Question about cheating

[ratchie]

This came up because I was watching the husband play the Sims. Now he always cheats whilst playing and I am fine with that so long as your enjoying yourself who cares right.
So he cheats to get a lot of money and builds his Sim a nice house complete with top of the range appliances,the most expensive and comfortable beds and everything a Sim could want to have fun.
Then he cheated and made needs static. Now call me crazy but what was the point of buying all of those things when the Sim won't need to use them.
I questioned the husband and he said it makes life easier.
So I thought alright I guess skill building is far easier when you don't have to pee or sleep(still not understanding why he needed to buy his Sim a bed or a dishwasher)
Next thing I know he has cheated to make his Sim the emperor of evil. Now this just confused me why cheat to get to the top of a career. With all needs static you could easily max athletics and logic and he could get a promotion every day no problem.

My question(finally) is there really any need to cheat that much and for those who do cheat if you could only choose one cheat which one would it be.

Rachel

[samoht04]

I would choose being able to Drag Relationships and Needs up, I often end up with that if I can cheat. 

[Metropolis Man]

A lot of newbies never develop the patience to learn that this game really is not that difficult. The beginning is always the ultimate test. Rachel, just have your husband do the following as a little test:

Create 2 Sims that are married;
Plop them down on a relatively inexpensive lot along with the most expensive bed;
Immediately put them to bed;
When they wake up have them Woo Hoo.

So, now they're both raring to go and have 2 key moodlets to begin their day — Well Rested and Having a Blast.

[Naga]

I remember back in The Sims 1, I cheated every time to get a gazibitrillion simoleons. In The Sims 2, I didn't cheat for money, but after I found the Tombstone of Life and Death, my game got a major twist and I couldn't play without it.

When I got The Sims 3, I thought "ok, this time, I'll do it for real, no cheating". I "completed" the game without cheats, and after doing pretty much everything I decided I had achieved what I wanted to in that save game, and proved to myself I could play without cheats, so after then I started using Make Needs Static, just to make things faster. Don't bother saying that I'm killing half of the fun of the game, because I don't cheat on other saved games, so I'm fine with it.

One thing is for sure: your husband will get bored of TS3 in a week. Cheating to get money, make needs static, and get the top-end level of a career, is pretty much cheating through the whole game. Wait a little longer and he will start using shift-click to teleport his sim around, instead of using cars or walking. The only thing you can do about it is try to explain it to him, and/or do as Metro said.

Last, but not least;

So I thought alright I guess skill building is far easier when you don't have to pee or sleep(still not understanding why he needed to buy his Sim a bed or a dishwasher)

You may still need the furniture even if your sims have their needs set to static, because when guests come over their needs won't be static. Also, who pees in a dishwasher?

[samoht04]

Oh and I want to point something out, when I play on Maxmotives I find it much harder to keep a happy Sim, they don't have all the moodlets, Nice Meal, Minty Breath, Well Rested etc. it is by far the better way to play without cheats. 

[Naga]

You can get well rested "permanently" if you make the needs static while your sim has the moodlet.

[Leto85]

My question(finally) is there really any need to cheat that much and for those who do cheat if you could only choose one cheat which one would it be.

Simple answer: No.

But... when I want to create a video in The Sims 3 I cheat a lot. Especially MakesNeedStatic with the combination of turning off autonomy.

[TheChronicR]

Cheats are especially useful when trying to (super)max out a career or a skill. Of course, I use only Make Needs Static, seldom Make Me Know Everyone, but I also like using FamilyFunds to give them millions, build a villa, and then put their account at 0$. Even with cheats, I tried to max all the skills and it's already week 14, I have still 2 of them left, and that WITHOUT Late Night. You judge. Cheats are fun (sometimes necessary, i.e. ResetSim) but it takes all the challenge out of the game. Play with cheats, get bored, then try playing without them. Want something more? Work for it! 

[samoht04]

You can get well rested "permanently" if you make the needs static while your sim has the moodlet.

I know. Even with it your sim isn't as happy as without the cheat though.

[TheChronicR]

Actually, my sim with that cheat turned on is all the time elated, of course, if the sim has the over-emotional trait, but even without it the mood bar is full. Still, I like dragging better, if I'm not busy giving her various commands.

[Gheez]

...
So he cheats to get a lot of money and builds his Sim a nice house complete with top of the range appliances,the most expensive and comfortable beds and everything a Sim could want to have fun.
Then he cheated and made needs static. Now call me crazy but what was the point of buying all of those things when the Sim won't need to use them...

Maybe his is satisfying his secret inner interior designer?     Also, playing that way he can use them if he wants to, it's his choice.  He doesn't have to stop what he is planning to do with his sims in order to keep them happy or clean or well-rested or whatever.  His house looks like a regular house.

I don't cheat very often.  If I do then it is only in a game where I'm trying out new things - and then only the money cheat - I used it recently to help me afford some of the places in Bridgeport and I've used it to try out the holiday destinations.  I've never used the other TS3 game playing cheats - though I have used some of the building cheats (moveobjects, etc.) - actually I've never reset a sim either.  I've either not played enough or have been very lucky.

[Hosfac]

This really boils down to a matter of personal preference.

Personally, I don't like using cheats in any game.  Part of the fun for me is the challenge, and if I eliminate part of the challenge I find I get bored with it rather quickly.  I got no issue with anyone who does use cheats, and if they can use them and still enjoy the game, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.  It just doesn't work for me.

There are some cheats that I do use under certain circumstances.  For example, the Castle Kit download from the Sims Store absolutely requires the "moveObjects on" cheat.  Also, to build apartment buildings, you need to use 3 different cheat codes.  And sometimes for the purposes of telling stories, I'll use cheat codes to achieve an effect I need.  None of this takes in to consideration the absolute necessity of the "resetSim" cheat, so if I had to pick one cheat, that would be it.

[Priyansh]

The cheating rate depends on what you want.

I cheat to make the game the way I want it. For example, I use cheats to place something that is not okay without using cheats, like curtains to cover the tub. I use cheats to make my sim rich, so that I can buy whatever I want. I use it to design my sim's home the way I want to.

I also use make needs static so that my sims doesn't have a house, just an office where clients meet.

But an uncommon thing about me is that I start to look for cheats even before I have started the game!

[Joh]

I have never used cheats in any other game, because, well, it's cheating. 

After playing Sims 3 for a year without cheats I have changed my opinion.  I use cheats for building, and 'family funds', again just for building.  Reset Sims became a must after my Sims got stuck in furniture, with no other way out.  And now I have recently done the unthinkable, and occasionally use make needs static, when I want to work on skills, I'm in a hurry, and just can't stand dealing with their potty trips, and other repetitive basic needs.  (Also when I'm afraid to send them to bed in case they get stuck in it).  I usually don't use make needs static until after something has already gone wrong in the game, and I don't use it every session with those characters.

I don't even really think of them as cheats (except as I'm typing in testing cheats enabled!) but as "fixes".

[Teresa]

My question(finally) is there really any need to cheat that much and for those who do cheat if you could only choose one cheat which one would it be.

My one and only cheat that I use the most (well once per game) is freerealestate to allow me to plop my family into a house of my choice.  I have played so many legacies and apocalypses and various other challenges that when I play for "fun" I don't want to struggle on the lawn or in a little house so will set up my family in a house appropriate to the size and needs of the family.

I don't use money cheats or mood cheats unless I am adventuring.  Then I have been known to turn on testingcheatsenabled in order to click off negative moodlets as they pop up.