The Sims 5

The Sims 5 is an upcoming role-playing simulation game for PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X. It is the fifth mainline entry in The Sims franchise, a sub-series of the Sim City franchise. The game re-introduces the Open World elements previously seen in The Sims 3 and refines gameplay elements present in The Sims 4 such as the Emotions system. The core focus of the game was putting a greater deal of control for the player on their Sims' actions, something which had been reduced by the increased autonomy and design of the needs system in previous games.
Gameplay
The gameplay of The Sims 5 is largely similar to that of the prior games. The player is able to indirectly control Sims, human and human-like entities as well as pets in an urban setting. The player is able to give a Sim instructions on what they should do but if not given instructions Sims are capable of making their own decisions to sustain themselves. During play the game is split between three modes; Live, Buy and Build.
Live Mode
Live mode is the primary gameplay of the Sims and allows the player to control the Sims that are part of the lot they're currently playing under. The player can make a wide range of decisions for their Sims including choosing an occupation and tasks as well as how they socialize with other Sims. Sims in this mode also have needs which have to be met otherwise the Sim will become unhappy or possibly die. Meeting a Sims needs can vary with some needs only requiring simple actions to be completed while others are determined by the environment the Sim finds themselves in.
The Needs present in The Sims 5 are;
Need 	Ways to meet Need 	Description
Hunger 	Eating a mealHaving a snackDrinking a beverage 	The need to Eat, failing to meet this Need can result in a Sim starving and dying as a result.
Energy 	Going to bedNapping on furnitureTaking stimulants (temporary) 	The amount of Energy a Sim has, when exhausted a Sim will collapse until this need refills sufficiently.
Bladder	Using a toilet 	A Sim's need to use the toilet, if they're unable to meet this Need they will create a puddle and impact their Hygiene Need as well as their emotional scales.
Hygiene	Taking a showerHaving a bathWashing hands 	General cleanliness, this Need drains over time however can be exacerbated by strenuous activities. It can negatively impact a Sim's social abilities if depleted.
Comfort	Sitting on a comfortable surfaceHaving nice surroundingsBeing with friendly Sims 	Comfort with one's surroundings, this Need doesn't drain like most others rather is affected by surroundings and situations, it can also infer how a Sim feels about their environment.
Fun 	Playing games/sportsPerforming a favourable hobbyDoing something new within recency	A Sim's general enjoyment, although generally stable around half-filled many tasks and activities can reduce Fun and need to be offset by having the Sim do something they find enjoyable. Low Fun can result in a Sim being aggravated.
Social 	Talking with other SimsAttending social events 	The need to socialize and interact with others, a Sim can feel isolated without it. Some Sims due to their personality can receive positive effects towards this need through means other than socializing such as reading and watching television.
During Live Mode the player will need to make many decisions for their Sims ranging from how they acquire wealth whether through a career or freelancing, socializing with other Sims and potentially developing relationships and families as a result as well as participating in events that can occur throughout the game. Returning from The Sims 4, emotions are heavily impacted by these decisions the player makes. Emotions are in part tied to a Sims' needs and as such failing to meet a Sims' needs can result in them expressing negative emotions, whereas meeting their needs can have them express positive emotions. Unlike The Sims 4 however emotions are now represented on a series of five diametrically opposed scales. These scales are affected differently by actions the player makes and some may not be affected all by particular decisions.
Emotions in The Sims 5 are much more stable and less prone to change on a whim, although some extreme actions can override this, a Sim will typically stay in an emotional state if their emotional scales are pushed far enough and can last for several hours or an entire day. As with The Sims 4, when a Sim is in a unique emotional state they can perform a variety of unique actions with many overriding the more standard action options. Certain emotional pips (the visual identifiers that inform the player of what is causing any emotional sway) can appear with chains around them indicating they're a long-term emotional pip which will have a prolonged influence on a Sim and can include positive actions like romancing, aspirational goals, building relationships and getting a promotion as well as negative actions like damaging relationships, getting caught cheating, getting fired and fears.
The Emotion scales present in The Sims 5 are;
Emotion Scale 	Effected 	Description
Happy-Sad 	Effected by all Needs, most dominant emotions in the hierarchy 	The Happy-Sad scale indicates general optimism or pessimism a Sim is feeling at a given time. It can affect a wide variety of gameplay elements but is often a good indicator of whether the player is meeting their Sim's needs. Positive effects include improved social interactions and better outcomes from actions while negative effects include taking longer to complete actions and in extreme cases can form a literal rain cloud over the player's Sim.
Flirty-Disgust	Effected by Hygiene, Comfort & Social Needs, often becomes dominant in interactions with other Sims or particularly appealing or unappealing environments 	The Flirty-Disgust scale indicates how a Sim feels about their environment and those they're interacting with, in conjunction with good connections through the Interests, it can indicate success in developing relationships with other Sims. Positive Effects include greater romantic success and better outcomes for adventurous actions while negative effects include a reluctance to interact with objects causing disgust and in extreme cases can cause the Sim to develop Artifex Aegitis.
Calm-Angry 	Effected by Hunger, Sleep & Bladder Needs, can affect the obedience of a Sim to the player's actions 	The Calm-Angry scale indicates a Sim's emotional stability, it is often a good indicator of how interactions may go in particular more risky interactions. It is also quite influential on physical actions by the player's Sim. Positive effects include less negative emotional impact from social interactions, better work ethic and not being as effected by negative outcomes, whereas negative effects from this emotional scale include a Sim forcibly performing actions against the player's will, prone to initiating fights and in extreme cases can cause a Sim to literally boil with rage, potentially killing them if the player doesn't cool them off.
Courage-Shame 	Effected by Hygiene, Bladder & Social Needs, can affect the success a Sim has in performing particular actions both social and skill-based 	The Courage-Shame scale indicates how confident a Sim is feeling and is often influenced by their success or failure in particular activities with work and relationship related actions having a larger impact than general day-to-day actions. The scale is a direct indicator of a Sim's willingness to perform certain actions and will sometimes prevent certain actions from being taken or give access to interactions not normally available. Positive effects include being more daring in their relationships, access to higher tier options for Skills while feeling courageous and emitting a general aura which can improve the moods of other Sims when performing successful interactions. Negative effects meanwhile can have the Sim unable to perform certain tasks, being too afraid to talk to other Sims and being more cautious which can be beneficial as it reduces the probability of making messes or breaking objects.
Fervent-Bored 	Effected by Comfort, Fun & Social Needs, can affect the outcome a Sim receives from performing actions in particular the amount of skill gained from activities	The Fervent-Bored scale indicates a Sim's engagement in the current situation, it is the most volatile of all emotional scales and can easily swing from one end to the other however because it has the lowest priority of the emotions will rarely actually change a Sim's overall mood. Positive effects of being Fervent included having much more successful interactions with other Sims when discussing topics the Fervent Sim is interested in and getting more out of performing Skills the Sim has an interest in. Negative effects when Bored however can lead to a Sim losing interest in something or damaging their relationships with other Sims (although this damage will only bring a relationship to neutral rather than leading to animosity).
Skills & Careers
A core element of the gameplay in The Sims 5 is building your Sims' skills. Unlike prior games Skills are split into two categories; Primary Skills and Secondary Skills. Primary Skills are the main attributes of a Sim, not only providing a large array of unique actions the player can perform as they're levelled, but are also necessary in climbing the rungs in non-Freelance Careers. There are seven Primary Skills in The Sims 5;
*Body - A Sims' physical fitness, visually can make a Sim appear slimmer and more muscular irrespective of their generic body shape at higher levels. Higher levels also can reduce how quickly a Sims' Energy Need is drained performing physically laborious actions.
*Charisma - A Sims' skill in conversation, schmoozing and general interactions with other Sims. At higher levels, a Sim will be more likely to have a positive interaction with other Sims as well as gain much more towards their Social Need being fulfilled.
*Naturalist - A Sims' connection with their environment and understanding of the natural world. Higher Levels reduce the impact a bad environment or scenario have on the Sims' emotional scales as well as generally make it easier to meet a Sims' Comfort Need.
*Creativity - A Sims' ingenuity and ability to express their unique thoughts, generally adds more interaction options for all physical objects more so than any other base skill. In addition, levelling this skill will increase the improvement rate for the Fun Need when it is being satisfied.
*Logic - A Sims' general brilliance and problem solving, levelling can reduce the time it takes for a Sim to complete particular tasks. At Higher Levels, this skill also partially mitigates the negative effects of some tasks in particular ones that would lead to the Bored Emotion.
*Mechanical - A Sims' understanding of machines and their operation. At Higher Levels, this skill reduces the probability a Sim will break something when using it, in addition improving Secondary Skill levelling when interacting with objects and items.
*Perception - A Sims' ability to identify clear details. Higher Levels will give a general boost to the monetary output of anything the Sim creates or finds as well as reducing the cost of items in Buy Mode (does not scale with multiple Sims in the same household).
Levelling each Base Skill can be done in a variety of ways and many typically can be levelled to a degree through basic interactions to meet a Sims' needs. However, to reach the highest levels of a Base Skill the player will need to find more intensive tasks which are also those which level a Sims' secondary skills. Secondary Skills are specific Skills that appear across a wide variety of actions and activities.
Aspirations & Wants
The Aspiration System and Wants System, first seen in The Sims 2 once again return in The Sims 5. Aspirations are the overarching goals of a Sim, there are a number of stages to succeeding in an Aspiration although the primary goal is always present allowing the player to ignore the secondary goals should they so decide. Aspirations are an important element of shaping the gameplay of Live Mode as a Sim's disposition in all emotions can be positively increased by fulfilling goals towards their Aspiration.
Wants are a smaller system for a Sim that focus on more minor day-to-day aspects of the Sim's life. Sims will typically generate between 1-5 wants in a day and are dictated by the Sim's experiences, traits, interests and nearby objects. Fulfilling a Want or Aspiration will reward the player with Aspiration Tokens which are an in-game currency like Simoleons which the player can use to exchange for various benefits.
Benefits are the main rewards for completing Aspirations and Wants, they are presented as a tree with the player needing to pick Benefits from lower to access higher value ones. Benefits range from positively affecting a Sim's mood, personality or behaviour to giving them a physical object or a new character trait many of which are unique to the Benefits. Consumable Items and Objects are able to be bought multiple times which also counts towards gaining access to higher level benefits. The exact benefits the player can acquire for each Sim differs according to their Aspiration as well as to a lesser extent their Traits and Interests.
Memories
Memories once again return in the base game of The Sims 5 and play an important role in shaping a Sim both in terms of their relationships with other Sims, their personality and where they end up in life. Memories come in two varieties in The Sims 5; Solid Memories and Fleeting Memories.
Fleeting Memories are in many ways similar to the short term emotional effects seen in The Sims 4 combined with the memories seen in The Sims 3. They're typically more mundane and minor events which can range from a particularly pleasant meal to completing a project and woohooing and typically will last in a Sim's memory for up to a week. Over time they fade and the effect of that memory will also dissipate, this can be significant as a Sim's relationship with other Sims, their interests in particular Skills and Hobbies and personality can be shifted slightly by these Fleeting Memories.
Solid Memories are much more significant memories which don't dissipate with time, they often are tied to significant milestones such as having a child, graduating from school, landing a dream job and getting married. Solid Memories are very important during gameplay as they can dramatically shape a Sim's existence giving significant positive or negative changes to their relationship with other Sims, cementing particular interests and also determining the autonomous actions a Sim might engage in.
Relationships
Relationships in The Sims 5 has seen a significant overhaul from prior entries. The Sims 5 brings back asymmetrical relationships with two Sims opinion of one another not necessarily being mutual allowing for one-sides romantic interests and one-sided rivalries. The relationship bar is now represented by two bars that meet in the middle as the relationship improves, general friendship is represented by a green bar whilst the new best friendship bar which appears blue and can extend one Sim’s side of the relationship to the other side. Conversely a negative opinion, represented by a red bar appears when a relationship is antagonistic and will move where a stable friendship can be achieved.
Additional relationship bars appear beneath the main relationship bar for Romantic relationships, Hobbyists and Professional relationships which can only be developed through Romantic interactions and working together either on a shared hobby or in a career.
The Relationship Scale showing General Friendship (Green), Best Friendship (Blue), Romantic (Pink) & Hobby/Professional (Grey)
Because of the influence of the Romantic, Professional and Hobbyist relationships this can affect the type of relationship that develops, which forms depends on what has greatest prominence, in-game this can be seen through the relationship triangle which shows how much two Sims engage with one another in regards to the three types of sub-relationships. Relationships always start in balanced which is defined by the General Friendship and Best Friendship but can shift into the three extremes or the unique relationships formed by having significant overlap with two relationship types.
The game will identify a wide variety of relationships which have different thresholds for being met.
Status 	Stat Difference	-100 	-90 	-80 	-70 	-60 	-50 	-40 	-30 	-20 	-10 	0 	10 	20 	30 	40 	50 	60 	70 	80 	90 	100 	110 	120 	130 	140 	150 	160 	170 	180 	190 	200
Friendship	Diff<30 	Nemesis 	Enemies 	Enemies 	Enemies 	Adversaries	Adversaries	Adversaries	Acquaintances	Acquaintances	Acquaintances	Acquaintances	Acquaintances	Acquaintances	Acquaintances	Friends 	Friends 	Friends 	Friends 	Friends 	Homies 	Homies 	Homies 	Homies 	Homies 	Besties 	Besties 	Besties 	Besties 	Besties 	BFFs 	BFFs
Friendship	30<Diff<80 	Loathing 	Loathing 	Loathing 	Loathing 	Loathing 	Loathing 	Loathing 	Loathing 	Misguided 	Misguided 	Misguided 	Misguided 	Misguided 	Misguided 	Misguided 	Lopsided Friendship	Lopsided Friendship	Lopsided Friendship	Lopsided Friendship	Lopsided Friendship	Lopsided Friendship	Lopsided Friendship	Lopsided Friendship	Lopsided Friendship	Lopsided Friendship	Lopsided Friendship	Lopsided Friendship	Lopsided Friendship	Lopsided Friendship	Lopsided Friendship	Lopsided Friendship
Friendship	Diff>80 	Despising	Despising	Despising	Despising	Despising 	Delusional 	Delusional 	Delusional 	Delusional 	Delusional 	Delusional 	Delusional 	Delusional 	Delusional 	Delusional	Delusional 	Delusional 	Delusional 	Delusional 	Delusional 	Delusional 	Fanatical 	Fanatical 	Fanatical 	Fanatical 	Fanatical 	Fanatical 	Fanatical 	Fanatical 	Fanatical 	Fanatical
Relationship Type	Criteria	0 	10 	20 	30 	40 	50 	60 	70 	80 	90 	100
Romance 	>25 	Acquaintances	Acquaintances	Sparks 	Sparks 	Sweethearts 	Sweethearts 	Lovebirds 	Lovebirds 	Lovers 	Lovers 	Lovers
Romance 	<25 	 	 	 	 	 	Fixation 	Fixation 	Fixation 	Obsession 	Obsession 	Obsession
Professional 	>25 	Acquaintances	Acquaintances	Acquaintances	Colleagues 	Colleagues 	Colleagues 	Cooler Buddies 	Cooler Buddies 	Work Besties 	Work Besties 	Work Besties
Professional 	<25 	 	 	 	 	 	Suck-Up 	Suck-Up 	Suck-Up 	Suck-Up 	Suck-Up 	Suck-Up
Hobbyist 	>25 	Acquaintances	Acquaintances	Shared Hobby 	Shared Hobby	Shared Hobby	Intertwined Interests	Intertwined Interests	Intertwined Interests	Inseparable 	Inseparable 	Inseparable
Hobbyist 	<25 	 	 	 	 	 	Acquaintances 	Acquaintances 	Acquaintances 	Acquaintances	Acquaintances	Acquaintances
There are also a number of special relationships in The Sims 5 which override the standard relationships when their criteria are met, the normal relationships are bracketed;
*Sibling Rivalry - Two Sims with at least one parent in common (Enemies or Nemesis)
*Happily Married - Married Sims (Lovebirds or Lovers)
*Dull Marriage - Married Sims (Acquaintances)
*Gym Junkies - Body is highest Base Skill (Intertwined Interests or Inseparable)
*Duet - Charisma is highest Base Skill (Intertwined Interests or Inseparable)
*Natural Bond - Naturalist is highest Base Skill (Intertwined Interests or Inseparable)
*Artist's Circle - Creativity is highest Base Skill (Intertwined Interests or Inseparable)
*Matched Minds - Logic is highest Base Skill (Intertwined Interests or Inseparable)
*Group Project - Mechanical is highest Base Skill (Intertwined Interests or Inseparable)
*Paired Critics - Perception is highest Base Skill (Intertwined Interests or Inseparable)
*Soulmates - (Besties or BFFs) and (Lovebirds or Lovers)
*Enflamed Passion - (Enemies or Nemesis) and (Lovebirds or Lovers)
*Love-Hate - (Loathing or Despising) and (Fixation or Obsession)
*Office Clique - (Homies, Besties or BFFs) and (Cooler Buddies or Work Besties)
*Meshed Interests - (Homies, Besties or BFFs) and (Intertwined Interests or Inseparable)
*Perfect Sync - (Besties or BFFs) and (Lovebirds or Lovers) and (Cooler Buddies or Work Besties) and (Intertwined Interests or Inseparable)
Buy Mode
Buy Mode returns once again, functioning as the player's main method of placing and adjusting Furniture and possessions on their lot. Buy Mode can only be accessed on a lot that a member of the household the player is playing with at that time owns, this can include Residential and Commercial lots. Buy Mode includes both the Purchase Menu and the Inventory Menu allowing the player to spend Simoleons (the in-game currency in The Sims) for various items. As with prior games, items purchased may have the option of being customized, these include some pre-set customization options but also Styles for more typical furniture such as Couches, Bookshelves, Counters, Tables, Showers, Beds, etc.
Styles allow the player to create distinct visual groupings which can be re-used for several purchasable items in-game. The player is able to save a style and select it when purchasing items to automatically generate them with that style. Styles can have any combination of colours and patterns, typically with two to four colours depending on the pattern chosen although some have gradient effects as well.
In the Purchase Menu items are sorted by several methods which the player can choose based on preference, the default option is by Room with items being grouped depending on whether they're intended to belong in a Bedroom, Bathroom, Kitchen, Dining Room, Study, Games Room, etc. Another option available is Function which groups items by their in-game function such as; Energy Recovery, Food Preparation, Skill Building, etc. Some items appear in multiple groups within these options to make them easier to find. The player may also select particular items to be saved as Favourites which is its own grouping separate from any options making it easier for the player to quickly find an item. Other options available for sorting including Alphabetical and Regional.
As with The Sims 3, Make-A-Style returns as a feature present in Buy Mode as well as other parts of the gameplay. The player is able to customize and create their own patterns and styles and save them putting them on various things ranging from household objects to wallpaper and Sim's clothing. In Buy Mode the player has an option to apply a Style to other Buy Mode objects, this can either be done by selecting a saved Style in the menu or by using the Eyedropper tool to select a style on another household object. Some household objects are not able to have their appearance changed although this applies solely to utility items like the Fire Alarm, Trash Can and Mail Box.
Room Designation
New to The Sims 5 is the ability to designate rooms. Rooms will naturally generate a designation as they’re filled with relevant items with a priority system being used. Low priority items such as decorative items, chairs and lighting will only generate a room designation if no higher priority items suchas fridges, showers, beds, computers, televisions, etc. are present.
Some rooms include hybrid designations which generate when particular criteria are met such as Kitchen-Dining. Other room designations only generate if they’re connected to other rooms such as Ensuite requiring connection to a Bedroom. The player is able to override the designation given in Buy Mode by selecting the target room and changing it. Designations assist Sims in what are appropriate behaviours towards different rooms in the house.
Build Mode
Build Mode is the third primary gameplay mode present in The Sims 5, it allows the player to make physical alterations to the lot they're present on. Build Mode focuses on landscaping and exterior components of a building such as the walls, windows and doors. Build Mode allows the player to customize their house as a whole, there are several options present;
*Walls - Full Walls, Curved Walls, Half-Walls, Fences
*Floors - Interior Flooring (e.g. Timber, Carpet, Tile), Exterior Flooring (e.g. Pavement, Driveway, Deck)
*Roofs - Roof Layout and Design
*Doors, Windows, Awnings & Sunroofs
*Stairs/Lifts - Access to additional Floors or Basement
*Structural Decorum - Includes Drain Pipes, Wires, Beam Supports, etc.
*Landscaping - Terraforming the landscape creating hills, pits, cliffs and natural bodies of water
*Terrain - The visual appearance of the landscape such as grassy, dirt, flowers, cobblestone, brick, etc.
*Flora - Flowers, Shrubs, Bushes, Ferns & Trees
*Swimming Pools - Man-made bodies of water, also includes basic pool elements such as Diving Board and Pool Ladder
When the player begins construction of their household or commercial lot, they are able to create walls in a variety of methods. The two standard methods are the Line Tool which creates individual wall segments, and the Room Tool which creates a basic square or rectangular room by the player defining two corners. Using the Room tool when overlapping with another room will cause the new room to generate around the pre-existing room ensuring there are no walls overlapping with the existing space.
Players are able to alter room size, shape and appearance to an extreme degree similar to The Sims 4. Each individual wall segment can be pulled or pushed to change the room's overall shape, in addition, the player can select corners of rooms and convert them into Chamfered/Beveled or Filleted corners, the player may also invert a filleted corner if they prefer having the curve facing inwards. As with The Sims 4, the elevation of a room can be adjusted, however unlike The Sims 4 this is done on a per room basis and holding down the Shift Button (or equivalent on Consoles) will allow the player to raise or lower all connected rooms of that same level.
Rooms at less than one unit of height difference (4 vertical notches, equal to the length or width of the unit squares seen when defining surface area) will now generate with new Sub-Stairs which are a special variant of stairs which exist only on the border between two sub-levels of a room. Sub-Stairs can also be used in conjunction with Open Doorways like arches but not with Closable Doors.
Unlike prior games, Floors in a Sim's house now have defined vertical elevations with a floor being defined as at least 4 Height Units (16 vertical notches) although can be maxed at 7 Height Units depending on the defined wall height for that floor. Each floor has a defined floor height for all connected rooms regardless of the elevation of individual rooms. In addition sub-levels are able to exist in a floor as long as they do not exceed the 7 Height Units beneath the upper floor or are less than 4 Height Units beneath the upper floor.
As with prior games the player can also customize the walls and flooring of their house with various wall and floor surfaces ranging from painted patterns, carpet, wooden panels, stone, brick as well as translucent glass for floors. A new addition for players is the option of Support Beams for walls which adds additional depth to walls which can be turned on or off and set to only be on corners and also at regular intervals along a walled surface, support beams can similar to walls themselves be made out of many materials such as Wood, Steel & Stone.
Stairs are also returning with many of the additional features seen in previous games including the Expansion Packs returning. As stated above, Sub-Stairs are a new stair type present in The Sims 5 which automatically generate when the elevation between two rooms or two sections of a room is less than 1 Height Unit and are treated much like floors even being able to be customized with the same materials as the floor. Regular stairs also return and are able to be created in 1/2 Height Unit intervals from 1 Height Unit or greater with a maximum height of 14 Height Units allowing a Staircase to go directly from the ground level to the third floor of a building. Staircases also have a number of variants present including Spiral Staircases, L-Shaped Staircases and U-Shaped Staircases with the latter replacing the previous necessity to create two separate staircases when a player would want a 90 or 180 degree turn. A new addition for Staircases as well is the ability to merge staircases of different heights and shapes together with the exception of Spiral Staircases, this can allow for two L-Shaped Staircases in opposing directions to connect together creating grand staircases as well as having wide staircases with different portions separating off at different heights.
The Basement is an additional floor that can be added beneath a house in The Sims 5 it functions similar to previous appearances allowing the player to further customize their house. Basements are limited as they cannot be expanded into terrain below their highest point and also cannot have windows included although transparent walls and floors may still be used.
Terrain modification is also present in The Sims 5 with the player able to adjust the terrain on and around their house. much like with prior games the player can use various brushes to alter the height either raising or lowering the terrain as well as flattening an area to a particular height, a new addition in The Sims 5 is a height limit for raising or lowering terrain allowing the terrain to only be changed to a certain elevation. Unlike prior games as well the terrain will more so stick to the individual height notches and minor variation in the terrain doesn’t effect this. Cliffs also appear in The Sims 5 and are denoted by the grid appearing on a vertical surface and acts as a wall for Sims as well as being able to be turned into other features.
Water levels are also present and can be raised or lowered on the per height notch basis as with previous games. Water levels that aren’t physically connected can be at different elevations and when used in conjunction with cliffs can create Waterfalls.
The texturing on the terrain can also be altered albeit to a mich greater detail as Grass, Flowers, Rocks and Ground are not treated as separate layers for the terrain texture with the former three having 3D elements to them while the ground texture matches the terrain precisely.
The Sims 5 also includes the ability for players to place a variety of unique outside objects in Build Mode, these include a large number of flora ranging from flower patches and bushes to hedges and trees. Unlike The Sims 4, there is no longer an option to personally add animals to a Sim's household plot, rather animals will naturally appear when certain criteria of the lot are met (the criteria differ for each animal with waterfowl needing a body of water whereas songbirds need trees, etc.). In addition the plants the player places in Build Mode along with the potted ones found in Buy Mode can now grow over time requiring a Sim to tend to them which can improve the Gardening skill. This can be turned off in the options although some plants don't change regardless primarily succulents and other desert-dwelling plants like cacti.
Swimming Pools and Fountains also return in The Sims 5, both function similarly to one another and primarily differ in terms of how a Sim interacts with them. Both artificial bodies of water can be placed on any flat surface in the game as long as there is sufficient space beneath, this means the Swimming Pool/Fountain can be placed in the terrain as well as on floored areas (as long as they meet the height requirement). Many aspects of a Pool/Fountain's design can be altered with options to make the shape vary greatly with four different curving shapes as well as diagonal pieces and half-tile pieces.
Additional Base Game Content
A major element of The Sims 5 was the intention of bringing over gameplay elements that were previously limited to expansion packs seen in the first four games. Although not every expansion pack's focus was brought over, many were, this was intended to add gameplay depth and also allow for more unique and significant expansion packs for The Sims 5.
The following is a list of the Base Game Content Types and the expansion packs in prior games they were based on;
Content Type 	Prior Game Expansion Packs
Night Life/Dating 	Hot Date (The Sims)Nightlife (The Sims 2)Late Night (The Sims 3)Get Together (The Sims 4)Lovestruck (The Sims 4)
Vacations 	Vacation (The Sims)Bon Voyage (The Sims 2)World Adventures (The Sims 3)Island Paradise (The Sims 3)Island Living (The Sims 4)Snowy Escape (The Sims 4)
Pets & Farming 	Unleashed (The Sims)Pets (The Sims 2)Pets (The Sims 3)Cats & Dogs (The Sims 4)Cottage Living (The Sims 4)Horse Ranch (The Sims 4)
University 	University (The Sims 2)University Life (The Sims 3)Discover University (The Sims 4)
Personal Businesses	Open for Business (The Sims 2)<Br/>Ambitions (The Sims 3)Get to Work (The Sims 4)
Seasons 	Seasons (The Sims 2)Seasons (The Sims 3)Seasons (The Sims 4)
Daytime Leisure 	Freetime (The Sims 2)Generations (The Sims 3)Get Together (The Sims 4)Growing Together (The Sims 4)
Apartments 	Apartment Life (The Sims 2)Late Night (The Sims 3)City Living (The Sims 4)For Rent (The Sims 4)
Life Stage Events 	Generations (The Sims 3)High School Years (The Sims 4)
Night Life & Dating
The Sims 5's Night Life elements include many of the night-time based activities seen in prior games such as Night Clubs and Celebrity Parties. In addition the player will find that Sims are able to participate in new activities related to Night Life such as Pub Runs, Street Parties, Work Session Karaoke & Dance-Offs. Players will also find that different community lots in The Sims 5 feature different opening and closing times which affects when they can be used by Sims for general social interactions, however Sims with Criminal-based skills may attempt to break into these community lots during their closed time and steal relevant goods from the community lot or mess with its services.
In addition to the changes to Relationships in The Sims 5, dating itself has seen a marked overhaul with a greater focus put towards meeting the needs of the dating Sims. Dates are a special type of event a Sim can engage with one or more Sims and includes Sudden Dates, Planned Dates, Blind Dates & Hot Seat Dates. Hot Seat Dates and Blind Dates are special in that they will pair the player's controlled Sim with random NPC Sims and while Blind Dates focus on the same goals of the date as a Sudden or Planned Date, Hot Seat Dates do not have this focus and instead encourage the player to boost their relationship with the various Sims their Sim interacts with to optimally get a response to develop the relationship further. Dates like in prior games see the player attempting to maximize the quality of the date for a highly successful date, this can be done through a wide variety of actions which are generally romantic but can also be influenced by the personality's of the Sims involved as well as the date venue itself.
Romantic behaviour in the Sims 5 is also considerably more advanced than in prior games, due to the increased focus put towards romance interactions can vary greatly and can depend on the mood of the current conversation, the existing relationship between the Sims as well as their current emotional state and character traits. Romantic interactions typically start out very limited for two Sims although Sims with the Flirty trait have more options initially and many traits do provide additional Romantic interactions. As the relationship develops, more options become available and the effect of existing options can change to being more viewed more friendly by the other Sim. The mood of the current conversation can also effect what interactions the player's Sim may initiate and although the player's Sim and other Sim may have a developed romantic relationship, some options only become available if the conversation is steered in such a way.
Vacations
Vacations are another returning gameplay mechanic in The Sims 5, allowing the player to send their Sims to a unique holiday destination with a number of activities. As with prior iterations, Vacation worlds do not affect a Sim's aging and as such the player's Sims will not age up while on Vacation nor will pregnant Sims advance in their pregnancy or give birth or Elder Sims die of old age. Unlike prior entries however the player can bring any life stage to a Vacation world including Infants and Toddlers.
Vacation Worlds also will typically encourage exploration of their worlds, although Skill checks can be used throughout Vacations there is no way for the player to increase their Sim's skills while on Vacation, however Lifetime Aspirations can be achieved such as those based around relationships. Vacation Worlds do have an in-built timer which is based on the option the player selects for their stay period and the overall game length. The player can find a wide variety of items in the Vacation Worlds, many unique decorative items not available in Buy Mode as well as custom clothing and some objects which can help with Skills and Relationships back at the Sim's household lot.
Pets & Farming
Unlike prior Sims games, The Sims 5 in the base game includes giving the player the ability to adopt Pets. Pets are considered a separate aspect of the household and don't count towards the total number of household members. Pets can appear in a wide variety and include common pets like Cats, Dogs, Mice, Hamsters & Rabbits as well as a wide variety of other pets and farm animals. Common Pets are able to as with prior games pursue unique Pet Careers which share similarities with a number of the regular Career paths although do not have branching options and only have three levels to them.
Other Pets includes a number of animals that can be kept in the household although unlike the common pets are not able to pursue Pet Careers and include various Lizards, Beetles, Spiders, Crabs, Songbirds, Parrots, Owls, Frogs and Salamanders. A number of these animals can be found in the wild simply by exploring the player's neighbourhood as well as adopted from a Pet Store. There is a much greater focus on breeding with other pets to discover variants, because of their more simplistic interactions compared to Common Pets they also do not count towards Pet Ownership however are limited by the object ownership within a house.
Farm Animals are the third type of pets present in The Sims 5 and encompasses; Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, Goats, Horses, Camels, Llamas, Chickens, Ducks, Swans and Caribou. Many of the requirements and interactions involved with common pets apply to Farm Animals however Farm Animals also offer a wide variety of unique interactions themselves and cam also provide unique items through interacting with them such as Milk, Wool, Truffles and Eggs. Farm Animals are not able to enter interior locations outside of Barns and Farm Sheds except for the child stages of Sheep, Pigs and Goats. One of the main features of Farm Animals is entering them in county fairs where they can be judged for a variety of physical aspects as well as the quality of care the player has provided to them. There are also a few careers where Horses, Camels, Llamas and Caribou can travel with a Sim to their career giving that Sim a boost to their career.
Farming also returns with the player able to plant and grow a variety of crops on a large scale as well as raise and tend to livestock. Farming generally functions on two scales, the non-career personal farming and the large scale Farmer Career. Plant care is a major aspect of Farming and returning mechanics for the Gardening skill such as weeding, pest control and watering return. Additionally soil control plays a more important role in The Sims 5 as different plants will grow more easily in different environments and can be controlled by the player using special soil and using a Greenhouse to alter the temperature and humidity. The Animal Care skill plays a role in caring for Herds although the player’s actions with a herd differ greatly from caring for individual animals. Herd maintenance involves the player needing to handle their grazing fields and the overall size of the herd.
University
University returns as an additional location for the player to have their Sims visit, similar to The Sims 3 and The Sims 4, University is not limited to a single life stage, rather any Sim from the Young Adult, Adult or Elder life stage may attend University. Much like going to a Vacation location, University locations do not have time pass when the player's active household is at University. When not all of a household are attending University, it will follow the Sim going to University although the player is free to swap back to the rest of the household in which case time will pass but the Sim/s at University will be off the lot.
University unlike Vacations does allow the player to level their skills however it is limited to a maximum of Level 4 in any Special Skill and Base Skills won't level at all. Much of University's focus is around the degree the player sends their Sim to receive as well as the relationships and events that occur. Within The Sims 5 there are five universities the player can send their Sims to, three standard Universities and two premium Universities which in addition to the tuition fee have a separate entry fee.
Sims will need to balance their lives in University between managing their relationships, grades and reputation. If these three aspects of a Sim's university life fall too low they may be forced to leave the University due to inappropriate behaviour (Indicated by the Sim needing to visit the Social Counselor three or more times within a semester), being kicked out of the dorm (Indicated by the Sim having low relationships with most or all of their dorm roommates), failing a class more than twice (Indicated by the end of Semester grading card) or due to sullying the University's reputation (Indicated by a Sim's performance at University events).
As with careers the player's Sim will need to fulfill the needs of their University Classes to get good grades. Getting exceptional grades will earn the player's Sim a distinction which has social benefits for other Sims in that career path as well as helping improve relevant skills. The player's Sim can have between 1-3 Classes during a Semester with the amount selected being determined by the player at the start of each Semester.
University Events are one of the key elements of visiting University in The Sims 5 alongside getting a degree, they offer opportunities for the player's Sim to develop relationships with a wide variety of Sims, improve their standing in the University itself as well as help build connections for particular skill-based events outside of University. Events at University can include Skill competitions (such as Aerobics, Billiards, Cooking, Singing, Chess, Robotics & Exploration), Dorm Parties, University Clubs, Student Elections and Graduation Ceremonies.
Personal Business
The Sims 5 includes in its base game the ability to own and operate a Sim-owned business. Unlike Careers which have pre-built lots, Sim-Owned Businesses can be custom designed although like Household Lots there are pre-made rooms which can help the player if they're having trouble. Sim-Owned Businesses can come in two varieties in terms of locations, Community Lots like other businesses or Household businesses which operate out either the same household lot the Sim lives on or as part of an Apartment Lot.
Sim-Owned Businesses can have a wide variety of skills associated with their success mainly dependent on what is being sold. The player can set up businesses which sell particular objects such as Food, Clothing, Household Objects or Decorations as well as businesses which provide a service such as Museums, Night Clubs, Arcades and Indoor Sports. A major element of gameplay is handling the business which includes Hiring, Promoting and Firing employees, buying and selling stock, advertising to promote the business, holding special events and general store maintenance.
If a business sells a certain product the Sim is able to typically create the product themselves or buy it from a supplier, this in particular applies to industrial products such as packaged foods which are otherwise unavailable to be stocked. The player is able to set the prices for products either on a specific basis or as a whole store mark-up percentage and can also put sales on once a product has been sold for a particular amount of time (dependent on the game time scale).
Sim-Owned Businesses also come with a number of unique objects for running the business which aren't available in standard Households such as a Delivery Warehouse, Cash Register and Communal Lavatory Objects.
A unique aspect of the businesses is that it gives the player access to objects and clothing otherwise non-selectable in Create-a-Sim or Buy Mode. Although the player can with high enough Skill levels for the relevant skills (such as Tailor and Invention), for most Sims business will sell the items that the player may wish to have. For some options primarily those found in Vacation locations, those specialized businesses are the only ways of obtaining said items.
Seasons
Seasons are a base-game implemented feature within The Sims 5, which along with an improved Weather system can give the surrounding environment a great deal of variety in terms of events, special interactions and effects on the Sims as well. Unlike prior games, The Sims 5 does not feature the typical 4 seasons of Autumn, Winter, Spring & Summer but rather has 10 Seasons;
*Monsoon Season - Heavy rain, mild temperatures, can cause flooding and water damage. Most common season to see thunder storms and power outages.
*Muggy Season - Very humid season, frequently rains and common to see rapid growth of weed-like plants, many collectible animals are much easier to find and mud patches can form in the neighbourhood.
*Swelter Season - Very hot, although rain is uncommon in this season when it does rain it frequently generates thunderstorms. Wildfires can break out in this season and bonus activities particular regarding the beach become available.
*Arid Season - Rather considerable temperature flux during this season, never rains and while days are hot, nights are just as cold. With the exception of freak accidents this is the hardest season for Gardening and Farming due to the increased need for plants to be watered and risk of wilting.
*Arctic Season - Very cold, snow is quite common in this season and can build up potentially requiring Sims to shovel snow around their houses. Many winter-based activities are available in this season that are otherwise more situational in other seasons.
*Dawn Season - Chilly temperatures but accompanied by many natural beauties including the unique phenomena of Aurora Simularis which can appear at night, although temperatures are quite low some plants can thrive as well as Sims being able to skate on the frozen over bodies of water.
*Blossom Season - Mild temperatures, typically accompanied by light showers although rarely generates more than puddles. The primary attraction of this season is mass bloomings which can lead to Hay Fever as well as many rare and exotic seeds being able to be found throughout. Insects are especially common during this season and Beekeeping gains many benefits.
*Dew Season - Mild temperatures but considerable rain throughout. It is quite common to see fog and mist form during the morning and late evenings during this season. Many strange events exist during this season and Sims can end up dazed and confused as well as having strange reactions.
*Balmy Season - A warm season which is closely comparable to the harvest season, yields from gardening and farming are increased and songbirds are very common. Some trees will lose their leaves generating giant leaf piles which can be interacted with and a special variant of the Dinner Party event in a Sim's household can be held.
*Dreary Season - A very cold season with snow, rain and hail. This season has the shortest daylight of any season and as such has a number of unique night-based interactions not normally possible. Mushrooms grow more easily in this season and the Sad emotion has some unique benefits during this season not present otherwise.
In regular gameplay the Seasons will rotate based on the lifespan of the Sims, the standard rotation of the Season goes; Swelter, Arid, Muggy, Monsoon, Dew, Dreary, Arctic, Dawn, Blossom, Balmy. The player can however change this in the options menu to be set to a single season or random in which case the Season will change randomly to any season that shares a quality with it (e.g. Arid, Dreary, Arctic & Dawn all share the Cold seasonal aspect).
Daytime Leisure
Daytime Leisure encompasses activities and unique aspects of a Sim's life that is considered generally separate from the activities seen in Night Life. As with prior games in the series The Sims 5 allows the player to engage their Sims in a variety of activities and hobbies. Hobbies typically will develop a Skill and can be initiated at a Household Lot, Community Lot or by exploring the open world. Many hobbies are able to develop into interests which a Sim can have either given to them in Create-A-Sim or develop naturally as the player has their Sims interact with objects in the world. Interests can grow and wane over time although because of the returning Memories system, Sims with strong memories related to particular interests will never have those interests fully fade.
Many unique daytime events can occur in The Sims 5 some related to schooling for Child & Teenage Sims such as Field Trips and School Fairs while others such as Nature Walks, Community Meetings, Hiking Expeditions and Camp-Outs can offer opportunities for any Sim to develop their skills and relationships. The Clubs system from The Sims 4 also returns, allowing the player to create and join Clubs, Clubs can have a variety of roles although have been streamlined from the predecessor and focus more on a singular interest or group of interests.
A new Lot Type introduced in The Sims 5 that are important to Daytime Leisure are Sub Lots which are small pre-made Community Lots which can offer the opportunity to develop one or more Skills and Interests. Sometimes these Sub Lots are attached to larger Community Lots while others can be isolated and quite hidden in the overworld.
Apartments
Apartments are a returning variant of Household Lots in The Sims 5. Apartments allow the player to have Sims live closely with other Sims although in separate households, there are a number of restrictions when playing in an Apartment, primarily with regards to the Build Mode as the player cannot change the room structure of an Apartment unless they own the complex as a whole.
Apartments also differ from Houses as the player can have Sims choose to Rent or Own an Apartment. Owning an Apartment is very similar to a house as the Sims will need to pay for their Utility bills but are otherwise free to operate as they choose. Renting offers its own set of advantages and disadvantages, the cost of Renting is lower than the Bills cost however Apartments will have restrictions in other aspects such as loud sounds after a certain time of day, access to certain household objects and activities in the Apartment and some Apartments include a curfew which can lock a Sim out of the apartment if they get home too late.
Apartments also have a variety of activities unique to them which revolve around Apartment Parties and Meetings which give the player a chance to have their Sims interact with the other Sims living in the apartment complex and can petition to make changes to the Apartment.
The player can also create Apartments on Household Lots, although some basic requirements need to be met for a Lot to be considered acceptable as an Apartment Complex, one of the notable aspects is that the player needs to define an Apartment itself within the complex which must include the following;
# A Bedroom - Including a Bed and Dresser
# A Living Room - Including a Two-Seater or greater and a source of Fun (e.g. Stereo, TV, Computer)
# A Kitchen - Including a Fridge, Sink, Stove and Bin
# A Bathroom - Including a Sink, Shower and Toilet
It should be noted the rooms do not need to be separated aside from the Bathroom and so it is possible to have an Apartment comprised of two rooms, a hybrid Bed-Living-Kitchen Room and a Bathroom.
Apartments that the player creates may be saved as a template allowing the player to create identical apartments quite easily as well as rotating or flipping the layout. Apartment Complexes also come with their own unique objects which need to be included such as the Apartment Mailbox and Apartment Key Box. A player who owns an Apartment Complex may also operate a business on the same lot or rent out a non-occupied space for other Sims to use as a personal business, this can even extend to Sims who live in the Apartment itself.
If the player owns an Apartment Complex like with other Sim-owned businesses they can adjust the Rental Price and Buy Price for Apartments as well as any rules for the apartment which can affect whether a Sim will choose to live there or not, they can also add a variety of amenities to improve the likelihood that a Sim will want to stay at the Apartment.
Life Stage Events
Life Stage Events are special events that can occur in The Sims 5 which are related to specific stages of a Sim's life. Many of these events can take the form of activities that only a particular Life Stage or group of Life Stages can participate in while others are unique gameplay aspects related to particular life stages in particular for earlier life stages with developing skills which carry over into adulthood.
Infant Sims
For Infants, much of the events revolve around events that can give them strong memories and help develop their skills and interests. Infants are uniquely influenced by the Sims around them as well as their surroundings and as such can develop particular traits depending on those qualities such as if Sims are prone to fighting, keep the household very clean, practice the arts and alike. A frequent event that can show up for Infant Sims to perform is Mimic ... which can allow an Infant Sim to mimic something they've witnessed from an older Sim, this is typically related to one of the various Skills present in The Sims 5 although can also apply to particular moods an older Sim might be in when around Infant Sims. A unique Activity for Infant Sims is the Crib Breakout which can only occur when the rest of the household (aside from Pets, Toddlers and other Infants) are asleep, the Infant Sim can acquire a number of unique advantages from this activity and is particularly beneficial for Sims that lean towards the Body, Perception and Logic Base Skills.
Toddler Sims
Toddlers life stage similar to prior games is focused around building the basic motor skills and communication skills and similar to prior games, raising a Toddler to meet these learning needs can give bonuses towards different skill acquisition in later life stages. Toddlers in The Sims 5 have eight thresholds which each correspond to a Base Skill and the returning potty training;
* Walking - Body
* Talking - Charisma
* Care - Naturalism
* The Arts - Creativity
* Puzzle Solving - Logic
* Building - Mechanical
* Identification - Perception
* Potty Training
Toddlers have a wide variety of interactions that can develop their personality and will from growing from an Infant have one of several unique Toddler Traits which function similarly to rudimentary adult Traits and can be retained if the player bolsters that trait through actions. Toddlers, along with Infants and Children can also be taken care of by a Nanny through the services or can be uniquely taken to Kindergarten which can have their needs met and help develop their thresholds, although this can effect the Toddler's relationship with their parents as a result.
Child Sims
The Child Life stage nuch like prior games has a great deal of focus around schooling and extra-curricular activities. Child Sims are able to start a Stall business which can be useful as depending on what the Sim is selling can improve their Skills. Child and Teenage Sims can also join the Scouts like in The Sims 4 allowing them to attend meetups and special camping events as well as work towards earning badges which correlate with different skills particularly for Bod and Naturalist.
The main factor around a Child Sim’s education are their grades, by completing homework as well as performing activities related to a Child Sim’s school subjects can help get a high grade. Activities that can raise a subject’s grade include Science Fairs, Spelling Bees, Reading Circles (not an activity exclusive to Child Sims), Sports Carnivals and Field Excursions.
Child Sims also have a number of unique events tied to them such as the Parent-Child Festival, School Dance, School Camp and Bring your Kid to Work Day. Some unique events are shared with Teenage Sims such as the School Graduation Ceremony and Sleepovers while others are common across Toddler, Child and Teenage Sims like the Amusement Park and a number of season-based holiday events.
Teenager Sims
Teenagers share many aspects with Children with again a focus on schooling, however with a greater deal of freedom and focus on building relationships. A new feature present for Teenagers in The Sims 5 is that of Cliques which are special friend groups exclusive to Teenagers who share common traits, personalities and interests along with a few other potential commonalities. Cliques have a degree of similarity to the Clubs from The Sims 4 in that they're able to be formed by the player or exist on their own accord and can have special activities attached to them.
Teenagers also have two Thresholds which function similar to the Thresholds seen in the Toddler life stage however are related entirely to building up the necessary qualities for University and building a strong network of Relationships among the neighbourhood.
* Golden Student - Building this threshold will improve a Sim's acceptance rate into University as a Young Adult and provides bonuses towards whatever career they specialize into. Attaining the threshold is primarily done through good grades although is also given alternative ways of improving such as having Teachers, Professors and the Principal visit the Sim's household, performing charitable acts for the community and/or school or choosing the Volunteer Part-Time Job.
* Golden Friend - Building this threshold will greatly boost a Sim's Charisma skill and can give them a number of unique interactions as well as an innate boost to their relationship with other Sims. Attaining the threshold is done through social events that are hosted by the Teenage Sim and include House Parties, Sleepovers and Proms. The threshold also requires a Sim to build friendships although Romantic and Hobbyist based relationships are also acceptable. The player can also reach the threshold through activities involving Scouts and Field Excursions as well as having late night events.
Another unique aspect of Teenage Sims is the effects on their Mood, although Infant and Toddler life stages also have some degree of unpredictable emotional effects, Teenage Sims are the most dramatic and can often swing a Teenage Sim's emotions from very positive to very negative. Mood Swings are a unique mechanic to Teenage Sims and typically a Teenage Sim will develop the Mood Swing trait which will cause them to gravitate towards two particular emotional states, changing roughly every 12 in-game hours, the specific emotional states differ from Sim to Sim although can be influenced by their personality.
Young Adult Sims
Young Adult Sims have a number of unique interactions specific to their life stage that mainly revolve around University, Careers and Adulthood Firsts. Young Adult Sims are able to throw a variety of unique parties when they do their first of several things including First Rental, First House, First Car, First University Degree and First Full-Time Job. Young Adult Sims also have a number of unique events that revolve around getting them to develop a large number of relationships and include Work Inductions which can help build Professional Relationships, something rarely seen prior to this life stage and Night Outs which can be useful for introducing a Sim to many other Sims and building initial romantic relationships.
Young Adult Sims along with the later life stages also have a number of events such as Weddings, Family Getaways and various interest and skill-based Group Activities which can be initiated by them, although these can involve some of the younger life stages, it is only from Young Adults onwards that these activities can be hosted by the Sim in question.
One of the new events present for Young Adult Sims is the Spotlight event which functions somewhat akin to what was seen in previous Fame based expansion packs. Young Adults will periodically get special actions the player needs to deal with which can range from work-related to social and can form distinct memories as well as give other Sims an initial impression of the Young Adult Sim as a result. These events can also effect things like Job performance and initial starting rank if the Young Adult Sim changes careers.
More TBA
Create-A-Sim
Create-A-Sim is the primary method by which the player can create new Sims in The Sims 5 as well as edit existing ones. Create-A-Sim functions similarly to prior entries and like many other character creators. The player is able to alter many elements of their Sim including their general physical appearance and clothing even to character specific qualities such as Age, Physique, Sex & Personality. When generating a new Sim, all of these options are able to be adjusted however it should be noted that when accessing the Create-A-Sim for a Sim currently present in-game, only the corresponding element of Create-A-Sim can be adjusted when accessed such as; Clothing (from Dressers, Mirrors & Wardrobes), Make-Up (from Bathroom Sinks, Make-Up Tables), Hair (from Brushes, Combs, Hairdryers & Barbers) & Tattoos (from Tattoo Artists).
General Information
As with prior Sims games, during Create-A-Sim, the player has a variety of options for the general information of their Sim. This is information pertaining to their Name, starting Life Stage, Sex, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Romantic Orientation, Height, Weight, Base Fitness & Voice.
The player is able to give their Sims a first and last name as well as optionally up to three middle names and an honorific. By default the game will provide honorifics such as Mr, Mrs and Miss as well as options such as Sr, Jr, Li'l and Big. The player can have two Honorifics before their Sim's first name and one Honorific after their Sim's first name. Some Honorifics also become available when a Sim meets certain in-game requirements and includes honorifics; Sir, Madam, Dr and The Artist formerly known as.
As with prior games the player can select which of the seven available life stages their Sim will start out as. New to The Sims 5 is the option to adjust within a Life Stage where a Sim starts, this allows Sims to be marginally older or younger than other Sims adding an additional level of detail to customization. The seven life stages in The Sims 5 are;
#Infant
#Toddler
#Child
#Teenager
#Young Adult
#Adult
#Elder
As with The Sims 4, The Sims 5 has a great deal of customization when it comes to a Sim's romantic and sexual aspects. The player is able to select what pronouns a Sim goes by with the defaults He/Him, She/Her, They/Them as well as being able to generate a custom set as well. The player may also select their Sim's role (or lack thereof) in regards to pregnancy, whom their Sim is attracted to romantically and sexually respectively as well as whether the Sim is open to experimenting. Additionally as was present in The Sims 4, the player is able to customize how their Sim reacts to particular romantic situations particularly in terms of being Cheated on.
Returning from The Sims 3, sliders appear that allow the player to adjust their Sims Height, Weight and Base Fitness. Although minor changes may be made in a Sim's physical appearance to specific parts of their body. It should be noted that when adjusting these sliders, silhouettes will appear for later life stages to help the player understand how their Sim will look throughout their life.
The last aspect of general information able to be altered in Create-A-Sim is the Sim's Voice. As with prior Sim's games the player is able to select from preset voice types and adjust their pitch. A new addition to The Sims 5 is to adjust the Vocal Speed of their Sim which alters how quickly they speak, it should be noted this is purely visual and doesn't affect gameplay as a slow speaking Sim and a fast speaking Sim will complete any task at the same rate.
Physical Appearance
A Sim's physical appearance refers to their body and facial structure and includes aspects of the Sim's appearance such as their skin tone, skin details (such as freckles, moles, beauty spots, scars, etc.), eye colour, hair colour and facial hair for masculine Sims. Similar to The Sims 4 the player is able to mold the face to a great level of detail with various presets being available for the player to adjust from. Detail adjustments also return and add further specifications when the player wants to adjust a single aspect of a region of the Sim's face.
Sim's facial regions are split into major regions which are; Forehead, Temples, Eyebrows, Eyes, Nose Bridge, Nostrils, Cheek Bones, Cheeks, Lips, Chin, Jaw & Ears. Several of these are further split into sub-regions which allow for a level of precision between the more broad major regions and the micro adjustments of detail adjustments and are as follows; Front Hairline (Forehead), Glabella (Forehead), Side Hairline (Temples), Inner Eyebrow (Eyebrow), Outer Eyebrow (Eyebrow), Upper Eyelid (Eyes), Iris (Eyes), Pupil (Eyes), Eyelashes (Eyes), Lower Eyelid (Eyes), Nosetip (Nose Bridge), Ala of Nose (Nostrils), Infraorbital (Cheek Bones), Philtrum (Lips), Upper Lip (Lips), Lower Lip (Lips), Mentolabial Crease (Chin), Chin Tip (Chin), Ramus (Jaw), Jaw Angle (Jaw), Helix (Ears), Lobule (Ears), Tragus (Ears).
The body can similarly be adjusted although similar to The Sims 4 this is more focused on the overall shape. The adjustments made to a Sim's body in Physical Appearance work alongside changes to their Height and Weight meaning the player doesn't need to readjust these aspects when adjusting their Sim's height and weight. The regions of body sculpting in The Sims 5 are; Neck, Shoulder Girdle, Shoulder Joint, Ribcage, Breast (Feminine only), Torso, Obliques, Hips, Pelvic Girdle, Hip Joint, Lats, Buttocks, Crotch (Masculine only), Biceps, Triceps, Forearm, Palms, Fingers, Thumbs, Upper Legs, Knee Joint, Lower Legs, Feet.
There is additionally an option when editing a Sim to enable Asymmetry allowing the player to make changes to one side of a Sim without also being applied to the other side. The player may enable and disable Asymmetry at any point while creating a Sim, although there is also an option to remove asymmetrical changes to a Sim resetting them to a symmetric appearance, this feature also extends to other parts of the Create-A-Sim such as clothing and accessories and allows the player to give Sims Heterochromia.
Hair and Facial Hair come in a wide variety of options in The Sims 5. As with The Sims 4, hair is sorted into groups based on length although are now separated as; Military Short, Short, Medium, Neck Length, Shoulder Length & Very Long. There are also sub-options to specify certain types of hair including; Braided, Curly, Wavy, Straight and Tails. The Colour wheel feature from The Sims 3's return also allows the player to give their Sim a wide variety of different hair colours although a new addition is the specification between a Sim's natural hair colour and dyed hair, which can be useful for more control over what genetic features get passed down from parent to child and what are purely cosmetic. The player can also select an option when colouring hair called Bisected Hair Colours, if enabled this splits the two sides of the Sim's hair allowing them to be coloured differently from one another, however this only applies to dyed hair and will not work with the natural hair colour selection. Facial Hair features many of the same qualities and changes as head hair and features a greatly enhanced variety of styles for the Sim's facial hair. Like head hair, facial hair is split into several categories; Small Moustaches, Big Moustaches, Handlebars, Mutton Chops, Goatees, Chinstraps, Beards & Full Beards. Unlike prior games, the player can mix and match some facial hair options together, this is because Facial Hair is separated into three regions (Upper Lip, Sides & Chin), of which all facial hair is placed in at least one region.
Clothing
Clothing in The Sims 5 sees a mixture of of design elements from prior games when it comes to clothing. As with prior games, The Sims 5 features a number of clothing categories, defining what a Sim should wear for different occasions and includes the following;
* Everyday Clothes - Clothes worn by default, a Sim will naturally change into these clothes at a random time between 5AM-9AM or after having a shower/bath or when before exiting their house.
** Homely Clothes - Clothes typically worn on a Sim's day off or when they're doing activities mainly around the house. This clothing overrides Everyday clothing while a Sim is in their house although can be disabled if the player wants.
* Formal Clothes - Clothes worn for formal events such as Dinner Parties, Weddings & Graduation Ceremonies. Sims will automatically change into this clothing if they're attending one of these formal events and also if the activity Boss visiting the home occurs.
** Casual Formal Clothes - Clothes worn for formal events with less ceremonial aspects like Dinner Parties, Union Meetings and Rallies. This clothing overrides Formal clothing for such events although can be disabled if the player wants.
* Party Clothes - Clothes worn for informal events including House Parties, Casual Dates and many Dorm activities when a Sim is at University.
** Flirty Clothes - Clothes worn specifically for dates, a Sim will automatically change into this clothing before leaving the house. This clothing overrides both Formal clothing and Party clothing for any form of Romantic Date although can be disabled if the player wants.
* Athletic Clothes - Clothes worn when a Sim performs a physically demanding activity. These clothes are always used for activities that raise skills like Aerobics, Mountaineering, Running and Bodybuilding.
* Sleeping Clothes - Clothes worn when a Sim goes to sleep, when a Sim wakes up they will typically stay in this clothing until they change into their Everyday clothing or another type where required.
** Special Woohoo Clothes - Clothes worn by a Sim when they're engaging in Woohoo with a Sim they have a very high romance with and know their Interests. This clothing overrides Sleeping clothing during Woohoo although can be disabled if the player wants. (Note: This clothing only applies to Woohoo and not Try for Baby)
* Swimming Clothes - Clothes worn by a Sim when they go swimming either in a pool or ocean as well as just visiting the beach or a Swim Park.
* Seasonal Clothes - Not a singular set but rather refers to clothes worn when the weather is Very Hot, Very Cold, Very Wet or Very Pleasant. Each option can be disabled individually if the player prefers to have their Sim wear their Everyday clothing. Seasonal clothing doesn't override the other types of clothing when it is enabled.
The Sims 5 sees also a great deal of variety increased when it comes to how the player can customize their Sim's clothing specifically with an enhanced Layering System being included which allows for multiple upper and lower layers to be mixed and matched to the player's preference. The player is also able to select a Simplified version of the Layering System when altering a Sim's clothing which will group like clothing categories together and create in-built layered clothing options for players. As with other features in The Sims 5, the colour wheel and create-a-style also returns allowing the player to completely customize the visual aspect of their Sims' clothing including Colours, Patterns and Texture. The layers in picking clothing are, please note that layers within the clothing groups are listed from highest to lowest meaning some lower layers may not be visible beneath higher layers;
* Headwear - Clothing that covers the Sims' head. This clothing can be locked meaning the selected clothing will carry over between all clothing categories.
** Hats
** Face Garbs
** Neck
* Shirts - Clothing that covers the Sims' torso.
** Coats
** Jackets & Jumpers
** Overshirts
** Undershirts
** Bras (Note: Cannot be removed on Feminine Sims)
* Gloves - Clothing that covers the Sims' hands. This clothing can be locked meaning the selected clothing will carry over between all clothing categories.
* Legwear - Clothing that covers the Sims' legs.
** Pants
** Leggings
** Underwear (Note: Cannot be removed)
* Footwear - Clothing that covers the Sims' feet.
** Shoes
** Socks
* Full Body - Refers to unique clothing and costumes that cover the whole body, this overrides the other clothing layers when used and so cannot be mixed with.
The Asymmetry feature also appears in clothing although is limited as it only effects the Gloves and Footwear clothing groups however does allow the player to mix and match their Sims' gloves, socks and shoes.
Accessories
Accessories return as a component of Clothing, allowing the player to customize additional elements of their Sim's appearance. Accessories are able to be set as All Clothing or Specific Clothing which denotes whether that accessory will appear on all clothing the Sim wears or only some. The player can see all the Accessories a Sim is currently wearing and adjust which clothing they appear on in a separate menu from the one that lets them select what accessories to add for ease of access.
Accessories in The Sims 5 encompass a wide variety but are separated into the following categories;
*Hair Accessories - Includes Hair Pins, Scrunchies, Ribbons and alike, some will forcibly change a Sim's hairstyle if used. Many Hair accessories can be moved around the head of a Sim and a Sim can have up to six movable hair accessories on their Sim at any given time although if a Sim has symmetrical hair accessories they count as double.
*Earrings - Includes all types of Earrings, Earrings can range from studs to complex designs and many include jewels which can be enabled or disabled if the player prefers to not include them. Earrings can be asymmetrical having an Earring only in one ear or different earrings in both. A sim can have up to four earrings on each ear although the positions are always set with three along the lobule and one at the top of the helix.
*Piercings - Piercings include any type of body piercing a Sim may have this mainly is attributed to the face but also includes other areas with the options being; Eyebrow, Upper Cheek, Nostril, Septum of the Nose, Philtrum, Upper Lip, Lower Lip, Chin, Jaw, Tongue, Nipple (Masculine Sims only) and Bellybutton. Piercings do allow for a degree of asymmetry although always follows the location where the Piercing was selected for, in addition Piercings come in a number of types including Studs, Bull Rings, Half Hoops, Hoops and Bars.
*Neck Accessories - Neck Accessories refers to anything around the Sim's neck although may hang around their shoulders as well, it typically includes Chains and Necklaces as well as Pendants. Sims can have up to four neck accessories with layering altering how they can appear on the Sim.
*Arm Accessories - Arm Accessories refers to anything on a Sim's upper or lower arm not including their wrist. Various exercise bands and bangles are included in this and the player can have up to two Arm Accessories for each arm although symmetrical arm accessories count towards both arms.
*Hand Accessories - Hand Accessories refers to anything on a Sim's wrist or hands, this includes bracelets and rings. Collectively a Sim can have up to eleven hand accessories on each side, the most for any article of clothing, however it should be noted that the eleventh slot is always exclusive to the marital rings (engagement & wedding respectively) and so can only be added in Create-A-Sim if the Sim is married or through gameplay.
*Ankle Accessories - Ankle Accessories refers to anything on a Sim's ankle. Anklets as well as Leg Warmers are the most common type of Ankle Accessory.
*Foot Accessories - Foot Accessories refers to anything on a Sim's foot and is mainly for Toe Rings. The player is limited to five foot accessories per foot on their Sim.
Make-Up and Tattoos although part of the Accessories section in Create-A-Sim are generally separated from the rest due to their additional complexity.
Make-Up in The Sims 5 is largely similar to previous entries with the player able to in-depth customize their Sim's makeup ranging from its colour and intensity, patterns and brush styles, size and location. The player can also layer make-up allowing a Sim to have very unique appearances as a result. Make-Up encapsulates the following; Blush, Eyeliner, Eyeshadow, Lipstick & Eyelashes. The player can also use skin foundation which slightly alters a Sim's whole face colour compared to the rest of their body.
Tattoos also return in The Sims 5 and come in a wide variety of designs, unlike prior games Tattoos are not specific to different parts of the body, rather the player can move a tattoo around a Sim's body and adjust its scale, rotation, length-width ratio, colour and opacity. A Sim can have up to ten Tattoos on their body although symmetrical tattoos do count as two tattoos.
Personality
Defining a Sims' personality in The Sims 5 is given additional depth compared to prior games. As with The Sims 3 and The Sims 4, the Traits system returns allowing the player to select a number of traits for their Sim to have, in addition Aspirations which first appeared in The Sims 2 also return as well as Interests a retooling of the Likes and Dislikes sub-system from The Sims 4.
Traits
Traits can affect a wide variety of qualities about a Sim ranging from their ability to enjoy certain activities to unique interactions they can have. A Sim can have up to six traits naturally as an Adult, although it is required at least one Trait must be a Character Flaw, a trait denoted by a reddish tinge around its border and is generally detrimental to a player's Sim in one way or another.
Traits can be acquired and lost during regular gameplay although the events that incite them can at times be quite rare if not intentionally triggered. Some Traits also have the ability to become Great Traits during gameplay, by playing into a Trait, the player has the opportunity through an event to bolster that trait giving it a greenish tinge around its border and amplifying the positive elements of that trait.
During character creation a Sim can be generated as a Young Adult, Adult or Elder with up to 6 Traits. Unlike prior games the player doesn't need to fill all Trait slots if they choose not to. Uniquely however, The Sims 5 features a total of 9 Traits for a Sim to have at any given time. The amount of Traits a Sim can have in earlier life stages is slightly less with Teenagers having 7, Children having 4, Toddlers having 2 and Infants having 1.
Aspirations
Aspirations are a Sims' primary goal, there are a considerable amount of Aspirations present in The Sims 5 having expanded from the The Sims 4. Aspirations are typically driving goals that a Sim aims to achieve over their lifetime, they can range from some quality of the Sim themselves to the Sims they surround themselves with or aspects of the lot they reside on. The player may choose one Aspiration when creating a Sim although may have the opportunity to change that Aspiration during gameplay if they push a Sim heavily towards the succession criteria for another Aspiration, however it is always up to the player to make that decision.
Fulfilling the goals of an Aspiration can unlock a variety of benefits from improving the player's Sim making gameplay more lax giving the player more time to use their Sim freely to as well as unlocking physical items in-game tied to that Aspiration or general Aspiration succession.
Interests
Interests are a returning element from The Sims 2 and The Sims 4 which not only includes what a Sim likes and dislikes but also includes their Turn-Ons and Turn-Offs. Interests are defined by 5 General Interests, 2 Desires and 1 Repulsion. Any Adult Sim will have all of these filled.
General Interests are topics that a Sim will like to talk about with other Sims and generally helps with satisfying their Fun and Comfort Needs. Unlike The Sims 4 which had this limited to three specific aspects, in The Sims 5 it instead generally applies to a wide variety of things ranging from Careers and Activities to Hobbies and Items. Each General Interest has match-up criteria with other General Interests and a Sims' average of those match-ups will determine whether they enjoy or dislike other Interests, it should be noted however that as long as a Sim has an Interest they will receive 100% enjoyment from it, overriding any dislike presented by their other Interests.
Desires and Repulsions are the retooling of Turn-Ons and Turn-Offs from prior The Sims games. In general the Desires and Repulsions a Sim has will affect their Flirty-Disgust Emotional Scale as well as how well they are to connect with another Sim. Sims with complementary Desires are more likely to develop a romantic relationship as opposed to a platonic relationship. Repulsions also give a Sim things they will not find appealing, more specific Repulsions although rarer will have a more detrimental effect on the Sims' emotional scale and can make it more difficult for them to develop any positive relationship with a Sim that has those qualities.
NPC Behaviour
NPC Behaviour is an important aspect of The Sims 5 and denotes what both playable and non-playable Sims are able to do when not directed by the player. Within the options menu there are a variety of choices for the player to make about how the Non-Playable Sims (NPCs) behave, and includes the following decisions;
*Aging - If enabled, NPCs will age up alongside playable Sims, Sims will be able to die of old age. It should be noted that whether enabled or not this will not prevent an NPC Sim from getting pregnant if they Try for Child with a playable Sim and also does not prevent accidental deaths for NPC Sims such as Drowning, Electrocution, Burning, etc.
*Family - If enabled, NPCs will depending on their personality build a family, this includes NPCs becoming engaged, getting married and having children irrespective of the player's direct actions. Some behaviours around romance also become enabled with this option such as Hopeless Romantic, Liar, Liar and Vain Sims being prone to cheating on their existing partners or spouses with other Sims.
*Buying - If enabled, NPCs will purchase and add furnishings to their house that relate to the NPC Sims' personality, aspirational goals and current careers. It also extends to meeting the requirements if a household's dynamic changes due to someone leaving the household (dying or otherwise) or someone being added to the household such as a spouse or new child. This option will also allow Sims as they progress in their careers or develop stronger finances to upgrade their existing furniture with more expensive counterparts as long as they're still able to use the new furniture within the living space. The game utilizes the Room Designation system to determine where to place new purchases although may adjust some rooms into dual-function rooms to meet overall needs.
**Building - If enabled, NPCs will alter the physical shape of their house, this is done through either expanding or shrinking the rooms, altering the external furnishings and terrain as well as adding new rooms where needed. The game utilizes an in-built Pre-Build feature that evolved from the Pre-Furnished Rooms system in The Sims 4 to determine what to add. It should be noted that alterations to existing rooms will only occur to make the house more space efficient or if upgraded furniture requires additional space. This option can only be enabled when the Buying option is also enabled.
*Random Townies - If enabled, the game will generate new random NPCs in the game, these NPCs will come with a randomly generated family for their bio as well as career and personality. These NPCs will appear to roam about and appear during events not hosted by a playable Sim, the player is able to interact with these randomly generated NPCs although if their relationship scale does not exceed the 2nd level the NPC will be removed from the neighbourhood after 2-7 In-Game days (depending on Game Length). If disabled, NPCs that appear in-game will only be those on existing lots or in the Saved Households.
**Random Townies+ - If enabled, the game will allow existing NPCs to develop relationships with randomly generated Townies, this can allow randomly generated NPCs to enter the neighbourhood and join existing households or move into an unoccupied Lot. If used in conjunction with other NPC behaviour options such as Aging and Family this can result in the randomly generated NPCs aging, having children, developing romantic relationships and dying of old age.
Playable Sim Idle Behaviour
When not controlling a Sim directly, the playable Sims for the player will perform actions idly. This is generally done through a system based around the desires of the Sim (a combination of their Needs, Wants and Personality) as well as the general attraction objects in the household or visited Lot provide. Sims will generally choose an option which meets their Needs or aligns with their personality although there is a degree of random noise added which can make a Sim pick a non-optimal option.
If a playable Sim has a low enough Need in particular Hunger, Sleep & Bladder they will universally decide to perform an action at an appropriate piece of furniture (such as a Fridge for Hunger, Bed for Sleep or Toilet for Bladder) to refill that Need. Other needs have a lower priority but if a Need is low enough (~25% filled coloured Orange) then it will override more leisurely actions.
Within the options menu there are decisions on the priorities of playable Sims for what they should do when idle, these are presented by a set of blocks which can be ordered in whatever means the player chooses although are defaulted to as;
#Needs - Hunger, Energy, Bladder, Hygiene, Comfort, Fun, Social
#Relationships - Attempt to build friendly relationships with other Sims
#Skills (Personality) - Raises Skills if they align with the Sim's traits or aspirations
#Skills (Work) - Raises Skills needed to earn a promotion in their career or if relevant to their Freelance career
#Romance - Attempt to build romantic relationships with other Sims (requires an existing amount of romantic relationship)
#Wants - Attempt to fulfill immediate wants for the Sim
#House Maintenance - Cleans and Repairs the House, note this is for Sims without the Neat, Builder or Slob Traits which will override the position of this option
#Skills (Other) - Raises Skills the Sim has already got experience in that aren't related to their Personality or Work
#Mood - Maximizes the Emotional Scales towards positive emotions
#Skills (New) - Learn new Skills the Sim does not have any existing experience in, Skills are considered "New" until the player actively instructs the Sim to perform an action that raises that Skill
As with prior Sims games, the player also has the option to completely disable Idle Behaviour by disabling the Free Will option in the game's option menu.
Menu Options
As with other Sims games, the player is able to customize their game in a variety of ways from the game's menu. As described above in the section on NPC Behaviour there are a variety of options for how NPC Sims are able to behave and the degree of autonomous actions the player allows for their Sims.
The Sims 5 introduces in-depth time frames, building from the options previously seen in The Sims 3 and The Sims 4. In this respect the player is able to choose a variety of pre-set time frames to play by which determine how quickly Sims age up through the life stages as well as having an overall impact on Skill, Career and Relationships with longer time frames having a reduced rate of change while shorter time frames have an increased rate. The player is also able to customize their time frame which is represented as the total number of days for a Sim to live for and can range from 20 In-game days up to 2,000 In-game days, this functions similarly to how it was presented in The Sims 3 expansion pack Generations allowing the player to heavily focus their game around a particular life stage or skew the time frame to their preferences.
The Options also allow the player to enable or disable certain in-game events this includes the following;
*Moon Phases - Moon phases effect a wide variety of things in-game although primarily focus around the Creativity Skill and its derivatives as well as a Sim's general mood with different Moon Phases having different effects on a Player's Sim as a result of their personality.
*Weather - Weather effects both the purely visual and gameplay elements regarding weather. Weather can have a wide variety of effects including cancelling school days, create temporary bodies of water, damaging outdoor objects and more. (Note: Disabling Weather will also disable Seasons as the latter is dependant)
**Seasons - Seasons effects a wide variety of activities and events. Although Seasons can be disabled the game will always be locked to either the last Season it was being played in or one of the player's choice, although most activities and events are disabled some visual elements (such as Leaf colouration, Flowers blooming, presence of particular visual only animals, etc.) will still be present.
*Council - Council is an evolution of the Neighbourhood decisions that were introduced in The Sims 4 and are a series of events that occur which can alter various aspects of the neighbourhood, the effects of Council can vary and may influence the player's Sims' bills, pay rate in a career, access to careers, expected behaviour, activities to do in the neighbourhood, curfew, etc.
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