Scared of rotational play but I’m itching to try it

zoeisabelia · January 2019

Soooooo
I’ve been playing since sims 3 since it began (I know not much time), but all I have played are legacy type saves or more recently I started playing with challenges like deserted island. The thing is ...I am a control freak so I’ve always been scared to let’s say move out a sibling and not being to follow their life because I’m afraid that my current household will go into a mess and age up without me. I know there’s a setting where you can turn auto aging off but they still age current household? But does it doesn’t really affect it?
I know I just need to test this myself but too scared to let go...lol
My favorite settings are lifespan on normal and like the flow of it....though I think it’s too short but long is hideously long and I don’t like mods like mccc. I like for the sims to “dictate” when they are ready to move...HELP
My legacy families are plagued with only child sindrome....

Reksoh · January 2019

I hope this doesnt sound rude but what do you want us to do about that? You said you are scared to even just try it so that's that.

Hejix · January 2019

I tried many times, but can't play that way when there is progression.

What I did though is start a first save, then do a save as with a new family added, then a 3rd save with a third family... I decided to go back to my first save because I wanted to live spring with my first family... So, no harm done. Yet, a feeling that everything is more related. Townies are common as well. I might update each save as the different families progress so they walk in the game with their new career or kids or improved home.

luthienrising · January 2019

Hi @zoeisabelia . Long-time rotational player here who hates Sims aging without me! Here's what the game will and won't do:

If you set your Sims not to age up, it won't age them up and they won't die of old age.
It won't change their career or promote or demote them in jobs.
It won't change romantic status in or out of boyfriend/girlfriend, engaged, married.
It won't get them pregnant unless you make it happen.

It *will* complete a pregnancy to birth. Many rotational players play right through a pregnancy so they don't miss a birth.

You may see your Sims around in the world. When they are around in the world, they may gain new relationships, change relationship levels, increase skills, start new skills - all based on what you see happening.

zoeisabelia · January 2019

luthienrising wrote: »

Hi @zoeisabelia . Long-time rotational player here who hates Sims aging without me! Here's what the game will and won't do:

If you set your Sims not to age up, it won't age them up and they won't die of old age.
It won't change their career or promote or demote them in jobs.
It won't change romantic status in or out of boyfriend/girlfriend, engaged, married.
It won't get them pregnant unless you make it happen.

It *will* complete a pregnancy to birth. Many rotational players play right through a pregnancy so they don't miss a birth.

You may see your Sims around in the world. When they are around in the world, they may gain new relationships, change relationship levels, increase skills, start new skills - all based on what you see happening.

Thank you! This is what exactly what I was wondering about! Also, if I may ask one more thing, I know this might be very subjective, but how do you determine when to switch households, when your bored and wanting to take a break from the current one?

With your response I got the courage to start planning a legacy with siblings finally!

luthienrising · January 2019

Personally, I switch whenever I feel like it, but I know a lot of players who follow a schedule.

zoeisabelia · January 2019

luthienrising wrote: »

Personally, I switch whenever I feel like it, but I know a lot of players who follow a schedule.

thanks again!!

Simmerville · January 2019

I play sort of rotationally, but I jump back and for between hoods and worlds, and i might stop in a house just to let them woohoo or gain a skill, or I might stop for a couple simdays. I keep notes of what each house is up to, and where there is a birth or birthday coming up, so my advice is to keep notes and to play the house you want to play, but following a list of tasks you should solve around your world(s) before you age them all up by one simyear. I don't find this scary at all

ShadyLady89 · January 2019

I play quite similar to @luthienrising though I know a lot of other simmers will play in week long stretches where they switch households on Sundays. That keeps any offspring born in game roughly aging at the same time. Personally I play until I get bored with a family and move onto another one.

And I can second @Simmerville's statement about keeping notes. If you have a lot of sims to manage, it can be beneficial to keep track of who is dating who. In my saves there's quite a bit of infidelity, so I have to keep track of all that. It's quite fun.

Maggiedoll · January 2019

Why not just use "Save As" so you can keep your current save file as it is, in case you don't like the way things turn out with rotational play? It's not real life; you can just go back to where you were.

SheriSim57 · January 2019

I play with aging off, and can always turn it on if I want to age a family. I personally have a problem just playing one family. Anytime I get bored of one household I will switch. The club system works well with rotation too. Like luthienrising says, play through your pregnancy so you can name the baby. It is exciting seeing my Doctor sim deliver the babies. I always try to remember to have the father have a camera and take pictures, of course the parents have to live together while the baby is born to do this, but you can always move people in and out of the household. I plan on doing this with a set of grandparents I have. Let the grand children temporarily move in with them for visits and then move them back.

belpita · January 2019

I play almost exclusively rotational, especially if I'm doing some sort of family saga thingy.

Often I start out with a couple who has children, either from baby stage or created in CAS as toddler/child. Once the children age up and move out to create their own households, I may follow their individual pursuits until there is a promotion at work, for example, and then change to another household.

I usually have "ageing only active household" on. That way I can keep the illusion of life going on, while still having control over who ages up and/or dies of age. Occasionally, I will turn off ageing completely for a while, if there is a more complex career or aspiration that needs to be completed.

Admittedly, after a few generations the household count gets a little out of hand and I usually start a new game - lol!

Drakos · January 2019

I play rotationally as well. More or less the same as other posters here. I play on long but usually age up the kids 1/3-1/2 through each life stage(based more on goals/aspirations/story than anything else). I like the longer life span in case I spend more time with the parents/other siblings. One thing I like about playing this way as I can flag a household as played, but leave it until I am ready to play it. Sometimes this is a couple of sim days, but in a few cases it is much longer, they are frozen in the state I want them to be when I get around to playing that story.

CieloSims · January 2019

I just started playing a legacy family in rotation. I really like it. I switch between parent household and the aged up children every few sim days.

CieloSims · January 2019

That's what's great about it, there is no certain time to switch households. You can switch whenever you want.

JennyNoelle · January 2019

"Rotational play". So that's what I've been doing in all of my saves.
Glad to know I'm not the only one doing this.

Also, I usually turn aging off completely for all sims. Then manually age them when I have every single household 'caught up'.

CieloSims · March 2020

I guess I'm raising a dead thread, but wanted to add some more to it. Usually when I do rotational play, I leave aging on for all, then switch households every few in-game days. Usually 3 to 4 or maybe even a week, then switch. Some do it shorter, some maybe longer, just whichever you are comfortable with.

FurSimsOfficial · March 2020

I think you need to find a balance to what is 'naturally' happening and let that happen for the best and perhaps an interesting course and to what will actually save you to control in your game. Just like life

I think your playing style reflects a lot of your real life, so it could be a good challenge to just enjoy the game and try different ways and maybe finding out that it can turn out to be ok.

When I move sims out and not knowing what to do about aging, i saw a great tip here on the forum where you just choose one main household in your rotational play where you allow to turn aging on. When you play with all the others, you turn aging off until you finished the entire playing cycle again and moved their story to where you desired for when you turn aging on again. It works great for me!

Kellogg_J_Kellogg · March 2020

I'm a veteran rotational player.
Like some others who have posted here, I switch the ageing off and age people up via birthday parties as and when I think they should age up. You will often see your played sims around and about town but if you spot them in a nightclub or bar in the wee small hours, don't be surprised to find their energy bar low when you next play them. I find having plenty of reward points in the bank to purchase Sleep Replacement potions very handy.

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Scared of rotational play but I’m itching to try it

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