Rookie mistakes you made when first playing the Sims 3

[Sportsfan]

I forgot to mention that, even though I've been playing Sims 3 since March, it wasn't until the last week or so that I got up the nerve to take a peek at Edit Town.  I'm not sure if that's a "rookie mistake" but looking in there and trying to figure out how it works has certainly opened up a lot of new possibilities.

I'm the same. I haven't looked at edit town but i really want to start experimenting with it.
And I got the sims in april.

[SimPoseyYum]

Hehe I'll make a pact with you Sportsfan.  You muster up the nerve to explore Edit Town and I'll muster up the courage to start a bone-fide Dynasty using Normal Aging!  Oh, the places we'll go! 

[Sportsfan]

I actually just used edit town for the first time today.
My rookie mistakes: i was totally lost with the lots and whatnot, but I figured out what I wanted.
Better go start that dynasty SPY!

[imaGleek]

Yeah, I was really confused about edit town, and another thing I just remember was that I tried to build a house once. It failed epically, I forgot to put stairs in.

And for a second I was like, why did you say SPY, but then I was like, oh SimPoseyYum.

[MoonsAreBlue]

I don't know if this is really a mistake, but I didn't realize there was a way to change patterns for a long time! I was so used to TS2 that I thought the only patterns/colors were the offered selection. I wish I'd figured that out much earlier!

[Sportsfan]

I don't know if this is really a mistake, but I didn't realize there was a way to change patterns for a long time! I was so used to TS2 that I thought the only patterns/colors were the offered selection. I wish I'd figured that out much earlier!

Wait what?! *checks game* oh wait, I already knew that. I don't use it much though. I usually just change the shade.

[imaGleek]

actually, create a style was the first thing I figured out how to use.

[SimPoseyYum]

I actually just used edit town for the first time today.
My rookie mistakes: i was totally lost with the lots and whatnot, but I figured out what I wanted.
Better go start that dynasty SPY!

Gah!  You called my bluff!  Well done, Sportsfan!  Ok, I promise, by this time tomorrow, I will have started a bona-fide Dynasty, on (shudder) Normal-Life mode.  I can just imagine the rookie mistakes I'll make (just to bring this back on topic).

~ SPY

[Sportsfan]

I hadn't ever used cheats until a while ago. At first I didn't even know how to use reset sim. I kept on trying but had no idea what I was doing. Rookie mistake #4478

[Hosfac]

I always think of "rookie mistakes" as simple mistakes that seem larger than they are to an inexperienced person.  But I've played The Sims since the very beginning, so I'm rather experienced.  So when I got the Sims 3, I didn't make simple mistakes...I made very complex mistakes.

I knew all about the sim's moods and how it affected them in their daily life.  But I was utterly clueless about moodlets and the impact that those had on a sim's mood.  I'd get all the bad ones:  poor night's sleep, poorly cooked food/fridge flavor, negative socializations...you name it, my first sims ended up inflicted with them.  It took them forever to get promotions, and their mood was always low despite the fact that I was struggling like mad to keep their needs met.  It was driving me crazy lol.

Another very complex mistake was that I bought my first couple the "fertility treatment" LTR as soon as they had the happiness points for it.  At the time I didn't really realize how easy it was to actually get a sim pregnant, so I thought "well, if it exists, there's probably a reason for it."  And for some reason, they just seemed to adore children's radio (and they weren't even childish).  You can't imagine the stress triplets caused me as my very first sim procreation.  Chaos reigned in that household until the first generation started school, let me tell you.

[samoht04]

Haha, that really is tough Hosfac! My first babies were a learning curve and a Rookie mistake waiting to happen, in Sims 2 I never made it to Toddlers, it also caused me to not realise you were able to chose your sims traits because all my Sims aged up with them rolled. I thought you could only chose the CAS Sims traits and nobody elses.  I also kind of find it odd that the first townie I played was Agnes... Maybe that explains why I like her so much. 

[CandyHeartedSim]

My first rookie mistake was the fact that I couldn't make my sim couples concieve. They wouldn't get in the same bed, until I realized that there has to be a gab between the sides of the beds and floors, so for the first three generations, all the children were adopted 

[amyrose]

My rookie mistake was similar to CandyHeartedSim, for my first couple I had no idea how the romantic interactions worked, so I could never get my sims being 'irresistible' and trying for a baby. I also never thought of using the bed for trying for a baby, and I was terrified of the adoption option on the phone, which I thought it would make it really difficult to get a baby. Eventually this couple died childless and alone, in a ugly house full of mismatched furniture (it took me months to figure out create-a-style.)

[MoMoll]

a ugly house full of mismatched furniture (it took me months to figure out create-a-style.)

I also couldn't figure out the pattern changes and what furniture was better at first. They hated their house and wanted to move.

[CrossedTowers]

I didn't make --too-- many rookie mistakes with the third game in series, but some horrid ones were done with Sims1, ten years back.