Damn it, EA. One of the few things that might get me to poke my head back into the Sims 4 for a little bit... My cynical side half expects a toddler related Stuff Pack to be available much sooner than it has any right to be. Still, while it's nice that it's finally done and free, I don't think it will offer much more than a few more hours of additional play. As others have mentioned, there are fundamental problems with the game, especially the base game. I feel like most of them can be traced back to EA essentially neutering the base game so they could hold back features, functions, and items to dole out in Packs later. The base game is nowhere near a full game worth $80. It would be like buying a model kit, only to find you got a chassis and nothing else, with everything else having to be bought separately.

In all honesty, I refuse to lower my previously established standards for what a Sims game should be! After playing Sims 2, I could never go back to 4. The love and dedication they had for The Sims 2 was evident in the game's near perfect balance and intricacies. They truly put control back into the player's hands, and the game really feels like a commentary on life. To this very day, players, myself included, are acquiring new information about this game. Yes, Sims 2, like latter iterations has its problems. Regardless, EA had 16 years to rectify its mistakes! As I earlier stated, it's going to take A LOT more than toddlers and vampires. If anything, they ought to be fixing children, teens, and pretty much everything non YA/A.

I was playing the update a little bit last night. It's very cute! I still prefer sims 2 toddlers, especially since the ones in 4 still have quite a few bugs that make the game difficult (particularly involving feeding them), but ts4 as a game itself isn't all too bad. Like others have said, it's kinda like a side game. To me, it's good for doing ts1-level messing around with different features, like starting as many fights as possible or seeing how many hours your sim can last in a pool without a ladder (the answer is too many in ts3/ts4!) Actual gameplay I can't quite find when playing ts4, just clicking around.

Your comment reminds me a bit of my days attempting to establish an alien hierarchy in the Sims 4. Let's just say... it didn't work out, so I spent a lot of time in the gallery. The toddlers unerve me slightly though... Aesthestically speaking, if course.

I agree with players here. The toddlers have really amp'd the game and made it more interesting to play, and it certainly needed a good jolt, but it hasn't even reached Sims 3 for me, never mind Sims 2.

I'm writing heresy. The toddlers in Sims 4 are cute as ever, and might give the Sims 2 ones a run for their money. (Sorry, Sims 3.) They are really adorable and charming, with a longer list of things for them to do and feel. The devs put a lot of work into them, and it shows. Good job! I might play Sims 4 a little more because of them. This was the bunny that EA really needed to pull out of its hat. The youngest series sibling of the bunch gets a gold trophy for this one.

But compared with the Sims 1, 2 and 3 siblings and their trophies, Sims 4 has a while to go. Now EA could surprise us in rapid bursts again, but it will need more bunnies to get this game on the same level as its siblings. Or more trophies. Or both.

There are features of Sims 4 that I do like over 2. I like the CAS and I like that Sims can visit friends' houses. (Yes. I know we have a mod for that in Sims 2, but I had a lot of trouble with it and had to delete it.) The game is worth the $10 - $15 that many people (including yours truly, who bit at the $10 price) paid for it in November and December. I did not waste money. It's a fun game. I don't regret buying it at that price range.

However, it's not enough to convince me to not wait until the expansions and stuff packs get more to my price point. When I see those at what I consider an affordable level, I'll bite again. For now, it's base game only for me, even with the addition of toddlers.

It was disappointing that they did't start out crawling like TS2 toddlers, but the gradual improvement of the movement skill is better. They feel more like full Sims than they ever have in any other incarnation, since they have the ability to wander over and join into any conversation - just like a real toddler would, and they have a much wider range of interactions, with other Sims and objects, instead of being restricted to a handful of toddler objects. I'm actually glad toddlers weren't included at first, if this was the result. It's just too bad they didn't stall the entire game for two years. A lifestage this carefully planned almost feels out of place with the rest of the game. When a toddler had a nightmare and ran into his grandma's room crying, I had a "wow" moment like the ones I used to get when I was discovering all the new features of TS2. The only thing I'm not a huge fan of is the weird sparkly play and the noisy potty training sounds, both of which will probably be easily modded out by someone.

Catheter?

Eww.

On toddlers being better to waiting. Maybe, but EA should have been upfront about it and even have given updates on their progress. I don't know why they think this cloak and dagger stuff of not saying anything is the way to go, PR needs a shake up. Angering 1/2 or more of your client base is not good business practice.

While I too can admit that the toddlers are cute, and it does look like they put at lot of work into them, it still doesn't really motivate me to want to purchase Sims 4. Personally, I'm more excited to see what creators will be able to import from 4 to 2. XD

I haven't really kept up with Sims news/drama, so I can't really say much on this Rebecca person leaving or what it means for the franchise. Just hearing about how she apparently squashed toddlers for over two years simply because SHE didn't like them (as opposed to listening to the people who actually play the game, and thereby her salary) however, makes me think that the dev team is ultimately better off without her.

To me, the non-adult and elder stages have always felt a little "off" to me (with possible exceptions to the new TS4 toddlers -- I haven't really watched any Let's Plays yet, so I can't make an informed decision). Kind of like the devs tended to never actually interact with teens or kids, and just relied on second-hand info from movies/tv/etc. and their own foggy memories of childhood. The infants are usually only props with the bare minimum of interaction, and there doesn't seem to be stacked aging with the children and toddlers. As it has been pointed out, a 1-2 year old toddler (TS2) will behave and interact differently than a 4-5 year old toddler (TS4). There is also a VAST difference between a 7-10 year old child (TS2) and an older child who's closer to a "tween" at 12-14. Even the teen ages aren't really right when they're set at only a single life stage-- someone who has just entered teen-hood at 14-15 will act differently than a 16-18 year old, as the latter ages provide more rights and freedoms (but also more responsibility). Not to mention that they forget that you are, biologically and socially, still considered a teen until roughly 21, even if you are TECHNICALLY considered an adult at 18 in the US (I only specify the US because, last I heard, that was where EA was mostly headquartered, and where the most cultural influences seep in).
It just seems like all of the games as a whole could be enhanced a bit more just by making the sims lifespans more intricate (to my knowledge, they only really did this with adults in TS4), even if it does make the overall lifespan longer (most players look to expand sim lives anyway, and have in-game options of aging them up prematurely if they want to skip a stage anyway).

To be fair to EA though, we simmers are such a varied bunch wanting such massively different things from the exact same game, that it honestly is literally IMPOSSIBLE to please all, or sometimes even most, of us. I would feel sorry for EA--if they weren't, you know, EA.

I liked the surprise. Then again, I fully expected toddlers to appear eventually (there were obvious Easter eggs, like the baby bottle and teddy bear that were found in the Dine Out pack, that some people managed to convince themselves weren't signs at all). And people seem to be a lot happier, overall, than they are about every other returning feature. For example, people wanted vampires and we've recently gotten previews of them, but now there's anger because people wanted a different kind of vampire, or the vampires aren't coming fast enough or they're going to be in a game pack when it should have been a supernatural EP or it should have been in a previous EP, etc. I have to stop before I morph into an EA apologist.

I'm a family player in any Sims game I play so now I'm definitely going to give it another shot. It's not a bad game, it just feels so soulless and vapid at times that it's more like a GTA parody to me than an actual Sims game imo.

Well, it's nice that EA gave us this update for free, but I'm staying with The Sims 2. I don't know why, but The Sims 4 just isn't for me. I have played it a lot, because I thought I may get into it. After 38 hours playtime, I've given up and got back to The Sims 2.

Like others on here, not enough to make me purchase Sims 4. I still don't like the look of it or the way they move. The toddlers are way cuter than Sims 3 toddlers but not as cute as Sims 2 imo. I'll stick to Sims 2 - still can't be beaten for overall satisfaction.

Thank you so much Charity, Wow! Horses for Sims 2, I do have FT but I removed it ( I had problems ) I do have Pets EP if I read correctly it should work. ( not sure )
After downloading the files I look at the package then I got scare, a Red Flag went up there are "Two NPC" in the package I guess it is what make the horses move around.
I'll not sure what to do now because once in my game to test out I will be dead if I removed it, So right now I am scare and hanging between heaven and hell. what do you all think ?

For testing just make a test neighborhood and move all other neighborhoods out of Sims 2 folder. This way they will not be affected. After testing delete mod if you don't want it, move neighborhoods back and delete test hood.

@Simonut The NPC only gets added to hoods you load. So if you make a test hood like Annaminna suggests and only load that you can try it out. Doesn't even matter that the other hoods are there (just don't load them) Try the downlaod then if you don't want it, exit the game and remove it. No harm done. Having an NPC is okay, put it in a 'Don't Remove/NPC' folder.

Any download that moves around the lot like the remote control car will be controlled by an NPC, be it a horse, roller coaster ride, tricycle, dragon, whatever. Always check a file that might contain an NPC for 'controller' or 'NPC' before putting in your download folder.

They look even better than sims 2 toddlers, they have a huge food menu, five different skills with I think 3 levels in the skill so they get better at it, heaps of toys, a bed that i assume they can get themselves out of. I always said I would not buy sims 4 so long as there were no toddlers and I never have, now I will wait until the base game gets cheap again since even with toddlers it's not worth $80 to me. With this addition it has now become, I think worthy of being called a side game like Castaways was. They would have to fix up the entire map and the babies and some of the basic building tools before I would say it's worth $80.

That's your opinion @HarVee, you want to skip and cheat, which is your prerogative; however some of us love sims 2 toddlers and even have the life span longer. Perhaps take a look at the link in my siggy and see what you are missing.

They are most definitely a whole lifestage, with special skills, and lots of new (plus re-made/re-imagined) interactions. They even took the tots into this decade by introducing bunny iPads.

The only thing so far that I'm a little annoyed for, is that they no longer crawl, but start out walking (but walking/movement is a skill, and the further up the more interactions they get, like running and climbing stairs on their own).

For a free update (not considering toddlers should have been in the game from the start, and the steep price of the basegame), it's actually surpprisingly good, and they've even added in things I've missed in the two other games (things like "unlimited" food options, toddler skills that actually do something useful while in the toddler stage, reading and being read to, a few more social options with kids and other toddlers, clothes and other CAS elements that don't look completely awful - they even have glasses and hats this time around, and toddler beds with proper bedding - because they're a bit too big for cribs now. They don't have strollers this time around, but since strollers were more like bikes or cars in TS3, and horribly done, and since toddlers are again mostly house-bound like in TS2, I'm not as annoyed as I would be if TS4 had an open world (even if strollers would have been nice). Maybe they'll put them back in if they add cars/bikes.

If TS4 was a bit more playable on my laptop (it lags like crazy, even in laptop mode), I'd probably be playing it more than I have up until now. The TS4 babies and kids just aren't interesting enough to me, so my play time has until now been more like 3-4 hours every 3 months or so...

So yeah - for the first time since TS4 (+ GTW, the reason I bought TS4 to begin with) was released, I was positively surprised by an update/expansion. Which says a lot, considering just how many they've spewed out in two years.

He said Sims 3 toddlers made him want to skip them.



As for the NPC thing I am of the opinion that people worry too much. As others have said, try them out in a test neighbourhood to see if you like them first. Then you can delete them with no problems if you don't like them. Otherwise you just have to remember not to delete them. I have an NPCs folder just for them, so they're separate from my other downloads. Or you could ask Chris Hatch to add them to his NPC controller and then you only have one thing to worry about. http://backalleysims.com/adultsite/...ller-(Vicky-NPC



What? Click on a bookcase and choose read to [toddler's name].

They have several special toddler books. And not just sitting on the floor with a parent (those TS3 animations looked so awkward) - they can be read to on a bed, and toddlers can read on their own while in bed, on the floor, on a couch, and probably a few other places. Plus, they can wreck havoc with the toddler book case. Most of the interactions and animations carried over from TS3 have been completely reworked, and most look better. I don't want to compare TS4 and TS2 toddlers too much - because even if there is a lot of toddler stuffeths in TS4 that isn't in TS2, I do like the look of the toddlers better (TS2 CC-toddlers against plain vanilla TS4 toddlers, mind - I haven't played vanilla TS2 toddlers in ten years or so).

I read some place they'd sacked this Rachel person who was so against including toddlers. If that's the case, it's the best decision they've made since starting the TS4 creation process...

Looks like they are saying sims 2 and sims 3 toddlers to me.

Gee, I wonder why some corporate workaholic doesn't like children. Unheard of!

In my opinion. and after playing for a good while. the TS4 Toddlers are very well done. They are more than just adorable. You need only the base game for this addition. Very much like real toddlers. The only way to know how one personally feels about them is to play ...

No need to wait two years, the repeated complaints (some from those who have never played TS4 or who no longer play or who played only for a very short time) have not ceased. ((LOL))

I am not against TS4. My laptop had TS3 base game when it was new, but is even not near to requirements for TS4.
I want try out TS4 but it will be in unknown future when I can buy suitable computer.

You have to read it as 'or are' and not 'are are'. XD