All right! This is the first guide I've written, so, be nice.
I'm not going to include the bulk of the Game Guide or the Advanced Movie
Making Guide included with the game, since, you...really should read that
on your own. I will include SOME information from them however.
If anyone has good tips that aren't in here, I'd be happy to post them, so,
if you do, look at the Contact section below.
Okay, that's it. Thanks a lot for reading this ^.^ that's pretty much it
right here for now.
------------------------------------------------------
-Contact Info intro-contact
------------------------------------------------------
// Conditions to Contact Me:
I'd appreciate it if you only contacted me for these reasons. Just a
warning, if you e-mail me without reading these conditions through,
and you violate one of them, I will probably be very very angry. I know
sometimes people just make honest mistakes, but read this through! Okay?
Okay ^.^ thank you very much.
NEW TIP/INFO:
You have a valuable tip or information in the game that will definitely
help other people. You must be sure that the tip is not already in the guide,
however. Please try to read any section that might have the tip, or do a
search for a keyword.
QUESTIONS:
Do NOT e-mail me for every single question you have in your head. Search
through this guide, go to the links section and search those boards/sites. I'll
try to include every single FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION I find, but, if there's
really one I've missed I'd appreciate a heads up.
One more thing, most of the questions I've seen are answered in the guides
that are included in the game, so, PLEASE read those!
If you have a legitimate one you can't find the answer for though, I will try
to answer it.
MOANING/WHINING:
NO! Nonononono. I don't wanna hear it. I like the game, you're having a
problem, read the guide. I am not paid for this, I need money to put up with
moaning and whining, so, nonono. I also REALLY do NOT want to hear how you
don't like the game, I mean no offense, but, I do not care. Sorry ^.^;
SHOULD I BUY THIS GAME?:
GOOGLE! Seriously, I can't tell you whether or not you should. I don't know
your or your parent's bank balance or your game preference. Go on
WWWW.GAMESPOT.COM, WWW.IGN.COM or any other game review site. Or you could just
go into a search engine and type the game's name in. Do your own research,
everyone's opinions and preferences are different. Sorry, this is just...such
an annoying question, especially on message boards.
That's it. Okay, I'm on YAHOO, my name is LunarRyou. I'm not typing in
my entire e-mail address in the usual format (Name@Domain.com)...I figure this
might weed out mass e-mailers/spammers...as well as just...rude and dumb people
^.^; 'kay then.
A. Post it on the board. Something like, "For Guide: How do I...?"
I'll try my hardest to answer it, or find an answer for that.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. HOW DO I MOVE/DELETE BUILDINGS?
A. Pick up a builder. Bring them to the building in question and hover them
over the bomb to delete or the multi-arrow icon to move. After a second or two,
the icon will turn green.
To move: Simply place it where you want.
To delete: Click and the building will be gone. Actually, it'll be sold,
you'll get some money as well.
After moving or deleting the building, there will be a lot of trash and
absolutely no grass left where it stood. This will bring your studio's
attractiveness down, and perhaps your studio's overall rating, so I recommend
having some janitors handy to clean up. Lay down some grass soon as well.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. HOW DO I MOVE/DELETE ORNAMENTS?
A. Hover your cursor over the object in question, wait until it's highlighted,
then click and drag the object. You can move it, or right click and delete it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. HOW DO YOU CHANGE A STAR'S SALARY?
A. You can hit F6, which will take you directly to the Salaries screen. Be
careful, you have to watch the other Stars' moods after raising a salary as
they can get very jealous. Also, decreasing a salary will understandably anger
your Star, so, I wouldn't do that unless it's necessary.
If you don't like the F1-9 keys, there are three other ways.
1. Click and drag your star until they're in the Finance room in the
Production Office.
2. Click on your available money on the top right of the screen, then press the
'>' button to go to the Salaries screen.
3. Click and drag the information icon (the big i) to the finances room in the
Production Office, this will bring up the same salary screen.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. HOW DO I WATCH MY MOVIE BEFORE CASTING IT OR ADDING TEXT?
A. You can't. You must cast your movie before either viewing it in Post
Production or the 'Movie-Player' option inside the Production Office.
Post Production is a building that must be unlocked in Story Mode. You unlock
it by fulfilling certain objectives set forward after the first award
ceremony. Hover your cursor over the little Award icon on the timeline to see
the objectives you have to fulfill (Post Production won't be available for
unlocking right away, you have to unlock several other buildings first.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. HOW DO I ADD SUBTITLES TO MY MOVIE?
A. In Post Production, for info on the production office look above. You must
first shoot your movie. Place the shot movie in Post Production. After doing
this maximize the bottom toolbar. Click on the section that has the "Abc"
written to the left of it. Type what you want in the box that pops up and
click the tick. Move the box to place it where you want, you can change the
length of time in which it'll be displayed by moving the little bar on the
right side of your subtitle.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. WHAT EFFECTS THE PRESTIGE OF MY STUDIO?
A. Please look in the GUIDE TO STUDIO STAR RATINGS (search key: hints-03). It
has a very thorough explanation.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. HOW DO I IMPROVE A STAR'S IMAGE?
A. Please look in the GUIDE TO STAR'S STAR RATINGS (search key: hints-04). It
has a very thorough explanation.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. WHY IS MY GAME CRASHING? BLACK SCREEN? SOUND PROBLEM? etc etc etc
A. It's best to ask this question at http://www.activision.com/support
You can also look on the Lionhead Boards, there's a link to it in
the Links section (search key: links-01).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. WHERE DID ALL THE JOB APPLICANTS GO? THERE AREN'T ANYMORE LINES!
A. There are limits to how many people you can hire in each job. To get more
wannabes you can fire or sell current stars or extras.
Or, you can use the Employee MOD, look in the Cheats/Codes section
(search key: codes-03). It changes the number of people you can hire.
------------------------------------------------------
-Basic Hints & Tips hints-02
------------------------------------------------------
. Relationships:
Don't underestimate the usefulness of friendships. Especially between
your Stars. The better they get along, the better your movies will be.
Keep that in mind when you're casting a movie. It's not only great for
Romance movies, it's useful in all genres.
. Cash:
I have made SO much money. In the 1940s, I already made a million
dollars and counting. Always by buying into the popular genres.
It IS a good idea to follow the community's advice and decide on
two main genres, but my tip, is in the beginning, produce the popular
genres. Cash in on the crazes, then, start having your Stars practice
your chosen two genres.
This way, they will have a good balance of experience in quite a few
genres, and, you'll have earned a good chunk of change. While, still
being able to concentrate on your two favorite Genres later on in the
game.
. The Two Genres:
Since I already dipped into this a little, I'll try explaining WHY this
is such a popular piece of advice. Later on in the game, when you're
unlocking more and more sets, you're going to start running out of room.
Your Stars will probably have various nervous breakdowns if you try and
have them practice all the different Genres constantly. Even if you do
try to have them practice everything, they'll never be able to film a
movie they'll be so stressed.
So it's a good idea to have already chosen two Genres to have them
spend the most time practicing. You'll then be able to fully take
advantage of the Brain Washing Bonus you'll be able to get in the
Award Ceremonies a bit later on.
. Star Maker:
Do NOT underestimate this utterly handy little program. I have yet to
take a Star that's been produced in game. This way, you can tweak it so
you have the best Stars. Also, it's important to make it so they can
handle Stress, and just have an overall pleasant demeanor. Remember,
you can always have them practice the Genres, but you can't send them
to a therapist to get rid of that nasty Stress Pot title.
Personally, I've made two sets of my favorite Stars. The first is a not
entirely pleasant group, they're extremely experienced though. The
second is the nicest group of people you could ever meet, but not
completely experienced.
My general plan is to use the first group in the beginning years to
rake in cash with the popular genres. Then when my studio is running
well, and my first batch of Stars are growing older and older, I'll
bring in the second generation. I'll have them practice while the first
Generation is still filming movies. Then, when the First Generation is
off to retirement, the Second Generation will be there and ready to
take over.
Always think about the older years for your current Stars. Plan for
them. Despite calling it the "Silver Screen", audiences seem to rarely
like silver hair on it.
You can download Star Maker on The Movies Official Site! IT's 138 MB,
very long download time, but it's extremely useful. There's a link to
the official site in the Links section (search key: links-01).
. Lot Layout:
Be careful when laying down your sets. It's a good idea to plot out the
layout for related sets so your Stars don't have to run across the
entire length of your Lot to get to their next scene.
Also, I find it useful to have the Casting Office among or near the
sets, since as soon as they're done rehearsing they will bolt out of
the Casting Office and off to the Sets.
. Timeline:
Watch that lil bugger on the top of the screen. Above all else, PLAN
for the Award Ceremonies, keep in mind what it takes to grab the most
Awards. The real world events will also have big effects on the popular
genres, so if you want to make a profit watch for those small globe
icons. To see how the real-world event effects the Genres, hover your
cursor over the Globe to see what's what. You can also right click on
your Scriptwriting Office to find out what's the most popular Genre at
the moment.
. Publicity, Public Relations and Photographers:
Extremely useful as well. The PR Building will not be unlocked until
later in the game so make use of those Photographers that hang out at
your Studio Gate. Be careful what you let them photograph, as it can
have either good or bad effects on your Star's mood. I let them
photograph two of my Star's getting cozy in a restaraunt and the Star
that got the headline was none too pleased her romantic life was
splashed on the front pages.
. Reviews Room:
Drop a finished film into the Movie Player Room of the Production
Office to get a sneak peek at your new film. Depending on how it is,
you can adjust the marketing budget for your movie. If it sucks, no
real reason to spend a bundle singing on marketing. If it's good, all
the more reason to release it with a big bang, and a big budget.
. Almighty SHIFT Key:
I love that little bugger, fly across the lot or decorate with accuracy
& more control. By holding the Shift key while moving across your lot,
or, any movement around your lot, it will greatly speed up the process
and allow you to get that Photographer to those two conversing Stars,
or that Stress Pot Director to the Bar all the faster. Also, holding it
down while placing Ornaments, it allows you to spin it completely
around and go outside the little boxes it's confined to normally. Makes
for a much prettier lot.
------------------------------------------------------
-Full Keyboard Controls hints-02a
------------------------------------------------------
I know this is right in the game guide, but it's useful information. For some
reason, the game guide is not terribly people-friendly.
BASIC MOVEMENT
Keyboard Action
------------------------------------------------------
Up Arrow or W Scroll Camera Forward
Down Arrow or S Scroll Camera Back
Left Arrow or A Scroll Camera Left
Right Arrow or D Scroll Camera Right
SHIFT + Camera Movement SPEED UP CAMERA MOVEMENT
Shortcut Keys
Keyboard Action
------------------------------------------------------
1 Go to Script Writing Office/Next Script Writing Office (cycle
through all these)
2 Go to Casting Office
3 Go to Active Set (set with a shoot taking place)/Next Active
Set (cycle through all these)
4 Go to Production Office
5 Go to Post Production (if built)
6 Go to Advanced Movie Maker (if built)
7 Go to Staff Office/Stage School/Crew Office
8 Go to Set (active & inactive sets)/Next Set
9 Go to Trailer/Next Trailer (cycle through all trailers)
0 Go to Research/Post Production/Advanced Movie Maker
TAB Go to End of Highest Priority Sparkling Stream
F1 Open Facilities Menu
F2 Open Sets Menu
F3 Open Landscaping (paths as default)
F5 Open Finance Screen (graphs)
F6 Open Finance Screen (salaries)
F7 Open Charts
F9 Quick Save
F10 Load
E Staff Finder Menu - Scroll Right
Q Staff Finder Menu - Scroll Left
Spacebar Center Camera on the Studio Gates
L View Studio Attractiveness
M Toggle Overhead Camera On/Off
P Pause/Unpause
------------------------------------------------------
-Guide to Studio Star Ratings hints-03
------------------------------------------------------
Created by: swordless_ninja at Lionhead Boards
Here is what I have been doing in my game which appeared to do the trick.
CAPITAL:
This is one of the most important factors and is quite simply dependant on the
amount of money that you have in the bank. As long as you are making fairly
high ranking movies you should find that you are making a profit off of them
so it is only really a matter of time before this stat gets maximised. If you
are able to get the award that halves the amount your stars are paid then so
much the better.
MOVIES:
This is the other most important factor and is determined by the quality of
your most recent releases. If you have your scriptwriters working in the best
facilities that you have available churning out 3 – 4 star scripts as long as
your stars are somewhat experienced in that scripts genre it shouldn’t be too
difficult to produce films above a 4 star quality. I generally have 2 sets of
stars working on 2 movies at once. The first set is made up of a director and
3 actors all are proficient in 2 genre types (I chose Action and Sci-Fi) and
they were set to work on scripts from the top scriptwriting office I had
available. The second set (again 1 director and 3 actors) all specialised in
one genre (I chose Horror) and worked constantly on scripts produced in the
second best facility available to me. I also ensured that each movie had the PR
rating maxed out (by PR’ing their next script while they were shooting and
PR’ing any free actors during shooting). This generally meant that I had two 4–
5 star films released at all times and kept this rating high.
STARs:
This is based on the number and quality of your stars. If you refer to the
Star’s Star guide you will see how to get them to be a high rating which will
them impact on your studios rating as a whole. You do not need to get stars to
the 5 star level to get the studios rating up. I had around 8 stars all most of
whom had 3 or 4 stars or possibly less when I got my studio to it’s 5 star
rating.
LOT PRESTIGE:
This is itself dependant on many factors as evidenced in this screenshot.
This information can be found out by right-clicking on the “I” (I only just
found that out by looking in the manual now and never actually made use of it).
Cleanliness and Maintenance are dependant mainly on how many people you have
employed in those roles. The more the better but it could probably be helped by
good lot planning. Deleting any unused buildings or sets will give your workers
less to maintain and placing them close together will mean it will take less
time to move between them and give the janitors a smaller area to clean. I did
neither of these things so this is probably why they are not as good as they
could be.
Connectedness just means that you need to connect all your buildings to a path.
It is the flashing path tiles that you need to connect.
Catering is, I assume, based on the quality of your eating / drinking
facilities. Simply build the best and keep them maintained.
Sanitation is, again I assume, based on the number of toilets available. I only
had one of the large facilities and 2 or 3 VIP restrooms dotted about.
Attractiveness and Ornament rating go hand in hand. Attractiveness is due to
the number and placement of your ornaments and the other is based on the
quality. Ornament quality will improve overtime as you research new ornament
packs. Delete old ornaments and replace them with newer ones to keep this
rating high. To get a high attractiveness rating I did the following things.
First I covered the whole lot with grass and re-did the odd area as the grass
seems to deteriorate in areas where a lot of people walk on it e.g. around
sets. Next I lined my paths with the most expensive flower boxes available
putting in as many as I possibly could. You should see that any areas where
there are red dots (showing a low attractiveness area) along the path will
disappear. Next I put in a hell of a lot of trees in every single piece of free
land between buildings. I found that as I placed more and more the
attractiveness boost for that type of tree dropped so I would suggest starting
with the most expensive placing around 10 – 15 trees in an area then moving
down to the next most expensive and repeating in another area until the lot is
practically covered in green. It was this that pushed me over the edge and got
me the 5 star studio ranking. Expensive objects like cars and pinball machines
are also good but these I kept limited to around my stars trailers to boost
there rating’s. A gym with expensive equipment will probably also help.
AWARDS:
To boost this you need to be winning awards. If you have good stars in good
movies that you will need to boost your capital and movies ranking then you
should be able to win a few awards along the way. Each award has it’s own
criteria to win so check what you need to do at the award ceremony and try to
achieve it. With some highly trained stars and good scripts I found it quite
easy to walk away with at least the highest ranking movie, star, best
performance, best direction and highest rated studio each year.
------------------------------------------------------
-Guide to Star's Star Ratings hints-04
------------------------------------------------------
Created by: swordless_ninja at Lionhead Boards
Here is an explanation of what each factor is and a few hints on how to
maximise them.
MOVE SUCCESS:
This is the most important factor when rating a star. This rating is dependant
on the star quality of the most recent film(s) the star has been involved in.
There are a lot of factors involved in determining the star rating of movies
but if you have a good scriptwriting office and your stars are somewhat
experienced in the films genre it shouldn’t be too difficult to build this up.
Obviously as the timeline progresses and better scriptwriting offices become
available and more technologies there are the easier it becomes to build this
rating up.
SALARY:
This is probably the most obvious one. Bigger stars need bigger payments so
make sure you give it to them by adjusting there salaries (how to do this has
already been covered in this thread). I think someone has said that this rating
maxes out at $100,000 but big stars will probably demand more than this to keep
them happy anyway.
PERFORMANCES:
This is how well the star has performed on their last film(s). This is
dependant on their mood, genre experience and genre fit. Make sure to keep
stars de-stressed during filming and put them in films they are experienced in
to get this high. Genre fit is dependant mainly on their image and age (or at
least how old they appear). Young and slim works best for most genres although
old and fat is supposedly good for comedies.
IMAGE:
From what I can gather 3 factors affect image. The first is what they are
wearing. Give them makeovers and put them in the clothes they rate highest to
improve this. Update their clothes as you research each new decades costume
packs to keep them in fashion. The next factor is their age. The younger the
better but if you are trying to achieve a 5 star ranking it is going to take a
while so a nip/tuck is definitely in order. The last factor is physique. Either
get them to work out when they are free or send them in for liposuction when it
becomes available to boost this.
ENTOURAGE:
The more assistants a star has the happier they are. They need to be assigned
from people waiting in line for employment (although wannabe stars don’t seem
to be able to take this role). I found to get it to max for my star it needed
6 assistants.
TRAILER:
The bigger the trailer the happier the star. Make sure that trailers are placed
a good distance away from each other to maximise the potential green box
footprint when placing. Then fill the surrounding area with the most expensive
objects and plants available. The most modern car is a good boost, as is a nice
fountain and a pinball machine. Also make sure they are connected to paths, the
area is covered in grass and it is in a good state of repair.
PRESS:
The only worse than being talked about is not being talked about so make good
use of the photographers at the gates or make your stars give the odd PR press
conference to boost this. PR can also help improve the rating of the film they
are in so this has multiple benefits.
RELATIONSHIPS:
This is the area that I focused on the least for most of the time but it has to
be done. Get your stars to talk to fellow stars as much as possible to boost
this. Begin with talking in the streets, then move on to the bar, the VIP bar,
the restaurant and then the VIP restaurant in that order to help the
relationship grow. I also think that the maintenance value of the
bar / restaurant helps it grow faster.
AWARDS:
They will need to have achieve an award or two to reach 5 star status but if
you have been putting them in your best films and they have been giving good
performances in order to achieve high ratings in those categories they should
have win awards quite frequently.
======================================================
4. Cheats/Codes codes-01
======================================================
For the most part, all the "codes" as of now are mostly just editing
the game. They're not actually in game. As with editing any program, care
must be taken. You MUST read the steps carefully, do NOT fool around outside
those steps. You could screw up your game pretty badly.
CHEATS RUIN : To anyone who has this opinion, for you it may ruin the game,
A GAME OPINION: yes, but for some people it only makes it better. So please
respect their opinion and their own choice, as you want yours
respected. :) Let's all be nice, okay? Thank you soo much.
------------------------------------------------------
-Unlocking.ini Code codes-02
------------------------------------------------------
Created by: HZ_MonorailMan at the Lionhead Boards
Effect: Unlock everything in Sandbox Mode.
Tested: Works just fine as long as you follow the instructions.
Here's full instructions:
1. Turn on "Show Hidden Files and Folders" in Tools > Folder Options of
any Folder window.
2. Navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\[Your User Name]\Application Data\
Lionhead Studios\The Movies\Unlocking.ini
(Where [Your User Name] is, is the name you use to login to the computer)
3. Look for the Unlocking.ini file. If it's not there, jump to step A.
(It's a good idea to create a backup of the original file, right click,
click copy, then paste)
4. Double click the file, to edit. Change the file so it looks exactly like
this:
5. Save the file.
6. Now start a sandbox mode game. If you start it in the year 2000, you
will have everything unlocked, and available for play.
If you do not have an unlocking.ini file:
a. Open notepad, by clicking Start > (All) Programs > Accessories > Notepad
b. Once it's open, save the file to
"C:\Documents and Settings\[User Name]\Application Data\Lionhead Studios\
The Movies"
(Where [Your User Name] is the name you use to login to the computer).
c. In the "File Name:" box, type (with quotes) "unlocking.ini"
d. Follow steps 4 - 6 above.
------------------------------------------------------
-MODs codes-03
------------------------------------------------------
MODs are files you can download that'll change the game. It's wise to be wary
of the MODs you download, but if you find a good MOD, they can be VERY useful.
The Movies Employee MOD:
Credit: CyberOps at Lionhead Boards
http://www6.spread-it.com/dl.php?id=f67462663a512121ffada791890b558ee8b3877
http://tmws.themoviesplanet.com/
Tested: Had a slight problem in the beginning, the game would load up, and
then crash onto the desktop, this was fixed by just restarting my computer.
It's worked perfectly since.
A GREAT MOD. It changes the number of employees you can hire.
Builders/Janitors: 50 People (up to 50, eg.-25 Janitors & 25 Builders)
Movie Crew: 30 People
Script Writers: 15 People
Stage School: 30 People
Researchers: 15 People
If you're already playing a game you have to rebuild the building you want them
to line up at. It may slow your PC down for a moment, but be patient, as it has
to render all the new applicants.
------------------------------------------------------
-Hex Editing codes-04
------------------------------------------------------
Generally you have to download a program, and, while the program you want to
edit is running, boot up the hex editor. You'll need instructions from someone
who's already done it, so you know what to search for. You can change how much
money you have, the limits of the attributes in Star Maker.
If I ever find thorough and reliable instructions I will post them here.
Note: I have since used hex editing to change the values in Star Maker, I want
to hammer out a reliable, easy and clear way to do it each time so eventually
I will be posting instructions for it.
Official The Movies Site:
http://www.themoviesgame.com/
Just the basic official site. Some fun stuff.
IMPORTANT: You can download Star Maker in the Official Game site. Go to
Downloads, then click on Star Maker. I warn you though, it's 138 MB. If you
have the connection, it's well worth the time.
------------------------------------------------------
Official The Movies Community Site:
http://movies.lionhead.com/
A GREAT site. View community movies, go to the Prop Shop or the best yet, The
Forums! Very helpful, a good deal of the info from this FAQ is originally from
that site.
------------------------------------------------------
Official Technical Support for The Movies:
http://www.activision.com/support
Rather obvious, you go here when your game is crashing or having other types
of technical errors.
------------------------------------------------------
The Movies Workshop:
http://tmws.themoviesplanet.com/
An upcoming site that's developing MODs for the game.
------------------------------------------------------
The Movies Resource:
http://korntheuer2.spezi-hosting.de/movies/
Another upcoming site, it'll eventually have tips and guides for this game.
A LOT of information from the guide comes from the ever-handy Lionhead Boards.
A few users in specific have been utterly helpful and very knowledgable. Here's
a list of them and what they contributed:
HZ_MonorailMan: Created the Unlocking.ini method.
CyberOps: Created the Employee MOD
swordless_ninja: Created the Guides to Studio Star Ratings & Star's
Star Ratings.
markbond: Contributed LOTS of information to the FAQ section.
I tried my hardest to contact everyone but I missed a few. If you don't want
me to have your information here, PLEASE tell me and I will take it down right
away. It's just I wanted to post this as soon as possible and I probably didn't
know how to get in contact with you, or, I tried and you never responded.
