The Sims 4

The Sims 4 is the fourth installment in The Sims franchise. Like the previous games in the series, The Sims 4 focuses on creating and controlling a neighborhood of virtual people, called "Sims". The Sims 4 boasts an overhauled and intuitive Create a Sim, updated building tools, and deeper, more complex Sims through the addition of emotions and new traits.

The Sims 4 was released in North America on September 2, 2014, and in other places worldwide shortly thereafter for PC. A Mac version of the game was announced at the same time but a release date was not specified until early 2015. It was released on February 17, 2015, several months after the PC version.

Official description
The Sims 4 is the highly anticipated life simulation game that lets you play with life like never before. Control smarter Sims with unique appearances, personalities, behaviors, and emotions. Experience new levels of creativity when you sculpt Sims with the powerful Create A Sim and design beautiful homes with tactile, room-based Build Mode. Use The Gallery to browse, share, and download new content without ever leaving your game. Control the mind, body, and heart of your Sims and explore your new gameplay possibilities in vibrant neighborhoods that bring your stories to life.
 * Smarter Sims. Weirder Stories


 * Features
 * Smarter Sims – Create and control smarter Sims with unique appearances, personalities, and emotions in The Sims 4.
 * Create unique Sims and customize their appearance, fashion styles, personality traits, skills, careers, and walk styles. For the first time, Sims both feel and express emotions. Your Sims experience a range of emotional states driven by your actions and influenced by other Sims, events, and objects within the game. Emotions offer you more choices and give you the opportunity to create gameplay moments with even more possibilities. Enjoy how your Sims interact and express their distinct personalities in social settings within the game.


 * Create and control the mind, body, and heart of your Sims and bring your stories to life like never before in The Sims 4.


 * Powerful, Creative Tools – Create A Sim and Build Mode are more powerful, intuitive, and fun than ever before. You have the control to sculpt Sims with tactile precision. Effortlessly construct the home of your dreams with the all new, room-based Build Mode.
 * Vibrant Neighborhoods – Experience new gameplay opportunities brought to life within vibrant and dynamic neighborhoods. Choose among beautiful and diverse lots for your Sims to build their homes and explore activities. Expand your social circle and interact with other Sims in the neighborhood and hang out in community parks and venues.
 * Rich Rewards – Earn new objects, outfits, and traits by completing events, discovering collectibles, and unlocking achievements.
 * Share Your Creations – The Gallery allows you to browse, share, and download new content without ever leaving your game. Get inspired by rich content created by The Sims community and add new experiences to your game.

Create a Sim
Create a Sim is revitalized, making it more intuitive, flexible, and detailed than in previous games. Sims' physical features are customized by clicking-and-dragging on different parts of the body. It is described as being like clay by multiple people in the community. Overall body size and amount of muscle are adjusted by sliders, but the size and shape of individual body parts can be adjusted individually, allowing players to make Sims with unique body shapes. Sims' facial features are also customized by the same click-and-drag mechanic. There is also a "detail mode," which allows more precise modification of certain facial features. All changes made to one side of the body or head are automatically made to the opposite side.

Emotions
Sims in The Sims 4 have more emotional depth than in any previous game in the series. A Sims' emotional state affects which actions they perform and how the actions are performed. One Sim's emotions can affect other Sims around them. Sims in extreme emotional states can even be killed by their emotions. The emotions that a Sim can or will experience are affected by their moodlets, traits, and life stage.

In-game Gallery
The gallery is an in-game exchange feature, allowing players to share their Sims, families, and buildings with other Sims players. Players can add their creations to the gallery, or pull other player creations into their game quickly. The gallery is fully integrated into The Sims 4; everything added to the game through the gallery is immediately playable, without the need to restart the game. An internet connection is required to access the gallery.

Build mode
The Sims 4 features a revitalized, room-based build mode. Rooms are placed down and then stretched in all directions until they reach the desired size and shape. Rooms and entire houses can be picked up and moved around the lot, including all objects, floor and wall coverings, doors and windows. The Sims 4 improves upon the blueprint mode of The Sims 3, allowing players to place down fully-furnished rooms in a variety of styles; these rooms can then be resized, moved and adjusted as well. Players can also upload their rooms to the Gallery or download rooms from the Gallery to add to houses.

Several pre-existing build mode features have also been updated. Walls and half walls now have one of three different heights, set on each individual level of a building. Windows placed on walls can be moved up or down vertically along the wall. Windows can be automatically added to rooms, then adjusted by the player as needed. Columns automatically stretch or contract to match the height of the walls on a particular level, and can be added to railings without the use of the moveobjects cheat. Foundations are no longer treated as separate levels on a building. Foundations can be added to or removed from a building, even if the building is already built, and the height of the foundation can be adjusted.

Worlds and neighborhoods
In The Sims 4, the classic concept of neighborhoods has been replaced with worlds. Each world consists of multiple distinct neighborhoods. Sims can be in any or all neighborhoods within a world at a given time, but the player can only fully control interactions and actions within whichever neighborhood is loaded at the time. Sims outside the loaded neighborhood can still be controlled to a limited degree. Players can switch between which neighborhood is loaded, though this brings up a loading screen.

The Sims 4 was initially released with two worlds — Oasis Springs, Willow Creek, and one additional free world, Newcrest, was added in a subsequent base game patch. A new world, Granite Falls, was introduced with the The Sims 4: Outdoor Retreat game pack.

The Sims 4: Get to Work introduced Magnolia Promenade, which is a standalone neighborhood and not a full-sized world.

In The Sims 4: Get Together, Windenburg was introduced as a European-inspired world. In The Sims 4: City Living San Myshuno was introduced. San Myshuno is a city that has a variety of apartments. It is the first world that has named neighborhoods, though they are more commonly referred to as districts.

The Sims 4 references many of The Sims 3 neighborhoods as if The Sims 4 has alternate versions of them in its own universe. One example would be for a Sim to receive a postcard from Sunset Valley, which is a neighborhood in The Sims 3.

Expansion Packs
Like previous entries in the The Sims series, expansion packs have also been released for the game. So far, 3 expansion packs have been released.
 * The Sims 4: Get To Work
 * The Sims 4: Get Together
 * The Sims 4: City Living

The first expansion pack is called The Sims 4: Get to Work and was released in March 2015. It combines some elements from The Sims 2: Open for Business and The Sims 3: Ambitions where Sims are able to run their own business and command the Sims during work. The careers (returning from previous titles) include Doctor (Medical), Detective (Law Enforcement), and Science.

At Gamescom 2015, Rachel Franklin announced The Sims 4: Get Together, along with its official trailer. The expansion focuses on socialising your Sims and acts as a spiritual successor to previous The Sims games, including The Sims: Livin' Large and The Sims 2: Nightlife.

On September 13, 2016, the trailer for the third expansion pack called The Sims 4: City Living was released. The expansion itself was released on November 1, 2016. The pack features some spiritual elements from The Sims 2: Apartment Life, The Sims 3: Late Night, The Sims 3: Showtime, and The Sims 3: Seasons. Sims can rent apartments, sing karaoke, and go to festivals.

Game Packs
New to The Sims 4 are "game packs". Game packs are generally smaller than full expansion packs, but have more content than stuff packs. Currently, three game packs have been released, with one game pack announced.
 * The Sims 4: Outdoor Retreat
 * The Sims 4: Spa Day
 * The Sims 4: Dine Out.
 * The Sims 4: Vampires (announced).

Stuff Packs
As with previous The Sims titles, stuff packs have also been released for the game. So far, nine stuff packs have been released, with one stuff pack announced.
 * The Sims 4: Luxury Party Stuff 
 * The Sims 4: Perfect Patio Stuff
 * The Sims 4: Cool Kitchen Stuff
 * The Sims 4: Spooky Stuff
 * The Sims 4: Movie Hangout Stuff
 * The Sims 4: Romantic Garden Stuff
 * The Sims 4: Kids Room Stuff
 * The Sims 4: Backyard Stuff
 * The Sims 4: Vintage Glamour Stuff
 * The Sims 4: Bowling Stuff (announced)

Free Packs
Downloadable Content Packs, or Free Packs (FP) as referred to internally, are content packs available on Origin to download for no additional price. Only one free pack has been released for the game.
 * The Sims 4: Holiday Celebration Pack is a free downloadable add-on that features festive decorations and clothing was released on December 16, 2014. Since then it has been updated twice with extra content, for the Holiday seasons in 2015 and 2016.

Patches
The Sims 4 receives game updates through Origin. Game updates may consist of bug fixes, minor additions, and new features. Some patches are notable for including major additions or features to the game.
 * The October 1, 2014 patch added the ghost life state and Star Wars costume set.
 * The November 4, 2014 patch added swimsuit clothing category and swimming pools.
 * The December 16, 2014 patch added two new careers, athletic and business.
 * The February 3, 2015 patch reintroduced the use of family trees.
 * The March 26, 2015 patch added the basement tool
 * The June 11, 2015 patch added a new empty world, Newcrest, and the custom room tool.
 * The July 9, 2015 patch added half walls and lockable doors.
 * The August 6, 2015 patch added dishwashers.
 * The September 24, 2015 patch added a new trait, Jealous, as well as the option for a Sim to "claim" a bed.
 * The November 3, 2015 patch added a new repairman Service to the phone who will come to the Sims house and repair items. The patch also added 6 new items from the Halloween #TeamTreat and #TeamTrick event; 3 #TeamTreat items and 3 #TeamTrick items comprising of 2 Doors, 2 Fish Bowls and 2 Storage Chests each themed after Team Treat and Team Trick.
 * The December 4, 2015 patch introduced a 64-bit version of the game. Bartenders, caterers, and masseuses can now be hired. New group behaviors were introduced. A new pool venue and pool coloring were also added.
 * The February 4, 2016 patch introduced the Tragic Clown painting, gardener NPC, Grilled Cheese aspiration and Kleptomaniac trait.
 * The March 22, 2016 patch introduced Jasmine Holiday with the Spring Challenge and Growfruits.
 * The April 21, 2016 patch reintroduced the Tragic Clown as an NPC.
 * The June 2, 2016 patch expanded CAS gender customization options allowing both genders to wear any clothing and hairstyle, masculine or feminine body frame, whether they can get pregnant, and if they use the toilet standing. As well as updating and improving UI.
 * The June 23, 2016 patch returned the Monsters under the Bed feature for children's beds as well as the feature for the child to befriend the monster.
 * The July 14, 2016 patch returned Nannies as a hirable NPC, and added new UI changes.
 * The August 16, 2016 patch returned customisable Phone skins in a variety of colours and styles. As well as, Grim's Ghoulish Guitar if the player signed up to the Sims Newsletter.
 * The September 27, 2016 patch added a new recipe "Pan de Muerto" and many new outfits and objects to celebrate the Day of the Dead.
 * The October 27, 2016 patch added Lot traits and a copy tool
 * The December 1, 2016 patch added more objects to the Holiday Celebration pack, as well as new interfaces for alien Sims such as an alien icon above traits in CAS, switch between disguise and alien form within CAS, and a metal plate around the middle of their plumbob in-game.
 * The January 12, 2017 patch added Toddlers, loads of toddler items in buy mode, new kids toys, new teeth options, new skin colors and a new "Creepy" walk style.

Create a Sim demo
On July 7, 2014, Rachel Franklin (SimGuruRachel) announced the debut of The Sims 4 Create a Sim Demo. Starting on July 8, a limited number of Sims players were given early access to the demo. A week later, on July 15, the public was able to sign up for access to the demo, though not everyone who signed up received access. On August 12, the demo was made public and available to everyone, through Origin.

The demo allows players to create only young adult Sims, and features the body sculpting tools in the base game Create a Sim. The demo also gives access to the Gallery. Sims created by other players or by Maxis can be downloaded into the demo and adjusted, and players can add their own Sims to the gallery as well. Sims created in the demo are exportable to The Sims 4.

Other Information

 * The Sims 4 is set in a new time period and has no continuity to previous games. However, some Sims from previous games (such as the Goth family) appear; the timeline for The Sims 4 therefore exists in an "alternate universe" from the timeline of the first three games.
 * The Sims 4 has an autosave feature.
 * Toddlers did not initially appear in The Sims 4 base game. The life stage was completely left out of the game, and was not combined with the baby stage. However, they were added in with the January 12, 2017 update after two years of the game's initial release.
 * Swimming pools were not included in the base game,  however, they were re-added in Patch 7.
 * The Sims 4 is playable in a single player offline mode and the core of the game is intended to be played offline. The game doesn't require a constant internet connection. However, the Origin client is required in order to install the game, and an internet connection is required to access the in-game content Gallery.
 * Voice-over content in the game is completely new; there are no recycled Sim voices from previous games.
 * The Sims 4 uses a new game engine that bears little to no resemblance to the engine used in The Sims 3.
 * The soundtrack for The Sims 4 is composed by English film composer Ilan Eshkeri.
 * The Sims 4 original loading screen was changed in a patch.
 * The Sims 4 receives free content updates every month, with the exception of January. However, in January 2017, a free update brought in toddlers to the game.
 * Similarly to the previous games, players can add custom music to the game. Base game radio stations are: Alternative, Pop, Easy Listening, Romance, Blues, Classical, and Retro.

Announcement
On Monday, May 6, 2013, Maxis confirmed that it will be released on Mac and PC in 2014. The original game announcement reads:

The Sims franchise is fueled by the passion and creativity of its millions of fans around the world. Their continued devotion to the franchise ignites the fire of creativity of the team at The Sims Studio, driving them to continually improve and innovate on one of the world’s most successful simulation game that has sold more than 150 million copies worldwide.

The Sims 4 celebrates the heart and soul of the Sims themselves, giving players a deeper connection with the most expressive, surprising and charming Sims ever in this single-player offline experience. The Sims 4 encourages players to personalize their world with new and intuitive tools while offering them the ability to effortlessly share their creativity with friends and fans.

They say that the eyes are the window into the soul, let’s just say that these eyes are a window into our future. We can’t wait to show you more.

Gamescom Reveal and Leak
The Sims 4 had a major reveal, including a trailer, at Gamescom on August 20, 2013 (14:00 UTC) and a further preview on August 22, 2013 at (15:00 UTC) containing a live gameplay demo. The preview was shown at EA channel in Twitch, instead of streaming via TheSims channel on YouTube.

Meanwhile, SimsCamp was an event planned for late August, 2013 in Cologne, Germany. It was centered around 'The Sims 4' reveal at Gamescom. Many well-known fansites and personalities (called the "YibSims", meaning best friends in Simlish) were invited to be part of the event. They had the opportunity to ask questions and play the game for the first time.

Before the Gamescom reveal, multiple fansites created articles which leaked the game's previews and information, which was found on the servers running on thesims.com website. There were many renders leaked as well and the leak also included an article from PC Powerplay, a gaming magazine.

The reveal was presented by Rachel Franklin, the executive producer on The Sims 4. She explained "SmartSim", a feature which enriches emotions for the Sims. In the game, the Sims' emotions are affected in many ways, for example, relationships, furniture, etc.

She also showed "creative tools", like the familiar Create a Sim and Build Mode, which was reinvented to make them "intuitive, powerful and flexible". She also showed new and returning objects like a voodoo doll, a violin and a punching bag. At the end of the reveal, she stated that the official website for The Sims 4 was ready, and pre-orders for Limited Edition and Digital Deluxe could be made.

Release information
The game was to be released early in 2014, but the date was pushed back to late 2014. At the 2014 E3, an official North America release date of September 2, 2014 was confirmed.

Gallery
Official images=

References and notes
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