The Movies Guide Started: 11/24/2005 By: Ryou Contents Search Key 1. FAQ Introduction intro -Contact Info intro-contact 2. Frequently Asked Questions faq-01 3. Hints & Tips & Guides hints-01 -Basic Hints & Tips hints-02 -Full Keyboard Controls hints-02a -Guide to Studio Star Ratings hints-03 -Guide to Star's Star Ratings hints-04 4. Cheats/Codes codes-01 -Unlocking.ini Code codes-02 -MODs codes-03 -Hex Editing codes-04 5. Links links-01 6. Credits credit-01 ====================================================== 1.FAQ Introduction intro ====================================================== \\\\\\\\\\\\NOVEMBER 24th, 2005//////////// 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. ====================================================== 2. Frequently Asked Questions faq-01 ====================================================== Credit: markbond, Ryou Q. HOW CAN I ASK A QUESTION? 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. ====================================================== 3. Hints & Tips hints-01 ====================================================== ------------------------------------------------------ -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: highest_decade = 2000 [prizes] RANKPRIZE_1 RANKPRIZE_2 RANKPRIZE_3 RANKPRIZE_4 RANKPRIZE_5 RANKPRIZE_6 RANKPRIZE_7 RANKPRIZE_8 RANKPRIZE_9 RANKPRIZE_10 RANKPRIZE_11 RANKPRIZE_12 RANKPRIZE_13 RANKPRIZE_14 RANKPRIZE_15 RANKPRIZE_16 RANKPRIZE_17 RANKPRIZE_18 RANKPRIZE_19 RANKPRIZE_20 RANKPRIZE_21 RANKPRIZE_22 RANKPRIZE_23 RANKPRIZE_24 RANKPRIZE_25 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. ====================================================== 5. Links links-01 ====================================================== 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. That's all I've found as of yet. ====================================================== 6. Credits credits-01 ====================================================== 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.