was asking myself this just the other day, it would have to be something to do with Origin, EA, or the computer its on to make me stop playing.
It's a fully fleshed game, still challenging & fun. Just sad that we won't be able to have it around a little longer, because hardware, and the software that runs it will change, making it harder to play.
A scary thought about computers isn't it but the good news is there are people on the forum who might be able to help us keep playing. As for EA NOBODY knows what the long term plan for this game is but as long as there are residual sales they are unlikely to do anything drastic. The game is still remarkably popular because, as you say, it has so much to retain it's very loyal fan base.
I no longer use Origin or My Page. You can find me on YouTube or Twitter as Bettyboop711000. You are welcome to contact me as I explore options for a PC sandbox life simulation game.
Wherever I am friends call me Betty
I am still discovering new things to explore in TS3 but one thing I would like is more dangerous zombies. I'm surprised no one has updated the DrHouse zombie mod from MTS. I was hoping the awesome crew at NRAAs would take that mod and finish the updates that the original creator listed but never completed but they're about to move away from wiki and are most likely busy with transferring their info. Anywho, sorry to ramble. It's just that as I said before in the forum, a more interesting supernatural aspect (along with the continuation of open worlds and a color wheel) would definitely keep me hooked. VR (virtual reality) suggestions don't really appeal to me right now but neither did touchscreen phones when they were first coming out - and now I love them. lol so I'm looking forward to how that may work.
even though sims 4 can be pretty boring sometimes and it makes me feel a little bit claustrophobic the multitasking and the ~fastness~ of the game made me leave sims 3. i also have explored every expansion pack, stuff pack and worlds from sims 3 so there is nothing really exciting about playing it anymore. oh yea, and the gallery, what i hated the most about sims 3 is that i had to leave the game in order to install a lot or a sim from the exchange, sims 4 made sharing so much better i just cant go back now.
It sounds like you have successfully moved and are happy with your choice to do so. The new features offered by TS4 were not enough on their own for me to move. I will also say that I am a long way from the end of exploring all TS3 has to offer. Many other TS3 players have said the same. With the variety of different activities on offer and sandbox nature of the game we start in different places and explore at different rates.
There is undoubtedly a lot more stuff coming for TS4 so I hope there will be plenty for you to enjoy
I’m enjoying Sims 4 atm with the Vampires pack, which is really great, but the funny thing is a feature like multitasking for me continues to be a downside of the game, not something that pulls me in. I deal with it, that describes it best. I really hope they won’t do anything like that again in a next game, not this way that is. And I love it Sims 3 forces you to be patient when a sim is travelling, it’s the fastness (if teleporting is meant there) that keeps on being a downside for me as well. I really enjoy Vampires, they are so very well done (truely in depth) in this iteration, but enough to ‘move on’ from Sims 3: no way. I plan to play the games in turn and when I’ve explored everything there is to explore concerning the vampires, it will probably be 100% Sims 3 again for me (Sims wise, I also play and plan to play other games).
Open world and the ability to be able to put user created (including the ability to make your own) custom content is a must-have for me. If it isn't there...in the next iteration...it's a complete and utter deal-breaker.
Royal Canadian Armed Forces CADPAT fatigues (with Royal Canadian Navy beret)
United States Navy inspired Sims Navy Uniform (4-star Admiral)
Whatever Sims game is created, it has to have the ability to be able to customize it to whatever we want it to do.
I completely agree with your statement "Whatever Sims game is created, it has to have the ability to be able to customize it to whatever we want it to do"
I would move on if there was a newer version of TS3. 64bit...updated graphics w/some of the expansions included in the base game...leaving open the opportunity for more original DLC to be added later.
I do like the sound of a 64 bit version. We can always hope The questions then would be which EPs to include with the base game and who would make the original DLC.
Well, If I'm being honest... I would rather EA not touch anything Sims ever again. So in a perfect world.... Paradox / Colossal Order would create a Sims 3 type game that was 64bit with some of the traditional EP's Like Seasons, Pets, Supernaturals, Generations, Ambitions, with a Story Progression engine and possibly a Celebrity system included in the base. There would be options for the players to opt out of Supernaturals, Celebrity system, and decide what weather they would prefer to have. Original DLC would be created by them (paradox / colossal order) and it would enhance things like Weather by creating disasters as DLC (tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, fire..) a Wild Animals DLC, And more Specialized Careers as DLC. I also feel there should be more Life stages. Infant, Baby, Toddler, Child, Teen, Young Adult, Adult, Mid life Adult, Senior, and Elderly. Also if people really like the Zombie thing... that could be included in a DLC pack where jobs in Nuclear Plants are available, and if your sim is not educated properly, they can inadvertently create a zombie gas that turns those effected into Zombies for a couple of sim days.
Anyway... that game, would make me jump ship in a heartbeat.
@thevogel I'm with you on the Natural Disasters. Sometimes I find that our sims lives are a little TOO perfect. I'm not a player who likes to tread on the beaten path. There's already a plethora of stories if you like "happy" stories. I want to push the edge with Sims... tread the "dark" paths - which is why I like survival stories. I want the natural disasters to take a chunk out of your home (in the case of a tornado, you can have damage from up to getting shingles blown off your house or your whole house levelled and you have to rebuild from scratch; no offense to those who live in Tornado Alley and run the risk of having to deal with this in real life every summer; but Sims is a microcosm of society. I want the ability to be able to create what I want...with a compatible 3D program. Nuclear power plants would be great too with the capacity of irradiating the entire city and clearing out the population so that you have to clean up the area before sims will move back in.
Seriously I would love for Paradox/Colossal to have a crack at challenging the status quo. With TS4, I think the fans who loved the concept of open-world were given the middle finger and told to "like it or lump it". Sorry, but I'm not biting on TS4.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
@Nikkei_Simmer please don't run away with the idea I am a negative nancy. I think we should be coming up with new ideas for EPs or how best existing packs could be revamped as part of a potential upgrade. With the proper rewriting the possibilities are endless. One thing makes me hesitate though (and this you might perceive as the negative bit) and that is the reason why people pick this game to play rather than the plethora of survival games which already exist. Nothing truly awful happens in this game unless you mod it in or you let your sim swim in shark infested waters in IP
For the same reasons we don't have sims who look realistically human the game has been deliberately engineered not to scare the plum out of the players. Also I suspect it has something to do with the PEGI rating. Just as the sim visuals need to be reconsidered as part of a potential upgrade then the PEGI rating might need to be revisited. This might open the door to the less salubrious side of simming. I also wonder if it would go far enough to satisfy those who want a more realistic type of game. When I leave my sims game I want to feel the family are safe from really gruesome zombies. While I love the idea of a nuclear plant which would make a great new career, the thought of mass burials and decontamination procedures is very reminiscent of When the bomb drops which I saw as a teenager. It gave me nightmares for weeks. Anything too far in that direction would put me off buying the upgrade and I suspect I am not alone in thinking that.
I no longer use Origin or My Page. You can find me on YouTube or Twitter as Bettyboop711000. You are welcome to contact me as I explore options for a PC sandbox life simulation game.
Wherever I am friends call me Betty
The problem with pretty much all survival games like Fallout 4, is that they're not really an open-ended narrative game; they're just glorified "first-person shooters" with scenario choices. You don't have the ability to control anyone other than one single character that interacts with a cast of characters that operate within a strictly defined limitation of what is a "multiple choice" outcome. You say "A" so he says "B" sort of interaction. You don't have an ability to "craft a story" like you can in Sims with games like Fallout 4; the outcomes are pre-determined for you and there's only so many ways that you can play the game even if you explore
I enjoy crafting a serious story-line and Sims allows me to do that by allowing me to control sims like individual actors. But unfortunately...the environment as it stands isn't conducive to playing anything other than a comedic look at a relationship or family saga. I think that we may have to have another company work in something like that because with the T-rating tied to this EA's game, it's not possible to craft story-lines involving more serious topics. All @thevogel and I are saying is that the options should be there for those of us who want to play a different story-line than what others want. If it's in an expansion pack then people have the option of buying it or not. And I don't buy the argument of "I want everybody to play this way because I'm not comfortable the way certain people want to play the game" mainly because most players want to play "happiness and light".
If someone takes up the challenge to take this away from EA...and run with it, let there be a plethora of options. The Sims slogan was "Play with Life". It's not much "play with life" if the only way that everyone expects you to play is "Grow Up, Get Married, Start a family, Have a midlife crisis, Get Old...and well...head off to the Great Beyond while throwing in a couple of haha...let's see what happens if he or she does something like this..." Sure... Maybe I'm a malevolent god that wants to toss major hardships at my sims and see if they can get out of it; maybe I just want to be a donkey's rear-hole to my sims and I want to knock off a couple of them by having their house cave in on them. And I can pretty much predict that someone will say, "...well then maybe the Sims is not the game for you..." Well, unfortunately for the life-simulation game, Sims is the only game in town with the ability to craft individual characters and have them fully able to be controlled; to be put into situations not tailored to a certain narrative predetermined by the game designer.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
@Nikkei_Simmer If anyone says that because of your destructive tendencies, Sims games aren't for you, then you can remind them of the glorious history of destruction in the Sims and SimCity franchises. Even the original SimCity had natural disasters that could be summoned with the flick of a wrist (or a cheat code), if I'm remembering correctly, SimCity 2000 had a dropdown menu built right into the game. So children all over the world (and probably some adults) could send their citizens scurrying like ants with a flood, or a tornado, or, um, an alien monster(?) You're just honoring the longstanding tradition of building something up, burning it to the ground, and then forcing your tiny sim-people to pick up the pieces.
Personally, I don't play with disasters, or really inflict any unnecessary suffering on my sims. But that's what the game is all about—I can build whatever I want, and so can you, and so can anyone else. If my imagination and yours are hanging out at opposite ends of the spectrum, than TS3 is happy to accommodate both of us. And if we change our minds, that works too.
P.S. Nuclear explosions? Sure, why not. At least your sims will have something to show for it when you take the tiberium that's been giving them radiation sickness out of their inventories.
@puzzlezaddict - I'd hate to see the reactive nature of tiberium in terms of its atomic reaction. I googled it. Yep...I was right. 40x stronger than the Tsar Bomba.
https://youtu.be/qhGqvOycTG0
Evidently: this is liquid tiberium...not a solid mass bombarded by neutrons. Of course according to C&C. It's too dangerous to utilize as a solid since it will bio-graft itself to you if you even touch it. And you don't want to breathe it in either.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
@Nikkei_Simmer I would never dictate how anyone should or shouldn't play their game. The beauty of TS3, as @puzzlezaddict says, is the flexibility which appeals to a very wide range of players. I also hear what you are saying about other companies getting involved and, while it is a discussion I would love to have as I would about TS5, it is not one we can have on an EA forum. This runs the risk of getting this thread closed.
I can't say I am interested in survival games. I was certainly not aware of their composition. I don't think wanting a disasters EP unreasonable anymore than having an sports pack with an interactive ice hockey rink. Certainly you need an open ended sandbox game for that kind of story telling. And you certainly need a far grittier landscape than the current TS3 worlds provide. You are not alone in wanting that and I believe there is at least one post apocalyptic custom world, I have seen a picture of a ruined city hall in Sunset Valley. Otherwise you could just create your own world.
In realistic terms the chances of an upgrade for TS3 are non existent at the moment. If it ever becomes a reality then we must be ready with our list of wants. Many people in this thread have made it clear that moving on to TS4 is not an option. TS3 players must still be generating some profit for the company and under those circumstances, rather than lose us completely should anything happen to TS3, EA might then consider how best to retain our custom. Here's hoping anyway.
PS my mum was in a house affected by a bomb in WW2. She and her granny were trapped for several hours. She still has nightmares about it now.
I no longer use Origin or My Page. You can find me on YouTube or Twitter as Bettyboop711000. You are welcome to contact me as I explore options for a PC sandbox life simulation game.
Wherever I am friends call me Betty
@Bettyboop55 - My dad was on the opposite side in WWII (before he emigrated to Canada in 56...as a child he saw US bombers flying overhead and my mother spent time in a Canadian internment camp so...yeah...war isn't really fun. But I don't shy away from stories like that; our only hope is that the people who run our respective countries don't decide that "war's a fun thing" and light off the match again.
And when I said:
And I don't buy the argument of "I want everybody to play this way because I'm not comfortable the way certain people want to play the game" mainly because most players want to play "happiness and light".
I wasn't naming individuals; it's just that I've heard arguments regarding bringing more gritty EPs into the mix because of such reasoning.
The simple fact is that EA needs to step up their game and stop with the excuses in terms of "Oh...we can't do open world in 64bit because it'll take too much resources." Well...wait too darned long and someone will pick up the thrown gauntlet. My question is: Does EA want to be in the fight or get left behind in the dust? And if they don't want to hear that kind of discussion, then I guess they're putting their effort into putting out a product that doesn't meet the expectations of what long-time simmers want and are looking to just cater to only a certain demographic.
And to tell you the truth, I'm not too appreciative of the fact that EA is giving those of us who have enjoyed open world and the greater options that TS3 has had, the middle finger. And like it or not, that's exactly what they have done.
As I've said before: The ONLY THING that will get me to move from TS3 is a TS5 that meets every one of my expectations:
1. Open World
2. CASt
3. CAS color wheel
4. CAW
5. Tank the cartoon graphics (some people may like it but for some of us...it's a complete turn-off)
6. Don't DLC dang near everything (ie: the pools and toddlers fiasco)
In other words, give us what TS3 had with the 64bit...and then put some effort into the rest of the game with new EPs that are actually fully fledged EPs (and well thought out) rather than glorified stuff packs: Oooh...Laundry Stuff... :facedesk: <--- ow...that hurt.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
> @Bettyboop55 said: > @Nikkei_Simmer please don't run away with the idea I am a negative nancy. I think we should be coming up with new ideas for EPs or how best existing packs could be revamped as part of a potential upgrade. With the proper rewriting the possibilities are endless. One thing makes me hesitate though (and this you might perceive as the negative bit) and that is the reason why people pick this game to play rather than the plethora of survival games which already exist. Nothing truly awful happens in this game unless you mod it in or you let your sim swim in shark infested waters in IP :D > > For the same reasons we don't have sims who look realistically human the game has been deliberately engineered not to scare the plum out of the players. Also I suspect it has something to do with the PEGI rating. Just as the sim visuals need to be reconsidered as part of a potential upgrade then the PEGI rating might need to be revisited. This might open the door to the less salubrious side of simming. I also wonder if it would go far enough to satisfy those who want a more realistic type of game. When I leave my sims game I want to feel the family are safe from really gruesome zombies. While I love the idea of a nuclear plant which would make a great new career, the thought of mass burials and decontamination procedures is very reminiscent of When the bomb drops which I saw as a teenager. It gave me nightmares for weeks. Anything too far in that direction would put me off buying the upgrade and I suspect I am not alone in thinking that.
Good points, Betty! Players who find zombies a nuisance should have the option of disabling them and/or customizing their effects on sims. An update for a theoretical sims 3 revamp would fix things like that (zombies that have autonomy and attack plants more than sims) . I don't want to have mass burials for my sims either and although a natural disaster EP would be interesting , I can't say I look to the sims to be some kind of survival game, but I do think there are several small things that can be improved upon and incorporated to make gameplay more exciting. If EA didn't intend zombies to attack sims, that option shouldn't have been made at all. But because that option exists, I think a zombie attack should have consequences (like maybe the attacked sim becomes a zombie unless cured by a witch or scientific formula- or perhaps they become a zombie for just 3 sim days before returning to normal ) and I think defences against such attacks and cures for attacked sims should be made available to help players protect against the higher chance of danger - like witches being able to autonomously produce some sort of protective magical shield around friends and loved ones that ward off vampire / zombie attacks or athletic sims being more likely to push their zombie attackers away.
These are things that I don't think are too far fetched.
However, the addition of bombs and mass burials...hm...those would be more of a stretch. Natural disasters would be more attainable maybe?, as an upgrade to the already existing Seasons ep. (tornadoes especially would probably look interesting in game, but I imagine that's a lot of work creating brand new animations ) I'm trying to keep my list relatively realistic. And watching this thread proves, if nothing else, that sims 3 players definitely know what they want and whether or not the upgrade comes it's nice to see people in 2018 still talking about the game.
Actually what I was thinking was more:of a notification "The nuclear reactor had a meltdown; 95% of the town has decided to leave the area." and pretty much all the sims do leave as in empty houses. It would be just like the "Such and such family decided to move away" coding except en masse. The only ones that won't leave the area are the ones that are related to you (this will involve a lot of relationship coding so that when your kids leave the family they are still considered family though they're living in a different home and are NPCs)
And Bombs are a definite no-no...because that would blow the PEGI rating out the window.
As far as Natural disasters...that's where I'd like to see damage and destruction of houses only with the sims losing the simoleons and having to rebuild.
If I want to do a story involving a war scenario, I've already got the skills to photoshop the scene in. I don't need to have EA provide the "graphics" or the frame-work.
But what I would like to see is careers becoming more open...and the military brought back as an open career (like the police) in TS4. And one of my questions is how the heck do sims go from one place to another. Perhaps a go to the airport...and the airport functioning like a rabbithole where it goes from the save to the destination loading screen. There's a LOT that they could have done.
I don't need EA to squander their T-rating. But Natural Disasters are an occurrence that happens and why should Sims be immune from this. But of course, with Glassbox, they need to have a way of doing a particle system...if they want storms such as tornadoes to look like a "proper tornado". Hurricanes if they wanted to do that in a coastal city could potentially be a lot of wind with some objects going flying.
And as far as the "extra work" is concerned... if you're looking at a quality product, no amount of "extra work" is too much if you want to give customers value for money.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
@TroyTalks I think it was probably me who brought up the subject of mass burials and bombs. I meant it in relation to a propaganda film I saw as a teenager which was deliberately designed to alarm and shock. I don't believe anyone here would want to see either as part of a base game upgrade of TS3 or indeed as part of a new disasters EP. Some things are far too close to reality, cease to be entertainment and would probably break the PEGI rating.
Having played a lot with Supernatural there are already consequences of a zombie attack. I spend a lot of my sims' time on moonlit nights curing zombies and keeping the little blighters out of the gardens. I appreciate some players want scarier zombies, with perhaps mass attacks. Personally I don't so whatever upgrade is made to the zombie there must be options to exclude them from the game completely or reduce precisely how much damage to our sims and their property they can do.
@Nikkei_Simmer first of all thanks for your list. After 9 years I would love to see some new, more open careers. The idea of running a nuclear plant (not a la Mr Burns or Homer) has gripped my imagination. I also like the idea of being able to evacuate the populous should there ever be a disaster
As @puzzlezaddict said natural disasters have been part of the sims franchise for a long time. The question as you say is how much so that EA can retain the current PEGI rating. I like the idea of adding new features to the Seasons EP although I think there should be options to switch certain of these features off. I doubt if Texan players would want anything that reminded them of recent floods for example. Personally I wouldn't mind having certain objects flying by the window (cows maybe?) as long as my sims are safely tucked up indoors. I take your point about photoshopping to get the story you want out of the crisis.
I no longer use Origin or My Page. You can find me on YouTube or Twitter as Bettyboop711000. You are welcome to contact me as I explore options for a PC sandbox life simulation game.
Wherever I am friends call me Betty
I play tons of other games (sneaking in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and getting my butt handed to me in Darkest Dungeon right now) and only occasionally jump back into the Sims. But when only talking about the Sims series...
I don't own TS4 and am not planning to get it either. While I do like the looks of the sims and the new Create-a-Sim options like how you can edit their bodyshape, walk style etc. (though the lack of create-a-style is a minus), there's nothing in its' gameplay that entices me. Well, maybe the vampires & parenthood packs because I like how they enhanced something I like in a more focused way but otherwise... meh. So I'll stick with TS3. I was very late to start this game anyways so I still have lot to do.
Maybe if they released TS5 which would enhance and combine all the things I like in the series and feel like a true successor to TS3. CAS akin to TS4, Open world, customizable Storyprogression, Create-a-style, waaaaaay better optimization than in TS3 and generally more complex interactions/gameplay. I personally love the sims and their interactions the most over things like build mode stuff so for me it's especially important that I can create interesting characters and relationships. I'd also like some more challenge, hardships and unpredictability but I guess that's not for everyone and mods can always help me with that.
I am skeptical about the direction of the series, however, and would not be surprised at all if the same or even worse systems were in place in TS5 than there is now i.e tons of content left out and then divided between little stuff packs instead of it all being in an expansion. I guess one could argue it let's you specialize your game and I'm not complaining with stuff like TS4 Vampires. I'm talking about the stuff like they did with pets. Only get cats and dogs in the fully prized expansion, then have to buy a stuff pack if you want "rest of the pets and items" while in previous games all of them and more were in one expansion. If these kind of practices were to be the norm... yeah, certainly would lower my enthusiasm.
When I brought up the Idea of a Nuclear Power plant...I was thinking more in lines of the whole sims world concept. There has always been a Nuclear power plant in every Simscity game...even the last one that EA destroyed...SimCity 2013... yeah there was a Nuclear Plant in that on too.
I'm not talking about annihilating the entire town... but an accident due to uneducated sims... that could create an additional game play option... that's why I suggested a zombie gas. Turns sims into Zombies for a sims week or a couple of sims days. Nothing horrible. Maybe a temporary Evacuation plan. when Designing your sim town or world you would add a place for sims to evacuate to, like a Red Cross center for whenever a Disaster strikes or a Power plant melt down.
And I do believe Natural Disasters would be a fine addition to a sims game. There should be some real elements to the game. I mean, it is a Life Simulator. Give the Sims a real challenge... I'm not talking about the game falling into the catagory of Survival games, but and element of game play that allows your sims not to be so "routine".
Sims 3 offers a lot of different types of game play, and there are challenges, which is why I choose to stick with this version of the game. For a new game, it just needs to be kicked up a notch...that's all I'm saying.
There is absolutely no reason why a new version of this game should follow the same trajectory that EA has given it. I'm pretty sure most everyone who is a dedicated player of the series is tired of the empty Base game concept, while waiting out the Expansion packs, and Stuff Packs to fill the game back up. A newer version of this game should have a full jam packed Base game. I want to be totally immersed and not waiting out the next DLC because of routine and boredom.
That is why I have no desire to play TS4... and will gladly wait it out to see if another gaming studio will give EA the competition they sorely need.
@Thrior rather than an open discussion on TS5 which might get this thread closed or moved to speculation we have decided to centre our discussion around a theoretical upgrade to TS3. On page 3 @igazor sets out what a preferred upgrade to 64 bit might entail and the limitations of such an upgrade. Much of your post would fit within the discussions we have been having.
It is good that you have a clear idea of what you want. Reading through the thread shows many TS3 players have given it a lot of thought. Some players absolutely must have a CAS with sliders and would prefer more realistic sims than those currently in TS3 (in some cases for as well). As you say a more flexible CAS with retention of CASt is a given. Some are prepared to compromise, while others will not compromise at all.
This game attracts a wide range of players from your family players to the creative to the world builders. We are a difficult group of customers to,please as a consequence but if a success is to be made of an upgrade then we all need to be listened to. You want more characterisation, I want better building tools. There is no reason why we can't all have what we want, assuming no financial or developer constraints. Reality is EA has all the focus on TS4 but wouldn't it be lovely to move on to an upgrade which retains all the critical features of TS3 but gives us new things to try. Assuming you want to move on of course
I no longer use Origin or My Page. You can find me on YouTube or Twitter as Bettyboop711000. You are welcome to contact me as I explore options for a PC sandbox life simulation game.
Wherever I am friends call me Betty
@Thior I agree with everything you said although we're mostly talking about a theoretical upgrade to TS3. @thevogel now that sounds more attainable, would the red cross center be a rabbithole?
@thevogel now that sounds more attainable, would the red cross center be a rabbithole?
Yes and No. It might be used best as a Rabbit Hole... because otherwise you would just see your sim checking in, getting assigned a cot or a specific corner of the red cross center... and really not much else to do but wait out the disaster. I mean if not used as a Rabbit hole, there could be a corner for temporary school classes, and games, books...etc.
I would rather see.... the town evacuate to the Red Cross (or the big show venue)... and of course there are always the stubborn sims who won't leave their house. Firemen can rescue...Police to round up the rowdy sims in town. Then a cut scene of the disaster and the damage done when it's over. Sims can then file out of the Red Cross... and assess the damage. Sims with higher level of skills can help other sims with clean up, fixing homes, Finding lost pets and of course Medical attention. The Big Park can be used to feed the neighborhood and provide entertainment for the children, or even pitch tents to provide temporary housing for sims who lost their homes. Sims with Magical skills can really come into play here.
There are many options here, the game just needs to be developed to handle it.
@thevogel only in the sims could you have some as incongruous as supernaturals clearing up after a nuclear accident While I like the idea of a nuclear power plant and pretty much all of the scenario you have suggested I would still like to think the upgraded TS3 remains essentially unchanged from the game we know and love now if the player wants it that way. I would like to think both the natural disasters and man made ones could be contained within the EPs. With options for selecting certain disasters or not.
We don't often talk of why people are so drawn to the sims. One reason can be the escapism. Not necessarily the kind which offers challenges which would stretch both you and your sims, but the more basic kind with happier, more positive outcomes. I feel we nearly lost it with the launch of TS4 and it would be a shame to see it go from an upgraded TS3. You talk of immersion and I do too. The kind where you can forget all the plum business every day life can bring with it.
My only other worry would be the disasters scenarios going far enough to satisfy those who want the challenge in their games. Any games designer or producer knows the limits of the rating they have assigned to a game. The end result then might be an upgrade which does not give the kind of stretch you seek. This is surely worse than the situation most of us find ourselves in now with a product we know and love but which is getting old and an alternative which is no alternative.
I no longer use Origin or My Page. You can find me on YouTube or Twitter as Bettyboop711000. You are welcome to contact me as I explore options for a PC sandbox life simulation game.
Wherever I am friends call me Betty
@Bettyboop55, Well it's doesn't have to be a Nuclear Power plant disaster of any kind. Into the Future EP provides enough possibilities for challenges and "disaster" if it was tweaked a bit. Island Paradise has the whole Plethora of water scenarios and sea creatures that can also be upgraded to create other challenges. The diving career needs some fixes. Add a Deep Sea archeology career...maybe someone can find Atlantis. It would be great if the whole Island paradise Land mass could be enlarged to accommodate some more flat land spaces along the shoreline, and all routing issues and bugs fix.
Plus if Diving spots in general could be easily added to other worlds that have oceans...specifically Sunlit Tides, Sunset Valley and Roaring Heights...without using a Mod, that would be a plus.
A new interface to turn off disasters would be available, along with the ability to turn on/off supernaturals, Celebrity system, and adjust weather the way people prefer it to be for their specific game play.
All of my ideas are all things that could be accomplished in a 64bit Sims 3, or be part of a New sims game...depending on who would be willing to take on the challenge.
Call me twisted, but I wouldn't mind seeing a sim or two hit by flying objects, but NO deaths involved. They just get knocked flat to the ground, then get up dizzy with little llamas marching around their head, y'know like the canaries along with a dizzy motive or whatever they call it now. There's ways to make disasters palatable. As far as I'm concerned, any game altering EPs should have a way of turning it off if the person doesn't want it.
Sometimes once sims have gotten to a certain stage they're free and clear of any trials that could cause harm to their financial stability...other than by use of mods that restrict earnings by jacking up their bills. If someone says. "Yeah, I want to have disasters (give the sims more challenges to face) in the game" I agree. I'm not going to go. "NO I don't want disasters because that's too real and it might be harmful to people who have experienced it..." A natural disaster that completely destroys their house means that they have to rebuild, whether it be a sinkhole or a tornado or something else. Well, what do the Sims do, pick themselves off the ground and rebuild with what money they have plus maybe a little game notification saying. The insurance company has given you however much simoleons with which to rebuild your home which would be always a little less than the actual value of the home.
I'm into Sims for the ability to utilize my sims to tell a story. And everyone has their trials in real life; nobody's immune from that. Some have to tread an even more difficult path than others. But it's not anybody else's place to tell others how they should enjoy the game. Here on these forums...though, is another story; we have to keep it general so that the younger audience doesn't have to worry about running across things that they don't need to at their age. But those of us who have tread life long enough know that life isn't all fun. Some look for escapism. Some tackle it head-on. I've spent too much of my time looking for escapism, I'm looking at it head-on now. And sometimes the games I play tread into the dark paths that I've gone through but it's mainly for my own benefit and not others. The way I played Haruo's mother in my "selfacy" was a MERE micro-caricature of what she (my mother) did in RL; the rest of it is too dark for these forums. And I just gave my Sim a happy life for a change; (Yeah, sometimes I like to escape into happy-land for a while but that doesn't mean that I don't want to deal with the rest of the "hell" that came along with it).
I'm the type that says "If simmers want to play happy, fun stories...all the more power to them, but don't restrict my ability to enjoy Sims the way I want to." If it's a sandbox; then let the people who want to play the way that they want play the way that they want. That's why I make my own CC and hunt down stuff that I want in my game. It allows me to play Sims the way I want to. Even on FF.net the stories that garnered the most attention were my darker ones; the ones dealing with actual conflict. I let others write the happy stuff. I say: Put the heavy stuff in the game in EPs that allow people to make a choice whether they want it or not. And also have the ability to turn the stuff off when you don't want it.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Call me twisted, but I wouldn't mind seeing a sim or two hit by flying objects, but NO deaths involved. They just get knocked flat to the ground, then get up dizzy with little llamas marching around their head, y'know like the canaries along with a dizzy motive or whatever they call it now. There's ways to make disasters palatable. As far as I'm concerned, any game altering EPs should have a way of turning it off if the person doesn't want it.
I'm the type that says "If simmers want to play happy, fun stories...all the more power to them, but don't restrict my ability to enjoy Sims the way I want to." If it's a sandbox; then let the people who want to play the way that they want play the way that they want. That's why I make my own CC and hunt down stuff that I want in my game. It allows me to play Sims the way I want to. Even on FF.net the stories that garnered the most attention were my darker ones; the ones dealing with actual conflict. I let others write the happy stuff. I say: Put the heavy stuff in the game in EPs that allow people to make a choice whether they want it or not. And also have the ability to turn the stuff off when you don't want it.
You are Not twisted at all.... I would not have chimed in and made all my wishes and suggestions known if I wanted to play the sims like its Farmville.
The sims just needs new vision... someone to create it in a way that is not scared to make consequences for those little digital people. And yes... It's a Sandbox game.... Let us play the way we want... that is the beauty of The sims... there is or Was no one way to play it.
If all the things I suggested were put into a "reboot" or a brand new version of the game... I would jump ship and let TS3 sit on my hard drive for a while. I might not uninstall it... but if someone made it as good and immersive as I invision.... I would just be grateful, play for hours, and get my money's worth out of it.
@thevogel, @Nikkei_Simmer well said both of you. I don't believe we are so far apart in our thinking. One thing is certain I have always regarded my game as my own private kingdom and would strongly resent anyone else telling me "I was playing it all wrong". What other people do with their game is their business, mod it, don't mod it, have bubonic plague break out in Dragon Valley or make houses out of Katy Perry Sweet Treat stuff it is and should remain entirely up to them. Nobody should gainsay them.
I can appreciate that after 9 years people are looking for fresh ideas for the game. It is only natural and if things had worked out differently with the series, most of us would have moved on by now. However one thing this thread shows is what an incredibly loyal and thoughtful group of simmers we are. There are those, including me, who still have plenty to explore while there are those who want and need new challenges. I believe an upgrade to 64 bit should be able to cover all this, otherwise it is not an upgrade worth having. I would also like to see people continue to put forward new ideas, however scary or outlandish they might seem to other players.
So if you want a nuclear plant then why not. If there was one in Sims City then there is precedent. I also like the idea of attaching new ideas to existing packs where possible, as long as we can have that all important on/off switch. I had not thought of a career in Marine Archaeology but that would work. How about exploring the wreck of the Titanic, it's the sims so all things are credible. I am also happy with the idea of sims being hit by flying objects, particularly if there is humour involved, because the sims is all about subtle humour afterall. Personally I would want flying cows but I draw the line at barns full of flying pitchforks, scythes and hay balers.
Story telling is one of best things to come out of the sims. One of the first stories I ever read was by a teenager and involved a baby kidnapping. Fortunately perhaps it had a happy ending but the teenager understood how to create suspense and keep her Sims page audience enthralled and wanting more. Most humans by nature are inquisitive and that includes simmers so it comes as no surprise to learn that stories with dark elements attract the larger readership. It is not always the ending which is paramount in these cases but sometimes the journey undertaken by the characters. I believe any upgrade should be able to give any creator of fiction, whether fantasy, supernatural or real life drama scope to tell their story better. I know the landscape in ITF could be beefed up but we really could do with some more industrial type landscapes. I know CAW users have taken matters into their own hands and are producing some fantastic stuff but the company could beef up CAW and make it easier for them.
This creation is an example of the good stuff out there. If only there was a CAW which would allow the rest of us to be so clever.
I no longer use Origin or My Page. You can find me on YouTube or Twitter as Bettyboop711000. You are welcome to contact me as I explore options for a PC sandbox life simulation game.
Wherever I am friends call me Betty
@thevogel, @Nikkei_Simmer Personally I would want flying cows but I draw the line at barns full of flying pitchforks, scythes and hay balers.
I'd be the first to create a sim of Helen Hunt. (yep...got the reference). Is there a simlish word for "cow"? with the sim pointing at said flying cow. I wouldn't even mind the sims being picked up by the tornado and sent around for a spin...as long as they came out of it alive and dizzy. Maybe a nauseous motive...or something like that where they throw up.
Yeah...a definite "NO" on the flying pitchforks, scythes and hay balers.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Comments
A scary thought about computers isn't it but the good news is there are people on the forum who might be able to help us keep playing. As for EA NOBODY knows what the long term plan for this game is but as long as there are residual sales they are unlikely to do anything drastic. The game is still remarkably popular because, as you say, it has so much to retain it's very loyal fan base.
Wherever I am friends call me Betty
Sim enim est vita
I completely agree with your statement "Whatever Sims game is created, it has to have the ability to be able to customize it to whatever we want it to do"
This is my understanding of sims games
@thevogel I'm with you on the Natural Disasters. Sometimes I find that our sims lives are a little TOO perfect. I'm not a player who likes to tread on the beaten path. There's already a plethora of stories if you like "happy" stories. I want to push the edge with Sims... tread the "dark" paths - which is why I like survival stories. I want the natural disasters to take a chunk out of your home (in the case of a tornado, you can have damage from up to getting shingles blown off your house or your whole house levelled and you have to rebuild from scratch; no offense to those who live in Tornado Alley and run the risk of having to deal with this in real life every summer; but Sims is a microcosm of society. I want the ability to be able to create what I want...with a compatible 3D program. Nuclear power plants would be great too with the capacity of irradiating the entire city and clearing out the population so that you have to clean up the area before sims will move back in.
Seriously I would love for Paradox/Colossal to have a crack at challenging the status quo. With TS4, I think the fans who loved the concept of open-world were given the middle finger and told to "like it or lump it". Sorry, but I'm not biting on TS4.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
For the same reasons we don't have sims who look realistically human the game has been deliberately engineered not to scare the plum out of the players. Also I suspect it has something to do with the PEGI rating. Just as the sim visuals need to be reconsidered as part of a potential upgrade then the PEGI rating might need to be revisited. This might open the door to the less salubrious side of simming. I also wonder if it would go far enough to satisfy those who want a more realistic type of game. When I leave my sims game I want to feel the family are safe from really gruesome zombies. While I love the idea of a nuclear plant which would make a great new career, the thought of mass burials and decontamination procedures is very reminiscent of When the bomb drops which I saw as a teenager. It gave me nightmares for weeks. Anything too far in that direction would put me off buying the upgrade and I suspect I am not alone in thinking that.
Wherever I am friends call me Betty
Sim enim est vita
I enjoy crafting a serious story-line and Sims allows me to do that by allowing me to control sims like individual actors. But unfortunately...the environment as it stands isn't conducive to playing anything other than a comedic look at a relationship or family saga. I think that we may have to have another company work in something like that because with the T-rating tied to this EA's game, it's not possible to craft story-lines involving more serious topics. All @thevogel and I are saying is that the options should be there for those of us who want to play a different story-line than what others want. If it's in an expansion pack then people have the option of buying it or not. And I don't buy the argument of "I want everybody to play this way because I'm not comfortable the way certain people want to play the game" mainly because most players want to play "happiness and light".
If someone takes up the challenge to take this away from EA...and run with it, let there be a plethora of options. The Sims slogan was "Play with Life". It's not much "play with life" if the only way that everyone expects you to play is "Grow Up, Get Married, Start a family, Have a midlife crisis, Get Old...and well...head off to the Great Beyond while throwing in a couple of haha...let's see what happens if he or she does something like this..." Sure... Maybe I'm a malevolent god that wants to toss major hardships at my sims and see if they can get out of it; maybe I just want to be a donkey's rear-hole to my sims and I want to knock off a couple of them by having their house cave in on them. And I can pretty much predict that someone will say, "...well then maybe the Sims is not the game for you..." Well, unfortunately for the life-simulation game, Sims is the only game in town with the ability to craft individual characters and have them fully able to be controlled; to be put into situations not tailored to a certain narrative predetermined by the game designer.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Personally, I don't play with disasters, or really inflict any unnecessary suffering on my sims. But that's what the game is all about—I can build whatever I want, and so can you, and so can anyone else. If my imagination and yours are hanging out at opposite ends of the spectrum, than TS3 is happy to accommodate both of us. And if we change our minds, that works too.
P.S. Nuclear explosions? Sure, why not. At least your sims will have something to show for it when you take the tiberium that's been giving them radiation sickness out of their inventories.
Evidently: this is liquid tiberium...not a solid mass bombarded by neutrons. Of course according to C&C. It's too dangerous to utilize as a solid since it will bio-graft itself to you if you even touch it. And you don't want to breathe it in either.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
I can't say I am interested in survival games. I was certainly not aware of their composition. I don't think wanting a disasters EP unreasonable anymore than having an sports pack with an interactive ice hockey rink. Certainly you need an open ended sandbox game for that kind of story telling. And you certainly need a far grittier landscape than the current TS3 worlds provide. You are not alone in wanting that and I believe there is at least one post apocalyptic custom world, I have seen a picture of a ruined city hall in Sunset Valley. Otherwise you could just create your own world.
In realistic terms the chances of an upgrade for TS3 are non existent at the moment. If it ever becomes a reality then we must be ready with our list of wants. Many people in this thread have made it clear that moving on to TS4 is not an option. TS3 players must still be generating some profit for the company and under those circumstances, rather than lose us completely should anything happen to TS3, EA might then consider how best to retain our custom. Here's hoping anyway.
PS my mum was in a house affected by a bomb in WW2. She and her granny were trapped for several hours. She still has nightmares about it now.
Wherever I am friends call me Betty
Sim enim est vita
And when I said: I wasn't naming individuals; it's just that I've heard arguments regarding bringing more gritty EPs into the mix because of such reasoning.
The simple fact is that EA needs to step up their game and stop with the excuses in terms of "Oh...we can't do open world in 64bit because it'll take too much resources." Well...wait too darned long and someone will pick up the thrown gauntlet. My question is: Does EA want to be in the fight or get left behind in the dust? And if they don't want to hear that kind of discussion, then I guess they're putting their effort into putting out a product that doesn't meet the expectations of what long-time simmers want and are looking to just cater to only a certain demographic.
And to tell you the truth, I'm not too appreciative of the fact that EA is giving those of us who have enjoyed open world and the greater options that TS3 has had, the middle finger. And like it or not, that's exactly what they have done.
As I've said before: The ONLY THING that will get me to move from TS3 is a TS5 that meets every one of my expectations:
1. Open World
2. CASt
3. CAS color wheel
4. CAW
5. Tank the cartoon graphics (some people may like it but for some of us...it's a complete turn-off)
6. Don't DLC dang near everything (ie: the pools and toddlers fiasco)
In other words, give us what TS3 had with the 64bit...and then put some effort into the rest of the game with new EPs that are actually fully fledged EPs (and well thought out) rather than glorified stuff packs: Oooh...Laundry Stuff... :facedesk: <--- ow...that hurt.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
> @Nikkei_Simmer please don't run away with the idea I am a negative nancy. I think we should be coming up with new ideas for EPs or how best existing packs could be revamped as part of a potential upgrade. With the proper rewriting the possibilities are endless. One thing makes me hesitate though (and this you might perceive as the negative bit) and that is the reason why people pick this game to play rather than the plethora of survival games which already exist. Nothing truly awful happens in this game unless you mod it in or you let your sim swim in shark infested waters in IP :D
>
> For the same reasons we don't have sims who look realistically human the game has been deliberately engineered not to scare the plum out of the players. Also I suspect it has something to do with the PEGI rating. Just as the sim visuals need to be reconsidered as part of a potential upgrade then the PEGI rating might need to be revisited. This might open the door to the less salubrious side of simming. I also wonder if it would go far enough to satisfy those who want a more realistic type of game. When I leave my sims game I want to feel the family are safe from really gruesome zombies. While I love the idea of a nuclear plant which would make a great new career, the thought of mass burials and decontamination procedures is very reminiscent of When the bomb drops which I saw as a teenager. It gave me nightmares for weeks. Anything too far in that direction would put me off buying the upgrade and I suspect I am not alone in thinking that.
Good points, Betty! Players who find zombies a nuisance should have the option of disabling them and/or customizing their effects on sims. An update for a theoretical sims 3 revamp would fix things like that (zombies that have autonomy and attack plants more than sims) . I don't want to have mass burials for my sims either and although a natural disaster EP would be interesting , I can't say I look to the sims to be some kind of survival game, but I do think there are several small things that can be improved upon and incorporated to make gameplay more exciting. If EA didn't intend zombies to attack sims, that option shouldn't have been made at all. But because that option exists, I think a zombie attack should have consequences (like maybe the attacked sim becomes a zombie unless cured by a witch or scientific formula- or perhaps they become a zombie for just 3 sim days before returning to normal ) and I think defences against such attacks and cures for attacked sims should be made available to help players protect against the higher chance of danger - like witches being able to autonomously produce some sort of protective magical shield around friends and loved ones that ward off vampire / zombie attacks or athletic sims being more likely to push their zombie attackers away.
These are things that I don't think are too far fetched.
However, the addition of bombs and mass burials...hm...those would be more of a stretch. Natural disasters would be more attainable maybe?, as an upgrade to the already existing Seasons ep. (tornadoes especially would probably look interesting in game, but I imagine that's a lot of work creating brand new animations ) I'm trying to keep my list relatively realistic. And watching this thread proves, if nothing else, that sims 3 players definitely know what they want and whether or not the upgrade comes it's nice to see people in 2018 still talking about the game.
Actually what I was thinking was more:of a notification "The nuclear reactor had a meltdown; 95% of the town has decided to leave the area." and pretty much all the sims do leave as in empty houses. It would be just like the "Such and such family decided to move away" coding except en masse. The only ones that won't leave the area are the ones that are related to you (this will involve a lot of relationship coding so that when your kids leave the family they are still considered family though they're living in a different home and are NPCs)
And Bombs are a definite no-no...because that would blow the PEGI rating out the window.
As far as Natural disasters...that's where I'd like to see damage and destruction of houses only with the sims losing the simoleons and having to rebuild.
If I want to do a story involving a war scenario, I've already got the skills to photoshop the scene in. I don't need to have EA provide the "graphics" or the frame-work.
But what I would like to see is careers becoming more open...and the military brought back as an open career (like the police) in TS4. And one of my questions is how the heck do sims go from one place to another. Perhaps a go to the airport...and the airport functioning like a rabbithole where it goes from the save to the destination loading screen. There's a LOT that they could have done.
I don't need EA to squander their T-rating. But Natural Disasters are an occurrence that happens and why should Sims be immune from this. But of course, with Glassbox, they need to have a way of doing a particle system...if they want storms such as tornadoes to look like a "proper tornado". Hurricanes if they wanted to do that in a coastal city could potentially be a lot of wind with some objects going flying.
And as far as the "extra work" is concerned... if you're looking at a quality product, no amount of "extra work" is too much if you want to give customers value for money.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Having played a lot with Supernatural there are already consequences of a zombie attack. I spend a lot of my sims' time on moonlit nights curing zombies and keeping the little blighters out of the gardens. I appreciate some players want scarier zombies, with perhaps mass attacks. Personally I don't so whatever upgrade is made to the zombie there must be options to exclude them from the game completely or reduce precisely how much damage to our sims and their property they can do.
@Nikkei_Simmer first of all thanks for your list. After 9 years I would love to see some new, more open careers. The idea of running a nuclear plant (not a la Mr Burns or Homer) has gripped my imagination. I also like the idea of being able to evacuate the populous should there ever be a disaster
As @puzzlezaddict said natural disasters have been part of the sims franchise for a long time. The question as you say is how much so that EA can retain the current PEGI rating. I like the idea of adding new features to the Seasons EP although I think there should be options to switch certain of these features off. I doubt if Texan players would want anything that reminded them of recent floods for example. Personally I wouldn't mind having certain objects flying by the window (cows maybe?) as long as my sims are safely tucked up indoors. I take your point about photoshopping to get the story you want out of the crisis.
Wherever I am friends call me Betty
Sim enim est vita
I don't own TS4 and am not planning to get it either. While I do like the looks of the sims and the new Create-a-Sim options like how you can edit their bodyshape, walk style etc. (though the lack of create-a-style is a minus), there's nothing in its' gameplay that entices me. Well, maybe the vampires & parenthood packs because I like how they enhanced something I like in a more focused way but otherwise... meh. So I'll stick with TS3. I was very late to start this game anyways so I still have lot to do.
Maybe if they released TS5 which would enhance and combine all the things I like in the series and feel like a true successor to TS3. CAS akin to TS4, Open world, customizable Storyprogression, Create-a-style, waaaaaay better optimization than in TS3 and generally more complex interactions/gameplay. I personally love the sims and their interactions the most over things like build mode stuff so for me it's especially important that I can create interesting characters and relationships. I'd also like some more challenge, hardships and unpredictability but I guess that's not for everyone and mods can always help me with that.
I am skeptical about the direction of the series, however, and would not be surprised at all if the same or even worse systems were in place in TS5 than there is now i.e tons of content left out and then divided between little stuff packs instead of it all being in an expansion. I guess one could argue it let's you specialize your game and I'm not complaining with stuff like TS4 Vampires. I'm talking about the stuff like they did with pets. Only get cats and dogs in the fully prized expansion, then have to buy a stuff pack if you want "rest of the pets and items" while in previous games all of them and more were in one expansion. If these kind of practices were to be the norm... yeah, certainly would lower my enthusiasm.
I'm not talking about annihilating the entire town... but an accident due to uneducated sims... that could create an additional game play option... that's why I suggested a zombie gas. Turns sims into Zombies for a sims week or a couple of sims days. Nothing horrible. Maybe a temporary Evacuation plan. when Designing your sim town or world you would add a place for sims to evacuate to, like a Red Cross center for whenever a Disaster strikes or a Power plant melt down.
And I do believe Natural Disasters would be a fine addition to a sims game. There should be some real elements to the game. I mean, it is a Life Simulator. Give the Sims a real challenge... I'm not talking about the game falling into the catagory of Survival games, but and element of game play that allows your sims not to be so "routine".
Sims 3 offers a lot of different types of game play, and there are challenges, which is why I choose to stick with this version of the game. For a new game, it just needs to be kicked up a notch...that's all I'm saying.
There is absolutely no reason why a new version of this game should follow the same trajectory that EA has given it. I'm pretty sure most everyone who is a dedicated player of the series is tired of the empty Base game concept, while waiting out the Expansion packs, and Stuff Packs to fill the game back up. A newer version of this game should have a full jam packed Base game. I want to be totally immersed and not waiting out the next DLC because of routine and boredom.
That is why I have no desire to play TS4... and will gladly wait it out to see if another gaming studio will give EA the competition they sorely need.
It is good that you have a clear idea of what you want. Reading through the thread shows many TS3 players have given it a lot of thought. Some players absolutely must have a CAS with sliders and would prefer more realistic sims than those currently in TS3 (in some cases for as well). As you say a more flexible CAS with retention of CASt is a given. Some are prepared to compromise, while others will not compromise at all.
This game attracts a wide range of players from your family players to the creative to the world builders. We are a difficult group of customers to,please as a consequence but if a success is to be made of an upgrade then we all need to be listened to. You want more characterisation, I want better building tools. There is no reason why we can't all have what we want, assuming no financial or developer constraints. Reality is EA has all the focus on TS4 but wouldn't it be lovely to move on to an upgrade which retains all the critical features of TS3 but gives us new things to try. Assuming you want to move on of course
Wherever I am friends call me Betty
Sim enim est vita
@thevogel now that sounds more attainable, would the red cross center be a rabbithole?
Yes and No. It might be used best as a Rabbit Hole... because otherwise you would just see your sim checking in, getting assigned a cot or a specific corner of the red cross center... and really not much else to do but wait out the disaster. I mean if not used as a Rabbit hole, there could be a corner for temporary school classes, and games, books...etc.
I would rather see.... the town evacuate to the Red Cross (or the big show venue)... and of course there are always the stubborn sims who won't leave their house. Firemen can rescue...Police to round up the rowdy sims in town. Then a cut scene of the disaster and the damage done when it's over. Sims can then file out of the Red Cross... and assess the damage. Sims with higher level of skills can help other sims with clean up, fixing homes, Finding lost pets and of course Medical attention. The Big Park can be used to feed the neighborhood and provide entertainment for the children, or even pitch tents to provide temporary housing for sims who lost their homes. Sims with Magical skills can really come into play here.
There are many options here, the game just needs to be developed to handle it.
We don't often talk of why people are so drawn to the sims. One reason can be the escapism. Not necessarily the kind which offers challenges which would stretch both you and your sims, but the more basic kind with happier, more positive outcomes. I feel we nearly lost it with the launch of TS4 and it would be a shame to see it go from an upgraded TS3. You talk of immersion and I do too. The kind where you can forget all the plum business every day life can bring with it.
My only other worry would be the disasters scenarios going far enough to satisfy those who want the challenge in their games. Any games designer or producer knows the limits of the rating they have assigned to a game. The end result then might be an upgrade which does not give the kind of stretch you seek. This is surely worse than the situation most of us find ourselves in now with a product we know and love but which is getting old and an alternative which is no alternative.
Wherever I am friends call me Betty
Sim enim est vita
Plus if Diving spots in general could be easily added to other worlds that have oceans...specifically Sunlit Tides, Sunset Valley and Roaring Heights...without using a Mod, that would be a plus.
A new interface to turn off disasters would be available, along with the ability to turn on/off supernaturals, Celebrity system, and adjust weather the way people prefer it to be for their specific game play.
All of my ideas are all things that could be accomplished in a 64bit Sims 3, or be part of a New sims game...depending on who would be willing to take on the challenge.
Sometimes once sims have gotten to a certain stage they're free and clear of any trials that could cause harm to their financial stability...other than by use of mods that restrict earnings by jacking up their bills. If someone says. "Yeah, I want to have disasters (give the sims more challenges to face) in the game" I agree. I'm not going to go. "NO I don't want disasters because that's too real and it might be harmful to people who have experienced it..." A natural disaster that completely destroys their house means that they have to rebuild, whether it be a sinkhole or a tornado or something else. Well, what do the Sims do, pick themselves off the ground and rebuild with what money they have plus maybe a little game notification saying. The insurance company has given you however much simoleons with which to rebuild your home which would be always a little less than the actual value of the home.
I'm into Sims for the ability to utilize my sims to tell a story. And everyone has their trials in real life; nobody's immune from that. Some have to tread an even more difficult path than others. But it's not anybody else's place to tell others how they should enjoy the game. Here on these forums...though, is another story; we have to keep it general so that the younger audience doesn't have to worry about running across things that they don't need to at their age. But those of us who have tread life long enough know that life isn't all fun. Some look for escapism. Some tackle it head-on. I've spent too much of my time looking for escapism, I'm looking at it head-on now. And sometimes the games I play tread into the dark paths that I've gone through but it's mainly for my own benefit and not others. The way I played Haruo's mother in my "selfacy" was a MERE micro-caricature of what she (my mother) did in RL; the rest of it is too dark for these forums. And I just gave my Sim a happy life for a change; (Yeah, sometimes I like to escape into happy-land for a while but that doesn't mean that I don't want to deal with the rest of the "hell" that came along with it).
I'm the type that says "If simmers want to play happy, fun stories...all the more power to them, but don't restrict my ability to enjoy Sims the way I want to." If it's a sandbox; then let the people who want to play the way that they want play the way that they want. That's why I make my own CC and hunt down stuff that I want in my game. It allows me to play Sims the way I want to. Even on FF.net the stories that garnered the most attention were my darker ones; the ones dealing with actual conflict. I let others write the happy stuff. I say: Put the heavy stuff in the game in EPs that allow people to make a choice whether they want it or not. And also have the ability to turn the stuff off when you don't want it.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
You are Not twisted at all.... I would not have chimed in and made all my wishes and suggestions known if I wanted to play the sims like its Farmville.
The sims just needs new vision... someone to create it in a way that is not scared to make consequences for those little digital people. And yes... It's a Sandbox game.... Let us play the way we want... that is the beauty of The sims... there is or Was no one way to play it.
If all the things I suggested were put into a "reboot" or a brand new version of the game... I would jump ship and let TS3 sit on my hard drive for a while. I might not uninstall it... but if someone made it as good and immersive as I invision.... I would just be grateful, play for hours, and get my money's worth out of it.
I can appreciate that after 9 years people are looking for fresh ideas for the game. It is only natural and if things had worked out differently with the series, most of us would have moved on by now. However one thing this thread shows is what an incredibly loyal and thoughtful group of simmers we are. There are those, including me, who still have plenty to explore while there are those who want and need new challenges. I believe an upgrade to 64 bit should be able to cover all this, otherwise it is not an upgrade worth having. I would also like to see people continue to put forward new ideas, however scary or outlandish they might seem to other players.
So if you want a nuclear plant then why not. If there was one in Sims City then there is precedent. I also like the idea of attaching new ideas to existing packs where possible, as long as we can have that all important on/off switch. I had not thought of a career in Marine Archaeology but that would work. How about exploring the wreck of the Titanic, it's the sims so all things are credible. I am also happy with the idea of sims being hit by flying objects, particularly if there is humour involved, because the sims is all about subtle humour afterall. Personally I would want flying cows but I draw the line at barns full of flying pitchforks, scythes and hay balers.
Story telling is one of best things to come out of the sims. One of the first stories I ever read was by a teenager and involved a baby kidnapping. Fortunately perhaps it had a happy ending but the teenager understood how to create suspense and keep her Sims page audience enthralled and wanting more. Most humans by nature are inquisitive and that includes simmers so it comes as no surprise to learn that stories with dark elements attract the larger readership. It is not always the ending which is paramount in these cases but sometimes the journey undertaken by the characters. I believe any upgrade should be able to give any creator of fiction, whether fantasy, supernatural or real life drama scope to tell their story better. I know the landscape in ITF could be beefed up but we really could do with some more industrial type landscapes. I know CAW users have taken matters into their own hands and are producing some fantastic stuff but the company could beef up CAW and make it easier for them.
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/940517/wip-tribus-the-threefold-fairgrounds#latest
This creation is an example of the good stuff out there. If only there was a CAW which would allow the rest of us to be so clever.
Wherever I am friends call me Betty
Sim enim est vita
I'd be the first to create a sim of Helen Hunt.
Yeah...a definite "NO" on the flying pitchforks, scythes and hay balers.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~