InsaneJournal

Never experiment with The Sims 2 unless you really enjoy restarting.
Things I've learned part eleventy-billion and two:

1. If you create a toddler or child with parent, then move them into another household, then kill off the parent to orphan the child, the child will not be related to any of the other sims on the lot. This means that you cannot use the Encourage reaction to modify personality. Sims subsequently added to the family were not be able to teach the toddler any skills.


2. You will need at least three controllable sims to start a restaurant business: a chef, a server, and a host(ess). In the early stages, the server can act as a greeter.


3. Seating that works one day may stop working the next day. Starting with two counters and barstools caused a jam when the third customer appeared. Therefore, I added a table with two chairs. The next day, the only possible seat was one of the chairs at the table; the barstools and counters no longer counted as usable seating. Note that customers do not want to share tables.


4. Elders are not recommended for operating a business; they are forever running to the bathroom and complaining that they are uncomfortable. You will need to use adults who have maxed out their aspiration benefits so that their needs don't drop as quickly.


5. As a side note, having at least one witch stocked with the ingredients for the mood-raising spell helps keep the business open long enough to make money each day.