When The Sims 4 released in September, there were a few things missing from the game that fans of the series had grown to love. While there had been some improvements to the performance and look to the game, some fans were displeased with the lack of things that they had grown to love in The Sims 3. Fans of the series should rejoice however, a free update that was released today has addressed one of these issues in particular for owners of The Sims 4. As part of this free update, Sims 4 players will now be able to construct and use swimming pools. This was first announced by executive producer Shannon Copur, who expressed her excitement for pools, and stated that swimming pools will benefit from the game's build mode, which not only allows players to build houses, but is now being expanded for Pool Building. The great technology that enabled players to build houses, is now being extended to pools, making pool-building faster and easier than ever before. Players also have some new pool options that have never been an option before, such as building pools diagonally, on the roof or second floor of a home, as well as creating "exotic" pools with things like windows inside to give them an aquarium-esque experience. The mood of a sim also impacts their actions in the pool, for instance an angry sim might intentionally splash others in order to get them wet. In addition to pools, players will be getting new swimwear options, as well as bug-fixes that will improve the overall performance of the game itself.
Caution should be exercised however, because there is a new death-type in The Sims 4. Sims who stay in the water too long while tired or hungry may experience death by drowning, and risk The Grim Reaper coming to take the waterlogged victim to the afterlife. If a sim dies by drowning their ghost will fear water, so good luck getting your drowning victim to enjoy the pool with his other ghostly buddies.
There are even more juicy additions to this update, so check out the announcement on The Sims 4 Official Site, as well as the Patch Notes, then take a look at the introduction to pools video so you can see firsthand just how amazing this update is for fans of The Sims 4.