Children all grow up to look the same

without_a_doubt · 13-11-2009, 01:46 PM

Whenever two of my sims have a baby, no matter what the parents look like, the baby always grows up to look like the same adult. Can anyone help?

EAUK_Aurora · 13-11-2009, 01:58 PM

Hi there

Is your game all patched up to date and are you using any mods or hacks?

I can't be 100% sure but I think this may have been addressed in an update. You can find the list of updates and what they addressed here.

without_a_doubt · 13-11-2009, 02:50 PM

Thanks for your help, so far I haven't downloaded any patches, and I don't use any mods or cheats. I will download the patches and see whether that fixes the problem.

without_a_doubt · 13-11-2009, 03:09 PM

When I tried to install the patches it said my game was already up to date, are there any more possible fixes?

Recludere · 13-11-2009, 03:38 PM

Edit: Bear in mind you only need to install the patch for the last expansion you have installed. So if you have expansions up to Bon Voyage, you only need the Bon Voyage patch. You don't have to start with TS2 base and work your way up.

Are you using CC skintones and eyes? CC is the most dominant DNA attribute, and Sim babies will always have the same CC eyes if one of the parents has them. Same with skin I think. Where the in-game skin will vary depending on the skin of the parents, darkest skinned father, lightest skinned mother... the baby can have any skin. Medium skinned mother, lightest skinned father... the baby will have one or the other, but will never have a darker tone. I think with CC skin the baby gets the CC skin.

Are you using a cheat to force a pregnancy, without choosing a partner? I call this Brandi Broke syndrome. Somehow she managed to get pregnant even after her husband Skip had died. You can tell because in her memories she has Beau Broke after Skip's death, and yet somehow is magically pregnant again when you play the lot. Despite Skip not being around for Beau's birth, or to Woo-Hoo with Brandi again.

When she has the baby a blind person could see that it's a DNA match with Brandi. All you need to do is change the gender via another cheat and you'd have a Brandi Broke clone. There was no other parent, it was a cheated pregnancy. Probably added to make the family more interesting.

So are you playing the game normally without cheats? Having two Sims Woo-Hoo to make a baby?

without_a_doubt · 13-11-2009, 03:47 PM

I have never used any cc skintones and eyes, and I am playing the game without using cheats, so none of those can be the problem. It's very odd.

Recludere · 13-11-2009, 03:53 PM

You do get occasional children who are exact replicas of their parents.

All I can think is you've chosen the male and female pre-made DNA sets from CAS (Create-A-Sim) and there is no distinction the game can make to give you a unique baby. If you post a pic of the parents I'll be able to tell if you've done that.

Edit: For example in Pleasantview. The pre-made Jennifer Burb is a female replica of the pre-made Don Lothario. If you go to CAS and create a Don using only the pre-made facial sets... and then turn him female.. you'll have Jennifer Burb. If the two have babies the babies will be pretty much an exact match to one or the other depending on gender.

without_a_doubt · 13-11-2009, 04:37 PM

Apparently I am not allowed to post attachments, not sure why that is. In Create a sim, I tend to press the dice thing until I get a sim I vaguely like, then edit that sim using the sliders. Is that what you meant?

Recludere · 13-11-2009, 05:06 PM

Yeah the randomiser (randomiZer?) chooses from all of the pre-made facial sets, and by my reckoning there are only three that people tend to stop at. Females are the Brandi Broke face (Face 1) Jennifer Burb face (Face 2) and the pleasant twins' face (Face 4). For male Sims that's the boyish looking Sim (Face 1) the John Burb, Mortimer Goth face (Face 2) and the Pleasant twins face again, the guy with the bump in his nose. (Face 4) All of the others have some freakish features like ridiculously flat or long noses, or really sharp angular features etc.

The best way to check is to try to recreate one of the two parents having replica babies in CAS, and then to change him/her to female/male and see if the other gender looks like the other parent you have.

If you look at these two, putting aside eye-colour and hair style/colour and the eyebrows... they both share identical facial structure and so their children will resemble the father or mother depending on gender.

Best thing to do when stopping at a Sim you like in CAS, is to use the options to give that Sim a unique feature, like a longer, slightly upturned nose, defined cheekbones, and a unique mouth or something. If you do this with both parents from the same starting face the children will be more unique.

without_a_doubt · 13-11-2009, 05:28 PM

I've gone back and had a look at my sims, and it's hard to tell but they might have different faces. The main thing that makes them all look the same though is that they all grow up to have the same hairstyle, is that normal? And can you change the hairstyle outside of create a sim?

Recludere · 13-11-2009, 05:40 PM

They can grow up with the same hairdo as one parent, but it's rare me thinks. The base game hair is the type the kids will grow up with because I don't think the game was updated with each EP to factor in new hairstyles. There is like a base equivelant to every new hair style that the new generations will have.

Adults Sims can change their hair and makeup, facial hair, facepaint, and glasses from the mirror. Just click on a mirror and choose "Change Appearance." You can change a Toddler's hair by having an Adult Sim pick up the Toddler, and then select a mirror and "Change [Toddler Name]'s Appearance."

I'd have to see some pics to know if your game was glitching or if the genetics were too similar for the children to have any glaring differences from their parents, though.

Clelclan · 13-11-2009, 05:42 PM

I've noticed as well that they tend to grow up with the same hairstyles.

To change their hair, click on the sim in question, direct them to a mirror, click on the mirror and 'change appearance'. This gives all the hair and make-up options.

To change a toddler's hair, a teen or adult has to pick up the child first, take the child to the mirror then click on the mirror, keeping the teen or adult as the selected sim. There should be an option to change 'name of child's' appearance.

Fiddlesticks!! as usual, too slow!

without_a_doubt · 13-11-2009, 05:51 PM

Thanks for all your help, I will have a go at creating some wacky looking sims and see if their kids inherit their traits. Hopefully the problem was that I was just creating sims that looked too much alike!

Recludere · 13-11-2009, 06:14 PM

If you are gonna create a few new Sims in CAS, you could test the genetics by creating the parents first and then adding a baby, and use the options to see what the child will look like when its a Toddler, Teen, and Adult.

At least you'll know it's working without having to play a new family through another pregnancy before finding out it is glitching after all.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

13-11-2009, 01:46 PM	#1 (permalink)
without_a_doubt Rookie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 7	Children all grow up to look the same Whenever two of my sims have a baby, no matter what the parents look like, the baby always grows up to look like the same adult. Can anyone help?

13-11-2009, 01:58 PM	#2 (permalink)
EAUK_Aurora Forum Admin Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: UK Gender: Female Posts: 61,281 Blog Entries: 280	Hi there Is your game all patched up to date and are you using any mods or hacks? I can't be 100% sure but I think this may have been addressed in an update. You can find the list of updates and what they addressed here. __________________ Aurora Forum Admin Electronic Arts View past Signature Showcase entries Currently playing The Sims 3 World Adventures, Left 4 Dead 2 and The Saboteur

13-11-2009, 03:38 PM	#5 (permalink)
Recludere Rookie Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 168	Edit: Bear in mind you only need to install the patch for the last expansion you have installed. So if you have expansions up to Bon Voyage, you only need the Bon Voyage patch. You don't have to start with TS2 base and work your way up. Are you using CC skintones and eyes? CC is the most dominant DNA attribute, and Sim babies will always have the same CC eyes if one of the parents has them. Same with skin I think. Where the in-game skin will vary depending on the skin of the parents, darkest skinned father, lightest skinned mother... the baby can have any skin. Medium skinned mother, lightest skinned father... the baby will have one or the other, but will never have a darker tone. I think with CC skin the baby gets the CC skin. Are you using a cheat to force a pregnancy, without choosing a partner? I call this Brandi Broke syndrome. Somehow she managed to get pregnant even after her husband Skip had died. You can tell because in her memories she has Beau Broke after Skip's death, and yet somehow is magically pregnant again when you play the lot. Despite Skip not being around for Beau's birth, or to Woo-Hoo with Brandi again. When she has the baby a blind person could see that it's a DNA match with Brandi. All you need to do is change the gender via another cheat and you'd have a Brandi Broke clone. There was no other parent, it was a cheated pregnancy. Probably added to make the family more interesting. So are you playing the game normally without cheats? Having two Sims Woo-Hoo to make a baby? __________________ Last edited by Recludere; 13-11-2009 at 03:43 PM..

13-11-2009, 03:53 PM	#7 (permalink)
Recludere Rookie Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 168	You do get occasional children who are exact replicas of their parents. All I can think is you've chosen the male and female pre-made DNA sets from CAS (Create-A-Sim) and there is no distinction the game can make to give you a unique baby. If you post a pic of the parents I'll be able to tell if you've done that. Edit: For example in Pleasantview. The pre-made Jennifer Burb is a female replica of the pre-made Don Lothario. If you go to CAS and create a Don using only the pre-made facial sets... and then turn him female.. you'll have Jennifer Burb. If the two have babies the babies will be pretty much an exact match to one or the other depending on gender. __________________ Last edited by Recludere; 13-11-2009 at 05:15 PM..

13-11-2009, 05:06 PM	#9 (permalink)
Recludere Rookie Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 168	Yeah the randomiser (randomiZer?) chooses from all of the pre-made facial sets, and by my reckoning there are only three that people tend to stop at. Females are the Brandi Broke face (Face 1) Jennifer Burb face (Face 2) and the pleasant twins' face (Face 4). For male Sims that's the boyish looking Sim (Face 1) the John Burb, Mortimer Goth face (Face 2) and the Pleasant twins face again, the guy with the bump in his nose. (Face 4) All of the others have some freakish features like ridiculously flat or long noses, or really sharp angular features etc. The best way to check is to try to recreate one of the two parents having replica babies in CAS, and then to change him/her to female/male and see if the other gender looks like the other parent you have. If you look at these two, putting aside eye-colour and hair style/colour and the eyebrows... they both share identical facial structure and so their children will resemble the father or mother depending on gender. Best thing to do when stopping at a Sim you like in CAS, is to use the options to give that Sim a unique feature, like a longer, slightly upturned nose, defined cheekbones, and a unique mouth or something. If you do this with both parents from the same starting face the children will be more unique. __________________ Last edited by Recludere; 13-11-2009 at 05:15 PM..

13-11-2009, 02:50 PM	#3 (permalink)
without_a_doubt Rookie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 7	Thanks for your help, so far I haven't downloaded any patches, and I don't use any mods or cheats. I will download the patches and see whether that fixes the problem.

13-11-2009, 03:09 PM	#4 (permalink)
without_a_doubt Rookie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 7	When I tried to install the patches it said my game was already up to date, are there any more possible fixes?

13-11-2009, 03:47 PM	#6 (permalink)
without_a_doubt Rookie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 7	I have never used any cc skintones and eyes, and I am playing the game without using cheats, so none of those can be the problem. It's very odd.

13-11-2009, 04:37 PM	#8 (permalink)
without_a_doubt Rookie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 7	Apparently I am not allowed to post attachments, not sure why that is. In Create a sim, I tend to press the dice thing until I get a sim I vaguely like, then edit that sim using the sliders. Is that what you meant?

13-11-2009, 05:28 PM	#10 (permalink)
without_a_doubt Rookie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 7	I've gone back and had a look at my sims, and it's hard to tell but they might have different faces. The main thing that makes them all look the same though is that they all grow up to have the same hairstyle, is that normal? And can you change the hairstyle outside of create a sim?

13-11-2009, 05:40 PM	#11 (permalink)
Recludere Rookie Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 168	They can grow up with the same hairdo as one parent, but it's rare me thinks. The base game hair is the type the kids will grow up with because I don't think the game was updated with each EP to factor in new hairstyles. There is like a base equivelant to every new hair style that the new generations will have. Adults Sims can change their hair and makeup, facial hair, facepaint, and glasses from the mirror. Just click on a mirror and choose "Change Appearance." You can change a Toddler's hair by having an Adult Sim pick up the Toddler, and then select a mirror and "Change [Toddler Name]'s Appearance." I'd have to see some pics to know if your game was glitching or if the genetics were too similar for the children to have any glaring differences from their parents, though. __________________

13-11-2009, 05:42 PM	#12 (permalink)
Clelclan Forum Guru Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 1,714	I've noticed as well that they tend to grow up with the same hairstyles. To change their hair, click on the sim in question, direct them to a mirror, click on the mirror and 'change appearance'. This gives all the hair and make-up options. To change a toddler's hair, a teen or adult has to pick up the child first, take the child to the mirror then click on the mirror, keeping the teen or adult as the selected sim. There should be an option to change 'name of child's' appearance. Fiddlesticks!! as usual, too slow! __________________ youth passes but with luck immaturity can last a lifetime.

13-11-2009, 05:51 PM	#13 (permalink)
without_a_doubt Rookie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 7	Thanks for all your help, I will have a go at creating some wacky looking sims and see if their kids inherit their traits. Hopefully the problem was that I was just creating sims that looked too much alike!

13-11-2009, 06:14 PM	#14 (permalink)
Recludere Rookie Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 168	If you are gonna create a few new Sims in CAS, you could test the genetics by creating the parents first and then adding a baby, and use the options to see what the child will look like when its a Toddler, Teen, and Adult. At least you'll know it's working without having to play a new family through another pregnancy before finding out it is glitching after all. Good luck, let us know how you get on. __________________