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Instructor
Original Poster
#1 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 12:59 AM Last edited by MeltingMagnetz : 17th Aug 2019 at 8:59 PM.
Default What life span do you play?
I have been using a custom made one, one sim day-one year. But i feel it's too short for my teens and children. I never have time to decorate their rooms and have them actually go trough everything i want to. So how do you play? I know that everyone has it's own preference but for the past 12 years of playing sims i have never played with aging on(i have played a little bit with aging but, did't like it). But as i am trying out different styles i kind a like the generations progressing.

Update: Thanks to everyone that shared how you deal with the aging, i definitely don't like my current set up. I have been thinking of a new one, but i am very i am indecisive and everything is either too short or too long. Plus making sure every ones age is synced up kinda takes away the fun for me. Since i need to write things down constantly. So i will turn aging off and age them up when i feel like its time(probably never )

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retired moderator
#2 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 1:28 AM
I play 1 day = 6 months and use a double ageing mod. (double for most life spans)
babies 2 days
toddlers 8
kids 14
teens 10
YA 10
Adult 74
Elder...? Don't know, nobody has died in the last 3 years of old age yet. I play slowly.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Forum Resident
#3 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 1:45 AM
Basically I play it by ear. I use a mod that lets the user decide when a sim ages up, so I don't have to keep such close track of time. (Usually I bumrush the rug-rats up to "going to school" age, because babies - especially - and toddlers are so much work, and then just let them be children until I'm terminally bored of that stage.)

Have considerably less control over the University phase, but if someone starts a fight in the dorm - and someone has, twice - they're expelled. Messing with the semesters gives unpredictable results - sometimes does what I want, if I'm moving them forward, sometimes keeps the old schedule if I'm trying to move them backward.

Haven't moved anyone up to Elder from Adult, yet, and haven't let anyone die of old age (there have been accidents with Cowplants, lightning, falling satellites, etc).
Instructor
#4 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 2:02 AM
I have one that makes adult longer and elder shorter. Unfortunately, it only works for those who turn adult, not created adults. I age babies up right away, toddlers immediately after learning the toddler skills I want them to (I change needs to keep them from being so miserable.) I age children after 2 days as such and teens 2 days after becoming teen (usually by going to Uni.) Unfortunately, there isn't a way to shorten Uni. On the other hand University is a great way to fulfill the 20 friends/woohoos LTW. I rarely make teens family (usually it's a secondary aspiration) and Never Pleasure, Knowledge or Fortune (or Grilled Cheese!)
Alchemist
#5 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 2:15 AM
Aging off and occasional aging is willy nilly. My sims live as long as I do.
Instructor
Original Poster
#6 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 2:17 AM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
I play 1 day = 6 months and use a double ageing mod. (double for most life spans)
babies 2 days
toddlers 8
kids 14
teens 10
YA 10
Adult 74
Elder...? Don't know, nobody has died in the last 3 years of old age yet. I play slowly.


I like this system, toddlers are kinda long so i might take few days from them add to the teen.But i really like this. I'll get onto make this into a mod to try in game
Just one more question: what about pregnancy do you have it shorter to match the ageing or is it the default 3 days?

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Instructor
Original Poster
#7 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 2:22 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Sims2Maven
Basically I play it by ear. I use a mod that lets the user decide when a sim ages up, so I don't have to keep such close track of time. (Usually I bumrush the rug-rats up to "going to school" age, because babies - especially - and toddlers are so much work, and then just let them be children until I'm terminally bored of that stage.)

Have considerably less control over the University phase, but if someone starts a fight in the dorm - and someone has, twice - they're expelled. Messing with the semesters gives unpredictable results - sometimes does what I want, if I'm moving them forward, sometimes keeps the old schedule if I'm trying to move them backward.

Haven't moved anyone up to Elder from Adult, yet, and haven't let anyone die of old age (there have been accidents with Cowplants, lightning, falling satellites, etc).


For a second i was thinking there was a mod that lets the sim age up randomly whenever they want. Than i understood that is was a mod to let you decide(Simlogical's cake i presume)

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Lab Assistant
#8 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 2:23 AM
I use the simlogical No Aging Patch, so my sims don't age on their own. I can age them up as I please. For me, 20 days = 1 year.

AKA. Anora Acadian
Instructor
Original Poster
#9 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 2:29 AM
Quote: Originally posted by MattGo74
I have one that makes adult longer and elder shorter. Unfortunately, it only works for those who turn adult, not created adults. I age babies up right away, toddlers immediately after learning the toddler skills I want them to (I change needs to keep them from being so miserable.) I age children after 2 days as such and teens 2 days after becoming teen (usually by going to Uni.) Unfortunately, there isn't a way to shorten Uni. On the other hand University is a great way to fulfill the 20 friends/woohoos LTW. I rarely make teens family (usually it's a secondary aspiration) and Never Pleasure, Knowledge or Fortune (or Grilled Cheese!)


I am positive that there are mods to shorten uni(here and here ), as for ageing mod only working on new sims and not on sims made before the age hack is installed. Try this mod. Put it in your downloads folder, run the game and open a lot, age will get fixed in the whole hood, than delete the mod and your are good to go

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Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#10 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 2:32 AM
I totally forgot about my pregnancy span, it's modded to 48 hours.

I love babies and toddlers because I use a lot of CC. Toddler beds, toys for every skill, a never-ending sippy cup for multiples or if I am feeling lazy. I use a mod that lets toddlers who can walk use the stairs, BO toddler mod that makes them be less needy on parents. Once they have learned to potty and walk they are pretty much independent which changes them from being an age stage of all work to one that is pretty hands-off and fun. They only really need a little bit of attention each day like a cuddle and a bath after that. They are way less work than a child who has homework to get through. Because my kids are often closely spaced they are toddlers together. So the activity table and dolls house gets plenty of use and I have the peek-a-boo mod so they can play that together. Only wish it was autonomous. I find the longer age span makes this age range way more relaxed. My toddlers have time to play in the leaves. Once independent I even take them to my owned business. I have the parent pack a sippy, a potty, a sleep mat and a toy or two. Sometimes I just keep a toy box at the shop. They often get attention from the customers.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Instructor
Original Poster
#11 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 2:33 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Sunrader
Aging off and occasional aging is willy nilly. My sims live as long as I do.


Quote: Originally posted by kerri191
I use the simlogical No Aging Patch, so my sims don't age on their own. I can age them up as I please. For me, 20 days = 1 year.


I played like this for over a decade, across all sims games, but i do like this new sense of progression. And yet with my favorite sims i find myself giving them the elixir of life so i can play longer. SO i might actually go back to my old ways

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Lab Assistant
#12 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 2:40 AM
I do have it modded to balance out the lifespan length. Almost everything takes longer. I tweaked a pregnancy mod for longer pregnancy, and I found a skilling mod and spent some frustrating hours figuring that out to suit me. Bills are higher, jobs pay less. Although, I think really I just made it proportional instead of harder in most cases. I'm not crazy about using the aspiration rewards these days.

AKA. Anora Acadian
Instructor
Original Poster
#13 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 2:45 AM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
I totally forgot about my pregnancy span, it's modded to 48 hours.

I love babies and toddlers because I use a lot of CC. Toddler beds, toys for every skill, a never-ending sippy cup for multiples or if I am feeling lazy. I use a mod that lets toddlers who can walk use the stairs, BO toddler mod that makes them be less needy on parents. Once they have learned to potty and walk they are pretty much independent which changes them from being an age stage of all work to one that is pretty hands-off and fun. They only really need a little bit of attention each day like a cuddle and a bath after that. They are way less work than a child who has homework to get through. Because my kids are often closely spaced they are toddlers together. So the activity table and dolls house gets plenty of use and I have the peek-a-boo mod so they can play that together. Only wish it was autonomous. I find the longer age span makes this age range way more relaxed. My toddlers have time to play in the leaves. Once independent I even take them to my owned business. I have the parent pack a sippy, a potty, a sleep mat and a toy or two. Sometimes I just keep a toy box at the shop. They often get attention from the customers.


Toddlers can play in the leaves, maybe i need a long span for them too hahaha. Thanks for the ideas. I will be reshaping my game now i just need to decide how and what

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Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#14 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 2:50 AM Last edited by joandsarah77 : 13th Aug 2019 at 3:01 AM.
They can play in puddles, leaves, snow and sand. They can also hug pets and there is a new patting mod out as well as the group read to mod. I also have a mod that I made that lets them eat flowers from the garden. Toddlerhood gets a bad wrap as vanilla all they are is work. I get why people playing that way don't find them enjoyable. Toddlerhood is one life stage that requires a lot of modding but I find doing that makes them far more enjoyable.

I even have them going away on holiday/vacation.
Screenshots

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Forum Resident
#15 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 2:53 AM
I use the normal EA aging except for my supernaturals. I use the Slow Aging Controller for werewolves (age 3x/wk), plantsims (2x/wk), and witches (1x/wk).
Instructor
#16 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 3:23 AM
I always use Insiminator to make pregnant sims have the baby right away. Less than 1 day. Because pregnancy is gross.
Field Researcher
#17 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 4:29 AM
I have a mod that makes adulthood longer and variable, and elderhood shorter, but I also turn aging off for 5 days than back on except I age up babies and toddlers.

Essentially:
3 days pregnant
2-3 days baby
5 days toddler
12 days child
20 days teen
20 days young adult, approx. - but always equals 10 days in the regular hood
60-84 days adult
20-30 days elder

I have community time, so you aren't reliving to e spent on community lots, and I also include vacations in the aging, so if they are gone for 5 days, they have lived those 5 dayA.
Link Ninja
#18 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 5:03 AM
I use an aging mod Phaenoh made, and then if I feel they aren't ready to age, I use sim blender '3 days younger' a few times. I don't think I ever advance their age though.

Uh oh! My social bar is low - that's why I posted today.

Instructor
Original Poster
#19 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 5:08 AM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
They can play in puddles, leaves, snow and sand. They can also hug pets and there is a new patting mod out as well as the group read to mod. I also have a mod that I made that lets them eat flowers from the garden. Toddlerhood gets a bad wrap as vanilla all they are is work. I get why people playing that way don't find them enjoyable. Toddlerhood is one life stage that requires a lot of modding but I find doing that makes them far more enjoyable.

I even have them going away on holiday/vacation.


Wow, after seeing all of this i fell down a rabbit hole, and added over 30 mod for my game. BTW thanks for the flower eating mod. Can't wait to see it in game

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Mad Poster
#20 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 5:09 AM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
They can play in puddles, leaves, snow and sand. They can also hug pets and there is a new patting mod out as well as the group read to mod. I also have a mod that I made that lets them eat flowers from the garden. Toddlerhood gets a bad wrap as vanilla all they are is work. I get why people playing that way don't find them enjoyable. Toddlerhood is one life stage that requires a lot of modding but I find doing that makes them far more enjoyable.

I even have them going away on holiday/vacation.


I wish that someone would make a mod that lets you take toddlers to community lots (other than Dickhurt's one, because I've heard bad things about it). I also wish that Lamare's toddlers eat in restaurants didn't clash with Pescado's restaurantbarfix.

Btw where did you get the dolls that your toddlers are playing with in the 4th pic and the hair with the white band?

Quote: Originally posted by MeltingMagnetz
Wow, after seeing all of this i fell down a rabbit hole, and added over 30 mod for my game. BTW thanks for the flower eating mod. Can't wait to see it in game


I considered the flower eating mod, but when I discovered that only plantsim toddlers could do it without a mod I decided to leave it as something special for them.
Instructor
Original Poster
#21 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 5:10 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Coriel_Muroz
I have a mod that makes adulthood longer and variable, and elderhood shorter, but I also turn aging off for 5 days than back on except I age up babies and toddlers.

Essentially:
3 days pregnant
2-3 days baby
5 days toddler
12 days child
20 days teen
20 days young adult, approx. - but always equals 10 days in the regular hood
60-84 days adult
20-30 days elder

I have community time, so you aren't reliving to e spent on community lots, and I also include vacations in the aging, so if they are gone for 5 days, they have lived those 5 dayA.


I've always wanted to know about that mod. I have read that is very buggy so i have avoided using it. Instead i just use sethour cheat but a lot of the times my child was stuck at school, so i would really like to try it out but i am kinda scared

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Instructor
Original Poster
#22 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 5:15 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Charity
I considered the flower eating mod, but when I discovered that only plantsim toddlers could do it without a mod I decided to leave it as something special for them.


If i played with supernaturals than yes i would have definitely kept just for them but, since i don't really like them in TS2, i don't have a problem. If i did than i would need to download Midge The Tree whole mod section and that is like what 30-40 mods? hahahhaha

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Undead Molten Llama
#23 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 5:38 AM Last edited by iCad : 13th Aug 2019 at 5:48 AM.
Quote: Originally posted by MattGo74
I always use Insiminator to make pregnant sims have the baby right away. Less than 1 day. Because pregnancy is gross.


As a woman who birthed three children, I kinda agree that pregnancy is gross. I never enjoyed gestating, but the end result was worth it. ............I think. (Nah, I kid. Definitely worth it.) But, I do not allow the pixels the luxury of insta-baby. If I had to suffer, so do they! So, the aging system I use is gestation-proportional, which means that a 3 day pregnancy = 9 months (even though real pregnancies are actually closer to 10 months), which means that 4 days = 1 year, and the life stages are based on that, which also means that the life stages are in proper, realistic proportion with each other. (No more teenhood that's way too long compared to the other stages.) Initially, I used Hat's gestation-proportional aging, but I tweaked it a bit because I felt that its elderhood was too long, which made for visually age-skewed neighborhoods. So mine is:

Baby = 4 days/Ages 0-1
Toddler = 16 days/Ages 1-5 (Which, yeah, the animations and whatnot are a bit immature for about half that span of ages since in the real world so much maturation happens so quickly in the pre-school years, but...eh. I'd rather keep the proportion than worry about 4-year-olds who look/act more like 2-year-olds. )
Child = 32 days/Ages 5-13
Teen = 20 days/Ages 13-18
Higher Education/YA = However long it takes (I just subtract however many days they spend in Uni from their adult stage once they graduate/drop out. I no longer play Uni the "normal" way, so some get through school quickly -- or just drop out -- while others become sort of "professional students" Some of them have to stay there longer, too -- like if they want to be doctors or lawyers or scientists or architects -- so that they can get "graduate degrees" and/or if they need to do "internships." If they don't succeed, they're barred from the higher levels of those careers.)
Adult = 208 days/Ages 18-70 (I use ACR, with a tweaked fertility curve such that fertility completely ends at about age 50 and it dwindles off pretty significantly well before that, peaking at around their mid-20s. So, pregnancy can only happen in the front half-ish of that span, so there's a realistic "middle age" where the Sims will no longer have babies but they aren't "elders." At that point I start making them look more mature but not insta-old like the adult-to-elder transition. It's sort of like TS3's differentiation between "young adult" and "adult," I guess, only in this case the not-young adults can't get pregnant anymore, unless aliens knock 'em up.)
Elder = Age 70+ (With aspiration bonus/penalties, the longest elders can live is 80 days, which means they reach 90. The shortest they can live is 8 days, which means they make it to 72.)

So yeah, this makes for a very long, slow game, but I'm good with that. And the seasons are out of whack because I leave them at 5 days long each, which means they each last for 1.25 years. To make them proportional, they'd be 1 day long each, and I just don't want that because I want more time to enjoy each of them. So, out-of-whack seasons it is!

All that said, if I want generations to roll over faster in a particular neighborhood for whatever reason, I'll just use the vanilla life stages instead, even though their out-of-proportion-ness bugs me immensely. But in those neighborhoods the point is usually more about breeding and watching genetics pass down through generations and whatnot, and a slow game just isn't so good for that.

ETA:
Quote: Originally posted by MeltingMagnetz
I've always wanted to know about that mod. I have read that is very buggy so i have avoided using it. Instead i just use sethour cheat but a lot of the times my child was stuck at school, so i would really like to try it out but i am kinda scared


The only place where Community Lot Time is "buggy" is in vacation hoods. This is because the mod was never updated for BV. And the only way it's buggy there is that it messes up NPC tourist check ins/outs at hotels. I get around this by not using standard hotels and instead building "vacation rental houses" which are basically houses with the hotel room door as their only exterior door and a check-in desk sitting on the lot somewhere. Basically, it's a "hotel" for only one group of vacationers. Which works better if you use mods where, say, toddlers and pets can go on vacations because you can furnish the houses for them, too, so you don't have to bring along equipment for them. Otherwise, the mod works fine in vacation neighborhoods. If you don't want to do this sort of work-around, you can just temporarily remove the mod from your game when you're going to play a vacation. Or don't use "real" vacation neighborhoods at all and just build your own "vacation" places as regular subhoods. Of course, time will pass normally there, so you might only want to do that if you use longer life spans. Or not. Whatever.

The only other way it's "buggy" is that it doesn't work at all on Uni campuses, since time doesn't pass normally there. However, students do get tokens if they go to community lots while in Uni, and time accumulates on them whenever they go to community lots. So, once they return to a regular neighborhood, that accumulated
time gets added to their first community lot trip there. So, they might not return for days. The ways to get around this are 1) Don't send college students to community lots 2) Don't use Uni and set up an in-neighborhood college system and 3) During that first normal-neighborhood trip, note down the time they should return to their home lot and use, say, the batbox to force-error them home at the right time. Then, do not allow them to go to a community lot until after the time that CLT thinks they should have returned home. This will clear their token and then you can send them to community lots just fine and there will be no additional issues.

Finally, sometimes the mod just hiccups and it acts as if it's not installed at all. When that happens, use the sethour cheat or just deal with it and relive the time. Such a hiccup doesn't happen very often. When it does, it's usually in vacation neighborhoods, so I suspect it has to do with, again, the mod not being updated for BV.

I'm mostly found on (and mostly upload to) Tumblr these days because, alas, there are only 24 hours in a day.
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Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#24 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 5:54 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Charity
I wish that someone would make a mod that lets you take toddlers to community lots (other than Dickhurt's one, because I've heard bad things about it). I also wish that Lamare's toddlers eat in restaurants didn't clash with Pescado's restaurantbarfix.

Btw where did you get the dolls that your toddlers are playing with in the 4th pic and the hair with the white band?

I considered the flower eating mod, but when I discovered that only plantsim toddlers could do it without a mod I decided to leave it as something special for them.


The dollhouse dolls are default replacements and the hair I think is Trapping's.

That's the mod that I use, I wish there was a new mod because I heard that his are 'untidy' for want of another word. I haven't had an issue with it working though.

I might not have the restaurantbarfix, what does that do?

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Alchemist
#25 Old 13th Aug 2019 at 6:04 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Charity
I wish that someone would make a mod that lets you take toddlers to community lots (other than Dickhurt's one, because I've heard bad things about it). I also wish that Lamare's toddlers eat in restaurants didn't clash with Pescado's restaurantbarfix.

I don't know restaurantbarfix, but I do use Lamare's "toddlers on vacation" and "toddler outings in restaurants" and Df_allow_puppy_kitten_toddler_riders, so my toddlers go where their parents do with no problems, though they walk slowly when we walk to lot, and once the Newson teens forgot to take their brother out of the highchair at a restaurant and left without him, but you know... teens. :P

EDIT: I looked up restaurantbarfix and the issues it's supposed to fix are things I've never had a problem with anyway, so I'd much rather take my toddlers on outings.
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