The Sims 4 Family Tree Update: Everything You Need to Know

The Sims 4 is receiving a significant overhaul to its family tree functionality, addressing long-standing player concerns about sim culling and relationship clarity. Updates, detailed in recent developer Q&A sessions and community posts, are rolling out now and will be retroactive to existing save files. The changes aim to provide a more robust and accurate representation of sim relationships, extending lineage tracking and introducing new relationship labels.

Expanding the Family Tree

Previously, the Sims 4 family tree had limitations in how far back and forward it could trace lineage. The update expands this to show up to 10 generations of Sims – five generations above and five generations below the currently selected sim. This addresses a common frustration for legacy players who found their extended families disappearing from the game. Developers acknowledged that sim data can be “culled” to maintain game performance, but clarified that the update aims to preserve portraits, names, and other cosmetic details even when a sim’s full ID is removed. The culling process itself occurs when the game reaches a limit of approximately 200 sims in a save file, prioritizing the removal of inactive sims to maintain smooth gameplay.

New Relationship Labels and Clarifications

The update introduces a wealth of new relationship labels to the family tree, going beyond basic familial connections. These include labels for in-laws (Mother-in-Law, Father-in-Law, Sister-in-Law, Brother-in-Law, Daughter-in-Law, Son-in-Law), distant relatives, step-relatives (Stepmother, Stepfather, Stepdaughter, Stepson), and even more distant connections like Great-grandparents and Cousins’ Children. The status of relationships is also more clearly defined, with “Ex-Spouse” replacing “Divorced” and “Late Spouse” replacing “Deceased Spouse.” Step-parent relationships, while previously present in the game, will now be explicitly labeled within the tree.

Addressing Adoption and Found Families

The update also clarifies how adoption is represented within the family tree. Players will now have the option, enabled through gameplay settings, to display adopted sims with an “Adopted” label. Importantly, the relationship between an adopter and adoptee remains consistent with existing game mechanics. it is not fundamentally altered. The developers also addressed the possibility of representing “found families” – groups of sims connected by choice rather than blood – by confirming that adults can be adopted into households, though only as children. A sim can have both biological and adopted parents simultaneously, provided the adoptive parent is at least one age bracket older than the adoptee.

The Royalty & Legacy Pack and Forging Connections

The upcoming Royalty & Legacy pack introduces additional features related to the family tree, specifically the ability to “forge” connections. This allows sims to falsely claim familial ties, potentially leading to scandals if discovered. The tapestry object within the pack is used to perform this forging interaction. The pack also introduces the “Secret Child” feature, which is not available in the base game. The pack will update the family trees of existing premade families like the Goths and Landgraabs, adding ancestors and expanding their lineage – but only for new saves.

Romance Restrictions and Scandal

Developers have clarified restrictions on romantic relationships within the family tree. Romance is prohibited between sims directly connected in a vertical line of ancestry. However, romance with in-laws or step-relatives remains possible, though the game will no longer autonomously initiate such interactions, acknowledging that these relationships can be considered inappropriate. Discovering another sim’s secrets, including scandals, can be achieved through various means, such as asking mutual acquaintances, rummaging through trash, or utilizing the Info Brokers website.

Technical Considerations and Legacy Saves

The family tree updates are designed to be retroactive, meaning they will apply to existing save files. However, if sim data has already been culled from a save file due to size limitations, that information may not be fully restored. While portraits of culled sims will be preserved, their full IDs are removed, preventing resurrection or interaction beyond their representation in the family tree. Clones created using the cloning machine from the Scientist career will appear as siblings in the family tree. The developers confirmed that vampire spawn relationships will not be displayed on the family tree, and that the family trees of the Arnessa Thebes family in Tartosa will connect to the Cordelia Thebes family.

The update also addresses a question regarding long-lost relatives discovered through genealogy research in the Growing Together expansion pack; these relatives will not automatically appear in the family tree. Finally, the “Show Legend” button within the family tree interface provides explanations for the various lines, portrait shapes, and icons used to represent relationships.