I guess what I've been doing lately, is playing one save. I start with my main family, add a few others to the mix (the designated spouses for my Cantrell kids and their families) but I stick mostly to the Cantrell household. I even attempted to play rotation style, once the kids graduate from Uni, but I made the mistake the first time by starting with my celebrity Sim's household. Couldn't pull myself away. The next restart, I started with his eldest brother and hit his siblings, leaving his as my last household. I ended up playing more than one Sim week, however. I can't seem to help myself. I'm far more interested in Erik's household than any of the others. I used to delay his getting married. He would end up living with his only sister and her hubby so I could build her family, while Erik continued his career. I may have to go back to that.
I haven't yet experienced any culling. But then again, I only have 24/200 Sims in my game. I have had untimely deaths, however. Which I managed to fix, rather than do a complete restart.
I wouldn't know how to fix your situation. But I do hope you're able to preserve your game save. It's hard to start again. And it never plays out quite the same way each time. Frustrating. It's completely frustrating. You have my deepest sympathies.
