Test:Newsletter

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SEASONS! Because having just one EP announced is too mainstream...  By DanPin, editor

Simmers all over the Web are rejoicing as they eagerly await the releases of the two next expansion packs: Supernatural (announced in late June) and Seasons (announced last week).

Seasons was announced in the EA Summer Showcase and more information about it was given on the Supernatural Broadcast a couple of days later. The new EP will feature weather, several festivities scattered around the year, reminiscent of Easter, Halloween and alike. New activities are also included, such as skating and swimming in rivers, lakes and in the sea. The Broadcast also showed some insight on Fairies from Supernatural, including their ability to fix objects and their natural skills in gardening.

Supernatural will be released on September 4th and Seasons on November 13th. The Newsletter Team hopes you have an awesome time reading this issue!

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Poll
By DanPin, editor What do you think of Seasons? IT'S AMAZING!!!111!!!!1!1!!1one!! It looks like a decent thing. Unlike Sweet Treats. Who cares about Supernatural, Seasons FTW! Meh. Supernatural looks better. Looks like a waste of money. I don't play TS3.

Horoscopes
By DanPin, editor

Short News
By GEORGIEGIBBONS

Wiki News
 * The countdown towards the deletion of Player Stories started.

The Sims News
 * The Sims 3: Seasons was announced.
 * The Supernatural and Seasons broadcast occurred.
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The Mod and More:Package vs. Sims3Pack
By Andronikos Leventis Many people believe that one format is better than the other when it comes to distributing and installing custom content for The Sims 3. This article is determined to explore the certain aspects of each one of those types of files.

What is better when it comes to installing and managing?
Most users would agree that while .Sim3Pack files are relatively easier to install, they are hard to manage and take too long to install. Also, .Sim3Pack appear to have problems when it comes to detecting duplicates; users who have many Store content compilations or collectors may find they have multiple instances of each piece of CC. Also, it is widely known that the Launcher can easily become slow if a lot of content is installed, and may therefore be rendered relatively useless when it comes to managing content.

.Package files on the other hand, require a resource.cfg file to be added to a specific folder based on the player's version of the game, and the creation of the Mods/Packages subfolders. However, for the average computer user, .package files will later prove much easier to install (that is, simply copying and pasting them to the desired subfolder under Mods/Packages), and then also much easier to manage, as they can be handled as any other file.

As for distributing?
Although package files could easily be considered better, they are also only found in modding sites, such as ModTheSims.info, and cannot be upload to the Exchange. The Exchange stores tons of CC from many simmers dedicated to The Sims 3. Distributing content to the Exchange is as simple as clicking on a button. Modding sites, on the other hand, are more closed communities and require people to have their desired files to be uploaded reviewed, a process that can take as much as days. Therefore, .Sim3Pack's are certainly more easily distributed.

Which files are bigger?
.Sim3Pack files are generally many .Package files, or other types or files used by the game, compressed. Therefore, by doing the math, you can understand Sim3Pack files are generally usually bigger in size. However, a single .Sim3Pack file can have whatever content is present in many .Package files.

What about the actual content?
.Sim3Pack files are usually hair, clothing, furniture, houses or Sims. .Package files are usually mods and more complex clothing and furniture.

What should be used?
Currently, the answer should be "whatever suits the user better". This means, the user should use whatever he thinks is better, as long as he also has logical expectations when it comes to the people who will download what they are uploading, and is also logical. Houses for example should be .Sim3Pack files. Mods should be .Package files (and in fact, I doubt there is a single mod out there in .Sim3Pack format, or if mods can even be in .Sim3Pack format at all). That's generally all there is to be said about the actual usefulness and ease of distribution of these files, and why it is no use for only one of them to be used, and anyone should simply use what they are used to, or get used to something else as well (Could I use "use" more times in a sentence? Well it doesn't matter! Happy Simming everyone!).

Review: The Case of the Gunshot Wounds
By Bakerychaz, guest writer The Case of the Gunshot Wounds is a story about investigator Jake Gannon, and his investigation of his friend Renee Littler's murder. She was shot, and has two suspects - Renee's husband Reuben and Reuben's mistress Odine Perry. The story focuses on both Renee's murder and Jake and his husband Matthew Hamming's marriage. I think the characters are perfect. I think Jake is a great character for a story like this, as he is extremely smart and is very curious. I like the plot of Matthew and Jake's marriage, and the ending is just fantastic. My favorite character is Grandpa Charlie, and the twist is amazing - just like a best-selling murder story. The author of the story is amazing at writing, and is very gifted with it.

I found some of the scenes a bit cheesy, but the main plot is amazing. I especially like the ending of the story - a tearjerking moment. I like the fact that there aren't too many stories to focus on; there are only two main plots, whereas many Fanons have more than two. This Fanon is different from other Fanons, as it's quite a realistic story, and some of the others focus on things that only the Sim universe can do, such as different life states and complicated death types. Each chapter of this Fanon has just the right amount of lines and words. I can sum up TCotGW in one word - amazing. I give TCotGW 5 stars out of 5.

Sims Logic
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From the Editor...
We hope you all had an awesome time reading this issue! Until next issue...

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