Story Mode
CheritaChen:
I agree there seems to be some level of logic in the generation of wishes, and while I don't know how important it is to focus on the wishes themselves, it does indicate that the personality trait system is at least partially functional for something besides active behaviors. This is the aspect of the relevant wishes that makes them promising; that there is information which may be used by a story engine behind the scenes to influence progression.
There seem to be several key issues for a decent story mode. Not only does processing of background progression have to be worked out, but also storage of the data. As was mentioned below and elsewhere, non-active Sims do exhibit some superficially autonomous behaviors. The goal isn't just to have Don Lothario constantly flirting with anything on legs and being slapped (do TS3 Sims do the slapping thing?), but for there to be consequences beyond that moment.
The problem here is that the behaviors aren't really autonomous; they're pushed by the game when the Sim is "on the stage." In order for there to be progression in the way a true simulation would progress, this kind of pushing has to be made to happen at regular intervals to all Sims in the neighborhood, and that requires processing of the events before the next logical development can be pushed. I don't think it will even matter if the Sims are directed to appear on the same lot, except when it satisfies a relevant progression element (like the wedding scenario discussed), because these aren't real people. They don't have to actually meet in order to meet while we're not looking. So, a "beacon" might be interesting for other purposes, but I don't see it as essential or even useful for the sake of neighborhood background progression.
I haven't looked at the game code at all (to say I've got minimal experience in coding would be generous), so I am making assumptions about the game's functioning based on what I've read and observed. I have no idea how difficult it will be to construct an engine that calculates probable events, pushes a trigger to a given Sim, processing the results and using them in the next probability equation, and also determines how any other affected Sims (boss, fiance, etc.) should be triggered so that the effect cascades through the community, and does this in a constant cycle. Maybe it won't take as much processor power as I'm envisioning, but I fear my little Macbook might not be up to the task. It's also going to require the saving of lots of data, which, considering some people are already having problems with ridiculous save times and file sizes, is disconcerting.
All that said, I think the wealth of beta testers available, their skill, and their experience working on previous mods will lead to something much closer to real story development than either the unmodified game or Indie Stone can offer, even if it takes a little time.
StormchaserOne:
Well said Cherita, I totally agree. With Story Progression EA just did not take there time with it. I believe it was Story Progression and not marketing which is why they pushed back the date. EA I think did a rush job on story progression. And, it will take hackers like Indie and Pescado to completely fix it.
Motoki:
Quote from: CheritaChen on 2009 July 15, 22:57:44
(do TS3 Sims do the slapping thing?)
Apparently they can. I saw it happen in a Youtube video, though it has never actually happened in my game, even when slap worthy things happened. It's a drastic change from TS2 which was a total slap fest. I swear if you looked at a sim cross eyed you'd get slapped in that game!
chaos:
Story Mode has been working pretty well for me, with Awesomemod as my One core mod, but I started with a new town using an empty template, so maybe that has something to do with it. After the initial setup, I moved some of the premade sims from the Library into houses, as well as a few custom families. Some of the Library families already had children, or were pregnant already, but they've also been regularly popping out babbys. Some of the families never spawn, but the ones that do seem to make up for this, having 4 or 5 kids apiece. I've noticed a pattern with jobs. After I cheat the game-created sims into houses, one sim in each household gets a job after a few days to a week (sim time), but not immediately, and I've never seen more than one sim per household get a job.
When I first started playing the neighborhood, Story Progression was creating a new family per night, some small, some OMGsixchildren!!! Now, it's every second or third night. Many of those are singles or couples, and I cheat them into houses. Some of the original Library sims have turned elderly, in the meantime, and I expect to see death notices for them soon, but the majority of story progression notices that I get are befriendings, antagonizations, and jobs, with a few "new baby" notices mixed in. Not once have I seen a notification that a household has moved. It's possible that the sims just aren't far enough along in their careers to afford new houses (yet). My town doesn't seem to be stagnating, at all, and is keeping a good balance. I must admit, though, that I'm surprised to see procreation from some of the households. I created a roommate situation with a few of the MATY self-sims. Typpi now has a perpetually spawning harem. :D
KarateKari:
Quote from: chaos on 2009 July 15, 23:21:44
Not once have I seen a notification that a household has moved.
This is all I ever see. Literally half of my town plays musical houses almost every night.
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