Just a word of warning - - Walmart Prima Guide

[iHateyou]

This post is just for idiots like me who:

1. Would buy a Prima Guide in the first place.
2. Would pick up a book the size of a paper back and expect it to have legible font size.

The guide Wal-Mart has is tiny and the printing is so small, I'd expect this book was made for insects to read. Don't bother with this edition unless you want to go completely blind. I will now have to march to Wal-Mart and stage a hissy fit in order to get a refund, because they do not like to refund books.

[kazebird]

A better tip is don't shop at Waldemort. They are part of the commercial Axis Powers.

[Kyna]

This post is just for idiots like me who:

1. Would by a Prima Guide in the first place.
2. Would pick up a book the size of a paper back and expect it to have legible font size.

The guide Wal-Mart has is tiny and the printing is so small, I'd expect this book was made for insects to read. Don't bother with this edition unless you want to go completely blind. I will now have to march to Wal-Mart and stage a hissy fit in order to get a refund, because they do not like to refund books.

I think you mean BUY not BY.

But you needn't have posted this warning.  Nobody here is dumb enough to believe a Prima Guide, let alone waste money on one.  Oh, and I *do* pick up books the size of paperbacks and find they have legible font sizes (even without my glasses) - this from someone who started wearing bifocals a few years back.

[Fikcija]

I'm stupid enough to buy a prima guide. For the first time in my whole simming history I decided I'll have one.
Well I'm getting my Collector's Edition as a birthday present, so I thought why not waste my money on the Prima Guide.
Now I've been resisting the urge to cancel the order, because stupid GAME (game.co.uk) held it as "pre-order" till today's midday, now it's stuck on "pending". And my CE should be here tomorrow (also from them).

[iHateyou]

This post is just for idiots like me who:

1. Would by a Prima Guide in the first place.
2. Would pick up a book the size of a paper back and expect it to have legible font size.

The guide Wal-Mart has is tiny and the printing is so small, I'd expect this book was made for insects to read. Don't bother with this edition unless you want to go completely blind. I will now have to march to Wal-Mart and stage a hissy fit in order to get a refund, because they do not like to refund books.

I think you mean BUY not BY.

But you needn't have posted this warning.  Nobody here is dumb enough to believe a Prima Guide, let alone waste money on one.  Oh, and I *do* pick up books the size of paperbacks and find they have legible font sizes (even without my glasses) - this from someone who started wearing bifocals a few years back.

Fixed, and that was kind of my point. I can read paperbacks, and expected to be able to read this one. Oh well.




Yes, and the guide that comes in the CE is FOUR PAGES LONG and completely worthless. So yippee!

[Fikcija]

Yes, and the guide that comes in the CE is FOUR PAGES LONG and completely worthless. So yippee!

Yep, I heard that fun fact. So luckily it won't be a surprise to me.

Oh and I just checked, my Prima Guide has finally shipped. But they didn't bother to mail me about it.

[jolrei]

Congratulations, n00bs!  You have purchased the Prima Guide to TS3.  This worthwhile volume embarrassment will serve you well as you discover the wonders and unexpected pleasures of TS3 prop open your doors or fend off Jehovah's Witnesses in hand to hand combat.

Caution: For accurate game tips and to preserve your own eyesight, reading this book is contraindicated.

[nanacake]

Google indexes this site fast -Search results for 'Prima Guide Stupid' is the 7th link.

Why would anyone buy a game guide anymore with GameFAQ and sites like this one available? Even the library here has those stupid guides! (They have fallen pray to offering noneducational and trendy material to appease youth, instead of updating the facility and replacing the worn materials. Meh.)

[Piffle]

Google indexes this site fast -Search results for 'Prima Guide Stupid' is the 7th link.

Why would anyone buy a game guide anymore with GameFAQ and sites like this one available? Even the library here has those stupid guides! (They have fallen pray to offering noneducational and trendy material to appease youth, instead of updating the facility and replacing the worn materials. Meh.)

Some people prefer to have a physical book with pretty pictures to leaf through.  There's something comforting about flipping through a book that you just don't get on even the most informative web sites.  Of course, that assumes complete and accurate information.  Prima is by no means the only (or even worst) offender as far as full color glossy paperweights go.

[Sigmund]

Why would anyone buy a game guide anymore with GameFAQ and sites like this one available? Even the library here has those stupid guides!

Exactly. Particularly when much of the TS2 Prima Guide ended up being wrong. Personally, I just keep an eye on this site for information since it's far more likely to be accurate.

[Fikcija]

Well I didn't buy any previous Prima Guides, but like I said, since the game was free to me this time, I decided to try. I might regret that later, I don't deny the possibility.

And um... Go ahead and laugh at me, but I love lists. I mean I LOVE lists. I have a notebook with all TS2 careers, all 10 levels of each with workdays, work hours and payments written down. And stuff like that. And I have lots of lists from snooty sims printed or written down. And I like having it somewhere not on the internet when the site can be down or I just might not want to alt+tab or something else. You have no idea how much time I spent with the reloaded (aka free trial) version, going through ALL premade families and making a list on excel with the names, ages, traits and lifetime wishes of each sim. Guess what, I've seen on a free preview pdf that the Prima Guide book has that list. That fact alone makes me love that book. Means I won't have to print or write down that from my pc, I'll have the paper version of the list in the book.
(I wonder what trait could represent this weird thing about me, but I'm a Knowledge sim for sure.)

Edit: Oh and by the way, one of the dead guys in someone's family tree (maybe the gay guy? I don't remember... gonna have to check) had "Artistic" and "Can't Stand Art" traits, which are (are they?) impossible to have both.

[ShortyBoo]

I bought my copy of the Prima guide at GameStop and I can read the font just fine. In fact, several of my paperback novels have smaller font than the guide. I got it for 20% off and I had some money on my Edge card for some trade-ins I did awhile back, so I only paid like $4 out of pocket for it. I'm kind of glad I got it since I can't play the game until the crashing stops (I'm downloading 3dmark06 right now and I'm thinking of swapping with my brother's 8800 GTS to see if it's my card) so I've been reading the guide in the meantime. I know some of the info is probably wrong, especially if they wrote it using an earlier build of the game and EAxis changed things later. But it's still kind of interesting to read.

[Zazazu]

Why wouldn't you flip through the book first? I always flip through books to make sure there aren't any obvious printing errors, like blank pages. If you'd taken two seconds to crack open the book before cracking open your wallet, perhaps you wouldn't have this issue.

[crunk]

Why wouldn't you flip through the book first? I always flip through books to make sure there aren't any obvious printing errors, like blank pages. If you'd taken two seconds to crack open the book before cracking open your wallet, perhaps you wouldn't have this issue.

I'm fairly sure that my Walmart had the guide sealed in plastic.

[jolrei]

Why wouldn't you flip through the book first? I always flip through books to make sure there aren't any obvious printing errors, like blank pages. If you'd taken two seconds to crack open the book before cracking open your wallet, perhaps you wouldn't have this issue.

I'm fairly sure that my Walmart had the guide sealed in plastic.

And you still bought it?  If you hadn't would it still be eating away at you ("What's inside that plastic?  What are they hiding?")?

[iHateyou]

I bought my copy of the Prima guide at GameStop and I can read the font just fine. In fact, several of my paperback novels have smaller font than the guide. I got it for 20% off and I had some money on my Edge card for some trade-ins I did awhile back, so I only paid like $4 out of pocket for it. I'm kind of glad I got it since I can't play the game until the crashing stops (I'm downloading 3dmark06 right now and I'm thinking of swapping with my brother's 8800 GTS to see if it's my card) so I've been reading the guide in the meantime. I know some of the info is probably wrong, especially if they wrote it using an earlier build of the game and EAxis changed things later. But it's still kind of interesting to read.

The guide they sell at Gamestop is the full size guide. I got my refund from Walmart today and bought the one at Gamestop. It's so much better. My whole point was to warn people off the one they have at Walmart because its really small, does not have the pull-out map, and is much inferior to the one at all the other stores.

Oh and yes, it is sealed in plastic. I was not even allowed to touch the thing, they had it in a locked case, they took it out and immediately locked it into a little security box for me to take to the front as if it was some sort of solid gold goose egg. I saw that the book itself was about the size of the DVD case, and I assumed that the text would be sized appropriately. Instead I find they merely shrunk the page down until the font is unreadable and the pictures look like postage stamps. I really had no way of knowing this.

My intention was not to get on here and bitch for sympathy though, I just wanted to let anyone considering buying this guide know, don't buy it at Wal-Mart.

[seanachai]

I like Prima Guides because it's good to have something to turn to without having to open up a window while the game is playing. And yes, I also like lists.

Mine is full-sized, so the type is easy to read. I can't say I'm a huge fan of this guide though, as it's kind of badly organized. Rather than separating things into meaningful chapters, a lot of stuff is just sort of lumped together. I haven't been able to find a list of plantables so far, as well as a few other things. It took me forever to find out things like how to get to the "invite to move in" stage. The map and list of households is at least useful in figuring out where people live and how many Sims the neighborhood started out with.

[BlueSoup]

I haven't been able to find a list of plantables so far, as well as a few other things.

Ask and you shall receive.

List of Plantables

Common:

Apple
Tomato
Lettuce
Grapes

Uncommon:

Watermelon
Lime
Onion
Potato

Rare:

Garlic
Bell Pepper

Special:

Money tree
Flame Fruit
Death Tree
Life Fruit

Available only through opportunities from restaurant:

Egg
Cheese
Steak
Burger Patties
Omni plant

[iHateyou]

I haven't been able to find a list of plantables so far, as well as a few other things.

Ask and you shall receive.

List of Plantables

Common:

Apple
Tomato
Lettuce
Grapes

Uncommon:

Watermelon
Lime
Onion
Potato

Rare:

Garlic
Bell Pepper

Special:

Money tree
Flame Fruit
Death Tree
Life Fruit

Available only through opportunities from restaurant:

Egg
Cheese
Steak
Burger Patties
Omni plant

Awesome, that is getting printed and inserted into my new full size guide.

[jolrei]

Awesome, that is getting printed and inserted into my new full size guide.

I find it interesting that you pay money for a guide, and yet have to put information INTO IT.  Still, you know best.

[jrdseven]

This post is just for idiots like me who:

1. Would buy a Prima Guide in the first place.
2. Would pick up a book the size of a paper back and expect it to have legible font size.

The guide Wal-Mart has is tiny and the printing is so small, I'd expect this book was made for insects to read. Don't bother with this edition unless you want to go completely blind. I will now have to march to Wal-Mart and stage a hissy fit in order to get a refund, because they do not like to refund books.

As you've taken the plunge on loser street, any chance you could have a look at the guitar challenges section and tell me what it says about the playing at 10 parties/venues? I can't clear it and it's pissing me off.

[EdenNintyNine]

fend off Jehovah's Witnesses in hand to hand combat.

If it causes them to burst into flames on contact, it might actually be worth buying!

[lemmiwinks]

Accuracy aside, the tiny print issue may be caused by age and denial.
The same bastards that print the Prima Guide now seem to be printing my newspaper.

[crunk]

Why wouldn't you flip through the book first? I always flip through books to make sure there aren't any obvious printing errors, like blank pages. If you'd taken two seconds to crack open the book before cracking open your wallet, perhaps you wouldn't have this issue.

I'm fairly sure that my Walmart had the guide sealed in plastic.

And you still bought it?  If you hadn't would it still be eating away at you ("What's inside that plastic?  What are they hiding?")?

No, I didn't buy it. The comletionist in me wanted to, but I thought prima guides were coffee table book sized with lots of pictures. If I find a decent sized one I might buy it.

[iHateyou]

This post is just for idiots like me who:

1. Would buy a Prima Guide in the first place.
2. Would pick up a book the size of a paper back and expect it to have legible font size.

The guide Wal-Mart has is tiny and the printing is so small, I'd expect this book was made for insects to read. Don't bother with this edition unless you want to go completely blind. I will now have to march to Wal-Mart and stage a hissy fit in order to get a refund, because they do not like to refund books.

As you've taken the plunge on loser street, any chance you could have a look at the guitar challenges section and tell me what it says about the playing at 10 parties/venues? I can't clear it and it's pissing me off.

This is all it says "Guitar Star - Guitar Stars must play at 10 parties and venues in the town to earn their title. Afterward, they earn even more money for tips and performances."

In other words, sorry it's no help. I've wondered about that myself, and haven't found an answer.