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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 7th Sep 2011 at 9:57 PM
Default Respect your Elders: Fun uses for the elderly?
So, just read that topic where someone was wondering why an elder much older than 90 days was still alive (on normal) and I began to realise that yes, most simmers can't get their elderly dead soon enough. Before starting this legacy I even had the elder lifestage set to the minimum so they'd die off soon.

Since now I'm gonna have to play them, I would like to know what other simmers do to make playing with elder sims fun.

This signature has been censored because of the 13 year old badly written sentimentalism. -.-
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Inventor
#2 Old 7th Sep 2011 at 10:08 PM
I have them play tag (a lot) with their cane equipped. It's hilarious; they sort of just hobble after whoever they are playing with. That will keep me occupied for a good five minutes or so.

Other than that: they usually just turn into the resident maid for my sims. Poor old folk.

"Goonies never say die."
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#3 Old 7th Sep 2011 at 10:42 PM
Evil, making old sims work! XD But useful.

This signature has been censored because of the 13 year old badly written sentimentalism. -.-
Eminence Grise
#4 Old 7th Sep 2011 at 11:59 PM Last edited by Srikandi : 8th Sep 2011 at 12:33 AM.
Hm? An elder sim can pretty much do whatever an adult sim can, except (in the case of females) have babies. They may take a few more bathroom breaks, but by the time they're that old they should have bought "Steel Bladder" anyway

My elder sims do the same things as my YA and Adult sims: pursue various goals. LTW if they don't have it yet, get to the top of their career if they haven't, max a skill and complete its challenges. If they live with younger sims they can help the family in many ways. Childcare, of course, if they're retired. Financially, through painting, writing, collecting, fishing, gardening etc. Or they can be level 10 cooks and keep everybody happy with food moodlets... or master mixologists providing everybody else with skill drinks. High level paintings and sculptures don't just sell for a lot, they can max all the room scores. Master inventing and put floor hygienators everywhere, and supply the family with a time machine and a simbot. Pick up the Lifetime rewards which are objects (collection helper, teleporter etc), to share with the family. All depends on their interests and expertise.

I don't really get why people dislike the elders, since functionally they are very little different from adult sims. And with potentially high skill levels, career levels, and lifetime reward points, they have a ton to contribute.
Forum Resident
#5 Old 8th Sep 2011 at 12:20 AM
I usually have the elders live with their grown children and take care of the grandkids. That way I can have the parents focus on skills and their jobs without having to worry about taking care of the kids and cooking. I've been thinking about making a retirement home, though for the elder sims that don't have families to live with.
Scholar
#6 Old 8th Sep 2011 at 3:18 AM
I just let them play as any other Sim. i'm pushing that Elder stage myself and feel their pain!
Mad Poster
#7 Old 8th Sep 2011 at 4:48 AM
I like elders. I didn't like them in TS2 because the default ones were way too old and saggy way too young. But now they are normal looking. I've divided the elder stage into two parts. Before 90 they are as active as the adults, but then after 90, they have to retire, and have to start using a cane. Also after they turn 90 I stop controlling them actively, I like how they wobble around the house doing their own things and helping out if they feel like it.
Forum Resident
#8 Old 8th Sep 2011 at 5:33 AM Last edited by Miko09 : 8th Sep 2011 at 6:34 AM.
I usually treat my elders like adults. They can enjoy the same activities so I don't bother holding them back from being active. In fact, what I would really love is to have elders doing extreme sports like rock climbing and sky diving. Talk about living life to the fullest! Since you can never know when your elder sims are going to kick the bucket, it would be fun to have them enjoy extreme activities once they've reached that golden age. For now, I will just have to keep them enrolled at the senior citizen martial arts center. At least the next EP will allow them to go on horseback riding adventures!
Test Subject
#9 Old 8th Sep 2011 at 5:50 AM
Default Elder Uses
I normally let them help with the grandkids and other activities like gardening, painting, writing and cooking. Elders without families I often will move in with families that could use the extra help. Single moms especially can use that extra help. Move a YA in with some elders to have free room and board until they inherit the house by default. I always just let them die of old age being productive members of the town till they do.
Forum Resident
#10 Old 8th Sep 2011 at 10:18 AM
Sometimes, I have my elders retire and pick up a whole new profession. Retirees picking up a new profession is even common in real life, so I don't think it's weird at all. I also like for them to pick up new skills or hobbies, especially athletics or music/painting. Sometimes they just break space rocks all day long in the backyard though. That's pretty profitable and I don't have to pay any attention to them at all.

I also like to make sure that I spend all their lifetime happiness, so they buy food replicators (I like to have at least 3!) and hover beds. I don't keep more than one collection helper/teleporter/moodlet manager though.
Lab Assistant
#11 Old 8th Sep 2011 at 1:17 PM
I will do one of two things. A) Move them and all other family-related "old folks" into a house all of their own and kind of ignore them except for phone calls from their child I am playing and a visit on the day of demise. B) Keep them so they can watch their grandkids. My current family is doing that - Grandma Karen has three charges so far and another on the way.
Lab Assistant
#12 Old 8th Sep 2011 at 2:41 PM
I generally use my elders to help around the house when the parents can't. If I don't think they're far enough in their careers I let them stay at work, but if they're at the top level of their career or close enough but unable to reach it before they pass, I retire them and they stay at home teaching toddlers to walk and talk and use the potty, cleaning the house, cooking dinners, and basically being like a third parent. Mine always go to bed super early (normally around seven or eight) and wake up about two or three hours before everyone else, so they tend to cook breakfast too. But I also like having them take their grandchildren out to the movies and to supper while the parents stay at home and relax, or as a way to help them bond and create memories before the grandparent passes.
Test Subject
#13 Old 8th Sep 2011 at 4:15 PM
My first generation elders usually work until the die, so the family keeps earning good money. After that, I usually let them retire and take up hobbies like gardening or painting.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#14 Old 8th Sep 2011 at 5:43 PM
Whoa lots of people working their elderly to the grave. I think that just feels weird for me. When my own grandma is around, she always has some kind of pain so working (even just housework) is just not exactly pleasant for her. I guess I treat my own elderly the same way. That and I tend to be a 'no slacking you stupid sim' kinda player so my elderly usually have all relevant skills maxed. As for child care, I like to let the parents do it on their free time, so they develop their relationship with the child.

This signature has been censored because of the 13 year old badly written sentimentalism. -.-
Forum Resident
#15 Old 8th Sep 2011 at 5:49 PM
One of my favourite sims is now an elder, and her husband is a vampire in the adult age stage.. that's pretty evil that he hasn't turned her, I know, but in my game I have vampirism as an inherited condition only (Cheers, Twallan )... I really want to keep her around to see the kids of her youngest 3 children. I don't know if she'll make it, her youngest kid is still a teen :/. Maybe I could turn off her aging and make her skin green in CAS - she is supposed to be a witch, she could just become an old hag. It's difficult trying to plan when to make new babies so that all the family can meet before the elders pass on.

What do I do with her was the question. Well, she's been a gardener all her life and she owns an allotment just outside of the city so she spends a lot of her time there and she still earns money. She uses the magic book and casts spells. Other elders I have are Iqbal, he like fishing and he lives by the sea, but he still works at the science facility. Fiona McIrish is a retired Star News Anchor and still has some celebrity status, so when she's out and about she's getting photos taken and being asked for signatures.

I've never really played old folk before because I haven't ever played legacy style before.

Go suck an elf...
Lab Assistant
#16 Old 8th Sep 2011 at 6:52 PM
I always make my elder sims very comfortable. They have their own floor in the family home, filled with books and flowers. I usually make all my sims work, but my elder sims always retire as soon as they can. (Providing they can live off the money they've made.) My elder sims babysit their grandchildren whenever my sims are either at work, or just for a few minutes while someone goes grocery shopping. ^^

They also paint, & write novels to earn a bit of extra money for the household, but by the time they're elders, the households always seems to have plenty of money.
Test Subject
#17 Old 8th Sep 2011 at 10:33 PM
If the elders are in the family home [I usually have followed a grown child into another house by then and am thus not playing the elder sims], I tend to make them look like adult sims. I like to change the hair colour, so that they have grey roots and highlights but colour on the rest of their hair.

I quite like the canes for the older elders. They are fun to watch.

To be honest, I don't play the sims when they get that old. I've usually moved on by then to another family/offspring.
Test Subject
#18 Old 9th Sep 2011 at 4:58 PM
Probably similar to what a normal, healthy elderly person would do in the real world. Once they've reached the top of their career, I'll retire them a little while afterwards and let them explore hobbies, and leisurely pursuits, and gain skills that weren't related to their job/profession. I may give them a profession relating to their hobby (writer, artist e.t.c). I'll have them work towards their life goals. They're also useful for childcare. I don't usually have them do housework because by that point the household tends to have more than enough money to afford a maid.
Fat Obstreperous Jerk
#19 Old 9th Sep 2011 at 5:04 PM
They still missed out on a lot of important elder interactions. Can you shake your cane menacingly at those damn kids while you shoo them off the lawn yet? Lecture about how in your day, you had to walk 10 miles to school, through the snow, uphill and against the wind BOTH ways?

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I cannot accept, and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those I had to kill because they pissed me off.
Scholar
#20 Old 9th Sep 2011 at 6:40 PM Last edited by juansfalcin : 9th Sep 2011 at 6:50 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by J. M. Pescado
They still missed out on a lot of important elder interactions. Can you shake your cane menacingly at those damn kids while you shoo them off the lawn yet? Lecture about how in your day, you had to walk 10 miles to school, through the snow, uphill and against the wind BOTH ways?


At least the cane is back. And you forgot about telling youngsters how indescent they look and back then ladies wore moreclothes.

Anyways, something I never figured out: how retirement works? (in Sims, of course)
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