I think we can all agree that we would want sims4 to be released with some features in the basegame that have been in expansions usually.

That way there is more to play with from the start, and it saves them making yet another inevitable expansion later on.

Sadly no poll can be made or I would have done that, but I will try and list all the mainstray features from the expansions:

-University.
-Pets.
-Seasons.
-Apartments.
-Vacation destinations.
-Open for Business features.
-Magic/supernatural things.
-Superstar/celeberty features.
-Adventures.
-Hobby's.

Might have missed a few things, didnt mention nightlife since most of its features where in the sims 3 basegame. It came with a downtown area to visit and cars. It's safe to assume those things will be in the sims4 basegame anyways.

I'd like to talk a little about all the features mentioned above and the priority I'd give to those things.


-University.
Good thing to have in the basegame, to fully incorporate it into the gameplay and life stages. Education could open up some careers otherwise not available or could unlock higher tiers of existing careers.

-Pets.
Seems popular with many people, but I think its better to have this as an early expansion than in the basegame. Its a lot of work after all and it should be done right. Let them focus fully on simulating people better first instead of juggling that along with animal behaviour.

-Seasons.
Kind of the same as with pets. Good to have but again something for an early expansion. Its again quite complicated to have weather of all seasons in a game. They could of course just have rain in the basegame and add full blown seasons with snow and such later on. Though I'd put it at a higher priority than pets.

-Apartments.
Could be a good feature to have right away since it doesnt seem that complicated. It can be improved on later.

-Vacation destinations.
Not a priority. They could perhaps just add a single vacation destination from the start and add more later as part of expansions instead of being an expansion of its own.
A seasons expansion could add a location for wintersports for example.

-Open for Business features.
Also a neat thing to have from the start, but not vital. A shame it never found its way to sims 3 despite being one of the most popular sims2 expansions. Some of its features could be included in the basegame, and could be expanded on later on.

-Magic/supernatural things.
Not a priority at all since many people dont even want this.
That it should be in an expansion is a given, but I think it works best as a later expansion down the line.

-Superstar/celeberty features.
Neat for an expansion, but not for the basegame. Good to have, but other things simply seem more important. I would like to see this expansion coupled with an extravagant lifestyle and the objects that go with it. Stuff that only filthy rich people can afford.

-Adventures.
Also low on priorities, good for a later expansion. Was a nice idea for sims3, but it was a very very poor choice for a first expansion since other things where far more needed.


-Hobby's.
To an extend this could be included in the basegame, and new hobby's could be included in other expansions as they come along.
Mechanics could be in place already with several available mainsteam hobby's.


Well this is how I'd place the priorities, what do you all agree and disagree with? what would you choose differently? we cant have everything at once after all, its a matter of priorities.

Seasons, definately!

Seasons -- or, at the very least, the weather and seasons options with some seasonal activities. With Seasons incorporated into the base game the other EPs can then take advantage of it (such as weather in vacation destinations). I'd also like to see TS2-style apartments (allowing multiple visitable families in one lot) in base game -- one family of mine in TS3 is living in an apartment complex but the two 'houses' next to them are blacked out and unvisitable. In TS2, however, I have sims who can go around and visit others on the same lot and I miss that in TS3.

OFB features in the base game would be nice as an inclusion, something like the Ambitions route where you can invest in rabbit holes but allow ownable businesses a la TS2 in an EP -- perhaps tying it in with a hobbies EP. Imagine, a sim who bakes cakes and similar things for fun could get the option to, over time, see if they could turn it into a profitable business if they're good enough.

I don't know why people thing uni should be in the base game... I hate EA and their withholding features for expansion practices as much as the next person, but uni adds a lot of stuff to the game and I think if it was put in the basegame it wouldn't do it the justice that could be done if it was done through an expansion.

Although I think pets should be in the base game, cats and dogs and some minor animals, then leave the horses for a country/farm park later on.

I think its been enough with this "lets split all these realistic features into expansions HUR HUR HURRRRR!"

Pets *and* seasons need to be IN the base game. The others can be expansions, but its about time they stop making pets and seasons expansions. They can easily be included in the base game.

OFB or SNS would be my pick.

Basic weather and NOT pets please - I just don't enjoy the pets. Or, at least, I hate the pet-related wants/wishes and I uninstalled Pets for TS2 quickly and am considering uninstalling it for TS3 (if I ever get around to playing TS3 again).

ETA: I guess if Pets were there from the beginning maybe they'd be a smaller part of the game than they are as an expansion pack? That might be okay. But, like I said, they don't do much for me.

I think people underestimate how complex animals are. they work different from sims. If they have to work on pet behaviour for the base game, it would be substracted from the time improving on sim behaviour. And sims really did not improve much since sims2. They became less interactive even.

Apartments and businesses the way they were in TS2. Because those are two necessities but at the same time, they shouldn't need entire expansions based on them.

I have to agree that Seasons really belongs in the base game. Perhaps not as elaborate as with festivals and whatnot, but weather effects should really be integral to a base game release.

Weather in the base game. There should be a rural themed expansion including pets like dogs, cats, horses, pigs, llamas, turkeys, chickens and cows. Include festivals with roller coasters you can build, ferris wheel, merry go round, dark rides, haunted walk throughs, snack stands, game stands, prizes, contests etc.

I think that hobby's are a must for basegame, also apartments are a must, and seasons and pets should be one of the first expansion packs, also I think that there should not be stuff packs, because the eps can have more stuff, also more clothes and hair for male Sims, that would be a huge improvement, also it would be nice if a sim can have two eyes with different colors, like pets had it TS3....

I agree on the whole "No more stuff pack" thing. Too bad that'll never happen.

Thanks lil bag2! Someone finally understands me!!!

I think EA is afraid of putting pets in the base game because it's such a popular expansion.

However, if you do it, you enable animals and pets from the get-go. Therefore, you can add in more animals with each new expansion and incorporate them into future gameplay.

For instance, say we got pets in the base game and had a tropical island as part of a vacation EP... they could add in pet monkeys, parrots, etc. If we got a celebrity/fame EP, then small dogs could be carried around in purses by the red carpet gang. A business EP could have pets getting jobs or participating in jobs with their owners, like a dog helping out his firefighter owner when it comes to rescuing people under burning rubble. They could grow winter coats and shed them in the spring if we had a weather EP. We could get tons more pets, especially small pets, and more wildlife. A wolf or bat would have been perfect for Supernatural but, because pets and animals weren't part of the base game, they didn't put it in the EP.

I think it would be great. Plus, they could market the animals as a feature for upcoming EPs. Animal lovers would eat it up.

QueenJimmuIV has a good point. Pets should be in the base game and in every expansion EA could add new pets.

If they did that I would feel that I had to buy every expansion which would be expensive for me but could be brilliant for EA if enough other people are like me.

I'd like to see weather, cats, dogs and basic OFB functions in the base game with expansions adding more later on. If they're not in the base game then I would like to see pets and weather expansions very early on so that the other expansions can tie into them as QueenJimmy suggested.

For me it is a draw between Open For Business functionality and Seasons. I never liked the idea that you as master painter/sculptor/whatever have to sell your art at the consignment store in TS3.

-University: They should add the option for sims to attend university, just like they do with highschool. And this should be reflected in the type of jobs they get. No doctor's career without attending medical school.

-Pets: It would be nice if they add some small, caged pets like parrots, turtles, lizards, etc.

-Seasons: They should add at least rain and swimming in the ocean, sun tanning, sand castles, shell collecting.

-Apartments: Apartment doors or at least lockable doors.

-Vacation destinations: Don't care for vacation destinations. But sims should be able to go for a picnic and maybe use an icecream machine.

-Open for Business features: Basic business features like in TS2, shopping for groceries, clothes, newspapers.

-Magic/supernatural things: Palm reading maybe?

-Superstar/celeberty features. Photography skill should have an option for paparazzi pictures where you need to take pictures of all sims in highest career level.

-Adventures: Tents and bonfires.

-Hobbies: Gardening (for flowers not vegetables)

Open for Business or Seasons.

I'd like it if basics from some EPs were included. Say weather from seasons, but not the seasons themselves (they can still use that for an EP; including season specific lots and activities); dogs and cats from Pets, larger animals like horses, and even more exciting things could come in the EP (although, tbh, pets has always been a bit meh to me, since I'm more of a builder / they and baby sims are basically just a pain I can't control. :p)

Basically the whole of "Late Night", in terms of club/bar lots... plus non-RH restaurants. If they want to do a city / skyscraper EP; I'd be more than happy. But give us the basics from the get go.

PLEASE.

It baffles me why people are disagreeing with many of these things said, when they are all realistic. Do you *really* want to *pay* for something that should be in the base anyways?

LOL! If we all agreed on something this forum would be empty.

Because not everyone likes or wants the same things.

I, for one, absolutely do not want pets in the base game. Not because I don't like pets, I do, but until EA can prove to me that they can solve the routing issues with larger animals, I don't want them in any game that I cannot uninstall. We probably won't have any mods for the first few months of release, so if something doesn't work properly in the base game, we are stuck with it. On that note, I don't want to see celebrities or paparazzi either.

Things that I would like to see included in the base game (and might actually happen...in my dream world we would get witches and carnivals and farming and a functional economy and a memory system that didn't suck or break the game, but those are not realistic expectations for the base game)

basic weather
open restaurants, grocery store, coffee shop
gardening and fishing
some kind of crafting and the ability to register home careers (painting, writing etc.)

Honestly, I'd rather have a base game that is really solid in terms of functionality and execution, than one filled with a whole bunch of half-assed stuff that was pulled out of old expansions just for the sake of having more features.

The only reason I would want any expansion gameplay in the base game is so that it can be built upon as the game continues instead of isolated and then so jam-packed into an expansion that things are left out and then never touched again because they aren't base game compatible. Didn't we end up with two different types of vampires because of this problem?

They wont be including these in the base game simply because they end up making so much money from individual expansions. Also the core game will probably be lacking in so many things if they decided to add an expansion pack to it.

The only logical thing they may be able to add is perhaps just basic weather (without frills) and hobbies. Weather being the most popular though I hardly doubt they will include it into a base game anyway.