Regular-Forum Fervor! Let's Play the Sims 4!

[nosimpleway]

The previous game in the series was one of my more popular LPs, but I'm willing to grant that looping in another forums' worth of readers was a factor. Nothing so complicated this time, in no small part because I'm not any less busy than I was when I dumped my Deltarune LP. I'll get back to this when I get back to it, but I'm sure not having to transcribe an ingame script will be a major timesaver.

Anyhow, let's get started. Started on...


It was on sale for cheap on the Steam winter sale, so I figured what the hell. It couldn't possibly be as shoddily programmed as the Sims 3, right?


Then I softlocked while playing the tutorial. Oh boy.

(There's a point in the tutorial where you have to "Get to Know" your obligatory roommate. But if you already did that in your first conversation because you know how dialog prompts work in the series, you can't do it again, and thus can't progress. You're stuck! I hope there's nothing drastically different from The Sims 3 in controls and setup or anything.)

So, new game. Let's hit up the character generator and see what's up.


Oh, the default is a "start of Ultima 4, or maybe Pokemon Mystery Dungeon" style personality quiz. I guess that beats choosing options out of a list like before.


Then your character gets attributes based on the answers you gave and a more or less randomized appearance. Semirandom, maybe, since this suave motherfucker comes with a suit and a coif that's going to put someone's eye out if he's not careful, rather than sweatpants and a dad 'stache.

So eh, let's look through the options. There's some weird hair, you can give somebody snaggly or buck-teeth, you can set someone's default outfit to their swimsuit, you can make someone walk around everywhere they go in pink fuzzy slippers.

...pink... fuzzy slippers...

Pink fuzzy slippers, huh. Hmm. I wonder if I can...



heh heh heh


: oh boy, this is gonna be a hoot. i can tell.

: WHAT IS THIS? WHERE IS MY COOL BATTLE BODY? WHAT IS ALL THIS... FLESHY STUFF ALL OVER US?

Look man, there's no "make an actual skeleton" character option. The top with the red scarf was as close as I could get to your default look. I'm doing the best I can here. As far as I can tell, there's no way to make one character shorter or taller than another. And look, Undyne still has both of her eyes.





: here, i can use this dialog portrait if it'd make you feel better.

: IT DOESN'T!!

[nosimpleway]

Even the ingame loading screen seems confused about my chargen choices. Ah well.

This seems like as good a post as any to reserve for a table of contents later on.

[nosimpleway]

As in Sims 3, the sims themselves have a series of desires, goals, and innate traits. Since I used the personality quiz for Undyne, Papyrus, and Sans here, I didn't choose exactly what any of them are. So you get "uh, okay" choices like Undyne starting out as an artist. The quiz did get some things right, though: Undyne's first two ingame goals are "go work out at the gym" and "work out for at least 8 hours total". Papyrus starts with Charisma and wants to make friends and go on a date. Sans has the "Lazy" attribute right off the bat.

Oh. Sans and Papyrus are brothers ingame. Undyne is just their roommate. Since she's not related to the others I wanted to give her a different last name, but there's not enough room for "Undyne, the Spear of Justice" in the name fields. So she's the rather awkward "Undyne Justispeare".


Left to their own devices so the AI makes the decision of what each character does first, Papyrus and Undyne immediately start a conversation while Sans goes to take a nap inside.

Sometimes things just work out okay.

: "SO... AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT SANS..."

: "Oh my god! What's that thing behind you?!"

: "I THINK IT'S... A ROCK?"

: "Wow! Who did the landscaping for this place, anyway?"


No one has to go to work or do anything in particular today, so the two buddies go to the gym like Undyne has a hankerin' to do. I didn't even look at the characters' other outfits, so I'm as surprised as anyone that Undyne's workout uniform is basically a copy of the Bride's iconic jumpsuit from Kill Bill. I'll... I'll let that one stay.

Papyrus changes into his JOGBOY outfit and hits the treadmill while Undyne tries to build up boulder-suplexing upper body strength.


Eventually a flirty young woman named Eliza Pancakes starts chatting up Papyrus.


: "HEY!!! DOWN IN FRONT!"


His charming naivete and oblivious self-centeredness get Papyrus off to a good start with making friends.


Even when a gym employee interrupts to start hooting encouragement at him, Papyrus just ends up befriending both.


While all that's going on, Undyne's gotten pumped from her workout. She still has seven hours to go on the amount of time she wants to spend working out, so I send her out for a jog. Wonder how she's doing...


...um...


: "What? WHAT?! I'm working out here, too! Shut up!!!"

[nosimpleway]

To my knowledge there's not a "just give up... i did..." character lifetime goal option. Sans wants to build a career out of being funny and perhaps plaguing people's lives with incidental music. I leave the other two to their gregariousness and their mid-sidewalk situps and buy a few props for the household, giving Sans a chance to practice the guitar.


There's an event! A bunch of randos in a welcoming party show up!
That's Marissa Herring in the blue blouse, standing next to Liberty Lee. The two in the back are Travis Scott and Summer Holiday. I have no idea who may or may not end up being important in the LP narrative so I guess I'll just introduce people as they show up?

: "literally the only thing i know about you is your name but i think we'll be good pals, Summer."


: "the ol' whoopie-cushion-in-the-hand trick. it's ALWAYS funny. you guys are all right, come on in."






Eventually Papyrus and Undyne come home from the gym on their own. Papyrus gets in first, so he calls dibs on the shower. Undyne keeps her post-workout funk away from the crowd and practices her art while she waits her turn.


: "obviously knock-knock jokes are the way to go. they're the most sophisticated form of humor."

: "knock, knock."

who's there?

: "Papyrus just set the kitchen on fire."

Papyrus just set the kitchen on fire who?


: "no, i mean Papyrus just actually set the kitchen on fire."

: "WE ARE OUT OF SPAGHETTI AND IT IS THE ONLY THING I KNOW HOW TO COOK!"


If there's an "extinguish person" option I didn't see it, so here Sans is actually spraying extinguisher past Papyrus and putting out the oven fire instead.


I wonder if Papyrus could have run and jumped in the shower to put himself out, if Undyne wasn't in it.

: "I TOLD him I used the last of the spaghetti!"

[nosimpleway]

Sans gets a nice :smug: character portrait for putting out the fire before it could do any more damage than it did.


Sans has been waiting to use the toilet for the entire time both his roommates have been home, and now Papyrus needs another shower to wash off the singe. What this house really needs is a second bathroom, so I hop into Build mode real quick and put one together in the master bedroom. Sans gets to take a whizz, Papyrus gets in the shower again, and Undyne comes out as the houseguests start cutting up the cake they brought.


As Undyne takes a plate, Liberty chimes in that the fruitcake is an old family heirloom. Ugh. 'Twas a trap all along.


Sans's starting aspirations were to practice his guitar enough to bring his Music skill up to two, and to be funny at five people. The main challenge here is finding people who think puns are funny! But he managed to pull off both tasks, and has earned some lifetime satisfaction points. Or money. I'm not sure which. (That looks like the symbol for Simoleons, the ingame currency for Sims games, but in Sims 3 you didn't get cash for completing aspirations, you got achievement points you could cash in for character benefits.)


The Welcome Wagon event ends and everyone leaves (except Marissa, who is plunking out a tune on Sans's guitar in the back room). And then who shows up but Eliza Pancakes from the gym! Papyrus heads out to greet her, and...


If these were actual Undertale characters I'm sure that Papyrus would be completely immune to the "Embarrassed" emotional state.


Aha, despite the fact that her mood has been "Flirty" for every interaction with Papyrus, Eliza is married! Maybe that's why things went so wrong.


Sometimes the game doesn't play well with screenshot software, apparently. I've got a few screencaps that turned out looking like this.


I don't know what Eliza is doing with the bathroom mirror in that botched "where did all the furniture go" screenshot, but Papyrus heads back to his bedroom to try to talk himself down from the emotional precipice he finds himself on. Poor guy went from being on fire to making an ass of himself to his first friend in his new home.

: "THIS HAS BEEN... A ROUGH DAY FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS."

[nosimpleway]

It's canon that neither Papyrus or Undyne can cook worth a damn, but Sans can make a homemade quiche (he just can't handle the responsibility of taking care of it). I guess it falls to Sans to make the household meals. He picks up the Cooking skill pretty easily, though.


Eventually the result is two bros helping each other do prep work, chatting and catching up on the events of their first day in their new home. Papyrus nicks his finger with the knife a couple of times, because of course he does.

: "i'm tellin' ya... i played my guitar in the back corner there for a little while, then bam -- bathroom. no idea how that happened."


All is as it should be, as the brothers truly love one another even if Sans gets on Papyrus's nerves a bit.


So ends our first day of The Sims 4. Stay tuned next time!

: "for more 'My Three Skeletons'!"

: "SANS! THAT IS NOT THE NAME OF THIS GAME!"

: ""Who are you saying is the third skeleton, anyway?"

[nosimpleway]

Sans Undertale, "Joke Star"
Current Satisfaction: 550
Desires: Join the "Comedian" branch of the Entertainer job tree; write 3 Comedy routines; raise Comedy skill to level 6
Job: C-Lister (Entertainer job path, I think)
For promotion: Achieve level 2 of Guitar skill or Violin skill (done), Achieve level 2 of Comedy skill (done)
Daily job task: practice Guitar or Violin
Skills: Comedy and Charisma 3, Guitar and Violin 2 (...?), Cooking 1
Traits: Good, Goofball, Lazy, Gregarious. Reward Trait (for lifetime path): Hilarious

Papyrus Undertale, "Amore Amateur"
Current Satisfaction: 160
Desires: Have a Boyfriend/Girlfriend; Go on 2 Dates
Job: Team Mascot (Athlete career path)
For Promotion: Reach level 3 Fitness, Reach level 3 Charisma
Daily job task: Work out (50% done? Huh? He was at the gym for hours! I guess he spent too long talking to Eliza for it to count.)
Skills: Handiness 3 (which didn't come up at all, but noted), Fitness 2, Cooking and Charisma and Comedy 1
Traits: Alluring, Romantic, Active, Cheerful. Reward Trait: Companion

Undyne Justispeare, "Bodybuilder"
Current Satisfaction: 75
Desires: Work out for 8 hours total (2 done); Work out at the gym (done)
Job: Hungry Artist (Painter career path)
For Promotion: Reach level 4 Painting skill
Daily Job Task: Practice painting (not done, even though she made two paintings on her tablet today. I wonder why those didn't count.)
Skills: Fitness 3, Painting and Fishing (ha ha) 2, Comedy 1
Traits: High Metabolism, Ambitious, Active, Hot-Headed (seriously, this triggered and Undyne got angry in her sleep.) Reward Trait: Long Lived

[Newbie]

This is an amazing start.

I thought I remembered people being really disappointed with this game, but thinking about it more, I'm getting it confused with the latest Sim City. The Sims 4 is a complete blind spot for me.

[Mongrel]

Oh man, this is brilliant.

[mharr]

What would it cost to add the Jungle Adventure DLC to your system so the good brothers can be saved from the itchy curse of flesh?

[nosimpleway]

The morning was a bit of a slow start. I'll be honest, I'm so used to playing long games of Sims 3 that I usually ended up with a household full of people who never got hungry, rarely got dirty, and never needed to pee, so there was a lot less tedious upkeep and more interesting stuff going on. As it is now everyone gets up grumpy, hungry, needing a toilet and a shower, and there's just not much to report about filling those needs.

A little before lunchtime (or what would be lunchtime if Sims needed to eat more than once or twice a day) I've found a fishing spot behind the house for Undyne, top-left, and I'm looking around for something Papyrus can fix up. Self-cleaning appliances are also a big timesaver! But nothing in the house can be upgraded with Papyrus's starting Handiness skill, not without some parts that I don't know how to get yet.

: "THIS TOWN DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A HARDWARE STORE! WHERE WOULD I EVEN FIND A SPUD WRENCH?"

: "would you use that on potatoes or nuts?"


Once Papyrus has loosened up a bit, he goes back to practice his Charisma in the mirror. But Sans is already there practicing the guitar, and Papyrus is having a hard time concentrating.


I appreciate that the pathfinding now ignores other character models, so you get fewer tantrums from Sims whose way through the house is blocked by another person walking around. It does lead to some odd screenshots once in a while, though.



: "And so Jack is like 'Well it looks like some kind of lever or something.' And Nate goes 'Yep, that's what it is.' So Jack goes 'What's it do, end the world or something? Some kinda end-of-the-world switch?' And Nate goes 'Oh no, nothing that dramatic. It just ends humanity. I call it the Lever of Doom...' And Jack goes..."

: "DOES THIS STORY ACTUALLY HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH BANANAS?"

: "orange you glad she hasn't gotten to that part yet?"

: "hang on, i got a call. Brendan wants to come over."

: "WHO?"

: "The firefighter who came by yesterday. He thought the whoopie-cushion-under-the-doorbell trick was hilarious."

"OH..."

: "SURE!!!"



: "So by now Jack had gone back to town, stayed with his wife and daughter for a bit. He was doing pretty well with the wisdom that Nate had shared with him, so he bought himself an SUV so he could joyride around in the desert. It made it easier to get back to the stone slab so he could see Nate again, too."

: "...this joke does have a punchline, doesn't it?"

: "UNDYNE IS TELLING A JOKE?"

[Angry Beaver]

I love that joke, and I'm so glad that I have independent confirmation that it wasn't just a half-remembered fever dream.

[nosimpleway]

Much later, after Undyne finally finishes what feels like the longest joke in the world, it's back to business as usual. Undyne and Papyrus hit the gym for a workout, and Sans stays home to practice his knock-knock jokes and read cookbooks.

: "telling jokes about the mail is tough. it's all in the delivery."

I notice that the gym has a wing across from the weight machines that's just a bunch of punching bags, letting Undyne vent some of her natural NGAAAHH


Today is also the first day that Sans has to go to work, which he does. Undyne makes a little dosh by selling paintings every day, but all three of them have an actual day job.

Incidentally, I discover that in order to produce paintings, you have to use a canvas and easel, not a digital tablet. Digital art develops the skill and creates items that can be sold for cash, but doesn't meet the ambition. I don't get it.


Sans comes home after making a couple hundred bucks, takes a shower, and hits the sack. That's about how I walk when I get home from work, too.

It's nighttime, which means that all three Sims are tucked into bed and not moving around doing anything, which in turn means it's a good time to hit up Build Mode and see what I can do to the house. Sans and Undyne aren't raking in the big bucks or anything, but I can probably make things a little more pleasant.


First thing is widening the living room to make some space. That means the front porch only covers half of the house's facade, so I widen that too. In doing that I accidentally overwrote and erased the house's outdoor garbage can, so I had to buy a new one... before I found the old one wasn't deleted, just moved into the house inventory. Well, okay.


At some point I hit a button that removes all three from their beds, so I have to reenter LIve mode, unpause, let them all go back to sleep, then resume... whatever it was I was doing. It turns out I can't afford much after widening the living room and painting the walls, so it's back to Live mode anyway.


I did find that their skill growth and career advancement (already?) has led to a few other items getting dropped into the house inventory, so there's a new rug near the front door. That's certainly the most interesting thing in this screenshot, right? Papyrus is just walking out the door to go to work, nothing to report there.



: "nice. kick that ball way up in the air, bud."

[nosimpleway]

Sans gets a cheevo for going without social interaction for 24 hours. He's not particularly lonely, though, as it turns out practicing comedy with the mic stand increases his Social meter.

: "it'll work until i can figure out what passes for a Grillby's around here."



: "Papyrus."

: "YES?"

: "Take that off."

: "TAKE WHAT OFF?"

: "We've talked about this. You take off your, uh, work uniform while we're eating."

: "BUT I FINALLY FIGURED OUT HOW TO EAT FOOD WHILE I'M STILL WEARING IT! WATCH!"

: "Papyrus. Stop. Just stop."

: "he can't just take off his clothes. we've got company."

: "I was getting to that. Who is this guy?"

: "i have literally forgotten who this is and why he's here."


Guitars are for practicing music, mirrors for Charisma, and craft tables for Handiness. Until I can figure out where to buy spare parts, getting Papyrus's skill up is the only way I can think of to get any of the house features improved.


Undyne's in a foul mood as she gets ready for work, slamming doors and stomping everywhere she goes. She even uses the toilet angrily.

: "you might say she's feeling pretty pi--"

: "No! Not in front of the humans!"


Undyne's still fuming when she goes outside and finds that someone or something has knocked over the garbage can.


Then immediately after she cleans it up, Summer Holiday walks by and kicks it over again. You'd expect Undyne to completely blow her top at this, but it turns out there isn't an "EXCUSE ME, B I T C H" dialog option, so Summer goes unpunished for her mischief.


What does it take to brighten Undyne's mood? Believe it or not, complete disaster.

: "SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

: "I told you before, we're out of spaghetti!"


In fact, the swagger from putting out a house fire allows me to do The Most Undyne Thing, and flex on Summer Holiday to make it completely clear that next time Undyne finds garbage strewn all over the front yard, it's Summer who's going into the garbage can first.

: "B-believe me, she'll do it."

: "WHO ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE...?"

[nosimpleway]

It's been a few days, since all in all it seemed like there was less going on to document. But that just about wraps this update, stay tuned next time!

: "for more 'Bone Appetit'!"

: "SANS!"

: "Maybe we should stop setting the kitchen on fire before we go with a food pun..."

[nosimpleway]

This dumb idiot made a big platter of eggs and toast for everyone, then made himself a PB&J.


Oh, hey. It's a job for Papyrus.

: "LOOK! I HAD ALL THESE LITTLE DOOHICKEYS LEFT OVER WHEN I WAS DONE!


So that's where you get those. I guess getting "unbreakable" furniture will eventually cut you off from the stuff you need to do make improvements.

Speaking of Papyrus, Sans and Undyne have both made some progress on their lifetime goals. Poor, lovelorn Papyrus... hasn't. Let's do something about that. Who else is single, bilingual, and ready to mingle from Lunes to Domingle?


: "hey, Liberty. question for ya."




: "my work here is done."


Papyrus and Liberty head off for a platonic hangout somewhere. I actually forgot where I sent them because (against all better judgment) I just put Papyrus on autopilot and went back home.


: "those two are pretty cute together. me, though? i'm pan amorous."


Whatever the hell those two did together, Papyrus comes home cleaner than he was when he left.

[nosimpleway]

Whew, worst one yet.






Each promotion comes with a cash bonus, in addition to the day's wages.


I spend a bit moving the house's facade closer to the street, virtually removing the front yard. It turns out getting stairs to work is just as bad in Sims 4 as it was in 3, so I end up just getting rid of the front porch entirely and dropping the house foundation down to ground level.


The house interior has really opened up to make room for more accoutrement. Everyone is standing outside of their beds because lowering the foundation popped them out, and I'm still in Build mode so they haven't climbed back in yet.


People had started complaining about poor shower quality, so I upgrade to a newer, more comfortable model for the front bathroom. Papyrus uses those spare parts to make it even better. I'd felt like showers were taking an unreasonably long time...


Unfortunately, the dishwasher breaks while Papyrus is at work. Nobody gets a "turn the damn thing off" option in their menu, so Undyne and Sans just mop the floor three or four times until Papyrus gets home.


3 Upgrade Parts and a pile of garbage that Papyrus can sift through to look for any more geegaws he can use. I wonder if he can do that for any garbage? Something to try next time, I guess.


Sans and Undyne jam out to the stereo that Sans got as a bonus gift for his promotion while Papyrus goes through the trash to see if he missed anything. He does, in fact, find a plumbing-upgrade-exclusive part.


I go ahead and expand the bathroom, upgrade the toilet and the sink, and add some furniture to make it look like a lived-in space rather than the barebones essentials.

: "TOWELS! BEAUTIFUL TOWELS! WE CAN DRY OFF PROPERLY NOW!! NO MORE SHAKING THE WATER OFF OURSELVES LIKE A DOG!"

: "unless you want to."

: "RIGHT! IT'S STILL AN OPTION!"

[nosimpleway]

: "as much as i love the guitar i wouldn't make a career out of it. it's all right. it's no trombone. i'll stick with what i do best."


"Realism..."

: "I'm still practicing!"


Right, let's have a look at the rewards menu, since we're actually doing pretty well picking up those life goals.

: "Why would anyone be afraid of skeletons?"


Aww! Papyrus didn't even invite her over. Liberty just showed up at the house to see him.

The plate Papyrus was eating off of is sparkling clean, but somehow there are stink fumes coming off the glass of plain water. It doesn't do much to spoil the mood.

(After a workout, Sims will often try to find the nearest sink and pour themselves a glass of water to slurp. Hydration gives a positive moodlet, but apparently any left-behind water can go bad like any other food item. It's also rough on the Bladder meter like nothing else.)

On the topic of workouts, Undyne has a hankerin' to get pumped and work out for a full hour with the "Energized" moodlet. So the next time it comes up -- like her angry fits, it comes and goes as it pleases -- I send her to the gym to earn another couple hundred life goal points.


Once she's done with her power-workout, though, she's so incredibly manky that she goes straight upstairs to the gym showers instead of going home. And who pokes her head in the door but Eliza Pancakes, giving Undyne a moment of embarrassment.


: "Oh yeah, I was in the shower when some dunce popped open the door for an eyeful."

: "first Eliza got to watch Undyne do some MMA, then she got to see her bo--"

: "SAAANS!"

: I figure at this point, why bother with clothes? The terrycloth is really comfortable! Now I know why my roommate keeps going on about towels!

I like that Eliza looks properly mortified.

[nosimpleway]

Undyne goes home. Still in her towel.

: "It's so liberating!"


: "HOW IS THIS BETTER THAN MY OLD MASCOT COSTUME...?"

: "easy. we don't have company over tonight."

: "WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES THAT MAKE?! URRRGH... I'M CALLING LIBERTY!"


One of Papyrus's life goals is to go on a couple of dates. This is the first one of those.

In Sims 3 the quality of a date was based on the moodlets your date had when she left. Now you get a proper checklist of activities to do to make the date fun. Getting to know Liberty a bit, it turns out she works as an astronaut.

: "WOWIES!"


Papyrus can be pretty suave when he wants to.


: "SHE'S JUST MY TYPE... BRAVE ENOUGH TO DRINK A GLASS OF WATER FROM A PUBLIC BATHROOM!"


I eventually get prompted to have a "deep conversation", though, and I'm not sure what that entails given the menu options. Also it's like 5:00 am in game time, so both Papyrus and Liberty are pretty sleepy. I have the two say farewell, Papyrus gets a silver medal out of nowhere, and that's that.

[nosimpleway]

I want to say that Undyne finally changed out of her towel to use the bathroom, but thinking back she probably changed into her pajamas to go to bed while Papyrus was at the park.


Sans's next career goal is to write a bunch of comedy routines, but nobody uses anything so pedestrian as a pencil and paper to hash out ideas anymore. He needs a PC. I get him a PC. It's crap, but it works.


The next step: find an audience and perform those routines he wrote.


Papyrus had to nap all day to keep his energy up, but he was still plenty tired enough to go to bed on time. He had the day off (otherwise I wouldn't have had him stay out until 5 am) so I think he spent most of the day woodworking and jogging. Sans and Papyrus went to work. That's that for this update, and probably that's that for another week. See you next time!

: "on 'The Bone Zone'!"

: "I DON'T THINK LIBERTY AND I ARE QUITE AT THAT POINT YET..."


















: "nice."