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Request to Make Food Stalls Function Everywhere
Simmer_chiyen
Posts: 362 Member
I saw new food stands in Selvadorada, which is nice. But I think it’s time to ask the team again: please have them be manned in community lots if players put them there. It would also be a great opportunity to update the ones from previous packs.
It just appears a little bit pointless for me that we can place them from BB mode but they don’t automatically attract NPCs to staff them (unless our sims pay §100 to hire a vendor).
It just appears a little bit pointless for me that we can place them from BB mode but they don’t automatically attract NPCs to staff them (unless our sims pay §100 to hire a vendor).
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Found that out when I plopped the barista station into the Museum as it'd be a nice touch, but no sim was at it unless you hired them. When I did, Sims hardly even went to it. Think one finally managed to after my sim ordered a coffee and that was about it.
Makes me miss how lots functioned in Sims 2 as sims would just use the items on the lot. Really need the General lot to function like that.
And while we're at it, can we please use more than one bar on a lot? I don't understand the unnecessary restrictions placed on builds. It's ridiculous to allow the option to place bars and kiosks and yet, they don't work unless (in the case of the kiosk) the Sim pays for the vendor out of their own pocket. If they were purposely coded that way, what on earth for?
I'd love for objects to auto-call NPCs as well. If it's possible it should definitely be a thing! I liked the way objects did this in TS2 and you could make community lots function as whatever you wanted them to, simply by placing down different objects.
However... I'm afraid TS4 is not set up to work in this way. I poke around at the code a lot and it appears to me that each type of lot has its own rules to follow. The code for each type of lot is individually coded to determine which types of Sims will turn up, what their traits might be, what they will do when they get there. The Sims going to a coffee shop might not be random visitors that blindly use whichever object appeals to their needs, but they will be a pair of Sims having a 'business meeting', or series of individuals who are there for their morning coffee hit before running off to work.
Every Sim, every hour, of every day. Everything is finely coded so that certain scenarios happen at times that make sense. So you might get an after school rush of kids on the playground. Or you might see Sims out for a morning jog around the park. And have you noticed how, when a bartender ends their shift, another one is there to replace them? Coded.
The way TS4 codes their lots (and open world areas!) is both a blessing and a curse. I love that these scenarios make sense. That Sims will be doing sensible activities and you can watch Sims going about their business. Like those late night revellers doing the walk of shame through the city in the early hours of the morning!
But it sadly also means that NPCs often are programmed into the lot itself, and not actually called by the objects. So delete all the bars in the nightclub and you'll see the bartender stood on the pavement outside looking lost. Add ten bars and you'll still only have the amount of bartenders the venue was originally coded for.
So... when I made the auto-NPC mods I had to take the behaviour rules from other lots and make them work for other lot types. I took the code for the library, for example, and told it to call baristas and Sims who want to buy coffee. If I hadn't told those specific coffee-drinking Sims to come to the lot too, then it would be much less likely that random Sims would buy coffee. But EA can't do it this way because maybe not every player wants a coffee bar at their library and if they didn't have one the barista and their customers would be stood around like potatoes on the kerb.
I do hope they figure out a way around this. A way to call NPCs to the object rather than the lot. But it doesn't look easy to me and I haven't figured it out. So... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I hope that provides a little bit of insight into the problems behind this request. I was mad too. Which was why I looked into it and made the work-around mods. But like I said... EA can't do it that way because it wouldn't work for every player. I know it's frustrating.
Yeah, I figured the way lots are sims come to that lot to do whatever is intended on that lot. Though I still wish the general lot had more use for sims to just use whatever and do whatever on that lot. Wish the generic lot would also attract townies. I do like how the lots function as there seem to be specific times and peak hours for these lots, but like you said it can be a curse as well.
Heck, sometimes some NPC's my sim hire indefinitely won't show up.
This is very insightful! Thanks for explaining the technical part of it; that matches what I’ve observed in the game. I do hope there’s a point when they can open up an option box so that players can customize the roles needed for a particular lot. I don’t know much about coding, but maybe that’s something the devs can look into?
In TS2 and TS3, community lots worked according to objects that were placed on the lot. If I put a pool table on a pool lot, for example, Sims would use the table. I wonder why the devs used such a restrictive system this time around? We may never know. At least, we won't know until TS5 rolls around.
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Hey can anyone tell me how to use this mod? I installed the mod, set the "professional" lot trait. Then the instructions say something about "options on the door" to allow certain NPCs? Where do I find these options? How do I "allow" NPCs to run the food stalls? Thanks in advance for the help!
Very frustrated the stalls don't come with NPCs!
Once installed, take your sim to a lot that you've plopped down a stall. Then click on the stall and you should have the option to hire an employee. And it should be free, and no calling animation too.
I use the 'professionals' lot trait a lot, too. All you need to do is place the lot trait, and workers will automatically show up. Just keep the list of items that you can hire people for though, since if you put down musical instruments musicians will show for those, etc. What she meant about locking doors is that if you don't want the employees to enter certain rooms, to lock them out. However, if you have a locked door and want them to be able to enter, then unlock those doors for employees.