i'd just like to know why the erratic trait still has a straitjacket icon. it's extremely derogatory towards mental health, especially considering that the game has no actual mental health representation. so the use of a literal symbol of institutionalization implies that sims with unpredictable emotions are crazy or need to be confined by straitjackets, and it doesn't sit right with me. it makes one of the few traits we do have in the base game unusable for me, since i don't really want to feel like a game i'm meant to enjoy is mocking mental illness, especially since the sims claims it cares about inclusivity and representation. it's in pretty poor taste.
It has recently been brought to my attention that the game does not know what to do when two different occult sims have a hybrid baby. for example if a vampire sim and mermaid sim have a baby it’s very glitchy and you cannot control both of the powers. I would like to see the developed and hybrid sims become a thing so that they are able to be in control of both sides of their powers.
hi as a player I find the sims 4 is great but need's more adventure like more stuff for sims to do and do together like maybe a pack like Hobbies/Activites game pack please that and generations o:)
Hi Team. I'd like to start by saying I wish the sims outside of my household could live lives also. Get married on their own. Have children on their own. Break up. As it stands, eventually the towns become empty or just get new families to replace the old ones and my main family can never have generational friends or feuds. Sims outside the household need significantly more autonomy. I would also like to ask that you do more with the supernatural aspect of the game. Mermaids, Aliens, and Plantsims were all lazily created. Mermaids don't even get a version of "Atlantis". WHERE ARE THE WEREWOLVES?!?
This might be an unpopular opinion but I kind of wish that unplayed sims went through their lives more autonomously, maybe even making families on their own. I dislike the automatically generated townie families as the only answer to a lack of uncontrolled town progression, because it just adds even more people with no connection to the rest of the town into the game. I'm pretty sure that there was a setting for toggling story progression in unplayed sims in the sims 3, so something like that would be a nice addition, along with maybe a setting to stop the game from generating townies. Right now, the game can feel too sandbox like, with a lack of consequences or changes in the environment that aren't directly willed by the player, and that can make it hard to maintain interest in it for long periods. I know the idea of this sims was to give the player as much control as possible over the world, but that really hinders any meaningful accomplishments. On to more specific thoughts, I think that the some of the occult life states need a rework. Vampires and spellcasters both are as good as I can imagine, are plenty of fun in game, but aliens and mermaids have consistent issues when playing, and don't have much else going for them otherwise. Making an alien via genetics often will occasionally cause one to be born without a human form, and when that happens, the alien's actual form that the player spent time perfecting becomes the disguise, and the true form is randomized. Almost any discrepancies in an aliens form causes them to irreversably randomize, and I feel like that's one of the worst things that can happen in a game prioritizing customization. Mermaid tails break very easily as well, but that one is purely just a bug. Gameplay wise though, the only difference between these occult sims and regular sims is an appearance change, and a 5 new interactions. Vampires have a new set of worries and issues with sunlight and thirst, while spellcasters can make any sim feel overwhelmed powerful outright, but the other two just get a couple new mischief actions and maybe a utility action. It'd be nice to see some sort of change like aliens can learn about the science and culture of sixam with alien specific space missions, or maybe mermaids get access to a couple of exclusive skills related to mermaid activities that they can actually build upon. That would be nice. Another thing I've noticed, since I'm just listing things, is that some aspects of gameplay have been getting removed. For instance plants used to have specific growing cycles with some taking longer to bloom than others, but now they all bloom at the same time every day. And alien human hybrids used to have access to some of the alien powers, but now all my hybrids can do is the handshake. I've seen other players mention removed content as well, and I just have to say that it's a little frustrating. Last thing, and this is my most specific one, is the family tree. Sims still disappear from it despite the patch in the past, but now glitch reports regarding the family tree are no longer getting screened. As in "genealogy" as a category is mentioned as a category of glitch report that won't be screened. The ability to look upon past generations of sims is one of the only remaining things in the game that can really feel like a long-term accomplishment, and if all record of it gets culled at some point, it just feels like some of that time was wasted. I don't know if the system needs to switch to some sort of static photograph in the tree to save data, or if you'd need to require the player to formally select which sims don't get culled at the sacrifice of performance, but please give something about this. I don't know how to or want to have to resort to getting mods (it feels like cheating to me, and it's also me having to depend on the generosity of a stranger to enjoy a game that I've already spent 150+ dollars on), but if I can get a solid answer on if anything is even under consideration, or if that particular aspect of the game has been abandoned, at least I would know that it's the only option.
Really like the game though, and keep up the good work!
To be honest I've been find this game stall and repetitive and needed to take a break from game and posting. I feel like the community come with more effective way on what the game should be and the Sims focus on the wrong aspects or miscue idea on what the community wants so it come across badly executed and not understanding the nuance on what customer want and why they want it. I've made several post of ideas i think game could implement to improve and most have been done or executed not so well. I'm saying the Sims team has to do all what we post however their is general consensus on what the community wants. I also feel the feedback from the sims forum is the least represented and taking into consideration in my opinion when its meant to be site just for that. Several discussion I was planning to make I put on a backburner since the KIT announcement. I was already thinking on doing d discussion on worlds packs but I'm glad to know other were on the same wavelength as me. Not everyone is on all of the same social media so the sims should all with each social media ; twitter, twitch, YouTube, sims forum etc
I only post Sim topics on The Sims Forum and (Blogspot)/Blogger however planning to move to YouTube
Kits
1. Why are are the price of kits more in other country on oneside AUS $7 in another country it's not a equal conversion rate so they are paying more e.g. £5 =$7 approx when it should cost £3.60 approc in the UK. It's not fair to and insulting to the Sims 4 nationwide customer base.
2. Kits could've been a great way to pick and choose between existing packs to select individual items (i count counter set as one item) you wanted from those packs which would've of been actual choice not the perception of choice. 100 points makes one Kit pack. By the function type of item the points stay the same no matter what the design of the item is along as the item is in the same category e.g. both CAS & Build items = 3 points, Animation items = 7 points, Gameplay = 10 points worlds = 30 points. The point value doesn't change by the aesthetic of the the items.
You get to pick and choose across stuff and game packs (and now unfortunately kits even though this is how kits should've been)
3. The way how Kits were done was ineffective and is just a mini stuff pack that he you add then up cost more than a stuff pack they should cost at max £3.33 US dollars.
Packs
Their needs to be more distinguished differences between the packs.
Expansions packs: Expansion should not only cover all the needs of a stuff pack and game pack and multiple gameplay features and animated items but a element that impacts the entire not what world you are in and all should come with worlds
Game packs: are done pretty well and should stick to have a core game pack features based on the theme they are doing
Stuff packs: they needs to be more stuff and not all have to follow a basic theme they need to be more adventurous with their ideas. keep the animated core items of the pack.
Custom packs: How Kits should be revised. theirs a couple of methods one with world packs and we need more worlds in the Sims 4 and secondly pick'n'choose items, animated items, gameplay and worlds across game packs, stuff packs and custom world packs.
Misc content
1. Moving pack content to base game: Instead adding to base game new content and devaluing previous pack but still charging at the same price. It wouldn't be so bad if supplement the content missing by adding to the packs want was taken so the pack has a fair value, or if the content taken wasn't a core factor of pack e.g. the hot tub fiasco. If the sims had either supplemented perfect patio with a underground hot tub or add underground hot tub instead I don't think the backlash would be so heavy. Taking the minimum of CAS and Build items and just adding base game not even adding new swatches to these existing items is taking advantage of customer need to feel the game with such basic stuff to a barebones to later done the line put it in base game it makes it seem that it wasn't worth that price to begin with. I also think they put take the wrong type of items from packs, items that a player probably wont use regularly e.g. player would more like use a swing instead a hot-tub for parks and house and the swing set added to base game could be couple swing, single swing ( that attach to ant tree or ceiling) tyre swing, tree swing, so still using same of similar animation but different design element that can still be universally used.
2. The Sims 4 taste level many times seems outed and not current with the styles of today this includes both build/buy and CAS.
3. basic stuff should already be in base game in my opinion so the sims can focus on bigger themes for packs
4. The hairs don't show a range differences between each pack on a slight change between hairs. I'm mainly going to be focusing on ethnic hairstyle, their are so many ethnic that are more adventurous and current which the sim team is not using. like butterfly locs, Popsmoke braids beaded braids, bantu knots, rubberband method etc. The sims need to look at post on Pinterest for ideas here some example:
Hello Sims Team, First of all, I appreciate that you are trying to listen to the players of your game. I think this is the right step to improving the game so that all players will feel included and represented. However, I will give my two cents on what I believe could be added/improved. And my apologies if anything has already been said!
- Adding pronouns. I think this should have been in place since the gender update years ago. In 2021, there should always be an option to be referred to by the pronouns that you decide to go by. At a minimum, “they/them” should be included, but it would be nice if in CAS there is an option to manually write the pronouns that you want your sim to go by as not everyone uses “he/him, she/her, or they/them”.
- Choosing difficulty settings for EPs and GPs. For certain packs such as the Paranormal pack, there could be a function in the settings menu to allow it to be harder or easier to deal with hauntings, etc. This could also work for packs such as Dine Out where you can make it easier or harder to get 5 stars in your restaurant. I understand if this could not be added because adding this many settings for each pack might be too much, but I think it would make for more interesting gameplay.
- Kits should not be as expensive as they are. They are over $6 CAD which I believe is way overpriced for what you are getting with them. The Country Kitchen furniture was very nice in that kit, but I can find similar sets by custom content creators for free. Bust the Dust kit seems like something that could have been included with Cats and Dogs but was left out and now you’re trying to sell it again. The Throwback Fit Kit is not my style of clothing so I don’t have an opinion on that kit except that there are also thousands of beautiful custom content clothes that are also available for free.
- Work more with Custom Content creators. The free update with the CC creators was one of my favourite things ever added to the Sims 4. I think it was a brilliant idea and these creators play the game and listen to the community so I think more collaborations with them would be a great idea!
- Fix the emotion system. My sim’s parents will die, and they will feel sad until they watch the comedy channel and suddenly, they are happy in a matter of minutes? Emotions feel useless when things like that happen. If a close relative dies, sims should stay sad for at least a few days, or if they get married, they should stay happy for a few days (unless they have the non-committal trait!). This would make the game feel more realistic.
- Story Progression. I think this is one of the most important things that could improve gameplay for every kind of player. Currently, it feels like you live in a small bubble where only your family progresses with life, but it would make it feel so much more alive if townies could also get married, get new jobs, have kids alongside your families!
- Focus on all aspects of an EP. What I mean by this is that currently, it seems that each EP focuses on one aspect: a beautiful world, amazing gameplay, or very nice CAS items. While each thing is great, it makes each EP feel like it's lacking something. For instance, Snowy Escape has an amazing world, but the gameplay feels shallow. Magnolia Promenade has an interesting concept of being a shopping district, but the world is lacklustre. Therefore, I believe each EP could be better if everything was worked on equally!
- A Colour Wheel in CAS. If pets already have a colour wheel, why can’t this be added for human/occult sims? Especially for hair colour. I understand if for clothing this could be more challenging to add, but since it's already in the game, what is it that is stopping the team from adding it to other sims?
- Objects are too big! Especially end tables, and the microscope, and the cupcake machine. Why?
- LGBTQ+ representation!
- The Sims 4 is too Americanized. I am a part of an indigenous group in Canada, and it sucks seeing indigenous groups from around the world not included in the game. It is amazing seeing Asian representation with Snowy Escape, and semi-European representation with Get Together, but the majority of the packs/worlds scream American culture to me.
- Generations? I understand this isn’t a wish list forum. But a good first step to fixing the gameplay of this game is making each life stage have more gameplay options and new interactions. Babies shouldn’t be confined to their cribs. Teens should have prom. Adults should have midlife crises. There is a well full of content for you to dive into here. And I guarantee everyone would be happy with this EP.
Final thoughts: We have so many nice CAS items, and many pretty worlds to play in but in the end, gameplay needs to be improved. Fixing traits and adding sentiments are a nice start but I still stick with playing the base game Sims 3 over Sims 4 lately because it has so many nice gameplay features (and I don’t even mean the open world or cars!). I hope this forum helps you guide the path of TS4, and you make the improvements that many players want to see.
I'm glad the skin tones got fixed I feel one step closer to finally being able to feel represented in the game I was just wondering can we have more black hair styles more braids hair cuts we are so much more then a big afro or straight back braids or dreads also clothes I know you can't just rip off name brand clothes but the clothes you put in the game I never wear in my life I feel we need to be represented more
I've been playing The Sims since I was a little girl. I am from Ukraine and unfortunately I couldn't play in my native language, which is really important not only for me but for my friends and other citizens of Ukraine, as well. As you know, we are fighting every day for our language and we will be extremely glad if you support a localization of the game. There are a lot of people and young translators who are willing to translate The Sims into Ukrainian. Please, don't ignore us.
I think it's extremely important to address what the Sims team's vision is for the game and what the players want because there is a clear divide between the two. It would be nice to confirm a couple of things like which features are not possible and will never come, to manage expectations and lower disappointment. The sims 4 is clearly heading in a different direction than other games and most players don't like it but it was never addressed why sims 4 is more of a movie set rather than a life simulation game. This is not a negative thing, some people like the dollhouse aspect but for the players who want life simulation that the previous titles gave, it becomes confusing and disappointing. Nothing happens on its own, the players have to go out of their way for a non-ideal event to occur in their games. Most of the player base wants "fears", "wants" "chemistry system" "memories". All of these are meaningful things that make our sims feel alive. The sims 4 gives too much control for a lot of players to the point where the game becomes lifeless like a movie set, not a living world, and the sims feel more like actors than real people.
It would be really helpful if the team addressed why this is and if it's going to change or not. This is a HUGE reason for the negativity because players are waiting for these features that may never even come.
I've been playing The Sims since I was a little girl. I am from Ukraine and unfortunately I couldn't play in my native language, which is really important not only for me but for my friends and other citizens of Ukraine, as well. As you know, we are fighting every day for our language and we will be extremely glad if you support a localization of the game. There are a lot of people and young translators who are willing to translate The Sims into Ukrainian. Please, don't ignore us.
Hello, First of all, I apologize for my English, as I don't speak English, I use a translator. I've been playing sims for a year, I have all the extensions and I find this game really powerful. I don't care about modifying the babies, having a farm pack, werewolves or cars. The game is beautiful the way it is. I have two questions about the sims management though...
Do you plan to improve the management of "get together" groups? I use a lot of groups to populate community places, limit the creation of PNC and create stories automatically (for example group A hates group B, but they always cross paths because they have the same favorite bar, and it's a fight). But the management is not easy, you have to play the group leader to update the group, add or remove members, its favorite place and actions. This slows down the use of a great tool to animate my game.
Would it be possible to create an option so that the game does not create PNC anymore? Or inject characters from the gallery created with love by other players? Because PNC are PNC... ugly!
Is it planned to work on the family links of uncles and aunts, cousins? To create specific actions with family members?
I also like the 411s and appreciate being given the opportunity to add things on my mind and concerns which are as follows:
Subjects to consider for the next 411
1. Are they planning on adding more interactions between toddlers and children?
2. Are they planning on adding more base game lot types for teens, children and toddlers?
3. What base game interactions are they planning to add or improve?
4. Do they plan to add another empty world like Newcrest to the base game?
5. Being that making and eating meals is a base game feature, discuss how a Sim autonomously decides what to do when food is already in the refrigerator. I’m curious as to how this is balanced if this is not a known bug or something. I typically have two refrigerators when I’m able to build a big kitchen. So, I don't understand why a Sim would make a whole new meal when they already have food in the refrigerator.
6. Now that they’ve sped up the eating time, are they planning on tweaking eating speed when calling everyone to a meal (family meals at home) is selected. This would allow everyone time to get to the table and sit down before other members are finished with their food.
I’d prefer not to have to control every Sim in my household when I want them to sit down to a family meal—something I now have to do (if I want them all there) since this change. Also, as soon as I put my toddler in the high chair, their meal is gone in seconds and the rest of the family hasn’t even arrived to sit down. This is also important when one is having guest over and calling them to the meal.
As part of an Asian household, I find the lack of interactions between family members really unrealistic! Particularly parents and their children, and I don't just mean YA Parents and Toddlers. I mean Parents and their children, including the adults!
While in the West, it is normal for people to leave their parents when they are 18 its not for us. I find it sad when my sim becomes a young adult and moves out of university their own parents just treat them like a friend. There are no special interactions or anything! It would be really nice to see those, I think it would be sweet too if elderly parents still treat their (now adult) children as their babies. Or grandparents secretly spoiling their grandchildren by giving them cash or sweets.
I would really like to see more sibling interactions too - I have a family consisting of 2 parents and their 4 kids (one of every life stage) I just find it so strange when the teen and child sims ask their older (young adult) brother advice as if he was their parent. I know I have the option to turn that off, but it would be nice if there was some sort of code where siblings know that they're each other siblings and interact differently... just like how lovers would autonomously do romantic things you know?
I recently made an open letter of my concerns as far as the direction of The Sims franchise, here: https://mdpthatsme.tumblr.com/post/649967768660213760/dear-laura-miele-i-read-your-recent-interview
But for this thread, which I'm assuming is more discussion about TS4 than a probable Sims 5, I will stay more TS4 oriented.
One of my main concerns is gearing The Sims to E for Everyone, making it more and more simple to be appropriate for children. This makes game play shallow and boring. We had such innovation with CAS and Build/Buy mode from the previous iterations of the series, but in TS4 there's nothing to capture the player for long in Live Mode. It seems TS4 is centered around aesthetics, which is baffling considering we cannot build our own worlds.
Another concern was changing the franchise from life simulation to RPG, which is apparent in packs like Star Wars: Journey to Batuu and Strangerville. While above I mentioned the lack of game play, I do not mean adding action/adventure into the series and instead expanding the sandbox for more life simulation. We have vacation packs, but none of them act like the sims are going on vacations. They are more "solve the mystery of the temple or defeat the evil-doer" This is not life simulation. This is RPG. As I stated in my open letter, "there are endless action/adventure RPG games, many made by EA. There are few life simulation games and only one highly successful, The Sims." Do not replace what makes The Sims special and separate from all the other games out there with point-and-click adventures.
One thing I did not focus on in that open letter was micro-transaction packs. While I understand every company's priority is to make profit (because without capital there is no game), the Kits release after Star Wars: Journey to Batuu was very unsettling because it seemed a waste of resources and opportunities to work on better projects. Star Wars: Journey to Batuu was a pack inappropriate to sims lore entirely. The Kits are items that can easily be integrated into the other types of packs.
The Sims 4 is already a $700 game, but looking back, it is not worth that price because of how depthless it is. Again, we have the aesthetics, but no game play. I think that should be a priority in every game.
Hello dear developers of The Sims 4, I would very much like to see a farm in the game, and of course more family gameplay (toddlers, pillow fights, bachelorette and bachelor parties, an imaginary friend for a child, prom), attractions, Business Shows, fairies and werewolves , phases of the moon. This is all sorely lacking in the game. Thanks in advance.
Hi Sims team! Thanks for this opportunity. We think about you a lot! I just started playing Sims when the pandemic started and honestly its been wonderful. Since I had no experience with versions before Sims 4, I have no sense of missing out on things that people complain about missing from previous games. I take Sims4 on its own terms. I have bought almost all the packs, and play a lot. I follow the community and learn from other players and creators. Its important to state that I think the level of enjoyment and involvement that I have is only possible because of the large community of modders. Although I spend some time building, I am in it for the game play and aim for it to be as realistic as possible. I think in essence if you look at areas where you should grow and improve, the most important ones are in gameplay and improving its depth. If you want to see the path forward, loo at the mods that most serious players use to make the game playable. For thinking adults, the game is not playable in its Vanilla version for any length of time - it is simply too shallow and repetitive. So serious committed players mod it up, and all you have to do is look at the what the most serious and popular modders are producing for game play: story progression, increased depth of emotion, traits, memories, interactions, careers, adult themes, and more difficulty across the board, etc. The gameplay in its vanilla state seems so dumbed down, and aiming for the developmental level of young teens. I do not want tons of more "stuff" in build buy, I want better gameplay with more depth.Its the structure of the game itself that need attention (and all the bugs, and lag) - not cranking out more stuff. Carl of Carl's Sims guides has produced an excellent video recently with some advice for you that I think speaks for a lot of serious players, and is really nuanced and insightful- please check it out. The ability to tell stories in the SIms that represent the diversity of identities is crucial ! Kudos for the steps you have taken- please continue, and let us know how you will address the issue of pronouns in the game, and representing various disabilities. Please seriously re-evaluate how you are representing various life stages, and create updates that allow for more nuance or sub categories - ie young teen and older teen, older middle age, young senior and old old, and create more specific activities, interactions and traits for these. In particular the life stage of elders is shallow and truly ageist. No one wants to play with this age group because you have made them into a shallow, pointless cartoon with no interest. It represents an embarrassing level of ageism, that seems to be escaping people because your players skew younger. You do better with representation when you are listening and learning from the community. What you do in this area truly matters in people's lives. Also please pay attention to the clamoring that tells you to test better prior to release. Most of us would truly rather wait, and have a better product. It really works against you to push a bad product out the door. I financially support modders who are fixing the game for work you should have done- so I am having to pay twice. I am not happy about that. I will not buy any of your kits because they are a clear cash grab that do nothing to address the real things that are lacking in the game. Kits aside, it seems more effort is being made to respond to players and be more transparent- that does matter, and is appreciated.
-More gameplay for teens -More retro clothing & hairstyles -A way to play with only occult sims in a specific world - or maybe even just an occult-only lot trait. -And most importantly, let me assign townies to the NPC jobs like mailmen, etc. I hate the randomly-generated townies made for those jobs. Especially when I spend time editing them through cheats so that they're not registered as 'played sims' but then the game generates more and more constantly anyway.
Comments
i'd just like to know why the erratic trait still has a straitjacket icon. it's extremely derogatory towards mental health, especially considering that the game has no actual mental health representation. so the use of a literal symbol of institutionalization implies that sims with unpredictable emotions are crazy or need to be confined by straitjackets, and it doesn't sit right with me. it makes one of the few traits we do have in the base game unusable for me, since i don't really want to feel like a game i'm meant to enjoy is mocking mental illness, especially since the sims claims it cares about inclusivity and representation. it's in pretty poor taste.
thanks for your time.
It has recently been brought to my attention that the game does not know what to do when two different occult sims have a hybrid baby. for example if a vampire sim and mermaid sim have a baby it’s very glitchy and you cannot control both of the powers. I would like to see the developed and hybrid sims become a thing so that they are able to be in control of both sides of their powers.
Thank you!
On to more specific thoughts, I think that the some of the occult life states need a rework. Vampires and spellcasters both are as good as I can imagine, are plenty of fun in game, but aliens and mermaids have consistent issues when playing, and don't have much else going for them otherwise. Making an alien via genetics often will occasionally cause one to be born without a human form, and when that happens, the alien's actual form that the player spent time perfecting becomes the disguise, and the true form is randomized. Almost any discrepancies in an aliens form causes them to irreversably randomize, and I feel like that's one of the worst things that can happen in a game prioritizing customization. Mermaid tails break very easily as well, but that one is purely just a bug. Gameplay wise though, the only difference between these occult sims and regular sims is an appearance change, and a 5 new interactions. Vampires have a new set of worries and issues with sunlight and thirst, while spellcasters can make any sim feel overwhelmed powerful outright, but the other two just get a couple new mischief actions and maybe a utility action. It'd be nice to see some sort of change like aliens can learn about the science and culture of sixam with alien specific space missions, or maybe mermaids get access to a couple of exclusive skills related to mermaid activities that they can actually build upon. That would be nice.
Another thing I've noticed, since I'm just listing things, is that some aspects of gameplay have been getting removed. For instance plants used to have specific growing cycles with some taking longer to bloom than others, but now they all bloom at the same time every day. And alien human hybrids used to have access to some of the alien powers, but now all my hybrids can do is the handshake. I've seen other players mention removed content as well, and I just have to say that it's a little frustrating.
Last thing, and this is my most specific one, is the family tree. Sims still disappear from it despite the patch in the past, but now glitch reports regarding the family tree are no longer getting screened. As in "genealogy" as a category is mentioned as a category of glitch report that won't be screened. The ability to look upon past generations of sims is one of the only remaining things in the game that can really feel like a long-term accomplishment, and if all record of it gets culled at some point, it just feels like some of that time was wasted. I don't know if the system needs to switch to some sort of static photograph in the tree to save data, or if you'd need to require the player to formally select which sims don't get culled at the sacrifice of performance, but please give something about this. I don't know how to or want to have to resort to getting mods (it feels like cheating to me, and it's also me having to depend on the generosity of a stranger to enjoy a game that I've already spent 150+ dollars on), but if I can get a solid answer on if anything is even under consideration, or if that particular aspect of the game has been abandoned, at least I would know that it's the only option.
Really like the game though, and keep up the good work!
To be honest I've been find this game stall and repetitive and needed to take a break from game and posting. I feel like the community come with more effective way on what the game should be and the Sims focus on the wrong aspects or miscue idea on what the community wants so it come across badly executed and not understanding the nuance on what customer want and why they want it. I've made several post of ideas i think game could implement to improve and most have been done or executed not so well. I'm saying the Sims team has to do all what we post however their is general consensus on what the community wants. I also feel the feedback from the sims forum is the least represented and taking into consideration in my opinion when its meant to be site just for that. Several discussion I was planning to make I put on a backburner since the KIT announcement. I was already thinking on doing d discussion on worlds packs but I'm glad to know other were on the same wavelength as me. Not everyone is on all of the same social media so the sims should all with each social media ; twitter, twitch, YouTube, sims forum etc
Kits
1. Why are are the price of kits more in other country on oneside AUS $7 in another country it's not a equal conversion rate so they are paying more e.g. £5 =$7 approx when it should cost £3.60 approc in the UK. It's not fair to and insulting to the Sims 4 nationwide customer base.
2. Kits could've been a great way to pick and choose between existing packs to select individual items (i count counter set as one item) you wanted from those packs which would've of been actual choice not the perception of choice. 100 points makes one Kit pack. By the function type of item the points stay the same no matter what the design of the item is along as the item is in the same category e.g. both CAS & Build items = 3 points, Animation items = 7 points, Gameplay = 10 points worlds = 30 points. The point value doesn't change by the aesthetic of the the items.
Packs
Their needs to be more distinguished differences between the packs.
Expansions packs: Expansion should not only cover all the needs of a stuff pack and game pack and multiple gameplay features and animated items but a element that impacts the entire not what world you are in and all should come with worlds
Game packs: are done pretty well and should stick to have a core game pack features based on the theme they are doing
Stuff packs: they needs to be more stuff and not all have to follow a basic theme they need to be more adventurous with their ideas. keep the animated core items of the pack.
Custom packs: How Kits should be revised. theirs a couple of methods one with world packs and we need more worlds in the Sims 4 and secondly pick'n'choose items, animated items, gameplay and worlds across game packs, stuff packs and custom world packs.
Misc content
1. Moving pack content to base game: Instead adding to base game new content and devaluing previous pack but still charging at the same price. It wouldn't be so bad if supplement the content missing by adding to the packs want was taken so the pack has a fair value, or if the content taken wasn't a core factor of pack e.g. the hot tub fiasco. If the sims had either supplemented perfect patio with a underground hot tub or add underground hot tub instead I don't think the backlash would be so heavy. Taking the minimum of CAS and Build items and just adding base game not even adding new swatches to these existing items is taking advantage of customer need to feel the game with such basic stuff to a barebones to later done the line put it in base game it makes it seem that it wasn't worth that price to begin with. I also think they put take the wrong type of items from packs, items that a player probably wont use regularly e.g. player would more like use a swing instead a hot-tub for parks and house and the swing set added to base game could be couple swing, single swing ( that attach to ant tree or ceiling) tyre swing, tree swing, so still using same of similar animation but different design element that can still be universally used.
2. The Sims 4 taste level many times seems outed and not current with the styles of today this includes both build/buy and CAS.
3. basic stuff should already be in base game in my opinion so the sims can focus on bigger themes for packs
4. The hairs don't show a range differences between each pack on a slight change between hairs. I'm mainly going to be focusing on ethnic hairstyle, their are so many ethnic that are more adventurous and current which the sim team is not using. like butterfly locs, Popsmoke braids beaded braids, bantu knots, rubberband method etc. The sims need to look at post on Pinterest for ideas here some example:
https://pinterest.co.uk/pin/328481366580063754/
7. Transporation
8. Need to be gives more swatches for hair that are already planning. I've already did a discussion on this here: (https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/983738/how-the-sims-hinders-itself-by-lack-of-customization-swatches#latest) we don't even have a purple. The swatches should also have slider like we do for skin-tones.
9. We need more animation in base game for it to feel more real.
10. More in depth sims and game , I did discussions on how I think it should work here: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/979325/how-should-relationships-work-in-the-sims-4#latest and https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/983440/how-should-story-progression-work-in-the-sims#latest + (baby overhaul)
These are few more discussion I've done that I feel is relevant to the future of the sims:
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/957771/mods-that-should-be-in-the-sims-4#latest
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/979266/cas-overhauls-for-the-sims#latest
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/979267/build-buy-overhaul-for-the-sims#latest
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/979269/gameplay-overhaul-for-the-sims#latest
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/979680/build-buy-what-stuff-would-you-like-to-see-in-the-sims-4-pt7-lights#latest
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/979500/what-stuff-would-you-like-to-see-in-the-sims-4-clothes#latest
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/979477/what-stuff-would-you-like-to-see-in-the-sims-4-tattoos#latest
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/979675/build-buy-what-stuff-would-you-like-to-see-in-the-sims-4-pt5-bathrooms#latest
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/979681/build-buy-what-stuff-would-you-like-to-see-in-the-sims-4-pt8-furniture#latest
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/979647/build-buy-what-stuff-would-you-like-to-see-in-the-sims-4-pt1-exterior#latest
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/979546/what-stuff-would-you-like-to-see-in-the-sims-4-bags#latest
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/969923/the-mistakes-of-the-sims-4/p1
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/970788/sims-5-hope-and-dreams-world-edition#latest
This is my opinion on the direction the sims should be going and what I think are errors of the sims that need to be discussed.
P.S. The instruction are not clear of the type of suggestion you are asking us.
First of all, I appreciate that you are trying to listen to the players of your game. I think this is the right step to improving the game so that all players will feel included and represented. However, I will give my two cents on what I believe could be added/improved. And my apologies if anything has already been said!
- Adding pronouns. I think this should have been in place since the gender update years ago. In 2021, there should always be an option to be referred to by the pronouns that you decide to go by. At a minimum, “they/them” should be included, but it would be nice if in CAS there is an option to manually write the pronouns that you want your sim to go by as not everyone uses “he/him, she/her, or they/them”.
- Choosing difficulty settings for EPs and GPs. For certain packs such as the Paranormal pack, there could be a function in the settings menu to allow it to be harder or easier to deal with hauntings, etc. This could also work for packs such as Dine Out where you can make it easier or harder to get 5 stars in your restaurant. I understand if this could not be added because adding this many settings for each pack might be too much, but I think it would make for more interesting gameplay.
- Kits should not be as expensive as they are. They are over $6 CAD which I believe is way overpriced for what you are getting with them. The Country Kitchen furniture was very nice in that kit, but I can find similar sets by custom content creators for free. Bust the Dust kit seems like something that could have been included with Cats and Dogs but was left out and now you’re trying to sell it again. The Throwback Fit Kit is not my style of clothing so I don’t have an opinion on that kit except that there are also thousands of beautiful custom content clothes that are also available for free.
- Work more with Custom Content creators. The free update with the CC creators was one of my favourite things ever added to the Sims 4. I think it was a brilliant idea and these creators play the game and listen to the community so I think more collaborations with them would be a great idea!
- Fix the emotion system. My sim’s parents will die, and they will feel sad until they watch the comedy channel and suddenly, they are happy in a matter of minutes? Emotions feel useless when things like that happen. If a close relative dies, sims should stay sad for at least a few days, or if they get married, they should stay happy for a few days (unless they have the non-committal trait!). This would make the game feel more realistic.
- Story Progression. I think this is one of the most important things that could improve gameplay for every kind of player. Currently, it feels like you live in a small bubble where only your family progresses with life, but it would make it feel so much more alive if townies could also get married, get new jobs, have kids alongside your families!
- Focus on all aspects of an EP. What I mean by this is that currently, it seems that each EP focuses on one aspect: a beautiful world, amazing gameplay, or very nice CAS items. While each thing is great, it makes each EP feel like it's lacking something. For instance, Snowy Escape has an amazing world, but the gameplay feels shallow. Magnolia Promenade has an interesting concept of being a shopping district, but the world is lacklustre. Therefore, I believe each EP could be better if everything was worked on equally!
- A Colour Wheel in CAS. If pets already have a colour wheel, why can’t this be added for human/occult sims? Especially for hair colour. I understand if for clothing this could be more challenging to add, but since it's already in the game, what is it that is stopping the team from adding it to other sims?
- Objects are too big! Especially end tables, and the microscope, and the cupcake machine. Why?
- LGBTQ+ representation!
- The Sims 4 is too Americanized. I am a part of an indigenous group in Canada, and it sucks seeing indigenous groups from around the world not included in the game. It is amazing seeing Asian representation with Snowy Escape, and semi-European representation with Get Together, but the majority of the packs/worlds scream American culture to me.
- Generations? I understand this isn’t a wish list forum. But a good first step to fixing the gameplay of this game is making each life stage have more gameplay options and new interactions. Babies shouldn’t be confined to their cribs. Teens should have prom. Adults should have midlife crises. There is a well full of content for you to dive into here. And I guarantee everyone would be happy with this EP.
Final thoughts: We have so many nice CAS items, and many pretty worlds to play in but in the end, gameplay needs to be improved. Fixing traits and adding sentiments are a nice start but I still stick with playing the base game Sims 3 over Sims 4 lately because it has so many nice gameplay features (and I don’t even mean the open world or cars!). I hope this forum helps you guide the path of TS4, and you make the improvements that many players want to see.
The sims 4 is clearly heading in a different direction than other games and most players don't like it but it was never addressed why sims 4 is more of a movie set rather than a life simulation game. This is not a negative thing, some people like the dollhouse aspect but for the players who want life simulation that the previous titles gave, it becomes confusing and disappointing. Nothing happens on its own, the players have to go out of their way for a non-ideal event to occur in their games. Most of the player base wants "fears", "wants" "chemistry system" "memories".
All of these are meaningful things that make our sims feel alive.
The sims 4 gives too much control for a lot of players to the point where the game becomes lifeless like a movie set, not a living world, and the sims feel more like actors than real people.
It would be really helpful if the team addressed why this is and if it's going to change or not. This is a HUGE reason for the negativity because players are waiting for these features that may never even come.
First of all, I apologize for my English, as I don't speak English, I use a translator. I've been playing sims for a year, I have all the extensions and I find this game really powerful. I don't care about modifying the babies, having a farm pack, werewolves or cars. The game is beautiful the way it is. I have two questions about the sims management though...
Do you plan to improve the management of "get together" groups?
I use a lot of groups to populate community places, limit the creation of PNC and create stories automatically (for example group A hates group B, but they always cross paths because they have the same favorite bar, and it's a fight). But the management is not easy, you have to play the group leader to update the group, add or remove members, its favorite place and actions. This slows down the use of a great tool to animate my game.
Would it be possible to create an option so that the game does not create PNC anymore? Or inject characters from the gallery created with love by other players?
Because PNC are PNC... ugly!
Is it planned to work on the family links of uncles and aunts, cousins? To create specific actions with family members?
Thanks a lot!
CalypsoHell
Subjects to consider for the next 411
1. Are they planning on adding more interactions between toddlers and children?
2. Are they planning on adding more base game lot types for teens, children and toddlers?
3. What base game interactions are they planning to add or improve?
4. Do they plan to add another empty world like Newcrest to the base game?
5. Being that making and eating meals is a base game feature, discuss how a Sim autonomously decides what to do when food is already in the refrigerator. I’m curious as to how this is balanced if this is not a known bug or something. I typically have two refrigerators when I’m able to build a big kitchen. So, I don't understand why a Sim would make a whole new meal when they already have food in the refrigerator.
6. Now that they’ve sped up the eating time, are they planning on tweaking eating speed when calling everyone to a meal (family meals at home) is selected. This would allow everyone time to get to the table and sit down before other members are finished with their food.
I’d prefer not to have to control every Sim in my household when I want them to sit down to a family meal—something I now have to do (if I want them all there) since this change. Also, as soon as I put my toddler in the high chair, their meal is gone in seconds and the rest of the family hasn’t even arrived to sit down. This is also important when one is having guest over and calling them to the meal.
Thank you,
While in the West, it is normal for people to leave their parents when they are 18 its not for us. I find it sad when my sim becomes a young adult and moves out of university their own parents just treat them like a friend. There are no special interactions or anything! It would be really nice to see those, I think it would be sweet too if elderly parents still treat their (now adult) children as their babies. Or grandparents secretly spoiling their grandchildren by giving them cash or sweets.
I would really like to see more sibling interactions too - I have a family consisting of 2 parents and their 4 kids (one of every life stage) I just find it so strange when the teen and child sims ask their older (young adult) brother advice as if he was their parent. I know I have the option to turn that off, but it would be nice if there was some sort of code where siblings know that they're each other siblings and interact differently... just like how lovers would autonomously do romantic things you know?
Why do you guys allow “woke” people on Twitter to ruin this franchise?
Trying to add diversity in this game while also not offending anyone is never going to work. Focus more on gameplay & ingame depth!
But for this thread, which I'm assuming is more discussion about TS4 than a probable Sims 5, I will stay more TS4 oriented.
One of my main concerns is gearing The Sims to E for Everyone, making it more and more simple to be appropriate for children. This makes game play shallow and boring. We had such innovation with CAS and Build/Buy mode from the previous iterations of the series, but in TS4 there's nothing to capture the player for long in Live Mode. It seems TS4 is centered around aesthetics, which is baffling considering we cannot build our own worlds.
Another concern was changing the franchise from life simulation to RPG, which is apparent in packs like Star Wars: Journey to Batuu and Strangerville. While above I mentioned the lack of game play, I do not mean adding action/adventure into the series and instead expanding the sandbox for more life simulation. We have vacation packs, but none of them act like the sims are going on vacations. They are more "solve the mystery of the temple or defeat the evil-doer" This is not life simulation. This is RPG. As I stated in my open letter, "there are endless action/adventure RPG games, many made by EA. There are few life simulation games and only one highly successful, The Sims." Do not replace what makes The Sims special and separate from all the other games out there with point-and-click adventures.
One thing I did not focus on in that open letter was micro-transaction packs. While I understand every company's priority is to make profit (because without capital there is no game), the Kits release after Star Wars: Journey to Batuu was very unsettling because it seemed a waste of resources and opportunities to work on better projects. Star Wars: Journey to Batuu was a pack inappropriate to sims lore entirely. The Kits are items that can easily be integrated into the other types of packs.
The Sims 4 is already a $700 game, but looking back, it is not worth that price because of how depthless it is. Again, we have the aesthetics, but no game play. I think that should be a priority in every game.
Like firefighter, burglar, etc
Maybe a better way to sell farm stuff like a vegetable market “table” thing? And more plants?
Hotels would be fun too, or just lots in general that could have multiple types. Like retail and spa so we can make it a hotel?
My favorite world is Sulani so something similar maybe like Madagascar or Cuba? Something like India or Egypt would be interesting too.
Taking toddlers and babies to places holding hands, strolling would be fun.
And of course more build stuff. I love the graphics of the game.
Tried to be positive :) sul sul!
The ability to tell stories in the SIms that represent the diversity of identities is crucial ! Kudos for the steps you have taken- please continue, and let us know how you will address the issue of pronouns in the game, and representing various disabilities. Please seriously re-evaluate how you are representing various life stages, and create updates that allow for more nuance or sub categories - ie young teen and older teen, older middle age, young senior and old old, and create more specific activities, interactions and traits for these. In particular the life stage of elders is shallow and truly ageist. No one wants to play with this age group because you have made them into a shallow, pointless cartoon with no interest. It represents an embarrassing level of ageism, that seems to be escaping people because your players skew younger. You do better with representation when you are listening and learning from the community. What you do in this area truly matters in people's lives.
Also please pay attention to the clamoring that tells you to test better prior to release. Most of us would truly rather wait, and have a better product. It really works against you to push a bad product out the door. I financially support modders who are fixing the game for work you should have done- so I am having to pay twice. I am not happy about that. I will not buy any of your kits because they are a clear cash grab that do nothing to address the real things that are lacking in the game.
Kits aside, it seems more effort is being made to respond to players and be more transparent- that does matter, and is appreciated.
*Cries console tears
-More retro clothing & hairstyles
-A way to play with only occult sims in a specific world - or maybe even just an occult-only lot trait.
-And most importantly, let me assign townies to the NPC jobs like mailmen, etc. I hate the randomly-generated townies made for those jobs. Especially when I spend time editing them through cheats so that they're not registered as 'played sims' but then the game generates more and more constantly anyway.