Serious pet peeve for me too! The game should load into the mapview, from there you have the option of clicking on an empty lot to build, an empty house to modify, an occupied house to play that family, or create an entirely new sim to start the game with.
Sometimes I just want to check out new features from newly installed packs or patch updates. I always pull out my entire The TS4 folder and place it on my desktop when I update so the game generates an all new folder and once I know everything is working as should, I move my saves, mods, and tray files back into that new The Sims 4 folder.
So, every time a new pack comes out, I have to create a new sim just to check out the features. Irritating!
