Hack for more realistic college GPA (possible?)

[rufio]

I'm wondering if it would be possible to make a hack that causes the college class performance bar to behave like the aspiration bar and decay over time.  That way, you keep on having to do assignments and go to class and write papers and woohoo professors and the like all semester long, and you can't just do it all in the first 15 hours and then goof off for the rest of the semester.  I really want some of my sims to graduate with less than a 4.0 occasionally.

I'd probably attempt to do it myself, but I don't really know that much about making hacks, and in any case my SimPE doesn't seem to work anymore.  Is this possible, though?

[jsalemi]

Bah -- Uni is boring enough as it is.  Just use Pescado's college clock to send them to finals as soon as their grade bar is high enough and get it over with.

[pixiejuice]

Or you could try the slower skilling mod that's in this folder.  It's not quite the same idea as what you have in mind, but it will definitely make your college experience harder.  Career promotions too, for that matter.  I've been using it a couple weeks now and it really does the trick!

[edespino]

in peasantry ( sorry here ) someone change a hack what slow the skilling but slow too much too my taste so i change, now is harder get a skill point so in university and for work gain 1 level of skill is a pain in ass more for late skills. Now need study o practice for hrs and hrs if want get something.

[rufio]

My sims mostly have all the skill points they need when they go to uni anyway, and the college clock routine gets kind of boring after a while, and I want uni to be a challenge, so that it's actually hard to get a 4.0 and spend every night hanging out at the lounge.

[jolrei]

See, I want uni, like all parts of the game, to be entertainment for me.  Thus, uni is all about shenanigans, soap in fountains, playing instruments badly, and woohoo in the library.  You want a challenge, that's it!  If my sims earn a skill point at anything while in uni, they're damn lucky.

[Liz]

See, I want uni, like all parts of the game, to be entertainment for me.  Thus, uni is all about shenanigans, soap in fountains, playing instruments badly, and woohoo in the library.

Absolutely. *nods head solemnly and thoughtfully*
While getting really good grades at Uni is unrealistically easy, I've enjoyed my latest generation of YAs a lot more than previously, and they're not all sitting on top of 4.0s this time. It might be nice to face a little more of a challenge, but there's very little that's fun for me as a player about the academic process. Watch them sit on the couch for 4 hours doing research. Send them to the desk to chew on their pen (aka 'Do Assignment') for an hour. Spend several more hours watching them type. Rinse and repeat through 8 semesters. Es muy boring.

This time around, if they need a skill point for their grades, they'd better roll up a Want for it (or manage it accidentally), or it ain't gonna happen. Term papers and assignments are only done if they *want* to do them. Occasionally they go to class. And if they're in danger of failing I'll send them to hang out at the Library and try to con some other poor schmuck into writing their paper for them. Instead of boring coursework they get to scope out potential dates while hustling pool. Parties are thrown and mascots pummeled. Cheerleaders drop by to Verbits the hapless dormies passed out on the sidewalk in a cloud of their own stink. It's college just the way I remember it. 

[J. M. Pescado]

I've contemplated the concept of making it harder, but concluded that "adding more grinding" does not equate to "harder", and as such, there are only two possible settings: "Easy" and "Impossible". If it can be done, it's easy. Otherwise, it's just impossible.

[Zazazu]

My sims generally have almost no skill points by the time they get to Uni. At Uni, they only skill if they want the point, or if they are Knowledge. They only do homework/term paper if they want it. I haven't had anyone flunk out yet (who wasn't rolled to do so) but very few make the honor roll.

If you want things to be challenging for your sims, perhaps you should quit feeding them with a silver spoon.

[rufio]

Yeah, I kinda see that, but I'm usually running out of things for them to do even while getting them 4.0s.  Romance and Popularity sims are better, but I have trouble finding things for shy Knowledge and Fortune sims to do other than study, play instruments, and possibly scope out a future mate.  I've taken to having them buy crafting stations and getting badges during college.  When they do go out, I tend to send them downtown anyway, which doesn't spend any time of the semester.

Maybe if there was a hack than made all semesters 48 hours instead of 72?

ETA: To clarify, I don't necessarily want to make it more grueling - I just want my sims to have to choose between good grades and parties and instruments and woohoo all the time.  It would help to flesh out their relative personalities for me.

[J. M. Pescado]

Again, really not much point. The college clock exists already to truncate semesters when you feel they're overlong. Even 48 hour semesters are plenty. The bottom line being that there is basically nothing you can do to make Uni harder without making it simply impossible short of altering user behavior. As long as you engage in compulsive bar-filling, it is going to simply be easy. For that matter, it works that way in real life, too.

[rufio]

Ok, maybe I just need to change my playstyle a bit then.  It's just too easy to fall into a compulsive bar-filling rut after a while.

[pixiejuice]

Yeah, I kinda see that, but I'm usually running out of things for them to do even while getting them 4.0s.  Romance and Popularity sims are better, but I have trouble finding things for shy Knowledge and Fortune sims to do other than study, play instruments, and possibly scope out a future mate.  I've taken to having them buy crafting stations and getting badges during college.  When they do go out, I tend to send them downtown anyway, which doesn't spend any time of the semester.

Maybe if there was a hack than made all semesters 48 hours instead of 72?

ETA: To clarify, I don't necessarily want to make it more grueling - I just want my sims to have to choose between good grades and parties and instruments and woohoo all the time.  It would help to flesh out their relative personalities for me.

Yes, that is exactly what I do - 48 hour semesters.  All you need to do is use the college clock or TJ's college adjuster to take the final exam 24 hours earlier than you would normally.  And it does just what you say - allow them to choose between having fun or studying.  So there you go.

Maybe it would help you to only allow assignments, skill-building, and term papers when there is a want rolled for it.  My sims even have to choose between working jobs and going to class sometimes.  So yes, I would agree that playstyle is probably the problem here.  I'm never bored with my YAs. 

[Roux]

I also find Uni a lot more enjoyable if I use it for fun shenanigans. I've got a Pleasure sim using up her time and scholarship money getting blind dates from the gypsy. And a Romance sim is spending a semester only at Uni community lots (except for the occasional save), cruisin' for conquests.

There is one hack I can recommend: Dizzy's random-goto-class, at The Laden Swallow. Sims will only autonomously go to class if they're in the mood to go. This really helps to keep their GPA down: my Romance sim only has a 3.1, I think.

Another thing would be to not have any fall seasons in your Uni hoods. In fall, the term paper alone is enough for them to pass the semester, I think.

[rufio]

Fall makes assignments and papers count for more grade points?  I thought it just made them go faster.  *sets uni hood to spring-spring-summer-winter*

[Liz]

It's just too easy to fall into a compulsive bar-filling rut after a while.

It really is, but getting hung up on filling the bars really drains my Fun meter. Unless a sim is missing skills necessary to pass a course, just going to class a couple of times (with their Needs in good shape) before attending their Final can easily give them a passing grade. Passing a semester is almost effortless. But if I want them to get *good* grades, if I want them to go for the 4.0, I (and they ;p) need to work a little for it.

The only reason I even stress whether they pass or fail is that I don't want to be stuck playing additional semesters. Uni is long enough as it is! I could be quite satisfied with 48-hour semesters instead of 72. There are enough hacks out there to shorten semesters if desired, though, and I do think that's the angle from which to approach this, instead of adding to the assignment/paper tedium.

I think part of the reason for a bar-filling tendency is the open-ended nature of the game. With literally no end in sight, meeting big goals like reaching the top of a career or maxing skills - or even the shorter term goals like filling the class meter - can help give a sense of accomplishment to playing the game. Unfortunately, however, it's easy to get caught up in achieving these goals and not pay enough attention to the interim opportunities for fun along the way.

[SnootCB]

You could try playing the sims by personality.  A Popularity sim who is hooked on the idea of becoming Big Sim on Campus might spend all their time on the phone, throwing parties, or at a college community lot meeting new people (where time still ticks for them)- and they only manage to pass by influencing other students to do their work for them.  A Knowledge sim that is more of a gaming geek than a bookworm might spend most of their time in front of the computer doing anything BUT their term paper.

I generally have an idea of what I want any given sim's final GPA to be when they start college and I work towards keeping it at just that level.  That is a bit of a challenge in itself.  You might have more fun doing it that way- say, "I want sim X to keep a 2.7 GPA" and try to maintain that sim's 2.7 for 8 semesters.  The goal doesn't have to be a 4.0 average.

[jolrei]

Grades are unimportant after hitting the "pass" threshold.  Passing the semester for me is purely to get the next semester going so we can continue to HAZ MOAR FUNNZ!    If I have run out of things to do, it's time to college adjust that sim's ass to grad party mode.

Jolrei Uni tip #1:
If your sim woohoos a couple of professors and at least 4 other sims, and then invites them all to a party, with ACR running, you just have to sit back and watch the fireworks. (OMG! It's fulla starz!)

[J. M. Pescado]

The amusing thing is that without any cheap exploits or even cutting into any potential "fun shenanigans" I can imagine, I can STILL max out 4.0 straight just on the downtime. Because I'm just that awesome. Probably because I hate sleep.

[rufio]

Lots of good ideas here - I'll have to try some out with my next batch of YAs.

Jolrei Uni tip #1:
If your sim woohoos a couple of professors and at least 4 other sims, and then invites them all to a party, with ACR running, you just have to sit back and watch the fireworks. (OMG! It's fulla starz!)

Wouldn't that cause you to lose a crapload of class performance, though?  I've noticed that negative interactions with professors = negative class performance.  Or was that your point?

ETA: Also, IIRC, if they're all romance sims, nothing will happen anyway.  I had a sim woohooing with multiple dormies in her dorm and sat around for a couple of semesters wondering where all the slapping went.

[jolrei]

Jolrei Uni tip #1:
If your sim woohoos a couple of professors and at least 4 other sims, and then invites them all to a party, with ACR running, you just have to sit back and watch the fireworks. (OMG! It's fulla starz!)

Wouldn't that cause you to lose a crapload of class performance, though?  I've noticed that negative interactions with professors = negative class performance.  Or was that your point?

Class performance?  Who cares?  It means nothing in the main hood.  My point was to have MOAR FUN with your sims.  In the end, would you rather be bored  by a bunch of A+ couch potatoes or be amused by something funny?  What would you take pictures of?  Anyhow, as Pescado says, it's not that hard to get good (enough) grades and still keep your sims on a gruelling recreational schedule.

[J. M. Pescado]

Another point to keep in mind is that making the class performance bar "decay over time" doesn't actually increase the amount of work you do, it just means it's pointless to do anything until the end, since it can't decay when it's already empty.