We really need a "Townie Job Manager" tool!
So, today I cooked up a new mod for my game, that puts some tighter restrictions on who can and cannot be a Nanny. I made it so Teen female and Young Adult female Sims are the only ones allowed, and I...
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I definitely support this! I had a thread about this (and a few other related ideas) this summer - you can see the link in my signature to the "Manage Neighbourhoods" thread.
In that thread, I suggested a system that I think could work really well for this. In The Sims Medieval, every new venue you placed required a Hero. When you placed a new venue, you had the option to choose a randomly generated Hero or to make your own. I think that Sims 4 should do this with the community lots in your game. Each one should have a "Manage Roles" option where you have these options:
* Generate random NPC for this role
* Go into CAS and create a new NPC for this role
* Assign a pre-existing unemployed Sim for this role
By default, the game will choose the first option as soon as you take your Sim to visit a community lot. However, the player would have the power to reassign these roles easily from map view. Each venue would vary in how many NPCs needed to be assigned, and this would be reflected in the UI. For players who have Dine Out, this would also work for unowned restaurant lots.
NPC roles that are not attached to a venue - eg. Maid, Repairman, Mail Carrier - could be managed in a similar system but in the "Manage Worlds" menu, with a new tab for "Manage Jobs".
What happens if you assign an unemployed played Sim to one of these roles? It's simple! Your Sim disappears during their shift just as they would for any rabbit hole career. @LeGardePourpre has given examples of the already-existing shifts for these roles, so when you assign the Sim one of these jobs, you also choose which time slot they work. If your other Sims in the household visit the lot where that Sim is working during their shift, the game simply treats your working Sim as an NPC who cannot be controlled until their shift is over, with their face in the Sim panel greyed out as usual.
In that thread, I suggested a system that I think could work really well for this. In The Sims Medieval, every new venue you placed required a Hero. When you placed a new venue, you had the option to choose a randomly generated Hero or to make your own. I think that Sims 4 should do this with the community lots in your game. Each one should have a "Manage Roles" option where you have these options:
* Generate random NPC for this role
* Go into CAS and create a new NPC for this role
* Assign a pre-existing unemployed Sim for this role
By default, the game will choose the first option as soon as you take your Sim to visit a community lot. However, the player would have the power to reassign these roles easily from map view. Each venue would vary in how many NPCs needed to be assigned, and this would be reflected in the UI. For players who have Dine Out, this would also work for unowned restaurant lots.
NPC roles that are not attached to a venue - eg. Maid, Repairman, Mail Carrier - could be managed in a similar system but in the "Manage Worlds" menu, with a new tab for "Manage Jobs".
What happens if you assign an unemployed played Sim to one of these roles? It's simple! Your Sim disappears during their shift just as they would for any rabbit hole career. @LeGardePourpre has given examples of the already-existing shifts for these roles, so when you assign the Sim one of these jobs, you also choose which time slot they work. If your other Sims in the household visit the lot where that Sim is working during their shift, the game simply treats your working Sim as an NPC who cannot be controlled until their shift is over, with their face in the Sim panel greyed out as usual.
