I left the LTWs and traits in case you want to use mine. I removed the names and favorite colors so you can customize them yourself. You can download a copy of my planning spreadsheet from Google Drive here. If you want to get really technical about creating your Sims (like I do), here is the chart I used to create my version of Redwood Harbor. I usually keep the randomized favorite food and music preference unless it really doesn’t suit the Sim.

I choose favorite color based on the color the Sim is wearing. If there are any trait slots left, I randomize their additional traits. I look on the Sims Wiki page on LTWs and give my Sims the key traits for their lifetime wish. You could also roll a random LTW if you have a hard time choosing. I go to the Sims Wiki page on LTWs and choose 24 base game wishes that I like – mostly career based for the first generation but a few skill-based too (see chart below). I use the Sim’s favorite color to help me choose clothing. See my chart below if you want to get really technical. I prefer to create Sims with a wide variety of hair, eye, and skin colors for better genetics. A better name generator is Namey – if you don’t want to use the in-game randomizer. Usually I can get a decent name in a few clicks.

I keep whatever name I get unless it doesn’t make sense due to race/ethnicity (or I just hate it). This gives me a greater variety of body shapes. I keep the body modifier sliders exactly as they are after randomizing. Here are the steps I take to create my Sims: But I find that 24 Sims is just about right for starting out a new world. You could also create couples or families at this point if you prefer. I prefer to create single Sims and then allow them choose their own partners in-game based on attraction. I create a total of 24 single, young adult Sims – 12 males and 12 females. Once you’ve installed your empty world, load your game, create a new game, and you’re ready to get started! Creating Households I like the empty world Redwood Harbor by My Sim Realty. Sometimes I just want to play instead of building for weeks at a time, so I appreciate premade empty worlds. You can also make your own empty world if you’re familiar with CAW. My Sim Realty has several very high quality empty worlds you can choose from. My favorite is Deery Meadows if you want to build everything yourself or Redwood Harbor if you want all the rabbit holes and houses already built. The first step is installing an empty world. You could also use this guide if you play with story progression, but want a custom world filled with your own Sims. In this guide, I use a premade empty world and populate it with Sims for rotational gameplay. This is NOT a tutorial on using Create-a-World (CAW).

This is how I setup a custom world in The Sims 3, starting from scratch and building up my world from nothing (similar to my Sims 2 method).

Install custom world sims 3