Sims Talk: Free Time hobby determination

[strangetomato]

I'm getting pretty ready to install Free Time, especially now that InSIM SimPE has been updated (that was fast). I will, however, need a plan of attack for all of my story sims, and their hobbies. I have a little list going already, and maybe I'll post it later to think out loud. I just found a list of traits that determine a sim's "true hobby", so I thought I'd share, in case you haven't seen it yet. This gives me a good idea of what my sims might end up with, but I'm not really liking how this element of the game works.

So it seems that the pre-determined "true hobby" that sims are given with Free Time is based on a combination of personality, skills, and interests. And here are the categories (I swiped this from the BBS somewhere):


Arts & Crafts - sloppy, nice - creativity - culture, fashion
Cuisine - neat, lazy - cooking - food
Film & Literature - shy, lazy - charisma - entertainment, culture
Fitness - outgoing, active - body - health
Games - playful, grouchy - logic - entertainment
Music & Dance - outgoing, serious - creativity - entertainment
Nature - sloppy, playful - cleaning - animals, environment, weather
Science - neat, serious - logic - sci-fi
Sports - active, grouchy - body - sports
Tinkering - shy, nice - mechanical - toys


I'm not really into this idea. It's way too limiting and it creates these "types" for each hobby. (Oh, but why don't I love grouping people into limiting categories? It's so much fun. *sigh*) Like aspiration, why not let us look at the personality of our sims and determine the hobby interest ourselves? Or let it be random, or at least more random than it is right now. The way it's set up now, you can only be into certain hobbies if you have a certain personality, which is, quite frankly, bullshit. I know plenty of musicians that are not serious, plenty of neat artsy types (more than sloppy ones, really), and why on earth would you need to be grouchy to enjoy sports? Argh, I say. Argh!

Using Buck Grunt as an example, he could end up with cuisine (not so bad), science (errm...), or he could end up with tinkering. Tinkering, people! What happened to him wanting to be a "pet stylist to the stars"? I have no idea why shyness would be connected to tinkering, anyway. Seriousness would be more accurate, in my opinion. But how limiting is that?! I want him to have arts and crafts (and he'll have it, don't worry), but the game creators have decided that a neat sim wouldn't like sewing? This makes no sense to me. Have they never heard of Martha Stewart? She's not exactly a slob.

... and Nervous Subject will probably like sports? That just seems wrong to me too. Shouldn't outgoingness be a factor for that one too? (I think I'm leaning towards film and literature for Nervous, myself. I haven't decided yet, but he does seem to like to read a lot, despite the high energy level.)

I'm not sure what to think of it all, really, but I don't really like it. It's just too limiting for me (but at least gender was not a factor). I think I will be taking the hobby destiny of my sims into my own hands, in most cases.

So what do you think?

Edited to add: My brain read that as InSIM, but I should have said SimPE. Oops! I need a nap.

Comments

[hidden-kitten.livejournal.com]

I can see Nervous being into sports, what with 10 active and all. Doesn't mean I agree with the whole scheme, though. I'm lazy, I hate to cook. If you're lazy, you will not write a book/movie. Not that you have to be active for those, but I think serious would have been better. You're definitely right about Tinkering. IF there's a way to change the criteria for the hobbies, I'll be doing it.
I would end up with a lot of Games in my SelfSims, though, that's for sure. They're all crappy bathtub pirates.
Thanks for the list, though, I'll just bookmark this entry for the ensuing discussion about changing hobbies with SimPE.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I see the active thing making sense for the sports thing and Nervous, but that's not the only way that activeness can be interpreted, and the rest of his personality is all wrong! He's shy and serious too, which doesn't point to sports for me.

I just think it's all too specific, ya know? It's like aspiration... I never just look at their personalities for that, though it is a factor. I look at a lot of things, including their family situation, when I pick an aspiration for a sim. I suppose if I were just playing the game, I would be more indifferent to it, but for storytelling, it's so much better to just be able to pick.

Go ahead and bookmark it, but please just copy and paste the info. I don't need to subject everyone to this rambling rant. *snicker*

[amaryssobellus.livejournal.com]

Don't mean to butt in.

Here's a mini-tutorial on changing hobbies without SimPE if you're interested.

http://simgaroop.livejournal.com/20958.html?#cutid1

[hidden-kitten.livejournal.com]

And, while rereading the comments as the thread grows and grows, I meant 'crabby', not 'crappy'. Dyslexia's entertaining! Also, I spelled it 'dyselxia' on my first try. Gah.

[ndainye.livejournal.com]

The thing is that pre-determined hobbies really don't matter at all. The only thing that a pre-determined hobby effects is the rate at which a sim gains enthusiasm for the hobbies.

My current heiress is pre-determined nature eh okay not what I'd probably choose for her she's more of a gamer. So she plays video games, gains enthusiasm for gaming, subscribes to the gamer magazines, joins the gamer secret club and joins/wins gamer competitions. There's no limit on what she can do with other hobbies all it means is that when I tell her to go weed the garden she gains nature enthusiasm faster than her food loving fiance does when he weeds the garden.

Sims will roll wants that correspond to their current enthusiasm level for all hobbies. Said heiress has had in her panel at one point or another wants to toss a football, wants to go on hikes, wants to win dance contests, etc.. because she has some enthusiasm for all those hobbies.

There were a few sims in my hood that I used the lot debugger and cheated to change the pre-determined hobby but for the most part I'm just ignoring what the little bubbles say and letting my sims do what they want. Just like everything else when given equal opportunity to explore the options available most sims will tell you what they really like.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Everything you said is true, and it really isn't that big of a deal, but that little boost to the rate at which they gain enthusiasm does matter to me. And what about those idle hobby animations? I'd hate to see a character get stuck with one that didn't make sense, or miss the opportunity to have one that suits them better.

It's more of the principle of it all that irks me. I just don't want my sims to be boxed in like that.

"Just like everything else when given equal opportunity to explore the options available most sims will tell you what they really like."

I totally agree! But again, all the more reason to let them decide for themselves...

[music-simbol.livejournal.com]

I think it's fine if you end up choosing each of their hobbies to fit with your story. It wouldn't make sense if Tank's was anything but fitness or sports, at least story wise. Just follow simgaroop's little tutorial, and all will be well.

It would be cool just to document what the game automatically gave everyone, but past that, choose for yourself.

(And looking at this list, my self sim would probably be arts and crafts or film and literature. Cool!)

(ps, what skintones do you use? I'm looking for some for veronaville.)

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

When you're doing a story, it just makes sense to choose, doesn't it? I couldn't see Tank with anything but fitness, really. And Ripp's would be music (though a lot of that is determined by his LTW and how I've handled him in the story - I could also see him with games, if taken in another direction).

I'm so glad that Simgaroop did that tutorial. It makes my task so much easier.

I'll definitely document what they would have gotten and post it, so we can all gawk at it, but it will be one of the first times that I will take a major detour from the way the game would naturally present them. (Heh. Look at me! I think I know them better than the game does. *snicker* Ego, much?)

I have no idea what my selfsim would get, since she doesn't fit neatly into any of those pairings of traits. Maybe science. *snort* Not THAT is a joke.

You mean, like replacement skins? I don't use anything for skin. Just the Maxis defaults. The only replacements I have are Lyran's eyes, and Pixel and Bean's alien eyes.

[ownsimscorner.livejournal.com]

I agree it`s a bit too simplistic. And, yep, Nervous`s OTH in my game is Sports - am planning to change that though, it`s too OC. Buck`s is Science (and so is Tank`s!).

[ownsimscorner.livejournal.com]

Just to add that the majority of the Strangetown sims seem to be into Science (both Beakers, Pascal, Vidcund, Olive and much more). Kinda fitting, no?

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I wish there were more characteristics taken into consideration with each hobby. Something more complicated that this. But I guess I have to accept the limits of the game system.

And, I agree. Sports does seem very OC for Nervous, at least to me.

[cindyanne1.livejournal.com]

In my game, here are what the predestined hobbies of my Strangetown denizens are...

Nervous: Sports
Chester Gieke: (okay he's OFB but in my game he's joined with Nervous so I looked) Film and Literature
Tank: Sports
Ripp: Arts and Crafts
Buck: Science
Jill: Film and Literature (but I changed her to Art)
Johnny: Music and Dance
PTech#9: Science
Jenny: Arts and Crafts
Buzz: Sports
Pascal: Science
Vidcund: Science
Lazlo: Nature (I think that fits him!!)
Loki: Science
Circe: Science
Erin: Nature (I think... I might have changed her too)
Ophelia: Music and Dance
Ajay: Music and Dance


Paladin has made a predestined hobby adjuster that I've downloaded. It's come in handy because I've found that a lot of sims have the same predestined hobbies. Not only in Strangetown, but I have a tendency to give my CAS sims the same type of personalities and then THEY end up with the same hobbies. If I had one more CAS sim interested in Tinkering I was going to scream, lol!

[ownsimscorner.livejournal.com]

Pescado`s FFSdebugger is really useful for changing the OTH as well.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting that! I wonder if there is any room for variation (maybe in interests, since they're random, right? Or are they with the Maxis premades?). We'll see if mine match up.

It makes sense that the Beakers and Curiouses would be into science. That much makes sense to me, at least. Except Lazlo, but that makes sense too. *snicker* I'd peg him as a gamer, but nature works too.

But everyone loves tinkering, right? It's SUCH a common hobby... unless I'm wrong. (Is tinkering a common hobby? I never would have guessed that.) And why isn't sloppy a factor in tinkering? Fixing up a car involves getting really dirty.

I think I would just like to see more characteristics associated with each hobby. More than just two, anyway.

[amaryssobellus.livejournal.com]

I agree 100% that it's a little limiting. When I went to check out my Veronica Lodge and found out her preset hobby was nature I laughed out loud. I know that she's against the rich life style and the society that she grew up with but to let her have nature would be so wrong... just wrong.

But for other cases, like sims who's personalities have shown me anything finding out their preset hobbies could be fun. My one sim Natalia Ferrera's preset was dance and that actually worked out perfectly for her and made me see her in a whole new light. Her brother fitted his to his personality already so I really didn't have to do much on that front but instead just added another demension to his personality. ^_^

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

It's very limiting when you're in the middle of telling a story. It would be different to start out with the hobbies already in place, and letting it shape the story form the beginning. But I like being about to choose things like that myself. I've already given the sims in this story hobbies of sorts, like Ophelia and her flowers. I like being able to choose.

I totally agree. It could help you to develop a new character, but wouldn't it be more interesting if that was more random? You could end up with some really odd, interesting characters that way.

I'd like to see it work more like the LTWs do. Based on something, but pretty random within those parameters.

[cindyanne1.livejournal.com]

Also I just found out that TwoJeffs has posted a critical fix for the aspiration memories mix-up on the Inteen site.

I had noticed a lot of my sims were thinking about "romance things" such as the double-heart going-steady thought balloon and a Kiss balloon even when they hadn't kissed anyone lately. Pascal, who is Knowledge/Fortune in my game, was the worst offender, lol. I caught him dancing with the sponge mop when he went into Aspiration desperation once... and also Johnny, who is Popularity/Family, had a red memory of getting engaged and married. I guess other players were noticing aspiration rewards not working properly and even platinum tombstones having the wrong symbol on them too.

I knew it was a Freetime bug, but since my sims' actual wants were OK I didn't let it affect my game. I don't look at their memories much and I just let it go. All of the mixed-up thought bubbles and asp failures, however, were starting to get a bit annoying, so I'm glad TwoJeffs made the fix!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I haven't even heard about that issue yet! So that's a definite bug that comes with Free Time? I wonder if it will be fixed with a patch. (And there goes my nerve to actually install Free Time. I'll wait a while longer. I'm such a wimp like that.)

On a positive note... I could use that bug to maybe sneak Ripp into a marriage without him having a negative memory of it. *snicker* But I think that his wedding day, if it ever comes, is definitely not happening in the immediate future...

[katsuko]

I dislike the way the game does the presets. I actually left a few of the families I've played since installing FT alone, but in my extra Strangetown I experimented with the Beaker household. I wound up changing Circe over to Film & Literature because I thought it fit her better (and getting her in the Entertainment track because she wants to hit the top of that track) and Nervous to cuisine since it made more sense with his LTW (celebrity chefs have to start somewhere, IMO). I dunno, it just made more sense to me. Plus, now Nervous has the most cooking points in the house and high enthusiasm in cuisine, so they're all eating well.

I enjoy the EP, but I wish it wasn't so limited. Although I admit amusement that my selfsim in PSV is a gaming enthusiast.... I see nothing wrong in any way with using Simgaroop's tutorial and changing out OTHs for storytelling purposes. I'm likely to do it myself in Weirdsville and the Legacy house when I hop back to them.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I completely agree that the cuisine enthusiasm and the culinary LTW should match up, but I suppose these things would require a more complicated game engine. (Sims 3, anyone?)

I know that I will enjoy this EP too. A lot. This is just a minor gripe. I do have a way around it, afterall.

[xel-squirgle-ox.livejournal.com]

I don't really like the fact that they have pre-destined hobbies. You should be able to pick them like you were with the aspirations and turn ons. No matter what though, they always assign random ones to the pre-freetime characters, which sucks.

According to this, my selfsim would have arts and crafts! Not bad, since I make jewelry, but I was hoping it would be music and dance since that's what she's OBSESSED with!

Hehe, Nervous with film and literature. Yeah, I think that's more fitting than sports. Pretty ironic though, since the Beakers probably never even realized that he could even read. Poor kid probably had to teach himself.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I totally agree. It would be nice to at least have a built in way to change it, like they did with that Re Nu Port-a-Chug (spelled incorrectly?). It's not like you can't have more than one hobby anyway, but still.

Nervous does have a bookshelf in his little pit in the Beaker mansion, so I figure that he probably spent a lot of time reading down there, since he was always alone.

[simgarooop.livejournal.com]

Huh? Insim is already updated? That's awesome, because SimPe was also updated yesterday!


If you install Free Time, make sure you get this fix:

http://box156.bluehost.com/~aestudi1/forums/inteenimater/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=19

So far, this is the only "serious" bug that's appeared with Free Time, and only if you have sims with double aspirations, but so far I hadn't seen any issues in my game (but I installed it to be safe).

Hmmm... from reading the comments at this thread, it seems like all the Strangetown characters have the same predestined hobbies. Buck was science and Ripp was arts and crafts. And I've read in two different places about the Curious hobbies and they match too.

I think the way the hobbies are assigned is pretty silly! If I were a Sim, my hobby would be tinkering! :D I'm more a film and literature girl.

Good thing there's a way to change these predestined hobbies :). Good luck and have fun with FT!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Oh, my mistake. I meant to type SimPE. I'll edit that. I think my brain just read it as InSIM. Wishful thinking, maybe? Wow. Maybe I need a nap...

Thanks for the tip and the link. :)

I guess Strangetown always would have the same hobbies, if it just follows this formula, since it seems pretty rigid in how it works.

I know. I don't think that I would get my actual hobby(ies) with this formula either. That seems to prove something to me, since many people are saying that.

I'm so glad that it's possible to change them. Thanks so much for that making that tutorial! It's really handy.

[redqueenofevil.livejournal.com]

One of the things that worries me, is that it seems my sim offspring get stuck with the same predetermined hobbies their parents do. I suppose that's okay, but a little variety would do nicely.

Any word on when Lot Debugger will upgrade? Thanks for the notes on Insim. I'll download the next version before I play next time. At least V 2.7b (or whatever the last one was) didn't crash my game. That seems to be saved for the 'multi poli-tech' hack. :)

[ownsimscorner.livejournal.com]

The FFSDebugger, you mean? It`s already upgraded with a bunch of new FT options including changing your Sims`s OTH hobby. :)

All of MATY`s hacks have been updated for FT and some new ones have been created to prevent, for example, the hobby club members`s stalkerish behavior.

[dothesmustle.livejournal.com]

I don't like the idea of your hobby being determined by personality, I thought it was determined randomly. I was a music and dance sim, but I like playful sims and how they play in the tub. :/
Hopefully, someone will release a "Hobby Randomizer" hack, if that is even possible.

SimPE was updated, but it would just crash on me and then wouldn't work at all. It is in testing mode, right? Atleast I hope so, because I had to delete/download it like, three times. >:(

[amaryssobellus.livejournal.com]

Well with the LotDebugger you can "randomize" your sims to what you think it should be. But you're right, I'm sure someone will release a hobby randomizer, hopefully soon.

Link to mini-tutorial of LotDebugger
http://simgaroop.livejournal.com/20958.html?#cutid1

[hcraig480.livejournal.com]

My Buck was interested in fitness and Tank likes to sew.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Really? Well, that's interesting. It doesn't really fit with the chart there, does it?