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Ideas for more meaningful Sims
In another thread I kind of felt that the developers want to know why we liked personality features in TS2 a lot and why they gave so much debt into our game play.
I am trying to make this thread based around the idea of us explaining what it was that made Sims 2 great and better then the other series (I mean, i think most can agree on this?). And also a thread, so that we can blend it some new ideas that The sims 4 could also adjust into their game, so we would have more lively and meaningful Sims in the future.
Well rather yesterday than ever, but here goes:
- Memory system
- Consequences and stronger (lifelong) effects
- Sims in the world acting/changing according to your decisions
- Sims responding to important events
- Fear/Want system
- Emotion overhaul
- Trait, house, job, friends for randomized sims that make sense
- Level options for story progression
- Level options for drama in the world
- Tone down the childish reactions
- Interest system
- Attract/Repulse system
Ok here goes the explaining:
Memory system
Personally, I loved to open my game, check in with my household and be like 'Ooooh yeah, I remember, she kissed that dude finally' and 'Ooh how could I forgot she got fired for doing her job so poorly and just flirt with all her co-workers!' whenever I browsed through their memory system. It was a nice way for the player to remember what has happened and also to be more connected with it's Sim.
For sims it was nice that there a meaning to what they did. If they choosed to sleep around with the whole town, it was implanted in their memory system which would also make you think twice. The game remembered events and situations, so you did not feel you played all these insanely staged scenes for nothing
Consequences and stronger (lifelong) effects
Talking about thinking twice. Sims need to be aware of their choices. They are not the only living creature in their universe and stealing that good looking husband away from a family with 3 small toddlers, should have consequences rather then you deciding to move him into you house and his family who is left behind will just move on with their life as they never knew him. Kids get effected, the wife, her friends, your reputation (According to how the situation went of course).
As a player you should sometimes feel like you stand on a crossroad and every action leads to a different road with different outcomes. Either good or bad and it seems the game recognizes this and recreates a whole new universe for your sim.
And when you decide to lock sim up in your basement, sims around town might get suspicious of you at some point at maybe not come over that often and walk a big circle around you when they see you walking in the park.
Sims in the world acting/changing according to your decisions
I find this one very important and it also kind of related to the consequences of your actions. It seems that other sims could recognize your behavior or patterns and based on that they make new decisions which also happen to be related to their own traits and lifestyle.
Let's say; A sim teen who bullies other teens all the time, should not be liked by other sims if they are interested in good behavior and if they are nice sims themselves. But mean sims could try to click with you, cause they feel connected to your actions. So if the teen is in a bar and other sims witnessed your teens bad behavior, they wont be interested in socializing with you. It will lead sims in the world to re-think their decisions and maybe from now on, they will stay away from your sim.
Another example; Your sim has talked so very fund of his/her hobby gardening to one of his friends, maybe one day that friend will call u up ans asks you if he/she can join your gardening club if it also would match his/her traits and maybe interests.
Sims responding to important events
Sims should react better to cheating, weddings, birthdays, moving out/in, graduating, good grades, dead etc. Sims outside do not even care at all to whatever happens. If sims fight, they wont even turn their face or start yelling and asking for help. How many times have we witnessed a dead sim and the pedestrians couldn't care less? WTH! Sims who come to your housewarming, birthday party or wedding should celebrate you or perhaps give you a gift and not just somehow drop it in your mail and say in a note: 'Hey, check your mail today. I left you a total irrelevant gift'!
Why do other sims, family or friends not care when someone divorced or broke up? Why can we not talk about our feelings and have these sims respond with trying to cheer your sims up with some nice jokes, an evening out to dinner where he/she pays etc.
Fear/Want system
This gave some challenging to the game. Little moments or wishes that your sims would want or fear for. It made you think about your decisions, it gave meaning to a sims day and his/her goals, cause you would change them according to what they wanted and what they feared for. Maybe a date today is not such a good idea, cause your sim just found out she has a pimple, so next weekend seems better then? Stuff like that, it effects your game play and decisions, but not too much either. You still have a variety of options and goals to choose from for your sims. And the fact that their mood would depend on it, made you really think twice, cause they had a major effect and not just a angry mood for a 1 min until they walked in a nicely decorated room that cheered them up instantly. Fears work heavy on the soul, so do wishes that come true. They should have the major impact on your mood for that day. Especially since fears and wishes were daily refreshing them self in The sims 2. Awesome feature!
Emotion overhaul
I have seen this one a lot in many of the simmers wishlist or improvements of The sims 4. And yes, as I mentioned above, emotions are either not too strong for the event they came from or they totally overpower all the emotions that should get priority.
Sad sims tend to get more sad and this emotion is stronger than happy sims. It should not be treated the same was as all the other sims. Their sad emotion needs a stronger power. Very bad events overpower everything, like it should be impossible to be happy after your parents just died. A break up does not last a few hours, but at least some days. Emotions do not suddenly disappear also, but they slowly become smaller. I would like to see this as well. A nice decorated room does not overpower your main mood of the day unless you move into a new home, just decorated their bedroom or if they walk into a strange place they haven't seen too often. Sims should get more emotions around people they love, hate and they just like very much. In general, emotions should be more balanced. You get 1 strong emotion per day that you have to deal with and you either try to keep that one or try to fight it away with all the tasks and actions you give your sims. It is just not challenging enough the way it is now.
Ok I will come later for the rest, but feel free to add in your own ideas or even explanations of points in my list of things that need to make either a come-back or start in The sims 4
I am trying to make this thread based around the idea of us explaining what it was that made Sims 2 great and better then the other series (I mean, i think most can agree on this?). And also a thread, so that we can blend it some new ideas that The sims 4 could also adjust into their game, so we would have more lively and meaningful Sims in the future.
Well rather yesterday than ever, but here goes:
- Memory system
- Consequences and stronger (lifelong) effects
- Sims in the world acting/changing according to your decisions
- Sims responding to important events
- Fear/Want system
- Emotion overhaul
- Trait, house, job, friends for randomized sims that make sense
- Level options for story progression
- Level options for drama in the world
- Tone down the childish reactions
- Interest system
- Attract/Repulse system
Ok here goes the explaining:
Memory system
Personally, I loved to open my game, check in with my household and be like 'Ooooh yeah, I remember, she kissed that dude finally' and 'Ooh how could I forgot she got fired for doing her job so poorly and just flirt with all her co-workers!' whenever I browsed through their memory system. It was a nice way for the player to remember what has happened and also to be more connected with it's Sim.
For sims it was nice that there a meaning to what they did. If they choosed to sleep around with the whole town, it was implanted in their memory system which would also make you think twice. The game remembered events and situations, so you did not feel you played all these insanely staged scenes for nothing
Consequences and stronger (lifelong) effects
Talking about thinking twice. Sims need to be aware of their choices. They are not the only living creature in their universe and stealing that good looking husband away from a family with 3 small toddlers, should have consequences rather then you deciding to move him into you house and his family who is left behind will just move on with their life as they never knew him. Kids get effected, the wife, her friends, your reputation (According to how the situation went of course).
As a player you should sometimes feel like you stand on a crossroad and every action leads to a different road with different outcomes. Either good or bad and it seems the game recognizes this and recreates a whole new universe for your sim.
And when you decide to lock sim up in your basement, sims around town might get suspicious of you at some point at maybe not come over that often and walk a big circle around you when they see you walking in the park.
Sims in the world acting/changing according to your decisions
I find this one very important and it also kind of related to the consequences of your actions. It seems that other sims could recognize your behavior or patterns and based on that they make new decisions which also happen to be related to their own traits and lifestyle.
Let's say; A sim teen who bullies other teens all the time, should not be liked by other sims if they are interested in good behavior and if they are nice sims themselves. But mean sims could try to click with you, cause they feel connected to your actions. So if the teen is in a bar and other sims witnessed your teens bad behavior, they wont be interested in socializing with you. It will lead sims in the world to re-think their decisions and maybe from now on, they will stay away from your sim.
Another example; Your sim has talked so very fund of his/her hobby gardening to one of his friends, maybe one day that friend will call u up ans asks you if he/she can join your gardening club if it also would match his/her traits and maybe interests.
Sims responding to important events
Sims should react better to cheating, weddings, birthdays, moving out/in, graduating, good grades, dead etc. Sims outside do not even care at all to whatever happens. If sims fight, they wont even turn their face or start yelling and asking for help. How many times have we witnessed a dead sim and the pedestrians couldn't care less? WTH! Sims who come to your housewarming, birthday party or wedding should celebrate you or perhaps give you a gift and not just somehow drop it in your mail and say in a note: 'Hey, check your mail today. I left you a total irrelevant gift'!
Why do other sims, family or friends not care when someone divorced or broke up? Why can we not talk about our feelings and have these sims respond with trying to cheer your sims up with some nice jokes, an evening out to dinner where he/she pays etc.
Fear/Want system
This gave some challenging to the game. Little moments or wishes that your sims would want or fear for. It made you think about your decisions, it gave meaning to a sims day and his/her goals, cause you would change them according to what they wanted and what they feared for. Maybe a date today is not such a good idea, cause your sim just found out she has a pimple, so next weekend seems better then? Stuff like that, it effects your game play and decisions, but not too much either. You still have a variety of options and goals to choose from for your sims. And the fact that their mood would depend on it, made you really think twice, cause they had a major effect and not just a angry mood for a 1 min until they walked in a nicely decorated room that cheered them up instantly. Fears work heavy on the soul, so do wishes that come true. They should have the major impact on your mood for that day. Especially since fears and wishes were daily refreshing them self in The sims 2. Awesome feature!
Emotion overhaul
I have seen this one a lot in many of the simmers wishlist or improvements of The sims 4. And yes, as I mentioned above, emotions are either not too strong for the event they came from or they totally overpower all the emotions that should get priority.
Sad sims tend to get more sad and this emotion is stronger than happy sims. It should not be treated the same was as all the other sims. Their sad emotion needs a stronger power. Very bad events overpower everything, like it should be impossible to be happy after your parents just died. A break up does not last a few hours, but at least some days. Emotions do not suddenly disappear also, but they slowly become smaller. I would like to see this as well. A nice decorated room does not overpower your main mood of the day unless you move into a new home, just decorated their bedroom or if they walk into a strange place they haven't seen too often. Sims should get more emotions around people they love, hate and they just like very much. In general, emotions should be more balanced. You get 1 strong emotion per day that you have to deal with and you either try to keep that one or try to fight it away with all the tasks and actions you give your sims. It is just not challenging enough the way it is now.
Ok I will come later for the rest, but feel free to add in your own ideas or even explanations of points in my list of things that need to make either a come-back or start in The sims 4
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