Random Text Events: Yes or No?

I like those kind of events and think they can add a lot to gameplay and be fun BUT they can also become very repetitive if it’s the same 5 scenarios that happen every 7 (in-game) days or something it can get repetitive and end up being an annoyance. So there either needs to be a lot of different scenarios or it has to be a very rare pop-up imo But I do like them 😄

Yes! Contextual texts that fit with the actual circumstances of the paras. Then it wouldn't feel flat or like something that's just off. Big variety of different texts/calls according to their traits, life situations, your relationship, your skills, season, etc.

I think it would really add to the gameplay in a positive way. You might choose to ignore the pop up, but these kinds of random interactions can really keep players engaged.

I would really love that as a part of the game! Having consequences, small and big, based on what you answer would be so cool. I do think it would be good, though, if you could turn it off and on as you might want to play with it at one point and without it at another point and also because different players like different things. Really cool idea though! :D

I'm sure this has been discussed since this is pretty old, but I loooove them when they have MEANING. Like they make contextual sense, have impact, etc. The ones in the sims were so boring and fake. It's good to have humor but if they're "rAnDoM" for the sake of being random it's... not good. These are probably a lot of work to put in but if they're done right they'd be invaluable.

Yes! But with the option to turn them of in the game settings!

If the pop up events were almost DM narration in dungeons and dragons it could be cool, so it’s based on either the location of the para or the current events situations happening, so it’s like something auctally happening

Yes, after reading the above comment I would definitely love less with actual quality then just random pop ups that do nothing for your Parafolk...Definitely quality over quantity in regards to pop up texts/calls.

I voted "Not sure", I like the general idea, but only if they are interesting and you are not constantly getting spammed with them. Also, I think most of the time they should be events that are more integrated into the world than actually just a disconnected text pop-up. Something like a friend needing help could easily be done by them calling on the phone or texting asking for help, instead of your Para just magically knowing through telepathy, it might seem like a minor difference, but I think it's important. An exception might be something like "Your para heard a loud noise coming from the house next door, should they go investigate?" as it's still based on something your para might notice, but that wouldn't be easy to make it something that the player notices. Here are some ideas for random events that I think would be interesting: - Your neighbor's sink broke so they call and ask you to come fix it since they heard you have high plumbing/mechanical skill (maybe they will offer you payment or a gift after if they're a good neighbor and you can choose to accept or not). - Your best friend just broke up with their partner and wants you to come over and eat ice cream and watch sad movies. - Your sister and her spouse are going out of town for the weekend and want you to babysit their kids, your niece and nephew, and they will get temporarily moved into your household as NPCs (maybe your sister will send you a postcard or bring you back a souvenir as thanks). - As a teen, one of your friends calls up and says their parents are out of town and they're having a wild party (maybe the cops will show up if it gets too wild and you could get in trouble, but the popular kids might think you're super uncool if you don't go, and your crush is going to be there and maybe you could hook up). - Your para notices someone breaking into your neighbor's house and they have the option to go confront the burglar, call the cops, or do nothing (maybe you get a reward for helping apprehend a criminal, or maybe it's actually your neighbor's teenage kid sneaking back from a party after curfew and now they hate you for getting them in trouble). - Your grown child who has moved out is thinking about asking their partner to marry them and wants your opinion (maybe they take your advice or maybe they don't and it can affect not only your child's relationship with this other sim, but also your relationship with both of them). I think there should be consequences that fit the situation. If your best friend calls up needing your emotional support and you turn them down in their time of need, that's probably going to be a pretty big hit on your relationship, while going will mostly just solidify the relationship you already have since you're already best friends. If you try and confront a burglar on your own you could get hurt badly (maybe even killed?), but if you ignore it maybe they'll rob your house next... or maybe nothing will happen. Fixing your neighbor's sink might increase your relationship a bit (and maybe even more if you turn down payment), but probably won't make them dislike you or anything if you turn them down (unless maybe they have a personality trait that makes them feel insulted easily or something), but it would mostly give you an opening to get to know them better if you choose to stay around and chat after you're done, and also just make it feel like your para is part of a community and also make it meaningful that they invested in this particular skill. Also, just to be clear, I think you should have the option to actually go with your para to do most of these things, not just pick an option and immediately get the result. That might be fine if they're in a rabbit hole at work or something, or if it's maybe an event where someone calls and is asking a question you can answer over the phone (like the example of your kid calling asking for your opinion or advice), but I would love for most events like these to actually be things that encourage you to get your paras out in the world and to interact with the community. If they aren't meaningful and interesting then there's really no point to having them. I don't want pop-ups that just give two options and the consequences are random and you just immediately get a minor reward or consequence from clicking a button and you can just forget it even happened as soon as the window closes. I'd rather have fewer events that happen infrequently, but are well crafted and interesting and involved when they do happen (and can play out differently based on a para's traits/skills/relationships, etc.), than have a ton of meaningless pop-ups that are constantly interrupting my play.

I love them, BUT.... I don't like that I have to interrupt what I do to participate. It would be great, for exemple, if your friend invite you to their house, that you can answer "yes, i'll come right away" or "yes, i'll come in a few minutes" so you can finish what you where doing and then go.

I would love to get opportunities this way, that are linked to the paras' personalities or interests: eg if you have a passion for baking, a neighbour can ask you to deliver a tray of cookies for her birthday party. And then you have the option to say yes or no. That way, it adds to the in-depth gameplay and your engagement in the community. It would be a way for paras to acknowledge and react to their fellow paras' personalities/abilities, and I think the gameplay could become more 'alive' this way. I would not like a "mini-game" within the game with its own little storyline - I think a feature like this has to add to and further deepen the sandbox experience.

it would be great if they could be turned on/off at any point which will give the players full control of their gameplay

I only would like them if they were interactive in some form or another beyond just clicking a yes/no/choice button on screen. If my neighbors house is on fire, let me first choose to participate in the scenario or not (this can be done via text), then if I choose to participate, let me actually have to go to the neighbors house and either help extinguish the flames and earn friend points, reward money, etc., or choose to just sit there and watch his house burn down and earn negative friend points or get fined money by the neighborhood watch, etc.

I think this is such a good idea but I hope they don't become very repetitive unlike some other games

I'm a little iffy about this only because of how they usually are played out, but seeing where this amazing project is at I'm sure they would make sense.

im always here for immersive, interactive gameplay!

More gameplay, me gusta!

I only like them if they have some actual impact, not just as an information.

I do like them, only if the events actually happens. I answer "yes help my neighbor" then have to actually go see him or do something.

i like having events because it can help to lead the story :)

Rather than text events I'd like events where things actually happen, for example the neighbor coming to my door asking for help (here you can choose to help or not with consequences) I know it's more difficult to develop, so keep it simple, for example the neighbor asks for sugar (a dollar gets detracted from you for the cost of sugar). Another event could be some sort of natural disaster announcement on TV and you have to get to safety/bunker if you have any

I love games with consequences and choices, it could affect the way you live, or even die. It make it so much more mysterious. But as a previous comment maybe having the option to disable.

I think having them enabled, but having an option where you can disable them if you don't want them would be nice!

I'd love that if the results aren't just randomly choosen. Like the cooking skill of a Para is being considered when a neighbour needs help with cooking or something like that. :)

Voted and was very relieved to see so many agree with me. I love "chance cards" like these. They keep a life simulation game from feeling aimless and make it more like a story.

I would like it if maybe it was in the form of a text. Like the phone buzzes and you decide to answer the phone and it's your neighbor asking for help and you can click "yes" or "hang up". Then if you answer yes it takes you to the location or directs you to the location. It would be pretty funny if it was something like your neighbors sink is flooding and asks for your help to fix it. I would highly enjoy something like that.

With absurd texts come absurd consequences... Love it.

Oh yes please ! With heavy consequences ! I've had enough of all this softness in a certain game... Please give us surprises (bad and good)

Actually I loved textual popups in TS2. It was often silly and absurd scenarii that was a lot of fun to read and imagine. And there was sometimes no clear idea of what was the good or damagable(/immoral :p) decision to make. Consequences were important, even if they seem to be chosen randomly. The random nature of what happened next was part of the joke. For me it was another way to add humor and roleplay in the game ^^

I love them, but it would be cool to opt out if you don't care

I love them! I feel like they give the game a more "realistic" feel. Its good to make it optional though.!

I like them a lot. Especially in TS2 with Careers, where they would pop up and depending on wich option you'd pick you could get a raise/promotion, get downgraded or even fired. Especially when you got fired or something bad happened and your needs would get down and for some time you weren't able to search for a new job. I think it's more fun if you don't always directly know wich option is the “right“ one. And for sure there should be consequences, it's boring without them. In TS4 everything is just going sooo smooth all the time that it really bores me.

Random texts events should be relevant to game play. There should be a consequence to the choice, such as affecting a relationship. It should be something we see and take part in. In other words, the only thing about it that should be random is that you can't expect exactly when they will pop up.

I'd like them if they were relevant to the character or situation. The consequences, I feel,should depend on the Para's relationship level with the other Para that's giving the opportunity. Like, if it's your friend and you can't/don't want to complete the assignment then they'd be like "oh no problem " but a stranger or acquaintance may feel a certain way. Also it might help if you can give a reason for not wanting to complete the opportunity through a pop up when you click decline and depending on how good your charisma is or the reason itself being an honest reason(like " Sorry pal, I've got work in 2 hours.) That the penalty can be more lenient instead of a nuisance everytime you want to do something in town but then you're caught between that and an opportunity.

To me, random texts felt empty, everything happens off screen. Kinda makes me feel like I'm missing out.

I like them as long as they make sense. Random ones make it feel like I'm not in control of my own game

I like them. They seem like they could be mini-scenarios or missions. I would also like to have a radio button in the settings to turn them off if they get too tedious.

I like them, I just prefer the ones that then have your character go somewhere and do something or interact with someone you can see, rather than just playing out in text.

I love the idea of having random events that make the community feel as though it is living.. Whether it be your neighbor wanting to borrow something from you or having something as big as a friends death or pregnancy. I am so excited :D

If it's something like someone calling for help, it would be awesome to be able to go along, or even the option to schedule helping a later date? So you'd have the option to agree, refuse or schedule :')

I think they would be great if they made sense and had something to do with what your character is doing at that time.

oui cela nous guidera tout au long de la partie

Yes! Text events is a great idea to freshen things up from time to time, especially if you have to interact with the world, and not just pick the suitable answer and see nothing happen.

Don't know if anyone has said this already, but I saw a lot of people commenting that one should be able to turn it off, and I agree, but I also would like to see a slider or something to choose the severity of consequences. The slider could have four steps or something, "Off", "Light consequences", "Medium consequences", and "Heavy consequences". Choosing "Medium" will also give pop-ups "Light" , and "Heavy" would also show "Medium" and "Light". And the "Light" ones always being the most frequent ones, even if you've chosen to get "Heavy" ones too! Apart from that I would love, like many others already stated, if it would make sense for that character to get that specific pop-up, no matter if it's skill related, job related, relation related or location related (you don't always need to know your neighbors to have them ask for help IRL heh).

These things should always be optional, but I love aspects like that. The only issue is they can get quite repetitive so perhaps an ability to adjust the frequency might be a good idea.

it would be fun if instead of a pop-up it was something integrated in the world- a phone call or a message a neighbor might leave :)

I differently like the idea, but just in case maybe make it optional? Turn them on or off or something like that?

I like the idea but they could become annoying if it happens too frequently or if there is a big consequences. I would say keep the consequences low so anyone can reject an event if they don't like them.

Definitively would add more random events ,just like in life!

I love the idea! It gives so much more interactivity to the game, and you don't feel like you already know everything that is going to happen :)

I like them, but I want an 'ignore' option for when I don't feel like dealing with them. It would also be nice if instead of just being weighted random the different options would test one or two of your parafolk's skills each and give you a higher chance of success if they had high skill. Then there'd be a little strategy figuring out which option might suit your character's skills.

I think this would be fun but it would need many options or else it could get repetitive, so maybe once you start noticing the same ones happening you can switch it off!

I would also like to have something like if you're in 'love with a paraperson' that the other paraperson you don't control makes the first move (like kissing ...) and that you can accept and reject. It's more fun that way than that you always have to build sertain relationships. I would also like them to be able break up when you don't live together. Of course, if you reject, he can descide if he wants to stay friends or end the friendship. So there are consequences.

I am definitely on board with text based events, but like others have said, they should be optional. Depending on the depth of free will and story progression, I think it would be really cool if your characters could develop crushes on their friends, coworkers, neighbors, etc. and an event could come up like "I have feelings for Jim and want to tell him? Should I say something to him?", kind of like Tomodachi Life. However you choose to go about making text based events, I'll be happy, and I can't wait to see how this game develops!

Yes, but with an « ignore » option

I like the idea and fully support it, but I agree it could be made optional. The Sims 2 did it by adding the "ignore" option so no consequences gained.

I am honestly not too sure about random events popping up in the game. It might pull you out of the game play. If it is optional that might work best. So you could still do the event if you are in the mood to do it. I am loving the designs so far for the houses, would love to see some concept art of this game so far.

I see everyone seems to like this so I hope there is an option to turn it off. I don't like being interrupted when playing the game especially if the events is really tricky like in TS4. You pick the option that makes sense for your character but then you get some weird outcome with a debuff. Hate that.

I like it. I think maybe if someone doesn't like that kind of game play you could put something into the options where it silences that but I do think that type game play would be really fun! Also it could increase your relationship with your neighbors, that kind of thing. Like I agree with Sam's comment where everything is connected. Like in the real world. If one friend doesn't like you, all of their friends don't like you.

I think this would be really cool for drama and story progression but I think that there should be an option to turn them on and off depending on if the person playing wants it for their game.

I love the random events concept but I don’t thing the consequences should be too severe for making different choices.

I like them but it would be cool if you could toggle them on or off. Like if you don't want that for your game play you can turn off events but if you want them you can have them

I think severe consequences could be amazing for gameplay, like if the neighbor held a grudge on you for not helping them, this could then produce gossip among the neighbors, like maybe you could catch someone talking about your character out in public.

I love the idea of random events, not just pop up texts, but in general. It keeps gameplay inspiring and interesting.

I agree that players should be able to turn this feature on and off. I think if it was going to add to the story it would be a nice feature of gameplay that can build layers onto a character's story. I love the idea of getting a notification and it saying that a neighbour needs help, then perhaps receiving a positive or negative moodlet or perk for helping/not helping (such as a 'hero' perk because your character helped put out a fire or fixed something for their neighbour) :)

I love random events, yes please! There should a bunch of scripts for many events!

💛💛

I love the idea of this

I think it would be cool as long as the consequence isn't too bad c:

I think they're good as long as they don't become repetitive once the same scenario happens to you more than once it strips away the immersion.

I am not very fond of this idea since it can become a rabbithole trap.. Unless you do it right that is :P

I really like the idea of it, but make it possible to turn them off, and don’t spam the player. Maybe it could happen once a day or so, and the events could also be related to the specific character’s job or skills. I agree that it should have some sort of consequence, but I don’t think they should all lead to heavy consequences and that it’s possible to skip the ones that do without any consequences.

Also you don't want it to happen 5 times in a single in game day. I would want them to be special, and not extremely common.

I think it should be default on, but have the option to turn them off or reduce frequency

Yes, This is a great feature to game because its adds depth and good gameplay. You can make them optional, like add a feature to turn them on or off. If you choose to do these events then I would like them to be interactive, for example my character would drive to their house and fix the toilet. Love the idea of actions having consequences and they must defiantly be a surprise!

personally , i feel like these should definitely have an outcome , and it does need to make sense like everyone is saying . i agree with finley , some people may not want that so it could be an optional thing in settings or there could simple be a no effect kind of thing . also these pop ups may get annoying sometimes for some people so you could make it so they pop up maybe once a game week because realistically , some neighbors don’t really ask for help , maybe depending on your neighbors personality traits or your relationship with them , they’re more likely to ask for help ?

Maybe there should be an option to turn them on and off in settings. Sometimes players might want to have a consequent free life.

Yeah, surprising the player would be more interesting. The extra options being unlocked by skills or objects also sound great.

I personally think the outcome should be a surprise! Ideas for outcomes: - Money - Friendship (positive or negative) - Gift (items, candy etc) - Minor injuries/de-buffs (if risk involved) - Reputation/popularity (positive or negative) - Recommended for promotion (job performance) - Skill loss or gain - Changes to the world maybe Maybe the stakes should be higher depending on the person? If you’re helping your boss for example, they could bump up your pay

Very interesting, thanks everyone for the good feedback! Random Text Events should lead to impactful outcomes, I agree. Otherwise, you won't be interested in taking the time to make a decision. It feels nice when extra options appear because of a skill you have or because of an object you possess. Fallout, FTL and other games do that a lot. Another question is: should the outcome be always stated clearly on the button (+1 friendship, +100 money, etc) or is it more fun to surprise the player with the results? One thing for sure is that a lot of the time, it feels more involved to be able to answer by doing an action ourselves rather than just clicking a button. Also, thanks for telling us about BitLife and This War of Mine, what they do is really interesting!

Rain already mentioned chance cards making sense. I second this. It would be great if the chance cards actually are relevant to the characters giving them and receiving them. Like if your character has good tech skills or an interest in technology, maybe a character with no tech skills could trigger a chance card like "I heard you know your way around computers? My computer won't turn on, pls halp :o"

I have a suggestion for these text events though. If you have ever played "This War of Mine", sometimes your neighbors would come over asking for help. This would make your character unavailable as they left to go and help for some time. I think something like this would be good for this as well, because it doesn't seem as weird when you click a button and suddenly your character completed a task without even going anywhere. Just a thought!

Since I don't know much about the game, it's hard to say whether I'd like it - but ultimately, events and meaningful-choice-making would certainly help provide some sense of a 'living world' and give the player an additional sense of agency. So... I like it! My only suggestion would be making sure there is a varying degree of consequence for each event, and that these events are distributed in a comfortable way. For example, you could have: - low risk events (happen often) - med risk events (happen sometimes) - high risk events (happen very rarely) Your game strikes me as a soothing and comfortable experience -- (at least from your gifs!), so if there was an imbalance of high risk events, I'd feel a real sense of conflict between wanting to just enjoy making a nice home, and having to deal with all these heavy choices. That said, with the right frequency, and not feeling stressed about each choice I make, the occasional heavy-weighted-event would be exciting! Sorry for being rambly! :)

For chance cards alone I suggest that the text and options be a little more logical. Some Sims chance cards make no sense, which discourages me to even read them. Now, if you look at the Parenthood "Advice" system, connected to character values, you can see exactly how your decision will affect gameplay. The difference could be in the severity. You choose to not drive your sick neighbor to the hospital? They may or may not die. They may or may not resent you afterwards. Adding risk to "safe" choices could be a thing. Like Wicked Whims adds risky woo-hoo.

Came here to suggest what John already has! Actually going over to someone's house to fix something for them. Maybe choices can be made when we get the popup: a) Go and ask for money. (Chance of rejection and awkward moodlet) b) Go and fix it. (increases relationship) c) Sabotage it. (Consequences may or may not come later)

Maybe if it's something really serious like, your neighbour is feeling very sick and can't get to the hospital, you can choose to drive them there, or ignore them and then they die! Muahahahah!

Or if you choose to apologize because you don't have the skills to help, then there's no bad penalties I guess?

So like a chance card? These work really well when your avatar is off the screen (like at a rabbit hole career), but if it happens in the 'real world' I think it would be awesome if your person actually does whatever choice you select, rather than the game just telling you what happened, leaving it to your imagination. Now, I know this might be more complicated to develop, but a really simple idea I can think of is if your neighbour is in trouble, as in their toilet broke or something and you choose to fix it, your guy goes over and actually repairs it and then they give you a money reward and a relationship boost or something. If you choose to ignore them, they may start to dislike you.

Your choices having consequences would be awesome! I’m imaging a nice combination of the sims and BitLife which I’m all for.