10 Things I Want to See in the Sims5

Assuming that there is ever an announcement for Sims 5 coming around the corner, here's a few quick things I'd like to see in the games when they release (or in expansions released later).

1. A full game from the start

I felt like Sims3 did this better than the Sims4 did. When I only had the base game of Sims3, it felt very much like a full game to me, while the base of the Sims4 feels very much like it's lacking something in order to feel complete. This could be because of the lack of the open world in the Sims4 (which is my next point), but I think it's also that I would expect the Sims4 to be an update and already expanded version of the Sims3 (and the lack of tots from the start definitely did not help).

There are small touches, and larger touches, that they could do to make the world feel fuller and more complete upon release. For example, a few small touches would be to have things like laundry and vacuums from the start. In the Sims3, we got laundry with the Ambitions expansion pack. However, it's such a small thing that didn't come with the base game of Sims 4, and you have to spend $10 (when it's not on sale) to get something as simple as laundry added to your game. With the kits they've started releasing on the Sims 4, they have the vacuums, which allow you to battle dust. The kits are probably the cheapest sets you can purchase for your game, but it would still be nice for these kinds of things to be available right from the start. They help the worlds to feel more life-like and very lived-in.

Larger things that they could add would be pets from the start. Pets is something that comes in basically every Sims generation, and rightfully so. Many of us can't imagine our lives without our furry (or scaly) friends in them. I understand that separating pets into an expansion is intentional to give the team time to work on it, and to encourage us to buy an expansion that includes them. However, that doesn't change that it would be a nice thing to have from the start. They could at least give us the option of creating a cat or dog. If that's too much, they could put pet stores for smaller, non-customizable, caged animals, while we wait for the real pet expansion to come along.

One more thing that would make it feel like a full game from the start would be seasons. Like I said, I get the point is for us to buy the expansions, but I honestly feel like this wouldn't hurt. Seasons are experienced by most people in the world, and they help a simulated world feel more real to us. Seasons have already been introduced in both Sims3 and 4, so it seems like it's time for the next generation of games to just come with it from the start. There are plenty of other fun expansions for them to release that giving us seasons from the start couldn't hurt.

2. Of course - the open world

The one thing that gets me preferring the Sims3 over the Sims4, even to this very date, is that the Sims4 doesn't offer the open world. If the Sims5 doesn't bring back the open world concept, then I might be sticking with Sims3 for the next ten to fifteen years (however long it takes them to create Sims6).

I understand the world dynamics were changed in the Sims4 to correct a few Story Progression issues that existed in Sims3, but the Sims5 could be the solution to both problems. They could streamline the story progression while also giving us an open world. Many modern video games are moving toward the open world concept, and it's a little strange for the Sims to go away from it.

This is something that I'm sure most everyone can agree one -- we don't want to see loading screens every time we leave our lot -- so I'm not going to get into too much detail here.

3. Child/Toddler Interactions

It's no secret that the biggest fans of babies and toddlers are the people that are only slightly larger than them--the kids. I haven't played enough in the Sims4 to have a child and toddler at the same time, but I know that there weren't any interaction options for them in the Sims3. It seemed strange to have toddlers become children, and they had no sort of bond with older siblings that were closer to their age.

I get that children shouldn't be expected to take care of toddlers and babies (though some in real life are), but there should definitely be play interactions for them, at the very least.

4. Either let teens get pregnant or don't let them woohoo

This one may be a controversial opinion. In the Sims3, teens didn't have the woohoo option, but they do in the Sims4. However, they cannot get pregnant in the Sims4 (unless there's a mod for it out there somewhere). I'm not all about making my teen sims do the dirty with each other, but it seems pretty irresponsible for them to allow teens to woohoo without the added possibility of pregnancy. Just saying. I get that there's a difference between "try for baby" and "woohoo" in the sims, so I can maybe let this one go. A "try for baby" option for teens could be weird for some people, but I think that there could still be a slight chance of them getting pregnant through the regular woohoo action.

5. Skill Points

One thing that the Sims seems to consistently be lacking on is skill points. When we create a new Sim and place them somewhere in the world, that sim always starts off with 0 levels in all skills. I don't like creating an adult Sim who has no skills (even if I am an adult human with no skills). We should get something like 5 skill points to use anywhere we want on our Sims. They could even set a max for a single starting skill if they don't want us to start on level 5 in a single skill. They could have a rule like: start with 5 skill points (you don't have to use any or all of them), and you can use them in any skill you want. You may not increase a skill past 3 (or maybe 2) in Create a Sim, so you have to increase at least two (or three if the max is 2 levels) skills if you want to use all 5 points.

They could even take this a step further and give different amounts for different age groups. Say 0 points for a toddler, 1 point for a child, 3 for teens, and 5 for YA and beyond (or maybe give us the option of 10 with half max for elders).

6. Lifespans

You can customize the lifespan setting in Sims4, but not like you can in Sims3. At least, not since I last checked. Being able to make my Sims live for a ridiculously long time is one of the things that I love about the Sims 3. The standard life span is much too short for how I like to play my game. I like my Sims to be able to meet their goals and have fulfilling relationships outside of their household, and I find that difficult to do with such a short lifespan.

The great thing about having more options for how long we want our Sims to live is that it gives everyone the freedom to play how they want to. Those that want shorter life spans can set theirs for the standard lifespan or less, and those who want longer lifespans can set theirs for more. Even if you set it for longer, you can still age up sims faster by having a birthday party for them. However, this only works for your Sims. The other Sims in town are only affected by the setting in the game.

7. Pets - again

I know I talked about pets earlier in making it feel like a full game from the start, but I just want to talk about it a little more. Since I know that pets likely won't be added to the game until later, I'm going to say what I'd like to see in the expansion when it does come.

I would be surprised if a pets expansion came without cats and dogs, so we won't talk about them here. I'm a dog person, so I'd love to see dogs in the game, and I have many ideas on how they can make them even more fun than they already are. However, I'm here to talk about other pets.

First of all, I would like to see horses introduced at the same time as cats and dogs again, like in Sims3. Other than horses, it would be nice if other pets made an appearance beyond being something in a cage that you can't do much with. I'm talking about animals that you can create and customize in Create a Sim and have control over when they are in your household.

I understand that some of these might be difficult to make actual Sims in games (rather than caged pets), however I'm still going to say the ones that I would like to see in CAS with that aside.

First of all, bunnies. I could see them adding bunnies in CAS because they'd be pretty similar to what cats already are. Their animations, movements, and needs would be a little different than a cat but adding bunnies as Sim pets should totally be doable based on what we have already seen in the games.

Secondly, birds and snakes. Personally, I'm not interested in having exotic pets in real life -- but I would be all about it in the Sims. I would like to see birds and snakes as options in Create a Sim. With a bird's ability to fly over things, their mobility would have to be different from other pets without it being awkward (so that makes it difficult for me to see this becoming a thing), but I would still like to see it if it were ever possible. As for the snakes, I'm talking about large snakes, so their mobility would be a bit different due to the length of their bodies. I don't see it happening in the future, but I would be excited to see it if ever did happen.

8. Customization

The Sims4 really took a lot away that was wonderful to have in the Sims3. For people who didn't use the options, I get it. They don't need to have many options that people aren't using, but I think it's safe to say that enough people like customization for them to not get rid of it.

I loved being able to pick out different colors for my Sims hair or change the patterns, colors, and material of something in Create a Style. The sims4 took that away from me, and I hope the Sims5 will bring it back. Variety is the spice of life, and customization is the source of that spice.

9. Genealogy

This one is just a little wish that I have, but it also aids in my next thing I'd like to see. I would love it if we could create a family tree for our sims. Even if they only let us go back a generation or two (from our oldest living sim) that would be enough for me. It would help add a little history to our towns and our character's stories, and it would give us a family tree from the start if we want to play a single adult sim.

The only way I know of currently to start with a family tree is to create the parents of your Sim, then separate your sim from them if you don't want to live with them in the game, but I don't even know if that's possible in the Sims4 like it was in Sims3.

This could just be an option. That way people who want the family history can have it, but those that don't can just ignore the option.

10. Create a World

Create a World is a tool that you can still use today, but it was created for the Sims3. Unfortunately, I don't think it ever got to leave its beta state, and I don't think a similar tool for Sims4 exists. This goes with the open world concept as well as the last point I've made.

I would like to create my own world again, like we could in Sims3. It would be nice if we could create world history and stories through the customization of Sims, which is why I wished for the Genealogy thing. It would be nice to use especially for creating a world that has a bit of history to it.

If the Sims5 happens to be open world, it would encourage me to buy the game outright if and when it drops. If a Create a World tool was released later for us to create our own Sims5 worlds, I would probably make the Sims5 the absolute best Sims game of all time for me.

There are other things that I would like to see as far as gameplay, personalities, relationships, and other things that I'd like to see in the Sims5. However, if I talked about all of those, we would be here all day. I'm just going to leave it at this, and I might come to talk about other things later.