Mad Poster
#7476 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 12:44 AM
I don't necessarily like " sense of finality " and some would agree with me, because 'choices' is my middle now, but yeah without the scare factor their lame. Could have at least put that one particular lot trait ("Haunted") to good use. This is how I proposed the ghost could have/be improved: http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/dis...t-need-changing

P.S. Sorry for my bad english.
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Mad Poster
#7477 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 1:19 AM
I like the sense of finality only because, without it, death means absolutely nothing in these games (Hell, in TS4, death already means almost nothing to the loved ones of the deceased). I'm not opposed to playable ghosts. I'm not even opposed to how easy it is to make ghosts playable. But when they aren't in your active household, and they're just haunting your household, I'd prefer they act like ghosts and not like sims who've just come for a visit.

As for the Grim Reaper, his TS2 design is awesome! I like his TS4 design too....but it looked WAY better in the concept art than it did in the actual game


Also, didn't ghosts used to posses objects? Do they still do that?

The Receptacle still lives!
Scholar
#7478 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 1:20 AM
I wrote a proposal for an afterlife pack that includes ideas for ghosts: Click .
There's so much that could be done with ghosts, and everything that is ghost adjacent honestly.

So be it. Move. ~Jason Bourne
Simblr
Mad Poster
#7479 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 1:43 AM
Finality less or more is present in the game, consider there was always away (at least since TS2) to restore the dead to living creatures, It is up to the player to challenge himself to restrain sims from resurrecting. The only fuss I have is due to the lack of grief for deceased and the threat that's gone from ghosts. And I would prefer If these dead creatures didn't roam around the world and used their cellphones to call living relatives unless players somehow trigger. Just like the biting-spree from the grand vampire in TS2 (although not deliberately programmed to do, but nonetheless it added an interesting element).

P.S. Sorry for my bad english.
Mad Poster
#7480 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 5:31 AM
I think the best Grim was the one they did in Medieval. And I like that in that game there were more adult themes.

I went back to my family in 4 that I played for 8 generations before moving on to test something last night. One had died who knows where so I cannot find her stone or urn. She is a family member there still and doing everything like the other sims, but she is dead. She scares someone now and then but all else is the same. Nothing scary about her at all.
Top Secret Researcher
#7481 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 6:29 AM
I remember asking lot of my friends and aquaintances about sims when I was younger, just to get an answer that most of the time was: "I played for some time few years back but then there was some scary sound and my dead sims came as ghosts and started posessing and jumping out of objects, scaring both my sims and me. I've had nightmares about that. Since then I dont want to play any sims game."

But people here squee like pigs on slaughter when they see a bug and then commend your 'bravery' and 'silliness' when you take that bug in your hands and let it out in nature.

I always liked weirdly logical supernatural stuff in my sims game. I even remember when sims 3 was announced and my friend teased me that sims could now visit graveyard mausoleum, and discover catacombs from there (note that we both indeed thought it would be a rabbithole) and that some creepy haunting sounds would come out from there, some screams as well, and then sim would come out all scratched with 3 ghosts following and haunting him till the sim dies of haunting curse. Boy was I excited all the time. Till I actually played the game and got brought to reality.
Instructor
#7482 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 7:10 AM
Quote: Originally posted by SneakyWingPhoenix
Finality less or more is present in the game, consider there was always away (at least since TS2) to restore the dead to living creatures, It is up to the player to challenge himself to restrain sims from resurrecting. The only fuss I have is due to the lack of grief for deceased and the threat that's gone from ghosts. And I would prefer If these dead creatures didn't roam around the world and used their cellphones to call living relatives unless players somehow trigger. Just like the biting-spree from the grand vampire in TS2 (although not deliberately programmed to do, but nonetheless it added an interesting element).



THIS! That is the biggest problem I have with TS4's ghosts!

Currently, I have a dead father constantly calling his daughters, asking his wife on dates, and sending his grandchildren gifts! Stop the madness! They've moved on, why can't you?


Dad, what are doing at the dance club!? No, don't reproach me for not keeping in touch or blocking your calls. You're dead! Act like it!
Screenshots

A fool and his money are soon parted. ~ Thomas Tusser
Field Researcher
#7483 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 11:50 AM Last edited by Teostar : 15th Jun 2018 at 12:18 PM.
Seems that San MyShuno will have less snow than other worlds, still looks lovely though and I love the frosted windows. They also confirmed that icicles will not form off roof trims like they do in TS3, which is disappointing. Instead they are "decorations" you can put, put where I don't know, they didn't elaborate.
And those snowman building animations are hideous, who approved that?!
Also the people that tried the expansion out at E3 said that it's lacking in the Build/Buy department, only 4 or 5 wallpapers and floors and most of the furniture is decoration only. Maxis loves their non-interactable clutter/decor items, since they require the least effort.













__Twitter bits__
- Botanist is not an active career, unknown whether it's a semi-active one like the careers from City Living.
- Season length options are: 1 week (7d), 2 weeks (14d) and 4 weeks (28 days).
- Cannot customize the length of individual seasons, you can extend a season by reapplying it through the weather machine.
- Fishing is unavailable while ponds are frozen.
- In regards to life states, the Flower Bunny, Scarecrow and Father Winter are cited as this pack's "interesting characters".
- The Calendar feature is exclusive to the Seasons expansion, and will not be available in the pre-Seasons patch.
Field Researcher
#7484 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 12:41 PM
I think it's ridiculous the calender is a selling point of this EP.

It's not like right now in game you can't think to yourself: "I'll have my sims get married on Saturday as it's their day off from work and give me 5 days to save up for it"

The only difference is I now get to put in a calender, instead of just remembering.

You can't customise an individual season length? What the hell EA? What if you want all year round summer in Oasis what's its name?

I'll watch the stream, I like the Gurus hosting it but I'm still not excited.
Forum Resident
#7485 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 1:03 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Teostar
__Twitter bits__
- Botanist is not an active career, unknown whether it's a semi-active one like the careers from City Living.
Someone asked if it's like the Get To Work or City Living career and they said like the City Living career.
Instructor
#7486 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 1:11 PM
The .gifs from San Myshuno look a little disappointing - snow really is a dodgy texture replacement, and it doesn't look like it's settling anywhere besides the ground in ways you'd expect. I hope the lighting changes sometimes so the sky doesn't always look like summer.
Top Secret Researcher
#7487 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 1:14 PM
Flower Bunny, Scarecrow and Father Winter are holliday NPCs. With scarecrow being exclusive to buy mode.
Calendar is exclusive to this EP because it's its only selling point even tho it barely has anything to do with seasons. That, and thermostat which actually fits the pack.

Botanists as an active career is not that big of a deal. If the flower station is working properly and has a lot of flower arangements, and if it works as I think it works (you have your flower garden and then from those harvested flowers you make flower arangements), then you can make your own bouquets and sell them with Get To Work businesses. It's actually the biggest feature I'm looking forward to even tho I don't play TS4 anymore and I don't plan to.
One horse disagreer of the Apocalypse
#7488 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 1:17 PM
Teostar, that gif of the hottub is interesting, as someone asked Grant whether they'd keep you warm in winter and he wasn't telling.

"You can do refraction by raymarching through the depth buffer" (c. Reddeyfish 2017)
Field Researcher
#7489 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 3:32 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Inge Jones
Teostar, that gif of the hottub is interesting, as someone asked Grant whether they'd keep you warm in winter and he wasn't telling.


Didn't a Guru say that bonfires would keep your sims warm outdoors? Wouldn't the same apply for a hot tub? If it was realistic it would.
One horse disagreer of the Apocalypse
#7490 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 5:34 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Goldbear
Didn't a Guru say that bonfires would keep your sims warm outdoors? Wouldn't the same apply for a hot tub? If it was realistic it would.
I expect you're right. Just saying the guru wasn't definite. Maybe trying to keep it a surprise.

"You can do refraction by raymarching through the depth buffer" (c. Reddeyfish 2017)
Forum Resident
#7491 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 6:56 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Inge Jones
Teostar, that gif of the hottub is interesting, as someone asked Grant whether they'd keep you warm in winter and he wasn't telling.


Everytime that happens, I'm totally sure they go like "Oops, didn't think of this. Let's act like it was a deliberate design choice"
Field Researcher
#7492 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 7:00 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Teostar
The Sims 2 truly has the best ghosts not only because of how scary they are and the fact that they can kill your Sims if they are angry (through Death by Fright), but also because there is a sense of finality with them that isn't present in TS3 or 4's ghosts. When a Sim dies in TS2, that is pretty much it for them, you can't add their ghosts to your household, hell you can't even communicate or interact with ghosts. The Sim disappears from your relationships list and the ghost is just that, a somber fragment or image of the Sim that was once alive, not some happy-go-lucky Sim with a transparent filter on them and a floating walk style like in TS3 and 4. Sure you can bring them back if you want to control them again, but it was quite a bit more difficult than resurrection in recent games, with the danger of bringing them back as a zombie, a very impairing life state in TS2. Still, death in TS2 felt real, serious and final, coupled with the fact that the Grim Reaper looks absolutely terrifying with his skeleton body being visible underneath his shroud (the best he has ever looked in a Sims game) and his creepy deep reverberating voice.

Must say I’ve played and enjoyed the ‘resurrection’ feature too much in my Sims 3 game to fully agree it’s “the best” but yes, I can see how dead=dead gives death a more serious dimension that in a different way can make death special.
Field Researcher
#7493 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 7:41 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Chax
In how long is the live please ? Is it on the Twitch channel ? Thanks

The Seasons 2-hour live stream begins in 20 minutes. (11am PT, 2pm ET, 1pm CT)
https://www.twitch.tv/thesims
Forum Resident
#7494 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 8:13 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Chax
There's only 7 new tops for females... Is it me or is it not a lot ?? They're hideous too imo (there's a jacket with really ugly patterns) https://imgur.com/a/SJDNcoi


That second purple crop top...is monstrous. What the hell?

FOR THE HORDE
Top Secret Researcher
#7495 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 9:20 PM
Are those supposed to be danglies from her shirt... those are painted on wth. They couldn't have modeled them and painted on the details?! Ewww
Forum Resident
#7496 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 9:26 PM Last edited by hiabara : 15th Jun 2018 at 9:39 PM.
Complaints aside for a second - I really have to admit that the weather really gives a different feeling to the game. I can't understand how people don't care about weather in a life simulator. It's pretty cool to see how dark it is during a winter day with a slight blizzard outside for example

Also, the thermostat looks like a fire alarm and you can technically kill Sims with it, like when it's cold outside and you make it even colder inside. And it affects the whole house, not just one room.

edit: We're 1 hour and 37 minutes in and we only saw CAS, the ice rink, thermostat, calendar and Christmas tree. And I don't think I've heard any new infos so far... Here's hoping they'll announce some new traits and aspirations.
Top Secret Researcher
#7497 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 9:55 PM
Yep. Seasons is a game changer, even if it's just aesthetics, I'd pay for it. Not the price of full expansion, but again, it's worth having that in the game.
Forum Resident
#7498 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 10:05 PM
From the stream about gardening:

- If plants are under a roof they're considered "sheltered" and will grow even out of season.
- With higher levels of gardening you can tend to bigger areas of plants at once (like watering and getting rid of weeds will affect multiple plants).
- There's a new "Super Sell" option which harvests and sells harvestables at once (the area of affect with higher levels affects this option too, so the higher your level the more harvestables you can harvest and sell at once).
- Only five levels of evolution (you can hover and see them) and it's an immediate action.
Top Secret Researcher
#7499 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 10:09 PM
Bees interact with flowers.

Honestly surprised

TS3 aliens? Finally! Now give us OFB and proper apartments, damnit! - EA, you are breaking my heart. - I give up.
Field Researcher
#7500 Old 15th Jun 2018 at 10:46 PM Last edited by Teostar : 16th Jun 2018 at 5:51 PM.
Without a doubt, the best expansion pack for the Sims 4 to date. I am absolutely blown away by all the things it has and the depth of all these features. (I never imagined such interesting and unique mechanics for beekeeping! AMAZING! OR THAT FANTASTIC NEW RADIO STATION WITH OLD-SCHOOL SONGS!) And sure there are some negatives such as the lack of snow depth, but the SimGurus on Twitter were right, all the amazing things in this pack GREATLY overshadow the negatives.
Honestly this pack tops Vampires as my favorite Sims 4 pack. Bravo to the Sims team, they have crafted something truly amazing.

Here is A LOT of info I gathered while watching the stream, not absolutely everything but mostly everything. (It was really difficult to pay attention to the stream and type these things out at the same time) Also potential grammar mistakes, sorry.

If you missed the 3-hour stream, you can rewatch it here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/273603429

CAS
- The Sims 4 officially has the most outfit categories with the Hot Weather and Cold Weather outfit categories coming for everyone with the upcoming pre-Seasons patch, not exclusive to the expansion.
- Removing the filters off those categories and wearing say bikini for cold weather will still work and protect you against cold weather. The new categories are fully compatible with CC.
- 7 tops, 6 bottoms, 5 shoes, 21 Fullbodies, 9+6 accessories, ? hats, 6 hairstyles (Female T/YA/A/E)
- 9 tops, 6 bottoms, ? shoes, 10 Fullbodies, ?+3 accessories, 7 hats, 3 hairstyles (Male T/YA/A/E)
- 6 tops, 0 bottoms, 3 shoes, 12 Fullbodies, ?+? accessories, 3 hats, 2 hairstyles (Female Kids)
- 6 tops, ? bottoms, 2 shoes, 9 Fullbodies, ?+? accessories, 3 hats, 2 hairstyles (Male Kids)
- 1 tops, 0 bottoms, 3 shoes, 9 Fullbodies, ?+? accessories, 3 hats, 1 hairstyles (Female Toddlers)
- 1 tops, ? bottoms, ? shoes, 8 Fullbodies, ?+? accessories, ? hats, 1 hairstyles (Male Toddlers)
- They tried to add CAS items for every signature holiday. (example: Dress with hearts for Love Day)
- Swimwear category for Toddlers is coming with the pre-Seasons patch for everyone.
- New traits, but all of them are reward traits.

Seasons and Weather
- Sunset and Sunrise times depend on the season.
- During Fall, giant leaf piles will generate in the worldspace and on your lot under trees. You can burn them, WooHoo in them or play in them. Standard stuff.
- If there is a storm, your umbrella with invert and break instantly. After a while it will auto-repair itself, this was done so you don't have to go and get a new one each time it breaks. (an annoyance in TS3: Seasons)
- Power will not shut down during storms, they wanted thunderstorms to not be too debilitating.
- Weather sound effects like rain and thunder will be slightly muted if your camera is indoors, simulating sound in real life. Props to the audio team.
- Seasons options: Seasons length (7 days, 14 days, 28 days), Rain options (Rain and Thunderstorms, Rain, None), Snow options (Snow and Blizzards, Snow, None), Enable/Disable negative weather effects like freezing or overheating.
- Getting hit by lightning causes a +40 Dazed debuff, can also kill.
- Wearing the opposite seasonal outfit during a specific weather (Hot Weather outfit during a blizzard) causes the Sim to be affected by temperature effects faster.
- You cannot lounge in a kiddie pool if it is too cold. Regular pools are unaffected.
- Different food stands will appear in the worldspace of all worlds during specific seasons. Cupcake cart (Spring), Ice Cream cart (Summer), Pumpkin Spice cart (Fall), Hot Cocoa Cart (Winter).
- Thermostat options: Off, Colder, Warmer. (Colder and Warmer interactions either save money or cost more depending on the weather)
- Toddlers and Children can build relationships with built snowmen.
- Snow piles spawn randomly on your lot or in the worldspace, and can even block doors.
- Sims can slip and fall on the ground during winter.
- 12 Umbrella designs. Most townie walk-by Sims will use a black umbrella. They automatically take out an umbrella when they go outside during rain while having an umbrella in their inventory. (You get umbrellas from an umbrella stand available in Build mode)
- Small UI under the time controls display how many days are left of the current season, current weather, current temperature and the general forecast for the day.
- Mud Puddles spawn randomly during Spring on your lot or in the worldspace. You can have a mud fight with someone, or splash in the puddle. Lowers hygiene.
- Clothing on a clothes line will not dry if it's raining, and if a Sim is wet and changes clothes it will generate a wet clothes pile. (Requires Laundry Day stuff pack)
- Weather Controller interactions - Advance Season, Change Current Season, Change Season Forecasts. (Requires Handiness upgrades to the object to unlock all interactions)
- There is a chance (based on the Handiness skill) to screw up using the weather machine and cause an undesired effect. (such as changing to the wrong season)
- Heatwaves create visual distortion effects like in TS3 and real life. Also vibrant light ray effects show up on trees.
- Weather Types: Blizzard, Clear Skies, Cloudy Skies, Cold, Heatwave, Hot, Rain, Snow, Thunderstorm, Windy.
- A bucket filled with water balloons can be bought in Build mode, and you can initiate water balloon fights through it.
- There is Friendly social interaction that allows your Sim to declare their weather preference. The declared weather type will uniquely impact your Sim.
- Different colored blooming flower field decals appear on the grass in the worldspace during Spring.

Holidays and Calendar
- You can plan social events up to two weeks in advance.
- No new social events and only one gold event can be planned per day, infinite amount of non-gold events per day.
- Premade holidays: Harvestfest, Winterfest, Love Day, New Year's Day and some that randomly pop up in the calendar. (like Rebate Day)
- Grand Meals: Grand Breakfast, Ham Dinner, Fish Dinner, Tofu-Turkey (Tofurkey) Dinner, Turkey Dinner.
- You can edit holidays even while they are currently going on.
- Holidays Maker: Icon, Name, Decoration Theme (None, Love Day, Spring, Spooky, Harvestfest, Winterfest, New Year's Eve), Day off from work/school checkbox, Traditions (min 0, max 5)
- Neighborhood lots will automatically apply the appropriate holiday decorations to buildings, fences and stuff.
- A metric shit ton of holiday decorations.
- Christmas Tree: You can decorate it in a variety of ways (garlands, ornaments, topper), and decorate it together with other Sims.
- Father Winter delivers presents, talks to snowmen and Sims can fight him for more presents.
- Craft table where you can make seasonal and holiday decorations.

Scarecrow
- Scarecrow (Patchy the Strawman): You can chat with him and build a relationship. Maxing out the relationship unlocks the Scarecrow outfit and hat and unlocks two new interactions with him. (Check Pockets for Seeds and Ask for Gardening Tips) Once the relationship is maxed, at noon he comes to life and walks around your lot, helping you garden. You can also WooHoo with him.

Scouting
- Children and Teens can both join the Scouts "career" through the phone. You get tips on how to get a badge through the scouts board, and getting new badges gives promotions in the "career".
- Badges: Arts and Crafts, Civil Responsibility, Keep Fit, Good Deeds, Scholarly Aptitude, Sociability, Young Scientist, Give Back, Outdoor Adventurer.
- The workdays/scout meeting days are on Saturday and Sunday at 3PM.

Other/Misc
- New Radio Station: Summer Strut. (features old-school songs)
- Full Song List: Steal my Sunshine by Len (1999), Hot in Herre by Nelly (2002), Cruel Summer by Bananarama (1984), Walking On Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves (1983), Schools Out by Alice Cooper (1972).
- The Ice Skating Rink/Rollerblading Rink appears in each neighborhood's worldspace during the appropriate season. It is also available in Build mode.
- Skating Skill has 5 levels.
- The rink can be customized: Set Music, Set Effects (None, Confetti, Snowflakes, Sparkles, Stars) and Set Lighting (Different shapes).
- 6 glass roof patterns. Glass roofs coming with the pre-Seasons patch for everyone.
- They pulled/copied some objects from the Spooky Day stuff pack and gave them extra color swatches so they aren't totally the same. (I don't believe it includes the Pumpkin Carving Station from that pack)

Gardening Update
- Some plants do not grow in certain seasons, but if they are inside they are considered sheltered, allowing them to grow regardless of the current season.
- Some plants grow during all seasons, some during only two seasons and some are restricted to a single season.
- New area of effect gardening interactions, such as watering multiple stuff at the same time to save time. (coming with the patch)
- Money Tree returns and will be available in the rewards store. (exclusive to Seasons expansion)
- New plants (exclusive to Seasons expansion)
- You can now sell harvestables by directly clicking on the harvestable plant, and you can also area of effect sell all harvestable plants. (coming with the patch)
- Evolution levels of plants reduced from 10 to 5. (coming with the patch)
- There is a new UI available when you mouse over the plants that shows an evolution progress bar divided into 5 parts for the levels and shows whether the plant is sheltered and during which seasons it blooms/grows. (coming with the patch)
- You can now buy seed packets directly from Build mode in addition to buy them from planter pots. (coming with the patch)

Flower Arranging
- Flower Arranging is a 10 level skill.
- You can add rare flower scents to crafted arrangements. Arrangements with a scent cause a unique effect when gifted to a Sim.
- Deathflower scent causes Sims who smell the arrangement to age up, which can kill elder Sims.
- Begonias (a new flower) apply the "Cursed" scent. Gifting one to a Sim causes that Sim to be cursed, applying a +3 Dazed debuff.
- You can give gifts to Sims at all times. Gift Types: Simoleons, Friendly Gifts, Mean Gifts and Flower Arrangement Gifts.

Beekeeping
- Mousing over the bee box shows a UI that displays the relationship bar with the bees, honey amount, activity level and grumpiness/mood.
- Bees will leave the box and actively swarm nearby flowers and pollinate them, improving how fast plants evolve and grow.
- You can Bond with Bees, improving your relationship with that bee box. A higher relationship decreases the chance of getting stung by the bees of that box and also improves the quality and amount of honey you harvest.
- Honey is used in new recipes such as Honey Cake or Honey Tea.
- You cannot die by getting stung by bees.
- You can collect a Bee Swarm from the box and command it through the inventory to do things. (The swarm does not remain in your inventory forever and will disperse in 5 hours)
- Bee Swarm Interactions: Attack a Sim, Cheer Up Self with Bees, Cheer Up a Sim, Pollinate Nearby Plants, Send to Fetch Gift and Woo a Sim.
- Bee Boxes can get infested with mites, requiring the application of a mite treatment.
- Beekeeper outfit and hat protect against being stung by bees when using the bee box. However you cannot Bond with the Bees or Collect Swarms while wearing it. (The bees think the Sim does not trust them by wearing the suit for protection)

Glass Roof types


List of Holiday traditions
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