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The Sims Online
Developer(s)	Maxis
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Release date(s)	December 17, 2002 (NA)
Genre(s)	MMOG
Mode(s)	Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: T (Teen) OFLC: E (Exempt)
Platform(s)	PC (Windows)
Media	CD Download

The Sims Online (TSO) is a massively multiplayer online real-life game variation of Maxis's highly popular computer game The Sims. It was published by Electronic Arts and released on December 17, 2002 for Microsoft Windows.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Cities 3 Skills 4 Game employment 5 Awards 6 External links

In The Sims Online, people get to play with other players, having Sims interact with other players' creations. As with the original series, players can select from a wide variety of looks and outfits for their Sims, including some more exotic outfits not found in the original game (such as robots, bears, etc). However, there was an in-game exploit that caused an extremely lesser worth of the Simoleons (the Sims currency). It was fixed on Monday February 19th, 2007. Right now, Maxis is officially working on new content for the game.

When a player creates a sim, that player must also select a city in which that sim will reside during gameplay. There are twelve different cities in total. They are Mount Fuji, Calvin's Creek, Interhogan, East Jerome, Fancey Fields, Test Center, Blazing Falls, Alphaville, Dan's Grove, Jolly Pines, Dragon's Cove, and Betaville. Population sizes fluctuate, but for the most part Alphaville is the largest town with a big city feel, whereas Dan's Grove has a more close-knit small-town feel. Mount Fuji was targeted at the Asian market, but it also has a small contingent of English-speaking citizens as well.

Two other cities have special rules, different from the rest of the game. First, Dragon's Cove is known as the one "hardcore city" out of the eleven, as there are a number of harder game objectives to consider when playing here, such as the fact that Sims will lose energy when traveling long distances, and that the value of all objects in this city is double the simoleans that the objects would normally cost when playing in another city. Second, Betaville is a new city that was created for the purpose of testing new features. Two of these features are the ability to create a family of adult sims and the ability to adjust their level of free will.

Skills are one of the most essential aspects of gameplaying in The Sims Online. They are necessary for getting reasonably high payouts from group and solo money objects, doing well in the offered career tracks, and sometimes for receiving the ability to perform certain interactions with other players, such as special dances, or the ability to serenade others. A player increases skills usually by visiting Skill category properties, as skill can be increased at a faster rate when multiple sims work on the same skill concurrently. These Skill properties, or "Skill Houses" as they are commonly referred to in the game, usually specialize in only one or two skills, as is often mentioned in the property's name.

The six core skills in The Sims Online are mechanical, cooking, charisma, body, creativity, and logic skills. Cooking and mechanical skills are increased by reading books off of shelves. Body skill can be worked on by dancing in a cage, using an exercise bench, or stretching on a special exercise ball. Logic skill is increased by playing chess, gazing through a telescope, or doing research on a computer. Charisma is worked on by practicing one's speech in the mirror. Creativity skill can be increased by painting or playing music on a piano or guitar.

A skill level for any of these skills is determined by how many skill "points" a Sim has. These points range in number from 0 to 20.99.

There are three official jobs available in The Sims Online: a restaurant job which requires the player to have high charisma and cooking skills to do well, a robot factory job where mechanical and logical skills are important, and a nightclub job with two different positions - a DJ, for which the player must have high creativity skills, and a job promotions depend upon skill levels and the player's number of friends.

In recent days, these jobs have lost a tremendous amount of popularity as players have found that choosing to use group money objects has greater potential and provides a much higher payout than choosing to live off of the salaries provided by the restaurant, robot factory, and nightclub jobs. These group money objects include a "Pizza" machine, in which four players share ingredients and cooperate to bake pizzas and sell them for cash, a "Code" Machine, in which three players work to decipher a code in order to win a certain amount of money. A "Band" object, in which four players must follow musical note patterns correctly in order to receive a payout. Of the group money objects mentioned, the Pizza Machine is the object that has garnered the highest amount of use, with one or more in use at almost every single house in the Money category. This is mostly due to the fact that it offers the highest payout in the shortest amount of time.

While most sims rely on group money objects for a living, there are still others who use non-interactive solo money objects. At many money houses in The Sims Online, owners of houses in the Money Category will offer an additional bonus paid by the owner or a roommate of the house for any player who completes a certain amount of these solo money objects. This bonus is offered as a way of deriving even more profit for players, as well as attracting good business for Money category houses.

• E3 2002 Game Critics Awards: Best Simulation Game
• E3 2001 Game Critics Awards: Best Simulation Game

• Stratics: Offical game message board
• The Sims Online.com
• Free trial of The Sims Online
• Sims Online Bug Boards
• TSOZone.com - A large community of TSO players and other MMOG fans
• The Sims: Online at MobyGames

The Sims computer and video games v • d • e
The Sims	Livin' Large • House Party • Hot Date • Vacation • Unleashed • Superstar • Makin' Magic
The Sims 2	University • Nightlife • Open for Business • Pets • Seasons • Stuff packs
The Sims Stories	Life Stories  • Pet Stories • Castaway Stories
Online/Console	The Sims Online • The Sims • The Sims Bustin' Out • The Urbz • The Sims 2 • Pets • MySims
Misc.	Sim • Simlish

v • d • e Maxis's Sim computer and console games

SimCity series • SimCity • SimCity 2000 • SimCity 3000 • SimCity 4 The Sims • The Sims Online • The Sims 2 • The Sims Stories SimEarth • SimAnt • SimLife • SimFarm • SimTower • SimHealth • SimIsle • SimCopter • SimGolf • Streets of SimCity • Spore SimTown • SimPark • SimSafari • SimTunes