"You must close shut the jaws of-wait, wrong game. The Watche-Aghh! Dammit, got stabbed in the back while standing next to an incredibly obvious secret entrance again."

And I agree about the faces. The look like they could be real people now. Although that just makes it all the harder to make them the way I like. Or maybe it's easier? :blink:

You kill me.


Well, at least it's not Facegen, so you can easily make someone good looking by just using a few sliders. ^_^

I seem to pick the body and skin tones that I want and then randomize the face until I get a half-decent one which I then tweek till I have it like I want it. Most times I Make the eyes a little larger and make the nose and lips smaller. I also add elf ears because there were elves in medieval times, right?

Also, this may sound odd, but I really like having a fatal flaw that is hard to get a way from. I would often find myself gimping my Sims in TS3 with traits like clumsy or neurotic just so things would be more interesting. I like the idea that nobody is perfect, and the ones that are "perfect" had to overcome some hefty odds to become so.

Well, impressions:

1. As has been said, custom buildings are gone. Rooms are predefined sizes, places, etc. It's like a combination of Rabbit Holes from TS3 and regular buildings- all you can customize is the furniture, the wall paper, etc. There are still a few true rabbit holes- the village nearby, the forest, and all the overseas places- but it's less.

2. Breaks many of the Sims previous barriers. There are now two religions, both of whom worship The Watcher (a.k.a. The Player). I didn't see much open conflict between them, but hey, maybe, maybe not. Wine is wine, beer is beer. Also, your Sims can KILL PEOPLE. With SWORDS. Duels to the Death are completely possible. Also, your Spy can assassinate people with poison.

3. A bit overwhelming at first with the whole "Kingdom Aspects" aspect. My security tanked, and my entire kingdom was overrun with bandits and robbers. You couldn't walk ten feet without being mugged at swordpoint (though combat sims like the Knight and Monarch CAN fight back). I put extra attention into security and by the end of the game my kingdom was completely free of all law-breakers (in fact, I think the mechanic they have for that is that robbers 'morph' into the lawkeepers).

4. Chinchillas are the new Llamas.

5. Ambitions... too short? I was under the impression one could continue one game with a new ambition, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Ah, well. Afterwards, there is Free Play, with no quests, just select your Heroes at will and play, and you can take any of your heroes and turn them into the Monarch for the next game. I'm thinking of making my Evil Cruel Spy my next Monarch.

6. Sims look much, much better. I mean, MUCH MUCH better.

7. Not sure how I feel about the compressed needs. I mean, I know bathing wasn't common in the Medieval Ages, Fun was secondary to everything, and people were built more sturdy and needed less Comfort, but Bladder at least seems important. All you get when using chamber pots is a "relieved" moodlet (same with bathing). Then again, with the Quest/Responsibility based gameplay, managing half a dozen needs would leave very little time for quests.

8. The standard Sims comedy is here. Not quite the same, of course, but well adapted to the new era.

Yeah I randomize the faces too, since the game is less about genetics and family. It's refreshing not to have to spend a half hour creating a sim; I just pick a body type, hair style, traits, and have the game randomize the face and name.

Oh and I hate the hubris fatal flaw. Hubris + gather a couple herbs = -40 focus for 4 hours. :facepalm:

Oh yes, some of the fatel flaws are just plain annoying, but it's a concept that I have been more or less wanting in TS3 since release. My personal favorite fatal flaws are "drunkard" and whichever one is all about six. Yes, there is a fatal flaw that requires Sims to have six a lot. Of course it's still called "Woohoo".

So their much harder to deal with then TS3's mildly annoying negative traits that can be defeated with continous overwatch or vast reductions in free-will?

Well there is the flaw (Hubris) where doing anything even slightly impressive will give your Sim a MASSIVE ego and reduce their "focus" (Basically their aspiration) and all you can do is wait for it to wear off. A drunkard can not be satisfied unless you give them a drink. It won't go away, they need mead. On top of that, bad quality drinks will give them a negative "buff" (which are basically Moodlets) as well.

So without proper management a sims fatal flaw makes them practically useless for all the important stuff?

Well, if your Sim's quest bar goes too low, from having your focus meter too low for too long, your Sim will be arrested, thrown into the stocks, and if their performance gets any lower, thrown into the Pit of Judgment to be eaten by the pit monster.

Cool. sounds like I'l lbe doing that on purpose a few times.

Like I said, it's fun to watch. Your Sim will fight back, and how they fight is dependent on what kind of fighter they are. For instance, my wizard Sim was slinging spells when she was down there. She still got eaten though.

Oh, you can also just jump into the pit without being arrested. Banzai!