Update: 08/16/2016 – PC Version 1.22.22.1020 / Mac Version 1.22.22.1220

Happy August Simmers!

We’d like to share a couple of small this and that’s with you…

To start off with, a new…
Sims can now customize their cell phone covers!

Open up your Sims cell phone menu by clicking on the phone in the bottom left (just under your Sims portrait). At the top of the phone menu is a Change Phone Cover Color button. You can choose from over a dozen colors and patterns for your phone to give your Sim that extra bit of flair.

We also have a few issues that were addressed…

General
The blue pattern plaster wall pattern now has a name other than wall_V_Plaster03MPanels_Blue. It now shall be known as Patterned Plaster, the same as all of its brothers and sisters - Patterned Plaster.
You know if it were me, I would have called it Bob, give it some personality, make it an individual, someone who stands out.
“What have you got there on your walls? Is that Patterned Plaster?”
“No. That's Bob.”
Sims will no longer be woken from sleep to watch a show at the Puppet Theatre or the DJ Booth unless they were specifically called forth by the "Put on Show for…" interaction.
Are you an ‘er’ or ‘re’ type of person?
And, if I may be so bold, what would you show in your theatre or theater?
I’d show 80s SciFi.
The Grand Master Yoda styled look will no longer appear in the list twice for child Sims.
…although, if the Grand Master Yoda wanted to appear twice in the styled looks catalog, who are we to say no.
We fixed an issue where choosing to stop a custom music preview from playing in the options panel, did not actually stop it, but just lowered its volume.
We have, to speak plainly, adjusted the weighting and deformation maps for several Create a Sim assets in order to correct for holes, odd angles, and other visual oddities.
We addressed an issue that could cause Sims to get stuck in a hot tub after choosing to Woohoo, Mess Around, or Try for Baby, if both Sims had low hygiene.

Get To Work
We have un-hidden three objects in the Build catalog: Corporate Fridge Raider Revenue Generating Cooler, Still Ambiguous Lab Case, and the Galvanized Industrial Wall Pipe.
These objects were used on career locations, but were previously unavailable to the home catalog.

Kids Room Stuff
Children looking for discarded toys in the trash will no longer find themselves "discarded." They should no longer become invisible upon completing the interaction.
We fixed an issue that could result in the collectable Voidcritter cards appearing overly dark in low lit rooms.

Backyard Stuff
We addressed an issue with necklaces clipping into the neck when worn with shirts that were tagged as masculine.
The frog fountain now also includes the sound of water when it is spewing water.
Of particular note, is that there is no option to kiss the frog fountain, despite any hidden desires one might harbor.
Any attempts at kissing the frog fountain will result in no change, for you and the fountain.
It should be advised that if you do desire to kiss a frog, it should only be done if the frog is considered a close family friend, that you have long since been without…perhaps you were on an extended vacation to Fiji, only just now returning to see your beloved frog.
A gentle peck is then acceptable… with their consent of course.

Thank you again for all and everything,
-SimGuruGnome

[Posted on behalf of SimGuruNick who was going to post on behalf of SimGuruDrake while she is in Germany who normally posts on behalf of SimGuruGnome.]

I am so thrilled that they fixed the issue of renaming the blue patterned plaster. Because this issue was seriously breaking my game.
Now I can view the corrected name of the patterned plaster in all its glory and be completely satisfied with the game.

I'm glad this issue took priority over every other possible thing they could have done.

I've long since given up on TS4 so I couldn't really care less, but is it just me or does it seem like they spend more energy on coming up with "funny" (and I'm using that term only reluctantly here) ways of talking about the so-called fixes than on actually fixing more than they break?

It's how they distract you from their less than stellar patch work.

I wish they would fix the sims getting too close the performers. we're already in sims 4, yet the npc sims still insist getting on the stage to boo or watch the performer... seriously.

I wonder why it had to be renamed I would rather have seen a fix for the nanny maids and a new world I am happy about the voidcritter search being fixed so the kids no longer go invisible, though...

Nah, it's totes perf.

They could release a superstar type pack and still let that slip under the rug.

Wow... I really am a little speechless. SimGuruHouts made a joke about an EP on Twitter being part of SimGuruLindsey's next giveaway. For myself, I really don't find it very funny since it has been a year since we've gotten a new EP. Here's the link to his profile, scroll down and you will see it. I also have a screenshot of it in case he deletes the post.

Is anyone still having the issue with the DJ Booth? I have it in one of the nightclubs where three or four npc Sims try to join the DJ

I do... these npcs just don't get the personal space rule, or EA doesn't.

I really wish they'd fix the problem with kids' hair randomly changing color after exiting from CAS. It drives me crazy and I can't find any way to prevent it from happening.

Not to mention the few hundred mods that already do this.. and do this better.
But gee... thanks for the noneffort. I'm so glad EA has provided me with such a vast number of options to color that tiny 20 pixel speck that I mostly ignore.
I sure hope they rename the colors on it at some point.

Lol these mods are nothing more than a default phone replacement and every Sim still uses the same phone.

Not really surprised that no one could make an actual phone case mod and it had to take EA to make one

Oh.. I am sure that everyone is thrilled that every sim can now have one of 16 new specks to hold against their ear.
Utterly groundbreaking.
Huzzah

And here I thought that was just me being too lazy to figure out if it was a mod conflict. So far it's only happened to one of my kids but it's still annoying.

Also I'm not sure which yet but one of my mods is already not agreeing with this patch. I am unable to change my phone color (I don't even have the option to) and there's a white square over the button where the journal should be.

Still better than any of these "mods"

Well we differ in opinion there. Most of the phones from those mods look much better. Regardless of their identical colors.
But sure... at least one person thinks this is a quality and well made improvement to the game as opposed to anything else.
More power to you. Enjoy your colorful cornucopia of joy

@lil bag2 Found one mod doing this for my game. Neia More Clubs Per Sim
ETA: BTW there is an update available already from Neia.

So instead of fixing that issue or the nanny problems, we get cellphone cases?

I think it's not fixable. Probably related to how they couldn't stop the restaurant customers keep standing up out of their seats. There is something deep in the C++ that if they change it breaks other things the python relies on.

I don't understand how it's soooooooo hard to keep a Sim sitting down. I really don't.

But...but...their foundation!



Yeah that's probably what the problem is then. Thank you.

I don't understand how Sims can't line up to be checked out when shopping but they can for water sliding?

Even if they can't fix the personal space issue, I think the nannies ignoring kids and cleaning or leaving while the parents are gone is more serious than cellphone cases. I know several players who've had Sim babies taken away due to neglect because the nanny was not taking care of them properly (and in some cases leaving while the parents were at work) and they had no adults home to step in (which I wound up having to do when I tested the nanny and all he did was clean, ignore the baby, and then stalk the baby's child sister when she came home from school)

Oh, wow. Cellphone covers, how amazing. You know, for those phones I like to pretend don't exist even though they are permanently grafted onto every sim's body now.

"Hey, Dixieland! I heard you became best friends with your twin sister! She's a really cool person!"
Now the damn things have covers!? You couldn't fix the option to silence the phones so that it, you know, actually works?