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kazynsims · 5 years

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February 2020 Patch Notes

To mark the 20th Anniversary of The Sims, Maxis released a big patch, fixing a lot of issues and bringing new content. As a birthday celebration, players were gifted a new hot tub and a new selection of songs, whist console players were gifted the Child Statue, which for some was a slight disappointment after the hype that surrounded this patch. Many of those players had paid for the Perfect Patio stuff pack, specifically for the hot tub, so I understand the frustration. On a personal level, I’m happy with the hot tub, the swatches a really nice and I can see myself using it a lot, however I do wonder whether bringing back some classic items from previous games would have been better received by the community. There was a lot of speculation around making babies actual sims, rather than objects, and whilst this would have been great, having a games designer husband, I know that there are engine limitations and the sheer amount of work that this would take is huge. All in all, the patch was ok, but missed the mark by some distance. Maybe another time.

Anyway, here are the patch notes, courtesy of EA:

The Child Statue makes its grand appearance across consoles

The Music

The following music has been added to the alternative station:

“Nicknames”

Performed by Dayglow

Written by Sloan Struble

Recording courtesy of AWAL Digital Ltd.

“4am”

Performed by girl in red

Written by Marie Ulven

Recording courtesy of AWAL Recordings

“prom dress”

Performed by mxmtoon

Produced by Robin Skinner & mxmtoon

Written by Maia M-T

Published by Songtrust Music Publishing

Recording courtesy of mxmtoon LLC under exclusive license to House Arrest/The Orchard

By Arrangement with Bank Robber Music

“Win You Over”

Performed by Whethan & Bearson feat. SOAK

Written by Ethan Snoreck, Jakob Bjørn Hansen, Birdie Monds-Watson, Anthony Whiting and Emily Phillips

Published by Whethan Publishing/These Are Pulse Songs (BMI) c/o Pulse Publishing Administration, Next Wave Music Publishing, Universal - PolyGram Int. Tunes, Inc. on behalf of Universal Music Publishing Ltd., Universal Music Corp. on behalf of itself and PW Arrangements, and Domino Publishing Company USA (ASCAP)

Whethan appears courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.

SOAK appears courtesy of Rough Trade Records

Recording courtesy of Ultra Records LLC

General Issues

Fixed an issue where Nice or High Quality harvestables would disappear from Sims’ inventories after Travel or Save/Load.

Fixed an issue where Freelancer Career tasks would not complete after Sims would Travel.

Fixed an issue in which the game would jump to Ultra Speed randomly when some Service NPC, specifically Maids, were on the Lot. Talk about speed cleaning!

Photo frames used within Gallery Uploads would not retain their chosen color once those lots were downloaded from The Gallery. They’ve been properly chastised and will listen to you now.

Freelancer gigs can now complete and/or update accordingly while on Vacation. So if you want to work while you vacay I guess you can now. Sucker.

Fixed an issue where two “Tuck In” interactions were able to be selected when Children slept on any bed.

Sims that were seated at a 6 seat round table can now clean up the dishes.

Child Sims will now be able to enjoy Quick Meals again!

Fixed an issue where Sims didn’t write a genre book when “Write Genre Book” was selected.

Multiple duplicate interactions should no longer appear in pie menus when you have certain objects in your inventory.

The Jet Set Luxury Bath was listed as being Unbreakable when but Sims took that as a challenge and broke it. It has been recalled and fixed so now it truly is unbreakable.

Speaking of Unbreakable, we fixed an issue with Hot Tubs and Stereos where unbreakable upgrades would not work if these objects were in use when upgrading them.

Fixed an issue in which some Sims could stand on, or walk through solid objects.

Adding a Sim to an existing household via the Create a Sim Stories feature will no longer subtract Simoleons from the household.

You can now extinguish a fire, even if the fire is within another object.

Sims can now Scrap the unfinished paintings of visiting Sims

Light intensity will no longer reset when setting Auto Lights options

Fixed an issue which made the item Tiny Globe & Sycee of the Prosperous Moon appear twice in Build Mode

Half Wall Trim can now be applied to half walls on all levels of your lot

Fixed an issue that caused Lots downloaded from The Gallery to be placed backwards and not being able to rotate them to an appropriate view

Households downloaded from The Gallery should now have their starting funds set to the correct amount, and not just the base 20,000 Simoleons

Child Sims will no longer receive Whims related to workouts

Walls no longer disappear when Taking a Photo in a Basement level room that does not have a staircase

Fixed an issue in which Hygiene was not being resolved when Taking a Shower on any Bathtub and Shower Combo

Bookshelves will no longer have the option to purchase University books if you do not own Discover University

Sims will no longer flicker on and off the landing pad, when in the Rocket Ship using the WooHoo or Try for Baby interactions

Sims in the Supreme Villain career working on the mischief interaction task can now use the Slablet to Troll the Forums to complete the task

Small rugs can no longer be placed over the cutouts created by stairs

Caterer Sims will now be able to make a Cake and complete their Party event goals

Some example interactions that were reported: “Play Fetch”, ”Give Potion”, “Blackmail”, “Scan Here”. The LastException related to this issue should also be fixed.

Still not sure a stereo and hot tub are the best combo from a safety perspective

Specifically Baby Bassinets…

This could occur if a large object caught fire. You would have to wait until the fire spread outside the bounds of the large object in order to extinguish it.

Artistic types can be so rude, just leaving their unfinished work for you to clear up

Get Together

Toddlers will now route appropriately when selecting ‘Plan Outfit’ on Closets. Well, as appropriately as those slow little Sims move anyway

Get To Work

Aliens will now display selected options for Eyebrows and Beards accurately in Create A Sim.

Fixed an issue where Scientist Sims would record their findings in Notebooks twice.

We addressed an issue that could prevent Sims from not being able to ring up customers who attempt to purchase from the warming rack.

Some boots, along with the Sims feet, were disappearing when the camera was zoomed all the way out. This should no longer occur.

The "Refer for Surgical Treatment" interaction is now available on surgery tables that have had their color altered with the bb.enablefreebuild cheat.

Oh wait, now I see where they picked up that habit.

City Living

There were a number of confusing situations that arose as a result of Invites your Sims would receive. In some cases these would appear as two invites for the same event, one that was the “hey, I just wanted you to know” invite, and the other would be the real invite.

Sims with the Shrewd reward trait weren’t as shrewd as they thought they were. We have restored their shrewd’ness and they should now actually receive the money they so rightfully shrewded away at the end of each week.

Fixed an issue in which some shirts in Create A Sim would not tuck in appropriately into skinny jeans.

Some Sims just want you to know that their invite was coming by sending a pre-invite I guess.

We blame it on bad investments, the cd market apparently didn’t mean compact discs.

Seasons

Sims can now complete New Year resolutions on any lot, and not just their home lots.

The Lottery Holiday is back in your calendars! It should not be a surprise disappearing act any longer.

Solved an issue with swimwear that made it display incorrectly and no one wants a swimsuit malfunction!

We spoke to the Holiday Gnomes and they have agreed to stop dropping seed packets if your Sims are not on Lot when the Holiday ends.

Fixed an issue where Weather would affect items inside buildings.

Flower Bunny’s contract has been renewed for them to appear on any Holiday or Tradition that they are scheduled to.

Mandrake and Valerian Root plants are now able to be planted indoors when it is Too Cold if Simmers have Realm of Magic installed.

Holiday Gnomes will no longer break Unbreakable objects when having a negative relationship with them.

The pedestal gnome will no longer spawn as part of the Harvestfest gnomes tradition.

They wanted to spread holiday cheer… or they were attempting to bring about the end of Simanity, and usher in a new world order. Tomayto, tomahto.

We don’t know what was done to make them angry, but even as magical as they are, they should not be breaking the Unbreakable.

Get Famous

Married Celebrity Sim Couples will no longer React in Disgust with each other then they enter the same room.

Household members will no longer react to members with Pristine Reputation every time they travel together.

Fixed an issue that caused Recording a Product Review to fail if the Sim had previously interrupted a review by traveling to another Lot.

The Well Suited and G.R.A.N. talent agencies are back in business! Gigs from these agencies will now display appropriately.

Super Speed 3 should now work when Sims sleep in their Sleeping Pods and have a pet.

Actor Sims can now Check Open Auditions properly when returning from Work. Get that bread! Be a starving artist no more!

Sims’ Acting Gigs Career Panel will now get updated properly on performing tasks. Credit for your work? Imagine that!

They are just B-list celebrities though, can you blame them?

Island Living

Fixed an issue where Odd Jobs tasks were not able to be completed.

Fixed an issue where Conch Shells were not able to be put in Sims’ Inventories.

Sims can now see their recorded findings in the Notification Wall when performing “Examine Water Thoughtfully” on the Fishing Board.

Released Fish will actually be released back into the water and not be stored in Sims’ Inventory.

Discover University

Sims will no longer be accused of cheating on their coursework or homework if they don’t actually cheat.

Term Presentations should not have missing interactions any longer

We addressed some feedback that getting A’s was too easy. Please be aware that your Sim will have to complete the coursework in order to consistently get good grades

Students will no longer autonomously taunt each other about University Superiority unless they're at the Game Day organization event or have one of these traits: Childish, Evil, Hot-Headed, and Bro

Please be aware that a Sim’s hunger, energy, and bladder motives will no longer refill on their own just before class

Fixed an issue in which Enhancing Utility Bots would get cancelled inappropriately

Roommates should no longer Bring Food home every time they return

Sims can now Turn Off Computer Glasses when moving to other neighborhoods

Sims that complete the debate showdown, will once again be able to change into their other outfits

Term Papers will now always count toward the course’s final grades

Fixed an issue where the following Build Mode items were not able to be placed on the LearnWell Desk: Lex Light By Dex Pix, Q-Bik Tabletop Mood Light, and Great Gramps’ Light can now be placed properly

Fixed an issue where “The Secret Society Masks” were not being unlocked in Create A Sim

The shower wall will no longer turn on when a Sim attempts to repair it

Active Sims should no longer get the “Not Enough Exercise” tense buff if they have enrolled in the Soccer Fútbol after school activity, or choose to juggle a soccer fútbol ball

Sims must now meet all of the promotion requirements in order to be promoted in the Education Career

Attempting to interact with a bike rider should no longer cause your Sim to route fail when performing the interaction

The Make Offering to Sprites interaction should no longer be unavailable if you only have harvestables in your inventory

Reaching level 5 of the Law Career now correctly unlocks the lawyer suits for your Sim in Create a Sim

Bots enhanced to level 3 will no longer automatically enhance to level 4 upon activation

Interacting with a Sim riding a bike will no longer cause the Sim, your Sim, the bike, parts of the world, or any other potential object or thing to disappear

Inviting your professor to hangout will now actually have the professor arrive to hangout

Servo can now complete the StrangerVille story

Servo Fun and Social motive descriptions no longer incorrectly refer to Servo as a Sim

Bicycles can now be searched for in Build Mode by using the term “bike”

ExoMech suit can be worn by teen Sims, and are visible too

Sims already wearing a helmet, will no longer change into another helmet to ride a bike

Sims in the same household will now automatically know the others degree program

Sims will no longer receive multiple signing bonuses from degree relevant careers. Only one signing bonus is awarded in any seven day period

Woohoo in Shower will no longer give fame

“Chat About Scandalous Lawsuit” now provides fun

Choosing to cancel the Practice Presentation interaction will now cancel the interaction

Servos can no longer get sick

Servos can no longer purchase the Seldom Sleepy reward trait

Sims on probation can now be asked to study with

Sims should no longer route fail when attempting to take a Pregnancy test in a bathroom stall

Asking the Repo Person to not take your stuff will now provide you a Text Notification as to whether or not you had an impact on the Repo Person’s decision

Sprites no longer appear around the Sim after the buff expires after leaving the Secret Society

Sims will no longer see the option to remove Robo Arm when choosing to remove Computer Glasses

Fixed an issue in which the option to Pay Student Loans was available even though students had enough Simoleons to cover their Tuition

Sims can now be warned about losing scholarships if they choose to withdraw from the term

Some lots were unloadable in Britechester and made the game unresponsive. That should no longer be the case

Although I wouldn’t turn it down if they did

Outdoor Retreat

Sims can now roast at a campfire without needing a seating object nearby

A visual issue was resolved where highlighting the Granite Falls Blossom would result in a strange texture for Simmers who had StrangerVille installed.

Spa Day

Fixed an issue where Sims did not have the option to “Take Bath with Soaks” and “Take Mud Bath” on Showertubs.

Sims can now again get massages autonomously at Spas.

Dine Out

NPC Sims will now eat more at Restaurants.

Photos taken of Experimental Foods will now display correctly when put into frames.

Food was sometimes not able to be ordered or delivered when the game was exited or reloaded from the Main Menu.

Vampires

“Influence Emotions” interaction will no longer be available to Vampires that have not yet unlocked this perk

Jungle Adventure

Several objects were not properly being found when using color filters. These should be filterable now

StrangerVille

StrangerVille music has been added to the Lin-Z Smart Speaker

Realm of Magic

Two ‘Inferniate’ interactions display on some rugs. As much as some hate those rugs’ patterns, only one ‘Inferniate’ is more than enough

Fixed an issue where Occult eyes would not properly apply to Spellcasters

Unplayed NPCs not living in Glimmerbrook will no longer appear in Glimmerbrook performing Magic

“Challenge to Magic Duel at Dueling Grounds” performed by a broom and non-broom using duelist will now take place at the dueling grounds

Spellcasters with the “Knowledge is Magic” Perk will now be able to complete the “Finish Reading 3 Books” aspiration goal

Fixed an issue where some Spellcasters would not complete the “Learn a Spell” goal, even though they would learn a Spell

Spellcasters will now be able to Do Laundry while having “Always Transportalate” enabled

Fixed an issue in which Pet Familiars would not stop foraging, never bringing back their findings.

Sages now can be chosen to Play With for a game of Chess

Random non Spellcaster Sims no longer will show up as being Sages

Fixed an issue in which Cauldron made food was not able to be eaten as leftovers when looking at the refrigerator

Sims on cursed lots will no longer always catch fire in all attempts while using the Fireplace or the Stove

Fixed an issue in which sounds from The Magic Realm could be heard in Del Sol Valley if you had Get Famous installed

Fixed an issue in which some shirts in Create A Sim would not tuck in appropriately

Spellcaster Sims can now clean potty messes, child messes, and kitty litter messes by casting Scruberoo

Spellcasters will no longer have duplicate makeup options in CAS

Spellcasters should no longer land in unroutable locations when using the “Always Use Brooms” spell

Spellcasters that cast Mischief Spells will now get awarded Mischief Skill when doing so

Male spellcasters will no longer have a chance of going bald after performing Rite of Dissolution

yfHair_GP08Braids now properly appears within the Afro-Textured texture filter

Mischief spells are now counted towards the Criminal Career daily task Mischief Interaction

Spellcasters with the Spellcraft and Sorcery aspiration will no longer reset or cause a LastException after writing songs

Perfect Patio

We fixed an issue where hired Maids would often change into Swimwear and use the Hot Tub instead of completing their tasks.

It can be so difficult to find good help these days

Romantic Garden

Sims in the Freelance careers, including freelance photography, will no longer be able to Wish for Promotion using the Wishing Well

Sims in Conservationist, Educator, Actor, Style Influencer, Military, Critic, Social Media, or Politician careers will now be able to Wish for a Promotion using the Wishing Well.

Since they are freelance, they can promote themselves without wishing for it. They just need to update their business card.

Backyard

Fixed an issue in which some shirts in Create A Sim would not tuck in appropriately into skinny jeans

Vintage Glamour

Addressed several issues that caused the Butler to fail to perform their assigned tasks

Fixed an issue that prevented Butlers to help put Toddler Sims to Bed

The Butler should no longer make food for themselves when they are not hungry

Laundry Day

Clothes moved to the clothing line to dry were not getting dry. We’ve reduced the moisture in the air and it should work now

Moschino

Emotional auras in photographs can now be toggled on/off

Fixed an issue where some photos were taken were a bit blurry when placed in frames in Live Mode

Tripods placed on floors other than 1, 2, or 3, should no longer cause the camera to change floors when attempting to take a photo

Ask to Pose interaction should no longer fail if the Sim attempts to run the interaction from the Open Street

yfHair_SP15SlickedBackLong was displaying with a grey line.

“Take Photo Of” was allowed to target unmet NPC Sims. Creepy and awkward for sure. Go meet them first for goodness sake like a normal Sim

Freelance Photographer Sims can now see all proper tasks for gigs ‘Genius Professor Outdoor Wear Study’ and ‘Everyday Activities Fashion Shoot.’

Freelance Fashion Photography Gigs ‘Finding the Essence of Efficiency with Everyday Style’ and ‘Fantastic Formula for Formal Style’ now display the correct information for Pay, Due Date, and/or Required Skill Level.

The Amp Stack now functions as a Stereo, living to its full potential. Rock on!

Burnt photos would not be charred anymore once placed outside Sims’ inventory.

Happy simming folks!

#thesims4

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kazynsims · 5 years

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20 Years of The Sims - A Reflection

What better way to kick off this blog, than to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of The Sims. To date there have been 4 Base Games, 34 Expansions, 34 Stuff Packs and 8 Game Packs. The game has been on 14 different consoles, spawned several mobile versions and console spin offs, such as The Urbz.

In addition to the console spin offs, PC players were given four stand alone games, The Sims Stories series and The Sims Medieval, which had it’s own expansion in the form of Pirates and Nobles.

There must also be a mention of the console exclusive My Sims, a stand alone series of six games, with a very different look and game play, but retaining Maxis’ humour and bringing The Sims to a younger audience.

So we begin with the original game, The Sims. As a fan of Maxis (I’d played SimAnt, SimCity and SimIsle), I was very excited with the news of this groundbreaking game. It did not disappoint. It basically gave the teenage me a legitimate way to play with doll houses. I spent hours and hours building and decorating houses for my sims. At one point I bought a programme to import actual faces into the game using photographs and created my boyfriend (now husband) and myself. The expansions were a revelation to me. I had no idea that it was even possible to expand an existing game and make it better. I naturally bought every one.

Then came the announcement of The Sims 2 and fully 3D graphics. Oh how I loved that game! The game felt the same as the original, it had the same vibe, but was so much better. My sims could age up, kids would no longer be destined to childhood for life, as fun as that sounds. They also now had a personality in wants and fears, and the memories system. I could control my sims, but they had their own desires, which was great for keeping story telling dynamic and interesting. With The Sims 2 came the emergence of the online community, a gallery of builds and a forum; The Sims 2 BBS, for players to talk about their games, share screenshots and videos. I spent almost as much time on the BBS as I did the game.

The Sims 3 followed five years later, with the huge addition of open worlds. This excited me so much. My sims could own cars and travel anywhere they liked without my hanging about waiting for loading screens. My absolute favourite feature of this version came in CAS and Build/Buy: Create a Style! The ability to change the colour of items to any colour I wanted, not to mention the texture. It opened up so many design possibilities and is responsible for my love of building in the game. One feature that I didn’t really use, was the new online store, accessed through the game. I wasn’t a fan of the premise of buying individual items in game, and to be honest I’m still not a fan of in-app purchasing at all, but plenty of others seemed to like it and the community was still as I knew and loved.

Now The Sims 4. I was skeptical about it’s release. It had been well publicised that the open worlds and story progression would not feature, but I was not prepared for the emptiness that the game shipped with. It wasn’t just the lack of additional packs, we had been through the slow process of building the previous games up, starting from scratch each time. No, it was the absolute lack of game play. I was so disappointed and to be quite honest shocked when the first map I opened was completely grey scaled. I thought I had a glitch. I didn’t read a lot of the information before hand, a toddler and new baby put paid to that, so I was completely unprepared for the fact that toddlers didn’t feature in the game at all. No building my own family then! With the subsequent packs and patches the features missing were added and today I have grown to love it, so much so that I think that it’s my favourite incantation to date and the community has gone from strength to strength.

So, on this, the 20th Anniversary of my favourite game, I wan’t to say Thank you Maxis, for being such a huge part of the last 20 years of my life. Here’s to another 20!

#thesims4

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