FreeSO: Virtual Groverhaus

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T-man: Aug 22, 2010; Talk shit, get bzzzt.

What if you could play the Sims 1, but online?

This frequently asked question in the year 2019 finally has an answer for you goons. Meet FreeSO, the open source zombification of a lovely failed MMO from 2002.

The Sims Online: a brief history

The Sims Online was a hotly anticipated version of the Sims that was released to the public in December 2002. The game had decent numbers during it's first two years, but the quickly antiquated graphics and almost complete lack of traditional Sims gameplay, such as vampires, vacations, or the ability to speed up time while your sim spent 30 ingame minutes on the toilet meant this was not meant to last. I started playing in 2006, by which time the game was nearly dead with only a small fanbase of weird people playing, massive ingame currency inflation, and a strange internet culture that was unusually kindly for an MMO.

In 2007, EA began to develop the game once more, rebranding it as (ugh) EA-Land. They added a garbage custom content system that let me sell a meme of my pet ferret, wiped the servers and changed the game world, and of course added micropayments for in-game cash. Four weeks later, the game was unceremoniously shut down. A few members of the community continued to it's spiritual successor, an absolutely garbage Facebook game about trees made by the main developer who tried to save the game.

Finally, in 2017, FreeSO came out after a previous failed attempt to revive the game. It requires the original game's files, but allows users to connect to fan-made servers, implements a 3D mode, and a few other tweaks. Right now, there's a small community, usually around ~70 people all told online.

OK, how do I play?

You'll need to make an account and download the launcher here. Run the launcher and simply let it download all of the options. You'll need to give it somewhere to install twice, once for the original game files and launcher, and once for the open source new client. This is a great guide for getting started.
Additionally, tsomania.net is a great resource for playing the game, giving you guides on the objects and items in the game.

Why should I play this garbage game?

gently caress if I know! This game didn't take off for a reason, but I think there's a lot of good sides.

[*] A community that's nicer than almost all of the rest of the internet
[*] Retro ascetic and UI gives fond memories of being young and having hair
[*] Earn up to 20 skillpoints in each of the classic SIms skills and unlock useful interactions
[*] Minigame jobs that are legitimately fun to do
[*] New to FreeSO, a neighborhood system that includes mayors, town halls, and a posting board in game
[*] Amazing Sims 1 music

Please give me links to places!

Ok.

Main site
Discord
Github for the FreeSO files
:siren:

Rules for the game! :siren:

Goonhaus when??

I don't know. If people are interested, we can have a goon house, and add goons as the roommates. (Up to 8) I'm willing to buy the lot, but it does take a while to earn enough cash for something actually nice. If for some reason more people want to play, we can pick a neighborhood to swarm and ruin the virtual property values of. It's up to ya'll. I'll edit in any details here should something happen.

My handle is T man, feel free to find me in game.

Give me pictures I skipped to the bottom