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Driven to Cheating (Anecdotes)

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MadDoctor61MadDoctor61 Posts: 414 Member
This is intended to be a humorous anecdotes thread, not a list of cheats etc. It's aimed at those who normally don't cheat, but at times are driven to it. What happened in your game and why did you feel you had to cheat and how do you justify it as 'not really cheating'?

My teen sim has been travelling to China and working her way through many of the adventures. She is now married and her partner travels with her (one digging through tombs or what not while the other is on the surface often picking up rocks and sifting through dig sites. She seems to have lots of options when checking the adventure board, but he comes up with nothing. He spent 5 days and only had one adventure. I think it has to do with his low visa level, but how is he supposed to increase it if he doesn't get any adventure opportunities. I end up doing NRass/MC/Basic/Opportunity: By Category/Adventures and pick some simple adventure (ie Maintenance on Miniature Tomb) hoping to kick start the Adventure board. It hasn't worked yet. Maybe once he gains a visa level.
Post edited by MadDoctor61 on

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  • MadDoctor61MadDoctor61 Posts: 414 Member
    edited January 2018
    I'm not sure if this counts as cheating. Three sims in China, the afore mentioned pair and the sim working toward 'Perfect Private Aquarium' in the world I'm building (fairly early test version - only one fishing location so far so she is fishing in all the foreign lands). They were all hungry so one who was handy was sent to buy meals. Just as he bought three plates of Dim Sum ($180) the other two chowed down of dried food. With 'testingCheatsEnabled true' I moved their now full hunger bars down to yellow and gave them each a plate of Dim Sum to eat so it wouldn't go to waste.

    p.s. interesting note. After travelling sims have eaten their meal where they don't have a place to clean up, they put the plate down. I can then drag the plate into their inventory and sell it, getting much of the cost of the meal returned. That feels like cheating, but I do it so they don't end up leaving dirty plates lying all over the place. It doesn't seem to work in tombs though.
    Post edited by MadDoctor61 on
  • puzzlezaddictpuzzlezaddict Posts: 1,877 Member
    Occasionally, when trying to build a specific kind of relationship for a particular storyline I'm working on, I encounter a sim who just won't show up at my main family's house, or won't stay long enough for me to accomplish anything. (For example, a long time ago, the game made Laurel Grisby of Riverview into a firefighter, which meant her work hours were almost the whole day; she practically lived at the station and was never free to hang out. Never mind that she was dating one of the kids of my initial couple. Needless to say, this relationship was over quickly). My first approach is to use MC>focus to stalk follow the problem sim around town, but if that doesn't help, I'll MC>Basic(?)>Invite Over. And if that sim tries to leave, well, suddenly all of the doors are mysteriously locked, and there's no way for them to leave. Although I would love to see a daredevil sim (or an insane one) get a running start and launch headfirst through a plate-glass window.

    Also, my finger never gets so itchy as when I have a gardener who's waiting for the "Uncommonly Good" or "Outstandingly Rare" opportunity to trigger. The worst is when he or she keeps rolling the option to resupply the restaurant which is right across the street from the grocery store. Yes, I have lots of garlic, you can have some, now STOP CALLING ME and tying up the phone line so I can get a REAL opportunity instead of this mindless drivel! Every time the phone rings, I hold my breath a little. At which point I realize I'm getting really frustrated and wonder if it would be healthier for me to just MC the opportunity into existence.

    As far as justifying it, I figure if the game is going to be this annoying I have every right to *correct* it. Also, the point is to enjoy playing, not to *win*, and if I were competing with anyone else we'd have negotiated the rules beforehand.
  • Rflong7Rflong7 Posts: 36,584 Member
    Hi :mrgreen:

    It might sounds strange but, I never cheat. I set my rules and I get to do as I please. Especially since they have building codes under "cheats," so, I don't cheat. ;):lol:
  • MadDoctor61MadDoctor61 Posts: 414 Member
    I just ran across country to pick up a Jade for the adventure "A demand for Jade" and a the other gems in the area. I get there, pick up two quartz and an emerald, but the Jade is unroutable. Back to map view, where I see a new jade has spawned. Back where I was before. It wasn't there when I left. I transported my sim back, rather than wait for him to run across country again.
  • TadOlsonTadOlson Posts: 11,380 Member
    I've mostly used MOO to place objects in build or buy modes and I do use TCE to reset needs if they glitched and don't match the time of day when switching families.
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  • hunniboo1hunniboo1 Posts: 1,510 Member
    I have a bad habit of using the testingenable true cheat...every single time :/
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  • IreneSwiftIreneSwift Posts: 6,247 Member
    edited January 2018
    My current sim is mastering all skills, including hidden skills, and doing all of the skill challenges. She also has a number of other goals I usually give to my sims with specific skills, and a couple others she's getting just because she is the one who is doing it all. One of the extra goals is to collect everything there is to collect. She reached the point where she had only a few items to collect - compendium (metal), rainbow snail (utopian future), and firefly roseus. This is also a basically no-cheat game, because there isn't much point in bothering with these goals if I'm going to take shortcuts.

    However, when she wished to clone a sim, I decided to let her do that. But I wanted to get a few things out of the way, most specifically, collecting. I don't want to have to leave the baby/toddler with a sitter while Mom goes out in the middle of the night looking for fireflies. She has made many trips out in the night hunting for fireflies with the collection helper, but that roseus firefly was never around. So I finally resorted to using NRaas Master Controller to do an object info search for insects, two or three times each night, while she was asleep. Finally, after about a sim week of that, a roseus firefly finally showed up, on the opposite side of the map from her home. I woke her and sent her after it, then sent her back home to bed. On her next sim day, coming up when I open my game again, she's going to be creating her cloned daughter in the science research station.

    That reminds me, there's a couple of other cheats involved in getting that clone. I decided to have my sim clone Sun Young Kim in China. But between cloning Sun Young in China and returning to her own world, the DNA sample simply does not make it home with my sim. So I used MC again, and Sun Young Kim is now a resident of Appaloosa Plains. I sent my sim to visit her at her new home, to get a new DNA sample, but by the time my sim got there, she was out on the town. So I reset Sun Young with MC to get her back home.

    Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.
    Post edited by IreneSwift on
  • dreamerz13dreamerz13 Posts: 9,927 Member
    Usually, I just cheat because like my game crashed or something and I don't want to work for everything again. I don't need to justify that though, that's pretty reasonable I think. I do use TCE a bit for things here and there for story purposes or something (most recently I've cheated a couple relationships back into their current story standing, so my sims actually interact as they would in that situation... not the opposite way). But generally, I'm pretty hard on myself and my sims with the cheats (I will cheat to take money away from sims before I will cheat to give them money, I'm horrible).

    Every once in a while though I'll cave in and cheat the needs up or something so my sims can work on a skill that will help them get a promotion. Like when they're so close how can you resist? You have to be inhuman if you can resist at that point. Or just because my sims tend to have lots of children around and sometime you just gotta fill everybody's needs (and just keep them static for a bit) so the whole world doesn't explode from the chaos.

    Or for "love". That one gets me to cave in a lot lol. If I want my sim to be with someone, I will cheat the relationship up lol. Especially if the other sim is already in a relationship and is stubborn and won't accept my sim's advances... looking at you Alice. I justify as not cheating because I story progression is a jerk and you can't stand in the way of "true" love (aka a relationship built on perfectly compatible physical characteristics because babies).
  • Simtown15Simtown15 Posts: 3,952 Member
    I thought this was going to be about a sim who cheated on his/her partner constantly.
  • TadOlsonTadOlson Posts: 11,380 Member
    I used to get them cheating on partners along with other issues before NRaas took over story progression and they also often used to get matched with the wrong partners by the EA bugfest too fast for my singles to find anybody.
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  • MadDoctor61MadDoctor61 Posts: 414 Member
    I've got 3 Sims on vacation in Egypt, the pair that normally go and an extra with a home opportunity for travel tagging along. The two males are in dire need of the toilet at the basecamp. Too bad. An explorer is standing in front of it. For some reason, he won't leave and nobody can use it while he is there. It may be because too many people are crowding into the men's room for him to have room to leave, including my 2 who are autonomously trying to use the toilet. I finally resorted to "reset sim" to get 3 people out of the way so mine could use the toilet. I didn't make it in time for one of them. He wet himself. Oh well, he needed a shower anyway.
  • MadDoctor61MadDoctor61 Posts: 414 Member
    edited February 2018
    I finally got them through the bathroom. The tag-along Sim has the Lifetime Wish to be a Chess Legend. I usually use tag-alongs to gather rocks and excavate dig sites. This one is in the music career and most of his opponents are working before he goes to work and he is working when they are available. While in Egypt, I wanted him to progress in his Chess wish. The first opponent was tough and had to be challenged 4 times before he got a win. The next opponent was travelling with him. It couldn't be the one doing the Tomb Brochure photos to get his visa points up quickly because he was handy and available. It had to be the one deep in the tomb. I ended up teleporting her back to the market for a game, then teleporting her back to the tomb entrance, then teleporting her back to where she was. I also could have cheated with NRass/MC/...new opponents, but I figured she would be an easy win since she hasn't played that much chess. (edit: Nope, she beat him) (second edit: Twice)
    Post edited by MadDoctor61 on
  • MadDoctor61MadDoctor61 Posts: 414 Member
    edited February 2018
    My sim was in The Great Pyramid searching for the third relic (Relic of Eternity). She'd just entered the skull room with the Death Tomb Depths Keystone when the message that she couldn't finish the adventure because one of the participants was no longer available. She was exhausted (her second coffee bean had just worn off) and her partner was just finishing his sleep in the Blue Priests Bed in Abu Simbel, so she pulled out her sleeping bag for the night. I was hoping for a phone call (that usually happens eventually) to offer a replacement for the adventure. Not soon enough for me (it was the morning of the last vacation day). I teleported her back to base camp to check for adventure (it was the forth option), teleported back to the door of the pyramid, entered, teleported down to where she was.

    edit: I just realized. He was back at base camp to check for his next adventure. He could have put one 'Eye of Horus' in front of the board and given the second to her which she could place in the skull room. Then she could have teleported back and forth without cheating.
  • polrbearpolrbear Posts: 939 Member
    I do cheat, but there's one cheat I don't like to use-I don't like to cheat teleport but was driven to it once and here's why:

    My sim Marina was taking a stroll with her toddler, Olive, so that they could watch my singer, Ara, sing at Flyin' V's. I saved and had to come back later.

    When I reloaded the game, my toddler was no longer in her stroller with her mama! She was home, all alone, sitting on the floor in the lobby of their apartment! Baby can't be alone for long enough to get Marina home to get her, so I teleported the toddler back to her mama.
    I play Sims 2, Sims 3, Sims 4, and The Urbz: Sims in the City on gamecube and ds. Main Game: Sims 352033322186_3a08467dc6_o.png
  • Saarah06Saarah06 Posts: 20 Member
    I only cheat when the needs get annoying, I want my sims to explore outside not stink or need sleeping
  • MadDoctor61MadDoctor61 Posts: 414 Member
    I created this thread, not to talk about whether you cheat or how you cheat, but to post interesting, funny anecdotes about situations where you normally wouldn't cheat but did because you were driven to it. In other words, the thread is not about cheating, but about being so desperate that you had to cheat.
  • MadDoctor61MadDoctor61 Posts: 414 Member
    My China adventuring couple made their third visit to China with one just shy of a level 2 visa and wanted to collect Pangu's Axe (I've never seen the Pangu's Axe adventure before that). He upped his visa on the first of five days and went through everything on the adventure board. No Axe. Next day. No Axe. Next day. No Axe. Next day. No Axe. He took a bunch of add short adventures to fill the time and got to bed late on the forth (or rather fifth day) I woke him up about noon, checked the board, and ta-DA, there's the axe adventure. To bad I didn't have time to complete it. I was going to cheat using 'testingCheatsEnabed' and 'Teleport' to skip exploring the tomb, but I didn't even get that far.

    I had to tell that story to tell this one (this IS an anecdotal cheat thread and I didn't cheat even though I was planning on it). The Egyptian vacationers wanted the axe to take with them this trip. Because the axe adventure was postponed, I cheated with 'testingCheatsEnabed' and shift clicking on the boulders in the trapped basement and Temple of Fire to delete them. I didn't feel bad about this because they SHOULD have had the axe to smash them on this trip. I avoided the trapped basement and The Society’s Lost and ...Found? before because I knew I would need the axe and the MorcuCorp adventurer was in no hurry last trip because I knew she would need the Axe as well.
  • MadDoctor61MadDoctor61 Posts: 414 Member
    edited March 2018
    My sim meditated, and Xenoported to the little island in Egypt to excavate 3 dig sites. I was going to have her sleep there but she wouldn't use the sleeping bag (Generations), so she meditated again. Oops, she was too tired to finish. After three hours of meditation, she got up and tried to walk back to base camp. Can't do that from the island. Can't swim either. I broke down and Zenoported her back. She'd put in the time (almost) to do it herself and was in no state to start over.

    Edit:
    I just tried something. For the first time, I have a playable ghost. I just aimed him to that little island, and he floated over the chasm. He did it very slowly though. It takes forever for him to get anywhere. He'd probably have no problems with a number of tombs, especially the glitched ones for Tathua's Garden and Pangu's Axe.
  • cleo00cleo00 Posts: 1,088 Member
    It's not so much "driven to cheat" as just is laziness but whenever a quest in WA makes me be friendly to get stuff from other sims I just use MC to make them friends 'cause I don't have time for that. :D
  • MadDoctor61MadDoctor61 Posts: 414 Member
    I sent my writing kids to the library to work on their books. The parents don't write and there is no computer in the house yet. When they get there, all the computer seats are taken up with readers. This is my own custom library. There are 4 computer desks, 4 empty desks (for homework etc) and a number of couches. There were only four people reading in the library, all at the computer stations. I chose comfortable couches and less comfortable chairs to prevent this (actually because I liked the style, but afterwards thought that was a good idea). I used the teleport cheat to send them to my other "Science Library" (which doubles {as its primary function} as a place to 'donate' collectibles - space rocks, metals (raw and smelted), gems (uncut and best economical cut), butterflies, beetles) on the other side of town. I also have a lab in the basement with Chemistry Tables and Science Research Stations, with a group science project on the roof (very annoying because it doesn't disappear when you go down a level and just floats above you even if you're in the basement.
  • TadOlsonTadOlson Posts: 11,380 Member
    I've mostly used cheats to build or to fix motives that don't match the time of day when switching active families in my legacies.I have use GoHere's teleport function to get an errant sim home from a distant corner of the map.
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  • ARRenschARRensch Posts: 694 Member
    When my child sims meet kids at school, sometimes I'll just sort of cheat the relationships and turn them into friends. Because when I play families, I play shorter lifespans and it takes an eternity for them to actually become friends with the other students.

    My justification is that it feels more real that way, since most kids don't spend the majority of their childhood without friends and just a bunch of aquaintances. I don't mess with good friend or best friend though; those two are something the sims will have to earn.

    I also mess with their sleep bars a lot, because it annoys me when they get off of their sleep schedules.

    I have no justification for that one, I just own up to my cheatery.
    Wearing a gas mask to flex on the coronavirus.
  • IreneSwiftIreneSwift Posts: 6,247 Member
    ARRensch wrote: »
    When my child sims meet kids at school, sometimes I'll just sort of cheat the relationships and turn them into friends. Because when I play families, I play shorter lifespans and it takes an eternity for them to actually become friends with the other students.

    My justification is that it feels more real that way, since most kids don't spend the majority of their childhood without friends and just a bunch of aquaintances. I don't mess with good friend or best friend though; those two are something the sims will have to earn.

    I agree, and I do the same thing when I play on lower lifespans. It's not going to happen in my current game though, because I'm playing an 800 day lifespan. They'll have plenty of time to make friends early in their school aged stages.

  • puzzlezaddictpuzzlezaddict Posts: 1,877 Member
    ARRensch wrote: »
    When my child sims meet kids at school, sometimes I'll just sort of cheat the relationships and turn them into friends. Because when I play families, I play shorter lifespans and it takes an eternity for them to actually become friends with the other students.

    My justification is that it feels more real that way, since most kids don't spend the majority of their childhood without friends and just a bunch of aquaintances. I don't mess with good friend or best friend though; those two are something the sims will have to earn.

    I usually play on normal lifespan, unadjusted except for a shortened toddler stage (4 days) and a slightly longer childhood (10), and I agree that there aren't enough school days for a kid to make more than a couple of friends in elementary school. Unless, of course, you have your child sims run around town meeting every classmate first, then they can make friends with all of them at once.

    Or you could use the tag exploit and have a handful of best friends for your sim in under a day. I did this just now in my game—dad knows almost everyone and invited over five different kids in rapid succession starting around 6 pm. Son started a game of tag with each one, and I cancelled each action just as he started chasing the other kid. Son's lowest relationship started at nothing and hit best friend status around noon the next day.
  • MadDoctor61MadDoctor61 Posts: 414 Member
    edited April 2018
    Does a good coincidence cancel out bad ones. I was about to cheat when I noticed something. I probably will anyway though. I've got two sims in France for their first trip. The older brother managed to pick up the Tear of Horus on his last trip a few days before. The younger sister went along on that trip to do some fishing (Crocodiles - you probably know where this is headed), and just delivered Plums to the Lefebvre household on the other side of the river, get her first visa level and more. That was the major objective of this trip so that the next trip would last longer.

    Anyway, now that she had a level 1 visa, she decided to collect some relics. There were 4 dig sites on that side of the river. I gave directions to collect the rocks along the river and work her way up the road, and ran out or room on her queue at the first dig site. The other was just meeting to "Offer Assistance" at the museum, and, of course, she has to chat the person up first (The Sims likes socializing). I queued up a bunch of interactions and returned to the collector. The other three digs sites had expired. I hate when that happens. But. There are 5 more on the little island (well 3 anyway - Horus shows 5 but I can only see 3. The rest would be underground and I don't have the axe yet), so I send my sim swimming. I have to wait till she is in the water before I can give directions on shore. When she does come aground there is only 1 dig site left and no harvestable grapes. At least she has a sleeping bag and can wait for the grapes. Back to Museum exploration, check out some exhibits. Cool, I can now "Report In" The annoying thing about the Museum adventure are the two trips you have to make back downtown to "Report In" Since it's after midnight and my last day just started, I was going to cheat and teleport back and forth (as well as teleporting to digs sites to make up for the ones that disappeared) so I would have time to finish the Museum part of the adventure.

    Here is where the good part comes in. I have to report to the special merchant, who at this time is visiting the museum, so no cheating required. That still leaves me short 5 expired digs sites.

    Edit: Nope, my mistake. The museum adventure is sponsored by the relic merchant. I knew that, but the star pointed to the special merchant at the museum, but I can't report in to the special merchant. Cheating it is.

    Second Edit: I teleported her back and forth a few times, but I did let her run to the graveyard and back downtown for the last check in. I was regretting it for a moment, but she made it with about 10 minutes to spare before the vacation was over.
    Post edited by MadDoctor61 on
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