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Mad Poster
Original Poster
#1 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 1:53 AM
Default What do you do when you first play a family?
I have a pretty standard sequence of events for first playing a family.

1. Set the time to 7 am. Set the day to Monday. Set the season to Spring 3.
2. Set up the usual tools, such as the Sim Blender, ACR adjuster, and the Batbox.
3. Check everyone's personality, biography, memories, relationships, LTW, and so forth. Get an idea for who they are. Update my spreadsheet as needed.
4. Check their inventory. If they have things in their inventory, figure out why they had them (if it doesn't make sense for them, perhaps they bought it as a gift for another Sim). Use or delete the Porta-Chug potion as needed.
5. Look around the house. Change or add furniture as needed.
6. Make sure nobody spawned in weird outerwear. Some of my Sims are fond of Renaissance clothing to protect them from the elements, as impractical and likely ineffectual as it is. I have no idea why I have Renaissance clothing. Fix if necessary.

Then I start playing.

Might be a bit neurotic, but I like to know how things are before diving in. Does anyone else do anything like this?

I'm secretly a Bulbasaur. | Formerly known as ihatemandatoryregister

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Scholar
#2 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 2:05 AM
I basically just plop my sims in, furnish, and start playing. That sounds exhausting.
Lab Assistant
#3 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 2:15 AM
This is a unique concept for a thread. Usually when I pop in on a family for the first time, I set up ACR like you mentioned, which involves plucking a random number, 0-4, for ideal number of children if the Sim in question isn't family aspiration. If they are family, then it's a roll of 0-12, and I can't reroll no matter how much I may want to. I also check the sims' interest in health. If it's 7 or higher and there's no active want to have a baby, then they go on birth control. Then I'll check on personality points, memories and relationships to get a vibe for the state of things in the household when I arrive. I frequently keep an eye on folks' wants and try to fulfil as many as possible, even the ones that aren't especially advantageous for the family unit or the individual themselves. (John Burb wants to cheat on his wife with the pregnant woman across the street? Sounds risky, but okay.)

I'll usually play through a day before I decide the design of the house is horrid and it all needs upheaval.

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Scholar
#4 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 2:51 AM
I generally decorate the house, using the Sims' chosen clothing colours as a guide to what they might like, then furnish it according to their budget. This will include the batbox and sometimes the visitor controller. I've got a mod that gives me the choice of whether or not to endure the welcome wagon, so I often skip it if the Sims already have relationships outside the household.

The Sims then spend the day settling in. Teenagers will probably go downtown to buy their electronic devices and spend an hour or so hanging out and making a few acquaintances. Adults may or may not do the same, depending on childcare responsibilities. I'll check their lifetime wants and see how those fit with the role I have in mind for them; sometimes I may adjust my plans. Sims who are supposed to be working will look for jobs, and often they will get their first garden planted. Most Sims start out with a want to learn to cook and/or clean, which I'm generally happy to let them fulfill.

And that's about it, really. Move-in day is pretty relaxing for most of my Sims.
Mad Poster
#5 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 2:56 AM
I enjoy it. This is what I do!
No need to learn who they all are, as I made them for sure. More often than not, they will move in a house I made thinking of them specifically, or in an apartment unit i made also. No need to change furniture or else...this is most of the time.
I will let them explore and do whatever they fell like doing, until it is enough, and I take control.

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Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#6 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 3:17 AM
Do you mean new sims from CAS? They should not have things in their inventories.

1. For new CAS sims/couples I make sure they are on the same day and season as the other unplayed with sims although my days tend to get a bit out of wack. I also set it to 7am.
2. I also make sure the house has the normal tools. Blender, bat box, day setter, weather setter and hobby jar.
3. I check the sims motivation level and jot that down in the bio then random skills taking any past 5 back to 5. Then set them as smart if they are overachieving. Check hobbies match to who are they are if it's important, so farmers will get nature.
4. Set them whatever job I want them to have on the blender. Make sure the institution sign is out if they are not to go off to a rabbit hole job. Toss in a job stopinator if they are not to advance. If they will be a business owner only they get that job set.
5. Usually decorate a little such as change wall and floors.

outerwear should be whatever I set in CAS. Yours randomly change?

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Alchemist
#7 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 3:36 AM
So organized. I should adopt some of these habits. I usually furnish the house, shoo the welcome wagon, set up ACR, notice that someone's about to set a fire, buy a smoke detector, randomize the adults' skills, and give them jobs with Sim Blender/Insimenator. I don't like the half-finished quality of CAS adults.
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#8 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 3:47 AM
@joandsarah77 - I'm referring to families who've been moved in, but not played yet. If they're on a community lot they can buy things or make friends with other Sims autonomously. Since Emerald Heights, for instance, is AL-only they spawn in randomly generated outerwear.

I'm secretly a Bulbasaur. | Formerly known as ihatemandatoryregister

Looking for SimWardrobe's mods? | Or Dizzy's? | Faiuwle/rufio's too! | smorbie1's Chris Hatch archives
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#9 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 4:44 AM
Ah okay, I don't move sims in and not play them. I move them in and do what I set out there and play a few days. If I don't want to play them yet I leave them in the sim bin. I don't think they can buy stuff from there.

With sims that I have moved in and played who can go shopping, checking inventory is the first thing I do, I love to see what they have bought to decorate their house with.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Field Researcher
#10 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 9:41 AM Last edited by muridae : 28th Mar 2018 at 5:53 PM.
I spend part of day one skilling new CAS sims, because the teens, adults and elders really ought to have picked up a few cooking and cleaning points by then. If they get hired for a job with specific skill requirements I'll prioritise those in their skilling too. Day one can often be quite long as I have comm-skilling but not a community time mod, so I'll send them off to community lots to do all that, probably with a bit of help from maxmotives. Once they have 2-3 skill points in the essentials I'll then play to their wants, and they don't get any more help with their motives.

Other than that, they get standard setup stuff. ACR, Visitor Controller (depemding on neighbourhood I may or may not want to ban all supernaturals), Sim Blender, and possibly the batbox, Lot Sync Timer, Seasons and Weather Controller and Day Setter if I have basements or attics to hide them in. I'm currently mostly playing Elsewhere, which doesn't have many hiding places, so am just spawning and deleting those when needed.

If they have any money to spare I'll redecorate, or add curtains and clutter. Highest priority is usually to swap out all the basic baths for a shower/tub (generally a backless one for better decorating) so that they can top up their hygiene a little faster.
Mad Poster
#11 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 11:13 AM
What I do:
1. Check & lock the wants to get a particular job. No, they can't be a doctor, especially if they're right out of the employment pool.
2 Set all the various tools-ACR, batbox, give them cell phones, set up the bathrooms, beds, etc. That way everything is under control for autonomy and nothing's left to chance.
3.Usually they're not going to work the first day, so they'll all have an open house to meet the neighbors. Yes, I know that is a drag, but what better way to meet them than the welcome wagon? There's always the chance to find the love of their lives that one day. If they've not met all of them that day, they go to various public places.
4. I do this only for one day-and the next they start working and living their life.
I don't decorate or change the house they're in because the house was made very specifically for them, and they usually don't disagree with me on it's layout. I spent enough time doing it, they better not!

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Mad Poster
#12 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 12:00 PM
My sims move frequently, so I'm going to assume the question refers to the first day out of CAS or my first day with an existing household.

Typically my CAS's move into apartments first. So, they'll rent a furnished apartment, and I will add furniture as needed, extra beds if room, baby beds, things like that. I have a rule that first-generations sims can't change the furniture in an apartment; they have to just add to it or adapt around it. Sometimes this means things stashed in closets if the family is too big.

I change the season if necessary to have it the same as the rest of the neighborhood rotation, set ACR, set up my index cards, my genealogies, and my spread sheet.

Once they are settled in, they often just hang around getting to know the apartment and their neighbors (no welcome wagon for me).

I'll send them to look for jobs. In one of my hoods, they all have to be employed, so they will have to get a job that day no matter what. In the others I can let them browse for a few days, depending upon whether their bank accounts can support some leisure time. Those who don't have an employment desire can try their hands at writing or painting if those things are available for them.

"Fear not little flock, for it hath pleased your Father to give you a kingdom". Luke 12:32 Chris Hatch's family friendly files archived on SFS: http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=603534 . Bulbizarre's website: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C...CoveredPortals/
Theorist
#13 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 12:47 PM
I don't really have a set procedure for what to do when I play a premade household for the first time. They tend to be already synchronised with the rest of the neighbourhood in terms of season (the last day of Season 1, irrc) and I never bother with keeping the day of the week in synch across households. I also don't have to set up any mods, since I don't use ACR or the Visitor Controller. I also don't like having any debug items lying around (not every house has a foundation to hide them) so they only get temporarily spawned when I need them.

So I...
1) look at the personality, relationships and bios of the Sims
2) temporarily spawn the clothing tool and give the Sims a makeover with it, if needed
3) have them drink Porta-Chug if needed
4)play

With CAS Sims it's a bit more throughough since skills, jobs and ages might need to be adjusted, depending on what I want them to be.

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Field Researcher
#14 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 1:52 PM
I forgot about ages, but yes, that's another essential for the new CAS Sim. Adult Sims without children generally start on day 1 of that life stage, but if they have kids they get advanced to approximately the right point in the adult stage based on the oldest kid's age, courtesy of the Sim Blender. And if they have more than one kid in the same life stage and the kids aren't supposed to be twins, those get staggered by a few days as well.
Mad Poster
#15 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 2:32 PM
I usually start to play them as soon as they move in. So it will be Monday and about 8:15 a.m. I don't have Seasons, so the weather will be that perfect benign climate that it always is in my game. Assuming that the family is straight out of CAS, and aren't moving from another house, I'll complete any unfinished business from CAS. That means changing Sims ages where necessary, changing their surnames and breaking family ties for teens who aren't meant to be related. That last is usually started with the Sim Manipulator, but I find I need SimPE to remove them entirely. This means quitting the game and restarting it. I may turn on TestingCheatsEnabled if I want Sims with more than 25 aspiration points. Recently I have started using the Sim Manipulator to randomise skills for Elders, though I still make adults and teens start from scratch. It still feels a bit cheaty, but I find it too incredible that anyone could get to that stage in life and not have learned something.

Once all these preparations are completed (and for many families there are none) they go to the bookcase and start learning how to cook. Children are exempt from this (they can learn to cook later), and so are Elders if the Sim manipulator has given them any cooking skill. This is really a hangover from the days before I got Squinge's No More Fires mod. By the time the Welcome Wagon party arrives soon after midday (if it arrives!) someone in the house at least should have a clue about cooking. The Welcome Wagon will invariably get lunch meat sandwiches for lunch but they might get mac and cheese, or even spaghetti, for dinner! The rest of the day is usually largely devoted to socialising and eating.

Sims living alone, and others with a want to meet someone new, will quite often look out for the paper boy or girl and greet them. Quite often another Sim walks by mid morning, and they too can be invited in. There's no need for even single Sims to be lonely.

All Sims are beautiful -- even the ugly ones.
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Sims' lives matter!
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Scholar
#16 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 3:41 PM
if its a single sim or a childless couple, i make them have kids immediately or if single marry,furnish the house and give them the job that their ltw requires.

I May Be Life Dumb But I'm Sim Smart(mostly).
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Field Researcher
#17 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 5:51 PM
I never send the kids to school on day 1. Maybe I should, but I'm usually too busy that first day teaching one of their parents to cook without burning the house down to want to grapple with taking time out for them to show the kids how to do homework as well. (Or have them go into aspiration failure as I coax them to do it on their own.) So they get a little holiday for moving in day. With any luck they'll have built up enough aspiration points so I can get them through homework on day 2 without too much trauma.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#18 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 10:35 PM
I never send kids to school on day one, imagine moving house and having to go to school-yikes!

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
The Great AntiJen
retired moderator
#19 Old 28th Mar 2018 at 10:43 PM
Ummm - I guess I set the time to 6am, change the day and season to match the rest of the neighbourhood. That's about it I think.

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Mad Poster
#20 Old 29th Mar 2018 at 8:53 AM
Heh. I needs to make a spreadsheet instead of sticking with the messy txt files. Or would a database be better, so I could just make an entry for each sim?
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#21 Old 29th Mar 2018 at 9:52 AM
@JDacapo - you may like my template http://www.simfileshare.net/download/294670/

I'm secretly a Bulbasaur. | Formerly known as ihatemandatoryregister

Looking for SimWardrobe's mods? | Or Dizzy's? | Faiuwle/rufio's too! | smorbie1's Chris Hatch archives
Mad Poster
#22 Old 29th Mar 2018 at 9:57 AM
@ihatemandatoryregister thank you! Will hafta check it out :D

Edit: It looks great! Um... can I edit it a little to add things like creature genetics and inheritance/INIT rolls? Awesome template!
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#23 Old 29th Mar 2018 at 10:06 AM
Yup, go ahead and edit it. You can even share your modified template if you want.

I'm secretly a Bulbasaur. | Formerly known as ihatemandatoryregister

Looking for SimWardrobe's mods? | Or Dizzy's? | Faiuwle/rufio's too! | smorbie1's Chris Hatch archives
Mad Poster
#24 Old 29th Mar 2018 at 10:20 AM
Oh thanks! Big life saver then I won't have to switch between txt files and forget which ones are open or closed or need editing. Plus, they were all hard to edit for. Might even try making a special 'rules' section that includes provisions (like mods that stomp the skip college boo-hoo). Also, definitely need custom genetics like the 'cowie' trait that would make those affected with it not do their college work - they would have to instead influence others to do it for them. There can be other custom 'traits' as well as roll adjustments, factors that add bonuses or penalties to the rolls, and a special table for adding these bonuses/penalties together, as well as trait conflicts, priorities, and exceptions.
Mad Poster
#25 Old 29th Mar 2018 at 11:33 AM
I forgot to mention that I often get my Sims to look in the paper to find a job. (Newly moved in ex-CAS Sims seldom have a computer.) A lot of starting grade jobs have Monday off, or, by the time they look in the paper, it's already too late to go to work, so that first day is almost always work-free. Another thing I usually do now, is, once my Sim has got a job, to use the Sim Manipulator to give them 5 vacation days. That's because I've so often made visiting Sims selectable and then left them that way so long that they get a final warning for missing work. I don't like my Sims to suffer for my mistakes. (Andrew says I make far too many mistakes, and he's d*mned sure it's not my Sims who should suffer for them!)

I don't try to send Sims to school on that first day, though on my very first day of Simming, I thought there had maybe been a school bus and I just hadn't noticed it, so I got Gloria to 'phone various options to try to get Andrew to school. Not being able to send him to school in a taxi, she tried ringing the headmaster, but of course that turned out to be the headmaster of the private school, and that's how they ended up feeding him with pizza on their very first evening. You can read about it here and here. On one occasion though, a school bus did show up, almost immediately after my Sims had got out of the taxi. With a normal family, I would have let them go to school, but it was with a group of teens (and one adult who I was going turn into a teen) with whom I was going to break all family ties, shange their surnames, and turn them into townies. As I recall, I used Inge's School Changer to enrol them all in Simlogical Flexi School, so the school bus drove off without them.

All Sims are beautiful -- even the ugly ones.
My Simblr ~~ My LJ
Sims' lives matter!
The Veronaville kids are alright.
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