How do you "rotational" play
i have never rotated play between families but i see in the forums that many folks have. I think it would add a bit more depth to my play ..i tend to create characters to place in a save along with a...
Forum Discussion
What a nice, calm, informative thread, a joy to read. Here is my take.
1. When you begin your play what rules do you abide by (if any)
I have only played TS4 a year, and have only one playsave; but lots of saves for building and experimenting. In my playsave I disable anything that can cause issues, like NPC voting in Eco-Living; weather and effects; aging. Seasons are set to 28 days, autonomy is full. I make sure to save important characters (like Morgyn from ROM, Father Winter from Seasons etc to Favorite Households. I don’t use cheats but motherlode. I will have to use cheats to create server sims though. I don’t build in my playsave, but import builds from other folders. I never use move objects on in my builds. I don’t use mods or cc, and will not, at least until the game is fully developed. If I decide to use them then I will be very careful what to pick. After installing a new pack or patch I don’t load my playsave without first testing in a new folder. I always use the option Save As and keep many backups.
I have no rules for my own gameplay, but for structure and the reason for playing rotational I create unique sim lives, based on the features in game I want to play, but want different sims to stage them with. I have deleted the default seasons and made my own.
2. How many characters do you play and are they usually single..married...married with kids or are they direct family members (example ..mom dad and/or siblings
The save being new I only have about 100 in Favorite Household tab so far, but not every sim in there is created/staged by me.
I usually create and want to play with single YA, but for Parenthood features I have a couple of families with child sims in different constellations and background. I have several residential households symbolising institutions as a way of using the game's functions to set up what lot assignments aren't there. So, a mental institution residential with a live-in doctor; a prison with a live-in guard/detective; an orphanage for future service sims, with a live-in principal and matron; a retirement home with a live-in care-taker etc. I plan to move in, temporary or permanent, some sims into these households for gameplay, and to use the orphanage to skill up/raise sims that will be bartenders, entertainers, models etc.
3. how long does this type of play hold your interest approximately? ( for example..a week...a month ...longer?)
It is a very addictive game, and I can play for days on end. Like said in this thread though, I don’t start if I don’t have a lot of time for the moment. I have been setting this save up for a year, and it feels like I've just started.
As for the gameplay, it doesn’t differ much from the way I played TS3; separating the careers, aspirations, interests, venues visited, sims socialized with, on different sims, I still do the same thing - playing what features the game offers, just divided on several households instead of one or a few. Since I don’t have any rules, I load whatever household, and fate, I wish to play in the moment.
I spend much more time building, creating sims and planning the save, than I do actually playing, but that is part of my entertainment. Perhaps I will loose interest once it is all done? That is okay too.
4. Do you usually use NewCrest so you can create your own town or do you have a favorite neighborhood and why?
I plan the whole world, that is, all the worlds that come with the DLC are part of my sim universe. I don’t own Vampires pack by choice, but among the rest I prefer playing in apartments in San Myshuno, Brindleton Bay and Windenburg are both very pretty, and Strangerville quite alluring. Each world get a theme for architecture, sims and events. Willow Creek is the place for environmentally aware scientists, gardeners, botanists and florists; it will have a green footprint, a communal garden, a huge flower production garden selling its flowers in a shop, a botanical garden for cultural visits, a vegetarian restaurant and an old crashed alien ship where the descendants of Mother is living, waiting for their destiny to start... and so forth, for each world.
NewCrest with its neutral state and lack of distinct personality is the world where I place all my odds and ends buildings and sims, that I don't really see fitting in well in the other worlds. Here I have placed a silly replica of the house from Larva, complete with characters; a neighborhood that looks like mine; and my simself.
5. Would you say there is any draw backs to rotational play and if yes then what would those draw backs be?
There probably is, the game is not made with it in mind, and I doubt EA playtest long enough to find any bugs resulting from it; but I read up on any new pack and its bugs, and try to follow common game logic sense.
6. other then using rotational play what type of simmer are you in game...for example ...do you prefer family related play....single sims over couples...do you prefer to begin as a teen in a family or something else.
I prefer playing with YA or elder state, and single households, being stressed out by too many sims at once. But all narratives can be made fun, it all depends on my own imagination. The freedom to goof around I like very much in the sims series, not having to take anything seriously. I also micromanage, and in TS3 often played saves where my lone sim meddled and decided the fate of all the other sims in the world.
1. When you begin your play what rules do you abide by (if any)
I have only played TS4 a year, and have only one playsave; but lots of saves for building and experimenting. In my playsave I disable anything that can cause issues, like NPC voting in Eco-Living; weather and effects; aging. Seasons are set to 28 days, autonomy is full. I make sure to save important characters (like Morgyn from ROM, Father Winter from Seasons etc to Favorite Households. I don’t use cheats but motherlode. I will have to use cheats to create server sims though. I don’t build in my playsave, but import builds from other folders. I never use move objects on in my builds. I don’t use mods or cc, and will not, at least until the game is fully developed. If I decide to use them then I will be very careful what to pick. After installing a new pack or patch I don’t load my playsave without first testing in a new folder. I always use the option Save As and keep many backups.
I have no rules for my own gameplay, but for structure and the reason for playing rotational I create unique sim lives, based on the features in game I want to play, but want different sims to stage them with. I have deleted the default seasons and made my own.
2. How many characters do you play and are they usually single..married...married with kids or are they direct family members (example ..mom dad and/or siblings
The save being new I only have about 100 in Favorite Household tab so far, but not every sim in there is created/staged by me.
I usually create and want to play with single YA, but for Parenthood features I have a couple of families with child sims in different constellations and background. I have several residential households symbolising institutions as a way of using the game's functions to set up what lot assignments aren't there. So, a mental institution residential with a live-in doctor; a prison with a live-in guard/detective; an orphanage for future service sims, with a live-in principal and matron; a retirement home with a live-in care-taker etc. I plan to move in, temporary or permanent, some sims into these households for gameplay, and to use the orphanage to skill up/raise sims that will be bartenders, entertainers, models etc.
3. how long does this type of play hold your interest approximately? ( for example..a week...a month ...longer?)
It is a very addictive game, and I can play for days on end. Like said in this thread though, I don’t start if I don’t have a lot of time for the moment. I have been setting this save up for a year, and it feels like I've just started.
As for the gameplay, it doesn’t differ much from the way I played TS3; separating the careers, aspirations, interests, venues visited, sims socialized with, on different sims, I still do the same thing - playing what features the game offers, just divided on several households instead of one or a few. Since I don’t have any rules, I load whatever household, and fate, I wish to play in the moment.
I spend much more time building, creating sims and planning the save, than I do actually playing, but that is part of my entertainment. Perhaps I will loose interest once it is all done? That is okay too.
4. Do you usually use NewCrest so you can create your own town or do you have a favorite neighborhood and why?
I plan the whole world, that is, all the worlds that come with the DLC are part of my sim universe. I don’t own Vampires pack by choice, but among the rest I prefer playing in apartments in San Myshuno, Brindleton Bay and Windenburg are both very pretty, and Strangerville quite alluring. Each world get a theme for architecture, sims and events. Willow Creek is the place for environmentally aware scientists, gardeners, botanists and florists; it will have a green footprint, a communal garden, a huge flower production garden selling its flowers in a shop, a botanical garden for cultural visits, a vegetarian restaurant and an old crashed alien ship where the descendants of Mother is living, waiting for their destiny to start... and so forth, for each world.
NewCrest with its neutral state and lack of distinct personality is the world where I place all my odds and ends buildings and sims, that I don't really see fitting in well in the other worlds. Here I have placed a silly replica of the house from Larva, complete with characters; a neighborhood that looks like mine; and my simself.
5. Would you say there is any draw backs to rotational play and if yes then what would those draw backs be?
There probably is, the game is not made with it in mind, and I doubt EA playtest long enough to find any bugs resulting from it; but I read up on any new pack and its bugs, and try to follow common game logic sense.
6. other then using rotational play what type of simmer are you in game...for example ...do you prefer family related play....single sims over couples...do you prefer to begin as a teen in a family or something else.
I prefer playing with YA or elder state, and single households, being stressed out by too many sims at once. But all narratives can be made fun, it all depends on my own imagination. The freedom to goof around I like very much in the sims series, not having to take anything seriously. I also micromanage, and in TS3 often played saves where my lone sim meddled and decided the fate of all the other sims in the world.
