EA’s The Sims 4 is getting a new update next week adding another new gameplay mechanic to the base game.
The life sim game is adding what it’s called Neighbourhood Stories, which lets you influence other neighbour Sims into doing life-changing events. This can range from having a baby to switching jobs, without needing to switch households.
This will happen either actively (have your Sim go talk to the neighbour Sim) or autonomously (the neighbour Sim will ask your Sim for input). Either way, any life-changing event for the neighbour Sims will always be in your control. You can say no to autonomous requests.
At the moment, these are the life changes that can happen with the new neighbourhood stories.
Autonomous or Active
- Change careers
- Have a baby (if Sim is in a relationship where either Sim can be pregnant)
- Hang out with other Sims/ deepen friendly relationships
Autonomous Only
- Get promoted in Career
- Accept a marriage proposal
Active Only
- Trash talk another Sim
- Get a Sim to form relationship with another
- Convince a Sim to dump/divorce their romantic partner
- Encourage an unemployed Sim to find a job
In conjunction with the addition of Neighbourhood Stories, there are two new aspirations for Sims.
Neighbourhood Confidante aspires to be a positive presence in the community and will get the Confidante trait, which increases the chance of a pleasant conversation. On the other side, you can have Sims aspire to be Villainous Valentine, where they want to destroy relationships of any kind. They get the Twisted Heart trait, which makes all Sad and Embarrassed moodlets decay faster, plus bonus Social for doing Mean and Mischief interactions.
As for now, Neighbourhood Stories will only start triggering when you start having one friendship with a Sim outside your household, i.e. neighbours.
In the future, the developers will expand Neighbourhood Stories to all Neighbour Sims, regardless of relationships in the household. The team also revealed that the Neighbourhood Stories settings can be customised, so you can mix and match what life-changing events you want your neighbours to have.
Interactions to influence other Sims have been included in several expansions packs before like Get Together and Eco Lifestyle. But Neighbourhood Stories is expanding that, plus including it into the base game for everyone.
Neighbourhood Stories will be coming to the next The Sims 4 game update on November 30.
Previously, The Sims 4 added scenarios, new alternate starts for new households.
Source: The Sims