The Simsfranchise didn’t always have cars, but because of the progress demonstrated inThe Sims 2andThe Sims 3, it seemed natural for players to expect the return of cars inThe Sims 4. However, the game has been out for almost 7 years at this point, so it seems fruitless to continue to wish for the return of cars to the franchise.
The Sims 4has a lot of good qualities, some of which were implemented at a base game level. Vehicles, however, were not part of this equation. In fact, players can only use “vehicles” (boats or bikes) after purchasing DLC likeIsland Living,Discover University, orEco-Lifestyle. The sad reality is that usable cars are probably not coming in The Sims 4 - but that’s not inherently a bad thing.
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Cars in Past Sims Games
The Sims 2base gamedidn’t start out with players having personal cars, but the possibility was always there, even in the base game. NPCs, like the adoption agency or pest control, would show up in their own vehicles, and to go to other lots Sims would have to call a taxi to pick them up. Tweaking those mechanics to introduce personal cars withThe Sims 2: Nightlifewasn’t a tall order for the developer and added new gameplay options once personal vehicles were added to the game.
The Sims 3seemed to turn a new leaffor the franchise, introducing personal cars at a base game level instead of waiting for a DLC. However, this design choice made sense consideringThe Sims 3was open-world by design. Players could still get taxis to take their Sims places, but it was equally beneficial to have a personal vehicle at the ready. If players wanted more vehicle options, they could always purchaseThe Sims 3: Fast Lanestuff DLC. But vehicles were always accounted for in the design ofThe Sims 3, probably because of its open-world nature.
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Why Cars Won’t Make in The Sims 4
The Sims 4still has content planned through 2021, butthe game also turns 7 this year. For all intents and purposes, it’s kind of old. That’s not a bad thing, but it does mean that the developer may start turning its attention away fromThe Sims 4to focus on other projects, likeThe Sims 5. At its core,The Sims 4wasn’t designed to have usable cars - if it was, there would probably still be a taxi interaction that shows the vehicle picking up the Sim and driving away, like inThe Sims 2.
Clearly, though, this isn’t the case. When players want their Sim to travel, theysimply use the cell phoneand have them ask whoever they want to meet them wherever they want and then, one loading screen later, they’re there. If usable cars were meant to be in-game, there would probably be some sort of animation in the base game that could then be tweaked and changed to match new car content - but there isn’t.The Sims 4wasn’t designed with usable cars in mind, but even this decision was intentional.
As far as neighborhoods go, it can be argued thatThe Sims 4is the most advancedbecause it allows Sims to travel to any neighborhood at all, and is the firstSimsgame to allow this. BothThe Sims 2andThe Sims 3locked players in one neighborhood only, where they had to live out their whole Sim lives. The one exception was that players could move neighborhoods inThe Sims 3, but their household would forget everyone they knew in their home neighborhood.The Sims 4’s all-access neighborhood design could have been a great opportunity to redesign the taxi pickup ofThe Sims 2, but the developer chose not to do that.
It seems pretty bleak to keep wishing for usable cars inThe Sims 4based on these game mechanic designs, but there mayalways be hope yet forThe Sims 5.
The Sims 4is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
