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ParaPlanner and Overall World Calendars
October 22, 2019 at 5:26 pmSo, major shout-out to LeeAnne because we tag-teamed this brainstorming session!
We were talking about how micromanagers could better control every single little thing our Paras do and thought it would be interesting to have a single calendar with three distinct levels: world, household, and personal.
At the world level, this could control things like “national” holidays for days off from work/school and other celebrations that players could customize. The household level could be used for things like family vacations or events that several family members need to attend (think back-to-school night or a wedding). And then the personal level would allow time-blocking or scheduling an individual Para’s every move so that we don’t have to direct them constantly. This could be things like setting a morning routine to shower, have breakfast, brush teeth, and leave for work.A UI that shows all three at once with the ability to toggle a level on/off would make it easy to see at a glance upcoming events and what’s happening with the rest of the day. A wall calendar, physical paraplanner, or digital planner on laptops/smartphones could also be used. This could be a great way to keep track of birthdays, anniversaries, and other story/gameplay-related events.
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11 Replies
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Have always wanted this in sims4, hope this will happen
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Not only for calendar specific functionality but would Parafolk be able to auto-follow their set person schedules as long as it’s actually scheduled? Like, let’s say my Parafolk should wake up every morning at 6:00 am, make some dinner for him/her/themselves at 5:30 pm and go to bed by 9:00 pm. Would you have to be in charge of making them do these things or will they just automatically do them? What would happen if their schedules are thrown off? Would there be a change in the mood of the characters? I know what when my schedule changes and I’m off track it makes me feel overwhelmed or frustrated.
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[quote quote=5819]Would you have to be in charge of making them do these things or will they just automatically do them? What would happen if their schedules are thrown off? Would there be a change in the mood of the characters? I know what when my schedule changes and I’m off track it makes me feel overwhelmed or frustrated.
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These are both really interesting thoughts. I hope they could follow the schedules without the player having to intervene and enforce them. As for the feelings related to schedule changes, I think that could easily be related to the personality of the individual Para. You’ve said it bothers you when your schedule changes, but my schedule is different every day and it doesn’t bother me a bit, so that would be another nice way to have some variation in personalities.
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[quote quote=5822]
Would you have to be in charge of making them do these things or will they just automatically do them? What would happen if their schedules are thrown off? Would there be a change in the mood of the characters? I know what when my schedule changes and I’m off track it makes me feel overwhelmed or frustrated.
These are both really interesting thoughts. I hope they could follow the schedules without the player having to intervene and enforce them. As for the feelings related to schedule changes, I think that could easily be related to the personality of the individual Para. You’ve said it bothers you when your schedule changes, but my schedule is different every day and it doesn’t bother me a bit, so that would be another nice way to have some variation in personalities.
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I agree! Everyone is different. Your post made me wonder if the characters (like characters in movies or stories or real-life) will grow and adapt to life as it goes on. This could change personalities or ways of life. If a Parafolk were to change jobs and so their schedules had to change, would they welcome the change, become paranoid or more organized or become a more angry/bitter person because of it? What if they move, or have kids (on accident or purpose), get a pet, get sick, etc.?
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[quote quote=5434]And then the personal level would allow time-blocking or scheduling an individual Para’s every move so that we don’t have to direct them constantly. This could be things like setting a morning routine to shower, have breakfast, brush teeth, and leave for work.[/quote]
What if you could set a schedule for each day of the week using the planner, and when you click on the para there’s an option for “follow schedule”? That way when you’re not directly controlling your para, you can still have more control than if it was on fully autonomous mode. -
[quote quote=5827]
I agree! Everyone is different. Your post made me wonder if the characters (like characters in movies or stories or real-life) will grow and adapt to life as it goes on. This could change personalities or ways of life. If a Parafolk were to change jobs and so their schedules had to change, would they welcome the change, become paranoid or more organized or become a more angry/bitter person because of it? What if they move, or have kids (on accident or purpose), get a pet, get sick, etc.?
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How Alex implements personalities is probably what I’m most looking forward to so that the characters really feel alive! If the Para wanted the job, maybe they welcome the change but if it came after they got fired? Maybe they’re a little bitter. So many possibilities!
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[quote quote=5864]
I think I would prefer to not have to essentially click “Run” on what I programmed. However, if I chose to intervene and redirect them to something not on the schedule, that should supersede the schedule.
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I just think I’d rather actually tell them to do it, because sometimes for various reasons I just want my sims to stay still, maybe for a photo, and they don’t. If your Para automatically followed their schedule, then they’d probably wander off when you leave them for too long, which could be really annoying.
This could be especially annoying if for example you had your Para working in their office on the top floor, but their schedule had them working out in the basement, and every time your Para finished a task they started walking all the way down to the basement, wasting time.
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