On Tuesday September the 7th, 2014 the world changed forever. EA games had released a new game that was posted as their biggest and boldest game yet, a game all about The Sims that would provide a richer and more fulfilling experince than we have ever felt before, get a deeper connection with your Sims in new situations with a new emotion system where your Sims are now smarter and more inteeligent, no more bumping into each other and shurgging their shoulders, no more standing around doing nothing and no more empty community lots, this town will be full of life and you, the player will be in control of it all, but then the game would also be able to play itself and allow the player to spend time on rich new building tools to make the ultimate Sims world.
Forget the 'buggy mess' that was The Sims 3 and the daftness of the 'old fashioned' The Sims 2 and the restrictions from The Sims 1, this is 2014 and this game will be the biggest game of the year. People will be camping outside of gaming stores in tents to buy this game and for those who didn't get it in the first few weeks, you would be gaurnteed to know a few people who will get it for Christmas. This game would be a sell out and ground breaking, breaking all records and being the greatest game of all time.
That was the vision but the reality is different, very different. The game was marred buy cut content, and i am not gtalking about small stuff, sure small things like news papers, dish washers and the such would be lift out but bigger things as well, the pools, the toddlers, NPCs, careers, cars and biggest of all, no CASt and now Open World and an CAW tool.
A long time ago I decided to not buy this game, I was satisfied with TS3 after years of hard work, upgrades, set backs, achivments and everything the game could throw at me but I thought i would keep y eye on the progress of the next installment to The Sims series out of curiosity. I though 'if i see something that i like, if i can see a 'wow factor' then i will think about getting it in the long term, a future project maybe?
But there was no 'wow factor' there was no 'I am going to buy that the day it comes out' and after watching the awkward 'Lets plays' and 'live streams' or whatever they are called i could not really see what the game had on offer that I had not seen before. What was this game showing what the other games didn't? We lost alot of content but what compensates?
Where is the wow factor, what is 'The thang' that this game will make us buy it? The emotions? No thank you, i like my TS3 traits and moodlets. Added humour? Not laughing. Angry poops? You what?
Of course these are my own opinions, i am sure there a few who love the game but sadly, many do not and i hate to see fellow Simmers disapointed. Did this game make big time sells? Outshine its predessors? After many canclled preorders and 24 hour refunds one has to wonder why sells figures have never been published. Many people where on the fence about buying the game and many never crossed that fence and now, many never will.
Its funny as it has been said that TS3 was ahead of its time and it really was, few PCs could handle it back then, but five and a half years later, as people have upgraded their PCs TS3 is as big as ever, in fact it has grown in popularity alot lately. Its just a shame that some issues where left in fixed with the exceptions of the great efforts of the mod community. EA game abanded ship with many things while the great devs, who i have a great deal of respect for have fought hard to make a great game but their talents have been indermind by the higher ups. Games are being pushed out rush, unfinished and buggy and they wonder why they have not made the big sells? I think that is obvious.
Anyway, this isn't a rant and it isn't aimed at anyone personally, and it is certaintly not aimed at the developers of the game, it is just a review of the situation of the game that after three months has not contained the hype of the previous three, it has not contained the wow factor and it does not have 'that thang'
Happy Simming :-)
Simbourne 11
Comments
Nooooooop.
Toddlers and open world were not cut, they were never there in the first place.
The only thing that TS4 did that I like is made it easier for me to go back and play TS2. While I was playing TS3, through frustration and rage, I declared I would go back and play TS2 instead. However, that open world had me too spoiled and I have never been able to successfully transition back. But TS4s closed world and loading screens have made it very easy, indeed, and I have been enjoying TS2 now thanks to TS4. LOL. And the bonus is that the game is complete and there is tons of content available for it.
Actually, Graham is on the record saying toddlers would be in the game.
---EDIT---It was Grant who said it.
And @Kelly_Blake - TS4 has been in development for at least 5 years so it is not unrealistic to expect what is stated 1 year before release to actually be in the game. Especially when it is a huge feature like a lifestage. That means they had to have been working on them because animations are done long before then.
Wasn't that like before anything was even done to the game? Like half a year before any of the actual news?
I hope this is not offensive, it is was Grant R. who said all life stages would be in the game at the first Gamescon in an interview. It was Graham N. who said they would be a priority after the backlash. I know it is very easy to get them mixed up. But I want to just clear that up before anyone comes in to tell you to get your facts straight in not a nice way. But I agree with you and the OP. It is unfortunate this game doesn't have that 'wow' factor like all the others did and why I just consider it a side game I played for awhile while waiting on my series game for PC. And still waiting.
Uh, yes, they did. I remember on the old TS2 BBS those who were going to line up at their stores so when the doors opened at midnight they would have the game. Not many people back then actually downloaded these games. We had the EA Downloader )EADM but not many liked that idea and most purchased the DVD because of the backlash from the SecuRom wars. Where EA had to back down and promise Securom would not be on the new TS3 DVD..so yes, many camped out in front of their hometown stores (or so they said) to buy the TS3 on DVD. Not many wanted to download it since it was fact the DL would have Securom or a version of it. Sorry for the long history.
Maybe it'll happen when there's actually an EP announced? But it won't happen here, given the approximately 100% odds that anyone posting Yay I Want This EP! will end up with their entire thread taken over by people telling them Sims 4 is plum.
I like this game and am looking forward to EPs. This forum, however, ...
That's so true. I've seen posts on here speculating that OFB might be the first EP. That is my favorite EP of all time and even that has not sparked my interest in TS4 anymore. I literally went...meh...when I read it.
complete forum tutorial
Thank you @MDianaSanders for halloween-fying Golluma
complete forum tutorial
Thank you @MDianaSanders for halloween-fying Golluma
TS3 is still poorly coded. Good PCs can lag on it, bad PCs can run it perfectly. It's like a lottery. Even with a new PC I was never able to run it really well. I managed to get it to run decent with 5 expansions, but I won't buy the rest as it would be pushing it.
I see potential in TS4. I like how it has no store and how we're receiving free updates. I don't know if developers would be even half as nice to us as they are if this game outsold its predecessor. I hope that they will continue to follow good practices, drop the price a little (24£ sales price was a good one) and slowly make this game shine.
My favorite thing about it though are the unlockables. When achievements were implemented to The Sims 3, I was overjoyed - something to do! Now I have that something to do times 10. It gives me direction :)
I couldnt even sleep the night before a new EP lol
TINY HOUSE CHALLENGE
The May Family
Modeling Career?
That's the point I was trying to make, TS4 had no hype and in my game it was business as usual