Future Sim Improvement Ideas

[jeanamariex3]

Pets. Pets. Pets. and Pets. I'm really bored with pet fish. I'm a real life cat owner and lover, so therefore, my sim self should have a pet too.

That's it. I'm going back to TS2 if they don't come out with a pets EP.

My pets should also have the same traits as humans as well.

[Lynley1248]

I would love Seasons and Pets expansions. What I would really prefer would a sort of Seasons/Free Time hybrid pack.  My Sims need hobbies, such as fixing old cars/motorcycles for handy sims, small pottery wheel in addition to the larger sculpting stations for sculptors, crossword puzzles, trivia tournaments, model airplanes/rockets for logic sims, bowling leagues, etc.  Overall, what I really want is a greater variety of skill building objects that also provide lots of fun and socialization for sims.  For Seasons, I think outdoor plants could be improved with more flower/bush/tree options as well as different plants for gardens, such as strawberries or persimmon trees. 

As others have mentioned, I’d like more interactions and items for babies, toddlers, and children.  I want my sim kids to be able to play things like Cops and Robbers, Mary Mac, Rock/Paper/Scissors, etc.  like in the Sims 2.  More family interactions would be nice, as well, including activities such as board games and group reading sessions (sort of an expansion on reading to toddlers). I love the toddler and child stages but they just seem lacking at the moment.  Also, I wish that children could learn to play instruments.  I’d be happy with a junior guitar specifically for children, even, like the xylophone for toddlers.

With objects, more clutter and general knickknacks would be nice.  There are so few pictures and decorative items that decorating a large house can feel repetitive, especially if you are keeping to a theme (country living, for example).  And a shower/tub combo with a re-colorable shower curtain would be fantastic, especially if it was midrange in pricing.  Actually, a lower-end and higher-end one would be awesome.  As for furniture, I don’t mind what there is, but I think there could be a wider range of dresser options. For instance, a small 1-tile dresser or a long 3-tile one.  And closets. I definitely miss closets.  I’d like to be able to create bedroom suites, basically.

I guess there is quite a bit I want added.  Some of what I missed has already been added with SP/EPs like hot tubs, different instruments, and half-walls so I figure if I wait long enough, I’ll get most of what I want.

[Hosfac]

As others have mentioned, I’d like more interactions and items for babies, toddlers, and children.

I don't have any particular argument with this.  With babies, it gets somewhat boring doing the "Cuddle, Play With" interactions over and over again, but how much more could you really do with a baby.  Besides, they don't stay babies for all that long...they grow up so fast!  *Sniff* 

I do think children should have more things to do.  You can only play tag so many times.  But if the rumors are true, it looks like we might get our wish in this respect.

With objects, more clutter and general knickknacks would be nice.

Now your speaking my language!    I absolutely love cluttering up kitchen counters to give it that realistic, lived in appearance.  I'm not a really big fan of the coffee makers/espresso machines, since sims will drink it when they're tired instead of going to bed like they should, so a better variety of knickknacks would really appeal to me.

My pets should also have the same traits as humans as well.

I like the idea of pets having their own traits, but really they should have their own pet-related traits.  Some of them would definitely overlap, but I would find having a kitty cat with "Natural Cook" and "Handy" somewhat silly and extremely unrealistic.

Training is another issue that I see.  You would have to be able to train them faster on the shorter life span settings, or else sims will never get them trained in their lifetimes (or they'll be trained unreasonably fast on longer life spans).  Another thing I see me having a problem with is pet mortality.  Nobody lives forever...unless you turn aging off.

[Pam]

Not so much babies (infants) that need more interactions, but toddlers! 

I don't care so much for clutter in my Sims 3 game.  I have that in real life and would rather have a nice and tidy home. 

[jeanamariex3]

Not so much babies (infants) that need more interactions, but toddlers!  

I don't care so much for clutter in my Sims 3 game.  I have that in real life and would rather have a nice and tidy home.  

I absolutely agree. I miss having toddlers, splash through puddles, steal other toddlers bottles, ask to be fed, read to etc. Also, I wish they could have more traits too. Toddlers should be able to bite, hit, pinch their peers, as well as steal their toys. Hehe  

EDIT: I also think it would be sweet and more realistic for toddlers to also climb in and out of their cribs, eat the solid foods that the child sims or older eat, in tinier cut up portions, climb on top of the counters, break furniture, have some sort of contribution to the (major) messes made, by doing this, even mess with the older siblings' and parent's important papers? (homework, bills etc)


Babies on the other hand, need some sort of free will. They should also be bathed, and grow out of their blankets after a day. They should crawl around, and their parents and teen siblings should be able to tend to them while sitting down watching tv.

EDIT:

I like the idea of pets having their own traits, but really they should have their own pet-related traits.  Some of them would definitely overlap, but I would find having a kitty cat with "Natural Cook" and "Handy" somewhat silly and extremely unrealistic.

Training is another issue that I see.  You would have to be able to train them faster on the shorter life span settings, or else sims will never get them trained in their lifetimes (or they'll be trained unreasonably fast on longer life spans).  Another thing I see me having a problem with is pet mortality.  Nobody lives forever...unless you turn aging off.

My idea would be the traits available to humans that are typically available to children sims or younger, ones that wouldn't be beneficial for humans to learn skills with. Pets would have the Good, Evil, Friendly, Loves the outdoors, Hates the Outdoors, Hydrophobic, Neurotic, Insane, Loner etc.

Dogs or cats with the good trait certainly won't be able to donate money to charity, but they certainly can brighten their human master's days, by giving off their cute face. Evil Pets, like evil toddlers, can sense when their owners or other pets are suffering, and get delighted by it. Mean-Spirited pets exist as well. Like Mean-Spirited humans, who like to fight, argue, and be rude for no reason. Mean Spirited pets can be vicious to their fellow pets, and hiss, growl and attack their owners for no reason. My childhood cat was a loner. She liked crawling in dark places, and didn't care for the company of humans and pets. So a cat with the loner trait is very realistic. My giant Persian orange tabby I have now, could certainly fit the Absent-Minded trait, as well as the Neurotic Trait, he's slightly a little messed up in the head, and not always there, and will freak out and run around in circles every now and then. Pets can certainly be grumpy and annoyed as well.

[Hosfac]

Oh sure, like I said there is plenty of room for overlap.  But narrowing down the traits would require some expansion to allow traits that would only be available to pets, like "Loyal" and "Finicky."

[KrispyNickyB]

On an off shoot..I would be happy with a "Put all food away from inventory button". Yes I am just that lazy. I don't have much of an opinion on Pets. I own it for Sims 2 but never really used Pets. I wish toddlers could babble with each other though. The last quirk I wish was there is for kids to be able to play the instruments.

[jeanamariex3]

Oh sure, like I said there is plenty of room for overlap.  But narrowing down the traits would require some expansion to allow traits that would only be available to pets, like "Loyal" and "Finicky."

Maybe they will have human traits partime jobs, NPCs and LTW's added as well? I can see the possibility of "Pet Surgeon" "Cat Lady" as a lifetime wish...I made a sim of Trudy Wiegel from the tv show Reno 911 (On Comedy Central), and Pets would be the perfect EP to play her with. As for Human Traits, I see "Dislikes Animals" and "Pet Oriented", which would have the same interactions/conflicts as "Family Oriented" and "Dislikes Children" Sims who dislike animals would be able to shoo the pets away, as well as tease the animals (much like shooing children away and patronizing them), while the pet oriented will beg their parents for pets, not feel satisfied until the pets needs is taken care of, will be more effected by the death of a pet, and take longer to get over, train pets easier than most, much like family oriented sims and their toddlers/babies. As for careers, I could see dog walkers, or vets, as well as pet sitters as NPC's though, they should only be used if the owner has to work long hours of the day.

I just want my sims to have pets...that's all i ask for.

[samoht04]

You could also have something like Pet Whisperer, so they can talk to their Pets and their Pets understand them as well as having a bette relationship in general with other animals. 

[Chigatana]

In the Late Night expansion, there should be an option to make your own songs. Like...writing some notes on a sheet of paper then practicing, or uploading a text file from the computer. They could choose to play their own songs on their next gig.

Weather! Snow and rain would be fun. Tornadoes, thunderstorms, hail, and other stuff would really add to the game. Uh oh, there goes your house! XD

[Ellenser]

Weather, as many other people have pointed out, would be quite fantastic. I would like to have more than 8 people in a household, but I understand why they aren't doing that. I would also prefer that it be harder to become a celebrity/vampire. Every time I play with late night, I always become a celebrity - just because I have to befriend my coworkers. Then half the town turn to vampires and I just get really frustrated sometimes!

[mysticmirror]

Every time I play with late night, I always become a celebrity - just because I have to befriend my coworkers. Then half the town turn to vampires and I just get really frustrated sometimes!

This happens to me no matter where I am. Sometime I don't want my Sims to be a celebrity. I think they should make it to where you can turn that option off if you want to. I also agree with there being just too many vampires.

[Seabody]

This happens to me know matter where I am. Sometime I don't want my Sims to be a celebrity. I think they should make it to where you can turn that option off if you want to. I also agree with there being just to many vampires.

Or, have an option to "Suppress Vampires" or "Suppress Celebrities". Like the new "Suppress Opportunities" option.
There are definitely too many vampires.

[Ellenser]

Or, have an option to "Suppress Vampires" or "Suppress Celebrities". Like the new "Suppress Opportunities" option.
There are definitely too many vampires.

That's a great idea - especially for the vampires.

I just wish it was harder to become a celebrity though, there's no real challenge. Even becoming a 5 star celebrity is not very hard, in my opinion.

[Seabody]

...Even becoming a 5 star celebrity is not very hard...

Definitely! Bde1225 wrote this in another thread:

I moved my Sim in with a 5 star celebrity (Matthew Hamming), and they hit it off after a few days and became best friends. That boosted her 1 star, then from doing romantic social actions that gave her another 2 stars. The proposal led to another star and the marriage, then meeting his best friend led to her having 5 total celebrity stars.

It's all too easy.

Idea:
Phobias. It'd be awesome to see a sim with "Hippopottomonstrosesquippedaliophobia". I hope I typed that right.  It's the fear of (ironically) Long words.
I have a phobia, so phobias would be nice to accurately recreate people.
Also, the ability to adjust a Sim's weight out the front, instead of all round.