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secretxsims's avatar
7 years ago

Cars In The Sims 4?

I posted this on another forum and thought I'd add it here as well. :) :)

So I was sleeping one day and I just started thinking about cars in the Sims 4 and coming up with ideas about how they would work (while half asleep I should mention). Anyway, I decided to share my thoughts. Let me know what you think and also any ideas you have. Just a warning, this is quite long.

Cars would work very similarly to how they work in the Sims 2. You would need a driveway to be able to place the cars (obviously) and a sim would get in the car which would then back into the street or teleport into the street & drive away.

Travelling
When you want to go somewhere, you can either use the phone like you do normally, or you can click on your car and the same options would come up as you have when you use the phone. However, there would be some extra options with the car such as:

  • Go for a drive - sims would disappear off the lot for a few hours and come back in a good mood with their needs maxed.
  • Drive to work - sims would get in the car and drive off the lot to go to work.
  • Take to school - sims can drive their kids to school (sims get an increase in relationships)
  • Woohoo - pretty self explanatory ;) ;)
  • Work on - sims with handiness skills can work on their cars (e.g. check tires, check oil, customize etc) although lower handiness skills result in terrible consequences that may need to be fixed by a real professional.

  • Service - alternatively, sims can take their cars to be serviced/fixed at a garage.
  • Wash - cars will get dirty over time and will need to be washed. There are two options with this:

Sims can wash their cars at a car wash (they get in the car and disappear for a while, returning with a clean car - and fewer simoleons).

Sims can wash the car themselves (or get their kids to do it as punishment) Friends/household members could join in and it will give an increase in relationships.

Gameplay Options
Having cars in the game could also be a chance to bring back a much needed aspect from the Sims 3 - grocery shopping. Not everyone wants or likes to forage for ingredients.There could be an option to go grocery shopping when you click on the car.

The sim gets in the car and disappears for a while. As in the Sims 3, a menu will appear listing all the food/houshold items available to purchase from the grocery store. You sim then returns with these in their inventory and an option to put away groceries will become available.

Having cars in the game could also be a way to bring back the danger aspect. Cars like in the Sims 2 will need alarms or they can be stolen by robbers. Cars could also catch fire or explode if someone with no handiness skill tries to fix or customize them - resulting in the need for firefighters to come and put the blaze out - and also issue your sims a large fine for public endangerment.

Events/Venues

  • Lot venues such as a drive in movie theater could be added.
  • Also, sims could host tailgate parties to celebrate sporting events (this would be really fun for when University comes along).

Logistics - How it would work in-game

  • Sims require a driveway before they can place a car. For obvious reasons sims living in San Myshuno cannot have cars.
  • When a sim uses the car, they arrive at their destination the same way they would if they had used the phone. However, there will be a notification stating that money has been deducted from their funds for parking (nothing much maybe 10 or 20 simoleons).

  • Unlike the Sims 3, the car won't be in the sim's inventory. Instead, there will be a set of car keys in the sim's inventory which you can click on and it will give the option to drive home/drive home with... or travel someplace else.

  • Cars will also have their own inventories where you can place objects.
  • Having a car will also unfortunately mean higher bills (insurance, gas/petrol etc.)

Pets

  • Pets could take a drive with their owners (and the relationship is increased)
  • Cats could curl up and sleep/nap on the hood or roof of cars
  • Pets could play in the suds while their owners wash the car

Seasons
When we do get Seasons, the weather would also affect your car (e.g. after heavy snow, you would have to shovel your driveway in order to use your car or again, get your kids to do it).

Careers
Along with cars, there would be a few careers to go with them such as:

  • Mechanic (active career)
  • Driving Instructor (rabbit hole career)
  • Automotive Designer (rabbit hole/work from home)
  • Car Salesman (rabbit hole)
  • Dealership Owner (business)

Kids/Teens

  • Kids could get in the cars and pretend to drive
  • They could help their parents wash the cars
  • Toddlers will need car seats. You can simply buy a car seat in buy mode then place it in the car's inventory. Of course parents can ignore this but doing so creates an opportunity for a random chance card where the parents will be stopped by the police and issued a hefty fine.
  • Sims (both parents & toddlers) will get a positive moodlet (safe driving) from having a car seat. Also, if you have Parenthood - a car seat will boost a toddler & child's responsibility, as children often imitate their parents' behaviour both good and bad.

Teenagers need to be taught to drive. Like in the Sims 3, an adult could teach a teen to drive. They would both get in the car and disappear for a few hours. There would also be chance cards that would affect whether the experience is a negative or a positive one. Negative experience would affect the relationship as well as the teenager's driving skill progression.

Teens without a permit could also sneak behind their parents' backs and go for a joy ride. They could do it alone or invite a friend or friends along. Again, they would get in the car and drive off the lot and disappear for a few hours. However, there would be chance cards that would affect whether it is sucessful or not (e.g. one negative outcome would be that they get pulled over by the police and get brought home in a police car).

Last but not least - The Fixer Upper Car would return and sims could work on it either alone or they could do it with friends/kids ect. Also, the fixer upper car would come in a few different models like:

  • a muscle car
  • a cadillac
  • a classic car
  • a sloppy jalopy - which a teen could fix up and use as their first car once they get their license