Forum Announcement, Click Here to Read More From EA_Cade.

The Sims 4 Community Voted Stuff Pack Deep Dive: Unlocking Knitted Clothing!

«1
SimGuruConorSimGuruConor Posts: 16 SimGuru
edited March 5 in Nominated Threads
Hello Simmers! SimGuruConor, lead designer for The Sims 4 Community Stuff Pack here. I hope everyone is staying safe in these crazy times (Thankfully there's plenty of great videogames out right now to keep us occupied. You know what I’m talking about!).

Today, let's take a deep dive into one of our new gameplay systems, the Create-A-Sim Knitting Unlock System! Please note that this pack is still in development and things can (and will!) change between now and when the pack is released.

As many of you know, most outfits are already unlocked by default in The Sims 4. With the exception of some clothing rewards, most everything is readily available for all Sims to wear. This helps you tell the story you want to tell right out of the box, but I didn’t feel this system was ideal for a pack designed around Sims knitting their own clothing.

For knitted clothing like sweaters and beanies, Sims will have to create - and unlock - them through gameplay. Once you have finished crafting a knitted project it will be in your Sim’s inventory. Select Add to Wardrobe to unlock that clothing piece for the entire household. So if your knitter extraordinaire Sim knits a really fabulous sweater, everyone in their family can enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Makes sense right? Cool. But here’s the fun part!

We’re making the crafted clothing visible in Create-a-Sim before you have unlocked it. This way you can browse all the potential knitted items before you craft them. This will help guide you on your Sim’s knitting journey, and show you which skill levels are required to craft certain recipes. We’ve never given visibility to locked Create-A-Sim items before, and I’m really excited to get this in game for our knittables!

To help illustrate what I mean, here is a concept our UX team (more about them below!) mocked-up.

2x5w5nriwdhe.png

Something like this felt absolutely necessary for a pack heavily focused on crafting clothing, and it helps our knitted clothing feel special and unique.

Alternatively, you don't have to unlock any clothing for your household. Maybe you just enjoy gifting sweaters to others? Maybe you only donate socks to charity? Maybe you’d like to frog the entire thing and start again? Whatever the case, knitted clothing will stay in your Sim’s inventory until you decide what's best for it.

I plan to devote a proper forum post on the other neat things you can do with knitted items at a later date. But for now, how about an early preview for some of the knitted clothing inventory icons? Spoilers below!

6npfkkyrn9l9.png

Now I’d like to introduce Justin Allen, our UX Designer for this pack. I did a little Q&A with Justin to give you some additional insights into the development process.

Conor: Can you tell us what UX is, and what it means to be a UX designer?

Justin: In short, UX (User Experience) is designing the over-all experience and flow within a game and its features. We work hard to design the experiences so that many different levels and types of players can enjoy their time while in the world of The Sims. I love knowing that I am part of a passionate team that strives to create the best experience we can for our players. I try to constantly visit YouTube channels and different forums to see what players are enjoying and what may be frustrating them within The Sims 4. I try to keep that knowledge in mind when designing feature flows.

Conor: What were some challenges you faced while designing the Create-A-Sim Knitting Unlock System?

Justin: The big challenge with the Create-A-Sim Knitting Unlock System was to make it visible and interesting, without it being intrusive or overwhelming. We want players to see the locked items and feel encouraged to explore how to unlock the items. It was also important to us to create a system that can continue to evolve and be utilized with other features in future packs for The Sims 4.

Conor: What is your favorite feature you have ever worked on in The Sims 4?

Justin: I am pretty new to The Sims 4 team (I was working on some other projects within EA before joining Maxis). But, I loved working on the Tiny Living Stuff Pack. It was a fun challenge to design the UI updates to Build Mode, and a lot of fun to play. I am super excited by some things I’m working on that are coming in future packs, but I can’t talk about those right now, sorry! I am very proud to be working on a game that has such active and amazing players.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this peek at what’s happening on our newest Stuff Pack! I’d like to continue sharing little deep-dive posts like this in the future, so keep watching the forums.

Happy Simming,
SimGuruConor

Post edited by EA_Cade on

Comments

  • suzyl3suzyl3 Posts: 513 Member
    This pack looks so good! Can't wait to get it! It looks very interesting! Good job, @SimGuruConor
  • caliposscaliposs Posts: 320 Member
    This pack keeps getting better and better! Loving all the new information! Great job! :smiley:
    he/him
  • LiELFLiELF Posts: 6,439 Member
    Loving this information and I actually really like some of those swatches! Thank you for including black! <3

    (Would love more all-black swatches for kids and toddlers too! ;) )
    #Team Occult
  • DaWaterRatDaWaterRat Posts: 3,351 Member
    Excuse me. That squeal you just heard from the Midwest may well have been me upon seeing those Onsies.

    All of these look great.
  • FreezerBunnyCowplantFreezerBunnyCowplant Posts: 3,957 Member
    edited April 2020
    Great work, but some constructive criticism: I think it‘s weird that the icons for knitted items are drawn instead of a 3D render like all other inventory objects in the game. It‘s just missing consistency!

    6npfkkyrn9l9.png

    How all other objects look (3D):
    latest?cb=20180306121148
    a256aFi.gif
  • luthienrisingluthienrising Posts: 37,617 Member
    This looks great! Thanks for the clothes glimpse :) Lots here for CC designers to start planning recolors for ;) Also, hi Justin!
    EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
  • Simlish_ZombieSimlish_Zombie Posts: 14 New Member
    Are the onesies for babies or toddlers? I suspect toddlers, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that we can at least do that with babies!
  • SimmervilleSimmerville Posts: 11,644 Member
    Looks good!!!

    @FreezerBunnyCowplant I assume the icons will be replaced with 3D later. They are half way in development, there's probably not much to make a 3D thumb of yet, so they draw to see what it should look like.
    Simmerville on Youtube | My blog is updated weekly: Simmerville's Sims<br>a.jpg
  • ListentoToppDoggListentoToppDogg Posts: 2,103 Member
    "So if your knitter extraordinaire Sim knits a really fabulous sweater, everyone in their family can enjoy the fruits of their labor."

    How, when children and toddlers literally only get one thing each (and toddlers got no sweaters)? Knitting one adult sweater surely isn't going to unlock the one sweater children got. That doesn't seem to be the entire family being able to use the project unless you can knit multiple things at once. Is that possible?
  • brookiepeoplesbrookiepeoples Posts: 11 New Member
    @SimGuruConor It is so cool to get to hear about the process and get these sneak peaks!!! I love how you've put so much thought into all of the details and made this pack so full of game play.

    My only thought on CAS is if we can get a few more neutral options? For instance, is it possible to get a toddler onesie that's just a plain white swatch with no animal on it? Or the dress with the sweater to have a swatch with no pattern on the sweater?

    It's probably too late in the game, but regardless the clothes look awesome and I'm very excited about this pack. Once again, thanks for being so open with communication. It's made this process very fun to follow along!
  • bcd87bcd87 Posts: 8 New Member
    These look so cool. Really loving the swatches.
    The children's sweater is my favorite but the swatches do all look pretty feminine. Back when the CAS results were announced Simgurusarah mentioned this would get gender neutral and masculine swatches. Is that sill the case?
  • divanthesimmerdivanthesimmer Posts: 1,462 Member
    edited April 2020
    This looks great! I'm just really hoping that the hats are for all ages (including children and toddlers) and it would be fantastic if the onesies were for babies, too.
    phULnBI.png
    Check out my SimLit blog here: https://ageekylegacy.wordpress.com/
    Follow me on Twitter @divanthesimmer
    Follow me on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/divanthesimmer
    Origin ID: divanthesimmer
  • KaronKaron Posts: 2,332 Member
    "knitter extraordinaire"? I really hope its a hint towards a new aspiration! <3 We really need one aspiration for each skill in the game, and job too.
  • lexus20lexus20 Posts: 1,302 Member
    I wonder if they will add a cheat to unlock them straight away like there is for build/buy mode, since they will be visible in CAS even when locked, and if career clothing will also show up in CAS as locked.
  • sofasimsofasim Posts: 128 Member
    love those swatches
  • Mariefoxprice83Mariefoxprice83 Posts: 8,106 Member
    edited April 2020
    It's great to see the items but I have to admit that I wish we had some more hats to knit.
    Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.
  • x4m1r4x4m1r4 Posts: 3,901 Member
    Thanks for sharing this, The CAS Knitting Unlocking System is an interesting gameplay. Would it be possible if the players can customise their own knitted wear? I think that would be super cool because knitted wear should be all about uniqueness where the outcome should be exclusively belong to a certain household instead of having a similar knitted wear like it's been produced in a mass.

    For example, if household A unlock the yellow knitted sweater, the household B should not have the same, unless, yellow with some patches on, or different design on the sleeves/neck/chest (like how we can customise the pets). With this feature, I'm pretty sure even the community is going to have fun by sharing their knitted wears with each others too (just like how the CC creator do) and perhaps, it's going to be a kick start feature where we can customise the other cloths in the future too.

    Another question is, since the knitted wear is done by the Sims, is there any interaction where the Sims measuring the other Sims like the Style Influencer did?

    Plopsy is another great feature where the Sims can start selling stuff online without having had to own a store. However, since the Sims can open a clothing store, would it be possible if the Sims can start selling the knitted wears too? If yes, do they need to drag the knitted wear to the mannequin or just click an option of gifting/selling the knitted stuffs? I think it would be interesting if the pack and even the future packs can actually integrate with the other packs too, just like the group system (this is a very good system where every pack can be integrated with this feature, as long as the activities are being added - just that, please update us with new icons & rewards, please).

    Anywho, thanks for sharing this! Stay safe.
    OID:- x4m1r4
  • sweetliljasweetlilja Posts: 39 Member
    I would really love to see a sewing machine with similar functionality, and I hope you could add that in a later pack or patch. I wish wish wish, please do that 🙏. My hope is higher now when I know you manage to work this features out in this pack. Shouldn't be so difficult to do something similar.
  • LehmanLegacyLehmanLegacy Posts: 176 Member
    This looks amazing so far, absolutely love the concept and I know it's going to keep my Elder-Sims very busy indeed!
  • midnightpearlmidnightpearl Posts: 6,578 Member
    Great work, but some constructive criticism: I think it‘s weird that the icons for knitted items are drawn instead of a 3D render like all other inventory objects in the game. It‘s just missing consistency!

    6npfkkyrn9l9.png

    How all other objects look (3D):
    latest?cb=20180306121148

    That's not the final look though FreezerBunnyCowplant, once it's all done, then you'll see it like all the other objects in the game, that picture of knitted clothing is only reference, not the final look.
  • midnightpearlmidnightpearl Posts: 6,578 Member
    Hello Simmers! SimGuruConor, lead designer for The Sims 4 Community Stuff Pack here. I hope everyone is staying safe in these crazy times (Thankfully there's plenty of great videogames out right now to keep us occupied. You know what I’m talking about!).

    Today, let's take a deep dive into one of our new gameplay systems, the Create-A-Sim Knitting Unlock System! Please note that this pack is still in development and things can (and will!) change between now and when the pack is released.

    As many of you know, most outfits are already unlocked by default in The Sims 4. With the exception of some clothing rewards, most everything is readily available for all Sims to wear. This helps you tell the story you want to tell right out of the box, but I didn’t feel this system was ideal for a pack designed around Sims knitting their own clothing.

    For knitted clothing like sweaters and beanies, Sims will have to create - and unlock - them through gameplay. Once you have finished crafting a knitted project it will be in your Sim’s inventory. Select Add to Wardrobe to unlock that clothing piece for the entire household. So if your knitter extraordinaire Sim knits a really fabulous sweater, everyone in their family can enjoy the fruits of their labor.

    Makes sense right? Cool. But here’s the fun part!

    We’re making the crafted clothing visible in Create-a-Sim before you have unlocked it. This way you can browse all the potential knitted items before you craft them. This will help guide you on your Sim’s knitting journey, and show you which skill levels are required to craft certain recipes. We’ve never given visibility to locked Create-A-Sim items before, and I’m really excited to get this in game for our knittables!

    To help illustrate what I mean, here is a concept our UX team (more about them below!) mocked-up.

    2x5w5nriwdhe.png

    Something like this felt absolutely necessary for a pack heavily focused on crafting clothing, and it helps our knitted clothing feel special and unique.

    Alternatively, you don't have to unlock any clothing for your household. Maybe you just enjoy gifting sweaters to others? Maybe you only donate socks to charity? Maybe you’d like to frog the entire thing and start again? Whatever the case, knitted clothing will stay in your Sim’s inventory until you decide what's best for it.

    I plan to devote a proper forum post on the other neat things you can do with knitted items at a later date. But for now, how about an early preview for some of the knitted clothing inventory icons? Spoilers below!

    6npfkkyrn9l9.png

    Now I’d like to introduce Justin Allen, our UX Designer for this pack. I did a little Q&A with Justin to give you some additional insights into the development process.

    Conor: Can you tell us what UX is, and what it means to be a UX designer?

    Justin: In short, UX (User Experience) is designing the over-all experience and flow within a game and its features. We work hard to design the experiences so that many different levels and types of players can enjoy their time while in the world of The Sims. I love knowing that I am part of a passionate team that strives to create the best experience we can for our players. I try to constantly visit YouTube channels and different forums to see what players are enjoying and what may be frustrating them within The Sims 4. I try to keep that knowledge in mind when designing feature flows.

    Conor: What were some challenges you faced while designing the Create-A-Sim Knitting Unlock System?

    Justin: The big challenge with the Create-A-Sim Knitting Unlock System was to make it visible and interesting, without it being intrusive or overwhelming. We want players to see the locked items and feel encouraged to explore how to unlock the items. It was also important to us to create a system that can continue to evolve and be utilized with other features in future packs for The Sims 4.

    Conor: What is your favorite feature you have ever worked on in The Sims 4?

    Justin: I am pretty new to The Sims 4 team (I was working on some other projects within EA before joining Maxis). But, I loved working on the Tiny Living Stuff Pack. It was a fun challenge to design the UI updates to Build Mode, and a lot of fun to play. I am super excited by some things I’m working on that are coming in future packs, but I can’t talk about those right now, sorry! I am very proud to be working on a game that has such active and amazing players.

    I hope you’ve enjoyed this peek at what’s happening on our newest Stuff Pack! I’d like to continue sharing little deep-dive posts like this in the future, so keep watching the forums.

    Happy Simming,
    SimGuruConor

    I cannot wait for this stuff pack, honestly this whole process of choosing within the community is awesome, Simmers should get the opportunity to do Game Packs too, I'm sure there a vast many simmers out there can give you plenty of idea's for a Game Pack title but I'm dreaming big again. Thanks SimGuru's for doing this and look forward to this stuff pack and many more packs :)
  • PixiesAdventuresPixiesAdventures Posts: 6 New Member
    Omg, I am in love with the beanies!
  • catloverplayercatloverplayer Posts: 93,362 Member
    edited April 2020
    I love the winter clothing with scarves. That was well needed. Oh and the new turtlenecks.
  • mimilu04mimilu04 Posts: 83 Member
    I am really loving how you guys are sharing more if the development process this time around, and all I am seeing so far is super promising!

    My only hope is that we end up getting a more neutral additional piece for kids, because the one shown here is very feminine looking with the lace part. After the vote results I had hope there would be ar least some neutral swatches, but I know this is still an ongoing work, so I am keeping my fingers crossed!
    Also would love at least one "ugly sweater" <3
  • mustenimusteni Posts: 5,403 Member
    edited April 2020
    I love the winter clothing with scarves. That was well needed. Oh and the new turtlenecks.

    Except once again the women version has half sleeves, making it hard to use as winter clothing.

    (I get that's the item we voted for, but this problem is reoccurring so it frustruates me.)

Leave a Comment

BoldItalicStrikethroughOrdered listUnordered list
Emoji
Image
Align leftAlign centerAlign rightToggle HTML viewToggle full pageToggle lights
Drop image/file
Return to top