The Sims 1: 10 Essential Gameplay Tips For New Players
The Sims: Legacy Collection is an experience that's quite different from The Sims 4. A lot of features found in more modern games in the franchise aren't in the first game, but the reverse is also true. The features of the first game had to work with the limitations of the technology at the time, so the way the game is played can feel unfamiliar to players used to The Sims 2 and later games.
Since The Sims tends to be more difficult than its successors, there are tips that help a lot for anybody trying the game for the first time. While it doesn't face as many technical issues as The Sims 2: Legacy Collection, it comes with innate challenges that aren't included in the tutorial. Luckily, having essential tips acts like a secondary tutorial to keep the Sims in The Sims alive and functioning.
10 Sims Don't Automatically Turn Off Electronics
This isn't as much of an issue in later games, although it can still happen in them. However, this habit can be annoying, and even problematic, in the first game. Sims' moods decay quickly in the first game, and it takes more time to raise their needs than in later games. This combination means that small annoyances like not turning off electronics can disrupt a Sim's night.
Because of these factors, it's best to avoid having radios or TVs in any room where a Sim might sleep or take a nap. Depending on the house design and funds that the household has, that might not be possible, since electronics are crucial to keeping the Sims' fun levels up. In that case, check the electronics and turn them off if they're on when the Sims' energy levels are low. That prevents them from going to sleep, which makes them upset that the electronics wake them up, making it tough to convince them to go back to sleep sometimes.
9 Fires Will Happen
Kitchen fires are so common in The Sims that they've basically become a meme. Additionally, Sims aren't great at dealing with fires when they happen, and they usually stand around the fire and panic as it continues to spread. Fires are deadly in The Sims, unlike in The Sims 4, where Sims just end up covered in soot. It's possible to avoid ovens and use microwaves instead, but that's not practical since better items improve Sims' needs more than lower quality items.
The best solution to kitchen fires is purchasing a smoke detector and placing it in the kitchen, or increasing the Sim's cooking skill to reduce the chance that a fire will break out. Smoke detectors cover the tiles of the room they're placed in, but if they're placed outside, then they cover the full outdoor area of the lot. This way, when a fire happens, the firefighters will be alerted and on their way.
8 A Messy Household Results In Bugs
In later games, bugs aren't that common. Instead, a messy house tends to lead to the Sims' needs lowering, and they can become stressed by a messy environment in The Sims 4. It's different in The Sims, where having a messy household can lead to infestations that are difficult to remove, and they have a tendency to keep returning even after being exterminated.
Because of this, keeping the household and outdoor portion of the lot clean is important. Bugs that appear outside tend to make their way indoors in time. One way to help with this is commanding Sims to clean up even the smallest messes, take out garbage regularly, and clean items like toilets and showers when the option shows up. Households with more money can hire a maid to deal with this problem, or purchase a Servo to clean for them.
7 Sims Need Friends To Earn Promotions
Starting with The Sims 2, promotions are based on attendance, the Sim's mood when going to work, and what level specific skills are at. While skill levels play some role in promotions in The Sims, they aren't a key factor for earning them, except for being famous in The Sims Superstar expansion pack, where skills like speech and playing instruments increase fame and related job opportunities. Instead, Sims need a certain number of friends for a promotion, which is indicated by a number in the career tab.
The problem is that making and maintaining friendships in The Sims is far more difficult than in any of the other games in the franchise. It can take multiple interactions to form a friendship, but friendship also decays quickly. Going too long without calling or interacting with a friend removes them as a friend, hindering a Sim's promotion chances.
6 It's Better To Buy Quality Items
Sims don't start with a lot of money, and they also need to purchase ingredients for each meal and pay bills. This can result in a tight budget for the household, which leads to cheap items being purchased to fulfill needs. Unfortunately, buying cheaper items to fulfill needs often ends up making the game more difficult instead of helping Sims survive.
Each item has a rating, showing how much it helps with a specific need. Items with higher ratings restore needs faster or in greater increments, such as a fridge with a higher rating filling the hunger bar more or a highly rated bed restoring energy faster. This means that items with lower ratings restore needs slowly, making it tough to keep Sims in a good mood. As a result, buying the more expensive, but better, items is a huge help.
5 Kids With Bad Grades Are Sent To Military School
Without a day of the week system, kids in The Sims go to school every day. However, if they don't study enough or continually go to school while in a bad mood, their grades drop too low, which results in them being sent to military school. This is somewhat similar to kids going to boarding school in The Sims 3: Generations, but with the key difference being kids in The Sims 3 can contact their families and return home.
In The Sims, a child sent to a military school will never be seen again. They can't be restored through manipulating files or using cheats. The only exception to this would be kids like Cassandra Goth, who are pre-made Sims, as they'll return to the game if it's reinstalled after they're sent to military school. To avoid this, it's best to send kids to school in a good mood and have them study when there's a pop-up warning that they're close to being sent away.
4 Two Consecutive Missed Shifts Get A Sim Fired
Showing up to scheduled shifts for a job is important, and The Sims is stricter about this compared to later games, although games likeThe Sims 4 add new ways to work, such as working from home for some careers. Missing one shift in The Sims results in a phone call that warns the Sim not to make a habit of skipping work. If that Sim misses the next shift as well, then the phone call they receive tells them that they've been fired.
Unfortunately, Sims in The Sims aren't great at following commands, so they end up ignoring them instead. There are also times when previous actions in the Sim's queue need to be cleared out to convince them to go to work before their carpool leaves. If a Sim is in a bad mood, they might refuse to go to work, and then being fired worsens their mood further. So, it's best to try keeping Sims as happy as possible.
3 There's No Calendar System
Starting in The Sims 2, the games included a calendar system, so there would be days of the week next to the time. This meant that kids were off from school on weekends, and adults had work schedules that included days off. The Sims doesn't have this system, which means that work and school take place every day, and that comes with unique difficulties regarding staying employed and preventing kids from being sent to military school, as there aren't days that can be used to replenish their needs.
This set-up makes it tough to bring needs back up once they start falling too low. It's also why it's easy for households to become messy, and for Sims to struggle to maintain the friendships needed for promotions. The amount of time they have in a day is limited by work and school, and their needs require attention, so their performance doesn't drop.
2 Children Never Grow Up
Having a child in the household in The Sims means that the child will never become an adult. This comes with some difficulties, because children in this game are unable to prepare meals for themselves and rely heavily on adults in the household, especially since eating leftovers isn't an option. Additionally, not taking proper care of children gets them removed from the household. The only place they can travel independently and somewhat care for themselves is Magic Town.
This needs to be taken into consideration when creating a household, or when trying to have a child while in the game. It can already be difficult to deal with a couple of adults in one household, so children add new layers of difficulty to the game, but that can be a fun challenge. Plus, children can be removed from the household by getting them sent to military school.
1 Sims Won't Follow Commands When Depressed
This is quite possibly the most frustrating part of The Sims due to how a Sim's mood doesn't have to be that far into the negative section for them to start ignoring commands, saying that they're too sad to complete the action that was queued. Later games don't have this issue as much, and Sims tend to be more compliant until their mood drops quite low. In The Sims, a Sim's mood being one or two bars in the red is enough to have them refuse commands.
Refusing commands hinders attempts to get jobs, has the Sims start negative interactions with other Sims, and they'll ignore commands that are meant to help improve their mood, too. All together, it creates a situation where the Sim basically has to be commanded repeatedly to perform an action until they listen. Otherwise, it's best to leave them alone to let them try to improve their mood on their own.
Each version of The Sims has a unique charm to it, but the first game comes with more difficulties than the others. Returning players might find it nostalgic, but new players could feel a bit lost without a decent tutorial being included that goes over smaller details about the first game's differences. Luckily, getting adjusted and thriving won't take long with the help of these tips in The Sims: Legacy Collection.
The Sims (2000)
- Released
- February 4, 2000
- ESRB
- T
- Developer(s)
- Maxis
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Franchise
- The Sims
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox (Original)
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