Game camera

In The Sims series, the game camera is the feature which shows the simulated world on the player's screen. The camera can be controlled in many ways.

Camera Controls
Through the series, with a few changes the controls of the camera remain the same.

In addition to using the buttons in the user interface, it can be rotated by using the and  keys, and zoomed in and out by using the  and  keys. It can also be controlled with the middle mouse button, Ctrl + Right mouse button, Shift + WASD keys or Ctrl + WASD or Arrow Keys (Windows and Mac OS X); The right analog/C-Stick (All consoles except the Wii); C + Control Stick(Wii). Starting with The Sims 2 and The Urbz: Sims in the City, the camera control can be reverted to "The Sims 1 Style".

The Sims
In the original PC version of The Sims, the camera was somewhat limited. There were four viewing angles, each of which was 90 degrees apart; and three zoom levels.



In addition to the controls in the Control Panel, the  and   keys would rotate the view --   went right and   went left. Zoom could be controlled with the  and   keys.

In the console versions of The Sims, The Sims Bustin' Out and The Urbz: Sims in the City, the camera is in 3D format and the control is similar to the one used in The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories. The player can control the camera using the Right Analog Stick or C-Stick. In The Urbz: Sims in the City, the camera control can be inverted, similar to "The Sims 1 Style" in The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories. Also in The Urbz: Sims in the City, the camera can be brought to ground level as in The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories.

The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories
The camera is now in 3D, which allows the view to be rotated 360 degrees and tilted up and down. "The Sims 1 Style" of camera rotation can be selected in Game options. The UI controls,  and   keys, and   and   keys work as in The Sims, although the 3D environment allows for smooth zooming instead of being limited to preset zoom levels. If the mouse has a scroll wheel, it can be used to zoom in and out. The camera can also be controlled by using the middle mouse button (if present), or by holding down the Ctrl button and the right mouse button. As in The Urbz: Sims in the City, the camera can be brought to ground level.

The camera can be moved in many ways. One of which is Edge scrolling, which is introduced for the first time and is carried onto newer games. The camera can also be panned with one of the arrow keys to respective direction. Holding two keys of opposing planes allows for diagonal panning. Lastly, clicking and holding Right Click will allow the camera move to the direction and speed, accordingly to the mouse movements.

Rotating the camera also have its own numerous control methods. Either by clicking the respective curved arrow from the camera control interface or pressing down the or  key. While moving the move, pushing down the middle mouse button or by tapping and holding down the key with the Right Click also allows for camera rotation. With this technique, it also allows for upper and downfall camera tilt.

The Sims 2 Console games
The camera works as in The Urbz: Sims in the City, except that the camera controls can be set to either Direct or Classic Control (The Sims 2 and The Sims 2: Pets).

The Sims 3 and The Sims Medieval
Camera controls in The Sims 3 and The Sims Medieval are the same as The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories. However, the CTRL + WASD/Arrow Keys can now be used. Prior to version 1.3 of The Sims Medieval, lots did not have 3D view, and only a Stage view was allowed. The Sims 3 and The Sims Medieval can still be set to use the "The Sims 1 Style" of camera control, but this now allows the vertical camera control to be used.

The Sims 4
The camera system in The Sims 4 is again similar to its predecessors, with a 3D camera that can be rotated and tilted. By default, it can only be panned by clicking and dragging and zoomed by scrolling in or out, but not rotated up and down as that isn't optimal for tablets. Players can opt to use The Sims 3's method of controlling the camera which allows rotating by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Tab (Command+Shift+Tab on Mac), which is more suitable for desktop computers and laptops.