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Multiple Household Gameplay Tips

I have recently started playing more than building and decided to go achievement hunting and playthrough some generations. I started my first family and have a decent amount of achievements already. I decided to start the first sim of the second family tonight...

Is there a way to continue to have the unplayed families around the neighborhoods continue to age while also allowing the families I play to age ONLY while I play them. For example I want to pause family 1, play family 2 for a while, and then come back to exactly moment where I left off with family 1? (

What are some other multiple household or multi-generation family tips you may have?

Comments

  • WildIrishBansheeWildIrishBanshee Posts: 2,104 Member
    Aging on for active household only. But you will never come back to the exact moment you left a family in Sims 4, at least their ages will be right! Households still do things behind the scenes while you play other families, but nothing serious - mostly make friends, go to jobs, etc.
  • ClousinatorsClousinators Posts: 586 Member
    @WildIrishBanshee Thats what I thought but figured I would ask just in case. Thanks!

    Either way I am excited to actually play now instead of strictly building. Achievement hunting has been fun so far. I think having a household full of ghosts will be my next move
  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,808 Member
    I like this way, which I learned from someone here on the forum--
    -Aging for active household only
    -Keep NPC aging off most of the time
    -Choose one household to age at the same rate as the NPCs- a household you'll probably play regularly. Whenever playing that household, turn NPC aging to on. Don't forget to turn NPC aging off when you switch to another household.
    -If you want everyone in the save to age at exactly the same rate, you can play each household for a set amount of time. I've been using a week each for my San Myshuno save.

    AFAIK the families you're not playing don't do anything at all unless they are on the lot you're playing as walkbys or visitors. If they make friends, they've made them by standing around having background conversations on the lot you were on while you were playing another household. They may leave a visit with the "work" thought bubble, but they don't actually go to work or earn money or promotions. The only thing that progresses in a family you're not playing is pregnancy, if you tried for baby while playing the family and then rotated away during the pregnancy.
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  • JyotaiJyotai Posts: 505 Member
    edited October 2021
    The mod MCCC can be used to both freeze and unfreeze a lot of things about townies, in-active households, and played households you're not currently in.

    Elements such as relationships, jobs, marriages, even pregnancies and more - all of that can be either locked from occurring or set to occur autonomously where it doesn't by default.

    I use this to set 'aside' some families to not be culled by the game, keep others from ever breaking up marriages or moving elders out - while others actively do these things.

    If you want to 'freeze' the households that are played, but not being played "right now" MCCC is good for this - but note that by default it will start doing a lot of wild things to your townies. So if you get it, before you hit 'play', run through ALL the menus and make sure they look right - and have a backup save in case you missed something.

    I know that makes MCCC sound risky but it isn't. I've never messed up a save from forgetting to set something - but I have had to revert a save from setting something and not realizing what it would do until I started playing.


    I don't use Discord because it doesn't support multiple accounts and I don't need folks at work wondering what I'm doing even on my own time. Until Discord catches up with every single other voice / video conferencing system, I limit where I use it:
  • WildIrishBansheeWildIrishBanshee Posts: 2,104 Member
    I will second MCCC - it's a required mod in my eyes. It keeps my townie lines going, so they don't die off and there suddenly aren't anymore Landgraabs or Goths or what have you. In my game, only Adult townies and older marry, so that the YAs are free if I need them. MCCC does so much, it even stops a lot of the really annoying autonomy issues, so it's really just about the only mod you need for most things.
  • Metior_IceMetior_Ice Posts: 3,094 Member
    I'm leaving this comment so I can come back and share some things. I have quite a bit to share and not enough time to share it! Anyways, in short, you can adjust the aging, but your sims will autonomously do their own thing and build friendship with other sims. However, it can be very fun to see your sims as NPCs!
  • ClousinatorsClousinators Posts: 586 Member
    I like this way, which I learned from someone here on the forum--

    -Choose one household to age at the same rate as the NPCs- a household you'll probably play regularly. Whenever playing that household, turn NPC aging to on. Don't forget to turn NPC aging off when you switch to another household.

    @mightysprite Thats actually a great idea and I think I will try it

    I have not used any mods for the Sims 4. I have definitely thought about it but I have had terrible luck with previous sims and mods, and I have a newer laptop and want to keep it running smoothly so I have been put off to the mods for the sims 4 so far.

    While I like the townies and the Goth and Landgrab families, I don't mind too much if after a while the generations fizzle out, I don't typically pay too much attention to the townies, and every now and then I find an interesting family on the gallery and throw them in as non-played sims to keep things fresh

  • Metior_IceMetior_Ice Posts: 3,094 Member
    edited October 2021
    I like this way, which I learned from someone here on the forum--
    -Aging for active household only
    -Keep NPC aging off most of the time
    -Choose one household to age at the same rate as the NPCs- a household you'll probably play regularly. Whenever playing that household, turn NPC aging to on. Don't forget to turn NPC aging off when you switch to another household.
    -If you want everyone in the save to age at exactly the same rate, you can play each household for a set amount of time. I've been using a week each for my San Myshuno save.

    AFAIK the families you're not playing don't do anything at all unless they are on the lot you're playing as walkbys or visitors. If they make friends, they've made them by standing around having background conversations on the lot you were on while you were playing another household. They may leave a visit with the "work" thought bubble, but they don't actually go to work or earn money or promotions. The only thing that progresses in a family you're not playing is pregnancy, if you tried for baby while playing the family and then rotated away during the pregnancy.

    Keep in mind that a lot can happen in a neighborhood, and there are some worlds with specific residents. Like Sulani Residents or Batuu Residents, there are some sims that are more likely to show up if they are a resident of that world. Sulani Residents simply need to be sims that live in that world or are NPCs created in that world.

    The Fabulously Wealthy Aspiration Trait does add funds to a household while you aren't playing it.

    There are random phone calls about couples that want to try for baby. One of my rotation sims was good friends with Makoa and Lilliana Kealoha and he got a call about them wanting to try for a baby. If you tell them to go ahead, you can have unplayed households produce new sims. They will go through the pregnancy without the player "Trying for Baby."

    I usually use one household for managing all the retail stores. I like to increase the challenge by making my sims buy everything from a retail store. It makes catalog items more expensive. Anyways, if you have Get to Work, then it's a good idea to have one household manage the stores. Relying on Employees is not the most effective way to manage a store. They do not efficiently restock items as quickly as they get purchased.

    There are a few store types you can create with Get to Work:

    Bakery Shop (There's a special item for selling baked goods similar to the LICE Refrigerator)

    Grocery Store (Made possible with the Lice Refrigerator and it's a very efficient way to sell harvestables. Due to infrequent use, it has bugs that were probably never noticed by most players. The bugs have a lot to do with markups and the sale price of harvestables.)

    Clothing Store (Made possible with Mannequins. A single store can have up to a maximum of 8 Mannequins, and each outfit category can have up to 5 different outfits. A single store can sell around 40 different outfits, but only 8 outfits can be featured at a time. I usually create stores that focus on a theme like Swim Specialty, Costumes, Everyday Seasonal, Kids Clothes, Party, and Etc.)

    Furniture Store (Simply place items from the catalog in a store to be sold. Rugs, Counters, and a few other items can't be sold in stores. Again, I usually theme the stores around things like Indoors, Outdoors, Gardening, Farming, and etc. The Henford-on-Bagley grocery can be placed on any lot.)

    My sims do interact with each other, and I've noticed that Elementals tend to make enemies with
    Children of the Islands because they are always denied their connection to the island. It's probably an oversight with Elementals and Children of the Islands. Elementals seek out Children of the Islands to pass Judgement. There is no escape for the Children of the Islands, and Elementals will pass judgement on completely different floors of a house. This act of passing Judgment is a Priority Autonomous Behavior and doesn't take long. However, I've had my twins drop whatever they are doing to pass judgement. Sometimes, they aren't anywhere near the sim when it happens, and for some reason, it does impact relationships outside the household.

    Furthermore, my current household has a teen that built up the conflict resolution character value because of many negative relationships that developed between my rotation sims and random townies I never saw while playing their households. The thing about relationships is that they normally decay over time. However, thanks to Dylan and Zeph having the Beloved Trait, I know that sims do in fact form friendships and enemies while they aren't played. Dylan and Zephyr do not have the normal relationship decay that would make the friendships disappear on their own.

    I have more to share, but that's enough for now.
  • Metior_IceMetior_Ice Posts: 3,094 Member
    I like this way, which I learned from someone here on the forum--

    -Choose one household to age at the same rate as the NPCs- a household you'll probably play regularly. Whenever playing that household, turn NPC aging to on. Don't forget to turn NPC aging off when you switch to another household.

    @mightysprite Thats actually a great idea and I think I will try it

    I have not used any mods for the Sims 4. I have definitely thought about it but I have had terrible luck with previous sims and mods, and I have a newer laptop and want to keep it running smoothly so I have been put off to the mods for the sims 4 so far.

    While I like the townies and the Goth and Landgrab families, I don't mind too much if after a while the generations fizzle out, I don't typically pay too much attention to the townies, and every now and then I find an interesting family on the gallery and throw them in as non-played sims to keep things fresh

    Another possibility id to set up a Retirement Household that has auto-aging turned on. I play with Auto-Aging turned off, but I cull sims in two distinct ways. Death by Morbius, for unlikable or evil sims, or Retirement, death by old age by sims I like but can't keep around.

    I have rules for which sims will never die from old age. My merfolk, elementals, vampires, and spellcasters that drink a Potion of Immortality will never die from Retirement.
  • mightyspritemightysprite Posts: 5,808 Member
    Cool, thanks for the clarifications @Metior_Ice

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  • SheriSim57SheriSim57 Posts: 6,934 Member
    I like this way, which I learned from someone here on the forum--

    -Choose one household to age at the same rate as the NPCs- a household you'll probably play regularly. Whenever playing that household, turn NPC aging to on. Don't forget to turn NPC aging off when you switch to another household.

    @mightysprite Thats actually a great idea and I think I will try it

    I have not used any mods for the Sims 4. I have definitely thought about it but I have had terrible luck with previous sims and mods, and I have a newer laptop and want to keep it running smoothly so I have been put off to the mods for the sims 4 so far.

    While I like the townies and the Goth and Landgrab families, I don't mind too much if after a while the generations fizzle out, I don't typically pay too much attention to the townies, and every now and then I find an interesting family on the gallery and throw them in as non-played sims to keep things fresh
    If you don’t use mods and don’t want a family to fizzle out you can take them into CAS and give them children now and then. Or, if the family is in a house you could play them, get the Mom pregnant, leave the house and then unfavorite them. Be careful visiting a house with a baby, I have heard the family doesn’t always take cate of them when you visit, and the baby could be taken away. So if you do visit one with a baby, take care of the baby with one of the people you are visiting with.

    I love playing rotationally, many of my sims visit other rotational sims and get to know them. It keeps you from getting bored if families are different…..different jobs, different hobbies, different likes and dislikes, different types of households.
  • ClousinatorsClousinators Posts: 586 Member

    Metior_Ice wrote: »
    There are random phone calls about couples that want to try for baby.... If you tell them to go ahead, you can have unplayed households produce new sims.

    Furthermore, my current household has a teen that built up the conflict resolution character value because of many negative relationships that developed between my rotation sims and random townies I never saw while playing their households.

    @Metior_Ice I don't usually get phone calls asking questions like that... or I don't realize thats what it is and just close it out before even looking, I'll have to pay more attention.
    I usually try and have the children develop the conflict resolution trait anyway but I didn't even think of it helping in that way. It will be a requirement now.


    SheriSim57 wrote: »
    I love playing rotationally, many of my sims visit other rotational sims and get to know them. It keeps you from getting bored if families are different…..different jobs, different hobbies, different likes and dislikes, different types of households.

    @SheriSim57 Thats what I aim to do too, keep all the sims different so that I never get bored, and I can cover more ground trying to get achievements and more generations.

  • Metior_IceMetior_Ice Posts: 3,094 Member
    @Clousinators Conflict Resolution is a must for rotation. If one of your sims get upset with another sim for whatever reason, Conflict Resolution helps to make apologies more effective and improve the negative relationship.
  • SimmervilleSimmerville Posts: 11,644 Member
    Didn't read the entire thread, but thee are several good ways to age up as you wish. Some might work better if you take notes along the road to keep an overview of who should age up etc.

    I do it this way: I play with aging off, but on New Years Eve I turn on aging for all (played and non played), for that night only. This way the calendar/seasons decides the aging, I'm playing all my houses as I wish within that period. If I want more time to play them (say I installed a new pack that I want more time to explore) I'll just skip turning aging on for one New Years Eve, making that aging period twice as long. During the rotation I can choose playing a week with one house , while a few hours might be enough in some - normally depending on how many changes there is ( birthdays, careers, weddings etc), I often spend little time in houses with just one elderly sim.
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  • Metior_IceMetior_Ice Posts: 3,094 Member
    edited October 2021
    @Clousinators Here's the phone call that results in sims having a baby. This was the first time I got the call, so I'm not sure what the requirements are. I think sims need to be in a relationship, and I know that Lilliana has the Big Happy Family Aspiration.

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    The response if you give the go ahead.

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    Out of curiosity I confirmed that the pregnancy does happen.

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    During this rotation, Whitley was a Doctor, so I can confirm that the Pregnant sim will not go to the hospital to deliver the baby. I felt like that was a disappointment. Whitley and Jason, from the rotation, are essentially the God Parents at this point. It would have been so cool if Whitley delivered the baby.

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    Prank Phone calls also have interesting affects. I created an Evil Duo of my Favorite Twins. One of Evil Twins called and it actually helped with the bills.

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    The Prank Call about Vinny also has an interesting result. I'm putting it in a spoiler just in case someone hasn't experienced it yet and doesn't want the surprise ruined.
    I got a call from one of my Evil Sims and saying yes got me 5000 simloeons. However, you get a visit from the sim that calls you and they either steal something or sabotage an object. You can't pay them back, so the destruction of your property is unavoidable.

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    Archer was pretty darn proud of himself.

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    Rotation also let's you see your sims behave in unique ways. Dylan likes almost all instruments, so he will autonomously pull out a violin or guitar and play it. He has the skills maxed, so he plays exceptionally well. Sims will use items you leave in their inventory and use objects in the world like an Easel to paint. My sims like to help with the gardening.

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    Dylan and Zeph are master anglers, so they often visit fishing spots. If you give your sims certain skills, they will use them.

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    Rotation sims will show up at the vet if they have a Cat or Dog. I think someone from the "What Happened in Your Game?" Thread used it to set up a relationship for story purposes. If you like telling stories, you can use little details to increase the chances of sims interacting organically when you want to arrange a relationship.

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    Creative Sims will similarly act as entertainers and visit the Art District in San Myshuno to sell artwork.

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    Sims that can play instruments can sometimes be the entertainers at City Festivals. There are phone calls you get to see them perform.

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    Sometimes, sims will act completely out of character and do weird stuff. Kylen is not an Anti-Environmentalist or an evil sim. Everyone knows he's good because of his reputation. Still, he had a moment. lol. Sometimes we all need a snickers.

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    This is Arihi, Dylan's Mom, and Dylan's Girlfriend when I realized they had a bad relationship. I wish I knew what got them to hate each other, but it definitely didn't happen while I played the household.

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