THE HORROR: The REAL TS3 Scoop As It Unfolds

[TashaYarrr]

Can't get page 58 to load to save my life, so hopefully I'm not IMMEDIATELY repeating a prior topic--

Is the romantic interaction really as arbitrary as it seems? Between TS2's turnons/turnoffs and the ACR mod, I had no idea how good I had it till it was gone. In TS3, sims will hook up--or not. It all feels forced. When they won't hook up, I have no idea why, because there are no attraction or compatibility cues, and it's harder to find out what they need/want. I was determined to break up Gunther Goth's marriage with one of my female Sims, and it took forever to get him to hook up with my Sim. Why? Because he was married? Because they had no traits in common? Because he needed to pee? I HAVE NO IDEA. What finally changed? I HAVE NO IDEA. It was much more organic in TS2.

Also, once I got her pregnant (she needs the leverage to break up their marriage!), I no longer have the option to ask him to break up with Cornelia or whomever. Sigh.

I set up a couple that 'should' have gotten along well--similar traits, at least--and was eventually able to herd them into getting married and spawning. But once I stopped intervening, they have ZERO affectionate interaction of their own free will. Now, is this a thing where I have used ACR for too long, or was this also true in TS2?

[Roflganger]

Can't get page 58 to load to save my life, so hopefully I'm not IMMEDIATELY repeating a prior topic--

Is the romantic interaction really as arbitrary as it seems?

<snip>

 But once I stopped intervening, they have ZERO affectionate interaction of their own free will. Now, is this a thing where I have used ACR for too long, or was this also true in TS2?

From what I can tell, interaction availability is entirely determined by the other Sim's current perception.  You can't woohoo your girlfriend if she currently only thinks you're "okay", can't ask someone to move in with you if they think you're extremely irresistible (because apparently it's just a friendly action, not a romantic one).  In other words, each interaction is sitting somewhere on a tree, and you have to move up that tree EVERY TIME in order to get to it.  Spectacularly annoying.

I may very well be wrong but after deciding that this was how it worked, I've had much more success in shaping relationships the way I want them to go.  There does not seem to be any inherent compatibility system, though, so if you decide a Sim is The One for your Sim, all you have to do is start climbing.

[Jemna]

I really don't like the look of the sims in TS3. I'm not sure quite what it is I don't like. (Probably the fact they look like they're made out of playdough).
Also, there's no way near enough clothing and hair options. The colour slider is a great idea, though. The fact that the rest of the 'hood keeps going while you're in one household is a good idea if you like playing legacies, but you really should be able to completely switch it off completely...

I'm quickly disliking this game, despite the fact I haven't even played it yet.  

[daisywenham]

Can't get page 58 to load to save my life, so hopefully I'm not IMMEDIATELY repeating a prior topic--

Is the romantic interaction really as arbitrary as it seems? Between TS2's turnons/turnoffs and the ACR mod, I had no idea how good I had it till it was gone. In TS3, sims will hook up--or not. It all feels forced. When they won't hook up, I have no idea why, because there are no attraction or compatibility cues, and it's harder to find out what they need/want. I was determined to break up Gunther Goth's marriage with one of my female Sims, and it took forever to get him to hook up with my Sim. Why? Because he was married? Because they had no traits in common? Because he needed to pee? I HAVE NO IDEA. What finally changed? I HAVE NO IDEA. It was much more organic in TS2.

Also, once I got her pregnant (she needs the leverage to break up their marriage!), I no longer have the option to ask him to break up with Cornelia or whomever. Sigh.

I set up a couple that 'should' have gotten along well--similar traits, at least--and was eventually able to herd them into getting married and spawning. But once I stopped intervening, they have ZERO affectionate interaction of their own free will. Now, is this a thing where I have used ACR for too long, or was this also true in TS2?

I'm pretty sure all the sims don't respond the same to each other.  I had my CAS sim Drew, married to Parker Langerak in 2 sessions: one when she met him in the park and the 2nd when she invited him over.  He declined one proposal but accepted a 2nd not long after.  Their eldest son Lennon is now an adult and I'm trying to hook him up with a girl he met and she's being more difficult.  I had trouble even keeping the "2nd tier" of romantic interactions available.  I did eventually get them to woohoo but she declined the first go steady request, which I didn't even hit as soon as it came up.  While wooing Parker I used go steady as soon as it appeared and it worked.  

[daisywenham]

Can't get page 58 to load to save my life, so hopefully I'm not IMMEDIATELY repeating a prior topic--

Is the romantic interaction really as arbitrary as it seems?

<snip>

 But once I stopped intervening, they have ZERO affectionate interaction of their own free will. Now, is this a thing where I have used ACR for too long, or was this also true in TS2?

From what I can tell, interaction availability is entirely determined by the other Sim's current perception.  You can't woohoo your girlfriend if she currently only thinks you're "okay", can't ask someone to move in with you if they think you're extremely irresistible (because apparently it's just a friendly action, not a romantic one).  In other words, each interaction is sitting somewhere on a tree, and you have to move up that tree EVERY TIME in order to get to it.  Spectacularly annoying.

I may very well be wrong but after deciding that this was how it worked, I've had much more success in shaping relationships the way I want them to go.  There does not seem to be any inherent compatibility system, though, so if you decide a Sim is The One for your Sim, all you have to do is start climbing.

I think you're right with the tree analogy but some sims climb it easier than others so to speak.  Parker and Drew who I mentioned before, will get flirty and alluring going on their own, as did another couple I had that I've since deleted.  I have trouble even getting Lennon past flirt with his girl though.

[GnatGoSplat]

Is the romantic interaction really as arbitrary as it seems? Between TS2's turnons/turnoffs and the ACR mod, I had no idea how good I had it till it was gone. In TS3, sims will hook up--or not. It all feels forced. When they won't hook up, I have no idea why, because there are no attraction or compatibility cues, and it's harder to find out what they need/want. I was determined to break up Gunther Goth's marriage with one of my female Sims, and it took forever to get him to hook up with my Sim. Why? Because he was married? Because they had no traits in common? Because he needed to pee? I HAVE NO IDEA. What finally changed? I HAVE NO IDEA. It was much more organic in TS2.

It's probably been mentioned before, but the lack of a physical response to jealousy doesn't make sense either.  An adulterous Sim can be woohooing some other chick in the bedroom with his wife present, and the wife barely reacts.  No rage?  No fury?  Sure, she has mean wishes towards him and it shows in her mood panel, but she doesn't even let on that she even notices.  She carries on like nothing has happened.  I got a little more reaction out of a guy putting the moves on some guy's wife, the husband put his hands up in the air in frustration and said "aaaah aaaah aaaaah", but that was about it.  No physical action toward his wife or the other guy at all.  The slapping in TS2 got old, but at least it was more convincing.

[gyrobot]

They are for displaying, nothing like having a personal collection of Palladium bars as a little gold reserve. It adds to your enviroment value immensely.

[cyperangel]

I have recently moved a family via the phone/move menu, and I had them pack up their house as the menu suggests. WHen they safely arrived at the new house, all their belongings, including he driveway, but not the farming plants, I ran into a problem.

How the #"¤"%%"!!! do you move fish from the family inventory to either a personal inventory, or a fridge? I cant seem to do anything with the fish in there, and i honestly have no idea where they are from, as the sims still have theirs in their own inventories, and the fridge is still stocked with its own.

Any clues? Or are they just stuck with 10 stacks of useless fish?

[MickeyJR]

They worked really hard to make your sims take care of themselves. Maybe they're going to add personal stuff in a expansion and make relations more realistic Wasn't it the same way in Sims 2 at the start and they added more relationship stuff and tweaks in as the expansions came out?

[daisywenham]

They worked really hard to make your sims take care of themselves. Maybe they're going to add personal stuff in a expansion and make relations more realistic Wasn't it the same way in Sims 2 at the start and they added more relationship stuff and tweaks in as the expansions came out?

Yup, chemistry and turn ons/offs came with Nightlife if I'm remembering correctly.

[X-Phile]

I played sims 3 and I'm switching to Sims 2.

I'm a controle freak when it comes to playing sims. And when my sims have babies without my consent, I don't like it.
Story Progression is turned off by the way.

Besides sims 2 is a lot more fun.

[MickeyJR]

I'm sure they left out things so they could make expansions. I mean they're there to make cash and to do so they will have to follow up with expansions. I have a feeling the store will fall on it's face or not be a profitable as they hope.

As far as complete control over the Sims, yes they need to tweak it some. Setting individual so that they don't make big choices on their own would be a big positive. Maybe a way to hibernate a household and be able to switch when you want to play that house. I like the idea of how the world works, I just think they need to tweak certain things to fit all play styles.

I look at Sims 3 as a Chassis to a car, eventually we will get the body and then the engine and then the interior. All the while we get ti tune it with mods along the way.

We're just used to how Sims 2 works, we need to give this a chance and see where it goes. Sims 3 has great potential and if you can set the Sims 2 aside and look at this as a completely new game it might be a bit more fun.

You said you have story progression turned off. Did you also turn free will down? Turning free will off will allow you to be a complete control freak You Sims will not make any choice with out you. You can set this to whatever level you want. Low would probably let them do basic things but not get married ect ect. I'm not sure you would have to play around with it. I would turn story progression on and free will down as then the town still moves but your sims should not make so many choices on their own.

I think each sim you have should have the choice to turn this on or off on a personal level. As in move childern in to a different house and turn their free will down, they will still roam as in Sims 2 and their house/job all freezes until you switch to their house and tell them to do something.

Just my two cents.

[Heinel]

From what I can tell, interaction availability is entirely determined by the other Sim's current perception.  You can't woohoo your girlfriend if she currently only thinks you're "okay", can't ask someone to move in with you if they think you're extremely irresistible (because apparently it's just a friendly action, not a romantic one).  In other words, each interaction is sitting somewhere on a tree, and you have to move up that tree EVERY TIME in order to get to it.  Spectacularly annoying.

I may very well be wrong but after deciding that this was how it worked, I've had much more success in shaping relationships the way I want them to go.  There does not seem to be any inherent compatibility system, though, so if you decide a Sim is The One for your Sim, all you have to do is start climbing.

I'm pretty sure "extremely irresistible" is a romantic one.  That is what I shoot for whenever I need them to woohoo.  Forget that.  I think I misread the sentence.  "Move In" is a friendly option.  The romantic equivalent is marriage.

It also seems like if the sims are in a relationship (steady and up) they can skip parts of the tree and get to that point sooner.  As to how many interactions is needed to advance, it looks like there is a little bit of compatibility issues (maybe trait related too) as I do notice some sims (especially unflirty ones) are really difficult to woo.

What I do not like though is that in order to woo someone that has a spouse (even those with commitment issues, like Thornton Wolff), you have to use friendly interactions until "Ask to break up with X" comes up before the sim will take your romantic interactions, that really makes no sense.

[SlickCee]

To the person who asked how did my Sim die right out of the blue: It was old age.
 I have a question. There has been an increasing amount of Sims that my Sim is besties with but does not know ANY of their traits. I can't use the "get to know" option anymore so that is out. Is there any other way to find out a Sim's trait? I am tired of all these question marks that appear for a Sim that is supposedly a close friend .
 

[MickeyJR]

"Chat" will reveal traits though it is a bit slower than "Get to know" You might have to chat a lot to get to know them. Also you can go into Law Enforcement Profession and at a certain point you get the ability to "Question" any sim. This reveals traits, usually all traits very quickly.

[kattenijin]

Is there somplace in game I'm missing to discover what some of the books do, besides the obvious ones for skilling and new foods/music? I'm assuming that "Commitment issues" helps sims with that trait to deal better with them, but WTF does "Where's Bella" do?

[TashaYarrr]

What I do not like though is that in order to woo someone that has a spouse (even those with commitment issues, like Thornton Wolff), you have to use friendly interactions until "Ask to break up with X" comes up before the sim will take your romantic interactions, that really makes no sense.

Hmm, see that is the opposite of what I'm going through. Through stubbornness mostly, I managed to get Gunther Goth to hook up with and impregnate my other-woman sim. At one point I had the 'ask to break up' option, but I did not take it, and now I cannot get it back even though she's borne his bastard child. I just checked on him (grr argh stupid family switching annoyance argh) and he does indeed still consider himself married to Cornelia. Although you give me an idea, I've been focusing on the romantic tree because I assumed that was where the 'break up' request was, I'll try friendly instead.

(Another annoyance, that they'll get in bed, cuddle, make out, but even though Woohoo appears they'll just...not...with no indication of the problem.)

ETA: Success! After repeating many of the Friendly interactions for many in-game hours, I finally clicked on one I hadn't used that much "Applaud Hard Work" (he's a workaholic), and the "Ask to break up with Cornelia" option finally appeared. Now I can continue with my evil scheme. But that's beside the point. Those interaction trees suck and make no sense. When something is relationshipally available, it should be available.

Also, while they were friendly-interacting, the game popped up a box saying that since they got along so well, should I have Gunther move in? Hells no, I'm going to move my homewrecker into the Goth mansion.

[Peggy_Leggy]

I got this once and accepted it and there were about 7 or 8 rocks that were worth something and about a dozen and a half little piles of stuff that needed to be tidied up. Didnt take long but was worth it for the money it gave me from the space rocks

Drat, a missed oppurtunity. Good to know!

[Mikka]

Servers are not being cooperative at the moment.

Some traits seem to be able to be 'triggered' for an immediate find-out, too, due to certain social actions.  Ask about work, and you might get 'Workaholic', a flirt can reveal if someone's Unflirty, chating about family will get if someone Hates Children (and I assume the opposite, though I haven't ever gotten that), speaking of Art gets if someone Hates Art, telling a joke can get you the Good Sense of Humor / No Sense of Humor thing... I'm sure there's more, but those are the only one's I've seen.  Still, yeah, besides the super easy Questioning way, it does seem a bit difficult to get traits after 'Get to know' is gone; chat takes forever.

I'm really hating the enforced maternity leave.  At this point, if I have a female Sim who I plan to have children with, I'm just avoiding 'top job' ltw's.  I had a Sim who was at midlevel in the military when she started having kids: her kid was like, two days from child by the time she was working again- and I didn't grow him up early in baby stage.  I need to be better about timing pregnancies.

[BlueSoup]

Although you give me an idea, I've been focusing on the romantic tree because I assumed that was where the 'break up' request was, I'll try friendly instead. 

Every time I've ever looked, Break Up is in the Mean tree, even when their relationship is good.  So I'd try there in the future.

[jaccirocker]

Hey guys I don't know if I missed the answer but but did anyone find out about Yoga. I really miss that.

[bah]

Hi, I'm a long time lurker, here to annoy you ...

I noticed at least one person mention that they were playing Sims 3 on a laptop - so, for those of you who've been using one, I'm curious - is it a super spectacular gaming laptop, or just a really good regular laptop?

Also, thanks to everyone who's taken the time to post pictures.  They rock.

[Marhis]

I'm getting a bit annoyed at the jumps into cars, out of cars, out of driveways, onto bikes, etc.  Not anything new, but the lack of real animations bothers me a bit.  In TS2 at least they could open car doors.  For TS4, sims will walk to the bottom of stairs and suddenly appear at the top without walking or running up.  This will, of course, save time.

All the time they save in this way will be used later for all the pauses they do whenever they start doing something. No, really.

Command: go to bed.
Action: sim approaches bedroom ---> pause: there's another sim in the way. ---> pause ---> pause ---> pause ---> action canceled by user; the other sim moves away ---> redo command: go to bed ---> sim approaches bed ---> pause ---> sim changes clothes ---> sim enters the bed.

Command: serve meal
Action: sim enters the kitchen ---> pause ---> sim approaches fridge ---> pause ---> sim gets ingredients from fridge and approaches counter ---> pause ---> sim puts down ingredients on counter ---> pause ---> sim starts preparation (slow).

AAARRRRGH!

[diskoh]

Hi, I'm a long time lurker, here to annoy you ...

I noticed at least one person mention that they were playing Sims 3 on a laptop - so, for those of you who've been using one, I'm curious - is it a super spectacular gaming laptop, or just a really good regular laptop?

Also, thanks to everyone who's taken the time to post pictures.  They rock.

mine's not either. 2 ghz duel core cpu, 3gb ram, built in graphics. sims 3 runs just great.

[MickeyJR]

Mid line Laptop here

Dell Compaq Presario CQ60

Amd Athlon X2 64 2GHZ
8200M G 256 onboard 500 or so shared memory
2 gig memory
Windows Vista

Runs fine has a few hiccups, if I increased the base memory to 4 gig (3.5 usuable) it would probably run better. I have all graphics set to medium a few to high.

I am waiting for the release to get the offical Sim 3 to see if it runs better. I have always been one if I like a game I try, I buy it to support the people who made it. Playing the Sims 3 has just confirmed what I was going to do anyway, purchase it.