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The sims should be like "pets" or "puppets" ?
LeGardePourpre
Posts: 15,233 Member
Hi,
I noticed that the sims don't communicate with the player anymore, they become a little more toys to control instead of living beings to help.
In real life, we don't behave the same way with our pets than with the objects, these behaviors give 2 different game experiences.
My question is what do you prefer ? The sims should be like "pets" or "puppets" ? How do you see them ?
I noticed that the sims don't communicate with the player anymore, they become a little more toys to control instead of living beings to help.
In real life, we don't behave the same way with our pets than with the objects, these behaviors give 2 different game experiences.
My question is what do you prefer ? The sims should be like "pets" or "puppets" ? How do you see them ?
The Sims 4 Ideas Corner The Sims 4 General Discussion
Post edited by LeGardePourpre on
The sims should be like "pets" or "puppets" ? 86 votes
"Pets" : A living being obeying and disobeying, just they need your help to be happy.
46%
40 votes
"Puppets" : An obedient object. What makes you happy is more important, that is their purpose.
53%
46 votes
1
Comments
I come with a story planned and I have things that I want to happen. It would be quite frustrating for the sims to have a "mind of their own". I don't think I'd enjoy it as much. It wouldn't be a very "involved" game.
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For example why did Gavin and North brawl today? Because they dislike each other and because Gavin thinks North isn't good enough a girlfriend for his BFF Daniel. Now had he pumped his hands and winked at me before attacking, the whole drama would have gotten lost, because in this case the sims would have brawled not because of their issues, but because I told them. That's a different dimension. They might even have disliked having to fight each other, what would have gone 100% against the character they have in my head.
Or when the sims move in in Sims 2 and still have autonomy for the few seconds before I take that away, they clap at a random object. At that moment I feel like their interior architect instead of someone watching (or writing the expose to) a movie.
Long story short, sims as pets and nurture gameplay kill the immersion for me.
They did it a lot in Sims 2. Especially when I would que up about three or four things for them to do (simple ones like taking care of their needs). Do two and drop the next and just do what they want. Like they're somewhat aware that someone may be controlling them. Kinda funky really.
Sims have been able to do that since The Sims 1. When needs get low, they'd look at the player, wave their hands frantically, then go off to do something other than what you told them. It may have been a feature in TS2, also. I wasn't aware that it had been brought to TS4, however. In this game it just looks like cancelled interactions.
I want them to do what I want to. I already check or uncheck (don't remember) the box for them to have no autonomy XD
It's funny - I play with autonomy off, too, for the same reason, but I chose 'pets' because I don't mind if they complain a little. And they do still complain at times, usually when I won't let them do something they desperately need to do (like use the toilet when I know they've got just a eyelash left to complete a skill level). I find it amusing when they jump out of the shower and throw a little hissy because they've splashed water all over the floor and now, it's wet (as if this is my fault!).
Part of the reason they don't complain as much now is that the routing is better. Quite often, an item gets dropped from the queue because another Sim is in the way. In S3, they'd wait, which is one of the reasons you'd end up with crashes when NPCs got stalled in interminable actions. They don't waste time throwing their hands up and stomping around when you tell them to do something that is impossible, they just drop it from the queue. (They give their feedback in thought bubbles - you'll see a question mark if they can't do what you want them to do.)
Also, they're not as, I don't know - picky? In previous games, you had to get the kids into a good mood to do homework; now, as long as their fun isn't in the red and they're not suffering from total emotional meltdown, you can make them do it. I very rarely have an action greyed out because a Sim is too sad or tense or whatever to do it.
And I find that quite cute, but I guess that's part of the charm in TS2. I personally wouldn't want that in TS4. I guess my playstyle since TS2 has changed. I'm more of a control freak now, and I think having the sims break the 4th wall by interacting with the player like that is not my thing anymore. And I certainly don't want sims cancelling the things that I tell them to do. I mean, if you have autonomy on, then maybe that makes sense, but I play with it off for a reason, I expect them to follow my commands and stop with their weird shenanigans. TS4's autonomy is a special kind of nightmare.
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Yeah, it's a bit like that, "hey game I want to play you, not watch you play yourself..." One could argue it's a weird quirk of sims being able to multitask, but again I'm not overly sure.
When I first started playing the Sims (unfortunately, I missed out on the Sims 2 experience, and started with Sims 3) I originally played with them very much like pets. I even called them "my people pets". I enjoyed how they seemed to acknowledge me from time to time and was amused by their antics. But over time, and especially since I now play mostly Sims 4, my play style has become more and more story focused, and more geared toward getting exactly the screen-shots I want. This is just how I'm having fun with it now. And I tend to get annoyed now when they don't do what I want, and I use "autonomy off" a lot, though I usually turn it back on when I'm done getting the screen shots I want, because I do still enjoy seeing what they will choose to do on their own.
I think what I really want is for them to be puppets when I want puppets, and pets when I want pets.
A puppet requires complete and total input from the user to do anything. I think that is unenjoyable, but for players who want their sims to do nothing until directed they have an option already. I think Sims 4 sims are more puppets than pets, but I would prefer it the other way around.