Semi-permanent toddler grudges [ Edited ]

[TygerNight]

Hi, so I did find a thread about this a minute ago but... it was last updated in Feb and I've been admonished more than once for 'necroposting', plus there were two posts that proclaimed "No longer an issue" so I decided to try my own since it's still an issue for me.

I'm sick of sentiments already. It was bad enough that my parents were constantly flirty from being around a loved one no matter what they were doing (when teaching twin toddlers, that gets old fast). But what has gotten old even faster is my toddlers' tendency to hold a grudge against one parent until they age up, and I never age up my toddlers until their skills are maxed. This time it's the worst it's been yet, as immediately upon aging up from a baby (and then watching them both be put to bed at noon with critical potty and hunger needs, and making them wake back up, like always now...), the second-born toddler threw a fit at Dad when I told Dad to potty train him. Their very first interaction that I was able to induce, and the kid's had "Sad +2 Feeling Hurt' tacked onto his moodlet bar almost constantly. It gives a time of 2 hours and when they expire, it does go away. Then 1 Sim hour later it's back. And on and on and on as long as Dad is in the room, which he is because Mom teaches one toddler while Dad teaches the other. Frankly I'm sick to death of having a sad/mad toddler. -_-

PLEASE give up the option to turn these stupid things off!  

~Tyger <3

ETA: It's also meant that he has dropped far behind his twin in learning skills, since his twin is happy when learning, he's getting double XP while the sad one doesn't. 

And again: I was wrong, he's not constantly sad, he's alternately sad and mad. The sad moodlet went away and he was happy for an hour, now he's angry with "Angry +1 Still Upset" instead. Thanks so much, guys... 

[JonaO703]

@TygerNight Hello!  I added my "me too" here because sentiments are what I hate most about this game.  It is infuriating that we don't have an option to disable them.  There are a few posts about this, including the one you mentioned (btw, the user who posted "no longer an issue" was referring to something else, not the sentiments).  I think you're safe to click "me too" on the first post for any of the threads I'm adding at the bottom.  I wonder if some or all of them could be merged since the general idea is the same.

In the meantime, there are a couple of things you can try.

- If you have Parenthood, or if your parent sim has high Charisma skill, make the parent sim active and click on the toddler with the negative sentiment.  See if the parent has an apology option.  Every time I've had a sim apologize immediately, the target sim has lost the negative sentiment they just gained.

- If you're not opposed to cheating, you can open the cheat console and use these to remove those negative sentiments. For something so annoying as this, I actually don't consider it cheating. But if you're on console, the cheats will likely disable trophies and achievements. NOTE: You must replace "firstname" "lastname" with your sims' names; for example: modifyrelationship Toddler HurtSim Parent HurtSim -100 sentimentTrack_Hurt_ST_generic

Hurt:
modifyrelationship firstname lastname firstname2 lastname2 -100 sentimentTrack_Hurt_ST_generic

Deeply Wounded:
modifyrelationship firstname lastname firstname2 lastname2 -100 sentimentTrack_Hurt_LT_generic

Festering Grudge:
modifyrelationship firstname lastname firstname2 lastname2 -100 sentimentTrack_Bitter_LT_grudge

Again please consider clicking "me too" on the following threads.

The main OPEN thread: 
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/OPEN-Negative-Sentiment-Applied-Without-Reason/m-p/9751258/hig...

There was a bit of confusion at the beginning of this one.  Turning off lifestyles does not turn off sentiments, in case you didn't already know that.
https://answers.ea.com/t5/General-Discussion-Feedback/Add-and-remove-sentiments/m-p/9745502/highligh...

This is the post where the user said "no longer an issue" but again, that comment was not referring to sentiments:
https://answers.ea.com/t5/General-Discussion-Feedback/EA-please-let-us-choose-to-disable-the-sentime...

[TygerNight]

@JonaO703 I am definitely not opposed to using cheats, though since I lost my PC and can only play on my PS4, I've not been able to make a cheat code work. I've followed all the steps and just... Nothing ever happens. I tried something simple, moveobjects on, and nada. Couldn't move anything in any new way. Tried complicated, to force a 4-baby birth and nothing. I think I'm just cursed where cheat codes are concerned. >.<;

As far as apologizing, sometimes I really, REALLY don't want my parent to apologize for something that the toddler SHOULD be reprimanded for. Like being rude or defiant. Logically, if the parent apologizes, s/he's rewarding bad behavior and the toddler will expect to continue being rude and defiant without repercussion. That's not an idea I can get behind. >.o

And I will check those threads and add my 'me too's to them, thank you.

~Tyger <3

[valohim666]

You know, I really don't know why they can't offer options for so many of these things so you aren't forced to use them. Then again it seems some players don't like options. I mean a while back I suggested an option for something that a lot of people were complaining about, but of course so many people were like "no it HAS to be this way". It was for lot taxes. Some people were complaining they were too high, while others were complaining they weren't high enough, so I suggested having an option where you set your own but NOOOO we can't have that!

What the heck does having an OPTION hurt in the first place? If you like the default then you do absolutely NOTHING with the option, it's just one more thing people can ignore... like how so many ignore the numerous problems with this game. I'd love to turn off those sentiments. All they seem to do is affect your mood, which I see more as a negative than anything especially when you need your sim in a certain mood and all it takes to ruin that is for another sim to walk in the room. What you said about the flirty sims gets annoying really fast. When you need a specific mood, and your spouse randomly decides they need to walk from one side of the house to the other just for a kiss on the cheek and instantly makes you flirty... yeah these sentiments can go.

This "like/dislike" system seems pointless too since all it seems to do is affect mood and fun. I see so many of my previously played sims doing things they supposedly dislike, so what's the point of this system? For example my current sim's mother dislikes fitness, yet I typically see her at the gym whenever I take my sim and I see her jogging all the time too. Maybe instead of forcing these gameplay mechanics and features on players, how about allowing players to choose what they want to use with options.

[JonaO703]

@TygerNight Oh wow!  I'm terribly sorry your cheats aren't working.  I don't think I could play this game anymore without cheats. :-(  I also know exactly what you mean about apologizing.  Although, if that was my only option, I would rather do that than live with the consequences of a completely irrational sentiment.  If you have Parenthood, after an apology, you should still have an option to discipline the defiant behavior.  Hopefully that doesn't trigger another sentiment.  Grrr!  I hate sentiments in this game so much!

@valohim666 100% agree with you!  We should have the option to disable sentiments as well as likes/dislikes.  Both are extremely disruptive for me and take away from my enjoyment of the game.  I don't understand why EA is forcing all players to endure these "features" that were only developed to support specific packs.  What if players don't want Snow Escape or Dream Home Decorator?  There is an option to disable Lifestyles from SE.  There is an option to disable voting and enviro impact for Eco Lifestyle.  There is an option to disable effects from Seasons.  Obviously someone at EA knows what it means to give players options.

[valohim666]

@JonaO703 EA seems to have a habit of sneaking things into the base game that are meant for packs, and it seems that a lot of times those things either don't work at all, don't work as intended or are just annoying. It's not just Sims 4 either. I remember buying Sims 3 in a bundle with the Supernatural expansion, and something I kept seeing was the game mentioning registering as a self employed alchemist. Problem with that is you needed another expansion to register as self employed, and I didn't have that so the game was informing me of something I just can't do.

What makes it really lazy to me is when you play this game on a PC, and use something like MCCC. MCCC even with all of its modules is a relatively tiny mod in terms of size, yet it gives players control over so many different aspects of the game. I can't help but feel that so many of its options are simply taking advantage of some sort of internal on/off switch for various aspects of the game, something that if EA wanted to turn into actual options they could. If modders can do that sort of thing, why can't EA incorporate similar things into their game and give players not only more options but a bigger variety of ways to play because of the options.

EA can force players into these features because they know some of their fanbase is ignorant and gullible and will go along with anything, though to be fair a lot of people are like that not just Sims 4 players. Not enough players tell EA that they don't like things, and so a lot of things never see any changes because too many people accept it as is. I look at all the glitches in the game, some of which have been there for weeks, months, heck even years, yet they won't be fixed because a majority of the fanbase seems to ignore them and just wants more content instead of fixing what's already there.

[xochiquetzl_xkvn]

I MOSTLY like sentiments.  MOSTLY.  They're sometimes cute.

That said:

I hate the semi-permanent toddler grudges.  If a parent, for example, tries to bathe the toddler and the toddler defies a single time, the toddler will have a festering grudge against the parent and any time the parent is around they'll get a sad or angry moodlet that their parent exists.  This makes it really hard to skill up the toddler, as the negative moodlets reduce skill gains.

The permanent flirty buff from "smitten" is cute except when I need my Sim to be inspired, or focused, or anything that isn't flirty. 

I had one caregiver/teen relationship sentiment ("Let the good times roll!") that left the caregiver pretty much permanently hysterical because they got a playful buff from the teen's very existence.  I don't want caregivers to die because they like their children or teens.  We basically spent all our time in front of the mirror to calm down, eating Tree of Emotion berries, or starting focused club gatherings until the teen aged up and moved out.

Lastly, sometimes my Sims will falsely accuse their spouse of cheating and develop a "wounded" or "furious about cheating" sentiment that causes them to lose relationship with their spouse with every interaction.  I was so angry the last time this happened I went looking for a mod to completely disable sentiments. I didn't find one, so I just rolled back a save.  :P

[JonaO703]

@valohim666 I don't think I'd say anyone is ignorant or gullible but I do think many of us enjoy the game so much that we just keep coming back; warts and all.  I, for one, have bought almost every pack now. lol  I refuse to get bust the dust because I just won't torture my sims like that. :-)  I haven't decided yet if I'll get the decorator pack or cottage living.  I can only hope the right people are reading these posts and trying to address the issues. Based on the number of things they've addressed over the last several months, I do think they are paying attention.

@xochiquetzl_xkvn Yes!  These sentiments should never have been introduced for toddlers.  Surely any sane person would understand that toddlers don't have the capacity to maintain a "festering grudge" for days (or even into childhood and beyond) over something as silly as a bath or learning potty.  I sort of thought the "flirty" moodlets from sentiments were cute at first but it got old fast. lol  I'd rather go back to having my sims be flirty/playful/happy/angry depending on their interactions.  Not just because they're around a sim who makes them feel some sort of something.

[valohim666]

@JonaO703 Believe me there are a lot of people that are ignorant and gullible, and it would be silly to think none of those people play this game. It's one thing to keep playing because you really like it, heck I complain about it and get annoyed but I still play because I really like playing it, but to just accept and go along with the problems is another thing and too many people seem to do that. Also I see where you're coming from with the wart analogy, but to just be so accepting of a product you have to pay for to me is pretty unacceptable. I'm sure there are lots of products where if you bought it and something was wrong you would return it, so why is it okay with games? And sure they've fixed some things, but what about the problems that have been around for so long? From the day I first played this game back in 2016 to present day, I still see a bug where my sims could be sitting and having a conversation then suddenly jump up and reset. I'm sure some people see it as a minor problem, a slight inconvenience, but it's still unacceptable to have so many issues like this.

Sure there are things in life where it's okay to like it even with it's flaws, the perfect example of that are people because everyone is flawed in some way, but when it comes to anything you have to spend money on I have to draw the line. I know so many products will never be perfect, but I don't want to spend money on a product that doesn't work as intended and I'm not going to keep supporting that same company if multiple things I buy from them are problematic.

[xochiquetzl_xkvn]

@JonaO703  YES.  Toddlers DO have extreme emotions, but they just don't have the attention spans to hold "festering grudges." 

(I also don't have Bust the Dust or Laundry Day, mainly because I don't want dust or laundry in my own life, let alone my Sims' lives. )