More Awesome Than You!

I have always wanted my sims to be autonomous with their flirting as I would rather that they pick their own lovers rather than me.

Seems my wish has come true.

I have started playing with alot more of my sims rather than just the same one and so what I thought was just a behaviour of my CAS sim is in fact happening to all my sims.

They are instigating kisses, romantic hugs etc on their own, and they are doing it alot.

But, when attached romantically to another sim, they won't flirt autonomously with anyone else - not that I have seen anyway.

Has anyone else noticed this? Is it NL or some mystery hack that I have? Don't get me wrong, I think it rocks, but I am curious to see if anyone has the thing happening in their neighbourhoods.

Sounds like a hack to me - my sims only flirt autonomously with their significant others as a rule (of course, if they have half a dozen significant others, then just hope that S.O. No.1 isn't around!)  So, even romance sims in my game need to be prodded into taking their friendships one stage further........

It's always been that way: Unattached sims autonomously flirt with anything and everything that moves of compatible gender. However, pre-NL, sims were celibate because there wasn't a good way to set a gender preference without simultaneously locking them into a romance, whereas with NL, the "Check Out" interaction sets a preference without having any other effects.

I've noticed some sims autonomously flirting with sims after I've had them "check them out."  Before NL, I did have one teen sim flirt with what was fortunately my intended for her, but I had edited her sexual preference already to be 1000 male and -1000 female.  Since NL, I wonder if having a sim "check out" another sim sets some kind of romance bit letting them know it's okay to be romantic with that sim, besides just their gender preference. 

Nope, check out just sets +2/-1 preference. It doesn't actually set a specific target, and once you start checking out sims, your sim will begin flirting with everything in sight almost regardless of attraction level until they acquire a current romance.

I am always using the "check sim out" command so yep, that is probably the thing that lets the flirt flood gates open. I suspected that this might be the case.

I had few autonomous flirts times prior to NL but they were about as frequent as non-hack twin births.

Even though my married and committed sims are still made to check other sims out, I have not seen one flirt yet on their own accord. Probably a good thing because it is happening so much with my non-committed sims that I have to watch them like hawk at parties etc in case they flirt with a really ugly townie! Heaven forbid!!

Well, I guess since "Check sim Out" is a flirt interaction, it kind of sets a precedent!  I actually hate using it, as my sims always jump half a sim mile when they do it!  I tend to use Scope Room instead.

I wonder if "Scope Room" does a similar thing to your sims preferences? Anyone know? I know that a positive "Check Sim Out" will often result in a want to "talk" to that sim but not sure if the same thing happens with "Scope Room".

You can't scope room if there is no gender preference. And game-born Sims don't have a preference. Ergo 'check out Sim' is the way to start the flirting process.

Scope room doesn't set or alter the preference at all.

I've seen some of my romance sims spin up wants to ask two or three different sims they were attracted to on a date after scoping the room.

I forgot about that. Thanks Jordi.

I don't play romance sims very often so can't confirm that I've seen it happen Rainbow.

Generally, I've found that they can Scope Room once they've flirted - any kind of flirt, doesn't have to be Check Sim Out - or kissed/hugged etc.   They don't have to be "born in game" for them to be unable to scope room as teens or YAs, simply grown up in game.  Also, changing their turn-ons etc. with the renew-yu-senso-orb seems to activate the ability too.

Although it's rare, they will flirt with other Sims when they're attached.  In my original Pleasantview, the former pre-made YA sorority member Tiffany Sampson was married to Keven Beare the former frat member and they had a 3-bolt relationship.  They also had a new baby.  She had a 1-bolt relationship with Jackson Ruben (also from the frat house), who was married to the former townie Andrea Something-or-Other (I think they had 2 bolts, but maybe 3) and they also had a new baby.  They began openly flirting with each other on a downtown lot when I wasn't controlling either of them and ended-up falling in love.  If they'd had a previous crush it would have made more sense, but I don't think they did.  I know Maxis set several up, but I don't think they had one.  Neither of them were Romance, either.  Jackson was Fortune as I recall and Tiffany was Family.  I didn't see who started it, but chances are it was Tiffany.  Those Family sim females can be extremely tarty at times.

And, of course, committed Romance Sims aren't in the least bit bothered about flirting with other sims.  Maybe not as often as when they're unattached, but they still do it regularly in my game.

I usually find that committed romance sims actually are very reluctant to go further than day-dreaming - and that really what their wants are, after all!  As long as their relationship with their partner is in the upper 90's, they get regular woohoos etc., they are fine.  But I totally agree about some Family sims - Cassandra is a man-hungry sim-chaser!

Ancient Sim:  Who is Jackson Ruben?  I don't remember seeing him at Uni.  Did you create him yourself?  I know there is a Joshua Ruben who starts out at the frat house, and his brother Martin is in the Bright house, but I don't remember a Jackson.  And Tiffany in my game is knowledge.  Did you change her aspiration?  Unless those things vary by game like the names of the dormies, but I thought those were always the same in every Sim State I've installed.

And ZZ, you know I disagree about Cassandra. :D  I always play her as an extremely loyal family sim.  She kicked Don to the curb like any self-respecting woman would, and got her a man who could appreciate her for the wonderful sim woman she is!  :D

Yeah Ancient, I know the sims that you are talking. That uni "group" are the sims that I have probably played the most. I've said it a thousand times before and I'll say it again, Castor and Heather make yummy babies.

Is the Andrea that you refer to the downtownie Andrea Rossi? Blonde girl? She is about to move in with my favourite sim at the moment - Joshua Deville. Son of my all time fav CAS sim, Daniel. I'm not convinced about her though. I am very fussy about who he shacks up with.

I have downloaded "Emma" from Laverwinklersims - maybe she is the girl for my sim prodigy. I like the name anyway.

I don't know Rainbow, anyone who wears those pigtails at Cassandra's age is a loser in my book, regardless of aspiration. I find it hard to like her because of it, even after changing her hair.

Maybe its me with the problem!

I think Cassandra is quite pretty after changing her hairstyle, getting rid of the glasses, and giving her some new makeup.  But then, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. :)

Oh, I always give her a makeover, but she has betrayed every sim I've ever had her married to!  Plus she's almost caused other break-ups!

I always seem to get romance for Heather Huffington!  Maybe they "randomized" her?

I totally agree Rainbow. She scrubs up well. I just can't get past her first look. When I change her so radically, it seems like she isn't the true Cassandra anymore - a nerdy dork who marries her first.... well, you get the picture. Does that make sense? I often feel that way when I change a townie for example who has a specific look. Roxie Sharpe is the same. I changed her into a really pretty family sim and it felt wrong. Maybe I'm losing it and really need a break from this all consuming game! I'm giving it all too much thought!

I agree. Cassandra is just as beautiful as her mother with a little makeover. I've married her to a sim I created and she's blissfully happy with twin sons and a lovely daughter. She may have a minor hissy fit someday when her precious daughter Lily marries Don & Nina's son Jared but that's a whole other story. ;) I like Cassandra to be happy, I feel like both she and her brother Alexander deserve a happy life.

I thought in game Uni sims were always the same. Heather has always started as a Romance sim when I reset the neighborhoods. But I've changed her to Family and she's happy too with a sim I made for her, married and a new baby son. In hindsight I wish I'd hooked her up with Castor Nova but too late now and I really don't want to break up two happy families. Maybe one of Castor's kids will end up marrying one of Heather's in my game.

Indeed, Cassie *can* look good.
(http://www.springhole.net/bella/cassandra.jpg)

Yes, but then it's not Cassandra anymore. The dorky hair and the glasses *ARE* Cassandra. Changing that much about a sim essentially violates their character, homogenizing them for your vision of "beauty". It just is....wrong. It's not Cassandra anymore when you so casually violate the integrity of their character.

Oh, agreed. That's why most of my Sims stay with one most look their lives.
Only at aging do they get makeovers.

So when I let a sim loose on the surgery machine and they don't wait for me to select the options, that's ok, but if I give Romeo a new, smaller nose instead of the whacking great hooter he develops when he goes to Uni, that's wrong?  Shame!  And he looks so much cuter!  

Well, in my world, Cassandra, Alexander, and others are who I want them to be.  There are no violations of their character because I alone determine what their character will be.  And my word is final because I am their sim goddess. :D

BTW, JM, how can you be posting when you are supposed to be reviewing the NL patch code??

Its funny you say that Zephy, cause I have stopped changing noses etc. I have too many good looking sims running around and I've decided that some natural variety would be nice for a change. I don't go for the sims that look like they have been hit by a bus I might add, but I'm accepting that one feature can be nice. For example downtownie Breanna Wood. Sort of pretty girl, smile is a little too big, eyes a little far apart but what a cute nose!

Oh, agreed, I normally only change something totally ridiculous, and how could poor Romeo fulfil his heritage and justify his name with a hooter like a toucan's bill?

But I agree about Breanna, she's quite cute as she is!

And believe it or not, old Patrizio Monty is quite reasonable with hair and the full beard!  Consort got a few nasty surprises with the surgery table, though!

Oh no, not the hooter thing again... ;)

I had one of my sims dating George McCarthy and decided one day to change his hair and geez! Didn't I get a surprise when I saw that bumpy nose! He is dating a sim, Emily, courtesy of Brandi and my CAS Daniel casual affair, and she has a almost too small pointy nose. I think they will make a good pair.

I'm sure Ancient will know the term!

My thoughts exactly Rainbow. Every sim God and Goddess gets to make the call for their little worlds. Cassandra's pigtails may have been quite appropriate for childhood, in fact her daughter Lily sports them now as a child. But I just don't think Cassandra would have willingly dressed like that as an adult if she'd been given the choice. If she was more than just a bunch of pixels of course. ;) I actually don't give that hairstyle to any of my adult sims because I think it looks so silly.

I reserve the plastic surgery machine for the most unpleasant of cases. Like Brandon Lilliard. If a real person had a nose like that I'd be concerned they'd have trouble breathing. And some of those super oversized lips have just got to go. I like realistic looking sims, not crazy cartoon like faces.

Well, same goes for me!  And Ricky Cormier is fantastic with a slightly smaller nose and a very slight alteration to his mouth and chin.

I think she still looks hideous. Maybe it's the eyebrows.

I've always hated her and Alexander both though. I burned Alexander up when he was still a child.

I always feel rather sorry for Alexander!  I always give him the Popularity aspiration, and he's like one of those kids who's desperate to make friends with everyone they meet!

Cassandra's family is now one of my favorite to play in Pleasantview.  She married the exterminator Robi Charvat and they made some beautiful (at least IMO) children.  Her daughter married one of Nina & Don's son, another one of my favorite families, so now I have two favorite families combined in one :D
Her features were a wee bit ...umm manly perhaps, but in my game I thought she was pretty decent with a makeover

(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y23/mzskandelouslala/cass.jpg)

I've grown rather fond of Alex since finally playing him.  Before when I started Pleasantview he either wound up with the SS or burned to death    8)  He makes quite a nice knowledge sim and popped out 2 alien babies for me.  Lawd..I hate his nose though.  He had an affair on his wife with Maemi Dreamer and I now have the black Alex Goth running around, tis quite creepy how much of a clone he is.

Oh and the whole flirting thing...autonomous flirts are still pretty rare in my game, which sourta bums me out.

I like Alexander too. He reminds me of Egon from Ghostbusters. I usually pair him off with Lucy Burb and they make some beautiful babies. ;D

Lucy is very pretty and makes beautiful babies with Brandi's clone baby.

To answer the various questions:

1.  Jackson Ruben was originally Joshua in my game.  I tend to forget when I change their names.  I changed his because I already had a Joshua, one of Robert Broke's twin sons (Robert being Brandi's third).

2.  Tiffany Sampson I probably changed to Family for whatever reason.  As I recall, she seemed as thick as a brick so I probably felt she was wasted on Knowledge, plus there are far too many Knowledge Sims on campus anyway, I always change quite a lot of the dormies for that reason.

3.  Yes, of course I know what a hooter is!  Bet I can count on one hand the number of people who know what a sarnie is.  I did a quiz on my website once (the Brit Quiz) especially for Americans.  They had 3 choices for sarnie and guess what the majority opinion was?  A nickname for a sanitary towel.  I ask you.

OK, as some of you may know, in my new Pleasantview I've given all the Maxis sims their true genetic children.  Here is the REAL Alexander.  As you can see, although he does resemble his father quite a bit, he's still rather a hottie (then again, I always thought Mortimer was rather dishy anyway).  This pic was taken when he was at Uni, he's recently graduated but still wears the same clothes because they suit him.  I don't have one of Cassandra, but I will get one and post it.


I have a bit of a problem with Alexander as it happens.  As I've mentioned before somewhere, as soon as he got to Uni I noticed he had 3 lightning bolts for Dina.  Mortimer had died just before Alexander left, so she was free to remarry.  For some reason, although the lightning bolts are there (and clearly the attraction), all they can give each other is family kisses and friendly hugs.  I don't know if it's as JM says, because Alexander was present at the wedding, or as some others say, because he lives on the same lot (I never tried anything when he was at Uni, only since he got back).  If I give them a mutual crush manually, all the romantic interactions become available, but the family stuff stays as well.  They are not shown as Family, so I have no idea what the blockage is.  Dina does have twins to Mortimer, but that shouldn't stop anything, and they seem to treat Alexander as if he was their father anyway (he helped bring them up and taught them both at least one skill).  Dina does have 3 bolts for one of the hippies on my commune and Alexander has 3 for Missdoh, but I still rather like the idea of him marrying Dina - I somehow think she would have gone that way, as she started with Bella's brother, then her husband ... somehow, her son seems the most obvious third choice.

Ancient, you gotta run with the Dina idea. I somehow think the twisted story suits this family.

Being Australian, and maybe its our heritage but I feel alot closer to Brit humour, TV, music etc then I do American stuff. When I went to America a few years ago it felt alien whilst in the UK it didn't. Alot of Australians I know share this view too.

Anyways, I have no idea about the family only commands but hey, this is when the Insim rocks.

I think Trubble had Dina and Alexander get together in her Pleasantview Saga (I think that's what it was called???) but only briefly.  Her Alexander was very twisted.  :D  I made Alexander Fortune because it seemed to suit him as a rich kid.  I am not sure yet what I will make him in my new Pleasantview.  I could go with Knowledge like his father, but I do have a lot of Knowledge Sims already.  It seems to be my favorite aspiration followed closely by Family.

Alexander is originally flagged as fortune by Maxis (as a child!) so at least you don't have any conflict problem!  But why should a rich kid with half a mill to inherit need to make his fortune?

He would need the money to buy all the things he wants and is accustomed to having!  Besides, if you use No20Khandouts, he graduates from college with only a small amount of money.  Then you either have to move him back home, move him in with a roomie, or start him out on a bare lot where he has to work his way up from the bottom.

Heh, well, nearly everyone likes Knowledge sims, probably because they have the most balanced and productive set of wants, and thus leave you free to do most things with them. Family sims, conversely, I find to be the most unreasonable, and the Census Tool reveals that they are, indeed, a great minority in my neighborhood.

They also love things like being abducted by aliens and being vampires, whereas all the other aspirations fear those things.  Even Pleasure sims dislike being vampires, and you'd think they would like it considering all the Grand Vampires are Pleasure Seekers.

See: "balanced". While they can occasionally develop brief fixations on things, they usually don't bitch and moan about the fates you inflict upon them forever: If you turn a non-knowledge-sim into a vampire, he's gonna bitch and moan about it pretty much forever and you've effectively lost a want slot. Knowledge sims, on the flipside, tend to jam their fear slots instead. :P

Well, if you move him back home after Cass has moved out to get married (I never let her and new hubbie stay in the family house, Mortimer interferes too much!) then he'd get everything!  So he really doesn't need the money and it makes sense for the eldest (in my hoods the only) son to inherit the family goodies (sexist but realistic, I'm afraid!)

In both my Pleasantviews I always move the eldest Goth male back to the Goth house to inherit (sexist I know, but that's the sort of family I imagine them to be), but they don't keep all the money.  When the elders die, it's divided up, so in my first Pleasantview as soon as Bella died I got Alexander to send $250,000 each to Cassandra & Miranda.  Cassandra ended-up richer than Alexander as a result, as she already had a fair bit of her own.  She's not far off being as rich as him now either and once the twins Mortimer had to Dina are adults and move out, Alexander will lose more to them. 

Anyway, I think I will cheat and give Alexander & Dina a crush then sit back and watch.  I just don't know how it will go because of them still having the Family Kiss and Friendly Hug options, even when the romantic interactions are opened-up.  I will also see whether Missdoh and the hippy guy have any chemistry, so they're not left in the lurch.  Dina does seem particularly taken with this hippy guy though, I must admit.  He walked by the lot when I was playing yesterday and she spent about 3 hours outside talking to him before realising she needed the toilet and finally going inside.  And, oddly enough, he ain't rich. 

Did you check them out in Family ties as well as sim relations?

I had a similar problem with two teens who were in love, then their repective parents got married before they grew up and moved out, after which they could only get the family options, although they had all the make-out and woohoo wants!   No simPE knowledge back then, and I had to get the parents to break up before they could interact romantically at all!  So maybe Dina is checked as Alexander's mother?  Or something wierd like that, and we don't want the poor little sim to get an oedipus complex, now do we?

Alexander will take over the family home once he has been through college in my game, but then, since Cassandra is married to Darren Dreamer, and Brianna (Mortimer and Dina's daughter) is still a child, I think it only makes sense. 

Dina had an affair with Don right after Mortimer died and got pregnant.  Her hunger plummented overnight, and when she got up the next morning and set the stove on fire making pancakes, she died before I could make her eat the burnt pancakes.

I created a CAS sim, Gabrielle AuPair, a knowledge sime and moved her into the Goth house so I can send Alexander to college without Brianna being taken by the SW.  Once Alexander(Family) and Lucy(Knowledge) have graduated, they'll move back into the Goth house and marry.  They have 3 bolts, and I was happy to read that they make pretty babies.

I haven't decided whether I'll continue to use Gabrielle as a live in nanny, or give her her own home.

I sometimes graduate a YA and move them into a house where there's a new baby.

In my game the sims always autonomously flirt (after checking out a sim and they have a gender preference) but I've noticed that the townies will flirt with sims regardless of them being in a relationship or not.

I've also noticed that if you have an engaged or married sim, they will autonomous flirt on comm lots if they have like a 3 bolt going on with another sim.  It's rare but it does happen.

Alexander is always a Knowledge sim in my game.  It just seems natural.  And like JM said, they're the least annoying asperation out there.  The only time I get annoyed with this is when they insist on learning how to cook everything under the sun and want everyone and they're dog to be vampires.  (the latter of which passes eventually)

As for autonomous flirting?  Well, you should see some of my hoods.  Especially the townies!  Whenever I send my sims to a community lot I make them check out every sim of the approriate gender and then have them talk to them just because I'm curious to see how much chemistry they have with everyone.  After a bit of doing this things start to heat up, literally.  Its not uncommon for me to be on a lot just to buy a cell phone and hear the sound that plays when a sim gets a crush on another.  Then I'll scroll over to see who it was to find them making out!

Yep, done that.  His mother is Bella, as it always was.  Dina is no longer shown as married to Mortimer, I removed that tie, and Mortimer isn't shown as married to Dina either.  The only connection between Dina & Alexander is that her children are his half-siblings, although that shouldn't make any difference because at the end of the day, there's no blood relationship between Dina & Alexander.  I had the same problem in my original Pleasantview - Amin Sims had 2 bolts for his stepdaughter, who wasn't shown as family (even though he'd brought her up from being a child), but no romantic interactions were open to them.  Even worse was Desdemona Dreamer, who had 3 bolts for Jonathan Burb but they couldn't interact romantically because he was married to her niece.  The ridiculous thing was, Jonathan was related to his wife by blood (he was John & Jennifer's son and he married Lilith & Dirk's daughter, who was Jennifer's great-niece) but the game didn't acknowledge that relationship.

Well, some non-blood relationships such as step-parent/child are considered taboo in a lot of cultures, whereas cousin marriage is not always frowned upon.  In fact, I think it's only in the Catholic church where it is forbidden (unless you get a special dispensation from the Pope), and it's certainly not against the Law.   So maybe Maxis was trying not to offend people's religious sensibilities by making step-parents unable to have a relationship with their step-child (although if they are romance they frequently want to!)

Haha, yes I did (and yeah that's what it was called :D). Alex was *very* twisted. I also changed Dina's hair, dress and makeup to that of Bella, surprisingly similar apart from the green eyes. It was all part of the plot though... Alex didn't have kids with Dina, he did have an alien son though, who he treated like a test subject for a while... In fact that whole story was twisted.

Well, I enjoyed the story very much.  It was much better than a soap opera.  You are very imaginative.  You took the story in directions I never would have thought of.   :)

I really enjoy reading Trubble's stories too. Keep it up girl! ;D

Aww thankies guys!

On a bit of a hiatus, uni kind of took over my life a bit, and when I get time I just play... anything new would be here (http://sims.ptpalace.net) though :)