Motives on residential lots

[Guest]

I'd like to pick up on something mentioned in another thread by Inge Jones:

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I know this is straying off topic but it reminded me of something I needed to ask. When on a residential lot, you can't see your motives (just the basic mood display) and they're meant to be all green while on the residential lot aren't they? Ok but when leaving the residential lot they are not necessarily still full green, which means there is a danger that you might go to work and be red. How do people get round this potential problem?

Personally I think it's a bit disappointing having no motives on residential, because it makes it pointless trying to furnish your home.


[/ QUOTE ]
Being recently returned to the game after a long break I was unaware of this change, and am completely baffled and disappointed by it. What was the reasoning behind it?

It was my intention to eventually build myself a little home where I can green before and after work rather than taking up a space in a skill or money house as I have to do now. I understand that I would be unable to see if I were properly green before setting off for work without running to another lot! I wont know how long I need to stay in bed or use a fun item etc to do the job properly. This seems ludicrous!

It now seems I will have to put my house in some category other than residential just so that I can see what I am doing (assuming I can ever afford to buy a lot in the first place - the day I came back to the game lots were going for around $600, and today are over $8000 so I'm even further away from affording one than when I was a penniless new sim - but that's another thread lol).

So why was this change made? I can see absolutely no benefit to anyone *scratches head*.

 

[Inge Jones]

And sometimes I might want to let my sim get on with greening or skilling while I am semi-afk and those are the times I might want to take her home to do it rather than take up space in a community lot being unsociable. Ok it doesn't stop me doing the skilling, but I would really like my home to be self-contained and be able to do all the stuff I need to do on it to get ready for work - or maybe get ready for pizza or just plain socialising. If I make it a service lot, other sims will be turning up and then it will make it awkward if I want to come and go without having to make big announcements about the lot closing.

 

[vapd3317]

I have always had my "private residence" as a store. Mainly so that I could purchase any item I wanted from the catalogue at reduced prices without having to go to a store. Now, with the fact that there is not a catalogue available unless you OWN a store, it just increased my desire to own one.

Even if I still want to find it cheaper at a store (because multiple items get a bigger discount), having my own store lets me see what items I want in the catalogue so that I can tell another store owner what I am looking for. (It also lets me know the value of an item brand new, vs what a store owner wants to charge me for it)

All this,...and the ability to ensure a full green before work starts

 

[Inge Jones]

Well we know the workarounds, Vapd, but the point is I can't see a good reason or a benefit to not being able to see our motive gauge on residential lots. Not everyone will want to have their home receiving visitors who are looking for shops or services.

 

[Guest]

What I can't wrap my head around is the fact they actually physically had to remove the motive bars from the interface. Presumably they gave a reason for this at the time? Because whichever way I look at it, and turn it upside down and shake it, I can't for the life of me see any point to it at all.

 

[Inge Jones]

The only thing I can guess is maybe there was a phase where everyone was sitting in their homes and not getting out to meet people, so they wanted to create a need to use community lots. But I have seen so many people feeling let down by finding sims on community lots are AFK that I feel I would prefer to let my sim do stuff at home when I am AFK.

If it's that people wanted to be AFK at home without dying of the reds, then maybe there could simply be an object we can buy at home, or an extra option on the mailbox, that would "hold motives" just for residential lots.

 

[vapd3317]

I didnt imply that I receive visitors just because I own a store. I put it on ban all or admit list only. The fact that I own a store as my personal residence, should in NO MEANS be implied that I manage it as a store for the public to visit. I stated it is what I do for a "private residence" and is a way that those looking for a private residence for greening could use as an option.

 

[imported_Shirl1211]

<blockquote><hr>

I have always had my "private residence" as a store. Mainly so that I could purchase any item I wanted from the catalogue at reduced prices without having to go to a store. Now, with the fact that there is not a catalogue available unless you OWN a store, it just increased my desire to own one.

Even if I still want to find it cheaper at a store (because multiple items get a bigger discount), having my own store lets me see what items I want in the catalogue so that I can tell another store owner what I am looking for. (It also lets me know the value of an item brand new, vs what a store owner wants to charge me for it)

All this,...and the ability to ensure a full green before work starts

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Now that is an excellent idea. Two birds for the price of one.. I like it!! Thank you for sharing!

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

I'd like to pick up on something mentioned in another thread by Inge Jones:

<blockquote><hr>

I know this is straying off topic but it reminded me of something I needed to ask. When on a residential lot, you can't see your motives (just the basic mood display) and they're meant to be all green while on the residential lot aren't they? Ok but when leaving the residential lot they are not necessarily still full green, which means there is a danger that you might go to work and be red. How do people get round this potential problem?

Personally I think it's a bit disappointing having no motives on residential, because it makes it pointless trying to furnish your home.


[/ QUOTE ]
Being recently returned to the game after a long break I was unaware of this change, and am completely baffled and disappointed by it. What was the reasoning behind it?

It was my intention to eventually build myself a little home where I can green before and after work rather than taking up a space in a skill or money house as I have to do now. I understand that I would be unable to see if I were properly green before setting off for work without running to another lot! I wont know how long I need to stay in bed or use a fun item etc to do the job properly. This seems ludicrous!

It now seems I will have to put my house in some category other than residential just so that I can see what I am doing (assuming I can ever afford to buy a lot in the first place - the day I came back to the game lots were going for around $600, and today are over $8000 so I'm even further away from affording one than when I was a penniless new sim - but that's another thread lol).

So why was this change made? I can see absolutely no benefit to anyone *scratches head*.

[/ QUOTE ]
Apparently, I am completely ignorant about the way Residence lots work.
I had one in TC3, but the motives were the same coming out as they were going in - regardless of what "greening" I did while I was there.
I even tested for this several times.
Is this NOT how it works in EAzy Land? Can you green-up blindly?

 

[Inge Jones]

I think they are the same coming out as going in. But I a) don't want them to be and b) can't really be expected to remember what they were so as to decide whether to dash to a skill or services lot before work, and how long to leave for it.

 

[Guest]

I have never much cared for the set-up of Res lots - I agree that not being able to see is a pain.
Maybe it's just me, but I think that motives should still be a factor on Res lots. Maybe super-fast green and/or super-slow decay.

 

[Guest]

You would have to go back a long way in the blog to find the reasoning for motive free lots.

Basically, it has to do with the forever free player set up. In anticipation of EA-Land becoming a hub for all EA gamers, they are setting some parts of it up, for folks that just want to hang a bit, but not become involved in the 'motive, skill, money' game.
This way a Madden Football player could make a small home on a zero size lot, set it for residential, get the money they need from the ATM, and make friends with other fans of the game...but never have to go skill or get a job.

The other use is as a party lot....no one loses motives or skills, while chatting, friending and goofing off. We have always asked for large community lots to host town meetings, weddings, large contests....motive free lots are excellent for this as well.

They seem to like it in the residential lot, but they have asked for suggestions for other lots to be made motive free.

In the meantime, may I suggest Offbeat....it has easy motives, and no one has any clue what to expect from the category.

 

[Guest]

I'd like to discuss some of the good things about residential lots.

First of all the lot thinks your maxed in all skills so even tho you cant skill there you do get the benefits of all skill actions while there which is great for both red and green linking, especially since red linking doesnt crash your motives. You can hang out and party with your friends without stopping to green, with the costs of things in EA Land a free place to hang out is a good thing. One of my favorite things about res lots is pets dont need to green either, and they wont run away. I love that! Skills also do not decay while on a res lot.

Its true that your motives stay the same when you leave as when you arrived. You cant green up there. However if you come into game and you see its almost time for your shift at work you can hang at a res lot until its time to go and not lose your fresh login green.

As Gilly said, res lots are the first step in non TSO lots, meaning they will also benefit players that come for other games as EA Land progresses. In time other lot categories will be added to it. Greg has talked about this in the Pub. Expect several changes in the future to lot categories.

Personally I love my res lot, I can relax there and just have fun, or I can be afk and not worry about my sim being red when I come back. I've gotten so spoiled by not needing to green I sometimes forget to on other lots lol.

 

[Guest]

Well why don't you make the lot a service lot since it greens you faster anyway. May as well take advantage of the grening speed where u can. Does it really matter all that much what category it is set at? You seemany residential homes in the store category for the simple optio to be able to buy their own furniture etc.

 

[Guest]

Personally I prefer residential lots, I dont really like greening, but thats just me. Everyone else is welcome to use whatever category they enjoy best.

 

[mike1977]

Yeah, I think offbeat should be no motives too. As for games category, what about the idea for the owner to choose whether or not to green? Some instances you may want greening turned on for drink til you pee contests, etc... but at other times you may want to shut it off for other special events? Of course with more than one sim you could just switch to the appropriate lot...lol

 

[Inge Jones]

Yes that's what I was trying to say earlier, let it be an option on the mailbox or something.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

Yeah, I think offbeat should be no motives too. As for games category, what about the idea for the owner to choose whether or not to green? Some instances you may want greening turned on for drink til you pee contests, etc... but at other times you may want to shut it off for other special events? Of course with more than one sim you could just switch to the appropriate lot...lol

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Actually, I meant that people should build their homes on Offbeat lots, because no one has any expectation of *that* category, and they would not get a lot of confused &amp; disappointed visitors. It also has easy motives.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

Apparently, I am completely ignorant about the way Residence lots work.
I had one in TC3, but the motives were the same coming out as they were going in - regardless of what "greening" I did while I was there.
I even tested for this several times.
Is this NOT how it works in EAzy Land? Can you green-up blindly?


[/ QUOTE ]

It's worse than I thought if you can't even green at all at a residence. Is there any point to furnishing it? Might as well just have an empty lot lol. When I eventually build I will have to use a different category even tho it won't be representative of what the lot actually is. From what people have said, I should think I would be best off making it a store until it's fully furnished, then switching to either service or offbeat.

 

[Guest]

yep thats the best way to go.

 

[Inge Jones]

Well I don't really think this is a good idea at all, especially when there is this new drive to recruit new players. They're going to find it confusing, embarrassing and disenchanting if they land on lots that turn out to be people's private homes because they have followed the How-to guides and looked for lots in certain categories to visit.

I myself made that mistake. Yes the description did say "just my home" but I didn't realise I needed to take that literally, I thought it was just a way of saying it was a small lot and not to expect much of it. I had no reason to believe this literally was someone's residence with the category it was listed as.

If there are people who don't want to green in their homes I can respect that, but it shouldn't be too hard to make it optional to the lot owner. It's the sort of mod I was making all the time for Sims 1.