Seasons: What mods are you already begging for?
Kyna:
Quote from: Theo on 2007 March 19, 14:43:41
I totally support this request, just imagine what a full harvest of poisonous mushrooms can do for your game! ;D
Ooh, nanny food :big evil grin:
J. M. Pescado:
The produce grower is firmly non-modular and does not lend itself to modification.
snowyrat:
1. The matter of finances is greatly unrealistic in the game, and many of us are already bored with gorgeous mansions, private bowling alleys and Ferraris in every newlywed couples' home. Perhaps much could be changed with an (optional) simple hack. Let me explain.
I'd really like to have a "hardfistedEmployers" aka "noPromotionBonuses" mod, as a good pair for no20Khandouts (that is one of the best hack ideas if you ask me - thank you, JM!). Or at least a reduced bonus, perhaps around 25% of the new salary? This would reduce the cheatish way "get a job, go up the ladder quickly, then quit and get another job or start all over" of playing, that I admittedly do too - just because it's hard to find motivation to keep one career, if the best career is to always change the jobs. (I know I can deduct the bonus with FamilyFunds, but it's not the same).
A new family or lonely sim/ university graduate, as for now, is a challenge and fun to play only for the first 1-2 sim-weeks. After that, the astronomical promotion bonuses give to sim/family too much of money too easy too soon. This hack would make the sims really work hard (and caffeinate or energise or juice-ise) after their dayjob - they should paint/write, garden/fish, produce/serve or have private/home businesses etc., in order to afford a better life for themselves and for the children. Also, it would make them to choose between skilling, socializing and resting for faster promotions, or doing more side-job at home or private business for better life sooner. This again would make the career advancement slower and more realistic, as they simply have no time for fulfilling the mandatory requirements.
Also, it would give some sense for college years, as a good and free time to skill and socialise for the future life. Together with noAgeDiscrimination, it would as well create a more realistic situation, where people can really start to "live off" and have more expensive houses and stuff only when they reach their senior years and are already sick and frail. ;D Perhaps some young parents would find it even more comfortable to dump their children on grandparents to raise up (the daughter moves in with a child, then reconciles with the husband and moves back with him, "forgetting" the child to her parents). Or the adult children would have a good reason to whine until they have some expensive gifts from Gramps ("Mom, little Pete really NEEEEDS a new bed, and I know that you CAN afford! And while on that subject, I really NEEEEEED a new Ferrari, too, to impress and have the promotion!"). This way, the hard-earned money of the seniors would have a good use, and the grandparents could end up broke, selling the house and moving on a 6K lot, finally dying with nothing to hand down to other children, as it is often IRL. :P It would also foster the social inequity between those who have living parents and those who have not. And social inequity is a Good Thing, I believe JM agrees on that. ;)
Also, marrying/moving in with another sim, rich or not, would be a great financial relief, as it is IRL, too. The college graduates would be forced to start their life as roommates, especially if they had not much (or at all) scholarships, college semester bonuses or rich parents - because alone they can't afford even the minimal house of few thousands.
Last but not least, it would - as we all like it! - stop the happy careless childhood of the children and teens, and make them rather a free labor for their parents, preventing to have all 7 skills maxed out already in the mid-teen, because the children had instead to fish, garden and paint their asses off in the sun, rain and snow. The children who work have no time for stupid things like teenage crushes, dating or crappy jobs outside the home. When in college, there would be enough time to catch up the skills, or perhaps at the end of the semester to produce/create something that would accumulate the money for independent life after college. (I hate it that I skill the teens up for 8 points in everything, and then they have big scholarships and no skills to develop in college or after).
I understand that people have different styles of playing, therefore it could possibly be a buyable object rather than just a mod, that many might catch inadvertently with Director'sCut. If it is not technically possible to remove the bonuses, then what about adding the amount of the bonus to the next bill, as an income tax? This would create the tension of the temptation to spend the immediate money, even though you know, that a big bill is coming or already about to become overdue... sort of a credit card trap, or an investment loan if you use it wisely and can pay back in time. :P Repo Men, whom I have never seen, would become good acquaintances, or one should often sell the few days old expensive bed for little money and sleep on the floor, just to buy it later back for full price.
Obviously, also the chance card monetary bonuses should be reduced the same way (directly or via bills/tax). I don't know if it's possible. But the 50 000 awards are really injust - you can ask the relatives or neighbours, they will say the same!
Edit: Now if I think, perhaps the finacial bonus just for the final promotion would be good to remain as it is now, because it would make reaching the top of career more fervently waited for (Daddy got the promotion, daughter can go to college). The many aspiration points we might receive now (through the respective Want or LTW) are not motivating enough - for the time we reach the top, we have already more than enough of them.
2. A College Entrance Fee, to be paid once from parents's pockets when a teen of the family goes to college. It could be quite expensive (10 000?), perhaps less for public school students (4000?) and more for Private School students, assuming that the latter go to more expensive colleges. The lonely teens should create a business or something, otherwise no college. If there is no money accumulated enough by the family, the teen is prevented to "go to college" and grows up to be an adult with modest prospects (like one who has no high grades enough). This would reduce the temptation to send the teens to college in their mid-teenage time. Also, it would make the teens to forget the joys of child-/teenhood and work for their college fee already since entering the elementary school, instead of accumulating all skill points and 150 000+ aspiration points by the time they go to college. That makes college years and new life as an adult very unchallenging for those who are born in game. Only work and no play is good for your child, because it prevents the teen pregnancies, drugs and piercings!
3. In Macrotastics, I'd be happy to have, if possible, the "Bake Stuff" macro for children. Since the toy oven costs just 100 and the muffins come for free (probably they get the instant flour mix from social services office, that makes sense), exploiting the children as the muffin-winners could help the poor family w/children over the worse times, without any need for other kind of kitchenware. The muffin is one of the lowest Hunger Efficiency foods, taking long time to eat and giving only low satisfaction.
As for now, it's highly annoying to Bake/Get Food manually for all the family - you only can watch the baking child. Btw, the muffins should probably be placed on the floor nearby, since I assume they cannot "make many" and put them in inventory.
PS. I don't remember what was the thing with ContinuousPainting. I think that if it would be possible, it would already be a macro in Macrotastics, right? It doesn't even have to include taking care of the needs, just simple paint/sell/paint/sell would be enough.
4. A Wallet. I.e. an object like the Money Order letter now, that one could add the funds to from family funds, and place it in one's inventory (and it would not lose the value over time). The use is very obvious. But I suspect that if it would be possible, Pescado would have already made it. :S
Edited: minor corrections.
jsalemi:
(I'm not going to quote from that manifesto :))
1) are you using harderjobs? That removes most of the uni job bonus, so they don't start almost at the top of their career.
4) Monique's computers over on MTS2 already have a 'bank account' function where you can dump money into individual accounts.
snowyrat:
Thanks for your reply and pardon my manifesto... :D
Quote from: jsalemi on 2007 March 19, 19:19:24
1) are you using harderjobs? That removes most of the uni job bonus, so they don't start almost at the top of their career.
Yes, thanks, I am using it. But with really good mood / all motives full (plan well or go to Energizer just before going to job), they will anyway get the promotions practically every single day. :( I am easily challenged, so I try to go through the career as quickly as possible, but I'd like it to be more impossible due to the practical reasons.
Quote
4) Monique's computers over on MTS2 already have a 'bank account' function where you can dump money into individual accounts.
Yes, but the problem is that if you remove the Downloads folder (for patching, upgrading etc), EVEN if you put it back before restarting the game, the Monique's bank accounts get reset. The simple object in inventory would be so much easier - no need to remember to whom the money belongs - it belongs to the one who has the wallet. Every salary/semester bonus etc. cold be put in the wallet of the respective sim, and thus prevent the confusions with splitting the money when the sims graduate in different times or the roommates with different monetary contribution move out to live separately.
Thanks anyway. :)
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