The I'm Bored Thread

"Sk8rblaze;c-17288870" wrote:

"Cinebar;c-17288792" wrote:

"darrenfroggy;c-17287474" wrote:
@Cinebar

I don't see how aspirations only require the skills you mentioned.

Base game aspirations & skills needed (that aren't writing or painting):

Musical Genius: instrument skills (PIano, Violin, Guitar.
Public Enemy: Mischief, Programming, Handiness
Chief of Mischief: Mischief Skill
Successful Lineage: requires a skill of choice high enough to unlock the Mentoring option
Master Chef: cooking and gourmet cooking skill
Master Mixologist: cooking and mixology skill
Renaissance Sim: logic. Also: "Achieve level 8 in 6 skills "
Nerd Brain: logic, handiness
Computer Whiz: programming, video gaming, charisma
Freelance Botanist: gardening
Angling Ace: fishing
Joke Star: comedy, guitar, violin, piano, charisma
Friend of the World: charisma

So, if you're playing with the goal of maxing out achievements or reaching the top level of a career, there's still, in my opinion, plenty to do with a Sim's skills. And as @simgirl1010 said, sometimes it's fun to level up a skill just because. Like, say, a Sim you see as a nerd leveling up their logic because they love playing chess. Or a Sim maxing out their gardening skill because they like doing so. Or playing the guitar just because.

This is 2019. Sims in TS4 are supposed to be the best, smartest ever. Or at least we are told that every time. OK, lets go outside the box for a minute. Why should all Sims gain a charisma skill just because they told a joke for the first time? All Sims can level up logic ( a problem in older games, too) if there is a chess table on the lot. They are attracted to it, but shouldn't that be a trait thing? All Sims shouldn't be able to level up all skills. In older games Sims can still do this but some do this faster than others, or struggle with social skills at a slower pace, etc. It's why some pick an easier Sim to play (just ask around), but as far as TS4 is concerned, all Sims will do mean interactions, and gain skills from them, this seems to cut against the grain that those things should be reserved for a trait, and not all Sims should be able to do it, especially autonomously, and only if really, really forced by player to get them in the mood to do that if they didn't have a particular trait. TS2 and TS3 players understand this, TS3 even more so, since Sims will struggle to reach a goal and or skill if the traits aren't there. This doesn't seem to be the case in TS4, and only one reason they all behave the same way in most cases (other than the blanket filled emotional system). And whims were so overlapping and redundant they just decided to hide them instead of tune them to fit a trait and personality.

I agree. There isn't any kind of synergy between skills and personality. It seems counter intuitive that my Sim with the good trait cannot pick up the mean trait, but can level up the mischief skill. That does not make sense and is a design flaw, IMHO. It's exactly what's wrong with the core gameplay of The Sims 4; systems don't work in tandem with each other well.

In The Sims 2, we had the lifetime aspiration goal system which tied into their every day wants/fears which funneled back into their mental state each day. Expansions, such as university, were made to supplement these gameplay systems and make them even better. I don't think we've really had any expansion which has attempted to do the same. I feel this is why many people say there is no gameplay in The Sims 4. We have the same old aspirations since 2014, with the same boring goals. Beyond that and their careers, it feels like there is little to work towards for our Sim.

And as skills go, I think some of them could be made more useful. I liked how in The Sims 3, we could ask our bosses (who were actual NPC Sims living in our town and not some mysterious, made up entity) for raises/promotions. Why not allow a Sim that works on their charisma skill to be able to ask their boss for a promotion, even if the charisma skill isn't at all tied to their career requirements?