What do you spend your time on?
Trying to understand what appeals players the most, in terms of time. So, simple question: can you tell me on what do you spend your majority of time in TS? Achieving sim goals (min-maxing the perf...
Forum Discussion
I mostly spent my time on gameplay, managing each individual but still with the free will turned on. I don't want to play a big family, because I probably need to move some of them out of the household (maximum 8 sims in a household), and I don't want them to die single (because we don't have Story Progression 😞). But I can move them out once they're married and have kids tho. I play with aging turned on and long lifespan, but somehow I find this long lifespan is too long while normal lifespan is too short, that's why I wanted a feature to adjust lifespan manually like in TS3.
I also spent a lot of time on building, I love TS4 build mode, the furniture/objects are great, but sadly we don't have a color wheel. I spent a whole week just to build this base game mansion located in Newcrest, yeah I'm a very slow builder. But I'm quicker now, the last mansion cost around 3-4 days to finish.
After spending hundreds of hours in gameplay and building, my worlds become so boring. There's also not a lot of teenagers around for my teen sims to find a lover. So I decided to create a new teenager and put her into the world. Elders are dying, houses are empty because "Fill Empty House" is not working properly.
After my kid sims growing into a teenager, her outfits are very bad, then I start to give her a new look and that how I found Create A Sims is also fun! Later I started to create a family with a little story added. They also got their house built by me (the seconds image is their house). I've added that family into my main save file. This led me to have the intention to create entirely new worlds, all new lots and households, so there will be no Goth and Landgraab family. 😃
I'm the opposite of @SheriGR, I even intentionally create an evil sim, with atrocious reputation! LOL. I don't want the worlds to be like a utopia where everything is good/positive. I want a world where there's a little negativity in there (evil, mean, jealous, hot-headed, kleptomaniac, quake zone, haunted, etc) so there will a contrast in the game, less plain and boring for me (of course we all have our own preference and there's no judging here 😃).
I don't have many save files like others. Only 3 save files. 1. Main save file where I didn't use cheat and play normally. 2. Building save file where I build houses, community lot and household. 3. The testing file where I test new features of a new pack before diving into my main save file.
@AndyZhang2896 It sounds to me like you are a fast builder... and I am a much slower builder. 🤔 Also, your mansion is lovely! I agree with you that I think I need to 'mix it up a bit' with my personalities and interactions... and I have begun to adjust a bit with that in mind, plus have begun downloading some sim households that others that I know made that are really cool. I build, and I have a couple of friends for whom making such households their thing - one even enters challenges for this - so I am having fun trying out their awesome households. I even built a couple of special request houses for one (yes, I'm talking about you, @PugLove888 :eahigh_file🙂! It was pretty fun to report back what adventures and changes have gone on with her household in my game - and to hear about her enjoying the home. As I look through these responses it is a fun reminder of how many aspects of this game I really love! ❤️
@AndyZhang2896, you might think you are the opposite of @SheriGR , but you are also the opposite of me-- at least when it comes to Save Games! 😉 I don't know how many I have. Some are just tests that I do to answer questions here (I don't want to mess up my famlies by testing certain things ). But I have many others that I play. But in all but a few cases, I don't play rotationally in my saves. (I just rotate out my saves). I partially do this becasue I want to control my Sims if I'm telling a story, and for other saves I just don't want to miss anything that my Sims do! 🤨😃 And then there are those families that I didn't create for testing, but I have played so long that I use them to check certain things in the game or to test certain things that are within my plans for that family.
@AndyZhang2896 your house looks lovely! :eahigh_file: I think you built that rather quickly! 🤨🙂 It is way better than what I can build! 😃 I build a little, but almost nothing worth sharing . But I really enjoy @SheriGR 's builds (although I have been too busy with ROM and testing lately to really play them as much as I want! ☹️ And she has been known to use some of my Sims in her houses, so it works out. I am usually very detailed with my Sims, giving them multiple outfits and making sure that Sims are all wearing socks for shoes you would wear socks with in real life, and things like that. I might put on too much jewlery on my Sims for some people, but I really enjoy that aspect of making Sims.
And one of the best things about @SheriGR 's houses are that she play-tests them! ❤️ I've downloaded houses that were beautiful from other people, but sadly I have to change a bucnch of things in them to have them actually work with Sims in Live Mode. I don't have that problem with Sheri's builds! :eahigh_file:
- @SheriGR Before creating a household by myself, I went to Gallery to find some household, but I find many not good, occult sims that I don't like, using custom content, or even weird sims that have overly big eyes. Because of that I finally decided to create it myself. I do prefer a sims that have story on them, it's more interesting.
I also find some lots in Gallery, but as I said before, I'm a bit too perfectionist. I avoid using bb.moveobjects cheat and holding ALT when placing objects as many people do because I'm afraid things don't work as it suppose to. But recently I started using these (on my second mansion build).
@PugLove888 I can't let my sims wander around because they will mess up for sure, didn't sleep enough and going to work, causing them to become exhausted.
Thank you! If not mistaken, you both didn't use CC or Mods right?
I really dislike CC or Mods because it tends to cause problems. I've visited yours and SheriGR's Gallery actually and it looks good! I might explore some of your households to place it on my main save file.
Being detailed is what makes a household or lots great!
For a household with only 1 sim, I put multiple outfits for the Everyday and Formal category, other categories are usually 1. For a family household, then they probably only have 1 outfits in each category.
I tried to make their outfit reflects their wealth, richer sims do have jewelry, nice makeup, good-looking outfit. While poorer may look less fancy.
I didn't put socks on my sims tho, maybe I should consider it. LOL
"And one of the best things about @SheriGR 's houses are that she play-tests them!"
OH THISSS!! Very important. I didn't do playtest but since I didn't use a lot of bb.moveobject, never used bb.showhiddenobjects, and no custom content, then it supposed to be just fine.
A question, if someone uses CC on their build, and I downloaded it, does I automatically download the CC? If so, how to remove it?
I hate CC -_-So, in short, rarely people play the game. You create worlds and their characters.
I apparently have been playing wrong. I rarely build, and if I do, I use presets, and focus on minmaxing my chars, like an RPG
- @PristineInsanity There's no right or wrong gameplay. As long as you're having fun, it's all right!
Just try experiencing everything and found which one you enjoy the most! 🙂
@AndyZhang2896 No, if someone uses cc to build their sim or lot the cc does not download with the item from the gallery. If someone added cc hair to a sim, for instance, or a cc couch, if you did not already have that particular cc installed in your game when you download the sim it will be bald, and if you download the room or lot with the cc couch it will be missing.
No, I never use Mods or CC. I did begin using moo (the 'move objects on' cheat) and hidden objects in my builds within the last year. I drank the kool-aid and there is no going back. I am very careful, though, about how I use it, and it does make both my placement testing and play testing much more difficult. I spend days on testing to make sure that every aspect of and item in the build will place correctly for someone without moo activated or having to do any tricks/cheats/etc. to place it correctly, plus to make sure every aspect of the game is usable correctly to the sim in the game. I like to challenge myself by adding aspects to the build that are creative, budget-challenges, terrain height (which can be tricky) or other aspects that make it more fun or practical for the player using the build. I don't even play them any more much beyond the testing process, but I am absolutely driven to work way more hours on builds than I would want to admit just for the satisfaction of others downloading and enjoying them. This is the 'wind beneath my wings' so to speak. My motivator. 🙂
And I usually add photos &/or paintings from other players to my builds and #tag them so others can find their artwork which makes them happy, and I even get to do some creative things like grow, nurture, and add to my gallery and builds plants for cooking during play, so that gives me a fun use for the work I put into those items in my game.
So... @PristineInsanity There is absolutely no need for you to be 'into' or enjoy building or making sims... If you enjoy playing them and want to download builds and households other players have made and shared in the gallery, you will find many thousands of players like me out there who are thrilled if you will try out our creations, because this is our favorite way to play! Symbiotic relationships abound here. :eahigh_file:
SheriGR ☕ – I play on Mac, no Mods or CC, & backup daily. I don’t work for EA.
@PristineInsanity, I'm sorry I wasn't clear...😳 while creating Sims is one of my favorite aspects of this game, I do play the game in Live Mode more than I do anything else! 🥳 Also, only 3 or 4 people have answered your question, so it you were to get 3 other people, they would most likely give you totally different answers! 😃
And like @SheriGR said there is no wrong way to play your game. I have a relative that started playing on console last year. She never uses the pause button and plans each Sim's activities in real time. She also never speeds up her game on her own , so she has the speed on the slowest speed while they are doing eating or going to the bathroom. But she is playing the game correctly for her! (It just drives me nuts to watch her since she tried to juggle a mulit-Sim household without using pause, which is something I haven't done in since TS1! ) But she might find my way of playing to be odd. 😉
Also , you will see people look down on others for using cheats... this is ridiculous since you aren't playing against anyone else!🤨 I use cheats because I don't want every single household to be the same!🤒😪 It gets old fast for me. I like a mix of income levels, skill levels, goals, etc. So, I often will use the free real estate cheat and maybe kaching several times and then I can give my Sims a nicer house, but when I want to play a struggling Sim starting out in her or his career, I do that as well, but just don't use cheats for them. And sometimes I use motherlode, especially if I'm exploring a new pack and want to test all of the objects in that pack! It isn't anyone else's game so I don't have to play by their "rules"! I will never cheat at a board game, or any game I'm playing with/against someone else, but TS4 isn't that kind of game! 🥳 I do encourage experimenting with a few different gameplay types, but nobody should play in a way they don't like.
So, @PristineInsanity , you are playing the game right for you! ❤️
@AndyZhang2896, Yes, I do not use CC or Mods! (I did some in TS2 and TS3, but in TS3 I had some major problems😞 and I never went back to using them. I don't like the problems Mods and CC create in your game, I don't like the upkeep involved, and the time I used to spend looking for CC could have better been spent playing the game! So in TS4 I never used either CC or mods. I also find that since I spend a lot of time helping others, it is best if I don't have Mods/CC because if I test something for them, I know my results are with a "vanilla" game and not something in which some mod could be interfering with! 🤨
With the Sims of mine in the Gallery, I usually upload fresh out of CAS... but I really need to place my more skilled Sims in the Gallery! I keep forgetting though! 🤭😃 I also don't tag them a lot. I see the usefulness of tags, but some people put tags on them that are just trendy and don't really fit. For example, tagging the dog breed, or tagging that your household is a single parent household are useful tags, but tagging #cute or #sexy are annoying since what is considered cute or sexy is an individual thing and is really annoying. to me. But I probably should use some more tags than I already do!
@AndyZhang2896funny, I also put multiple outfits in several categories.🙂 Like you, I put multiple outfits in the Everyday outfit category, but unlike you, I only (usually) put one formal outfit in the Formal category (If the Sim is single, I might put a general Formal outfit, and also add a Formal outfit for a wedding if I plan on having that Sim get married!). But I usually do multiple outfits for the categories that are worn the most... Everyday, Sleep, Hot Weather, and Cold Weather, with usually only one outfit in Formal, Athletic, Party, and Swimwear. (Although, with Island Living, I started giving my Sims multiple swim outfits! ). :eahigh_file:
Yes, putting socks on my Sims with shoes that you would normally wear socks with it something I always do, even if you can't see the sock! 😳 Same goes for earrings.. If a Sim wears earrings, I consider their ears pierced, and I put earrings on for each outfit (sleep and exercise will get small earrings, though. With Swimwear on females, I often put on big hoops because some women really dress this way... they might dress more for "poolside" then actually dress for swimming! 😉 ) I also have a pet peeve about married Sims always wearing a wedding ring with each outfit! It really bothers me that the rings for the athletic and sleep categories don't' include rings, so I get rid of those tags and then I can put wedding rings on my Sims in those categories!I also like to experiment with makeup .. especially if my Sim has the creative trait, I can go really wild with their makeup and clothing! 🥳
I’m different! I love love love stories. I have several saves with more than 200 sims played per save. Each household has hours (who am I kidding months) of time spent playing them. They have hyper developed story lines and using clubs I have households with multiple tangled storylines on other households. For instance, a criminal organization which spans 8 households. Each has a unique function, I.e. art thief, petty criminal, mastermind, grifter. They also prey on my other sims clubs like the housewives. A bunch of rich women who do all kinds of things around town. Recently the housewife who owns an art gallery was robbed during a social gathering. Gosh who could it be... not Evie’s mild mannered husband. Cough art thief cough. See fun and games!
I don’t build anything. I’m a renovator! Download... redecorate to match story needs... start playing those sims. Not even adequate in CAS. Hehehe someone out there has made my perfect sim so I can get to gameplay. My sims also shop for everything in stores owned by different sims in the world. Coffee shops, electronic stores, gym equipment, bakeries, gourmet stores, farmer’s market.. everything.
I do mod heavily on the PC. Especially the gameplay mods to fix problems that way I can control the stories better so the sims aren’t stuck eating sleeping working... eating sleeping working. Yuck boring.
you be you - that is what makes the sims so great!
