A question for those who own all or most of the packs (Expansion, and Game packs)

"Ilikebuilding;c-18185082" wrote:
It's not a sandbox game. Many build options for example have to be unlocked, as do skills. They have to be gained. People can play however they like to of course, but I still wonder why some ignore the generational aspect of the game? It's a main part. Sims age and die.

Not for me, my sims never die, unless it's part of MY story. I play leisurely and don't want to be forced to hurry up and grind to do this or do that before they die and get all stressed out because their days are "numbered". I play with aging turned off and age up when/if I feel it fits the story. I play to relax.

I play many different households/stories. They're not all connected, I focus on that household instead of an entire world of sims. I prefer it this way, now if I get attached to certain sims in the world I might make a new save and play out their story, but it's never in the same save because I have very distinct idea of how I want that save to play out.

So for me I can honestly say I have never, not in any of the games, ever played generationally.

"Ilikebuilding;c-18185082" wrote:
It's not a sandbox game. Many build options for example have to be unlocked, as do skills. They have to be gained. People can play however they like to of course, but I still wonder why some ignore the generational aspect of the game? It's a main part. Sims age and die.

Because it's my game, I spent a ton of money on it, it's here to entertain me and bring me joy and I can play it however I want.

My sims live perfect little Stepford Wife lives. They're rich, happy, and living their best pixel lives. They also never age or die. That's not allowed in Stepford World.

I get super annoyed with the more they take away from us, the more they try to force their idea of how this game should be played on us. It's my game. I'll play it however I want.

Now to answer the original question. I played generations but eventually realized that I get overwhelmed if I'm playing more than 1 sim at a time. I can't handle it because I have to control every aspect of their lives and it was too much. So a couple of years ago, I created my simself and I've been playing her as a single sim in various versions ever since. I mostly play a "start over" game. I kind of enjoy demolishing all the worlds and making all new lots and then making about 150 new sims to live in those worlds. I make up stories for them, set up relationships, give them careers. Then I play it for a couple of days, get bored and repeat the process.

I try to have a plan to work towards a goal. I recently excised my mods folder and my saves. I started with a completely clean slate...scary. I now have 2 lovely ladies who are both casters...totally different in interests but are friends. That was not planned but a bright spot in the story. I sort of take it from there as to what their interests are. I used to try to have my sims know all different things. Too much of the big picture was overwhelming me, so I took it a little at a time. My sims love to drop by the bar in the evening after a hard day's work for a drink and to find out the latest gossip, maybe play darts or fooseball with a regular, that sort of thing.

If I don't have a goal of what my sim will be doing and accomplishing, I just won't play. I hate sitting down at the computer and staring at the main screen page...only to turn it off.

I hope this helps. Happy Simming!

I tend to try out new packs with my next generation growing up, instead of making new sims for the pack, but it can cause quite a bit of lag between when the pack comes out (or when I buy it) and when that generation is actually old enough to use it :)

I never really have a set pathway in mind. I will admit that I do have the Avengers set as everyday Sims and they do play a little towards what their characters are. But any original sims I just kind of play by ear. For example, I went into CAS last week and wanted to make a Sim Couple and I wanted one of them to be Irish. I have a lot of red-headed female Sims in my game, so I decided I wanted male ginger and him to be married to a female. I randomized most of the clothing and other features, then I forgot to set up the relationship (I always forget that) and they ended up being roomies in this 2 bedroom home in Windenberg. They ended up bonding and being besties and now I can't even imagine them being married or even in a relationship. LOL. The male went with reading as his first 'like' so I made him a writer. The female went with dancing, backyard music, and fitness for her likes so she's kind of a bum until she finds a 'like' I can translate. So yeah... I let it kind of happen unless the muse strikes.

I make my own sims, depending on the storyline I have in mind. I like playing with a community and play rotationally. I start out with ideas for which jobs I want to play, pick the sims for those jobs, and begin their lives. I enjoy seeing my sims getting to know one another in the community. I play a variety of ways such as a farming community, a game of different occults, pirates, etc. I am planning a game based on Skyrim, when the game bugs are fixed and I can return to playing. The Sims 4 should be played in the way the player wants, there is no wrong or right way to play. Sometimes I want to focus on one family and will play that family incorporated the neighbors/NPCs into my game. Depends on my mood each day! :) I haven't been playing at all recently, mainly due to the wants/fears and phone obsession, as I doubt I will enjoy these in my game. Waiting for the ability to shut off wants/fears so that it stays off before I return to my game. Hoping it is soon, as I do miss my games.

Often the main issue is making the sim in the first place, especially if I have a specific character or type in mind. After all these years TS4 simply does not have enough traits or trait slots to make realistic sims. Not surprising. The only time there is attention to detail is with artwork of some kind.

I play the other way around in that I don't start with a sim, but with a setting. For example the most recent three things I wanted to play were a high seas fishing crew, a recycling plant and a village constable. That led to me first picking what objects and careers I could use from the packs, and only then putting sims into the setting. An already existing sim from my cottagecore save became the constable and in the same save I created my fishermen and their ship. For the recycling gameplay I used a short lived side save.

Usually when I start a new Sim from scratch, I take my inspiration from what they look like to me. A sim that gets my attention might look like the quintessential playboy living off a trust fund, or like an old retired jazz musician looking to finally catch that legendary fish he's been angling for, in a cozy little cabin with just enough for him and his dog.

Sometimes I see a teen runaway, about to find out what she can and can't do, to survive.

One time I had fun making a Japanese family, and I still play the teen son, now in High School Years, as suffering from depression but holding on to his dream to be an artistic visionary, which horrified his salary-man father and his shufu mother who considers him becoming a doctor or something similar to be her ultimate cause in life.

Sometimes I have enjoyed making sims you would love to hate. An attractive man with perfect hair and a smile that's more like a sneer, with max charisma, a hot temper, and no morals, who uses his charms to lure unwary targets into his vampires Embrace.

Sometimes I have made a family with kids and then got so involved with one or more of the kids, that I wanted to continue playing them as they grew up, graduated, and entered careers and adult relationships.usually that happens when one of them is just more interesting than the others and seems to suggest a storyline and a direction in life..

A lot of it is just getting inspired and following things to see where they lead instead of just controlling everything.

"Ilikebuilding;c-18185068" wrote:
Why do you create a new sim for new expansions? Surely the game is about generations?

I play with aging off usually and age sims when I feel like it. I have some babies that have been around for many real years, waiting for a baby update. I get attached to my sims way too often.