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 Create A Sim: Male Clothing Options Preview

Just a quick post for today. The Sims 4 revealed a new screenshot which displays some of the clothing options available for men. There also appears to be some pre-selected color options available for the outfits.

 

The Sims 4 Male Athletic Outfit

The Sims 4: Create A Sim Walkthrough with Bella and Mortimer Goth

[youtube http://youtu.be/pZmtGfTj-to]

 Sims 4 Bella and Mortimer Goth

In the new Sims 4 Create A Sim video, Producer, Ryan Vaughan opens up highlighting the “Direct Manipulation Tool.” It can be used to edit the size and proportion of a body part without the use of menus. With a pinch here and a pull there, you can create your own full figured or sculpted version of Bella Goth.

 

Sims 4 Muscle Thickness Slider

There are two body sliders that control the overall musculature and chubbiness of a Sim. You can slide them independently to create various builds from stocky to muscular to thin and frail. You can also select from a variety of preset builds if you’re in a hurry.

 

 

Sims 4 Diversity

One feature that was highlighted in a previous broadcast, was the use of ethnic diversity to make a SIM appear as if they came from certain parts of the world. Just click a face template and your Sim could have African, Asian, or facial features of other diversities.

 

 

Sims 4 CAS Eyebrow Edit

In “Detailed Edit Mode” you can hover the mouse over certain areas of the face to customize minute details. Some customizable areas include cheekbones, eye depth, eyebrow curvature, and mustache editing. You can also apply other facial features like moles and wrinkles.

 

 

Sims 4 Facial Hair

Speaking of mustaches, we were given a quick glance of the available facial hair options in The Sims 4. Sideburns, mustaches, beards, and goatees gives our Sims a more rugged appearance.

 

 

Styled Looks: Choose from preset Fashion templates!
Styled Looks: Choose from preset fashion templates!

Once you’re done, you can choose their outfits, accessories, makeup, hair color, and even tattoos, the choice is yours!

 

 

Sims 4 Bella Goth Home

With further customization you can choose the way the walk, their voices, and personality traits. While adding personality traits, you can give your Sim an aspiration that can unlock additional traits. For example, a “Renaissance Sim” could have access to the “Quick Learner” trait, which lets them learn skills faster. The “Friend to the World” aspiration could unlock the “Gregarious” trait which helps them build friendships faster.

 

Well that’s all for now, in the future they plan to show off the new build tools. See you soon!

New Sims 4 Trailer Debuts on May 14th Starring Bella and Mortimer Goth!

We’ve been waiting ages and ages for some new Sims 4 information and now it finally begins! The Sims Facebook page announced that a new trailer will be revealed on May 14th starring Bella and Mortimer Goth.

Sims 4 Bella and Mortimer Goth

In addition, the Facebook page posted a preview of how the characters will look like in The Sims 4. We’ll post news and information from the trailer next week! See you soon!

Simcity Offline Single Player Mode Available with Update 10!

Maxis is wrapping up development on Simcity’s offline mode which will be coming along in Update 10. Update 10 includes a new “Single Player Mode” which allows you to play the game offline with access to DLC you previously acquired. Cities in offline mode are saved locally, allowing you to save and load anytime you want. This offline mode will also allow modders to make alterations to the game’s components without affecting the online portion of the game. As exciting as the news is, it comes a little too late as the fanbase has swiftly moved on to other pastures. However, the introduction of offline mode may attract some new players; especially modders who may be able to expand the limits beyond the game’s current drawbacks. You can read more about Offline mode at the official Simcity Blog.

In the meantime we’ll be awaiting the next major Sims 4 event.

The Sims 4 Launches in Autumn 2014

Today it was announced that The Sims 4 will launch in the fall of 2014! The Sims 4 plans to include powerful new creation tools and emotion based gameplay. The Autumn release date seemed to fare well with the community, as they hope the team spends more time polishing the graphics and gameplay. In addition, Maxis has released new promotional artwork of a Sim who seems disgruntled with the way his “date” is going.

The Sims 4 Pancake Date