How To Create Groups In TS2 vs TS4
I'm creating this thread so we can share ideas or stories of how we used groups in TS2. We hear so much about TS4's groups in GT (yes, I played them) but I want people to know that No, TS4 is not the first game to have 'groups' in the series. It was TS2 but I agree TS4 did expand these features enough to turn it into a full feature of the Get Together EP.
First, I used groups often in TS2 then and now. It was so easy. Just use the phone to set which Sims will travel with your Sim to any community lot and or even your home to do activities together. TS4 likes to brag that yes, though it was possible in TS2, TS4's way is so much better. Let's examine facts.
In TS4 you have to find Sims out in the world to join your 'club' group. Because yes, you can set what things they can and can't do while having a group activity. That's great and yes, it is expanded in that way, but you still have to find some Sims that fit whatever criteria you set in the settings.
In TS2 you use your Sim's phone to pick which Sims will be in the group and those Sims will be the Sims that may show up on community lots when you are not playing that Sim and playing a different household. This is also true in TS4, if you play a different household the Sims you added to a 'club' group will be a group of Sims who show up together on community lots. So, both ways are easy to do, but TS4 has the extra step of having to find Sims that fit the bill of the criteria you have already set to be what is required of that Sim. I will have to say, it was sometimes difficult to find a total stranger and for them to have all my requirements and or not be Insane, (trait) because most generated TS4 townies are Insane.
In TS2 once you have the group on the phone, you can call for an outing. In TS4 if you set up your group the game will auto call for a meeting/activity at some of the most inconvenient times when your Sim is really busy and or needs sleep or in the middle of the night. Or especially after your Sim has already gone to bed. Those are facts.
Let's see how things differ from one game to the other. In TS4 it is supposed to work that all the Sims in the group will do the same things that you set in your requirements such as eat at a particular type restaurant, or to all play chess, and or to all cook on some stoves, or to all swim at the same time, or to all dance at the same time, or to order food from the Cafe kiosks on the lots etc. It was supposed to continue into every EP or GP that would ever be added to the game, where you could continue to use new objects and features of later EPs after GT. But that fact is Maxis isn't adding that much to the 'group' club features at all. There are many threads complaining why didn't they add this or that new feature to the GT as they promised. It's an almost forgotten feature now.
But do TS4 Sims actually do every thing you set in the club rules at the same time? No. Will TS2 Sims do every thing your Sim is doing at a community or home while in a group from the phone? No.
But what can be done in TS2 groups? If you only place chess tables on a lot, then yes, all Sims in the group will eventually all play chess. But that doesn't mean right away. They may socialize first and or do other things like use the bathroom, wash their hands (all based on traits) etc. And if one doesn't enjoy chess, they are probably going to choose a TV or a pc, and or play Kicky bag. Even if only chess tables were on the lot, one may not use the bathroom because it has a public stall, and may hold it until they can't hold it anymore. Then let's compare what TS4 Sims will do in a club if only chess tables are on the lot. Will all of them sit down and play? No. A few will but because these Sims would rather talk all day than anything else they may spend the whole time talking to another Sim or many Sims.
Will all Sims in the TS2 group Smustle Dance? Yes, but you may have to click Let's Smustle on a few, but 99% of the time, yes. Will all Sims in TS4's group dance at the same time? Many will but no not all will, again liking to talk more than do anything else. Because TS4's main goal is talking socializing rather than any other way to socialize.
Will all Sims in TS2 cook on a lot with just stoves? no, not even close.< (Before hobby lots). Will they do it on a hobby lot? No, not even after Free Time.
Some people enjoy TS4's groups more because it's expected that Sims in a 'club' group should and would do the things the player set in the rules. But do they follow them? No. As a matter of fact the feature to cook like a cooking club or class, was ruined by changing the feature of inappropriate even when in a group that is supposed to cook on a lot. This change in a patch ruined the cooking clubs so even if your Sims are supposed to be cooking (in the set rules) someone will throw them out, for being inappropriate. In a home where you invited them to cook. Even your own Sim will find it inappropriate. So, that club rule is a bust. Not much better than TS2 there is it?
Will all Sims swim together in TS4's clubs? Yes, and No. some may but others may find other things to do on the lot, especially standing around and talking. Do all Sims in TS2's group swim together? Yes and No. If you play Marco Polo you can invite anyone in the group or out of a group to join in the game. You can have more than two Sims playing it. Will they all use the pool if nothing else in on the lot? Maybe, but not until social is full and fun is not full.
Will all Sims bowl in TS2's groups, yes, eventually. After they have socialized and met other Sims (AL feature) but before AL, yes.
Will all Sims bowl in TS4's club groups No. Only two can bowl at a time if I recall correctly and it took them years to add a relationship increase while doing it, and even a socialization feature where they would even talk while doing it. It was horrible.
Some like to play with TS4's groups to make Sims at home living in different parts of a lot (before apartments) take care of themselves and clean up or cook or whatever to take care of themselves so they could play their Sim and have other 'apartment dwellers in a lot. This was ok, but in TS2 if you played a duplex/apartment building before apartments and used Myne doors from University it wasn't really necessary to set rules for them to care for themselves or make sure they went to work or school or whatever if you kept hands off and just let them live while you played your own Sim in it's own section of a lot. No group rules necessary. And it took a few patches or a year or so before TS4 even got locked doors.
Will Sims eat together in a restaurant in either 'group'? Yes and No.
In TS2 if you call your group on the phone and invite them to a restaurant then yes, they will all sit down at a big booth (one may even jump over the table to get to the inside seat) but your Sim pays the bill and does the ordering for all, either, for each and for all. But you have to be careful you don't order for the entire restaurant if you have a poor Sim.
Will TS4's group also eat together yes, and no. Yes if your Sim is in the group and you happen to be playing your Sim at that time. If you are playing a different household and see your other Sim and it's group then No. They will never be seated but stand around in the group sometimes blocking and standing in the way of the servers (you would think TS4 Sims don't block but they can) and never sit down to eat a meal together. You have to be playing at least one of them.
Will either group of Sims stick together and stay together on a large lot? Yes and No. In both groups even if rules are set in a club for TS4 they may do something else not close to your Sim. Of course like use the bathroom and or go talk to someone or look at art or whatever, but they will talk more than anything if your Sim hasn't started whatever rule you set out like order from the Cafe kiosk etc. (type of restaurant in GT sells danishes etc. like in TS3).
Will TS2 group Sims stick together most of the time near your Sim, yes. Only may break away to use the bathroom and or speak to a Sim (before AL) but after AL they may spend a lot more time greeting other Sims.
But it is possible to have just as much fun with groups in TS2's NL feature than it was in TS4's GT groups. Yes, TS4 expanded the play, but honestly it was not really all that new. Just a different twist and honestly I did like the rules we could set but that didn't mean they were going to do them any better than TS2's Sims did. I will have to add as a deviant player sometimes, TS4's groups could set a rule to be mean to other Sims and fight, but in the next second they would want to hug total strangers and be friends with enemies. So, that would have been a good feature for TS2 groups since they would have been mad for much longer and would still be fighting today.
I still see threads of how family players love groups in TS4 because they put the entire family in TS4's club/group. Ok, but I have been doing that since 2005. On your Sim phone you can add each and every family member (up to eight). If you call for a group meeting/outing any member at work or at school will return to go with your Sim or whatever you do at home.
Whether you like TS4 or TS2 both features needed more work. But TS2 has an extra feature that was most enjoyable your Sim can invite anyone standing around (even if not known, before AL) ( Because AL requires greeting a Sim first) to Join a Group Just for Fun, or Timed Outing. As many as you can grab to join in a group (not the phone group) and do something together like go eat out somewhere or invite them to your Sim's house for whatever. That is a small extra feature TS4 doesn't have. I have used it hundreds of times.
First, I used groups often in TS2 then and now. It was so easy. Just use the phone to set which Sims will travel with your Sim to any community lot and or even your home to do activities together. TS4 likes to brag that yes, though it was possible in TS2, TS4's way is so much better. Let's examine facts.
In TS4 you have to find Sims out in the world to join your 'club' group. Because yes, you can set what things they can and can't do while having a group activity. That's great and yes, it is expanded in that way, but you still have to find some Sims that fit whatever criteria you set in the settings.
In TS2 you use your Sim's phone to pick which Sims will be in the group and those Sims will be the Sims that may show up on community lots when you are not playing that Sim and playing a different household. This is also true in TS4, if you play a different household the Sims you added to a 'club' group will be a group of Sims who show up together on community lots. So, both ways are easy to do, but TS4 has the extra step of having to find Sims that fit the bill of the criteria you have already set to be what is required of that Sim. I will have to say, it was sometimes difficult to find a total stranger and for them to have all my requirements and or not be Insane, (trait) because most generated TS4 townies are Insane.
In TS2 once you have the group on the phone, you can call for an outing. In TS4 if you set up your group the game will auto call for a meeting/activity at some of the most inconvenient times when your Sim is really busy and or needs sleep or in the middle of the night. Or especially after your Sim has already gone to bed. Those are facts.
Let's see how things differ from one game to the other. In TS4 it is supposed to work that all the Sims in the group will do the same things that you set in your requirements such as eat at a particular type restaurant, or to all play chess, and or to all cook on some stoves, or to all swim at the same time, or to all dance at the same time, or to order food from the Cafe kiosks on the lots etc. It was supposed to continue into every EP or GP that would ever be added to the game, where you could continue to use new objects and features of later EPs after GT. But that fact is Maxis isn't adding that much to the 'group' club features at all. There are many threads complaining why didn't they add this or that new feature to the GT as they promised. It's an almost forgotten feature now.
But do TS4 Sims actually do every thing you set in the club rules at the same time? No. Will TS2 Sims do every thing your Sim is doing at a community or home while in a group from the phone? No.
But what can be done in TS2 groups? If you only place chess tables on a lot, then yes, all Sims in the group will eventually all play chess. But that doesn't mean right away. They may socialize first and or do other things like use the bathroom, wash their hands (all based on traits) etc. And if one doesn't enjoy chess, they are probably going to choose a TV or a pc, and or play Kicky bag. Even if only chess tables were on the lot, one may not use the bathroom because it has a public stall, and may hold it until they can't hold it anymore. Then let's compare what TS4 Sims will do in a club if only chess tables are on the lot. Will all of them sit down and play? No. A few will but because these Sims would rather talk all day than anything else they may spend the whole time talking to another Sim or many Sims.
Will all Sims in the TS2 group Smustle Dance? Yes, but you may have to click Let's Smustle on a few, but 99% of the time, yes. Will all Sims in TS4's group dance at the same time? Many will but no not all will, again liking to talk more than do anything else. Because TS4's main goal is talking socializing rather than any other way to socialize.
Will all Sims in TS2 cook on a lot with just stoves? no, not even close.< (Before hobby lots). Will they do it on a hobby lot? No, not even after Free Time.
Some people enjoy TS4's groups more because it's expected that Sims in a 'club' group should and would do the things the player set in the rules. But do they follow them? No. As a matter of fact the feature to cook like a cooking club or class, was ruined by changing the feature of inappropriate even when in a group that is supposed to cook on a lot. This change in a patch ruined the cooking clubs so even if your Sims are supposed to be cooking (in the set rules) someone will throw them out, for being inappropriate. In a home where you invited them to cook. Even your own Sim will find it inappropriate. So, that club rule is a bust. Not much better than TS2 there is it?
Will all Sims swim together in TS4's clubs? Yes, and No. some may but others may find other things to do on the lot, especially standing around and talking. Do all Sims in TS2's group swim together? Yes and No. If you play Marco Polo you can invite anyone in the group or out of a group to join in the game. You can have more than two Sims playing it. Will they all use the pool if nothing else in on the lot? Maybe, but not until social is full and fun is not full.
Will all Sims bowl in TS2's groups, yes, eventually. After they have socialized and met other Sims (AL feature) but before AL, yes.
Will all Sims bowl in TS4's club groups No. Only two can bowl at a time if I recall correctly and it took them years to add a relationship increase while doing it, and even a socialization feature where they would even talk while doing it. It was horrible.
Some like to play with TS4's groups to make Sims at home living in different parts of a lot (before apartments) take care of themselves and clean up or cook or whatever to take care of themselves so they could play their Sim and have other 'apartment dwellers in a lot. This was ok, but in TS2 if you played a duplex/apartment building before apartments and used Myne doors from University it wasn't really necessary to set rules for them to care for themselves or make sure they went to work or school or whatever if you kept hands off and just let them live while you played your own Sim in it's own section of a lot. No group rules necessary. And it took a few patches or a year or so before TS4 even got locked doors.
Will Sims eat together in a restaurant in either 'group'? Yes and No.
In TS2 if you call your group on the phone and invite them to a restaurant then yes, they will all sit down at a big booth (one may even jump over the table to get to the inside seat) but your Sim pays the bill and does the ordering for all, either, for each and for all. But you have to be careful you don't order for the entire restaurant if you have a poor Sim.
Will TS4's group also eat together yes, and no. Yes if your Sim is in the group and you happen to be playing your Sim at that time. If you are playing a different household and see your other Sim and it's group then No. They will never be seated but stand around in the group sometimes blocking and standing in the way of the servers (you would think TS4 Sims don't block but they can) and never sit down to eat a meal together. You have to be playing at least one of them.
Will either group of Sims stick together and stay together on a large lot? Yes and No. In both groups even if rules are set in a club for TS4 they may do something else not close to your Sim. Of course like use the bathroom and or go talk to someone or look at art or whatever, but they will talk more than anything if your Sim hasn't started whatever rule you set out like order from the Cafe kiosk etc. (type of restaurant in GT sells danishes etc. like in TS3).
Will TS2 group Sims stick together most of the time near your Sim, yes. Only may break away to use the bathroom and or speak to a Sim (before AL) but after AL they may spend a lot more time greeting other Sims.
But it is possible to have just as much fun with groups in TS2's NL feature than it was in TS4's GT groups. Yes, TS4 expanded the play, but honestly it was not really all that new. Just a different twist and honestly I did like the rules we could set but that didn't mean they were going to do them any better than TS2's Sims did. I will have to add as a deviant player sometimes, TS4's groups could set a rule to be mean to other Sims and fight, but in the next second they would want to hug total strangers and be friends with enemies. So, that would have been a good feature for TS2 groups since they would have been mad for much longer and would still be fighting today.
I still see threads of how family players love groups in TS4 because they put the entire family in TS4's club/group. Ok, but I have been doing that since 2005. On your Sim phone you can add each and every family member (up to eight). If you call for a group meeting/outing any member at work or at school will return to go with your Sim or whatever you do at home.
Whether you like TS4 or TS2 both features needed more work. But TS2 has an extra feature that was most enjoyable your Sim can invite anyone standing around (even if not known, before AL) ( Because AL requires greeting a Sim first) to Join a Group Just for Fun, or Timed Outing. As many as you can grab to join in a group (not the phone group) and do something together like go eat out somewhere or invite them to your Sim's house for whatever. That is a small extra feature TS4 doesn't have. I have used it hundreds of times.
