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What are you ideal life stages?
KikiSparks1209
Posts: 20 Member
I'm sure everyone has a slightly different idea of how many life stages there should be, and I'm curious to hear what that would be for everyone! So if you were in charge of this decision in future Sims games, what ages/life stages would be included? I'm gonna include my list below, everyone feel free to comment with their lists!
Mine would go as follows:
Newborn: Equivalent to a few months old. Functions like the babies in TS1 and TS4, being tied to the bassinet, but would look like the little bundles from TS3 and have discernible features based on what they're gonna look like later. Newborns do not have traits yet; all they know is eat, sleep, poop, cry.
Baby: Equivalent to about 1-2 years old. Kind of a mix of babies and toddlers from TS2/TS3. Can be carried anywhere, uses cribs instead of bassinets, can be dressed up in diapers/onesies/etc. and can be taught basic walking. Babies would have one baby/toddler-specific trait which follows them into toddlerhood.
Toddler: Equivalent to about 3-5 years old. Copy and paste toddlers from TS4 haha, a little older and can do basic walking by default even if not yet taught. Higher walking skill means running and using stairs, and they use two-tile toddler beds that they can get in and out of. They can be sent to non-mandatory pre-school/kindergarten type stuff to build skills like the older life states, or be kept at home if you prefer. Toddlers would have the same baby/toddler specific trait, and gain one other baby/toddler specific trait upon aging up to toddler.
Child: Equivalent to about 6-8 years old. Not much to say, they're just kids who can run around and play. Very similar to child-aged sims we've already had; they'd be in mandatory elementary school by now. They get two child/tween specific traits, which carry through into the next age.
Tween/pre-teen: Equivalent to 11-12 years, basically represents the middle school years. As such, they'd go to middle school, which is a school we've never had in the games before despite being a very important part of growing up! This is the earliest that I think stuff like crushes would be added; it would only ever be tame stuff, like butterflies in the stomach and holding hands. No "mess around" or anything, I'm talking literal schoolyard romances. As mentioned, the two child/tween specific traits carry through, as well as one teen-and-up trait. However, if you are making a tween in CAS, you can use any amount of either set of traits, it just has to total up to 3 traits.
Young teen: Equivalent to 13-15. Half of the life stage is spent in middle school, the other half is spent in the beginning of high school. Unsure about the name of this group, I just know that they should be separate from older teens. This age is when most of the puberty stuff (like the stuff from High School Years) starts. I know that puberty hits some people sooner (I was one of those people in fact) but my understanding is that I'm in the uncommon category on that one! Hence it starting in this stage. (Plus, I always wished it had started later, and I don't wanna inflict THAT much trauma on my sims lol) Young teens lose the two child/tween traits and replace them with two teen-and-up traits for a total of three.
Teenager: Equivalent to 16-18 ish. Later years of high school, and this is where more serious romances can form. "Mess around" would be implemented around this age. The puberty stuff from the last age stage calms down a bit but doesn't go away fully. Teens can be taught to drive either through lessons or through older sims teaching them. Teens gain one more teen-and-up trait for a total of four.
Young adult: Equivalent to 20-25. Puberty stuff finally evens out, and all the "adults-only" stuff (juice, college, woohoo instead of mess around, etc.) is finally unlocked. An important note: Teen sims look different from YA and up in my perfect world! I don't like how they look exactly the same in TS4, so young adults would be taller and more "fully formed" as it were once they get to this stage.
Adult: Equivalent to about 30-40. Basically the same as it is in TS4; they look very similar, but their age starts to show a bit in their features by default. Adults unlock the fifth and final teen-and-up trait, being fully-formed adults now.
Middle-aged: Equivalent to about 50-60. Retirement is an option, but sims are not required to take it. If they do take it, the payout is smaller due to cashing out earlier. Middle-aged sims are eligible to hit a mid-life crisis.
Elder: Equivalent to about 70+. Sims are auto-retired at this stage, but the retirement payout is higher because they waited long enough. Sims in this stage can still pick up part-time jobs if they want or need to, but are no longer eligible for full-time jobs. There is an option to move into a retirement home for end-of-life care, and at the end of this life stage, the urn/gravestone is simply sent back to the family. If the elder stays at home, they are much more frail and can easily pass due to over-exhaustion just like in TS4.
I know this is a LOT of life stages, but I personally think we should have as many life stages as possible in order to more accurately reflect real-life's gradual growth. But I'd love to hear what others have to say! I'm sure plenty of people have reasons why they think it should be way less than this, and I'd love to hear them! I know when I told my mom my ideas, she had reservations about dividing young teens and older teens until I explained that we don't have gradual aging, so I was trying to compensate for that. I'd love to hear any other opinions that provide different views on this!
Mine would go as follows:
Newborn: Equivalent to a few months old. Functions like the babies in TS1 and TS4, being tied to the bassinet, but would look like the little bundles from TS3 and have discernible features based on what they're gonna look like later. Newborns do not have traits yet; all they know is eat, sleep, poop, cry.
Baby: Equivalent to about 1-2 years old. Kind of a mix of babies and toddlers from TS2/TS3. Can be carried anywhere, uses cribs instead of bassinets, can be dressed up in diapers/onesies/etc. and can be taught basic walking. Babies would have one baby/toddler-specific trait which follows them into toddlerhood.
Toddler: Equivalent to about 3-5 years old. Copy and paste toddlers from TS4 haha, a little older and can do basic walking by default even if not yet taught. Higher walking skill means running and using stairs, and they use two-tile toddler beds that they can get in and out of. They can be sent to non-mandatory pre-school/kindergarten type stuff to build skills like the older life states, or be kept at home if you prefer. Toddlers would have the same baby/toddler specific trait, and gain one other baby/toddler specific trait upon aging up to toddler.
Child: Equivalent to about 6-8 years old. Not much to say, they're just kids who can run around and play. Very similar to child-aged sims we've already had; they'd be in mandatory elementary school by now. They get two child/tween specific traits, which carry through into the next age.
Tween/pre-teen: Equivalent to 11-12 years, basically represents the middle school years. As such, they'd go to middle school, which is a school we've never had in the games before despite being a very important part of growing up! This is the earliest that I think stuff like crushes would be added; it would only ever be tame stuff, like butterflies in the stomach and holding hands. No "mess around" or anything, I'm talking literal schoolyard romances. As mentioned, the two child/tween specific traits carry through, as well as one teen-and-up trait. However, if you are making a tween in CAS, you can use any amount of either set of traits, it just has to total up to 3 traits.
Young teen: Equivalent to 13-15. Half of the life stage is spent in middle school, the other half is spent in the beginning of high school. Unsure about the name of this group, I just know that they should be separate from older teens. This age is when most of the puberty stuff (like the stuff from High School Years) starts. I know that puberty hits some people sooner (I was one of those people in fact) but my understanding is that I'm in the uncommon category on that one! Hence it starting in this stage. (Plus, I always wished it had started later, and I don't wanna inflict THAT much trauma on my sims lol) Young teens lose the two child/tween traits and replace them with two teen-and-up traits for a total of three.
Teenager: Equivalent to 16-18 ish. Later years of high school, and this is where more serious romances can form. "Mess around" would be implemented around this age. The puberty stuff from the last age stage calms down a bit but doesn't go away fully. Teens can be taught to drive either through lessons or through older sims teaching them. Teens gain one more teen-and-up trait for a total of four.
Young adult: Equivalent to 20-25. Puberty stuff finally evens out, and all the "adults-only" stuff (juice, college, woohoo instead of mess around, etc.) is finally unlocked. An important note: Teen sims look different from YA and up in my perfect world! I don't like how they look exactly the same in TS4, so young adults would be taller and more "fully formed" as it were once they get to this stage.
Adult: Equivalent to about 30-40. Basically the same as it is in TS4; they look very similar, but their age starts to show a bit in their features by default. Adults unlock the fifth and final teen-and-up trait, being fully-formed adults now.
Middle-aged: Equivalent to about 50-60. Retirement is an option, but sims are not required to take it. If they do take it, the payout is smaller due to cashing out earlier. Middle-aged sims are eligible to hit a mid-life crisis.
Elder: Equivalent to about 70+. Sims are auto-retired at this stage, but the retirement payout is higher because they waited long enough. Sims in this stage can still pick up part-time jobs if they want or need to, but are no longer eligible for full-time jobs. There is an option to move into a retirement home for end-of-life care, and at the end of this life stage, the urn/gravestone is simply sent back to the family. If the elder stays at home, they are much more frail and can easily pass due to over-exhaustion just like in TS4.
I know this is a LOT of life stages, but I personally think we should have as many life stages as possible in order to more accurately reflect real-life's gradual growth. But I'd love to hear what others have to say! I'm sure plenty of people have reasons why they think it should be way less than this, and I'd love to hear them! I know when I told my mom my ideas, she had reservations about dividing young teens and older teens until I explained that we don't have gradual aging, so I was trying to compensate for that. I'd love to hear any other opinions that provide different views on this!
Post edited by EA_Cade on
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Comments
Also mess around and woohoo is the same thing the only difference is with mess around you don't get the moodlets.
baby
toddler
child
teen
young adult
adult
elder
but i would add more gameplay to baby, toddler, teen,adult and elder lifestages to make them more special
and I would preferably like occults to also be occults in their baby, toddler and child lifestages
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Yeah, in my ideal Sims game, all the age stages look different and would use different body models(and thus have different clothes options), like how they did in TS3. They'd also each be different heights to differentiate them further. I'm also all for different idles and postures! I fully agree that in TS4, there's not enough difference in the different life stages, so I'm hoping that gets fixed in later releases.
I know many Simmers want a “pre teen” stage, but to me it’s not a distinct enough life stage. I’d say the same about “young teen”. It’s not distinct enough to be a separate life stage for me. People mature at different rates (which isn’t the same as when you hit puberty). And like I said, if you split “child” and “teen” into the smaller categories you mention, they may not be long enough to experience all you mention in your paragraphs.
I’m fine with the life stages as they are now. More objects and gameplay could be added to what we have now, though. For example, we could spend the first few days of childhood playing with toys and imaginary games, and then as they get closer to teenagers they could have the option to develop childhood crushes or try out makeup, or whatever. Older children could still play with toys etc, but they may get embarrassed about what their friends might think. I’d also add more clothing options for similar reasons (so some stuff would be suitable for younger children and then there’d be more sophisticated stuff).
Honestly I don’t care too much for the child stage. Teen stage I’ve always liked even pre high school years. And toddler is surprisingly fun. But babies and children I could do without.
I wouldn’t want more stages in this game as there’s not enough to do for the stages they have. It might be cool in future games to get visual progression a few times in each stage - like the toddler and child changing one time and the young adult and adult and elder twice each. But I’d say visual changes like wrinkles, not new gameplay.
Pre-schooler (just little shorter than children, can use the child CAS, but not all interactions (like the microwave), can continue to use some toddler toys)
Child (the current child stage)
Pre-teen (more independent than children, can pursue some adult hobbys and have their first jobs for pocket money, but no romance yet)
Teenager (same height as YAs, but more distinct visuals)
Young Adult (18-25, maybe only for college EP)
Adult (the current adult stage)
Middle Aged (Adult with more visual customisation, chance of annoying joint, eyesight or digestion related ailments)
Senior (the current Elder stage)
Ancient (frail, limited mobility, but occult sim in this lifestage gain exclusive powers)
(I didn't forget babies, I'm just not interested in them.)
Baby - Early development babbles rolls around learns to crawl closing the gap between the lifeless bassinet to walking toddler
Toddler
Child
Preteen - Awkward stage between teen and child who still do childish stuff but are maturing getting their own hobbies first crushes and some odd voice cracks
Teen
Young Adult
Adult
Elder
Toddler
Child
Teen
YA
Adult
Elder
No need to complicate it.
Real babies are necessary
> Toddler (similar to our current toddlers, but need to get taught walking)
> Pre-schooler (just little shorter than children, can use the child CAS, but not all interactions (like the microwave), can continue to use some toddler toys)
> Child (the current child stage)
> Pre-teen (more independent than children, can pursue some adult hobbys and have their first jobs for pocket money, but no romance yet)
> Teenager (same height as YAs, but more distinct visuals)
> Young Adult (18-25, maybe only for college EP)
> Adult (the current adult stage)
> Middle Aged (Adult with more visual customisation, chance of annoying joint, eyesight or digestion related aulments)
> Senior (the current Elder stage)
> Ancient (frail, limited mobility, but occult sim in this lifestage gain exclusive powers)
>
> (I didn't forget babies, I'm just not interested in them.)
@EnkiSchmidt I like this setup, and the babies comment is just funny, LOL!
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Toddler 1-4
Child 5-9
Preteen 10-13
Teen 14-19
YA 20-35
A 35-50
MA (Middle-aged) 50-65
Elder 65-Dead
Baby: 0-2 (Give us babies that are a mix of TS2 and TS4 babies and DO NOT lock them to the crib)
Toddler: 2-5 (TS2-TS4 toddlers with the different skills...these toddlers are ADORABLE)
Child: 6-10 (Keep them as they are)
Pre-Teen/Young Teen:11-14 (First Crush, Middle School. Begin Puberty [I started puberty at 11 LOL], First Cell Phone)
Teen: 15-18 (High School with Sports/Clubs, Dating, Driving, Smartphones, Computers, Full Blown Puberty, Applying to College)
Young Adult: 19-35 (College/University, Marriage, Jobs, Begin Having Kids)
Adult: 40-70 (Finish Having Kids, Midlife Crisis, Consider Part Time Work)
Senior: 70-Death (Full Retirement)
And, for the love of all Sims, make Teens, Young Adults and Adults look like their respective ages. It gets confusing having all 3 look the same.
Toddler as is
Little kid - new stage, covers ages 5-9, looks like age 6 maybe. Some of the same abilities as children, but more limited; some of the same interactions as toddlers including being tucked in and soothed after nightmares by parents. Ability for parents to teach the child skills during these years
Child, or call it preteen- the same look and abilities as the current child sims, who always look 10-11 to me
Teen- feminine framed sims get the current teen/adult height and frame, masculine framed sims stay child/preteen height and frame at first. When they get old enough for the University application to become available, masculine framed sims shoot up to teen/adult height and frame.
YA as is or maybe less baby-faced
Adult should last longer and really should be much less baby-faced to distinguish more from YA and teens. At the beginning of the adult stage or partway into it, sims lose the ability to become pregnant. This plus a longer Adult stage would put more space between childbearing years and death from old age
Elder as is