Forum Discussion

Seasoned Ace

Re: Loner vs. Independent

Yeah, I've gotten used to the mechanisms with the traits I played enough as well or I just know to avoid a trait that I know isn't going to make the sim the way I want them to be. As this whole thing was a whim post, what inspired it was of course the two traits in the subject title. Watching a Let's Play, I saw someone growing increasingly agitated with their sim because they picked a trait they came to regret giving them. Searching through the awards one could get from whim and aspiration points, they discovered the Independent Trait. 'Never purchasing that before since I just resigned myself to the extreme reactions of Lone Wolf, I was really surprised. "All this time I should have ignored Lone Wolf and purchased the Independent trait."

Family Oriented trait was one of the other notable ones for me as well. When I first read about it, I thought, "Oh, this would be perfect for this character I am making!" Nope... it was actually the worst along with the Aspiration that it was added to. I didn't expect it to be so child oriented. "You have more than just children, you know? You have your parents, siblings, spouse... I want you to have strong bonds with your family and not only your kids." "All these freaking toys and you don't even have a significant other yet! How about you think of getting something for your mom or your sibling?!" I saw it more as, "Helicopter Parent". -__-

The Jealousy trait also gave me the same vibe. The sim would become worried simply because the object of their affection left the bedroom was in their en suite bathroom for too long for their liking! Again, I get that the programing is complex so it is likely how many flags can be counted... but... if the Jealous Sim's partner is at home, no one can enter due to locks and nearly no other spawned sim is about because it is the middle of the night... Quit being so worried about your partner not being in the same room as you! It is amusing at first, but it mainly just comes off as paranoid and possessive rather than jealous. 'Never would have conceived such emotions and thoughts coming with the trait. I thought it would have been most active if they were out and they saw their partner was "paying too much attention" to others and become tense, become angry if some spawned Sim flirted with their partner, become enraged if their partner flirted with some other sim. "What the heck is this sadness moodlet? You are jealous! You should be angry and confront!" Wait, my sim can't even confront them? Why? They need to work this out!

The Child of the Ocean trait definitely causes those problems due to feeling empathetic to sea life. I've never played with occult sims, so I'm not sure if being a mermaid has that affect.

1 Reply

PugLove888
Hero (Retired)
6 years ago
@Player_jp5s5eav, I had played several Mermaids with the Child of the Ocean trait, so it is hard form me to distinguish them. I played with them a lot last Summer , but then ROM and DU came out so I played a lot of Spellcasters and college students! 😃 There are just so many things to try out! 😎 But I haven't played with a Mermaid in a while. I hardly ever play rotationally, since I prefer to have each household in their own save so I can better keep track of them.. I have a few exceptions for test purposes and a few for extended families. , but even then I feel like i'm missing out if I play rotationally! 😳
Yes!!! The Jealous trait! That is one I hardly play for the exact reasons you mentioned. I could see if a jealous Sim had a spouse who they went to the Romance festival with and that spouse drank some Sakura Tea and got flirty with someone else -- It would make sense to be jealous then! 😉 But you are so right in that it doesn't make sense for them to be so upset that their spouse isn't in the same room as they are in! 😞 I even find this worse than the Family Oriented trait since if a parent has really young children it would make more sense to have to know which room they are in at all times!
Despite the problems with the Family Oriented trait, I still use it a lot since I usually do have a lot of kids in those households! 🥳 But you are 100% correct in that a family oriented person should also be concerned with all their family members and not just their children. There are real-life people without kids who are extremely family oriented! ❤️

I think I might try your idea of purchasing the Independent trait more often. I think I've only used it once or twice. But it is a nice option for those who don't care for how the Loner trait is implemented!