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Speculation for The Sims 4?
ROWKEM
Posts: 38 New Member
Hey all,
Simple topic; anyone got ideas for The Sims 4? I kinda feel like TS3 has taken as many 'big' steps as it can take; now just fine tuning and adding smaller elements through EP's (given we're not all the way through it's development).
What will be the next big thing? TS2 introduced a new, a more dynamic aging process, a huge graphics overhaul, and wants and fears. TS3 introduced seamless neighborhoods and a better career system (these are just off the top of my head, I realize there's more).
SO - what do you think we'll have to look forward to in The Sims 4? Seamless worlds? That is, combining things like WA and LN into one ginormous super world? I assume they'll add in smaller elements from TS3 into the base TS4 but, I can't think of another big thing that they could add.
Ideas?
Simple topic; anyone got ideas for The Sims 4? I kinda feel like TS3 has taken as many 'big' steps as it can take; now just fine tuning and adding smaller elements through EP's (given we're not all the way through it's development).
What will be the next big thing? TS2 introduced a new, a more dynamic aging process, a huge graphics overhaul, and wants and fears. TS3 introduced seamless neighborhoods and a better career system (these are just off the top of my head, I realize there's more).
SO - what do you think we'll have to look forward to in The Sims 4? Seamless worlds? That is, combining things like WA and LN into one ginormous super world? I assume they'll add in smaller elements from TS3 into the base TS4 but, I can't think of another big thing that they could add.
Ideas?
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Comments
An even more dynamic aging system. I like aging but, it would be better if our Sims aged more gradually. Rather than go from a baby toddler straight to a child, the Sim would actually age and grow up slowly, right before our eyes. This would avoid the whole, 'blow out some candles and you suddenly age anywhere a few years to a few decades'. Even better, the Sim could actually have an age, or an 'age bracket'. At the end of each bracket, one could throw a party just to symbolize getting through that age bracket. Maybe work it like:
0-1 years, 2-5 , 6-12, 12-18, 18-25, 26-60, 61-death. Each age bracket would come with its own unique opportunities and challenges (much like it is now combined with elements of TS3:G).
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More water play! Think about it; swimming in the ocean, going on a cruise, scuba diving, yachts/boating. The water would be it's own fully explorable area. You could swim with the fishes, explore underwater caves, collect sea creatures and even get eaten by a shark!
I kinda foresee this being it's own expansion during development but, it would be great if it was base.
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More complex relationship and skill system. I won't take credit for this but, I read somewhere of using a skill tree, kinda like in RPG's but, more like a skill web, actually.. As in real life, skills are interconnected and certain skills would have an effect on others.
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Full control at work. Ambitions was great but, the fact is we're still left with some rabbit holes. I would love it if these went away entirely and you could have complete control at work.
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Related to my last one - no rabbit holes. I'm sure this would come down to CPU ability but, a fully explorable world with no hidden areas would be nice.
have pets be the second ep :P
Also having things like their hair growing, then they have to go to a salon to have it cut- they could get some sort of moodlet (or ts4 equivalent)that says something like "Hair getting too long".
And maybe for the skills part of it there could be like sub skills- for example you could have logic as an overall skill and in that you could have chess skill, telescope skill, chemistry skill; or cooking could be the skill level for different meals.
I'd also like to see more of a variety with the community lots, with more job opportunities in them, for example you could get a job as a clean and you have a time limit to clean a certain lot- like the park or swimming pool ect. Thinking about it actually you could do that with other peoples houses as well. Ooh my head is just bursting with ideas now
I like that idea. You can add friends or visit non-friends. You are able to interact with them in your game. They can visit your house and neighbourhood and vice versa. But it would be good too have an option to lock your game for security.
Maybe they could get feed back off us in years to come and ask us what Expanshion Pack Features we want implented into the sims 4 base game.
They should, but they won't. It would mean less money for them if they combined all those into the base game. And personally, I want the option of whether I want "Weather" and/or "Pets" in my game or not.
There will massive crashes and bugs.No hard copy for your money and all us old time Sim player will be gone leaving a room full of spoiled brats.
2. Larger map that allows traveling between different neighborhoods
3. Sims towns have an economy that pay taxes to city hall. Players can use city hall to then import special types of neighborhoods creating a diverse world.
4. The cash shop is here to stay so i hope they get some simlish mp3 files for the radio in there. The premium content obviously is coming back, I am hoping other things also make into the store that have better themes. It seemed all we got was living room sets, bedroom sets mostly. I'd like to see more decor items that personalize a house. Including mailboxes that have special designs.
5. The trait system needs some organization, and a huge booster. Career traits and personality traits need to be separated. Attraction traits need to come back as well.
6. Forget the graphics, it's the sims ai that needs a huge one up on. They're so monotone and only display one emotion that so boring. I'd like my sims if devestated to have tears and cry, if embarassed or shy to blush, and i'd like his ai to display his mood, if he's tired then he should walk sluggishly, etc.
7. If i see a larva baby im done with the series. I swear any parent on here knows babies aren't just bound to cribs. They need some interactions and the ability to be taken care of. I mean they literally have no purpose in the game at all. It's half baked no matter how you look at it to pick up a baby spin it and it's dressed and changed. Ridiculous! Put the darn ai and detail back in the game. Stop giving excuses for it being half baked and own up to it. Babies can do more than what the game projected and its' ridiculous that Marketing knowing 60 percent of this base is female did not not even try to make something for the cash shop about infants to kids. No cutie dresses, hairstyles, bedroom sets, interactive things etc. I mean seriously.
8. If you even think about adding adventure maps to sims make sure they reset the tombs automatically. Make sure that those places have hotels that allow vacationing! The base camp sucks, people wanted to honeymoon to those places, but the judgemental rumor mill in the game that also needs to go makes the simmers moods go down. if i can't woohoo in my tent in public what was the point of putting it in the game. The worse part is it's broken. No one but your sim will be on the lot sometimes. Who the hell saw them that the rumor is started.
9. Adjust the sims time to be longer. It's hard to get crap done for a career and then turn around and go partying at night or what ever. Your interactions for the sims take up time so you need to scale the time properly from the base game, knowing you'll be adding more content for simmers to do in the day.
10. Add in challenge and consequences. For goodness sakes if my sims have an enemy then they should act like enemies. Dirty looks at each other, throw food, pick fights etc. Relationships should not be so easy to build in the game.
11. Pulling in content from older version of sims. My take on this is put it in the store. if you have two teams fine the store team should work on expansions too. Put old crap in the store. The other team should work on the new stuff. The old stuff should be marked cheaper than the new. An example of this is diving boards and poolsides are old we've been there done that simmers expect them in the game put them in the store with a summer expansion of all kinds of old stuff like volley ball, basket ball etc. The new stuff we want in the expansions. There is plenty of new stuff to add to the game. Zoo's, Safaris, New vacation spots that we haven't been to yet, Business venues like specific themed restaurant or shopping, Water parks, Amusement parks, something that expands on kids in the game, then teenagers, heck even different styled neighborhoods could be an expansions as long as they offer new content in them.
12. If you're going to have story Progression in the game invest in the time to actually have some stories in the game so that your audience is entertained by the drama. Not everyone wants the game to start deleting their sims either, so the houses built in the game need to provide for potential to have bigger families off the bat. They should move out and disappear forever, they should move to other neighborhoods.
13. The open neighborhood concept was great but going from having a town of 1000 sims to 50 sims is ridiculous, the town has no life the lots are always empty or next to empty. That something that should be addressed for sims 4.
14. As far as sets are concerned. Seriously EA, have you ever heard of hip hop fashion, and ethnic hair styles, you need to provide more diverse sims and not just focus on female youth adult clothing. Flesh out all the wardrobes including males. And try to get the guys clothing to look a little cool, it's 2012 no one where's the collars button up all the way anymore.
15. I hated simport still do, didn't even get to finish getting all the stuff because it bugged out so bad i couldn't send my sims to anyone's town and they can't send them to mine. Now i can't get the additional game content, which is just silly. All content should be available to simmers regardless, stop putting these whack features in the game. For real simport is whack.
Yes. Definitely. As far as I can tell, the AI in TS3 works like this:
If Need = low: take care of Need
Else
Do some random thing.
I never really get the sense that my Sims are reacting to the world around them, they just seem to either take care of their Needs, or do a random action related to one of their Traits.
Unfortunately, they probably will focus on graphics for TS4. Ironically, it's much easier to sell consumers good graphics than good gameplay.
Let's say they made TS4 and the graphics were exactly the same as TS3, but the gameplay was ten times better. Would anyone buy it? No.
"We've been attributing the state of The Sims 4 to greed but I think it's time to give sheer incompetence another look."
-Honeywell
As much as i hate the store i agree this is a really good idea. It would keep expansion packs new and exciting, which the sims 3 lacks to some degree, while providing old simmers a chance to get their favorite items back. Just for gods sake lower the price, i really cant afford £20 for a town just because it has a spa bath in it.
and for the pets ep. way more tricks. now the can't even catch a frisbee.
omg...
too.
funny.
As far as graphics is concerned sims has always kept theirs subpar because of the audience they have and how much content comes into the game. Plus the graphics team is separate from the animation's team anyway. So design and concentration i believe need to go to how the sims look and act. (look meaning no half baked babies and better genetics along with more chiseled details in the males faces).
So to me graphics are last on the list when compared to adding gameplay. Only because the appeal lasts what all of 5 seconds before the player goes okay what now. Developers know this too because many a high graphic game with terrible gameplay have fallen because of that grave mistake. I do think they'll improve somethings but over all i don't expect anything major with graphics.
They already have it available. It's a tool called create a world. As far as being in base games no it shouldn't be. They have it seperate for a good reason. Lets say your working on a world one day and then playing the game the next day. While playing you end up crashing so all your gameplay is now lost. How annoying would that be if that was the world you were working on because of all the bugs the game has. It's seperate for a good reason plus some people like to solely build worlds.
I would hate this. No offense intended. I have no desire to play anything other than a single player game. I am not interested in interacting with other players, whatsoever. If they do include this, then it should be an option. If it's not, I'll be sticking to ts2 and ts3.
Silly me! lol I would be the first in line to buy it, even if the graphics were like ts2 or ts3. Both were perfectly acceptable to me. But I do use cc skins/eyes/hair etc., lol.
Gameplay is everything for me. If we have another watered down game, ie, no consequences, moodlets instead of annimations, everything Anavastia listed, then I'll be sticking to ts2/3, and I won't be moving on.
NEEDS:
Take advantage of multicore processors
Optimized for a 64 bit OS (can use more than 4Gb of ram if you have it!)
Built in framerate limiting (may help prevent overheating, extends the life of hardware even by a little bit)
Displacement maps (if we're not using them already)
Improved routing/collision detection
WANTS:
More in-depth interactions (ie: different kinds of kissing)
A wider variety of reactions to sims and situations
Let users submit designs for new game content, be it an upcoming EP, SP, or store content!
Yeah, certainly, if I knew the gameplay was really better, I'd be all over it. But it's so hard to sell consumers the idea of good gameplay because it's not something you can demonstrate with photos or videos. It's something the player has to experience for him/herself, and that can be a very subtle thing - too subtle for a marketing campaign.
That's why game companies tend to focus on improving graphics: it's easier than improving gameplay and it's also easier to sell.
"We've been attributing the state of The Sims 4 to greed but I think it's time to give sheer incompetence another look."
-Honeywell