Does cologne affect anything besides turn-ons/off?

[nocomment]

I had a sim used cologne once, and it was cute.  But it didn't seem to do anything.  Does it only affect turn-ons and turn-offs?  If so, it seems like a pity.

[Emma]

Yep-just turn ons/offs

[nocomment]

Thanks for the fast answer.  It's too bad it doesn't have more uses.  I really don't need more "turn-ons" - my sims have hearts flying out of their heads constantly as it is!

[Emma]

LOL lucky you! All my sims hate each other

[ZephyrZodiac]

Wish it would actually affect lightning bolts for all sims, all the time!  Then my couples who've been together since the base game and now appear to be totally unsuited, although they get on like a house on fire, would actually get the hots for each other!  And I wish the Underwear turn on worked even when a sim is dressed - one assumes they still have the underwear underneath!  And really, to have sims walking around ALL DAY in their bra and knickers is just not good for the kids!

[skandelouslala]

I am still disenchanted by the turn ons/offs...the animations for things like cologne are cute as they spray themselves with it..but there is no true point except possibly taking the chemistry up a notch.  Almost all my sims have the same turn ons/offs as I have predetermined plans as to who I want them to hook up with.  It eventually all comes down to hair color in the end :p

[J. M. Pescado]

The turn-on/turn-off system is really only a minor factor in the attraction engine. You might get an extra bolt out of a tweaked turn-ons, but ultimately it's not that big an effect. The selection is also very limited. All of the clothing-type ones can effectively be dismissed as irrelevant, since they're so transient that it can't really be meaningfully used. The accessory-based ones are slightly more usable, but due to rampant misrepresentation of third-party accessories, and sometimes even Maxian ones, this is also slightly dodgy. Some accessories are also removed at various times, making this slightly wobbly, but by and large accessories like hats, glasses, makeups, are pretty constant in normal situations. Hair-color is slightly unstable, as a reliance on this means you'll lose it when your sims become elders (unless you picked gray). As such, the only REALLY reliable ones, the ones you can count on to apply at nearly all times, are "beefy arm", "fat", and "vampire". These three are consistently reliable and are not currently misrepresented by anything available in the game. If you pick these, you are sure to get exactly that.

So what are the most reliable characters? Vampires with beefy arms, and fat vampires.

[Kyna]

Or bearded fat vampires. 

Or isn't facial hair reliable either?

[Lythdan]

Hmm...facial hair with fit or fat people...yeah, most of them aren't applicable all the time. Why couldn't they have things like skintone and eyecolor?

[Torkle]

Hmm...facial hair with fit or fat people...yeah, most of them aren't applicable all the time. Why couldn't they have things like skintone and eyecolor?

I'm sure that Maxis didn't include skintone because then you could make sims racist - something they want to avoid.  Racists don't need any help.

Eyecolor would've been nifty, though.

[ZephyrZodiac]

And even if you have contacts for your sims, eye-colour itself is unchangeable and would have been a really useful turn on!  And let's face it, most of us are more attracted by a person's eyes and voice than any other body parts or clothing accessory except perhaps shapely butts etc. and that kind of attraction is transitory!

As for the problem that family and romance don't have many LBs, in that case, why is it nearly always married, engaged or going steady family sims who stalk your romance sim, following him/her home from work or school, phoning him up three times a day etc!  Popularity sims are indiscriminate - they phone any sim they've met regardless of aspiration, but family sims seem to really stick like glue to any romance sim they've taken a fancy to!

[Kyna]

True.  When I finally did marry Kaylynn the maid off to one of my sims (he was a romance sim, as she seemed to be attracted to them) I was surprised to find she was a family sim.  Given the way she slept around with the romance sims I'd always assumed she was romance.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Kaylynn may be family, but she's a whore!

[angelyne]

So what are the most reliable characters? Vampires with beefy arms, and fat vampires.

lol, I knew you were building up to something.


But I don't agree.  Your vampire can be cured, your beefy boyfriend can get fat and out of shape, and you can put your fat wife on a exercise program and get her in shape!

I've started to automatically put in a turn-on, turn-off based on hair color for my red-headed and blond sims.  I want them to express that hair color in future generations, so I don't want them to mate with darker hair sims.  When they become elder and loose that bolt, it will makes it more realistic, as how many people do you know that still have the hots for each other when they are old and gray

I have a question regarding something that has been puzzling me.  I'm trying to match up my three roomates with 3 potential husbands.  All 3 found suitable 2 and 3 lighting bolt mates.  (God I love that they fall in love autonomously now, once you get them past the akward critical first meeting when all they want to do is annoy each other).  Anyway, 2 have the hots for each other (little pink hearts everytime they see each other) but the last doesn't, even though she has 2 lighting bolts. 

So what determines wether or not you get the little pink hearts?

[IcemanTO]

The turn-on/turn-off system is really only a minor factor in the attraction engine. You might get an extra bolt out of a tweaked turn-ons, but ultimately it's not that big an effect. The selection is also very limited. All of the clothing-type ones can effectively be dismissed as irrelevant, since they're so transient that it can't really be meaningfully used. The accessory-based ones are slightly more usable, but due to rampant misrepresentation of third-party accessories, and sometimes even Maxian ones, this is also slightly dodgy. Some accessories are also removed at various times, making this slightly wobbly, but by and large accessories like hats, glasses, makeups, are pretty constant in normal situations. Hair-color is slightly unstable, as a reliance on this means you'll lose it when your sims become elders (unless you picked gray). As such, the only REALLY reliable ones, the ones you can count on to apply at nearly all times, are "beefy arm", "fat", and "vampire". These three are consistently reliable and are not currently misrepresented by anything available in the game. If you pick these, you are sure to get exactly that.

So what are the most reliable characters? Vampires with beefy arms, and fat vampires.

By my side, I noticed the combination of the zodiac signs is the most relevant thing to increase the chemistry between two sims and the second one is the "beefy arm".

Ice

[Ancient Sim]

I tend to change mine through the game, which is very easy using the DMA red burglar alarm thngy (the one that goes with the Woo-Hoo set).  I don't have any Sims that use cologne at all, because it's not a permanent thing so I only use it for a turn-off.   It's useful as a turn-off for Romance Sims, as with them they need to be attracted by as many Sims as possible.  Most of my Sims fit a lot of categories - I use things like teeth/freckles, etc. so they have full face make-up, scarves/earrings/necklaces so they have glasses, etc., that way they appeal to a wider audience so to speak.

[ZephyrZodiac]

I've started to automatically put in a turn-on, turn-off based on hair color for my red-headed and blond sims.  I want them to express that hair color in future generations, so I don't want them to mate with darker hair sims.  When they become elder and loose that bolt, it will makes it more realistic, as how many people do you know that still have the hots for each other when they are old and gray

Now that's ageist!

[Charamei]

I'm sure that Maxis didn't include skintone because then you could make sims racist - something they want to avoid.  Racists don't need any help.

Eyecolor would've been nifty, though.

Eyecolour would have been brilliant.

As for skintone, I wouldn't want the normal ones - but 'Green Skin' would be nice. If people can be turned off by vampires, why not aliens?

[ZephyrZodiac]

I guess that would be racist - now with vampires it isn't because vampires can start with any colour skin!

[Charamei]

I guess that would be racist - now with vampires it isn't because vampires can start with any colour skin!

I don't see how the vampirism Turn Off isn't discriminatory, though. If Sims can be prejudiced against bloodsucking monsters of the night, why not against greenskinned foreigners from beyond the stars?

I only say 'Green Skin' turn off because that's the only thing that alien babies are more or less guaranteed to have. If it would be more politically correct, they could easily call the TO 'Alienism' or something... Not like it'd be any different.

[speedreader]

So what determines wether or not you get the little pink hearts?

I get confused everytime I try and figure this out also, but I will try to explain what I think I know.  

Attraction, which includes turn ons and offs, is demonstrated by the little pink hearts. (Someone on this board called it "farting" pink hearts - love that!)  Sims will be attracted to someone based on their gender preference, turn ons/offs, personality similarities (zodiac sign), and aspirations.  Sim A can be attracted to Sim B, but Sim B is not necessarily attracted to Sim A.  However, chemistry (shown by lightning bolts) is the average of both Sims attraction to each other.  So if you have any number of lightning bolts there is definitely attraction on both sides.  

The answer to your question is: gender preference and/or personality similiarities (zodiac sign) and/or aspiration preferences and/or turn ons/offs.  

[rohina]

I really don't like the way the game uses aspirations to determine attraction, because it wants sims to be matched up with sims of the same aspiration. In my experience, a couple with different aspirations is much better for a balanced family life.

[ZephyrZodiac]

And what about the attraction of opposites?  My mother and father were about as opposite as you can get (Gemini and Capricorn) but they rarely argued.  The problems were us kids, my brother and I are Taurus and extremely argumentative  and didn't really get on at all, while my poor sister (pisces) was stuck in the middle!

[angelyne]

my brother and I are Taurus and extremely argumentative 

No we're not !!!

how many people do you know that still have the hots for each other when they are old and gray

Now that's ageist!

Well it's not so much a question of age as a question of long familiarity.  There are a few exceptions out there, but  most couples see their relationship die down to slow burning embers over the years.

Sim A can be attracted to Sim B, but Sim B is not necessarily attracted to Sim A.  However, chemistry (shown by lightning bolts) is the average of both Sims attraction to each other.  So if you have any number of lightning bolts there is definitely attraction on both sides.

But that's what I don't get.  I have Sim A and Sim B with the fart hearts (lol) and 2 bolts each.  Then I have Sim C and Sim D with 2 bolts, but no hearts.  So hearts and lighting bolts must not be exactly equivalent

[ZephyrZodiac]

Have sim C and sim D woohoo'd?  Just a thought........