The first The Sims: Project Rene playtest is now underway for a select few players, allowing some fans the chance to get their hands on the work-in-progress building game side of things.
Initial reports came out via Insider Gaming saying that players signed up for EA playtesting had received emails inviting them to take part in an initial playtest for Project Rene beginning on October 25. This date has been confirmed by EA community manager Cade, who says that the pre-alpha has been provided to some players who had previously ed for playtesting. The email detailed by Insider Gaming says that "This playtest will focus primarily on our new object customisation tool currently called 'Workshop,'" and further explains that "This tool is meant to help you customise objects to decorate an apartment."
This likely refers to the toolset shown during the EA presentation which resembles a new spin on the popular Create-a-Style tools from The Sims 3. In the brief demo, footage is shown of furniture and other objects being customised from top to bottom, with individual component parts such as the arms, back, and cushions on a sofa all being independently modified into different styles, materials, colours, and patterns. This allows players to create some truly unique looking objects, although it's unclear yet quite how deep this system will go.
The reported email also encourages players to " sessions with your friends and/or the private playtest Discord to find new friends to play with." It adds that playtesters will be eligible to invite up to three friends to sign up to them, which lines up with Project Rene's seemingly increased focus on collaborative building.
However, some players on the EA forum are reporting that despite receiving the email invitation, filling out the survey, and being approved, the playtesting option appears to have disappeared from their s. It's likely that this is just a hiccup in the approval process, but EA will likely be looking to keep a fairly tight restriction on who has access to this very early version of their next big Sims project.
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