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Thoughts On Aging / Lifespan

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Hi everyone!

I'm playing my game A LOT right now and so on normal lifespan, I'm almost feeling rushed in my storylines, what I want to do with the Sims etc. I'm considering either temporarily turning aging off or moving to the long lifespan for a bit, and I wanted advice/opinions!

I also wondered - if I switch to Long Lifespan, what happens to my Sims who are halfway through young adult or anything like that? Does it just find the closest alternative or..? Also, if I switched aging off for a week, then switched it back on, would that count as days to my Sims lifespans once they become elders or is it basically completely discounted time?

Sorry for dumb questions, just I've only ever played on Normal Lifespan before and changing it up is almost frightening ;) What are your aging and lifespan preferences?

Comments

  • MasonGamerMasonGamer Posts: 8,851 Member
    Aging is off, it depends on your story, I don't allow my sim's to grow up until it's time for that point in the story.
    Until their story is over, and they're played their role.
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  • OldeseadoggeOldeseadogge Posts: 4,973 Member
    I've always done aging off from the get-go, whether by the toggle in TS4 or the code in TS2. The EA/Maxis idea of sim life span/age stage lengths is unrealistic. The only times I go with the company rule is with babies and toddlers, as I want to get them out of those stages as quickly as possible. I have a short fuse with rug-rats, even sim ones.
  • BlueSeaWavesBlueSeaWaves Posts: 4,323 Member
    I turn off auto age when I want to practice my sims skills and need time to level. However with seasons coming I want them to experience all the seasons so I’ll be increasing the life span. I don’t usually feel rushed but if I do I quickly turn to age off.
  • SimTrippySimTrippy Posts: 7,651 Member
    I usually play on long lifespan, but I turn ageing off in between. Then turn it back on. Then manually age people with certain time distances between them if I feel they should be older by now, which usually means I have to age up some of the sims around them too xD Anyway, I feel that anything below long is too short for me, and sometimes long is too long. If you are not against using mods I'd get the newest version of MCCC (so wait til it was updated after Seasons) as it allows you to set the number of days per life stage just like you could in TS3. It's a pretty neat addition. MCCC is generally a neat addition.
  • SimTresaSimTresa Posts: 3,210 Member
    I play on long lifespan for my rotational save because it gives me more time to get things done with my Sims. I have one set at normal which could change because I want my generation 2 heir to be able to finish her adult lifetime wish when the time comes
    The other save is currently only on long to get toddler skills up, but once that's done I may switch back to normal. Last time I did that the number of days they had until aging up was divided by four because the normal lifespan is one-fourth the length of the long lifespan.
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  • YellowJaneYellowJane Posts: 6,589 Member
    I've always done aging off from the get-go, whether by the toggle in TS4 or the code in TS2. The EA/Maxis idea of sim life span/age stage lengths is unrealistic. The only times I go with the company rule is with babies and toddlers, as I want to get them out of those stages as quickly as possible. I have a short fuse with rug-rats, even sim ones.

    I hate the toddler lifestage too - so much stress! :s
  • YellowJaneYellowJane Posts: 6,589 Member
    edited June 2018
    SimTrippy wrote: »
    I usually play on long lifespan, but I turn ageing off in between. Then turn it back on. Then manually age people with certain time distances between them if I feel they should be older by now, which usually means I have to age up some of the sims around them too xD Anyway, I feel that anything below long is too short for me, and sometimes long is too long. If you are not against using mods I'd get the newest version of MCCC (so wait til it was updated after Seasons) as it allows you to set the number of days per life stage just like you could in TS3. It's a pretty neat addition. MCCC is generally a neat addition.

    This is really useful, thanks @SimTrippy !

    I have MCCC actually - didn't think about the age thingy but good idea! I should look into that.It's odd you can't customise lifestage like you could in Sims 3 tbh. Hopefully they'll update at some point and add that feature in.

    So when you turn aging off and back on again... Does it count towards their days lived total, do you know? I was wondering about this lol

    PS)... I think MCCC was recently updated btw! To accomodate for Seasons etc :)
  • YellowJaneYellowJane Posts: 6,589 Member
    I play on long lifespan for my rotational save because it gives me more time to get things done with my Sims. I have one set at normal which could change because I want my generation 2 heir to be able to finish her adult lifetime wish when the time comes
    The other save is currently only on long to get toddler skills up, but once that's done I may switch back to normal. Last time I did that the number of days they had until aging up was divided by four because the normal lifespan is one-fourth the length of the long lifespan.

    Can you set different life lengths for different saves!? Or do you just change it manually every time you switch? @TresaofPern
  • PninaSimmerPninaSimmer Posts: 371 Member
    I turn off aging until I feel like I have developed stories for my Sims. Once they feel like they have developed personalities I turn aging on.
  • SimTresaSimTresa Posts: 3,210 Member
    YellowJane wrote: »

    Can you set different life lengths for different saves!? Or do you just change it manually every time you switch? @TresaofPern


    You can set different life lengths for each save.
    image.png
  • GalacticGalGalacticGal Posts: 28,294 Member
    edited June 2018
    I play on Long. In Sims 3 I played on EPIC, using the sliders to hone each age-stage to my preference. Without the sliders, I simply age them up whenever I'm ready for it to happen.

    The only time I've ever played Sims4 on Normal, was when I did Pinstar's Legacy Challenge and it's part of the 'rules'.

    Here's what you do. Make a back-up of your game and then switch to Long. If it does something funky, you can use your back-up game to undo it. I don't play with Aging Off and haven't since Sims2. So far, Long has given me more than enough time to accomplish what I need. The only thing I would caution you on, is to NOT age up a Sim in cas.fulleditmode. I lost a Sim just recently doing that. Seems all the days I've played a Sim on Long, get added together when you use CAS to age them up. Had I known that I would have simply used MCCC to do the job. My bad. Aged him up to Elder and poof, he was gone that quickly. :open_mouth:

    The good news is, I've restarted this entire rotation save, which will allow me to enjoy Seasons with this group of families. :)

    Best of luck, and I hope I've helped.
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  • YellowJaneYellowJane Posts: 6,589 Member
    I turn off aging until I feel like I have developed stories for my Sims. Once they feel like they have developed personalities I turn aging on.

    ok interesting! thanks @PninaSimmer
    And can I ask, once they start to age, does it count the days they've lived not aging as days lived or..? :)
  • YellowJaneYellowJane Posts: 6,589 Member
    I play on Long. In Sims 3 I played on EPIC, using the sliders to hone each age-stage to my preference. Without the sliders, I simply age them up whenever I'm ready for it to happen.

    The only time I've ever played Sims4 on Normal, was when I did Pinstar's Legacy Challenge and it's part of the 'rules'.

    Here's what you do. Make a back-up of your game and then switch to Long. If it does something funky, you can use your back-up game to undo it. I don't play with Aging Off and haven't since Sims2. So far, Long has given me more than enough time to accomplish what I need. The only thing I would caution you on, is to NOT age up a Sim in cas.fulleditmode. I lost a Sim just recently doing that. Seems all the days I've played a Sim on Long, get added together when you use CAS to age them up. Had I known that I would have simply used MCCC to do the job. My bad. Aged him up to Elder and poof, he was gone that quickly. :open_mouth:

    The good news is, I've restarted this entire rotation save, which will allow me to enjoy Seasons with this group of families. :)

    Best of luck, and I hope I've helped.

    You've defo helped, thanks!
    I never age in CAS so no problems there ;)
    One thing that has confused me is I set it to long, checked their ages - my elder who had 43 days to live on normal (lots of bonus days lol) now has 427 days... THAT HAS TO BE WRONG lmaoooo
    I wish we had age sliders like on 3 as well
  • YellowJaneYellowJane Posts: 6,589 Member
    YellowJane wrote: »

    Can you set different life lengths for different saves!? Or do you just change it manually every time you switch? @TresaofPern


    You can set different life lengths for each save.

    Wow I had no idea about this! This changes a lot haha. Tysm!
  • citysimmercitysimmer Posts: 5,950 Member
    edited June 2018
    SimTrippy wrote: »
    I usually play on long lifespan, but I turn ageing off in between. Then turn it back on. Then manually age people with certain time distances between them if I feel they should be older by now, which usually means I have to age up some of the sims around them too xD Anyway, I feel that anything below long is too short for me, and sometimes long is too long. If you are not against using mods I'd get the newest version of MCCC (so wait til it was updated after Seasons) as it allows you to set the number of days per life stage just like you could in TS3. It's a pretty neat addition. MCCC is generally a neat addition.

    How do you that? I have MCCC and never knew this could be done :o
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  • SimTresaSimTresa Posts: 3,210 Member
    YellowJane wrote: »

    Wow I had no idea about this! This changes a lot haha. Tysm!


    You're welcome.
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  • AnthonydyerAnthonydyer Posts: 1,197 Member
    I always turn aging off. I don't want a game full of dying people.
  • SimTrippySimTrippy Posts: 7,651 Member
    citysimmer wrote: »
    SimTrippy wrote: »
    I usually play on long lifespan, but I turn ageing off in between. Then turn it back on. Then manually age people with certain time distances between them if I feel they should be older by now, which usually means I have to age up some of the sims around them too xD Anyway, I feel that anything below long is too short for me, and sometimes long is too long. If you are not against using mods I'd get the newest version of MCCC (so wait til it was updated after Seasons) as it allows you to set the number of days per life stage just like you could in TS3. It's a pretty neat addition. MCCC is generally a neat addition.

    How do you that? I have MCCC and never knew this could be done :o

    Maybe I remember it wrong but I thought you could do that. I'd have to take a look again xD I hope I didn't cause any misinformation
  • SimTrippySimTrippy Posts: 7,651 Member
    Here it is: https://deaderpool-mccc.com/#Top

    Go to Documentation -> MC Command Center

    I think you will find all the info there about how to set life spans! :)
  • stilljustme2stilljustme2 Posts: 25,082 Member
    edited June 2018
    I currently have aging off until all my families have had a chance to experience all the seasons (current rotation is 3 families, thinking of adding a fourth) but my usual settings are Long lifespan, unplayed Sims age on their own but only the active household ages. I'll often age up child and teen Sims before their actual "birthday" hits if I get bored with them, but I think with Seasons that won't be quite the case.

    My current rotation is:
    • The O'Dourkes (Liam and Cali) -- "Cali West" ran away from her home in Roaring Heights as a teen to escape her mob boss father and his plans to marry her off to one of his rivals to solidify an alliance. The family lawyer (whose daughter died as a child and came to love Cali like the daughter he no longer had) managed to sneak 20K Simoleons out of the family trust accounts and she took that money and wound up in San Myshuno. She struck up a friendship with Liam O'Dourke when they met at a GeekCon festival (both of them being Geeks), and the friendship quickly blossomed to romance when she aged up to YA. They now live on a small farm in Newcrest and she pursues her goal of finishing as many collections as possible; their daughter Selena is the heir and will pick up where Cali leaves off. Liam is in the Tech Guru career and probably will go into eGamer (never followed that track before). Haven't decided if they're going to try for another baby of if they'll just adopt.
    • The Thornes (Tristan and Yvaine) -- They're my serious farming family; they currently live on a large farm (house and barn) out on Windenburg Island. Tristan just quit his career as a Secret Agent, and will be going for the Gardening career as a botanist. Yvaine works in the Business career but paints to supplement the family farm; I'm planning for her to take up flower arranging as a hobby but paint the different arrangements before she sells them. They have twin boys, Ashton and Albert, and Yvaine may adopt a little girl when the boys age up to Teen.
    • The Clines (Gerald) -- Gerald Cline is an astronaut with a penchant for getting abducted; he has a daughter, Vela, and toddler son Castor. His sister Danielle used to live with him and Vela, but she decided she wanted to find Mr. Right so she moved to San Myshuno to pursue romantic as well as artistic endeavors. The trio recently moved from Oasis Springs to Deadgrass Isle in Brindleton Bay, to get away from judgemnetal neighbors who wonder why he has two children but no baby mamas hanging around. He hopes to find a stepmother for his children and maybe have an full human child of his own someday. He has a girlfriend, Lyra, but she turned down his proposal at the Romance Festival and he's a little gunshy about asking again.

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  • PninaSimmerPninaSimmer Posts: 371 Member
    YellowJane wrote: »
    I turn off aging until I feel like I have developed stories for my Sims. Once they feel like they have developed personalities I turn aging on.

    ok interesting! thanks @PninaSimmer
    And can I ask, once they start to age, does it count the days they've lived not aging as days lived or..? :)

    It pauses the aging until it is turned back on. It won't count the days they've lived not with aging on.
  • wynwyn Posts: 901 Member
    On my rotational save I play on normal, when I’m in one house, and turn it off when I’m in the others so I don’t have a huge age disparity and miss things.
    On my legacy, I swap back and forth with long and normal. When I’m ready to age them up, if I want the rest of the world to speed up to, I’ll set it to normal, otherwise I generally have it on long.
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  • YellowJaneYellowJane Posts: 6,589 Member
    I always turn aging off. I don't want a game full of dying people.

    I've switched aging off in my game, just yesterday. I want more time with my Sims! Though I'm not so fussed about them dying - I feel it completes the story ;)
  • YellowJaneYellowJane Posts: 6,589 Member
    I currently have aging off until all my families have had a chance to experience all the seasons (current rotation is 3 families, thinking of adding a fourth) but my usual settings are Long lifespan, unplayed Sims age on their own but only the active household ages. I'll often age up child and teen Sims before their actual "birthday" hits if I get bored with them, but I think with Seasons that won't be quite the case.

    My current rotation is:
    • The O'Dourkes (Liam and Cali) -- "Cali West" ran away from her home in Roaring Heights as a teen to escape her mob boss father and his plans to marry her off to one of his rivals to solidify an alliance. The family lawyer (whose daughter died as a child and came to love Cali like the daughter he no longer had) managed to sneak 20K Simoleons out of the family trust accounts and she took that money and wound up in San Myshuno. She struck up a friendship with Liam O'Dourke when they met at a GeekCon festival (both of them being Geeks), and the friendship quickly blossomed to romance when she aged up to YA. They now live on a small farm in Newcrest and she pursues her goal of finishing as many collections as possible; their daughter Selena is the heir and will pick up where Cali leaves off. Liam is in the Tech Guru career and probably will go into eGamer (never followed that track before). Haven't decided if they're going to try for another baby of if they'll just adopt.
    • The Thornes (Tristan and Yvaine) -- They're my serious farming family; they currently live on a large farm (house and barn) out on Windenburg Island. Tristan just quit his career as a Secret Agent, and will be going for the Gardening career as a botanist. Yvaine works in the Business career but paints to supplement the family farm; I'm planning for her to take up flower arranging as a hobby but paint the different arrangements before she sells them. They have twin boys, Ashton and Albert, and Yvaine may adopt a little girl when the boys age up to Teen.
    • The Clines (Gerald) -- Gerald Cline is an astronaut with a penchant for getting abducted; he has a daughter, Vela, and toddler son Castor. His sister Danielle used to live with him and Vela, but she decided she wanted to find Mr. Right so she moved to San Myshuno to pursue romantic as well as artistic endeavors. The trio recently moved from Oasis Springs to Deadgrass Isle in Brindleton Bay, to get away from judgemnetal neighbors who wonder why he has two children but no baby mamas hanging around. He hopes to find a stepmother for his children and maybe have an full human child of his own someday. He has a girlfriend, Lyra, but she turned down his proposal at the Romance Festival and he's a little gunshy about asking again.

    Thanks for sharing your Sim's stories! :) Always interesting to hear what other people play. The problem with my game is many of my families are related :neutral: I'm trying to add more Sims who aren't somehow on the family tree, else I'll end up with some real weird gene problems for sure LOL.

    I'm also waiting for Seasons by now. On normal lifespan, you don't really have the time for them all, if your Sims are already, say, halfway through their lifespans! That's why I've temporarily switched it off, although I've kept it on normal for now because it seemed to do some odd things with age gaps by switching it to long...!
  • YellowJaneYellowJane Posts: 6,589 Member
    YellowJane wrote: »
    I turn off aging until I feel like I have developed stories for my Sims. Once they feel like they have developed personalities I turn aging on.

    ok interesting! thanks @PninaSimmer
    And can I ask, once they start to age, does it count the days they've lived not aging as days lived or..? :)

    It pauses the aging until it is turned back on. It won't count the days they've lived not with aging on.

    Thanks!
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