The Sims 4

How To Create Your Perfect Sim in The Sims 4

I want to make a Sim of you, and you, and you!

By Leah B. JacksonThe new Create-A-Sim tool in The Sims 4 is one of the most powerful in the game. It's been completely overhauled from The Sims 3 wardrobe-style customization, and thanks to its wide variety of features, it's now much easier to make your perfect Sims. I recently went hands-on with Create-A-Sim for an in-depth look at everything it has to offer.
I'll be honest, and admit I've spent a ton of time messing with Create-A-Sim in The Sims 3, trying to get my Sims looking just as I hoped. It's not exactly easy to create everyone in your life in The Sims 3 though, as it simply doesn't let you customize certain details. But now that The Sims 4 Create-A-Sim is here, those days are long gone.
Starting off with a new Sim, the only sliders you'll use are for his (or her) weight and fitness level. Once you've got that down, you'll use your mouse to select any part of your Sim to adjust him however you want. If you want your Sim to be fat, drag out his belly until you reach the desired bloated effect. Do you want him to have giant forearms and a broad chest? Easy. You can even change a Sim's posture this time around by dragging his spine, making him slump or stand tall.

The Sims 4 - Create A Sim Gameplay Trailer

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For those who love booty, you can now drag out the posterior area of a Sim too. There's even the ability to change the size of a Sim's feet, a first for The Sims series.
The developers refer to each area that you can change as a point of manipulation. While there are more of these points for the body of Sims than ever before, what's even more impressive is how detailed you can get with a Sim's facial structure.
As you zoom in to a Sim's face using the fine detail mode, hovering over just about anything will cause it to light up, showing every area you can customize further. You can adjust a Sim's chin, ears, eyebrows, nose (including the bridge and nostrils), mouth, cheeks, jaw, eyes, and even his pupils easily just by dragging them. No sliders here!
There are some templates you can use to set you on the right track, and I loved how I could really create exactly what I wanted by using the template as a base, then manipulating the Sim after. Selecting a template actually changes the bone structure of a Sim, allowing for more ethnicity options as well.

The Sims 4 - Character Customization Explored

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Moving away from the face and onto clothing, one major addition in The Sims 4 is how you can use any hat with any hairstyle. In previous games, changing your hat changed your hairstyle completely, but not anymore.
There are hundreds of clothing options for both male and female Sims, many of them coming with different pattern and color options. What I loved though, is how you can set multiple outfits for different categories. In previous Sims games you select one outfit for everyday, one for the gym, one for formal outings, and one for sleeping. In The Sims 4, you can select multiple outfits for each occassion, and you can choose from any type of clothing for each one. Want your Sims to sleep in a suit and work out in pajamas? Go for it.
For boot lovers like myself, I was also impressed by the new smart boot technology, that intelligently chooses when to display boots under or over pants. If a Sim has tight pants on, the boots will show up over them, whereas if the pants flare out, the boots will be covered. It's a small, but appreciated addition.

How to Build Your Perfect Home in The Sims 4

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You can also sort clothes and accessories in Create-A-Sim by color and material. If you're looking for a red leather jacket to go with your Sim's outfit, it's easy to find now rather than having to search through dozens of options.
Once you've created your Sim's look, you've also got to select a lifelong goal and some traits for him. This section seems quite similar to The Sims 3, though there are some new options and animations to go with them.

Building A Family With The Sims 4's New Genetics Tool

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The final section of Create-A-Sim that I got to try had to do with genetics. When two Sims love each other, they can go on to have children in The Sims 4. In addition to being able to create children that take cosmetic aspects straight from your own Sim, you can also create a whole family tree worth of Sims, including grandparents, parents, and siblings.
The whole Create-A-Sim experience in The Sims 4 is awesome. As a customization lover, I can really see myself getting in-depth with my Sims, and making a whole bunch of them based on people in real life. I haven't been able to see them in the actual game yet, but I'm pleased with how the tool has progressed from The Sims 3, and in that respect, I'm excited to try out the new home building tool too.