The Sims 2: Nightlife/Attraction and Chemistry

Attraction and Chemistry is a system designed to help build relationships quicker. Knowing how it works can help you choose what sims are more suited towards one another. This page will explain to you how the mechanics of attraction and chemistry works

Attraction
Every sim has a relationship score for each other. They also have an attraction score for each other. Like daily and lifetime relationships, it can be altered. However unlike relationship scores it doesn't start at zero but instead starts at a fixed value that can be altered by these elements: Note that sims don't have attraction for: Attraction can cause lots of things:
 * Personality
 * Zodiac
 * Turn ons
 * Turn off
 * Aspiration
 * Pre-existing relationships
 * Love Potion
 * Blood relatives
 * Sims of inappropriate age groups
 * 1) It is the only thing that can affect chemistry
 * 2) It affects autonomous behaviour
 * 3) It can unlock socials
 * 4) It can trigger rivalry
 * 5) It contributes to the start of date scores
 * 6) It is required for the Ask...Do You Like What You See?, Flirt... Check Sim Out and Scope Room interactions.

Attraction Score
Below is an overview of how the attraction score works

Personality
Sims attraction score is affected by personality. The more similar the personality is the more attracted they are. There is no way of knowing a sim's personality if they cannot be played. However their zodiac sign can be obtained by the ''Ask... What's Your Sign?'' The following table shows the default personality score by zodiac but will not be completely accurate

Zodiac
Zodiac, like personality, independently contributes to attraction. Unlike personality, it cannot be altered (Personality can be altered through the Encourage... interaction). Each Zodiac sign can either boost, reduce or have no effect on a sim's attraction. The following table shows exactly what zodiac signs are compatible with each other.

Note that because no zodiac favours itself, the only way to achieve maximum attraction is to have personality scores encouraged to similarity. Encouraging personality doesn't change the sim's zodiac sign.

Aspriration
Like personality, if aspiration is similar then there will be high attraction. The next table shows what aspiration favours what.

Turn Ons and Turn Offs
Every sim has two turn ons and one turn off. Turn ons and offs help players decide what sims like about other sims. A turn off has as much strength as two turn ons and can neutralise the effect of those turn ons in the attraction score. There are nineteen different options for Turn Ons and Offs: Turn ons and turn offs can be discovered by asking the other sim what they are. Using this can help you work out what the other sim likes or hates about your sim. You can alter your sim to match other sims turn ons and turn offs with these methods: Alternatively a sims turn Ons and offs can be changed for your sim through either these methods:
 * Black Hair
 * Blonde Hair
 * Brown Hair
 * Red Hair
 * Grey Hair
 * Custom Hair
 * Facial Hair
 * Hats
 * Glasses
 * Makeup
 * Full Face Makeup
 * Cologne
 * Stink
 * Fitness
 * Fatness
 * Swimwear
 * Underwear
 * Formalwear
 * Vampirism
 * Mirrors can alter most of your sims facial features
 * Wardrobes can change what your sim is wearing
 * Fatness or fitness can be achieve through working out or overeating
 * To become a vampire see Vampires
 * 1) ReNuYu Porta-Chug- any precreated sims will have this in there inventory upon loading The Sims 2 Nightlife.
 * 2) ReNuYuSenso-Orb- these aspiration reward can change both aspiration and turn ons and offs

Pre-existing Relationships
Two sims that are in love can't repulse each other. This is why if they have a romantic relationship (e.g. Crush, Love, Married etc) attraction can't be below neutral. These relationships can't increase an attraction score though. All they do is increase the minimum possible score for attraction

Love Potion
If your sims have low attraction or you just want to gain maximum attraction, a love potion is available. It can be purchased from the gypsy matchmaker. When consumed, it changes attraction by a fixed amount. This only lasts three hours and is indicated by flowers at a sims feet. If you try to take two potions at a time, the effect will be the opposite and his hygiene and confort will drop to the bottom, regardless of the how full the bar is.

Indicating Attraction Score
The following interactions will not reveal a sims attraction score but they will give a good indication.
 * Scope Room- If a sims gender preference has been set then they can scope the room to see which sim they find the most attractive. The sim scans the room and if they have a high attraction score for any other sim then he or she will be highlighted and his or her name will be revealed in a pop-up. Note that some sims will not be rated including restaurant staff and sims of the wrong gender.
 * Flirt...Check Sim Out-This interaction will rate a specific sim for attraction. How the sim reacts will provide a good indication of the level of attraction. This interaction is also an easy way to set gender preference because there's not really any physical interaction between two sims which means there's no risk of decreasing a relationship score.
 * Ask...Do You Like What You See?- Unlike the previous two interactions, this interaction tells you what another sim thinks of your sim. The following reactions will show whether they're attracted, neutral or unattracted:
 * Attracted due to turn ons- Shows turn on in speech bubble and gestures enthusiastically.
 * Attracted without turn ons- Shows sims face in speech bubble with floating pink hearts.
 * Neutral with turn ons- Shows sims face in speech bubble with red X through it.
 * Neutral with no turn ons- Indicates turn on missing in speech bubble and shrugs.
 * Neutral with turn offs- Shows turn off in speech bubble with red X through it. (this reaction is ambiguous because it is the same if the sim is unattracted)
 * Unattracted- Shows small red Xs through sims face in speech bubble
 * Unattracted due to turn off- Shows turn off in speech bubble with red X thorugh it

Chemistry
Chemistry is what attraction comes down to. It is also a score. It indicates how compatible two sims are between themselves. When two sims meet the attraction score is calculated for them. The average of those two scores will be calculated. This new score, unlike attraction, is completely mutual. This score is visible in-game in the relationships panel. It is indicated by a lightning bolt on the bottom right corner of the sims portrait. How many lightning bolts are on the portrait indicates the chemistry.


 * Three lightning bolts- High chemistry.
 * Two lightning bolts- Medium chemistry.
 * One lightning bolt- Low chemistry.
 * No lightning bolts- No chemistry.
 * Lightning bolt with X through it- Negative chemistry

What Chemistry Does
Chemistry is very useful in the dating game as it makes relationships easier to achieve. First of all it unlocks social interactions earlier than usual by lowering the requirements to unlock those socials. This interactions can be indicated by a lightning bolt next to the writing. Secondly it lowers the chance of these interactions being rejected by the reciprient. The chemistry score indicates the degree of availability and acceptance of these interactions.