2024 still playing here

I think I'll be playing in 2024. I'm currently on a break because of a milestones bug and other reasons, but generally enjoy (option 3) creating sims stories for myself & my blog and occasional building. I honestly want to try Life by You, though it looks quite different compared to TS4. I read it should work for rotational play and that really caught my interest. Paralives doesn't really appeal to me whenever that comes out.

I brought my Rock Star over from both Sims2 & 3, to make him my Founder for the Pinstar Legacy Challenge I managed to complete my second go at it, (same Founder) but I didn't get enough time playing with Erik. I decided once the Challenge was over, I would play him on Long. I originally started with just his parents and had the five Cantrell kids born in-game. I was thrilled to learn GF was coming out about the time Erik was reaching his Teens. Sadly, even though the Road to Fame mod had been updated/revised to include a Professional Singing career, I didn't get very far before it became apparent my old save had gone corrupt. Erik, specifically. (The mod was no longer working and I got help from his Discord crew.) Had to start anew. This next time I created the entire family in CAS, generating the parents from Erik and then the rest of the kids from the parents. This went well, for a time. Again, I found I had to restart. I got Erik's career all the way to Global Superstar, while he was a Teen, however, none of the songs he wrote were ever nominated. After Uni I had him explore the Acting career. He won a Starlight Accolade, but it was an 'empty' win for me; Music is his first love.

It was during another iteration (I've lost count) that Erik got his first award for his music. (I decided to have him explore the Entertainer career after Uni, in that save. He wasn't invited down to the Show to see if he won. I got a pop-up saying he was nominated and that he won. Total letdown. Finally, a save made it long enough for Erik to marry and start having his family. (This again was another restart.) I allowed the game to select the gender and birth order of his children. I was totally shocked when their second child was identical twin girls. They went on to have three more children, for a total of six kids. They were all very close together in age. The first three were Teens, the two younger brothers had just aged to Child with the youngest, a girl, was also set to age to Child. This was back in the Spring of 2020. A Patch hit and the save went kablooey on me.

I have a particular goal for Erik, who was finally being recognized for his music. (Many thanks to the Players who gave me the 'secret' to his success.) I have been attempting to get Erik back to this point ever since. I have suffered through at least 3-4 more restarts since then. Erik has five of his six kids at this point. The aging changes will keep the kids younger, longer, but that's just fine with me. I just would like to achieve the original goal I set for him.

I stopped the aging process on a save wherein he had the first three kids born, just waiting for Infants. Unfortunately, I backed up that save prior to Infants and then lost it. Don't ask. Restarted two more times since then. Operator Malfunction. Finally, started a brand-new save and that one is the one I'm still playing, if only my laptop would cooperate.

And that's why I'm still playing this game. I'm really loving the advances in depth with the Traits and the stuff Growing Together has added. Now, if I can just get Erik where I see him going. Wish me luck.

3 Just let them live out their happy little lives the way I command them to, er the way they want me to command them to, uh the way I think they want to?

3. I’ve gotten into challenges. At first I had a scenario save. Then I started the not so berry challenge, it’s been on pause for a few months, but I’m on generation six. I completed the 100 baby challenge, I had to wait to update my game because of infants. Currently doing the globetrotter challenge.

3. Other. My goal is just to keep developing the stories of the families I’m playing in my rotation and see where they go. I have at least one household I play in each world so that I can try to make the most of each world and all the careers, skills and gameplay. I don’t yet have all the packs I’d like to get (let alone ones that are still to come), and it already feels like there’s so much content I haven’t fully explored yet. So it will take me a long, long time before I feel I’ve explored everything, and before I run out of ideas for my families’ stories.