One of the new features of the Sims 3 has been the reduction of the interaction menus. For fans of the Sims 2, who were accustomed to navigating huge interaction menus at lightning speeds, the new system is frustrating. Simple things become impossibly difficult. How do players get their sims married? How do players bathe their sim’s toddlers and babies? Why do two sims have different interaction menus? And more.
These are important questions and may make players very frustrated, interfering with their enjoyment of the game play. The makers of The Sims 3 surely had their reasons (probably the menus in The Sims 2 were just too huge!) but it is certainly hard for fans to adjust after years of playing with the old menus. Here are a few answers. First, how are the new menus arranged?
New Menus in the Sims 3
Menus in The Sims 3 have slimmed down somewhat. Clicking on the refrigerator for instance offers fewer choices in the new game. However, the interactions with in game objects have been far less affected when compared with social interactions. Social menus have changed dramatically, enough to completely frustrate longtime fans. Not only have they changed, but they are also different from one sim to another. The differences arise from sim personalities.
Here is an example: A player has a sim named Betty. Betty has several traits that the player (or the game) picked for her. She is Neurotic, Good, Artistic, Athletic, and a Daredevil. This combination affects the menus that the player will be able to use while controlling Betty. Clicking on another sim, they will see the options: Friendly, Romantic, Mean, Funny, or Special. The Special menu is the one controlled by Betty’s unique traits. Because she is Good, Betty will be able to Brighten Someone’s Day under “Good” in the Special menu
Getting Sims Married in the Sims 3
This has been a particularly difficult item to resolve, and a special frustration for Sims fans. In the previous edition, The Sims 2, the option to marry appeared once two sims had a high enough romantic relationship together. The relationship bar was measured in numbers. When the bars were in the 70s for both sims, the option Propose appeared with the “…” symbol after it. Clicking on it allowed the player to select from further choices, including Engagement or Marriage.
In The Sims 3 the menus have completely changed. A relationship can be up to the max and the option to Propose… does not appear. Also, frustratingly, the game does not immediately identify lovers. A sim with multiple romantic interests will still say he/she has no partner. So Betty may have a full relationship with Bob but Bob won’t go around telling other sims in Sunset Valley that he has a girlfriend.
How should players resolve this? The solution is deceptively simple. When the relationship bar is high enough, the player only has to perform several interactions under the Romantic menu in a row. Something like five romantic interactions will bring up the option to Go Steady or Get Engaged.
The location and terminology of these choices isn’t the same as it was in The Sims 2 so players should be on their toes while looking. Then at last the game will recognize that Bob has a partner in Betty, she won’t simply be called “romantic interest” any longer.
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