List of 78+ Officially CONFIRMED Missing/Downgraded BASE features of the Sims 4

@ebuchala I think seeing everything that is out will prevent a bunch of "sticker shock" on September 2. People know what they aren't getting so they can't complain. They knew and got it anyways.

I won't complain.

Well unless the game is buggy and crashy and a hot mess, then I might complain lol.

Of course, this is my personal opinion and everybody is entitled to their own opinions. For some, seeing the two may help them decide so that's a good thing.

@Lokisimsies
You know, that's a good point, actually. I spent so much time on the official forums that the list of confirmed items included has more context for me than it might for someone who never saw the "missing" list. I mean, ultimately, the problem with both of them is more on the shoulders of the person looking at them than the list makers. I saw several people who I suspect just skimmed the list of missing items and then posted about how horrified they were there was so much missing and, honestly, it's on them if they don't do a little more diligence to figure out what's in, what's out and if everything on either list is really confirmed or not.

well I still want The Sims 4 game sure I will miss some things but the repo man is not one of them lol I just look forward to some great game play. I remember when The Sims 3 came out and people were complaining..true fact you can't make people happy they will complain regardless

Some of the stuff on the list is incorrect and shortsighted. I started going over every point but got bored as it is repetitive and a lot of the stuff is personal preference. People need to understand not everything from previous games is going to make it into the base game of the next. Each base game has its own strengths.

MAJOR CONFIRMED MISSING: (All were in base versions of Sims 3)
No modifications to public space - The park in the demo is a mix of a community lot and public space (x1) (x2)
Note: We were unable to modify public spaces in The Sims 3 until a world editor was released in a patch. Although this is a base game feature, it did not come until later.
No nursery items other than bassinet (cribs, highchairs, etc.)
Note: There are several decorative items in the game for players to create nurseries. Cribs were replaced with bassinets and babies were never able to use high chairs.
Law enforcement, Medical, Business, etc. were removed (x)
Note: Not really a missing feature. The Sims 4 will just have different careers. The Sims games always come with different careers so I don't even know why this is on the list. The Sims 3 came with 10 career tracks with three branched off careers for a total of 13 career choices. The Sims 4 comes with 8 total careers and each of them has two branches for a total of 16 career choices.
NO OPEN WORLD - You can't just walk from house to house without loading screen...(x1) (x2)
Note: The game is still considered to be an open world game. It is just not fully open like The Sims 3. Also, you can walk to a differnet house thought the public spaces but in order to go into the house, you will face a loading screen.
No way to create/place new lots - And you only have 2 empty ones! (patched into base Sims 3) (x)
Note (already said this so I will give the same response): We were unable to modify public spaces in The Sims 3 until a world editor was released in a patch. Although this is a base game feature, it did not come until later.
Babies are mere objects - ***ALL INTERACTION IS THRU THE BASINET, NO NEEDS, YOU CAN'T WALK AROUND WITH THEM***(x)
Note: Babies have always been objects. Nothing has been removed there.
Completely FLAT building lots - That's right we've gone back to living in a flat world! floors/levels (x1) (x2)
Note: This was already covered as terrain tools.
SIGNIFICANTLY smaller "worlds" of <25 lots compared to 125+ lots (x)
Note: Not really a missing feature because now we can connect multiple worlds.
Loading screens for individual lots (x)
Note: This was already covered under open world.
Teens are same height as adults and they along with elders all look nearly identical. (x)
Note: Not a missing feature. This has more to do with personal preference.
ALL OTHER MISSING GAMEPLAY ELEMENTS: (Were in base versions of Sims 1, Sims 2, or Sims 3)
No acne (x)
Note: Probably won't return because EA is not going to raise the rating of the game to Mature.
No aliens (x)
Note: Each game has its own base game special Sim. Maybe one wasn't announced for The Sims 4 yet.
No aspiration failures (with shrink visit) (in Sims 2) (x)
Note: Not going to be in the game because aspirations function differently. In order for this to be in the game, aspirations would have to function like The Sims 2.
No bartender (as NPC) (in Sims 2)
Note: You can have a neighborhood Sim you don't play act as a bartender. I don't understand how is this feature missing.
basements (patched into base Sims 3) (x)
Note: Don't know why this is on the list if the person acknowledges it was patched in.
No bookstores(x)
Note: The community lots available with all base games change. I don't see how this is a missing feature.
No cemeteries (x)
Note: Gurus already said players could build their own. Not a missing feature.
No cinema’s (in Sims 2)
Note: Don't remember this in The Sims 2 base game.
clothes shopping (in Sims 2) (x)
No color wheel, predefined to ~20 colors (x)
Note: Already mentioned under create-a-style
No comfort needs (in Sims 2)
Note: Not needed because it is an emotion now.
curfew
multi-tone hair color (users select only main color) (x)
Note: There is multi-colored hair in the base game.
No dinner proposals (in Sims 2)
diseases or illness (x)
No dreams (in Sims 2)
eyelash length slider (x)
Note: Not needed because in create-a-Sim players can modify eyelashes with different lengths.
No favorites (food, color, music) (x)
No fears (x)
No full face make-up (in Sims 2) (x)
No garage doors (x)
No gardeners for hire - Who is going to cut my lawn? (x)
No ghosts (x1) (x2)
No grocery stores (x)
No male body hair (patched into base Sims 3) (x)
No move object cheat (x)
No newspapers (x)
No opacity slider for makeup (patched into base Sims 3) (x)
No party invitations from other Sims (ok this may be a duplicate as it is apparently part of Story Progression) (x)
No rabbit holes at all - Sadly the fix was the sim goes off screen instead of fixing it so the locations were working lots (x)
Note: There are rabbit holes in the game. They have been changed to act differently.
No random deaths
repairmen (x)
No repo man - Your toilets are now safe!!! (x)
Note: They replaced it with the bill system.
No restaurants (in (x)
No swimming / swimwear - Including lakes, fountains, etc. (x)
No tragic clown or social bunny (x)
No way to watch the sim commute to work/school (x)
No website for browsing exchange or store (its in-game only) Will Wright (in Sims 1 & 2)
No zodiac signs bikes changing tables (in Sims 2) (x)
No hot tubs (x)

ALL OTHER THAT IS CONFIRMED LAME:
32-bit executable - Intel has not sold mainstream consumer PC 32-bit processors in like 7+ years and it should have been 64-bit (to address more RAM which is very important to this game) (x)
Note: Most modern game unless they are going for extremely high polygon count, are coded in 32-bit.
Fewer "actual" traits (new traits = rewards in Sims 3) (x)
Note: All the traits in the game haven't been revealed yet. So how does this person know there are less? Plus the traits are more evolved and actually affect game functions unlike some traits in The Sims 3.
Fewer user selectable traits per Sim within CAS (additional ones assigned during gameplay) (x)
Note: Not a missing feature. This is more of a personal preference. The only difference is that players can select one less trait in create-a-Sim.
Incompatible simpoint currency - DON'T BUY BUNDLES IF YOU PLAN TO USE THEM ON SIMS 4 (x)
Note: This is a legal issue so there is no way EA could get around this as some countries have banned the sale of digital currency.

MOST LIKELY TRUE (not yet confirmed):
No cashier’s (in Sims 2) (x)
No create a world
No exterminator (in Sims 2) (x)
No swings
Premium Membership REQUIRED to get certain sets on release day or at all

STATUS UNCERTAIN (not yet confirmed):
No inheritance (in Sims 2) (x)
No interests (in Sims 2) (x)
No magazines (in Sims 2) (x)
No pinball machines (in Sims 2) (x)
No way to water flower beds / bushes (in Sims 2) (x)
No family trees (x)

CONTESTED FACTS (responses vary):
No attraction system
No MAC version - Answer changed from "after PC release" to "no comment" which has 100% of the time ultimately meant "no".

@SleepyD2k
I disagreed with bflury over quite a few of these. The bartenders, rabbit holes and aspirations in particular most recently for the same reasons you gave. And several of us argued over the patched in items (which he claimed since they'd been patched in were now base game items because if you buy the game today you'd get those things in it ), among other things. Ultimately, I just worked with them on where they were coming from--in a sense, it's kind of a way for them to vent. But, yes, you've pretty much listed out all the reasons I had issues with their list, plus some.

What gets me is he included things that literally did nothing...or next to nothing. Like favorites.

Also last night he was debating on whether or not to add Room and Comfort needs to the list and I tried explaining why EA removed these in Sims 3 in the first place; notably they didn't do much. Room comfort wasn't really a need, you just kept adding stuff to a room until the room score reached its max and then you never had to worry about Room need ever again.

Comfort was so easy to raise because your Sim was getting comfort every time they sat down or laid down, even on the toilet if I remembered correctly.

I also explained that when removing these two needs from the Sims 3 they incorporated them into moodlets and speculated they would do the same in Sims 4.

He went ahead and added the lack of a comfort need as something "missing" from Sims 4. At least he didn't add the Room need to the list so I guess he's not totally unreasonable

Welcome aboard, @JoeWow1003

Why thank ya

Very Nicely remaking of the list, really does debunk all the things that made the difference between "Patched in", or "renamed to something else".
Ontopic - To me when you look back at the actual cons list on The Sims 3 forums, most of these were not even in the base game, or just a rumor to rille up everyone one way or the other.

Also Will Wright isn't a feature, he's a charactor from The Sims Makin' Magic that only contributed beans.

Room Score also involves surroundings, any spec of messes and i think broken Plumbing, and Alarm Clocks that have gone off can also lower it.
What makes it real annoying in general when theres a puddle or 2 that's lying around in the room for example, and when you try to get your sims to do anything in the room with said puddles.. [And this is from past and current experiences] .. They will complain about it endlessly. I'm glad The Sims 3 and The Sims 4 don't have it. It was just a hassle at the end of the day, especially if you want to have a story involving a messy house..

So many things here were never in base games. Don't get how anybody uh just up and expects those in a new base game and in fact some things that were patched in later of TS3 DID make it to base such as muscle//endowment sliders. And nobody can dispute that the new CAS and Build Mode are more powerful even if they have been "SIMplified".

I wish there was just a list of "What's In, What's Out//Different" with no opinion because most of these are fudging redundant and I see many of the "crippling cuts" as something positive like completely Open World ((I HATE THAT)) and CASt. But it's whatever. Heh

I wish the lists could just be up as informative posts without people taking them personally and attacking those who made it or trying to nitpick things out of them. This goes for both lists, it's not a competition or anything.

*shrugs*

But that's just me, I don't like seeing it and I quickly skim over those posts.

Interesting how a thread on a locked forums today got over 30,000 views, isn't? I mean, its not like when someone replies and then view it again the counter goes up. Those were ALL unique viewers... wonder what happened

Regarding the comments here... All I want to clear up is I didn't make the list to compete, irritate, or cause trouble. It was to be informative, that is all. And for the most part if I make I mistake I will go back and clean it up. I believe the "only" thing I think a few folks have argued that I haven't addressed is whether the free patched content is considered base or not. Going entirely by the definition of "base" it absolutely is accurate. Base does NOT mean initial release. Base packages can change (and do so) all the time.

@ebuchala: Please don't ship me off to Siberia OR think for a second I don't see everything

Thanks. BTW, its a him, although I did change my avatar from the toddler kid to an adult yesterday.

Oooooh, the all-knowing has arrived himself.

Yeah, well gets boring when on lock down over there.

Nice forums here! I like the editor a whole lot more!

Yeah, there's not much going on except for the new banner.
Much nicer set up than the other ones.

Actually I have been editing my post. And theres over 8000 people on the site at the moment that can't say a word (its wonderful)

@ebuchala
But to your second point, yes definitely much nicer!