Your best tips on historic gameplay

I don't really do these challenges as I cannot stick to rules for the life of me

but one thing to remember with historical saves: past wasn't all greige and europe/america centric

it just saddens me sometimes when i see all the historical beige moms at once

I find it helps to be flexible about details. For instance, the typewriter looks much better in period homes than a regular computer, even though typewriters are a fairly recent thing. Still, it gives your sim game play otherwise missed, and is not quite so jarring. Having "not quite the right style" by using clothes from inside the game is still closer to period play than not, so I overlook the obvious and suspend disbelief. A floor length dress may be more Victorian than Regency, but it is certainly not from 2024. Horse tack may not be a match for each era, but having a horse to ride is much closer to era play than we have had available before. It is like the fact that sims of all genders are the same height and teens are already adult sized. Game constraints are what they are. It is best to not fight it too hard.

When I run into something stand out that is hard to avoid, I just pretend it is not only another time period, but also an alternate universe that developed slightly different from ours, so in that alternate universe, this stuff is normal. That helps keep things light rather than getting bogged down in a too serious play attitude.

I find it helps to play on the longest setting for aging, or the no aging option. Period play is more intensive than regular play and I want to spend time enjoying the nuances, not just rushing through to the next generation. I also cheat lots of simoleans, because I do not want to spend my time waiting for my sims to return from work. Most period play is about wealthy sims living a carefree life, anyway, so it fits in.

But the biggest thing for me is judicious use of CC when it comes to period play. Jane Simsten has wonderful CC that makes any era more fun and immersive. Watching your sim play the harp, cello, flute, harpsichord, and lute is something that sets the right mood. There is even a piano/violin duet feature. You can also bypass the computer issue entirely by using a feather pen and parchment, if you are willing to use her CC. Archery, hair brushes, unique dances and so forth, are all a download away. Her Regency mod has so many features that you need her PDF to read them all. I am amazed at all she has been able to accomplish. (She is currently working on a ballet mod that looks mouth watering good and a hunting mod, too, if you are into that.) I try to keep CC to a minimum in my game, but her mods are a must have for me.

I have not tried the royal type mods, allowing you to play King/Queen/aristocrats much more accurately, but that is another option for immersive play if you are willing to use CC. We do have armor, even if stylistically it only fits one era. And the castle set is wonderful for period immersion. But I did finally capitulate and download CC crowns, because using prom crowns was just too clownish for me.

I have also found, paradoxically, that leaving a period game and returning to ranch style play for a time is very helpful. Staying immersed for a long time in a period game gradually chafes at the non-period aspects of the game. But after playing modern for a while, it is easier to overlook things, once again.

@galacticGal I have no big issues with the typewriter really being a computer. I might wish it wasn't, but it doesn't really bother me since I just turn off autonomy so they don't do stuff on the computer they wouldn't do on a typewriter, or things that are needed for their jobs. In those cases I just pretend they are writing a letter or something. I do believe there is a point to your approach @amjoie to just overlook some things. For me it's harder with all the university students pulling out their laptops to play noisy games in the library (although seriously I think you'd anger so many people if you tried that in any university library for real. It's entirely against any library code of conduct, so that bothers me just as much in modern gameplay.)

@GalacticGal This one, by chance? I use this computer disguised as a herbology/astronomy tome in my 1760s save:
https://www.simfileshare.net/download/759011/
Before they had the book, my sims had prematurely invented the sewing machine (functions as a computer, too: https://modthesims.info/d/623802/sims2-freetime-sewing-for-sims4.html)

As for tips, I second @amjoie - be flexible and don't stress over details. I found it helpful to read up a lot about customs, both for holidays and everyday life, and historical evens. As long as you're really immersed in what your sims are doing, slight mistakes in the visuals might matter less.

Something that can go a long way is to (temporarily) introduce historical persons to the game. I don't do that, personally, but that photo of grandpa having met might become a family heirloom and one day save the family from poverty.

"JAL;c-18351302" wrote:
@galacticGal I have no big issues with the typewriter really being a computer. I might wish it wasn't, but it doesn't really bother me since I just turn off autonomy so they don't do stuff on the computer they wouldn't do on a typewriter, or things that are needed for their jobs. In those cases I just pretend they are writing a letter or something. I do believe there is a point to your approach @amjoie to just overlook some things. For me it's harder with all the university students pulling out their laptops to play noisy games in the library (although seriously I think you'd anger so many people if you tried that in any university library for real. It's entirely against any library code of conduct, so that bothers me just as much in modern gameplay.)

I found something even better than what I had before. It's a spinning wheel that doubles as a computer. Now, I know some of you just prefer your Sims to set aside modern tech, and I wish we could, too. However, there are some things a Sim simply can't access without the computer. Too bad the game got set up that way.

The mod is Srsly's Spinning Wheel. There are three parts to it: the stool, the desk and the computer part, which is the spinning wheel and the spindle itself. I just tested it out in my game. Whoot, whoot!

https://i.imgur.com/M1iiEK9.jpg

Things I learned were keep track of the families and their birthdates, and plan roughly twenty years ahead of the future, especially for future partners.

Maybe write down/record their life, later in the game when you need to remember something you can always go back and refresh your memory. It helped me a lot to look at my thread to figure out the relationship between the sims and checking older save backups. It became necessary after the family tree went broken after the six generation.

Don't fear of deleting unwanted sims immediately. If nobody knows about it nobody will judge your decision.

Especially at the beginning you will mess with the families.
With first installing mccc more troubles are in the game. Suddenly you will face a high divorce rate, adultery and too many children all at once. So checking the marriages and pregnancy settings are most important. I was so tired of all the elderly females grabbing all the young adult males, while elder males stayed single all the time. Allowing marriage only the same lifestage is a must to have for me. I delete sims here too.

Take your time to checkout the setting on a different save.

I had my problems that I couldn't let my sims go. So I plan plenty of days with them. I knew I need more time with them. If I hadn't this kind of anxiety, I would be fine with shorter days. It works good for me.

Plan a cemetery for your sim families. Seriously, It gave me a nostalgic feeling whenever I go there, looking at the gravestones, and seeing their engraved lifedates. I remember them and their stories.

I tried to play without out mods and cc, but no chance. The first thing I've got rid off was the monster under the bed, with so many children it's a nightmare mechanic literally. It was a relief. At the beginning of the 1920 I went to cc shopping, just because I had no alternative clothes for the young kids.

My only advice is do research. I've stuck to one decade in my historical game and that makes things easier when it comes to research but for those doing the decades challenge it's going to be more time consuming but, believe me, it'll be worth it. I like what @JAL has done with the decades challenge in changing the rules if it clashes with the real history.

My main focus has been on making sure the sims are all dressed appropriately for the period and then I work on the decor. Fortunately I've picked an era where I don't have to mess with the backgrounds or even most of the neighbourhoods but interior decor has been heavily modified. I haven't got MCCC but I do like to change all the townies outfits manually, giving each one a distinctive look that would match what I think their personality...today's background extra might be tomorrow's supporting or even main character. Yes, it's time consuming, but I prefer the hands on approach.

When I write each game session up for the story, I like to give the characters the idioms and sayings of the era. Once again, I've picked a decade that isn't too far removed from today but I pepper the dialogue with era slang and also have the characters articulate their thoughts as people back then would have. They wouldn't have modern sensibilities and I don't write them as if that's deplorable, I never look down at them.

I don't do gameplay, but for storytelling bits that might aid some of you in historic gameplay immersion for some, I do have a mod that turns the phone into a little notebook, and a pen override that turns it into a quill. As you say MCCC is a lifesaver for copypasting period appropriate outfits on everyone, thank goodness for it!

As for historical clothing, most of the bits I use the most are by Linzlu, Historicalsimslife, chere-indolente, and a few pieces by Anachrosims and Theroyalthornoliachronicles, they are all on Tumblr.

@Daravi Keeping track can be daunting when the family start growing. I've actually used a free family tree service online to keep track. Then I'm not limited by the family tree in Sims which will eventually break.

To keep track of birthdays I make each birthday a holiday in game (no time off work, no decor, nothing to do) just character's name and birthday. That way I can keep track even as the family is split on many households.

And yes, having the wrong settings for MCCC can definitely mess up your save. In my game there is no such thing as divorces, all marriages are opposite sex (I wish we had a money setting too, to prevent marriage over class borders) and same age group and the ones most likely to be married off are YA (although MCCC still loves marrying off widows for some reason. Your husband died yesterday? You must be lonely, here is a new husband). I've also set risky woohoo and try for baby at the same percent as birth control wouldn't be a thing for most people. I keep the risk/chance at 11%. As birth control becomes a more common thing I'll change that to reflect it.

And yes, I had this idea of playing with limited CC first as well, but let's face it it gets boring and less immersive. Good CC enhances historic gameplay.

@Kellogg_J_Kellogg Thank you for those kind words. I do try, and agree that research is important. With that said, my advice is to keep research fairly local to where your sims are, as regions can differ wildly in everything from inheritance to the access of hospitals. And don't shy away from the bad stuff in history. That would make the game boring (in my view at least). But also, be reasonable and don't be afraid to make some simplifications if you feel it's warranted for your game. It should, after all, be a game and fun for you as well.

@SnowBnuuy Those are some really good tips. I've used some of those myself. I might add HappyLifeSims (especially for the 10s, 20s and 30s) and Lili's Palace for off the grid functional objects for older periods. There are also plenty of find-cc places that lets you search per decade and will link you to quite a few different cc-makers.

Another tip of mine is to keep the names suitable for the time. There are plenty of lists of names that were popular in various decades and countries which makes it easy.

"SnowBnuuy;c-18352641" wrote:
I don't do gameplay, but for storytelling bits that might aid some of you in historic gameplay immersion for some, I do have a mod that turns the phone into a little notebook, and a pen override that turns it into a quill. As you say MCCC is a lifesaver for copypasting period appropriate outfits on everyone, thank goodness for it!

As for historical clothing, most of the bits I use the most are by Linzlu, Historicalsimslife, chere-indolente, and a few pieces by Anachrosims and Theroyalthornoliachronicles, they are all on Tumblr.

Thank you. I had the quill pen and then lost so much when my laptop crashed. I also grabbed the turn the phone into a notebook. I'm playing in an 18th century time period. The people didn't even know about germs, let alone technology, other than what they could do with metal. (Frankly, I wonder how we survived the 1700s.)