Project Mayor: Progress? Progress!

I spent hours upon hours trying to create custom traits for The Sims 3: I failed. (I had already tried this in the past.) I attempted to create an HTML-based slider to track gameplay progress and make the process more dynamic: I failed again. I was on the verge of celebrating, thinking I was getting somewhere. Exhausted, I went to the living room, lay on the floor to clear my head, and then an idea struck:

I had talked about subverting The Sims' system. Subvert… SUB-VERT! It’s not about creating—it’s about modifying! Taking something that people don’t use and giving it a new meaning!

Then I thought: STBL STRINGS! In simpler terms, for those who don’t mod: modifying the text in the game. So, I thought about applying this to the fame system in The Sims 3, but I failed again. (I can’t find those strings anywhere! But I will!)

I redirected my energy to The Sims 2. I found what I needed. I APPLIED IT!

I rarely see people using the reputation system; no one talks about it, but it’s there. Introduced in The Sims 2 Apartment Life, but almost never utilized. Subvert!

I renamed it: Social Class.
I changed the names for each level, and now the lowest level is called Unfortunate Indigent. The highest? Exceptional Tycoon.

Well, I changed the text, but does it actually affect the game? Luckily for me, it does. And it’s already in the game. Sims at lower levels tend to be avoided by other Sims, and if there is an interaction, it’s almost always negative. On the other hand, Sims at higher levels are admired and have a much easier time earning praise.

In other words, the rich are flattered, and the poor are shunned. An irony? Considering the social dynamics of real life, while not ideal, it carries a striking similarity!

You might find my celebration a little odd. Well, I didn’t manage to create an ITEM that’s added to the inventory, but I remembered we can set reputation with Sim Manipulator. So, all I had to do was tweak the translation, changing “Reputation” to “Social Class.”

The player will need to make a small manual adjustment to their Sim before starting, but after that, they can forget Sim Manipulator even exists. And that’s okay because Project Mayor isn’t just a mod—it’s an ecosystem that involves not just modifying but also reinterpreting.

The second stage of Social Class has been successfully implemented. I’m happy to share this with you. Of course, I need to make this work for every language possible. So, I’d love to know: which language do you typically use? That way, I can prioritize it!