The Sims Online Forum » Suggestions » Okay - Some ideas.

The Sims Online.

Loved, or hated. imo, it is here to stay. It takes the common and very popular chat room and glorifies it so well with all kinds of possibilities. The possibilities in TSO are endless.

The problem? Well, obviously, not enough people have imagination enough to create their own fun with a game such as TSO. Just as many thousands of people enjoy the clean canvas of todays chatrooms on such mediums as Yahoo and AOL, many of these same type of people love a game like TSO. However, it could be improved to interest many more people as well with a few additions I tend to think.

Here are just a few wild ideas which I think might add to the game if implemented right...

1. Give the game the same ability as found in The Sims 2. The ability to have offspring. Children. And make these lil kids expensive and time consuming, heh especially during their early growth stages. If you don't take care of your kids properly.... you can go to jail, lose your valuables, have fees to pay.. something challenging. While making the requirements to care for a kid harsh if you fail, also make them rewarding with cool new interactions found only with kids... perhaps even introduce video cameras or camera to take lasting memories of your child. And then even include the possibility to have the pictures you take framed for hangings on your home walls! There are lots of possibilities here.

2. With the ability to have kids in game should also be responsible for things such as paying to have your reproductive organs "tied". So you don't have to worry about raising children.. or even getting caught cheating with another sim!! Doh! There is enough cyber sex in TSO. Why not include a new blurred interaction, perhaps only in a bed, that is called "all the way" or something that definately boosts your sims social! But be careful who you sleep with! Don't get caught by that jealous sim you met last night! ;)

3. Maybe give the fantasy loving mmo players something just for them... a new way to make money. Let them buy some swords, maces, and shields and let them raise a few all new skills. Hunting skills. Fighting skills. Include a new area away from all the houses where players can run in a forest or desert and fight rats, demons, skeletons, and dragons. The risks very high. Dying to a monster in the hunting areas may require the assistance of a friend to come and rez you out where you died. But also make the loot and rewards from such hunting interesting with new things to decorate a home, new crafting materials, etc. etc.
By including some sort of the above #3 idea, players then have the option of playing the old way and skilling up Charisma and chatting care-free as before, or they have the option of playing something that requires a lot more attention to their avatar. Balancing everything so that there is no need to go hunting mobs would be important. This would simply be an addition, not a requirement needed for those who love TSO the way it is now.

4. Give players a few new options of buildings to create. Perhaps give them the new ability to create their own park with a lake, trees, ducks, and sidewalks... or even the ability to create a miniture golf course where they can charge other players to come play their own designed golf puzzles and antics. Perhaps a mini zoo ability. How about the ability to make a small amusement park (ie roller coaster tycoon just scaled down) Or maybe such things would require many players to cooperate (much like the guilds in other fantasy mmos)

5. Introduce an all new set of skills to make it really interesting and important to watch who comes in your house! With new stealing skills, and perhaps detection skills, players can now learn to steal things from another lot! Make this skill a VERY difficult task to pull off successfully, but make it something to add more to the game perhaps. ;)

6. Add player owned cars/transportation to the game. Instead of just zooming out to the city and picking a place to go, have the game calculate the distance traveled to get there. And introduce new ways for let sims travel to various parts of the city. A new car? Whew that'll cost ya. A bicycle, cheap, but good excercise, however time travels while cycling. A nice affordable used car? Cool, but hope it don't break down on you.. might be expensive or leave you stranded at that "Cyber love hotel" lot that you've never been to and would have never went in unless your car broke down half way to where you wanted to go. But hey, your broke down here now and need to borrow their phone!! ;) Ofcourse allow things like taxis but the cost will be kinda high for each ride... in the long run, buying a car would pay off! ;)

7. Bills. We need some bills to prioritize and have to pay each set amount of time in the game. Not too expensive, mind you. But another little challenge to think about. Consequences for not paying the bills might be no water for showers/sinks for not paying the water bill (Yuck you stink now and got a lotta dirty dishes) or man it's dark in your house at night without electricity since you didnt pay that power bill!

These are just a few brainstormed ideas. Some might be good, most probably not. But hey, they are ideas, none-the-less! ;)

- Zaxx