Forum Announcement, Click Here to Read More From EA_Cade.
Should dating be more difficult?: Rumors, stalkers, love interests, word of mouth and more!
Godleyjeans
Posts: 336 Member
Though the sims have never been one to make romance hard, in the previous series, love finding was fun, it took time if you didn't know your way and if the sims weren't all that great a match (More reasons to bring back the turn-ons/offs and star signs), and as sims 4 is literally "Cut to the quick, marriage, babies, 5 dogs and a weird hampster that can kill us! I want that, pronto!", I've been hoping to add to the ever-growing topic of improving relationships, bringing our chances a little higher to getting answered...even if it takes another...two years (Throwback to toddlers).
We have the wishing well.
We have venues and places to date.
We have dating! As lacking as it is and laughable in terms of its difficulty when in use.
We have enough of a base that a few code changes, some new animations/options/outcomes, would make a world of difference! All the staff has to do is work on it when they have the time, rather than stuff packs that have no reason for being or should've been content added to a completely other content releases!
Now, when I mention stalkers, don't fret, it wouldn't be extreme: Simply a code similar to that of a Stan from Get famous, again, we have the base, some code alterations, and dialogue options, it's done, this wouldn't need to be anything other than a Stan sim with a different label and some extra stuff thrown in, nothing too risky or upsetting, plus it would be an excuse for new traits and perhaps a suggested "Mouthy" response in the form of an insult and harsh words to send the creeper packing, that's if the police haven't arrived yet.
Word of mouth would be exactly what you think: Bad date, poopy ref from locals/ex-partners, you do something rude/weird/upsetting, they'll talk about it to their friends! And then the friends will talk about it, some may even come at your house to yell at you for that thing you did (something stupid like didn't put your pinky up when you drank or offered them a spoon), and lets not talk about that bag of whatever on the porch.
This feature would be a good introduction to cause and effect, you do something wrong, it bites you, something good and rewards follow, with dating, a good night would end with a kiss and a phone number, maybe an invite for coffee (Woohoo) or introduction to the sims beloved poodle who hates your guts and will snap at any attempts to boop the snoot.
On the topic of improved dating, by improvements, I would say something like extra dialogue, certain sim personalities clashing or blending effortlessly with your own, a manners feature could add to the risk factor of making a fine impression as well as a 'Wealth' meter where you could flaunt it, lie about having loads or none, or be scared by the date-ee pulling up your family history and making comment about 'Grandpa's' left thousands, or millions, of course, certain intent will show through and if you're smart enough, you'll be able to snuff out any golddiggers, unless you're into that.
Sims on a date can ask about kids, jobs, pets, expectations, and goals for the future, maybe even get uncomfortable when certain ones don't match their own or a trait is anti-whatever the other sim has said.
Some could even ditch halfway through dinner and sneak home, either by heading through a bathroom window or pretending a family member has died or by just standing up, yelling (If they have the formerly insane trait) at their date and leaving via the front door, pretending they've just found out something awful or accusing them of something worthy of later gossip from anyone within earshot.
If there was a specific sim your own wanted, there could be a plot to break them up from their partner, or even spread terrible lies to cause a divorce, date that sims friend/family member to get close to them or just straight up send a love note hoping for a positive response. This could be an addition of the stalker feature, depending on which side you wanna be on.
Children may or may not take to your new bae. Pets either.
Sims can lie about being single and their spouse may appear on dates to confront them/you.
Pushy sims can request a second date with you and spam phones/computers to get your attention.
New traits can determine your fate love wise and so much more.
The more part, I'll leave to you guys to comment below, as I'm exhausted and have barely slept, so lets talk about what you think would make dating better! and how it would work!
We have the wishing well.
We have venues and places to date.
We have dating! As lacking as it is and laughable in terms of its difficulty when in use.
We have enough of a base that a few code changes, some new animations/options/outcomes, would make a world of difference! All the staff has to do is work on it when they have the time, rather than stuff packs that have no reason for being or should've been content added to a completely other content releases!
Now, when I mention stalkers, don't fret, it wouldn't be extreme: Simply a code similar to that of a Stan from Get famous, again, we have the base, some code alterations, and dialogue options, it's done, this wouldn't need to be anything other than a Stan sim with a different label and some extra stuff thrown in, nothing too risky or upsetting, plus it would be an excuse for new traits and perhaps a suggested "Mouthy" response in the form of an insult and harsh words to send the creeper packing, that's if the police haven't arrived yet.
Word of mouth would be exactly what you think: Bad date, poopy ref from locals/ex-partners, you do something rude/weird/upsetting, they'll talk about it to their friends! And then the friends will talk about it, some may even come at your house to yell at you for that thing you did (something stupid like didn't put your pinky up when you drank or offered them a spoon), and lets not talk about that bag of whatever on the porch.
This feature would be a good introduction to cause and effect, you do something wrong, it bites you, something good and rewards follow, with dating, a good night would end with a kiss and a phone number, maybe an invite for coffee (Woohoo) or introduction to the sims beloved poodle who hates your guts and will snap at any attempts to boop the snoot.
On the topic of improved dating, by improvements, I would say something like extra dialogue, certain sim personalities clashing or blending effortlessly with your own, a manners feature could add to the risk factor of making a fine impression as well as a 'Wealth' meter where you could flaunt it, lie about having loads or none, or be scared by the date-ee pulling up your family history and making comment about 'Grandpa's' left thousands, or millions, of course, certain intent will show through and if you're smart enough, you'll be able to snuff out any golddiggers, unless you're into that.
Sims on a date can ask about kids, jobs, pets, expectations, and goals for the future, maybe even get uncomfortable when certain ones don't match their own or a trait is anti-whatever the other sim has said.
Some could even ditch halfway through dinner and sneak home, either by heading through a bathroom window or pretending a family member has died or by just standing up, yelling (If they have the formerly insane trait) at their date and leaving via the front door, pretending they've just found out something awful or accusing them of something worthy of later gossip from anyone within earshot.
If there was a specific sim your own wanted, there could be a plot to break them up from their partner, or even spread terrible lies to cause a divorce, date that sims friend/family member to get close to them or just straight up send a love note hoping for a positive response. This could be an addition of the stalker feature, depending on which side you wanna be on.
Children may or may not take to your new bae. Pets either.
Sims can lie about being single and their spouse may appear on dates to confront them/you.
Pushy sims can request a second date with you and spam phones/computers to get your attention.
New traits can determine your fate love wise and so much more.
The more part, I'll leave to you guys to comment below, as I'm exhausted and have barely slept, so lets talk about what you think would make dating better! and how it would work!
3
Comments
I'd like a system of attraction or preferences. Something that'll make sims connect more to certain sims and find distaste in others. Whether that zodiac signs, turn ons/offs, likes/dislikes, etc it doesn't really matter. Just something so that my sims will like certain sims over others. And I prefer it if sims relationship grew based on how well they connected. If they have more in common with each other, their romance should increase quicker and it'll be easier to agree to be a couple, whereas if one likes something the other dislikes, they'll struggle to bond and may take longer to accept as a bf/gf.
Another big addition I'd like to see is some method to assign a gender preference for my sims. All sims just naturally and equally accept all flirting whether from a male or female sim. There should be some level of control over how much a sims likes/dislikes male and/or female sims romantically.
"Sims on a date can ask about kids, jobs, pets, expectations, and goals for the future, maybe even get uncomfortable when certain ones don't match their own or a trait is anti-whatever the other sim has said."
I like this idea. It feels like sims can't really get to know others aside from asking their traits. (which I guess is accurate since that's as deep as their 'personalities' go