There is very little automatous fighting and arguing inThe Sims 4. This is because only a few Sims are pre-programmed to dislike, despise, or be true enemies with each other. While tensions are written into family bios, most EA made Sims are friends, acquaintances, or strangers. In pastThe Simstitles, there were heated rivals, jilted lovers, and all sorts of scheming around town. Reinstating this drama would increase interactions with these households or encourage playing as them.
While there isn’t much friction in a normalTS4game, youcan increase the realism with mods. Some of these leave Sims as enemies, but others might kill them off prematurely. Several of the mods also require your direct interaction and don’t function with just AI. This does require a bit more work, but can result in extra drama. If you are satisfied with your world state, consider maintaining a backup save for the future.
Enemies Were Rampant In TS2 And TS3
Fights And Arguments Were Common
One ofTS2’s base game neighborhoods was Veronaville, modeled after the Shakespearean taleRomeo & Juliet. The Monty and Capp families have been at each other’s throats for years. The two patriarchs, Patrizio Monty and Consort Capp, yearned for the affection of the same woman, Contessa. She ultimately chose Consort,forging an unmendable rift between the now former friends.
Nearly every Monty and Capp beginsTS2as enemies, save forthe teen generation of Romeo Monty and Juliette Capp, who are madly in love. Romeo fully wants to broker peace between both families. Juliette is mostly on board, though she still hates Romeo’s aunt Bianca.
The Sims 4 Is Missing What Made Past Sims Console Games Great
The Sims 4 is missing a feature that made the previous games much better, and it’s a great feature that The Sims 3 doesn’t even have that players love
Meanwhile, the neighborhood ofPleasantview acts as a direct sequel toTS1. It spotlights four of the main families for the first title - the Goths, Newbies, Pleasants, and the Burbs. Cassandra Goth has just become engaged tonotorious playboy Don Lothario. This sparks negative reactions from his other lovers, twin sisters Dina and Nina Caliente, and makes him enemies with Darren Dreamer, who pines for Cassandra.
Across town, teen twins Angela and Lilith Pleasant are complete opposites and hateful rivals. Angela has begun dating Dustin Broke, the troubled grandson of the Newbies, and her father, Daniel Pleasant, is furious. Lilith is also dating Dirk Dreamer, son of Darren, but Daniel hasn’t even met him.
While all of this is happening, NPCs also have their own drama inTS2. Default maid Kaylynn Langerak hasstarted affairs with both Don Lothario and Daniel Pleasant. It is only a matter of time before this all explodes into mass fights, accusations, and even divorce.
Drama is also a big part offamilies inThe Sims 3. The Alto family of Sunset Valley is suspected to be criminals; after all, they are a direct spoof ofThe Sopranos. Their new money has made them enemies with their old money neighbors across the street, Nancy and Geoffrey Landgraab. The kids are too young to get caught in the drama, with Holly Alto and Malcom Landgraab being acquaintances.
10 Harsh Realities Of Playing The Sims 4 A Decade After Release
The Sims 4 turned 10 this year, and although there has been a lot to love over the last decade, there have also been some major frustrations.
There are also still in-family enemies and dislikes around Sunset Valley. Single father Iqbal Alvi is having a rough time raising his two sons, teen VJ and child Miraj. Iqbal and VJ easily butt heads, and may wind up autonomously slapping and fighting in public venues ofThe Sims 3.
The Reason NPC Relationships Aren’t As Important In TS4
Nothing But Strangers Everywhere
The close nit relationships inTS2andTS3were almost by necessity.The Sims 2neighborhoods were fully self-contained and needed to have as much excitement on their own. InTS3, it was possible to move, but it was glitchy and would result in losing connections or having your own clone when moving back.
But, inThe Sims 4, worlds are all interconnected. You can easily saunter between Willow Creek, Tartosa, Del Sol Valley, and StrangerVille all in the same day. This also applies to NPC Sims,who can go anywhere and adapt features from any pack. You might find a young adult fromTS4: Realm of Magiclike Tomax Collete going to Foxbury Institute toearn a Mortician degree.
With so many cross-pack interactions, preexisting relationships of any type don’t matter. Most Sims are going to encountercomplete strangers who aren’t from their home world. Who cares aboutJohnny Zest being disowned by Nancy Landgraabif they are unlikely to interact in public? Why put so much focus on Copper Dale residents if the students are just made up of every teen inTS4? Even with premade enemies, they just may never come into contact.
Patches And Packs Can Rearrange Relationships
It’s Not Too Late To Hate
EA has released update patches and pack refreshes that have updated many features inThe Sims 4. This might be a solution to add in more dramatic storylines without requiring player interaction. After all, just because two Sims have a low probability of automatically meeting doesn’t make it impossible.
Several expansions have added systems that can somewhat facilitate rivalries. Clubs fromTS4: Get Togethercan cause strangers to meet via shared interests. This does tend to lead to friendship, but enemies can result based on traits. Thefamily dynamic featureofThe Sims 4: Growing Togethercan be set toggled to “difficult”, but only for Sims with a direct connection. Finally,TS4: Lovestruckadds a few disliked and enemy Sims to the world of Ciudad Enamorada, though it isn’t nearly enough.
But, a lack of premade enemies is still a glaring omission from past expansions. YouTuberJazSimsnoted how much more boring the Pleasant twins were inTS4: Discover University. The sisters also didn’t know Dustin Broke and Dirk Dreamer, as they are from a different expansion,TS4: Get Famous. That does lead to a question if cross-world relationships could ever be possible, namely for the base game worlds of Willow Creek and Oasis Springs.
As it stands now, premade Sims are lifeless dolls inThe Sims 4. They might interact with objects, eat, and sleep but are just going through the same routine with everyone. Unless a set of traits openly conflicts, there is unlikely to be any generated enemies. But, even those are random interactions,with no form of commonality between saves or players. What made Don Lothario and the Caliente sisters stand out wasn’t just what they were capable of doing, but the reliability to shake-up Pleasntview in every single game.
