The Sims 4 expands on Neighborhood Stories with a new free update

Neighborhood Stories is an innovative feature that we have just added to our site. Sims 4It gives Sims around the world free will. Fan complaints are common in Sims 4’s base experience was that a Sim’s neighbor remained frozen in time; even if they age and pass away, they don’t make any decisions or change their household meaningfully. Neighborhood Stories’ initial launch made a few changes available for a small pool of Sims, and Maxis is expanding on it with a new free update that went live on Tuesday.

Neighborhood Stories now allows neighbor Sims to make specific choices. The new changes in life are available now and extend beyond the immediate network of close friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. A news release stated that neighbors Sims could now:

Adopt young SimsIn their family, they will have children between the ages of infant and toddler.

Get pregnant with your Significant OtherThey will finally give birth. Noncommittal Sims will be less likely to have this happen than Sims who are family-oriented. Sims or their SO Hate Children will not ever do this.

Other Sims might be more suitable Adopt a cat or dog(requires The Sims 4 Cats and Dogs).

Careers open to all. This decision is heavily affected by Sim Traits. Elder Sims may decide to Retirement.

For households, Move into or out of Lots.

Different types of accidents can cause deathIt all depends on the risk factors like Age, Traits and Career.

This second update adds a set of new gameplay controls. Players can opt in, out or adjust the Neighborhood Stories system. If you don’t want a neighbor to have an accident or adopt a pet, you can toggle those on and off. You can adjust Stories settings to a particular household or disable them all.

Neighborhood Stories interactions are found in mail boxes. Players should be able to see the changes happening as they live their daily lives. An ex-coworker may stop coming to work, while a friend who is resentful might adopt. It’s an interesting addition to the life simulator, and it’s good to see Maxis is adding onto the original foundation.