I thought I preferred Ts4 over TS3 but that has recently changed. My rant below:
I found I'd been forcing myself to like the game, but I just couldn't for some reason (more on that later). In previous games I used to create one family and stick to them for generations because I grew attached to their story. In TS4, I have started new games countless times trying to find the "spark".
I have spent HOURS in CAS and build mode, making the perfect sims, houses and community lots. But when it came to gameplay...well, I tried multiple gameplay options and challenges including the history challenge (ruined by constant cell phone idle animations), and I started numerous legacies which never got past Gen 1. I just got bored with the families.
Ar first I thought it may have to do with the fact that sims did not have much to actually do in game (hobbies and such) so I bought every expansion, game pack and stuff pack. But that didn't help. So I tried rotational play to add some variety to my game, but with TS4 sims once you play a sim you have played them all: their personality is just the same regardless of their traits. It's like they are on some kind of medication to make them all happy and smiley. Even evil sims are all happy and friendly most of the time.
I have also tried mods to spice up my game but no mod can address the issues I have with the game.
So I reached this painful conclusion: for me, the sims 4 is like a Faberge egg: beautiful on the outside but empty inside. It's great for creating stunning sims easily and also great builds (if you don't mind the flat terrain), it's even good for picture (staged) storytelling. But if you're into actually playing the sims and telling real stories l: it's boring, limiting and frustrating. Sadly, I doubt any of these problems will be addressed in the future.
So I went back to Ts2 (yes TS2) and, even though I still liked it felt kind of limited too. It has not aged well.
I was never very much into TS3 back in the day because i had a plum computer at that moment, and the game was too laggy. Anyway. I still purchased all EPs back then (except ITF and Supernatural, since I don't care for those). So I decided to give it another try: and I'm having so much fun! There is so much to do! And my sim actually behave differently depending on their traits, they even get different wishes. It's such a little thing that we took for granted in previous games but it's absent in TS4. Anyway Truth is: I still like TS4 art style better, and TS4 CAS feels superior (but the color wheel and patterns partially make up for that). TS3 build mode is not as bad as I remembered and there are actually some features (such as foundations) that work better in TS3 than TS4. As far as the gameplay goes, there is only one thing tS4 does better: multitasking. It's the only thing I've found myself missing.
My game is still somewhat laggy (which I don't understand since I have a very powerful gaming computer with 20GB RAM and a dedicated Nvidia Graphic Card GTX 960), but I can live with that because it's the first time in years that I'm actually having fun with a sims game
I'd advice to get nrass errortrap. I believe it is this mod that removes cars, resets stuck sims and pets and turn off uneased electronics basically removing everything that causes the game to lag. And yes Sims 3 spawns a ton of cars and it keeps adding so that also causes the game to lag.
As for sims 4 I must say I haven't missed Cast as much but I guess that is because clothing options aren't as hideous as the presets from Sims 3 lol XD
Am I the only one thinking about going back to Sims 3? Don't get me wrong, the clothes and graphics in Sims 4 are far superior, and I absolutely love the emotions thing. But the truth is, the expansions are so disappointing. If you've purchased every expansion so far like I did, you've spent $234 over the last 2 years. For this, you have a handful of new plants (gardens), a spa, Halloween costumes, a couple of new furniture pieces (kids room), and the option to have parties, which you already had before. Does that sound like $234 worth?
You don't have toddlers, pets, or seasons. You have one vacation destination. $200 is a lot of money on a game. With such extremely disappointing game packs, I'm going back to Sims 3. At least the expansion packs were more than 5 new outfits and more furniture. Am I the only one?
@angelbabyfur A lot of simmers haven't just thought about it, they've gone to Sims 3. Myself included. I gave up on 4 after playing for a month. 4 is becoming a mobile app where you buy those in game purchases.
@nickibitsward It really is. When you look back at 3, those expansions were well worth the money. University, travel, seasons, pets... now it seems like I'm paying $40 for game features that should have been there all along, you know? Maybe Sims 5 will be better. Who knows.
I have not gone back to 3, but I did quit playing 4 for awhile after my sim lived in a ghost town (literally), I just got super depressed about it. I didn't play a lot of sims 2, but sims 4 the npc is just a walking nothing. They seem to have no life outside of the played sim. They never have children on their own.
They really need to bring back the free will of 3, sims move in and out, have kids etc. it just felt more alive than this static game.
I'm not hoping that sims 5 is better or that some expansion is going to fix all this now, I'm hoping someone else will make a competing product to the sims franchise.
All the sims games have had multi-tasking, they just took it to another level in TS4. It does make the sims move more naturally in some cases but personally I hope that if there's ever a TS5 they'll rethink the system. It's one of the reasons for the small, closed lots and I much prefer open world. If not open world, at least open neighborhoods.
Second the system appears to be the reason they're having difficulty adding content to the game. It's one of the reasons they didn't make babies that weren't tied to cribs and why there are no toddlers. It's also why it takes sims ages to eat, why they won't finish tasks they're assigned, and why maids won't always clean and employees won't always do their jobs - those sims are constantly looking for additional actions to perform so that it looks like they're multitasking.
So IMO it's cool, but requires way too many trade-offs that don't make it worth it to me.
The Sims
Where are we going, and why am I in this hand basket?!
I prefer TS4 over TS3, but I don't think that makes TS3 worse or any less of a game, than TS4. They're both great games, TS4 is just more enjoyable for me to play.
All the sims games have had multi-tasking, they just took it to another level in TS4. It does make the sims move more naturally in some cases but personally I hope that if there's ever a TS5 they'll rethink the system. It's one of the reasons for the small, closed lots and I much prefer open world. If not open world, at least open neighborhoods.
Second the system appears to be the reason they're having difficulty adding content to the game. It's one of the reasons they didn't make babies that weren't tied to cribs and why there are no toddlers. It's also why it takes sims ages to eat, why they won't finish tasks they're assigned, and why maids won't always clean and employees won't always do their jobs - those sims are constantly looking for additional actions to perform so that it looks like they're multitasking.
So IMO it's cool, but requires way too many trade-offs that don't make it worth it to me.
Exactly and I suspect this ia the reason why it wpuld be difficult or near impossible to have toddlers. Like the developers said it took way too much resources to have babies working woth multitasking. I hope for sims 5 they've either advanced enough for both to work. Else I'd rather have less multitasking, I love it but I can live without it.
@QDog I'm glad you're enjoying the game! And for personal reasons curious if you're satisfied with the sims you created ?
I am!! It's the first time I'm satisfied with a sim I created from scratch in Ts3! Of course that's thanks to you and your tips! I'm a little embarrassed to admit that one of the main reasons that kept me from going back to Ts3 was the sims' looks (I know it's shallow) but after seeing your beautiful sims my opinion completely changed! I now follow some ts3 simblrs too and some of them are very inspiring too!
I will post a picture of Harmony later ( I'm at work now!) she's my legacy founder!
All the sims games have had multi-tasking, they just took it to another level in TS4. It does make the sims move more naturally in some cases but personally I hope that if there's ever a TS5 they'll rethink the system. It's one of the reasons for the small, closed lots and I much prefer open world. If not open world, at least open neighborhoods.
Second the system appears to be the reason they're having difficulty adding content to the game. It's one of the reasons they didn't make babies that weren't tied to cribs and why there are no toddlers. It's also why it takes sims ages to eat, why they won't finish tasks they're assigned, and why maids won't always clean and employees won't always do their jobs - those sims are constantly looking for additional actions to perform so that it looks like they're multitasking.
So IMO it's cool, but requires way too many trade-offs that don't make it worth it to me.
I agree. I love multitasking but if those are the trade offs then it's not worth it for me. I'd just be happy to have multitasking limited to certain activities (like in previous games but with more options eg read a book and have a drink, eat and drink, watch tv and eat...wait a second I think they could just limit multitasking to activities sims can do while eating/drinking and I'd be happy lol)
@QDog If you have NRaas mods, MasterController has an option that really speeds up load times in CAS. MC - settings - CAS - show in compact form - true. You can enable it for clothing and accessories and hair too, I think. All those hairs that show three different versions will only show one and it loads so much quicker!
ETA: Click on City Hall to get the MC option and change these settings.
i've actually gone back to ts2 and i'm enjoying it. i just didn't appreciate it as much as it deserved because ts3 was what really made me a rabid simmer. i'm saving ts3 in case "no man's sky" sucks. i still have ts3 "into the future" expansion that i've never played... so there's a lot in it that i still haven't explored.
@QDog I'm glad you're enjoying the game! And for personal reasons curious if you're satisfied with the sims you created ?
I am!! It's the first time I'm satisfied with a sim I created from scratch in Ts3! Of course that's thanks to you and your tips! I'm a little embarrassed to admit that one of the main reasons that kept me from going back to Ts3 was the sims' looks (I know it's shallow) but after seeing your beautiful sims my opinion completely changed! I now follow some ts3 simblrs too and some of them are very inspiring too!
I will post a picture of Harmony later ( I'm at work now!) she's my legacy founder!
Yaay ^.^ Glad i could help (female sims aren't my focus by the way; my females are the result of a good male that doesn't look too awful as a female so in that respect nothing is thanks to me ). Real curious for your sim and what CC skin you picked up.
@QDog If you have NRaas mods, MasterController has an option that really speeds up load times in CAS. MC - settings - CAS - show in compact form - true. You can enable it for clothing and accessories and hair too, I think. All those hairs that show three different versions will only show one and it loads so much quicker!
@angelbabyfur I'm glad there's a version of the game you enjoy! This one is my favorite so far, but I'm glad I'll still have if we get a Sims 5 and it doesn't meet my personal expectations or needs.
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@QDog I'm glad you're enjoying the game! And for personal reasons curious if you're satisfied with the sims you created ?
I am!! It's the first time I'm satisfied with a sim I created from scratch in Ts3! Of course that's thanks to you and your tips! I'm a little embarrassed to admit that one of the main reasons that kept me from going back to Ts3 was the sims' looks (I know it's shallow) but after seeing your beautiful sims my opinion completely changed! I now follow some ts3 simblrs too and some of them are very inspiring too!
I will post a picture of Harmony later ( I'm at work now!) she's my legacy founder!
I have a TS3 simblr. All right ignore if you want.
I've gone back to the Sims 1, 2, and 3 actually. It was a really good sale recently with Sims 3 packs going for $5 each, so I took advantage of that to get the missing EPs I didn't have. I had my bank laugh at me at paying off my bills which is small in comparison to the Sims 4 packs in total so far actually.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
Am I the only one thinking about going back to Sims 3? Don't get me wrong, the clothes and graphics in Sims 4 are far superior, and I absolutely love the emotions thing. But the truth is, the expansions are so disappointing. If you've purchased every expansion so far like I did, you've spent $234 over the last 2 years. For this, you have a handful of new plants (gardens), a spa, Halloween costumes, a couple of new furniture pieces (kids room), and the option to have parties, which you already had before. Does that sound like $234 worth?
You don't have toddlers, pets, or seasons. You have one vacation destination. $200 is a lot of money on a game. With such extremely disappointing game packs, I'm going back to Sims 3. At least the expansion packs were more than 5 new outfits and more furniture. Am I the only one?
Go Back? I have never Stopped playing the Sims 2 and Sims 3, just in case this Sims 4 was a bust, I have to go play those to get My Vamps, Pets, Toddlers, Car's, Supernaturals, Fix, without those I would've gone insane by now, .
@QDog If you have NRaas mods, MasterController has an option that really speeds up load times in CAS. MC - settings - CAS - show in compact form - true. You can enable it for clothing and accessories and hair too, I think. All those hairs that show three different versions will only show one and it loads so much quicker!
Is that the basic version of MC?
I think it is. I saved me on my old computer and I might enable it again just because CAS loads so fast then. Unfortunately I haven't played recently so I can't remember where to click but it's easy to find.
i've actually gone back to ts2 and i'm enjoying it. i just didn't appreciate it as much as it deserved because ts3 was what really made me a rabid simmer. i'm saving ts3 in case "no man's sky" plum. i still have ts3 "into the future" expansion that i've never played... so there's a lot in it that i still haven't explored.
I never left TS3, or TS2 either. Hope you enjoy Into the Future -- the 'bots are the best part of that for me. Get a Nanny Bot that also keeps the house clean and you'll wonder how your Sims ever lived without one!
I played the sims 4 for a little time, but mostly playing around on CAS and building, which are pleasurable tools. I stopped playing when I was rotating and suddenly when I got back to a family my sim had forgotten almost all her newly made friends. ARGH.
Then I though, ya know what, if I'm going back to loading screens, I might as well go back to TS2. The graphics irk me, but it can be playable with some default replacements. So much fun.
Right now I'm going back to TS3 because I miss the open world a little. It stutters a bit on my PC, but I've come to the conclusion tha TS3 just doesn't like Nvidia's GTX 970. Still, the game has loads and loads of things to do.
Both TS2 and TS3 are gret games the explored different aspects, and I really wished they fused into something wonderful.
You see, past games have annoyances, and that's why we look forward to the next game. However, TS4 doesn't offer anything gameplay-wise for me to give up the older games. I have plenty of fun with them, and TS4 still is not enough for me to let go of them.
Both TS2 and TS3 are great games the explored different aspects, and I really wished they fused into something wonderful.
[TS3] Cons:
- Laggy even on higher end computers -3 (this is the biggest issue for me)
- No multitasking -2
- Robotic animations -1
- Not that many sims on public spaces -1
- CAS: needs CC -1 (only -1 because it has the color wheel)
I disagree somewhat on your Cons.
Lag: Being a 32-bit & one core game, you can run it on a potato as long as you are willing to tweak the game. I have found ParkControl to be very helpful, for example.
Multi-tasking: This does exist in TS3. For example, a Sim holding a baby will answer their cell phone at the same time. TS4 multi-tasking seems to be over done; too much is happening at once and the Sims seem to be out of control at times.
Robotic: TS3 Sims might be a little "stiffer" (at least compared to TS4!) but the TS4 Sims seem too exaggerated (which works for a small-screen mobile game maybe but not on a 21" monitor)
Community lot visitors: I frequently have 12-15 sims show up at a lot. Certain lots might get more or less visitors as the game pushes them according to their traits, I believe, e.g. bookworms at the library, etc.
CAS: The colour wheel alone should have put this in the Pro category
Comments
I'd advice to get nrass errortrap. I believe it is this mod that removes cars, resets stuck sims and pets and turn off uneased electronics basically removing everything that causes the game to lag. And yes Sims 3 spawns a ton of cars and it keeps adding so that also causes the game to lag.
As for sims 4 I must say I haven't missed Cast as much but I guess that is because clothing options aren't as hideous as the presets from Sims 3 lol XD
complete forum tutorial
Thank you @MDianaSanders for halloween-fying Golluma
You don't have toddlers, pets, or seasons. You have one vacation destination. $200 is a lot of money on a game. With such extremely disappointing game packs, I'm going back to Sims 3. At least the expansion packs were more than 5 new outfits and more furniture. Am I the only one?
They really need to bring back the free will of 3, sims move in and out, have kids etc. it just felt more alive than this static game.
I'm not hoping that sims 5 is better or that some expansion is going to fix all this now, I'm hoping someone else will make a competing product to the sims franchise.
Second the system appears to be the reason they're having difficulty adding content to the game. It's one of the reasons they didn't make babies that weren't tied to cribs and why there are no toddlers. It's also why it takes sims ages to eat, why they won't finish tasks they're assigned, and why maids won't always clean and employees won't always do their jobs - those sims are constantly looking for additional actions to perform so that it looks like they're multitasking.
So IMO it's cool, but requires way too many trade-offs that don't make it worth it to me.
Where are we going, and why am I in this hand basket?!
Exactly and I suspect this ia the reason why it wpuld be difficult or near impossible to have toddlers. Like the developers said it took way too much resources to have babies working woth multitasking. I hope for sims 5 they've either advanced enough for both to work. Else I'd rather have less multitasking, I love it but I can live without it.
complete forum tutorial
Thank you @MDianaSanders for halloween-fying Golluma
I am!! It's the first time I'm satisfied with a sim I created from scratch in Ts3! Of course that's thanks to you and your tips! I'm a little embarrassed to admit that one of the main reasons that kept me from going back to Ts3 was the sims' looks (I know it's shallow) but after seeing your beautiful sims my opinion completely changed!
I will post a picture of Harmony later ( I'm at work now!)
I agree. I love multitasking but if those are the trade offs then it's not worth it for me. I'd just be happy to have multitasking limited to certain activities (like in previous games but with more options eg read a book and have a drink, eat and drink, watch tv and eat...wait a second I think they could just limit multitasking to activities sims can do while eating/drinking and I'd be happy lol)
ETA: Click on City Hall to get the MC option and change these settings.
Is that the basic version of MC?
I have a TS3 simblr. All right ignore if you want.
Ultimate cc-list
My top 5
Go Back? I have never Stopped playing the Sims 2 and Sims 3, just in case this Sims 4 was a bust, I have to go play those to get My Vamps, Pets, Toddlers, Car's, Supernaturals, Fix, without those I would've gone insane by now,
I think it is. I saved me on my old computer and I might enable it again just because CAS loads so fast then. Unfortunately I haven't played recently so I can't remember where to click but it's easy to find.
complete forum tutorial
Thank you @MDianaSanders for halloween-fying Golluma
I never left TS3, or TS2 either. Hope you enjoy Into the Future -- the 'bots are the best part of that for me. Get a Nanny Bot that also keeps the house clean and you'll wonder how your Sims ever lived without one!
Then I though, ya know what, if I'm going back to loading screens, I might as well go back to TS2. The graphics irk me, but it can be playable with some default replacements. So much fun.
Right now I'm going back to TS3 because I miss the open world a little. It stutters a bit on my PC, but I've come to the conclusion tha TS3 just doesn't like Nvidia's GTX 970. Still, the game has loads and loads of things to do.
Both TS2 and TS3 are gret games the explored different aspects, and I really wished they fused into something wonderful.
You see, past games have annoyances, and that's why we look forward to the next game. However, TS4 doesn't offer anything gameplay-wise for me to give up the older games. I have plenty of fun with them, and TS4 still is not enough for me to let go of them.
Both TS2 and TS3 are great games the explored different aspects, and I really wished they fused into something wonderful.
I disagree somewhat on your Cons.
Lag: Being a 32-bit & one core game, you can run it on a potato as long as you are willing to tweak the game. I have found ParkControl to be very helpful, for example.
Multi-tasking: This does exist in TS3. For example, a Sim holding a baby will answer their cell phone at the same time. TS4 multi-tasking seems to be over done; too much is happening at once and the Sims seem to be out of control at times.
Robotic: TS3 Sims might be a little "stiffer" (at least compared to TS4!) but the TS4 Sims seem too exaggerated (which works for a small-screen mobile game maybe but not on a 21" monitor)
Community lot visitors: I frequently have 12-15 sims show up at a lot. Certain lots might get more or less visitors as the game pushes them according to their traits, I believe, e.g. bookworms at the library, etc.
CAS: The colour wheel alone should have put this in the Pro category
I'm gonna wait a while longer when more TS4 expansions are out and see how they compare then...