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    How does the game choose which sim is head of household?

    ModifienModifien Posts: 363 Member
    in The Sims 4 General Discussion
    I have done a few ISBI challenges where I make my main, controllable sim first, then add in their housemates after. Annoyingly, the main sim's portrait ends up mixed into the middle of the household portraits on the game screen, instead of being the first one. Also, the household name on the map will often be one of the other sims' last names, instead of the main sim's.

    I would think that the first sim made in the household would take priority, and that the portraits would reflect the order sims were added to the household, either in CAS or through birth. But apparently not.

    Does anyone know the logic so I can make sure my main sim is the first portrait/household name?

    Comments

    • GalacticGalGalacticGal Posts: 28,547 Member
      I wish I knew. Logically, it should follow in the order of creation. For instance I make a dad, the mom, and from them generate their children, in the order I see in my own head. But, sometimes, the mom will be first, then the Dad, and sometimes the second child will precede the 'older' one. Face/palm. What I end up doing is aging my Sims in their 'birth order' and often times I need to make the mom a YA if the dad is an Adult. That way at least the parents follow their assigned placement. Sometimes I think it's better to just have the children born in-game. Ooffdda.
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    • ModifienModifien Posts: 363 Member
      @GalacticGal I almost always do that, but I've been doing challenges lately that start with a full house, and I can only control one sim. So I've been a bit frustrated with the create 8 sims, have no clue who the household will be named after, or where my one controllable sim will end up on the household portraits in game. Bleh. Just messy.
    • ShadyLady89ShadyLady89 Posts: 908 Member
      I'm curious about this myself. I've always been under the impression its dictated by the age of the sims.
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    • GalacticGalGalacticGal Posts: 28,547 Member
      Modifien wrote: »
      @GalacticGal I almost always do that, but I've been doing challenges lately that start with a full house, and I can only control one sim. So I've been a bit frustrated with the create 8 sims, have no clue who the household will be named after, or where my one controllable sim will end up on the household portraits in game. Bleh. Just messy.

      You can rename the household through the manage household feature. You can ensure your desired Sim is first by making them older than the rest unless the challenge restricts that. I have only ever played Pinstar's Legacy Challenge. Sims2-4. Otherwise, I just play my favorite households where I control the horizontal and the vertical, if you will. :open_mouth: Best of luck to you and I hope you have more fun than frustration.
      You can download (free) all three volumes of my Night Whispers Star Trek Fanfiction here: http://galacticgal.deviantart.com/gallery/ You'll need to have a pdf reader. New websites: http://www.trekkiefanfiction.com/st-tos.php
      http://www.getfreeebooks.com/star-trek-original-series-fan-fiction-trilogy/
    • SimmervilleSimmerville Posts: 11,668 Member
      ShadyLady89 wrote: »
      I'm curious about this myself. I've always been under the impression its dictated by the age of the sims.

      I think it's the oldest sim. If several sims are created as same life stage, the game will probably have given them a random number of days into their life stage, meaning they are not same age, only same life stage.
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    • ShadyLady89ShadyLady89 Posts: 908 Member
      @Simmerville wouldn't it be nice if we could set that number in CAS? So many little things like that I would enjoy seeing implemented someday.

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    • SimmervilleSimmerville Posts: 11,668 Member
      ShadyLady89 wrote: »
      @Simmerville wouldn't it be nice if we could set that number in CAS? So many little things like that I would enjoy seeing implemented someday.

      Absolutely! At least to decide what sim should be the oldest. Or if you plan a family already having twins, then the twins will probably be of different age, lol.
      Simmerville on Youtube | My blog is updated weekly: Simmerville's Sims<br>a.jpg
    • SiliCloneSiliClone Posts: 2,585 Member
      My first Sim in list is usually the cat... Seems fitting.
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    • ModifienModifien Posts: 363 Member
      Simmerville wrote: »
      ShadyLady89 wrote: »
      I'm curious about this myself. I've always been under the impression its dictated by the age of the sims.

      I think it's the oldest sim. If several sims are created as same life stage, the game will probably have given them a random number of days into their life stage, meaning they are not same age, only same life stage.

      Oh my god, thank you! That makes so much sense!
    • DeKayDeKay Posts: 81,590 Member
      Simmerville wrote: »
      ShadyLady89 wrote: »
      I'm curious about this myself. I've always been under the impression its dictated by the age of the sims.

      I think it's the oldest sim. If several sims are created as same life stage, the game will probably have given them a random number of days into their life stage, meaning they are not same age, only same life stage.

      No, if they are created in CAS with the same age, they will go in order of creation. They will also just start with day 0 of that life stage.
      My Top Song of the Day: Innocence by Avril Lavigne
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    • DeKayDeKay Posts: 81,590 Member
      And yeah, with the household name, you can just rename it in Household Management or after creating the family.
      My Top Song of the Day: Innocence by Avril Lavigne
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    • SimmervilleSimmerville Posts: 11,668 Member
      DeKay wrote: »
      Simmerville wrote: »
      ShadyLady89 wrote: »
      I'm curious about this myself. I've always been under the impression its dictated by the age of the sims.

      I think it's the oldest sim. If several sims are created as same life stage, the game will probably have given them a random number of days into their life stage, meaning they are not same age, only same life stage.

      No, if they are created in CAS with the same age, they will go in order of creation. They will also just start with day 0 of that life stage.

      Oki, must have changed then. I know my sims from CAS normally did not start on year 0 in their life stage. It's been a while since I created any new, though.
      Simmerville on Youtube | My blog is updated weekly: Simmerville's Sims<br>a.jpg
    • DeKayDeKay Posts: 81,590 Member
      Simmerville wrote: »
      DeKay wrote: »
      Simmerville wrote: »
      ShadyLady89 wrote: »
      I'm curious about this myself. I've always been under the impression its dictated by the age of the sims.

      I think it's the oldest sim. If several sims are created as same life stage, the game will probably have given them a random number of days into their life stage, meaning they are not same age, only same life stage.

      No, if they are created in CAS with the same age, they will go in order of creation. They will also just start with day 0 of that life stage.

      Oki, must have changed then. I know my sims from CAS normally did not start on year 0 in their life stage. It's been a while since I created any new, though.

      Is it? I know there was a glitch a few months ago where when you create a sim in CAS, it added extra days to the sim the longer you spend in CAS. That's not supposed to happen tho.

      I don't know if they did change it now or not. I haven't created new households in a long time.

      But a loooong time ago, they all should start at day 0.
      My Top Song of the Day: Innocence by Avril Lavigne
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    • puderosasimspuderosasims Posts: 522 Member
      edited August 2019
      DeKay wrote: »
      Is it? I know there was a glitch a few months ago where when you create a sim in CAS, it added extra days to the sim the longer you spend in CAS. That's not supposed to happen tho.

      I don't know if they did change it now or not. I haven't created new households in a long time.

      But a loooong time ago, they all should start at day 0.
      As far as I know, they all start with random days so they don't age up at the same time. This change seems to be relatively new, though, and I definitely don't like it. lol

      Edit: Yep, unfortunately, I was right.
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