We’re right in the middle of a very busy period in the world of The Sims 4. Following on from the summer roadmap, revealed just under a month ago, Maxis has been steadily making things happen.
The Nature’s Calling event kicked off recently with new quests and tasks, getting the game (and players) in the mood for some outdoorsy fun in preparation for the launch of Enchanted by Nature, the game’s upcoming expansion.
Enchanted by Nature is very much right around the corner, launching on July 10 – so a little over one week from this writing. Maxis promised to release a base game update on July 1 for all players, and it has delivered.
The update – version 1.116.202.1030 on PC, 1.116.202.1230 on Mac, and 2.14 on consoles – brings a number of major features to the core game, alongside several quality of life improvements for longtime players.
For starters, you’re now able to use glass walls and glass roofs in your builds. You’ll find the option under Misc in the Wall Patterns section of Build Mode. You can place plants on roofs, too. The game will show you the types of plants available for your roof (depending on the footprint) when you browse Roof Sculptures in Build Mode.
In fact, you can even tell whether or not any plant in the Outdoor Plants section can also be placed on the roof. There’s a variety of them, too, with several sizes of shrubs and flowers for you to choose from.
The inventory of your Sims has also received a big refresh with this patch. The main point is to make it easier to find what you’re looking for. There are new ways to sort, and a new badge to detail when an item had been recently acquired.
Spoiled foods will show a red background to make it clear they’ve gone bad, and there’s a new Spoiled stack where you’ll find food you should get rid of.
The in-game Notebook has been similarly refreshed. On top of a new, more spacious layout, you’ll also find the new Category Pages more useful when managing discoveries. Speaking of which, whenever a new discovery is added, it’s going to come with a badge to denote that.
The flow of the Notebook has also been improved with the addition of a back button, as well as new dedicated buttons from Household Collections, and Sim Stats. If you’re playing on consoles (or with a controller), you’ll find it much easier to scroll using the right analog stick.
If you’re a longtime player of The Sims 4, you’ve likely been hoarding so many items. The latest update makes the Household Collections UI easier to navigate. Each collection category now has its own icon, count, and completion status.
The inventory button for your Sims will play a little animation when a new collection item has been found, and the Collections page itself has a new layout that better displays the different categories.
That page will also track progress, and you can even sort by completion progress if you prefer. For even more granularity, you can filter by Rarity, Name, Recent, Bonus Items, and Missing within any specific collection.
For a look at the all the patch notes, including the bug fixes made as a result of player feedback, hit up the EA Blog, and don’t forget to catch up on our Nature’s Calling event guide.