User blog:HeronX232/Star Level Rewards

As we all know in the original MySims, when leveling up to a new Star Level, the player unlocks a tool to enter a new area, as well as a selection of new blocks to use in creating objects and buildings.

However, in the files is the .xml that controls the rewards that are given out, and inside we can find that more rewards were originally going to be given out upon leveling up.

---

When the player reaches Star Level 1, they were going to be given one Red Apple essence.

<Essences>
	<1--<applefruit type="number">1</applefruit>-->
</Essences>

(Changed slightly from original writing in game files to avoid conflict with wiki formatting, ! was changed to a 1)

The "<1--" and "-->" around the string indicates that it is simply commented out, removing them can re-enable the reward.

This would have been the same for Star Level 2, with the player receiving one Red Apple essence. However upon reaching Star Level 3, the player would have been given five Red Apple essences, and this number would have gone up again to ten when reaching Star Level 4. The player would have not received any Red Apple essences at Star Level 5 however.

What's interesting about Star Level 1, is that when the player reached it, they would have been given the blueprints for a bed, sculpture, table, counter, couch, etc. These are instead given to the player after building their first chair in the workshop, rather than when reaching Star Level 1. What is really interesting is that this is not commented it out at all.

<Blueprints type="string">templateBedSingle,templateTableDining,templateChairDining,templateCounter,templateSculpture,templateSculptureWall,templateCouch,templateShelf,templateCoffeeTable,templateWallCabinet</Blueprints>

Inside the entries for Star Level 1's rewards is a comment left by one of the developers, indicating that at one point the Metal Detector used in prospecting was considered to be unlockable, as opposed to already having it when the game starts.

<1-- The value inside the <[tool]> tag is the interaction that will be run (if any) in the "Use" menu of the tool.
This was added in case the metal detector is an unlockable tool. -->

Furthermore, the player would have also received Chef Gino's Hair and outfit, but not his eyes or mouth. This like the Red Apples is commented out.

<1--<CASAssets type="string">amHeadHatChef,amBodyChef</CASAssets>-->

---

Star Levels 2 and 3 do not have any sort of unused rewards or comments, aside from the Red Apples. However Star Level 4 is a different story.

<1--<CABBlocks type="string">base_cube_1_1,door_asian,roof_angledTwoSides_1_1</CABBlocks>-->
<1--<CASAssets type="string">chef,pirate</CASAssets>-->
<1--<LotSize type="string">5x5,6x6,7x7</LotSize>-->

The player would have been given blocks to use in creating buildings, albeit just resized versions of existing blocks. As well as both Gino's and Ginny's outfits? Oddly the string for their outfits do not follow the same format as the one used for Star Level 1, indicating that this may have been scrapped before they put the real names in to make the rewards work. Most interestng about Star Level 4 is that the player would have received Lot Sizes? It is unknown what these do.

---

While this isn't in the same file as the strings for the other rewards. The Town Monument blueprint given to the player upon reaching Star Level 5, was originally named the Essence Master Sculpture.

    <String>
      <id>ConstructedObjectDefs/Advanced_Sculpture_Lvl5Def.xml</id>
      <text>Essence Master Sculpture</text>
      <subcategory>My Sims PC</subcategory>
    </String>

The idea of it being a sculpture of the Essence Master was most likely dropped when he as cut from the game, with the blueprint being repurposed.