What am I still doing wrong? (Serial Restarting in New Saves)

NRowe · February 23

Okay, maybe it’s just my personal playstyle and isn’t really “wrong” but I simply can’t seem to stick with my Sims

I’ll come up with a bit of a backstory, character type or game feature I want to try. I can spend hours, even days, creating the actual Sims and then building/furnishing their home. I play them for a bit, very frequently post about it here on the forums and then something happens I get, well not quite bored but sort of disinterested

Sometimes immersion breaking things like bugs happen. Sometimes game updates outright break the save. Other times the Sims get into a rut. Maybe they’ve gotten married and they’re no longer poor and then somehow it’s not as much ‘fun’ so a new idea arises. All the Sims seem rather similar despite their different traits, appearances and interests.

So yeah, I don’t quite know what I’m doing “wrong”. Any ideas would be much appreciated.

Simmingal · February 23

I wouldn't say you are doing anything "wrong"
but I think what often helps me out of this is doing something completely opposite to my usual playstyle

say for example you always create same type of sim?
how about this time you go and just snatch randomized townie off the street
and start playing them instead making no sim whatsoever?

say you are always building samey house?
well what if your sim doesn't get a house this time?
what if all they have is a tent or bush
or they spend their entire time on community lots?

say you are always ending up with small families?
well what if you played single sim instead?
what if they never romanced anyone?

and so forth

Lenny_Ogg · February 23

Maybe it would help you to find out if this is a The Sims problem or just the way you are?

For example:
I have ADHD so I usually get desinterested with stuff in general after a while.
Except when it's my special interest, then I can stick with something and 'dive in'.
So in general I don't expect to stick with something and enjoy it as long as it lasts.
And I can never fortell for what I will fall and for how long. That's just how I am.

If this is a Sims problem:

Ideas you could try:
Rotational Play
Before I got stuck with the Boys for over 1 1/2 years now I was a rotational player.
I have almost 150 Sims 4 Sims and I played them all. And while rotating I missed some of them more than the others and switched over.
My stories happen without planning with Sims I already have. I just play with them and sometimes they tell me their stories ^^

I don't know if you always start a new safe with new Sims?
Maybe keep them all in one safe and see if you miss some of them?
I really like that my Sims are a community even if I not play them and they can meet each other and become friends and spend time together.
Plus my Sims have all different characters and the traits given by the game a just the tip of the iceberg.
I find out more about them by watching them.
Maybe you could create Sims from persons you know and this could help you to get more attached to them? Because they already have depth.
And you already are attached to them/like them/know more about them.
Could be friends or family or celebrities or characters from movies/series/books...

What are you doing wrong:
I follow your struggles for many months now and I can relate (see above).

My thoughts:
Maybe you try too hard?
Maybe setting up new Sims with houses, backstories puts you under a lot of stress and keeps you from actually just enjoying?
And you know that saying: doing the same stuff all over again and expecting a different outcome is... ^^'
And another saying is that you can't force falling in love and I think you can't force to have fun with the Sims either

I play the Sims for over 20 years and when it's not fun I take a break.
It's totally ok to not play the Sims.

Maybe you have something in mind that just doesn't work for you?
Maybe you try to do what works for other Simmers but not for you?
Maybe you have a way to play in mind you force yourself to follow but it does not work out?
Or try to find out why you want this so bad? Are there maybe other ways to play this game that fit you better?

Or is it just the boredom that comes with a game like The Sims 4?
That there is no real 'game' and it's up to you how much you enjoy it.
Maybe another game with quests and a goal would be better for you?
Playing the Sims 4 is not very 'rewarding' imo. All you get is the fun you have.

Or maybe you just enjoy making new Sims and setting up houses and stories for them?
I know Simmers who spend all their time in CAS and make new Sims and never play with them.
And that's how they have fun. And that's ok too.

Uh, these are just my thoughts before breakfast

crocobaura · February 23

I don't understand why you need to start again. If you wan to play a new sim, just add him/her to a new lot in the same save. This way you have sims that you can choose from for friendships and marriages and they come with some skills and interests and a backstory. And you can always return to them if you get new ides for them.

I have never had updates break the game to the point that it becomes completely unplayable, but I play vanilla. Sure, there are bugs, but when I want to play, I try to play around them if possible. Sometimes I just build interesting community lots for my sims. They are more fun and more elaborate and diverse than tying to fit all skill and fun objects onto the home lot.

For poor sims who become rich and are no longer interesting, maybe you could try change your game style and aim for different achievements than just financial. Give them a job, hobby, or aspiration that maybe you have never tried playing before. When new ideas arise, see if you can apply them to your current household and incorporate them into the gameplay. Sometimes even small things like adding a lot challenge to the lot can change the gameplay enough to make it interesting. When you get bored with your current family and run out of ideas for them you can switch to another family in the same save, it could be a new one, or one you have played before and for which you have some fresh ideas.

flauschtrud · February 23

@Lenny_Ogg
I really appreciate this inclusive take on creativity and fun. It resonates a lot with me and thoughts like these finally gave me some peace with my own (potentially neurodiverse) struggles.

@NRowe
I don't know if it would work for you but here are some things that helped me myself to stick with a save/family for a longer time:
- play on short lifespan (more variety and challenge because it's more difficult to get rich)
- randomize traits (I enjoy randomized traits as an inspiration for my Sim's lifestyle, career, home etc.)
- add challenges (I like rags to riches and lot challenges to make the game harder and I also make sure my Sims spend enough money so they don't get super rich fast)
- write a story (I recently started to create a story about my legacy family here in the forums and it helped me a lot to emotionally connect with my Sims, something I want really able to before)

LeucosiaX · February 23

NRowe wrote: »

Okay, maybe it’s just my personal playstyle and isn’t really “wrong” but I simply can’t seem to stick with my Sims

I’ll come up with a bit of a backstory, character type or game feature I want to try. I can spend hours, even days, creating the actual Sims and then building/furnishing their home. I play them for a bit, very frequently post about it here on the forums and then something happens I get, well not quite bored but sort of disinterested

Sometimes immersion breaking things like bugs happen. Sometimes game updates outright break the save. Other times the Sims get into a rut. Maybe they’ve gotten married and they’re no longer poor and then somehow it’s not as much ‘fun’ so a new idea arises. All the Sims seem rather similar despite their different traits, appearances and interests.

So yeah, I don’t quite know what I’m doing “wrong”. Any ideas would be much appreciated.

@NRowe
I made a new year oath to try to play one household for two sims weeks. Bugs lags, and immersion breaking things happen which lead me to no choice but to play another household. It seems unless you have an pro gamer computers, only tolerable way to play. I remember when this happened with my first family, Patricia was pregnant and I was waiting for her to give birth and she was well overdue, but it never happened. I had to leave play as another household, and come back to the household where the baby was present. The game is very temperamental and I see it more like I am playing with the game's capability to perform as a game.

Again the other day I was playing as my sim self family, and they were out. I couldnt get back home. The left but the screen stood on the current lot with other sims just being themselves. I literally had to load out and load back in, same issue. This happened three times, when I realized I am not a rotational player because I want to be, but because I have to be.
Scenarios seems to play the best without bugs from my experience. If you feel like it, this is an enjoyable way to play. I only don't like they make you start a new sim to play.

simgirl1010 · February 23

It seems that you enjoy making new sims, creating a backstory, designing their homes, then playing them for a while before wanting to move on to something different.

If you look through your post history you'll see many threads similar to this one. With the same advice given above.

We've helped you choose names, careers, aspirations, marriage partners for your Sims.

Why not just accept that this is your playstyle and you're not doing anything wrong.

Why not just continue what you've been doing and maybe one of your families will eventually motivate you to continue their story into the next generation. And the next.

PandoraTO · February 23

When people ask this question, I always advise doing a challenge that forces you to play in a different style. For example, I normally play families, so when I was in a rut once, I started playing the Asylum Challenge. Not only was I playing a household full of adults, I had to leave 7 of them completely autonomous, which was also against my usual style. I had to just embrace the chaos, lol. It was quite fun!

maggiemae8135 · February 23

@NRowe I agree with @simgirl1010. I too get bored easily, especially if I am playing the same way every time. As long as you are enjoying most of the time you are playing then you are enjoying the game. I love coming up with new ideas for my gameplay and am always starting new ones. I spend a lot of time setting the games up, building my own homes and characters. Right now I am working on 2 games for my new computer, one with normal sims and family play and the other with occult families as well as human. I enjoy setting the games up. When I start playing I plan on rotational play as I enjoy having characters I put in the game meeting and interacting with each other. I have different types of characters, some good, some not so good (or evil), and enjoy exploring gameplay with the different characters. But I do have the majority of the packs so I have lots of options! If I am getting bored with one save I will change to another. Sometimes I get so bored I end up playing my Skyrim or another game. Then when I get bored with that I go back to my Sims and start enjoying that again. There is no right or wrong way to play the Sims. Play in whatever way you enjoy it!

EnkiSchmidt · February 23

Rotational play might be the way to go for you. Turn off aging for everyone but the active household. Then play as always, but whenever you get desinterested in a household, add your new sims to the same save. Soon you will have a web of co-workers, friends and rivals. Think of boring job tasks like "Get to know a sim at spice market" or "Talk to another social media career sim" - they are much better if your new sim does them with one of your old ones.

You said you enjoy giving your sims backstories and posting about them. In this case you'd probably also enjoy giving your whole sims world an overarching goal or theme. Some element that will be present in every household. Maybe all sims have the same ethnic heritage, but adhere to it to differing degrees. Or maybe the neighborhood has some very strict building guidelines that can only get lifted if you have a sim at the top of one each of politics, interior decorator and civic designer. Or a new fashion trend emerges and everyone now includes pieces of one or two specific packs. Think of mini challenges that would be painful for your sims (for drama), but fun for you as a player!

That said, as a serial restarter myself, I don't see anything wrong with your way of playing.

Eleri · February 23

I'll add my vote to the suggestion that you start your new families in the same save with your old families. It does a lot to add to the lore.
I would also suggest trying out a challenge to see if that holds your interest. I really liked the Zombie Apocalypse Challenge.

I remember when I used to play Sims 2 I would start a new family the way you do, with a general premise and a loose story line in mind. The personality AI for that game had a lot more impact, so often the game would push back at my plans because a sim didn't want to do what I wanted them to do (because of personality, not glitches). I could decide to double down on my original plan, but I would have to work harder at it, or I could go with the flow of where my sims were taking me. We don't really have that in Sims 4. If you don't enjoy micromanaging the details of your story to force it to be interesting, it can end up feeling samey. At the same time, the lack of push back makes the environment very flexible for playing quirky challenges, which is what I enjoy most about Sims 4.

JAL · February 23

I think sometimes a story is just a story until it's done. That has certainly happened to me. I make a sim, they have something they want to achieve, or better yet, some sort of struggle to overcome, then once they succeed (find the perfect match, raise x number of kids and send them off to college, get rich, build their dream home...) I feel done. It's like writing a book, sooner or later the story ends. Maybe you just prefer short stories over long novels? Nothing wrong with that.

I do agree with keeping old sims in game when you create new ones. There is a satisfaction to seeing the accomplished sims you've created continue on with their lives. If you leave neighborhood stories on, they'll progress and maybe then you'll see a reason to revisit them after a while.

SERVERFRA · February 23

Sounds like you need a variety to your gameplay. I suggest making different Timeline Game Saves. If you have most of the packs, you can use Sulani & Tartosa Worlds for an Ancient Times play with Greeks, Romans & Egyptians.
With a another new Game Save you can use Windenburg, Henford, Brindleton Bay & Glimmerbrook for a Medieval or Georgian play with Knights, Nobels, Peasants, Pirates, Royalty & Witches/Wizards.
On the flip side with a new Game Save you can use Oasis Springs, Evergreen Harbor & Strangerville for a Futuristic SIFI play with Aliens, Hybrids & Robots.
Just remember your build codes & CAS codes, you won't need any mods/ccs/mccs. I've began this myself back in 2020 when I was bored with my Sims 4, now I have 5 Game Saves from Ancient Times to Futuristic. Also, I only play Vanilla in my PC Sims 4 & depend on my packs to change my worlds.
I promise you won't be bored again or lose ideas in your Sims 4 play if you create a variety of fun Game Saves.

luthienrising · February 23

Honestly? Sometimes my "playstyle" for a while is making new households and setting them up then playing them for a day. I think it's okay.

(Sometimes my "playstyle" is that it turns out it really wasn't time for Sims. Then I usually play Civ VI for a while. I almost never play to finish a game in that, either. The end stage is just too slow, so I start over

And that's okay too.)

Chicklet453681 · February 23

I am your twin when it comes to this!

I too am notorious for:

Having a storyline pop up in my head
Getting excited for it and can't wait to play
Create my sim(s) and the world
Go on a downloading spree for what I feel are necessary mods to enhance the story
Start playing and then get bored and then another storyline pops into my head and I am "Ohhh yeah! That'll be fun!" and then I start the process all over again!

Rinse
Repeat

I'm actually working on a new story to play too. I'm really hoping that it actually keeps me entertained because it is 100% NOT how I typically play, at all!

I'm really super shy and not outgoing in RL .... and I'm not flirty either so my RL personality has a tendency to take over when I play the sims and I tend to keep my sims to their selves.

So even when they are out and about I don't deliberately have them go up to random NPCs and start conversations.

I normally just let it play out without my input (because that's how I am in RL and my RL self feels weirded out doing these things, even though it's in a game).

So I think that's part of the reason I start over, because I can't enjoy playing when I feel like I'm forced to make my sim(s) behave/do things that are uncomfortable for me to do and that don't come naturally to me

One thing I always do is play with aging off, I typically always play a single young adult looking for her mate, I always think I'll let them have kids ... but that never happens because I start over all the time.

One thing I haven't done (in any version of The Sims) is ...... I have NEVER, EVER played with an elder! Not once! I play with aging off ..... always, so my sims are eternal and never age, let alone die.

But I was reading over a lot of challenges on various sites and I combined some of their ideas to come up with my own personal challenge. I'm still setting up that save right now. Which is taking a lot of time because it's not how I normally play so I had to, once again, go on a downloading spree for mods/cc to immerse myself in it.

Here's a short synopsis of my story line for anybody else who might be interested

Short backstory:

Only one single sim, who is young and beautiful
She was raised by beautiful, snobbish, and wealthy parents (dad is a plastic surgeon and constantly keeps his wife looking young and beautiful)
She was raised to believe that growing old/having wrinkles and gray hair is horrible and so she grew up looking down upon older people/elders
She gets into an accident and is about to die, but an angel appears and says that if she changes her ways and learns to appreciate ALL people regardless of their age, then they will save her.
She wakes up in a house she's never seen before ....... with 7 other people
All of them are older sims and almost elders or are elders
The angel appears again and tells her she has to work on helping to fulfill every one of these stranger's Bucket List wishes

So here's my challenge for myself:

I aged up all of the normal NPCs who I don't mind in my game and made them elders and saved them to my library
I downloaded a 100% empty world and placed a bunch of nursing homes, retirement homes, large homes to house all of new sims
I put in just community venues in Newcrest and Magnolia Promenade, these will be the only areas they can go to until they go on a vacation (which they will, in order to fulfill one of the elder's bucket list items)
I found out that in MCCC you can not only have it set to pull just your sims, you can also set the % of what kind of sims so I have it set to 100% ONLY USE ELDERS in all worlds
I downloaded a ton, I mean a TON of elders, probably 300 or more so I'd have a variety
I even aged up all of my NPC JOB sims to elders and saved them too, so that way even those people who tend bar, restaurant workers, or the spa, the gym, every venue are only elders (in case I didn't have anybody qualified)
I can only control my single young adult sim and no other household members

So because I'm not focusing on a young adult sim to find love or anything, I won't be feeling forced to behave in a way that I wouldn't in RL. I don't need to worry about being flirty. If flirty stuff happens organically between the elders, that's great! It just won't be my played character having to do it!

SweetieWright_84 · February 23

Instead of restarting every time an idea comes up, have you tried incorporating it into your current household?

I'm also a constant restarter. I'll start playing a save, then another idea will pop up and I have to do it immediately. I get busy setting things up for the new idea, and by the time all of that's done, another idea has come up. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Maybe that's just our play style. I don't anything you do in this game is "wrong." It's a game, it's meant to be fun.

cornflake88 · February 24

I've started and restarted legacy challenges so many times because everything gets achieved so quickly and it gets boring for me.
So I started playing on short lifespan for the struggle and this works for me. I'm currently playing the not so berry challenge and I'm only just reaching the goals and I love this. The third generation, yellow, is about to age to teen and I can't stop playing.
The mint founder's lifespan was 91 days which was about the same as the normal lifespan in the sims 3.
I do believe that there is no right or wrong way to play the game, just find a way that you enjoy to play.
I play with no mods or cc.

cyncie · February 24

There’s no right or wrong way to play as long as you enjoy what you do.

I definitely get bored when I play the same type of game each time. Usually, I set up a story with one household and play it out until I run out of ideas, then end the game until some new inspiration comes along. Wash, rinse, repeat. That usually gets me a few months of playtime for each save, with a period of inactivity until something new strikes me. In TS3, I had a household that I kept moving to new saves just to try out different stories with them. That worked for a couple of years, actually. I don’t do legacy families, challenges, or strictly rotation play, and my game isn’t heavy on careers and achievements.

Having said all that, my current save is over 3 years old, now, and is still going strong. The difference is that, instead of just playing one household out, I set up a whole world with interesting characters. When one household gets a bit dull, I can switch to a different one and work on their story for some variety. And, since they’re all connected in one large story, they feed into each other’s individual stories. I can expand Morgyn’s ever growing mastery of his unique powers, visit Oberon at the Blue Moon and see who shows up there, check in on Musette and Eldon who are raising triplet fairy toddlers, take Guidry to a festival to flirt with anything that moves, give Rowen the Cursed Spellcaster some help with his crush on Lilith Vatore, follow my alien or vampire hunters, run Johnny Zest through the Strangerville mystery, enlist help for Nalani’s ocean preservation efforts, and many more stories that are available in the world. When we get bands, I have one made up and ready to go. For the new stuff pack, I plan to make a crystal vendor to play that pack out. They’ll slot right in to the “occult” part of my game.

I play with aging off, so I have time to hang out in this world. I also have tight control over Neighborhood Stories, with it turned off for my main households, customized for secondary households, and fully on for randoms and premades that aren’t really a part of the narrative. I feel that gives me a nice balance between playing my world on my terms, and providing a sense of active change. Basic skills are cheated in for played households. I’m not spending time learning to make grilled cheese sandwiches. And, since I don’t really play jobs/careers, money is cheated in to reflect the sim’s financial status. Jobs and careers depend on the sim. Morgyn hasn’t got a “job.” But Oberon runs a tavern, and Johnny Zest is trying to make it big as a comedian. In Strangerville.

So, I guess my suggestion would be to include all of your ideas into one save with a larger concept, and just keep adding them in. That way, you can play through new ideas and revisit older ideas anytime you want, but your game keeps growing and developing. This approach has worked great for me, and I find myself enjoying my game much more consistently than before.

PandoraTO · February 24

luthienrising wrote: »

Honestly? Sometimes my "playstyle" for a while is making new households and setting them up then playing them for a day. I think it's okay.

(Sometimes my "playstyle" is that it turns out it really wasn't time for Sims. Then I usually play Civ VI for a while. I almost never play to finish a game in that, either. The end stage is just too slow, so I start over And that's okay too.)

Lol, I just took a break from TS4 to fire up a new Civ V save. I have VI too, but I keep gravitating back to V.

Fairy_Happy · February 24

I tend to restart saves all the time as well because I have ADHD so my attention span is just not it. I have most of the packs and yet done anything in this game worth being proud of. For me, I didn't find much joy in the game because I felt like I was racing the clock to get them married and having children and then as a result I get bored because I didn't get to do anything else with them. So I decided to use the MCCC mod to adjust time speed, lifespans, etc and the game got more enjoyable because I can actually take my time

So what I do to keep myself interested is I have multiple saves and each save is something different.

I have the Opposites Attract save where I have Alexis and Keyvon so are opposites but realize they are in love. So this is the save I'm focusing the romance and family aspect on.

I have a Multitalented Orphan save with a teen Sim named Evangeline who wants to be an attorney to avenge her parents death because the person responsible got away with it. Her parents always believed in her ability to be something amazing. So she is trying to be good at lot of things. This is the save I'm focusing the university and skills aspect on.

Then I have the Single Sports Nut sim. This is Kayjae, who is not interested in marriage or a family. She is more interested in extreme sporting. This is the Sim I use to focus more on exploring the Snow Escape expansion pack.

I also have a Supernatual Girl Band save, a Mother/Father/Grandmother and Toddler save, Lola De'Angelo and my Raymonds Twins saves all of which I haven't really played much of, but the Girl band will be on Occults and music, the Mother/Father/Grandmother and Toddler will be on family again (because in Sims, no matter what, family is just my gameplay) and the Raymonds Twins and Lola De'Angelo will both be focused mostly on drama and homewrecking.

I find that if I have multiple saves with different themes going on in each save, my attention stays because it keeps me interested because it's not the same thing every save.

Chicklet453681 · February 25

@Fairy_Happy I like that play style! Are these totally different saves (as in .... your other characters are not in that worlds for your current main character(s) to interact with or is it the same worlds but you just save that game play session as it's own save so you know where it left off?

I've never played different households with their own story line in the same save because I've always been afraid something would happen with them that wasn't in my plan while I wasn't involved.

cyncie · February 25

Chicklet453681 wrote: »

I've never played different households with their own story line in the same save because I've always been afraid something would happen with them that wasn't in my plan while I wasn't involved.

I play my whole world this way. I have Neighborhood Stories and MCCC story progression turned off for all played households. The most they do is wander around town or occasionally show up at festivals and bars. Nothing important will happen to them if story progression is off for that household.

Fairy_Happy · February 25

Chicklet453681 wrote: »

@Fairy_Happy I like that play style! Are these totally different saves (as in .... your other characters are not in that worlds for your current main character(s) to interact with or is it the same worlds but you just save that game play session as it's own save so you know where it left off?

They are all completely separate saves. So Evangeline cannot interact with Lola because they are not in the same universe persay. As for the second part of your post I don't mind the story progression of townies because I rarely play townies unless their backstory interests me. But I do one household every save. So for example, if I want to play the Ito family in Mount Komorebi, I would start a new save file with them, not play them from Kayjae's save. Kayjae's save is for Kayjae only. It's just easy for me to keep track of what each save is and what.they are doing. Also the creative save file names I mentioned before "Opposites Attract" and "Single Sports Nut" will not work if there are multiple played households in these saves.

mightysprite · February 25

It's interesting that people often post on here feeling guilty about restarting a lot

No one seems to post about feeling guilty about playing the same save too much

But there is nothing wrong with either style

have fun doing what you enjoy!

(When I'm not playing TS4 I often play Civilization VI, and I restart constantly in that game because the later stages of that game are more like a career than a game, so I have more fun restarting)

Fairy_Happy · February 25

mightysprite wrote: »

It's interesting that people often post on here feeling guilty about restarting a lot

No one seems to post about feeling guilty about playing the same save too much

But there is nothing wrong with either style have fun doing what you enjoy!

(When I'm not playing TS4 I often play Civilization VI, and I restart constantly in that game because the later stages of that game are more like a career than a game, so I have more fun restarting)

I personally don't feel bad or guilty about restarting, it's a game. It's really not that deep but I do wonder sometimes why I bother even playing when I just keep restarting.

simgirl1010 · February 25

Some wonderful suggestions in this thread. Hope something works for you @NRowe. 🙂

The Sims Forums

What am I still doing wrong? (Serial Restarting in New Saves)

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