With Halloween on the horizon, I thought it would be fun to explore some of my favourite and best places in game to take some spooky screenshots with my Sims!
So get your costumes ready and grab your Sims, it’s time to take some Halloween screenshots!
Forgotten Hollow
While this might seem like an obvious choice, especially at night, Forgotten Hollow is a great starting place. Whether it is outside Vlad’s Mansion or over at the lookout, there are a number of locations where you can take the perfect spooky screenshot!
Glimmerbrook
Again, Glimmerbrook is another obvious choice when it comes to taking screenshots. The world itself is full of magic, mystery and even has a bit of a Twilight feel to it. With the added option of travelling to the Magic Realm, there are countless places you can go to take the perfect shot!
Sylvan Glade
Hidden within the Willow Creek neighbourhood, Sylvan Glade is pretty in pink as well as mystical! The perfect place for taking some less spooky screenshots but still really helps to create fantastic fairy themed screenshots instead!
Windenburg
In the dead of night, the Hedge Maze located by the Von Haunt Estate comes to life! With the added fog, it makes the perfect mysterious location! Who knows what or who you might run into while you’re here!
Or why not visit Ancient Ruins or The Bluffs instead?
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TS4 x64 2021 10 19 13 40 00
There are so many places that would be the perfect backdrop for some spooky Halloween photoshoots with your Sims!
Let us know what some of your favourite locations in The Sims 4 are for taking screenshots in the comments below.
Credits
ReShade: Compass by Intramoon & XOXO by PeachyFaerie
Origin is currently having a huge sale where you can save big on multiple EA franchises – including The Sims 4 and all of its pack types!
Although the sale is up to 75% off – only The Sims 4 Base Game is slashed with this discount. Other Pack Type sales include:
The Sims 4 Expansion Packs (5o% off – Cottage Living is 25% off)
The Sims 4 Game Packs (25% off)
The Sims 4 Stuff Packs (20% off)
The Sims 4 Pre-Made Origin Bundles (20% off)
The sale is active right now and is only available for PC / Mac players who play via the Origin platform. You can take advantage of these offers until November 2nd, 2021 at 10AM Pacific Time.
In yesterday’s official Inside Maxis Livestream The Sims Team has revealed that they’ll continue their tradition of adding small bits of content from previous DLCs into The Sims 4 Base Game.
This type of think is particularly nothing new and has been practiced by The Sims Team for years now. However it was important for the team to disclose why they’re doing this and how they plan to continue this trend moving forward.
Check out what they had to say in the livestream:
Why does The Sims release content from Packs into the Base Game?
We have heard feedback that there are hairs currently gated behind DLC or a Pack that offer more in representation that those include within the Base Game. We want to make sure that they are available for everybody. We love creating Packs that offer cohesive and immersive scenes and experiences, but we are also commited to ensuring access to our full catalogue of character elements that are for representation purposes. We want to make sure that everybody has a chance to represent themselves in the game. So that is one reason why we do that.
We’re continuing to research and select a small number of hairstyles form previously released Packs. We would be adding them to the game for the benefit of Simmers. It is something we’re balancing out but expect to have more of that soon.
In the Livestream they’ve also revealed that this Toddlers Hairstyle will make its way into the Base Game for free in an upcoming update:
Do you prefer small bits of content from previous packs being added for free later or would you prefer the team focuses more on creating unique assets? Let us know in the comments!
Back in late August there was a mishap about a Window featured in a promotional render for The Sims 4 Industrial Loft Kit. The window featured in the graphic never got into the Kit.
The Sims Team acknowledged the situation and said that they will release it in an “upcoming patch update”.
In today’s Inside Maxis Livestream the developers have shared that the Window will be released for free to everyone who has The Sims 4 Base Game. They’ve shared a time window of “late November”, which leaves us waiting about another 30 days for this Window.
Since The Sims Team is now also introducing a new way to Update The Sims 4, that could explain why we waited for this window to come out for so long.
In today’s Inside Maxis Livestream The Sims Team has revealed a new Update Type for The Sims 4 called Sims Delivery Express. Through these Sims Deliveries you’ll be able to instantly receive game content, small bug fixes and more without having to update your entire The Sims 4 Base Game.
Check out what the team had to say about SDX coming to The Sims 4 soon:
Sims 4 SDX: Sims Delivery Express Intro
Sims Delivery Express (SDX) will be a system that will deliver free content to your Base Game as a complimentary, and a little bit more spontaneous sibiling than our regular Game Updates. You won’t need to do a full Patch to get content through this system. Hopefully it’s a seamless companion to our Game Updates.
A Sim Delivery could be a Build Mode asset, or a Create A Sim asset. It can be a clothing, a hair, an accessory or a combination of those. It can be something in Build Mode or a couple of things in Build Mode. It could be tiny little fixes that don’t need a Base Game update to apply to your game. Something that’s not complex so that we can potentially get them in your game that way.
Whenever Sims Deliveries are out all you need to do is launch your game as per usual and your game will check to see if there’s new content available. You won’t need to do much to know what’s going on. If there’s content available – you’ll download it and restart your game after the download is completed. It’s seamless in that way.
SDX will be available on PC, Mac, Playstation and Xbox. We’ll have a full peak at this system in the next Inside Maxis as it’s not coming in the next Game Update but in a future one.
This content will be free for all players and this content should not negatively impact Mods or CC content so they should not be disabled when this content comes downloaded into your game.
Sims Delivery Express won’t cover major bug fixes, giant updates. We’re not releasing Worlds or anything big content-wise in that nature. We’re not releasing Packs via this system or any changes to the User Interface. It’s just a sister companion to the Base Game Updates.
As a note for Console players – you’ll need to link your Console Account to an EA Account to be able to use SDX when it comes available.
Every Sims Delivery, either previously downloaded or not downloaded by a player will be included in a future Game Update after. Except when there’s limited content. We’ll try to incorporate those in a future Game Update so that if you miss it – you’ll eventually have it.
We are super excited to be bringing these type of content to The Sims 4 Base Game and beyond. We have so much going on and so much planned for The Sims 4. Keep an eye out for our updates because stuff is happening…
You can check out the full official segment from Inside Maxis that we transcribed down below:
What are your thoughts on the new Update Mechanism coming to The Sims 4? Let us know in the comments!
The Sims 4 is getting official in-game Challenges!
During the official Inside Maxis Livestream that happened just a few moments ago, The Sims Team revealed a brand new feature coming to The Sims 4 called Scenarios!
This feature is going to allow players to start a new game in The Sims 4 with an official, pre-made Challenge put out by The Sims Team.
For next week’s update for The Sims 4 there are only going to be two Scenarios called “Making Money” and “Finding Love After a Breakup”.
Each Challenge Scenario will have its own set of rules and pre-made conditions set to your household. For the very simple Making Money Scenario, you’ll be starting out with 0 Simoleons on a lot on your choice and work your way up to a million Simoleons.
You’ll have a reminder on the top left corner of what your Scenario goal is. The rewards for completing a Scenario? Major Satisfaction Points that you can use to spend in the in-game Rewards Store.
This is only a first round of scenarios that The Sims Team will release and we can expect a lot more in the future. There are also going to be “limited-time” scenarios in the game. SimGuruDuck revealed that there will also be these limited-time Scenarios coming soon to The Sims 4 shortly after the feature launch:
Too Many Toddlers
Perfectly Well-Rounded
You can check out the Scenarios Feature in action in the livestream replay below:
With that being said, what do you think about The Sims 4 Scenarios? Let us know in the comments below!
Welcome to a spooky edition of The Sims Community Challenge Showcase!
With Halloween fast approaching, we tasked the community with creating their best spooky screenshot, and we were not disappointed!
Click here to take a look at what was involved for the October challenge otherwise, you can jump straight in and take a look at all the spooktacular screenshots below!
To enlarge a screenshot, simply click on the image of your choice!
casperxc
Plumbaleena
ColeeRaine
Sophyxiah
DarthRevan
Dragonfirecheetos
KeeLoth
botanicalBB
Gato Nephist
SimmerBroke
NeuNeu24
Willow
Si of Relief
Dulce Ro
Chimi
mamamoochi85
LilCat
ShadowBunnySims
Thank you to everyone who shared their spooky Sims for our October Challenge. Stay tuned as our November Challenge is right around the corner!
Don’t forget to join in the conversation over on our Discord, where you will also find a variety of Build and Create A Sim Challenges throughout the week alongside our monthly Sims Community Challenge!
Click the button below to join The Sims Community Discord
The Sims Team is doing an official Inside Maxis Livestream today – October 26th, 2021!
As you can see in the agenda below, the team will be covering multiple segments during the stream, including special appearances from Creators, Hot Topics and a Sneak Peek at what’s to come in the upcoming update for The Sims 4!
The livestream is set to begin at 11AM Pacific Time. To make things easier we’ve included a countdown below that counts to the exact moment to the beginning of this stream!
You can find the official livestream right below the countdown. We’ll also be covering all the information shared from the stream right here on Sims Community so stay tuned!
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Halloween is creeping up fast, and what better way to prepare your Sims then adding a Haunted House to your game? Whether your Sims are just going Trick or Treating or actually living in the Haunted House, here are five spooktacular builds you can download from The Gallery right now!
Are you tired of planning elaborate weddings in The Sims 4? Are you done with spending hours planning outfits and decorating and hiring caterers and entertainers just to have all the guests dancing in the aisle during the vows and the hired staff stand around doing nothing for the entire event? Yeah, me too. Weddings in The Sims 4 kind of… suck, to put it bluntly.
Of course, you could always just have your Sims elope immediately wherever they happen to be standing in whatever clothes they’re in. No event planning, no hassle. Just boom! Married! But that’s always felt a little anticlimactic to me. It doesn’t feel very special or romantic to exchange a pair of rings in a flooded bathroom in your underwear. Just saying.
I wanted a no-stress, no-hassle wedding for my Sims that still felt special and romantic. That’s when it hit me; a destination wedding!
While we cannot hold a wedding social event while on vacation, our Sims can elope anywhere. Wouldn’t it be romantic to run off somewhere secluded on a trip and tie the knot in secret? Well, that’s exactly what my Sims did! It was super easy and stress-free with no annoyingly useless staff or rude guests. Just my Sims saying their vows somewhere idyllic and peaceful. I was able to have the romantic and special moment I wanted for my Sims without all of the hassle of a big formal event, which was perfect for these two.
Getting things started was as easy as booking a vacation. I opted to take a short trip to Granite Falls where my Sims rented a cozy and romantic honeymoon cabin. If you’d like to read about how I built the cabin, check out my other article, Let’s Build a Romantic Getaway Cabin.
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Once my soon-to-be-married couple arrived at their cute little cabin, the hot tub was the perfect place to get cuddly and put them both in the mood for romance. This wedding was not planned in advance; it was supposed to be just a small weekend trip to alleviate some stress going on at home but one thing leads to another and my Sim gets down on one knee to propose! The proposal is eagerly accepted and still on that vacation high, these two lovers run off into the woods together to get married in secret.
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I gave them some flowery veils that I imagine they made from picking wildflowers in Granite Falls and put them in semi-casual dresses they might have already had packed for their trip and sent them deep into the woods where the hermit lives. They picked a beautiful spot by the waterfall at night underneath twinkling stars and that’s where I picked the Elope Immediately option.
It’s amazing what something as simple as a change of location can do to elevate a moment and make it feel more meaningful. It was one of the most intimate, romantic wedding ceremonies I’ve ever held in The Sims and there wasn’t a single wedding guest anywhere. In fact, there wasn’t a single Sim at all in the area except for my two Sims. Just them by a beautiful waterfall underneath the stars and their love for each other. It was truly a special moment. Absolutely perfect in every way and zero stress involved.
Well… perfect apart from a few mosquitos.
So if you’re like me and have grown tired of traditional weddings but still want a special and meaningful ceremony for your Sims, give an impromptu destination wedding a try!
The Sims 4 Cottage Living has been nominated for Best Game Expansion in this year’s Golden Joystick Awards! It is nominated alongside DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods – Part Two, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, The Outer Worlds: Murder on Eridanos, Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island Expansion and Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Intergrade – INTERmission.
Voting is open right now and ends on 5th of November 2021!
I have a lot of Sims getting married and going on honeymoons lately, so I’ve been on a bit of a romance kick when it comes to my builds. This time, I’ll be showing you how I built a romantic getaway cabin for Granite Falls that’s suitable for a couple to enjoy in all seasons and in any type of weather. I even went way outside of my comfort zone and utilized the terrain tools!
I started by sculpting the terrain in roughly the shape I wanted it. I knew I wanted the cabin to sit on a little hill and have a large back deck with a view of the surrounding forest. It was hard to visualize the exact shape I would need without anything built yet but I just focused on getting some kind of hill formed. No easy task when you rarely ever touch the terrain tools. Once I had a shape I was mostly happy with, I constructed the basic shape of the cabin on top. Then I did some adjusting with the surrounding terrain as needed. I would go back and smooth out or level parts of the terrain frequently as I continued this build to make sure things were situated on it correctly.
For the cabin itself, I wanted it to be very small and intimate. A cozy and rustic place that wasn’t too fancy but still warm and romantic. You might know from my previous build articles that I’m a big fan of beds on platforms and beds with a second set of pillows against the headboard. I used those features here as well but kept it to a small one-step platform with no headboard embellishments. This isn’t supposed to be a super luxurious build. It should still feel like a woodsy cabin. I used a matching set of nightstands and dresser from Seasons but sized down the dresser once so it wouldn’t look so huge and bulky in such a small space. To add the decor on top, I used the bb.moveobjects on cheat, the Alt key, and the 9 key to raise the objects to the desired height and place them where the dresser would be first. Then I slid the dresser underneath after. Otherwise, they would have snapped to the dresser and float in mid-air since I sized down the dresser. Some cozy rugs, a pine branch ceiling light, and Gallery Art by FruitLoops40 completed the space.
After doing the bed area, there wasn’t much space left inside for other amenities but that was perfect for me. I wanted this place to be as small and cozy as possible. After squeezing in a tiny but rustic-chic bathroom, I was left with only a small amount of space to fill. I put in a stone fireplace to keep the happy couple warm during Granite Falls’ harsh winter months and put in some loveseats with a tiny coffee table and a rug skewed diagonally for visual appeal. I finished off the space with some Gallery art by roseymow.
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At this point, you might be asking me where on earth the kitchen is. How are Sims supposed to eat in this cabin on vacation? Well, that’s where the large back deck comes into play. I opted for an outdoor kitchen on the back deck to fully enjoy all nature has to offer in Granite Falls. I put in a fridge, sink, and some counter space along with a BBQ so Sims can enjoy the great outdoors while they grill up something delicious. Another reason I wanted a large back deck was because I wanted to have space for a hot tub with decorative privacy hedges. Nothing is more romantic on holiday than enjoying a hot tub on a private deck in the middle of nature. I also put in some seating here for Sims to sit down and enjoy their meal. Since Granite Falls can have some unpredictable weather, I opted to cover the back deck with roofing. I didn’t want rain or snow to stop Sims from being able to enjoy a meal or the hot tub outside.
While I wanted this cabin to be a place where Sims spent a lot of time indoors or on the deck, Granite Falls is still a camping world. I didn’t want to completely ignore that, so I added a few outdoorsy things in the yard for Sims to enjoy when the weather is nice. A firepit with some seating and a snack cooler, a picnic table complete with picnic basket, and horseshoes are all available on the lot as well.
Then it was just a matter of adding in all the greenery and painting the terrain. I kept the foliage to Granite Falls plants so it would blend in with the surroundings and added dirt or stone to the ground wherever there was pathing or activities. Then I painted over all the grassy parts with a deeper shade of forest green from the Outdoor Retreat game pack. I took these photos at the tail end of autumn which looks lovely with all the leaves scattered everywhere but in the summer, the yard springs to life with lots of colour and rich green tones.
And my romantic getaway cabin is all ready for Sims to rent out! If you’d like to add this cabin to your own game, it’s called Romantic Cabin Getaway and my Gallery ID is SnarkyWitch! It uses no CC but does make use of a lot of different packs.
The initial announcement of The Sims 4 Kits back in March had everyone wondering how is this going to impact the release schedule of future packs. Sure, there’s never been an official schedule of Pack releases for The Sims 4 but over the years players have gotten used to a similar pattern: 2 Expansion Packs, 1-2 Game Packs and 2-3 Stuff Packs.
With the announcement of Kits it’s been confirmed that this new DLC type will have zero impact on the release of other Packs. That of course made many players believe that the pattern of 2 EPs a year that began since 2018 will continue throughout this year. However, it’s just been confirmed by @SimGuruFrost that the current Season of Selves – which brings Sims 4 Content Updates and 4 new Kits, will last until the end of 2021.
The Season of Selves covers October, November and December.
That means that Cottage Living will be the only Expansion Pack for this year. That all totals to these DLC numbers for 2021:
1 Expansion Pack
1 Game Pack + Game Pack Refresh
1 Stuff Pack
9 Kits
Of course that’s not the first year for The Sims 4 when we got one Expansion Pack. In 2016 we got City Living and followed next year was Cats & Dogs.
So, did Kits really impact on the number of larger packs for The Sims 4 or is the team trying to focus more on the development of what we currently have? There are still two major content updates planned for The Sims 4 Base Game this year. Personally, I’m just hoping the team is finally delivering some gameplay…
We still have two base game updates we have yet to talk about…
The Sims Team has announced a new Inside Maxis Livestream for next week!
Just like with previous Inside Maxis Livestreams this one will focus on highlighting certain creators, answering some of your top questions regarding the game and oh – announcing something new for The Sims 4!
On their Twitter The Sims Team has shared that they’ll be sharing information about the latest update for The Sims 4.
The livestream is scheduled for October 26th at 11AM Pacific Time. You can check out the full agenda of the livestream below:
We’ll keep you updated on all the important things from the livestream right here on Sims Community!
There are lots of different ways to shop in The Sims 4; your Sims can order things from the phone, the computer, or go out to a retail lot to grab what they need. They can purchase from vendors, kiosks, and market tables as well, but have you ever wished you could get everything you needed from one place? Or maybe that specific item you’re looking for is a hassle to find anywhere?
Welcome to Llamazon, your one-stop-shop for anything and everything your Sims could ever want! I’ll be giving an overview of Ravasheen’s new Llamazon instant shopping mod and showing you all of its features. Can we just take a moment to appreciate that all of Ravasheen’s mods have the most adorable punny names? Cool? Cool. Moving on…
Of course, you will have to install the mod, first. You can get it from Ravasheen’s website. The current version is in early access for patrons only but will release to the public on November 6th, 2021. You can also follow Ravasheen on Patreon (no subscription needed to follow Patreon creators) to find out more about other early access mods if you’re interested. If you need help with installing mods, check out our article Getting Started With Mods and CC.
Once the mod is installed correctly, your Sims are ready to get their brand new Llamazon membership card! To find it, just search “llamazon” in the search field in Build/Buy. It will pop right up. To begin with, you’ll have to drag the Llamazon card onto a wall but once you’re back in Live Mode, the Llamazon card can be dragged into a Sim’s inventory. You can purchase as many Llamazon membership cards as you want. This allows every Sim in the household to have their own Llamazon membership. Yes, even children and toddlers! The only thing I noticed children and toddlers couldn’t buy from the Llamazon cards was fireworks. Which… is probably a good thing if you think about it.
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Click on your new Llamazon card to bring up a menu of everything you can buy. There is an almost unfathomable number of things you can buy, ranging from groceries to collectibles. The mod is base game compatible but the more packs you own, the more things you’ll be able to buy. Ravasheen has integrated all currently released packs with this mod. She’s even taken the liberty of sorting everything into subcategories so it’s easy for your Sims to find exactly what they’re looking for. Here’s the full breakdown below:
Ingredients & Produce
Fruits & Vegetables
Ingredients
Grocery
Gardening
Seeds
Flowers
Fertilizer
Collectibles
Ancient Artifacts
Creature Collectibles
Decoration Collectibles
Gardening
Magic Objects
Natural Collectibles
Other Collectibles
Pets
Toys
Pet Care
Entertainment
Fireworks
Holiday Crackers
Books
Livestock
Feed
Animal Clothing
Supplies
Upgrade Parts
Crafting
Voodoo Doll
Wellness
Health
Herbalism
Facial Masks
Plasma Packs
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Click on any category to browse through a shopping menu of those items. Once you’ve made your purchase, the items will be immediately added to your Sim’s inventory! No waiting for things to be delivered via the mail or a delivery person. No NPCs. No restrictions at all. It’s as easy as just selecting what you want to buy and boom! Your Sims immediately have it.
Since the Llamazon cards can be carried around and interacted with inside your Sim’s inventory, you can purchase from Llamazon anywhere your Sims are. There are no lot restrictions and no time restrictions, either. Llamazon is always available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, anywhere your Sims are as long as they have their Llamazon membership card on them!
This mod is very simple in concept and also very simple to use but adds a huge amount of convenience and functionality to your Sims’ busy everyday lives. The only negative thing about it I can possibly think of is perhaps the mod is a little too good in the sense that your Sims can buy a lot of things that are meant to be earned through gameplay, like collectibles. So some players might consider it cheating to be able to purchase these things outright so easily.
While I definitely see that side of it, I also see a lot of amazing and practical uses for this mod. I am not a player who likes to cheat so I don’t think I’ll be using the Llamazon cards to purchase some of the items, such as the collectibles, but for other things like groceries and pet supplies, I have a feeling I’ll be using this mod all the time to make buying those things less of a hassle. After all, why the heck shouldn’t I be able to buy pet toys and healthy treats for my pets online? People do all the time in real life. This mod adds a lot of realism and convenience to any player’s gameplay. If you don’t like to cheat, it’s easy to just not purchase the things you would rather earn yourself the hard way.
Be sure to grab the mod now if you’re a patron of Ravasheen or bookmark her website to come back and download the public release on November 6th!
