Many thanks to the Sims Creator Program for the early access codes for the #RoyaltyandLegacyBundle
Here are the goals and rules for my Sims 4 Rags to Royalty Challenge, which focuses on the two youngest children from my Rags to Small Business Challenge family, Theodore (Theo) and Tabitha Sheridan.
I am starting with four sims, our teen Theodore (Theo) Sheridan (genius, animal enthusiast) is the main sim who will be entering the nobility career when he is a young adult. He will also be the head of the dynasty, which we will create when he is a young adult as teens can’t create legacies.
His younger sister Tabitha (creative), who is currently a child, is joining Theo. Joining them will be teen Zhafira Cahyaputri (nosy, clumsy) from the For Rent Expansion Pack who became a ghost near the end of my Rags to Small Business Challenge Let’s Play. Zhafira will be working on the Social Puppeteer aspiration that comes with the Royalty & Legacy expansion pack.
We may possibly add Theo & Tabitha’s infant nephew, child of their older sister Sofia, once they are established.
All three sims are spellcasters.
Past Related Let’s Plays:
If you’d like to see my Rags to Small Business Challenge Let’s Play where Theo & Tabitha were born, and which shows Zhafira joining the household, here is the playlist for that.
Pack Goals:
Complete the new aspiration ‘Social Puppeteer’ (deviant category) that comes with Royalty & Legacy expansion pack with one sim in our household.
Max the new skill from the pack (swordsmanship) with at least one sim.
Have one sim (Theo) try to max the nobility career (at a minimum get to level 9).
Have a dynasty and see how high we can level it up.
Other Goals:
Complete the fortune aspiration with all sims.
All children/teen who age up to young adult must have at least four positive character values, hopefully all five.
Any toddlers must max all toddler skills, children need to complete base game & Growing Together childhood aspirations & a minimum of five formative moment challenges (Adventure Awaits) & teens need to complete the Goal Oriented & Admired Icon teen aspirations.
Young adults will have to complete their Soul’s Journey.
Rules
Start with no money on an lot with no home (we are starting on the 64×64 lot in the new world after deleting the house that starts on the lot, however landscaping is still there).
Starting sims need to complete their soul’s journey before they can leave the household.
Any sims joining the household can’t bring any money or any significant assets (sell furniture before moving them in if they live on their own).
Money can be made from anything that game allows including any new money making opportunities that come with either pack. When using Trendi, the mark up is limited to 10x (which is still quite high) and will mainly be used for the Admired Icon aspiration (the goal to list and if needed to get Social Bunny follower count up).
Here are the general rags to riches rules for rags to riches I tend to follow in my rags to riches tutorial video, and my blog post.
Many thanks to the EA Creator Network for the early access codes for the #AdventureAwaits and #EnchantedbyNature Expansion Packs.
Here are the goals and rules for my Sims 4 Adventure Awaits Rags to Riches Legacy Challenge: Fairy Edition, which uses the youngest heir (Zoe Ito-FitzMoon) from my Rags to Property Owners LP, who was born in the prelude to my Life & Death Rags to Riches Legacy challenge. She is still the fifth generation in this legacy.
I am starting with five sims, our teen Zoe Ito-FitzMoon is the main sim and is who will be having an heir for the next generation.
Her cousin Annie Pruett-Meyers, who Zoe’s Aunt Poppy adopted and who is currently a child, is joining Zoe. Also joining Zoe are siblings from my Fairy Pauper’s LP, twins Rowan & Glenn Reaves, teens, and their infant sibling Cassie.
Zoe & Glenn are spellcasters. Rowan & Cassie are fairies & Annie will become a fairy when she ages up to a teen. Zoe has the ancient bloodline trait and Glenn has a weak bloodline trait.
Past Related Let’s Plays:
If you’d like to see the prequel to my Life & Death Rags to Riches Legacy Challenge where Zoe was born and her parents completed their Soul’s Journey and pass down their aspiration traits to her aunts, here is the playlist for that.
Here is the playlist for Zoe’s parents For Rent rags to riches journey & the playlist for Zoe’s aunt and brothers Life & Death rags to riches journey.
Here is the playlist for my Fairy Pauper Let’s Play where Rowan & Glenn were raised from toddlers to teens & where their infant sister Cassie was born.
The back story as to why Glenn is a spellcaster and Rowan is a fairy is that their mother hid that she was a spellcaster from her husband, who is a fairy due to the negative relationship fairies and spellcasters have. It came out when the twins were born and Glenn was a spellcaster and at that point it appeared that she abandoned her family. It later turned out that she had gone to give up her magic and when that happened it caused her to lose her memory (this can’t happen in the game, but we’re using poetic license here!). A family friend knew who she was so she was reunited with her orphaned younger brother. Unfortunately she had kept her marriage and pregnancy from her family (due to the aforementioned negative relationship between fairies and spellcasters) so no one knew to look for her husband and children. It wasn’t until Cody, her husband and the twins’ father, accidentally found her again after joining a new career that her memory came back and the family was reunited.
Pack Goals:
Complete the new aspirations that come with both Adventure Awaits (Critter Hunter & childhood aspiration Cool Kid on the Block) & Enchanted by Nature (Elixir Enthusiast, Nature Nomad & Fairy Stories plus one of the two aspirations that unlock when you complete that aspiration) with at least one sim in our household.
Complete some childhood formative challenges.
Have at least one child in the household have an imaginary friend that we turn into a real sim when the child becomes a teen.
Max the new skills from both packs (Adventure Awaits: Papercraft, Diving & Entomology and for Enchanted by Nature: Apothecary & Natural Living).
Between the sims in the household have them max the careers from both packs.
Complete as many Adventure Awaits Quests & Enchanted by Nature Fables as we can.
Try to catch all the butterflies (Adventure Awaits).
Possibly look at the competitive trait with one of our sims.
Optional: possibly look at getaways if I can fit it in with everything else.
Other Goals:
Complete the fortune aspiration with all sims.
All children/teen who age up to young adult must have at least four positive character values, hopefully all five.
Any toddlers must max all toddler skills, children need to complete all childhood aspirations (base game & Growing Together) & teens need to complete the Goal Oriented & Admired Icon teen aspirations.
Young adults will have to complete their Soul’s Journey.
Work on completing the Making Money Scenario.
Rules
Start with no money on an lot with no home (we are starting on the 64×64 lot in Innisgreen that has a large pond and landscaping). We will move to Gibbi’s Point when our family has enough funds to do so.
Starting sims need to complete their soul’s journey before they can leave the household.
Any sims joining the household can’t bring any money or any significant assets (sell furniture before moving them in if they live on their own).
Money can be made from anything that game allows including any new money making opportunities that come with either pack. when using Trendi, the mark up is limited to 10x (which is still quite high) and will mainly be used for the Admired Icon aspiration (the goal to list and if needed to get Social Bunny follower count up).
Here are the general rags to riches rules for rags to riches I tend to follow in my rags to riches tutorial video, and my blog post.
Guides for Appeasing Gnomes:
New guide/screenshot from reddit post for appeasing gnomes:
Cody’s wife kept her spellcaster magic a secret from him & disappeared shortly before the twins aged up to toddlers. Glenn got her eyes & her magic while his twin Rowan got their father’s fairy gene! Cody’s teen sister Kenzie is there to help him raise his twins after his wife disappeared. Family helps family, after all that’s what Cody did for her when their parents died in a car accident. #EnchantedbyNature #Fairies #Spellcaster
Cody Reaves is a young adult with the Plant Lover, Mystical & Genius traits. He has the Quick Learner aspiration trait from choosing the Elixir Enthusiast Aspiration. His teen sister Kenzie has the Mystical & Loves the Outdoors traits, with the Collector aspiration trait from choosing the Nature Nomad aspiration. Toddler Rowan is independent and his twin Glenn is inquisitive.
The family is starting with no money on a partially furnished lot in the Coast of Adhmor neighbourhood. Their lot is on 1 Mari Shores Road (I bulldozed the lot and placed their home there; this is a 30 x 20 lot).
Goals:
Raise the toddler twins to teens. *See goals that need to be met before they can age up to children & then to teens.
Kenzie will have the goals of completing scouts, the Goal Oriented Aspiration & Admired Icon aspiration and having at least four of five character values in a positive range before she ages up.
Work on all three new aspirations (Fairy Stories, Elixir Enthusiast & Nature Nomad), get at least the first tier of each aspiration completed with Cody and/or Kenzie.
Cody will join the Apothecary career and see how high he can go (not sure if the bug with sims not getting promoted will impact on this).
Complete as many fables as we can.
Try to make one of each apothecary item.
For the ‘rags to riches’ gameplay element, we need to get to the third tier of the fortune aspiration at a minimum (i.e. complete tiers 1 and 2 of the aspiration).
*Goals for the Twins:
Max all toddler skills & get as many milestones as possible.
As children, complete all eight aspirations (4 base game, 4 Growing Together).
Join scouts and earn as many badges as possible. They will stay in scouts the entire time in this save.
Have at least conflict resolution in a positive range before aging up to teens.
My plan is to hopefully eventually move this family to my Expansion Legacy save and have the twins will join my legacy family as teens in my upcoming Expansion Pack Legacy: Enchanted by Nature Generation Let’s Play. At the time I’m writing this (July 12, 2025) I’m currently holding off on going into that save until the pregnancy bug is fixed.
Note that this is following a very ‘loose’ rags to riches format in that they are starting with a home, albeit very sparsely furnished, but with no money.
They can make money using any options the game allows, though we will try to make money from pack features too.
As mentioned above, I will be having Kenzie doing the Admired Icon teen aspiration so she will list her five Trendi outfits required for that aspiration at a 10x markup, however I won’t go overboard using Trendi to make money.
Here are the general rags to riches rules for rags to riches I tend to follow in my rags to riches tutorial video, and my blog post.
My video provides a brief overview of the July 1, 2025 game update, including what was new, what was fixed and what the impact on mods was, however, main focus was on new bugs since the July 1, 2025 game update, and a few that are recent that started after the June 17, 2025 game update.
Post updated July 7 to add a new video covering upcoming hot fix patch & a few new issues. I’ve also added links to a few new bugs covered in this video & some more bug fix mods.
New Bugs:
This is split into two sections, new bugs since the July 1 update and three new bugs that preceded the July 1 update but were still fairly new as they happened after the June 17 update.
Note that two of the three bugs that started after June 17 update affected console, and I’ve done a video on that here. The third one affects affects all platforms and since I have seen a lot of questions/comments re one that one I have included it here.
New Bugs Since the July 1 Game Update:
Can’t drag for many objects (originally referred to not being able to drag to sink or trashcan): https://forums.ea.com/idea/the-sims-4-bug-reports-en/drag-to-trash-and-sink-are-no-longer-working/12296987 (EA Cade has acknowledged this bug and it’s being investigated and that they hope to have a fix for this soon) Update on July 7, 2025: Sims Direct has said this issue with dragging for cleaning will be fixed in an update on July 10, 2025.
This was a large update, 3.4 GB for Windows players through the EA app, 3.7 GB for Mac players and as usual, even larger for console players.
New game versions after the July 1, 2025 game update:
Mod Tracking Lists & Crinrict User File Reset Guide:
Note this was a big update and broke many mods. I recommend you check out either of the two lists to check on your mods. At the time I’m writing this, not all mods have been updated.
Many thanks to the EA Creator Network for the early access code for the #BusinessesandHobbies Expansion Pack.
Playlist TBA
Meet our sims, Audrey (Creative, Animal Enthusiast who Loves the Outdoors with a Collector bonus trait) & Rhett Sheridan (Genius, Rancher & Idealist with a Quick Learner bonus trait), a young married couple and their independent, toddler daughter Sofia. Will they be able to start a small business they can pass down to a child, either their daughter or any others that may come along?
They are on the gallery if you’d like to play with them.
Goals:
Complete both new aspirations* with at least one sim.
Complete the fortune aspiration.
Pass down the business to one of their children.
Live in both neighbourhoods.
* the pack has two new aspirations, Master Mentor (Knowledge Aspiration) and Esteemed Entrepreneur (Popularity Aspiration).
Optional Goals:
Complete the new collection.
Unlock as many hobby perks as possible and pass them down when our starting couple becomes elders.
Complete the Making Money scenario.
Have any children born age up with at least four positive character values & have them complete all 8 child aspirations (4 base game/4 Growing Together)
Rules:
Start with no money on an empty lot.
Any sims joining the household can’t bring any money or any significant assets (sell furniture before moving them in if they live on their own).
Use general rags to riches rules per video, which also links to my blog post.
The main focus of the Feb 25, 2025 game update was to add burglars to the game, in addition to preparing the game for the upcoming Businesses and Hobbies Expansion Pack (releasing Thursday, March 6, 2025 at 10 am Pacific).
It also brought bug fixes, most of which were announced in the Feb 18, 2025 laundry list and a few other miscellaneous changes to the game, including more club opportunities, changes to mentoring & a few build/buy and create a sim items.
It also broke mods, the list of updated mods is quite long and not everything has been updated at the time I’m writing this.
This update also added new bugs, including a bad one that caused distortion of children, infants and toddlers. EA has said they’ve identified the problem and are working on an update to fix the issue. They’ve also provided a workaround while we wait for the hotfix.
The Sims Developer Livestream For The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies | Base Game Update
Originally scheduled for 10 am Pacific on Friday, February 28, 2025, but due to issues at their broadcasting location, it was rescheduled to 10 am Pacific on Monday, March 3, 2025.
YouTube (will tell you when it’s live in your time zone)
Here are the goals and rules for my Sims 4 Life & Death Rags to Riches Legacy Challenge, which uses the heirs from my Rags to Property Owners LP & is the fifth generation in this legacy.
I am starting with five sims, the youngest three are the heirs from the previous generation. Twins Roman and Phillip, and infant Zoe Ito-FitzMoon.
Their aunt Poppy and great aunt Elizabeth, both teens, will be joining them.
They are all spellcasters. Four are born in game and have spellcaster bloodline traits. Our heirs have an ancient bloodline trait, their aunt has a weak bloodline trait and their great aunt has no bloodline trait.
If you’d like to see the prequel to this LP, where their parents complete their Soul’s Journey and pass down their aspiration traits to the teens, here is the playlist for that.
Here is the playlist for their parent’s For Rent rags to riches journey. As indicated above, this is the 5th generation of this family that have done a rags to riches journey of an expansion pack.
Goals:
Complete the Soul’s Journey with the five starting sims & any spouses/partners. *see rule 2
Complete the fortune aspiration with all five starting sims (either need 200k before can switch to the aspiration).
Max all three Life & Death careers (with any household sims).
Complete the Alice’s Sorrow quest with at least one sim.
Complete the historian aspiration with at least one sim.
Complete the tarot deck collection with at least one sim.
Have a baby (or two) with the grim reaper (Zoe, who is our youngest, who is starting as an infant, will do this when she becomes a young adult). This baby (or babies) will be the heirs for the next generation.
Live in all three Ravenwood neighbourhoods.
Optional Goals:
Have all sims age up with at least four positive character values, preferably five.
Have one sim try to befriend Edith.
Complete the Making Money scenario.
Have one sim complete the Market Magnate aspiration (that the heirs’ father Phillip was never able to do).
Have one sim complete the ghost portion of the soul’s journey.
Have one sim be reborn???
Rules:
Start with no money on an empty lot.
Starting sims need to complete goal 1 (complete soul’s journey) before they can leave the household.
Any sims joining the household can’t bring any money or any significant assets (sell furniture before moving them in if they live on their own).
Use general rags to riches rules per video, which also links to my blog post.
I discuss the Oct 22, 2024, Sims 4 base game update, including what’s new, what was and wasn’t fixed, the mod impact and the new bugs since the update. I also review some other common bugs from before the update. What was your favourite thing in the update & have you experienced any non-mod related issues? 😊🍁 #Sims4 #GameUpdate #Sims4Bugs #Sims4Mods
Many mods broke with the update, including most popular mods (MCCC, UI Cheats to name a couple, those have both been updated). As of the time I’m typing this, many others, though not all, have been updated.
Two good sources to see which of your mods was impacted are noted below:
Note that injection tools that are used by other mods broke with this update. The two main ones are XML Injector and Lot 51 Core Library. Both were updated on Oct 23/24, though XML Injector was reupdated on Oct 23/24. There are two other injection tools that were still broken last I looked on Oct 25/24, I see them mentioned on Luth’s list.
Also, some loading screen mods broke with the update, according to SimMattically, it looks like pack pictures may be replacing the plumbob at some point, or something like that. The tooltips will remain. Original tweet: https://x.com/SimMattically/status/1849068375101567463
Follow Up tweets:
To be fair, I based my original tweet on the code alone, before seeing how it looks. It mentioned a DLC banner with a name and icon, so it seemed like an ad.
The design itself is nice! It’s only frustrating that they turn an opportunity for aesthetics into an advertisement. 🙌🏻
I discuss my thoughts on what was covered in the Life & Death Gameplay trailer & some additional information revealed from SimGuru tweets. What was your favourite thing from the trailer? 😊🍁 #Sims4 #LifeandDeath #Speculation
We thought of this! Per lore he's an entity and doesn't really have a face; you never see it in game without cheats. His babies will be born from a new genetic preset of him so long as you're on a fresh save.
In the picture above – that is a lack of presets you're seeing for his facial features. Before now, you'd only ever see Grim's face via cheats so he didn't need them at that time.
Yes! What @jackofallgames7 said above is accurate about it being encompassing. But also, Bucket List and Unfinished Business are the primary ways to progress on your Soul's Journey (and they're tracked in the same UI) – to explain why the trailer goes straight into them.
jackofgames tweet re their understanding of Soul’s Journey:
My understanding is it collates different systems, like wants, aspirations etc. and brings them all together as one giant system, alongside new systems like the bucket list.
It seems to me that it’s organising all of these seperate systems into one big one.
Love when Grim says, "The truth is that old age, fire, and anger claim more Sims lives than any other form of death." Because that's an ACTUAL Sims 4 fact! https://t.co/kbwBe96HjX
TheSimsDirect Tweet Thread on Update Being Next Week:
On Tuesday, Oct 22, a big base game update is coming to #TheSims4. If you use game mods & custom content, you may want to remove and backup save files. This will also give creators time to update their content to prevent potential in-game issues.
— The Sims Direct Communications (@TheSimsDirect) October 18, 2024
Additionally, we’re working on resolving the reported issues tied to the Reaper's Rewards Events. Due to the varying details around each report, we've consolidated the issues to support the team in their investigations. For further details & potential workarounds:…
— The Sims Direct Communications (@TheSimsDirect) October 18, 2024
Time Zone converter for when 10 am Pacific, Oct 22, 2024 is in your own time zone:
There’s a new Life and Death video by The Sims, this time on ‘Grimterns’! I discuss my thoughts on it and some recent SimGuru tweets about the pack & upcoming base game update, including some speculation on what the new ‘big’ feature coming to base game might be. What do you think it could be? 😊🍁 #Sims4 #LifeandDeath #Speculation #BaseGameUpdate
I can't wait for everyone to see all of the variants of these Swimsuits. They fit the Macabre Trait so well. They're my new favorites. (Okay, new favorites after that gnome one.) pic.twitter.com/11rTBEV7rG
And there's even more than we listed! 🫣 I also can't wait to talk about one particular thing coming with BG Update (that I don't even think we've mentioned yet). https://t.co/dki58UJ7m3
I art is amaaaazing! But also… if he was Nervous Subject when he lived with the Beakers who were experimenting on him… who was he before? I bet he even had a real name… https://t.co/IYU1Vw8n3v
Maple Simmer 