This woman is perfectly recreating Manchester in The Sims 4
Jess has spent hours rebuilding Manchester from the ground up in the video game - designing computerised versions of Oyster Bar, Peveril of the Peak and Albert's Schloss.
It’s been a long time since we’ve had the chance to visit our favourite Manchester hotspots. You’d be forgiven for forgetting what they look like.
If you a fancy a reminder – it’s worth venturing over to an Instagram account called sim.ulatedmanchester
User Jess Vaughan has recreated many of the most popular city centre spaces in digital format… using The Sims 4.
The gamer, from Ancoats, has spent hours on the video game rebuilding Manchester from the ground up – designing computerised versions of venues such as Oyster Bar, Peveril of the Peak and Albert’s Schloss.
Jess has also constructed copies of Canal Street, Ancoats Marina and St Ann’s Square – giving her Sims characters a true taste of Manchester life in the process.
Some of her designs have been shared online, too – meaning fellow gamers can take advantage and incorporate the architecture into their own Sims worlds.
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It’s taken a lot of patience and precision, and some of the early builds involved a bit of trial and error.
“I started one day on a whim,” Jess tells The Manc.
“I created Cutting Room square in Ancoats and it was overambitious to say the least. I’d never done Sims builds of this scale and I didn’t have a grasp on the game’s capability, so it crashed and I wasn’t able to access my save file. I was fuming.
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“Luckily, I’d taken a few blurry screenshots beforehand which I decided to share with friends and they loved it.
“This led me to create my Instagram page and experiment with more Manchester buildings.”
Jess’ most recent project has been the iconic Oxford Road – which includes a wide variety of familiar landmarks viewers are sure to know and love.
It’s her favourite creation so far .
“I’ve included The Thirsty Scholar under the arches, the steps to Oxford Road as well as the Salisbury and Grand Central. I think it captures the space well and I think a lot of people will like it fingers crossed!
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“The most challenging [design] is definitely buildings with rounded walls. As Sims 4 building is on a grid, the nearest I can get the the illusion of a rounded wall is an octagon. Unfortunately this means that Central Library would be impossible.”
Jess’ virtual buildings have attracted huge praise online; particularly from those who have also spent a huge chunk of lockdown engrossed in The Sims and can appreciate the work that goes into recreating a whole city.
“The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” Jess explains.
“People have been reaching out saying how much they love the builds and a lot have been tagging their friends and sharing memories in the comments. Which are great to read through.”
It’ll still be a few weeks at least until we can visit many of these locations in waking life. But at least with The Sims, we can take a virtual trip into town.
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“I’m not stopping anytime soon,” Jess tells us.
“I’ve got a long list of builds and I can happily say that I love what I’m creating.”
Head over to the @sim.ulated Instagram account to marvel at Manchester in computer code.
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Major pop star crowns humble rice and three cafe as ‘Jewel of Manchester’ ahead of sold-out gig
Thomas Melia
A beloved city centre takeaway has been given the title of ‘Jewel of Manchester’ by chart-topping UK singer Sam Smith.
Known for hits like ‘Stay With Me’, ‘I’m Not The Only One’ and more recently ‘Unholy’, UK pop-ballad act Sam Smith also likes to drop a food review every once in a while.
Currently on the road with a run of shows in Manchester and London for their ‘To Be Free’ live shows, Sam Smith is stopping off at some of our city’s much-loved spots.
On their food-reviewing account titled ‘Sam Served’, where they adopt the aptly-fitting nickname ‘Ham Smith’, Sam has visited restaurants across the globe – and most recently turned their attention to Manchester’s own This & That.
Smith decided to pop in and grab a cheeky rice and three from long-standing backstreet food business This & That, and it certainly went down a treat.
After sampling their amazing selection of meat, vegetable and vegan curries, the musician crowned this family-run Indian takeaway a ‘Jewel of Manchester’.
The hitmaker described this Northern Quarter Indian eatery as ‘Everything food should be’ and definitely enjoyed all the curries on offer ‘leaving belly and heart full’.
This & That prides itself on affordable and comforting food with its ‘Rice and Three Curries’ starting from just £6 – not bad for a city centre foodie spot.
Sam has racked up an impressive 490k followers via their ‘Sam Served’ profile, with famous faces like Lily Allen, Denise Welch and CMAT all wanting to know the superstar’s foodie thoughts.
After enjoying a curry or three, Sam Smith also made sure to feed their soul to by venturing down to Afflecks and getting lost in the music at Mars Tapes.
Recognised as one of the UK’s only cassette and tape shops, Mars Tapes lets you flick through their crates of physical media and even preview tracks before you buy with its dedicated listening areas.
It’s safe to say that Smith has ‘Latched’ onto Manchester’s independent business scene and we’re here for it.
The London-born artist has just released their latest album Hazel Eyes and is currently amid a UK residency tour with two dates in Manchester’s Albert Hall and eight shows set for London Coliseum.
You can now have a private sleepover amongst all the history inside Manchester Museum
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Museum is now offering one lucky family the chance to have a sleepover with Stan the Tyrannosaurus rex.
For the first time in Manchester Museum’s history, one lucky family will be given the chance to experience an incredible night at the museum.
This unique opportunity is being offered as part of a prize draw, allowing visitors to find out what happens once the sun goes down inside the Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery – in the company of Stan, the famous Tyrannosaurus rex, of course.
The Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery is one of the most iconic spaces within Manchester Museum.
Having opened to the public all the way back in 1888, it’s part of the museum’s original building designed by celebrated Alfred Waterhouse, who also designed Manchester Town Hall and London’s Natural History Museum.
Not only will the lucky winning family enjoy an overnight stay in the gallery, but they’ll also be treated to a guided torchlight tour of the galleries after the Museum has closed, as well as other fun activities and a film screening too before bed.
You can now have a private sleepover inside Manchester Museum / Credit: The Manc Group
“We can’t be completely sure what happens when the sun goes down in our Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery, because nobody has ever spent the night in there before, but we can only imagine the kind of fun that can be had with Stan the T. rex and his friends,” said Dean Whiteside, Head of Commercial and Operations at Manchester Museum.
“This is a chance to be a part of museum history and enjoy the kind of once-in-a-lifetime experience you can’t usually buy.
“At the same time, Manchester Museum is a charity so, by getting behind this initiative, you’ll be helping to support vital work that impacts the lives of people across Greater Manchester and beyond.”
Fancy it then? You can enter the prize draw by buying a ticket for £5 from the Manchester Museum Shop, with each ticket counting as one entry and the winner set to be chosen at random from all valid entries.
The prize draw is now open and closes on Monday 28 September 2026.
The Manc -
10th June 2020 
