toddler madness

[Heather_Desrosiers_]

  This has only happend to me when thay are babys and ONLY once a toddler!

[Christianlov]

They search for cribs by guids... So probably sims may have some problem in recognizing custom cribs sometimes.. There is no category for cribs..

[J. M. Pescado]

I can't even use Power Idle, because the second I turned it on for my elders, they beelined to the nursery and started harrassing the babies and toddlers.

That's not possible, Power Idle is not programmed to do anything with babies. Sims on Power Idle operate under a rather restricted activity set consisting of eating, peeing, drinking coffee, sleeping, sitting, using the AutoYak, and kicking flamingos. They can't do anything else unless told to.

[laylei]

I can't even use Power Idle, because the second I turned it on for my elders, they beelined to the nursery and started harrassing the babies and toddlers.

That's not possible, Power Idle is not programmed to do anything with babies. Sims on Power Idle operate under a rather restricted activity set consisting of eating, peeing, drinking coffee, sleeping, sitting, using the AutoYak, and kicking flamingos. They can't do anything else unless told to.

I'm afraid that's what happened. My elders are both Perma Plat and have maxed all their skills, so I'm at a loss as to what to do with them, and I thought Power Idle would let me stop worrying about them. I turned it on for both of them, and BAM, into the nursery they went.

PI works funny for me anyway. I tried it again last night (all the toddlers became kids, so there's no babies and toddlers to harrass anymore) with Robert, my elder male. Instead of fulfilling his needs, he sat alone at the kitchen table for hours, until his bladder and energy were both in desperate red. I finally had to cancel out PI and rush him to the toilet and bed- both of which were available all night, as everyone else was at work or skilling (or meditating).

[RainbowTigress]

I'm afraid that's what happened. My elders are both Perma Plat and have maxed all their skills, so I'm at a loss as to what to do with them, and I thought Power Idle would let me stop worrying about them. I turned it on for both of them, and BAM, into the nursery they went.

PI works funny for me anyway. I tried it again last night (all the toddlers became kids, so there's no babies and toddlers to harrass anymore) with Robert, my elder male. Instead of fulfilling his needs, he sat alone at the kitchen table for hours, until his bladder and energy were both in desperate red. I finally had to cancel out PI and rush him to the toilet and bed- both of which were available all night, as everyone else was at work or skilling (or meditating).

Do you have the toilet paper and sleep clock installed and configured properly?

[Bangelnuts]

I'm afraid that's what happened. My elders are both Perma Plat and have maxed all their skills, so I'm at a loss as to what to do with them, and I thought Power Idle would let me stop worrying about them. I turned it on for both of them, and BAM, into the nursery they went.

PI works funny for me anyway. I tried it again last night (all the toddlers became kids, so there's no babies and toddlers to harrass anymore) with Robert, my elder male. Instead of fulfilling his needs, he sat alone at the kitchen table for hours, until his bladder and energy were both in desperate red. I finally had to cancel out PI and rush him to the toilet and bed- both of which were available all night, as everyone else was at work or skilling (or meditating).

Do you have the toilet paper and sleep clock installed and configured properly?

I dont use power Idle but I do use the toilet Paper in select houses and it works Great

[laylei]

I'm afraid that's what happened. My elders are both Perma Plat and have maxed all their skills, so I'm at a loss as to what to do with them, and I thought Power Idle would let me stop worrying about them. I turned it on for both of them, and BAM, into the nursery they went.

PI works funny for me anyway. I tried it again last night (all the toddlers became kids, so there's no babies and toddlers to harrass anymore) with Robert, my elder male. Instead of fulfilling his needs, he sat alone at the kitchen table for hours, until his bladder and energy were both in desperate red. I finally had to cancel out PI and rush him to the toilet and bed- both of which were available all night, as everyone else was at work or skilling (or meditating).

Do you have the toilet paper and sleep clock installed and configured properly?

Shoot, the TP. I'd heard it was buggy for NL so I haven't put it in, and I've never used the sleep clock, because I don't really understand it. Does it make your sim go to bed at a certain time? Because my sims never go to bed at the same time.

I still don't understand the problem with the baby obsession, but I guess I'll just forget about PI for now.

[RainbowTigress]

Power Idle depends on having certain items on your lot.  I have had no problems with using the TP with NL.  The only problem was that it wouldn't rotate, and JM fixed that soon after NL was released, even before he got the game.

As for the sleep clock, I was a little leary of it at first as it seemed a bit complicated, but it really isn't. I read the RTFM, and now I love it.  I don't have to find my sim's bed and send them to it when I want them to go to sleep.  They don't always go to sleep at the same time every night.  You set the time you want the sim to get UP, and then you set the bed type according to the manual (it is preconfigured for the double colonial bed).  Then set bedtime to ON, and the clock will automatically figure when to call your sim to bed based on how tired they are and what time they have to get up.  It will also keep your sim in bed until the desired wake time even if your sim's energy bar is full.  You can always wake them up manually, of course.

As you experienced, Power Idle depends on these things to know when and where to send your sim to the toilet or to bed.  Other things needed for PI to work properly are flamingoes or gnomes for kicking (fun) and at least 5 points in cooking, I believe, with stove and refrigerator, of course.  If your sim has a cell phone, and you have autoyakyak installed, he will use the phone to call his friends during the day if he has no other needs to be met.  That's it, I think.  I don't use it all the time, just when I want certain sims to sit out of the way and be quiet, unless they have skills to learn.

[Sagana]

It will also keep your sim in bed until the desired wake time even if your sim's energy bar is full.

Other'n vampires, why would you want to do that? I feel about my sims sleeping, about the same way I do about sleep for myself - it's a huge waste of time so don't do any more of it than necessary and get out of bed and get to work, lazy things

I always queue up stuff for them to do when they get up... setting it right after they go to bed, so they'll get up and get started (and be where I can see them and NOT start making the bed or something dumb), and occasionally they go to sleep by themselves, and my queue wakes them up - which is annoying. Go back to bed and reset the list... bleh :p

But I've never wanted them NOT to get up. 'cept for maybe kids whose sleep schedule is off for school and even then... I'd just rather make them dance or something that makes them tired fast.

[RainbowTigress]

Well, one reason to keep them asleep until you want them to wake up is if you set them to get up right when the carpool comes, and you send them to bed platinum, then they will not lose their platinum mood before they go to work.  The aspiration meter doesn't decay while they are asleep.  This is what JM suggested, and I've found it works well.  Instead of getting them up to shower and eat, send them straight to work, and they'll get promoted even if their bars aren't all green when you send them to work.  If you don't send them to work platinum, it could take days to get promoted.

If you set the clock correctly, though, they won't be in bed for much longer than it takes them to get their energy filled up because it calculates how much sleep they need based on the type of bed and how tired they are.

[Bangelnuts]

Well, one reason to keep them asleep until you want them to wake up is if you set them to get up right when the carpool comes, and you send them to bed platinum, then they will not lose their platinum mood before they go to work.  The aspiration meter doesn't decay while they are asleep.  This is what JM suggested, and I've found it works well.  Instead of getting them up to shower and eat, send them straight to work, and they'll get promoted even if their bars aren't all green when you send them to work.  If you don't send them to work platinum, it could take days to get promoted.

If you set the clock correctly, though, they won't be in bed for much longer than it takes them to get their energy filled up because it calculates how much sleep they need based on the type of bed and how tired they are.

I use  the toddler sleep through the night patch and I find that not only do my Toddlers sleep all night so do my new born's and the rest of the family as well. very im portant when you have 2 toddlers and 3 newborn's in one nursery .and 2 school age children that need to go to school in a good mood . Parents that have enough sleep are in a far better mood to deal with the needs of the Babies and toddlers and are less apt to neglect real needs of the little ones. I generally get my family of 16 in bed by 11:00 p.m. with toddler and infants being the first group put to bed around 8:30 p.m. for the night. school age children go next  after bath and bed time stories are read by the adults. they are in bed  by 9:15 p.m. . the next group I get ready to send to bed is the adults that have work the next morning. the last group I tend to is those who have a day off. the crib patch  has some how translated to all beds in the house. the entire family wakes at  6:00 a.m at which point 5 adults head for the nursery and 1 heads for the kitchen to fix breakfast. while the adult making breakfast is busy the nursery group is feeding babies and toddlers and changing diapers while toddlers use their potties. after babies are fed,changed,and played with and returned to cribs two adults remain to dress toddlers and snuggle and play a bit with the toddlers.the rest have gone to the dining room to eat. and by that time  carpoolers and school children have work and school to go to.I couldnt live without the toilet paer and the crib patch in my game along with the always full fridge patch and smart serve.

[RainbowTigress]

I don't think the crib patch will affect the regular beds, Bangelnuts.  Are you sure that the sims aren't being woken up spontaneously, or can they hear the toddlers and babies crying when they wake up?  If there isn't a door between them and the nursery, their crying will wake them.  I use the sleep clock, but if the baby is in the same room and wakes up at 6 am, so will the others sleeping in the same room.  Which is why I'll often build a little alcove just for the baby bed, so they don't wake everyone else up.  I've used this patch in my game for a while and played several houses, and everyone will stay sleeping past 6 am even after the toddler wakes up at 6 am. 

[Bangelnuts]

I don't think the crib patch will affect the regular beds, Bangelnuts.  Are you sure that the sims aren't being woken up spontaneously, or can they hear the toddlers and babies crying when they wake up?  If there isn't a door between them and the nursery, their crying will wake them.  I use the sleep clock, but if the baby is in the same room and wakes up at 6 am, so will the others sleeping in the same room.  Which is why I'll often build a little alcove just for the baby bed, so they don't wake everyone else up.  I've used this patch in my game for a while and played several houses, and everyone will stay sleeping past 6 am even after the toddler wakes up at 6 am. 

nope the nursery is an entirely separate room and my Adults and school kids all wake up at the same time as the babies and toddlers 6 a.m. it could have something to do with the fact that the house is asleep by 11:00 p.m. and no they cant hear the babies or toddlers. this is the only house  that has such a tight schedule. but with 16 people you have to set a bed time . that is workable

[Sagana]

I generally get my family of 16...

dang, I'da been bored with all that scheduling faster than it took you to type it. And this explains why I'm not playing a family of 16 :)

[Bangelnuts]

I generally get my family of 16...

dang, I'da been bored with all that scheduling faster than it took you to type it. And this explains why I'm not playing a family of 16

actually its not boring .this is my main family . this family is a lot of fun to play and soon will add #17 as My Sim Rainbow is pregnant in my Game. and is a member of this family she Married the Patriarch's oldest son Jamie.my Sim Brynne is Married to his  younger brother Justin and they Just had twin girls. Justin's Brother Josh and his wife had a girl just 2 hours after My Sim Brynne delivered her twins. Justin also has three sons at Uni so this is a very large family.I play with aging off and it takes  12 sim days before my babies Transition to toddler and  toddlers remain as toddlers in my game for 48 sim days before transitioning and 15  sim days as children.my one little toddler is 1 point away from maxing creativity on his toy xyllophone . he loves that toy. he has maxed his body skill as has his cousin Denise who shares the nursery with him and her newborn sister and newborn cousins. Denise  is still be taught her basic toddler skills but is already potty trained.Jordan has already learned all of his basic toddler skills. My Sim Parent's have great relationships with their kids by playing this way. and they also benefit by never having a nasty nanny and having lots of extended family around. and unlike some families my simm kids have young grandparents so no aching backs to complain about.

[cwykes]

Well, one reason to keep them asleep until you want them to wake up is if you set them to get up right when the carpool comes, and you send them to bed platinum, then they will not lose their platinum mood before they go to work.  The aspiration meter doesn't decay while they are asleep.  This is what JM suggested, and I've found it works well.  Instead of getting them up to shower and eat, send them straight to work, and they'll get promoted even if their bars aren't all green when you send them to work.  If you don't send them to work platinum, it could take days to get promoted.

How can I have been playing for a year without noticing this!!!  I always get them up asap and get them busy!  I find 7am is a really good time to call friends and/or invite them over(!!!!)

How are you teaching toddlers body skills?  I got crib mobiles from various simmers, which did that, but I took them out because the skill gain was too easy - I don't like cheating

[RainbowTigress]

How are you teaching toddlers body skills?  I got crib mobiles from various simmers, which did that, but I took them out because the skill gain was too easy - I don't like cheating

The crib mobiles are the only way that I know of for babies and toddlers to learn body skills.  Like you, I took mine out because it made it way too easy and took the fun out of it for me.  Besides, as Motoki and others have discussed in other threads, the meshes for the crib mobiles are very high in polygon count, so this can contribute to slowing down your game, especially if you have a lot of hi-poly objects.

[Zeljka]

The crib mobiles are the only way that I know of for babies and toddlers to learn body skills.  Like you, I took mine out because it made it way too easy and took the fun out of it for me.  Besides, as Motoki and others have discussed in other threads, the meshes for the crib mobiles are very high in polygon count, so this can contribute to slowing down your game, especially if you have a lot of hi-poly objects.

ditto.
About the high polygons... how can an idiot (me) tell if they're high or not. I mean, I can recognize a high number, but some creators will post a number like 7,000 for something and then add '232 less than the Maxis item'
Just pulling numbers out of my head, but I'm just wondering if there's a way for the common (unawesome) people to tell what's too high for that type of item and what's not. Right now, I have no idea what I should be looking for.

I have lots with almost every custom object on them that are great, then a lot that's pure Maxis which lags like hell. Of course it's a Legacy lot, over 5Mb -I've deleted fences, trees, shrubs, flowers and any custom content, but it's still huge. I'm hoping it's not the dozen or so tombs and ghosts because I can't get rid of them.

[lindaetterlee]

This new family i just started today already has 10 kids and the parents are only at 17 days until elderhood. First two times pregnant mom had 3 each. Last pregnancy she had 4. She is knocked up again. Sheesh.

[Bangelnuts]

This new family i just started today already has 10 kids and the parents are only at 17 days until elderhood. First two times pregnant mom had 3 each. Last pregnancy she had 4. She is knocked up again. Sheesh.

I just created sim and got two of my single ladies married to the newly created men and they are already pregnant. one with twins and the other with a single baby. that brings my total of pregnant women in my hood to 5.my sim Brandi Broke  who married my newly created Sim Grant Tatterton already has  twin sons with the patriarch of my main family and she has 3 grandkids and is pregnant with a single baby now.I'm Glad her twins are grown and married with kids of their own.My other Female that I got married off to her  Hottie newly Created Hubby Allessandro Gupta is pregnant with twins and she has a toddler son with her ex-husband Jacob the son of my Main Family Patriarch. But Jordan's Daddy is raising him and he never see's his Mommy. he was 2 days old when his Mommy and Daddy Divorced.I hope my Female sim doesnt cheat this time around. last time she ha a lesbian fling with ex- her sister in law.

[lindaetterlee]

This new family i just started today already has 10 kids and the parents are only at 17 days until elderhood. First two times pregnant mom had 3 each. Last pregnancy she had 4. She is knocked up again. Sheesh.

I just created sim and got two of my single ladies married to the newly created men and they are already pregnant. one with twins and the other with a single baby. that brings my total of pregnant women in my hood to 5.my sim Brandi Broke  who married my newly created Sim Grant Tatterton already has  twin sons with the patriarch of my main family and she has 3 grandkids and is pregnant with a single baby now.I'm Glad her twins are grown and married with kids of their own.My other Female that I got married off to her  Hottie newly Created Hubby Allessandro Gupta is pregnant with twins and she has a toddler son with her ex-husband Jacob the son of my Main Family Patriarch. But Jordan's Daddy is raising him and he never see's his Mommy. he was 2 days old when his Mommy and Daddy Divorced.I hope my Female sim doesnt cheat this time around. last time she ha a lesbian fling with ex- her sister in law.

Bangle you make my head hurt just reading that lol.

[Bangelnuts]

This new family i just started today already has 10 kids and the parents are only at 17 days until elderhood. First two times pregnant mom had 3 each. Last pregnancy she had 4. She is knocked up again. Sheesh.

I.

Bangle you make my head hurt just reading that lol.

Large families can be confusing thats for sure. here are the members all in one  House and you'll see utter confusion erupt LOL Joe,Patriarch of My Dan Forth Family,Jamie oldest ,Son of Joe,Josh,twin son of Joe and Brandi Broke,Jacob Josh's twin Brother,Justin,son of Joe and Bella Goth,Colleen Youngest Daughter of Joe and Bella Goth. and thats Just the Biological children of the patriarch that live in the same house.their spouses also live there as do the children of Joe's offspring

[baratron]

ditto.
About the high polygons... how can an idiot (me) tell if they're high or not. I mean, I can recognize a high number, but some creators will post a number like 7,000 for something and then add '232 less than the Maxis item'
Just pulling numbers out of my head, but I'm just wondering if there's a way for the common (unawesome) people to tell what's too high for that type of item and what's not. Right now, I have no idea what I should be looking for.

I read the entire enormous polygon thread at MTS2. Apparently, Maxis try to work to a rule of 800 vertices per tile. 800 vertices means 800 corners, which is not the same thing as 800 polygons. However, there isn't a simple relationship between vertex count & polygon count - some meshes come in at 1000 polygons, 800 vertices while others do 600 polygons, 800 vertices. My geometry is too rusty for me to work out why .

Anyway. SimPE gives both polygon & vertex count, so assume that objects should be as follows:
1 tile - 800 vertices
2 tiles - 1600 vertices
3 tiles - 2400 vertices
4 tiles - 3200 vertices
5 tiles - 4000 vertices
6 tiles - 4800 vertices

In practice, a (6 tile) double bed with 4800 vertices will slow some people's computers down, while other people will be fine with a (1 tile) cupboard with 6500 vertices - but that's a reasonable figure to work to.

No one seems to know what vertex count Maxis use for hair and clothing meshes. At least, if anyone knows, no one's ever piped up with an answer. I tend to assume that anything under 1500 polygons is ok for hair and 2000 polys for clothing. fwiw, Crammyboy's very detailed two hair meshes for men (short messy hair & flat top hair) come in at almost exactly 800 polygons because he's used multiple layers to achieve the spiky effects.

[Zeljka]

Awesome!
I've been putting the counts into the names of items I've downloaded just in case they ever meant anything to me.
Thank you very, very much!

[cwykes]

Thank you Baratron, I've been wondering for ages how you spot a high polygon object and what would be a reasonable poly count for what.   I'd click the thank you button if there was one on behalf of all those simmers everywhere who wanted a "polygons 101"...

Is there ANY relation to file size.  a lot of sites don't give you polygon counts, but you can sometimes see the size of the file.  It would be nice to have a rule of thumb based on file size when you are downloading especially for people on dial up - talking to herself...."oh that's cool! must have it!... "um - file size looks a bit big.... probably a high poly count....  do I really want it?"