'The Sims 4' Goes To The Great Outdoors, Includes A New Update And Bug Fixes

People Stand Near 'Sims 4' Game Characters On A Wall During The 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Known As E3, In Los Angeles — People stand near "Sims 4" game characters on a wall during the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo, known as E3, in Los Angeles, California June 11, 2014. Reuters/Jonathan Alcorn

Up to the mountains "The Sims 4" will go in its upcoming and first-ever game pack. Titled "The Sims 4—Outdoor Retreat," the game pack aims to bring in new gameplay, activities and items for Sims. What's more, a new destination will give players more things to accomplish and explore in "The Sims 4."

The new destination is called Granite Falls, and according to the official Sims website, Sims can explore the woods to see new plants and insects, as expected of any hiking trek. And when there are woods and trekking, there has to be camping. "The Sims 4—Outdoor Retreat" allows Sims to purchase camping gear and outfits, which can be used in Granite Falls or just outside the backyard of their homes (for the risk averse).

In Granite Falls, Sims can do more than just set up camp—they can also explore deep into the woods, check out the national park, hunt for the rumoured hermit and even stargaze at night. Roasting marshmallows amid campfire stories is also a way to pass the night.

EA is also letting players create remedies out of plants found in the forest. Players can level up their Sim's herbalism skill by creating their own remedies for insect bites and exploring which plants are edible and which to avoid. Finally, a unique costume coming with "The Sims 4—Outdoor Retreat" are Bear costumes for Sims. While it's fun to scare away campers in that costume, it may be even more fun to see what they would do once Sims take that bear costume home to their neighborhood.

Not only this, EA said via a press release sent to International Business Times Australia that the Mac version of "The Sims 4" has already been confirmed to debut on February. While there are no set release dates as of yet, those who already have a copy on the PC is entitled to a Mac version for free.

For now, however, enjoy "The Sims 4—Outdoor Retreat" on the PC. The pack is available as a digital download via Origin or other online retailers at around AU$30.

Developer EA has also given "The Sims 4" fans an outline of the new patch, Version 1.3.32.1010, which aims to fix up some important issues that have already been discussed in the community. Two major issues have been addressed, but there is also a long list of tune-ups and fixes in the text and user interface that are worth checking out.

The game's performance is expected to improve after the issue with players not being able to load after the patch loaded last December. The fix will now prevent players from bouncing back to the neighborhood map. For those with bigger households, rooms and a lot of items in their My Library, the bug that forces their game to lag and become unresponsive while loading has also been resolved.

EA has also provided some tuning for "The Sims 4." The full list of tune-ups and changes to the user interface can be seen in the link above.