Storytelling players: Do you ever use cheats to set up your stories?

In the stories I've done in the past, I use to use the moveobjects cheats but stopped after running into issues when I used it to move the sims themselves, this was back in Sims 3. Other than that my sims tell their own stories.

My Sims work for their money xD
But I am in 4th/ 5th generation, so they have enough money anyways and I always play this one save.
Only once my storyline got messed up when I had a poor couple who should really work hard for a bigger house and so on. I was 3 sim-days in playing them and it was the lottery day... They won a million simoleons and bought the biggest house, but I wish I had cheated the money away xD

Death cheats. For example death by rage. It is so difficult to have a sim die by emotions. I only used it once or twice though.

I'm probably somewhere in between the two yes answers. I have no second thoughts about cheating, but also don't see a purpose if it's not needed.

I'm about to set up a Rags to Riches story - not merely the challenge, but the story archetype - so I'm going to start my sim family then use cheats to develop the relationships where I think they need to be, and the same for a couple of friends (and "friends") for my main sim. But my main sim's skills and such will be built in play only.

My gaming style has evolved over time. I began in 2005 totally afraid of Boolprop. (I never once used a cheat to keep their needs full. To me that really was cheating.) Then came Sims3 and, frankly, it needed all the mods I installed just to stabilize the platform. Thank you NRaas! (Twallen). I now use MCCC and find myself cheating my Sims to Make Happy. Their needs devolve so rapidly in this iteration, it's insane. I'm also having to cheat them up and lock them in place for my toddlers, dare I to follow their father to his job. Mind you, their mother is a homemaker, so she's there with them. Apparently, she'd rather read, watch soap operas and eat bon bons all day long, or drink, rather than care for her wee ones. :open_mouth: Would that we had the option to select care for babies. They can care for self; garden and a few other things but not do homework or care for their children. face/palm.

So, yes, I do use the cheats.

I do it if I want to and I don't feel badly about it. I generally do so in order to set up a household in a certain way so it generally is for "story-telling purposes". I have some households with less money.

I used to play households that would try to build up money over the generations from poor to wealthy but now I rotate between households at different socioeconomic levels instead of focusing on one family as it tries to acquire more. I don't judge the other play style but I think it's how I used to play the game most of the time so I'm just interested in more variety.

I suppose I create challenges by flipping between households. My natural inclination is to make high-achieving, high-earning sims so actually switching households is a way for me to counteract that tendency and to create more interaction. A high-achieving parent might have a child who marries someone "from the wrong side of the tracks" while someone from a working class background might marry someone wealthy.

The most boring household I currently have is my royal household (Von Haunts) that is happily married with a perfect little heir. I've got no idea what to do with them besides sending them to vacation in Sulani. Their palace is stunning (thanks gallery) but if a royalty pack would help me to liven things up for them, I'd be game.

Hugo Villareal was more interesting to play as a YA because though I played him as an aristocratic heir, he was also shy and nerdy, so he had his own personal struggles. He's an adult now and married for love but is otherwise pretty reclusive. The Von Haunts' lives are completely breezy. I can figure out what to do with them. I would like them to be involved in more charitable works which I could probably do with the club system.

Anyway, I pretty much only use cheats for story purposes and to create variety but I don't feel bad about it. I view the cheats as tools to apply when I want to. It's not like I'm cheating constantly to make things easy. It's just that not all of my households are rags-to-riches. I've cheated traits for a sim occasionally for story-telling purposes such as to make a villain.

Off topic but Hugo Villareal's son is a totally spoiled "bad boy" who is very good-looking and acts nothing like Hugo. I think he'll get sent off to military school to shape up (and maybe fail at it). Watch out, next generation. The little Von Haunt prince is like ... a Disney character while Hugo's son is someone who would end up in a lot of tabloids.

I couldn't play this game without cheats. I really do try to be good, but I cheat. All the time.

For example, I don't think any of my Sims have ever actually been able to afford moving into the house or apartment they live in; if they have been able to, those are just a select few.

FreeRealEstate is my best friend.

But I'll make them struggle financially, otherwise. I typically cheat away most of their money upon playing a new household, depending on the Sim(s).

That's just an example, though. I cheat in so many ways. ?

Freerealestate to populate my worlds is a must.

I can’t start a new save without setting up some kind of setting, playing from scratch (no skills, base money, careers at zero, etc.) at this point is just really boring for me. I’ve played from scratch so many times that the grind working up feels the same to me each time. Usually my main sims start off as a child or teen, so an established career and home for the parents is a must.

I don't like to use cheats, but I've used them few times, for example when I wanted to give my Sim a family (father and three adult brothers) and it wouldn't have made any sense to make her elder father to have no skills, no career or money. Same goes with her brothers. My Sim never lived with them, so I didn't feel so bad cheating.
Also I remember I used freerealestate cheat to give my rich family a nice home. I never liked playing that save, so I deleted it later. It didn't feel like my game, because of the cheated house.
I like my Sims earning their own money or learning their skills, so nowadays I avoid using any cheats, even if I could get the story going on easier. If I want to play with successful & rich Sims I don't cheat, I make my Sims earn their money and success by themselves. I get much more invested on their story by that way.