Traits lack depth, how can they solve this?

Examples:

Gloomy - not only +1 sadness moodlet, but als +2 and +3. While discussing about deep subject they randomly get a sad moodlet.

Hot headed - same as Gloomy, and some interactions make your sim angry. If there is a like dislike system, they can get mad at people with different likes dislikes

I still think that they should’ve have allowed four traits instead of just three.

And there are so few to choose from it’s annoying.

I think the biggest issue with the traits is that they rely too much on the (already flawed) emotion system. If I were to try and fix the issue myself, it would involve separating the two, or at least making the trait moodlets more impactful (not in terms of emotion strength, but in terms of extra effects).

I also think adding unique features for certain combinations of traits would be good as well. For example, maybe a sim who is both evil and hates children will have unique interactions/reactions that a sim with just one of those traits wouldn't have.

I agree with the above suggestions for turn ons and offs, the chemistry system and favourites to be added back in, as well as the option for more traits per sim. I also think the current traits need to be more specific as some of them are just too broad. For example, "loves outdoors" can easily be split into many traits - loves outdoors could mean that the sim literally likes being outside, but then you could also have a gardening/green thumb trait, an angler trait, an eco-friendly trait. When I have a sim who loves the outdoors, they don't necessarily have to have all those aspects of it so it'd be good to have more specific traits and more of them, and of course the option to choose more traits.

Equally, there are some traits that just aren't deep enough to take up a whole trait slot, especially when there are only three, like vegetarian. When being a vegetarian is considered 1/3 of a sim's personality, no wonder they don't have much personality.

Traits rely too much on moodlets. Sims should have different reactions and different consequences depending on their traits. A sim who has the "Hates Children" trait should react negatively (but maybe not always) when talking to a child, even when doing friendly interactions, instead of just getting an angry moodlet. A "Lazy" sim should have their fun need reduced when doing exercise or chores. A "Childish" sim could, but not necessarily have their fun need reduced (and get a bored moodlet) when doing daily tasks from work or watching things like PolitiSim. A sim who "Loves Outdoors" could have their fun need increased from just walking/being outside. A sim with the "Glutton" trait could dramatically have their hunger need go down when being near food. And so on....

"Astreon;c-16458262" wrote:
Traits rely too much on moodlets. Sims should have different reactions and different consequences depending on their traits. A sim who has the "Hates Children" trait should react negatively (but maybe not always) when talking to a child, even when doing friendly interactions, instead of just getting an angry moodlet. A "Lazy" sim should have their fun need reduced when doing exercise or chores. A "Childish" sim could, but not necessarily have their fun need reduced (and get a bored moodlet) when doing daily tasks from work or watching things like PolitiSim. A sim who "Loves Outdoors" could have their fun need increased from just walking/being outside. A sim with the "Glutton" trait could dramatically have their hunger need go down when being near food. And so on....

As you kind of said here, traits need more 'consequences'. Like the Hate children trait, the Sims has way more negative outcomes of social interactions with children and it has an effect on their parenting (hard time teaching values)

As everyone already said, I think the main problem is that TS4 traits are very superficial, and only give random emotional moodlets, and nothing more. In TS3 even though sims can have many more traits, I often wish I could add more, because they are fun and complex.
Whereas in TS4, I always struggle to find even one trait I actually want to use. I agree that three traits is not enough but to be completely honest, I don't think I could manage to choose more than that for a sim considering the choice we presently have.
Do I want my sim to get randomly angry, tense, or bored all the time for no reason? I always end up choosing self-assured (because the confident emotion is not as annoying as the others), loves the outdoors, and some other trait that doesn't have too much impact on the emotions. Because honestly, I can't stand having tense sims because they are geeks and didn't play a game for three hours, uncomfortable because they are a foodie and made the horrendous mistake to drink orange juice, or bored because they are an insider or a dance machine and didn't go out today. Traits should make the game more fun, not just be there to annoy the player.
As @Astreon said I think it would be better if the traits had an actual influence on interactions and needs instead of just causing random emotions. Emotions are okay but shouldn't be random. I would like hot-headed sims to get angry at any mean social interaction for instance, and only have negative interractions after that. Not to just be angry all of the sudden in the middle of the afternoon while alone just because.

"Cupid;c-16457415" wrote:
I think the biggest issue with the traits is that they rely too much on the (already flawed) emotion system. If I were to try and fix the issue myself, it would involve separating the two, or at least making the trait moodlets more impactful (not in terms of emotion strength, but in terms of extra effects).

I also think adding unique features for certain combinations of traits would be good as well. For example, maybe a sim who is both evil and hates children will have unique interactions/reactions that a sim with just one of those traits wouldn't have.

Love the idea of creating new interactions/reactions with combining traits! I strongly feel that would create better story telling. I can imagine some fun groupings and new interactions, such as snob and art lover just being completely rude looking at a low quality painting like turning their nose up at it. Maybe clumsy and creative may fall down in funny ways. Evil and dance machine could have some different dance moves. Maybe family oriented and foodie could create a special family dish when they have children. A geeky genius should act differently than a gloomy genius. Maybe a hot headed sim could just completely blow up when someone asks how their day is going. Lazy sims need to be well... more lazy. Maybe music lovers can randomly tap their feet. Just a few ideas. really love your idea @Cupid.

I kinda think we need a new type of traits system to overlay what we have because I feel like they couldn't really change much for what's already in place. But if you think about the vampire power system, they could use that mechanic but make it much bigger and offer specific personality strengths and weaknesses. So Instead of having a generalized trait like "athletic", there would be things like, "loves yoga", "sports fanatic", "gym enthusiast", etc, more like sub-traits that would detail the personality and override generic emotions so that the Sim's personality would be more distinct. The weakness traits could include phobias like "fear of bugs", "afraid of ghosts", "fear of loneliness", "afraid of the dark" (though it would help to actually have a fear emotion,) or we could have other specific dislikes like "being dirty", "messy environment", etc.

But if we had a huge, extensive grid of choices and sub-choices, I think it would make a world of difference.

For one id like to see more traits added, and id like more slots for traits... But i suppose it wouldn't work since it bases it off the emotion system.