Sim Culling This is the removal of households from the game. It has had several changes since launch, including two raisings of the original cap and less effect on genealogy (see below for more detail), followed by a new household protection system.
Current Status (June 2019)Culling
- Sims that are not protected by being added up "My Households" can be culled when the population limit is reached. This now includes housed households, not only unhoused.
- The current whole-population limit is 800.
- If a housed Sim that your Sim had a relationship with is culled, you will get a notification to the effect that they've moved (similar to Sims 3).
- Culling does not effect what you see in Genealogy.**
My Households
- Individual households can be protected from culling by adding them to "My Households".
- Cap options for the protection system are 50, 100, 200 (recommended), and Unlimited. Unlimited does not mean that all households are protected; it means that there is no cap on how many households you can protect.
- The cap does not include dead Sims.
- Favoriting a household does not protect Sims in that household after they die; protecting a ghost requires that it be added back to the household. Dead Sims are moved to a new hidden* household, and automatically unfavorited.
NOTE: There is currently a bug in the My Households count:
https://twitter.com/SimGuruChibi/status/929066459195572224
https://twitter.com/SimGuruNick/status/929065444303974401
Consider temporarily using "Unlimited".
Ghosts and Genealogy
- Family trees remain intact in spite of culling.**
- Housed Sims will generate tombstones upon their death, including when you are not on the lot when they die. Tombstones are not generated for Sims that died before the November 7, 2017 patch.
- Ghosts have a culling timer, which is set on death to 90 days. When that has counted down to 14 days, you will be notified that that Ghost is nearing the end of availability. At this point, tombstones get the interaction 'Strengthen Connection to the Physical World,' which resets the culling timer for that Ghost back to 90 days.
Sim culling is a performance-management mechanism. Using the Unlimited protected household setting may, at some point, have an effect on game stability. Use this at your own risk.
*
A current bug means that this household may be unhidden; deleting it can cause you problems. Leave that household for now. fixed Nov. 15.
**If you see an exception, please let @SimGuruNick know and provide a save file.
BackgroundAt launch, that population culling threshold was 180; it was raised to about 210 in December 2015 (prior to Get Together); by about 25% in October 2016 (prior to City Living); and by another small amount in December 2016. Originally, Sim culling had a harsh effect on unplayed ghosts, tombstones, and genealogy trees. The effect on genealogy was significantly lowered in Winter 2016. A new household-protection mechanism was added in November 2017, along with tombstone generation for non-active households and full genealogy protections. Maximum population was updated in June 2018 and again in June 2019.
Related Mods
- To obtain the current total population of your game: MC Command Center adds a cheat-window code get_pop. (An older mod, Get Town Population, is no longer supported but may still work.)
- To stop culling entirely: MC Command Center (Population module) or Neia's No Culling
Sim culling is a performance-management mechanism. Stopping it entirely may, at some point, have an effect on game stability. Mod at your own risk.
UPDATED June 19, 2019 
