*updated* Frankie sent me a link courtesy of Google that translates the page to English. Click here to read Urbania Sim’s translated article.  He also has compiled the facts from the article which you can find below:

  1. The Roomies family will be the family that introduces you to the game, similar to that of the Newbies family from Sims 1 in which they held the tutorial for the game.
  2. While a family is loading (not sure if it’s exclusive to the Roomies) there will be game tips shown in the family loading screen.
  3. If you want to delete many things at once, try clicking and dragging while using the sledgehammer tool.
  4. Cooking and gardening go great together. Higher quality ingredients means higher quality meals, which will put your Sims in better moods.
  5. When placing floor tiles, you can use the “<” and “>” keys to rotate the one you’re holding.
  6. In Build or Buy mode, you can hold the “ALT” key while moving an object to get free-form placement.
  7. Aspirations are back but they called “Lifetime Wishes”, and so far we only know of Romance (now called “The Romantic Sampler”), Family (now called “Surrounded By Family”), Knowledge and Fortune. New ones are: Fishing, Art and Music.
  8. Sims’ memories will no longer be just thought bubbles but will have a real impact with the interactions between Sims.
  9. Now when in neighborhood view, you can find out which Sims are in what location.
  10. Earning skill points will now notify you what level you’ve reached, for example: “Congratulations! Frankie has just improved his Guitar skill to level 3!” So no more useless phrases like in Sims 2 such as: “Out of the frying pan and into the book!”
  11. To gain the Fishing skill much faster, your Sim can sign up for a class at the supermarket or study books on the subject. Sims with the Fishing skill will catch bigger, more rare, and more valuable fish.
  12. In the UI where the Sim’s information is found, it is now categorized more specifically, such as the memories are in its own tab.
  13. The mood meter is now revamped and more complex, tracking your Sim’s mood every hour by combining whatever moodlets it has for a quick result. It will actually say “happy” when they are happy.
  14. Moodlets are timed just like the Bon Voyage vacation benefits are.
  15. Certain moodlets may be specific to certain things such as skills or hobbies, etc.
  16. New phone interactions: “Call Everybody Home,” “Take Photo,” “Move,” “Change Ringtone,” and “Silence Phone.” “Quit Work” is now a diirect option rather than a sub-option under “Work.”
  17. According to the picture of the party planner: there will be no wedding/baby showers and there is no limit as to how many guests are invited. The townies appear to have the same odd names as in Sims 2 (unless those are just families EA created for the demo). And baseball caps for males have been seen to be worn sideways (as well as backwards from previous screen shots).
  18. Patterns/textures from Create-A-Style: Fabrics, Leathers & Furs, Abstract, Geometric, Themed, Woods, Metals, Weave & Wicker, Paint, Tiles & Mosaic, Plastics & Rubber, Rock & Stone, Masonry, Misc., Broken Materials.
  19. The color palette from Create-A-Style is definitely the standard millions-of-color palette found in photo editers, etc.
  20. There are 100 pre-fabricated textures.
  21. You can save each set of patterns/textures created so that you can have it for future use without having to repeat everything, as well as give the set a name and description.
  22. Genetics function similar to that of Sims 2, only a bit stronger this time and more complex. So skin tones, for example, can be a lot more accurate. This is great for having a black and a white couple giving birth to a baby of a mixed skin tone.
  23. There are nine eyecolor presets and of course you can exceed that by creating your own with a color palette of the standard millions of colors.
  24. Eyebrow color is now independent of haircolor but can be matched.
  25. Male Sims can now have graying (aging color) as an option for hair (probably as gray highlights). And facial hair color is also independent of head hair color but can be matched.
  26. All types of hair has the millions of color palette.
  27. Clothing categories are the same as Sims 2 except “undies” is currently non-existant (probably under construction).
  28. Now under “everyday” clothing, there are more sub-categories: “tops,” “bottoms,” “outfits,” “shoes” and “jewelry.”
  29. You can only choose your children’s traits if you raised them well, otherwise if you raise them badly they will automatically have negative traits against your will.
  30. The aspirations are unfrtunately not choosable. They are assigned depending on the set of traits your Sim has. However, you do get 5 choices that are the result of the set of traits you chose. I think there are supposed to be about 30 of them according to an older preview.
  31. Right-click on a wish to cancel it.
  32. Yes, having triplets are indeed now possible according to the “Fertility Treatment” lifetime reward.
  33. The amount of points for the lifetime rewards have been raised greatly in comparison to Snooty’s site, with the most expensive being “Mid-Life Crisis” costing 100,000 and that lets you completely change your set of traits as a way to start over.

Thanks a million and many more to Frankie for compiling and sending me this!

French fansite Urbania Sims uploaded a number of new pictures as well as a preview on The Sims 3.  I don’t understand a single bit of French, so you’re on your own there.  Did come across a humorous picture in which I’d like to share with you:

That’s right, with the uni-brow option, you too will be able to create Fran from the movie Dodgeball:  A True Underdog Story… Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!