The Sims 4 is right around the corner, but we still don’t know a huge amount about it. EA and Maxis have been keeping relatively tight-lipped considering it’s such a high-profile release, and this has led many to become a little concerned.
Related: The Sims 4 – Everything You Need to Know
This hasn’t been helped by regular announcements regarding content that’s been cut from the game, as Maxis has gone to town on the series and removed many features, many of which were extremely popular in previous The Sims games.
In the below gallery, we detail everything that’s missing from The Sims 4 that appeared in other The Sims titles, and discuss how this will much/little their removal will affect the game. We’ll also be discussing how The Sims 4 plans to replace this content, and if we feel that Maxis will be successful in doing so. Take a look.
The Sims 4 - A Guide to Everything That Won't Make its Way Into the Game
-
No pools
This one's really baffling and caused no small degree of uproar from The Sims fans when it was announced. There will be no pools in The Sims 4.
Pools have been a staple of the series, and everyone always remembers the first time they barricaded one of their Sims in one and left them to swim themselves to death. Cruel? Yes. Funny? Absolutely.
Unfortunately, pools have been completely removed from The Sims 4, with many speculating that EA is saving them for an expansion pack further down the line. If that proves to be the case, that's a very underhanded tactic.
How much will we miss them? A Sims game without pools just doesn't feel right. We hope they're added later in the game as a free update, but that seems like wishful thinking.
-
No open world
We're not big fans of loading times, and Maxis' decision to make The Sims 4 perfectly playable on lower-end PCs has resulted in notable downgrades, one of which is the game no longer being open world.
This means that you'll no longer be able to see your Sim wandering around the world and travelling to/from work and school. With each neighborhood having 1-5 lots in total, players will also have to wait while the game loads if they wish to travel to one of the other lots in their world. Seeing as how EA and Maxis has revealed very little actual gameplay footage of the game, it's unknown how lengthy these loading times will be and how much of a damaging effect they will have on the fluidity of the game, but we hope for the best.
How much will we miss it? Being able to send our Sims travelling around their neighborhood wasn't as fleshed out in The Sims 3 as it could've been, as it largely resulted in them disappearing into a building for an extended period of time. We hoped that the open world mechanics would be expanded upon in The Sims 4, but now Maxis is going in a completely different direction and removing this feature from the series altogether. While the open world did give the series more of a communal feel, it never really served to add anything to The Sims 3. We would've liked it if The Sims 4 rectified this, but Maxis' response has instead been to remove the feature altogether, which concerns us a little.
-
No Create-a-Style
Budding decorators will be left incredibly sore by this glaring omission, as the popular Create-a-Style has been abandoned by developer Maxis.
A tool introduced in The Sims 3, Create-a-Style allowed players to alter the color and patterns of their furniture, essentially meaning that they could tailor their created buildings to their tastes. The absence of CAS will therefore mean that only the default colors and patterns will be selectable.
Unfortunately, this means that houses will also no longer be able to be styled within a particular theme, as Create-a-Style allowed players to carry over the look from one room to another.
How much will we miss it? A lot. Create-a-Style allowed players to express themselves in The Sims 3 more than they were able to in any other Sims game prior to it, and though it was a superfluous addition to the series, it was a very popular one.
-
Fewer objects
The Sims 4 will see quite a few objects being dropped from the series. These include:
- Cars (they won't even be available for decorative purposes)
- Bikes
- Changing Tables
- Cribs
- Dishwashers
- Highchairs
- Hot tubs
- Newspapers (job-hunting will be done via computers)
- Pool tables
- Trash compactors
We can live without most of these as long as they're supplemented with more cool stuff. While the absence of cars could be considered a big deal by some (especially the modding community who would've no doubt introduced some awesome vehicles), considering that The Sims 4 won't be open-world we can understand why they're absent from the game.
How much will we miss them? We're join the modding community in their sadness to see cars go, but we're mostly okay with these missing features.
-
No toddlers
In The Sims 4, your Sims will grow from baby, to child, to teen, young adult, adult and then elder. This means that toddlers are now no longer a part of the equation.
For those who enjoy watching their Sims slowly grow up, this will be a big loss. It also doesn't help that older Sims are now much less distinguishable from one another, meaning that ageing isn't as apparent in the upcoming game.
How much will we miss them? A lot. Watching our Sims grow has always been a major feature of the series, and pulling one of their steps to adulthood completely from the game is a weird move on behalf of Maxis.
-
No 3D map
The absence of an open world in The Sims 4 has meant that the game's map has changed to accommodate to its more segregated gameplay. No longer representing a living, breathing world, the map (pictured) now looks a lot more sleek and minimalist, highlighting selected houses in color whilst the rest remain shaded out.
How much will we miss it? Despite it representing a much smaller Sims world, the look of the new map is actually rather smart and looks to make navigation a lot easier. We can live with this change.
-
Fewer places to visit
With The Sims 4's world being made much smaller, some places of interest haven't made the cut. These include:
- Restaurants
- Bookstores
- Private schools
There's not a lot to get worked up about here, especially considering that you never got to see your Sims inside these places anyway.
How much will we miss them? We won't even notice that they're gone.
-
Removed facets of Sims' personalities
The Sims 4 promises to make Sims' personalities more robust, with improved emotions being a main feature EA is promoting. However, a few things haven't made the grade that were previously in other Sims games. They include:
- No aspiration failures
- No comfort need
- No dreams
- No fears
If the Sims in the game are going to be made more well-rounded, then these omissions can slip by unnoticed.
How much will we miss them? If Maxis lives up to what it has planned for the Sims' new and improved personalities, we're more than happy with these changes.
-
No ghosts
Having the spirits of deceased Sims wander your home was always hilarious, and it's a curious decision on behalf of Maxis to remove them from the game completely.
We could've lived with graveyards being removed, but ghosts wandering around and spooking their former loved ones was one of the defining features of the series, and will make us welcome Death (the in-game Death, not real-life death) a whole lot less.
How much will we miss them? Allow us to be reactionary for a second by saying that it won't feel like The Sims we know and love without ghosts. Much like the Sims that they're the spirits of, they're gone, but they won't be forgotten.
-
Teens, Adults and Elders are no longer distinctive
We don't understand why Maxis would take a back step in this department and have teens, adults and elders all look near-identical, but that's the way it's going to be in The Sims 4. Seeing teens being the same height as adults will make larger families a little confusing to navigate, and those who prefer to ground their game in reality will be disheartened that all of their Sims, no matter their age, aren't as immediately distinctive from one another.
How much will we miss them? The heavily improved Create-a-Sim mode could more than make up for this omission, but it still seems a little pointless of Maxis to remove it from the series.
-
No mixed foundations
All buildings on a lot must now share the same foundations, which means that your house's foundation must be identical to that of your garage, your shed and so on.
The series previously gave players the option of either a decking, elevated or brick foundation, and these were mostly used to build structures atop uneven terrain. Given that The Sims' world will now be completely flat, the absence of foundations shouldn't be too noticeable.
How much will we miss them? Aside from building houses on top of bumpy ground, foundations were a superficial addition that could stand to make houses look a little bit nicer, but not a lot else. We're fine with this feature being cut.
-
There's no way to create or place new lots
The Sims 4 will have far fewer lots than The Sims 3 (under 25, compared to over 125) and there's no way to create new ones to expand your Sims' world. On top of this, only 2 free lots will be available for you to choose from at the start of the game, meaning you don't have a great deal of choice when it comes to the positioning of your house.
How much will we miss them? Given how The Sims 4 won't be open world, the positioning of your Sims' house doesn't really matter. We're not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, though.
-
Fewer NPCs
Below is a list of the NPCs that will not appear in The Sims 4, but have been present in other Sims games:
- Burglars
- Aliens
- Repo-men
- Babysitters
- Bartenders
- Repairmen
- Gardeners
- Tragic Clown
- Social Bunny
While we don't fancy having to water our own plants and fixing our own refrigerators all of the time, it's the absence of the burglars that is the most disappointing. A Sims staple, burglars always injected an element of excitement and chaos into the games.
How much will we miss them? These are hardly crippling omissions and will likely not be noticeable come the final game, but we're still going to miss those damn burglars.
-
No normal careers
Those who like to model their Sims upon their friends will be displeased to learn that "normal" careers are now off the table. That means that your Sims will no longer be able to be police officers, doctors or lawyers, and will instead have to take up the game's more ludicrous occupations.
How much will we miss them? Careers have never been properly fleshed out in The Sims, with them resulting in little more than different uniforms, different schedules and different pay grades. We've never actually been able to see our Sims working the 9-5, so them not being able to work in law enforcement isn't exactly a huge loss.
However, this could be representative of a more "wacky" route for the series, and if that's the case then that leaves us a little concerned. The Sims has always had an off-the-wall sense of humor, but as many prefer to play it more straight-faced, exclusions such as these are troubling.
-
No terrain tools
As The Sims 4 will feature a completely flat terrain, terrain tools are inevitably out of the window. These tools could be used to further customize lots, but now that customization of these spaces has been kept to an extreme minimum, Maxis has no use for them to be included. This will also mean that basements are no longer possible.
How much will we miss it? Altering a terrain could result in some unique, awesome and often completely ridiculous lots, and though this isn't exactly a crippling loss, it's still unfortunate to see these tools disappear.
-
No modifications can be made to world or public spaces
World/public spaces cannot be edited, though fortunately community lots still can. This essentially means that while public spaces will come equipped with stationary equipment and objects for your Sims to interact with, you can still get your toolbox out in areas other than your own home. Ahem.
How much will we miss them? Not a lot. In an ideal world we'd be able to customize every facet of The Sims, but that's not going to happen if Maxis want the game to be able to perform well on lower-end machines, so we're comfortable with community lots being the sole places of our Sims' world that we can modify outside of their home.
-
Removed Create-a-Sim options
A few Create-a-Sim options have also faced the chop. These include:
- Eyelash length sliders
- Multi-tone hair color customization
- Acne
- Male body hair
- Full face make-up
- Make-up opacity slider
- No color wheel
Considering that Create-a-Sim has been hugely improved upon, a lot of this would appear to be a case of "out with the old, in with the new." It's regrettable that body hair is now off the agenda, though, as some of our bushier acquaintances will not be catered to.
How much will we miss them? With Create-a-Sim being a huge focal point of The Sims 4, none of these features will be sorely missed aside from perhaps the color wheel. The Sims 4 will only feature 20 pre-determined colors for both Create-a-Sim and home-building, which sounds like a very small amount compared with previous games in the series.
-
No rabbit holes
Remember when your Sims went to work or the grocery store in The Sims 3 and they would disappear, with you not being able to view what they were getting up to in there? Those were called "rabbit holes," and they're gone from The Sims 4.
This makes sense given that the game isn't open-world, and it's not exactly a feature that will be missed given that it only really stood to show the limitations of The Sims 3's environment. The way that Maxis are working around these rabbit holes in The Sims 4 is that all of the activities that would requires Sims to enter them will now take place off-screen.
How much will we miss them? Not at all.
-
Fewer causes of death
There will no longer be illness, disease or random deaths in The Sims 4, which is good for your Sims, but if you're someone who enjoyed watching your Sims die in a variety of ways (you sicko), then this will give you fewer options.
How much will we miss them? This won't exactly prove to be a notable omission from the game, so we're fine with these causes of death being removed.
-
No more huge worlds
The Sims 3 boasted over 125 lots in its worlds, whereas The Sims 4 will feature under 25. We needn't point out how this a huge downgrade, though as much of the career/school stuff now takes place offscreen, it's hardly surprising that the worlds have reduced in size.
The Sims 4 appears to be much more focused upon individual households than it is the community that your Sims live in, which could be either a good or a bad thing. Only time will tell.
How much will we miss it? We always assume that bigger immediately means better, but The Sims 4 could do a great deal with its fewer lots. We'll have to wait and see.
-
Fewer interactions with babies
The only interaction a Sim can have with a baby is lifting him/her out of their basinet. No longer will they crawl around the floor or be left in the garden while a Sim wanders off to do more interesting stuff, which is a good or a bad thing, depending upon your viewpoint.
How much will we miss them? Much like in real life, babies didn't do too much anyway, but having our Sims' interactions with them being made so limited now pretty much transforms them into objects. That's a little weird, to say the least.
