Elders Kinda Suck

SheriGR

Adult aging transitions seem overly harsh to me. Going from an adult to an elder is like a jump from useful adulthood to a foot in the grave. I wish there was a 3rd adult category - like middle-age - where you still have quite a bit of energy/are still useful (not like the elders in the game). That would also be more realistic.

I may be missing some subtleties since I play with aging off currently, partly due to my dislike of dealing with my sims becoming elders. The behavior of the elder employees in my business is my main gauge for this. Frequently they're the only employee-pool options with decent traits on the in-game sims, but on the job they're frequently doing that bend-and-hold-their-back thing when working like they need to head to the retirement home not work in my business! I feel like I'm abusing them to expect them to be useful. And they're super wrinkled up. Like a prune. Like they should be retired, at a low-energy job, or at home - not applying to be a waitress. Hahaha... ageism is virtually biting me on the butt.

I'm 56 and am far from that! I would love if there was a transitory age that was more similar to those at my age - some grey hair, a bit less energy, a few wrinkles, a little grey hair, but I don't run around acting like I'm ready to retire - and I don't look like it either!

I say all of this realizing I don't have a thorough understanding of the subtleties of this process when aging is on, so I'd love to hear some feedback of others on this issue.

verlainem

I agree there should be another stage before elder. I would like to see more things for elders to do as well for hobbies or be able to babysit grandchildren. I have elder sims trying to kill themselves with exercise (overdoing things). Really what is the age range? My dad who is 93 is still golfing everyday.

Hermitgirl

I agree. I'd love a middle ground between adulthood and elder.
I make elders from adults very often by adding face lines (we need more options) and gray or that one graying hair we have. I'd also like more graying hair options available.
I don't think of elders that I would play as constantly grabbing their back or needing a nap to just get by and to get wiped out by one woohoo for so many hours that they can keel over at any time. I'm not saying there isn't a place for that and I do play them sometimes but I want ones that seem healthier I guess.
So many people want preteens but I'd be happier if we got a slot between adult and elder filled... or at least more options in CAS to keep making my own.

JC1979

I agree. Adult to elder is a jump.

ChelleJo

I view adult as middle age. I don't really think it's a jump. Granted, the transition could be a bit smoother (looks wise) but I use CC Skin, so my elders don't look overly old anyways.

Simpatsyann

I'm not sure I think there should be an additional stage, but I think the adult stage could be more more distinct. Really the only difference from YA is a few superficial physical changes. I think if it was shorter and more dramatic it would be more meaningful.

MaggieMarley

I hate that elders can die from overexertion so easily. It means my elders basically never woohoo as I’m too afraid they’ll keel over though it can be helpful if you want to do away with an elder who just won’t die.

simwolf

ChelleJo wrote: »

I view adult as middle age. I don't really think it's a jump. Granted, the transition could be a bit smoother (looks wise) but I use CC Skin, so my elders don't look overly old anyways.

Me too.

Melmack

I feel you on the huge jump from adult to elder, but at the same time I also think of adult as middle age. I play generationally with long life span. ( which usually gets extended by turning aging on and off.) And usually by the time my sims children are teens I start to feel like they look the same age as their parents. So I usually go into CAS and give them the grayed temples and forhead wrinkles, plus change their outfits from trendy to mom/dad jeans and cardigans or whatever lol. I do wish there was more options for the grayish hair colours though, apparently if you dont have brown or black hair you go straight to white hair.

GalacticGal

Yes, @SheriGr, the jump from adult to full on "one foot in the grave" is as startling as it was for an infant to spring out of their bassinet a large, eight-year old Child. I do wish we had the Middle Age. Although I've got a number of years on you, I still have only a few strands of white hair amidst my natural red hair. I actually thought after my catastrophic illness where I had a sound and very close brush with death at the age you just confessed, that I would be looking far older than I do. I've survived this situation going on my ninth year. Still, most of my hair is very red. I do have some age that shows on my face (mostly when I smile or make a face), but that does happen over time. I am hoping one day that EA will recognize people don't walk upright and then one day go totally gray and walk slightly bent over. It's sad because for the most part they get it right.

Cupid

I honestly disagree with this. I think the Adult > Elder transition is more or less okay. Also, as the sims age up in days their wrinkles deepen which helps the transition. It would be cool if graying hair (without manually doing it in cas) were a thing but other than that I think it's a good transition and don't really see the need for a new lifestage inbetween adults and elders.

JaiSea

I feel like adult is middle age. In my game it's young adult, (middle age) adult, elder. However, I can see where the difference is a bit dramatic, but if we're going to ask for smaller transitions I could say the same as toddler to child, or child to teen... tweens would be nice.

SheriGR

CamaroSycopaChic wrote: »

I feel like adult is middle age. In my game it's young adult, (middle age) adult, elder. However, I can see where the difference is a bit dramatic, but if we're going to ask for smaller transitions I could say the same as toddler to child, or child to teen... tweens would be nice.

You make some great points, @CamaroSycopaChic ! I'm rather focused on the fact that in the whole scope of reality the transition and the number of years is far longer and more nuanced because of its length in real-life adulthood. Infancy to adulthood is 18 years, where most lifespans as adults span another 60 years or so. The physical changes are more drastic in that first 18 years, but there's a lot more to it than that that could be more accurately reflected - in behavior, endurance, and appearance. I just think the transition and adult stages coding could use some love. And definitely some more grey hair options, maybe some subtle wrinkles options, and a transitory period before your sims' endurance goes completely in the crapper would be nice. Those tweaks would make an aging sim more realistic and interesting, in my opinion.

Terra

Two things would help this:
* More distinct Adult stage
* Unique benefits for Elders so that they don't just feel like limited Adults

Elders right now feel like Adults with some of the gameplay cut out, rather than offering anything new. In my signature there's a link to a topic I started awhile ago about giving Elders specific reward traits or unlocking a new regular trait slot in the Elder stage, to give players some new "end game" content with an individual Sim.

LadyKyn

Can't see the need for having another middle ground for that age. I tend to keep my sims on a longer life span and eventually just change their look a bit, especially after their kids start growing up and having kids. Though, I would like to see sims showing a little bit of signs of getting older if some gray hairs or some lines added into the face. That transition into looks would be pretty nice. Don't think Elder's will ever look as young as they did in the Sims 2. (I'm sure most will gripe about not being able to control your sims looks while they age though. I just use the facial details or head wrinkles along with a few other ones.)

Much like babies and children, Elders always seemed to be a little less interesting to play with. (Though I've made a few sims that were Elder's and I love them so much.) Would like to see a few more interesting specific interactions for them.

JC1979

I don’t know because I view young adult as age 18 to 26. Then there is the adult (working with families and children over 10), and as a adult myself and in my thirties I would not be putting myself in the middle age category until I’m closer to mid to late 40’s. And then you have middle age to elderly; and elderly is anything after 65. So we adults would appreciate the distinction.

SheriGR

@Terra That would be awesome if the elder category would have it's own behaviors, traits and awards that make it more of a 'golden age'/retirement! I could have some real fun playing with that dynamic! Maybe they could get something like a pension automatically so they don't have to work to survive, and if they already had some savings they could vacation, have a nicer home, etc. and still afford it. But at the very least they could be in a lower household bills bracket or something. Maybe this dynamic would even encourage more folks to keep them in a household and enjoy their benefits - for what this adds to the household as a whole and for what additional enjoyable/added gameplay would come with them. I would LOVE this!

SheriGR

....... (tried to remove that one but apparently I cannot).

Karababy52

I understand what you're saying OP. Actually, I think age transition between all the stages of life for our Sims isn't very consistent. For instance, a baby jumps to a walking toddler when it would be nice if they at least crawled for awhile until their parents teach them to walk. I know they're depicted as teaching them to walk right away, but that takes, what, 30 seconds?

Toddlers also have that stark transition from always toddling around to suddenly being able to run. It should be more gradual. Child to teen is very jarring as well. We go from a short little kid to a full grown, much taller teen and then when they age to young adult, there isn't much change at all.

Young Adult to Adult has the subtle changes some Simmers have discussed, which I like, but I'd love to see them gradually getting older before aging to an Elder. The transition between these two, in my opinion is the most unrealistic of all. Elders all age up with the cracked back animation, stooped over, sagging breasts, gray hair, tons of wrinkles, etc., etc..

It's a sad stereotype to see and I can understand why a lot of Simmers don't enjoy playing with them. What makes it even sadder is some Simmers want MORE stereotypical objects (canes, for instance) and behaviors ("Get off my lawn, you darn whippersnappers"). While this might be fun for some Elders toward the end of this stage, not all elders should behave exactly the same, physically or mentally.

It's my opinion, all the lifestages could benefit from some tweaking, but mostly elders. We need options to make them more enjoyable to play. I also don't think we need another middle age lifestage, just better, more gradual transitions between the ones we already have now.

A lot of the time I play with aging off, so I haven't had many elders in my game. But for the ones I do have, I take them into CAS and make changes consistent with their lifetime traits and aspirations. One nice thing I've found is that Body Builders usually don't need to be changed very much physically. Most of mine don't end up stooped over at least and they have more stamina for exercising and bedroom activities.

For the rest of them, I'll straighten their spine, lift up the ladies breasts a little and change their entirely gray hair to one of the last two hair color choices which mix the gray with brown or black. I wish they had one of those for blond hair too only with white mixed in instead. Most blonds don't get gray hair, it changes to white. Sometimes (if I remember) I'll change this to all gray once they get closer to the end of their life. I don't put them immediately into the stereotypical clothing styles until later either.

As for elders dying from woohoo, I have a tip about that. If you have GT or another pack (can't remember which one) that comes with the closets (EDIT: The Woopee bushes won't kill them either), I was delighted to discover that elders can woo hoo in there successful every time without dying or getting the exhausted moodlet and 'dangerous' activity warning pop-up. At least in my game. That made me very happy. Elders can enjoy an active love life in real life without the danger of dying, so why shouldn't our Sims eh?

Happy Simming!

Pegasys

SheriGR wrote: »

Adult aging transitions seem overly harsh to me. Going from an adult to an elder is like a jump from useful adulthood to a foot in the grave. I wish there was a 3rd adult category - like middle-age - where you still have quite a bit of energy/are still useful (not like the elders in the game). That would also be more realistic.

I may be missing some subtleties since I play with aging off currently, partly due to my dislike of dealing with my sims becoming elders. The behavior of the elder employees in my business is my main gauge for this. Frequently they're the only employee-pool options with decent traits on the in-game sims, but on the job they're frequently doing that bend-and-hold-their-back thing when working like they need to head to the retirement home not work in my business! I feel like I'm abusing them to expect them to be useful. And they're super wrinkled up. Like a prune. Like they should be retired, at a low-energy job, or at home - not applying to be a waitress. Hahaha... ageism is virtually biting me on the butt.

I'm 56 and am far from that! I would love if there was a transitory age that was more similar to those at my age - some grey hair, a bit less energy, a few wrinkles, a little grey hair, but I don't run around acting like I'm ready to retire - and I don't look like it either!

I say all of this realizing I don't have a thorough understanding of the subtleties of this process when aging is on, so I'd love to hear some feedback of others on this issue.

I pretty much find the elders to have nearly as much energy and be as useful as Adults, in fact there's not a lot of difference except for the superficial physical characteristics and being constrained with fitness/Woohoo activities. In other words, Elders are gray-haired Adults to me, for the most part. They can work up until the end (except fitness, although they can do yoga), there really isn't a lot of difference - in fact I would like to see more difference between the Adult and Elder stages.