I bought Sims 4 last month and have not played it much. I don’t really mind if they don’t have toddlers. I never liked playing them much in Sims 2 and 3. In Sims 2 they drove me crazy because they were so needy. So in my game they grew up after they learned the toddler skills. So not having them in 4 is not a bad thing. I also am a lazy simmer, I use tons of mods to help the game be the way I want it played (easy)
Before I started to play the game I went and found a bunch of mods that I thought that I should have in my game. My list of mods in 2 and 3 are huge so I figured before I played 4 I may as well get started on what I thought I needed.
The first Sims I played was Don Lothario and the Caliente’s. Nina went to cook and she caught on fire. I was like oh crap and could not stop laughing. (I am not saying I laughed because it was funny she was on fire, I laughed because of the learning to play the new game , like if you remember the first times you played and were like oh no ! So it was a I am having fun laugh.) She did not die thank goodness or I would have been upset if she would have. She was one of my favorites in 2 and 3. I went and found a cheat so her cooking skill would go up some and then it was great. She cooked all of the meals then. Then she got pregnant with Don and had twins. I seem to have a twin glitch because every single time a Sims gets pregnant in my game the ending is twins.
The game-play itself was not so bad; it took a while to get the hang of things like skill books and writing. Careers I don’t really understand yet but I am sure that once I play long enough it will be easy enough to understand.
I think when it gets more expansion packs this is going to be a fun game
Things I loved
They did bring back some of the humor. (my sim told a joke and was like laughing at herself because she was funny)
Skilling up was fun
No toddlers
Gardening
Fishing
Things I did not like
No cars
To many twins
Gardening (the plants take forever to grow but I did just find a mod for it and I found a gardener npc mod to water the plants and weed them)
Building sucks. It just sucks I hate it.
To be fair for those who did not like it no Sims game is fun without any EP’s. Can you imagine playing Sims 2 or 3 with just the base game? It would not be fun at all. So be patient and wait, we may end up pleasantly surprised by what is to come.
I downloaded and installed the Sims 4 - 48 Hour Trial from Origin. However when I went to launch the game 2 errors occurred.
Error 1 is: “We could not activate The Sims 4 (Origin Game Time) on this computer using the Origin Account you provided. Please locate your product key to activate the game using your Origin Account”
Error 2 is: “Game Time Error: Looks like you’ve already enjoyed Game Time on this account and computer. You’ll be able to continue where you left off when you purchase the game.”
I have spoken with the online chat help with the EA support centre and have been told to wait and check on the forums if it has been resolved.
Hopefully this gets fixed soon, please reply/message me if you get any updates on this being fixed as I would love to try out the Sims 4!
To be fair for those who did not like it no Sims game is fun without any EP’s. Can you imagine playing Sims 2 or 3 with just the base game? It would not be fun at all. So be patient and wait, we may end up pleasantly surprised by what is to come.
The base game is very indicative on the quality of future content we'll be seeing in TS4. If they can't even get the basics done correctly in the FOURTH iteration of the game released in 2014 (when pretty much everything worked without a flaw in TS2 and sometimes TS3), just imagine how the EPs will be.
Mobile developers shouldn't be in charge of a PC game as complex as The Sims, to be honest.
To be fair for those who did not like it no Sims game is fun without any EP’s. Can you imagine playing Sims 2 or 3 with just the base game? It would not be fun at all. So be patient and wait, we may end up pleasantly surprised by what is to come.
The base game is very indicative on the quality of future content we'll be seeing in TS4. If they can't even get the basics done correctly in the FOURTH iteration of the game released in 2014 (when pretty much everything worked without a flaw in TS2 and sometimes TS3), just imagine how the EPs will be.
Mobile developers shouldn't be in charge of a PC game as complex as The Sims, to be honest.
I am not understand why people are coming into the thread to question the feedback that was asked of by dev's to be given of players who did not buy the game yet and are playing for the free trial.
This thread is a feedback thread, not a discussion.
Posts that are telling people certain things would not be fun from sims 2 and sims 3 base game, be patient and wait, for what's to come don't belong in this thread. It's off topic and out of line. I don't want to post in a thread bickering about my feedback. I want to just give the feedback of my experience so the dev's read it. These customers aren't waiting for anything there is a reason why they haven't bought the game and they get try it. if they like sims 4 they should post if they don't like it they should post. If they have ideas on how to improve the situations they should post. We should have freedom to do so without being judged or told to be quiet and wait. i don't need people telling me because i didn't like the base game i should wait for the expansions. I liked sims 1, 2, and 3 base game and i didn't have to wait than for expansions to like the game. I'm not about to make exceptions for sims 4.
There just isn't enough content in it for it to really be entertaining. I played for about an hour, and then turned it off from being bored. I don't plan on buying it until there's some expansion packs out, and maybe some other game packs.
On that note of additional content, if you made another EP similar to Makin Magic back from the first sims, I would preorder an EP like that. I've been waiting to see another EP like that ever since moving on to Sims 2.
To be fair for those who did not like it no Sims game is fun without any EP’s. Can you imagine playing Sims 2 or 3 with just the base game? It would not be fun at all. So be patient and wait, we may end up pleasantly surprised by what is to come.
The base game is very indicative on the quality of future content we'll be seeing in TS4. If they can't even get the basics done correctly in the FOURTH iteration of the game released in 2014 (when pretty much everything worked without a flaw in TS2 and sometimes TS3), just imagine how the EPs will be.
Mobile developers shouldn't be in charge of a PC game as complex as The Sims, to be honest.
TS1 was great fun without any EPs. So was TS2. I never played TS3 base-game only. I think after three previous iterations, TS4's base game seems pretty light considering all the stuff it's missing from those previous versions (open world, CASt, fully fledged life-stages and genetics).
I played with the Landgraabs again. The minuses:
‘This sim is too far away to call over.’ Ugh. Really? So I can’t call the visitor over? Annoying. I wanted Nancy to flirt with the visitor in front of her husband to see how smart these sims really are.
No run here or skip here options. I don’t remember if those were in TS3 but I quite liked them in TS2. Yes, I know they were dependent on a sim’s personality, but that was why I always made active sims; so they could run across the giant lot and not take forever to walk there. Another reason I much prefer the TS2 personality system. The best would have been TS2 personality system + some traits to flesh out the sim/take the place of the interests. And now we have even less traits. Wow, these sims sure have big personalities. (That being said, these sims are a lot more interesting in their reactions/conversations than those ugly robots from TS3.)
I miss the fourth speed button from TS3. The one that sped thru all the queued actions. That was a good addition to TS3. I find myself missing it even in TS2.
The auto handwashing after using the toilet is annoying. These are not neat sims. Yes, in real life I would find no handwashing after toilet use absolutely appalling, but come on. I’ve got things to do.
The music playing constantly in live mode. Ugh. I tried it for awhile before realizing it was driving me bonkers. Muted.
So yup, all clothes are available to everyone. Argh. And then the weird thing happened. Nancy was asleep. I directed her to ‘plan outfits’ on her dresser. Then I switched over to Geoffrey to direct him to do some actions. After a little while I got a loading screen that dropped me in CAS…with Geoffrey. I thought, Oops, I chose the wrong sim. Exited CAS, switched to Nancy, changed her outfit, and then I thought, wait a minute…I directed her to plan her outfit again, switched over to Geoffrey and sure enough, it plopped Geoffrey into CAS. So that wasn’t my error. The game brings up CAS for whichever is the active sim, not the sim I’ve chosen to switch outfits. I tried it with a mirror to make sure it wasn’t just the dresser and the same thing happened. Gotta say that is super annoying.
Every time I’ve loaded the lot, the walls are not the way I left them. Why don’t they stay down?
I haven’t played a child yet, but teens go to school from 8-3? Yeah, that’s more like real life, but I miss the 9-1 schedule so much because then they’d actually have FREE TIME to do things besides homework and tasks. I don’t know, maybe that’s accounting for the carpool/traveling times to get there and back from the previous games.
Seriously, these emotions. Malcolm sat down for breakfast alone and went from being uncomfortable to happy to tense to sad during the same meal. That’s ridiculous.
So confused about the TS3 EP reward lights. I set some in the world and enabled the emotional auras. Then, hovering over the ‘disable emotional aura’ option, it told me the object wouldn’t provide any emotional moodlets unless viewed. Except there’s no option to ‘view’ it, so no idea how these work. I could look it up...but I don't care enough to bother.
Seeing a car drive by. That's just cruel. Though the tumbleweed and blowing dust in the distance was a nice touch. Too bad it wasn't in a place my sims could actually go.
I still miss the daily/lifetime relationship from TS2. And the numbers (-100/100 span). And how two sims could have different levels of relationship with one another. It just blows my mind that that feature was never carried over when it made the sims so much more interesting. Rarely do two people feel the same towards one another. The romance bar is a nice new feature, but doesn't make up for the lack of the previous, complicated and more interesting relationships that TS2 sims had.
The pluses:
Book descriptions. I want to know more about this Hergstrom place. I wish the rest of the game had this level of charm/humor/detail, but I know, I know, writing text is on a whole 'nother level compared to animating a sim to pick up a plate/take a baby bottle out of the fridge/open a car door/etc.
They can play The Sims Original Flavor on the computer! Brought back happy memories.
The Object music option. I like that. A lot of time I don't want to hear the other noise but I do want to hear them playing guitar.
The countdown to spoilage for leftovers in the fridge. That’s a nice feature.
Yay for adding a new skill to a sim’s skill panel right away, instead of after they’ve mastered level 1, which was how it worked in TS3 IIRC. I also love that you can just look at the skill panel to see how far along a sim is in a particular skill instead of having to actually get them doing that skill in order to see the progress bar above their head.
I doubt a lot of the features I'm missing will ever be included. So I might buy this game waaay down the line (I waited until Oct 2013 to give TS3 a try). Until then, I still have TS2!
So I'm trying the free trial and at the end of my 48 hours I won't be buying. When the game was announced I was excited until I saw the preview at that game conference. The sims themselves weren't appealing to me but I was willing to overlook that figuring there would be CC along eventually. Then I started hearing what was not in the base and I was even more discouraged. Finally came the price. I was okay with the $40 for S3, but I just didn't see the 'improvements' of S4 to warrant the increase in price. Even when it was on sale, I didn't buy because the things that were said around the forums didn't make me want to play and that was also reading from the people that do love this version of the game.
What I like:
~Some of the goals that have been brought back. I remember from S2 having to accomplish certain things while on a date so you'd get that vase of roses for achieving a great date. I liked that feature being brought back.
~The aspiration system is not too bad. Having little goals for my sims to work towards to earn points was nice. ***oh, @molunchmonkey in your review you talked about the points. I found that if you click on the aspiration recorder thing in the top right corner (think it was right) you will have an icon to spend the points. It's like the lifetime reward points in S3, just a little more hidden.***
~The scenery is nice for all the background items (which will also be in the dislike in a moment)
~I like that my pregnant sim is no longer restricted from stuff simply because she's pregnant. It irks me in S3 some of the things pregnant sims can't do.
~On the subject of pregnant sims, the clothing TEN TIMES BETTER!!! Before mods, the ugly stuff they could be stuck with in S3 was frustrating.
What I don't like:
~No toddlers, it's really jarring for me for my baby to jump to a kid with no in between. Plus I like the toddler age. I think they're cute.
~Babies as objects. I would like to be able to take my baby out of the house or heck even sit on the couch and watch TV while holding them
~The background we can't use. While it's pretty and the ferry boat and street car are cool additions, I wish they were usable
~CAS--I don't feel I have more control over my sims and how they look. That push pull thing...not working for me. In addition to that, what's up with the black block on the females eyes? HATE IT! Is that supposed to represent eyelashes? I don't understand why it's so prominent and no way to change (that I've found anyway)
~I found the relationships a bit strange. My sim is now married, but her first boyfriend still shows up under her relationship panel as boyfriend so guess she's a cheater. I've not found a break up option for him. (totally a user error thing on that I'm sure)
~The worlds. Small, very small, with little room for expansion without bulldozing stuff.
~Having to load game via Origin always. I rarely log into origin and would like to load my game without having to use that system. Even with my DD for S3, I'm not forced to go through origin to play my game.
On the fence:
~The UI it takes some getting used to, but so did going from S2 to S3. I'm sure after some time, I'd figure it out. I don't like the camera controls, but that could be a user thing. I did change it to S3 style, but to me it still doesn't feel the same.
~I feel like there's a lot going on on the screen. You have your sim in the left corner with their mood of the moment. In the right there's all the stuff related to the sim with jobs, aspiration, motives, etc. Up in the top you have more stuff with the camera and all the notifications and such then there's that box in the very middle. It just seems like there's stuff everywhere.
~Multitasking while I do enjoy some of the things they can do at a time, it seems other things take much longer. An example: For my sim to eat a meal, by herself it takes her nearly 2 hours to finish. I don't get that. It's like she stopped to have a conversation with herself or just sits there for a while like she's waiting on something else to do.
~Build mode. Not working for me. I think because it's similar to the blueprint feature that was introduced in S3 (something I have issues with still) that It's taking me a bit longer to get the hang of it, and because I have issues with the camera controls. This is something that would take me time to figure out. However, with the size of the worlds, I'm not sure how much I'd build anyway it's much easier to just browse the gallery.
These are just my top reasons for like/dislike. I'm sure I'm leaving off something (bad memory) but here's my 2cents anyway.
Overall, to me S4 is fine if you like a goal oriented game. For the way *I* play the game, I feel it's more limiting. I'm a storyteller, and with the limits *I* feel the game has, it wouldn't allow me to tell stories the same way I do in S3. This is the base game so with future updates, EPs and/or GPs things could improve to a point where I'd be happy to hand over money for the game, but not right now.
To be fair for those who did not like it no Sims game is fun without any EP’s. Can you imagine playing Sims 2 or 3 with just the base game? It would not be fun at all. So be patient and wait, we may end up pleasantly surprised by what is to come.
The base game is very indicative on the quality of future content we'll be seeing in TS4. If they can't even get the basics done correctly in the FOURTH iteration of the game released in 2014 (when pretty much everything worked without a flaw in TS2 and sometimes TS3), just imagine how the EPs will be.
Mobile developers shouldn't be in charge of a PC game as complex as The Sims, to be honest.
I am not understand why people are coming into the thread to question the feedback that was asked of by dev's to be given of players who did not buy the game yet and are playing for the free trial.
This thread is a feedback thread, not a discussion.
Posts that are telling people certain things would not be fun from sims 2 and sims 3 base game, be patient and wait, for what's to come don't belong in this thread. It's off topic and out of line. I don't want to post in a thread bickering about my feedback. I want to just give the feedback of my experience so the dev's read it. These customers aren't waiting for anything there is a reason why they haven't bought the game and they get try it. if they like sims 4 they should post if they don't like it they should post. If they have ideas on how to improve the situations they should post. We should have freedom to do so without being judged or told to be quiet and wait. i don't need people telling me because i didn't like the base game i should wait for the expansions. I liked sims 1, 2, and 3 base game and i didn't have to wait than for expansions to like the game. I'm not about to make exceptions for sims 4.
@Anavastia its because they were merging threads into here-so many discussions from simmers were moved here presumably to help. So be kind to those of us whose posts were moved here with the original posters feedback-its not how it looks
To be fair for those who did not like it no Sims game is fun without any EP’s. Can you imagine playing Sims 2 or 3 with just the base game? It would not be fun at all. So be patient and wait, we may end up pleasantly surprised by what is to come.
The base game is very indicative on the quality of future content we'll be seeing in TS4. If they can't even get the basics done correctly in the FOURTH iteration of the game released in 2014 (when pretty much everything worked without a flaw in TS2 and sometimes TS3), just imagine how the EPs will be.
Mobile developers shouldn't be in charge of a PC game as complex as The Sims, to be honest.
I am not understand why people are coming into the thread to question the feedback that was asked of by dev's to be given of players who did not buy the game yet and are playing for the free trial.
This thread is a feedback thread, not a discussion.
Posts that are telling people certain things would not be fun from sims 2 and sims 3 base game, be patient and wait, for what's to come don't belong in this thread. It's off topic and out of line. I don't want to post in a thread bickering about my feedback. I want to just give the feedback of my experience so the dev's read it. These customers aren't waiting for anything there is a reason why they haven't bought the game and they get try it. if they like sims 4 they should post if they don't like it they should post. If they have ideas on how to improve the situations they should post. We should have freedom to do so without being judged or told to be quiet and wait. i don't need people telling me because i didn't like the base game i should wait for the expansions. I liked sims 1, 2, and 3 base game and i didn't have to wait than for expansions to like the game. I'm not about to make exceptions for sims 4.
@Anavastia its because they were merging threads into here-so many discussions from simmers were moved here presumably to help. So be kind to those of us whose posts were moved here with the original posters feedback-its not how it looks
Meh, it's kind of not fair though because the discussion could easily over shadow the feedback. I wish they would just merge the posts and close the thread not merge the entire thread. Not that im against discussion but there are alot of feedback threads with discussion in them about the game dev's can comb through. I would like to post just the feedback and read it.
I turned it off and now the blurriness is gone. Thanks for the help.
Your welcome and good I'm glad it helped you. I had to mess around with the settings a bit myself. Like I tried the max settings and wondered why my game got blurry all of a sudden. So I finally realized it was that option. Figuring out the aging in the game is interesting too. Like you can just age your played Sims, your household Sims or everyone or no one at all. I do like the variety of aging with that. So happy Simming.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
The Good + Improved / Streamlined interface and camera controls + Improved / Streamlined Create a Sim + Improved / Streamlined Build Mode + More feedback about careers and split career paths + The social interactions are better + The skills system. More skills and you level up more naturally + The emotion system is okay, adds slightly to the game + Shorter load times + Piano. This is a staple Sims item and was noticeably absent from Sims 3 base game.
The Bad - No Open World / Small Lots. Just like SimCity, this is a game-breaking design choice and won't ever be fixed. It's probably a result of this game originally being designed for online play. - Serious lack of content. Not just it's the base game, there's a lot missing. - No cars. No cars you buy, no work carpool, no taxis or bicycles - No services - No high rises / apartments - Boring. I'm not sure why but it is. Watching my sim go about his/her daily life was much more enjoyable in Sims 3 for some reason. - Origin
The bad list is shorter but wins by far. I'll also say that I was really disappointed by the piecemeal content in Sims 3, and it's pretty obvious EA will do the same thing with Sims 4. The classic car fixer upper in Roaring Heights, teasing Open For Business features in Midnight Hollow, Business as Usual Bistro, and Island Paradise. Island Paradise was my favorite expansion for Sims 3 but the pathfinding is busted, making it freeze and unplayable almost 2 years after release unless you use mods. That's unacceptable.
I begrudgingly paid a lot for Sims 3 content because it was open world sims and it was great. However, I don't plan to give EA hundreds of my dollars again. Especially when it's so obvious how content is being held back. Like SimCity, this game suffers from a game-breaking design choice which is the small neighborhoods. I don't think any amount of free or paid expansion content will ever get me to buy Sims 4.
Well, I've played five hours of TS4 and here are my thoughts:
POSITIVES:
The sims look absolutely stunning and just as good in-game as they did in the demo. Good job!
The sims are a lot more lively, funny and social than they were in TS3. It's so nice to invite someone over and have that person immediately interact with your sims, rather than see them sit down and read a book or stand there staring at and laughing awkwardly with your sim for the better part of two hours.
The sims have real traits. The moodswings, the fact that their portraits change when they're upset, happy, etc., makes me feel as if I'm playing with characters with real personalities. I also "feel" their moods more, too! Like, when a sim is uncomfortable, uneasy, embarrassed, I feel uneasy, too, and I feel so relieved when I'm able to alleviate their stress.
I love the animations, like how the sims look when they're bored, eating, tired,etc. Seeing a sim's cheek move around as she's eating makes me giggle.
The charm of TS1 seems to have been brought back into the game. I can't tell if it's because of the interactions, the more cartoony aspect, the animations or what, but I felt a nice sense of nostalgia when playing it, like the first time I played TS1 and found the gameplay engaging. All I kept feeling was, "Yes! Back to basics! Back to the wacky characters, the interactions, the unpredictability!"
I was pleasantly surprised to see some of the objects included, such as the card game table. For the longest time playing TS3, I've been desperately wanting card games/casual games like this to be included, so I was happy to see stuff like this.
It's a lot easier to build houses the scale you want them to. I don't know why but in TS3, I was always making houses and rooms too small or too big. Something about Build Mode this time has made it easier for me to build houses the right size.
Additions to Build Mode (spandrels, roof decorations, etc.) are awesome!
The limited world was done a lot better than I expected. I've heard a lot of complaining about loading screens and the like, but I haven't really noticed them breaking immersion or annoying me all that much. Maybe it's because I'm so used to them from TS1 as they're exactly like in Hot Date.
The game loads, plays and saves super fast on highest settings, no lagging whatsoever.
NEGATIVES:
Please, please, PLEASE get rid of the ghost highlighting when you hover over a sim or object. It's not necessary and makes the game look cheap.
I found getting into the groove of things very confusing. For example, it took me awhile to figure out how to quit a job after I accidentally signed up for the wrong one.
The GUI has made it very difficult for me to keep track of things, especially in a 6+ sim household, because of the locations of some of the buttons and of how tiny some of the icons are. The portrait/school/work icons at the bottom are way too small.
No handyman means spending gobs of money to replace a really expensive item or taking the risk of repairing it.
Please bring back the progress bar and drop down menu for school/work. They would give you a passage of time and let you know when your sim would be coming home. Also, with the progress bar, you could see what affect your choices would have on your performance in real time. (For example, if you chose "sleep at work", you'd see your performance go down.) The dropdown menu was a lot easier to see than what you have now, which are tiny icons at the bottom of the screen that you have to click on for options.
Bad, bad move removing the carpool and schoolbus! Not only does it not feel as if the sims are going to work/school, in a large household, it makes it harder for me to keep track of when it's time for someone to leave.
You can't lock doors or assign beds to sims. Again, bad, bad move. This has taken the fun out of personalizing a room for each particular sim, especially based on age. What's the point in creating a teen or kids room if you can't designate who can sleep in it?
Careers from the past seem to be missing this time around or are limited compared to what they were in the past. I don't think I saw a medical career or part-time/slacker careers similar to what was in TS1 and TS3.
The lighting looks so dull and grey compared to the lighting in TS3.
I don't like the fact that there are no ceilings anymore in the game. It makes the rooms feel like they're on a TV soundstage that have the ceilings removed.
There are not enough community lots. I really hope that there's a Hot Date/Unleashed-like EP in the future where we get tons of community lots, because one jazz bar, a library and gym just aren't going to cut it.
I came across two really bad glitches--a) the "geek" glitch (where sims who aren't geeks wake up tense from not playing video games) b) the "bar ordering" glitch, where your sim keeps making order after order, costing you money.
I'm not understanding what the "whims" are for. In TS3, the whole point of fulfilling them was to earn lifetime points or just the satisfaction in achieving your lifetime goal, but in TS4 I'm really lost. I'm not saying there is no point, just saying that as a first timer, it's not as clearly spelled out as it was in TS3.
I have noticed that none of my families have crossed paths at any of the community lots; all they meet are townies at the parks, gym, library and club. If player made families can't meet each other, this would not be a good thing.
These are my thoughts on the game so far--off on the right foot, but there's a lot of room for improvement. If I had to pick which issues to work on ASAP, it would be:
Make GUI less confusing and easier to read. Increase portraits at bottom. Bring back progress bar and drop down menu for school/work like in TS3, showing how much time has elapsed from when sim left home and when they'll be back from school/work shift.
Bring back carpool/school bus
Get rid of highlighting when hovering with mouse
Bring back lockable doors or assignable rooms so we can personalize them for our sims.
I finished downloading the The Sims 4 but when I clicked play, a pop-up came up and it said that I had already played the full 48 hours and I needed to enter an activation code. Is anyone else having this problem?
I've been a huge Simmer since around 2001 or so. I still remember my first family, the first time I ever played, the first time someone died, etc., etc. And, I still remember that really awesome feeling that Livin' Large added to the game - no EP has ever come close to being THAT exciting or THAT awesome since then... except maybe TS2 Seasons.
Over the years I made the progression to TS2, and then TS3, and why they both have the pros and cons, they were obvious and welcome improvements over TS1.
I've been reluctant to purchase TS4, mainly because I currently don't have a full-time job and feel that I have more important things to spend $60 on. But, a little part of me had been curious, "just because" it's The Sims. I was initially excited about the 48 hour free trial.
After waiting about 8 hours to download with my 3 Mbps connection, I fired it up. I've played about 3 hours so far... and here are my thoughts, unedited, from a fan for over a decade:
1. No body hair in CAS? Also, why only 3 personality traits? However, it was very easy to set relationships, which was nice.
2. The neighborhood needs to decide if it wants to be seamless or not. I have only played one family so far, but it seems to be like it's back to the old TS1/2 style of individual household play - which, if so, I am SO happy about! I missed that from TS3. They had made it very hard to play multiple families because the Story Progression made them die/have random babies/etc. without me wanting them to. But, I do miss just being able to go downtown to go shopping without all the loading.
3. NO DISHWASHERS?! Seriously, seems like a dumb thing to get upset over, but why would they remove this?? It's supposed to be a "life simulator" and to me, the cleaning/mundane tasks are part of life and I enjoyed managing them. Because, if you don't, just like in real life, bad/unfortunate things happened if you didn't (bugs, get sick, odors, etc.) The same goes for washers and dryers.
4. The camera - even when set to TS3 mode, I don't really think it works the way it used to. It's difficult to tilt to change the angle - and there is no manual control of that? Why was that removed? That was one of the greatest things in TS2/3, and now it's gone backwards. The default angle is dumb.
5. Why did they break edge scrolling? It's virtually impossible to edge scroll DOWN when in Build/Buy mode. I have yet to do it without having to use the arrow keys or clicking the right mouse button.
6. WHO DESIGNED THE UI? AND WHY DID THEY THINK IT WAS A GOOD IDEA!!? Seriously, for 14 years, having every control clustered in the bottom left corner made perfect sense. Why is the Sim panels/needs/skills, etc. SO FAR AWAY over on the right side?? Especially with so many people having widescreen monitors these days. And to go all the way up to the top corner to change to Build/Buy Mode or switch floors???? WHY!? TS3 had the UI perfected, why change it? Also, the icons are far too small and not very intuitive, so I have no idea what they mean and have to wait for the tool tips to come up.
7. Why no more grocery shopping? Or tabletop telephones? Or newspaper?!
8. There is a huge lack of objects in Build/Buy Mode, including the lack of Create-A-Style. That was such a wonderful addition to TS2 (I think?) and built upon in TS3 and really made it great to be able to customize EVERYTHING! Like, what can't I change the color of the doors?? And only 2 styles of carpet? Really?
I could keep going, but I'll stop because you probably get the idea. I'd say my biggest gripes are #6, 5, and 4, in that order. And, unless I suddenly fall in love with the game between now and Monday morning when my trial ends, I really don't think that I will be buying TS4. Unless it drops to maybe $30.
I want to like TS4, and I understand that a base game can't come with all the features of the previous game after 10+ expansion packs. But this feels like such a huge downgrade, and I think the game has lost some of its original charm.
I suppose the current generation of "tweens" and teens, who never knew TS1 or 2, are fine with it, but as a hard core fan, and I know there are TONS of them out there, I feel very disappointed and neglected by EA/Maxis/Origin/whatever the heck they want to call themselves today.
I was really hoping that my disappointment over the failure of the SimCity relaunch 2 years ago would be made up by TS4 ... but sadly, I don't think it will be.
...is it weird that I'm feeling so depressed over a computer game? It feels like a part of me/my childhood has died, and they have tried to reincarnate it - and did a lousy job.
Think of it this way, It took people MONTHS to realize that theres more missing to this so called "Base Game" and it only took you 48 hours. So Kudos to you
> @EAfan99 said: > Think of it this way, It took people MONTHS to realize that theres more missing to this so called "Base Game" and it only took you 48 hours. So Kudos to you
Took me less than that ... I've only played for about 3 hours!
> @sunman502 said: > The things that I wonder why were left out of Sims 4, and shouldn't be are laptops, and laundry stuff like clothes lines, washer and dryers.
I agree about the laptops! Especially since there are several careers/goals/lifetime wants (whatever they're calling them now) about technology.
I remember how many YEARS people begged and clamored for washers & dryers and a laundry system that worked (not just 3rd party mods to have them sit in your home, but didn't function), and now they take it away! I can deal with the lack of pets/weather, because those both weren't part of the original base games. But this is just sad.
Coming back here, a lot of people have the same issues with the game and I see similar threads being made all the time. EA has not addressed what they are going to do from here on out, so I don't see anyone stop making them.
I really hope the sims team give us detailed information on what their upcoming plans are. They hide information likes they're the CIA, just let us know your plans, were the fans FFS.
> @MasonGamer said: > As a new Fan I'm hoping most of those things return bigger and some how better than before.... > I love the new UI, I hated the blue cornered one...
But it's so spread out and makes no sense! They could have changed the color if they wanted to get away from the blue. I seriously feel "lost" trying to figure out how to play.
> @sam123 said: > Coming back here, a lot of people have the same issues with the game and I see similar threads being made all the time. EA has not addressed what they are going to do from here on out, so I don't see anyone stop making them. > > I really hope the sims team give us detailed information on what their upcoming plans are. They hide information likes they're the CIA, just let us know your plans, were the fans FFS.
If anyone has also played the new Simcity ... there have been no updates, comments, or any info on the future of the game for MONTHS. It's like they gave up.
I seriously don't know how they could have messed up this game so badly. Did they just take random people off the street and throw them into a room and had them start coding this game? It's almost like the people who designed and created it have never played the game before, and never made an attempt to, either.
Comments
Before I started to play the game I went and found a bunch of mods that I thought that I should have in my game. My list of mods in 2 and 3 are huge so I figured before I played 4 I may as well get started on what I thought I needed.
The first Sims I played was Don Lothario and the Caliente’s. Nina went to cook and she caught on fire. I was like oh crap and could not stop laughing. (I am not saying I laughed because it was funny she was on fire, I laughed because of the learning to play the new game , like if you remember the first times you played and were like oh no ! So it was a I am having fun laugh.) She did not die thank goodness or I would have been upset if she would have. She was one of my favorites in 2 and 3. I went and found a cheat so her cooking skill would go up some and then it was great. She cooked all of the meals then. Then she got pregnant with Don and had twins. I seem to have a twin glitch because every single time a Sims gets pregnant in my game the ending is twins.
The game-play itself was not so bad; it took a while to get the hang of things like skill books and writing. Careers I don’t really understand yet but I am sure that once I play long enough it will be easy enough to understand.
I think when it gets more expansion packs this is going to be a fun game
Things I loved
They did bring back some of the humor. (my sim told a joke and was like laughing at herself because she was funny)
Skilling up was fun
No toddlers
Gardening
Fishing
Things I did not like
No cars
To many twins
Gardening (the plants take forever to grow but I did just find a mod for it and I found a gardener npc mod to water the plants and weed them)
Building sucks. It just sucks I hate it.
To be fair for those who did not like it no Sims game is fun without any EP’s. Can you imagine playing Sims 2 or 3 with just the base game? It would not be fun at all. So be patient and wait, we may end up pleasantly surprised by what is to come.
Error 1 is: “We could not activate The Sims 4 (Origin Game Time) on this computer using the Origin Account you provided. Please locate your product key to activate the game using your Origin Account”
Error 2 is: “Game Time Error: Looks like you’ve already enjoyed Game Time on this account and computer. You’ll be able to continue where you left off when you purchase the game.”
I have spoken with the online chat help with the EA support centre and have been told to wait and check on the forums if it has been resolved.
Hopefully this gets fixed soon, please reply/message me if you get any updates on this being fixed as I would love to try out the Sims 4!
The base game is very indicative on the quality of future content we'll be seeing in TS4. If they can't even get the basics done correctly in the FOURTH iteration of the game released in 2014 (when pretty much everything worked without a flaw in TS2 and sometimes TS3), just imagine how the EPs will be.
Mobile developers shouldn't be in charge of a PC game as complex as The Sims, to be honest.
I am not understand why people are coming into the thread to question the feedback that was asked of by dev's to be given of players who did not buy the game yet and are playing for the free trial.
This thread is a feedback thread, not a discussion.
@SimGuruBChick
Posts that are telling people certain things would not be fun from sims 2 and sims 3 base game, be patient and wait, for what's to come don't belong in this thread. It's off topic and out of line. I don't want to post in a thread bickering about my feedback. I want to just give the feedback of my experience so the dev's read it. These customers aren't waiting for anything there is a reason why they haven't bought the game and they get try it. if they like sims 4 they should post if they don't like it they should post. If they have ideas on how to improve the situations they should post. We should have freedom to do so without being judged or told to be quiet and wait. i don't need people telling me because i didn't like the base game i should wait for the expansions. I liked sims 1, 2, and 3 base game and i didn't have to wait than for expansions to like the game. I'm not about to make exceptions for sims 4.
On that note of additional content, if you made another EP similar to Makin Magic back from the first sims, I would preorder an EP like that. I've been waiting to see another EP like that ever since moving on to Sims 2.
TS1 was great fun without any EPs. So was TS2. I never played TS3 base-game only. I think after three previous iterations, TS4's base game seems pretty light considering all the stuff it's missing from those previous versions (open world, CASt, fully fledged life-stages and genetics).
I played with the Landgraabs again. The minuses:
‘This sim is too far away to call over.’ Ugh. Really? So I can’t call the visitor over? Annoying. I wanted Nancy to flirt with the visitor in front of her husband to see how smart these sims really are.
No run here or skip here options. I don’t remember if those were in TS3 but I quite liked them in TS2. Yes, I know they were dependent on a sim’s personality, but that was why I always made active sims; so they could run across the giant lot and not take forever to walk there. Another reason I much prefer the TS2 personality system. The best would have been TS2 personality system + some traits to flesh out the sim/take the place of the interests. And now we have even less traits. Wow, these sims sure have big personalities.
I miss the fourth speed button from TS3. The one that sped thru all the queued actions. That was a good addition to TS3. I find myself missing it even in TS2.
The auto handwashing after using the toilet is annoying. These are not neat sims. Yes, in real life I would find no handwashing after toilet use absolutely appalling, but come on. I’ve got things to do.
The music playing constantly in live mode. Ugh. I tried it for awhile before realizing it was driving me bonkers. Muted.
So yup, all clothes are available to everyone. Argh. And then the weird thing happened. Nancy was asleep. I directed her to ‘plan outfits’ on her dresser. Then I switched over to Geoffrey to direct him to do some actions. After a little while I got a loading screen that dropped me in CAS…with Geoffrey. I thought, Oops, I chose the wrong sim. Exited CAS, switched to Nancy, changed her outfit, and then I thought, wait a minute…I directed her to plan her outfit again, switched over to Geoffrey and sure enough, it plopped Geoffrey into CAS. So that wasn’t my error. The game brings up CAS for whichever is the active sim, not the sim I’ve chosen to switch outfits. I tried it with a mirror to make sure it wasn’t just the dresser and the same thing happened. Gotta say that is super annoying.
Every time I’ve loaded the lot, the walls are not the way I left them. Why don’t they stay down?
I haven’t played a child yet, but teens go to school from 8-3? Yeah, that’s more like real life, but I miss the 9-1 schedule so much because then they’d actually have FREE TIME to do things besides homework and tasks. I don’t know, maybe that’s accounting for the carpool/traveling times to get there and back from the previous games.
Seriously, these emotions. Malcolm sat down for breakfast alone and went from being uncomfortable to happy to tense to sad during the same meal. That’s ridiculous.
So confused about the TS3 EP reward lights. I set some in the world and enabled the emotional auras. Then, hovering over the ‘disable emotional aura’ option, it told me the object wouldn’t provide any emotional moodlets unless viewed. Except there’s no option to ‘view’ it, so no idea how these work. I could look it up...but I don't care enough to bother.
Seeing a car drive by. That's just cruel. Though the tumbleweed and blowing dust in the distance was a nice touch. Too bad it wasn't in a place my sims could actually go.
I still miss the daily/lifetime relationship from TS2. And the numbers (-100/100 span). And how two sims could have different levels of relationship with one another. It just blows my mind that that feature was never carried over when it made the sims so much more interesting. Rarely do two people feel the same towards one another. The romance bar is a nice new feature, but doesn't make up for the lack of the previous, complicated and more interesting relationships that TS2 sims had.
The pluses:
Book descriptions. I want to know more about this Hergstrom place. I wish the rest of the game had this level of charm/humor/detail, but I know, I know, writing text is on a whole 'nother level compared to animating a sim to pick up a plate/take a baby bottle out of the fridge/open a car door/etc.
They can play The Sims Original Flavor on the computer! Brought back happy memories.
The Object music option. I like that. A lot of time I don't want to hear the other noise but I do want to hear them playing guitar.
The countdown to spoilage for leftovers in the fridge. That’s a nice feature.
Yay for adding a new skill to a sim’s skill panel right away, instead of after they’ve mastered level 1, which was how it worked in TS3 IIRC. I also love that you can just look at the skill panel to see how far along a sim is in a particular skill instead of having to actually get them doing that skill in order to see the progress bar above their head.
I doubt a lot of the features I'm missing will ever be included. So I might buy this game waaay down the line (I waited until Oct 2013 to give TS3 a try). Until then, I still have TS2!
~The aspiration system is not too bad. Having little goals for my sims to work towards to earn points was nice. ***oh, @molunchmonkey in your review you talked about the points. I found that if you click on the aspiration recorder thing in the top right corner (think it was right) you will have an icon to spend the points. It's like the lifetime reward points in S3, just a little more hidden.***
~The scenery is nice for all the background items (which will also be in the dislike in a moment)
~I like that my pregnant sim is no longer restricted from stuff simply because she's pregnant. It irks me in S3 some of the things pregnant sims can't do.
~On the subject of pregnant sims, the clothing TEN TIMES BETTER!!! Before mods, the ugly stuff they could be stuck with in S3 was frustrating.
~Babies as objects. I would like to be able to take my baby out of the house or heck even sit on the couch and watch TV while holding them
~The background we can't use. While it's pretty and the ferry boat and street car are cool additions, I wish they were usable
~CAS--I don't feel I have more control over my sims and how they look. That push pull thing...not working for me. In addition to that, what's up with the black block on the females eyes? HATE IT! Is that supposed to represent eyelashes? I don't understand why it's so prominent and no way to change (that I've found anyway)
~I found the relationships a bit strange. My sim is now married, but her first boyfriend still shows up under her relationship panel as boyfriend so guess she's a cheater. I've not found a break up option for him. (totally a user error thing on that I'm sure)
~The worlds. Small, very small, with little room for expansion without bulldozing stuff.
~Having to load game via Origin always. I rarely log into origin and would like to load my game without having to use that system. Even with my DD for S3, I'm not forced to go through origin to play my game.
~I feel like there's a lot going on on the screen. You have your sim in the left corner with their mood of the moment. In the right there's all the stuff related to the sim with jobs, aspiration, motives, etc. Up in the top you have more stuff with the camera and all the notifications and such then there's that box in the very middle. It just seems like there's stuff everywhere.
~Multitasking while I do enjoy some of the things they can do at a time, it seems other things take much longer. An example: For my sim to eat a meal, by herself it takes her nearly 2 hours to finish. I don't get that. It's like she stopped to have a conversation with herself or just sits there for a while like she's waiting on something else to do.
~Build mode. Not working for me. I think because it's similar to the blueprint feature that was introduced in S3 (something I have issues with still) that It's taking me a bit longer to get the hang of it, and because I have issues with the camera controls. This is something that would take me time to figure out. However, with the size of the worlds, I'm not sure how much I'd build anyway it's much easier to just browse the gallery.
These are just my top reasons for like/dislike. I'm sure I'm leaving off something (bad memory) but here's my 2cents anyway.
Overall, to me S4 is fine if you like a goal oriented game. For the way *I* play the game, I feel it's more limiting. I'm a storyteller, and with the limits *I* feel the game has, it wouldn't allow me to tell stories the same way I do in S3. This is the base game so with future updates, EPs and/or GPs things could improve to a point where I'd be happy to hand over money for the game, but not right now.
@Anavastia its because they were merging threads into here-so many discussions from simmers were moved here presumably to help. So be kind to those of us whose posts were moved here with the original posters feedback-its not how it looks
https://twitter.com/sparkfairy1
Meh, it's kind of not fair though because the discussion could easily over shadow the feedback. I wish they would just merge the posts and close the thread not merge the entire thread. Not that im against discussion but there are alot of feedback threads with discussion in them about the game dev's can comb through. I would like to post just the feedback and read it.
The Good
+ Improved / Streamlined interface and camera controls
+ Improved / Streamlined Create a Sim
+ Improved / Streamlined Build Mode
+ More feedback about careers and split career paths
+ The social interactions are better
+ The skills system. More skills and you level up more naturally
+ The emotion system is okay, adds slightly to the game
+ Shorter load times
+ Piano. This is a staple Sims item and was noticeably absent from Sims 3 base game.
The Bad
- No Open World / Small Lots. Just like SimCity, this is a game-breaking design choice and won't ever be fixed. It's probably a result of this game originally being designed for online play.
- Serious lack of content. Not just it's the base game, there's a lot missing.
- No cars. No cars you buy, no work carpool, no taxis or bicycles
- No services
- No high rises / apartments
- Boring. I'm not sure why but it is. Watching my sim go about his/her daily life was much more enjoyable in Sims 3 for some reason.
- Origin
The bad list is shorter but wins by far. I'll also say that I was really disappointed by the piecemeal content in Sims 3, and it's pretty obvious EA will do the same thing with Sims 4. The classic car fixer upper in Roaring Heights, teasing Open For Business features in Midnight Hollow, Business as Usual Bistro, and Island Paradise. Island Paradise was my favorite expansion for Sims 3 but the pathfinding is busted, making it freeze and unplayable almost 2 years after release unless you use mods. That's unacceptable.
I begrudgingly paid a lot for Sims 3 content because it was open world sims and it was great. However, I don't plan to give EA hundreds of my dollars again. Especially when it's so obvious how content is being held back. Like SimCity, this game suffers from a game-breaking design choice which is the small neighborhoods. I don't think any amount of free or paid expansion content will ever get me to buy Sims 4.
POSITIVES:
NEGATIVES:
These are my thoughts on the game so far--off on the right foot, but there's a lot of room for improvement. If I had to pick which issues to work on ASAP, it would be:
Over the years I made the progression to TS2, and then TS3, and why they both have the pros and cons, they were obvious and welcome improvements over TS1.
I've been reluctant to purchase TS4, mainly because I currently don't have a full-time job and feel that I have more important things to spend $60 on. But, a little part of me had been curious, "just because" it's The Sims. I was initially excited about the 48 hour free trial.
After waiting about 8 hours to download with my 3 Mbps connection, I fired it up. I've played about 3 hours so far... and here are my thoughts, unedited, from a fan for over a decade:
1. No body hair in CAS? Also, why only 3 personality traits? However, it was very easy to set relationships, which was nice.
2. The neighborhood needs to decide if it wants to be seamless or not. I have only played one family so far, but it seems to be like it's back to the old TS1/2 style of individual household play - which, if so, I am SO happy about! I missed that from TS3. They had made it very hard to play multiple families because the Story Progression made them die/have random babies/etc. without me wanting them to. But, I do miss just being able to go downtown to go shopping without all the loading.
3. NO DISHWASHERS?! Seriously, seems like a dumb thing to get upset over, but why would they remove this?? It's supposed to be a "life simulator" and to me, the cleaning/mundane tasks are part of life and I enjoyed managing them. Because, if you don't, just like in real life, bad/unfortunate things happened if you didn't (bugs, get sick, odors, etc.) The same goes for washers and dryers.
4. The camera - even when set to TS3 mode, I don't really think it works the way it used to. It's difficult to tilt to change the angle - and there is no manual control of that? Why was that removed? That was one of the greatest things in TS2/3, and now it's gone backwards. The default angle is dumb.
5. Why did they break edge scrolling? It's virtually impossible to edge scroll DOWN when in Build/Buy mode. I have yet to do it without having to use the arrow keys or clicking the right mouse button.
6. WHO DESIGNED THE UI? AND WHY DID THEY THINK IT WAS A GOOD IDEA!!? Seriously, for 14 years, having every control clustered in the bottom left corner made perfect sense. Why is the Sim panels/needs/skills, etc. SO FAR AWAY over on the right side?? Especially with so many people having widescreen monitors these days. And to go all the way up to the top corner to change to Build/Buy Mode or switch floors???? WHY!? TS3 had the UI perfected, why change it? Also, the icons are far too small and not very intuitive, so I have no idea what they mean and have to wait for the tool tips to come up.
7. Why no more grocery shopping? Or tabletop telephones? Or newspaper?!
8. There is a huge lack of objects in Build/Buy Mode, including the lack of Create-A-Style. That was such a wonderful addition to TS2 (I think?) and built upon in TS3 and really made it great to be able to customize EVERYTHING! Like, what can't I change the color of the doors?? And only 2 styles of carpet? Really?
I could keep going, but I'll stop because you probably get the idea. I'd say my biggest gripes are #6, 5, and 4, in that order. And, unless I suddenly fall in love with the game between now and Monday morning when my trial ends, I really don't think that I will be buying TS4. Unless it drops to maybe $30.
I want to like TS4, and I understand that a base game can't come with all the features of the previous game after 10+ expansion packs. But this feels like such a huge downgrade, and I think the game has lost some of its original charm.
I suppose the current generation of "tweens" and teens, who never knew TS1 or 2, are fine with it, but as a hard core fan, and I know there are TONS of them out there, I feel very disappointed and neglected by EA/Maxis/Origin/whatever the heck they want to call themselves today.
I was really hoping that my disappointment over the failure of the SimCity relaunch 2 years ago would be made up by TS4 ... but sadly, I don't think it will be.
...is it weird that I'm feeling so depressed over a computer game? It feels like a part of me/my childhood has died, and they have tried to reincarnate it - and did a lousy job.
/endrant.
I love the new UI, I hated the blue cornered one...
My Mood:
> Think of it this way, It took people MONTHS to realize that theres more missing to this so called "Base Game" and it only took you 48 hours. So Kudos to you
Took me less than that ... I've only played for about 3 hours!
> Research my friend... Try it sometime.
What should I be researching?
Research what you were receiving and all that when trying out the Sims 4. XD
> The things that I wonder why were left out of Sims 4, and shouldn't be are laptops, and laundry stuff like clothes lines, washer and dryers.
I agree about the laptops! Especially since there are several careers/goals/lifetime wants (whatever they're calling them now) about technology.
I remember how many YEARS people begged and clamored for washers & dryers and a laundry system that worked (not just 3rd party mods to have them sit in your home, but didn't function), and now they take it away! I can deal with the lack of pets/weather, because those both weren't part of the original base games. But this is just sad.
I really hope the sims team give us detailed information on what their upcoming plans are. They hide information likes they're the CIA, just let us know your plans, were the fans FFS.
> As a new Fan I'm hoping most of those things return bigger and some how better than before....
> I love the new UI, I hated the blue cornered one...
But it's so spread out and makes no sense! They could have changed the color if they wanted to get away from the blue. I seriously feel "lost" trying to figure out how to play.
> Coming back here, a lot of people have the same issues with the game and I see similar threads being made all the time. EA has not addressed what they are going to do from here on out, so I don't see anyone stop making them.
>
> I really hope the sims team give us detailed information on what their upcoming plans are. They hide information likes they're the CIA, just let us know your plans, were the fans FFS.
If anyone has also played the new Simcity ... there have been no updates, comments, or any info on the future of the game for MONTHS. It's like they gave up.
I seriously don't know how they could have messed up this game so badly. Did they just take random people off the street and throw them into a room and had them start coding this game? It's almost like the people who designed and created it have never played the game before, and never made an attempt to, either.