Vampire break-in when family not home

[coolsim9999999]

1. What happens  when a vampire breaks-in when the family is not home? 

In this case, they were at the Spice Festival.

I also deleted new Sims after that occurred.

2. Do vampires have disguises like aliens do?  Is there a way for us to tell which ones are vampires in disguise?

[Playalot]

Vampires can't break in on an un-loaded lot so if you are out with your family then nothing will happen on your home lot as it is inactive. Vampires don't have disguises as such. They have a dark form which is what you'll see before they bit your sims (mostly) although they can feed in their normal form. You can tell which sim is a vampire by watching their autonomous animations. They will occasionally hiss and sort of crunch their fingers with their hands held in front of their chest/face in a sort of 'claw' action.

Also you are aware that vampires can't actually kill your sims or convert your sims into vampires autonomously, right? Their bite really does nothing apart from make them sleep for a little/like when a sim passes out from exhaustion, and gives them a negative moodlet that you can remove with a moodlet solver or a few baths in the most expensive bath. 

[coolsim9999999]

That's great to hear, Play!  Thanks so much for explaining it to me.

I didn't think that vampires could kill Sims, but I thought that if a Sim were bitten, that that would begin the transformation process.

I don't want to convert my Sims to vampires, but do Sims have to go to a vampire's lot to get turned, for example?

I know, you and a lot of other players like vampires, but I just bought the pack for the build/buy stuff .

[Playalot]

Played sims have to ask to be turned. Game generated or unplayed vampires do occasionally ask your sim over to their house with a phone call and a message that says something like, "Vampires name wonders if your sims name would like to come over. He has something important to ask." (Or something similar I forget the exact message now.) Your sim can go over and visit and then just refuse when the vampire offers the gift of 'eternal life'. Or if they want to become a vampire they can accept it. The vampire then bites them and then your sim drinks from their wrist and the transformation starts.

So played sims and NPC sims can not be turned into vampires unless they are being played and the player wants them to become one.

The other way to become a vampire is just to talk to one in the neighborhood or ask them over and then ask them to turn your sim into a vampire.

It's fine coolsims, some people like fantasy/supernatural elements in games and some don't. I am an absolute baby when it comes to real-life horror, can't watch even a trailer without getting nightmares for weeks after.  I also buy packs for the build/buy items. I bought the bowling pack just for the items. Have taken my sims bowling once and I was so bored I nearly chewed my arm off! lol

[coolsim9999999]

Thanks for your very thorough explanation, Play! I feel a lot better now .  Last night was the first time that happened in my game, and I had no idea what to do.

I can't do horror movies in real life either.  I only have my Sims bowl when I've gone through the other activities or vacations/big outings like a weekend in the city or camping or seeing relatives.  My Sims have generic lots to sleep at in the city, so they can stay overnight for free.

[Nindigo]

Hey guys,

I would like to add something regarding vampires breaking in. In my experience, the vampire is not actually breaking into your home lot, but the one you are currently on. Every time I get the message, there is a vampire sneaking (spooky walking) around where my Sims are - such as they do when breaking in. It also makes more sense as the home lot, as pointed out, is inactive while you and your Sims are away. I also think that the feature is bugged or just not fully adjusted for the release since vampires should only be breaking into residential lots and not public, open places where everybody sees them. Usually, they just end up chatting and the "break in" ends.

Vampires in the game don't really do much if you leave them and their gameplay be. They are mostly there for people to explore and try out things with when controlled. If you assign the 'private lot' trait and hang garlic stuff around the entrance to your Sim home, you will scarcely notice their existence. I have never seen unplayed vampires do anything vampiric but move around using bat or mist form, and puke if they eat normal food. They don't feed on Sims autonomously while out and about. If you check out household management and the 'currently not in the world' section, you will see that randomly generated vampires most often don't even have a dark form or fangs for that matter. They have been made to blend in as much as possible - very likely to accommodate those who don't care for their presence, only their stuff

Have a great day, both!

[coolsim9999999]

Now that I think about it, I saw a woman with a vampire hairdo at the bubble blower at the Spice Festival, so, I had my Sims avoid her.  I couldn't find her when the break in happened.  Maybe it occurred on the lot with that bar (I made it into a pool) in the Spice District right across from the festival space.  I wonder if that's what happened.  When my Sims returned to their home lot, nothing was out of place.  I think I have enough garlic stuff around, and I could add the private lot trait.  It's good to know that unplayed vamps just kind of roam around and not bite Sims.

Have a great day, too !

[Playalot]

I definitely think the game play for non-controlled vampires was retuned some time soon after the pack was released. Straight after release townie vamps would feed autonomously and this was a confirmed feature from (I think) SimGuruNinja however I have not seen that happen for months now. All my townie vamps do is complain about hunger constantly and yet never ever feed. I'm quite sad about that actually as I liked that feature a lot.

That breaking-in on community lots was a confirmed bug that was reported as fixed in a recent-ish patch but I've had it happen a few times in new games since then. You'll know it's happening as your sims won't be able to travel away and you'll get a message saying it is because a vampire is breaking in. Good to know.. lol 

Nindigo I've noticed that too about townie vamps not having a dark form etc in CAS, I think (stress think) it gets generated in-game after they are pushed to walk around Forgotten Hollow by the game. You can certainly force one to generate by having your own vampire sim challenge them to a spar but yeah, it's kinda weird that many (all?) are generated without a dark form.

[Nindigo]

Hi, Playalot. Yeah, I believe that generated vampires now serve a single purpose - to be used for sparring in order to level up the player's vampire and aid in completing the Master Vampire aspiration. I too am a fan of vampires (and other occults). EA probably toned their presence down in realizing that a lot of players don't actually appreciate anything related to them or feel they are inappropriate for children to be exposed to. Now they are merely teeth- and clawless predators who vomit in public as they try to eat normal food to fill themselves.

Oh, and coolsim9999999 - in case you don't know, vampires who break in do this solely to feed on Sims. They never steal or vandalize the home

[coolsim9999999]

Nindigo --- Oh good.  I looked through their 4 floor 2 basement house on Rippling Flats, and nothing was missing.  However, that house is packed with stuff.  I'm glad it's not like when the Repo Man comes in TS3.  That's only happened to me once, and I found all their stuff, but I've added to that home on 15 Summer Court, so, it would totally stink if  the Repo Man shows up again.

However, I do like the aliens in TS4 (but not the ones who do abductions, just the normal ones --- so we have a satellite dish to prevent abductions), and one of my Sims in my main Sullivan family is good friends with one. 

[Puppetmaster1]

Does an alarm system keep them out?  I always get one of those, and have never had a vampire break in.

[coolsim9999999]

We have an alarm over the stove and microwave in the kitchen, and the front door leads into the kitchen.  My Sims were out when the break-in occurred.

[Puppetmaster1]

Do you have the Fire Alarm or the Alarm System? I use the Alarm System.

[Playalot]

@coolsim9999999  the break in notification would have been about the lot your sims were on when it happened, not your home lot. Absolutely nothing can happen on any lot in The Sims 4 that is not loaded. i.e. not where you are actively playing your sims. The only lot that the game recognizes is the lot you are currently playing your sims on. All other lots are just code... and basically just simply do not exist until you travel and take your sims there.

The home lot is actually the lot you can build on and the surrounding area, the neighborhood. This is why you can see other sims jogging around and eating at the city food carts etc. When you go to any other lot within the same neighborhood means that your home lot has now stopped existing... until you travel back to it, even though you can 'see it' on your screen. Any lot you are not playing on is 100% inactive.

Also there are only fire alarms in the game, not alarm systems for break-ins etc. Two fire alarms one that is small, round and looks like a smoke alarm (Alertz Smoke Alarm), the other one is the larger, red and has auto sprinklers that pop down from the ceiling and assist to douse the fire (Fire Prevention System Utility Panel).

[coolsim9999999]

Oh, O.K. Play .  That makes a lot of sense, now!  I have TS3, as well, and I now, I remembered that we don't have a burglar alarm in TS4.  I do have the fire sprinklers, as well, but that's not the same thing.