City Living - First Impressions

[Carl]

Share your first impressions of The Sims 4 City Living in this thread.

[Devin]

I don't know how I feel about it yet. I'm already having problems with the expansion and of course because it's brand new, I can't get answers. For example, why can't my sims collect posters? Is there a reason that all the good ones are always "taken?" Why does the Flea Market tell me that it's a good place to collect snow globes if I can't actually get snow globes during the flea market (at least the first flea market)? Why don't my sims take care of their needs during a festival other than to eat? They won't go to the bathroom autonomously and cancel the action whenever I try to send them to the loo.

I've not experimented with the apartments yet: I'm using my "permanent" family to sort of test out the other features of the game. I think I'm going to like this one all in all -- it adds a lot of new material to the game! -- but I'm having some problems figuring out how to make it work in my first game session.

[Joria]

So far I'm kind of feeling it wasn't worth the money, BUT I haven't explored deeply yet.  San Misyuno is definitely pretty and CUTE.  It is also clean, which is a big plus in my book.  I totally hated Bridgetown because it was so dark, dreary, gloomy and dirty.  At least San Misyuno is more like the cities I'm familiar with except, more. 

The flea market is charming, the artist area is beautiful.  The apartments are annoying, (not much you can do with them and the elevator is not that great and the floating camera is a nightmare). Basically, except for a few cute things to see and fool around with, the depth is lacking. 

Let's look at Sims3 for a second.  Base game you already started to learn new things different from Sims2.  You had to learn how to do stuff and how to manipulate people and things to make them do what you wanted in new, interesting and more toward real life ways.  Then came World Adventures down the road, and you not only traveled to very different locations with lots of atmosphere, (that's about all San Misyuno has, atmosphere), but you had puzzles to figure out, monsters to over power or avoid, treasures to hunt plus new foods, books, fish and activities.  I'm not a huge fan of Werewolves and Vampires, but when Supernatural came along once again you had interesting content, not just different build/buy stuff but different things to do.  It totally creeped me out to be stalked by a Vampire, but at least it was really different. This was true of pretty much everything that came out in Sims3.  Even the adorable gnomes had something to do in Sims3 with their different poses and being able to have nooboos and age. 

I spent a small fortune at the Sims3 store because I wanted it all. With Sims4 EA is missing out on us big spenders because really, there is very little to buy and not much to do with the stuff you do buy.  I think the new route they are taking with only coming out with these less than wonderful packs is going to hurt them in the long run.  It gets all built up with the trailers and such and then it winds up like a kid at Christmas who gets a lump of coal in his stocking instead of the candy and toys he had expected.

Do I regret buying this new EP?  Not really.  I haven't explored it in depth, but from what I did see there isn't much depth to explore.  However, I like chatchkes and there's a lot of it here.  New collectibles and new careers just don't make it deep enough to make it less than disappointing though. 

I feel really bad for the devs.  You have these brilliant people who are just itching to make something really wonderful, (like they did consistently in Sims3), and it seems like they aren't allowed to.  It's like, all they are allowed to do, for whatever reason, is put some colorful sprinkles on a vanilla cone.

Some sort of good points:  You can buy those illusive cherries, blackberries, pomegranates and more at the produce stands.  There are more recipes for Chefs to learn.  The snow globes are cute and easily found.  The natives are friendly and colorful and interesting, but way too many old standbys there, like the Landgraab's and some other well known folks.  Hard to tell the tourists from the locals as they all wear strange clothes.  I tried to introduce myself to one and got nowhere so maybe you can't actually meet the tourists, only the locals.  The different price range apartments are nice and unique.  A MAJOR pet peeve, no empty lots so there is no making your Sim a homeless Sim camping out.  At least I haven't found any so far.  So far not that many fishing spots and I'm not sure if you can garden anywhere except maybe the penthouse.  Wasn't there long enough to see if any fruit/veggies/flowers sprouted and were harvestable.  More to explore and hoping I'm more impressed.

[Kamxam]

Got a mid-level apartment and furnished it with the stuff from my old house and changed the wall and floor coverings. (Lot nicer imho) No big problems that i could see in the short time i was playing it. (Had to go to sleep at a decent time before work lol) Not fond of the people walking in your house unless you set it only for family. Just my pet peeve..hehe
My twin sim sisters didn't have any problems using the restroom in the flea market area though autonomously though. Used it when they needed it. Maybe an occasional bug?
Do agree it's pretty though and any new items in the game is a good thing. Will play with it more tonight and this week and maybe have my sims try out the careers.
Hope they do pets and/or weather next though. I miss em.....

[Joria]

There is a large "park" or "gardens" on the map which are fabulous.  First of all you can build there so you can add whatever you want.  There are at least two fishing spots and several places to find frogs.  It has a very pretty wedding venue complete with a fireworks display.  There is a bar inside and several kinds of instruments plus at least one easel.  There is also a kitchen and a complete bathroom so really you could meet all your needs here.  I imagine, although I haven't tried it yet, you could plant a fruit and vegetable garden here as well.  Wasn't there long enough to see if any fruit/veggie/flower plants that are harvestable spawned, same for dig sites.  In my opinion it's one of the best places.  There is also a "festival" area just outside of the park you can go to with different food booths and a place to play music for tips.  I'm liking it more as I play but still wish there was more depth.

Today I experienced "Geek Con" which, I have to admit, was a lot of fun.  There is a timer on the cons so they play out somewhat like a party.  For Geek Con there were several options and ways to play.  I could build a rocket ship, (which you do not get to keep), or fly up in one already built to acquire some of the Rocket Science Skills and space collectibles.  You get skills 3 times faster at the festivals, at least at Geek Con.  You can also try to be the best hacker, (several computers set up), or best video gamer.  If you come in as number one I think there are prizes.  Not sure since I didn't.  The actual play isn't any different from what we've already experienced.  We already use computers for programming, hacking, game playing and more and we already can build or improve rockets or fly off in one.  So while it was very colorful and fun, it still was standard game play but in a prettier, fun setting.

[FrancescaFiori]

I've been pretty much immersing myself in this expansion since it came out and . . . I really love it. I think I tend to be Suzie Sunshine when it comes to new content and Sims 4 in general, and I've been trying to figure out why my impressions are so different from a lot of other players and I think it boils down to the fact that my main focus, and what keeps me coming back to play this game day after day is the storytelling. From a storytelling perspective, this pack has everything I want. 1. Beautiful, beautiful locations. The views, particularly from Uptown, are stunning, and are going to provide an awesome backdrop for screenshots. 2. Animations. Again, for screenshots. I love the wonderful facial expressions on Sims 4 sims, but I get tired of taking pictures of them doing the same things over and over and there's a lot of new stuff here from learning to eat with chopsticks, to singing karaoke, to accidentally spraying themselves in the face with spraypaint. They're really well done and very fun and I can't wait to get shots of my favorite sims doing all the new stuff. 3. Townies. I'm always desperate for new dynasty spouse prospects with interesting genetics and backstories and San Myshuno is full of them.
Nostalgia for my own younger days in the big city is probably another reason I'm enjoying this pack so much. I've been playing mostly in the Spice Market, and it reminds me very strongly of living in San Francisco in the Mission District except that, like Joria said, it's cleaner, and it's way easier to find a job! Rummaging through free boxes on the sidewalk is super charming to me because I used to do it all the time. The constantly changing food stands and street musicians and festivals are really fun and make me super wistful. I don't know if the target market of EA has suddenly become Stay-at-home-Moms who have fled the city for the suburbs and always dreamed of being a karaoke star, but here! Take my money! I give it to you gladly!
I think another reason why I'm so enthusiastic about Sims 4 is that I'm relatively new to the franchise and I'm not super attached to the older versions. I played Sims 3 for only a year and a half before Sims 4 came out for Mac and by that point there was honestly so much content that I was overwhelmed and felt like I'd never get a handle on it. There was also the lag and the crashing, which made it excruciating at times.
As far as replay value goes, I can definitely see everyone else's points. As much as I love Sims 4, If it weren't for the challenges and community on this forum, I probably wouldn't be playing this game anymore. I like long, multigenerational challenges that encourage a good story and interesting characters and force me to push myself to explore the limits of the game. I've got enough of that to keep me busy and writing on this forum for quite some time, and with regular infusions of new content like City Living to keep things from getting too monotonous, I'm going to continue to be a happy player.

[Joria]

@FrancescaFiori :  I loved your point of view, and I have to admit, I'm finding more and more things that are very charming about this city.  It's rather like the way everyone would want a city to be but in the real world, isn't.  Parts of it remind me very much of Central Park, New York, parts of it remind me of Portland, Or., both cities I love and have lived in. 

As I'm finding more and more "natives" I am more and more amused by them and the diversity.  There is even a San Misyuno version of Malcolm Landgraab who lives in my apartment building!  He isn't evil though and definitely tries hard to make a fashion statement.  I would rather have seen fewer of the regular characters from already established towns, but I guess the game couldn't just delete them now could it?  Keeping the population cap in mind it was actually well done.

I think the challenge team is going to have a ball making up challenges for this expansion because there are a lot of new things going on.  As a generational player, (and that is what I'm currently attempting), I can see where it is going to be a lot more challenging, so even though a dynasty or legacy is a lot of rinse and repeat, this new town is going to make it more interesting in the long run.  Oh, one other good thing I found out is if you have your artistic type paint murals their skill level goes up FAST.

[coolsim9999999]

Wow! all the build mode items in this pack are super cool and so colorful !  I moved my new "sometimes" family into the penthouse in the fashion district, and I had tons of fun decorating it.  I've redone all of the lots in the city.  My Sims went to their first festival, and one of them can't eat with chop sticks , and my arts critic got her work homework done there by reviewing someone playing guitar.  City Living has been a great experience, so far!

I was able to buy this pack because our car repair was a lot less than we thought.  We only had to pay $28, instead of about $100, so, I could get City Living today.

I love the lot traits.  I picked art studio and fast internet for my 2 art critic parents and good schools for the 2 whiz kid/genius children.  All of them are making friends.  One Sim even barged in (my Sims didn't even give her a key !

The festivals are really fun, and it's interesting to try new food.  My Sims went to the flea market today.  However, no one wanted to buy their stuff because they said it was too expensive.  The male Sim next to my Sims wouldn't even buy anything from their table --- even though my Sims bought all of his woodworking sculptures .

I made Planet Honey Pop! into a restaurant today, and I kept the karaoke machine.  There are 12 dining spots, and everyone got their food wicked fast.  I already got a 2.5 rating from just one day open!  I added some inspiring decor, and the lot traits chef's kitchen, sunny effect and good acoustics.  The employees are very satisfied, and all the food is excellent quality --- and the chef only has a cooking level 3, so far

[eaglezero]

I was able to play it yesterday. My favorite thing so far is the festivals. I like the apartments but I wish I could build my own and not be stuck in an "apartment building" that has only one floor with two apartments.

I haven't tried any of the new careers - since installing the expansion, my game has had a bug where if I do anything that requires a loading screen or go to buy mode and then come back, everyone comes home from school/work. If I remember and don't do anything they stay the full time and it's fine, but a lot of times I go into buy mode to remodel the house and accidentally bring everyone home an hour after they left and can't send them back. I'm going through my CC right now to see if I have any mods that could be causing this - the only things other than furniture and makeup that I have are Plasticbox's mod things like clutter anywhere.

[MarianT]

@eaglezero, It's not a bug caused by mods. I don't have any mods or CC, and my Sims have been coming home early from work and school, too -- at least the teen. And I finally figured out that going into build/buy mode was doing it.

My feelings about this are mixed. I've had some pleasant surprises:
1. My Sim's date started serenading him at the restaurant. She's a level 7 or 8 singer, and her voice was quite lovely. It created a special moment -- the kind that's been too rare in TS4 up to now.
2. Repairing the refrigerator while standing in a pool of water is now hazardous -- but not fatal -- to your health if you don't have much skill in handiness. Twice my Sim has been shocked and picked up a dazed moodlet with the warning that he shouldn't mess around with electronic equipment while dazed.
3. The earthquake was a satisfying shake of the computer screen. I'd just as soon not have broken crockery to pick up afterwards, so I'm happy with the Quake Zone trait.
4. One day a strange woman came into the apartment, picked up the computer tablet sitting on a table, and left. She wasn't an acquaintance of any of the Sims in the apartment, and she wasn't the landlady, just a random kleptomaniac, I guess. I laughed out loud.
5. I also laughed out loud at my Sim's first attempts at eating hot food, eating with chopsticks, and trying to sing with the karaoke machine.
6. The fireworks are great.
7. It's fun getting prizes at the festivals.

And now for the disappointments:
1. The beret is a career reward for the art critic, so you have to cheat or put someone in that career to have it available for your Sims. There is no beret for children.
2. I don't like having my Sim appear and disappear in front of the elevator. I can live without carpools (although I do miss the ones from TS1 and 2), but the non-functioning elevator is annoying. I'd much rather my Sim walked into the elevator and the doors closed, and he was then out on the street.
3. There's no way to edit any of the public space outside the apartment buildings. My Sim won some fireworks at the Humor and Hijinks Festival, but he can't set them off outside. I'll have to send him to the park to do that. I was hoping that there would be some small editable space near the festival areas similar to what they provided in the Ruins in Windenburg, but there's not. When there is no festival going on, my Sim can eat from the food truck or go jogging. I tried to have him play the guitar outside, but he disappeared, and his guitar did, too. When I tried to send him to the busking station, I was informed that he would need a guitar in his inventory. He'd had one, but now it was gone, and I had to buy another for him. To send your Sim to the public area of a different district, you have to click on one of the karaoke bars or the gym or the art gallery. Clicking on the icon (the hot pepper, the high heel, etc.) does nothing.
4. The festivals need to last longer. The Humor and Hijinks Festival was a perfect fit for my Sim who's a comedian, but he had to go to work for most of the time it was there, and was only able to get an hour in. In my experience most festivals last at least a weekend, and some go for a whole week.

There are two things that I hope they add in a patch that would make this expansion pack as exciting as they want it to be.

The first is to provide a one-story apartment shell, with elevator, trash bin, and mailbox that can be used to make apartments in any world. I think this would go a long way to alleviate some of the anguish over not being able to build apartments of our own.

The second is to provide some editable space in the public areas of each neighborhood. I understand that they have to leave much of the area clear for festivals to spawn, but even a 10x15 space would help make the neighborhoods as vibrant as they claim they are. To give some examples: I'd love to add some of my stuff to Geekcon -- the arcade machine from Get Together, the battle stations, and maybe have a scientist provide a wormhole generator. On hot days in my city, the fire department opens up fire hydrants for children to play in, and a water slide in the Spice District would be a good simulation of that, if there were somewhere to put it. Children might enjoy a puppet show outside the art gallery, and a topiary garden might provide some green space in Uptown. And these are just my ideas; I'm sure other people could come up with even more creative uses if they had the space.

I'm afraid that overall my impression is that the engine they're using must impose some real limitations on the developers.

[Playalot]

I've played quite a few hours now as it takes me some time to form a "first opinion" lol. My initial reaction was actually one of confusion as the cityscape was completely foreign to me. It looks absolutely nothing like any city in New Zealand and although I've traveled etc I still found the set up of the neighborhoods really weird and unrelatable. (Because obviously I could relate perfectly to Dragon Valley from TS3!!  )

Having said that, a few more hours under my belt and I am starting to enjoy the apartment living quite a bit. My sim moved in to the Culpepper Apartment with rats, roaches and breaking plumbing, of course, and I added the Cursed trait and Grody just for good measure. It's great, finally I can have a miserable sim who reacts to his environment.

He makes his living from painting and selling his art at the Flea Market with one yard sale 'allowed' every week if the Flea Market hasn't happened. He came pretty close to being destitute as his watcher decided buying a Bubble Blower was far more important than paying the rent.

At first I found the fading and teleportation to and from the apartment really jarring with there being no reason to even have the elevators in place at all. Now I am more accustomed to it and although I would have much preferred the elevators to have been animated I find I can live with it. The current set up does make it super quick to take your sim downstairs and into the surrounding neighborhood. It is one of those missing features, in my mind, that I wish the developers had not had to leave out but that alone is not enough for me to bag the expansion.

I'm enjoying the general vibe of my sims neighborhood, like the food carts and having the basketball court handy for my fitness addict sim. I've tried each festival and personally like the Spice Festival the best and will probably continue to experience that in my game for some time. I adore the Flea Market as it fits right in with my goal to have a sim who lives off his art in such a way that is not just magicking it off the easel. I am really enjoying having the ability to use the Art Board or the Sales Table as a viable way for my sim to make money.  It's always bothered me that sims just magically sell things through the magic pockets/inventories! I can also see that the Romance festival will be good for sim-couples and dates etc, it's a nice addition.

My sim has handed out over 20 keys and his apartment is often invaded with sims who drink water non-stop, raid his fridge, sleep in his bed, use his bath and generally make a huge mess. I love this. It is one of my favorite aspects to apartment living. I've given all his neighbors keys (moved in 2 more sims from my library so the apartment building is full) and they are often popping in helping themselves to everything. The best thing about the key system is that if you don't want your sims home to be take advantage of then you simply don't hand out any keys, or only hand out on to your sims b/f or g/f. It is very flexible and has options!

My absolutely favorite addition is the ability for my sim to sing as he plays his guitar. This will forever be my most favorite bit of multi-tasking in the Sims 4. I love it so much I have actually slowed down using this feature as I don't want the journey to level 10 to end! Some of the songs he sings... the timbre of the voice actor is just to die for.

That being said, I don't particularly like the karaoke but seeing as I find it one gigantic cringe-fest in real life that is not very surprising. The early stages were just excruciating to watch, my sim stunk it and I sat and cringed on his behalf. I suppose you could say that the developers did a good job then if I am reacting to a game this way but it's not a feature I will be using often. I just personally don't like it. It is well done, the songs actually do sound really good once your sim can sing lol... but it's not for me.

I'm currently dabbling in the Political Career by only using the Work From Home feature. Love this. My sim is at Level 9 now and all from working from home. This option really suits how I like to play The Sims and I am super pleased that this was included. The work tasks are easily completed which leaves me loads of time for getting my sim out and about while still having time to paint each day. Best game-play addition in terms of careers so far in my opinion.

Last thoughts, the Bubble Blower is great...which surprised me as I always gave it a big miss in previous sims games, the small games console..meh, there only seems to be one game/animation playing on the TV, the female full bodied dresses and outfits are gorgeous (almost a pity I only play male sims lol), the deathly pufferfish meal... brilliant, first thing my sim ate, the death animations from it..meh-could have been a lot better. And the final thought, the one that most concerned me as I thought about playing this expansion... replayability.

Replayability... hmm. To be very honest, I am not sure. There is still a lot more I can do with this expansion but ultimately this is still The Sims 4 and simply does not have the complexity nor the depth of previous sims games. This expansion has added a nice amount of game play and as I start a new game I now have many options for what I want my sims to do (I have all the dlc to date). I do know that without a doubt, that as much as I am enjoying playing this game again, that I will become bored with it and need new content. This worries me as it seems that one expansion pack a year is the norm and although I have liked the game packs so far we really do need some more of the classics like pets or supernaturals etc to my way of thinking.

So, there you have it, sorry for the wall of txt, kudos to anyone brave enough to read it all. 

[MarianT]

There's no way to edit any of the public space outside the apartment buildings. My Sim won some fireworks at the Humor and Hijinks Festival, but he can't set them off outside.

I should say that I found the way to do this: you click on the device and pick "place and light". You can't control where the Sim will set it off, but it can be done.

[Joria]

@Playalot :  I accept your kudos.  I always read what you write because it's always either informative or fun, or both.  Your last concern.....there is so much more I know I can do and want to explore but I must say tonight I actually became a bit bored.  This does not bode well.  However, I might just be tired because I spent the entire day moving my family from one apartment to another and remodeling them as far as I could.  They are currently living in the Old Salt House which is really big, (and bigger now), and I think one of the few where you can extend exterior walls and change out windows and doors.  I absolutely love the new colors and patterns, it made my builders heart go pitter pat.  Tomorrow I'll landscape in between enjoying the town with them.

Oh, forgot to mention.  My Sim moved in a gentleman who has a daughter.  So I added Good Schools and I forgot the name of the second child oriented one.  She needs to catch up on school and skills and supposedly these will stack and whiz her right along.  I'll let you know how that works out.  I think it's something that might make dynasty challenges way too easy.

[coolsim9999999]

@Joria --- The other trait for children is called "child's play."  Its symbol in the trait selection list is ABC blocks.  That trait will make the child learn faster --- including mental skill, and good schools will make her more interested in doing homework --- so those 2 traits stack.  Of course, you can have her sit down and do it and extra credit --- as a bonus.

[coolsim9999999]

My Sims just went to Geekcon and one of them won the new computer --- first prize.  Then, we went to the romance festival had had some romantic tea, and finally to our second flea market.  Now my Sims have 7 unique snow globes and 4 posters.  How many are there of those 2 collections?

In between all that, my Sims went camping overnight, and we did all the camping stuff that they had never done before because they're my city family.  Actually, after Geekcon, my Sims went out to breakfast and dinner at their restaurant (and added a second waiter! ) --- while working from home (at the arts center).  The children took a day off from school to go camping, but their parents had a vacation day.  After camping, everyone maxed their piano skills, and now they've given out their 4th apartment key to a friend.

This pack is jam-packed with new stuff to do --- lots of fun new gameplay!  I really like it.  However, I miss my suburb main family that I've played for more than a year --- aging up is off.  I also have a third game with a third family.  So, I'm going to switch between the 3 families/games.  So, it will be rotational play --- without worrying about one of the families because of how time freezes for characters in a different game file.  I will play this for 5 days or so more before visiting my main suburb family --- and then switch periodically.