#9
26th Jun 2022 at 10:57 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Elynda
I'm sure that somewhere along the line something must have got messed up with the attraction system. I recall when I first started playing (I had only the base game, Late Night and World Adventures) I found developing romantic relationships very difficult (yeah, just like my real life - enough said). But now my sims only have to walk into a room for the air to be thick with pink hearts flying in all directions. And I too have been experiencing some rather inappropriate behavior. It seems like a sim only has to get married and suddenly everybody and his Aunt Fanny finds them irresistible! And it often is Aunt Fanny, or whatever the name might be. I remember the difficulty Alison Fordyce had finding her perfect match, and after all the usual ups and downs, finally tying the matrimonial knot. And then, almost the day after the wedding, she got asked out on a date by her brother-in-law!
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The initial attraction system in TS3 was likely all A.I. based and subtle, I suspect hidden in the core of coding. Though this A.I. attraction system is still in effect, it easily gets overshadowed by the gimmicky attraction/reputation system introduced in Generations. It does take practice to distinguish between the two and yes the A.I. can and sometimes will use GEN's version to accomplish or communicate something to either another Sim or the player. Sims and relationships are very complex in TS3. Such as: Children get crushes, unreciprocated love, Sims having different wants/desires, Sims intentionally leading on another Sim with no intention of anything serious developing (Maneater/Player), revenge cheating, intentionally making a lover jealous or worry or mislead through actions and/or gossip, no longer in love but still chooses to stay in the relationship for whatever reason(s), etc. Since the GEN's new relationship system, it has made TS3 relationships a bit ridiculous and unrealistic and does not, like some features after the base game, work with the A.I. as some features are coded to be forced than come naturally from the A.I. to use in its repertoire. There's a bit of a clash. Though because it is an A.I. that is constantly learning, or so what I've observed in my game, it can use anything available to it's advantage and yes even mods.
All those examples I've experienced or still am in-game. Anyway, this is why in all Sims games from TS1-TS3 it is recommended to play with free will on because that is how the game is meant to be played and players get the most out of the A.I. Of course players are free to play as they wish but they'll never discover all the amazing things the A.I. can do and how much it can compliment this life simulation genre. Of course one also has to be good enough at reading people in real life which translates to Sims as well since it is an imitation of human-like thought patterns, behavior, etc.
Relationships in TS3 are still very difficult if one knows how to actually read the A.I. and not GEN's version of an attraction system. The way to get the most out of learning is to allow your Sims on high free-will to choose their own partner without intervention. For example, my personal rule that I sometimes break, lol, is my active Sim must autonomously choose romantic interactions. Then I am allowed to follow their lead but only with that particular Sim. The other Sim must return their affection and then if I control both parties, will direct them to flirt with each other. But not if she flirted in the morning but he flirted later in the evening. It has to match and be an instant response. Otherwise, it seems both parties aren't on the same page and need to work out their own wants/desires without me meddling. I don't count Sims accepting the flirt though I have seen animations of where they reject regardless of relationship status. So Sim A autonomously flirts with Sim B and Sim B accepts flirt and the rest of the animation is played out but afterwards Sim B autonomously chooses to initiate a flirt of their own. Which then allows me to know both are in agreement or at least for the time being. As just like humans are complex, so are Sims and the great thing about the A.I. is that it's always dynamic and never static. Which is something Richard Evans, TS3 A.I. designer, intentionally created the A.I. to be like that for the longevity of gameplay which lacks boredom. Or at least for those who are observant and interested in smart and ambitious A.I. in video games.
Almost everything your Sim autonomously does has meaning. Such as which romantic interaction they pick and choose, their thought/speech/dream bubbles, non-scripted facial expressions/body language, their behavior, their mannerisms and so on. For example there are times when I catch Sims being inappropriate, creepy, etc. It might be hard to see because of his blonde hair but his facial expression is one of being perturbed by the situation going on behind him. It looks like an uneasy nervous smile with his eyebrows raised coming to a downward slant.
The animation with the fist balled usually means being infuriated with another Sim or with the player. Like the player directs the Sim to do something they don't want to do being completely oblivious that Sims are not 100% puppets. Sometimes there will be a struggle between A.I. vs Human in these situations where the Sims A.I. will drop what you tell them to do out of the queue for a short time. I've had quite a few temper tantrums, Sims temporarily ignoring me or annoyed facial expressions from Sims looking directly at the camera/me. Though that has been around in some regard since TS1, lol. There's also a joke a relative and I have when I tell them how some TS3 players say when they leave their games running, they say their Sims are dying or dead or a fire happened or whatever chaotic thing. I proceed to say I can't relate because there have been plenty of times where I both intentionally and unintentionally left the game running and came back to my Sims just being their normal selves and taking care of themselves. Their motives are usually always in the green and they are fine without my intervention. So maybe the Sims A.I. notices the player inactivity and try to end their virtual lives because their player treats them poorly and/or doesn't understand and let them live their own life with co-directing in mind than dictatorship. Honestly, that wouldn't surprise me at all if that were true.
There's so much more Richard Evans wanted to include in the game like a lot more facial expressions/body language/animations but working with a game in 3D is already time consuming so not everything he envisioned could be put in. However, I'm still very much impressed that with what was able to make it into TS3 is still distinguishable enough for me to read their possible moods, thoughts, feelings, etc. I also find it fascinating how the A.I. uses the icons to express an idea, thought, feeling and so on to other Sims and the player to understand. Well, I understand some but not all, lol. I'm still learning how the A.I. is using the icons to communicate something.
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