It would make sense game-wise, to give you control of your Sim if there were meaningful decisions to be made. Perhaps it is very hot out, but your sim has to pee soon. Should you drink water or go to the bathroom first? Which will make him happier?
However, the game doesn't have meaningful decisions as I saw it. There is always one obvious right and easy course of action. Always one problem, and always one solution. It's just mindless manual labor to manage the Sims. of course, there is the added fun that you can make them do stupid things on purpose, but that gets boring after about five minutes. It would be trivial to make the Sims automatically do what they need to do. But then, what game would there be? All you would do is sit there watching the Sims go about their business.
I don't know, it doesn't make any sense. It doesn't seem like it would be any fun, but it's addicting for some reason. But at least with the new one you have way more options for experimenting with them. What I like most about the game is being able to create Sims after people I know and put them in houses. I then go around to every house and do a complete makeover. It's sort of an HGTV type scenario (yes, I'm a girl, and I love HGTV). Then I try to build houses to resemble real ones, like the Monster Plantation at Six Flags.
From what I can tell, The Sims isn't exactly about how you play the game, but the stories you create about the sims themselves. Whenever I hear or watch someone play the game, it's always about how one sim is interacting with another sim or what's going on in the lives of a particular sim.
Sim is hungry, click fridge then click on sink to do dishes.
They did this stuff by themselves in The Sims. Any proper sim would take care of themselves no problem, just provide the requirements and don't cancel the automatically assigned tasks. You only have to build the house, make a few arbitrary choices, queue a few tasks for promotion and socialize. If you had to 'manage' your sims' daily needs, you were doing it wrong.
Also, this:
From what I can tell, The Sims isn't exactly about how you play the game, but the stories you create about the sims themselves. Whenever I hear or watch someone play the game, it's always about how one sim is interacting with another sim or what's going on in the lives of a particular sim.
does Wal-Mart somehow offer a lower-quality Sims3 experience? Wal-Mart does not suck. If anything, yousaved moneyby getting your game at Wal-Mart. Sheesh.
I didn't say I bought it at WalMart, I just said I saw it at WalMart. I'm not planning on buying it at all. I played the original Sims a few times when my sister loaned me her copy, but it never did anything for me so I gave it back in fairly short order. My point there was that WalMart sucks in general. In respect to games: Their game prices aren't lower than anywhere else on the planet. Their selection of PC games is pretty piss-poor, unless you're into awful grade-Z games or collections of PopCap ripoffs that you can buy for ten bucks a throw. Every once in a while there is a shining beacon in the games they stock (both PC and console), or you'll find something that was previously overpriced now discounted to an affordable rate, but those are few and far between. I could go on about other general suckage with regards to WalMart, but suffice it to say that if I didn't have to shop there, I wouldn't. Unfortunately, when there's only one game in town, that's where you have to play.
Every once in a while there is a shining beacon in the games they stock (both PC and console), or you'll find something that was previously overpriced now discounted to an affordable rate, but those are few and far between.
Wal-Mart is where I found my beloved copy of Oblivion, complete with Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine, and for super cheap. I looked for it many other places, yet I found it here.
I don't really like Wal-Mart all that much, though. I feel that way mainly because its always crowded and the rednecks in my town think its the coolest hangout spot ever.
It would be trivial to make the Sims automatically do what they need to do. But then, what game would there be? All you would do is sit there watching the Sims go about their business.
Hell yeah. It's a definite improvement over the original games. The pain of having to load every new location you visited made it very hard for me to bother playing Sims 2 often. Now, with locations being loaded directly, it's much more playable. Also, the traits system is much better than the bland horoscope-based, 1-to-10 scale personalities previously used. Now all that Sims 4 needs is Beliefs and Instincts, and we'll have the perfect game - Burning Sims.
I'm thinking I should create a few forumites in the game (maximum of 8), place them in a house, let them go about their business freely, and see what happens, Dwarf Fortress succession game style. I could document the results on the Geeknights Fans Blog. Anyone care to volunteer their name, likeness and personality traits/aspirations for the purposes of a little scientific experimentation (virtual torture)?
I'm thinking I should create a few forumites in the game (maximum of 8), place them in a house, let them go about their business freely, and see what happens, Dwarf Fortress succession game style. I could document the results on the Geeknights Fans Blog. Anyone care to volunteer their name, likeness and personality traits/aspirations for the purposes of a little scientific experimentation (virtual torture)?
You know, the only thing that I even find remotely interesting about the Sims is the ability to customize characters manually (design your own textures/hair, etc.)...but then I realized, Hey! I don't need the Sims to do that! I should just go make custom characters on my own.
I feel too much sympathy for even virtual characters to be too mean to them. Maybe that's why the Sims bores me. I'm the kind of person who feels sorry for my nintendog when it's dirty or thirsty, so I'm not cut out for avatar abuse.
In, too. That sounds like quite an interesting venture.
OK, seems we have a few takers already. What I need any participants to do is look at this list of traits and tell me the 5 you want assigned to your character. You can be brutally honest about your failings, lie about your slobbishness, whatever works. Ideally it will reflect your persona on the forum. Secondly, refer to this list and choose a few Lifetime Aspirations that seem appropriate. Finally, add a link to an image you want me to work with. It can be a photo, a pic of a character from your favourite anime, your forum account icon, whatever, so long as it is reproducible in the game without mods.
Go to it, people. This will be fun. And for reference, this is my inspiration, the Alice and Kev blog.
So far I love it, except for the bugs. I've been looking at other forums for bugs other people are having, and I apparently have been pretty lucky so far. But I have been having problems with Sims freezing or going invisible (not the cool invisible, the disappearing-can't-play kind). My main Sim is stuck being preggers forever, and I can't find anything on Sim abortion. *sigh*
WaterIsPoison Traits
Computer Whiz Neurotic Heavy Sleeper Good Sense of Humor Easily Impressed
Lifetime Aspirations
Renaissance Sim Illustrious Author The Culinary Librarian
I actually already made a Sim of Andrew and so far it has surprisingly been acting very much like him. For him I picked Computer Whiz, Genius, Good Sense of Humor, Natural Cook, and Handy. His lifetime aspiration is to be a robot-creature cross breeder (since Andrew works at iRobot). Back before I forced him to get married, and he wasn't one of my playable characters, whenever he visited his gfs place he went straight to her computer and played games and hacked until the wee hours of the morning. Just like in real life.
Comments
What I like most about the game is being able to create Sims after people I know and put them in houses. I then go around to every house and do a complete makeover. It's sort of an HGTV type scenario (yes, I'm a girl, and I love HGTV). Then I try to build houses to resemble real ones, like the Monster Plantation at Six Flags.
Also, this:
Or, Dwarf Fortress is basically The Sims.
Depends on whether or not you're trying to insult one or the other. ;^)
I don't really like Wal-Mart all that much, though. I feel that way mainly because its always crowded and the rednecks in my town think its the coolest hangout spot ever.
Is anyone playing this at all?
I'm thinking I should create a few forumites in the game (maximum of 8), place them in a house, let them go about their business freely, and see what happens, Dwarf Fortress succession game style. I could document the results on the Geeknights Fans Blog. Anyone care to volunteer their name, likeness and personality traits/aspirations for the purposes of a little scientific experimentation (virtual torture)?
I feel too much sympathy for even virtual characters to be too mean to them. Maybe that's why the Sims bores me. I'm the kind of person who feels sorry for my nintendog when it's dirty or thirsty, so I'm not cut out for avatar abuse.
Go to it, people. This will be fun. And for reference, this is my inspiration, the Alice and Kev blog.
- Computer Whiz
- Neurotic
- Heavy Sleeper
- Good Sense of Humor
- Easily Impressed
Lifetime AspirationsTraits:
- Couch potato
- Hot-headed
- Insane
- Loner
- Unflirty
Goals:- World-renowned Surgeon
- Become a Creature-Robot Cross-Breeder
- Jack of All Trades (in the fields of: medical, law-forensic, criminal-evil and science)
- Fuck it, default: Renaissance Sim
I imagine this to result in some madman who can't do anything other than love his SON. You may hate me, now to find an image.Screw it, I'm just going to go with an image of Kino, minus an X, plus a Y.
Traits:
- Absent Minded
- Ambitious
- Athletic
- Brave
- Charismatic
Goals:Traits:
- Absent Minded
- Artistic
- Clumsy
- Family Oriented
- Good Sense of Humour
Lifetime Aspirations:- Master of the Arts
- Renaissance Sim
- Illustrious Author
For a picture, either friend my Facebook or use my profile picture, but add more hair.Günter
Traits:
- Absent Minded
- Athletic
- Friendly
- Artistic
- Clumsy
Aspirations:- Renaissance Sim
- Perfect Mind/Perfect Body
- Jack of All Trades
As a for a picture, I don't want to bother finding a good one of myself. Just make me look like Richard Lindon.Traits
- Excitable
- Friendly
- Couch Potato
- Computer Whiz
- Handy
Aspirations
- Chess Legend
- The Tinkerer
- Renaissance Sim
You can either use this:
or the image on my profile.
We should have some girls in here, just for fun. Maybe Viga? Perhaps Emily? How about Scott?
Traits
Genius
Hates The Outdoors
Light Sleeper
Neurotic
Perfectionist
Aspirations
Renaissance Sim
Become a Creature-Robot Cross-Breeder
The Emperor of Evil
Traits:
- Absent Minded
- Clumsy
- Computer Whiz
- Good
- Good sense of humour
Aspirations:- Renaissance sim
- Perfect mind/perfect body
- Become an expert thief
A picture? You want a picture of me? Since I'm always happy, try something like this: