When it comes to updating sims’ genes, modders often focus on tweaking the current in-game genetics by way of things like replacement eye colors and skin tones. While CC like this will change the appearance of your sims on a surface level, they don’t have any deeper effect on the way those genetics behave or how the sim grows.
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While it’s cool that the game considers each sim to be their own individual person, at the same time it’s a little odd that outside of physical appearances, children don’t take after their parents at all. People inherit more from their parents than just their looks, so why don’t sims? Vicky Sims is a modder who makes a variety of mods affecting sim genetics, traits, behaviors, and more. Today, we’re going to focus on the Genetic Rewards mod that will allow your sims to inherit more than just their parents’ good (or not so good) looks!
How Basic genetics work in the Sims 4
Sims’ genetics don’t have typical dominant/recessive genes like humans do, and as such, their genes are inherited differently. In-game, the most prominent genetics consist of hair texture & color, eye color, skin tone, physical appearance, and occult traits.
Hair
- If both parent sims have natural hair colors, offspring will have the same color as one of their parents. Whichever parent the hair color is inherited from also passes down the hair texture, so for example if a sim with straight red hair and a sim with wavy black hair have a baby, that baby will grow up to either have straight red hair or wavy black hair. Hair color/texture inheritance splits 50/50 over which parent a sim gets it from.
- If one/both parents have hair in an “unnatural” color, the color and texture of the offspring doesn’t follow specific rules and could be any color. There are no natural color link equivalences to any of the dyed colors.
Eyes
- Offspring will inherit the eye color of one parent or the other, however, some of the eye colors share the same “value,” for example dark blue and grey:
- If your sim inherits their eye color from a parent who has dark blue eyes, they might end up with dark blue eyes or grey eyes.
Skin Tone
- Most of the time, offspring will have a skin tone that is centered between the skin tones of the two parents but occasionally they can end up with the exact same skin tone as one of their parents.
- If one/both parents have an “unnatural” skin tone such as blue or green, offspring will inherit the exact skin tone from one parent or the other.
Physical Features
- Physical appearance has a much wider range of possibilities, going from a mix between parents to offspring looking like an exact clone of their parent of the same physical sex.
- While there are no dominant or recessive genes, it seems that certain features can have dominance over others. Legacy playthroughs have shown that sims can pass down certain physical characteristics.
Occult Genetics
- Occult genetics behave differently than standard sims, and unfortunately they seem to cause problems when you try mixing too many of them together. Simmer SnarkyWitch created a vampire-alien-mermaid hybrid that:
- Has vampire thirst & energy motives, sun sensitivity, a Dark Form in CAS, but no vampire skill tree
- Has an alien form in Live Mode that is inaccessible/non-editable in CAS
- Has hydration needs like a mermaid, and a mermaid tail in water that is inaccessible/non-editable in CAS
- Has powers from all 3 occults, although she cannot advance her vampire powers due to lack of skill tree access
- Occult genetics can also be tricky to track because certain inherited features don’t show up until the offspring ages into a teen.
Vicky Sims’ Genetic Rewards Mod
While this mod encompasses elements that aren’t typically genetically inherited, within the confines of the game’s mechanics it’s what makes most sense. There are 2 main parts of the mod that work together, but it comes in several flavors that might seem confusing at first glance. Don’t worry though, we’re going to break it all down for you and make it as easy to understand as we can!
Part A – The Linked Reward Traits
The first aspect of the mod is linking personality traits with reward traits. As a person grows, who they are is greatly informed by their parents/guardians. They may have have similar temperaments and “take after” a parent/guardian, or they might be a rebellious little thing and develop into the complete opposite.
Some examples:
- Bro sims can pass on their warmth and reputation and as a result, their kid might have the Always Welcome reward trait
- Ambitious sims can rub off on their kids and pass on the Entrepreneurial reward trait
- Child of the Island sims may have kids who have the Heat Acclimated reward trait due to growing up in the warm climate of Sulani
- Cat Lover sims might end up with kids with the Independant reward trait, taking after their preferred pet’s proclivity
You can see the complete list of Personality Traits and linked Reward Traits here.
Part B – The Pass-Down Methods
Now that we know what the mod does, it’s time to understand how it works. There are currently 3 flavors of this mod that will affect sims’ genetic inheritances in different ways.
1. Inherited Rewards
The simplest and least realistic version of the mod. As long as one parent has a personality trait, the offspring will 100% inherit the relevant reward trait. This is the version you want to use if you want sims to be near-clones of their parents with very similar temperaments.
2. Surprising Rewards
Sims will have a 4% chance to inherit 1-2 reward traits regardless of their parents’ personality traits. This is the most randomized version of the mod and is good if you want your sim to develop their own personality without as much interference from the player.
3. Genetics By Personality
This version of the mod will give sims a 33% chance of inheriting reward traits based on the personality trait of one parent. If both parents have the same personality trait, the offspring will have a 100% chance of gaining the connected reward trait. Comparatively, this is the most realistic version of the three mod flavors.
Downloading & Using The Genetic Rewards Mod
All 3 flavors of the mod can be downloaded from one place; they can be used together without conflict, though Vicky Sims suggests only using 1 or 2 at a time so your sims don’t end up inheriting too many reward traits. Follow these steps to get this mod working:
- Before you start installing mods, especially overhaul mods like this, it’s advised to make a backup of your game that you can revert to if things don’t go as planned.
- Download the Trait Tracker Injector by MAL22 which contains the framework for the inheritance mechanic.
- Head to the Patreon page and download whatever flavor(s) of the mod you want.
- There is an optional 4th package on the page which will make the Genetics Mod compatible with Vicky Sims’ Remade CAS Traits Mod.
Assuming everything was done correctly, your sims should start developing personalities based on their parents/guardians as you play!
Final thoughts
Using these great mods by Vicky Sims will help make your sims and their families feel more real, and like their genetics and personalities actually carry some weight. Seeing sims take after their parents is just so sweet, and can also be cause for drama when a sim ends up contrary to their parents, or takes after one more than the other. We hope this breakdown gives you a good grasp on how to use the Genetic Rewards Mod and that you have a blast trying it for yourself. Happy simming!