The Subtleties of "Invite Over"

[CSquared2]

Does anyone know the inner workings of the Invite Over action?  90% of the time when I want a sim to invite someone over, I just want them to hang out, i.e. promote a restaurant, have a pillow fight, use a certain greeting.  Sometimes I let them hang out, sometimes I send them right home.  Most of the time I do not want to be held responsible for that sim having fun so the "outing" goes well.  Sometimes I invite someone over and it doesn't become an outing, and sometimes it does, even if it's just between two sims and taking place at home.  I haven't been able to make heads or tails of when which happens so I can control the situation.  Anyone have any input?

[MoMoll]

I've only used the "invite over" for romantic interests I don't want being gossiped about (since my sim is already in a relationship).
Hoxever, I have in the past invited female friends, and after

edit: Cat attack!   I have invited female friends of my female sim and after a few interactions , asked them to leave.

Often it becomes an outing with the opposite sex. That's a way to avoid "Public" dates when our a celeb.

[CSquared2]

I have a same-sex couple.  I've seen a simple invite over become an outing for both men and women.  I've also seen it not happen with both men and women.  When all their friends are A-list celebrities, I kind of want to keep everyone happy, you know?

Do you think it might have to do with celebrity status?  Steven invited over Tom Woody and Lola Belle, four- and five-star celebrities, respectively.  Both automatically were outings, though I can't say for sure that happened every time with Tom.  On the other hand, Steven invited over Buster Round, and Barnabas invited over Delicia Hoover, neither of whom is a celebrity, and neither invite turned into an outing.  Is that just a coincidence?

[MoMoll]

I think it's a coincidence, because not everyone I invite over turns into an outing. Ane not everyone I invite shows up! Had a romantic interest say "sure, in a little while", and after 2 hours no show; so she went to a dance club and picked up someone else to bring home.

[xFezIsAFreakx]

I think it's a coincidence, because not everyone I invite over turns into an outing. Ane not everyone I invite shows up! Had a romantic interest say "sure, in a little while", and after 2 hours no show; so she went to a dance club and picked up someone else to bring home.

Fair enough.

I hate the randomness of the outings. We should be able to choose whether it is an outing or not! And when you click on the little spinning blue plumbob by the sims's avatar and click 'end outing' (I think it's that) and cut the outing short, it ends up being called a 'bad outing' because of the luck of things they did, etc! So, so annoying! I only ever invite sims over for opportunities or wishes which, with eight sims in the house, sure come up a lot.

[MoMoll]

I agree about the outings. I also don't group up too much because by the time you get somewhere one will say "someone here has issues" and bum out the outing.

[xFezIsAFreakx]

That has never happened to me. I know about the randomness of outings when it is in a sims' home but it is always an outing (in my game anyway) if my sims happen to be outside at the park or wherever.

[CSquared2]

I wish there were some way to control the outings, too.  My sims have things to do, only a small fraction of which involve entertaining that snobby brat Lola Belle.     I'd be happy enough to let the guests on an "outing" wander around the house and entertain themselves, but the chances they'll set up their keyboards in front of the fridge in a house that's already rather small is just way too high.

[MoMoll]

I agree CSquared that Lola is a brat. She came over to see my sim and asked her to move in with her (they are best friends). When my sim said no they were only good friends. She never stops playing instruments.

[xFezIsAFreakx]

It can't be to do with celebrity status: It is also random for me and I don't have Late Night.

[MoMoll]

I'm sorry Fez that you don't have Late Night. If you ever get the chance in the future, be sure to get it.
I think it's celebrity status and charisma and she is a 5 star celebrity. She has completed the charisma skill and when people look at her they become friends, then if she talks to them and compliments them they immediately become best friends. It can be annoying though, because her phone never stops ringing and people show up for no reason (to gain celebrity points I guess).
My clubs are never empty, because if she wants privacy I send her to a non Hot Spot, and people show up just to ask for her autograph. She's bypassed her SuperStar husband on the number of autographs, etc. and she's a self-employed painter.

[xFezIsAFreakx]

I've resolved to get Late Night after I complete my legacy.

[CSquared2]

I had another unintended "outing" at home today.  I let them jam together for a couple hours and Tom Wordy seemed happy when he left, so that's one activity at least that will pump up the outing rating and keep everyone pleased.

[MoMoll]

I just give them all nectar and they leave happy. Party hardy!

[Hosfac]

I have noticed this as well.  It seems that the game will make most invitations to come to the house an outing.  This is possibly done so that sim has access to the house without the need for your sim to greet them.  It's handy when you're preparing dinner for them, but annoying any other time.

A way to prevent an invite from becoming an outing is to greet them before they ring the doorbell.  Simply watch for the other sim to arrive, and then pause the game and cue up a "Greet" interaction.  When you unpause, the cued interaction will interrupt their "Ring Bell" interaction.  Your sim will go to invite them inside without forming a group.