Right so I finally got the game and played for 4-5 hours.
Things I like:
- CAS - Build mode - Emotions - Multitasking - Careers and skills - Smooth game, fast saving - Lots of sims when going outside - Relationship interactions - New objects - Etc.
Things I don't like: - Bad graphics for a 2014 pc game - Not high enough AI for a 2014 pc game - No open world, loading screens - No toddlers - No story progression - No family tree - No memories, no wishes - No CASt, no colour wheel - Teenagers identical to adults - Can't lock doors or assign beds - Few traits, few career options, few places to go, few hiring services - Lots of basic objects missing like dishwashers, telephones, pools... - Etc.
And as a side-note, I personally wish some things had been included but didn't, such as pets, weathers, open world but no rabbit holes, height adjustment, trans/non-binary genders, non-monogamous relationships, possibility to get an abortion, religious sims and stuff like churches and priest career, health and mental-health issues, doctors/hospitals/therapists, much more realistic sims with high AI, online game option, flats and apartments with neighbours in the same building, extra school activities, pre-teen life stage, sending CV's, applying for jobs, more realistic career/job/school/relationship progression etc.
Overall I like the game despite lacking in so many things, however I tend to easily get bored if there are no pets so I'll keep playing TS3 until the pets ep comes out. Oh and anyone who hates the game right now, I can guarantee you that the EP's will most likely solve all of the problems and missing features the base game's got. So don't worry guys, TS4 is not broken, it'll get better so all it takes is a little patience. And if it's about the money, why the hell are you guys still paying for games? You know you can get them all for free, right? Yeah I know it's not allowed and blah blah, but geez I can't help feel saddened when I see all those unsatisfied people saying they wasted money they don't have.
I have a little suggestion about careers, when you go to work why not have the option to observe the sim working his job?
Such as the artist works at the museum for example, I noticed they go to their work place as does the mixologist goes to the bar to do his job. I do however noticed not all jobs have their own lots yet but maybe eventually. If it was possible to apply this, it would be very nice to watch stuff happen at their work place, it would a be a NON_rabbit hole-ish type feature, being able to watch them would be no different than watching a sim being at a park lot for example, same function but slightly different due to having a job.
If you are interested in challenges; check out the Reincarnation challenge right at this link! here!| If you want spectator mode; go to this link. (for sims 3) here
Things I Like: I'm loving the emotions for the most part. They aren't perfect, but I feel like my Sim's have more depth than the dolls moving around screen on Sims 3. I love the fact that game play so far is pretty non laggy and smooth. I put up with it in the Sims 3 because I loved the game, but it's nice to be able to play without constant freezing. CAS is fun and I could spend hours tweaking every sim I make LOL. I like the search function in build mode. I'm liking the new career functionality. It's nice to have tasks to do to advance instead of skill build and people meet. I like the new cooking choices and the gourmet menu that's been added. I like being able to level up a violin. I like the multi tasking when it's smart. I like the video game skill. I love the new romance animations and the interactions. It's nice to have my husband kiss his wife goodbye on his own whim. I like the painting options. I like that it's harder to make simoleons (and at the same time I hate it LOL) I don't miss newspapers as I never read them LOL. I like the new graphics and house designs. I like the new worlds and like that traveling between them is pretty easy.
Things I don't like: Taking a shower takes too long. I know a few of my Sims are lonely, but sheesh. The Hygiene need and the bladder need decay too fast. Bills are ridiculous and honestly, make no sense. Would love a no bills option reward like in Sims 3. I saw the frugal one, but haven't tried it out yet. My Sims play musical chairs around a super small dining table and I don't understand why. They get up and leave in the middle of conversations. I didn't realize how much I'd miss firefighters, pools, and an open world. (I hated toddlers and am not the least bit upset they are gone.) New camera controls are kinda annoying. I miss larger lots. I miss basements. I miss shower woohoo. I want a dishwasher. I miss the family tree and world story progression.
I'm sure the expansion packs will fix some of my issues and I can be patient. I miss the open world, but not having a game lag every 2 seconds is worth losing it I guess. At least the lots are more active now! Overall I'm pretty content with the base game. It was pricey, but most video games are these days. I'm really looking forward to the EP's. I want pets and seasons back! Also looking forward to mods as I'm sure there will be some great ones.
I have been playing for just about a week now. I wanted to give the game a decent amount of time before forming an opinion. To be honest, I didn't think I would like it, and was reluctant to get The Sims 4 because of the many things that seemed to be missing in the game. I couldn't help myself though, since I have been playing since Sims 1 and so I bought it.
I was quite surprised that I enjoyed the game and for the most part I am very happy with it and I am glad that I gave it a chance.
What I like: I love the emotions and the way that the Sims interact with each other I love the walking styles and how that makes all of the sims in the game a little bit different from eachother I love all of the different personalities in the game I love the new cooking options, that we can now choose how many servings to make, and the gourmet cooking options I like the neighborhoods and don't mind traveling from one to another because so far it has been easy and quite painless The new gardening options are great (some are bugged, and hopefully there will be a fix soon). Taking cuttings and being able to graft them to an existing plant to grow two things is a great option. I love the fact that our Sims can now multitask. I haven't started to build anything yet so I can not comment on Build mode at this time.
What I don't like: No dishwasher, not sure why that would have been left out I think this is a bug, but the maid hardly ever shows up, yet I get charged for the service even when they don't come and sometimes more than once in a 24 hour period (Sim time) if I travel. Objects break way too often, sometimes multiple objects at the same time. I have spent a lot of game time repairing things over and over again Lots to build on are too small, hate that there are no large lots for building. Although I haven't started building yet, I have checked the lots and am not happy with them. Bills are high, but I like that we pay them less often, so I understand why they are higher. However, they increase each time even if nothing new has been purchased or done to the home and items are depreciating in value and I do not like that. I miss the color wheel, but am glad that we still have some options to change colors of items.
There are still a lot of things I haven't tried yet because I have a set playing style and in every Sims game I wait for children until I can afford them, so there are no babies yet in my game. This will be coming soon once I can move into a big enough house.
I love to build so I am very disappointed in the size of the lots. I like lots of land and big homes for my Sims and have always built very large houses. This time around the house I like will be impossible to build because of the lot size. Although I will build a house or two I doubt my Sims will move into them but I do want to build. I will most likely move into one of the bigger pre built lots and change them to suit my tastes.
There were a lot of features that were included in the Sims 3 that I loved that are no longer available in The Sims 4. Although I miss them, I find that The Sims 4 runs much better, there are no lags so far and it is a very smooth playing game. Although there are some bugs, there aren't as many as we had with the Sims 3. I think it was a good trade off giving up some things for a better running game. I personally think it is worth it and I hope that with future expansion packs a smooth running game is what we continue to get. I for one prefer to play a game that runs well to one that had lots of great features that didn't work. Once the bugs in this game are fixed and hopefully, they will be I think we will have a great game.
Things I like: New interactions and how great the group interactions are. Especially love the public settings like the bars for socializing. Lots of cooking options Graphics and awesome CAS options I like the build mode and how easy it is to expand rooms. Emotions and having new options when feeling different emotions How different the two worlds seem and how we can easily travel between or move sims around The gallery and how easy it is to add new sims or lots New careers Having multiple outfits that your sim switches to Children are so cute
Things I don't like: No family tree (I like to have large families that leave and grow so it's nice to keep track.) :( But they did say they will be working on this I wish there were more normal careers as well like business or doctor. But hopefully more will be added Repairing objects that break all the time No toddlers (obvious) Building friendships and maintaining them seems hard and I wish we had an idea of why some people bond more (like maybe it could say these sims share traits so they build a friendship faster.)
What you liked:
*How "alive" my sims now feel. To me, the emotions are a great improvement on the title, and I now cannot imagine playing any of the older games that don't feature them. I actually uninstalled the Sims 3 the other night, because I know I won't be looking back.
*The tasks you have to finish in order to get promotions, and how simple it is to change lifetime goals.
*I actually LIKE the current setup for the babies. I hated when sims in the older titles would be like "Ok, I'm done parenting now, I'll just drop you here on the ground. Outside. In the snow...while I go watch tv. Poor baby burrito...
Also, at one point my sim for a 100 Baby challenge I had been playing was coming home from the hospital with a delivery, there was some weird thing where it essentially looked like she stuck the kid's head in the cup holder in the front of the van...and then drove him home that way. LOL!
So yes, I am pleased with the current state of babydom...
*Everything about cooking. Being quite a Foodie myself RL, I love all the thought that goes into preparation, and all the different recipes! I have actually laughed out loud at some of the mistakes my sims have made when they were learning to cook.
*The loading screens, rather than the open world. You guys are taking a lot of flack for this one, and I am truly sorry for it. I loved and appreciated how "open" you attempted to make TS3 feel, but it felt like a big, empty void much of the time. I only truly enjoyed it for jogging.
Now I have a quick screen to wait through (5-10 seconds) and BAM! We are on destination, in a lot...FULL of sims to interact with, or just observe. You guys aren't hearing enough praise for the work you put in on trying to make sure we had folks for our sims to talk to, so, from my viewpoint, just take the lack over overwhelming "thank you" and "Wow!" as people being too busy playing to be on the forums overly much.
*The graphic style. I LOVE the way the game looks now. I wasn't a huge fan of the overly super realistic look, and it felt like, if you wanted to take good pictures, or have a story that got any notice, you had to have like 40892350938509485390 mods. I don't like using mods. I would try, because I enjoyed story writing, but ultimately, eventually without fail some random CC would blow up my game, and I would lose a lot of hard work. So don't change a thing here. Please.
What you didn't like & Suggestions
Ok. Honesty time.
*Nor surname change with marriage unless I cheat. I know. You guys have probably heard a LOT about this, but for the sake of keeping my train of thought on it's rails here, bear with me. Personally, if and when you implement a change on this, I would adore it if it wasn't TS3 style where whoever did the proposing became the last name. A pop up with options of each individual last name, or a hyphenated name would be perfect.
*For me, Oasis Springs seems to crash my game often, and I am not sure why...and it's truly a shame because I prefer it to Willow Creek for a place to live. My first game session upon game purchase lasted about 10 hours. (Don't give me that judgey look simmers, I'm preggo and on partial bed rest...I'm allowed. :P) In this time, I played exclusively in Willow Creek, because I wanted the second generation of the family to move to Oasis Springs upon adulthood, so the town would feel "fresh" to me when I arrived. I didn't even visit the commercial lots in OS. Not a single crash during that entire period. 2nd generation rolled around, I moved, and that's when crashes began...I can't isolate it to an event or object, but I now have to save rather obsessive compulsively as not to lose sims days worth of work randomly.
*Objects break WAY too often. My sims do not have the clumsy trait, and should seriously not break every little thing they touch. I love the ideas with the upgrade parts and all, but seriously, maybe fine tune the rate at which things break? I thought at first that perhaps it had to do with the value/quality of the item, since when she started out everything was bought on the cheap, but even after she got really high quality stuff, she still couldn't go potty without the entire bathroom descending into water spewing chaos around her. So if you tinker with this whole aspect, I think it would be really cool to see the breakage rate reflect the item quality/price and for the scale to be a bit more realistic.
*Knocking instead of doorbell. I really struggle to hear the knock without having to turn my volume up so high that everything else can be heard from down the street. I think it's cute and such as an action...but I am missing visitors I would like to see when they show up spontaneously.
*Bills. I have a love hate relationship with them. I love how much more realistic they are, but when you are trying to play without cheats, it's hard to budget your sim's income to accommodate bills if you don't know how high they will be, like when you first start out a household, or if you build on. My suggestion for this, however, isn't to change it, but perhaps make a phone/computer action to "Check Bills" so you have an idea of how much you are looking to pay on your next due date.
*Ned. You need to make him. We love him. Our sims world is a little grayer without him and his cowplant and failed romance shenanigans! I have seen other simmers try to make him, but I want the vision YOU GUYS had for him!
Thoughts?
Overall, I love the game, and cannot wait to see where a little time and a few expansion packs will take it! You have, for whatever it's worth, satisfied this fan's expectations, and with a few bug fixes and some considerations to a few loose odds and ends, I will be happy as a clam in water, with nothing but praise for this game.
I am so very disappointed with The Sims 4, I feel it's a step backward from what The Sims 3 base game offered. It does have some great features and I do like the new build mode and that sims can mutil task now but I got the 69.99 version and I don't feel I got what I paid for. I spend way to much money on the Sims 3 and I really expected for this game to at least offer the same features and content you got with the Sime 3 base game, but this is not the case. You cannot customize anything in the game, only with pre-set colors provide( this is a huge step backwards). There is no neighborhood , anywhere you want to go you are welcomed with a load screen. I really don't undertand why would they take out features that were already included in the Sims 3 base game (POOLS!!??). The Sims 4 is not worth 59.99 and it's specially not worth the 69.99 I paid for it. I am very close to returning the game. Also the rewards they gave out for having expansion packs from the Sims 3 are just awful. I mean they could have a least included one item from each expansion pack you bought for the Sims 3 as a reward. Very disappointed, I should have learned to wait after SimCity was ruined. :(
P.S also please do not add a dashboard to this game, It completely ruined the Sims 3. I still can't use my dashboard on the sims 3, ti crashes all the time.
CAS is much improved. It's easier to make a sim look the way you want to in the sims 4.
The new art style is very charming.
The new emotions and multitasking system give the sims more depth and their actions are much smoother.
What I disliked:
The teeny tiny neighborhoods. There are far too few residential lots to build on and not enough community lots to explore. Where are the police departments, hospitals, shops, and restaurants to name a few? It's hard to pretend my sim is living in a real town when it's lacking the basic features of one.
Not enough to do in the lots we do have. Bars/Nightclubs were my favorite feature of the sims 3 but they're so watered down in the sims 4 that I rarely bother with them. Museums were boring in the Sims 3 and they've remained largely unchanged.
The scaled down life states. Babies are downgraded to objects, toddlers are gone, and teenagers are too similar to adults.
No normal careers. Now I do think the careers that were included are very clever and I do like them, but sometimes I want to role play as an average person.
Not enough new toys to play with. I found my sim doing nothing but eat, sleep, and watch TV fairly quickly.
Guy's I just want to say that so much of what is in the game is very good, it's just that there isn't enough of it. After paying $70.00 for the sims 4 and getting bored so quickly I'm left feeling a bit sad. Thanks for listening to our feedback. I know you can make the game live up to it's potential in the future.
Very annoyed at the bad scrolling in camera mode! Tried both modes in the game! So fast, and really can't get that perfect angle like in the sims 3! If there's away to stop this, please tell. Also I want to make the movement slower.
I am so happy with this game and i was 12 when the very first sims came out and had every game since so long time fan and i used to be a game and gadgets journalist in the uk. Although im a fan my rating for the sims 3 was a 5..as it seemed like a updated version of the sims 2 at the start, the ep's changed this. With the sims 4 im excited again everything is new it plays better its more wacky and more engaging LOVE IT 10/10!!! . Heres what i think so far (*) I like the open world with the load screens as it saves me watching the car travel around slowly whilst lagging and it makes for faster play in the long run. I can put up with a 2 second load screen instead of travel. (*) I like the basic story progression as it sorta forces me to micro manage the whole town and play multi household which i stopped doing in the sims 3 cus i was lazy so the whole experience is longer and richer (*) I like the careers and skills much all new and not the same careers we are so used to and love the wacky feeling and the locked objects cus i feel rewarded (*) Less lots cus im managing and its mutli-world it will get bigger and better plus you don't to move around all the time if you play both worlds at once. (*) LOVE THE MULTI WORLDS and connections has made the game and im so looking forward to new worlds and possible a CAW as i was a huge CAW builder! (*) The sims are smarter multi tasking is a dream, its not repetitive with the emotions and new social menu. (*) Love the cas and build modes but some tools are totally needed in the future maybe an optional style and if you could a tool to design clothing or a job doing would be the cherry on top! Maybe objects too... (*) The lighting is dark and disappointing BUT after a few days a mod came out fixed this! (*) I LOVE the cheat to make things bigger so MUCH FUN!!!! (*) I love the most the help and guidance the community has with mods and cas parts so much easier to put them in and custom music in the folder win!
Please remember reviews are not to be trusted as 1/10 happy with a product review online and 9/10 of ppl unhappy take the time out enjoying the game to complain its not lie the old one we are all bored with now. Amazing work have spent hours and not even done 5% of what i can. im looking forward to the next few years, the new generation of gamers shaping the game and what exciting (and hopefully new) expansions and DLC come out. oh and mods and content...
Thanks You for this amazing game i couldn't be happier with it :)
•What you liked Emotions. LOVED it. And the fact that they add extra little things to what you do is awesome! (My girl ran on the threadmill with her chest out. lol she was feeling confident that day!)
Graphics. I like the cartoony aspect to it! :D
•What you didn't like Teens and adults are the same height. Makes me feel like a 🐸🐸🐸🐸 trying to figure out whose who. :/
Story progression. I like concentrating on one family. But when my child is grown and goes to the bar... everyone is old. =.=
•Suggestions? Pleaseeee change the heights between teen and adults!!
PLEASEEEE add story progression!! It's more fun discovering someone is married while chatting with them, and my children wouldn't be the only ones in the world!
I don't need crazy textures or colors, but it would be nice to even see a basic color pallet for all items. :/
Could you throw some free stuff at us? XD
•Overall thoughts? I like the game. I really do. It runs great on the computer and I can watch them all day. Can't wait for the expansions!
What I liked: Over all I liked everything in the game but there are some things I found that need to be fixed or expanded on.
THINGS TO BE EXPANDED ON
--Careers: Okay so I was very disappointed in the choices in careers. I wanted there to be at least a medical and business career. I am hoping that there will be an expansion pack that will add many more careers.
--Pregnancy: I may be the only one, but I really would have loved for a longer pregnancy cycle. Three days to me isn't enough time You can expand it to three weeks, one week for each trimester. OR you could have it customizable from the options menu kind of like how the ages were in the sims 3. I love that you can breast feed though, that is a very very nice touch to add a little realism.
--Build/Buy Mode: The new mode is wonderful and I love it, However when it come to painting walls and laying down floors that is where my problem is. I am not sure if others have experienced this or it may just be me, But When I was placing individual walls and I wanted to paint them on the inside of the house it painted the whole wall both inside and outside. So I had to end up placing paint on the individual panels. With the floors I am unable to place tiles on the second floor unless I make a room, and I can't delete individual tiles either. Again I am not sure if it is just me or a game thing. But those need to be fixed. with like a no auto floor option, and something that will fix how panting walls is done.
--Clock speed: Having time pass by the second makes it a bit hard when it comes to doing things. When you want the family to spend time together they can't because It is midnight and the kids have school in the morning. There is no time to explore the world around and get things done on the one day because the needs are falling so fast. It is like you cant have both parent sims working and expect to be able to have them do anything besides work and sleep.
SUGGESTIONS:
-Slower time speed -more careers -longer pregnancies -open world (thought I know there isn't a change that this will happen, its always nice to hope) -Asian culture expansion pack (complete with proper animations and furniture) -toddler stage -more customization
MY OVERALL THOUGHTS
I love the game so far, I am finding new things each time I play. But there is a lot that needs to be added and expanded on. I have very very very high hopes for this game and see its potential to be one of the greatest sims games to date. So I hope everyone at EA and Maxis read other players feed back and put emphasis on what the player wants and not the money aspect, they will get their money as long as they give us what we want.
(Sorry for any and all spelling and grammatical errors.)
@AmyMF: I can use Space Bar to switch, but in TS3, it also changed the focus to that sim - like one in the kitchen, hit space bar, now i see one in the bedroom, hit space bar, now i see one in the yard - like that.
I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE the creative tools and really hope that they release some EP's that offers more creative options/housing decorations or focuses on themes in build mode. I plan on making a New Orleans inspired neighborhood. I feel like the creative tools have been simplified and are a lot easier to use. I love how clothing is categorized in create a sim and how you can filter and find what you're looking for a lot easier. I actually found the create a sim process in TS3 to be an annoying pita, it took forever for the content to load and there was sooo much lag. Making sims is fun now! I'm a little disappointed that we can't customize furniture or clothes in create a style and hope that's something that will be implemented in an update. Although I do like that there isn't a crazy amount of textures and a lot of the colors go together so it's easier to mix and match. One thing that bothers is how the black shoes look, they're too blueish! I feel like there's a pretty adequate amount of clothing options except for maybe jewelry. Also, the carpeting sucks big time.. there aren't enough options and the colors aren't very nice.
The multi-tasking feature is GREAT.. my Sims don't waste time, they get 🐸🐸🐸🐸 done! The AI/emotions are... meh. It's not as great as I expected it to be, I honestly don't see what all the hype was about. It's an improvement and definitely makes it more interesting and fun, but they aren't THAT smart and their emotions don't influence the game play that much. The "wacky stories" are not manifesting for me, maybe I should give it some time? Also, they only ever seem to be in one of maybe four moods.. either "happy" or "uncomfortable".
The lack of content is disappointing.. I honestly expected more, even for a base game. I'm not quite bored with the game just yet, but there isn't much for the Sims to do and wished that there was more in the way of activities. I will be p!🐸🐸🐸🐸 if EA releases a ton of DLC's. I'd rather have everything thrown into EP's.. EP's are enough money as it is, DLC's are wayyyy worse.
I love the graphics, they're beautiful; the colors are really vibrant and the Sims looks nice, their clothes fit well on their bodies.. has less of a painted on look. I don't mind that they're a bit cartoony and I'm a fan of more realistic looking graphics. I'm a bit disappointed with the lack of body hair and a crotch slider for male Sims.
I'm not sure how I feel about the neighborhoods just yet. I'd prefer an open world, the loading screens are kind of annoying and it doesn't make me want to take my sim out much, esp since I can't check on my other sims. Although it's not THAT problematic for me and there's somewhat of an open world feel in your little subdivision. I just hope the towns expand. I wish there was a least one more town and some more empty lots or larger little subdivisions... I'm going to have to bulldose everything.
Overall I really-really like the game and the direction it's going in.
As I suspected, there's not a lot of content in the initial release. The Sims 3 was a wonderfully mature, solid piece of software that had a great deal of content by the end of its lifespan. The Sims 4 starts again, but there is obviously much less to do.
Likes: Socialising is better than Sims3. More believable, with fewer quirks. The AI is a little better, and the gaming experience is more rounded in the long-run. EA has taken the best gameplay from the addons from Sims 3 and removed the worst.
Dislikes: very, very empty. Very few lots to visit, few clothing options, few character options. No rain or snow etc. which adds massively to the atmosphere of the Sims3. I've had at least one crash that's wiped out my savegame. Very expensive for something without much content.
The Sims 3 is currently better value - especially if you can pick it up in a sale which seems increasingly likely now Sims 4 is out. Sims 3 has far more content and is in many ways a more satisfying experience, and far better value for money.
Just some little things from the little I've seen/played of it.
Like: The new style/modeling: at first, it seems like a HUGE step-down from the sims 3, but the more you play/see it, the better it becomes. It's kind of cartoonish, and that's kind of a feel I got from the original sims and I like it, but I feel like more can be done with it. Unsure at this point really.
More options in create a sim: I cannot stress how bland the base sims 3 and sims 2 are because there just isn't much going on in them. There seemed to be a bit more going on (like hair styles, clothing, etc.) in this one and it's a direction I like and hope it keeps going.
Updated feel: a problem with the sims I've felt a lot is that clothing, housing, furniture, and many other things are just not things people would have in their every day life. It's not realist in those aspects, however, I feel like this game is curving the issue in a better direction.
Dislike: Babies/toddlers: If you have every other age-group, why not these? These age groups should be essential to how a sim grows up. Yes, you can argue there are babies now, but they're just kind of...stuck in the crib? Reminds me more of a doll and less of a human being.
Career Limitations: There didn't seem to be much careers, I think a total of like 8? Seemed just controlled, and not real to me.
Aspirations/traits: when making your sim, again, it seemed limited. Like, you had just another run-of-the-mill sim that wasn't unique. :disappointed:
Heights: Along with adjustable body types, there should be a height option. People are different sizes and shapes, so I feel this would be important. Like-wise, I didn't notice much height difference in Teens/young adults/adults. It's not really a big noticeable thing in real life, but it can be and it should be here.
*more to be added with more playtime and seeing more of it.
What I love about TS4: The short loading time Boots over pants!! The fact that you can change your hairstyle/ hats/ makeup/jewelry very quickly( I love the fashion 'cuz my Sims change their styles every 3 days) So many different nationalities, I can create anyone from my real family!! Build mode is Awesome** Work mode is fast-forwarded cuz I used to do that anyway So many dishes to cook ( don't really miss goin grocery shopping) Being able to add someone to my household quickly, and their name doesn't automatically change to mine Gardening is much easier (Would like to see a lemonade/veggie stand add on like in TS3)!!!! Freaking multitasking ahhhhhhhh I LOVE IT
Stuff I don't like: No cars, No goin to the movies or a concert I tried to have a baby 3 times but each time they came out looking scary so I immediately aged them up to children (sad) I need more clothes, shoes, and hairstyles (When are the expansion packs coming out?) I want to be able to buy property and make the other sims pay for Tea & cupcakes, furniture store...etc. When do you get to retire after becoming an elder?
We have filters for items and build items, which is great to find quickly what I want, BUT, I would like to specify what I don't want, as opposed to what we want now. For example, when building for other people, and I don't want to use purchased content, then I want to specify to look for all or x and y type/color, but NOT for purchased, or even NOT for color x or NOT style a. It would help a lot and I think not too hard to implement...
Oh, and by the way, I LOVE this game! Much better than The Sims 3, though there are things missing...
As a long-term simmer (since TS1), this is shaping up to be one of my favorite Sim series in comparing all four base games. Here is a quick (and shortened) list of what I consider the best features:
layering effects of emotions
making & keeping friends/loved ones/romances is more challenging
how careers are set-up for advancement, i.e., quick reference checklist, and that they unlock items as your sim progresses (by career and skill level)
babies have arms & legs, plus all of the new interactions; regular clothes morph during pregnancy to maternity clothes
gardening, fishing, and cooking changes
UI--so much better, and in particular, I really like that there are additional keyboard shortcuts, e.g. L, O, I, etc.
really love build/buy mode objects and curved counters, fences, etc--ease of building is great, by the way!--as well as the search capability and filters
textures/lighting/animations
that you can instantly bring another sim(s) from the household to your currently loaded lot
ease of traveling between worlds
the new map--very easy on the eyes and greatly facilitates locating lots
how quickly the game loads
SUGGESTIONS/THINGS TO EXPAND ON:
add search & filtering to fish bait & garden fertilizer lists or at least a way to group all of the items so the lists aren't so long
a World Adventures type of EP in the future
more neighborhoods and worlds of any type
Overall, I find TS4 to be a much more immersive and enjoyable experience. Not only is the game more fun in terms of new features like the emotion system, it poses a good balance of humor, challenge, and creativity. I have clocked 64 hours of gameplay and have only touched on a small part of everything new in the game. I've played three of the careers (culinary to level 6, art to lvl 10, and entertainment to lvl 4) and still haven't tried many of the skills or collectibles. Build/buy mode is fantastic and the search/filter feature is a much loved & used tool.
The last impression I want to leave in this post is that gameplay is so much better owed mostly to the smooth operating performance. The amount of time it took for objects to render in TS3 was a real frustrating detractor and it really took away the immersive experience that it should have been. The load screens don't detract as much as the rendering times and I find that the openness of the neighborhood per loaded lot to be a good trade-off between performance and open world.
Great job with TS4! I look forward to new surprises I have yet to discover in the base game, plus future EPs and/or SPs.
Over all i really like the game so far.love the new menu which allows you to have a single serving without having all those messy leftovers that stunk up your fridge.I want to see weather im dying for seasons, i am really wanting toddlers, dont understand why you have to screen change just to visit a neighbor. I have been playing sims for 14 yrs 2 was my favorite by far. dont like the fact you cant invite someone over using the phone. Im ready for expansions all ready Seasons should be the first one tho.
I've been playing Sims for as long as I can remember, I was SO excited about TS4, I was crazy excited but, when I sat down and actually started playing...I slowly got more and more disappointed.
Things I Like: 1. The CAS is great, you can make the Sims look a lot more like real people which is good. 2. The Personality is pretty great too. (There are some things I don't like, but I'll get into that in a bit) 3. The way you build houses and rooms, it's so much easier now and you can customize things a lot better. 4. Some of the new jobs that are available. 5. A lot of the new items 6. The bars and lounges 7. The fact that there is still, Child, Teen, Young Adult, Adult and Elder 8. I most definitely LOVE the Multi-tasking they can do now, it's fantastic! 9. The Emotions the Sims have 10. The Music 11. The different skills you can aquire 12. The different things you can do on the computer with your Computer Programming Skills 13. The types of walks 14. The realistic ways the Sims find out if they're pregnant or not (Pregnancy Test)
Things I didn't Like: 1. What is wrong with the babies when you have a baby?? I was very upset about that! There's a terrible glitch with the babies, they look like monsters! 2. Why can you only have three personality traits now? 3. What happened to Toddler? 4. There aren't very many options when socializing 5. You can't tilt the camera 6. The world is closed! I hate that! I love playing with the world and having them venture like that! 7. Why do they just *poof* when they have work or school? I think that's really crappy. 8. Why can't you view their stats while they're at work or school? 9. I'm short and when I tried to make myself, it didn't look very much like me because you guys still haven't incorporated a height tool which I think you could make a LOT more money off of, I know some people who aren't too into Sims because you can't change the height! 10. Why are there locked items again with no story mode? I understand that leveling up in a job gets certain items unlocked but there isn't much variety or choice with the items. 11. I liked in TS3 where, if you've read and learned from a book as much as you could, it wasn't an option to read it, why did that not stay in TS4? 12. There's no hospital or other city buildings that you can access, I liked interacting with the hospital 13. Still no way of playing online with a friend. My friend and I wanted to create our Sims and have them move in together and be roomates, but you guys still haven't figured that out yet. It'd get you lots of new Simmers. 14. There aren't as many clothing options in TS4 as there was in TS3, I mean, they're cute but there aren't too many, why? 15. What happened to all the lots you can choose within a neighbourhood? That really upset me. Two single lots? Really? Two single empty lots? 16. The Rewards are awful or super expensive, for the Lifetime Wishes or Aspirations, either lower the cost or get some new Rewards. I stay far away from the Potions, I don't see a point in them. 17. Really missing the cars and pools 18. Most definitely missing the basement...
Look, I love The Sims and I don't want to stop being a Simmer but this game wasn't all it turned out to be, if you guys good find a way to work on it a little more and just make it an update, that'd be awesome, if not make really great EPs and SPs and don't sell them for more than $25 because that's one of the reasons I couldn't play TS3 as often as I could, the EPs and SPs are too much for the little bit of stuff you get, don't get me wrong, you get a whole lot in the EPs but not so much in the SPs as far as I've seen. I really hope you guys take into consideration what the long-time-Simmers are suggesting for TS5. I know it's difficult to make a game with so much stuff but I think you can do it. If you don't take into consideration what us Simmers are saying, you're probably going to lose a lot of Simmers. I'm keeping my hopes up for the rest of TS4 movement and for the possible TS5 game coming out. I love you guys still but that's just how I feel.
Comments
Things I like:
- CAS
- Build mode
- Emotions
- Multitasking
- Careers and skills
- Smooth game, fast saving
- Lots of sims when going outside
- Relationship interactions
- New objects
- Etc.
Things I don't like:
- Bad graphics for a 2014 pc game
- Not high enough AI for a 2014 pc game
- No open world, loading screens
- No toddlers
- No story progression
- No family tree
- No memories, no wishes
- No CASt, no colour wheel
- Teenagers identical to adults
- Can't lock doors or assign beds
- Few traits, few career options, few places to go, few hiring services
- Lots of basic objects missing like dishwashers, telephones, pools...
- Etc.
And as a side-note, I personally wish some things had been included but didn't, such as pets, weathers, open world but no rabbit holes, height adjustment, trans/non-binary genders, non-monogamous relationships, possibility to get an abortion, religious sims and stuff like churches and priest career, health and mental-health issues, doctors/hospitals/therapists, much more realistic sims with high AI, online game option, flats and apartments with neighbours in the same building, extra school activities, pre-teen life stage, sending CV's, applying for jobs, more realistic career/job/school/relationship progression etc.
Overall I like the game despite lacking in so many things, however I tend to easily get bored if there are no pets so I'll keep playing TS3 until the pets ep comes out. Oh and anyone who hates the game right now, I can guarantee you that the EP's will most likely solve all of the problems and missing features the base game's got. So don't worry guys, TS4 is not broken, it'll get better so all it takes is a little patience. And if it's about the money, why the hell are you guys still paying for games? You know you can get them all for free, right? Yeah I know it's not allowed and blah blah, but geez I can't help feel saddened when I see all those unsatisfied people saying they wasted money they don't have.
Such as the artist works at the museum for example, I noticed they go to their work place as does the mixologist goes to the bar to do his job. I do however noticed not all jobs have their own lots yet but maybe eventually. If it was possible to apply this, it would be very nice to watch stuff happen at their work place, it would a be a NON_rabbit hole-ish type feature, being able to watch them would be no different than watching a sim being at a park lot for example, same function but slightly different due to having a job.
I'm loving the emotions for the most part. They aren't perfect, but I feel like my Sim's have more depth than the dolls moving around screen on Sims 3.
I love the fact that game play so far is pretty non laggy and smooth. I put up with it in the Sims 3 because I loved the game, but it's nice to be able to play without constant freezing.
CAS is fun and I could spend hours tweaking every sim I make LOL.
I like the search function in build mode.
I'm liking the new career functionality. It's nice to have tasks to do to advance instead of skill build and people meet.
I like the new cooking choices and the gourmet menu that's been added.
I like being able to level up a violin.
I like the multi tasking when it's smart.
I like the video game skill.
I love the new romance animations and the interactions. It's nice to have my husband kiss his wife goodbye on his own whim.
I like the painting options.
I like that it's harder to make simoleons (and at the same time I hate it LOL)
I don't miss newspapers as I never read them LOL.
I like the new graphics and house designs.
I like the new worlds and like that traveling between them is pretty easy.
Things I don't like:
Taking a shower takes too long. I know a few of my Sims are lonely, but sheesh.
The Hygiene need and the bladder need decay too fast.
Bills are ridiculous and honestly, make no sense. Would love a no bills option reward like in Sims 3. I saw the frugal one, but haven't tried it out yet.
My Sims play musical chairs around a super small dining table and I don't understand why. They get up and leave in the middle of conversations.
I didn't realize how much I'd miss firefighters, pools, and an open world. (I hated toddlers and am not the least bit upset they are gone.)
New camera controls are kinda annoying.
I miss larger lots.
I miss basements.
I miss shower woohoo.
I want a dishwasher.
I miss the family tree and world story progression.
I'm sure the expansion packs will fix some of my issues and I can be patient. I miss the open world, but not having a game lag every 2 seconds is worth losing it I guess. At least the lots are more active now! Overall I'm pretty content with the base game. It was pricey, but most video games are these days. I'm really looking forward to the EP's. I want pets and seasons back! Also looking forward to mods as I'm sure there will be some great ones.
I was quite surprised that I enjoyed the game and for the most part I am very happy with it and I am glad that I gave it a chance.
What I like:
I love the emotions and the way that the Sims interact with each other
I love the walking styles and how that makes all of the sims in the game a little bit different from eachother
I love all of the different personalities in the game
I love the new cooking options, that we can now choose how many servings to make, and the gourmet cooking options
I like the neighborhoods and don't mind traveling from one to another because so far it has been easy and quite painless
The new gardening options are great (some are bugged, and hopefully there will be a fix soon). Taking cuttings and being able to graft them to an existing plant to grow two things is a great option.
I love the fact that our Sims can now multitask.
I haven't started to build anything yet so I can not comment on Build mode at this time.
What I don't like:
No dishwasher, not sure why that would have been left out
I think this is a bug, but the maid hardly ever shows up, yet I get charged for the service even when they don't come and sometimes more than once in a 24 hour period (Sim time) if I travel.
Objects break way too often, sometimes multiple objects at the same time. I have spent a lot of game time repairing things over and over again
Lots to build on are too small, hate that there are no large lots for building. Although I haven't started building yet, I have checked the lots and am not happy with them.
Bills are high, but I like that we pay them less often, so I understand why they are higher. However, they increase each time even if nothing new has been purchased or done to the home and items are depreciating in value and I do not like that.
I miss the color wheel, but am glad that we still have some options to change colors of items.
There are still a lot of things I haven't tried yet because I have a set playing style and in every Sims game I wait for children until I can afford them, so there are no babies yet in my game. This will be coming soon once I can move into a big enough house.
I love to build so I am very disappointed in the size of the lots. I like lots of land and big homes for my Sims and have always built very large houses. This time around the house I like will be impossible to build because of the lot size. Although I will build a house or two I doubt my Sims will move into them but I do want to build. I will most likely move into one of the bigger pre built lots and change them to suit my tastes.
There were a lot of features that were included in the Sims 3 that I loved that are no longer available in The Sims 4. Although I miss them, I find that The Sims 4 runs much better, there are no lags so far and it is a very smooth playing game. Although there are some bugs, there aren't as many as we had with the Sims 3. I think it was a good trade off giving up some things for a better running game. I personally think it is worth it and I hope that with future expansion packs a smooth running game is what we continue to get. I for one prefer to play a game that runs well to one that had lots of great features that didn't work. Once the bugs in this game are fixed and hopefully, they will be I think we will have a great game.
New interactions and how great the group interactions are. Especially love the public settings like the bars for socializing.
Lots of cooking options
Graphics and awesome CAS options
I like the build mode and how easy it is to expand rooms.
Emotions and having new options when feeling different emotions
How different the two worlds seem and how we can easily travel between or move sims around
The gallery and how easy it is to add new sims or lots
New careers
Having multiple outfits that your sim switches to
Children are so cute
Things I don't like:
No family tree (I like to have large families that leave and grow so it's nice to keep track.) :( But they did say they will be working on this
I wish there were more normal careers as well like business or doctor. But hopefully more will be added
Repairing objects that break all the time
No toddlers (obvious)
Building friendships and maintaining them seems hard and I wish we had an idea of why some people bond more (like maybe it could say these sims share traits so they build a friendship faster.)
*How "alive" my sims now feel. To me, the emotions are a great improvement on the title, and I now cannot imagine playing any of the older games that don't feature them. I actually uninstalled the Sims 3 the other night, because I know I won't be looking back.
*The tasks you have to finish in order to get promotions, and how simple it is to change lifetime goals.
*I actually LIKE the current setup for the babies. I hated when sims in the older titles would be like "Ok, I'm done parenting now, I'll just drop you here on the ground. Outside. In the snow...while I go watch tv. Poor baby burrito...
Also, at one point my sim for a 100 Baby challenge I had been playing was coming home from the hospital with a delivery, there was some weird thing where it essentially looked like she stuck the kid's head in the cup holder in the front of the van...and then drove him home that way. LOL!
So yes, I am pleased with the current state of babydom...
*Everything about cooking. Being quite a Foodie myself RL, I love all the thought that goes into preparation, and all the different recipes! I have actually laughed out loud at some of the mistakes my sims have made when they were learning to cook.
*The loading screens, rather than the open world. You guys are taking a lot of flack for this one, and I am truly sorry for it. I loved and appreciated how "open" you attempted to make TS3 feel, but it felt like a big, empty void much of the time. I only truly enjoyed it for jogging.
Now I have a quick screen to wait through (5-10 seconds) and BAM! We are on destination, in a lot...FULL of sims to interact with, or just observe. You guys aren't hearing enough praise for the work you put in on trying to make sure we had folks for our sims to talk to, so, from my viewpoint, just take the lack over overwhelming "thank you" and "Wow!" as people being too busy playing to be on the forums overly much.
*The graphic style. I LOVE the way the game looks now. I wasn't a huge fan of the overly super realistic look, and it felt like, if you wanted to take good pictures, or have a story that got any notice, you had to have like 40892350938509485390 mods. I don't like using mods. I would try, because I enjoyed story writing, but ultimately, eventually without fail some random CC would blow up my game, and I would lose a lot of hard work. So don't change a thing here. Please.
What you didn't like & Suggestions
Ok. Honesty time.
*Nor surname change with marriage unless I cheat. I know. You guys have probably heard a LOT about this, but for the sake of keeping my train of thought on it's rails here, bear with me. Personally, if and when you implement a change on this, I would adore it if it wasn't TS3 style where whoever did the proposing became the last name. A pop up with options of each individual last name, or a hyphenated name would be perfect.
*For me, Oasis Springs seems to crash my game often, and I am not sure why...and it's truly a shame because I prefer it to Willow Creek for a place to live. My first game session upon game purchase lasted about 10 hours. (Don't give me that judgey look simmers, I'm preggo and on partial bed rest...I'm allowed. :P) In this time, I played exclusively in Willow Creek, because I wanted the second generation of the family to move to Oasis Springs upon adulthood, so the town would feel "fresh" to me when I arrived. I didn't even visit the commercial lots in OS. Not a single crash during that entire period. 2nd generation rolled around, I moved, and that's when crashes began...I can't isolate it to an event or object, but I now have to save rather obsessive compulsively as not to lose sims days worth of work randomly.
*Objects break WAY too often. My sims do not have the clumsy trait, and should seriously not break every little thing they touch. I love the ideas with the upgrade parts and all, but seriously, maybe fine tune the rate at which things break? I thought at first that perhaps it had to do with the value/quality of the item, since when she started out everything was bought on the cheap, but even after she got really high quality stuff, she still couldn't go potty without the entire bathroom descending into water spewing chaos around her. So if you tinker with this whole aspect, I think it would be really cool to see the breakage rate reflect the item quality/price and for the scale to be a bit more realistic.
*Knocking instead of doorbell. I really struggle to hear the knock without having to turn my volume up so high that everything else can be heard from down the street. I think it's cute and such as an action...but I am missing visitors I would like to see when they show up spontaneously.
*Bills. I have a love hate relationship with them. I love how much more realistic they are, but when you are trying to play without cheats, it's hard to budget your sim's income to accommodate bills if you don't know how high they will be, like when you first start out a household, or if you build on. My suggestion for this, however, isn't to change it, but perhaps make a phone/computer action to "Check Bills" so you have an idea of how much you are looking to pay on your next due date.
*Ned. You need to make him. We love him. Our sims world is a little grayer without him and his cowplant and failed romance shenanigans! I have seen other simmers try to make him, but I want the vision YOU GUYS had for him!
Thoughts?
Overall, I love the game, and cannot wait to see where a little time and a few expansion packs will take it! You have, for whatever it's worth, satisfied this fan's expectations, and with a few bug fixes and some considerations to a few loose odds and ends, I will be happy as a clam in water, with nothing but praise for this game.
P.S also please do not add a dashboard to this game, It completely ruined the Sims 3. I still can't use my dashboard on the sims 3, ti crashes all the time.
CAS is much improved. It's easier to make a sim look the way you want to in the sims 4.
The new art style is very charming.
The new emotions and multitasking system give the sims more depth and their actions are much smoother.
What I disliked:
The teeny tiny neighborhoods. There are far too few residential lots to build on and not enough community lots to explore. Where are the police departments, hospitals, shops, and restaurants to name a few? It's hard to pretend my sim is living in a real town when it's lacking the basic features of one.
Not enough to do in the lots we do have. Bars/Nightclubs were my favorite feature of the sims 3 but they're so watered down in the sims 4 that I rarely bother with them. Museums were boring in the Sims 3 and they've remained largely unchanged.
The scaled down life states. Babies are downgraded to objects, toddlers are gone, and teenagers are too similar to adults.
No normal careers. Now I do think the careers that were included are very clever and I do like them, but sometimes I want to role play as an average person.
Not enough new toys to play with. I found my sim doing nothing but eat, sleep, and watch TV fairly quickly.
Guy's I just want to say that so much of what is in the game is very good, it's just that there isn't enough of it. After paying $70.00 for the sims 4 and getting bored so quickly I'm left feeling a bit sad. Thanks for listening to our feedback. I know you can make the game live up to it's potential in the future.
Youtube
Twitter Profile
Steam Profile
(*) I like the open world with the load screens as it saves me watching the car travel around slowly whilst lagging and it makes for faster play in the long run. I can put up with a 2 second load screen instead of travel.
(*) I like the basic story progression as it sorta forces me to micro manage the whole town and play multi household which i stopped doing in the sims 3 cus i was lazy so the whole experience is longer and richer
(*) I like the careers and skills much all new and not the same careers we are so used to and love the wacky feeling and the locked objects cus i feel rewarded
(*) Less lots cus im managing and its mutli-world it will get bigger and better plus you don't to move around all the time if you play both worlds at once.
(*) LOVE THE MULTI WORLDS and connections has made the game and im so looking forward to new worlds and possible a CAW as i was a huge CAW builder!
(*) The sims are smarter multi tasking is a dream, its not repetitive with the emotions and new social menu.
(*) Love the cas and build modes but some tools are totally needed in the future maybe an optional style and if you could a tool to design clothing or a job doing would be the cherry on top! Maybe objects too...
(*) The lighting is dark and disappointing BUT after a few days a mod came out fixed this!
(*) I LOVE the cheat to make things bigger so MUCH FUN!!!!
(*) I love the most the help and guidance the community has with mods and cas parts so much easier to put them in and custom music in the folder win!
Please remember reviews are not to be trusted as 1/10 happy with a product review online and 9/10 of ppl unhappy take the time out enjoying the game to complain its not lie the old one we are all bored with now. Amazing work have spent hours and not even done 5% of what i can. im looking forward to the next few years, the new generation of gamers shaping the game and what exciting (and hopefully new) expansions and DLC come out. oh and mods and content...
Thanks You for this amazing game i couldn't be happier with it :)
Emotions. LOVED it. And the fact that they add extra little things to what you do is awesome! (My girl ran on the threadmill with her chest out. lol she was feeling confident that day!)
Graphics. I like the cartoony aspect to it! :D
•What you didn't like
Teens and adults are the same height. Makes me feel like a 🐸🐸🐸🐸 trying to figure out whose who. :/
Story progression. I like concentrating on one family. But when my child is grown and goes to the bar... everyone is old. =.=
•Suggestions?
Pleaseeee change the heights between teen and adults!!
PLEASEEEE add story progression!! It's more fun discovering someone is married while chatting with them, and my children wouldn't be the only ones in the world!
I don't need crazy textures or colors, but it would be nice to even see a basic color pallet for all items. :/
Could you throw some free stuff at us? XD
•Overall thoughts?
I like the game. I really do. It runs great on the computer and I can watch them all day. Can't wait for the expansions!
Over all I liked everything in the game but there are some things I found that need to be fixed or expanded on.
THINGS TO BE EXPANDED ON
--Careers: Okay so I was very disappointed in the choices in careers. I wanted there to be at least a medical and business career. I am hoping that there will be an expansion pack that will add many more careers.
--Pregnancy: I may be the only one, but I really would have loved for a longer pregnancy cycle. Three days to me isn't enough time You can expand it to three weeks, one week for each trimester. OR you could have it customizable from the options menu kind of like how the ages were in the sims 3. I love that you can breast feed though, that is a very very nice touch to add a little realism.
--Build/Buy Mode: The new mode is wonderful and I love it, However when it come to painting walls and laying down floors that is where my problem is. I am not sure if others have experienced this or it may just be me, But When I was placing individual walls and I wanted to paint them on the inside of the house it painted the whole wall both inside and outside. So I had to end up placing paint on the individual panels. With the floors I am unable to place tiles on the second floor unless I make a room, and I can't delete individual tiles either. Again I am not sure if it is just me or a game thing. But those need to be fixed. with like a no auto floor option, and something that will fix how panting walls is done.
--Clock speed: Having time pass by the second makes it a bit hard when it comes to doing things. When you want the family to spend time together they can't because It is midnight and the kids have school in the morning. There is no time to explore the world around and get things done on the one day because the needs are falling so fast. It is like you cant have both parent sims working and expect to be able to have them do anything besides work and sleep.
SUGGESTIONS:
-Slower time speed
-more careers
-longer pregnancies
-open world (thought I know there isn't a change that this will happen, its always nice to hope)
-Asian culture expansion pack (complete with proper animations and furniture)
-toddler stage
-more customization
MY OVERALL THOUGHTS
I love the game so far, I am finding new things each time I play. But there is a lot that needs to be added and expanded on. I have very very very high hopes for this game and see its potential to be one of the greatest sims games to date. So I hope everyone at EA and Maxis read other players feed back and put emphasis on what the player wants and not the money aspect, they will get their money as long as they give us what we want.
(Sorry for any and all spelling and grammatical errors.)
I can use Space Bar to switch, but in TS3, it also changed the focus to that sim - like one in the kitchen, hit space bar, now i see one in the bedroom, hit space bar, now i see one in the yard - like that.
The multi-tasking feature is GREAT.. my Sims don't waste time, they get 🐸🐸🐸🐸 done! The AI/emotions are... meh. It's not as great as I expected it to be, I honestly don't see what all the hype was about. It's an improvement and definitely makes it more interesting and fun, but they aren't THAT smart and their emotions don't influence the game play that much. The "wacky stories" are not manifesting for me, maybe I should give it some time? Also, they only ever seem to be in one of maybe four moods.. either "happy" or "uncomfortable".
The lack of content is disappointing.. I honestly expected more, even for a base game. I'm not quite bored with the game just yet, but there isn't much for the Sims to do and wished that there was more in the way of activities. I will be p!🐸🐸🐸🐸 if EA releases a ton of DLC's. I'd rather have everything thrown into EP's.. EP's are enough money as it is, DLC's are wayyyy worse.
I love the graphics, they're beautiful; the colors are really vibrant and the Sims looks nice, their clothes fit well on their bodies.. has less of a painted on look. I don't mind that they're a bit cartoony and I'm a fan of more realistic looking graphics. I'm a bit disappointed with the lack of body hair and a crotch slider for male Sims.
I'm not sure how I feel about the neighborhoods just yet. I'd prefer an open world, the loading screens are kind of annoying and it doesn't make me want to take my sim out much, esp since I can't check on my other sims. Although it's not THAT problematic for me and there's somewhat of an open world feel in your little subdivision. I just hope the towns expand. I wish there was a least one more town and some more empty lots or larger little subdivisions... I'm going to have to bulldose everything.
Overall I really-really like the game and the direction it's going in.
Likes: Socialising is better than Sims3. More believable, with fewer quirks. The AI is a little better, and the gaming experience is more rounded in the long-run. EA has taken the best gameplay from the addons from Sims 3 and removed the worst.
Dislikes: very, very empty. Very few lots to visit, few clothing options, few character options. No rain or snow etc. which adds massively to the atmosphere of the Sims3. I've had at least one crash that's wiped out my savegame. Very expensive for something without much content.
The Sims 3 is currently better value - especially if you can pick it up in a sale which seems increasingly likely now Sims 4 is out. Sims 3 has far more content and is in many ways a more satisfying experience, and far better value for money.
Like:
The new style/modeling: at first, it seems like a HUGE step-down from the sims 3, but the more you play/see it, the better it becomes. It's kind of cartoonish, and that's kind of a feel I got from the original sims and I like it, but I feel like more can be done with it. Unsure at this point really.
More options in create a sim: I cannot stress how bland the base sims 3 and sims 2 are because there just isn't much going on in them. There seemed to be a bit more going on (like hair styles, clothing, etc.) in this one and it's a direction I like and hope it keeps going.
Updated feel: a problem with the sims I've felt a lot is that clothing, housing, furniture, and many other things are just not things people would have in their every day life. It's not realist in those aspects, however, I feel like this game is curving the issue in a better direction.
Dislike:
Babies/toddlers: If you have every other age-group, why not these? These age groups should be essential to how a sim grows up. Yes, you can argue there are babies now, but they're just kind of...stuck in the crib? Reminds me more of a doll and less of a human being.
Career Limitations: There didn't seem to be much careers, I think a total of like 8? Seemed just controlled, and not real to me.
Aspirations/traits: when making your sim, again, it seemed limited. Like, you had just another run-of-the-mill sim that wasn't unique. :disappointed:
Heights: Along with adjustable body types, there should be a height option. People are different sizes and shapes, so I feel this would be important. Like-wise, I didn't notice much height difference in Teens/young adults/adults. It's not really a big noticeable thing in real life, but it can be and it should be here.
*more to be added with more playtime and seeing more of it.
The short loading time
Boots over pants!!
The fact that you can change your hairstyle/ hats/ makeup/jewelry very quickly( I love the fashion 'cuz my Sims change their styles every 3 days)
So many different nationalities, I can create anyone from my real family!!
Build mode is Awesome**
Work mode is fast-forwarded cuz I used to do that anyway
So many dishes to cook ( don't really miss goin grocery shopping)
Being able to add someone to my household quickly, and their name doesn't automatically change to mine
Gardening is much easier (Would like to see a lemonade/veggie stand add on like in TS3)!!!!
Freaking multitasking ahhhhhhhh I LOVE IT
Stuff I don't like:
No cars, No goin to the movies or a concert
I tried to have a baby 3 times but each time they came out looking scary so I immediately aged them up to children (sad)
I need more clothes, shoes, and hairstyles (When are the expansion packs coming out?)
I want to be able to buy property and make the other sims pay for Tea & cupcakes, furniture store...etc.
When do you get to retire after becoming an elder?
Oh, and by the way, I LOVE this game! Much better than The Sims 3, though there are things missing...
- layering effects of emotions
- making & keeping friends/loved ones/romances is more challenging
- how careers are set-up for advancement, i.e., quick reference checklist, and that they unlock items as your sim progresses (by career and skill level)
- babies have arms & legs, plus all of the new interactions; regular clothes morph during pregnancy to maternity clothes
- gardening, fishing, and cooking changes
- UI--so much better, and in particular, I really like that there are additional keyboard shortcuts, e.g. L, O, I, etc.
- really love build/buy mode objects and curved counters, fences, etc--ease of building is great, by the way!--as well as the search capability and filters
- textures/lighting/animations
- that you can instantly bring another sim(s) from the household to your currently loaded lot
- ease of traveling between worlds
- the new map--very easy on the eyes and greatly facilitates locating lots
- how quickly the game loads
SUGGESTIONS/THINGS TO EXPAND ON:Overall, I find TS4 to be a much more immersive and enjoyable experience. Not only is the game more fun in terms of new features like the emotion system, it poses a good balance of humor, challenge, and creativity. I have clocked 64 hours of gameplay and have only touched on a small part of everything new in the game. I've played three of the careers (culinary to level 6, art to lvl 10, and entertainment to lvl 4) and still haven't tried many of the skills or collectibles. Build/buy mode is fantastic and the search/filter feature is a much loved & used tool.
The last impression I want to leave in this post is that gameplay is so much better owed mostly to the smooth operating performance. The amount of time it took for objects to render in TS3 was a real frustrating detractor and it really took away the immersive experience that it should have been. The load screens don't detract as much as the rendering times and I find that the openness of the neighborhood per loaded lot to be a good trade-off between performance and open world.
Great job with TS4! I look forward to new surprises I have yet to discover in the base game, plus future EPs and/or SPs.
Things I Like:
1. The CAS is great, you can make the Sims look a lot more like real people which is good.
2. The Personality is pretty great too. (There are some things I don't like, but I'll get into that in a bit)
3. The way you build houses and rooms, it's so much easier now and you can customize things a lot better.
4. Some of the new jobs that are available.
5. A lot of the new items
6. The bars and lounges
7. The fact that there is still, Child, Teen, Young Adult, Adult and Elder
8. I most definitely LOVE the Multi-tasking they can do now, it's fantastic!
9. The Emotions the Sims have
10. The Music
11. The different skills you can aquire
12. The different things you can do on the computer with your Computer Programming Skills
13. The types of walks
14. The realistic ways the Sims find out if they're pregnant or not (Pregnancy Test)
Things I didn't Like:
1. What is wrong with the babies when you have a baby?? I was very upset about that! There's a terrible glitch with the babies, they look like monsters!
2. Why can you only have three personality traits now?
3. What happened to Toddler?
4. There aren't very many options when socializing
5. You can't tilt the camera
6. The world is closed! I hate that! I love playing with the world and having them venture like that!
7. Why do they just *poof* when they have work or school? I think that's really crappy.
8. Why can't you view their stats while they're at work or school?
9. I'm short and when I tried to make myself, it didn't look very much like me because you guys still haven't incorporated a height tool which I think you could make a LOT more money off of, I know some people who aren't too into Sims because you can't change the height!
10. Why are there locked items again with no story mode? I understand that leveling up in a job gets certain items unlocked but there isn't much variety or choice with the items.
11. I liked in TS3 where, if you've read and learned from a book as much as you could, it wasn't an option to read it, why did that not stay in TS4?
12. There's no hospital or other city buildings that you can access, I liked interacting with the hospital
13. Still no way of playing online with a friend. My friend and I wanted to create our Sims and have them move in together and be roomates, but you guys still haven't figured that out yet. It'd get you lots of new Simmers.
14. There aren't as many clothing options in TS4 as there was in TS3, I mean, they're cute but there aren't too many, why?
15. What happened to all the lots you can choose within a neighbourhood? That really upset me. Two single lots? Really? Two single empty lots?
16. The Rewards are awful or super expensive, for the Lifetime Wishes or Aspirations, either lower the cost or get some new Rewards. I stay far away from the Potions, I don't see a point in them.
17. Really missing the cars and pools
18. Most definitely missing the basement...
Look, I love The Sims and I don't want to stop being a Simmer but this game wasn't all it turned out to be, if you guys good find a way to work on it a little more and just make it an update, that'd be awesome, if not make really great EPs and SPs and don't sell them for more than $25 because that's one of the reasons I couldn't play TS3 as often as I could, the EPs and SPs are too much for the little bit of stuff you get, don't get me wrong, you get a whole lot in the EPs but not so much in the SPs as far as I've seen. I really hope you guys take into consideration what the long-time-Simmers are suggesting for TS5. I know it's difficult to make a game with so much stuff but I think you can do it. If you don't take into consideration what us Simmers are saying, you're probably going to lose a lot of Simmers. I'm keeping my hopes up for the rest of TS4 movement and for the possible TS5 game coming out. I love you guys still but that's just how I feel.
*Warning! potential positive post incoming!*
I bought the game yesterday staring at it for 10 min debating on whether or not I should take the plunge and buy it.
Needless to say, I bought and installed it and here is my thoughts.
Build mode, buy mode, and gallery = big selling feature.
Gameplay itself is pretty good, loading screens are fast on my machine (as is Sims 2s' loading screens).
Although features like cast bother me, its not really that bothersome when I actually play the game.
I enjoy sims' expanded interactions making the game (at least for me) playable and fun.
My time spent on it, I rate this base game a 7 / 10. Potential to be awesome with EPs. (=
Keep up the good work gurus. =D
(*)