Yes it is a choice, and I understand where you’re coming from, honestly I really do understand people’s complaints and opinions on this topic of control vs no control. I haven’t gotten to play around with the new pack yet, hope to as soon as I can get my hands on it, but from what I’ve read and seen these new pets really are as expressive as the developers made them out to be.
From what I've heard animations break or hang, they do not have any needs (pets go without eating/ sleeping until you order them to) and UI is confusing
That's not my experience at all. In fact I feel like my sims' dogs spend most of the day eating (they stare at their bowl or bring it to your sim for them to fill it up at least 2/3 times a day). They also get dirty (and not only when they play in the mud). My sim came home from work and found her puppy chihuahua had pooped and peed all over the floor and was all dirty too...
From what I've heard animations break or hang, they do not have any needs (pets go without eating/ sleeping until you order them to) and UI is confusing
How is the bolded part possible? Even the baby object has "needs".
Maxis needs to improve the pets AI. My mom cat didn't eat for two days and my kitten hasn't slept for two days. The kitten hasn't slept at all, not even a cat nap.
I find some pets don't want to eat you just have to tell them after a bit they learn on there own.
She was eating when I quit my game. The day before in the game I cooked some pet food for her and she took maybe 2 bites and the rest spoiled. I filled the cat bowls with food and she finally ate. The kitten still hasn't slept at all. It's morning of day 3 in the game.
ETA. Since I made these cats I know their traits. The mom is curious, clever, and prowler. The kitten is curious, clever, and frisky.
I think it's okay to make it so you can't control them. That's what pets are like irl, you can only guide them and praise/lecture behaviour. I do wish they would've added a screen where we can see their age, their relationships etc.
I'm trying to get my cats to breed but they keep rejecting eachother. Having no idea how they feel towards each other really doesn't help :(
How is the bolded part possible? Even the baby object has "needs".
How can a cat not sleep for 3 days and not pass out and not eat for 2 days and not get any hunger warnings if they have needs? The intended functionality might be that they perform an animation ever so often without actually having the "need" (let's say that in code, a sims need is measured from 0 to 100, 0 being empty, 100 being full. I think that cats and dogs might not even have this measurement), however as they're currently not performing these animations on their own in some games, this becomes more apparent.
How is the bolded part possible? Even the baby object has "needs".
How can a cat not sleep for 3 days and not pass out and not eat for 2 days and not get any hunger warnings if they have needs? The intended functionality might be that they perform an animation ever so often without actually having the "need" (let's say that in code, a sims need is measured from 0 to 100, 0 being empty, 100 being full. I think that cats and dogs might not even have this measurement), however as they're currently not performing these animations on their own in some games, this becomes more apparent.
This has got to be a bug, because pets without needs...I can't even go there.
Do you have any mods? Or, maybe try repairing your game? (Sorry if you said that you have tried that already, I might have missed it.)
How is the bolded part possible? Even the baby object has "needs".
How can a cat not sleep for 3 days and not pass out and not eat for 2 days and not get any hunger warnings if they have needs? The intended functionality might be that they perform an animation ever so often without actually having the "need" (let's say that in code, a sims need is measured from 0 to 100, 0 being empty, 100 being full. I think that cats and dogs might not even have this measurement), however as they're currently not performing these animations on their own in some games, this becomes more apparent.
Again have you experienced this? Can this e.g. be caused by mods? I haven't seen anyone mention this issue on Tumblr where I'm mostly active. It seems every time an expansion is out it's the people who don't even have the game who complain the most because of stuff they "have read somewhere and happened to someone else"
Personally, I preferred them being uncontrollable like they were in the Sims 2. While it was fun to control them in TS3 when members of the household were at work or school it makes them more spontaneous and requires more interactions with their sims in my opinion. If you want to house train your dog to go to the bathroom outside you have your sims train them as opposed to controlling your dog and forcing it to go outside until it learns. The only thing I am missing is being able to see its motive bars but it's fun having to look for the cues from them.
“It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.” –The Goblet of Fire
I would say good move. I prefer them not being controllable.
However, I do want to be able to see my pets skills, age, family tree and needs. Needs isn't that important, but I don't understand why they excluded the possibility to see their age etc.
If they get enough feedback then perhaps the developers will add it later on.
How is the bolded part possible? Even the baby object has "needs".
How can a cat not sleep for 3 days and not pass out and not eat for 2 days and not get any hunger warnings if they have needs? The intended functionality might be that they perform an animation ever so often without actually having the "need" (let's say that in code, a sims need is measured from 0 to 100, 0 being empty, 100 being full. I think that cats and dogs might not even have this measurement), however as they're currently not performing these animations on their own in some games, this becomes more apparent.
This has got to be a bug, because pets without needs...I can't even go there.
Do you have any mods? Or, maybe try repairing your game? (Sorry if you said that you have tried that already, I might have missed it.)
I'm experiencing what you quoted. I never have mods or CC in any game I own. That includes skyrim, fallout 4, and the sims games. I haven't seen the cats in my game get red pictures or whatever is supposed to turn red. My sim is being very social with both cats, praising, petting, and talking to them. I'm not giving the cats any commands except for "What is that?" because I got the notice about the curious trait.
I strongly dislike it.
First, I'm one of those players who do not want the same content again and again, but something new instead. Pets were uncontrollable in Sims 1 (I think), Sims 2 was a step forward with allowing for cheats to cancel pet actions and even control them. So I fully expected them to be controllable in Sims 4. (Don't say go play Sims 3, that game never was my cup of tea).
Second, I already said so in another thread, pets being uncontrollable creates a hierarchy between my dolls and me. I do not have human dollies and animal dollies, but instead my dolls have their own dolls. Weird.
Third, I do not trust the K.I. do handle pets correctly. It fails at simulating humans already. As a longtime cat owner I think I should be trusted to know enough about cat behaviour to play a convincing cat!
Fourth, what if I don't want to play lifelike pets? What if I want to play "Inspector Rex" instead, with a mischievious dog of almost human intelligence? The "soulful" and "surprising" K.I. isn't equipped to provide me with such a dog, at best it can provide stereotypical ones.
Bottomline is, I don't care if it's a good move overall, I personally absolutely do not like the decision.
I think maybe someone can mine the code and game files to confirm whether pets do have needs or just an AI script dictating what to do.
I think they have needs because in my first game, I saw a stray with the food dish thought bubble meowing at several sims, but my sim acted like her AI froze when I tried to give it a treat. After several tries to give the stray a treat, I rage quit that game. Then I made the two cats I'm playing with now. The traits could be over powering the needs, frisky canceling out the sleep need, and prowler canceling the hunger need.
I think maybe someone can mine the code and game files to confirm whether pets do have needs or just an AI script dictating what to do.
Just to follow up on this, I used testingcheats and shift-clicked on my dog who was uncomfortable because he had to pee. I clicked on "make happy" and he became fine, and he stopped crying at the door. This might indicate that pets do have needs that we just don't see.
Also, while we're at it, it seems that we can give them quirks using that cheat. They can obsess over or fear something.
Don't manhandle the urchin. He's not for sale. FIND YOUR OWN! - Xenon the Antiquarian, Dragon Age II
Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
I like it so far. There is a good "what's wrong" when your pet seems a bit stressed. (mostly my pup wanting to pee).
It is so stressful though it reminds me of the problems I had with my first puppy but I think I am getting the hang of it. Pick the pup up take it outside, command it to go potty and then praise it. Now my puppy is starting to tell my sim that he wants to go outside. The puddle is HUGE though and the grown up mastiff has just rolled in it! I love the leg up action.
My Sims (two elders) keep wanting to go to bed and sleep just like I did, It's exhausting them like I was! The mastiff has taken over the sofa to sleep as well.
I'm experiencing what you quoted. I never have mods or CC in any game I own. That includes skyrim, fallout 4, and the sims games. I haven't seen the cats in my game get red pictures or whatever is supposed to turn red. My sim is being very social with both cats, praising, petting, and talking to them. I'm not giving the cats any commands except for "What is that?" because I got the notice about the curious trait.
It's definitely a bug then. Like most Sims bugs, it doesn't happen with everyone. Hopefully, there will be a fix soon.
I think it was a good move - being 100% honest. I will say that I wish we knew what their skills are and if they’re potty-trained fully, etc. I love not being able to control them. There’s already enough to control in the game - it felt too in-control. I love the spontaneity of the pets. I have no autonomy for my Sims, so having the pets do their own thing is cool for me because I can continue on bossing my Sims around.
I think it was a good move - being 100% honest. I will say that I wish we knew what their skills are and if they’re potty-trained fully, etc. I love not being able to control them. There’s already enough to control in the game - it felt too in-control. I love the spontaneity of the pets. I have no autonomy for my Sims, so having the pets do their own thing is cool for me because I can continue on bossing my Sims around.
It's funny because people (myself included) Have been complaining for 3 years that the player has too much control in this game and that there's hardly any challenge or random things happening (which makes it too predictable and less fun). And now they give us this (which in my opinion is a step in the right direction) and people complain too lol I guess you can't make everyone happy
I think it was a good move - being 100% honest. I will say that I wish we knew what their skills are and if they’re potty-trained fully, etc. I love not being able to control them. There’s already enough to control in the game - it felt too in-control. I love the spontaneity of the pets. I have no autonomy for my Sims, so having the pets do their own thing is cool for me because I can continue on bossing my Sims around.
It's funny because people (myself included) Have been complaining for 3 years that the player has too much control in this game and that there's hardly any challenge or random things happening (which makes it too predictable and less fun). And now they give us this (which in my opinion is a step in the right direction) and people complain too lol
🐸🐸🐸🐸 ain’t that the truth. I love seeing the pets act like pets on their own. I don’t think we’d be able to make them feel like pets if we had control.
I've put a fence round the property with "no dogs" lock on the front gate so my pets don't stray and Vlad now doesn't come in with the "locked for everyone but household". I just unlock the front door when the Sims I like arrive and lock it at night such as the lady with the adopted pet etc.
I really like it so far. The pets are certainly unpredictable and it's really improved my gameplay. This is also the first time I've used the adoption function in the game and it's been interesting to have a little Labrador puppy running around.
I'm experiencing what you quoted. I never have mods or CC in any game I own. That includes skyrim, fallout 4, and the sims games. I haven't seen the cats in my game get red pictures or whatever is supposed to turn red. My sim is being very social with both cats, praising, petting, and talking to them. I'm not giving the cats any commands except for "What is that?" because I got the notice about the curious trait.
It's definitely a bug then. Like most Sims bugs, it doesn't happen with everyone. Hopefully, there will be a fix soon.
Okay I think my sim could be bugged then. I tried to make her friend of the world back in Sept. I thought I saved her in my library before she had that bug but maybe not.
Comments
That's not my experience at all. In fact I feel like my sims' dogs spend most of the day eating (they stare at their bowl or bring it to your sim for them to fill it up at least 2/3 times a day). They also get dirty (and not only when they play in the mud). My sim came home from work and found her puppy chihuahua had pooped and peed all over the floor and was all dirty too...
Thank goodness. So why were they searching all over for that kitten in the live stream? Are they really so ignorant as to how the game works?
Edited to add: Can you right click on their portrait to follow them with the camera?
How is the bolded part possible? Even the baby object has "needs".
She was eating when I quit my game. The day before in the game I cooked some pet food for her and she took maybe 2 bites and the rest spoiled. I filled the cat bowls with food and she finally ate. The kitten still hasn't slept at all. It's morning of day 3 in the game.
ETA. Since I made these cats I know their traits. The mom is curious, clever, and prowler. The kitten is curious, clever, and frisky.
That's what pets are like irl, you can only guide them and praise/lecture behaviour.
I do wish they would've added a screen where we can see their age, their relationships etc.
I'm trying to get my cats to breed but they keep rejecting eachother.
Having no idea how they feel towards each other really doesn't help :(
How can a cat not sleep for 3 days and not pass out and not eat for 2 days and not get any hunger warnings if they have needs? The intended functionality might be that they perform an animation ever so often without actually having the "need" (let's say that in code, a sims need is measured from 0 to 100, 0 being empty, 100 being full. I think that cats and dogs might not even have this measurement), however as they're currently not performing these animations on their own in some games, this becomes more apparent.
This has got to be a bug, because pets without needs...I can't even go there.
Do you have any mods? Or, maybe try repairing your game? (Sorry if you said that you have tried that already, I might have missed it.)
Good move.
Again have you experienced this? Can this e.g. be caused by mods? I haven't seen anyone mention this issue on Tumblr where I'm mostly active. It seems every time an expansion is out it's the people who don't even have the game who complain the most because of stuff they "have read somewhere and happened to someone else"
However, I do want to be able to see my pets skills, age, family tree and needs. Needs isn't that important, but I don't understand why they excluded the possibility to see their age etc.
If they get enough feedback then perhaps the developers will add it later on.
I'm experiencing what you quoted. I never have mods or CC in any game I own. That includes skyrim, fallout 4, and the sims games. I haven't seen the cats in my game get red pictures or whatever is supposed to turn red. My sim is being very social with both cats, praising, petting, and talking to them. I'm not giving the cats any commands except for "What is that?" because I got the notice about the curious trait.
Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
First, I'm one of those players who do not want the same content again and again, but something new instead. Pets were uncontrollable in Sims 1 (I think), Sims 2 was a step forward with allowing for cheats to cancel pet actions and even control them. So I fully expected them to be controllable in Sims 4. (Don't say go play Sims 3, that game never was my cup of tea).
Second, I already said so in another thread, pets being uncontrollable creates a hierarchy between my dolls and me. I do not have human dollies and animal dollies, but instead my dolls have their own dolls. Weird.
Third, I do not trust the K.I. do handle pets correctly. It fails at simulating humans already. As a longtime cat owner I think I should be trusted to know enough about cat behaviour to play a convincing cat!
Fourth, what if I don't want to play lifelike pets? What if I want to play "Inspector Rex" instead, with a mischievious dog of almost human intelligence? The "soulful" and "surprising" K.I. isn't equipped to provide me with such a dog, at best it can provide stereotypical ones.
Bottomline is, I don't care if it's a good move overall, I personally absolutely do not like the decision.
/Rant Felt good
I think they have needs because in my first game, I saw a stray with the food dish thought bubble meowing at several sims, but my sim acted like her AI froze when I tried to give it a treat. After several tries to give the stray a treat, I rage quit that game. Then I made the two cats I'm playing with now. The traits could be over powering the needs, frisky canceling out the sleep need, and prowler canceling the hunger need.
Just to follow up on this, I used testingcheats and shift-clicked on my dog who was uncomfortable because he had to pee. I clicked on "make happy" and he became fine, and he stopped crying at the door. This might indicate that pets do have needs that we just don't see.
Also, while we're at it, it seems that we can give them quirks using that cheat. They can obsess over or fear something.
Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
It is so stressful though it reminds me of the problems I had with my first puppy but I think I am getting the hang of it. Pick the pup up take it outside, command it to go potty and then praise it. Now my puppy is starting to tell my sim that he wants to go outside. The puddle is HUGE though and the grown up mastiff has just rolled in it!
My Sims (two elders) keep wanting to go to bed and sleep just like I did, It's exhausting them like I was! The mastiff has taken over the sofa to sleep as well.
It's definitely a bug then. Like most Sims bugs, it doesn't happen with everyone. Hopefully, there will be a fix soon.
Origin ID: TheSimsBoi13
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TheSimsBoi
It's funny because people (myself included) Have been complaining for 3 years that the player has too much control in this game and that there's hardly any challenge or random things happening (which makes it too predictable and less fun). And now they give us this (which in my opinion is a step in the right direction) and people complain too lol I guess you can't make everyone happy
🐸🐸🐸🐸 ain’t that the truth. I love seeing the pets act like pets on their own. I don’t think we’d be able to make them feel like pets if we had control.
Origin ID: TheSimsBoi13
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TheSimsBoi
Okay I think my sim could be bugged then. I tried to make her friend of the world back in Sept. I thought I saved her in my library before she had that bug but maybe not.