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This is just info I've learned over time or from other simmers, figured I'd toss this up since it'd probably be useful to someone at some point. Who was it that said, "There's a simmer born every minute"...? Hm.
This is nowhere near everything either, since I'd only had The Sims and Hot Date for the longest time...got everything else now, so there's LOTS to be done yet.
- When creating a sim, give them at least four Active points or they'll take forever getting out of bed. Also, start them as a child and click "OK," then go back to edit them and choose their appearance etc. This will start them off with random skill points.
- Get their skills up as soon as possible; the more skill points they have, the better their results when using objects that give skill points (they can crank out gnomes with the LL Woodworking Bench for example, and sell them for more). Meals are more fulfilling, sims can fix things around the house themselves, and playing the piano is more entertaining to other sims. Don't let them near a stove or lightbulb without at least two Cooking or Mechanical points.
- Click on stuffe! Might find something....
- Keep a table near the front door, so there's a place to put the mail and gifts.
- Make the bathroom fairly large, with at least two doors. Helps prevent "traffic jams."
- Place burglar alarms on the outside, not inside. Put them on the corners closest to the lot entry points (watch where the papergirl and visitors enter and exit), so the burglar is more likely to pass them before reaching a door and the police will arrive before he swipes something.
- And place fire alarms near stoves and fireplaces, to summon the fire department instantly if there's a fire.
- If you only have The Sims, Livin' Large/Livin' It Up, and/or House Party, you can click on the active sim to hurry them along, or other sims to slow them down (like the burglar). Doesn't work in Hot Date or up, and may not work with a Deluxe edition.
- Make rooms big, with lots of space around furniture and lots of windows and lights.
- Conversely, sims also like small and simple layouts, like the Newbie house. Everything's within just a few steps – or go overboard, and put a gajillion of everything in every room. They seem to like that too. [insert patient sigh here]
- Place things in logical order, like the fridge next to the food processor, next to the stove, close to an empty counter for placing served meals. Sims will like the layout better.
- Use different kinds of flooring to acheive "fake rugs." They won't care much, but it still looks cool.
- Learn when certain interactions are more likely to be successful, and which ones tend to just be annoying...like, in Hot Date, nobody seems to like that dang puppet, and overall most sims will accept a friendly hug before they'll accept an intimate hug. Also note which Personality points affect the interactions and objects used – sims who are more shy or serious may not appreciate big sloppy kisses or vegging at the TV.
- Pay attention to their mood bars and their cones! Green is good, red is not. Keep everything green (apparently many people don't do this).
- Get them to bed early enough to be up early in the morning, so they can fill up their mood bars before going to work. Don't rely on the alarm all the time, it doesn't get them up soon enough. Queueing up an activity will usually keep them from sleeping in too.
- Two sims are better than one; keeps the social bar up, and helps with the chores and bills.
- Kids can make family friends too – if their grades are really good, they don't have much else to do except chores anyway, so let them do a lot of socializing.
- While on a date or hanging out with another sim in Hot Date, invite them to a two- or three-course meal. Their relationship will usually be very high by the end of the meal, without you having to do much. If they need jammies or a swimsuit, buy them some for more of a relationship boost.
- When throwing a party with House Party, have lots of doors to the bathroom with several toilet stalls (or temporary "rooms" built around the toilets). Let the sim with high cooking points serve some meals to replace the buffet table, and don't bother with hiring cake dancers or any other activity that allows for jealous sims (like dancing to the radio).
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latest update: Oct.23.05
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