Sims Camp, about the Sims 4.

First of all, I got home safely and relatively comfortable, yes I'm looking at you people that block the train isles, making it almost impossible to navigate to your own seat.
Thanks a lot for that.

As you may or may not know, most of the Sims 4 things the Simscampers saw are still under embargo. I also know some images have leaked that were taken during the community lounge on Gamescom.
Apparently they didn't have to sign an NDA. Oh well, I'm going to adhere to mine and share my thoughts about build/buy starting on the 11th of September and my findings about the Animation  Masterclass starting the 18th of September, like I agreed upon.
And I have a lot to share about it.

Oh, and I like writing. I admire all the people that make video reviews, but that's just not for me, I like to read mine, hence the writing!

So let's talk about things I CAN talk about. We had some time with Create a Sim and can I say just wow. In Sims 3, I wasn't very good with the sliders, all my sims ended up the same way.

Now you just jump in and grab a place on the Sim and start modelling. To me it feels like you are manipulating clay. It takes a bit of getting used to, but what really took me is the extensiveness of it all. You can literally grab on to almost anything and push and pull at it.

First CAS view, a great moment!

There are literally a ton of screens out there that other people at the Simscamp took. So I thought I'd just refer to them, with my own comments.

Facial features.

You can manipulate almost everything like this, but it's the detailed mode that really comes through.  

1) Eyes.
Eyes are fully manipulable, down to the size of the iris.
Make drooping eyes, big, small, Asian. It goes really far, so you can make some pretty extreme shapes. I refer to the images that were made by The Sim Supply and from the Sims True life, made by my Polish friend Damian.       

• https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151796354579547.1073741836.238118504546&type=3
• https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.718801038135859.1073741827.125995027416466&type=1

You can also manipulate their eyebrows, at least their curvature, not (yet?!) their thickness, but there are several presets.

2) Nose.
Again, very detailed here, you can manipulate the nostrils, height and once you turn the Sim to profile camera view, you can change the curvature, nose-tip and general length of the nose.

3) Lips.
Change the general shape and thickness of the entire mouth. In detailed mode you can tackle each lip separately and that's where it gets really interesting. Go for any look you like.

4) Miscellaneous.
Chin, cheekbones and ears are highly manipulable aswell. Again, you get more options when you turn the camera, for instance if your Sim needs a more protruding chin.
You can also make the ears look realistic or ridiculous, your choice!

Hair.

Hair was still very limited. It still looks a little bulky at times, but it is FAR from done. Really interesting was that you can now change the hair underneath a hat.

Body.

This completely blew my mind. The only things you cannot change is height and I tried manipulating the hands, but I couldn't.

Height will be an issue for many people, but that is seriously an animation nightmare. I heard many people say, come on EA, just put some work into it.
The implications would however be enormous and the computer performance would definitely suffer.
I can talk about this more starting September 18th, as this was addressed by Marion Gothier, the lead animator on the Sims 4.

Other than that you can change shoulders, upper and lower arms, boobies, male chest, stomach, hips, upper legs, calves and even the size of the feet!!

There are two sliders that determine muscle definition and general figure. So you can make buff bodybuilder types or really skinny Sims, or the kind that loves their donuts.

Here's a site that lists all the screenies that were taken by fellow Sims Campers.
Sims Globe

There are many voices that are speaking out against the Cartoony-ness. I don't mind this. I've always loved the Sims for it's quirkiness and humor. If I want a real life experience, I'll turn off the computer. Again, that's only my opinion.

Then let's talk about emotional gameplay. Now this I like. I've spent actually playing Sims 2 more then I have Sims 3, where I have been building quite a lot. Mainly because the Sims were quirkier and there were nice animations and interludes to them. Like this one.

I'm not saying there will be moments like this, but the Emotion demo certainly reminded me more of Sims 2 than anything.

How your Sims interact depends on their mood, sometimes with hilarious results! Some emotions have even deeper layers and intensities, like anger, happiness and sadness. Emotions like being bored are what they are. One can hardly get more bored. ;)

This video explains it very well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=WjPPjU8OARg#t=140

I have pre-ordered, because I'm confident about it. It's been a very educational week at SimsCamp.
I went in with low expectations, in order not to be 'hurt' and I've anticipated the Build presentation with a heavy heart. I'm not worried anymore.

I haven't seen any mention or sign of Create a Style, which I love, but it's not a deal breaker for me.

More soon about Into the Future and Movie stuff. The end of an Era, but in my opinion, a beautiful one!