the most)
                
                
     Career      |  Cook   Mech   Char   Body   Logic   Create   Friend   Totals
     ------------|--------------------------------------------------------------
     Athlete     |    4      2      9     10       0       3       13   =   41
     Business    |    0      2      8      2       9       6       14   =   41
     Politics    |    0      0      9      5       7       5       17   =   43
     Medicine    |    0      6      6      7       9       4       11   =   43
     Crime       |    2      5      7      6       4       8       12   =   44
     Entertainer |    0      2     10      8       0      10       14   =   44
     Law Enf.    |    1      4      6      7      10       5       12   =   45
     Military    |    1     10      7     10       9       0        8   =   45
     Science     |    2      8      5      0      10      10       10   =   45
     XTreme      |    2      6      8      8       6       9       11   =   50
     
     Note:  The lower the total here, the better, as that means that it takes 
            less time to get to the 10th level in that Career.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.2  Abusing the Carpool
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  If you have an alarm, it will go off 2 hours before the Carpool is going to
  arrives to pick you up.  The carpool itself arrives an hour before your shift
  at work is actually set to begin.  This is a fact that we can abuse!

  You don't need to get into the carpool until it is just about ready to leave.
  In fact, if you are even on your way just before your shift begins, the 
  carpool will wait for you!  So, if you get into the carpool the second it
  arrives, you are essentially losing ONE WHOLE HOUR of time that you could
  be spending doing something constructive, like eating, or playing chess to
  get that last logic point for that promotion.

  In other words, don't leave for work until the last possible moment!

  This gives you essentially 3 hours between when the alarm gets you up, and
  when you get to work.  It also makes my earlier idea of not using an alarm
  clock a little more realistic.  Even if you get up a little late, you'll still
  have time to use the toilet, shower, and probably eat as well.  Then spend the
  rest of the time fulfilling other needs (such as Fun and Comfort by watching
  TV) or by building Skills.  Or do both and play Chess.

  GamemaniaX sent me this:
  
    "EXPANDED CARPOOL ABUSE (BUG?!)
    I think this bug is similar to the carpool bug written in your faqs. I got 
    2 sims.  SimA got an 9:00 AM carpool and SimB  got an 10:00 AM carpool. I 
    was busy working on SimA with his hunger and bath. When I finished all 
    that, I realized  that SimA is already late  for work (10:03)! The funny 
    thing is, the car still didn't move a bit! Probably the 10:00 AM 
    carpool is "stacking" into the 9:00 AM carpool. Stragely enough, I put SimA 
    into the car.  It works!  Yet the car still isn't moving. I began working 
    on SimB and put her into the car to work. And, finally the car take both 
    Sims to work! This is excellent considering that SimA now got an extra 1 
    hour to fiddle with before going to work!

    "The side effects I noticed from this bug is that it effects your Sims work 
    performace. Even though I got level 4 mood, the game still stated that I 
    only got an average performace for my work. Probably because the game 
    thought that the Sims didn't go to work since he already missed the 
    carpool. Also, I didn't got promoted even I have fulfilled all necessary 
    requirements for promotion. HOWEVER, this can be  neutralized if 
    you take your "late" Sims to work ON TIME the next following day."

  broadstrong had this to add:

    Note:  When the "stacking of carpools" occurs, the carpool for the later 
           time (10AM) will not come, maybe because the earlier (9AM) carpool 
           had not left!  So the player MUST direct the Sims (in the later 
           carpool) to work.  However, for this stacking to work, at least one 
           person for the earlier carpool must get in before the time is up.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.2.1  Early Morning Social Call (while Abusing the Carpool no less!)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Some of the other Sims have jobs, just like your current Sims do.  You
  probably know what these jobs are, as you probably gave them to these other
  Sims.  Well, during the day they are probably at work, so if you were to call
  them, you would get the Machine telling you that they are at work.  The usual
  solution to this problem is to simply call them after they get off work.

  But another idea is to call them as soon as you get up.

  The brilliance of this idea is even more evident when playing as a bachelor.
  Your Sim gets up in the morning, goes to work, then has a little bit of time
  to socialize, gain skills, and keep up with his own needs.  Well, what we CAN
  do is to help him out by starting socializing in the morning.  He gets up,
  calls someone, then continues getting ready.  He Greets the guest Sim, then
  Serves Breakfast.  While they are both eating, then both socialize.  After
  eating your Sim could watch TV with the other Sim, or maybe they could just
  talk.

  Since we have about 3 hours to work with (due to the last strategy, Abuse the
  Carpool), your Sim have plenty of time to improve his relationships!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.3  Quitting for Fun and Profit
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Here's a neat little idea to try if you are sick of your job.  Assuming that
  you have fairly high skills, your Sim would find it pretty easy to jump up a
  new career ladder, right?  And at each promotion level your Sim is given a
  Promotion Bonus which is equal to 2x the time of the salary that they are
  being promoted to.  That is key.
  
  So say, your Sim, Bob, is a Superstar in the Entertainment track.  There is 
  no hope for him to ever get promoted since he is at the Apex of his career.
  Well why not start over?  Since Bob already has a lot of stats from getting 
  this high in the first place, he will JUMP rather quickly up several other
  career ladders!
  
  Ideally if you could get him back into Entertainment, he would rise very 
  quickly.
  
  And at every single promotion you get your Promotion Bonus.  And if you chose
  a new Career wisely (similar stats), you could get promoted EVERY DAY.  Quite
  the bonus!
  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
6.3.1  Job Hopping Analysis
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This entire section is from Andrew Harms.

  After reading the bit in your FAQ about "job hopping", I decided to find out
  exactly how much you benefit from it. (as well as some other misc. stats)
  I created a spreadsheet and got data for going from lvl 1-8 and 1-10, as
  well as allowing you to specify how often you get promoted.

  How often you can get promoted turns out to be the most important factor. In
  the Military track, if you get promoted every day, you more than triple your
  earnings if you go all the way to lvl 10. ( for a daily avg of 1952.00 ) If
  you only get promoted every other day, the benefits are significantly less.
  The most realistic timeframe is probably 2 promotions every 3 days.
  
  Given the 2/3 promotion rate:
  Military benefits the most (not quite double), and Entertainment actually
  loses 80 per day. (for lvl 10)
  
  For the most part, the higher the lvl 10 pay is, the less you gain.

  These charts show the number of friends required for lvl 8 and 10 of each
  career, the average daily pay for lvl 8 and 10, and the benefit recived for
  restarting the career as opposed to just staying at lvl 8 or lvl 10. The
  second column in the daily average shows how much you earn per friend that
  you must maintain.

1 day avg pay
  ( 3(sum of lvl 1-Y pay) + ((sum of lvl 1-Y pay)/Y)(((days for promotion)-1)*Y)
=
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Y*(days for promotion)


promoted 1 out of 2 days                                              Career
                 # friends     1 day avg 8       1 day avg 10        Benefit
        
            lvl 8  lvl 10    pay   /friend     pay    /friend   lvl 8   lvl 10

Entertainer   10     14     787.50   78.75    1130.00   80.71  -112.50 -270.00

Athlete        9     13     808.75   89.86    1107.00   85.15   -41.25 -193.00

Business      10     14     812.50   81.25    1080.00   77.14    12.50 -120.00

Crime          8     12     830.00  103.75    1064.00   88.67    70.00  -36.00

Science        7     10     862.50  123.21    1064.00  106.40   122.50   64.00

Xtreme         7     11     887.50  126.79    1060.00   96.36   162.50  135.00

Medicine       7     11     898.75  128.39    1044.00   94.91   198.75  194.00

Politics      11     17     896.25   81.48    1007.00   59.24   246.25  257.00

Law Enf.       8     12     906.25  113.28     995.00   82.92   281.25  295.00

Military       0      8     901.25  901.25     976.00  122.00   301.25  326.00



promoted 2 out of 3 days                                              Career
                 # friends     1 day avg 8       1 day avg 10        Benefit

            lvl 8  lvl 10    pay    /friend    pay    /friend    lvl 8  lvl 10

Entertainer   10      14    918.75   91.88    1318.33   94.17    18.75  -81.67

Athlete        9      13    943.54  104.84    1291.50   99.35    93.54   -8.50

Business      10      14    947.92   94.79    1260.00   90.00   147.92   60.00

Crime          8      12    968.33  121.04    1241.33  103.44   208.33  141.33

Science        7      10   1006.25  143.75    1241.33  124.13   266.25  241.33

Xtreme         7      11   1035.42  147.92    1236.67  112.42   310.42  311.67

Medicine       7      11   1048.54  149.79    1218.00  110.73   348.54  368.00

Politics      11      17   1045.63   95.06    1174.83   69.11   395.63  424.83

Law Enf.       8      12   1057.29  132.16    1160.83   96.74   432.29  460.83

Military       0       8   1051.46 1051.46    1138.67  142.33   451.46  488.67

Some other stuff:
  here's a chart of how much you earn per friend you have to maintain.
  
                   lvl 10 pay    pay/friend
    Entertainer        1,400       100.00
    Athlete            1,300       100.00
    Science            1,000       100.00
    Crime              1,100        91.67
    Business           1,200        85.71
    Xtreme               925        84.09
    Military             650        81.25
    Medicine             850        77.27
    Law Enf.             700        58.33
    Politics             750        44.12
    
    

Unrelated stuff: I've noticed that people with high Active stats walk faster
than those that are less Active.

  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
6.4  Job "Shifts"  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  This section is from RD Saunders.

  I found that after reaching the top position of each career choice you are 
  able to be transfered to a new career (most of the time to a 5,6,7 ranked 
  job). I found it is possible to go in circles and end up in the same job again 
  with all the bonuses and going therough all the careers.

  I made this to show the circle or careers. It shows the starting job and 
  career and why your sims changes (the reason or excuse given) and the new job 
  and career of your sim.

    - Medicine    Chief of Hospital   -> (your advanced medical knowledge) 
                  ->    Inventor, Science
                  
    - Science     Mad Scientist       -> (you drink a magic potion)
                  ->    Criminal Mastermind, Crime
                  
    - Crime       Criminal Mastermind -> (want to become a clean businessman)
                  ->    Executive, Business
                  
    - Business    Business Tycoon     -> (your burnt out at the top)
                  ->    All Star, Athlete
                  
    - Athlete     Hall of Famer       -> (you've finished with your career)
                  ->    Mountain Climber, XTreme
                  
    - XTreme      International Spy   -> (your intelligence)
                  ->    Counter-Intelligence, Military
                  
    - Military    General             -> (military downsising)
                  ->    SWAT Team Leader, Law Enforcement
                  
    - Law Enf.    Captain Hero        -> (you start to captain hero TV show)
                  ->    TV star, Entertainer
                  
    - Entertainer Superstar           -> (want to do something with your fame)
                  ->    Congressperson, Politics
                  
    - Politics    Mayor               -> (a scandal forces you to resign)
                  ->    Intern, Medicene

  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Running an Efficient Household
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  The most difficult aspect of the Sims is managing all your Sims time.  Since
  each Sim has only 24 hours in the day, 8 major needs, promotions, socializing,
  and whatnot, you have to be fairly efficient in how you do things.  It should
  be noted that the Sims themselves are not especially efficient in how they
  decide to do things.  A Sim who has a nearly Red bladder Need, may sit down to
  read a book, when his Fun need is still mostly Green.

  Generally you want to fulfill your Sims' needs on a Need basis.  Whichever 
  they need most, you have them do first.  There are, of course, many 
  exceptions.

  For example, you should use the toilet after eating, not before.  You should
  shower after using the toilet.

  Anyway, since I advised you to create two Sims, I'll do a rundown of how
  their first few mornings should go:  
  
    I'll call the two Sims, Worker, and Homer.  When you first appear at your
    house, you'll already have a Newspaper, and another one will be coming along 
    at 9:00 AM.  Have Worker look for a job, and if you want to, take it.  If it
    is still before 8:00 AM, the car pool will be picking Worker up at that time 
    (assuming you didn't take a night job).  Send Worker off to work.

    Now Homer will be home alone.  Have him Study up on Cooking so that he can
    fix a feast when Worker comes home.  One or two points here is all you need
    (although you should keep at this until you have all the points!).  Now
    your neighbors are going to start dropping by.  Cancel the Cooking Lessons,
    and go out to greet them.  Once greeted, the neighbor becomes a Guest in
    your house, and will eat food if you have already prepared it, watch your
    TV (if it's already on), etc.  This neighbor should be very chatty, so just
    let your Sims talk for a bit.  At this point, it is more important to greet
    new Sims, than to work up relationships with Sims already there, so if
    someone new comes to the door, go greet them.

      Note:  If you have two or more Sims around when other Sims come to the
             door, make sure that ALL of your Sims have talked to the new Sim
             at least once.  This is most important if you ever take control
             of the other Sims' house, and need to get him some friends.

    In the early days of your neighborhood, there won't be that many people for
    you to socialize with, so you will have to start new families soon.

    Worker comes home, and watches TV to get his fun rating up.  While he is
    doing that, Homer Serves Dinner (always do Serve Dinner!  It costs only 2x
    as much as "Have Dinner" and feeds 6!), and then the two sit around the
    table eating and chatting.  Also any guests in the house will eat with you,
    and Socialize as well.

      Note:  Although they are talking here, their relationships only improve by
             a mere point or two.

    After dinner, Worker goes to improve some Stat to help get promoted, while
    Homer talks to the Guest Sims.  Before going to sleep, both Sims go to the
    bathroom.

    The next morning, Homer gets up at 5:00 AM to Serve Breakfast.  Worker stays
    in bed until his Energy rating is all the way back up, and as soon as it is
    he jumps out of bed, and goes to take a shower, eat breakfast, and maybe
    watch some TV before the Carpool arrives.

      Note:  The 5:00 AM breakfast gives your stay at home Sim plenty of time to
             prepare the breakfast so that it is ready for the other Sim(s) when
             they get up.  Since the first Sim isn't going to work, he doesn't
             need to worry about lack of energy.  What I did usually is let the
             game run on fast mode (speed level 3) until 5 AM, then I paused it
             (press either 'p' or the key left of the 1 button), clicked on the
             Sleep icon to cancel it (top left corner), and click on the Fridge
             and Serve Breakfast.  I wake up most Sims like this.  Pause, then
             order them to do something, then unpause for them to do it.

    Once Worker is at work, Homer takes a shower, goes to the bathroom, and
    fulfills his needs.  Once that's done he picks up that Cooking book and 
    works on that for awhile, hoping that some new neighbors might drop by.  If
    they don't, he picks up the phone and calls the Sim who is close to becoming
    a Family Friend.  That Sim comes over (or blows you off with an excuse), the
    two chat for a bit, and the Guest Sim smelling food, goes over and eats some
    breakfast.  Homer joins him.

      Note:  Since Homer got up early, he might need a nap.  Usually I would 
             wait for my working Sims to get home before sending my Stay At Home
             to sleep, then I would get that Sim up in time to fix dinner and
             Socialize some more with the neighbors.

    They continue socializing until you get a new Family Friend.  At this point,
    keep going until the relationship is at 100.  At some point here, Homer is
    going to need to clean up the table, and get rid of what remains of the
    breakfast (it has undoubtedly spoiled by now).

    Worker comes home and studies some more for a promotion.  Homer takes a 
    small nap, and gets up to make dinner.  The two Sims (three if you still
    have a guest) eat and talk.  After dinner everyone watches TV and talks.
    Finally everyone goes to sleep.

  That was just a sample of how to run things efficiently.  It featured a
  staggered approach to getting ready in the mornings, one Sim got up at 5, the
  other a little later.  The first Sim made breakfast, while the other did some
  things in the bathroom.  This is also how you do things when you get more Sims
  (although you will probably need to build a second bathroom).

  Remember, you aren't just fulfilling Needs, you're also advancing these Sims
  in their lives.  Work on Stats for promotion, have them practice speeches in
  front of the bathroom mirror, or play chess to work on their logic. (chess is
  also Fun)  Bear in mind that Sims will work on their Stats forever if you let
  them, so keep an eye on their Needs, and cut short their Statbuilding if they
  need to go to the bathroom or something.

  Also keep in mind that you CAN hire Maids, Gardeners, and even call for a
  Pizza if you want to.  These services cost you a little (Maids are 10 an
  hour), but they can help out if you are getting overwhelmed.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.1  Working the Pause
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Part of running an efficient household is to know when to pause the game.  If
  you were to watch me playing The Sims, you would see that I pause the game a
  lot.  And unless you're playing just one Sim, you are going to need to pause
  quite a bit.

  Here are the basics of when to pause and how often to pause your game.

  - Pause Whenever you need to decide what your Sims are going to do.

    This is fairly simple.  While you are thinking of what your Sims should be
    doing, you should pause the game.  Once paused, you can look around at all
    their various stats, moods, and whatnot, and decide what would be the best
    thing for them to do right then.  Ex.  Your Sim comes home from work, you
    pause it to think of what he should do first.

    Note:  Don't just give your Sim ONE thing to do, give him several.  He will
           then simply go from one activity to another.  For example, have him
           use the toilet, then take a shower, then serve dinner.

  - Pause in Social Interactions

    There are two really good times to do this.  The first is when you are just
    starting out with another Sim to avoid them doing something that your Sim
    won't like (such as them trying to Hug you, and your Sim rejecting them,
    that will drop your relationship, so you need to cancel it).  So, I will
    simply pause after they finish what they are doing, then have them do 
    something SAFE (such as talk).  The other time this comes in handy is when
    you are carrying on an affair, you will want to pause to make sure they
    don't kiss you while the wife is around.

  This all has to do with TIME EFFICIENCY.  Since your Sims never seem to have
  enough hours in the day to do everything they need to do, those precious
  moments they lose while you are deciding what they should do are costly.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Expanding the House
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Well your Sims are doing quite well, you have gotten some promotions, you have
  a bit of money now, and you want to spruce up your house.  Who can blame you?
  The first thing you should probably do is to replace your Not-Top-Of-The-Line
  kitchen appliances with better ones.  Get rid of the cheap Fridge and Range
  for more expensive versions.  These help satisfy your Sims hunger better.
  Generally you will want to replace your cheap crap with expensive stuff.  
  Don't go overboard and spend all your money at once (you might have to pay
  bills, or something).

  If you succeed in getting someone to Move In or Marry you, then you have to
  find a place for them to sleep, which may mean expanding the entire house (or
  could just mean replacing a Spartan Bed with a Two Person Bed).  But as the
  game goes on, you definitely need to expand the house.

  Here's the house as I designed it earlier:


            ------------
            |          |                   Key:
            |          |
            | Bedroom  |                   e - Door      -- - wall
            |          |                   Tr - Trash    == - sidewalk
            |          |
  ----------------e-------------           Note:  Two horizontal characters
  |                    |       |                  is one "square" of SimLand.
  |                    e Bath  |                  So -- is one 1 x 1.
  | Kitchen            | room  |
  |                    |       |           Note:  To build a "square", hold down
  |           Living   |--------                  the shift while building a
  |             Room   |                          wall outwards.
  -----------e----------

  =======================
             Tr

  And here are a couple improvement Ideas:

  Idea 1:  Mega Bedroom

  ----------------------
  |                    |                   Key:
  |                    |
  |      Bedroom       |                   e - Door      -- - wall
  |                    |                   Tr - Trash    == - sidewalk
  |                    |
  ----------------e-------------           Note:  Two horizontal characters
  |                    |       |                  is one "square" of SimLand.
  |                    e Bath  |                  So -- is one 1 x 1.
  | Kitchen            | room  |
  |                    |       |           Note:  To build a "square", hold down
  |           Living   |--------                  the shift while building a
  |             Room   |                          wall outwards.
  -----------e----------

  =======================
             Tr

  Idea 2:  Mega Bedroom, Move Bathroom, Add Den


  ----------------------
  |   Bedroom          |                   Key:
  |     ---------      |
  |     | Bath  |      |                   e - Door      -- - wall
  |     e room  e      |                   Tr - Trash    == - sidewalk
  |     |       |      |
  ---e------e-----e-------------           Note:  Two horizontal characters
  |                    |       |                  is one "square" of SimLand.
  |                    e  Den  |                  So -- is one 1 x 1.
  | Kitchen            |       |
  |                    |       |           Note:  The Den would have a Desk for
  |           Living   |--------                  a computer, as well as
  |             Room   |                          a Piano, etc.
  -----------e----------

  =======================
             Tr

  And, of course, you could always build some stairs and add a second level.
  Remember on the second level that people can't go up there until there is a
  floor.  And you can only build walls out one square past the walls on the
  first story.  Whatever else you stick on the second story, I would definitely
  place a bathroom.

  Also as I previously mentioned, a great deal of expanding your house is to
  replace your old furniture and objects with bigger shinier models.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8.1  Building that Second Story
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  There isn't all that much to building a second story.  As long as you can
  fit those stairs in your house somewhere, you can build the second story.

  Once the stairs are built, switch to the Second Story view.  Notice how there
  is nothing here, but the area directly above the walled area is marked.  That
  is where you can build.  The buildable area extends out one square from the
  first story's wall, in case you want to build out a little.

  You will probably just want to build your walls directly above the first
  story's walls.  Make sure to wallpaper the outside and inside.  Decide what
  you are going to do with this story, and build interior walls appropriately.

    Tip:  I would recommend building a bathroom upstairs, at least.  This way,
          anyone up there won't have to come down to use the facilities, and
          it gives you another bathroom in case the first gets "busy".

    Note:  If you want to build out a balcony that isn't directly above an
           already walled area, there are two ways to do it.  The first is the
           standard Balcony idea (see 8.1.2) and the second is the "Flying"
           Balcony Idea. (see 8.1.1)

  To finish the second story, make sure to build a flooring.  Without a floor
  no one can go up there!

    Note:  For walls, fences and barricades (on the second storey) above the 
           staircase, these can only be built from the third square (counting 
           from the staircase landing on the second storey) onwards.
           (broadstrong)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8.1.1  The "Flying" Second Story
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Based on a strategy from http://thesims.xtremesims.com/ (David Phillips)

  There is a way around the "Pillar Limitation" as discussed in the previous
  section.  Here is what we're going to do.  Say you want to build out a
  true balcony, one that doesn't have any first story rooms below it.  The only
  way (until now) to do this was to build a Pillar under every square that you
  wanted to build on.

  First, do what you would normally do to build a balcony.  That is, place a
  pillar everywhere you want to build on.  Then build the second story room,
  floor, walls, whatever.  Just make sure that it is finished.  Now go back to
  the first story, and DELETE all the pillars.

  You will now have a True Balcony!  If you want, you can leave a pillar or two
  for aesthetic reasons.

  You can even do this without having a First Story, so that you have nothing
  but stairs down there, then a fully "flying" second story.  It's great!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8.1.2  The Balcony
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following correction comes from Christopher Scatliff:

When building a balcony, you don't need to put pillars under *every* square.
Every pillar supports a 3x3 area, but these buildable floor squares don't
appear until there is a floor square next to them.

Therefore, your pillar pattern can be every 3rd square:

        XXXXXXXXX
        XOXXOXXOX
        XXXXXXXXX
        XXXXXXXXX
        XOXXOXXOX
        XXXXXXXXX

(O = pillar, X = empty)

As you can see. those six pillars will support a balcony of area 6x9!  But
that floor area won't become apparent until you actually put the balcony
floor in place.

Of course, you could just use the "flying balcony" strategy, too...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Babies and Children
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  You can start any family with children, but you can't start them with a baby.
  There are only two ways to get a baby, lots of kissing of the passionate sort,
  or Adoption.  I'll deal with adoption first.  The way adoption works is that
  they will call you and ask if you want a baby.  This can happen to either
  gay couples or singles (as they can't produce children on their own).  You are
  given the choice of taking or rejecting it.
  
    Note:  Adoption can also happen to opposite sex couples (man-woman), but
           isn't so common. (from Keri)

  As for the natural method, simply have a guy kiss a girl a lot (or visa versa,
  it doesn't matter who kisses whom) and the option will come up "Would you like
  to have a baby?"  No, you don't get to see them have sex.  The baby just
  appears, magically.  The sex and personality are set at birth, you have no
  control over that.  You do get to name the baby, though.

  Now that you have the baby, you have to take care of her for 3 days.  72 hours
  exactly from the moment you got her.

    Tip:  The best time to get a baby would probably be in the morning, as when
          the baby becomes a Child, they have perfect Energy, and you don't want
          perfect energy late at night.  Not with school the next morning!

    Tip:  Children are a TAX CREDIT, which is a deduction in Bill Payments.
          How much?  About 10% off of Bills per child.  So if your bills were
          310 before having a kid, after it will be about 279. (assuming you
          haven't bought anything, nor had anything stolen/sold/broken, and
          that depreciation was small/nonexistent)

          Naturally the most you can get off is 70% (you can only get 7 kids,
          you NEED at least one adult).

  A baby is a huge responsibility.  But you didn't need me to tell you that.
  You have only 3 things you can do with the baby, Feed, Play and Sing (to
  sleep).  The baby will be resting quite comfortably when suddenly "WAH!"  The
  baby will cry out.  Anyone sleeping in the area will be awakened (I'd
  recommend sleeping ONE and only ONE person with the baby, and rotating who
  gets to do it, so no one Sim loses too much Energy).  Then you have to figure
  out what the baby wants (impossible).  Usually I would just do each option
  once from Feed to Play to Sing.  If that didn't put the baby to sleep, I'd
  feed again and Sing again.  That almost always works.  If it does, the baby
  will go back to sleep... only to wake up in a few hours bawling.

    Note:  If you fail to take proper care of the baby, she will be taken away
           by the Social Workers.  Shame on you!

  As you can see, having someone home at all times is CRUCIAL here, not just
  recommended.  This is another place where it really helps to have left someone
  home all along.  But if you didn't, just have different people miss work
  different days to care for the child.  Sorry, there is no "day care" or "baby
  sitter" for you to call.  What I did, is I used my stay at home Sim to care
  for the child until the first person got off work, then Sim 1 would go to 
  sleep and Sim 2 would take over tending over the baby.  Make sure you have
  something constructive to do while the child sleeps, so maybe you should move
  the Chess set to the room that has the baby (or something like that).

  After 3 full days, the baby goes *poof* and becomes a Child.  Children can
  sleep with any adult in the household, if you can't afford to buy her own
  bed.  Children have only one responsibility, and that is School.  They have to
  go everyday at 9 AM and come back everyday at 3 PM.  Furthermore they have to
  study to keep their grades up (you can study at any bookcase or computer).

    Note:  One side effect of good grades is that Grandparents can give money
           for good grades.  At the A+ level, I got 100.

  At this point you probably should buy a Toybox for the child so she can play
  with the toys.  And as you can guess, they like to watch Cartoons on TV as
  well.

  Finally children can also Play with other children, where they will just start
  running amok.  And no, children never grow up.
  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9.0.1  Baby Tips
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  This tip comes from Joseph Peitler:
  
      When the female sings and plays with the baby, her fun bar goes up.  It 
      has no effect whatsoever when the male does it.
      
  This tip comes from Mark Hissett:
  
      Have a baby when a few guests are over (just kiss a lot).  The guests 
      will be able to play with the baby then.  I find it easier that way, 
      because my sims are happy, and the guests are happy (usually).  After a 
      day or so, its much harder to get company over (me speaking that is), 
      because your sims aren't feeling so well rested, and the baby is only not 
      crying if its asleep.  So it won't interact much with neighbors.  
      However, as said above, the little simkid will get a better chance at 
      outgoing points if neighbors are over at the time of birth.  And they 
      all come in and clap too. 

  These tips come from broadstrong:

    If a couple (man and woman) is eager to have a baby, can try this: the 
    Houseworking Sim call someone at 3 something (preferably 3 to 3.30 pm) to 
    invite someone over (make sure he agrees, or it may not work).  The Working 
    Sim comes back from work at around 3 or 4 pm.  When you know that the 
    invited guest is approaching (about 4.15 to 4.30 pm by then), the couple go 
    for a passionate kiss (prior to this, can also have Hug, Back Rub if player 
    wants)!  If lucky enough, either there will be a phone call asking for 
    adoption, or one of them will ask for a baby.  Click "Yes" and the baby, 
    crib and all, will appear!  This worked for me 70% of the time and ALL the 
    babies in my neighbourhood come through this fashion, really!  Wonder if it
    is because that 4 something timeframe is a "magic" time for babies to 
    appear, or because visitors appear (get a baby to appear so there is more 
    difficulty in entertaining BOTH baby and visitor).  I wonder if this will 
    work for other timing, though.

      Note:  In your FAQ, it was stated that adoption is less common in 
             man-woman couples.  I beg to differ.  For my neighbourhood, I get 
             more phone calls for adoption than someone asking for a baby.

    Want to know if the baby is asleep?  Here's a way: Once the Sim starts 
    putting the baby back, place the mouse cursor on the crib, and click once 
    (can also see the type of cursor).  If further options (the Sim's face with 
    actions surrounding him) come up, this means the baby is awake!  Be prepared 
    to tend to it further.  If nothing comes up, the baby is asleep, leaving his 
    (or her) family members alone for 6 hours.  Be warned, though.  I have seen 
    babies crying BEFORE the 6 hours is up!

    Apart from the fun of seeing the Sim playing with the baby, "Play" is 
    actually useless.  The baby is awake throughout and the motives will drop 
    fast.  Feed-Feed-Sing is a sure and fast way to care for the baby and let it 
    sleep.  Of course, with sufficient time (and Mood!), one can try all sorts 
    of combinations and play with the baby as wanted.

    Ed. Note:  Actually the "Play" option does make a difference in how your
               baby's personality will turn out.  As of right now, I don't have
               any stats on this, but I may get some in the future.

  It was earlier reported from Joseph Peitler, that you could not move the Crib
  once it had been placed.  This was incorrect, you can move the Crib in either
  furnish or build modes (F2 or F3).  One thing to do with the Crib, to help
  make sure that you baby isn't taken away by the County Social Workers, is to
  move the Crib into whatever room your Sim happens to be in at the time.
    (modified from a tip by Jordan Edmonson)
    
    Note:  Also, Joseph Peitler wrote that you can't move the baby crib.  This 
           is not true.  It's the same as if you're trying to move a bed: if 
           someone's sleeping in it, you can't move it.  Also, if someone has 
           the bed in their queue bar and you try moving it, you can't.  The 
           same goes with the baby crib.  If the baby cradle is not in anyone's
           queue bar, you can move the cradle by going to buy or build mode and
           clicking on it. (from Keri)
  
    Important:  Have a Sim at home at ALL TIMES!  This doesn't mean that you
                have to have an unemployed Sim stay home, just make sure that
                at least one Sim is home.  If one comes home, the other one is
                now free to go to work.  What you might want to try is to have
                (if you have 2 Sims) them go to work every other day, one day
                the first stays home, then the next, the other stays home.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9.1  Children and School
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Kids have to go to school everyday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.  Skipping a day
  will drop their Grade one whole letter (say from A to B, or from B+ to C+).
  If the child Sim (or SimKid if you will) goes to school everyday in a good
  mood, their grades will naturally increase.  The other way to increase the
  child's grades is to have them Study.  They can study either on a computer or
  with a book, it makes no difference.  After a period of time, they will
  increase their grades.  This period of studying is small for the low grades,
  and large for the high grades.  It's therefore easier to improve from a D to
  a C than it is from a B to an A.

    Note:  As I noted earlier, you can randomly get 100 gifts from grandparents
           with an A+.  Also with an A+ you don't have the option to study
           anymore.  What would be the point?

  So what happens if you don't have good grades?  Your Sim gets shipped off to
  a military school!  Plus your family has to pay 1000 for tuition (but 
  thankfully you only pay this once, and they never ever bother you again).

    Tip:  Therefore to get rid of any troublesome child (i.e. a lazy one), just
          let his or her grades slip to an F, and away they go!
          
  Apieper sent me this:
  
    Regarding the section of kids and getting good grades... I always get $100
    for good grades too. I don't think it goes higher, and I'm pretty sure it
    only happens at the A+ level.  And a friend of mine pointed out that
    studying is optional. Attending school for one day raises your grade by
    three points (from B- to A-, or from F to D+) and studying raises it one
    point.  So if you go to school every day you don't need to study. I think
    it's important to add that children are far more likely to cause a mess in
    the shower or tub than adults.  (Ed. Note: Although "Messy" adult Sims will
    make messes as well)

  broadstrong sent me this:

    Apieper's kid tip has an error.  Attending school for one day (in a good 
    mood) raises only one grade point (B- to B, B+ to A- etc), so studying at 
    home do helps in grade increase, though it is quite time consuming.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9.2  What Kids Do
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Kids are a lot like the Adult Sims, except for the fact that they don't have
  jobs, and therefore don't need Skill Points.  They also never need to gain
  Friends as it doesn't help them any.  (although a parent could use them as an
  extra agent of socialization)

  So, once a Kid gets up to an A+ and has satisfied all of her needs, what IS
  she going to do?

  Since you aren't trying to get them up the Career Ladder, and getting them
  good grades is absurdly easy, I would just leave kids alone, and let their
  free will take them where it will.

    Tip:  Two kids together will almost always start running around Playing
          together.  So if there are other kids in the neighborhood, call them
          over.  Or you could always have a second kid.

  The following tips come from broadstrong:

    It is much better to have kids later on than to create them in the Family 
    Screen.  Kids (and adults too) created this way can use only 25 bars maximum 
    for personality.  Kids born through adoption or birth have more bars 
    available (easily 30+ bars), so it is possible for these kids to have 8+ for 
    two or even three of their personality bars.  Too bad they can't grow into
    adults.

      Note: I don't think kids will get their personality from parents.  For my 
            game, the Jones family (one of those available as Maxis download) 
            are outgoing but very inactive, yet their child (by birth) is an 
            introvert, but quite active.

    "Play" is just about the best social interaction for kids; it increases Fun
    and Social motives TO THE MAXIMUM; kids CONTINUE to play even when both 
    motives are full; ANY kid would accept to play, even serious kids; play 
    sufficiently long and relationship will really go up.  They do need a large
    enough amount of space to play, which can exclude some rooms.

  Joseph Peitler sent me this:

    Simkids are not a waste of space.  They can make a lot of friends for your 
    sim family while adult sims are busy doing other things, such as cooking, 
    working on their skills, or sleeping after work.  One thing I noticed is 
    that alarm clocks doesn't go off for the sleeping simkid.  Is this a glitch 
    or has this happen to anyone else?  Also, since simkid don't "love", they 
    can't go to the bathroom with another sim without being "shooed off" or 
    shooing them off.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Everything Else in the Neighborhood
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Your house can be burglarized.  During the night, the game will slow down to
  the slow game speed, and a PIP will show the burglar coming your way.  If you
  have alarms, the second he enters the house, the police will be called.  But
  if he's clever, he'll just grab one thing and run, and may get away with it.
  So if you see a burglar, here's something to try:

    - Wake up your Sim.
    - If possible, call the police BEFORE the burglar enters the house to get
      the police here sooner.
    - Now here's the fun part, since the burglar runs on the same pathfinding
      algorithm as the rest of the Sims, you can "bump into" him, and he'll
      stop cold.  So if he's trying to go out the door, and you are in the
      doorway, he'll have to stop and wait for you to move!

    Note:  Anything stolen by the thief can't be returned to you, but you do
           get partial reimbursement from the Insurance Company.  Plus if he
           is captured you also get a 1000 reward!

    Tip:  Place burglar alarms on the OUTSIDE of your house, the burglar will
          be caught before he has a chance to steal anything!

  Joseph Peitler has this to add about Burlgers:

    The more sims you have in your family house, the less chance your house 
    would likely be burglarize.  One house had 8 sims and after 100 days, their 
    house was broken into only once.  While the houses that had 1 to 3 sims got 
    broken into 3-4 times in less than 70 days.

  broadstrong sent these tips:

    Tip:  Burglars come when everyone present in the house is sleeping, so they 
          come at night.  But I had one instance where the burglar came in the 
          MORNING!  (It should be noted that that time, the father was away to 
          work, the kids had left for school and the mother was still sleeping)

    Tip:  Burglars TEND TO plunder the less well-to-do households, perhaps 
          thinking that they could not afford the burglar alarm.  My Valentino 
          (available as Maxis download) house never got burglarized so far 
          (about 20 days passed by) even though there are only Rudy and Julia 
          inside.

  Sims who don't know their way around the kitchen, not only cut themselves or
  burn themselves a lot while making a meal, may also cause a Fire to break out.
  Once the fire has started, your alarm (if you have one) will go off.  If you
  don't have an alarm, call the Fire Dept.  You can try to extinguish the fire
  yourself, but ... you can die from the flames!

  The character  can be typed by pressing and holding ALT, then on the number
  pad pressing 0167.  This is the character for "Simoleon" the monetary unit of
  the Sims.  If you want to see something bizarre, check out the Money bag on
  the CD case, and on the instruction manual.  You will see the symbol  on
  both, but on the CD case, for some reason, it is backward!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.1  Death and Ghosts
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Death can come to the Sims in a couple ways.  One, they can starve to death.
  This one is fairly easy to avoid, as when the Hunger bar gets low, it doesn't
  deplete as fast, and even when it gets to completely red, your Sim won't die.
  Give it a few days, and they will, however, so get them some food.  The other
  way for them to die is in a fire that they are either trying to extinguish, or
  merely got caught in.  Another way for them to die is to have them Drown in
  your Swimming Pool.  This occurs when they run out of energy in the Pool.
  This can only happen if you remove the ladder out of the pool while they are
  swimming, otherwise they'll just get out before they drown.  When they die,
  the Sims leave a Tombstone (you can readily see these by playing the Goth
  household), and furthermore, they will HAUNT the living!  So don't let the
  Sims die.
  
  Another way to kill a Sim would be to stick a fence (or a wall) around him,
  and wait.  I did this once, and it was rather depressing to watch as the
  Sim first went Insane, then died of hunger. 

    Note:  Ghost Sims (or SimGhosts if you will) usually do their haunting at
           11 pm.  It is random as to whether they will do it or not, but if
           you have enough graves (see the Goth house) it will probably happen
           every night!

    Note:  Where the Sim dies determines their "marker".  If they die outside,
           they leave a Tombstone, inside an Urn.  The living members of your
           household then have to "mourn" the marker for 24 hours.  That is, of
           course, after they have finished what they were already doing (so
           they will watch TV until satisfied, then go mourn).  After that you
           can mourn at your leisure.

  Death is one of the few ways to get rid of a Sim for Good.  So, if you have
  just plain too many Sims in your family, or you married a Bum or something...
  Well you get the idea.  Although this is HIGHLY amoral! (good thing morality
  isn't a Need!)

    Tip:  One way to fortune is to marry a bachelor, take all their money, then
          "bump them off".  Two good ways to kill them, wall them up somewhere
          and let nature take its course, or remove the ladder in a pool.
          Bloodthirsty, but effective.  Maybe you should even name your
          murderous little Sim the "Black Widow" or something.

  Well you've had your fun with the Ghost spooking your Sims, and now you want
  rid of that Ghost.  Well you can just sell their Tombstone/Urn for 5, or
  destroy the house and they'll never pester you again.  Or if you like the
  ghost, but don't like the hauntings, you can just move your bedrooms to the
  second story since Ghosts can't climb stairs (probably since they'd go right
  THROUGH the stairs!).

  Joseph Peitler had this to add:

    Dead Sim Walking

    It takes a lot longer to kill a sim by isolate and starve him off then it is 
    to drown him.  On a full stomach, it takes 4-5 days for the hunger gauge to 
    reach zero and red and another 1-2 days for him to die from. It is even 
    longer if it is a visiting sim, although I don't know you can actually kill 
    a visiting sim that way (you can drown them).  Drowning is quicker, by it 
    doesn't show any devatating effects like screaming or gurgling sounds the 
    way a starving sim before he dies.  The most disturbing death of a sim is 
    from a flu by a GPV (Guinea Pig Virus), because even with energy and hunger 
    gauge at halfway, the sim could die when you least expect it.

    It doesn't matter where a sim dies, if you move he's "death marker" outside, 
    it becomes a tombstone.  Move it in a house, it's a urn.  But suppose you 
    want the urn outdoor?  Place the urn on any desk/table/counter (no end 
    table), then move the table out of the house.

    Joseph Peitler has this to add:

      The ghosts come out after every two days, after 11:00 PM (mostly 12AM-1AM) 
      and go back around 6AM or sooner.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.2  Did you Know?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  After 100 days of your Sim living in their house (to check how long they have
  lived there, click on their money, and in the corner it will say "Days since
  Move In"), you get the option of getting little messages about the people who
  made this game.  I have included only the first one here (there are a lot of
  them!), the rest you'll have to see for yourself!

    Will Wright -- Game Designer

      Will first thought of "The Sims" shortly after the original SimCity.  It
      took this long for technology to catch up with Will's vision.  In the
      Maxis offices we have a mock-up design for the original idea of The Sims.
      Though the technology is far more advanced, the actual game does not vary
      much from this prototype.  Will makes wicked Excel sheets, and likes to
      zip around the Maxis offices on a bright red electric scooter.

      Fun Fact:  Will purchased a couple of real pink flamingo lawn ornaments
      for the team so we could properly model both the complex 3D shape of the
      birds and the physics and emotional algorithims needed for kicking them.

  Joseph Peitler sent in a list of the other "Did you Know" people:

    1.   Will Wright
    2.   Rana Ryan
    3.   Jeff Charvat
    4.   Charles London
    5.   James (Jamie) Doornbos
    6.   Patrick Buechner
    7.   Chris Trottier
    8.   Luc Barthelet
    9.   Patrick J. Barrett
    10.  Eric "Bo Bo" Bowman
    11.  Don Hopkins
    12.  Trevor Perrin
    13.  Alex Zvenigorodsky
    14.  Robi Kauker
    15.  Eric "Chin" Chin
    16.  Eric "Irk" Hedman
    17.  Jami Becker
    18.  Michael "Mike" Lawson
    19.  Melissa Bachman
    20.  Timle Tourneau
    21.  Sean Baity
    22.  Paul Wilkinson
    23.  Roxy Wolosenko
    24.  Claire Curtain
    25.  Bob King
    26.  The Sims testing team-guided by Jami, Gabe, and Etienne
    27.  Jim Mackraz


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Cheats & Tricks
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  The following Cheats come from http://www.gamewinners.com/

    To bring up the Console to enter the Cheats into, press CTRL-SHIFT-C.

    Warning:  Try to avoid using the move_objects cheat to delete things like
              mailboxes and carpools.  If you delete a Mailbox, sure you can't
              get bills, but it screws up the game (in mine Guest Sims could
              arrive, but couldn't be greeted!!).  Also if you delete the
              carpool, you can't go to work.  Ever.

              Also, if you delete a Sim, they will revert to the state they were
              in when you last saved it.  So if you got a lot of Skills, then
              delete your Sim, they'll lose all that.
              
              I have an idea about how you could get your Mailbox/Carpool back
              if you deleted them:  Import a new house from somewhere (usually
              http://www.thesims.com/) and install that into the game.  That
              should work.  Or you could just uninstall the game then 
              reinstall.
              

    Note:  Some of these cheats don't seem to actually work.

    - 1000 Simoleons (unpatched game version)                  klapaucius
    - 1000 Simoleons (patched game version)                    rosebud
    - Add new family history stat to the current family        hist_add
    - Appends the route destination list to AllRoutes.txt
      every time a route is found                              write_destlist
    - Architecture tools automatically set the level as
      needed                                                   auto_level
    - Automatically import and load indicated FAM file         import <FAM file>
    - Automatically load indicated house, no questions 
      asked                                                 house <house number>
    - Check and fix required lot objects                       prepare_lot
    - Completely flush app to VM file when running Windows NT  flush
    - Crash game                                               crash
    - Create moat or streams                                   water_tool
    - Create shrunk_text_#.bmp files              shrink_text <font_size> <text>
    - Create-a-character mode                                  edit_char
    - Display personality and interests                        interests
    - Draw all animation frames disabled                     draw_all_frames off
    - Draw all animation frames enabled                      draw_all_frames on
    - Draw colored dots at each person's origin                draw_origins
    - Dump entire memory to core_dump_[date:time].txt          core_dump
    - Dump selected person's most recent list of scored 
      interactions to a file                                   dump_happy
    - Dump selected person's motive contribution curve 
      to a file                                                dump_mc
    - Enable debug flag to show outcome choice dialogs 
      for social interactions                                  debug_social
    - End sim logging                                          sim_log end
    - Execute "file.cht" file as a list of cheats              cht <filename>
    - Floorable grid disabled                                 draw_floorable off
    - Floorable grid enabled                                  draw_floorable on
    - Force an assert for testing                              assert
    - Log animations in the event log window                   log_animations
    - Map editor disabled                                      map_edit off
    - Map editor enabled                                       map_edit on
    - Move any object                                          move_objects
    - No tutorial object generation when tutorial house 
      is loaded                                                tutorial off
    - Prevent web browser crashes                              browser_failsafe
    - Preview animations disabled                              preview_anims off
    - Preview animations enabled                               preview_anims on
    - Programmer stats                                         tile_info
    - Quit game                                                quit
    - Read in behavior tuning constants from Tuning.txt        #import
    - Rebuilds entire control panel/UCP from scratch           rebuild_cp
    - Refresh the BMP_ resources for all people whose
      IFF files are writable                                   refresh_faces
    - Rematch dependent textures and regenerate bitmaps 
      for all user characters                                  refresh_textures
    - Restore tutorial                                         restore_tut
    - Rotate camera                                            rotation <0-3>
    - Routing debug balloons disabled                         route_balloons off
    - Routing debug balloons enabled                          route_balloons on
    - Run series of random operations on unhoused families    fam_test <opcount>
    - Save currently loaded house                              save
    - Save family history file                                 history
    - Say "plugh"                                              plugh
    - Say "porntipsguzzardo"                                   porntipsguzzardo
    - Say "xyzzy"                                              xyzzy
    - Selected person's path displayed                         draw_routes on
    - Selected person's path hidden                            draw_routes off
    - Set event logging mask                                   log_mask
    - Set free thinking level                                  autonomy <1-100>
    - Set game speed                                      sim_speed <-1000-1000>
    - Set grass change value                                edit_grass <number>:
      Set grass growth grow_grass <0-150>, 150 is brown grass
    - Set lot size                                             lot_size <number>
    - Set maximum milliseconds to allow simulator       sim_limit <milliseconds>
    - Set time of day (unpatched game version)                 set_hour <1-24>
    - Set z offset for thought bubbles             bubble_tweak <z offset value>
    - Sets the neighborhood directory to the path               <directory path>
    - Sets up the borders of the lot with non-editable
      flag. Requires rotation                     lot_border <tl> <tr> <bl> <br>
    - Sets whether menu items appear for in use objects        allow_inuse
    - Show memory view window in debug builds of the game      memview
    - Start sim logging                                        sim_log begin
    - Swap the two house files and updates families  
                                       swap_houses <house number> <house number>
    - Ticks disabled                                           sweep off
    - Ticks enabled                                            sweep on
    - Tile information displayed                               tile_info on
    - Tile information hidden                                  tile_info off
    - Toggle allowing visitors to be controlled using 
      the keyboard                                             visitor_control
    - Toggle assets report                                     report_assets
    - Toggle automatic object reset feature                    auto_reset
    - Toggle calls to PeekMessage within sim loop              sim_peek
    - Toggle camera mode                                       cam_mode
    - Toggle display of unavailable interactions in
      person control menus                                     all_menus
    - Toggle music                                             music
    - Toggle object compression in save file                   obj_comp
    - Toggle quaternion transformations                        quats
    - Toggle sound log window                                  sound_log
    - Toggle sounds                                            sound
    - Toggle web page creation                                 html
    - Total reload of people skeletons, animations, 
      suits and skins                                          reload_people
    - Trigger sound event                                      soundevent
    - Write out an RTE file every time a route is found        write_routes
    - Write out behavior tuning constants to Tuning.txt        #export

This was sent in by Nancy Beck:

  I (actually, my son) found 2 quicker ways to make money with the cheat.   One
  is when you are typing all the !;!;! add a wrong symbol at the end and just 
  hold the enter key.  It will come up saying no such cheat, but will still add
  the money.  Just back space over the wrong symbol at the end and enter to get 
  rid of the window. Another way is to type  klapaucius; ;  and just hold the 
  enter key...it too will add all the money.
  
This was sent in by Mandy Falco:

  Another way to get a bunch of money - after typing the "klapaucius" cheat,
  *do the "!;!;!;!;!;!;!" except fill up the command line until it starts
  clicking at you (it should end on an "!".) Now copy what you typed and
  hit enter. you should get around 130,000 simoleons. Since you copied it
  now you just keep pasteing in your new code and before you know it you
  will have one simoleon short of 10 million. :)

This comes from broadstrong:

  Water Tool Cheat:  The water tool cheat works only in build mode.  To remove 
  the water created with this, use Ctrl-click (just as other objects in Build 
  mode).  Clicking any Build mode button disables the water tool.

____________
Easter Eggs:

  There is only one easter egg that I know of.  Insert the game CD and let the
  autoplay screen come up.  Once it's up, click the Maxis logo in the lower
  left of the window to open up a picture of Will Wright with Sims crawling
  all over him.   (from Mikey Griffiths)

___________________
Trainers & Editors:


  There is currently only one trainer that I know about, a Money trainer, which
  can be found here:

    http://thesims.xtremesimz.com/cheat-description.shtml

  There is also an Editor for the game, which can change your Sim's Stats, such
  as their Mechanical Skills, or whatnot:

    http://people.atl.mediaone.net/jharry/simedsetup.zip

  Here's another one:

    http://simed.gameeditors.com/

  And another Character Editor here:

    http://www.geocities.com/tsedit/

  And no, I haven't tested any of them, and therefore know very little about
  them.

_______
Tricks:


  The old "Marry them for their Money" trick:

    One way to get a bunch of money is to get the last person of a household to
    marry into your family.  Then they bring over all the money they had, plus
    the money they got from selling their house.  So, what you should do is to
    simply create a Sim, put him in a cheap house (a Wall with a Phone will be
    sufficient!) and then wait for your Family of Sims to come by.  Once he has
    met them, switch back to that Family and begin the process to get him (or
    her) married into the family.  You can do this as often as you want, until
    your family is up to 8 members.

  The old "Use it then return it" trick:

    If you buy something, and decide that you don't really want it, then as long
    as you get rid of it (in Furnish mode, click on it then press DEL) the same
    day as you bought it, you'll get the full money back.  Great for getting
    rid of those impulse buys.  Also useful if you want to buy a computer for
    the purposes of Job Hunting, but don't need a computer just yet.

  The old "Use it while it's being repossessed" trick:

    If you manage to use an object at the same time as it is being repossessed,
    you will get money for that object, as if you had sold it.  It sure beats
    just LOSING the item!

  The old "Job Switching" Trick:

    Many career paths use similar skills.  For example, both law enforcement,
    and military require much the same thing (Crime as well).  So if you want
    to suddenly... switch careers you will be able to jump up another career
    ladder quite easily!  And at each promotion you will be given a Bonus...
    You can see where I'm going with this.  So switching careers MAY be quite
    beneficial!

  The following tricks come to us from Kyrre Aalerud:

    1:  A little trick to get rid of garbage:  Throw the garbage-can away!
        This actually works!  If the garbage-can is new, then you will get 30
        for it, and a new one costs the same!

    2:  Also, I couldn't find anything about getting rid of children...
        I only know of this way:  have them do lousy at school, or not go at
        all.  This will send them to military school and out of your hair.

  Killing everyone in the neighborhood (for Sadists, I suppose) by Dan Vernon:

    If you are a real sadist, and you want to kill off an entire Sim 
    neighbourhood, read this. For maximum effect, have a family of 8.  Buy a 
    brand new lot, and build a house with a 3-4 tile gap all the way around it.
    Build a swimming pool all around (use klapaucius if the money's getting
    short) and put a diving boardgoing in (from pavement to pool) and a ladder 
    coming out (pool to front door). Get all your family inside and wait for the
    neighbours to arrive... They'll dive in and come inside, socialize with your
    Sims and then when they want to go home, attempt to leave.  
    
    This is where it gets fun!  The neighbours will swim around until they've 
    run out of energy, and then, they will DROWN!  Repeat until entire 
    neighbourhood dies (try all this after making a large neighbourhood that
    went wrong).  Then put all but one (an adult) of the house Sims into the 
    pool and sell the ladder!  Watch them all drown and then, using the 
    move_objects cheat, move all the tombstones into the lonely Sims bedroom.
    Then make a space for him to get out (to go to work) and wait for 11 pm!  
    There are sometimes several ghosts (it's very odd when they try to swim 
    underneath furniture!) in the night and they howl and wake up Sims (which is 
    the downside of this really....).

  Empty Trash Can Trick, from Broadstrong:

    When the trash can is full, empty it, then cancel the action.  There will be 
    a pile of mess around the Sim.  Click on the pile and select "Clean Up".  
    The Sim throws the trash back nito the trash can, but the trash can IS NOT 
    FULL! (or you could just try the Trick in the next section)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.1  Deleting Trash (and Bills too!)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  The Following Trick comes from Shyguy982:

     I always find it hard to juggle keeping my Sims happy, socializing, and
     cleaning.  Well, I solved the cleaning agenda, which made it a whole lot
     easier for me to concentrate on the other aspects of the game.  While in
     purchase mode, you can pick up dishes.  On the bottom of the screen it says
     they can't be sold or deleted.  Which is false.  In order to dispose of
     these nuisances in a timely fashion, simply pick it up, place it over
     another object such as a plant or couch.  Somewhere it cannot be placed
     onto.  Then simply hit the escape key while it's hovering over the object.
     Bingo!  Gone for good.  It makes cleaning your house a snap, and it gives
     you extra time to do whatever needs be.

     Also, this trick works on bills too!  Yes, you can hover them over other
     objects, and hit escape, thus deleting your bills in the process.  And
     don't worry, they don't come back to haunt you.  I've played for several
     months without having paid a bill, and never had a thing repossessed!

     I hope you can pass along this info.  It's a terribly sneaky cheat, but
     it makes things a whole lot easier.  And please give credit, it you decide
     to post it on your FAQ.  Thank you, and if ya can give me an email, and let
     me know if they worked as well for you as they have for me.  Thanks.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.2  Paying only Every Other Bill
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  I found the following cheat at http://strategyshrine.gamereactor.net/

  Paying the Bills
  Simply keep a bill, unpaid, until the mail carrier delivers the next set.
  When your flag is up (your mailbox being full of-- what else, more bills),
  pay the first one (i.e., bring it out to the mailbox.) When you do this, the
  newer bills disappear. Using this cheat, you will only have to pay every
  other bill, instead of every one. (sent in by Jesper Thiesen)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.3  The Newbie Trick
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Yes, we all remember the Newbies, those crazy cats from the Tutorial.  But
  there is a really neat little trick that one can do with them, if one pays
  attention.
  
  Here's the crux of the trick:
  
    While the tutorial is going, the Newbies Needs drop very very slowly.  In
    other words, you can safely ignore most everything and have them do whatever
    you please.  This works ONLY SO LONG AS THE TUTORIAL is running, and stops
    once the tutorial does.  So as soon as Betty Newbie pops in, do no more of
    the tutorial.
    
  But what will one do with these Newbies?  Build their skills!  And since their
  Needs don't fall (well, not exactly, check the following NOTE), you can build
  skills at the Ultra Speed to get them up to perfect skills.
  
    Note:  Although Needs don't drop on their own, they will drop if you start
           exercising, or while at work.  However, this drop is considerably
           smaller than what one would experience by just normally standing
           around the house, and can be eliminated quickly by a quick nap, 
           sleeping in a bed, or by Coffee/Espresso.

  Using this trick, one can quickly get some Super Newbies!

  Mandy Falco sent me this:

    "When you are cheating the Newbie mode to max out all your skills be aware
    that it takes about 24 sim hours for your sims to regain all their energy
    back."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.4  Washing Dishes Faster
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Oh sure, you COULD just delete the dishes (see the above trick), but suppose 
  you don't want to, there is a way to just do the dishes a little faster.
  
  Mandy Falco sent me this:
  "Washing dishes faster - as soon as your sim starts washing dishes tell
  him to quit or make him do something else and the dishes disappear."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.5  Deleting your Characters, and resetting their Mood
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  You may have noticed that any time you move your Sims into a new house, their
  Mood is set at a default level, which has most Needs at full green, except for
  a couple (such as Fun) which are only down a little.  What use is this?

  Well, first off, any time you move your Sims into a new house, their Mood
  resets to the default level.  So if you feel like getting full energy without
  the work, just move them into a new house.

  But there is an easier way.  Before doing this, save your game (see the
  warning below) Use the move_objects cheat, and go into the Furnish mode.  Now 
  select your Sim, and press delete.  Your Sim will be pulled out of the game.  
  Now go back to Live mode, and click on your Sim's portrait to bring her back.

    Warning:  Your Sim will essentially be loaded out of your last save game,
              so all her stats will be what they were when you last saved it,
              so before you delete your Sim, SAVE THE GAME!!

  Now you have your stats back, and no time has passed!  If you don't gain any
  stats since you saved last, don't bother saving, it won't help you any.

    Note:  Relationships are not effected by this trick.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.6  How to Max out all the Personality Stats
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  This section is from http://geocities.com/simdiscussion/index.html
  
  How to create max stats and skills:

    To max out skills, you need to do 2 things first, backup your Neighborhood 
    file and get a Hex Editor (I used Cygnus which I downloaded from
    softseek.com). Now go into the Characters folder and there should be files 
    names userXXXXX (on a side note you can rearrange which families and houses 
    certain sims are in by altering these files, thus you can instantly move a 
    sim from one family to another), open a userXXXXX file in notepad and scroll
    to the bottom, the name of the sim should be there somewhere, make note of 
    which sim is associated with which userXXXXX. Now open up your Neighborhood 
    file in the Hex Editor, use the find feature to locate userXXXXX (whichever 
    you want to alter) in the file, once you find it select it and everything 
    for a few lines after, making sure the selection starts right before the
    'u' in userXXXXX. Now cut this section out and paste it into a new blank 
    file, if you notice it counts of by tens on the left: 
    00000000 00000010 00000020 ect.
    
    Thus on row 2 (00000010) the sets of two characters are numbered 10 11 12 
    13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1A 1B 1C 1D 1E 1F. Ok you need to alter pairs of these 
    to E8 03, and the pairs are 
    
    NEAT: 16 17 
    OUTGOING: 18 19 
    ACTIVE: 1C 1D 
    PLAYFULL: 1E 1F 
    NICE: 20 21, 
    
    and for skills 
    
    COOKING: 26 27 
    MECHANICAL: 28 29 
    CHARISMA: 2A 2B 
    BODY: 30 31
    LOGIC: 34 35 
    CREATIVITY: 36 37. 
    
    After you are finished altering the file insert it back into the
    neighborhood file exactly where you took it out. Save the file and that's 
    about it. 

    There is an Editor that will do this for you, check out the Cheats section
    above.

  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.7  Starting a Sim with random Job Stats
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Here's an odd trick to try.  (modified from http://go.to/simuniverse/)
  
  Create a new family at the neighborhood level.  Now create a SimKid, choose
  his stats, but don't bother with the skin, and click "Done" on the Kid.  Now
  click the Edit button for the Kid, and change him from a Kid to an Adult.
  You can change the skin all you want, but I think that you can't change the
  stats.
  
  Now when you play this family, you have to click this Sim's portrait to make
  him appear, and once he does, he will already have several Stats filled in
  randomly.  Mine had about 8 Charisma, 2 Cooking, etc.  A neat little trick to
  try!
  
    Note:  This Sim will also be considered to have a "job", but this job gives
           you no money, so you probably will not want to keep it.
  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.8  Speeding up your Sim
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  This section is pretty much from broadstrong.

  Here's how to Speed up/Slow Down a Sim:  Holding the mouse pointer over a 
  CONTROLLED Sim speeds his movement.  Holding it over an UNCONTROLLED Sim slows 
  him down.

  And here are some strategies that utilize this trick:

    a)  Speed up the Sim to save time.  This is especially crucial for
        long-distance walking, getting to work on time, skills training (body 
        for example) or non-active Sims who seem to walk slower.

    b)  Slow down the Sim, not to waste time, but to help the other Sim get a 
        desired interaction (social or itemwise), avoid "jealousy" (and the 
        awful trumpet sound) and hence lowered Relationship scores, and more 
        importantly (for me), to avoid collisions of the Sims or blockage of 
        doorways.

    c)  Slow down the burglar so that he is captured before stealing anything!  
        Yes, I have tried it and it works (I must admit it is very cheap
        though)!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Customizing Your Game
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Within these next couple of subsections are the various ways that you can
  customize The Sims, including the Nude Patch. (heh)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.1  Changing the Radio Station Music
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Changing the Radio Station Music: (from http://www.thesims.com/)

    In case you were wondering, you CAN have the Sims listen to YOUR music,
    rather than the default music.  Go to:

      C:\Program Files\Maxis\The Sims\Music\Stations

    And you will see 4 folders:  Rock, Country, Latin, and Classica (not 
    Classical, just Classica).  Now place any MP3 or shortcut to an MP3 in these 
    folders and that song will play when they play the radio!  And, no you can't 
    add new stations.  You can, however, add as many songs as you want to each 
    station.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.2  Skins
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  You can download Skins for your Sims (think different outfits and heads) at
  almost any of the Websites listed below in the Final Words... section.  If
  you are interested in creating your own Skins, I would suggest this link:

    http://www.simzonline.com/features/19990602/

  Located at http://www.simzonline.com/ this feature is a comprehensive look at
  how you can create your own skins.  I would also recommend downloading several
  other programs from http://www.thesims.com/, such as FaceLift and SimShow.

    FaceLift:  http://www.thesims.com/us/getcool/faces/index.html
    SimShow:   http://www.thesims.com/us/getcool/skins/index.html

  There are other programs at the official site, which you may be interested in.

  broadstrong sent me this:

    Besides the obvious skins in the game, these things are skins too, namely:-

    (a) Blanket and milk bottle for the baby
    (b) Costume for the toydoll (toydoll from the toybox)
    (c) Paint for the toycar (toycar also from toybox)
    (d) Wrapping Paper for the gift (under "Give Gift" option)

    However, by default, all these are green.  
    Coasters (http://members.xoom.com/CoastersSims/) and 
    SIMply Dariene (http://members.xoom.com/baschdar1/simdex.html) 
    (two very good fan sites I recommend) have the customized skins for all 
    these stuff.  (Latest: Coasters got more new stuff)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.2.1  The "Nude" Patch
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Well somebody finally got around to getting around the pixellated censoring
  that occurs whenever your Sim does something "naughty" (such as going to the
  bathroom).  It should be noted that this isn't anything great as Maxis never
  really intended for the Sims to be seen in the buff, and therefore they didn't
  put any detail into it.

  You can find the patch here:

    http://superturbo.com/sims/

  All the instructions that you will need are in the ZIP file on that site.

  What you do when you get it is to unzip it, and place the files in your SKINS
  directory, which is probably something like:

       C:\Program Files\Maxis\The Sims\UserData\Skins

    Note:  This does NOT work for children, and furthermore, it is not anything
           that would be considered "pornographic."  In other words, you don't
           really get to "see" anything.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.3  Setting up Multiple Neighborhoods
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  I vaguely covered this in the FAQ for a few versions, and decided it needed
  its own section.

  There are actually two ways to do this.  One is the Do-It-Yourself method, and
  the other is the Download-A-Program method.

  The first method is really simple.  This is best done BEFORE you have done any
  work on your neighborhood!  In your Game Directory (which is probably
  c:\program files\maxis\thesims\) is a directory called UserData.  Right Click
  on this, and select COPY.  Now go back out to the Maxis directory, and do a
  CTRL-V to paste (or click the Edit menu and choose Paste, also you can place
  this directory anywhere).  You now have a copy of your neighborhood.  Now
  rename the folder to UserData2 and move it back to TheSims directory.  Now
  to switch between neighborhoods, simply rename UserData to UserData1 and
  UserData2 to UserData.

  The second method is to download this program: (Neighborhood Watch)

    http://www.simzonline.com/files/tools/neighborhoodwatch.zip

  and run it!  This file is from http://www.simzonline.com/ a great site for
  your Simming needs.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.4  Download Surprises (thanks to Joseph Peitler)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Here is the list of all the current downloads: (http://www.thesims.com/)
  
    Cuckoo Clock                                                           
    Moose Head Decoration                                                  
    5 New Skins                                                            
    5 New Houses                                                           
    Wall Lights                                                            
    Slot Machine                                                           
    Guinea Pig (Pet)
    New Plants                                                             
    New "Physical" Skins                                                   
    "Elwood" Skin                                                          
    MTV Skins (which includes "Elwood")
    Topiaries (Hedge Animals and such)                                     
    Flowerbeds                                                             
    Jukebox (actually at http://www.rankit.com/sims/simsoffer2.html)       
    The White House                                                        
    Two New Trashcans 
    Glowing Flamingo Wall Light
                                                                              
       AND                                                                   

    A complete Game upgrade to The Sims version 1.1!                       

  What you may not know is that some of these downloads are not all that they
  appear to be, some have Trojan Horses in them.  No, not computer viruses that
  could kill your computer, but rather they have other game effects that you
  may not be aware of.
  
  Here is a list of all the hidden effects that I know of: (some info here is
  from broadstrong)
  
    Slot Machine -- carries a mini-patch on it that fixes some bugs.  If you 
                    want to keep all of the cheats intact (such as the set_hour
                    cheat) then install this instead.  It isn't as complete,
                    but should help.  Also, has a hidden money cheat (or money 
                    spinner, maybe).  Play it when fun is low; there is a 
                    greater chance to win!  Great especially when the bid is 100 
                    Simoleons.
                    
    Guinea Pig   -- The worst one of all, this one carries with it the PLAGUE.
                    Literally, this Guinea Pig comes complete with a Virus.
                    
                    There are two things that can make a Sim sick. One is when 
                    you don't keep the cage clean and when the Sim plays with 
                    it and gets bitten. Keeping the cage is easy, especially 
                    if you have a maid, because she can clean it for you. If 
                    your Sim gets bitten once when the cage is clean, it will
                    have no effect. However, if he gets bitten more than once,
                    even when the cage is clean, the Sims will get sick. The 
                    more bites the Sim gets, the sooner he gets sick, the 
                    longer the sickness remains and the more chances your Sim 
                    will die. After bitten, the Sim might get sick around 1 or
                    2 days. However, if he comes accross a sick Sim and catches
                    it, he will get sick in less of a day. Especially if he got 
                    bitten before then. In order to avoid all this don't buy 
                    the guina pig, unless you are really tired of your Sims. 
                    
                    If you wish to buy it, here are a few warnings: keep
                    the cage clean and don't play with so much.  The more
                    you play it, the more chances of getting bitten.  If
                    the Sim does get sick, isolate him in room immediately,
                    so he won't walk around. (from Joseph Peitler)

                    One thing about the guinea pig -- the best (or maybe only) 
                    time to play with it is when it is awake, otherwise it will 
                    bite the Sim (but of course, which animal or human likes to 
                    be awakened rudely?). (from broadstrong)

    Moose Head   -- This one isn't so bad.  The antlers on the moose head will
                    "droop" depending on the total "family mood" of the house.
                    So if everyone is feeling bad, the anters will droop quite
                    a bit.

    Cuckoo Clock -- it "cuckoos" at 12am, 6am, 12pm and 6 pm, waking up adults,
                    and only adults, in the room.  Since it sounds at 6am,
                    it can be used as an alarm clock (but I never tried it 
                    because I never used the alarm clock).

    Party Balloons -- No doubt they will attract all your neighbours and start a 
                    party, but as time goes, the balloons will burst, leaving a 
                    pile of mess that brings the Room rating straight down, and
                    gives work for someone (maid or Sim) to do.  But I see from 
                    somewhere that the mess can be sold!  Not confirmed though.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.5  Playing Without the Sims CD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  There are likely several very good reasons why you might want the Sims game
  CD to be out.  Maybe you don't like swapping in CD's all the time, or maybe
  you are on a computer that doesn't have a CD-ROM (such as a laptop where you
  have to swap devices in and out).  I'm not here to judge!

  Anyway, here's a site that offers a new Sims.exe for those of you who don't
  want to have your game CD in all the time:

    http://sgn.simgames.net/thesims/addons/


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. Known Bugs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apieper sent me these:

  Repairmen can't walk up or down hills to repair things, only to repossess
  things.  So if your entire house is elevated below or above the sidewalk (I
  know one lot starts out like this, lot 2 I believe), and you call a repairman,
  they will just stand in place for 8 hours, bill you, and leave.

  If a sim "Sam" is watching TV on a couch, and another sim "Stanley " tries to
  interact with them, then Stanley will simply stand in front of Sam waiting for
  Sam to stop watching TV.  However, Sam will be blocked from standing up,
  because Stanley is standing in front of them.  Even if you cancel Stanley's
  "interact with Sam" action, Stanley won't be able to move.  They will be stuck
  doing nothing for a few hours - possibly missing work, or urinating on
  themselves.

  Similarly, if a Sim, "Escher" is painting and another sim "Dopey" is standing
  behind him trying to interact with him, Dopey will block Escher again.
  However, this time Escher will be able to stop painting, and he will occupy 
  the same square as Dopey, so that neither of them can move under any 
  condition.  The only way to resolve this situation is to evict everyone in the
  home.

  Not done yet!  If you have guests, and they are swimming in your pool, you 
  can't ask them to leave, or even to stop swimming. They will swim and swim and 
  swim, sometimes until they just climb out of the pool and collapse in front of 
  the pool ladder. If there are any sims in the swimming pool when the pool
  ladder is blocked, they will all die.

  If you have an angled wall on top of a carpet, you can't remove the carpet
  without removing the wall.

  Oh! And a HUGE glitch. If you delete any picture in a scrapbook, then the 
  caption for the picture is automatically overwritten.

  So overall, the sims isn't a very glitchy game as long as you avoid having
  houses with any hills, couches, chairs, paint sets, and don't use your photo 
  album.
  
Catty Burton sent me this:

  I've got something really weird to tell you, and hopefully we will be able to 
  solve this problem I have.  I decided to have a baby, after having one 
  already.  When the baby changes into a Sim kid, there are TWO of them!  Weird,
  but it gets stranger.  One is a real person, that you can control and make do 
  things.  But the other, acts like a guest and you can't make him do anything 
  or interact with him (nothing happens when I click on him).  The twins can
  even interact with each other, and the Friendships signs come up (though the 
  other twin isn't in the relationship bar).  This has happened almost every 
  time I give birth to a baby (because I start back from a saved game), is this 
  a glitch?  I'm going to experiment with this, see what happens when the 
  controlled sim is sent to military school or dies.  I'll give you a report on 
  that.  And this kid, he's a Cancer, but when he was born, he has nothing on 
  his personality.  I mean nothing, no blue slots, and he is the worst of every 
  category.  Isn't there some way you can use those 25 personality points?

  Knowla sent me this:
  
    Catty Burton was published on your faq (thanks for all the info by the way) 
    saying that she experienced having twins every time the sims had babies.  I 
    had that problem too, it's always with the little wizard kids for my game. 
    Anyway all I had to do was evict the family from the house and when I moved 
    them back in, the two kids were re-loaded and became "as one" again.  Be 
    careful though, because sometimes when you move the family out, and you move 
    back in the game automatically sells all your furniture and you have to do
    that over again.

  moonshine sent me this:

    I also play The Sims and happen to have downloaded your Walkthrough. It was 
    the greatest! I wrote to you regarding one of the known bugs you featured in 
    the walkthrough, the one sent by Catty Burton. The same thing happened with 
    me: I was playing the Snooty Patooty family (downloaded from
    http://www.thesims.com) and as I was painstakingly taking care of the baby, 
    the weirdest thing happened. A boy appeared on my front lawn, just before 
    the baby cradle turned into a boy, who happened to look exactly like the one 
    who appeared by the front lawn. The boy from the lawn behaved like a guest, 
    only I couldn't ask him to leave. I was able to control the other Simkid 
    though. Like Catty's case, the kid had no personality stats (nice, playful, 
    etc.). Since I read about it in your walkthough, I decided to conduct an 
    experiment of my own.

    I walled-off the "guest Simkid" but I let the other one live on. The game 
    became annoying since the walled-off kid constantly tried to play and talk 
    with its twin. I had to cancel all his attempts since I was trying to get 
    rid of him. Then, I quit the game and restarted it again. The weirdest thing 
    happened! The walled-off Simkid and its twin somehow traded roles - the 
    walled-off Simkid was the one who could be controlled while the other Simkid 
    acted like a visitor. I decided to go out of the game again (always saved it 
    before quitting) and reload the game. This time, both traded roles AND 
    moods. The free Sim now had the all-red mood. I decided then to kill off 
    both of the Simkids...I made the free Simkid (this time he no longer behaved 
    like a guest) swim and removed the ladders afterwards. When he drowned, the 
    walled-off kid was still there! I decided, for the last time, to save the
    game, exit it, then come back once more. At that point, the walled-off 
    Simkid had also disappeared.

Joseph Peitler sent me this:

  Here are three glitches I recently saw:
  
  This one is similar to the ones Aaron Pieper described, but not as bad.
  Sim"Jim" was working out, while the visit sim "Tim" was walking towards him, 
  to speak to him.  I cancelled Jim workout order, but not before Tim was 
  standing over him, blocking the workbench exit.  You know the character 
  finishes his workout, his arms drops and he says "WHEW!"  Well, Jim was doing
  that 5 times before Tim moved away to a distance.  He was a visitor, so I 
  couldn't control him at that time.

  2. One of the floor lamps burned out, so I made my character call the 
  repairman.  He came over, touch the lamp and got electrocuted.  Thanks for the 
  patch, he didn't die (there is a joke in there, somewhere).  He finish it and 
  went on as usual.  It was funny seeing him light up like a Christmas tree, 
  though.
  
    Eric Chapman had this to add:
    
      "Hey, I was reading your FAQ and saw the note about the repairman being
      electrocuted and not dying after the patch. Well, it happened to me
      BEFORE I patched. And yes, he died. The photobook entry says "NPC
      Repairman has been electrocuted" and now whenever I call for a
      repairman, his ghost shows up! This is a GOOD thing! Why? Cause he can
      still fix things just like before, but because he's a ghost, he can walk
      through walls, people, whatever to get to the broken item. He just shows
      up, makes a quick bee-line to the broken item, fixes it, and makes
      another straight line through the walls and furniture back out. This
      saves money too, if you have alot of repairs to do in a crowded house,
      as less time is spent wandering around trying to get from point to
      point."

  3. I have 8 sims in a household.  One works at night.  Four starts work at 8,
  the last three at 9.  When 8 o'clock carpool arrived, the four got to work 
  with no problems and the work pictures showed up on their face photos.  When 
  the 9 o'clock carpool arrived, the first one went at 9:30, the second one at 
  9:45.  I had trouble getting the third one out of the swimming pool (It seems
  that I had to click on the "get out" order before the "go to work" order, 
  because she kept swimming and swimming, ignoring the "go to work" order).  By 
  the time she went towards the car, it was 10:10, the car went off.  When that 
  happened, ALL OF THE SIX PEOPLE WHO WENT TO WORK MAGICALLY APPEARED IN THE 
  READING ROOM OF THE HOUSE WITH THEIR WORK PICTURES GONE.  This is not the 
  first time it happened.  It seems that whenever any one sim misses work, the 
  other sims who work the same or close to it job time, who is already at work 
  appears back home.  This also happens to my other 2 sims in a different house 
  (in the bathroom, this time), but not as much as the 8.  I got the version 
  1.1 patch when this happened.  The bad news is those 6 sims won't get paid, 
  even though they went to work.  If this happens again, I'll see if I can make 
  them miss work the next day to see if they get fired.  See if I can make them 
  miss work twice and not get fired using this glitch.

  An update to the glitch about 8 sims going to work and suddenly appearing back 
  in the house.  This mostly happens when a sim is already in his work clothes 
  and misses his car pool.  The car will stay there until around 10 minutes
  after the departure hour (even a bit longer if the sim is already on the 
  street and on command to "go to work").   Also, If the sim get delayed or 
  "bumped" into standing still, delaying him from going to the car, the car will
  leave. If he still has the command, he will go to the street where the car was 
  and then disappears.  Then, he will reappear back in the house in his regular 
  clothes, If he was wearing work clothes at that time.

  This also happens if you sent your sims to work, then save within a "sim" hour 
  and went into another house, where they ask one of the working sims to move in 
  or purpose and he said yes.  When you go back to the working sims' house, you 
  would find that all the working sims appear in a room except for that one sim 
  that moved out.
  
Mark Hissett sent me these:

  Some possible bugs (I think).  After a fire this one girl I had, she cleaned 
  some dirty dishes with flies.  Next thing I know, she has flies circling 
  around her.  Her hygiene bar is about 75% green, and they still don't come off
  after a shower.  I don't believe they ever did leave her. 

  In the buy or build modes, you can move dishes and such.  If you take the 
  brownies someone has brought over (I am not sure if it works for all food 
  items) and place it under the fridge, it will actually go into the fridge, 
  when you move the fridge, the food moves with it.  One problem this causes, 
  is that you can't make meals or anything.  You can eat the food, as well as
  take it out.  It is quite the problem when 3 or 4 dishes are under there and 
  they have to wash them.  One thing I am unsure of is if the food goes rotten.  
  I don't recall any flies in the fridge, but they dishes were not in there long
  anyway.  It would be cool if the food lasted that way.  I will have to see if
  it works for meals, so they last longer than 6 or 8 hours. 
  
Headless Sims

  This happened to me once, and apparantly happened so someone else as well
  (Ashley Baker).  What happened is I had Betty Newbie move in with another
  one of my families, which already had someone with that head.  Nothing
  happened until I saved it, left, and came back later.  Then her portrait
  at the bottom of the screen was just black.  No more picture of her, just
  a black square.
  
  This happened to Ashley as well, but with the Pleasants:  "I have got the 
  'plesant' family (comes with the game), in a house.  I don't know why, but the 
  'man' (forgot his name) of the family has no head, when you choose the family 
  member, nor when you chose what house in the neighborhood screen. I have not 
  deleted anything from the skins folder. His head appears to be normal, when 
  'playing' the game (when you can see all of the body, in the main 'bit' of 
  the game).  Weird!"

Pathfinding Follies from broadstrong:

  Sims will take routes with the least doors, so between a short-cut through the 
  house and a long way around the house (for example from backyard to 
  frontyard), the Sim will choose the latter!  Also Sims rather prefer to walk 
  on pathways than bare grassland.  Sims would rather walk in an L-shape manner 
  than to walk diagonally (but the diagonal route is shorter!).  Both actions 
  can really waste a lot of time and energy.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14.  Getting the Most from The Sims
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  This section is devoted to getting more gameplay out of The Sims, an excellent
  game, but one that people can get bored of after awhile.  Why?  Because 
  there's no way to win, and only so many things to do.  But with a few of these
  ideas, you'll be able to play this excellent game forever.

  1.    Don't cheat!  Cheating takes out the challenge from the game, which
        can drastically decrease the amount of long term enjoyment that you will
        get from The Sims.

  2.    Do the complete opposite of what you normally do.  If you created a male
        Sim, create a female.  If you did a Bachelor, do 3 or 4 Sims to start
        with.  Be creative in how you build your house.  Make it a giant Octagon
        with doors everywhere, or a triangle with no doors at all.

        If you created an Outgoing Neat Sim, create an Active Nice Sim.  Or
        maybe you could try making the Old Coot Sim, who has NO STATS 
        WHATSOEVER!  How's that for a challenge?  Just TRY to have him make a
        few friends!

        The possiblities are endless, play around with it a little!  Don't just
        play to succeed, play for the fun of it.

  3.    Watch someone else play.  Let your little sister try her hand at a the
        game.  Not only will you be watching virtual people, but you'll be
        watching someone else watching virtual people!  How existential is that?

        Then have your Sims interact with your Sisters seems and see how they
        get along.

  4.    Don't play to succeed.  Fail.  Watch your Sims run around without your
        supervision, see how far they get.  Keep them unemployed and watch the
        bills pile up.  Let the Repo man come.  Let your Sim die if you want,
        just don't enjoy it or anything, that would be sadistic.

  5.    Don't cheat!  Cheating is great when you just want to mess around, but
        when you use it in order to buy the best of everything, you get tired
        of the game quicker.  If you have to actually work to get those things,
        you'll value it more than if you just cheated to get it.  And if you are
        going to cheat, don't give yourself too much money, or you'll take out
        most of the fun of the game.  I'm serious!  A lot of this game involves
        working for money, and if you don't need money for anything, you've just
        rendered a lot of the game pointless.

        So don't cheat, if you do, you'll feel cheap in the morning.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. Wish List
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Here are just some ideas for what should/must be included in any expansion or
  sequel for The Sims.  If you have your own Wishes, just email them in.
  
  1.  Ability to take your Sims out of their house.
  
      This could be to go to a store (perhaps you actually have to go pick out
      your furniture?), to another Sim's house, or to work.  In any case, these
      would add a lot of new depth to the game.  And potentially unbalance the
      game and make it less fun, but hey, I'm not a game designer, I'm sure they
      could work around that.
      
  2.  More Careers, and which Job you have carries over into your Sim's daily
      life.
      
      Yeah, we need more jobs.  How about the Computer Nerd career track?  Start
      out as a lowly data entry geek, and work up to some sort of Bill Gates
      figure.  Furthermore, your job should affect your Sim's life in more ways
      than just their hours, and pay.  For example, if you have a Law
      Enforcement Sim, and your house is getting burglarized, your Cop Sim could
      arrest the criminal.  Or you had a criminal Sim, and a Cop Sim living
      together, they wouldn't get along so well.  You get the idea.
      
  3.  More things to do with houses.
  
      Third stories, basements, secret tunnels (to the batcave!), whatever.  Or
      maybe even "alternative" houses, such as Oriental Style, Ancient Style,
      Caves, Huts, and whatnot.
      
  4.  Ditch the carpool, get your Sim their own car!
  
      Think of how this game would be expanded if you could build your own
      garage, and put in it, your very own car!  You'd have to make payments
      on the car for a certain amount of time, and then the car would be yours.
      (Or it could be bought outright like furniture)  Then when you went to
      work, you'd just take out the family car, and drive off to work under your
      own power.
      
  5.  More types of social interactions.
  
      How about two Sims being able to talk while on the couch, not watching TV
      or anything, just sitting and talking.  Or maybe making out on the couch.
      Or how about large conversations?  Three or four people having an animated
      discussion on politics (not in a hot tub, just them talking).
      
  6.  Aging!
  
      Yes, babies grow up to be kids, but why not kids to adults?  Or adults
      into old people?  Think of the logistics of having to take care of a 
      feeble old man!  As things stand now, there just isn't enough for kids to
      do, and getting them to become adults, would help things out immeasurably.
      Maybe they should go to college for awhile, then when they come back, 
      they're all grown up. (like on TV where a character leaves for awhile)
      
  7.  Treat clothes as separate objects.  
  
      This would require you to have a utility room (or hire a laundry service).  
      Old clothes would lie scattered on the floor like garbage and neat Sims 
      would groan and pick up dirty clothes and put them into the hamper.

      Sims would need to "change" clothes to keep their hygiene level good just 
      like actual people.  They would need to pick up dirty clothes to keep 
      their room scores high (add this to the list of chores for the maid).

      An ambitious programmer at Maxis might treat the "skins" as separate from 
      the mesh objects for clothing objects.  Now, there's a wish!
                         (from Mike Fenton)

  8.  Pets! (not just fish and guinea pigs)
  
      Pets would be a nice addition, I think.  Not just dogs and cats, but other
      things as well, such as turtles, snakes and lizards.  Imagine then if one 
      Sim's pet snake got out and bit another Sim.  Why that Sim would never 
      forgive him!  (thanks to James Wardle)

  9.  Dynamic Sim Personalities

      Right now your Sim's personalities are set at the beginning and don't
      change during the game.  Well what if that Sim's experiences in SimLife
      could radically change their personality?  Suppose one Sim has an 
      experience so traumatic that she no longer is so nice?  Imagine if an 
      Outgoing Sim gets beaten a lot, then they might lose some outgoingness as 
      they lose trust in other Sims.  Or if a mean Sim has an act of kindness 
      done to him that makes him a little less cranky.
      
  10. COMPUTERS
      Can someone please convice Maxis to make more use of the computers? Why 
      not CHAT through computers! Whoa! That should be more hell efficient than 
      calling them over! Better yet, make the computers have multimedia option! 
      Combine TV and  Hi-Fi to make an excellent computer. AND why not make the 
      computers a fun filled group activity (on-line multiplaying option!), 
      provided that the Sims have you want to play with got a modem. How about 
      advancing mechanical skills trhough computers? Business Sims (or other 
      computer related jobs) must fiddle around with computers before they can 
      be promoted.  (from GamemaniaX)
      

================================================================================
                     Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
================================================================================
  
  If you have a question that wasn't answered by one of the Frequently Asked
  Questions above, please feel free to email me:  manymoose@hotmail.com

  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  Is The Sims going to be released on the Mac?                           |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Yes.  Expect it Summer 2000.                                           |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  Is there any way to skip the intro, where the Sims logo is on a blue   |
  |     screen and the phrases are scrolling by at the bottom?                 |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Nope!  This is The Sims equivalent of the "Now Loading..." screen, and |
  |     therefore cannot be skipped!                                           |
  |                                                                            |
  |     "So just what is the program doing when 'Reticulating Splines,'        |
  |     'Inserting Chaos Generator,' and 'Balancing Domestic Coefficients'     |
  |     flash across the bottom of your screen? Absolutely nothing, actually.  |
  |     'They're inventions of (Creator) Will Wright's imagination,' says a    |
  |     Maxis spokesman. Speaking of the SIMS, expect Maxis to release an      |
  |     expansion pack this fall..." (from INCITE PC # 7, June 2000, thanks to |
  |                                  Joseph Peitler)                           |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  Is there any way to alter a Sim's biography after once you're out of   |
  |     the Family Creation screen, or am I stuck with what I wrote initially? |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Yes there is!  From Page 40, Paragraph 1 of the Game Manual:           |
  |                                                                            |
  |     "...If you click and hold on a character, the character's bio which    |
  |     you composed in the Create a Sim window [or Maxis did] appears.  If    |
  |     you think the bio needs a little refreshing, just Control-Click on the |
  |     character in question, and get that bio in an editable dialogue box    |
  |     for your red-pen pleasure."  (Thanks to Andrew Tate for pointing this  |
  |     out to me!)
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  Can I switch a Sim's skin after I've created them, or will my Sim just |
  |     wear the same exact clothes for the rest if his digital little life?   |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Your Sim can change their clothes by buying a Dresser/Armoir.  Once    |
  |     you have the Dresser, then select it, and do a "Change Clothes".       |
  |     There is one downside to this, your Sim will simply change to the NEXT |
  |     Body Skin (there is no way to change the Head Skin).  So if you want   |
  |     to change to something specific, you may be at it for awhile.  And if  |
  |     you change your mind, and want to go back to the first skin, well...   |
  |     that will take even longer!                                            |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  The Sim I called asked me to come over to their place, is there a way  |
  |     for me to do that?                                                     |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  No.  What the Sim you called really meant was "I don't want to see you |
  |     right now."  And they were just being diplomatic about it.  Anything   |
  |     they say that doesn't result in them coming over is a refusal.         |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  If I create two Sims in my first home, are they automatically          |
  |     considered married?                                                    |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  No.  The "family" is just a grouping of people in one house.  They     |
  |     don't have any "relationship" until the game starts.  Whether they     |
  |     become good friends, or lovers, or get into a fight, is up to them     |
  |     (and to you).                                                          |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  You mention in your guide that I shouldn't bother making friends for   |
  |     SimKids, since they don't need them to advance in their job field or   |
  |     anything.  Does it work the other way around; can my adult Sim         |
  |     befriend a SimKid to help with that promotion that he wants?           |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Although Kids don't need Family Friends for any particular reason (as  |
  |     long as their Social is high, who needs friends!), they can be counted |
  |     for other people's Family Friends counter.  So if SimBob befriends     |
  |     SimKid1, he still gets +1 Family Friend.                               |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  How long does it take for a SimBaby to grow into a SimKid?             |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  3 full days.  So exactly 72 hours after the baby arrives, he/she will  |
  |     *poof* into a child.                                                   |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  So, a SimBaby grows up to be a SimKid.  Does a SimKid grow up to be a  |
  |     SimAdult?  What about a SimAdult growing up to be a SimOldPerson?      |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Doesn't happen.  The only Sims who grow up are Babies who become       |
  |     children.  Your Kids will never grow up and provide you with an        |
  |     income, nor will your adults need to be placed in a nursing home.      |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  Can you take custody of a kid from a neighbor the same way you ask a   |
  |     neighbor to move in/propose?                                           |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  You can't take the kid directly, but there is a way to get a kid.      |
  |     Suppose that SimBob is courting a Sim who lives alone with a kid.  He  |
  |     asks her to marry him, then she arrives with not just herself, but     |
  |     brings the kid along as well.                                          |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  I know that a sim must ask a visiting sim with any kids to Move        |
  |     in/Propose in order to adopt the sim kid.  But suppose the kids DON'T  |
  |     have any Sim adults? Can a simkid ask any adults to move in if he has  |
  |     no parents?                                                            |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  No, they can not.  They do not have the option to move in/propose with |
  |     other kids or adults, nor can adults ask a visiting kid to move in     |
  |     with them.  In other words, no adults can adopt any older sim kid in   |
  |     the neighborhood.  This could be bad if all the sim parents die,       |
  |     leaving the kids to fend for themselves.  This means they'll spend the |
  |     rest of their "lives" eating pizza and potato chips and getting money  |
  |     only from "grandpa" and selling their artwork.                         |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  Sometimes when a sim walks into a room, any lights in there            |
  |     automatically turn on and when he leaves they turn off.  Yet, in other |
  |     rooms, he had to manually turn the lights on.  Why is that?            |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  If the room has no windows, and it is still daylight, the Lights won't |
  |     come on automatically, which is very annoying if you have a room in    |
  |     the center of your house.  Also Lava Lamps don't turn on               |
  |     automatically.  I suppose everything else is a bug, or possibly even a |
  |     Sim Equipment Failure (similar to a light breaking, not a bug).        |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  When I ask someone to marry me, they always say no.  What can I do to  |
  |     get them to FINALLY say yes?                                           |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Well beyond being stubbornly persistent (and why not?), you have to    |
  |     realize that the Sim you are wooing has Needs just as any other Sim,   |
  |     even though you can't see their Need meters.  Why is this important?   |
  |     Because a Sim must be in a good mood to accept Marriage (or Moving     |
  |     In), and Mood is based on the 8 Needs.  So make sure your SimLover has |
  |     eaten, had some fun, talked to your other Sims, and is comfortable     |
  |     before popping the question.  Beyond that just keep asking them until  |
  |     they say yes!                                                          |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  This marriage isn't working out.  My SimWife gets jealous when I kiss  |
  |     all the other girls.  Can I get divorced?                              |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  No, there is no divorce!  If you simply want to "play the field", then |
  |     just make sure to have your Sim do all of his romancing in another     |
  |     room than any of his other love interests.  But if you want that Sim   |
  |     OUT, then there are ways...  You can have that person Die (see the Q   |
  |     below for more info on that), or you could get that Sim to get married |
  |     to someone else.  Simply start up another home, and romance that Sim   |
  |     until you can get them to marry you.  They move out of the first       |
  |     house, and in with the new Sim.                                        |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  The "Propose"/"Move In" option never seems to come up, what can I do   |
  |     to encourage it?                                                       |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  The only reason that those options will never come up is if the two    |
  |     Sims already live in the same house, i.e. if they started out in the   |
  |     same "family", then they can't get married.  Why?  Marriage is only    |
  |     an "event", it merely serves the purpose of getting a new Sim into the |
  |     house.  After that, there's no special purpose to marriage, and the    |
  |     two married Sims will act just like two Sims in Love who already lived |
  |     together.                                                              |
  |                                                                            |
  |     Mark Hissett has this to add:                                          |
  |                                                                            |
  |       There are a few ways to encourage [the propose option].  First of    |
  |       all you must be good friends with the person, or good lovers.  And   |
  |       your sim must be in a good mood as well.  If they are hungry or need |
  |       some social, then the pie thing won't include the propose/move in.   |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  My Sim keeps making "ouches" while preparing Dinner.  Can they be      |
  |     wounded permanently from this?                                         |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Not from the actual preparing of the meals, but they can die if a fire |
  |     breaks out while cooking the food.  To prevent such occurrences, have  |
  |     your Sim read some Books on Cooking.  Also build a Fire Alarm nearby.  |
  |     It can't prevent Fires, but it will call the Fire Department for you.  |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  I'm trying to get rid of this Table of mine, but the game keeps saying |
  |     that it is "in use", which it clearly is not, nor is there anything on |
  |     top of it!  How can I get rid of it?                                   |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  First off, this is a bug, and as such, it may be prevented (I haven't  |
  |     tested this) by downloading the patch off of the official site.  If    |
  |     you already have this problem, you may have to have your Sims move out |
  |     to get rid of the table.  You don't have to bulldoze the house, if you |
  |     don't want to.  Another thing to try would be to use the move_objects  |
  |     cheat, and then delete the table.  I haven't tested this as this bug   |
  |     hasn't happened to me. (see the Cheats section for more info)          |
  |                                                                            |
  |     To use the move_objects cheat, press CTRL-SHIFT-C, enter in            |
  |     "move_objects on" (without the quotes) into the little command line,   |
  |     then go to Furnish mode, click on the table, and DELete it as normal.  |
  |                                                                            |
  |     This strategy should be used for any object that mysteriously stays    |
  |     "in use" even though it isn't.                                         |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  My Sim put a bag of chips down, and now I can't get rid of the chips!  |
  |     I can't eat them, I can't throw them away, what should I do?           |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  As in the last problem, you can either move out and back in, or try    |
  |     the move_objects cheat. (see the Cheats section for more info)         |
  |                                                                            |
  |     Also install either the Slot Machine or the Patch from the Official    |
  |     site, these will allow you to clean the mess up.                       |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  Some neighbors seem to be "stuck" on my property. I cant talk to them |
  |     or anything. What do I do?                                             |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  First, try going into Buy mode and moving things out of their way -    |
  |     they might be trapped behind objects. If they are outside, make sure   |
  |     they are not blocked by plants or hedges. Neighbors who are already    |
  |     outside and trying to leave wont cut through the house to get home,   |
  |     so youll have to manually make sure they can reach the sidewalk from  |
  |     where they are. If they are inside, in a room with an outside door,    |
  |     make sure they can reach it. Just like when theyre outside, they      |
  |     wont change rooms in order to get around an obstacle.                 |
  |                                                                            |
  |     If they have a clear path and still wont move, youll have to do      |
  |     something more drastic:                                                |
  |                                                                            |
  |        1)  Hit Control-Shift-C to bring up the cheat window.               |
  |        2)  Type "move_objects on"                                          |
  |        3)  Go to Buy mode. Select the neighbor and hit delete.  Dont      |
  |            worry, theyre not dead. Think of it as throwing them off your  |
  |            property.                                                       |
  |        4)  Hit Control-Shift-C to bring up the cheat window.               |
  |        5)  Type "move_objects off.                                        |
  |                                    -- from http://www.thesims.com/         |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  My Sim keeps getting strange phone calls, including one that implies   |
  |     that (s)he is going to die soon! Is this just the developers playing   |
  |     with my mind, or am I about to have an ex-Sim?                         |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Wouldn't that be weird?  But luckily it isn't going to happen.  The    |
  |     only ways that your Sim can die are through YOUR own negligence.  In   |
  |     fact most the incoming phone calls are completely meaningless.  So, if |
  |     they aren't telling you something important, such as a Friend about to |
  |     lose interest in you, your Sim getting fired if they skip work again,  |
  |     or your Sim gaining an inheritance, you can safely ignore the call.    |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  My Sim is Sick!  What should I do?  Can he die?                        |
  |                                                                            |
  | A.  First quarantine the sick Sim to prevent contagion.  Next make sure    |
  |     that your Sim is well rested.  Don't go to work or school while sick,  |
  |     just stay home and rest.  When up, go drink some coffee, but don't do  |
  |     anything strenuous.  And YES YOU CAN DIE!  So take sickness seriously. |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  I want to expand my house, how do you remove walls?                    |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  In the Build Mode press and hold CTRL, then click and drag the mouse   |
  |     across the wall that you wish to remove.                               |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  I saw on The Sims website that somebody had a garage with a car inside |
  |     it.  How did they get a car?                                           |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  You can fake it, but you can't really get a car.  Here's what they did.|
  |     First they built whatever structure that they would use to house the   | 
  |     cars, using the standard house builder.  Then, they activated the      |
  |     move_objects cheat (by pressing CTRL-SHIFT-C, then typing in           |
  |     move_objects on), wait for the carpool to show up, then go into the    |
  |     Furnish mode (F2), and pick up and move the car into the garage.       |
  |                                                                            |
  |     It won't stay there, it will drive off eventually, but it will at      |
  |     least look like you have a car in the garage for a bit.                |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  I want to move my Sims into a new home, will they keep all of their    |
  |     money?                                                                 |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Yes.  Also their previous house will be sold along with everything in  |
  |     it (at current market value, e.g. all objects depreciate with time and |
  |     use).  This value is called the "Net Worth".  You can see all the      |
  |     families' Net Worth at the Neighborhood screen.  This basically is the |
  |     amount of money they would have if they moved out of their house.      |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  I ran out of money, and couldn't pay the Maid/Gardener, and now they   |
  |     refuse to come back even though I have the money now.  What do I do?   |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  You've been blacklisted, my friend, and there's only one way out of    |
  |     it, and that is to move out of your house.  So go to the neighborhood  |
  |     screen, Evict your Sims (the bulldozer icon) and have them move back   |
  |     in.  Or you could use this as your chance to move into a larger house, |
  |     but I suspect you wouldn't be able to afford it (if you couldn't       |
  |     afford a Maid!).                                                       |
  |                                                                            |
  |       Note:  Blacklisting ends after 5 days and the Maids/Gardeners will   |
  |              then work for you again.                                      |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  Ok, everyday the Repairman shows up, does absolutely nothing useful,   |
  |     and just won't leave!  I tell him to go away, but he just returns      |
  |     again later!  What do I do?                                            |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  This usually happens when the Repairman is called, and he finds a      |
  |     burnt out Wall Light.  However, if this wall light is being partially  |
  |     blocked, by a table, or a chair or something in front of it, the       |
  |     Repairman can't fix it!  But, he'll really want to fix it, so he keeps |
  |     hanging around hoping that you'll move the table/chair/obstacle so     |
  |     that he can do his job.                                                |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  All my Sims only have 20,000 to start with, so how do I get them into  |
  |     the nice big shiny homes?                                              |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Evict your Sims when they get rich enough to get a new house (use the  |
  |     bulldozer Icon in the Neighborhood screen, then click on the           |
  |     appropriate house to evict.  It also asks if you want to bulldoze that |
  |     house, that's up to you) then go back to the Select/Create a Family    |
  |     screen and select the Sims that you just evicted.  Now you can move    |
  |     them into any house that they can afford.  Make sure that they still   |
  |     have enough money to furnish the house, as most houses on the block    |
  |     come empty.                                                            |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  If Sim1 married Sim2 and moved into 2's house, what will happen to     |
  |     Sim1's photos?                                                         |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Sim1's photos will disappear when he moves in with sim2's house and    |
  |     change his last name to his.                                           |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  I don't like my neighborhood, is there a way to reset it to how it was |
  |     before I mucked it up?                                                 |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Uninstall and reinstall the game.  Then you might want to make a copy  |
  |     of the UserData folder (found in TheSims directory,                    |
  |     c:\program files\maxis\thesims\userdata).  Then if you ever want to    |
  |     play a different neighborhood, or just play with a blank neighborhood, |
  |     simply move the copied folder back.                                    |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  There is a marking on the lower right corner of one of my character's  |
  |     face photo.  A red plus with a circle around it.  I got it when both   |
  |     of my characters reached the final job levels.  What does it mean?     |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  I've seen this come up two different times (neither of which were the  |
  |     one that you describe).  The first is when you Right Click on the      |
  |     portrait, it will then Zoom in on the Sim, and put in the Red          |
  |     "Crosshairs."  Then if the Sim wanders off, then the game will keep    |
  |     that Sim on the screen.  The other time I've seen this is when you use |
  |     the move_objects cheat to delete a Sim, they're portrait will have the |
  |     Crosshairs on it, click on the portrait and the Sim reappears.         |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  Is there a Demo?                                                       |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  No.                                                                    |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  Is this game worth getting?                                            |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Yes.                                                                   |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  How do we kill our Sim?                                                |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Well that is rather morbid of you, but there are several ways to "off" |
  |     a Sim.  You can have them fight a fire, they might catch on fire       |
  |     themselves and die a horrible death.  Or you could starve them to      |
  |     death.  And finally you can also have them get electrocuted by having  |
  |     them try to fix an appliance (or even changing a light bulb) without   |
  |     any mechanical know how.  I think a Sim has a 1 in 5 chance of dying   |
  |     per light bulb with no mechanical skill points.                        |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  What happens to Dead Sims?                                             |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Their remains will "remain" with you forever!  You can place the       |
  |     remains inside your house (as an Urn) or outside (as a tombstone).     |
  |     Either way, that dead Sim will every once in awhile roam around        |
  |     HAUNTING THE LIVING AS A GHOST!  Spooky!  It's a random chance as to   |
  |     whether that Dead Sim will haunt each night at 11:00 pm.               |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  What happens to the rest of the Departed Sims' Family?                 |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  They have to mourn (if they know about the death, that is) for the poor|
  |     Sim for awhile, then they can mourn at any time by going up to the     |
  |     remains.  Beyond that, they aren't much affected by it.                |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  Can you kill off the maid, repairman and the gardener?  If you lure    |
  |     them into a room or pool and remove the way out, will they die the     |
  |     same as a regular sim?                                                 |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  I've tried, but the Maid just managed to appear outside of my trap.    |
  |     Several times.  I would build a wall around her, but as soon as I went |
  |     back to LIVE mode, she just ... popped out of it.                      |
  |                                                                            |
  |     Joseph Peitler has this to add:                                        |
  |                                                                            |
  |       "One of the floor lamps burned out, so I made my character call the  |
  |       repairman.  He came over, touch the lamp and got electrocuted.       |
  |       Thanks to the patch, he didn't die (there is a joke in there,        |
  |       somewhere).  He finished it and went on as usual.  It was funny      |
  |       seeing him light up like a Christmas tree, though."                  |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  My Sims' Mood is fine until they get outside, then it plummets (due to |
  |     the Room rating)... what's wrong?                                      |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  When this first happened to me, it was because I hadn't bothered to    |
  |     recycle the newspapers that had been arriving everyday (they stop      |
  |     being delivered after 6 days of you not picking them up).  Once a new  |
  |     paper arrives, then the old one turns to trash, and trash has a        |
  |     horrible effect on Room.  Also you may want to decorate the outside.   |
  |     Place some flowers, flamingoes, hedges, and whatnot.  If you place     |
  |     flowers, be sure to water them, or those will take the Sims' Room      |
  |     rating down.                                                           |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  My Sim is going to work everyday, has all the requirements for a       |
  |     promotion, but doesn't ever seem to get it.  What's wrong?             |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Once all the requirements are met, all you need is mood!  If your Sim  |
  |     goes to work a surly grouch, he won't get promoted, but a happy fun    |
  |     loving Sim always gets the good jobs.                                  |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  Can my Sim get demoted for being in a Bad Mood?  What about if he      |
  |     loses some family friends, or a stat is dropped?                       |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Yes, Sims can get demoted for being in a bad mood.  One could suppose  |
  |     that being in a bad mood caused their work to suffer, and that got     |
  |     them demoted.  And no, you don't get demoted if you lose some family   |
  |     friends, or you have a stat dropped.                                   |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  My Sim got fired, can I get another good high paying job?              |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Nope!  Have to start out at the bottom of the ladder again.  That's    |
  |     why you should avoid getting fired.  Going back up the ladder is       |
  |     easiest if you choose a career path that needs the Skills that you     |
  |     already have from working on your previous job.  So if you have lots   |
  |     of Body, try for a Military, Law Enforcement, or X-Treme career        |
  |     tracks.  Same for the rest of the Skills, try to keep to what would be |
  |     easiest to get promoted.                                               |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  I am having no luck at making friends with this one Sim.  What am I    |
  |     doing wrong?                                                           |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Some Sims just clash (click on the Personality Button, then on their   |
  |     Astrological Sign to see which Sims they are least compatible with),   |
  |     or maybe that Sim (or your Sim) isn't very nice.  It's very hard to    |
  |     like a mean Sim.  Hard, but not impossible.  With these Sims you have  |
  |     to carefully monitor their interactions.  If that Sim is about to      |
  |     taunt you, then cancel that action (although you can't cancel their    |
  |     action directly you can cancel it on the receiving end by clicking on  |
  |     the "Be Taunted" icon that will appear in your Queue), and try simply  |
  |     talking to the Sim.  With time, their relationship will improve, and   |
  |     you will be able to be less vigilant, as friends tend to clash less    |
  |     often.                                                                 |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  While looking at my house on the neighborhood screen, it says that I   |
  |     have 13 friends, yet when I get into the house, it says I only have    |
  |     11!  What gives?                                                       |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  At the neighborhood level, it counts every friend that your family     |
  |     has, including friends INSIDE YOUR OWN FAMILY.  So if your Sims are    |
  |     friends with each other, they will be counted at the neighborhood      |
  |     level.  But since these relationships don't help with the Family       |
  |     Friend count, they aren't counted at the House level.  So, at the      |
  |     House level, only friends OUTSIDE OF THE FAMILY are counted.           |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  My Sim seems to sleep forever!  Nothing I have done will get him up!   |
  |     What do I do?                                                          |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Sims like to stay in bed, if they have no way to get out of bed.  That |
  |     is, if you have some object by the side of the bed that prevents the   |
  |     Sim from getting out of bed, they'll just stay in there forever.  Of   |
  |     course, it would be nice if they would tell you something...           |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  My Sim has been in the Bath for an awful long time.  How can I get     |
  |     him/her out?                                                           |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  This one happened to my sister (and it's similar to the above Sleeping |
  |     problem).  She had a Sim in a brand new Tub that was built in the      |
  |     corner of the bathroom with a Shower right next to it.  The Sim was    |
  |     able to get in, but due to the Shower being right there, the Sim could |
  |     not get out.  When something like this happens, look around to see     |
  |     what is blocking your Sim, and move it!                                |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  Do we ever get to see the Sims naked?  Having Sex?  What about any     |
  |     Naked Skins?                                                           |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  No, no and no.  Although at the proper angle, you CAN see the Sims     |
  |     naked in the shower. (you'll have to figure out the angle yourself,    |
  |     though!)  The most the Sims ever do in love is to passionately kiss.   |
  |     If they "make a baby" then nothing happens between the Sims and the    |
  |     baby "magically appears".                                              |
  |                                                                            |
  |     Note:  You CAN patch your game to get rid of the Pixel Censor when     |
  |            your Sim does something naughty.  See section 12.2.1 for the    |
  |            details.                                                        |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  In the opening movie I can see a Sim coming out naked (albeit          |
  |     censored) from the Hot Tub, but my Sims always wear a Swimsuit...      |
  |     Why?                                                                   |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  The first Sim into the Hot Tub must be a VERY Outgoing Sim to get in   |
  |     Buck Nekkid.  Once one Sim goes in naked, then it seems that you just  |
  |     can't stop every other Sim from going in naked as well.  Crazy!  Also  |
  |     you probably should know that a lot of things in the Opening Video     |
  |     were changed in the Final Game.  If you watch closely you can see      |
  |     different Serving Plates, Plasma TV's and more.                        |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  I set the Sims to speak English, but I can't understand a word that    |
  |     they are saying.                                                       |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Sims speak in gibberish called Sim (or SimSpeak if you prefer).  The   |
  |     only way that it resembles English (or any other language that it lets |
  |     you "set") is in the rhythm or cadence.                                |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  Can I change the radio station's names?  What about the music?         |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  See the above section "Everything else in the Neighborhood" for        |
  |     information on changing the music.  However, you cannot change the     |
  |     radio station's names.  So whatever you change the music to will still |
  |     be listed under "Country" "Latin" "Rock" or "Classical".               |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  I downloaded a Jukebox, but not from TheSims.com, is this an official  |
  |     item, or did someone outside of Maxis make it?                         |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  I've heard two different things about it, one that it was made by a    |
  |     German Affiliate of Maxis, and two, that it is a Maxis item, but one   |
  |     that wasn't meant to be released for another month.  I think of the    |
  |     two the second seems to be the truer, but I guess time will tell.      |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  Do you have any cheats?  What about any trainers or editors?           |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Cheats can be found in the above section "Cheats & Tricks".  As for    |
  |     editors and trainers, there has been one, but I think that it has      |
  |     vanished.                                                              |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  OK, I deleted my mailbox/carpool, and now I want them back, how can I  |
  |     do that?                                                               |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Thus we see the perils of using the move_objects cheat!  I have an     |
  |     idea about how you could get your Mailbox/Carpool back if you deleted  |
  |     them:  Import a new house from somewhere (usually                      |
  |     http://www.thesims.com/) and install that into the game.  That should  |
  |     work.  Or you could just uninstall the game then reinstall.            |
  |                                                                            |
  |     There are two places on the site that have houses to download, "Get    |
  |     Cool Stuff" and "The Sims Exchange".  Before you go there, check to    |
  |     see which Lot Number you need, then make sure to download the correct  |
  |     house.  Your best bet, by the way, is the Sims Exchange.               |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  I downloaded a house from The Sims Official Site, and unzipped it, but |
  |     now what do I do?                                                      |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Houses download as an EXE, which I have assumed that you have run,     |
  |     after which it says something like "It has been installed", then run   |
  |     your game, and at the neighborhood screen it will give you the option  |
  |     to have this new house (and family) replace the one currently there.   |
  |     So the previous house will vanish, along with everyone in it, to be    |
  |     replaced by the new house and family. (all houses come with families)  |
  |                                                                            |
  |       Warning:  Before downloading any house/Exchange family off of the    |
  |                 Official Site, make SURE that the lot that you are         |
  |                 replacing has nothing that you want to keep!  The          |
  |                 displaced family will simply be back at the Family         |
  |                 Selection list, but they'll have lost their home.          |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  The cheat 'klapaucius' no longer works!  Did upgrading the game do     |
  |     this?                                                                  |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Yes.  The new patch changes the money cheat from klapaucius to         |
  |     rosebud.  Why they did this is beyond me.                              |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  Can I win The Sims?                                                    |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Nope.  You can't lose either, although if you kill off all your Sims   |
  |     that could be considered losing.  This game is all about the playing,  |
  |     nothing more, nothing less.                                            |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  I can't find my serial number, can I have yours?                       |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  No.  If your game didn't COME with a serial number, you could try      |
  |     contacting Maxis through their website:                                |
  |         http://www.thesims.com/                                            |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  OK, I don't have a serial number, and therefore can't download off of  |
  |     the Official Sims Site, so how can I get all those neat downloads?     |
  |     Will you send them to me?                                              |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  First, no, I won't send any of the updates to you.  Second, you can    |
  |     find most of the Sim's Downloads at any of the web pages listed in the |
  |     Online Resources down in the Final Words section.  Try either          |
  |     http://www.simzonline.com/ or http://go.to/simuniverse/ but almost any |
  |     of the sites will do.                                                  |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  I want to put this FAQ on my webpage, can I?                           |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Sure.  Just don't change ANYTHING without prior email approval by me,  |
  |     and try to keep it reasonably up to date.  I update this FAQ a lot,    |
  |     adding new Frequently Asked Questions, strategies, and correcting any  |
  |     mistakes found.  It really doesn't help me to have people seeing old   |
  |     versions of the FAQ and sending me emailed questions that have already |
  |     been answered.                                                         |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  I have another question not covered in this FAQ...                     |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  Then by all means, email me with it!                                   |
  |         manymoose@hotmail.com                                              |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  I emailed you, and you didn't answer!  What's up with that?            |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  There are usually 3 reasons why I don't reply:                         |
  |                                                                            |
  |        1.  Your question is already answered in the FAQ somewhere.  This   |
  |            gets tricky if the question has been answered in a new version  |
  |            but you were looking at an older version.  So be sure to always |
  |            check GameFAQs for the latest version before emailing in a      |
  |            question.                                                       |
  |                                                                            |
  |        2.  Your question is covered in the manual.  I really don't want to |
  |            rewrite the manual in this FAQ, and to that end I won't include |
  |            much information found therein in here.  Which means that I     |
  |            won't answer questions found in the manual.                     |
  |                                                                            |
  |        3.  I lost your email.  This happens either when I put the email    |
  |            aside for the moment, and forget about it, or when I attempt    |
  |            to reply, but get a Returned Email Failure.  The second happens |
  |            quite often with AOL addresses, they won't accept Web Based     |
  |            emails (to avoid SPAM) and so I couldn't answer you if I tried. |
  |            This is a setting in the options somewhere, and if you could    |
  |            please tell me where to send a reply that won't get returned.   |
  |                                                                            |
  |     Those are the USUAL reasons why I don't reply, others include that I   |
  |     was too tired at the time I got it, and forgot about it, or that I     |
  |     didn't know an answer, and ignored it.  Those are rare.                |
  |                                                                            |
  |     If you didn't get a reply, and feel that you deserve one, just email   |
  |     me again.                                                              |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
  .----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
  | Q:  I have some bizarre and obscure technical problem....                  |
  |                                                                            |
  | A:  I have no idea how to fix technical problems, such as the game not     |
  |     running or the game crashing.  Try looking at Maxis' Official Sims     |
  |     Website:                                                               |
  |         http://www.thesims.com/                                            |
  '----------------------------------------------------------------------------'

  If you have a question that wasn't answered by one of the Frequently Asked
  Questions above, please feel free to email me:  manymoose@hotmail.com


================================================================================
                                Final Words...
================================================================================

_________________
Online Resources:

  http://www.ea.com/               -- the publisher's site
  http://www.thesims.com/          -- the Official Sims Site
                                      This one is probably the one you will want
                                      to go to the most often.  They have
                                      downloads to add to your game (new items
                                      such as the Slot Machine), etc.
  http://www.simzonline.com/       -- One of the best Fan Sites
  http://sims.xtremesimz.com/      -- The Sims Resource Center
  http://www.projectsims.com/      -- Project Sims
  http://www.synchroplay.com/mallofthesims/
                                   -- Mall of the Sims
  http://www.simeden.com/          -- SimEden
  http://www.sim-heaven.com/       -- Sim Heaven
  http://go.to/simuniverse/        -- Sim Universe
  http://www.7deadlysims.com/      -- A bizarre little site that has different
                                      skins and things based on the 7 Deadly
                                      Sins.
  http://www.crosswinds.net/~simsonline/
                                   -- Sims Online (not to be confused with the
                                      above Simz Online)
  http://simsdiary.gameaddicts.net/
                                   -- The Diary of a Sim
  http://coasters.nozone.net/      -- Coaster's Sims Page
  http://thesims.xtremesimz.com/   -- Appears to be offline now 
  
  http://www.gamefaqs.com/         -- the best FAQs site on the net!
  http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/game/25322.html
                                   -- GameFAQs section on The Sims
  http://www.cheatcc.com/          -- a great place for all your cheating needs

  http://www.ebworld.com/ebx/ads/PROMOS/download/sims/default.asp
                                                                                
    EBWorld made some neat skins that can be found at the above site.           
                                                                                
ASCII Art created using the ASCII Art Maker by LTS (freeware)
  You can possibly (doubtfully) find it at http://www.download.com/
                                                                                
This FAQ was written entirely using the GWD Text Editor:  (shareware)
  http://www.gwdsoft.com/                                                       

_________________________                                                       
Shameless Self Promotion:                                                       
                                                       
  I have also written FAQs for:
    NES:      Disney Adventures in the Magic Kingdom
              Final Fantasy -- Magic FAQ
              The Legend of Zelda                                               
    SNES:     Aerobiz                                                           
              Aerobiz Supersonic                                                
              Utopia: Creation of a Nation                                      
    Genesis:  Starflight
    PSX:      Thousand Arms -- Walkthrough
                            -- Forging/Dating FAQ
    PC:       Baldur's Gate & Tales of the Sword Coast -- Walkthrough           
                                                       -- NPC List 
                                                       -- Creatures List
              Colonization -- the Single Colony Strategy Guide                  
                           -- the Cheat Guide
              Drakan: Order of the Flame                                        
              Dungeon Hack                                                      
              Master of Magic (revision)
              Messiah
              Pharaoh
              Rollercoaster Tycoon
              Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
              Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar
              Ultima 7: The Black Gate
              Ultima 7 Part 2: Serpent Isle
              Ultima Underworld -- Keyboard Commands
              Ultima Underworld II -- Keyboard Commands
                                   -- Spell List
  All of my FAQs can be found at:
    http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/2203.html

Questions?  Comments?  Mistakes?  Wondering where all the Spam is?
Email me about it!
   Email:  manymoose@hotmail.com

   Email Policy:  If you are going to email me about this game, please put
                  The Sims as the subject.  Or Sims.  Also please realize
                  that I am not hiding cheats or any other information, i.e.
                  everything I know about The Sims is in this guide.

_______________
Special Thanks: (I don't post email addresses, except by special request)

  Joseph Peitler for contributing more than his share of tips (thanks!)

  Shyguy982 for his Trick in "Cheats & Tricks"
  Kyrre Aalerud for the 3 tricks also in "Cheats & Tricks"
  Christopher Scatliff for the Balcony correction
  Alan Waumsley for noticing that some Sims just don't get up
  Nancy Beck for a new cheat
  J.T. Kauffman for his great Questions
  Andrew Tate for a correction in the FAQ (about Sim's Bios)
  Apieper for some minor corrections here and there and for the Known Bugs
  Jesper Thiesen for the Every Other Bill thing
  Red Phoenix for a great many tips, tricks, and/or strategies
  Locutus for the Spellchecking
  Mandy Falco for her wonderful tips
  Catty Burton for her multiple baby bug
  Mark H. Dove for sending me the note on Forced Job Switching
  Mikey Griffiths for the Easter Egg (see the Cheats section)
  Dan Vernon for his method on killing everyone in the neighborhood (a bizarre
    thing to thank!)
  Adam McSweeney for pointing out one very bad mistake of mine
  Lim Yu Kee for telling me about Maids and Gardeners not returning
  Andrea Della Malva for the table question
  Joseph Peitler for the Baby Tips, FAQs, and Bugs (etc., etc., etc.!)
  Jordan Edmonson for his correction
  Keri for a couple of notes having to do with children
  RD Saunders for the Job "Shifts"
  Leviathan for pointing out that I had left section 14 off of the Contents
  Mike Fenton for section 5.7 Sim Personalities and Compatibilities
  Mark Hissett for a bunch of stuff (known bugs, and such)
  Knowla for a way to correct a bug
  Derek Hansen for his personality information
  James Wardle for a few Wishes in the Wish List
  Eric Chapman for more information on killing repairmen (see Known Bugs)
  Andrew Harms for section 6.3.1 and everything in it
  Jon Mars for the trick about getting the desired social interaction
  GamemaniaX for the expanded abuse the carpool
  Seeker for the Housebuilding on a Budget stuff
  broadstrong for lots of information (mostly on kids)
  moonshine for the evil twin bug addition
  Anyone who has emailed me with something nice to say
  CJayC for posting this FAQ and informing me (via his website) that The Sims
    was out!
  Will Wright for making this bizarrely fun game
  Maxis and EA for publishing this uniquely addictive game


________________
Version History:

Preliminary Version 0.9 (2-11-00, 47k)
Original Version 1.0 (2-12-00, 63k)                                             
  Added the section Babies and Children                                         
  Finished all the other sections                                               
  Added a Trainer                                                               
  Other Small Changes                                                           
Changes in Version 1.1 (2-19-00, 64k)                                           
  Renamed the Cheats section to "Cheats & Tricks"
Changes in Version 1.5 (2-20-00, 74k)
  Rewrote a lot of the information for clarity
  Added lots of new information as well
Changes in Version 1.6 (2-21-00, 82k)
  Added a neat new trick from Kyrre Aalerud
  Added the Frequently Asked Questions Section
Changes in Version 1.7 (2-25-00, 86k)
  Added several new Frequently Asked Questions
  Started work on the Career Ladder Chart
  Added a new Online Resource, and fixed another
  Added 2 new Tricks to Cheats and Tricks
  Other minute changes
Changes in Version 2.0 (2-26-00, 126k)
  Spun out a new Section 6.1 and put the Career Tracks in there
  Finished all the Career Tracks
  Added 2 new Sections, 4.1 and 4.2, Cooking and Room Rating
  Spun out another section 10.1 Death and Ghosts from section 10
  Spun out the section 9.1 Children and School
  Added another Alternate Floor Plan
  Added another Frequently Asked Question (having to do with Hot Tubs)
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 2.1 (2-27-00, 127k)
  Created a new section 2.1  The Bachelor Sim
Changes in Version 2.2 (2-28-00, 132k)
  Added to the Bachelor Sim Section
  Added the section 4.3  Alternative to Alarm Clocks
  Also added the section 6.2  Abusing the Carpool
  And also added the section 6.2.1  Early Morning Social Call
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 2.3 (2-29-00, 146k)
  Spun out the section 11.1 Deleting Trash (and Bills too!) from the Cheats
    & Tricks Section
  Added the section 2.2 The Full House (8 Sims)
  Renamed 6.1 to The Jobs Chart
  Added the section 5.1 Befriending Mean Sims
  Changed the Frequently Asked Questions Format
  Added a couple new Frequently Asked Questions as well
  Spun out the Changing the Radio Station Music section
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 2.4 (3-1-00, 153k)
  Added the section 5.2 Carrying on Multiple Romances
  Added the Section 5.3 Maintaining Relationships the Easy Way
  Spell Checked the entire document (thanks to Red Phoenix who pointed out
    that I needed to do this)
  Added the section 9.2 What Kids Do
  Added the section 2.1.1 The Bachelor Gets Married
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 2.5 (3-2-00, 164k)
  Added a new Online Resource (Mall of the Sims)
  Added a new Frequently Asked Question
  Added the Section 3.1  Building a Better House
  Added the Section 4.4  Who Needs a Trashcan?
  Added the Section 8.1  Building that Second Story
  Also added the Section 8.1.1  The "Flying" Second Story
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 2.51 (3-3-00, 165k)
  Created section 8.1.2 (thanks to Christopher Scatliff for the info)
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 2.52 (3-5-00, 166k)
  Added a new Frequently Asked Question
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 2.53 (3-8-00, 167k)
  Added 2 new Frequently Asked Questions
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 3.0 (3-9-00, 200k)
  Added the Section "Customizing Your Game"
  And in that section I moved the "Changing the Radio Music" Section
  And created 2 new sections "Skins" and "Multiple Neighborhoods"
  Created the section "Alternate Job Chart"
  Created the section "Understanding Your Sims" and its subsections:  "What a
    Sim Wants/Needs" and "Why A Sim Does What He Does"
  Oh, I also created section 12.2.1  The "Nude" Patch (heh)
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 3.01 (3-10-00, 201k)
  Some Small Changes
Changes in Version 3.02 (3-11-00, 202k)
  Some more Small Changes
Changes in Version 3.03 (3-13-00, 203k)
  Added a new cheat from Nancy Beck
  There is now a new Translation!  Check the Notes at the top of the FAQ
  Some Small Changes
Changes in Version 3.1 (3-18-00, 210k)
  Added the new section 7.1  Working the Pause
  Added a few new Frequently Asked Questions
  Did some Spellchecking!
  Some Small Changes
Changes in Version 3.12 (3-20-00, 214k)
  Added the section 6.3  Quitting for Fun and Profit
  Realized that I had left out the Final Stats for the Medicine Career Path
    (this is now fixed!)
  Cut some things out from the "Misc Facts"
  Added a new "Alternate Job Chart" to the section of the same name
  Some Small Changes
Changes in Version 3.14 (3-21-00, 221k)
  Added a bunch of new Frequently Asked Questions (courtesy of J.T. Kauffman)
  Some Small Changes
Changes in Version 3.15 (3-24-00, 222k)
  Lots of small changes all around!
Changes in Version 3.16 (3-25-00, 223k)
  Some small changes
Changes in Version 3.17 (3-27-00, 224k)
  One small change
Changes in Version 3.18 (3-28-00, 224k)
  One more small change
Changes in Version 3.19 (3-29-00, 225k)
  Added the section 11.2  Paying only Every Other Bill
Changes in Version 4.0 (3-30-00, 240k)
  Added the Section 13 Known Bugs (thanks to Apieper!)
  Added a new Frequently Asked Question
  Added the Section 5.4 Sending your Sim out of the House
  Added the Section 5.5 Creating Friends the Old Fashioned Way
  Added the Section 11.3 The Newbie Trick
  Added the Section 3.2 Who Needs Walls?
  Added the Section 5.6 How to Befriend SimKids
  Added the Section 4.6 Moving Trash Yourself
  Small Changes (Always!)
Changes in Version 4.01 (3-31-00, 241k)
  One small change (The new SimDay was an upgrade to the game!)
Changes in Version 4.02 (4-1-00, 242k)
  Apparantly klapaucius no longer works with the game update (see above), but
    a new code, rosebud, works in its place.  So I added a Frequently Asked
    Question about this as well as updated the Cheats listing.
Changes in Version 4.03 (4-3-00, 245k)
  Some spelling corrections, thanks to Locutus
  Some new tips, thanks to Mandy Falco (added 11.4 Washing Dishes Faster)
  Added a new Known Bug from Catty Burton
Changes in Version 4.04 (4-4-00, 248k)
  Added one thing from Mark H. Dove about Fored Job Switching (Section 6)
  Added a new Frequently Asked Question
Changes in Version 4.05 (4-5-00, 252k)
  Re-did the Cheats section with a LOT of new cheats!
  Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.1 (4-6-00, 257k)
  Added Section 4.7  The "Cluster" Method
  Added a tip to Section 9, about Children being a Tax Credit
  Added an Easter Egg from Mikey Griffiths
  Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.11 (4-10-00, 258k)
  Added a new "trick" to section 11
  Fixed one glaringly bad mistake
Changes in Version 4.2 (4-13-00, 267k)
  Added three new Frequently Asked Question (about Maids not returning, and
    Objects that won't go away, and Chips that stay on your floor)
  Added the new section 14.  Getting the Most from The Sims
  Added the new section 11.5  Deleting your Characters and Resetting their Mood
  Added the new SimDay "event", new MTV Skins
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.25 (4-14-00, 272k)
  Added a couple of new Frequently Asked Question (about Repairmen not
    leaving, and Neighbors not leaving)
  Added the new section 10.2  Did you Know?, which is about the makers of the
    game, Will Wright et al.
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.26 (4-15-00, 274k)
  Added some Facts from Joseph Peitler in the new section 9.0.1 Baby Tips
  Added a new Frequently Asked Question (about how Friends are counted at the
    neighborhood level vs. the house level)
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.27 (4-16-00, 275k)
  Changed one mistake (thanks to Jordan Edmonson)
  Added a couple notes from Keri
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.28 (4-18-00, 277k)
  Updated the Maid Blacklisting thing (thanks again to Lim Yu Kee)
  Added an idea to get the Mailbox/Carpool back (see the FAQ section) if you
    deleted it with the move_objects cheat
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.3 (4-20-00, 281k)
  Created section 11.6 How to Max out all the Personality Stats
  Created the section 11.7 Starting a Sim with random Job Stats
  Added the new SimDay "event", topiaries
  Added a couple of new websites, SimUniverse (http://go.to/simuniverse/) and
    7 Deadly Sims (http://www.7deadlysims.com/)
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.4 (4-24-00, 286k)
  Created section 6.4 Job "Shifts" (a job shift is when you get kicked out of
    your level 10 job somewhere, and placed into a lower level job in another
    career, Thanks to RD Saunders for this!)
  Fixed a mistake in the Contents
  Added a new Frequently Asked Question (about downloading houses)
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.5 (4-25-00, 300k)
  Created Section 5.7 Sim Personalities and Compatibilities (thanks to Mike
    Fenton)
  Added a couple new Frequently Asked Questions (thanks to Joseph Peitler)
  Added some new "Known Bugs" (in the section of the same name, thanks again
    to Joseph Peitler)
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.51 (4-26-00, 304k)
  Added several new Frequently Asked Questions
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.52 (4-27-00, 306k)
  It's Thursday, SimDay, so added the new Maxis Object, Flowerbeds
  Added a couple new Frequently Asked Questions
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.6 (4-28-00, 320k)
  Received a way to correct a bug (the "accidental twins" thing) from Knowla
  Updated a Frequently Asked Question from Mark Hissett
  Added a couple of new Known Bugs from Mark Hissett
  Created section 4.1.1  Food Strategies (thanks again to Mark Hissett)
  Put Derek Hansen's personality scores into section 1.1.2
  Created section 15. Wish List
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.61 (5-2-00, 321k)
  Added a brand new Frequently Asked Question
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.62 (5-3-00, 321k)
  Some Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.63 (5-4-00, 322k)
  Added the latest SimDay event, the Jukebox and the White House
  Added a new Wish to the Wish List from Mike Fenton
  Snipped a few things out of the Notes above that seemed a bit redundant
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.64 (5-6-00, 323k)
  Some Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.7 (5-11-00, 336k)
  Added the latest SimDay event, the new Trashcans
  Added several new Wishes (thanks to James Wardle)
  Added to a Frequently Asked Question (thanks to Joseph Peitler)
  Added section 12.4 Download Surprises (also thanks to Joseph Peitler)
  Added a couple of new Online Resources (web links)
  Added some information on killing repairmen (see Known Bugs, thanks to
    Eric Chapman)
  Created section 6.3.1 Job Hopping Analysis (thanks to Andrew Harms)
  Some Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.71 (5-12-00, 339k)
  Created section ii. Information on the Upcoming Add-On, Livin' Large
  Some Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.72 (5-16-00, 343k)
  Created section 5.8) Getting the Desired Interaction (thanks to Jon Mars)
  Added an expanded Abuse the Carpool thing (section 6.2) thanks to GamemaniaX
  Some Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.73 (5-22-00, 345k)
  Created section 3.3)  Housebuilding, especially on a Budget thanks to
    Seeker
  Some Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.74 (5-23-00, 348k)
  Added several Editors to the Cheats section
  Added information from broadstrong
  Added a couple new tips from Joseph Peitler
  Some Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.75 (5-24-00, 349k)
  Created Section 12.5  Playing Without the Sims CD
Changes in Version 4.76 (5-28-00, 350k)
  Added some more information from Joseph Peitler, in Known Bugs and Death
    and Ghosts
Changes in Version 4.77 (6-1-00, 350k)
  Added the latest SimDay Event, the Glowing Flamingo
  Changed the email policy (see above)
Changes in Version 4.78 (6-4-00, 353k)
  Added a bug note from moonshine (about Evil Twins)
  Added yet more information from Joseph Peitler (a couple new FAQ's, etc.)
  Added more information about the upcoming Add-On, Livin' Large (see section
    ii.)
  Other Small Changes
Changes in Version 4.79 (6-6-00, 354k)
  Moved something out of Known Bugs and into the FAQ
  Found at (via Joseph Peitler) that the Slot Machine was listed twice in the
    "Download Surprises" section, this is now fixed
Changes in Version 4.80 (6-7-00, 354k)
  Added the Italian version of the FAQ (see the Notes above)
Changes in Version 4.9 (6-8-00, 357k)
  Created section 11.8) Speeding up your Sim (thanks to broadstrong)
  Added a lot of little additions all over the FAQ from broadstrong
  Some other small changes




__________________________
Misc Facts about this FAQ:

  This FAQ was started on February 10, 2000; and released on February 11, 2000
  The Original size of the FAQ was 47.1k
  The size of the FAQ now is 357k, which is an increase of around 649%
  This is the 60th revision of the FAQ.
  If you were to print it out, it would take, 80 pages (average).


________
Stinger:

  Reticulating Splines:
    According to Webster's, to reticulate is: to divide, mark, or construct so
    as to form a network. And a spline is: a function that is defined on an
    interval, is used to approximate a given function, and is composed of pieces
    of simple functions defined on subintervals and joined at their endpoints
    with a suitable degree of smoothness.

    Therefore, reticulating splines would be: Constructing network based
    functions that are defined by divisible intervals while approximating said
    network and composing it of pieces of simple functions defined on
    subintervals and joined at their endpoints with a suitable degree of
    smoothness.
      -- Will Wright (from http://www.simzonline.com/)

________________________________________________________________________________

This Document is Copyright 2000 by Dan Simpson
The Sims is Copyright 2000 by Electronic Arts

I am not affiliated with Maxis, Electronic Arts, or anyone who had anything to
do with the creation of this game.  This FAQ may be posted on any site so long
as NOTHING IS CHANGED and you EMAIL ME telling me that you are posting it.  You
may not charge for, or in any way profit from this FAQ.