Sim Family Trees

I tried the pictorial version, too, Poyo, but the spreadsheet definitely works better for me. The graphic version can't capture nearly enough data, and you can't sort it if you want to see, for example, just how many babies you have. (Yeesh. A lot. I did that last night and thought, what the *** was I thinking?)

Plus you can add different worksheets if you have more than one neighborhood, or want to track different things. I have a separate page that shows my more detailed plans for my sims.

 

I love this! Once again, I fiind that I'm not the only sim-addict that's also an excel geek. I love using the spreadsheets to keep track of my sims. I had an extensive one built for TS1, with all of my peoples and their interests, so I could sort by Travel or Food and find out who would be easiest to make friends with. We had ~ 100 neighbors, including the kids, so it was much easier to keep track of in a worksheet.
I've also built a family tree in Excel to keep my Verona ville teens from crushing on cousins. Most of the second generation (Bianca, Antonio, etc) were easy enough because they retained their last names, but almost all of the 3rd generation hooked up with someone from College & now have very different last names. I just started with Consort on the top left, Titania & Oberon top center and Patrizio & Isabella top right and then used arrows to draw down to direct children. Then I've listed the next generation down, with their spouses in column next to them. It's not something that can be sorted, but I can always insert an extra row to add another kid & it looks more like a tree. I also color code if someone is listed twice - like Juliet because she married Romeo is under the Capp tree & the Monty tree as as spouse.

 

I agree: This is a wonderful thread!

I was keeping a journal for a long time. But I have a messy play-style, which means that if I get a whim to radically change my sim's lives, then they change. My Sims' lives are fantasy for me. Unlike real life, where we have to sometimes fight our impulsives and make long-term plans for the future, Sims can do something on a whim (such as quit a job or flirt with someone other than their SO) and usually, the results are entertaining, not tragic.

So, long story short, right now I have not updated my journal for awhile.

 

I want to make an excel spreadsheet with my sims data. How do I start (column names, etc.)? I tried but I can't seem to figure out where to begin or how it should be laid out.
Also, do you guys keep track of your female sims maiden names when they get married, to trace back what family their from? I tried this yesterday by editing a sim's last name to be hyphenated; however when she had kids their last name was hyphenated too, which I didn't want.

 

Here are the column headings I use, Playlives.

First, Last (this is where I put their current last name), Maiden or Former Name, Gender, Skin, Original Hair Color, Eyes, Status (age status, that is), Started As (age they started at), Adopted? (Y/N), Twin (name of twin goes here if applicable), Vampire?, Alien?, Abducted?, Cause of Death, Status at Death (again, this is age), Sign, Aspiration, Former Aspiration, LTW, Achieved LTWs, College Degree?, Career, Reached the top?, Businesses Owned, Type of Business, Former businesses owned, Household, Married?, S/O.

Then I have columns for each type of relative I want to track, starting with great-grandparents, though I'm thinking of putting kids directly after S/O. Next comes stats, then generation. I've got other columns as well but that's the gist of it.

Hope this helps (and doesn't frighten!) you!

 

okay thanks, SBW. I started with first name, last name but then I got stuck at how to track relatives (grand parents, aunts, cousins, etc.) using a spreadsheet. I will try it the way you've outlined it and see how that works. :knockedout: