#simswishlist

[msotherworldly]

6 Features I Would Like to See in the Sims 5

1) A Semi-Open World

Much as people might gripe about loading screens, there is one advantage to having lots load separately: it enables you to visit multiple worlds within the same save file, and to play active careers without having to worry about other members of your household while you do so. Sims 3 limited you to one world, which meant starting a new game if you wanted to explore the new towns added with Supernatural or Island Living type expansions.

However, having to load each individual lot makes the world feel empty, as well as encourages your sims to be introverts if you don’t have the patience for loading screens.

A compromise could be having semi-open areas. Streets, or even whole worlds, could be “open,” with a loading screen only required if you want to visit another world or follow a Sim to work. You’ll be able to see your neighbours coming home from work, kids going by on their bikes, people heading to their homes from the bar, and all those little activities that just make the game more lifelike! This should also stop children from randomly spawning in the streets when they’re supposed to be in school!

2) Base Game Pets & Seasons

It’s been said before, but it’s worth repeating. Cats, dogs, snow, and rain are intrinsic parts of our day to day lives. Discussing the weather is a social no-no, because it’s such a common part of our day. Not only is it frustrating having to buy the exact same content (however improved) several times, but it often comes too late. It was years before either Seasons or Cats & Dogs released, which meant that for our earlier play throughs our Sims spent their lives in perpetual summer without any animal companions whatsoever.

The inclusion of pets and weather from the beginning would make room for more original content, too. A pack could still be released that was themed around winter or summer skills (skiing or water polo), and expansions featuring less common animals, such as horses, pigs, snakes, parrots, and more, could be sold. Personally, I’m still holding out hope for a Farm Expansion.

Finally, Pets and weather would be more integral to overall game play: if another expansion came out, cats & dogs could receive clothing from each pack, there being no possible compatibility issues, as well as stuff packs that wouldn’t annoy by being mostly useless to base game players (I’m looking at you, Pet Stuff).

3) A Colour Wheel

The Sims 3 wowed me as a kid, and I made my share of funky houses (everything was neon coloured and liable to burn out your eyes). While the current limitations might keep your homes looking less eccentric (no more couches with lime green and hot pink zebra stripes), it also removes a layer of personality from the proceedings.

A big component of the Sims is creativity, and being able to make whatever you can dream up. Understandably, the availability of hundreds of swatches for every surface led to struggling computers. Even decent gaming machines were liable to freeze when running the Sims 3, and textures didn’t always load on time, leading to strange white textures that suddenly popped back into existence. Even if the game wasn’t setting your computer on fire, the game was usually lagging.

While I’m okay with so many patterns being removed, I sorely miss having a colour wheel. Players, builders in particular, have expressed frustration over not being able to mix and match different pieces due to the default swatches not gelling well. I personally love vibrant clothing, so I’m disappointed when I encounter a pretty shirt only to end up discarding it for coming in the same washed out grays and pastels. A colour wheel, with the occasional pattern thrown in on individual items, would add a whole dimension to creation—as well as remove the need to download recolours.

4) Memories

Earlier Sims titles had a system where your Sims would form memories based around certain events, including life milestones: they remembered their first kisses, their marriages and divorces; they could remember their birthdays; and they could remember the deaths of friends and families. While it didn’t add much to game play, it nevertheless gave your sims more depth. You could open their logbooks, and find a scrapbook of all of their experiences, complete with photographs capturing the moment.

If such a feature were included again, it could be tweaked to affect game play. Sims who have a “divorce” memory might be more awkward on a first date, having a harder time increasing romance. Sims who have a memory of one or both of their parents dying might be afraid of the Grim Reaper. Random moodlets could crop up, such as “Remembering Deceased Pet” or “Remembering First Date,” which would change their mood. Some might also be triggered by chance: someone who has a “Divorce” memory might trigger an Embarrassed “Remembering Divorce” during their next date.

It’s not the highest on my wish list but, if implemented right, it could add even more depth to the game.

5) A Fear Emotion

The Sims 4’s biggest selling point from the onset of it’s creation was it’s emotion system. No longer would Sims simply be “Happy” or “Unhappy.” They could now feel varying moods: the discomfort from being in a dirty room is, after all, very different from the negativity experienced when dealing with grief.

Despite the introduction of a robust emotion system, one common emotion was conspicuously absent: fear. I always pictured this emotion as being represented by the colour black, or possibly a hideous orange. A number of events would trigger the emotion in Sims if it existed: the arrival of a vampire guest, being at the top of a three story building, or even activities as simple as swimming or cooking.

In the Sims 3, Sims would develop a negative moodlet when going out at night (they could be afraid of the dark). In the Sims 2, Sims also had their own distinct fears, such as a fear of having a child. During character creation, Sims should be given unique fears (such as fear of kids, fear of dogs, or fear of lightning storms) that would then trigger a moodlet in game. Some could be comical: a Sim could be made with a fear of Goopy Carbanora. Certain events could trigger fear in almost all Sims, such as a fire. While some could argue that a “fear” emotion could make the game too dark, it’s worth mentioning that this is a game where people can die or be attacked by vampires. Such an emotion, if done well, could add plenty of classic Sims humour to the game.

6) More Ages

The Sims life states were revolutionary when they came out...but twenty years later, they haven’t changed. Subtle differences between existing states have also disappeared, making teens and adults impossible to tell apart. When the Sims 4 launched, it was even missing a previous life state, Toddlers. This upset family players in particular. Babies, too, don’t even count as a life state in this game, being tethered to their cribs.

While more should be done to improve the current life states, additional states should also be added. The inclusion of a preteen state would help to separate the 10 year old Sims from the 17 year old ones. 12 and 13 year old kids occupy their own sphere in life, struggling with the idea of trying to act grown up and begin dating while still playing tag in their free time.

Separating Elders into two states would also add realism to the game, as there’s a big difference between a gray haired 65 year old and a hunched over 90 year old. Some Sims could have chance cards, depending on their fitness levels and other attributes, which would determine whether they would die at the end of the Elder life stage, or progress to the Older Elder stage, where their hair would turn white and they would have to adopt the use of a cane or a walker. Adult Sims could be labeled as middle aged, and given more distinct features of aging (gray at the tips of their hair and slower gain in fitness skill).

[msotherworldly]

I discuss 6 Features I would like to see in the next life simulation video game, the Sims 5.