First off, I want to say that I love this addition, and I am very excited about the gameplay opportunities this will add. I'm looking forward to using it in my game, and also I'm looking forward to all the creative ways everyone else will find to use it.That being said, I was a little sad that in the livestream, it sounded like they said that the science babies just instantly appear as soon as you make the selection.@EA_Cade, can you clarify whether that is correct or whether I just misheard/misunderstood? And if it is the case, I would be very appreciative if you could pass on the concerns below.My concern... and I want to be very clear, with this particular group of developers, I don't think this would be at all intentional, and could just be an oversight, which is why I wanted to point it out.. but it makes it feel like the message is that our single parents by choice, or same sex couples, or platonic besties who decide to co-parent, don't deserve the full experience of a pregnancy, baby showers, birth in a hospital, and all the usual things that go into preparing to have a baby. And that makes me a little sad. Again, I want to reiterate that I am thrilled that the team was thoughtful enough to include this option, which we haven't seen in previous Sims games (outside of cheats or mods), so I am hoping that either I misunderstood or this is something that could be tweaked.

yeah I am little sad that it instantly pops out newborn without pregnancy thing cause in many cases it would have been nice to have that stage includedI assume its because the whole who is mother thing they want to avoid so its kind of like adoption except with geneticsbut i would have liked to have option for can get pregnant sims to have science baby via pregnancy

Yeah, I', honestly very dissapointed in that and don't really see myself using that feature because of it. I have had quite a lot of lesbian couples where I change the one that's not carrying to be able to impregnate others and have them try for baby, to pretend that they're doing IVF and have a donor that looks similar to the other parent. I was very excited about science babies initially, but I really want that pregnancy."Simmingal;c-18235802" wrote:I assume its because the whole who is mother thing they want to avoid so its kind of like adoption except with geneticsI'm bisexual and have previously been in a long term relationship with another woman, where we tried to have a baby. To me, that would'nt be an issue as long as both women are listed as mothers. The game already does that if you do what I usually do. There's not different in their relationships with the kids, the only reason I know is because I remember who carried which child. People who view the non-carrying person as less of a mum already do so before playing, and aren't going to change their minds about that because no one's pregnant. To me, it feels more disappointing to not get the pregnancy with this at all, than people who already were biggots continuing being bigots. Not being able to play with lesbian couples and pregnancies was one of the things I really didn't like in sims 3 (yes, I know there was an option in Into the future, but I didn't have it and had no desire to time travel). It's great that the baby showers are for everyone, but I still want the whole throw up every morning and go to the hospital together to give birth with my lesbian couples. It would be way better if you could choose pregnancy or not.

Not sure about all your other concerns, but I do know that they mention that baby showers are not exclusive to pregnant Sims. They mentioned adoption with the baby showers, so I assume that you can have a baby shower with any new child addition.

"Simmingal;c-18235802" wrote:yeah I am little sad that it instantly pops out newborn without pregnancy thing cause in many cases it would have been nice to have that stage includedI assume its because the whole who is mother thing they want to avoid so its kind of like adoption except with geneticsbut i would have liked to have option for can get pregnant sims to have science baby via pregnancyMaybe, though I think in a sims world where cis male sims can carry an alien pregnancy, that shouldn't be an issue. I would have just set it up where the sim (of whatever gender) who actually makes the "Science Baby" selection would be the one who carries the pregnancy. And I wouldn't mind it being an option to be either instant or through pregnancy. It just seems odd to me, because, you know, if you have IVF or use a donor in real life, your baby isn't grown in a pod in a lab, you actually carry it, just like anyone else. For those who want the more scifi option, that's fine, I just wish there was at least a choice for our non-traditional families to still have a traditional pregnancy."Evilyn_1007;c-18235785" wrote:Not sure about all your other concerns, but I do know that they mention that baby showers are not exclusive to pregnant Sims.Well, that's some small comfort, at least.

I'm pretty sure that any sim (single, same sex couples, etc) can still get pregnant and go through the whole gambit from start to end (including a baby shower) if they want? At least that's the impression I got from the livestream.The science baby seems to be just another option for those who don't want to go through the pregnancy thing. Quick, easy, and instant... just like ordering a cafe au lait at the corner Starbucks. :D Edit to add: You establish whether or not a sim can get pregnant in CAS...

Science Babies | EA Forums

Simmingal
Hero
2 years ago
yeah I am little sad that it instantly pops out newborn without pregnancy thing cause in many cases it would have been nice to have that stage included

I assume its because the whole who is mother thing they want to avoid so its kind of like adoption except with genetics

but i would have liked to have option for can get pregnant sims to have science baby via pregnancy
Rebbilina
2 years ago
Yeah, I', honestly very dissapointed in that and don't really see myself using that feature because of it. I have had quite a lot of lesbian couples where I change the one that's not carrying to be able to impregnate others and have them try for baby, to pretend that they're doing IVF and have a donor that looks similar to the other parent. I was very excited about science babies initially, but I really want that pregnancy.

"Simmingal;c-18235802" wrote:

I assume its because the whole who is mother thing they want to avoid so its kind of like adoption except with genetics

I'm bisexual and have previously been in a long term relationship with another woman, where we tried to have a baby. To me, that would'nt be an issue as long as both women are listed as mothers. The game already does that if you do what I usually do. There's not different in their relationships with the kids, the only reason I know is because I remember who carried which child. People who view the non-carrying person as less of a mum already do so before playing, and aren't going to change their minds about that because no one's pregnant. To me, it feels more disappointing to not get the pregnancy with this at all, than people who already were biggots continuing being bigots.

Not being able to play with lesbian couples and pregnancies was one of the things I really didn't like in sims 3 (yes, I know there was an option in Into the future, but I didn't have it and had no desire to time travel). It's great that the baby showers are for everyone, but I still want the whole throw up every morning and go to the hospital together to give birth with my lesbian couples. It would be way better if you could choose pregnancy or not.
evilyn_37
Rising Adventurer
2 years ago
Not sure about all your other concerns, but I do know that they mention that baby showers are not exclusive to pregnant Sims. They mentioned adoption with the baby showers, so I assume that you can have a baby shower with any new child addition.
amapola76
Seasoned Hotshot
2 years ago
"Simmingal;c-18235802" wrote:
yeah I am little sad that it instantly pops out newborn without pregnancy thing cause in many cases it would have been nice to have that stage included

I assume its because the whole who is mother thing they want to avoid so its kind of like adoption except with genetics

but i would have liked to have option for can get pregnant sims to have science baby via pregnancy

Maybe, though I think in a sims world where cis male sims can carry an alien pregnancy, that shouldn't be an issue. I would have just set it up where the sim (of whatever gender) who actually makes the "Science Baby" selection would be the one who carries the pregnancy. And I wouldn't mind it being an option to be either instant or through pregnancy. It just seems odd to me, because, you know, if you have IVF or use a donor in real life, your baby isn't grown in a pod in a lab, you actually carry it, just like anyone else. For those who want the more scifi option, that's fine, I just wish there was at least a choice for our non-traditional families to still have a traditional pregnancy.

"Evilyn_1007;c-18235785" wrote:
Not sure about all your other concerns, but I do know that they mention that baby showers are not exclusive to pregnant Sims.

Well, that's some small comfort, at least.
AncientMuse2
Seasoned Rookie
2 years ago
I'm pretty sure that any sim (single, same sex couples, etc) can still get pregnant and go through the whole gambit from start to end (including a baby shower) if they want? At least that's the impression I got from the livestream.

The science baby seems to be just another option for those who don't want to go through the pregnancy thing. Quick, easy, and instant... just like ordering a cafe au lait at the corner Starbucks. :D

Edit to add: You establish whether or not a sim can get pregnant in CAS...
amapola76
Seasoned Hotshot
2 years ago
"AncientMuse;c-18235851" wrote:

The science baby seems to be just another option for those who don't want to go through the pregnancy thing. Quick, easy, and instant... just like ordering a cafe au lait at the corner Starbucks. :D

Which would be fine as an option... but then why go into this whole detailed explanation about how you can use science babies to tell all kinds of stories, but then you actually can't? It's not described as "something that's just to bypass pregnancy," it's described as an option for people to start their families in new and different ways.

Again, I don't think they intended it to be hurtful, I think maybe there was just a bit of muddling of intents here. Is this just solely intended to be a quickie pregnancy bypass? Fine. But is it intended to help people tell their own stories about different ways to come together to start a family, which is how they described it, and what I was initially excited about? In that case, those families shouldn't be lesser than other families.
crocobaura
Seasoned Ace
2 years ago
"Amapola76;c-18235875" wrote:
"AncientMuse;c-18235851" wrote:

The science baby seems to be just another option for those who don't want to go through the pregnancy thing. Quick, easy, and instant... just like ordering a cafe au lait at the corner Starbucks. :D

Which would be fine as an option... but then why go into this whole detailed explanation about how you can use science babies to tell all kinds of stories, but then you actually can't? It's not described as "something that's just to bypass pregnancy," it's described as an option for people to start their families in new and different ways.

Again, I don't think they intended it to be hurtful, I think maybe there was just a bit of muddling of intents here. Is this just solely intended to be a quickie pregnancy bypass? Fine. But is it intended to help people tell their own stories about different ways to come together to start a family, which is how they described it, and what I was initially excited about? In that case, those families shouldn't be lesser than other families.

All sims can have a science babies, even those that cannot get pregnant and, as they showed in the trailer, two same sex sims. It's not a pregnancy bypass, because some sims couples cannot naturally get pregnant, hence the since baby. Though Geoffrey Landgraab carried and gave birth to twins in my game, because of those "Should I have a baby?" phone calls, so really, I don't see why they didn't add the pregnancy unless they wanted to add it as a surrogacy option.
Simmingal
Hero
2 years ago
I just meant that it was likely just easier to program it like 2 sims genetics pam here you go a new babe

than to try figure out things like can this sim get pregnant or not and should it matter

like say you have 2 sims with can't get pregnant setting

is it the initiating sim that gets pregnant?
can either of them be pregnant?
can the science baby be made?

say your sim that cannot get pregnant initiates with sim that can get pregnant

is the pregnant sim the one initiating or the one who can get pregnant?

does it matter if the pregnant sim is then in other household?

do we just decide that it is initiating sim regardless of the pregnancy settings?

having no one be pregnant eliminates all the mysteries with simple " its science" "they did science stuff at hospital and this is the result"

but yeah i too would like the option of "have science baby via pregnancy" in which initiating sim is always the pregnant one which also kind of eliminates the confusing is it this or that sim ponderings and you don't have to be swapping households n stuff

oh or better yet we could choose the pregnant sim so if you did want it to be the other sim then yeah i suppose thats option too

(also sorry i didn't mean to imply there is just one mother or that one who gives birth is more mother i meant like game just deciding who gets pregnant and my poor brain cannot word me self)
catloverplayer
Seasoned Ace
2 years ago
I probably won't be using this feature because I'd rather they get pregnant. From what I saw thought they leave the lot and go to a rabbithole.
Babykittyjade
Rising Observer
2 years ago
I think it starts to get too complex gameplay wise and also controversial. Surrogacy and all those other ways people make babies nowadays that I don't know the name of is a bit of a controversial topic. To just have a "science" baby through some means of mysterious science is a much safer alternative and still useful to tell stories. At some point imagination has to be used too. It's just a game. ?