Well, usually community lots in The Sims 3 are quite dead, not always but still.

So I had placed this Java hangout in Sunset Valley, while museums and libraries are often empty, people are always doing something at the Java hangout! I bet I checked out if there was people there like 5 times in 2 sim days and there was at least 4-5 persons hanging out there. I decided that my sim would go grab something to eat at the Java hangout and guess what, after just one sim hour there we're 15 sims there!

So are University community lots coded or something to attract more sims? Because when I play University I always feel like the community lots really are active.

Great to know. I might switch out some of my "dead beat" community lots for the university ones and get my "downtown/main street" areas more active. I'll have to try them out in Bridgeport too.

Yes, university lots have a very high attraction in the venues tuning file. The Java Hut is rated 150 as opposed to 50 for a cocktail lounge, for example. In a city world like Bridgeport it is even higher with 175, while the lounges are only 60 there. And just for further comparison: a Big Park is rated at 30 and a Library at 100. This is just the basic rating, I think that trait modifiers for Sims apply in addition. One of the highest rated lot type is actually the Market (World Adventures lot type rated at 200). If you manage to get one in a homeworld then it's usually packed.

Yeah I love playing Bridgeport. I've been toying with the idea of switching out some of the community lots with player made ones that I've seen in the community. So far I haven't done a thing but I'm starting to shop around for them. Any recommendations on big city worlds out there? I grew up in a big city (Toronto) and as much as I like the suburbs (yes I've lived there too) and farm towns (never lived but visited enough), I am really drawn to having my sims live in the big city. I just wish EA made proper apartments for this game.

I'm looking for both actually So any large metropolitan city worlds recommended would be appreciated. I've seen a couple "big city" style worlds but since I don't have all EP's and no SP's, I'm careful about downloading them since I don't know if it would work in my game.

I like Bridgeport but I tend to get a bit tired of it because I like the family gameplay but it is one of the best worlds. My personal favorite world is Starlight Shores, it has both the '' home suburb '' and the '' downtown '' feeling.

Ah.. well, one day if/when someone makes Starlight Shores base game compatible or makes something like it, I'll try it out. I don't have Showtime.

Generally yes but I've downloaded some worlds and was told it would run without the other EP's but ended up really laggy on my computer so I've had to ditch them. Thanks for the New York link. Downloading now as we speak and I see that I have all the EP's required to run this world. Looking forward to playing this.

Well, the Showtime feautures are pretty dull but I love the city and some objects/clothes that comes with it, if it gets quite cheap I would recommend you buying it (because expansion packs should be dropping in price right now) and I don't think it will take up much space, I've heard that it is the lightest EP ever (the one with the lowest GB/MB)

Well, as I posted before, you can always bait and switch to get the lots more populated. E.g. pick a 64x30 or 60x40 or such lot (most maps have one, even if you have to demolish something else), set it of type hangout, place a grocery and bookstore (I think those 2 are the most used by NPCs)rabbitholes on both sides, build your actual hangout in the middle. NPCs come there for the rabbitholes, then figure, "eh, it can't hurt to have a pint or two while we're here."

If it feels cheaty, bear in mind that EA itself did just that with, for example, the Flying-V's Coffeehouse. The actual coffeehouse is only the stage and seating outside. The white building is actually a fast food joint that's placed on the same lot. Works wonders to bait and switch people into coming on the lot.

Bear in mind that it also helps to have one of the items that the lot type encourages to use. E.g., if you have a dance club lot, NPCs are encouraged to use the dance floor, even if they just came on the lot for groceries. E.g., a dive bar (it has to be specifically that) encourages people to use the dart board and IIRC pool table.

If you add some toilets, people on the lot have a bladder need (otherwise their bladder is disabled), and may come into your pub just to use the toilet. Then hang around and do other stuff.

Also, you have to realize that all the venues compete for a finite and small number of people. If you have a dozen pubs, plus the parks and fishing spots and such, for two dozen people, don't be surprised that most are empty. One saloon per town is enough. Two works ok. Three is pushing it. Also reduce the number of parks (one is more than enough), and you can safely get rid of all Showbiz venues. Even if you actually want to play a band, place the stage in some other pub. Remove all pools and place a poolside club instead, since it really serves the same people and needs.

Also, if that's not enough, you can actually use NRaas to stop the game from pushing "go home" for most people on active lots. So once they came for the groceries on the disco lot, NRaas tells them, "stay a while". Mind you, my game doesn't actually need that, but it's an option.

And finally, get creative. E.g., if you want to have two pubs, put the groceries and movie theatre on one lot, and the spa and bookstore on the other. Or some such combination, that splits the two most used between lots. E.g., your park can also hold the arboretum and fortuneteller wagon. In my game, the Plumppuddle park has been enlarged to 30x30, and the path on the right side actually curves naturally around an arboretum placed there. Declare it a BIG park while you're at it, if you want to meet people at the park, since the game pushes more people to a big park than to a small park. E.g., since EA already used the Flying-V's for bait-and-switch, I used it in my game together with a futuristic style poolside club.

Essentially at the moment I have a minimal number of venues catering to 100 or so hand-made people (I'm not kidding). When the game says it's an empty evening there, there are a dozen people dancing.

Oh, btw, if the above still somehow doesn't work well enough for you, here's one more secret weapon, developed by the finest minds at Sims State University... while drunk and doing a naked kegstand at a party: place a juice keg.

Seriously, unless you retuned it, that thing actually interrupts people to tell them to get a drink. Tired people wake up to have a drink and hungry people leave the food on the oven to have a drink. And it's flagged to work even on uninvited passers-by, which is kinda unique among all EA items.

That keg is how cops that came to break my Friday night party... again... on a Monday at 10 AM forget about everything and hang around wanting a drink.