Re: New Base Game World - Concept

I would love to see the option to be able to create your own world. If nothing else, it would be nice to at least have what are essentially blank canvases that we can customize sort of like in Sims 2 and I believe Sims 1 as well. I really miss being able to place my own empty lots, and I don't really like being stuck with the pre-existing lot sizes that are already in the game. I miss how in earlier games you could not only place your own empty lots, but then place decorations outside of them and make them more to your liking. Newcrest is nice and all since it is nothing but empty lots, but you're limited to only being able to customize what actually goes on those empty lots.

If there's one thing I really hate about Sims 4 other than all of it's bugs and glitches and the absurd number of packs, it's the fact that so many customization options from previous games are gone. For example I really miss the option in Sims 3 (Create A Style) to give certain objects new textures and/or colors and really match things to have similar looks. Heck even with just the base game having that option made it really nice because then you could potentially give the limited number of available objects a different look, and end up with a large number of different visual combinations giving you the illusion that you have more objects available than you actually have.

Just imagine the amount of customization you could potentially do with just the ability to create your own world as well as a Create A Style feature. If they were to add stuff like that into the base game I would love that, especially as someone that only plays the base game.

@Sthenastia , I loved the world that came with The Sims: Unleashed!  It was called Old Town, and had a rather New Orleans feel to it, complete with Zydeco music! 🥰  I would certainly love that in TS4!  And I agree that it would be nice to have a really big world like in the original Sims! 

@valohim666 , my absolute favorite part of TS3 was the CASt color/pattern tool!  But it was also the cause of a lot of problems because for those players, like myself, who collected many, many patterns and had saved copies of each pattern in all their favorite colors, this created tremendous lag whenever I loaded CAS or loaded Buy and Build Mode! It started out OK, but the more patterns I saved the longer it took to load.  I think it ended up being 20 min, but it could have been anywhere from 15 to 30, with the latter being more towards the end of the game.  For those that didn't go crazy with collecting pattern swatches, this wasn't as much of a problem.  But I didn't even know until the end of the game that what made my Build/Buy Mode and CAS lag so much was due to how many swatches I had saved.  
However, I wasn't the only person to have this problem, and for those that had even lower end computers than I did, had even more problems.  So that is why there is no CASt tool in TS4.  The developers stated that it was too hard on lower end systems, which is also why they didn't do an open world.  While I dearly miss CASt, I understand why it wasn't included. 

But I do wish they had the TS2 system of having multiple swatches for some items, like beds, where the covers could be changed independently of the  frame colors! 🥳  That was a nice touch that wasn't as hard on systems as CASt could be. 

I also wish we could create our own worlds in TS4! That was a nice tool to have in both TS2 and TS3! 😎

@xochiquetzl_xkvn , I love the name "Newercrest"! 🤣

@Sthenastia I agree! There are so many possible ways to go on 'beefing up' the utility and personality of the basegame worlds, and you have listed several very nice ones! 👍🏼

There are so many great ideas from everyone here! 💡

A revisit of how many open lots are usable for building, adding a sprinkling of lot public lot types that reflects more of the character and options that have been opened up for basegame over the years, etc. would be wonderful. And @xochiquetzl_xkvn ...I give a big-fat-enthusiastic second to @PugLove888... I absolutely LOVE the name "Newercrest"! 😂 🤣

If you love to build lots, download lots others have made, or add new business/public use/community lots the world space can fill up so fast, even with careful choices! I know I can make a new game save to put them in, but then that brings with it either some blank slate sorrows or parallel universe strangeness. Having more open and common-use lots sprinkled throughout all of the worlds (basegame and not) would just be a lovely idea that many players would enthusiastically and thankfully applaud. 👏🏼

FWIW I’ve also been doing things like adding basketball hoops and pools to the base game gyms, etc., in my starter save. But Newcrest is filling up fast as the struggle for more empty lots is real! 

I’m also wanting more mid-level houses. There are a ton of starters, a some very expensive places, but not a lot of “I’m over my starter and want more room for kids or a garden, but am not yet rich” houses. I could download some from the gallery… but again, empty lots!

 I do enjoy renovating my yucky starters but sometimes the lots they come on are so small….

@Sthenastia , @SheriGR , & @xochiquetzl_xkvn , I have to admit that since I often make new save game files I don't run into the problems of filling up my world that often, but I can see how much of a problem this would be for those who like to keep everything in one world. 😓  One of the best things about the Get Together EP was how many lots the neighborhood  (Windenburg) that came with that pack had!  🥳  But there are so many great builds on the Gallery, that people want places to put all of them in! This is why we either need a New Newcrest-like neighborhood , or a Create A World tool! 

@xochiquetzl_xkvn , you also bring up a fantastic point about how we have plenty of starters and mansions, but not enough mid-level houses, especially those that might be modest but can fit a bigger family! 🥰

I totally agree. Especially in Del Sol Valley it is impossible to play mid-class Sims. What about savefiles. As a console player I can only have 10 savefiles even if I have PS5. It’s ridiculous because I like building my own things and download awesome Gallery creations but I’m limited by savefile restrictions and lack of empty world. What is worse, new worlds are also restricted by an artstyle and it is immersion breaking to build something different than you can see on the neighborhood.

@Sthenastia , I knew that consoles had some sort of save file number restrictions, but I wasn't sure how many .  You are right in that 10 isn't very much, at least not for a game like The Sims! 🤨 😢  But thank you for informing us! 💖

And your point about having the artstyle match is important.  This is why having more blank-slate type of worlds like Newcrest is important!  At least even in Newcrest there are 3 sections, so you can somewhat separate architectural styles in each section (kind of like how in Oasis springs it has Mid-Century Modern style in once section and Spanish style in another section), but that doesn't let you do that many buildings in each style, and some people still wouldn't like the look of that. 

Hopefully we will get another Newcrest-type world , or a Create A World tool! 🤞

Yeah, what @Sthenastia said about Del Sol Valley. I really love the acting career and the reputation system, but the world Del Sol Valley is... erm.

In my current save, I married of Zoe Patel and Johnny Zest, put her in the acting career, and finally saved up enough to move them into Venessa Jeong's old place, but my other Sim lived across the street and I had to move her to Windenberg to find her a decent place, even though she's also in the acting career.

(That said, I do like the lot sizes on the starter homes. It helps to have a side hustle in the early stages of acting, and a lot of my Sims choose gardening.)

What about the base game I want to add that TS4 has only 47 lots in total and only 21 of them are empty (3 from WIllow Creek, 3 from Oasis Springs and 15 from Newcrest), when TS3 had 92 lots in Sunset Valley (21 empty lots) and 95 in the Riverview (22 empty lots). To be close to TS3 base game potential, TS4 should have additiona 50 lots in the base game at least. The world from The Sims Unleasched seems to be a very good choice with its 41 lots.

I would even be happy with empty versions of the existing worlds we can build up however we want.  Just take the existing templates for worlds, delete all of the lots, and rename and add them back to the game.  Maybe fix routing issues at the same time, or make other small changes so there are differences from the originals.

Next week we will have a new expansion with a new, really tiny world. Currently I have an issue to fit all the content in existing worlds, but if I bought Werewolves it would be harder. At the moment I don't use some venues and gameplay because of lack of space. That's sad. I have to sacriface some worlds to expand another ones. It would be great if we even received the possibility to duplicate Newcrest. I have no idea where to build borms for students, villas for celebrities, bowling alleys, hunted houses, spas, restaurants ect.

It is funny that after almost a year, the problem is still the same. San Sequoia will be added to the game soon with 12 lots again. 

Can we receive the possibility to duplicate Newcrest at least?

I have a serious question to the simmers. What do you do if you no longer have available space in your savefile? I've started to remove townies about which I don't care but still I have a problem to place more community lots.

@Sthenastia How many packs do you own? Certain packs do come with an additional world. I own all packs, so I have a lot of worlds (20 'home' worlds and 3 'destination' worlds). That's not to say that I wouldn't love a new 'Newcrest' type world added to basegame, as I do almost all of my building there, and many of my main Sims live in those homes. I would very much LOVE to have a new world like Newcrest added. 🙌

Personally, how I 'add new real-estate/story options' typically is I begin a new game save, or, for me, most of the time I save my current or desired game as 'Save As' and give it a new name. then I double check in the 'choose game save to open' screen to assure myself that this new game save is there AND that the previous game save is still there with everything intact (I even open the previous game save to confirm this, and I have an over abundance of caution when it comes to these things)... and THEN I enter the new game save I just made and go crazy with removing everything and everyone I can do with out in my new save.... but I also keep certain Sims, even if I evict them to open up real estate (and make sure the setting is not ticked to let the game auto-fill homes). This way I have the options of having whichever Sims I still want in the new world there (and with relationships intact).