When do you make your Sims... «12...Next Go

mizuru007

According to the prompts in the game itself (both in TS3 and TS4), Young Adulthood is supposed to be the time where your Sims party and have fun and don't have responsibilities. But I can't seem to get that to actually happen. The second my Sims become young adults, I have them dating and getting married and having kids and getting to the top of their careers, so when they BECOME adults, there's...not much different. I try holding out as long as I can, but a life filled with nothing but partying seems so...boring...

How do you play? When do you make your Sims focus on settling down and having kids? How long does it take before they reach the top of the careers? What do you do with your Young Adult sims to make them feel like *YOUNG* adults and not just...an extension of adults?

fullspiral

Some of my sims have families and some never will. Not every sim I make is destined to create offspring. I don't enjoy playing that way. Not all of my sims have careers, as I find that rather boring as well. I tend to like to create them at various age levels from the start. I have very few born-in-game sims. What there are, are there to just be kids seen around town. At some point those kids will age, but not for a very, very long time. I have never played the generational style, but that's just me and how I play.

ChelleJo

My general game play is kids while they are young adults. That way, they have a good chance of meeting grandbabies while they can still enjoy being around them. My sims aren't big into the partying (unless I make a sim or couple specifically for that). My sims are generally family sims.

Ayumap

I play with aging off so when they reach young adulthood is always different for me. If they're alone it's because usually they have no romance, but occasionally I'll go outside of that formula, if there's a particular story I feel like going after. My sims don't party. I'll have them go out sometimes now, if they're invited, but I don't tend to go out unless prompted.

I don't have a problem making young adults feel like "young adults". Adults and elders are the ones that lack content for uniqueness (out of the three), but I can't really think of any particular priority they have over each other. They just follow what ever their story is. Most of my sims are surrounded by family at some point. They don't die, so they never stop having the opportunity to live.

emilyduru

I normally do what you do and get them started on a family but with GT for some reason I'm playing my entire YA life like a YA! They have part time jobs, party until they literally pass out on the dance floor, go to the beach with friends, have late night bonfires with family. It's fun switching it up sometimes

LosaruTaiyo

I don't limit the partying to YA. I have a teen 'AI' at the moment who is trying to get some clubbing in while her mother and brother are asleep...lol. And it really depends on the sim for me. Some I see into acting all hanging out and acting like college kids, others I see more reserve. Now I do play with the aging off and manually age up sims when ready, but unless it's an elder trying to do a 50 mile hike or a kid heading out to the bar when they shouldn't be, they're only as old as they feel. ;3

musteni

I sort dislike playing teens because school and homework take up so much time and then there's the rest of the family to look after, so my teens rarely do anything special. This also why many of my sims start dating when they're YA. If I don't want them to start a family early, I hold on them finding their love. I like giving them time to figure out who they are and what they like. I find that if they can live alone for a while that really helps. Of course I don't do the same with every sim, but this is my "ideal" for the moment. My sims rarely go to clubs, but I enjoy hosting social events, no matter what age they are.

Laceyrose

Well, I'm playing a Legacy at the moment.. so I have guidelines that I play my sims with.

Which means their life span is set on normal. And in playing normal, I just can not seem to max out their career's. The heir never actually gets a job, besides being heir .. he does bring in money for the house by painting.. he keeps things repaired.. and dabbles with a garden. But when he marries, the wife will work til being an elder. I like to wait til 4 or 5 days before becoming an Elder for the couple to have any kids. I do try and match up the heir with a wife as soon as he becomes a YA.. they get married, and then have fun as a couple .. like going to the parks, nightclubs, and even having a vacation.. when the children do come along .. the kids basically only have one thing the have to do, and that is their homework and extra credit. Once a Teen.. again, homework is important.. but at the same time.. the teens ( espically the heir ) start learning household chores.. such as cooking, and painting.. and gardening work. And for any brothers or sisters ( spares ) .. they do and learn the same thing.. but pretty much after they become YA .. I find them a spouse and then start on a family for them.. and then move them out.

Samsonguy9000

emilyduru wrote: »

I normally do what you do and get them started on a family but with GT for some reason I'm playing my entire YA life like a YA! They have part time jobs, party until they literally pass out on the dance floor, go to the beach with friends, have late night bonfires with family. It's fun switching it up sometimes

It was about when GT was announced I got to thinking about why I was rushing my sims into careers and responsibilities as young adults. And now that I think about it, I think that might be something that sets 4 apart from 2 and 3, as 2 introduced college life, and then 3's first EP was University Life, so in those we figured it was good for young adults to be crazy and irresponsible. But with 4 we didn't really get a reminder of that, so just moved forward into Adult Life while our sims were still young. Thinking it may be about time to get some college life going soon.

SimsFur

I usually use half of the YA stage to party (if it suits their personality) and the other half to get married and start having children. I sometimes have the rest of the children when they are an adult, but i assume adults are in their 40s usually, so its not really a time to have children if you ask me.

I dont like when parents are elders when sims just became teens.. thats why i think we need a stage between adult and elder, cause the grey hair and the limping walking comes waaaaay to early.. it should be more like gradual aging to become an elder from an adult. Grey hir should come little by little.

keenow

If you're wanting to not marry your sims immediately after turning into a YA, I'd suggest trying to date a sim, but not marry your sim's first boyfriend or girlfriend. Have several boyfriends and girlfriends over their young years. Break up at some point and date someone else. Maybe circle around and get back together with your first lover to marry.

I usually play around or hardcore focus on their career for YA, depending on how I see the sim's personality. I usually don't get married until a day or two before they're going to age into Adults or early Adulthood. At this point, because I'm a money maniac, my sim has usually maxed their career. Then I can focus on their spouse's job, or my sim's hobby. This is also usually the time I either move or expand the house to a family size. Which is always fun! I still send my married couple on dates and the like or throw house parties and socialize with my sims' friends on weekends. I tend to keep a high relationship going with my sim's "best friend", so not all social activity is coming from the spouse. I don't usually have kids until the later days of the wife's adulthood. I do frequently have Elder fathers, but that's never bothered me.
Once the kid has aged into a Child, I switch over to focusing on them as a "main".

RealPollyMogs

It seems fairly straightforward to me. Young adulthood prepares a sim for:

"Adulthood! Fulfilling dreams, planning for retirement, and mid-life crises await! The perfect time to start wrapping up those lifelong goals."

Assuming that "dreams" and "lifelong goals" are aspirations, a young adult should be acquiring the skills etc. that are necessary to complete an aspiration. Only Party Animals and a handful of careers call for partying. The Big Happy Family aspirant might want to consider starting young. "Planning for retirement" includes building a bank account against the day when income will be reduced.

GaiaPuma

Some of my sims never have kids and love partying. I like some partying too My dad is past 60s and love partying and going out. Why not?

RealPollyMogs

GaiaPuma wrote: »

Some of my sims never have kids and love partying. I like some partying too My dad is past 60s and love partying and going out. Why not?

It sounds like his wrangler changed his aspiration from Family to Party Animal.

Samsonguy9000

SimsFur wrote: »

I usually use half of the YA stage to party (if it suits their personality) and the other half to get married and start having children. I sometimes have the rest of the children when they are an adult, but i assume adults are in their 40s usually, so its not really a time to have children if you ask me.

I dont like when parents are elders when sims just became teens.. thats why i think we need a stage between adult and elder, cause the grey hair and the limping walking comes waaaaay to early.. it should be more like gradual aging to become an elder from an adult. Grey hir should come little by little.

If it helps, a sim only just acquires the gray hair when they first become elders. The wrinkles and crouched walking comes after a bit. That's one reason I keep to long aging. There are other changes for sims in other stages. Sims still do some growing out as young adults when they go up from teen, for example.

Kay8Orange

I do exactly that too. I've found that if I do wait a bit before getting my sims married and having kids, by the time the kids are teens the parents are elders and when grandbabies come in... well, the grandparents are already gone. So by having kids early enables the grandparents getting to meet them, etc. Plus parties are such a hassle..... but then again that might be because I myself am not fond of parties whatsoever. However sometimes I switch it up with my sim families just to experience something different.

BlkBarbiegal

one example I have is that most of the sims I play are married, but the females may have ladies night out at a club or bar, or spa.

ModerateOsprey

luimistelija wrote: »

I sort dislike playing teens because school and homework take up so much time and then there's the rest of the family to look after, so my teens rarely do anything special. This also why many of my sims start dating when they're YA. If I don't want them to start a family early, I hold on them finding their love. I like giving them time to figure out who they are and what they like. I find that if they can live alone for a while that really helps. Of course I don't do the same with every sim, but this is my "ideal" for the moment. My sims rarely go to clubs, but I enjoy hosting social events, no matter what age they are.

I installed this mod today:

Child Prodigies - School, Art and Uniforms
http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=567902

The mod cuts down the number of days a child needs to attend school depending on their grade. A students only need go to school once a week. Brilliant mod

DeKay

I play YA with aging off, and they live just like real 20-28 year olds I guess. Just hanging out with friends but also have some responsibility to work and keep the house clean, etc.

GaiaPuma

RealPollyMogs wrote: »

GaiaPuma wrote: »

Some of my sims never have kids and love partying. I like some partying too My dad is past 60s and love partying and going out. Why not?

It sounds like his wrangler changed his aspiration from Family to Party Animal.

Not really, he was always like this Some people are more extroverts than introverts. My older sister though hates parties and going out, she prefers buying clothes online to go out shopping.

Ravager619

In games where my Sim won't have kids, I'll play them as YA and let them age. In games which I'll want to play a few generations I'll have my Sim start as a child. No matter how I play, I have to have a party every now and then. How else am I going to handle that Tense moodlet from working them too hard?

EnkiSchmidt

For my sims parties happen when they happen. Adults wear different party outfits and choose more calm activities (more eating/chatting/playing cards instead of dancing, also drinking "juice" is more natural/casual for them, because it has no longer a cool vibe). But they do not suddenly stopp having fun.

The first week of young adulthood is usually spent doing something useful. Sims may join the military/space program (a seperate household), attend a trade school or do a community year as summer camp guardians for prodigy townie children, gardeners or whatever is needed at that moment. In my 19th century legacy save they may also go on expeditions to Granite Falls. Sometimes my legacy family takes in a distant relative as a sort of squire/knight relationship. That often happens when I like a particular teen and do not want that sim to suffer living out their life as townies.

During this week there is little time for partying or romancing, but some sims manage to squeeze it in anyway (usually because they are prompted by a phone call). Also typically young adults live as roomates with other YAs and their instuctor during this week.
The second week is spent deciding on a partner and either settling down and having kids or living the good YA party life (that I never did irl, by the way, but in The Sims it's fun). For those more exiteable sims mariage and children come later, when they are already adults.

Afterwards my sims' life is much less structured. But I found that the community year/military service week helps keeping my eyes open for possibilities instead of just marrying a sim off to their highschool sweetheart. Also sometimes they sims discover their dream career during this week, despite having prepared for a totally different path in their teen years.

RARAW

i put aging off and have the most fun I want with them and then put the aging on back again when I want to be serious after. I try to put a solid storyline for them at the stage of aging off.

Once I'm satisfied that their young adult life stage is almost completed with a solid young adult storyline and they are ready to have kids and be serious with their careers, I put the aging on back again and they still got a whole young adult life stage to get serious about their kids, marriage and job/skills. I feel it works for me and my storylines very well since for me they get old so fast!

Sometimes, I also just make them level up their skills and their careers first with aging off, and then turn aging on back again for them to have the fun they missed while still been young adult. It really depends. But the most important thing is that I don't feel rushed they are going to get old too soon!

fullspiral

I play with aging off too and some of them will not age because I am waiting for content to fulfill their stories.

StrawberryYogurt

I use YA stage to date around, find a life partner, get married, reach about halfway to a third of a career, then maybe have a kid. When the child turns into a teen, then my sim is usually aged up by then, or I'll have them age up. Then have more kids, or complete career, aspiration goals etc

RedDestiny92

I usually have multiple save files, or just play rotational in one save and follow more stories depending on what story my sims get they could have any sort of life. Though my current favorite family is moving closer to the kid stage as they have spent most of their lives just partying.