University! At last!

[Avie]

My husband just delivered a spanking new DVD copy about 6 hours ago.
My mac is working beautifully and hasn't slowed down at all. I've waited SO long for this expansion pack and I'm overjoyed to get it. It works beautifully with no slowdown nor any change in the speed or functionality of the mac. GO UNIVERSITY
I'm  more than delighted to be a brand-new owner of this pack

[BlueSoup]

Hehe.  Have fun with it. 

[Avie]

Oh God I will
i'm the real Slim Shady

[Ancient Sim]

LOL, you sound like my 9-year-old with a new toy! 

When I added Uni, it totally altered the way the game ran.  Everything speeded-up enormously, it was quite amazing.  With the base game, I could barely get a downtown lot to load and if I did manage it, I had to reboot straight afterwards.  Once Uni went in I could visit as many as I wanted and go from lot to lot, outing to outing, with no slowdown at all.  I have no idea why, but presumably they did something to alter things.  NL has maybe slowed things down a tad, but not as you'd notice.  I think it's probably more to do with the increased number of downloads, as when I remove my downloads folder everything races along.  Saving is the most noticeable thing, without my downloads folder I am immediately back to my desktop (in seconds), whereas with it in it takes about 4 minutes before the game finally closes down.  I still don't know why that is, why would it need to save my downloads folder everytime it exits the game, if that's what it's doing?  It takes longer to leave the game than it does to go into it!

[Avie]

Giving fun with music

[Avie]

Uni runs sweet as a nut And I agree , I am  like a toddler with a new toy> I cannot get over the FUN Uni offers af a new user

[Simsbaby]

Did rooster boy steal your account?

[vilia]

Enjoy! Which uni are you playing? I always ended up with Sim State. I had to completely re-install my game - you could probably have seen the fiery ball from your place lol and I tried La Fiesta Tech for the first time. I love it.  My only quibble is that I would like to put more of the same houses in that the rich kid live in & the singles but they aren't available.

Don't forget to try the cow-plant, join the secret society and make your sims try for scholarships.

I had one graduation party that finished in the boys bathroom for some reason - don't ask - anyway in the photo it has the showers in the background he he he.  Uni - good times, good times

[Avie]

I went for Adademie Le Tour. That being the closest to university as I knew it. Fraternities and Sorororities are unknown in UK University culture and entirely an American innovation. It is all very exotic and I went to bloody Oxford. one of the most obsolete Universities in the UK

[J. M. Pescado]

Eh, well, some people get a major kick out of uni. But eventually, the novelty wears off.

Like in real life, maybe it was fun the first time, but eventually it becomes quite the drag. Just ask yourself if you were as excited about it senior year as you were as a freshman.

Now imagine it happening over, and over, and over again. Imagine repeating that same 4 year process over and over for every generation and sim. It gets old fast. Not everyone is gonna have an interesting and new college experience.

Also, College Rampage is your friend.

[Brynne]

I'm actually playing Uni again for the first time in months. I'm having to slow the clock down so they can stay there. I enjoy it.

[Jorenne]

Ah... but only because you have your whole cult/harem there

[Kitiara]

Also, College Rampage is your friend.

College Rampage is a life saver.

[Brynne]

Ah... but only because you have your whole cult/harem there

And why do you think I have them there, instead of the home neighborhood, huh?

[Jorenne]

Cause YA voices sound so much better whispering sweet nothings than Adult? 

[Brynne]

I admit, I'm keeping them there just to keep certain sims at the Young Adult stage.  I use JM's college clock thingy, so I'm freezing time.

[Zeljka]

I just installed it recently as well, and though I'm enjoying it so far (between crashes) I'm really disappointed that YA's have teen voices. I find teen girls have the most irritating voices in the game and it bites to have to hear more of them. I like the new instruments and the cow mascots, but not so much as the cow plant.

Brynne, are you just there so you can take a break from breeding? heh heh

[maxon]

Eh, well, some people get a major kick out of uni. But eventually, the novelty wears off.

Like in real life, maybe it was fun the first time, but eventually it becomes quite the drag. Just ask yourself if you were as excited about it senior year as you were as a freshman.

Speak for yourself - some of us are still there.

[Process Denied]

It's funny, I love Uni and all of my Sims go there,but for some reason,I always take a deep breath before going back.  I think it is because Uni makes the hood more enjoyable to play that I don't want to leave it.  They hook up in Uni then I put them into their house they marry and pop out a kid then I'm suppose to go to Uni and do two years before I go back to the hood.  I can't wait to see what the infant looks like then next thing you know they are 15 days from being an elder.  I'm stalling going to Uni right now.  I don't know why???  I guess I love my kids so much that I don't want them to grow up.

[BlueSoup]

My next run in Uni will be a first for me for taking Sims out of the neighbourhood, graduate them and then integrate them back in.  What's the general rule of thumb for time sync?  1 day in neighbourhood = 1 semester?

[Renatus]

I use 1 day in the neighborhood = one year of uni. Ignoring the bizarrely long teen stage where approximately 2 sim days equal a year, 1 sim day seems to equal about 1 year. So after a batch of students go off to uni, they should be gone for 4 sim days and be back and moved in on the fifth. With 1 sim day per semester, everyone in the regular neighborhood will age 8 days - which would mean a sim that aged to child just as, say, an older sibling went to uni would be a teen by the time that sibling came back. I think that's too long.

[Sagana]

I can't wait to see what the infant looks like then next thing you know they are 15 days from being an elder.

That's why I just put in Inteen. Now they can have the babies at Uni - works for me.

I still think Maxis did a poor job (and it wasn't a great idea to start with). Uni removes a bunch of the things one can do with their sims (and there isn't enough to start with - the standard daily life of sims gets boring and one hasta do things to make it fun again) and didn't add near enough to take their place (not objects, interactions and scenarios). If it's supposed to be the "party" side of college, why are there no games or sports or clubs and the like? There's so few of the things kids do with their time. It also lacks student politics and the greek houses are... minimal. No real rush and no dances etc. One is stuck "out-of-world" - which I think is just plain a Bad Idea<tm> anyways.

Not being able to have grad students and profs that live on campus (and don't leave) or adult students return etc. also really limits roleplay. But Inteen is taking care of that :) and with NL the social aspects at least improved, so it's rather fun now. The way Maxis intended it tho - bleh.

[Regina]

I've found that by the time my students get to the end of their sophomore year they've done just about everything there is to do so the rest of their educational experience turns out quite dull.  I recently added InTeen but haven't been playing much since then.  I'm hoping it'll bring about some more interesting play time.

[maxon]

That's why I just put in Inteen. Now they can have the babies at Uni - works for me.

I still think Maxis did a poor job (and it wasn't a great idea to start with). Uni removes a bunch of the things one can do with their sims (and there isn't enough to start with - the standard daily life of sims gets boring and one hasta do things to make it fun again) and didn't add near enough to take their place (not objects, interactions and scenarios). If it's supposed to be the "party" side of college, why are there no games or sports or clubs and the like? There's so few of the things kids do with their time. It also lacks student politics and the greek houses are... minimal. No real rush and no dances etc. One is stuck "out-of-world" - which I think is just plain a Bad Idea<tm> anyways.

Not being able to have grad students and profs that live on campus (and don't leave) or adult students return etc. also really limits roleplay. But Inteen is taking care of that and with NL the social aspects at least improved, so it's rather fun now. The way Maxis intended it tho - bleh.

Yeah I agree - I would really like grad students and mature students - being both myself I suppose.  And things like clubs and politics would have been great - there's a mod in the making maybe?  As an idea, it has lots of potential but I think you're right, Maxis did fudge it somewhat.  I too use Inteenimator but the only pregnancy I had there was when I forgot to switch on the birth control (how real is that?).  Oops.  Anyway, it worked fine and mother and baby are back in the main neighbourhood and have now (had to) move in with his parents till he graduates.

[Avie]

I'm still really enjoying it. It DOES take a good while to get through college and I DO wish that weekends or some days off were built in but the extended playing time is useful for making friends and so forth and that is always a bonus for career progression.
The computer still hasn't glitched (once I realised you need at least 3 playable Sims to move out) and I think University is a great add-on.