How does the game manage played and unplayed households?

texxx78

If i'm playing in a rotation, what can happen in an unplayed household that won't happen in a played one (when i'm not playing it) or vice-versa?
Will the game, for example, set jobs to sims in unplayed households but not to played ones?

Simpatsyann

Sims in unplayed households age up through the various stages and die. The game may assign them to certain roles like vendor or bartender as the game requires; I think it also assigns them to workplaces used in active careers (and I believe this happens only if they don't already have a job). I'm less certain whether it gives them actual standard jobs if they don't have them as this is an area I let a mod work on. Others may know more about it. If they do have jobs they won't progress in them, except that in the active careers you may find them switching roles - one day Moira Fyres might be the receptionist at the police station and the next day she's the Chief.

Played households should be left untouched by the game.

texxx78

Simpatsyann wrote: »

Sims in unplayed households age up through the various stages and die. The game may assign them to certain roles like vendor or bartender as the game requires; I think it also assigns them to workplaces used in active careers (and I believe this happens only if they don't already have a job). I'm less certain whether it gives them actual standard jobs if they don't have them as this is an area I let a mod work on. Others may know more about it. If they do have jobs they won't progress in them, except that in the active careers you may find them switching roles - one day Moira Fyres might be the receptionist at the police station and the next day she's the Chief.

Played households should be left untouched by the game.

Hmm interesting...

I'm playing a big rotation and i have aging on only for the active household.

I'ld want my played sims (non-active) to keep the job options i made for them and don't progress until i play them again...

I know the obvious answer is "keep them as played households".

But would that have any other consequence? Will my sims life stay static, not gaining new relationships, not improving skills (if they use skill objects when i meet them in community lots)...?

Simpatsyann

When you say "non-active" do you mean marked as unplayed, but as one of your households in the household manager? In that case I think the game just doesn't cull them, but otherwise treats them as unplayed.

If you mean a played household that you're just not currently playing at the moment, they will age if aging is on for played households, but they won't advance in their jobs (they won't quit them either). I think they can continue to gain skills, but if for example Bob Pancakes is in the chef career and you see him in the park using the bbq, he is probably gaining skill from that, but Bob isn't going to go home and focus on learning to cook and increase five levels by the time you rotate around again. If they're offstage while you're playing another household, they are essentially static, yes.

For the record, I played with a large rotation with aging on for only the active household for a long time and I never had sims gain (or lose) levels in their jobs or gain significant new relationships without my intervening. They still might meet other sims and have opinions about them for whatever reason. The biggest job related annoyance is that they don't go to work if you're not actively playing the household, so if you happen to rotate back to their household in the middle of a shift they'll be late to whatever degree (same thing for schools - kids will be at home or wherever you left them when you last left the household).

texxx78

@Simpatsyann thanks, got it!
I meant the second option (sorry for my english).