Following last week’s official livestream for the upcoming The Sims 4 Growing Together Expansion Pack, game developers (known as SimGurus) shared many other details about the DLC and also the free game update scheduled for March 14th.
Here’s a selection of screenshots that show more of San Sequoia and brand new objects, and also information – about the new pie menu, stayovers and much more – that were shared by the Gurus on Twitter these past few days.
Base Game Update
— Dave Miotke (@SimGuruNinja) March 3, 2023
I think there is a partial fix for this with the patch where it still happens in some cases but is better overall – as you’re seeing here. We’re still working on getting it to work exactly as desired. It’s a tricky one.
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 5, 2023
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 5, 2023
Choose Feeding Preference is part of the Basegame Update!
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 4, 2023
Yes! A lot of our lot builders did that and it’s great.
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 4, 2023
Yes it is! The Preference for Conversation Topics connected with it is Growing Together, but the Pie Menu UI is a Basegame Update.
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 4, 2023
They do crawl in Basegame. Growing Together has them sort of ramp up to all that they can do in Basegame as they unlock Milestones. We wanted there to be -plenty- to do with Infants if you just have Basegame.
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 4, 2023
Yes, that’s also a BG update.
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 3, 2023
The toddlers normally have enough and will eventually throw a tantrum to have someone take them out. It play sooo nicely. I also really appreciated this bug fix. I use high chairs all the time now.
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 3, 2023
Growing Together: New Gameplay Objects
How about that there is a new bassinet as a reward item for a Goaled Baby Shower Event? https://t.co/rzAa4UMZnp pic.twitter.com/6rGzFIehgQ
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 5, 2023
Bassinets are just for newborns, & they are restricted to them – though we updated that experience to flow better. Infants use cribs which are bigger, & they most certainly aren’t restricted. We have a bunch of new cribs coming to Basegame for free with the patch!
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 5, 2023
If you want to talk about cute new objects in Growing Together… this is one of the Slumber Party Rewards Objects. It’s an animal-themed sleeping bag for toddlers! pic.twitter.com/6HIn0iAEW4
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 5, 2023
Don’t worry! There is also a basic toddler sleeping bag that isn’t a reward you can get directly from Build/Buy anytime. pic.twitter.com/6pHuOpE7oA
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 5, 2023
Yeah, sleeping bags can be put in your inventory to be taken with you when you go:
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 5, 2023
The Splash Pads are really fun to design on your own home lots too. You have the three emitters, plus a variety of different pads in various colors.
You even have your own at-home Whalebert—who can also be placed in fountains! https://t.co/AZN86jcFuj pic.twitter.com/6xRj4mkuGv
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 3, 2023
Yes! It’s so cute. If an adult is holding the infant or carrying them in their back holder they can play in the emitters together.
If you’re holding a cat or a puppy you can also play in them with them! 🐱🐶 https://t.co/zFWpXOIGY2
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 4, 2023
Did you know there is a Whalebert puzzle? Whalebert is the official mascot of this pack. https://t.co/LBYiHXh4jE
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 3, 2023
does anyone remember what we did in Laundry Day? I do… pic.twitter.com/c6FZEY2S35
— TreehouseGuruNova (@SimGuruNova) March 3, 2023
2 children can play pretend together on the treehouse!!
— TreehouseGuruNova (@SimGuruNova) March 3, 2023
You know it just occurred to me that I don’t think we even showed off the back carriers from Growing Together in the livestream!
Ah well, more to come. pic.twitter.com/Kn1hr2Ef5x
— Dave Miotke (@SimGuruNinja) March 4, 2023
And also the playmat that has little toys built in for them to play with.
Cribs, portable cribs, playpen fencing (not a jail), and playmats. pic.twitter.com/aUMOMoRIHz
— Dave Miotke (@SimGuruNinja) March 4, 2023
In Growing Together, we added some fun new Build/Buy assets for Recreation Centers & Libraries—you might have spotted them during the Livestream in our builds. Just a preview – I won't show all the Rec Center/Library objects. 😉 pic.twitter.com/OIq5EMp1R3
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 6, 2023
San Sequoia (New World)
Took a lovely jog around Robles Point this morning.
Gotta ❤️those Bay views. pic.twitter.com/mbiyxjJUKO— Dave Miotke (@SimGuruNinja) March 4, 2023
This is super Bay Area inspired and we have tons of “San” cities. As far as the trees: I live in Willow Glen. No Willow trees, but back in the day the town had them. Same vibes here.
— Dave Miotke (@SimGuruNinja) March 4, 2023
Here are some cute pictures I have of the Lumberjacksons in San Sequoia! pic.twitter.com/8PBDe88QSc
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 4, 2023
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 4, 2023
I think in my game at home I'm going to build a little cafe or restaurant on this empty lot by the Celebration Center. I think it'd make the perfect spot for a date or some food after a day with the family in Gilbert Gardens. ☕️ pic.twitter.com/uAAjpxqDhK
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 6, 2023
We showed off one dressed-up Starter Home during the Growing Together Livestream, but check out how cute this one is by @dzidziak86 in the Gilbert Gardens neighborhood! My two favorite parts: 1. The modern roof over the doorway. 2. It has the cutest little starter nursery inside. pic.twitter.com/65SvVZN0KG
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 6, 2023
Random Gameplay Info
All Infants/Toddlers have them when they grow into that age. It’s more-so a matter of discovering the quirks they already have. It’ll sometimes happen naturally OR through specific interactions with them, and sometimes might require them to have reached certain milestones. https://t.co/HbgjuQBfa1
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 4, 2023
As an example: You might not discover your infant Likes Sounds unless you give them the tools to play with sounds – the new BG sensory toys, radio, etc. Or that your toddler Hates being Held until you pick them up to take them somewhere.
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 4, 2023
But an infant who is a Free Air Tinkler is probably going to use the bathroom while you’re changing them, and a Toddler who is Aggressive will probably act out on their own. It’s fun discovering them. The cheat is also available if you want to set your own for story.
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 4, 2023
When you add a new Quirk through the cheat you’ll still need to discover it, so you aren’t missing out on the discovery gameplay. It just won’t be a surprise anymore. But we really wanted players to have to tools to tell their own story if they didn’t like the randomness.
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 4, 2023
There is an open up button on the UI to see them all if you don’t have space in the Simology panel. There isn’t a limit on how many you can get.
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 4, 2023
Lots actually plays into how infants feel about exploring food (Basegame) & finger foods (Growing Together). For example: Infants with the Picky Eater Quirk are less likely to like foods, in general. Same with Sensitive Infants. However, Sunny infants will normally Like or Love. https://t.co/WH9bWlkDLH
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 4, 2023
You can feed these foods to infants m because they are meant for infants, but I have had my toddler walk up and swipe the finger foods from my infant and eat it. 😭 Some toddlers are wild.
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 4, 2023
Soooooooooo Ar Milestones like Memories
— ThatGuy (@DamionFandom) March 3, 2023
How it started vs How it ended pic.twitter.com/F5GeBW56dA
— Dave Miotke (@SimGuruNinja) March 6, 2023
The designer for Toddler Quirks did some extra work around Occults and Toddler Quirks. You’re more like to get these quirks if you’re the corresponding occult:
Merfolk – Obsessed with Water
Werewolf – Destructive
Vampire – Aggressive
Spellcaster – Loves Books— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 4, 2023
We considered them but didn’t feel like any of the quirks felt so specifically alien-aligned that we wanted to support them in the same way we did other occults.
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 4, 2023
There are some good ones! When you become an occult you get one, but there are also ones for memorable moments like fighting Greg.
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 4, 2023
Fun Fact: Infants, in general, are super likely to Dislike Smashed Lemon and Love Ice Cream. pic.twitter.com/uXYps5tzfF
— GooGooGagaGuruMorgan (@SimGuruMorgan) March 4, 2023
I’m pretty sure we covered it on stream! child sims can lose teeth, place them under their pillow and get a few simoleons! courtesy of the tooth beary 🙂
— TreehouseGuruNova 🌳🏠 (@SimGuruNova) March 4, 2023
For Family Reunions, the invite list isn’t restricted to strictly members of the family tree. Found family, in-laws, and family friends can be invited too 💖 It’s all about who’s important in your Sim’s life pic.twitter.com/t5TPKBmov0
— TreehouseGuruNova 🌳🏠 (@SimGuruNova) March 3, 2023
No Sim is required to be pregnant to hold a baby shower, to make sure players could tell diverse stories with the event! (i.e. adoption, science baby, etc.) And you definitely should have time during pregnancy if you’d like!
— TreehouseGuruNova 🌳🏠 (@SimGuruNova) March 4, 2023
Fun note about workplace rivals: If you try to sabotage them, you’ll get unique messages themed after every possible career. I wrote a decent chunk of them 😀 Will share some of those too~
— TreehouseGuruNova 🌳🏠 (@SimGuruNova) March 3, 2023
Stay Overs are not goaled events, they run in the background as you play to allow those Sims to stay at your active household. Any events you plan once a Stay Over is running will still be goaled!
— TreehouseGuruNova 🌳🏠 (@SimGuruNova) March 3, 2023
You can assign them beds, you can form a group with them, you can take them to other lots! You can ask them to relax or help out! You just can’t control them since they’re in a different household.
— TreehouseGuruNova 🌳🏠 (@SimGuruNova) March 3, 2023
Random Development Tidbits
I’ve finally recovered after our marathon stream yesterday (it seems y’all liked it??) and while I enjoyed ranting about why Moonwood Mill and San Sequoia are ✨perfect✨ world names, I figured a little behind-the-scenes context on how we go about naming worlds could be fun. 🧵
— Cheapskate Keepsake Doi (@GrimSuruDoi) March 4, 2023
Our design, production, concept, and environment teams start planning the general look, environment, and story of a world early on. We think about gameplay that could tied to the world, the premades that would live there, lot layout, surrounding environment, all that good stuff.
— Cheapskate Keepsake Doi (@GrimSuruDoi) March 4, 2023
One thing we don’t decide until much, much later? The world name. We don’t want to design a world around a name but rather fit a good name to the world that we’ve already designed.
— Cheapskate Keepsake Doi (@GrimSuruDoi) March 4, 2023
So when we gather together as a team to consider world names, we are trying to fit it to a number of factors along with trying to make sure we like the sound of it, that it feels unique among our existing world names, but also sounds like it fits in the Sims 4.
— Cheapskate Keepsake Doi (@GrimSuruDoi) March 4, 2023
We think about a lot (maybe too much?) like the connotations of the name, the history of the places that inspire the world, possible translations, words they sound like, personal preference
— Cheapskate Keepsake Doi (@GrimSuruDoi) March 4, 2023
I think it is a legitimate concern that we not name worlds in a confusing way or such that they feel more like inside jokes than proper names, which is why I think some of the back and forth on Moonwood Mill and San Sequoia was really useful.
— Cheapskate Keepsake Doi (@GrimSuruDoi) March 4, 2023
For those 2 worlds, I think we arrived in the right place. We looked at abandoned/secluded mill towns that seemed like good werewolf hangouts or at how the Bay Area’s flora has transformed over time and how local places are still named after trees that are no longer there
— Cheapskate Keepsake Doi (@GrimSuruDoi) March 4, 2023
Anyway, this is all to say while there was certainly some truth to my bit on world naming on the stream (Chair Village ahoy!), I really do appreciate the thought and intention we put into all the work do. We will sometimes still make mistakes, but we continue to do our best!
— Cheapskate Keepsake Doi (@GrimSuruDoi) March 4, 2023
It has come to my attention that I can now post this forbidden gif from early Infant development. Enjoy. 😌 pic.twitter.com/EZK3ChJQmE
— SimGuruConor (@SimGuruConor) March 3, 2023
