@MemoriiValentine@king_of_simcity7 Thanks I had all kinds of glitches when my sim was in the police career. I couldn't solve cases etc. That was the last time I played that game. Meanwhile I have the complete collection of TS2 and play that from time to time and still enjoy it.
I prefer the sims 3, the problem I have with it is that I get too addicted to it.
Yes I have that issue.
The worst time to play TS3 is before I start work and I have forbidden myself from playing in the evening as I would otherwise get no sleep
I discovered I cannot touch it in the morning during the week for ANY reason; made that mistake a few days ago and I was almost late for work (I just fired it up to check something and I just got suc..ked in)!
I love the Sims 3! I haven't played 4, but I would never be able to get rid of having an open world. I even tried going back to Sims 2 which I thought was my favorite game and found it lacking compared to Sims 3.
@BlackSand I only tried the TS4 free trial, partially out of curiosity and partially because I got tired of the 'but you have never even played TS4 s you cannot comment...' types of replies. Funnily enough no one has used that against me since I did three whole videos
But I gave TS4 30 points out of 100. The high points was the new CAS which is the only thing that is on par, if not better than what we have in TS3.
The worlds are tiny though and the gameplay is a little bit 'meh' for my liking.
@king_of_simcity7 ... Thanks for information.
For all practical purposes ... I am not finished playing Sims 3.
I spent a lot of money over the years on Sims 3 ... And I am still learning things about the game, available mods and general play.
Reviewing some of the threads concerning the subject of Sims 4 ... I don't see anything that really encourages me to give it a try.
I understand people that don't like others badmouthing their choice in games.
I restrict my comments about Sims 4 to what I know about the game ... Which is the fact I don't care to know any more at the moment.
It relates to the topic in the biased and restricted way it does ... And shouldn't be considered to be any different.
There is one minor difference though ... I don't go to the Sims 4 forums.
I don't care what Sims 4 players have to say about Sims 4 ... And I am here because of my appreciation for Sims 3.
If I have fun chatting up plum with the folks that wander down here ... Meh, so be it.
I am not wasting more money on a less than enticing, dressed up and chopped up version of a game I already like.
It never fails to amaze me that after all this time, I do still find something new from TS3 from time to time. Sometimes it might just be a moodlet I don't see often or I might notice something about an NPC that I never really bothered to do before after interacting with them or trying something different
I don't have all the expansions installed for Sims 3, but I still feel like I have a complete game when I sit down and play one of my families. I do, however, own everything from the Sims 3 Store except four worlds. The chickens, cows, bohemian fruits and nuts, tractor, humble harvest stand, and gardening station are all great additions for anyone who wants to roleplay a self-sufficient farming community.
Oh yeah, let's not forget about CAW. I downloaded King's Simbourne (sp?) world and I've explored it a little bit. It's cute, but I'm unsure if he plans on working on it some more.
I had all kinds of glitches when my sim was in the police career. I couldn't solve cases etc. That was the last time I played that game.
Sorry the game didn't work for you. Get to Work was the last pack I tried before calling it quits. The police, scientist, and doctor careers had so much potential and then fell flat on their faces. As if there weren't enough goals when you went on dates or hosted a party.
I prefer Sims 3 over Sims 4 for several reasons that have already been stated. The gameplay definitely keeps me interested for more than just an hour...Sims 4 makes me want to shut it down after less than an hour because I don't feel I can be creative enough. I don't feel there is enough off the wall moments in Sims 4...case in point: I had a sim in the political career track who had "sticky fingers" should we say, and she stole a little too much campaign money and got fired. However, she was then immediately offered a position in the criminal track. I love how things like that happen in Sims 3.
Is there a support group for Simming Addiction? I think I need it...
I did play TS4 for a while - first the free trial, and because I enjoyed that, I got the base game on sale (60% off). Since then I've hardly ever played it. I get bored with it, because there isn't much to do. My first Sim was in culinary, and all she can do is work and then run on the treadmill, because if she doesn't, she'll get fat in a matter of days. And by the time she's worked off her meals, watered her plants and maybe phoned a friend, it's time to go to sleep. Rinse and repeat...
I keep thinking that maybe an EP, GP or SP would make the game more fun, but then I think "why spend money on making TS4 more fun when I'm having so much fun with TS3?" and I end up not getting anything.
I use NRaas mods. I created a new game in Simbourne twice, and both gave me the message, "Error Trap Recorded: 165" upon moving in a single sim on an empty lot. Not sure if that effects anything. Along the riverbanks I do wish there was dirt or stone terrain paint where the water meets land. I like the pier lots and how you didn't go overboard with the trees.
If I built on every empty lot and moved families into every house I'd be worried about my game, or the whole computer itself, crashing. There's no denying there's a lot of lots in the world. It plays fine for now because it's only my sim and the spawned vendors.
I still need to make use of the Saavy Seller's Collection someday in Sims 3. The retail system in Get to Work was a joke compared to Open for Business.
I prefer Sims 4 over Sims 3, for many reasons... one of them is the animations are far superior in The Sims 4. Sims also have more personality. I always felt they were soul-less in Sims 3, with just doing that dumb clapping thing when they were happy, or whatever. And if they were sad, their faces were always like . It was SO annoying.
And even though Sims 4 isn't open world, I think the way the world is designed is better than Sims 3. The detail is amazing, in my opinion. The gameplay seems better as well. When comparing just the base games, I'll always prefer Sims 4 over Sims 3.
Origin ID:theAidster21
The Sims has always been an important part of my life, and may it continue to be so! Long live Sims!
[Due to some kind of glitch, I am unable to insert photos into my signature for some reason.]
When comparing just the base games, I'll always prefer Sims 4 over Sims 3.
I think that's the deciding factor. If you're bowled over by the base game and it grabs you, then you've found the game you should be spending your money on. Sims 2 didn't do that for me, so I didn't invest in it and continued playing Sims 1. Sims 4 doesn't do it for me either. Unlike you, I find the Sims' continual mood-swings really annoying, and it's more like they're play-acting than actually feeling any emotion... Like ham actors... Since I feel that way, I won't spend more money on the game.
I think it's really "to each his own". I know a lot of people who still play Sims 2, or even Sims 1, because the newer games don't appeal to them.
I loved Sims 3 from the start, and never regretted a penny I spent on it. I got Sims 4 on sale, and while I don't think I 'wasted' my money, I will not invest in it any further, because the Sims themselves just don't appeal to me. And I don't like the graphics either. But there's no arguing about tastes (even though we seem to be doing that on regular basis here... LOL!)
One of the only things I like about the Sims 4 is the emotion, but I don't think that saves it. I agree with @KarinL that it does get annoying sometimes with the mood swings (which makes the game even less realistic imo). Personally, I find myself always bored and done within 15 minutes of play were I can sit and play the Sims 3 for hours in one sitting. I don't think that Sims 4 would be that bad if it just had more to do. Gameplay with it is always so repetitive.
I thought I preferred Ts4 over TS3 but that has recently changed. My rant below:
I found I'd been forcing myself to like the game, but I just couldn't for some reason (more on that later). In previous games I used to create one family and stick to them for generations because I grew attached to their story. In TS4, I have started new games countless times trying to find the "spark".
I have spent HOURS in CAS and build mode, making the perfect sims, houses and community lots. But when it came to gameplay...well, I tried multiple gameplay options and challenges including the history challenge (ruined by constant cell phone idle animations), and I started numerous legacies which never got past Gen 1. I just got bored with the families.
Ar first I thought it may have to do with the fact that sims did not have much to actually do in game (hobbies and such) so I bought every expansion, game pack and stuff pack. But that didn't help. So I tried rotational play to add some variety to my game, but with TS4 sims once you play a sim you have played them all: their personality is just the same regardless of their traits. It's like they are on some kind of medication to make them all happy and smiley. Even evil sims are all happy and friendly most of the time.
I have also tried mods to spice up my game but no mod can address the issues I have with the game.
So I reached this painful conclusion: for me, the sims 4 is like a Faberge egg: beautiful on the outside but empty inside. It's great for creating stunning sims easily and also great builds (if you don't mind the flat terrain), it's even good for picture (staged) storytelling. But if you're into actually playing the sims and telling real stories l: it's boring, limiting and frustrating. Sadly, I doubt any of these problems will be addressed in the future.
So I went back to Ts2 (yes TS2) and, even though I still liked it felt kind of limited too. It has not aged well.
I was never very much into TS3 back in the day because i had a crappy computer at that moment, and the game was too laggy. Anyway. I still purchased all EPs back then (except ITF and Supernatural, since I don't care for those). So I decided to give it another try: and I'm having so much fun! There is so much to do! And my sim actually behave differently depending on their traits, they even get different wishes. It's such a little thing that we took for granted in previous games but it's absent in TS4. Anyway Truth is: I still like TS4 art style better, and TS4 CAS feels superior (but the color wheel and patterns partially make up for that). TS3 build mode is not as bad as I remembered and there are actually some features (such as foundations) that work better in TS3 than TS4. As far as the gameplay goes, there is only one thing tS4 does better: multitasking. It's the only thing I've found myself missing.
My game is still somewhat laggy (which I don't understand since I have a very powerful gaming computer with 20GB RAM and a dedicated Nvidia Graphic Card GTX 960), but I can live with that because it's the first time in years that I'm actually having fun with a sims game
@Gillie I am not sure what the error would have been but I havnt done anything to the riverside area in years. It was there so I could have a river going through Sim Lane.
The world is large though and the more Sims you will add to it, the larger the save file will become.
To add to my previous post (I didn’t want to edit it because it’s already too long), I thought I’d share my personal (non-exhaustive) list of TS3 vs TS4 pros and cons. I’m a very analytical person and I came up with this list before I decided to go back to TS3; it includes only those features that are important to me; each feature is worth a certain amount of points (again, in my own personal opinion), and that is how I got the final “score” for each game. I tried not to include any “EP” features (unless I think they are definitely not coming to TS4), since it wouldn’t be a fair comparison (e.g. university or pets).
TS4
Final score (pros-cons) = -3. More cons than pros, which means the good stuff does not compensate for the bad stuff. But the biggest problem is the con list includes issues (such as accidents and random deaths, world customisation and sims’ personality) that are not likely be addressed in the future by EA or by the modding community.
Pros:
- CAS (beautiful sims with minimal CC) +2
- Multitasking +2
- Runs smoothly +2
- More sims in public places +2
- Better animations (less robotic) +1
- Build mode (easy to use, in-game gallery, etc.) +1
Cons:
- Happy la la land: no accidents or random stuff happening to spice up the game -4
- Worlds are not customisable -3 (I love creating my own cities)
- Sims’ personality (or lack thereof) -3
- Age stages (babies are objects, no toddlers, teens are just like young adults specially after the last patch) -2
- Teleporting everywhere -1
TS3
Final score (pros-cons) = +10. More pros than cons. Some of the cons (like CAS and sims on public places) have a solution (CC) or workaround (Nraas?). My biggest issue with the game is the lag, but it may be caused by me trying to play the game on ultra highest settings with almost all EPs and lots of CC and store content (again I have a 2016 gaming computer so it shouldn’t be an issue, but maybe the game is just not built properly).
Pros:
- Random stuff and accidents do happen (fires, electrocutions, meteor crashes, earthquakes, etc.) that make the game more interesting + 4
- Fully customisable world with a town-like atmosphere +3
- Sim’s personality +3
- Feels more like a sandbox game +2
- CAS – color wheel and patterns +1
- Age stages +2
- Open world +2
- Transportation (cars, bycicles, etc.) +1
Cons:
- Laggy even on higher end computers -3 (this is the biggest issue for me)
- No multitasking -2
- Robotic animations -1
- Not that many sims on public spaces -1
- CAS: needs CC -1 (only -1 because it has the color wheel)
@QDog Good points. Your lag sounds a bit weird though. I have a PC that's a few years old and I play with all EPs and SPs, CC, Store Content, all on high settings, and I have very little to no lag at all.
@QDog Good points. Your lag sounds a bit weird though. I have a PC that's a few years old and I play with all EPs and SPs, CC, Store Content, and I have very little to no lag at all.
I know. I may need to look into it because I have the feeling the game is not making use of my computers' full capabilities (eg I had to tweak lots of files in order for the game to recognize my graphic card!). The lag not game breaking or anything but I'm used to TS4 which runs so smoothly. I get some lag in CaS (Hairs and Outfits take a some time to load - the rest is fine). While playing, I don't think I get "lag" per se. Lots and textures "load" without a problem but I get FPS drops on occasion. Also ultra speed (3) is not that fast...I read the game would run smoother if I disabled pets? I may have to try that. I also may need to lower some settings (I have everything on ultra now).
Ohh I thought you meant it was lagging while you were playing. Your game sounds the same as mine then. It takes a few more seconds to load up outfits but I figure that's to be expected when there's so many. Pets are pretty taxing on the game, I limited the amount that the game can have. I hardly play with them at all so I think I'll probably disable them completely.
Ohh I thought you meant it was lagging while you were playing. Your game sounds the same as mine then. It takes a few more seconds to load up outfits but I figure that's to be expected when there's so many. Pets are pretty taxing on the game, I limited the amount that the game can have. I hardly play with them at all so I think I'll probably disable them completely.
Good to know it's not an issue with my computer! I guess I'm a little too demanding because I'm now used to how smooth TS4 runs in my computer. TS3 feels "heavy" in comparison, like it's doing so many things at once (perhaps because it is actually doing lots of things at once like rendering an open world). But then again, as my list shows, even with the slight lag, the sims 3 is so much more worth it
@pisceschick75 I never knew that the game would offer Sims the criminal career if they stole something?
You really do learn something knew about TS3 every day
Yeah! I almost fell out of my chair!!! She was siphoning funds... Got caught...got fired, and got offered a job in the Criminal track! I thought to myself...well, heck, that's cool!
Is there a support group for Simming Addiction? I think I need it...
Although it is a shame that TS3 does not have 'multitasking' at least in the advanced sense, no game really had multi tasking before anyway so it would be a bit like complaining about TS1 not have any aging
Comments
I discovered I cannot touch it in the morning during the week for ANY reason; made that mistake a few days ago and I was almost late for work (I just fired it up to check something and I just got suc..ked in)!
@king_of_simcity7 ... Thanks for information.
For all practical purposes ... I am not finished playing Sims 3.
I spent a lot of money over the years on Sims 3 ... And I am still learning things about the game, available mods and general play.
Reviewing some of the threads concerning the subject of Sims 4 ... I don't see anything that really encourages me to give it a try.
I understand people that don't like others badmouthing their choice in games.
I restrict my comments about Sims 4 to what I know about the game ... Which is the fact I don't care to know any more at the moment.
It relates to the topic in the biased and restricted way it does ... And shouldn't be considered to be any different.
There is one minor difference though ... I don't go to the Sims 4 forums.
I don't care what Sims 4 players have to say about Sims 4 ... And I am here because of my appreciation for Sims 3.
If I have fun chatting up plum with the folks that wander down here ... Meh, so be it.
I am not wasting more money on a less than enticing, dressed up and chopped up version of a game I already like.
.
It never fails to amaze me that after all this time, I do still find something new from TS3 from time to time. Sometimes it might just be a moodlet I don't see often or I might notice something about an NPC that I never really bothered to do before after interacting with them or trying something different
Oh yeah, let's not forget about CAW. I downloaded King's Simbourne (sp?) world and I've explored it a little bit. It's cute, but I'm unsure if he plans on working on it some more.
Sorry the game didn't work for you. Get to Work was the last pack I tried before calling it quits. The police, scientist, and doctor careers had so much potential and then fell flat on their faces. As if there weren't enough goals when you went on dates or hosted a party.
I am not sure if I will do much more work on it. There are still some mild routing issues left with a couple of lots and some lots need furnishing.
My question is though, does it run on your PC?
You really do learn something knew about TS3 every day
I keep thinking that maybe an EP, GP or SP would make the game more fun, but then I think "why spend money on making TS4 more fun when I'm having so much fun with TS3?" and I end up not getting anything.
I use NRaas mods. I created a new game in Simbourne twice, and both gave me the message, "Error Trap Recorded: 165" upon moving in a single sim on an empty lot. Not sure if that effects anything. Along the riverbanks I do wish there was dirt or stone terrain paint where the water meets land. I like the pier lots and how you didn't go overboard with the trees.
If I built on every empty lot and moved families into every house I'd be worried about my game, or the whole computer itself, crashing. There's no denying there's a lot of lots in the world. It plays fine for now because it's only my sim and the spawned vendors.
I still need to make use of the Saavy Seller's Collection someday in Sims 3. The retail system in Get to Work was a joke compared to Open for Business.
And even though Sims 4 isn't open world, I think the way the world is designed is better than Sims 3. The detail is amazing, in my opinion. The gameplay seems better as well. When comparing just the base games, I'll always prefer Sims 4 over Sims 3.
The Sims has always been an important part of my life, and may it continue to be so! Long live Sims!
[Due to some kind of glitch, I am unable to insert photos into my signature for some reason.]
I think that's the deciding factor. If you're bowled over by the base game and it grabs you, then you've found the game you should be spending your money on. Sims 2 didn't do that for me, so I didn't invest in it and continued playing Sims 1. Sims 4 doesn't do it for me either. Unlike you, I find the Sims' continual mood-swings really annoying, and it's more like they're play-acting than actually feeling any emotion... Like ham actors... Since I feel that way, I won't spend more money on the game.
I think it's really "to each his own". I know a lot of people who still play Sims 2, or even Sims 1, because the newer games don't appeal to them.
I loved Sims 3 from the start, and never regretted a penny I spent on it. I got Sims 4 on sale, and while I don't think I 'wasted' my money, I will not invest in it any further, because the Sims themselves just don't appeal to me. And I don't like the graphics either. But there's no arguing about tastes (even though we seem to be doing that on regular basis here... LOL!)
I found I'd been forcing myself to like the game, but I just couldn't for some reason (more on that later). In previous games I used to create one family and stick to them for generations because I grew attached to their story. In TS4, I have started new games countless times trying to find the "spark".
I have spent HOURS in CAS and build mode, making the perfect sims, houses and community lots. But when it came to gameplay...well, I tried multiple gameplay options and challenges including the history challenge (ruined by constant cell phone idle animations), and I started numerous legacies which never got past Gen 1. I just got bored with the families.
Ar first I thought it may have to do with the fact that sims did not have much to actually do in game (hobbies and such) so I bought every expansion, game pack and stuff pack. But that didn't help. So I tried rotational play to add some variety to my game, but with TS4 sims once you play a sim you have played them all: their personality is just the same regardless of their traits. It's like they are on some kind of medication to make them all happy and smiley. Even evil sims are all happy and friendly most of the time.
I have also tried mods to spice up my game but no mod can address the issues I have with the game.
So I reached this painful conclusion: for me, the sims 4 is like a Faberge egg: beautiful on the outside but empty inside. It's great for creating stunning sims easily and also great builds (if you don't mind the flat terrain), it's even good for picture (staged) storytelling. But if you're into actually playing the sims and telling real stories l: it's boring, limiting and frustrating. Sadly, I doubt any of these problems will be addressed in the future.
So I went back to Ts2 (yes TS2) and, even though I still liked it felt kind of limited too. It has not aged well.
I was never very much into TS3 back in the day because i had a crappy computer at that moment, and the game was too laggy. Anyway. I still purchased all EPs back then (except ITF and Supernatural, since I don't care for those). So I decided to give it another try: and I'm having so much fun! There is so much to do! And my sim actually behave differently depending on their traits, they even get different wishes. It's such a little thing that we took for granted in previous games but it's absent in TS4. Anyway Truth is: I still like TS4 art style better, and TS4 CAS feels superior (but the color wheel and patterns partially make up for that). TS3 build mode is not as bad as I remembered and there are actually some features (such as foundations) that work better in TS3 than TS4. As far as the gameplay goes, there is only one thing tS4 does better: multitasking. It's the only thing I've found myself missing.
My game is still somewhat laggy (which I don't understand since I have a very powerful gaming computer with 20GB RAM and a dedicated Nvidia Graphic Card GTX 960), but I can live with that because it's the first time in years that I'm actually having fun with a sims game
The world is large though and the more Sims you will add to it, the larger the save file will become.
To add to my previous post (I didn’t want to edit it because it’s already too long), I thought I’d share my personal (non-exhaustive) list of TS3 vs TS4 pros and cons. I’m a very analytical person and I came up with this list before I decided to go back to TS3; it includes only those features that are important to me; each feature is worth a certain amount of points (again, in my own personal opinion), and that is how I got the final “score” for each game. I tried not to include any “EP” features (unless I think they are definitely not coming to TS4), since it wouldn’t be a fair comparison (e.g. university or pets).
TS4
Final score (pros-cons) = -3. More cons than pros, which means the good stuff does not compensate for the bad stuff. But the biggest problem is the con list includes issues (such as accidents and random deaths, world customisation and sims’ personality) that are not likely be addressed in the future by EA or by the modding community.
Pros:
- CAS (beautiful sims with minimal CC) +2
- Multitasking +2
- Runs smoothly +2
- More sims in public places +2
- Better animations (less robotic) +1
- Build mode (easy to use, in-game gallery, etc.) +1
Cons:
- Happy la la land: no accidents or random stuff happening to spice up the game -4
- Worlds are not customisable -3 (I love creating my own cities)
- Sims’ personality (or lack thereof) -3
- Age stages (babies are objects, no toddlers, teens are just like young adults specially after the last patch) -2
- Teleporting everywhere -1
TS3
Final score (pros-cons) = +10. More pros than cons. Some of the cons (like CAS and sims on public places) have a solution (CC) or workaround (Nraas?). My biggest issue with the game is the lag, but it may be caused by me trying to play the game on ultra highest settings with almost all EPs and lots of CC and store content (again I have a 2016 gaming computer so it shouldn’t be an issue, but maybe the game is just not built properly).
Pros:
- Random stuff and accidents do happen (fires, electrocutions, meteor crashes, earthquakes, etc.) that make the game more interesting + 4
- Fully customisable world with a town-like atmosphere +3
- Sim’s personality +3
- Feels more like a sandbox game +2
- CAS – color wheel and patterns +1
- Age stages +2
- Open world +2
- Transportation (cars, bycicles, etc.) +1
Cons:
- Laggy even on higher end computers -3 (this is the biggest issue for me)
- No multitasking -2
- Robotic animations -1
- Not that many sims on public spaces -1
- CAS: needs CC -1 (only -1 because it has the color wheel)
I know. I may need to look into it because I have the feeling the game is not making use of my computers' full capabilities (eg I had to tweak lots of files in order for the game to recognize my graphic card!). The lag not game breaking or anything but I'm used to TS4 which runs so smoothly. I get some lag in CaS (Hairs and Outfits take a some time to load - the rest is fine). While playing, I don't think I get "lag" per se. Lots and textures "load" without a problem but I get FPS drops on occasion. Also ultra speed (3) is not that fast...I read the game would run smoother if I disabled pets? I may have to try that. I also may need to lower some settings (I have everything on ultra now).
Good to know it's not an issue with my computer!
Yeah! I almost fell out of my chair!!! She was siphoning funds...
Although it is a shame that TS3 does not have 'multitasking' at least in the advanced sense, no game really had multi tasking before anyway so it would be a bit like complaining about TS1 not have any aging