New information on The Sims 4 has trickled out over the past few days, including details on group conversations, skills and a handful of new screenshots.
Careers
According to Issue 4 of The Sims Official Magazine, careers will have “up to ten levels” for your Sims to progress through. There will also be additional timed events that can help boost your Sim’s job performance.
Perhaps the biggest change so far revealed is that Sims will receive rewards for every promotion they achieve in the form of décor and objects.
Relationships
The relationship bar that Simmers have become accustomed to over the years will make a return. However, this bar will be separate from a romance bar, allowing Sims to have one-night stands quite happily without having to maintain a deeper relationship.
Skills
In the Official Magazine, Maxis were able to confirm a handful of skills that will make it into The Sims 4 by launch. We expect this list to be added to quite significantly before the game launches next year.
- Violin
- Guitar
- Hacking
- Writing
- WooHoo
- Cooking
- Gardening
Notably, your Sims can level up their WooHoo skills for the first time in the history of The Sims. It also looks like we’ll see the return of separate skills for each instrument type, as we saw in The Sims 3: Late Night. From this info, it seems that the hacking skill will also grow into a full skill after featuring as a hidden skill in The Sims 3.
Animations and pathfinding
The Sims Resource posted a fantastic in-depth look at the animations in The Sims 4. No animations have been ported from previous iterations in the franchise. In general, animations are much smoother and more natural than in previous games, with improved transitions between them.
One of the most persistent problems The Sims series has also been overcome: awkward path-finding. Sims will be able to side-step and also turn 360 degrees, with none of the robotic shuffling we’re used to.
The Sims Resource also happily reported that large groups of Sims no longer spend hours bunched up at doorways as they try to pass through simultaneously.
Sims will also follow garden paths rather than simply following the most direct route across grass.
Group dynamics
The Sims Resource also noted that groups of conversing Sims will slowly and naturally adjust the way they are standing when additional Sims enter and leave the circle.
When Sims are speaking, the other Sims in the circle will only turn their upper bodies to face the speaker, rather than their feet as in The Sims 3.
Sims will gesture in a wider variety of ways when speaking, and their gestures will reflect the response they obtain from other Sims.
On a related note, multitasking has also improved in The Sims 4, with Sims able to continue talking while running on a treadmill or making drinks, for example.
These improvements may seem minor but they show that Maxis are keen to pay attention to detail wherever possible.
Next page: Emotions, aspirations, new screenshots
Emotions
Very little additional information about emotions has been revealed since the game’s official unveiling at Gamescom, where we learned that Sims will bounce between many different emotional states based on their needs, interactions and environments.
These emotional states in turn affect the interactions available to Sims, for example, in a romantic state a Sim would be unable to insult the Sim they had been flirting with.
The recent issue of The Sims Official Magazine gives us a couple of new examples. First, angry Sims can run faster on treadmills to help them calm down, and second, if Sims are feeling down they are able to eat ice cream in the bathtub (that’s what we all do in that situation, right?).
In an interview with IGN, Grant Rodiek, Producer on The Sims 4, said that there were about 15 emotions in the game, including “bored, stressed, inspired, focused, energised, cranky, playful, dazed and confident.”
Traits, whims and aspirations
Traits make their return from The Sims 3. Whims are short-term goals that Sims may decide they want “in-the-moment,” such as playing chess. Whims grant lifetime happiness points which can be used to purchase rewards.
Aspirations will generally equate to lifetime wishes in The Sims 3 (for example, Sims will aspire to reach the pinnacle of a certain career, buy a certain object or master a skill), but Sims will be able to have any number of these long term goals.
Once an aspiration has been achieved, the Sim gains a relevant aspiration trait.
Build and buy modes
At the Gamescom reveal we saw a quick glimpse at how easily rooms can be placed and resized in The Sims 4. The official magazine reveals that foundations can be added and removed without having to destroy the entire house.
Clicking on a tile will bring up information about the objects and furnishings in that room, from where you can easily preview and buy sets of items that fit various themes, such as modern décor. You will also be able to quickly ensure items in the room all fit your desired colour palette, if you wish.
Clothing
The magazine reveals that there will be more expensive clothes in The Sims 4, and your Sims’ emotions will be affected by the price and type of the clothing that they wear.
New screenshots
Finally, SimCookie published five new Sims 4 screenshots. Click the images below to enlarge them.
Create-A-Sim
Houses & build mode
Live mode
In case you missed them, a selection of previously leaked Sims 4 screenshots were added to the EA website last month.
The Sims 4 is due to release in 2014.