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The Sims 4 is a widely loved game for a good reason: it lets players live out their dream lives in a dream world. After twenty years of successfully keeping the franchise alive, it's no wonder that recent rumors and news of EA potentially working on a brand new installment has excited every Simmer on the surface of the planet.

While patiently waiting for more news on a possible The Sims 5, however, the best way to spice up the current version of the game is to add some custom content and mods. There are some incredible modders out there, who have not just made The Sims 4 better but also brought back crucial features from previous game. Here are the best mods every Simmer needs for better gameplay.

RELATED: 10 Things We Wish We Knew Before Starting The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle

Updated on June 11th, 2020 by Anastasia Maillot: With EA's next big expansion having been announced and soon to be released, Simmers have received Eco Lifestyle with mixed feelings. While there's some good and bad to be had in the upcoming addition to a growing collection of game packs, stuff packs, and expansions, the newest installment still fails to address some of the biggest weaknesses of the series.

This is where the modding community steps in to provide players with quick fixes to not only to the game's performance but also to add in some realism and immersion. Although the game isn't perfect, it does get close to it with these five additional mods.

20 No Empty Venues

One of the greatest flaws in the game is that moment when a player's household arrives at a community lot, only to discover that almost no one seems to be around. This just isn't realistic, and instantly takes away from the immersion of the game. Thankfully, this mod by weerbesu fixes that.

Venues will now naturally have more Sims already inside, rather than only spawning these Sims within the venue once the player's Sim has loaded in. Finally, Sims can enjoy an actual realistic night out at a club!

19 Balanced Calories

Gaining weight is a pretty simple process in the game, as everything the Sims consume will be translated into their physical appearance. However, this isn't how calories actually work with real human beings, and it makes the whole process a bit weird even in the game, as Sims can experience unhealthy weight gain from just eating healthy foods.

RELATED: The Sims 4: 10 Of The Most Fun Households In The Game

Simscovery's mod fixes this by introducing a tweaked system that gives different food different effects. Salads for instance will help a Sim lose weight, while other foods might make them gain weight still. The way burning calories works has been tweaked too.

18 Banking And Bills

While it's kind of nice not having to worry about actual bills in the game, some players might want to add that bit of realism and challenge to their Sims' lives. By introducing taxes and better calculated bills and rents, Sims will now actually have to work in order to make bank at the end of the week.

This mod by Sim Realist is a great addition to just about any game, and fundamentally changes the way banking and financial matters are handled within the game.

17 Choose Roommates

As much fun as it is to watch Sims struggle trying to get along with random townies in Discover University's dorm rooms, it's nice at times to be able to tell specific stories of Sims becoming roommates without the player having to control both Sims at the same time.

LittleMsSam's simple mod allows for the player to do just that and pick who they'd like to have as their roommate. While it does require a bit of preparation, it really does make university gameplay even more fun.

16 Age Up Friends

This mod is particularly useful for players who play with aging off and want to manually control how the Sims age and when. This can be a bit hard with younger Sims in particular, who might have townies as their friends, since these Sims can't be aged easily. As such, the friendship will become a bit weird as one Sim grows older.

RELATED: Sims 4: 15 Best packs For Builders, Ranked

LittleMsSam's aging mod allows the player to age up other Sims, and even age up a number of different Sims at the same time. It makes the whole process much easier and quicker.

15 Skills Carry Over

One of the biggest, glaring flaws in The Sims 4 is the fact that toddlers an children have skills that don't carry over into the next age. It feels a bit unfair that the grind for maxing out all the skills or at least the relevant ones has to start again, especially prior to being a teenager.

Thanks to the Lifetime Skills mod, skills will not finally carry over to the next age. Skills like Thinking will become Mental and eventually will transfer into the Logic skill. Similarly, Movement becomes Motor and finally levels up into Fitness, so players never need to worry about losing their skills again.

14 No More Stuck Sims

The Sims 4 is a monster of a game, especially in saves that have existed for a long time. It's not uncommon for players, even those with great PCs, to see some strange things happen around town when they play longer playthroughs like legacies. Sims stuck in idle animations are one of the main issue people tend to face.

RELATED: The Sims 5 Multiplayer: 4 Features We Want (& 4 We Don't)

There's a great mod out there by Turbodriver, which basically prevents this from happening. EA's working very hard to patch out any bugs in the game, but with so much on their plate, it's only natural the modding community has to step in to do some of the work.

13 Super Speed Mod

sim with white hair going for a jog

Anyone who has ever thought that the highest speed available in The Sims 4 isn't fast enough is definitely not alone with the sentiment. With how tedious the game can get, it's totally understandable to want things to go much faster. The worst part is when the game refuses to engage the maximum speed at times.

There's a mod by artum which allows an even higher speed into the game. Finally, watching Sims do their daily routine becomes easier when this speed is included in the game. However, this mod is a pretty hefty one, and can have some adverse effects so use with caution and moderation.

12 Daily Save Mod

Via: SimConnection https://simconnection.net/2015/12/19/why-yours-sims-now-have-bigger-reactions-to-death-and-fire/

I’m sure there are many times in your gaming career where you would like to be duking it out in a fight or to be in a very stressful moment which requires meticulous finesse, only to have yourself get killed or fail the mission.

RELATED: The Sims: 25 Tricks From The Series Players Have No Idea About

The Sims 4 base game offers an autosave which isn’t at all robust. However, Daily Save Mod (coded by temptest) can save your progress every game day, using seven rotating slots. This ensures you have many chances to undo your mistake whether you have killed your Sim or destroyed your house!

11 Emotional Inertia

Via: PlumbobNews http://www.plumbobnews.com/2016/02/the-sims-4-news-free-anniversary.html

For various reasons, people want their gameplay to have more depth or be more immersive. The Sims 4 has personality algorithms that can place Sims in moods depending on conversations and the environment. However, these feelings and moods can be predictable and not feel genuine.

RELATED: 25 Hidden Details In The Sims 4 Real Fans Completely Missed

To enhance the immersion, roBurky coded the amazing Emotional Inertia Mod, which manipulates the moods of Sims. This extends the duration of certain moods depending on their levels of feelings, to deliver a more authentic feel to the emotions the Sims have.

10 Deadly Spellcaster

Although no one can deny Realm Of Magic brought in some interesting gameplay, the pack was just a bit too small in its scope to really leave a mark on the fans. If only there had been more drastic spells, quirky items like Bonehilda from the original Makin' Magic or just something more challenging.

Luckily, the Deadly Spellcaster mod by andrian_m.l spices this game pack up by introducing deadly spells for Sims to learn. Now, any spellcaster can cause mayhem wherever they please by using actually impactful and strong spells to dominate over the feeble-minded. Time to unleash that evil sorcerer Sim!

9 ATM, Credit Cards And Loans

Sometimes it can feel like things are way too easy in The Sims 4. Money is pretty simple to come by, just by selling collectibles or other objects your Sim might dig up from the ground. In the real world, however, it's a different story.

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This mod by LittleMsSam adds that much needed spark of realism into The Sims 4 by introducing ATMs, credit cards and even loans. Sims can now apply for a loan and will have to keep a sharp eye on when their payment is due. They'll even begin to feel tense when pay day is around the corner.

8 Default Easel Paintings Replace

Via: IHXAI http://ihxaisims.tumblr.com/post/153220661354/default-easel-painting-replacement-wip-coming

When going through some games, do you look at their art and go "YUCK"? The Sims 4 is the same. Some of the generic artworks don’t really suit the theme or the aesthetic of what it should be.

A coder by the name of DaisyTighfield has made a simple mod named Default Easel Paintings Replaced. Within the pack, they have replaced the standard ‘meh’ paintings with an amazing range of artwork to really pop your décor. You can even replace some paintings with your own!

7 Fairies Mod

Via: SimsCommunity http://simscommunity.info/2018/01/12/become-a-fairy-in-the-sims-4-with-this-mod/

Humans — BAH! So boring right? Some gamers like to stretch the realms of reality and enter a fantasy land of their own making. Nyx has created a magical mod aptly named Fairies Mod, which allows the player to turn their Sims into fairies.

Any Sim can be blessed (or cursed) with this gift by pleading with the new addition, the fairy tree, and be transformed into a winged wonder. Awesome features (such as having auras, both good and bad, which affect the moods of all immediate Sims around them), customizable wings, and even magic, adds an additional layer of creativity and playthrough.

6 Stoves And Cooking In Dorms

One of the best and most recent additions to The Sims 4 is undoubtedly Discover University. The expansion became one of the most popular among fans. However, it wasn't without its faults: namely, the lack of cooking allowed in dorms.

Thankfully modders were quick to fix this issue. Stoves, grills and the like can now be placed into a university residence, whether it's a dorm of a university housing, thanks to dorien922's mod. No longer are students forced to eat microwave food. Hooray!

5 Gender Preference Mod

Via: Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/thesims/comments/3fbizl/with_marriage_equality_now_in_all_50_states_my/

Love is love in the real world, right? Why shouldn’t it extend to our Sims as well! Azoresman has coded a simple mod called Gender Preference Set, which allows the player to change—you guessed it—the gender preference for your Sim.

RELATED: 10 Reasons You Need The Sims 4 MC Command Center Mod

There are four options that the player can choose from: male, female, both, and none. In recent updates to the mod, the player can dictate the percentage of preference via a slider; evermore increasing the flexibility the player has in creating the perfect Sim that fits their story (if there is one).

4 Murphy Bed Fixes

One of the most recent additions to The Sims 4 is the Murphy bed. Found in the Tiny Living Stuff Pack, this bed can be stowed away during daytime when Sims need more space. But beware: the Murphy bed is deadly.

Fans were somewhat irritated by how often the bed would actually malfunction, and so modders came to the rescue again by reducing the amount of times these beds would drive Sims to the brink of insanity. Modder Teknikah released this handy mod to ensure every Simmer can enjoy the Murphy bed without fear of death.

3 Height Slider

Via: Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjZEFPsNU6Y&vl=en

The Sims have always prided themselves on the ability to fully customize characters; from their body type to their hair to their facial features. But the one thing that you cannot do in The Sims 4 is changing the height! How bizarre is that? Not to fear though; GODJUL1 has coded a small mod called Height Slider, which allows you to change the height of a Sim with a simple drag of the mouse.

This mod will help create a bit of difference and uniqueness between your Sims. As a reminder, this is a custom mod. Actions, such as kissing and hugging, may look strange as the characters aren’t the same height (duh).

2 Custom Food Interactions

Via: SimsVIP https://simsvip.com/2016/02/19/the-sims-4-custom-food-showcase/

Bored of the same food that your Sims can make? Want something new and exciting? Never fear, Custom Food Interactions is here to save you from boring food.

RELATED: 20 Disney Characters Reimagined As Your Favourite Foods

This mod allows your Sim to create delicious meals such as tandoori chicken, peach pie, and apple salad just to name a few. When you install this mod, be sure to check out the #Custom food tag on modthesins.info to get the latest and greatest of custom foods!

1 MC Command Center

Via: TheGamer https://www.thegamer.com/10-reasons-need-sims-4-mc-command-center-mod/

We've finally made it to the end-all, be-all; the best of the best. These are some of the phrases uttered by many Sims players when it comes to this mod.

MC Command Center by deaderpool is a mammoth of a mod, which came highly recommended by colleagues, friends, and random Internet dwellers. This mod allows the player to take control of very finite features of the game; from lifespans to bill frequency, even down to pregnancy chances! There are too many things to list here, however, it allows granular control over your Sims playthrough, which is perfect for those wanting to tell a story that is precise and particular.

NEXT: Sims 4: The Ultimate List of All The Hidden Lots You Can Discover