You often hear, "What makes you think babies in Sims 4 are objects?" Well, how about the fact that even the game considers them objects? https://i.imgur.com/eWoYJj7.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/Hh5h9Dw.png

Oh wow, maybe they were talking about appreciating the baby crib ahah *facepalm*

Yes, babies are objects in this game. You can even find them in the debug items list.

In past Sims games, you used the moveobjects cheat code to move babies. They have always been programmed as "objects". But the Sims don't seem too bothered by it :p

Perhaps I can shed some light on this for you.Object is a term in programming, especially in video game programming, that most likely comes from Object-Oriented Programming (OOP). OOP became popular largely on the idea that it would make programming more like the real world and easier to understand and operate on for that reason, especially with large codebases. Though it has been successfully utilized in that way to some degree, there is disagreement in the programming community as to how useful an object-oriented focus is, largely because programming is not, in fact, like the real world (or when it is, it's not always like it in the right ways). For example, I could walk up to your internal organs and say hello to them, but they probably have no way of knowing that I attempted to communicate with them.Similarly, object-oriented programming gets some flack for sectioning things off too much, to the point that it becomes a nightmare when you want X to communicate with Y and it needs to jump through an elaborate series of hoops, some of which simply may not exist and need to be created, for it to be able to do so, when it probably could have done the communication a lot more easily had things not been so sectioned off.In video games, in particular, object-oriented programming is often used literally for objects, where each instance of a simulated object in the game is represented by a copy of a general template, usually called a class, or class object. Ultimately, classes, or objects, are just a way of grouping together information and, in some cases, sectioning it off, with the goal of making it easier to organize and making it less likely that something terrible will happen because of a bug, or, sometimes more importantly, a coder who doesn't understand the codebase well enough and tries to do something funky with it.It's just a name, ultimately. In the C++ language, there's something called a "struct" that is almost identical to a class and could be used for "objects" in the same kind of way. Another name that is used in some game systems is "entities."So yes, babies are "objects." Other sims are too. Probably the most important difference to players between a sim baby and, for example, a sim toddler is the baby's inability to move around. Lack of visible needs and inability to take control of the baby in any way are other major factors, I'm sure. These are traits that are unique to the "what makes a sim a sim" experience and because they are missing, babies can tend to seem lifeless and mechanical.

I would like babies to be actual Sims that a family can bring along when leaving the house. Not a big fan of them simply being an interaction object.

Object Babies confirmed.... | EA Forums

SillyCharlie077
7 years ago
After reading some of these replies, I don't understand why this is such a big deal to some people. Like, they are just babies. Objects or not, you cant do much with them regardless.
Huiiie_17
7 years ago
That's funny, love it! :D

What's the big deal with the babies anyway? If they would give them more special interactions, they would just turn into "small toddlers". The only thing about them they should change are their visuals, like adding more models that actually have hair.
Meka3211
Rising Newcomer
7 years ago
Now that we have toddlers I don't mind babies being objects. In fact what I'm learning is that no two baby objects are alike, lol. In my game, I have twins. One of the babies....cries 24/7 & is just very fussy. The other is so quiet, that I forget to feed it, until I get message that the baby is hungry and if you don't feed it, it'll be taken away. I have to admit that I do like that aspect. I'm playing 100 baby challenge......I definitely couldn't imagine having TS2 babies or even TS3 babies that were more alive lol. A fussy baby object is a bit much sometimes lol
Trowicia
New Spectator
7 years ago
"SillyCharlie;c-16668588" wrote:
After reading some of these replies, I don't understand why this is such a big deal to some people. Like, they are just babies. Objects or not, you cant do much with them regardless.

I think a lot of us are hoping that Maxis can avoid this in the future and take a Sims 2-like approach when it comes to infant sims in the franchise.

There may be many reasons for object babies, but I'll spare the details as it's just white noise at this point.
aejp24
Seasoned Novice
7 years ago
I hate that babies feel like objects in this game. I mean there is a lot they could do with the life stage and every Sims game they don't make it better. I feel like all the life stages could be improved but babies especially. They should be able to be held by all members of the family and they usually don't stay in a bassinet all day in a dark room forgotten until they cry. I want babies to feel like sims. I want to be able to create them in CAS, choose whether or not they have hair and have a few different hair choices. maybe some bows and stuff for girls and some sleepers or something to choose from. They could have other objects to be put into so they don't end up on the floor like a playpen, crib, swing, and bouncer. Kids and older could hold them. They just need to feel like part of the family. I want them to look like they belong to my family, too. matching skin tones and eye color would be nice (like in the sims 2).
jdunklin1
7 years ago
"Beardedgeek;c-16667314" wrote:
Are we really back at this again? four years later?
Yes, babies are "furniture" (all Sims are objects).
We know.

Also, it's great that if you hurry and age them up the second they come from the hospital, all their needs are green and you get rid of them quickly.
...No, I am not a baby person. Why do you ask?

Looks like somebody has the hates children trait :D :D :D :D
SimplyJen
Rising Spectator
7 years ago
"Brindleton;c-16664624" wrote:
Yes, babies are objects in this game. You can even find them in the debug items list.
This

The game released and a month or so later they added the buydebug cheat. Snooping through I found babies. I suspected as much before then.
SillyCharlie077
7 years ago
Let's be real here: Babies were treated as objects in ALL of the sims games, though some were more "alive" than others.
benjiu
7 years ago
"SimChessack;c-16666267" wrote:
"GalacticGal;c-16665463" wrote:

I would like to submit, your honor, that in this context, baby being an 'object' is meant to equate a table, chair, lamp, bed or any other 'object' thusly named in the game, and not this highly technical, though interesting, explanation. Just sayin'. ;) In other words, the baby is below a Sim on said totem pole. It's just NOT a Sim, per se.

Here's the difference between a "code object" and an "in game object."

In code, yes, each Sim, each piece of clothing, each baby, each TV, is an "object."

But ask yourself, what the game calls something an object, are the other (toddler and older) Sims considered objects for the purpose of this activity?. That is, can you "Appreciate" another Sim? If not, then "object" in the context of the activity does not mean a "code object" but something more subtle -- i.e., the type of code object that is considered a "thing" and not a "person."

What the OP has provided is evidence that, mechanically in game, a baby is functionally equivalent to any other piece of furniture you could interact with, such as a TV, a painting easel, a bookshelf, or a potted plant. Consequently, the baby is fundamentally different, in terms of how the game views it, and how it is designed, from a Sim, which is not the same as a piece of furniture.

That's actually wrong if you look at the game code though. Babies are defined in a subfolder of Sims, they have Sims attribute, Baby is one of the value allowed for a Sims object age, and the Sims objects have functions defining how they they should be treated when their age is baby.

So mechanically in game, a baby is a specific stage of a Sims, with a different set of rules, and it's absolutely not equivalent to a TV.
Blu3Glasses
7 years ago
"Beardedgeek;c-16667314" wrote:
Are we really back at this again? four years later?
Yes, babies are "furniture" (all Sims are objects).
We know.

Also, it's great that if you hurry and age them up the second they come from the hospital, all their needs are green and you get rid of them quickly.
...No, I am not a baby person. Why do you ask?

This. We've been discussing this topic since release.