Parenthood - Should I get it?
I gather the Parenthood pack is fairly popular (at least, a recent Sims Community poll ranked it as the best game pack). Now, I am a big fan of "coming of age" stories. In fact, supernatural or sc...
Forum Discussion
1. Occult game play: I'm a low fantasy player myself, but I don't think any less of the pack for not having any occult game play, because you can blend it with occult themes. It makes perfect sense to me that a vampire would want to help their child build a castle diorama, or that a teen wolf would autonomously confront their parents and ask to be treated more like an adult.
2. Activities: All of the new activities tie into the value system (see below), but I give them their own section because you can enjoy them even if you don't care about your child's values. Playing doctor is an adorable way to build mental skill. Keeping a journal is a realistic way to reduce negative moodlets (but be sure to hide it!). I like the various school projects, partly because it's a cute parent-child moment, but also because both the parent and child learn skills from it. Family members can leave notes and pictures for each other on the bulletin board. Toddlers and children can build imagination/creativity using buildem blocks. You also get some new, and more aesthetically pleasing, night lights.
3.Value system: There are five character values each associated with two adult traits. The choices the parent can make from school day popups and kids-asking-for-advice popups are about deciding which values are more important to you. Rather than having categorically good or bad choices, each choice raises one of the child's values and lowers one of the others. Some of them aren't completely true to life, but I prefer that they made it balanced. Many of the new and base game activities that a child can do on their own also build values.
Some of the adult traits add more game play than others. For example, the Conflict Resolution value is a waste of time because neither the positive nor the negative trait offers substantive game play. On the other hand, Responsibility has a powerful affect on career success, and it makes sense too. A child who learns to stay on top of school tasks is better at staying on top of things at work. A child who skips school all the time is more likely to struggle in a job. Manners also has a big impact. Good Manners is like a social superpower, allowing them to charm people to get a boost to a new relationship (there's actually an animation that makes it look like they're casting a spell on the other person), while Bad Manners means they go around scandalizing people with their autonomous burping and farting. Emotional Control also has an impact. I just recently played a former werewolf with Uncontrolled Emotions and it really does make the game more challenging: adult temper tantrums, mood swings and longer lasting negative moodlets. The Emotional Control trait, on the other hand, gives them more ways to resolve negative moodlets such as exercise and music. Empathy is one of the less interesting values. It gives them more ways to interact with sims who have negative moodlets. Sims with the Compassionate trait can comfort them, while sims with the Insensitive trait can make them feel worse. I tend to forget those interactions are there, though.
2. Activities: All of the new activities tie into the value system (see below), but I give them their own section because you can enjoy them even if you don't care about your child's values. Playing doctor is an adorable way to build mental skill. Keeping a journal is a realistic way to reduce negative moodlets (but be sure to hide it!). I like the various school projects, partly because it's a cute parent-child moment, but also because both the parent and child learn skills from it. Family members can leave notes and pictures for each other on the bulletin board. Toddlers and children can build imagination/creativity using buildem blocks. You also get some new, and more aesthetically pleasing, night lights.
3.Value system: There are five character values each associated with two adult traits. The choices the parent can make from school day popups and kids-asking-for-advice popups are about deciding which values are more important to you. Rather than having categorically good or bad choices, each choice raises one of the child's values and lowers one of the others. Some of them aren't completely true to life, but I prefer that they made it balanced. Many of the new and base game activities that a child can do on their own also build values.
Some of the adult traits add more game play than others. For example, the Conflict Resolution value is a waste of time because neither the positive nor the negative trait offers substantive game play. On the other hand, Responsibility has a powerful affect on career success, and it makes sense too. A child who learns to stay on top of school tasks is better at staying on top of things at work. A child who skips school all the time is more likely to struggle in a job. Manners also has a big impact. Good Manners is like a social superpower, allowing them to charm people to get a boost to a new relationship (there's actually an animation that makes it look like they're casting a spell on the other person), while Bad Manners means they go around scandalizing people with their autonomous burping and farting. Emotional Control also has an impact. I just recently played a former werewolf with Uncontrolled Emotions and it really does make the game more challenging: adult temper tantrums, mood swings and longer lasting negative moodlets. The Emotional Control trait, on the other hand, gives them more ways to resolve negative moodlets such as exercise and music. Empathy is one of the less interesting values. It gives them more ways to interact with sims who have negative moodlets. Sims with the Compassionate trait can comfort them, while sims with the Insensitive trait can make them feel worse. I tend to forget those interactions are there, though.
