To start, Yes the stairs can and will automatically go through the foundation from the basement to the first floor. As demonstrated by The Sim Supply’s video between 1:40 and 2:13.
The catch, very tall stairs that might take your sims longer to get up or down. They also are not all that attractive to look at (in my opinion).
The good news is that stairs can be placed through the foundation the old way as well.Now onto the basement and stairs through the foundation. From here out it’s almost all pictures.
Placing two rooms for the basement.
I’m going to use the smaller space as an outdoors patio area.
Nice we now have a submerged area. Now to throw together a rough house.
Two stories, got a little carried away, given my focus is basement stairs. 🙂
Grrr! Arg! The down side of the foundation tool in the sims 4, the gazebo is also now elevated to the same height as the main house.
Confession time, I used the moo cheat to get the patch of wild flowers under the birdbath.
Toss on some stairs and now my helper sim won’t be stuck.
Now to build a stairway room. I’m partial to L stairs but straight works just as well.
I was thinking of using a door, however to do so means a larger “stairway room” than I really want to do right now.
As you can see the stairs don’t want to place, the game keeps complaining about the wall. So instead of a door or arch I’ll use the spandrels.
And now the stairs plop into place nice and easily.
Hmm, not much down here … yet. Ned to fix that so my tester has a reason to use the stairs. Since I’m feeling both lazy and like I want to finish fast I’m going to use the stylized rooms.
Before returning to live mode I want to decorate just a little bit more.
For the record spandrels won’t work on exterior walls below ground but will above ground.
Oops, I can see that causing some confusion, but at this time I’m not going to test it to see if the sim will climb down the pool ladder. 🙂 … ( and yes this picture was taken after the next one.)
I think I forgot something very important … wouldn’t you agree. 😉 lol
Now that the door situation is fixed, lets jazz up the space a small bit. Adding columns to either side of the space creates a wonderful arch way. Big thank you to Ruthless_KK and her tutorials/build guides. And I moved the stairs for upstairs because of the column, and didn’t feel like retyping in the code for moo.
I’m going to use that space to show off one of the new features that I Love. Overhead cabinets as pantry’s and closets.
Nice feature that gear, but you do have to make sure auto counter is off to use it.
Time for my sim to earn her keep and show off the stairs.
Since the game automatically made her stand up and drop her book I’m going to have her go get it.
And now back up and out to the gazebo.That’s it, I hope you found this useful.
For more building tips check out Rosemow’s thread in the creative corner.
I should note that I frequently clear the lotcachedData folder even when not updating or patching the game, as it seems to be the best way to handle weird glitches and vanishing items.
Family players – Podcast review on TS4 thread on the Sims 4 forums brings to us excellent discussion including YouTube video discussion covering … well just about all the reasons why some of us players who play legacy’s are unhappy with sims 4.
SimsVIP has posted a picture shared by SimGuruShannon, and well I needed a short break from studying so I went digging through the game with buydebug enabled.
Yellow circles are items that I couldn’t find in the game already, or at least didn’t recognize in the buy/build catalog. So it looks like the December patch will bring in new:
treadmill
rug/flooring option
clutter-decor
poster
trophy/award
and maybe a new display box for showing off trophy’s.
Back to uni work for me, finals are rapidly approaching.
I’m still full time at university, so have little to no spare time … which is why all of my blogs are neglected at the moment.
I did take some time out this morning to write up a review of Sims 4 over on Amazon even though I bought it through Origin. One thing to keep in mind when looking at the pics, most graphic issues in the pics don’t show in game for me and I play on a 2?3 year old vanilla multi-purpose computer. Read it on Amazon:
I purchased my copy through Origin as a digital download and have had it since day one. I made the mistake of installing right away even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to play until the weekend because of my uni schedule.
For game play and content, I did not expect the game to have all the features of the previous series since this is a new base game and a new incarnation of the series. I was also very aware of the missing toddlers and pools; along with the cas limitations. The only reason I caved was because of the new woodworking skill.
The first few hours I played around with it, on premier night left me feeling very unhappy with the game. I chalked it up to being over cas already because I had played the free cas demo for a few weeks in August. I told myself that I shouldn’t rush my decision because I had not had a chance to get properly into the game. Day 1 I would have said 1 star.
Weekend finally arrived and I spent some serious time in the game getting used to the look … very tween fluffy feel good graphics …. and the basic mechanics of the programing along with the new UI. By the end of the first day of play I felt the game was a 2 star game and was ready to ask for my money back. Ouch! I reread the great game guarantee, because I had installed day 1 it was not eligible. Yes I could have called and argued my case and fought for a refund …… because I’ve been simming since The Sims 1 I decided to give it a second chance in the hopes of finding some redeeming qualities to the game. So I have been playing it off and on trying to find ways to get the most from the game.
Because of the patch in of ghosts and the promised patch in of pools the game has moved up to 3 stars, if they ever Patch in toddlers I’ll bring it to 3.5 or 4 stars. I will most likely never give this incarnation of the sims a 5 star rating …. for a 5 star they would have to go back and completely rework all of the graphics and grow up the visuals instead of aging them down for the tween (Disney) crowd.
**What I don’t like (besides no toddlers)**
*In game, if you wish your sim to level up career’s or achieve a lifetime goal you have to spend a lot of time on many mini tasks. *The dating meter is back from sims 2, but it isn’t just for dates anymore, it’s also for all party’s and social gatherings.
*Loading screens, and the fake open world feel.
*The lack of casT(create a style), because it is a base game and content is lighter than past base games the inability to recolor (without a mod) stands out heavily.
*Starting base game content is lighter than previous incarnations of the game which is made worse by the fact that about a third of it is locked until you complete certain tasks or career levels.
*To turn off the tutorial you have to enter a cheat/command code in through the origin interface before you start the game
*If you are a legacy player, you can’t start out on a 50×50 lot (largest available). You have to 1st start on a small lot and then pick a large one to bulldoze, and then move the sim to the large lot.
*Not a fan of the object baby tied to the bassinet
*Sims will spend almost every free minute mourning the deceased if not watched, even weeks later.
*Sims can’t paint portraits
*No family tree’s
* No story progression for townies just like S2
* Babies go from infant to child, just like S1 with no transition stage
* Teens are to close in appearance to adults
* no burglars, handymen, gardeners ….
* collections tracker isn’t 100% accurate, it doesn’t include all base game plants or the patched in plant
* Can’t add any space or lots to the limited selection of places, so if you want something different or more you have to bulldoze something
* not a big fan of the all or nothing new foundations (but I do like the new height varieties/slider that allows for higher foundations)
* Plastic hair, even if it is a little less plastic than the first promo images
**What I like, and why I’m willing to give it 3 stars**
* Woodworking skill
* Despite loading screens each lot/neighborhood area as a semi decent unincorporated surrounding to explore and roam around in before hitting the need for a loading screen. (hence my comment above about fake open world)
* A decent assortment of musical instruments including violins for children from the start. (If you started with S3 base, you might recall the uproar when piano’s were left out of the base game)
* A few later added expansion/online store(digital content) items have been carried over as base game items; such as the cow plant (which wasn’t even in S1 base game, but is a fan favorite; caution it dies easily without Constant attention this time round); violins and the voodoo doll
* Ghosts are back in and pools are promised
*The new building tools are nice to work with, and as Ruthless_KK’s studio shows it’s possible to finally get cleaner build versions of most building styles
**Stuff I’m meh about**
* plants don’t really die, you evolve them to get higher quality
* back to always nice out, no weather to speak of
* the wonderful new build features can be troublesome, because spaces have to be enclosed rooms for some of the build features to work properly
* most of the classic cheats are still around for when they’re needed
End point, I’m not happy/thrilled with this generation of sims, and may not buy any future expansions, but will still play the copy I have once in a while so my $$ won’t be completely wasted. But I really don’t advocate getting a copy, especially if you loved Sims 3 and/or toddlers. I still play more S3 than S4.
With work and a 12 unit course load at university I don’t have as much time as I want to keep this blog or any of the other blogs I write on updated on a regular basis.
Additionally some of the folks who maintain sim pages like SimsVIP are able to update much faster than I could, even when I was on break.
So I haven’t forgotten this blog I just haven’t had time.
Which of course everyone already knew. While I sat through annual mandatory training for work the rest of the simming world was watching EA Gamescom or other trusted site for the releases.
The truly hardcore gamer who wants to know everything that EA has planned for the next 6 months to year will happily sit through the entire 1 hour and 15 minute video replay of the live press conference that was broadcast at 7 am {PST} this morning. I love my sims but I’m not sure I’m that hard core. 😆
The first video is titled “The Sims 4 “Arrival” Official Trailer”
In it we are presented with the concept of plumbob’s arriving to earth like meteors or space craft. Makes me think of a cross between ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ and ‘Armageddon’ the way the green streaks cross the sky with everyone running to check them out. It’s not until the minute four second mark that the sims are shown.
The faces and body’s seem to move a little more fluidly than our current sims, but watch the hair especially the close up of the blond from 1:17 to 1:19. The hair texture is very plastic and glossy, decidedly a step backwards from the current sim hair.
Body movement and facial movement/expression, ok you have me interested and I’d like to know more.
The hair …….. yuck! ugh! a big turn off and I’m not sure I care to know more. I will cross my fingers in the hopes that the PTB at EA will listen to the simming community and do something about the hair before the final release. Sadly I fear my fingers will be crossed in vain, EA’s pretty notorious for doing what they want customers be damned.
The video ends with a sim, must be Liam O’Dourke 😉 , falling from the sky with a basket ball and giving a thumbs up that he’s ok. From there it goes to white screen with text at the minute 34 mark and continues until the minute 50 mark. At the 1:50 mark the video adds a box insert of game play demo, the exact same game demo that is given in the second video released today. The game play runs until the 2:20 mark. For the entire 2:22 video we are given 60 seconds or one minute worth of actual sim imagery for the Sims 4.
I can only speak for myself and say that all in all this first teaser is actually kind of boring, in no way does it spark the kind of interest in the game that this old The Sims™ 2 Official Trailer video sparked.
{On a side note I still have S2 installed on my current pc, and regret getting rid of all my S1 disc’s, but until I fix the cd drive I can’t play it or Civilization IV, my other game addictions/hobby.}
The second video that was released today is longer, 6:22 long, and other than the narrator, Lyndsay Pearson a sims producer, is completely about the sims. It is titled “First Look: The Sims 4 Official Gameplay Trailer”
We are first introduced to the cas, create a sim, element of the game, or rather a portion of cas. All of the new ways to tweak a sims looks and body appearance by spot adjusting as apposed to the current sliders. Not shown, clothing options and how much or little creativity control is given there. Also not shown is hair, make-up, and any accessory options. Again plastic hair, yuck, sorry EA but even Barbie has better hair than these sims. Which leads me to thinking if I do end buying the game I may indeed end up caving and going over to the cc, custom content, side of sims.
At the minute 18 mark she talks about giving the sims personality, but doesn’t actually show how that is accomplished. Is it through the original astrology sign system, is it done with traits? How exactly are the sims given their personality, so far not explained or shown.
Ok, now wait …. 1:22 ……. “and figure out how they move”, this is new and a bit interesting but again no demo/explanation of how that is accomplished.
At the minute 28 mark the video jumps from cas to build mode and moves through it fast. …. you know you’ve been simming to long when you try to rotate videos to see the different build angles …….. Pieces are plopped into place and stretched to meet the desired size. Or picked up and re-arranged to suit the players aesthetics. I’m going to hold off on forming an opinion one way or the other on the new build features, since I consider myself an average builder and have only recently gotten cfe, constrain floor elevation, stairs to work the way I want them to on a build.
Same as the cas demo the build demo is fast and highlights only a few details that are new to the game but doesn’t really give any information.
Which when compared to The Sims 3 – Official Trailer shows a regression in the amount of information given. Then again the video for TS3 zoomed through casing furniture and sims pretty darn fast too so maybe not that much of a regression.
Getting back to the First Look video, at the 2:10 mark we move into what appears to be game play. The focus is supposed to be on the house but my first notice is the street in front of the house. the street is a divided street with a narrow park like median and in front of the median are train tracks. Train tracks!?! Does this mean that the sims will now have trains/trolleys to ride on around town. {and of course now I can’t find the leaked pictures, but I remember seeing a train/trolley car in one of the shots.} The setting is a little bit Disney, but you can see tree branches moving to wind, and the over all vibe of the scene makes me think New Orleans or some other part of Southern US.
Watching the game play of her young adult sims I am once again struck by how plastic and unreal the hair is, and how it just does not compliment the texture of the skin, or the rest of the setting/graphics that surround the sims.
At 3:11 we get to see at least one musical instrument that will ship with the Sims 4, a violin. I say didn’t that just come out in the online store for S3. 😉 So that’s a plus we get instruments or an instrument from get go. The tears are a nice touch, something that we haven’t really had yet. 3:47 I say look it’s the voodoo doll, also a store release item. Does that mean that someone at EA pays attention to what it’s customers like and want? One can hope right. 🙂
At the 4:05 mark we get an idea of what kind of exercise equipment will ship with the base game. The punching bag is back from TS2, yay, and what appears to be a weights machine, and the standard radio. One can hope that there are a few other ways for sims to work out. I wonder if they brought back jump ropes from the TS2 as well?
At the 5:20 mark the game play walk through is almost done and we are being shown a rocket ship where the couple take off and presumably have some zero-g woohoo while flying around. {Wild guess there}
In essence we are given 6 minutes of video that only highlights some of the new features while ignoring the rest of the game details. Leaving huge questions unanswered.
* How does the game actually look? Ie, what kind of control panels if any does the player have on the screen, or will I need a chart by the keyboard to keep track of all the hot keys?
* Babies, toddlers, children, and teens; what happened to them, how do they look can we create them are they even still in the game? What skills are they allowed to be taught, and what skills can they learn on their own?
* Is that really the hair that’s being shipped with these sims, please say it isn’t so! Other details will really have to be strong sellers to get me to shell out either
$59.99 for The Sims 4 Limited Edition PC Download which comes with
Life of the Party Digital Content
Gather ‘round the Flaming Tiki Bar in spectacular party costumes.
or
$69.99 for The sims 4 Digital Deluxe Edition PC Download which comes with
Life of the Party Digital Content
Gather ‘round the Flaming Tiki Bar in spectacular party costumes.
Up All Night Digital Content
Party till dawn with a laser light show, hot new parties, outfits, decorations and recipes.
Digital Soundtrack
Groove to the music from the game.
Origin-exclusive Content
Coming soon.
All sales information pulled from Origin’s The Sims 4™ Digital Deluxe pre-order page.
As to the Sims 4 forums on EA, it looks as though you get to use your origin account as your log-in which means porting over an established ID. Now all I have to do is figure out why my e-mail is still unverified and why it’s not letting me switch the default image over to the one I have for origin which is my same S3 avi. :p {PS, solved. Logged out and back in}
Ah well I’ll get it sorted out in due time. As to my final thoughts on the Sims 4, I really want more information, better yet let me play a demo of the game for a day or two, see if my poor system can handle the graphics {on low}, and give me a chance to explore the features I want to know about …….. like what are the ways my sims can die? Can Grim be made a family member again like in TS2? Is Grim even still in the game? Will I be able to live with the hair? How do the pregnancy’s go? Are multiples still an option? Most importantly what are the cheat codes for building and editing?
For those of you who don’t want to wait for next week ……. a forum member at MTS has leaked a bunch of photo’s you will need to scroll about half way down the page to see them.
If you’re reading this magazine, there’s a good chance you’re a huge fan of The Sims. But just how big a fan are you? In an effort to figure out just how much The Sims means to you, our dear readers, we’ve decided to hold a little contest. If you win, you’ll be whisked away to Germany on an all-expenses paid trip to SimsCamp, where you’ll not only get to spend a week meeting some of the people who’ve made The Sims great, but also be one of the first people in the world to play The Sims4.
All you’ve got to do is email us a paragraph (no more than 150 words, please) detailing what The Sims means to you. For some, The Sims might offer the outlet for creativity they’ve always been searching for. Others might have a more personal reason for loving The Sims. Maybe the game helped you through a long illness, or perhaps it helped you connect with a family member on a different level. Some of you have even found the love of your life through The Sims!
So, drop us a line and tell us your story. If our editors like your submission, you might be heading to Germany for an amazing week of SimsCamp. Details are below, we look forward to hearing from you!
– Attend a week-long series of events at SimsCamp during gamescom
– Get early access to products from The Sims Brand (TS4 and TS3)
– Dominate social channels with live updates from gamescom
– Event takes place third week in August (21-22)
Myself, I’m seriously tempted I have just one problem, a huge schedule conflict between the camp dates and when I have to be back at work. So because of that conflict I most likely won’t enter, but hey that means better odds for everyone else who enters right. 🙂
Now onto the basement and stairs through the foundation. From here out it’s almost all pictures.
That’s it, I hope you found this useful.
Save your money & wait for a sale; better go play something else, November 1, 2014
Mmdrgntobldrgn's Sims 4 Blog 