Romantic interest in TS4

"MoonlightGraham;d-990897" wrote:


In TS3, my Sims' friends/acquaintances didn't earn this status unless they made some more serious romantic gestures, like kissing or declaring interest. And if they had more than one romantic interest, they got a Naughty reputation.

How does this work in TS4? Can more casual flirtation affect my Sim's relationships with other people, if he's not anyone's romantic partner?

Different levels of romantic interactions are released at different points in the relationship (as the romance bar is filled). Success in romance is somewhat dependent on both sims mood. A shared flirty mood helps and naturally negative emotions hinder. In the early stages of the relationship its best to stick to flirting and compliments only. A high level of friendship between the couple also helps. Reputation is adversely affected if your Sims relationship suffer significantly for whatever reason. Hope that helps.

Thanks for your answer. That makes a lot of sense. Is it possible for my Sims to have several "romantic interests" without penalty, since all it takes to gain that status with another Sim is a successful romantic "move" or two...a compliment or a bit of flirting?

Yes, you can have as many romances as you want, but if your sim get caught cheating or blatantly flirts in front of another romantic interest their relationships will suffer (a lot). If you have the Sims are set on full autonomy, they will also flirt spontaneously. Oh and by the way, welcome to the forum. :)

That's exactly what I wanted to know, Kironide.

That seems realistic. I'm going to have to take full autonomy away from my Sims, because I get tired of one of them deciding to interrupt a good conversation to bust out a few pushups.

I feel your pain :) Sims autonomy can be frustrating.

"Kironide;c-17911747" wrote:
I feel your pain :) Sims autonomy can be frustrating.

I don't mind it so much when my Sims take it upon themselves to find a toilet when I've not paid enough attention to their Bladder needs, but the random actions can be both aggravating and amusing. :D

Thanks for the information, Sindocat. I can understand the dynamic of the "ice being broken" because my Sim flirted with someone and she was receptive. He might flirt with her occasionally to see how their chemistry developed.

My Sim isn't the kind of guy who would flirt with a woman in front of another woman he's been flirty with. Even at a party, he would keep it classy and simply be friendly. This kind of dynamic seems to be captured fairly well in TS4.

"Kironide;c-17911739" wrote:
Yes, you can have as many romances as you want, but if your sim get caught cheating or blatantly flirts in front of another romantic interest their relationships will suffer (a lot). If you have the Sims are set on full autonomy, they will also flirt spontaneously. Oh and by the way, welcome to the forum. :)

Sims on full autonomy will completely disregard whether said flirting is anything remotely resembling a good idea, so you really do need to keep an eye on them.

One of my sims had his son and daughter-in-law over for a visit...and because she was in a flirty mood, and in-laws aren't related by blood, only by marriage, nothing in the game code forbade the autonomous flirt. And this was before I got Eco-Living, so the "Free Love" NAP wasn't in play. It was just really squicky behavior from a woman who was supposed to be happily married. I wish the game would put more of a brake on flirtatious behavior from sims who have no reason to be unfaithful to someone they're dating/married to—if they're going to use the word "soulmates", words have meanings.

If your Sim confesses a crush too early, this can upend a budding relationship. So make sure there is enough of a pink bar before your Sim 'declares' themselves. :open_mouth: I learned that the hard way. :'(

@ACruelButLovingGod I turned off full autonomy for that very reason. And I agree; happily partnered Sims shouldn't be doing more than a bit of innocent flirting, if that much.

@GalacticGal The game seems very well-programmed in that respect. Acting too impulsively seems to work out badly for overly eager Sims. I also like the fact that you get different mixes of "suggested" actions as a conversation develops. Some of the choices aren't very good ones, but it seems like the most outrageous options are off the table, such as trying to WooHoo with a Sim yours barely knows.

I created a Sim solely for the purpose of learning how the different romantic interactions worked. I had him flirt with three different women, but he didn't take things too far with any of the three. I didn't have him kiss any of them.

When Saturday morning rolled around, ALL THREE of them showed up at his house, one after another!! :o

I decided to see what happened if he invited them all in and attempted to have a friendly conversation with all of them...no flirting at all. Two of his guests became Very Sad. One of these women hid in the bathroom. My Sim sent them all home and spent the afternoon playing games on his tablet.

Later that evening, he went out on the town. He ran into one of his "crushes," and over the course of a couple hours of good conversation, she cheered up and things are basically back to normal. That seemed realistic to me.