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Theorist
Original Poster
#1 Old 30th Aug 2013 at 7:12 AM
Default University made the game too easy
It's the first time when sims in my hood actually went through university. And I have to say the result turned out to be bad. Some of them were chilling out and have some way to go until they top their career, but some sims actually managed to get level 9 job on their first day of adulthood. Some of those who did not, still progress in their career too quickly.

I used these:

the harder grades 2.0 hack
a hack to make term paper required
a hack for drastically slowed down skill gain

Still they end up with too many skills even if they're YAs from CAS or premade YAs!

Partly it's the fault of the harder grades hack, thanks to which sims had to skill quiet a bit to get good marks in school. I have a limitation that only A+ school students can go to uni, which unfortunately means that highly skilled students go to uni and become even more versatile and overskilled... And no, I don't make them skill obsessively, they mostly do whatever is required and still become overskilled.

So I wonder when anybody ran into this problem what you did.

- Remove harder grades to avoid having to skill for good marks in school? Then everyone gets an A+ easily. Also uni is much easier without that hack and most students would always graduate with perfect grade with minimal effort.

- Limit access to uni even more? I'm out of ideas. It's already limited to A+ and those who can pay 40.000, still about half sims in the hood manage to go to uni.

- Avoid playing uni completely? That's the last resort, I'm going to do that if no other solution comes up, but it would be a shame.

- Use hacks to make uni duration shorter? I'm afraid harder grades hack + slower skill gain makes it a bad idea, in that case noone would be able to graduate with 4.0, ever, and most sims would go on probations all the time. On another hand, I used to play a much shortened uni without both hacks, only 4 semesters and those were halved. That worked well, as far as I remember. Problem: I really need slower skill gain in my game.

- Shorten pre-YA life stages? I did that in another hood, the reason I don't do that anymore was because I missed those other life stages, which were shortened to babies (1), toddlers (3), children (4), teens (8). A valid option, though, maybe it would help.

PS. And I don't know what to do with current graduated sims who have way too many skills and can top their career in a matter of one week. What would you do with them to stop it?
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Instructor
#2 Old 30th Aug 2013 at 7:54 AM
Maybe just ... stop trying so hard to let sims get good grades in the first place? It's not like it actually matters the way it would in real life. I don't let my sims build skills at all until they reach their teens, and I cut them off doing homework after 2 hours whether they've finished it or not. And at Uni, I only have them study or do work if they want to. Try having less objects around the house/dorm and force sims to socialize more often, or to play with objects that are fun but don't build skills. Try only letting them do their homework/study/go to class/etc when they roll a want to do it. Usually I find that when my sims are flying through skills/careers, it's because I'm either ignoring whole other facets of gameplay or else micromanaging excessively. (Or -- you're not using an age mod that extends lifespans, are you? Because that will also do it.)

If you make sims find their jobs via the newspaper instead of the computer, they will have to start at level 1 just like anyone else. You can always demote them yourself, or use Cyjon's Job Stoppinator, or skip chance cards, etc. If they're overskilled, you can use the SimVac aspiration reward, the game's SimModder, or TwoJeff's Sim Blender to take their skill points away. There are lots of options, so think about what will work with your play style.

(eta: I have also found that playing using SimLogical's school hacks actually makes it much more fun/challenging to educate my young sims. When I build a school using the mods, I only let my sim kids work on their grades or skills when I'm playing the actual school lot. And for the money issue, at least in so far as reducing the amount of wealth-- I also play with pescado's no20khandouts, a MTS mod that cuts all the game's career wages in half, and BoilingOil's mods that halve the sale prices on fish and produce.)
Mad Poster
#3 Old 30th Aug 2013 at 10:04 AM
How about only sending knowledge Sims to university? (Although I realise that others might want to go for reasons other than the pure pursuit of learning!) If you did this it would be nice to have a hack to stop other Sims even wanting to go; I hate to deny my Sims reasonable wants.

Personally I don't have University at all and am very undecided about whether I should even try to get it. There are certainly things in it I would like (e.g. the espresso bars) and some of my favourite Sims are knowledge teens, who I'm sure would love to go if they got the chance, but I keep hearing about things I'm sure I don't want, like cow mascots, secret societies and that horrible cowplant. Plus I'd have to learn something about the American university system to understand it at all.

Having said all that, I greatly enjoyed university myself - both the study and the social life, and can't help thinking my Sims might enjoy it too. But I went in my thirties as a so-called mature student, and I don't think that's possible in The Sims 2 at all.
Née whiterider
retired moderator
#4 Old 30th Aug 2013 at 12:02 PM
I dunno how you've managed to get half your teens to A* with hardergrades installed . I use hardergrades and homework sometimes, which makes it difficult for sims to get an A* - there are lots of sims hovering around A-/B, but only a couple of A*s. Using homework sometimes means you don't even have the opportunity to give your sims' school grades a boost every day; and on top of that, when they do get homework, not all of my sims do it. Those who are especially studious almost always do their homework, those who aren't do it if they roll a want or if they have a parent who forces them. Particularly miserable sims or sims with other things on their mind might ignore their homework even if they do roll a want to do it. The vast majority don't skill at all for school, despite the hardergrades hack, which further limits them.

I also use the college at home pack, so when my sims decide to go to college whilst living at home instead of moving to campus, that opens up more options. They may get a part-time job which sucks their study time, they might just work long hours as a barista or dorm cook. I use a shorter semesters mod to make uni gel a bit better with the ageing of the other sims in the 'hood and, again - sims who aren't terribly committed just study the bare minimum amount. Occasionally someone skips their final. Look at it this way - if you went totally hands off and didn't give your sims any instructions at all, they'd all flunk. So if they're all overachieving, then that's down to what you're doing, not an innate mechanism of the game .

I'm also planning to set up multiple universities, with different fees; and I'll set things up so a sim who graduated from the expensive university gets an extra level's boost when he or she joins a career, and a sim who graduated from a cheap university loses a level from the default graduate-boost (so they'd start at level 2 instead of 3). Even though I've extended my sims' lifespans a lot, it still takes a few days even for a dedicated sim to get a promotion; if you wanted to slow that down, you could use the job stopinator to prevent spontaneous promotion. You could even give everyone the job stopinator and only allow sims to get promoted when they win a chance card.

What I lack in decorum, I make up for with an absence of tact.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#5 Old 30th Aug 2013 at 12:19 PM
I was going to say the same exact thing as Nysha, how do you get so many A grades? I have double aging and harder grades and most of my kids have a C, a few have a B and only the occasional one ever makes an A. How are you playing them as toddlers, kids and teens? With mine, I have 3 types of sim, the highly motivated, the average sims and the low achievers. Only High achievers are given smart on the bat box and skill hard. Most sims are average and they only skill if they have a want to do so. Low motivated sims I don't tell to skill at all. I also have summer holidays and homework sometimes so kids are not at school or doing homework all the time. For uni I use 48 hour terms and again they only skill if they roll a want. Unmotivated sims can not attend uni and average sims are only going to if they have at least 4 scholarships. I also have a badge scholarship mod so things like having a gold badge in sales is recognized. I also play uni to 48 hour terms. Once graduated I would give them a job at the level I think they earned. They would have to have perfect uni scores to be given a level 8 position. I also use the job stopinator.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#6 Old 30th Aug 2013 at 12:57 PM
This is one of the reason why I use these rules in my game.
Quote:
Ok to start you can learn only 1 point in each skill, to get more skill you must have 25k in savings to get to the 2nd skill point in each skill and for each new skill point you want after the 2nd you must have 10k more credits for each one. ( So if you want 3 in cooking then you need 35k in savings and if you want 3 in cooking and 3 in cleaning then you must have 45k in savings.) If savings fall below the amount for that skills you have then you must drop the 1 skill down. (Yes that is 105k to get 3 points in all skills if you want them.)
you do not have to get all skill but for the first 2 points, you must have all skills to 2 before you can move up to 3 in any skill you want. Just remember you must have all skills up to the amount of friends you want to have. 1 friend = 1 in all skills, 2 friends = 2 points in all skills, 3 friends = 3 points in all skills (which means you must have 105k credits in savings to have 3 points in skills to be able to have 3 friends.) You can think of the cost for the points is the cost of training to that lvl if you want to. It cost you to learn and live.


From http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=496635

All my Beginning Hoods here at MTS. http://www.modthesims.info/member.php?u=7749491
All my Beginning Hoods as Shopping Districts plus Old Town. http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=523417
MooVille, a tribute to Mootilda and her fabulous lots http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=534158
Theorist
Original Poster
#7 Old 30th Aug 2013 at 4:33 PM
Thank you guys, I'm reading your posts and trying to think up ways to apply what you say. I really liked the idea to limit uni to knowledge sims.

Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
I was going to say the same exact thing as Nysha, how do you get so many A grades?

I really don't know. I noticed that a lot depends on whether a sim is in platinum mood when going to school. A lot, really a lot. But it's also a little random, so even sims who aren't normally supposed to be good in school can become good. And afterwards their grades won't drop unless you miss homework or do something else.

I don't make them skill as toddlers unless they do so autonomosly. But they rarely get more than a couple of skillpoints from that. As children I also don't make them skill unless they want to, but I try to keep them in platinum mood. For harder grades hack I discovered that children only need to be platinum to be great in school, while teens require skills on top of that.

For example, Ottomas family, whom I never planned to be good at school. In their late teens: David got A, he's popularity and his A is due to measly 5 points in charisma; Sharla got A+, she's family with knowledge as secondary, so her marks aren't connected to one single skill, she has 5 points in a few skills; Tommy got A, he has insane amount of skills due to being a knowledge sim and always wanting to skill (10 logic, 5 points in two other skills).

Sims don't always have so many skills, these ones really wanted to get them due to primary or secondary knowledge aspirations. Except David who never wanted to have charisma skills, but I forced him to, because he was fired due to bad marks and what he wanted was to earn money.

Looking at this family made me realize that sending any of them to uni would be an overkill for sure. Except Tommy really wants to go. But it's definitely a bad idea, especially for him.

I can't believe this is so easy even with slowed skill gain. Maybe I should install an even slower skill gain hack, because this is really ridiculous. I almost started to think the hack stopped working, but I know it does, because there's only one family in whole Uberhood that can cook its own lobster thermidore, no sims except one ever got enough skillpoints in cooking.
Scholar
#8 Old 30th Aug 2013 at 4:56 PM
Caution, this is probably going to be a long post.

I use harder grades for both university and elementary/secondary school. Admittedly for regular school it doesn't do too much but it does mean not everyone heads off to uni with a A- or higher and the high grades scholarship (which, in turn, means they have to work a little harder at university if they go).

I also have slower skill gain in, but this is more a side-effect of playing sims that only age up twice a week (as opposed to seven times a week, the default). I also limit their skills based on their motivation levels. Most sims can only skill up to level 5 by the time they enter university, and even then skilling is limited to active (e.g. playing chess, swimming, cleaning/cooking/fixing) unless they have the specific want to skill up. If they want to increase knowledge in a specific skill, they do so; if they want a generic skill point, they gain it in whatever skill they have the least points in.

Also relating to motivation, it's rare that underachieving sims will get in, simply by virtue of them not getting the entry requirements. Average motivation sims only get in if they have a LTW relating to a job which needs a degree, otherwise they're left to make it on their own once they're eighteen. At uni, the skilling rules still apply, although sims can 'cheat' by rolling the want to do a term paper, which I accept as wanting to get the skills to complete one. Sims will also only go to class, group study, or do assignments when they roll the want (exception being overachieving sims who I force to do that all).

For jobs, my sims have specific career goals depending on their aspiration, personality, and wants. Average motivation sims can get to level 7 of their chosen careers before they need to actively want to go higher (want for promotion); underachieving sims are limited at level 5. Also, different careers have different education levels. A sim who wants to top the Science career will need a Doctorate -- if they only had a Bachelor's they could get up to level 6, max. I also have some low-paying NPC jobs that anyone can take and I've got a couple of sims who are 'stuck' in those careers because they've gotten to a point where it pays better than the max level they could get in other jobs.
Scholar
#9 Old 30th Aug 2013 at 6:33 PM
I have hardergrades but don't have the term paper required (because I can't remember which of my Sims has done a term paper and which not given it takes 3 rotations for my Sims to complete a semester). Skill gain is left as normal too. However, only particularly focused Sims have 4.0 grades with any regularity, and academic probation is not rare. How is this?

Mostly, it's down to putting in restrictions.for getting through university that do not involve skills or grades. Every Sim, except members of the royal family, must pay a tuition fee for each semester. In SimHampton (my game neighbourhood) this is $250 per noble and $500 per middle-class Sim. Those below middle class can't go to university except through special arrangement with the High Prince/Princess who owns university - their tuition fee is set individually (or, in the case of Valgonians, paid in advance), and other conditions are set in addition. In all cases, tuition is just as payable on Academic Probation terms as normal ones.

A middle-class Sim (which means most of the ones who go to university) must also network. They must have a certain number of royal and/or noble friends at certain points:

At entry and at the end of freshman year: At least one royal/noble friend
At the end of sophomore and junior years: At least two royal/noble friends
At the end of the first senior term and upon graduation: At least three royal/noble friends

Failure to maintain enough of the "right" sort of friends means immediate expulsion, unless it happens at graduation. In that case, the degree stands, but the new graduate loses their graduate bonus (to the royal palace), is denied the usual post-graduation term at university and is obliged to start their career as a servant in the royal palace. They only have to stay at the palace one day, don't have to do any actual work and their family gets compensation, but it's not exactly the glorious start to a career a Sim would hope for.

Some students (for example, those staying in the training monastery dorm) are obliged to follow other rules. Also, different students want different things, and some will prioritise extra-curricular activities over studying, classes, and on rare occasions final exams. Naturally, those who skip the latter are not the 4.0 students...

As a result of all this, Sims cannot simply study and study and study. They must also talk to their fellow students, staff (professors are considered nobles for the purposes of networking) and people they knew before they went to university. They have to spend time working, unless they make good grades (tuition is on top of dorm fees, which in some cases can themselves be over $500 per Sim). Depending on who they live with, they may have to work despite good grades, because many Sims in SimHampton feel bad if one of their fellow dormies gets kicked out for having a difficult semester.

I do limit entry by grades (A- , with A and A+ students being allowed to take 1 or 2 townies with them to uni) as well as social class, but that's to do with how I envisage SimHampton University. It's to keep out the stupidest Sims - and even that doesn't always work (sadly)...

I'm happy to let my young Sims skill when they wish, but they tend to skill in a lopsided way (8-10 in one skill and 0-2 in everything else is a common profile for a university applicant) and often prioritise other things over skilling, especially if they're middle-class Sims who need a royal or noble friend to reach university in the first place. Friends, family, playtime and keeping one's room tidy have to happen as well, otherwise Sims will not be well-rounded. Much like real people.

For graduates, I remember that many of my Sims are not career-focused. Many of them live off their graduate bonus for a while, or set up a business (where those skills only count for a limited amount). Even Sims who go straight into a job (which is often done with the newspaper so levels aren't skipped) can afford to take it less seriously than their lesser-educated fellow Sims, because they're not living paycheque to paycheque. In theory, my mod package even makes it possible for Sims to age down and go through university again to take a Master's degree.

AndrewGloria, vanilla Sims won't allow university except straight after a time of being teenaged. However, mods that allow aging down will allow the effect to be simulated, with some downsides regarding student lifespan and relationship effects. There is also at least one custom career which allows a degree to be earned - this would simulate university to a lesser degree of detail than the vanilla version. Alternatively, you can set your own rules for how a mature student earns a degree, then give them a buyable degree when you think they deserve one. That allows the maximum creativity but would take the longest time to devise. In the latter two cases, you'd also need something like SimBlender to provide the extra wants and locks that occur during a Sim's normal university career.
Mad Poster
#10 Old 30th Aug 2013 at 7:54 PM Last edited by lauratje86 : 30th Aug 2013 at 8:23 PM.
I have nothing really to add to this, but I wanted to post anyway :-) I use similar rules to katya_stevens (because I nicked them off her!) but I play with an "intelligence level" rather than a motivation level. It's mainly reflected in their possible skill levels - I use Simblender to stop them from skilling past a certain point: for YA's/adults it's 10 for high intelligence, 7 for average intelligence and 5 for low intelligence. Unless they have a (locked) want to skill further, in which case I allow them to do so. Like ieta_cassiopeia I find that even Knowledge sims end up gaining 8-10 in one skill (Logic for Delta Land, Creativity for Tommy Ottomas) and 0-2 points in the others before they become adults or go to university, so a lack of skills can still cause them problems at university. Intelligence level also has an effect on learning of toddler skills and learning how to do homework. Low intelligence sims can't learn or teach any skills (which makes for a lot of diaper changing!), average intelligence sims can learn and teach potty training but not the other skills (apart from the Nursery Rhyme, which they can learn from/teach to a sim with high intelligence) and high intelligence sims can learn and teach anything. I'm thinking about changing my rules so that high intelligence sims can teach average intelligence sims how to study, but I haven't made my mind up yet.

I use the harder grades mod (the version that relies solely on Logic skill, I think) and my sims only do homework if they want to. A variety of wants count as wanting to do homework - as well as the obvious Do Homework there is also the Get An A+ want, as well as Learn To Study and Go To University. As sims need to pass high school (i.e. end up with higher than a D) to attend university a locked want to Go To University counts as a want to do homework in my game. The age at which I can lock a Go To University want for a sim depends on their aspiration combo - a Knowledge/Fortune sim can lock it as soon as they become teens (aged 12), but a Pleasure/Knowledge sim can't lock it until the age of 16, for example, and Pleasure/Romance and Romance/Pleasure sims can never lock it. This means that quite a few sims don't make it to university in the first place - so far David & Sharla Ottomas have been disappointed to miss out (as they had the locked want when they became adults but their grades were too low to go) and Woody Weiss and Goldie Hart didn't mind missing out (they didn't have the want when they aged to adults).

I don't limit the level in careers that sims can attain based on intelligence, but I do it based on qualifications - as well as (Bachelor's) degrees some jobs/job levels require a Master's degree or a PhD (and some don't require any qualifications, or only an Associate's degree). This means that comparatively few sims reach the top of a career. For most sims their progress is also blocked by a lack of skills (or occasionally friends) and no want to skill further (or make more friends). A want for a promotion means that the sim wants to gain the skills/friends required for promotion and/or the qualification required - for example, a sim who rolls a want to get promoted whilst at level 5 in the Culinary career is effectively telling me that they want to do an Associate's degree in Culinary Science, whereas a sim who rolls a want to get promoted at level 5 of the Athletics career is telling me that they want to gain the skills and/or friends required for the promotion. Or just that they're looking forward to being promoted, if they already meet all the requirements!

As well as all this I also use a shorter semesters mod - I use the 48 hours one. My sims only skill and study when they have a want to do so, with the exception of attending exams, which they pretty much always do. Skilling wants mean that they skill - if they roll generic skilling wants I tend to have them study a skill that they actually need for the semester, but specific skilling wants lead to that skill being improved, even if it won't help them at university. I make them do assignments/research/term papers if they want to, even if they don't have the skills necessary to expand their grade bar, and the same goes for the Go To Class want. Wants to Complete XXX Year, Make The Dean's List and Graduate/Graduate With Honours count as wants to either pass the semester or do well during the semester, depending on whether or not they roll the specific Dean's List/Honours wants, and they skill/study as necessary to make it happen. So far, in my current 'hood, no sims have or stand to graduate with honours - even my Fortune/Knowledge sim didn't manage it - Dixie Land was rather disappointed when she ended up with about a 3.4 GPA or thereabouts. And a Family/Fortune sim just got expelled after failing his second semester of his Junior year twice in a row - but unlike his sister Scot Land didn't seem at all bothered by his lack of academic success. So I have no issues with sims getting amazing grades at university!
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#11 Old 31st Aug 2013 at 3:30 AM
And I nicked my rules off both Katya Stevens and lauratje86, and changed them to suit myself.

Quote:
For harder grades hack I discovered that children only need to be platinum to be great in school, while teens require skills on top of that.


Maybe you are using a different version as I haven't noticed mood to effect anything. The version I use is based on skills and personality, so I don't know what skills the kids need to get an A. As for Tommy, he's an overachiever in my game with constant wants to gain logic, so he is one of the few teens in my game to get an A.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Theorist
Original Poster
#12 Old 31st Aug 2013 at 5:02 AM
joandsarah77, it's harder grades 2.0 from this site, the link is here:
https://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=131960

Which version are you using?

I'm now looking into modifying skill gain further to slow down initial skill gain. First points in skills are usually too easy, that's the reason it's so easy to get good marks at school. For now I modified the values, but probably went overboard with them.

I guess limiting uni access is great, however, after teen years sims already accumulate many skillpoints. Often one skill is at 8 and others at zero, or a few up to 5. Hopefully with strongly choked skill gain they'll never be able to do that, mwahaha
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#13 Old 31st Aug 2013 at 5:14 AM
I think it's that one, whichever one Almightyhat recommended on her site. I should have said on the folder where it came from but didn't. It just says Harder Grades V2 . Do you have harder skills? I might have forgot to say I use slower skill gain and slower aspiration gain as well.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Instructor
#14 Old 31st Aug 2013 at 6:31 AM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
I think it's that one, whichever one Almightyhat recommended on her site. I should have said on the folder where it came from but didn't. It just says Harder Grades V2 . Do you have harder skills? I might have forgot to say I use slower skill gain and slower aspiration gain as well.

You're probably using the version from MATY , which is newer than syberspunk's here on MTS. (If you're not sure which is the most updated, it's the one on the very bottom of the list that is called harderhardergrades.)

It occurs to me that no one has mentioned Cyjon's Harder Homework mod! I use that one in combination with his Partial Homework Credit and harder harder grades. This requires a little bit of fiddling with load order to get them all to work, but when I use them all it's pretty darn hard for my sims to get top grades. If you use all of those plus TwoJeffs' "Homework Sometimes", I think that will help.
Theorist
Original Poster
#15 Old 31st Aug 2013 at 7:07 AM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
It just says Harder Grades V2 . Do you have harder skills? I might have forgot to say I use slower skill gain and slower aspiration gain as well.

If it says 2.0, we should have the same hack. And the rest of mods, as well. However, there are different versions of slowed skill gain. I just messed up trying to modify a skill gain mod myself, and instead of skilling slower they skill quicker.

katalina522, what is this harder harder grades mod? It says in description that it's based off only logic skill, which is why I never downloaded it. Is it true or old description? I'd love an updated version of harder grades, the one I've got introduces a bug into the game, but that version is based off four different skills.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#16 Old 31st Aug 2013 at 7:29 AM
My skill gain one is called Slower Skill Gain 6 hours Liente which again I failed to say on the folder where it came from. I'm not sure if it's that or something else but some of my badges took a huge hit, like fishing and sewing takes forever to gain a badge while gardening was unaffected.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Theorist
Original Poster
#17 Old 31st Aug 2013 at 8:03 AM
Ah I see, I used a different hack from here:
http://www.omniloth.net/sims/ts2_hacks.htm (near the bottom, version 3)

I wonder if it's slower or faster. In your hack, does it take the same amount of time (6 hours) to gain any skillpoint of any level? I don't really get how it works.

Btw badges don't take a hit with hacks from this page, I didn't notice them affected.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#18 Old 31st Aug 2013 at 9:10 AM
It is supposed to take every skill point 6 hours, although I've never timed it. I imagine it depends if the sim is smart or stupid as defined by the bat box, if they have on a thinking cap and if it's autumn. I have a feeling it often takes longer.

I managed to find hats page with her aging mod which gives links to the other mods. http://hat-plays-sims.dreamwidth.org/23906.html

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Née whiterider
retired moderator
#19 Old 31st Aug 2013 at 12:49 PM
Sounds like that mod is by lientebollemeis.

What I lack in decorum, I make up for with an absence of tact.
Instructor
#20 Old 31st Aug 2013 at 2:58 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Babahara
katalina522, what is this harder harder grades mod? It says in description that it's based off only logic skill, which is why I never downloaded it. Is it true or old description? I'd love an updated version of harder grades, the one I've got introduces a bug into the game, but that version is based off four different skills.

That is the old description - syberspunk's Harder HarderGrades 2.1x is based on any of four different skills (logic, body, creativity, and charisma), which are determined by a sim's aspiration (for teens) & interests. With no bonus factors in play, a sim with zero skill points cannot get a higher grade than a D. However, there are a whole bunch of bonus factors in the description that can affect how quickly the grades improve, including: personality, mood, and aspiration level.

Harder Homework affects the amount of time it takes a sim to get their homework done, slowing it down considerably. In addition, sims' fun meters diminish at different speeds depending on their personality, so they'll get bored/fed up with doing homework at different rates. (This is why I can cut my sim kids off after 2 hours and still have most of them with incomplete homework.) If you play in a house that's not littered with high-fun objects, it's actually pretty tough to get your sim kids in a good mood long enough to finish all their homework every night. (nb: i also use monique's auto do-homework mod, so they don't start doing their homework until 7 pm.)
Field Researcher
#21 Old 31st Aug 2013 at 9:44 PM
There's a lot of really great input here already. See, I base my sims on day-to-day aging. Toddlers learn absolutely no skills outside of talking, walking, nursery rhymes, and toilet training. Children below halfway through the stage (have 5+ days before their next b-day) only earn two points, max. Those with 4- days remaining pick up one or two cooking skills from mom and dad (otherwise studying) and work on cleaning skills. Teens learn skills through their jobs but never actually study for promotions (so if a chance card earns them a logic point or whatever.) Chessboards, personal telescopes, professional gym equipment, pianos, all that fun stuff, are outlawed and illegal. Only rich sims or those high in the criminal career track (therefore with access to the black market) have these items. Everyone else, nope. Skilling is done naturally and very few of my sims approach college with high skill levels in anything, save maybe five cooking and cleaning. Add that to harder everything hacks and forcing a term paper and they struggle with their schooling. Have you thought about finding a harder profession hack as well?

Take the Hard Hat Challenge. A relatively quick challenge designed to be added into almost any established hood.

Hollow Tune - Brick 'N' Mortar.

{San-Yip-See-Ah}
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#22 Old 31st Aug 2013 at 9:52 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Nysha
Sounds like that mod is by lientebollemeis.


I don't see any mods by that creator except for careers.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#23 Old 31st Aug 2013 at 10:04 PM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
I don't see any mods by that creator except for careers.


The altered skilling times ones are by her but on TSR, I think. I use the half-speed one.
Forum Resident
#24 Old 31st Aug 2013 at 10:38 PM
I force my Uni sims to tend large gardens and work on badges, so university is no picnic -- I expect them to earn a gardening badge as freshmen, a sewing badge as sophomores, and then their choice in the year afterward. (By "their choice", I mean..if they like tinkering, they go for the robot bench, if they like arts and crafts, they do toys or something. That also varies on what they roll wants for. Some sims are obsessive about arranging flowers, even without a bench on the lot. Every time they come on, they roll wants to buy a floral bench. Strange, strange sims.

(I should note my neighborhood is supposed to be set after the decline of industrialized society, so everyone has to grow their own food, and the sims are pretend-producing all of the things they need in their households using the hobby objects.)
Lab Assistant
#25 Old 1st Sep 2013 at 2:24 AM
Sorry I put my nose to this one also.. I do not have/use any hacks regarding uni than that collegeclock (by Pescado?) so I can take the finals when I am ready and too bored

I have seasons set at my uni so there is never fall/autumn, as in fall sims only need to do almost nothing to get the best grades. And as I use Mootilda's Brainaria as my uni (with my tuning of the communitylots) , I end up spending allmost whole unitime in communitylots doing this and doing that

For the sims I do not care so much I speed up the unitime with that hack so they get trough with it fast as they can, high or low grades, I do not care
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