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doomdarling's avatar
doomdarling
Seasoned Rookie
11 days ago

Banking System, when?

Any pack, expansion, game, or stuff, could come with some kind of banking system!

I never keep track of what is my teens' part-time job money and their parents; never. Yes, there's mods for this and I use them sometimes, but I stil think it should just be in game. If nothing else, this game is centered around the simoleon. From a piggy bank, penny jar, suitcase of cash to a bank account, loans, trusts, and credit cards, the household funds can still exist [as this is how you'd access build/buy] but it'd add options to either the item bought in live-mode or an option to set "pay with" on the sim to "pay with" my card, credit card, checks [for elder sims?], simoleons [maybe even a wallet/purse in inventory that works like the backpack and has its own inventory for loose simoleons, a debit/credit card, id, etc], or pay with house funds [possible arguments for adults and punishments/chastising if kids and teens don't ask permission and are caught] similar to the utensil setting.

It'd come with a Bank Venue: one of the first things you'll want to do in a new save is set up a bank account - transfer household funds to the account and now you have the ability to pay bills from phone or computer [but if you don't, your game continues as is, mailing simoleons to pay bills] 

++Having an account - set how much goes to whichever kind of account: checking, savings, business funds, household from royalties, paychecks, and businesses. Ability to create a separate crypto account [I guess, since it's in B&H], invest in stocks for non business sims that works better, donate to charity from accounts, student loans would go through the bank, set up allowance for kids with account access and trust funds, services can be paid from account or maybe pay the handyman in cash or in plumbing parts or a combination of both. 

++Ability to take out loan or open credit card - which will charge interest and will call if your behind... maybe even show up if you took a loan from shady "bank" [a shark] or send the "nicer" repo man if you took the loan from a more legit establishment. 

++Maybe even make this a possible business [though who wants to run a bank] - where sims will come and open accounts/trusts, take out loans, and your job is keeping their money safe; once your vault reaches a certain amount of money you'd need to find ways to protect it... by "send it off" via lending, investing, or offshore securing, if not... you'll frequently attract thieves. shrug. 

+++Operations and Required Items - desk staff, teller staff, security staff, with atms, safes, lockboxes, vaults needed on the lot to have a functioning bank, which will entice criminals & burglars [which of course can be a setting to be turned off]. 

+++Banks aren't safe - A - popups can occur off-lot alerting to thieves if you [1] have security staff or [2] an alarm system and they may be thwarted OR, if the thieves are bold, ON LOT THEFT, if [1&2] you have no security/alarm, [3] they fight you and you lose [need 8+fitness?], and/or [4] don't have a fully upgraded vault room... well... you're gonna have some angry account-holders or be in the negatives if you're not wealthy enough. Maybe forced to close or file for forgiveness to wipe slate clean [/if insured]?

+++Banks aren't safe - B - chance of failed protection -  bad/good loans, bad/good investments, and pirates/gangs attacking armored truck drivers or ships with your money will have chance cards popups to lose or make money. [Though sometimes I want to time a popup, so maybe a less urgent "check-in on funds" option from computer or phone which may result in a "smooth-sailing" report]

++Further gameplay:

+++Shady sims can now heist a bank [active?], alone or with criminal partners [they can fight the security [5/6+ fitness], disarm the alarm [6+ logic, 5+ programming, 6+ handiness, one or all?] and break into personal safes [3/3/3], atms [4/4/4], bank safes/lockboxes [5/5/5], non-upgraded small vault [7/7/7], fully upgraded small vault [8/8/8], not upgraded large vault [9/9/9] and fully upgraded large vault [10/10/10] with of course payouts according to object and/or at random

+++Criminal sims, if not already shady will have rabbithole and active heist capabilities, [both can click on vendors/stalls to rob or intimidate <- this just makes sense regardless of banking system].

+++Once placed on any lot, items such as atms, safes, vaults, even dressers, [couches, shelves, clocks?], & laundry baskets come with a chance of being pickpocketed or robbed  autonomously by applicable NPC sims [shady, criminal, bad-mannered, mean, evil, etc] and yes, you can call cops on them, fight them, or [if 4R] blackmail them.

+++Wallets/Purses could also come with a risk of being pickpocketed autonomously and/or robbed if left out of inventory [teens could take their parents card and get in trouble if caught or they realize]

++All ages gameplay - newborn to toddlers can be set as recipients of money in a will or trust fund, parents can get kids and teens their own youth accounts/card, give access to their debit/credit cards, set up allowance based on chores or grades, or the kids might just keep their money safe in a secret location in their dressers, a piggy bank, jar, book, antique clock, or in a couch cushion, and elders may prefer paying with checks [this causes longer buy and payment processes and slightly annoys teens and young adults]

++More for base game NPC Cop - arrest burglars/thieves/pickpocketers and if playing as criminal - chance to distract [7+ charisma], bribe [2k], or fight to get away [7+ fitness], or slip away [7+ mischief or 5+ handiness] . 

All of this doesn't NEED to be the main feature of a pack but a secondary draw and it will make tracking whoever's money easier for when splitting households, create bank gameplay for regular and schemer simmers, and create added challenge for sims who want a 350k house immediately without motherlode and don't mind the loan payments, on top of bills, and the possible consequences. 

6 Replies

  • doomdarling's avatar
    doomdarling
    Seasoned Rookie
    8 days ago

    thefirsttemplarInteresting, I was thinking the personal funds would be object dependent like if you claim a piggy bank then you’d see the ### independent of the household funds OR if you have a checkbook on the counter/inventory you can click it to see how much is in your account and within that same idea if you access your account on the phone/computer/wallet it could open the “bank” UI. I fear multiple sets of numbers might clog up the UI and confuse players/force them to relearn the current UI.  In a perfect world/development, this system would seamlessly slip into the current one for players who want better monetary control or for players who don’t really want to play with banks but likes the idea of being robbed of simoleons rather than just items. I totally agree about setting a certain amount/percent to household, to the account, and vice versa. I like the idea of using personal funds during buy mode and I imagine it’d work similar to when you’re transferring funds from retail to household but instead you’d pick a name of whoever’s funds and maybe that way it auto claims objects so sims could use their own computer rather than computer hopping all over the house. [But still allow an option for ownership to change]. The “opinions about purchased items” would be so cool. I’d love it if you used a child sim’s money to buy a decorative statue and they got angry.                                                SheSlayedGames I’d love that too but if I had to choose between tweaking and improving the gameplay that’s already there and adding a new venue and bank gameplay, I’d rather this come with something new [of course they need to fix the current state of the game before this] but it could come with hotels, bands, arcade pack, and/or any idea that has a career/money involved.  

  • A bank might get a bit complicated, I'd love to see personal funds be introduced aside from the house hold funds though. 

    When you select a sim in the household, you'd see their personal funds listed under the household funds. When clicking on the personal funds you'd get a pop up where you can select which money they obtain goes into household funds. Like nothing, half their salary or all of it. Could also deposit a specific amount in there. Adults could also be able to withdraw a specific amount from the household funds to their personal funds. 

    A system like this could also work with kids getting allowance, letting them negotiate for more and sims could also steal from other sims in the same household. In buy mode, you could switch between household funds and personal funds of sims. Sims could have an opinion again about purchases made as they did in earlier sims games, but now dependent on traits and who is paying for it. 

    Like if you use the money of a child sim to purchase 

    Would also allow sims to rent out a space to a house hold member, which would allow for so much more new ways to play a house hold. 

    Also when a sim moves out, they'd be bringing along their personal funds instead of a roommate who never worked moving out and taking along half the money their friend with their good job made. 

     

     

     

     

     

  • doomdarling's avatar
    doomdarling
    Seasoned Rookie
    9 days ago

    Yeah I understand. The idea actually started with wanting cellphones to be something you have to buy to interact with again and that just lead to banks.

  • I dont really want a banking system in game because it will be so confusing for players that have just started but also ones that are used to how the game currently works, but this does sound amazing

  • This is a great, well thought-out idea. I was just thinking today how odd it is that there's no mortgage system in the game. It doesn't really feel realistic to only move into a house once you can afford to pay for it upfront.
    It bothers me that each sim in a family doesn't have individual funds, though I can see why it was done that way. I think you're right that individual accounts would be more intuitive than splitting the finances up when someone leaves.

    The bank heist idea is so cool omg haha

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