Do NPC Sims Have Babies in The Sims 4?
Yes, NPC Sims can and do have babies through autonomous game systems. This has opened up tons of exciting stories as neighborhoods organically grow in surprising ways. As a passionate Simmer, I‘ve gathered all the details on how this works!
Background of the Neighborhood Stories System
Introduced years ago in a 2019 update, Neighborhood Stories was a revolutionary autonomous story progression system that allows NPC households to independently progress when you aren‘t playing them. Based on personality traits and random factors, these households can now:
- Form relationships and get married
- Pursue career tracks and earn promotions
- Have unplanned pregnancies
- Adopt children and have babies
- Experience events and disasters leading to death
It brings so much dynamism to see families organically expand through births, young Sims grow into elders, and the neighborhood change as homes are sold or new lots move in!
How Pregnancy Autonomy Works
By default, the master story progression settings allow NPC Sims to autonomously have babies. The requirements are:
- Sim gender/age settings permit pregnancy
- "Can Get Pregnant" and "Can Get Others Pregnant" traits enabled
- Lives on a playable residential home lot
| Chance of Pregnancy | Requirement | Details |
|---|---|---|
| High | Fertile trait | Boosts autonomous pregnancy chance |
| Higher | Romantic aspiration | Aspiration makes Sims more family-focused |
| Lower | Hates Children trait | Lowers pregnancy desire |
| None | Household marked no baby settings | Stops family additions |
Based on the above, established NPCs like the Landgraabs or Goths can safely grow their families without player direction!
Meanwhile, the game blocks random pregnant townies from spawning to avoid overcrowding. Only playable residential NPCs qualify for autonomous babies.
Recognizing an NPC Pregnancy
I‘ve spotted quite a few NPC pregnancies in my years playing Sims 4! Here are the telling signs:
Early Pregnancy
- Regular queasiness idle animations
- Morning sickness moodlets
- Baby thought bubbles wanting cake/cookies
Second Trimester
- "Eating For Two" moodlet appears
- Visible baby bump emerges
Third Trimester
- Additional pregnant moodlets & waddling walk style
- Baby bump grows larger
- Goes into labor after 3-4 days
So NPC Sims accurately reflect real pregnancy stages! Now it‘s just exciting waiting for the new addition after you spot one expecting!
Player Control Options
While NPC pregnancies occur autonomously through Neighborhood Stories, players do have control options:
- Trigger Pregnancies: Use cheats like "Try for Baby" on NPCs to purposely conceive
- Turn Off Settings: Disable autonomous babies/adoptions in story progression
- Influence Baby Daddies: Actively flirt and "Try For Baby" with NPCs you want pregnant
I sometimes use cheats and mods to pick who carries heirs for landgraab babies or ensure specific pairings happen!
Why It‘s an Exciting System
The autonomous NPC pregnancy system simply brings so much life to Sim neighborhoods:
- Unexpected drama when random NPCs have trysts
- Surprise baby announcements for established families
- Relief from manually growing all households yourself!
It does require a bit of control and supervision to prevent unchecked baby booms. But overall it creates organic stories that feel rewarding to witness as a player. We‘ve come a long way from static NPC worlds!
Summary
In the end NPC Sims can absolutely autonomously have babies through Neighborhood Story progression tools enabled since 2019. This emulates real life as couples form families without direct player guidance. While gameplay mods can expand options further, the native systems already introduce exciting dynamism into Sims 4 worlds compared to past base games!
What stories have you encountered from NPC pregnancy surprises? Share in comments below!
