Play Style: Cheats or no Cheats?

[Esther1981]

Yeah I know they can retire, that's not the problem. Keeping their needs in the green is virtually impossible for me with more than one sim. I won't let anyone change my mind! This is how I enjoy it! 

[jeanamariex3]

Is there a reason you don't like cheats? Or are you simply unaware of the cheats? I however feel my sims lives have greatly improved using cheats, even gave me a little fun story with the Roomies...I turned Cycl0n3 into an evil klepto computer geek who got fired from his job as a journalist and became a couch potato slob who never showered and had been trolling the forums 24 hours straight. He got kicked out of the house, and started a relationship with the widower Nick Alto. (Vita died of electocution and I pretended Nick's marriage to Vita was a coverup) and the two took over the evil empire and adopted an evil genius baby boy named Legion (lol after the X-Men Comics) whom I eventually gave the neurotic trait. (He really did turn out like Legion) See how cheats can improve and give fun, interesting and unique stories for our sims?

PS: Leigon Sw0rd-Alto has an evil red glow. He loves it.

[Hosfac]

I, myself, am quite aware of cheats.  There are several advanced building techniques that require the use of cheats, and occasionally use items from the buydebug menu to enhance buildings that I build, unless cheats are prohibited by what I'm doing.  Most challenges ban the use of cheats as a rule.  I will also use cheats for purposes of storytelling:  sometimes it's easier to get screen shots for the story if you're not dealing with feeding them or potty breaks.

I play games for the challenge of it, and to me, there isn't a great deal of challenge to making a sim's needs static so they can grind skills 24/7.  I like to spoil my sims.  They work hard, and that hard work is rewarded with a house full of nice things.  But if I set their needs to static, they don't really need good things.  In reality, they don't actually need anything.  As far as trait swapping goes, unless it's my Dynasty or a tournament event, I rarely pick the traits of sims myself anyways.  I prefer to allow the game to select them randomly, and work with the traits they get.  In my view, using cheats are...well, cheating.  I don't see the point of cheating when you're playing a game by yourself...especially in a game that you don't actually "win."  It's how I enjoy playing, thus I don't have a great deal of use for cheats.

On the other hand, I don't have any particular issue with anyone using cheats themselves.  Playing any game is about enjoyment, and if using cheats enhances the game for someone else, then there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.  There are many members here who use cheats as a rule, and I don't have a problem with it.

[Alexandria_]

Like Hosfac said, I'm aware of the cheats, but I just think they take the fun out of the game for me.
I love a challenge - pushing to see if I can get things done. With cheats on, there's not much of a challenge for me.

[KrispyNickyB]

I'm the same. The most I ever cheat is when I have a family that just had twin or triplets. That and moveobjects is my favorite for when I'm building. Other than that I don't force to change different traits. It try out them all to have fun with it. Right now I'm playing a legacy challenge. So the most cheating I've done was moveobjects to get the piano in the corner

[ratchie]

Is there a reason you don't like cheats? Or are you simply unaware of the cheats? I however feel my sims lives have greatly improved using cheats, even gave me a little fun story with the Roomies...I turned Cycl0n3 into an evil klepto computer geek who got fired from his job as a journalist and became a couch potato slob who never showered and had been trolling the forums 24 hours straight. He got kicked out of the house, and started a relationship with the widower Nick Alto. (Vita died of electocution and I pretended Nick's marriage to Vita was a coverup) and the two took over the evil empire and adopted an evil genius baby boy named Legion (lol after the X-Men Comics) whom I eventually gave the neurotic trait. (He really did turn out like Legion) See how cheats can improve and give fun, interesting and unique stories for our sims?

PS: Leigon Sw0rd-Alto has an evil red glow. He loves it.

Surely you could have done all that without cheating. You only need ten thousand points to give Cyclon3 a midlife crisis and change his traits.
As for cheating improving our Sims lives I don't really think it does. Having needs static helps the player not the Sim.

Rachel

[jeanamariex3]

Surely you could have done all that without cheating. You only need ten thousand points to give Cyclon3 a midlife crisis and change his traits.
As for cheating improving our Sims lives I don't really think it does. Having needs static helps the player not the Sim.

Rachel

I understand where you're coming from. However, changing traits has really improved by putting my misguided and naive townies in the right direction. VJ Alvi had reconciled with his father and grew up into a successful business man because of my cheats.

[jeanamariex3]

mods hacks and cheats have greatly improved my sims. Even put my misguided sims on the right track.

[Alexandria_]

Jeanamarie, I noticed that in quite a few posts you've talked of mods and given a link to third party CC sites. It's against the Forum Rules to give links to CC or to mention specific mods.

I know you haven't given the names of mods, but I just thought I'd let you know.

This is an extract from the rules:

10. The official stand of Carl's Sims 3 Guide on mods (modifications to the game) and third party custom content is that they are very risky and we do not encourage or recommend their use.  Many sites which host them also offer code designed to break the game's Teen rating. As a family friendly site, we cannot endorse any sites which link to such content. Please refrain from linking to or discussing mods or mod sites or sites featuring adult content in general.  To be perfectly clear:  DO NOT discuss or link to any mods on this Forum.

[Hosfac]

I understand where you're coming from. However, changing traits has really improved by putting my misguided and naive townies in the right direction. VJ Alvi had reconciled with his father and grew up into a successful business man because of my cheats.

Of course, that could have been done without cheats, too.  But you choose to do it with cheats, and since you were the one playing that game, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. 

However, I don't see my sims as "misguided and naive."  They all have their own natures, just like people in the real world have their own natures.  I try not to be any more judgmental of my little virtual people than I would of real people.  When I watch a really good movie or play a game that I really like, I really get into it and I identify with the characters as best I can.  Your view only means that you don't identify with the characters as they are, so you remake them into something else.  And there's nothing wrong with that either.

In the end, it's always about what you want out of the game.

[Lilygirl]

I agree with Hosfac.

I think the topic for this thread is very subjective as everyone has different ideas and opinions of what "improve their Sims' lives" means. Would I love to win the lottery and be able to move into a million dollar mansion tomorrow? Some days yes, but most days, absolutely not! There is so much growth and pride involved in earning the things you have in your life, and though Sims don't feel this as they don't have real emotions (they're pixels after all), this applies to me as the player. Having to start off with 16,500 or 20,000 Simoleons, on a empty lot with a shower that breaks every other time my Sim showers, relying on the taxi for transportation, means I get to create and build my Sims' lives. Based on what I created my Sim for and what my Sim decides s/he wants, I have to budget money, time, and effort to build a unique life for them. To me, playing TS3 is all about creating using my creativity and inspirations, with input from my Sims.

Without the effort, through using cheats, the game means nothing to me. I need to be able to justify my time spent (some would say wasted) playing a computer game by sitting back and saying "look at the house/family/garden, etc. that I built". 90% of the fun of playing TS3 is having to work for and earn that new den or piano or relationship, all worked around meeting their needs.

In essence, I don't think that cheating is in fact improving my Sims' lives. They earn a lot of happiness points (my preferred method of measuring "improvement") if I wait until my Sims wish for something before I buy it or cue up the action.

[jeanamariex3]

Of course, that could have been done without cheats, too.  But you choose to do it with cheats, and since you were the one playing that game, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.  

However, I don't see my sims as "misguided and naive."  They all have their own natures, just like people in the real world have their own natures.  I try not to be any more judgmental of my little virtual people than I would of real people.  When I watch a really good movie or play a game that I really like, I really get into it and I identify with the characters as best I can.  Your view only means that you don't identify with the characters as they are, so you remake them into something else.  And there's nothing wrong with that either.

In the end, it's always about what you want out of the game.

That is correct. As far as I'm concerned about their own natures, I think they could have developed that way, as with real life people, virtual people have the power to change too. VJ Alvi is the perfect example, as to my thoughts/opinions. VJ seems like he's actually a good kid at heart, and has only developed his bad traits, because his mother walked out, and wants nothing to do with him. Kind of like Cartman, from the tv show South Park. Cartman seems like he has a lot of problems (well he does), but his mother is just like Molly French, and has ignored him several times through out the series. However, VJ isn't really evil (same as other evil sims). He just has a dark personality.

Having to start off with 16,500 or 20,000 Simoleons, on a empty lot with a shower that breaks every other time my Sim showers, relying on the taxi for transportation, means I get to create and build my Sims' lives.

Why accept the challenges? I had my house built under a burial ground. I even got away with not paying the bills, because the repo man had been haunted by the moving furniture and ran off  However, as far as cheating to improve, or ruin their lives go, I will simply give them events, or traits, that will forever change them. I like to change my townies up though. Cheats can come in handy for creating sims based on real celebrities. I made David Hasselhoff into a sim, and used the "make me know everyone cheat" (well David Hasselhoff is a famous person in real life) and set all the relationship bars to the very bottom, since he's a real life famous loser anyways. I think cheats can be helpful in that regaurd as well. I think once i get the LN installed I might make Charlie Sheen as well. Cheats can really be perfect for making real life loser celebrities.

[Seabody]

I used to think that cheats improved Sims' lives, but soon enough, the joy of the game left.

Now, I only use cheats as a last resort, or to build, or to un-glitch Sims (resetsim and Testingcheats for dropped traits). Everything you accomplished is possible without cheats. I think of it this way: Non-cheating is the long and scenic walk through the forest (forest being the game), and cheating is hopping into a bulldozer and driving strait through the forest. Sure, you get there faster, but you don't get to experience the game as much.

Before I stopped cheating, promotions felt like they'd take forever. Friends were a chore. Houses weren't, Como se dice, earned.
Now, promotions are easy, friends are fast and houses have a better feeling, because I earned them.

[jeanamariex3]

Jeanamarie, I noticed that in quite a few posts you've talked of mods and given a link to third party CC sites. It's against the Forum Rules to give links to CC or to mention specific mods.

I know you haven't given the names of mods, but I just thought I'd let you know.

This is an extract from the rules:

oops sorry. however, I stand by my opinion on cheats improving my misguided sims, as well as quick promotions. Cheats have officially helped me make my games more interesting by adding real life celebrities into my town such as David Hasselhoff and Charlie Sheen. So technically when I make them known and disliked by the majority of the town, that's not cheating.

However, I have used cheats to give sims "joint custody" many times (especially on the unborn baby ursine)

[jeanamariex3]

I used to think that cheats improved Sims' lives, but soon enough, the joy of the game left.

Now, I only use cheats as a last resort, or to build, or to un-glitch Sims (resetsim and Testingcheats for dropped traits). Everything you accomplished is possible without cheats. I think of it this way: Non-cheating is the long and scenic walk through the forest (forest being the game), and cheating is hopping into a bulldozer and driving strait through the forest. Sure, you get there faster, but you don't get to experience the game as much.

Before I stopped cheating, promotions felt like they'd take forever. Friends were a chore. Houses weren't, Como se dice, earned.
Now, promotions are easy, friends are fast and houses have a better feeling, because I earned them.

Cheating can be a joy when making sims of real life loser celebrities as well. Charlie Sheen is a work in progress and is a well known loser to my townies thanks to my cheats.