Avoiding (ultimately) “cookie cutter” Sims…
Anyone else find their many, many Sims end up much the same as each other? I’m not taking in looks (though to a certain extent that can happen too) but the way they can end up living and reacting t...
Forum Discussion
I get what you're saying, in that it can be hard to actually slam your hand down on the button that causes your sim to make a big bad decision that will lead to further challenge and heartache.
I have ideas for plenty of big bad decisions for my sims, but I don't follow through on most of them :)
What I do tend to do more is choose the smaller decisions in a way that's in character for each sim, rather than trying to "win" in every situation. Only the sims who really are schoolwork-oriented do their homework all the time. Only the sims that are obsessed with their jobs do their work tasks all the time. Only the painters paint. Only the sims who either love gardening or have big financial ambitions make the big moneymaking gardens. Etc.
I'm playing on standard aging and I don't use cheats to fill needs (unless you count spellcaster potions), so everything is finite and the characters do have to make choices in what they'll prioritize in their day and what they'll let slide.
This way there aren't many supersims. When someone is really good at something, they've also got weak spots in other areas. And those strengths and weaknesses aren't the same for every sim or every household.
Another thing I like to do is explore different areas of the game with different sims. Partly because it helps me make different characters but also because I'd find it really confusing to be doing let's say robotics, flower arranging, composing music, and running a retail store all with the same sim. Even if they had time I'd lose track of most of it.
I think also that how we handle random events is important-- do we just undo some random event that happened in the game that will harm one of our sims (or their relationships), or mod out the things that cause such events in the first place, or do we go with it into a possibly more interesting place?
I have ideas for plenty of big bad decisions for my sims, but I don't follow through on most of them :)
What I do tend to do more is choose the smaller decisions in a way that's in character for each sim, rather than trying to "win" in every situation. Only the sims who really are schoolwork-oriented do their homework all the time. Only the sims that are obsessed with their jobs do their work tasks all the time. Only the painters paint. Only the sims who either love gardening or have big financial ambitions make the big moneymaking gardens. Etc.
I'm playing on standard aging and I don't use cheats to fill needs (unless you count spellcaster potions), so everything is finite and the characters do have to make choices in what they'll prioritize in their day and what they'll let slide.
This way there aren't many supersims. When someone is really good at something, they've also got weak spots in other areas. And those strengths and weaknesses aren't the same for every sim or every household.
Another thing I like to do is explore different areas of the game with different sims. Partly because it helps me make different characters but also because I'd find it really confusing to be doing let's say robotics, flower arranging, composing music, and running a retail store all with the same sim. Even if they had time I'd lose track of most of it.
I think also that how we handle random events is important-- do we just undo some random event that happened in the game that will harm one of our sims (or their relationships), or mod out the things that cause such events in the first place, or do we go with it into a possibly more interesting place?
