Forum Discussion

filipomel's avatar
filipomel
New Spectator
2 years ago

The wild animals in Cottage Living are such a Disappointment

When Cottage Living was announced the main feature I was the most excited for was the new selection of animals, especially the wild animals like the rabbits, birds and the foxes. I was so excited to finally have some form of animal wild life in the game, animals that populated the worlds and environments, but to be honest, bunnies are the only interesting animals, while birds and foxes are either limited, or their functionality makes no sense.

Wild birds for instance are attached to an object, you won't see any wild birds flying around the world, perching on various surfaces in your sims yard, etc. the most they offer are some interactions with the bird stump, and help with gardening. So they are less a wild animal that appears around the neighborhood with their own unique habits and behaviors, but rather a distraction that's also an extension to gardening.

Wild foxes on the other hand make absolutely no sense. I really hoped they would be The Sims 4's version of raccoons from The Sims 3, where they would rummage through the garbage, dig holes and make a nuisance; but unless you have a garden and some farm animals they are nothing but an annoying creature that likes to run in mindless circles in your sims house. So again, less a wild animal that wanders around the neighborhood with its own unique habits and routines, and rather an extension to gardening/farming that also doesn't function as you would expect it too.

Bunnies are the only creature that offer what I was looking for from the wild animals. They exist in the neighborhood as a creature living it's own life doing its own thing. I was really hoping that Cottage Living would have brought back the essence of The Sims 3 Pets with all the different wild creatures that would populate the world, wild deer, wild raccoons, wild horses, snakes, birds big and small, rodents of all kinds, reptiles, etc. it was really something special and Sims 4 continues to miss that.
  • The most disappointing thing to me is the fact that wild animals and cats and dogs only show up in one world. Just imagine how much more alive the whole game would feel in they were everywhere! I might have to find a mod for it..
  • Wild foxes come and eat your chickens, I think that's very realistic of them and I enjoy seeing them about the neighbourhood. The rabbits on the other hand, I wish they would come and occasionally destroy your crops, like proper rabbits do. The bird stump is rather silly, think they should have added a pigeon coop instead and carrier pigeons.
  • I give all my wild bunnies cute names like "Knives," or "Skullcrusher," or "Killer." It's so much fun to dress them in sweaters and "Hug Knives," "Discover Killer's Gift Preferences," or "Ask Skullcrusher for Garden Help."
  • amapola76's avatar
    amapola76
    Seasoned Hotshot
    "PurpleCheshire;c-18216625" wrote:
    The most disappointing thing to me is the fact that wild animals and cats and dogs only show up in one world. Just imagine how much more alive the whole game would feel in they were everywhere! I might have to find a mod for it..


    Not a mod, per se, but I have added some combination of birds, foxes, and bunnies to the parks (and a few other outdoor venues) in most of my other worlds.
  • Yeah, I'm kinda sad that the wild animals don't show up in other worlds. :'( I do wish that they did a little bit more too, but I still think they are a really cute addition to the game. :)
  • I add wild animals to my farms, parks and other areas by using the bird tree, rabbit stump and fox lot trait to my lot. @PurpleCheshire I love your Cheshire cat! Adorable!
  • I know llamas are essentially the mascot for the game, but I don't know in what world a llama is a more common animal to have than a sheep for a farm. If you asked me what type of animal you would keep if you wanted an animal for wool I would have said a sheep. It feels like it wouldn't have been a huge ask to have the option instead of a llama/alpaca or cow to have a goat or sheep instead. Though due to the size of the barn we get it would have made more sense that you could instead keep 2-3 goats or sheep at a time.

    I don't mind the way foxes were done, though I would have liked to see racoons and skunks added to the list of wild animals that could randomly show up. I'm with you on birds. Wish that they could show up randomly if you had a bird house or a tree, but I'm sure that they are linked to an item for performance reasons.
  • If they are going to add sheep, rams and pigs next, then they should at least allow those to live together or even ”free” like chickens ON the lot. They kind of hinted at horses and sheep recently, even pigs it seems…the new EP had another new object recolor with the pigs right? And yes about the wild animals and the farm ones in general, I have to say I was disappointed by the way they treated them for the pack. I wish we could have pet bunnies/rabbits! Also I really miss the parrots and pet birds like pigeons and owls, I would LOVE to have them back as pets! Another one would be a new idea: ferrets! Lizards, turtles and snakes would be so much fun too…so sad that they scrapped that Small Animals/Pet Shop Game Pack idea that they had in the 2017 survey, wish they could revive it for Sims 4 soon!
  • "Amapola76;c-18216653" wrote:
    "PurpleCheshire;c-18216625" wrote:
    The most disappointing thing to me is the fact that wild animals and cats and dogs only show up in one world. Just imagine how much more alive the whole game would feel in they were everywhere! I might have to find a mod for it..


    Not a mod, per se, but I have added some combination of birds, foxes, and bunnies to the parks (and a few other outdoor venues) in most of my other worlds.


    That's a great idea!
  • amapola76's avatar
    amapola76
    Seasoned Hotshot
    "PurpleCheshire;c-18216666" wrote:
    "Amapola76;c-18216653" wrote:
    "PurpleCheshire;c-18216625" wrote:
    The most disappointing thing to me is the fact that wild animals and cats and dogs only show up in one world. Just imagine how much more alive the whole game would feel in they were everywhere! I might have to find a mod for it..


    Not a mod, per se, but I have added some combination of birds, foxes, and bunnies to the parks (and a few other outdoor venues) in most of my other worlds.


    That's a great idea!


    If I recall correctly, the placement objects are not locked in build mode for those venues. Then your sims can travel within their own world, rather than having to go to Henford, to befriend the animals and build up the ability to place them on their home lots as well. It's not quite the same as having them freely travel the whole word, but it's still fairly immersive.