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How do you want the Sims 5 personality system to work?
StrawberryYogurt
Posts: 2,799 Member
This assuming the system already has likes/dislikes, preferences in attraction and diet, favorites etc. Im talking about the whole general system.
The Sims has currently lost its identity. Bring it back for TS5
Personality,depth,humor,consequences,lore,customization.
Personality,depth,humor,consequences,lore,customization.
Post edited by EA_Cade on
How do you want the Sims 5 personality system to work? 58 votes
Trait based
36%
21 votes
Personality point / scale based (rpg style)
25%
15 votes
Horoscope based
3%
2 votes
MTBI, ennegram based or big 5 based
6%
4 votes
Another system described in my comment
27%
16 votes
0
Comments
I would like to be able to assign traits, but then also tweak exactly how much of those traits impacted the personality.
I don't think traits should be divided evenly for all sims. For example my sim might be a slob but also more outgoing, I want to be able to adjust the "outgoing" trait points to be more relevant than the slob traits rather than them being equal.
Additionally sims should receive some points to buy advantages. By taking disadvantages (like food intolerances, dietary restrictions, clumsiness), they earn more points to buy advantages with. This system needs to be subject to constant balancing as more packs get added. It should also be optional.
A romance expansion should introduce a zodiac, preferably a made up one, that influences chemistry. Chemistry should also be manipulateable by using objects like perfume.
But on the other hand this also means there would be less nuance because it would all be trait or no trait. And we'd also be more limited in our options, we couldn't assign points in ten traits, we'd be more limited to say 3 traits total.
Thats a good point. Niche things like that would be hard to cover in a scale. Id really like to see personality points and traits together.
Personality,depth,humor,consequences,lore,customization.
Like in adventure. Rpg games where you have a skill or attributes to assign. But for things like their social skills, interests, cleanliness etc
Personality,depth,humor,consequences,lore,customization.
(She/her)
If not that, we could get basic sliders (a lot of them) for large aspects of personality (how athletic they are, sociability level, tidiness, creativity, optimism vs pessimism, courage, kindness, seriousness vs goofball, simple vs materialistic, etc.), maybe a couple trait slots for more specific personality aspects that don't have direct opposites other than "neutral" (not food intolerances, please, but things like ambitious, eco-friendly) which could be expanded along the way, and using the likes and dislikes system from the get-go for traits that just control preferences (replacing likes dogs, likes arts, geek, bookworm and such, and giving the possibility for the opposite). It would be a lot more complex, which is why I'm not sure I can ask for this realistically, but would make the sims so much more varied and interesting, as well as avoiding making us choose between big overarching traits and very niche ones, since they wouldn't be handled by the same system.
They aren’t implemented strongly enough in TS4 however… None of the sims truly feel unique 🙄
However, as much as I prefer the traits, I think S4's trait system could be vastly improved upon. We need more trait options, to start with, and more trait slots per sim. Three traits do not make for a very interesting personality. I do like that my Sims get more complex as I add aspiration or satisfaction traits, but you should be able to create a sim with a fairly defined personality from the start. I would like to see sims act on their traits more autonomously. I also want to see relationships with other sims more impacted by the Sim's traits. It's there, it's just not intense enough to impact gameplay much. And, attraction, whether for friendship or romance, should have trait compatibility as a major influence, with the possibility of an "opposites attract" variable for that element of surprise.
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That could be cool
In TS2 pets pets can gain traits depending on how many times they do an action & is praised for it. Something like that
Personality,depth,humor,consequences,lore,customization.
https://youtube.com/channel/UCaj9o4hycNSPy8U1Ip0OCFA/videos
The core personality sliders are most important for determining what animations are used, how AI works, and other qualities. The traits add additional depth and character but are more like minor buffs or changes.
You need both. I don't understand how EA has not internalized this concept.
Yes a hybrid of these could work so well.
Personality,depth,humor,consequences,lore,customization.
I agree with this idea. To be able to provide you with a Sim that "well, he stinks a bit, but he's an absolute dynamo at a party", which would be a slob with a higher outgoing level.
Traits are good, because they offer a sort of "archetype" which is a pretty familiar concept to players. Perhaps a combination of a small number of attribute points - enough to give a leg up in certain areas - combined with traits that add a few more points would be a good hybrid system. I'd want to see a few of the hidden traits from TS3 and TS4 to be able to be chosen though. I miss the "stupid" trait from the Sims 3, it was hilarious.
In addition, I'd like a return of the point scales from Sims 2, maybe even expanded a bit with new categories. Finally, a trait system that has a mini scale to determine level of interest, like 1-3 so you could have three different Sims with the same interest, but 1 would be a minor interest while a 3 would be a little obsessive.
I think scales are the way to go because they allow for variables which fine tune the personality and interests.
I never liked the personality point system because it forces us to use up all the points and we end up creating a personality we may not like or want. Although it is not obvious, The Sims 2 had behaviors and interactions influenced by the personality levels. I remember a video going out a few years ago about 40 things from The Sims 2 that were interesting. This was in the video.
I have said it before: The Sims 4 trait system is too focused on emotions and not behaviors/interactions. Having only 3 trait slots was a mistake also. A game becomes pretty dull when the only thing its traits do is trigger a particular emotion.
Traits are too binary, and horoscopes while a cool addition for some kind of attraction system, are also too limiting in defining personality (not to mention...arbitrary). MTBI/Enneagram based is very close to the same concept as point-based, so I'd be okay with that too.
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I know there are more, but some systems merely dabble in traits without much more to offer. Anyway, I like to customize many unique combinations of characters and these trait systems do an excellent job of that.