I tend to switch autonomy on and off throughout my gameplay. It depends on what I’m trying to accomplish with them but it’s mostly on. The only exception is my single super sim challenge. His autonomy stays off until he completes everything. I was tired of fighting him to stay on task.
Free will on for me (but with mods that tune the autonomy) for everyone but the selected sim. I usually only micromanage a couple of sims per family, so it's nice for the rest of the family to decide what they want to do, within reason. I do have to stop them from swimming and sunbathing in winter, so it does have its downsides.
I like to play with autonomy off, because otherwise my Sims rebel and don't do the tasks I give them and I like to level up careers, skills, aspirations etc. Lately I've been giving them autonomy just to get some story inspiration, but recently I couldn't get the Sim to do any work task on a computer or stick with the task long enough to complete it, if it is for 1 or 2 hours. She just kept canceling tasks to read a book, so it's off again for me at the moment.
Since Sims 2 always off! It's driving me nuts when the sims run around like headless chickens doing random stuff. I really wish I could even micromanage guests or friends! 😅
I often add guests temporarily to my household, so I can manage them. It is just difficult when there is a wedding or a bigger event...I can add many Sims via MCCC to the household, but so many members in one household can cause lag in my game.
I play with freewill on most of the time so some intetactions can at least feel organic. But if Im taking pics and screenshots or working out a scene from a storyline then no.
I always have free will on but I use the pause button a lot! The only really bad thing that has happened was when a teenage alien daughter erased her mother’s memories of her! Still don’t know why she did that 🤦♀️
I play with free will on.
I tend to have larger families, so it is easier to have it on.
Having my Sims do stuff on their own, it feels more lively, and chaotic. Also, funny/annoying at times, because one of my Sims kept trying to cook and also kept setting the stove on fire.
If I do need to make sure my Sims are doing what they need to do, I will usually hit the pause button, and get them back on track.
Completely on. I've never turned it off in any Sims game...and I micromanage them to death lol. I just use the pause button liberally, queue up something so those queue stomping actions don't affect my sims on tasks (like the issue with the kid art table and practicing typing, or a hundred others), and also kill anything too annoying with MCCC's tuner...which helps with some of those queue stompers.
I play with it on but this most recent save I have... This sim overlord here is about to smite every last one of them. The kids are the spawn of Satan. I've never had kids make messes so much. The husband is dumber than a pile of bricks, the wife no better sometimes. To make matters worse, I just started the decades challenge so playing off the grid right now.
So in closing, they usually have freewill but they might get those privileges taken away this time. (Thank you for letting me vent)
It only took one time for my sim to flirt with a random townie for me to turn off autonomy completely. If I have a certain story or viewpoint in mind, which is all of the time, I don’t want the game’s autonomy to ruin it for me.
I like the thought of turning autonomy on, but in practice, it never works out for me. After reading this thread I feel like a micro-managing control freak, but it is what it is!
Autonomy is on except for the selected sim, but I change back and forth queuing actions. So I tend to do more micro managing than free will, but it is cute to see some of the things sims do on their own.
I tried turning autonomy off for the selected sim, but I didn’t like it because there’s no way to select no one. And if I just check on all their needs I see they’re about to do something but it drops out of queue because now I have them selected. That’s not what I want at the moment because I want to let them choose how to spend their time (it may sound wasteful but I’m tired of playing with overachievers and I can’t help myself when I’m micromanaging them.) Maybe I’ll turn it off in certain situations because it really is frustrating if I’m trying to have them socialize and they run off to do something while I’m looking for the 30th interaction under the social menus. It would be nice if the autonomy had more of a delay while they have idle chat active.
Always on, and with that even then the sim will pause after the command is in que. Sometimes they will respond quicker than others, lol. It's those times I'm yelling at the monitor, "Move it!"
In my house, dog hair sticks to everything but the dog.
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Tales From The Myst
The Blue Moon Jukebox
Freewill on!
If I wanted to play dolls then:
I often add guests temporarily to my household, so I can manage them. It is just difficult when there is a wedding or a bigger event...I can add many Sims via MCCC to the household, but so many members in one household can cause lag in my game.
Sim Legacy Site
Brindleton Family Tree
Star Wars Family Tree
I tend to have larger families, so it is easier to have it on.
Having my Sims do stuff on their own, it feels more lively, and chaotic. Also, funny/annoying at times, because one of my Sims kept trying to cook and also kept setting the stove on fire.
If I do need to make sure my Sims are doing what they need to do, I will usually hit the pause button, and get them back on track.
My Families Via PlumTree App
So in closing, they usually have freewill but they might get those privileges taken away this time. (Thank you for letting me vent)
Gentlemen, from this day forward... you will all refer to me by the name... Betty... myahhahah!
I like the thought of turning autonomy on, but in practice, it never works out for me. After reading this thread I feel like a micro-managing control freak, but it is what it is!