Hello, thank you for this initiative. I really love this game and I am very optimistic that the changes that will be implemented will improve my game play. Since many of my suggestions have already been addressed by other players, I will keep my post brief and just highlight what I feel are the key points. The main aspect of the game that I would like to see more depth in is relationships. I feel that the current trait system alone is not enough to give sims deep personalities. Even with very different traits, they may seem similar, depending on how you play. But I think that the fact that they don’t really react to each other personalities really increases this problem (I am sorry if this is coming out weird, English is not my first language). So, I, personally, don’t blame it on the trait system, but rather on the lack of interaction consequences. A good sim should be appalled by a mean sim’s uncalled rudeness, for example. An active, outdoorsy, adventurous sim may be bored by a discuss favorite author interaction. And so on. So maybe is not the case of just improving traits themselves, but also how they would react to each other? I loved the liked and disliked system, and, maybe, you could add a like and dislike traits in that? So, my bookworm sim could hate snobs? Or my familiar sim could love neat sims? And they could acknowledge and react when the other sim did an action that was related to that trait? I would also love one-sided relationships. It does bug me that they are always reciprocal. I would love to have unrequited crushes and hidden hates. So, I think there may be a way to the relationship bar between two sims progress differently depending on the action being performed, who initiated it and so on. (I really don’t know how to program at all). I have been playing since the first game, so I, personally, do miss some previous features, like memory system, attraction system and fears and wants. However, I think they can be incorporated Sims4 style. I love the rocking-chair reminiscence feature (although I would like to see the memories somewhere else and thus get a glimpse of the sims life). The attraction system could be developed in the likes and dislikes (I think), and fears and wants could come up in whims. Oh, just remember, it may be silly, but I would love to be able to give sims a personal biography. Nowadays, we can only edit the household’s. It would be nice if I could write something for each sim individually. Anyway, I am really happy with all that was added in the last months. Thank you again for this opportunity.
Thank you for making this forum I'm not really good at explaining stuff in super big details but these are a couple things I want to see improved
Like others in this forum said please rework/overhaul the emotions system and add proper story progression so that the worlds and sims feel more unique and alive than just same old same old
Add in a chemistry system which can spice up romance interactions more to see if they'll click or not than just spam a couple interactions like no care in the world and you get married in like in 1 day every time, I want to see romance relationships take time and bond so it has more meaningful impact so that each sim varies like some sims want to get married on the spot and others want to spend more time knowing the other sim etc
Bring back memories from the past installments, some can have lasting impacts and your sims could remember some memories that give a bit of a moodlet etc
Bring back the age duration slider options page from Sims 3, I want to be able to adjust how many days each life stage lasts like babies age up in 4-5 days instead of 3 or something or maybe young adults or adults live a few days shorter, the general lifespan button isn't really that great and I just want something between those three 3 options (short, normal, and long) and adjust it to my gameplay speaking of which this leads to my next comment
Improved babies like older installments being able to carry them around and so on, I know they're just babies for 3-4 days but I want my sims to learning parenting a bit before they become toddlers
The return of the burglar NPCs and an option to have a lot challenge where there's increased theft, I feel like there isn't enough of consequences in this game and when it does attempt to do a consequence it chickens out, it gets pretty boring if things go too well for too long
Traits overhauled, improving depth of each trait having more meaningful impact than just a simple moodlet, also not every single sim is some tv or videogame obsessed fellow it should only apply to certain likes and dislikes along with certain traits for instance geeks would be more into tv and gaming than the average sim
Please rework aspirations, aspirations in the last installments take time pretty much most of a sim's lifetime while here you can easily complete most especially the tutorial based ones, I'm not a fan of these tutorial aspirations and it would be better to turn the tutorial aspirations into an actual tutorial guide page more
Needs drop way too fast in this installment it needs to slow down more, there was a couple times where half of my sims nearly starved to death after a good night's rest
Rework the messy interactions wheel and please add more unique animations for a lot of these social interactions it's exhausting to see the same social interaction animations
Relationships matter more depending on the positive, neutral, or negative interaction there's a more lasting impact (Example: cheating on a spouse will have more lasting hatred even it gets eventually resolved)
More consequences in careers and activities giving a more balancing chance of flunking than just always a good outcome, overall the chance cards need a rework and include an option to opt out of the decision for the third choice
Whims overhaul, maybe turn it into something like the older installments did with wants, fears, wishes, the current whims system sounds okay on paper but it needs a lot of work probably at the point of just making a new window to showcase what kind of stuff they want to do and what stuff they're not fond of which makes more interesting stories and gameplay than just the same old sims but in a different run it gets pretty boring sadly
Kids and toddlers still don't have a whole lot to do along with elders, it's sad that family gameplay still feels pretty bare even in base game, there should be stuff like kids bringing home friends from school or even some school activities like attending clubs, kids could show their grades to their family members like one day they got an A+ they can run up to their relatives in excitement that they've gotten better in school
To add on to that please make the teens a bit shorter so it's easier to identify that's a teen sim along with adding more interactions like being able to sneak out at night, add more teen exclusive interactions like rebelling against a guardian/parent etc just to make them feel more like they're a teenager than just a mini young adult
I was upset with how Plant Sims were introduced in base game during that one event they are just green sims with short hair, later occults have gotten slightly better but it would be nice if Plant Sims gotten a rework one day that's more faithful to their past counterparts
Please improve the autonomy, I'm a player that tends to let my sims kind of do whatever they want while I jump in at times and try to complete whims, in past games I had no problem letting my sims do whatever they want as they take care of themselves, while here they rather watch tv constantly until they starve themselves or neglect their own children, there is an auto solve issue but there are some annoying issues for example my sim would rather take a nap than actually do a full sleep when they're in the red, a nap would make more sense if was in the yellow for the energy need, when to comes to parenting babies and toddlers it's a nightmare like highchair musical chairs or guardians at times not properly taking care of their baby or toddler's needs it's at the point where I have to fight with the current state of autonomy and it makes parenting an autonomy nightmare in this installment
Wants and Fears. All of the Sims feel the same, and it's frankly boring to play the same character over and over and over again. Sure I can make them look different, and live in any kind of house you like. But they are all the same, cos they don't have anything driving them and helping us to inform the decisions we make for the Sims. Interests. These were a staple in Sims 1 and 2 and should make a return, and impact wants, fears, and relationships. Better, more challenging babies. Harder skill gain (why can my sim with zero handiness successfully repair literally anything? Why? And why can my sim become a super parent after having just one kid?) Better, more challenging teens. They need a complete overhaul. Better personalities. Look into real life personality classification systems such as Myers Briggs and Ennegram, and bring some of that into the game. Make the personalities matter so that some Sims simply CLASH and just do not get along. That makes it more rewarding when we do find someone who gets along with our aim, who they are compatible with. Mary-Sue wouldn't give a flying fig about Daniel woohooing the maid, especially if the bedroom was nicely decorated. This has been an issue since this game launched and still hasn't been fixed. Careers are too easy to max.
I humbly suggest that the entire team take a week to go back and play the Sims 1, and then the Sims 2. There, you will find what is missing.
> @AmazingFacsimile said: > > Problem 2 – Relationships are one-sided. My Sim is always the only one who initiates the relationship and triggers 90% of the actions. I think the game would benefit a lot if romantic relationships were improved by introducing autonomous decisions made by the Sim outside the household. You don’t socialize with your partner and basically ignore them? You might get a break-up message! You have a high romance with a Sim but didn’t propose going out yet? There’s a chance that the unplayed Sim will do that! Being a couple always involves two. Having the Sim that you don’t control make certain propositions and decisions would enrich the gameplay in a unique new way. > > Problem 3 – Lack of danger. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible for our Sims to unexpectedly face Grim Reaper. Simmers are in charge of whether their Sim dies from something or not which completely erases the challenge. For example, my Sim got electrocuted while repairing a TV. I know for sure that they will die on the second try, after they get the dazed moodlet from the first electrocution. I know what to expect from the game, and it makes the gameplay a bit less exciting. Adding more random deaths would bring the quirkiness and challenge that The Sims franchise is known for (death by satellite, I’m looking at you ;) ) > > I really do hope you consider implementing these ideas in the future! Have a great day everyone! <3
These. Could not have worded it better myself. Better relationships and more danger are undoubtedly the 2 things this game needs ASAP; especially for console players who aren't able to just mod these things in. More danger especially would be fantastic. I recently went back to The Sims 2 briefly, and the sheer amount of crazy stuff that can and does happen in that game is fantastic, and it's something I think The Sims 4 could really, really benefit from. Burglars especially would be a fantastic touch. When it comes down to it, The Sims 4 is just a little too happy-go-lucky for my tastes. I understand the reason for this is to make it easier for players to control everything to their liking, but random, unprompted, uncontrolled, and most importantly, unexpected chaos is always where The Sims as a series has shone through, so it'd be terrific to see more of this going forward.
I've also seen a few people who want to see the wants and fears system from The Sims 2 make a return, which I too think is a fantastic idea. There's not necessarily anything wrong with the current whims system, but it definitely feels quite shallow, especially when;
A) There isn't really a penalty for not completing them (compared to if you completed a fear in The Sims 2) B) All my sims seem to get the exact same whims over and over.
As much as I think just adding more variety to the whims system would work, it once again circles back to the lack of danger. Sims are basically happy all the time, when I'd much rather have to try and actually put in a little bit of effort to keep them happy, and reintroducing fears seems like the best way to do this.
Thanks for giving us this opportunity, and I hope all the feedback you receive will really help you make The Sims 4 shine!
I wish Sims relationships were more meaningful and had more depth using Sentiments. Like I wish my teen Sims could introduce their new partner to their parents and depending on how that first meeting goes, the sim could be sad their partner and parents don't get along, or happy they do. When Sims break up, it would maybe be interesting to see how they cope with their Ex-partners new relationships. A bad break up may lead the sim to despising their Ex's new partner, or to fall out with a close friend who is now dating their Ex.
Additionally seeing sentiments between friends and friends friends. For example, if Sim A and Sim B had a falling out, Sim A's BFF might have a negative sentiment toward Sim B based on their loyalty to Sim A, or they may feel guilt if they spend time with Sim B behind Sim A's back.
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It might also be interesting to see some new lot challenges. For example, one might be to have something of a Home Owners Association. Your sims' neighbors may have something to say about the way your home is kept, and you could be fined for certain decor or events, and having pets.
Maybe you could have a 'Blacklisted' lot challenge, where your address has been blacklisted by a number of sites and services based on a previous tenant. This means repair services, maids or nannies may refuse to come to your home, and deliveries may not arrive due to your address being attached to a scam-y account.
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It would be nice for it to appear like Kids go to different schools based on the world they are in. It happens with Snowy Escapes but I doubt kids living in Oasis Springs would go to the same school as those in Willow Creek.
It would also be nicer to see academic success and failure actually affecting Sims more especially along side aspirations.
In general it feels like Sims don't interact with their aspirations at all. It would be interesting to see how events that happen to Sims could impact them based on their aspiration; A child Sim with the Whiz Kid aspiration going down a grade may feel sad that they're failing academically. A sim with the Successful Lineage aspiration may feel happy when their child gets promoted at work, or angry when their child chooses a freelancer job rather than a career with progression.
I want to thank you for allowing the community to share positive thoughts about depth and challenge in the Sims 4 and also thank you for noting that our words and thoughts will be heard and acknowledged. I have some thoughts like many others on these topics.
Sentiments I think sentiments are a great addition to the game. I like how they are implemented it would be cool to see more sentiments from other packs implemented along with permanent sentiments. This would allow more depth to a Sims. An option to speak to an NPC like a (Wellness Coach, Therapist or Friend) could allow the permanent sentiment to be revered?
Likes and Dislikes I’m so happy that likes and dislikes have been implemented into the game and I think they are great. To give more options it would be wonderful to see food options, more activities but more importantly likes and dislikes regarding other Sims such as hair colour, eye colour and even another Sims traits.
Lot Challenges Personally I like when small random things happen during the game. I like how lot challenges have been added to the game with the options to select which ones you wish to enable. To add challenge and depth it would be great to see things that bring challenge to everyday gameplay like
- Burgers lot challenge, burgers add drama and the unknown which brings excitement into the game - High taxes with this lot challenge enabled the costing of the lot and bills are much higher, given the challenge to earn more money - Random NPC, random NPC like Bigfoot, Zombies, Tragic Clown, Social Bunny and other NPC appearing when Sims have low moods or certain emotions would again bring more excitement to the game and randomness - Fires Lot Challenge, when enabled fires are more like to happen
Interactions When Angry When it comes to Sims interacting I think it’s good. But it would be nice to see Sims remain anger or annoyed with another Sims and not revert back to happy interactions with the Sim. For example in pervious Sims games there would be a speech bubble with a picture of a sun and fire around it to express the anger/hate towards the sim. Including smaller details like this just gives depth.
hi! my name is victoria and i don’t have much ideas but just a few. the first idea i had was for there to me more content for babies, toddlers and elders in the base game because they are slept on. secondly, i feel like everyone has finished the base game aspirations. so i feel like some new aspirations and traits to the base game would be refreshing and a good way to add more gameplay. lastly, you should add more lot challenges that would make playing harder or help out other challenges. ex: a lot challenge for rags to riches or a lot challenge that makes you loose some money every week or so. thank you! have a nice day/evening/night<3
TRAITS To make a long story short, The Sims 4 itself doesn't have nearly enough traits, and the limit of 3 traits maximum means that many Sims don't have defined, well-rounded personalities. Sims need at least two more traits per life state, and the game itself need far more traits. Alongside this, the traits themselves feel very shallow a lot of the time - something that is beginning to be rectified in recent game updates. Stuff like Bookworm Sims autonomously reading more often or Clumsy Sims stumbling more often are a great start, but more traits need this treatment! I also believe that traits like Vegetarian or Lactose Intolerant need to be moved to a seperate dietary requirements category, so as to not distract from a Sim's actual personality.
WHIMS The Whims system in The Sims 4 is... Honestly kind of abysmal, to the point where you've disabled them by defaults. I think that the system needs a complete overhaul to bring it more in line with The Sims 2's Wants and Fears system - where Sims would have a number of Wants and Fears that were directly impacted by their relationships, personalities, aspirations and careers. Whims in The Sims 4 are far too often based on what packs are installed - for example, the dreaded "buy a bee box" whim that every Sims seems to get when Seasons is installed. Adding fears to the game would also introduce more opportunities for both challenge and storytelling - for example, a non-committal Sim fearing getting married, having children, falling in love, etc.
RANDOM EVENTS AND CONSEQUENCES Currently, it feels like normal, bad things very rarely happen in The Sims 4. Of course, there's your usual housefires and deaths, alongside random phone calls, but that feels like the extent. Stuff like Sims getting laid off or demoted from their jobs, burglaries, power outages, plumbing problems, etc. would add a slight element of randomness and challenge to the game. I'd also love to see something like random opportunities from The Sims 3 come back, such as "do x task to get promoted in your career" or "have sims do x task to improve their relationship with y".
LIFE STAGES One thing that past Sims games did a very good job of was making each life stage feel distinct from one another - something that is sorely missing from The Sims 4. Without Parenthood installed, teenage Sims are practically young adult Sims that go to school. Things like sneaking out, running away, throwing parties while parents were away, going on field trips, prom, pulling pranks, graduation, etc. were things that made teen Sims feel genuinely different from other life stages. The same can be said for almost all other life stages that aren't toddler or young adult - young adults, adults and elders are practically the same, with only slight differences. I'd love to see these life stages expanded on more!
FAMILY TREES AND RELATIONSHIPS While I love that family trees were added a while back, I would really like to see more in-depth familial relationships added to the game. I would love to see cousins, second cousins, great-grandparents, boyfriends/girlfriends, step-siblings, etc. be relationships that are recognized on the family tree and choosable within CAS.
- There are certain notifications for work which have big images and not just the small boxes. On these image notifications, the first choice always has under it in red lettering "The Sim will lose their job." The second option always says "The Sim's life will go unchanged." This makes these pop-ups pointless. I don't even read them and just choose the second option. This system could be overhauled to have a few random outcomes for both choices and with no warning of what will happen, which will make it more interesting.
- I like the new fear system, but I am disappointed Sims can't be scared to death. They can be angry, embarrassed, or laugh themselves to death, and scared to death was in previous Sims games. It would give a reason to make sure Sims get calmed down.
- "Complain" is not a friendly interaction. People do not like it when you complain in real life, at least not always or unless they agree. I think the interaction radial would be a lot cleaner if a Complain subset was added and all those were moved out of the Friendly menu. Also if complaining could have negative feedback or cause arguments from Sims not agreeing would be a nice touch. It would be more like mischief. Some Sims like it, others don't.
- On the same note: Ask could also be it's own subsection for interactions. Ask about hobby, day, color, how was your day, etc. This is just to clean up the interaction menu, which has become cluttered.
- Interactions based on jobs: There are some, especially for celebrities, but it would be cool if there were more. For example - if a Sim is in the medicine career if other Sims could have interactions like "ask about symptom" or if the doctor Sim could "give medical advice." Or a Business Sim could do things like "talk about bottom line," Astronauts could "describe view from space." There's lots of things that could be added which would then also give Sims more personality based on their job.
- More likes and dislikes. All hobbies - anything with a level bar - could be added based on which packs are owned. It's weird knitting isn't added, for example. Foods, tv shows, and drinks could also be added. Also Sim features could be added like "brown hair" or "green eyes" and traits "loves the outdoors" which could be the path to an attraction system.
- If somewhere there was a place where you could see all your Sim's past jobs and school performance. Like "Finished elementary school with C+" or Graduated with Honors for History Degree. Retail Career level 2. Law Career level 5, etc. This gives a map of what the Sim has done.
- The Sim culling system needs to be worked on. Sims forgetting Sims they have a high relationship with because they don't talk for a few days is terrible.
- Step-family needs to be worked especially since Step-parents are forgotten and culled from the family tree just like random Sims
- Culling of the family tree is one of the worst things in the game. One of the best things about previous games is being able to look back at a massive family tree. Even if the Sims ghosts are culled, there needs to be a way for the game to remember they existed in the family tree.
- Lastly - traits are the worst thing added to the Sims in Sims 3 and are what make the Sims so shallow. I know this is not something likely to happen ever, but traits should be a secondary system to a points personality system. Anything that is "opposite" like clean/neat should be pointed based on spectrum, and the number of points at creation should be limited. Traits like "dance machine" or "genius" would add flavor to the point system. I also believe this is why more likes and dislikes could add more to the game.
First of all, thank you for this opportunity and I truly hope that the feedback that you get from this makes for some positive improvements in this game that we all love so much. A lot of what I am about to suggest, I suspect, will be echoed in a lot of our posts on this subject, but it probably bears repeating.
When I talk about depth in the game, I would like to see things/actions actually mean something. My imagination is great (or else I wouldn’t still be here) but I’d like to see my imagination in the actual game itself. I want my sims to notice the world around them and the other sims around them beyond the idle chat that means nothing. For example, when a sim cheats on another sim, they should get mad! Not just the sims that have the jealous trait, but all sims should react this way. Sims with the jealous trait could get mad sooner but if a sim visibly flirts in front of another sim, they should react! Case in point: yesterday in a play session I had a household with a husband, wife and the wife’s mother all under one roof. The dishwasher broke. Wife starts to fix the dishwasher. In the kitchen, standing directly behind her, her husband flirts with her mother. Mother flirts back. Wife keeps fixing the dishwasher. She is completely unaware of anything happening around her even though they are in the same room! Once she is finished with the dishwasher, she walks IN BETWEEN her flirting mother and husband and STILL DOES NOT NOTICE and proceeds to have a nap. If I want them to have a fight about this flirting scenario, I have to start it myself and imagine that is what they are mad about. What I would have much rather seen happen is the wife stop fixing the dishwasher as soon as her husband flirts with her mother. She should confront him, anger or sad, that might depend on her personality but she should confront him without me telling her to.
I’d like to see a return of story progression as a way of adding depth to the game as well. The world itself is shallow and this would give life to the townies without forcing me to play every single household in the game. I’m well aware that some people don’t want this, but a toggle to turn this on and off would solve that.
I’d like to see more relationships added to CAS so that we can create more unique families right from the get go and get into our stories quicker without hacks and cheats to make relationships work. We need in-laws in CAS.
In the past year or so, I think the game has taken some positive steps to adding some depth in regards to making the character traits have more meaning and I hope that this continues. I’d still like to see even more traits added to the base game because even though improvements have been made, a lot of sims still feel just so much the same simply because there just isn’t enough variety.
I’d also like to see one sided relationships in game. Right now, sims like, hate or love equally. This is not the case in real life, it wasn’t the case in past sim games either and I’d like to see a return to that.
One sided relationships not only add depth but they also add challenge to the game as well. Having to work for some of the relationships adds challenge. Not everyone gets along right away and it would be nice that since now sims can have preferences, if that could be applied to how well (or not well) sims get along.
Speaking of challenges, death. We have a lot of ways to die, but almost all are avoidable. Kill some more of my sims, there’s ways to bring them back if I want that challenge too but I’m never needing to do that part of the game because it really doesn’t happen unless I force it. The murphy bed is a good example of a death chance. I’d like to see electrocutions, lightning strikes and cow plants have a chance to kill a sim on the first try. The majority of accidents could still give the moodlet and the second time a death, but I’d love to see a small (maybe 3-4%) chance that some of those actions could kill a sim on the first shot. While we’re on the subject of death as a challenge, scared to death - please! Other emotions can kill so why was scared/terrified left out of that? Maybe make it only so YA and up can die from it (like the other emotions) but please do add it. It doesn’t make sense to me why this was missed.
It’s entirely too easy to make money and I’ve never had a sim lose a job. I feel like jobs pay too much and I think some chance cards (not just the get famous ones) could help spice up the careers and present more challenges to us as the player as our sims play through the rabbit hole jobs.
I realize too that a lot of people do not want the jobs/money or even the death chances to be changed or harder, but I do think that some of this could be implemented either in the game settings or with the new lot traits.
Thank you for your time and I’m looking forward to seeing what new systems will be implemented in the future.
Hello! Make a play pack for occult characters, there are very few occult characters in the game, i really hope that you will hear and another team will start to create a game packages for occult characters, need to create more game packs for occult characters, it would be very cool if besides Expansion packs, Game packs, Stuff packs and Kits, there were separate game packs or something like this for occult characters (supernatural creature).🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
I have often wondered if venues could be utilized as multi-purpose lots by attaching NPCs to objects instead of attaching them to venues. In this regard we could run restaurants that also function as nightclubs, etc. (Akin to how community lots worked in The Sims2. Perhaps now with lot traits this is more possible; by removing venue types and instead use a variety of community-lot specific traits to create a community lot.
Career rewards also do not feel as robust as they did with the base careers of the Sims 4. The reward for the Floral Design branch, for example is the same florist bench you could buy in-game; nothing high-end like the piano for musicians. Sims with higher-end careers should feel and play as such; as their role in the Sims community would certainly be known.
Hi! Big fan & love the game! Thanks so much for this opportunity!
I’d love to see a difficulty setting (like: free play/easy/medium/hard/super hard) that would make the over all gameplay more challenging.
My idea of a more challenging difficulty level would make items more expensive & more difficult to obtain, making career promotions harder to obtain (maybe with more criteria’s or goals to achieve a promotion), making less money in careers as well and making crafted/foraged items worth less when sold.
Skill gaining in general could also take longer in a more difficult setting.
Having a more challenging social system would be a fantastic improvement as well & could be its own set of difficulty settings or apart of the above money system difficulty settings.
For me a more challenging social system would look like making it more difficult to build friendships & romantic relationships by simply just making it take longer to gain positive & romantic points. Also, when inviting sims to hang out or go on dates or join clubs ect could result in a % chance that they’d decline. I’d also really enjoy it if a difficulty setting could make it nearly impossible to make friends/romantic relationships with sims who don’t have similar traits or have opposing traits, or maybe a % that a sim won’t like you for no good reason lol. That is more realistic and would really make some aspirations like popularity, and careers like fame, more of a challenge than just a sim description.
Making enemies or bad impressions could also be either easier to do or possibly just a default starting point when first meeting a new sim.
Also having a baby could be more challenging by having to convince the spouse (maybe not always, but sometimes). Also, making a small chance that woohoo will result in an unplanned pregnancy would be a fun realistic challenge.
Another idea for social difficulty settings would be that the player’s household sims may not want to do whatever it is we’re trying to get them to do. Not so much on a micro level like doing dishes, but when attempting certain careers/aspirations or making friends/getting married & having children could be more difficult for the played household sims if those sims have opposing traits. As in, on a higher difficulty setting, if a sim has the loaner trait it would be much more difficult to get them to build fame or make friends, and any career they’re in would make any socializing more difficult or take longer to do.
The lot trait challenges are amazing and id love to see more of those, especially the “off the grid” type as that feels the most realistic.
Thanks again for listening! I very much appreciate it!
Memories:
I believe the key area where The Sims 4 lacks depth in it's gameplay is the lack of a memory system.
A lot of people have said they feel there aren't enough consequences in the game, however I personally feel that without memories, there aren't any. Emotion buffs and sentiments work in the short term, but our sims seem to forget everything that's happened to them as soon as the sentiment or buff disappears, leaving no real consequence or evidence of most interactions.
If a sim makes a new friend, they should have a memory of that! If a sim has a baby, gets married, loses a loved one, attends a festival, etc, that should stay with them forever! Sims should automatically remember these interactions and events for the rest of their life.
If I as the player could go to a tab and see all my sims memories and look back on the things my sim has done and what they've accomplished, that would bring so much more depth to the game. Sims could even be able to reminisce and talk about these events, maybe elder sims could share stories about their old memories with their grandchildren!
Upgrading the mermaids, create an underwater world where mermaids could swim, add opportunities to them, add a lot of other tails to them, create mermaids like this, how are you created vampires and spellcasters, please!🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
I don't even know, why I am writing this since I've gone back into playing Sims 3 and I don't think I'll return anytime soon. But maybe I'll tell you at least why, it can be considered as feedback if you will.
In the long run, The Sims 4 is just too boring, too safe, too childish and way too sweet. It lacks depth, personality and challenge. It even lacks signature Sims game humor that made it hilarious and unique back in the day as well as delivered it's players many hours of fun.
I do miss supernatural gameplay a lot, even though Sims 4 has the best vampires of the bunch, I can't and won't argue with that.
I also miss dark, gloomy and mysterious worlds like Midnight Hollow and Moonlight Falls from the Sims 3, whereas Sims 4 only has Forgotten Hollow that is claustrophobically small, otherwise the worlds in the Sims 4 are all cutie rainbow meadows for children, just like everything else in this game at this point and nothing bad or at least exciting ever happens there.
I truly wish you would take in account that adults are (or in my case were) your customers too, but I know you won't and it is truly sad.
Hi sims team :) for me, there are two things I would like to see to add depth to the game. The first is an attraction system! I don't have any particular thoughts on how the actual system could work, since there are a lot of different ways to approach attraction, but one is sorely needed in the game! Both Sims 2 and Sims 3 had one and both are better for it - attraction systems created challenge, conflict, and interesting gameplay that just isn't present in the Sims 4. I hope you'll consider it! The second is story progression! Households that have been played with but aren't the active household should still progress beyond just aging. They should build skills, make friends, advance in careers and school, start romantic relationships (based on the attraction system!), and have kids without the player telling them to. I do think there should be a way to turn story progression off if it gets implemented, the same way aging can be turned off. I think story progression is something that would benefit most players, both people who play with one household only and those who do rotational play. It's hard to micromanage an entire save's worth of sims, especially if you're planning to do several generations in one save and need to make sure new sims are being born. I hope that makes sense and I hope you'll consider it! Thanks!
I have some ideas for improvements that I’d like to see in The Sims 4:
1. Changes to Relationship Gains and Socializing: It’s easy to become friends or romantic partners in The Sims 4. Currently, taking a few selfies with a Sim boots relationships way too fast. I’ve gotten married on the first day because the current relationship gains are generous. Traits don’t even impact the gain of friendship or romance. I love for Loner, Self-Absorbed, or Mean Sims to have a harder time with romance or making friends. Sims that have the Confident or Outgoing trait should have an easier time being social. Sims who have similar traits or lifestyles should be easier to befriend.
Befriending Sims who are opposites should be a challenge. Cheating, arguments, sharing successful platonic or romantic moments need to have more impact. These should influence how Sims interact with other Sims they have a history with. A Mean Sim who’s on good terms with another Sim should never be mean to that particular Sim. Mean Sims should be mean to Sims they don’t know or dislike autonomously. Sims shouldn’t talk in places like the Bathroom. I want Sims to sit bar seating, tables, benches, or away from doors to have conversations. I also feel Sims who are on an outing with you should be more focused on your Sim rather than random objects on the Lot. They should stop wandering away from your Sim to read books or to talk to other Sims. If a Sim should need to take care of their Hunger or Bladder need, I'd like for conversations to pause. When a Sim has satisfied a need, that Sim should come back to your Sim and continue the conversation.
2. Random Sims: First off on this topic, I want them to be less likely to interrupt a date on a public lot by talking to my Sim. Random Sims interrupt these social outings are a hassle and it ruins the story I’m trying to tell. I’d love to take my Sims out and enjoy the game world without the constant interruptions. This would be a game-changer. Celebrity Sims should rarely travel outside of Del Sol Valley. Celebrity Sims are disruptive. They draw so much attention that it’s troublesome to keep a Sim you are talking to engaged with your Sim.
Thanks for the opportunity Gurus.
I won't add to a lot of stuff already here and with which I agree but.......
Please don't convert this into an RPG like GTA and also don't bring excess violence and murder into it. Detection, Agatha Christ wise is fine but GTW could be improved for that! If you do anything anything like this do it as an additional Expansion pack so that we don't have to buy it if we hate that sort of thing.
We need a proper cemetery. Where Sims can put their dead relatives, mourn properly and then go home to carry on having paid their proper respects and be happy again, even have a "Wake" to celebrate their lives! If you had a ghost on your home lot you might be able to search for their urns and set them free there. The Paranormal Investigator could find the urns for you or you could become one to search yourself. If you do introduce Zombies those investigators could help get rid of them too.
Make those secret worlds more liveable in. How about being an immigrant on the Alien world in GTW instead of them integrating with us?
As someone who has the full set, make it worth while to buy the Expansions and other packs by extending your Base Game updates to make more links to them. Otherwise you are making me feel that you are getting more and more apologetic for adding to the game at all. Be proud of what you have achieved so far. I'm getting a bit fed up with this free catering to those who only bought the Base Game at £5 when I bought it and all the packs, since The Sims (original) at full price.
Remember and don't alienate your loyal fanbase who tend to only play this game and few others.
PS: Your Simple Life challenges in Cottage Living are the sort of thing that is needed. Might stop Simmers going at 3 speed all the time! Got to think things out properly.
[b]Wants & Fears[/b] Bring back the “wants & fears system”. It adds depth and we can choose which wants/fears to ignore and which we lock to fulfill. Obviously the wants/fears are based on the Sims personality and aspiration. This makes Sims feel more unique. The whims system doesn’t work as well and feels useless to me. You did a great job with the the lifestyle system, this was a step in the right way. I enjoy playing more after this was added!
[b]Memory system[/b] Bring back the memory system for milestones. Not just so I can keep track of what my Sim life is like (if I didn’t play for a while with that family I forget the story I was telling) but also for my sim to remember who cheated on them and should not be trusted again? Making a romantic relationship more difficult with that sim. Or maybe they don’t trust any romantic interest for a while after being cheated on? The whims are too shallow and only take a few hours.
[b]Relationships[/b] Make it possible to have one-way relationships. Not all feelings should be mutual! One Sim should be able to be in love without having those feelings returned. Sims can crush on a celeb without having those feelings returned. Maybe they broke up with their ex and they hate them for cheating but the ex still loves them because the other sim did nothing wrong? This should relate to the wants and fears system. Wanting an ex back. Wanting to be friends again. Wanting to marry that celeb. Fearing rejection of ex. Suggest to “try again”. A romantic sim would be more willing to take back an ex.
[b]Turn on and turn offs[/b] It feels like every Sim can now connect with every Sim. I want to chose their preferences , if they only like men, women, or both. Or maybe they don’t care about gender at all but only about hair color or what kind of job a sim has? Or is this sim attracted to celebrities? This is so much more realistic and makes relationships feel less random. Turn on’s will make it very easy to fall in love (although it might be only be one Sim in love with the other and the feelings are not mutual) but it will still be possible to fall in love with Sims who don’t have those qualities/traits/looks. Turn offs will make it very,very hard to make it into a romantic relationship.
[b]Baby’s and teens[/b] Please fix baby’s and teens, I can’t make you understand how much it ruins my game the way they are now. Both feel unrealistic at the moment and are no fun to play with. my teen should not look like an adult sim. The baby is an object... it feels shallow playing like his. Toddlers could be better too, having wants and fears would definitely help with that.
[b]Detailed behavior [/b] Behavior should be more detailed like in TS2 and TS3. Cuddle in bed, small things like that made it more realistic. It’s what we miss in the game now, the small little details the previous games had. More special interactions for different relationships. Make soms actions only unlockable with certain levels of friendship/romantic levels. It has that a little now but it should be more like this, make it feel like we have to work for it. It shouldn’t be so easy with every sim. And please bring back Sims really dancing together and slow dancing.
At last, and I know this might be difficult and I can live without it. But I just loved to play with different family’s in the same timeline and their lives would continue (make sure we can disable the feature too). I would come back and my sim would have a new relationship (based on their wants and fears!) or got married, have a baby. LIFE just happened. It’s those fun little surprises that really made THe Sims so great.
Sul Sul! I would like to see a preteens aging phase in the Sims 4 base game because I noticed a difference in myself from childhood to middle school (therefore adding a middle school). I feel there are a lot of opportunities for preteens to express more of a personality in comparison to just being a child prior to becoming a teenager. Like real kids, I feel like seeing a change in our children to preteen to teenager would be such a nostalgic presence. Also, I feel that preteens and teenagers should have more personalities as well as more extracurricular activities such as dance, choir, football, etc. When I was in high school I participated in dance, soccer, choir, and so on but none of this is represented in the sims 4 which I feel could really add to the gameplay and personalities of preteen and teen sims. I also feel that there should be proms and middle school dances where preteen and teen sims can socialize. Preteens and teens can go stag where they dance with their friends or they could go with their crushes (only for middle school) and teens could dance with their partners. Lastly, I feel the base game should add more schools since it’s not very realistic, in my opinion, that all the sim kids go to the same school. I feel like the base game should provide two schools per age group where the families can choose where they want to send their kids based on what skills the children, (preteens), and teens gain.
With depth in the game for me is with the kids and babies in game, I would like for my sims to have a deeper sentiment with the babies like in real life, be able to cook while carrying the baby and there be consecuenses. Also for example baby with first word did she/he say mamma or dadda first? For kids when they go to school it would be fun for a school bus to pick them up just like in the sims 3 just seeing the action gives more depth to the game, they can have prom, and school bake sales, even if its just a rabbit hole, but it creates the experience. Pregnancy, they need more depth besides just having morning sickness, there are many things that happen to women during pregnancy good and bad, it would be nice to have some in game. This is what I have in mind at the moment and I hope you understood my faulty grammar in english. Hope you all have a lovely day! 💕
Howdy
We can choose more relationships in CAS for our sims example, grandparents, aunts, uncles, foster parents, cousins etc without having to kill the parents etc for the relationship to take effect
More events, holidays like summer vacation, winter break etc
Would love to see more careers especially work at home careers, more courses for university and maybe an option to just take part time courses
CAS would love to have sliders for hair and eyes like we do for make up
More aspirations, traits and a new section like the likes/dislikes for allergies, phobies, diets etc instead having them as traits
More traits for YA to elder
We can adjust the height weight size of body, arms, legs etc without having to use mods
More careers that we can go with our sim
babies are no longer objects and the aging of our sims is more slower
Would love more supernatural creatures and the aliens mermaids be more like the vampires and spell casters
Along with what others have mentioned before mine and what I have this will give our sims more personality etc
Able to search the gallery for # of bathrooms, bedrooms or even stories and if tiny you can search if micro, tiny or small
Search households by supernatural or only sims no supernaturals
If you consider this a wish list I understand or not able to do without rewriting codes and a time consuming process
Comments
The main aspect of the game that I would like to see more depth in is relationships.
I feel that the current trait system alone is not enough to give sims deep personalities. Even with very different traits, they may seem similar, depending on how you play. But I think that the fact that they don’t really react to each other personalities really increases this problem (I am sorry if this is coming out weird, English is not my first language). So, I, personally, don’t blame it on the trait system, but rather on the lack of interaction consequences. A good sim should be appalled by a mean sim’s uncalled rudeness, for example. An active, outdoorsy, adventurous sim may be bored by a discuss favorite author interaction. And so on. So maybe is not the case of just improving traits themselves, but also how they would react to each other? I loved the liked and disliked system, and, maybe, you could add a like and dislike traits in that? So, my bookworm sim could hate snobs? Or my familiar sim could love neat sims? And they could acknowledge and react when the other sim did an action that was related to that trait?
I would also love one-sided relationships. It does bug me that they are always reciprocal. I would love to have unrequited crushes and hidden hates. So, I think there may be a way to the relationship bar between two sims progress differently depending on the action being performed, who initiated it and so on. (I really don’t know how to program at all).
I have been playing since the first game, so I, personally, do miss some previous features, like memory system, attraction system and fears and wants. However, I think they can be incorporated Sims4 style. I love the rocking-chair reminiscence feature (although I would like to see the memories somewhere else and thus get a glimpse of the sims life). The attraction system could be developed in the likes and dislikes (I think), and fears and wants could come up in whims.
Oh, just remember, it may be silly, but I would love to be able to give sims a personal biography. Nowadays, we can only edit the household’s. It would be nice if I could write something for each sim individually.
Anyway, I am really happy with all that was added in the last months. Thank you again for this opportunity.
Like others in this forum said please rework/overhaul the emotions system and add proper story progression so that the worlds and sims feel more unique and alive than just same old same old
Add in a chemistry system which can spice up romance interactions more to see if they'll click or not than just spam a couple interactions like no care in the world and you get married in like in 1 day every time, I want to see romance relationships take time and bond so it has more meaningful impact so that each sim varies like some sims want to get married on the spot and others want to spend more time knowing the other sim etc
Bring back memories from the past installments, some can have lasting impacts and your sims could remember some memories that give a bit of a moodlet etc
Bring back the age duration slider options page from Sims 3, I want to be able to adjust how many days each life stage lasts like babies age up in 4-5 days instead of 3 or something or maybe young adults or adults live a few days shorter, the general lifespan button isn't really that great and I just want something between those three 3 options (short, normal, and long) and adjust it to my gameplay speaking of which this leads to my next comment
Improved babies like older installments being able to carry them around and so on, I know they're just babies for 3-4 days but I want my sims to learning parenting a bit before they become toddlers
The return of the burglar NPCs and an option to have a lot challenge where there's increased theft, I feel like there isn't enough of consequences in this game and when it does attempt to do a consequence it chickens out, it gets pretty boring if things go too well for too long
Traits overhauled, improving depth of each trait having more meaningful impact than just a simple moodlet, also not every single sim is some tv or videogame obsessed fellow it should only apply to certain likes and dislikes along with certain traits for instance geeks would be more into tv and gaming than the average sim
Please rework aspirations, aspirations in the last installments take time pretty much most of a sim's lifetime while here you can easily complete most especially the tutorial based ones, I'm not a fan of these tutorial aspirations and it would be better to turn the tutorial aspirations into an actual tutorial guide page more
Needs drop way too fast in this installment it needs to slow down more, there was a couple times where half of my sims nearly starved to death after a good night's rest
Rework the messy interactions wheel and please add more unique animations for a lot of these social interactions it's exhausting to see the same social interaction animations
Relationships matter more depending on the positive, neutral, or negative interaction there's a more lasting impact (Example: cheating on a spouse will have more lasting hatred even it gets eventually resolved)
More consequences in careers and activities giving a more balancing chance of flunking than just always a good outcome, overall the chance cards need a rework and include an option to opt out of the decision for the third choice
Whims overhaul, maybe turn it into something like the older installments did with wants, fears, wishes, the current whims system sounds okay on paper but it needs a lot of work probably at the point of just making a new window to showcase what kind of stuff they want to do and what stuff they're not fond of which makes more interesting stories and gameplay than just the same old sims but in a different run it gets pretty boring sadly
Kids and toddlers still don't have a whole lot to do along with elders, it's sad that family gameplay still feels pretty bare even in base game, there should be stuff like kids bringing home friends from school or even some school activities like attending clubs, kids could show their grades to their family members like one day they got an A+ they can run up to their relatives in excitement that they've gotten better in school
To add on to that please make the teens a bit shorter so it's easier to identify that's a teen sim along with adding more interactions like being able to sneak out at night, add more teen exclusive interactions like rebelling against a guardian/parent etc just to make them feel more like they're a teenager than just a mini young adult
I was upset with how Plant Sims were introduced in base game during that one event they are just green sims with short hair, later occults have gotten slightly better but it would be nice if Plant Sims gotten a rework one day that's more faithful to their past counterparts
Please improve the autonomy, I'm a player that tends to let my sims kind of do whatever they want while I jump in at times and try to complete whims, in past games I had no problem letting my sims do whatever they want as they take care of themselves, while here they rather watch tv constantly until they starve themselves or neglect their own children, there is an auto solve issue but there are some annoying issues for example my sim would rather take a nap than actually do a full sleep when they're in the red, a nap would make more sense if was in the yellow for the energy need, when to comes to parenting babies and toddlers it's a nightmare like highchair musical chairs or guardians at times not properly taking care of their baby or toddler's needs it's at the point where I have to fight with the current state of autonomy and it makes parenting an autonomy nightmare in this installment
Interests. These were a staple in Sims 1 and 2 and should make a return, and impact wants, fears, and relationships.
Better, more challenging babies.
Harder skill gain (why can my sim with zero handiness successfully repair literally anything? Why? And why can my sim become a super parent after having just one kid?)
Better, more challenging teens. They need a complete overhaul.
Better personalities. Look into real life personality classification systems such as Myers Briggs and Ennegram, and bring some of that into the game.
Make the personalities matter so that some Sims simply CLASH and just do not get along. That makes it more rewarding when we do find someone who gets along with our aim, who they are compatible with.
Mary-Sue wouldn't give a flying fig about Daniel woohooing the maid, especially if the bedroom was nicely decorated. This has been an issue since this game launched and still hasn't been fixed.
Careers are too easy to max.
I humbly suggest that the entire team take a week to go back and play the Sims 1, and then the Sims 2. There, you will find what is missing.
I and my wife can't wait for you to add vegan food and vegan characters. Also, we really wanna see polyamory in the game!
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> Problem 2 – Relationships are one-sided. My Sim is always the only one who initiates the relationship and triggers 90% of the actions. I think the game would benefit a lot if romantic relationships were improved by introducing autonomous decisions made by the Sim outside the household. You don’t socialize with your partner and basically ignore them? You might get a break-up message! You have a high romance with a Sim but didn’t propose going out yet? There’s a chance that the unplayed Sim will do that! Being a couple always involves two. Having the Sim that you don’t control make certain propositions and decisions would enrich the gameplay in a unique new way.
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> Problem 3 – Lack of danger. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible for our Sims to unexpectedly face Grim Reaper. Simmers are in charge of whether their Sim dies from something or not which completely erases the challenge. For example, my Sim got electrocuted while repairing a TV. I know for sure that they will die on the second try, after they get the dazed moodlet from the first electrocution. I know what to expect from the game, and it makes the gameplay a bit less exciting. Adding more random deaths would bring the quirkiness and challenge that The Sims franchise is known for (death by satellite, I’m looking at you ;) )
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> I really do hope you consider implementing these ideas in the future! Have a great day everyone! <3
These. Could not have worded it better myself. Better relationships and more danger are undoubtedly the 2 things this game needs ASAP; especially for console players who aren't able to just mod these things in.
More danger especially would be fantastic. I recently went back to The Sims 2 briefly, and the sheer amount of crazy stuff that can and does happen in that game is fantastic, and it's something I think The Sims 4 could really, really benefit from. Burglars especially would be a fantastic touch.
When it comes down to it, The Sims 4 is just a little too happy-go-lucky for my tastes. I understand the reason for this is to make it easier for players to control everything to their liking, but random, unprompted, uncontrolled, and most importantly, unexpected chaos is always where The Sims as a series has shone through, so it'd be terrific to see more of this going forward.
I've also seen a few people who want to see the wants and fears system from The Sims 2 make a return, which I too think is a fantastic idea. There's not necessarily anything wrong with the current whims system, but it definitely feels quite shallow, especially when;
A) There isn't really a penalty for not completing them (compared to if you completed a fear in The Sims 2)
B) All my sims seem to get the exact same whims over and over.
As much as I think just adding more variety to the whims system would work, it once again circles back to the lack of danger. Sims are basically happy all the time, when I'd much rather have to try and actually put in a little bit of effort to keep them happy, and reintroducing fears seems like the best way to do this.
Thanks for giving us this opportunity, and I hope all the feedback you receive will really help you make The Sims 4 shine!
Additionally seeing sentiments between friends and friends friends. For example, if Sim A and Sim B had a falling out, Sim A's BFF might have a negative sentiment toward Sim B based on their loyalty to Sim A, or they may feel guilt if they spend time with Sim B behind Sim A's back.
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It might also be interesting to see some new lot challenges. For example, one might be to have something of a Home Owners Association. Your sims' neighbors may have something to say about the way your home is kept, and you could be fined for certain decor or events, and having pets.
Maybe you could have a 'Blacklisted' lot challenge, where your address has been blacklisted by a number of sites and services based on a previous tenant. This means repair services, maids or nannies may refuse to come to your home, and deliveries may not arrive due to your address being attached to a scam-y account.
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It would be nice for it to appear like Kids go to different schools based on the world they are in. It happens with Snowy Escapes but I doubt kids living in Oasis Springs would go to the same school as those in Willow Creek.
It would also be nicer to see academic success and failure actually affecting Sims more especially along side aspirations.
In general it feels like Sims don't interact with their aspirations at all. It would be interesting to see how events that happen to Sims could impact them based on their aspiration; A child Sim with the Whiz Kid aspiration going down a grade may feel sad that they're failing academically. A sim with the Successful Lineage aspiration may feel happy when their child gets promoted at work, or angry when their child chooses a freelancer job rather than a career with progression.
I want to thank you for allowing the community to share positive thoughts about depth and challenge in the Sims 4 and also thank you for noting that our words and thoughts will be heard and acknowledged. I have some thoughts like many others on these topics.
Sentiments
I think sentiments are a great addition to the game. I like how they are implemented it would be cool to see more sentiments from other packs implemented along with permanent sentiments. This would allow more depth to a Sims. An option to speak to an NPC like a (Wellness Coach, Therapist or Friend) could allow the permanent sentiment to be revered?
Likes and Dislikes
I’m so happy that likes and dislikes have been implemented into the game and I think they are great. To give more options it would be wonderful to see food options, more activities but more importantly likes and dislikes regarding other Sims such as hair colour, eye colour and even another Sims traits.
Lot Challenges
Personally I like when small random things happen during the game. I like how lot challenges have been added to the game with the options to select which ones you wish to enable. To add challenge and depth it would be great to see things that bring challenge to everyday gameplay like
- Burgers lot challenge, burgers add drama and the unknown which brings excitement into the game
- High taxes with this lot challenge enabled the costing of the lot and bills are much higher, given the challenge to earn more money
- Random NPC, random NPC like Bigfoot, Zombies, Tragic Clown, Social Bunny and other NPC appearing when Sims have low moods or certain emotions would again bring more excitement to the game and randomness
- Fires Lot Challenge, when enabled fires are more like to happen
Interactions When Angry
When it comes to Sims interacting I think it’s good. But it would be nice to see Sims remain anger or annoyed with another Sims and not revert back to happy interactions with the Sim. For example in pervious Sims games there would be a speech bubble with a picture of a sun and fire around it to express the anger/hate towards the sim. Including smaller details like this just gives depth.
thank you! have a nice day/evening/night<3
To make a long story short, The Sims 4 itself doesn't have nearly enough traits, and the limit of 3 traits maximum means that many Sims don't have defined, well-rounded personalities. Sims need at least two more traits per life state, and the game itself need far more traits. Alongside this, the traits themselves feel very shallow a lot of the time - something that is beginning to be rectified in recent game updates. Stuff like Bookworm Sims autonomously reading more often or Clumsy Sims stumbling more often are a great start, but more traits need this treatment! I also believe that traits like Vegetarian or Lactose Intolerant need to be moved to a seperate dietary requirements category, so as to not distract from a Sim's actual personality.
WHIMS
The Whims system in The Sims 4 is... Honestly kind of abysmal, to the point where you've disabled them by defaults. I think that the system needs a complete overhaul to bring it more in line with The Sims 2's Wants and Fears system - where Sims would have a number of Wants and Fears that were directly impacted by their relationships, personalities, aspirations and careers. Whims in The Sims 4 are far too often based on what packs are installed - for example, the dreaded "buy a bee box" whim that every Sims seems to get when Seasons is installed. Adding fears to the game would also introduce more opportunities for both challenge and storytelling - for example, a non-committal Sim fearing getting married, having children, falling in love, etc.
RANDOM EVENTS AND CONSEQUENCES
Currently, it feels like normal, bad things very rarely happen in The Sims 4. Of course, there's your usual housefires and deaths, alongside random phone calls, but that feels like the extent. Stuff like Sims getting laid off or demoted from their jobs, burglaries, power outages, plumbing problems, etc. would add a slight element of randomness and challenge to the game. I'd also love to see something like random opportunities from The Sims 3 come back, such as "do x task to get promoted in your career" or "have sims do x task to improve their relationship with y".
LIFE STAGES
One thing that past Sims games did a very good job of was making each life stage feel distinct from one another - something that is sorely missing from The Sims 4. Without Parenthood installed, teenage Sims are practically young adult Sims that go to school. Things like sneaking out, running away, throwing parties while parents were away, going on field trips, prom, pulling pranks, graduation, etc. were things that made teen Sims feel genuinely different from other life stages. The same can be said for almost all other life stages that aren't toddler or young adult - young adults, adults and elders are practically the same, with only slight differences. I'd love to see these life stages expanded on more!
FAMILY TREES AND RELATIONSHIPS
While I love that family trees were added a while back, I would really like to see more in-depth familial relationships added to the game. I would love to see cousins, second cousins, great-grandparents, boyfriends/girlfriends, step-siblings, etc. be relationships that are recognized on the family tree and choosable within CAS.
For me things that take away gameplay depth are:
- There are certain notifications for work which have big images and not just the small boxes. On these image notifications, the first choice always has under it in red lettering "The Sim will lose their job." The second option always says "The Sim's life will go unchanged." This makes these pop-ups pointless. I don't even read them and just choose the second option. This system could be overhauled to have a few random outcomes for both choices and with no warning of what will happen, which will make it more interesting.
- I like the new fear system, but I am disappointed Sims can't be scared to death. They can be angry, embarrassed, or laugh themselves to death, and scared to death was in previous Sims games. It would give a reason to make sure Sims get calmed down.
- "Complain" is not a friendly interaction. People do not like it when you complain in real life, at least not always or unless they agree. I think the interaction radial would be a lot cleaner if a Complain subset was added and all those were moved out of the Friendly menu. Also if complaining could have negative feedback or cause arguments from Sims not agreeing would be a nice touch. It would be more like mischief. Some Sims like it, others don't.
- On the same note: Ask could also be it's own subsection for interactions. Ask about hobby, day, color, how was your day, etc. This is just to clean up the interaction menu, which has become cluttered.
- Interactions based on jobs: There are some, especially for celebrities, but it would be cool if there were more. For example - if a Sim is in the medicine career if other Sims could have interactions like "ask about symptom" or if the doctor Sim could "give medical advice." Or a Business Sim could do things like "talk about bottom line," Astronauts could "describe view from space." There's lots of things that could be added which would then also give Sims more personality based on their job.
- More likes and dislikes. All hobbies - anything with a level bar - could be added based on which packs are owned. It's weird knitting isn't added, for example. Foods, tv shows, and drinks could also be added. Also Sim features could be added like "brown hair" or "green eyes" and traits "loves the outdoors" which could be the path to an attraction system.
- If somewhere there was a place where you could see all your Sim's past jobs and school performance. Like "Finished elementary school with C+" or Graduated with Honors for History Degree. Retail Career level 2. Law Career level 5, etc. This gives a map of what the Sim has done.
- The Sim culling system needs to be worked on. Sims forgetting Sims they have a high relationship with because they don't talk for a few days is terrible.
- Step-family needs to be worked especially since Step-parents are forgotten and culled from the family tree just like random Sims
- Culling of the family tree is one of the worst things in the game. One of the best things about previous games is being able to look back at a massive family tree. Even if the Sims ghosts are culled, there needs to be a way for the game to remember they existed in the family tree.
- Lastly - traits are the worst thing added to the Sims in Sims 3 and are what make the Sims so shallow. I know this is not something likely to happen ever, but traits should be a secondary system to a points personality system. Anything that is "opposite" like clean/neat should be pointed based on spectrum, and the number of points at creation should be limited. Traits like "dance machine" or "genius" would add flavor to the point system. I also believe this is why more likes and dislikes could add more to the game.
Thank you for your time.
When I talk about depth in the game, I would like to see things/actions actually mean something. My imagination is great (or else I wouldn’t still be here) but I’d like to see my imagination in the actual game itself. I want my sims to notice the world around them and the other sims around them beyond the idle chat that means nothing. For example, when a sim cheats on another sim, they should get mad! Not just the sims that have the jealous trait, but all sims should react this way. Sims with the jealous trait could get mad sooner but if a sim visibly flirts in front of another sim, they should react! Case in point: yesterday in a play session I had a household with a husband, wife and the wife’s mother all under one roof. The dishwasher broke. Wife starts to fix the dishwasher. In the kitchen, standing directly behind her, her husband flirts with her mother. Mother flirts back. Wife keeps fixing the dishwasher. She is completely unaware of anything happening around her even though they are in the same room! Once she is finished with the dishwasher, she walks IN BETWEEN her flirting mother and husband and STILL DOES NOT NOTICE and proceeds to have a nap. If I want them to have a fight about this flirting scenario, I have to start it myself and imagine that is what they are mad about. What I would have much rather seen happen is the wife stop fixing the dishwasher as soon as her husband flirts with her mother. She should confront him, anger or sad, that might depend on her personality but she should confront him without me telling her to.
I’d like to see a return of story progression as a way of adding depth to the game as well. The world itself is shallow and this would give life to the townies without forcing me to play every single household in the game. I’m well aware that some people don’t want this, but a toggle to turn this on and off would solve that.
I’d like to see more relationships added to CAS so that we can create more unique families right from the get go and get into our stories quicker without hacks and cheats to make relationships work. We need in-laws in CAS.
In the past year or so, I think the game has taken some positive steps to adding some depth in regards to making the character traits have more meaning and I hope that this continues. I’d still like to see even more traits added to the base game because even though improvements have been made, a lot of sims still feel just so much the same simply because there just isn’t enough variety.
I’d also like to see one sided relationships in game. Right now, sims like, hate or love equally. This is not the case in real life, it wasn’t the case in past sim games either and I’d like to see a return to that.
One sided relationships not only add depth but they also add challenge to the game as well. Having to work for some of the relationships adds challenge. Not everyone gets along right away and it would be nice that since now sims can have preferences, if that could be applied to how well (or not well) sims get along.
Speaking of challenges, death. We have a lot of ways to die, but almost all are avoidable. Kill some more of my sims, there’s ways to bring them back if I want that challenge too but I’m never needing to do that part of the game because it really doesn’t happen unless I force it. The murphy bed is a good example of a death chance. I’d like to see electrocutions, lightning strikes and cow plants have a chance to kill a sim on the first try. The majority of accidents could still give the moodlet and the second time a death, but I’d love to see a small (maybe 3-4%) chance that some of those actions could kill a sim on the first shot. While we’re on the subject of death as a challenge, scared to death - please! Other emotions can kill so why was scared/terrified left out of that? Maybe make it only so YA and up can die from it (like the other emotions) but please do add it. It doesn’t make sense to me why this was missed.
It’s entirely too easy to make money and I’ve never had a sim lose a job. I feel like jobs pay too much and I think some chance cards (not just the get famous ones) could help spice up the careers and present more challenges to us as the player as our sims play through the rabbit hole jobs.
I realize too that a lot of people do not want the jobs/money or even the death chances to be changed or harder, but I do think that some of this could be implemented either in the game settings or with the new lot traits.
Thank you for your time and I’m looking forward to seeing what new systems will be implemented in the future.
Make a play pack for occult characters, there are very few occult characters in the game, i really hope that you will hear and another team will start to create a game packages for occult characters, need to create more game packs for occult characters, it would be very cool if besides Expansion packs, Game packs, Stuff packs and Kits, there were separate game packs or something like this for occult characters (supernatural creature).🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
I have often wondered if venues could be utilized as multi-purpose lots by attaching NPCs to objects instead of attaching them to venues. In this regard we could run restaurants that also function as nightclubs, etc. (Akin to how community lots worked in The Sims2. Perhaps now with lot traits this is more possible; by removing venue types and instead use a variety of community-lot specific traits to create a community lot.
Career rewards also do not feel as robust as they did with the base careers of the Sims 4. The reward for the Floral Design branch, for example is the same florist bench you could buy in-game; nothing high-end like the piano for musicians. Sims with higher-end careers should feel and play as such; as their role in the Sims community would certainly be known.
I’d love to see a difficulty setting (like: free play/easy/medium/hard/super hard) that would make the over all gameplay more challenging.
My idea of a more challenging difficulty level would make items more expensive & more difficult to obtain, making career promotions harder to obtain (maybe with more criteria’s or goals to achieve a promotion), making less money in careers as well and making crafted/foraged items worth less when sold.
Skill gaining in general could also take longer in a more difficult setting.
Having a more challenging social system would be a fantastic improvement as well & could be its own set of difficulty settings or apart of the above money system difficulty settings.
For me a more challenging social system would look like making it more difficult to build friendships & romantic relationships by simply just making it take longer to gain positive & romantic points. Also, when inviting sims to hang out or go on dates or join clubs ect could result in a % chance that they’d decline. I’d also really enjoy it if a difficulty setting could make it nearly impossible to make friends/romantic relationships with sims who don’t have similar traits or have opposing traits, or maybe a % that a sim won’t like you for no good reason lol. That is more realistic and would really make some aspirations like popularity, and careers like fame, more of a challenge than just a sim description.
Making enemies or bad impressions could also be either easier to do or possibly just a default starting point when first meeting a new sim.
Also having a baby could be more challenging by having to convince the spouse (maybe not always, but sometimes). Also, making a small chance that woohoo will result in an unplanned pregnancy would be a fun realistic challenge.
Another idea for social difficulty settings would be that the player’s household sims may not want to do whatever it is we’re trying to get them to do. Not so much on a micro level like doing dishes, but when attempting certain careers/aspirations or making friends/getting married & having children could be more difficult for the played household sims if those sims have opposing traits. As in, on a higher difficulty setting, if a sim has the loaner trait it would be much more difficult to get them to build fame or make friends, and any career they’re in would make any socializing more difficult or take longer to do.
The lot trait challenges are amazing and id love to see more of those, especially the “off the grid” type as that feels the most realistic.
Thanks again for listening! I very much appreciate it!
I believe the key area where The Sims 4 lacks depth in it's gameplay is the lack of a memory system.
A lot of people have said they feel there aren't enough consequences in the game, however I personally feel that without memories, there aren't any. Emotion buffs and sentiments work in the short term, but our sims seem to forget everything that's happened to them as soon as the sentiment or buff disappears, leaving no real consequence or evidence of most interactions.
If a sim makes a new friend, they should have a memory of that! If a sim has a baby, gets married, loses a loved one, attends a festival, etc, that should stay with them forever! Sims should automatically remember these interactions and events for the rest of their life.
If I as the player could go to a tab and see all my sims memories and look back on the things my sim has done and what they've accomplished, that would bring so much more depth to the game. Sims could even be able to reminisce and talk about these events, maybe elder sims could share stories about their old memories with their grandchildren!
I don't even know, why I am writing this since I've gone back into playing Sims 3 and I don't think I'll return anytime soon. But maybe I'll tell you at least why, it can be considered as feedback if you will.
In the long run, The Sims 4 is just too boring, too safe, too childish and way too sweet. It lacks depth, personality and challenge. It even lacks signature Sims game humor that made it hilarious and unique back in the day as well as delivered it's players many hours of fun.
I do miss supernatural gameplay a lot, even though Sims 4 has the best vampires of the bunch, I can't and won't argue with that.
I also miss dark, gloomy and mysterious worlds like Midnight Hollow and Moonlight Falls from the Sims 3, whereas Sims 4 only has Forgotten Hollow that is claustrophobically small, otherwise the worlds in the Sims 4 are all cutie rainbow meadows for children, just like everything else in this game at this point and nothing bad or at least exciting ever happens there.
I truly wish you would take in account that adults are (or in my case were) your customers too, but I know you won't and it is truly sad.
The second is story progression! Households that have been played with but aren't the active household should still progress beyond just aging. They should build skills, make friends, advance in careers and school, start romantic relationships (based on the attraction system!), and have kids without the player telling them to. I do think there should be a way to turn story progression off if it gets implemented, the same way aging can be turned off. I think story progression is something that would benefit most players, both people who play with one household only and those who do rotational play. It's hard to micromanage an entire save's worth of sims, especially if you're planning to do several generations in one save and need to make sure new sims are being born. I hope that makes sense and I hope you'll consider it! Thanks!
I have some ideas for improvements that I’d like to see in The Sims 4:
1. Changes to Relationship Gains and Socializing: It’s easy to become friends or romantic partners in The Sims 4. Currently, taking a few selfies with a Sim boots relationships way too fast. I’ve gotten married on the first day because the current relationship gains are generous. Traits don’t even impact the gain of friendship or romance. I love for Loner, Self-Absorbed, or Mean Sims to have a harder time with romance or making friends. Sims that have the Confident or Outgoing trait should have an easier time being social. Sims who have similar traits or lifestyles should be easier to befriend.
Befriending Sims who are opposites should be a challenge. Cheating, arguments, sharing successful platonic or romantic moments need to have more impact. These should influence how Sims interact with other Sims they have a history with. A Mean Sim who’s on good terms with another Sim should never be mean to that particular Sim. Mean Sims should be mean to Sims they don’t know or dislike autonomously. Sims shouldn’t talk in places like the Bathroom. I want Sims to sit bar seating, tables, benches, or away from doors to have conversations. I also feel Sims who are on an outing with you should be more focused on your Sim rather than random objects on the Lot. They should stop wandering away from your Sim to read books or to talk to other Sims. If a Sim should need to take care of their Hunger or Bladder need, I'd like for conversations to pause. When a Sim has satisfied a need, that Sim should come back to your Sim and continue the conversation.
2. Random Sims: First off on this topic, I want them to be less likely to interrupt a date on a public lot by talking to my Sim. Random Sims interrupt these social outings are a hassle and it ruins the story I’m trying to tell. I’d love to take my Sims out and enjoy the game world without the constant interruptions. This would be a game-changer. Celebrity Sims should rarely travel outside of Del Sol Valley. Celebrity Sims are disruptive. They draw so much attention that it’s troublesome to keep a Sim you are talking to engaged with your Sim.
I won't add to a lot of stuff already here and with which I agree but.......
Please don't convert this into an RPG like GTA and also don't bring excess violence and murder into it. Detection, Agatha Christ wise is fine but GTW could be improved for that! If you do anything anything like this do it as an additional Expansion pack so that we don't have to buy it if we hate that sort of thing.
We need a proper cemetery. Where Sims can put their dead relatives, mourn properly and then go home to carry on having paid their proper respects and be happy again, even have a "Wake" to celebrate their lives! If you had a ghost on your home lot you might be able to search for their urns and set them free there. The Paranormal Investigator could find the urns for you or you could become one to search yourself. If you do introduce Zombies those investigators could help get rid of them too.
Make those secret worlds more liveable in. How about being an immigrant on the Alien world in GTW instead of them integrating with us?
As someone who has the full set, make it worth while to buy the Expansions and other packs by extending your Base Game updates to make more links to them. Otherwise you are making me feel that you are getting more and more apologetic for adding to the game at all. Be proud of what you have achieved so far. I'm getting a bit fed up with this free catering to those who only bought the Base Game at £5 when I bought it and all the packs, since The Sims (original) at full price.
Remember and don't alienate your loyal fanbase who tend to only play this game and few others.
PS: Your Simple Life challenges in Cottage Living are the sort of thing that is needed. Might stop Simmers going at 3 speed all the time! Got to think things out properly.
[b]Wants & Fears[/b]
Bring back the “wants & fears system”. It adds depth and we can choose which wants/fears to ignore and which we lock to fulfill. Obviously the wants/fears are based on the Sims personality and aspiration. This makes Sims feel more unique.
The whims system doesn’t work as well and feels useless to me. You did a great job with the the lifestyle system, this was a step in the right way. I enjoy playing more after this was added!
[b]Memory system[/b]
Bring back the memory system for milestones. Not just so I can keep track of what my Sim life is like (if I didn’t play for a while with that family I forget the story I was telling) but also for my sim to remember who cheated on them and should not be trusted again? Making a romantic relationship more difficult with that sim. Or maybe they don’t trust any romantic interest for a while after being cheated on? The whims are too shallow and only take a few hours.
[b]Relationships[/b]
Make it possible to have one-way relationships. Not all feelings should be mutual! One Sim should be able to be in love without having those feelings returned. Sims can crush on a celeb without having those feelings returned. Maybe they broke up with their ex and they hate them for cheating but the ex still loves them because the other sim did nothing wrong? This should relate to the wants and fears system. Wanting an ex back. Wanting to be friends again. Wanting to marry that celeb. Fearing rejection of ex. Suggest to “try again”. A romantic sim would be more willing to take back an ex.
[b]Turn on and turn offs[/b]
It feels like every Sim can now connect with every Sim. I want to chose their preferences , if they only like men, women, or both. Or maybe they don’t care about gender at all but only about hair color or what kind of job a sim has? Or is this sim attracted to celebrities? This is so much more realistic and makes relationships feel less random. Turn on’s will make it very easy to fall in love (although it might be only be one Sim in love with the other and the feelings are not mutual) but it will still be possible to fall in love with Sims who don’t have those qualities/traits/looks. Turn offs will make it very,very hard to make it into a romantic relationship.
[b]Baby’s and teens[/b]
Please fix baby’s and teens, I can’t make you understand how much it ruins my game the way they are now. Both feel unrealistic at the moment and are no fun to play with. my teen should not look like an adult sim. The baby is an object... it feels shallow playing like his. Toddlers could be better too, having wants and fears would definitely help with that.
[b]Detailed behavior [/b]
Behavior should be more detailed like in TS2 and TS3. Cuddle in bed, small things like that made it more realistic. It’s what we miss in the game now, the small little details the previous games had. More special interactions for different relationships. Make soms actions only unlockable with certain levels of friendship/romantic levels. It has that a little now but it should be more like this, make it feel like we have to work for it. It shouldn’t be so easy with every sim. And please bring back Sims really dancing together and slow dancing.
At last, and I know this might be difficult and I can live without it. But I just loved to play with different family’s in the same timeline and their lives would continue (make sure we can disable the feature too). I would come back and my sim would have a new relationship (based on their wants and fears!) or got married, have a baby. LIFE just happened. It’s those fun little surprises that really made THe Sims so great.
I would like to see a preteens aging phase in the Sims 4 base game because I noticed a difference in myself from childhood to middle school (therefore adding a middle school). I feel there are a lot of opportunities for preteens to express more of a personality in comparison to just being a child prior to becoming a teenager. Like real kids, I feel like seeing a change in our children to preteen to teenager would be such a nostalgic presence. Also, I feel that preteens and teenagers should have more personalities as well as more extracurricular activities such as dance, choir, football, etc. When I was in high school I participated in dance, soccer, choir, and so on but none of this is represented in the sims 4 which I feel could really add to the gameplay and personalities of preteen and teen sims. I also feel that there should be proms and middle school dances where preteen and teen sims can socialize. Preteens and teens can go stag where they dance with their friends or they could go with their crushes (only for middle school) and teens could dance with their partners. Lastly, I feel the base game should add more schools since it’s not very realistic, in my opinion, that all the sim kids go to the same school. I feel like the base game should provide two schools per age group where the families can choose where they want to send their kids based on what skills the children, (preteens), and teens gain.
With depth in the game for me is with the kids and babies in game, I would like for my sims to have a deeper sentiment with the babies like in real life, be able to cook while carrying the baby and there be consecuenses. Also for example baby with first word did she/he say mamma or dadda first? For kids when they go to school it would be fun for a school bus to pick them up just like in the sims 3 just seeing the action gives more depth to the game, they can have prom, and school bake sales, even if its just a rabbit hole, but it creates the experience. Pregnancy, they need more depth besides just having morning sickness, there are many things that happen to women during pregnancy good and bad, it would be nice to have some in game. This is what I have in mind at the moment and I hope you understood my faulty grammar in english. Hope you all have a lovely day! 💕
We can choose more relationships in CAS for our sims example, grandparents, aunts, uncles, foster parents, cousins etc without having to kill the parents etc for the relationship to take effect
More events, holidays like summer vacation, winter break etc
Would love to see more careers especially work at home careers, more courses for university and maybe an option to just take part time courses
CAS would love to have sliders for hair and eyes like we do for make up
More aspirations, traits and a new section like the likes/dislikes for allergies, phobies, diets etc instead having them as traits
More traits for YA to elder
We can adjust the height weight size of body, arms, legs etc without having to use mods
More careers that we can go with our sim
babies are no longer objects and the aging of our sims is more slower
Would love more supernatural creatures and the aliens mermaids be more like the vampires and spell casters
Along with what others have mentioned before mine and what I have this will give our sims more personality etc
Able to search the gallery for # of bathrooms, bedrooms or even stories and if tiny you can search if micro, tiny or small
Search households by supernatural or only sims no supernaturals
If you consider this a wish list I understand or not able to do without rewriting codes and a time consuming process