Re: The Sims 4 - Patch notes on console [January 31st, 2019]

Hello Simmers!

What a summer! As you may have heard, we have been hard at work preparing for the arrival of our fluffy companions in Cats & Dogs. We haven’t stopped there though, we have added Households, Lots and Rooms created by members of The Sims 4 Community into My Library and continued to make a number of performance improvements. Of course, we have been gathering and addressing your feedback and reports too.

Rather than giving you a high-level version of what you can expect how about I just tell you.

What’s New?

• Performance improvements mean that you should be able to get into your Worlds quicker, loading times will be shorter and things will be smoother.
• The Auto Save feature had been a little too temperamental for our liking so we have reviewed the feature and made improvements to the way it works so it is more reliable.
• My Library expanded with creations from The Sims 4 Community. The new additions bring Households, Lots and Rooms.
• We have also added the Piece of Cake Bakery which you may remember from the Get to Work announcement trailer.
• We often get requests for features and one of the biggest requests has been to have the option to scale your roofs. We heard you and we added the feature into Build Mode.

General Issues

• Manage Households was a little lacking in the managing part of the name by preventing you from deleting households. You can delete households you don’t need or want any more and truly manage households as you would expect.
• If you max out your My Library storage you’ll be informed when you try to save more creations rather than finding out they silently disappeared.
• Cursor speed and acceleration settings no longer reset after restarting the game.
• While using the virtual cursor control scheme, the acceleration could feel like you were chasing an excited puppy around your lot. We got things under control and switching directions as you navigate the Lot shouldn’t feel so skittish. Remember, you can adjust speed and acceleration in the Game Options to get the feel you prefer.
• The camera shouldn’t lose function when toggling bb.moveobjects in Build Mode
• Trying to use the Virtual Cursor to live-drag from your inventory shouldn’t feel like a never-ending chore. Now it is as simple as select and drag, just like it should be.
• Don’t you just hate it when you finish loading only to be told that there is “Game Loading In Progress” when it looks like it has finished? Us too! When a lot has loaded, it is loaded and ready to go, just like it should be.
• Placing a Styled Room from My Library shouldn’t stop your controls from working as expected.
• Sometimes you don’t have room in your lot to place a staircase before rotating it, now you can rotate stairs into the orientation you want without having to place them first.
• Stairs aren’t the only thing you can rotate without placing them either, you can now rotate whole empty rooms and even walls before deciding where you want them.
• Simmers who use the Virtual Cursor control scheme rejoice as the Pin/Unpin Whim option is now open to you.
• Virtual Cursor controls have been tweaked, adjusted and tweaked again so now you don’t continue to accelerate and zip around the screen uncontrollably. Switching directions you take the Virtual Cursor in will drop the acceleration to ¼ of what it was so you have more control of where you go.
• Changing your mind and re-doing something is part of getting your perfect Sim in CAS. If you do change your mind, we won’t put you into an invisible UI anymore, I promise.
• Cell phones are a lifeline for a lot of people and Sims aren’t any different. We spent a lot of time getting them set up with more reliable service so the cell phone works when it is needed and doesn’t stay on screen when it isn’t.
• Occasionally, the camera momentum made it difficult to have precise navigation. We’ve made a few passes at improving the camera movement to make is easier to navigate the lot.
• Cancelling Save and Play while in CAS isn’t possible anymore. If you did this previously, you might want to check My Library as you might have multiple versions of your Households that you might want to tidy up.
• Family is key and if you have babies you’ll know how precious they can be. That is why switching Sims now acts like it should if you have any in your household.

Get to Work

• Returning to active lot will no longer spam the action queue while you are at work in the scientist career.
• The returning to active lot interaction won’t queue and cancel repeatedly if you decide to idle in the alien world.
• In the videos out of Roswell they got up close with an Alien and now you can too while creating an Alien in CAS. Like other Sims, you can switch to detail edit mode and get closer to the extra-terrestrial Sims.
• Ever visit a new place only to think that it feels familiar but not quite right in some way? That happened to us when visiting Sixam and realizing that it didn’t look as we expected so we got the ground crew in and updated the place.

Vampires

• Receiving a welcome phone call from Vlad can be exciting, I mean, how often do you get a phone call from a vampire? Getting this unique call shouldn’t stop your controls from functioning so we addressed that.

Dine Out

• Canceling object placement of objects selected through Lot Type requirements will no longer put you into one of those super-secret areas in the UI.
• Editing an employee uniform won’t send your controls across the screen no matter how your employees feel about their new uniform design.

City Living

• When you load into San Myshuno the virtual cursor shouldn’t get stuck. It used to, but now it doesn’t.
• If you are lucky enough to get an invite to a festival but unlucky enough to have a parent chance card appear at the same time you’ll be happy to know that you’ll keep control of your World and Sims.

PlayStation 4

• Pressing X should work when you need it most… When you press the X button.
• Improvements to the way My Library saves means you should have more space for your creations.
• Celebrate good times but come on, we don’t need to see the pack celebration screens over and over. They should only show the once now and viewed new Objects shouldn’t reset to look like everything is new again.
• When you select Save Household you expect the household to be saved, right? Thought so, now your Saved Households will save to My Library as you would expect.
• If you chose to change your Display Settings, the virtual cursor won’t be prevented from accessing all of the UI if you opt to display things smaller.
• The Action Queue is meant to expand to fit in all the queued actions, that is how we came up with the name. What it shouldn’t do and doesn’t do anymore is expand to the top of the screen just because you chose to speed up time.
• Travel and romance are two of life’s luxuries. That is unless you managed to have “Travel” queue up after performing the “Ask on Date” interaction. Then you just had a mini nightmare because you found yourself stuck in Manage World. We released the controls from the UI and now you can take your date globetrotting without the worry of getting stuck looking at where you could have visited.

Xbox One

• They say that good things come to those who wait. We don’t like waiting so we have improved the loading times so that you shouldn’t see an extended loading screen before getting into game.
• Styled Room showcases will align correctly if you adjust your margins settings.
• Does a Sim have an aura? Well they might but it shouldn’t have been as prominent as it was, so we turned down the highlighting of Sims so it isn’t as distracting anymore.

That isn’t it either, we took a look at what was happening on the PC and Mac versions of The Sims 4 and brought over changes and updates to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions.

-SimGuruLegacy

Hello Simmers!

This is a small update to address an issue that we appeared to introduce in the last update and had a number of reports of through our community channels.

General Issues

• We added a bunch of cool new community made creations into My Library for all console players to enjoy. That was, unless you were unlucky enough to not be able to get into My Library to check them out. Thanks to all of those Simmer reports, everyone should be able to access My Library and enjoy those community creations.

- SimGuruLegacy

Hello Simmers!

Wow, what a summer we have had in The Sims 4 with the release of two fan favorite packs, Cats & Dogs and Laundry Day and great feedback for the Community creations in My Library. We are keeping that sunshine-boosted momentum going with this new update.

Talking of sunshine, we cast an eye to the Caribbean and its vibrant, colorful clothing and styles. With Carnival taking place throughout the region, we took inspiration from the traditional patterns to craft some hip, modern clothing for your Sims to wear to a party, or perhaps the last picnic of the summer.

This new update adds several often requested and cool new features, some of which are exclusive to console, so let’s jump in to what’s new.

What’s New?

• Hark, what light through yonder window breaks! Or rather a sky light rather than a window. That’s right, Simmers can now add glass roofs to their builds.
• Horticultural Sims can get their thumbs extra green thanks to the overhauled Gardening Skill. Rather than rewrite it, here is the perfect explanation from SimGuruGrant.
  • We synchronized plants to need water, etc. at the same time of day.
  • Seed Packets can be opened if placed on the ground.
  • There is a gardening sort in outdoor activities in Build to make it easy to find all the gardening equipment.
  • You can also buy seed packets in build now!
  • Gardening Evolution has been streamlined to 5 levels with better UI, plus we made the interaction immediate.
  • Uncommon and Rare Seed packets can be purchased once you're at higher levels of the gardening skill. This means you can just buy them instead of hunting them down in the world.
  • You can research plants (new interaction) to gain info for your notebook.
  • Research tells you things like the right growing season, sell price, and more.
  • You can now sell Harvestables directly from the plant.
  • Most interactions now have an "area of effect" option at higher levels so you can garden more quickly and efficiently.
• While SAVE GAME 1 is an inspired name for your first save, it doesn’t really portray what the save is. That is why you can now give your Save Game files their own name. When saving for the first time, simply hit Save and put in the name you want, and you are all set.
• Don’t worry - if you already have SAVE GAME 1 or even made a typo when saving your new named saves, you can also RENAME your save files. To do this, open the Save Game or Load Game Menu and hit Square button (PS4) / X button (Xbox One).
• Did you have bigger problems than just the name of your Save? Want to free up a Save Slot? With a new feature we like to call “DELETE” you can delete a Save Game rather than overwrite it. Simply highlight your Save Game in the Load or Save menu and press Triangle button (PS4) / Y button (Xbox One).
• My Library is a place of wonder. One of the things we often wondered is “Why do you need to open a Household, Lot, Room before you can delete it?” We didn’t have a good answer for that so now you can just highlight the creation and press Triangle button (PS4) / Y button (Xbox One) to delete the item without having to open it first.
• Thanks to your feedback and ongoing suggestions, we added more Community Creations. Thanks to all the Simmers for the suggestions and extra special thanks to the creators.
• If you used a Household from My Library in CAS then proceeded into the World without making any changes, you’d find that My Library would have a whole load of clones. Now, if your Sim doesn’t change from the one you selected from My Library, we don’t waste your space by creating duplicates.
• There are new clothing categories in CAS for Cold Weather and Hot Weather outfits. The extra options provide more wardrobe and storytelling options.
• There is a whole new Swimwear category for toddlers.
• What else can we say about CAS? I guess we could say that there are new lipsticks, eyeshadows, eyeliners. Everything you need for that new look.
• Caribbean content that includes three new hairs, two of which have beautiful curls & textures! There are also numerous new clothing assets, some makeup, and even a little furniture. We should mention that it includes a ceiling fan and sliding door…
• If you go to the Rewards Store and look in the Aspirations panel, you’ll see you can spend satisfaction points to re-roll your traits with the re-training potion.

General Issues

• Wallpapering a large room shouldn’t be any more challenging than it already is. I mean, who has time to line up the patterns just right? We got rid of that annoying performance drop when you got all decorative.
• Things can and do go wrong in The Sims, so much so that we even have a Game Over screen. When you reach that screen, you might have been unlucky enough to realize that your latest Save Game recorded the fact that all your Sims were gone. Now, you get a choice of where you want to save your game, if you even want to.
• A wise person once said… I need trepanation like a hole in the World. Well, OK they didn’t say that but if they played The Sims 4 and had used Undo on a room placement while placing a tile floor then they might have.
• Using Manage Households to add families should be straight forward rather than being as smooth as a holiday meal with your extended family.
• While you might not own a house, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to admire a beautifully built home with all its textures.
• Starting a new life in a new lot with a new household is sure to bring neighbors over with pie and intrigue. That Welcome Wagon shouldn’t go hiding your controls though, just keep an eye on that one neighbor eyeing up your silverware.
• Placing floors while using Place Room Mode shouldn’t cause performance issues anymore, floor fitters have gotten more efficient.
• In Build Mode you’d expect the Search option to find what you needed and it kind of did, if you only searched for one word. It wasn’t so good if you added a multiple word search like “Unicorn Dreamshower,” Now everyone can search for and add a “Unicorn Dreamshower” in their home? Hurrah!
• While you are busy searching, you might also notice that we correctly show the Build menus where previously there was a big gap.
• You know what is better than watching TV? Watching TV with a friend, unless they like to talk through every show.
• We have a large amount of choice in CAS so it was a shame that you couldn’t see some color swatches on clothing items as the sheer number of options couldn’t fit on screen. A bit of a wardrobe re-organization and all clothing options are available to you.
• Ever notice that when the Welcome Wagon visits, the visiting Sim hides their fruit cake to keep for themselves? Well now they’ll actually share it with you. Whether you take a piece is up to you though.

Get to Work

• When you start a new Career, you generally want to read the whole job description which is why we add the ability to scroll on the careers panel. Now you can’t claim you didn’t know what you were getting into when accepting a job.
• Talking of careers, some employers can be overly aggressive with their hiring techniques and would overlap categories. We asked them kindly to be nice and organize the careers tabs so everyone could get some screen time.
• Restocking supplies is no longer free, Sims will actually pay for what they order. It does mean that the cheaper restocking perk gets you some nice discounts.
• Hospitals can get busy, it doesn’t mean that doctors trying to put more than one Sim in a bed at a time is an acceptable solution. New hospital rule: One patient, one bed!
• Aliens and Vampires don’t feel inclined to change the colors of their beards and eyebrows when going to work anymore.
• Case Closed! The Police Chief didn’t do it and can’t be a suspect of a crime anymore.
• The “Ask About Suspect” interaction is now available during an APB event in the detective career.

City Living

• Sims that are resurrected after dying from eating poisonous Pufferfish Nigiri will no longer die after eating anything else. We carefully washed the dishes to clean off the poison properly this time.
• Every restaurant wants a good review from food critics and it helps if they don’t have conflicting experiences while coming up with their reviews. We all agreed on a rating system they’ll all stick to from now on.

Cats & Dogs

• We don’t usually condone painting your cats and dogs, but it doesn’t mean you should be limited when doing it in Create a Pet. The larger paint strokes used to cause problems for a number of Simmers, until now.
• Cats that have been spayed won’t get pregnant anymore if they have the Free Spirit trait and leave the house for a secret rendezvous with the tom cat next door.
• You would have thought that cats held a static charge with the way that toys stuck to them when they finished playing. Turns out that isn’t the case so toys will stay on the floor when not being played with.
• Adopt, don’t buy. Eligible Sims can do just that with their cat or dog of choice.
• We love to look at photos of cats and dogs as much as the next person but sometimes you have to eat. Being able to back out of Simstagram Pet lets your Sim go and do the things Sims do.
• Veterinary Clinic staff will focus on treating your furry friends even if a TV or computer is on the lot. We had to set the employees’ screen time rules.

Dine Out

• New recipes from Cats & Dogs will be available and work as expected in restaurants.

Perfect Patio Stuff

• *Big fish, little fish, cardboard box* All radios can now tune in to the Electronica station.

Romantic Garden Stuff

• If you close your eyes really tight and wish hard enough at the Wishing Well a summoned child will actually be added to the household.
• The Wishing Well now gives you a soulmate which matches the gender of your Sim’s romantic preference.

Backyard Stuff

• Why do birds suddenly appear, everytime a bird feeder is near? Birds will come back to your garden when a bird feeder is placed.

Vintage Glamour Stuff

• Butlers need rest, plus no one gets to sleep if they do chores while you try to sleep. Sending the Butler to go and sleep while everyone else is asleep will allow the time to fly by.
• After a long day you just want to clean off the makeup. A new interaction on the vanity table will allow your Sim take off the Vanity Makeup.

PlayStation 4

• PlayStation 4 Pro Simmers should notice higher Sim texture quality levels while in Live mode thanks to the additional power.

Xbox One

• Simmers on Xbox One X can now get more from the additional power of the console and should notice higher Sim texture quality levels while in Live mode.
• The Sims 4 might not be a game about reflexes but it doesn’t mean we want to be stuck at 30fps, that is why we have lifted the frame rate cap on Xbox One X.
• Switching profiles won’t confuse your online friends as much as they’ll be able to accurately see what part of The Sims 4 you are actually playing.

As you might expect, we looked to the PC and Mac versions of The Sims 4 and brought over some of their fixes and changes to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. With all these new features and changes, we bet you are more eager to go and try them out than read about them so we’ll sign off here, for now!

- SimGuruLegacy