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Would you buy pre teens pack?
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In my opinion, it always should have been something along the lines of:
Baby(newborn probably more movable but they are better now)> Infants>Toddlers (2-4)> Little Kids(5-6)>Children (7-11)>Preteens(12 irl but in game myb 12-14)> Teens(15-17) >YA(18-29)> Adult(30-49)> Middle-Aged(50-60)> Retiree(60-65)> Elder(65+)
And for the in-between stages rather than making them super long, extending the sims life and then having these stages shorter than their counter parts.
Like you're a little kid for less time than you are a child and less time than you are a toddler. Or perhaps even more time or the same. That you are a Toddler because you're only a toddler for a few years. And you're only a Little Kid for a few years and then you're a child for maybe like 5 years.
Similarly you're Pre-teens for a short amount of time. But that will allow for more distinction between playstyle, between the different things in game, even the puberty stuff they added in. And if they're gonna make teen look like Mini adults, it'd be interesting for them to at least have that awkward phase for a little bit. And we'd finally have a height slider!
I also think that everything in game is still heavily focused on young adults. We have recently gotten family contact. However, it doesn't really do all that much for sims over a certain age. And it's reductive for it to just be you're an adult and then you're old. Like it is a game but still. They can't even woo-hoo without unaliving. I think adding a few shorter lifestages after adulthood would be beneficial. They don't have to be as long as the main ones. But they could change a lot. Midlife crisis would actually happen to a middle-aged sim. You could retire before your back goes out. Also early retirement should be an option anyway. I might be more interested in playing with older sims if it wasn't a constant ticking of the time bomb for them. Give them the shot to enjoy their age more.
So yeah patch in Preteens, but also Little Kids going to Kindergarten and reading their first chapter book. Preteens learning how awkward middle school is. First crushes, not having crushes at all, Saturday morning cartoons, and a lemonade stand you kept from elementary school summers. Worrying about entering high school. And then go to adults who aren't YA anymore, and aren't even just in the got it mostly figured out phase anymore, firmly middle-aged they know what they know now. They've done a lot. They've got time ahead of them, but the stress of the day to day may get to them. And then our Retirees they're chilling. They managed to survive, some had only rags and are rich now, some had 100 kids and at least 20 want to take care of them in their old age. Others still just lived, loved, worked, and now get to go explore tombs, visit planets, and camp out. Most importantly they can still woo-hoo. And once they're elders they'll pass down the keepsake box and spend their time on more relaxing pursuits.
Oh ok, when I read "Pack" I was thinking of DLC Pack like they did for teens with HSY and the kids room and toddler stuff packs, which I couldn't figure out which life stage it would be for since we don't have a "Pre-Teen" life stage.
I mean, I understand why people want it, and if we were to get it, I'd roll with it, but they'll likely get no more support going forward than children do now. And on top of that, there's a lot of work involved. Infants didn't have anything to "keep" between newborn and toddler, while Pre-Teens would have to have more or less all the animations and interactions that child sims do, plus more.
And then, when they're inevitably not supported as well as everyone wants, people will spend a lot of time justly complaining about it, making it yet one more life stage competing for attention in future packs, meaning we're likely to get *less* for children moving forward, because they'll have to split their resources between children and pre-teens.
Basically, I see it as a noble desire that will lead to a huge mess and more dissapointment and anger from the community, so I don't see it as being worth it to open that can of worms.
But what do I know, I didn't want Infants either.
Romance (1st crush) ? That is not possible, LGBT romance for 12yo child is probably banned.
I see no gameplay to add to the game with this life stage :
Newborn, infant, toddler and child have their own gameplay but preteen has nothing special to offer.
Cons of a new body size :
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The Sims 4 General DiscussionThe Sims 4 Ideas Corner
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The Sims 4 General DiscussionUnfortunately I must agree. I would rather the team put the effort into creating things we don't have yet such as hotels and bands or expanding on more useful parts of gameplay like travel and social interactions.
To me, the life stages would be...
Newborn: 0-5 months - tiny screamer
Infant: 8-12mths - slightly larger tiny crawler
Toddler: 2-3y - omg it's properly mobile now
Child: 5-7y - first years of school
Then...
Preteen: 8-12y - pubescent nightmare approaching
Early teen: 13-15y - hates everything
Late teen: 16-18y - can't wait to move out
And finally...
Young adult: 21-28y - moved out
Adult: 30-40y - making their own messy lives
"Midlife crisis": 45+ - when the kids are telling their parents they're "not leaving the house wearing that"
Retirement: 65+ - grandkids galore
Elders: 80+ - one foot in the grave
But I understand that kinda thing would be a lot to add to the game, and again they're only my silly little thoughts!
Two of my Sims are going to be grandparents soon, first time I've ever had grandparent Sims, but they're adults and the one expecting is obviously a young adult, and I don't want the grandparents-to-be to become elders yet, so not having extra life stages between young adult and elder is also kind of annoying.
Having said all this, I just change their outfits and their looks to suit how old I see them, so having another life stage isn't really necessary to me. Would be cool but *shrug* not really fussed overall.
GP05 Parenthood, Teen childhood phases :
Basically it's about recycling the existing gameplay.
I still think the Child/Teen gameplay is weak compared to The Sims 2 and 3, I would prefer that Maxis improve it.
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The Sims 4 General DiscussionKids look like they are 8-10 and teens look 17-30. We are missing 10-17 and it's weird to watch a kid grow up into an adult overnight. The gap is especially jarring after getting the infant update. Now we have newborns, infants, toddlers, children, and adults (Teens - elders are all are the same height and wear the same clothes may as well be all in one life stage)...
I want a pre-teen stage that comes with their own clothing. Think of places like Justice, and Frankie's in the park. Hairstyles for that age group as well. Things with butterfly clips, scrunchies, hair clips, and headbands.
Gameplay - They should still like to play with toys sometimes but are also starting to like makeup, girls/boys, fashion trends, sports, and what their peers think. They are in the stage of wanting to grow up but also still trying to hold on to their childhood. They are listening to their friends more but still want their parent's guidance. Rebellious streaks, Slumber parties, and after-school activities become important.
I could brainstorm all day about all the possibilities. I don't know if EA will ever add this life stage but I hope they at least make teens shorter or more distinguished in the Sims 5.
In term of age I would say it misses 12-15 (Middle school).
IRL teens can look like young adult when they have a beard.
"Harrison Cerami, 15, banned from class for refusing to shave off his beard"
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The Sims 4 General DiscussionThe Sims 4 is more realistic than the previous games because it also follows the growth chart.
For example the growth chart for boys :
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The Sims 4 General DiscussionThe way Preteens would be the best excuse to bring back Y2k core aesthetics in certain ways. Like they had that 90s inspired kit that was kinda...meh.
But the clips you mentioned, slap bracelets, glittery peeling nail polish, patched jeans, stickers, puffy paint at the creativity table. Scented markers that give moodlets.
Like yeah they're older but some of the most distinct parts about being a Preteen are that blend of childishness and desire to be older, since you're on the threshold of teenhood.
Plus it'd be fun to have a mix of stuff from various recent decades available to the kids. And while I am obviously biased I think in terms of dressing up a sim, the cute clothes from the 90s&00s are top tier. Just ignore all the dumpster fire options. Focus on the gauchos and platform sandal resurgence.
Maybe they could even add new shows to the TV. Like a Saturday morning cartoon like channel. Llama Rangers (Power Rangers), Fighting Fairies (Winx), Groggy the Horned Frog (Sonic). Oh and anime! And like the Teen TV channel and to make it more realistic, Preteens are more interested in watching that channel than actual Teenagers. And then Teenagers once they age up only watch it rarely, or teen programs on regular channels and music videos. While the Preteens also spend less time watching Kids network, but still enjoy their Saturday Morning/all day Cartoons.
It could end up being something that when the sim is an adult and they turn on the channel they get a nostalgia moodlet, or if it was a show they didn't like, they'll get a moodlet reflecting that.
Preteens can take care younger siblings and cook by themselves. Instead of high school, they should go to middle school / junior high school and cannot drop out (in some countries, junior high education is compulsory)
Some more puberty features can be added, such as first period, development of secondary sexual characteristics, growing pain, first crush, voice crack etc
EA has employed the creator of preteen mod last year. I hope they're doing something on official preteens.