https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/801025/ea-silence-on-family-play-and-family-play-fansThis thread is a continuation of the above link.I believe that family play has again fallen by the wayside. This thread isn't about EA and Maxis' current focus (occults and builders) but on the lack of good domestic type play in general since Seasons. I myself play all types of styles so no hate on other types of gameplay.Examples of what I'm talking aboutToddler are petty much the same as children below with the addition of lack of any new traits.Children can't show visible occult status, have had the same 4 aspirations since launch, it's a flip of the coin if they get clothes and hair in a new pack.Teens are basically restricted adults.Elders, They exist?This thread isn't exactly a complaint but an observation. Please no hate towards other types of play/players. Also no posts on preteens (and other mid-stages) as I believe that they're basically confirmed to never be in sims 4 and are basically a mashup of ways that children and teens can be improved.I've also played every Sims game since 2000, so I know how play was in other games. This thread isn't about what made family play in the other games better or worse, the issue is sims 4 domestic play.Would love to hear about ways you all believe family play can be improved :) .

There does seem to have been a lot of focus on occult gameplay for a long time now with the packs released.

@sunblond there used to be a giant thread on this but it hasn't been posted in years. Didn't want to disobey the rules and necro it.Anyway I agree.

Hmm...I really liked playing a family in Sulani, that is when I started my current family. It is just so laidback and calm there. Cute outfits for toddlers and kids as well. I would say that Island Living was good for my families.

Theres maybe like a few things with family related play I'd like to see (little more with babies though they are the shortest life stage and just more activites for younger sims) improved on more but other than that I don't find it to be so empty. I mean it's been a while since there was a dedicated pack to occults as vampires was well over 2 years ago. People I see that like occults tend to usually like family play too, so it's nice to be able to make a family that you've been waiting for.Parenthood is pretty much family related play. Then we had the toddler pack and kids room stuff which were good additions. Then with seasons and holidays being introduced feels like sims can enjoy more activities with their families.

Its obvious family play is ignored when pack after pack ignore babies toddlers and children... Packs like Vampires and ROM completely exclude these life stages and I'm not even saying they had to do much they could of simply had toddler vampires bite a teddy bear or have magic effects around them when mad or given kids a couple spells to practice like complete school work but instead made the decision to continue the single Sim adult game.

Has "family play" fallen back to the wayside? (Now with New OP)

93 Replies

astridentanja
5 years ago
"nucleonide;c-17298858" wrote:
Whenever I see a topic like this, I always wonder if EA sees the player demand for it. My impression of EA is that they are a very traditional, numbers-focused company. If they don't see the numbers, they will not put their resources to develop it.

One quick look at the Gallery and Elders very rarely come up. Toddlers are less rare but still much fewer than the households that are Young Adult/Adult-only. I don't have all the data--the Gallery is PC/Mac-only and not everyone uploads to the Gallery--but if I were to guess why the focus on YA/A, it's probably simply because it gets the most numbers. Of course, the catch-22 is Toddlers and Elders get fewer gameplay features than YA/As, which also explains the lack of numbers. So... it's a complicated cycle, to say the least.

To be fair, I am also guilty of focusing too much on YA/A. That's why I've been consciously trying to add more Elders and Toddlers, even Elder-only households. I should also probably upload them to the Gallery... if and when I finish my world rebuilding project :sweat_smile:

Uploading to the Gallery ≠ playing and enjoying a life stage. I also prefer to play young adults by the way (I’m middle aged myself), but that doesn’t mean the other stages are unimportant to me. It means I like playing a life stage where people explore things, find love, travel, go out, have adventures. But the other life stages are so important to give my sims’ lives more depth. One of the reasons I don’t play them as much, is because there’s nothing unique about them. If they’d be more fun in their own way, I’d definitely play with them. Fleshed out other life stages make the YA life stage more fun as well.
"vikinglexi;c-17413210" wrote:
Finally!! A major simmer agrees! Preteens would ruin instead of help TS4!!#

We’re all major simmers.
comicsforever
5 years ago
"JoAnne65;c-17414962" wrote:
"nucleonide;c-17298858" wrote:
Whenever I see a topic like this, I always wonder if EA sees the player demand for it. My impression of EA is that they are a very traditional, numbers-focused company. If they don't see the numbers, they will not put their resources to develop it.

One quick look at the Gallery and Elders very rarely come up. Toddlers are less rare but still much fewer than the households that are Young Adult/Adult-only. I don't have all the data--the Gallery is PC/Mac-only and not everyone uploads to the Gallery--but if I were to guess why the focus on YA/A, it's probably simply because it gets the most numbers. Of course, the catch-22 is Toddlers and Elders get fewer gameplay features than YA/As, which also explains the lack of numbers. So... it's a complicated cycle, to say the least.

To be fair, I am also guilty of focusing too much on YA/A. That's why I've been consciously trying to add more Elders and Toddlers, even Elder-only households. I should also probably upload them to the Gallery... if and when I finish my world rebuilding project :sweat_smile:

Uploading to the Gallery ≠ playing and enjoying a life stage. I also prefer to play young adults by the way (I’m middle aged myself), but that doesn’t mean the other stages are unimportant to me. It means I like playing a life stage where people explore things, find love, travel, go out, have adventures. But the other life stages are so important to give my sims’ lives more depth. One of the reasons I don’t play them as much, is because there’s nothing unique about them. If they’d be more fun in their own way, I’d definitely play with them. Fleshed out other life stages make the YA life stage more fun as well.

so true
simkonfetti
5 years ago
"Sk8rblaze;c-17414967" wrote:
I'm definitely a quality over quantity person when it comes to life stages. I'd rather each one truly feel differentiated and unique from the last. The Sims 3 did a wonderful job at fleshing out each life stage, with special interactions such as teens learning to drive. The pre-teen life stage could work well in The Sims, but I think they'll really need to brainstorm ways to make sure it belongs as its own life stage; making it play vastly different from a child/teen.

I don't believe we got either quality or quantity when it came to The Sims 4. In fact, it was a disaster. Telling us to expect all life stages before telling us, "things change" when it was suddenly revealed that wasn't the case. We shouldn't have had to wait years on end for a life stage in what is supposed to be a life simulator. All life stages we've had in the past and rich life sim gameplay should be priority above all else, period.

I agree with you.

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Has "family play" fallen back to the wayside? (Now with New OP)

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