Relationship Panel

[LuauCarly]

Have you noticed that the relationship panel seems to be inconsistent in showing all of the Sims known to your Sim? At any given time, I have had Sims show in the phone who are not in the relationship panel, and vice versa. Later, the Sim who was missing from one place or the other will show up again. I've also seen the Chat and Invite to Current Lot options missing from various Sims at random times, only to show up again later. Is this a bug or by design, and if deliberate, what determines when certain Sims or interactions are available or not?

[Metropolis Man]

Yeah, it's goofy isn't it? If you call a Sim after midnight you get yelled at. BUT - click on a lot to visit - at any hour of the night - and boom - you can instantly have friends materialize with you. Kind of cool actually.
"Didn't you just wake me up? I was having an awesome dream. Now you force me to come to the bar at 3 AM."
"Um, no...must have been a wrong number."

[ClayMask]

I know what you mean about Sims appearing and disappearing off the relationship panel, and sometimes being unable to invite them to visit the current lot.  I've seen it too.  Also, if you throw a party, sometimes not everyone from your relationship panel can be invited. 

[Nettlejuice]

I'd assumed they were at work or had died.

[ClayMask]

I'd assumed they were at work or had died.

For me, when they're dead, they show up as ghost potraits so it looks different.  I would know if they were dead.  I had thought that none of them went to work, but I'm not sure on that one.  I have called and had Sims be busy before.  Maybe the ones that start out in houses in town do have jobs.  I'm pretty sure the ones generated by the game don't at least, and I know some of those have the issues I mentioned.  One of the ones I noticed it on was a child, and it wasn't during school hours, but my Sim still couldn't invite him to visit the lot.

[stitching_JA]

I've noticed that sims who are walking about the current neighbourhood show up in the relationship panel, but not under the list of sims when you click on the phone and try to call or invite over.  If you click on their portrait in the relationship panel and try to invite them over, you get a message to the effect that they are already there.  I haven't noticed sims not showing in the relationship panel unless they were culled and no longer in the game at all, but the culling seems to happen so often I stopped paying attention to the panels a couple of months ago.

[Nettlejuice]

@ClayMask A weird thing is I have non-household ghosts show up when someone has died, but when Summer Holiday died she didn't show up on any of my households relationship panel.

[ClayMask]

That is strange.  I assume your Sim had a strong relationship with her? 

Well if you do see them in your relationships and can't invite them over, it's not because they're a ghost.