The Sims 3 Expansion In My Head

[Heinel]

It's all moodlets, never personality. All Sims talk the same, every action is the same. If two different Sims have the same traits, and pick the same trait specific social action it won't be any different than the Average Joe doing it. Like you said, Excitable Sims don't act excited, they just get a moodlet.

That's a false generalization.  Some traits do have specific interactions, and they also autonomously use them from time to time.  You need to pay more attention.

That wasn't what I was getting at. I meant that traits that have social interactions are never different between Sims, and I'm pretty sure that's what I said, I guess you just didn't catch that.

And for instance, the Evil trait, they laugh sometimes. Yes, it's autonomous, but it's not an interaction. They just do it for the hell of it.

Hopeless Romantic: Gaze Into Eyes
Childish: Goof Around
Daredevil: Watch This!
Technophobe: Sabotage Electronics

List goes on.

There, you're spoon fed.

[simsdesperado]

Hopeless Romantic: Gaze Into Eyes
Childish: Goof Around
Daredevil: Watch This!
Technophobe: Sabotage Electronics

List goes on.

There, you're spoon fed.

Those behaviours will always be linked to just those traits, like the idle animations were linked to TS2 personality points, and this makes all traits very predictable in behaviour. Maybe they should have enabled all interractions for all sims, but randomize the chances of sims performing them based on their traits. Like childish sims have a 50% chance to do the goof around animation and all other traits have it on varying smaller degrees based on the trait description, so this would give even a grumpy sim the chance to goof around occasionaly.

[Heinel]

Hopeless Romantic: Gaze Into Eyes
Childish: Goof Around
Daredevil: Watch This!
Technophobe: Sabotage Electronics

List goes on.

There, you're spoon fed.

Those behaviours will always be linked to just those traits, like the idle animations were linked to TS2 personality points, and this makes all traits very predictable in behaviour. Maybe they should have enabled all interractions for all sims, but randomize the chances of sims performing them based on their traits. Like childish sims have a 50% chance to do the goof around animation and all other traits have it on varying smaller degrees based on the trait description, so this would give even a grumpy sim the chance to goof around occasionaly.

Goof Around is a social interaction.  Fuck with its xml.

[Drakron]

Those behaviours will always be linked to just those traits, like the idle animations were linked to TS2 personality points, and this makes all traits very predictable in behaviour.

And so my point remains, at worst there is no difference of TS2/1 and TS3 in that regard.

Maybe they should have enabled all interractions for all sims, but randomize the chances of sims performing them based on their traits. Like childish sims have a 50% chance to do the goof around animation and all other traits have it on varying smaller degrees based on the trait description, so this would give even a grumpy sim the chance to goof around occasionaly.

That is the insane trait.

Also that idea would make every Sim to be the same as behavior would not longer be connected to traits but it would be a "everything goes" by random chance.

Also as pointed above, you can mod it and have every Sim to have the Insane trait basic function.

Anyway ... It seems the reason people liked the Zodiac system was not how it worked but because they had no idea on how it worked and the Trait system is relative straightforward on what things will do.

[simsdesperado]

Also that idea would make every Sim to be the same as behavior would not longer be connected to traits but it would be a "everything goes" by random chance.

Yes, but as I pointed above, the traits carry a specific set of interractions that sims will always perform so we can safely say the randomness level is 0 in their case for the interactions associated with their traits. However, it would be nice if grumpy sims will get a maybe 5% random chance that they will act nice, or childish or goof around. Or maybe a slob sim will get a 5% chance that he'll like to do the dishes one day and then he'll return to his usual self the next day. People don't behave the same all the time and it would be nice if sims would break the habits every now and then. 

[Shai Hulud]

It's all moodlets, never personality. All Sims talk the same, every action is the same. If two different Sims have the same traits, and pick the same trait specific social action it won't be any different than the Average Joe doing it. Like you said, Excitable Sims don't act excited, they just get a moodlet.

That's a false generalization.  Some traits do have specific interactions, and they also autonomously use them from time to time.  You need to pay more attention.

That wasn't what I was getting at. I meant that traits that have social interactions are never different between Sims, and I'm pretty sure that's what I said, I guess you just didn't catch that.

And for instance, the Evil trait, they laugh sometimes. Yes, it's autonomous, but it's not an interaction. They just do it for the hell of it.

Hopeless Romantic: Gaze Into Eyes
Childish: Goof Around
Daredevil: Watch This!
Technophobe: Sabotage Electronics

List goes on.

There, you're spoon fed.

No shit. Nobody seems to understand what I'm saying, even though this is the third time I've simplified it. So here:

Sim A has the Childish trait. Sim B also has the Childish trait. None of their other four traits are the same. The Goof Around interaction will be EXACTLY the same, no matter what OTHER COMBINATION OF TRAITS THEY HAVE.

So, what I mean is that traits don't give personality. They give little interactions or moodlets, which will always be the same from Sim to Sim, no matter what other traits they have. Traits are independent features.

[Zazazu]

And just how many variations should there be? At what point is it too much? The base game is already over 5 gigs, comparable to a gig and a half for TS2 basegame. Add animations to the level that you seem to want, and you're talking about a game almost double the size.

In the end, you'll still whine that they are too predictable and that the differences are too small. Newsflash: sims are code bits and pixels. You will not get the level of complexity you seem to crave from code bits and pixels anytime this century.

[kemowery]

And just how many variations should there be? At what point is it too much? The base game is already over 5 gigs, comparable to a gig and a half for TS2 basegame. Add animations to the level that you seem to want, and you're talking about a game almost double the size.

In the end, you'll still whine that they are too predictable and that the differences are too small. Newsflash: sims are code bits and pixels. You will not get the level of complexity you seem to crave from code bits and pixels anytime this century.

Yep.  There are some problematic "same" animations.  For instance, the animation for looking through the telescope is always the same, and it always looks like you're worried someone will see you peering in the neighbors' window, even if you're scanning the heavens for new stars and planets.  Sims choke a little on their food altogether too often.

But it's hardly surprising that the same interaction always looks the same when different Sims do it.  That was the case in Sims 2 as well.

[PirateFaafy]

And just how many variations should there be? At what point is it too much? The base game is already over 5 gigs, comparable to a gig and a half for TS2 basegame. Add animations to the level that you seem to want, and you're talking about a game almost double the size.

In the end, you'll still whine that they are too predictable and that the differences are too small. Newsflash: sims are code bits and pixels. You will not get the level of complexity you seem to crave from code bits and pixels anytime this century.

Shut the hell up, pumpkin. We're having a mature conversation here. Now, what I don't like is the fact that all Sims eat the same way. I know plenty of people who were born in the same location, but some use the American style of keeping the fork in one hand, and others, the European style of setting the knife down and putting the fork in the dominant hand. It's ridiculous, and their eating styles are being given no personalization whatsoever. I also dislike the fact that all of my Sims use the exact same aging-up animations. Dammit, a daredevil Sim should leap while age-transitioning, not just do that spinning around crap. And why don't my Pyros knock down their birthday candles and set the tables on fire? Lastly, I think we should be able to actually follow our Astronaut Sims to work. They could have set us up a moon base, created a couple of planets, randomly generated atmospheres, different flora and fauna... Damn those lazy developers.

[J. M. Pescado]

Shut the hell up, pumpkin. We're having a mature conversation here. Now, what I don't like is the fact that all Sims eat the same way. I know plenty of people who were born in the same location, but some use the American style of keeping the fork in one hand, and others, the European style of setting the knife down and putting the fork in the dominant hand. It's ridiculous, and their eating styles are being given no personalization whatsoever.

You people all eat funny. This is why it takes you so long to finish.

Lastly, I think we should be able to actually follow our Astronaut Sims to work. They could have set us up a moon base, created a couple of planets, randomly generated atmospheres, different flora and fauna... Damn those lazy developers.

Are you sure you don't want to simply play Splotch?

[PirateFaafy]

Splotch?

You people all eat funny. This is why it takes you so long to finish.

Actually, I aphotosynthesize. I generate food through not being exposed to sunlight.

Are you sure you don't want to simply play Splotch?

Precisely! They should have programmed in Splotch on top of the existing game. And this time, they should do it RIGHT, dammit. And you know why this didn't happen? Those lazy developers not programming in the obvious missing details.

[Zazazu]

And just how many variations should there be? At what point is it too much? The base game is already over 5 gigs, comparable to a gig and a half for TS2 basegame. Add animations to the level that you seem to want, and you're talking about a game almost double the size.

In the end, you'll still whine that they are too predictable and that the differences are too small. Newsflash: sims are code bits and pixels. You will not get the level of complexity you seem to crave from code bits and pixels anytime this century.

Shut the hell up, pumpkin. We're having a mature conversation here.

Excuse the hell out of me. What about my statement wasn't mature? What about it wasn't appropriate to the discussion at hand? Quit getting uppity, it doesn't look good on you.

[Tsarina]

I may be the only one, but I read Faafy's post as more than just a little tongue-in-cheek. Your sarcasm meter is broken.

Shut the hell up, pumpkin. We're having a mature conversation here. Now, what I don't like is the fact that all Sims eat the same way. I know plenty of people who were born in the same location, but some use the American style of keeping the fork in one hand, and others, the European style of setting the knife down and putting the fork in the dominant hand. It's ridiculous, and their eating styles are being given no personalization whatsoever. I also dislike the fact that all of my Sims use the exact same aging-up animations. Dammit, a daredevil Sim should leap while age-transitioning, not just do that spinning around crap. And why don't my Pyros knock down their birthday candles and set the tables on fire? Lastly, I think we should be able to actually follow our Astronaut Sims to work. They could have set us up a moon base, created a couple of planets, randomly generated atmospheres, different flora and fauna... Damn those lazy developers.

[Zazazu]

If that's the case, my apologies. It's just that "Shut the hell up" has always been a serious insult. "Shut up", not so much.

[PirateFaafy]

Yes, apparently I went a bit over the top with that one. My apologies. I was going for the whole "discontented sheep is discontented" feel. I was in accordance with your point that the game does have a lot of complexity as is.

*begins mopping up the puddles around the pumpkin's meter*