Expansion packs speculation: new buildings
I hope EA completely re-invents the idea of sub-neighborhoods (found in Uni, NL, OFB even though it was pretty superfluous, and AL) in The Sims 3. With the seamless neighborhood, sub-hoods would be a reversion to TS2′s ‘every home is an island’ timekeeping. That would suck. It would be a step backward.
With the additional possibility that players have custom hoods, they’re going to need a creative way of ‘expanding’ the play area and allowing access to those features. I believe they will do this with ‘ploppable’ community lots, and creating a new town in each EP (not so much to ask for, is it?)
Anyway, here’s my wish-list of additional buildings:
- A golf course. Golf! If any sport could be plausibly integrated with The Sims 3, golf would be it. Sims could also work there in a special Golfer career. It would be fun to take them out for a round and see them walking around the course, which I’d imagine would be one huge, flat rabbit-hole of a building. (or gopher-hole.)
- On the same theme: other sports places. It could be the theme for a whole EP. Football/soccer, baseball, paintball (?)
- An airport if there’s going to be a vacation EP. Could tie in with working as a Pilot.
- A bank if EA wants to do a business EP. Criminals could hold up the bank! Sims could deposit/withdraw money there to make interest (or over the phone/computer) or to borrow money. This IS wishful thinking, I know – EA doesn’t care about economic realism!
- A TV Station for a show business type career or TV journalist.
- Remember the Tourist Trap from Simcity 4? Or an Amusement Park. Or a Carnival. Or a Castle! Give our Sims the opportunity to run hotels and engage in Fawlty Towers-style shenanigans.
- An open market. Would tie in well with Seasons: in winter-time it could be a like a Christmas market like those in Germany. Autumn could be a farmer’s market. Summer, a flea market; spring, something else…maybe a food festival?