The overall timeline of the Sims
Playing the sims 2 and finding out it was set 25 years later had me hooked as a concept and probably birthed my love of how things can change, story telling and the rest.
When Sims 3 was coming out and I learnt that it was the prequel I could not wait to play it and do the steps needed to get the game to the 'Sims 1' correct timeline.
As Sims 3 continued to generate more towns, they increasingly hinted to and felt like they were not all set in tandem with each other. In Twinbrook we see the Curious family with Notzo as a toddler, not fitting the 50 years prior to Strangetown that Sunset Valley and Riverview had set (being 50 years prior to Pleasantview). This got me thinking, in the Sims 2 we assumed all hoods were happening at the same time in tandem and Sims 3 broke that idea with it's later packs and many varying points on the timeline.
Lets delve into why a Cassandra Goth and Vidcund Curious shipping cannot work unless she is a real cougar!
Initial Timeline
Let us start at the most basic of timelines the Pleasantview-Sunset Valley Timeline. The original Sims represents year zero with Pleasantview and Sunset Valley 25 years out respectively.
- 25 Years Sunset Valley
Year 0 Neighbourhood 1 / Old Town
+ 25 Years Pleasantview
It is safe to assume that all Sims 2 hoods took place at the same time as Pleasantview, lets see the towns that Sims 3 introduced and see how this no longer fits the trend.
Initially as a download came Riverview, having many ties to Sunset Valley and being a sister world to it, placing it in exactly the same timeline position as Sunset Valley with the Broke and Newbie family. I know Don Lothario appears here, but his story here clearly implies he was thrown through a time machine of some sorts and arrive here at this time in Riverview.
The first town to alter this trio of timelines is Twinbrook, showing the Curious family. If we imagine the Curious family with the brother's and Jenny, 25 years prior to Strangetown i.e Year 0 they would be children and Jenny a teen. In fact Early Strangetown found on Mod the Sims shows this really well. Their father Glarn would be an older adult at this point. Looking back 25 more years to line up with Sunset Valley, Glarn would be a late Teen or Young Adult. Instead Twinbrook introduces his father Notzo as a Toddler.
For Glarn to be a Teen or Adult and Notzo to be a Toddler is a different of around 50 years, this would mean Twinbrook is 100 years before Strangetown.
Twinbrook/Bridgeport Timeline
- 100 Years Twinbrook and Bridgeport
- 25 Years Sunset Valley and Riverview
Year 0 Neighbourhood 1 / Old Town
+ 25 Years Pleasantview (All other Sims 2 Neighbourhoods?)
Between Twinbrook and Bridgeport came Barnacle Bay, the town set after Pleasantview. The Caliente's are back still as Adults, so much time has not passed. But the GilsCarbo family implies Celeste (a young child) is the daughter of Goopy from Pleasantview, confirming a few years have passed.
Hidden Springs came after Bridgeport and introduced us to Bert Alto, clearly Nick Alto (from Sunset Valley)'s younger brother, confirming they are at the same point in time.
Pets came with Appaloosa Plains and this one is difficult to align right now due to having no connections to any families, yet! We will see it return.
Taking us to Lunar Lakes - Clearly the future at some point - Case closed!
Then with Showtime came Starlight Shores taking us to 9 worlds (and the half way point of the Sims 3). This town has the Worthington family with a teen called Girbits, which is not his real name, that is hidden from the player. Girbits is 5 days away from Adulthood, enjoys computers and could easily make a decent amount of money from it, the game already implies he is hacking for money from people. Francis J Worthington from Strangetown's university of La Fiesta Tech is called 'The Third' and the implication is his family were wealthy. Girbits and Francis have a similar look and I see Girbits as his Grandfather, Girbit's real name being Francis (the first!) This matches perfectly to being 50 years before Strangetown. Providing us the midway timeline below.
Midway Timeline
- 100 Years Twinbrook and Bridgeport
- 25 Years Sunset Valley, Riverview, Hidden Springs, and Starlight Shores
Year 0 Neighbourhood 1 / Old Town
+ 25 Years Pleasantview (All other Sims 2 Neighbourhoods?)
+ 30 Years Barnacle Bay
"The Future" Lunar Lakes
The next two worlds are Lucky Palms and Sunlit Tides, which both introduced infamous Pleasantview families slightly earlier than in the timeline than Pleasantview's 25 years after Sims 1.
With Daniel and Mary-Sue newly weds in Sunlit Tides and Darren Dreamer chasing after Darlene sets these between 12 - 15 years before Pleasantview, giving time for them to have 'teenage' children in Pleasantview, creating the Semi-Prequel timeline.
Semi-Prequel Timeline
- 100 Years Twinbrook and Bridgeport
- 25 Years Sunset Valley, Riverview, Hidden Springs, and Starlight Shores
Year 0 Neighbourhood 1 / Old Town
+ 11 Years Lucky Palms and Sunlit Tides
+ 25 Years Pleasantview (All other Sims 2 Neighbourhoods?)
+ 30 Years Barnacle Bay
"The Future" Lunar Lakes
With Sunlit Tides comes Griffin Alto, who states he was due to return to join the family business. This idea is a little more personal choice, but I feel like the Alto's of Sunset Valley leave for Riverview and Holly Alto and Dallas Shallow marry. Griffin here looks a lot like the children that can be born to Holly and Dallas so I feel he is their son. This also fits the Timeline with Sunlit Tides being 36 years after Sunset Valley and Riverview, so Holly and Dallas could be his parents.
Moonlight Falls comes with the Goth family, Samuel which is Victor's brother and Frida, the missing sister of Gunther both of whom are dead. They seem to have been dead for a few years at least and with no other connections it makes sense to have Moonlight falls in the same timeline position as Sunset Valley.
Monte Vista comes next and this is solidly in line with the Sims 1 games. Goopy GilsCarbo appears as a toddler and the Monty family from Veronaville also appear at 25 years earlier than they were.
'Calm before the storm' Timeline
- 100 Years Twinbrook and Bridgeport
- 25 Years Sunset Valley, Riverview, Hidden Springs, Starlight Shores, and Moonlight Falls
Year 0 Neighbourhood 1 / Old Town and Monte Vista
+ 11 Years Lucky Palms and Sunlit Tides
+ 25 Years Pleasantview and Veronaville (All other Sims 2 Neighbourhoods?)
+ 30 Years Barnacle Bay
"The Future" Lunar Lakes
The next world to arrive was Aurora Skies, the timeline breaker!
Firstly the Beakers appear here around 25 years younger, with Loki a child and Erin a toddler, so right now it would be placed next to Monte Vista at Year 0, because we are assuming Strangetown and Pleasantview are happening at the same time.
Enter the Mango Cousins - Which ruin it all...
Magnus Mango is in the military and it mentions he is a cousin with Maru Mango who appeared in Sunlit Tides. The game strongly implies that Maru's and Magnus' storyline are happening at the same time, contemporary with each other.
But wait, that would mean Aurora Skies and Sunlit Tides would be at the same point in the timeline. This results in the below outcome.
'Broken' Timeline
- 64 Years Twinbrook and Bridgeport
- 25 Years Sunset Valley, Riverview, Hidden Springs, and Moonlight Falls
- 14 Years Starlight Shores
Year 0 Neighbourhood 1 / Old Town and Monte Vista
+ 11 Years Lucky Palms, Sunlit Tides, and Aurora Skies
+ 25 Years Pleasantview and Veronaville
+ 30 Years Barnacle Bay
+36 Years Strangetown
"The Future" Lunar Lakes
So Strangetown is now happening 11 Years later than Pleasantview?
Lets finish off the timeline with the town's from Sims 3 and see if they change the timeline back or confirm this new theory.
Dragon Valley is next which features John and Jennifer Burb (still a Pleasant) as they are about to wed. This could fit anywhere between the +11 and +25 years positions on the timeline, but makes sense roughly in between them as John and Jennifer need to marry and have Lucy before Pleasantview.
Midnight Hollow brings in the murderous Olive Spector and her toddler Nervous, but with no other links to anywhere but Strangetown this could work with Strangetown in its new proper place in the timeline or the more traditional place being in line with Pleasantview.
Roaring Heights the final world introduced has the Capps practically in the same age positions as the Montys we saw earlier so this one is simply in line with Monte Vista.
Oasis Landing was the Future world from the final expansion pack, though not an official world it is clearly set far far into the future.
Isla Paradiso came with the Island Paradise and contains a few families linked to other worlds.
Firstly is an Alto family return. Alonso the Adult looks somewhat like Nick and Vita and could be a son born to them after the start of Sunset Valley, implying this is set after that.
The Mangos return with Matthew Mango, with similar traits to the other Mango men. Not implied to be any particular relative, he could be another cousin or child or parent, so he doesn't help us to pin point the position in the timeline.
Edward Dregg occurs here as a Ghost and his bio implies this is set before the Sims 2 Bon Voyage hood of Twikki Island. If we are assuming those hoods are in line with Pleasantview, then Isla Paradiso is set before Pleasantview.
Lastly we have Akoni Kahale. He states in his bio he is a cousin to the Kahale family from Sunlit Tides. As with before, if the sim is stating they have family in another world, those worlds must surely be happening at the same point in the timeline.
If Isla Paradiso and Sunlit Tides are happening at the same time, then Alonso being the son of Nick and Vita Alto would be around 36 years old, and having a teenage daughter this would fit the timeline. Below we can see the complete timeline, where all other Sims 2 hood have no evidence they do not happen in line with Pleasantview, but Strangetown cannot. Because the 25 years needed between Loki and Erin beaker to go from Aurora Skies to Strangetown is not the same amount of time needed for the Pleasants to go from newly weds on holiday to having teenage daughters. Remember we saw Daniel Pleasant 25 years before Pleasantview, he was in Old Town with his parent's and therefore Sunlit tides is less than 20 years before Pleasantview (allowing time for him to go from child to adult).
This brings me back to Appaloosa Plains which is somewhat of an outlier. The only connection is with the Parrott family. There are some Parrotts that are described as cousins in Sunlit Tides and Isla Paradiso again reaffirming their connection of happening together. What is interesting is that the Parrott twins from Appaloosa Plains actually look a lot like Gregory Parrott from Isla Paradiso. Perhaps they are his sons? In Sunlit Tides are the Parrott Sisters and then a random NPC firefighter named Carissa Parrott, but with no family relations. I theorise that she and Gregory Parrott were married and that the Parrotts of Appaloosa plains are their children, Kale and Kanoa Parrott of Appaloosa Plains. Them being adults would imply around 40 years later than Sunlit Tides setting at +11 Years
Complete Timeline
- 64 Years Twinbrook and Bridgeport
- 25 Years Sunset Valley, Riverview, Hidden Springs, and Moonlight Falls
- 14 Years Starlight Shores
Year 0 Neighbourhood 1 / Old Town, Monte Vista, and Roaring Heights
+ 11 Years Lucky Palms, Sunlit Tides, Aurora Skies, Isla Paradiso
+ 16 Years Midnight Hollow and Dragon Valley
+ 25 Years Pleasantview and Veronaville (Including Desiderata Valley, Belladonna Cove, Riverblosson Hills, and Vacation Hoods)
+ 30 Years Barnacle Bay
+36 Years Strangetown
+ 51 Years Appaloosa Plains
"The Future" Lunar Lakes
"Far Far Future" Oasis Landing
How do you feel the timeline in the sims exists? Have I convinced you that Strangetown and Pleasantview are not in line with each other?
Insert this into your Game and Insert the Sims into your life!
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