DESCRIPTION: My modification of the Ghost Hack from Simbology which adds new features.

Updated with a few tweaks.

This is directly based on twojeffs' ghosthack and posted with his permission. Like his original mod, it includes these features created by twojeffs:

• Ghosts won't haunt tombstones, potentially destroying them
• Happy ghosts more likely to clean house
• Angry ghosts more likely to make messes
• Ghostly cheering won't wake sims
• Drowned ghosts won't flood the lot with puddles

I have added the following features:

• Removed the ability to turn off scaring in favor of a new system to control scares
• The chance of a ghost scaring is based on several factors. Unlike my previous versions, ghosts never stop scaring. They are simply more or less likely to scare than other ghosts. Factors which affect scaring include:
  • Nice ghosts are less likely to scare than Grouchy ghosts.
  • Ghosts are less likely to scare people they like, more likely to scare people they don't like, and much more likely to scare Enemies.
  • Ghosts who died of fright will scare more often.
  • Ghosts who died of coffin scare will scare vampires more often.
• Pets scare 50% as often as EA default. Future versions will take pet personality into account.
• Ghosts no longer refuse to scare people who are sitting.
• Scaring works a bit differently than EA's ghost scaring to take into account servos and plantsims. All motives are drained, including Fun, Social, Sunshine and Power. The game then checks all the sim's motives (excluding Environment) plus Mood. This gives 8 values for normal sims and 4 for servos or plantsims. If half of these are below 30%, the sim dies. This system makes scaring a bit more fatal, but since scaring is less frequent it works out.
• Servos who are "scared to death" run amok instead of dying.
• Cowplant ghosts no longer OBSESSIVELY tease the cowplant. They will do it now and then, but not all night long.
• Drowning ghosts behave a bit more like other ghosts and should be easier to see. Their puddle production should be even more under control than in TJ's version.
• Coffin scare ghosts are the same color as fright ghosts.
• Ghosts with Nice <=2 are more angry than normal. Ghosts with Nice >= 8 are less angry than normal.
• Increased scare priority and wait time allow ghosts to successfully scare sleeping sims. Ghosts can now scare sims who have passed out from exhaustion.
• Random target selection. Ghosts no longer pick on the sim with the lowest object ID. I even tested it this time!

KNOWN ISSUE: Ghosts sometimes disappear during the haunt cycle. I've never seen it happen--I just notice a ghost is suddenly gone. I suspect it's related to an attempt to scare, but it's infrequent and unpredictable enough I haven't tracked it down yet.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT: I have two (soon three) houses in which haunting is central to their stories. This gives me a lot of incentive to continue adding features to this mod to make ghosts more interesting. Planned features in future versions include:

• Motive drain from scaring based on Nice, relationship to target and death type. Friendly ghosts are playing pranks. Mean ghosts are trying to kill you.
• Community lot ghosts will sometimes be angry.
• Pets will scare based on personality. Aggressive and Independent pets scare more. Friendly and Cowardly pets scare less.
• Better wandering. Ghosts will gravitate to objects or people based on personality and history. Ghosts might use personality, interests, hobbies, aspiration, skills, badges, death type, etc. So a ghost with high Cooking might hang around stoves. A ghost with high Art enthusiasm goes to an easel. Drowning ghosts haunt the pool. I don't know which of these ideas I will use. The goal is to get ghosts around people more rather than having them hang out in the yard doing nothing.
• Signature behaviors. We already have some of these. Drowning ghosts leave water puddles. Starvation ghosts raid the fridge. In this mod, fright ghosts scare more. I want similar behaviors for every death type. Flies ghosts calling up cockroaches or leaving garbage piles. Lightning ghosts summoning storms. Disease ghosts making people sick. I plan to playtest these to keep them from being too annoying (like drowning ghosts in the unmodified game) or too dangerous.

LAST UPDATE: September 13, 2011

REQUIRED EPs: University

COMPATIBLE EPs: All configurations from University through Apartment Life. Contrary to previous reports, this mod works fine with Mansions & Gardens.

INCOMPATIBLE MODS: This may seem obvious, but this mod is not compatible with the original twojeffs Ghost Hack. I use his code so you get the features of his mod. If you want to use mine you need to delete his.

*** THIS MOD REQUIRES Smarter EP Check ***