The Sims 4 base game has just got a new free update to prepare for the release of Enchanted by Nature, the newest Expansion Pack arriving for The Sims 4 on July 10th. Not only does this update contain the usual bug fixes for the base game and various packs, there are some new and updated features that players should look out for that should hopefully improve or expand their gameplay. We’ll take a look at what’s new with the free update.
Sim’s Inventory Improvements
The appearance of the Sim’s personal inventory has received an overhaul to make it easier to sort through items stored on Sims, particularly if they have a lot of items.
- New Ways to Sort: A Sim’s Inventory can now be sorted by “New”, in which the newest object added to a Sim’s Inventory appears at the top with a special icon. More sort options include “Price”, “Filter”, “Crafted Quality”, and “Rarity”. Other storage objects such as refrigerators and bookcases have also received this treatment.
- Spoiled Food: Spoiled food in a Sim’s Inventory will now appear with a red background to make it obvious the food has gone off. They’ll go into the new “Spoiled” stack where they can be trashed.
Inventory items can be sorted in several ways via a dropdown menu.
Refreshed Notebook
The Notebook in The Sims 4, which keeps track of discovered items such as fish and plants, has also received a makeover. You can find:
- A new layout that gives the Notebook a clean and organized look.
- New category pages with unique details.
- Discovery badges, where new discoveries will be highlighted with a badge.
- A back button to navigate between categories and the main menu.
- New buttons to give direct access to Household Collections and Sim Stats.
- For console players, the right analog stick can be used to scroll through the Notebook.
The Notebook now has a new, cleaner look.
Household Collections New Look
Household Collections also looks different to before with the new update. This should make it easier to see all Collections.
- When a new Collection item is obtained, the Inventory icon will animate. When the Inventory is opened, the diamond Household Collections icon will glow green.
- On the Collection page, a category with a newly-obtained item will have a badge next to it.
- Collections are now laid out differently on the Collection page to make viewing them easier. Each Collection has a ring around it marking progress in completing the collection. You can also see how many items in that Collection you have gathered so far.
- To further organize the categories, a new dropdown menu allows you to view the Collections by completion progress or name.
- When looking at specific categories, you can view them with filters by “Name”, “Rarity”, “Recent”, “Bonus Items”, and “Missing”.
- Collections can be accessed either from the Notebook or a Sim’s Inventory.
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- Collections also has a new clean look.
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- Individual Collections can be viewed in different ways such as recent finds or rarest collectible item.
Glass Walls
For builders, glass walls have been added to The Sims 4 base game. To find these new glass walls, go to Build > Wall Patterns > Misc. The glass patterns can be found there. These complement the glass roofs.
Get creative with the new glass walls.
Placing Plants on Roofs
Most plants can now be placed on roofs, namely shrubs and flowers. You can see which plants are eligible by entering Build Mode and looking under Roof Sculptures. Alternatively, if you’re viewing Outdoor Plants, you can find out if the plant can be placed on a roof by hovering over it.
All placeable roof plants can be found in the Roof Sculptures category.
Bug Fixes
There are lots and lots of new bug fixes for The Sims 4, not just for the base game, but for console players and different packs as well. This includes the recently-notorious raining indoors bug! For all the bug fixes, make sure to check out the official patch notes.
