The Movies (the game)

[witch]

Sounds like the mouse/keyboard stuff is unusual and not intuitive. I tried a game like that recently and had to give up in the end, it was so incredibly frustrating. No doubt someone will have written a tutorial for The Movies by the time I can afford the game.

Edit: Man that was fast, see there are helpful hints even before I finished posting. 

[Motoki]

It's not too bad. You can zoom in and out with the mouse wheel like you can in TS2. There's another way too but I always use the mouse wheel. I you hold control and use the arrow keys on the keyboard you can rotate the view. It's a little odd that moving or deleting a building requires you to grab a builder and place them on an icon on the building, but I guess it makes sense. You can't do it in pause mode though.

I'm thinking of starting over and trying again. My lot is really haphazard and I didn't have a plan for it at all. I also suck at landscaping.

Regarding the "backdrops" that I am getting unlocked, are they for that one versatile small stage? How do I change them?

[san]

Regarding the "backdrops" that I am getting unlocked, are they for that one versatile small stage? How do I change them?


 You take your movie into the Advanced Movie maker building (custom scriptwriting) where you can do your own scenes, you can change the backdrops in there, maybe in post production as well, I haven't really got into that side of it yet, regarding the trailers, IIRC I saw a"platium" trailer picture somwhere, a really posh looking one, maybe the game unlocks that, and that's where you can 'arrange' assignations.I have unlocked three, Rickety, Comfortable, and plush, so I think there's one more lurking.

[PlaidSquirrel]

The backdrops are for all of your sets but you must change them in your custom script writing phase. Also You can change the lighting and alter the tone of your scenes to some degree using the buttons to the side. You can even change the props they are holding a little but I hate that you can't Give them props if they didn't already have them in hand.

[laeshanin]

Just to answer a quick question, Motoki, you can't drop other professions to acting so scriptwriters, janitors and others seem to stick at their original jobs. I tried on several occasions, just to be certain, and you aren't able to place them in the relevant areas at all. 

Like you, my building placement left a fair bit to be desired so I've decided to start over and see if I can do it a wee bit better this time.

It is a good game and I really enjoyed playing it last night, even if, as others have pointed out, there's a lot of micromanagement. It's cool.

[Motoki]

I just started over too. I did plan a lot better this time though I still suck at landscaping.

BTW, gogamer.com has The Movies on sale currently for $35. It's on their "48 hour madness sale" and it's been on it for past 48 hours so I don't know how much longer it will be at that price, but they do have a "dirt cheap shipping" option for $1.99 so it's not a bad deal at all. That's pretty much the cost of a TS2 expansion pack.

[laeshanin]

I picked my copy up for £19.99 which works out at about $30, I think. So quite a bargain. Gonna go and play with it just now, but feel like torturing a few sims first. 

[Motoki]

I'm finding the further I get into this game, the crazier it gets. I'm raking in the cash and have over 800,000 now, but it can get really crazy when you have a huge lot and a whole bunch of actors. They all seem to throw tantrums or run off to get drunk at the same time, and then the writers get done a novel and you have to go back and grab their asses and make them start writing another one or they'll waste time. Same for the scientists if you unlock all the stuff you can for a while.

Running the game in pause mode is extremely limited. You can place lots, but you can't move or delete anyone or anything. I wish you could zoom out more. How are you guys dealing with the large lots with a lot going on? I kind of liked it better when it was a smaller lot. It was much easier to deal with.

Also, while I have a fairly easy time early on getting actors and directors to be at the top of the list, I'm finding difficulties acheiving it with new actors. I'm paying them well, they're acting in a lot of movies, they have multiple assistants, a nice trailer, they're experienced in their genre and they are happy, but they're still all like only the number 18, 19, or 20th place among actors. My #1 actress is in her 50s and while I've given her plastic surgery and she looks like she's in her 30s (so the game says) her days are still numbered.

I guess I should get the Prima Guide. Has anyone else gotten it? Is it worth it?

[SaraMK]

Running the game in pause mode is extremely limited. You can place lots, but you can't move or delete anyone or anything. I wish you could zoom out more. How are you guys dealing with the large lots with a lot going on? I kind of liked it better when it was a smaller lot. It was much easier to deal with.

Is map mode not helping? I know it is stinky that you can't actually DO much in map mode, but at least you can see the whole lot. I often find problem areas that way.

And yes, pause is just dreadful in this game. You can't do anything.

[SaraMK]

Just to answer a quick question, Motoki, you can't drop other professions to acting so scriptwriters, janitors and others seem to stick at their original jobs.

You can make janitors and builders into actors and stuff. But there must be an actual unemployed actor hanging around the Stage School.

[MistressBoleyn]

Running the game in pause mode is extremely limited. You can place lots, but you can't move or delete anyone or anything. I wish you could zoom out more. How are you guys dealing with the large lots with a lot going on? I kind of liked it better when it was a smaller lot. It was much easier to deal with.

Oh, most definitely!!  Not even so much a smaller lot but fewer actors and directors!  I finally ran out of room (my lot is arranged in a bit of a WWIII theme- meaning there's no rhyme or reason to it at all) and started getting rid of some of the older sets.  I figured out how to delete them almost immediately and completely by accident, so I was lucky there.  It's odd that the instruction booklet that comes with it is so... lacking.

 There are a couple of things that do somewhat annoy me... I wish you could "assign" someone to do something until you directed them otherwise- like actors practicing.  They practice for a while then piss off to do their own little thing.  bleh.  I say get your butt in there and don't come out until that bar is green!!! Even something like the queue system in TS2 would work.   I also wish you could see which trailer they were assigned to when you click on them...I hate having to hover over each trailer trying to find the right one.

My first star is about 5 years from retirement right now; I'm waiting to see if that brings any perks with it.  I recently unlocked the implants, so now all of my 'starlets' have been going in for... um... enhancements.  Really torques them off while it's being done but seems to up the appeal factor.  Can't wait for the liposuction to become available!  I've won a few awards (for some reason my directors do especially well) and have managed a 3 1/2 star flick.  My studio just made it up to #2 on the list, so I'm quite pleased with myself! lol

For all it's downfalls I'm really, really liking this game.  I'll admit that I haven't even begun to think about making my own movies- my hands are too full just keeping everyone happy and keeping the buildings from falling to pieces.  I suppose I'll tackle that when and if I ever become proficient at just keeping everyone's moods up.  All in all, it's the best game I've gotten since TS2 came out.  Be warned, though, it will suck your life away!  The first day I played it I started around 4pm... next thing I knew I was getting hungry so I looked at the clock and it was just after midnight.

[laeshanin]

Just to answer a quick question, Motoki, you can't drop other professions to acting so scriptwriters, janitors and others seem to stick at their original jobs.

You can make janitors and builders into actors and stuff. But there must be an actual unemployed actor hanging around the Stage School.

I see. I hadn't got any unemployed bods lurking so I guess that's why it didn't work for me.

One thing that is frustrating is the lack of directors... my actors get pissy when I put them in that role.

[SaraMK]

One thing that is frustrating is the lack of directors... my actors get pissy when I put them in that role.

Import your own director for best results. Actors do seem to hate being made directors. I made that mistake early on... hired some idiot as a director and had to put up with so much crap that I decided to restart the game entirely.

To import a director, you need an unemployed actor hanging around the Stage School. Drop this actor into the Import Actor room. When the menu comes up, look on the bottom for a "import as director" box. Obviously, you first need to create a director in the Starmaker program. It's exactly the same as creating an actor. Until you import someone they don't actually have a job designation, so they won't sulk because they think you've demoted them. So you just create an actor but import as a director.

[Motoki]

You can make janitors and builders into actors and stuff. But there must be an actual unemployed actor hanging around the Stage School.

Yeah, like those stars that got rejected from other studios and try to come crawling to my lot. They're like 50-something so their time is limited and they immediately throw a huge tantrum after you hire them because they don't even give you a damned chance to set their pay, give them a trailer, assign assistants, get rid of those ugly clothes they are wearing etc etc, they just wig out on you. Better to ignore them and use a janitor I say.

Oh and I agree with you MB, this game will most definitely suck your life away. :O

The custom film creation isn't too bad, it depends how involved you want to get with it. You can set the lighting and weather etc if you want, but you don't have to. You can just pick say for scene one, entering in the musty cellar set, for scene 2 finding a body in the bathroom set etc. At it's most basic, you just pick your actors, pick a set for a particular scene and then there's a bunch of default scene types for you to chose from. You can view it a sample of it acted out but you don't have to. I don't get all particular with it, I just go bam bam bam actor, set, scenetype, scene2 set, scene type etc and be done with it. I've gotten some really high rate movies that way. I even got a 4 1/2 star one. 

[SaraMK]

I don't get all particular with it, I just go bam bam bam actor, set, scenetype, scene2 set, scene type etc and be done with it. I've gotten some really high rate movies that way. I even got a 4 1/2 star one. 

I just select random stuff.

What annoys me about having writers write my scripts is that when your studio reaches a certain level, they'll start writing scripts with like 7-9 scenes, which can take more than a year to shoot, and which use waaaaay too many actors and extras. I can get the same ratings with a three-scene movies I make myself. At least for now. I'm guessing eventually the movies will need to be longer. But not at the point I'm at. So my writers mostly write scripts to sell.

[Motoki]

Yes, those movies definite get longer. And they are all 3 actor films too but sometimes you don't have 3 actors available at a given time. That's why the custom creator thing is good because it gives you more control even if you don't get too specific with it. It's also much faster than waiting for the writers to get done if you don't have any scripts ready.

[veilchen]

So I'm guessing there is no time limit whatsoever in the game. You don't have to have a certain amount of money/movies/whatever at a set time? Sounds like my kind of game then, completely open ended. I already read that people are in year 30 + so in theory you could end up with a 100 year old (or more) movie set, right?

Motoki, have you ever gotten the Guide? Is it worth it? My nephew would have to be content with the guide in the english language, but it will only help him learn the language faster

[PlaidSquirrel]

Now see I love writing the movie and setting it and post production and all of it! I realize now that i need to save all that for sandbox mode though cause my last movie took 32 months to shoot and I'm getting kind of poor since the previous movie goes to archive before the next is released. Oh well. It's still fun.

[Motoki]

So I'm guessing there is no time limit whatsoever in the game. You don't have to have a certain amount of money/movies/whatever at a set time? Sounds like my kind of game then, completely open ended. I already read that people are in year 30 + so in theory you could end up with a 100 year old (or more) movie set, right?

Motoki, have you ever gotten the Guide? Is it worth it? My nephew would have to be content with the guide in the english language, but it will only help him learn the language faster

I'm honestly not sure about the time limit if there is one. I know it starts in the 1920s and I'm already into the 1960s. I don't know if it keeps going past the present day into the future and beyond or if there's a point where it stops. I do know you aren't required to have a certain number of actors or certain amount of money or anything like that, but there are goals where if you do reach certain points you get rewards for them like you might get a new set or a new building or something like that. Also if you win awards at the awards ceremony each one carries a bonus. Like one lets you pay your actors half their salary without them noticing lol and another lets your actors eat and drink as much as they want without becoming addicted. Those bonuses only last until the next award ceremony but the rewards you get for reaching a certain income etc you get to kep for good.

I haven't gotten the guide yet no but I probably will. If you want, Prima has a little sample of it on their site you can download though:

http://estore.primagames.com/eguide_detail.aspx?prodid=LS2154

[PlaidSquirrel]

I read that the simulation can go on and on but the timeline with all the historic events will only run to present day. I'll see if I can find where I saw that and post a link.

[Motoki]

Well I caved and bought the Prima Guide. It's a bit smaller than I thought it would be, especially compared to TS2s, but I'll let you guys know after I have had time to look at it.

Oh and for Veilchen and other German speakers, I found a German fansite for The Movies: http://www.themoviesvision.de/

[veilchen]

Motoki, you are the bees knees. Thank you so much. I don't have many problems with english, I think I'm pretty well versed in it, but speaking and reading in my own language is far more comfortable for me.

I checked your link for the prima guide, and I'm determined to get the game. I think getting the english version for my nephew will only add to its authenticity. Hollywood, after all, is distinctly American. The German movie makers can't put together a real action movie worth a barrel of sauerkraut (mainly they never bother because the German ratings board frowns heavily on excessive violence. You can however, go pretty far with sexual content. TS2 and its ep's are not rated at all for instance ;D) I only hope that the CD is not country-coded as are most music and movie CD's. It's an idiotic practice, at least where international users are concerned, and although I am sure that people can come up with justifications for that very hampering proceedure, it only prevents me to buy music and movies for my folks and send them as gifts, and vice versa.

Thanks for the (I know, tentative) time-line info Plaid. I do like open ended games, and even if this one ends at present day, it still would qualify as open ended in a way.

[Motoki]

If they do country code it, I found a hack that will turn other versions of the game into English. 

http://tmws.themoviesplanet.com/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=21&Itemid=26

And I know what you mean about your own language being more comfortable. When I lived in Japan even though I could speak some Japanese (I would not go so far as to say fluent though) I always looked for Indian restaurants because it was the one place where you could almost guarantee people there would speak English, even if it was with a Hindi accent.

[simmiecal]

Motoki, you are the bees knees. Thank you so much. I don't have many problems with english, I think I'm pretty well versed in it, but speaking and reading in my own language is far more comfortable for me.

Dang veilchen! Your english is way better than mine and I'm a native. I would never have known it wasn't your native tongue if you hadn't said so.

I have to say I really like The Movies. The actors pitching a hissy fit can get a little annoying, but it is part of "managing" the talent. I haven't got into the sandbox mode yet nor have I done any custom script writing / editing. I can see lots of possibilities with the game and different ways to play it. I don't think it's a game that people will get bored with too quickly.

[veilchen]

Thank you Simmiecal :D

I've already started to explore the site, and I even downloaded some mods, even though I don't have the game yet. Seeing the German policeman made me a little homesick, how desperate is that :D