Bad traits from bad care

[The Illuminator]

Do the bad traits some other townfolk you do not control stem from bad care? After a few generations the other people in town, except my legacy family, get bad traits when growing up. Is it possible that this is because of not being potty trained, never learning to walk, never learning to talk or not doing homework? I almost never see someone in town with good traits after 1 generation.

The same problem: Other people in town almost never improve their skills and never get promotions. (I saw people with lv 3 cooking when being elders and elders who still have the job of bed pan cleaner)

It looks like the non-controled people don't properly take care of theirselves. Has anyone else noticed this before?

[Pam]

Yes, I've noticed this.  Although, with the traits thing, it may be random because even when you don't take good care of your own children, the traits they get are random.  It just happens that there are plenty of what some people consider to be "bad" traits.

[jmz95]

Think of it this way, some people just plain suck at their job, but not enough to be fired. Others are just lazy and never try hard enough to get better at cooking or painting. Do you really want a town where everyone has basically the same "good" traits? In my opinion, that would make the game extremely boring.

[samoht04]

Well if they get bad traits from not taking care of their needs, then they still won't take care of them when they are adults with jobs...

[LivvieLove]

I happen to have a question similar to this topic so I decided to not make a different topic all together, how exactly can you make your Sims have bad traits? For some reason, its very hard (especially during pregnancy) to make your Sim have a bad pregnancy. Anyone know a sure-fire way that can give you a bad pregnancy? I know for children you just don't do homework, same for teens, and for toddlers you don't teach them their skills, but for pregnancies I just can't tell.

[Pam]

You can always just roll the dice for traits when you're given the option to choose them.  There's a dice icon in the upper left corner of the traits window.  When you're not allowed to choose traits, the game just randomly picks them for you.  Using the dice will do the same thing.  But if you really just want to have a bad pregnancy, the best thing is to not allow the mother to get enough sleep.  Make her needs go red and keep them there as much as you can.  I've had a few bad pregnancies because she already had so many kids to take care of and she didn't get to eat and sleep on schedule.

[LivvieLove]

Oh I see, well honestly mine was just out of curiosity, because I have never once had a bad pregnancy, though I've heard people trying to get them for another type of legacy challenge where they needed a "bad apple", and this made me curious as to how someone might do such a thing to end up with a bad pregnancy. Thank you for explaining, however I like picking my traits, I always plan ahead for the futures of my Sim children, and picking traits is always a plus when you already know what you're going for career/lifetime wish wise.

[Pam]

I'm currently playing my 2nd legacy family under Pinstar's rules and I'm not allowed to pick any traits except the family trait (which is Family Oriented).  It definitely makes it a different game when the traits are random.  I'm also doing the matriarchy, so the heir always has to be female.  I also want the heir to have the red hair and turquoise eyes of the founder.  Unfortunately, the only one in the second generation that fit the bill is also evil and a klepto!  I repress those tendencies in her, though. 

[LivvieLove]

Haha, well that should make for a very interesting generation after that one. Let's just hope a want to kill her children doesn't arise.

[Pam]

I hope not!  But she's best friends with her ghost mother. 

[LivvieLove]

Well that's good. I'm assuming she will want to take a career down the Criminal path?

[Swede1992]

And this conversation is a perfect example as to how plainly unrealistic Sims games can become...

[Pam]

Well that's good. I'm assuming she will want to take a career down the Criminal path?

She's the second generation heir with a LTW of Surrounded by Family, so she doesn't have time for a career. 

[blulightin5]

And this conversation is a perfect example as to how plainly unrealistic Sims games can become...

Too true, too true.

[TylerDurden]

Think of it this way, some people just plain suck at their job, but not enough to be fired. Others are just lazy and never try hard enough to get better at cooking or painting. Do you really want a town where everyone has basically the same "good" traits? In my opinion, that would make the game extremely boring.

I still think it was funny when one of my immortal sims kids became dad's supervisor for his policeman job.  I just wish that once you surpass your supervisor on the corporate ladder, they would replace them with someone else, or make YOU the supervisor.  It'd be kinda cool to see all the townspeople who call you boss.

I am usually quite alarmed at the malcontents and misfits in town though.  I still remember one family that I played that when I moved out the "Good girl daughter" to be married, the mom very quickly had illegitimate twins with NO "good" traits...  Every trait on the kids was a negative one.  I can only imagine that the distraught mother, having lost her "good daughter" to that high falootin' guy from across the street went out and got knocked up out of despair and pretty much ignored her kids who grew up to be misfits.

Considering how easy it is to get random traits though, I can't see many autonomous NPC parents being able to tend to the kids well enough for them to get all positive traits.