URGENT Hobbies and Business Feedback

I played this expansion and became concerned about the direction EA is taking. This expansion is the most blatant example of adding a feature that is exactly the same as one from another expansion, without any significant novelty to justify it, while treating it as something completely different. The only time I had seen something similar was when The Sims 3 Showtime introduced fame-related careers and completely ignored the celebrity system from The Sims 3 Late Night. In The Sims 4, we had Snowy Escape and For Rent, which built upon features from Seasons and City Living, respectively, but maintained a cohesive relationship between the existing content and the new additions. This expansion, however, does not follow that pattern—it simply sidelined the retail system from Get to Work, the restaurants from Dine Out, and the veterinary clinics from Cats & Dogs, as if they had never been released in the game.

In fact, with the addition of restaurants and veterinary clinics, the retail system from Get to Work was already in need of an update to bring coherence to the different business types, making them more harmonious and integrated—from menu structures to small interaction details. This expansion was the perfect opportunity to address that with an update. Instead, they did the exact opposite: they introduced a new retail system that overlaps Get to Work's but functions completely differently. From the menus to the features and interactions, everything is inconsistent. This is problematic because some useful features from Get to Work are missing from the small businesses, and vice versa.

To make a fair comparison, I created a Sim and made them the owner of a Get to Work retail store, a restaurant, a veterinary clinic, and a small business. The restaurants and veterinary clinics ended up being very similar. However, small businesses seem to have taken certain features from Get to Work and improved them—but if you play using the Get to Work retail system, you don’t get to enjoy those improvements. Meanwhile, some positive aspects of the retail system are not present in small businesses.

Below are all the relevant aspects of businesses across these four packs:

Information in the “My Businesses” Panel in Live Mode

Retail (Get to Work) – Available in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode:

• Dropdown menu to select and purchase a retail business;
• “Travel to Location” button when the owner is off-lot;
• “View Last Finances” button when the owner is on-lot;
• “Manage Employees” button when the owner is on-lot;
• “Employee Uniforms...” button when the owner is on-lot;
• “Sell This Store” button when the owner is on-lot;
• “Markup” dropdown menu when the owner is on-lot;
• “Open/Close” button, available when the owner is on-lot;
• “Transfer Business Funds” button;
• “Business Perks” button;
• “Previous Finances” section when the owner is on-lot, including Items Sold, Expenses (advertising, restocking, and Build Mode purchases), and Sales Profit.

Restaurant and Veterinary Clinic – Available in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode:

• Dropdown menu to select and purchase a restaurant or veterinary clinic (similar to Retail);
• “Restaurant Settings” / “Vet Clinic Settings” button when the owner is on-lot, replaced by the “Travel to Location” button when the owner is off-lot;
• Star rating and number of customer reviews;
• “View Last Finances” button;
• “Manage Employees” button, available when the owner is on-lot;
• “Open/Close” button;
• “Transfer Business Funds” button;
• “Business Perks” button;
• “Last Shift Finances” section, including the number of customers and meal/service profits.

Small Business – Available in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode:

• Dropdown menu to select and purchase a lot (similar to Retail, but includes a “Travel” button and “Sell Lot” button within this menu);
• “Small Business Settings” button, available at all times, even when the owner is off-lot;
• Business alignment meter;
• Business star rating meter (in a different location than for Restaurants and Veterinary Clinics);
• “Business Perks” button (placed differently than in other businesses);
• “Open/Close” button;
• “Manage Employees” button;
• “Manage Employee Tasks” button;
• “Employee Uniforms...” button;
• “Financial Overview” button;
• “Sell This Business” button.

FEEDBACK: The interface for the "My Businesses" panel in Live Mode should be as unified as possible to reduce fragmentation and provide a smoother experience.

Business Settings

Retail (Get to Work) – No single menu consolidates all settings, but markup, advertising, and employee uniforms are configured through interactions on the cash register and/or specific buttons in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode.

Restaurant – A button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode opens a pop-up where you can configure markup, advertising, ingredient quality, menu, employee uniforms, and customer dress code.

Veterinary Clinic – A button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode opens a pop-up where you can configure markup, advertising, supply quality, and employee uniforms.

Small Business – A button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode opens a pop-up to configure the business name, description, and logo, business activities, entry fees, price modifier (similar to markup), and target audience.

FEEDBACK: The "My Businesses" settings menu should allow for uniform configuration of markup, advertising, quality, menu (for restaurants), employee uniforms, and customer dress code across all business types. Additionally, like Small Businesses, all businesses should allow customization of name, description, logo, and target audience. Entry fees should remain exclusive to Small Businesses, but markup and price modifiers should function in a consistent way across all business types.

Lot Settings in Build Mode

Retail (Get to Work) – None.

Restaurant – A tab in the “Lot Info” menu in Build Mode allows for configuring the menu, employee uniforms, and customer dress code.

Veterinary Clinic – A tab in the “Lot Info” menu in Build Mode allows for configuring employee uniforms.

Small Business – None.

FEEDBACK: The same settings available in the "My Businesses" panel in Live Mode should also be accessible in the "Lot Info" menu in Build Mode, with unavailable options grayed out based on restrictions (e.g., requiring perk unlocks).

Markup Configuration

Retail (Get to Work) – Configured via the cash register or a dropdown menu in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode. Available percentages: 5%, 15%, 25%, 50%, and 100%.

Restaurant – Configured through a pop-up accessed via the “Restaurant Settings” button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode. Available percentages: 100%, 125%, 150%, 175%, 200%, 250%, and 300%.

Veterinary Clinic – Configured through a pop-up accessed via the “Vet Clinic Settings” button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode. Available percentages: 75%, 85%, 100%, 150%, and 200%.

Small Business – Entry fees and price modifiers (similar to markup) are configured via the Ticket Kiosk or a pop-up accessed from the “Small Business Settings” button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode. Entry fees: “Disabled,” “Hourly,” and “One-Time Fee.” Price modifiers: -50%, -25%, 0%, +50%, and +100%.

FEEDBACK: Markup configuration should be unified across all businesses and accessible from a single menu. Price modifiers in Small Businesses should function similarly to markup settings, ensuring consistency.

Advertising Configuration

Retail (Get to Work) – Advertising is configured via interactions on the cash register. Available options:

• "Short-Term Web Campaign"
• "Long-Term Web Campaign"
• "Short-Term TV Campaign"
• "Long-Term TV Campaign"

Restaurant – Advertising is configured via a pop-up accessed from the “Restaurant Settings” button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode. Available options:

• "Silver Package"
• "Gold Package"
• "Platinum Package"
• "Diamond Package"

Veterinary Clinic – Advertising is configured via a pop-up accessed from the “Vet Clinic Settings” button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode. Available options:

• "Gold Package"
• "Platinum Package"

Small Business – No advertising configuration available.

FEEDBACK: Advertising should follow a unified model with tiered packages, similar to Restaurants and Veterinary Clinics. Additionally, advertising options should be expanded to Small Businesses, ensuring players have strategic ways to increase their business’s visibility.

Product/Service Quality Configuration

Retail (Get to Work) – None.

Restaurant – Ingredient quality is configured via a pop-up accessed from the “Restaurant Settings” button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode. Available tiers:

• "Low (-25% cost)"
• "Standard"
• "High-Medium: Organic & Fresh (+10% cost)"
• "High: Non-GMO, Freshly Harvested (+25% cost)"

This can be modified by unlocking the "Ingredient Quality Options" business perk.

Veterinary Clinic – Supply quality is configured via a pop-up accessed from the “Vet Clinic Settings” button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode. Available tiers:

• "Black Market (-50% treatment cost)"
• "Standard"
• "Premium (+50% treatment cost)"

This can be modified by unlocking the "Unlock Vet Supply Quality" business perk.

Small Business – None.

FEEDBACK: The product/service quality system should be expanded to Retail and Small Businesses, allowing different types of businesses to have adjustable quality levels for their products and services. Additionally, all configurations should be accessible from the same settings pop-up for consistency.

Employee Uniform Configuration

Retail (Get to Work) – Employee uniforms are configured via the cash register or the “Employee Uniforms...” button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode. Players can design male and female uniforms and assign them to specific employees individually.

Restaurant & Veterinary Clinic – Employee uniforms are configured via a pop-up accessed from the “Restaurant Settings” or “Vet Clinic Settings” button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode, or from the “Lot Info” menu in Build Mode.

• Restaurants: Uniforms are set for Chefs, Waiters, and Hosts, but cannot be assigned to individual employees.
• Vet Clinics: Uniforms are set for Veterinarians.

Small Business – Similar to Retail, but the uniform settings are only accessible through the “Employee Uniforms...” button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode (located in a different position than in Retail).

FEEDBACK: The uniform system should be standardized across all business types and accessible from both the “My Businesses” panel and Build Mode, ensuring a seamless experience. To simplify the system, uniforms should be set per role instead of per employee, as done in Restaurants and Veterinary Clinics.

Business Finances

Retail, Restaurant & Veterinary Clinic – These businesses have separate funds from the household. When opening a business, players can transfer Simoleons into the business account. Players can also transfer more funds or withdraw money using a button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode or, for Retail, through the cash register.

Small Business – No distinction between household and business funds.

FEEDBACK: The decision to keep Small Businesses using household funds makes sense given their nature.

Business Perks System

Retail, Restaurant & Veterinary Clinic – Business perks can be purchased using perk points from a list accessed via a pop-up from the “Business Perks” button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode.

Small Business – Perks are purchased using perk points through a skill tree format accessed via the “Small Business Perks” button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode. These perks are unlocked based on business star rating and affect the business alignment system.

FEEDBACK: Given the significant differences in how perks are structured between Small Businesses and other businesses, at the very least, the button to access perks should be standardized across all businesses to create a more fluid experience.

Business Rating System

Retail (Get to Work) – No rating system.

Restaurant & Veterinary Clinic – A 5-star rating system based on customer reviews.

Small Business – A separate 5-star rating system, different from Restaurants and Vet Clinics, along with alignment tracking (lawful/illegal), which changes based on the owner’s interactions and business perks.

FEEDBACK: All businesses should follow the same star rating system, including Retail. The alignment system (lawful/illegal) can remain exclusive to Small Businesses, but the rating system should be consistent across all business types.

Financial Reports

Retail (Get to Work) – The pop-up opened by clicking "View Last Finances" in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode includes:

• Operating Hours
• Items Sold / Revenue
• Employee Salaries
• Net Profit

Restaurant – The pop-up opened by clicking "View Last Finances" in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode includes:

• Star rating and number of customer reviews
• Number of customers served per shift
• Financial Report, showing "Sales," "Ingredient Cost," "Meal Profit," "Employee Salaries," "Advertising Cost," and "Net Profit"
• Customer Reviews, listing two areas that need improvement and one area of excellence
• Employee Report, displaying each employee's photo, name, relevant skills, and satisfaction level

Veterinary Clinic – Identical to Restaurant, but the Financial Report includes "Treatments" instead of "Meals."

Small Business – The pop-up opened by clicking "Financial Overview" in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode includes:

• Number of Customers
• Operating Hours
• Financial Report, including:
  • "Business Opening Fee"
  • "Ticket Sales"
  • "Retail Sales"
  • "Service Revenue"
  • "Employee Salaries"
  • "Net Profit"

FEEDBACK: Financial reports should be standardized across all businesses, including sales, supply costs, advertising expenses, employee wages, and net profit. A historical performance tracking feature would also help players make strategic business decisions.

Starting the Business Shift

Retail (Get to Work) – The shift is started via an interaction on the cash register or by clicking the “Open” button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode. No fee is deducted to start the shift.

Restaurant & Veterinary Clinic – The shift is started by clicking the “Open” button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode. No fee is deducted to open the business.

Small Business – Small Businesses are not necessarily tied to a single lot, meaning that the same Small Business can be opened on multiple residential or Small Business lots. The shift is started via an interaction on the Business Sign or by clicking the “Open” button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode. A 75 Simoleon fee is deducted every time the shift starts.

FEEDBACK: The opening process should be uniform across all businesses, eliminating the additional costs for Small Businesses. Additionally, an automatic scheduling system for business shifts could be introduced to facilitate management.

Viewing and Hiring Employees

Retail (Get to Work) – Available via an interaction on the cash register or by clicking the “Manage Employees” button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode. This opens a pop-up listing the current employees and those available for hire (only Retail Employees can be hired). Each employee's profile displays their hidden skills, including Sales, Work Ethic, and Maintenance (cleaning/restocking).

Restaurant – Similar to Retail, but employees can be hired for Chef, Host, and Waiter roles (tabs allow switching between roles in the hiring menu). Each employee's profile displays only the following skills:

• Chef: Mixology & Gourmet Cooking
• Host: Comedy & Charisma
• Waiter: Fitness & Charisma
• Veterinary Clinic – Similar to Retail, but only Veterinarians can be hired. Each employee's profile displays only Veterinary, Charisma, and Handiness skills.

Small Business – Available via the “Manage Employees” button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode. This opens a pop-up listing only the current employees and available hiring slots. Clicking a slot opens a second pop-up listing available employees (only Small Business Employees, a multi-role type). Each profile displays the employee’s relationship level with the owner and a mix of visible and hidden skills (the selection criteria for displayed skills seem to prioritize the Sim’s highest skills).

FEEDBACK: The employee management interface should be standardized to match the Small Business format, ensuring all business types have the same options for viewing and customizing employees. Additionally, the hidden skills (Sales, Work Ethic, and Maintenance) should be made common skills and available for players who own either Get to Work or Hobbies and Business.

Promoting, Demoting, and Firing Employees

Retail, Restaurant & Veterinary Clinic – Employees can be managed via the "Manage" interaction available on employees or by clicking the "Manage Employees" button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode. The pop-up displays current employees and available hires, and actions like promoting, demoting, or firing employees are performed through specific buttons. There are five employee levels, but you cannot directly select a specific level—you must promote to the next level or demote to the previous one. Clicking any of these buttons adds an interaction to the owner’s queue (the action is not instant).

Small Business – Employees can be managed via the "Small Business" interaction on employees or by clicking a button in the “My Businesses” panel in Live Mode. This opens a pop-up showing only current employees and hiring slots. The "Manage Payment" button opens another pop-up where you can choose between three salary tiers:

• Low Payment
• Medium Payment
• High Payment
• The promotion, demotion, and firing effects are automatic (they do not require an interaction in the owner's queue).

FEEDBACK: The employee management system for Retail, Restaurant, and Veterinary Clinics should allow direct promotions to a specific level, without requiring incremental promotions or demotions—similar to Small Businesses, while keeping the five levels intact. Additionally, actions from the Manage Employees button should always apply automatically for fluid gameplay, while manual interactions should remain an option when interacting directly with an employee (as already done in Small Businesses).

Assigning Employee Tasks and Responsibilities

Retail (Get to Work) – Available via the “Assign Work Task…” interaction on employees, allowing tasks such as:

• Assist Customers
• Clean the Store
• Answer Customer Questions
• Restock Sold Items

Restaurant – Chefs, Waiters, and Hosts have fixed roles and cannot be assigned specific tasks.

Veterinary Clinic – Available via the “Responsibilities” interaction on employees, allowing the assignment of:

• Clean
• Treat Patients

Small Business – Tasks can be assigned via a button in the "My Businesses" panel in Live Mode or through the “Small Business” interaction on employees. This opens a pop-up where up to 5 tasks can be assigned to each employee, including the owner.

📝 Note: Bars and tea/coffee counters do not function correctly as part of a business. There is an old "Hire Employee" function where a random Sim is assigned, but they do not become part of the employee roster. In Small Businesses, if an employee is assigned to work at a bar or tea/coffee counter, they will only prepare drinks and meals but will not charge customers.

FEEDBACK: The task assignment system from Small Businesses should be expanded to Retail, Restaurants, and Veterinary Clinics. That way, all businesses would have the same task assignment interface, allowing players to customize each employee’s responsibilities.

• Retail Employees: Keep existing options (Assist Customers, Clean, Answer Questions, Restock Items).
• Veterinarians: Maintain their options (Clean, Treat Patients).
• Restaurant Employees: Display their assigned roles (Take Orders, Serve Customers, Greet Customers, Cook), but tasks should remain unmodifiable due to the structured nature of restaurants.
• Bars & Tea/Coffee Counters: The “Hire Employee” interaction should be removed, and hiring should be done via the employee roster. Restaurants should also introduce a Mixologist role.
• By default, employees should charge customers for orders, but players should be able to configure pricing and markups.

Placing Items for Sale

Retail (Get to Work) – Items placed on displays are not automatically marked for sale. Players must manually select each item and choose "Set for Sale." Items do not need to be on displays to be sold. Additionally, the cash register has an “Change ‘For Sale’ Tag” interaction, adding a visual label to objects.

Small Business – Items placed on displays (including Get to Work displays) are automatically set for sale. Only items on displays can be sold.

FEEDBACK: The sales system should be unified, ensuring that all items placed on displays are automatically marked for sale, as done in Small Businesses. Additionally, the manual “Set for Sale” function is inefficient and should be removed from Retail. A new interaction should allow players to designate any surface or rug as a display, enabling automatic sales for any object placed on it—applicable to both Retail and Small Businesses.

Restocking

Retail (Get to Work) – When a product is purchased, it is replaced by a “Sold Out” sign, which provides options to restock or remove the sign (similar to The Sims 2 Open for Business). The restocked item does not need to be in the Sim’s inventory or stored in a fridge.

Small Business – When a product is purchased, it disappears from the display, and the player must manually place a new item each time something is sold. Thus, items must be in the Sim’s inventory or stored in a fridge to be restocked.

FEEDBACK: The restocking system should be unified, allowing Small Businesses to also use the “Sold Out” sign and automatic restocking interaction like in Retail. This would eliminate manual placement for every sale, making gameplay smoother. Additionally, the Maintenance skill from Get to Work should be included for players who own Hobbies and Business.

Remote Business Management

Retail (Get to Work) – Off-lot actions:

• CANNOT open the business
• CANNOT view financial reports
• CANNOT manage employees (hire, promote, demote, fire)
• CANNOT assign employee tasks
• CANNOT change uniforms
• CAN transfer business funds
• CAN purchase business perks

Restaurant & Veterinary Clinic – Off-lot actions:

• CAN open the business if employees are hired
• CAN view financial reports
• CANNOT adjust business settings (markup, advertising, ingredient/supply quality, menu, uniforms, customer dress code)
• CANNOT manage employees (hire, promote, demote, fire)
• CANNOT assign employee tasks
• CAN transfer business funds
• CAN purchase business perks

Small Business – Off-lot actions:

• CANNOT open the business
• CAN view financial reports
• CAN manage business settings (edit name, description, logo, business activities, business locations, entry fees, price modifier, target audience)
• CAN manage employees (hire, promote, demote, fire)
• CAN assign employee tasks
• CAN change uniforms
• CAN purchase business perks

FEEDBACK: Remote management should be expanded across all businesses, allowing players to hire employees, adjust prices, open businesses, and view financial reports from anywhere.