Do you find it hard to get reconnected after you haven't played in a while?

With some I find hard to reconnect back with; others I’m like
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“Overly attached” to. :mrgreen: like River and Haruo.
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...may get writer’s block but won’t have trouble reconnecting with them..,

I've taken several longer breaks from Sims 3, and I've never been able to really pick up where I left off with my previously played family. I think I've ended up starting a new game every single time, whether right away or after a couple of days of not feeling attached enough to my existing sims. I even have trouble playing sims I've previously moved out within the same save, like once I stop controlling them I lose the thread and can't quite get it back.

I kind of feel bad about it, but then again, there are enough interesting potential storylines in the game that there's not much point in playing one that doesn't feel compelling anymore.

After a longer hiatus, it can be difficult to remember exactly where I was going with a particular household. I find that looking through my notes and past screenshots helps me reorient and reconnect. I have several saves I rotate between, so there’s usually at least one family that I have an urge to get back to after reviewing my options.

However, it’s not unusual for me to come up with several new ideas for saves during a hiatus. I’ve always had more build projects and game scenarios I’ve wanted to explore than I have time for anyway, and forced time away from simming only adds to the list, lol.

A recent example: Life got crazy busy in early October and stayed interesting for awhile, so I hadn’t opened the game again until about two weeks ago. Three months later, I’m still very interested in my older games, but the new save ideas that had developed in the interim were too compelling to resist. So I started setting up the worlds, creating new Sims and building for some of those instead, and am now on week 7 with one of them.

My other saves are safely backed up and available for whenever I want to continue them, and I always do eventually. I just follow the mood.

The longest break I had was a couple of months when my puter needed fixing. I didn't have any trouble going right back into their stories. I play several different saves so sometimes it may be months before I get back to one of the other families.

"puzzlezaddict;c-17370592" wrote:
I kind of feel bad about it, but then again, there are enough interesting potential storylines in the game that there's not much point in playing one that doesn't feel compelling anymore.

@puzzlezaddict -I hear ya on that one

I hate plot-bunnies. They proliferate like rats. These insipid creatures are the main reason why I have so many sims stories on the go. I also think fanfiction.net is to blame as well. After all how many times have you put up a story and then come back to it and can’t find the gumption to keep going with it. Happens to me all the time.

Whether it’s an unenforced hiatus like a computer repair that takes forever to do or an illness or whatever that takes immediate time away from my story, then when I do get back to it my flow thus having been interrupted takes ages to come back.

...which ends up resulting in a whole lineup of stories that end up looking like this:
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My fanfiction.net completion rate isn’t all that hot either. Especially when each chapter usually gets completed when I’m on a roll. And that happens once in a blue moon.
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Considering how slow I am at even trying to write a chapter. 5000 words in three days. Is it any wonder why I didn’t pursue writing as a career?

I wish I had saved my Legacy families. I do take long breaks from playing to build but I had a few great families I really enjoyed playing years ago. I lost them in the many computer "cleanings" I've done. Probably thinking I'd never play them again. :(

I have taken several breaks, some of them that lasted years, so yeah, I also have a hard time coming back to old saves. I got into the sims 3 again last February and have been playing steadily since then, although I took what ended up being over a month off during the holidays just because I got busy with my family. What I'm trying to do this time that's different from all the other times is keep a written record with a blog and photos. It was helpful for my month off because I could read to where I was and get attached again and remember what some of my goals were. I'd never done that before. I hope I can stay with this sim family because it is yet another attempt to play through a legacy. I don't have a great track record of finishing, but writing down what's going on is helping me get to know the sims better. I've also altered the lifespan and doubled what I normally play, which, instead of bogging down the game, helped me to play a more in depth way which has further enhanced my attachment.

I have played this game since it came out and I still do, though I found as an adult I go through phases and sometimes won't play it for months. I have a complete custom town I downloaded from Rflong7, I placed every single lot and made every family to start it off. So was/am super attached to it but I do find it hard coming back after a while to actually get into gameplay, sometimes I find the idea of playing better than actually playing the game. When this happens I usually just start a new sim to focus on and get back into things. Even making a new lot or replacing some of the old ones tends to get me reignited.

Edit: But I tend to have a legacy family, one I will choose a sim from each generation to play and keep the Family going. Sometimes after breaks I find it hard to get back into and that when I might let them free will it for a bit and play another family just to get motivated again.

After reading all comments, I realized that Ido have trouble to reconnect. I keep my favorite saves backed up in case I want to revisit them. Last time, it took me a few game-days to get things right in a save from last year. However, once things are worked out I get attached again.

I just don't feel like playing lately and I've been doing other stuff and organizing my ideas.

I don't, but that is probably because I am challenging myself to only play with one household for the entire year. (Don't ask me why I chose to do this, LOL). So there isn't much for me to catch up on between plays. I also try to play at least once a week, as I consider The Sims a part of my self care which is important to me. :)