Simprograms received an email today with the first feature info on Generations. EA will be sending out features like the following throughout the coming weeks.
The Best Years of Their Lives
Do you love your awkward teen Sims soooooo much? Or wish that your little Sims didn’t grow up so fast? Well, now you can have your wish. From the Options menu, you can adjust your Sim’s overall lifespan, which will in turn lengthen (or decrease!) each of their life stages. Or you can simply adjust an individual life stage. And don’t worry—if you decide that you’ve given them too much of a good thing, you can always return to the default settings.
Tip: To get the most gameplay throughout your Sim’s lifespan, try increasing the length of the Child and Teen life stages.
A Lesson in Boarding Schools
Packing young Sims off to boarding school is one cool new option in The Sims 3 Generations. Going away to school is a great way to enrich a child’s life and ensure that they grow up well. But it doesn’t come free—parents must pay for the privilege of prestigious schooling. However, if parents are willing to part with their Simoleons—and their children—their young scholars will gain advantages in different skills and develop certain traits, depending on the school selected.
To enrol their offspring in a boarding school, Sims can log onto the computer or pick up the phone. Don’t worry—children and teens boarding at school won’t lose touch entirely. They will occasionally call home to chat with the family.
Sims continue to age while they are away at school. When they reach the end of a life stage, Sim students get their final marks and, if they wish to remain in school, they can re-enrol. If the student is ready to return to the fold, they can come home with new skills and traits that reflect their time at school. When a boarding school student reaches the end of their teen years, they receive their final marks, and return home for graduation.
Minding the Little Ones
Taking care of children is rewarding and important, but for working parents finding the right person to take on the day care responsibilities is essential. Nurturing and Family-Oriented Sims are well suited to the role and will enjoy a career in day care, minding their towns’ little bundles of joy.
Every weekday morning, several toddlers are dropped off at the home of a day care professional and stay until later in the evening when their parents return to pick them up. Child minders should make sure their homes are equipped to handle several children by keeping plenty of toys on hand. The happier the kids, the happier the parents, and the better the chance that they will tip the day care provider. The better the day care specialist, the more kids (and Simoleons!) they’ll end up with, including school age children who will arrive for after school care.
Tip: Make sure that school kids finish their homework to get the best rating.
Keep in mind that taking care of little ones isn’t always a walk in the park. Day care specialists can expect to cope with a variety of crises, such as emergency weekend day care, not to mention the dreaded “problem child.” So remember to use any unlocked socials and rewards to help keep kids in line—and don’t be afraid to bring in some extra help.
The Very Best of Friends
Some lucky—and imaginative—Sims get a head start in finding a best friend. For them, their best friends seem to have always been there, for as long as they can remember—and, well, that may be because they always have been!
Some newborns receive special toys in the mail. When one of these children becomes a toddler, they can play with, sing to, and name their toy, building a strong relationship with this special friend. As the young Sim grows, their special friend grows along with them and has the change of developing the ability to turn into a life-sized imaginary friend—but only its owner can see and interact with it.
However, imaginary friends can be turned real through Opportunities or by creating the Imaginary Friend Metamorphium potion with the chemistry set. Sims must have a good relationship with their imaginary friends to make them real, so be sure to be nice to them.
