With the confirmation of Discover University, simmers are already looking forward to future expansions and I've noticed an uptick in interest for an expansion based on generations.
So, I'd like to discuss what people are hoping to see in a generational themed expansion.
Some of my ideas:
CAS
- More CAS assets for toddlers, children, teens, and elders.
- More piercings and tattoos
- An elder walk style that requires a cane
- Body hair and more beards
- Traits like Daredevil and Shy
- More aspirations for children
- More teen friendly aspirations
- More family connection choices
BB
- bunk beds
- tree house
- slides
- hop scotch
- chalk drawing area (like CL spray painting area)
- jump rope
- scrapbooking station
- knitting
- more instruments/band equipment
- dress up trunk
- board games
Game play
- With the scrapbooking station you'd be able to take your pictures and organize them with captions in a book like the spellbook in ROM. Your sims could then pick it up and look through it or you could just click and open it to look through it yourself.
- Grandparents should have a special relationship with their grandchildren with unique interactions. A few examples: give life advice (child gets inspired buff), spoil rotten (kid gets a cookie and gets an energized buff), pinch cheek (kid gets angry or uncomfortable)
- In fact every generation should have unique interactions based on how they are related and their relationship strength.
- New events: family reunion, graduation party, baby shower, funeral.
- New lot type: graveyard.
- Cross generational actives such as dressing up together, playing games together, or mentoring another with a lower skill than you (right now you have to be level 10 in a skill to be able to mentor and it's limited to just a few skills).
- The ability for teens and up to form a band together and play privately or out in public.
- More romantic interactions. This could be a gamepack unto itself, but a romantic slow dance and spooning in bed could possibly fit this theme.
Something I'd love to see patched in with a pack like this is the ability to see how another sim is related to you sim by hovering your mouse over them. You can do this with the family tree and it would be nice if under their name it would say cousin, aunt/uncle, grandparent, etc. I have a large legacy family right now and sometimes it's hard to remember who's who.
Controversial thoughts:
I don't want them to add any new life stages. I feel it will just take time and resources away from the current life stages that need attention.
I'm also OK if they don't release a world with this pack if it means all the resources are poured into game play and fleshing out the sims.
This is getting long so I'll stop here. Please share your ideas, hopes, and desires for a generational themed expansion down below.
Comments
Baby and toddler strollers we can actually use. Including twin strollers to fit atleast two.
Toddlers able to crawl if they want
Pillow fights for all ages
Sims able to carry their children
Spin the bottle and many other family/friends games.
Marco polo, tag, hand games fort building, hide and seek and other games where kids can interact with eachother (not just objects)
Kids able to jump on beds and couches
More interactions between children and toddlers. (And I don't mean talking)
Playground items like slides for children and teens, seesaw, merry goes around, spring horses. Things you really see at playground and in normal sizes.
Kids able to dance on parents feet
More cas traits for kids (though we need more traits overall. Especially the faithful trait)
Piggy back rides for all ages
Peekaboo
Playpins
Option to sit anywhere on the floor. (Not playing board games on the table)
A play kitchen set and play house for kids
A play tea set
Options to feed toddlers
More interactions overall between sims of all ages that gives them a more feel of togetherness.
For example there should be various ways to comfort a crying or sad sim of any age with animations.
Not just hiding under a blanket or talking to a mirror or whatever.
Sims get sick but there is no way to care for or comfort sick sims? 😔
Free babies
Rocking chairs
Being able to sit while still holding toddler
Options to feed other sims. We have that feed a bite interaction added from dine out that never actually worked one time for me. Plus it's in the romance category. I don't think many American families do, but other in cultures including where I'm from, family feed eachother in a friendly way as a sign of affection. That would be so sweet to see.
I think bed cuddling would fit in here as well as new couch cuddling that doesn't look like they are barely touching heads together with a goofy grin. That interaction still kills me lol 🤣
I also don't want a new life stage and I don't care for a new world. I would love it if this pack is alllllllllll gameplay. Forget wasting time on those beautiful backdrops.
I know my list is long and don't expect every single thing I want to be added but between my ideas and other players ideas it would be nice if we got most of it. 🙈
Baby overhaul should be free and precede this pack adding the following gameplay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBJqbJpbETs
From there, a Generations EP could add the following.
For babies: Lots of CAS, BB such as cribs, toys, playmats, playpens, carseats, baby chairs, changing tables, strollers etc; and new interactions with siblings and parents, like peek-a-boo.
For toddlers: Lots of new CAS, strollers, new toys, interactions with babies like trying to talk to them or teach them to crawl. Arts and crafts like finger paints, coloring books, clay, etc. Lots of toys they can play with with babies.
For kids: New CAS, new toys and games for them to play, new interactions with babies, toddlers and other kids. Bikes, roller skates and skateboards. Events like sleepovers. Games like tag. I'd also like the ability to build a treehouse, similar to the way rockets in game are built over a long period of time before becoming usable.
For teens: New CAS, learning how to drive, more parties, group dates, more jobs.
Elders:A new section in CAS dedicated specifically to elders. New CAS, objects such as canes, walkers, rocking chairs, knitting, etc. Bingo and other games.
New game play
Babies: Freed from the bassinet, bathe them, play with them, help them learn to crawl
Kids: Jump on bed, pillow fights, cops in robbers
Preteen: First crush, spin the bottle, embarrassment if anyone catches them doing kid stuff
Teen: Teach them to drive, pimples (not CAS item), prom and school dance (if no school pack ever comes)
Ya-Adult: Don't care they have enough
Elders: Play bingo, tell stories of your youth to grandchildren, get off my lawn interaction,
- Family Photo
- Sibling rivalry kids-teens
CAS
- Canes
- More wrinkles
- More balding hair styles
- Body hair
- Elder walk style
Traits
- Rebellious
- Nurturing
- Shy
Objects
- Stroller for babies and toddlers to take them outside and community lots
- Changing table
- Cribs
- Nursing chair
- Playmat
- Tree house
- Costume chest
- Bunkbed
- Bikes for children (if it does not come in University) and preteens
- Skateboards
- Rocking chair
- Sewing machine
The problem with parent hood is that it focused on the parents. If they think it added anything for kids, elders, babbies or actual family play.....
I mean it added a bit but definitely not much. Still the focus was on the young adults.
But yeah keep the ideas coming so they know that players actually want family play!! (Hopefully)
babies are first cause there is absolutely nothing for them when they could be a very fun and interesting lifestage. anyone who has babies know they don't just sleep and poop. like yeah, newborns do, but at a certain age they start crawling and playing with toys, like bouncy chairs and those little mobile things where you can whack it and it makes noise. carry them, wash them, changing table, strollers that work with infants and toddlers. i want all of that.
Don't forget new lot types/venues. A gameplay pack would be more enjoyable if there were new lot types added.
I agree
I'm on board with most of the ideas for Generations. I really think we need to bring back memories and more reactive sims, though the latter might be happening already to some degree. Judith definitely got slapped for cheating on her latest husband recently. I'm the one who had him divorce her but I also like being the one to make that decision. "This sim wants to work it out. Nope, that sim is done."
I do think there should be some kind of "golden anniversary" like in TS3 and other stuff for elders. "Now introducing bingo, warning: elder sims may spontaneously go to Grimmie at the bingo table." More special interactions for grandparents and grandkids. More "back in my day ..."
I'm pretty open to adding more for the various life stages and for differentiating sims in more ways.
They think that the majority of players are young, single adults and only want to play themselves.
In all this time adults get endless active careers in Parenting obviously they are doing all the parenting everything is being made for them and now they get University all while children-teens are locked away in a rabbit hole school half the day wonder why people are playing the adults.
Save yourself a lot of wasted time and heartache and except the fact that S4 means Sims 4 Young Adults Only.
With a generations EP, it'd also be super cool for gameplay to have a social interaction of "ask advice". So a child or grandchild can ask a parent or grandparent for their advice for anything from a love interest to which university to attend (if at all) or which career to join. I realize that would be really involved, but how cool would that be? I suppose it could operate similar to the parents' action of "influence to...",
Other game play options that could be patched in could be painted nails (should have been in spa day?) but all the women in the family could get matching nails for an upcoming wedding, I definitely agree with canes (or walkers) for elders, also maybe traits like "forgetful" or "grumpy" specific to elders, earned through adulthood like how certain traits are earned through childhood.