Hey

I just found out that the PreOrder Bonuses, Bandit Cat and Purple Pug, WILL NOT be for download! But instead will be unlockable within the game itself!

Quoted from http://thesims2.ea.com/about/ep4_order.php is :
[size=1]Purchase The Sims 2 Pets from one of the retailers above to unlock an exclusive pet for your Sims! After you purchase the game you'll receive a code plus directions letting you know how to use the code to unlock the pet within the game itself (this is not a downloadable item). This special offer is only available for a limited time while supplies last, so buy your copy of The Sims 2 Pets and secure your exclusive pet today![/size]

MY OPINION IS :It will probably be unlockable with boolProp, or openable with SimPe, aswell as all the other Furs,like Pink Poodle fur,etc.

Your views on that?

Wow, that really changes things doesn't it? Looks like it might be possible to unlock both the Bandit Cat and the Purple Pug without pre-ordering, that's kind of unfair to the people like me who have pre-ordered, unless there will be a very strict rule to not give the codes out. I still hope there's a way to unlock them both without cheats regardless, as I really liked unlocking stuff in the console version of The Sims 2.

It should be possible, unless Maxis really outdid themselves and encrypted it into the game code, so it couldn't be unlocked. But there is probably a cheat code or something that unlocks the unlockables.

Boolprop can do so many things already, why not unlock things, too? There will alreadt be a cheat to control the pets. (if you type it in in your game it won't make an error message!) After all, in the console version I have of TS1, (Bustin- Out) there was a debug code for unlocking the unlockables.

I'm wondering how they're going to adhere to the whole 'limited time' and 'while supplies last' thing. Maybe those games have something special in them so you can't unlock it elsewhere?

That's probably how it would work discordkitty. Maxis could make a limited number of copies that have an unlockable breed depending on where you buy the game, and then after the offer expires every copy of Pets produced would not have the code that contains them.

Oooh! If Maxis does that,its so unfair! But im sure someone will make a mod to make all the unlockables unlocked sooner or later!

The thing is, if only X number of CD's are printed with the unlockables, the code is useless on an install that doesn't have it.

They could also encrypt the files of the bonus items so they could not be shared, even if you uploaded a house with it in it, it wouldn't work.

Yea...true....:'(
I remeber in a chat, there will be unlockables like Zebra fur, so, HOPEFULLY, it will work like that.

The special breeds might as well just be included with every copy that will ever be produced of The Sims 2 Pets. The entire point of the Bandit Cat and the Purple Pug is to get you to pre-order the game and get a nice bonus for doing so.

Captain,it would be illegal, and according to Maxis, sharing the codes EVEN WITH FAMILY is illegal!
They should make it for world wide! they onyl have to send out an email,which is automated anyway!

I REALLY want the bandit cat but no way am I paying extra for the game then delivery on top of that to get it from GAME!
I might be willing to transfer my pre-order to Amazon to get the pug but that thing is ugly...
I wish participating companies gave you a choice which one you wanted

I wouldn't be surprised if this was a case of Maxis/EA assuming your typical Sims 2 gamer is too stupid to use boolprop or mess about with files in order to unlock these pre-order skins, that may come with every copy of Pets.
Just for a marketing thing like this, I'm not sure they would see it as cost-effective to make a bunch of copies that are different to the non-preorder ones.

uploading any bonus items is illegal- any discussion of uploading bonus items is a warning- quit it

Wasn't TS2 DVD Edition a "limitied time only" or "limited edition"? It had bonus things that I don't think were on the CD version, but I may be mistaken. I don't know the cost in making DVD versions of a game versus CD versions of a game on a massive scale, so please don't attack me with technical economic details about the price of a DVD versus the price of a CD.

MSD, the DVD edition is STILL available to buy on the shelf here, and I think the only different thing about it was that all 4discs were on 1 DVD, BS was on a separate DVD and there was a blooper dvd too i think.

These are more or less skins are they not? I don't see the fuss, it's not like they are entirely unique breeds being held back. Give it a few weeks and we'll have pets every color of the rainbow for free for MTS2. In the mean time, i'm not going to condemn them for making an extra buck on preorders by using incentives.

Considering Maxis hasn't figured out a way to make the Sims 2 and the EP's less buggy and inclined to slooooooooow down older computers, I wouldn't worry about them trying to encrypt an unlockable purple pug, paisley parakeet, or pink panther. The Modders at MTS2 and Insim, as well as other sites, can probably blink and the unlockables would be available. Otherwise, there's lots of talented creators that can just do re-colors!

I highly doubt these skins will only be available to the first players who buy the game and months later not be available. Maxis obviously isn't that strict on their "special" downloads or else they wouldn't have houses available on their site that have those downloads in them.

I'm thinking you'll be able to unlock these the same way we unlock the "hidden" maxis clothes in CAS, boolProp of course.

Sounds like a really nice bonus to me. I like the dalmation so I'll probably buy it from play.com. A small question, do expansion packs always have extra goodies if you preorder them and such?

NL had a hotrod; OFB had a chicken mascot; FF had a green spring dress; Glamour has your choice of either a tv, painting, or gold record depending on the store. These were all downloads that you got a code for. With Pets, your suppose to get a code, depending on the store you preorder from, that unlocks a special skin.

I see. Thank you for your information.

I honestly don't see the big halabalouh....


If you can do what they show you can do with CAP, You could easily MAKE a bandit cat. Or recolour Fur and MAKE a purple pug....


I did pre-order, but not for w/e Bestbuy is offering.

I am thinking this might mean that we won't be able to recolor things, at least the conventional way. I hope that isn't true.

You wouldn't be able to make a bandit cat in CAP because there isn't going to be a layer for cats that gos over the eyes like that.

what?
lame!