Q about Save As

Saving over and over can lead to lag and corruption. So, conventional wisdom recommends using the "save as" feature from time to time. I essentially creates a clean new save file instead of overwriting the same one, it does create a new save that shows in your loads. I use a number system i.e. Smith Household 01, then I name the next Smith Household 02, and so on.

I agree with the above answer. I use Save As just a few moments after I open a save. It comes in very handy should the worst of the worst take place in the game. After the Save As, I then simply save. I've switched (but not entirely) from being the Queen of Restarts, to the Queen of Resets. I'll go back a save or two and pick up prior to what went very wrong.

For instance, my Global Superstar wasn't quite ready to move out on his own, but he left his parents' home to live with his only sister and her husband. This way, as the player, I could tend to both the brother and sister (my two favorites in the family). However, when my Global Superstar with the Pristine Reputation threw his first Charity Event, I experienced my very first (and second) Emotional Deaths in the game. First, his brother-in-law went hysterical and appeared to collapse as his heart gave out. What do you expect from a Vulcan who had a few adult beverages and then found your silly joke humorous? Shortly thereafter, his wife collapsed, as well. :open_mouth:

This was nowhere near my own plotline, to say the least. And, while I can now say I've finally experienced an emotional death, I brought my concerns over here to the forum. Should I attempt to play things out and just roll with the punch, as it's said? Most were of that opinion. But, Erik and his then fiancée, weren't too adept at caring for his identical twin toddler nephews. Leila was of little help, I might add, leaving Erik with the burden. https://i.imgur.com/G9EMDVn.jpg One twin, Seraj, was very hungry, but refused to eat throwing most of his food to the floor. https://i.imgur.com/K2FX0Rx.jpg
This kept happening. Erik was exhausted, leaving his career on hold for the time being. Then I got notices his fame was fading. I was also very worried that the Social Worker would take the wee boys. Disaster in the making. Once I discovered I wasn't having fun playing this way, it occurred to me as I awoke one morning, that I could roll back a game save or two. Yes, I use a numbering system.

I went back two saves to restore things and continued on. Since I was blogging about this Sims' escapades, I managed to use the aforementioned scenario and the pictures, too. It was all only a nightmare Erik had. Worked for me.

Shameless Plug: https://erikcantrellscheckeredlife.blogspot.com/2018/12/chapter-seven-nightmare.html

Okay, thanks for the info. Is it safe to delete the older saves after a while then?
Also, does using save as break relationships? Just making sure.

"Simpkin;c-17060546" wrote:
Okay, thanks for the info. Is it safe to delete the older saves after a while then?
Also, does using save as break relationships? Just making sure.

@simpkin think of it as the exact same save with every detail, just at a different point in time. So if one of your sims tragically dies you can load the save file right before that and be able to save the sim.

"Simpkin;c-17060546" wrote:
Okay, thanks for the info. Is it safe to delete the older saves after a while then?
Also, does using save as break relationships? Just making sure.

It is wise to clean up any save slots no longer in use after a while. I do Save as in S3 as well and it's the same concept. I keep a hand full of extra saves to fall back on if I ever need them (3-4). It's also a good idea to keep backups from the Saves file stored somewhere else for safe keeping. See guide here: https://sims4.crinrict.com/en/2014/09/save-games/

'Save as' works the same as 'Save'.... just in a new slot without overriding the previous save slot. So, just like using Save, it does not negatively affect anything in the save such as relationships.

Save As doesn't break relationships -- it's the same save with a new name. You can delete the older save the next time you go into the game. Using a number as an identifier helps; you can also check the last saved date to make sure you're deleting the right one.

Another good use for Save As is if you want to set up a template file with new houses/venues then use that as your jumping off point. Just use Save As right after you start the new game, and that keeps your template in pristine condition for the next new save you want.

The one drawback with Save As is that you don't have an older save to roll back to if something goes wrong and you need to backtrack, once you've deleted the older save.

I’ve always done save as with all of my saves have I been doing it wrong all these years

Okay thanks. I just saved as and hope it is better for my game :) The original one was from the release.

I “save as” when I begin a new family in a rotation. It makes it easier to go back if I have to.

I know each save keeps a copy of all previous savepoints for that save, but I’d have a million to sort through if I relied on that.

Is there an optimal number of saves we should have? I have been thinking it’s time to purge some, but game performance is still pretty great so I haven’t bothered.

The only time I really use "save as" is when I'm about to have my sims try for baby or adopt. So before I do, I name this as "____ before kid" or something like that. And this is because at some point I get so sick of sim kids I wish I hadn't done it. This allows me to go back to before they had a child and not have to start all the way from scratch.