If EA wants to avoid such a slating next time around, toddlers need to be there from the start in The Sims 5. Having gotten majorly back into Sims building during the lockdown, it's clear that there are so many options that could be added into future updates or The Sims 5 to make home building a lot more realistic. We're talking better roof options - a la The Sims 3 - the option to add windows to a roof, and even paint individual roof panels in different colors and textures.

Of course, it's not just about roofs, but there are always limitations when trying to recreate real-life architecture in-game. Having some enhanced building tools would never go amiss. Functional bunk beds, spiral staircases, ponds, and the Sims 3 color wheel are all top of the list right now.

There's a huge movement going on right now to get babies more freedom. While that might sound like some kind of real-life political movement, it's more about allowing the game to release babies in The Sims 4 from the confines of their cribs. Currently, all you can do is interact with babies from the crib, and moving them anywhere else to nuture them is impossible without practically game-breaking mods.

Fans are asking for babies to have more interactivity, more akin to toddlers and other age ranges, making them feel more a part of the game than a weird holding stage before they turn into cheeky tots. There have been some rumors that it's in developer at Maxis as it is, including the fact you can now bathe toddlers in the sink, and the above render complete with free baby appeared as part of released renders for the Sims Alexa app.

Remember burgulars? Well, although you can become one via The Sims 4 careers, plenty of fans would love to see additional NPC types return with The Sims 5.

It's something that's become particularly prevalent in conversations among Sims fans since the return of Bonehilda with the Paranormal pack. From the police, burglars, and taxi drivers to more specific characters like the Social Bunny, Chip the Dancer, Anges Crumplebottom, there are plenty of well-loved Sims characters that have been missing for far too long.

What would you love to see in The Sims 5? Let us know what you think by tapping the 'see comments' button below or hitting us up on Twitter GamesRadar.

The game also has over three dozen free game updates that fix game bugs and add new content to the game. The freedom of The Sims 3 will inspire you with endless creative possibilities and amuse you with unexpected moments of surprise and mischief!

Create over a million unique Sims and control their lives. Customize everything from their appearances, to their personalities and even the home of their dreams.

Then, send your Sims out to explore new locations around town and to meet other Sims in the neighborhood. With all-new quick challenges and rewarding game play, The Sims 3 gives you the freedom to choose whether or not!

The neighborhood that ships with the game, Sunset Valley , [3] is a beautiful setting with 97 lots full of characters. The description of this neighborhood reveals that The Sims 3 is indeed a prequel to The Sims and The Sims 2 , as Sunset Valley was apparently built before Pleasantview , and founded by the Goth family. A second neighborhood named Riverview [4] is available as a free download in The Sims 3 Store when the game is registered.

Each sub-neighborhood is a unique, exotic environment that is as large as a regular neighborhood. The Sims 3: Ambitions comes with Twinbrook. The Sims 3: Late Night comes with the neighborhood Bridgeport. The Sims 3: Pets comes with Appaloosa Plains.

The Sims 3: Showtime comes with Starlight Shores. The Sims 3: Supernatural comes with Moonlight Falls. Aside from Riverview , more downloadable neighborhoods are available for sale from The Sims 3 Store.

Barnacle Bay , a pirate-themed neighborhood, costs 2, SimPoints. Hidden Springs is a mountainous downloadable neighborhood on The Sims 3 website and costs 2, SimPoints. Sunlit Tides is a group of islands which has two versions: standard version costing 2, SimPoints and gold costing 4, Lunar Lakes is a neighborhood located on a foreign planet and costs 2, SimPoints.

Lucky Palms , a desert-themed neighborhood, has two versions: standard and gold; the standard version costs 2, SimPoints, while the gold version costs 4, The standard version costs 2, SimPoints while the gold version costs 3, SimPoints. In September , a Gothic themed world, called Midnight Hollow costs 2, SimPoints for the standard and 4, for the gold. A new neighborhood, Adventureland is shipped with patch It is based on the base game neighborhood Sunset Valley , sharing the same description and image.

But when the Altos arrive with uptown ideals, will the townsfolk feel the need to choose sides? Sunset Valley , Riverview , and Twinbrook all take place before the events of The Sims although at different times. Barnacle Bay is set after the events of The Sims 2. Although all other neighborhoods are not explicitly stated, they can be considered to take place before the events of The Sims.

In an interview with producer Ben Bell and members from the EA Forum in the UK it's written "He said that Sunset Valley itself is set before the neighborhood we see in The Sims , as if it's a prequel to the story we already know. He said the Goths [6] are in the town, as their younger selves obviously as well as other familiar names and faces.

Lots of new characters too. Agnes Crumplebottom does make an appearance as her younger self in Sunset Valley and players soon discover that the source of her crabbiness is due to the death of her husband who features as a ghost. According to the Games for Windows magazine, "The biggest change to The Sims 3 is that it takes place in a wide-open, constantly changing neighborhood — a much bigger sandbox.

The neighborhood is as such, and its neighborhood can be compared in vastness to the ones featured in other titles like Grand Theft Auto, Bully, Need For Speed Carbon and Burnout Paradise. The loading of lots during play and lot-based playing has been eliminated. Now every action takes place in a seamless living neighborhood. There are lots, parks, shops and other places Sims like to explore. All Sims, and their Sim friends and family are in this neighborhood. They can dine, visit, shop, and relax.

Map tags help players navigate the neighborhood, find interesting places to visit, and locate their Sims. Also, on the map, icons for buildings are different colors. Red icons are career buildings, royal blue icons are public places, light blue icons are for the location of Sims in the active household, orange icons are for other Sims' homes that the selected Sims knows, and green is the active household's house.

There are also new public events in The Sims 3 , such as music concerts, movie premieres, pool parties, barbecues, sporting events, outdoor fishing, and the most civic-minded public activity in a Sims game to date, attending a public protest at the City Hall, where Sims can voice their discontent with the administration's legal mumbo jumbo by angrily shouting their own nonsensical Simlish mumbo jumbo.

When a child or teen Sim finishes school, there's a chance he or she may bring a friend home; there's also a chance the child or teen Sim may get invited over to a friend's house. The player has the option to accept or decline. Accepting, the player can then follow the Sim to their friend's house. Depending on how high their relationship is, the Sim can "Request to Sleep Over". If the friend accepts, they'll say, "Sure, make yourself at home".

EA released a Create-a-World tool in December , so players can create new neighborhoods for their Sims to live in. The player has the ability to control one family at a time and can easily switch from one family to another. All the Sims of each city evolve together, but it is possible to stop the aging and the story progression so the Sims that the player doesn't control won't get married or evolve. Aging and story progression are different settings, and can be set independently.

Both options affect the entire city and not an individual family. Free will can still be turned on and off, but also now has varying levels of High, Medium, Low, and Off. This setting is a game-wide setting rather than a save-specific setting.

Currently, free will in The Sims 3 affects the entire city, not only the family the player is playing, which can cause non-player Sims, such as neighbors, to be passive. This was fixed with patches.

The player can choose the length of a Sims life, from 25 Sim days brief to Sim days epic , and can also extend their life by eating a life fruit, a growable garden item. All Sims within the city will age according to the player's settings. Families are rated by how difficult they are to play. Difficulty is based on Sim relations, traits, number of family members, and children.

There are six levels of difficulty. As Sims interact with other Sims, they learn about them. The opinion the Sim has with the Sim they are currently interacting with and their traits are displayed on the screen. The type of relationship a Sim has with another is displayed in the relationship panel.

Each Sim has different interactions based on their traits. Improvements to Sims include more customization options, a trait system that creates unique personalities, Sims that take care of themselves, and wishes that allow the player to set short- and long-term goals. The player now has a larger selection of body types for Sims, and are able to create different hair styles for every Sim. The player is now able to pick their Sim's shoes. There are a total of 22 hairstyles for female Sims and 17 hairstyles for male Sims.

There are a variety of hats and hair accessories that the player can use, but they all come with set hairstyles. Each of the hats and accessories can also have their colors and textures altered. Hairstyles can be chosen separately for each outfit. Compared to previous games in the series, a lot more things can be modified. It is possible to just change the nose, for example, and it is possible to use the 'dot' system to go into more depth, i. Accessories can also be added gloves, socks, eyeglasses, bracelets, earrings, shoes, watches There are more styles for hair than ever before.

The player cannot add layers when customizing clothing, but if the clothes already have layers then the colors and textures for each layer can be altered. The player can also click on any part of the Sim and the Create a Sim tool takes them directly to the right menu for editing whatever is selected. There is an eyelash length slider bar. Socks and shoes are also fully customizable.

There are six possible skintones but only three of the six are realistic. The other three are green, red, and blue. There is a slider so the player can edit how light or dark the skintone is. For example, they can make a light green Sim with a dark green mother and a light skinned father.

Body modifiers also use sliders that adjust weight from thin to obese and muscle size from flabby to muscular. With patch 1. Height still cannot be changed due to conflicts with animation. Players can now create twins triplets, quadruplets, etc. Five personality traits can be chosen for each Young Adult Sim and above, with the chance to change them with a Lifetime Happiness reward. Younger Sims have fewer traits. A teen has 4 traits, kids have 3 traits, and toddlers have 2 traits.

Some traits are not available for younger ages. For example, toddlers can't be Flirty. In CAS, only young adults, adults, and elders can choose a lifetime wish, but in the game, children and teens can also choose to pursue a certain lifetime wish early. Players are also able to choose from three types of voices and a slider to choose the pitch of a Sim's voice. Age types of Sims within the game are baby, toddler, child, teenager, young adult default age.

Adult middle age and elder. The lifespan of a Sim can also be edited, making it any number of days between 25 and Sims are able to take care of themselves, allowing the player to concentrate on what happens in their lives rather than balancing their needs.

Sims now have wishes which can be fulfilled or ignored, and these often correspond with their needs for example, a Sim may develop a wish to "Order Pizza" if they are hungry. Pregnancy in The Sims 3 is similar to pregnancy in The Sims 2.

Pregnant Sims experience the same belly expansion, though in The Sims 3 the expansion is gradual. Sims can now read books about pregnancy and get medical advice at the hospital.

A Sim relatively high in the Medical career track can also give the pregnant Sim some medical advice and determine the gender of the baby. Pregnancy lasts 3 days and during that time the Sim will have backache moodlets, cravings, and in the earlier days, morning sickness. They also have a positive "Pregnant" moodlet throughout the pregnancy. When the day comes, a message box will alert the player that the baby is on its way. Wherever the pregnant Sim is, she will have contractions. The player can have another member of the family drive the to-be mother to the hospital, or tell her to go on her own, the father of the baby will join the mother at the hospital separately, after she has entered it, and this applies for if the father is in the active household or not.

After a few Sim hours the Sim will emerge from the hospital with a little bundle of joy. Boys are wrapped in blue blankets, while girls are wrapped in pink ones.

If your Sim gave birth at the hospital and had twins,each parent will carry one; if she has triplets, the mother will come out with a baby basket and remove the babies when she gets home the basket will disappear.

Depending on how the pregnancy went, the player can get to choose one of 2 traits, both, or none. After birth, the Sim gets an "It's a Boy! Both young adult and adult women can get pregnant, but young adults are more fertile.

Sims can give birth at home or in the hospital. There is a possibility that a Sim will have twins or triplets. There are higher chances if the Sim has the "Fertility Treatment" Lifetime Reward or watched the kids channel on TV frequently or listened to kids music. Traits are like segments of a whole personality that the player can assign to their Sims. They can combine to create increasingly complex personalities. There are 63 traits to choose from in the base game, with Expansion packs adding more, plus some hidden traits which can be passed on to the offspring of service Sims firefighters, police officers, etc.

When the player assigns Traits to a Sim, that Sim will look and act the part. Toddlers, Children and Teens get a new trait at their birthday. If children had a good childhood, then the player can choose a trait. If not, the game will give them a random one, which is usually negative. Some traits give special abilities. They can be useful towards skill improvement Artistic and Athletic traits, for example and special interactions Childish Sims can play with toys.

Mooch Sims can ask for food. Young adults and up have 5 traits, teens have 4 traits, children have 3 traits, toddlers and babies have 2 traits. With University Life expansion pack, Sims might be able to earn additional 6th and 7th traits by graduating from the university or reaching level 8 of a social group.

The fewer traits a Sim has, the less complex that Sim's personality will be. For example, giving a Sim the Kleptomaniac trait only will result in him constantly stealing while giving a Sim 5 traits will result in more balance. A Sim can have any combination of traits as long as they do not contradict each other. Traits are genetic and what occurs during pregnancy can affect what traits are passed on. The parents also help pick the traits.

For example, bad parents don't get to pick their own traits and will have randomly assigned ones that are generally unfavorable. NPCs can also pass on secret traits that only their children will get.

Wishes are exclusive to The Sims 3 and provide the player with a wide selection of requests that keep their Sims happy as well as working towards some short and long-term goals and rewards. The player can promise to help their Sims with a wish or throw it away. Satisfying these basic tasks will unlock minor rewards and increase the Sim's overall morale with a "moodlet"—a minor condition that contributes to the characters' overall mood. Customer reviews. Overall Reviews:. Review Type. All 25, Positive 21, Negative 3, All 25, Steam Purchasers 22, Other 2, All Languages 25, Your Languages 16, Customize.

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