ETA: I'm adding more hints/tips/frequently asked questions to this list on a regular basis as I come across them.
You can switch back to Sims 3 style Camera Controls if you hate the new ones. Go to Options>Controls & Camera>Check The Sims 3 Camera
To get all your Sims from your CAS demo into your full version, just copy the contents from the demo folder into your full version folder.
Just drag all the files from: Documents/EAGames/Sims4CASdemo/Tray to Documents/EAGames/Sims4/Tray
On your Needs Menu, there is a little button/icon on the left side of each Needs bar. You can hit that button when a particular Need is low and it will automatically queue up actions in your action queue to satisfy that particular need, instead of queuing up all those actions yourself.
You can make paintings that have Emotions associated with them and hang them in your house and they will affect the mood of your Sims in the same room as the paintings. i.e. you can make Flirty paintings for you bedroom etc.
You can throw Prestigious Social Events, earn Medals by completing specific tasks during the event and unlock rewards depending on your success.
You can change your Aspiration at any time in the game without losing progress on previous ones.
The NanoCan Touchless Trash Can gives you Simoleans every time you throw something away. It costs $1200 but you'll get money for "recycling"
In relation to garbage cans, you can drag and drop dirty dishes into the trash cans yourself with the mouse. You don't have to tell the Sims to do it & waste their time cleaning up.
Upgrade from the cheapest appliances & comfort furniture right away. The cheapest stuff gives you Uncomfortable Moodlets. You'll have enough Simoleans to upgrade the basics with some left over. My first week of bills was only $530 and I was expecting a lot more from what the SimGurus said in the last week, but my home is a little basic with average items in it for the most part.
You have a daily task every day to complete for your job. This is different than the tasks listed underneath your Performance Bar. If you hover
over your Performance Bar, you will see your daily task. Don't forget it, it gives you a good boost for your performance and if you forget about it too much, you won't advance as quickly as you could.
You can tell your Sims what to do when they go to work or their icon is greyed out if they are on a different lot than the Sim you are playing. There is a little crooked arrow in the upper right hand corner of the Portrait in the Portrait bar. Just click on that bar and you will see a rotary of options to choose from depending on where you Sim is. If they are at work, they are work related options. If they are at home, it's home related options. (Thanks EleLL!)
To start a new game press the + sign in the upper right hand corner on the main menu, above the blue play button. (Thanks MarianT!)
Some Objects in the game have an Emotion modifier on them. Theywill give your Sim a boost to that specific mood if they are in the same room as the Object. However, you need to click on the object and "Enable Aura" in order for it to work. You can also "Disable Aura" if you just want it to be Decorative. This goes for any object with an Emotion modifier to it.
To Move A Sim Out of Your Lot: In the Main Menu, go to the Household Management in the upper right hand side of the screen. It's a little icon that looks like a family.Click on the family you want to kick someone out of and you will see a button with two horizontal arrows that says "Transfer Sims Between Households." Once you click that, you can move whoever you want out, move them into the World you are in or whatever.
For all you collectors - your sim can dig up a treasure map. When you have one in your inventory it unlocks 'Dig for Treasure' interaction on rocks. If you select 'Dig for Treasure' it uses up the treasure map but you may get something particularly awesome. My sim dug up a voodoo doll that she can bind to another sim, just like the premium store item in TS3. (Thanks katluvr!)
In CAS, you can give your sim as many as 5 different outfits in each category. There's a little triangle at the top of the icon (above the soccer ball for athletic, for example) that you click on to get the extra options. Now, here's the cool thing -- your sim will select something from those 5 options autonomously. (Thanks again, MarianT!)
Edge Scrolling: If you are having trouble scrolling down with the mouse, but can scroll the other directions, you are probably bringing your mouse down too far. You have to leave the mouse above the UI's white bar and your mouse will turn to a magnifier if you are in the right spot. (Thanks stitching_JA!)
Another way to move the camera about is to hold down the left mouse button anywhere on the ground and drag the screen up/down/sideways. It reminds me of dragging an image or reading something on a tablet screen. (Thanks stitching_JA!)
Side Note: I personally use WASD keys to move the camera around the screen. I'm an MMO player so my left hand rests on those keys naturally.
When you are throwing a social event, make sure you do all your planning preparation ahead of time before you invite everyone. The event starts immediately after you finish with the Planning Screen and if you haven't baked your cake or set up your venue, it will be ruined, especially if you are holding a Prestige Event and trying to get a medal. (Thanks, Disco)
On a related note, you have to make your own cakes for Weddings and Birthdays in this game. Bake whatever cake you want and then click on it, there will be options to add birthday candles or to make it a wedding cake.
On another related note, make sure you celebrate your Sims birthdays (except from Baby to Child stage). If your Sim ages up without blowing out birthday candles, they will get a 12hour(!) +Sad moodlet because no one cared enough about them.
