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TS4 with better Wants and Fears
Eliharb
Posts: 476 Member
I think "Whims" and aspiration goals in the sims 4 aren't really that present in the UI and it's easy to forget about the aspiration you chose and how it impacts the gameplay in any way. When you pick traits and an aspiration in CAS and move onto playing that sim, it doesn't make the sim that different from other sims behavior-wise, aside from the occasional scripted emotion/moodlet every now and then.
I think unless the Wants/Fears system in TS2 was way better and more visually present. Wants and fears encouraged gameplay based on the aspiration. It could promote use of new features when you install new content and remind you of features present in the game.
I'd love a reminder in the form of a sim wishing they could go camping for example, or being afraid of meeting a vampire.
I don't know if it's difficult to modify the UI to make wants and fears more than tiny bubbles noone really remembers to check, and aspirations and goals more than a list that's hidden behind a small icon.
I think unless the Wants/Fears system in TS2 was way better and more visually present. Wants and fears encouraged gameplay based on the aspiration. It could promote use of new features when you install new content and remind you of features present in the game.
I'd love a reminder in the form of a sim wishing they could go camping for example, or being afraid of meeting a vampire.
I don't know if it's difficult to modify the UI to make wants and fears more than tiny bubbles noone really remembers to check, and aspirations and goals more than a list that's hidden behind a small icon.
Playing on Intel Core i7-5960X 16 core CPU - 32 GB DDR4 Ram - GTX 980 Ti
5
Comments
How I imagine it would work, for example:
My Sim Mason King,
Aspiration: Friendship/Love
My/his fears: Being Lonely, Spiders, Untimely Death (Burning Electrocution, Drowning).
So randomly, He should get a Thought Bubbles:
"Talk to {Best Friend}" - Scared of Lonely.
"Clean/Spray Spider Repellent" - Fear of Spiders
and then make a way to Conquer Fears
Put out 5 Fires/Survive 5 Fires
Survive Drowning
and after you've conquered "x" amount of Fears, you are rewarded the "Brave Trait."
My Mood:
I think this is one of the reasons why sims 2 sims seem the most alive Sims out of the series. It really helps with humanizing them.
(She/her)
I posted a bit earlier why the whims and aspirations aren't fun to play with at the moment :
I don't like TS4 whims because :
- they are only short-terms (so they have almost no effect on driving my story one direction or another)
- they are so repetitive (Hang out with the club is always there)
- there's only two of them (because the emotional one has the two drawbacks above, but even worse)
I don't like TS4 aspirations because :
- they are too rigid, they are always the exact same no matter the context
- they are too limited, there's only a dozen of goals, and you can even hit a roadblock (Become an adult, Join X career) which means depending on the current life stage, you can't even use the aspiration
- there's no progression, you unlock one thing at the end but nothing along the way. Your romance teen is exactly the same as your romance elder until it unlocks this one trait.
I don't like TS4 traits you can buy because :
- it is in no way related to the aspiration, while the lifetime system had bonus related to aspirations
- it's a mess in the UI when you have bought a bunch of them, everything looks the same : aspiration trait, points trait, personality traits
- they feel more like cheats than the TS2 ones
Exactly. In TS2 you got points to buy different aspiration rewards with limited effects or times you can use them. And they were all fully developed concept objects and they added to the gameplay in a big way, as opposed to potions and permanent traits in TS4. The whole wants/fears system was a bigger deal (UI presence, core gameplay importance, sims have breakdowns if their aspiration bar is too low). Aspirations are an extension of their needs.
Yep. Exactly.
Whims are pointless, and Aspirations, while nice in the sense that they give you some long-term goals, ultimately they're just as pointless, since there's no drawback if you don't complete them.
Even a moodlet, like "Stuck in a Rut (Bored/Tense/Sad +3)" would alleviate this, because then your Sims would have a reason to complete Aspirations. And if you were Stuck in a Rut for more than a few days, your Sim could have a full-on breakdown, where their mood could tank further, and they start doing little idles related to their Aspiration type:
Athletic: They might just suddenly lack any and all motivation to do anything, and mope around the house, lounging on chairs and eating junk food, watching cartoons.
Creativity: They could play air guitar, and try to build sculptures out of garbage. They might also try to smash guitars, TVs, and other "out of control rock star" behaviors.
Deviance: They might just go off the deep end, and start acting like a deranged supervillain. They laugh maniacally to themselves, and plot world domination. Perhaps they pull a globe out of their pockets, and start talking about weather machines, laser sharks, volcano lairs, and other stereotypical Bond Villain stuff.
Family: Same as TS2. Flour sack baby!
Food: Same as TS2. They bring out a cardboard drawing of a grilled cheese sandwich, and kiss it and try to eat it.
Fortune: Same as TS2. They panhandle for Simoleons, using a tin can and a piece of cardboard with a § drawn on.
Knowledge: Same as TS2. They start talking to Professor Von Ball, a soccer ball with a face and a graduation cap.
Love: Same as TS2. They start dancing with a mop.
Nature: They could start rummaging through the garbage, trying (and failing) to find collectibles.
Popularity: Same as TS2's Pleasure Aspiration. They put a lampshade on their heads, and start dancing, and start talking to themselves.
Location: No idea about this one.
Child Aspirations: Kids throw tantrums, break objects, and just generally act as if they've got -100 in their Character Values.
In another thread, I said:
it would be amazing to see Aspiration failure make a return.
> It would probably factor into the Thought Bubbles, at least for fears.
>
> How I imagine it would work, for example:
>
> My Sim Mason King,
> Aspiration: Friendship/Love
> My/his fears: Being Lonely, Spiders, Untimely Death (Burning Electrocution, Drowning).
>
> So randomly, He should get a Thought Bubbles:
> "Talk to {Best Friend}" - Scared of Lonely.
> "Clean/Spray Spider Repellent" - Fear of Spiders
>
> and then make a way to Conquer Fears
>
> Put out 5 Fires/Survive 5 Fires
> Survive Drowning
>
> and after you've conquered "x" amount of Fears, you are rewarded the "Brave Trait."
This is an amazing idea!