TS4 with better Wants and Fears

"Neia;c-15806771" wrote:
I fully agree, I'd like the aspirations to be more than a fixed set of goals and the whims made more interesting. Perhaps there could be a new set of bubbles above, with more long-term wants that could drive the story and remind us of features, something a bit more visible.

I posted a bit earlier why the whims and aspirations aren't fun to play with at the moment :

I don't like TS4 whims because :
- they are only short-terms (so they have almost no effect on driving my story one direction or another)
- they are so repetitive (Hang out with the club is always there)
- there's only two of them (because the emotional one has the two drawbacks above, but even worse)

I don't like TS4 aspirations because :
- they are too rigid, they are always the exact same no matter the context
- they are too limited, there's only a dozen of goals, and you can even hit a roadblock (Become an adult, Join X career) which means depending on the current life stage, you can't even use the aspiration
- there's no progression, you unlock one thing at the end but nothing along the way. Your romance teen is exactly the same as your romance elder until it unlocks this one trait.

I don't like TS4 traits you can buy because :
- it is in no way related to the aspiration, while the lifetime system had bonus related to aspirations
- it's a mess in the UI when you have bought a bunch of them, everything looks the same : aspiration trait, points trait, personality traits
- they feel more like cheats than the TS2 ones

Yep. Exactly.
Whims are pointless, and Aspirations, while nice in the sense that they give you some long-term goals, ultimately they're just as pointless, since there's no drawback if you don't complete them.

Even a moodlet, like "Stuck in a Rut (Bored/Tense/Sad +3)" would alleviate this, because then your Sims would have a reason to complete Aspirations. And if you were Stuck in a Rut for more than a few days, your Sim could have a full-on breakdown, where their mood could tank further, and they start doing little idles related to their Aspiration type:

Athletic: They might just suddenly lack any and all motivation to do anything, and mope around the house, lounging on chairs and eating junk food, watching cartoons.
Creativity: They could play air guitar, and try to build sculptures out of garbage. They might also try to smash guitars, TVs, and other "out of control rock star" behaviors.
Deviance: They might just go off the deep end, and start acting like a deranged supervillain. They laugh maniacally to themselves, and plot world domination. Perhaps they pull a globe out of their pockets, and start talking about weather machines, laser sharks, volcano lairs, and other stereotypical Bond Villain stuff.
Family: Same as TS2. Flour sack baby!
Food: Same as TS2. They bring out a cardboard drawing of a grilled cheese sandwich, and kiss it and try to eat it.
Fortune: Same as TS2. They panhandle for Simoleons, using a tin can and a piece of cardboard with a § drawn on.
Knowledge: Same as TS2. They start talking to Professor Von Ball, a soccer ball with a face and a graduation cap.
Love: Same as TS2. They start dancing with a mop.
Nature: They could start rummaging through the garbage, trying (and failing) to find collectibles.
Popularity: Same as TS2's Pleasure Aspiration. They put a lampshade on their heads, and start dancing, and start talking to themselves.
Location: No idea about this one.
Child Aspirations: Kids throw tantrums, break objects, and just generally act as if they've got -100 in their Character Values.

In another thread, I said:

"kwanzaabot;c-15805753" wrote:
I would kill for the return of Aspiration Failure.

It really gave the Wants/Needs/Whims system a sense of progression. I never complete Whims because they're so pointless, but in 2, they felt like a vital gameplay mechanic because they'd lead to Platinum Mood if you fulfilled them, or Aspiration Failure if you didn't.