I am one of many Simmers who is greatly disappointed by the lack of toddlers in the TS4, not to mention adding insult to injury by the babies going back to being just a bassinet like the first Sims. I was hoping when I first heard about the no toddlers, that maybe babies will be better and more interactive, but I guess that's not the case. I was watching a mini-LP from one of the lucky Simmers who got to try it out in Germany, and the babies are a bit better than I expected. You can clearly see the baby, (and I must say they're pretty adorable,) and they move around in the crib, and it appears to actually resemble the parents. (In sims 3, other than skin tone babies kind of all look identical...) So, I'm liking babies slightly more than when I heard the bassinet thing ... But still really upset about no toddlers. I know sacrifices have to be made to make the game better in other ways, but they've taken out so much already, and AN ENTIRE LIFE STAGE?!?! What the fudge?!

The first expansion I'm hoping for in Ts4 is Generations, or something similar and I want it to include toddlers!!! I am someone who LOVES playing toddler stories! I feel like for some reason, EA would say it's not possible to add a life stage..... But in TS2, YA was added with the University expansion. When I heard about how the sims had deeper emotions in 4, and how big events played a bigger role on their whole lives, I was so interested in how it would affect toddlers later in life if they witnessed a divorce, or the death of a sim, or learning to walk/talk/potty vs not learning.... And then, nope, no toddlers at all. Dreams dashed.

What are your thoughts on the toddler and baby situation in TS4? Would you want a Generations-type expansion that included toddlers? :D

I am okay with babies being in the bassinet, personally. It does appear that they don't just stay there like in Sims 1, but that there are plenty of interactions you can have where the baby is taken out, but just can't be placed elsewhere or walked around. When I play in Sims 2, I normally keep the babies in their cribs anyway. I do have the activity stuff for them, but I forget to use it half the time because my sims are so busy doing other things that they literally only cuddle, feed, and change the baby.

The toddler thing is disappointing, sure. But, just like in Sims 2, we didn't get YA's until the University EP and I have a feeling that toddlers will be added down the line....and I'm fine waiting for that. Todds are cute, but they are one of the life stages I wasn't really fond of.

I try to be objective and open when each Sims base game was released. I try to give each one a fair shake since this is a dynasty of games I have been involved with since the beginning. But, with that being said, I just did not find Sims 3 as enjoyable as Sims 1 and Sims 2 and thus stopped purchasing after the basegame was released. Rather than trash a game back to the stone age before it has even been released, I will remain cautiously optimistic and try to think of it as a different sort of game than the previous three.

Entirely plausible.

However, I'll be dipped in shit before I pay for an EP to get toddlers back in the game, when they were integral to the base games of 2 and 3. Dog, cats, rain, I'll accept as monetized objects through EPs. Toddlers held essentially for ransom, no way.

I only found the base game of Sims 3 enjoyable for a limited period. Each expansion brought a little more interest, but each still only had a limited amount of time before I became bored. Now, with every expansion except the futuristic one, I'm finding enough to enjoy. It really did take that long, that and it took a few critical mods to make the game playable, it was so broken. Without the mods, the lagging was unbearable and there was the occasional crash. Now, no crashes, but still somewhat laggy, especially with Cast and the design tool.

I definitely think Sims 4 is worth giving a chance. I'm setting my expectations now that the base game may not, in fact, entertain me forever since that hasn't happened with any of the Sims games.

Haha, I love that. That's exactly what they're doing... Poor little Simmies

If the expansion was just "The sims 4: Toddlers!" ... And all it had was toddlers and toddler stuff.. I don't think I'd get it (Well........maybe... I really love Sim toddlers.... But that would be a rip!) but if it was a Generations/Family Time type expansion that included lots of different things including toddlers, then I think it'd be worth it.

Yeah, since I've seen the babies in the LP, I like them a lot more than I did when I first heard they're just bassinets. They're more visible then I thought they'd be, they're really cute, they move around lots, and appear to resemble the parents, unlike TS3 babies. But, I was still hoping for babies that could maybe crawl around and whatnot, but as it stands the babies could be a lot worse, so I'll try to stay positive. Plus I'm holding out hope of toddlers in an expansion.... Hopefully one of the first expansions though, lol I need my cute lil sim-tots!

I'm the same way, usually I don't do much with sim-babies either, they're pretty boring... But with no toddlers babies are the next best thing. I guess I'll just have to suck it up n wait until toddlers are added. It sucks for me though, personally, Im a simmer who LOVES toddlers, I always have epic bedrooms/playrooms for my sim-tots, for Ts3 I have Aurora Skies with all the cute kids stuff, I have the toddler swing, I have another toddlers' pack, a decent amount of CC toys, and other toddler mods. So it'll take some adjusting to not have them in Sims 4.

There is no acceptable excuse for them to not put toddlers in the game or for them not to make babies unchained. It is not a matter of 'sacrifices that had to be made to add other things'.

They could easily extend the release date that they themselves set in the first place if the game wasn't finished. There is no difference between EA and Maxis. Maxis are EA employees. If they were not able to meet a deadline then more people should have been hired or problem people should have been fired. No excuses are acceptable when they push inferior work off on their customers and then hint at adding them later, which customers will also be expected to pay for.

I almost wonder with toddlers and swimming removed.. were clothing options for both available in the official store? Maybe too few people bought them if they were there? I'm sure they managed to get some statistics either from the store or when they made people be online more for some of the expansions.

Yeah, I agree. It's a total rip-off and money grab. Atleast they made the babies more than bundles with arms and heads, though. They took the lazy/easy route and kind of combined toddlers and babies, then made them far less interactive. I hope they realize how unhappy a lot players are with this...they should care about what their customers say.

I'll buy the game when it comes out... But if/when they add toddlers, I'll probably just download it, to be honest. Unless there is other stuff included making it worth the money. I don't want to pay for something that was expected to be in the game in the first place.

I do love the Sims though.... And am trying to stay optimistic about Ts4... Even with the ever infuriating lack of my little toddler Simmies.

Whatever they do with the expansions, I just need one to include toddlers.... Even if they jus randomly add toddlers to the first expansion for no reason.

Well if they were going to do that I guess toddlers would just be part of an update that'd be much better for their customers.

They did:

Sun, Surf & Sand (two part with one part clothes, one part furniture)

Beach Bummin'

Surf's Up Fun and Sun Collection (incl.premium surfboard item)

Top o' The Tots Hairstyles and Headwear (incl. premium baby swing item)

Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes (incl. buy mode items and two premium items -- changing table and baby monitor[/url]

Plus a large compilation Kids 2010 which had a toddler clothing set and three nursery type sets.

Two of the toddler sets contained much-wanted/useful items (the changing table and swing, respectively) I'd be surprised if they didn't sell well to the target market (aka simmers who play with toddlers). The sun and fun collection was probably more hit and miss but probably not any less of a decent seller.

As a big fan of both the baby and toddler stage there is no excuse or reason for a fourth installment of a series in 2014 to cut out life stages. Sequels are meant to be better, but here I am still playing sims 2 as it's the only sims game with acceptable babies and toddlers. So no I won't pay $88 AUD for a base game plus another $50 or so for an EP to add in toddlers. Without that life stage and the poorly done infant stage the game is worth about $20 bucks to me. So maybe when it's in the bargain bin I'll give it a go for giggles although I'll probably need a blindfold to get through those creepy looking babies. Cute?

This is cute


This ain't.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6TXovTAZtg

Disagree away.

Toddlers will never be in this game, ever.

I have no hope that EA will actually listen to us and add toddlers in. They may say they would "like to" but please.

They couldn't be assed to "fix" burrito babies. How are we to expect a whole, fully fleshed out life stage for toddlers? Look at the babies. They deserve so much more than being jailed in a bassinet.

NO FAITH.



If they DO, by their little hearts of hearts add them in, they will be a patched-in after-thought. Or worse, an EP price attached.

I think there will be toddlers- in an EP. I heard someone say there is code already in the base game referring to toddlers. But just how those toddlers are remains to be seen. They would have to be some kind of superduper toddler to even start to make up for cutting them in the base game.

It's even worse when the parents go to the hospital and there is no bassinet already on the lot. The bassinet just randomly spawns with the baby already in it (think Christmas presents from TS3 Seasons) and then the parents poof back into the lot. It's a whole lot of awkward.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H04pcqnSmbk At around 6:00ish mark you can see the baby stuff.

^That^ was the video that I was looking for and couldn't find.

Bumps in to agree wholeheartedly with Jo.

Even the vanilla babies look cute in TS2, be it with the diaper, generic look, no hair, Maxis skins & eyes, and all. They've got somewhat right proportions for a 4-5 month old baby, so they may not look entirely newborn, although they can pass for one during storytelling. And they're so happy most of the time, with those cute little faces. Even with the generic "lying on the floor doing nothing" animations they look like cute little babies.

TS3 babies are even more generic, because they only get the skin, and the eyes are a bit creepy. Their legs won't move even if you give them an outfit with legs (they move a bit like Barbie doll kids, you know, with arms that only bends in the shoulder).

In TS4, oh boy, how much did they mess it up this time! I must say 'finally' to the breastfeeding and bringing back legs, and it's nice that the babies got something other than the diaper this time, and they took their time to finally catch up on the functionality of onesies (no button-up bottom flap is a bummer, though), although their fashion sense is still waaaaay out there. One of the pictures of the little creature is downright creepy, as if the -thing- is trying to plan how to finish you off. The animations are also badly done, because there are several times where the baby sorts of hovers in the air a little, not quite following the mother's movements. And as if that's not enough, the baby is chained to the crib like a wombrat or parrot. Except, the wombrat gets more exercise, and even the parrot is allowed to fly around the room. On top of that, the sorry excuse for a bassinet looks like it's entirely made of hard plastic, mattress and all. Even the TS1 bassinet looked nicer than that! I also don't like that sims now have to take the baby up and put it down for every action. I like being able to queue cuddling and playing, and I like that my sims don't have to pick the baby up every time they want to do something about it. I also like that kids are able to interact with babies (TS2), which they most likely can't now. And however annoying it can be when everyone streams into the room to look when a sim is having birth, it's much nicer that other sims actually care about the new family member. The total disinterest from even the father is just plain wrong. I thought these sims were supposed to be more emotional. Wouldn't it be right to react emotionally to a birth? Like the whole "everybody panic, she's in labor!" thing all sims on the lot do in TS2, and the "hello, you must be new here" thing when the baby is born. Not to mention the labor animations. In TS2 it actually loks like the sim is in pain and trying to breathe through it, and has that "OMG, the baby is COMING!!!!!" look, and gives the baby such a cute cuddle (particularly the one in the cinematic). In TS4 it looks more like the sim is trying to pass some gas, and when the baby finally arrives it's just a quick cuddle, and down in the crib the baby goes, along with complete disinterest. The baby itself has that creepy "I know what you did last summer" look if you even dare to look down into the crib. Some of the animations are cute, but they're really just different versions of what we've already got.

So yes, I'm disappointed. Greatly so.

When I found out about the toddlers, I still hoped that they merely got rid of that stage because they were going to add more gameplay for babies. Of course, now I'm disappointed that babies aren't going to be any better than objects. They look kind of weird, too. With babies that ugly I'm kind of glad we don't know what toddlers would look like.

But what really pisses me off is that one of the devs said there will be no family trees in the game. That's what made me realize this game isn't for me. I'm a player who thinks raising families should be the main part of the game. Even if they add toddlers in an EP, I won't care. To me it just looks like a game where you play as adult who could have children just for the fun of it, but that's just a side feature.

Added: And notice how in those videos the white glow is around the edges of the crib, not the actual baby like it does with every other sim. I don't know why, but that just bothers me! Sorry for ranting so much.

On the plus side, at least the babies aren't burritos/larvae. That's the most positive thing I can say about this.

I have to say even though I'm one who is looking forward to TS4, I am greatly disappointed that there will be no toddlers in the game. The baby being stuck to the bassinet isn't really any concern to me. My babies have always been on the shortest amount of days and were only ever picked up when they had to be, and even then, my sims never wandered around with the baby.

It would drive me nuts to no end that the baby has to be set down between every interaction. I am just sick of this game altogether now. It already looks cheap and plastic, especially the bassinet, and so much has been taken away from previous versions. Sure, interactions were taken out of Sims 3, BUT we got a big, beautiful open world for our Simmies to roam around freely and CASt. There was exchange there, in base game, for what was missing. I don't see anything new in TS4 as an exchange, just more stuff taken out than added, and I'm not really seeing anything added that is that different from earlier games.

I am a person that winds up with a big family of Sims with lots of kids. I did not know that family trees were also taken out. Thank you for that information. That is a big no-no as far as I'm concerned. There are a lot of those in this game. It's just so disappointing. It would be nice to actually see a reason to buy the game, but I seem to have lost it.

I´m torn when it comes to he babies/toddler question. Of course I don´t like EA´s cut this, take away that, "make the most milk with the least amount of moo" - attitude, but that´s capitalist corporations for you. As long as they get away with it they´ll continue down their path.
Personally I never carried my sim babies more than two steps away from their cribs and I´ll neither miss toddlers nor pay money for an expansion that brings back the little annoyances. So when it comes to the decision whether to buy the game or not, babies and toddlers are neutral factors that influence my decision only to a very small degree.

Babies/Toddlers situation is what saddens me the most (at least, it used to before I've gone "to hell with it, won't buy anyway"). The main reason I don't want to buy is that with all these cuts they basically tell family players to fuck off. I would make peace with no CASt and no open world, if there were great options for playing with families, if their precious emotions could show me believable emotional ties between members of one family. Babies chained to crib bother me, cause I like it in TS3 when my sims watch TV with babies in their arms, sit in rocking-chair with them, go for a walk with a stroller. I also like it that babies could have actual birthday, with their parent blowing out a single candle on a cake. Legs and new animations are good, that's for sure, but all potential cuteness is killed for me by necessity to put baby down after each interaction. So all in all I'm disappointed with baby life stage in TS4 and really have no reason to forgive them for removing toddler life stage.
As for future EP with toddlers, I'm not here for it. Judging by TS3 EP's, it probably would be half-assed at best, plus no items for toddlers in other EP's, plus paying additional cash for something that is basic feature. I had Generations EP in TS3, thank you very much.
If I ever buy TS4, all my sims there are gonna be childfree, I guess.

ohhh why take out the family trees? it's not like you have to animate them!

seriously, the family tree is one of my favourite parts of the sims games - it gives my sims a heritages and a sense of their family line. It's so cool to be able to trace back a sim's ancestors and think 'oh, I remember so-and-so's grandma, I made her a romance sim with grilled cheese secondary aspiration!'