The TV Should Build Up More Skills

[SqueamishNerd]

In TS4 sims can build up the culinary skill by watching the culinary channel, and they can build up the comedy skill by watching the comedy channel. If you have Fitness Stuff you can also work out in front of the TV and build up the fitness skill. And that's it, otherwise you can't build up skills via the TV.

But, imo, some of the other channels could also be connected to a skill, therefore I suggest the following:

- The kids channel could raise the imagination skill for toddlers
- The fireplace channel could raise the wellness (Spa Day) skill, because watching that channel could be considered mediation imo
- The music channel could raise the creativity skill for children
- The politics channel (City Living) could raise the Research & debate skill (Discover University), I don't think it's wrong to have TV channel and skill not lining up pack-wise, there are a lot of things that need more than one pack to work, for example that if you have both Cats & Dogs and Realm of Magic you can have a cat or dog familiar

[Psychotps]

@SqueamishNerd I think that's a very good idea.

[ceb6973]

Agreed! I have two gardeners in one house and there's not enough plants to go around to advance in their careers. I'm in desperate need of a Gardening channel to raise gardening skills!

I'd also love:

a home improvement channel to raise handiness, fabrication,

a game show network to raise logic

the cooling channel to raise baking and gourmet cooking and even mixology and/or juice fizzing -- after it's done raising regular cooking to 10...

Civic public access should raise painting skill (with Bob Ross and his happy trees!)

Action and/or TV classics could raise writing skills, acting skills, etc.

Gardening/nature channel could raise angling skill, too.

World culture could raise archeology and salvadorian -- and PLEASE, let it satisfy world traveler lifestyle (and looking at the globe bar should do the same, that lifestyle is such a pain when a sim with a full-time job gets it!)

Romance channel should increase charisma

Sports (and/or action) could raise rock climbing, skiing, and snowboarding skills

And no, I don't want this because I'm planning on creating a bunch of couch potato sims. I just hate spending so much time focused on skill building with every new sim, and since they can watch TV while they eat and knit, it'd be nice if they could build skills other than cooking and comedy while watching TV! I really hope this happens ASAP!

[JonaO703]

@SqueamishNerd Totally agreed!  I wanted to mention, though, that kids channel does improve imagination skill for toddlers.

@ceb6973 I like your ideas too.  I would especially like a home improvement channel.  Love me some HGTV!

[Psychotps]

@JonaO703

Lol, if they DID implement it, I highly doubt they'd show episodes of HGTV on there... It would be nice to have other ways to build some skills like Handiness, Fishing, and such like the Cooking channel.

Why is the Cooking channel the only one that builds skills? I didn't know about the kids channel. Likely because I rarely play with kids...

PS... Oh, doesn't the Fireplace channel give you some kind of buff? Was it happiness? And romance makes you flirty... But no skill building...  Wish I could make a mod for that.

[JonaO703]

@Psychotps lol  Well of course not HGTV exactly but you know, like they do with other channels, the shows mimic some real life things.  They could have short episodes similar to the shows on HGTV.  Right?  Maybe something like Property Brothers or Fixer Upper or Sell it or List it.  I'd love seeing sims on the TV ripping out some cabinets or tearing down some walls or yelling at contractor sims about some random thing.

I knew about the buffs you get from watching certain channels of course but I actually didn't know you could build cooking skill by watching the cooking channel.  So that's nice.  When I started playing, the thought of having kid sims was abhorrent to me but I eventually tried it and have grown to love the little buggers.  I only noticed the imagination skill from the kids channel a few weeks ago by accident.  I had the kiddos get up to watch some Saturday morning cartoons and happened to check what skills they needed while they were watching.

I don't have the fireplace channel.  Perhaps that comes with a pack I don't have?  But yes, why not have other skill building channels?  

[Psychotps]

@JonaO703

 Oh, I think you don't get the fireplace channel until you install the upgrade, "better reception" or the like. Never really use it, but installing the upgrade increases handiness so...

The only upgrade I really never install is whatever makes it unbreakable. The whole point is to increase handiness. Fixing broken devices increases handiness and gives me free parts at the same time. Making the thing "unbreakable" kinda defeats the purpose IMO.

[JonaO703]

@Psychotps Oh!  I've never done the better reception upgrade.  I'll have to check that out.  Maybe that could add the skill building too.  Something for the sims team to think about.  (Not that I expect it to happen but it's good to hope and have dreams

[Psychotps]

@JonaO703 Oh, also... I never install any "self-cleaning" upgrades either... letting them get dirty gives my maid something to do. I AM paying her after all...

[DMDragonCT]

@SqueamishNerd 

By the way, the music channel does increase the guitar skill, slowly, but it does.