Environment preference of the sims

[gali]

Well, I just want to know how your Pleasants got so rich!?  Did you motherlode them up the wazoo, or is Daniel involved in some illegal activities?

Gali is an infamous and notorious cheater.

Of course! My Mother[lode] works overtime....

Kutto, I use only *one lot*, which is a packaged lot, and has the same attributes at the beginning.

After the simulator begins to cause disasters from different kinds (as leaking shower, etc), I redecorate the whole lot again, choosing different color-styles. So, the number of the lamps in each room is the same at the all lots.

From the Pleasants, I passed to the Dreamers, where I redecorated the bedrooms to blue-style.

After the experience with Daniel - who didn't like blue either, I wasn't sure what is the influence of the blue-style to the Dreamers. So, I moved Darren to stand in the blue-styled bedroom - and the environment rate was full scale.

Means, different sim characters like different colors, and if you succeed to guess the right one, you can save a lot of taxes.

I remember playing in some dorm, in which I redecorated the students bedroom with very few humble objects, and I got there full environment scale.

As I need more proofs, I'll try to run some dorm again, to see the results. Pictures will be included.

[Hitch]

I don't believe this. I think you're looking at the effects of other variables.

If you want to test the effect of color on environment score, decorate a room and observe the scores at various positions in the room. Then, without changing any of the furniture or decorations, use the design tool to change the colors. If you change the floors or walls, make sure the new ones are as similar as possible to the originals (especial with regards price). Then check the room as close to the original positions as you can. I doubt you'll be able to see a difference.

[jsalemi]

Even their computer is not spared.

That's actually the expensive computer that comes from Life Stories -- you can find links to it here: http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=7314.0

[sintrinity]

I'm not sure about color but I know that sims prefer some floors and walls over others - I am guessing based on cost(?)  I have also noticed that if you rebuild many times an "upgraded" room's score will go way down until you randomly tear down a few squares of wall and rebuild it back exactly the same.  I read that here somewhere awhile back and sure enough it works everytime although I have had to figure out which part of the wall.

For example, if I remember correctly Malcolm in BW has 2 bathrooms on the bottom floor, one decorated to the extreme and it's score is lousy until you do this and then it jumps right up there without changing anything.  Although in that case I think if you sell his decorations they cost an insane amount (the towel holder thingys) like 999 or something and I am not sure what is up with that.

[KellyQ]

Actually I've been wondering about environment scores as well. I just restarted Pleasantview when I installed Seasons and at the Broke household, every time any one of them goes into the bathroom, their environment score goes all the way down. I have no idea why. There isn't anything broken or dirty, they have the cheap toilet, pedestal sink and shower/tub combo, overhead light and one privacy window, which is pretty much standard on most of my lots (excluding wealthy sims). Theirs is the only one though that sends sims into the red though and I can't figure out what the problem is.
It's extremely annoying.

[gali]

Here is the ultimate proof:

I enterred the Ofeefe house, and orderred her to move to the bedroom (the original one). This was the environment rate:



I changed the floors/walls (on purpose, 2$ price), added 4 hanging cheap lamps and turned them on, added a library (cheap one - 110$), a desk (cheap one) with a computer and a chair, and added a cheap rug.

The environment scale didn't move up at all!

Now I replaced the bed with red one, cheaper than the first yellow bed.

Look at the environment scale:



Full and over!

[neriana]

The second room has been completely redecorated. You didn't just change the bed. You put expensive floors down, added a rug, added lights, got an expensive desk and a nice bookcase.

[gali]

Actually I've been wondering about environment scores as well. I just restarted Pleasantview when I installed Seasons and at the Broke household, every time any one of them goes into the bathroom, their environment score goes all the way down. I have no idea why. There isn't anything broken or dirty, they have the cheap toilet, pedestal sink and shower/tub combo, overhead light and one privacy window, which is pretty much standard on most of my lots (excluding wealthy sims). Theirs is the only one though that sends sims into the red though and I can't figure out what the problem is.
It's extremely annoying.

The environment in the bath depends on: 1) the amount of light; 2) the add of small bathroom rugs - the oval ones to the sink and toilet, the roundl ones under the shower, and the rectangle ones at  both sides of the tub.

Always keep the lights on in the bathrooms. My baths don't have windows at all (it's more comfortable to build bedroom, next bathroom, and next kitchen. I put only 2 lights in each bathroom, and order the sim to turn the light on.
The environment rate is at it's full scale.

[gali]

The second room has been completely redecorated. You didn't just change the bed. You put expensive floors down, added a rug, added lights, got an expensive desk and a nice bookcase.

Neriana, I have many downloaded objects, which are cheap, and many floor/walls which cost 1-2$, specially for starters. The ones I used are the downloaded ones, on purpose.

The desk costs 140$ (downloaded), and the lamps are cheap too.

But it didn't help to change the environment rate at all. It changed ONLY after I replaced the original bed with cheaper one, but with red color.

[J. M. Pescado]

Gali, your ability to do a controlled experiment that yields meaningful results is somewhat lacking.

[sara_dippity]

Try this gali. In the same room in the last picture, take a look at the environment score, then use just the decorator tool to change the colors of things. Do not let your sim move. Maybe turn freewill off. Keep the lights and decorations the same objects, just change the color. Nothing else. Do not add lights. Nothing. No object changes. Your sim's position to the lights and objects do not change. Then look at the environment score again. Then I will believe you.

[Lorelei]

These links may come in handy for Gali. 

http://www.vischeck.com/

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/8833/coloreye.html

[gali]

Sara, the lights are most important factor for increasing the environment. You have to understand, that I added tons of redundant objects, while I could do it with only few ones.

But here is my final test: the bathroom.

Here is the picture of the original bathroom:



I didn't change floors/walls there, only added 2 lamps and turned them on.
The result was this:



Now I added the small rugs only - and look at the change:



Believe me, I am not trying to make some "wise manipulation" - I am too *amateur*  in computer matters. I see what I see.

[buddha pest]

That's actually the expensive computer that comes from Life Stories -- you can find links to it here: http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=7314.0

Haha, thanks but no thanks on that computer.

ETA: Nevermind. Eh, yahoo group.

[sara_dippity]

Sara, the lights are most important object for increasing the environment. You have to understand, that I added tons of redundant objects, while I could do it with only few ones.

That is exactly why the difference in the ammount of lights could throw your "study" off. In other words, do not post a room with less lights and compare it to a room with more lights saying that it was the color of the sheets boosting the environment score.
And rugs add to the score as well, don't ADD anything! Try her in the bathroom and only change the color of the toilets. Not the floors, the cost of the floor will affect things.

[kutto]

Gali, I think you missed the point. We're not telling you to change the amount of lights in the room. We just want you to change the wallpaper and floors. Nothing else. That is called a controlled experiment.

[sewinglady]

And, Ideally, the room should be EMPTY and STAY EMPTY for each 'change'...

So build a small room, Put in NO objects save a single light fixture.  Then put a sim in it.

Change ONLY the floor and wallpapers  and see if the sims environment score changes.

Ideally, this should be done with floors and wallpapers that have the same exact costs, but different colorways in order to correctly discern whether or not sims have a 'color preference'.

[sara_dippity]

No! Not the floors! They do affect the environment, the cost does! Leave the floors, only use decorating mode to change the sheets, that shows "color preference".

[neriana]

The second room has been completely redecorated. You didn't just change the bed. You put expensive floors down, added a rug, added lights, got an expensive desk and a nice bookcase.

Neriana, I have many downloaded objects, which are cheap, and many floor/walls which cost 1-2$, specially for starters. The ones I used are the downloaded ones, on purpose.

The desk costs 140$ (downloaded), and the lamps are cheap too.

But it didn't help to change the environment rate at all. It changed ONLY after I replaced the original bed with cheaper one, but with red color.

You changed the floors and didn't tell us how much the second floors cost. You added lamps and a bookcase where there had been no lamps or bookcase before. The desk I can't say, but I know that bed comes with an environment score of 6, as I have it in my game. It's from Life Stories, and costs $3800. Even if you found a cheaper one somewhere, I bet they didn't change the environment score, just the price.

[gali]

No! Not the floors! They do affect the environment, the cost does! Leave the floors, only use decorating mode to change the sheets, that shows "color preference".

OK, Sara, here is the special test you wanted:

This is the original room:



I didn't touch anything, just replaced the bed with the SAME BED, but in red color - this is the result:



Of course it's not enough, because I have to add lights too, and a desk with a computer. But you see the >>> sign of the environment scale.

Is it enough?

[Hitch]

Of course it's not enough, because I have to add lights too, and a desk with a computer. But you see the >>> sign of the environment scale.

Is it enough?

Did you "replace" the bed, or recolor it with the design tool?

Bonus points if you know why I asked.


Edit: and what else did you do in the 22 minutes between pictures other than fulfill at least one want?

[neriana]

*edit, waiting to see if gali can answer Hitch's question"

Don't replace the bed. Just use the design tool to change the bedding.

[notveryawesome]

I agree with sara_dippity and neriana. If you're trying to test how colour affects the sims, then you need to change ONLY the colour of certain things. Higher-cost items, especially decorative ones, bring up environment scores. By introducing more objects and higher-priced objects, you are influencing the scores. In order to properly test colour, you must only change the colour of the objects that are already in the room, and NOT introduce new objects into the room.

[ElfPuddle]

Edit: and what else did you do in the 22 minutes between pictures other than fulfill at least one want?

I propose that the filled want was buying an expensive bookcase, which was put in the room long enough to raise the environment score, and removed while the bar was still filling (though the answer to the bed question would mitigate my proposal).

[sara_dippity]

Hey, thanks for catching the time, Hitch! It looks like in those few min the sim walked from the bathroom to the bedroom, which would make the environment bar display arrows for a second or two. The room score still looks the same, as far as how much the bar has filled.
gali, April Fool's day already passed....