friendship ended with ts4, now paralives is my best friend

Quick tip for the Paramaker: In my opinion this is a really great character creator, BUT if you're coming to it from The Sims 2 or even 3, you'll need to alter your mindset. It's a lot closer to The Sims 4's CAS in that to achieve certain features you to pick a preset that's closest to what you want and edit it - you won't be able to reverse-engineer every feature from every starting point. Visual example: If you want a rounded nose closer to the one on the left, don't start with a pointed nose like the one on the right, and vice-versa.

Below: Some more examples of features which are only or most easily attainable through presets; cleft and bulbous chins under the "chins" presets, cheekbones and jowls in the "cheeks" presets, etc. Basically, if you're having a hard time wrangling a Para's features into what you want, double-check the related presets for a better launching pad.

Unlike The Sims 4, though, you still have the benefit of manual sliders; here's the eye modifiers for example - if I were to click and hold the button for "eye position", I could drag the mouse around to move the eye around the Parafolk's head. HOWEVER, if you click on that modifier, you can see sliders for the parameters I'm actually controlling when I do that - namely, how far apart the eyes are (width), and how high on the head they are (height). So you have the benefit of being able to sculpt your Para's head in broad strokes, and then manually edit the sliders to make very fine alterations.

And if you make a mistake, don't worry. At any time during gameplay you can open the cheat console (CTRL+SHIFT+C) and enter "editcharacter" to open up the Paramaker again and edit them as much as you want, so you aren't locked into anything.

Another Paramaker or outfitting tip: When selecting clothing with layers, check for the layering icon (outlined here in red). This allows you to swap out the clothing underneath, which you can also customise. Secondly, the tucked/untucked icon (outlined here in green) allows you to choose whether some pieces are- well, tucked in to pants or not, lol.

I like big households in The Sims, so I picked a household with 3+ Parafolk in it for my first playtest, but in retrospect I think it would have been better to start by playing a single-person household. The core mechanics of the game can take a second to get used to and there's so much in the world to explore that I think it would've been nicer to worry less about multiple Parafolk while I was still learning to walk.

The skill system in Paralives is nested: There are broader "knowledge" skills, and then other related but more focused skills under them; for example, "music" is a knowledge skill, under which are the skills "guitar", "piano", etc. Practicing a specific skill - for example, playing the guitar - will not only raise your guitar skill, but your broader music skill, too. And if you then start learning how to play the piano, your existing music skill means you will pick up the piano faster. Sometimes your Parafolk will not be able to increase the base knowledge skills, usually because of something like being in a bad mood or having low motives. So a Para who's really tired when they're practicing the guitar might still raise their guitar skill, but it won't raise their broader music skill.

Parafolk have "wants", but you get to/have to pick them, based on their emotions. Emotions in Paralives work in a similar way to moodlets in The Sims 3, in that Paras can feel multiple emotions at once, and to different degrees. These impact various things; your success rate at certain social interactions (see below), how effectively you gain skills, whether your Paras will even agree to perform actions at all, etc. Randomly, these emotions will get little exclamation marks next to them, which means your Parafolk wants to choose how they "react" to that emotion. This is a want! Click on the emotion to choose from a little list, which is decided by their personality, recent actions, hobbies, etc. The option you select from this list becomes one of their wants and the rest are discarded. Wants reset when Paralives sleep and at the end of the day, but you can pin one want to hold onto it until you fulfill it (or un-pin it). Fulfilling Parafolks' wants earns them personality experience points. When they level up, you get to choose upgrades along trees based on their personality (vibe), social perk, and talent (hobby). These perks are less like personality traits and more like the Aspiration benefits from Sims 2 Freetime, or the Professions your farmer can choose from when skilling up in Stardew Valley. IMO they don't dictate your Parafolks' personalities or railroad them into certain behaviours. This system is definitely still being worked on and some of these perks aren't very useful lol (while others are VERY useful), but it's a neat system so far. IIRC I also had the option to add to one of my Para's Physique/Mind/Creativity/Charisma points during one level-up? I presume they might add other ways to increase or change these stats in the future, because there are some things like jobs that require you to have them to a certain level.

Socialisation in Paralives is like a series of mini event cards, and increasing friendship with other Paras is not the only or even the primary outcome. It is not like the Sims, where socialisation is a pretty shallow and easy grind until Sims achieve the relationship you want. In Paralives, the most immediate outcome of talking to other Paras is that you have the chance to improve (or dampen) your Para's mood and the mood of the Parafolk they're talking to. What mood you want your Para to be in can depend on their personality, perks, wants, goals, and the direction you want to take the conversation/relationship. I kept falling back into the thought process that a "good" outcome from conversation cards was the same thing as 🧑‍🤝‍🧑➕➕, but that's not what a positive outcome (usually) achieves. And a "negative" interaction does not necessarily lower your relationship. Think about it more as if you are trying to keep a game of cards going: avoiding bad cards, playing neutral/bonus cards, until the card you REALLY want comes up. This might sound tedious until you realise that the right card can immediately make your Parafolk friends, or romantic interests, etc. and then the way it scales with socialisation in The Sims makes more sense. Play your (together) cards right, and you could befriend another Parafolk within a short conversation. I really enjoy the feedback loop of socialisation in Parafolks once I got the hang of it! Your Parafolk's personalities and interests matter much more in how well they get along with other Paras. You can't just force a friendship between two clashing Paras the way you can force a friendship between any two Sims by spamming social interactions. Find a Para with a personality closer to yours and you'll have a much easier time befriending them.

There are other bonuses to conversations, too. There are cards that give you the opportunity to learn more about the Parafolk you're talking to, such as their relationship status, family, job, personality, etc. You also sometimes get options to boost your and other Para's moods, and my favourite part: talking about skills increases that skill for all interested Parafolk! (Uninterested Parafolk get bored instead, which is another good way to learn more about them.)

In The Sims, group activities - playing games, watching TV together, WooHoo, etc - often require one Sim to initiate the action, then call the other to join, or to interact with the other Sim first and ask them to start the activity together. In Paralives, similar activities are usually initiated by selecting multiple Paras and directing one of them to start. For example, click and drag to select two Paras, then click on a couch to get them to sit together and chat, or a bed to get them to "get intimate". Parafolk are also experts at body doubling and a lot of actions can be done "together"; cooking, eating, showering, walking, etc. The entire time counts as raising the conversation bar to get new together cards, so socialisation doesn't have to be a static thing like in The Sims; see how far your Paras can get going about their lives without breaking a conversation! This gets interesting with certain needs. For example, I had two Parafolk in a group and directed both of them to use a toilet. I expected one of them just to kind of hang out while the first one did their business (gross but socially efficient), but the other Para actually hunted down a second toilet on the lot to use! Can be useful when managing multiple Parafolk's needs in a hurry?

Speaking of selecting multiple Parafolk - you can also hold down shift, then click and drag over individual Paras to add them to the group, kind of like computer files, lol. This helps you avoid including other random Paras. CTRL+U also automatically selects all the Paras in the household you're currently playing (useful with smaller families).

Parafolk not only automatically wash their hands after using the toilet, but also after cleaning and repairing objects, so keep this in mind when queuing actions 👍

Books do still exist in Paralives, but computers kind of better fill their role. Basic skilling and other grunt work is better handled by a computer than a bookcase, so if you have to choose one, choose the PC.

Careers in Paralives seem to make a LOT more use of lateral motion than The Sims, and most jobs have much higher application requirements than anything in The Sims. What I mean by that is that it makes a lot more sense to just find any job your Para qualifies for, then use that time and experience to gain skills necessary to qualify for the job they actually want (and they can suggest wants or long-term goals for certain careers, usually talent/hobby-based, which can be worth pinning and working towards). Sometimes experience in one field can allow you to qualify for a job in a different field; for example, you can work in the service industry to get enough experience in service to get a job as a waiter, which also gives you experience in the food industry, which you can use to qualify for jobs in the kitchen. You should also have your Parafolk manually apply for a job in a higher position in the same career after earning experience in their entry-level position rather than randomly waiting to get promoted from, like, a fast food line cook to a restaurateur.

If your Parafolk works in a store (e.g. the salon), then the front door is a rabbithole during their work hours. I didn't know how to best prepare my Parafolk for work so I sent them directly into the shops ahead of their shifts, but if you're doing that it's better to just let them loiter around outside; they will disappear at the front door when their shift starts and reappear when it's over, so there's no point in being actually inside the building, or even loading it at all.

Make use of the bus!! I thought the map was small enough not to need them unless I was going from one opposite end to the other, but they really are a life saver, especially for moving multiple Parafolk at once (click and drag to select all of them, then direct them to catch the bus - voila!) Learning the bus "zones" helped me break the map up into smaller chunks to get a feel of where I need to go. (Some bus stops are only the sign, not the whole shelter, for example at the base of the hospital.)

Calling Parafolk on the phone is currently borderline useless, but it's obviously something that will be fleshed out as the game grows. Instead, when you check on a Para's relationship - you see this thing here where it says "Find Parafolk"? The part that looks like a nothingly header between a banner and some actual stats?

Yeah, that's a BUTTON. Click it.

It will immediately show you on the map where that Para is so you can hunt them down like a conversation-seeking missile.

This is currently the best way to try and seek out specific Parafolk to befriend, because they're almost never home. It ALSO glitches sometimes unfortunately, but it usually works if I wait and try again later.

On the flipside you can break & enter into any Parafolk's house and they won't care. This is surely a bug and not a feature so take advantage of it while you can and just use everyone's furniture while they're out and about👍 Then bother them as much as you like when they arrive home at like, 12 AM.

Parafolk can check if they're pregnant via peeing on a stick on the toilet.

If you're lost on what to do next, check the newspaper (the one you the player read, not your Parafolk - look for the button in the top right corner of the screen) and one of the request noticeboards (there's one by the train station, usually with an exclamation mark above it). The newspaper will tell you about interesting events going on that will generally attract other Parafolk, allowing you to meet new Paras, take advantage of objects like computers or exercise equipment, etc. They also showcase areas of the map you may not have paid attention to before. The request noticeboard is a good way to befriend new Paras, earn Paradimes, and learn about mechanics such as hunting for collectibles, etc. (Note that these can sometimes be a bit glitchy, especially in befriending Parafolk I've noticed, but it's still a nice way to explore the game.)

Photo mode is super interesting and I can see how it will be incredibly powerful for machinima & storytelling, especially as they continue to iron out the kinks. But for casual gameplay screencaps I found it more useful to hit CTRL+H to hide the overlay. The navigation (click/dragging the mouse, etc) also seems to work closer to photo mode in this mode. It's kind of like cameraman mode in The Sims. The game doesn't tell you about it except for when you're in photo mode, and even then it doesn't explicitly tell you that CTRL+H still works even outside photo mode, so it's good to know early.

When it comes to decorating, a lot more objects are modular than you might think! Many can be lengthened, shortened, widened, and scaled up/down, while retaining functionality. Single beds can become queen, double, king size; bookshelves can be shrunk up or down; you can stretch one counter to size rather than placing multiple; the same table can be a tiny two-seater or a family dining table; desks and standing clothes hangers can be as wide as you want them; windows can not only go wherever you want on the wall, but be whatever dimension you need! Try it with a BUNCH of different buy AND build objects to achieve the vibes you want.

Also, this is specifically a tip for people coming from The Sims 2 since this became a lot more normalised in other Sims entries, but check objects for these three dots:

It means that object has variants, such as these matching corner, island, and cabinet counter pieces.

SAVE OFTEN! This game is in open access and bugs are inevitable. Do your part by making sure you save frequently so that you don't lose too much progress when something unintended happens. Edit: The bugs are also the reason I do not currently recommend using the game's autosave feature, because bugs aren't always immediately noticeable, and if it auto-saves after something particularly annoying or even game-breaking, that would be bad! For now I recommend double checking all the Paras in your household are "safe" (especially in places where it's easy for them to get stuck, like halfway up staircases) before saving, and saving manually.

Here's a workaround:

I'd recommend doing this just to Households & Lots only. DON'T DO IT TO MODS and custom content, in case the creator updates their mods you won't receive them.

The folder for items downloaded from the Workshop for Paralives is this one:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\1118520

To find the AppData/LocalLow/Paralives folder do the following:

Press Win+R in your keyboard

Type %appdata% > enter

It'll open the Roaming folder, go back to "AppData" by clicking it on the top bar

Open the LocalLow folder

Go to the Paralives > Paralives folder, it'll look like this:

I did it to all lots and households I had downloaded, then unsubscribed them on the Workshop. And now you have more space for mods 😌🫶

disclaimer: i have not fully tested every single mod as of posting this, so i'm unsure if they're still maintained or currently work. i also don't play with every single occult so i may miss/include some mods that could/couldn't be considered essential for said occult.

vampires.

blood bank by laurelie - allows vampires, and i believe non-vampires, to take blood from sims instead of having to buy plasma packs or create them via fish etc.

vampire small mods by nv. - a must have in my opinion, they're very minor and small mods but essential when playing with vampires.

vampires have bladders too! by daffodilyily - might seem silly but i personally don't like how motives were removed from vampires as i found it too easy to manage them, so this adds one back!

moonstone sun protection by asb - alternative to the sun reversal drink, allows sims to create jewelry with a moonstone that protects vampires from sunlight when worn!

vampires revamped by sweetsimmer - i haven't used this one myself yet but i definitely intend to. it seemingly adds new interactions for drink from sim types and more.

spellcasters.

functional spell book by deathpoke1qa - a 100% must have in my game, it allows spellcaster sims to learn all types of magic, including alchemy, from a spellbook instead of a cauldron or on the spot.

fly on a broomstick by mercuryfoam - i looove this mod, it's so simple but it's fun to watch your sims zip around on their brooms! works for both adults and children.

spellcaster mods by kuttoe - potion making tweaks, spellcaster tweaks and new spells!

stonekeep cauldron by dennerian - more cc than a mod but here's a different type of cauldron that can be nice for a medieval witch or kitchen witch!

werewolves.

werewolf overhaul suite by waffle - i don't play with werewolves much but this is definitely a must-have for me. it makes a lot of adjustments to werewolves' fury and their autonomous interactions.

werewolf allies can pacify by thunder1143 - allows werewolf allies to calm down werewolves that need it!

occult socials from ts3 by kennetha_v - this mostly has socials for werewolves and they're very minor, but i think they're a nice addition!

misc.

various occult mods by baniduhaine - i thought i'd link this creator's entire page as there are many occult mods here, such as bloodlines for other occults, new death types and new plasma pack sources.

various occult mods by spinningplumbobs - this creator has many mods that expand on pre-existing occults and also creates some new ones. i personally haven't tried any of them but i wanted to include them as they seem very well made.

DOWNLOAD (SFS) | DOWNLOAD (Mega)

some more of the items which got unlocked:

👤 Personality: Sim's Traits, Lifestyles, Character Values, Ghost Powers, and Robot Modules.

👍🏻 Preferences: Likes and Dislikes and Relationship Preferences.

🏆 Accomplishments & Growth: Milestones, earned Degrees, and Resolutions.

🌟 Public Standing: Public Image and Faction Reputations (from Batuu...).

⚠ high poly warning for these ⚠!!! i took inspiration from 3 thrash metal dudes and 3 glam metal dudes. admittedly i'm more into thrash but glam's aesthetics are so iconic. i could've gone for more teased hairstyles but save that for next time maybe

Peace Sells (18964 polys)

i made this like 3 other times but this is the one i liked the most! and no this is NOT Dave Mustaine lol (i just like redheads and long haired men)

Battery (16402 polys)

i modeled this from scratch so it's a little different. also, i realized the textures were a bit desaturated after taking these screenshots but dw i went back and edited them

Whiplash (16303 polys)

No Mercy (15816 polys)

Youth Gone Wild (14471 polys)

idk why but this one gave me the most trouble

Wild Side (16543 polys)

probably my favorite out of all of them. wish my hair looked like this irl everyday

Worlds and Lots

In order to keep the save reasonable in terms of size, I had to focus on a limited number of worlds. In those worlds, you will find lots built by me (and some builds based on original builds from @simsontherope, heavily or lightly edited) and the worlds outside the lots are customized using the TOOL mod.

Fully edited worlds: Henford-On-Bagley, Tartosa, Del Sol Valley, Sulani, Brindleton Bay, Nordheaven, Copperdale, Forgotten Hollow, Granite Falls, Selvadorada

Partially edited worlds: Britechester (Gibbs Hills), StrangerVille (StrangerVille Plaza), San Myshuno (Spice Market), Ciudad Enamorada (Nuevo Corazon), Oasis Springs (Bedrock Strait), Mt. Komorebi (Yukimatsu)

GTW career lots are also included, as well as some other random lots in worlds not listed here. My goal was to be able to enjoy most of the pack's functionalities. Everything was playtested, and should be functional.

Sims

One of my favorite things is creating characters, therefore I have a lot of Sims living in this save, all created by me. None of the original premades are here, except some necessary townies (that I made over of course). 

You might notice that some worlds include a lot of Sims (the record is Del Sol Valley with 19 played households) and some others don’t, and include more community lots. It comes from the way I started working on this save where I filled in only a few worlds at the start, but then expanded it. 

All the Sims come with outfits (3 Everyday, 2 Hot Weather, 1 for the other categories, and a customized work outfit), additional traits, skills, careers, preferences, lifestyles and anything you can customize.

Lore

The most exciting part for me is the lore I created in the save file. You will be able to discover all the stories of those Sims in many ways!

Each household comes with a description, custom photos on their house for some of them, and even the books in their bookcases are customized. 

Each Sim has many relationships (with family and romance dynamics, romantic satisfaction, sentiments), and milestones to tell their stories.

I can’t wait for you to explore all of that and their dynamics!

Requirements

I'm using all the packs (EP, GP, SP and Kits) and pre-order items that have been released up to May 2025. For event items, in case you haven't unlocked everything, these Lunar mods may help: here & here 😁

Recommended mods

No mods are mandatory to discover the save, but I do have some recommended mods in order to enjoy the save to its fullest.

My mods:

Overall, the whole save has been built and designed to be used with all my mods. But some are more important than others if you want to get the most out of the save (but again, nothing compulsory).

Multipurpose lots (🪅 Multi-Purpose Lot Traits, 🛒 Functional Registers, 🗝️ Rent a Room): I'm using the three mods on this page to add functionality to my lots, particularly residential rentals. If you don't take the ‘’Rent a Room‘’ mod, some doors in community plots may be locked (mainly hotel rooms). You can just put the doors back in buy mode to unlock them.

🧲 Improved Turn-On & Turn-Offs: I used this mod to set these turn-on and turn-offs, if you don't have it, the Sims might just have some weird preferences on other Sims' outfit colours.

👔 No Outfit Change When Promoted: I've spent some time defining the work outfits for all the Sims, it would be a shame to have an ugly outfit by default if you don't use this mod! The other mods on this page are also useful for limiting inconvenience and regulating visitors on lots.

🚷 No Townie Generation and Relaxed Filters: The save includes all the necessary NPCs and Townies if you use this one, it will prevent the generation of new Sims completely (there are already more than enough Sims in this save!)

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Interact in Tight Spaces: As my lots are cluttered and are in general small, it makes Sims interacting in them way better.

Other creators:

More Selectable Icons - Zerbu: I'm using it for club icons, but as the mod can make the game lag, and I'm only using it for clubs, you can download here a limited version, which only keeps a small selection for clubs (and if you have a mod to add small business icons, it's compatible).

Milestones Expanded - Lumpinou: Useful if you want a more complete view of my Sims' milestones, you might just lose some information if you don't use it.

TOOL - TwistedMexi: It's only useful because it includes a fix that ensures items placed in the world are not deleted when you load a residential rental. 

MCCC - Deaderpool or any other mod that prevents Sims from culling, because there are a lot of them in my save, and the game might remove them.

Visual mods:

Eye replacement : If you don’t have ones, those ones are great

Sunblind : Make the outdoor lightning way better

Out of the dark : Fixes the blue light in dark spaces

Mods for the save:

Those are some mods that I created specifically for this save file.

Open World: another very optional mod, especially if you don't have a very powerful PC, but as I've added extra stalls, bars and other stuff to certain parts of the worlds, it makes the worlds more lively. Once again, there's no risk if you don't remove it on another save, you'll just get NPCs appearing without much to do.

World Sorter: this mod just lets you sort the worlds in the selection screen so that the worlds I've modified appear first.

Status: ✅ First upload on 05/16/25

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With all of that said, I think there is nothing more to add, so enjoy!