Your Recipe for a Great Game...

This has been very helpful in making me make some decisions, changing up my approach a bit.

I've decided on two-week seasons with a lifespan equal to about 48 days to 1 year. This translates to 36 days as infants (haven't even had them yet :o ) childhood of a whopping 432 days and a middle adulthood of 1680 days.
University will be four weeks a semester. Pregnancy 38 days. It's not perfect; a year is closer to seven weeks (and not quite that) than eight weeks for a full cycle of seasons; but I'm optimistic.


My two Sims have begun in an apartment in Evergreen Harbour. I've always loved the apartments as starters for some reason. She's going to be a uni student (from home) and a future scientist (one of my favourites) and he's deliberately created as her opposite in many ways.

He happens to be a spellcaster; BUT he doesn't know it yet.

Will consider them able to travel to San Myshuno easily for festivals. Probably the desert worlds are a bit further away and they will have to move once she begins full time work at the lab (which looks desert based). Sulani, Mt Komerebi, Tartosa, Henford on Bagley and a number of others considered overseas and therefore not available for day trips.


Mods kept to an absolute minimum but MCCC, Fitness Controls and now Longer University Terms have been added as essential already.

No money cheats were used in moving in this couple though I did move a different household into their furnished apartment and evict it to bring the cost of moving in down. :p


Will look to add households into active rotation as proves appropriate. Hoping right now to get attached to this new couple and enjoy the significantly slower pace I've set for their lives. <3

- One, Two or More Sims?

All the sims. Only 1 home is left empty in every neighborhood.

- One or More Active Households?

I play rotational. I spend a week with each family. From Monday to Sunday.

- Which World to Live In?

I use every world. My favorites are Sulani, San Myshuno, and Brindleton Bay.

- Which Worlds Connect and Which Do Not?

In my version of the game, every world connects through San Myshuno. San Myshuno is the center and the worlds are around it. Each world has a mayor and local government. Each has a business specialty that can correlate to different types of jobs in the game. For instance, Willow Creek is my tech hub. It's where I have a lot that has research computers, a robotics lab, a programming center, that teleporter thing from the science career, and lab equipment. I can take my sims with careers that use those objects there to skill. I also create clubs of workers for those lots so that I see those clubs doing stuff when I'm playing other sims.

- Occult Play or Realistic?

Both. In my world the occult exists in an underground harry potter sort of way. Sims who are occult fanatics (which I love that they gave us this option) are the only ones who can cross the barrier between realms, but it's still only if they happen to meet my strict criteria of befriending an occult and the occult sim sharing their secret. It actually hasn't ever happened now that I think about it. My occult sims have chips on their shoulders and don't like outsiders...or each other. :#

- If Occult Play, Which? (All or Exclude Some?)

All

- Lifespan; Down to Details (One Sim Year = ? )

I don't care enough about this to know. I think I used MCCC to change the span of the younger years and elder years to make it more on the normal setting. The teen, adult, and young adult were left the same.

- Skill Difficulty Adjustment (to Match Lifespan)

Yes. It's boring when everyone's skills are maxed out.

- Length of Seasons, consider Holidays

I play with 27 day seasons because I rotate through many houses. I play each for 7 days so that means I get through 4 houses in a season. It's not ideal, but it's the best I can do.

- No Mods, Select Few or Multiple Mods?

Yes. I don't know how people play without mods. I usually have all the bug fixes, some of the features, lots of build, and basic gameplay mods.

- Money Cheat/s, or No?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Depends on the situation. Is my family supposed to be established? Then yes. Is my family meant to be poor? Then no.

- Other important considerations?

The most important for me is to let things happen to my sims. Try not to micromanage and just enjoy the things that come along as the sim does their own thing. I dice roll everything that can be. Instead of viewing this like playing a household, I think of it as playing a city style soap opera where some of their lives are interconnected and they're all adding to the history of the town. I also play DnD style where I make choices based on the sim's personality rather than what I want to happen. That way I end up with lots of different types of sims with different personalities. I also make clubs for all of that and some.

- One or two to start, usually no more than four. That's not written in stone, and now that I'm less hands on with the gameplay I'm open to trying out a 5+ sim household if it comes up in one of my stories.
- I have multiple active households in my rotational saves.
- I'm partial to Tartosa, Windenburg, San Myshuno, and Del Sol Valley, but I'm open to whichever world feels like the best fit for the story.
- It varies based on the story. I have one story where San Myshuno, San Seqouia, and Oasis Springs are all suburbs of Del Sol Valley. They make up my sims version of L.A. In most cases though I worlds clustered together based on the real world city they remind me of most. Some trips between worlds involve air travel, narratively speaking, but the trips aren't long. Time and distance is abstract in my saves.
- A little of both. I love occult sims and it used to be the only way I'd play.
- Vampires. I really love werewolves but I don't have a story going where they fit in.
- Aging is always off, every save, everytime. I age sims up as the story requires, but time really doesn't matter in my stories because I feel like the game advances time much too quickly.
- I haven't done anything to change skill difficulty, unless you consider being famous a skill. I did use MCCC to ever so slightly increase the rate at which sims gain fame.
- 28 days seasons, but I wish I could make them much, much longer. Like realistic length, but then again since aging isn't a thing in my saves length of seasons doesn't really matter either.
- I collect mods as a hobby. That's a bit of hyperbole, but I do have quite a few big mods, MCCC, WonderfulWhims, T.O.O.L., etc, and dozens of small mods to block broken or annoying bits of gameplay.
- I very liberal in my use of the money cheat! I make it rain...
- Both of my active saves are the basis for SimLit so the main consideration is being openminded to the gameplay gifting me surprises that I can use in those stories. My sims are good at going 'off script' and giving me little surprises, or sometimes big ones, that take the story in unexpected and fun new directions.

- One, Two or More Sims?
If we are talking per household it depends on the household, I got everything from 1 to 8.

- One or More Active Households?
Multiple Households
each with their own stories, goals and characters, so they all have a different gameplay aspect to them. So I can play whatever I feel like whenever.

- Which World to Live In?
Any world that fits with the household

- Which Worlds Connect and Which Do Not?
Right now I have two different savegames, one is more on the occult side, so I mostly use forgotten hollow, moonwood mill and henford (cuz I like it better than glimmerbrook).

- Occult Play or Realistic?
Both

- If Occult Play, Which?
All of them!

- Lifespan
The longest with ageing off

- Skill Difficulty Adjustment
Nah

- Length of Seasons, consider Holidays
Longest seasons, Holidays only when I feel like it

- No Mods, Select Few or Multiple Mods?
No mods, Im on console.

- Money Cheat/s, or No?
Yes.

- Other important considerations?
Building cheats, I love to build, also other cheats to make creating my characters just how I want them easier.
I also agree, that caring about my sims is important, which is probly why they are all a bit weird and I love occults, "perfect" characters bore me.

https://i.imgur.com/NltSMtX.png
- One sim and a plucky hero adventure dog companion
- One Household
- Which World: all as necessary to follow the story. Lot's of moving around
- All worlds connect
- Occult play: Well the dog talks so not "that" realistic and the Sim is human
- If Occult Play, Which? NPC Occult welcome for any in the packs I own.
- Lifespan; Game set on long. Sim and dog are immortal
- Skill Difficulty Adjustment (to Match Lifespan) Just base game mechanics
- Length of Seasons - 1 week per season.
- Multiple Mods... so many mods... a plethora of mods
- No money cheats always a rag to riches thing.
- Other: Whatever I find fun.

- Each household varies and can have just one or multiple sims as they move through their lifespans. Most households have several sims because most of them are couples or families but there are exceptions. I've also sometimes thrown some random sims together as roommates or added some sims in a group who might pair off with my other sims or otherwise interact with them.
- Active households? I can only actively play one household at a time but I have many playable households that I switch between. I probably have a hundred or even more. (Each are on their own lots but I may use residential rentals for some of them when any bugs are ironed out). I decide what household to play either by following a story that interconnects certain households or just deciding that I haven't played those sims in a while or just simply because I want to. The last reason is always a good enough one.
- My sims live in any or all worlds. I visit any of them based on whoever I am playing. Some neighborhoods tend to take on the character of their residents as they continue to live there. There are a few large families that have generationally grown up and some of them may tend to live in certain worlds but I use them all.
- About connecting worlds? Well, any sim can travel in between my worlds but I do give them the tendency to visit lots in certain worlds more often based on where they live. Newcrest is central for everyone and they can all go there. Willow Creek is also kind of like that and any sim can go to just about any restaurant that they want. Sims can vacation in any vacation world. Britechester accepts students from anywhere and is a neutral place for anyone studying.

Some notes though: Desert sims tend to stay in desert worlds (or neutral Newcrest) so Oasis Springs, Del Sol Valley and Strangerville are interconnected. Sulani sims mostly stay in Sulani but might venture to Tomarang now or Mt. Komorebi. Willow Creek sims tend to stay local including Magnolia Promenade. Windenburg is kind of its own place but it is near Henford or Forgotten Hollow. Some of the newer worlds like San Sequoia (just lightly explored) and Copperdale go together. I can relax a bit but I do tend to send sims to certain places based on where they live or travel. I have some nice community lots in several of the neighborhoods so sometimes I might be flexible about those.
- I definitely play in a style that is imaginatively realistic. I do have a little occult play because I've played a little bit with vampires. I have a few vampires and they are legitimately vampires. They are creatures of the night that bite and that are both amusing and tragic. They do socialize together and I have my own lore for them.
- Lifespan: For normal sims - meaning the majority of them - I have a slightly customized approach. I think I play on a normal lifespan but then I pause a lot whenever I want. It's not an epic lifespan. My sims are aging but I hit the pause button any time that I want. My rule for children is that they all reach certain levels of development. They all have essentially happy or loving childhoods with parents who love them. Maybe their parents get divorced or they might not have the wealthiest family but there needs to be love and positivity in their homes. That also means that I pause so that toddlers reach at least 3 and often more skill points in each skill, I've said that's a requirement to go to school in my game. Now, I often play infants through a lot of milestones though I don't force all of them. I pause if the parents are away all day so that they get developmental time together. Children are usually on normal except for vacations or family reasons for a pause. Teens have a longer span now so I may age some of them up sooner but I play them for about the normal span and then I allow them a few days if they need them before moving off on their own. I also pause sims at the various stages of adulthood for university, for some time to just relax and go on vacation or for personal, career or social development. I may also allow elders to pause a bit towards the end to enjoy themselves. I do leave death on though. The Grim Reaper is coming for them but I willingly give them extra time with the pause button whenever I want.
- Skill-building is normal. Any sim can earn any skill in the game. Keep working at them.
- 4 weeks per season; I like the gradual passage of time with subtle weather and seasonal transitions. I like a mix of different days in the year. For holidays, I have many of the usual ones - New Year's, Love Day, several with summer water activities, Spooky Day and Spooky Party Day, a Harvestfest and Winterfest. I've added a few culturally-specific holidays. It's possible that I might customize some more. If I play a household from a specific background, I may add other holidays. I also cancel out if sims are busy but they usually celebrate if they can.
- No mods or CC.
- About cheats? I don't cheat a lot but if I want to then I do. It's usually to set up a character that is new to the game in some specific role but I've done it any time that I want to make certain changes in the game. I'll use freerealestate to move townies or a group of random new sims into a house for example. I've also used money cheats to simulate inheritances or earnings from other income streams. If I think an excessive amount of items have broken recently in a house or that a sim is being overly billed, I'll use Kaching for a small amount of extra simoleons. I do not use those cheats all of the time though. Generally my sims are earning and making their own ways in the world. Many of them do buy their properties based on what they can afford. I sometimes use cheats to help a family afford to send a new YA child off to college or independence.
- Other? The goal is to have fun. I will say that sometimes I find a lot of fun in getting myself to play with households I might not have been interested in or pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I find they often do become more interesting. While I have plans for sims, I also like to go with the flow of the gameplay and allow for unexpected changes or connections. I have fun when my sims interact with each other or when I use different features in the game. Sims are allowed to have many different interests and to make use of community lots or events in the game. Sometimes I try to make myself do new things but I really do whatever I want and sometimes that's just letting a sim live out their days by filling up their needs or pursuing their hobbies and interests. They usually are pretty social though with families, romance, careers, pets and children. I can try to play some that are outside of that formula though. I have not played hardly any loners, that is generally not my style. I might let them be that way for a while but then they build relationships and friendships.

- Can be either one or several sims to start with, depending on what strikes my fancy. Usually one, but grows as the game goes on.
- Usually one, but in my latest I'm up to 5, but they are all related (second gen).
- Could be any, I tend to move in game.
- WC, NC and MP connect, so does DSV, CR and OS, other than that, it depends on the save and what I need at the moment. Sulani is always isolated, as is Selvadorada and Mt Komorebi.
- Realistic
- Long but modified ages to fit (modded by MCCC). One sim year = 56 sim days.
- Not really adjusted, some are harder, but generally kept as is.
- Two weeks per season, holidays vary by save. 1 or two holidays per season, so a little less than one a week.
- Multiple mods
- Money cheats at start of game to either increase or decrease living standards. I like the idea of having a house that fits the sim, and will build it to fit, then adjust funds to match after.
- In my current save, historical as I'm doing the decades challenge, prior I've had other considerations.

- One, Two or More Sims?

I like to start with one or two sims
and then create more or interact with sims outside household as their "story" progresses

- One or More Active Households?

Multiple households me thinks

- Which World to Live In?

Forgotten Hollow perhaps as default



- Which Worlds Connect and Which Do Not?
It's all connected
*insert guy in front of conspiracy map meme*

- Occult Play or Realistic?
I like realism and occult together
cause occult doesn't really feel like occult without realism for contrast

- If Occult Play, Which? (All or Exclude Some?)
All and everything really


- Lifespan; Down to Details (One Sim Year = ? )
One eternity to one week depending on sim but I play aging off


- Skill Difficulty Adjustment (to Match Lifespan)
none
- Length of Seasons, consider Holidays
4x 28 sim days = 1 sim year
1-2 Holiday /Season
- No Mods, Select Few or Multiple Mods?
No mods no cc

- Money Cheat/s, or No?
Yes but also no
I like to build whatever I want and move sims in with freerealestate
but after that they get no money cheats

-Mostly families, I don't play any single sim households
-several active households, I switch between them depending on my mood
- basegame worlds, Brindleton bay and Evergreen Harbor are my residential worlds, the rest are community lot or vacation worlds which I use regularly.
- some worlds connect, some require extended travel
- Mostly realistic/family style gameplay but I have a few mermaids
- lifespan set to long but I turn aging off frequently
- no skill adjustment, never heard of this
- seasons 4 weeks long
- no mods
- cheats allowed and frequent used
- other- I use a lot of community lots and take my sims somewhere almost every sim day. I also frequently take my sims on vacations

Start with an idea I either have never tried before, or haven't fully explored before.