A few days ago over on my Tumblr, I wrote a little bit about the new look The Sims 4 was going to receive in the next game patch. The game patch in question went live on Tuesday and while the rebrand still seems to be a bit of a controversial subject in some areas of the community, I wanted to take the time to expand a little bit more on my original Tumblr post.
Ever since the reveal of the rebrand I have felt very much in the middle about how I feel. There were aspects that I did like and some that I didn’t like as much. It also left me with a few concerns.
Here are a few parts of my Tumblr post which somewhat summarize what I feel are the positives and negatives of the rebrand for myself.
Negative Points
- The new use of blue. While the colour has been a part of the games colour scheme previously I feel that it’s a little bit too much in places.
- Downloadable Content will now have one set colour depending on the kind of DLC they are. While this has never been an issue for GP’s or SP’s it was nice seeing the EP’s have a colour specific to that particular EP which made items stand out in game in CAS and build/buy mode. I guess you could say that this is more something that you would become use to over time.
- This point somewhat links into what I mentioned above but relates more to the promotional box art. While the current renders will still feature on the rebranded box arts, I feel that they don’t capture your attention as much and seem very busy.
- While I do like the new box art render I’d love to have seen some Toddler & Elder Sims featured too.
Positive Points
- The new Plumbob. Initially I wasn’t too sure about it but it is definitely growing on me. While it may not be my favourite I don’t feel that it is terrible. It will take some time to get use to but that will come in time.
- The new box art render. For me I feel that it takes some inspiration from The Sims 2 era. While I was a little disappointed there are no Toddlers or Elders featured but, it really isn’t that terrible.
- The new Main Menu will take some getting use to but it looks good. I like the addition of the video links to the specific packs too.
The points that I featured in the post were merely just some of the things that came to mind when thinking and talking about the rebrand.
I mentioned earlier in this post that the rebrand did leave me with a few concerns which I also covered briefly in my post.
I would have to say my biggest concern that I have and have seen many others voice is regarding players who may have Epilepsy, sight and/or sensory Impairments, chronic migraines and other medical conditions which the new colour scheme/rebrand could effect. While I do not suffer from any of these myself I do have friends who do. I know we have only seen screenshots of the rebrand so far and that it will be arriving in game from this coming Tuesday but I would like to hope that maybe an option to keep the current main menu/loading screens could be added into the game so players can swap between the two and use the one that is most suitable for them.
You can read the full post on Tumblr here.
With that being said I still have found myself remaining in the middle about the rebrand overall and I had been wondering how it would look in-game on my own setup. With the game patch now installed I was somewhat surprised. Personally, for myself, the blue loading screens didn’t appear to be as bad as I thought they would be although I still felt it was a little bit on the bright side. I did like the new introduction animations when you first load up the game as well. Again no major complaints other than the blue being a little on the bright side in places.
I did find myself missing the old loading screen, main menu and also the rainbow of icons a little bit. I do like the new main menu layout, I just don’t feel that with the new colour coordinated pack logos and the blue that it stands out as much. If I ever do feel like I want to swap back to the old user interface, I’m sure there will be a game mod I can add to my game to do so.
Over the last few days, I do have to say that the rebrand has grown on me. While I still don’t completely love it I don’t completely hate it.
I do want to give a quick shout out to The Sims Team though. They have quickly taken onboard one of the main points of feedback from the rebrand and have already acted on it. While yes there is a little bit of a wait for the change to be implemented into the game I’m happy to see the more positive reception to this change within the community.
Simmers, we heard your feedback regarding the colour usage on our loading screen and are making adjustments. Below is the current loading screen and underneath is the new loading screen which will go live in our August patch. pic.twitter.com/0ZlX0QA7ah
— SimGuruFrost ✈️ Sulani (@SimGuruFrost) July 17, 2019
The rebrand will be something that will take some getting used to for many of us. For those of us who have played The Sims 4 for a while now we are very much use to the original layout and previous user interface.
While the rebrand has had a mix reception I’m sure it will grow on many over time and sometimes it is nice to put a new spin on these things.
I honestly feel that the reveal and implementation of the rebrand for The Sims 4 is just the start of something bigger. The Sims 4 is fast approaching its fifth birthday and The Sims franchise is nearing its twentieth birthday. Who knows? I guess only time will tell.
Thank you for taking the time to read my little extended post about my thoughts on the rebrand.
Happy Simming!
LeeksPlays 