Hi there! You are currently browsing as a guest. Why not create an account? Then you get less ads, can thank creators, post feedback, keep a list of your favourites, and more!
Forum Resident
Original Poster
#1 Old 14th Sep 2018 at 6:11 AM
Default This game never fails to amaze me.
I had another one of those small things that I probably get overly excited about happen in my game just now. So my current household has a dog. I've never seen her sleep anywhere but her dog house. Always. Even when I don't direct her she goes there anyway. Well, one of my Sims just now returned home. There was a thunderstorm going on. I check the bedroom of another Sim in the house because I couldn't find her outside. She was sleeping right in front of their bed. Not in some random spot in the room. Right in front of the bed. It's as if the storm scared her so she came inside and slept there to feel safe. I just love this game so much sometimes it hurts. Haha.

You have been chosen. They will come soon.
Advertisement
Test Subject
#2 Old 14th Sep 2018 at 8:38 PM
That is so adorable and wholesome. <3
Scholar
#4 Old 15th Sep 2018 at 5:23 AM
There was an alien on one of my lots one time. I was watching her wander about checking out stuff and playing with that 'tricorder' thingy they have, when suddenly she walked right over and glared out of the screen at me, as if to say "Why are you observing me human?" It was rather unnerving and for a moment I thought I was about to have a close encounter of the Sims 3 kind.

Legend is history as we would like it to be. We pick through the dusts of time for what is worth keeping and, here and there, we occasionally find treasure.

Simblr: Elyndaworld *** Wordpress: Tales of Nantrelor
Mad Poster
#5 Old 15th Sep 2018 at 12:00 PM
I'm pretty sure I've encountered an alien or two, but I don't ever recall them pulling a tricorder-type thingy out.

insert signature here
( Join my dumb Discord server if you're into the whole procrastination thing. But like, maybe tomorrow. )
Scholar
#6 Old 15th Sep 2018 at 1:35 PM Last edited by Elynda : 15th Sep 2018 at 3:18 PM.
Well, not exactly a tricorder, but whatever that round gadget they fiddle with is supposed to be. Maybe I should have asked her what it was.

Legend is history as we would like it to be. We pick through the dusts of time for what is worth keeping and, here and there, we occasionally find treasure.

Simblr: Elyndaworld *** Wordpress: Tales of Nantrelor
Trainee Moderator
staff: trainee moderator
#7 Old 15th Sep 2018 at 1:53 PM
Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
You ever just watch your sims and all of the sudden out of nowhere the sim turns around and stares right at you? Breaking the 4th wall?

Not sure if this would also be considered adorable or just plain creepy.


Oh wow, sims in sims 3 can actually look directly at the player's camera? I've only had it happen once, (on camera even), but I'm not too sure whether they were looking at an object behind me or not, but I think it's adorable

- When one gets inspired by the other, the one inspires another - Anything is Possible.

You can view some of my WIPs and other stuff for TS3 on my Twitter here ---> https://twitter.com/SweetSavanita
Instructor
#8 Old 15th Sep 2018 at 2:51 PM
Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
You ever just watch your sims and all of the sudden out of nowhere the sim turns around and stares right at you? Breaking the 4th wall?

Not sure if this would also be considered adorable or just plain creepy.


Are you playing Mr. Roper from Three's Company??

Forum Resident
#9 Old 15th Sep 2018 at 3:34 PM
Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
You ever just watch your sims and all of the sudden out of nowhere the sim turns around and stares right at you? Breaking the 4th wall?

Not sure if this would also be considered adorable or just plain creepy.


It's not often but I sometimes catch my Sims doing that.


I've also seen some Sims starting to seriously ponder about something. Interesting to note, I found this and wonder if the AI programmers coded even more human behaviors I haven't noticed yet? https://www.simplybodylanguage.com/...y-language.html
Field Researcher
#10 Old 17th Sep 2018 at 9:43 PM
I had a zombie rise in my garden, who then pulled out a laptop and sat playing video games on my lawn. Not sure if you can really report the undead to the police for broadband theft!

.:: B2SIMS.com ::.
Mad Poster
#11 Old 18th Sep 2018 at 4:45 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Brunnis-2
I had a zombie rise in my garden, who then pulled out a laptop and sat playing video games on my lawn. Not sure if you can really report the undead to the police for broadband theft!

Sure you can. In the real world we can really report anything we want to the police. Just like we can actually sue anyone we want for anything and we can request funds from a Uni Admin Bldg every day and twice on Sunday. Whether any of these things actually accomplishes anything useful other than fines levied for wasting everyone's time might be another story.

But I bet if your sim calls the local telecom or ISP to report a zombie computer on the premises, they'll send someone right over to check it out.
Field Researcher
#12 Old 18th Sep 2018 at 10:31 AM
Quote: Originally posted by igazor
Sure you can. In the real world we can really report anything we want to the police. Just like we can actually sue anyone we want for anything and we can request funds from a Uni Admin Bldg every day and twice on Sunday. Whether any of these things actually accomplishes anything useful other than fines levied for wasting everyone's time might be another story.

But I bet if your sim calls the local telecom or ISP to report a zombie computer on the premises, they'll send someone right over to check it out.


I'll keep that in mind I had another two zombies stood arguing out the back of my house on one occasion. I swear my sim's life is starting to mirror my own.

.:: B2SIMS.com ::.
Lab Assistant
#13 Old 18th Sep 2018 at 3:47 PM
This game never ceases to amaze me, but for entirely different reasons. Sometimes this game should not be allowed to name npcs.
Screenshots

Thanks, I hate it.
Mad Poster
#15 Old 11th Oct 2018 at 11:48 PM
Quote: Originally posted by nitromon
tell me there's some algorithm preprogrammed for them to do this.

There's some algorithm preprogrammed for them to do this.

Actually, I don't really know that. But it has been remarked upon here before that sometimes, not always, some sims will seek to have their meal close to those they like in order to be sociable and it appears to override the usual push to sit in a chair at a table surface.
Forum Resident
#17 Old 12th Oct 2018 at 9:27 PM
Anything relating to the A.I. would be a man by the name of Richard Evans I think. EA/The Sims Studio hired him to create the A.I. in The Sims 3. From what I understand based on my observations of the A.I. in TS3, is that he did an absolutely stunning job bringing life to the Sims themselves. I personally would have loved to see what was the other 20% that didn't make it into TS3. I find him to be one of those geniuses who is nothing less of amazing at what he does and if there ever was going to be a life simulator to push the limits and surpass TS3, I would love if he was the head of the A.I. He's the reason why the Sims are so dynamic, rememberable and even relatable.
http://aigamedev.com/open/editorial...awards-results/
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/101245...nalities-in-The

I also want to say while I do find it's true that the quality did start going downhill with TS3, it wasn't at a level that crossed the line to the point it made the whole game suffer because of it. TS3 is definitely the most ambitious of any life simulator that ever was created that I know of and all the people who worked on the game still kept some kind of level for quality overall. I wish they cared more, I wish they did more but the end product is still something I wholeheartedly love and enjoy. I at least can be happy and content with what excellence TS3 did bring to the franchise before it veered completely off in an unwanted direction.

I've also noticed my Sims will choose to sit where those who are close to them are. The same with homework, the same sometimes where a pet might choose to sleep or who to follow, etc. The toddler, Nakuru will use the baby monitor to get attention from his mom or dad even though his social is all in the green. Sims with Love the Outdoors trait will usually choose to eat outside. Maybe Sims who are athletic will purposely take the longest route just for extra steps. I don't know about that last one but point is there are a lot of human behaviors being imitated. It is true that each and every Sim is unique. I've even tested giving two Sims the same exact traits and skills who are fraternal brothers and both of them have their own personalities, their own wants, their own paths, etc. I don't need to know about A.I. to recognize the talent and skills that goes into it just by observation alone.
Mad Poster
#18 Old 13th Oct 2018 at 12:42 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Deshong
Anything relating to the A.I. would be a man by the name of Richard Evans I think. EA/The Sims Studio hired him to create the A.I. in The Sims 3. From what I understand based on my observations of the A.I. in TS3, is that he did an absolutely stunning job bringing life to the Sims themselves. I personally would have loved to see what was the other 20% that didn't make it into TS3. I find him to be one of those geniuses who is nothing less of amazing at what he does and if there ever was going to be a life simulator to push the limits and surpass TS3, I would love if he was the head of the A.I. He's the reason why the Sims are so dynamic, rememberable and even relatable.
http://aigamedev.com/open/editorial...awards-results/
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/101245...nalities-in-The

What would you say would be some holes/shortcomings in the Sims 3 AI? I think one of them is a lack of a long-term memory system, a system for scheduling meals appropriately (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and a lack of an aspiration self-actualization system for active sims- it feels that sims are sort of 'living in the moment' without any sort of plans or schedules (beyond their job).

The tuning for needs attraction is also a bit off, so sims seem to tend to neglect their needs- I wish there was a way of buffing the pull factors for sim-self care.

I haven't really seen them do anything too remarkable, but I don't follow my sims intimately.
Forum Resident
#19 Old 13th Oct 2018 at 4:21 AM
Quote: Originally posted by jje1000
What would you say would be some holes/shortcomings in the Sims 3 AI? I think one of them is a lack of a long-term memory system, a system for scheduling meals appropriately (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and a lack of an aspiration self-actualization system for active sims- it feels that sims are sort of 'living in the moment' without any sort of plans or schedules (beyond their job).

The tuning for needs attraction is also a bit off, so sims seem to tend to neglect their needs- I wish there was a way of buffing the pull factors for sim-self care.

I haven't really seen them do anything too remarkable, but I don't follow my sims intimately.


I think the A.I. in TS3 is top notch though outdated to what it could probably do with today's technology. Though I would have to say the routing has always been the weakest element in all Sims games. And I'm sure there's a lot of nuances I'm not remembering at the moment that could have been better. A long-term memory system? Sims have that already or so I have observed it. Even moving Sims to a brand new save they remember their past and this is implemented into the base game/game engine and has nothing to do with Generation's version of memories. I'm not sure what you mean by scheduling meals. I wake my Sims up and have them cook breakfast usually for everyone, the same for lunch and dinner. Or are you referring to setting a Sim to cook automatically during certain times of the day?

It would have been nice to have Sims in the active household that the player wasn't controlling to have more freedom such as go out, meet with friends, etc. Even the active Sim too. Though, I have witnessed rare instances where that has happened if I remember correctly. Not sure for the active Sim though. For something like that another option to free-will like Super High Free-Will would make sense. I think the reason for how it is is because it is a game to play and not just watch though I love doing both. The A.I. is always entertaining to see what it will do without intervention.

Usually my Sims do well to take care of themselves. I'm also at a loss when some say they left their game running to come back to a disaster. I've done that before on high free-will for hours on purpose and they all were doing fine. Though, I'm sure there are many scenarios to set up for Sims to fail the 'I can take care of myself' test. Not to mention, the weaker the CPU, etc the results will vary and doesn't necessarily mean it's a fault of the game.

Sims do all kinds of remarkable things if you so choose to pay attention to the events and progress of relationships in their lives while delving deep into the psyche of the A.I. It is a life simulator and it's purpose is to imitate life. There's unrequited love, there's hidden motives, there's bullying, there's revenge, there's grudges, there's sibling rivalry, there's secrets to discover that happens off-screen, etc.
Scholar
#20 Old 13th Oct 2018 at 9:10 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Deshong

Usually my Sims do well to take care of themselves. I'm also at a loss when some say they left their game running to come back to a disaster. I've done that before on high free-will for hours on purpose and they all were doing fine. Though, I'm sure there are many scenarios to set up for Sims to fail the 'I can take care of myself' test. Not to mention, the weaker the CPU, etc the results will vary and doesn't necessarily mean it's a fault of the game.



I think traits affect that. If a Sim has positive or neutral traits then things are ok if you leave them. Negative ones like Grumpy, Diva, Evil, Mean spirited, Flirty, Hopeless Romantic are the ones that causes problems when free will is active. Also if you have stoves that are not fireproof, fires will start. Otherwise Sims behave fine on High Free Will.

If you like my mods. Consider supporting me on Patreon
Check out my website for updates on my mods and other work PuddingFace.wixsite.com
Check out my Youtube channel for tutorials(modding tutorials) and other content Youtube

Follow me on Twitter Instagram Pinterest Tumblr
Mad Poster
#21 Old 13th Oct 2018 at 1:11 PM Last edited by jje1000 : 13th Oct 2018 at 7:24 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by Deshong
I think the A.I. in TS3 is top notch though outdated to what it could probably do with today's technology. Though I would have to say the routing has always been the weakest element in all Sims games. And I'm sure there's a lot of nuances I'm not remembering at the moment that could have been better. A long-term memory system? Sims have that already or so I have observed it. Even moving Sims to a brand new save they remember their past and this is implemented into the base game/game engine and has nothing to do with Generation's version of memories. I'm not sure what you mean by scheduling meals. I wake my Sims up and have them cook breakfast usually for everyone, the same for lunch and dinner. Or are you referring to setting a Sim to cook automatically during certain times of the day?

Routing is surprisingly one of the issues I haven't seen- there are two routing systems used in TS3, 1.) World routing, which can be resolved via careful world creation and routing fixes (see ellacharmed's fixed worlds), and 2.) Lot routing, which can be resolved via better lot creation (more stairs, doors, rabbithole fixes, open pathways) and removing the routing failure animations (prevent sims from bunching up). Of course, tightly packed rooms aren't really possible in TS3, but it's a relatively minor sacrifice to have when playing by the game's rules. Experimentally, there are some solutions in removing the sim tag in routing in TSRW or reducing the footprint of objects.

As for memories, what things do they remember beyond family relationships and skills? The strongest memory I had of TS2's memory system was when a robber stole a violin, and a few days later, my sim went and looked at the empty spot while thinking of the violin. I've always thought that whatever unique things Sims 3 sims did was based on their personality traits activating at random times.

And for scheduling meals, it would be nice if they would remember to autonomously have breakfast, lunch and dinner at regular times, along with things like autonomously sleeping at regular hours- I remember that my sims would be cooking and sleeping even if it was midnight and they had a family and a job. Really wonder if there were a way to utilize the alarm clock and create several 'push' factors to make sims do those sorts of things.

Quote: Originally posted by Deshong
It would have been nice to have Sims in the active household that the player wasn't controlling to have more freedom such as go out, meet with friends, etc. Even the active Sim too. Though, I have witnessed rare instances where that has happened if I remember correctly. Not sure for the active Sim though. For something like that another option to free-will like Super High Free-Will would make sense. I think the reason for how it is is because it is a game to play and not just watch though I love doing both. The A.I. is always entertaining to see what it will do without intervention.

If I remember correctly, I don't think there's any 'push' factor for active sims to go off their home lots on their own beyond work- I had to use Arsil's Leaving Home Ain't Easy (http://www.modthesims.info/showthre...068#post4755068) to get that working (and tweaked the numbers for additional realism).
Forum Resident
#22 Old 14th Oct 2018 at 6:19 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Deshong
Usually my Sims do well to take care of themselves. I'm also at a loss when some say they left their game running to come back to a disaster. I've done that before on high free-will for hours on purpose and they all were doing fine. Though, I'm sure there are many scenarios to set up for Sims to fail the 'I can take care of myself' test. Not to mention, the weaker the CPU, etc the results will vary and doesn't necessarily mean it's a fault of the game.
Quote: Originally posted by PuddingFace
I think traits affect that. If a Sim has positive or neutral traits then things are ok if you leave them. Negative ones like Grumpy, Diva, Evil, Mean spirited, Flirty, Hopeless Romantic are the ones that causes problems when free will is active. Also if you have stoves that are not fireproof, fires will start. Otherwise Sims behave fine on High Free Will.


It's possible for traits to affect that but I wouldn't suspect that is the only factor in play when the A.I. can freely decide what to do on its own for whatever reason rational or not without any input as long as free-will is enabled but preferably high free-will. Since when are humans always rational anyway? I do have Sims with the traits grumpy, diva, flirty, hopeless romantic, absent-minded, neurotic, etc and I haven't noticed any difference in the way they take care of themselves compared to other Sims but it could be something to it just not something I observed. It's all the same for the most part but there are times when any Sim will choose to ignore their motive(s) until the last moment for various reasons. For example, if a Sim wanted to get to know someone but they were hungry they might intentionally push aside that motive to chat a little longer.

Quote: Originally posted by jje1000
Routing is surprisingly one of the issues I haven't seen- there are two routing systems used in TS3, 1.) World routing, which can be resolved via careful world creation and routing fixes (see ellacharmed's fixed worlds), and 2.) Lot routing, which can be resolved via better lot creation (more stairs, doors, rabbithole fixes, open pathways) and removing the routing failure animations (prevent sims from bunching up). Of course, tightly packed rooms aren't really possible in TS3, but it's a relatively minor sacrifice to have when playing by the game's rules. Experimentally, there are some solutions in removing the sim tag in routing in TSRW or reducing the footprint of objects.

As for memories, what things do they remember beyond family relationships and skills? The strongest memory I had of TS2's memory system was when a robber stole a violin, and a few days later, my sim went and looked at the empty spot while thinking of the violin. I've always thought that whatever unique things Sims 3 sims did was based on their personality traits activating at random times.

And for scheduling meals, it would be nice if they would remember to autonomously have breakfast, lunch and dinner at regular times, along with things like autonomously sleeping at regular hours- I remember that my sims would be cooking and sleeping even if it was midnight and they had a family and a job. Really wonder if there were a way to utilize the alarm clock and create several 'push' factors to make sims do those sorts of things.


If I remember correctly, I don't think there's any 'push' factor for active sims to go off their home lots on their own beyond work- I had to use Arsil's Leaving Home Ain't Easy (http://www.modthesims.info/showthre...068#post4755068) to get that working (and tweaked the numbers for additional realism).


It's not uncommon to want Sims to have smarter footpathing especially when there are up to 8 Sims allowed in one household and many more on community lots/venues. Especially, when there's a lot of space and room but I would love if they also focused on improving how Sims move around each other and their environment even in small cramped places without going through objects or Sims. Or at least minimally if need be. Routing is not bad in TS3 whereas the majority of it comes from bad design of a world and/or lot but I wish it were a lot better. Also, in terms of telling multiple Sims to grab leftovers out of the refrigerator at the same time.

I mentioned some of things that Sims will remember above. When Sims have a history together whether good, bad or both, they will remember that. This is not a feature of the UI but the A.I. So those who are perceptive of stuff like that will easily pick up on it when they remember or document their Sims lives. It helps when learning why Sims respond or act the way they do and may explain any changes in relationships which players would not see on the UI because it doesn't exist except in terms of stranger, friend, good friend, romantic interest, enemy, etc. But the A.I. goes beyond that and I've even noticed the two can conflict. Regardless, of being old friends or even best friends doesn't actually mean those Sims feel that way in all cases. You will know by how Sims act around each other, wishes (though some wishes can be contradictory unless you know the difference between the game throwing wishes out there from the Sim's A.I.), their thought, speech and dream icons.

One example in my game I had a NPC babysitter who became the romantic interest of one of my Sims during the rabbit hole prom event. Then I had them go steady and all kinds of things started revealing more about these Sims A.I. If you want to read about it in more detail it's here. https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/di...0/my-s3-game/p2
Lab Assistant
#23 Old 15th Oct 2018 at 6:45 PM
There are so many little things I've observed that seem to mirror real life, and I don't know if they are just coincidence or actually coded somehow. One of my sims had this word she'd always say randomly when walking about by herself, or when cooking, and I kept taking note of it because it was so frequent. Five generations down the line, a descendant of her suddenly starts using the exact same word in the exact same way. It spooked me a bit; the first sim was long gone and I hadn't really observed this since.
Recently, twins arrived and the parents immediately went favourite child on the second one. All of the wishes, all of the interactions, focussed almost entirely on the one baby. When they did roll something for the other one, it was about sending her to boarding school. So there was no history to begin with, and they were best friends with both babies. Has anyone else ever seen this happen?

omnis mundi creatura
Mad Poster
#24 Old 15th Oct 2018 at 10:03 PM
Quote: Originally posted by kin.gyo1413
Recently, twins arrived and the parents immediately went favourite child on the second one. All of the wishes, all of the interactions, focussed almost entirely on the one baby. When they did roll something for the other one, it was about sending her to boarding school. So there was no history to begin with, and they were best friends with both babies. Has anyone else ever seen this happen?

I've had something like this happen on one of three triplets. It puzzled me at the time, but it was such an overly large household still full of loving older siblings back then that it really didn't make much difference and no one was going to get sent (by me) to boarding school. He knew he was the third of three, probably not expected, and just dealt with it.

I've never seen that happen in smaller households, such as two parents and two twins only. That would certainly feel...strange.
Mad Poster
#25 Old 16th Oct 2018 at 12:11 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Deshong
I mentioned some of things that Sims will remember above. When Sims have a history together whether good, bad or both, they will remember that. This is not a feature of the UI but the A.I. So those who are perceptive of stuff like that will easily pick up on it when they remember or document their Sims lives. It helps when learning why Sims respond or act the way they do and may explain any changes in relationships which players would not see on the UI because it doesn't exist except in terms of stranger, friend, good friend, romantic interest, enemy, etc. But the A.I. goes beyond that and I've even noticed the two can conflict. Regardless, of being old friends or even best friends doesn't actually mean those Sims feel that way in all cases. You will know by how Sims act around each other, wishes (though some wishes can be contradictory unless you know the difference between the game throwing wishes out there from the Sim's A.I.), their thought, speech and dream icons.


Very interesting- I kind of do wish this was conveyed a bit more beyond text bubbles and pop-ups (maybe via the UI?)- it's very easy to miss this sort of thing if you're doing some hopping between a bunch of sims.
Page 1 of 2
Back to top