Dealing with Doldrums

[MarianT]

This is the first time I've played the Sims when I haven't had access to expansion packs that had come out previously. Everything was available by the time I started playing TS2; I started TS3 in a bundle that included Ambitions and got WA and LN soon afterwards. Even with Spooky Stuff coming out today, the wait for Get Together seems very long. I can't go back to TS3 because I've gotten used to playing a game that doesn't crash. I can't go back to TS2 because I prefer the looks of my TS4 sims even if they can't have toddlers. And I suspect that I'm not the only person who feels this way.

So here are my recommendations to keep the game interesting:

Play rotationally.
Play something like the Asylum Challenge where you can control only one sim in a large household.
Give your sims one or more negative traits. I discovered during the most recent challenge that sims dance differently when they're tense or embarrassed. If you always play happy, high achiever sims, try going over to the dark side.
Use some of the different options in conversations. I tend to spam "brighten day," "heartfelt compliment," when trying to make friends, but there are dozens of other options, some based on traits and some on skills.

Oh yes, and try one of the Tournament challenges. There's still plenty of time to complete "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen."

[FrancescaFiori]

Thanks for this! I confess I've been feeling exactly the same way. These are some great suggestions.


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[Playalot]

Great ideas. I've just recently gone over to the dark side with jealous, hot headed sims. I'm enjoying playing with traits I normally don't use and also having a few jealous ex-spouses in the house that 'accidently' ate the cow plant's cake. I'm not controlling these ghosts so the drama is pretty funny. Especially when my sim seems to have a bad habit of remarrying only to lose the next spouse to the cow plant too.... 

[Cheezey]

Some of the best, funniest, or most interesting things in this game happen when you just let the sims be themselves.  However, I find it hard to do that with them, so playing something like a wishacy style game where I force myself to be hands-off with my sims, and only direct them toward achieving things related to whims or aspiration, and maybe career, leaving the rest to free will, can make for a different type of game.  That style is hard for me, as I tend to get aggravated when unexpected things like alien abductions happen (to be honest, I usually reset the sim so I don't have to deal with an unwanted baby or deal with the guilt of sending it away like an unwanted stray) or a random flirt causes some romance I didn't want to happen. I even get mad at little things like when they want to eat cake that makes them fat and only halfway fills hunger instead of salad, which sounds like I'm a cruel Watcher when you write it out, because I won't even let them have cake unless it's someone's birthday or a party.   

[MarianT]

Cheezey, I'm another cruel Watcher. Fish tacos all the way! And I hate giving my sims negative traits.

[Playalot]

I normally really, really hate giving my sims negative traits but I've actually been really enjoying the different animations and facial expressions etc that come with those negative traits. I'm forcing myself not to over decorate their houses so that the 'happy from good decoration' just can not take over the negative traits. So my little simmies are feeling it all this time around. Makes for quite a different game.

[itsjustgeekthings]

Nice suggestions. I'm always playing the game a little too "nice". Never used the evil trait for example... 

[RunAmokSims]

This is the first time I've played the Sims when I haven't had access to expansion packs that had come out previously. Everything was available by the time I started playing TS2; I started TS3 in a bundle that included Ambitions and got WA and LN soon afterwards. Even with Spooky Stuff coming out today, the wait for Get Together seems very long. I can't go back to TS3 because I've gotten used to playing a game that doesn't crash. I can't go back to TS2 because I prefer the looks of my TS4 sims even if they can't have toddlers. And I suspect that I'm not the only person who feels this way.

So here are my recommendations to keep the game interesting:

Play rotationally.
Play something like the Asylum Challenge where you can control only one sim in a large household.
Give your sims one or more negative traits. I discovered during the most recent challenge that sims dance differently when they're tense or embarrassed. If you always play happy, high achiever sims, try going over to the dark side.
Use some of the different options in conversations. I tend to spam "brighten day," "heartfelt compliment," when trying to make friends, but there are dozens of other options, some based on traits and some on skills.

Oh yes, and try one of the Tournament challenges. There's still plenty of time to complete "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen."

I like your suggestions but I find myself not wanting to play any Sims games and could use a remedy for that.  I think the cause is my disappointment in the direction the game has taken this time.

When I've played rotationally  I've found that sometimes my other households have been culled.  Yes the culling problem is that bad in my game.

The asylum challenge is the first thing I tried after my original installation a year ago. I wanted to test the emotions of these new Sims. I found little difference between the traits and my insane Sims acted like any other Sim.

Most often my Sims have negative traits. I'm just one of those deviant players who doesn't find any excitement in the more positive traits.

Playing a legacy or playing a game with set objectives, like a tournament, just make me want to turn off the game.  I know there are people who love both, and no disrespect to them, but it's just not me.

I was so, so so terribly excited before the release so maybe I was expecting too much.

[Playalot]

Just remember this thread is for ideas to help simmers try something new out. 

[Magpie2012]

Try @Playalot's Black Widow Challenge! I'm reading her story and a couple others here on the forum and it looks like so much fun! Or her Runaway Teen Challenge also! If I was a bit more brave when it came to challenges I would definitely try them out! So far I've only done sandbox play or legacy play. Also the challenges that the Challenge Team posts for the 2015 tournament look like loads of fun and a new way to learn more of the game mechanics!

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[dodi90]

For me it is the insane trait that give me most pleasure. It gives random emotions that a sim will be a lot more colorful than just be always blissfully happy or something. I also try to give some specific roles of a sim in a household so they did not end up become master of everything. For example The Master Chef could only master Gourmet Cooking, Normal one and Baking but is prohibited to raise irrelevant skills like Painting or handiness. Or maybe a Household Butler that could clean, fix things (but not upgrade) and cook normal meal (no fancy ones).