Editing The Sims 2: Nightlife/Dates

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Dating is a new way in The Sims 2 Nightlife to improve a relationship between two sims. With the [[The Sims 2: Nightlife/Attraction and Chemistry|attraction and chemistry]] system introduced in this expansion pack, improving your romance should be a breeze. In this article, we review date mechanics to help you utilize this new system to your advantage.

==Who to Date==
Firstly, you have to choose who you want to date. Since dating is a romantic action, you can only date sims that you can have a romantic relationship with(e.g. Teens can only date teens. Adults can't date children). You can't date blood relatives either. Other than these restrictions, you can date whoever you want.

==Starting the Date==
There are four ways to get a date.
[[File:TS2N Blind Date Chooser.jpg|thumb|left|Choose the amount you want to spend on a Blind Date in this menu]]
[[File:TS2 Blind Date.jpg|thumb|right|Your blind date starts with the date falling from the sky]]
*''Ask...On Date''. Asking in person.
*''Call...Ask Out On Date''. Asking over the phone.
*Being asked by another sim over the phone.
*''Ask for Blind Date''. Interaction on the Gypsy Matchmaker. 
Asking for a blind date gives you a random sim. This sim will not be in a committed relationship with any other sim.
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==Choosing a location==
Your sims can date anywhere except the secret society lot included with The Sims 2 University. If you date at a residential lot, the other sim will come to you. If you date at a community lot, you must drive there. If you don't get going within the hour, then the other sim will decide that he or she has been stood up. Standing up has negative effects on a relationship.

==Dating==
[[File:TS2N Date Meter.jpg|thumb|right|100x200px|The Date Metre tells you how well the date is going]]
You can keep track of the date with the date metre. From a glance it tells you:
*The current date score.
*How much time you have.
*The dates identity.
*The dates aspiration.
*The dates wants and fears.
The date score is divided into seven sections, each which represent how well the date is going. When the date starts the score starts in the middle. If it reaches the exact bottom, the date ends. 
During a date points are added or subtracted for almost every event involving your sim. The date score also exists as an invisible number plane ranging from 0 to 1000. With 0 at the bottom of the Horrible rating and 1000 at the top of the Dream Date rating. 
The main type of event that can happen is a social interaction between two sims. Every social interaction has a base score that is multiplied with the relationship score gained or lost to produce a number of points that are added to the date score. This score is then altered by personality and aspiration.
When an event happens, personality will adjust the score. A sim with personality on one extreme (e.g. Outgoing/Shy 10) will provide maximum points while a sim on the other extreme (e.g. Outgoing/Shy 0) will subtract maximum points. How much points are added or lost depends on the personality score. This is accessible through the simology panel
===Date Events===
The following table is a list of social interactions and their effect on the date score. There are too many social interactions in The Sims 2 to list here so instead, only social interaction types will be listed. Effect 1 means that the relationship change for both sims will be added to the date score. Effect 2 means that the relationship change is also added but is doubled as well for the date score. If the interaction decreases relationship, the date score will also be decreased.
{|{{prettytable}}
!Effect 1!!Effect 2!!Other
|-
|Appreciate, Entertain, Irritate, Play, Prank, Talk||Dining socials, Flirt, Hug, Kiss, Slow Dance||Fight(effect 3), WooHoo (effect 5)
|}
These interactions also affect the date score but include personality and aspiration boosts. Unlike the previous table there is no effect 1, effect 2, etc. Each interaction has a base score which personality and aspiration add to. The score for personality shows the maximum available. To achieve this, personality must have a score of 10. The penalty means that the score will be the value shown if the personality is 0. This base score also assumes that the interaction is between the two dating sims(with the exception of the ''Bite Neck'' interaction).
{|{{prettytable}}
!Interaction!!Score!!Personality boost!!Penalty!!Aspiration boost!!Aspiration penalty
|-
|Object-based cuddle||40||Outgoing 20||-10||Romance 15||Knowledge -10
|-
|Rejection||-50||Outgoing 10||-20||Knowledge 15||Romance -50
|-
|Bitten by Vampire||24||Playful 25||-25||Knowledge 200||Family -50
|-
|Engagement||210||Nice 150||-50||Family 200||Romance -100
|-
|Rejection||-440||Nice 5||-100||Romance 50||Family -100
|-
|Marriage||240||Nice 150||-50||Family 200||Romance -100
|-
|Rejection||-5100||Nice 5||-100||Romance 50||Family 100
|-
|Go Steady||96||Nice 50||-25||Family 200||Romance -100
|-
|Rejection||-92||Nice 50||-100||Romance 50||Family -100
|-
|Throw Food At Table||36||Playful 15||-10||Pleasure 15||Knowledge -5
|-
|Rejection||-28||Playful 10||-35||Pleasure 5||Knowledge -25
|-
|Talk To Pregnant Sims Belly||20||Nice 10||-10||Family 10||Romance -10
|}
This next list of interactions include object interactions, autonomous behaviors and any other event that has an impact on the date score. SIm A refers to the sim that initiated the date and Sim B refers to the sim being dated.
{|{{prettytable}}
!Event!!Score!!Personality boost!!Penalty!!Aspiration boost!!Aspiration penalty
|-
|Achieve Crush Relationship||100||Outgoing 50||-50||Romance 50||Knowledge -50
|-
|Achieve Love Relationship||200||Outgoing 50||-50||Romance 50||Knowledge -50
|-
|Achieve Pregnancy||200||Nice 50||-100||Family 200||Romance 350
|-
|Aspiration Desperation (Sim B)||-300||Playful 100||-200||N/A||N/A
|-
|Aspiration Faliure||-400||Playful 200||-200||N/A||N/A
|-
|Bite Neck (Sim A)||200||Mean 100||-100||Knowledge 100||Family -50
|-
|Bladder Failure (Sim A)||-200||Sloppy 200||-300||N/A||Popularity -500
|-
|Bladder Failure (Sim B)||-600||Sloppy 200||-300||Family 100||Popularity -500
|-
|Dance Sphere Lose High (Sim A)||-70||Lazy 50||-50||Knowledge 20||Pleasure -20
|-
|Dance Sphere Lose High (Sim B)||-100||Lazy 50||-50||Knowledge 20||Pleasure -20
|-
|Dance Sphere Lose Medium (Sim A)||-50||Lazy 25||-25||Knowledge 20||Pleasure -20
|-
|Dance Sphere Lose Medium (Sim B)||-80||Lazy 25||-25||Knowledge 20||Pleasure -20
|-
|Dance Sphere Win Low||15||Active 15||-10||Pleasure 10||Knowledge -5
|-
|Dance Sphere Win Medium||35||Active 25||-25||Pleasure 20||Knowledge -20
|-
|Dance Sphere Win High||45||Acitve 25||-25||Pleasure 20||Knowledge -20
|-
|Date Dies||-1000||N/A||N/A||N/A||N/A
|-
|Defeat Grim Reaper||300||Playful 100||Serious -200||Knowledge 400||N/A
|-
|Dine At Restaurant||150||Playful 50||-50||Pleasure 50||Knowledge -20
|-
|Eat Bad Food||5||Lazy 5||Mean -5||N/A||Pleasure -5
|-
|Eat Good Food||50||Lazy 25||-25||Pleasure 50||Knowledge -10
|-
|End Date without Unlocking Time Bonus||-200||N/A||Outgoing -50||Knowledge 50||Romance -50
|-
|Energy Failure (Sim A)||-100||Lazy 100||Shy -100||Knowledge 10||Popularity -100
|-
|Energy Failure (Sim B)||-300||Playful 100||-200||Knowledge 10||Popularity -100
|-
|Fall Asleep in Food (Sim A)||-150||Nice 50||-100||Family 25||Popularity -100
|-
|Fire||-250||Playful 10||-35||Pleasure 5||Knowledge -20
|-
|Food Dropped By Waitor||-50||Sloppy 100||-75||Fortune 10||Popularity -25
|-
|Gain Furious Relationship (Sim A)||-200||Nice 100||-200||Family 50||Popularity -25
|-
|Get Booed (Sim B)||-50||Outgoing 25||Shy -25||Knowledge 10||Popularity -25
|-
|Get Caught Cheating||-250||Outgoing 100||Mean -100||Romance 150||Family -100
|-
|Get Caught Scamming Restaurant||-200||Mean 200||-200||N/A||Fortune -100
|-
|Get Cheered||25||Outgoing 50||-25||Popularity 25||Knowledge -10
|-
|Get Hit By Crumplebottom||-250||Nice 100||-50||Family 50||Romance -200
|-
|Get Influenced||25||Outgoing 25||-25||Popularity 10||Pleasure -5
|-
|Get Lectured By Crumplebottom||-100||Nice 50||-100||Family 50||Romance -200
|-
|Get Meal Comped||100||Outgoing 25||-50||Fortune 50||N/A
|-
|Go Broke||-200||Outgoing 50||-100||Knowledge 50||Fortune -200
|-
|Lose Crush Relationship||-150||Nice 50||-50||Knowledge 50||Romance -50
|-
|Lose Fight||-150||N/A||Mean -50||Knowledge 25||Popularity -100
|-
|Lose Love Relationship||-200||Nice 150||-150||Knowledge 100||Romance -100
|-
|Reaction-Smells Bad||-50||Sloppy 50||-50||Knowledge 25||Pleasure -25
|-
|Reaction-Smells Yummy||50||Neat 25||-40||Pleasure 25||Knowledge -10
|-
|Repoman||-400||N/A||Shy -100||N/A||Fortune -200
|-
|Scam Restaurant||N/A||N/A||N/A||Fortune 50||Family -100
|-
|Sing Duet||50||Playful 25||-25||Romance 25||Knowledge -25
|-
|Smustle Dance Together||50||Active 25||-25||Pleasure 25||Knowledge -25
|-
|Smustle Dance Rejection||-50||Lazy 25||-25||Knowledge 25||Pleasure -25
|-
|Social Worker||-700||Mean 300||Nice -300||Pleasure 100||Family -500
|-
|Streak (Sim B)||50||N/A||N/A||N/A||N/A
|-
|Throw Up (Sim A)||-100||Sloppy 100||Neat -250||N/A||Pleasure -100
|-
|Throw Up (Sim B)||-100||Sloppy 100||Neat -250||N/A||Popularity -50
|-
|Tip Staff||25||Nice 45||-50||Fortune 50||Knowledge -25
|-
|Unsuccessful Slow Dance||-200||Nice 100||-50||Knowledge 50||Romance -100
|-
|Use Photo Booth Together||30||Outgoing 40||-50||Popularity 25||Fortune -10
|-
|Win Fight||100||Mean 100||-300||Popularity 50||Knowledge -25
|}
On the date metre you have access to your dates wants. This is because wants also have an impact on the date score. Whenever you satisfy any of your sims wants, the date score will rise by 1/20th of the aspiration points added (e.g. If a fulfilled want added 2000 points to the aspiration score, the date score will rise by 100 points).

===Date Time===
When you start the date you start with limited time. In fact you only have three sim hours to make a successful date in. However, getting to the next date rating (e.g. Okay to Good)(Great to Dream Date) adds more time to your date.
*Getting to Good adds 2 more sim hours and 30 sim minutes
*Getting to Great adds 2 more sim hours
*Getting to Dream Date adds 1 more sim hour and 30 sim minutes.
If the date ends before getting to the Good rating then date points will be lost from the final date rating.
Getting to the next level also boosts your sims needs allowing you to concentrate on the date without having to tend to interruptions such as going to the toilet.
===Ending the Date===
There are several ways to end a date.
*Date Time reaches 0:The final score indicates how well the date went. If the Good rating wasn't reached, the points will be lost.
*''End the Date'':See above.
*''Ask...Do You Want a Ride Home'':See above.
*Work/School/Class(University):You can't date while on the job or while learning at school. See above
*Date's mood drops to low:See above
*Death of Date: Date ends at Horrible rating for the date dying. Even if the date score was at maximum before the dates death.
*Score reaches Horrible:Worst possible score for a date. Your sim gets lectured, there's a need depletion and there's a chance of a not-so-friendly gift in the near future.
*''Ask...On Date'':If this interaction happens during the date then it qualifies as cheating. The date ends and the new date starts with a penalty for being caught cheating.
*''Ask...Back to My Place'':Normally doesn't end the date but if rejected will. No penalty for rejected interaction.
The date score indicates how well the date went and how many points you gained during the date. It also has some initial effects.
{|{{prettytable}}
!Date Score!!Points!!Date ending interaction!!Needs!!Memory
|-
|Dream Date||950-1000||Romantic Kiss||High boost||Yes
|-
|Great||650-950||Tender Kiss||Near-high boost||Yes
|-
|Good||425-650||Peck||Medium boost||No
|-
|Okay||300-425||Hug||Small boost||No
|-
|Lame||200-300||Sigh/Shrug||Small depletion||No
|-
|Bad||100-200||Lecture||Medium depletion||Yes
|-
|Horrible||0-100||Yell At/Poke/Shove||High depletion||Yes
|}

==Date rewards==
After the date ends, there are chances of special rewards in the near future.

===Surprise objects===
After the date you might see a unique object on the doorstep or in the mail. It will be from the date. Viewing it will tell exactly who it's from and what they think of your sim.
[[File:TS2_Flower.jpg|thumb|right|Dates can provide rewards like this flower]]
*Dream Date: Flower Bouquet. Flower is artificial.
*Great: One Flower. Flower is artificial
*Good: Love Letter
*Okay: Nothing
*Lame: Nothing
*Bad: Hate Letter
*Horrible: Flaming bag of Poo. Flames can be put out by stomping. Can not be sold but can be disposed of.
[[File:TS2N ObjectReward.JPG|thumb|Right|Unlike above, you receive an announcement when you receive an object reward]]
Your date may also receive a buy mode object as a gift on the doorstep. Unlike in the case above, they immediately tell you when they give you the gift.
Lastly, there is also a chance that, if your sims dined at a restaurant, you may receive a coupon for a free meal in the mail. This coupon will work at any restaurant, not just the one you dined at.
 
===Promotion===
If the date is in the same career as you and at a higher level than your sim, then they may pull some strings at work and you could come home with a promotion. This chance increases with how well the date went

===Skills award===
At the end of the date, then there is a chance you may receive a skills boost. It increases with the date’s skills and the date level. The skills increased will ones that the date has levels in. If he or she has a skill set at zero, then your sim can't receive a boost in that skill

===Social award===
If the date was successful, you may receive a call for another date. If you accept, you must depart within the hour or the other sim will decide that he or she has been stood up.
[[File:TS2N Contact.jpg|thumb|right|You could receive a call after a successful date]]
Your sim may also receive a call from a contact. This sim will be a friend of the date. Upon, receiving the call, you will be invited on an outing. This group will consist of the date, the friend and either one of the caller's groups or a group of downtownies.
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