Routine

[el_flel]

I just started up my game and am playing the family I'm focused on right now. The mum woke up at 6am to have breakfast before feeding the baby when it got me thinking about routine in The Sims (yes, I have strange trains of thought).

Other than the usual eat, sleep, shower, pee, work at the same time of day, do your sims have any routine behaviours? Say, for example, do they go down to the diner every night after work or take the kids swimming every Sunday?

My current family don't have any routine behaviours but am thinking I might get the mum to take the baby out for a walk in the pushchair (or stroller, as some of you may say) every morning. Try and prevent that stir-crazy moodlet from appearing.

[SpookyOkyBatGirl]

No matter what, I always make my Sims sit together as a family and eat dinner. Then every Sunday they eat out at a restaurant and I normally make the teens visit a movie with friends on the weeends.

[Srikandi]

Other than the usual eat, sleep, shower, pee, work at the same time of day, do your sims have any routine behaviours?

My sims don't even do that :O They eat when they're hungry and not doing something else, they sleep when they're tired and not doing something else... and so on. It's all dynamic according to their needs, wishes, obligations, opportunites, and random impulses (theirs or mine ;) ).

[Stina1701-D]

The family I am playing now, I try to have my couple go out to eat dinner every sunday, just the two of them sans kids. I also try to have one of them, visit the neighbours every other day, although his best friend has moved and I haven't found his new home yet.

The main reason is that he is a stay at home dad with career as a painter, and I am afraid I don't let him out much and he periodically get the stir crazy moodlet from staying home too much. He is never lonely though and interracts with his husband, kids and simbot but apparently its not enough.

That Sim is also the one that has a ritual I impose on him. He sleeps in later than the rest of the household, then after he has had breakfast or lunch and his usual bathroom ritual, he goes upstairs and paints until his partner comes home, where he either through for the day or continues painting till dinner time. Then after dinner, around eight, he goes to the computer room and starts hacking, till 3-4 am, where he goes to bed.

I also try to have the whole family sit down to eat dinner at least 2-3 days in the week. Doesn't always succeed though.

But there is one ritual my sims or one sim has done autonomous (the one that is not the painter), which is that he sometimes sits down in the workroom (where the easels and inventing bench is) and starts reading whatever book is in his inventory, and invariably it is when his husband is painting. I find it so sweet yet a bit odd as this sim is a loner.

[dancehallsim]

I always intend to give them a routine, but it always falls apart. I don't really pay attention to the days when I play. I do like to have my sims all have "family time" on Sunday. On their days off I try to get them to tour everything or be out in the town.

My family right now has a basic schedule. Wake. Eat. Work. Eat. Sleep. The heir from last gen is an elder and so she paints and reads constantly.

[ani_]

My Sims routines depends on the family, a loving, family will try to eat their dinner together, and usually this succeeds. Breakfast I would like for them to eat also together, but sometimes it's necessary to divide bathroom breaks so everybody gets to eat and use the toilet. I try to resolve morning toilet jams by trying to get everybody who needs a bath, to take it in the evening, before bed. If the family cares, they will always have breakfast made, either leftovers, or fresh, usually served by the mother. I like playing housewives, don't know why.

Caring families will also help kids with homework, and they will always have time to catch up on their children's day. There is nothing cuter than giving a child a hug, before asking them to go to bed.

What comes to friends. I play in one week rotation, and good friends, will always try to meet up at least once a week, either by visiting them, having them visit, or meeting in a community lot. Sometimes one time/week is all they get because family life can be so hectic.

If the person is single, and dating, then I'll try to arrange dates with their partners at least half the nights of the rotation. People who are not living with other people, well their routine depends on what type of life stage they are at. Some will sleep and eat when they want, some still have strict routines due to work.

[cameranutz2]

My Sims pretty much do what they want, when they want. Leaving high free will on pretty much assures they will do whatever their needs/wants require. If they want to take a dip in the hot tub before work instead of eating a bowl of cereal, so be it. Sims with infants/toddlers usually will tend to them without making them do so.

I do tend to redirect them for skill building reasons, especially those that are self employed. Really annoys me when a Sim constantly reads or plays on the computer when they need to develop sculpting skills or whatever.

[harlequinzombie]

Normally I make sure my kids are awake by five so they can all (I usually have at least four kids in all my families) get in showers and morning cereal time before school, unless their hunger/hygiene bars are full enough... then I just let them sleep until about 6:30. My parents are normally awake around the same time in order to get ready for work or their on the clock hours for self-employed jobs/professions. After school / after school activities, my kids always do homework while someone in my family either cooks supper or orders pizza, and after homework they watch television, play video games, or play on the computer. I always try to make sure everyone eats together as a family, but half the time there's always one straggler who is late to the counter and stuck behind everyone else and just keeps stamping his or her foot because they can't get through. After supper, it's basically "do what you want" time until bedtime. On Friday nights and Saturdays my teens either go out on dates, go out in groups with friends, or take their little brothers and sisters to the park and a restaurant as a treat while the parents treat themselves to some home alone time or a nice date for themselves. Sundays are the lazy days, when the kids just goof around the house watching television or playing in the backyard, while the parents have a glass of nectar and hone their skills. Then they have family supper, I make sure all the kids have their Friday homework finished, and everyone goes to bed.

[jennydb91]

My lack of sim routines makes life hectic. I usually let them live by their needs too, although of course sometimes one of them needs to fix something around the house, buy groceries, gain skills etc., apart from that I am too bad at planning. They all need to eat, sleep, pee at the same time. So usually someone ends up peeing on the floor. I hate playing households with like... more than 4 or 5 people, because suddenly the child is out after hours and the mom decided to go to a bar and the teen is making out with her boyfriend and the toddler is crying like hell but the dad just fell asleep on the floor, so there's no one there to tend to the toddler... Yeah, that sums up a bit how stressful I think it can be to play with several sims. It's come to the point where I say no to parties because I want to know where my sims are and make sure their needs are covered, even if its on free will they don't seem to be able to pull away from the computer or palette or book to go eat, and if I have a baby/toddler in the house I either need to hire a nanny and hope it's a decent one or basically watch them constantly. So splitting the family? Rather not! Stay in the house, all of you :P

[fairycake89]

I try to avoid routine as much as possible in my real life, so imposing it on my sims would be a no-no. They do what they like, more or less .. unless it goes against my plan for world domination :) The only time I interfere radically is to take care of toddlers or babies. I am a little like the poster above me, insomuchas I get a bit stressed if I have too many needs to pander to!

[skmt999]

Other than insisting that the kids do their homework as soon as they get home - I don't think I really have any set routines for my sims. Heck, I can't even remember if I can successfully train them to wash their hands after they pee like I did in Sims2.