The Sims 2: FreeTime/Lifetime Aspiration

The Sims 2 is all about acheiving goals throughout life and the new lifetime aspiration gives your sims more to aspire to as they go through life and fulfill wants and avoid fears. This article discusses everything to do with the new lifetime aspiration meter.

Recap
Firstly a recap of aspiration.
 * Sims have wants and fears
 * Fulfilling wants give you aspiration points
 * Fulfilling fears takes aspiration points
 * Aspiration points contribute to a pool and an aspiration meter
 * This pool contains all the points your sim has earned ever and can be used to purchase rewards like money in Buy Mode
 * The aspiration meter rises as wants are fulfilled
 * The meter decays over time
 * If the meter decays enough, then your sim will gain red aspiration
 * Red aspiration causes your sims to act up
 * In University, wants supply influence points
 * Influence points add to a meter
 * This meter doesn't decay
 * Influence points are spent to get NPCs to perform various actions.
 * There are also lifetime wants
 * These wants are permanent until fulfilled
 * When fulfilled, your sim gains platinum aspiration
 * The aspiration meter will no longer decay

Lifetime Meter
The lifetime meter sits between the influence meter and normal aspiration meter. As your sim goes through life it fills up allowing your sim to purchase benefits to help them gain more points. If you look at it, it's split up into eleven different levels. These levels correspond to an invisible number of points that your sim has. These points are as follows. 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 Another way of dividing the meter up is with seven different monikers. These do not correspond to the levels shown visually. The monikers are as follows.
 * 1-2,000
 * 2-4,000
 * 3-6,000
 * 4-9,000
 * 5-12,000
 * 6-15,000
 * 7-18,000
 * 8-21,000
 * 9-24,000
 * 10-27,000
 * 11-30,000 (Top of meter)

Points
So now you know that the meter fills up with points, but how do you gain them? Well every sim starts with a certain number of points already. When you load the game for the first time, your sims will have a certain amount filled up and will be able to purchase an amount of benefits. Consult the table below for the exact amounts. Note that toddlers won't have any score but will have to start from scratch. The bottom green values are the ones used for determining the lifetime score for any new sims that you create. All previously created sims use the values in the table including NPCs and Townies. They also gain points from events that directly influence the lifetime score such as marriage or falling in love. The next thing to know is what causes the meter to fill up. Basically, normal aspiration score does it. When it's high, it pulls lifetime score up, when it's low it drags down lifetime score. Points are dispensed 24 times a day at the start of the hour so make sure your score is continually high to drag up the score for your lifetime meter. For people that want exact values, they are as follows. Note the values for young adult sims. They're low becuase of the fact that normally, they have the longest lifespan of any sim. The low values mean that your sim won't get all the benefits before they reach their prime and breeze through adulthood with lifetime meter all filled up. The second thing that adds to lifetime score is direct events. These events are as follows. 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 These events only affect the meter once. You can't get married several times or reach level 10 in several careers just to get the points. They only work once.
 * Grow Up-1,800
 * Learn to Walk-600
 * Learn to Talk-600
 * Learn Nursery Rhyme-600
 * Potty Trained-600
 * Fall in Love-1,200
 * Have First Kiss-1,200
 * Have First WooHoo-1,500
 * Graduate from College-1,200
 * Get Married-1,200
 * Have Baby/Adopt-1,200
 * Earn Level 10 Hobby-900
 * Complete Vacation Mementos panel-900
 * Earn Level 10 Business-1,200
 * Earn Level 10 Career-1,200
 * Satisfy Lifetime Want-1,200

So why do you want to fill up the meter? Apart from the benefits you can earn, achieving platinum lifetime aspiration has several rewards, namely it makes aspiration platinum and with platinum aspiration comes platinum mood. As well, this aspiration never decays meaning that your sim will always die with a special marker and extra inheritance.

Lifetime Benefits
As you fill up the meter, you can gain special benefits. This section details evey benefit you can recieve. To access the benefits, open the aspiration rewards menu. You'll notice that toddlers and children can access rewards as well as up to eight benefits. When they choose an aspiration they access five more and when they choose a secondary aspiration they can access the last three. Lets go through the first track.

Needs
You cannot go through the list of benefits and select them at random. You have to choose one benefit before you can choose the other benefit. This goes through four benefits for each track. The first track simply decays needs slower. The four benefits are as follows. When you choose the benefits, the corresponding needs will decay 12% slower.
 * 1) Social and Comfort
 * 2) Bladder and Hygiene
 * 3) Fun and Hunger
 * 4) Energy

Work
There are four work benefits. When you choose one benefit, you have access to another until you go through all four, the benefits are as follows. 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴
 * 1) Life of Luxury. Your sim will gain vacation days faster. Normally it takes seven work days to gain a vacation day. With this benefit it only takes five, allowing you to gain vacation days faster.
 * 2) Business Instinct. Whenever, your sim gets a chance card, there's an eighty percent chance they will be right, no matter the option you choose.
 * 3) Friends in High Places. Your sim requires a certain amount of friends to get a promotion, with this benefit, the requirement is reduced by one.
 * 4) Plead for Job. Whenever your sim is fired, they will be able to plead for their job. This interaction appears on the phone. If accepted, it will give your sims job back. The chance of accptance depends on the level and is as follows.
 * 0-15%
 * 1-22%
 * 2-29%
 * 3-36%
 * 4-43%
 * 5-50%
 * 6-57%
 * 7-64%
 * 8-71%
 * 9-78%
 * 10-85%

Aspiration
The third track is the aspiration track and obviously relies on your sims aspiration for its benefits. A Pleasure sim will have different benefits to a fortune sim. The benefits are as follows.

Family Fortune Grilled Cheese Knowledge Pleasure Popularity Romance For above, remember that grilled cheese aspiration is gained by failing in the ReNuYu Senso Orb. The Pleasure aspiration will also only be available if you own Nightlife as one of its benefits requires the restaurant system introduced in that expansion pack.
 * 1) Grandma's Comfort Soup. Your sim will be able to cook this meal. It supplies hunger and comfort. It can also cure any illness.
 * 2) Fun & Comfort. These needs will decay 12% slower. This stacks on top of any need benefits your sim already has.
 * 3) Plead with the Social Worker. When the social worker comes, there is a chance that she may leave and give the house 24 hours to rectify itself. This is not an interaction but an effect the household has when this benefit is selected. The chance of success starts at 55%. If lifetime relationship with the child is above 50, it rises to 75%. For every other sim that has this effect, the chance rises by 4%/sim. This only works for 4 sims, however. The maximum chance, therefore, is 91%.
 * 4) Super Fertility. This sim has a 60% chance of conceiving twins. This interaction only applies to the sims offspring.
 * 1) Skilled Negotiator. Sims will earn 150% of their normal wages when going to work. This is not reflected in the careers panel but don't worry as this effect does happen.
 * 2) Fun & Comfort. These needs will decay 12% slower. This stacks on top of any need benefits your sim already has.
 * 3) Finacial Advice for Cash. Computers gain Give Financial Consulting interaction. Every hour, your sim will earn money. The exact amount depends on your logic skill.
 * 4) Investing. Every day at 4pm, the house will gain or lose a random amount of money. Starting with one sim with this benefit. There's a 50% chance of gaining money and a 30% chance of loss. With extra sims, the chance rises by 8%/sim up to a maximum of 80% of money. This, obviously decreases the chance of losing money down to a minimum of 20%. The amount of money depends on household funds. You won't lose more than your funds but you can't gain more.
 * 1) Bottomless Stomach. Sims lose fitness points when eating at maximum hunger 50% slower.
 * 2) Bladder. This need will decay 12% slower. This stacks on top of any need benefits your sim already has.
 * 3) Paint Grilled Cheese. A new easel interaction lets sims paint grilled cheese portraits. The quality of the painting, as usual, depends on creativity.
 * 4) Conjure Grilled Cheese. A self-interaction will create a perfect grilled cheese sandwhich out of thin air. This drains energy and comfort but provides automatic hunger satisfaction and fulfills the want to eat grilled cheese sandwhiches.
 * 1) Social and Fun. These needs will decay 12% slower. This stacks on top of any need benefits your sim already has.
 * 2) Impart Knowledge. A new interaction lets your sim teach less skilled sims. The student learns the skill 50% faster. Your sim can only teach them if they've reached level 8 and the student must be under level 8 to learn.
 * 3) Eureka!. Whenever a sim is learning, there's a 10% chance they'll gain four fifths of the required skill point. Normally, this will get them the next skill level and any excess points will be added to the next skill level.
 * 4) Summon Aliens. Sim gains the telescope interaction Summon Aliens. This increases the chance of meeting an alien signifacantly and can be done in the daytime.
 * 1) Fast Metabolism. Sims will gain fitness points 50% faster than anyone else.
 * 2) Bladder & Energy. These needs will decay 12% slower. This stacks on top of any need benefits your sim already has.
 * 3) Write Restuarant Guide. Sim gains computer interaction Write Restaurant Guide. After dining at a restaurant, sim sits down at the computer and writes a guide. When done, they recieve a call and money from writing the guide.
 * 4) Rowdy Folk Song. Sim gains Sing Folksong interaction allowing several sims to gain fun and social at the same time.
 * 1) Hospitality. Sim gains 55% chance of bringing a friend home from work or school.
 * 2) Bladder & Energy. These needs will decay 12% slower. This stacks on top of any need benefits your sim already has.
 * 3) 3-Way Calling. When sim calls a sim with the phone or mobile, and chooses the option to talk, they can select the sub-interaction Make 3-Way Call. They then choose another sim to call. All three sims then gain relationship points with each other.
 * 4) Fast Friends. Sim gains more points than usual when doing any social with another sim.
 * 1) Massive Attraction. Sim gains extra chemistry points with every sim of the preferred gender.
 * 2) Hygiene and Energy. These needs will decay 12% slower. This stacks on top of any need benefits your sim already has.
 * 3) Local Legend. More sims of the preferred gender will drop by every day.
 * 4) Smooth Talk. Sim gains Smooth Talk interaction. If this interaction is accepted, it can cure sims of fury and boost relationship score.

Secondary Aspiration
The first benefit for this track is choosing the secondary aspiration. When you mark it, you are presented with a menu that shows all the other aspirations and three of their benefits. When you choose the aspiration, you will then have access to the three benefits you saw. The other reason to choose a secondary aspiration is the give extra wants but no extra fears. This allows for greater scoring opportunities as more high-scoring wants are now accessible. You can reset your lifetime benefits with the ReNuYu Senso Orb. Both interactions will reset the benefits. The first interaction will change aspiration to the one you choose or grilled cheese thus reseting the benefits that you chose. The second interaction simply removes the benefits and doesn't have a chance of failure.