So I’ve been thinking, I really want a shopping mall in the Sims. There’s so many ways they could incorporate it. I just feel like it’s something missing from Sims 2 - 4, and it always feels unrealistic not to have one in a game as way to get out of the day. So as a Game Pack, I would imagine we’d need maybe a single neighbor hood (eg like Forgotten Grotto) with one huge lot (maybe 64x64, but I would encourage them to go one better and maybe go 90x90). Obviously have one prebuilt Mall (with empty room for players to build their own Shops) and the ability to build your own from scratch. I would imagine that they could repurpose the food stalls and give us indoor versions that look like the front of Fast Food shops. New Gameplay items:Clothes Racks (Either like Hot Date where it’s shop exclusives outfits, or like Sims 2 ( you could change how the game works in Settings to have Full Acces to CAS or buy purchase only). Grocery items: Things like shelves, freezers, fridges, fresh produce stations etc). Either buy from the store or have someone deliver groceries to your door. Or disable it in settings.Hairdresser stations, new Workstations etc. I’m not sure how it would work overall, but I’m sure they could think of something to incorporate what I’m saying. Other packs could obviously work in favour of this. I imagine they would have to make the lot a “Special” lot type with custom coding so that Sims wouldn’t just shop and eat, but they could also do thinks like use a gym or visit a spa for a massage inside the shopping centre.Would you guys buy a Shopping Mall GP and if so, what would you want to see in it?

Very unlikely to happen in TS4 as large lots filled with tons of objects are bad for performance. The simulation lag would be awful as autonomy calculation would need to take everything in every shop into account at once. The current 20 Sims per zone limit is also way low for a mall. I mean, 20 probably isn’t even enough for the number of employees a decent sized mall needs. Spas in Spa Day aleady have like 6 employees at once.

"@elelunicy;c-16580934" wrote:Very unlikely to happen in TS4 as large lots filled with tons of objects are bad for performance. The simulation lag would be awful as autonomy calculation would need to take everything in every shop into account at once. The current 20 Sims per zone limit is also way low for a mall. I mean, 20 probably isn’t even enough for the number of employees a decent sized mall needs. Spas in Spa Day aleady have like 6 employees at once.True. But potentially they could find a way around it. I say as if it’s very unlikely to happen BUT;Some areas like the Willow Creek Park have very simple backdrops and huge lots in this area seem to run really well whereas the rest of the game they run terribly. I also had a mod that increased the amount of Sims in my game and I didn’t have any issue in the base game park areas. But I did have issues elsewhere. I also know to help reduce lag in the Science lab they made the backdrops really basic (it’s like it’s in the middle of nothing) as that lot gets really laggy with all the equipment and that object that makes other objects. They could create custom rules for this large area world but yeah. I hear what you’re saying. Thing is they’re creative solutions to problems surely. Even doing what the Sims 2 did and completely limiting how NPC Sims Work and making them almost hollow with no programming, skills etc. so the game doesn’t have to do anything with them.

Idk somehow I am already enjoying the Get to Work aspect imo. They just need to improve it such as tweak the customers behaviors and create some new objects. Seems very unlikely tho.

I’d love this, and it’s still possible it could happen, SGGrant was saying a few weeks ago that he’d love to expand retail.I think instead of one huge shopping mall that’s all open at once, it should be divided into ‘units’ much like the CL apartments, where each acts as its own store, that would make it much more stable.https://twitter.com/simgurugrant/status/997141956554735616?s=21

I think it would require too much overlap with the Get to work expansion, which already gives you shops and the ability to sell clothes. I'd love to see a few more commercial lot types though, things like hair salons, and maybe some kind of way to combine lot types. We might not be able to make a fully functioning mall (though I got pretty close with what we already have), but combining lot types could make one lot work as both retail and restaurant, for example.

Would you buy a “Shopping Mall” GamePack?

elelunicy
New Spectator
7 years ago
Very unlikely to happen in TS4 as large lots filled with tons of objects are bad for performance. The simulation lag would be awful as autonomy calculation would need to take everything in every shop into account at once. The current 20 Sims per zone limit is also way low for a mall. I mean, 20 probably isn’t even enough for the number of employees a decent sized mall needs. Spas in Spa Day aleady have like 6 employees at once.
JackJack_Morris
7 years ago
"@elelunicy;c-16580934" wrote:
Very unlikely to happen in TS4 as large lots filled with tons of objects are bad for performance. The simulation lag would be awful as autonomy calculation would need to take everything in every shop into account at once. The current 20 Sims per zone limit is also way low for a mall. I mean, 20 probably isn’t even enough for the number of employees a decent sized mall needs. Spas in Spa Day aleady have like 6 employees at once.

True. But potentially they could find a way around it. I say as if it’s very unlikely to happen BUT;

Some areas like the Willow Creek Park have very simple backdrops and huge lots in this area seem to run really well whereas the rest of the game they run terribly. I also had a mod that increased the amount of Sims in my game and I didn’t have any issue in the base game park areas. But I did have issues elsewhere.

I also know to help reduce lag in the Science lab they made the backdrops really basic (it’s like it’s in the middle of nothing) as that lot gets really laggy with all the equipment and that object that makes other objects.

They could create custom rules for this large area world but yeah. I hear what you’re saying. Thing is they’re creative solutions to problems surely. Even doing what the Sims 2 did and completely limiting how NPC Sims Work and making them almost hollow with no programming, skills etc. so the game doesn’t have to do anything with them.
TS1299
7 years ago
Idk somehow I am already enjoying the Get to Work aspect imo. They just need to improve it such as tweak the customers behaviors and create some new objects. Seems very unlikely tho.
keylimepiesims
7 years ago
I’d love this, and it’s still possible it could happen, SGGrant was saying a few weeks ago that he’d love to expand retail.
I think instead of one huge shopping mall that’s all open at once, it should be divided into ‘units’ much like the CL apartments, where each acts as its own store, that would make it much more stable.

https://twitter.com/simgurugrant/status/997141956554735616?s=21
SerraNolwen
New Rookie
7 years ago
I think it would require too much overlap with the Get to work expansion, which already gives you shops and the ability to sell clothes. I'd love to see a few more commercial lot types though, things like hair salons, and maybe some kind of way to combine lot types. We might not be able to make a fully functioning mall (though I got pretty close with what we already have), but combining lot types could make one lot work as both retail and restaurant, for example.
kittencalledpip
7 years ago
100% I'd love grocery shops back so much or ordering online! It's a small detail but it adds so much realism
elainepink
7 years ago
Nah..
janyses
New Observer
7 years ago
I don't think I'd be interested because I already have a shopping mall in my game. The only thing it doesn't have that you mentioned was hairdresser stations. And groceries, because I don't think I've ever seen groceries in a mall (but I could add some if I wanted.) They've already given us quite a bit of content to support this type of gameplay.
pixiejuice
7 years ago
I would be interested only if they gave us a building tool to divide lots into smaller ownable pieces. So one 64x64 could divide into several smaller shops that sims could own and change the individual zoning to whatever, including residential for "apartments". (To make up for not giving us real apartment tools in CL.) So if they made a mall pack that could do all that, yes, I'd buy it.
NebraskaDawn
7 years ago
I love the idea of a building tool to divide lots. I do not know if it is possible but I think it would be nice for retail spaces and multi family homes. I also think it would be interesting to have an additional neighborhood that was one large mall space with separate shops. I would not want loading screens between the shops. I would like for my sims to go from store to store or cafe without interrupting the story.