Hey Simmers - here's the latest blog about resort management in The Sims 3 Island Paradise! We hope you enjoy :)

How do you plan to play with resorts? One of our main goals when developing resorts was to make sure that it provided plenty of diversity in gameplay and customisation. We recently held a development team “play day” and it was really great to see the many creative ways that people played with resorts. We had an engineer who decided to open up a small yet successful family-operated bed and breakfast. Another team member was on the fast track to running two five-star mega hotels in Sunset Valley. For some players, resort management was just a little too stressful and felt that having their Sims stay at a resort was a much more enjoyable experience.

I thought that one of the best ways to talk about resorts is to tell you about the one that I’m currently building. After discovering an uncharted island, I decided that it was the perfect place to break ground on my new resort. Using the blueprint mode, I quickly went from zero to well…bare minimum (at this point I’m fighting the urge to just use the money cheat).

Tip: Blueprint mode is intended for players who want to get their resort built quickly so that they can jump into gameplay right away. However, if you choose to do so you can use Build and Buy tools to build your resort from scratch. Required objects for resorts are: the front desk and at least one resort tower rabbithole. In general, the resort tower is required as a place for guests to fulfil their motives as well as manage resort worker population. A new Buy Mode sort was added to display amenity objects that make the most impact to your resort quality.




Funds were low so I had to start small. It was a good thing that my Sim family was up to the task because keeping employees on the payroll can get quite expensive for an upstart business like mine. Daily tasks included making sure that the front desk was always covered and resort guests were treated to delicious drinks at the bar. I decided that since my Sim does not have a full-time job, he’s going to have to cover both day and night shifts. There’s never a dull moment when running your own resort. Just like residential lots, things can get dirty or break. I’m just glad that my resort is small enough to where I can get the job done on my own. All looks well so far!

Tip: We wanted to make sure that players can run resorts by using only their active Sim family if they elect to do so. This allows you to choose your level of involvement with resorts. Simply disable shifts on the front desk, bar, or food stand and the amenity will remain unmanned for that specified time period. You might have noticed from the screen shot below that my Sim is operating a professional bar. If you have Late Night and Island Paradise installed you will be able to place professional bars on your resort and have it count as an amenity. You will be able to operate or hire employees for these bars as you would other amenities on your resort.



As my resort grows in popularity so does the maintenance required to keep things running. I’ve slacked off a bit and now things have gotten completely out of control. Rubbish is everywhere and now I’m told that we have a full blown roach infestation. Resort guests are starting to vomit from the sight of this filth. What a mess! The next morning I checked my resort’s star rating and it’s gone down one full star. I might be in trouble here.

Tip: Poor upkeep can tank your resort’s quality rating that in turn can result in fewer customers. Each piece of garbage or broken appliance will be reflected negatively in the resort reviews panel. And yes, roaches. When I queried the team and asked what best represented a poorly maintained hotel, the unanimous answer was “roaches”.



I really needed to clean this place up fast if I want to continue to stay in business. I hired a few maintenance workers to help me tidy up. I also took advantage of my Sim’s handy skill and upgraded a few of my toilets to not break.

Tip: Maintenance workers are the key to keeping your resort clean and presentable to the public. You have the choice of hiring up to three low, medium or high quality workers. Low quality workers are cheaper but have a greater chance of slacking off whereas high quality workers will always use their time wisely but come at a price.



Resort quality is finally restored and business is good. With a little money on the side, it’s finally time to class things up. The first thing I decided to add was some private VIP rooms for my guests. Blueprint Mode was perfect for this as I’m able to stamp down multiple rooms at once. After going back to Live Mode, I immediately assigned door locks to the rooms to allow the resort system to assign them to guests.

Tip: VIP door locks are exclusive to resorts. Resort owners can select any build/buy door and assign it a unique key number. If a guest chooses to check into a VIP room they will be handed a key that corresponds to the number that is assigned to a door. If there are no VIP door locks set on the resort, guests will be sent to the rabbithole to sleep and freshen up.

Resort owners are automatically checked into resort tower rabbitholes but will still need to check into VIP rooms in order to reserve the space.



What’s a resort without a place to eat? I decided to plop down some resort buffet tables and a food stand to add even more amenities to satisfy my guests. I sent my Sim over to the food stand to get a nice refreshing drink.

Tip: The resort buffet table is exclusive to resorts in that your staff will be responsible for maintaining the food. As an owner, you will be given the option to choose what type of food to serve and the quality. Higher quality food will require a higher upkeep cost but will better satisfy your guests. Check the reviews panel regularly as they can clue you in on what type of food your guests are craving. Sims with a high relationship to one another will often choose to dine together at the buffet.

The resort food stand serves up new food such as fried plantains and drinks in pineapple or coconut cups.



I’ll put the final touches on my resort by customising uniforms for my staff. I wanted to go with a beach casual look so selecting one of the available pre-sets will work for me. However, we thought it would be fun to open up the customisation even further. You will actually be able to go into Create A Sim and customise uniforms (hair, make-up, and clothing) for each one of your employees. All installed content from EPs, SPs and The Sims 3 Store that are valid for career uniforms and can be used to outfit your Sim.



My resort is definitely on the right path to success. I’m not really sure where to go from here. Perhaps I’ll find the next great location and do it all over again. Maybe take my family to someone else’s resort and check out what they have to offer.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy playing with resorts from June 28th when The Sims 3 Island Paradise becomes available in the UK.

- Mike Zamora (@SimGuruMike), Assistant Producer for The Sims 3 Island Paradise


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Check out what Producer Kelly (@SimGuruKelly) has to say about the Double Down Poker and Roulette Bundle, releasing in The Sims 3 Store on May 2, 2013.

When we created the Lucky Simoleon Casino, with the Triple Riches O’ Jackpots Slot Machine and the Hit ‘em Harder Blackjack Table, I was in love. The new Gambling Skill, along with the Build and Buy objects, created plenty of fun storytelling opportunities. I had always wanted to bring a casino to The Sims 3, and our team had a blast putting it together.

After the release, it was clear to us that you all wanted more, more, MORE! Since WE love making things that YOU love, we couldn’t let these requests go unfulfilled. So we went back to the drawing board to figure out what else we could build to feed the need for a bigger variety of gambling options. At first it was difficult because there are just so many fun games within casinos – Craps, Keno, Pai Gow, Baccarat, et. Al. In fact, I tried to convince management to fund a road trip to Las Vegas so we could do some proper research, but I lost that battle J.  In the end, the choice became very clear. We dusted off the old Table-bots and created two brand new premium objects – Dead Man’s Hand Poker Table and Let it Ride Roulette Table!




Personally, my favourite gambling object is the Dead Man’s Hand Poker Table. It features a wealth of options that will keep your Sims happy. If you are creating a private room for high rollers, you may want to set the stakes to 10,000 simoleons to buy-in.  If you are having a poker night with your friends, maybe a 100 simoleons is a bit more appropriate. If you find yourself on the losing end of most hands, you can build your Gambling Skill by practising your poker face! If all else fails, go ahead and hack the table to force the odds in your favour.

Apparently this Sim is still learning the finer points of a successful poker face:



The Let it Ride Roulette Table rounds out the selection of gambling options. Instead of spitting out cards, the Table-bot dealer spits out the roulette ball! Just like in real life, your Sims will be mesmerised by the spinning wheel, with the hopes that it lands on their number. The Table-bot is programmed to play fair, but you wouldn’t be able to tell from his demeanour.  He is just waiting patiently waiting to take your simoleons.



Make sure to post pictures of your new creations with these objects on the forums! We love to see the amazing ideas you come up with!

Keep up to date with all things Sims by LIKING our The Sims UK Facebook page

Happy Simming :)