Fame is an integral part of several titles in The Sims franchise, including The Sims 4: Get Famous, The Urbz, and perhaps unexpectedly, The Sims Medieval. The Sims: Legacy Edition is no exception, thanks to the inclusion of the Superstar expansion pack.
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The Sims: Complete Guide To Jobs
Getting a job is easy enough in The Sims, but actually keeping one can be a real challenge.
Originally released in 2003, The Sims: Superstar gives your Sims the opportunity to gain notoriety, hit the catwalk, and rub elbows with Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe, and… Avril Lavigne? As well as a bunch of celebrity tie-ins, the pack also introduces Studio Town, an area ripe for fame-hungry Sims looking to stop being anybody and start being somebody.
Fame System Overview
The Sims’ fame system uses hidden points that contribute to a Sim’s overall Star Power level. Completing different fame-related activities gives your Sim fame points, which slowly increase their Star Power. The higher the Star Power, the more money and acclaim they receive.
In addition to the Star Power titles, the fame system labels Sims as a Nobody, Anybody, or Somebody, depending on their level of fame. A Sim who has only just started the proverbial climb will be labelled as a Nobody, while their famous colleagues are Somebodies. Everyone else is just an Anybody.
If you’re confused about anything in Studio Town, look out for Lana. She hangs around most lots and can answer questions about all things fame.
Celebrity is also broken down into alphabet grades like this:
|
Star Level |
Classification |
|
0 to 0.5 |
Nobody |
|
0.5 to 2.5 |
C-Class |
|
2.5 to 3 |
B-Class |
|
3 and above |
A-Class |
The categories aren’t overlapping, and Star Power increases in halves.
Fame can be the most lucrative career in The Sims, but it takes a long time to get there. At first, your Sim will just be working for tips, but eventually they’ll be rewarded handsomely for their jobs in Studio Town.
Fame Awards
Long before The Sims 4’s Starlight Accolades, The Sims: Superstar introduced several fame-related awards:
- The Simmy Award
- The Sim Choice Award
- The Canister
- The Twang
- The Figure
The last three of these awards relate to particular artistic focuses – acting, music, and modelling respectively – and can come in Bronze, Silver, or Gold. The other two can be earned by gaining fame and building strong relationships with the Anybodies of the world.
How To Opt-In To Fame
Sims who want to have a brush with fame will need to look out for the magazine left by Nancy the Paper Girl each morning. When she delivers the paper, she’ll also drop off Studio Town tabloid, which your Sim can use to check who’s hot, who’s not, and to find an agent.
Use the tabloid to find an agent to start your Sim’s road to stardom. Doing this opts your Sim into fame. After that, they will be able to build fame in Studio Town.
Sims who are opted into fame won’t be able to keep another career as well. They’ll need to make money through activities in Studio Town, or by selling things like paintings, gnomes, or gargoyles at home.
Your Sim can visit Studio Town for free daily if they have an agent. If they don’t, it’ll cost them 50 Simoleons. Either way, you’ll need to use a phone to call a cab to get there.
Sims can only visit Studio Town for free once a day, so show up in a good mood and make it count. Try to make the most of the facilities around town to keep your Sim’s needs good, too.
How To Build Fame
Sims need to take on jobs in Studio Town to build fame. Taking on jobs helps them to gain fame points, which in turn increases their overall Star Power. Your Sim will need to do jobs several times to increase by a whole level.
Since your Sim starts off as a Nobody, it’s important they find jobs that take on newcomers. Otherwise, they’ll regularly get the door slammed in their face, as many jobs require a certain Star Power to do them.
If your Sim is magically inclined, they can get a huge headstart by using the Price of Fame charm.
Building Skills
Like with any other career in The Sims, skill points are also important for gaining Star Power. Celebrity Sims can expect to spend time increasing their Creativity, Body, and Charisma skills once they gain their first star.
It’s likely that these particular skills need to be built because of the fame career’s focus on music, modelling, and acting. So, your Sim doesn’t need to worry about building their cooking, cleaning, mechanical, or logic skills to become a superstar.
Sims will need the following skill points at different stages of their careers:
|
Star Power |
Creativity |
Body |
Charisma |
|
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
1.5 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
|
2 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
|
2.5 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
|
3 |
4 |
4 |
6 |
|
3.5 |
6 |
5 |
6 |
|
4 |
7 |
6 |
7 |
|
4.5 |
8 |
7 |
8 |
|
5 |
9 |
8 |
10 |
Zero and 0.5 Star Power level celebrities don’t need any skill points to progress. They just need to be noticed around Studio Town while taking on jobs. But, having skill points can help them to perform better when using fame items.
Making Friends
Famous Sims need famous friends. Rather than being promoted on the basis of having any old family friends, Sims need to befriend Sims who also have Star Power. Promotions are made on a pooled total of the fame shared across all of a Sim’s friends.
If a Sim has two friends who are one star celebrities, then their friends will have a total Star Power of two. If they were friends with three five star celebrities, their friends would have a collective star power of 15, and so on.
Use the Who’s Hot interaction on the tabloid to scout out some famous Sims to get to know.
This mechanic only kicks in for Sims who have a 2.5 Star Power or above. To get promoted, a Sims’ social circle should have the following levels of collective Star Power:
|
Personal Star Power |
Friends’ Collective Star Power |
|---|---|
|
2.5 |
2 |
|
3 |
4 |
|
3.5 |
7 |
|
4 |
11 |
|
4.5 |
14 |
|
5 |
18 |
You could have loads of slightly famous friends, or just a few super famous friends. So long as their Star Power totals to a minimum of the numbers listed above, then it’ll work out.
Fame Items
As Sims get more famous, they unlock more items and interactions in Studio Town. If they try to use them before they reach a high enough fame level, they’ll generally be rudely interrupted by directors, choreographers, record producers, and other crew members.
Items that increase your Sim’s Star Power include:
- Karaoke set-ups
- Microphones (in public)
- Photo shoots
- Recording studios
- TV, music video, and movie sets
- Runways
These items allow Sims to take on jobs and build their fame. But, they can only use them if the crew members deem them to have enough Star Power in the first place.
You can also find hints in-game for which items your Sim is relevant enough to interact with. Open the Job tab in Live Mode to find your Sim’s current Star Power rating and click on the title underneath it. You’ll see a summary and a picture of an item they can interact with.
Pay close attention to the interactions your Sim uses. If it seems like they get accepted for a photoshoot at one location, but rejected for another, it might be because the goal of the photoshoot is different. For example, advertising photo shoots allow Sims with a lower fame level than other photo shoots will.
Should My Sim Be An Actor, Model, Or Musician?
Fame isn’t a branching career, meaning that Sims can dabble in acting, modelling, and making music all at the same time to help build their fame quickly. So, Sims can have fun trying out a range of different things on their way to fame.
You can try out each activity by looking for related fame items. Different districts of Studio Town are associated with them, so keep an eye out while exploring the area if you want to focus on one in particular.
The name of some lots in Studio Town also hint at their speciality. For example, Fairchild Film Studios predictably features TV and film sets. Similarly, Music for the Eyes Inc is the home of music videos, and Cameron’s Lounge has an open mic for newcomers.
Losing Fame
Much like in the real world, if a celebrity disappears from the public eye, they can start to lose fame. Fame points in The Sims decay over time if your Sim doesn’t show up to Studio Town and take on jobs, ultimately leading to them losing Star Power too.
Sims who don’t visit Studio Town for two days start losing fame points. This is similar to other careers, where Sims lose their job if they’re absent for a couple of days, but it’s slightly more forgiving as they won’t be kicked out entirely.
Another way that Sims can lose fame is by performing poorly while doing jobs. Make sure your Sim carefully follows the crew’s directions to avoid this. Payment is also tied to performance, so you want your Sims to do as well as possible.
Lower-level celebrities don’t need to worry about following instructions; just showing up and getting on with it is enough for them. Try to keep them in a good mood and level up their skills to get better results instead.
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