I’ll share a few more things I wish I had known when I started rotational play.
To avoid repeating seasons or holidays in the same family (or a family never experiencing them all), it’s useful to mark down what each household has lived through. I’ve been using the seasons.advance_season cheat (as much as needed) when I get back to the first household in the rotation. I play with 7-day seasons because 1) on a normal lifespan I can rest assured that a kid will experience all the holidays at least once between child-teen years, and 2) I never have to worry about getting back to the middle of the season when I get back on track with the cheat.
If someone is playing with 14-day seasons and only playing for 1 week each household, they may need to use a mod or some other method of maintaining seasonal continuity.
I play each family for 1 week, changing households just after 2am on Mondays. This lets them attend any award shows they might be nominated for on Sunday nights. I used to switch at 5am but now there’s a bug where harvestables left in plants will go into the household inventory if you leave them like that and reload the lot, and that’s a real pain. Also, if you switch after 2am you can end any holidays you might be having (if you switch before 2am, the family you switch to won’t have much time to complete the holiday traditions).
This schedule shifts to around 5pm Monday if you have students in university. They’ll have time to enroll for a Tuesday-Monday term, then you want to make sure to save BEFORE 6pm Monday when they get their grades! Then you can keep playing to see what their grades are BUT quit without saving, this freezes their re-enrollment until you rotate back to them.
@mcrudd I was just sitting here thinking through some ideas and just realized my sim self has been a vampire, a spell caster, almost everything except one, mermaid. And I have a current save with her in Sulani, so I just need some kelp and that's one down.
Thanks for all your helpful tips @babajayne truly appreciate it. I am not too bothered with seasons, never was, but I do think I have them on the longest one for now. The timing is good advice, I will keep those in mind. Wow have to remember about the uni students. Thanks really appreciate all the help
@mcrudd I was just sitting here thinking through some ideas and just realized my sim self has been a vampire, a spell caster, almost everything except one, mermaid. And I have a current save with her in Sulani, so I just need some kelp and that's one down.
I am not a storyteller LOL, but here its short and sweet.
Candice and Lady have moved into their tiny little house. She had to carry Lady in as she is still a puppy.
This is the house they are starting in, but a little bit of DIY will happen now, some things will go and some will change. Might take a while, I am picky in buy mode and now have a limited budget, no motherlode in this rotational play
@mcrudd I just love how you keep coming up with new (to me) and fun ways to play The Sims. I'm still slowly working my way thru your aspiration challenge but I'm following this. I'm gonna attempt this when I finish the previous one you came up with.
@elanorbreton feel free to share your rotational game play from your current game here The more the merrier LOL I am only just becoming brave enough to add little mods to my game, MCCC is still a bit daunting for me, maybe one day
Ha ha! I will share a little but I don't want to take over your thread
I have always made back-ups of my games and often find really old ones hanging around my computer, so what I did for my current game is added all the sims I have ever played in old games into my current save. So I have a mix of my sims 4 sims and remade sims 2 and 3 sims. I just re-started as I had been playing without MCCC and realised they all lost their relationships and I was too annoyed to carry on with the previous one.
So this is my first family: the Dunn family, who live in Willow Creek.
Lee is in the writing career and hopes to become a rich author. Mikaela is a freelance artist (with the electronic sketchpad) and also paints on her easel and sells on Plopsy. Nathan is almost a teen. He is trying to complete all his scout badges and get his school grade up from a B. Kayleigh and Kirsten are unidentical twins (born in a previous saved game).
And don't worry if you want to add MCCC - I only use a few small mods and the only thing I use MCCC for is the relationship decay, so it is just like using another small mod. You just add it in to your game the same way as any other small mod and only use the basic module, then when you get in game you click on a computer, choose MCCC settings and go into Relationships then set all the decay options to 0. You never have to do anything with it ever again!
@mcrudd aww thank you, you're too kind I'm happy you enjoyed my little introduction story. Your Sim's puppy is too cute! I think you are right, I was meant to forget about making a dog in CAS, because I love this little dog I found in Brindleton Bay. When I was visiting there I was also thinking how beautiful that world is. I'm really enjoying the game you set up. I am just playing one week at a time, because if I tried to create all the households in CAS first, it would take me days and days. I like to play very fast and fast forward through things. It takes me forever to set up a Sim in CAS.
Week One. Celeste Blackwell. Tuesday.
Celeste is exhausted from staying up all night trying to find that adorable stray dog named Molly. It's her second day at work as an intern is she is struggling to stay awake. Just guzzling cups of coffee and fighting back red plumbob collapse.
She didn't make it and fell asleep on the sofa.
After work she went back to Brindleton Bay to look for Molly again. She decided to wait by the picnic table where she met her first and soon enough she showed up. Happily, Celeste picked up Molly and took her home.
For some reason Celeste can't adopt Molly. Molly is no longer listed as a stray, even though she is clearly lost and abandoned and needs a home. While Celeste was cooking dinner a neighbour named Vlad showed up and suggested checking to see if Molly can be adopted online.
While Celeste was distracted on her computer, Vlad attacked her with compulsion and bit her. Molly got so scared she ran away. Her little head is seen in the photo at the end of the walkway before she disappears again
Celeste is back at work, but she doesn't feel so good and is struggling again. She can hardly eat her lunch. The sandwich just taste awful.
After work. Celeste decides to try again to find Molly, but the dog is nowhere to be found. Only animal seen was a lone seagull.
Celeste decides to head out to the Brindleton Bay bar to grab some dinner. Her stomach hurts so much she can barely keep her food down.
Aimi, the hospital receptionist, has been calling Celeste all day asking if she should change careers. Celeste keeps telling her no, she is a great receptionist, why quit? Celeste calls again to invite her out to a bonfire. Celeste tells Aimi about her quest to find the lost dog Molly..
After the party, Celeste returns to the park one more time to try to find the stray dog. She finally find her, whimpering and walking slowly, maybe afraid of the ghost dogs out at night. Celeste is finally able to adopt her and take her home permanently.
@mcrudd I just realized you had made a future week in Forgotten Hollow. I haven't played a vampire doctor before and wanted to try it. I think I might cure her and then create a new vampire when I reach that week.
Here is my first household, Baylee and her fur baby Cupcake.
I'll probably knock out another household or two before I get into actual gameplay. And I decided to start over with a fresh save. I'm still going to use my sim self as the Sulani mermaid. I'm at a point now where I can start playing some storylines with her that aren't necessarily living through her. And I'm really intrigued to see her as a mermaid.
I had the day off work today. So I decided to take Molly to the park. I can't believe I found such a sweet dog in Brindleton Bay. She is a friendly couch potato who likes to go on adventures, so I take her everywhere with me. Here are some pics of us at the park.
In the afternoon I took Molly to the vet for a checkup and wellness shot. She was so good and listened to everything the vet said.
I met Catalina Lynx at the clinic. A woman from the same town I found Molly. We were chatting and becoming friends when something terrible happened. I turned into a vampire. Catalina fled the clinic, but the vet assistant also witnessed what happened to me.
I had no choice. I had to do it. She would have told someone. I was so hungry...
I found Catalina's house in Brindleton Bay. I just wanted to talk to her and apologize, but she wouldn't let me in the house. Now I feel like one of those vampires in those Sims 4 stories where they just stand on the porch in front of your house. The heat from the sun was getting unbearable and my skin was starting to hurt. Catalina told me through the door I should go to Forgotten Hollow where the vampires live.
What would I do without this little dog? Molly just looks up at me with adoring eyes as though nothing has changed.
Caleb and Lilith Vatore, a brother and sister who live nearby found me crying and wandering around Forgotten Hollow and took me in. They are vampires and were able to remove Vlad's compulsion spell. I now remember it was Vlad who bit and turned me into a vampire. They told me if I study vampire lore, I will be able to make a cure for myself. I also discovered that I have Vlad's ability to turn into a bat.
Lilith took me home and we found Vlad there waiting outside my house. He claims he was just coming to check on me. My friend from work showed up at the same time. She had no idea she was surrounded by vampires. How will I return to work like this? I hope I can cure myself of vampirism, but Vlad thinks I won't want to once I adapt.
Andre and Gianni Morales (brothers) are doing the Making Money scenario. They live in Oasis Springs. Andre is a tech guru and Gianni is a klepto criminal. After day 2 they had gone from zero funds to just under $1000, but Gianni also won a computer worth 3K at the Geekcon festival in the Hackathon.
Then came the Maddox family from Newcrest. Tom is a fisherman (luckily, they live right opposite the Newcrest pond), Kate is a freelancer crafter who recycles stuff to make more stuff. Lucy likes playing with their cat, Mooch.
And the Oasis Springs household. Meet Chloe and Taco.
Chloe is working her way towards being a detective but secretly she really wants to be a singer.
And she also would like to state for the record that she doesn't know anything about the high-end dress, shoes, and jewelry from the big fashion heist that somehow went missing from the evidence room. It was her day off.
@elanorbreton I'm so happy you are joining in with your Sims even though you have a different rotation game. I agree with @mcrudd the more the merrier. How did you make $1000 in 2 days?
@LMLS2143 Your Sims are gorgeous. I see that jewelry and now you've inspired me to throw all my CC back in the game. I was doing it gradually since the last update, but nah, I'm just gonna add everything back in I miss that jewelry and high heels I'm looking forward to your high end fashion show
Aww thank you @ImSands, I guess I am just trying new things and like sharing it with all my sims friends and other players We all love sims
@elanorbreton aww you will never take over my thread, I am sharing it with all sim lovers like us. Love your families, they are so cute. I have not done scouting yet as well, wow so much I still need to experience in the game.
@Elliandre oooh Celeste story is so excitening, I nearly had a little heart break reading about the doggy running off when Vlad bit Celeste, but glad that all played out well in the end You can keep Celeste a vampire, its your story line, you don’t have to follow mine It will make your game more interesting, wow a vampire as a dr, patients need to look out LOL
@LMLS2143 aww love little baby cupcake Wecome to our thread, can’t wait to see Baylee and her furbabies adventures.
@Elliandre aww Molly is just the cutest little pup ever Caleb and Lilith will look after Celeste nicely, they are the kindest vampires ever. Oh my gosh Vlad seriously just go and get lost grrrrr.
@elanorbreton Well done to the brothers making so much money, I did the Money making scenario two times, once as a painter and once as a treasure finder Aww love your families. Love the Maddox families big fluffy kitty cat too
@LMLS2143 Taco is adorable Chloe is lovely too. Oooh she would make a lovely singer.
I enjoyed everyone’s updates I will load my game now and play a little bit too. I will try to remember posting the days, did not even think of that until I saw @Elliandre doing it
@mcrudd I'm going to switch back to my families in my own rotation game for a bit, miss my Sim toddlers and farm. Celeste is now an orderly, taught her dog some new tricks, and cured herself from vampirism.
To spice up your rotational play a bit, how about creating some single-household sims with no storyline? You can develop their characters over time, and because they are single without children, you can send them anywhere at any time with no guilt, no responsibilities.
This is a staple of my gameplay. My sims don't have jobs or families, they live for the moment
My scientist for Newcrest. Eagle eyed viewers, and blind viewers too, will notice it's Willow Creek not Newcrest in the picture. I have never built Newcrest but I wanted to get my sim for that world posted. On with the show....
Meet Antoine Charles. He's heard all the haters and doubters, now he's going to show them he knows his way around the laboratory as well as, no, better than them. And he's easy on the eyes too, amirite ladies....
Comments
Hahahaha we can't wait to see your sims and gameplay
To avoid repeating seasons or holidays in the same family (or a family never experiencing them all), it’s useful to mark down what each household has lived through. I’ve been using the seasons.advance_season cheat (as much as needed) when I get back to the first household in the rotation. I play with 7-day seasons because 1) on a normal lifespan I can rest assured that a kid will experience all the holidays at least once between child-teen years, and 2) I never have to worry about getting back to the middle of the season when I get back on track with the cheat.
If someone is playing with 14-day seasons and only playing for 1 week each household, they may need to use a mod or some other method of maintaining seasonal continuity.
I play each family for 1 week, changing households just after 2am on Mondays. This lets them attend any award shows they might be nominated for on Sunday nights. I used to switch at 5am but now there’s a bug where harvestables left in plants will go into the household inventory if you leave them like that and reload the lot, and that’s a real pain. Also, if you switch after 2am you can end any holidays you might be having (if you switch before 2am, the family you switch to won’t have much time to complete the holiday traditions).
This schedule shifts to around 5pm Monday if you have students in university. They’ll have time to enroll for a Tuesday-Monday term, then you want to make sure to save BEFORE 6pm Monday when they get their grades! Then you can keep playing to see what their grades are BUT quit without saving, this freezes their re-enrollment until you rotate back to them.
Way to go, so you are already on the roll
Candice and Lady have moved into their tiny little house. She had to carry Lady in as she is still a puppy.
This is the house they are starting in, but a little bit of DIY will happen now, some things will go and some will change. Might take a while, I am picky in buy mode and now have a limited budget, no motherlode in this rotational play
Little Lady's day
Sleepy time
Tending to the patients (forgot to take more pics LOL)
Candice's first day at work meeting co workers on her coffee break
Some loves from Lady when she got back from work
I have always made back-ups of my games and often find really old ones hanging around my computer, so what I did for my current game is added all the sims I have ever played in old games into my current save. So I have a mix of my sims 4 sims and remade sims 2 and 3 sims. I just re-started as I had been playing without MCCC and realised they all lost their relationships and I was too annoyed to carry on with the previous one.
So this is my first family: the Dunn family, who live in Willow Creek.
Lee is in the writing career and hopes to become a rich author. Mikaela is a freelance artist (with the electronic sketchpad) and also paints on her easel and sells on Plopsy. Nathan is almost a teen. He is trying to complete all his scout badges and get his school grade up from a B. Kayleigh and Kirsten are unidentical twins (born in a previous saved game).
And don't worry if you want to add MCCC - I only use a few small mods and the only thing I use MCCC for is the relationship decay, so it is just like using another small mod. You just add it in to your game the same way as any other small mod and only use the basic module, then when you get in game you click on a computer, choose MCCC settings and go into Relationships then set all the decay options to 0. You never have to do anything with it ever again!
Week One. Celeste Blackwell. Tuesday.
Celeste is exhausted from staying up all night trying to find that adorable stray dog named Molly. It's her second day at work as an intern is she is struggling to stay awake. Just guzzling cups of coffee and fighting back red plumbob collapse.
She didn't make it and fell asleep on the sofa.
After work she went back to Brindleton Bay to look for Molly again. She decided to wait by the picnic table where she met her first and soon enough she showed up. Happily, Celeste picked up Molly and took her home.
For some reason Celeste can't adopt Molly. Molly is no longer listed as a stray, even though she is clearly lost and abandoned and needs a home. While Celeste was cooking dinner a neighbour named Vlad showed up and suggested checking to see if Molly can be adopted online.
While Celeste was distracted on her computer, Vlad attacked her with compulsion and bit her. Molly got so scared she ran away. Her little head is seen in the photo at the end of the walkway before she disappears again
Celeste is back at work, but she doesn't feel so good and is struggling again. She can hardly eat her lunch. The sandwich just taste awful.
After work. Celeste decides to try again to find Molly, but the dog is nowhere to be found. Only animal seen was a lone seagull.
Celeste decides to head out to the Brindleton Bay bar to grab some dinner. Her stomach hurts so much she can barely keep her food down.
Aimi, the hospital receptionist, has been calling Celeste all day asking if she should change careers. Celeste keeps telling her no, she is a great receptionist, why quit? Celeste calls again to invite her out to a bonfire. Celeste tells Aimi about her quest to find the lost dog Molly..
After the party, Celeste returns to the park one more time to try to find the stray dog. She finally find her, whimpering and walking slowly, maybe afraid of the ghost dogs out at night. Celeste is finally able to adopt her and take her home permanently.
I'll probably knock out another household or two before I get into actual gameplay. And I decided to start over with a fresh save. I'm still going to use my sim self as the Sulani mermaid. I'm at a point now where I can start playing some storylines with her that aren't necessarily living through her. And I'm really intrigued to see her as a mermaid.
I had the day off work today. So I decided to take Molly to the park. I can't believe I found such a sweet dog in Brindleton Bay. She is a friendly couch potato who likes to go on adventures, so I take her everywhere with me. Here are some pics of us at the park.
In the afternoon I took Molly to the vet for a checkup and wellness shot. She was so good and listened to everything the vet said.
I met Catalina Lynx at the clinic. A woman from the same town I found Molly. We were chatting and becoming friends when something terrible happened. I turned into a vampire. Catalina fled the clinic, but the vet assistant also witnessed what happened to me.
I had no choice. I had to do it. She would have told someone. I was so hungry...
I found Catalina's house in Brindleton Bay. I just wanted to talk to her and apologize, but she wouldn't let me in the house. Now I feel like one of those vampires in those Sims 4 stories where they just stand on the porch in front of your house. The heat from the sun was getting unbearable and my skin was starting to hurt. Catalina told me through the door I should go to Forgotten Hollow where the vampires live.
What would I do without this little dog? Molly just looks up at me with adoring eyes as though nothing has changed.
Caleb and Lilith Vatore, a brother and sister who live nearby found me crying and wandering around Forgotten Hollow and took me in. They are vampires and were able to remove Vlad's compulsion spell. I now remember it was Vlad who bit and turned me into a vampire. They told me if I study vampire lore, I will be able to make a cure for myself. I also discovered that I have Vlad's ability to turn into a bat.
Lilith took me home and we found Vlad there waiting outside my house. He claims he was just coming to check on me. My friend from work showed up at the same time. She had no idea she was surrounded by vampires. How will I return to work like this? I hope I can cure myself of vampirism, but Vlad thinks I won't want to once I adapt.
I rotated through 2 households today.
Andre and Gianni Morales (brothers) are doing the Making Money scenario. They live in Oasis Springs. Andre is a tech guru and Gianni is a klepto criminal. After day 2 they had gone from zero funds to just under $1000, but Gianni also won a computer worth 3K at the Geekcon festival in the Hackathon.
Then came the Maddox family from Newcrest. Tom is a fisherman (luckily, they live right opposite the Newcrest pond), Kate is a freelancer crafter who recycles stuff to make more stuff. Lucy likes playing with their cat, Mooch.
Chloe is working her way towards being a detective but secretly she really wants to be a singer.
And she also would like to state for the record that she doesn't know anything about the high-end dress, shoes, and jewelry from the big fashion heist that somehow went missing from the evidence room. It was her day off.
@LMLS2143 Your Sims are gorgeous. I see that jewelry and now you've inspired me to throw all my CC back in the game. I was doing it gradually since the last update, but nah, I'm just gonna add everything back in I miss that jewelry and high heels
I screwed up, Chloe's jewelry with the black dress is Murphy, the jewelry with the everyday outfit is Dallas Girl as is the top she's wearing.
@elanorbreton aww you will never take over my thread, I am sharing it with all sim lovers like us. Love your families, they are so cute. I have not done scouting yet as well, wow so much I still need to experience in the game.
@Elliandre oooh Celeste story is so excitening, I nearly had a little heart break reading about the doggy running off when Vlad bit Celeste, but glad that all played out well in the end
@LMLS2143 aww love little baby cupcake
@Elliandre aww Molly is just the cutest little pup ever
@elanorbreton Well done to the brothers making so much money, I did the Money making scenario two times, once as a painter and once as a treasure finder
@LMLS2143 Taco is adorable
I enjoyed everyone’s updates
This is a staple of my gameplay. My sims don't have jobs or families, they live for the moment
Meet Antoine Charles. He's heard all the haters and doubters, now he's going to show them he knows his way around the laboratory as well as, no, better than them. And he's easy on the eyes too, amirite ladies....