Build/Buy-mode
From tents to tables, all kinds of crazy stuff can be found in the buy-menu. With Island Paradise, a lot of new items have been added to the buy- and build-mode. Beside the new blueprints and furniture for your resort, there’s also new furniture for your houseboat or house.
One of the most compact things for a houseboat probably is the ‘All-in-one-bathroom’. Houseboats are pretty small and with this bathroom you’ll be able to save a lot of space. The fun thing about the all-in-one-bathroom is that the shower is located above the toilet. Maybe Sims save time by going to the toilet and taking a shower at the same time?
Besides the very useful bathroom, the Sims team has finally added a waterslide! This is something I’ve been waiting for, because what’s a pool without a waterslide!? Right, it isn’t a proper pool! The waterslides come in some funny styles and it’s definitely worth adding one to your pool.
Another item I’d like to feature/highlight is the ‘underwater camera’ . You can use this to take photos when you’re diving and capture a picture of a MermaidSim. This way no-one will think you’ve gone crazy.
There are also some new thing in build-mode. They’ve added eight (!) new roof tiles, three pillars, one arc, five windows, nine doors, three fences, a gate for the fence, new trees and plants, stones and flowers and let’s not forget the new pool options like a pool bar, decorations for the bottom of the swimming pool, waterslides and the waterfalls.
Houseboats
Houseboats, They come in all sizes and that is something that makes a houseboat special. Every Sim has its own style and wants to show that with his or her houseboat. Houseboats are a new feature in the game, your Sims do not have to live in an ordinary and boring house anymore!
When you’ve created a family you can chose to live on a regular lot or on a houseboat. You can chose between some basic houseboats, which already look good, but you can also create your own. You can build houseboats whenever there are docks in the world. A ‘dock’ icon shows you where there isn’t a houseboat yet so you can build a houseboat lot and start creating your own houseboat. When you don’t want to build a houseboat but you want a premade one you can just pick one.
To place an empty houseboat, to build on, it not hard at all! When you go to the change the city mode, you go to an empty deck and choose the option ‘place houseboat’ and then you will get an dropdown menu with options on how big of houseboat you want. You can also choose between two types of boats: a square one or one with a curved front. When you have chosen how big you want your boat to be you can click on the V and you’re done.
An already existing boat from the home depot is also easily placed into the city. You simply click on the boat and then on an empty deck and you’re done! There is your houseboat.
Life on a houseboat is basically the same as the life in a regular house, you can sleep, cook, shower and develop certain skills. That’s right, certain skills because you cannot have a garden or pond on your houseboat. So this will prevent you from learning these skills while being on your houseboat. So you have to do this on a public lot or at your second house. Whenever you get sick and tired of the view from your houseboat, you can just go and sail to another place. Make sure there is a Sim at the steering wheel so you can either go to a different dock or just float around the ocean. You don’t have to be afraid of missing the latest news, the newspaper will still be deliverd by jetski, unfortunately this also counts for your bills.
Moving your hoaseboat takes a lot of time, obviously because it is an entire house that is moving. Sometimes it is quite annoying whenever you want to go somewhere and it takes this long, but you will just have to wait!
Your seasick Sims does not have to be afraid of being stuck on that boat forever. The Sims 3 Island Paradise gives you the opportunity to buy multiple houses. You can have another houseboat, house or empty lot. You can also build a dock on which you can build your house if you want to be near the sea but not really on it. You can buy a second house by klicking your phone or computer and choose ‘Real Estate and Travel Services’ and then ‘Buy Additional Home/Lot’. The next thing you need to do is pick a house and you will be the new owner.
Other boats
Beside houseboats there are a lot of other boats for your Sims to enjoy. Boats such as speedboats, sail-boats, pedal boats and for some reason windsurfing is also considered as a boat. You can find these boats in ‘buy-mode’ under the ‘vehicles tab’. This is where you can also buy a mooring pole or a trailer for your boat. When you have purchased a mooring pole you can tie your boat to it so it won’t be drifting off into the wild seas. For each boat you own you need a mooring pole. Do you want your beautiful boat on your driveway? No problem! Place your boat on a trailer and admire your boat even if the weather doesn’t allow you to drive it. And your boat will also be in a safe place.
Speedboats have an extra option which your sims can have a lot of fun with. When you’re with another sim you can water-ski. Water-skiing is a new skill your Sims can learn. At first, just like with any other skill, your sim will be a bit clumsy, but after some practicing they will master the skill! Besides that there is a new hidden talent, which is windsurfing!
Resorts – Entrepreneur
If you want to start your own resort, you can very easily do this by phone. Choose the option ‘Become resort Owner’ and pick a lot where you want to build or buy your resort. There are three different resort-types: Beach themed, Modern ECO themed and Spanish themed. If you own a lot on an island you click on the icon and choose the option ‘Change/convert into resort’.
Resorts are, just like diving spots, well indicated on the map, which makes it easy to recognise them. Resort have an icon with a palm tree in it and if it’s your own resort, it will also show the star rating of your resort.
Blueprint-mode is an easy way to improve your resort. You can find the blueprint-mode in the ‘build- or buy mode’ (the icon is located under the little hammer). Once you’re in blueprint-mode you can choose from various categories. Lobby, Hotel rooms, Gyms, Eating facilities, Bars and lounges, Ballroom and wedding chapels, Outdoor party rooms and Swimming pools. Each category has multiple blueprints you can use to improve your resort. This system is very convenient and easy, but if you’re a builder at heart, you can also build your own resort from scratch.
Twee dingen waar je wel rekening mee moet houden is dat je een resorttoren plaatst en een balie. De balie is natuurlijk nodig om mensen te laten in checken, en de resorttoren is noodzakelijk voor het personeel want zij verblijven hier namelijk. Het personeel bestaat ook uit drie categorieën: personeel van lage kwaliteit, gemiddelde kwaliteit en hoge kwaliteit. Hoe meer sterren je hebt des te beter je personeel zal gaan werken, uiteraard ga je ze ook meer betalen naar mate je resort groter en beter wordt. Als je bijvoorbeeld één van de personeelsleden niet Though, there are two things you must not forget when building your own resort: the resort tower and the front desk. You need the front desk to check people in and the resort tower is where your employees will stay. There are three types of employees: low quality, medium quality and high quality. The higher you hotel rating is, the better the employees will do their job. But don’t forget that you’ll be paying them more money to do so. For example, if you don’t like one of your employees, you can let them clean up the cockroaches or let them take out the trash. It’s all up to you!
If you want to find out if your resort is doing well, you can always take a look at the guest book. The guestbook will show you reviews of Sims who stayed at your resort. You can take their comments to heart and improve your resort or you just leave the resort the way it is.
It’s fun to finally have an entrepreneurial function in game which allows you to start from scratch and gain higher ratings as time passes. In the very beginning, your Sim will probably be too poor to afford employees, which means they have to do most of the jobs themselves. The ‘Open for Business’-idea behind resorts has been done very well.
Resorts – Guest
After all the diving, bullying mermaidSims and driving your boat around you can get pretty tired. After all of this, nothing feels nicer than relaxing at a resort. Being a guest means you have to check-in first. You can choose from various options: how long is your stay and what kind of room do you want? As a guest, you can stay from 1 to 4 days at a resort. You can choose to stay in a suite or in the resort tower.
But you want more than just sleeping! Since you’re a guest you can enjoy all the amenities the resort has to offer. You can drink cocktails at the pool bar, walk over burning hot stones or take a relaxing massage or beauty arrangement. While staying at a resort you will fully relax and escape from all the stress your Sim has to deal with in daily life.