The Sims 2 base game only had the swing sets as playground equipment. The monkey bars, lookout tower, playground slide and merry-go-round were added in the last expansion pack, Apartment Life.
Have you seen sim kids playing on the monkey bars in TS4? I find the animations really sweet.
Whenever those of us who want more "family play" brings the topic up, a lot of players don't fully understand what we're talking about. So, here's an illustration.
I just opened the game and went in to play the Vaile household. Dalton Vaile is a single parent. His son, Coleman, just celebrated his birthday, turning from a baby to a child. (In my way of thinking, that makes Coleman about 6 years old.)
Here's what I found:
This little 6-year-old is home alone at 6:00 AM, sitting in a darkened room, probably wondering where his father is. It's wrong, IMO, for EA (or any developer) to give us a game that has such a lackadaisical attitude toward children. You can argue that "It's only a game", and you're right, but for players like me who want to create families with some semblance of a normal life, this is heartbreaking. I think this one facet of the game clearly shows the developers' feelings toward "families" and "family play".
ETA: I found Coleman's father at the park.
In reading responses, I'm truly surprised so few people understand the point I'm making. Obviously I haven't conveyed my thoughts too well. I do think it's wrong that EA doesn't code the game to prevent children being home alone. It was a feature in Sims 2, and we're years down the road from that version. My point is that EA obviously doesn't consider children important to the game. They don't seem to care whether or not there's any semblance of reality with children. They "poof" from their cribs to become school age children in a flash. They go to bars. They're left home alone. EA's treatment of children suggest that they don't consider them important, consequently family play isn't important.
Yes, seeing little Coleman home alone is story fodder. In fact, the last time I played that household, Coleman's father was worried that he wasn't being a good parent. It's a long story, but sure, he's struggling. I doubt, though, that he'd slip out at night at leave a six-year-old home alone.
I'll shut up about it now. Thanks for listening.
I have a question for you. I don't play Sims4 but want to make sure I understand what you are saying. The child is home alone, dad is at the park when you log in. Where were they when you logged out the last play session you had before that? Are you saying that while you are logged out the game makes your sims do things so when you log back in they are not where you left them? Or, are you rotating play among different families? I can see the game having your sim do something weird if you were playing another family and are not in control of Coleman's family. If so, I can see that this is where Sims4 dev's need to develop a system that you can set up to not allow a family to do certain things while you don't control them. (like leave a child alone, get married, divorced or woohoo with the mailman etc)
Yes, I'm a rotational player so no matter where I leave my sims when I switch families, they'll either be standing on the street desperately needing to pee or scattered about town on various lots when I next play that family. I find those game mechanics absurd. Whenever a player goes to a home, why can't the game assemble all the bits and bytes and pixels to make family members appear either at home or, if during working/school hours, at those logical places. I switch households around 4:00-6:00 AM so finding my sims in odd places really jolts me, especially when it means a child is home alone.
Whenever those of us who want more "family play" brings the topic up, a lot of players don't fully understand what we're talking about. So, here's an illustration.
I just opened the game and went in to play the Vaile household. Dalton Vaile is a single parent. His son, Coleman, just celebrated his birthday, turning from a baby to a child. (In my way of thinking, that makes Coleman about 6 years old.)
Here's what I found:
This little 6-year-old is home alone at 6:00 AM, sitting in a darkened room, probably wondering where his father is. It's wrong, IMO, for EA (or any developer) to give us a game that has such a lackadaisical attitude toward children. You can argue that "It's only a game", and you're right, but for players like me who want to create families with some semblance of a normal life, this is heartbreaking. I think this one facet of the game clearly shows the developers' feelings toward "families" and "family play".
ETA: I found Coleman's father at the park.
In reading responses, I'm truly surprised so few people understand the point I'm making. Obviously I haven't conveyed my thoughts too well. I do think it's wrong that EA doesn't code the game to prevent children being home alone. It was a feature in Sims 2, and we're years down the road from that version. My point is that EA obviously doesn't consider children important to the game. They don't seem to care whether or not there's any semblance of reality with children. They "poof" from their cribs to become school age children in a flash. They go to bars. They're left home alone. EA's treatment of children suggest that they don't consider them important, consequently family play isn't important.
Yes, seeing little Coleman home alone is story fodder. In fact, the last time I played that household, Coleman's father was worried that he wasn't being a good parent. It's a long story, but sure, he's struggling. I doubt, though, that he'd slip out at night at leave a six-year-old home alone.
I'll shut up about it now. Thanks for listening.
I have a question for you. I don't play Sims4 but want to make sure I understand what you are saying. The child is home alone, dad is at the park when you log in. Where were they when you logged out the last play session you had before that? Are you saying that while you are logged out the game makes your sims do things so when you log back in they are not where you left them? Or, are you rotating play among different families? I can see the game having your sim do something weird if you were playing another family and are not in control of Coleman's family. If so, I can see that this is where Sims4 dev's need to develop a system that you can set up to not allow a family to do certain things while you don't control them. (like leave a child alone, get married, divorced or woohoo with the mailman etc)
Nope, Sims don't go out on their own and do things outside of the lot they're on, and they definitely do not travel to other lots on their own. So OP, had dad at the park, therefore that was his own fault for letting him miss his son's birthday and leaving the child at the house alone. And a lack of notification wouldn't necessarily be reason to miss the fact that the sim child in your house is aging up because the game notifies you of an upcoming bday several days in advance, and then throughout the day (I think 3 times, once the day hits, somewhere like an hour or two before? and then when they're literally aging up). And if said sim is aging up then usually the Sims will drop what they're doing and celebrate if they choose to blow out candles/make a wish on the cake, afaik.
Yes, in rotational play, sims DO go out on their own and do things outside of their lot. They do this via the game mechanics. When I last played the Vaile household, both father and son were home when I exited. BTW, Dad didn't miss his son's birthday. Dad celebrated with his son, bought him an activity table, and vowed to be a better father. That's where I left them. After playing other families, I came back to find Dalton at the park and Coleman home alone. Usually I return to find them lined up on the sidewalk ready to beeline to the bathroom.
I play 6 complete rotations before a baby becomes a child because I choose when to age them up. One complete rotation is the same as one year in my game, so on the sixth rotation, I age the baby to a school-age child who is starting first grade. My complaint about game mechanics has nothing to do with birthdays, nannies, or notifications.
Whenever those of us who want more "family play" brings the topic up, a lot of players don't fully understand what we're talking about. So, here's an illustration.
I just opened the game and went in to play the Vaile household. Dalton Vaile is a single parent. His son, Coleman, just celebrated his birthday, turning from a baby to a child. (In my way of thinking, that makes Coleman about 6 years old.)
Here's what I found:
This little 6-year-old is home alone at 6:00 AM, sitting in a darkened room, probably wondering where his father is. It's wrong, IMO, for EA (or any developer) to give us a game that has such a lackadaisical attitude toward children. You can argue that "It's only a game", and you're right, but for players like me who want to create families with some semblance of a normal life, this is heartbreaking. I think this one facet of the game clearly shows the developers' feelings toward "families" and "family play".
ETA: I found Coleman's father at the park.
In reading responses, I'm truly surprised so few people understand the point I'm making. Obviously I haven't conveyed my thoughts too well. I do think it's wrong that EA doesn't code the game to prevent children being home alone. It was a feature in Sims 2, and we're years down the road from that version. My point is that EA obviously doesn't consider children important to the game. They don't seem to care whether or not there's any semblance of reality with children. They "poof" from their cribs to become school age children in a flash. They go to bars. They're left home alone. EA's treatment of children suggest that they don't consider them important, consequently family play isn't important.
Yes, seeing little Coleman home alone is story fodder. In fact, the last time I played that household, Coleman's father was worried that he wasn't being a good parent. It's a long story, but sure, he's struggling. I doubt, though, that he'd slip out at night at leave a six-year-old home alone.
I'll shut up about it now. Thanks for listening.
I have a question for you. I don't play Sims4 but want to make sure I understand what you are saying. The child is home alone, dad is at the park when you log in. Where were they when you logged out the last play session you had before that? Are you saying that while you are logged out the game makes your sims do things so when you log back in they are not where you left them? Or, are you rotating play among different families? I can see the game having your sim do something weird if you were playing another family and are not in control of Coleman's family. If so, I can see that this is where Sims4 dev's need to develop a system that you can set up to not allow a family to do certain things while you don't control them. (like leave a child alone, get married, divorced or woohoo with the mailman etc)
Yes, I'm a rotational player so no matter where I leave my sims when I switch families, they'll either be standing on the street desperately needing to pee or scattered about town on various lots when I next play that family. I find those game mechanics absurd. Whenever a player goes to a home, why can't the game assemble all the bits and bytes and pixels to make family members appear either at home or, if during working/school hours, at those logical places. I switch households around 4:00-6:00 AM so finding my sims in odd places really jolts me, especially when it means a child is home alone.
Thank for answering. I do understand your frustration and it is a shame they cannot set up some kind of system to keep those kind of things from happening, yet allow your sims to be part of the community when you are not actively playing that family. In Sims3 I use the nraas caste system to control my rotation families so I don't have to worry about them getting divorced or having relationships that I would not approve of etc. It is a shame we have to rely on modders, but, thank goodness they are out there to help us in truth 'rule' our games.
Whenever those of us who want more "family play" brings the topic up, a lot of players don't fully understand what we're talking about. So, here's an illustration.
I just opened the game and went in to play the Vaile household. Dalton Vaile is a single parent. His son, Coleman, just celebrated his birthday, turning from a baby to a child. (In my way of thinking, that makes Coleman about 6 years old.)
Here's what I found:
This little 6-year-old is home alone at 6:00 AM, sitting in a darkened room, probably wondering where his father is. It's wrong, IMO, for EA (or any developer) to give us a game that has such a lackadaisical attitude toward children. You can argue that "It's only a game", and you're right, but for players like me who want to create families with some semblance of a normal life, this is heartbreaking. I think this one facet of the game clearly shows the developers' feelings toward "families" and "family play".
ETA: I found Coleman's father at the park.
In reading responses, I'm truly surprised so few people understand the point I'm making. Obviously I haven't conveyed my thoughts too well. I do think it's wrong that EA doesn't code the game to prevent children being home alone. It was a feature in Sims 2, and we're years down the road from that version. My point is that EA obviously doesn't consider children important to the game. They don't seem to care whether or not there's any semblance of reality with children. They "poof" from their cribs to become school age children in a flash. They go to bars. They're left home alone. EA's treatment of children suggest that they don't consider them important, consequently family play isn't important.
Yes, seeing little Coleman home alone is story fodder. In fact, the last time I played that household, Coleman's father was worried that he wasn't being a good parent. It's a long story, but sure, he's struggling. I doubt, though, that he'd slip out at night at leave a six-year-old home alone.
I'll shut up about it now. Thanks for listening.
I have a question for you. I don't play Sims4 but want to make sure I understand what you are saying. The child is home alone, dad is at the park when you log in. Where were they when you logged out the last play session you had before that? Are you saying that while you are logged out the game makes your sims do things so when you log back in they are not where you left them? Or, are you rotating play among different families? I can see the game having your sim do something weird if you were playing another family and are not in control of Coleman's family. If so, I can see that this is where Sims4 dev's need to develop a system that you can set up to not allow a family to do certain things while you don't control them. (like leave a child alone, get married, divorced or woohoo with the mailman etc)
Nope, Sims don't go out on their own and do things outside of the lot they're on, and they definitely do not travel to other lots on their own. So OP, had dad at the park, therefore that was his own fault for letting him miss his son's birthday and leaving the child at the house alone. And a lack of notification wouldn't necessarily be reason to miss the fact that the sim child in your house is aging up because the game notifies you of an upcoming bday several days in advance, and then throughout the day (I think 3 times, once the day hits, somewhere like an hour or two before? and then when they're literally aging up). And if said sim is aging up then usually the Sims will drop what they're doing and celebrate if they choose to blow out candles/make a wish on the cake, afaik.
Yes, in rotational play, sims DO go out on their own and do things outside of their lot. They do this via the game mechanics. When I last played the Vaile household, both father and son were home when I exited. BTW, Dad didn't miss his son's birthday. Dad celebrated with his son, bought him an activity table, and vowed to be a better father. That's where I left them. After playing other families, I came back to find Dalton at the park and Coleman home alone. Usually I return to find them lined up on the sidewalk ready to beeline to the bathroom.
I play 6 complete rotations before a baby becomes a child because I choose when to age them up. One complete rotation is the same as one year in my game, so on the sixth rotation, I age the baby to a school-age child who is starting first grade. My complaint about game mechanics has nothing to do with birthdays, nannies, or notifications.
Weird, because I don't experience that in my rotations aside from Sims being on the street, but never being misplaced on different lots. But apologies if you felt offended, and I must of misunderstood or misread something somewhere because people seemed to have made it out that the father had missed the birthday which is why I mentioned notifications.
Whenever those of us who want more "family play" brings the topic up, a lot of players don't fully understand what we're talking about. So, here's an illustration.
I just opened the game and went in to play the Vaile household. Dalton Vaile is a single parent. His son, Coleman, just celebrated his birthday, turning from a baby to a child. (In my way of thinking, that makes Coleman about 6 years old.)
Here's what I found:
This little 6-year-old is home alone at 6:00 AM, sitting in a darkened room, probably wondering where his father is. It's wrong, IMO, for EA (or any developer) to give us a game that has such a lackadaisical attitude toward children. You can argue that "It's only a game", and you're right, but for players like me who want to create families with some semblance of a normal life, this is heartbreaking. I think this one facet of the game clearly shows the developers' feelings toward "families" and "family play".
ETA: I found Coleman's father at the park.
In reading responses, I'm truly surprised so few people understand the point I'm making. Obviously I haven't conveyed my thoughts too well. I do think it's wrong that EA doesn't code the game to prevent children being home alone. It was a feature in Sims 2, and we're years down the road from that version. My point is that EA obviously doesn't consider children important to the game. They don't seem to care whether or not there's any semblance of reality with children. They "poof" from their cribs to become school age children in a flash. They go to bars. They're left home alone. EA's treatment of children suggest that they don't consider them important, consequently family play isn't important.
Yes, seeing little Coleman home alone is story fodder. In fact, the last time I played that household, Coleman's father was worried that he wasn't being a good parent. It's a long story, but sure, he's struggling. I doubt, though, that he'd slip out at night at leave a six-year-old home alone.
I'll shut up about it now. Thanks for listening.
I have a question for you. I don't play Sims4 but want to make sure I understand what you are saying. The child is home alone, dad is at the park when you log in. Where were they when you logged out the last play session you had before that? Are you saying that while you are logged out the game makes your sims do things so when you log back in they are not where you left them? Or, are you rotating play among different families? I can see the game having your sim do something weird if you were playing another family and are not in control of Coleman's family. If so, I can see that this is where Sims4 dev's need to develop a system that you can set up to not allow a family to do certain things while you don't control them. (like leave a child alone, get married, divorced or woohoo with the mailman etc)
Nope, Sims don't go out on their own and do things outside of the lot they're on, and they definitely do not travel to other lots on their own. So OP, had dad at the park, therefore that was his own fault for letting him miss his son's birthday and leaving the child at the house alone. And a lack of notification wouldn't necessarily be reason to miss the fact that the sim child in your house is aging up because the game notifies you of an upcoming bday several days in advance, and then throughout the day (I think 3 times, once the day hits, somewhere like an hour or two before? and then when they're literally aging up). And if said sim is aging up then usually the Sims will drop what they're doing and celebrate if they choose to blow out candles/make a wish on the cake, afaik.
Yes, in rotational play, sims DO go out on their own and do things outside of their lot. They do this via the game mechanics. When I last played the Vaile household, both father and son were home when I exited. BTW, Dad didn't miss his son's birthday. Dad celebrated with his son, bought him an activity table, and vowed to be a better father. That's where I left them. After playing other families, I came back to find Dalton at the park and Coleman home alone. Usually I return to find them lined up on the sidewalk ready to beeline to the bathroom.
I play 6 complete rotations before a baby becomes a child because I choose when to age them up. One complete rotation is the same as one year in my game, so on the sixth rotation, I age the baby to a school-age child who is starting first grade. My complaint about game mechanics has nothing to do with birthdays, nannies, or notifications.
I've never played with free-will turned off. Do you know if the game makes your non-autonomous Sims run around like townies when you're playing a different household?
Origin ID: ebuchala I'm not a psychopath. I'm a high-functioning psychopath. Reaper
Whenever those of us who want more "family play" brings the topic up, a lot of players don't fully understand what we're talking about. So, here's an illustration.
I just opened the game and went in to play the Vaile household. Dalton Vaile is a single parent. His son, Coleman, just celebrated his birthday, turning from a baby to a child. (In my way of thinking, that makes Coleman about 6 years old.)
Here's what I found:
This little 6-year-old is home alone at 6:00 AM, sitting in a darkened room, probably wondering where his father is. It's wrong, IMO, for EA (or any developer) to give us a game that has such a lackadaisical attitude toward children. You can argue that "It's only a game", and you're right, but for players like me who want to create families with some semblance of a normal life, this is heartbreaking. I think this one facet of the game clearly shows the developers' feelings toward "families" and "family play".
ETA: I found Coleman's father at the park.
In reading responses, I'm truly surprised so few people understand the point I'm making. Obviously I haven't conveyed my thoughts too well. I do think it's wrong that EA doesn't code the game to prevent children being home alone. It was a feature in Sims 2, and we're years down the road from that version. My point is that EA obviously doesn't consider children important to the game. They don't seem to care whether or not there's any semblance of reality with children. They "poof" from their cribs to become school age children in a flash. They go to bars. They're left home alone. EA's treatment of children suggest that they don't consider them important, consequently family play isn't important.
Yes, seeing little Coleman home alone is story fodder. In fact, the last time I played that household, Coleman's father was worried that he wasn't being a good parent. It's a long story, but sure, he's struggling. I doubt, though, that he'd slip out at night at leave a six-year-old home alone.
I'll shut up about it now. Thanks for listening.
I have a question for you. I don't play Sims4 but want to make sure I understand what you are saying. The child is home alone, dad is at the park when you log in. Where were they when you logged out the last play session you had before that? Are you saying that while you are logged out the game makes your sims do things so when you log back in they are not where you left them? Or, are you rotating play among different families? I can see the game having your sim do something weird if you were playing another family and are not in control of Coleman's family. If so, I can see that this is where Sims4 dev's need to develop a system that you can set up to not allow a family to do certain things while you don't control them. (like leave a child alone, get married, divorced or woohoo with the mailman etc)
Nope, Sims don't go out on their own and do things outside of the lot they're on, and they definitely do not travel to other lots on their own. So OP, had dad at the park, therefore that was his own fault for letting him miss his son's birthday and leaving the child at the house alone. And a lack of notification wouldn't necessarily be reason to miss the fact that the sim child in your house is aging up because the game notifies you of an upcoming bday several days in advance, and then throughout the day (I think 3 times, once the day hits, somewhere like an hour or two before? and then when they're literally aging up). And if said sim is aging up then usually the Sims will drop what they're doing and celebrate if they choose to blow out candles/make a wish on the cake, afaik.
Yes, in rotational play, sims DO go out on their own and do things outside of their lot. They do this via the game mechanics. When I last played the Vaile household, both father and son were home when I exited. BTW, Dad didn't miss his son's birthday. Dad celebrated with his son, bought him an activity table, and vowed to be a better father. That's where I left them. After playing other families, I came back to find Dalton at the park and Coleman home alone. Usually I return to find them lined up on the sidewalk ready to beeline to the bathroom.
I play 6 complete rotations before a baby becomes a child because I choose when to age them up. One complete rotation is the same as one year in my game, so on the sixth rotation, I age the baby to a school-age child who is starting first grade. My complaint about game mechanics has nothing to do with birthdays, nannies, or notifications.
I've never played with free-will turned off. Do you know if the game makes your non-autonomous Sims run around like townies when you're playing a different household?
With free will off... no idea. I'd guess they'd stay where you left them, but maybe not. Hopefully someone can answer that question. I'm curious now, too.
It would be nice to have babysitter or nanny NPC back. Butlers were great babysitters too. The daycare rabbit hole and the social worker rabbit hole still bothers me.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
I've never played with free-will turned off. Do you know if the game makes your non-autonomous Sims run around like townies when you're playing a different household?
Good question! I'd like to know, too.
There have been times while I was playing another household that I saw both parents of a newborn on the street. If you pop over to their house, you'll find an unattended infant.
The issue about the dark room in the first picture is irrelevant and completely set up by you. The game gives you a build/buy mode where you can buy enough lights to make the room brighter than the sun if you wanted, which turn on or stay on by your choice and not the Sims as well. And quite frankly, a scene like that, with dramatic text about it being a dark room as well, really goes to make this whole thing seem like a set up situation or something. It takes away from the discussion, IMO.
I also question how accurate it is to enter into a lot and see Sims in the middle of doing something instead of standing out on the sidewalk, (most especially in the middle of grilling burgers), but that could be due to certain settings that I might not play with so I'll leave it there. This whole situation seems highly exaggerated from what it could've been just to show a point.
I also question how accurate it is to enter into a lot and see Sims in the middle of doing something instead of standing out on the sidewalk, (most especially in the middle of grilling burgers), but that could be due to certain settings that I might not play with so I'll leave it there. This whole situation seems highly exaggerated from what it could've been just to show a point.
There's nothing bogus about it. If, while playing another household, the father in question was grilling his burgers at the time when OP switched households, he would still be there when OP arrived at his place. I see it all the time. (I switch households at 6:00 AM.)
Whenever those of us who want more "family play" brings the topic up, a lot of players don't fully understand what we're talking about. So, here's an illustration.
I just opened the game and went in to play the Vaile household. Dalton Vaile is a single parent. His son, Coleman, just celebrated his birthday, turning from a baby to a child. (In my way of thinking, that makes Coleman about 6 years old.)
Here's what I found:
This little 6-year-old is home alone at 6:00 AM, sitting in a darkened room, probably wondering where his father is. It's wrong, IMO, for EA (or any developer) to give us a game that has such a lackadaisical attitude toward children. You can argue that "It's only a game", and you're right, but for players like me who want to create families with some semblance of a normal life, this is heartbreaking. I think this one facet of the game clearly shows the developers' feelings toward "families" and "family play".
ETA: I found Coleman's father at the park.
In reading responses, I'm truly surprised so few people understand the point I'm making. Obviously I haven't conveyed my thoughts too well. I do think it's wrong that EA doesn't code the game to prevent children being home alone. It was a feature in Sims 2, and we're years down the road from that version. My point is that EA obviously doesn't consider children important to the game. They don't seem to care whether or not there's any semblance of reality with children. They "poof" from their cribs to become school age children in a flash. They go to bars. They're left home alone. EA's treatment of children suggest that they don't consider them important, consequently family play isn't important.
Yes, seeing little Coleman home alone is story fodder. In fact, the last time I played that household, Coleman's father was worried that he wasn't being a good parent. It's a long story, but sure, he's struggling. I doubt, though, that he'd slip out at night at leave a six-year-old home alone.
I'll shut up about it now. Thanks for listening.
I have a question for you. I don't play Sims4 but want to make sure I understand what you are saying. The child is home alone, dad is at the park when you log in. Where were they when you logged out the last play session you had before that? Are you saying that while you are logged out the game makes your sims do things so when you log back in they are not where you left them? Or, are you rotating play among different families? I can see the game having your sim do something weird if you were playing another family and are not in control of Coleman's family. If so, I can see that this is where Sims4 dev's need to develop a system that you can set up to not allow a family to do certain things while you don't control them. (like leave a child alone, get married, divorced or woohoo with the mailman etc)
Nope, Sims don't go out on their own and do things outside of the lot they're on, and they definitely do not travel to other lots on their own. So OP, had dad at the park, therefore that was his own fault for letting him miss his son's birthday and leaving the child at the house alone. And a lack of notification wouldn't necessarily be reason to miss the fact that the sim child in your house is aging up because the game notifies you of an upcoming bday several days in advance, and then throughout the day (I think 3 times, once the day hits, somewhere like an hour or two before? and then when they're literally aging up). And if said sim is aging up then usually the Sims will drop what they're doing and celebrate if they choose to blow out candles/make a wish on the cake, afaik.
Yes, in rotational play, sims DO go out on their own and do things outside of their lot. They do this via the game mechanics. When I last played the Vaile household, both father and son were home when I exited. BTW, Dad didn't miss his son's birthday. Dad celebrated with his son, bought him an activity table, and vowed to be a better father. That's where I left them. After playing other families, I came back to find Dalton at the park and Coleman home alone. Usually I return to find them lined up on the sidewalk ready to beeline to the bathroom.
I play 6 complete rotations before a baby becomes a child because I choose when to age them up. One complete rotation is the same as one year in my game, so on the sixth rotation, I age the baby to a school-age child who is starting first grade. My complaint about game mechanics has nothing to do with birthdays, nannies, or notifications.
I've never played with free-will turned off. Do you know if the game makes your non-autonomous Sims run around like townies when you're playing a different household?
With free will off... no idea. I'd guess they'd stay where you left them, but maybe not. Hopefully someone can answer that question. I'm curious now, too.
I've never played with free-will turned off. Do you know if the game makes your non-autonomous Sims run around like townies when you're playing a different household?
Good question! I'd like to know, too.
There have been times while I was playing another household that I saw both parents of a newborn on the street. If you pop over to their house, you'll find an unattended infant.
To be honest, I don't mind it too much in my game but I don't have really specific times I rotate families or anything and only one family with a kid at the moment. So it actually works for me in making them seem like their lives go on without generally having them do anything too extreme to change my stories too much.
But it would be interesting to know if the game leaves them alone when you set it up for total control over your Sims.
Origin ID: ebuchala I'm not a psychopath. I'm a high-functioning psychopath. Reaper
I also question how accurate it is to enter into a lot and see Sims in the middle of doing something instead of standing out on the sidewalk, (most especially in the middle of grilling burgers), but that could be due to certain settings that I might not play with so I'll leave it there. This whole situation seems highly exaggerated from what it could've been just to show a point.
There's nothing bogus about it. If, while playing another household, the father in question was grilling his burgers at the time when OP switched households, he would still be there when OP arrived at his place. I see it all the time. (I switch households at 6:00 AM.)
I think it depends on how to play rotationally. The OP seems upset because their sim wasn't forced home because their child was. On the other hand one of my favourite things about the sims 4 is that I can change households and my sims don't "reset" to the home lots (with the exception of patch changes).
And if you want family play invite family over rather than raise your kid via a teenager.
Get the dad a job where he can be home.
Have the kid go to a friends house after school (maybe a neighbour).
So many choices and gameplay options and you'd rather have the game play for you.
I don't know what you mean by raising my kid via a teenager. This "family" consists of a father (who is an artist) and his son. The mother disappeared. Dad has a job where he can be home. That's not the issue. This is six o'clock in the morning, but, yes, I could send the boy to the park after school or send him to visit a neighbor. That's irrelevant, and again, that's not the point.
I have lots of choices -- and enough imagination to make any choice work for me. I'm not asking the game to play itself. I'm stating an opinion. That opinion is this: EA gave short shrift to how children were handled in the game. They eliminated toddlers. They did a poor job with children, and to an extent with teens, who look almost identical to young adults. That's my point. You're free to disagree.
Babysitters are teenagers...
So what you're saying is, you'd rather have your child sim looked after a teenager all the time, rather than a family member, and then complain of a lack of "family play".
That's my point. If your complaining that Child sims being home alone without a parent is a lack of family play, having a baby sitter look after your child all the time isn't adding more family play to your game.
Rather than let the game play itself, come up with someone imaginative so your child sim isn't home alone. Have Grandma come over, or something.
You're complaining about a lack of family play, but your solution doesn't involve family play.
Children got more exclusive content than any other base game. I don't see the issue.
I'll believe that when a playground consists of more than monkey bars and a spaceship or pirate ship.
There's more gameplay in those than any of the playground equipment in the Sims 2 or Sims 3 base game.
Sure, there is...
That's not a base game a lot of that came with apartment life
Also, the Pirate Ship and Space Ship have more gameplay actions, as well as adult interactions.
And the monkey bars can be sat on when Sims do homework.
Whenever those of us who want more "family play" brings the topic up, a lot of players don't fully understand what we're talking about. So, here's an illustration.
I just opened the game and went in to play the Vaile household. Dalton Vaile is a single parent. His son, Coleman, just celebrated his birthday, turning from a baby to a child. (In my way of thinking, that makes Coleman about 6 years old.)
Here's what I found:
This little 6-year-old is home alone at 6:00 AM, sitting in a darkened room, probably wondering where his father is. It's wrong, IMO, for EA (or any developer) to give us a game that has such a lackadaisical attitude toward children. You can argue that "It's only a game", and you're right, but for players like me who want to create families with some semblance of a normal life, this is heartbreaking. I think this one facet of the game clearly shows the developers' feelings toward "families" and "family play".
ETA: I found Coleman's father at the park.
In reading responses, I'm truly surprised so few people understand the point I'm making. Obviously I haven't conveyed my thoughts too well. I do think it's wrong that EA doesn't code the game to prevent children being home alone. It was a feature in Sims 2, and we're years down the road from that version. My point is that EA obviously doesn't consider children important to the game. They don't seem to care whether or not there's any semblance of reality with children. They "poof" from their cribs to become school age children in a flash. They go to bars. They're left home alone. EA's treatment of children suggest that they don't consider them important, consequently family play isn't important.
Yes, seeing little Coleman home alone is story fodder. In fact, the last time I played that household, Coleman's father was worried that he wasn't being a good parent. It's a long story, but sure, he's struggling. I doubt, though, that he'd slip out at night at leave a six-year-old home alone.
I'll shut up about it now. Thanks for listening.
I have a question for you. I don't play Sims4 but want to make sure I understand what you are saying. The child is home alone, dad is at the park when you log in. Where were they when you logged out the last play session you had before that? Are you saying that while you are logged out the game makes your sims do things so when you log back in they are not where you left them? Or, are you rotating play among different families? I can see the game having your sim do something weird if you were playing another family and are not in control of Coleman's family. If so, I can see that this is where Sims4 dev's need to develop a system that you can set up to not allow a family to do certain things while you don't control them. (like leave a child alone, get married, divorced or woohoo with the mailman etc)
Nope, Sims don't go out on their own and do things outside of the lot they're on, and they definitely do not travel to other lots on their own. So OP, had dad at the park, therefore that was his own fault for letting him miss his son's birthday and leaving the child at the house alone. And a lack of notification wouldn't necessarily be reason to miss the fact that the sim child in your house is aging up because the game notifies you of an upcoming bday several days in advance, and then throughout the day (I think 3 times, once the day hits, somewhere like an hour or two before? and then when they're literally aging up). And if said sim is aging up then usually the Sims will drop what they're doing and celebrate if they choose to blow out candles/make a wish on the cake, afaik.
Yes, in rotational play, sims DO go out on their own and do things outside of their lot. They do this via the game mechanics. When I last played the Vaile household, both father and son were home when I exited. BTW, Dad didn't miss his son's birthday. Dad celebrated with his son, bought him an activity table, and vowed to be a better father. That's where I left them. After playing other families, I came back to find Dalton at the park and Coleman home alone. Usually I return to find them lined up on the sidewalk ready to beeline to the bathroom.
I play 6 complete rotations before a baby becomes a child because I choose when to age them up. One complete rotation is the same as one year in my game, so on the sixth rotation, I age the baby to a school-age child who is starting first grade. My complaint about game mechanics has nothing to do with birthdays, nannies, or notifications.
I don't have that problem. Every time when I play rotationally, and come back, all of the sims would be in front of their house if I left them in the house before I switched households.
I don't have that problem. Every time when I play rotationally, and come back, all of the sims would be in front of their house if I left them in the house before I switched households.
I've had it happen once or twice where I'll come into a household and one of the hh sims will be off the lot.
Origin ID: ebuchala I'm not a psychopath. I'm a high-functioning psychopath. Reaper
Children got more exclusive content than any other base game. I don't see the issue.
I'll believe that when a playground consists of more than monkey bars and a spaceship or pirate ship.
There's more gameplay in those than any of the playground equipment in the Sims 2 or Sims 3 base game.
Sure, there is...
That's not a base game a lot of that came with apartment life
Also, the Pirate Ship and Space Ship have more gameplay actions, as well as adult interactions.
And the monkey bars can be sat on when Sims do homework.
Yay! Children can bust their heads open now from doing something they shouldn't! /s
Again, I'll believe that when the playgrounds get bigger. What kind of re-tarded playgrounds only have a gym and monkey bars? I've seen bigger indoor restaurant playplaces.
(Answer: Very boring ones. Thank goodness the people who make real-life playgrounds are more imaginative.)
Children got more exclusive content than any other base game. I don't see the issue.
I'll believe that when a playground consists of more than monkey bars and a spaceship or pirate ship.
There's more gameplay in those than any of the playground equipment in the Sims 2 or Sims 3 base game.
Sure, there is...
That's not a base game a lot of that came with apartment life
Also, the Pirate Ship and Space Ship have more gameplay actions, as well as adult interactions.
And the monkey bars can be sat on when Sims do homework.
Yay! Children can bust their heads open now from doing something they shouldn't! /s
Again, I'll believe that when the playgrounds get bigger. What kind of re-tarded playgrounds only have a gym and monkey bars? I've seen bigger indoor restaurant playplaces.
(Answer: Very boring ones. Thank goodness the people who make real-life playgrounds are more imaginative.)
I feel like you're blowing this out of proportion just further your point that you dislike the playgrounds, which you've said many times already.
Children got more exclusive content than any other base game. I don't see the issue.
I'll believe that when a playground consists of more than monkey bars and a spaceship or pirate ship.
There's more gameplay in those than any of the playground equipment in the Sims 2 or Sims 3 base game.
Sure, there is...
That's not a base game a lot of that came with apartment life
Also, the Pirate Ship and Space Ship have more gameplay actions, as well as adult interactions.
And the monkey bars can be sat on when Sims do homework.
Yay! Children can bust their heads open now from doing something they shouldn't! /s
Again, I'll believe that when the playgrounds get bigger. What kind of re-tarded playgrounds only have a gym and monkey bars? I've seen bigger indoor restaurant playplaces.
(Answer: Very boring ones. Thank goodness the people who make real-life playgrounds are more imaginative.)
I feel like you're blowing this out of proportion just further your point that you dislike the playgrounds, which you've said many times already.
I'm not believing kids have more things exclusive to them when even that's too hard/not included. And no, being able to do something that'd result in a normal child busting their head open doesn't make up for it. Try again.
Children got more exclusive content than any other base game. I don't see the issue.
I'll believe that when a playground consists of more than monkey bars and a spaceship or pirate ship.
There's more gameplay in those than any of the playground equipment in the Sims 2 or Sims 3 base game.
Sure, there is...
That's not a base game a lot of that came with apartment life
Also, the Pirate Ship and Space Ship have more gameplay actions, as well as adult interactions.
And the monkey bars can be sat on when Sims do homework.
Yay! Children can bust their heads open now from doing something they shouldn't! /s
Again, I'll believe that when the playgrounds get bigger. What kind of re-tarded playgrounds only have a gym and monkey bars? I've seen bigger indoor restaurant playplaces.
(Answer: Very boring ones. Thank goodness the people who make real-life playgrounds are more imaginative.)
I feel like you're blowing this out of proportion just further your point that you dislike the playgrounds, which you've said many times already.
I'm not believing kids have more things exclusive to them when even that's too hard/not included. And no, being able to do something that'd result in a normal child busting their head open doesn't make up for it. Try again.
Hmm, whenever I was in school it was considered "cool" to be ble to sit on top of the monkey bars, lots of kids did it.
Children got more exclusive content than any other base game. I don't see the issue.
I'll believe that when a playground consists of more than monkey bars and a spaceship or pirate ship.
There's more gameplay in those than any of the playground equipment in the Sims 2 or Sims 3 base game.
Sure, there is...
That's not a base game a lot of that came with apartment life
Also, the Pirate Ship and Space Ship have more gameplay actions, as well as adult interactions.
And the monkey bars can be sat on when Sims do homework.
Yay! Children can bust their heads open now from doing something they shouldn't! /s
Again, I'll believe that when the playgrounds get bigger. What kind of re-tarded playgrounds only have a gym and monkey bars? I've seen bigger indoor restaurant playplaces.
(Answer: Very boring ones. Thank goodness the people who make real-life playgrounds are more imaginative.)
I feel like you're blowing this out of proportion just further your point that you dislike the playgrounds, which you've said many times already.
I'm not believing kids have more things exclusive to them when even that's too hard/not included. And no, being able to do something that'd result in a normal child busting their head open doesn't make up for it. Try again.
Hmm, whenever I was in school it was considered "cool" to be able to sit on top of the monkey bars, lots of kids did it.
Lots of kids did when I was a kid too...and a couple also fell off and would start bawling. Which is why my school forbid students from doing that.
I also question how accurate it is to enter into a lot and see Sims in the middle of doing something instead of standing out on the sidewalk, (most especially in the middle of grilling burgers), but that could be due to certain settings that I might not play with so I'll leave it there. This whole situation seems highly exaggerated from what it could've been just to show a point.
There's nothing bogus about it. If, while playing another household, the father in question was grilling his burgers at the time when OP switched households, he would still be there when OP arrived at his place. I see it all the time. (I switch households at 6:00 AM.)
I think it depends on how to play rotationally. The OP seems upset because their sim wasn't forced home because their child was. On the other hand one of my favourite things about the sims 4 is that I can change households and my sims don't "reset" to the home lots (with the exception of patch changes).
I think this is the crux of the issue for this particular situation. The OP said they came from S2, which of course, made time stand still on the lots whenever you rotated to a different hh. For me, I actually prefer it this way. It really bothered me that my sim would leave her home to go shopping, stay out all day and come home to it being morning again.
Origin ID: ebuchala I'm not a psychopath. I'm a high-functioning psychopath. Reaper
I don't understand what you want in this picture though. Are you saying fathers don't abandon their children in the real world and so stupid things?
Maybe the children in your game are 8-12 years old. In my game, their age is determined by the number of household rotations I've completed. I'm a highly realistic player, and in my game, Coleman Vaile just turned six. It doesn't matter what he looked like. Last year, at age 5, he was still confined to a crib, you know. I have a good enough imagination to "pretend" he was an active (but unseen) 5-year-old. And I can go right on pretending that he wasn't really left home alone. I know it's just "game mechanics." I can bring his father home. I can take a deep breath and go on with their lives from there. I can even create a storyline about Dalton slipping off into the night and leaving his son.
That's not my point. My point is it's upsetting that someone in this game development didn't speak up and say, "You know, maybe we need to fix it so that kids aren't left home alone." But I get the feeling EA is more concerned that young adult and adult sims have ample opportunities to party. Who needs kids? Who needs toddlers? Hey, in Sims 5, we might have nothing but adults.
It's great you have an imagination, but that doesn't mean the game works around it.
The Sims kids have always been 8 - 10 years old, the ages where kids don't need babysitters unless it's for longer periods of time. In which case, until we get babysitter NPC's in a generations pack or something, you can invite a family member over to look after them.
If you want the game to work around what you've decided, that's where mods come in handy.
I have to disagree with you here. You are stating these things as facts. The children in this game based on size no where near 10 years old. Ten year olds are much taller they are Pre teens. These little kids based on their size are about 6 to 8 years old, with 7 the most likely middle age. They are the same size as the Sims 2 kids who couldn't be left alone for long. Maxis changed nothing except the programing. While I agree with most that this doesn't make it not family play and that it can create good stories, I cannot call these little kids 10 year olds.
You should go out and visit a playground and look at real children and their actual sizes.
Comments
The Sims 2 base game only had the swing sets as playground equipment. The monkey bars, lookout tower, playground slide and merry-go-round were added in the last expansion pack, Apartment Life.
Have you seen sim kids playing on the monkey bars in TS4? I find the animations really sweet.
https://twitter.com/MarianaF53
Yes, I'm a rotational player so no matter where I leave my sims when I switch families, they'll either be standing on the street desperately needing to pee or scattered about town on various lots when I next play that family. I find those game mechanics absurd. Whenever a player goes to a home, why can't the game assemble all the bits and bytes and pixels to make family members appear either at home or, if during working/school hours, at those logical places. I switch households around 4:00-6:00 AM so finding my sims in odd places really jolts me, especially when it means a child is home alone.
Yes, in rotational play, sims DO go out on their own and do things outside of their lot. They do this via the game mechanics. When I last played the Vaile household, both father and son were home when I exited. BTW, Dad didn't miss his son's birthday. Dad celebrated with his son, bought him an activity table, and vowed to be a better father. That's where I left them. After playing other families, I came back to find Dalton at the park and Coleman home alone. Usually I return to find them lined up on the sidewalk ready to beeline to the bathroom.
I play 6 complete rotations before a baby becomes a child because I choose when to age them up. One complete rotation is the same as one year in my game, so on the sixth rotation, I age the baby to a school-age child who is starting first grade. My complaint about game mechanics has nothing to do with birthdays, nannies, or notifications.
Thank for answering. I do understand your frustration and it is a shame they cannot set up some kind of system to keep those kind of things from happening, yet allow your sims to be part of the community when you are not actively playing that family. In Sims3 I use the nraas caste system to control my rotation families so I don't have to worry about them getting divorced or having relationships that I would not approve of etc. It is a shame we have to rely on modders, but, thank goodness they are out there to help us in truth 'rule' our games.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
Weird, because I don't experience that in my rotations aside from Sims being on the street, but never being misplaced on different lots. But apologies if you felt offended, and I must of misunderstood or misread something somewhere because people seemed to have made it out that the father had missed the birthday which is why I mentioned notifications.
I've never played with free-will turned off. Do you know if the game makes your non-autonomous Sims run around like townies when you're playing a different household?
I'm not a psychopath. I'm a high-functioning psychopath. Reaper
With free will off... no idea. I'd guess they'd stay where you left them, but maybe not. Hopefully someone can answer that question. I'm curious now, too.
Good question! I'd like to know, too.
There have been times while I was playing another household that I saw both parents of a newborn on the street. If you pop over to their house, you'll find an unattended infant.
I also question how accurate it is to enter into a lot and see Sims in the middle of doing something instead of standing out on the sidewalk, (most especially in the middle of grilling burgers), but that could be due to certain settings that I might not play with so I'll leave it there. This whole situation seems highly exaggerated from what it could've been just to show a point.
There's nothing bogus about it. If, while playing another household, the father in question was grilling his burgers at the time when OP switched households, he would still be there when OP arrived at his place. I see it all the time. (I switch households at 6:00 AM.)
To be honest, I don't mind it too much in my game but I don't have really specific times I rotate families or anything and only one family with a kid at the moment. So it actually works for me in making them seem like their lives go on without generally having them do anything too extreme to change my stories too much.
But it would be interesting to know if the game leaves them alone when you set it up for total control over your Sims.
I'm not a psychopath. I'm a high-functioning psychopath. Reaper
I think it depends on how to play rotationally. The OP seems upset because their sim wasn't forced home because their child was. On the other hand one of my favourite things about the sims 4 is that I can change households and my sims don't "reset" to the home lots (with the exception of patch changes).
Babysitters are teenagers...
So what you're saying is, you'd rather have your child sim looked after a teenager all the time, rather than a family member, and then complain of a lack of "family play".
That's my point. If your complaining that Child sims being home alone without a parent is a lack of family play, having a baby sitter look after your child all the time isn't adding more family play to your game.
Rather than let the game play itself, come up with someone imaginative so your child sim isn't home alone. Have Grandma come over, or something.
You're complaining about a lack of family play, but your solution doesn't involve family play.
Insta: https://instagram.com/jkarajs?igshid=oef2ymrand3g
That's not a base game
Also, the Pirate Ship and Space Ship have more gameplay actions, as well as adult interactions.
And the monkey bars can be sat on when Sims do homework.
Insta: https://instagram.com/jkarajs?igshid=oef2ymrand3g
I don't have that problem. Every time when I play rotationally, and come back, all of the sims would be in front of their house if I left them in the house before I switched households.
I've had it happen once or twice where I'll come into a household and one of the hh sims will be off the lot.
I'm not a psychopath. I'm a high-functioning psychopath. Reaper
Again, I'll believe that when the playgrounds get bigger. What kind of re-tarded playgrounds only have a gym and monkey bars? I've seen bigger indoor restaurant playplaces.
(Answer: Very boring ones. Thank goodness the people who make real-life playgrounds are more imaginative.)
I feel like you're blowing this out of proportion just further your point that you dislike the playgrounds, which you've said many times already.
Hmm, whenever I was in school it was considered "cool" to be ble to sit on top of the monkey bars, lots of kids did it.
I think this is the crux of the issue for this particular situation. The OP said they came from S2, which of course, made time stand still on the lots whenever you rotated to a different hh. For me, I actually prefer it this way. It really bothered me that my sim would leave her home to go shopping, stay out all day and come home to it being morning again.
I'm not a psychopath. I'm a high-functioning psychopath. Reaper
I have to disagree with you here. You are stating these things as facts. The children in this game based on size no where near 10 years old. Ten year olds are much taller they are Pre teens. These little kids based on their size are about 6 to 8 years old, with 7 the most likely middle age. They are the same size as the Sims 2 kids who couldn't be left alone for long. Maxis changed nothing except the programing. While I agree with most that this doesn't make it not family play and that it can create good stories, I cannot call these little kids 10 year olds.
You should go out and visit a playground and look at real children and their actual sizes.