The Sims 4: How to get started

Knowing how to get started in The Sims 4 will ensure that you get off to a good start. There are so many options for what to do initially that it might be daunting, but the best place to start is with the basics of establishing your sims and their personalities. If you're used to the open-world setting of the previous game, The Sims 4 will seem very different, and you may find yourself hunting for elements that are no longer available due to the streamlined approach. Even still, there are a lot of settings and options to get your hands on, so having some help to guide you through the process can make it seem a lot less scary. This time, the emphasis is on the Sims themselves, including their goals, feelings, relationships, and the intricacies that everyone contributes to their life. As a result, in The Sims 4, all past personalization has taken a back seat. Read on for some helpful hints to get you started in The Sims 4, whether you're a returning fan trying to comprehend the changes or a new player learning the ropes.

Creating your Sim's physical appearance

This is usually the most time-consuming part of any game where you have complete creative control over your character's appearance, but the process is made slightly easier if you plan on having your household consist of people you know, such as popular characters from an 80's John Carpenter film or even staff members from online gaming publications. The top left panel allows you to customize your Sim's name, gender, age group, stride, voice pitch and tone, and relationship with other Sims in the same home. Because the avatar you'll be presented with is random, you can start adjusting its appearance to match the face of your dreams by clicking on any portion of the body to bring up the next menu.

All of the features have a number of pre-sets that can be changed further by clicking and dragging on the desired body part after selection to change the size. Larger bodily components, such as legs and arms, can also be selected by clicking and dragging. In fact, after a lot of grabbing, pushing, and tugging, it appears that the crotch is the one part of the body where this doesn't apply, therefore yanking at it is pointless. You can also prepare costumes for your Sim for five different occasions, which they will automatically change into at the proper time, as mentioned at the top of the right panel. Unless you mandate it, which is highly advised, there will be no gigantic hotdog suits at those formal gatherings.

Creating your Sim's personality 

Our next stop is to stuff our selected vessels with a mishmash of personality qualities that will imbue them with a sense of personal identity that can then be purposely at odds with other household members for a bit of drama or precisely complement them to avoid any problems. You'll have to rely on exploding appliances and renegade flames from an open fire to provide the drama.

Of course, we begin with the enigmatic collection of hexagons adorned with similarly enigmatic question signs. Your Sim's Aspiration is the large one on the left, and it will be their lifelong aim. It can always be modified later, so don't stress yourself out over it. There are ten categories to choose from, but you'll have to limit it down based on the subsets within those categories. You'll be given a bonus attribute related to each Aspiration once you've chosen one. The Alluring bonus characteristic is granted by the Love Aspiration in this case, making the Sim more effective in romantic circumstances than those who do not have the trait.

Each adult Sim can select three qualities from four different categories. There are 9 emotional qualities, 6 hobby traits, 11 lifestyle features, and 9 social traits. These decisions will influence your Sim's behavior and desires, as well as their compatibility with others. Putting a good Sim and an Evil Sim in the same house, as well as a neat Sim and a dirty Sim, will almost always result in domestic strife.

It's also worth noting that Sims are influenced by their surroundings and what's going on in the world. If there's a mess around, a neat Sim will be unhappy. Because a slob Sim makes things dirtier faster than a Sim without the slob attribute, the interplay between two Sims with those traits is unlike any other. Consider it a domino effect between what irritates a Sim and what makes it happy, and you should be able to create a variety of interesting scenarios simply by combining the correct personality types.

Purchasing and constructing a home in The Sims 4

After you've dolled up your Sim to your satisfaction, it's time to put them in a house so they can get a job, meet people, or be enslaved in a box room with an orange juice fridge, no bathroom, windows on every vertical surface, and no door. You have the option of relocating them to Willow Creek or Oasis Springs, a vacant house (furnished or unfurnished), or an empty plot of land on which to build your dream home. If you have the wealth and a cruel bent, you can also evict existing occupants from their homes and move in on their land.

Each neighborhood features a number of unoccupied houses, plots, and locations for your Sim to mix, and you can visit inhabitants or businesses in a different neighborhood from the World Select screen. If you don't have any design ideas, you can start from scratch and use the preset'styled' rooms. The top icon is built mode, which allows you to inspect exterior items by clicking on the appropriate section of the house, such as walls, doors, and roofs. You shouldn't get too bogged down in this mode because scrolling through furniture selections is just as effortless.

At some time, you'll have to decide whether to split or merge your family. To reach the world screen, go to the menu and select Manage Worlds. From there, you may switch between the two neighborhoods, check the available options for the lots, or go to the top right panel and select the Household Management tab to make any modifications to your existing household. Sworn opponents can sulk in their own neighborhood, or you can just spread out your Sims like a virus and take over the entire planet.

The Sims 4 Secrets 

Each neighborhood has a hidden region that may be accessed by doing a series of acts and answering a series of questions in the style of a 'choose your own adventure game. You'll be rewarded with verdant, pink forests and crystalline-illuminated mines where you may sit and catch frogs if you navigate the treacherous text boxes correctly. Perhaps some fish to sell as well.

Forgotten Grotto in Oasis Springs

When your Sim arrives in Desert Bloom Park, drag the camera straight up and left of the picnic area to find an abandoned mine entrance. To tear down the entry boards, you'll need to have your Sim's Handiness skill maxed out (level 10) on your Sim. This can be accomplished by having them purchase and read books on handyman skills, as well as mending items around the house.

Send your Sim into the mine once they've become a DIY deity, and choose the following answers:

• Take the wide path
• Climb the ladder
• Step onto the ledge

Sylvan Glades in Willow Creek

Travel to Willow Creek's Crick Cabana, then select a view from the gnarly-looking tree on the right. Rep this procedure till you see a door in the trunk. When it happens, go inside and select one of the following options:

• Follow the sound
• Follow downstream
• Enter the mist