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TS4's rushed whim system
Sigzy05
Posts: 19,406 Member
So, I have no idea, whether guru's read these posts, but...the most useless system in TS4 right now are the whims and it be nice to say the least if they put more than a half an hour of work on it.
I'm not a big TS4 appraiser but I do have reasons, this is one.
And it's not like the whim system would even be *that* hard to revamp considering other things, especially because it doesn't include a lot of animations or fvx (the only animations I can think of are fear related), so if the devs would kindly (stop the Bioshock references Sigzy) put more work on it I'd appreciate it.
What I would like for whims anyway would be somewhat similar to TS2 which is to have about 4 pinnable whims including the "emotion related" ones, fears that will subtract a certain amount of satisfaction points from the points pool whenever they appear (ex. of fear: be abducted by aliens) (none are taken if the current value is 0 but the sim could get a tense or sad moodlet), and a better reward system which includes both the traits we have now but also certain objects (like an emotion manual overrider, or a moodlet solver).
Of course the whims would have to be in sync with the sim's traits and relationship levels instead of being random. I'd also like the option to ask other sims what their whims are, similar to TS2 and when my sim does one for that sim, their relationship increases.
The reason to have the emotion whims pinnable is because it "pushes" the player to make an action with the sim, to reach said emotion, in order to complete the whim, aka, gameplay. And as always it's all optional, but it would make it a much more involved system.
I'm not a big TS4 appraiser but I do have reasons, this is one.
And it's not like the whim system would even be *that* hard to revamp considering other things, especially because it doesn't include a lot of animations or fvx (the only animations I can think of are fear related), so if the devs would kindly (stop the Bioshock references Sigzy) put more work on it I'd appreciate it.
What I would like for whims anyway would be somewhat similar to TS2 which is to have about 4 pinnable whims including the "emotion related" ones, fears that will subtract a certain amount of satisfaction points from the points pool whenever they appear (ex. of fear: be abducted by aliens) (none are taken if the current value is 0 but the sim could get a tense or sad moodlet), and a better reward system which includes both the traits we have now but also certain objects (like an emotion manual overrider, or a moodlet solver).
Of course the whims would have to be in sync with the sim's traits and relationship levels instead of being random. I'd also like the option to ask other sims what their whims are, similar to TS2 and when my sim does one for that sim, their relationship increases.
The reason to have the emotion whims pinnable is because it "pushes" the player to make an action with the sim, to reach said emotion, in order to complete the whim, aka, gameplay. And as always it's all optional, but it would make it a much more involved system.
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Comments
Which is why the whim pops in and out of existence everytime the emotion switches identity. The whim shouldn't go away, it should stay put even when emotions change, because you want the player to manipulate the sim's emotion, it's the whole point of the emotion system.
but it's a lot more challenging and interesting to actually work your way up to that emotion though than just do one whim and have the emotion.
I agree with the middle bits of the first post though.
How so? The whim would stay the same, it's just pinnable. If you didn't do it before the emotion changes you won't lose it like you do now, and you would have to work your way up to that emotion in order to complete the whim
And I doubt they'd bring back fears, this iteration is too happy-go-lucky for that...
but that's the challenge.
Also, I've never had that trait
But something to make you lose the points would be good
I hope they do... Bringing fears could also make up for the fact that there is no actual fear emotion so many people requested, which I don't believe is ever coming since they'd have to alter some of the core things of the game with it.
THIS. I also miss the four pinnable wishes. What I really hate (which, admittedly, was a problem in the Sims 3) is that my sims are always asking for things they don't need. You don't need a hot tub. You don't need a pool. You want a TV? You mean radio!
Book O' Spells: The Life and Times of Lady Ravendancer Goth
The Shadow Over Newcrest - Revised Story Blog
I think those wishes make sense for materialistic sims, which is a trait in TS4, but everyone else also has them which, like you said, makes no sense. Totally agree with you.
I would rather they be linked more closely to gameplay mechanics, I think. For example (just spitballing ideas) completing a Flirty category whim while Flirty increases the duration of Flirty buffs. Completing a Sad category whim decreases the duration of Sad buffs. That sort of thing.
Alternatively, maybe they could add some sort of "Satisfaction", or "Identity" meter. This thing would be impacted by whether you're completing whims often enough. Whims more relevant to the sims would move the meter up more (ex: an Active sim completing an Energized whim), while whims that conflict (ex: a Lazy sim completing an Energized whim) would actually drain the Identity meter somewhat.
Having it high or low would determine whether your sim feels like they are being true to who they are, possibly resulting in negative or positive moods, or even resulting in a popup-option style of thing, similar to the UI design used in parenthood, where you can choose to change a trait that is being neglected to something else. To keep this from being annoying, the meter could be on a decay path that makes it take a number of sim days (possibly as much as a sim week) before it can reach critical levels of neglect, unless you're just actively spamming activities that go against what kind of person the sim is (like spamming mean interactions as a Good sim).
You know, times like these I think the Sims could take a lesson from Dwarf Fortress.
Urist Toestwinkled is happy because he enjoyed a good book. (From Book Worm trait.) Urist is sad after watching Keeping Up with the Kardashisims (from Snob trait.)
There's also a thread on this general discussion forum about choosing your sim's likes and dislikes. I wish you could do that, too. Those likes and dislikes could feed into the whims. Like, after a rough day at work, Bob Pancakes wants some pancakes.
Book O' Spells: The Life and Times of Lady Ravendancer Goth
The Shadow Over Newcrest - Revised Story Blog
It's not a store thing. All games had a similar system but it worked better before. It's meant to be a player reward system after playing a sim for a long time, and maintaining his needs and wishes. It's meant to be rewarding and right now it's useless and completely unrewarding.
Regarding those two things you talked about I bolded, they are the aftermath of certain interactions that could be what the whim is telling you to do. So you won't be directly affecting the emotion by completing the whim but by making the interaction, which could have a very similar end result depending on the whim.
Example: sad emotional whim: cry under the blankets - the result of this interaction is lowering the value of the sad moodlet the sim is experiencing possibly making it disappear.
So the end result is the same.
The second thing you said about the meter however, that is a very interesting idea!!
To me whims should be like sims 2 wants and sims 3 wishes. Relevant to that sim. Relevant to their Aspiration or personality and traits. Not just some cycle it goes through repeating the same things. In the sims 2 my romance sims never got the wants to get married and have children whereas I can make a simmwith the hates children trait and add the on the ley line lot trait, make them flirty and they will want to have a baby.
Now I just ignore the whims the same way I ignore the checklist aspirations.
As I've said before, although I love the game itself and its concepts, it's been poorly and shoddily thought through in terms of execution; it could (and should) have been so much better if only it had been given a little more planning, better resource and more appropriate motivation.
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i wish the devs would finally take pity
My complaints are like Pokemon. They evolve over time.
They also faint a lot.
I also feel like the system is completely overlooked now that were 3 years in. When was the last time they added new rewards? I think they added 1 with outdoor retreat? That was the first paid content for S4. Why would they only add new rewards once and never again? If they never added any, I'd never expect more, but they did add 1, so what gives?
Seems like an unnecessary comment, to say the least, on a thread asking for a revamp to the current system. Either way you are not obligated to do them.