> @akuheikomatsu said:
> Grocery stores, casinos, hotels, beaches, amusement parks, aquariums, shopping malls, hair salons, dedicated movie theaters, concert venues, banquet halls, arcades, sports stadiums, rec centers, tattoo parlors, cemeteries, schools, destination themes
I'll lump Shopping Malls, Dedicated Movie Theaters, Arcades, and Tattoo Parlors together in one post. I apologize that my posts are so dang long...I have a lot of thoughts and ideas.
Shopping Malls. This would need a few things to work well, the first of which would be the ability for multiple, unrelated lot types to occupy the same lot at once. I've mentioned before about dual designation lot types, where you could have two different lot types occupy the same space (like residential and retail, for shop owners to live above their stores, etc), but a shopping mall would require more than two designations and would need to work without glitching. Shopping malls are primarily retail, but also have cafes, restaurants, and karaoke bars, just to name a few that already exist within the game packs. Each of these lot types have requirements, so the developers would need to introduce a way to have them work concurrently in one space.
One work-around to this would be to have an entire neighborhood set as a "shopping mall" district, if you will. Like the high rise neighborhoods in San Myshuno, the lots could all be technically separated but work together to look like an enclosed space. I'd recommend this option first as it's easier to build upon existing assets and mechanics.
If a single lot for a shopping mall is desired instead, then there's another issue to consider: lot size. The largest lots we currently have are 64x64 (I think? I don't have all the packs so if there's a bigger one, I apologize) and while that could work well for a one- to two-story suburban-style shopping mall, if a more urban-style shopping mall is desired, then the high rise apartment mechanic will need to be redesigned. I mentioned with with hotels, but instead of a "ground floor" and then the rental floor, a high rise shopping mall would need more than one floor to explore--at least 3 if not more. Now, these could be separated by loading screens just like any other time Sims travel to new lots, but it's still something they'd need to develop and code, as current apartment lots include the surrounding "courtyard" area and instead of a loading screen to go home, the camera just moves swiftly up to the apartment in question.
Both options would require more work on the developers' part, but I think either or both would be fantastic additions to the game, especially as a new mechanic in a new pack that enhances existing packs.
Things that could be included in a shopping mall regardless of how they answer the lot question:
-Kiosks built upon the food and festival stalls. Some could even be the annoying ones that act like human pop-up windows and Sims could either get wrapped into buying something unnecessary or be savvy enough to step away (would work amazingly with the "haggle" interactions.)
-Food retail shops that allow Sims to buy only one serving of a plate or dish. We know that each recipe usually has up to 8 servings, with the exception of Grand Meals that have 12 by default. I'd love to be able to sell pastries and other baked goods by the serving instead of by the plate as it currently is when sold in a retail shop. The option for your Sim to choose how many servings could pop up like the window that pops up when selling multiples of something in build mode. Just choose how many to buy based on how many servings are left and the price would reflect the serving, not the whole retail value of the dish. If they incorporated this mechanic, then TONS of options would open up for retail shops. I've mentioned before about how Grocery Stores/Farmers Markets would benefit from such a mechanic. Ice Cream shops, Patisseries, and Candy shops would as well, whether they included candy-making as a skill/dish type or not (I cannot express how much I want candy-making to be a thing in the Sims 4. I love doing it irl and it doesn't really require new equipment like the...cupcake factory...thing...but I can totally see them taking a shortcut animation-wise and just making a new appliance that spits out different kinds of candies.) Even if candy was an NPC-only retail option, I'd still love to see it in a shopping mall.
-Movie Theaters (I'll expound on that later)
-Arcades (I'll also expound on that later)
-Tattoo parlors (same as arcades and movie theaters. I'll get there)
-Beauty Salons that I mentioned previously would be a great addition to a shopping mall.
-Music Stores. Okay, I know the few instruments we have can be sold in regular retail shops. However! I'd love to see a way to also sell physical sheet music/written songs either by played Sims or famous NPCs with Get Famous. Yes, you can sell it through the mailbox, but it'd be great to see your Sim's licensed songs in an actual music store. Get Famous could also include movie scores to buy. Really, being able to buy more songs to learn would be a great way to expand a musical Sim's repertoire, and if they included a way for Sims to listen to purchased music instead of just the radio, then CDs/MP3s/Streaming/Vinyl Records, etc could be a great way to add purchasable retail items as well as make Sims with the Music Lover trait super happy. That kind of asset would need its own interactions like "listen from library..." on a CD or Record player, as well as "show off music collection" among other things. Lots of potential, but more work on the developers' side.
-Building on the above idea of being able to sell sheet music your Sims writes and purchase music by famous musicians, a similar retail shop would be a Bookstore. Same idea but with books of all kinds, especially ones your Sim writes and possibly even books you can't get through the bookcases--like indie books (literally every book your Sim writes before they can sell to a publisher) and novels that Get Famous movies are based on.
-Food Courts. I can see these functioning like the food stalls from City Living, but they wouldn't disappear and instead be built into a general space with lots of seating. The food stalls would need to be amended to possibly bigger and allow employees to enter from the back instead of the side (the side might work, but it'd look cleaner from the back since these wouldn't be free-standing).
-Kid and Toddler play spaces. I guess these would act like an indoor park, and could use the existing assets available, but I'd like to see some new ones designed as well. Those rocking rides you put a quarter in would be a great start for a new asset, as they're stationary and would mostly need one or two animations. I imagine a harder asset to develop and animate would be a children's ride-on train. I can't remember atm if there's a toy train set in any of the packs, but designing one that children and toddlers can climb into and ride in/on either on a designated track or on an invisible track around a certain space would be a cool addition.
-With Seasons we have the Flower Bunny and Father Winter. I imagine a shopping mall would be a great spawn point for those two during their season for photos like irl.
-Mall Cops. Could be a part of the active Police career or a separate "Security" career (either for playable Sims to take or as NPC-only roles like food stall keeps.) I'd love to see security personnel as a thing in the game even if we can't choose it for our own Sims. The interactions could be hilarious if you run afoul of security. Asked to leave, forcefully removed, issued citations, possible chases, etc. If burglary was added to the game, security cops would be necessary too. And Mall cops could also be helpful like the park rangers in Outdoor Retreat--Lost? Separated from your group? Can't find the bathroom/shop/etc? They'll help. And they wouldn't just be for malls, but bars, karaoke bars, higher-end restaurants, you get the idea. They'd be there to help if needed but also keep shenanigans down. Bonus points to developers if they bother to develop Segways which would be a great item in the game and just hilarious to watch.
Dedicated Movie Theaters. These would obviously build upon Movie Hangout with the big screen and multiple movies already in that pack. I'm not sure if Get Famous adds any new movies or if there's a way to watch the ones that your actor Sim is in, but that would be an awesome mechanic to enhance that pack. I've talked before about concert venues, and I can imagine movie theaters would work very similarly, with the exception that live performances wouldn't be on stage. Now, if *I* were to design such a lot, I'd make it work as both a movie theater AND a concert venue, where the stage is still there, but the big screen is in the back. For popular concerts (rock, pop, etc) the big screen could be amended as a Jumbotron to show what's happening right in front of it. For classical concerts, the big screen could be hidden behind an upstage curtain (different from the one that opens down stage.) Classical concert-style seating would work for a traditional movie theater, though it wouldn't be a mandatory design choice.
What would absolutely be needed is a true audience mechanic. Any invited Sims to a wedding will kind of sit and watch (after they finally fixed it...) but theaters of any kind would need Sims to sit before the show begins (instead of right when it starts like the seem to do at weddings...) and sit for longer. Of course, no audience would be authentic without the odd Sim randomly getting up and walking out/walking in/being annoying in general, so there's the possibility for those animations as well.
Popcorn and its interactions could be built upon from Movie Hangout (boxes/bags/tubs of popcorn instead of bowls) as well as the popcorn maker itself. Though the current one would definitely work for a concession counter (or new food stall?) a more authentic looking one would probably be a better selling point for a pack that includes it.
Purchasable soda and candy would also need to be concession options, though I imagine the animation for the candy could be recycled from the popcorn animations. Sodas could be redesigned from the coffee and tea to-go cups, just with the addition of a straw (are these already in the game, actually? I'm not sure.)
-Ticket booths would also need to be designed but could be used in multiple areas like amusement parks. I say "need" but I guess they could design a theater without them.
Movie theaters (and concert venues too) would work really well with shopping malls.
Arcades. We already have that Button Masher 9001 arcade machine from Get Together, but some more machines built upon it or even fully new assets would be great to add to the game. Have some single- or double-player machines, some that specifically play "retro" games, some driving or other vehicle-style games, and other assets for things like skee ball, air hockey, and shooting games. I hesitate on the shooting games, only because of the E rating. I imagine they'd be something more akin to "laser guns" instead of shotguns like for Duck Hunt. Still, these would complement the existing arcade machine as well as the video game machines and table games. New animations would be needed, both for playing, successes, and failures. Getting into arguments and even fights over game losses could also be a thing. And don't forget the tickets earned to buy things! Not sure if the prize counter would work like the festival merch stalls or need new mechanics and animations, but you can't have an arcade that allows kids without a prize counter. The prizes could simply be already existing toys and decor items as well as things like the Slablet and cameras and stuff. Truly a lot type designed specifically for Geeks without waiting for the Geek Con that comes every other week or so. I'd also include arcade games specifically for kids too. Arcades would be one of those lots that would greatly benefit from a dual designation system, as many arcades these days double as bars.
Tattoo Parlors. Now, the malls in my area irl all have tattoo parlors, but since I don't get tattoos, I have no idea if these are looked down upon or not (like "mall sushi" that is subpar to normal sushi). Assuming they're okay with the tattoo community, I'll say that they'd make a great addition to a shopping mall or as a stand-alone lot type. I imagine purchasing a new tattoo would open CAS and allow for edits to new and existing tattoos. Obviously a plethora of new tattoos would need to be designed and included, and possibly even a way to remove tattoos via animation instead of just removing them in CAS. Temporary tattoos could also be a great thing to design, especially for kids, and I can see them working similarly to PlantSims where they only last a week or something.
I often see tattoo parlors include piercing studios, so I imagine the same idea as above would apply, but with new body piercings. Lots of new accessory designs and places to put them, so lots of design work, but could totally be worth it depending on the player.
New animations for getting tattoos and piercings would also be needed. They could shortcut to a machine that swallows your Sim like the birthing machine nightmare, or try to animate at least one tattoo animation and one piercing animation (wherever the tattoo/piercing goes, the animation would be the same with an ink needle/piercing needle.) I don't imagine they'd make new animations for every body part. They could also animate Sims reacting to pain (especially with the Squeamish trait) which would be funny to watch in a morbid way.
If tattoo artist became a skill, then tattoo fails could also be a thing. I...don't know if there's as much creativity in giving piercings as there is in giving tattoos...I feel like piercings are more creative for the customer, but I'm really out of my purview on both points, here.
