Welcome to The Sims 2! Part 10

Hello everyone.

I wanted to first take the opportunity to thank all of you who were able to join us for The Sims 2 University. We are grateful that you took time out of your busy schedules and traveled many miles to spend the day with us and talk about The Sims 2. We feel like it was a worthwhile day and hope you do to. For those of you who were unable to join us, we missed you and hope you will be able to participate next time.

At The Sims 2 University, we gave all participants an updated fansite kit. You can download it here, if you didn't join us and are interested in downloading its content.

On of the most important things that we discussed at The Sims 2 University was the player-made custom content tool. View the screenshots below which show off various outfits that we have picked for
you to customize:

The file that contains the bitmap files for these clothing options can be downloaded here, feel free to play around with them and customize them to express your personal Sim-style!

Many of you have had specific questions about this tool. Below we have addressed some of your issues:

What is CaSIE?
CaSIE is a stand-alone tool that will let you build Sims that can be played in The Sims 2. In CaSIE, you will be able to choose your Sims' skin tone, eye color, hair styles; facial hair, makeup, clothes, and more. CaSIE will also give you incredible control over your Sims' faces through controls to select from a diverse range of facial "types" and sliders to fine tune even the smallest details, such as nose length, eyebrow thickness, lip curl, and chin shape. There are over 50 modifier sliders alone!

Another major feature of CaSIE is the ability to create custom content that anyone can play in The Sims 2. Take a t-shirt and add your face to it ... make a set of yellow cat eyes ... create a set of scaly green skins ... the possibilities are truly infinite.

Finally, CaSIE is the tool that will help you package the Sims and custom content you create and upload them to TheSims2.com, post on your fan site, or share with your friends. We can't wait to see what turns up!

What is the difference between CaSIE and CAS?
CAS (Create-A-Sim) is a part of The Sims 2. CaSIE is a "stand alone" tool that runs separately from the game. CAS is the place in The Sims 2 where you will create Sims and their families and move them into your neighborhoods. CaSIE will be released before The Sims 2 ships as a way for you to start building Sims and creating custom content early. CAS allows you to name Sims, give them personalities and determine their facial appearance, physique, outfits, accessories, and hairstyles. You'll be able to create families with genetic similarities; CaSIE does not.

What does stand-alone mean?
"Stand-alone" means that CaSIE can run without having The Sims 2 installed on your computer, which is why we will be able to release CaSIE before the game ships. Once The Sims 2 is released (and if you have installed CaSIE and The Sims 2 in their default directories), they will work together seamlessly. For example, any Sim you create in CaSIE will be available for you to play in The Sims 2 without having to transfer any files. Also, any custom content you create in CaSIE will be automatically available to you in CAS. (CaSIE and The Sims 2, however, can not be run at the same time.)

Is CaSIE actually mandatory to run the game or can you just buy The Sims 2 and still play the game?
You can play The Sims 2 without having CaSIE.

How easy will it be to create new meshes for new clothes and Sims?
For the first release of CaSIE you will only be able to customize textures and the facial mesh (with modifiers and face choices). This is because the process of creating models in The Sims 2 is much more complex than in The Sims and we want players to be able to get started on textures as soon as possible. We do, however, plan to release an update to CaSIE later on that will let you export and import models to use in a 3D program.

Does CaSIE have the same requirements as The Sims 2?
Yes, CaSIE will work on the same system requirements as The Sims 2.

For all of you console fans, The Sims Bustin' Out community site is live. Click here http://thesims.ea.com/us/index.html to check out the fansite kit and chat on the BBS. The game will be in stores in just a few short weeks.

That's all for now.

Cheers,

Luc