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My two cents on university (my ideas+pics)
I have the feeling this pack should arrive any time soon now. I can't see a logical reason why university life wouldn't make in the sims 4 and I kind of miss it now that I have 4 children running in my family that are about to grow up as YA soon. I would love for them to partly make it through university, but i also like to see some changes this time. I have seen many lacking, missing, lost chance features or things that weren't just right in previous games and I would like to add my ideas on this pack if its going to be in TS4.
One of the biggest thing I think needs improvement is the way how sims that go to university should have a better career chance afterwards. I mean, its a pretty long time they spent in the uni and it actually took some real effort to get good grades and to maintain a fun life as well, so I was always disappointed when sims just got somewhat 2 levels up in each career. I honestly dont even remember that in ts3 this was even a thing, so that makes it even worse. I think they deserve more for all the hard work otherwise its just not worth it any more, besides all the costs
(RL much??) I dont expect them to be SEO at first career step, but at least something that suits what they studied for that helps them in many careers and more then a few steps. I mean managers get hired straight out of uni sometimes.
Maybe if the devs would develop studies into a few categories like: Technical, social, management/organising, medical (special school perhaps?), science, physical & Literature it would help sims get a direction on what they want in life (and personality as well!) and it could help their career choice better.
Maybe for the Harry potter and witch/vampire fans, a special magical school? They would love that.
If there is a study in the technical direction, it could go many ways in different careers. Such as the astronaut career that has multiple levels on technical work. It could depend on your grades, how far you start at the ladder, but starting at the third as a technical pro, seems a bit low to me if you have higher grades then average.
There is also the criminal career where someone with high technical skills could start at level 6 or 7.
Even for something totally different there is a level 4 in the medical career that requires technical skills.
It would be nice to be more specific about what career options you have according to what study road you take.
Let's say your sim wants to study social studies. It could go MANY ways. I can see someone making their way through the critic career, business, detective career, entertainer career, politician (yeah we know they learn how to play people) and even the criminal career. Doesnt seem so different from the political one
I think in general it's fair to be able to start somewhat in the middle of a career with average to good grades. If the grades are excellent, it might even be higher than that. We should make a difference between the hard working and not so hard working sims here.
The same goes for all the other careers. They just need to find a fit according to your sims grades and study road. I for example see no reason why someone who studies very well in the medical career, get to start at the fifth level of the entertainment business. thats a total different skill!
I think the skills you have to learn in your study, should also match up what the levels in the careers require from your sim. Like, when someone didnt even bother to learn the athletic skill, it should not really be able to get great grades if he/she goes for the athletic career eventually. But if a sim has 4 out of 5 skill points of charisma, it should also not be a total lost chance to get in that career level of politics. SOme just start slower then others, but still get the same chance. As long as their is serious potential.
Now we have that out of the way, i would like to talk about some other things i would like to see in this pack for TS4. I really loved the dorms and how sims could also rent an apartment by themself with or without other room mates in TS2. I liked the party events in different university groups and the weird mascots. I liked the typical American uni lifestyle and the drinking can! Hope that will make it back and i'm pretty sure most fans do too! Im not even American, but I always loved it! And it felt so real to me, as if i was really experiencing American uni life.
I also loved how the buildings in TS3 looked very old and somewhat Harry Potter Hogwarts style. I would like to see more of that. Maybe to see a teacher walk by once in a while. I honestly dont really remember how it was in TS3, cause it has been a long time and ive only been once to the uni with my sim.
And here is some idea: Maybe with the group system they could add some Yale like secret society that is not that easy to join. Somewhere in the basement with a door that is only open for club members! A creepy dark hallway to walk through that will make players wonder what that is all about. Don't even let me start about the room interior.. black/white tiles? That would be really something. And of course, joining this secret society and fulfilling their requirements, gives you better chances in careers later on and perhaps better grades too. Politics should be a big things there though. Did i say too much? Or maybe sims can also get a boost to build up skills faster when they have a club meeting or something or when they use their own library room down in the basement, cause it has information that no one else has access too.
I would like for sims to have bikes added with this pack. It would be cool and useful to use in this uni world, cause running late to class isnt all that fun when it comes to your future career.
I remember from TS3, that you could come home after each semester. That was cool too. You could spend time with you family or celebrate some holidays with them. It would be nice to get some time off or some free days in the winter to celebrate thanksgiving or Simsmas with their family and friends! And of course, the summers should be free unless you have some catching up to do with your grades. That could be a fun feature too. Like summer school.
I have some lake in mind where sims go skinny dipping or enjoy their early summer (or those in summer school). And it is surrounded by the woods and some cottage houses/bungalows/rooms. Something like a open air dorm maybe. Sims can get a camping feeling there too and throw epic parties on the field. Or maybe sims could just rent it there their whole summer if they prefer to hang there instead of going home.
And how about a little farming area (a bit further from uni) with golden fields from corn and grains. (or magical fields with something interesting growing on them that sims can use to get different emotions/moods xD). Sims can play, run and fool around in those fields.. it is uni time after all right? Lets keep it traditional Maybe something like this:
I would also like to see how some sims struggle to pay their uni costs and have to take a loan which they can pay back afterwards when they have a job. I mean, thats whats happening right now too. It would also be cool to get the scholarship system back like in TS2 where you get some money out of your speciality or skills. I dont remember the amount of money my sims had to spend on uni, but id like to see some realistic prices where average or rich households wont have any struggle, but the others do. They can get loans of different prices with different extra costs (percentage) on them to pay back later. Maybe once in a while a message could pop up promoting an advertisement for a lower % percentage such as 'Struggling to pay your study this semester? Profit from today's loan with just 2% percentage instead of 5%.' Would be kind of hilarious and sims-like to me xD. And it should come as a surprise, no pattern in the ads. Uni life is hard..
Do you have any ideas? Pls share them
Im curious on how you will experience the best uni life in TS4!
One of the biggest thing I think needs improvement is the way how sims that go to university should have a better career chance afterwards. I mean, its a pretty long time they spent in the uni and it actually took some real effort to get good grades and to maintain a fun life as well, so I was always disappointed when sims just got somewhat 2 levels up in each career. I honestly dont even remember that in ts3 this was even a thing, so that makes it even worse. I think they deserve more for all the hard work otherwise its just not worth it any more, besides all the costs
(RL much??) I dont expect them to be SEO at first career step, but at least something that suits what they studied for that helps them in many careers and more then a few steps. I mean managers get hired straight out of uni sometimes.Maybe if the devs would develop studies into a few categories like: Technical, social, management/organising, medical (special school perhaps?), science, physical & Literature it would help sims get a direction on what they want in life (and personality as well!) and it could help their career choice better.
Maybe for the Harry potter and witch/vampire fans, a special magical school? They would love that.
If there is a study in the technical direction, it could go many ways in different careers. Such as the astronaut career that has multiple levels on technical work. It could depend on your grades, how far you start at the ladder, but starting at the third as a technical pro, seems a bit low to me if you have higher grades then average.
There is also the criminal career where someone with high technical skills could start at level 6 or 7.
Even for something totally different there is a level 4 in the medical career that requires technical skills.
It would be nice to be more specific about what career options you have according to what study road you take.
Let's say your sim wants to study social studies. It could go MANY ways. I can see someone making their way through the critic career, business, detective career, entertainer career, politician (yeah we know they learn how to play people) and even the criminal career. Doesnt seem so different from the political one
I think in general it's fair to be able to start somewhat in the middle of a career with average to good grades. If the grades are excellent, it might even be higher than that. We should make a difference between the hard working and not so hard working sims here.
The same goes for all the other careers. They just need to find a fit according to your sims grades and study road. I for example see no reason why someone who studies very well in the medical career, get to start at the fifth level of the entertainment business. thats a total different skill!
I think the skills you have to learn in your study, should also match up what the levels in the careers require from your sim. Like, when someone didnt even bother to learn the athletic skill, it should not really be able to get great grades if he/she goes for the athletic career eventually. But if a sim has 4 out of 5 skill points of charisma, it should also not be a total lost chance to get in that career level of politics. SOme just start slower then others, but still get the same chance. As long as their is serious potential.
Now we have that out of the way, i would like to talk about some other things i would like to see in this pack for TS4. I really loved the dorms and how sims could also rent an apartment by themself with or without other room mates in TS2. I liked the party events in different university groups and the weird mascots. I liked the typical American uni lifestyle and the drinking can! Hope that will make it back and i'm pretty sure most fans do too! Im not even American, but I always loved it! And it felt so real to me, as if i was really experiencing American uni life.
I also loved how the buildings in TS3 looked very old and somewhat Harry Potter Hogwarts style. I would like to see more of that. Maybe to see a teacher walk by once in a while. I honestly dont really remember how it was in TS3, cause it has been a long time and ive only been once to the uni with my sim.
And here is some idea: Maybe with the group system they could add some Yale like secret society that is not that easy to join. Somewhere in the basement with a door that is only open for club members! A creepy dark hallway to walk through that will make players wonder what that is all about. Don't even let me start about the room interior.. black/white tiles? That would be really something. And of course, joining this secret society and fulfilling their requirements, gives you better chances in careers later on and perhaps better grades too. Politics should be a big things there though. Did i say too much? Or maybe sims can also get a boost to build up skills faster when they have a club meeting or something or when they use their own library room down in the basement, cause it has information that no one else has access too.
I would like for sims to have bikes added with this pack. It would be cool and useful to use in this uni world, cause running late to class isnt all that fun when it comes to your future career.
I remember from TS3, that you could come home after each semester. That was cool too. You could spend time with you family or celebrate some holidays with them. It would be nice to get some time off or some free days in the winter to celebrate thanksgiving or Simsmas with their family and friends! And of course, the summers should be free unless you have some catching up to do with your grades. That could be a fun feature too. Like summer school.
I have some lake in mind where sims go skinny dipping or enjoy their early summer (or those in summer school). And it is surrounded by the woods and some cottage houses/bungalows/rooms. Something like a open air dorm maybe. Sims can get a camping feeling there too and throw epic parties on the field. Or maybe sims could just rent it there their whole summer if they prefer to hang there instead of going home.
And how about a little farming area (a bit further from uni) with golden fields from corn and grains. (or magical fields with something interesting growing on them that sims can use to get different emotions/moods xD). Sims can play, run and fool around in those fields.. it is uni time after all right? Lets keep it traditional
Maybe something like this:I would also like to see how some sims struggle to pay their uni costs and have to take a loan which they can pay back afterwards when they have a job. I mean, thats whats happening right now too. It would also be cool to get the scholarship system back like in TS2 where you get some money out of your speciality or skills. I dont remember the amount of money my sims had to spend on uni, but id like to see some realistic prices where average or rich households wont have any struggle, but the others do. They can get loans of different prices with different extra costs (percentage) on them to pay back later. Maybe once in a while a message could pop up promoting an advertisement for a lower % percentage such as 'Struggling to pay your study this semester? Profit from today's loan with just 2% percentage instead of 5%.' Would be kind of hilarious and sims-like to me xD. And it should come as a surprise, no pattern in the ads. Uni life is hard..
Do you have any ideas? Pls share them
Im curious on how you will experience the best uni life in TS4! 8
Comments
As someone who attends university irl I can't begin to understand why a secret society would be a thing? Does that happen on the US?....because...that's sorta crazy. I mean it's just university, a place where you learn and take a degree where would you even have the time or point into making a weird secret society?
The members make influential contacts that can help them throughout their lives.
There's a lot of conspiracy theories about it (once again I think). It's just something fun they did for Sims 2. It might be fun to bring it back in a new game.
The social aspect of college is a very large part of most university students here.
It's everywhere but we don't run secret societies ahaha
I dont wanna go to much in this topic, cause this thread will probably get blocked soon. Since the sims devs always throw in some weird free masonry symbolism into this game, i thought this idea wouldn't be something they could not consider.
Let's talk sims again!
That you know of.
Yes, that is a car, yes, it is suspended from the underside of a footbridge.
Apparently the same group also placed a car inside an elevator.
This image is from a decade or so earlier, at Cambridge University
I suspect that there is a secret society among engineering students.
I was never much of a fan of them. They're too unusual for this part of the world.
They creeped me out.
I got bored with it pretty quickly, and desired something more familiar.
Lucky you. It always felt artificial, and forced, and unrealistic, to me. Like a lame tv show.
Why just in a uni world, why not in all worlds?
I'd rather that they had the option to attend uni from home.
And what of those of us who don't want that sort of thing? Why not have it with more options?
Set your own school year.
Uni here starts the year in jan/feb, and usually ends in november.
That should be another option.
Not everyone wants that sort of reality in their game, and for some, it's not reality at all.
My tertiary education left me with no debt, and I am not at all wealthy, I'm actually incredibly poor.
I want a more flexible system for Uni, and not be restricted to a US-centric one.
I want the option, like GTW, for your sims to live at home while they attend, and just commute each day.
I want the option to turn off unwanted things, like mascots, 'greek houses', secret societies, excess parties, etc
I want the Uni year to start when you want it to, and have breaks when you want them, I want the option of semesters, trimesters, or quarterly terms.
I want cafes on campus where the food is cheap, and slightly suspect.
I want the option to create University based clubs, and run fundraisers for them.
When graduating from university sims should receive level 10 starting of their career.
University takes quite some time to complete in game.
Oops yes! I forgot that was the correct section