Can the content get too overwhelming?

Learn to let go.

Try playing with a set of dice where you let the dice roll decide what happens. I kind of just went through a slump like you seem to be in. I decided to give it another go by creating some "scenarios" for a cast of characters in my town. Kind of making them fulfill certain roles based on ideas that pertain to whatever family. So for example, Alexander Goth was kidnapped. I can play the Goth's who are grieving and searching and going through the whole mourning process or I can play the kidnapper home as the family that's holding him hostage or Alexander and try to escape or stay put. Or as I'm playing other families, it could be one of my detectives that might be working this case and searching for clues. It could be families with children who are maybe put on a curfew while a kidnapper is on the loose. Or maybe as the mayor who is taking heat for the crime-ridden city she runs. --the key here is to use dice rolls or coin flips to decide how things play out. Does the detective get real information about the case or is it a wild goose chase? Does Bella suspect Mortimer had something to do with it? Does Cassandra know a secret? I guess the gist of it is it's just your imagination and a coin flip to know the direction. And it's fun not planning and setting up, ya know. And if you want to keep track, consider writing it down journal style instead of spreadsheet style.

Best tip I ever got on this is (originally after the Sims 3 had released all packs and was loaded with content) is to roll for things randomly.
I started rolling careers for example and realized that I hadn't played a lot of it because I was so overwhelmed with all the features I forgot they existed.
Once you let a randomizer take over you start discovering and doing things you wouldn't have even thought of otherwise and it even takes the pressure away from having to make a decision.

I've found the same, I often feel overwhelmed especially with CAS because I have so much stuff now that I just don't even bother to scroll anymore. Recently I've been playing with only 4 packs and found the game more enjoyable that way. I like to focus on playing with one pack and then fully immersing in just that pack rather than playing with everything now, it allows me to enjoy what I have a lot more instead of trying to play with everything at once

I think so, I tend to pick the same things so I might filter by color or pack so I have to pick something else at random to slowly go through things but I'm not sure I've used everything heh.

"SimmerGeorge;c-18059774" wrote:
Best tip I ever got on this is (originally after the Sims 3 had released all packs and was loaded with content) is to roll for things randomly.
I started rolling careers for example and realized that I hadn't played a lot of it because I was so overwhelmed with all the features I forgot they existed.
Once you let a randomizer take over you start discovering and doing things you wouldn't have even thought of otherwise and it even takes the pressure away from having to make a decision.

Rolling randomly is a great idea! I've had lots of Sims take basically the same path in life. I need more variety.

@Cherryrose_x

I go through stages of playing as much as I can, dreaming about it and making plans constantly. To then do nothing for months

This seems pretty normal to me. It is natural for your interest in things to rise and fall, rise and fall, over time. This just means you are a healthy human being with lots of options, interests, and priorities. I love playing the Sims. But it's not the only thing I love. So I don't play it all the time, nor do I expect myself to.

I tend to log in, download more content in the sales as if I am just trying to complete my collection. Play for like 10 minutes and find I just can't get into it.

If this seems to be your pattern, and you are not happy with it, you might be buying content you don't really have a plan for. I generally don't buy a pack until I have at least one clear idea of what I want to do with it. I know a lot of players like to "complete the collection", but maybe that's not really for you. Consider holding off on getting a new pack until you know exactly why you want it.

I have tried the legacy and got to the 10 gens, tried to do it again but it didn't hold the same appeal.

I'm not really a legacy player, so not much I can say here. But maybe it didn't appeal the second time because you tried to do it in the same way. Like watching the same movie over and over. It gets boring. I've seen a lot of interesting looking legacy style challenges. Some of those might spark new ideas for you.

Tried rotation play but got so obsessed with planning their lives out through the generations my husband thought I was mad with my notebooks and flash cards!

Nothing wrong with that! :lol: Some of my stories get complex enough to need notebooks full of info and post-it notes all over the wall. But then... my husband is a pretty hard-core gamer and D&D player. He doesn't seem to think I'm crazy.

The thing that overwhelms me the most is whenever I open CAS or BB...so much stuff in the lists I have a really hard time finding what I"m looking for. Then ending up finding a few things I wasn't really looking for that I decided I liked too. Then struggling to make up my mind of which to use.
It's a real struggle.

Thanks for the ideas. I do like the idea of the randomiser. I tried that with the traits before as I always use the same ones. I think my most recent Sim is a mix I have never used. I might go back to her for awhile and randomise a bit more as I go along.

I might dig my notebooks out a bit more and try be a bit more gentle on their life plans. :D I was so obsessed with how many kids each family would have and who would marry who, then I realised as the generations went on their would be more and more to rotate through if they all had X amount of children and I think I shyed away from it a bit. I kept the save files safe and tucked away in case I wanted to revisit them again.

"Stormkeep;c-18059858" wrote:
The thing that overwhelms me the most is whenever I open CAS or BB...so much stuff in the lists I have a really hard time finding what I"m looking for. Then ending up finding a few things I wasn't really looking for that I decided I liked too. Then struggling to make up my mind of which to use.
It's a real struggle.

This is why I often filter by pack or style, especially in CAS, and only let a sim use items from that pack unless they specifically need something else. For example, today I started a new save and only let the sim wear base game items and hairstyles.

I feel you! I love that there is so much content out there now, but so hard to choose! ?

I often try to have a concept of a Sim or Sim family already and start focusing on specific packs and specific occults, etc. So like, say for example, I want to focus on doing farming or spell caster stuff, so I just make sims for those packs, and doing interactions and careers (or whatever main feature that attracted me) from those packs.

You can filter the CAS and B/B with packs or custom content as well, to help narrow some choices, too. ?