Elder Sims
Is there any chance the behavior of elder Sims could be changed? Pretty much they are always popping at the joint and seem to be showing signs of dementia. I mean, if they are in their last Sims days...
Forum Discussion
strange. elders in my game behave just like adults. they dance at the bars/lounges, order drinks, chat and make jokes with other Sims. the ones i see around the worlds also behave and walk like adults.
that said, i don't have any in my household, but i assume they would tire quicker than adults, like you said.
that said, i don't have any in my household, but i assume they would tire quicker than adults, like you said.
Well, by adults, I pretty much mean like an Adult Sim. I suppose if you only see Elder Sims sparingly you wouldn't notice, but if you have a household you don't let age quickly or even at all at some point... Once an elder you'll see them often popping at the hip and out of nowhere shrug, look around him or herself lost asking something that sounds like "Suhgoya?" Perhaps if they do not have the active trait, most wouldn't care... But dang... If they get energized and autonomously decide to hit a treadmill...
I cringe. I cannot help but cringe, because once they are done you get to see their look of agony avatar and if you love the particular Sim, it gives a huge guilt trip, or you have the case where you purposely let them exercise and teleport them to the bathroom to take a bath or bubble bath immediately to ensure you don't see that, but the bleeding teleport fails and... yay... my Sim is in agony. Guilt trip + aggravation over the teleport.
Still, having known more adults and elders better than most age groups my entire life so far... Man, I know this is The Sims... but, I'd think if an elder Sim has the active trait, they would be able to stay active and not near kill themselves. The joint popping and the dementia-like actions, would be more like unknown traits that your Sims might have when he/she/whatever becomes an elder based on the traits they already have. Like the popping of the joints would be more common in lazy Sims and the dementia-like stuff would happen more often in Sims who don't exercise their mind a lot - don't read, research, do logical activities and such.
Or, perhaps, when your Sims becomes an elder, one could choose some sort of common habit or loss that comes from aging, like a sub-trait. Your Sim has aged up to an elder! New "traits" you can add: Hard of Hearing, Blind as a Bat, Wields a Cane, Steers a Walker, Fearless Flatulence, Champion Complainer (Grump who misses the good old days), Like Aged Wine (wise as heck), Pops like Popcorn (arthritis), Lost Time (dementia), Rocking Chair Marathoner (loves rocking chairs like how most Sims love molding clay)... I'm sure those Simmers I've seen talk about retirement homes would love that sort of variety in their residents.
Dang... if this cannot be changed, I hope someone might get inspired to make a mod like this...
For now, my active elder is actually aged as just a Sim Adult... It saves the Sim and me a lot of agony, but it is still annoying that I have to make them young again just so they act more like the elder they are based after as opposed to the stereotyped caricature I'm stuck with otherwise.
i meant adult Sims, too, of course! i do see plenty of them (and, like you said, don't let them "age quickly" or "even at all at some point"--i *have* had households that included them before) and the only "elder behaviour" they show is the way they grab their lower back, you know, like in CAS, which i think is what you're referring to. i always thought it was their back, for some reason.
so yes... the tiring quicker could be a thing. i have used the active trait, but not recently. i do remember that my elder Sim still rolled the "go jogging" whim often.
but i *do* agree with you re: the active trait. there should be more of a noticeable difference. and i agree that, while my elders are not sedentary or anything, there isn't an obvious way to see if they're *especially* active unless i'm controlling them at all times. i remembered (for the sake of fairness) that one elder went to the other side after woo-hooing 3 times in a row. 😉 so i assume he didn't have the "active" trait? or did he?
"one could choose some sort of common habit or loss that comes from aging"--like the exact opposite of the "Long Lived" reward trait Sims acquire after completing the "bodybuilder" aspiration... which *enhances* their life (well, lengthens it) and not makes it, you know, feel more elderly?
idk about "typical elder" traits. i think their retiring is ok. they get their pension, right, so they could be able to get discounts on whatever they buy through the computer (this isn't a thing already, right?) and just... get the benefits elder people should get after retiring.
(the cane could be okay, too. tbh i'd want to use that on some of my YAs and As too!)
and... maybe retiring home, but that would be... not as active as a club of elders who get together to do whatever activity they choose/is related to their skills/etc.? the club system could work for this.
so i'm not disagreeing... even if i have *not* seen them behave like "stereotypes", it could be a little more balanced. not have them be *super* active or behave *exactly* like A/YAs, but not act decrepit like what you've seen.
one of my Sims is supposed to be... in-between adulthood and old age... so she is aged as an A, but i use the hair like looks like grey streaks *and* the wrinkles around the mouth and on the forehead.
while not making her sedentary, i have her act less like an an adult "would". maybe do more gardening and reading, and go jogging less often. hell, i even click "go here" and then "jog here" to pretend (because the actual "jogging" action is super buggy) she is walking, then running for a little while, then resting again. 😉
so i know you might want something like this to be default behaviour because you've seen the elders act way too...elderly! so something in-between could be better suited.
so again, i *do* understand what you say about them being a caricature. i would like a "grumpy old Sim" though, and also the "Wise" one, that would be great. like i said, it deserves to be more balanced.
i hope i wasn't too long-winded (yeah, right) and that some of this made sense. =)Eh, when noting the "typical elder" traits, I just threw that in there as a possible replacement to them always cracking at the hip/back and doing that "dementia" action. I have no idea about discounts when they buy things... I never noticed anything like that.
Yeah, I mentioned the cane concept because I've seen old school Simmers talk about missing that option from the previous Sims Versions. In turn, I figure add in a walker, since it doesn't seem too far different from the cane.
The mention of a retirement/nursing home, wasn't a suggestion for EA to make one, but was in note to things I've seen some people who are interested in such a thing mention. I believe there already exists a mod so that a Sim can work at such a place and merely thought if elder Sims got an extra trait or sub-trait, it would make them more interesting elders to work with.
My elder Sim is actually based on a person I know in real life, which may be the real kicker. I find it a bit amusing that to make your Sim seems more elderly deals with gardening and reading. As said, this Sim is based on someone I know and she gardened a ton when younger and still gardens to this day. Gardening is actually hard shizz. It can even be hard in the Sims when you have the Freelance Botonist aspiration. So freaking needy, those plants are... and unless you have help they can take half the day away watering, fertilizing, weeding and spraying them for bugs.
Actually, I'm not trying to say the elder Sims act way too elderly, but they seem to be stuck in a very limited, cookie cutter animation loop.
If a Sim has the active trait, they will continue to desire being active and get energy spikes at times, so when they are elders, why not tone down exercise choices... like "go for a jog" could be changed to "go for a walk". High endurance things on workout machines will no longer be options for them. Though, if someone wants to kill their Elder Sim via exhaustion and muscle pain, they would just have to make their Sim "push the limits" two more times - kind of like the whoo-hoo death.
The other "traits" I had listed were actually semi-jokes. Rather than have your Sim cracking at a joint or suddenly look lost and speak to no one out of the blue, how about making them hard of hearing, so they misunderstand what another Sim said to them? Or make them blind as a bat so that rather than suddenly clutching their hip/back they are instead trying their hardest to read a sign? 'Just more options outside of the two animations that make them seem elderly - hence the "Pop like Popcorn" for the suddenly pop and clutching their side/back and "Lost Time" for when they do that whole dementia-like action for those who want their Sims to have those habits. The "Fearless Flatulence" was a definite joke, inspired by the goofball trait, but I wasn't particularly serious about it.
Yeah, though... I was totally serious about the "Champion Complainer" and the "Like Age Wine" suggestions just like I was about the canes and walkers, though. I would totally dig a grumpy elder and could see other Sims talking to him/her/whatever either becoming bored as heck by the complaining, inspired or energized by an amazing story of the past and whatnot. Then a wise elder Sim... that is how I think of the person my elder Sim was based on. They would be the one Sims would actually care to get advice from, would have an extremely high chance of being cheered up by in a thoughtful way and such.
There, we are equally long-winded. :D- oh, the discounts thing is something *i* would like, as it'd be fair if retired folks got them, in return for working for most their lives. 😉 it wouldn't be a bad idea... or *i* wouldn't dismiss it. since this is feedback, who knows!
and maybe... the joint-cracking would be OK for Sims *without* the active trait and with low fitness skill? a walker would be good, too. BTW, i know i'd also use that for younger Sims. so it definitely *doesn't* mean that elders are decrepit... it could happen to anyone.
i *do* agree with the extra trait, like you mentioned, "wise" or "grumpy", for example! it would be good to have more variety. i mean, just because i (i'm just *one* person!) don't see the elders... well, being "caricatures"... doesn't mean i don't want any of this. quite the opposite, i'm all for this, because i know your suggestions would make the game more interesting. *sigh* many people don't play with elders because "they're boring".
here i go on "the long-winded road" (ahaha!) again:
my Sim i mentioned gardens (i do know it's not as easy as some people think) and reads more now, because she didn't have a lot of time to pursue those hobbies (she already *had*) as a younger woman.
it has nothing to do with her being older now. BTW, Gardening is almost at level 10, IIRC. 🙂
so i wanted to say that i didn't mean for it to sound "amusing", and definitely not as a way to make her "be" older: it's because in my story, she was (well, she hasn't quite retired yet) the sole manager of an inn, so... she was busy all the time. 🙂
now, she can paint, too, because two of my other Sims are assistant managers--the story says that she's teaching them everything because *they'll* take over when she decides to retire for good, and will inherit the place way later. (yes, i love storytelling!)
i'm saying all of this because, since i didn't want to write you a book, i left out lots (and lots) of details. so i don't want you to assume anything (because you *didn't* know the whys, of course) based on my... you know. "abridged" version of a post. :P
so back on-topic (sorry about the detours!) it's not like i disagree! i *want* elders to have more variety, too. i'm repeating myself (sorry) in saying that i don't see any of the behaviour you explained above, but it certainly doesn't mean i don't want their personalities to be expanded and feel more unique! i like my Sims to be as unique as possible.
also i just remembered something i wanted to say... i'm someone who isn't looking to kill elders!
and... seriously, the traits you mentioned *were* good ideas. they *would* add variety/animations to the game. it's, IMO, a very good suggestion... helps towards the "elders not being stereotypes" thing. 🙂 i think this thread is becoming more and more interesting as feedback!
(a quick BTW... even if you didn't mean it, i laughed, because i've been around adults already working to get the "Fearless Flatulence" trait... so, imagine when they get to elders.) XD
again again, i would love "grumpy" and "wise"--you know how there's often this misconception of elder people being dismissed as being... well, you know. just... "old"? and people forget that older folks obviously have years of experience and knowledge. of course there are different kinds of people, i mean... i doubt evil elders would agree (LOL)---but a wise/kind/advice-giving elder personality? count me in.
so anyway, i really like this conversation... and i have to say it again... just because i haven't seen any of the "weird" animation things, it doesn't mean that i don't want any of this we talked about... *anything* that adds variety to the game is very, very welcome! Sims should be treated equally, whatever their age! <3
(also: the more i typed it, the more uncomfortable i got with comparing their behaviour to "dementia". i don't want to sound like i'm being insensitive, so i apologise if i ever did.)
