I hate how big a step back sims 4 build mode is.

Hardest for me is terrain, the rest is good. I'd like round rooms.

I think there were a lot of improvements. I can't tell you how much I love just building and then deciding where I actually want the house later. In the previous games I had to plan out every square or I might have needed to shift things 1 tile over. That has happened to me so many times.

But I also agree that they made some things so overly complicated and it definitely wasn't necessary. Placing floor tiles and making sure a room is a room is a nightmare. Like just yesterday I build barracks and when I was adding wallpaper to the inside, it was also painting that room on the outside. So the room was not defined and I had no way to really fix it. In this game you can't just draw out the walls or it won't be considered a room. The fence can be easy because that can be drawn out. You have to select the drawing tool on the left side and then you can draw the fence the way you want it. If you use the auto-fence, it will cause problems, which sucks because that was meant to make things easier and now its a feature that can't be used.

I can only give credit for some of the improvements that was not in the older versions but it is not enough for me not to be disappointed over the rest of the game as Sims 4 for me does not have enough for me to say it is better than the older versions. So far for me the game has been successful in creating controversies. I want gameplay and not stay in CAS or Build to get some kind of joy out of the game for all parts of the game should complement each other or tie it together and it does not.

"Mstybl95;c-17892357" wrote:
I think there were a lot of improvements. I can't tell you how much I love just building and then deciding where I actually want the house later. In the previous games I had to plan out every square or I might have needed to shift things 1 tile over. That has happened to me so many times.

But I also agree that they made some things so overly complicated and it definitely wasn't necessary. Placing floor tiles and making sure a room is a room is a nightmare. Like just yesterday I build barracks and when I was adding wallpaper to the inside, it was also painting that room on the outside. So the room was not defined and I had no way to really fix it. In this game you can't just draw out the walls or it won't be considered a room. The fence can be easy because that can be drawn out. You have to select the drawing tool on the left side and then you can draw the fence the way you want it. If you use the auto-fence, it will cause problems, which sucks because that was meant to make things easier and now its a feature that can't be used.

Do you know is there way to fix this on picture @Mstybl95 ? Half wall won't connect to house (conflicting block cluster) so I put flower fence there.

https://i.imgur.com/nq9yZNc.png

I liked the old school way of building.

I still draw out my rooms, I almost never ever use the completed square room tool, like ever.

I'm not too fond of the roofs either.

AND I absolutely HATE that we need a "room" in order to lay down floors, I also hate that the floor is automatically placed upstairs and I can't see the lower level below. Sometimes I'm trying to figure out the best way to lay out the stairs and I need to see what is beneath it to see if I can arrange it that way due to the walls and such on the lower floor.

Huge pet peeves!

I also hate that when placing flowers/plants close to the house they jump up onto the foundation height when placing them, why is that!

I consider 4's BB really strong. It took a little getting used to, but overall I find it simpler and more... Permissive? I' ve been playing 3 in tandem lately and was building a house from the ground up and was reminded how annoying it could be, particularly with spacing.

The biggest bone I have to pick with it is ponds. It was in Sims 1 even. I want the pond tool back. I am tired of having to use pools which have an unnatural edge around them. Other than that, though, I'm happy with BB.

I don’t mind TS4 build mode for the most part. My main issue is when something can’t be done, and the game explains it to me why it can’t be done, but I still don’t understand the problem nor what is the solution for it.

For example, last night I was renovating Movers & Shakers gym in Willow Creek. I wanted to move the stairs two tiles over, and I couldn’t because it would intersect a wall or something. So, I deleted all of the nearby walls around it and on the floor above it, and I still couldn’t move them. I don’t understand what the problem is beyond the walls being an issue, and so I can’t solve the problem. This happens with other things in build mode too but this was the most recent thing.

Also wish there was a proper pond tool.

Another thing, and this is actually not about the complexity of the tools, but rather the quality of some of the items. As the game has aged, the quality of items has improved which makes some of the older items appear more outdated. For example, the windows that have ragged textures in the frames. I wish these things could be updated so they are cleaner like the newer objects.

Another thing, because there are no flat roofs (except I guess now using the platforms as a makeshift flat roof), you can't have flat glass roofs because there are no glass floors for the platforms.

It's mainly the stairs and fences that bother me, I feel like for everything in build mode they took a step forward with, they took a step back with something else.

It's also crazy how many build mode features are still missing after this many expansions. The pond tool for sure, but also spiral staircases, elevators, etc. Heck, the only alternative they gave us to the boring regular stairs is a ladder. Sure it's nice, but not exactly something you'd use as often as spiral staircases or an elevator.

Also bothers me that we can't have windows or doors any more that take up two floors. Making the floor it's on higher is not the same. Again, something they took away while we gained the ability to adjust the wall height.

I seriously hope Paralives is going to be successful enough for EA to worry and actually try to make this series the best they can. It's never good for any series to have no competition, then you get stuff like this.

I think there's a lot of improvements, but the Sims 4 as a whole has a way more intense learning curve than the other games.

The room tool is actually really difficult for me to use, I often find my rooms being incomplete and just funky overall. I like the roofs though. Staircases are also a big improvement, even if spirals are missing. I still haven't figured out platforms.

@wolfium - By any chance did you once have it connected and then move it from the foundation? I have run into that bug a few times when I remodel old builds. Try deleting the whole fence/half wall and draw it out again. And I'm not sure if it's because it's a half wall, but does it connect to a foundation? I've never used them outside as a fence.