Farming EP ideas!

So for animals I kind of want rabbit holes (sort of), say you build a chicken coop and you can have 10 chickens, I want to see different color chickens running around their fenced in area, (not all at once, some will be laying eggs) but I want to be able to click on the coop and see all ten chickens and give them different names and then maybe choose to "harvest" and older one, take to market (where you can sell it at a farmers market) and then "take to show" to try and win a ribbon for best chicken. And I would want this with all the animals. However, I want certain animals to share coops/barns, Like duck, geese and chickens (and quail) can share a coop and you have to add on to the coop to get more birds with a limit of how many you can have in the coop. Then i want sheep, goats, and llama/alpacas to share a barn with the same rabbit hole idea, you see some of them but some are in the barn. and then bulls and cows can share a barn (with horses, and donkeys, and ponies). I want to be able to mark some of them as well like "breed to X on tuesday" or "send to butcher on wednesday".

"RenRochelle;c-17517209" wrote:
So for animals I kind of want rabbit holes (sort of), say you build a chicken coop and you can have 10 chickens, I want to see different color chickens running around their fenced in area, (not all at once, some will be laying eggs) but I want to be able to click on the coop and see all ten chickens and give them different names and then maybe choose to "harvest" and older one, take to market (where you can sell it at a farmers market) and then "take to show" to try and win a ribbon for best chicken. And I would want this with all the animals. However, I want certain animals to share coops/barns, Like duck, geese and chickens (and quail) can share a coop and you have to add on to the coop to get more birds with a limit of how many you can have in the coop. Then i want sheep, goats, and llama/alpacas to share a barn with the same rabbit hole idea, you see some of them but some are in the barn. and then bulls and cows can share a barn (with horses, and donkeys, and ponies). I want to be able to mark some of them as well like "breed to X on tuesday" or "send to butcher on wednesday".

Yeah, that would be cool, too. If a farming pack does come out, I'm sure that's what they'll do. I just think it would be cool to build my own animal runs and barns and stuff.

I love all of Rhiannonraven's farm ideas.

We also would need tractors & wagons.

I really wish farm animals could be able to get pregnant as cats and dogs do, to interact with each other, and maybe even be able to interact with other animals too. For example, it would be lovely if you already have cats and dogs, you could be able to train your dog to be sheepdog and look after sheeps. Maybe is a little too much to ask for, but it would also be so lovely if cows and horses could give birth and farmers and childrens could help to assist the birth, and toddlers and kids could watch the birth. If you have parenthood that could give toddlers, children and teens some points of empathy, and responsability. Maybe it could work similar to sim pregnancies, where you can either chose the mom to have the baby in the bassinet, or go to hospital. You could send your cow/horse to the vet, or you could buy an special object to work as bassinets do, for example, a big pile of hay, where you could click and have a few options: "to carry *name of animal* here", and then, "to start birth" "to asist with birth" and "to watch birth"

I really wish if we get horses they could get clasified as "pets" as well so we'd be able to create them and add them by CAS wih different accesories and types of hair. It would be cool to create a horse with braided hair and feathers.

"Elisdream;c-17521044" wrote:
I really wish farm animals could be able to get pregnant as cats and dogs do, to interact with each other, and maybe even be able to interact with other animals too. For example, it would be lovely if you already have cats and dogs, you could be able to train your dog to be sheepdog and look after sheeps. Maybe is a little too much to ask for, but it would also be so lovely if cows and horses could give birth and farmers and childrens could help to assist the birth, and toddlers and kids could watch the birth. If you have parenthood that could give toddlers, children and teens some points of empathy, and responsability. Maybe it could work similar to sim pregnancies, where you can either chose the mom to have the baby in the bassinet, or go to hospital. You could send your cow/horse to the vet, or you could buy an special object to work as bassinets do, for example, a big pile of hay, where you could click and have a few options: "to carry *name of animal* here", and then, "to start birth" "to asist with birth" and "to watch birth"

I really wish if we get horses they could get clasified as "pets" as well so we'd be able to create them and add them by CAS wih different accesories and types of hair. It would be cool to create a horse with braided hair and feathers.

Spoiler

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/39/28/a1/3928a1371b0dee9bec0c0fedce6da7fb.jpg

YES!! For me it would also be about being able to build my own animal enclosures, I don't want every farm to have the same chicken run! And yes, if they make an EP for farming where the animal pens are just objects that produce something every now and then, it'll be an EP for city people. Anyone who's ever spent time on a farm knows that it's much more complex than that and each animal is it's own individual.

"Rhiannonraven;d-976286" wrote:
BIGGER LOTS! To make a small farm, you'll need a 50x50, but what if you want a regular, or even a large farm? I think a new world with a variety of lots ranging from about 50x50 to 100x100 would be perfect, and maybe a little cottage in the corner on a small lot, too. Not everyone wants they're own farm.

I'd prefer to be able to own multiple lots, of varying sizes.
One neighbourhood of medium and large lots, one of medium lots, and one of small and medium lots, and a village of small lots, with a village green, for farmers markets.
That would mean you could buy a medium sized lot to begin with, build your house, and have some chickens, or a couple of sheep, and a large veggie garden, or small orchard. Then when you have the money, you could buy a second medium lot, to grow some grain or a field of veggies, or have a large orchard, and have a dozen sheep, or a couple of cows. Then later, you could buy a large lot, and maybe sell one of the medium lots. It means the size of the farm can be adjusted, to suit the money your sims have.

"INVITE IN" INTERACTION! To run a farm, you'll need to hire farmhands, and you might not want them in your house. This is a much needed feature already, and a farming pack is another instance where it would be vital. I want to have a roommate who lives in a cabin beside me and doesn't enter my house, but I want to be able to invite them inside sometimes and not go redo all the door locks. Can't we have an invite in interaction, and can't guests just automatically go through some doors?

Maybe they could operate more like butters, and you could designate their 'room' as a one room cottage.

FARM ANIMALS! Of course, it's kind of a given that everyone would want farm animals with a farming pack. My personal motto is, "It's not a farm until you've got animals".

And keep it simple.
Chickens for eggs.
Sheep for wool.
Cows for dairy.
If pigs are included, then they'd need an option to 'take to market' where they could be sold, or returned in the form of bacon, ham, and sausages.

You would have to keep their feeders full.

Not always. If there's something growing, then they should have the option to eat it. Animals that graze should produce better produce.
A fallow field would provide food for grazing.
An open gate might provide access to the veggie patch for grazing.
A crop field would provide food after the harvest... unless hay has been made.

Livestock would be incapable of going through gates

Unless the gate is left open. You'd have to watch childish, and lazy adults, and children, teens, and toddlers, and forgetful elders, as they all should have the automatic chance to accidentally leave gates open

SLOWER FOOD GROWING AND COMPLICATIONS! Growing food isn't that easy.

I am rather frustrated by plants that pop up within minutes, and being ready to harvest by the next day.
TS3 did it better.

Really, I've got lots of firsthand experience. About half your plants just don't grow

You must be terrible at growing things! I usually end up with about 85-95% of what I plant surviving, growing, and thriving. And the soil here is terrible.

you only get produce from each plant about 1 to 10 times per year. Root and stalk veggies only produce one harvest every year, whereas fruit trees, perennial leafy plants, and other such things, will produce maybe 5 to 15 harvest in a year.

Yes, root vegetables have only one harvest per year, because you basically have to pull the whole plant up. Potatoes can be an exception.
Fruit trees only provide one harvest, it's just a long one, spread over a month or so

No one plant can be harvested every day.

But every second day is possible with some plants, generally leafy greens, but also tomatoes, capsicum, cucumbers, zucchini... Veggie fruits.

SEND TO GRAZE HERE. Farm dogs or farmers on horses could herd cattle as they graze in a specific spot.

Or sheep! And they will be prone to wonder off after a couple of hours, because the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Kids and toddlers could play with the chickens

And be chased and pecked by them. They're tiny dinosaurs after all!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0GHi9mf-54

I have been wanting a Farm EP since early Sims3 days, but we only got a few box type things. Glad we did get them since they got rid of the Sims3, but I wanted a real farm.

I don't want horses in a Farming EP.

They take up so much resources and if that happens, there won't be hardly any real producing farm animals in it. What simmers that want a Farming EP forgets is that we don't get as much with EPs like we use to.

1. No underwater world in IP
2. only Cats & Dogs, no insects/fish/small animals in cages/rock pets/horses.,
3. 2nd example MFP with only a hamster
4. No houseboats in IP
5. No crystal ball(real working)
6. All the supernaturals in seperate packs and they were all in one in the Sims3
7. Spreading out hobbies like sewing and candlemaking instead of a hobbies pack
Well, Sims4 is riddled with examples.

therefore, if horses are in it, there won't be but maybe one or two farm animals represented and little or no farm equipment. With horses taking up so many resources, simmers who want farming can't have it both ways. This could be the only time to get these animals as I don't think they will revisit this subject again with so much missing from the Sims4 game. Equipment and farm produce animals says farming. Horses belong in an equestrian pack, midevil, fantasy(making unicorns & pegasus at the same time), cowboy pack, or something that they fit well into. And I have never figured out why anyone would think a werewolf would belong in a farming pack. Farming is about work and werewolves are not real and have nothing to do with farms or farmwork, which I know living in one of the biggest farm states in the US.

A real Farming EP should be all about the work, the equipment, the farm producing animals, new harvestables, new fence types, barns, and not furniture/ect. that we already have so much of taking up resources and adding zero to the real farming experience.

The main things I really want and think are needed to make it a real Farm EP are:

1. Equipment- tractors-plural both old and new, cab and no cab- a good selection. Plows, plant setters, and something to mass water the plants with that can attach to the tractors. Hand plows for the poor or for pioneer sims. Haybalers and tetters to make haybales. Square would be nice to.- Haybale woohoo as in Sims3.
2. Real producing animals- Pigs, chickens, cows, and goats are the main ones, but sheep would be nice too if they were added after the other four. These could have babies, be sold, and produce from them could be collected and sold.
3. Real farm crops- corn, green beans, peas, pinto beans are some of the main ones, but I think there should be more than that.
4. Fencing- electric that really shocks, barbed wire that cuts sims, rickety old fencing. Chicken wire fencing.
5. Barns- some in the premades in build and then whatever for those who like to build.
6. Real feed to buy. Sweet feed grain, salt blocks, and haybales(round & square-for sims who don't want to farm their own) for cows, leftovers made into slop for pigs and feed bags for them, chicken feed, goat feed, ect.
7. Farmer's Co-op to buy feed supplies, farm equipment, animals up for sale, and to sell off produce from animals and the farm animals a farmer doesn't want. Would love to go in like at the store from GTW and pick which animals and supplies I want.
8. troughs for pigs and cows. Round hay holders.
9. Farm career- raises animals and grows crops to make a living off of.
10. recipes- pinto beans, cornbread, and recipes that say farm eating
11. If anything for the house comes in, it would be nice if it doesn't take away from the first 10 above. antiques would be nice. Small milk jars with holding container, large milk jug decor piece, pitchfork(sims use to pitch hay to animals), ect., farm toys for kids, rag doll for girls/toddler girls/and infants if they are ever freed. Little House on the Prairie dresses for women/girls/toddler girls and pa type clothing for men, boys, and toddler boys
12. Making larger lots in the Farm neighborhood. This is a farming EP, so everyone should have some type of farm animal on their lot.

Could go with that traits about being City loving or Sulani loving.

If cows, pigs, chickens, and goats are put in and they want to put in sheep, they could be sheered and used to make stuff or the wool sold for money.

The faithful trait(negative to any romantic social and won't break off a marriage/engagement/boygirl friend relationship to go with anyone else; completely negative to all romantic socials no matter how long a sim tries nor how strong the friendship bar is. Friendship bar should dwindle down to nothing as romantic interactions are tried) would be nice since family and farms are together.

hard work moodlet- very powerful boost

"RenRochelle;c-17517209" wrote:
So for animals I kind of want rabbit holes (sort of), say you build a chicken coop and you can have 10 chickens, I want to see different color chickens running around their fenced in area, (not all at once, some will be laying eggs) but I want to be able to click on the coop and see all ten chickens and give them different names and then maybe choose to "harvest" and older one, take to market (where you can sell it at a farmers market) and then "take to show" to try and win a ribbon for best chicken. And I would want this with all the animals. However, I want certain animals to share coops/barns, Like duck, geese and chickens (and quail) can share a coop and you have to add on to the coop to get more birds with a limit of how many you can have in the coop. Then i want sheep, goats, and llama/alpacas to share a barn with the same rabbit hole idea, you see some of them but some are in the barn. and then bulls and cows can share a barn (with horses, and donkeys, and ponies). I want to be able to mark some of them as well like "breed to X on tuesday" or "send to butcher on wednesday".

Sims4 would never give us that many animals, just as supernatural was seperated. We will be lucky to get four and that is real lucky. Cows, chicken, and pigs are a must for a real farm and goats and sheep would be so nice. We will never get that much. Sims3 yes, Sims4, well so many packs have proven this over and over.

"Elisdream;c-17521044" wrote:
I really wish farm animals could be able to get pregnant as cats and dogs do, to interact with each other, and maybe even be able to interact with other animals too. For example, it would be lovely if you already have cats and dogs, you could be able to train your dog to be sheepdog and look after sheeps. Maybe is a little too much to ask for, but it would also be so lovely if cows and horses could give birth and farmers and childrens could help to assist the birth, and toddlers and kids could watch the birth. If you have parenthood that could give toddlers, children and teens some points of empathy, and responsability. Maybe it could work similar to sim pregnancies, where you can either chose the mom to have the baby in the bassinet, or go to hospital. You could send your cow/horse to the vet, or you could buy an special object to work as bassinets do, for example, a big pile of hay, where you could click and have a few options: "to carry *name of animal* here", and then, "to start birth" "to asist with birth" and "to watch birth"

I really wish if we get horses they could get clasified as "pets" as well so we'd be able to create them and add them by CAS wih different accesories and types of hair. It would be cool to create a horse with braided hair and feathers.

I love some of your ideas, but horses in a farm pack I don't like. We will be lucky to even get maybe four animals and horses take huge amounts of resources that would take away the animals and equipment we would need to make a real farm. Horses can be put in a cowboy, midevil, or fantasy pack, but this could be the only time we will ever get real farm animals.

"Movotti;c-17521538" wrote:

Kids and toddlers could play with the chickens

And be chased and pecked by them. They're tiny dinosaurs after all!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0GHi9mf-54

Love the kid/toddler tie in ideas. Those would be great.

"Rhiannonraven;d-976286" wrote:

OUTDOOR ANIMALS! Cats and Dogs is great, don't get me wrong, but I would like to have the option for a more self-sufficient pet. A barn cat doesn't live in the house, usually hunts it's own meals, and definitely doesn't use a litter box. A farm dog may or may not live in the house, but it's often living outdoors, and it needs a dog house. Dogs don't need walks when they have an acreage to run around in, and cats don't need laser pointers when they have birds to chase.

FARM ANIMALS! Of course, it's kind of a given that everyone would want farm animals with a farming pack. My personal motto is, "It's not a farm until you've got animals".

FARM ANIMALS ARE NOT HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS! If you owned a farm, you could choose if your pet is a farm animal or a pet, and these would change the available interactions and the pet's needs. There could be a separate category, maybe viewed through the phone, that shows all of your chickens, pigs, goats, horses, barn cats, etc... Maybe you could have up to, say 30 farm animals. I know more would be ideal, but that would slow down the game too much. They would have simple needs, namely hunger, bladder, and energy. They would automatically sleep when tired, and leave some fertilizing droppings when necessary. You would have to keep their feeders full. Livestock would be incapable of going through gates, so you could make enclosures for them that the sims can go into and clean and stuff. There could be a Sell To Butcher interaction when clicking on an animal (though not horses, cats, or dogs), and this interaction would bring someone to pick up your livestock, then later a dilevery of meat would appear at your house or mailbox. There could be a whole range of interactions with animals. I'll put some ideas later...

SLOWER FOOD GROWING AND COMPLICATIONS! Growing food isn't that easy. Really, I've got lots of firsthand experience. About half your plants just don't grow, and you only get produce from each plant about 1 to 10 times per year. Root and stalk veggies only produce one harvest every year, whereas fruit trees, perennial leafy plants, and other such things, will produce maybe 5 to 15 harvest in a year. No one plant can be harvested every day. Most plants need to be re-planted every year because they are not perennial. You have to plant at certain times of year, too. Then there are the complications; seeds sprout with the seeds around the leaves, slugs eat the crops, and so much more!

I hope they don't address pets in a Farm EP. We will truely be lucky to get even 4 animals and they have been giving pets their own packs. Horses take so much to make that it would take away from crops/equipment/and real farm animals that we may never get in another pack, while their are several ways to introduce horses. Also, putting horses in their own packs would allow for making unicorns, pegasus, and donkeys at the same time since they have the same shape.

Personally, I hope they leave plant growth alone. Sometimes, I don't want to grow things; I just want to use them. They won't put grocery stores in, so it is hard to get plants that we want. I would rather leave plant growth alone. I would rather use EP resources on more farm machinery. Slugs ect. problems would be something that happens, but if a sprayer was hitched to the tractor and the plants were sprayed, they would die or not get on plants to begin with. Bug spray for the sprayer; something else to buy at the Co-op.

I would love a farming EP. But it needs to fit with the Sims 4 works, and it's really a game about everyday life. It cannot really be about big industrial farms with huge fields with big machinery and barns filled with animals. If it's too big, the game cannot handle it anyway. It would not be an industry, it has to be something you can do on your own lot, kinda like a side hustle, or something you do just to feed your own family.

So I'm thinking if they do it, it would be more simple. Like a chicken coop is easy enough, kinda like the bees in Season or Insects in EcoLifestyle, similar to what they gave us in Sims 3. You don't want the chickens to be family members and control them anyway, so just an object with interactions like feed, clean, play with the babies and scoop the eggs. Maybe, with the same object, we could have access to different types of chickens, or even different types of bird ? Like geese and so on.

You won't be able to have herds either. There is already a limit where only 20 sims can visit a lot at the same time. So if you have a family, and you add maybe a cat/dog, you invite a friend over... not much wiggle room. So, instead, since it would be just for the family, I'm thinking like one goat, one cow or maybe one sheep. Either it's a family member and it's like cats and dogs, or it's more an object kind of thing, like the chickens I was talking about. It would be better not to be an object too much, so you could build a space for it yourself, like a barn and/or a pen. It would be really fun if you could see them wander and graze. They could have a tendency to "escape" and eat what they are not supposed to, forcing you to make sure their pen is secured :)

I once saw on the forum someone say that Sims wouldn't allow for the killing of animals in game, even off-screen. Like you wouldn't be able to send animals to be killed to get the meat. I know this is how it works in real life, but the franchise would probably face backlash. I feel like it's true. Therefore, no pig. You could only have animals that produce something else, like eggs, milk/cheese/butter... This, with of course more plants, would mean new recipes. You could have an object where you put in the milk and after a bit you get either cheese or butter. And if you have sheep, then you get wool, but I'm not sure what you could do with it since they are already doing a Knitting Stuff Pack...

As for the plants, maybe a new type of plants : grain ? And you can have a mill object to make flour ? And maybe brew "beer" or something. Also I miss being able to make wine like in Sims 3, where you could store it in caves and it would gain in quality !

Basically, I feel this EP could be more about life on the countryside than about farming as a living. It allows you to add plenty of little elements instead of trying to implement a big system. I'm thinking like making jams, canning... and maybe something with fish cause they always go bad, so maybe salt them or something ? And, of course, a farmer's market. Either like the festivals in City Living, so a set place and a recurring time, where you can sell and buy, or just a Community lot. And add a way to make the selling easier from a selling table : instead of selling each fruit/vegetable/flower individually, it would be nice to sell a bunch at a time. You could sell them by the basket !

I'm sure there's plenty more to add !

"Indoflower;c-17522450" wrote:
I would love a farming EP. But it needs to fit with the Sims 4 works, and it's really a game about everyday life. It cannot really be about big industrial farms with huge fields with big machinery and barns filled with animals. If it's too big, the game cannot handle it anyway. It would not be an industry, it has to be something you can do on your own lot, kinda like a side hustle, or something you do just to feed your own family.

So I'm thinking if they do it, it would be more simple. Like a chicken coop is easy enough, kinda like the bees in Season or Insects in EcoLifestyle, similar to what they gave us in Sims 3. You don't want the chickens to be family members and control them anyway, so just an object with interactions like feed, clean, play with the babies and scoop the eggs. Maybe, with the same object, we could have access to different types of chickens, or even different types of bird ? Like geese and so on.

You won't be able to have herds either. There is already a limit where only 20 sims can visit a lot at the same time. So if you have a family, and you add maybe a cat/dog, you invite a friend over... not much wiggle room. So, instead, since it would be just for the family, I'm thinking like one goat, one cow or maybe one sheep. Either it's a family member and it's like cats and dogs, or it's more an object kind of thing, like the chickens I was talking about. It would be better not to be an object too much, so you could build a space for it yourself, like a barn and/or a pen. It would be really fun if you could see them wander and graze. They could have a tendency to "escape" and eat what they are not supposed to, forcing you to make sure their pen is secured :)

I once saw on the forum someone say that Sims wouldn't allow for the killing of animals in game, even off-screen. Like you wouldn't be able to send animals to be killed to get the meat. I know this is how it works in real life, but the franchise would probably face backlash. I feel like it's true. Therefore, no pig. You could only have animals that produce something else, like eggs, milk/cheese/butter... This, with of course more plants, would mean new recipes. You could have an object where you put in the milk and after a bit you get either cheese or butter. And if you have sheep, then you get wool, but I'm not sure what you could do with it since they are already doing a Knitting Stuff Pack...

As for the plants, maybe a new type of plants : grain ? And you can have a mill object to make flour ? And maybe brew "beer" or something. Also I miss being able to make wine like in Sims 3, where you could store it in caves and it would gain in quality !

Basically, I feel this EP could be more about life on the countryside than about farming as a living. It allows you to add plenty of little elements instead of trying to implement a big system. I'm thinking like making jams, canning... and maybe something with fish cause they always go bad, so maybe salt them or something ? And, of course, a farmer's market. Either like the festivals in City Living, so a set place and a recurring time, where you can sell and buy, or just a Community lot. And add a way to make the selling easier from a selling table : instead of selling each fruit/vegetable/flower individually, it would be nice to sell a bunch at a time. You could sell them by the basket !

I'm sure there's plenty more to add !

If they make a farming pack where you can't have real farms I'm going to be pretty annoyed. A lot of people really want the farming pack because they and I live on or around farms. It really sucks when you can't replicate your own life in the sims. It really focuses on suburban American lifestyles right now, and that should change.