As The Sims 4 community eagerly awaits the launch of the Lovestruck Expansion Pack, a significant base game update has been released on July 23, 2024. This update introduces some of the most substantial enhancements and additions to the base game to date, providing all players with fresh content and new features, regardless of whether they purchase the upcoming expansion.
The Sims 4 Lovestruck Expansion Pack Making Big Change to NPCs
The upcoming Lovestruck Expansion Pack for The Sims 4 will introduce a big change that will make Sims act more realistically in relationships.
Key highlights of this update include the introduction of new CAS items, build tools, QoL for live mode, and further character customization options, among some bug fixes. Here's how this update plans to enrich the players' enjoyment while allowing themselves to immerse themselves to their Sims' lives.
Create-A-Sim Updates
The latest update to The Sims 4 introduces significant enhancements to the Create-A-Sim (CAS) feature, offering new items, preferences, and relationship status options. These updates significantly enhance the customization options available in CAS, providing players with greater control over their Sims' appearance and identities. The updates include:
Romantic Boundaries
The Identity panel has been expanded with new settings under the Gender and Sexual Orientation sections. Players can now specify how their Sims react to various forms of romantic interactions. This includes settings for becoming jealous over non-physical romance (such as flirting or compliments) or physical romance (such as kissing or Woohoo). Additionally, there are new options to adjust the leniency of a Sim's jealousy. This feature is especially useful for players who use full autonomy, as it can prevent unintentional flirting by other Sims from disrupting romantic relationships. Moreover, a recent bug fix ensures that Sims in relationships will no longer receive autonomous flirtations from other Sims, giving players better control over their Sims' romantic lives.
Gender-Neutral Relationships
The terminology for Sims' romantic relationships has been updated to be more gender-neutral. For example, "Husband" and "Wife" are now referred to as "Spouse," "Fiancé" and "Fiancée" as "Engaged," and "Boyfriend" and "Girlfriend" as "Partner." Additionally, players can now start new games with Sims already defined as partners in the relationships panel, eliminating the need to establish these relationships in live mode.
Apply to All Outfits Button
A highly requested quality-of-life feature, the "Apply to All Outfits" button, has been added. This allows players to apply hairstyles, makeup, accessories, or clothing items across all outfit categories simultaneously. This feature is particularly useful for players who prefer to maintain a consistent look across multiple outfits, saving time and effort in recreating the same style.
Eyelashes Category
Eyelashes now have their own category under the makeup section in CAS. This allows players to select specific eyelashes independently of the eye shape, with two new eyelash styles introduced. This update is especially beneficial for players who enjoy using custom content, as it prevents conflicts with other makeup or skin detail options.
New Nail Designs
New nail designs, including additional French tips and coffin nail styles, have been added to the game. There are also new color options, including various nude tones to better match the Sims' skin tones. There are also a lot of bug fixes related to this category, such as reducing the clipping of nail with gloves, as well as allowing players to customize toddler toenails.
New Hairs
The update includes a new hairstyle each for Feminine and Masculine Sims. Additionally, new color variations have been added for the Loc Braids hairstyle, created in collaboration with the Dark and Lovely.
Build-Buy Mode Update: Curved Pools
While the focus of the recent update has been on enhancements to Create-A-Sim (CAS) and Live mode, Build mode has also received some notable new features and improvements, albeit on a smaller scale.
Curved Pools
One of the most exciting additions is the ability to create curved (rounded) pools. This new feature allows players to design more unique and aesthetically pleasing pool shapes by mixing and matching curved and regular corners. This innovation offers greater creative flexibility, enabling the construction of pools that can better fit the architectural style and landscape of a Sim's home.
In addition to curved pools, a new pool lamp has been introduced, providing players with another option to illuminate their pools and enhance their visual appeal, especially during the nighttime. This pool light works well with the curved walls as well.
Bug Fixes and Improvements
Several important bug fixes and improvements have been made to the Build-Buy mode including:
- Stair Railings: A bug causing stair railings to disappear when a single tile is placed near them has been fixed, ensuring that staircases maintain their intended appearance.
- Cellar Stair Trim: The issue where cellar stair trim extended into the basement after the basement was removed has been resolved, preventing unwanted visual glitches.
- Large Curved Walls: Players can now add large curved walls on large curved platforms, expanding the architectural possibilities in their builds.
- Mega Double Door Swatches: The update has added new swatches for mega double doors, including options with transparent glass, providing more customization options for doors.
Live Mode Updates
Similar to the updates in Create-A-Sim (CAS) mode, Live Mode in The Sims 4 has received significant improvements, particularly in managing relationships and social interactions.
Hiding Relationships
Players now have the ability to hide Sims in the Relationship Panel to reduce clutter. This feature is useful for organizing the panel by removing Sims that are not actively involved in the household's story, such as acquaintances met only once. Players can select any Sim and choose "Hide Relationship" from the Relationship Panel, streamlining the display to focus on more relevant connections.
Relationship Interactions
A new category has been introduced in the interaction menu, making it easier to find specific social interactions such as "Ask to Join Household" or "Become Best Friends." This update simplifies the process of navigating and selecting key relationship actions, providing a more organized and intuitive user experience.
Neighborhood Stories
The Neighborhood Stories feature now includes two new options: Friendship Changes and Romance Changes. These additions allow other households in the neighborhood to experience dynamic changes in their social lives, such as forming new friendships or starting new romances. Players can keep track of these developments through daily updates available via the mailbox, adding a layer of depth and activity to the neighborhood beyond the played household.
Conversation Panel Update
The Conversation Panel has been enhanced to display more detailed information about interacting Sims. In addition to showing their current mood and relationship level, the panel now includes Sentiments, which provide deeper insights into how Sims feel about each other. This update enriches the conversational context, allowing players to better understand and manage their Sims' social dynamics.
Live Mode Bug Fixes
The Sims 4 has introduced several key bug fixes to enhance the realism and to especially have better control of relationship dynamics, not limited to but including:
- No Unsolicited Flirtation: Sims in a committed relationship will no longer receive unwanted autonomous flirtations from other Sims, unless they have the Noncommittal Trait.
- Orientation-Specific Interactions: Enchanting and Flirty interactions are now only available for Sims who are compatible with the active Sim's sexual orientation. This ensures that romantic advances align with each Sim's preferences.
- Married Sims' Wants: Married Sims will no longer autonomously express a Want to flirt with others outside their marriage, supporting more faithful relationships.
- Jealousy Adjustment: The update corrects an issue where engaged Sims were incorrectly receiving jealousy buffs meant for spouses. Jealousy responses are now more accurate and nuanced. Additionally Teen Sims no longer feel jealous over former teen romantic partners who have aged into Young Adults, avoiding awkward scenarios.
- Date Interactions: Sims will be interrupted less by third sims during dates, allowing players to contribute to the date even easily. Additionally, now both the Host and other Sim on a date can contribute to the goals instead of just the Host Sim. Furthermore, Sims can now ask others on dates without a pre-existing romantic relationship, though acceptance is still based on relationship dynamics. When a Sim is rejected for a date, the reason will show as a notification.
- Event Planning: Fixes bugs related to certain Sims not counting as guests, or Hire role, among other fixes.
In addition to the base game bug fixes, several expansion and game packs have also been updated. The most extensive fixes were applied to the *For Rent*, *Horse Ranch*, *High School Years*, *Growing Together*, *My Wedding Stories*, and *Dine Out* packs. For a comprehensive list of all updates and fixes, please visit EA's official update page.
The Sims 4
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 70 /100 Critics Rec: 26%
- Released
- September 2, 2014
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Crude Humor, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Maxis
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Cross-Platform Play
- Xbox, PlayStation, and computer versions of Sims 4 are all separate games incompatible with each other
- Cross Save
- no
WHERE TO PLAY
Unleash your imagination and create a unique world of Sims that’s an expression of you. Download for free, and customize every detail from Sims to homes and much more. Choose how Sims look, act, and dress, then decide how they’ll live out each day. Design and build incredible homes for every family, then decorate with your favorite furnishings and décor. Travel to different neighborhoods where you can meet other Sims and learn about their lives. Discover beautiful locations with distinctive environments and go on spontaneous adventures. Manage the ups and downs of Sims’ everyday lives, and see what happens when you play out scenarios from your own real life. Tell your stories your way while developing relationships, pursuing careers and life aspirations, and immersing yourself in this extraordinary game, where the possibilities are endless
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
