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How do you "rotational" play

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  • x4m1r4x4m1r4 Posts: 3,901 Member
    edited August 2020
    I play with 11 different households for the time being.

    1. When you begin your play what rules do you abide by (if any)
    - I change household every 7 days (Sun-Sun), I change systematically (which means, I change according to the sequences, long life, 14 days season, I randomised their traits, character values, aspirations, careers, ageing on only on active household, I dressed them with unique colour schemes by giving them favourite colours, no cheats & I keep the records in spreadsheet.

    2. How many characters do you play and are they usually single..married...married with kids or are they direct family members (example ..mom dad and/or siblings
    - i play all type of characters, single, married, widow, grandparents, cousins, pets, and even the pre-mades too!

    3. how long does this type of play hold your interest approximately? ( for example..a week...a month ...longer?)
    I'm still playing with 1 saved for my rotational play (on my 4th gen now), and 1 saved for buildings only. No other saved. Been playing for nearly 2 years?

    4. Do you usually use NewCrest so you can create your own town or do you have a favorite neighborhood and why?
    I have a few community lots like graveyard in Newcrest. I'm planning to build my mini Far East town once any of my Sims married the eastern townies. My favourite is the Windenburg and my founder had their home there. I just love the vibes there.

    5. Would you say there is any draw backs to rotational play and if yes then what would those draw backs be?
    I have to create my own family tree on external database since the game has a very bad family tree system. I want to keep all the information, hence that's why I created my own. Other than that, if you're playing the DU, you might want to consider playing long life, else, your Sim might graduated when they're adult. I prefer to play rotational than any other challenges because I feel that rotational play is more personal & interactive.

    6. other then using rotational play what type of simmer are you in game...for example ...do you prefer family related play....single sims over couples...do you prefer to begin as a teen in a family or something else.
    I've started with YA. I'm all in to play any type of gameplay because I do play with occults too. I don't limit myself.
    OID:- x4m1r4
  • GlacierSnowGlacierSnow Posts: 2,301 Member
    "Rotational" in my case is being pretty loosely used as a term. But I don't know what else to call what I do. :lol:

    I have 14 saved games that I actually play with (plus 4 other saved games that are just for testing things, building random stuff, etc). Six of the fourteen are games in which I play in what, for lack of a better term, I am calling "rotational".

    1. When you begin your play what rules do you abide by (if any)

    Two "rules": 1) If it's fun for me, I do it. 2) If it's not fun for me, I stop doing it.

    More clearly, I love creating new characters and am never running out of ideas. To keep myself from having hundreds of saved game files, I've started adding households to existing games instead of always creating new games every time I have an idea. Sometimes a particular newly created household will catch my attention for a while and I will play with them for a long time before going back to the household I was originally playing in that game. Then I will bounce around between old and new households however I wish depending on my mood at the moment. I guess I'd say my play style is not so much "rotational" as it is "meandering".

    2. How many characters do you play and are they usually single..married...married with kids or are they direct family members (example ..mom dad and/or siblings

    In a couple games I have dozens of different households. In a couple games I have a small handful of households. In one game I have only two households, one of which I play way more than the other.

    The size of the households within those saves also varies, but mostly four or five sims is the most I like to play. A lot of my households are two or three sims. Some are families. Some are singles living together as roommates. Some are couples without children.

    3. how long does this type of play hold your interest approximately? ( for example..a week...a month ...longer?)

    I drift from saved game to saved game, or from household to household based entirely on what I feel like doing at the moment. So... I never lose interest in playing like this. I am always doing whatever I enjoy based on my mood of the moment. If I lose interest in playing the sims entirely, I figure that's a sign I should, maybe, go spend some time with some real people or something. :lol:

    4. Do you usually use NewCrest so you can create your own town or do you have a favorite neighborhood and why?

    Actually, I use New Crest surprisingly little in my games. I don't have any sims that live there, and I mostly use it as an extension of San Myshuno when I do use it. A place to put commercial lots that I want to be in the city but that there isn't enough room for in San Myshuno. In a lot of my games it's totally blank. Because I play so many different saved games, I have no problem tearing down premade buildings to build my own in other worlds. I want my different games to look different any way. So, I guess, I just haven't need New Crest much in terms of space.

    5. Would you say there is any draw backs to rotational play and if yes then what would those draw backs be?

    With the additions of Seasons, I've had the same issue as other rotational players in that some households end up missing out on certain seasons or holidays. But mostly I don't care. I still just drift from one household to another as I wish, just as I did before. I play with aging turned off and almost never age sims up, so it's not like they missed their chance forever.

    6. other then using rotational play what type of simmer are you in game...for example ...do you prefer family related play....single sims over couples...do you prefer to begin as a teen in a family or something else.

    The main thing I can say is I play with mostly young adult males. A lot are single. Some are in gay relationships. A couple are in straight relationships. A couple have toddlers (who will probably remain toddlers until the end of time, because I rarely bother age sims up). A few have pets. In only one game do I have any teens or kids I actually play with. But that game is mostly about the teens.
    Forum-Banner-01.jpg
    Seventeen & Maldusk Forum thread link
    My name on AHQ (and the upcoming sims forum) is "GlacierSnowGhost".
  • wickichickwickichick Posts: 11,130 Member
    hi there akaniki0 ...you have enjoyed rotational play for a long time then...so far i have not had a vampire in game but can imagine having a vampire or a family of vamps would be interesting...you can change back to a human from a vampire..how does that work in the sims 4? That is something i should try including in this rotational play since it is something i have yet to try. Thanks for your input..very much appreciated.
  • wickichickwickichick Posts: 11,130 Member
    xamira99...Ah, you use a spreadsheet ...i have set aside a notebook..i think a hard copy will be better for each sim..for memories/dates/accomplishments and goals. A spreadsheet is a good idea however.
    I don't know if i will go with favorite colors for daily dressing but it is another good idea...maybe i will assign a favorite color to use it for special events ..for balloons..outfits..candles..that kind of thing.
    I have never set up a graveyard anywhere but the idea intrigues me...perhaps if later when you have a bit of time you might share a bit more in depth how you set up and then use your graveyard. I would be very interested in that.
    Thank you very much for sharing how you rotational play...i am enjoying getting creative ideas to add to my own.
  • wickichickwickichick Posts: 11,130 Member
    GlacierSnow...I would refer to how you use your six saved files as being rotational since you play more then one household within a save. I am not certain how i might rotate in the long run but as i am just starting and no one has jobs or kids yet ..it is easier to just do whatever ..once sims have jobs i will have to save only when everyone is home from school/work.
    yes, i can see how seasons is an issue but since my households are going to be closely intertwined ..they will all have some kind of interaction with each holiday....even if it might be coming over for a family dinner or a halloween party.
    It is interesting you say the game is about teens..i would say maybe young adults ..but lol it seems you can create venues that would be created to have more of a teen vibe. I have read that from several simmers in other posts ...someday i will have to explore a bit more in depth how folks mean.
    Thank you for posting..i enjoyed reading how you rotational play!
  • Melby223Melby223 Posts: 2 New Member
    hi guys, i'm a long time lurker on the forums but i've got a question that i haven't been able to find an answer to. I'm looking for a spreadsheet to keep track of my rotational berry save. I was wondering if anyone uses a spreadsheet to keep track of there rotational play and if they would be willing to share them. I'm looking for insperation for my own. any help would be greatly appreciated :)
  • DuvelinaDuvelina Posts: 2,619 Member
    Melby223 wrote: »
    hi guys, i'm a long time lurker on the forums but i've got a question that i haven't been able to find an answer to. I'm looking for a spreadsheet to keep track of my rotational berry save. I was wondering if anyone uses a spreadsheet to keep track of there rotational play and if they would be willing to share them. I'm looking for insperation for my own. any help would be greatly appreciated :)

    I don't use one for TS4, but I do use one for TS2 and maybe you can get some ideas for your own from it anyway!

    https://pleasantsims.com/sims-2-tracking-spreadsheet/
  • Melby223Melby223 Posts: 2 New Member
    Thanks I can't wait to give it a look. I'm just struggling to figure out what is the important stuff and what i really don't need to keep track of
  • DuvelinaDuvelina Posts: 2,619 Member
    Melby223 wrote: »
    Thanks I can't wait to give it a look. I'm just struggling to figure out what is the important stuff and what i really don't need to keep track of

    Totally understand that! I used to keep track of literally everything from the skills my sims had to the sims they met. And it's so unnecessary and time-consuming. I use Pleasantsims Extended spreadsheet and I feel like that's enough!
  • GlacierSnowGlacierSnow Posts: 2,301 Member
    wickichick wrote: »
    GlacierSnow...I would refer to how you use your six saved files as being rotational since you play more then one household within a save. I am not certain how i might rotate in the long run but as i am just starting and no one has jobs or kids yet ..it is easier to just do whatever ..once sims have jobs i will have to save only when everyone is home from school/work.
    yes, i can see how seasons is an issue but since my households are going to be closely intertwined ..they will all have some kind of interaction with each holiday....even if it might be coming over for a family dinner or a halloween party.
    It is interesting you say the game is about teens..i would say maybe young adults ..but lol it seems you can create venues that would be created to have more of a teen vibe. I have read that from several simmers in other posts ...someday i will have to explore a bit more in depth how folks mean.
    Thank you for posting..i enjoyed reading how you rotational play!

    Sorry, I think I wasn't clear in my last answer. When I said "that game is mostly about the teens" I was referring to my own game file not the Sims 4 game as a whole. I meant that the one saved game where I play with teens is a game in which I am completely focused on the teens and do not pay much attention to the adults, except in how they relate to the teens. It is a vampire high school story. It is one of my biggest rotational games, with 16 different households that I play. In all my other saved games, rotational or not, I mostly play with young adults. I agree that the Sims 4 in general has more of a focus on young adults.
    Forum-Banner-01.jpg
    Seventeen & Maldusk Forum thread link
    My name on AHQ (and the upcoming sims forum) is "GlacierSnowGhost".
  • ElderSimChildElderSimChild Posts: 38 Member
    1. No rules I can think of.
    2. I usually start out by creating a Sim. I might move them into a cheap house or apartment, or build them a house. Once they are established in their career, I try to have them meet someone - either another Sim I have made, or a townie (depending on looks and how compatible they are). From there, I usually work towards having them marry and starting a family, etc.
    3. Maybe a few days? I will play with one Sim until I am satisfied with where they are in their life, or I get bored, or I wish to play with some other Sim or Sim family. Usually I have goals I work toward - like career advancements, getting a spouse, having a baby, etc., and then I move on.
    4. I will use any neighborhood, depending on what lots are available.
    5. The only drawbacks are with what the game does when you are not playing the other households. This was not an issue in Sims1 or Sims2, but in Sims3 I returned to a household to find that my Sim had married some random guy! For Sims4, I have aging set only for the current household and I will say it is frustrating when I return to a certain family after a while and have to re-establish friendships or romantic relationships because they have been "lost" over time. I wish time could freeze for my Sims I am not currently playing.
    6. I prefer whatever I am in the mood for, so I do have a variety to choose from. I have singles, couples, families with toddlers, kids, teens... it all depends on my mood.
  • kemowerykemowery Posts: 370 Member
    I used to do rotational play in TS2. There, I'd start a new, completely empty, neighborhood, move in a single sim, who would romance a passing townie, have kids, those kids would eventually go to university and move into their own houses, and I'd play each house for a week, in order, eventually filling the neighborhood.

    I haven't done it in TS4. The only way I could see doing it would be to turn off aging on all houses but the active one, not use MCCC for story progression, and just accept that a lot of sims in the neighborhoods are going to be functionally immortal.
  • babajaynebabajayne Posts: 1,866 Member
    kemowery wrote: »
    The only way I could see doing it would be to turn off aging on all houses but the active one, not use MCCC for story progression, and just accept that a lot of sims in the neighborhoods are going to be functionally immortal.
    @kemowery I don’t have any immortal sims in my game and I use the aging setting you described.
  • DuvelinaDuvelina Posts: 2,619 Member
    @kemowery How is that different from what you described with TS2? Townies are also immortal in that if you don't age them manually.
  • wickichickwickichick Posts: 11,130 Member
    As far as aging in a rotational play ..i would think that there might be some sims who are npc who are seemingly immortal however there is a culling system in game so that should change over time...more than likely i will have aging turned off and then age up with birthdays which should be fine i am guessing.
  • DaepheneDaephene Posts: 1,760 Member
    edited August 2020
    1. I have all kinds of rules for keeping my aging together and making sure I have variety. I currently move shortly after 2 am on Monday morning (after any Sunday holidays end and before the plants are available for harvest, and also very few careers ever work across the 2 am hour). I do Monday so that if my sims who are seeking fame have created anything that week they can attend the Starlight Accolades Sunday night. When I get University I may change the time to Monday afternoon for at least some of my households, because I think I want to run my terms Tues-Mon so they always get a weekend to either recover from a tough week or catch up if they're behind. I understand you have to rotate right before term ends to get credit for all the work you did and not choose between re-enroll right away or lose your scholarships. Each family is assigned a specific pack or couple of packs that is their focus so I don't get stuck in a rut doing everything the same and so that I can eventually use all the content I have purchased.
    I have a retirement village and any time a teen/child/toddler premade grows up with and marries my sims, their parents move there as elders so they don't live forever. Other than that premades and townies don't age unless they become important to one of my sims, and then they get aged manually with the sim they are attached to and move to the retirement village when they hit the elder stage.
    One week for each family, and by the end of each rotation I write out the order I want to play them in next, based on which holidays or seasons I want to do with which household. I sometimes change that as I go, but only with the households that haven't had their turn yet so they all age the same amount each rotation. I play with aging off except for the active household.

    2. I started this save with a single sim with the Serial Romantic aspiration. She had nine children with five different fathers, so as they grew up and moved out it grew to 9 households. Then I only let the next generation have one pregnancy each (with one exception) and where there were twins I created/will create new households with the spares. That will eventually create 4 more households, though they aren't all grown yet. And then I created a few additional occult households for more story-based play.

    3. It's the only kind of play that holds my interest for more than a month or so at a time. And when I do walk away from the game for a while, this is the save I am attached to and return to. I never played Sims2 any other way.

    4. I have at least one household in every world, except a couple where I'm waiting for the founder to get old enough to move there. Newcrest is mostly commercial, but does house my ghost household and eventually will also house the aliens and the robots.

    5. My sims age very slowly between the number of households I play and the breaks I take for the game. So the part of me that would like to watch generations go by gets frustrated sometimes.

    6. I like family and occult play, and also occult family play. That's why I have a separate household for each occult, in addition to vampire and spellcaster branches of the family, so I can do all three within the same save. I raised the aliens born in my families, but as adults they moved in together and made an occult household. My only mermaid is not part of the family, but is related to the non-family vampire storyline. I also have a house of premades killed by my vampires and now haunting a house together with a Patchy servant. But I love multi-generational family play so that is at the core of this save.
  • KerriganKerrigan Posts: 1,571 Member
    I typically play one house until a major event occurs - go to university, marriage, children, etc. Then I move to another house and play them up to roughly the same point. I'll create a new character or two along the way if I get an idea
  • wickichickwickichick Posts: 11,130 Member
    Daephene ...This is my first time trying out rotational play...it seems each time i read someone's post..I am inspired to be a bit more adventurous. I seldom use an occult household but in the rotational play i have started ..a bit might play into my story...I did start with the very beginning of being a spell caster...there is some things i have never tried that will be fun to do and vampires could be another one. The retirement village is a great idea, too. I am following in your footsteps in trying different things in different households and trying to figure out a way that most of the time what one household focuses on can benefit the whole town...like with a bakery..a clothing store...a community garden..and a restaurant and so on. Thanks for posting..you offered very inspiring feedback.
  • wickichickwickichick Posts: 11,130 Member
    I just wanted to thank everyone for the feedback so far...this threat was featured in Friday highlights on Friday August 28, 2020. Maybe there will be more folks wanting to try rotational play and will add their ideas and experiences in this threat. Thank you everyone!
  • SimburianSimburian Posts: 6,907 Member
    I'm overawed by the length some go to to keep on top of their play. Well done!

    I just start a family or single Sim in a home, give them some money, cooking skills etc. and a job and let them get on with it until I play them again. It's surprising what they get up to. After a Patch once some of them had even changed sex after getting adult but kept their female names!

    I try to fill most houses with my Sims and have about 70 plus Sim families on the go in my current save so I forget what they were up to originally anyway. My current Save is UK suburban and English Tudor mostly.
  • wickichickwickichick Posts: 11,130 Member
    Simburian...how is it that you were inspired to use suburban and English Tudor in your world ...does this relate to your story line? I have purchased a notebook to keep information regarding families in my rotational play. I wanted a way to have a story that applies to all the families and then the inside story that happens inside the family unit. Wow..you have seventy plus sims...many of the folks that have commented in this thread have mentioned that they have large numbers of sims in their rotational play...that is somewhat humorous that you had sims that changed gender following a patch update..not sure i would be pleased about that but might keep some of that as a natural progression.
  • SimburianSimburian Posts: 6,907 Member
    edited August 2020
    wickichick wrote: »
    Simburian...how is it that you were inspired to use suburban and English Tudor in your world ...does this relate to your story line? I have purchased a notebook to keep information regarding families in my rotational play. I wanted a way to have a story that applies to all the families and then the inside story that happens inside the family unit. Wow..you have seventy plus sims...many of the folks that have commented in this thread have mentioned that they have large numbers of sims in their rotational play...that is somewhat humorous that you had sims that changed gender following a patch update..not sure i would be pleased about that but might keep some of that as a natural progression.

    I'm English born with English father and Welsh mother and currently living in Scotland so am recreating the English suburb on the Metropolitan tube line to London that I grew up in. Most of the houses around me then are now in what we call a 'Conservation' area of 1930's 3 and 4 bedroomed houses with cherry tree lined streets. Not harsh red brick houses but pleasant mixed brick ones. You now aren't allowed to change anything like windows and frontage without the approval of the local council! The local primary school was in the middle so it was a great place for a family to grow up in. Willow Creek was ideal for that.
    I recreated the Tudor builds in Newcrest as my brother and I moved to a lovely large 2 bed mock tudor flat later on with mock tudor houses on the other side of the road. That's become another conservation area now so I've been lucky to live in attractive areas early on. I completely ignore the Maxis surroundings!

    I do have about 70 families in my current Save and over the suggested Sim limit for my machine but having played the game for over 6 years now that's the sort of thing you can do, use them all. It's just a question of moving them in, giving them money enough to buy the house I've made for them, give them jobs and on to the next family and visit them occasionally and spice them and their houses up a bit with new stuff from later packs. They all turn up as the welcoming parties and in the community lots as NPs probably aren't needed. I find this is helping me with getting their votes in Eco Lifestyle!

    edited.. Got my iteration worlds mixed up due to being ancient!
    Post edited by Simburian on
  • wickichickwickichick Posts: 11,130 Member
    simburian..that is very interesting how you have done this ..i am considering if i should use newcrest or not and listening to how you have themed that town making it a little historic is kinda fun ..newcrest could be a suburbia of WillowCreek ...such a good idea you have there...you do have Eco Lifestyle...what would your favorite n.a.p.s. be ..i am asking because i think i might grab eco living...i hesitated because of all the bugs but most of that can be halted with disabling n.a.p.s before going in world and then using cheats shift click on the mail box to select the naps you want..what would you suggest cause the least amount of effects in the game? ( sorry this is a bit off topic to rotational play) and anyone can comment on this.
  • DaepheneDaephene Posts: 1,760 Member
    @wickichick Thanks! I'm glad if my post helped you. I haven't had much time with spellcasters yet - the downside to my rotation is that I only play with each family every so many in-game weeks and I haven't had RoM long enough to get very far with that. But I have had a lot of fun with vampires and mermaids and ghosts so far. Good luck with your new gameplay!
    Also, I have Eco Lifestyle and I turned off NAPs as soon as I installed it, before I even opened any households, and I haven't had any of the related bugs. I get messages that certain NAPs have been voted into effect, but nothing actually happens. I haven't tried cheating in any yet though, because I haven't rotated around to the families I want to do that with yet.
  • kemowerykemowery Posts: 370 Member
    Duvelina wrote: »
    @kemowery How is that different from what you described with TS2? Townies are also immortal in that if you don't age them manually.

    Different because in TS2 making a world with nothing but the occasional roaming townie was as easy as starting a blank map. You'd get the occasional pedestrian, service sims, and NPC sims in university or wherever, but you didn't have a dozen or so different neighborhoods all filled with residents. My neighborhood map in TS2 would literally have no households other than descendants of my original sim.

    To do that in TS4, I'd either need to start from a save where all the sim families were evicted from every neighborhood and empty houses weren't filled (which I have turned on in my games, but it seems to have no effect because empty houses are filled all the time by randomly-created sims), or play every household in every world to keep them all up to the right time with each other.
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