The Sims 4 Latest News — The Sims Forums

Laundry List - April 11th, 2023

EA_Cade — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 16:58:41 +0000

Sul Sul Simmers!

Welcome to this month’s Laundry List, where we share a list of the top community concerns we’re currently investigating and hope to resolve in the next patch. This is only a list of topics with upcoming fixes; there are more topics reported by players that are not listed and are still being worked on. This list is based on reports by players on Answers HQ and helps us continue our work of improving the user experience on a regular basis.

Please note that some topics can be tricky and may require an extended investigation on our end, so even though we are actively reviewing, it’s not a guarantee that we’ll have an immediate fix in the upcoming patch.

Here’s the list of the community concerns we’re investigating and aiming to resolve in the game update this month:

Thank you for all your patience and valuable help in reporting! Please continue sharing with us any issues you’re experiencing on Answers HQ.

We’ll continue to check in and together we can make this game the best it can be.

Happy Simming!

Laundry List - January 10th, 2023

EA_Cade — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 14:20:34 +0000

Hi Simmers!

Welcome to this month’s Laundry List, where we’re sharing our list of the top community concerns that we’re currently investigating and hoping to resolve in the next patch. This is only a list of upcoming fixes; there are more topics that have been reported by players that are not listed and are still being worked on. This list is reported by players on Answers HQ and helps us continue our work of improving the user experience on a regular basis.

Please note that some topics can be tricky and require an extended investigation on our end, so even though we are actively reviewing, it’s not a guarantee that we’ll have an immediate fix in the upcoming patch.

Here’s the list of the community concerns we’re investigating and aiming to resolve in the game update this month:

Thank you for all your patience and valuable help in reporting! Please continue sharing with us any issues you’re experiencing on Answers HQ. We’ll continue to check in, and together we can make this game the best that it can be. Happy Simming!

Gallery Maintenance - December 13th, 2022

EA_Cade — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 18:19:26 +0000

Sul sul,

We have scheduled Gallery maintenance starting today, December 13th, 2022 at 3pm CST.

During this maintenance the Gallery will be offline and unavailable, however The Sims 4 will be playable offline across all platforms (PC, Mac, PlayStation and Xbox).

We will notify you once the maintenance has completed and you may resume using the Gallery.

CLOSED THE SIMS 4 SPARK SOMETHING SHELL CHALLENGE CONTEST - OFFICIAL RULES

SimGuruFrost — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 18:02:13 +0000

Spark Something Shell Challenge - Official Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. YOU MUST OWN OR HAVE ACCESS TO THE SIMS 4 AND HAVE CONNECTED IT TO YOUR VALID EA ACCOUNT BEFORE NOVEMBER 29, 2022.

This Contest is sponsored by Electronic Arts Inc. (“EA”), 209 Redwood Shores Parkway, Redwood City, CA, USA 94065.

1. Eligibility. To enter the Spark Something Shell Challenge (“Contest”):

You must be a legal resident of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada (excluding Quebec), Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, or the United States (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico).
You must be at least 18 years of age.
Your participation in the Contest means you agree to these Official Rules.
You may not be an employee of EA or any of its related companies or representatives (“Agents”) or the immediate family member or household member of an employee.

This Contest is subject to various national, state, territory, and local laws and regulations, and is void where prohibited. EA’s decisions are final in all matters related to the Contest.
2. To Enter. You will need i) an EA account (FREE) to participate in the Contest. If you do not already have an EA account, you can visit www.ea.com to create one; and ii) The Sims 4 game (FREE for PC, MAC, Steam, PlayStation 4, Xbox One). Between November 29, 2022 at 10:00am PT and December 6, 2022 at 10:00am PT (“Contest Period”):

* Navigate to The Sims 4 Gallery within The Sims 4;
* Search “Maxis” under EA Account ID;
* Download “Spark Something Shell Challenge” lot to your library; place the lot into one of your worlds so you can edit the lot. (You can add additional walls, foundations, doors, windows, wallpaper, flooring, furniture, placement of existing stairs, change the type of existing stairs, and change the “Standard Half Walls” on the 2nd floor to another fence type.) You are not allowed to delete any of the existing walls included in lot;
* Re-upload your lot to The Sims 4 Gallery using #TheSims4contest and #SparkSomething hashtags .

(collectively, the “Entry”).

No other method of entry will be accepted. EA will accept 1 Entry per person. Completed Entries must be received by December 6, 2022 at 10:00am PT. All Entries become the property of EA and will not be returned.

Limitations on Entries: You may not share the same username and/or email address with multiple entrants. If you attempt to obtain more than the permitted number of Entries by using multiple or different email addresses, identities, or any other method, your Entries will be void. If you use any automated process or cheat to participate, such as a bot, EA will disqualify you from the Contest. No group/team efforts, or multi-author(ed) Entries will be accepted in this Contest. For purposes of this Contest, all Entries will be presumed authored by the person submitting the Entry.

By entering, you warrant that your Entry contains only EA-provided materials and/or your own original creations. You further warrant that your Entry does not contain any third party copyrighted materials, and does not violate or infringe the copyrights, trademark rights, rights of publicity/privacy, or any other rights of a third party. If EA has provided creative materials for use in the Contest, you understand that EA grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-commercial license to use those materials solely in connection with the Contest. Entries must not incorporate any person’s facial likeness or name (including yours). Entries must not have been submitted in other contests or been previously published. Entries must be appropriate for audiences at least 13 years of age. Entries must not contain any racial, religious or ethnic slurs, explicit language, obscene, 🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸, violent, or sexual content, libel, hate speech, references to alcohol, drugs or other illicit substances, or otherwise unlawful or inappropriate content, as determined by EA in its sole discretion.

3. Prizes. There are 10 prizes. Your odds of winning a prize depend upon the number of eligible Entries and the relative skill of the other entrants. All approximate retail values (“ARV”) are expressed in U.S. Dollars, Australian Dollars, and Euros. ARV of total prize pool: USD $400 / Aust $600 / Euro 386. Limit one (1) prize per person. Prizes are not transferable, and no substitution of prizes for cash or other goods and services is permitted. If for any reason an advertised prize is unavailable, EA reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value. Winners are responsible for any applicable taxes on prizes.

10 winners will each receive a code for one The Sims 4 expansion pack of their choice, redeemable at participating online stores. ARV of each prize is USD $40 / Aust $60 / Euro 39. The Sims 4 and Internet access required to claim and use prize.

4. Entry Judging. At the close of the Contest Period, qualified employees of EA or its Agent (“Contest Judges”) will evaluate the eligible Entries and select 10 potential winners according to the following skill-based criteria: 30% originality of layout & design, 30% complexity of design and 40% uniqueness of lot. The Contest Judges’ decisions regarding the selection of the potential winners are final and binding.

5. Winner Notification. Potential winners will be notified on or about December 8, 2022 by email associated with the EA account for the winning Entry. If EA cannot contact a potential winner, the prize is returned as undeliverable, or a potential winner fails to sign and return any requested documents or information within the required time period, the potential winner forfeits the prize.

If a potential winner is disqualified, or the prize is forfeited for any reason, EA will award that prize, time permitting given the nature of the prize, to an alternate winner using the skill-based criteria set forth above from all remaining eligible Entries. Only 3 alternate winners will be selected, after which EA may donate the prize to a charity of EA’s choice.

6. To Claim a Prize. If you are selected as a potential winner, you may be required to complete and sign a Winner Declaration & Release (“Winner’s Release”) to claim your prize, which EA will provide within 14 days of the first attempt to notify you. Potential winners may be required to provide a shipping address to claim a prize. Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery of a prize via mail.

7. Release. To the extent allowable under applicable law and, in Australia, subject to and without excluding, restricting or modifying any rights or remedies to which you may be entitled as a consumer under the consumer guarantee provisions of the Australian Consumer Law in relation to the operation of the Promotion and any prize won, you agree to release EA and its Agents, officers, directors, and employees (the “Released Parties”) from any legal claims, including without limitation claims related to personal injury, death, or damage to or loss of property arising out of participation in the Promotion, or receipt, use, or misuse of any prize, except for residents of the United Kingdom and France with respect to claims resulting from death or personal injury arising from EA’s negligence and for residents of the United Kingdom with respect to claims resulting from the tort of deceit or any other liabilities that may not be excluded by law.

For residents of Austria, Germany, Poland, Switzerland: By participating in this Promotion, you acknowledge: (1) In regard to a prize or any other products or services offered by EA and/or its affiliates free of charge, EA shall only be liable for intent and gross negligence. (2) In all other cases, EA shall only be liable in cases of intent and gross negligence. In case of slight negligence, however, EA is only liable for the breach of essential contractual obligations, such as delay or impossibility of performance, for which EA can be held responsible. The liability in the event of breach of such an essential contractual obligation is limited to the typical contractual damage, whose occurrence could be expected by EA upon conclusion of the contract based on the circumstances known at that time. “Essential contractual obligations” are those obligations whose fulfillment is essential to enable the proper implementation of the contract, and the achievement of its purpose and whose observation you as an end consumer may rely upon. The foregoing limitations of liability shall not apply in the case of explicit guarantees by EA, in case of malice and injuries to life, body or health, as well as in the case of mandatory statutory regulations. Nothing in these Official Rules shall deprive you of the consumer protection rights granted to you by the laws of your residence that cannot be derogated from by agreement.

8. Privacy and Publicity. Nothing in these Official Rules shall be deemed to exclude or restrict any of your statutory rights as a consumer. If you participate in the Contest, you consent to EA’s processing your personal information (EA account information, birthdate, address) (“Personal Information”) in accordance with EA’s Privacy & Cookie Policy, which you can read at https://www.ea.com/legal/privacy-policy. You also consent to EA’s use of your Entry, personal name, user/screen name, social media handle, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions, and/or hometown and state (“Entry Data”) for promotional purposes. EA (or its Agent) has the option, but not the obligation, to use your Entry Data in any media, worldwide, without any further attribution, notification or compensation. Some jurisdictions prohibit the mandatory consents described above, so some or all of them may not apply to you.

For Residents of the European Union: The organizing entity shall be considered the data controller for the database containing Personal Information, and it provides for an appropriate data protection level. You understand that your Personal information shall be processed for the purposes outlined below, in accordance with EA’s Privacy and Cookie Policy, (see https://www.ea.com/legal/privacy-policy).
Personal Information will be used for the purposes of:
Organizing, running and monitoring the Promotion and prize fulfillment, including, if you win a prize, publishing (i) your name on the Winner(s) List and (ii) your name and country of residence online or in any other media in connection with the Promotion, as described in this Section 7 above; and
Any additional processing activities to which you consent and/or acknowledge as applicable.

9. License. By entering this Contest, you expressly grant to EA and its Agents a non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, complete, sub-licensable and irrevocable right to quote, re-post, publish, use, adapt, translate, archive, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, syndicate, license, print, sublicense, distribute, transmit, broadcast, and otherwise communicate, and publicly display and perform the Entry, or any portion thereof, in any manner or form, without notice, payment or attribution of any kind. You agree not to assert any moral or similar rights you may have in your Entry. EA has the right, but not the obligation, to use any of the Entries.

10. General Conditions. EA reserves the right to cancel, suspend, or modify the Contest, (or any part of it) if fraud, technical failure, human error or any other problem impairs its proper operation. In that event, EA may hold a random drawing from among all eligible Entries received up to the date of suspension for any of the prizes offered. EA reserves the right to disqualify any person it finds to be in violation of these Official Rules (including tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest), or acting in an unsporting or disruptive manner. If you attempt to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest, it may be a violation of criminal and/or civil law, and EA reserves the right to seek damages from you to the extent permitted by law. EA’s failure to enforce any term in these Official Rules shall not be a waiver of that term.

11. Limitation of Liability. The Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) inaccurate information, whether caused by entrants, typographical errors, or by equipment or programming associated with the Contest; (2) technical failures, including without limitation network malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections; (3) unauthorized intervention in the entry process or the Contest; (4) technical or human error in the administration of the Contest or the processing of Entries; (5) late, lost, undeliverable, damaged or stolen mail or electronic communications; (6) ineligibility for any reason, including entrant’s misunderstanding of the Official Rules and requirements or the entry process. If for any reason your Entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, your sole remedy is another Entry in the Contest, if possible. EA will award no more than the stated number of prizes. If production, technical, programming or any other reasons cause more than the stated number of prizes to be available and/or claimed, EA reserves the right to award only the stated number of prizes. Some jurisdictions prohibit the limitations described above, so some or all of them may not apply to you.

12. Disputes. Unless you are a resident of a member-state of the European Economic Area, South Korea, or Switzerland, all disputes, claims or controversies arising out of or relating to the Contest, including the marketing and promotion of the Contest ("Disputes"), shall be resolved exclusively by binding arbitration in the United States under the laws of the United States. The only Disputes not covered by this Section are claims (i) regarding the infringement, protection or validity of your, EA's or EA's licensors' trade secrets or copyright, trademark or patent rights; and (ii) those brought in small claims court.

You and EA shall first attempt to resolve any Dispute informally for at least 30 days before initiating arbitration. The informal negotiations commence upon receipt of written notice from one person to the other ("Notice of Dispute"). The Notice of Dispute must: (a) include the full name and contact information of the complaining party; (b) describe the nature and basis of the claim or dispute; and (c) set forth the specific relief sought. EA will send its Notice of Dispute to the contact information in your Entry, or other address you provide for this purpose. You will send your Notice of Dispute to: Electronic Arts Inc., 209 Redwood Shores Parkway, Redwood City CA USA 94065, ATTENTION: Legal Department.

If you and EA cannot resolve a Dispute informally, you or EA may elect to have the Dispute finally and exclusively resolved by binding arbitration. The arbitration shall be administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Commercial Arbitration Rules and, where appropriate, the AAA's Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes ("AAA Consumer Rules"), both of which are available at the AAA website www.adr.org. Your arbitration fees and your share of arbitrator compensation shall be governed by the AAA Rules and, where appropriate, limited by the AAA Consumer Rules. The arbitration may be conducted in person, through the submission of documents, by phone or online. The arbitrator shall make a decision in writing, and shall provide a statement of reasons if requested by either party. The arbitrator must follow applicable law, and any award may be challenged if the arbitrator fails to do so. You and EA may litigate in court to compel arbitration, to stay proceeding pending arbitration, or to confirm, modify, vacate or enter judgment on the award entered by the arbitrator.
YOU AND EA AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. The arbitrator shall not consolidate another person's claims with your claims and shall not preside over any type of representative or class proceeding. The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by that party's individual claim.
If you live in the United States, arbitration will take place at any reasonable location convenient for you. For residents outside the United States, arbitration shall be initiated in the County of San Mateo, State of California, United States of America, and you and EA agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of that court, in order to compel arbitration, to stay proceeding pending arbitration, or to confirm, modify, vacate or enter judgment on the award entered by the arbitrator.
If the arbitrator rules in your favor on the merits of any claim you bring against EA and issues you an award that is greater in monetary value than EA's last written settlement offer made before EA makes its final written submissions to the arbitrator, then EA will: pay you 150% of your arbitration award, up to $5,000 USD (or equivalent in your national currency) over and above your arbitration award, and reimburse the arbitration fees that you paid to the AAA.
For residents of Australia: The Contest is governed by the laws of the United States, provided that you will not be deprived of your statutory rights and legal protection as a consumer granted by the laws of Australia. The court of jurisdiction shall be your country of residence.

13. Winner List. EA will post the winner list at www.twitter.com/TheSims for two weeks following winner verification.
© 2022 Electronic Arts Inc.

EVERYTHING ANNOUNCED DURING THE BEHIND THE SIMS SUMMIT

EA_Cade — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 13:59:45 +0000

A look at the past, present and bright future of The Sims

Behind The Sims Summit
For the past 22 years, The Sims™ has been an incredible platform of creativity for generations of players that expands opportunities for player experimentation, self-discovery and imaginative expression.

While we are proud of the impact the game has had on people around the world, we are constantly challenging ourselves to find new ways for players to explore life without boundaries. We are all-in on The Sims, and will continue to build innovative, creative play and meaningful stories for the future.

If you missed Behind The Sims Summit hosted by comedian Phoebe Robinson, you can watch it below.

Here’s a look at what’s to come for The Sims.

The Sims 4 base game is now available for free, with more content being developed into the foreseeable future
The next generation of The Sims is currently in development
The Sims is building on its relationships with creators
Exciting new updates for The Sims FreePlay and The Sims Mobile

- The Sims Team

The Sims 4 Base Game is Now Available for Free, With More Content Developed into the Foreseeable Future

Beginning October 18, The Sims 4 base game will be available to all new players to download for free on PC via EA App or Origin™, Mac® via Origin, Steam®, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One systems.

With The Sims 4 base game launching for free, now is the perfect time for new players to experience the magic of The Sims and discover new ways to play, tell stories, and build your dream creations.

We are committed to bringing new content in the form of packs, kits, free updates, and Sims Delivery Express drops to The Sims 4 into the foreseeable future. As a sneak peak of what’s to come, during the Behind The Sims Summit we took a look at early concept developments that will be featured in future The Sims 4 expansion packs. We’re also excited to share that infants will be arriving in early 2023!

As a thank you to our players for their support, celebration rewards are available across The Sims 4, The Sims FreePlay and The Sims Mobile including a variety of tattoos to adorn your Sims, and a special Plumbob ceiling fan - all free, and already available in your games!

The Next Generation of The Sims in Development

The Sims team is building the next generation game and creative platform, reimagining The Sims that players know and love with even more new ways to play.

The game, which is currently in its very early stages of development, has a working title “Project Rene.” This name was chosen to be reminiscent of words like renaissance and rebirth to represent the team’s renewed commitment for The Sims’ bright future. Project Rene will fundamentally evolve how Sims think and behave, how players create and customize their worlds, and innovate in entirely new ways.

To start, we are experimenting with creative tools, a key part of The Sims’ DNA, and taking a look at what has worked before and how we can offer more flexibility to help with building and decorating in-game.

With Project Rene, players will have the choice to play solo or collaborate with others, and will have the ability to play their game across supported devices.

The Sims has always evolved to reflect our players and their experiences, and we are building on that foundation to encourage creativity and the ability to tell meaningful stories. This is just a first glimpse of what the team is working on, and we will continue to share more information on the game’s development and milestones along the way.

Evolving Our Relationships with Creators

For the first time in The Sims history, there will be a new destination for The Sims 4 players to download mods and custom content in a moderated, curated space through our new collaboration with Overwolf, the operators of CurseForge, a mod manager and discovery platform for user generated content.

For years, The Sims community has been expanded by modders and custom content creators, and today marks a big step forward in recognizing and celebrating their contributions. We're empowering creators to give to the community by introducing a destination to host their incredible creations, and allow even more players to download user generated content for The Sims 4.

We will not require modders and creators to move to or use the CurseForge platform. This collaboration is intentionally providing a supplementary experience to existing avenues for modding as well as providing a moderated platform with an additional level of security. When downloading custom content there is some risk, so always back up your data, and proceed with caution as you venture into the world of mods.
When the platform launches, it will include content from some of your favorite creators. More to come on that and some very exciting special events soon! Be sure to follow The Sims 4 and Overwolf for updates.

Exciting new updates for The Sims FreePlay and The Sims Mobile

We wanted to share new updates and new improvements coming to The Sims FreePlay and The Sims Mobile.

Available from today, players of The Sims FreePlay can look forward to improved appearances of Sim’s faces for preteen, teenager, adult and elderly life stages for the first time since the games’ release! As part of our ongoing efforts to improve representation; hairstyles, glasses and earrings are also now shared across all genders.

In addition, the annual “Christmas in the Heir” seasonal quest will be coming to the game in December 2022 with a new special story. Plus, build and live in your own luxury superyacht, a feature that is coming to the game in early 2023. Download or update your game from the app store today!

For The Sims Mobile, we heard what our Simmers want and we have a big update. We all love balconies and with the new build/buy addition coming to a phone near you during the holidays this year, Simmers can customize balconies and decorate them with beautiful barriers.

For more information about Behind the Sims Summit, please access the F.A.Q. here.

LAUNDRY LIST - OCTOBER 4TH, 2022

EA_Cade — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 13:31:16 +0000

Hi Simmers!

Welcome to this month’s Laundry List, where we’re sharing our list of the top community concerns that we’re currently investigating and hoping to resolve in the next upcoming patch. This is simply a list of those with coming fixes, as there are more topics that we’ve seen reported by players that are not listed and are still being worked on. These listed are the concerns reported by players on Answers HQ, who help us continue our work of improving the user experience on a regular basis.

Please note that some topics can be tricky and require an extended investigation on our end, so even though we are actively reviewing, it’s not a guarantee that we’ll have an immediate fix for it in the upcoming patch.

Here’s the list of the community concerns we’re investigating and aiming to resolve in the game update this month:

Thank you for all your patience and valuable help in reporting! Please continue sharing with us any issues you’re experiencing on Answers HQ.

We’ll continue to check in, and together we can make this game the best that it can be. Happy Simming!

GALLERY MAINTENANCE - September 1st, 2022

EA_Cade — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 20:53:57 +0000

Hello Simmers!

We will be performing a maintenance on the Gallery beginning at 2:00 PM PST on Thursday, September 1st.

During this maintenance the Gallery will be offline and unavailable, however The Sims 4 will be playable offline across all platforms (PC, Mac, PlayStation and Xbox).

We will notify you once the maintenance has completed and you may resume using the Gallery.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

LAUNDRY LIST - JULY 19TH, 2022

EA_Cade — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 22:00:21 +0000

Hi Simmers!

Welcome to the Laundry List where we’ll share a list of the top community concerns that we’re currently investigating and hope to have resolved in the upcoming patch. This is just a top list, there are more topics that we saw reported by players that are not listed and being worked on.

These concerns were reported by players who help us continue our work of improving the user experience on a regular basis.

Please note that some topics can be tricky and require an extended investigation on our end, so even though we are actively reviewing, it’s not a guarantee that we’ll have an immediate fix for it in the upcoming patch.

Here’s the list of the top community concerns we’re investigating for the game update this month:

Thanks for all your patience and valuable help! Please continue sharing with us about any issues you’re experiencing on Answers HQ. We’ll continue to check in, and together we can make this game the best that it can be. Happy Simming!

Gallery Maintenance - June 7th, 2022

EA_Cade — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 14:53:43 +0000

Hello Simmers!

We will be performing a maintenance on the Gallery beginning at 3:00 PM PST on Tuesday, June 7th.

During this maintenance the Gallery will be offline and unavailable, however The Sims 4 will be playable offline across all platforms (PC, Mac, PlayStation and Xbox).

We will notify you once the maintenance has completed and you may resume using the Gallery.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

LAUNDRY LIST - MAY 31ST, 2022

EA_Cade — Tue, 31 May 2022 13:01:41 +0000

GALLERY MAINTENANCE - May 18th, 2022

EA_Cade — Wed, 18 May 2022 21:09:33 +0000

Hello Simmers!

We will be performing a maintenance on the Gallery beginning at 3:00 PM PST on Wednesday, May 18th.

During this maintenance the Gallery will be offline and unavailable, however The Sims 4 will be playable offline across all platforms (PC, Mac, PlayStation and Xbox).

We will notify you once the maintenance has completed and you may resume using the Gallery.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

GALLERY MAINTENANCE - April 5th, 2022

EA_Cade — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 18:03:25 +0000

Hello Simmers!

We will be performing a maintenance on the Gallery beginning at 3:00 PM PST on Tuesday, April 5th.

During this maintenance the Gallery will be offline and unavailable, however The Sims 4 will be playable offline across all platforms (PC, Mac, PlayStation and Xbox).

We will notify you once the maintenance has completed and you may resume using the Gallery.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Gallery Maintenance - March 22nd, 2022

EA_Cade — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 21:22:08 +0000

Hello Simmers!

We will be performing a maintenance on the Gallery beginning at 2:30 PM PST on Tuesday, March 22nd.

During this maintenance the Gallery will be offline and unavailable, however The Sims 4 will be playable offline across all platforms (PC, Mac, PlayStation and Xbox).

We will notify you once the maintenance has completed and you may resume using the Gallery.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

NEIGHBORHOOD STORIES SYSTEM - From the Neighborhood to the World

SimGuruNate — Tue, 15 Mar 2022 18:13:25 +0000

Hello, Simmers! Nate here again. As promised, I’m back to update you on Neighborhood Stories!

First, a quick refresher about why I think Neighborhood Stories are a great addition to The Sims 4 (and super cool, though I am admittedly biased.) The base game is packed with interesting moments that lead to all kinds of life change for individual Sims. However, the Sims living in the active household have the potential to experience so much more life change compared to their Neighbor Sims.

Last November, we rolled out a free update that added a set of life changes for Neighbor Sims who have a personal connection to the active household. You can read all about that in my previous post about Neighborhood Stories.

Today, I’m excited to update you on the new additions to Neighborhood Stories as we continue to build upon this feature over time.

Neighborhood Stories System

The first major addition is life changes for all Neighbor Sims, with or without relationships to the active household. The new Neighborhood Stories System opens up interesting, autonomous changes all over the world.

“What changes?” you might ask. Neighbor Sims everywhere may now:

Adopt young Sims into their household, aged between infant and toddler.
Become pregnant with their Significant Other, and eventually deliver. Family-Oriented Sims are more likely to do this, while Noncommittal Sims are less likely. If a Sim or their SO Hates Children, they will never do this.
Some Sims may instead adopt a dog or cat (requires The Sims 4 Cats and Dogs)
Join and leave careers. Sim Traits heavily influence these decisions. Elder Sims may decide to retire.
Households can move into and out of lots.
Die in different kinds of accidents, depending on risk factors such as Age, Traits, and Career.

All these life changes let Neighbor Sims have richer, fuller lives that evolve over time. They grow up in a family, get jobs, move around, raise children, and eventually die (possibly before their time!)

Some of these changes are obviously more significant than others. *cough*death*cough* This brings us back to the second major addition to Neighborhood Stories…

Configuring Neighborhood Stories

A critical part of the Neighborhood Stories System is a set of new gameplay controls that allow you to tune which life changes Neighbor Sims can and cannot have.

Tada!

It all starts in the Starting in the Manage Households panel:

You choose how Neighborhood Stories affect your game, so the Neighborhood Stories System can be configured in a few ways:

Independent configurations for My Households vs. Other Households. For each group of households in a particular tab, you can choose to enable or disable each type of life change and even disallow all Neighborhood Stories for those households. This provides a fast and easy way to decide what happens to played households in My Households, versus Other Households out in the world. (Rotational players, we see you!)
- By default, Neighborhood Stories is enabled for Other Households and disabled for My Households. Above all else, we want to avoid unintended changes to long-running games that we know you’ve put a lot of love into!

When you’re ready to configure Neighborhood Stories, use this button under the respective tabs for My Households and Other Households.

Household-specific configurations. Want even more control? Do you have a vision for which households need which types of life changes? You can make it happen! Each and every household can have its own configuration, allowing you to tailor life changes that make sense to that household’s storyline.

Global enable/disable setting. If life changes happening all over the world are just not your thing, that’s okay! Neighborhood Stories can be entirely disabled under Game Options using the “Reset Custom Configurations” Button.*

*Neighbor Sim friends will still occasionally call asking for advice about life changes unless your Sim’s phone is on silent.

Like other game options, Neighborhood Stories configurations exist on a per-save basis. Because each of your saves has its own settings, you can switch back and forth between them without having to re-configure anything. Just load up and let the stories roll!

What Are Neighbor Sims Up To?

One last thing to note: These life changes are happening out in the world, beyond the active Household. This means that sometimes your Sims will never come in contact with the results of these life changes! Still, even if your Sims don’t see it, maybe you want to know everything that’s happened!

On any mailbox, try the new Check Recent Neighborhood Stories interaction. You can keep tabs on all the recent Neighborhood Stories. If you’re so inclined, use that information to visit the Neighbor Sims and see their life changes in person!

I hope both you and your Sims will be delighted and surprised by what happens in the world around you!

Dag dag,

Nate

GALLERY MAINTENANCE - MARCH 8TH, 2022

EA_Cade — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 14:17:28 +0000

Hello Simmers!

We will be performing a maintenance on the Gallery beginning at 3:00 PM PST on Tuesday, March 8th.

During this maintenance the Gallery will be offline and unavailable, however The Sims 4 will be playable offline across all platforms (PC, Mac, PlayStation and Xbox).

We will notify you once the maintenance has completed and you may resume using the Gallery.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

LAUNDRY LIST - MARCH 3RD, 2022 - My Wedding Stories Edition

EA_Cade — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 22:01:28 +0000

Welcome back to the Laundry List where we share a list of the top community concerns that we’re currently investigating for resolution in an upcoming patch. At this time we are addressing the technical issues we understand you have been experiencing in The Sims 4™ My Wedding Stories Game Pack.

We are aiming to issue an upcoming patch that prioritizes the below and more, with a deployment of improvements from our dev team:

Please Take Seats update for receptions and prevent blocking of other player-directed activities
Walking Down the Aisle adjustments
Invite Sims from both sides of the wedding, regardless of which Sim is planning the event
Guests arrive in their proper clothing
Guest attire stays selected after closing and reopening Wedding Planner
Improvements to Sims gathering for dessert time
Improvements to Sims gathering around the cake
Improved the amount of time needed before Wedding Cakes spoil
Cake toppers no longer floating
Cake model looks correct after cutting and serving
Adjustments to the Passionate Kiss animation
San Myshuno World Center park appearing in the wedding venue list
Paired dancing improvements

You can expect two individual patch updates in the coming weeks, one that will release ahead of this My Wedding Stories patch of featured improvements.

Thank you for continuing to share with us about any issues you’re experiencing on Answers HQ.

GALLERY MAINTENANCE - FEBRUARY 16TH, 2022

EA_Cade — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 18:19:26 +0000

Hello Simmers!

We will be performing a maintenance on the Gallery beginning at 3:00 PM PST on Wednesday, February 16th.

During this maintenance the Gallery will be offline and unavailable, however The Sims 4 will be playable offline across all platforms (PC, Mac, PlayStation and Xbox).

We will notify you once the maintenance has completed and you may resume using the Gallery.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

The Sims 4 Maintenance - January 19th, 2022

EA_Lanna — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 15:46:02 +0000

Hi Simmers,

Today starting at 1:00pm PT / 9:00pm UTC, The Sims 4 serves will be offline due to maintenance. The Sims 4 will still be playable offline across all platforms (PC, Mac, PlayStation and Xbox) during this time.

We will notify you once the maintenance has completed .

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

- EA_Lanna

Gallery Maintenance - December 8th, 2021

EA_Cade — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 19:51:17 +0000

Hello Simmers!

We will be performing a maintenance on the Gallery beginning at 1:00 PM PST on Wednesday, December 8th.

During this maintenance the Gallery will be offline and unavailable, however The Sims 4 will be playable offline across all platforms (PC, Mac, PlayStation and Xbox).

We will notify you once the maintenance has completed and you may resume using the Gallery.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

REDEFINING LONDON CLASSICS - Discover New Styles with The Sims 4 Modern Menswear Kit

EA_Cade — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 14:36:32 +0000

The Sims™ has always been a creative destination where players come to express themselves, discover new experiences and play with life.

To further empower players to find new and expressive paths to self-discovery, and to deliver on the promise of providing more contemporary menswear options, The Sims worked with the British Fashion Council - a not-for-profit organization supporting British design talent and championing responsible and creative businesses to further strengthen British fashion around the globe - to Simify an up-and-coming menswear brand and help stretch style boundaries with its next fashion kit, The Sims™ 4 Modern Menswear Kit.

Welcome to The Sims’s virtual closet, Stefan Cooke.

Helmed by Central Saint Martins graduates Stefan Cooke and partner Jake Burt, the award-winning, London-based label - named after Cooke - is un-defining traditional menswear. “We’re taking quintessential menswear items and repurposing them, whether it's through textiles or silhouette,” explains Cooke.

“The brand is about redefining masculinity,” continues Cooke. “We always try to be authentic, and without excluding anyone. We’re about redeveloping and refining old ideas, but making them incredibly modern, and pushing that idea to the point that it transcends things like gender.”

For The Sims 4 Modern Menswear Kit, Stefan Cooke worked with The Sims team to bring a wide-range of new-age menswear to players and creators around the globe. Consisting of 23 pieces, all of which are Simified recreations of real-world Stefan Cooke collections, the garments range from the traditional to the revolutionary, masculine to effeminate, and fusions of them all. There’s jackets, trousers, suits, and shoes, as well as some of the designers’ favorite pieces, including the Stefan Cooke Wool Varsity Coat with Skirt, a design that perfectly encapsulates the evolution of modern menswear.

Alongside the dynamic shapes and silhouettes, fabric is another quintessential Stefan Cooke characteristic. The former brings us deeper into the boundless future of menswear, while the latter pays homage to the familiar classics.

“Each material was carefully hand-painted to emulate the texture qualities by doing somewhat of a caricature of the details,” explains Vincent Joly, Senior Art Director for The Sims. “Exaggerating the shapes and controlling the contrast to not look too busy or photorealistic, at the same time not reducing the details too much to lose the essence of the fabrics. Each piece was tuned to find that sweet spot.”

Burt and Cooke are not just looking forward to seeing their styles democratized and digitized, they’re also excited for the self-exploration that their kit will inspire, both within The Sims and in the real world.

“I hope people become more explorative with what they're wearing, especially if they're guys,” says Burt. “I think it's a good thing if people feel more comfortable and unafraid to wear what they want to wear.”

“Fashion can be about identifying as part of something, but also as your own person. It’s both for community and individualism,” adds Cooke. “That's why fashion is so amazing. It can be the slightest thing, and it can really change how you feel about yourself or what you want to put across to the world.”

The Sims™ 4 Modern Menswear Kit will be available beginning December 2, 2021 on PC and Mac via Origin™ and Steam®, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One systems.

Laundry List - November 16th

EA_Cade — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 18:16:47 +0000

Hi Simmers!

Welcome to the Laundry List where we’ll share a list of the top community concerns that we’re currently investigating and hope to have resolved in the upcoming patch. This is just a top list, there are more topics that we saw reported by players that are not listed and being worked on.

These concerns were reported by players who help us continue our work of improving the user experience on a regular basis.

Please note that some topics can be tricky and require an extended investigation on our end, so even though we are actively reviewing it’s not a guarantee that we’ll have an immediate fix for it in the upcoming patch.

Here’s the list of the top community concerns we’re investigating for the game update this month:

Thanks for all your patience and valuable help! Please continue telling us about any issues you’re experiencing on Answers HQ, we’ll continue to work on improving our transparency, and together we can make this game the best that it can be. Happy Simming

The Sims 4 Maintenance - November 3rd, 2021

EA_Lanna — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 16:07:25 +0000

Sul sul Simmers,

Starting at 10:30am PT / 5:30pm UTC, The Sims 4 will be offline for maintenance. We expect it to last 2 hours but we hope to bring things back online as soon as possible. The Sims 4 will still be playable offline across all platforms during this time.

We'll update this thread once the maintenance has wrapped up.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

- EA_Lanna

Gallery Maintenance - September 22nd

EA_Cade — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 21:26:45 +0000

Hello Simmers!

We will be performing a maintenance on the Gallery beginning at 2:00 PM PST on Wednesday, September 22nd.

During this maintenance, the Gallery will be offline and unavailable. We will notify you once the maintenance has completed and you may resume using the Gallery.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Laundry List - September 6th, 2021

EA_Cade — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 15:11:56 +0000

Hi Simmers!

Welcome to the Laundry List where we’ll share a list of the top community concerns that we’re currently investigating and hope to have resolved in the upcoming patch. This is just a top list, there are more topics that we saw reported by players that are not listed and being worked on.

These concerns were reported by players who help us continue our work of improving the user experience on a regular basis.

Please note that some topics can be tricky and require an extended investigation on our end, so even though we are actively reviewing it’s not a guarantee that we’ll have an immediate fix for it in the upcoming patch.

Here’s the list of the top community concerns we’re investigating for the game update this month:

The Sims 4 - Gallery Maintenance - August 11th, 2021

EA_Illium — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 18:00:28 +0000

Hello Simmers!

We will be performing maintenance on the Gallery beginning at 1:15 PM CST on Wednesday, August 11th.

During this maintenance, the Gallery will be offline and unavailable. We will notify you once the maintenance has completed and you may resume using the Gallery.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Laundry List - July 6th, 2021

SimGuruNick — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 14:55:21 +0000

Hi Simmers!

Welcome to the Laundry List where we’ll share a list of the top community concerns that we’re currently investigating and hope to have resolved in the upcoming patch.

These concerns were reported by players who help us continue our work of improving the user experience on a regular basis.

Please note that some topics can be tricky and require an extended investigation on our end, so even though we are actively investigating it’s not a guarantee that we’ll have an immediate fix for it in the upcoming patch.

Also note that this is just a list of the “top” concerns. There are more topics that we saw reported by players that are not listed and being worked on.

So, without further ado, here is a list of the top community concerns we’re currently investigating:

Greetings from Henford-on-Bagley!

SimGuruFrost — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 15:00:45 +0000

Simmers from around the world have been receiving post cards from a couple of familiar friends.

But it seems the local Henford-on-Bagley post office was having trouble delivering all of them so A & A have asked me to post a copy online for all Simmers to download and print if they'd like.

Enjoy!

Laundry List - May 11, 2021

SimGuruNick — Tue, 11 May 2021 16:58:39 +0000

Hi Simmers!

Welcome to the Laundry List where we’ll share a list of the top community concerns that we’re currently investigating and hope to have resolved in the upcoming patch.

These concerns were reported by players who help us continue our work of improving the user experience on a regular basis.

Please note that some topics can be tricky and require an extended investigation on our end, so even though we are actively investigating it’s not a guarantee that we’ll have an immediate fix for it in the upcoming patch.

Also note that this is just a list of the “top” concerns. There are more topics that we saw reported by players that are not listed and being worked on.

So, without further ado, here is a list of the top community concerns we’re currently investigating:

For the month of May, we’ll have two updates to the game.

The first one is going to be on the smaller side, but all good things come in small packages Here’s the list of the top community concerns we’re investigating for the first game update:

The second game update is larger and will follow at a later date this month. Here’s the list of the top community concerns we’re investigating for the second May update:

Laundry List - April 13, 2021

SimGuruNick — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 17:12:57 +0000

Hi Simmers!

Welcome to the Laundry List where we’ll share a list of the top community concerns that we’re currently investigating and hope to have resolved in the upcoming patch.

These concerns were reported by players who help us continue our work of improving the user experience on a regular basis.

Please note that some topics can be tricky and require an extended investigation on our end, so even though we are actively investigating it’s not a guarantee that we’ll have an immediate fix for it in the upcoming patch.

Also note that this is just a list of the “top” concerns. There are more topics that we saw reported by players that are not listed and being worked on.

So, without further ado, here is a list of the top community concerns we’re currently investigating:

THE SIMS 4 MAINTENANCE - April 8, 2021

EA_Leeloo — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 17:42:33 +0000

Hello Simmers!

We will be carrying out maintenance beginning at 1 PM PST/9 PM UTC today, April 8.

During this maintenance, the Gallery will be offline and unavailable, but The Sims 4 will be playable offline. We will notify you once the maintenance has completed and you may resume using the Gallery.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.