I tried them once when generations first came out and even turned one into a real sim, but I got fed up with that save, it was more like a save test anyway.
Then I have never played with them again until now, my child sim is an only child and I thought it would be cool for him to have an IF but he doesnt do anything else apart playing with his IF it's so annoying I deleted it during the night when the thing was in the doll form
And I never want to play with them again. I had forgotton how annoying they were
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(and not every kid should have one, it should be a 'weeeeee, my kid's got an IF!!!' kind of feature)
In general, I hate them. They're so creepy ! Even the above was, especially when I didn't change her traits yet and she was mean-spirited. I was angry at how horrible she was with her best friend. So every time I had a family that received one, oh no, Chucky is back !
Now I have mods that systematically get rid of the dolls all at once and to buy and delete them individually. If only I could have fully decided who gets them, who doesn't, and sold them at will, and even ideally chosen their traits, all without mods, I wouldn't hate them like now I think.
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I also thought EA dropped the ball with them. The dolls were (sometimes) fine for childhood but as a teen and older? EA should have included a permanent "goodbye" option with the dolls for teens and above. It could have been a nice way to symbolize a sim finally letting go of childhood fantasies as they become more mature. The only IF I made read was for an Insane sim, who married his IF.
I've never experienced any annoying issues with them. I usually don't pay attention to them, but I'm looking forward to playing with them after reading these posts.
http://nraas.wikispaces.com/Members'+Retuner+Settings#
They are more fun to have around for kids but once they are made real, it feels like a useless occult. That's my opinion on these dolls. If I remember correctly, their human form is a randomly generated sim= all sliders set to the middle. I'm not surprised but I just wish this game would randomize sliders.
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S4 simblr: http://simlogic.tumblr.com/
http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/generations/imaginaryfriend.php
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S4 simblr: http://simlogic.tumblr.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuW44b3uCMtCSaq4gwC8EZg
I had that happen with two toddlers. It's why I don't let the toddlers sing to them anymore. Toddlers are bad enough. The kids singing is like something out of Dragon Age Origins - the Orphanage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHRA8Sj57O4
Starting at 6:20 - augh.
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Thought I was going bonkers.
His dad is an IF turned real and he has inherited that occult state.
This is his little sister, Tina with her IF doll. She has also inherited the IF occult state but can't change into her doll form yet. She'll be able to when she gets a bit older.
This is their father, Bob, getting married to his second wife, Kitty.
Kitty is a Sim I made in CAS years ago and added to my game.
The game paired her up with Bob and they are devoted to each other.
Katey is the daughter of Bob and Kitty. Katey did not inherit her father's IF occult state.
This is Harry after he aged up to teen.
The game gave him that hair when he aged up and I decided to let him keep it.
Kitty and Bob at Harry's birthday party.
Bob is at level 10 of the Ghosthunter career.
This is Perry. He is the son of another IF and Sim. He didn't inherit the IF occult state but is a pyromaniac. I've read that some descendants of IFs can have the Pyromaniac trait.
Perry's mother was also born in game. She's a human sim.
EDIT: Here's the IF 'protecting' the baby from the teddy bear that got turned into a vampire gnome.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuW44b3uCMtCSaq4gwC8EZg
The IF as a supernatural status is a bit lame - all they can do, is turn into their doll form, but they have amazing eye and hair colours. Of course, they are all face one, but I don´t even mind that, all that bothers me about face one, is the fact that everyone looks the same. And I can change that, too.
One of my cutes couples ever are these two:
Joe was not Nathan´s IF, but the one of his brother. Joe was made real when he was a child and his traits were ok. I clicked on Nathan´s stressed out moodlet one day, when they were both teenagers, and he decided to give Joe flowers. Joe refused, but Nate was persistent, and they got married later and had a son, who also was an IF. They were one of the sim couples who were always searching each others company, not just to wohoo, but to talk, play, or just sit together.
Of coures, IFs can be creepy, especially, if they glitch out and age up before the child.
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Just assume that every edit I make is because of typos.
I thought about this, when my first Sim raised from toddler to adulthood had twins of his own, and they got the dolls. But I also thought, "surely these two will be able to do better for themselves, as skilled & wealthy teens/young adults?" It seems kind of a cop-out to bank on romancing the IF in adulthood. What if the IF turns into a Sim I don't particularly like? I can cure pudding-face in CAS... but why not simply find (or make) a more suitable Sim?
Upshot, my boys played with the dolls a bit, but I was more interested in developing their skills and relationships with family & each other - IFs were handy if I needed to keep them harmlessly occupied while I focused on other things, but otherwise I find them a bit creepy and intrusive.