I don't have Sims 4, and I don't see myself ever getting it on PC because the moment they announced no toddlers. It was to late for me. It didn't matter if they would add toddlers later on. They lost me the moment the base was released without them. I was going to settle with everything else not added that I loved from the previous Sims games because I thought the content and gamplay would make up for it. I believed I could work around it. But finding out that toddlers weren't included (not to mention no news on them for two years) was the last straw.
I am a family player and only create Sims that'll end up (or already have pre made) with a family. I enjoy seeing them go through each life stage. It has been almost three years and I still don't want the game. If any foundation to something comes out weak and empty, anything following it will follow along with it because it is always the first one that sets the example. The best way to become a good foundation if it starts out empty is to start over. The reason why I can't get into 4 is because the base didn't set that example for me. Therefore, no matter how temporarily cool and amazing the EPs or GPs will look on the outside. it'll always have that empty feeling on the inside.
This is just me, though. I've been playing Sims since 2008 and for the first time I said "no" to a Sims iteration. I do like a lot of things about Sims 4, and the toddlers are super cute. I don't hate the game, but I also don't love it neither. I told myself last year that I would be happy getting the game (on sale) on console if it ever came out (to me it was worth a console title). Whelp! I hope they make the console one really good. It'll have toddlers so that's a plus.
Anyone with a working brain and who has played the previous games will see how the franchise has been destroyed because of money. We got all of the content from Get Together, City living, the Vampire pack, the bowling SP in only ONE EP from TS2.
People don't realise that this game is a gold mine for EA. They can do whatever they want, cut how many corners they want because this is the only life simulation game out there. It's not like EVERY other game in the world who has competition and has to improve and exceed after every new game just to be on the market.
I took a hiatus on the Sims for a couple of months but when I came back to see what's changed or if there were any improvements, I was a wee bit frustrated. I did buy the vampire pack because I'm a fan of that kind of stuff and they did a beautiful job on the vamps themselves. I wish there were more lots in Forgotten Hollow but when I brought this up, others thought it was the best choice available to tell me I was being greedy because I wasn't happy being confined to 5 lots of something other than sunny Pleasantville that has an average of 20 lots per world. (Mind you that's still very small overall in my opinion.)
But the frustration is the actual game-play bugs. For me at least it feels as if it's gotten worse. My Sims get stuck in the pool (pools are a big thing in my game, I do a lot with them). The clock is all messed up, if I pause it, it still keeps going for a good while as my sims bob their heads and I can't do anything with the game during this time. I actually started laughing because I remember the big speil about how things we loved from previous installments were cut so the game can run more efficiently on the not-so-high end computers.
Anyway, my heart goes out to the niche players. I feel you, I'm a builder and it would be nice if we could get a build pack once in a while like we did in previous games. But I doubt that will even be a glimmer in their eye as they seem to have trouble keeping up with the traditional players' demands. I can already see it if they did do that (create a build pack), most players would complain because it's not something many are interested in and builders are on the bottom of concern at the moment with this iteration of the Sims.
People don't realise that this game is a gold mine for EA. They can do whatever they want, cut how many corners they want because this is the only life simulation game out there. It's not like EVERY other game in the world who has competition and has to improve and exceed after every new game just to be on the market.
I took a hiatus on the Sims for a couple of months but when I came back to see what's changed or if there were any improvements, I was a wee bit frustrated. I did buy the vampire pack because I'm a fan of that kind of stuff and they did a beautiful job on the vamps themselves. I wish there were more lots in Forgotten Hollow but when I brought this up, others thought it was the best choice available to tell me I was being greedy because I wasn't happy being confined to 5 lots of something other than sunny Pleasantville that has an average of 20 lots per world. (Mind you that's still very small overall in my opinion.)
But the frustration is the actual game-play bugs. For me at least it feels as if it's gotten worse. My Sims get stuck in the pool (pools are a big thing in my game, I do a lot with them). The clock is all messed up, if I pause it, it still keeps going for a good while as my sims bob their heads and I can't do anything with the game during this time. I actually started laughing because I remember the big speil about how things we loved from previous installments were cut so the game can run more efficiently on the not-so-high end computers.
Anyway, my heart goes out to the niche players. I feel you, I'm a builder and it would be nice if we could get a build pack once in a while like we did in previous games. But I doubt that will even be a glimmer in their eye as they seem to have trouble keeping up with the traditional players' demands. I can already see it if they did do that (create a build pack), most players would complain because it's not something many are interested in and builders are on the bottom of concern at the moment with this iteration of the Sims.
(Btw Crueltivity, I agree with what you stated.)
I agree with this message 100% , & I am a Gothic type player as well, I Luv it,
When I opened the game last, the sims still drink tons of water, wash dishes in the bathroom, eat standing up and ignore my commands...which is why this game is now demoted to the laptop while I enjoy an Origin-less Sims 3 on my pc.
I'm not happy with The Sims 4. I just played The Sims 2 for an hour & gameplay wise I find it so much better than The Sims 4. The many Sim to Sim interactions, different interactions. Not the same ones painted over with a different title.
I generally like the Sims 4, but the small twitches some people here have mentioned are also problems for me. Sims not doing the commands given and in particular, taking the money for a cake then not actually making it, which is an issue for the poorer sim families. I'm also fed up with going to a house to find that all the sims there have really depleted key needs (food/bladder/energy) and that kids have not gone to school/adults to work on time in my absence.
I think not everything is as intuitive as in previous games (although I did not really like the open world of sims 3, which I think is an unpopular opinion, and may be because Sims 3 almost killed one PC and really didn't work right on the other). I have had to google a lot of things to find out how to do them :/
I would have loved more space to build in the Vampire neighbourhood. I don't like complex houses, because they make big families more troublesome to keep an eye on, and so the big gothic manors are not my cup of tea. I would like maybe six or seven blank lots here to build on.
I loved Sims 2 and it will always be dear to me but I think over the years I have come to expect glitches, bugs and weird moments. THe only one that has really irked me so far was when one of my sims physically disappeared. He still had interactions and apparently finished his homework but was completely invisible and then his house would not load. I had to repair the game to get him to show up. I have no custom content and I have had this game a week, so that's not the best start.
Overall the twitches are small enough not to destroy the game for me. But it makes me wary about buying other add on content :/
I am sorry to see that others are still having problems with their games, I still play Sims 1 to 4 as well as the others like Medieval & Sim Stories ones as well, but Yes My Favorite one would have to be Sims 2 out of all of them, I do like the Sims 3 as well, but the chars in Sims 2 make the game more real for Me as far as the way the Sims look with CC as well as no CC, and the way they act in the game is just priceless for Me, I do hope that others can find a way to keep playing their games and I hope you all Continue to add to this Message page, thanks for sharing, much appreciated, I made this thread in hopes that what our problems are with the Sim Franchise, they will read this thread and say oh ya we need to fix things, thanks again.:)
There's a lot I like about Sims 4 for why I still play it but similarly for everything I like there are like 5 things I don't like. The worlds are so small! The GTW world only has 4 lots, how disappointing. I don't mind not having the same world customization as previous games if the worlds are made BIGGER.
Next gameplay still sucks. I look forward to new stuff just for more things to do. Glad pets are coming out but the game has still felt empty after an EP, I feel it will be the same. When I replay Sims 2 and Sims 3 there is just so much to do even with little EPs. My sims all feel the exact same and I have to heavily customise them for any type of personality that I use my imagination for.
Sims 4 is also supposed to have new innovative stuff but that innovation isn't always in the right areas - cough - build mode - cough- giveusmorestuffforbuilding - cough-
Anyone with a working brain and who has played the previous games will see how the franchise has been destroyed because of money. We got all of the content from Get Together, City living, the Vampire pack, the bowling SP in only ONE EP from TS2.
I agree, it seems they are separating Everything into single packs to try and rake in the dough, it just frustrates Me that the stuff I use is hardly in the game at all, I have to put up with the sunny happy stuff , instead of My Gothic foggy gloomy stuff I Luv for My games, I am Gothic see Me Gloom & Doom in My games,
I resumed playing after a long break. My sim is a single woman astronaut who will eventually open a space-themed restaurant. She's not interested in love. However, in the past 24-sim-hours she has had no less than 5 men knocking on her door, wanting to chat. A couple of them already have girlfriends (and want relationship advice). If she politely tells them to leave they do things like phone her at 1am when she's sleeping, trying to get her to go to parties.
EA - serious question: How exactly is this supposed to be fun gameplay?
My opinion on TS4 is somewhere in the middle. I used to hate it, then I came back later when there was enough DLC (and finally toddlers!) to get some real entertainment out of this game and I guess you could say I've "learned" to play it and enjoy it for what it is. The thing is, 3 years after launch it's still not much and I'm afraid it's time to accept additional content won't necessarily bring in more depth into this game. There are days I'm able to immerse myself in TS4 for hours and there are days I angrily exit the game after 10 minutes because every little thing I'm usually able to ignore starts irritating me again. I can never be sure how it's gonna be when I sit down to play, which is really upsetting because I don't have much time for games to begin with so when I do I'd like to really engage myself.
I guess it's just "meh" to me. It's good enough, yes, but it's not amazing and it'll never be. TS4 requires a lot of imagination from the player, if you're not willing to tell stories in your head all the time as you play it's extremely boring and empty. Like many of us, I've fallen into the trap of buying new content in hopes of the gameplay getting richer and it just doesn't happen.
I don't know, I'm just kind of sad to see this franchise end up the way it did.
Despite knowing that a lot of things would be missing from the base game, I was still very excited for TS4's release. I bought the eighty dollar pack because I just had to have everything. Ever since then, it has been a fruitless quest to try to get something out of my initial investment. Each pack, I keep hoping that this might be the one that brings the game to life for me. Sadly, that moment hasn't happened.
This is the first version of the game where I haven't actually played very much. Instead, I've taken to telling myself a story. I spend time fiddling with CC, decorating, setting up shots, then taking lots of pictures and writing imagined dialogue.
In previous iterations, I took loads of pictures as well. However, scenes happened spontaneously, through actual game play. I didn't need to create a story because the game created the story for me. I watched my Sims go about their lives and, eventually, a story always unfolded on its own (with a little tweaking here and there). It was fun to watch personalities clash, love matches made, children born, teens going through growing pains, children creating friendships that lasted a lifetime. These were the things that happened for me in the older games.
Up to now, I don't get that same type of enjoyment out of TS4. I still don't know what toddlers are truly like because I find it difficult getting to the part where children will be born to the main family in my game. I'm unable to play for the length of time that is required to have a couple organically fall in love, court, get married, and begin to have their family. I just can't stay interested long enough.
With the story that I'm telling myself now, perhaps I will eventually get there. Perhaps, by that point, I may begin to appreciate the game. Yet, if I have to get to a certain life stage (toddlers/Pets) in order to begin enjoying the game play, that tells me that the game has failed. At least, it has failed in my case.
I realize that my experience is not the same as everyone else. However, it is the one that is most important to me. That goes without saying, yes? And for me, so far, TS4 is falling down on the job. Everything that I needed to make this game playable (that is, enjoyable) has been missing:
individuality, personality traits that mean something, quirkiness, lifelong aspirations, unique character interactions, genuine emotional responses, a Sim's sense of connection to the world and other Sims, fun careers, interesting "chance cards" with genuine consequences and rewards, activities, places to go, customization, exploration, the ability to pick up stakes and begin anew with another family in an entirely new world (not neighborhood, world!). All of those things are missing.
I keep waiting and hoping for this to be corrected. Until then, I keep plugging along, telling my story to entertain myself and, of course, booting up TS2 or TS3 when I actually want to play a game, rather than tend to a beautiful, yet, very static dollhouse.
When TS4 was in development, I had hoped for a game that would surpass the ones that came before. I hoped for a leap forward in the way that TS2 was a huge leap from TS, and that TS3 (in some ways) was a leap forward from TS2. I didn't even get that. Instead, TS4 was two giant steps backward. So many things were sacrificed for so little in return. For example, if we've gone back to a closed world again, why are objects so blocky and infantile? Why, when I have my Sims look upward and I try to take a picture of the sky, do I actually see the edge of the world and a band of clouds instead of a beautiful sky?
This should not be happening. But it is what it is. I'll keep on hoping for better. Hopefully, one day I'll find it. If not in this generation of the game, maybe in the next.
Both my thoughts and feelings: Sims 4 has some good points but the terrible lack of choices for players to be creative keeps ruining it for me. Something new comes out and I play for a while quite happily, then all my enthusiasm wanes because I can't create the way I want and need to.
In The Sims 3, when a grown-up heir took over the home after the parents died, they (and their spouse) always redecorated. I could change everything to suit the new family. In The Sims 4, it takes me hours of searching to find any swatches at all that look right together - and I usually end up giving up in frustration.
This game will never work for me until I can create builds and customize clothes the way I used to. It was at least 50% of the game's enjoyment for me. Colour swatches are simply inadequate. When I find a colour I like, the texture is boring. When I find a texture I can live with, the colours are totally off. This is just unacceptable after 17 years of Sims. Lack of creativity for players and builders is killing the Sims 4 for me.
Don't even get me started on the small neighbourhoods and tiny lots - none of which I can do anything about. I have houses that I cannot even stand to look at because they had to go up as high as possible and down as far as possible (with basements) in order to have some yard space for a garden ferhevvinssakes.
And what happened to things like vacations? I like Granite Falls but come on! What about a luxury beach vacation where they can actually swim and play games and find treasures in the sand? What about a skiing trip to the mountains? What about visiting places like there are in World Adventures? After 3 years we have one option: camping. Gee wiz.
I just want to say that I am not happy bout this so called Eco Friendly Stuff Pack , and here is why> Because it is Not a Eco Friendly Stuff pack, it is however a Laundry Stuff Pack, so I am wondering why I even bothered to Vote when all along it was going to Be a Laundry Stuff Pack, I may be just letting out My Frustrations bout it, but this is just lame to Me that they said they were going to make a Eco Friendly Stuff pack, when in fact it is Not one at all, Sorry but that is how I feel bout that so called pack, I may or May not even buy it at this point, cause I feel it is just a insult to the Real Eco Friendly people out there, like it is a slap in the face to them, I do not mean to offend anyone, but that is just how I feel bout it, sorry.
I just want to say that I am not happy bout this so called Eco Friendly Stuff Pack , and here is why> Because it is Not a Eco Friendly Stuff pack, it is however a Laundry Stuff Pack, so I am wondering why I even bothered to Vote when all along it was going to Be a Laundry Stuff Pack, I may be just letting out My Frustrations bout it, but this is just lame to Me that they said they were going to make a Eco Friendly Stuff pack, when in fact it is Not one at all, Sorry but that is how I feel bout that so called pack, I may or May not even buy it at this point, cause I feel it is just a insult to the Real Eco Friendly people out there, like it is a slap in the face to them, I do not mean to offend anyone, but that is just how I feel bout it, sorry.
Yes I find it odd that laundry was labeled as an Eco Friendly main attraction. Renewable energy and water wells (off grid living), canning, etc were along the lines of such, but laundry just seems more like a simple home-utilities pack and really has nothing to do with Eco living in of itself. I mean you can take an eco conscious approach to doing laundry but it's not what most people think about when you say Eco Friendly. The whole thing was weird to me.
I just want to say that I am not happy bout this so called Eco Friendly Stuff Pack , and here is why> Because it is Not a Eco Friendly Stuff pack, it is however a Laundry Stuff Pack, so I am wondering why I even bothered to Vote when all along it was going to Be a Laundry Stuff Pack, I may be just letting out My Frustrations bout it, but this is just lame to Me that they said they were going to make a Eco Friendly Stuff pack, when in fact it is Not one at all, Sorry but that is how I feel bout that so called pack, I may or May not even buy it at this point, cause I feel it is just a insult to the Real Eco Friendly people out there, like it is a slap in the face to them, I do not mean to offend anyone, but that is just how I feel bout it, sorry.
Yes I find it odd that laundry was labeled as an Eco Friendly main attraction. Renewable energy and water wells (off grid living), canning, etc were along the lines of such, but laundry just seems more like a simple home-utilities pack and really has nothing to do with Eco living in of itself. I mean you can take an eco conscious approach to doing laundry but it's not what most people think about when you say Eco Friendly. The whole thing was weird to me.
Despite knowing that a lot of things would be missing from the base game, I was still very excited for TS4's release. I bought the eighty dollar pack because I just had to have everything. Ever since then, it has been a fruitless quest to try to get something out of my initial investment. Each pack, I keep hoping that this might be the one that brings the game to life for me. Sadly, that moment hasn't happened.
This is the first version of the game where I haven't actually played very much. Instead, I've taken to telling myself a story. I spend time fiddling with CC, decorating, setting up shots, then taking lots of pictures and writing imagined dialogue.
In previous iterations, I took loads of pictures as well. However, scenes happened spontaneously, through actual game play. I didn't need to create a story because the game created the story for me. I watched my Sims go about their lives and, eventually, a story always unfolded on its own (with a little tweaking here and there). It was fun to watch personalities clash, love matches made, children born, teens going through growing pains, children creating friendships that lasted a lifetime. These were the things that happened for me in the older games.
Up to now, I don't get that same type of enjoyment out of TS4. I still don't know what toddlers are truly like because I find it difficult getting to the part where children will be born to the main family in my game. I'm unable to play for the length of time that is required to have a couple organically fall in love, court, get married, and begin to have their family. I just can't stay interested long enough.
With the story that I'm telling myself now, perhaps I will eventually get there. Perhaps, by that point, I may begin to appreciate the game. Yet, if I have to get to a certain life stage (toddlers/Pets) in order to begin enjoying the game play, that tells me that the game has failed. At least, it has failed in my case.
I realize that my experience is not the same as everyone else. However, it is the one that is most important to me. That goes without saying, yes? And for me, so far, TS4 is falling down on the job. Everything that I needed to make this game playable (that is, enjoyable) has been missing:
individuality, personality traits that mean something, quirkiness, lifelong aspirations, unique character interactions, genuine emotional responses, a Sim's sense of connection to the world and other Sims, fun careers, interesting "chance cards" with genuine consequences and rewards, activities, places to go, customization, exploration, the ability to pick up stakes and begin anew with another family in an entirely new world (not neighborhood, world!). All of those things are missing.
I keep waiting and hoping for this to be corrected. Until then, I keep plugging along, telling my story to entertain myself and, of course, booting up TS2 or TS3 when I actually want to play a game, rather than tend to a beautiful, yet, very static dollhouse.
When TS4 was in development, I had hoped for a game that would surpass the ones that came before. I hoped for a leap forward in the way that TS2 was a huge leap from TS, and that TS3 (in some ways) was a leap forward from TS2. I didn't even get that. Instead, TS4 was two giant steps backward. So many things were sacrificed for so little in return. For example, if we've gone back to a closed world again, why are objects so blocky and infantile? Why, when I have my Sims look upward and I try to take a picture of the sky, do I actually see the edge of the world and a band of clouds instead of a beautiful sky?
This should not be happening. But it is what it is. I'll keep on hoping for better. Hopefully, one day I'll find it. If not in this generation of the game, maybe in the next.
That is why I have not played Mine in months due to boredom with My game, Even with the Vampires and the Toddler's, I just can not make Myself stay in My TS4 game cause it makes Me fall asleep it really does, I would be sitting in My chair trying to get something done in My game, and just find Myself waking up later in My chair wondering what the Heck just happened, then I turn off My computer and go to bed, With My Previous Sim Games I could not fall asleep at all cause Everything in My games made Me want to keep at it, I have bought Every single Pack so far for The Sims 4 in hopes that I will get more stuff that I use for My type of game play, but so far not to much in that game to keep Me Interested with it, I do hope more Gothic type stuff is added in the future, or for Me the Sims 4 would be a waste of My money for what I did buy so far, So I will hope that werewolves, witches ect also get added in among other Supernatural's , otherwise it was a waste for Me which I won't be happy bout.
I stopped playing TS4 for about 3 years, bought it at launch and then stopped playing a few months after. At that time, I just thought the game bored me. I know back then it was just the base game, it's not the no toddlers that bored me to death, because I didn't really like playing toddlers with TS3 (TS3 toddlers annoyed me). I guess at that time, I didn't feel like there is a point playing the game. It really did not offer much during launch. It got really repetitive after playing the game for a week.
I will admit, I find it interesting now. Seems that there are more things to do. And I honestly enjoy playing toddlers in this game more than the other titles. Of course, there are still other things that I find annoying in this game. But as of now, I still enjoy the game-- even excited for the new Cats and Dogs EP.
Games these days have less depth (well, either that or people just complain more), and thus at some point one might find boring and pointless. It's natural, I suppose. What you want to do is play another game-- or do some other interest, when that happens. Because companies (not only EA) will really not care what you think about their game. They know that whatever they do, players will always complain... errrr... express their dissatisfaction. So they stick to what will provide them more income instead.
I think I can sustain this interest with TS4 until they decide to do TS5. All because I took a break-- I think. lol
I play like 30 different games in all, so trust Me when I say I keep Myself busy when Sims 4 bores Me, I had made well over 2000 character creations in the Sims 4 game, so I guess My boredom could be that I got burnt out from all that work I did on it, I have logged in My game off and on since then just to see how My Creations are doing, but Until I get stuff that I can actually use in that game for My type of game play, I won't be staying in that game , and as far as complaining, I think I got a right to do so if I wish considering all the Money I have dished out thus far trying to get items I can use in My game , I just hope that they finally add in more Gothic type stuff soon, for now I will probably check out the Puppy's to see if I can make My fur Babies that are in My picture., have a nice day or evening which ever the case may be,
My biggest beefs right now are the blasted clock speeds and how long it takes to do anything. How long are they going to let speed 3 just roll the clock, but reset back to about half an hour after you first hit it? Nothing like trying to do some "speed reading", then having the clock (and any related skill it's boosting) reset. And how long does it take to, lets say, wash dishes? The actual dish washing part takes what, half an hour in game? And then the Sim stands there. And stands there. And stands there. Doesn't matter if you try to get them to do something else, they'll apparently get around to it when they're good and ready. I had a Sim miss an entire day of work, standing at the kitchen sink. No problem with the other Sim in the house, just the one. Ended up having to reset him. Does it with dishes, taking showers or baths, or just trying to get from point A to point B. Nice that they can't fix a game that's out, yet they can crank out a "free" phone app or twelve, and develop a version for 2 consoles...
Comments
I am a family player and only create Sims that'll end up (or already have pre made) with a family. I enjoy seeing them go through each life stage. It has been almost three years and I still don't want the game. If any foundation to something comes out weak and empty, anything following it will follow along with it because it is always the first one that sets the example. The best way to become a good foundation if it starts out empty is to start over. The reason why I can't get into 4 is because the base didn't set that example for me. Therefore, no matter how temporarily cool and amazing the EPs or GPs will look on the outside. it'll always have that empty feeling on the inside.
This is just me, though. I've been playing Sims since 2008 and for the first time I said "no" to a Sims iteration. I do like a lot of things about Sims 4, and the toddlers are super cute. I don't hate the game, but I also don't love it neither. I told myself last year that I would be happy getting the game (on sale) on console if it ever came out (to me it was worth a console title). Whelp! I hope they make the console one really good. It'll have toddlers so that's a plus.
But the frustration is the actual game-play bugs. For me at least it feels as if it's gotten worse. My Sims get stuck in the pool (pools are a big thing in my game, I do a lot with them). The clock is all messed up, if I pause it, it still keeps going for a good while as my sims bob their heads and I can't do anything with the game during this time. I actually started laughing because I remember the big speil about how things we loved from previous installments were cut so the game can run more efficiently on the not-so-high end computers.
Anyway, my heart goes out to the niche players. I feel you, I'm a builder and it would be nice if we could get a build pack once in a while like we did in previous games. But I doubt that will even be a glimmer in their eye as they seem to have trouble keeping up with the traditional players' demands. I can already see it if they did do that (create a build pack), most players would complain because it's not something many are interested in and builders are on the bottom of concern at the moment with this iteration of the Sims.
(Btw Crueltivity, I agree with what you stated.)
Amen to that.
I agree with this message 100% , & I am a Gothic type player as well, I Luv it,
I think not everything is as intuitive as in previous games (although I did not really like the open world of sims 3, which I think is an unpopular opinion, and may be because Sims 3 almost killed one PC and really didn't work right on the other). I have had to google a lot of things to find out how to do them :/
I would have loved more space to build in the Vampire neighbourhood. I don't like complex houses, because they make big families more troublesome to keep an eye on, and so the big gothic manors are not my cup of tea. I would like maybe six or seven blank lots here to build on.
I loved Sims 2 and it will always be dear to me but I think over the years I have come to expect glitches, bugs and weird moments. THe only one that has really irked me so far was when one of my sims physically disappeared. He still had interactions and apparently finished his homework but was completely invisible and then his house would not load. I had to repair the game to get him to show up. I have no custom content and I have had this game a week, so that's not the best start.
Overall the twitches are small enough not to destroy the game for me. But it makes me wary about buying other add on content :/
Next gameplay still sucks. I look forward to new stuff just for more things to do. Glad pets are coming out but the game has still felt empty after an EP, I feel it will be the same. When I replay Sims 2 and Sims 3 there is just so much to do even with little EPs. My sims all feel the exact same and I have to heavily customise them for any type of personality that I use my imagination for.
Sims 4 is also supposed to have new innovative stuff but that innovation isn't always in the right areas - cough - build mode - cough- giveusmorestuffforbuilding - cough-
I agree, it seems they are separating Everything into single packs to try and rake in the dough, it just frustrates Me that the stuff I use is hardly in the game at all, I have to put up with the sunny happy stuff , instead of My Gothic foggy gloomy stuff I Luv for My games, I am Gothic see Me Gloom & Doom in My games,
I resumed playing after a long break. My sim is a single woman astronaut who will eventually open a space-themed restaurant. She's not interested in love. However, in the past 24-sim-hours she has had no less than 5 men knocking on her door, wanting to chat. A couple of them already have girlfriends (and want relationship advice). If she politely tells them to leave they do things like phone her at 1am when she's sleeping, trying to get her to go to parties.
EA - serious question:
How exactly is this supposed to be fun gameplay?
I guess it's just "meh" to me. It's good enough, yes, but it's not amazing and it'll never be. TS4 requires a lot of imagination from the player, if you're not willing to tell stories in your head all the time as you play it's extremely boring and empty. Like many of us, I've fallen into the trap of buying new content in hopes of the gameplay getting richer and it just doesn't happen.
I don't know, I'm just kind of sad to see this franchise end up the way it did.
This is the first version of the game where I haven't actually played very much. Instead, I've taken to telling myself a story. I spend time fiddling with CC, decorating, setting up shots, then taking lots of pictures and writing imagined dialogue.
In previous iterations, I took loads of pictures as well. However, scenes happened spontaneously, through actual game play. I didn't need to create a story because the game created the story for me. I watched my Sims go about their lives and, eventually, a story always unfolded on its own (with a little tweaking here and there). It was fun to watch personalities clash, love matches made, children born, teens going through growing pains, children creating friendships that lasted a lifetime. These were the things that happened for me in the older games.
Up to now, I don't get that same type of enjoyment out of TS4. I still don't know what toddlers are truly like because I find it difficult getting to the part where children will be born to the main family in my game. I'm unable to play for the length of time that is required to have a couple organically fall in love, court, get married, and begin to have their family. I just can't stay interested long enough.
With the story that I'm telling myself now, perhaps I will eventually get there. Perhaps, by that point, I may begin to appreciate the game. Yet, if I have to get to a certain life stage (toddlers/Pets) in order to begin enjoying the game play, that tells me that the game has failed. At least, it has failed in my case.
I realize that my experience is not the same as everyone else. However, it is the one that is most important to me. That goes without saying, yes? And for me, so far, TS4 is falling down on the job. Everything that I needed to make this game playable (that is, enjoyable) has been missing:
individuality, personality traits that mean something, quirkiness, lifelong aspirations, unique character interactions, genuine emotional responses, a Sim's sense of connection to the world and other Sims, fun careers, interesting "chance cards" with genuine consequences and rewards, activities, places to go, customization, exploration, the ability to pick up stakes and begin anew with another family in an entirely new world (not neighborhood, world!). All of those things are missing.
I keep waiting and hoping for this to be corrected. Until then, I keep plugging along, telling my story to entertain myself and, of course, booting up TS2 or TS3 when I actually want to play a game, rather than tend to a beautiful, yet, very static dollhouse.
When TS4 was in development, I had hoped for a game that would surpass the ones that came before. I hoped for a leap forward in the way that TS2 was a huge leap from TS, and that TS3 (in some ways) was a leap forward from TS2. I didn't even get that. Instead, TS4 was two giant steps backward. So many things were sacrificed for so little in return. For example, if we've gone back to a closed world again, why are objects so blocky and infantile? Why, when I have my Sims look upward and I try to take a picture of the sky, do I actually see the edge of the world and a band of clouds instead of a beautiful sky?
This should not be happening. But it is what it is. I'll keep on hoping for better. Hopefully, one day I'll find it. If not in this generation of the game, maybe in the next.
In The Sims 3, when a grown-up heir took over the home after the parents died, they (and their spouse) always redecorated. I could change everything to suit the new family. In The Sims 4, it takes me hours of searching to find any swatches at all that look right together - and I usually end up giving up in frustration.
This game will never work for me until I can create builds and customize clothes the way I used to. It was at least 50% of the game's enjoyment for me. Colour swatches are simply inadequate. When I find a colour I like, the texture is boring. When I find a texture I can live with, the colours are totally off. This is just unacceptable after 17 years of Sims. Lack of creativity for players and builders is killing the Sims 4 for me.
Don't even get me started on the small neighbourhoods and tiny lots - none of which I can do anything about. I have houses that I cannot even stand to look at because they had to go up as high as possible and down as far as possible (with basements) in order to have some yard space for a garden ferhevvinssakes.
And what happened to things like vacations? I like Granite Falls but come on! What about a luxury beach vacation where they can actually swim and play games and find treasures in the sand? What about a skiing trip to the mountains? What about visiting places like there are in World Adventures? After 3 years we have one option: camping. Gee wiz.
I am not a happy Sims 4 camper.
Yes I find it odd that laundry was labeled as an Eco Friendly main attraction. Renewable energy and water wells (off grid living), canning, etc were along the lines of such, but laundry just seems more like a simple home-utilities pack and really has nothing to do with Eco living in of itself. I mean you can take an eco conscious approach to doing laundry but it's not what most people think about when you say Eco Friendly. The whole thing was weird to me.
Exactly thank you, I gave you a Awesome thanks,
Fantastic post. I agree with every word.
I will admit, I find it interesting now. Seems that there are more things to do. And I honestly enjoy playing toddlers in this game more than the other titles. Of course, there are still other things that I find annoying in this game. But as of now, I still enjoy the game-- even excited for the new Cats and Dogs EP.
Games these days have less depth (well, either that or people just complain more), and thus at some point one might find boring and pointless. It's natural, I suppose. What you want to do is play another game-- or do some other interest, when that happens. Because companies (not only EA) will really not care what you think about their game. They know that whatever they do, players will always complain... errrr... express their dissatisfaction. So they stick to what will provide them more income instead.
I think I can sustain this interest with TS4 until they decide to do TS5. All because I took a break-- I think. lol