Create a Sim

Create a Sim (also known as CAS) is the part of Create a Family where individual Sims are made. It is used to customize a Sim's appearance and personality. As a rule, only superficial changes can be made to a Sim's appearance once he or she is added to the game. However, there are exceptions to this.

Create a Family is also used to organize Sims into families or households, as well as customize the relationships within a family or household before adding it to a neighborhood. However, since Create a Sim is the main part of Create a Family, players tend to refer to "Create a Sim" when talking about Create a Family.

The Sims
In The Sims, the Create a Sim feature allows the player to create Sims and families with up to 8 members. Players can customize a Sim's skin color (light, medium, or dark), their age (adult or child), their gender (male or female), and their personality using 25 personality points assigned to five "traits". The player does not need to assign all 25 personality points when creating the Sim, and as personality points are assigned to traits, the player is shown what the Sim's zodiac sign would be with that mix.

Players can also change the Sim's basic head and body. For adult Sims, this is how their basic body type (skinny, fit, or fat) is chosen. Players are only able to choose from a number of heads and a number of bodies for a Sim. As expansion packs for The Sims are installed, more heads and bodies are added to the game. Heads come with their own basic hairstyle while bodies come with their own basic clothes. Hairstyles and clothes cannot be customized individually, but if custom heads and/or bodies have been added to the game, they can be chosen.

The Sims does not keep track of family relationships, so any adult Sims will be considered as spouses and all children as siblings.

In the GameCube version, a burglar is shown in the window when creating a Sim.

The Sims 2
In The Sims 2, Create a Family is entered by clicking the "Families" button in the lower left-hand corner of the neighborhood view, then clicking the large "Create New Family" button. Clicking the button labeled "Create A Sim" will expand a tab which has the "Create a Sim" and "Make a Child" icons. "Make a Child" will be grayed out unless the family contains an adult male and adult female. Clicking the "Create a Sim" icon will generate a random adult Sim, who may be male or female. Clicking "Make a Child" creates a Sim by mixing the genetics of an adult male and adult female.

As opposed to The Sims, any age besides baby or young adult (which must be made in the University Create a Student) may be created. Instead of having to choose from already finished faces which include hair, it is now possible to alter the facial structure (e.g. widening the nose, thinning the lips, elongating the chin, etc.) and choose any hairstyle to go with the face. Different eye colors and an additional skin tone is available for the Sims as well. If the Sim is older than a child, their aspiration and turn-ons/offs (Nightlife or later) may be determined. As in The Sims, there are five personality traits, and 25 personality points which can be assigned to those traits. However, in The Sims 2, all personality points must be assigned. Additionally, there are twelve pre-set personalities, one for each of the twelve zodiac signs.

Another significant difference from The Sims is that the player selects options by clicking on thumbnails rather than by flipping through the available options. Also, the preview image of the Sim being created is much larger, stands next to a mirror, and can be rotated. If a custom content item appears as a Maxis default item, that is usually a sign that its mesh is not present. The thumbnails are kept in a separate file, so the item's thumbnail will not update if the mesh is added later. Also, a Maxis item's thumbnail will generally not update if a default replacement is installed. On the PC version, the player can update a thumbnail by holding down the  key and right-clicking on it.

Players should note that certain types of custom content can be deleted from within CAS. This can generally be done in areas which use large thumbnails, such as the areas for selecting hairstyles and clothing. However, this option should be used with caution, as it will delete the custom content item's .package file, and will bypass the Recycle Bin. In the areas that allow custom content deletion, the "Delete" button will normally be invisible or grayed out unless a custom content item is selected and its thumbnail is visible. After clicking the "Delete" button, the player will be asked if that is what they want to do. Clicking "Yes" will delete the item's .package file and update the CAS thumbnails. N.B.: At times, the delete button may be available when selecting some Maxis content. This can be a particular issue with hidden content that has been unlocked/unhidden with a mod or clothing that has been recategorized with a mod, and might be an issue with some default replacements. However, it may also appear for other Maxis content. Players should not attempt to delete such content from within CAS, even if it also shows the custom content "star". as that is likely to corrupt CAS.

There are 6 steps to creating a Sim:
 * Step 1: Name, Age, Gender, Skin Tone, Fitness
 * Step 2: Heads
 * Step 3: Hair & Face
 * Step 4: Makeup, Facial Hair & Glasses
 * Step 5: Clothing
 * Step 6: Personality & Aspiration

These steps can be completed in any order, and steps 2 through 5 are optional. Selecting steps 2, 3, and 4 will cause the display to zoom in on the Sim's head.

Step 1: Name, Age, Gender, Skin Tone, Fitness

 * Name: Type in the Sim's first name.
 * Gender: Choose either Male or Female.
 * Age: Choose from the following five ages:
 * Toddler
 * Child
 * Teenager
 * Adult
 * Elder
 * Skin Color: Choose one of 4 (Costume Skin is available with cheats)
 * Fitness: Choose either slim or fat
 * You can also write a Sim Bio.

Clicking the "pair of dice" icon will create a new random Sim of the selected age and gender. Clicking the icon with several stylized "person" figures will open the Sim bin, and allow the player to choose a pre-made Sim of the selected age and gender. This will include Sims created in Body Shop.

Step 2: Heads

 * This step is optional. It is possible to skip it and create a head in Step 3.
 * Choose one of the 6 pre-made heads. (There are different heads for each skin tone and gender)
 * Details (nose, mouth, etc.) can be changed in Step 3.

Step 3: Hair & Face

 * Hair Color & Style: Choose a hair color and hairstyle. There are 4 colors (Black, Brown, Blond, and Red). Custom hair that has not been placed in one of those four color bins can be selected by clicking on the custom content star. If Seasons or later is installed, each outfit can have its own hairstyle. When creating an elder, players can still select the Black, Brown, Blond, or Red bins, but that choice will only affect the Sim's genetics. No matter which color bin is selected, only hair which has been "binned" as gray will be available. In addition, all hair which has been "binned" as gray will be available, regardless of its genetic color. When creating elders, the custom-hair bin works as it does with other life stages.

Each of these sections have a number of pre-made templates which can be selected.


 * Full Face:Optionally select the Sim's basic face shape and features by choosing one of the pre-made face templates. Change details like: Face Gaunt-Plump, Cheek Size, Lower Face Width, Face Short-Long, Underneck Up-Down, Ear Size
 * Brow: Change details like: Brow Thickness, Brow Up-Down, Brow Arch, Brow Rotate, Brow Orbit Shape, Forehead In-Out
 * Eyes: Select eye color (blue, light blue, green, grey, or brown) and change details like: Eye Size, Eye Width, Outer Eye Up-Down, Eyes Rotate, Eye Closeness, Eye Deepness, Eyes Up-Down, Orbit Up-Down
 * Nose: Change details like: Nose Size, Nose Width, Nostril Width, Nose Length, Nose Up-Down, Nose Tip Turn, Nose Tip Up-Down
 * Mouth: Change details like: Mouth Width, Mouth Up-Down, Mouth Corner Down-Up, Lips Thickness, Upper Lip Pinch, Lower Lip Pinch
 * Jaw and Chin: Change details like: Chin Up-Down, Chin In-Out, Chin Point, Jaw In-Out, Jaw Squared-Angled, Jaw Width

While it is normally not possible to make more than superficial changes to a Sim's appearance once he/she is in the game, Dr Vu's Automated Cosmetic Surgeon can be used to remake the face of a young adult, adult, or elder Sim. Also, the InSimenator or the Sim Blender can be used to remake a Sim's face.

Step 4: Makeup, Facial Hair & Glasses

 * Rings, Bracelets, Necklaces & more: Choose jewelry for your Sim. Available only if Bon Voyage or later is installed. Each outfit can have its own jewelry. When selecting rings or bracelets, the display will zoom in on the Sim's hands.
 * Makeup: Choose makeup. (Available for Male and Female Sims). Choose one for Blush, Eyeliner, Eyeshadow and Lipstick
 * Costume Makeup: Choose Costume Makeup that covers whole face.
 * Glasses: Choose glasses.
 * Much, if not most, custom jewelry is categorized as "glasses", and will be available regardless of which expansion packs are installed. Also, it is generally possible to select more than one item in this category.
 * Eyebrows: Choose eyebrows.
 * Stubble: Choose stubble. Available only for male Sims.
 * Beards & Mustaches: Choose a beard and/or mustache. Available only for male Sims.
 * For Maxis content, the color of eyebrows, stubble, and facial hair is controlled by the Sim's hair color. Custom eyebrows, stubble, and facial hair are likely to appear even if their color is different from the Sim's hair color.

Step 5: Clothing

 * Choose one outfit for each category:
 * Everyday
 * Formal
 * Undies
 * PJs
 * Swimwear
 * Athletic
 * Outerwear (if Seasons is installed)

The folder icon gives access to collections, which can be defined by creators or players as a way of grouping together items of clothing that share a particular style or theme.

Note: if FreeTime or later is installed, tooltips for clothing will not appear unless CAS is in Debug Mode.

Step 6: Personality & Aspiration

 * Aspiration: Choose one aspiration:
 * Pleasure (If Nightlife is installed)
 * Family
 * Romance
 * Knowledge
 * Fortune
 * Popularity


 * All toddlers and children have the Grow Up aspiration, and it cannot be changed. For older Sims, an aspiration must be chosen before the Sim can be saved.


 * Personality: Set personality (and zodiac sign). There are five personality traits, and 25 personality points which can be assigned to those traits. (All personality points must be assigned). Additionally, there are twelve pre-set personalities, one for each of the twelve zodiac signs.


 * Turn-Ons & Offs: (Available only if Nightlife or later is installed.) Toddlers and children do not have Turn-Ons and Turn Offs. For older Sims, two Turn-Ons and one Turn-Off must be chosen before the Sim can be saved.
 * Cologne
 * Stink
 * Fatness
 * Fitness
 * Formal Wear
 * Swim Wear
 * Underwear
 * Vampirism (Only available if Nightlife is installed.)
 * Facial Hair
 * Glasses
 * Makeup
 * Full Face Makeup
 * Hats
 * Blonde Hair
 * Red Hair
 * Brown Hair
 * Black Hair
 * Custom Hair
 * Grey Hair
 * These Turn-Ons & Offs are only available if Bon Voyage or later is installed.
 * Jewelry
 * Hard Worker
 * Unemployed
 * Logical
 * Charismatic
 * Great Cook
 * Mechanical
 * Creative
 * Athletic
 * Good At Cleaning
 * Zombiism (Also requires University, unless FreeTime or Apartment Life is installed.)
 * Robots (Also requires Open for Business.)
 * Plantsimism (Also requires Seasons.)
 * Lycanthropy (Also requires Pets.)
 * Witchiness (Only available if Apartment Life is installed.)

Debug Mode
Create a Sim has a "Debug Mode", which can be entered by enabling testingcheatsenabled while in the neighborhood view, then pressing Shift+N while in CAS. Debug mode allows the player to choose previously locked or hidden options, such as career outfits, special full face makeup, etc. Also, when CAS is in Debug Mode, the tooltips that appear when hovering on an item will be more detailed. Pressing Shift+M while in CAS will exit Debug Mode.

Note: The Debug Mode tooltip will not show the actual filename of a custom content item.

Family tree in The Sims 2
After several Sims are created, the family tree must be organized. All toddlers, children, and teens must be related to at least one adult member of the household. For example, a child cannot be linked (using the family tree tool) to an elder without an adult in the family. However, adults and elders can be set as roomies.

Relationships allowed by the family tree tool in Create a Sim:

Relationships to a Toddler, Child, or Teen
 * Toddler, Child, Teen: sibling or cousin
 * Adult: parent, uncle, or aunt
 * Elder: grandparent

Relationships to an Adult
 * Toddler, Child, Teen: child, niece, or nephew
 * Adult: sibling, spouse, sibling-in-law, or cousin
 * Elder: parent, parent-in-law, uncle, or aunt

Relationships to an Elder
 * Elder: sibling, spouse, or sibling-in-law
 * Adult: child, niece, nephew, or child-in-law
 * Toddler, Child, Teen: grandchild

Create-A-Student
In The Sims 2: University, Create-A-Student is the version of Create-A-Sim which is available when viewing the main screen of a college sub-neighborhood. Unlike the normal Create-A-Sim, Create-A-Student only creates young adult Sims who only appear in the Student Bin. Also, instead of creating "families", it creates households, and allows the player to give Sims within a household different last names.

Aside from that, Create-A-Student is pretty much the same as the normal CAS, except that the Sim stands in a different room during creation. Once finished, the Household will receive §500 per Sim, and they can be moved into a dorm or private home, but cannot be moved directly into an established Greek house.

Create-A-Pet
In The Sims 2: Pets, the Create-A-Pet feature is part of the CAS; the "Create a Dog" and "Create a Cat" icons will appear on the tab that is expanded when the "Create A Sim" button is clicked. An adult or elder dog or cat can be added to the family. There are many options to customize the appearance of a pet as well as predefined breeds. A pet's personality and name can then be chosen. The player can also unlock many new coats and collars through in-game experiences.

The Sims 3
The Sims 3 has the most advanced version of 'Create A Sim' in any of the series games so far with new tools like the "Create a Twin" and Create a Style, more skin tones, and body shape sliders.

To create a Sim, the player will be immediately presented with a tab at the bottom left of the neighborhood screen labelled 'Create Sims'. Click this and it will immediately load the Create-A-Sim screen. As in previous The Sims games, a household holds a maximum of eight (8) Sims. At the bottom of the screen are thumbnails displaying the current Sims existing in the household. By clicking on a Sim's thumbnail, a pop-up appears giving the option to edit, delete, save or share the Sim. A new feature added to the series, which can be selected from this menu, is the option to Create A Twin. By clicking this button, an identical version of that Sim appears in order to make identical twins, which can then be customized further. Beside the last Sim's thumbnail, there is a 'plus' button which adds a new Sim. Once this is clicked, the current Sim is saved and the new Sim is ready for customization. This button is disabled once there are eight Sims as is the Create A Twin button.

There is also an option called Play With Genetics (this feature is similar to "Create A Child" in The Sims 2). Once at least one male Sim and at least one female Sim have been created, selecting "Play With Genetics" will create a new Sim. Here, pick one male Sim and one female Sim and see what their child would look like, in each of the six create-able stages - toddler, child, teen, young adult, adult, and elder. This tool is useful for creating a household with parents and children.

Create A Sim is split into five different tabs. Below the five main sections, are two 'dice' tabs which allows the computer to randomly create an entire Sim or just the Sim's face. The following five tabs for the Sim are given out in further detail.

Basics
The very top button of the five tabs is basics where the player chooses a name, the age body shape and skin tone of their Sim.

First Name: Type in the Sim's first name. Players can have up to 13 characters.

Last Name: Type in the Sim's last name. The most common last name of the household will be the default household name, in case of a tie, the first one entered is selected. Like The Urbz: Sims in the City and later console games, each Sim can have an individual last name if desired. This is similar to creating students in The Sims 2: University.

Gender: Choose either Male or Female. The Male (♂) or Female (♀) will be used as an icon for Basics

Age: Choose from the following six ages:
 * Toddler (approximately 2–4 years old)
 * Child (approximately 5–12 years old)
 * Teenager (approximately 13–18 years old)
 * Young Adult (approximately 19–35 years old)
 * Adult (approximately 36–59 years old)
 * Elder (approximately 60 years and older)

As in previous games, babies cannot be created due to the fact that infants cannot have their facial structure customized, unlike toddlers or adults. They all look identical until they become toddlers, which is when genetics begin to appear.

Supernatural Types: This feature is added in Supernatural, and allows the player to choose a life state other than that of a normal Sim. There are 6 additional life states which can be chosen.


 * Werewolf
 * Vampireor


 * Fairy
 * Ghost


 * Witch
 * Genie

Mummies, SimBots, Imaginary Friends, Zombies, Aliens, PlantSims, and Mermaids cannot be made through Create-A-Sim.

Skin Tone: Whereas previous games only allowed three to four basic skin tones, The Sims 3 has 6 basic colors, and then uses a slider to either lighten or darken that Sim's skin, so that players can decide how light or dark a Sim's skin tone is. Patch 38 or Supernatural add an additional 6 tones, two of which are light and dark color-spectrum options. In those options, the slider, rather than lightening or darkening the Sim's skin, runs through a range of colors. Seasons makes the default skin tone used for aliens available in CAS.

The skin tones from Patch 38 are:


 * Orange
 * Purple
 * Turquoise


 * Grayscale
 * Light color spectra
 * Dark color spectra

Sliders
Weight: In The Sims 2, players could only choose between two basic body types: normal and fat. A third body type - Fit - could only be achieved in the game and not on the Create A Sim menu. In The Sims 3, however, body weight is determined by moving a slider left or right. Sims can be extremely skinny or extremely fat. However, toddlers do not have the option to have their weight customized. This can be decreased through gameplay if the Sim uses the Athletic skill and exercises or increased if the Sim eats with the "Stuffed" moodlet.

Muscle Tone: Again, there is a slider to determine how much muscle the Sim has or hasn't. Incredibly flabby Sims or incredibly muscular Sims can be created. However, toddlers, children, and elders do not have the option to have their muscle tone customized. This can be changed through gameplay if the Sim uses the Athletic skill and exercises.

Muscle Definition: Muscle definition is introduced with patch 17 or Late Night. It can customize the muscle definition of a Sim, making a Sim look bony or ripped. However, toddlers and children do not have the option to have their muscle definition customized. Pre-made Sims prior to Late Night and generated NPCs will always have this to minimum unless the Sim's job, like bouncing, requires this. Oddly enough, muscle definition cannot be gained through exercise and is genetic.

Breast Size: This slider is used to increase or decrease the breast size of a female Sim. However, female toddlers and children, and males of any ages do not have the option to have their breast size customized, but only teenage and older females do. It is introduced in patch 17 or The Sims 3: Late Night

Hair
The Hair tab is located below the Basics tab. The player can click it to customize the Sim's hairstyle. Three tabs are seen at the left hand side of the screen. The top tab is 'Hairstyle and Hair Accessories', the middle tab is 'Eyebrows and Eyelashes' and the bottom tab is 'Facial Hair' (for male Sims).

Hairstyle: Each hairstyle's color can be customized with one of eight basic colors. but players can customize the hair further by clicking the paintbrush icon. Individual colors for the base, roots, tips and highlights of the Sim's hair can be customized with a color palette and slider.

Hairstyle Accessories: Hair accessories come with pre-set hairstyles. Hair accessories include hats, headbands and ponytails. They can be customized as normal and then use the Create a Style tool to customize the design and color of the Sim's hat, ponytail, or headband.

Eyebrows And Eyelashes: Clicking the left center tab within the 'Hairstyle and Hair Accessories sections' is the 'Eyebrows And Eyelashes' section. Players can use the color palette and slider to customize the eyebrows' color by clicking the paintbrush icon once again. A check box allows eyebrows to match the roots of the Sim's hair. A slider for customizing the length of the Sim's eyelashes is available.

Facial Hair: Facial hair is located at the bottom left tab of the 'Hair and Hair Accessories' section. It is first chosen and then the color can be customized the same as hair color (i.e. the base, roots, highlights and tips can all be customized individually) or a basic color can be chosen. Unlike in The Sims 2, stubble and facial hair are not separate categories and appear in the same category. However, only teenage and older males have the option to have the facial hair customized.

Body Hair: Body hair is a new feature in CAS in Generations. It can be on the upper chest, stomach, upper, full and/or lower back, the arm, the calves or on the feet. You can choose or customize the body hair color. However, only young adult and older males have the option to have the body hair customized. Like other added features such as muscle definition and breast size, generated and pre-made NPCs do not contain body hair. Body hair is genetic. In Supernatural or Patch 38, body hair feature is added for female werewolves in any age group.

Hair Color: The Sim's basic hair color can be changed to even unnatural colors, as can the color of the roots, tips, and highlights. There are a variety of preset hairstyles which can be chosen for the Sim, and the color of the Sim's hair can be chosen or customized. User-made hair colors can be saved onto the bin and used later, and will be used by generated Sims. Hair colors can be shared to the exchange for other players to download and use. The following are the default hair colors that come with the base game:

Looks
The "looks" section can be either simple or complicated. It is where the face of the Sim is designed. Specific parts of a Sim's head can be modified by choosing a preset, or by going advanced and using sliders.

Head and Ears: Choose or customize the shape of the Sims' head and ears.

Eye Shape: Choose or customize the shape of the Sims' eyes.

Eye Color: Choose or customize the color of the Sims' eyes. The following are the default colors of the Sims' eyes chosen below:



Nose: Choose or customize the shape of the Sims' nose.

Mouth: Choose or customize the shape of the Sims' mouth.

Topical Details: Choose an option of the Sims' topical details. Freckles and beauty marks are available for toddlers and older. Face wrinkles are available only for middle-aged adults and older. Old age spots are available only for elders.

Eye Shadow: Choose the option of the Sims' eye shadow, and then choose or customize the color. Players can also adjust the opacity of the makeup, in Ambitions or patch 12. However, toddlers do not have the option to have the eye shadow customized.

Eye Liner: Choose the option of the Sims' eye liner, and then choose or customize the color. You can also adjust the opacity of the makeup, in Ambitions or patch 12. However, toddlers do not have the option to have the eye liner customized.

Blush: Choose the option of the Sims' blush, and then choose or customize the color. You can also adjust the opacity of the makeup, in Ambitions or patch 12. However, toddlers do not have the option to have the blush customized.

Lip Stick: Choose the option of the Sims' lipstick, and then choose or customize the color. You can also adjust the opacity of the makeup, in Ambitions or patch 12. However, toddlers do not have the option to have the lipstick customized.

Costume Makeup: Choose the option of the Sims' costume makeup, and then choose or customize the color. Toddlers have the option to only have this customized.

Tattoos: Choose or customize the option of the Sims' tattoos. The position of the tattoos can be on the back of the neck, the upper back, the lower back, the full back, the shoulders, the biceps, the forearms, the wrist, the chest, the belly button, or the ankle. However, toddlers, children and teenagers do not have the option to have the tattoos customized. This feature is introduced in Ambitions or patch 12.

Clothes
In this tab, players can choose what their Sims will wear. Five categories include everyday wear, formal wear, sleepwear, athletic wear, and swimwear. In The Sims 3: Seasons, the outerwear category is added for everyone. Each type of clothes found in each categories include tops, bottoms, full-body outfits, footwear (which players can choose, unlike in The Sims and The Sims 2), eyewear, earrings, gloves, bracelets, rings and socks. Players can create up to three outfits in all categories. Outfits can be customized during gameplay by clicking on a dresser. The color and pattern of the clothes can be chosen by the player with the Create a Style tool. However toddlers do not have the option to have athletic wear, swimwear and accessories chosen and/or customized.

Examples of clothes chosen in the Create-A-Sim mode.

Personality
Players can choose any of the traits available in the menu, also they can create favorite food, music and color, the Sim's voice (Toddlers have one voice slider, children have two voice sliders, and teenagers and older have three voice sliders), and the Sim's lifetime wish (which used to be a randomized lifetime want in The Sims 2.) Zodiac signs are readded in The Sims 3: Late Night and Patch 17, which can make Sims more friendly with other Sims with compatible signs. Players can also write the biography of their Sims. However, toddlers, children and teenagers don't have the option to have the lifetime wish chosen. The complete list of traits is found here.

Family tree
Relationships allowed by the family tree tool in Create a Sim.

Relationships to a Toddler, Child, or Teen
 * Toddler, Child, Teen: sibling or cousin
 * Adult: parent, uncle, or aunt
 * Elder: grandparent, great-uncle, or great-aunt

Relationships to a Young Adult or Adult
 * Toddler, Child, Teen: child, niece, or nephew
 * Adult: sibling, spouse, sibling-in-law, cousin, boyfriend/girlfriend, fiancee
 * Elder: parent, parent-in-law, uncle, or aunt

Relationships to an Elder
 * Elder: sibling, spouse, sibling-in-law, boyfriend/girlfriend, fiancee
 * Adult: child, niece, nephew, or child-in-law
 * Toddler, Child, Teen: grandchildren, great-niece, or great-nephew

Create a Pet
Create a Pet is a feature added in the Pets expansion pack. It's similar to Create a Pet in The Sims 2: Pets, but has enhancements which allow the player to create the pet in great detail.

Create a Bot
The Sims 3: Into the Future introduces a new feature, Create a Bot, which enables the players to create Plumbots. Plumbot is a customizable robot, like Sims and pets. The players can choose the parts of Plumbots, which are the head, body, arms, and legs. The players can also customize the color of each part with Create a Style. Additionally, Plumbots also have attributes that make them unique from other Plumbots, such as the gender, fitness, age, and trait chips.

The layout and interface of Create a Bot is designed to look futuristic.

The Sims 4
In The Sims 4, Create a Sim has been reinvented to make it "intuitive, powerful and flexible". In theory, this means that it has been tweaked to make it simpler to use; in practice, this appears to mean that it has been made more graphical. The interface builds upon content introduced in The Sims 3, but the multiple steps used in The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 have been eliminated, and menus have been split.

The detail edit mode has a new click and drag method which allows players to get certain parts of their Sims' bodies exactly as they want. It has been described as "Sculpting a Sim", similar to "playing with clay". Players can also set the Sims' walk and voice style. Traits and aspirations return in The Sims 4 as part of a Sim's personality.

Before the official release of The Sims 4, a CAS demo was available for download from Origin. It allowed players to explore CAS; but content was limited and young adult was the only life stage available.

Full View
In the full view, four menus can be seen. The options menu on the top-right lets players save the family, or load one from the gallery. At the top left there are two menus. One, indicated by a "plumbob" icon and "Hello, My Name Is...", lets the player choose the Sim's name, age, voice, and walk style. The voice options are Sweet, Melodic, and Lilted for females; and Clear, Warm, and Brash for males. Options for walk styles are: Default, Perky, Snooty, Swagger, Feminine, Tough, Goofy, and Sluggish.

Below the basic menu, players can choose an aspiration and a few traits. Since the number of available traits was reduced from 63 in The Sims 3 to 35, only three traits can be chosen. In addition, selecting an aspiration also selects an associated trait. These are:
 * Athletic - High Metabolism
 * Creativity - Muser
 * Deviance - Domestic
 * Food - Essence of Flavor
 * Fortune - Business Savvy
 * Knowledge - Quick Learner
 * Love - Alluring
 * Nature - Collector
 * Popularity - Gregarious

Full Body
Clicking on the Sim's body makes this menu visible. This will also show the sliders for muscle tone and fitness/fatness sliders. It is split into seven subcategories. All, except the first, are clothing categories.


 * 1) Body: made up of "Body and Skin Tone", which contains a few body presets, and "Tattoos".
 * 2) Styled Looks: lets the player choose from a set of pre-made outfits.
 * 3) Tops: consists of Jackets, T-Shirts, Sweaters, Tanks, Button-Up, Sweatshirts, Suit Jackets, Bras, Vests, and Polos.TS4_CAS_Demo_Tops.png
 * 4) Full Body: consists of Suits, Outerwear, Jumpsuits, Long Dresses, Short Dresses, and Robes.
 * 5) Bottoms: consists of Pants, Skirts, Shorts, Jeans, Cropped, and Underwear.
 * 6) Accessories: consists of Bracelets, Gloves, Rings, Leggings, and Socks.
 * 7) Shoes: consists of Sandals, Flats, Loafers, Slippers, Heels, Wedges, Sneakers, and Boots.

Clothing is split into five categories: Everyday, Formal, Athletic, Sleep, and Party. Clothing categories also have filters according to color, material, category and style. While each clothing category applies its appropriate filter, the filter can be eliminated if the player wishes to give the Sim a piece that is filtered out of the category.

Head View
By clicking on the sim's head, the player enters Head View, which opens its own menu. It is made out of these categories: This menu has several hidden categories, however, which become visible by clicking on the respective facial region. Those are: Head Shape, Eyebrows, Eyes, Ears, Nose, Cheek, Mouth, Jaw, and Chin. In this view, the player also has access to detail edit mode, in which features which are inaccessible in regular edit mode can be edited, while in turn, features which are accessible in regular edit mode cannot be edited in Detail edit mode.
 * Face: consists of 'Face and Skin Tone', and 'Face Detail' in which beauty marks, wrinkles, and freckles can be added.
 * TS4_CAS_Demo_Face_and_Skin_Tone.png: consists of Short, Medium and Long.
 * Facial Hair: consists of Beards, Goatees, and Moustaches.
 * Hats: consists of Brimless, Brimmed, and Baseball Caps.
 * Accessories: consists of Earrings, Glasses, and Necklaces.
 * Makeup: consists of Eyes, Eyeliner, Cheeks and Lips.

Note: If a sim is wearing glasses, the Eyes menu cannot be opened.

Multiple Sims
Once a Sim has been created, players can generate another Sim in the bottom-left menu. By choosing the option "Play with Genetics"', players can create a sibling, a child or a parent.

In the basic menu, relationships between Sims can be set. These can be: Parent, Child, Sibling, Roommate or Spouse.

Trivia

 * In the Windows and Mac versions of The Sims and The Sims 2, families and Sims cannot be re-edited in CAS once the family has been saved. In The Sims 3, this can be done by using cheats. Both The Sims 3 and The Sims Medieval allows Sims to be saved in CAS, and allows saved Sims to be re-edited in CAS.
 * However, in most console games, families can be re-edited in CAS.
 * Before The Sims 3, it was not generally possible for Sims in a household or family being created in CAS to be given different last names, though The Sims 2: University allowed it in Create a Student. Console versions of The Sims 2 games allow Sims to be given different last names, as does The Sims 3.
 * Prior to console versions of The Sims 3, males could not wear makeup, as that option was replaced by the "facial hair" option. In the Windows games such as The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories, males can wear makeup such as lipstick and eyeshadow.
 * In The Sims Bustin' Out, as in The Sims, it is possible to use less than 25 personality points. In The Sims Stories, as in The Sims 2, all 25 personality points must be used.
 * In some Sims games, such as The Urbz: Sims in the City and The Sims 3, changing clothes or planning an outfit will take the player to Create-A-Sim.
 * CAS is also seen in The Sims Bustin' Out when the player loads a game in Bust Out mode.
 * In console versions of The Sims 3, it is possible to re-edit a Sim by using the instant beauty karma power.
 * In The Sims 2, when a Sim plays The Sims: Bustin' Out on a computer, or a single Sim plays it on a video game set, the scenes shown are from CAS.
 * In The Sims 2: University, the Create-A-Student room has a portrait of  Will Wright, the creator of the Sims series.
 * In The Sims 2, players can use Debug Mode to create Sims with a second custom skin tone which is pale grey. Sims created with this skin tone are referred to as Mannequins. However it is not recommended for them to have children in-game, since the game does not support the game creating babies with this skin tone. Doing so will cause the game to crash. Mannequins also have a custom eye color by selecting the alien skin tone, giving them black eyes and then selecting the mannequin skin tone.
 * In the Windows version, and possibly the Mac version of The Sims 2, there is a quirk, which may be caused by a bug or a developer oversight, in the way the facial customization sliders are handled. If the player makes changes in one facial area (e.g., nose), selects a preset for another area, then goes back to the first, all the sliders will be back in the center. This has two effects. First, it can make undoing changes in an area after leaving it somewhat tricky, as the player needs to remember how far each slider was moved. Second, it has the effect of making it possible to customize a Sim's face far further than the game intended, as the player can move a slider to one end of its scale, re-center that slider by leaving the facial area and returning to it, then move the slider again. This also applies to the customization sliders in Create-A-Pet.