Forum Announcement, Click Here to Read More From EA_Cade.
My Aching Back...
MoonlightGraham
Posts: 884 Member
My father, who is 67 years old and a family practice physician, was watching my daughter and me play The Sims this morning. When he saw the Elder back spasm animation for the first time, he exclaimed, "Holy Mother of [Watcher], is there an orthopedist in this game? That guy needs an immediate referral!"
"That happens to all the Elders," Z explained to her grandfather.
Dad was not amused. "Grandma and I would be Elders in this game, wouldn't we?"
Z explained that both he and my mom, who is 66, would be Elders. "Mom and Dad would be Adults." She panned the camera so she could show Dad an Adult, who was demonstrating the Energetic walk style as he made his way up the sidewalk.
Dad continued to scowl. "Are there healthy Elders in The Sims?"
Z nodded. "I'll make that man go for a run." She took control of the Elder and queued up Go Jogging.
"The one who just nearly collapsed from a back spasm?"
"Mmhmm." The Elder was now running smoothly down the sidewalk, passing the strutting Adult along the way.
Dad approved. "That's more like it."
All five of us ran a 5K race two weekends ago. There were over 50 finishers in Dad's age group, and closer to 100 (
) in Mom's. I like seeing Elder Sims who can live active lives without their backs giving out.
"That happens to all the Elders," Z explained to her grandfather.
Dad was not amused. "Grandma and I would be Elders in this game, wouldn't we?"
Z explained that both he and my mom, who is 66, would be Elders. "Mom and Dad would be Adults." She panned the camera so she could show Dad an Adult, who was demonstrating the Energetic walk style as he made his way up the sidewalk.
Dad continued to scowl. "Are there healthy Elders in The Sims?"
Z nodded. "I'll make that man go for a run." She took control of the Elder and queued up Go Jogging.
"The one who just nearly collapsed from a back spasm?"
"Mmhmm." The Elder was now running smoothly down the sidewalk, passing the strutting Adult along the way.
Dad approved. "That's more like it."
All five of us ran a 5K race two weekends ago. There were over 50 finishers in Dad's age group, and closer to 100 (
) in Mom's. I like seeing Elder Sims who can live active lives without their backs giving out. Exie hay, cavero, veebo marz viremzico.
Exie hay, cavero, mabza meeah vendarzo.
Yevsas mairzeemo!
Exie hay, cavero, mabza meeah vendarzo.
Yevsas mairzeemo!
26
Comments
I love that you and your daughter play Sims together, and your Dad seems wonderful too. What a lovely family you have.
Also, I'm 36 and I've been cracking, creaking, and complaining for at least a decade at this point.
Yep. As someone who will soon be an “elder” I find that whole thing annoying. I like to have active elders in my game, so I just don’t age up anyone who’s younger than 90. The devs need to watch a few AARP commercials!😀
Tales From The Myst
The Blue Moon Jukebox
I'm 35 and my back went in 2017. Taking three days off work for back pain at the age of 31 really made me feel old.
Ironically, I do have a mod against elder back cracking in TS4. Should do one for adult back crackers once I can sit again...
I'm 44 and my back has held up...now if elder sims had an animation for their knees and ankles being completely shot, that I could relate to. I can barely get the trash out to the dumpster outside my apartment these days.
And remember this above all. Our Roman gods are watching. Make sure they are not ashamed!
My NBA site, Pace and Space
Because I can't; I keep all sigs turned off.
Our poor elders need cars with they way they walk.
I'm 36 and my back is fine, thankfully. And I have my desk chair, which cost over 1000$. One of the best purchases I have made in my life...
I'm also 38, and while my back hasn't given me problems *knocks wood* I have a shoulder that predicts changing weather by aching, especially during winter.
@83bienchen I might have to check out your mod. I have one--I think it is also yours--that lets Elders walk without hunching over. Thank you for mentioning it!
@VeeDub I usually play with aging off, but I also like your conception of the way Sims age. I'll occasionally give an Adult greying hair as evidence of decades of life well (or badly) lived.
@logion I need to give in and splash the cash on a chair like yours. Placing a throw pillow in the lower back of my chair probably won't do the trick for much longer.
Exie hay, cavero, mabza meeah vendarzo.
Yevsas mairzeemo!
Exie hay, cavero, mabza meeah vendarzo.
Yevsas mairzeemo!
And I'll be adding it to my game soon so my aging sims don't have that problem. Especially since they're on the verge of a third son! The two boys in my current avi aren't twins but the hugging tot(white shirt) is almost a child.
@MoonlightGraham I'm 34 and have slight back issues after falling into the corner of a table in my kitchen.(I'm also 4 feet 8 inches so I'm small!) I hit my back in just the right spot that it was sore for a week. Then I slipped in the shower the other night and fell hard on my bottom on the tub's edge...... and the shower curtain rod fell off the wall and hit me on my head.
HillyPlays
P.A.C.E- Positive Attitude Changes Everything
As for those elders….I play with aging off so that I can control the life stages manually. I do this similarly to how @VeeDub treats aging.
It starts from the teen stage. My teens look more like children in the first half of their teenage years and I make them gradually look older. To help me achieve this I do use height sliders and various different skin detail cc. I work my way through each life stage until they reach ancient elder - the ones who get the back spasms. I shrink ancient elders to make them look a bit older and more vulnerable and I give them slightly bigger ears and hands too. Yeah I love my ancient elders! 😆
As for my own back…oh dear..
Physically I just turned into an adult adult but my entire body resembles an old crumbly rock. When I’m not sitting on my stone butt I’m quite active and go for hikes and runs and such. Not like a human though. More like a rollin’ stone.
Before this entire pandemic I used to get sport massages from this tiny, Thai lady. She literally had to sit on my back to fix and realign the darn thing and she’d be giving out “YOU LIKE ROCK, YOU LIKE ROCK!” And I’d hear her own poor little knuckles crack…I still feel guilty.
The only thing that could possible fix my back would be a Monster Truck.
Ergonomic gaming/ office chairs do help indeed and I’m currently saving for one that can also cook me up some nice din dins. 😋
At my age, all the things I did when I was younger are coming back to haunt me... that back injury from martial arts, that shoulder injury from ice-skating, that ankle injury from mountain climbing and the rsi from all the years working (and playing) at a computer. I sure do feel like a sim elder some days.
I don't have a chair that cooks me dinner but I do have a desk that goes up and down
@CAPTAIN_NXR7 Thank you for reading "WSWCT." That was intended to be its working title, because we couldn't post it without one. It's almost certainly going to stick, though...like a family who ends up naming their dog "Puppers" because that's what they called him when they brought him through the door. That family is my sister's, by the way.
Z makes a wonderful Sims buddy. It's so much fun to share her creativity with her. She has always loved stories as much as I do, and The Sims gives us a new way to create stories together. She still loves spending time with her mom and me. Z and her mom do all kinds of crafts together (I am not allowed near the craft tables except under the most extreme circumstances), and she is my sports and gaming partner. The three of us particularly enjoy running and playing board games together.
@elanorbreton You are far from ancient. You're an Adult in Simsworld, just like I am. No back cracking for you.
Exie hay, cavero, mabza meeah vendarzo.
Yevsas mairzeemo!
@mightysprite It did hurt, but only for a minute. I have a tendency to bang my elbow into our shower wall, and no one usually comes to see if I'm okay, so that was a first. I'm just glad my dad didn't run into the room since I was indisposed. Would have scarred both of us for life! LOL!!!
HillyPlays
P.A.C.E- Positive Attitude Changes Everything
I'm soon to turn 67, a female, mother of three, grandmother of 13. Ruptured brain aneurysm survivor. My hair is still mostly red, but I do have white hairs interspersed. While I don't run marathons (and never did) I don't have the maladies that our Elder Sims often have instantaneously upon aging up. I do hope you keep pressing the issue. This is incorrect for many RL people. My mother died in her 80s and until Alzheimer's stole her ability to walk at all, she walked fully upright, not even a hint of a Dowager's hump. Her back was as straight as an arrow. Everybody ages differently. I would dearly love to see that reflected in this 'life-simulation' game. It could even be a random thing and the player never knows which Sim will be afflicted versus the ones who won't until they're several days into their Elderhood. Merry Christmas!
http://www.getfreeebooks.com/star-trek-original-series-fan-fiction-trilogy/
This. The elder walkstyle should be a random trait that can be triggered during elderhood, maybe the likelihood could depend on the Sims traits and livestyles.
It could also bei great if there where an elder-gloomy trait, an elder-loner, an elder-hates-children, elder-childish and an elder-family-oriented trait, and one that removes the ability for the Sim to be controlled by the player (like Alzheimer, but in a light way). All these could be random reflecting the changes in character elderhood and it's challenges can bring. Maybe they could just roll one or two traits upon aging to an elder or it could be triggered in a similar way childhood phases are. Most of the current traits would work as a new trait during elderhood (e.g. lactose intolerant, freegan and such would totally work). Players could opt out of traits they don't like if there was a new one added during aging up like there ist for teens. They'd just have to add a few elder specific ones in top of the existing traits (like the ones I mentioned earlier). It would be a great addition with not that much work to make it happen.
I generally hope adults will get some more love with an upcoming (Generations) pack.
Some could age with a cane requirement. Some could be set for a long elder life, some with much shorter.
I'd also like different greys and partial greys for hair. And a forgetfulness trait (I already have that irl lol).
I’m 63 and until COVID shut everything down I worked, directed theater, regularly performed in a music group, and taught yoga. I still go to loud concerts. I have a classic 1976 GMC motorhome that I was restoring for retirement travel until the shut downs put that on hold. My hair is brown with a little gray and a pretty cool metallic purple. I have health problems, but have always had them since childhood. My mother is 88 and until she broke her hip 4 years ago, was still teaching my friends to swing dance. Today’s seniors don’t necessarily look like yesterday’s stereotypes.
Tales From The Myst
The Blue Moon Jukebox
My dad, age 67, is only now considering retiring from medicine. The stresses of caring for his patients during a pandemic wears on him, but he also won't walk away from the families who have trusted their health to him right now, either. The grey in his hair blends well with his blonde/light brown natural color. Mom is 66, and her hair is silvery, but she loves it. Both of them run and walk. Mom does yoga and is trying her best to get Dad to give it a try. They love to dance, and they sing in a choir. Dad will also turn up his music good and loud, and it's NOT because he has trouble hearing it.
All four of my grandparents lived well into their eighties, and Dad's mom lived to be 93. We have been very lucky healthwise, and the older adults in my family have set wonderful examples of healthy living for us.
Exie hay, cavero, mabza meeah vendarzo.
Yevsas mairzeemo!