Computers

If RL computers were as unreliable as those in the Sims, the Sims and most computer games and applications would never have taken off. It occurred to me that I never have my simmies turn their computers off. (Why bother?) Indeed, in RL I never noticed any relationship between 'on' time and breakdowns; at my office computers were often 'on' at night - working. I've been playing Sims 2 since it came out and have searched the documentation for anything affecting computer reliability.

Does anyone have any experience or wisdom on this?

BTW, seeing the repairman poking the back of a computer with a screwdriver is either funny or terrifying!

I'm a leave-your-computer-on-all the time kinda gal. I even leave my game loaded (in windows mode) and minimized...for days on end.

Hubs shuts down his game and turns off his computer even if he's going to return to it later on the same day!

I am convinced that powering up and powering down all the time is a strain on the system.

If I was going to try to make an argument for 'my way,' I'd point out, that while this is hardly a scientific study, my two main computer issues in recent years were caused by external (electricity) related issues. Hubs meanwhile has had all sorts of issues from graphics cards, to power supplies, fans processors. Make of that what you will.

Hi Toni,

I'm with you, and I think that the accepted geeky wisdom is that powering up and down is bad for the computer so I think you're doing the right thing keeping it on. Back in Waltham, when I was running XP, I used to "sleep" my computer with sims loaded. Now in MN, running Win7, I do turn off every night and load up sims while I read the paper. My 'hood is so full that my game does crash quite often, so I try to save pretty often, too. Reloading and restarting takes much less time.

But my question was really about the in-game computers, whether turning them off means that they fail less often. As it is, constantly calling the repairman with his screwdriver is a bit of a pain.

Best to you and Jules!

Aaaaah.....I get it!

Though Jayce and I often say that we are so immersed in our games and emotionally involved with ours simmies' lives that the line between them and our RL is betting blurred. We actually make sim references in conversation! It's great being married to a fellow simmer, as I know, you know

ilikefishfood wrote:

Jayce and I often say that we are so immersed in our games and emotionally involved with ours simmies' lives that the line between them and our RL is betting blurred.

I find it's really spooky when I find myself dreaming about the sims!

Oh! By the way, I have no idea if leaving computers on in a game affects the need for repair. Aaron might be able to look at the coding and tell you.

mac wrote:

My 'hood is so full that my game does crash quite often, so I try to save pretty often, too. Reloading and restarting takes much less time.

Have you used CFF Explore to let Sims 2 use more RAM, it also pays to do Bodyshop and SimPE as well? As Sims 2 is a 32bit game it normally only uses less than 2GBs of RAM and gives you out of memory errors even if you have 4GBs or more.


http://lifasims.livejournal.com/3738.html

I've done the same with light bulbs, the main areas are always lit, only the bedroom and bathroom are out when not in use. The bulbs always lasted longer.

While computers are meant to be turned on and off, that turn on is kind of harsh...if you do leave it on, I would just recommend having the hard drives and monitor go to sleep after x amount of time away...sleeping the whole system is better then turning off, it still has the power, just not using as much...just need to reboot at least once a day.

This is all personal experience, no real data on it.

From my own experience turning a computer off or leaving it on really had no noticeable affect. However I will say that I have notice over the last decade or so that computers as whole do not seem to last as long as they used to. I have had several computers that lasted around 7 years, But the last two have only lasted around 5 years. I suspect these days the part makers probably make the parts more cheaply these days.

As for in game computers from what I remember the longer a computer or most electronics are on, The more likely they are to break. They basically keep track of how much use they have had and higher the use the more likely they will break. However they will never hit a 100% break chance.

I just read in The Sims 2 Prima Guide that "after the first 24 hours after purchase, many objects have a random chance of breaking after an interaction is complete." That chance increases as time goes on, and if an object sits unused for a long time, the chance is increased the next time it is used. I don't know if any of that changed with new episodes.

I must have hit the jackpot, because all in the same day on the same lot:



Also according to The Sims 2 Prima Guide (which may have undergone changes as new eps were added), your Sims' bills are not related to how often you use or turn on items. The bill is calculated as, basically, property tax on what they own and how expensive those items were to purchase.

Heckuva day in that house Mac!!!

Thanks for all the info...in over 12 years of playing this game I never noticed!

I only have my sims turn off their computers if they are going to move. I can't place it in their inventory while it's on, normally. I did have a sim die while fixing her computer but I view it as a means of keeping the population in check. At a minimum repairing the system helps to build their mechanical skills, and keeps tinkering sims happy.

In RL I always turn off my computer at night. And I could never leave my game for several days. It would crash for sure. As it is, if I start it in the morning, it will likely crash in the evening. :(

On a related note: I checked into a B&B in Tuscon a few years ago. It was the afternoon, and the host said that she made coffee in the morning for breakfast but otherwise one had to have instant. I must have groaned a bit because she said that it too much effort to make real coffee for 2 people. We continued to talk and she mentioned that her computer was acting up. As she explained the problem, and showed me her system, I asked her when she had last rebooted it. She said she rarely turned it off. I suggested she start with that. She did, it fixed the problem, and she made real coffee for me in return.