What can the Sims learn or adopt from Sim City?

[matrix54]

I've often wondered how far they can really push the Life Simulator genre. The only real life Simulator there is is "The Sims". How can the two be combined into one big life simulator.

I began playing Sims City 4 for the first a few days ago - I love it. I little too much. One of the first things I noticed is a shift in wealth of a town as it developes. While the Sims already has an economic system (not a very good one), I've been wondering what that could do for them game.

An example is jobs. While the Sims 3 doesn't require you to have all the rabbit hole jobs available (which should be a series standard), it's a nice to have the options weighed, and paid for. If a Sim living in a rural area, more urban jobs (like a spa) shouldn't be readily available, therefore, a Sim would either have to leave the hood to get there, If the town is connected, like in the Sims 2, on top of a long commute to work. More readily available in a rural area would be farming or markets. Which would pay less, but have longer work hours. Should the economy of the area grow, the towns funds would increase, allowing the player to, maybe, place a small outcropping of town (maybe a strip mall of sorts) to make more options available to Sims to entertain themselves, like shopping centers and restaurants without having to leave the world, or purchase entertainment themselves. All of this can be contrasted to a city which would be thriving and bustling, with a variety of local shops and venues to visit, but has a lot of crime, litter and air pollution. A player could possibly plop down some sanitation regions, or whatever in the area of town to help aid this situation (should the city be able to support it). All resources should vary in quality and be reflected in the Sims themselves.

This would come with financial shifts - should the town be filled with Sims of a lower economic standards, an influx of more Sims of roughly the same class would move in. Sims with a raise in pay could opt to leave. Should there be a lack of housing, the player would be required to plop down more to satisfy the needs of the town. Should the town be poorer, the player would needs to use shacks, lower quality apartments and what not. Should the town prosper, mansions and town houses would be needed. The player could place whichever (and the CC community build these up, for variety and ease) in town, but Sims who can't afford it wont live there, and if the town, or a Sim can't afford to build it, it wont be "constructed".

I have a bunch of different ideas about having the town actually effect living conditions, and having things bounce of of each other (like they do in Sim City), but i'd like to hear other opinions on the two having a baby and making an actual life simulator.

Comments? Ideas? :report:

[crocobaura]

How would this be incorporated with the themed EPs of the sims? So far they've been giving us businesses, leisure activities, vacations, seasons separately, and a game as you suggest would require most of these things be incorporated from the beginning. I'd love to be able to grow and develop my own world but if it's all going to be random activities like in TS3, I'm not sure I will enjoy it much. Every sim and his skills should count in such a set-up, and this will allow the player to develop a neighborhood as complex as he can handle.

[olomaya]

I would LOVE to have an integrated and dynamic economy that feeds off our Sims' careers and businesses (if we ever get them, maybe in TS4). I feel like this would be the next step for TS4 in pushing the open world so that the actions of a single or a few Sims will have ramifications for the entire world/neighborhood. I would love to see different buffs, features and options depending on socioeconomic status as well as area of residence. Increased burglaries in poor areas with longer response time for police, better schools in rich areas, city-wide strikes of certain services that provide different challenges for your Sims, the position of mayor really having an effect on the town, wildfires that jump from house to house (giving you enough time to evacuate and fireproof your home, of course), etc. I think there's so much potential and of course, there would be a lot of options and customization so you can make it as difficult as you want for poor and middle-class Sims and take as much control as you like over how the city evolves but something like this would be great.

I've always wanted the to merge The Sims and Sim City and thought Simsville was going to be it but alas, that never came to fruition.

[matrix54]

Well, I guess like Any other series (and I bit like Sim City) We would have to star off small. A player could jump into any preset world, constructed and ready, with little to no input from the player, as always with a fresh town. Like a base game should, if should give the player what they need and some fun extras to keep them coming back.

Like in sim city, if there is no power, most of the town wouldn't work effectively, from an electrical standpoint. This would be the first building block in a towns types and structure - would it be a modern town or a traditional, almost Amish kind of town. Should there be no electrical or power source, things like a tv or radio wouldn't work. To keep the focus away from the "City Simulator", there shouldn't be a monthly cost to upkeep the Power source (because it's the Sims, not Sim City), but more a less a bulk payment. Maybe after a while, the games take away some sort of payment for utilites or maybe it taxes Sims, who knows.

Should a town have a power source, it's best to select what kind - another choice given to the player, and as different types of EPs are added on different types of power sources are added (should the need arise). Like Green technology, for examples. A series of wind turbines (enough to power a town) would generate clean electricity and lower pollution, but a giant power generator would power a city, but pollute the air, and Sims would get sick more often. Of course, additions of certain content would only be available, depending on what in the base game, or EPs. Maybe Nuclear Power Plants would come with a pack that adds zombies to the game. If a town doesn't run on power, Sims would live simpler lives

Another is taking away water sources, or like having to use a lake/ocean for plumbing. A like is fine (although realistically, it would dry up). Should there be no water source, certain decorations can't be used like fountains, and sinks and tubs wouldn't work. Of course there's the issue of plumbing, but, like above, it's not Sim CIty. As long as water exists in the world, and it's not an ocean, Sims should be happy. That or have a water Tower in town, or Pump in town. I don't know if a larger city would come with the base game (it certainly shouldn't), but in whatever EP that would be, the options would be readily available in town to support the needs of the city, like a larger pump or a waste management. (I've always wanted to see garbage trucks in town, but that seems excessive).

Further down the line, things would need to be take care of like education, or health for example. I know Sims needs hospitals, but that would require a degree of some sort to be a doctor there. That can be added to an EP or something (or have a college rabbit hole available). Education would be shifted depending on what the town can afford at the time, and their needs. A really bad school, and decent school (with busses) and a really good school. Other things things, like private schools, would come later. Should a Sim attend a bad school, it would limit work, and make a Sim prone to certain behavior (should their traits allow it), like crime. The better the school, the better the opportunities, because currently, a Sim can be a doctor by just walking in the door. That's not a good representation of like, even for a game.

There the question of EP and what they's add. Well, I guess EA would need to have a trim the game down (a bit) to accommodate a variety of features from past EPs into the base game. Remove the fat it keep the game to what it needs from other EPs and have the game be effected by that. Like fishing for example. In game, when a certain object exists on the lot, certain event happen, but what if certain event happen in the world. Is a Nuclear facility exists in the world (or near a body a water) either the fish would die, or become radioactive, and Sims would get sick very easily. Same with crops. Everything should play off of everything else. In comes that player choice mechanic that the Sims is so fond of. If EPs were available, on top of the tradition content added (like a nightclub for example, which would add cities to the game) would come new world contents that affects the Sims in town. Let's say the town can now afford a marina (which isn't a requirement, but would come in a pack based on leisure or travel), the player could add it to the town, and the town would get a shift in tourism (of course, affected by desirably of the town - here comes that pollution thing) and would the player not only a place to take the family, but an influx of tourists, on top of the player being able to construct one themselves, which is basically a few new items (in Sims fashion) on a traditional in game lot; the lot itself drawing in a certain number of tourists. Should the town be loaded with attractions, the town would have an increased desirability.

Of course, should player ignore town factors and just play the game in preset would, that's just fine and dandy. The world can shift around them (should they ever fix the games story progression) and the player would notice (of course), but they don't have to actively engage in it, and they can live in the town with it's conditions. Should they want to change it, the most they'd have to do is remove the problem, and wait for the game to generate economy to replace the existing problem.

[Ive]

Very interesting. Apart from everything already said, the only thing I can think of that could easily be implemented now is tax.

It could be cool if they somehow could combine SC and TS, or have the two game interact in the future (obviously with some size parameters). Sort of like the SC4 maps being useable in TS2, but with all the added interactions.

Don't really know how that all would work but one can hope :)

[matrix54]

Taxes would be good and bad. Maybe they could 'fake' taxes so that Sims still earn money, but they get a certain percentage of the money added to the city, but the Sims money is never subtracted (since players would probably complain about it being too real). I do think it's all possible, but the Sims (as a game) would need to be toned down (think the Life Stories) to incorporate it into the series.

The closest game to having resources effect related resources is Castaway Stories, because you need water + electrical sources for thing to work. It fit nice and snug into the series, and if they expanded that, I do believe the player pool of the Sims would grow, and bleed into the 'Simulation Gamers' crowd without alienating the fan base, since the simulation is being expanded, not trimmed down.

[crocobaura]

Sims do pay taxes with their bills. Maybe that money could be collected in a separate city fund which the player could use to advance the city, research new technologies that will benefit the city or the sims in some way. I love your ideas, especially the one about the tourist town. I can already see sims building hotels and landmarks all over the place.

[Splatedpumpkin]

As a neighbourhood control freak, all of these ideas sounds awesome. I love the idea that your sims would help improve and contribute to the town, although I think you would have to have two modes, because a lot of people will just want to play without having anything like that affect things.

[matrix54]

^They could probably just switch it off. I know I certainly wouldn't mind having the town be a little more dynamic, instead being open, yet bare. Even small changes.

For example, let's say EA saw this, and wanted to test it out in the Sims 3.Many of the towns have decorative radio towers + satellite dishes - it would add radio stations, not take any away. It doesn't nothing else but benefit the player, and all they;d have to do is have one in town, without even paying for it.

The ideas mainly come about because some players so want to create themed towns, but can't because of the world dynamics. EA doesn't always realize that the game is more than just "little people in homes", It can do much more, and still retain the core "little people in homes".