Dumb mistakes new Sims 4 players make all the time

Mistakes made by new Sims 4 players! This is a Sims 4 tips & tricks video as a guide for new Sims 4 players.
If you're a new Sims 4 players, this is a guide on how to play The Sims 4 for beginners.
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[@lidlonez]

Dont forget to set all your lights to auto-light. Save money on bills.

[@RedRoseSeptember22]

Yep I do this with all my builds :D

[@MarlopolyGaming]

could do with that in real life tbh

[@SatchOnSims]

My biggest Sims mistake was thinking that the word Sibling meant romantic partner. I used to make my sims siblings and wonder why they couldn't woohoo 💀

[@crowsak.]

My biggest mistake was playing sims 4 basegame ONLY for 4 years. Didn't even have seasons lmaoo

[@IAARPOTI]

Lol, that's just cursed.

[@jahanshadi1934]

What ? But… how ??? 😂😂😂😂😂

[@user-lz7qz8wv2j]

tard

[@crowsak.]

@@IAARPOTI Yep 0/5 stars

[@idontbeleiveinusernames4072]

Never host a wedding ceremony outside in the middle of winter… half your guests dying ends up kinda killing the vibe

[@petrnovak7235]

Back in Sims 3, I wanted to have a wedding on Love Day, which was in spring. However, even on spring, you still can have some cold days and that's what happened to me. My guests, fortunately, didn't die, because it wasn't that cold, but them changing from their formalwear to coldwear was really funny, though immersion breaking. Needless to say the wedding picture didn't look that good 😅

[@inzanity490]

Or just turn off temperature effects in the settings if hosting any event

[@Ikwigsjoyful]

@@petrnovak7235My favorite sims wedding so far was in sims 3: we had an outdoor night wedding in the autumn, and I decorated with lights in the trees and lit Jack o’ lanterns; it really looked very elegant. But I hadn’t been paying attention to the moon phase and it ended up being a full moon night, which meant that half a dozen zombies showed up and ate all the wedding cake! 😂

[@MincaNyan]

That sounds not like a mistake but the exact reason why we play it though 😂

[@ViceCityExtra]

The biggest mistake I used to do in sims 2 was forget floor and roof and wonder why the house always got weeds and sims were uncomfortable

[@Ikwigsjoyful]

I forgot the roof the first time I was building in Sims 3 after the Seasons pack came out and was shocked when I noticed their living room was full of snow!😂😂😂

[@gogirl709]

My top mistake was not realizing I could create a Sim in CAS. I thought we just had to use the one they gave us and then change their clothes, hair etc. One day I was complaining to my friend how my Sims were always awful and he asked me why I didn't just create one. I was like what??? (I also didn't realize there were categories for clothes for a while and was constantly changing clothes in the mirror)

[@gayternatee]

ow

[@RedRoseSeptember22]

You literally can't play without creating a Sim or using one from the gallery so this comment is BS.

[@chrryxcoke]

​@@RedRoseSeptember22I think they meant they didn't know you could change the features on the sim they give you in cas

[@Nicole-12890]

@@RedRoseSeptember22 Depends which sim game she means. In the Sims2 and 3 you are not forced to the Cas screen when you start a new save

[@gogirl709]

@RedRoseSeptember22 You actually can if you pick story mode. A Sim pops up. I play on console so maybe it's different. It was such a dumb mistake because in hindsight it's so obvious but not bs

[@Firise]

Make a very huge house and then not know what to furnish it with. Getting confused by mods before playing vanilla to learn the basics. Installing Eco Life without checking the settings for voting NAP's. Making an 8 person family of a mom with 2 children, 2 toddlers, 1 infant and 2 dogs. Make a family and move them into one of the EA starterhomes.

[@Kualinar]

OUCH !

[@LuckyGhoul]

The mods one was me lol

[@yasminni485]

Another tip, for those playing on computers, if you press F5 while in build mode, it will allow you to place objects on every 1/4 tile as opposed to half tiles. I don't know how to do that on console, I play on a macbook

[@kendalroyco]

you can just press alt and itll let you free place anything

[@yasminni485]

@@kendalroyco not in live mode though. This is especially good during live mode.

[@kendalroyco]

@@yasminni485 oh sorry, i actually didnt know that, you said build mode so i didnt think about live one mb

[@valealmirati]

not walls@@kendalroyco

[@yasminni485]

@@kendalroyco not a problem :). I like to use it to move pictures and stuff in live mode. It's great.

[@friendlyneighbourhoodschokiman]

My biggest mistake is spending money on a pack even tho I'd knew I'd probably be disappointed 😭

[@spctvl03]

Okay the debug rooms was slay

[@DistortedMelodies_]

My biggest mistake ever on the Sims was making a Bella Goth knock off, move her into a "house" (that was just a shell without anything besides furniture and doors, no wallpaper, no windows, no landscaping, not even roof, and just basic wood flooring everywhere) and force her to do romantic interactions with the husband I made (because my 7 Y/O brain was like "husband/wife must Kiss and love each other 🥰) till she ended up dying by starvation TS2 basegame times, I was barely 7-8 😭

[@nyarrow5038]

Loved sims 2, took the no sleep aspiration on sims 4 and can’t reverse it, ruing my game. Maybe go back to sims 2 now lol, don’t know what to do with my crazy sim…

[@DiscoTimelordASD]

My legacy family is in Sims2 and Not So Berry family are in Sims3 and I play Rags2riches with Bob Newbie in Sims1. The older games are fun - so many mods!

[@DarkeningDemise]

1. Expecting a good game 2. Playing TS4 after playing TS1-TS3 3. Buying DLC full price 4. Buying Journey To Batuu

[@Kualinar]

5. Buying My Wedding Stories

[@dianacfleming]

I've been playing for years and I still learned some useful tricks from this video. Thanks for uploading it!

[@missdukette2168]

Me being smug all the way through because I know all of these ... but then, gallery debug rooms 😮 game changer !!!! I knew about the paintings, but never thought to search for debug sets ! Thanks satch ! Great video for beginners because all these are second nature to seasoned players but they aren't necessarily obvious to someone who's just started

[@xiumify]

tired of dealing with the welcome wagon? just click on your sims front door and select "no trespassing" then select "no solicitors" and the welcome wagon won't show up (you need to do it before they arrive)

[@mollymollie6048]

How is it that I’ve played the Sims since Sims 1, so of course I had Sims 4 when it came out, then ignored it for two years until there were some EPs, cause it was boring…yeah…no comment…but, I’ve played this long, and never noticed about the aspiration bonus sticking with you and you can switch aspirations constantly depending on what you’re doing to get all the points and bonus traits??!!! 🤦‍♀️ I watch LPs, too…and people do that…but somehow I don’t put 2+2 together when I play 🤦‍♀️. Thank you for this, I’m saving this in a “Sims How To” playlist I have…cause I’ll forget stuff like…improving handiness regardless of what your Sim is doing, life is easier. This is such a fantastic video!!! 👏 Well done!!! Like I said, it’s great for experienced players (or experienced players who still think they’re playing Sims 2 and are stuck with the same aspiration for life 🤣)

[@celery7094]

To be clear - the aspiration trait only comes with the first aspiration you choose for that sim. When you switch aspirations, you still have the trait from the first one and you don’t get a new one

[@mollymollie6048]

@@celery7094 Oh yes, I knew that, but would kind of forget about it cause the Sim was a “chef” or a “gardener” and so it didn’t occur to me to pick a different aspiration to get a better bonus!

[@redmarion3tt377]

Automatic thought: trusting EA

[@pathogenofdecay]

I have a couple of tips for Satch himself actually. :) I've noticed that his sims die in easily avoidable ways. 1. If your sim is on fire, you can click on them and make them extinguish themselves. 2. If your sim ever gets electrocuted, pay attention to the powerful Dazed moodlet they get. This moodlet is actually a warning. As long as your sim has that moodlet, they will die if they get electrocuted again.

[@knifelovingrogue]

Thank you for posting that. I had one of my sims die from electrocution on me and I didn't know anything about that. Knowing this is helpful for next time.

[@_Star_GirI_]

When I was a new player I didn't know you could cheat money in the sims so when I would start a new save file I would marry a bunch of rich sims, kill off their family, delete their house and take everything. Only then would I start the game as if I never did anything and always had that money. 😭😂

[@cw6392]

My biggest mistake was travelling with my phone or hitting the home button and waiting for them to walk part-way. Now I just bring up the map with the m key and travel that way.

[@Bandwagons]

My biggest mistake has always been calling it Live mode as in alive instead of Live mode as in living. Even though i know this now, I still always call it "lie-v" in my head.

[@LuckyGhoul]

Me too 😭

[@petrnovak7235]

My biggest mistake was my very first Sims 1 gameplay back in 2000 (man am I old). I've made a family of 8 with two adults and six kids. As you can imagine, being totally unexperienced, both adults died in fire, while the kids, somehow, survived. And Sims 1, at least the base game, did allow you to play with just kids. But, of course, such household was totally unplayeble, so, I quit and started again, this time with just a single Sim, so, I can learn the basics. Irony is that nowadays, I love to play with big families and get bored quickly if I play with single Sim or even a couple. But I have 23 years of experiences playing Sims games now, so, unlike my inexperienced me from 2000, I can deal with it 😁

[@anitanovotna8897]

Hi Satch I am rewatching the horse ranch playlist and I still absolutely love it. Please finish more of your letsplays I think people like me would appreciate it. Btw love you! You are the best

[@_sadwax]

Oooo I never thought to search on the gallery for the sorted debug items! That is insanely helpful. I'm on console so it's very frustrating trying to go through the debug items. You are the best. 💪💪

[@M335h1]

The handiness one is not fair tho. I don’t neglect it tho I’m sure some do, I’m aware of its benefits across appliances but I don’t want all my sims to have high handiness, especially clumsy lazy ones it doesn’t vibe!!! Yet if they aren’t they can’t have the extra features. It would be great if the handyman was more realistic and you could call them for upgrades just not repairs. They could make it cost an a lot of simoleons to pay to have them done vs the cheaper cost for a handy sim doing it themselves

[@Kaylovesyouuu]

I love this Satch! Also very helpful!

[@craftly_Bixie]

On a lot of things e.g. rabbit hole at work, I found those on a whim because I clicked on it accidently 😂 Trial and error for me mostly. Thanks for the summarization and the tipps. They make gameplay in general so much easier.

[@koololdster]

Love these tips! Thanks Satch!

[@lillySims-if7gh]

I love videos like this. I actually utilised all if these except the likes thing which is great info as the bar bar at some point did become hard to raise.

[@dreamcatcherjmo]

I first played the sims 2 when I was about 9 and I didn't know toddlers needed a toddler bed- I remember literally crying in frustration because they wouldn't go to sleep on a normal bed 😭 the social worker also kept taking them away because their needs got too low.. horrible times !

[@lolaskw2795]

Very useful, thank you so much for this Video!

[@Kaylovesyouuu]

Whenever I watch your videos, they make me happy because I love the sims

[@janeseknight5425]

Oh my gosh Satch 🎉🎉🎉 I am so excited to reasons you gave me so much information I did not know as a lifelong Sims player seriously I've been doing so much do the hard way the very hard way thank you secondly Satch, you are being so deliciously positive and encouraging about playing The Sims 4 oh my gosh❤ cheers🥂. 🌞

[@Teri_Pazoutova]

My first Sims was the Sims 2 and I was terrible at it. I was around 10 or less when I got my hands on the base game. I was making a mistake right from the start after moving my family to an empty lot. I used to build the base of my house so big that I didn't have enough money to even paint the walls and floor, let alone buy some other stuff and decoration. It was just an empty box (without a roof because I don't know why) and it had one counter, fridge, and stove right beside the front door. At the other end of the "house" was a little poor bathroom and right next to it was another empty room with beds. The sims were constantly unhappy due to lack of fun and environment. Also, I wasn't playing with the needs bar on and my sims used to complain NONSTOP. It got worse when my sim got pregnant. They usually died from low needs which made me think that pregnancy was some kind of risk for female sims.

[@zsuzsitakacs4595]

Hey satch just woke up from my 2 hour nap. Nice way to wake up 😂

[@bennydreamly]

If you’re on pc the organized debug mod is really useful for using the debug menu

[@user-zn7zv2cy5j]

Please can we have longer videos Satch!!!!!! 10 minutes is not enough!!! 😫

[@carelesscamel]

This was actually really helpful, thank you.

[@henrywilloughby2327]

Not paying attention to playful mood and having countless sims die laughing. Worst was when I caught a sim at Hysterical level and they died on the way to a mirror to calm down. Or sending my sims to the gym during the dead of winter and losing about half the Sims in the neighborhood as they all froze to death and no one could leave while the Grim Reaper was reaping...but they could keep freezing to death while he took his own sweet time.

[@sabrinaloizides-merideth9874]

One of the best things you can upgrade in the game is the bed. You can take a bargain basement bed and make it as good as the most expensive bed in the game.

[@Simfyre]

Thank you for the tip about choosing interactions while on rabbit hole jaunts. ;)

[@DiannawithtwoNs]

This was honestly very helpful! I have thousands of hours logged in the older Sims games, but have barely touched 4-I couldn't get into it when it released, I tried again with the toddler update years ago and just left it as I found the game too overwhelming. I really appreciate how in-depth you went with this and I know I'll definitely find these tips useful in my gameplay.

[@DiscoTimelordASD]

Please make videos giving tips on the older games🩷 I just started playing Sims 1 - 3 and I'd love to learn from an OG simmer.

[@DiannawithtwoNs]

@@DiscoTimelordASD I'll do my best! Right now I'm working on getting a new PC and I hope to do actual gaming videos after the first of the year (I know it's a ways off from now). Currently I have a Mac and the older Sims games don't work on it. 😭

[@devilsmessanger]

Knowledge is best trait indeed , and handiness is great way to make early money without job . or make your own furniture and deco . i never used Sims3 camera cuz i sadly did not play that one ,gonna try that !

[@tjspov2776]

I'd say that a mistake is to have only "perfect" sims, this means sims that only have traits that improve what they do. Originally, in Sims 3 I give my sims things like great sense of humour, handy, etc... Now when I make my sims in Sims 4, most of them have traits that make things a little difficult for them, or make them more interesting. For example my current main sim is Good but also Hot-Headed, so he does have instances where he starts kicking bins and being rude despite being a good person (anger isn’t that difficult to control but it still adds a little depth).

[@mmmahh9056]

Thank you Satch! Now I just have to not get bored of the sims 4 in ten seconds to enjoy these tips😂

[@nedrane297]

A problem I see with build mode is that in styled rooms you can grab something you want for your build, but not in saved rooms, so you have to place the entire room to use those debug objects. And I hate that.

[@BlueGuise9]

I could listen to you all day!

[@EmilyBlueJaye]

Great suggestions!

[@MzRoadrunner_]

Thanks! I did not know that I can purchase parts from my computer!!!

[@DethFan1]

My biggest mistake was learning about the Sims 3 university household bug the hard way... So many hours on my beloved family wasted... 😢

[@LuckyGhoul]

What happened? I never played sims 3

[@Geekabibble]

Wow, I didn't realize all those things were in the gallery! Thanks!

[@zuzu6563]

loved this video thank you

[@HappywifeTaylor]

Im literally playing the sims right now.😂😂😂

[@alexxi-p]

Me too 😂

[@Kaylovesyouuu]

same!

[@VioletKitty411]

Caveat about aspirations. Since the pre HSY update, Sims must choose an aspiration as a teen, and then at YA. *For newer players, prior to HSY teens kept their aspiration into the YA stage* Your sim will keep the teen bonus trait and get a new bonus trait when becoming a YA, so it behooves you to choose two very different aspirations at these times. For instance, my baby challenge teens will all complete the Fabulously Wealthy aspiration before finishing HS because of gardening. So whatever their aspiration is, I let them harvest, but when they become adults, I choose Fabulously Wealthy and they instantly get the points and the Business Savvy Bonus trait. Then I move them into something else.

[@LuckyGhoul]

My mistake was I didn’t know you could move the camera, so every time I built something I could only build from the front lol. None of the walls had decorations

[@westanimesims]

The Biggest mistake a Sims 4 player makes? Getting the Sims 4 in the first place.

[@arthur_shadows5078]

remember your witches vs fairs mod review well you should do a video where you a hybrid spellcaster/witch and then do to magic place and see what happens if you go there trying to interact them

[@arthur_shadows5078]

hope you like the idea

[@gemmascotland899]

And you can raid the bins for the upgrade parts!!

[@Kualinar]

And never forget to search any trash pile spawning after repairing things. When travelling, if you spot something broken, graciously repair it and get upgrade parts.

[@OpalMoonstone247]

Hi there. Your videos can be absolutely hilarious! I have been a long time Sims 3 player, so, as I just got the Sims 4 base game only recently, I gotta say, it's awful. The lack of detail with collectibles, is really irritating. If you place a fish for example in a fishbowl, literally nothing shows up. Same when my Sim found some frogs. It's very similar to Sims 1, in my opinion. I realize the expansion packs should enhance gameplay, but I won't be getting those anytime soon. I despise the way the camera works too! I couldn't get any flexibility when I turned on the Sims 3 camera settings 🤷🏻‍♀️ This game is so frustrating! 😂

[@kittyfolk]

Fun fact: the Sims 3 camera is more useful than he says at the end! If you use the default camera, in build mode you can only rotate objects in 8 directions. If you use the sims 3 camera however, you can rotate them freely! It’s great for when you want something to be just slightly angled, but the default just doesn’t look right

[@OpalMoonstone247]

How did you get the rotation ability? I just tried turning on the Sims 3 camera settings and it really didn't do anything. Unless I'm missing something here. Only have base game. Long time Sims 3 player here. Playing on a laptop.

[@kittyfolk]

@@OpalMoonstone247 You also have to hold the "alt" button while rotating. I forgot to add that, oops!

[@OpalMoonstone247]

@@kittyfolk oh okay,thx, I'll try that 😊

[@peterbeckett4151]

my biggest problem is simmers who do not put doors on their homes,

[@finalfantasyfreak6925]

2 traits I go for first is free services and frugal. They both save simoleons!

[@deliriouscheeto]

As if getting simoleons was hard in the sims 4

[@DiscoTimelordASD]

Could you do a video for Sims 1, 2 & 3 please? I'd appreciate the help.

[@alexdaniel4340]

lmao im playing The Sims 4 since it came out and I never really thought about the aspiration think lol

[@Alvitur]

My biggest mistake is not knowing that you can just buy the upgrades through the computer and I have been playing the sims for many many many years. Same goes for searching for items in the gallery. I never ever knew that! So thank you for the amazing tips!

[@annajavier5712]

Cool a very informative video

[@aldii8614]

Not related to the video, but do you think you could make a video like the one you made about sims 4 base game only, but with mods? I mean trying to play the base game with mods and cc and seeing if it's fun or not I haven't found a video like that yet, so it'd be cool

[@Brwnsister]

I have a weird question, but is there anyway you can do a video on objects that are interactive. So I’m not understanding if all of the clutter objects are just decorative or can you interact with any of them. I love your content but a bit confused on clutter items and things that come in some of the kits. I know it’s silly.

[@kendalroyco]

no clutter items are interactive besides maybe the cook book from the new sp (not sure if its in clutter tho)

[@LuckyGhoul]

I don’t think any items in the clutter category or functional, but if you go to activities and skills there are lots of functional things for your sims

[@dedlynightshade]

you also get satisfaction points for completing holidays 3:03

[@williamEllis-vp2gi]

I went night owl, morning person and savant and my toon is functionally immortal because i have a cowplant ...

[@Psyche0delic]

Your sim is actually playing SimCity during an asteroid storm. Groovy.

[@Rianna_B]

I made an upload on the gallery where I created a collections room, I'm sorry but I only have every collection up to the Moonwood collection.

[@psycherevivedby]

Sims 2 taught me the words Spouse and Miscellaneous

[@meganchung69]

My friend thought her sim had cancer... it was her starsign ♋

[@OpalMoonstone247]

Also just curious; why are the towns so small? No City Hall, or anything besides museum, gym, club, and library. What?! Just got base game 4.

[@IsomerMashups]

Dumbest mistake new Sims 4 plays make: Playing 4 instead of 2 or 3.

[@GalaxyfullofStars]

Sims 4 needs to add another camera option for those of us who play using a laptop touchpad, I literally can't move the camera left and right, I can only zoom and rely on the arrows.

[@augusto7681]

how do you play without a mouse ? Its impossible to me

[@ascenmir]

Sims 3 has the features so its weird sims 4 doesnt

[@GalaxyfullofStars]

@@augusto7681 You can zoom in and out with your touchpad simply but to move the camera about you have to use the arrow buttons where the time buttons are

[@zozotte886]

I need this option on Xbox and Ps4/Ps5 too!

[@GalaxyfullofStars]

@@ascenmir Ikr, ppl r gonna argue "well it's cos laptops where mainstream then, it's PCs now! hnph." Some of us can't afford PCs bro like-

[@GuardianStriker]

Well here's an obvious, yet controversial one...though I don't know why it would be controversial, considering this is EA. Buying, instead of pirating their packs. :P

[@gabbanagirl4787]

Wait hold on is it live mode (live in a house) or live mode (live on air) 😂

[@arianagrandmom9673]

I love using money cheats on my sims then change their aspiration to fortune so they can gain more satisfaction points. It's very convenient.

[@BritishGrumpyCat]

It doesn't work, I send my sim to work, I choose to make new friends and socialize, and they don't make new friends. Thank god for mods

[@taurus_says_hi8404]

Hope you're doing well satch

[@SweetToothInc]

Put a holiday on every day of the calendar to get 500 satisfaction points daily Make the holiday super easy with tasks like workout, appreciate object, watch sports, watch romance and clean 🤩🤩

[@neckbackcripplinganxietyattack]

Slay

[@BadNewsBella]

Algorithm 👍🏾

[@BSsex]

my biggest mistake was to torrent this pile of trash, wasn't worth the time

[@Madesic]

The biggest mistakes new Sims 4 players make is deciding to play the game

[@user-po2ht2hi7q]

PRAY FOR ISRAEL NOW

[@devilsmessanger]

Satch, I love your videos, but why do you make your characters so weird and ugly ? surely you can just make them either normal or something unique that isn't a permanent Strangeify spell effect. PLEASE ! even playing alien sims couple would be better .

[@Kualinar]

Needs no one = Social need never go down. Forever Fresh = Always clean. Forever Full = NO need to eat and Never Weary = NO sleep required. Those are OP. I like to make my Sims like as many music styles as possible and have something that play music. You'll often get a desire to listen to some music channel. Listen to it, and another musical desire comes up. Just change the station accordingly, for as long as you have a new station. Easy 100's of satisfaction points. Have a mod that increase the maximum number of likes/dislikes to 100 000... So, they like ALL the music for the satisfaction, and all the crafts/active skills for the fun need. bb.moveobjects is NOT a cheat. It's a wonderful tool, and it should always be ON by default. Also help in live mode allowing to place live objects with more latitude, like closer together. Bonus with the Sims3 camera is that you can rotate objects to any direction, not just the 8 basic ones.