The Sims 4

[Contra 145]

OS: Windows XP (SP3), Windows Vista (SP2), Windows 7 (SP1), Windows 8, or Windows 8.1

 

PROCESSOR: 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD Athlon 64 Dual-Core 4000+ or equivalent (For computers using built-in graphics chipsets, the game requires 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.0 GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-62 or equivalent)

 

MEMORY: At least 2 GB RAM

 

HARD DRIVE: At least 9 GB of free space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games

 

DVD-ROM: DVD ROM drive required for installation only

 

VIDEO CARD: 128 MB of Video RAM and support for Pixel Shader 3.0. Supported Video Cards: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or better, ATI Radeon X1300 or better, Intel GMA X4500 or better

SOUND CARD: DirectX 9.0c Compatible

 

DIRECTX: DirectX 9.0c compatible

 

(for more info on the upcoming game - http://www.thesims.com/faq)

 

okay this seems promising and I think my machine will actually handle it very well

[Didymus 32,745]

No Mac yet? Mess.

[Addy Ezzie 2]

I expected much worse tbh. I'm very happy about this  

[Sunny 12,174]

No Mac yet? Mess.

ha

 

Windows

 

(Don't get this started in to a war please)

I can't wait

Edited July 25, 2014 by Sunny

[mucinex 4,260]

.

Edited June 20, 2022 by mucinex

[Gagaloo911 12,959]

yasss!! Meh needs it

[AnaLucia95 2]

No Mac yet? Mess.

They will loose so many if they don't release a mac version 

[Didymus 32,745]

YASSSS GO SIMS 2.5!!!!

 

 

True tho.

[MAXX 275]

They were telling the truth when they said that it would work on older computers

[hmm 979]

Are those specs lower than Sims 3?

[nikola 4,342]

the sims 4 looks like new version of the sims 2 with some new things i am not that hipped fo it sadly

[JEWRJEWR 5,663]

Are those specs lower than Sims 3?

no lol.

 

9gb (disk space) for the base game is a lot actually.

[Interludicrous 15]

Pretty much the only thing I'm excited for is the new CAS funtionality, and I'm a little scared that it's not as versatily as I'd like/hope it to be.

 

Other than that I'm mainly a builder, but the building tool seems to have lost a lot of depth and versatility. Mainly when it comes to the new way foundations work, the removal of pools, limited coloring choices, and the lack of terrain tools (not sure about that though). They've made it too noob-proof    (I hope I don't offend anyone )

Edited August 2, 2014 by Interludicrous

[ithinkweed 142]

EDIT: nevermind.

Edited August 13, 2014 by ithinkweed

[Interludicrous 15]

I'm mostly a builder, but I've spent a lot of time in CAS for The Sims 2 and 3 and I really enjoy creating a variety of sims, so I was really curious to the new way CAS works. I got the CAS demo recently, and I thought: what better way to test the versatility than to create a Gaga-Sim? 

 

 

 

What's really great in this version of CAS is that the presets of facial features all have something unique about them; a variety of different eye-lids, various kinds of shading on the cheekbones, different types of lip-arches. This allows you to really put character into the person you're creating.

The downside to this tool is that it's sometimes hard to find a good match. Let me use the eyes as an example: For Gaga, I wanted somewhat visible under-eye lids, but not too much because for Gaga they're sometimes very pronounced but at other times not even there. The socket of the eye had to be pretty high and light in color, whereas the crease of the eyelid and the part of the lid right under the eyebrow had to be pretty defined and contoured. 

The problem is that all of these features had to come together in one preset eye shape. I ended up with a preset that only had the high socket and a somewhat fitting under-eye lid, but it had no lashes at all and the definition on the upper eye lid was not what I was looking for. But there were other eyes that did have those things, but they lacked in other departments.

 

What I also love about this CAS is the Body shaping tools, because they provide a lot more versatility in that department, and in contrast to the click-'n-dragging of the face, the body tool is definitely very intuitive. Add to that the fact that the clothes are much more form fitting than before, and you can really see how good the bodies look now.

I also love the shading of the skin and how clean it looks compared to The Sims 3. Even though The Sims 4 is a lot more cartoony in some respects, they really managed to make the structure of the sims and their faces a lot more realistic and versatile. It also provides a great base for custom content later on.

 

Other than that, the lack of a color wheel is really noticeable for someone like me who prefers to make the sim's features as realistic as possible (no more realistically bleached brows, cartoony hair and eye color). This also applies to the make-up, which I previously used a lot to re-define the face of a sim (especially when making a sim like Gaga, who uses contouring, taping, and other tricks like every day).

 

Also, the slider-free approach takes a lot of getting used to, and it's glitching out sometimes (where one feature changes without me even touching it, and using "undo" doesnt change it back). But I guess I'm too attached to my sliders.

 

In short:

 

The Good:

- Amazing body modification

- Variety in facial features, facial contouring and definition

- A stylized+clean, yet more realistic look

 

The Bad:

- Slim pickings in color and facial features

- Not-so-intuitive-yet control on the face

- Limited ways to use make-up

 

Of course this is only the demo, but I guess this was my review :)

Edited August 10, 2014 by Interludicrous