"Pegasys;c-16303129" wrote:
If I start feeling bored, I'll take a break. Then when I come back I have new ideas or there is new content available.
I also don't use cheats to make things easier in the game. No money cheats, not even free real estate; nor unlocking rewards early. So when my sims do achieve something like an aspiration or top of their career, it feels like an achievement.
I tend to use a random generator for traits, career, and aspiration, but am not super strict about it.
For a long time I was playing one large rotational save, and when I got bored I rotated to the next family. That was a lot of fun. I love playing rotationally.
Right now, however, I am playing a kind of "relaxed" legacy. I started using MCCC to add story progression and it's very interesting to see who hooks up with who and what children are born in-world. I play with aging on and set to Normal. I will let some sims use the Potion of Youth once or twice. Otherwise I let my sims die off naturally because it keeps fresh and moving. If they don't make the goals I've set for them, oh well. There's always the next generation.
I do use freerealestate but not for moving in Sims I plan to actually play; I'll use it to move around families when necessary since I do use MCCC. When MCCC generates triplets for a Sim living in a 1BR apartment I figure it's time to move the family into more appropriate sized lodgings, usually a house out in the 'burbs like Willow Creek or Newcrest. (With Cats & Dogs, Brindleton Bay is also a nice option for families.) Or maybe there's a family in Not in World that I want to get housed so my younger Sims can find their classmates easier to go over and play. I figure if I'm not actively playing the moving family, it doesn't count as a "cheat".
When my Sims have kids, I try to follow a rule of thumb; when they age up to Child I give them one trait from one parent, a different trait from the other parent, then a trait neither parent has. That also helps to add variety.
