“There was a family and they had a baby. And the family died. The Grim Reaper came, but the baby was hungry. So, Grim turned everyone into urns, but before he left, he fed the baby.”

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At The Sims 4 EU Preview, we started off from The Sims 4’s Main Menu Screen. We weren’t able to take screens of it (only in-game screens and videos were allowed), but there were no restrictions in photographic memory  😉

The Main Menu screen is very simple: white background with Sims doing all the crazy things: painting, sculpting, running, talking and such. These Animation/Video backdrops changed every 10-15 seconds.

The plus button below the Play button represents the ”Create New Household” action which, after you finish with creating Sims in CAS, leads you to ”Moving In” screen with Oasis Springs/Willow Creek Map. The Play button just loads the Household you played last.

You can load a saved Game by clicking the floppy disk in the upper right corner. As far as I remember, we had 3-4 Pre-Saves.

I noticed that one PC had a disconnected internet. Everything was still the same, except there was now a render on the bottom bar that let you know you’re offline. (Not sure if it exactly said ”You’re Currently Offline” but you get the point).

Please note that these Main Menu Recreation Screens are just a representation of what Main Menu should we expect when the game comes out. It’s not official and it looks much better with Sims moving around!

The ”You’re Currently Offline” Main Menu Screen does not mean that the game requires an internet connection – it just lets you know are you able to use The Gallery or not.

This Guide was given to us during The Sims 4 EU Preview Event. Text and Screenshots are made by Electronic Arts. Image scans are provided by us.

Controls

Live Mode

Sim/Household Controls

• Switch to next Sim in household: Space or N
• Switch to specific Sim: Click Sim portrait
• Lock camera to Sim: Right-click Sim portrait
• Center camera on active Sim: Enter

Time Controls

• Pause Game: P or 0 or ‘
• Regular/Fast/Ultra Speed: 1/2/3

Camera Movement

• Move left/right: Arrow Left/Right or A/D
• Move forward/back: Arrow UP/Down or W/S
• Move Faster: Hold Shift + Camera Movement
• Zoom in/out: Z/X or +/-
• Toggle Map Mode: M

General Controls

• Undo/Redo: Ctrl+Z/Ctrl+Y
• Cancel: Esc
• Toggle cheat window: Ctrl+Shift+C

Build/Buy Mode

Object Placement Tools

• Rotate Object: ,/. (once object selected)
• Delete Object: Del or Backspace
• Off Grid Placement: Alt (while holding object)
• Off Angle Placement: Alt (while rotating object)
• Move to Slot: M

Creators

Create A Sim

1. Get a feel for the new controls by clicking directly on Sims to push and pull their body and facial features. Huge butts and pointy noses are just a tug away.
2. Follow the Tutorial as it’ll point out things you might otherwise miss, such as Tattoos, the Randomizer or Genetics.
3. Think of an actor, politician, or a family member, and try to recreate them precisely using the tools. Create Stephen Colbert, Justin Bieber or even President Obama.
4. Get weird and experiment with odd proportions, skin tones and features to make something hilarious or unique. Challenge: Recreate Jake and Neytiri from Avatar.

Build Mode

1. Try out block-based building. Use Styled Rooms to place a kitchen, expand walls and adjust their height, rotate the room and add a foundation. Test the flexibility of the tool by picking up the room and moving around the lot.
2. Follow the Tutorial to find powerful tools and features you might otherwise miss.
3. Choose a famous building or your own home to try to build.
4. Imagine the set of your favorite show (Walking Dead, Arrested Development, evil spy base) and recreate it.
5. Think of something absurd, like a pyramid or AT-AT Walker and see if you can replicate it (we have).
6. Browse the Gallery for inspiration from the community.

Storytellers

1. Emotions, seen in the bottom left corner of the interface, are a great prompt for storytelling. Try to play out your Sims’ Emotions as much as possible. Look for the Emotional Whim, the colored thought bubble, for goals related to your Sims’ Emotions.
2. Socialization is one of our best storytelling features. Sims can socialize about things they are interested in, including Traits, Careers, Skills, Activities and Emotions. Pick fights, fall in love or discuss art at the museum.
3. Traits, chosen in Create A Sim, strongly define how your Sims act. Use these as opening notes for any chapter to your story. Bob is Evil, therefore, he…
4. Story ideas include Beauty and the Beast – a hopeless nerd or strange person looking for love. The Evil, career-driven jerk who’ll stomp over everyone to get ahead. Or, the lovable, free-spirited artist who works to make the world around them better. You can play out a Romantic Comedy, Greek Tragedy or any Aaron Sorkin show you can imagine.

Achievers

1. Use Whims, Aspirations and Careers for constant goals that reward you with Satisfaction and Objects.
2. Experiment with the right mix of Satisfaction rewards (Traits, Potions) to improve your Sims’ capabilities.
3. Entertainer and Programmer are challenging Careers that require after work efforts to earn promotions.
4. Try to complete 2 or 3 Aspirations in a normal lifetime for a single Sim. Reneissance Sim or the Popularity ones are quite challenging!
5. Try to afford the biggest house in the neighborhood, or on the Gallery, without cheats.
6. Find the secrets we’ve hidden in the world and gather the most tucked away collectibles. Look to the venues!

Experimenters

1. Create conflicting Trait pairings for your Household in Create A Sim. Have a house with Good vs Evil Sims, or Hate Children vs Family Oriented.
2. Challenge yourself to live entirely outside your home lot. Make friends and mooch at their homes. Can you sleep on their couch? Eat their food? You’ll need to be good enough friends to make it work.
3. Gather objects that convey an Emotional Aura to create rooms that skew the Emotions of Sims. An Anger room? Sadness cave? You can earn these from gaining Promotions in Careers or creating them via the Easel or Woodworking Bench.
4. Seek alternate ways to earn Simoleons, like programming (Computer), writing (Computer), art (Easel), collection (Explore Venues) or fishing (Explore Venues and the neighborhoods).
5. See how many lovers can you accumulate, or enemies. Can you make the entire town love or hate you?

The top left painting, created while angry, can be Viewed to become angry. Or, Enable Emotional Aura to have it convey anger to all nearby Sims. The top right piece conveys Focus. Use the Environment to steer your Sims towards useful, or completely unruly Emotions.

Via TheSims.com! (Thanks Honeywell for collecting these)

It’s time to let the secret out! 😀

Electronic Arts UK invited Sims Community to attend a 4-hour special preview of The Sims 4 at the EA Office in Germany, Cologne! We played the game, met other Community Members, YouTubers and Fansite Administratos, talked with The Sims 4 Producers and Community Managers and got a chance to interview Lyndsay Pearson!

We won’t reveal now who exactly attended the event since I’m not sure do they want to keep it as a surprise or not.

We’ll be releasing The Sims 4 Infos, Screens and Specials throughout the upcoming days, so make sure you check out our Home Page since that’s where all the latest articles will be released!

I hope you’re looking forward to the new articles and pages we’re about to publish!

Here’s a very special screenshot taken in a very special place in The Sims 4. I won’t reveal much about it now (since I don’t have time, but will do later). All I can say is: FOLLOW THE MYST!

Some say love is blind. Learn more about this The Sims 4 love story tomorrow! – The Sims

Via – Youtube

Video Link (English Version coming today!)