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How limited is TS4, really?

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Orchid13Orchid13 Posts: 8,823 Member
edited January 2017 in The Sims 4 Game Feedback
First of all, I know about 3 simmers that defend this game to death and always say the game has a lot of potential. Many times I've had problems with them, but it would actually be nice to discuss this with these people that actually have real arguments to defend it. So here are my questions... or what worries me about this game

-Can babies work like actual sims and not objects
-Are horses, cars or any transportation methods possible in this game
- Could sims eventually swim in rivers, lagoons or in the ocean
- A color wheel
- Cuddling and relaxing in bed

The developers proved me wrong about toddlers. So
I won't say any of the stuff some of us used to say. I know that no one can tell me for sure if these features will be in the game or not. I just want to know if they are even possible. Some simmers have proven that they do in fact know a lot about how this game works and some real input would be great.
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Comments

  • Orchid13Orchid13 Posts: 8,823 Member
    mirta000 wrote: »
    if I remember right, someone was talking about finding cuddling, or something similar hidden in game files? So I think that is very likely.
    Swimming will probably come true too, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was limited to only a specific world.

    Everything else in my opinion unlikely, but only the devs really know for sure

    My own ifs and evers are:

    - memory system. Something that makes the things that I do in sim world matter. If my sims die, I want their children to REMEMBER them. If their sister had children, I want them to REMEMBER that. I absolutely hate going trough this world without any impact on anything whatsoever.
    - better AI when it comes to calling your sims. Young children should not be invited to go on dates with adults, sims should not call each other while already being together either.
    - teens that look like teens. I'm going to post a picture. Does she look teen to you?

    uMTAci3.jpg

    Out of 4 women at the table 3 are teens. They look 30 to me. It's just so immersion breaking! And I tried to make them look young too!

    Yeah! I saw the game files too so I have a bit more hope for that , but I didn't see cuddling.

    Thanks for bringing up the memory system. It makes the game feel way more real or like sims have more meaningful lives, maybe I'm wrong but maybe that is possible in a big patch
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  • Clarkie100Clarkie100 Posts: 1,708 Member
    I'm interested as well, it seems that toddlers were able to be added, which is great for those who want them.

    This does leave a lot of questions, like it would be nice to see sims swimming in the lakes.

    It would have also been nice to see a real bear, wasn't it Claire the bear from the showbiz EP that used to rummage through sims bins?

    And burglars, I do sort of miss them.
  • Orchid13Orchid13 Posts: 8,823 Member
    Clarkie100 wrote: »
    I'm interested as well, it seems that toddlers were able to be added, which is great for those who want them.

    This does leave a lot of questions, like it would be nice to see sims swimming in the lakes.

    It would have also been nice to see a real bear, wasn't it Claire the bear from the showbiz EP that used to rummage through sims bins?

    And burglars, I do sort of miss them.

    Claire bear like other NPCs I think are possible... but then again I know people who can say this with actual backup

    I'm assuming burglars and firemen are possible, we have gotten gardeners, repairmen and maids and more so I think burglars will come for sure. I really think the game can allow that
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  • ohmyohmyohmyohmy Posts: 614 Member
    edited January 2017
    I don't see how anyone could debate with you on this..? like you said we can't really provide you with straight answers. I heard when the ts2 bon voyage was in development that they had to create new tech so Sims could swim in the ocean so yes I think swimming in the ocean is possible. as for cuddling on beds I could see it happen but I imagine it would be a lot more work due to the multitasking tech or maybe not? I'm just a player & I don't work on the game so I'm just guessing. :)
  • Clarkie100Clarkie100 Posts: 1,708 Member
    Orchid13 wrote: »
    Clarkie100 wrote: »
    I'm interested as well, it seems that toddlers were able to be added, which is great for those who want them.

    This does leave a lot of questions, like it would be nice to see sims swimming in the lakes.

    It would have also been nice to see a real bear, wasn't it Claire the bear from the showbiz EP that used to rummage through sims bins?

    And burglars, I do sort of miss them.

    Claire bear like other NPCs I think are possible... but then again I know people who can say this with actual backup

    I'm assuming burglars and firemen are possible, we have gotten gardeners, repairmen and maids and more so I think burglars will come for sure. I really think the game can allow that

    That would definitely continue to improve the game.

    And it would also be nice if there were more terrain tools, I can't build anything like others can, however there needs to be terrain height again.

    And perhaps more than just eight sims, I would love to create a massive household or Street full of sims. Especially if there's a pets EP, the spaces soon get taken. I'm sure there's a good reason like performance, but it would be nice.
  • Clarkie100Clarkie100 Posts: 1,708 Member
    edited January 2017
    ohmyohmy wrote: »
    I don't see how anyone could debate with you on this..? like you said we can't really provide you with straight answers. I heard when the ts2 bon voyage was in development that they had to create new tech so Sims could swim in the ocean so yes I think swimming in the ocean is possible. as for cuddling on beds I could see it happen but I imagine it would be a lot more work due to the multitasking tech or maybe not? I'm just a player & I don't work on the game so I'm just guessing. :)

    I can see both points.

    It has got me thinking, there are things that could be added, and perhaps simmers with more knowledge can shed better light.

    I've only just started to understand how games can work, and what certain phrases mean, it's helped me not get as stressed now I understand that more. I used to get quite annoyed with glitches but now I understand they're errors I can see the funny side. :)
  • HappySimmer3HappySimmer3 Posts: 6,699 Member
    Orchid13 wrote: »
    First of all, I know about 3 simmers that defend this game to death and always say the game has a lot of potential. Many times I've had problems with them, but it would actually be nice to discuss this with these people that actually have real arguments to defend it. So here are my questions... or what worries me about this game

    -Can babies work like actual sims and not objects
    -Are horses, cars or any transportation methods possible in this game
    - Could sims eventually swim in rivers, lagoons or in the ocean
    - A color wheel
    - Cuddling and relaxing in bed

    The developers proved me wrong about toddlers. So
    I won't say any of the stuff some of us used to say. I know that no one can tell me for sure if these features will be in the game or not. I just want to know if they are even possible. Some simmers have proven that they do in fact know a lot about how this game works and some real input would be great.

    This is just my opinion, but anything is possible. The question becomes is any one thing worth the time and cost? And I think the whole design of the game has to be taken into account as well.

    Babies - Yes, they could improve the babies by leaps and bounds. No reason they couldn't, it's just a matter of whether they think the time and expense would be worth it. Personally I don't think they'd make quite as much money off of baby content as they will with toddler content but they definitely would make some money from that.

    Transportation systems - the design of the neighborhoods might limit how much of a benefit this could be. Horses would either only be in one world or on a lot and you ride them around in a circle, IMO. Without an open world, would they think that adding horses make a significant impact on the game? Same with other transportation systems. I think they could add cars but would all the costs involved in adding any animations be worth it since sims just get instantly transported to other lots?

    A color wheel - again it's possible but I think it would require re-doing all the content in the game currently to make it compatible? Not techie enough to make a good guess on this one though.

    Cuddling etc. - yes, although it seems like making physical animations are challenging for them (like when sims kiss their lips don't always touch). I'll take a guess and say this has something to do with the way they implemented routing so that everything passes through everything else so this is difficult to get right. And the animations for the play interaction on the toddlers, where the sparkles sort of try to mask the fact that the toddler is teleported onto the sim's back.

    So those are just my thoughts about the things you mentioned. But maybe they still have quite a few surprises up their sleeves. :)
    The Sims 30695923002_cffaca4078_t.jpg

    Where are we going, and why am I in this hand basket?!
  • Orchid13Orchid13 Posts: 8,823 Member
    ohmyohmy wrote: »
    I don't see how anyone could debate with you on this..? like you said we can't really provide you with straight answers. I heard when the ts2 bon voyage was in development that they had to create new tech so Sims could swim in the ocean so yes I think swimming in the ocean is possible. as for cuddling on beds I could see it happen but I imagine it would be a lot more work due to the multitasking tech or maybe not? I'm just a player & I don't work on the game so I'm just guessing. :)

    Straight answers meaning that even though we have a lot of people in this community that know how the game
    Is built, they can't tell us for sure if it will actually make it to the game. I mean maybe a million things are possible but there isn't enough money or time.
    I would only like to know if some stuff is even possible, so we can stop asking for stuff that simply can't be done. Like CASt I think
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  • Nephesh_SpiritNephesh_Spirit Posts: 254 Member
    mirta000 wrote: »
    - memory system. Something that makes the things that I do in sim world matter. If my sims die, I want their children to REMEMBER them. If their sister had children, I want them to REMEMBER that. I absolutely hate going trough this world without any impact on anything whatsoever.

    Yes, to that. The way it is right now is just weird. I had a sim that tragically passed away while he was on the job. Due to that no reaction from his fathers or brothers whom he lived with. I have a young married couple their elderly mothers were living with them. The guy's Mother passed and both were depressed and sad because they saw it. But her Mother passed whilst they were both asleep. No sadness at all.

    I also find it sort of odd when a sim will call or text something like "So sorry you lost someone close to you..." and the person that passed is their parent, sibling, or another relative.

    I liked in TS2 that they got a memory if a friend or relative died
    The Lockwood Family Tree



  • 3KNPen3KNPen Posts: 2,825 Member
    edited January 2017
    At this point I don't really see the need to redesign the babies and I doubt that they do either. Even when you could do more with them in 2 or 3 they were still limited and boring. I would rather have them put time, energy and money into fleshing out teenagers or even the elders then the babies.

    I think horses can work. They're definitely better suited for the countryside large open neighborhoods in Windenburg then they would be in some of other neighborhoods but there is definitely room for them to roam around and be ridden around in an enjoyable fashion in those areas and I would hope that they would come with some sort of added world where they could also be enjoyed. Personally I would love if they added a dressage category to the horses this time around (along with free riding & jumping) as it would work quite nicely in a closed arena environment. But overall I think they can be done without a major re-design of the current game.

    Cars...I think are less likely. The roads in the current worlds need to be completely redone for them to work and a lot of neighbor hoods have roads which are blocked off completely by pillars and such. However any new neighborhoods that are added might be able to be built to include them from the start but given there's no real destination for these cars I can't see them being much more interesting then they were in Sims 2.

    Swimming much as with cars I think it will have to be limited to new worlds going forward or destination worlds. I doubt they would redo current worlds to allow for swimming in them.

    I would enjoy a color wheel but again it's a matter of where time, effort and money should be spent and I would rather them concentrate on good quality content and simply provide me with more (hopefully matching) color options/swatches for new items coming out then rework the whole game to add in a color wheel.

    Given that some of the romantic stuff is already in the code much the way that some of the toddler stuff was I would expect that we'll see new stuff of that sort at some point it's only a matter of time.
    ~ ~ ~
  • DeKayDeKay Posts: 81,472 Member
    Well, who knows. We're not the developers.
    My Top Song of the Day: Fancy Footwork by Chromeo
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  • mustenimusteni Posts: 5,403 Member
    I don't think it's as limited as many like to believe. However I do worry about adding weather, transportation and swimming to existing neighbourhoods because they didn't do that with apartments. I suppose it was kind of unnecessary for the design they choose to go for, but I wonder if they can and if they will take that step in the future. I think babies should be easy in comparison. New animations are a challenge in general because they have to be applied to all moods. CAS is a challenge because things have to fit all bodytypes.
  • WulfsimmerWulfsimmer Posts: 4,381 Member
    Orchid13 wrote: »
    First of all, I know about 3 simmers that defend this game to death and always say the game has a lot of potential. Many times I've had problems with them, but it would actually be nice to discuss this with these people that actually have real arguments to defend it. So here are my questions... or what worries me about this game

    -Can babies work like actual sims and not objects
    -Are horses, cars or any transportation methods possible in this game
    - Could sims eventually swim in rivers, lagoons or in the ocean
    - A color wheel
    - Cuddling and relaxing in bed

    The developers proved me wrong about toddlers. So
    I won't say any of the stuff some of us used to say. I know that no one can tell me for sure if these features will be in the game or not. I just want to know if they are even possible. Some simmers have proven that they do in fact know a lot about how this game works and some real input would be great.

    Question #1: If toddlers can so why can't babies? They are at least 5x less complicated

    Question #2: They would probably work like The Sims 2 (not shre about horses though, they seem useless)

    Question #3: Probably not, since it is not an open world game

    Question #4: It is possible but only if the devs want to :pensive:

    Question #5: Same as #4


    Of course these are only my opinions :D
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  • dreamprisonerdreamprisoner Posts: 1,221 Member
    Orchid13 wrote: »
    -Can babies work like actual sims and not objects
    -Are horses, cars or any transportation methods possible in this game
    - Could sims eventually swim in rivers, lagoons or in the ocean
    - A color wheel
    - Cuddling and relaxing in bed

    I think they're all possible, however, I doubt they'll change babies now that we have toddlers, they may give them some customisation, or introduce different cots, but I don't think we'll ever have babies which aren't attached to the crib. Vehicles were in Sims 2, when you could barely leave your lot, so I'm sure they can be added to Sims 4; it will just take longer to add routes for each neighbourhood, same with horses. I can see them adding underwater swimming, but only in one world (i.e. beach getaway), it would also be a nice place to introduce mermaids. Colour wheels are possible, but I'm not sure if they'll come. Cuddling and relaxing on a bed are simple animations, I don't see why they'd be beyond the game's ability.
  • plopppo2plopppo2 Posts: 3,420 Member
    -Can babies work like actual sims and not objects - YES - but probably takes work
    -Are horses, cars or any transportation methods possible in this game - YES - animations required
    - Could sims eventually swim in rivers, lagoons or in the ocean - YES - animations required
    - A color wheel - YES - I think their are alread 3rd party mods to do it - possibly external ones
    - Cuddling and relaxing in bed - YES - animations required
    In a nutshell, Yes to all; however, that doesn't mean any are coming - it just means they are possible.
  • plopppo2plopppo2 Posts: 3,420 Member
    edited January 2017
    In easy-terms:

    Babies - they have always been doable - it's just a case of them doing it.

    Transport:
    Simple enough - cars are already in - it's just a case of editing the meshes/having new meshes to allow a Sim to walk up to one, open the door, get in and drive off. Nothing comlicated here - drive off screen - arrive on screen in target neighbourhood and park up at lot/venue.
    EDIT:
    Horses are basically horses - you ride them, but a horse whether it is an object or an actual simulated horse (as per TS3) is no different to the car - just a lot more work if you want it to be like a TS3 horse. If you want a simple horse as transport, then easy-peasy.

    for swimming:
    Basically, if a Sim is intersecting a water mesh, then it is in water (or in a designated area that can be checked) - if the water mesh is an ocean/lake/river, etc, then Sim can call swimming animations - just like a Sim can swim in a pool. There would be new animations for the Sim walking in and out of the water to make it more realistic than simply default walking in.

    Colour wheel:
    I know that 3rd party mods exist to do this, so there is your answer. However, it might be seen as a threat to have this.

    Cuddling and relaxing in a bed:
    0 challenge here - it is just a case of having the animations for it - this is easy-peasy.

  • plopppo2plopppo2 Posts: 3,420 Member
    edited January 2017
    Technically-speaking, because TS4 is loading instances and is not simulating a world or progression, then vibrant neighbourhoods, really could be vibrant neighbourhoods.

    For example, there are no reasons why any Sims in the game who have barbecues, cannot invite your Sim and other Sims around for a barbecue - there are no reasons why an NPC Sim cannot throw an event like a player's Sim can. The only reasons is that this hasn't been coded in.

    The limitations are not really there - it is more how you adapt to creating content.

    Basically, you can do what you want.

    You want a helicopter winch someone to hospital, you can have it.

    You want firemen, in a fire truck, you can have them.
  • LiseyLisey Posts: 195 Member
    I'm sure everything you said is possible.

    Whether the devs will feel enough pressure or have enough interest to do so is a different matter.
  • PixelsimmerPixelsimmer Posts: 2,351 Member
    edited January 2017


    1- Can babies work like actual sims and not objects
    I think they can release baby from cribs, and it is now more feasible than ever since they addressed the issues with multitasking thanks to toddlers. The developers said they at least wanted to change the current system so that sims don't have to put down the baby between interactions. I think that would greatly help. That being said, now we have toddlers it's not a priority for me at least.

    2 - Are horses, cars or any transportation methods possible in this game?

    I don't see why horses wouldn't be possible. Cars I'm not so sure to be honest. I mean it would be easy asding cars like those in TS3 (car that magically teleports from the garage to the road and then drives off). But I don't think TS2-style cars are feasible taking into account how worlds are designed (where would you put the driveway?)

    3- Could sims eventually swim in rivers, lagoons or in the ocean?

    They did this for TS3 (it was not a feature in the base game and they patched it in later on); so why not? That being said I'd be happy if they just added a beach world with swimmable beaches (the river in Willow Creek looks more like a swamp and not very appealing to me to be honest; but it would be nice if sims could swim in Windenburg's ocean).

    4.- A color wheel

    I think It would technically be feasible to add more color swatches to objects and clothes so that we could have a wider range of colors to choose from. But I don't think a color wheel is going to be implemented in this iteration.

    5- Cuddling and relaxing in bed

    These animations are already in the game but they are hidden for some reason so there is a chance they will patch them in someday (Valentines Day anyonev?). Modders have unlocked the relax in bed animation.
  • ponderosaponderosa Posts: 238 Member
    I'm sure more animations are possible with babies, but I would rather see manpower put towards other things.

    I think cars are possible. I think they would function similarly to TS2 cars. I would be very okay with that.

    I believe it would be possible for sims to be able to swim in open bodies of water. It would require new animations.

    I actually don't have a clue how CASt would work.

    Cuddling/relaxing in bed seems possible as well. New animations.
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    origin ID: maureenponderosa
  • Mstybl95Mstybl95 Posts: 5,883 Member
    The limitations are on resources. Everything is technically possible, but it depends on how much money they want to invest in something.

    The way the roads are set up means that there likely wouldn't be driving beyond a spawn point. They may not want to invest in that.

    They can make cuddling animations whenever they want to. It's an animation and has nothing to do with how the bed mesh works. I don't know who stated that or why, but it is absurd. If I'm not mistaken, there is already a cuddle animation floating around.

    #FreeTheBabies is a bit trickier because they would probably require as many resources as toddlers and I don't know if they'd want to invest in such a short lifestage. They definitely could, but do they want to.

    Color wheel is probably the only no-go at this point. They'd have to redo all the texture files and I doubt that is something they would even consider investing in.

    Swimming is possible in any world. Think of world building like a square chunk. You change the terrain and add decorations to make it look how you want. All worlds are essentially the same with different decorations. So making swimming in water would probably be quite easy if it were implemented like fishing signs as access points.

    P.S. Adding toddlers had nothing to do with game limitations and everything to do with resources and wether they were willing to invest in them. Luckily for us, they did.
  • mustenimusteni Posts: 5,403 Member
    plopppo2 wrote: »
    -Can babies work like actual sims and not objects - YES - but probably takes work
    -Are horses, cars or any transportation methods possible in this game - YES - animations required
    - Could sims eventually swim in rivers, lagoons or in the ocean - YES - animations required
    - A color wheel - YES - I think their are alread 3rd party mods to do it - possibly external ones
    - Cuddling and relaxing in bed - YES - animations required
    In a nutshell, Yes to all; however, that doesn't mean any are coming - it just means they are possible.
    Haven't they said no on the colour wheel thoug, that it's not returning?
  • plopppo2plopppo2 Posts: 3,420 Member
    edited January 2017
    plopppo2 wrote: »
    -Can babies work like actual sims and not objects - YES - but probably takes work
    -Are horses, cars or any transportation methods possible in this game - YES - animations required
    - Could sims eventually swim in rivers, lagoons or in the ocean - YES - animations required
    - A color wheel - YES - I think their are alread 3rd party mods to do it - possibly external ones
    - Cuddling and relaxing in bed - YES - animations required
    In a nutshell, Yes to all; however, that doesn't mean any are coming - it just means they are possible.
    Haven't they said no on the colour wheel thoug, that it's not returning?
    Yeh, but I think the question was more what was technically achievable.

    You can externally texture TS4 objects - therefore, technically, it is achievable in-game.

    EDIT:
    I just want to know if they are even possible
    So the sky is the limit - technically.
  • TriplisTriplis Posts: 3,048 Member
    Orchid13 wrote: »
    First of all, I know about 3 simmers that defend this game to death and always say the game has a lot of potential. Many times I've had problems with them, but it would actually be nice to discuss this with these people that actually have real arguments to defend it. So here are my questions... or what worries me about this game

    -Can babies work like actual sims and not objects
    -Are horses, cars or any transportation methods possible in this game
    - Could sims eventually swim in rivers, lagoons or in the ocean
    - A color wheel
    - Cuddling and relaxing in bed

    The developers proved me wrong about toddlers. So
    I won't say any of the stuff some of us used to say. I know that no one can tell me for sure if these features will be in the game or not. I just want to know if they are even possible. Some simmers have proven that they do in fact know a lot about how this game works and some real input would be great.
    As one of the devs said... or words to this effect (I'm paraphrasing, or maybe not... I don't remember it well enough to know if I'm paraphrasing XD) "Anything is possible. It's just a matter of priorities."

    People have said all kinds of things about the engine and its supposed limitations. Yet the devs did, in fact, figure out how to have one sim carry another (something that was seen as a brick wall in player discussions about the baby leaving the crib... or rather, it was related to some sort of claim like that... I have a Dazed moodlet right now from tiredness).

    Let's go down the list:
    - Cuddling and relaxing in bed. Sounds easy peasy (compared to some of the others). Just a question of programming in the right interactions and making the right animations so that it's a smooth transition. The biggest obstacle is probably the transition from Woohoo to cuddling, if they were to program it that way. Cause right now, they kinda just fall asleep and then get out of bed. It's already not the smoothest end point for an interaction.
    - Babies: Why not? What's the reason to think they can't be like actual sims. See: Toddlers.
    - Transportation. If one sim can carry another, it's probably less work for them to move around in a vehicle. In particular, if it's an animal, as you're going to run into the same stuff somewhat... ex: horse wants to do things autonomously and so do you.
    - Swim in rivers and whatnot: Absolutely I don't see any major hurdle here. It's just a question of programming the environment in (and possibly an extra cost to performance, though I don't actually see why it would be). If sims can swim in pools, it should (in theory) be pretty straightforward to put areas into the environment that have the same base code for interactions as pools.
    - Color wheel: Again, don't see any major hurdle in the technical department. Just time-consuming, probably, like a lot of this stuff.

    Sincerely,
    Your Friendly Neighborhood Armchair Developer
    Mods moved from MTS, now hosted at: https://triplis.github.io
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