Lucky Palms vs StrangerVille (World Comparison)

What would you keep from previous games?
The starting point should be The Sims 3: open world, create-a-style, traits story progression, with the same attention to detail TS2 has and the user-friendly tools of The Sims 4. Multitasking should be developed for the ground up. It's a good concept but it wasn't implemented all that well in The Sims 4.

What would you throw out?
Emotions. I think they don't work at all and there's no way to improve them.
Less emphasis on goals and aspirations.

What art style does your game go for? Realistic? Cartoony?
Neither and both. I think The Sims Medieval is the perfect balance between realistic and cartoonish. Definitely try to incorporate the best technology possible when it comes to lighting, shadows, shaders, AA, AF, etc. High-poly meshes (2K-10K for objects, 20K for Sims) and high quality textures (2K with high frequency for objects, 4K with high frequency for Sims). Animations should be done with motion capture technology. Over the top FXs should be kept to a minimum.

What is critical to have in the Base Game?
I think rain/fog should be in the base game. Laundry too as an opt-in feature. Same with cars, restaurants, basic stores (clothing, book and grocery) and nightclubs. All these features could be expanded later.
All life stages from TS2/3 with as many interactions and objects as possible (I'd try to recreate every object for babies and toddles that has appeared in previous Sims games).
All basic NPCs should be in the base game: burglar, firefighter, police officer, etc. All basic objects should be in the base game: dishwashers and trash compactors, video game consoles, laptops, piano, guitar, hot tub, spiral staircase, etc.
Pools, basements, pond tool, terrain tools, all common types of roof should be in the base game.

What would you save for Expansions?
Pets, University and most BIG features. Small pets like fish and rodents could be included in the base game, but cat, dogs and other big pets are too complex and difficult to be part of the base game.
Supernatural creatures / Life states other than ghosts.

What has been missing from the series and should be introduced?

Way too many things to even list, but off the top of my head:

BUILD/BUY:
- Walls shouldn't be ONE tile, but half a tile to allow for more creativity.
- Curved walls. All windows and doors should be made to function on curved walls.
- 7 floors and 5 basement levels by default. A cheat to have infinite levels for those with powerful machines.
- Split Leveling Tool. You can split a level as many times as you want and join all the different levels with stairs. Split levels don't count against the 7 level limit.
- 100% free object placement. No more SLOTS, every object can be placed on surface freely and it gets attached to the object underneath (though this feature can be disable for convenience).
- A tool to automatize tree/flora placement, you select an area, click and it auto places trees at a random distance. There's a slider to control how close to each other trees are placed.

CAS:
- Five traits per Sim. Zodiac signs that affect chemistry. Turn-ons and Turn-offs (since there's a Create a Style tool, you can choose a range of colors using hexadecimal or RGB codes to determine which hair/eyes your Sim prefers).
- Fatal flaws from The Sims Medieval return. You must choose a fatal flaw for every Sim teen or older.
- 3 heights per Sim: short, average and tall starting from teens onwards. A height slider sounds good but it's impossible to implement with our current tech.
- Both the Pull & Push System of The Sims 4 and an advanced mode with sliders for extra precision.
- Clothes can be layered, like in TS2 for PS2.

GAMEPLAY/GENERAL:
- Most of the resources should be spent developing good AI. What made TS2 the best of the franchise (objectively) was how rich and diverse its AI was. It should be taken one step forward and make them smarter than ever. Hire AI engineers and give them as many resources as they need to make a complex human-like AI. It'll be worth it in the end.
- Basic systems improved versions of previous games: chemistry (TS2), gossip (TS2+3), memories (TS2), moodlets (TS3), reputation (TS3). The more complex systems you account for, the more prepared you are in terms of developing a good engine. Other systems could be added later (a more complex fame system for example). Measures to avoid corruption like in TS2 should be taken.
- A hardcore mode for extra realism. You can't buy food from the fridge and bookcases have no books, you have to save money and buy everything at stores. Same with clothes. You only get the clothes your Sim has when you make them, everything else you have to buy, even your work clothes. Add also an option to DISABLE the hand tool in live mode so you can drag objects to your Sim inventory, you have to make them pick those objects up.
- TOGGLES. Hundreds upon hundreds of toggles that function on a per-save basis. Everything you can change now with XML mods, you should be able to change in-game to make the game function exactly as you want. You can also export settings to share or to load in another save. Important to add good descriptions so people know exactly what they're changing. 100% customizable life span (including length of pregnancy).
- Every career should have an exclusive reward item like in The Sims 2 AND some exclusive interactions like in 2 and 3 (and some careers in 4).
- Some active jobs at stores, restaurant (as chef/waiter/receptionist) and nightclub (bartender, DJ).
- All Service jobs can be played as active: maid, gardener, repair technician, exterminator and social worker. You are assigned a schedule every day and you have to go around town completing these tasks. You can't be promoted but can charge more for your service as your skills improve and you become more and more known (word of mouth).