The Sims 4: Utility Cut-Off, Trailer Park Homes, & More!

If you were looking for more realistic consequences and difficulties in The Sims 4, then prepare your eyes for what you’re about read. Below are SimGuruGraham’s comments from Twitter and Mod The Sims.

That’s something I quite like about Sims 4; the lot pricing in the various neighborhoods is set to reflect the affluence of that neighborhood. If you want to live in a nicer area of the world you better make that money. No homelessness; you need to own a lot.

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There isn’t a “poor” area per se, more like middle class on up. Sims traditionally shies away from the difficulties of life; I personally think it’s a theme that would be really interesting to explore.

The Sims 4 has some trailer park homes in it as well, but not anywhere I’d truly consider “poor”. Beyond that though what I’d like to see in the game and what it hasn’t had is Sims who recognize things like being rich or being poor in meaningful ways.
 
I’d personally be really interested in exploring something in-game where if you have 500 simoleons to your name compared to 5,000,000 then that Sim acts differently and has different priorities in life. Maybe a poor Sim values family more and finds happiness in the small things while the rich Sim is always chasing the next big purchase to fill a void. How do their traits play into it? How does a Sim feel about being broke? What if the game had genuine homelessness and you weren’t forced to own a lot?
 
I wish money was more meaningful past the first few weeks of gameplay. I’d find it really interesting if I could decide the level of wealth of my family in CAS and then depending on your selection the way you started the game would vary in things like the neighborhood you live in, the people who would associate with you, the job opportunities available, etc.
 
One small thing I pushed for in Sims 4 that’s different than Sims 3 is you can no longer just go bulldoze a lot next to a mansion and expect to be able to afford it with your new family. Property value has a more significant impact now.
 
Anyway, many people appreciate the lighthearted nature of The Sims, but personally I often find myself wanting a life simulation that explores some of the darker themes of life as well. Maybe those nasty parts of life could also get subverted in humorous ways as The Sims is known to do. I feel like there’s a ton of untapped material to explore there. As is though, Sims are pretty happy-go-lucky no matter what slice of suburbia they exist in.
 
On a side note related to money stuff (and I’m going to keep this short – the spacebar on my keyboard broke today and it’s really annoying typing), the consequences of not paying your bills is more severe now. Let your bills go without paying them? First your power gets shut off. Next your water gets shut off. It’s a fun scenario to put your Sims in on occasion (they recognize it and get some unique socials about it). The bill upkeep on more expensive homes is harsher than it’s been in the past as well, so you truly better be earning enough to support living in one. I hope both those things contribute to greater challenges when you put your Sims in those situations.