Tag: Game Update

Infant and Baby Update (Sims 4)

Summary of the Infant and Baby Update part of the March 3, 2023 Developer Livestream:

Note this will be included in the base game update coming Tuesday, March 14, 2023. Usual time for updates is 10 am Pacific. Link for when that will be in your own time zone.

I also have a video overview.

New Build/Buy Stuff!

We’re getting lots of new things including the following:

  • a new bassinet!
  • 3 new infant sensory toys,
  • more décor (including two rugs with different patterns),
  • new bookshelf for the wall (noticed an option on it to ‘read to children’,
  • more décor (including two rugs with different patterns),
  • different cribs, including one portable crib,
  • also, some cribs can be converted to toddler beds at a cost,
  • some cribs can be upgraded, one upgrade they showed in the livestream was a mobile (two variations, one birds, one space theme) could be added.
  • new fence with new locking option ‘baby proofing’. This can be applied to doors and gates.

“Science Baby!”

Your sim can now have a baby in a new way and they can have it on their own (i.e. only using their genetics) or they can choose another sim that they know and have a friendly or romantic relationship with (but does not have to be a romantic relationship)

It costs 1,200 simoleons and the sim initiating it will leave and when they come back the baby will be on the lot. It seems like how adoption works. Sims using this option will not experience pregnancy.

Babies also getting an update!

The game currently only use 3 skin tones for babies, they will now get the full gamut.

Babies will get an eye colour to reflect their eye colour and their movements have been changed to make them seem more like newborns.

Baby life stage will be shorter, other life stages extended so you can be around to hopefully enjoy grandkids (no details on how they were lengthened, I wonder if this is only going to be for normal lifespan since the baby life span on the long lifespan has already been shortened )

Menu on baby reorganized to have care interactions in one place.

Kids and toddlers can now ‘entertain’ babies.

Interactions more seamless, they won’t put the baby down before they do the next interaction.

If you have Seasons, the baby will react to being outside in bad weather (cold/rain/storms)

Sims will autonomously look after babies better than before.

Now can set in CAS under gender options whether a sim produces milk.

Infants:

We can control them, they mention they have the same needs as other sims but I didn’t notice them showing their needs menu (i.e. bladder, hunger, energy, fun, attention and hygiene).

You can set a preference to bottle or breast feed on the infant (and on a baby/newborn).

6 traits: Cautious, Sensitive, Calm, Intense, Wiggly, Sunny

Infants can be fully customized in CAS when you create them. If you age them up, you will not be able to change their traits without cheats.

Stork bites, which have different colours and will ‘fade’ (i.e., go away when they age up).

However we are also getting birth marks for all ages, which have different colours to go with different skin tones as well as stretch marks and C-section scars, which The Sims previously tweeted about, and I have a separate video on.

Infants will also have Attachment – a well cared for infant (i.e., sims are caring for the infant and spending time with them) will not get as upset about waiting as they know their needs will be looked after.  An infant who hasn’t had their needs met in the past will be extra sad about waiting for their needs to be looked after. When infants age up to toddler, they can age up with one of the following three traits depending on how well they were looked after.

  • Happy infant for a sim that formed a good bond and therefore trusts that sims have good intentions.
  • Top notch (natch?) infant if they were very well cared for, which also means they trust their caregivers specifically.
  • Unhappy infant, if you intentionally push to the other end, this will make them more skeptical of sims, they have a hard time trusting the intentions of those sims.

There is a selection of different baby foods you can feed your infants (these are the ones I saw, but it looked like there were a few more):

Infants will either like, love, be unsure or dislike a new food. Their trait can impact how they react.

Note that while you can feed the infants in the high chair, exploring foods in the high chair is more about establishing moments of care, trying new things & exploring the world around them. Infants will primarily satisfy their hunger by being bottle or breast fed.

Highchairs will be fixed in the update. Sims will not take their toddlers in and out like they currently do. This fix will also apply to infants use of the high chair.

Cross Pack Integration Mentioned:

Cats and Dogs – infants can pet dogs (hopefully cats too!)

Parenthood – higher parenthood skill helps with parenting infants. As it increases, you will find new ways to take better care of your infants.

Nifty Knitting – infants get onesies (I wonder if they will be toddler onesies or the baby onesies).

Contact Me:

If you have any questions or want to share your own Sims game play with other Simmers head over to my Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/maplesimmersimssanctuary or my discord, https://discord.gg/aJaX7Pca8A

Sims 4 October 11, 2022 Game Update

Video link where I go over the Oct 11/22 Sims 4 game update – what’s new, including the updated help system & the gift from ‘Emily’, what’s been fixed, the mod impact, & some kit icons found in the code!

Update Notes:

EA Site
Sims Forum

Other Links:

Forum post tracking mod impact

October 4, 2022 Laundry list & my video on it.

Sims Direct Tweet re Update

Sims Tweet re “Behind the Sims Summit” reminder

EA Blog post re the “Behind the Sims Summit” and my video on it.

Sims Community article re ‘leaked’ kit icons
& forum post re the same

Link to my tutorial video on how to prepare for a game update:

Tweets from members of the EA Creator Network get these VIP invites for the Behind the Sims Summit on October 18th, 2022:

https://twitter.com/MeaganJo_Sims/status/1578493423124119552
https://twitter.com/Vihisha/status/1578512061981917184
https://twitter.com/AndrewArcade/status/1578455402026782720
https://twitter.com/SpringSims/status/1578394972231008261
https://twitter.com/KawaiiStacie/status/1578429335718879234

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. I can also be found on Twitter and Instagram.

Common Issues Since the July 26, 2022 Game Update (Sims 4)

Updates as for Aug 2 Game Update & Video

Video Link

Link to Aug 2/22 update notes: https://www.ea.com/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/news/update-08-02-2022

Link to EA’s Mod Policy: https://help.ea.com/en/help/the-sims/the-sims-4/mods-and-the-sims-4-game-updates/

Link to Sims4Studio: https://sims4studio.com/board/6/download-sims-studio-open-version

New bug reports referred to in video:

Aging Settings Broken: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/Aging-Settings-Broken/td-p/11668082 Sims Greyed out When Travelling for Festivals: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/Sims-greyed-out-for-quot-Travel-with-quot-option-for-Festivals/m-p/11692219#M224695

Original Post After July 26/22 Update:

There have been a number of issues with the game since the July 26, 2022 game update and I will try and summarize some of the more common ones here.

The biggest issue is with aging, both on the long lifespan and short lifespan. This issue is so big EA has a message about it on your main menu, this appeared on July 27:

They are recommending you back up your saves and temporarily play on a Normal Lifespan. I recommend avoiding any saves where you currently play on Long or Short Lifespan. Also, while turning aging off is one option, make sure you change the Lifespan to Normal before turning off aging, otherwise there are reports that the issue persists.

I did a separate video on the long term issue and how to use the no aging option.

I also did a video on how to recover your save for those who play on computer. Unfortunately that’s not an option for console.

Link to Bug Report for the Aging Issues:

  1. Issues with Long Lifespan but there is a little discussion of the issues with a Short Lifespan too. Note sims get days added if you play on a Long Lifespan, they seem to get days removed, i.e. they become younger, if you play on a Short Lifespan

Other Non Mod Related Issues Since the Update:

Here are some other issues I’ve seen noted on EA AHQ with links to their bug reports. If your issue isn’t here, I recommend going over to the Sims 4 Bug Section of EA AHQ and looking for the issue you are experiencing.

Here’s a screenshot of a Tweet by SimGuruNick re the first issue noted here:

  1. Wants/Fears: Sim wants to ask a relative to be GF/BF Note EA Cade has responded to this report to say the Sims Team is looking into this. SimGuruNick has also tweeted (see above screenshot) to say they can reproduce this and are working on it. I have uploaded a room to the gallery with 5 want refresher potions so you can use that to get rid of wants you don’t want and not use any reward points (each want refresher potion is 200 reward points).
  2. Lifespan duration for teens and adult sims changed on Normal Lifespan Now 21 and 33 days respectively, normal lifespan, I’m wondering if this is by design.
  3. Sims turning into celebrities since update
  4. Most sims greyed out when trying to travel
  5. Excessive use of cell phone while walking
  6. NPC roles not filling regular positions I was playing in Henford-on-Bagley so noticed that there.
  7. Sim resetting when queueing livestream (no HSY Pack) This impacts Sims in the Tech Guru career & Social Media career. LittleMsSam has released a mod to fix this, see her Random Small Mods.
  8. Child sims can’t quit afterschool activities
  9. Elders can’t retire Carl’s Sims 4 Guide has a mod (free Patreon) that fixes this.
  10. Traits from other packs don’t have wants associated with them
    Note this doesn’t have a lot of Me Too’s but I did also see this Twitter response from SimGuruGeorge re wants and packs.

10. Elders can’t retire. Carl Sims has a mod for that now. His Patreon link (free)

Bug Template to Use When Making Reports on EA AHQ

You should be prompted to use this template, however if you aren’t, then just copy and paste this and fill in the details.

Product: The Sims 4
Platform:
Which language are you playing the game in?
How often does the bug occur?
What is your current game version number?
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed?
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves?
What happens when the bug occurs?
What do you expect to see?
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods?
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system?

Mod Issues

Most mods broke with the game update so make sure to check all your mods to see if they broke and if they’ve been updated. Many have already been updated including MCCC, UI Cheats, Twisted Mexi mods, Wonderful Whims and LittleMsSam mods.

As of early on July 28, 2022 here is a statement re Kawaii Stacie mods:

One common issue I see mentioned is not being able to change your hair colour in Create-A-Sim, my understanding is this is caused by the More Columns mod by Weerbesu which has been updated.

There’s a Sim forum post that tracks what broke, what’s been updated and what’s fine which is a great source to check.

Another source is Scarlet’s mod tracking list, this includes mature mods, the Sims forums don’t allow mention of mods that increase the games’ rating.

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. Either I or other members will try to answer any troubleshooting questions and I also have some guides that can help in my Facebook group. I can also be found on Twitter and Instagram