The Sims 1: Complete Guide to Building and Keeping Friendships

The Sims: Legacy Collection – Building and Maintaining Friendships

The Sims: Legacy Collection introduces unique requirements for job promotions, notably the necessity for your Sims to cultivate friendships. However, unlike the more recent installments in the franchise, forging friendships can be a daunting task. Fortunately, with the right strategies in place, your Sims can become the social butterflies you’ve envisioned.

This edition also features the Hot Date Pack, which updated the relationship dynamics in the game. Each Sim has two relationship bars: the lifetime relationship bar at the bottom and the daily relationship bar at the top. These bars range from -100 to 100, providing an insightful snapshot of your Sim’s interactions with those they’ve met.

How to Find & Make Friends in Sims 1
- Making Use of Community Lots
Essential Tips to Make Friends
- Knowing Your Targets
How to Keep Friends
- The Hardest Part of Friendships

How to Find & Make Friends in Sims 1

Making Use of Community Lots

Upon initiating a new household, your Sims will often receive visits from neighbors extending their greetings. To maximize your chances of forming friendships, be sure to engage with these neighbors, which will populate your relationship tab, thereby paving the way for future interactions.

Initially, acquaintances will fall into the range of -25 to 25. As your Sims’ interactions deepen, a score of 25 to 50 signifies a warm, yet not fully-fledged friendship. To reach the friendship threshold, aim for a score of 50 or higher. Tracking these numbers can guide you in making informed decisions on interactions that are likely to yield positive outcomes.

While neighbors provide a starting point, don’t rely solely on them, as random interactions tend to be rare. Instead, head to community lots where a plethora of new Sims will appear. Engage in conversation multiple times to lay the groundwork for friendship, but refrain from compliments until your relationship reaches a warmer level to ensure success.

Essential Tips to Make Friends

Knowing Your Targets

Personality traits play a crucial role when it comes to making friends. Investing points in traits such as Active, Outgoing, and Nice can significantly enhance your Sims’ social capabilities. Understanding the interests of other Sims is equally important; discussing topics they enjoy can foster faster relationship growth. Utilize the “Change Topic” feature during conversations to switch to subjects that resonate with your audience.

Variety is essential in your interactions. Repeating the same approach can cause Sims to lose interest. Instead, mix your conversations with a variety of actions like “Talk” and “Entertain.” Once you reach a closer relationship level—around 25—feel free to add “Tickle” and “Compliment” to your repertoire. Be mindful, though, that if the other Sim is in a bad mood, your attempts may falter.

How to Keep Friends

The Hardest Part of Friendships

Celebrating a birthday in The Sims 1 Legacy Collection

While making friends can be achievable, maintaining them presents a notable challenge in The Sims: Legacy Collection. Relationships decay at a faster rate compared to subsequent titles; specifically, friendships diminish by approximately 2 points per day when there’s no interaction. This rapid decline can quickly jeopardize the bond, especially if it lingers around the critical friendship score of 50, which can be lost with just a day of neglect.

To sustain friendships, frequent phone calls to friends are essential. A successful call can restore more points than the daily decay; however, not every call will yield positive results. Knowing your friend’s schedule will increase the likelihood of a successful interaction, so ensure you aren’t calling at inopportune times when they may be busy.

Overall, friendship dynamics in The Sims 1 can be more demanding compared to its successors. While utilizing mods and cheats to aid in friendship-building can be an option, it’s entirely feasible to forge and maintain relationships within the existing game mechanics. The key lies in being proactive and attentive, particularly since maintaining friendships is crucial to achieving career advancements in The Sims: Legacy Collection.

Source & Images