World

A world is a collection of individual lots within a single larger map. Worlds are the primary setting and place of residence for Sims in The Sims 3 and The Sims 4, taking the place of the smaller, less complex neighborhoods featured in The Sims and The Sims 2. Worlds are often referred to as towns, cities (especially urban worlds, like Bridgeport), or (erroneously) neighborhoods. In The Sims 4, worlds consist of multiple individual neighborhoods, whereas in The Sims 3 there are no formal neighborhoods within worlds.

The Sims 3
The Sims 3 introduced the concept of an expanded "open world." Especially early in the development of the game, these were called towns, as they were much larger and more complex than the neighborhoods of the previous games. Worlds are open for Sims to explore, and Sims can be controlled even when not on a lot. Major buildings and landmarks in each world, including locations where adults can work and where children and teens can attend school, are represented by rabbit holes, which can be interacted with but cannot be looked into by players. Each world has outer boundaries beyond which Sims cannot travel, and Sims cannot visit other worlds (except "sub-worlds") without NRaas Traveler, a mod which enables this functionality.

Players are given a large degree of control over the appearance of the world through the Edit Town menu. Players can also create their own custom worlds with the Create a World tool, an officially-developed, separately-downloaded program. In The Sims 3: Supernatural, players can tweak the number of supernatural Sims and celebrities through a new setting known as "Population Control Settings".

As of Late Night, worlds are divided into two types: "Sims 3 Towns" (suburbs) and "Late Night Towns" (cities). The world type determines which Sims can spawn, which icon will be displayed in the main menu, and whether or not certain vehicles such as food trucks will spawn. Bridgeport is the only pre-made world to be cataloged as a "Late Night Town". The rest, including the exotic destinations from World Adventures, Sims University, and Oasis Landing are considered "Sims 3 Towns". The world type cannot be changed without the use of a third-party tool such as S3PE.

Prior to patch 55, families/households could not move from one world to another. The patch added a feature which allows households to be moved. Sims in the moved household lose all relationships with Sims outside the household (family relationships are also often affected), but retain earned skills and achievements, and the number of days that have passed in the game. If the destination world does not contain a rabbit hole where a moved Sim works, that Sim will also lose their job. This feature is known to be somewhat buggy.

World continuity in The Sims 3
While Sunset Valley and Riverview feature younger versions of living The Sims 2 Sims, Twinbrook's returning families are up to two generations behind their The Sims 2 counterparts, and Barnacle Bay even acts as a sequel. (Dina Caliente's bio states that she wants to break hearts as she did in Pleasantview.) This evidence suggests that the different worlds may also be located in different times. When a Sim hits a Hot Spot in Bridgeport, a tag may appear stating "This is hotter than Hank Goddard when he caught on fire", meaning something of the sort might have happened in between the timelines of Sunset Valley and Bridgeport.

The Sims 3 worlds

 * Sunset Valley
 * Adventureland (Patch 69 only)
 * Twinbrook
 * Bridgeport
 * Appaloosa Plains
 * Starlight Shores
 * Moonlight Falls
 * Isla Paradiso


 * The Sims 3 store worlds
 * Riverview
 * Barnacle Bay
 * Hidden Springs
 * Lunar Lakes
 * Lucky Palms
 * Sunlit Tides
 * Monte Vista
 * Aurora Skies
 * Dragon Valley
 * Midnight Hollow
 * Roaring Heights


 * Sub-worlds
 * Al Simhara
 * Champs Les Sims
 * Shang Simla
 * Sims University
 * Oasis Landing

The Sims 4
In The Sims 4, a world is a collection of individual neighborhoods (also known as districts) within a single playable map. Unlike previous games, Sims can visit different worlds without having to move out, and Sims from inactive households may occasionally be seen visiting other worlds. Almost any lot can be visited directly from the map, and will have a unique lot assignment. Secret lots cannot be visited from the map, and can only be accessed through interacting with neighborhood amenities or through active careers.

As The Sims 4 does not feature an open-world concept, unlike The Sims 3, visiting another lot will bring up a loading screen. Neighborhoods, however, allow open-world functionality to an extent by allowing Sims to explore freely within the neighborhood's boundaries. Switching between worlds also brings up a loading screen; players can jump between worlds by going into map view or by using the phone to travel.

Custom worlds
Unlike The Sims 2 and The Sims 3, there are no official tools available for players to create their own custom worlds/neighborhoods. On May 23, 2018, Grant Rodiek stated that, "It isn't out of the question", in regards to a question on Twitter about the possible introduction of a Create a World tool for The Sims 4. However, he mentioned that the issue was, "a conversation we need to have to figure out." No official Create a World tool for The Sims 4 has been announced.