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Forum Resident
Original Poster
#1 Old 3rd Apr 2014 at 2:37 PM
Default So, I kind of want to try The Sims 3 again...
But I really need to know if there is some mod or trait, or something to make them act less wooden... Even just some idle animations, or something so that even when idle they aren't just staring at nothing...

I can deal with the game's other issues, but if the Sims seem like robots, I can't get attached to any of them, which makes the game boring...

I don't want to reinstall the whole thing, only to realize (yet again) that it is boring no matter what I do...
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Scholar
#2 Old 3rd Apr 2014 at 2:56 PM
Well what I do is that I activate free will mode. I like to micromanage, so they don't do anything stupid even if they go on their own business. It makes them do what they want to, and normally it's related to their traits or skills so that way they look more alive.
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Original Poster
#3 Old 3rd Apr 2014 at 3:40 PM
Quote: Originally posted by juansfalcin
Well what I do is that I activate free will mode. I like to micromanage, so they don't do anything stupid even if they go on their own business. It makes them do what they want to, and normally it's related to their traits or skills so that way they look more alive.


I'm a veteran of The Sims, I know how to play, but I hate how even with Free Will set to max, the Sims in 3 act so lifeless compared to their predecessors... I'm just wondering ifthere's something I can do to make them seem less like lifeless automatons, and more like humans in behavior... (Looking at people as they walk by, responding to things while idle, doing idle animations more frequently, etc...)
Top Secret Researcher
#4 Old 3rd Apr 2014 at 3:57 PM
I have Moar interactions by buzzler here at MTS,
More conversations from bluegenjutsu at Simsasylum
No foot tapping, same
No route fail animations, same
Route fix mod from twoftmama at Simsasylum.

Those make a huge difference in that respect. Fewer interruptions to do something stupid. I'm fairly sure there is a mod here at MTS that gets rid of a lot of idles but you actually want to keep those, if I understand correctly?
Scholar
#5 Old 3rd Apr 2014 at 5:23 PM
Maybe I just don't think like you. I mean, I have a sim with the Unstable trait from ITF. He's an elder, and everyday he gets a modlet saying that he needs to air out. So when I don't make him relax he actually gets worse and a new modlet says that if I don't get him to the hospital he might have a sudden "change of personality" (randomized traits). So, to make it more immersing, I have his son, who's a doctor, take him to the hospital since he's an elder and can't drive at night.

Maybe all you need is a little creativity. I know the game doesn't help much, but you can make great gameplays with what you have.
Scholar
#6 Old 3rd Apr 2014 at 6:47 PM
Quote:
Looking at people as they walk by


Sound like you should be playing harvest moon a wonderful life and not sims 3. Then again, I can say that simply looking as someone passes you by is not an automatic human thing. I tend to not give anybody who passes me by when I'm out and about any attention. Mostly since they don't concern me. (Then again, I have Asperger's and am pretty antisocial, so I might be an exception...)

C-A
Test Subject
#7 Old 3rd Apr 2014 at 7:02 PM
Traits like Insane, Excitable, Neurotic, Evil, and a few others have unique idle animations as well as the old ones. There's rarely a dull moment when you have a sim with them--or several sims.
Mad Poster
#8 Old 3rd Apr 2014 at 7:09 PM
Quote: Originally posted by parrot999
I'm a veteran of The Sims, I know how to play, but I hate how even with Free Will set to max, the Sims in 3 act so lifeless compared to their predecessors...

I'm a veteran sim player as well and honestly have no idea what you are talking about. I've been enjoying this version of the franchise much more than I have the previous ones. And the sims are not lifeless, they have much personality in them.

To make the sims less annoying I recommend using the no route fail or tapping animations that were mentioned, those are annoying after 5 minutes. I also recommend figuring out how big of a hood your computer can handle. If you pick one too big with too many sims you sims will just stand there because the computer can't handle it.

What comes to other mods you'll have to figure out what you want from the game and download the mods accordingly. There is not magic pill that suit all simmer but twallan does have many mods that fix broken things so I suggest checking out his stuff.
Scholar
#9 Old 3rd Apr 2014 at 8:13 PM
Yeah, I genuinely don't get why people say that Sims in 3 aren't alive like the ones on 2 and 1. I actually love the traits system and the moodlets helps too.
Lab Assistant
#10 Old 3rd Apr 2014 at 8:27 PM
Quote: Originally posted by juansfalcin
Yeah, I genuinely don't get why people say that Sims in 3 aren't alive like the ones on 2 and 1. I actually love the traits system and the moodlets helps too.


This . It is much easier to create a distinct personality this way- if you chose the traits correctly you can go into much more detail with the trait system. And I would like to think that pretty much any trait comes with their reflection in the sims' behaviour.
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Original Poster
#11 Old 3rd Apr 2014 at 8:38 PM Last edited by parrot999 : 3rd Apr 2014 at 8:50 PM.
I don't care too much about the annoying stuff... I care about the periods of time where even though they have Free will, they decide to stand expressionless and do nothing... I've tried The Sims 3 more times than I can count... Last time I got so agrivated by how dull the Sims are, that I uninstalled everything...

I want more idle stuff, not less...

The lack of idles was kind of charming in 1 (because it fit the tech) they fixed it in 2, and it became worse than it was in 1 in 3...

I'm asking if there's any remedy to them just doing nothing when they have nothing to do...

Quote: Originally posted by CatMuto
Sound like you should be playing harvest moon a wonderful life and not sims 3. Then again, I can say that simply looking as someone passes you by is not an automatic human thing. I tend to not give anybody who passes me by when I'm out and about any attention. Mostly since they don't concern me. (Then again, I have Asperger's and am pretty antisocial, so I might be an exception...)

C-A


You do know that I was referencing a feature from 2, right? Sims would look at sims that passed them by, as well as many other little things that made them seem more aware of their surroundings...
Field Researcher
#12 Old 3rd Apr 2014 at 8:56 PM
Quote: Originally posted by parrot999
I'm a veteran of The Sims, I know how to play, but I hate how even with Free Will set to max, the Sims in 3 act so lifeless compared to their predecessors... I'm just wondering ifthere's something I can do to make them seem less like lifeless automatons, and more like humans in behavior... (Looking at people as they walk by, responding to things while idle, doing idle animations more frequently, etc...)


I don't really have an answer for you, except I felt the same way as you and ended up adjusting how I played to fit what I liked about TS3.

I played TS1 from the beginning, and TS2 all the way up until last summer, when I decided to try out TS3. I was very annoyed with the lifeless, robotic behavior. Actually I still am, and I find a lot of the traits useless, pointless or just plain ridiculous (why does my technophobe sim get such a big thrill out of looking at her smartphone every few minutes? UGH.) But that was one reason I gave it up for a while. I found I was trying to play it too much like TS2 and missing those things you mentioned above, as well as the better relationships and socialization. In TS2 I would play huuuuge families and invite their friends and relatives over for massive, multi-day parties and I miss the fun I got from micromanaging 8 or more sims, and the things left out of this game, like sims talking to each other over dinner or over the chess board or just sitting around on couches.

So I gave up on playing families in TS3 because a) the genetics suck, b) toddlers and kids are super-ugly, & c) they don't act like a family, like they did in 2. I've found new things to do. I'm playing a single sim on an epic lifespan whose goal is to maximize all the skills and accomplish all the skill challenges. I've found the skills to be a nice improvement over what came before and I'm having fun trying out the ones I didn't touch in my first go-round with the game. I'm also sending my sim on vacations and really exploring that aspect because I didn't give it a chance the first time. It's pretty fun wandering around China and kicking all the locals' asses because my sim has L-9 in martial arts, haha. (The tomb-raiding is also super-easy for someone like me who grew up on adventure games, but I'm enjoying it.)

My sim's also using her alchemy skill to wreak havoc on the hood by throwing fat potions at skinny sims and throwing skinny potions at fat sims. She hasn't started inventing yet but once she does she's going to go around blowing up random objects.

It still drives me nuts that if I leave her idle for a few minutes on her home lot, the first thing she'll do is head for the mirror. If she's elsewhere, she'll pull out her snake-charming basket. Before she had that, it was always the smartphone. And there are tons of glitches that annoy the crap out of me, but I'm enjoying trying out these different aspects of the game and finding something that's fun for me. I just look at as I'm not really playing 'The Sims' because it's nothing like how I've played The Sims before. And I still have TS2 if I want to go back to the fun, social aspects.

(BTW I also uninstalled Seasons because I found that to be a pretty useless EP and I'm not missing it at all. I might take out Generations too.)
Mad Poster
#13 Old 3rd Apr 2014 at 8:56 PM
Quote: Originally posted by parrot999
I don't care too much about the annoying stuff... I care about the periods of time where even though they have Free will, they decide to stand expressionless and do nothing... I've tried The Sims 3 more times than I can count... Last time I got so agrivated by how dull the Sims are, that I uninstalled everything...

I want more idle stuff, not less...

The lack of idles was kind of charming in 1 (because it fit the tech) they fixed it in 2, and it became worse than it was in 1 in 3...

I'm asking if there's any remedy to them just doing nothing when they have nothing to do...

There is no mod to add more idles. But you can always get uni and your sims will be obsessed wit their phone. Get SN and witches and fairies will be doing witch and fairy stuff. I have not played other supernaturals so I don't know what they do when idle. But honestly why do you want them to do so much idle? Fill their houses with stuff they can use.

If your sims are just standing there doing neither idle or interacting with objects then you need to figure out what is eating your resources. Too big world, too many sims in the world, other processes in the baground or too heigh settings.
#14 Old 3rd Apr 2014 at 10:13 PM
Quote: Originally posted by parrot999
I'm just wondering ifthere's something I can do to make them seem less like lifeless automatons, and more like humans in behavior...


I am finding it difficult to relate to your point of view. I've never had a Sim who stands around doing nothing.
There is a thread on this forum called "Those things that Sims do that make you wanna scream "OMG WTF ARE YOU DOING" and to me this illustrates that most of us feel that Sims are not lifeless automatons and left to their own devices they can be pretty surprising ..
.
Mad Poster
#15 Old 4th Apr 2014 at 12:02 AM
i use this autonomy fixer made by shimrod: http://simsasylum.com/tfm/index.php...autonomy-fixer/

it pushes sims' autonomous actions when free will is on. i also use 'free will off for selected sim' in the game options so my active sim isn't doing a bunch of stuff instead of what i'm directing them to. that annoyed me the most in ts2..
Mad Poster
#16 Old 4th Apr 2014 at 12:22 AM
Quote: Originally posted by parrot999
I don't care too much about the annoying stuff... I care about the periods of time where even though they have Free will, they decide to stand expressionless and do nothing... I've tried The Sims 3 more times than I can count... Last time I got so agrivated by how dull the Sims are, that I uninstalled everything...

I want more idle stuff, not less...

The lack of idles was kind of charming in 1 (because it fit the tech) they fixed it in 2, and it became worse than it was in 1 in 3...

I'm asking if there's any remedy to them just doing nothing when they have nothing to do....


Not sure if this is what you mean, but the longer I've played the more it bothers me how a sim's face goes dead in between animations. For example, if I queue up a lot of crib actions like 'give bottle', 'change diaper', in between each activity, the sim will look off to the side like a robot that's been turned off. I don't know of any mods to fix it though.
That's the one reason I'm interested in Sims 4 - because they said the animation was going to be smoother.
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Original Poster
#17 Old 4th Apr 2014 at 12:29 AM
Quote: Originally posted by RoseCity
Not sure if this is what you mean, but the longer I've played the more it bothers me how a sim's face goes dead in between animations. For example, if I queue up a lot of crib actions like 'give bottle', 'change diaper', in between each activity, the sim will look off to the side like a robot that's been turned off. I don't know of any mods to fix it though.
That's the one reason I'm interested in Sims 4 - because they said the animation was going to be smoother.


That's a big part of the problem... I just want to make sure there are ways I can make the sims look more natural... I mean, their models and animations are bad enough.. (Legs spread way too far apart for any normal human, the weird thing their noses do when they're angry, the fact that their smiles manage to look even scarier than the ones from the second game..., etc.). I don't think I'm gonna bother... I'll just stick with 2, and if 4 proves to be good, I'll get that when it comes down in price...
Theorist
#18 Old 4th Apr 2014 at 12:43 AM
The animations and social interactions of the Sims in TS3 leave a LOT to be desired, as darthesp outlines pretty well. I have no argument about that at all. I haven't really adapted my play style much to accommodate it but I certainly recognize that it's not the game I wish it were.

OTOH, the only time I ever had a problem with sims just standing around doing nothing was when I tried to play this game on an underpowered laptop. After the second EP brought my sims playing to an exercise in frustration, I bought a new laptop and that helped for awhile but eventually after some more EP's it wasn't really good enough to play this game, either. So a few years ago I purchased a gaming desktop that I had custom ordered (after really researching all the parts and understanding whether they were good or not).

Ever since I've had it, I have NEVER had a sim just standing around idle.

Do they still lack all the animations of TS2? Yes! Do they repeat the same actions that are given too much weight over and over again? Yes, they sure do. Is it annoying? Well, it sure annoys me! But they are never idle. I have to agree with Ani, I think your system either isn't capable of running it or you have something else eating up your resources.

¢¾ Receptacle Refugee ¢¾ ~ Where are we going, and why am I in this handbasket!? ~
Laura's Legacy
Top Secret Researcher
#19 Old 4th Apr 2014 at 6:57 AM
Quote: Originally posted by CatMuto
... Then again, I can say that simply looking as someone passes you by is not an automatic human thing...
Not? Uh-oh! No wonder I have trouble fitting in.
Department of Post-Mortem Communications
#20 Old 4th Apr 2014 at 9:23 AM
Quote: Originally posted by r_deNoube
Not? Uh-oh! No wonder I have trouble fitting in.

At least if you live in Europe.

---

With regard to the original post, I have to agree with ani_ and tangie0906. I remember my active Sims standing around doing nothing from the time I played on my laptop, while now on a gaming PC I actually have to turn autonomy off sometimes if I want them to stand still. Processing power seems to be the crucial thing in this respect.
Besides, they do follow other Sims with their eyes or turn their heads when a friend passes by; just yesterday my Sim was greeted by a passing neighbour, who turned his head, waved and said something like "dis dis!". When a few hours later my Sim received a promotion in his job the other Sims that were on the same lot stopped whatever they were doing turned towards my Sim and cheered.
Space Pony
#21 Old 4th Apr 2014 at 10:13 AM
Some people have way too much OCD on their hands

Aren't you happy that SIMs are no longer "Prisoners" of their home lot or a Community lot? Those loading screens on SIMs 2 (I never had a chance to play SIMs 1) really annoyed me to hell Plus with Seasons installed each lot would have an independent season from another unless you sync them with a mod.

I absolutely appreciated the fact that when you load up a game, you actually load up an entire town your SIM can explore in an "open world" manner, except when you go on a trip abroad (WA), go to the default University (UL) &/or go into the future (ITF). I also love the fact that you can encounter other SIMs on the go & not just on lots.

I never encounter the issues the OP mentions about SIMs doing nothing & being idle & in fact my SIM (the one on my avatar) would do every action his traits would dictate (reading books, playing on a computer, playing with magic & getting pissed off at children) every chance he gets, unless I manually intervene as I too set "Free Will" to max.

As for facial expressions, I never zoom in too much on my SIM's face to even notice what his expressions are most of the time, but I do know he likes computers and hates children.
Mad Poster
#22 Old 4th Apr 2014 at 10:26 AM
Quote: Originally posted by babele44
With regard to the original post, I have to agree with ani_ and tangie0906. I remember my active Sims standing around doing nothing from the time I played on my laptop, while now on a gaming PC I actually have to turn autonomy off sometimes if I want them to stand still. Processing power seems to be the crucial thing in this respect.
Besides, they do follow other Sims with their eyes or turn their heads when a friend passes by; just yesterday my Sim was greeted by a passing neighbour, who turned his head, waved and said something like "dis dis!". When a few hours later my Sim received a promotion in his job the other Sims that were on the same lot stopped whatever they were doing turned towards my Sim and cheered.


Thanks to everyone stating the reason could be processing power because as long I played the game, my sims on high free will won't give me a minute to take care of one sim before I get to them, I have to play on pause. Also my sims acknowledge their friends as they walk by or before they do their action they will boo and hiss another either by heckling or seeing them in their bathing suits. I haven't played in a week so I thought to fire it up and play to see the idles and it confirmed my sims move around too much, can't find them sometimes and have to double click their portraits to figure out where they are.

Resident member of The Receptacle Refugees
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Forum Resident
Original Poster
#23 Old 4th Apr 2014 at 5:04 PM
I have a Geforce GTX650 Video card, an Intel Core i5-2400 CPU clocked at 3.10GHz, 8 GB of RAM, always clean my machine (both physically and software wise), frequently defragment, use game-boosting software to disable services while I play anything... Never run more than one large application at once.

I can play Skyrim, Sleeping Dogs, and Civilization V at full settings at full resolution (1680x1050) with barely a stutter, and you're telling me that my machine isn't powerful enough to play The Sims 3? Either the game is optimized worse than I thought, or it's an entirely different issue altogether...
Theorist
#24 Old 4th Apr 2014 at 5:12 PM
Optimized? I doubt it's optimized at all!
If your sims are idle and dead, that's completely different behavior than my game. Mine are always heckling their friends or playing with their cell phones. It's kind of weird and annoying, actually. Who boos their friend?
Could be maybe they're more active when idle with newer patches.
Also, as someone mentioned, traits make a difference. Use more traits that add idle animations and you'll have a more active sim. There are a few traits that are pretty boring and only help skills and careers. Avoid those.
I do like the insane trait. Sometimes they'll bark like a dog.

Resident wet blanket.
Alchemist
#25 Old 4th Apr 2014 at 5:20 PM
Can't say if it's related to hardware (I don't have a laptop) or mods (using Twallan's) but I certainly have never had any problems with simmies standing around doing nothing. I do like to micromanage my simmies but whenever I leave them without attention, they're constantly doing something and most of the time it's something that I definitely don't want them to do. They just won't stay still... which is actually okay, I guess. At least they still keep surprising me from time to time with their antics.
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