Simlish Days of Yore

Written by MiniCartTSR

The Sims 1

I have been playing The Sims for over 20 years and it all started with The Sims 1. I was intrigued with the new objects that shipped with each expansion pack and which gave new animations to The Sims for exciting new gameplay. Apart from basic objects such as beds, chairs, TVs, computers etc, there have been many items that have come and gone from the Sims with each new incarnation of the game. In this article I will be talking about items and objects that we did have in either or both of the first two Sims games but which didn't make it into The Sims 4. Probably most of these items you may have forgotten about or if you never played the original The Sims or The Sims 2, didn't even know existed! The reason I am not talking about Sims 3 objects in this article is because quite a few things were released in The Sims 3 Store, such as the Cow Plant, Crystal Ball and Toy Making Bench but were not put in the actual game, so it doesn't seem fair to include these.

Objects in The Sims

Objects such as the Aquatic Playhouse which allowed your Sim to snorkel underwater in a big square water-filled glass box was never seen again in future The Sims games. We do however have underwater snorkelling in The Sims 3 and The Sims 4 but not through an object such as this. There were no skill points gained with this item and only adults could use it but it gave a fun factor of 10 and really pushed your Sims fun need up to the max! The Beziques Folly Card Game (charisma skill) was also something we had in the original The Sims which was never

seen again, along with the Checker Set Too, (logic skill), Craft a G a r g o y l e , ( m e c h a n i c a l skill), Volleyball, (group activity) P r i c k - M e - N o t Spinning Wheel, (mechanical skill), the Old Fashioned Butter Churn (cooking skill) and the Energize Oxygen Bar (group activity) where Sims would wear a mask and breathe in oxygen! The Fancy Feet Cake Treat large cake item was great for parties and your Sim had the option to hire either a male or f e m a l e e n t e r t a i n e r who would pop out of the top of the cake and dance, quite suggestively, I might add! A n o t h e r party item entitled The Spazmatronic Plasmatronic Go-Go Cage allowed Sims to go inside and, as the name suggests, “go-go” dance! Galileos Free for All was another item which was not added in any of the future Sims games and enabled your Sim to enter the object and sky-dive! Although we can make jams and preserves in The Sims 4, the Boggs Home Canning Centre was never seen again after The Sims 1, enabling your Sim to make, of course, jam! “A Sims Guide to Cooking” was a cookery book on a small stand for the kitchen (or anywhere else you may wish to place it), whereby Sims could learn the cookery skill. This item is now in The Sims 4 but just as a decorative item. A nectar maker, namely “A Pressing Feeling”, made its first appearance in The Sims 1 and again in The Sims 3 with the World Adventures expansion pack. As with both nectar makers, your Sim needed ingredients to place inside to squish the fruit into nectar. The Pool Table has been a fun addition to the game in all first three The Sims games and never d i s a p p o i n t s ! Available in green or red, the red one being the most expensive and the most fun, allowing adults to either play alone or with others. The Sims 4 still does not have this item, which is rather strange! Also available was The Concoctonation Station, a home chemistry lab for adults only and allowed your Sim to gain the logic skill. This item made a return in The Sims 3 also for adults only and although a children's version was added to The Sims 4, we don't yet have one for adults. The Funinator Deluxe was a climbing frame together with a built-in slide that children only could play on. This built the motor skill but no particular skill points were gained with this item. However, it was fun for the kids! We did get a treehouse with a separate slide in The Sims 2 but not an all-in-one like this. For children and adults there was the Urchineer Train Set and a more e x p e n s i v e v e r s i o n entitled the OCD Systems Sim Railroad which gave Sims lots of fun. This item was seen again in The Sims 2 as a hobby item, released with the “Free Time!” expansion pack.

One of the items shipped with the “Superstar” expansion pack was The Whisper Steam Personal Steamer and could be purchased for home use. This item was also seen on community lots and would give comfort and hygiene. Again, this item was never seen again in future Sims games. The Taro Tech Mechanical Bull first made its appearance in The Sims earning Sims the body skill and was also shipped with “Showtime” in The Sims 3 as the Buck and Chuck Bronco. The Sims 1 was quite a way ahead of its time in more ways than one. It also featured a Virtual Reality Headset which adults and children could play with. This item was never seen again in future Sims r e l e a s e s unfortunately, just the standard gaming consoles, which The Sims 1 also had!

Makin' Magic

With the last expansion pack entitled “Makin' Magic”, there were of course a lot of magical objects, some of which we do have for The Sims 4, such as Bonehilda (albeit without her coffin) and a crystal ball, to name just a couple. But, there was also the Everafter Crafter. This enabled your Sim to craft “trinkets, charms and gizmo's to beguile, enchant, bewitch...” There was also the MagiCo Magical Starter Kit which included “A Hole in the Ground”, “Spellbound Wand Charger” and “The Start Here Spell-book 2.0” to enable a Sim to learn magic and of course visit Magic Town via the hole in the ground to garner items for magical purposes. This hole in the ground also enabled children to venture out on their own for the first time in The Sims, apart from going to school. These items were delivered for free to your home as a gift, left in a cardboard box on your doorstep by the Mystery Man. Children were also included in the art of learning magic. The “MagiCo Neo Magical Newt” that only children could use allowed kids to create charms and charge their wands with spells. The Alacazam Stand was an object that allowed your Sim to learn magic tricks which you could then perform on stage at a community lot in Magic Town. The Popcorn Stand was also shipped with Makin' Magic and could be purchased through buy mode for the Sims' home as well as for community lots such as seen in Calamity Forest, which was a venue in Magic Town. Another venue in Magic Town featured a roller coaster and a very scary one at that! Roller coasters only made a come-back in The Sims 3 via the store by purchasing Roaring Heights.

The Sims 2

When The Sims 2 was released in 2004, ageing came into play with the added life stages of toddlers and teens. Sims grew from a baby to toddler, to child and teenager then to adult and elder and then a natural death. This is something we didn't have in the original The Sims and gave the game more substance.

The first expansion pack of University gave a new life stage of Young Adult but only for Sims who entered Uni.

Lifetime Aspiration Rewards

Wants and fears were also added to the game together with memories. When Sims achieved their desires, they earned lifetime aspiration points which they could “spend” on the new addition of Lifetime Aspiration Rewards, “purchased” from a separate inventory. Sims could achieve Gold and Platinum aspiration by achieving many of their wants and it is only at this stage that Sims could use the Aspiration Rewards, else the objects wouldn't work properly. A few of the rewards eventually made it into The Sims 4 such as a pet bowl that never empties, namely the Kibble of Life, the Love Tub which was a hot tub, Money Tree and Weather Machine. Rewards that were never seen again in either The Sims 3 or 4 were the Cool Shades which when worn would give a positive affect on social interactions and the Genuine Bucks Famous Counterfeiting Machine which, yes you guessed it, counterfeited simoleons! However, this object could overheat when used for a long period of time so a fire alarm is a good idea to install nearby. Also, if the police caught you, your Sim would get a hefty fine! The Elixir of Life was a green liquid which the Sim would drink and with each cup, would gain 3 days of extra life. If used when the Sim was not in gold or platinum aspiration, each cup of this substance would take off 3 days of life, making the Sim get older! The Noodle Soother boosted a Sims mood but unfortunately their needs would decay faster than usual. The ReNu-Yu Senso Orb allowed the player to change a particular Sims lifetime want and aspiration and the Sim Vac which when one Sim uses this on another, will transfer one skill point or many aspiration points to the Sim using the item but has a negative effect on the relationship between the two Sims. Smart Milk was an item that teens and up could use to make smart milk for toddlers. Once consumed, the toddler was able to learn skills at a faster rate for a limited time. The Eclectic and Enigmatic Energizer gave all needs a boost and the Thinking Cap, when worn, allowed the Sim to learn skills more quickly.

Career Rewards

Career Rewards first became available in The Sims 2 and were not seen again until The Sims 4, although The Sims 3 Culinary Career did give a free Fridge/ Freezer at level 10 which kept food fresh indefinitely. In The Sims 2 these rewards were also given for free once the Sim had reached a certain level in their career and was available from the Sims Career Reward inventory. Although there were Career Reward items in The Sims 2 that we had in TS3 and TS4 such as the Star Struck Star and the Laganaphyllis Simnovorii (aka the Cow Plant), there were many that were not seen again. I would also like to point out here as a side note that the Cow Plant was very deadly in The Sims 2 and didn't spit out the Sim as in TS3 and 4. Instead, it spat out a gravestone straight away, killing the Sim instantly.

Better Barre Ballet Barre Dance Career

SIM Series Drafting Table

Architecture Starstruck Personal Fame Stars Entertainment Carefree Koi Pond Audio Augmenter Oceanography Intelligence Career

Laganaphyllis Simnovorii (aka the Cow Plant) Natural Scientist Career

Dr Vu's Automatic Cosmetic Surgeon

The Resurrect-O-Nomitron Show Business

Paranormal Career

Tribal Flame a la Coconut Pinball Gamer I Object Litigator Podium The Gootentaugun Award for Excellence in Journalism Law Career

Journalism Body Creativity Social Increases nature enthusiasm Receive hidden cash or get caught spying No skill but this cow plant is deadly in as much as that it doesn't spit out Sims at any point but consumes them. It will then spit out a gravestone and give milk (the life essence of the dead Sim) which the living Sim can then consume for extra days of life. No skill points but can change a Sims appearance. Telephone the Grim Reaper and bring a dead Sim back to life for a fee. However, if you don't pay enough Simoleons, the Sim could come back as a Zombie. Gives fun at a factor of 10! Charisma

Gives a small boost to motives of Sims who are in the same room

The Rock Hammer (electric guitar) Books First for Learning Golden Skull of Jumbok IV Music Career Education Career Adventurer Career

Senso Twitch Lie Finder Criminal Career

Exerto Punching Bag Athletic Career

Execuputter Business Career

Trauma Time Incision Precision Surgical Training Station Enterprise Office Concepts Bushmaster Tele-Prompter

Medicine Career Politics Simsanto Inc Biotech Station Science Career Schokolade 890 Chocolate Manufacturing Facility Prints Charming Fingerprinting Scanner Culinary Career Law Enforcement Aqua Green Hydroponic Garden Slacker Career Exerto Selfflog Obstacle Course Military Career Luminous Pro Antique Camera Artist Career Creativity Learn any skill including body Gives boost to needs/motives to Sims in the same room Creativity Body Skill Charisma Mechanical Charisma Logic Cooking Skill Cleaning Skill Creativity Body Skill Arts and crafts enthusiasm

Buy Mode Objects

A few of the buy mode objects in TS2 made their way into future The Sims games such as the Downbeat Kit Drum set, Goal of Paul Football, Floral Workstation and Super Tower for kids. Similarly, the Robot Crafting Station was added to The Sims 4 University Life. There were however a few items in The Sims 2 which we could purchase in buy mode that we didn't have again in future The Sims games.

and “chips”. The Pick-Up Card Table was a game for up to four Sims in TS2 and was basically a poker game with playing cards

The AxeO l u t e l y T h r o w i n g Station and Deluxe Log Rolling items w e r e shipped with Bon Voyage, the vacation pack for The Sims 2 and Sims gained a lot of fun using these items. MahJong also came with this EP and again allowed up to four Sims to play together, building the social need and making friends. There were other items such as the Crazy Fun Toy Bench, One Man's Junk Car, Pottery Wheel and Mechanical Stitching Machine. The Train Set also made a come-back from TS1 which was purchased as a table with a small train and which the Sim could build up by adding a mountain, houses, water and objects, unlike The Sims 1 object which was already built. This enabled Sims to raise their tinkering hobby skill and was a lot of fun to build and play with. Myshuno was a game rather like “Bingo” that Sims could play together in a group, with one Sim being the “caller”. This had a fun rating of 10 and really pushed your Sims fun needs up! The Electro Dance Sphere w a s something else that Sims would gain fun from and body skill too! Additionally, if Free Time was installed then this item would b u i l d enthusiasm for fitness. Sims often feel dizzy after using this however and some may even throw up!

The Exercise Bike is something else that was never seen again after The Sims 2. As with all exercise equipment, this item builds your Sims body skill and also allows them to lose weight. The Centrifun Roundabout was a toy for children along with the remote control helicopter and cars. Unfortunately, as the above items, these were not seen again in future The Sims games. As you can see, there were many items included in the original The Sims and The Sims 2 which we didn't have again in future games. This, I feel, is a pity as the

objects that we did have in those games gave a lot of fun, not just for our Sims but for us too! I hope that this article has brought back a lot of good memories for you and, if you never played the first two Sims games, that maybe, just maybe, you have found this little bit of history of The Sims enjoyable!

MinicartTSR (Jules) A Simmer for over 20 years, you can find me on the following websites: YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/ MinicartTSR Twitter - https://twitter.com/ MinicartTSR TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/ @minicarttsr Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/user/ MinicartTSR/ Instagram - https:// www.instagram.com/minicarttsr/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ minicart.tsr/ Blogger - https:// minicarttsr.blogspot.com/