By Jim Rossignol on May 16th, 2009 at 2:57 pm.
I spotted this over on Offworld, and it’s both fairly funny, and a pretty strong advocate of what the new “mash up” tools in The Sims 3 will be able to deliver in terms of machinima. I’ve been playing around with some of the preview code EA sent out, but I had no idea their toolset was quite this capable. I’ll have to go back and take a look at that stuff for myself. In this trailer parody Trekkie sims fight, die, make-out, while simlish voice-over man makes with the gravitas in gibberish. It’s a fun time. (Speaking of made-up languages, has anyone seen the new Trek film yet?)
Movie tool trailer:
16/05/2009 at 15:01 Flerndip says:
Does this mean no pointy ears? How disappointing.
16/05/2009 at 15:03 Russ says:
Jim, you haven’t seen Star Trek yet? Blasphemy! Unless you’re a Star Wars nerd. Then you’ll dislike it because it’s pretty damn Star Trek.
16/05/2009 at 15:07 Jim Rossignol says:
I enjoy Star Trek stuff, but I was in no rush to see a new movie.
16/05/2009 at 15:07 Adrian says:
wait you can actually create all of the shown?
16/05/2009 at 15:09 Nick says:
New Trek film is really good Jim, surprisingly funny too.
16/05/2009 at 15:11 Jim Rossignol says:
Adrian: I’ve added in the dev walkthrough trailer for the movie tool.
16/05/2009 at 15:13 The_B says:
…but not as we know it?
16/05/2009 at 15:14 simonkaye says:
Star Trek? 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, last time I checked. Richly deserved. More plot holes than black holes (and that’s saying something) but brilliant nonetheless.
16/05/2009 at 15:22 SpoonySeeker says:
*spoiler* It was good, even if the plot revolved around magic black hole sauce
16/05/2009 at 15:23 Chris Evans says:
Ahh yes saw this last night (I assume from someones tweet) and posted it on TR. Really good video and makes me even more excited for Sims 3 :D
Haven’t seen the new Star Trek movie yet..
16/05/2009 at 15:33 TwistyMcNoggins says:
He’s dead, Jim (Rossignol)
16/05/2009 at 15:39 Jockie says:
The new film is good, though the plot is pretty basic (Badguy & Mcguffin), it’s just a enjoyable space romp with plenty of references to the old series to keep fans happy.
The Onion’s comment on it pretty much nails it. http://www.theonion.com/content/video/trekkies_bash_new_star_trek_film
16/05/2009 at 15:41 PC Monster says:
New Star Trek = rollicking good action romp. Most enjoyable Star Trek film in years. In fact, most enjoyable Star Trek anything in years. Mostly due to it ejecting the pomposity and proselytizing of Trek and bringing back in huge shiny bucketfuls of fun. And lens flares, which I think I may be the only person across the whole Internet to have really rather liked. :)
16/05/2009 at 15:45 Meat Circus says:
OMG the lens flares.
JJ Abrams is a bloody genius.
16/05/2009 at 15:59 Nick says:
Lens flare reminded me of fun times in space combat “sims”.
16/05/2009 at 16:03 Mister Adequate says:
Yeah Star Trek is pretty awesome and should be watched.
I thought the Sims 3 had pointy ears option. Wonder where I got that impression from?
16/05/2009 at 16:34 Satsuz says:
@Mister Adequate:
Well, Sims 2 had it at least. It seems like an odd omission if they don’t have it now. Perhaps they gave their Spock-sim giant round ears as a joke?
16/05/2009 at 16:38 Sulkdodds says:
I would really like an option to make my sims chose a ‘movie star’ career so that when they go to work they get temporarily imported into The Movies, and their morale goes up and down depending on whether their movie does good or bad.
16/05/2009 at 16:40 noom says:
I must be missing something…
Star Trek film is great if you enjoy mindless big budget action flicks. But if you like any depth of plot, decent characterisation or good quality writing in you films, then you’ll walk out pretty much shrugging your shoulders. It’s very forgettable. Just rewatch some Next Generation episodes instead.
Sims looks enjoyable anyways. Expect I’ll probably become utterly engrossed in it for a few months then instantaneously stop playing.
16/05/2009 at 16:57 Gap Gen says:
Star Trek was very silly but fun. It’s in the same league as the other remakes and so on, but it’s pretty good. Doesn’t fall into the stupidity hole that Spiderman 3 did.
16/05/2009 at 17:28 Xercies says:
Star trek was great, but i walked in there knowing that this was a mainstream Star Trek effort so I wasn’t dissapointed.
But nothing can take my love away for The Next generation.
16/05/2009 at 17:51 Dr. Quincy says:
I did not enjoy the recent Star Trek film.
16/05/2009 at 18:06 Rich_P says:
I had no idea of what to expect from the movie. What little Trek knowledge I have comes from internet memes and Picard YTMNDs. But I ended up really enjoying it; perfect summer action flick with just the right amount of sci-fi absurdities.
I’m also a sucker for ensemble casts with different experts (see also: Ocean’s Eleven) and Leonard Nimoy, whose lovely voice regularly informs me that I’ve discovered writing and the wheel.
16/05/2009 at 19:19 Vinraith says:
The movie’s as much incoherent gibberish as the voice over, I assure you. The single most nonsensical plot in the history of the franchise, which is really saying something. A lot of strangely out of place cornball humor, melodramatic sap, and extraordinarily cheesy fan service too, unfortunately. Still, Simon Pegg’s brilliant and the special effects aren’t bad, so it’s all a matter of what you want I suppose. I’d say wait and rent/Netflix it, it’s not really worth the cost of seeing in the theatre.
16/05/2009 at 19:55 Thirith says:
The plot may be thin, but the film isn’t really about the plot – it’s about the characters, and that’s where it shines. IMO it’s as much of a fun, well-made popcorn flick as Iron Man was. Also, it’s surprisingly witty and doesn’t take itself seriously, which is part of why I enjoyed it as much.
16/05/2009 at 20:05 Bigfoot_King says:
The sims 3 is looking more like any other sims 2 expansion pack just with an extra bit of tinsel also I though the star trek film was average
16/05/2009 at 20:06 Vinraith says:
“it’s about the characters”
You know, Moore said that about he end of BSG, Abrams said it about this movie, is anyone else coming to the conclusion that “it’s about the characters” is industry code for “the script sucks?”
16/05/2009 at 20:11 Nick says:
It’s most certainly not the most nonsensical plot in the history of the franchise – at least 95% of Voyagers episodes were much worse.
Not to mention Enterprise *spits*.
Or, indeed, Nemesis. This is a far cry from the terrible end to The Next Generation’s film outings and all the better for it.
16/05/2009 at 20:15 Prickard says:
I liked First Contact the best. Nice balance of action and exploring Star Trek ideals. And the time traveling made more sense than in the latest one.
16/05/2009 at 20:37 Clovis says:
@Bigfoot-King: I somewhat concur. It doesn’t look amazingly better. The faces/reactions were just way too similar to the Sims 2. I’ve gotten a little excited from other S3 trailers, but this one was kinda’ meh.
16/05/2009 at 20:43 Nick says:
The time travelling was a bit weak but it gave them a way to divert from established history within the context of the universe and without pissing off the fanboys as much. Or something like that anyway.
16/05/2009 at 21:17 Thirith says:
Vinraith: a script is a lot more than just plot. Having a weak plot != having a weak script, at least not automatically. Not if the plot isn’t what is most important about the story you’re telling. Added to which: IMO don’t you think you’re a bit hyperbolic in saying how bad the plot is? In any case, it’s told much, much better than Insurrection and Nemesis.
16/05/2009 at 21:20 Clovis says:
Pretty much all sciency bits were really weak in Star Trek; however, it was still a really fun movie.
16/05/2009 at 21:37 Adam T says:
It’s too bad that Star Trek isn’t better science fiction.
16/05/2009 at 22:03 Thirith says:
If you want science fiction, don’t watch Star Trek, just as you wouldn’t watch Star Wars for sci-fi. It’s space opera and should be judged by those standards.
16/05/2009 at 22:26 Zyrusticae says:
I happened to enjoy the movie greatly, even as a Star Wars fan and having little-to-no Trekkie knowledge. Sure, the whole Red Matter and time traveling through black holes thing was a little hokey, but somehow I get the impression that, like Star Wars, Trek never did purport itself as a proper sci-fi universe. I just enjoyed it for what it was.
16/05/2009 at 23:06 Chis says:
Vinraith: Considering every aspect of BSG, not only the characters, became distinctly unlikeable halfway through series 3, I can say for sure I don’t need or want to see Star Trek (or BSG series 4).
This trailer was somewhat amusing, but consider what this feature of The Sims 3 will result in: thousands of not-at-all amusing “machinima” produced by angsty girls up and down the country, posted all over Bebo, Youtube and the like. Oh joy.
17/05/2009 at 00:15 Kadayi says:
Movie is ok assuming you disengage your brain, though the shoot now, ask questions later policy of the characters seems at odds with how things were done in the old series. Also Simon Pegg was shit, and if they do make a sequel the best thing they can do is shove him and his walking dildo into the airlock and space them.
17/05/2009 at 00:16 Vinraith says:
@Chis
Wise decisions, both of them.
17/05/2009 at 00:27 m says:
@Chris
“thousands of not-at-all amusing “machinima” produced by angsty girls up and down the country, posted all over Bebo, Youtube and the like. Oh joy.”
So, who cares? How many of those are you, or anyone, going to see? What matters is that for every hundred or thousand of such forgettable bits you’ll get something truly amazing. It’s as with anything.
It’s kind of like saying the WordPress software is shit because it’s too easy and it’ll power thousands of weblogs by angsty teenagers. This is true, but it also powers RockPaperShotgun.
17/05/2009 at 01:58 Moonracer says:
I’m pretty excited for the actual gameplay of the sims 3 (as embarrassing as that is) but that movie short didn’t show off anything you can’t do in the sims 2. I guess the big deal is that it is easier to do the same stuff will nicer tools?
Also, as more of a Star Wars fan I rather enjoyed the new Star Trek. Sometimes I want hard Science Fiction and sometimes I want fast moving objects, laser explosions and hot alien women. This time packaged with memorable one liners
17/05/2009 at 09:25 Kadayi says:
@M
Well said, there is nothing worse than people pouring scorn on other peoples fascination, esp when they aren’t actually being forced to endure it. Its like people moaning about a TV show they hate, “don’t watch it then”. Sad sad bastards.
17/05/2009 at 12:23 yhancik says:
Star Trek aside, did anyone notice in the second video that a sim is playing some racing game (NfS?) with the computer mouse ?
@Meat Circus:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAaX8Aq6smQ
17/05/2009 at 14:47 Kadayi says:
LOL@old trek lenseflared ;)
also slightly OT but still Sims 3 related they’ve kicked off the Sims Social now:-
http://simsocial.thesims3.com/popup?languageCode=uk
Which bears a striking similarity to a certain regular posters Game, fortunately they paid him for it (have to say I prefer the original version Vs the Sims one though) ;)
18/05/2009 at 09:16 Morph says:
Found the film fairly boring myself. I picked a fairly large amount of holes in the plot, because I was so uninterested in what was going on.