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Growing Together Negative Thread

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  • PeralPeral Posts: 873 Member
    This feels a bit to empty for an EP, a bit like Snowy Escapes. I do want bikes for children and maybe the tree house that I probably will put in a park. But I worry that the Sims don't automaticly goes for the tree house like the water slide which all of them love. Just because I get a big tree house doesn't mean that Sims will visit it unless I put a toilet in there.
  • JustinB113JustinB113 Posts: 1,050 Member
    edited February 2023
    Atreya33 wrote: »
    Everybody who buys the pack gets the standard one. But is not every sims 4 player. what about those who don't get the pack? There has been no confirmation yet of base game infant carrier. It feels odd to make such a basic way of transporting infants pack exclusive.
    I think for now we should assume that base game won’t get anything that was in the growing together trailer but not in the infants trailer. Which is some interactions with other sims, the changing table, the play thing they used, some of the CAS and the carrier.

    The carrier seems to be one of the main features of the expansion. I’m sure base game infants will be fun but they have said this pack will fundamentally change the way people play with infants so I think it’s best to keep base game expectations to the base game trailer.
    LiELF wrote: »
    I believe they had said that one carrier gets patched in with infants and the other is a preorder bonus.
    I think all they said was that this one was a preorder bonus but there would be other carriers in the pack. I don’t think they confirmed any with the infants patch but I might be wrong.
  • EmmaVaneEmmaVane Posts: 7,847 Member
    Gordy wrote: »
    From what we saw, Elders don't have much. Walking? Meh. Keepsakes? Will probably not mean much of anything. Sneaking candy for grandkids? Super relatable, but just another minor interaction on top of many.
    Maybe the rec center will add more elder-centric stuff.

    Thank you. Babies are fine to update as they were too static. Toddlers and kids though? Really? They have so much already. With a name like Growing Together it should have something for every life stage and elders are too often completely forgotten.

    Hoping for more mentor type gameplay for Elders towards younger family members/sims, based on the song used in the trailer and the words "Giving Life Lessons" in the blog. Maybe they can encourage sims to work on skills, relationships or careers or push them to do certain activities?

    Hopefully there is cross-pack gameplay with Parenthood and helps build Character Values in kids, maybe Parenting skill in the Elders too, if they aren't already maxed out.
  • EmmaVaneEmmaVane Posts: 7,847 Member
    edited February 2023
    Atreya33 wrote: »
    These are also my fears. I think the milestones sound very promising and I want to try them out but I don't want to use them in every save for every family. I hope we can turn them off if we want to. I hope we can also one day turn off the parenthood questions as well. I really miss the option to 'x' them out when I want to focus on other things.
    Similarly I wonder how this chemistry system works. From what I have read so far, it feels like this will affect all relationships between sims, not just the romantic ones. But I hope we can have some control over it. For example if I have two sims who are very good friends in my game, I don't want this system to suddenly mess things up.
    I also dislike that they are doing the early buyers items again. If feels very pushy.
    Does this mean infant carriers are exclusive to the pack? I would expect to get one base game version and then more options for people who buy the pack like they did with lounge chairs at the release of island living or telescopes with the werewolves GP. I think being able to carry your infant around in the world is something that feels like basic gameplay that should be available for all players.

    I think you'll be able to carry them around like you can Toddlers, on your hip/in your arms. The carrier likely allows multitasking while carrying them (plus the convenience of carrying 2 kids at once) though, and therefore is likely a paid premium.
  • ThriorThrior Posts: 612 Member
    edited February 2023
    Daephene wrote: »
    The relationship chemistry concerns me a little. I have enjoyed actually being able to make decisions about who my sims date and marry without the complications of an attraction system like in Sims2. All the descriptions talk about friendships rather than romance, but they can't usually get romantic without some friendship first. I've been working to marry all the premades into my families for a while and I don't want those decisions taken away.
    Hopefully that feature will come with a toggle, but even after the patch my sims still have fear moodlets when wants and fears are turned off so my faith in toggles has declined somewhat.

    Yeah this feature is simultaneously one I'm really looking forward to but which I'm also kinda dreading. I really hope it isn't all predictable and cliche. E.g. sims with the same traits will always be compatible while opposite traits will always hate each other. Boooooring. At least give some customization options then.
    While I do want interaction and relationships to feel more distinctive and meaningful, which a system like this obviously improves upon (and I love it how it's not just about attraction but about "friendship chemistry"), I know I'll get really tired of it if the matching sims always follow some boring restrictive pattern. I have enjoyed how basically all my TS4 couples have been formed because of some interesting gameplay shenanigans, introducing couples I wouldn't necessarily even consider if some system was there to wave its' finger how their traits are incompatible or whatnot.
  • EmmaVaneEmmaVane Posts: 7,847 Member
    edited February 2023
    Thrior wrote: »
    Daephene wrote: »
    The relationship chemistry concerns me a little. I have enjoyed actually being able to make decisions about who my sims date and marry without the complications of an attraction system like in Sims2. All the descriptions talk about friendships rather than romance, but they can't usually get romantic without some friendship first. I've been working to marry all the premades into my families for a while and I don't want those decisions taken away.
    Hopefully that feature will come with a toggle, but even after the patch my sims still have fear moodlets when wants and fears are turned off so my faith in toggles has declined somewhat.

    Yeah this feature is simultaneously one I'm really looking forward to but which I'm also kinda dreading. I really hope it isn't all predictable and cliche. E.g. sims with the same traits will always be compatible while opposite traits will always hate each other. Boooooring. At least give some customization options then.
    While I do want interaction and relationships to feel more distinctive and meaningful, which a system like this obviously improves upon (and I love it how it's not just about attraction but about "friendship chemistry"), I know I'll get really tired of it if the matching sims always follow some boring restrictive pattern. I have enjoyed how basically all my TS4 couples have been formed because of some interesting gameplay shenanigans, introducing couples I wouldn't necessarily even consider if some system was there to wave its' finger how their traits are incompatible or whatnot.

    I'm hoping it works like preferences. Maybe you want a sim to have terrible taste in partners and you can make them like Mean sims? Maybe you lived in an apartment next to loud sims once and it went horribly, so now you hate all Music Lovers, Party Animals and Romantic sims? Maybe your sim is a prude (hello Agnes) so you hate Romantic sims and like Proper/Unflirty sims?
  • Monet11Monet11 Posts: 1,422 Member

    I really dislike the name. Not that it is bad in and of itself. It's a rather small annoyance. But it is so similar to Get Together. What kind of abbreviation will end up being used? Or will it just have to be typed out all the time?
  • simgirl1010simgirl1010 Posts: 35,862 Member
    edited February 2023
    Monet11 wrote: »
    I really dislike the name. Not that it is bad in and of itself. It's a rather small annoyance. But it is so similar to Get Together. What kind of abbreviation will end up being used? Or will it just have to be typed out all the time?

    I've seen suggestions of GrT. Like CoL for Cottage Living to distinguish between CL for City Living.

    Edited CT to CL. Even with the abbreviations I still got it wrong. 😄
    Post edited by simgirl1010 on
  • GrumpyGlowfishGrumpyGlowfish Posts: 2,208 Member
    I could do without abbreviations altogether. They always confuse me. As for the name, I think it's actually quite clever, as "Growing Together" can mean "growing up together" (like a family) or "growing closer" (as in, improving a relationship), both of which are themes of the pack. What bothers me more is the name of the world, San Sequoia, which I'll probably get mixed up with San Myshuno a lot. I'm already having enough trouble with Britechester and Brindleton Bay as it is.
  • GordyGordy Posts: 3,022 Member
    Monet11 wrote: »
    I really dislike the name. Not that it is bad in and of itself. It's a rather small annoyance. But it is so similar to Get Together. What kind of abbreviation will end up being used? Or will it just have to be typed out all the time?

    I've seen suggestions of GrT. Like CoL for Cottage Living to distinguish between CT for City Living.
    I want to use GroT. It sounds slimy and funny. I'd love for this to be the best Sims 4 EP ever, and it's just saddled with a weird-sounding abbreviation.
    TS1_dragons_hatching.jpg
    The Sims 4 hasn't introduced a new musical instrument since 2017
  • GrimlyFiendishGrimlyFiendish Posts: 718 Member
    edited February 2023
    <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Those elder family members do be needing tech advice every now and then. Always happy to help.<br>😉 <a href="https://t.co/VevGKfjCrV">pic.twitter.com/VevGKfjCrV</a></p>&mdash; Dave Miotke (@SimGuruNinja) <a href=" 6, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js&quot; charset="utf-8"></script>

    I see the ageism is strong as ever :|

    Also Kathleen Booth, Manuel Blum, Howard Aiken, Leonard Adleman, Frances Elizabeth Allen, Charles Bachman, Paul Baran, Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, Wesley A. Clark and many other pioneers of computing would like a word. :|

    I am really trying to be as polite as I can here, but in all honesty the attitude towards elders in the Sims is appalling in my opinion and does not feel inline, to me at least, with the Sims commitment to diversity and inclusion.
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    Female Simmer from Australia (she/her)

    I had one of my Sims marry the Grim Reaper & now they have a lot of kids.

  • jpsulsuldagdagjpsulsuldagdag Posts: 450 Member
    While the game trailer looks nice, I too hate the title hahah it almost always confuses me.

    I'm kinda sad that there seems to be nothing for teens and young adults too? I dunno. I thought it must include all life stages.
  • elanorbretonelanorbreton Posts: 14,549 Member
    I quite like that they have included a special interaction, because there are probably a lot of (not all, of course) elders who are not greatly tech-minded, having not grown up surrounded by tech stuff. To me, this is only along the same lines as people asking for walking canes for elders, and other special interactions which are more common in that age group.

    As for people saying there is nothing for teens, I guess the HSY pack added quite a lot for them and EA expect people to buy that pack if they want teen stuff. I hope they have included at least a couple of little things dedicated to teens for people who don't want to/cannot buy HSY.
  • telemwilltelemwill Posts: 1,752 Member
    I quite like that they have included a special interaction, because there are probably a lot of (not all, of course) elders who are not greatly tech-minded, having not grown up surrounded by tech stuff. To me, this is only along the same lines as people asking for walking canes for elders, and other special interactions which are more common in that age group.

    As for people saying there is nothing for teens, I guess the HSY pack added quite a lot for them and EA expect people to buy that pack if they want teen stuff. I hope they have included at least a couple of little things dedicated to teens for people who don't want to/cannot buy HSY.

    It's kind of funny to me, because when flip phones first came out, it was my mother-in-law who taught me to use one.

    That said, while I can use my smartphone just fine, having been around computers since the days they filled a room and monitors looked like typewriters, my kids tend to adopt new apps and features first. So they do explain those to me sometimes. But they are the ones who come to me if they need desktop or printer advice. I'm the only one in the family who can stop and restart the spooler when a print job gets "stuck".
  • crocobauracrocobaura Posts: 7,382 Member
    I quite like that they have included a special interaction, because there are probably a lot of (not all, of course) elders who are not greatly tech-minded, having not grown up surrounded by tech stuff. To me, this is only along the same lines as people asking for walking canes for elders, and other special interactions which are more common in that age group.

    As for people saying there is nothing for teens, I guess the HSY pack added quite a lot for them and EA expect people to buy that pack if they want teen stuff. I hope they have included at least a couple of little things dedicated to teens for people who don't want to/cannot buy HSY.


    Maybe they will show more about the other life states in the gameplay trailer. Though it might just be that some of the sims we've seen were teens and we didn't realize.
  • SimmingalSimmingal Posts: 8,956 Member
    telemwill wrote: »
    I quite like that they have included a special interaction, because there are probably a lot of (not all, of course) elders who are not greatly tech-minded, having not grown up surrounded by tech stuff. To me, this is only along the same lines as people asking for walking canes for elders, and other special interactions which are more common in that age group.

    As for people saying there is nothing for teens, I guess the HSY pack added quite a lot for them and EA expect people to buy that pack if they want teen stuff. I hope they have included at least a couple of little things dedicated to teens for people who don't want to/cannot buy HSY.

    It's kind of funny to me, because when flip phones first came out, it was my mother-in-law who taught me to use one.

    That said, while I can use my smartphone just fine, having been around computers since the days they filled a room and monitors looked like typewriters, my kids tend to adopt new apps and features first. So they do explain those to me sometimes. But they are the ones who come to me if they need desktop or printer advice. I'm the only one in the family who can stop and restart the spooler when a print job gets "stuck".

    oh they totally should have "let your mom/dad show you how this work" interaction too if we go this route

    its funny to me how my mom and dad seem to handle about every machine and household appliance on earth no problems with complete confidence all "how could you not know how this works"

    but then phone computer and the printer are suddenly complete mystery to them :lol:
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  • WildIrishBansheeWildIrishBanshee Posts: 2,105 Member
    In my house, I handle the computers and accessories, and household tech - the kid handles the smartphone gadgets for the most part lmao.
  • Monet11Monet11 Posts: 1,422 Member

    Monet11 wrote: »
    I really dislike the name. Not that it is bad in and of itself. It's a rather small annoyance. But it is so similar to Get Together. What kind of abbreviation will end up being used? Or will it just have to be typed out all the time?

    I've seen suggestions of GrT. Like CoL for Cottage Living to distinguish between CL for City Living.

    Edited CT to CL. Even with the abbreviations I still got it wrong. 😄

    😄 Look at you... making my point for me. 😂😂

    I could do without abbreviations altogether. They always confuse me. As for the name, I think it's actually quite clever, as "Growing Together" can mean "growing up together" (like a family) or "growing closer" (as in, improving a relationship), both of which are themes of the pack.

    I remember words better than I remember abbreviations, so I like abbreviations that turn into words. If it were "Growing Up Together", then we could call it GuT. Which I might do anyway, because it's short and funny and easy to remember. Or I could combine it with @Gordy's suggestion of GroT, and make it GroTGuT. Then no one would have any idea what I was talking about. Which is fairly common anyway.





  • Monet11Monet11 Posts: 1,422 Member


    I am so over that phone. Can we have an option for elders to smash it out of frustration? Or how about a power off option. Can we have a power off option?
  • JustinB113JustinB113 Posts: 1,050 Member
    edited February 2023
    As for people saying there is nothing for teens, I guess the HSY pack added quite a lot for them and EA expect people to buy that pack if they want teen stuff. I hope they have included at least a couple of little things dedicated to teens for people who don't want to/cannot buy HSY.
    Couldn’t we equally say we hoped they added stuff for toddlers to HSY for people who didn’t want to buy parenthood though?

    I think people are still hung up on this being Generations, and it’s not. Theres no more reason to have teen content in this expansion than in any other really.

    Not that it would be a bad thing, I’m just not expecting much if at all. Maybe some milestones or unique interactions with infants. But they had their big update already.
  • lemonellalemonella Posts: 423 Member
    I'm rarely lurking in the negative thoughts threads, but I've been reading everyone's thoughts as well as some complaints off twitter recently and I have some opinions. Please bear with me, this may be a longer post than I'm originally intending it to be.

    I agree with @JustinB113. I think many simmers are comparing the upcoming expansion pack to the previous TS3 Generations. I can understand why, I mean, it's hard not to compare them when the themes are very similar. To be fair, the themes ultimately are the same, but I think the focus is a little different this time around.

    TS3 Generations focused on giving the player new experiences for all generations introducing a memory system, reputations, storytelling, a daycare career, pranks, punishments, etc. The game also introduced life stage specific features like imaginary friends, boarding schools, after-school activities, bachelor/bachelorette parties, proms, midlife crises, etc. The game took each life stage and gave it new features and/or activities.

    Now, TS4 Growing Together appears to also focus on giving the player new experiences for all generations including milestones, social compatibility, new activities sims can do together (puzzles, building treehouses, splash pads) along with life stage specific features like infant quirks, toddler quirks, new children aspirations, midlife crises, and giving life lessons. I'm paraphrasing here, but we get the gist.

    It's amazing, it really is quite a similar game to Generations, but the big difference that I'd like to point out is that many of the items mentioned in the above TS3 paragraph were given to us in multiple packs in TS4 that went further in depth to create a more meaningful experience. TS4 Parenthood, Kids Room Stuff, Toddler Stuff, My Wedding Stories, Nifty Knitting Stuff, and High School Years are all packs that dive deeper into some of the features that the community has asked for! With some of those features already in the game, I'm totally okay with the team adding in a bunch of content for the infants -- as they are new! And it sounds like toddlers are getting a major update, so I'm thinking the Sims team took the wonderful opportunity to focus on helping incorporate the new infant life stage into a simmer's game while simultaneously giving each life stage something new to experience. I understand that it can leave a bad taste in one's mouth when the sims introduces a new feature for free and then puts all the fun stuff behind a price tag, but hey, that's the point of an expansion pack right? To expand the features and experiences in the game..

    I'm almost done! Since I'm here in the negative thread, I will add my share of negativity. Here it goes -- I also want strollers, so it's a shame they've been replaced with a wearable baby carrier. Thank you for letting me write down and share my thoughts! I hope those of you that aren't very impressed with the upcoming expansion pack get a feature (or occult!) that you're hoping for in the very near future :)
    · · ─────── · 𖥸 · ─────── · ·
  • EmmaVaneEmmaVane Posts: 7,847 Member
    I could do without abbreviations altogether. They always confuse me. As for the name, I think it's actually quite clever, as "Growing Together" can mean "growing up together" (like a family) or "growing closer" (as in, improving a relationship), both of which are themes of the pack. What bothers me more is the name of the world, San Sequoia, which I'll probably get mixed up with San Myshuno a lot. I'm already having enough trouble with Britechester and Brindleton Bay as it is.

    Britechester: "Bright" - Smart/brainy/educated.
    Brindleton Bay: "Brindle" - A mottled brown coat colour found on on animals, particularly dogs and cats.
  • Horrorgirl6Horrorgirl6 Posts: 3,186 Member
    jpajari wrote: »
    I'm rarely lurking in the negative thoughts threads, but I've been reading everyone's thoughts as well as some complaints off twitter recently and I have some opinions. Please bear with me, this may be a longer post than I'm originally intending it to be.

    I agree with @JustinB113. I think many simmers are comparing the upcoming expansion pack to the previous TS3 Generations. I can understand why, I mean, it's hard not to compare them when the themes are very similar. To be fair, the themes ultimately are the same, but I think the focus is a little different this time around.

    TS3 Generations focused on giving the player new experiences for all generations introducing a memory system, reputations, storytelling, a daycare career, pranks, punishments, etc. The game also introduced life stage specific features like imaginary friends, boarding schools, after-school activities, bachelor/bachelorette parties, proms, midlife crises, etc. The game took each life stage and gave it new features and/or activities.

    Now, TS4 Growing Together appears to also focus on giving the player new experiences for all generations including milestones, social compatibility, new activities sims can do together (puzzles, building treehouses, splash pads) along with life stage specific features like infant quirks, toddler quirks, new children aspirations, midlife crises, and giving life lessons. I'm paraphrasing here, but we get the gist.

    It's amazing, it really is quite a similar game to Generations, but the big difference that I'd like to point out is that many of the items mentioned in the above TS3 paragraph were given to us in multiple packs in TS4 that went further in depth to create a more meaningful experience. TS4 Parenthood, Kids Room Stuff, Toddler Stuff, My Wedding Stories, Nifty Knitting Stuff, and High School Years are all packs that dive deeper into some of the features that the community has asked for! With some of those features already in the game, I'm totally okay with the team adding in a bunch of content for the infants -- as they are new! And it sounds like toddlers are getting a major update, so I'm thinking the Sims team took the wonderful opportunity to focus on helping incorporate the new infant life stage into a simmer's game while simultaneously giving each life stage something new to experience. I understand that it can leave a bad taste in one's mouth when the sims introduces a new feature for free and then puts all the fun stuff behind a price tag, but hey, that's the point of an expansion pack right? To expand the features and experiences in the game..

    I'm almost done! Since I'm here in the negative thread, I will add my share of negativity. Here it goes -- I also want strollers, so it's a shame they've been replaced with a wearable baby carrier. Thank you for letting me write down and share my thoughts! I hope those of you that aren't very impressed with the upcoming expansion pack get a feature (or occult!) that you're hoping for in the very near future :)

    Yah rip strollers.
  • LeGardePourpreLeGardePourpre Posts: 15,231 Member
    edited February 2023
    jpajari wrote: »
    I'm rarely lurking in the negative thoughts threads, but I've been reading everyone's thoughts as well as some complaints off twitter recently and I have some opinions. Please bear with me, this may be a longer post than I'm originally intending it to be.

    I agree with @JustinB113. I think many simmers are comparing the upcoming expansion pack to the previous TS3 Generations. I can understand why, I mean, it's hard not to compare them when the themes are very similar. To be fair, the themes ultimately are the same, but I think the focus is a little different this time around.

    TS3 Generations focused on giving the player new experiences for all generations introducing a memory system, reputations, storytelling, a daycare career, pranks, punishments, etc. The game also introduced life stage specific features like imaginary friends, boarding schools, after-school activities, bachelor/bachelorette parties, proms, midlife crises, etc. The game took each life stage and gave it new features and/or activities.

    Now, TS4 Growing Together appears to also focus on giving the player new experiences for all generations including milestones, social compatibility, new activities sims can do together (puzzles, building treehouses, splash pads) along with life stage specific features like infant quirks, toddler quirks, new children aspirations, midlife crises, and giving life lessons. I'm paraphrasing here, but we get the gist.

    It's amazing, it really is quite a similar game to Generations, but the big difference that I'd like to point out is that many of the items mentioned in the above TS3 paragraph were given to us in multiple packs in TS4 that went further in depth to create a more meaningful experience. TS4 Parenthood, Kids Room Stuff, Toddler Stuff, My Wedding Stories, Nifty Knitting Stuff, and High School Years are all packs that dive deeper into some of the features that the community has asked for! With some of those features already in the game, I'm totally okay with the team adding in a bunch of content for the infants -- as they are new! And it sounds like toddlers are getting a major update, so I'm thinking the Sims team took the wonderful opportunity to focus on helping incorporate the new infant life stage into a simmer's game while simultaneously giving each life stage something new to experience. I understand that it can leave a bad taste in one's mouth when the sims introduces a new feature for free and then puts all the fun stuff behind a price tag, but hey, that's the point of an expansion pack right? To expand the features and experiences in the game..

    I'm almost done! Since I'm here in the negative thread, I will add my share of negativity. Here it goes -- I also want strollers, so it's a shame they've been replaced with a wearable baby carrier. Thank you for letting me write down and share my thoughts! I hope those of you that aren't very impressed with the upcoming expansion pack get a feature (or occult!) that you're hoping for in the very near future :)

    Yah rip strollers.

    It's not over yet. Infant is a basegame feature, baby carrier is not.

    RIP walking cane for elder sims too.
  • AncientMuseAncientMuse Posts: 1,062 Member
    On the negative:

    - No strollers/prams, no baby jogging buggy, no baby seat bicycle, no baby activity chair, no baby swings, no bouncy baby hangers.
    - Potentially no apartments, no row houses, no new multi-family type of dwellings of any kind by the looks of it.
    - No new exciting venue (a recreation centre will most likely function the same as an art centre or a library - a place to read books, play board games, or have a bbq outside - so nothing new). And unfortunately, I think the splash park/pad thingy is most likely locked to the world and you can only get there by walking from a nearby lot, it won't be a new venue type either.


    On the positive:

    - I'm looking forward to using that treehouse for my rags to riches stories... it looks like we can place items in it. So a sleeping bag, a lantern, and a cooler (with a potty bush on the lot) to set up a new homeless sim struggling to make their way in the world.
    - I like the new build style items (craftsmen style is versatile enough to be used in many different types of builds, not just blue suburbans).
    - Sleeping bags and sleepovers. Yay!
    - Freed babies with real cribs and change tables. Yay!
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