TRAITS
To make a long story short, The Sims 4 itself doesn't have nearly enough traits, and the limit of 3 traits maximum means that many Sims don't have defined, well-rounded personalities. Sims need at least two more traits per life state, and the game itself need far more traits. Alongside this, the traits themselves feel very shallow a lot of the time - something that is beginning to be rectified in recent game updates. Stuff like Bookworm Sims autonomously reading more often or Clumsy Sims stumbling more often are a great start, but more traits need this treatment! I also believe that traits like Vegetarian or Lactose Intolerant need to be moved to a seperate dietary requirements category, so as to not distract from a Sim's actual personality.
WHIMS
The Whims system in The Sims 4 is... Honestly kind of abysmal, to the point where you've disabled them by defaults. I think that the system needs a complete overhaul to bring it more in line with The Sims 2's Wants and Fears system - where Sims would have a number of Wants and Fears that were directly impacted by their relationships, personalities, aspirations and careers. Whims in The Sims 4 are far too often based on what packs are installed - for example, the dreaded "buy a bee box" whim that every Sims seems to get when Seasons is installed. Adding fears to the game would also introduce more opportunities for both challenge and storytelling - for example, a non-committal Sim fearing getting married, having children, falling in love, etc.
RANDOM EVENTS AND CONSEQUENCES
Currently, it feels like normal, bad things very rarely happen in The Sims 4. Of course, there's your usual housefires and deaths, alongside random phone calls, but that feels like the extent. Stuff like Sims getting laid off or demoted from their jobs, burglaries, power outages, plumbing problems, etc. would add a slight element of randomness and challenge to the game. I'd also love to see something like random opportunities from The Sims 3 come back, such as "do x task to get promoted in your career" or "have sims do x task to improve their relationship with y".
LIFE STAGES
One thing that past Sims games did a very good job of was making each life stage feel distinct from one another - something that is sorely missing from The Sims 4. Without Parenthood installed, teenage Sims are practically young adult Sims that go to school. Things like sneaking out, running away, throwing parties while parents were away, going on field trips, prom, pulling pranks, graduation, etc. were things that made teen Sims feel genuinely different from other life stages. The same can be said for almost all other life stages that aren't toddler or young adult - young adults, adults and elders are practically the same, with only slight differences. I'd love to see these life stages expanded on more!
FAMILY TREES AND RELATIONSHIPS
While I love that family trees were added a while back, I would really like to see more in-depth familial relationships added to the game. I would love to see cousins, second cousins, great-grandparents, boyfriends/girlfriends, step-siblings, etc. be relationships that are recognized on the family tree and choosable within CAS.
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