What Sim character trait is most important to you, and why?

I don’t really have a favourite, it all depends on what story I’m going for.

But for some reason I always struggle finding traits, none of them makes me feel like my sim is unique. And I don’t know what types of traits I’m looking for I just feel bored by the ones we have? God I sound so privileged, like materialistic sims complaining about the tv size when you already have the biggest tv ?

I'm really surprised that some of you said that the traits don't really make a difference in gameplay. Depending on the traits, I notice a marked difference. For instance, I gave one teen Sim the lazy trait--she was always taking naps, wouldn't do chores unless forced to, failed school, and hated exercise. And another I gave mean and hot-headed traits--he would pick a fight at the bar without any prompting from me.

Would you guys agree though that we should be able to have more traits? I don't think 5 (or 4 if it's a teen) is enough

"Nate_Whiplash1;c-17612759" wrote:
I'm really surprised that some of you said that the traits don't really make a difference in gameplay. Depending on the traits, I notice a marked difference. For instance, I gave one teen Sim the lazy trait--she was always taking naps, wouldn't do chores unless forced to, failed school, and hated exercise. And another I gave mean and hot-headed traits--he would pick a fight at the bar without any prompting from me.

Would you guys agree though that we should be able to have more traits? I don't think 5 (or 4 if it's a teen) is enough

I don't know about your other Sims, but pretty much none of mine consistently clean without the neat trait, even with good character values. I guess it does as advertised and the dishes might be bugged again (no one washes dishes in my game autonomously if they have a queue of actions), but I have played a maxed out negative character values and negative trait Sim and it was not that impactful beyond the career mini choices which are still eh.

Also, if their energy is low ALL of my Sims choose to nap somewhere rather than sleep properly. I don't understand. I have to go wake them up and have them lie down properly. So, that experience does not feel unique to a lazy Sim. As for failing school... Well, I am not sure how you played but it is super easy not to if you maintain homework, etc. If you left it all autonomous I have A students that will not do homework autonomously.

Anyway, even those little things of neat Sims being clean and mean Sims doing mean things really do not have much of an impact because that is the extent that they go. They were based around emotions rather than overarching things. Compare it the Sims 3 personality system and traits to see how gameplay driven traits can be. 4's on the other hand... They all feel a lot like the same puppet that I have to imagine a personality for. I usually play large families and it is ridiculous how many similar actions I have to cancel between six Sims with wildly different traits (and more than your base CAS ones because I have played them and they have aspiration ones and different aspirations for the matter). The best thing I have found to make unique Sims is the vampire powers and weaknesses, because they all can have a unique mix.

The traits matter so little. I pick them based on what moodlets I want my sim to have. Maybe I want them to struggle a bit and feel emarrassed/sad/tense. For sadness I could pick vegetarian for example because they're easy to make sad. Another thing I consider is storytelling purposes and what suits their character. A trait that's most important to me is probably loner, because at least it works making sims tense or embarrassed.

Creative is my favorite, I suppose, as it makes building moneymaking skills like painting and writing progress so much more quickly. I also like Genius quite a bit, if for no other reason than I like intelligent people in real life.

I also randomize since the traits have no impact.

Self absorbed ( itis funny. )

I randomize them unless I've got a specific sim in mind and I'm creating them from scratch in CAS. However, I do agree that the traits mean and do very little. There are a few small interactions as mentioned but mostly they don't have much of an impact in their day to day lives. They're mostly there to remind me what personality they should have play out in my imagination.

All sims born in game get random. That's just my rule.

Foodie. I just can't stand poor quality meals.
But other than that I make everything at random or what goes best with the story lines.

For my main guy I always make sure his Handiness skill is at level 10, plus I cheat and give him the 'Handy' reward trait so he can give most objects an instant upgrade (or repair) without needing to collect and use parts. I just need him to be technically advanced as he's always on some kind of action adventure. Which brings me to my favorite trait:

Loves the Outdoors.

I love the outdoors myself, so my sims tends to spend a lot of time in nature as well: in the jungle, walking/jogging around the neighborhood, or the woods, fishing and gathering stuff. I also use the 'Foraging' mod by Brazenlotus, which I think is a really great asset to my game play and I hope we get something like this in TS4 one day. It's great for my survivalists.

My 2nd favorite is Hothead and then usually something creative. I guess because I identify with those the most...although I never ever play as my sim-self. That's a whole other dimension I'm not willing to step into. :#

I do think that the traits/personality system needs a bit (huge amount) of work as it doesn't always function as something that should be more in-depth and unique to my sims.