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Mad Poster
Original Poster
#1 Old 12th May 2010 at 6:40 PM
Default What makes an outing good?
There are times when my Sim is invited on an outing, and it's scored. I always wind up with it being so-so.

How do I make an outing great? I have no problem having my Sims have at least good dates, but outings--I'm missing something.
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Scholar
#2 Old 12th May 2010 at 7:49 PM
This is something I'm trying to improve on myself at the moment. I used to just not accept any outings but I'm trying to conquer this now. Seems to me that they kind of work a bit like parties. That is if you interact in a positive manner with everyone in the outing you should at least get a "good" score. If you end up on an outing with say 6 or 7 other Sims you can also ask some of them to leave the group without it being negative. Much easier to handle a smaller group of around 4 or so.

I've been playing around using the influence options which is of course a crap shoot as it can get you negative results. The Sims on the outing show up low on "social", "fun" and hunger, also like a party, so if you choose a destination where there is a fun group activity and a dining option that is key.

I work on the social and fun first (the smustle is great for this) and usually buy more time by getting the scores up. Then have my Sim either cook or get seated for food, the eating portion always takes a long time so you want to make sure you have 3 or more minutes available before you eat. If eating at a restaurant you don't get the score boost until you pay the server, just like a date, so if your running out of time cut the meal short.

Other than making new friends the prizes for good to great outings are not as high as a date either. If you actually make friends with one of the Sims on the outing that's a big point boost as well. If you have "introduce" options those are also good to use to make sure everyone on the outing knows each other. I haven't found an action that gives you a huge boost like some of the dating options do. If anyone knows of those I would also be interested.
Theorist
#3 Old 12th May 2010 at 8:46 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Clashfan
The Sims on the outing show up low on "social", "fun" and hunger, also like a party, so if you choose a destination where there is a fun group activity and a dining option that is key.

Wow that's something I never knew, thanx.

Quote:
Other than making new friends the prizes for good to great outings are not as high as a date either.

I don't know about you, but for dates my sims get only roses. For outings they get amazing presents, they can get presents even if it wasn't a great outing.

Quote:
If you actually make friends with one of the Sims on the outing that's a big point boost as well.

Making best friends is a huge boost, too!
Scholar
#4 Old 12th May 2010 at 9:14 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Babahara
I don't know about you, but for dates my sims get only roses. For outings they get amazing presents, they can get presents even if it wasn't a great outing.
Making best friends is a huge boost, too!


Usually the 2nd date is where you get the big presents. If you have a dream date then that Sim will call you the next day around 6pm or so and ask you out again. This is the bonus round, as I like to call it, if you have another dream date you get the roses and some other big prize.

I use this little feature to pad my teen Sims funds in University. Just stick the item in inventory and then sell it off full price at a later date. They've gotten the karoke machine, hot tubs, the ming vase, the expensive fountain ect.

The highest priced prize I've gotten from an outing was a pinball machine.
Theorist
#5 Old 12th May 2010 at 10:48 PM
Clashfan, I got the ming vase for an outing a couple of times. Among other objects were expensive TVs, DJ booths.

Could you please describe in more detail how getting the dating presents works? As far as I understand, it works any time you get invited to a date. If you make an invitation on your own, then you can't get anything. Is that right?
Inventor
#6 Old 13th May 2010 at 12:50 AM
I'm not so bothered about the group outing scorings as much as scoring well on parties or dates. Also I have to say I've become a bit lazy when it comes to doing social interactions in order to get scores up and let "Macrotastics" do the work. (You can get that mod from MATY - it's awesome! hehe)

Basically with Macrotastics you click your sim, click "Socialize friends" and then just sit back and watch them run around like a mad person initiating all the interactions until they've reached max friendship level with all the people on the outing. With people who are not yet friends, you have to work on them individually, but again you can just click that person, select "Socialize...friendly" (or romantic!) and that will get the relationship level up really fast to the point where they will probably become friends.

Other than that, other things you can do to get the outing score high: sitting in a hot tub (the lazy way!); dancing smustle; playing pool; ensuring that if you're dining out with them that you order the correct food for each person (their chosen food will show up in their thought bubbles). I have to say though that the highest scores (eg: where you get someone saying something like "Wow! That was rockin! - let's do it again soon!") is if your sim woohoos pretty much the entire group! hehe
Scholar
#7 Old 13th May 2010 at 2:41 AM Last edited by Clashfan : 13th May 2010 at 2:45 AM. Reason: Typo
Quote: Originally posted by Babahara
Clashfan, I got the ming vase for an outing a couple of times. Among other objects were expensive TVs, DJ booths.

Could you please describe in more detail how getting the dating presents works? As far as I understand, it works any time you get invited to a date. If you make an invitation on your own, then you can't get anything. Is that right?


That is pretty much it as far as I can tell. You only get the roses if you invite them out. However unlike outings they will not randomly call you for a date it is only the day after you have invited them. Can also be the same day depending on the timing, the call always happens around 6 to 7pm.

No limit to the number of gifts you can get as long as you keep up the same dating routine and always accept their invites.

As for the outing presents I don't think I've ever hit the "rockin" level when my Sim as been invited on one. This is more than likely the reason I've only seen lower end gifts. I have gotten quite a few skill points from them though.

I also have "macrotastics" and it is useful but sometimes I like to take the wheel myself, it's called being a control freak. :D
Test Subject
#8 Old 30th Jul 2011 at 11:54 AM
Wow, thanks. I've just recently started accepting Outings invites ad keep getting So-So to maybe fun (usually if I chat up one sim, guess I need to start talking with all of them.)

Quote: Originally posted by Clashfan
You only get the roses if you invite them out.


I've gotten gifts from being the one to invite them. Nothing that expensive, the high end telescope and a rug, but both times my sim had been the one to issue the invite on the date.
Theorist
#9 Old 30th Jul 2011 at 12:39 PM
Well, now I'd say that the best way to do outings is to use "what do you want?" interaction to fulfill sims' wants. It gives the biggets boost, just like on a date. If not possible and there are no sims with whom that interaction is available, make a new friend among them to get that interaction and ask about wants. Rinse and repeat. Making friends gives a boost of its own, and best friends a bigger boost. It helps to have influence so that if you bump into a stupid want like "talk to X" you could fulfill it by influencing a sim to talk to X.

Most of the time I do an outing with this strategy it ends up rocking. But it helps greatly that other sims always chat with each other, too, while I'm trying to fulfill wants.

Having higher chemistry helps by making the outcome of the socials give a bigger boost, too, so if you know you've got good chemistry with some sim, focus on that sim. I once had an outing with only one person invited and it hit the rocking status pretty soon without even want fulfilling per se, the relationship boosts from non-romantic socials were so huge it was incredible to see.
Mad Poster
#10 Old 30th Jul 2011 at 1:08 PM
When dining out, save time - order "Chef's Choice" and everybody gets what they want without having to order for each one individually.

I never get up much beyond fun level on outings, probably because invitations almost always come from strangers. The most common time to get them is when you've dated someone to platinum and one of their friends calls you up to go out. When dating a playable, this is often a family member (you're getting vetted!) and I get my best results schmoozing the family member who invited me; your date may also be on this outing, which is a bonus. When dating a townie, you get a bunch of apparently random townies. Since romance and pleasure sims looking to boost their numbers are the ones most likely to date a townie, and I regard them as waste social interactions otherwise, I don't worry about the score much and use the outing to assess the chemistry ratings and vet prospective additional dates.

One thing I've wondered about - the person who invited you appears in the relationship panel blued out, and as the outing progresses the blue decays in pie segments. After the outing, the blue remains plastered over the picture for a long time. What is that about and what information is it giving me? The rate of decay doesn't seem to be related directly to anything I do or to the outing meter.

Most of my outings are with social groups and are "just for fun." They probably could get to rockin' level, but I want to hold them because I want the people in the social group to build and maintain their relationships, and I'd rather not have the time pressure and the reward thing distracting me. They hang out because they like each other. They should be relaxed about it.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
Scholar
#11 Old 30th Jul 2011 at 4:21 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Peni Griffin
One thing I've wondered about - the person who invited you appears in the relationship panel blued out, and as the outing progresses the blue decays in pie segments. After the outing, the blue remains plastered over the picture for a long time. What is that about and what information is it giving me? The rate of decay doesn't seem to be related directly to anything I do or to the outing meter.


That is a time meter, basically you have a relationship boost with that Sim during the time that the panel is blue. Even if you don't accept the outing you still get the boost, it should make it easier to develop into friends since you have more interactions open to you.

Rate of decay has nothing to do with the outing itself, I think it's similar to the rate of decay for the "furious" state.

I've only seen this boost happen after a good date when one of your dates friends or relatives call you for an outing. I don't think you get it from the random social Sims inviting you out.
Alchemist
#12 Old 30th Jul 2011 at 5:15 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Babahara

Could you please describe in more detail how getting the dating presents works? As far as I understand, it works any time you get invited to a date. If you make an invitation on your own, then you can't get anything. Is that right?
My sim just invited someone on a date yesterday and after it was over, his date came back and dropped off one of those spinning exercise globe things.
Theorist
#13 Old 30th Jul 2011 at 6:56 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Peni Griffin
One thing I've wondered about - the person who invited you appears in the relationship panel blued out, and as the outing progresses the blue decays in pie segments. After the outing, the blue remains plastered over the picture for a long time. What is that about and what information is it giving me? The rate of decay doesn't seem to be related directly to anything I do or to the outing meter.

I'm pretty sure that the blue remains static during my outings, I never noticed it decay so rapidly. It boosts your gains from socials with that sim. And if you decline their initial offer, it enables you to invite them over successfully later, even though you're not friends yet.
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