Environment preference of the sims

[gali]

*edit, waiting to see if gali can answer Hitch's question"

Don't replace the bed. Just use the design tool to change the bedding.

Lol - ladies and gentlemen, you are too tough on me! *I don't know how to recolor*. I only know how to replace the bed, that's all.

I really am sorry that I openned this thread - just wanted to share some observations; didn't realize that the opposition and the demands will be so tough.

I didn't try to fool anyone. Sorry if you think so.

But I do think, that some hostile personal attitude leads some replies. No matter what I say, there are always some members that feel the duty to write  some hostile remarks.
 

[Nec]

Bills are purely based on lot value, making them closer to property taxes than utility bills. Otherwise you'd be able to avoid them much like I do. I'm not billed for lights on or off, either. Radioactives don't decay more slowly merely because you turned the lights off.

Mah, so much for logic. I would much rather have it based on actual usage. Oh well. I would also like owned lots to have bills.  Pfft.

Back on topic:  I will entertain this color scheme-thing, and perform my own experiment. (Actually I have some redecorating to do at one lot, and I feel like humoring The Mutilator)

[Assmitten]

The second room has been completely redecorated. You didn't just change the bed. You put expensive floors down, added a rug, added lights, got an expensive desk and a nice bookcase.

Holy shit! I didn't even notice that at first because of the OW MY EYES factor! Ha!

[ElfPuddle]

gali, they mean recoloring by using the swatch tool in buy mode. The one that is under (?) the eyedropper.

The reason Hitch asked about replacing the bed is that a new object will have a better effect on the environment than an older, but otherwise identical, object. Using the decorating tool is how poor sims change their bedding without buying a new bed.

[Assmitten]

I don't think there's blatant hostility here. At least not anymore than usual. I think it's a communication problem, as usual.

[Hitch]

Lol - ladies and gentlemen, you are too tough on me! *I don't know how to recolor*. I only know how to replace the bed, that's all.

It's amazing how we can sometimes miss little things that seem obvious to others. In case you still don't know how to recolor an item without selling and replacing it, This is how you do it:

[neriana]

Any hostility is not personal. It's merely hostility to blatant illogic.

[sara_dippity]

Any hostility is not personal. It's merely hostility to blatant illogic.

Aye.

[myskaal]

De ja vu?

I recall there being a rumor regarding color preferences in Sims1, also. never could figure that one out. My mind is old and creakity but I seriously seem to remember reading an official statement somewhere about if you chose a particular objectand your sim didn't like it to try a different color of the same object. Or something.

I never really followed up on that but... if it was true I don't see why they wouldn't have done the same for TS2. Not that I really care if my sims like what color their bed is or not. I don't seem to have much environment score trouble and where I do I let them suffer with it.

[Assmitten]

I wonder if that was one of those things they wanted to include, but didn't? I am not doubting you, I just know a lot of stuff flies around like that. I certainly remember that being an official rumor on TS1 BBS.

[Nec]

Well, after extensive testing I have come to the conclusion that color schemes have no affect whatsoever, period. Test sim results as follows:

TK-432 sat patiently on the sofa, power idling while redecoration took place. A very good servo, indeed.

Here we have the original setup - primarily blacks and reds:


Now we change to a blue theme, no environment change.


Maybe white will make a difference? Nah. I even changed the walls and floors - both the same cost as the originals.


I thought that perhaps, being a servo, TK-432 was less sensitive. Also, sheets have been mentioned a lot. So, I decided to test the sheet theory with the most sensitive of sims - the vampire. Johann is our faithful test subject for the sheet theory. We start with the standard black, and Star Wars bedding:


So I change the colors to light wood with lighter bedding. No change.


Alas, I give in and buy a new bed - exact same model/bedding and...voila! Environment finally goes up. Imagine that.


So you see, Gali, not *all* of us redecorate by purchasing new furniture - and that is the REAL difference in your environment score. Sorry to disappoint you

[Diala]

To add to Nec's conclusion, here is a test I did with the Ramaswami (sp?) family.

First test: Blue house, everything Maxis objects:



Second test: Changed only the color of the objects using the recolor tool. No change!



Third test: Changed wallpaper to a different kind of color, but the same price. No change as well!



Sorry Gali. Nice try, though.

[Assmitten]

Okay, roffling at the vampire with Star Wars sheets.

Thanks, scientists.

[gali]

All the experiments done here are not the same as mine.

1) I bought NEW objects, choosing some color-style (for instance, blue), and reached *full environment scale*.

2) After 6 sim days I replaced all the objects I bought with new ones, this time another color-style (for instance, yellow).

As I expected, I should get full environment scale too, because I already reached it. But here was the surprise: when the sim enterred the room, *I lost environment points*, although I changed only the color style, but bought the same, but NEW objects, of different color.

3) Now I replaced immediately the new yellow-styled objects with new blue-styled objects - and I got again the full environment scale.


So, the experiment should be this:

1) *Reach full environment scale*,   choosing any color-style design, using NEW objects.

2) Replace the styled objects with different color-styled objects, and test the sim's reaction when he enters the room. You already had full environment scale - *if now you lose environment points*, the sim doesn't like the chosen color-style.

That's what I am talking about.

When Daniel Pleasant had the red-styled bedroom - when he enterred the room, I got full environment scale.
When I replaced the objects with green-styled ones - I lost environment points.
When I replaced (immediately) the green-styled objects with red-styled ones - I got again the full environment scale.

Perform THIS experiment, and see the results.

 

[Sagana]

What was he doing when he entered the room each time? In some of those images, you've got sims just standing there but in one she's sitting down reading. A sims gains environment if he/she finds something of use/interest/fun in a room. (For example, even if they hate the bathroom, their environment score will go up when they take a bath or potty :p)

[Nec]

GALI!!!

* Nec headdesks

[gali]

What was he doing when he entered the room each time? In some of those images, you've got sims just standing there but in one she's sitting down reading. A sims gains environment if he/she finds something of use/interest/fun in a room. (For example, even if they hate the bathroom, their environment score will go up when they take a bath or potty :p)

I told him to relax on bed, or play the guitar, or read a book. The standing sim picture was made on purpose, to show only the loss of the environment points.

[Diala]

So, the experiment should be this:

1) *Reach full environment scale*,   choosing any color-style design, using NEW objects.

-I DID use new objects. In fact, it is obvious as hell that the house I showed was made just for this experiment alone.
-It doesn't matter at all if "full environmental scale" is reached. The only issue that matters is that the scale goes up or down in ANY sort of amount. That is the basis of your theory, don't you remember?

2) Replace the styled objects with different color-styled objects, and test the sim's reaction when he enters the room. You already had full environment scale - *if now you lose environment points*, the sim doesn't like the chosen color-style.

-I used the redesign tool, which is pretty much the same thing, since the items I used were NEW. Deleting and rebuying them will basically just do the same thing.
-I moved the Sim in and out of the house. No change, Gali. Besides, wouldn't the change be instant if Sims could "see" color?

Look Gali, there is NO proof of this. I am sure that if there was some sort of "color" code, it would've been found YEARS AGO. But there isn't.

[buddha pest]

It's amazing how we can sometimes miss little things that seem obvious to others. In case you still don't know how to recolor an item without selling and replacing it, This is how you do it:

I will be goddamned.

I can't believe the money I've wasted.

[neriana]

What Nec said.

[angelyne]

Haha Buddha.  Don't worry about it.  I didn't know about the design tool for the longest time, because the first time I tried it didn't do anything apparent, so I never touched it until much later.


Anyway, here is my contribution to the debate.  For color to have an effect the game would have to KNOW what the color is.  The game can't tell if an object is blue, pink or green with polka dots.  That's only a texture, an actual picture,  that's part of the object.  I'm not a programmer but it seems to me that writing a routine that identify colors would be pretty complex, unnecessarily so.  Maybe not even feasible.

Take the turn-ons for example.  You can express a preference for red, black, brown, blond or white hair.  But how does the game know what hair color a sim has?  It's a variable that's part of the character.  You can see it in SimPE.  A sims is tagged as having black, brown, blond or white hair. (or custom).  Again how does the game know the hair color of the sim?  The game knows because there is a variable that's part of the sims package that indicates if the hair is black (00000001-0000-0000-0000-000000000000), (00000002) brown, or (0000003)
blond...etc.  It's all very simple and straightforward.  Sims X has black hair because his character file points to a hair that has the variable "family"=00000001-0000-0000-0000-000000000000. You can open the sim file, or the hair file and manipulate these numbers if you want.

But there are no such variables that says bed xyz is red, or blue, or whatever. Only us humans can see that. So the sims cannot have a color preference because for all intent and purposes a sim is colorblind. (Except for hair color.)

Objects files have attributes represented by numbers. The rooms environment score is determined by two values (numbers) inside the objects.  One is the niceness multiplier and the other the price. The niceness multiplier is use in combination with the object's price to determine the object's environment score.  There color is irrelevant, because as far as the game understand, there is no such thing.

I am not sure if I lost you with all this mumbo-jumbo, but be assured that the game is COLOR-BLIND.  Color cannot have any effect whatever on the environment score.
Sims are as likely to have color preferences as they are to preferring "beautiful" sims over "ugly sims".  It very literally does not compute

[Kyna]

When Daniel Pleasant had the red-styled bedroom - when he enterred the room, I got full environment scale.
When I replaced the objects with green-styled ones - I lost environment points.
When I replaced (immediately) the green-styled objects with red-styled ones - I got again the full environment scale.

Perform THIS experiment, and see the results.

Gali, that's NOT exactly what you did.   You changed lighting, you added a statue and paintings, you changed what some of the objects were, you had Daniel standing in different places in the room, you changed the floor (and we have no idea if the floors are the same value in the catalog, or if one of them was old and had devalued).

Your example proves that if you change lighting, add statues/paintings, use different furniture objects, change floor coverings, and move the sim (even a few steps away) then the environment score changes.  We already know this.  Your experiment does NOT prove that the colour makes a difference.

Get rid of the variables that affect your results.  Otherwise we will all continue to say "it's because you changed (whatever) not because you changed the colour".  Then you'll see that you can't prove your theory, because as Angelyne has pointed out, it's just not possible.

[dizzy]

What these experiments all prove is that Maxis screwed up Environment completely. It's totally useless and should be discarded at the first available opportunity.

[ElfPuddle]

Wait! Maxis isn't perfect? Get outta here! 

[Diala]

What these experiments all prove is that Maxis screwed up Environment completely. It's totally useless and should be discarded at the first available opportunity.

I agree. In fact, I completely ignore it altogether. I've pretty much "conditioned" my mind to ignore that need. My Sims get decorations based on what I like. If they don't "like" it, tough.