Today, (before reading either of these threads) I randomly got the whim to resume playing again. I was pretty excited to play too but when I started I just got immediately bored. Like I can't even explain it.. I took one look at my family, put it on pause to figure out what I wanted to do, and then decided I didn't feel like playing anymore. It's honestly the craziest thing.
I do that! I start the thing... pause it... then exit out. It's kinda like getting up and going to the kitchen for something and then forgetting why you went in there. Truly is crazy. I'm feeling your frustration.
Funny, that is often how I felt about Sims 3 after waiting 30 minutes for the game to load on my machine.
@SimsILikeSims - I wanted to comment on this in my other response, but it ended up being very long. Your opinion of TS3 is not any less valid than my opinion of TS4. Even though it is not related to TS4, or this topic, I do think that you brought up a very good point. This is one argument, that I see all the time, and it frustrates me to no end.
What we are comparing:
2006 vs 2016 game engine
Open world vs 10+ lots per neighborhood
Color wheel vs limited recolors
CAW vs no CAW
All lifestages vs no toddlers
I would like to stop here, because my point is not to point out ALL the differences, to make this a TS3 vs TS4 discussion, or bring up everything that is missing from TS4. Since you brought it up, I would like you to just look at the basics of TS3 vs TS4. Why would anyone expect to have long loading times for TS4, just by looking at the things that are not included? This argument does not work, considering, there's about 10 years between both game engines, with many more features to handle for the TS3 game engine vs TS4. If we want to compare loading times, we need to wait until the very last TS4 EP, GP, or SP. Even then, given the difference in technology, as well as content, a subjective comparison would be very hard.
"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." - William Henry Gates III
Today, (before reading either of these threads) I randomly got the whim to resume playing again. I was pretty excited to play too but when I started I just got immediately bored. Like I can't even explain it.. I took one look at my family, put it on pause to figure out what I wanted to do, and then decided I didn't feel like playing anymore. It's honestly the craziest thing.
I do that! I start the thing... pause it... then exit out. It's kinda like getting up and going to the kitchen for something and then forgetting why you went in there. Truly is crazy. I'm feeling your frustration.
Funny, that is often how I felt about Sims 3 after waiting 30 minutes for the game to load on my machine.
@SimsILikeSims - I wanted to comment on this in my other response, but it ended up being very long. Your opinion of TS3 is not any less valid than my opinion of TS4. Even though it is not related to TS4, or this topic, I do think that you brought up a very good point. This is one argument, that I see all the time, and it frustrates me to no end.
What we are comparing:
2006 vs 2016 game engine
Open world vs 10+ lots per neighborhood
Color wheel vs limited recolors
CAW vs no CAW
All lifestages vs no toddlers
I would like to stop here, because my point is not to point out ALL the differences, to make this a TS3 vs TS4 discussion, or bring up everything that is missing from TS4. Since you brought it up, I would like you to just look at the basics of TS3 vs TS4. Why would anyone expect to have long loading times for TS4, just by looking at the things that are not included? This argument does not work, considering, there's about 10 years between both game engines, with many more features to handle for the TS3 game engine vs TS4. If we want to compare loading times, we need to wait until the very last TS4 EP, GP, or SP. Even then, given the difference in technology, as well as content, a subjective comparison would be very hard.
I see the argument too and I can't figure out why people think it's valid. While it's true that some players had problems with even high end machines I think others were trying to play on machines that were never meant to handle The Sims. I've never played on a desk top and all my Sim experience is on upper mid range lap tops. I had respect for my computer's limitations and only had my most favorite 3 or 4 EPs. I didn't try to play with 10 EPs and a huge CC folder and the game played fine for me with very few bugs.
"People really love to explore 'failure states. In fact, the failure states are really much more interesting than the success states." ~ Will Wright
@JasonAnthonySterling, I just wanted to comment on what you said about if neg. players leave there won't be enough money to continue. That seems to be a real issue as of late since Origin has dropped the price on TS4 for USA customers to $39.99 down from the original $60 to stay there at that new standard price. I don't recall TS2 or TS3's standard prices being dropped down before the two year anniversary. I remember them staying at the same original price for years until they were about to end.
I was thinking the same thing... If this game was doing so well, why is the price already reduced to EP prices after 2 years? Makes you wonder...
@PHOEBESMOM601 - I could not agree more. Computer specs are always important for any game or program that you're trying to run.
I played TS3 on a medium quality Dell. I ran all expansions, all stuff packs, and 80% TS3 store content, all TS3 store worlds, 10000+ CC items, and my loading time from starting the game to playing an actual family was never more than 10 minutes. I did have Night Life bugs, and lags with Island Paradise, which was resolved by installing NRAAS overwatch. It definitely wasn't all cupcakes and sunshine with TS3, by any means.
I bought a high end gaming PC specifically for TS4. TS4 takes about 5 minutes to load at this point, which includes a fair amount of CC, but not all GPs, or SPs.
"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." - William Henry Gates III
For anyone info i am 1 of those simmers that never wanted that transgender thing in game sure i am agints it but my motto is if there is some content in the game that is not like simply don't use it thats simple and thats what i am doing, i may like the sims4 but it do not mean that i might like the content thats patch in the game like that transgender thing. like i said if there are stuff in the game you do not like simply don't use it its simple as saying 1 2 3
I don't care about them adding in the patch. I don't mind some of my female sims wearing male clothes and my male sims wearing female hairs, visa versa. However, that's as far as I take it with mine. My issue is that they spent so much time making this transition but we still don't have simple things like doorbells, washer/dryers, etc and we STILL don't have a clue when any of the base game items will be back. (BTW, the transgender patch still has issues and they pretty much released it unfinished - why?)
I just hate the fact that we can't have a REAL discussion about what this game can tolerate as far as content and what it cannot. In the new Ask a Guru Development discussion, I asked IF other life stages, life states, NPCs, could be added to the game in the future along with things like cars, editing tools, more space, traits, etc. and every thing remained in tact EXCEPT that life stage question. It was crossed out. I wasn't just talking about toddlers, I was talking about development over all. My question still remains unanswered. If we can't talk about things like this then I don't expect anything else as far as in depth game play in TS4s future. This is really sad because I do enjoy the game in some aspects and I think it has potential. Defiantly a lot of missed opportunities... It's been 2 years and we don't even have the slightest clue about what's coming up next. It's not the customers fault that they decided to make an online game into a PC one and we as consumers have to suffer the consequences thereof.
I just finished reading all the responses, and there is some great feedback.
@Scobre - ".....Bullying happens on both sides and no it being the "internet norm" shouldn't be an excuse for it .....
I wanted to highlight this part of your post, it's an abbreviated version, and I don't mean to take this out of context. TS4 is rated T for teen, and 30% of our vocabulary is replaced by "plum" on this forum, knowing that the game caters to younger players as well. I don't know who is on the receiving end of my comments, if they're 13 or 35 years old, which to me makes any type of bullying on this particular forum inexcusable.
@HappySimmer3 - "Because here's something else that relates to that; if someone writes a thread, either positive or negative, people are allowed to come in and disagree with you. That is not bullying, even though some people feel like they've just been pooped on. Sorry, but that's how life works. People are allowed to disagree with your opinions, but they should never resort to criticizing or blaming or bullying other forum members just because they don't like their opinions. There's been quite a lot of that in this thread as well."
Actually, I disagree with you. People think that they should add their 2 cents to every thread, but I don't think that it's appropriate. If OP outlines, what he or she would like to be discussed, and you want to talk about something unrelated, start drama, derail the thread, etc., then you should not participate, because it is disrespectful to OP, not because there's a law against it. People are not blind and can see through those things. Of course it is not considered bullying, when someone offers arguments, that are different from yours, within a discussion, but this is not what we are discussing here. - I agree, that we all have to be mindful of the way we communicate, on this thread, as well as other threads. Btw., what are your experiences in regards to the way your negative criticism of TS4 has been received? Has positivity helped you personally, since you seem very positive now about the game?
-snip-
I think you mostly misunderstood my post, but that is on me. Let me see if I can explain it a little better.
I do not disagree with you about people thinking they need to add their two cents to every thread, especially if it's obviously something they have an opposite opinion about. It seems to me that sometimes when people who dislike the game do this on the more positive threads, it's because they're angry about the state of this game (it's one of the stages of grief, you know) and they want to take it out on the people who are keeping it going, and let the company know that they're unhappy. After all they never get a response any other way, do they? It's very immature and inappropriate regardless, IMO.
OTOH you have the people who like the game run into the more critical threads to either state their disagreement, bully people for being "toxic" (and since that's been mentioned by people in authority they feel like they have permission to use this word now - what a way to make the forums more positive, eh?), or to try to derail the topic to get it closed. They usually even tag the forum staff in an effort to accomplish this. I see this a lot. I suspect that for some reason some they feel the need to counter-balance what's being said out of fear that the game they love will get affected by these critical posts. But no matter the reason, I think that kind of behavior is immature and inappropriate, too.
But sometimes there are discussion threads posted where someone asks opinions and yet the people who like this game will insist that if someone gives a more critical opinion then they're just being negative. They even see this as bullying and I totally disagree with that. No, it is just people expressing an opinion that is different than yours. That is what I was really trying to get at with my post.
As to my experiences, I try very hard to usually just stick to my opinions and the facts and to leave emotional statements out of my replies on this forum. So as a rule I don't get a lot of reactions to what I write about the game, unless people get what I'm saying and agree with me. But I'll make an exception just to clear up any confusion.
I absolutely can't stand this game. It is the biggest piece of tripe this studio has ever come out with and a complete embarrassment to the whole Sims franchise. It's a broken mess that no amount of positivity is going to fix. I've stated many times in calm, rational ways why I feel this way, so I'm not going to repeat it all again here. But after nearly two years it's completely ridiculous to keep saying that this game 'has potential'. There have been post after post after post of constructive feedback given about the game, all of which have been ignored to date.
And if I have to keep an open mind and pretend that this is not a Sims game to get any enjoyment out of it, then maybe the game never should have attempted to portray itself as another game in the series and should have been released under a different name. I'd also like to add that it's not like I wanted to feel this way about the game. I've never had any desire to play anything but The Sims so I wanted to love the new edition as much as I've loved the previous ones. It's the company who decided to turn it into some other kind of game, it surely wasn't me. It was the company who decided to try to make a 'traditional experience' out of a completely different kind of game (which is the main reason I think the game is broken, btw) and then market it as if it were the next game in the series. What they have done just reeks of marketing under false pretenses in my book and adds to my negative feelings about the game.
Hopefully that clears up what I intended to say and makes my position clear; if not I'll be happy to try to clarify further.
The Sims
Where are we going, and why am I in this hand basket?!
@HappySimmer3 - I actually would like to thank you for explaining this, and I did misunderstand what you were saying. Putting things in context, as you did, I understand your point now.
"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." - William Henry Gates III
You can't go into a thread to flamebait it because you want it closed and then play the victim because you are on the opposing side. This is a general statement and is not directed at anyone and is meant for both sides. People should have the ability and good manners to talk to each other as civilized people and not hide behind the internet.
As to my experiences, I try very hard to usually just stick to my opinions and the facts and to leave emotional statements out of my replies on this forum. So as a rule I don't get a lot of reactions to what I write about the game, unless people get what I'm saying and agree with me. But I'll make an exception just to clear up any confusion.
I absolutely can't stand this game. It is the biggest piece of tripe this studio has ever come out with and a complete embarrassment to the whole Sims franchise. It's a broken mess that no amount of positivity is going to fix. I've stated many times in calm, rational ways why I feel this way, so I'm not going to repeat it all again here. But after nearly two years it's completely ridiculous to keep saying that this game 'has potential'. There have been post after post after post of constructive feedback given about the game, all of which have been ignored to date.
And if I have to keep an open mind and pretend that this is not a Sims game to get any enjoyment out of it, then maybe the game never should have attempted to portray itself as another game in the series and should have been released under a different name. I'd also like to add that it's not like I wanted to feel this way about the game. I've never had any desire to play anything but The Sims so I wanted to love the new edition as much as I've loved the previous ones. It's the company who decided to turn it into some other kind of game, it surely wasn't me. It was the company who decided to try to make a 'traditional experience' out of a completely different kind of game (which is the main reason I think the game is broken, btw) and then market it as if it were the next game in the series. What they have done just reeks of marketing under false pretenses in my book and adds to my negative feelings about the game.
You nailed it..Exactly!!! I could not have said it any better....Thank you!
I dare say that if EA/Maxis or any of the people in charge of Marketing or development of The Sims are monitoring these forums ...Read this brilliant post. What HappySimmer3 said, is how a majority of us dedicated simmers feel....Even if they don't come on this forum to talk about it.
I would challenge them to fix it. Prove us wrong.... but I'm sure it would fall on deaf ears.
I think certain players start arguments to try and get 'non-positive' threads closed. They don't like criticism of the game.....although I have no idea why a forum thread that differs from their opinion has a thing to do with enjoying the game. Then others are like a quote from Star Trek..."Tellarites do not argue for a reason, they simply argue."
And you seem stuck on this 'deviant players come here because there isn't deviant play in the game'....with all due respect to your idea.. bull !!!!......as a deviant player I come here to try and get deviant play in the game.
Part of me thinks every Simmer has a deviant side to them. Some express it towards the game like you which is positive, some choose to express it towards others which is negative. But yes, I'm happy this thread is still open. Yep, that is what is sad, that whenever someone tries to express how they want the game to improved, it is considered negative, when it isn't the case. By all means, I think deviant play should be supported. I think forums would be a lot healthier if it was as well as other play styles being supported. Anyway sorry for the misunderstanding if you thought, I was directing it towards you or Cinebar. I have high respect for you both.
Just doesn't make sense when I read that Simmers are "stuck in the past" when the game is stuck in the past and refuses to change its vision of being an extremely limited game both in design and play style. I mean there are many design choices that are taken from the past like object babies, limited neighborhood, limited life stages, etc. that are actually hindering this iteration a lot. In a perfect world, the best of the best of the Sims games would be brought forward, but so far it has just been the Sims 1 restrictions that are conflicting with the Sims 3 story progression that just don't mesh together well. Limited worlds works well when aging and story progression doesn't exist, but when aging and story progression exists, those limits need to be lifted. It is almost like the Sims 4 is trying to be a big fish, but stuck in this tiny bowl. No room for growth.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
Question: When a response is removed, isn't there usually a note, that indicates a post removal? Or, are posts removed without any indications? Purely technical question? I know, someone who can answer, will read this.
"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." - William Henry Gates III
Question: When a response is removed, isn't there usually a note, that indicates a post removal? Or, are posts removed without any indications? Purely technical question? I know, someone who can answer, will read this.
Nope, there was a response in which I was tagged by you that got removed, why I got sad thinking the thread was closed and so happy it isn't. Posts are removed without indication unless a ban or warning is involved. But I did see this on my notifications: "Permission Problem You don't have permission to do that." You can privately message a mod to ask the reason why if you want.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
I think certain players start arguments to try and get 'non-positive' threads closed. They don't like criticism of the game.....although I have no idea why a forum thread that differs from their opinion has a thing to do with enjoying the game. Then others are like a quote from Star Trek..."Tellarites do not argue for a reason, they simply argue."
And you seem stuck on this 'deviant players come here because there isn't deviant play in the game'....with all due respect to your idea.. bull !!!!......as a deviant player I come here to try and get deviant play in the game.
Part of me thinks every Simmer has a deviant side to them. Some express it towards the game like you which is positive, some choose to express it towards others which is negative. But yes, I'm happy this thread is still open. Yep, that is what is sad, that whenever someone tries to express how they want the game to improved, it is considered negative, when it isn't the case. By all means, I think deviant play should be supported. I think forums would be a lot healthier if it was as well as other play styles being supported. Anyway sorry for the misunderstanding if you thought, I was directing it towards you or Cinebar. I have high respect for you both.
Just doesn't make sense when I read that Simmers are "stuck in the past" when the game is stuck in the past and refuses to change its vision of being an extremely limited game both in design and play style. I mean there are many design choices that are taken from the past like object babies, limited neighborhood, limited life stages, etc. that are actually hindering this iteration a lot. In a perfect world, the best of the best of the Sims games would be brought forward, but so far it has just been the Sims 1 restrictions that are conflicting with the Sims 3 story progression that just don't mesh together well. Limited worlds works well when aging and story progression doesn't exist, but when aging and story progression exists, those limits need to be lifted. It is almost like the Sims 4 is trying to be a big fish, but stuck in this tiny bowl. No room for growth.
Thank you for that but I didn't see disrespect I was pointing out my opposing view of your theory. I don't take anything said here to heart and Cin is a grown up who can answer for herself.
I'm a deviant player, I admit it. I have a satirical, darker sense of humor and 'cute' is not at all my cup of tea. I keep hoping they really are going to put back some of what I consider the good stuff.
"People really love to explore 'failure states. In fact, the failure states are really much more interesting than the success states." ~ Will Wright
Thank you for that but I didn't see disrespect I was pointing out my opposing view of your theory. I don't take anything said here to heart and Cin is a grown up who can answer for herself.
I'm a deviant player, I admit it. I have a satirical, darker sense of humor and 'cute' is not at all my cup of tea. I keep hoping they really are going to put back some of what I consider the good stuff.
No worries and I'm a deviant player too so I understand. Family play isn't the only play style that the Sims 4 has alienated from me. I have quite a few others too. It doesn't sound like they are bringing back the dark sense of humor from what I read on the Ask thread which stinks. The Sims 4 has strayed so far from Will Wright's original vision for the series, it doesn't even feel like the Sims anymore. Probably has more in common with this game actually.
Maybe I should nickname the Sims 4, the Sim Kartrashian.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
Well, since my comments keep getting deleted outright, let me just say, in the blandest way possible, that I agree with the OP that being positive by itself does not help dissatisfied players.
why is this even still an argument? Sims 4 is just bad, simple as that. They wasted one year on a useless crossdresser patch instead of producing something useful. There's no content, even with all the packs.
In the circumstances though, I think I can say that even with 5 floors of usable stuff, my house still feels pretty empty, and adding more usable stuff in patches isn't doing anything for that.
Prepping a list of mods to add after Infants are placed into the game. Because real life isn't 'nice'.
Thank you for that but I didn't see disrespect I was pointing out my opposing view of your theory. I don't take anything said here to heart and Cin is a grown up who can answer for herself.
I'm a deviant player, I admit it. I have a satirical, darker sense of humor and 'cute' is not at all my cup of tea. I keep hoping they really are going to put back some of what I consider the good stuff.
No worries and I'm a deviant player too so I understand. Family play isn't the only play style that the Sims 4 has alienated from me. I have quite a few others too. It doesn't sound like they are bringing back the dark sense of humor from what I read on the Ask thread which stinks. The Sims 4 has strayed so far from Will Wright's original vision for the series, it doesn't even feel like the Sims anymore. Probably has more in common with this game actually.
Maybe I should nickname the Sims 4, the Sim Kartrashian.
And the name flows smoothly together too
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What is the point of this thread? So you don't care for the Sims 4, play something else. I hated the Sims 3, and I gave it a chance. It didn't suit me. But I didn't take the attitude that since I wasn't happy no one else should be either.
Here is the way I see it. If indeed the Sims started out as an online game that the studio later realized that players really didn't want, and then they set about returning it to an single player game, why castigate them over and over? So they made a miscalculation based on the current obsession with social networking and online play. That doesn't surprise me that they would think that. I don't get Facebook, but many do.
As for some of the other things mentioned in this thread, I don't care about makeup, open world, or casT. I prefer the gameplay in the Sims 4. As for standards, Sims 3 was broken in so many ways that actually saying it had better standards is laughable.
The thing that I find most disturbing is the attitude that many of you seem to have, which is that the game should be designed to suit you, and anyone that disagrees apparently has something wrong with them (i.e that lack standards).
Have you ever heard of the saying, "The customer is always right." If you don't please the customer, you lose the customer. So yes, they should be listening to the customer's wants.
What is the point of this thread? So you don't care for the Sims 4, play something else. I hated the Sims 3, and I gave it a chance. It didn't suit me. But I didn't take the attitude that since I wasn't happy no one else should be either.
Here is the way I see it. If indeed the Sims started out as an online game that the studio later realized that players really didn't want, and then they set about returning it to an single player game, why castigate them over and over? So they made a miscalculation based on the current obsession with social networking and online play. That doesn't surprise me that they would think that. I don't get Facebook, but many do.
As for some of the other things mentioned in this thread, I don't care about makeup, open world, or casT. I prefer the gameplay in the Sims 4. As for standards, Sims 3 was broken in so many ways that actually saying it had better standards is laughable.
The thing that I find most disturbing is the attitude that many of you seem to have, which is that the game should be designed to suit you, and anyone that disagrees apparently has something wrong with them (i.e that lack standards).
Have you ever heard of the saying, "The customer is always right." If you don't please the customer, you lose the customer. So yes, they should be listening to the customer's wants.
Plus .. "what's the point of this thread?". I don't know. But really, what's the point of any thread? It's just people who care deeply for the series sharing their thoughts & opinions. Where else should they go to talk to each other if they're not supposed to do it here?
Also, I don't think most people expect the game to be designed so it only (or mostly, whatever) suits them, they just want to it be designed like a standard sim game. And yes, TS3 was already a deviation from the Will Wright norm in some ways, and not one everyone took a liking to. Consider that EA's first mistake: because as much as I like TS3, I can see why some people don't. And it's sad that it didn't manage to cater to all the fans of the previous iterations either. That doesn't mean open world or CASt were bad features though, and ideally EA would've found a way to bring TS2 & TS3 simmers together once more by offering them the enjoyable experience of a finished & polished TS4. That just didn't happen. It's really good that you like TS4, no one's telling you not to, but I think (and I might be wrong) that in order to like it you sort of need to enjoy the goal-based game play it brings & shouldn't be too bothered by the fact that it's a lot less sandboxy and is missing a couple of staple sims features. But honestly, there's nothing wrong with finding this version more appealing, just like there's nothing wrong with finding it lacking in some (or a lot of) areas.
Isn't the second group of people allowed to talk about their opinion just as much as you're allowed to share your enjoyment of TS4?
Lastly, this "miscalculation" isn't really exclusive to the sims. EA has made this mistake more than once before, so has Ubisoft. So it's not like this realization hit them totally out of the blue. And it also means that yes, they had to reduce a lot of features that they haven't necessarily managed to put back into the game in time for release. That's unfortunate, and could've possibly been avoided by simply setting back the release date quite a bit more so that all sims players, or at least 80% of them, could enjoy this game, and not just some (and I'm not making this up, feel free to look up and compare sims ratings, you'll probably find that a lot of people would agree with this thread). Or by not calling it "The Sims 4" but idk, something else.
Have you ever heard of the saying, "The customer is always right." If you don't please the customer, you lose the customer. So yes, they should be listening to the customer's wants.
But ... that is part of the problem. Some want toddlers, some don't. Some want cars to return, some don't. Some want vampires, werewolves, plant sims, mummies, some don't. Some want it darker and grittier, some don't.
Which customer should they listen to. It isn't just that easy ... just listen to your customers when the wants from all the customers are all over the place.
@Gruffman all of them. That's the point. You should have the choice. Don't want toddlers? Don't have babies, or just age them up using the birthday cake. You never had to play them. You never had to play vampires either (although that one's a little debatable), and definitely weren't forced to buy supernatural. Same for the grittiness: deviant play was always a choice. And that's really the crux of the matter in the whole TS4 debate: where are the choices?
Have you ever heard of the saying, "The customer is always right." If you don't please the customer, you lose the customer. So yes, they should be listening to the customer's wants.
But ... that is part of the problem. Some want toddlers, some don't. Some want cars to return, some don't. Some want vampires, werewolves, plant sims, mummies, some don't. Some want it darker and grittier, some don't.
Which customer should they listen to. It isn't just that easy ... just listen to your customers when the wants from all the customers are all over the place.
Yet somehow past games appealed to so many people and covered so many play styles.
"People really love to explore 'failure states. In fact, the failure states are really much more interesting than the success states." ~ Will Wright
Comments
@SimsILikeSims - I wanted to comment on this in my other response, but it ended up being very long.
What we are comparing:
2006 vs 2016 game engine
Open world vs 10+ lots per neighborhood
Color wheel vs limited recolors
CAW vs no CAW
All lifestages vs no toddlers
I would like to stop here, because my point is not to point out ALL the differences, to make this a TS3 vs TS4 discussion, or bring up everything that is missing from TS4. Since you brought it up, I would like you to just look at the basics of TS3 vs TS4. Why would anyone expect to have long loading times for TS4, just by looking at the things that are not included? This argument does not work, considering, there's about 10 years between both game engines, with many more features to handle for the TS3 game engine vs TS4. If we want to compare loading times, we need to wait until the very last TS4 EP, GP, or SP. Even then, given the difference in technology, as well as content, a subjective comparison would be very hard.
I see the argument too and I can't figure out why people think it's valid. While it's true that some players had problems with even high end machines I think others were trying to play on machines that were never meant to handle The Sims. I've never played on a desk top and all my Sim experience is on upper mid range lap tops. I had respect for my computer's limitations and only had my most favorite 3 or 4 EPs. I didn't try to play with 10 EPs and a huge CC folder and the game played fine for me with very few bugs.
I was thinking the same thing... If this game was doing so well, why is the price already reduced to EP prices after 2 years? Makes you wonder...
I played TS3 on a medium quality Dell. I ran all expansions, all stuff packs, and 80% TS3 store content, all TS3 store worlds, 10000+ CC items, and my loading time from starting the game to playing an actual family was never more than 10 minutes. I did have Night Life bugs, and lags with Island Paradise, which was resolved by installing NRAAS overwatch. It definitely wasn't all cupcakes and sunshine with TS3, by any means.
I bought a high end gaming PC specifically for TS4. TS4 takes about 5 minutes to load at this point, which includes a fair amount of CC, but not all GPs, or SPs.
I don't care about them adding in the patch. I don't mind some of my female sims wearing male clothes and my male sims wearing female hairs, visa versa. However, that's as far as I take it with mine. My issue is that they spent so much time making this transition but we still don't have simple things like doorbells, washer/dryers, etc and we STILL don't have a clue when any of the base game items will be back. (BTW, the transgender patch still has issues and they pretty much released it unfinished - why?)
I just hate the fact that we can't have a REAL discussion about what this game can tolerate as far as content and what it cannot. In the new Ask a Guru Development discussion, I asked IF other life stages, life states, NPCs, could be added to the game in the future along with things like cars, editing tools, more space, traits, etc. and every thing remained in tact EXCEPT that life stage question. It was crossed out. I wasn't just talking about toddlers, I was talking about development over all. My question still remains unanswered. If we can't talk about things like this then I don't expect anything else as far as in depth game play in TS4s future. This is really sad because I do enjoy the game in some aspects and I think it has potential. Defiantly a lot of missed opportunities... It's been 2 years and we don't even have the slightest clue about what's coming up next. It's not the customers fault that they decided to make an online game into a PC one and we as consumers have to suffer the consequences thereof.
I think you mostly misunderstood my post, but that is on me. Let me see if I can explain it a little better.
I do not disagree with you about people thinking they need to add their two cents to every thread, especially if it's obviously something they have an opposite opinion about. It seems to me that sometimes when people who dislike the game do this on the more positive threads, it's because they're angry about the state of this game (it's one of the stages of grief, you know) and they want to take it out on the people who are keeping it going, and let the company know that they're unhappy. After all they never get a response any other way, do they? It's very immature and inappropriate regardless, IMO.
OTOH you have the people who like the game run into the more critical threads to either state their disagreement, bully people for being "toxic" (and since that's been mentioned by people in authority they feel like they have permission to use this word now - what a way to make the forums more positive, eh?), or to try to derail the topic to get it closed. They usually even tag the forum staff in an effort to accomplish this. I see this a lot. I suspect that for some reason some they feel the need to counter-balance what's being said out of fear that the game they love will get affected by these critical posts. But no matter the reason, I think that kind of behavior is immature and inappropriate, too.
But sometimes there are discussion threads posted where someone asks opinions and yet the people who like this game will insist that if someone gives a more critical opinion then they're just being negative. They even see this as bullying and I totally disagree with that. No, it is just people expressing an opinion that is different than yours. That is what I was really trying to get at with my post.
As to my experiences, I try very hard to usually just stick to my opinions and the facts and to leave emotional statements out of my replies on this forum. So as a rule I don't get a lot of reactions to what I write about the game, unless people get what I'm saying and agree with me. But I'll make an exception just to clear up any confusion.
I absolutely can't stand this game. It is the biggest piece of tripe this studio has ever come out with and a complete embarrassment to the whole Sims franchise. It's a broken mess that no amount of positivity is going to fix. I've stated many times in calm, rational ways why I feel this way, so I'm not going to repeat it all again here. But after nearly two years it's completely ridiculous to keep saying that this game 'has potential'. There have been post after post after post of constructive feedback given about the game, all of which have been ignored to date.
And if I have to keep an open mind and pretend that this is not a Sims game to get any enjoyment out of it, then maybe the game never should have attempted to portray itself as another game in the series and should have been released under a different name. I'd also like to add that it's not like I wanted to feel this way about the game. I've never had any desire to play anything but The Sims so I wanted to love the new edition as much as I've loved the previous ones. It's the company who decided to turn it into some other kind of game, it surely wasn't me. It was the company who decided to try to make a 'traditional experience' out of a completely different kind of game (which is the main reason I think the game is broken, btw) and then market it as if it were the next game in the series. What they have done just reeks of marketing under false pretenses in my book and adds to my negative feelings about the game.
Hopefully that clears up what I intended to say and makes my position clear; if not I'll be happy to try to clarify further.
Where are we going, and why am I in this hand basket?!
You nailed it..Exactly!!! I could not have said it any better....Thank you!
I dare say that if EA/Maxis or any of the people in charge of Marketing or development of The Sims are monitoring these forums ...Read this brilliant post. What HappySimmer3 said, is how a majority of us dedicated simmers feel....Even if they don't come on this forum to talk about it.
I would challenge them to fix it. Prove us wrong.... but I'm sure it would fall on deaf ears.
Just doesn't make sense when I read that Simmers are "stuck in the past" when the game is stuck in the past and refuses to change its vision of being an extremely limited game both in design and play style. I mean there are many design choices that are taken from the past like object babies, limited neighborhood, limited life stages, etc. that are actually hindering this iteration a lot. In a perfect world, the best of the best of the Sims games would be brought forward, but so far it has just been the Sims 1 restrictions that are conflicting with the Sims 3 story progression that just don't mesh together well. Limited worlds works well when aging and story progression doesn't exist, but when aging and story progression exists, those limits need to be lifted. It is almost like the Sims 4 is trying to be a big fish, but stuck in this tiny bowl. No room for growth.
Thank you for that but I didn't see disrespect I was pointing out my opposing view of your theory. I don't take anything said here to heart and Cin is a grown up who can answer for herself.
I'm a deviant player, I admit it. I have a satirical, darker sense of humor and 'cute' is not at all my cup of tea. I keep hoping they really are going to put back some of what I consider the good stuff.
Maybe I should nickname the Sims 4, the Sim Kartrashian.
In the circumstances though, I think I can say that even with 5 floors of usable stuff, my house still feels pretty empty, and adding more usable stuff in patches isn't doing anything for that.
My PC at the time had been build to run TS3 with ease.
But back to the actual topic. TS4. I've heard that some people are having longish loading times, which I find odd, since there is so little to load.
Have you ever heard of the saying, "The customer is always right." If you don't please the customer, you lose the customer. So yes, they should be listening to the customer's wants.
Plus .. "what's the point of this thread?". I don't know. But really, what's the point of any thread? It's just people who care deeply for the series sharing their thoughts & opinions. Where else should they go to talk to each other if they're not supposed to do it here?
Also, I don't think most people expect the game to be designed so it only (or mostly, whatever) suits them, they just want to it be designed like a standard sim game. And yes, TS3 was already a deviation from the Will Wright norm in some ways, and not one everyone took a liking to. Consider that EA's first mistake: because as much as I like TS3, I can see why some people don't. And it's sad that it didn't manage to cater to all the fans of the previous iterations either. That doesn't mean open world or CASt were bad features though, and ideally EA would've found a way to bring TS2 & TS3 simmers together once more by offering them the enjoyable experience of a finished & polished TS4. That just didn't happen. It's really good that you like TS4, no one's telling you not to, but I think (and I might be wrong) that in order to like it you sort of need to enjoy the goal-based game play it brings & shouldn't be too bothered by the fact that it's a lot less sandboxy and is missing a couple of staple sims features. But honestly, there's nothing wrong with finding this version more appealing, just like there's nothing wrong with finding it lacking in some (or a lot of) areas.
Isn't the second group of people allowed to talk about their opinion just as much as you're allowed to share your enjoyment of TS4?
Lastly, this "miscalculation" isn't really exclusive to the sims. EA has made this mistake more than once before, so has Ubisoft. So it's not like this realization hit them totally out of the blue. And it also means that yes, they had to reduce a lot of features that they haven't necessarily managed to put back into the game in time for release. That's unfortunate, and could've possibly been avoided by simply setting back the release date quite a bit more so that all sims players, or at least 80% of them, could enjoy this game, and not just some (and I'm not making this up, feel free to look up and compare sims ratings, you'll probably find that a lot of people would agree with this thread). Or by not calling it "The Sims 4" but idk, something else.
But ... that is part of the problem. Some want toddlers, some don't. Some want cars to return, some don't. Some want vampires, werewolves, plant sims, mummies, some don't. Some want it darker and grittier, some don't.
Which customer should they listen to. It isn't just that easy ... just listen to your customers when the wants from all the customers are all over the place.
Yet somehow past games appealed to so many people and covered so many play styles.