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Theorist
#26 Old 24th May 2019 at 11:48 PM
Using the Sim Manipulator you can set time, season and the day. This is how I fix movin out a sim to their own place to keep them in sync with the rest of the families. I have a 10 day season mod as I like longer seasons.

I play rotational and play each family in order. Most times I'll play a family for two to three sim days then save at 5am while everyone (most everyone) is sleepin. A few times I've played four days before movin to the next family. I try and make sure to jot down as to what day/ season I am in the rounds' play as well as what was the last household. This is more for me to remember later when I quit and come back the next day/ time I play.

Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
Is there a mod that can take off or add just one day at a time?


Yes, the SM will allow you to subtract or add days.
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Top Secret Researcher
#27 Old 25th May 2019 at 12:17 AM
I play a rotation, of two Sim days each family before moving onto the next family. It's because it takes me a while to get round the whole neighbourhood and young kids are not growing up too quickly. I don't bother about syncing the seasons. By the time I get back to playing I've forgotten anyway.

I don't change the lifespans but make teenagers go to uni or age up when they're about 8 days from ageing up automatically. At uni I have shorter semesters and only 3-year degrees not four. I treat 2 years at uni as 2 years in the other neighbourhoods so everyone "ages" at the same rate.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#28 Old 25th May 2019 at 12:29 AM
CaliBrat thanks, I've had that for ages, must have missed that feature somehow.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Lab Assistant
#29 Old 25th May 2019 at 4:24 AM
It is more settling on a lifespan and having Acr work with it that I am having trouble settling on. I think if I could get that to something I was happy with then seasons would fall into place, worst case I could manually change the seasons. Also not sure how crops work out with less days in seasons. joandsarah77 do you use acr? Your system sounds interesting to me.
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
@CoffeenSimming you could change your season length instead of the sims ageing if its the seasons bugging you.
http://www.modthesims.info/d/504883...length-mod.html
or the Season jar which you can change manually.

or there is an aging mod set around the seasons http://www.modthesims.info/d/449593...ed-version.html



Yeah, that's a bit of a pain. my YA have 2 days free so they can use that, but after that I have to start subtracting days off Adult Life span which is difficult with the simblender and turn off ageing as I can easily mess it up.

Is there a mod that can take off or add just one day at a time?
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#30 Old 25th May 2019 at 5:48 AM
No I don't. I've thought about it, but for the small part that I would want it feels like too big a mod. I'm not sure how crops would go either, I use the standard 5 day season. In my head sim seasons work differently, the same as their ages. The longer life spans that I use does mean that born in sims get to experience more seasons. There is Almightyhat's ageing mod tweaked to work with ACR but that was too long for me.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Scholar
#31 Old 25th May 2019 at 6:22 AM
"Oh look, my grandchild is now an elder. They grow up so fast. Gee, I wonder when I'll finally graduate college."
Alchemist
#32 Old 25th May 2019 at 7:25 AM Last edited by Phantomknight : 14th Sep 2019 at 11:05 PM. Reason: Clarity
I was looking to sync ages to seasons, so thanks for that link, @joandsarah77! I have been messing around with my sims age spans for a bit, but couldn't figure out the proportions--I can't wait to try that one out in my integrated hood. Anyway, with aging, I don't think the manipulator adds or subtracts just one day; I think it's 3 days--use Merola's multi painting for that instead.

I know it's a pain adding another mod for aging to the folder when you already have one, but there you go. I wish either the blender or the manipulator had more options for adding/subtracting days from sims' life bars--I have a couple of mods in my folder that essentially do the same things, but they are all slightly different enough that I find myself keeping them just for one feature.

Anyway, @pinkdynamite, as FranH said, the lot sync timer is a mod, available here; it looks like the elixir in game, so if you don't want that, Shastakiss made a version that looks like a plant or might I suggest my or Sunrader's tutorials to change a mod's object model? And you can move sims between households either by using a teleporter--I recommend Christianlov's because that'll let you controller toddlers--or using the Control This Sim mod--but that doesn't let you control more than one visitor at a time and you may find some sims unable to perform certain interactions--and then you can simulate shared custody by moving sims between households.

I sorta did this with Jules O'Mackey. So Gabe fell in love with Lisa Ramirez (who was a widow. long story.) and they decided to marry. But I didn't want to uproot Jules, not to mention that the O'Mackey house is kinda her birthright and she should decide if she wanted to stay there or sell it. Same thing with Tessa. So Gabe moved in with Lisa, Tessa, and Lisa's son who's name I forget at the moment. But Lisa had him just after Checo died. Anyway, the Ramirez house was actually bigger/renovated and since Lisa's children were younger while Jules was about to go off to college, I choose not to uproot the younger kids. So, Jules' mom moved into the O'Mackey house and acted as placeholder while Jules hopped around quite a bit. Jules stayed with her mom most of the time but when it was the Ramirez family's turn in the rotation, I had Jules stay over on the weekend using mods. All the siblings got to know each other and it was kinda cool playing a blended family like that.

"May the sunlight find you, thy days be long, thy winters kind, thy roots be strong." -Grand Oak Tree, DAO

XPTL Mod Archive | Change a Mod's Mesh into a CC Object | Increasing the Game Difficulty | Editing ACR 4 Your Age Mod
Bored? Read an unfinished legacy or sim story. | aka Kelyns | she/her
Mad Poster
#33 Old 25th May 2019 at 7:26 AM
Quote: Originally posted by DezzyDoesThings
"Oh look, my grandchild is now an elder. They grow up so fast. Gee, I wonder when I'll finally graduate college."
It sounds like some theology students I've met in Germany. "I'm in my fourteenth Semester. I'll maybe do my Zwischenprüfung (Intermediate Exam) the year after next."

This game is just so true to life!

All Sims are beautiful -- even the ugly ones.
My Simblr ~~ My LJ
Sims' lives matter!
The Veronaville kids are alright.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#34 Old 25th May 2019 at 9:04 AM
@Phantomknight I also changed the lot sync timer into a plant-rose bush and into sunflowers-vase. I'm hopeless at Tumblr though, I don't even know how to link to my post rather than the entire thing. :/ https://joplayingthesims.tumblr.com/ I think maybe I am supposed to make a clickable heading...?

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Alchemist
#35 Old 25th May 2019 at 10:10 AM
Oh, I didn't see those, @joandsarah77; cool! As for the tumblr link, it depends on the layout but I generally click on the date link. On your page, it seems like clicking the "X notes" goes to the individual page/permalink. Also, at least on the mobile version, there's a button with 3 dots on the right side of the post that gives you an option to go to the permalink.

"May the sunlight find you, thy days be long, thy winters kind, thy roots be strong." -Grand Oak Tree, DAO

XPTL Mod Archive | Change a Mod's Mesh into a CC Object | Increasing the Game Difficulty | Editing ACR 4 Your Age Mod
Bored? Read an unfinished legacy or sim story. | aka Kelyns | she/her
Theorist
#36 Old 25th May 2019 at 12:05 PM
How to use the Sim Manipulator to change the number of days in current season in just a few easy steps
Step 1 - Spawn the SM
Step 2 - Choose Weather Manipulator (You will need to pick next as it's in the 2nd set of options)
Step 3 - Pick Alter days in current season
Step 4 - Pick add or subtract
Step 5 - Pick the # (Note... I know 1 day +/- works as I used it lots of times. IIRC 3 +/- works as well, but 5 and 10 don't... or maybe I'm thinkin somethin else, but I do know the 1 days works)

The lovely Ms. Jennifer Burb is modelin in her sleep so I can give a visual on the steps :D
Lab Assistant
#37 Old 25th May 2019 at 2:03 PM
Too long for me as well. I want something lon enough for story telling purposes, but not too long that sims will become an elder when I do 😃. When I see people say 1 day = 1 year I can' t figure out how much story could be in that for me personally, but for an adult to be 270 days I am thinking what will I do for this amount of time.
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
. There is Almightyhat's ageing mod tweaked to work with ACR but that was too long for me.
Field Researcher
#38 Old 25th May 2019 at 3:17 PM
I play with Maxis ages, but don't try to map them exactly to our calendar. My Sims inhabit another world, called Juvash, so in my game there is a completely different calendar that I explain here on my blog. At the moment, since a rotation represents 28 days of Juvash time (a quartermoon) and I have 14 households, each household is spaced two days apart on the calendar. I also have a print-out of my calendar that I check days off as they pass. Otherwise I forget stuff... like which holidays are celebrated when, or occasionally what moon it is. I've already forgotten Brain's Night this year.

In my game, one-day rotations are a thing but keeping ages exactly in sync is not. It is something that I was really, really picky about in the past, but now I don't fuss too much if someone gains an extra day or two from moving into a new home mid-rotation. Part of my hood's story involves time rages - storms of chance that are caused by too much travel between timelines - that can alter things in small or huge ways, so if twins age up in different rotations I blame a time rage for the inconsistency. This is basically Kulo Seeri's answer to "a wizard did it".

As for rotation order, I randomise that. Each rotation I roll to see which household I play first, then go into whichever house makes most sense to follow on from that (or whichever I feel like playing, or I roll again) once I've finished that one. Again, used to have a strict rotation order, but that drove me up the wall because I actually hate schedules. Then I tried to randomise the entire rotation order at the start of each rotation, but that still felt too schedule-y. So now I don't pick which family is house 2 this rotation until I've finished house 1. It makes rotational play feel like it's flowing more naturally. I've spent twelve years experimenting with various methods, and this is the one that works for me.

simblr
Home of my Kulo Seeri Test of Time and a lot of worldbuilder rambling. You have been warned.
Forum Resident
#39 Old 26th May 2019 at 2:56 AM Last edited by inspiredzone : 26th May 2019 at 7:53 PM.
I'm half and half. I have a spreadsheet that shows the order in which all my sims were born, so I try to play so that the aging up is kept in relative order. Sometimes it gets a bit out of sync, but generally, I try not to. So that's usually how I pick who I'm playing- who is supposed to age up to the next life cycle next.

It's not strictly rotational, there's no precise order to the lots I play, and there's no time limit per household. But it's not fly by the seat of my pants, there is slight order to it all. I just like the flexibility to mix it up.

Oh, and the ages are:

Baby- 3 days
Toddler- 6 days
Child- 12 days
Teen- 14 days
Adult- 40 days
Elder- Various
Lab Assistant
#40 Old 26th May 2019 at 3:23 AM
I am not trying to hijack this thread, I feel like this question is related to time managment, for those who use longer age spans such as Almighty hats what types of things do you do to fill that time span ? Do you add mods to play out different scenarios for storyteĺling purposes, thing that are not built into the game, such as school related things like high school proms and senior trips ? I think this is what I need to brainstorm, making a list of what I want to play out and the cc and mods I will need, and how they will work, and then the seasons and ages should be much easier to figure out.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#41 Old 26th May 2019 at 3:49 AM
That is the key, it's what you do over the days that is important. If it was vanilla game mechanics but longer I would go crazy and quit.

For toddlers: I play days 1-4 a little differently to 5-8. On days 1-2 they now use a crib so parents have to get up. day 3+ they can have a toddler bed. Once they can walk they can use the stairs and from day 5 on the run of the house or yard. I have toys covering all the skills. Some go to daycare/playgroup and form friendships with other toddlers. I often take them to the park on the weekend or some I have taken to work (owned business) You need lots of mods/modded items for this kind of play. if I just had vanilla game mechanics there is no way I would want them as toddlers for 8 days.

For kids: I have playable school (not all will be going after summer holidays since fees are starting) Summer holidays is also a thing.
I use that and homework sometimes. Kids who attend the playable school get no homework. again go to school and homework for all kids all the time would be horrible with 14 days. Kids can take a bus and go to the park or other places. kids can stay over later. I did try an overnight mod but it didn't work. The transfer mirror might make sleepover possible I need to try. Kids can cook. Kids have a pottery wheel. They also go to the owned businesses. Cash till trainer they can practice on while it's closed. They can fish and garden.

teen: Still my sticky age. I only have them 10 days and most work on college portfolios or work at the business or look after younger siblings. in other words mostly work lol. I need more for them. I also have a playable highschool.

YA: are my most varied as some go to UNI, some do college at home and some start up a business right away. Some have kids.

Adults: Most will have families, jobs and business, they are busy.

Elders: Often look after grandkids, continue working and businesses. I tend to give them more hobbies

I have a LOT of mods and modded items.

Just adding: most of my sims are poor, this also makes a difference as I have a lot of ways for them to try and make money dependent on their interests, skills, job and hobby.

I also have motivation levels which makes me play Sims 1 of 3 different ways.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#42 Old 27th May 2019 at 1:37 AM
Quote: Originally posted by pinkdynamite
Sunbee - I'd never considered shared custody before. How are you able to share them between households? I know teens can move in, but what about children and toddlers?

One thing I'm also curious about is how to handle families when they move to a different house. Does that throw off the seasonal rotation? I've never really paid attention to that before. Since I use no20khandouts my sims essentially come out of uni or move out with no cash of their own and I tend to move everyone into low budget apartment buildings until they build up their money and can buy houses.


For the first, I use Inge's teleporter cat to summon the child/baby/toddler/teen to the other parent's lot and then move them in with the cat.

For the second, I have Paladin's season changing vase.

Pics from my game: Sunbee's Simblr Sunbee's Livejournal
"English is a marvelous edged weapon if you know how to wield it." C.J. Cherryh
Scholar
#43 Old 27th May 2019 at 11:11 AM
I always play one day rotations and i age each sim up a day early meaning that:
Baby(0-2)
Toddler(2-5)
Child(5-12)
Teen(12-18)
Young Adult(18-26)
Adult(26-54)
Elder(54-)

Playing one day rotations i see as beneficial because if your like me and can't stand things not being in sync then one day rotations can be helpful,but really it's up to you and your preferred playstyle.

I May Be Life Dumb But I'm Sim Smart(mostly).
My Tumblr
Forum Resident
#44 Old 28th May 2019 at 5:30 PM
Time in my hoods is funky, I warn you - but it works for me.

I also like to stay in a household for as long as I feel like I need to to progress the story, and I don't like to futz with global mods for keeping things on schedule so instead, I have a system involving the ages of the children.

1 in-game day = 1 month for me, so my sims live a long time, more than 300 days in the adult stage alone. I like the span though because, for starters, it made it fairly simple to work out exactly how old my sims are, and give them actual birthdays that correspond to each season and reoccur on the same day each in-game year. That helps me keep track of things a bit.

The actual mechanics of it work like this:

When baby A is born in house 1, at the very beginning of the hood, that's generation A. There will be 10 years in generation A, and then a new generation will be considered begun. Baby A is now Year 1 of Generation A. Any other infants born - and I keep a running tally of where pregnancies are- so long as they are born within the first 12 'months' of that generation, they'll count for that year. In a maxis hood where there are preexisting families, I alter this a bit so that the oldest children - the teens are Year 1, and then I work my way down to the first new baby. I do that because playing Strangetown I was finding that it was hard to keep Buck and some of the other kids on the same year-schedule otherwise, and that was throwing off the younger kids.

These year groupings help me make sure that each household is only played until the child reaches the same age as its classmates (I use Inge's schools) so on a rotation, I play until all the kids have 'caught up' and in some houses that takes a longer time, and in others less time. And sometimes if I want to stay a little longer, I'll play longer in all the other houses to make up for it.

I also play in a strict rotation order - starting with the first house and working my way sort of clockwise in a circle until I've played all the houses in the hood. When I add subhoods, I play the main hood rotation first, then rotate the same way through each subhood, in order of addition.

The reason I keep it so strict where to play next is to avoid skipping houses - since that messes up my aging cohorts, and generally throws all the timelines out of whack. It also prevents me from sticking to just the families I find most 'interesting' at a given moment. I like to challenge myself to give all my sims good storylines, so when I get to a household where I feel like it's not as engaging, I have to get creative. It also lets me try out new things in game, that I might not have had a household for otherwise.

And when in doubt, I throw a party and celebrate a non-aging birthday!
Lab Assistant
#45 Old 29th May 2019 at 6:29 PM
Interesting thread and topic! I use the standard lengths of life, sometimes I use elixir but very sparingly. My teens leave for uni when they have four days left until adulthood and one semester on uni is one day/rotation in the main hood. So they stay eight days on uni. Their
friends that won't attend uni (one case so far) stay "childish"/teens for half of the uni students time but also age up and mature before the others leave uni. I play strict rotations of one day but thinking about changing it to two in order to get more done and start projects and develop better storylines. The time at uni is making me hesitate, if I had a subhood I might be able to divide the semesters between them.

If a family really needs more time I send them on a vacation and then I will either play them in between other families or in one to. Quite a few budget friendly vacation homes makes this possible.
Scholar
#46 Old 29th May 2019 at 6:30 PM
I used to play on full rotation, 1 day per Sim household. Nowadays, I do randomised play on a vague rotation, so I don't have to worry about keeping everything tidy any more. I've never played with a modded age span.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#47 Old 3rd Jun 2019 at 12:03 AM
Thanks everyone for your great advice and replies! I think it's so neat how one game can be altered and played in so many completely different ways. I look forward to trying out some new ideas and see how it goes from there. At least one good thing will come out of my computer exploding!
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