Tag: The Sims 4

The next Sims 4 expansion might have leaked

It looks like the next Sims 4 expansion leaked, and assuming the information is true, we’re getting rental properties in the life sim game

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It looks like the next Sims 4 expansion leaked, and assuming the information is true, we’re getting rental properties in the life sim game. The leak comes from Instant Gaming, an online store with a pretty solid track record of leaking previous Sims 4 expansions, and while not every Simmer is convinced, there are a few details that make it seem legit.

The expansion, named just “Rental Houses” on Instant Gaming, reportedly lets your Sims buy and manage rental properties as landlords or move into multi-occupancy buildings – apartments, in other words – to live closely with your neighbors.

Sims dataminer and Twitter user Anadius posted a more robust description that says you can do everything from renting out basement rooms to building apartments and using new lots for duplexes. Rentals currently exist in The Sims 4, but only as vacation getaways for your Sims.

“From potlucks to evictions, there’s a lot to do and a whole new world to do it in,” the leaked description reads on Instant Gaming.

That world is Tomarang, complete with an animal shelter and a bustling night market. The description from Anadius and Instant Gaming also mentions street food items up for grabs as pre-order incentives, including a grill cart and street umbrella. EA and Maxis recently launched an item pack with an emphasis on cooking up street food, so that particular tidbit has me thinking this is probably true.

If so, EA will reportedly be launching The Sims 4 Rental Homes on Dec. 7, 2023, for PC and console.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

New Sims 4 pack finally lets you be a master chef

A new Sims 4 pack is out now, and it brings some extensive changes to how cooking works in the life-sim game

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A new Sims 4 pack is out now, and it brings some extensive changes to how cooking works in the life-sim game, including the option to set up your own food street stall. The Home Chef Hustle stuff pack adds new appliances, clothes, and cupcake cooking options, along with better filters to find your recipes more easily, the latter of which is also included in a free base game update.

There’s a bunch of new pizza recipes inspired by Italian favorites, some extra bread recipes, a waffle maker, and new cooking skills, but the change I’m most interested in is what you can do with all this. The Home Chef pack lets you set up a food stall on any lot and sell your creations to neighbors and strangers, so you improve your relationships and get paid for it. It’s a win-win. 

You don’t even have to load your pockets with dishes before heading out. Some of the new appliances – the countertop pizza oven and waffle maker, for example – make it easy to cook what you need on site.

Cooking always felt like a chore to me before, an unfortunate necessity that I’d spend the least amount of time and money on, thanks in no small part to the nightmare of actually finding the recipe you wanted. Shaking up the available dishes, adding new filters, and letting you easily earn money from it makes taking that time out in the kitchen a bit more appealing. Maybe now, my Sim can eat something other then scrambled eggs for every meal.

Speaking of variation, the Home Chef pack adds new clothing and kitchen-appropriate hairstyles to pick from as well.

The Home Chef Hustle stuff pack is out now on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC for $9.99.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

It looks like The Sims 5 will be a free-to-play game

A new job posting from EA and Maxis suggests The Sims 5 will be free-to-play from the start, whenever the life-sim launches

A new job posting from EA and Maxis suggests The Sims 5 will be free-to-play from the start, whenever the life-sim launches at some point in the distant future (thanks, Kotaku). The job posting is for a head of monetization and marketplace for Project Rene, The Sims 5’s codename, and the job description also suggests a few changes may be coming to how the series works.

“Own Project Rene’s in-game marketplace of content and ugc [user-generated content] (free and paid), and manage a data-informed player-centric player purchase journey – maximizing value to players, optimizing player spend patterns, and minimizing player churn,” the first bullet point in the description reads.

The second point says the candidate will oversee pricing for all content in “this free-to-enter” game. It sounds a lot like the model EA switched to for The Sims 4, where the base game is free, and additional content – expansions, themed items, and so on – comes at a cost.

How much you’ll get in the free part remains to be seen, since The Sims 5 is still very early in development.

The “in-game marketplace” portion has some fans thinking Maxis has new plans for how you access new items and the like in the game. The Sims 4 directs you to the marketplace associated with your platform – Steam, for example, or EA’s Origin store. A marketplace integrated directly into the game would certainly be more convenient and may make it easier for EA to offer specific pieces and types of content as well, including custom content, creations and mods that users build that normally live on fan sites and have to be installed manually.

While The Sims 5 is still a ways away, Maxis is gearing up to release the latest Sims 4 expansion, Horse Ranch, in July 2023.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Maxis is rustling up The Sims 4 horse expansion and ranch town

EA and Maxis announced The Sims 4 horse expansion and release date, the life game’s worst kept secret, with horse customization and more

EA and Maxis announced The Sims 4 horse expansion and release date, the life game’s worst kept secret after it leaked several times in previous weeks. The Sims 4 horse expansion, officially called the Horse Ranch Expansion, launches for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation on July 20, 2023, for $39.99, and if you buy the expansion anytime between now and Aug. 31, 2023, you’ll get a bonus rocking chair, guitar, and wagon wheel art to decorate your home on the range with.

Maxis and EA worked with sensitivity reader Stacey Parshall Jensen to create food, clothing, and decor items that reflect Native American culture, and Maxis is making a donation to the Native American non-profit organization Sacred Healing Circle. Sacred Healing Circle works to preserve traditional practices and knowledge and promote learning through programs such as the Native American Horse Preservation and Research Program.

The Horse Ranch expansion’s key attraction is, as you’d expect from the name, the horse ranch. You run your own farm and can even welcome horses into your Sim family, harvest grass for animal feed, clean out the stables, and even make batches of your own nectar – Sim-wine – with fruit grown on the farm. If maintaining this open-air paradise gets a bit too much to handle, your Sim can hire a ranch hand to help out around the place.

Like most expansions, this one comes with a brand-new town as well, complete with horse park, bar, rodeo, and dance hall. Back on the farm, you can customize horses as you see fit, including breed and coat length, and encourage two horses to “nuzzle under the stars” and produce a foal with unique traits. Sheep and goats are also welcome on the farm, and their wool and milk provide an additional income source to the busy horse rancher.

As for the ranch itself, you have a few choices, including cabin and farmhouse, with plenty of new furniture to fill it with and clothes to make your Sim match the vibe.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Fans are upset after EA promises to fix Sims 4 relationship bug

EA pledged to fix a Sims 4 bug that causes relationships to max out quickly in the life game, and some fans aren’t too happy about it

EA pledged to fix a Sims 4 bug that causes relationships to max out quickly in the cozy life game, and some fans aren’t too happy about it. Anytime the player’s Sim took a photo of another Sim, their relationship would increase by roughly 10 percent and would max out after 10 photos or so (thanks, PC Gamer).

That skips the entire “getting to know you” phase – becoming closer, taking walks together, chatting about aliens – and some Simmers thought that took the fun out of making friends and lovers. EA and Maxis evidently agreed and included the problem in the latest Laundry List, a selection of community-reported bugs and other problems the team plans on fixing soon.

Others despaired over the change.

“omg please don’t fix the photo bug its [sic] so helpful,” one Twitter user said.

“Who reported the photo relationship, I just wanna talk,” another said.

As ever with these announcements, though, the most common reaction was annoyance over the issues EA and Maxis aren’t addressing. Some of these include long-standing problems, such as infants aging rapidly, a problem that popped up after 2022’s The High School Years expansion, issues in build mode, Sims randomly sitting on the ground, crops reverting to seeds – there’s a lot. The Sims 4 may have been around for a while, but every new update tends to break as much as it fixes.

Even without the photo bug, The Sims 4 still has plenty of shortcuts to hasten your relationship building. If you use the Social Bunny app, for example, you can max out a friendship within a week or so just by sending kind messages – even if your new best friend randomly sends hateful llama jokes in return sometimes.

Meanwhile, Maxis is working on something that isn’t quite The Sims 5, but promises to revolutionize the classic series.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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New Sims 4 update overhauls a legacy NPC family

A new Sims 4 update of the Delivery Express variety is live in the life sim, and it brings some changes to a familiar family and the kitchen

A new Sims 4 update of the Delivery Express variety is live in the life sim, and it brings some changes to a familiar family and your cookbook. Some fans accused EA and Maxis of whitewashing classic Sims NPCs in The Sims 4, including the Goth and Caliente families, as their skin tones were noticeably lighter than they were in previous games, and the latest update addresses that problem for the Caliente family.

The entire family – twins Dina and Nina and mother Katrina – have new facial features, hair, and skin tones that align them more closely with how they look in The Sims 2 and their multicultural heritage. In the older game, Katrina was Nighat Caliente, a woman of Arab descent, and the twins’ father was a Spanish man named Flamenco.

Flamenco is nowhere in sight in The Sims 4, and in his place is Don Lothario, described as Katrina’s toy boy. The new update gives him body hair and a facial hair option, following that customization feature’s debut in 2022’s High School Years expansion. 

All four members of the Caliente household now have a set of likes and dislikes. The free update that launched alongside the Growing Together expansion introduced likes and dislikes for player Sims and newer NPCs, though most legacy NPC families were passed over for the change unless you use Sims mods.

The second half of the Delivery Express update introduces new Jewish recipes you can make at home. The first is Matzah Ball Soup, which requires an herb and level four cooking, and the second is Challah Bread. You can whip that one up with just eight Simoleons and a level two cooking skill.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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New Growing Together trailer highlights ambitious Sims 4 expansion

EA and Maxis released a new trailer for the upcoming Sims 4 expansion Growing Together, diving into what the life game has in store

EA and Maxis released a new trailer for the upcoming Sims 4 expansion Growing Together, diving into what the life game’s latest update has in store. The trailer introduces the Michaelsons, a family living in Growing Together’s new world San Sequoia, and uses them as a window into the new traits and relationships systems.

Growing Together introduces family dynamics, a system of principles that loosely governs how your family members interact and can change over time. For example, you might have two lovers or spouses and set their dynamics to “close.”  If they spend time together, reach milestones, and make memories – and if their personality traits are a good match – they’ll remain close even when times get tough.

Less well-adjusted relationships might not be so lucky, though. Children can become jealous or unhappy, and some relationships may fall apart if the two aren’t suited for each other. Some Sims with contrasting preferences might even hate each other on sight.

Growing Together adds new traits and milestones for each life stage as well, including babies and toddlers, to help give you a bit more say in how your Sim develops over their lifetime. It’s all very similar to one of the most popular Sims 4 mods, Have Some Personality and seems like it might change the game quite a bit compared to recent expansions, like the buggy High School Years from 2022.

The Sims 4 Growing Together launches for PC and console on March 16, 2023.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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The best Sims 4 mods to freshen up your life game

After a while, installing The Sims 4 mods is a must if you want to keep the life game from getting dull and add some realism in the mix

After a while, installing The Sims 4 mods is almost a must to keep the life game fresh. The Sims 4 and its truckload of expansions, including the upcoming Growing Together pack, give you nearly endless ways to live your ideal fantasy life or make hell on earth for some poor little Sim churning out paintings in a basement. “Nearly endless” isn’t quite the same as endless, though, and after a while, you might start getting restless with the traits, scenarios, and boundaries Maxis and EA set in the life game. You’re not alone. Other Sims fans have as well, and they’ve created an impressive range of mods, add-ons, and tweaks that bring depth and realism to the game. These are some of the best.

 

New Sims 4 expansion Growing Together sprouts up in spring 2023

EA announced a new Sims 4 expansion, Growing Together, set to add new relationship dynamics and much more in the life-sim

Growing Together is the next Sims 4 expansion, EA and Maxis announced in a new trailer, and it’s coming up fast. Growing Together will launch March 16, 2023, for PC and console, bringing new relationships, traits, actions, and more to the simulation game.

Growing Together is essentially an expansion for the existing Parenthood expansion. San Sequoia Bay, the new world it introduces, is built around family life, with parks, libraries, and restaurants just a few steps away from its three neighborhoods. The expansion also adds detailed customization options for infant Sims, new milestones throughout childhood, and sets of traits and actions your young Sims will acquire as they grow up.

That’s in addition to infant-specific aspirations and quirks that help shape your tiny Sim throughout the rest of their lives.

Sims at all life stages will have new interactions, milestones such as mid-life crises, and ways to deepen relationships with each other, including the new chemistry system. Sims can instantly feel a connection with new acquaintances or despise them on sight depending on their social preferences.

While that influences what kind of friends they make, EA said it’s also designed to make family relationships more lively and dynamic – though not always harmonious.

The Sims 4 Growing Together will cost $39.99 when it launches – hopefully without any game-breaking bugs – though EA is running a discount on its website. Anyone who purchases the pack before April 27 will also get a few pieces of new outdoor furniture for free.

Meanwhile, The Sims 5 is currently in development – except it may not be The Sims 5.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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The Sims 4 is going free-to-play next month

EA is making The Sims 4’s base game free for everyone soon.

After being out for more than eight years, The Sims 4 will no longer have a cost of entry.

On Wednesday, Electronic Arts (EA) announced that The Sims 4 is going free-to-play starting Oct. 18, 2022, for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Only the base game, that is — expansions, Kits, and all DLC, will still be regular price.

“EA and Maxis have welcomed millions of The Sims players over the years,” EA said in a press release. “With The Sims 4 base game going free, the team is more dedicated than ever to developing new and meaningful experiences for players, and will continue to develop and release packs, Kits and Sims Delivery Express drops into the foreseeable future.”

That’s not all, either. EA is giving away the Desert Luxe Kit to anyone who already owns The Sims 4, a promotion from Sept. 14, 2022  through Oct. 17, 2022. You’ll only need to log into the game to redeem this offer. 

A big stream will also kick off The Sims 4‘s free-to-play model next month. Aptly titled Behind The Sims Summit, which is happening on Oct. 18, 2022, at 10:00 A.M. PDT // 1:00 P.M. EDT // 5:00 P.M. GMT // 6:00 P.M. BST. The broadcast will supposedly outline everything EA and developer Maxis have in store for The Sims 4 going forward.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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