Do you only improve your relationships face-to-face?

[Ed]

I wanted to ask about this, as from what I have seen, your relationships only improve if you are physically with the other sim.
If you chat with them on the phone or the computer, or text them, it doesn't seem to improve your relationships. But these are quick and easy ways to maintain what relationship you have already built up.
Or have I got this wrong?

[whitemoongurl]

It does. It just may not be as much or as noticeable. One thing I do is get the charismatic skill as soon as possible and then work to get up to 25 sims known since that's when the meeting new sims thing gets an automatic boost to the relationship - therefore, making it easier and faster to form friendships. Also, a good idea is to chat them up - the "Never Dull" lifetime reward is hugely helpful here since you'll want at least 20 friends before your friendships will not have to keep being renewed with phone calls, texts, etc.

[Ed]

Thanks for this info! :) This is a complex, deep game and I am only still just scratching the very surface of it...

[marstinson]

You've got pretty much the right idea. The phone calls and texts slows down the rate of relationship decay, while the face-to-face interactions increases the overall relationship.

I had one of my Sims a while back with the high Charisma skill and high guitar skill. I set him to playing for tips in front of the bistro (Sims who eat there must have money to burn) and then wandered off to get coffee or something. By the time I got back, he was friends with half the town, so constant incomjing calls for dates, hanging out, party invitations, and that kind of thing. I have not done that since.

[Haeloth]

Well there is also Relationship Transmogrifier app on the Smart Phone which is pretty OP imo. If you have high enough social networking skill, you can set your relationship status of a sim with just your phone, simple as that. (by status, I mean like acquitance, best friend, partner etc...)

And also plumbots with the Holo Projector trait chip can project holograms of the sims in other worlds (like in WA worlds, or University World, or Future World). You talk to those holograms face-to-face of course, but tecnically they are not the same person so I think that counts :)