Fans were not very happy when EA said The Sims 4 would not have pools (for romance times) and toddlers (an indirect result of pool romance times). EA responds.
EA Debuts Strange Sim Scenario At E3
Over at the official Sims 4 blog, executive producer Rachel Franklin gives a reasonably good explanation for why stuff like toddlers and pools were cut. Basically? There's so much new stuff in The Sims 4 that's designed from the ground up pools and toddlers felt like low priority stuff. Says Franklin: "It begins with new technology and systems that we built for this new base game for The Sims - a new AI system, new animation system, new audio positioning tools, new locomotion logic, new routing intelligence and much more are all entirely new in this game."
The Sims themselves have undergone a major upgrade, it seems: "For the first time, the Sims act like real people. They can interact with groups, not just one-to-one. A standing Sim can talk with a sitting Sim. They can multi-task (eating, watching TV and talking? Sounds like my typical evening!). You can even put a hat on any hairstyle or pair boots with any pants... well, maybe that's just me that cares about that." No, you're not, Rachel! In fact, being able to fully accessorize is quite likely a very important feature for Sims fans!
Create-A-Sim Feature Video Leave Little To The Imagination
Franklin also promised that The Sims 4 Create-A-Sim demo will be available later this summer for everyone to download to put her statements to the test. If that's too long for you to wait, EA will be putting a 15 minute video of the E3 gameplay on line, complete with UI for you to admire.