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Mad Poster
#26 Old 20th Nov 2018 at 12:41 PM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
Not with job equality, sleep through the night and bladder fix mods. I also have a walk mod so no shuffling either.

Basically, my point elders are adults with very trivial differences.

P.S. Sorry for my bad english.
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Test Subject
Original Poster
#27 Old 20th Nov 2018 at 4:56 PM
I haven't had chance to read through all your responses yet but I can see people are echoing my point that there is nothing intrinsic to the elder stage that makes a certain sim boring.

I've been trying to follow a want-based playstyle so a sim becoming permaplat isn't a massive problem. My permaplat elders still roll wants for interesting things, which I happily indulge. I'm not fussed about the aspiration points themselves.

I did play a little of the house I've been stuck on, and Wilhelmina's teen boyfriend very kindly dropped off a karaoke machine date reward which kept me nice and entertained. Ursula gave, I think, the best rendition of Oogie Oogie Ooh I've heard in the game so far. Her husband starting rolling 'Encourage' wants for their son, Harvey, which was a nice excuse to invite him over. Harvey's wife 'just happened' to walk by while he was there, so it gave Ursula and Jaime a chance to get to know their daughter-in-law. Hatty from my other family was also greeted as she was coming to kick the bin over. She's besties with Ursula and enemies with Jaime so I had some nice poking and shoving to tide me over.

There is some interesting drama on the horizon - Harvey's wife is one of Wyatt's 20 WooHoos!
Theorist
#28 Old 20th Nov 2018 at 5:26 PM
I used to find the elders boring, since they had reached many goals prior to aging up. Mostly they ended up in a senior center with all the others because I didn't want to kill them off yet had nothing for them to do but wait it out. Then I started realizing elder age is just another level of life. Hmm, wonder where that idea came from . . . Anyway, my elders, whether married or back to single life, began dating their mate or a new conquest. They went to the local nightclub, bowling or whatever activities were around. Vacations were often fun and they had new goals by going frequently. They crafted, sometimes owned a business, raised a pet or 2, went fishing and/or gardened then shared the excess with family and friends. Also spent time getting to know all the grandkids and giving them gifts quite often. Elders could also top off any skills, including secret skills, or badges they hadn't had time for while raising a family. It didn't matter at this point if they even needed them, but getting that fancy drink from Grimmy and going off to the next plain with suitcase in hand and a golden headstone or urn to show their life was an accomplishment. (:

When you forgive, you heal. When you let go, you grow.
Test Subject
#29 Old 20th Nov 2018 at 5:40 PM
You could also download mods that make the game harder--like longer skilling--so as a result it takes more time to build skills for promotions, which means they get promoted more slowly, which gives them an incentive to continue working into their Elder years.
Mad Poster
#30 Old 20th Nov 2018 at 7:25 PM
My elder female romance sims really, really, appreciate the fact that they no longer get ACR Oops! babies.

Skye Weiss would like to report that the benefit for elder male knowledge sims is equal to that for elder female romance sims.

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Forum Resident
#31 Old 20th Nov 2018 at 8:31 PM
I found I enjoy playing elders more when I move them to a retirement community where they can focus on their hobbies and meeting new friends. There's some lots you can download from here, I think last time I did this I build my own large ranch style house and put a lot of hobby rooms inside it. It made it better because I didn't have to play multiple rounds of elder-only households, and they also had new relationships form.
Lab Assistant
#32 Old 20th Nov 2018 at 9:05 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Rarr
I found I enjoy playing elders more when I move them to a retirement community where they can focus on their hobbies and meeting new friends. There's some lots you can download from here, I think last time I did this I build my own large ranch style house and put a lot of hobby rooms inside it. It made it better because I didn't have to play multiple rounds of elder-only households, and they also had new relationships form.


Oh, I have to try that!

I have only a few elders, and there mostly still got their adult jobs. I only let them retire if they have the wish for it. I don't find them boring, the main difference to their kids is that they have more money and time to enjoy their hobbies and host family reunions, parties and holidays. Some of them start a small business too. I play mostly by wishes and chemistry and they don't fail to entertain me again and again.
Forum Resident
#33 Old 20th Nov 2018 at 11:29 PM
This thread reminds me of why I was SO disappointed in AL not allowing players to restrict apartments. I really wanted to create a senior citizen apartment lot. Several small homes and a common area, where they could spend their golden years with other seniors. The common area would have a community lot kind of feel, but it wouldn't stop them aging. This is why we also needed things like shuffleboard or bocci ball courts. Ah well... que será será.


-gE
>=)
Mad Poster
#34 Old 21st Nov 2018 at 12:14 AM
I think Chris Hatch's apartment mod lets you designate an apartment as elders-only. My own solution to this is to play them all as one big household, and use dorm doors to create psuedo-apartments. You could also use Inge's keys if you have that.

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retired moderator
#35 Old 21st Nov 2018 at 12:28 AM
Quote: Originally posted by grinevilly
This thread reminds me of why I was SO disappointed in AL not allowing players to restrict apartments. I really wanted to create a senior citizen apartment lot. Several small homes and a common area, where they could spend their golden years with other seniors. The common area would have a community lot kind of feel, but it wouldn't stop them aging. This is why we also needed things like shuffleboard or bocci ball courts. Ah well... que será será.


-gE
>=)


There is no reason why you can't do that. All you need is this mod to stop random AL townies from moving in. http://modthesims.info/d/511564 Move in your playable elder sims. Or if you want elder townies simply use the visitor controller so only elders are walk-by's, grab them and add to the family. Once playable you can move them out then back into their own apartment. With the Simlogical apartment tokens, you can set how much they will come out of their apartments and mingle.

"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
#36 Old 21st Nov 2018 at 11:08 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Bulbizarre
I think Chris Hatch's apartment mod lets you designate an apartment as elders-only.

Chris Hatch made a RetirementHomes mod that only uses the retirement home code from that (for those not interested in also having UniApartment's teen apartment neighbors and apartments on Uni campuses). All you have to do is place the included bird bath object somewhere on the apartment lot's common area before moving your playable sims in and the mod will only allow other elder sims to move into the other apartments.

http://www.modthesims.info/showthre...254#post5457254
Top Secret Researcher
#37 Old 22nd Nov 2018 at 11:26 AM Last edited by Nalia : 22nd Nov 2018 at 7:34 PM.
Well, I don't find elder Sims boring, but rather annoying: the moment they become elders they start dancing smustle, inviting other Sims to join them, and all hell breaks loose. I recall some fires started because of that.

In all seriousness, whether I find some elder Sims boring or irritating depends highly on whether these Sims were amongst my favourites when they were younger. Elder Sims are the same people they used to be when they were younger, they don't suddenly change because of their age - well, except that smustle dance lunacy. They are very good with kids and teens and many times grandchildren develope stronger ties with them than with their parents. They do house cleaning, cooking and gardening, or devote time to their hobbies, and they are very social with family friends at parties. When they don't engage in a conversation they will just read a book, the newspaper or watch tv... or do the smustle dance.

One of my favourites was Michiko, the very first Mayor of Kiku Heaven. She liked gardening and painting, and many times I would caught her sharing her knowledge with her children and grandchildren. She was the one who literally raised her grandchildren, feeding them, playing and dancing with them, or reading them to sleep. I am sure Yokito was very grateful to have such a wonderful Mum. When she died the whole family was depressed for 2-3 Sims days. Yokito and his teen kids, Atsunori and Miko, would often think of her and start crying.

I really had a great time playing that family when Michiko was an elder.
Screenshots
Forum Resident
#38 Old 24th Nov 2018 at 6:33 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Orphalesion
With me the problem is that my interest in Sims 2 is family-focused. So if Elders are living with their children and help raising their grandkids, then they work, then they are awesome. If they are living alone, there's literally nothing in the universe that would make them interesting to me. But it's the same with households consisting of a single adult sim, they won't be interesting to me until at least some sort of family starts to form.

Agreed. Some of my elder sims live with children or need to keep working, but I put my retired elder empty nest couples into a retirement home to live out their days. Otherwise, it's very slow going, and kind of sad to have them just putter around until they die. Even if I give them a hobby, 2 elderly sims making pottery or doing yoga all day is kind of a bore after the chaos of work and raising children.

I'm pretty hands-off with my retirement household and just let the sims do whatever they want all day. Mainly it's lots of poker and using the ballet barre. Sometimes I direct them to a hobby, like gardening or pottery. There's usually 6-8 sims living there, plus a few pets, so there's always someone else to socialize with. So far, I haven't had a widow and widower at the same time, but it's my goal to have some retirement home hook-ups that scandalize their children.

I never wanted community lot time before, but I do like the idea of using it so sims can go on staycations in their hoods and still age.
Forum Resident
#39 Old 26th Nov 2018 at 6:29 PM
I put my elders to work! Many own and run businesses, when not fostering/raising kids and teens. I have them host family dinners, and breed pets, They plot who's going to get their inheritance, and bank a ton of money since they don't need as much as kids and teens in terms of stuff. They go on holidays, take younger lovers, keep family relationships strong by always inviting everyone over, and generally get up to some genuinely entertaining things - as well as plotting and scheming on the neighbors and trolling the city in general. Whenever I feel like I have too many younger sims who need to work for someone, I stick an elder in as the judge, the CEO, the building owner, the foreman, what-have-you. They make businesses fun to play since it's more realistic. I also dress them a bit younger, and let them keep their hair colours until they're nearer to the end of their lifespan.

Freshly turned elders I try to keep looking more like older adults, and maybe do a salt and pepper hair versus a full on grey. I wish there was just an older-middle age stage, but since there isn't I make my own. At the start of the elder stage, my sims are only in their 50s, and that's the same age as my parents, so I'm kind of like "how can they be ready for the grave already?" My parents are more than spry- they have a better social life than I do sometimes!
Mad Poster
#40 Old 28th Nov 2018 at 6:45 AM
My elders, who are, as in African tradition, seen as the wise people of the hood who should be respected and learned from, do one or more of the following:

Start a business
Go on vacation (taking the grandchildren along, of course)
Throw a family reunion party every Sunday
Throw a party for friends once a week (they have lots of friends, since they have been around for a long time and a number was born in game)
Start a new hobby
Go fishing and hiking
Tell the legend of the far east to other sims (if they have learned it when on vacation)
Teach Thai Chi
One of my elders is an instructor who can teach the Hula with Sophie-David's mod - he is the only one and he loves teaching it
Reading stories from sophie-David's storybook to children

AND
very important in my game: they run the Unemployment Center, where they cook food for the other sims (it has a proper kitchen); teach (knowledge sims) skills to others, play chess with younger sims, share hobby tips and fit elders train the youngsters on the obstacle course. If sending other sims there, there are always a number of elders around who can be asked for knowledge/ a game of chess/ training or to share hobby tips with.

AND
again with the help of Sophie David's mods, some of my elders teach at Uni

AND
some of them are marrying again after being widowed - some young ladies don't mind marrying an elder fortune sim at all, and it brings interesting interactions, especially if the elder has a number of kids

Elders are tops. (Edit - I have a retirement (sub)hood especially for my elders. Weddings and funerals are huge occasions there )
Lab Assistant
#41 Old 28th Nov 2018 at 7:47 AM
I find that, as the population of my uberhood grows older, I'm playing more elders now than I ever have at any point in my fourteen years of playing this game. I used to have a similar perspective to OP -- perhaps a little dismissive or disinterested in the elder stage. Either through a difference in approach or the emotional attachments I've formed with these sims, my perspective has changed entirely. Elders are great. Better yet, elders are diverse. But unlike their adult and teenage counterparts, elders have (potentially) more freedom to explore all the character depth and life experiences they've racked up over the years. I have elders who:

- retire, collecting a pension and pursuing other interests
- run a popular casino, complete with bar and buffet
- spend all their time meddling in their adult children's lives (and marriages)
- author a variety of books (cook books, how to books, memoirs, speculative fiction, treatises on psychology or science, children's books, etc.)
- use their life savings to open the restaurant they've been dreaming of since childhood
- own and operate a gym
- have a group they meet with regularly for drinks, dancing, and/or games
- loiter at local haunts to gossip with fellow local elders about goings-on
- coach soccer or basketball
- throw open the doors to their mansion to host lavish dinner parties/balls/galas every season
- enjoy a quiet, unexamined life out in the country fishing and farming
- adopt a child and raise them, older and wiser
- have a sports league that hosts games one evening a week
- lecture at the local community college
- are lifelong bachelors/bachelorettes who entertain "company" at all hours of the day

There's so much! Elders are exciting when you consider that their personhood doesn't wither with age.

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