Hi crinrict!
I removed my mods and tried it repeatedly on random strangers after noticing the change, then quit without saving. I’m playing on PC. I'm not seeing a thread tag for that; I suppose I'm still used to the old forums?
Hi EA_Solaire,
Carl’s Sims 4 Guides says:
"Good Manners Trait - Reward for High Manners
“Sims with Good Manners won't want to do any gross manners interactions, at least not in front of anyone. They also have a new Polite Introduction and can gain friendly relationships faster. Good Mannered Sims can also Offer Gratitude to the Host of a house they are visiting. They may get good moodlets from the polite introduction, but that's a side attraction. The increase to friendly relationship gain is a whopping 50%, so this is one you'll want to aim toward achieving for your children. All other benefits from the good manners trait seem to stem from simply not being a Sim with bad manners and all the negatives that entails when dealing with relationships and a clean home.”
https://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/gamepacks/parenthood/values.php
If you look at the screenshot above, the relationship boost from using Polite Introduction was worse than what I would have received from using Cheerful Introduction. This is a noticeable difference from behavior previously, and really discourages me from even trying to gain good character values for my children.
In other words: With respect, you are mistaken. It is NOT working as intended. If you look at this video you can see a much larger boost from Polite Introduction than you see in the image above:
https://youtu.be/qR0DNuGABXk?si=bSbTRRSOF5dYCM7Q&t=220
Relevant quote from the video: "...instantly putting the relationship bar at about 30% full."
At the risk of being annoying, I have 5,767 hours playing this game. I think I can notice a change in game mechanics.