Are you satisfied with death in this game? «123...Next Go

ceyric

“Smarter Sims!”

If sims are so “smart” then why is their reaction to death so awful and lackluster? Why is death in general in this game so... bad?

Yesterday I drowned the boyfriend of one of my Sims. For context, there are six Sims in the household. My female sim Tricia and her ex husband Wesley, Tricia’s new boyfriend Jared, Wesley’s new fiancé Don, and two children. (Jackson: Wesley and Tricia’s kid and Jessica: Jared and Tricia’s kid)

I keep them all living together for drama, and I decided to add to that drama by finally killing off a sim. I settled for Jared, so I did the whole drowning thing, since killing off a sim in this game is also way too hard (but that’s another issue lmao)

Well after like 17 freakin’ hours he finally drowned. All the sims on the lot (Wesley, Tricia, and Jessica) were on their way to witness the death. The problem is Jessica was in her high chair (she’s a toddler) and Tricia interrupted her “witness death” interaction to get her out. Once Tricia got her out, she didn’t go back to witnessing her boyfriend’s death, (and Jessica didn’t go back to witnessing her dad’s death) so in the end Grim came and went and only WESLEY (who barely even KNEW the guy) was sad from grief.

It’s so incredibly frustrating. I wanted to have Tricia be a “survivor” of some sorts, with her first getting over being cheated on by her ex husband and now having to get over the sudden death of her long term boyfriend. But it like she never even knew the guy. She was happy and went back to writing her book, and of course their daughter Jessica didn’t care either.

So... if you made it to the end of this rant, are you satisfied with how death is handled in this game? If no, how could it be improved?

elanorbreton

Other (comment below)

I had to put down 'other' because I've never seen a sim die in this version, so I do not have first hand experience of how it is handled. But from the sounds of it, it is not handled well. I have seen many posts complaining about the lack of reactions to death (and cheating on partners).

I did have a couple split up once, and that was awesomely done because I carried on playing with the female and she was SO sad for days afterwards. Her lower lip would tremble, she'd have crying fits, she'd mope around. Her best friend started calling round to her house regularly to cheer her up. I was pretty impressed.

Cement

No

In this game, if you didn't see it, it doesn't exist.

They'll only get a moodlet if they witness the event, and it'll vary dependent on the relationship they had... Which breaks the immersion for me. Close relatives who live in separate houses should still get a sad moodlet, and they should be able to hear about the loss somehow. A phone call, anything.

Death mechanics in general are sorta boring since it takes a while for them to die, or you'd have to jump through hoops to kill them. I resort to cheating to get them to die nowadays since it's so safe

Amandèle

No

I find the deaths in this game sooo frustrating! I'd like to be able to organize funerals (without a mod). I'd like someone to call my Sims when their parents die. I'd like to be able to visit a cemetery. I'd like to wright wills and to be able to inherit money from relatives. I'd like so much more...

lachlansmith

Kinda

I quite like the fact that you don't always have to witness the death because Sims being sad for two days is soooooo annoying!

EmmaVane

No

They need to link it to the family tree and relationship scores somehow.

All the family should be notified, as well as anyone with Friend/Good Friend level of relationship. Even co-workers and club members, perhaps.

If/how hard/long sims grieve for should be related to their average relationship score over knowing each other (if possible) or final relationship at time of death (this would allow elders to make up with family before passing if desired).

Examples:

• Sim's beloved child/spouse/sibling etc (in household) dies: Your sim goes into deep mourning for a longer period and gets whims to inform family members outside the household (via phone call) and arrange a funeral/wake (new event/party type).
• Sim's hated spouse (in household) dies: Your sim is still married to and living with their spouse, but they had a tumultous relationship and hated each other when death happened = Minimal grieving, maybe even mild relief.
• Your best friend (not in household) dies: You receive a call informing you that they have died (and how), and strong mourning moodlets due to the close relationship.

luthienrising

Yes

Shoot. I put yes without fully reading everything then suddenly realized NO. So I'm actually a NO.

I'm fine with everything EXCEPT who knows about death. Everyone with a close relationship to a Sim should know they've died, period.

I play with aging off, so I don't end up with frequent deaths. But they tend to come in batches, and then this starts to annoy me.

Added: Funerals and wakes and cemeteries are a nice-to-have but I don't personally need them. Just want them.

rudolpha

Yes

I also posted a Yes without thinking about how things could be better. Specifically when a family member dies and if someone is not actually in the same room to witness the death, they feel nothing at all.

IceyJ

No

I need funerals and more awareness of deaths in the family.

hunniboo1

No

Nope I hate how it a sim dies downstairs and say their spouse, mother , or whatever is upstairs they do not even care about it.

I loved how in sims 3 funerals were added to the party list

Also I loved how Sims 3 would let you know of someone last few days even if they were in a different household.

GalacticGal

Other (comment below)

First, I do wish for more of a reaction from the Sims who are present at the time of death. Another thing that has me unsatisfied, is that if members of the family are away at the time, be it uni (which we don't have yet), or at work, or just off of the lot, there is a complete lack of knowledge of what occurred. This has happened since Sims2 (I never played the original). As our Sims can now 'announce' their pregnancies, they should also be able to 'sit down, I have some bad news for you' in their interaction menu. I'm not a morose individual. In fact, I'm a very happy, upbeat person most of the time. But, bad things do happen, and tears are shed. If this is a life-simulation, then let it be SO.

thatsnotsweg

No

I wish that death pack would have been chosen for the community pack, because I am so sick with the deaths in this game. Even when they add a new death with new features I am like "meh". They're just so boring and the moodlets don't work right and there's not really anything to do with the urn after death anyways. I wish we had cemeteries and funerals and a bunch of other cool stuff to go with deaths in this game, but we don't, and it's a huge let down for me.

Francl27

No

No for the reason mentioned before - they have to witness the death or it's like the person never existed.

Hermitgirl

No

I would have voted kind of but decided to vote no to even up the score for those that meant to vote no ...
My main want for this game that is death related.. is funerals. I also want more ways for sims to kick the bucket but I'm sure we will be getting those. I'm good with the grieving time period... sometimes I want to fast forward through it now. I don't play extended families enough to be affected the way other simmers are by no death notifications but I agree it makes sense that that should be part of the game.
It would be nice also to have some sort of in game property distribution upon the death of a played sim.. it would also be nice if the played sims dependents such as pets or small children could be managed via a pop up.. as in do you want to adopt them, send them to managed worlds, or have the social worker remove them (that sounds ominous.. I like it).

Cupid

No

I didn't read the rant, to be honest (sorry). But my answer to the question is no. The emotional deaths are a bit ridiculous for me. As for accidental deaths, they're too hard to actually achieve by accident and there are so many second-chance mechanics (You have to get electrocuted twice, you have to take the bait from the cow plant twice, you have to make your elder sim woohoo twice in a row, etc). No one would really ever die from hunger because of how long it takes, either. As for the reactions, eh. For me personally it's not a concern, but I can see why it would be to others.

And it's not that I'm out to kill my sims, or anything like that. It's just that a little risk keeps me on my toes, makes things more fun and interesting.

SimsAddict_244

No

It is so freaking hard for my sims to die other than for natural causes in my game. The only time it did happen was in the apartment in which all electronics gets broken while my sims are sleeping (gremlins lot trait I believe) and a mechanic died trying to repair a television, one of my sims witnessed it and god 2 sad moodlets which lasted for 2 days (one about the death and the other about the death of a "beloved" for a complete stranger?!). Her daughter also had the two sad moodlets despite being asleep while it happened but it didn't last as long, after a day she became happy again somehow and I don't know why. I really miss the randomness though: how can a sims can let a pan on a stove for hours without putting it on fire? And since all sims can stop the fire, there is no need to worry for my beloved sims. Sims really need more accidents in their lives, imo.

AHolyToilet

No

Just as the vote above me says. Nope.

Not only is it far too easy to keep your Sims happy, not only is it difficult to get them to recognize when someone they hold a kind of affection for die, it's hard to even kill them in the first place. Added to that with the lack of a graveyard, death as a whole in this game is really just an inconvienence as opposed to an actual tragedy.

Say you take a male Sim. If you made him the greatest, most influential Sim ever, I'm talking a LOT of children, rich as hell, accomplisher of many great things... his family and friends will only be saddened for less than an in-game week and not only can that moodlet's timer be able to go down more quickly, but because of the game's enviromental mood givers, they'll probably stay happy regardless.

There's no connection, nothing to insinuate that the related Sim is actually in deep mourning for the loss of a loved one. When I was first playing the Sims 3, my loner of a Sim got involved with another one and he didn't realize she was already married. When he found out, he was torn up for like 3 in-game days.

I couldn't get the moodlet to progress any faster and no matter what I did, he continued to wail dramtically and randomly. I liked that.

And then there's the obvious lack of danger and consequence in this game. No, I think death needs a BIG patch.

Brindleton

Kinda

My main concern is that happy moodlets can override the depression moodlet of seeing someone die.

BMSO

No

The reactions to any situation including death are a bore and the mourning (Sad) is overridden by the happy moodlet. I think the mourning process and reactions of death and other situations need an overhaul.

alexandrea

Yes

Are we all playing the same game? I love how my sims react to death, and with the funeral mod it's even better. They cry, and get really upset. I also have an emotion mod so they stay sad for a pretty long time to the point where it gets a little annoying, but it's very realistic. They constantly go to the urn, and mourn their loved ones. They all hoard around the sim who is dying... Idk why they don't in your game.

Cynna

No

alexandrea wrote: »

Are we all playing the same game? I love how my sims react to death, and with the funeral mod it's even better. They cry, and get really upset. I also have an emotion mod so they stay sad for a pretty long time to the point where it gets a little annoying, but it's very realistic. They constantly go to the urn, and mourn their loved ones. They all hoard around the sim who is dying... Idk why they don't in your game.

Clearly, we're not all playing the same game. You're using mods that have changed the death experience for you.

An experiment: Try the same events without those mods and then come back to share the results. They might prove eye opening.

Cupid wrote: »

I didn't read the rant, to be honest (sorry). But my answer to the question is no. The emotional deaths are a bit ridiculous for me. As for accidental deaths, they're too hard to actually achieve by accident and there are so many second-chance mechanics (You have to get electrocuted twice, you have to take the bait from the cow plant twice, you have to make your elder sim woohoo twice in a row, etc). No one would really ever die from hunger because of how long it takes, either. As for the reactions, eh. For me personally it's not a concern, but I can see why it would be to others.

And it's not that I'm out to kill my sims, or anything like that. It's just that a little risk keeps me on my toes, makes things more fun and interesting.

You saved me a whole lot of typing. Thanks.

From a storytelling standpoint, the reactions are very important to me. However, I totally agree with everything else. The level of risk in this game is practically nil. And the emotional deaths, they just tick me off. They're too juvenile -- even for a game about little pretend people.

SimsAddict_244

No

I actually like that sims are crying all over the place and that there is a different moodlet when they directly witness a death (but one of my sims still got this moodlet while she was sleeping, so it's not always working). What I do not like is how strangers get the "death of a loved one" moodlet when they never even talked to each other while sims never react when friends/family die in a different lot, and I don't even notice until I see their greyed out portrait in a random notification somehow or in the relationship panel. It's like they don't care if something happen outside of the lot and it's bothering me.

Hermitgirl

No

alexandrea wrote: »

Are we all playing the same game? I love how my sims react to death, and with the funeral mod it's even better. They cry, and get really upset. I also have an emotion mod so they stay sad for a pretty long time to the point where it gets a little annoying, but it's very realistic. They constantly go to the urn, and mourn their loved ones. They all hoard around the sim who is dying... Idk why they don't in your game.

Actually I don't play with mods like that at all and yes my sims do react to death and the mourning period last long enough to be irritating to me (days) they have upped the sadness evidently that the sims experience. If I don't pick up the urns they do go and grieve. So you don't have to go into your game and test it out for someone else.. it's happening the way you see it.
I think most people that have issues with it mostly have issues with how sims off the lot or in other households don't acknowledge the deaths. Personally this doesn't bother me.. I don't play in a way that it would. For the most part I don't have a problem with the way death is handled. If people want more chaos and untimely stuff there are lots of traits to add this and easier deaths to their games... They should try playing with them you know as an experiment and come back and tell us how that went.
I'm mostly good with the way death is handled. I just want more of it.. especially funerals, does that mod cause errors in your game?

Hermitgirl

No

SimsAddict_244 wrote: »

I actually like that sims are crying all over the place and that there is a different moodlet when they directly witness a death (but one of my sims still got this moodlet while she was sleeping, so it's not always working). What I do not like is how strangers get the "death of a loved one" moodlet when they never even talked to each other while sims never react when friends/family die in a different lot, and I don't even notice until I see their greyed out portrait in a random notification somehow or in the relationship panel. It's like they don't care if something happen outside of the lot and it's bothering me.

The death of a loved one moodlet can bug me too. I also play deviantly and when my murdering sim barely has a friendship with their victim (not an in game mechanic) they are also sad for days after the death.. this kind of bugs me but I work it into the story as more of a let down time. Or make them enemies but that doesn't always fit the story since they are often sneaky about what they plan to do. I do like that the enemies can laugh at the grave.

loubyloulou

No

If a Sim witnesses the death, yes, their reactions are fine: much sadness, uncontrollable weeping, crying in closets etc., etc.

The problem is with reactions to death - at least that I've found in my games - is that it's so easy to have a Sim be distracted by something else around the house (those dratted toddlers!) that they don't actually witness the death and therefore remain blithely clueless about the passing of a loved one in the next room...

I'd love it if were possible to have a Sim get a notification (which would trigger a strong sadness buff) about the death of a relative or friend who lives on another lot. I have MCCC and you can enable such notifications (though they don't trigger a buff) so I would think that it's doable. I'd also love to have the feature that was (I think?) in TS3 where you'd get a pop-up saying that a relative had died and left your Sim some money in their will - loved that (slightly morbid) little feature

It doesn't bother me that it's hard to make a Sim die - it shouldn't be easy, right? Right??!! (Though I can appreciate that the storytellers might want to make it easier to accomplish.)

SimsAddict_244

No

Hermitgirl wrote: »

SimsAddict_244 wrote: »

I actually like that sims are crying all over the place and that there is a different moodlet when they directly witness a death (but one of my sims still got this moodlet while she was sleeping, so it's not always working). What I do not like is how strangers get the "death of a loved one" moodlet when they never even talked to each other while sims never react when friends/family die in a different lot, and I don't even notice until I see their greyed out portrait in a random notification somehow or in the relationship panel. It's like they don't care if something happen outside of the lot and it's bothering me.

The death of a loved one moodlet can bug me too. I also play deviantly and when my murdering sim barely has a friendship with their victim (not an in game mechanic) they are also sad for days after the death.. this kind of bugs me but I work it into the story as more of a let down time. Or make them enemies but that doesn't always fit the story since they are often sneaky about what they plan to do. I do like that the enemies can laugh at the grave.

Wouldn't it be great for evil sims not to automatically get sad moodlets when death happens? They should be overjoyed bad things are happening. It would be a great example to show that traits actually do matter and that emotions do NOT override them as they should.