Aside from the obvious (open world, CASt), there are three things that have been bothering me for quite some time:
1. Actions in the queue should be created and cancelled instantly.
Actions are very rarely able to be cancelled and it takes far too long for an action to be queued up, sometimes even getting lost somewhere in the background. It's almost like every Sim has a terrible procrastination problem. The best example of a queue done right I can think of is The Sims 1, when actions would immediately be added to the queue and stay there unless you decide to cancel it.
2. Comfort is added back as a need (and Uncomfortable is no longer an emotion).
Sims should also be able to refuse tasks should their Comfort bar get too low. The problem with Uncomfortable being an emotion is that it can be bypassed very easily. Sims can still do whatever they feel like. Why should a Sim who is Uncomfortable still be able to paint for hours on end?
3. Bored emotion is directly correlated to the Fun need.
It doesn't make any sense for it to be done any other way. You cannot seriously be Bored if you still have 75% of your Fun bar filled.
