The latest free update to The Sims 4 will let you "define the conditions under which your Sims become jealous". That's handy. The new feature, called "Romantic Boundaries", will give you some settings to tweak that determine whether a Sim will be bothered when they see their partner flirting with the neighbour, or kissing the neighbour, or getting into bed with the neighbour, or becoming a blur of obscene pixels with the neighb- okay Cindy, stop! I'm not comfortable with this.
When I said we could open up I didn't mean with Nigel . You can make it so Sims will get bothered by "non-physical romance", such as a stranger complimenting their appearance. Or you can limit jealousy to kick in only when "physical romance" begins, like kissing and holding hands.
Or you can switch it all off completely to create the polyamorous couple of your dreams/nightmares . By default, any existing Sims in your saved games will all be fiercely jealous monogamous types. But newly created rando-Sims will vary on what they consider cheaty behaviour.
The patch notes go into more detail , but basically the new options appear in the character creation screen, alongside "Gender" and "Sexual orientation". The patch also changes some of the language of relationships to be more neutral, with "husband" and "wife" keywords getting replaced with the simple "spouse", while "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" have become "partner". There are other quality of life changes when it comes to relationships.
"Previously, the Partners relationship could only be established through gameplay," say the developers. "Now you can set it within Create a Sim between two Sims in your household." That's useful for setting up a couple straight off the bat.
This all comes ahead of the paid Lovestruck DLC , which is coming out tomorrow and is due to add a bunch of new dating options for romance-focused Sims. They can use a new dating app, for example. And you'll be able to set your wee peoples' "turn-ons" and "turn-offs" to help determine exactly how their romantic entanglements shake out.
But that's all the paid stuff - today's patch is a free update to the base simulation , basically prepping the ground for the new features the DLC will add. Alongside the changes, there are a bunch of other fixes and rejigs. As is my custom, here are the ones I found most enjoyable when read out-of-context.
The ability to customize Toddler Toenails has returned. Professors no longer run away when attempting to take them on a date. Sims on Horses no longer socialize with Sims through walls.
Ghost Sims are now available for "Ask on Date...
" from the Relationship Panel. Lips are synced so that Sims making out keep their lips on their kissing partner. No more awkwardly talking mid-kiss! When Sims get steamy in the shower from WooHoo, music now jazzes up the moment.
Like I say, the Lovestruck expansion pack is out tomorrow on Steam , and costs £35. Turns out money can buy you love..
