I loved whims in the past. It was fun filling as many as I could and getting the achievement for completing 100 of them. I liked how they would actually be about what my Sim was doing at the time or have something to do with their aspiration/traits.
But, that was in the past. Since they've been broken, I don't try to fill them anymore and usually just turn them off. They're too repetitive and seem to be mostly skewed toward materialistic Sims, "buy this, buy that" over and over. Plus, the most frustrating part of all is that they don't actually fulfill as they should, most of the time. Some will, but it's rare.
I had hopes they would be fixed, but that hope died when they changed the default for whims to be off when you open the game. I'm guessing anyone new to the game would wonder what we're talking about as they've never seen them and didn't realize whims was a thing.
I love whims, I'm a player who likes the reward traits and building up the points to be able to slow down motives without cheats or have various perks/traits. Unfortunately, these were left to gather dust when they added the ability for players to turn them off. A shame really - I wish we had more, unique whims and that they weren't so repetitive.
I was going to say a similar comment to yours, @Holiday , they are good way to build up those points for reward traits. Though personally, I've often cheat them in since I'm not into the grind these days like I used to be. But for those people who love it, like I used to because it's an accomplishment, I'm glad the whims are there. I've turned them on a few times just to try them out, sometimes it's funny, a mean sim wants to punch a few people as a whim, haha! Friendly sims may have the whim to hug a few random people, hmm, I like it. What I don't like is the way it's set up on screen. The pop-ups kind-of get in the way.
I use whims because I'm goal oriented and if I don't I will go crazy watching my Sims do random mindless, and senseless things.
eta But they can be frustrating too, because they change so fast.
I used to love them they need an overhaul if I just don’t know what to do I used to use them to see what my sims wanted i loved the way the sims 2 handled this with the wants and fears system I could go on with what else they could add but it would properly be a 200 word essay
I used to like whims but don't pay attention to them much any more. They are broken. If I lock a whim it is never satisfied. If I leave a whim unlocked it may change before completed. For example: earn $50 in tips would change before my Sim has a chance to complete it. Fix the whims and I will pay more attention to them like I did in the past.
yeah they change with their moods and it can get frustrating if you're working on completing one, then their mood changes say from inspirational to happy, the whims change too.
I was thrilled when whims disappeared. The same ones popped up over and over, and no, you don't need a square of pool, and you don't need to buy another musical instrument, you have three!
That said, eventually I got bored and made whims visible again. I mostly ignore them, but once in a while I go through and do a bunch for the points.
I like them. I do not look at them all the time, but especially when my sims interact with each other I often like to fulfil their whims. Sometimes its also nice to buy a toy if a kid wishes for it and stuff like that
Anyhow, I wish there were more whims, since I read somewhere on the forum that there haven't been new whims with the latest packs(?). Also the bug that is preventing fulfilling some whims should be fixed too.
They are very boring. The system in the Sims 2 was much better.
It's also much better in Sims 3. I've been playing that lately again because I never completed the WA tomb exploration. I plan to this time.
Back on topic, the whims directly relate to the sim, what they are doing and what's going on in their world. When my sim is exploring, the whims relate to that. (dive, find a hidden door, find a treasure worth so many simoleons, etc. When my sim is back at home, the whims relate to their environment and depend on what is on the lot. Usually it's about increasing skills related to the sim's personality, and overall aspiration. And they also pertain to any festivals occurring. Like visit the summer festival. And it's also about gaining relationships and maintaining current relationships. So in this regard, the whims in 3 are MUCH better.
In 4, as soon as we got the chance to shut them off, I did. Buy a bee box/cancel/buy a bee box/cancel/buy a beebox/cancel. Buy a 1x1 pool/cancel/buy a 1x1 pool/cancel. Etc. Etc. Etc. They have NOTHING to do with the sim, their aspirations, traits, skills....anything. Just more shallow play.
I have them turned on but usually ignore them. I wish they were fixed and tweaked to actually represent the sim and their desires better. I miss the aspiration system of Sims 2 but that's nothing new, I miss everything about Sims 2, lol
When they turned them off by default I just left them off.
I'd usually use them to get a few more reward points early on for new sims .. especially before we got more aspirations, but now I don't really have a use for them. I found them most fun for romantic sims on dates.
I think if they were a little more personal and meaningful to each sim maybe I'd miss them. I do know I don't want the want's and fears system (Sims 2) ever ruling my sims lives again.
I play with whims a lot, and I find them integral to how I tend to shape my stories. I really wish they'd develop them and make the system better, since I like the concept quite a bit but some of the details of execution are quite vexing. The constant whims to buy things for instance I think aren't very helpful, and I'm always wishing there were more whims, like a whim to adopt a child or go visit Selvadorada or to move in with someone, that kind of thing. But I really like getting an indication from whims of who my sim wants to spend time with, or what hobbies they want to develop.
I barely use whims since I generally have set story lines for most of my sims, and I don't like the space they take up on my screen so I turn them off. They can also change a lot which was a bit annoying. I often use "Wishes" in The Sims 3 though!
I'll keep it simple: Whims are useless in this game. I don't think they add any form of realism or personality for a Sim compared to the Wants & Fears from The Sims 2 or Wishes from The Sims 3.
I think whims in TS4 are just kinda meaningless, so I'm kinda glad they're turned off now. However, it's a bit strange to me that they'd just abandon a system like that halfway through since I'm a big believer in finishing what you started. Soo .. you know, for those that use it, they should add new whims with every new expansion, not just drop and hide the feature and never speak of it again.
In previous iterations I have been a slave to whims (or 'wants', as they were then), and would do stuff like not marrying a couple until both partners wanted it at the same time, etc.
But now I have them hidden. They're shallow and most of the time appear to be completely randomised.
I like whims and use them in my game a lot but I don't always go along with my sims wishes. No you're not getting a 1x1 pool !! just stop asking for it.
I've always loved the whims in the Sims series. TS2 had the best whim system in my opinion. Fulfilling whims directly affected the mood of your Sims, and if they had to do what the feared, vice versa. I loved, loved, loved this system.
TS4 whims were also okay but less meaningful as you got so many whims offered that it were actually just choosing which whim you'd like to have fulfilled. It felt less as if whims were attached to the personality of the Sim or the Sim at all. I was a player choice.
Whims in TS4 are saddening. The constant whims for buying new stuff seem to take over the whole whim system (which actually has some nice decent whims to offer underneath the surface).
After EA stopped adding new whims and broke the whole system so now whims get broken after a travelling and can no longer be fulfilled afterwards, the whim system seems to be doomed. I wish it weren't the case. I wish they'd give whims a massive overhaul and add a bit of the siginficance back in which they had in TS2.
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I play with whims - they could be an important part of gameplay, but they've been sadly neglected. No new whims for several expansions and whims are kind of broken now.
I really hope they are working on revamping the system.
I'd like them if they'd update them and make them useful. As of right now they have nothing to do with wants or needs. It's just random pop ups that are poorly integrated with their emotions which change every few seconds.
The toggle makes me think they abandoned them entirely. Sims aren't sims without whims. It gave the game a direction now that's another thing gone.
I don't like the space they take up on my screen so I turn them off.
That's the main reason I don't have them turned on. It's like random spam pop-ups.
And like many people have already said, they're overall shallow and too randomized.
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But, that was in the past. Since they've been broken, I don't try to fill them anymore and usually just turn them off. They're too repetitive and seem to be mostly skewed toward materialistic Sims, "buy this, buy that" over and over. Plus, the most frustrating part of all is that they don't actually fulfill as they should, most of the time. Some will, but it's rare.
I had hopes they would be fixed, but that hope died when they changed the default for whims to be off when you open the game. I'm guessing anyone new to the game would wonder what we're talking about as they've never seen them and didn't realize whims was a thing.
Such a bummer, it makes me sad...
I was going to say a similar comment to yours, @Holiday , they are good way to build up those points for reward traits. Though personally, I've often cheat them in since I'm not into the grind these days like I used to be. But for those people who love it, like I used to because it's an accomplishment, I'm glad the whims are there. I've turned them on a few times just to try them out, sometimes it's funny, a mean sim wants to punch a few people as a whim, haha! Friendly sims may have the whim to hug a few random people, hmm, I like it. What I don't like is the way it's set up on screen. The pop-ups kind-of get in the way.
eta But they can be frustrating too, because they change so fast.
yeah they change with their moods and it can get frustrating if you're working on completing one, then their mood changes say from inspirational to happy, the whims change too.
That said, eventually I got bored and made whims visible again. I mostly ignore them, but once in a while I go through and do a bunch for the points.
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Anyhow, I wish there were more whims, since I read somewhere on the forum that there haven't been new whims with the latest packs(?). Also the bug that is preventing fulfilling some whims should be fixed too.
It's also much better in Sims 3. I've been playing that lately again because I never completed the WA tomb exploration. I plan to this time.
Back on topic, the whims directly relate to the sim, what they are doing and what's going on in their world. When my sim is exploring, the whims relate to that. (dive, find a hidden door, find a treasure worth so many simoleons, etc. When my sim is back at home, the whims relate to their environment and depend on what is on the lot. Usually it's about increasing skills related to the sim's personality, and overall aspiration. And they also pertain to any festivals occurring. Like visit the summer festival. And it's also about gaining relationships and maintaining current relationships. So in this regard, the whims in 3 are MUCH better.
In 4, as soon as we got the chance to shut them off, I did. Buy a bee box/cancel/buy a bee box/cancel/buy a beebox/cancel. Buy a 1x1 pool/cancel/buy a 1x1 pool/cancel. Etc. Etc. Etc. They have NOTHING to do with the sim, their aspirations, traits, skills....anything. Just more shallow play.
I'd usually use them to get a few more reward points early on for new sims .. especially before we got more aspirations, but now I don't really have a use for them. I found them most fun for romantic sims on dates.
I think if they were a little more personal and meaningful to each sim maybe I'd miss them. I do know I don't want the want's and fears system (Sims 2) ever ruling my sims lives again.
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But now I have them hidden. They're shallow and most of the time appear to be completely randomised.
TS4 whims were also okay but less meaningful as you got so many whims offered that it were actually just choosing which whim you'd like to have fulfilled. It felt less as if whims were attached to the personality of the Sim or the Sim at all. I was a player choice.
Whims in TS4 are saddening. The constant whims for buying new stuff seem to take over the whole whim system (which actually has some nice decent whims to offer underneath the surface).
After EA stopped adding new whims and broke the whole system so now whims get broken after a travelling and can no longer be fulfilled afterwards, the whim system seems to be doomed. I wish it weren't the case. I wish they'd give whims a massive overhaul and add a bit of the siginficance back in which they had in TS2.
I really hope they are working on revamping the system.
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The toggle makes me think they abandoned them entirely. Sims aren't sims without whims. It gave the game a direction now that's another thing gone.
And like many people have already said, they're overall shallow and too randomized.