Meet Lila Mayberry, who is a creative freegan who is also an animal enthusiast and is about to embark on the No Skills, No Problem Scenario. The twist, we’re going to try and get a golden chicken to help her get a perfect garden since she won’t be able to gain any skills and evolve her garden herself. As per the scenario goals, she is starting with no simoleons and on a now empty lot (3 Olde Mill Lane in Henford on Bagley). As an aside, she is playing in the same save and neighourhood that Cameron McGregor is in, i.e. the sim used in my playthrough of the Extraterrestrial Researcher Scenario.
If you’d like to play with Lila, she’s now on the gallery.
The scenario goals are quite simple, have 400,000 simoleons while not being able to gain any skills.
In addition to this goal, I plan to complete the following aspirations:
Fortune Aspiration
Both Spellcaster Aspirations (Spellcraft & Sorcery and Purveyor of Potions)
Curator Aspiration
She will also work on other aspirations as best she can when not being able to gain any skills.
As for the rags to riches element, the main rule I will be following is that Lila won’t be able to sell into her personal inventory until she has earned enough for a yard sale table. So she will have to first earn money by taking on errands, selling fish/produce to the Finchwick grocery or gardening stands or taking on odd jobs.
For more Rags to Riches guidelines, see my blog post.
Contact Me:
If you have any questions, need troubleshooting help or want to share your own Sims game play with other friendly Simmers please head over to my Facebook group, Sims Sanctuary or my Discord
Links for bugs mentioned in my video, and if available mods to fix the issues and/or Crinrict reports summarizing the issue:
GRO = Growing Together
BG = Base Game
This list is split into two types, ‘bigger bugs’ that have a bigger effect on game play (10 in that section) and minor bugs that are more of a nuisance and have a smaller impact on game play (6 in that section).
Note that if you are using mods and cc and are experiencing issues, make sure you test in a mods/cc free save as they may be causing problems, even if you’ve updated. Please check either Luth’s mod tracking list on the Sims 4 forums or Scarlett’s mod tracking list.
Note some issues have been fixed as of April 26, 2023 which is noted under the individual points.
Initially it was thought that this was tied to Laundry Day and that disabling the LD stuff pack would help. This doesn’t seem to be the case anymore, so the cause seems to be unknown. If you’ve experienced this, here is some information that EA would like (screenshot from bug report):
3.Parents need to be introduced to infant (BG): Note the issue with this is the parent/caregiver won’t be able to look after the infant until they are introduced. You can hire a nanny to introduce your sim to the infant, or if someone else on the lot is known to the infant, have them do the introduction. If you have MCCC you can use the ‘set relationship levels’ and then choose friends (lower level may work, but that was the option I choose) and your parent will then have all the options to look after the infant. It was initially thought to be tied to the beloved trait, and that may be one cause, but I’ve had it happen with sims who don’t have the beloved trait.
4.Sims lose milestones, including infants (GRO): Note one issue with this as it pertains to infants, is that they don’t seem to be able to get the milestones again and losing them can reset their progress and then they can’t progress any further. Some people found it was triggered by rotational play, others by sending the infants to the grandparents and others just by travelling. Not sure if just going into manage worlds might cause an issue.
5.Sims have all the same name/CAS corruption(GRO + Other): Note that there is a similar existing bug, but it can also be caused by GRO if you try to change traits after sims have learned extra self discovery traits. i.e. either by using the cas.fulleditcheat or if you download a sim from the gallery with extra traits learned through self discovery. See Crinrict’s report for more information.
Second key bit of advice from Crin's post: THIS ERROR CAN SPREAD to other households and even other Saves! If you see this error in CAS with the names or traits, "close your game completely without saving if you run into the error and reload the game." https://t.co/OGy4CqXLMD
6.Teens and Children change appearance due to loose tooth (GRO). The ability to lose a tooth has been temporarily disabled for PC/Mac (Mar 24/23 update) and console will hopefully get the same update shortly while EA works on a solution to this problem. Since the issue is not actually fixed, the bug reports are still open.
7.Pregnancy not Progressing & Relationship Telemetry Hooks Last Exceptions (BG): Neither of these are happening to everyone, but it is an issue for some people. For the never ending pregnancy, some have found that switching to another household has allowed the pregnancy to progress, but that doesn’t seem to be working for everyone, or possibly even many people. There is a bug fix mod for both these issues, which may be related. Fixed in April 18, 2023 game update.
10.Issues with the Mountain Climbing Excursion: The new issue is that the mountain climbing excursion is not progressing. There was an old issue where there was no check mark to select the members. There’s a work around for the latter. You currently need bug fix mod for the excursion not progressing, there is no other work around. Fixed in April 18, 2023 game update.
1.Items Removed pop-up appears when no items removed (BG): This is an older bug, but seems more common since the infant update. You get a message that items from unowned content have been removed but nothing appears to be removed from your build/lot.
Here is where the lots are in San Sequoia (sims can’t walk on the grassy area around these two lots, they can walk on the road and a dirt path that doesn’t show in this map view)
General Advice:
⚠️ Just a general piece of advice I saw Turbodriver give on September 21, 2022 is that if you are experiencing issues with saving, it’s best to save the game in gameplay (i.e. from live mode) versus from manage worlds. ⚠️This can help prevent some issues with corrupting saves. So I recommend if you are editing your world from manage worlds, go into your household/a household and then save the game. While this refers to the issue happening in modded saves, I have seen people have a problem even in unmodded saves.
My latest LP for Growing Together LP is a variation on rags to riches, as my family will get to start with an empty house. First part should be up later today, March 24, 2023 at 3 pm EDT. Playlist link to TBA.
Meet our Family:
The Samuels are a close knit family. including a recently widowed mom who has a teen, a child, an infant and another one on the way! Her husband passed away recently and she used the little insurance money remaining to buy an unfurnished home in San Sequoia, which is new town for her and her family but happens to be where her sister is currently living. How will they all manage? Gallery link for the family.
Mom, young adult Madison Samuels, she is creative, family oriented and an animal enthusiast. She has the bonus collector trait from choosing a nature aspiration.
Teen, Brynn Samuels, she is a creative and a geek & has the muser trait from choosing a creativity aspiration. She will be joining us in the fall as she is currently on an exchange for the summer in Mt. Komorebi.
Child, Fiona Samuels who is an animal enthusiasts.
Infant, Avery Samuels who is sunny.
Family cat Mimi, who is a glutton, clever and a prowler!
Also in the San Sequoia is Madison’s young adult sister Sage Galloway. She is a genius bookworm, who also happens to be an animal enthusiast. She has the quick learner trait from choosing a knowledge aspiration.
Goals:
Have Madison at a minimum complete the Parenthood parent aspiration, the fortune aspiration & one nature aspiration. She will also work on other aspirations and complete what she can.
When our teen Brynn joins the household she needs to complete the overachiever teen aspiration and like her mom she will also work on other aspirations, including her primary aspiration, Bestselling Author.
Have all children, starting with Fiona, complete all child aspirations, including the four new ones.
Have all children learn how to ride a bike.
Have all infants, starting with Avery, complete all infant milestones and try all infant foods (both mashed and finger foods) and as a toddler, max all skills.
Furnish their home so that it suits a family living there!
See if we can complete all the puzzles!
The family must buy and build a treehouse and fully upgrade it.
Will Madison meet someone and if she does, what impact will that have on her family?
Optional Goal: Complete the Making Money scenario.
Rules:
Sims start with nothing except the unfurnished house on 23 Eucalyptus Lane, a 30×20 lot in the Hopewell Hills area of San Sequoia (gallery link for my starting home, see screenshot below)
No selling into inventory until you have a yard sale table/street gallery (requires either City Living, Jungle Adventures or Eco Lifestyle).
Aging can be whatever you wish. I will have it on long for my current household only.
You can use whatever type of residential lot you’d like. Mine is a tiny home (2 tier Tiny Residential)
For more Rags to Riches guidelines, see my blog post or video.
Some tweets from the last few days* covering the following:
Game Play (Mix of Base Game & Growing Together)
Children (Growing Together)
Tweets re Growing Together Lots
Build/Buy (Growing Together)
Create-a-Sim (Growing Together)
Behind the Scenes (Naming Worlds)
Just for Fun, including some glitches! (Base Game, Growing Together & Other Packs)
*mostly March 6 to March 8, but one is from March 4.
Link to my video where I discuss many of these tweets.
1. Game Play
Adoption:
Sims can adopt infants (hopefully older children too) that are already in the world! A couple of examples where this will be great is if your sim already has a child and then gets married or if you have Get to Work and the spouse has a child through alien abduction (and I’m sure there are more examples!). This looks different from the ability to adopt a child using the phone. Since it shows an adoption certificate, I’m not sure if the entire interaction is limited to Growing Together, or just what I expect is the milestone related to it.
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 6, 2023
Most certainly. All changing tables are compatible with toddlers.
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 6, 2023
Toddlers and Baby Proofing (Base Game):
Toddlers escaping is also part of the base game update, it’s not limited to Growing Together. The fence is base game, most everything else that looks new is Growing Together.
Three different types of marriage certificates and your sims can order copies via the phone or computer. Hopefully sims who are already married will also be able to order them!
Married Sims now get a marriage certificate in Growing Together, which you can then customize from these three designs in a variety of frames!
Sims can request additional copies via the phone or computer!
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 8, 2023
I wanted to show off dogs playing on the splash pad. Maybe I shouldn't have selected a Couch Potato Bulldog who just wants to lounge on the baby rug all day. 😂 I'll get my picture though!
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 8, 2023
Cats will need to be held
I believe you can hold them and play in the water!
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 8, 2023
2. Children (Growing Together)
Sneak peak at the reward trait for Slumber Party Animal Aspiration:
The four new Child Aspirations are a bit of a hybrid. Slumber Party Animal gives you a different set of goals that support Children who are focusing on both Social and Creativity. https://t.co/tmSxC0N1Lgpic.twitter.com/7odZQAY5iR
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 8, 2023
Correct to all above. They each also tie into our new objects (as seen in icons) + a few other kid-friendly activities.
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 8, 2023
Two children can play together on the treehouse:
Didn't get a chance to show this on the stream, but 2 Child Sims can also Play Pretend together! Space explorers, fairy tale castle, pirates, island castaway, and house! pic.twitter.com/M73bTLqRaZ
We showed off one dressed-up Starter Home during the Growing Together Livestream, but check out how cute this one is by @dzidziak86 in the Gilbert Gardens neighborhood! My two favorite parts: 1. The modern roof over the doorway. 2. It has the cutest little starter nursery inside. pic.twitter.com/65SvVZN0KG
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 6, 2023
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 6, 2023
40×30 Lot in Gilbert Gardens – this one was built by @lilsimsie. No sneak peeks since I'm sure she will be showing it off herself, but you can get a feel for the lot in case you want to build something there.😉 pic.twitter.com/kSd2JfRe4N
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 6, 2023
4. Build/Buy (Growing Together):
Splash Pad
The Splash Pad Play area in Gilbert Gardens is amazing! But you also have all the pieces to build your very own splash pad play area at home! Or why not at a public pool or your very own Recreation Center? 🐳 pic.twitter.com/9hDPAcrGTu
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 7, 2023
Most of these (splash pads, emitters, Whalebert) are found under outdoor activities. Whalebert is also a Fountain Decoration. The leaves and flowers are found in Sculptures in the Outdoors category. No cheats needed to access them at all!
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 7, 2023
Modeling did some extra hookup with Whalebert so that if you want you can also place him in a Fountain. ⛲️ pic.twitter.com/uHOfGYhTm2
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 7, 2023
Kindermade ‘Lore’
Does anyone remember Kindermade, a brand we created for Build/Buy for a few pieces from the base game? (like these ones pictured below)
So… I may have gone a bit wild with expanding the Kindermade lore for Growing Together build-buy items.
Kindermade HQ has informed me that I am obligated to share that these two tables? They are definitely two of the tables ever made! pic.twitter.com/6LJr39Aacy
Look! Kindermade's KinderMod line is also bringing retro-future vibes and existential panic to your libraries! Perfect for when your studies have you in literal agony, or you're on the verge of having your secret love of cowplants spilled via a slightly-too-tilted phone screen. pic.twitter.com/0bHY6zt5Gw
In Growing Together, we added some fun new Build/Buy assets for Recreation Centers & Libraries—you might have spotted them during the Livestream in our builds. Just a preview – I won't show all the Rec Center/Library objects. 😉 pic.twitter.com/OIq5EMp1R3
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 6, 2023
before you call me cringe – yes, the first one is meant to be an excruciating read! it's poking fun at the way brands will often misuse slang. the idea of a chair company having a board meeting to decide how to sound "cool and relatable" is absurd (and probably happens?)
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 8, 2023
6. Behind the Scenes
I found this thread by GrimSuruDoi on what goes into naming a Sims 4 world very interesting!
I’ve finally recovered after our marathon stream yesterday (it seems y’all liked it??) and while I enjoyed ranting about why Moonwood Mill and San Sequoia are ✨perfect✨ world names, I figured a little behind-the-scenes context on how we go about naming worlds could be fun. 🧵
— Cheapskate Keepsake Doi (@GrimSuruDoi) March 4, 2023
One thing we don’t decide until much, much later? The world name. We don’t want to design a world around a name but rather fit a good name to the world that we’ve already designed.
— Cheapskate Keepsake Doi (@GrimSuruDoi) March 4, 2023
We think about a lot (maybe too much?) like the connotations of the name, the history of the places that inspire the world, possible translations, words they sound like, personal preference
— Cheapskate Keepsake Doi (@GrimSuruDoi) March 4, 2023
For those 2 worlds, I think we arrived in the right place. We looked at abandoned/secluded mill towns that seemed like good werewolf hangouts or at how the Bay Area’s flora has transformed over time and how local places are still named after trees that are no longer there
— Cheapskate Keepsake Doi (@GrimSuruDoi) March 4, 2023
Anyway, this is all to say while there was certainly some truth to my bit on world naming on the stream (Chair Village ahoy!), I really do appreciate the thought and intention we put into all the work do. We will sometimes still make mistakes, but we continue to do our best!
— Cheapskate Keepsake Doi (@GrimSuruDoi) March 4, 2023
(What we came to lovingly refer to as "Beard Baby" was a bug that showed up in early development on infants. Cracked us up.) pic.twitter.com/OTVRvWuS2o
In addition to this blog post, here is a link to my video which includes the CAS and my thoughts on the livestream.
High Level Overview of Pack Goals:
Give the player the opportunity to celebrate full lifetime and memorable milestones of every sim.
First goal was to make sure that family matters. That interacting with family members feels different, than interacting with random sims in the game. This was regardless of if they live together or not.
Second was to make sure all relationships across the game mattered, i.e., make all relationships deeper so that no two sims interacting would feel the same.
Another goal was to add ‘Drama of Life’. This was done in two ways. First, players could set it and second, it can also be triggered in the game, but you as the player still has control so you can say yes to no to story prompts.
Timestamp for when the Growing Together portion of the stream starts
This blog post covers the following in this order:
Create a Sim, including Family Dynamics
Two New ‘Like/Dislike Categories, Sim Characteristics and Conversation Topics
As mentioned above, my video, which is linked above, shows the CAS shared in the livestream.
The pack includes clothing and accessories for all ages, i.e. from infant through elder.
The pack style was urban casual everyday wear and vintage.
Also includes some clothing that can be coordinated across the ages (similar patterns, but not the same).
New headscarf that is separate from hair.
They collaborated with a professional hair stylist to help improve their hair catalogue & they tried to improve their baby hairs.
New freckles, moles, and body freckles.
Family Dynamics
Can set in CAS when you create them (and when you first install the pack you will be able to set them with your existing sims) or just not set it and let it be discovered through game play.
Some that were shown were jokesters, difficult, supportive. Also mentioned ‘distant’ and ‘close’ and showed ‘strict’ in the livestream (grandparent to child).
They can also be removed through a dynamic remover potion.
This dynamic will also remain when a family member moves out.
2. Likes and Dislikes
Now 50 vs 20 (this is a base game change)
Two New Categories which are the TWO main pillars of social compatibility.
Sim Characteristics
This is platonic and available for child sims and up.
Characteristics shown with some examples of what helps to add/lose points:
Ambitionless Sims
Argumentative Sims: if like this traits like Hot-Headed, Mean and Evil will gain compatibility whereas good will lose points.
Cerebral Sims: if like this, Genius, Geek & Bookworm gain points, Creative or Goofball loses points.
Egotistical Sims
Emotional Decision Makers
Family-Motivated Sims
Funny Sims
Hard Working Sims
High Energy Sims
Homebody Sims
Idealist Sims
Nature Enthusiasts
Optimistic Sims
Pessimistic Sims
Pet Enthusiasts
Rascals
Romance Enthusiasts
Spirited Sims: If like this, Outgoing, Bro Cheerful gain points. Gloomy loses points.
There are a few categories related to romance are only for teen and up.
If they like a category/dislike a category gets added up and checked against other sims they meet to see if they are compatible.
The characteristics pertain to traits, including reward traits, activity likes & dislikes and lifestyles (if you have SE and it’s enabled) of the other sims and traits across packs were considered and will also impact the sim characteristics.
Conversation Topics
Choose categories and it will affect what sims like to talk about, includes:
Affection,
Arguments,
Complaints
Compliments
Deception
Deep Thoughts
Discussing Hobbies
Discussing Interests
Gossip
Jokes
Malicious Interactions
Potty Humour
Pranks
Silly Behaviour
Small Talk
Stories
3. Social Compatibility
Sims will either have:
Good/amazing compatibility. Puzzle pieces fit together on the sim on the social panel. Easier to make friends.
Bad/awful compatibility. Puzzle pieces don’t fit on the sim on your social panel. Harder to make friends.
No compatibility no puzzle pieces on the sim on the social panel.
Note that the social interactions have subcategories that match the conversation topics (there is a reorganization of social menu to base game, however, didn’t see it and base game is not getting these new conversation topics so not sure how it will work). Some things will be left uncategorized so that they don’t get impacted by a sim’s like/dislike of a category. So there will be a learning curve as you’ll need to remember where the social interactions are, but once you do, it will be quicker to find them. It seemed to me like many of the categories would help you determine what would be underneath it.
Base Game Change re Making Friends
Some ages find it harder to gain relationship when interacting with each other but will be easier for other ages. It will add additional challenge for adding relationships across different age groups.
Example give, child will find it easier to make friends with other children.
It should be noticeable but not impossible to play with.
4. World of San Sequoia
Based on San Francisco.
No sequoia trees, but there is ‘old stumpy.’
Three neighbourhoods, Anchorpoint Wharf, Gilbert Gardens and a relaxed residential locale, Hopewell Hills. They all have a slightly different vibe, like how San Francisco has unique areas.
Has a little parklet with a pirate ship jungle gym.
There’s a marina area you can walk out on.
The Michaelson’s and one other family live in this neighbourhood.
There’s a four bedroom starter for a small family built by lilsimsie and an 30×20 empty lot.
Anchorpoint Wharf
Has the rabbit hole Movie Theater with lots of different options.
It has a bit of a city vibe, food stand which looked like it had some foods that you previously only got with City Living (samosa, ramen and a few other items, see screenshot)
and the founding family home is in this neighborhood (the Robles).
It also has a family friendly library built by Deligracy.
Foods you can order at food stand:
Movie choices:
Gilbert Gardens
Has the rec center built by lilsimsie. The rec center is a new community lot type that has game tables, work out area, you can play musical instruments, do art, & book to do social events. It is appropriate for all ages.
You can fish and swim in the lake in that neighbourhood. Keep your eye out for white claw the crocodile.
There’s also the public splash pad including Whaleburt in the neighbourhood. Splash pad pieces can be found in build/buy mode and are available to use on your home lot or any community lot.
It also has three different power walking trails for elders (seemed like hikes in Snowy Escape, the walk style just looked different).
Screenshot of the Splash Pad:
5. Milestones
For All, but Special Element for Infants
Some can be specific for ages.
Infants have milestones that impact what they can do. These specific milestones replace skill building at this age, reaching certain milestones unlocks more things they can do. They do also have lifetime milestones that are more like memories (like first fire, first temporary visitor, etc.)
Milestones for other ages more like memories, some are specific to certain ages. Some other ones mentioned, learning to ride a bike, lose a tooth (child), first woohoo, got married (young adult or older). Some milestones get little rewards. One that was shown was a marriage certificate. They also showed a milestone related to having a bladder accident. This can impact sims and how they feel. Milestones will also indicate where it happened.
Note if a sim is born in game, you will be able to look back to different ages to see their milestones (not sure how that will work with existing sims that were born and raised in the game).
6. New Things for the Different Life Stages
Newborns:
New outfits for them
New kiss interaction (available for a variety of ages)
Newborns will have temperaments; they will act differently from each other. Some will be needier, and some will be easier to care for.
Infants & Toddlers
Quirks
Both infants and toddlers can have up to three quirks that you discover through game play (18 possibilities for each age).
You can use cheats to remove the quirks and set the quirks you want them to have. The latter can be helpful if you have an idea of what personality/quirks you want them to have. Just remember to turn cheats on first to see this option (‘testingcheats on’ or ‘testingcheats true’).
Some examples shown/mentioned for infant were ‘loves to be held’, ‘frequently sneezes’, ‘prefers sleeping in arms’, ‘gassy’, ‘feeding tinkler’.
One quirk the toddler got was aggressive:
Which looked liked this in the simology panel:
Then she got the loves water quirk
Changing Tables
This comes with the pack, one wasn’t shown in base game.
If you have a diaper pail attached the diaper will go in automatically.
They can be used for infants and toddlers (unless the toddler is potty trained and doesn’t use a diaper!).
There’s also one for community lots.
Baby Proofing:
Toddlers can try to break out.
The toddler in the stream was successful in breaking out and got this moodlet!
Child
4 new child aspirations:
Slumber Party Animal
Playtime Captain
Creative Genius
Mind and Body
All under ‘Multi Skill’ category vs how the base game aspirations focused on a particular child skill.
Children have more interactions with toddlers, other children and teens (showed some mean ones as the child in the family was difficult)
Children can have low, neutral, or high confidence. If they age up with high or low confidence, they will age up with high or low esteem (if it’s neutral they will get neither).
If they have high confidence, they will have a confident buff which might make the parts of base game aspirations that require inspired/playful/focused moodlets to be harder to do, though I did notice later that the child sim still got playful playing on the playhouse so it looks like that confident moodlet may not be permanently there.
Base Game Change to child skill building. They will learn certain adult skills as soon as they start doing those interactions. The adult skill will be slower to build, but the related child skill will build more quickly. Not sure if the adult skill will continue to be slow to build once they max the underlying child skill.
Also, not child related, and also coming to base game, you will see a little picture over the skill bar as to what skill they are building (with the children they show the related child skill, not the adult one. Not sure what happens when you max the child skill).
Children need to learn to ride bikes. Once they learn they can ride it around. They can fall and hit their head and loosen their tooth. There are six new kids bikes, with their own variants.
Children can lose their teeth. They will get an uncomfortable when it’s loose (see screenshot).
They can wiggle it or take it out.
Can hide the tooth under their pillow and go to sleep.
When the tooth fairy visits, they’ll get some simoleons, a certificate and a milestone.
Adults
Things added for adults were to create drama!
Adults can now have midlife crisis!
They said there were four different mid life crises. One shown was ‘Desire for Adventure’. You can find it on the aspiration tab.
Work rivals. You can sabotage or try to make friends as a work option. While you have a work rival you won’t get a promotion. You can also try to make friends outside of work.
They’ve also added a burn out system so if you’re going to hard on one skill or working too hard you sim will indicate to you that they need a break, they need to do something different.
‘Added the opportunity to get laid off’. Their company may be going through restructuring, they can try to work harder and possibly avoid it.
Elders
Have more social interactions, including the ability to sneak a treat under the new friendly subcategory ‘affection’.
They can teach life lessons, and if you have Parenthood some of these will teach character values.
They can designate a memory box, though they can only have one.
7. Higher Number of Traits!
Self Discovery System:
Sims can get moments in the game that give them an option to get a new trait in addition to the three you give them in CAS, so your sims can add up to three new traits for up to six in total.
You may also get a prompt to change a trait. If you have a slob sim who is cleaning up, you may get the opportunity to change their trait to neat.
8. Temporary Stays
They showed Kyle asking to come, new NPC that comes with the pack. They said yes, but you can say no.
Kyle’s visit was for 6 days. It shows in the calendar, but you can delete it. Length of stay can be from 1 to 6 days.
You can also initiate the stay over by asking other sims. They were planning on asking a grandparent to come until they had this ‘story prompt’ by Kyle.
Other possibilities for temporary stay pop ups mentioned were a family friend, old friend, long lost family member that’s trying to reconnect.
Temporary stay will bring a suitcase. You can also buy suitcases in build/buy.
Suitcases will work like a dresser, but they are mobile.
You can’t control the temporary stay visitor, however you can ask them to help out or have them relax (those were the the two options mentioned). They may also start a fire if they cook, which is what happened in the livestream!
9. Objects:
Treehouse:
When you purchase the treehouse it’s completely unbuilt. The one in the livestream was already partially built.
Teen or older has to initiate building it, but once they start, a child can help with building.
It is a woohoo spot (in the hidden ‘club house enclosure’) but that wasn’t an option shown as the child was playing on the tree house.
Children can play on it or watch nature. You can also set admission rules.
Can also relax, nap, or sleep in the enclosure.
You can decorate it when it’s fully built. There are four different styles you can decorate the tree in, Fairy Tale Castle, Island Castaway, Pirate Hideout, and Space Explorer. You can also leave it undecorated.
Pirate Hideout:
Space Explorer:
You can upgrade it (requires handiness skill or debug cheat). Upgrades including adding a bell, lights, slide, & sliding pole.
You can place some things on it, to find what can be placed use the search term “Placeable on Treehouse“ in the search bar. Some things shown/mentioned were big soft friends (i.e. Barfly), toys, toy box, telescope, small planters, VR gaming mat. Any useable items placed on the treehouse will remain useable.
Friendship Bracelet:
Can make and exchange.
Can use the Friendship Bracelet box or a child activity table to make a friendship bracelet. You can also make them using the knitting bag (Nifty Knitting) or the cross stitch box (Cottage Living).
If two sims in the same household exchange friendship bracelets, they both have to have made one. If you exchange them with someone outside the household, only your sim needs to have made one. The sim in the other household will automatically have it.
Friendship bracelets will eventually wear out and fall off.
Once you exchange a friendship bracelet, there is a new interaction you can do under Affection.
If you do that interaction in front of another friend, they may be a little jealous
Can also ask to have it back and the sim will get a hurt sentiment.
New Options for Game Table:
Game tables have two new options for the pack, puzzles and simbles, in addition to the base game cards. You will also be able to do other games depending on what packs you have.
They showed a puzzle from reference.
Sims can steal a puzzle piece and then place it at the end and ‘steal the finish’.
You can frame a completed puzzle and put it on the walls or put it in your keepsake box.
10. Three New Social Events:
They mentioned the three events but didn’t show them or say much about them. They did say that you can hold social events even if you have a visitor staying over.
Baby Shower – you don’t need a pregnant sim, so you can be telling the story of adopting (probably also works for the ‘science baby’ which is coming with the March 14, 2023 base game update).
Family Reunion – per a tweet can also invite extended family, close family friends. It also mentions that in the description when you go to fp
Reward for family reunion are collage photo frames.
Slumber Party
Tweet with one of the Slumber Party reward objects and a tweet reply saying there is also a basic version of the toddler sleeping bag in build buy mode:
Don't worry! There is also a basic toddler sleeping bag that isn't a reward you can get directly from Build/Buy anytime. pic.twitter.com/6pHuOpE7oA
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 5, 2023
This blog post includes links & summarizes what was in the video::
I) June 13/22 Surprise SDX II) June 14/22 Game Update (expected timing, what’s expected in it & how to prepare, & III) Random Tweets re Items in the Werewolves Game Pack (Jun 13/22).
1) Surprise SDX (June 13/22):
FYI, if you go in your game you will see there is an SDX, this is just to prepare the game for tomorrow’s update, no new content was added per this tweet by the Sims. But it looks like we’re getting meteors to go along with the new ‘back pocket observatory’ (i.e. the new telescope, see below for more information on that!)
II) June 14/22 Game Update
Expected Timing
The usual time for game updates is 10 am Pacific, here’s a screenshot of when that is in a few time zones:
Lunar cycles affect werewolves (and other occults) more than regular sims, but regular sims are impacted a bit too. Kids can ask about the lunar cycles. You can customize lunar cycles, i.e. their length, freeze it on one cycle and turn it off completely.
Screenshot from LivestreamScreenshot from LivestreamScreenshot from Livestream
3) New beard
Screenshot from livestream, same beard, two different angles:
4) Two new terrain paints
Note new items added to base game do not show with a ‘new’ flag.
Information on the new ‘bus object’ (Link to tweet):
Link to my blog post overview of the Sims 4 Werewolves livestream.
Contact Me:
If you have any questions, need troubleshooting help or want to share your own Sims game play with other friendly Simmers please head over to my Facebook group, Sims Sanctuary or my Discord
Majority of assets are gender neutral Two cute outfits for toddlers Something for kids – showed hat, 3 hairstyles & one outfit but I wasn’t sure if that was everything. One new aspiration in CAS (new category too), once you complete it, you unlock four other aspirations, so five in total.
New fuller beard coming to base game with update.
Werewolf CAS:
You can link/unlink forms Werewolf fur has the same customizations that cats and dogs fur has Werewolves can wear clothes or not Werewolves don’t wear shoes While toddler and up are considered werewolves, only teen and up have beast forms.
Some werewolf examples from the livestream
Note I included a sped up version of the CAS in my highlights video, this shows CAS items available for everyone & items for creating werewolves.
Note along with the beard, lunar cycles are coming in the base game update, as are two new terrain paints. Lunar cycles affect werewolves (and other occults) more than regular sims, but regular sims are impacted a bit too. Kids can ask about the lunar cycles. You can customize lunar cycles, i.e. their length, freeze it on one cycle and turn it off completely.
They showed how the tunnels worked. They are rabbit holes with pop ups where you decide what to do (reminds me a bit of space adventures). You can unlock paths to quick travel between the 3 tunnel entrances. They can be more dangerous for non werewolves.
We see Greg, who is a werewolf, seems to be a loner and is hard to befriend. But if you do, you can woohoo with him.
Werewolf Greg
Werewolves, including Greg, can be seen in other worlds. However, you can disable that under pack settings.
Here are the ways to become a werewolf:
Create a new sim as a werewolf in CAS
Born in game (greater blood vs dormant?)
Create in game:
ask to be turned into a werewolf
or get werebies (from bite or from tunnel adventures).
Being asked is the quicker of the two options to turn a regular sim into a werewolf, but the second one you can be ‘cured’ before you turn into a werewolf.
They showed a sim turning into a werewolf after asking to become one and showed the different stages (they get very uncomfortable and their hunger goes down very quickly so they need to eat a lot during the time between getting bitten and becoming a werewolf. They will rampage the first time they become a werewolf. My highlights video includes footage from the stream where the sim was bitten (after asking) and when the sim becomes a werewolf for the first time.
There are two werewolf packs, Moonwood Collective (Kristopher is the leader) vs The Wildfangs (Rory is the leader). Here is a screenshot of some of the sims in the pack, Kristopher and Rory are shown.
There is lots of lore in the new pack. You can learn some by talking to the residents of Moonwood Mill. You can also learn some lore on the new Werewolf Books. Werewolves, especially those with certain abilities, can get more from the books (these aren’t skill books). More details on new books, from tweet shared after the livestream:
Only teens and up can have a ‘beast’ form, but toddlers and children can learn to howl, they can get growing pains, toddlers can bite their toy, and children will get excited about beating up their siblings like they are the alpha of the house.
They showed ‘fury’ and what it does, if it maxes they will go on a rampage, temperaments can build fury. Werewolves can have 22 temperaments, 18 appear naturally and 4 are unique (see tweet).
Werewolves have abilities – some (25) you buy with points as they level up and 6 that are dormant. Here’s a link to the SimsVIP article where they show the ones they were able to see when the SimGurus hovered over them in the livestream.
Build/Buy:
The objects look grungy to tie to the look of werewolves reclaiming things from abandoned buildings. They mentioned learning more in the game, so I expect we will get more information in their catalogue descriptions.
We will be getting two new terrain paints in the base game update that have been used in the new world.
I show a sped up version of what was shown in the livestream in my highlights video, but here’s a couple of screenshots:
Telescopes coming with the pack, however there is a telescope coming with the base game update that precedes the pack. Link to tweet.
If you have any questions, need troubleshooting help or want to share your own Sims game play with other Simmers please head over to my Facebook group, Sims Sanctuary or my Discord.
I thought I’d create a post that has information on issues and workarounds/mods to help with wedding ceremonies in the new My Wedding Stories game pack.
Wedding Ceremonies
My Wedding Stories has a lot of bugs and doesn’t seem to work properly. That said, I’ve been able to hold a successful wedding ceremony, even without using mods, see my video here to see that in action (and to see some of the issues 😊 )
If you’d like to see it, part 1 shows my set up of the wedding.
Here’s a link to my video where I show how weddings turn out with the use of some of the mods I mention in the mods section below. 😊
⚠️Note if you use the TOOL mod, there was an update for it to be compatible with the new world without the update you can’t see the new word. ⚠️
Sims can’t get married with an officiant: If your sims can’t get married if they try to use an officiant, the action will hang. Cancel/reset your sims and choose either say vows or say vows and kiss. Do not choose an option with an officiant. I recommend not asking anyone to be an officiant at all, I noticed that my sim of honour, etc. didn’t stick when I asked a sim to be an officiant. I think this may be the EA AHQ report for this issue: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/MWS-No-way-to-activate-the-officiant/m-p/11316525#M208162
Wedding cakes will spoil, even if they are put in the fridge. See mods (one by Ravasheen & in Bienchen’s mod batch) linked in the mod area that can help with that. Alternatively, if a sim with the ‘fresh chef’ trait makes the cake, it will never spoil. You get this trait by completing the chef aspiration, or you can use the cheat ‘traits.equip_trait Trait_FreshChef’ to add it to one of your sims, just make sure cheats are on (‘testingcheats on’ or ‘testingcheats true’, don’t include the quotes for any of the cheats noted here).
Cut the cake doesn’t work, unless you place it in the middle of a round dining table (thanks to Bienchen for that tip). Feeding cake to your spouse will also complete the tradition.
Guests don’t show up in wedding attire (this has a bug report on EA AHQ). Carl’s mod, linked below, can help with this or alternatively you can use Bienchen’s mod, also mentioned below (you need to choose one or the other as they conflict).
Only one sim can walk down the aisle, action will freeze if you try to get two sims to walk down together. I recommend only using one sim to walk down the aisle, or I have had luck sending two sims ‘up’ the aisle. Carl’s mod helps with this too.
Can’t walk down the aisle with a wedding bouquet.EA AHQ report. I just recommend not using a bouquet when you walk down an aisle, or if you can/do use mods, this is also fixed with Carl’s mod.
Issues with doing a toast: If you want to do a toast, have your sim request someone else to toast, this will complete the tradition.
Can’t toss bouquet: I have had success throwing the bouquet when you specify who is to catch it. If you are having problems, try resetting the sim who is doing the bouquet throw.
My Wedding Stories Laundry List:
Note that EA released a My Wedding Stories Laundry List on March 3, 2022 which listed some of the things they are working on and hope to have in a game update soon, though this will follow an already planned update that will precede it. I expect the planned update will be for the release of the next unnamed Kit. See my video on that.
Mods to Help With My Wedding Stories:
Note choose which wedding fix mod you want to use as they will conflict with each other. So either use the Carl Sims wedding fix mod, Zero’s wedding fix mod, or the appropriate Bienchen mods.
Carl Sims Wedding Fix Mod:
Carl Sims has released a new version of his mod that adds base game weddings pack if you have the pack, among other things. Here’s the link if you use mods (you need both files and script mods need to be enabled, the latest version was released Feb 28). Just place these mods directly in your mods folder, they do not need to be unzipped. https://www.patreon.com/posts/wedding-stories-62954976
Screenshot with details on what Carl’s mod fixes (the final version has all the fixes in the prior versions).
Details on what Carl’s mod fixes (the final version has all the fixes in the prior versions)
TwistedMexis Dual Wedding Systems Mod:
If you just want to add base game weddings back, TwistedMexis has what he calls a ‘light weight mod’ that let’s you do that. Now available to the public. https://www.patreon.com/posts/63098728
Bienchen Batch Mods that Includes Mods that Help with MWS:
Bienchen has released some mods to help with My Wedding Stories issues – available as a batch download. The batch download also has a notes file to explain what is there. I took all the english notes and compiled them into a document, which I’ve also included a screenshot of below, along with notes from Bienchen from the forums post. There are a number that tweak or fix issues with the pack, you just need to choose the ones you want. They are all zipped so you need to unzip the ones you want. https://simfileshare.net/download/2993490/
English Only Version of Bienchen notes for 20220228 Batch Download
This second link has mods by Zero that help with MWS wedding issues, though it seems to me that some/all of these issues are fixed by Carl’s mods and as I mentioned at the beginning of this section the mods that fix the wedding bugs will quite likely conflict. https://www.patreon.com/posts/my-wedding-fixes-63037455
9 lots in two neighbourhoods: 2 are empty (1 is a beach lot), 2 residential with families already in them, 2 empty starter homes, 1 wedding venue, which is a new lot type coming to base game, 1 lounge & 1 rental lot.
There are also 5 wedding venues on the gallery. All lots were made by game changers one of which works on the empty beach lot.
As stated previously, you can swim in the water.
Kids can play in the sand here, that doesn’t require Island Living.
You can also draw in the sand (new for this pack).
New collection ‘message in a bottle’
There is a lot of lore in the world and the two families have some lore between them.
The two sims in the trailer (Cam and Dom) are in the game and you can find them in Tartosa, but they are not placed on a lot in the world.
You can learn the lore by chatting with the locals after you’ve befriended them. Cam is a painter and will tell you scenic locations for painting. Dom is the town historian, and you can learn more lore from her.
Town square has a ‘city hall’ where your sims can get married immediately.
You can find kiosks here. Two for food (Indian and Chinese, there will be more options available if you have other packs), one for cake, one for flowers & one for wedding dress (the wedding ones can be done from menus too).
Lots of pretty places in both neighbourhoods to get nice pictures.
Clothes
Boutonnieres
Formal clothes and hairstyles
Boutonnieres for males found under necklaces.
From their description, it seems like the veil is part of a hairstyle.
Weddings
6 Event Options for Engaged Sims
You use the ‘add wedding event option’.
There are 7 types of events under weddings, you will see 6 if your couple is engaged (‘Bach’ Party, Reception, Rehearsal Dinner, Engagement Dinner, Family Gathering, Wedding Ceremony). The 7th one appears for sims who are already married – ‘vow renewal’.
They showed the wedding ceremony, and it is very customizable. You can set the activities, but unlike with social events, they are optional to do even if you’ve included them. It appears you can add as many activities as you want. I expect that all the ‘wedding events’ are equally customizable. You can also edit the event after you set it up and before the wedding happens (when you use the calendar).
Note that you need to ask the sim of honour, flower pal, etc. in the game vs just assigning it when you set it up. They may say no.
Wedding Cake
Some Wedding Cake Options When Sims Make it With Gourmet Cooking Skill
You can buy it online, at the kiosk or make it yourself (you need the gourmet cooking skill), from what I could see the cost was the same regardless of buying or making (despite them commenting re ‘budget weddings’ and making the cake yourself).
There are 9 different shapes and many different flavours/colours.
10 different types of toppers and many different colour/swatches of those toppers.
You can inscribe a message on the topping and keep the topper with message as a memento afterwards.
Flowers
Kiosk for Buying Flowers & Bouquets
If you place the bouquet in the world a glass vase gets added.
You can make the bouquets if you have Seasons and it sounded like you got more options with the Seasons’ flowers
Dancing
Interactions While Slow Dancing
Slow dancing plus has additional interactions while slow dancing (kiss, flirt & chat)
Plus adult dancing with a child (as saw in trailer)
Group dancing like the macarena
(noticed that the sim gained the fitness skill when she started dancing, got to level 3 very quickly!)
Other Build/Buy Objects
Types of Tea
Two tea sets that you can use. They have more interactions when you use them in a wedding ceremony
5 wedding arches
New piano
New bar with a bar back that has room for décor like photos and flowers.
New Buffet Table (Food that gets served is the same as what you see in the kiosk), toasting bucket and drink fountain (i.e. table and drink fountain are already in Luxury Party)
Aisle (short, medium and long), with flowers and with no sides that you can decorate.
Dance floor (three sizes)
Base Game Update
Formal outfits getting more swatches, girls dress in the holiday pack has more colours too.
Wedding arches getting more swatches
Previously mentioned new lot type – wedding venue
Useful Links
Link to the Sims full livestream on Twitch and on YouTube
Maple Simmer 