Death at a Birthday Party

[Gus Smedstad]

The timing is classic, but what really put it over the top for me was the ghost's "I have to leave the party now" dialog.

Fairwell, Zodon, Emperor of Evil.

 - Gus

[Zoltan]

holy crap that is simply over the top 

[tizerist]

A deathday party then, surely? 

[kuronue]

I had this happen at a wedding - it actually occured exactly when I had them getting married. The bride stuck watching the death, and the guests were confused... except for the one sim that was a coworker of the groom's sister, and thus a criminal - she began slow-clapping. Fantastic.

[minidoxigirli]

It seems like the old people wait for a party to conk out.  I've had parties where great aunts and grandparents die seconds after getting out of the taxi.  It's almost like the game goes, "Oh, shit!  We forgot to kill off Grandma!"

[LVRugger]

It seems like the old people wait for a party to conk out.  I've had parties where great aunts and grandparents die seconds after getting out of the taxi.  It's almost like the game goes, "Oh, shit!  We forgot to kill off Grandma!"

It sure does. I had a death at the first birthday party I threw. He left his car parked on the street as I didn't have a driveway then. Now, 3 generations later, I still have that damn car parked on the street. Someday I'll get off my lazy ass and figure out how to get rid of the clunker.

[CheritaChen]

The lack of cohesion with death events does lead to many amusing moments. The other day my household got the notice that one of the EAxis townies was about to croak. The next evening, one of my Sims was on the phone with said townie when the "XXX has just passed away" message popped up. Nevertheless, my Sim continued his friendly phone conversation with her, apparently from beyond the grave.

It's odd that they didn't fix something like this, but focused on taking out the ability to reproduce with Grim. I saw all kinds of people thanking EAxis over on the bbs, as if the few fixes that actually did fix things shouldn't have already been working before the goddamn game was released. Have they never heard of testing?

[Gus Smedstad]

I saw all kinds of people thanking EAxis over on the bbs, as if the few fixes that actually did fix things shouldn't have already been working before the goddamn game was released. Have they never heard of testing?

I see the people thanking EA as serving a useful function.  Yes, these things should have been fixed before release.  But at least the positive feedback encourages them to continue to work on much-needed patches.

 - Gus

[CheritaChen]

I see the people thanking EA as serving a useful function.  Yes, these things should have been fixed before release.  But at least the positive feedback encourages them to continue to work on much-needed patches.

Well, I see it as further evidence to the EAxoids that the public will eagerly, gratefully accept any piece of shit and pay for it, then be even more grateful if a few bugs are acknowledged and supposedly fixed. If people are kissing their virtual feet for fixing things that are major deal-breakers, what is their incentive to get things right?

[Gus Smedstad]

That boat has already sailed.  EA already has plenty of evidence that they can sell buggy software and people will buy it.  The issue now is whether they'll continue to work on the product in ways that don't directly earn money.  Expansions?  Sure, of course.  Patches?  Much tougher sell to management.  However, they must be aware that customer satisfaction counts for something, or they wouldn't authorize the expense of patches at all.  The thank-yous are all the evidence they have that the patches are worth something to EA.

 - Gus

[nanacake]

I've had multiple deaths at wedding parties and it doesn't make sense that the party still is a success after all that. People were still crying and then left saying they had a good time!

As for EA, I didn't know to laugh or cry when my husband picked up Burnout Paradise - you have to pay real money to get the vehicles in the auto shop! How do you even play offline single-player then with only one car?  On the back of the box it even says "Your FREE* Burnout Paradise bikes pack is ready at the online store simply login!" They couldn't write FREE without an asterisk immediately after *you'll have to sign up online and register with all your documentation first.

[Gus Smedstad]

I believe I've gotten the hang of parties now.

Forget animations or common sense.  It's all about the average mood of each guest.  It's much like the way Sims accumulate Lifetime points when their mood is over 100.  If you can pile a bunch of +moodlets on your guests, you'll get an "Epic" party no matter what you do, even if your host sits in a corner and reads a book.

Environmental stuff like music, decorations, and a fireplace can be a big help.  The other easy source is a couple of plates of high-quality food.  Wait until they're all through the door, Call To Meal, and they'll all be +25 to +50, depending on how good your cook is.  Well, except for the morons who throw a tantrum because they can't reach the food, and some of those might pick up a plate later if they get hungry.

Death involves lots of crying, but unless they were actually related to the dead guy, it doesn't involve a mood hit.  So death at a party is only a minor obstacle to getting rave reviews from your guests.

Crying babies (common at toddler birthday parties) aren't so bad because it only lasts 10 minutes.  Mess from a broken dishwasher is more of a problem.

 - Gus

[nanacake]

I thought good sims would be quite upset at death? I know my cowardly sims fall over and faint from the sight of the ghost but that doesn't stop them from having a good time either. It makes sense for evil/criminal sims to enjoy they always clap. I think it'd make for a more realistic party if events at the party created problems. (ie Fire etc)

[Gus Smedstad]

I've had plenty of good Sims witness death.  Sure, they may run an animation (crying for good Sims, fainting for cowards), but there's no actual mood effect.

Evil Sims, on the other hand, get a + moodlet for witnessing death.  Pity that Zodon (the dead guy in my pick) was the only evil character at the party.

For that matter, fire won't ruin a party either!  There's no mood penalty for seeing a house fire, so the only lasting effect is the time lost.

 - Gus

[Mazza]

  Reminds me of the lines in the John Cooper-Clarke poem "Twat"

"Like a death at a birthday party you ruin all the fun
Like a sucked and spat-out smartie you're no use to anyone"

Hear the whole thing here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4qN9pduox0