Maxis Premade Sim Genetics

[strangetomato]

I've been thinking about the Good Genes III contest at GoS, and what really interests me in it is not wondering if the ugly would breed out (I think we all knew it would, given three generations), but which Maxis sim features you're left with. Planning for those three faces to blend with an attractive (and hopefully unique) final result is what made it so interesting to me. A lot of people go the Face One/Face Two route, but are their sims interesting enough to win the contest? Pretty is pretty, but what stands out enough to win? It remains to be seen, I guess. I know I'm more interested in seeing the diamonds in the rough, making pretty from unexpected gene choices. I'd like to see people receive bonus points for using a sim like Chester Gieke or Malcolm Landgraab, but lose points for every Brandi, Ajay, Don, or Cyd (or any other Face One/Two type).

Speaking of odd gene choices, I'm surprised that so many people have used Oberon (he's at least as popular as Don Lothario), because his nose is so wide and he's just not as conventional as the other sims that get re-used frequently. Also, Lilith Pleasant gets used a LOT and have you ever seen what that nose looks like on a male sim? It's intense. I'm really surprised that I'm the only one so far (I think...) that has used Ripp Grunt. He has really attractive features (for a man, at least... his daughters need to worry about the chin). Are any of the choices surprising you?

I've been thinking about devising my own variation on a Maxis sim breeding challenge, but have people start with Face One and aim to remove it, but still end up with something attractive. I'm not sure I'm up for the work of designing it, but it'd be something fun to do. Perhaps I'll suggest it for a Maxis_taste challenge.

Comments

[honorkid54.livejournal.com]

I tried to use sims that nobody had used. In the end, I ended up using Puck, Benedick Monty and Ophelia.

One of the choices that did surprise me was Dina Caliente. Her features are a little bit odd, but on the resulting child her face actually provided some pretty nice genes. Someone did use Malcolm Landgraab, and the resulting child wasn't bad looking at all.

[naughtydolphin.livejournal.com]

I did that! His eyebrows turned up in a few of the gen three kids quite strongly, but his features were quite interesting.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I think Puck was used a couple of times (surprisingly much less than Oberon, though), but Ophelia and Benedick weren't used at all (I used Ophelia, but that's it). Ophelia has really nice genes. Her sons are quite masculine and she has those sort of slanted eyes (a little like Nervous). That Marsha Bruenig template is one of my favourites.

I'm surprised by the Caliente sisters, too. They're not really all that great looking, in my opinion. Nina has a HUGE forehead, Dina has a sort of long face (especially the nose), and both have smallish eyes. I think you can see a nod towards their alien heritage in their strong cheekbones and tapering jaws (and the forehead thing — the default PT has a massive one).

That said, I've seen their genes breed well with others, so they're a good bet. And they're certainly NOT ugly.

Malcolm was a brave choice, I agree, and she was wise to use him in the first breeding round, to give the brow a chance to breed out. I'm sure even Malcolm probably has some nice features in there among the sketchy ones. It's all a question of balance.