Hey everyone! I hope you’re all doing well 💛
I’m super excited to finally share the first release of my Volleyball Mod for The Sims 4. This one’s been both a fun and somewhat chaotic summer project. but I’m really proud of how it turned out, and this is just the beginning. I have a much bigger expansion planned.
The volleyball animations were way trickier than I expected. Since they’re a lot more mobile than my usual animations, getting them to feel smooth and natural took some serious time. The foot movement gave me a lot of trouble, and I ended up redoing a lot of animations just to get everything looking right. Like, trying to really capture that dynamic, energetic vibe of volleyball, and I think the effort really paid off. I’m genuinely happy with how it all came together.
This first version introduces a Casual Volleyball interaction, perfect for parks, beaches, or backyard hangouts. Your Sims can challenge each other to a lighthearted Match, no net or skill required. Just pass the ball, and see who drops the ball first! First to three points wins.
It’s designed to feel fun and social, not competitive, like real-life beach volleyball when you’re just playing for fun.
🏐 How to Play: Getting Started
To start playing volleyball, you’ll need to buy a volleyball ball from Build/Buy mode. Just search for “Volleyball” and place it anywhere on your lot. You can also put the ball in your Sim’s inventory, so they can bring it with them and play anywhere, even outside their home lot.
You can also place the volleyball on community lots, so Sims can play with it while they’re out and about.
Important Note:
There’s an in-game bug (one that happens with all sports balls) where if your Sim uses a volleyball that doesn’t belong to them, it might get added to their inventory after the match. So you will have to put it back manually.
There are currently 20 swatches to choose from, so you can match your volleyball to any vibe or venue. Also, I’m already working on alternate ball variants for future competitive game modes, along with a volleyball net,
How It Works: Scoring & Match Outcomes
To win a volleyball game, your Sim needs to score three points before their opponent. If neither Sim reaches three points within the match time, the Sim with the higher score will be declared the winner.
Each match lasts around 50 in-game minutes, and you can keep track of the game as it unfolds by checking each Sim’s active buffs. Every time a Sim scores a point, they’ll receive a score-specific moodlet, which lets you see who’s winning as the match progresses.
Match Outcomes:
Every volleyball match can end in a win, loss, or draw, and your Sims will react to each result with unique moodlets. Since this is a fun, casual game between friends, I’ve kept the outcomes mostly light-hearted and positive, even when a Sim loses.
But there will be a Challenging Game Mode which is coming soon! In that version, your Sim’s Fitness skill will influence the outcome, adding a more competitive twist.
Win/Loss Streak Reactions:
Winning or losing twice in a row will also have a specific moodlet just to spice up the game for a bit,
- Win twice in a row? Your Sim will feel confident and proud of their streak.
- Lose two games back-to-back? They might start to take it a little personally,
- Draw matches also have their own moodlet,
Upcoming Features:
While working on the animations and doing reference research, I realized that volleyball is actually played in two very different styles, like there are two different experiences.
The competitive sport experience, with a net, actual rules, and a focus on winning. This style usually involves higher Fitness skill and more structured gameplay.
And the casual summer experience, where it’s all about having fun, keeping the ball in the air, and playing without strict rules or a net. It’s more like a laid-back family or beach game, and doesn’t require much skill.
So with that in mind, I decided to release the casual version first, and save the more structured, sport version for later. With more energetic animations and some extra features
I’m also still deciding whether to include a brand new Volleyball skill or just use the existing Fitness skill to handle everything.
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