Date gifts

[professorbutters]

I did a search on this.

Is there some sort of logic as to which sims leave date gifts, and which don't?  My sims don't get date gifts very often.  I assumed it was because my sims mostly don't 'hoo anyone they're not married to, and even then it's usually to procreate. 

I've gotten gifts from townies and playables.  Teens seem especially generous--we've had several hot tubs left at the legacy house over the generations.  The Diva also left us a Dance Sphere once, but heavy duty lesbian photobooth WooHoo was involved. On the other hand, Remington Harris left a wide screen TV that he couldn't possibly afford way back when, and he didn't get *anywhere* significant with my heiress (until, of course, he married her and they had ten kids, with no WooHoo in between.) Most of the time, though, we just get those bouquets.  At one of my college houses, they totally block the road.

I'd like to know if there are any theories on this or if anyone has made a study of it, because I sure would like to exploit this if I could.

PB

[Jess Maree]

I think if they only have a "Great Date" instead of a "Dream Date" they're more likely to leave gifts. I never, ever get gifts from dates. I think I got a hot-tub once, but that's about it.

[talysman]

I just recently finished getting the "50 Dream Dates" and "Woo-Hoo With 20 Sims" LTWs, and I can confirm it's not a difference between "great date" and "dream date". Both sims hit "dream date" almost every time. Miss "50 Dream Dates" also didn't woo-hoo until right before she got engaged, but she got the dance sphere and two plasma TVs.

One pattern I noticed: sims seem to drop off gifts on the night after their date, not the same night (like with flowers.) If you date the same sim several nights in a row, that sim won't drop off gifts, because he's already on the lot.

[Emma]

One pattern I noticed: sims seem to drop off gifts on the night after their date, not the same night (like with flowers.) If you date the same sim several nights in a row, that sim won't drop off gifts, because he's already on the lot.

I've noticed this pattern too, although my sims seem to get more gifts from outings rather than dates.

[Zazazu]

I once had a sim I'd just invited out to a community lot (not a scored outing) leave a gift.

I've found that some 'hoods are more giving than others, too. In Urban Paradise, it was near impossible to have a date without getting a gift. The father of all my Ghetto Fabulous sim's kids gave about six gifts before he was tapped out. Prospect Beach was so-so on the gifts, and there have been none to date received at Teardrop Isle (but honestly, I don't have them date all that much, just come over and hang out). I've always wished they'd pull something they bought at another lot out as a gift. I'd love it if someone dropped off a crate of cucumbers.

[SnootCB]

I read (don't remember where) that it could have something to do with leaving out the date flowers.  That is, you are more likely to get a gift if you refrain from selling at least one bunch of roses from a previous date.  This is total heresy, and probably total BS, of course.

[professorbutters]

Well. . .I don't think it can be the date flowers, because I rarely sell those.  At the Greek House, I did have an invisible date gift once that got stuck.  Trying to figure out where it was so I could nuke it was fun.  Eventually I noticed my sims stepping over something near the front door, dropped the stuck objects remover on it, and when it was burninated I found out what it was.

It was a bottle of champagne.

Cheapskates.

I've heard the theory (from Ephemeral Toast) that it's got something to do with how much the relationship score goes up during the course of the dates.  I'm wondering if it has something to do with how many of your *date's* wants are fulfilled.  I often stop at the point when I hit Dream Date, and if the date is rolling up dumb wants I can't fulfill, I don't sweat it. 

I have a lot of married couples dating at home and of course they never receive gifts, but I sure would like to see more at the Greek House.

I do have one playable who is maxed Nice, and he is a super generous date.  He dated a girl in high school and left a hot tub; dated a guy in college whom he eventually married and left a Bust of Tylopoda.  Now THAT'S a keeper.

PB

[Zazazu]

I love it when they marry in and bring crap like that. I had one marry-in who brought a poker table, two dance spheres, a DJ booth, and that $4,000 vase. Lately, my marry-ins have been big 'ol disappointments. Not the game's fault...I've just had almost everyone marrying college sweethearts and professors.

[jsalemi]

You can increase the odds of a marry-in having a boatload of stuff in their inventory with owned businesses, especially if you allow YAs to shop there with the customer selector.  Though I'm currently playing the new hood that came with FT (Desiderata, I think it's called?) with no owned businesses yet, and I had a playable marry her college love and the YA came into the house with over 50,000 simoleans worth of stuff...

[Zazazu]

Hunh. That's odd. None of my YA marry-ins have ever come with anything, in any 'hood. Though I am looking forward to all of the townies/YAs who start bringing cars from Vrooom! Autos in their inventory. So far, the only bought items I get are the crates of veggies and fish. Those are never from YAs as the current market is quite small and a residential business. If the mayor deems to build a farmer's market, Tobias Outlaw will set up shop there.

[Lord Darcy]

I love it when they marry in and bring crap like that. I had one marry-in who brought a poker table, two dance spheres, a DJ booth, and that $4,000 vase.

I was under the impression that it's only Mr.Big and Diva who marry in with several expensive items stuffed in their inventory. Apparently it's built in their NPC code. If you take out everything from their inventory, teleport them back out to the townie pool, then marry/move in them again, their inventory is magically filled with new expensive objects again.

That's of course when you're not taking OFB purchases into account. Like jsalemi, I have several old dormies/townies who have truckload of stuff in their inventory thanks to customer selector. I cannot imagine playing OFB businesses without it ever again. I was bored to death with the same small pool of customers (only playables and townies in the main hood) before I knew about it.

[professorbutters]

I married in a simself who had, among other things, not one but two cheap stoves in her inventory.  A few have had hot tubs; none have had a Dance Sphere.

PB

[DrNerd]

Mr. Big and the Diva DO move in with $70,000 and a crapload of expensive stuff in their inventories, but other Townies come pre-packaged with a bunch of goodies too.  The last one I married in came with a piano, two Dance Spheres, an expensive telescope, a karaoke machine, and some knickknacks--and this was BEFORE I had any owned community lots for them to shop at.

I don't often get date rewards either.  However, I did just get an Outing reward, except that the recipient has never been on an Outing, the gifter has never been on an Outing, and they do not, in fact, know each other at all.  But, hey, free piano!

[Zazazu]

I love it when they marry in and bring crap like that. I had one marry-in who brought a poker table, two dance spheres, a DJ booth, and that $4,000 vase.

I was under the impression that it's only Mr.Big and Diva who marry in with several expensive items stuffed in their inventory. Apparently it's built in their NPC code. If you take out everything from their inventory, teleport them back out to the townie pool, then marry/move in them again, their inventory is magically filled with new expensive objects again.

That's of course when you're not taking OFB purchases into account. Like jsalemi, I have several old dormies/townies who have truckload of stuff in their inventory thanks to customer selector. I cannot imagine playing OFB businesses without it ever again. I was bored to death with the same small pool of customers (only playables and townies in the main hood) before I knew about it.

I have no Downtown, and haven't for the last two 'hoods. I don't see the point of it. Plus, I hate those stupid move-in phone calls. So I have no Mr. Big and no Diva. That means I never get the money on top of the inventory items, but free money is free money.

I also only have the two lots where townies can purchase items: the founder's greenhouse home lot, and the newly run car lot. Cannot wait for a sim to marry in with a couple vans in tow!

DrNerd, it kind of sounds like what I had a generation or two ago. The two sims had hung out on a community lot together, but it wasn't an outing.

[professorbutters]

I have the worst flippin' luck this way.  I rarely do Outings, but sometimes I'll do them as an icebreaker for my college houses--"Let's all go out and buy cell phones!  Whee!"  This time the Outing was already running, so it was going to be successful, and when they ran into another Sim they knew slightly (a playable), my group invited him along.  Successful Outing!  Yes I can!  Then the invited Sim asked the first Sim along for a return Outing and brought. . . his mother, his father, his grandmother, his grandfather, his fiance, and his drama professor.  Yow, we could have had more fun scrubbing toilets (which my mean, neat Sims probably could.)  No more Outings for us.  Then later that evening the return invitee, Furious and much (unjustly) slapped, stopped by to leave an Outing Gift from the first Outing.

Gee, thanks for the, uh. . . .35 Simolean bud vase.  And the sad bit is that it is the ONLY Outing Gift I've ever gotten.

There isn't anywhere a sim could buy stoves and stuff, but most of my sims have now got flowers, snapdragons (helpful!)  several wedding cakes and birthday cakes, water wigglers, ice cream, and adorable stuffed bears in their inventories.  The Tiki crap is bound to start showing up soon.

PB

[DrNerd]

DrNerd, it kind of sounds like what I had a generation or two ago. The two sims had hung out on a community lot together, but it wasn't an outing.

AFAIK, neither of them has been to a community lot at all.  I rarely go Downtown, unless I'm trolling community lots with someone from a main Legacy household, and I don't recall either of them being at the community lots my Sims own.  And I've checked their relationship panels, and they definitely don't know each other.  Since this was just after a neighborhood rebuild, the gift wasn't being left for a former resident either--the only person living on the lot was the only one who'd ever lived there.

Prof--apparently you just need to add Di's SimSelf to your neighborhood.  She randomly leaves free pianos, no slaptastic Outings necessary!

[xoferew]

I had a child invite an adult man on an outing and afterwards the child dropped off a Mr. Bearlybutts chair.  I thought it was exactly the sort of thing a child would choose as a gift.  It was much appreciated, as it was the only chair on the lot.  (Until a wolf clawed it into oblivion.)  That's the only time I've had a child invite an adult out.  I don't know if it's supposed to happen. 

[Insanity Prelude]

I had a child invite an adult man on an outing and afterwards the child dropped off a Mr. Bearlybutts chair.  I thought it was exactly the sort of thing a child would choose as a gift.  

Things like that and bottles of champagne make a lot more sense than random Joe Townie being able to afford, and then drag to your place, a DJ booth or a dance sphere.

[Ness]

Since when was anything about the sims meant to make sense?

[twooflower]

I don't know if this information is useful or awesome (and I should probably have tested my theory before sharing it) but I think my sims tend to get date gifts the same night as the date if the date ends early enough to have flowers delivered before/around midnight.  Dates will sometimes come back on the lot right after bringing flowers and drop off a gift (in the early am?).  I could be wrong about the exact timing, but that seems to make a difference.  When I time dates this way, they seem to get stuff more often than they do on the second night or later.

[floopyboo]

Oh, come on, everyone knows sims each have their own portable hole!

[J. M. Pescado]

...and it seems to be attached to their butts.

[Zazazu]

 
It's not a portable hole. Their right butt-cheek pocket is a portal to an alternate dimension.

[jolrei]

I still find it alarmingly amusing to see them pull a fishing rod out of there that is taller than they are.

[jsalemi]

I'm alarmed by the butterfly/bug jar -- that thing is HUGE!