Family Farmhouse: Spring to Life

Sul Sul Simmers!

This update has us extremely excited for two major reasons:

1. This update will add new Enhanced Lighting to Home Lots
2. Family Farmhouse is the first FreePlay series starting with ‘Spring to Life’

Enhanced Lighting

Building and decorating Home Lots has always been a popular way for Simmers to create and personalize their SimTown. Now, with the new addition of Enhanced Lighting, you can add a whole new dimension to your designs! Imagine sunlight streaming through your bay windows to brighten your living room or creating a dark and cozy nook by the warm glow of a fireplace. How lovely. You’ll be able to see this in full effect in your own Sims’ Home Lots with this update.

The Enhanced Lighting feature will provide improved visuals, as allowed by each device's performance capabilities. The level of lighting effects will be set automatically, adapting to each device to balance visual quality and gameplay performance. If you want to switch back to Classic Lighting, simply toggle the ‘Graphics’ setting in the Options menu. Do not push 'reset game'. Tap the back button to apply your settings changes.

Devices similar to the iPhone 12, Galaxy S23, and above, will be able to display the optimal version of Enhanced Lighting. The level of lighting effects will also adapt to older devices with lower specifications, including devices like the iPhone X and Galaxy S20.

Devices with specifications below the iPhone X are unlikely to properly render Enhanced Lighting while maintaining a smooth gameplay experience. These devices will continue to use the Classic version of in-game lighting.

Both 'Enhanced Lighting' and 'Classic Lighting' will remain supported for the foreseeable future. Performance on different devices may evolve as we continue optimizing the game.

Also, you can now turn all the lights in a house on or off together. Auto lights, which activate when a Sim enters the room, are now called Sensor lights. Night lights turn on at 7 pm and turn off at 7 am. Another key thing you should note is that the time of day will not change dynamically like it used to, it will refresh only when you enter a scene. So, if you stay in your house lot for extended periods of time, you won't see the lighting change, and it won't become dark automatically.

Enhanced Lighting (Home Lots) is the first of many graphical and gameplay enhancements in the Sims FreePlay roadmap, which was created from player feedback through surveys, playtests, and comments. Please continue to share your feedback as the game evolves.

Introducing Sims FreePlay Series.

The Sims FreePlay team loves creating themed updates for millions of Simmers throughout the year. Each time, we have a long list of items, actions, and Sims magic we’d like to include but can’t fit into a single update. This inspired the creation of ‘FreePlay Series.’

A FreePlay Series connects multiple updates, usually two or three, with a theme or concept. It allows us to explore content we wouldn’t otherwise be able to, like quirky rooms and furniture, outfits for toddlers and senior Sims, and possibly more pets. All while continuing to update core aspects of the game.

A series won’t always be based on an aesthetic style but can explore other ideas and concepts. The first series will consist of two updates based on the Modern Farmhouse aesthetic, a very highly requested theme!

First Update: Family Farmhouse: Spring to Life

Help your Sims modernize a rustic farmhouse they’ve inherited. Spring cleaning is just the start; we also have a whole garden to grow!

Second Update: Family Farmhouse: Spring to Action

Friendly rivalries are always good fun—until the new neighbors get a fancier home than yours. That’s it—we’re adding a home cinema, and getting something cute and fluffy! We’ll show them just how modern a farmhouse can get!

With those two major changes in this update covered, here’s info on all the new events in 'Spring to Life':

Craft Challenge ‘Journey to the Midwest’

Your Sim has inherited a rustic farmhouse (YAY!), in a very sorry state (oh no…). This absolutely won’t do for your Sim, who’s more accustomed to being the owner of the best house on the block!

Complaining won’t help, it’s time to grab their cleaning gear and get the rebuilding going. Can you help your Sim turn this shabby farmhouse into a home that makes jaws drop and heads turn?

Influence Island ‘Lighting Lampoon!’

Uh-oh! Looks like Builder Bree's stunning order of lights got scattered all over town by the quirky Professor Hans Free. Groble! These unique lights were perfect for every style, and now they’re lost just when we need them most.

To make things trickier, that sneaky electromagnetician is trying to snatch them up for himself! Bree could really use your Sim's help to gather them all back. Ready for the adventure?

SimChase ‘Backyard Blitz!’

Spring is all fun and games until you spot weeds thriving in your garden. It’s worse when they’ve spread from your neighbor's yard! Argh, thanks Lizzy Azalea! She really needs to get a grip on the grass over there.

Time to pop on your gardening gloves, slap on some sunscreen, and become a weed-busting machine! You’ll be rewarded with plenty of farmhouse goodness for your work.

Influence Island ‘Spring has Sprung!’

Spring has indeed sprung, and it’s time for your washcloth to be wrung! Your Sim realizes that their house needs some spring cleaning, but it’s a lot of cleaning for one Sim.

It’s now up to you to get your Sim to convince their neighbors to help out before Dan Deline! As you progress through the event you’ll unlock more and more cleaning supplies to add to your Sim’s dirt-demolition arsenal.

What else you can expect when jumping into: 
Pregnancy Pack 46

Of course, we had to sprinkle in some farmhouse-themed pregnancy content! Go get your pregnant Sims a lovely checkered dress. To complete the look, we’ve also included some cute blush makeup and dangly earrings.

Influence Island ‘Newfangled Neutrals’

Neutrals go with everything; we have some of the best to fill that farmhouse! This returning event lets you build a cozy urban house with a neutral aesthetic.

SimChase ‘Garden Grapple’ 

With this returning event, reward your Sims for all that spring cleaning and bring a bit of Palm Springs to their garden. Your Sims will love you for building a jacuzzi and fountain pool for them to unwind at!

Thank you for reading our 105th update’s blog!

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