Haha i was super into the tree decorating but the animations put me off. I didn't know why but they just look weird to me. It kind of feels to me like that weird play interaction with toddlers.
Yeah, I always heard that The Sims 4 had some wacky animations that put people off. This certainly has to be one of those. But I appreciate the feature regardless.
Haha. I would love to try it but I've learned my lesson. I got pets as soon as i could and i ended up hating it and I love animals so it took a lot to disappoint me.
That's a shame. Yeah, the EP looks pretty bare-bones for pets, and then there's that stuff pack which added content that should have been in Cats and Dogs. I do love the world, though. Like that screenshot I posted from the other topic is from that world. It's certainly got a coastal New England vibe to it, which I love. One of my issues with The Sims 3 (both EA and fans were/are guilty of this) is that so many worlds created were warm/hot climates. No one ever seems to appreciate cooler/cold climates. I appreciate the couple of cold climate worlds I have been able to find.
I hate that they didn't add harvestable pumpkin carving. I love going to the festival lot in 3 with the family and picking the pumpkins to carve at home.
Yeah... I saw there's a mod for it, though, which is pretty neat.
How are you liking the ice skating? I don't they can do a couple skate thing like in 3 but how is it besides that. The ice rinks looks nice.
I haven't played that feature much, unfortunately. To me it just felt like standard The Sims ice skating. They go around in circles and fall down. Lol. I don't know about the advanced skating or if couples skating is a thing. The sims I've been playing are busy, so they don't have much time for that kind of thing.
Summer:
- Face Painting
- Tanning Booth
- Sunburns/Tans
- Swimming in Oceans
- Diving boards
- Hot dog eating contest
- Waterballoon fight
- Soccer shootouts
- Pool Floats
Fall:
- Leaf raking
- Trick or Treat
- Pumpkin Carving
- Bobbing for apples
- Pie eating Contest
- Haunted House
Winter:
- Snowdepth
- Snowball Fights
- Iglo Building
- Snow'pal' building
- Snow angels
- The ability to ice skate on frozen lakes
- Snowboarding
-Aliens (imo much better ones than we have atm in TS4)
- Online Dating
- Attraction System
- Rain dripping off the roofs
- Rain dripping off umbrellas
- Icicles hanging on the roofs in winter
- Rain effects hitting the puddles
- Puddles don't disappear the moment it stops raining
Ok, did I forgot something?
Now please tell me how Seasons in TS4 offers more content in the EP than the Sims 3 Seasons did.
We have a nice calendar feature, sure, but as you can see; when it comes to content it's nothing compared to the Sims 3.
And before people start about things such as Horseshoes throwing and Pumpkin carving and all that stuff that IS already in The Sims 4; Remember this all came with ONE expansion pack. Not with 10 different packs.
Feel free to add stuff to this list if I forgot something.
To me it seems very obvious that the budget of Sims 4 packs is much less compared to The Sims 3 Budget.
And that is the problem with this game.
How would you know you don't work for EA and besides I hate TS3 because when I play it I want it to be TS4 and also weather and the entire game runs terrible if you have all the packs CC and Mods to fix the problems.
I have installed all EP's/SP's/The entire store plus some mods/cc and my game still runs with minimal to no lag. I have a gaming desktop specifically for TS3 I built myself. What were you trying to run TS3 on? And yes, it is true TS3 can be played on older computers but the developers never said that it would be the best gaming experience either nor that all EP's/SP's/etc could be run. And the graphic settings has to be appropriate to what the computer can handle. There are many reasons as to why TS3 may not work for some.
You want the best for your hobby then it's going to cost money. A professional artist is not going to buy cheap supplies and expect quality as a result so why would a Sims enthusiast not care to have a proper setup for the best gaming experience? Can't afford one, nothing wrong with that but it is not the game's fault it cannot run the way it is meant to be played. Plus, it seems some don't even know that mods/cc can also slow down the game concerning poly count, bad cc, outdated mods, CPU/GPU intensive, etc. https://youtu.be/vQfEi9a2N8Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL1Cyd1vxZQ
These two videos below has all EP's/SP's and doesn't have any mods/cc. Even though I use mods/cc in my main saves, I do not need mods to play the game and actually from my personal experience runs the best without any 3rd party content or at the very least minimal. https://youtu.be/RecjZIs6N-E https://youtu.be/eGZxSsm5sUc
“What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter”
Summer:
- Face Painting
- Tanning Booth
- Sunburns/Tans
- Swimming in Oceans
- Diving boards
- Hot dog eating contest
- Waterballoon fight
- Soccer shootouts
- Pool Floats
Fall:
- Leaf raking
- Trick or Treat
- Pumpkin Carving
- Bobbing for apples
- Pie eating Contest
- Haunted House
Winter:
- Snowdepth
- Snowball Fights
- Iglo Building
- Snow'pal' building
- Snow angels
- The ability to ice skate on frozen lakes
- Snowboarding
-Aliens (imo much better ones than we have atm in TS4)
- Online Dating
- Attraction System
- Rain dripping off the roofs
- Rain dripping off umbrellas
- Icicles hanging on the roofs in winter
- Rain effects hitting the puddles
- Puddles don't disappear the moment it stops raining
Ok, did I forgot something?
Now please tell me how Seasons in TS4 offers more content in the EP than the Sims 3 Seasons did.
We have a nice calendar feature, sure, but as you can see; when it comes to content it's nothing compared to the Sims 3.
And before people start about things such as Horseshoes throwing and Pumpkin carving and all that stuff that IS already in The Sims 4; Remember this all came with ONE expansion pack. Not with 10 different packs.
Feel free to add stuff to this list if I forgot something.
To me it seems very obvious that the budget of Sims 4 packs is much less compared to The Sims 3 Budget.
And that is the problem with this game.
How would you know you don't work for EA and besides I hate TS3 because when I play it I want it to be TS4 and also weather and the entire game runs terrible if you have all the packs CC and Mods to fix the problems.
I have installed all EP's/SP's/The entire store plus some mods/cc and my game still runs with minimal to no lag. I have a gaming desktop specifically for TS3 I built myself. What were you trying to run TS3 on? And yes, it is true TS3 can be played on older computers but the developers never said that it would be the best gaming experience either nor that all EP's/SP's/etc could be run. And the graphic settings has to be appropriate to what the computer can handle. There are many reasons as to why TS3 may not work for some.
You want the best for your hobby then it's going to cost money. A professional artist is not going to buy cheap supplies and expect quality as a result so why would a Sims enthusiast not care to have a proper setup for the best gaming experience? Can't afford one, nothing wrong with that but it is not the game's fault it cannot run the way it is meant to be played. Plus, it seems some don't even know that mods/cc can also slow down the game concerning poly count, bad cc, outdated mods, CPU/GPU intensive, etc. https://youtu.be/vQfEi9a2N8Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL1Cyd1vxZQ
These two videos below has all EP's/SP's and doesn't have any mods/cc. Even though I use mods/cc in my main saves, I do not need mods to play the game and actually from my personal experience runs the best without any 3rd party content or at the very least minimal. https://youtu.be/RecjZIs6N-E https://youtu.be/eGZxSsm5sUc
Mine is good enough to play TS3 on it it just renders bad and its possibly because I have to much CC and store content. But its a HP Envy 700 series with a better graphics card then it came with.
Now please tell me how Seasons in TS4 offers more content in the EP than the Sims 3 Seasons did.
And that is the problem with this game.
I'm not going to counter with a list of content because for me it's not as simple as listing which pack came with more features. For me it's all about which features provide more enjoyment. I couldn't care less about any of the Sims 3 summer activities but I already love the calendar system in 4 and the fact that as more packs and activities are released we'll be able to celebrate more custom traditions.
That's up to you. But there are also people saying that the Sims 3 packs offer less content compared to The Sims 4. Well, in the case of Seasons that isn't true.
You can be happy with a calendar, but that doesn't make my point invalid either.
I'm just glad we can all now enjoy Seasons! Now excuse me while I check what activities my sims have planned for today.
The point is, while that sounds great for you, for me that aspect doesn’t really. Having to check what my sims have planned for today and then play that. And isn’t that the whole point of this topic? What features in the packs of each iteration do you like? Instead I see the good old ‘I hate Sims 3’ returning (that’s always lurking around the corner isn’t it, surprised this topic is still open by the way), which simply is not relevant here. I also see a discussion about flowery shrubbery now. Flowery shrubbery are an issue yet flat snow is not? I really don’t care about things like that but if you do, then you must realize the flat show and water not dripping from roofs is just as much an issue for others. It’s a simple fact that apparently they have to make choices and sacrifices and one choice will bother us more than the other, it’s purely personal and a fruitless discussion.
What is the point - and I fully agree with you there - is that at least we can enjoy seasons in Sims 4 now. Isn’t that all that matters? So, what’s the point of this topic anyway? Play and don’t look back if looking back makes you dissatisfied. I’m convinced I’ll find as much pleasure out of Sims 4‘s Seasons (very well done apparently) as I get out of Sims 3’s Seasons (very well done as well, they simply did an amazing job turning those open worlds into a seasonal setting). I play vampires in TS4 now and so far I’m having fun, in fact because they are so different from Sims 3’s vampires. They’re fun and they are a brand new experience, what more do I need? And even though there are aspects of the TS4 vamps I really like, it really doesn’t suddenly start me whining about vampires in the other game. Had fun with those as well.
Hmm this is a difficult question I love both TS3 and TS4 seasons. I really just love seasons. In the end neither will be worth a lot to anyone who doesn't like the base games they belong to I think, even if Seasons is an EP that always changes the game in fundamental ways for me. But it's still TS4 of course, which happens to be the only sims game I currently actively play (even before seasons) so I adore it but if you don't I'm not sure if weather can change your feelings about this iteration. Anyway, I love the calendar, the many new holiday related traditions and interactions, the atmosphere and gradual changing of the seasons. Everything really. But I kinda felt the same about what TS3 seasons brought, except that for me personally the festival activities got boring rather quickly. However, I still sent my TS3 sims to the festival lots frequently to do sketches or drink a hot beverage or something, since they're always full of life So I can't say TS4 is definitely better, they both did the same thing for me: make their respective base games more complete.
Hmmm, TS3 running with mods and CC? Naw not on my systems and I did not use mods or CC in Sims 3 and I believe people are using mods and CC in Sims 4 and all of it is not for cosmetic reasons. Sims 4 is not flawless or perfect so for some folks the need for mods and if you want more items here comes the CC. Sims 4 Seasons has some fun in it but it does not last too long for me. As said if there ever was an problem with me running Sims 3 it was due to developer issues and not the specs in my systems. Sims 3 for me has the technical edge over Sims 4 regardless of the time period for if you have to ditch features just for it to run well and not Tweak it to use very nice features as they do with other games it speaks volumes about that game.
I do not remember Sims 3 having an calendar back then but for me that mean little for it is something I would expect in an newer version for that is evolution of an game. What version is better will always be an hot topic going forward being most was exposed to the features of Sims 3 and then looking at Sims 4 and seeing what it has. The real accomplishment going forward is taking some of those features from Sims 3 and making it work in Sims 4 and not streamlining it for a game just to run well and not many notable features is not an great accomplishment to me. Controversy will always be Sims 4 legacy for me, how it ran on someone else system is not my concern for it is how well it ran on my systems and it did run well. No, Sims 3 was not perfect but it allowed me to do things I can't even do in Sims 4.
Omen by HP Intel®️ Core™️ i9- 12900K W/ RGB Liquid Cooler 32GB Nvidia RTX 3080 10Gb ASUS Ultra-Wide 34" Curved Monitor. Omen By HP Intel® Core™ i7-12800HX 32 GB Nvidia 3070 Ti 8 GB 17.3 Screen
I certainly had major problems trying to run Sims 3 with every EP and all the store worlds installed, and I was using a very decent computer with excellent graphics and tons of ram (for its day). I found (and still find) the game absolutely unplayable without NRAAs mods, particularly Overwatch, to clean up inventories and stuck sims and all the myriad problems which caused tons of lag, game crashes, bugged sims, ruined saves and Error 12s etc. I lost so much progress and even favourite saves, which made running that game on an ongoing basis a real exercise in frustration. (That said, I do still like and play the game occasionally). However, I have to say that one crucial benefit for me is that Sims 4 is simply a much more stable game, which almost never causes me difficulties, and certainly does not result in lost or broken saves, like Sims 3 did. I am still playing a save I made on the first weekend when I tried out the game (that is, Sims 4).
As it is, on my computer with the nice graphics, Sims 4 Seasons looks gorgeous. The snow sparkles, the air looks crisp and cold, the light changes according to time and whether it is cloudy or not, the wind blows (in varying intensities!) and everything looks just beautiful. I love the fact that the weather is different in different neighbourhoods, that the terrain and all the plants are now seasonal in appearance, and that the thunderstorms are so very spectacular. As someone who loves to play with gardening, I also appreciate the streamlining of and improvements to that system. In my view, the seasons are greatly enhanced by having different plants ripen and become ready for harvest at different times. I played through a Sims year, and, while initially I missed my new Sim couple being able to access certain fruits and vegetables right away, when Fall rolled around and suddenly Apples and Pears became harvestable, it felt like a much anticipated achievement. Each season just feels so different from the others, based on a number of reasons like the Sims' reactions, interactions with plants and weather, and each other, the holidays, etc). I did like Sims 3 Seasons, especially the Festivals; Sims 4 Seasons, though, wins hands down for me, not just because of the calendar feature, but for because it has totally transformed the game on every level.
Summer:
- Face Painting
- Tanning Booth
- Sunburns/Tans
- Swimming in Oceans
- Diving boards
- Hot dog eating contest
- Waterballoon fight
- Soccer shootouts
- Pool Floats
Fall:
- Leaf raking
- Trick or Treat
- Pumpkin Carving
- Bobbing for apples
- Pie eating Contest
- Haunted House
Winter:
- Snowdepth
- Snowball Fights
- Iglo Building
- Snow'pal' building
- Snow angels
- The ability to ice skate on frozen lakes
- Snowboarding
-Aliens (imo much better ones than we have atm in TS4)
- Online Dating
- Attraction System
- Rain dripping off the roofs
- Rain dripping off umbrellas
- Icicles hanging on the roofs in winter
- Rain effects hitting the puddles
- Puddles don't disappear the moment it stops raining
Ok, did I forgot something?
Now please tell me how Seasons in TS4 offers more content in the EP than the Sims 3 Seasons did.
We have a nice calendar feature, sure, but as you can see; when it comes to content it's nothing compared to the Sims 3.
And before people start about things such as Horseshoes throwing and Pumpkin carving and all that stuff that IS already in The Sims 4; Remember this all came with ONE expansion pack. Not with 10 different packs.
Feel free to add stuff to this list if I forgot something.
To me it seems very obvious that the budget of Sims 4 packs is much less compared to The Sims 3 Budget.
And that is the problem with this game.
How would you know you don't work for EA and besides I hate TS3 because when I play it I want it to be TS4 and also weather and the entire game runs terrible if you have all the packs CC and Mods to fix the problems.
I have installed all EP's/SP's/The entire store plus some mods/cc and my game still runs with minimal to no lag. I have a gaming desktop specifically for TS3 I built myself. What were you trying to run TS3 on? And yes, it is true TS3 can be played on older computers but the developers never said that it would be the best gaming experience either nor that all EP's/SP's/etc could be run. And the graphic settings has to be appropriate to what the computer can handle. There are many reasons as to why TS3 may not work for some.
You want the best for your hobby then it's going to cost money. A professional artist is not going to buy cheap supplies and expect quality as a result so why would a Sims enthusiast not care to have a proper setup for the best gaming experience? Can't afford one, nothing wrong with that but it is not the game's fault it cannot run the way it is meant to be played. Plus, it seems some don't even know that mods/cc can also slow down the game concerning poly count, bad cc, outdated mods, CPU/GPU intensive, etc. https://youtu.be/vQfEi9a2N8Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL1Cyd1vxZQ
These two videos below has all EP's/SP's and doesn't have any mods/cc. Even though I use mods/cc in my main saves, I do not need mods to play the game and actually from my personal experience runs the best without any 3rd party content or at the very least minimal. https://youtu.be/RecjZIs6N-E https://youtu.be/eGZxSsm5sUc
I so agree with this post.
I’m playing the sims 3 at the moment, it’s winter and the snow is deep, it’s also snowing. My game is not lagging and my FPS is 60. Have all dlc and some store content installed.
This computer is fantastic specs wise so I’m not too surprised as it runs more modern games that are more demanding.
I decided to test the terrain in sims 3 during the seasons out of curiosity. I found something interesting, now I'm guessing the real reason the colors look different is because of the lighting being darker but it is something neat I never noticed. The first time I did it, I thought it might be because I took the pictures at different times so I loaded up Bridgeport and took a picture at 12pm for each season.
I also made sure the weather was sunny everyday so winter had no snowfall.
Summer
Fall
Winter
Spring
Spring and fall look very similar but spring is actually slightly lighter from what I saw in game. I don't know if the picture show it that well
Summer:
- Face Painting
- Tanning Booth
- Sunburns/Tans
- Swimming in Oceans
- Diving boards
- Hot dog eating contest
- Waterballoon fight
- Soccer shootouts
- Pool Floats
Fall:
- Leaf raking
- Trick or Treat
- Pumpkin Carving
- Bobbing for apples
- Pie eating Contest
- Haunted House
Winter:
- Snowdepth
- Snowball Fights
- Iglo Building
- Snow'pal' building
- Snow angels
- The ability to ice skate on frozen lakes
- Snowboarding
-Aliens (imo much better ones than we have atm in TS4)
- Online Dating
- Attraction System
- Rain dripping off the roofs
- Rain dripping off umbrellas
- Icicles hanging on the roofs in winter
- Rain effects hitting the puddles
- Puddles don't disappear the moment it stops raining
Ok, did I forgot something?
Now please tell me how Seasons in TS4 offers more content in the EP than the Sims 3 Seasons did.
We have a nice calendar feature, sure, but as you can see; when it comes to content it's nothing compared to the Sims 3.
And before people start about things such as Horseshoes throwing and Pumpkin carving and all that stuff that IS already in The Sims 4; Remember this all came with ONE expansion pack. Not with 10 different packs.
Feel free to add stuff to this list if I forgot something.
To me it seems very obvious that the budget of Sims 4 packs is much less compared to The Sims 3 Budget.
And that is the problem with this game.
How would you know you don't work for EA and besides I hate TS3 because when I play it I want it to be TS4 and also weather and the entire game runs terrible if you have all the packs CC and Mods to fix the problems.
I have installed all EP's/SP's/The entire store plus some mods/cc and my game still runs with minimal to no lag. I have a gaming desktop specifically for TS3 I built myself. What were you trying to run TS3 on? And yes, it is true TS3 can be played on older computers but the developers never said that it would be the best gaming experience either nor that all EP's/SP's/etc could be run. And the graphic settings has to be appropriate to what the computer can handle. There are many reasons as to why TS3 may not work for some.
You want the best for your hobby then it's going to cost money. A professional artist is not going to buy cheap supplies and expect quality as a result so why would a Sims enthusiast not care to have a proper setup for the best gaming experience? Can't afford one, nothing wrong with that but it is not the game's fault it cannot run the way it is meant to be played. Plus, it seems some don't even know that mods/cc can also slow down the game concerning poly count, bad cc, outdated mods, CPU/GPU intensive, etc. https://youtu.be/vQfEi9a2N8Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL1Cyd1vxZQ
These two videos below has all EP's/SP's and doesn't have any mods/cc. Even though I use mods/cc in my main saves, I do not need mods to play the game and actually from my personal experience runs the best without any 3rd party content or at the very least minimal. https://youtu.be/RecjZIs6N-E https://youtu.be/eGZxSsm5sUc
I so agree with this post.
I’m playing the sims 3 at the moment, it’s winter and the snow is deep, it’s also snowing. My game is not lagging and my FPS is 60. Have all dlc and some store content installed.
This computer is fantastic specs wise so I’m not too surprised as it runs more modern games that are more demanding.
Same here, I run all the EPs, a lot of the SPs and all of the store content on all the highest setting with no lag from weather.
Summer:
- Face Painting
- Tanning Booth
- Sunburns/Tans
- Swimming in Oceans
- Diving boards
- Hot dog eating contest
- Waterballoon fight
- Soccer shootouts
- Pool Floats
Fall:
- Leaf raking
- Trick or Treat
- Pumpkin Carving
- Bobbing for apples
- Pie eating Contest
- Haunted House
Winter:
- Snowdepth
- Snowball Fights
- Iglo Building
- Snow'pal' building
- Snow angels
- The ability to ice skate on frozen lakes
- Snowboarding
-Aliens (imo much better ones than we have atm in TS4)
- Online Dating
- Attraction System
- Rain dripping off the roofs
- Rain dripping off umbrellas
- Icicles hanging on the roofs in winter
- Rain effects hitting the puddles
- Puddles don't disappear the moment it stops raining
Ok, did I forgot something?
Now please tell me how Seasons in TS4 offers more content in the EP than the Sims 3 Seasons did.
We have a nice calendar feature, sure, but as you can see; when it comes to content it's nothing compared to the Sims 3.
And before people start about things such as Horseshoes throwing and Pumpkin carving and all that stuff that IS already in The Sims 4; Remember this all came with ONE expansion pack. Not with 10 different packs.
Feel free to add stuff to this list if I forgot something.
To me it seems very obvious that the budget of Sims 4 packs is much less compared to The Sims 3 Budget.
And that is the problem with this game.
How would you know you don't work for EA and besides I hate TS3 because when I play it I want it to be TS4 and also weather and the entire game runs terrible if you have all the packs CC and Mods to fix the problems.
How would I know? Well just observing the packs and its content. Simple.
And besides you hating or loving the Sims 3/4 that's not up to debate. Love what you love, I just pointed out a very obvious fact by providing a list of content.
Yes, the Sims 3 isn't the smoothest game in the series, it's terrible with every pack installed. It's no secret, but the content is still there.
It's extremely frustrating to have all the packs and not be able to enjoy them because of the lag. I LOVED TS3, I WAITED 6 months to even buy TS4. I still love all iterations of this game but this Seasons pack changes things completely. I could never go back to playing without it. I do play TS3 without seasons.
@06Bon06 Yeah, the only thing that's really changing there is the lighting. I have played TS3 for years and wanted terrain changing for the seasons since The Sims 2 Seasons was released and have always paid close attention to the seasonal changes in each game. The Sims 3 did not have this detail. The major aesthetic details it had versus The Sims 2 Seasons were gradual snow accumulation (as opposed to the two stages in TS2), gradual seasons, and some weather effects like fog.
Irrelevant to the current discussion, but I think it's worth pointing out: Oddly enough, aesthetically The Sims 2 Seasons had one thing in regards to rain that neither The Sims 3 nor The Sims 4 carried over - rain visibly running down the roofs when it is raining. The Sims 3 has rain dripping off the roof (which The Sims 2 did not have), but not visibly running on the roof. It's odd to me that we see both of these aesthetic features in two different games but never in the same. Lol.
You want the best for your hobby then it's going to cost money. A professional artist is not going to buy cheap supplies and expect quality as a result so why would a Sims enthusiast not care to have a proper setup for the best gaming experience? Can't afford one, nothing wrong with that but it is not the game's fault it cannot run the way it is meant to be played.
A professional artist spends more money on their art supplies because it is their profession. The Sims is a video game. I don't even have any interest in any PC games outside of The Sims franchise, so putting in the investment to get a PC that can properly play The Sims 3 plus all Expansion Packs is not a simple decision. I have a feeling I'm far from alone here, I bet there are a lot of simmers who don't play any other PC games, or games at all. The Sims is a unique franchise that brings in a lot of otherwise non-gamers. For The Sims 3 to run with minimal lag and everything you really have to have a decent gaming PC. Just four years ago I invested in a PC for that purpose, I had help from simmers more knowledgeable in PCs, but also researched myself. We came up with a custom built PC from a PC building service, the parts were on sale, but the PC still cost just over $1000. For ONE game. The only part that someone could argue was unnecessary would be the SSD, but even without that it would still have been at least $900 IIRC.
Even after spending all of that money, the graphics card we chose was "too new" for The Sims 3 which gave me a migraine. I tried to figure out how to get the game to read it, but I still don't know if it's working the way it is supposed to be. PC gaming is a headache. I'd love a The Sims game with better graphical effects than The Sims 3, but boy do I not want to have to go through all of this trouble ever again. I'm not a big fan of The Sims 4's aesthetics as a whole, but the game does run like a charm on my PC, whereas The Sims 3 has issues even after all of the money I spent to make sure it didn't.
about the same, I feel like if the Sims 4, Snow accumulated, Houses lost Power during storms, and "Pipes" froze during extremely cold winter days. and had that survival aspect it would be exceedingly better.
@06Bon06 Yeah, the only thing that's really changing there is the lighting. I have played TS3 for years and wanted terrain changing for the seasons since The Sims 2 Seasons was released and have always paid close attention to the seasonal changes in each game. The Sims 3 did not have this detail. The major aesthetic details it had versus The Sims 2 Seasons were gradual snow accumulation (as opposed to the two stages in TS2), gradual seasons, and some weather effects like fog.
Irrelevant to the current discussion, but I think it's worth pointing out: Oddly enough, aesthetically The Sims 2 Seasons had one thing in regards to rain that neither The Sims 3 nor The Sims 4 carried over - rain visibly running down the roofs when it is raining. The Sims 3 has rain dripping off the roof (which The Sims 2 did not have), but not visibly running on the roof. It's odd to me that we see both of these aesthetic features in two different games but never in the same. Lol.
You want the best for your hobby then it's going to cost money. A professional artist is not going to buy cheap supplies and expect quality as a result so why would a Sims enthusiast not care to have a proper setup for the best gaming experience? Can't afford one, nothing wrong with that but it is not the game's fault it cannot run the way it is meant to be played.
A professional artist spends more money on their art supplies because it is their profession. The Sims is a video game. I don't even have any interest in any PC games outside of The Sims franchise, so putting in the investment to get a PC that can properly play The Sims 3 plus all Expansion Packs is not a simple decision. I have a feeling I'm far from alone here, I bet there are a lot of simmers who don't play any other PC games, or games at all. The Sims is a unique franchise that brings in a lot of otherwise non-gamers. For The Sims 3 to run with minimal lag and everything you really have to have a decent gaming PC. Just four years ago I invested in a PC for that purpose, I had help from simmers more knowledgeable in PCs, but also researched myself. We came up with a custom built PC from a PC building service, the parts were on sale, but the PC still cost just over $1000. For ONE game. The only part that someone could argue was unnecessary would be the SSD, but even without that it would still have been at least $900 IIRC.
Even after spending all of that money, the graphics card we chose was "too new" for The Sims 3 which gave me a migraine. I tried to figure out how to get the game to read it, but I still don't know if it's working the way it is supposed to be. PC gaming is a headache. I'd love a The Sims game with better graphical effects than The Sims 3, but boy do I not want to have to go through all of this trouble ever again. I'm not a big fan of The Sims 4's aesthetics as a whole, but the game does run like a charm on my PC, whereas The Sims 3 has issues even after all of the money I spent to make sure it didn't.
@06Bon06 Yeah, the only thing that's really changing there is the lighting. I have played TS3 for years and wanted terrain changing for the seasons since The Sims 2 Seasons was released and have always paid close attention to the seasonal changes in each game. The Sims 3 did not have this detail. The major aesthetic details it had versus The Sims 2 Seasons were gradual snow accumulation (as opposed to the two stages in TS2), gradual seasons, and some weather effects like fog.
Irrelevant to the current discussion, but I think it's worth pointing out: Oddly enough, aesthetically The Sims 2 Seasons had one thing in regards to rain that neither The Sims 3 nor The Sims 4 carried over - rain visibly running down the roofs when it is raining. The Sims 3 has rain dripping off the roof (which The Sims 2 did not have), but not visibly running on the roof. It's odd to me that we see both of these aesthetic features in two different games but never in the same. Lol.
You want the best for your hobby then it's going to cost money. A professional artist is not going to buy cheap supplies and expect quality as a result so why would a Sims enthusiast not care to have a proper setup for the best gaming experience? Can't afford one, nothing wrong with that but it is not the game's fault it cannot run the way it is meant to be played.
A professional artist spends more money on their art supplies because it is their profession. The Sims is a video game. I don't even have any interest in any PC games outside of The Sims franchise, so putting in the investment to get a PC that can properly play The Sims 3 plus all Expansion Packs is not a simple decision. I have a feeling I'm far from alone here, I bet there are a lot of simmers who don't play any other PC games, or games at all. The Sims is a unique franchise that brings in a lot of otherwise non-gamers. For The Sims 3 to run with minimal lag and everything you really have to have a decent gaming PC. Just four years ago I invested in a PC for that purpose, I had help from simmers more knowledgeable in PCs, but also researched myself. We came up with a custom built PC from a PC building service, the parts were on sale, but the PC still cost just over $1000. For ONE game. The only part that someone could argue was unnecessary would be the SSD, but even without that it would still have been at least $900 IIRC.
Even after spending all of that money, the graphics card we chose was "too new" for The Sims 3 which gave me a migraine. I tried to figure out how to get the game to read it, but I still don't know if it's working the way it is supposed to be. PC gaming is a headache. I'd love a The Sims game with better graphical effects than The Sims 3, but boy do I not want to have to go through all of this trouble ever again. I'm not a big fan of The Sims 4's aesthetics as a whole, but the game does run like a charm on my PC, whereas The Sims 3 has issues even after all of the money I spent to make sure it didn't.
Well i think the warmer darker lighting is nice. I'd take that over the close world from Sims 4 any day. Idk but to me it gets so exhausting having a 100 loading Screens just because i want my sims to see the world.
I've said this before but the funny thing is Sims 3 ran so smoothly on my old laptop. 2gb ram, no special gpu. It was bottom range and it ran all the packs so well on med to high setting. The only computer that ran isla paradiso well too XD.
I love the lighting and a lot of the effects Sims 4 has since it is a newer game but unfortunately it brows me out of my mind. I even tried to keep my sim poor as an archeologist and still got bored.
Many seem to talk about how detailed the TS4 Seasons is. The autumn leaves in TS 3 felt more real though, and why the hecj do the raked leaves start to stink after a while? Yes, leaf decomposes, but they dont do that green odour thing that looks silly. Also, the pile of ash after onbe burns the pile of leaves, should be something that dissolves in time to the ground, not something you throw away.
Disappearing plants and growing onions, garlic and Spinaci in midle of winter for example, is also horribly wrtong. I mean i l9ive in Finland, and if i do try to put some onions or spnaci seeds to the ground, they certainly do not grown in -20 celsius, they wait until its warm ewnough and then start to grown. Not necessarily at spring, but maybe in late summer if temperature and other conditions are certain.
The plant growing for seasons should be completely (re)overhauled to make it like they do in real life. Also, i have some grapewines on my backyard, they grow nicely and produce some fruit on the fall(early fall). But they do get green and start to grown WHEN TEMPERATURE and OTHER CONDITIONS arre certain. They certainly do not start growing out of the soil when fall hits, the wines are always present and act like trees, they grow new leaf each spring and they most definitely do not disappear during winter, the wines are present the whole year. These details are all wrong.
Then the winter. Yes the snow looks great from the distance, it glistens and glitters beautifully and the snowfall is beautifully peaceful. But i do miss hail and extreme weather conditions like that and the lack of deoth on snow is major problem. Shoveling snow is nice addition, but it looks horrible, when the Sim just uses the shovel on white sheet that actually does not change naturally due the lack of depth. When i or pets walk on the snow, the footprints left behind are not sunk in the snow, but instead, they do pop up from the snow a bit. This is horribly bad.
Right now, im tending to think that Sims 3 in overall is way better than Sims 4, but i did bought the whole game without good research first, and i have to stick to it, until i think my money has been gettinmg at least some worth. After that im back to Sims 3, where only problems are stuttering, long savetimes and pudding faced sims (Which can easily be remedied by mods).
I do hope they patch some snow depth in time though.
People talk about the calendartoo, to be honest, i have not even paid much attention to it, it seems like a funny thing to be called "Major feature we focuse on".
Many seem to talk about how detailed the TS4 Seasons is. The autumn leaves in TS 3 felt more real though, and why the hecj do the raked leaves start to stink after a while? Yes, leaf decomposes, but they dont do that green odour thing that looks silly. Also, the pile of ash after onbe burns the pile of leaves, should be something that dissolves in time to the ground, not something you throw away.
Disappearing plants and growing onions, garlic and Spinaci in midle of winter for example, is also horribly wrtong. I mean i l9ive in Finland, and if i do try to put some onions or spnaci seeds to the ground, they certainly do not grown in -20 celsius, they wait until its warm ewnough and then start to grown. Not necessarily at spring, but maybe in late summer if temperature and other conditions are certain.
The plant growing for seasons should be completely (re)overhauled to make it like they do in real life. Also, i have some grapewines on my backyard, they grow nicely and produce some fruit on the fall(early fall). But they do get green and start to grown WHEN TEMPERATURE and OTHER CONDITIONS arre certain. They certainly do not start growing out of the soil when fall hits, the wines are always present and act like trees, they grow new leaf each spring and they most definitely do not disappear during winter, the wines are present the whole year. These details are all wrong.
Then the winter. Yes the snow looks great from the distance, it glistens and glitters beautifully and the snowfall is beautifully peaceful. But i do miss hail and extreme weather conditions like that and the lack of deoth on snow is major problem. Shoveling snow is nice addition, but it looks horrible, when the Sim just uses the shovel on white sheet that actually does not change naturally due the lack of depth. When i or pets walk on the snow, the footprints left behind are not sunk in the snow, but instead, they do pop up from the snow a bit. This is horribly bad.
Right now, im tending to think that Sims 3 in overall is way better than Sims 4, but i did bought the whole game without good research first, and i have to stick to it, until i think my money has been gettinmg at least some worth. After that im back to Sims 3, where only problems are stuttering, long savetimes and pudding faced sims (Which can easily be remedied by mods).
I do hope they patch some snow depth in time though.
People talk about the calendartoo, to be honest, i have not even paid much attention to it, it seems like a funny thing to be called "Major feature we focuse on".
Well together with the traditions the calendar introduces a lot of new interactions and things to do, it's more than just a collection / recording of future events. By chosing to make resolutions a tradition on NYE or other self-made holidays for example, your sims really get to pick from a list of resolutions, giving you a set number of days to complete them. You can meet NPCs, have special gift giving parties, have kids come trick or treating etc. I haven't played more than 3 premade holidays so I don't know all the possibilities yet but it's definitely more than just a calendar. It's a tool that sets new gameplay events in motion and adds plenty of opportunities for storytelling. I understand of course if you personally don't like it, but that is why to me, yes, it's a major new feature and one that I love a hell of a lot more than the clubs from GT cause it's far less forced!
Sims 3 Seasons except... the Sims 4 calendar. However, in Sims 3, you could already plan things in advance, and Sims 4 having this is welcome, and the graphical interface is better.
Holidays... Hmmmm, more of Sims 4 checklist gameplay. There's the potential to cheat as well, but it's a cheat I welcome. If you have gardening as one of your holiday goals, when you're given the opportunity to buy stuff for the holiday, you can buy ever single seed. However, they raised the prices of the seeds to punitive on the rarer ones, which is a good change.
Things that I think they should add to the Sims 4 Seasons via patch:
The ability to turn off certain seasons and to adjust the days of the seasons individually. Really, I live in a climate that has a 5 month winter. It's far longer than spring. In fact, you could say we really have 3 seasons given our springs are so short. Since I'm not that far north, I don't think this is an unusual climate. I'd like to be able to reflect that. They had this in Sims 3.
Snow that accumulates. My climate, again, often will have a foot of snow in a night, and that changes the way we live for the next couple of days. Neighborhoods that have a lot of medical care workers will have priority on getting plowed, but very big snow-ready vehicles will often take medical personnel to work. Skiing/snowmobiling in on those days are also not unusual. Having a white paint on the ground just doesn't begin to reflect what winter is to me. Also in Sims 3.
Uh, fewer heat deaths. Seriously. I like that people can die of the heat, but I don't like that at parties people will often forget to change into their hot weather gear. Nothing ruins a party more than having three guests drop dead of heat exhaustion. You'd think they'd jump in the pool or something before getting to that point. They just need to be smarter about the weather. Smarter sims, right? So there's no reason for them to die of heat when there's a kiddie pool and a swimming pool AND a water slide. Sims in Sims 3 seemed to at least try to avoid heat deaths (and cold deaths).
I'd like there to be new parties based on the season. Give us pool parties in the summer, have the harvest holiday be a formal party as well. A new years party -- again, a formal one. And maybe, oh, I don't know, graduation parties or some sort in the spring (that's the one that comes to mind but I'm sure there are other types that are pretty much exclusive to spring.
I'm playing pretty slow through the seasons so I'm just transitioning from Spring to Summer, but right now I'd say Sims 4. Haven't really done much yet with the custom holidays (I want to get a feel for the seasons first) but I haven't felt the need to add in a bunch of extra holidays. My Sims have been making more friends so they'll have people to invite over for the Grand Feasts later in the year. Sims 3 in general was more focused on community activities, while Sims 4 feels more focused on the home. I really love the seasonal crafts for the kids -- gives more purpose to the craft tables, and gift giving is really cute. When my kids get older and move out I'm looking forward to my Sims visiting them to give Simoleons and help them out as they get started.
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The terrain color 'changing' for the frost is not comparable. The frost in The Sims 3 is not different from the early stages of snow accumulation. I suppose with flat terrain instead of 3D grass like we have IRL there just isn't any way to properly represent frost and that's the best they could do.
In The Sims 4 Seasons, the terrain itself actually changes for the seasons, making the grass browner for autumn and winter. It's not a temporary frost effect, it's an actual change that lasts throughout the seasons. Underneath the frost in The Sims 3, the terrain is exactly the same throughout all four seasons, and you can see under that frost that the grass is still the same color.
The terrain in TS3 does change during colder temperatures. To the extent of TS4, no and I don't care because it is accurate enough and it is also gameplay that is going to keep me entertained for years to come. While I do love visual details that shows they put in a lot of thought, effort and passion into it I know that alone is not going to keep me invested in the game even if it is pretty to look at. Why was I so excited about such small details in Detroit: Become Human about how the characters move about in the world? It was believable and extremely natural looking and fluent. Reminds me of listening to the Sims walk and how it sounds different on different surfaces like from carpet to hard wood and when females wear heels or not. Though, I could be imagining that last part, I'll have to check the next time I play but I think that's what I remember observing. Playing with headphones, you get to hear all kinds of audio that let's you know the developers were paying attention to detail.
IRL Some plants are evergreen, some even flower during the winter. However, those are pretty rare. And I actually researched the plants that EA based their shrubs and such off of and many of them are deciduous. In The Sims 3 absolutely no plants found outside of the trees category except for one single shrub added with Into The Future change for the seasons. It's a major oversight and can not even begin to be excused with "some plants are evergreens", EA just didn't put the time into it, period.
Flowering bushes underneath the snow when the temperatures are near 0 degrees F really ruins my immersion.
I just looked up hydrangea which is the plant you show in Bridgeport. "They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the widely cultivated temperate species are all deciduous." -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrangea
The blue hydrangea comes from the base game. "Hydrangea macrophylla is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to Japan. It is a deciduous shrub growing to 2 m (7 ft) tall by 2.5 m (8 ft) broad with large heads of pink or blue flowers in summer and autumn. It is widely cultivated in many parts of the world in many climates." -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrangea_macrophylla
"In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous (/dɪˈsɪdʒuəs/) means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flowering; and to the shedding of ripe fruit." -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deciduous
I'm not going to research every single tree, shrub or plant in TS3. For you, it is an oversight. For me, it would be more realistic but I'm not fussed over it. If I were a botanist, it might drive me crazy but then again I know that all video games has a limit to what can and cannot be done whatever the circumstances may be. TS3 being an open world and simulating all Sims at all times plus seasonal changes is already an extraordinary feat in and of itself. Not as dedicated to realism but one of those things that's like, "There's still so much this game offers and that is not a deal breaker at all." Otherwise, as long as the game is realistic in a sense enough and I'm having fun because gameplay keeps me invested...that is what really matters to me.
“What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter”
The terrain color 'changing' for the frost is not comparable. The frost in The Sims 3 is not different from the early stages of snow accumulation. I suppose with flat terrain instead of 3D grass like we have IRL there just isn't any way to properly represent frost and that's the best they could do.
In The Sims 4 Seasons, the terrain itself actually changes for the seasons, making the grass browner for autumn and winter. It's not a temporary frost effect, it's an actual change that lasts throughout the seasons. Underneath the frost in The Sims 3, the terrain is exactly the same throughout all four seasons, and you can see under that frost that the grass is still the same color.
The terrain in TS3 does change during colder temperatures. To the extent of TS4, no and I don't care because it is accurate enough and it is also gameplay that is going to keep me entertained for years to come. While I do love visual details that shows they put in a lot of thought, effort and passion into it I know that alone is not going to keep me invested in the game even if it is pretty to look at. Why was I so excited about such small details in Detroit: Become Human about how the characters move about in the world? It was believable and extremely natural looking and fluent. Reminds me of listening to the Sims walk and how it sounds different on different surfaces like from carpet to hard wood and when females wear heels or not. Though, I could be imagining that last part, I'll have to check the next time I play but I think that's what I remember observing. Playing with headphones, you get to hear all kinds of audio that let's you know the developers were paying attention to detail.
IRL Some plants are evergreen, some even flower during the winter. However, those are pretty rare. And I actually researched the plants that EA based their shrubs and such off of and many of them are deciduous. In The Sims 3 absolutely no plants found outside of the trees category except for one single shrub added with Into The Future change for the seasons. It's a major oversight and can not even begin to be excused with "some plants are evergreens", EA just didn't put the time into it, period.
Flowering bushes underneath the snow when the temperatures are near 0 degrees F really ruins my immersion.
I just looked up hydrangea which is the plant you show in Bridgeport. "They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the widely cultivated temperate species are all deciduous." -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrangea
The blue hydrangea comes from the base game. "Hydrangea macrophylla is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to Japan. It is a deciduous shrub growing to 2 m (7 ft) tall by 2.5 m (8 ft) broad with large heads of pink or blue flowers in summer and autumn. It is widely cultivated in many parts of the world in many climates." -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrangea_macrophylla
"In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous (/dɪˈsɪdʒuəs/) means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flowering; and to the shedding of ripe fruit." -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deciduous
I'm not going to research every single tree, shrub or plant in TS3. For you, it is an oversight. For me, it would be more realistic but I'm not fussed over it. If I were a botanist, it might drive me crazy but then again I know that all video games has a limit to what can and cannot be done whatever the circumstances may be. TS3 being an open world and simulating all Sims at all times plus seasonal changes is already an extraordinary feat in and of itself. Not as dedicated to realism but one of those things that's like, "There's still so much this game offers and that is not a deal breaker at all." Otherwise, as long as the game is realistic in a sense enough and I'm having fun because gameplay keeps me invested...that is what really matters to me.
So it seems it does change then? Very subtly to the point on would probably not notice without comparing pictures. Even if it is just the lighting to me it gives the atmosphere.
This is a really good point. No matter how many shrubs go dormant in Sims 4 or if the grass turns brown, it won't make up for all the little details that i notice that are gone like no Water drops in puddles. Sims 4 to me has no replayability, I played the 3 careers from CL and i never want to see them again. It feels like a game i run through the quarts quickly and i'm done with the pack whirl Sims 2 and 3 never gave me that feeling. I've owned and played Sims 3 since the release date and i can honestly say there is so much I've never done because there is so much to do. I've never owned horses for instance. I've never explored a lot of the bg careers or found the gems.
Sims 2 and 3 makes me feel like i'm playing a new game everytime i open and even the same experiences feel different. I don't have Sims 4 seasons but I've learned my lesson. Even a pack like JA that was supposed to have replay ability failed.
I don't need a calendar or a checkbox to have traditions For my sims.
Of course, @06Bon06 screenshots captures the terrain color as well.
I am really not seeing it at all. And frost should not have to be present to see any kind of change. In The Sims 4 Seasons it is that way, you could have a winter without snow and the winter would look different from the Spring and Summer beyond the lack of leaves of trees. The same can not be said of The Sims 3, except for a slightly different lighting that you have to see side-by-side screenshots to be able to really tell the difference.
It's important to distinguish between changes in lighting slightly effecting how the terrain looks and actual terrain changes. I was very skeptical of it when I first saw it in The Sims 4 Seasons' trailer, I was convinced it most likely had to be some kind of lighting trick. However it most certainly isn't.
I'm not going to research every single tree, shrub or plant in TS3. For you, it is an oversight. For me, it would be more realistic but I'm not fussed over it. If I were a botanist, it might drive me crazy but then again I know that all video games has a limit to what can and cannot be done whatever the circumstances may be. TS3 being an open world and simulating all Sims at all times plus seasonal changes is already an extraordinary feat in and of itself. Not as dedicated to realism but one of those things that's like, "There's still so much this game offers and that is not a deal breaker at all." Otherwise, as long as the game is realistic in a sense enough and I'm having fun because gameplay keeps me invested...that is what really matters to me.
No need to research, I've already done it myself. It is an oversight. You don't have to care, it doesn't have to impact your opinion over the game. All I'm doing is pointing out that it is a major aesthetic oversight in The Sims 3 (and The Sims 2, as well, but more forgivable considering that was the first Seasons pack). That's the thing it is aesthetic, and if you don't care about it that is fine. However, I think it should at least be acknowledged when we're having this discussion, especially because a lot of people ARE making a big fuss about aesthetic shortcomings of The Sims 4 Seasons including lack of rain drops on the ground, lack of rain dropping off of the roofs, fog, and snow depth. The Sims 4 Seasons just happens to have a couple of major aesthetic improvements over previous entries. Again, those don't have to matter to you or anyone else, but they should be acknowledged because they are a fact.
I admit for me, aesthetics are big part of the appeal of Seasons for me. Of course, we need ample gameplay features as well (which, by my individual tastes, both TS3 and 4 accomplish this in the Seasons EPs. Although I will not factually deny there is more to TS3's Seasons activities), but the shifting aesthetics keep the game changing visually and change from each day to day of the lives and that has always been a major draw for me. The Sims 2 Seasons is probably the reason I ever really became someone who actually played the sims instead of just being a CAS user and (poor) builder. The Sims 1's frustrating gameplay made me 'scared' to actually try Sims play in The Sims 2 at first. I know that's silly, but that's me. Once Seasons was released I had a reason that I just had to play out Sims and I ended up enjoying it and realizing it was nowhere as near as frustratingly hard to keep up with as the original The Sims.
Anyway, I love the aesthetics of winter IRL. As I've said before, we don't see a lot of snow anymore where I live, so the winter I usually see is without snow. I was so incredibly disappointed with The Sims 3 in this aspect. Seeing this actually nailed for the first time in The Sims 4 has had a very odd effect of drawing me to a game I otherwise dislike just because that aesthetic appeals to me so much. I know I'm weird, but to each their own, right?
Sadly for me it will be hard to go back to TS3's Seasons after this. If anyone ever makes a good winter mod for The Sims 3 I will love them for it, however, it seems like the coding isn't even there for it. No coding for changing terrain with seasons, no coding for changing leaves brown for the winter and getting rid of flowers. No coding for changing grasses (like having the regular ranch weeds in the Spring/Summer and gradually changing over into the dry ranch weeds for late autumn and winter) It's a shame. But I don't know all that modders are capable of. Wish I could be one, but I was miserable taking coding classes in high school. Never again!
I love how each one of you have different opinions. It shows that we are can love different aspects of sims 3 & sims 4 and still be civil. I appreciate all of your comments
I love how each one of you have different opinions. It shows that we are can love different aspects of sims 3 & sims 4 and still be civil. I appreciate all of your comments
So are you considering which version of Seasons to purchase?
Hmm, i guess i haave to play with the calendar to form an opinion of it. It sounds good additional feature, but maybe i had placed it in GP called Holidays or something :)
I feel like i have allready done some of those "Calendar things" you described with my imagination in Ts2, Ts3 and Ts4 and that has been great, but making it "live" so to say, could make a good fun in long term, especially the traditions. In Ts3, i had traditional Yule meals with my witch coven and did some other magical stuff and some stuff i could call resolutions, i have a good imagination, propably due playing old good D6D quite a bit back at the day :)
I wonder, if i can turn winter effects off when i go to build mode like it automatically did in Ts3. Sometimes the snow and whiteness really makes it difficult for me to do some stuff?
Comments
Yeah, I always heard that The Sims 4 had some wacky animations that put people off. This certainly has to be one of those. But I appreciate the feature regardless.
That's a shame. Yeah, the EP looks pretty bare-bones for pets, and then there's that stuff pack which added content that should have been in Cats and Dogs. I do love the world, though. Like that screenshot I posted from the other topic is from that world. It's certainly got a coastal New England vibe to it, which I love. One of my issues with The Sims 3 (both EA and fans were/are guilty of this) is that so many worlds created were warm/hot climates. No one ever seems to appreciate cooler/cold climates. I appreciate the couple of cold climate worlds I have been able to find.
Yeah... I saw there's a mod for it, though, which is pretty neat.
I haven't played that feature much, unfortunately. To me it just felt like standard The Sims ice skating. They go around in circles and fall down. Lol. I don't know about the advanced skating or if couples skating is a thing. The sims I've been playing are busy, so they don't have much time for that kind of thing.
I have installed all EP's/SP's/The entire store plus some mods/cc and my game still runs with minimal to no lag. I have a gaming desktop specifically for TS3 I built myself. What were you trying to run TS3 on? And yes, it is true TS3 can be played on older computers but the developers never said that it would be the best gaming experience either nor that all EP's/SP's/etc could be run. And the graphic settings has to be appropriate to what the computer can handle. There are many reasons as to why TS3 may not work for some.
You want the best for your hobby then it's going to cost money. A professional artist is not going to buy cheap supplies and expect quality as a result so why would a Sims enthusiast not care to have a proper setup for the best gaming experience? Can't afford one, nothing wrong with that but it is not the game's fault it cannot run the way it is meant to be played. Plus, it seems some don't even know that mods/cc can also slow down the game concerning poly count, bad cc, outdated mods, CPU/GPU intensive, etc.
These two videos below has all EP's/SP's and doesn't have any mods/cc. Even though I use mods/cc in my main saves, I do not need mods to play the game and actually from my personal experience runs the best without any 3rd party content or at the very least minimal.
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter”
What is the point - and I fully agree with you there - is that at least we can enjoy seasons in Sims 4 now. Isn’t that all that matters? So, what’s the point of this topic anyway? Play and don’t look back if looking back makes you dissatisfied. I’m convinced I’ll find as much pleasure out of Sims 4‘s Seasons (very well done apparently) as I get out of Sims 3’s Seasons (very well done as well, they simply did an amazing job turning those open worlds into a seasonal setting). I play vampires in TS4 now and so far I’m having fun, in fact because they are so different from Sims 3’s vampires. They’re fun and they are a brand new experience, what more do I need? And even though there are aspects of the TS4 vamps I really like, it really doesn’t suddenly start me whining about vampires in the other game. Had fun with those as well.
Well since this is the first post by the OP, @LIENNE11, since June 2017 maybe she's trying to decide which version of Seasons to invest in.
I do not remember Sims 3 having an calendar back then but for me that mean little for it is something I would expect in an newer version for that is evolution of an game. What version is better will always be an hot topic going forward being most was exposed to the features of Sims 3 and then looking at Sims 4 and seeing what it has. The real accomplishment going forward is taking some of those features from Sims 3 and making it work in Sims 4 and not streamlining it for a game just to run well and not many notable features is not an great accomplishment to me. Controversy will always be Sims 4 legacy for me, how it ran on someone else system is not my concern for it is how well it ran on my systems and it did run well. No, Sims 3 was not perfect but it allowed me to do things I can't even do in Sims 4.
As it is, on my computer with the nice graphics, Sims 4 Seasons looks gorgeous. The snow sparkles, the air looks crisp and cold, the light changes according to time and whether it is cloudy or not, the wind blows (in varying intensities!) and everything looks just beautiful. I love the fact that the weather is different in different neighbourhoods, that the terrain and all the plants are now seasonal in appearance, and that the thunderstorms are so very spectacular. As someone who loves to play with gardening, I also appreciate the streamlining of and improvements to that system. In my view, the seasons are greatly enhanced by having different plants ripen and become ready for harvest at different times. I played through a Sims year, and, while initially I missed my new Sim couple being able to access certain fruits and vegetables right away, when Fall rolled around and suddenly Apples and Pears became harvestable, it felt like a much anticipated achievement. Each season just feels so different from the others, based on a number of reasons like the Sims' reactions, interactions with plants and weather, and each other, the holidays, etc). I did like Sims 3 Seasons, especially the Festivals; Sims 4 Seasons, though, wins hands down for me, not just because of the calendar feature, but for because it has totally transformed the game on every level.
I so agree with this post.
I’m playing the sims 3 at the moment, it’s winter and the snow is deep, it’s also snowing. My game is not lagging and my FPS is 60. Have all dlc and some store content installed.
This computer is fantastic specs wise so I’m not too surprised as it runs more modern games that are more demanding.
I decided to test the terrain in sims 3 during the seasons out of curiosity. I found something interesting, now I'm guessing the real reason the colors look different is because of the lighting being darker but it is something neat I never noticed. The first time I did it, I thought it might be because I took the pictures at different times so I loaded up Bridgeport and took a picture at 12pm for each season.
I also made sure the weather was sunny everyday so winter had no snowfall.
Summer
Fall
Winter
Spring
Spring and fall look very similar but spring is actually slightly lighter from what I saw in game. I don't know if the picture show it that well
Then just for my own amusement
I love the snow XD
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Thank you @MDianaSanders for halloween-fying Golluma
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Thank you @MDianaSanders for halloween-fying Golluma
It's extremely frustrating to have all the packs and not be able to enjoy them because of the lag. I LOVED TS3, I WAITED 6 months to even buy TS4. I still love all iterations of this game but this Seasons pack changes things completely. I could never go back to playing without it. I do play TS3 without seasons.
Irrelevant to the current discussion, but I think it's worth pointing out: Oddly enough, aesthetically The Sims 2 Seasons had one thing in regards to rain that neither The Sims 3 nor The Sims 4 carried over - rain visibly running down the roofs when it is raining. The Sims 3 has rain dripping off the roof (which The Sims 2 did not have), but not visibly running on the roof. It's odd to me that we see both of these aesthetic features in two different games but never in the same. Lol.
A professional artist spends more money on their art supplies because it is their profession. The Sims is a video game. I don't even have any interest in any PC games outside of The Sims franchise, so putting in the investment to get a PC that can properly play The Sims 3 plus all Expansion Packs is not a simple decision. I have a feeling I'm far from alone here, I bet there are a lot of simmers who don't play any other PC games, or games at all. The Sims is a unique franchise that brings in a lot of otherwise non-gamers. For The Sims 3 to run with minimal lag and everything you really have to have a decent gaming PC. Just four years ago I invested in a PC for that purpose, I had help from simmers more knowledgeable in PCs, but also researched myself. We came up with a custom built PC from a PC building service, the parts were on sale, but the PC still cost just over $1000. For ONE game. The only part that someone could argue was unnecessary would be the SSD, but even without that it would still have been at least $900 IIRC.
Even after spending all of that money, the graphics card we chose was "too new" for The Sims 3 which gave me a migraine. I tried to figure out how to get the game to read it, but I still don't know if it's working the way it is supposed to be. PC gaming is a headache. I'd love a The Sims game with better graphical effects than The Sims 3, but boy do I not want to have to go through all of this trouble ever again. I'm not a big fan of The Sims 4's aesthetics as a whole, but the game does run like a charm on my PC, whereas The Sims 3 has issues even after all of the money I spent to make sure it didn't.
My Mood:
Well i think the warmer darker lighting is nice. I'd take that over the close world from Sims 4 any day. Idk but to me it gets so exhausting having a 100 loading Screens just because i want my sims to see the world.
I've said this before but the funny thing is Sims 3 ran so smoothly on my old laptop. 2gb ram, no special gpu. It was bottom range and it ran all the packs so well on med to high setting. The only computer that ran isla paradiso well too XD.
I love the lighting and a lot of the effects Sims 4 has since it is a newer game but unfortunately it brows me out of my mind. I even tried to keep my sim poor as an archeologist and still got bored.
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Thank you @MDianaSanders for halloween-fying Golluma
Disappearing plants and growing onions, garlic and Spinaci in midle of winter for example, is also horribly wrtong. I mean i l9ive in Finland, and if i do try to put some onions or spnaci seeds to the ground, they certainly do not grown in -20 celsius, they wait until its warm ewnough and then start to grown. Not necessarily at spring, but maybe in late summer if temperature and other conditions are certain.
The plant growing for seasons should be completely (re)overhauled to make it like they do in real life. Also, i have some grapewines on my backyard, they grow nicely and produce some fruit on the fall(early fall). But they do get green and start to grown WHEN TEMPERATURE and OTHER CONDITIONS arre certain. They certainly do not start growing out of the soil when fall hits, the wines are always present and act like trees, they grow new leaf each spring and they most definitely do not disappear during winter, the wines are present the whole year. These details are all wrong.
Then the winter. Yes the snow looks great from the distance, it glistens and glitters beautifully and the snowfall is beautifully peaceful. But i do miss hail and extreme weather conditions like that and the lack of deoth on snow is major problem. Shoveling snow is nice addition, but it looks horrible, when the Sim just uses the shovel on white sheet that actually does not change naturally due the lack of depth. When i or pets walk on the snow, the footprints left behind are not sunk in the snow, but instead, they do pop up from the snow a bit. This is horribly bad.
Right now, im tending to think that Sims 3 in overall is way better than Sims 4, but i did bought the whole game without good research first, and i have to stick to it, until i think my money has been gettinmg at least some worth. After that im back to Sims 3, where only problems are stuttering, long savetimes and pudding faced sims (Which can easily be remedied by mods).
I do hope they patch some snow depth in time though.
People talk about the calendartoo, to be honest, i have not even paid much attention to it, it seems like a funny thing to be called "Major feature we focuse on".
Well together with the traditions the calendar introduces a lot of new interactions and things to do, it's more than just a collection / recording of future events. By chosing to make resolutions a tradition on NYE or other self-made holidays for example, your sims really get to pick from a list of resolutions, giving you a set number of days to complete them. You can meet NPCs, have special gift giving parties, have kids come trick or treating etc. I haven't played more than 3 premade holidays so I don't know all the possibilities yet but it's definitely more than just a calendar. It's a tool that sets new gameplay events in motion and adds plenty of opportunities for storytelling. I understand of course if you personally don't like it, but that is why to me, yes, it's a major new feature
Holidays... Hmmmm, more of Sims 4 checklist gameplay. There's the potential to cheat as well, but it's a cheat I welcome. If you have gardening as one of your holiday goals, when you're given the opportunity to buy stuff for the holiday, you can buy ever single seed. However, they raised the prices of the seeds to punitive on the rarer ones, which is a good change.
Things that I think they should add to the Sims 4 Seasons via patch:
The ability to turn off certain seasons and to adjust the days of the seasons individually. Really, I live in a climate that has a 5 month winter. It's far longer than spring. In fact, you could say we really have 3 seasons given our springs are so short. Since I'm not that far north, I don't think this is an unusual climate. I'd like to be able to reflect that. They had this in Sims 3.
Snow that accumulates. My climate, again, often will have a foot of snow in a night, and that changes the way we live for the next couple of days. Neighborhoods that have a lot of medical care workers will have priority on getting plowed, but very big snow-ready vehicles will often take medical personnel to work. Skiing/snowmobiling in on those days are also not unusual. Having a white paint on the ground just doesn't begin to reflect what winter is to me. Also in Sims 3.
Uh, fewer heat deaths. Seriously. I like that people can die of the heat, but I don't like that at parties people will often forget to change into their hot weather gear. Nothing ruins a party more than having three guests drop dead of heat exhaustion. You'd think they'd jump in the pool or something before getting to that point. They just need to be smarter about the weather. Smarter sims, right? So there's no reason for them to die of heat when there's a kiddie pool and a swimming pool AND a water slide. Sims in Sims 3 seemed to at least try to avoid heat deaths (and cold deaths).
I'd like there to be new parties based on the season. Give us pool parties in the summer, have the harvest holiday be a formal party as well. A new years party -- again, a formal one. And maybe, oh, I don't know, graduation parties or some sort in the spring (that's the one that comes to mind but I'm sure there are other types that are pretty much exclusive to spring.
Fun must be always -- Tomas Hertl (San Jose Sharks hockey player)
The terrain in TS3 does change during colder temperatures. To the extent of TS4, no and I don't care because it is accurate enough and it is also gameplay that is going to keep me entertained for years to come. While I do love visual details that shows they put in a lot of thought, effort and passion into it I know that alone is not going to keep me invested in the game even if it is pretty to look at. Why was I so excited about such small details in Detroit: Become Human about how the characters move about in the world? It was believable and extremely natural looking and fluent. Reminds me of listening to the Sims walk and how it sounds different on different surfaces like from carpet to hard wood and when females wear heels or not. Though, I could be imagining that last part, I'll have to check the next time I play but I think that's what I remember observing. Playing with headphones, you get to hear all kinds of audio that let's you know the developers were paying attention to detail.
Of course, @06Bon06 screenshots captures the terrain color as well.
I just looked up hydrangea which is the plant you show in Bridgeport. "They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the widely cultivated temperate species are all deciduous." -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrangea
The blue hydrangea comes from the base game. "Hydrangea macrophylla is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to Japan. It is a deciduous shrub growing to 2 m (7 ft) tall by 2.5 m (8 ft) broad with large heads of pink or blue flowers in summer and autumn. It is widely cultivated in many parts of the world in many climates." -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrangea_macrophylla
"In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous (/dɪˈsɪdʒuəs/) means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flowering; and to the shedding of ripe fruit." -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deciduous
I'm not going to research every single tree, shrub or plant in TS3. For you, it is an oversight. For me, it would be more realistic but I'm not fussed over it. If I were a botanist, it might drive me crazy but then again I know that all video games has a limit to what can and cannot be done whatever the circumstances may be. TS3 being an open world and simulating all Sims at all times plus seasonal changes is already an extraordinary feat in and of itself. Not as dedicated to realism but one of those things that's like, "There's still so much this game offers and that is not a deal breaker at all." Otherwise, as long as the game is realistic in a sense enough and I'm having fun because gameplay keeps me invested...that is what really matters to me.
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter”
So it seems it does change then? Very subtly to the point on would probably not notice without comparing pictures. Even if it is just the lighting to me it gives the atmosphere.
This is a really good point. No matter how many shrubs go dormant in Sims 4 or if the grass turns brown, it won't make up for all the little details that i notice that are gone like no Water drops in puddles. Sims 4 to me has no replayability, I played the 3 careers from CL and i never want to see them again. It feels like a game i run through the quarts quickly and i'm done with the pack whirl Sims 2 and 3 never gave me that feeling. I've owned and played Sims 3 since the release date and i can honestly say there is so much I've never done because there is so much to do. I've never owned horses for instance. I've never explored a lot of the bg careers or found the gems.
Sims 2 and 3 makes me feel like i'm playing a new game everytime i open and even the same experiences feel different. I don't have Sims 4 seasons but I've learned my lesson. Even a pack like JA that was supposed to have replay ability failed.
I don't need a calendar or a checkbox to have traditions For my sims.
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Thank you @MDianaSanders for halloween-fying Golluma
I am really not seeing it at all. And frost should not have to be present to see any kind of change. In The Sims 4 Seasons it is that way, you could have a winter without snow and the winter would look different from the Spring and Summer beyond the lack of leaves of trees. The same can not be said of The Sims 3, except for a slightly different lighting that you have to see side-by-side screenshots to be able to really tell the difference.
It's important to distinguish between changes in lighting slightly effecting how the terrain looks and actual terrain changes. I was very skeptical of it when I first saw it in The Sims 4 Seasons' trailer, I was convinced it most likely had to be some kind of lighting trick. However it most certainly isn't.
No need to research, I've already done it myself. It is an oversight. You don't have to care, it doesn't have to impact your opinion over the game. All I'm doing is pointing out that it is a major aesthetic oversight in The Sims 3 (and The Sims 2, as well, but more forgivable considering that was the first Seasons pack). That's the thing it is aesthetic, and if you don't care about it that is fine. However, I think it should at least be acknowledged when we're having this discussion, especially because a lot of people ARE making a big fuss about aesthetic shortcomings of The Sims 4 Seasons including lack of rain drops on the ground, lack of rain dropping off of the roofs, fog, and snow depth. The Sims 4 Seasons just happens to have a couple of major aesthetic improvements over previous entries. Again, those don't have to matter to you or anyone else, but they should be acknowledged because they are a fact.
I admit for me, aesthetics are big part of the appeal of Seasons for me. Of course, we need ample gameplay features as well (which, by my individual tastes, both TS3 and 4 accomplish this in the Seasons EPs. Although I will not factually deny there is more to TS3's Seasons activities), but the shifting aesthetics keep the game changing visually and change from each day to day of the lives and that has always been a major draw for me. The Sims 2 Seasons is probably the reason I ever really became someone who actually played the sims instead of just being a CAS user and (poor) builder. The Sims 1's frustrating gameplay made me 'scared' to actually try Sims play in The Sims 2 at first. I know that's silly, but that's me. Once Seasons was released I had a reason that I just had to play out Sims and I ended up enjoying it and realizing it was nowhere as near as frustratingly hard to keep up with as the original The Sims.
Anyway, I love the aesthetics of winter IRL. As I've said before, we don't see a lot of snow anymore where I live, so the winter I usually see is without snow. I was so incredibly disappointed with The Sims 3 in this aspect. Seeing this actually nailed for the first time in The Sims 4 has had a very odd effect of drawing me to a game I otherwise dislike just because that aesthetic appeals to me so much. I know I'm weird, but to each their own, right?
Sadly for me it will be hard to go back to TS3's Seasons after this. If anyone ever makes a good winter mod for The Sims 3 I will love them for it, however, it seems like the coding isn't even there for it. No coding for changing terrain with seasons, no coding for changing leaves brown for the winter and getting rid of flowers. No coding for changing grasses (like having the regular ranch weeds in the Spring/Summer and gradually changing over into the dry ranch weeds for late autumn and winter) It's a shame. But I don't know all that modders are capable of. Wish I could be one, but I was miserable taking coding classes in high school. Never again!
So are you considering which version of Seasons to purchase?
Hmm, i guess i haave to play with the calendar to form an opinion of it. It sounds good additional feature, but maybe i had placed it in GP called Holidays or something :)
I feel like i have allready done some of those "Calendar things" you described with my imagination in Ts2, Ts3 and Ts4 and that has been great, but making it "live" so to say, could make a good fun in long term, especially the traditions. In Ts3, i had traditional Yule meals with my witch coven and did some other magical stuff and some stuff i could call resolutions, i have a good imagination, propably due playing old good D6D quite a bit back at the day :)
I wonder, if i can turn winter effects off when i go to build mode like it automatically did in Ts3. Sometimes the snow and whiteness really makes it difficult for me to do some stuff?