Starting out?

br560

I love the sims 3 and I can play the same family for ages, but, that is if I get past the beginning...

I get bored on the first day pretty easily. I get my sim a job, make them paint or get some skills up, but, then it becomes dull.

Second day is where I most likely am to quit, because, all they do is work, come home tired and hungry, eat and go to sleep.

Do you guys have any ideas that can spice up my game? Perhaps a recommended challenge?

Jessa_Dakkar

How about play rotational? Lots of days I have the attention span of a Cheerio but still want to 'play Sims'. So I play an entire neighborhood. I might stop by one family for a few sim hours to a few sim days before I am off to the next. Each stop offers something different. New challenges and goals, new scenery. Different stories. Other than adventuring, this has kept my interest in the same save for the longest time.

Sometimes it just isn't the right day to play a certain sim, or a certain family. Some days I want to do something specific that only some sims can do - like witchcraft. Sometimes I want to go scuba diving. Sometimes I want nurturing family time. Sometimes I want to have a date. Sometimes I want to redo all the outfits in a household to suit the current season. Sometimes I feel like playing a farmer sim with cows, chickens and a garden. But sometimes I only want to play that family for just a moment before I realize I wanted to really do something else.

Sometimes I stick with the same family for several real life days before moving on. But I love the jumping around from household to household. From a one sim household to a packed household with a lot of challenges. Maybe you should try playing a world, instead of a sim?

Kiya_Elle

Consider getting the Ambitions expansion for your game - Ambitions adds professions which have more flexible work hours and you can stay in control of your sim as they work rather than them just going to a rabbit hole.

Or just make that first sim a gardener, handyman or fisherman who survives by completing opportunities selling produce/fish, collecting insects etc avoid the 9-5 jobs.

br560

Jessa_Dakkar wrote: »

How about play rotational? Lots of days I have the attention span of a Cheerio but still want to 'play Sims'. So I play an entire neighborhood. I might stop by one family for a few sim hours to a few sim days before I am off to the next. Each stop offers something different. New challenges and goals, new scenery. Different stories. Other than adventuring, this has kept my interest in the same save for the longest time.

Sometimes it just isn't the right day to play a certain sim, or a certain family. Some days I want to do something specific that only some sims can do - like witchcraft. Sometimes I want to go scuba diving. Sometimes I want nurturing family time. Sometimes I want to have a date. Sometimes I want to redo all the outfits in a household to suit the current season. Sometimes I feel like playing a farmer sim with cows, chickens and a garden. But sometimes I only want to play that family for just a moment before I realize I wanted to really do something else.

Sometimes I stick with the same family for several real life days before moving on. But I love the jumping around from household to household. From a one sim household to a packed household with a lot of challenges. Maybe you should try playing a world, instead of a sim?

Ooh I'll try that. Perhaps play as townies instead of my own sims?

Kiya_Elle wrote: »

Consider getting the Ambitions expansion for your game - Ambitions adds professions which have more flexible work hours and you can stay in control of your sim as they work rather than them just going to a rabbit hole.

Or just make that first sim a gardener, handyman or fisherman who survives by completing opportunities selling produce/fish, collecting insects etc avoid the 9-5 jobs.

I've been wanting ambitions for ages, actually... Hmm... I'll probably get it a bit later on in the year.

StephSteb

When I get bored, I start giving townies makeovers and play as them for awhile. I recently discovered rotational play and have found that it keeps my interest much longer.

Either that or I check out the forums here to see if there are any build or create sims challenges/contests and work on those

br560

StephSteb wrote: »

When I get bored, I start giving townies makeovers and play as them for awhile. I recently discovered rotational play and have found that it keeps my interest much longer.

Either that or I check out the forums here to see if there are any build or create sims challenges/contests and work on those

Thank you

StephSteb

You're welcome @br560 I love your sig gif, by the way

br560

StephSteb wrote: »

You're welcome @br560 I love your sig gif, by the way

Thanks

Charlottesmom

*Shameless promotion of my challenge* look up The 4x4 challenge on the stories and legacies page (it got moved there for some reason awhile back), everyone that played it enjoyed it. I'm thinking about starting another one with 2 teens. Let me know if you check it out and what you think.

Movotti

Charlottesmom wrote: »

*Shameless promotion of my challenge* look up The 4x4 challenge

This is a good one.
I'm thinking of trying it on a houseboat.

GaiaHypothesis

I will often start looking around town at what's going on with other townies.. sometimes some need a makeover. I got 2 cats in another save for while my sims are at work, even just to watch them running around. lol I will fast forward most of the day while they are sleeping or working. Usually I have 2+ sims per house and one stays home.

Or I'll cheat them a bunch of money and spend my time doing whatever I want.

I like playing wishacies, because they often will get you to do things that you don't normally do.

Okblondee7

@GaiaHypothesis, I have read this before; regarding townies. How do you control a Townie? Thank you.

GaiaHypothesis

Okblondee7 wrote: »

@GaiaHypothesis, I have read this before; regarding townies. How do you control a Townie? Thank you.

Oh, well... it depends. I don't switch households, I just pan over to wherever (park, or work or wherever I see a bunch of sims) and then just watch them. With NRAAS' story progression you get little updates on what other townies are up to and sometimes I'll click on their picture in the update and it will bring me over to where they are. If they need a makeover then I'll testingcheatsenabled true, shift click, and EDIT IN CAS. If I really want someone then I'll shift click and add them to household, OR use NRAAS master controller to completely change households. I don't do that often though. I'm not much of a rotational player.

I'll mostly just makeover vanilla's or fix someone if they are just... not something I want in the genetic pool (Arlo Bunch... I'm looking at you)

Okblondee7

GaiaHypothesis wrote: »

Okblondee7 wrote: »

@GaiaHypothesis, I have read this before; regarding townies. How do you control a Townie? Thank you.

Oh, well... it depends. I don't switch households, I just pan over to wherever (park, or work or wherever I see a bunch of sims) and then just watch them. With NRAAS' story progression you get little updates on what other townies are up to and sometimes I'll click on their picture in the update and it will bring me over to where they are. If they need a makeover then I'll testingcheatsenabled true, shift click, and EDIT IN CAS. If I really want someone then I'll shift click and add them to household, OR use NRAAS master controller to completely change households. I don't do that often though. I'm not much of a rotational player.

I'll mostly just makeover vanilla's or fix someone if they are just... not something I want in the genetic pool (Arlo Bunch... I'm looking at you)

Arlo Bunch really could use a makeover for sure! Thank you, I didn't realize it was that simple!

KhalKev0

I dislike having my sims go to work so I use the motherlode cheat. That way my sims are free to do what they want at their leisure. I have one main family that cheats and another family that doesn't. I rotate between the two of them (and several other families). But I'll be honest and say I play my rich family a lot more. I've sent their kids to college and the parents have picked up jobs every now and then but I don't work them for too long.

TadOlson

I play rotationally in my games and that requires a major load of NRaas Mods just to make it work or everything gets badly messed up by EA's bug-fest trying to function as a "story progression" though NRaas made a story progression that actually works though a lot of changes have to be made in settings to accomodate rotational play.I use the story progression from NRaas and have never had it do anything to families I didn't do myself unless I got the settings wrong or like when the 163 patch made changes to how the game worked and forced me to rely on one version of story progression to manage my towns.

br560

Charlottesmom wrote: »

*Shameless promotion of my challenge* look up The 4x4 challenge on the stories and legacies page (it got moved there for some reason awhile back), everyone that played it enjoyed it. I'm thinking about starting another one with 2 teens. Let me know if you check it out and what you think.

Hm... I'll look at it

GaiaHypothesis wrote: »

I will often start looking around town at what's going on with other townies.. sometimes some need a makeover. I got 2 cats in another save for while my sims are at work, even just to watch them running around. lol I will fast forward most of the day while they are sleeping or working. Usually I have 2+ sims per house and one stays home.

Or I'll cheat them a bunch of money and spend my time doing whatever I want.

I like playing wishacies, because they often will get you to do things that you don't normally do.

I'll also take a look at wishacies.