Do You Keep a Utility Sim? ("mule")

[LlamaMama]

I'm interested in whether and how you make use of a secondary sim(s) in a household to support a main sim. Any clever uses would be appreciated, too!

[AriaGirl77]

I know that there are some here who do that a lot, in fact it's even mentioned on the Guide a few times.  Personally, I play a lot of Legacy people with random traits and LTW's, so I don't usually make use of such a sim.

I have seen them used as cooks, gardeners, anglers, and of course child care.

[LlamaMama]

Is there a basic guide for Legacy play somewhere? That sounds interesting to me!

[Metropolis Man]

Interesting terminology...mule. Kind of funny. Yeah, I call them utility Sims. My utility Sims provide cooking, handiness, gardening, and of course, woo hoo.

[Archer0]

A mule character is traditionally just for holding more things, in video games where your inventory space is limited in some way.  So the term is quite applicable in that sense.  It's a heavily used term in Diablo 2 and most MMORPG's, for example.  It doesn't really make sense for Sims 3 though.  I guess utility Sim would be a better description.  I don't use these kinds of Sims though, as I tend to get very bored after completing the LTW or whatever goal I have set for that toon.

I believe a player named Pinstar came up with the legacy rules in general and I think most Sims 3 communities use those, but mileage may vary.  Here's a link to the official Sims 3 forums and the Pinstar rules - http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/39862.page  Maybe a mod or regular can tell you if C & P's forum uses different rules for legacies or not.  Just the thought of playing a legacy challenge gives me the disgusted moodlet!   

[LlamaMama]

Just the thought of playing a legacy challenge gives me the disgusted moodlet!   

Why?

[Archer0]

I like fast games.  Heck, I wish I could complete a game in like an hour or two normally!  I've gotten close to that by using cheats.  But then cheating got boring, so I'm trying challenges.  Not sure how long I will last    Of course, that Possession is 9/10ths LTW gave me all kinds of happiness because of it's speedy compeltion!

Also, still going through all the Ambitions content, so new is fun.  But generally, once a Sim has maxed whatever skill is needed for the LTW and then completed the LTW, I consider the "game" done and start a brand new one.  I tried practicing for the House Hunters challenge, but only made it to week 4.  Never really did anything with kids in the game, tried 1 and it seemed ok and different from how I was playing.  Then I tried the Extreme Parenting challenge...don't recall how far I got, but I think I had a full house and never completed the challenge.  I had to take a break from the Sims for a bit after that one! 

[Pam]

I use a utility Sim when I'm playing a game for the purposes of writing a guide.  My main character is the one who focuses on the details of the guide and the utility Sim takes care of everything in the house and helps keep the main character in a good mood.  Other than that, I usually have a family and there are plenty of Sims to help out around the house.

As for the Legacy Challenge.  We don't have one of our own, so Pinstar's challenge is a good one to use if you're interested in playing a legacy.  There are others out there, but I believe Pinstar's challenge is the most well known.  We have our own Challenge Tournament, but it works much differently than a legacy challenge.

[Joria]

 I sort of keep a utility Sim.  It's a stay at home mom, dad, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, whatever.  I don't worry over much about getting it's LTW done as it's main purpose is to cook, clean, garden and in general keep the household running smoothly so my main characters can do what they must to achieve their goals.  But then I'm working a legacy and it just makes it faster/easier if you don't have to fuss with the little details like unclogging a jon or something.

[LlamaMama]

Don't you still have to fuss with unclogging the john if you have to switch to direct another sim to take care of it?

[Metropolis Man]

Don't you still have to fuss with unclogging the john if you have to switch to direct another sim to take care of it?

No. If Sim A clogs up the toilet, and you direct them to do something else, then Sim B can come over and make the fix.

[Twinmum]

I used to play Sims2 with utility sims a lot. Mainly I would have like a live in housekeeper/babysitter who was there to cook, clean and look after kids, leaving my main sims time for work and other pursuits.
I haven't really played a utility sim in TS3, but I with things needed to be taken to the consignment store and scrap to be collected for inventors, I can see how it could be a good move now.

Norma

[LlamaMama]

No. If Sim A clogs up the toilet, and you direct them to do something else, then Sim B can come over and make the fix.

Haha, potatoes/potahtoes.

[Joria]

Don't you still have to fuss with unclogging the john if you have to switch to direct another sim to take care of it?

Of course, but it's a second of my time as opposed to several minutes or hours of a Sims time.  The US, (utility Sim), can quickly be directed to do the job while the main Sim does something like paint a picture, play guitar, go fishing, whatever they need to do.  I lose time but they don't.

[pallyndrome]

I don't have the typical mule sim, but I do like to avoid the repetitive jobs. I always call the repairman, and have maids to clean. I use 3 replicators for ready made meals (meals made by previous sims who concentrated on the cooking skill). I do sometimes use a grandmother/aunt/uncle to look after the kids primarily, and if I have a sim with nothing to do, they help with the gardening, or just go paint because I like to collect the paintings.