WIP: Similization

I'm super excited to share this work in progress with you, because it is something that has been in the works for a really long time! Not to be dramatic, but this mod is the reason I originally started modding, and it's been out of my reach for a really long time. But after teaching myself the skills these last few years and sorting out the framework, I'm working on this in earnest.

This mod is focused on giving structure to your sims' societies. Among other things, my goal is for the sims to exist within a country, with laws, a leader, and a discernable government. Part of the idea is for this mod to be a game within a game, pulling elements from city builders and grand strategy games such as SimCity, Civilization, and Crusader Kings. But more than that, the goal is for the country's situation to have a direct impact on your sims' lives - so poor leadership could result in higher cost of living, or great leadership could mean longer life expectancy.

I realize that sounds like a lot, and that's because it is. I've been cautious to announce this because it is still many months away from completion, and I want to make sure that nothing is rushed or left unfinished -- but this is also starting to take up a significant amount of my modding time, so I think it's only fair to show a bit of what I've been working on.

Once you load into a new save, you'll be able to choose whether you want to play with premade countries or start from scratch. From there, you'll be able to specify the country's name, the government, which regions belong to which countries, and much more. After that, if you're playing as the ruler of the country, all of these choices will be available to you from the pie menu. The mod also recognizes which country and associated laws you're currently existing in, so when you travel from region to region, it will know where in the "world" you actually are.

Each country will have an associated flag, and your sims will react to seeing their flag in different ways depending on how they feel about their country's government. And yes - they only react to their own country's flag.

Best yet, this is something that other cc makers could add onto! I created a custom flag tuning which allows you to specify which objects/swatches go with which icon, and the mod will recognize any new flag tunings provided by other creators. I won't be able to make every possible flag someone could want, and I think it would bloat the game if I did - but if others wanted to make new flags based on fantasy worlds, custom flag packs are totally possible!

You'll be able to see various details and statistics about the county by clicking on the globe or the mailbox. Eventually, this will have more depth as these features develop!

Of course, your sims' skills and traits will have an impact on the way that they rule. I've been working on two new skills: Diplomacy and Military Strategy, with plans for a third Espionage skill. On the left, you can see one of the War Tables, where you can study tactics and make defense plans. Learning Diplomacy lets you write speeches which can have an impact on your popularity and the nation's opinion on various policies.

I also want to mention that there will be a few different "flavor packs" for this mod. This is a collection of strings, icons, and objects that will make the mod feel more immersive depending on the era that you play. For instance, the war table in the picture would fit best in a medieval save, but the modern flavor pack will have a different one that feels more appropriate.

So that's where we're at so far! I don't want to say that this is on the back burner, but this is a much longer term project than the others, and it isn't replacing anything else I'm working on. I hope you're as excited as I am! I'm looking forward to sharing more as things progress. :)

Cheers, ~JS