In today’s Sims 4 My First Pet Stuff Live Stream, SimGurus provided info and answered questions about the stuff pack. Below is a Recap of this information.
My First Pet Stuff Overview
The gurus kicked off today’s stream showing explaining what The Sims 4 My First Pet Stuff is. According to SimGuruGraham:
“For anyone who has seen the trailer or read the announcement blog, this pack is building on The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs Expansion Pack. What that means is that they (EA) are recommending that anyone who is interested in this pack also owns The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs Expansion as it comes with extra content for the expansion.
Basically at the end of the day, if you want this new stuff pack but don’t own the Cats & Dogs expansion pack, we’re (EA) not going to stop you from purchasing it. There are new outfits for cats and dogs and those will only be available to use if you have the expansion pack. There are some new gameplay options that doesn’t require the Cats & Dogs Expansion. “
They proceeded into Create-a-Sim to show off some of the new CAS assets coming with the game. Most of the new outfits available for Cats & Dogs match some of the in-game Sim outfits and clothing assets. This was intentional so that pets and their owners can match.
During the time they spent in the stream Gurus confirmed that many of the new pet assets will match random articles of clothing/outfits for Sims.
They also showed off some of the new CAS assets for Sims. Below are some of the items shown during the stream.
They then hopped into the game, and the loading screen revealed the following help text as they waited for the lot to load.
When they jumped into live mode they started by showing off some of the new objects in the game. Note that they also had the Cats & Dogs filter on in buy/build mode.
They also showed off some additional objects that can be placed in your game without the Cats & Dogs expansion, but will not have any functionality. Pet beds, litter box, etc.
Next up they showed off the new “Aquarium Coffee Table”. This object is animated with pre-stocked fish, and you are not able to add or remove any fish. Graham also mentioned that this is the first round coffee table in the game.
Finally, Graham went ahead and filtered out all the content for The Sims 4 My First Pet Stuff, so here are the icons that were seen during the stream.
Click the image for a larger view.
They then moved on to the main object of the pack, the “Rodent Cage”. You will not need The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs to play with rodents. Rodents have some needs that need to be met. Hunger, Attention, and Activity are listed.
❗ Rodents can be placed on a community lot as well. You won’t have to worry about feeding them when you are not there, but you can care for them once you visit the lot.
❗ You are not able to sell rodents or their habitats on a retail lot.
❗ SimGurus did mention that Cats can interact with the rodents by jumping up on their cage and tapping the “glass” so to speak.
Hovering over the rodent house will give you information on whether they need to be fed, played and interacted with, or can use some activity in their life. Graham also mentioned that one of the way rodents can die is of Starvation. The other is old age.
❗ You can also feed rodents “Anti-Aging” treats to keep them from dying. This will extend their life indefinitely. This treat basically stops aging. Anti-Aging Treats can be ordered from a computer, or purchased at a Vet Clinic Vending Machine.
(Vet clinics and their vending machines are in The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs Expansion)
When rodents pass away there isn’t a Sad moodlet associated with that death, but all Sims in a household will receive a “New Pet Rodent” moodlet.
The following interactions were seen when the Sim selected the rodent house. (“Purchase a Rodent” & “Clean Habitat” are also options seen in the stream)
Sims who interact with rodents can form relationships with them that can be tracked in the relationship panel. Rodents will be mixed in with other Sims and animals your Sims have a relationship with. Sims can unlock new interactions with higher relationship levels.
Only one rodent is allowed per cage, but you are able to add as many of these rodent homes to your house as you want. They will not take up a household slot.
Cleaning a rodent cage is required every 3 or so days, and their food bowls will need to be filled once per day. Rodents do not breed or reproduce. The life span of rodents in game is about 3 weeks long. They will eventually pass away from old age.
When rodents want some attention they will come to the front of the cage and stand on their hind legs to beg for attention. Each rodent comes with their own district markings and colors. To select the rodent you want, head into buy mode and select the corresponding cage. There are Rats, Babalus, Hedgehogs, and Hamsters.
Rodents can be taken out of the cage to be played with, but they are similar to infants in the game where they are basically objects tied to their habitat. (You can always use the “Release” interaction to release them back into the wild)
Not only can you hover over their cages to determine if any of their needs should be filled, rodents will also have random thought bubbles appear from time to time letting you know what they need. An example in the stream was a rodent who needed activity.
The way you solve their needs is to select from the interactions available when clicking the cage. Usually they are good with their activity needs, but the option to “Play With” the rodents helps increase their “Attention, Activity, and Relationship” with Sims. Feeding them a treat will increase their Hunger, Attention, and Relationship.
The following notifications appeared with regard to two of the rodents still living on the lot. These notifications are generated as a means to hint at the “Secret Lives” the rodents live. Sometimes rodents will “leave” when you’re not looking and end up with some book royalty money, or run into a crime boss that makes you lose money.
Sometimes rodents will take off in their rocket ships, or even throw a “Dance Rave” in the warehouse underneath their bedroom. Sometimes they will perform scientific experiments as well, so you might see an explosion occur. These are part of the secret lives they live.
Rodents will also travel from time to time and when they leave the rodents will pin a note to the bottom of their habitat to let you know that they’ve left. When they return, they will bring back a postcard that counts towards a collection.
The post card collection was introduced with The Sims 4 Base Game, and there are 7 new postcards that Sims can collect from their rodent friends. They are all marked as “Rare”.
All post cards, including the base game ones, can be hung and pinned to their habitat or the postcard board in the game.
There are 2 treats available for rodents. These can be ordered on the computer, or via the Vet Clinic vending machine in The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs.
The Anti-Aging treat prevents death by old age, and the IQ Limiter Treat will prevent all the “extra” secret life activities and return the rodent back to a normal pet.
The next bit of the stream focused on a Sim that was infected with “Rabid Rodent Fever”. The Sim was 4 minutes from Death and had the following Dazed moodlets.
Rabid Rodent Fever is a throw back to The Sims 1’s Guinea Pig Disease. This disease is spread by interacting with a rodent that is living in an unclean habitat. When a Sim goes to play with their dirty pet rodent and they get bit by the rodent, they will end up with the disease. Sims who have low relationships with rodents have more of a chance to be bit.
Rabid Rodent fever is contagious, and it will make life a bit more difficult for Sims. Bladder and Hygiene needs will tank during the time they are sick. Sims who are infected can also spread the disease by coming into contact with other Sims. Other Sims will end up with the beginning stages of the disease the longer they are around sick Sims.
❗ Pregnant Sims can get sick, but children will not.
If an infected Sims heads out into the world and interacts with other non-household Sims, they will infect them too. SimGuruGraham then stated that they didn’t want it to be a lethal illness, so when other neighbors get sick they will automatically cure themselves. If they do end up with a level 3 of the illness, the game will not allow them to be contagious. The only Sims who will spread the disease are your “Current Household” Sims.
The target Sim ended up with this notification and an Uncomfortable moodlet.
The illness will then progress further once the clock runs out on the first signs of illness. If you want to prevent a Sim from continuing to get ill, you can cure the illness. To cure a Sim, click the computer and select Web > Research > Research Rabid Rodent Fever.
Once a Sim completes this interaction, a new “Purchase Rodent Remedies” interaction will appear on the computer. From there Sims can purchase any of two remedies. One will cure the disease at any stages, the other will prevent Sims from contracting the disease.
❗ If you have The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs Expansion you can also visit the local Vet Clinic to ask a doctor about the disease. This will then unlock the ability for Sims to purchase the Serums on the computer. This is an alternative to researching on the PC.
If you allow a Sim’s disease to progress, they eventually die. The animations include Sims foaming at the mouth and falling to the ground.
The Sim then passed away and was added to the household via cheats. The resulting ghost was not like any other type of ghost, but instead a Rodent Ghost who foams at the mouth.
If you choose to add a Rabid Rodent Ghost to your household, you are able to turn them into a “regular” ghost as well. This is done by purchasing the “Rabies Inoculation Serum” from the internet and having the Rodent Ghost drink it. This will then remove the rodent costume and the special ghost that results from this disease.
As Graham was waiting for a specific time to arrive, he showed off a new interaction that is specific to children and teens. The “Study Rodent” interaction allows Children and Teens to complete their homework in an alternative way. Children will gain creativity skill as well.
The stream ended with Graham showing off the rare Rocket Launch animation where rodents will ship themselves off to space and live their “Secret life”. Graham mentioned that sometimes these trips will result in a rodent setting up their own space mining operation on an asteroid. Rodents can then send you Space Rocks as gifts.
We also saw a Rodent Dance Rave
