The latest free update to The Sims 4 will let you “set the conditions under which your Sims become jealous.” That’s handy. The up-to-date feature, called “Romantic Boundaries,” will give you a few customizable settings that will determine whether a Sim will be bothered by seeing their significant other flirting with the neighbor, kissing the neighbor, sleeping with the neighbor, or becoming a blur of obscene pixels with the neighbor—okay, Cindy, stop! I’m not comfortable with that. When I said we could open up, I didn’t mean it Nigel.
You can make Sims nervous about “non-physical romance,” such as a stranger complimenting their looks. You can also limit jealousy so that it only occurs when “physical romance,” such as kissing and holding hands, begins. You can also turn it off completely to create the polyamorous couple of your dreams/nightmares.
By default, all existing Sims in your saved games will be fiercely jealous and monogamous. But newly created random Sims will vary in what they consider cheating behavior. patch notes provide more detailsbut essentially the up-to-date options appear on the character creation screen, alongside “Gender” and “Sexual Orientation.” The patch also changes some of the relationship language to more neutral, with the keywords “husband” and “wife” being replaced with a basic “spouse,” while “boyfriend” and “girlfriend” have become “partner.”
There are other quality-of-life changes when it comes to relationships. “Previously, Partners could only be established through gameplay,” the developers say. “Now, you can set it up in Create a Sim between two Sims in your household.” That’s useful for starting a couple right away.
This is all happening ahead of the paid Lovestruck DLC, which is coming tomorrow and is set to add a ton of up-to-date dating options for romance-minded Sims. For example, they can operate a up-to-date dating app. You’ll be able to set “turn-ons” and “turn-offs” for your little humans to support determine exactly how their romantic connections will play out. But that’s all that’s paid for — today’s patch is a free update to the base sim, essentially setting the stage for the up-to-date features the DLC will add.
In addition to the changes, there are a ton of other fixes and edits. As is my wont, here are the ones I liked the most when I read them out of context.
- The ability to personalize toenails for petite children has been restored.
- Professors no longer run away when they want to ask a student out on a date.
- Sims on horses will no longer contact other Sims through walls.
- Ghost Sims can now be used as part of the “Ask on a Date…” feature in the Relationships Panel.
- Lips are synced so Sims kissing keep their lips on their kissing partner. No more awkward talking during the kiss!
- When Sims steam in the shower after WooHoo, music now accompanies the moment.
As I said, the Lovestruck expansion pack is tomorrow on Steamand it costs 35 pounds. It turns out that money Power I will buy your love.
