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Sims 4 Build Mode is Abandoned [ UPDATE] Good News.
celipoesias
Posts: 433 Member
UPDATE:
We alreary have:
1 Separate Foundations
2. Terrain Tolls
3. L Shaped Stars
Announced for September 5th .
---
Now only missing:
1. Ceiling Tile [Possible]
2. Pound Toll [Maybe]
3. Single handrail [Not so important, but fair]
---
When The Sims 4 was announced, one of its promises was a revolutionary build mode, packed with new tools and lots of practicality. And that was not a lie, really many new things have been added, from practicality to new tools (some of them included per update).
Examples:
1. Pools were added to the game.
2. We can choose up to the edge of the pool.
3. Basements were added.
4. Half walls were added.
5. Added a tool that allows us to choose even the style of water from fountains and pools.
6. And we also had new styles of roofs that were added more recently.
But still, I feel like the builders of this game are abandoned. It will not be new types of roofing that will change that reality. We are abandoned.
The problem is that since when the basements were released in 2015, no really important and heavy functionality has been added to the game ever since. The improvements and additions were small, nothing that we could classify as really important.
I was really hoping for important things for build mode in 2017, and when I went to see it, it was just a few new roof models in the game.
Lets go:
1. Ceiling Tile.
Since when The Sims 4 was released, to this day, we can not change the ceiling tile. We have to deal with that same white ceiling tile in every building and this is very frustrating. And it gets even worse if we consider that this feature was present in The Sims 3 since the base game was released in 2009.
Talking like a layman, this functionality does not seem too complex to add to the game and I think it might already have been added to The Sims 4 a long time ago. Come on, the game will complete 4 years this year, there was more than enough time for something like that to be added.
2. Independent Foundations [DONE]
This is an extremely annoying problem, and I have seen many people complain about it for the past 3 years.
In The Sims 4, it is not impossible to build a building that sits above a foundation while another building, still in the same lot, remains at ground level as we can see in the image below.
When we use a foundation in The Sims 4, it affects everything that was built in the lot, and that's a limitation on how many lots can be built.
3. Terrain Tool [DONE]
I honestly don't even know why I'm talking about it. This is definitely one of those tools that we are already sure will never return, at least in The Sims 4. This is one of the tools of the build mode that most players have asked for the return, but that so far the producers did not give a word about, and most likely will be like this until the end of the generation.
The terrain tool was an important tool in both The Sims 2 and The Sims 3. It was responsible for allowing advanced builders to create incredible buildings, especially when using cheats like: constrainfloorelevation false, which allowed terrain leveling to affect structure of buildings.
This is something that really misses, especially to help in the aesthetics of the lots, and that saddens me.
4. PoundTool / Lake Tool
This tool walks alongside the terrain tool as it affects the ground level. I really miss building real lakes
Even today the players of The Sims 4 are forced to build pools disguised as lakes. In an attempt to make it seem more natural, players place several stones on the edge of the pool to try to create a more beautiful landscape, and disguise the pool.
Are we going to have to deal with this until the end of the generation?
5. L Shaped Stairs Tool [DONE]
I've been waiting for this for years, since The Sims 3, but it seems that stairs is a feature that producers apparently have no interest in improving in the game.
In The Sims 4, players are required to build their homes within a foundation so that it is possible to create something that comes close to a L shaped stair. Of course, many people don't do that because creating a home within a foundation makes it very difficult the way the building is built.
In The Sims 3, the only way to create L shaped stair was by using the constrainfloorelevation code inside the building by changing the floor level, which affected the walls of the house. It was a step back from the third generation and I will now explain why:
In The Sims 2, in Open for Business Expansion Pack, the stage/platform tool was added. This tool was similar to the foundation, but unlike it, it was possible to add them in the inner part of the house, glued / leaning against the wall. This tool was perfect for building L shaped stairs in The Sims 2, and when it was launched, players no longer needed to use the cheat constrainfloorelevation to make L shaped Stairs. The only problem is that, as far as I remember, it was not possible set the platform height, so the L-shaped stairs always had their initial part close to the ground.
I keep wondering how amazing it would be to be able to build L-shaped stairs in The Sims 4 using a tool of their own, allowing me to even set the height of the ladder.
IMPORTANT: I know that many players want spiral stairs, I also want to, but spiral stairs are actually just an object that producers just need to create. And honestly, I do not know why this has not yet been done.
For now, for me, L-shaped stairs are more important.
It's tricky to deal with so much missing features in build mode.
6. Single Handrail
I don't know if you know, but in The Sims 4 it's impossible to build stairs with just a single handdrail. It turns out that when we use the handrail tool on a ladder, the game automatically adds two handrails, each on a different side of the ladder.
It's a small detail, but I've been through some situations where the ladder would look perfect if there was a handrail only on one side, but as the game adds handrails on both sides automatically, there was nothing I could do.
In The Sims 3 and The Sims 2, we can only add one rail if that's what we want.
I think the producers wanted to make the players' work much more practical with some things that in the end what they did was disturb the way the players build something.
@SimGuruHouts , I beg you, help us with build mode, all the things I've said here are important, and at least 2 of them do not seem to me to be very complex to introduce, like the case of individual handrails and ceiling tile.
I want to take the opportunity and invite @ehaught58 to join the discussion. I know you've been one of the great advocates of new tools for game building mode.
We alreary have:
1 Separate Foundations
2. Terrain Tolls
3. L Shaped Stars
Announced for September 5th .
---
Now only missing:
1. Ceiling Tile [Possible]
2. Pound Toll [Maybe]
3. Single handrail [Not so important, but fair]
---
When The Sims 4 was announced, one of its promises was a revolutionary build mode, packed with new tools and lots of practicality. And that was not a lie, really many new things have been added, from practicality to new tools (some of them included per update).
Examples:
1. Pools were added to the game.
2. We can choose up to the edge of the pool.
3. Basements were added.
4. Half walls were added.
5. Added a tool that allows us to choose even the style of water from fountains and pools.
6. And we also had new styles of roofs that were added more recently.
(If I forgot something, please let me know).
But still, I feel like the builders of this game are abandoned. It will not be new types of roofing that will change that reality. We are abandoned.
The problem is that since when the basements were released in 2015, no really important and heavy functionality has been added to the game ever since. The improvements and additions were small, nothing that we could classify as really important.
I was really hoping for important things for build mode in 2017, and when I went to see it, it was just a few new roof models in the game.
Lets go:
1. Ceiling Tile.
Since when The Sims 4 was released, to this day, we can not change the ceiling tile. We have to deal with that same white ceiling tile in every building and this is very frustrating. And it gets even worse if we consider that this feature was present in The Sims 3 since the base game was released in 2009.
Talking like a layman, this functionality does not seem too complex to add to the game and I think it might already have been added to The Sims 4 a long time ago. Come on, the game will complete 4 years this year, there was more than enough time for something like that to be added.
2. Independent Foundations [DONE]
This is an extremely annoying problem, and I have seen many people complain about it for the past 3 years.
In The Sims 4, it is not impossible to build a building that sits above a foundation while another building, still in the same lot, remains at ground level as we can see in the image below.
When we use a foundation in The Sims 4, it affects everything that was built in the lot, and that's a limitation on how many lots can be built.
3. Terrain Tool [DONE]
I honestly don't even know why I'm talking about it. This is definitely one of those tools that we are already sure will never return, at least in The Sims 4. This is one of the tools of the build mode that most players have asked for the return, but that so far the producers did not give a word about, and most likely will be like this until the end of the generation.
The terrain tool was an important tool in both The Sims 2 and The Sims 3. It was responsible for allowing advanced builders to create incredible buildings, especially when using cheats like: constrainfloorelevation false, which allowed terrain leveling to affect structure of buildings.
This is something that really misses, especially to help in the aesthetics of the lots, and that saddens me.
4. PoundTool / Lake Tool
This tool walks alongside the terrain tool as it affects the ground level. I really miss building real lakes
Even today the players of The Sims 4 are forced to build pools disguised as lakes. In an attempt to make it seem more natural, players place several stones on the edge of the pool to try to create a more beautiful landscape, and disguise the pool.
Are we going to have to deal with this until the end of the generation?
5. L Shaped Stairs Tool [DONE]
I've been waiting for this for years, since The Sims 3, but it seems that stairs is a feature that producers apparently have no interest in improving in the game.
In The Sims 4, players are required to build their homes within a foundation so that it is possible to create something that comes close to a L shaped stair. Of course, many people don't do that because creating a home within a foundation makes it very difficult the way the building is built.
In The Sims 3, the only way to create L shaped stair was by using the constrainfloorelevation code inside the building by changing the floor level, which affected the walls of the house. It was a step back from the third generation and I will now explain why:
In The Sims 2, in Open for Business Expansion Pack, the stage/platform tool was added. This tool was similar to the foundation, but unlike it, it was possible to add them in the inner part of the house, glued / leaning against the wall. This tool was perfect for building L shaped stairs in The Sims 2, and when it was launched, players no longer needed to use the cheat constrainfloorelevation to make L shaped Stairs. The only problem is that, as far as I remember, it was not possible set the platform height, so the L-shaped stairs always had their initial part close to the ground.
I keep wondering how amazing it would be to be able to build L-shaped stairs in The Sims 4 using a tool of their own, allowing me to even set the height of the ladder.
IMPORTANT: I know that many players want spiral stairs, I also want to, but spiral stairs are actually just an object that producers just need to create. And honestly, I do not know why this has not yet been done.
For now, for me, L-shaped stairs are more important.
It's tricky to deal with so much missing features in build mode.
6. Single Handrail
I don't know if you know, but in The Sims 4 it's impossible to build stairs with just a single handdrail. It turns out that when we use the handrail tool on a ladder, the game automatically adds two handrails, each on a different side of the ladder.
It's a small detail, but I've been through some situations where the ladder would look perfect if there was a handrail only on one side, but as the game adds handrails on both sides automatically, there was nothing I could do.
In The Sims 3 and The Sims 2, we can only add one rail if that's what we want.
I think the producers wanted to make the players' work much more practical with some things that in the end what they did was disturb the way the players build something.
@SimGuruHouts , I beg you, help us with build mode, all the things I've said here are important, and at least 2 of them do not seem to me to be very complex to introduce, like the case of individual handrails and ceiling tile.
I want to take the opportunity and invite @ehaught58 to join the discussion. I know you've been one of the great advocates of new tools for game building mode.
Post edited by celipoesias on
123
Comments
I also just want to add somethings myself:
-We should be able to have one-tile windows in the middle of two tiles and two-tile windows in the middle of thee tiles. This would fix sooo many problems and I don't think it's that hard to add (compared to other stuff like roofs and half walls.
-I want to be able to manually place a corner siding piece again like the TS3! The automatic one doesn't work like I want it to at all!
-Landings that don't let many outside stuff clip in the walls.
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No, TS4 is a BIG fail for veteran builders. We have been truly abandoned, ignored, and forgotten.
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
I agree with the OP and the plea and argument they are making with EA/Maxis...but unfortunately I'm with @ehaught58 on this one.
If they haven't made a single effort to fulfill builders ongoing request for CAW, L Shaped stairs, Color wheel, and Terrain tools by now...they aren't going to.
I really thought in the beginning that they would've added those things by the 2nd or 3rd Stuff pack, Game Pack, Expansion....but nope. Us builders were left hanging...dealing with a ridiculously limited set of color swatches, making it impossible to match woodwork, windows, doors, and don't get me started on the stupid furniture and decor.... who does that? Even after you build a home...there is no way to decorate it. Nothing matches, nothing goes together...you'd have to download a ton of custom content that may or may not break the game.
The limitation for builders was and is beyond ignorant and frustrating. I never made it past that Backyard Stuff pack.... How do you create a backyard oasis with no loungers?? I mean really? something as simple as a pool lounger was "too complicated" according to one guru...but yet we had them in TS2 and TS3 and they were just fine. That was it for me. I uninstalled the game, never bought another thing for TS4 and will never buy another thing for it. If they are going to ignore the builders...then I will move on to other games and spend my money elsewhere.
I am seriously hoping they give us independent foundations when/if we get cars.
And L-shaped stairs? I can't make my current home because of this lack.
I can actually do without the others, but those two are pretty important and I'd be sad if I learned they were never coming back. I haven't given up hope, but I won't be surprised if they don't come back.
Sim Stuff by Pegasys
We can copy/paste rooms! (Real helpful for multiple beds or baths, for example.)
We can shrink items now, as well as enlarge them! (Helpful for the... larger than life items, lol.)
I mean, I get where you're coming from. I want more stair options for sure. (That's honestly about the most from your list I care about, though a 'water paint' tool similar to the terrain paint tool would be nice too.) But there are a lot of aspects to building in this game that are very nice to have that get overlooked.
You can build a room, for example, then paint it up and fill it with stuff, and if after you're done, you want it bigger, you can just pull on the sides, and bam! Not only is it bigger, but the paint continues on the new wall portions, same with floor coverings. You don't have to delete and re-do wall segments. You can pick up and move entire rooms, even the entire lot, around with a couple clicks of the mouse.
I dunno, it seems much more intuitive and easy to build, and much more difficult to truly mess things up in the process. It's more efficient. Being able to copy entire rooms is a huge time saver. Try making an apartment building, or a nursing home for elderly, lol. And for whatever 'restrictions' there are, well, I've seen plenty of builders get creative and challenged to work around them.
I think the pros outweigh most of the cons. There are a few uses for changing the terrain that I could use, but I also like the fact that any lot I go to build on is also fully open to build on from the start. I don't have to flatten down hills or fill up holes in the ground before laying the first wall down. I can just get right to it.
Legacy Photomode
I love how people always forget that you could drag walls in Sims 3. Works on foundations too. The only real difference is that objects move with the walls and delete automatically when a wall is built through them.
That’s really the only thing you said about build mode. The copy feature is helpful, but not a real game changer. Shrinking/enlarging objects isn’t even a build mode cheat. It’s use runs out once you leave the foliage section.
Build mode has plenty of restrictions, and plenty of room for improvement. If you don’t care to see a better build mode then why are you here? Coming into this thread and repeating EA’s words to express your satisfaction with it isn’t the purpose of this thread. If you want to give praise where you feel it’s due how about you go do that in the appropriate thread?
Everything I said in this post was not to the detriment of the features and functionality already in the current build mode. As a builder, I know each of the features you've cited. But there is something to improve, and aren't small things.
Stairs are one of the features of the game that have been standing still for years, since The Sims 3.
Not being able to change the ceiling tile is ridiculous.
Foundations that affect the entire construction of the lot is absurd and limits various aspects of construction.
Doing pools like lakes is humiliating.
Hehe
I'm here because:
-The OP mentioned after their examples of updates: (If I forgot something, please let me know). Which I did.
-In my post, I mentioned that I was interested in things like stairs and a water painting tool.
-I'm free to post where-ever I wish, and not once did I discount or call out the OP for their points. Unlike some people.
Also, as far as the shrinking cheat is concerned, it is a build mode feature. And extends far beyond 'foliage'. You can shrink lights, for example, meaning you can add more lighting to a room, but limit the visible 'lights' to more decorative lamps if you wish. You can take the giant outdoor statues, and shrink them down for deco in a home. You can shrink down those massive rugs into more normal sized ones that won't cover an entire room. And that's just a few off the top of my head. I'm sure others could come up with more. And all of that is part of building. Building isn't just throwing up four walls and a ceiling. It's painting the walls. Putting in windows and doors. Decorating the place. Coming up with an interior (and exterior) design that fits the layout and lot size.
And yes, copy-pasting rooms is a game changer. Like I said in my previous posts, go ahead and make two identical communal lots (like apartments, or nursing homes, or orphanages). Make them each with 5 beds and baths. For the first build, only make one bed and one bath and then copy-paste in the rest. For the second, identical build, do each room by scratch. Go ahead, I'll wait.
Even if you do the second one without copy-paste, and save time because you made the first one already so you don't have to spend extra time figuring out layouts and all that, guess what? You'll still build the first one faster. Why?
You don't have to draw out 5 x the walls. You don't have to paint them 5 x. You don't have to go through the catalogue to find and drag out toilets and sinks and beds and wardrobes 5 times. You don't have to cover the floors and add doors and windows 5 x.
If you made a 4 story house, and each floor was exactly the same, you'd make it in a quarter of the time just by copying the first floor and pasting it four times, even if you then went through and recolored all the items after.
It's very much a game changer. In the time it would take you to make a good chunk of builds, I could make 2, 3, 4, etc.
But oh no, let's overlook it as nothing significant to being able to push up dirt that Sims then glitch around and has been known to make routing a nightmare! Cuz that's infinitely more useful and not in the least bit more time consuming.
Ts4 also has some important improvements to make, regardless of it's new features, and I don't think anyone here is saying more features=bad idea.
So instead of arguing about the importance of what features, and who is a builder, maybe it is better to just leave the thread at "more is wanted/needed"?
We all want a build mode we can love, any new features added can make this build mode amazing, maybe even the best, because it has great new features they just need to return some old goodies. (and get rid of same level foundations, that's a new feature that can be ditched I think)
Good god man... really??? I'm the bad guy here because you don't want to spend 24/7 building in a game??? Did I say that's what builders do? No I did not.
The people who like to Build in The Sims series do it because it's a joy, not because of a deadline. That it why I said that builders do not care how long it takes. We just want to make something great. With the current lack of tools and limitations that TS4 has, it is next to impossible to accomplish that.
You are simply a different kind of builder. Assuming that I'm venting and jumping all over you was incorrect. But I can see how you would do that since you are putting your own tone to my words.
If you prefer the currently style of building in this game....that's fine. As someone who has loved this franchise from the beginning...I think EA/Maxis can do better.
Oh I guess I didn’t see the part about a “water painting tool” which in my opinion sounds ridiculous. Painted on water? I’d rather stay without the pond tool over something so cheap.
In regards to your entire paragraph on the enlarge/shrink cheat - everything you mention is done in buy mode. That is furnishing, and that’s about the only things the cheat is useful for. Does it allow you to change the size of walls? Stairs? Handrails? Fencing? Nope. I know Sims 4 condensed them into one button but they are two distinctly different modes.
As I said the copy room feature is useful, but does it actually change anything? No, it saves you time by allowing you to copy a room and not have to build it again. Not all of us make builds that reuse the same rooms all over the place.
I personally see the exclusion of terrain tools to be a huge hit off of build mode. Clearly you haven’t seen what they could be used for, or perhaps you couldn’t understand it - I don’t know. What I can tell you, is that terrain editing, and the cheats that game along with it are way more significant than copying a room, which is just a shortcut from saving any room and plopping it down from the gallery.
Well Said... Couldn't agree more.
*better foundation placement ( not one size fits all) give me them levels!
* More gates that fit the fences better
* all kinds of stairs, spiral, L-shaped, upside down and spun around lol
* platforms to make stages etc
* More doors, windows, floors, wall paints etc
* paint ceilings
Personally I'm not bothered about terrain tools, it was annoying trying to build and the routing problems were a mess.
Apart from lack of stairs and foundation limits, I'm really impressed with build mode for sims 4. It makes it easy for players who aren't necessarily the best builders to enjoy that part of the game without getting frustrated because they made a mistake or built in the wrong place. (Which was me with sims 2 and 3 lol)
Edit to add : with regards to being easier to build and less mistakes being made I was refering to the copying tool and the picking up entire houses and rooms to move around. Also the option to pick and save certain rooms etc. I find these to be great additions.
If the terrain tools make a return then great for advanced builders, I just wouldn't use them. I wasn't saying necessarily that it's something I didn't want putting into the game. As long as lots start off flat as they do now then I have no problems with it.
If they perfected it so that when you change terrain levels it doesn't cause glitches and routing issues then that would be great.
When it comes to terrain tools all I can remember is odd bumpy bits sticking out of the ground lol I was useless with it
I am glad for you and other people who are new to building, or have lesser experience in more advanced building skills, that are finding TS4 much easier and less frustrating to build in. But, speaking from years of experience as an advanced builder, having fewer tools and build options is very frustrating for me! The Sims used to be about options. If you don’t understand how to do or use something, then don’t use it! There are tools in TS4 that I rarely, or never use. Just because it’s there does not mean you have to use it.
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams