The Sims 2: Apartment Life

The Sims 2: Apartment Life (also known as TS2 AL or simply Apartment Life) is the eighth and the last expansion pack for The Sims 2. It was released on August 26, 2008. It's notable that apartments, despite the name, aren't the biggest asset of the game. Many community-requested features, including magic, butlers, and ceilings, are added. This is also the last expansion pack to support Windows 98/Windows Millennium Edition and Windows 2000 while The Sims 2: Mansion and Garden Stuff is the last Sims game (and EA's final game) to support those versions of Windows.

Description
''Your Sims are moving into a brand-new apartment, and their lives will never be the same! Adventure, fun, and drama await them as they meet new people and explore their new neighborhood. Will they take their kids to the local playground, mingle in coffee shops, or hit the park to learn from the breakdancers? Close quarters mean new opportunities-move in with compatible roomies for a thriving social life, advance your career with the right social network, or find true love just down the hall. Whether they live in artsy converted lofts, the ultimate studio bachelor pads, or luxury apartments with their own butler, your Sims will experience all of the excitement of apartment life!''

Belladonna Cove
Belladonna Cove is a new neighborhood shipped with Apartment Life. This neighborhood mainly features the apartments and social classes. Parts of the town include slummy urban area, middle class area, and luxurious socialite area. This neighborhood is said to be the best in The Sims 2. Some districts also feature trailer park, industrial area, lofty flats, and luxurious mansions.

Apartment
Apartment is the new type of lot for Sims to reside. Up to four families can live in the same apartment building, but occupy different apartment slots. "Neighbors" can now exist from living in an apartment, unlike living in ordinary residential lots, where "neighbors" are only walkbys from afar. Living in apartments will give some benefits for Sims, or even disadvantages. Sims can meet others in the same lot easily, or visit neighboring families on the next door. On the other hand, neighbors can also make noises behind the walls that irritates Sims.

Sims don't buy an apartment, but rent a slot instead. Every Monday, the landlord will come to charge the rent. Landlords are beneficial NPCs because they will take care of the common areas, tend the garden, take care of roaches, and fix the plumbing. Some Build and Buy modes options are also locked for Sims living in apartments.

Players cannot build an apartment lot without using console cheats. Up to four different families can reside in the same apartment. The rent price will vary depending on the apartment's size, interior architecture, and backyard patio.

Roommates
In order to lower the weekly rent, Sims can search for roommates. Roommates will live together with Sims, but they will be unplayable and take care of themselves. Roommates can be searched for via computer or newspaper, or Sims can use the phone to advertise for roommates. They could be nice to the Sims they live with, or could be bothersome. Roommates have a roommate satisfaction meter, which displays how much they enjoy living with the Sims. If the satisfaction meter gets too low, they may move out on their own.

Social class
This expansion pack introduces new features to bring more realism of community living, social class. From now, each lot, whether residential or community, calculates its lot class value. The value will indicate if the lot is high to low. The value is determined by the price of the furniture, the size of the lots, the number of household members, the messiness, and the values of surrounding lots.

Social group townies
Social group townies are a new kind of townie. They are the townies who will occupy vacant apartments and become the roommates. There are 5 kinds of Social group townies: socialite, tech, jock, bohemian, and gearhead. Socialites and techies will occupy expensive apartments while bohemians and gearheads occupy the worst. In contrast, they determine how "rich" they are and their surroundings.

Reputation
Sims now have reputations. Reputation is determined by how nice or mean a Sim interacts with others. Having good reputation will benefit Sims while bad reputation will give Sims penalties. Townies will also react to the Sims' reputation.

Witch
The new life state introduced in the expansion pack is Witch. Witches have 3 alignments: a Sim can be good, bad, or neutral witch. As a witch, Sims will have witch attributes, be able to cast spells, and fly with a broomstick. Spells require reagents, which witches can craft or buy from the High Witch.

New Additions

 * New life state: Witches
 * New death: Death by Murphy Beds
 * New NPCs: Butlers, landlords, high witches, spectral cats, human statues, break dancers, and more.
 * New potions: Witchbegone-E, magically spiced sugar, and enchanted essence of cur tail
 * New skills: Break dancing, magic, and life skills
 * New dances: Dance kiss, classic dance, and break dance
 * New meal: Gyro
 * New places for WooHoo: Walk-in closet and helicopter
 * New turn on/turn off: Witchiness
 * New door locks: Allow/disallow roommate and lot visitor

Minor features

 * New starting funds. Instead of receiving a flat §20,000 regardless of size, a household is given extra funds for each Sim or pet after the first adult or elder. How much is given depends on the ages of the additional Sims.
 * Sims can place one-tile sculptures on flat-top low dressers.

New Build mode additions

 * Ceiling
 * Ceiling is a new minor addition. Ceilings are now visible by toggling the ceiling button on the lower left of the HUD. The ceiling can be seen by tilting the camera to the sky from the ground. Also, there is a new buy/build button, the 45 degree view button, which easily allows viewing of the ceiling. Ceiling can be customized by adding floor tiles.


 * Measuring tape tool
 * This tool automatically activates itself when the player is building walls, half walls, fences, flooring, ceiling, foundations, decks, stages, wall coverings, adjusting terrain, roof, garden plots, awnings, and pools. It allows players to see exactly how long the wall segment they are building is, or how many wall coverings/floor tiles they're placing, corresponding to the grid system.


 * Advanced wall decoration
 * Player can press the or  buttons to raise or lower the position of wall-hanging decorations. In addition, a cheat, reintroduced from Pets, allows for multiple wall decorations on a section of wall - press  keys to activate while placing wall decorations.

New objects

 * Murphy bed and heart-shaped bed
 * Modular roof set
 * Vending machines
 * Go Play! playground set
 * iN Style Closets by Simsational Inc. walk-in closets
 * Reflective and Unreflective Pride Medicine Cabinet
 * Trash-Tahk Trash Chute
 * Spiral staircases
 * Decorative pipes and ceiling vents
 * Modern Arf Indoor Dog Pen
 * Very Mysterious Shelving secret door bookcase
 * Pearson 206 SimRanger ownable helicopter and Get to the Choppa Helipad
 * New awnings and elevator, originally introduced from The Sims 2: Open for Business

New interactions

 * Sims-based
 * New kisses. Sims can Suck Face and Dance Kiss
 * New gestures. Sims can greet with gestures according to the social group townie they are interacting with
 * Older Sims can read to sleep to a child or teen, and play Peek-a-Boo with a toddler
 * Toddlers can huggle each other
 * Sims can now walk to school or work if they miss the school bus or carpool
 * Secret networking
 * Sims can swing children around
 * Sims can ask neighbors to babysit youngsters for free, anytime
 * Visitors will now perform a farewell gesture when leaving
 * Sims can stargaze and watch clouds together as a romantic interaction
 * Sims can jump rope/skip
 * Sims can learn witchcraft from another Sim who has the knowledge and unlock new spells and abilities.


 * Object-based
 * New locking door options. Sims can lock out roommates and restrict neighbors and visitors from entering the apartment
 * Toddlers can sleep on pet beds
 * Sims can bang walls if their neighbor is noisy
 * Two Sims who sleep in the same bed with romantic relationship will cuddle before waking up
 * Whenever Sims play an instrument, the listeners will try to find a seat and turn their head to the performer instead of watching while standing
 * Sims can turn on silent mode on phones
 * Sims can now brush their teeth and wash their face by placing medicine cabinets over the sink

Trivia

 * This pack, along with The Sims 2: FreeTime are the only expansion packs in The Sims 2 as well as the entire The Sims series never to be released for Mac. It was planned to release both packs for Mac but this never happened. It remains unknown why they were never released for Mac.

Gallery
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Media

 * Non-US