Yes please. Could I also make a suggestion for more than one Pollination Technician, of varied looks (and possibly sex) so we can have alien-sim hybrid babies from abductions that aren't all related.
Sorry for not responding for a while, been busy with other things. And I am actually quite confident that they are working on implementing at least some of the things I listed (as I know I am not the only one who asked for it) - so I haven't really felt the need to continuously bump this thread, knowing it takes time to develop and test things of this kind.
It is however a good thing to be reminded that there's still a lot to improve in terms of population related options. I appreciate everyone's input, but not everything mentioned can be added, as it isn't always a UI selectable option (as the things listed are/could be). Although I agree the blank neighbourhood options is a bit off as well (nonetheless a UI option).
@golden24ersa Thank you for commenting and for your suggestion. If I understand correctly, you want to be able to split a househould without going to manage worlds and then not have to bother about the Sim you removed from the household? Sort of like the system they had in Sims 3? So it would end up under story progression? It's not entirely clear to me right now.
If that is what you mean, I agree that it would be easier, but it's not the sort of population option you can tick or untick (or choose in a drop-down menu) from the UI, like basically all of the things I listed (except maybe the "selected households" feature - although that would probably best be done through manage worlds as well). So I'm not sure if it fits in here.
@Khugan Thanks, and I think you're right in saying that what you want is already incorporated in the things listed.
@MoonchildJones Thanks, let's just hope EA is listening to us
@xXKuroFaiXx Thank you for commenting. I agree with you suggestion (even though my Sims never had alien babies ) but I'm referring to what I said (in general terms) to golden24ersa, it's not really an option, more like a game mechanic.
I added a few (not particularly neccesary) refinements to the service NPC part - I added in repairmen (just because I can ) and Spa Day service NPCs (just so we're complete again - I'll probably have something more to add in there when GT comes out - unless of course the feature we're asking for is implemented with the pre-pack patch - fingers crossed).
@MDianaSanders Thanks, and sorry about that. I wasn't even thinking in terms of things that could be toggled on/off, I just saw all these wonderful suggestions for aliens/abductions and I typed before I thought. Oops.
This is an absolutely fantastic post. I'm not quite sure why the team seems to be opposed to giving us options and settings this time, but being able to tweak things like this on a per-save basis would be wonderful. Each person would be able to decide how they wanted their game to work, and a person who wanted to avoid aliens could do so while a person who loved them and wanted a lot of them would be able to do that, too. Being able to adjust the ages would be nice, too. On/off switches are nice, but sliders and detailed options are even better!
Add a special tab for ‘service’ NPCs, besides the tabs for played and unplayed Sims. So where you can find the mailmen/women, maids, repairmen, etc. Also barkeepers, caterers – these should be given a default skill level of no lower than 6 for their work related skill(s). For OR it would be the rangers and the hermit, for GTW the co-workers (patients, suspects and aliens should be regular townies), for SD it would be the Yoga instructors and spa employees. There should be a set number of any of these Sims (with minimums/maximums, the absolute minimum for all service NPCs being one mailman/woman), allowing the game to generate new ones only when a Sim retires or dies, which can be set to happen autonomously or with player interference. Players should be able to fire/retire a Sim they no longer think fit for the job. Also, the option should be available to appoint an existing non-service NPC for the task. There should be an advanced option to turn off the game generating service NPCs, this will result in a prompt to choose at least one of each, in a fashion similar to choosing heroes in Sims Medieval. Retired service NPCs should be moved to the unplayed tab. In case of GTW this will also prevent our Sims from having new co-workers every day.
Add the option to auto-clear dead not-in-world Sims. Also a button to manually clear dead Sims (played and unplayed – in case the auto-clear is unchecked) that aren’t playable ghosts. Once removed, dead Sims’ images/info should not disappear from family trees.
Display the current population number in manage households, including the number of dead (non-)ghost Sims that have not been cleared (with a separate count indicating how many of the population are dead). It would also be very helpful if ghost Sims would appear in manage households, so players can remove them manually and opt to keep some of them.
Amen. Also would be a perfect if they add a menu on community lots to manage workers, outfits, roles and doors locks.
Normally I would say no to the Supernatural Toggle. but you planned it out well.
As for story progression I think there should be a List so we can choose exactly what can and cannot happen at the games command.
As a Rotational player, I don't want to see Households that i'm currently not controlling: Move away, become pregnant, get jobs, Die, suddenly have a change in relationships. All the important stuff I would like to decide/be there for it. but Sims can should Maintain relationships, and I'd like to see them around the world(s) and do things, I would make them do. Like if there was a way a Sim can memorize how I control them, at home, and where I take them the most, that would be nice.
Aging is off in my game. But I would turn it on if I can make it So there are 365 sim days in a Sim Year. and that's how I'd like my sims to age.
And Weather, I know you done't have it up yet, But I don't think it should be in the options menu.
I think Weather should be cheats. so I can toggle the different Weather/Seasons at my command.
As a rotational player and someone who's been playing with the same legacy since last year, I say this post is awesome and seeing one simguru recognize it made my eyes shine.
I have always thought there should be one NPC apartment building with option to move out and play with the NPC's.
As far Sims 4, I keep trying to play and love the game but I am finding I scream at it and then shut the game down whole lot than actually play it.
Due to recent developments in the game and subsequent forum discussions about them, I have thought of two more "sections" to be added. (I won't add them for now, as the forum is still so glitchy and I don't want my original post lost).
Autonomy
Given the recent changes to autonomy (woohoo, proposals and even elopment!) and the fact that some people are happy about it and others aren't, show clearly that we need a more nuanced set of options than the on/off we have now. Options
None - Sims won't do anything without player interference (maybe this one shouldn't be in there, because it makes it a lot easier to, for example, starve Sims).
Low - Sims standing idle will tend to their needs if those drop in the yellow, no autonomous multitasking.
Normal - Sims will autonomously multitask things (e.g. view decoration, engage in conversation) and occupy themselves (either tend to their needs or do something fun, like read a book or play chess or a video game) when standing idle for a while (basically the autonomy type we used to have before the December 2015 patches).
High - Sims will be more likely to occupy themselves with less regular activities, such as non-fun skill building activities or more advanced social interactions like woohoo (when in the right mood).
Full - Sims will autonomously engage in life-changing activities such as proposal, marriage, try for baby or potentially dangerous things that could kill them.
For clarification, each setting adds to the things mentioned in the previous one.
Relationships
The issue of relationship decay has been heavily debated ever since the start of Sims 4, there have been several changes in it through patches, but none have been satisfactory, maybe it's time we got to choose for ourselves. Options
There is never a warning when your Sim is about to lose a friend - Sims 2 and 3 had phone calls/messages to notify you of it. Also, the bars we have are hard to interpret - I'd welcome the return of the point system we had in Sims 1 and 2 where you could easily see a friend needed some attention because the points were under 60. This will also allow the use of the following options to regulate relationship decay (on a 100 relationship points maximum):
Low - decrease of 2 point for each day of non-interaction.
Normal - decrease of 3 points for each day of non-interaction.
High - decrease of 5 points for each day of non-interaction.
Maybe not neccessarily these amounts, but a system like this. There should probably also be an "Extreme" option, for those who like to play hard (like a 10-point decrease per day) - or maybe just a slider that ranges from 2 to 10. It would be nice to have relationships with BFFs, girl/boyfriends and family members decrease a little slower (a difference of 1 point compared to regular friends). The romance bar would work the same but is restricted to romantic actions only (as it is now). The option of no decay isn't added because it would make the "Beloved" trait obsolete - which may actually be a good thing because it has been bugged since the start of the game and still hasn't been fixed. It may well be easier to change the reward trait for the "Friend of the World" aspiration (which is a silly reward because it also means negative relationships don't decay either, and that's weird for "them most popular Sim in town") and allow an option for no relationship decay by sliders or as a buyable reward trait that does work for more than one Sim in each save.
A certain amount of points should be allocated to interactions, just as it worked in Sims 2. I imagine the underlying game mechanic to actually work this way, but for some reason it isn't shown to us.
They're just some ideas and they may need a little tuning, but essentially it is about having more choice in these gameplay settings than we have now (or simply having gameplay settings we don't have right now). If anyone has any idea on how to improve these ideas, or has any other ideas, please share them!
ETA: I just realised something, maybe the more "extreme" options should be available by cheat (as @MasonGamer sort of suggested) and not as a regular UI option. It should however be fairly easy to use cheats that don't have to be constantly reactivated.
This is a great, well thought out post! I agree with everything said here. I was going to start a thread about possibly having the ability to add blank worlds but you have covered that as well. I also like the way you addressed the culling issue. If we, as players, are supposed to be in control, than give us control. We'll decide what our individual systems can handle and what they cannot.
I just have to say. It is sooooo nice to see helpful criticism for the gurus. I think that's why a guru responded. I applaud you for making a respectful, easy to read, and constructive request for needed features. Its a rare thing around here.
I love video games because of the things that I could never do in real life... For instance, in the sims you can get a job and a house.
Origin ID: Mainmanvs100
Why do Sims 4 game developer has to limit everything? population limit, family size limit, even limit on the text. Why does all the good things from previous game removed in Sims4?
It's kind of disappointing that almost two years later, we have none of these options. Sure, things have been tweaked and some things are relatively regulatable through gameplay itself, but there still aren't any options.
I would have thought that at least with the release of the vampires game pack they'd have added an off switch for supernaturals... I guess it must incredibly difficult to alter the way in which the game generates Sims, right?
Luckily we have MC Command Centre to give us options we need. Still a shame we have to rely on a mod to actually "rule" our game...
Three years later and this hasn't been implemented yet. I don't always agree with an original post but with this thread, I have to agree to about 95% of the original post.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
Just knowing a few of these things are being brought in give some hope for th future of sims. The unlimited sims option is my favorite because now I don’t need to worry about anything other than the power of my laptop. The roof update is, strangely, exciting to me build wise. Your ideas are fantastic and this thread is one of my favorites
So considering this thread has been inactive for 2 years I'm going to go ahead and close it off. If you have any questions about necroposting you can read this thread here : Necroposting
Comments
It is however a good thing to be reminded that there's still a lot to improve in terms of population related options. I appreciate everyone's input, but not everything mentioned can be added, as it isn't always a UI selectable option (as the things listed are/could be). Although I agree the blank neighbourhood options is a bit off as well (nonetheless a UI option).
@EgonVM Thanks
@golden24ersa Thank you for commenting and for your suggestion. If I understand correctly, you want to be able to split a househould without going to manage worlds and then not have to bother about the Sim you removed from the household? Sort of like the system they had in Sims 3? So it would end up under story progression? It's not entirely clear to me right now.
If that is what you mean, I agree that it would be easier, but it's not the sort of population option you can tick or untick (or choose in a drop-down menu) from the UI, like basically all of the things I listed (except maybe the "selected households" feature - although that would probably best be done through manage worlds as well). So I'm not sure if it fits in here.
@Khugan Thanks, and I think you're right in saying that what you want is already incorporated in the things listed.
@MoonchildJones Thanks, let's just hope EA is listening to us
@xXKuroFaiXx Thank you for commenting. I agree with you suggestion (even though my Sims never had alien babies
@DanieAnn Thanks, I hope so too
I added a few (not particularly neccesary) refinements to the service NPC part - I added in repairmen (just because I can
Amen. Also would be a perfect if they add a menu on community lots to manage workers, outfits, roles and doors locks.
As for story progression I think there should be a List so we can choose exactly what can and cannot happen at the games command.
As a Rotational player, I don't want to see Households that i'm currently not controlling: Move away, become pregnant, get jobs, Die, suddenly have a change in relationships. All the important stuff I would like to decide/be there for it. but Sims can should Maintain relationships, and I'd like to see them around the world(s) and do things, I would make them do. Like if there was a way a Sim can memorize how I control them, at home, and where I take them the most, that would be nice.
Aging is off in my game. But I would turn it on if I can make it So there are 365 sim days in a Sim Year. and that's how I'd like my sims to age.
And Weather, I know you done't have it up yet, But I don't think it should be in the options menu.
I think Weather should be cheats. so I can toggle the different Weather/Seasons at my command.
My Mood:
As far Sims 4, I keep trying to play and love the game but I am finding I scream at it and then shut the game down whole lot than actually play it.
Due to recent developments in the game and subsequent forum discussions about them, I have thought of two more "sections" to be added. (I won't add them for now, as the forum is still so glitchy and I don't want my original post lost).
Autonomy
Given the recent changes to autonomy (woohoo, proposals and even elopment!) and the fact that some people are happy about it and others aren't, show clearly that we need a more nuanced set of options than the on/off we have now.
Options
- None - Sims won't do anything without player interference (maybe this one shouldn't be in there, because it makes it a lot easier to, for example, starve Sims).
- Low - Sims standing idle will tend to their needs if those drop in the yellow, no autonomous multitasking.
- Normal - Sims will autonomously multitask things (e.g. view decoration, engage in conversation) and occupy themselves (either tend to their needs or do something fun, like read a book or play chess or a video game) when standing idle for a while (basically the autonomy type we used to have before the December 2015 patches).
- High - Sims will be more likely to occupy themselves with less regular activities, such as non-fun skill building activities or more advanced social interactions like woohoo (when in the right mood).
- Full - Sims will autonomously engage in life-changing activities such as proposal, marriage, try for baby or potentially dangerous things that could kill them.
For clarification, each setting adds to the things mentioned in the previous one.Relationships
The issue of relationship decay has been heavily debated ever since the start of Sims 4, there have been several changes in it through patches, but none have been satisfactory, maybe it's time we got to choose for ourselves.
Options
There is never a warning when your Sim is about to lose a friend - Sims 2 and 3 had phone calls/messages to notify you of it. Also, the bars we have are hard to interpret - I'd welcome the return of the point system we had in Sims 1 and 2 where you could easily see a friend needed some attention because the points were under 60. This will also allow the use of the following options to regulate relationship decay (on a 100 relationship points maximum):
- Low - decrease of 2 point for each day of non-interaction.
- Normal - decrease of 3 points for each day of non-interaction.
- High - decrease of 5 points for each day of non-interaction.
Maybe not neccessarily these amounts, but a system like this. There should probably also be an "Extreme" option, for those who like to play hard (like a 10-point decrease per day) - or maybe just a slider that ranges from 2 to 10. It would be nice to have relationships with BFFs, girl/boyfriends and family members decrease a little slower (a difference of 1 point compared to regular friends). The romance bar would work the same but is restricted to romantic actions only (as it is now). The option of no decay isn't added because it would make the "Beloved" trait obsolete - which may actually be a good thing because it has been bugged since the start of the game and still hasn't been fixed. It may well be easier to change the reward trait for the "Friend of the World" aspiration (which is a silly reward because it also means negative relationships don't decay either, and that's weird for "them most popular Sim in town") and allow an option for no relationship decay by sliders or as a buyable reward trait that does work for more than one Sim in each save.A certain amount of points should be allocated to interactions, just as it worked in Sims 2. I imagine the underlying game mechanic to actually work this way, but for some reason it isn't shown to us.
They're just some ideas and they may need a little tuning, but essentially it is about having more choice in these gameplay settings than we have now (or simply having gameplay settings we don't have right now). If anyone has any idea on how to improve these ideas, or has any other ideas, please share them!
ETA: I just realised something, maybe the more "extreme" options should be available by cheat (as @MasonGamer sort of suggested) and not as a regular UI option. It should however be fairly easy to use cheats that don't have to be constantly reactivated.
I love video games because of the things that I could never do in real life... For instance, in the sims you can get a job and a house.
Origin ID: Mainmanvs100
I would have thought that at least with the release of the vampires game pack they'd have added an off switch for supernaturals... I guess it must incredibly difficult to alter the way in which the game generates Sims, right?
Luckily we have MC Command Centre to give us options we need. Still a shame we have to rely on a mod to actually "rule" our game...
The Sims series are sandbox games and adjustability should be the rule and the exception.
http://simscommunity.info/2017/10/30/the-sims-4-sim-cap-limit-feature-coming-with-upcoming-update/
And we're also getting option no. 5
http://simscommunity.info/2017/10/30/the-sims-4-list-of-new-features-coming-in-november-update/