Chance Cards Need an Overhaul
Is it just me, or are the chance cards repetitive and boring? I'm not exaggerating when I say that there have been times when the exact same chance card has popped up for several consecutive work days. Not to mention, a good few of the chance cards have a set "correct" answer, meaning that, as long as you know this "correct" answer, you can get the positive outcome from it every time. That's not very interesting, is it? Here's how I think they should be overhauled:
- Make chance cards have a bigger impact, be it positive or negative. Back in TS2, you could be instantly promoted, earn extra Simoleons for that day, or have your Sim's skill points increase if you chose correctly. If you made the wrong choice, though, your Sim could be demoted, lose Simoleons, lose a day's pay, lose skill points, or even get fired.
For example, a card that can show up early on in the Entertainer career. In it, your Sim has the choice to wing it or mine the internet for animal jokes. For me, the former has always resulted in a negative outcome with a performance loss and being told that their comedic skills "need work." The latter has a potential positive and negative outcome. The audience either loves it, resulting in a performance gain, or they get angry at your Sim for making jokes at the expense of animals, resulting in a performance loss. The latter could be changed to where the positive outcome results in nothing but a performance increase happening, the negative resulting in the loss of a comedy skill point and pay for that day. The former's negative outcome could be changed to result in a loss of pay for that day (but without the skill loss), and it could be given a positive outcome where your Sim is instantly promoted and gains a comedy skill point.
- Give both choices a potential positive and negative outcome. This prevents the player from only getting the positive outcome from certain cards because they know the "correct" answer. For example, there's a card early on in the Athletic career where one of the athletes is giving your Sim a hard time. Choosing to confront the athlete can result in either a positive or negative outcome. In the positive outcome, the athlete apologizes and leaves your Sim alone, and in the negative outcome, the athlete continues to bother your Sim, making them angry (an emotion that negatively impacts work performance). The option to ignore the athlete, however, always has a negative outcome. They keep bothering your Sim, making them angry in the process. What if this choice had a potential positive outcome as well? The coach could notice the athlete bothering your Sim, make them stop, apologize on their behalf, and give your Sim extra Simoleons for that day.
Another example, this card that appears early on in the Critic career. Your Sim bumps into another paper deliverer and your options are to either leave some deliveries unfinished or steal some of the other deliverer's papers. The former only ever has a negative outcome, resulting in a performance loss, while the latter has a positive outcome (and the other deliverer gets fired). A potential positive outcome outcome for the former could be that the other deliverer catches up with your Sim and helps them make the rest of their deliveries, no performance gain or loss. And a potential negative outcome for the latter could be that the other deliverer tells the boss what your Sim did, causing them to be fired.
- Have skill level play into the odds of success or failure. For example, the Entertainer career chance card that I brought up before. If your Sim already has a fairly high comedy skill, then the odds of success for the first option increase. And in that Athletic career chance card, skill in charisma could make the athlete more likely to apologize if the option to confront them is chosen.
- Add more potential chance cards to the mix in general. This would make them significantly less repetitive.
- Bring back the ignore button. If chance cards are to have a bigger impact, then I think it's only fair for the ignore button to make a comeback. I'll never understand why it was removed to begin with. Just like in TS2, the ignore button simply closes the chance card without any positive or negative impact on your Sim.
- Make chance cards have a bigger impact, be it positive or negative. Back in TS2, you could be instantly promoted, earn extra Simoleons for that day, or have your Sim's skill points increase if you chose correctly. If you made the wrong choice, though, your Sim could be demoted, lose Simoleons, lose a day's pay, lose skill points, or even get fired.
For example, a card that can show up early on in the Entertainer career. In it, your Sim has the choice to wing it or mine the internet for animal jokes. For me, the former has always resulted in a negative outcome with a performance loss and being told that their comedic skills "need work." The latter has a potential positive and negative outcome. The audience either loves it, resulting in a performance gain, or they get angry at your Sim for making jokes at the expense of animals, resulting in a performance loss. The latter could be changed to where the positive outcome results in nothing but a performance increase happening, the negative resulting in the loss of a comedy skill point and pay for that day. The former's negative outcome could be changed to result in a loss of pay for that day (but without the skill loss), and it could be given a positive outcome where your Sim is instantly promoted and gains a comedy skill point.
- Give both choices a potential positive and negative outcome. This prevents the player from only getting the positive outcome from certain cards because they know the "correct" answer. For example, there's a card early on in the Athletic career where one of the athletes is giving your Sim a hard time. Choosing to confront the athlete can result in either a positive or negative outcome. In the positive outcome, the athlete apologizes and leaves your Sim alone, and in the negative outcome, the athlete continues to bother your Sim, making them angry (an emotion that negatively impacts work performance). The option to ignore the athlete, however, always has a negative outcome. They keep bothering your Sim, making them angry in the process. What if this choice had a potential positive outcome as well? The coach could notice the athlete bothering your Sim, make them stop, apologize on their behalf, and give your Sim extra Simoleons for that day.
Another example, this card that appears early on in the Critic career. Your Sim bumps into another paper deliverer and your options are to either leave some deliveries unfinished or steal some of the other deliverer's papers. The former only ever has a negative outcome, resulting in a performance loss, while the latter has a positive outcome (and the other deliverer gets fired). A potential positive outcome outcome for the former could be that the other deliverer catches up with your Sim and helps them make the rest of their deliveries, no performance gain or loss. And a potential negative outcome for the latter could be that the other deliverer tells the boss what your Sim did, causing them to be fired.
- Have skill level play into the odds of success or failure. For example, the Entertainer career chance card that I brought up before. If your Sim already has a fairly high comedy skill, then the odds of success for the first option increase. And in that Athletic career chance card, skill in charisma could make the athlete more likely to apologize if the option to confront them is chosen.
- Add more potential chance cards to the mix in general. This would make them significantly less repetitive.
- Bring back the ignore button. If chance cards are to have a bigger impact, then I think it's only fair for the ignore button to make a comeback. I'll never understand why it was removed to begin with. Just like in TS2, the ignore button simply closes the chance card without any positive or negative impact on your Sim.
