As an experienced Simmer with over 800 hours played across multiple Sims titles, I‘ve developed a strong appreciation for the incredible passion and creativity of The Sims modding community. When the base games inevitably begin feeling stale for long-time fans, mods breathe new life into the experience.
And in my many years with this community, no mods have left a bigger impression than WickedWhims and WonderfulWhims. Originally created in 2016 by modder Turbodriver, these expansive mods have exploded into runaway successes, amassing millions of fans. Let‘s explore why they represent such monumental achievements in Sims modding history, and how they can reinvigorate your own relationship with EA‘s beloved franchise.
The Origins of Wicked Whims and Wonderful Whims
Modder Turbodriver began developing the earliest versions of WickedWhims nearly seven years ago, shortly after The Sims 4‘s initial 2014 launch. Feeling restricted by the sanitized version of romantic interactions, social systems and pregnancy presented in base Sims 4, Turbodriver set out to push boundaries and inject a new level of realism into these core aspects of gameplay.
As Turbodriver told SimsCommunity in 2016:
"Sims 4 was lacking in attraction systems and depth around relationships, especially for more mature players…I wanted consequences and customization options that could dramatically expand stories. The community response showed many shared the same frustrations."
Early versions focused exclusively on enhancing romantic/sexual aspects absent from Teen-rated base Sims 4. But the mod quickly grew in scope based on user feedback. By 2018, Turbodriver introduced WonderfulWhims – a more family-friendly take focused on enhanced social systems, pregnancies and general realism without mature content.
Now after years of steady development, WickedWhims and WonderfulWhims represent expansive new visions for Sims gameplay possibilities. Let‘s spotlight what makes them such amazing projects.
Customizable Attraction Systems and Social Depth
A common desire among Simmers invested in storytelling is deeper control over relationships beyond base games limitations. We want to nurture bonds slowly over time, not enter some instant "BFF" state via repetitive chat spamming.
The rich attraction systems in WickedWhims and WonderfulWhims enhance relationships with an addictive new layer of depth. Instead of arbitrary clicks, your Sims now form connections based on subjective preferences informed by an attractiveness score.
This score gets determined by genetics, cas outfit choices, maintenance of weight/hygiene and even compatibility of random hidden "Tokens" assigned on Sim creation. Some of my favorite additions here include:
Table: Attraction Systems Features
| Feature | Effect |
|---|---|
| Pick Up Lines | Unique opener lines based on Traits to immediately grab attention |
| Preferences | Customize sexual preferences for WooHoo partner age ranges and genders |
| Fertility Cycles | Visible fertility tracker impacts chance of pregnancy from risky Woohoos |
| Adore/Detest | Form immediate bonds or hatreds upon first meetings from Token compatibility |
Adding to the recipes for connection are the incredible Personality Archetypes introduced previously. Beyond enhancing characters themselves, these archetypes create wonderful story fodder.
As an example from my current save file – my Sim Jo harbors a secret crush on grumpy Military Officer Max. But as a Mentor archetype struggling to open up socially, I had to get creative. Attending one of his daily gym sessions to Admire his Confident nature eventually won Max over via the unique socials unlocked between these personality pairings.
It‘s little emergent moments of chemistry like this that leave such an impression. Combined everything covered so far makes romantic bonds feel genuinely earned, not just slammed together via exploitative game mechanics.
Custom Legacy Families Through Pregnancy Tools
Raising multi-generational families is one of my favorite aspects of legacy-style Sims 4 gameplay. But the maternity tools in base Sims 4 often feel woefully undercooked for telling cohesive generational stories. Where is the depth around family planning, pregnancy struggles, inheritable genetics and memorable delivery moments?
WickedWhims provides incredible control here once again. My current heir Phoebe recently struggled for years attempting to conceive with her husband Cody due to Suppose Infertility. Only after adopting two children and reaching level 10 Herbalism for fertility boosts did the pregnancy finally occur organically.
But the rollercoaster still wasn‘t over. At Phoebe‘s baby shower, she suddenly went into labor two weeks early! I rushed to plan a Home Birth and install the new Midwife NPC mod just in time for the early arrival of baby girl Chloe. After these dramatic ups and downs, the emotions around Chloe felt incredibly earned.
Table: Pregnancy Tools Features
| Feature | Effect |
|---|---|
| Menstrual Cycle | Track period, ovulation and fertile days where pregnancy is more likely |
| Morning Sickness | 1st Trimester nausea moodlet impacts energy and comfort |
| Custom Genetics | Control exact probability of inheriting hair color, eye color and more traits |
| Ultrasounds | Special item allows sneak peeks of baby bump size and gender months before birth |
Adding this layer of pregnancy realism and challenges breathed amazing new life into my generational gameplay after getting bored of effortless births in base Sims 4. Small touches like anticipating due dates, designing the perfect Baby Nursery in preparation, and documenting my Dynasty Family Tree now carry huge weight to turn gameplay into a memorable story.
Mods That Launch Legacies
While I‘ve focused on WickedWhims and WonderfulWhims, it‘s worth noting the wider sea changes both mods have inspired across The Sims 4 community. A quick glance at any Sims 4 mod database reveals just how influential they‘ve become.
Popular examples include:
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Basemental Drugs – Addiction systems, weed growing, hallucinations and risky side effects for hardcore stories.
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Healthcare Redux – Expands hospitals with new illnesses, overdose responses and healthcare career rabbit holes.
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Explore – Fleshes out the Explorer profession with artifacts to collect, rare locations and Indiana Jones-esque quests.
You‘ll frequently find compatibility patches allowing these mods to work in conjunction with WonderfulWhims/WickedWhims as well. This demonstrates the importance Turbodriver‘s creations have in laying foundation for others to build on!
Reinvigorating My Passion for The Sims
On a personal note, I cannot overstate the joy these incredible mods brought back to my decade-long passion for The Sims franchise. After burning out on surface-level base games offerings across four iterative sequels, these bold new gameplay directions rekindled a creative spark I worried was gone forever.
Some of my all-time favorite recent gaming memories include events only made possible by WonderfulWhims expansions. Having my heir Jo bravely reverse a vasectomy WITHOUT informing his wife to illegally conceive another baby they were told they couldn‘t safely have. Or the weekend-long Hot Tub Woohoo marathon between teen celebutante Ashley and her girlfriend Scarlet. I still chuckle at the ensuing chaos when Ashley‘s mother walked in during their seventh consecutive session…
By embracing the magic of emergent stories and unpredictable outcomes in such memorable ways, WonderfulWhims makes achievements feel genuinely earned. Each legacy generation now carries weight through the rollercoaster efforts needed to reach new heirs.
Meanwhile for players perhaps seeking wackier tales, mods like Basemental Drugs mesh perfectly for some seriously wild results. After all, WonderfulWhims lifts content restrictions allowing nearly anything a devious mind can conjure up!
Lasting Community Impacts
Numbers speak louder than words regarding the incredible legacy cemented by these mods within The Sims space. As a headline figure, WickedWhims alone has amassed over 204 million total downloads since 2016 according to ModTheSims and other tracker sites.
Testimonials across YouTube, Reddit and forums offer similarly gushing praise:
"I cannot play or enjoy the sims 4 without wonderful whims. It adds so much more realism that I desperately want in my game." – Reddit user whatifu
"Been using it for years now and find it adds way more gameplay options and realism than I ever felt in the base games." – SimsVIP forum veteran MacRieve
"Definitely breathes new life into The Sims 4 that keeps me playing daily after getting bored of base game after a couple weeks." – YouTube commenter KSquirtleK
As these passion takes demonstrate, a common theme emerges. Both expert and casual Simmers widely view WickedWhims and Wonderful Whims as monumental projects that deeply expand stagnating base game foundations.
Six years since initial launch, Turbodriver continues rolling out updates monthly to support the thriving player base. Recent additions introduced incredible concepts like Healthcare systems, field expeditions for Explorers, enrolled School gameplay for teens and much more.
Thanks to runaway word of mouth success within the player base, Wicked Whims and Wonderful Whims seem destined to remain installation staples for Simmers craving enhanced storytelling tools for years to come.
Conclusion
In closing, I hope spotlighting some amazing features across both groundbreaking mods inspires fellow Simmers to embrace these passion projects as well! They collectively represent a triumph of community creativity and boundary pushing gameplay expansion in ways the official developers seem unwilling to dare.
Yet despite towering success, Turbodriver remains committed to constant evolution via Patreon support and welcoming user feedback. These mods feel very much community passion projects vs soulless commercial ventures.
For any Simmer who feels they‘ve exhausted base games offerings over hundreds of hours played, I couldn‘t recommend sampling Wonderful Whims and Wicked Whims enough. At worst, you may walk away with fun stories to reminisce on! But at best, you may just rediscover the creative passion that made this franchise so special growing up.
So why not take a chance on some wacky Sims chaos? Your perfect playable soap opera could be just one download away!