In previous Sims’ games (especially Sims 2) The developers made a lot of effort to show characters’ heritage and backstories. I loved reading all about their upbringing, family trees, memories etc but it seems The Sims team don’t make as much effort these days which is a shame. If we look at the Sims 4 pre-made families, all of them are first generation (no ancestors), their outfits are dull, they don’t have any storylines or interesting connections to other families. Almost like they were thrown together last minute by a random generator. When they have included iconic Sims in Sims 4, they’ve forgotten or disregarded their personality and original family tree so there are inconsistencies, this seems lazy? For example, Dina & Nina’s mother is Nighat Caliente in TS2 but in Sims 4, it’s Katrina? It makes no sense and apart from their hair colours, the twins don’t really resemble the original characters physically or personality. If Dina Caliente isn’t the same gold-digging, Alien descendant, fashion icon then what’s the point? I know some of the requests we ask for content wise is limited because of resources and budget etc but adding a back story, heritage and making a bit of effort to follow the ancestry rules would take minimal effort and no financial resources? I’d love to see more references to the iconic families like Goth, Landgraab, Alto, Crumplebottom etc in the future. I feel like the Sims team are overlooking how important these little details are but maybe it’s just me?

That should say * N * I * G * H * A * T * CALIENTE

I think part of it is that the game originally didn't have family trees, so there was no way to visually show them originally. But that doesn't explain not putting more clues and lore in game, like the missing Goth family cemetery. I love the few bits that are in there, like Johnny Zest's story. And that also doesn't explain the lack of lore and family trees for families in later expansions.And unfortunately, having someone creating lore for the families would require resources and time that EA are probably not willing to allocate to Maxis. even if its just someone doing it when they would otherwise be twiddling their thumbs. From what I know of corporations, It would require a business case and approval by 3 layers of management with conflicting interests.

Didn't you already make a thread about this?

@AlexSimmerman I will say that I sometimes wish that more premades had parents so my sims who marry them can have kids with grandparents. ?

The premade Sims in the base game were slapped together in an afternoon. The new households are all generic and clearly ripped from whatever TV shows they’re into (New Girl... ya pretty obvious). The returning households were made super generic to ignore most of their established backstories and the “timeline” no longer fits. They tried to brush it off by calling it an alternate universe, but that’s just damage control for “we don’t know anything about the universe we spent the last decade building” The laziest, and tackiest household in the base game is arguably the pancakes; who are essentially Sims 4 versions of Bob and Betty Newbie. They were given the last name pancake because that’s what players called him, and I think that is so tacky because it shows they had no stories for any of these Sims. The ones who got “stories” through trailers aren’t even in the game! Lol

Why is there no effort put into pre-mades’ family trees and ancestors?

alexsimmerman
5 years ago
That should say * N * I * G * H * A * T * CALIENTE
WaytoomanyUIDs
Rising Scout
5 years ago
I think part of it is that the game originally didn't have family trees, so there was no way to visually show them originally. But that doesn't explain not putting more clues and lore in game, like the missing Goth family cemetery. I love the few bits that are in there, like Johnny Zest's story. And that also doesn't explain the lack of lore and family trees for families in later expansions.

And unfortunately, having someone creating lore for the families would require resources and time that EA are probably not willing to allocate to Maxis. even if its just someone doing it when they would otherwise be twiddling their thumbs. From what I know of corporations, It would require a business case and approval by 3 layers of management with conflicting interests.
loubyloulou
Seasoned Novice
5 years ago
Didn't you already make a thread about this?
horseandpenguin
5 years ago
@AlexSimmerman I will say that I sometimes wish that more premades had parents so my sims who marry them can have kids with grandparents. ?
drake_mccarty
5 years ago
The premade Sims in the base game were slapped together in an afternoon. The new households are all generic and clearly ripped from whatever TV shows they’re into (New Girl... ya pretty obvious). The returning households were made super generic to ignore most of their established backstories and the “timeline” no longer fits. They tried to brush it off by calling it an alternate universe, but that’s just damage control for “we don’t know anything about the universe we spent the last decade building”

The laziest, and tackiest household in the base game is arguably the pancakes; who are essentially Sims 4 versions of Bob and Betty Newbie. They were given the last name pancake because that’s what players called him, and I think that is so tacky because it shows they had no stories for any of these Sims. The ones who got “stories” through trailers aren’t even in the game! Lol
AaronRulz78
Seasoned Newcomer
5 years ago
I think the best surprise for me is that Johnny Zest is a Landgraab. I found that surprising and interesting.
xijet
5 years ago
Short answer: This is The Sims 4. That's why.

(Yes, I am aware that I'm very negative, lol)
Purrloin9
5 years ago
The only time they seem to put any effort into character backstories is when its for promotional sims, but even then it's normally filled with a lot of fluff and flavor text for content that isn't actually in the game.
karon_shiruba
5 years ago
Yes, there's no effort in the premade sims in Sims 4. But, at least I can explain Katrina... I gave them a pass for changing her name. You know... her original name sounds a lot like the "N" word, I think Katrina is a better choice. That's why the game warns you when you change her name to the Sims 2 version, or the forums censor you.

@aaronrulz I loved Johnny too, and I have a headcanon that he's the original Malcolm that got disinherited.

@drake_mccarty Its not like they have a whole Sims Wikia available for them to consult before recreating their older sims... ugh

"WaytoomanyUIDs;c-17451964" wrote:
I think part of it is that the game originally didn't have family trees, so there was no way to visually show them originally. But that doesn't explain not putting more clues and lore in game, like the missing Goth family cemetery. I love the few bits that are in there, like Johnny Zest's story. And that also doesn't explain the lack of lore and family trees for families in later expansions.

And unfortunately, having someone creating lore for the families would require resources and time that EA are probably not willing to allocate to Maxis. even if its just someone doing it when they would otherwise be twiddling their thumbs. From what I know of corporations, It would require a business case and approval by 3 layers of management with conflicting interests.

@WaytoomanyUIDs My dream job, besides being a superstar, would be creating premade sims and their backstories. AAAAA
ElDimentio
5 years ago
I honestly never play with the premade sims in TS4 but I think that's partly because the game doesn't do much to make them seem interesting...