Category: News

Sims 4 Create A Sim Demo Coming This Summer

There is a new post on the official Sims blog today that addresses the outcry regarding the omission of pools and toddlers in The Sims 4. With less than 60 days until launch, it appears these features will not be added to the base game despite the many Facebook comments requesting them. However, the post specifies that these features will not be included at launch, suggesting that they may be added in a future update or expansion pack. According to the post, sacrifices had to be made due to the new systems and technology that were built for the game, including but not limited to:

  • New AI system.
  • New animation system.
  • New audio positioning tools.
  • New locomotion logic.
  • New routing intelligence.

Speaking of the animation system, The Sims 4 boasts seven walk styles spanning about 75 different animations, approximately 320 emotion-based animations, and more than 600 reactions to objects. Your Sims’ emotions will cause a clear reaction and possibly a special walk style.

Sims 4 Park

In order to focus on creating new and interesting emotions, animations, interactions, behaviors and Create A Sim tools, toddlers were unfortunately not included. Pools suffered the same fate due to all of the new features that have been added to Build Mode.

On a brighter note, a Sims 4 Create A Sim Demo is on its way later this summer and fifteen minutes of Live Mode gameplay footage will be released within the next two weeks.

The Sims 4: Live in One World, Work in Another!

The Sims 4 Willow Creek

Worlds will be split up into different neighborhoods. This means that unlike The Sims 3, the game will not feature an open world. Willow Creek, for example, will contain five different neighborhoods as well as one large park lot. Each neighborhood can hold up to five lots. This may not seem like much, but the public spaces (areas not part of a lot) will have various interactive objects. Even when on a lot, Sims may autonomously interact with objects in a public space, leading to more populated areas outside of lots. As for the lots themselves, you’re free to convert them from residential to community lots and vice versa.

Willow Creek

“Counting the number of lots in a single world is a rather arbitrary number in The Sims 4 though, as you can freely travel, move, work, visit, etc, any world, neighborhood, or lot while still retaining the information about who your Sim is, their belongings, their relationships, their family, etc. That’s right, unlike The Sims 3, your Sim can live in one world, and work in another. “You may only have one active lot at a time and will encounter a short load upon traveling between lots, neighborhoods, and worlds. Up to twenty active Sims may appear within your neighborhood at any time within your active lot and the public space. When you travel to a different lot within the same neighborhood, they will remain and continue as they were.

The Sims 4 Willow Creek Rocket

Additionally, the game will feature in-game video capturing via the Cameraman Mode. In this mode you will be able to easily hide the user interface and change the field of vision.

The Sims 4: Moods, Relationships, and Whims!

Gameinformer recently got a hands-on session with The Sims 4, which provided us with some more information on how The Sims will express themselves through their daily lives. Below is a summary of what was posted in the article.

The Sims 4 Treadmill

Sims will let you know how they feel through their facial expressions and actions. This means, if a conversation is going sour, you’ll see it evidently on their faces. The game even gives you the option to change the course of conversation once it goes downhill. 

They’ll have access to certain interactions based on their current emotional state. Like when a Sim is feeling flirty, they’ll gain access to striking a seductive pose. You can influence a Sim to a particular emotional state by socializing with others or interacting with objects. Their environment also lends a hand in influencing their emotions too.

 

 Sims 4 Mood

As you play your Sims, you’ll typically run into 1 – 3 emotional states throughout the day. The mood shifts are supposed to feel natural, so you won’t see Sims bouncing around emotions so quickly.

 

Sims 4 Relationship

The relationship status indication has changed. There’s now two bars, one bar for friendship, and another for romance level. Due to this, you can have situations where a Sim could be romantically involved with someone they detest.

 

 Sims 4 Aspirations

Aspirations are back! A similar concept to wishes will be brought over as well. However, they’re going to be called “Whims” which are short-term goals the game generates for your Sim. These might be easy or hard to complete depending on the goals.

 

The Sims 4 Willow Creek Rocket

One final tidbit we’ll leave with you was this line from the Gameinformer article. “Your Sim is no longer attached to one neighborhood, they can work in one and live in another.”  It appears The Sims is getting closer to bridging the gap between itself and Simcity.

E3 is currently in progress, and we hope to provide you with even more information later this week. (Like the Caliente Sisters and Don Lothario returning!) But until then…farewell.

The Sims 4: Welcome to Willow Creek!

The Sims website was updated yesterday and with it comes some juicy new screenshots and information.

The first neighborhood of The Sims 4 has been revealed! Willow Creek promises “lush, garden-filled hills” and a variety of unique lots to explore.

One of these lots is a community park where you might partake in some fishing or go for a morning jog. Starving Sims will rejoice at the return of the barbecue grill for their outdoor cooking needs.

We also got our first peek at the child life stage of The Sims 4, and a couple of the outdoor objects they’ll be able to interact with!

Climb across the monkey bars or pretend to sail the seas.
Climb across the monkey bars or pretend to sail the seas.

The Sims 4 will have its own version of The Exchange called The Gallery. Like The Exchange, you’ll be able to upload and share your Sim and lot creations for all to view and download.

The Sims 4 ServicesWe finally got our first glimpse at the Service Sims including the maid and the pizza delivery boy. I’m sure the repo-man isn’t far behind. The image also suggests that gardening will return in some form.

In addition to the update, there was a new blog post about Build Mode. Most of this information was covered previously, but some new tidbits were included.

  • Chairs can be centered against tables.
  • The freedom to vertically place wall objects anywhere on a wall.
  • Direct placement of columns within a wall or fence.

It was said that your Sims will accurately direct their heads in accordance with your placement!

That about does it for now. Next up, E3 coverage!

The Sims 4 Build Mode: Move Entire Buildings With Just A Click!

The Sims 4 Build Mode House

Earlier this morning, The Sims team released another video showing off some of the new features in Build Mode. In addition to the traditional methods of building a home, you can now take pre-fabricated rooms of various shapes and sizes and adjust them to your hearts content. Players can speed things up by plopping pre-furnished rooms to their layout in a similar fashion to Simcity 2013’s service modules.

 

sims 4 house foundation

One major theme the video highlights is the ease of using the various build tools. All it takes is one click to place several windows along the wall. You can morph a roof in various shapes and add some trim in a snap! Even the foundation for the entire home can be adjusted at any time by dragging a button along a slider.

 

The Sims 4 Tropical House

One of our personally favorite features is how the furniture’s placement adjusts as you expand the size of the room. We’re also excited to see that now we can adjust the windows on the walls to various heights—and best of all—set the walls to three distinct heights.

Well that’s all for now, hopefully we’ll learn more about Buy Mode in the upcoming days, see you soon!

The Sims 4: A Quick Look at Genetics

Since the original Sims games, the ‘Create A Sim’ options have greatly improved. With a simple click of the mouse, you can mold and sculpt your Sims. You can adjust their faces and bodies, and in no time, customize them down to the tiniest detail!

Sims 4 Traits

 

The game comes with a variety of face templates that let you create Sims from different ethnic backgrounds, so you can create people from around the world. But there’s more to making a Sim than just their looks. Their personalities are another important aspect, and with the new ‘Bro’ trait, your Sim can experience a budding bromance when combined with certain “Emotional States.”

 

The Sims 4 CAS 

DNA has been substantially improved. You can still try for a baby which will take on some features from their parents. Or in ‘Create A Sim’, you can use two Sims to preview how their child would appear. If you aren’t completely satisfied, you can modify the child’s looks even further. In addition, you can create family members from the genetics of a Sim, meaning you can create a brother or sister based off the original host, just like that!

The Sims 4 has so many promising features and more to be revealed; let’s look forward to its Fall release!

 

Bonus Tidbit from SimGuruGraham:

  • The Bro Trait isn’t a male only trait, it can be used by both sexes.

Sims 4: Sims Campers Explore the Create A Sim Mode

Sims Camp

Sims Camp attendees at Gamescom have provided a lot of information to impart regarding The Sims 4. It should be noted this game is still in it’s alpha stage, so information is subject to  change.

The Sims 4 Create-A-Sim Female

Participants had the opportunity to attend sessions with the game producers, who provided information and answered questions about The Sims 4. While they report that the producers refuse to commit to a release timeframe, and there is still a lot of work to be done, there are still a lot of things to look forward to as well. Among them: A direct manipulation tool which allows players to make minute adjustments in physical characteristics including body shape, body size, face, skin tone, hair, facial hair voice and clothing. Once your perfect Sim has been created, you can “lock in” your choices, or even opt for the randomizing feature. The CAS will work on three different levels for customization, each getting more detailed and minute.

The Sims 4 Create-A-Sim Face 2

Also, hair and hats will be selected independently so Sims can rock any hat with the hairstyle! One drawback; hair cannot be made longer using the direct manipulation, so you’re stuck with the length you choose. New Sim female voice styles include sweet, lilted and melodic, while males may choose from brash, clear or warm. Possible future options discussed among the design team include favorite colors and food types.

New Sim female voice styles include sweet, lilted and melodic, while males may choose from Brash, Clear or Warm. Possible future options discussed include favorite colors and food types.

 The Sims 4 Depressed Walking

Players will have over 50 traits to choose from in the base game; even Aspirations will make their return. Sims will actually be able to die from emotions, and will also randomly demonstrate either right or left-handedness! Personality will be captured through walking styles, such as perky, swagger and snooty; these can be overridden by another emotion, such has happiness or grumpiness. Children will be able to inherit these walking style from their parents too!

All in all, the Sim Campers relate that even the unfinished, unpolished product made playing The Sims 3 feel tired and dated. There’s a lot to look forward to so you can expect to see some new information from Build and Buy mode once the news embargo lifts on September 11th, 2013. See you later!

[via thesimsresource]

 

The Sims 4 Create A Sim Has Ethnic Diversity (Live Broadcast Recap)

The Sims 4 Create-A-Sim Female

This morning, Jill Johnson, Associate Producer of The Sims 4, showed off the new Create A Sim tool during the live broadcast. We can’t stress enough that what you’re seeing now is the early development stages of The Sims 4. Since they’re taking in feedback from all around the globe, the game’s design and features are subject to change.

Right off the bat, you can begin customizing your Sim’s proportions by manipulating several control points around the body. Just like clay, you can sculpt the body by dragging the mouse around each point.  Want to have narrow shoulders with meaty forearms, or sculpt curvaceous thighs and small feet? Go ahead, the possibilities are endless!

Sims 4 Body Sliders

Turning the Sim around unravels even more customizable areas. You can adjust the size of the belly, or increase the size of their booty!

Sims 4 Ethnic Diversity

The design team has created a wide variety of ethnic face templates to choose from. You are free to customize them even further in “Detail Edit Mode,” like changing their pupil sizes, or adjusting their eyelids and folds.

Sims 4 Bodies and Skin Tones

There’s even a wide assortment of body templates to choose from, and you can adjust their physical attributes through the “Fitness” and “Heaviness” sliders. The former controls how muscular your Sim looks with abs and all, while the latter controls their chubbiness.

The Sims 4 Hats and Hairs

Hats are now separate from hairstyles! You can now place a hat on any hairstyle you please.

The Sims 4 Clothing Options

The Sims 4 returns with the standard clothing options of tops, bottoms, and shoes. The boots will now go over the pants, however, if you wear bell bottoms, the boots tuck under the pants.

The Sims 4 Swagger

After you’ve finished customizing their looks, it’s time to choose their traits, aspiration, and walking styles. So far there’s four different walking styles; default, perky, snooty, and swagger.

Well that’s it for now, the next Live Broadcast will air September 17th, so we’ll see you then!

 Notes from the Live Broadcast:

  • The game is currently in pre-alpha stage of development.
  • The 4 currently known walking styles are; default, perky, snooty, and swagger.
  • There are no weather nor pets in the base game.
  • The design team is working on longer and curlier hair.
  • You can choose from tops, bottoms, and shoes like The Sims 3.
  • The decor of a room can affect a Sim’s mood.
  • Hats and hairstyles are no longer attached and are now separate.
  • There’s no Create-A-Style for now, but there’s talks among the design team on whether they should include it.
  • There are currently 5 different ages.
  • Multitasking plays a big part in gameplay.
  • In Create-A-Sim, you can model almost any part of the body with just the mouse.
  • Currently, there are 3 voices: Clear, warm, and brash. There is also a bar for pitch.
  • No adjustable height sliders.
  • You can adjust the size of the feet.
  • You can preview a Sim’s emotion in Create A Sim.
  • There’s now a wide assortment of facial structures with more ethnic diversity than ever before!
  • Moodlets will be included with clothing. For example, wearing something like a red dress can make your Sim feel confident.

 

 

The Sims 4: Pre-Orders Now Available! $59.99 Limited / $69.99 Digital Deluxe

The Sims 4

The Sims 4 releases in 2014, and is now available to pre-order at the Origin Store starting today!

The Sims 4 Limited Edition (PC or Digital)

  • Price: $59.99
  • Includes:
    • Life of the Party DLC (Tiki Bar and Party Costumes)

The Sims 4 Digital Deluxe Edition (Digital Only)

  • Price: $69.99
  • Includes:
    • Up All Night DLC  (New Outfits, Parties, Decorations, and Recipes)
    • Life of the Party DLC (Tiki Bar and Party Costumes)
    • Origin Exclusive Content (TBA)