This mod requires Lot 51 Core Library and The Custom Preferences Mod.
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🚨 This mod is NOT compatible with Zerbu's Unlimited Likes and Dislikes 🚨

Veterans of The Sims and The Sims 2 may remember the interests system: a set of topics that defined what your Sims liked to talk about, influenced their conversations, and reflected their personality. This mod aims to bring it back.

Interests introduces 18 unique interests that develop organically through gameplay. Unlike static likes and dislikes that you acquire once and keep forever, interests develop and fade based on your Sims' activities, skills, careers, and life experiences, creating a dynamic personality layer that reflects who your Sim truly is at a given moment in time.

18 Unique Interests

Staying true to the design philosophy of The Sims 2, your Sims can develop interests (or disinterests!) across 18 unique categories:

🐕 Animals

Sims interested in Animals love spending time with their furry, feathered, or scaly friends. Whether they're training a new puppy, caring for livestock on the ranch, chatting about their favorite breeds, or just watching wildlife, these Sims feel most at home in the company of critters.

🎭 Arts & Culture

Sims interested in Arts & Culture have a passion for creative expression. They might spend hours at the easel, get lost in a good book, take to the stage to act out a scene, or enthusiastically discuss their favorite artists with anyone who'll listen. Inspiration is never far away for these Sims!

🏛️ Civics

Sims interested in Civics care deeply about their community and the world around them. Whether they're volunteering, debating policy with friends, or championing a cause, these Sims want to make a difference.

🚔 Crime

Sims interested in Crime are drawn to the shadier side of life. Maybe they enjoy a bit of mischief, or perhaps they love swapping stories about heists and mysteries. Either way, they can't resist a good tale from the criminal underworld.

🎬 Entertainment

Sims interested in Entertainment live for a good time! From throwing parties and playing video games to chatting about the latest movie, these Sims know how to have fun and make sure everyone else does too.

🍝 Food

Sims interested in Food have a deep appreciation for all things culinary. Whether they're experimenting with new recipes, mixing up creative cocktails, savoring a gourmet meal, or debating the merits of grilled cheese, food and drink are always on their mind.

💪 Health

Sims interested in Health take physical wellness seriously. From yoga sessions and morning jogs to pursuing a career in medicine or hitting the gym to bulk up, these Sims are always looking for ways to feel their best and help others do the same.

🎵 Music

Sims interested in Music can't imagine life without a soundtrack. Whether they're learning a new instrument, jamming with friends, or gushing about their favorite bands, music speaks to their soul.

🌿 Nature

Sims interested in Nature feel a deep connection to the natural world. They might spend their days gardening, hiking through the wilderness, or eagerly discussing the local ecosystem. Being outdoors is where they feel most alive!

🔮 Paranormal

Sims interested in the Paranormal are fascinated by things that go bump in the night. Ghosts, spellcasters, séances... if it's spooky or supernatural, these Sims want to know more and talk about it even more!

❤️‍🔥 Romance

Sims interested in Romance are all about love and intimacy. Whether they're planning the perfect date, sneaking off for a WooHoo, or gushing about their relationships to anyone nearby, these Sims keep passion at the center of their lives.

📚 School

Sims interested in School actually enjoy being there! Whether they're studying for exams, teaching a class, chatting with classmates about what they learned, or eagerly discussing their favorite subjects, these Sims see education as its own reward.

🔬 Science

Sims interested in Science are driven by curiosity and discovery. They love conducting experiments, discussing their latest findings, and asking the big questions. A well-equipped lab is their happy place!

⚽ Sports

Sims interested in Sports thrive on athletic competition. Whether they're shooting hoops, running laps, watching the big game, or talking strategy with friends, these Sims live for the thrill of the game.

👗 Style

Sims interested in Style have an eye for aesthetics. From putting together the perfect outfit to curating a beautifully decorated home or discussing the latest fashion trends, these Sims believe that looking good is a way of life.

💻 Technology

Sims interested in Technology are fascinated by gadgets, code, and all things digital. Whether they're building a computer, programming the next big app, or nerding out about the latest tech, they're happiest when surrounded by innovation.

✈️ Travel

Sims interested in Travel have a serious case of wanderlust. They dream of exploring new places, seeking out thrilling adventures, swapping stories about their journeys, and experiencing different cultures. Staying in one place for too long is not their style!

💼 Work

Sims interested in Work take their career seriously. They're driven to climb the ladder, talk shop with colleagues, and achieve professional success. For these Sims, a productive day is a good day.

How Interests Work

Interests develop and fade organically through gameplay rather than being assigned permanently. Each interest operates on a 7-point scale, starting at neutral (rank 4).

Sims gain an interest at rank 6, but won't lose it again until rank 4
Sims gain a disinterest at rank 2, but won't lose it again until rank 4

The system hooks into a dozen different game mechanics:

Skills: Every time your Sim skills up, there's a chance to increase a related interest. The higher the skill level, the greater the chance.
Careers: At the end of each work day, your Sim has a chance to gain points in an interest related to their career, so long as they actually enjoy their career.
School: At the end of each school day, Child and Teen Sims have a chance to gain points toward the School interest, or lose points if they have poor grades.
Afterschool activities: At the end of an afterschool activity, Child and Teen Sims have a chance to gain points in an interest related to the activity.
Completing aspiration tracks: Every time your Sim completes a track of an aspiration, they have a strong chance for any interests related to the aspiration to increase.
University courses: At the end of each university course, students have a chance to gain points in an interest related to their degree.
Life events / Formative moments: Job loss, death, and formative moments can all shift a Sim's interests.
Getaways: If your Sims come away from a Getaway with a reward trait, they'll also gain some interest points depending on the trait.
Lifestyles: When a lifestyle is gained, so is a boost to any associated interests.
Traits: When a trait is added on age up, through self-discovery moments, or through grief, associated interests receive a boost.
Likes and Dislikes: Whenever likes or dislikes are obtained through gameplay, associated interests receive a boost (or a decrease).

Similar to past games, this mod uses a system where increasing one interest causes another interest to decrease, so Sims can't be passionate about everything at once.

When an interest in a category decreases or increases, you'll see an effect above the Sims head to indicate this.
When an interest or disinterest is gained or lost, you'll receive a notification.

📝 Note: Interests do not decay over time.

Trait Influence

Traits have an ongoing effect on interests. A Sim with the Animal Lover trait, for instance, will have an easier time gaining the Animals interest and a harder time losing it.

What Interests Do

Interests directly shape what Sims choose to do, and who they choose to interact with. All in-game interactions have been carefully tagged, where appropriate, to align with specific interests.

Sims are more likely to autonomously choose social and non-social interactions tied to their interests
Sims are less likely to autonomously choose interactions tied to their disinterests
Sims interested in Animals are more likely to interact with animals
Sims interested in Technology are more likely to interact with robots
Sims interested in the Paranormal are more likely to interact with occults and specters

Interests also directly influence how certain social interactions are received.

When a Sim performs a social interaction tied to an interest the target Sim likes, the target is more likely to respond positively.
When the target dislikes that interest, the interaction is more likely to go poorly.

Discussing & Revealing Interests

The Discuss Interests interaction has been fully reworked into a true back-and-forth exchange, complete with multiple outcome paths.

Sims now autonomously choose from one of the 18 interests, favoring topics they are personally interested in. If they know the other Sim dislikes a topic, they will avoid it. Sims will never bring up a topic they have a disinterest in.

How It Works

Shared interests lead to more positive responses and a back-and-forth exchange
Disliked topics increase the chance of the interaction ending in a shrug
A disliked topic combined with other negative factors can lead to Sims covering their ears or debating the merits of the interest
The interaction reveals the participants' preferences for the topic to others in the group

Topic Balloons

Topic balloons have also been painstakingly curated to better reflect these conversations. Each interest has its own curated pool of icons, and the specific balloon that appears is influenced by a Sim’s traits, skills, career, and age. For instance, a child talking about Animals will not visualize the topic the same way a veterinarian does.

There are 347 unique balloons in total, with around 10 per interest and 3 for cross-interest subgroups:

🐛 Insects (Animals × Nature)
🥛 Farming (Animals × Food)
🧑‍🍳 Culinary Arts (Arts & Culture × Food)
♻️ Environmentalism (Civics × Nature)
🩺 Health Sciences (Health × Science)
🏕️ Camping (Nature × Travel)
🧑‍⚖️ Law & Order (Civics × Crime)
🎣 Outdoor Sports (Sports × Nature)

CAS Integration & Instance Generation

Interests appear as a new preference category in CAS, letting you assign initial interests and disinterests when creating Sims. Sims assigned interests this way will not be eligible for random interest generation when they're loaded for the first time.

Sims without any interests will have them generated the first time they're loaded based on who they are at that point in time:

Children: Up to 2 interests and 1 disinterest
Teens: Up to 2 interests and 2 disinterests
Young Adults and older: Up to 3 interests and 3 disinterests

NPC Children and Teens will be tracked as they go through life and will have up to 3 interests and 3 disinterests by the time they reach adulthood.

Cheats

No specific cheats are built into this mod, but if you shift + click on a Sim and select "Stats", you can see and change the values for all your Sims' interests. You can also do this via MC Command Center: MC Cheats > Cheat Sim Info > Change Statistic.

Future Features

This is the biggest and most complex mod I’ve ever built, but there’s still more I want to do with this system!

Share Interests: Let Sims influence each other's interests through conversation
Family influence: Interests shaped by family members and loved ones
Additional Interests
Deeper integration with popular mods.

Compatibility

🚨 This mod (and any mod that requires Zerbu's The Custom Preferences Mod) is NOT compatible with Zerbu's Unlimited Likes and Dislikes

⚠️ This mod will conflict with any mod that overrides the following files:

loot_MovingOn_SoulsJourneyIncrease_Aspiration
loot_Papercraft_PaperAirplane_School_EndOfDay
lootActions_Social_Media_Enable_BackFromWork
careerAssignmentsObjective_ActivistCareer_14_DiscussInterests
situationGoalInteractionSim_Career_Scientist_WorldEvent_DiscussInterests_X

This mod was made possible by Sims 4 Studio, Tuning Builder, and STBL Studio.