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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 18th Jul 2012 at 2:49 AM
Default The Sims Complete Collection difficulties
Is the sims complete collection more difficult than the sims base game? I just install it and found that the sims complete collection is very difficult. For example, I can't even make my spouse from CAS become friends. I can't manage their mood in the sims complete collection while I manage their mood easily in base game. is it just me or anyone feel the same too?
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Field Researcher
#2 Old 18th Jul 2012 at 3:21 AM
It is the same difficulty level in the CC as it is in the BG.. The only difference game play wise, is the addition of the added features from the seven Expansion Packs.

We all have to look for answers somewhere. Some in big ol' books, others in big ol' bottles of whiskey.

— Kimberly Irion as Bonnie MacFarlane in Red Dead Redemption (2010)
Mad Poster
#3 Old 18th Jul 2012 at 4:15 AM
I would guess that you are doing something different with this set of Sims that is making it more difficult. As DuskTrooper said, the expansions did not change the difficulty level of the game. Don't forget that different personalities respond differently to objects and situations in the game.

There were families I've had where one member just never seemed to fit in with the others or were never happy. Often times, that Sim had a higher need for something (play or social, for example) that the others didn't. Also, if their interests didn't match up, it was harder to build friendships.

At the beginning of the game there is so much to do just to meet basic needs and earn enough to make life more comfortable that it's hard to find time to work on relationships and interests, etc... I've noticed that what you do in the first day of play can make a huge difference as well. When I have a couple, the first thing I do is have them talk and flirt until they have a solid relationship. That way they can share a bed which saves money and gives greater rest value than the cheap single ones. Then one of the Sims studies cooking and the other mechanical until they've earned a couple of points. Later I'll have them switch and learn the other skill, but getting those first two is important. After they've done that, then I will let them look for work. Very often, if they do greet those first neighbors, I don't let them stay because they still need to study and work on their own relationship.

Addicted to The Sims since 2000.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#4 Old 18th Jul 2012 at 4:42 AM
yeah. i think the reason I have hard time in building relationship are
1. Their interests
2. I can't make them do same social interaction repeatedly like in BG
3. They need very good mood (3 green bars or more) to accept the social interaction

are signs now affect in relationship too? the husband is aquarius while the wife is virgo.
Mad Poster
#5 Old 18th Jul 2012 at 5:56 AM
Yes; Chemistry came in with Hot Date, I believe, and the star signs work about the same in Sims1 as in Sims2. Star sign is the only factor in Sims1 chemistry of which I am aware, although common interests makes it easier to hold conversations. You can do an Aquarius/Virgo match, but it's harder. The best match for an Aquarius is Capricorn; for Virgo, Libra, Gemini, and Sagittarius work best. As I recall, Virgoes were a bear to build relationships with, probably because they're the shyest sims.

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.)
Mad Poster
#6 Old 18th Jul 2012 at 6:12 AM
You can have them repeat talk over and over until they are friends. You do have to be careful about some of the more romantic interactions. They get touchy about the kinds of kisses and flirting they will accept if they aren't in the right mood or if the action has been repeated too much.

The interest thing does play a factor in building relationships. I used to love crazy big families with six kids in them. Occasionally, I'd get a kid who just hated everyone in his family and it was the interests that caused that. Interests can be changed by reading magazines. Just be aware that as you fill up interest points in one area, they may lessen in another area, so you may have to go back to tweak it.

Sun signs have always been the deciding factor in The Sims since the base game. As Peni pointed out, Virgos are a tough sign for compatibility in The Sims (not in real life). According to the Prima guide, Virgo is attracted to Aquarius or Sagittarius, but Aquarius is repelled by Virgo. Sagittarius is neither repelled nor attracted to Virgo. So, yes, you can have a Virgo/Aquarius match, but it is going to be an uphill adventure with the brakes on all the way. Maybe one of them could find a new mate? Create a neighbor and move one of them in. They'll get over the break up quickly. Sims in the original game are so much more fickle than in the Sims 2. Here, scroll down until you find the compatibility chart for Sims 1 & 2

Addicted to The Sims since 2000.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#7 Old 18th Jul 2012 at 6:37 AM Last edited by revit : 18th Jul 2012 at 7:06 AM.
Thanks so much for telling me about chemistry. i thought the sims 1 doesn't have chemistry. I guess i must remake the family. (btw is it safe to delete family in sims 1?)

Aquarius and Virgo are my favorite signs. since Aquarius is balanced (Cancer is balanced too, but I prefer Aquarius than Cancer) and Virgo is beautiful sign for me. Neat and shy. My dream girl :p

EDIT: I have made Aquarius/Capricorn couple. They are very easy to become couple. I guess making family friend will be harder than before because of chemistry, right?
Mad Poster
#8 Old 18th Jul 2012 at 7:33 AM
It's safe to delete Sims in the Sims 1. Aquarius/Capricorn are very compatible. I don't think there will be problems for friendships, but I guess you'll see more as you play. I also like Aquarius/Cancer, Cancer/Virgo, Cancer/Pisces, and Pisces/Gemini. Cancer is really easy to get along with.

I once created a house based on the board of a Clue game. I put the characters into play and didn't tell them what to do so much. For some weird reason, everyone fell in love with Mrs. White. She was a Cancer.

Addicted to The Sims since 2000.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#9 Old 18th Jul 2012 at 8:02 AM
I just noticed that the relationship decays faster than before. It is more difficult to maintain so many friends with that decay rate.

I tried to make friends in community lot and it's hard. i guess their mood is not good in community lot. I should invite them home to raise their mood and build the relationship.

btw. I wonder if we should make stupid/random question about sims 1. that will be fun.
Lab Assistant
#10 Old 18th Jul 2012 at 8:36 AM
On communty lots it's easy to have a new friend - just invite them for dinner, the most expensive one with 3 dishes, while talking their relationship will increase quite highly without effort.

I really don't think so that it's harder, you just have much more things to do. In base game you concentrated on your sim's needs, friends and work. Now you can travel, buy new things, plant some carrots etc - it takes more time and needs decay "faster".
Mad Poster
#11 Old 18th Jul 2012 at 8:48 AM
I agree with IzzyBess about the advantages of taking a friend to dinner. Be warned: If the friendship is already high, the friend may interpret the invitation as a romantic gesture and will develop a crush. A wonderful fellow simmer over at the BBS (the official Maxis chat forum) made the observation that there was nothing quite like a good gossip session over dinner to make friends.


Once you've established a long-term friendship, it decays slower. The lower bar (lifetime) will always move in the direction of the upper bar (daily), so if your Sims aren't getting along one day, it's easy to fix.

I like your idea for a thread. It would be fun.

Addicted to The Sims since 2000.
Scholar
#12 Old 18th Jul 2012 at 1:37 PM
Quote: Originally posted by VerDeTerre
Sun signs have always been the deciding factor in The Sims since the base game. As Peni pointed out, Virgos are a tough sign for compatibility in The Sims (not in real life). According to the Prima guide, Virgo is attracted to Aquarius or Sagittarius, but Aquarius is repelled by Virgo. Sagittarius is neither repelled nor attracted to Virgo. So, yes, you can have a Virgo/Aquarius match, but it is going to be an uphill adventure with the brakes on all the way. Maybe one of them could find a new mate? Create a neighbor and move one of them in. They'll get over the break up quickly. Sims in the original game are so much more fickle than in the Sims 2. Here, scroll down until you find the compatibility chart for Sims 1 & 2


Thank you so much for pointing out this chart. I've always known they've influenced the game, but I've still never paid too much attention to which signs are compatible or not.
I normally just choose what I want and hope for the best.
Can't say I've ever had too much of a problem before. Sure, I've noticed a difference in how hard or easy it is to raise a relationship but it's never been awful or impossible.
Now, in TS3, for the first time ever, I have 2 sims that just refuse to be anything more than be best friends. I really want these 2 in a relationship, but they're just so thoroughly repelled by romantic interactions with each other, which is a shame because I downloaded that lovely empty island, so these are my 'castaway' sims.... another relationship isn't going to be possible for either one lol.
I'll go and re-do their starsigns and start over.
Thank you again, most helpful =)
Mad Poster
#13 Old 18th Jul 2012 at 1:45 PM
My friending strategy in Sims1 was as follows:

Pick someone to be friends with. I often built neighborhoods to a plan, creating four new sims and moving them in at around the same time so I'd know who was earmarked to be who's friend, but other times it was more random. Look out for them on walk-bys and at community lots. Old Town lots are best for meeting other playables, as no townies show up at them. Magic Town lots are best for meeting playables who have magic wands.

After you've met that person, take a day off work and invite him or her over. Greet him, feed him (have a stereo so he'll dance and amuse himself while you're cooking), talk/joke/generally spam with positive interactions, tailored to his personality. You can find out what topics to ask about by asking "What are you into?" Don't tell jokes to serious sims (this was especially a big deal with Aries) until the relationship is at least 30. Keep him on the lot until he leaves on his own.

If befriending a playable, go to his lot and repeat the process from his end. This is why I started playing in rotations.


Focus on this friendship until the bottom score is at least 70. Then, pick another sim and repeat the process. Do this four times.

Once you have two or more friends, take every third day or so off and invite up to three people - the three people whose scores have decayed most - over at once. Three guests are easy to manage in Sims1, and while you're maintaining your relationship with one, they other two are talking to each other. Once you get rich enough for a hot tub, the active sim and the three friends can just sit in it for hours, everybody's relationship going up with everybody else. This way, you get a circle of friends, the playable members of which are all helping each other keep their relationships in that solid over-70 range.

More than four friends begin to be hard to maintain, even with this system, so make a fifth friend, push the relationship to love, and get married. The spouse, if a playable, has also gotten to four friends (so you may find that a spate of promotions follows marriage) and will be going through the same routine. If a Townie, Strange, Somebody, or Anybody, he has been making friends in the backgrounds of every trip to Downtown, Studio Town, or Magic Town any of your playables have taken, and may have a surprisingly large number of friends. At this point, it becomes worthwhile to throw parties. Hot tubs, campfires, stereos, and plenty of food are the prime requisites at parties.

Kids are the real problem, since adults will always accept invitations if the friendship score is high enough, but kids sometimes refuse to visit even their best friends. The circles of friends business is useful for that, too, as there's a chance kids will accompany their parents any time they visit.

Always say yes when the visiting sim asks to bring a friend along, unless the plan is to get married that day.

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.)
Mad Poster
#14 Old 18th Jul 2012 at 2:11 PM
I love those strategies! I've worked neighbors' friendships by playing the houses back and forth, but never had a plan for it like you described. Now I want to try it.

With kids, even though the friends will decline invitations over, if the child keeps calling, eventually the friend will say yes. I've often had my Sims start families just so the kids could make friends.

You can also use magic to make friends more easily.

I found the community lots in Old Town wonderful for running into entire families. Finally, there was a place where children could meet neighborhood children and develop friendships!

Addicted to The Sims since 2000.
Mad Poster
#15 Old 18th Jul 2012 at 7:46 PM
I always wished your sim kids could meet other kids in Magic Town. It kind of creeped me out to go to a carnival lot and see only the one lone kid wandering around.

As an adjunct to the relationship strategy, I built my own lots to maximize their usefulness, so the sim didn't have to get worn out going from one lot to another to get everything done, and to facilitate dating. Every Downtown I ever played had a restaurant/nightclub venue, usually with the restaurant downstairs and the night club upstairs. The restaurant had lots of booths and tables and the nightclub had a big dance floor and the juke box at a minimum. The venue also had a large unisex bathroom. So the procedure for a date was: Get dropped off; immediately ask "how are you?" The answer is almost always "need food" or "need fun." If the date needs food, go to the restaurant first; if the date needs fun, go to the night club first. After the need has had time to be filled, ask again. The answer will probably be either food, fun, or bladder. Go to the appropriate area - hence the unisex bathroom. The date would trail after the active sim, and, if in the same room as a toilet, would probably wind up there. If left at a single-sex door, he'd just hang around in the hall trying to get in and occasionally throwing a routing fit, before realizing he could use this other door.

Generally speaking those three motives were the only ones that mattered during a date. Comfort was dealt with by sitting to eat, and the Room score was never a problem if you'd built the lot properly so Tidy Heidi could get everywhere to clean. When the date complained of needing energy, it was time to say good-by, because the only thing you could do about it was buy the date coffee, and that never provided enough energy to extend the date once the need became the strongest one.

I modified most of the Downtown lots to, if not exactly match this pattern, at least provide places to fill those three motives. But venues without restaurants were for meeting people, and for taking care of the fun and social motives of the active sim, rather than for dating. I have a friend who swore by the picnic basket, but I could never get a satisfactory date out of that, not compared to eating in a restaurant; and I never once got his favorite interaction with it: "Put Oil On."

Old Town lots were for family visits, so I made sure to put in lots of social activities the kids could take part in. I liked building farmer's markets with flea markets attached, parks with the jungle gym, checkers, campfires, and grills, that sort of thing. And lots of C&C hacked objects that let the pets do things with the kids - they had a pet jungle gym that advertised too high for residential use, but was a godsend on community lots. My Sims2 lots owe a lot to my experience in Sims1 - the Convenient Stores in Drama Acres would have been right at home in Old Town.

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.)
Lab Assistant
#16 Old 21st Jul 2012 at 8:09 PM
If anything, relationships Should be easier in complete collection than just the base game. It IS quite difficult to gain and maintain friendships and relationships in sims 1. I remember (eons ago!) before the complete collection. I had base game and a few of the EP's, the series wasn't complete yet so I don't remember exactly how many EP's were out at thew time. I built Michael Bachelor a really nice house. But try as I may , Michael could Never acheive anything in romance! Never! That poor man was always rejected!
Field Researcher
#17 Old 21st Jul 2012 at 9:16 PM
Poor Michael Bachelor. I'll never forget him. He was my very first Sim's husband and he died in a fire and I felt terrible.

I do feel that it was a bit of a chore maintaining friendships. I think my tactic was to have a 2 or 3 sim household and used one as the one who spent the day visiting, hanging out, throwing parties, etc while the others went to work.
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