Sims 4: Here Comes The Swimming Pools!

EA has released an update for Sims 4 that brings swimming pools back into the fold.  If you’ll recall, the majority of Sims fans weren’t too pleased when EA in its infinite wisdom (uh huh) decided to shit can toddlers and pools for The Sims 4.   There is nothing so bad in EA world as a Simmer scorned.

The cost is free, and along with it are things that will make your pool experience a happy one with new bathing suits and the ability to put your pools anywhere you damn well please.  Except in the basement.  Because there are no basements and no way to make them.  And there are still no toddlers to swim…oh well, never mind.  Toddlers never could swim in The Sims.

Plus the usual abundance of fixes that will fix some things and probably break others.  So here you go.

From EA:

One of the aspects of pools in The Sims 4 that I’m personally very excited about is the new way to build. For months now, we’ve been talking with you about Build mode and just how easy it is to create homes. All that great technology has now been applied to pools, making pool building faster and easier than ever before.

First off, we have diagonal pool building! Many of you have asked for this so we’re happy it will now be included in The Sims 4 after you update your game.

I’ve always longed to recreate those visually dramatic pools that are often seen at exotic resorts. Now, players can place windows on the walls of pools to create an infinity-pool aquatic escape for your Sims. And we’ve also added the ability to adjust the depth of your pools by adjusting wall heights.

Rooftop pools! Yes, in The Sims 4 you can now build pools on the ground level, on the second floor and even on the roof!



But what about your Sims? They need awesome poolside outfits. Check out the new line of swimwear in Create A Sim! You can mix and match swimwear pieces or try out the “Swimwear” Styled Looks for today’s hottest trends. Now your Sims can really dress the part before taking a dip.

Your Sims don’t have to swim, they can sit along the pool ledge and chat with other Sims who are in the pool or snuggle close to a loved one. Spectators beware – they could be subject to some splashing from the other Sims in the pool. Watch out for that angry Sim who is cooling his temper by swimming around.  

Of course pools would not be pools without a new death type. Yup, our old favorite, Death by Drowning is back!  And you will see that the resulting ghost may be a little more wary of water than before.

You can read more about this particular update and patch fixes by using the link.  Have fun!

Updated:  Can’t have pools without a pool video can you?

EA Announces New Sims 4 Content including Ghosts, Pools, and……..STAR WARS!

 

Hopefully this will stop some of the whining over the Sims 4.  No, still no Toddlers.  But I’ve been playing the game and I don’t really miss them.  In fact, I thought they were always a bit of a nuisance.   

But if you make a lot of videos or need them for story telling, I could see a problem.  Could I have done without them in my Sims stories?  I think I could have written around that facet of life.  Toddlers were never an integral part of any of them.

But we will get pools soon and as of today, The Sims own version of the walking dead is back. 

And hey, Star Wars crap!  They should have put that in the premium edition.  It would have flown off the shelves.

From EA:

First, a rundown on the October update: October brings the spoooooky addition of Ghosts to The Sims 4. Your dead Sims can now rejoin the world of the living, where they maintain all the attributes they had a as a Sim, but with special new behaviors based on how they died.

Invite them to join your Sims’ household and they can be playable characters; if you dare, you might even find a way to bring your ghosts back to life.

Did you feel that disturbance in The Force? It was probably our new Star Wars Costume Set. Outfit your Sims in Luke Skywalker’s X-wing pilot suit, Leia’s white robes and awesome cinnamon buns, Darth Vader’s suit and, yes, even Yoda. I mean, who out there hasn’t dressed as Yoda for Halloween, right?

Now you can in The Sims 4, too! Community requests like new eye colors are in there, too. I have personally just given all my Sims purple eyes. Because I can. We’ve also fixed a few minor bugs as well.

Next come two more major updates: In November, get your Sim-suits ready (too much pun? Sorry!) because pools will make their triumphant debut in The Sims 4. December is Put-Your-Sims-To-Work Month, as we introduce new Career paths and rewards.

All of these updates will be free for our players in The Sims 4. Just log in to Origin and download the patches as we release them. Each update will be full of great content and some surprises. Think that gnomes only live in gardens? Clearly, you’re not playing enough of The Sims 4.

There's also the usual Corporate suck up to the customers in the article but you'll have to use the link to read that. Hey EA, what about the video of my houses? I thought it was pretty spectacular too! Oh well, maybe next time.

All of this is free so maybe things are looking up for Sims players and this is the new EA.  Time will tell.

The Sims 4: My Take on the Newest Edition of the Maxis Franchise Part One

I was going to write my thoughts regarding The Sims 4, but instead decided to try doing it by video.  There’s a lot to be said about the newest version, and hopefully I can get it all covered during the two videos I have recorded.

Keep in mind the last time I did any public speaking was years ago when I did some live streaming in regards to politics.  That wasn’t particularly good so don’t expect wonders here.  My eyesight is poorer, my voice is going, and thoughts don’t roll off the top of my head the way they used to.  But we’re still here and plugging away at it.

I’ve been playing the Sims since the original game came out and am now going through my fourth go round.  That doesn’t mean I belong to the all things Sims adoration society.  I have my share of criticism now and in the past.  But I try to be fair.

Added to my problem of getting this video up was a bunch of technical difficulties. I had one headache after another getting this video recorded and processed.  Some of the programs I used decided to get glitchy as hell.

So I finally got the first video done and I’ll have more to say when I post the second one.  Hopefully that will be tomorrow but don’t sue me if it doesn’t happen.  I want to cover a lot of area.  Maybe I’ll put up a third one if necessary.  Can I hold an audience that long?  Oh wait, I don’t have an audience.  Never mind.

Like I said, excuse the video quality.  It should have been better.  The voice over should be as well but it is what it is.  Better next time I hope.  (No overnight comedy moment tonight due to the lateness of working on this.)

Best and Worst of The Sims 3

My favorite Sims 3 reviewer on YouTube is The Lazy Game Reviewer. I find his reviews to be quite entertaining and we seem to agree on what we want out of our Sims gameplay.

So he's posted this video choosing his favorite expansion packs and favorite stuff packs along with the worst of both. On the stuff packs three of his worst picks were Katie Perry Sweet Treats, Diesel Stuff, and Movie Stuff. I did not purchase any of the three so it looks like I made a good decision in that regards.

I totally agree with him about Into The Future. It didn't take long to find out that the future in the Sims world is a rather boring place with not much to do. There were so many possibilities for that expansion pack and not a one of them was realized.  It was also stupid to make all of the future items available to present day Sims which meant you had absolutely no reason to transport your Sim to the future.

Here is LGR's best and worst of The Sims Three.

Some Custom Content for The Sims 4? Already?

The Sims 4 isn't being released until Tuesday, September 2, but already some custom content is beginning to appear here and there. Obviously some of it was made using the Create–a –Sam demo. 
First things first

These items which you can see on Mod the Sims by using this link (not sure if you have to be a registered member to view it) include a Michael Jackson Sam, some guru T-shirts, and some Pokémon hats. I might be interested in putting Michael Jackson into the game, but I really have no use for guru T-shirts and Pokémon hats.

One thing is for sure, if you paid extra for the special edition which could be $10-$20 depending on where you purchased it, you did not get your money's worth. The stuff included is as usual with things like this, how can I put this delicately? Oh yeah, shitty!  What? You were expecting them to give you something you can actually use?  Particularly the stupid looking hats and terrible makeup.

There's also the usual videos on YouTube from those who were able to get there are hands on a copy early. Some of those are in Asian, but here's one in English. Please keep in mind that I take ecstatic reviews with a grain of salt. A whole shaker full.  And especially when you start off your video talking about its greatness when you haven’t been played but five minutes. But you decide for yourself.  It’s kind of boring.  I couldn’t watch more than a few minutes.

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Will the Sims 4 be a Success, or a True Debacle?

I mentioned some time back on my Facebook page about the possibility that  the newest Sims reiteration, The Sims 4, had the scent of having problems written all over it.  Well, that whiff of problems is quickly turning into a resounding chorus of negativity.

Initially we found out that EA had cut an entire life stage out of the game. Sorry folks, no more toddlers.  But they will give you some half-assed infant state where they don't do much of anything and can only be interacted with right next to their baby carriage. Big whoop.

If they wanted to cut a life stage, they should've just wiped out the infants as they always have been on the lame side.  But that's beside the point. They should not have cut out an entire life stage at all. It reeks of programming laziness and not even understanding the game you’re working on. 

We’ve been through that  silliness before when EA released the World Adventures Expansion Pack for The Sims 3, which turned out to be a glitch ridden, weak and feeble attempt, at an adventure puzzle solving game to entice other types of gamers to The Sims franchise.  It was a major fail.

Next we found out that there would be no swimming pools in The Sims 4. That meant not only no pools, but everything that went with them including bathing suits.  Once gain, Hot Tubs have hit the road as well.

So now they've deleted one major Sim Recreation, one entire life stage, and one entire section of the wardrobe as a side effect.

Third, we found out that the customization we were used to having in The Sims 3 Create–a–Sim was being watered down to the point that your  choices were strictly limited. This also meant no more customizing your clothes, your furniture, your house, your walls, or anything else beyond anything except what EA could sell you.  You would have only a limited select number of patterns and colors to use as well.  Big whoop.

Fourth, teenagers, adults, and elders would all be the same height, once again erasing part of the line that separated the life stages from one another.  One of those not so subtle cost cutting for profit measures to keep from having to design a more specific clothing line for teens?  No doubt.

EA ballyhooed new Sims Emotions and Interactions, but we finally realized that this was nothing more than putting lipstick on the pig. A new name for the same old same old.

When  all was said and done and everything was added up there was a list of 89 features removed from the Sims game. So take your pick. It is either a game that was rushed out incomplete, or it's the usual cynical EA bullshit of leaving items out to sell them at a premium in their overpriced, Sim Fan Raking Sims store later on.  No group of gamers has been more gullible when it comes to EA's cash driven snow jobs than some of the rabid diehard Sims fans.

Now comes word that EA is withholding pre-release copies of the game for review. Usually this is a sign of trouble ahead. It's a way of getting through the first week of sales without facing the criticisms that are just on the horizon. 

From the Escapist:

Some gamers (like the ones on Reddit) feel this tactic will give EA a leg-up on first-week sales, as most reviews for the game won’t be made available until near the end of the week, and by that time The Sims 4 will have sold enough to look good enough to the average shareholder. It sounds like a petty corporate device for sales, but that’s the kind of sad times we live in.

EA doesn’t need to win, though. The smart thing to do is to NOT buy the game until you can read or watch reviews from sources you trust. Avoid the pre-order gimmicks and don’t buy into any digital bonus deals until you know for certain the game is worth the price of entry.

EA’s CEO Andrew Wilson can talk up about getting around to “listening” to their core audience, as mentioned in the interview with GamesIndustry.biz, but it doesn’t mean you have to keep letting them get away with their crap while they eventually learn the hard way what “listening” means.

As gamers, we don’t have to get burned every time in order to learn the lesson of not putting our hands in the fire. We should see the flames, feel the heat, and learn from the past mistakes of companies we’ve come to know to scorch us with shoddy releases and bull-crap-ridden corporate antics.

Here is my prediction that I made on Mod The Sims. The Sims is always a big preorder game, and EA will use those preorder sales numbers to boast that the game is another big seller and to deflect the heavy criticism that is sure to come afterwards.  They hope (and may be right) that nobody will care by the time the game is reviewed. At any rate, in three days we should begin to have our answer.  And yes, one way or the other I’ll be writing about it here.  Stay tuned.