I am making a sims-clone, as I’ve stated quite a few instances already. I am not slavishly re-creating any one of many video games (although I typically really feel like I’ve to at instances for sensible causes, on a aspect notice designing this factor I’ve really gained a deeper understanding as to why The Sims 2 labored the best way it did).

Presumably one of many greatest issues these video games have is that issues get boring upon getting all the pieces. If you begin off, you are enjoying totally grownup characters who do not have a single damned ability or something aside from sufficient cash to construct a starter home. Attending to the highest is sort of an effort. Nonetheless, when you’re there you are so swimming in money the entire thing turns into a joke. You even have all the most effective objects within the sport now too, and some other characters born throughout gameplay have virtually the equal of an grownup’s life span earlier than they turn out to be an grownup themselves. This mixed with all the most effective furnishings objects being already current for them means they’ll simply construct themselves up far quicker than the founding era can.

I’ve considered a number of methods to repair this, however I am unsure if they might be ample. Listed here are my concepts:

1. When you’re rich, there’s nothing that may deliver you down. Dwelling bills are trivial even at first of the sport. Even if you happen to made no cash in any respect, after the primary era dies you’ll be able to simply survive with out some other character making a single penny their total lives for a number of generations earlier than the funds the founders constructed up runs out. The answer to this could be to extend the price of dwelling. When you have a mansion, you are going to want a number of characters on the highest tier of their profession paths to pay the taxes on it. If somebody is not pulling their weight, everybody’s happening. The repoman goes to be taking your stuff, you are going to battle to purchase meals, your characters are going to be sad about not with the ability to purchase the stuff they need. So greater taxes, and perhaps greater meals prices. When you have the bottom wage potential, it is best to solely be capable to pay the taxes on a minimalistic shack that solely has the naked requirements. No fancy home, no costly objects. Not even sufficient to assist a household. You need to transfer up on the planet, you gotta be making extra.

2. As talked about, one other downside is the objects. Objects that assist construct expertise are available in over a dozen tiers, each being progressively higher at constructing a particular ability. As soon as these are all current, constructing expertise turns into trivial. Even then, upon getting all of the costly objects, your sims are by no means going to roll needs to purchase extra. The answer to this could be to make objects have a finite lifespan. These dinner chairs the founder purchased aren’t going to nonetheless be usable after 10 complete generations. At greatest, objects ought to give out by the point the grandchildren come of age, which means they at the least must construct again up themselves. Dearer objects ought to last more after all, however nothing lasts without end. This consists of objects comparable to profession rewards that are far more durable to get; until you could have a number of characters in the identical profession monitor, you are by no means going to get multiples of them.

3. Enhance the time to takes to construct expertise. As-is, you’ll be able to simply max all the abilities earlier than you develop previous even if you happen to begin as a full-grown grownup. One thing like that ought to take one’s total lifetime. Additionally, such a personality would in all probability have to remain out of labor so they might have sufficient time to construct up all these expertise. For practicality although, a completely grownup sim ought to nonetheless be capable to attain the highest of their profession earlier than their time comes, however after all that usually would not require one to max all the abilities and get each ‘energy’ within the sport. To repair grownup characters, some type of system ought to be implement to make them have expertise and friendships as if they really did have a life previous to the sport’s begin. Then the sport can simply be balanced with out making it not possible for pre-made adults to realize their desires.

4. Discourage wealth-building. Even if you happen to do need to simply lay again and stay off your inheritance, its laborious to do this. Sims have a characteristic referred to as ‘lifetime needs’, which is solely an final objective they need to obtain. Drawback is, its uncommon for this to not be ‘attain the highest of x profession’. Fortune sims specifically simply need to earn cash by any means potential. The actual curiosity is information sims. They’re speculated to need to study issues, however outdoors of ‘max all expertise’, all their potential lifetime needs are simply ‘attain high of x profession’. In reality, they’ve way more of those than even fortune sims do! For those who aren’t earning profits, its laborious to maintain your sims comfortable. Wealth would not purchase happiness; merely having a large home full of pricy stuff is not really going to do a lot on your sims’ moods until they actually wish to construct expertise. Even then, all expertise can solely be maxed as soon as, so as soon as that is finished it may be actually laborious to maintain a information sim comfortable. They only fall right into a cycle of eager to witness the paranormal, which isn’t a standard prevalence. Its okay for fortune sims to need to turn out to be a boss on a regular basis, however it should not be the norm for everybody else. Recognition sims ought to need jobs with brief hours to allow them to spend extra time socializing. Information sims ought to need this to allow them to spend extra time finding out. Household sims ought to need to keep dwelling and work together with their household. Romance sims ought to need the identical factor reputation sims do by way of jobs. Pleasure sims must also choose to social gathering than work. Everybody aside from the fortune sims should not be a workaholic. This nevertheless would require the addition of way more stuff to perform. Like I stated, information sims’ moods are likely to tank as soon as they’ve realized all the pieces just because they’ve finished all the pieces they may presumably need. There ought to be extra to study, and extra fascinating issues to do with all the abilities they bought. Perhaps I may additionally make it so characters aren’t going to be rolling lifetime needs that earn cash if they’ve so much. If they’ve so much, they are going to need to calm down and waste time with all of the costly stuff they’ve now. They bought cash, they should not be desirous about working. Solely fortune sims ought to need work on a regular basis, and solely they need to be rolling needs for promotions one after the opposite. Simply because they may nonetheless advance they should not usually focus round getting the abilities they should advance one other stage even when they clearly haven’t any use for the cash. If they need cash, it ought to be in an oblique approach comparable to wanting a greater telescope or one thing. For those who do not want more cash to do it, you should not be looking for extra wealth mainly.

5. Much less free cash. The sport is definitely fairly beneficiant with donations. When you have one of many later expansions put in, an npc will come to your home throughout the first few hours of gameplay and provide you with a extremely costly laptop. Many challenges really forbid you from promoting this merchandise. Getting promoted additionally offers you a ridiculous bonus; typically a number of instances that of your wage. Its really the primary purpose why sims can construct wealth so quick. Then there’s relationship. In case your sim has had a profitable date with somebody, there’s an opportunity they are going to come to your home and present you an extremely costly merchandise you’ll be able to simply promote to get a lift to funds equal to a promotion. Clearly, all such issues should be eliminated; if you happen to get a bonus, it ought to be for doing one thing intelligent at work. If you wish to save up cash, you are simply going to need to depend on not spending your wage. If you wish to accumulate wealth, you are actually going to need to work laborious for it; its not going to be handed to you.

In fact, on the finish of the day this all could solely delay the inevitable. Regardless of how laborious you make it to build up funds, ultimately it is best to be capable to turn out to be trillioinaires. For those who’re making even barely more cash than your taxes are consuming up, its nonetheless going to steadily accumulate. Objects breaking down would in all probability assist probably the most, since it can all the time be setting you again to sq. one. Actually although, such a factor might be annoying, particularly because you’re prone to have bought a bunch of stuff on the identical time, which means that in the future seemingly all the pieces in your home goes to fail, and when you’ve got plenty of objects and/or they’re simply costly you in all probability will not be capable to exchange all the pieces, presumably inflicting main issues for the household out of nowhere. Abilities are one other concern; how do you establish what expertise a pre-made grownup ought to have? Within the sims 2, you’ll be able to simply max all expertise earlier than maturity if you happen to attempt. Why then isn’t everybody totally expert? What can be the standard stage of ability for a mean grownup character? Ought to I place a cap on how excessive expertise can go earlier than the grownup stage (within the sims 2, toddlers can really max out 3 expertise fairly simply, significantly). That appears kinda heavy-handed although to simply say ‘you’ll be able to’t progress previous this level till you are an grownup’. Most expertise are tied to character traits; the character values have an effect on how briskly you’ll be able to stage expertise. Perhaps I may additionally use them to set a cap? For those who’re not an grownup but and also you solely have an outgoing rating of say 5, you should not be capable to increase your charisma previous that till you’ve got come of age. There simply would not appear to be a great answer although.

The issues inflicting this one downside are quite a few. All video games appear to endure from this; as soon as you’ve got bought all the pieces in Skyrim or Minecraft, the sport turns into boring. You’ll be able to’t presumably die, and you’ve got all the pieces you might ever must do no matter you need. There is not any approach so that you can fall again down when you’re on the high. Perhaps this downside is simply not possible to unravel?