The infinite grounding loop, RE: Generations

[redwards]

I've had this loop happen twice now. Perhaps there's something I'm missing. It goes like this:

1. Teen pulls pranks / skips school / throws party / whatever and gets grounded.
2. Parents refuse to let teen go to school, because he's grounded, so he can't leave the house.
3a. Teen sneaks out to go to school and gets grounded for sneaking out. Reset grounded time to 48 hours. Relationship with parents goes down.
3b. Teen obeys parents and stays home, gets grounded for skipping school again. Reset grounded time to 48 hours. Relationship with parents goes down, grades go down.
4.
5. Teen fails at life and ends up shooting heroin under a bridge, I guess.

The only way I've found to get out of this loop is to wait until the weekend comes around, because groundings are 48 hours. But by that time your teen is either failing school or his parents want to murder him for constantly sneaking out. It seems the only way to really avoid it is to have perfectly behaved teens who never get grounded. Perhaps because I'm a moron, I haven't tried to turn on the cheats and kill the grounded moodlet, I suppose that might make the parents forget about it. Regardless, it seems like getting punished for skipping school after being forced to skip school is a problem. Perhaps there's an awesome solution?

[enmity]

Your adult doesn't have the option to "Let off the hook" when clicking the teen?

[redwards]

I never noticed that interaction, no. It's possible that I just missed it. Even if that exists, this still seems like a poor implementation of grounding. You're grounded for skipping school so you can't go to school and then I'll ground you again for skipping school again?

[J. M. Pescado]

This doesn't seem normal. I seem to recall seeing that the "Go to School" action is explictly exempt from this.

[Naiad]

This doesn't seem normal. I seem to recall seeing that the "Go to School" action is explictly exempt from this.

It isn't. I just kill the moodlet, but the teen will get grounded again if he/she leaves the house, no matter where they're going.

[J. M. Pescado]

How peculiar. Got a save for this? I've never attempted to actually punish a sim for anything, because it would not really make any sense to punish a sim for following my orders, and if they're not following my orders, I consider that a bug to be hunted down and destroyed.

[witch]

I've had the same thing before Pets. Kids can't leave the house for any reason if they're grounded. I think I did just end up cancelling the moodlets.

[J. M. Pescado]

I'm still unclear as to why you would do that, really. It's not even clear to me why you would attempt such a thing in real life. Wouldn't it make more sense to forbid them from RETURNING to the house rather than keeping them IN it, where they will annoy YOU?

[witch]

I think they can get grounded as a result of setting booby traps, I did not initiate the grounding, it took me by surprise and I wasn't sure what caused it.

[Madame Mim]

I once had one who had been raussed at (I'm pretty sure that was for setting booby traps) and the raussing stopped him from meeting the school bus. He was given a time out and when I cancelled out of the time out to run off to school he was grounded.

I can't speak to what happened after that as I had a CTD and lost that particular scenario.

[morriganrant]

I've had the same thing before Pets. Kids can't leave the house for any reason if they're grounded. I think I did just end up cancelling the moodlets.

I've gotten the same, at the time I had assumed it was a conflict of some sort but didn't consider it a big enough issue to devote the time to test. I just canceled the moodlets. Good to know it's not just me. Grounding was also a result of pranks.

[witch]

I just had a popup message to say my teen sim had been caught doing something they shouldn't, while the sim was at school. Apparently "fighting with siblings, missing school and pulling pranks are just a few of the things that can get a sim in trouble with their parents." According to the 'lessons' anyway.

Oops, no, my sim skipped school.

[Naiad]

Ok, so the scenario, in my pre-pets-patch game if as follows:
1. Teen tries to set booby trap or is out after curfew => Teen is scolded and forbidden to leave the house.
2. Teen must go to school, therefore sneaks out (at my order) to go. (S)he gets the 'sneaking out' or whatever it's called, moodlet, specifically for going outside while punished. (or so the description said.)
3. Teen returns home after going to school and is promptly grounded again for going outside the house while grounded. Timer resets to 48 hours.

The 'scold' interaction is autonomous, I have never actually told an adult to punish a teen, since I WANT them to set the blasted trap.
Obviously, I have the 1.24 patch final Awesome, since I refuse to bork my CC, and am not keen enough on Pets to jump through quite so many hoops for it. Perhaps I will install when I have the time to deal with the borkage it will trigger.

[redwards]

How peculiar. Got a save for this? I've never attempted to actually punish a sim for anything, because it would not really make any sense to punish a sim for following my orders, and if they're not following my orders, I consider that a bug to be hunted down and destroyed.

I didn't keep a save during that grounding, but if it's as ubiquitous as it seems to be, it should be pretty easy to recreate. Just get a teen grounded. I didn't explicitly attempt to have the parents punish the kid, they grounded him autonomously (I believe once was for pulling pranks at the school and once was for 'trashing the house' - having a party while parents were away on free vacation).

For the record, at the time I was using 1.26, all of the expansions up to and including Pets, no CC at all, and whatever the alpha version of awesomemod that works with Pets is.

[Seacret]

I had this happen when my teen Sim was three minutes late for school. He was on his way to get in the car but the action was cancelled out by the mother coming over the ground the teen for being late for school. Teen then tried to go to school again but again the interaction was cancelled out by the mother putting the teen in a time out (time outs should NOT be enabled for teens, what parent actually does that?).

Teen tried sneaking out of time out to go to school and it was cancelled a third time by the mother revoking TV privileges. I'm not sure if the loop would have kept going because I got frustrated and closed the game without saving. I found the whole scenario absolutely ridiculous. This was before Pets btw, it was back in August when I first installed Generations. I figured it was just normal game behaviour (which it seems to be) but I suppose it would be nice if that shit got stomped.

[morriganrant]

How peculiar. Got a save for this? I've never attempted to actually punish a sim for anything, because it would not really make any sense to punish a sim for following my orders, and if they're not following my orders, I consider that a bug to be hunted down and destroyed.

At what point in the scenario would you like the save? I just double checked the issue and nothing should be in my game but Awesomemod(the one just before the update today). I can give you a save just after he was grounded, which was the night before, or just after he's home from school and is being scolded for "sneaking out".

[J. M. Pescado]

About an hour before the bus arrives is fine.

[morriganrant]

This is at around 7am I believe, he will get on the bus fine and be scolded upon his return from school. I think they're also scolded for going to school when they miss the bus and you have to send them manually.

[J. M. Pescado]

Your file is 0k and contains nothing. You suck.

I think they're also scolded for going to school when they miss the bus and you have to send them manually.

Yeah, that part sounds realistic to me.

[morriganrant]

So in your game a teen doesn't get scolded upon return from school after taking the bus to and from school? Then get time added to his grounding? I checked three times in game before I sent the file. Made sure it wasn't a left over prank he was getting scolded for and everything.

Edit: To clarify, I don't think there is anything "wrong" with my game, it functions fine. I had originally thought it may be a conflict, after taking out all but AM and it persisting, I'm going to assume it's some sort of EA nonsense.

[J. M. Pescado]

I've never actually encountered this "grounding" in the first place, perhaps because it's a thoroughly ridiculous concept and I have no idea who thought of it. Why would you even invent something so absurd as a punishment? Who exactly are you trying to punish?

[morriganrant]

The punishment was inflicted upon the teen autonomously once he pissed off his parent enough after multiple pranks. It's one of those story telling bits, so I assume that is the reason you've never seen it.

As a concept in real life, I believe it's the same as the "time out" corner\mat\chair that is used on smaller spawn. That actually has a high rate of effectiveness when used with consistency.

[jezzer]

I hear walloping the little bastards when they misbehave works too.

[J. M. Pescado]

As a concept in real life, I believe it's the same as the "time out" corner\mat\chair that is used on smaller spawn. That actually has a high rate of effectiveness when used with consistency.

I don't really see the logic there. They're pissing you off so you...keep them in the house with you? Wouldn't it make more sense to kick them out into the yard instead? It is traditional that a distasteful or disruptive individual is punished by banishment or exile, rather than being kept INSIDE.

[morriganrant]

Possibly it is supposed to be a taste of "this is what house arrest or jail time is like only without the prison yard beat downs, so shape the fuck up"? Hell if I know, I can't tolerate children for extended periods of time, though I do understand the importance of training them up to not engage in certain behaviors.