We have just released a new version of the Graphics Rules Maker. It now comes with better Windows Vista/7/8 support, a SimCity 4 plugin and a Dutch translation.
News
Please note I'm currently working on the new site. I didn't want to take the site offline though, so you can still visit it. However me working on the site while it's still online means a lot of the pages will appear wonky. But not to worry, it won't take too long. 
4 Nov 2014 - 18:09
Woooo check out the new trailer about pools. All the houses. I got so much inspiration now! 
*off to build*
4 Nov 2014 - 17:30
Yesterday I was lucky enough to attend a private Twitch stream from the Sims Studio. Graham Nardone and Stephanie Tran showed a bunch of fansites and YouTubers the pools in The Sims 4! I had no idea what to expect, but I did manage to write down some questions before the demo, and they were all answered. I made a Q&A overview for you guys to learn all about the new pools feature! Enjoy!
- Can we customize walls and floors in pools?
Yes, we can! So I've been making walls and floors for pools hehe, keep an eye on SNW for them. - Can we place pools on -let's say- the second floor?
Yes! You can place pools on every floor you want. - Can we have diagonal pools?
Yes, as well as rectangular, octagonal, triangle et cetera. No round pools at this time. - Do pools have height options too?
Yes, very much the same like normal walls do. Normal, medium, high. - Can you build a pool on a foundation?
Yes, you can have a pool on the ground and on the foundation. Both at the same time if you want too. - Can you have a rooftop pool?
You certainly can! - What kind of pool objects are there?
Pool ladder, several pool lights, several pool decorations (mozaic) like turtles. - Are there diving boards?
Not at this time. - But can Sims dive?
No, they can jump in the pool, but can't dive. - Can we decorate pools with plants and other objects?
Not really, though you can use the lily pads! - But we can use lights, right?
Yes, there are several pool lights. Some of them are to put on the pool walls. And by using the alt key you can position them any way you want. Also, there is a pool light you can use on the pool floor as well. You can also use the pool lights on normal walls and floors. - Can we change the colours of lights in the pool too?
Yes, and it looks very cool! - Can we move pools like we can move rooms?
Yes. If you want to move the pool to another location on the lot, you can pick it up like any other room and move it to a new location. - Can we use pool ladders on diagonal walls?
Yes! - How about swimwear?
Each age/gender category has their own swimwear. And I saw about 6 options for adult males (each have their own colour options too of course). For female's there are swimsuits and bikinis. You can mix and match the bikinis too. - Any accessories?
Yes, flip flops and sun screen face paint are among the accessories. - Are there any new styled looks in the swimwear category?
Yes! I saw Unbe-leaf-able, Beach Buddy, and Surf's Up. But there is more. These are just a few I wrote down. - Can we use windows in pools?
Yes! And I also wanted to mention we no longer have that annoying seam on the walls we used to have in The Sims 3 when placing a pool above ground floor! - Are there any pre-built lots with pools on the gallery?
It's being worked on. - Can you build walls around the pools?
Yes, walls/fences can be built around the pool. Be careful to leave some space for your Sim to get out of the pool (or not, depending on how you want to play!) - What kind of activities are there?
You can choose to swim here or swim laps. The difference is that swim here will just get the Sim from point A to point B, whereas swim laps will actually get them to swim laps and exercise. Also Sims will spend more time swimming laps. - Are there any age restricted activities?
Kids can learn to swim with their parent there. Other than that the interactions are shared throughout all the age groups. - Any emotional gameplay involved with the pools?
When a Sim is angry, they can go swim angry laps. When they're playful, they can swim around playfully. So there are some custom emotional interactions. - Are there any new skills involved? Hidden skills?
No, but Sims can train their fitness level, and kids can train their motor skill while swimming. So you can still skill up - Is there a new gnome?
There is! And it's a pool gnome. It's also the first female gnome! - Can Sims float on their back?
Nope. - Can Sims socialize in the pool?
Actually yes. They can splash each other. They can also sit on the pool ledge and talk to each other. Either with both Sims on the ledge, both of them in the water, or one in the water and the other on the ledge. All possible. They can also splash each other in this position (with one sitting on the ledge and the other in the pool). It's pretty cool to see! - Any other interactions?
Well, Sims can pee in the pool now. If their bladder is empty enough they can choose to pee in the pool. You can see it. And other Sims will react to it as well. It's funny, and icky! Haha. - Do Sims need the pool ladder?
No, Sims can jump in the pool without a ladder, and they don't need a ladder to get out of the pool either. - So Sims can't drown anymore then?
Well they can. If you build a fence around the pool and prevent them from going out. It should also be possible without a fence if you try really hard. You'd have to prevent the Sim from going out the pool. Having them hungry and energy depleted will help. - Is there a new death type?
Most certainly! Sims can now drown. I've witnissed this new death type and it's heartbreaking especially with kids involved. I'm not one to kill off my Sims, but I'm sure people will love it. Once a Sim has drowned, they stay floating in the water for some time until the Grim Reaper is done. Oh and kids can drown too! - Sooooo, new ghosts?
Yep. They will be dripping water, and they'll feel really uncomfortable around water. - Is there any multitasking in the pool?
No, but then again what would you want to do while swimming? - When can we expect the update for pools?
Sometime this week (watch the broadcast today for more information on that!) - Will the update be free?
Yes, your game will update automatically
Thanks EA for giving me an early demo on pools. I enjoyed it very much and I can't wait to start building houses with pools again!
4 Nov 2014 - 17:17
The Sims team has posted a thread on the official forums, asking us to pick our favourite design from the above picture. I honestly cannot choose, I just want them all. Yes I know that sounds greedy, but they're so adorable! If I have to pick favourites, it's 3, 6, 2, 10, in that order. The Sims team will make the winning sweater for us in December!
Hello Simmers! It’s November and the holidays are approaching rapidly! To get into the giving spirit, we’d like to make a tacky (cheesy) holiday sweater for you all! Here are some concepts we have drawn up. Tell us which one you’d most like to inflict on your Sims this holiday season. Santa will deliver it in December!
4 Nov 2014 - 17:01
Be sure to tune in to today's broadcast. It will be at noon PST, 8pm in the UK and 9pm CET. Don't miss it!
1 Oct 2014 - 18:34
SimGuruZera and SimGuruRachel posted 2 new blogs on the official site today. Both blogs are about the new updates, one of them specifically about ghosts which will be added in today's update!
Read: Free Content Updates in The Sims 4 Starting…Now! Also, Gnomes and It's Getting Spooky in Here: Ghosts Are Now Haunting The Sims 4
1 Oct 2014 - 17:46
I just had the honour to attend a live conference call with a lot of other fansites and YouTubers and during that call we learned a lot about upcoming updates for The Sims 4!
Today we will get an update in our games where the Sims team is adding ghosts! Yes, you read it, ghosts! When after installing the update your Sims die, they can come out of their tombstones. If they had a good relationship with other Sims in the household prior to their death, they can eventualy move back into the household and become a playable character again! If they aren't friendly, you can befriend them and have them move in. Ghosts change into the colour of their mood. So a playful or flirty Sim would be pink, et cetera. Ghosts can woohoo with other ghosts and with living Sims, but they cannot reproduce (so they can't have any kids after they've died). Each type of death comes with special behaviour. Meaning that if a Sim has died in a fire while being angry, they can start a fire as a ghost when they're angry. Ghosts who died by emotion will have an area of effect around them that will influence other Sims's moods around them. Once a ghost has rejoined the household, they can die again, but only in a fire. Ghosts will retain their skills and traits. They won't have their career anymore but they can start over. Ghosts can hunt objects. Ghosts can also break plumbing. Sims who died from electrocution can also break electrical items. Ghosts will be "stuck" in the age they had when they died. Ghosts can do most of the things a normal Sim can do, with a few exceptions. They can still get married. They can complete all aspirations. It mostly comes with a bunch of cool new features normal Sims don't have. Ahhh I can't wait anymore!
A couple of other features in today's update are new eye colours (a variety of colours including purple, olive green hazel, some blues, hazel colours etc). And the team has also fixed a number of bugs. More details about the entire list of features will be posted later.
We are happy to announce that the Force is strong with our Sims. Because we are getting awesome Star Wars costumes for kids, teens, young adults, adults and elders. There is Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker for male teens/(young)adults/elders and a Leia for female teena/(young) adults/elders, and Yoda for kids of both genders!
The next update will be in November and will feature POOLS! YES! POOLS! AHHHHHHH! When the time comes we will post more information about this update. For now, we can only say that this will add a new way to die, which is drowning. Yay!
In December we will get a bunch of new career tracks for our games. No details on this yet, but it will add more gameplay and that's awesome.
I should mention that ALL the game updates in this post will be free for everyone and they come in the form of a patch. So you only need to update your game (which happens automatically through Origin).
I would like to thank EA for including me in this conference call. I was SO nervous but I'm so happy to hear and share the good news with you guys! Check your games today to get the first free update.
30 Sep 2014 - 20:00
According to The Sims studio on Twitter, it will be an exciting week in The Sims 4! Stay tuned to find out more very soon.
10 Sep 2014 - 20:54
SimGuruRiley has recently shared a new blog talking about what a day at The Sims Studio looks like for an animator.
With The Sims 4 now launched, I thought it would be fun to show you what my typical day is like as a Senior Animator at the Studio!
Early Morning: Arrive at EA
First order of the day is to check email for any issues, concerns or requests, while I am syncing down the latest build of the game. I look over my calendar to see if I have any meetings to review design or implementation plans. If I don’t have any meetings that usually means I will be animating, testing or refining our work in the game.
Mid-Morning: Stand Ups, Reviews and Prepping New Animation
The animation team usually has a quick meeting in the morning. It’s like a roll call. When our name is called out we declare the work that we will be doing that day. A one sentence statement about the overall feature and how much we have completed usually does the trick. As a team it is advantageous for us to understand who is working on what assets. Informal and quick, the meeting rarely lasts longer than 5 to 10 minutes. We return to our stations and continue work. For the next hour our Animation Directors will meet with each of us to review our animation for quality. The team is large and the Directors have split us in half to help focus the review time. We are, affectionately, Red Team and Blue Team. During the review with a Director we will look at the first pass of blocked out animation, shoot reference video, talk about how a feature is going to work in game, receive feedback on animation or discuss technical issues we have.
Lunchtime:
I like to go out with my Animation Pod. I mentor three animators and we try to get off campus and go out to lunch together once a week. Each time it’s a new place – the hardest part is trying to get all four of us to decide where to go.
