The Sims 4 Official Information

[Pam]

It seems to me (and I think I posted about it a few pages back) that you gain the trait for the LTW when you complete it. So you get 3 traits, 4 if you're a power player.

Do you know this for sure, Seabody?

[Seabody]

Do you know this for sure, Seabody?

Not for sure but I do recall seeing it somewhere. I'll see if I can find the article.

[Turoskel]

I would love to know more about the traits system, there was a disclaimer on the screen about images may not represent actual gameplay and it did look more like a graphic made for the video than how they get chosen, perhaps there is more than just four per sim.

I found 'creative' as a trait interesting, it could be possible it seems like less traits but they encompass more things, that could include art, music, writing and anything else of a creative nature, where as now you have artistic, virtuoso, savvy sculptor etc.

The art style has grown on me over time, I do still find them a bit more cartoony than sims 3 but they do give me a 'these are sims' vibe, I still don't like the hair much but then I'm rather fussy when it comes to that as hair was my vocation for 20 odd years until I moved country. But after having the clone face of the EA generated sims for so long the facial diversity looks amazing, the presets look good too so I hope this means less clones and far more unique looking townies in future.

And in the interests of sharing information, SimsVIP have screens of most of the video so you can take a longer look, I did find much of it flew past before I could take it all in.

http://simsvip.com/2014/05/14/the-sims-4-175-create-a-sim-trailer-screens/

[Dellena]

I found a good article regarding the Sims 4 Aspirations (Link: http://thesimsofficialmag.com/issue4/sims4 and here's what that says:

Whims, Traits, Aspirations

We’re used to crafting Sim personalities with Traits, and those of us that played The Sims 2 even remember when we used to control their Wishes. The Sims 4 lets us get to know our Sims’ thoughts and feelings not just through Traits, but through Whims and Aspirations. Whims are like the thought bubbles that come up when Sims are out in the world doing stuff. They’re often something a Sim wants to do in the moment, like mix a drink or play with a chess set. Fulfilling a Whim grants the Sim something like Lifetime Happiness points to spend on rewards.

Aspirations are more long-term Sim desires, similar to the Lifetime Wishes from The Sims 3. A Sim might want to master a certain skill or career, or own certain items. Unlike The Sims 3, which limited players to only one Lifetime Wish, the Aspirations in The Sims 4 are organized such that every Sim can have as many as he or she wants. Once a Sim completes an Aspiration, they’ll get the corresponding Aspiration Trait that goes along with it. A Sim that becomes a master chef, for example, will get a cooking-based Aspiration Trait.

I think I'll like this.  Because now, once you've completed your LTW, you can feel kinda done with the sim.  This will continue the challenges.

[Lysita]

Ooooh, interesting. That meana we could hypothetically end up with a sim with 10 personality traits, the ones picked during CAS, then several 'aspiration' traits. It means they would grow(mentally/emotionally) and evolve as they complete aspirations and gain traits. I like that idea, as it does somewhat mirror real life. Some people are born natural cooks, some study cooking and become amazing cooks through hard work.

I also noticed in the video that Ryan said Bella was outgoing, yet I haven't noticed that as a trait in sims 3. Perhaps, like creative, it encompasses several traits from sims 3 and makes them into one trait. Such as friendly, charismatic and social butterfly.

[Dellena]

That article had more info which I found interesting (underlining to highlight interesting bits) and if this is a repeat of what's been posted before, my apologies as I haven't read all 20 pages of this thread :

Careers

Each career has up to 10 levels for a Sim to master. Like The Sims 3 Ambitions, there will also be timed events that your Sim can complete for a job boost. Each job level will unlock new content for a Sim to place in their home, so it's easier for players to represent that Sim's career in decoration.

Friends and Lovers

In The Sims 4, players will now be able to develop relationships, romances, or both. There is a "relationship" bar that tracks how well your Sim knows another Sim, which has been seen in previous iterations of the game, but now The Sims 4 introduces a separate "romance" bar. This is independent of the "relationship" bar, and it allows your Sim to develop romance-specific relations with other Sims. If a one-night rendezvous is what your Sim is after, they can live their life hopping from one bedroom to the next, WooHooing with Sims they barely know - if the chemistry is there. These new romantic relationships are characterized in modern terms.

Styling Your Sims

Beyond the body, there are outfits, and Sims fans will be pleased to see a broad selection of shirts, pants, shoes, skirts, dresses, accessories, and hairstyles to get you started. Each piece has been crafted by The Sims artists to fit with any combination of other pieces. So boots will automatically fit under dresses or inside boot cut jeans, long hairstyles will automatically swoop down over the top of clothing, and hats can be worn with any hairstyle. Clothing options in The Sims 4 now serve an actual gameplay function (see "Getting Emotional" below), so there are prices attached to each individual piece - and your Sim won't be able to afford some of the more expensive stuff until they've made some simoleons. This should make the act of dressing Sims a whole lot more interesting.

Building

Build introduces new room-based building techniques. Once placed on a lot, players can adjust a room's dimensions by dragging walls. Rooms placed side-by-side automatically join walls. Foundations can also be added (or subtracted) without the need to demolish the entire house. The Sims 4 now has a Magazine View sorted both by room type and additionally by item type (which should be familiar to The Sims 3 players).

By clicking a tile, players can take a look at various items in a room (e.g. a "modern" living room with flatscreen TV, blocky couch, and cream-white rugs) and then purchase an entire set or individual item to drag onto the lot. Rooms can also be viewed in a set of different color palettes so that players can mix and match items or guarantee that all items placed in a room will have the same color palette.

Getting Emotional

The Sims 4 sticks with the moodlets seen in The Sims 3, but it takes them to an all-new level. In The Sims 4, Sims are now emotionally aware. They are capable of a range of emotions that have a direct impact on the way you play the game. In effect, Sims' emotions govern all their interactions, both with objects and with other Sims. Certain emotions make some interactions impossible, just like in real life. The Sims 4 opens up (and closes off) interactions that fit with their emotional state. For example, a Sim in a romantic state might be able to play new types of music on a violin - but they couldn't say mean things to a Sim they were flirting with; that type of interaction would be grayed out. Sims in an angry state can actually run faster on treadmills to burn away the rage, but they might not be able to look at a painting. There are even some wacky emotion-specific socials and actions - like sulking in a bathtub while eating ice cream (Dell: This made me chuckle.).

Gotta Have More Stuff

The Sims 4 includes a lot of familiar things from all the previous Sim games. Though we can't share too much just now, we can tell you to look for the crafting table, the voodoo doll, the cowplant, and the telescope - only it's an "observatory" telescope that your Sims can go inside to get up to all kinds of mischief. Your Sim's day-to-day life will also look familiar, with things like trash piles, puddles, public spaces, and various collectable or upgradable objects.

And lastly, WooHoo has become a skill!

[Pam]

Please everyone, this thread is for sharing information, not guessing or complaining or making judgements about Sims 4.  I'm locking it again for now.

[Pam]

Over the next few days, I'm going to be cleaning up this thread and removing all posts that don't offer any real information about Sims 4.  Once it's done, any of the same kinds of posts will be removed without notice.  So, please keep posts here limited to actual information about the new game.  Also, Carl will be making a page dedicated to Sims 4 which will have all of the current available information all in one spot once I'm finished cleaning this thread. 

[Bri]

Another bit of info for those who are curious.

First, this comes from The Sims Community Blog

It gives a little more on some of the creation features, but this is the part I found interesting: (all the text comes from the blog linked above)

As every The Sims player knows, creating characters is more than skin deep. Create a Sim is not just about how your Sims look, it’s also about who they are on the inside. Like in previous Sims games, you select traits to manipulate personalities. But now, in The Sims 4, personality has a deeper impact on how your Sims interact and who they eventually become with the introduction of Emotions. Emotions affect everything your Sims do and how they react in various situations, which creates a new found synergy when combined with traits in The Sims 4. I’ve always loved the “Insane” trait, for example, and the effect of combining this trait with emotional states can lead to even wilder gameplay outcomes. We’ve added in some new traits to the game, such as my personal favorite, the “Bro” trait. This trait combined with emotional states can spark a new “bromance” for your Sim. In The Sims 4 it’s tons of fun to play with the various ways Traits work with emotions to bring smarter Sims and weirder stories to your game

However, traits and emotions alone do not dictate the entire personality of your Sim. We’ve added in all new Walk Styles to really bring out your Sim’s individuality.. It’s amazing how much personality these Walk Styles bring to your Sims. The new styles help insinuate a level of confidence, humility or humor in your Sims starting in Create A Sim and carries forward to how they move in the game. This feature adds to an important underlying theme in Create A Sim: it is not just about how they look, Create A Sim is about bringing your Sims to life in a brand new way.

Speaking of bringing things to life, we’ve greatly improved our genetics system. As before, you can create two Sims and try for a baby. Their baby would splice their DNA together and their baby would grow up to have features representative of both their Mother or Father’s looks. Now, right in Create A Sim, you are able to mash-up the looks of two Sims to preview what their child will look like. Better yet, you can then manipulate the look of the child if you aren’t satisfied with the results. You can also create family members based off of just one of your Sims’ genetics! Want to give one of your Sims a brother, done! Or provide them with a kid sister, check! The improved genetic functions are dynamic, open ended and really fun to play with.

[Seabody]

SimGuruHouts has just tweeted there will be new Build Mode info out on Wednesday.

https://twitter.com/simguruhouts/status/470975855544381440

[Dellena]

This will need to be merged into the locked Sims 4 thread.

The Sims 4: Build Mode Official Gameplay Trailer

I'm literally squealing in my chair!!!  So much to squeal about!!!  Must watch several more times...

[Bri]

There has been a few changes/announcements. 

The first is that the Sims.com has gotten a makeover (the official Sims Page):
http://www.thesims.com/

Additionally, the name of the world is going to be called Willow Creek. (The name was in the Vibrant Neighborhoods link)


Some individual pages with a few pictures can be found here:
Smarter Sims
Weirder Stories
Powerful Creative Tools
Vibrant Neighborhoods


Additionally, on the main page (the Sims.com one), you can see instances of game footage, and whatnot as you scroll down the page.  The first one occurs about 1/3 of the page down.

If this page has trouble loading for you, the SimsVIP captured the footage, and one can see it on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XBuaDrHbik#t=22

Note that this footage is exactly the same as that on the main page, but it may be easier for one to see it on Youtube.

[Bri]

As some of you may know, EA is going to have a large press conference at E3 tomorrow.  There will be some information about the upcoming Sims 4, though they will also have a lot of information on other games.

Watch “EA World Premiere: E3 2014 Preview” on Monday, June 9 at 12:00 PM PDT/3:00 PM EDT

(Source:  EA at E3)

If you have cable, or satellite TV, it can be viewed on Spike TV.  Otherwise, you will be able to watch it online via EA's  Twitch channel here:
http://www.twitch.tv/ea

Additionally, some of the SimGurus will be answering questions during the press conference.  From SimGuruSarah's twitter:

Join the SimGurus watching #TheSims4 at the #EAE3 Press Conference on Monday June 9! I’ll be watching & answering questions from 12-1 PDT

(Source:  SimGuruSarah Twitter)

Bear in mind this is mostly a press event, so there may not be a whole lot of information, but there will probably be some footage, and more than likely a confirmation on a release date.

[zachlot7]

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, or “E3,” is one of the most exciting times in the video game industry. Why should The Sims 4 fans be especially excited this year?

Let me give you two big reasons:

We will unveil what you’ve been waiting for during the EA E3 Press Conference: the release date for The Sims 4!
We’re debuting a brand new gameplay trailer during the EA E3 Press Conference!

Source: http://www.thesims.com/news/why-you-should-be-excited-for-e3?utm_campaign=sims4-social-global-maxis-tw-ts4-e3-blog-prev-site&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&sourceid=sims4-social-global-maxis-tw-ts4-e3-blog-prev-site&cid=22353&ts=1402336471127

[Bri]

Just a couple minor things as I saw EA's stream on twitch (being naughty at work )

The announcement said you will be able be able to import Sims and into one's game.

I did chuckle at Dying from Laughter.

The official release date, as announced at E3, is September 2, 2014.

I will give corroborating posts when it comes up.