I also don't like the shortcuts they do for everything, but to me TS was always more of a caricature of life and i have long since burried the hope of it becoming more realistic.
Actually, i don't believe most sandbox players even want one. A life sim would be waaaaay mrore restricting. Jobs would be harder, sims would be complexer/harder to deal with and everything would take more time.
Take make up, hair and clothes for example. I would prefer my sim to dress up every morning and have to buy new clothes, to have to put on make-up (and have them react differently to their environment) and go to a hairdresser to change their look. Most sandbox players would be like "whyyyyy can't i do this in an instant? I want more time to decide what I want to do with my sim instead of them having to invest so much time into trivial things!!!"
Another thing is friendship. I saw a lot of complaints from EVERYONE at the beginning of TS4 how fast friendships decay and how they didn't want to invest time to keep them up. In reality, there are a lot of different types of friendships and while there are some friends you can not call for several weeks and they respect you need your privacy and like you nonetheless, there are also those people that start to grew apart if they spent less and less time with each other.
I actually want my sim to want to be friends with people instantly, because s/he likes them at first glance and also dislikes some for the same reason,but again, something sandbox players would protest against because it makes it harder to get your sims to do what you want.
I also don't want every sim to be able to get every job. I want job interviews, i want education that means something. Sandbox players want everything easily accessible.
Honestly, balancing sandbox and life sim has always been a struggle for TS and i think they should concentrate more on the life sim aspect, because there are other sandbox games out there but no life sim. But if TS5 was more like i wanted it, people would probably hate it even more than TS4 for being "restrictive" and "too hard".
That being said, TS4 doesn't even try to balance those two aspects and replaces them with a lot of watered-down RPG-elements. No, thank you.
The Sims 4 is a life simulator, it may not be as good as other ones but that doesn't change the game's genre.
How is it a life simulator? Babies turning into children and and these "New" emotions don't scream "life" simulator to me.
Then what does? I don't recall Toddlers growing into a Child of twice the size in about 10 days or Adults turning into Elders... automatically getting grey hair, wrinkles and back problems in real life. In fact I don't recall having a birthday in less than a year either or ever found myself trapped when a dirty plate was in my way.
Coo, and when did I praise TS2 or 3 for being perfect life sims? I didn't. They are far from perfect, but they're the only ones I play and they're sure as heck better than TS4.
I definitely enjoy the sims 4, but I do want more simulation.
I want to shop for clothes, books, seeds and groceries at the store instead of clicking a bookcase etc.
I want to have to do laundry, swept and vacuum the house.
I want my sims to have to go to the doctor when they are sick, and if I so choose, spread the sickness around town to crate an epidemic, lol.
I want the paperboy to show up, and I want him o be a sim I created.
Same with the maids, babysitters etc. I want those to be my sims from my town. Not game-generated nobodies.
I want more service sims. Firefighters, repair guys, etc. I also want burglars back.
I do love the sims 4 but the game itself feels very compartmentalized rather than seamless experience. I want that to change.
The paper boy/girl reminds in the TS1 when they come along whistling, the Sim in the house will start to whistle their tune as they wash dishes etc. That was very immersive.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
The Sims 4 is a life simulator, it may not be as good as other ones but that doesn't change the game's genre.
I would have to somewhat disagree. It's not 'simulating' to bring the player into the world, the atmosphere, the belief these people are real. lol Not when they can just not even move anymore but things get done even without them even bothering to actually simulate it.
That is what other 'genres' do, they don't simulate the action of the character seen on the screen. The player does it with a click of the button. That is when it starts to become another genre rather than one that is supposed to be simulating 'life'. I understand many complained about the time in the TS3 which seemed to be off compared to the TS2 and the time it took to do things and the TS2 had even more animation to do those things than the TS3 does. However, the complaining is one reason I feel the TS4 is what it is. Remove instead of improve.
A lot of people will say they have better things to do in this game than wait for the Sim to open a drawer or walk upstairs to use the pc. But I would strongly argue the point, then why even bother playing a life simulator if it no longer simulates?
ETA: Virtual Families is a prime example of a game not simulating. And the TS4 doesn't have far to go behind it.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
I want a life simulator and this game is falling short. There are so many short-cuts and so many missed opportunities that the gameplay seems half-baked and lackluster--more of an afterthought than an intentional plan.
I haven't bought any additional content since the Base Game so I can't speak on any of the Add-Ons, but I did patch my game recently and received the dishwasher. When I saw my sim walk up to the dishwasher, have it magically open without being touched, the dishes teleport inside and then close on its own all I could do was shake my head. I know they were patched in for free but honestly they were poorly done and came across as just lazy, half-hearted work. I'm not a video game maker but I know that EA is big on recycling basic animations. Would it have been so difficult to clone and/or slightly tweak the open-oven animation for the dishwashers to make them more enjoyable?
I feel like my Sims game has become a "Harry Potter" hybrid where things just magically Accio all over the place whenever needed, no actual animations required.
(And not meaning to bump old threads) I can relate to the OP's scenario to this thread right here
I don't have Kitchen Stuff but the thought did occurred to me that the ice-cream machine would add cool (no pun intended) new interactions/Simulations that would come with the pack, e.g our Sims can share their ice-cream with beloved ones/kids/BFFs, Be mischievous by splatting ice cream on other Sims, new Cooking skill interactions and appliances and if I'm not mistaken (Someone correct me if I'm wrong ) the ice cream machine can't be put in the fridge?
I do have GTW and I love the retail side of it especially bakeries, art studios, yet I find it sad that I rarely see after customer Sims bought their baked goods and eat it too in the bakery/cafe I prepared instead they just swipe their hands on the product they wanna buy, sparkles happen and they leave. ( I've even gone to the point where I put "not for sale"/ free sample cupcakes, chat with the customers and "grab serving together" to simulate a bakery)
And yes I do prefer to see our Sims Simulate the things/task that their supposed to do
Ummm - Ice cream machines are never put in the fridge, would not expect it to. LOL. I would definitely worry about playing that pack - I'd be wanting ice cream all the time.
Post edited by Writin_Reg on
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
The Sims 4 is a life simulator, it may not be as good as other ones but that doesn't change the game's genre.
How is it a life simulator? Babies turning into children and and these "New" emotions don't scream "life" simulator to me.
Then what does? I don't recall Toddlers growing into a Child of twice the size in about 10 days or Adults turning into Elders... automatically getting grey hair, wrinkles and back problems in real life. In fact I don't recall having a birthday in less than a year either or ever found myself trapped when a dirty plate was in my way.
Its true what you are saying but TS4 in terms of life stages instead of going advance or even stay the same as the previous games it stepped backwards which is not acceptable.
At least we have thought since the this is the fourth game in the franchise they would keep the life stages the same if not go advance.
My hope for the Sims 4 was to have gradual aging. No more life stages and no more height restrictions. Sims instead of being recognized in a particular life stage they would have an age. But of course that did not happen and now I doubt it will ever happen.
I love TS4 too but when it comes to life stages we have to admit that the developers screwed up big time with them. I can say TS4 has the strength in CAS or the ease of build mode but life stages is definitely among its weakest developed things. Thats a shame.
I would have loved to have seen something like gradual aging. In Sims 4 all we have are babies tied to cribs and everyone else are YA's, just in different sizes. For me, they are not really children or teens. In 2014 I expected great things from Sims 4 and got Sims 1.2.
The Sims 4 is a life simulator, it may not be as good as other ones but that doesn't change the game's genre.
Far from it! It supposed to be, but it sure is nothing at all like a real life simulator. I don't know about you, but I cannot teleport where ever I want to go, or have things materialize out of no where. How exactly is what goes on in Sims 4 remotely like real life? Do you leave your house and just magically appear at your destination? Do you have food magically appear in your fridge or books in your book cases? Do your babies magically jump out of their cribs into full fledged 10 years olds that magically never needed learning to walk, talk, or be potty trained or any other baby needed skills? How is the Sims 4 remotely like your life? I can name you hundreds of games where the characters sleep, eat, wear clothing and gear and that alone does not make those a life simulation game - in fact most of those are either first person shooters, adventure games, or anything but a life simulator. JUst having bits and pieces of human life does not make it a life simulator. My husband plays WOW every day - his toons talk, eat, sleep, travel places, fish, dance, swim, and do lots of things our sims do - they even have their toons taking kids trick or treating, on easter egg hunts. They have pets of all types. Mounts they ride and even armor/clothing their mounts can wear - Is WOW a LIfe Simulation? Course not. Not even close, even though many things I see going on in his game is even more like a life simulator than the Sims 4 is - and that is purely shameful seeing Sims started out in Sims 1 with lots of real life like simulations. By Sims 2 the devs had it down pat and we had a full fledged life simulator. I mean sims 2 just brimmed over with life simulation and we were their Gods who they even acknowledged quite often in the game. Never, ever see them acknowledge us at all in Sims 4. They did now and then in Sims 3 too, but not Sims 4.
Sims 3 was not quite as much a life simulator as Sims 2 - as the sims team used a bunch of short cuts here and there, but they also added a bunch more bits of life to simulate in Sims 3 that Sims 2 did not have. Sims 4 lost everything and gained nothing. It is less a life simulation than WOW which is not even remotely a life simulation game - so I fail to see how you can call it that because the Sims team branded it a life simulator - does not make it one. They are simply fooling themselves with more linear play than even most actions games have and trying to convince us it is still a life simulator. Most of us were not fooled - we know better - but apparently not all of us.
I can fully understand if you are new to the Sims then you might see it as an life simulation seeing it is listed as one - and is not your fault you do not realize it is no longer what they deem it to be. Now they are just party hardy bros and definitely not even remotely simulating my life or the life of anyone I even know. Even Sims freeplay is more of a life simulator than Sims 4 and I don't play anything that does not work on my pc or honestly I think I would be playing Sims free play over Sims 4 if I could. At least aging is simulating life - not at all like Sims 4 - where I had to just shut off aging to keep this foolish game from turning infants into 10 year olds. Not the least bit realistic at all or like life as I know it.
So praytell please, I am eager to know - how does Sims 4 remotely mirror your life? I wouldn't mind teleporting to where ever I want to go - if you know how - please share. My friend would probably love to age up her 11 month old twins to 10 year olds - if you know how - I will pass it on, as well as the ability to whisk the babies off to day care the minute she steps out her door to go to work (that is apparently free) or the ability to never need to go to a grocery store ever or a doctor for that matter.... Really, share if you can.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
I also don't like the shortcuts they do for everything, but to me TS was always more of a caricature of life and i have long since burried the hope of it becoming more realistic.
Actually, i don't believe most sandbox players even want one. A life sim would be waaaaay mrore restricting. Jobs would be harder, sims would be complexer/harder to deal with and everything would take more time.
Honestly, balancing sandbox and life sim has always been a struggle for TS and i think they should concentrate more on the life sim aspect, because there are other sandbox games out there but no life sim. But if TS5 was more like i wanted it, people would probably hate it even more than TS4 for being "restrictive" and "too hard".
That being said, TS4 doesn't even try to balance those two aspects and replaces them with a lot of watered-down RPG-elements. No, thank you.
i think rather "sandbox" means "choices" & not "reality only"
it means as well reality as shortcuts & the player decides how detailed the game has to be
the sand is as many options available to the player so that different people can play in different ways, building small or big sandcastles, detailed or clunky
with every game there are always people complaining,
it's just that with TS4 there are way more complaints than joy about the limiting decisions
those many limitations in TS4 like backdrops around the corner & not at the horizon first, no roads & no cars to use for sims, tasks to perform by numbers, plants without seeds, spawned & culled sims instead of those living in the neighborhoods, many removed completely or shortened animations &&&
TS4 is in some parts more elaborate like the expressions, animations & performed actions differently with different emotional state
still, i think the focus mainly on design in CAS, buildmode & emotional animations doesn't provide the player with a simulation
but it's rather like well done dolls moving around in well done homes due to animation by a machinery inside of them, everything else is done by the player alone & not by those dolls ... besides of playing phone games, wishing for a 1x1 pool & trolling the forums, which is annoyingly uniform behaviour for all sims without any exception
those dolls are leading a limited & similiar to each other sort of life, that's not sand, it's just few stones which can be set into few lives together often even by numbers only
& btw
i remember, as i moved from TS2 to TS3, i missed in TS3 too that those sims don't need to go out to actually buy clothes,
that the grocery shop consists of a list to click, but at least TS3 has still babysitters, paper delivery, burglars, policemen, firefighters in action & many other details from RL, past, fantasy & imagined future
it is surely an art to design a well balanced simulation game between detail & daily chore
but TS4 has lost that balance greatly & the makers filled the holes in the simulation with other game genres, which don't deliver enough substitute for that missing sand
i won't be participating in the forums & the gallery anymore - thanks EA
I would of loved if Sims 4 was a life simulator. Sims 4 is closer to an app like Tribes more than a Sims game.
I went back to Sims 2. I fell in love again and the scary thing is I am playing with no mods or cc.
Things I forgot about in Sims 2:
They take out cooking utensils and pots out drawers and cupboards.
When you tell them to do something, sometimes they seemed to look at you with a face that says do I really have too or are you kidding me?
They talk without prompting when eating or watching tv.
If you tell them to make the bed for awhile or clean the dishes they will start doing it by themselves.
They actually react to things that happen to them and let you know what they are feeling!
The interactions with babies, toddlers, and children..(baby-bathe and if you read parent book they can see what the baby needs and tuck in...toddler peek a boo, nursery rhyme, bathe, talk.. child- runs out to greet parent when they come home, parent snuggles child, play games such toss football, play catch, and swing around to name a few)
Cars! With all the cute animations, like the beat up car that needs the door slammed a few times to stay shut, car alarm, getting in car and actually driving out of the drive way..makes me forget it just for a few seconds and cars disappears!
They remember for longer.
I forgot I had a family where the husband cheated and his wife was super mad at the husband. A year later I make a single adult with a dog and move them in the same apartment complex (Actual apartments with landlords!). My new Sim is greeted by wife and immediately after husband walks out and instant fight!!!!
The little things that makes it a life stimulator.
Though I still hate the hobby people that just waltz in your Sims home and interrupts what they are doing to tell them they achieved this or that..would get a mod to stop that but haven't found one (Yes locked doors do not stop these stalkers).
And the omg it is raining or snowing..
Instead I bought a game that plays more like Tribes than Sims and what I did that was even worse was believe it would get better and become more a Sims game in time... I was wrong!
I forgot I had a family where the husband cheated and his wife was super mad at the husband. A year later I make a single adult with a dog and move them in the same apartment complex (Actual apartments with landlords!). My new Sim is greeted by wife and immediately after husband walks out and instant fight!!!!
It seems a lot of people consider "life simulator" is the same as "real life simulator". The Sims serie is certainly not a real life simulator serie and never intended to be one. It's a life simulator, inspired by real life but the Sims live in their own world, with its own rules : a world where spinning makes one change clothes, where there's no dust, no toilet paper, no towel, where you can move walls, and furnitures seamlessly, where you don't have to make sure everything is electrically connected or have a sewage disposal, etc
Could some of those rules be changed ? Sure. Should they be ? Only if it makes the game more fun, not just more realistic.
In my mind, only details that can lead to more storytelling and gameplay are worth being put into the game : mowing the lawn, doing laundry, trimming bushes, laying the table could be interesting. Having to use toilet paper or towels, or having to paint the wall again each time you move a piece of furniture, not so much.
@Writin_Reg
Ice cream makers that have to be put into the fridge definitely exist, I have one myself. The canister is storing cold by being put into the freezer several hours before you want to use it.
In a Sims world where a fridge can produce cold without being electrically connected, an ice cream maker that does the same seems logical to me, so I don't have any problem with it.
It seems a lot of people consider "life simulator" is the same as "real life simulator". The Sims serie is certainly not a real life simulator serie and never intended to be one. It's a life simulator, inspired by real life but the Sims live in their own world, with its own rules : a world where spinning makes one change clothes, where there's no dust, no toilet paper, no towel, where you can move walls, and furnitures seamlessly, where you don't have to make sure everything is electrically connected or have a sewage disposal, etc
Could some of those rules be changed ? Sure. Should they be ? Only if it makes the game more fun, not just more realistic.
In my mind, only details that can lead to more storytelling and gameplay are worth being put into the game : mowing the lawn, doing laundry, trimming bushes, laying the table could be interesting. Having to use toilet paper or towels, or having to paint the wall again each time you move a piece of furniture, not so much.
@Writin_Reg
Ice cream makers that have to be put into the fridge definitely exist, I have one myself. The canister is storing cold by being put into the freezer several hours before you want to use it.
In a Sims world where a fridge can produce cold without being electrically connected, an ice cream maker that does the same seems logical to me, so I don't have any problem with it.
@Neia, I'm not asking for the moon. Of course pulling things from the rear end has been going on since day one in The Sims. However, what has never, ever happened (to my knowledge) in the other 'simulators' is the Sim no longer has to actually get up and go do the command but the player just taps the object and picks choices and it gets done. That is a fact to the best of my knowledge that and quite evident all over the TS4. For the first time ever, the Sims are no longer having to do something You would think 'they had to do' but the player does it.
Yes, we all know Sims don't turn on their own lights, we do, however there are a few in the TS3 they do turn on? or am I thinking of another game, wait, yeah I am never mind.
But in the fifteen years this game has been going it never left out or omitted when you give the Sim a command it would not have to do it but you have to do it.
That is when it starts going the way of those little casual games where the player makes the food by clicking this or that instead of Flo. That is when it goes too far into a different genre.
And besides someone years ago wrote a wonderful feed back on the TS3 about was this or that necessary and no some things aren't but the unnecessary is what the others games 'had' and why they have so much more umph than the TS4 does. Things may no longer be necessary but those things sure make them or help a player to suspend their disbelief and go ahead and belief it's Sims' game and not Dinner Dash Or Beach Party casual games. Or ETA: For those who don't understand what I mean perhaps Cake Mania is more familiar. Where she doesn't add the toppings the player clicks to add the toppings the 'sim' doesn't have to move an inch.
This is what threw me off my game, because at no time in the past did a Sim never have to walk to go do something. But now they don't. That is a very strange and unfamiliar territory in "The Sims". And why I was sitting here wondering why haven't they got up or moved to do this.
ETA: I will take that back, in the TS3 Sims don't have to walk to turn on the tv or stereo. I assume people love those animations and simulations are omitted in the TS3. But here we are now in the TS4 and they no longer have to walk to a pc to do something, viola the player did it instead. And why I complain all the time about a game becoming something else the more it gets watered down and built to resemble any ole game out there for $4.99 or free now in browser games if they are older games.
As my signature says. Always be a first-rate version of yourself......instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. This goes for games, too.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
The Sims 4 is a life simulator, it may not be as good as other ones but that doesn't change the game's genre.
if you read rachel one of the leaders of sims 4 in one of her interview she was the first one to say which sims 4 is no long a life simulator but a "time management game."
then if even maxis don't consider sims 4 a life simulator anymore then how we can consider?
If you mean a life simulator then yes I do want to play another one. And I don't mean a Sims 5, I mean a different life simulator produced by another company, just something different and more refreshing, something that's not a "sims" concept.
I'll still play my sims games, but for now I kinda want something totally new.
The Sims 4 is a life simulator, it may not be as good as other ones but that doesn't change the game's genre.
if you read rachel one of the leaders of sims 4 in one of her interview she was the first one to say which sims 4 is no long a life simulator but a "time management game."
then if even maxis don't consider sims 4 a life simulator anymore then how we can consider?
Exactly. I never refer to the Sims 4 as a life simulator game myself. As scripted as the Sims Freeplay is, at least it has life simulation in mind during development.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
The Sims 4 is a life simulator, it may not be as good as other ones but that doesn't change the game's genre.
if you read rachel one of the leaders of sims 4 in one of her interview she was the first one to say which sims 4 is no long a life simulator but a "time management game."
then if even maxis don't consider sims 4 a life simulator anymore then how we can consider?
Exactly. I never refer to the Sims 4 as a life simulator game myself. As scripted as the Sims Freeplay is, at least it has life simulation in mind during development.
another thing which i found funny, i found another of her interviews, she trying to explain the "cartoon" look of the sims, and she called then "style" rater than cartoon lol, she was saying which they are very realistic with very realistic behavious(as if you see peoples making all that cartoon faces all around the places) which emotions and multitask will make sims in sims 4 very "realistic" >.>, really looks likes many sims 4 aspects really not where well received and that woman just keep throwing lies ane excuses all over the places to try to desesperated sell this game.
another thing which i found funny, i found another of her interviews, she trying to explain the "cartoon" look of the sims, and she called then "style" rater than cartoon lol, she was saying which they are very realistic with very realistic behavious(as if you see peoples making all that cartoon faces all around the places) which emotions and multitask will make sims in sims 4 very "realistic" >.>, really looks likes many sims 4 aspects really not where well received and that woman just keep throwing lies ane excuses all over the places to try to desesperated sell this game.
Yeah stylized art. I did have a laugh at that. The art actually does remind me of the MySims game. Very cartoony which actually works well when creating Disney characters. I mean if all else fails at least it is a game I made Smurf Sims work in. XD The Homer Sim someone made was pretty funny too. I think someone made Nigel Thornberry from the Wild Thronberries too. So I guess are weirder stories can be done kiddie version? I mean might as well make the most of the kiddie version of a Sims game I guess. Get our Disney/Nick fix out of this game. XD I guess the Sims 4 is a cosplay simulator.
I mean characters like these just work well in the Sims 4.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
another thing which i found funny, i found another of her interviews, she trying to explain the "cartoon" look of the sims, and she called then "style" rater than cartoon lol, she was saying which they are very realistic with very realistic behavious(as if you see peoples making all that cartoon faces all around the places) which emotions and multitask will make sims in sims 4 very "realistic" >.>, really looks likes many sims 4 aspects really not where well received and that woman just keep throwing lies ane excuses all over the places to try to desesperated sell this game.
Yeah stylized art. I did have a laugh at that. The art actually does remind me of the MySims game. Very cartoony which actually works well when creating Disney characters. I mean if all else fails at least it is a game I made Smurf Sims work in. XD The Homer Sim someone made was pretty funny too. I think someone made Nigel Thornberry from the Wild Thronberries too. So I guess are weirder stories can be done kiddie version? I mean might as well make the most of the kiddie version of a Sims game I guess. Get our Disney/Nick fix out of this game. XD I guess the Sims 4 is a cosplay simulator.
I mean characters like these just work well in the Sims 4.
yeah we get the sims 4 the cosplay limited simulator "poor edition"(with less features and more promises) "cuz make games is too difficult and expensive".
The Sims 4 is a life simulator, it may not be as good as other ones but that doesn't change the game's genre.
if you read rachel one of the leaders of sims 4 in one of her interview she was the first one to say which sims 4 is no long a life simulator but a "time management game."
then if even maxis don't consider sims 4 a life simulator anymore then how we can consider?
I don't consider it a life stimulator and haven't for awhile. That is why I moved back to Sims 2 and it is their loss because I got the full version for free with all stuff included and my wallet stays closed from now on with this time management (So, if she claimed it is a time management game, then it is a 60 to 80 bucks pop game?)...And if it is a time management game, I know over 30 better time management games that cost less than their game packs (EAs)..
They got me with their 7 dollar game that they charged 60 to 80. Gratz for them. But what they lost was my trust for the company within itself to sell me complete quality games and no further interested in their up coming games for any genre. I may be too old for their customer base now, but Dragon Mania Legends didn't ask my age or thoughts when I just threw 30 dollars at them (And it is a pc mobile game and the money was for gems XD)...
So, yes again I like a life stimulator and got that with Sims 2.
My kids said the same thing, Sims 4 looks like My Sims. They even find it to cartoony for their liking. My 16 said TellTales Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead are an artsy style, overly theatrical cartoons are not. She also said EA needs to go look of the definition. LOL
I can't really get into this game. It's fun for a few minutes but then the shine wears off and there's really nothing to do. I just find myself going back to playing 3 or 2.
Time management has always been a part of The Sims because it's part of life, so that's fine. But having things magically appear in inventory is not time management or a life simulation, it's just annoying because it communicates that Maxis/EA doesn't care anymore. The level of detail in Sims 2 is a big part of its magic.
I'm fine with Sims spinning to change clothes if at least they walk to the closet to get their clothes first, and there are practical reasons (like nudity, and the huge number of costumes in the game) to avoid showing the boring details of dressing. The time saved in spinning to dress also helps make up for the fact that Sims do some other things (like eating) too slowly at times. It's a balance, and it works when the people making the game pay attention to detail and make careful decisions to enhance player experience.
Yes, I definitely want a life simulation game. I've played others (Kudos 2 and The Guild series come to mind), but nothing has equaled The Sims 2.
Comments
Actually, i don't believe most sandbox players even want one. A life sim would be waaaaay mrore restricting. Jobs would be harder, sims would be complexer/harder to deal with and everything would take more time.
Take make up, hair and clothes for example. I would prefer my sim to dress up every morning and have to buy new clothes, to have to put on make-up (and have them react differently to their environment) and go to a hairdresser to change their look. Most sandbox players would be like "whyyyyy can't i do this in an instant? I want more time to decide what I want to do with my sim instead of them having to invest so much time into trivial things!!!"
Another thing is friendship. I saw a lot of complaints from EVERYONE at the beginning of TS4 how fast friendships decay and how they didn't want to invest time to keep them up. In reality, there are a lot of different types of friendships and while there are some friends you can not call for several weeks and they respect you need your privacy and like you nonetheless, there are also those people that start to grew apart if they spent less and less time with each other.
I actually want my sim to want to be friends with people instantly, because s/he likes them at first glance and also dislikes some for the same reason,but again, something sandbox players would protest against because it makes it harder to get your sims to do what you want.
I also don't want every sim to be able to get every job. I want job interviews, i want education that means something. Sandbox players want everything easily accessible.
Honestly, balancing sandbox and life sim has always been a struggle for TS and i think they should concentrate more on the life sim aspect, because there are other sandbox games out there but no life sim. But if TS5 was more like i wanted it, people would probably hate it even more than TS4 for being "restrictive" and "too hard".
That being said, TS4 doesn't even try to balance those two aspects and replaces them with a lot of watered-down RPG-elements. No, thank you.
The Essence
How To Lose Your Ugliness in Ten Generations
The paper boy/girl reminds in the TS1 when they come along whistling, the Sim in the house will start to whistle their tune as they wash dishes etc. That was very immersive.
I would have to somewhat disagree. It's not 'simulating' to bring the player into the world, the atmosphere, the belief these people are real. lol Not when they can just not even move anymore but things get done even without them even bothering to actually simulate it.
That is what other 'genres' do, they don't simulate the action of the character seen on the screen. The player does it with a click of the button. That is when it starts to become another genre rather than one that is supposed to be simulating 'life'. I understand many complained about the time in the TS3 which seemed to be off compared to the TS2 and the time it took to do things and the TS2 had even more animation to do those things than the TS3 does. However, the complaining is one reason I feel the TS4 is what it is. Remove instead of improve.
A lot of people will say they have better things to do in this game than wait for the Sim to open a drawer or walk upstairs to use the pc. But I would strongly argue the point, then why even bother playing a life simulator if it no longer simulates?
ETA: Virtual Families is a prime example of a game not simulating.
I haven't bought any additional content since the Base Game so I can't speak on any of the Add-Ons, but I did patch my game recently and received the dishwasher. When I saw my sim walk up to the dishwasher, have it magically open without being touched, the dishes teleport inside and then close on its own all I could do was shake my head. I know they were patched in for free but honestly they were poorly done and came across as just lazy, half-hearted work. I'm not a video game maker but I know that EA is big on recycling basic animations. Would it have been so difficult to clone and/or slightly tweak the open-oven animation for the dishwashers to make them more enjoyable?
I feel like my Sims game has become a "Harry Potter" hybrid where things just magically Accio all over the place whenever needed, no actual animations required.
Ummm - Ice cream machines are never put in the fridge, would not expect it to. LOL. I would definitely worry about playing that pack - I'd be wanting ice cream all the time.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
I would have loved to have seen something like gradual aging. In Sims 4 all we have are babies tied to cribs and everyone else are YA's, just in different sizes. For me, they are not really children or teens. In 2014 I expected great things from Sims 4 and got Sims 1.2.
Far from it! It supposed to be, but it sure is nothing at all like a real life simulator. I don't know about you, but I cannot teleport where ever I want to go, or have things materialize out of no where. How exactly is what goes on in Sims 4 remotely like real life? Do you leave your house and just magically appear at your destination? Do you have food magically appear in your fridge or books in your book cases? Do your babies magically jump out of their cribs into full fledged 10 years olds that magically never needed learning to walk, talk, or be potty trained or any other baby needed skills? How is the Sims 4 remotely like your life? I can name you hundreds of games where the characters sleep, eat, wear clothing and gear and that alone does not make those a life simulation game - in fact most of those are either first person shooters, adventure games, or anything but a life simulator. JUst having bits and pieces of human life does not make it a life simulator. My husband plays WOW every day - his toons talk, eat, sleep, travel places, fish, dance, swim, and do lots of things our sims do - they even have their toons taking kids trick or treating, on easter egg hunts. They have pets of all types. Mounts they ride and even armor/clothing their mounts can wear - Is WOW a LIfe Simulation? Course not. Not even close, even though many things I see going on in his game is even more like a life simulator than the Sims 4 is - and that is purely shameful seeing Sims started out in Sims 1 with lots of real life like simulations. By Sims 2 the devs had it down pat and we had a full fledged life simulator. I mean sims 2 just brimmed over with life simulation and we were their Gods who they even acknowledged quite often in the game. Never, ever see them acknowledge us at all in Sims 4. They did now and then in Sims 3 too, but not Sims 4.
Sims 3 was not quite as much a life simulator as Sims 2 - as the sims team used a bunch of short cuts here and there, but they also added a bunch more bits of life to simulate in Sims 3 that Sims 2 did not have. Sims 4 lost everything and gained nothing. It is less a life simulation than WOW which is not even remotely a life simulation game - so I fail to see how you can call it that because the Sims team branded it a life simulator - does not make it one. They are simply fooling themselves with more linear play than even most actions games have and trying to convince us it is still a life simulator. Most of us were not fooled - we know better - but apparently not all of us.
I can fully understand if you are new to the Sims then you might see it as an life simulation seeing it is listed as one - and is not your fault you do not realize it is no longer what they deem it to be. Now they are just party hardy bros and definitely not even remotely simulating my life or the life of anyone I even know. Even Sims freeplay is more of a life simulator than Sims 4 and I don't play anything that does not work on my pc or honestly I think I would be playing Sims free play over Sims 4 if I could. At least aging is simulating life - not at all like Sims 4 - where I had to just shut off aging to keep this foolish game from turning infants into 10 year olds. Not the least bit realistic at all or like life as I know it.
So praytell please, I am eager to know - how does Sims 4 remotely mirror your life? I wouldn't mind teleporting to where ever I want to go - if you know how - please share. My friend would probably love to age up her 11 month old twins to 10 year olds - if you know how - I will pass it on, as well as the ability to whisk the babies off to day care the minute she steps out her door to go to work (that is apparently free) or the ability to never need to go to a grocery store ever or a doctor for that matter.... Really, share if you can.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
i think rather "sandbox" means "choices" & not "reality only"
it means as well reality as shortcuts & the player decides how detailed the game has to be
the sand is as many options available to the player so that different people can play in different ways, building small or big sandcastles, detailed or clunky
with every game there are always people complaining,
it's just that with TS4 there are way more complaints than joy about the limiting decisions
those many limitations in TS4 like backdrops around the corner & not at the horizon first, no roads & no cars to use for sims, tasks to perform by numbers, plants without seeds, spawned & culled sims instead of those living in the neighborhoods, many removed completely or shortened animations &&&
TS4 is in some parts more elaborate like the expressions, animations & performed actions differently with different emotional state
still, i think the focus mainly on design in CAS, buildmode & emotional animations doesn't provide the player with a simulation
but it's rather like well done dolls moving around in well done homes due to animation by a machinery inside of them, everything else is done by the player alone & not by those dolls ... besides of playing phone games, wishing for a 1x1 pool & trolling the forums, which is annoyingly uniform behaviour for all sims without any exception
those dolls are leading a limited & similiar to each other sort of life, that's not sand, it's just few stones which can be set into few lives together often even by numbers only
& btw
i remember, as i moved from TS2 to TS3, i missed in TS3 too that those sims don't need to go out to actually buy clothes,
that the grocery shop consists of a list to click, but at least TS3 has still babysitters, paper delivery, burglars, policemen, firefighters in action & many other details from RL, past, fantasy & imagined future
it is surely an art to design a well balanced simulation game between detail & daily chore
but TS4 has lost that balance greatly & the makers filled the holes in the simulation with other game genres, which don't deliver enough substitute for that missing sand
I went back to Sims 2. I fell in love again and the scary thing is I am playing with no mods or cc.
Things I forgot about in Sims 2:
They take out cooking utensils and pots out drawers and cupboards.
When you tell them to do something, sometimes they seemed to look at you with a face that says do I really have too or are you kidding me?
They talk without prompting when eating or watching tv.
If you tell them to make the bed for awhile or clean the dishes they will start doing it by themselves.
They actually react to things that happen to them and let you know what they are feeling!
The interactions with babies, toddlers, and children..(baby-bathe and if you read parent book they can see what the baby needs and tuck in...toddler peek a boo, nursery rhyme, bathe, talk.. child- runs out to greet parent when they come home, parent snuggles child, play games such toss football, play catch, and swing around to name a few)
Cars! With all the cute animations, like the beat up car that needs the door slammed a few times to stay shut, car alarm, getting in car and actually driving out of the drive way..makes me forget it just for a few seconds and cars disappears!
They remember for longer.
I forgot I had a family where the husband cheated and his wife was super mad at the husband. A year later I make a single adult with a dog and move them in the same apartment complex (Actual apartments with landlords!). My new Sim is greeted by wife and immediately after husband walks out and instant fight!!!!
The little things that makes it a life stimulator.
Though I still hate the hobby people that just waltz in your Sims home and interrupts what they are doing to tell them they achieved this or that..would get a mod to stop that but haven't found one (Yes locked doors do not stop these stalkers).
And the omg it is raining or snowing..
Instead I bought a game that plays more like Tribes than Sims and what I did that was even worse was believe it would get better and become more a Sims game in time... I was wrong!
I actually forgot about the land lords
Thanks for reminding me
Could some of those rules be changed ? Sure. Should they be ? Only if it makes the game more fun, not just more realistic.
In my mind, only details that can lead to more storytelling and gameplay are worth being put into the game : mowing the lawn, doing laundry, trimming bushes, laying the table could be interesting. Having to use toilet paper or towels, or having to paint the wall again each time you move a piece of furniture, not so much.
@Writin_Reg
Ice cream makers that have to be put into the fridge definitely exist, I have one myself. The canister is storing cold by being put into the freezer several hours before you want to use it.
In a Sims world where a fridge can produce cold without being electrically connected, an ice cream maker that does the same seems logical to me, so I don't have any problem with it.
@Neia, I'm not asking for the moon. Of course pulling things from the rear end has been going on since day one in The Sims. However, what has never, ever happened (to my knowledge) in the other 'simulators' is the Sim no longer has to actually get up and go do the command but the player just taps the object and picks choices and it gets done. That is a fact to the best of my knowledge that and quite evident all over the TS4. For the first time ever, the Sims are no longer having to do something You would think 'they had to do' but the player does it.
Yes, we all know Sims don't turn on their own lights, we do, however there are a few in the TS3 they do turn on? or am I thinking of another game, wait, yeah I am never mind.
But in the fifteen years this game has been going it never left out or omitted when you give the Sim a command it would not have to do it but you have to do it.
That is when it starts going the way of those little casual games where the player makes the food by clicking this or that instead of Flo. That is when it goes too far into a different genre.
And besides someone years ago wrote a wonderful feed back on the TS3 about was this or that necessary and no some things aren't but the unnecessary is what the others games 'had' and why they have so much more umph than the TS4 does. Things may no longer be necessary but those things sure make them or help a player to suspend their disbelief and go ahead and belief it's Sims' game and not Dinner Dash Or Beach Party casual games. Or ETA: For those who don't understand what I mean perhaps Cake Mania is more familiar. Where she doesn't add the toppings the player clicks to add the toppings the 'sim' doesn't have to move an inch.
This is what threw me off my game, because at no time in the past did a Sim never have to walk to go do something. But now they don't. That is a very strange and unfamiliar territory in "The Sims". And why I was sitting here wondering why haven't they got up or moved to do this.
ETA: I will take that back, in the TS3 Sims don't have to walk to turn on the tv or stereo. I assume people love those animations and simulations are omitted in the TS3. But here we are now in the TS4 and they no longer have to walk to a pc to do something, viola the player did it instead. And why I complain all the time about a game becoming something else the more it gets watered down and built to resemble any ole game out there for $4.99 or free now in browser games if they are older games.
As my signature says. Always be a first-rate version of yourself......instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. This goes for games, too.
if you read rachel one of the leaders of sims 4 in one of her interview she was the first one to say which sims 4 is no long a life simulator but a "time management game."
then if even maxis don't consider sims 4 a life simulator anymore then how we can consider?
I'll still play my sims games, but for now I kinda want something totally new.
http://honeywellsims4news.tumblr.com/post/69284477440/interview-with-rachel-franklin-executive-producer
here the interview. really looks like this game really had a lot of troubles before the release.
I mean characters like these just work well in the Sims 4.
Thank you
yeah we get the sims 4 the cosplay limited simulator "poor edition"(with less features and more promises) "cuz make games is too difficult and expensive".
I don't consider it a life stimulator and haven't for awhile. That is why I moved back to Sims 2 and it is their loss because I got the full version for free with all stuff included and my wallet stays closed from now on with this time management (So, if she claimed it is a time management game, then it is a 60 to 80 bucks pop game?)...And if it is a time management game, I know over 30 better time management games that cost less than their game packs (EAs)..
They got me with their 7 dollar game that they charged 60 to 80. Gratz for them. But what they lost was my trust for the company within itself to sell me complete quality games and no further interested in their up coming games for any genre. I may be too old for their customer base now, but Dragon Mania Legends didn't ask my age or thoughts when I just threw 30 dollars at them (And it is a pc mobile game and the money was for gems XD)...
So, yes again I like a life stimulator and got that with Sims 2.
I'm fine with Sims spinning to change clothes if at least they walk to the closet to get their clothes first, and there are practical reasons (like nudity, and the huge number of costumes in the game) to avoid showing the boring details of dressing. The time saved in spinning to dress also helps make up for the fact that Sims do some other things (like eating) too slowly at times. It's a balance, and it works when the people making the game pay attention to detail and make careful decisions to enhance player experience.
Yes, I definitely want a life simulation game. I've played others (Kudos 2 and The Guild series come to mind), but nothing has equaled The Sims 2.