The Sims 4 Is Getting Major Quality of Life Changes – Here’s What Devs Revealed

Alright, I finally got to see one of the Official Sims Q&A sessions on Discord live! And let me tell you, this Sims September Q&A was filled with information! And jokes… which, honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way!

About the Q&A

It was a bit much to keep up with, and the chat was scrolling. So I am very glad the Sims team provides their own summary after the Q&A is complete. We’ll get to that shortly. The Sims September Q&A took place in the Sims Discord. The Sims team hosted this event: Morgan, Connor, and Carlos. The team answered questions and highlighted topics including the latest laundry list, the upcoming September Update, and October’s Food, Dining, & Drink Update.

Official Sims Q&A Notes

The Chat moved very fast in the Q&A, and I am glad they left the channel in Discord for a while. It helps to go back and review the information, even though it’s like walking/scrolling up a mountain. However, because the Sims team did such a lovely job summarizing the Q&A, I am going to quote it all here, and then we will look at some highlights.

September Quality of Life Q&A Recap

Sul Sul, Simmers!

Thank you to everyone who joined our latest Quality of Life Q&A with Morgan, Conor, and Carlos! We talked about the September 22 Base Game Update and gave an early look at October’s Food, Dining, and Drinks improvements.

Here’s what we talked about! 👇

🛠️ September 22 Base Game Update

The September update includes 95+ bug fixes, plus improvements to autonomy, relationships, stability, and more!

🧠 Smarter Sim Autonomy

* Several issues causing Sims to dance too frequently have been addressed.

* Sims who Dislike Dancing will no longer autonomously dance and will stop if a song they dislike comes on.

* Sims will no longer autonomously dance while painting.

* Repetitive TV watching has been addressed in some situations.

💚 Relationships & Family Dynamics

* Family Dynamics have been rebalanced so some aren’t triggered too frequently while rarer dynamics have more opportunities to appear.

* Relationship Satisfaction from Lovestruck has been adjusted, including a considerable reduction to relationship decay.

👶 Infants & 🎓 University

* Several infant fixes are coming, including improvements for cribs and infants incorrectly popping out of them.

* Discover University rotational gameplay is getting a fix so degree checks can account for Sims outside the currently active household.

 🎮 Stability

One of the top console crashes was related to controller navigation and memory usage. The team reworked how controller navigation grids are handled to address it, with additional crash work continuing into October.

Higher-risk fixes are also receiving additional testing through dedicated test charters and engineering reviews.

 🍽️ Looking Ahead to October

October’s Food, Dining, and Drinks work is still in development, but the team shared several areas we’re working on!

🏋️ Muscle & Weight Controls

Players will be able to globally enable or disable muscle and weight body changes, with an additional option to control them individually for specific Sims.

🍴 Food & Dining

* A calorie and pricing balancing pass is being done across food from all packs.

* Dine Out is receiving a number of bug fixes. This isn’t a refresh or overhaul, but the team is actively playtesting the restaurant experience with the improvements.

* We’re investigating Sims leaving dirty dishes in strange places.

* Open is being moved toward the front of the refrigerator pie menu.

* We’re investigating whether Sims can prioritize leftovers before making new meals.

* We’re looking into requests for lockable refrigerators.

* The team is exploring adding more existing recipes to Family Recipes.

⚠️ October is still in development, so features described as being investigated or explored aren’t guaranteed to ship.

✨ A Few More September Favorites

Expanded Buff View will no longer automatically close at 2x speed or higher. 🙌

* Several Build/Buy tagging issues are being fixed.

* Missing comfort values are being added to several sofas.

* A previously created failed push-up animation is being added to gameplay. 💪

* New free Base Game CAS and Build/Buy content for Children is coming, watch for the Patch Notes for more!

💚 Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who joined us, asked questions, and shared feedback! These conversations help us better understand what’s important to Simmers and give us more opportunities to share what’s happening behind the scenes.

We’ll have more to share with the September 22 Base Game Update , and as work continues on October’s Food, Dining, and Drinks improvements.

Final Thoughts

It is exciting to see all the work that is being done on the game. The focus on improving community wants and needs is also very nice. The amount of fixes coming, as 95+ in one update, is a lot, and that has me a little worried! I also wish that, in addition to the updates and fixes, there was a new expansion. I know we can dream; having both seems like I am, lol!

Even with my worries and wants for a new Expansion Pack, I am still excited to see this October update. The food and fitness system has seemed a bit out of date in The Sims for a while. So the update will be refreshing. And with the ability to disable weight changes, my Sim won’t have to spend extra time working out!

We will keep watching and posting updates as the next big game update is on September 22!