The Roof...The Roof..The Roof is on Fire: The Sims 4 Build Mode

As a creator, as soon as I got my hands on time with The Sims 4 at Creator's Camp, I went straight for Build Mode.  And stayed there.  For hours and hours.  I kept setting myself a limit along the lines of "just 2 more hours of build mode and the I will look at the rest of the game..." and then failing to do just that.  Why?  Because there is a LOT to see/discover/figure out.  

Faster/Easier Building

One thing that I heard repeated over and over is that they wanted to make building faster and easier so you can hurry up and start playing.  While I think this is a noble goal for many players, my concern is that it makes the assumption that no one likes to build.  Creators like myself would heartily disagree. For many players, building and creating is as much or more fun than actually "playing" the game.  So, when I dove into build mode, I was curious to see if this zeal to make things faster and easier limited the creativity of those of us who actually enjoy the building process.  In most cases, it didn't.  A majority of the new tools and features offer a fun, less frustrating build experience full of possibilities. In order to get a genuine feel for how Build mode works in The Sims 4, I tried to build as much as possible and in a variety of styles.  So let's dive in!

Manage your World

There are 2 different worlds to choose from, each with its own distinctive feel.  Will you decide to build in the lush New Orleans flavored Willow Creek...or is the painted desert of Oasis Springs?  The choice is yours.  I like that even with a base game, we get two completely different environments in which to explore and create.

Each world is divided into small neighborhoods with about 25 lots total in each world.  Since 5 of those lots are venues, that leaves you about 20 lots to work with in sizes ranging from 15x20 to 50x50.  There are no huge 64x64 sized lots.  There are just a handful of empty lots to choose from; however, you can use the bulldozer tool and delete any existing lot to make room for your own creations.  In fact, most of the controls you are familiar with from The Sims 3 are here which I found made for an easier learning curve.  For a list of all of the tool hot keys CLICK HERE

There is no way to edit the terrain or the world files at this time, so you will have to keep your creativity to one of the lots for now.  I was expecting this as we did not get the ability to edit world files with The Sims 3 until expansions were released.




The new "manage worlds" function is basically your EDIT TOWN mode.  I was particularly pleased to learn that from "manage worlds" you can go in and build on any lot, regardless of whether or not there is a sim family there in residence.  There is no need for a clipboard because you do not need to move them off lot to change or edit the homes of any sim in the world.  You simply enter the lot and make whatever changes you like or even swap out the home entirely with something from the gallery, making it much easier for a player to customize the neighborhood.  A plumbob floats above the map view to indicate where your "active" household is located, but you can very easily enter any lot, occupied or not, and make any changes you desire.

Once you select your lot, you will discover a clean, easy to follow build menu with several new features. While functions are still grouped together with a more "build" related section and a "buy" section, there is also a handy search feature that allows you to type in the name of an object.  As in The Sims 3, you can find objects grouped by room or by function.

Building Blocks

One of the most innovative features of Build Mode is the "block" system.  You can place rooms in a variety of shapes and then pick them up and mold them in any way.  You can grab any side and push it in or pull it out to get the exact shape you want OR you can pick up the whole thing and move it.  It feels like you are sculpting.  The draw tool is still available if you prefer to draw your walls out one by one.  Once you have connected walls in a "closed circuit" they become a room unit that can also be picked up and moved anywhere on the lot.

And speaking of moving things on the lot....YES.  You can pick up your entire house and move it around the lot.  Hurray!  I tried this out several times and it is a dream come true.  No more rebuilding the whole structure simply because it is a few squares too close to the street.

Speaking of blocks, you will discover that the "room catalog" function is located in the build mode section.  This consists of several pre-designed rooms similar to the blueprint mode we had in The Sims 3.  When you place one of these rooms,  it comes as a completely designed, furnished block. Sounds like it should be located in the buy catalog?  Nope. Unlike most interior decoration you should not wait until you have the exterior of your home complete to use them because they erase any windows or exterior wall treatments in the location they are placed, which might be a bit frustrating.  To get the best use out of the pre-designed rooms, you will want to use them as a base for your structure...arrange them into a pleasing shape....and THEN work on the exterior of your home.

From the bottom up


Once you have a structure you like, you can then decide if you want to use a foundation or not.

Whaaat?

Shouldn't the foundation come first?  Not any more!  The new foundation tool completely eliminates yet another  potential "darn it...I have to start completely over" moment. You can add the foundation at any point in your build process.  AND you can decide on several different heights for your foundation.  The lowest setting is similar to a stage...there is no need for stairs at all as sims will just step up on to it.  The highest setting will provide a nice imposing look well above street level.  You can adjust the height at any time. Unfortunately the foundation tool applies a foundation to everything on the lot uniformly.  This means you are not going to be able to have a high foundation on your house and no foundation on a potting shed.  It is an all-or-none proposition.

Notice that lovely curved porch? Walls dont curve, but foundations/fencing can.

There are several different foundation looks to choose from...ranging from a very smooth modern look to a more classical, sculpted look.  Some of these foundation looks come in multiple colors and others do not.  Since it is all presets, I did find it frustrating that some of the foundation walls did not have a matching wall treatment.  It was difficult at times to get a uniform look.

Wonder Wall

Another innovative feature is the adjustable wall height.  There are three different heights and you can have a different one for each floor of your structure.  This is variety we have never previously seen and should open new doors for creators.  The taller wall heights have a selection of larger windows and doors that are better scaled to them, but you can place any of the windows at any height on each wall panel so it is very easy to get a wide variety of looks.

Speaking of windows...the flexibility of placement is fantastic, but it does not extend to off grid placement.  Windows still have to snap to grid and cannot be centered between two wall panels.  A very minor quibble given the freedom of being able to place them at any height.  That is a feature I have wanted for a very long time indeed!  There is a nice selection of styles available for a base game and I was pleased with the details and choices.

Wall treatments themselves...both inside and out....are somewhat limited and the block style building system can make filling the walls a bit tricky.  Using the tool to cover the entire wall can result in some areas being missed because they are not considered part of that room "block" or other areas being filled unintentionally for the same reason.  My best advice here is when applying the walls to make sure you are in "walls up" mode and go slowly.  I was in a rush to get the most out of my time, and I later discovered a few unexpected errant wall tiles on some of the homes I made in Creators Camp.

Another convenient feature of the new walls is that they do NOT need to be supported to create usable space.  You can cantilever a room over empty space or float it in the air, if you so desire.

All that is required to make it useful is a way for your sim to enter the room.  I can imagine that this feature will be particularly fun for those who enjoy modern and sci fi style builds.  Hovering space ship, anyone?



What else is new in Build Mode?

• Add a string course to the top of your exterior walls  ( what the heck is a string course, you ask?) It is one of these lovely little architectural details that at dimension to your structure: 
  

• Add both curved and straight fencing in a variety of styles and colors
• Add spandrels and corbels to your porches ( more architectural details) 
   
  
• Add columns and pilasters.  (I know, I know...it's like architecture 101 in here now.  Pilasters are like a column that is halfway embedded in a wall.)  In The Sims 4 these are not separate objects.  You simply place any column against a wall and it turns into one.  The other half of the column does NOT cut into the wall or space behind it at all.  How clever is that?!

• Add exterior elements like awnings, window boxes and other decorative items.  In base game!  And remember, since you can place them at any height, you can adjust them to fit any window.  No more inability to use an element because it doesn't fit properly.

• Add a chimney separately from the fireplace.  This is a flexibility we have never had before without using cheats.  The chimney sections are an element on their own and can be placed anywhere on the exterior of the home.  Best part?  As long as there is a fireplace somewhere inside the house, smoke will come out of the chimney.  It doesn't have to be placed over the fireplace directly!

Above it ALL: The Roofing

Ask any simmer who tries to build what their main headache is and "roofs" will come up 9 times out of 10.  They can be tricky and frustrating.  Apparently EA gets that...they listened and responded with a innovative new roofing system that doesn't " draw" them on at all.  Each section is it's own movable block, just like the rooms.  You plop it down and then mold it to the shape you want...push and pull it to the exact height or width you need.  You can even adjust the curvature to get some cool new shapes.  Currently there are no conical or octagon shapes available, but I am sure those will be arriving at some point.  In the meantime, there are even MORE roofing details to play with. You can adjust the eaves to be longer or shorter AND you can even adjust them on just one side to get even more unique looks.

Since the roof sections are individual objects, that means they can be colored independently as well.  Never had that ability before...I am looking forward to experimenting with it and seeing what kind of new looks can be created.  I can envision a charming Hobbit style home with a curved, rounded roof done in a patchwork of colors.  What will you come up with?

The eaves can also have a trim color and style added as well for an extra bit of design.

Roofing collision is quite different in The Sims 4.  In the past, our roofing sometimes intruded or clipped into a room of the house.  As long as there was another roof above it, it was usable space. Unfortunately, this often resulted in disappearing roof sections or holes in the roofing.  Now, it is the room "blocks" underneath the roof that determine if the space intersected by a roof is usable.  It is a bit tricky as it must be a solid room unit to prevent a roof line from intersecting into the space.  I had to use a little trial and error, but overall I am confident that with time this new system will be much more superior.

Getting Down to Earth

Once you have your structure completed, you will probably want to do a little landscaping. The Sims 4 landscaping package is varied with plenty of flowers and bushes to choose from....the more lush trees and bushes you would expect for a world like Willow Creek and plenty of cactus and palm trees for Oasis Springs.  Unlike The Sims 3, all of the landscaping plants come out the same exact size...not in the "small, medium, and large" variety I was expecting.  You can imagine how thrilled I was to hear about a new cheat that is designed to allow the player to make any object...including the plants...larger.  Yay!  You can then imagine how disappointed I was when another player discovered the cheat does not transfer when a lot is uploaded to the Gallery. I will be avidly waiting to hear that they have gotten the kinks worked out of that cheat code, because I can see the vast potential it brings.

There are many different terrain paints and the brush controls you would expect to see.  Some nice rocks are available, somewhat on the small side...but well modeled.

What is currently not available is the ability to sculpt the terrain or add bodies of water. All of the rout-able terrain is flat.  This helps greatly with routing and sim movement, and the surrounding world is sculpted so well that you don't really feel like it is a "flat" world at all. I will be very curious to see if these tools are ever made available at some point.


Ready to move inside?

One of the first categories I looked at was the clutter (!) section.  There are multiple sections in decor that are clutter or clutter related: sculptures, clutter, and miscellaneous objects. Oh wow!  I could not be more pleased with these objects.  They are charming, detailed and interesting. A great variety, too.  An old favorite of mine, the bowl of fruit from The Sims 2 makes a more refined appearance along with tons of new objects.  I am absolutely delighted.

Another "squee-worthy" category is the kids objects.  Very cute, adorable objects for a base game can be found here including several oddly large stuffed animals.  Speaking of oddly large, the child's doll house appears to be on steroids in The Sims 4.  Make sure you have plenty of free space for it.

Rather than tell you about all of the objects, I would like to show you.  One thing I think that stands out is the level of detail to be found in the catalog.  Objects are appealing and intricate.

The new kitchen cabinet system is very thoughtfully designed.  After you choose the cabinet, open the sub menu to select the shape you would like to use.  Some sets come with curved or slanted end sections or island sections, enabling the player to achieve a variety of looks.

There is no color wheel or Create- A- Style.  Objects come in preset colors and pattern combinations.  Some objects come in many different colors/textures and others just have a few choices available.  I found this aspect of the game to be the most frustrating.  To find out more about it CLICK HERE

One of the best parts of using these objects is the freedom of placement.  Almost all objects....mirrors being one exception....can be placed anywhere on the wall.  Horizontally and vertically.  There is not a way to overlap or place more objects on the same panel, as the "move objects" cheat does not seem to exist at this point.  You heard me correctly.  No MOO.

It's true.

Even without a "move objects" cheat..which we hope will be forthcoming...there are a much wider variety of ways to place and use these objects within your creation. 

Overall, my impression of time spent building with The Sims 4 was that they listened to many long standing player complaints and frustrations ( "roofs are hard!"  "We cant move the house on the lot once built!" "We need more clutter!"  ) and came up with clever, innovative solutions to make building easier and more fun.  I wont pretend that the loss of Create-a-Style isn't a huge blow for creators, but I can see how all of these other tools, objects and advances can certainly soften the blow and open up new possibilities.  I will be building and creating for The Sims 4 and I suspect many people who might not have tried to build previously will be making things as well.

The Real Deal about the Color Wheel

The lack of Create-A-Style has been weighing heavily on many player's minds.  We have gotten used to being able to pick the colors and patterns for everything in the game and creativity has flourished as a result.  How would it affect the Sims 4 experience?

The reasoning behind taking the color wheel/pattern choices out of the game makes sense.  Create-A-Style does affect performance and rendering times as the game has to constantly store and call out the hundreds or thousands of color/texture combinations we create.  I get that. After a few years of saving colors and patterns in my game, it takes several minutes just for Create-A-Style to open in game.  That is on a very fast computer and no CC at all. So having a set color palette makes a faster, smoother running game. Sounds good to me.

But you have to do it right.

To allow players to have as much control as possible, there needs to be a clear, flexible set of presets that have uniformity.  One of the biggest gripes we all had about The Sims 2...which also used presets...was that it was very hard to match things up.  Wood tones in a particular chair might not be available in the end tables or coffee tables.  The curtains might not match the bed colors, and so on.  You were often forced to choose a style or a color you didn't want to use simply because you were able to find things that matched it.

So when the word about no color wheel came out, I had my reservations as much as anyone else...but I was open to the idea of presets.  I could see how it might be ok and I was hopeful.  I wanted to keep an open mind until I could get my hands on the game and see what we had to work with. Last week I got that chance.

What is the verdict on working with color/pattern presets instead of a Create-A-Style tool?

  I hate to say it but I am truly disappointed in the way presets have been handled.

I tried to build as much as possible while I was at Creator's Camp so that I could get a genuine feel for the game.  I made 5 houses...a starter, a cottage, a mansion, a modern, and a Mediterranean.  I wanted to try a variety of styles to see what there was to work with in the game.  And while I absolutely loved so many aspects of build mode, such as the clutter and decor objects, freedom of vertical placement, the ability to move rooms or the whole darn house anywhere on the lot....the honest truth is that all of that seemed to fade into the background as I became more and more frustrated by the planning of the presets.

The curtains are a prime example. For a base game, there is a nice variety of styles.  The ability to move them up and down is incredibly helpful.  However, they do not tie back to most of beds in the catalog.  I chose a pink bed for one room and there were no pink curtains...which could have been ok if there had been a white option.  But there was no white.  There was a lamp in the same pink as the bed, but the chairs and  sofa that come in pink are a whole different shade of pink.  There is a very cute children/teen style bed in the catalog but there are no curtains that match any of those options.  I had to go with something else.

With the wall textures, I discovered the same thing.  There was a wall that was half stone, half siding.  I placed it on the bottom floor of the house.  For the second floor, I wanted just the siding...and that option existed.  But not in the same color of green. So I couldn't use it. The foundation tool ( which is really easy to use and handy) allows you to choose several different options.  But there is no continuity here either.  I chose a dark brown foundation color on my modern house.  The dark brown wall color is a different shade.  There is no shade of paint that matches the foundation.  I was surprised that the foundation colors did not ALL have a matching wall panel.

I found this to be the case over and over.  I spent quite  a bit of time at one point looking for a rug...any rug...that would go with a bed I chose.  None of them matched.  No white to use as a neutral.  I finally had to give up and try a different bed in a whole different color because I found something that matches it.  Rinse and repeat.  It was frustrating. I felt like I was being herded in a certain direction.  Want a country style kitchen?  It has already been decided that "country" should be one of these three colors.

I think there is a possible solution to all of this.  If you are going to have presets, fine.  Have presets.  But it would be more effective to have a uniform, overarching color scheme that isn't style driven. Continuity of color across all objects would be incredibly conducive to creativity. Decide what colors you are going to use and then make sure that everything comes in those shades.  Not just some things. Everything. If you are going to have olive green as one of your colors, everything could have an olive green option and it could be the same hex code olive green.  That will give the most flexibility to the player and create a more enjoyable experience.

The idea that certain styles of objects should only come in certain colors is very limiting. It forces the player in a specific, narrowed direction and it cuts off self expression.  If we cant  have a limitless color/pattern options, a uniform palette that spans all styles and all objects would enable the player to fully utilize the build catalog to maximum potential and foster creativity.

Another thing that would help immensely is to have a black and a white option for everything.  Everything. I found many objects that came in a "white-ish" option that was really cream or a grayish putty color.  Not a true white.  A true white object or a true black object is a workable neutral that can be paired with anything, providing the player with more options for expression and innovation.

There is no way for the designers to come up with every possible combination a player would want to use.  Of course not.  That wouldn't be feasible.  They can, though, ensure that if there are 15 different foundation colors, there is a matching wall for each one.  They can ensure that the same 4 shades of wood are used uniformly on every object that comes in a wood option, regardless of style.  They can ensure there is continuity in the presets so that we have as much opportunity as possible to find something that works.  They can not limit colors by "style". Blue might be a country color to you, but it could be a modern color for me.

Overall, I found building in The Sims 4 to have a lot of potential for creativity.  They have clearly listened to many of our old frustrations and worked hard to find a solution. There are a TON of new features to experiment with and I cant wait to see the clever ways people come up with to use them. On the balance, there is much more to like than not. But if I am honest, I have to say that I am disappointed with how they handled the preset colors.  It is limiting and constrictive.  It is not as well thought out as it could be.  It makes me feel like I will be forced to use the same objects over and over simply because they happen to match.

At the Creators Camp, we had a very frank Q&A session with Simguru Lindsay and Rachel Franklin, the executive producer for The Sims 4.  At that time I expressed my concerns about the color situation.  In an informal poll, many simmers agreed that if they could work on one thing next, color continuity would be one of the top things on the list. I truly hope that the feedback is considered. They have the ability to actually change a weak point into a strength fairly easily if the presets are managed thoughtfully with an eye to providing the players with the most flexibility possible.

Creators Camp Sims 4 Screenshots!

As I wait for the screen shots I took at Creator's Camp to arrive ( we were allowed to share 20 of them), here is a little appetizer: some new EA created screenshots showing the weird and wonderful world of The Sims 4!

Gimme Some Control: The Sims 4 Build Mode Hotkeys

Here are the hotkeys for build mode functions. Many of them are similar to The Sims 3, so there is continuity for returning players.  There are also images in the UI for all of this, in case you forget something.

[<] and [>]                                 rotate objects including rooms, roof sections, and objects

[M]                                             moves a selected slotted object to the next slot 

[shift]                                         to copy held/selected object on placement                          

[backspace]                               to inventory held/selected object                                                                     

[delete]                                        to delete held/selected object

[CTRL] + [Z]                                to Undo

[CTRL] + [Y]                               to Redo

[E]                                                      Eyedropper Tool

[H]                                                    Hand tool

[K]                                                    Sledgehammer tool

[R]                                                    design tool

[B]                                                    wall tool

[L]                                                    Toggles Day/Night 

[ALT]                                               Allows off Grid placement (except windows)   

                                

[G]                                    toggle grid on and off

[F5]                                   cycles 1/2 and 1/4 tile grid snapping for object placement    

                                                 

[ALT] (when placing walls)             Flood fill a single wall

[SHIFT]                                            Flood Fill floor and wall paint

[CTRL]+[F]                                     Toggle to 1/4 tile floor paint

With Terrain Catalog Open:

"["                                                     Reduce terrain brush size

"]"                                                     Increase terrain paint brush size

[;]                                                     Move terrain brush softness slider to left                                                                     

[']                                                     Move terrain brush softness slider to the right                                                                     

[CTRL]                                            Toggle Terrain Paint/Eraser

[U]                                         move whole house (yeah....that's right. Pick it up and move it!)                                                              

[V]                                                   toggle video recording

[C]                                                   Capture screen shot

Camera Controls:

[T]                                                   Toggle top down View

[page up]                                         Go to Next Floor Up

[page down]                                    Go to Next floor down

[Home]                                            Walls Up

[End]                                               Walls Down

Sims 4 Creator Camp

Yes...I am here! Yes, I will be getting my hands on the game. No...I can't share until next week.

I will be eyeballing everything with a hard look at the build side of things...so if you have any questions, drop me a line here or on Facebook and I will try to get answers for when we can share.

The Sims 4 Create-A-Sim Demo

Home from running a ton of errands, still have a list of things to do...and what do I see in my in box?  A code for the new Sims 4 CAS demo!  Score!!!I did get to play around with CAS last summer at the Gamescom event, but it was pretty limited. Just a few clothing and hair options. Some categories not available at all.  I have been very eager to see what has been added....and there is a lot.  

First things first: I LIKE how the Sims 4 sims look. Granted,  I don't specialize in sim making...I don't do amazing sim photo shoots like the talented folks at SF magazine...I don't collect CC anything. I like that the Sims 4 sims are not as pudding faced as the Sims 3 faces.  Yes, there is clearly a different aesthetic...a more drawn, cartoony look to them.  But just a few moments into the demo and I already feel like I can make a more attractive sim than I ever could in Sims 3.  Works for me.

Here are some quick bullet points of things that stand out to me:

*preset options are much more attractive with tons of variety 

                                       

 *the amount of customization is HUGE compared with previous game. You can change the thickness of the neck, the size of the iris, the width of the calves, the upper and lower arms, and so much more. 

* there is a close up mode to help with finer details. The "push and pull" mechanics seem to give more control in this mode

*You can decide where they carry the weight: hips and thighs but small upper body...yep.  Big beer belly but skinny legs? You can do that.

One thing I did notice is that there doesn't seem to be a way to add a double chin if you want your sim to carry weight in the face.  It may be that I just haven't figured it out yet.

*There is a wide variety of skin tones available for a base game...including a blue and green.

The skinny on hairstyles: 42 female styles and 22 male styles.  There are no long hair options for men at this time.  I hope to see that corrected.  I also want to see men given the option for the large afro style and cornrows.  There is no reason why those cant be unisex.

* Hats are now in clothing where they belong.  Any hat can be put on any hairstyle...and the hair doesn't change to a "default" style.  Not a ton of hat options at this time.

*This particular style of glasses is only available for the guys.  What?  Why?  Glasses should be unisex and available for everyone.

*Guys get 14 different facial hair choices.  Everything from full on man-beard to pencil thin gangster 'stache. 

And yes...you can choose a different color for the facial hair.  Blondes with red beards...yup.  Want to rock a blue mustache?  Go for it!

Plenty of clothing options for a base game but some interesting choices.  For instance, there are only 2 pairs of full length pants for the ladies.  But there are 8 different styles of shorts?

*There is no color wheel.  We have known it for months, so no surprise there.  Instead, you choose colors/textures from swatches such as those below:

I noticed some styles had TONS of options...both in colors and in patterns:

But other styles had just a few selections.  I would like to see that evened out a little.  

I would also like to see a little more accuracy with the swatches and the resulting colors. The dark green eyes don't look much different from the light green eyes at all....but the swatch is much darker

Here, there are 3 pretty much identical blue eye shadow swatches and 2 pink ones.  The three blues are all different on the sim and of the two pinks, one is pink and one is beige.

Boots are smarter.  The same pair of boots will either show as tucked in or as under the pant leg, depending on the style.  This should eliminate boots clipping through pants, which we have seen in the past!

Accessories can be layered together.  You can have leggings and pantyhose and socks all at the same time if that is what floats your boat.  You can have multiple bracelets...or do the Miss Piggy and have bracelets over your long opera gloves.

There is much, much more I could show you, but I think you have the idea....and I have a list of chores I totally blew off to play with this demo.

 Bottom line for me:  I found the new system to be fun to use and it made me feel more confident that I could make the kind of sim I want to make.  I felt like it was easier for me to make attractive, interesting looking sims.  Of course I would like to see more choices and options, but I am aware that this is a base game product.  Overall, I am looking forward to seeing more of what The Sims 4 has in store for us!