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Instead of sims 5, double sims 4’s life span
Lauri_Anton
Posts: 48 Member
Sims 4 has amazing graphics. They will look great even after multiple years, but the clunky game needs to be rewritten (yes, from scratch pretty much), if it wants to be remembered as the best Sims game so far (and yes, it is a possibility).
This all comes down to the Sims 4 obviously being rushed out. The code was incomplete and lacked many essential features (that now literally every player yearns desperately for), yet it was released. Now devs can’t implement cars, swimming in lakes, story progression, smart sims & other necessities without rewriting the code.
Now that Sims 4 is selling better than ever, I hope EA realizes that Sims 4 is actually worth investing in and gives it the budget it deserved from the beginning. If the code was rewritten the life span of sims 4 would grow vastly, because people wouldn’t need to get sims 5 to be what sims 4 wanted to be - yet failed.
This wouldn’t lead to any lower incomes to EA due to several reasons. First of all, there’s the fact that many simmers still haven’t bought sims 4 as they wait for Sims 5 to arrive with proper base coding. These players won’t buy Sims 4, not even after the 3 years of promised content, if the game lacks the features they require. After 3 years they might not even buy the Sims 5, as they may have forgotten the whole game during the 7+ years of wait for a proper Sims game.
Another great income related reason to rewrite the code is that players will be more willing to spend money on dlc as they know what the game won’t die off soon. Also, more years of dlc to Sims 4 with proper code could mean that Sims 4 could end up with loads of dlc, way more than the previous titles, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Sims 4 could grow it’s playerbase vastly if it had plethora of content for all types of players. In addition, the players that buy all dlc no matter what would still buy all the dlc, even more happily so, because the game would be the best Sims title ever.
Last but not least, rewriting Sims 4 is way cheaper than developing Sims 5. Sims 4 already has a lot of amazing assets that can be reused (such as graphics, sounds, dlc and plans). In a nutshell, give Sims 4 the budget it requires to rewrite the game for more $$$ and happier players. The developers for sure already know what needs to be implemented in the new code.
This all comes down to the Sims 4 obviously being rushed out. The code was incomplete and lacked many essential features (that now literally every player yearns desperately for), yet it was released. Now devs can’t implement cars, swimming in lakes, story progression, smart sims & other necessities without rewriting the code.
Now that Sims 4 is selling better than ever, I hope EA realizes that Sims 4 is actually worth investing in and gives it the budget it deserved from the beginning. If the code was rewritten the life span of sims 4 would grow vastly, because people wouldn’t need to get sims 5 to be what sims 4 wanted to be - yet failed.
This wouldn’t lead to any lower incomes to EA due to several reasons. First of all, there’s the fact that many simmers still haven’t bought sims 4 as they wait for Sims 5 to arrive with proper base coding. These players won’t buy Sims 4, not even after the 3 years of promised content, if the game lacks the features they require. After 3 years they might not even buy the Sims 5, as they may have forgotten the whole game during the 7+ years of wait for a proper Sims game.
Another great income related reason to rewrite the code is that players will be more willing to spend money on dlc as they know what the game won’t die off soon. Also, more years of dlc to Sims 4 with proper code could mean that Sims 4 could end up with loads of dlc, way more than the previous titles, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Sims 4 could grow it’s playerbase vastly if it had plethora of content for all types of players. In addition, the players that buy all dlc no matter what would still buy all the dlc, even more happily so, because the game would be the best Sims title ever.
Last but not least, rewriting Sims 4 is way cheaper than developing Sims 5. Sims 4 already has a lot of amazing assets that can be reused (such as graphics, sounds, dlc and plans). In a nutshell, give Sims 4 the budget it requires to rewrite the game for more $$$ and happier players. The developers for sure already know what needs to be implemented in the new code.
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Comments
The developers are not going to be able to rewrite the code. They can make small fixes and slightly larger additions as they release more packs and updates but they're not going to be able to change what The Sims 4 is at its core. EA will also continue to give The Sims 4 smaller budgets than previous iterations. The Sims 4 base game obviously launched with a bunch of missing features and while some of the biggest ones have been added back, there are still a great number missing and some that are never coming back (Create A Style and Open World, confirmed by the developers).
Every expansion pack has also had limited features compared to previous comparable ones. EA / Maxis have tried to distract away from this by introducing one big new feature so the missing content is less obvious. Get to Work has elements of Open for Business and Ambitions but lacks Open for Business's restaurants, home businesses and ticket machines while also only including 3 professions as opposed to the 7 (plus self-employed careers) that were added for Ambitions. They distracted people by bringing back businesses after their absence from The Sims 3 while also combining it with active professions but the active professions essentially recycled the system used for group outings, parties and dates.
Get Together added the very welcome and nicely customisable clubs but barely added anything extra barring a café, DJ set and a few basic bar games. Compare that to the bowling alleys, hot tubs, celebrity systems, cars, pool tables and various instruments that were released in similar themed packs.
City Living gave us a greater number of outfits to showcase diversity, which was great, but with more limited festivals than The Sims 3: Seasons and basically a bunch of nice aesthetics. Apartments were more limited than they've ever been than any previous Sims game confined to one world and elevators are not functional items that we're able to use in Build Mode anymore for the first time since elevators were introduced in the series.
Cats and Dogs again tried to distract us with its aesthetically pleasing looking pets and great number of breeds and more accessible pet customisation but cut horses, the ability for kids to walk dogs, the ability to control or even view your pets' needs, the ability for pets to sleep on beds and couldn't even bring back pet houses for the My First Pet's Stuff because they wanted to focus their resources on creating cheaper content by re-skinning existing objects in the game. Not to mention the complete lack of small pets, which we probably won't get any beyond fish and rodents now (all previous iterations have always had birds and reptiles). This is due to the whole release fiasco with My First Pet Stuff.
And while people are delighted that Seasons is bringing much need atmosphere into the game, there are still cut corners here with them being unable to use the resources to include hail, sunburn, tanning or snow-depth, things which have been included in every other seasons pack from before (sun-tanning and sunburn was introduced in The Sims 2: Seasons and was also available in The Sims 2: Bon Voyage). We won't see these return but they'll try to distract us by including custom holidays (a great much appreciated feature by the way but one which uses a similar system to the club system and tries to distract us from the cut corners in other parts of the game).
I believe that The Sims 4 is a very limited game, given a much lower budget by EA than previous games in the franchise because EA knows that there's no other game in the vein of The Sims in the market and the fans feel compelled to buy and defend it, as they have no other choice. This is why they can release a lower budget game and release content in a piecemeal way. The developers will try to fix what they can, defend their inability to fix or introduce certain features by momentarily distracting the fans with a shiny new feature until the next one comes along.
I'm not saying people are lying if they enjoy the game and The Sims 4 has introduced some very nice features, that I hope will see carried forward. It's certainly the most intuitive when it comes to customising characters, building and online features (but one of the least intuitive in terms of actual gameplay - by a long shot - in my opinion).
I can only hope that EA are seeing the more negative reception to The Sims 4 and are prepared to put the resources back into Maxis so they can release a proper triple AA game and not repeat the same mistakes they made with this game and Sim City. A longer lifespan will allow those who enjoy The Sims 4 to invest more time in a game they've poured so much time into buying content for while those of us who are bitterly disappointed with The Sims 4 can hope the extra development time for The Sims 5 will bring some spark back to the series.
TS5 needs to happen eventually.
It needs to be made without the mistakes that were made in previous versions.
TS4 can not be fixed, as many of the problems are caused at root.
First thing: Its impossible for them to rewrite the base game code.
But, I've been arguing about this for some time now. Sims 2 used a bunch of content from Sims 1 Era (from Sims 1, Sims 1 console, Sims: Bustin out...). Most of those things were objects that they ported for the game. Want a proof? Do you remember the 2x2 table that the Newbies had in their house? You can easily find it in Sims 2.
A huge amount of games are maded using its predecessor. Those sports games that have a new iteration released every year are the ones that most use this tool to make their games cheapear and quickier to produce.
Sims 5 should start a new era in the game development for the sims franchise. Instead of restarting everything from 0 they could just port the game in a better/less bugged environment, rewrite the code correcting errors that can not be fixed during the life of the game, port objects/clothes and hairstyles to add a bigger variety of those instead of just recolouring the same objects for all the packs.
This would make the game faster to produce, including more content in each pack, including less bugs, and many of us that are playing the game since forever would also feel more nostalgic while playing it. Sometimes a miss some objects, interactions and other things from previous games, and unfortunatelly i know that i will never have that in Sims 4 (like pretending throwing a stick for my dog like just to laugh of how cute he reacts to being fooled in sims 2).
Imagine if Sims 4 Cats and Dogs were actually Sims 3: Pets, but including mroe content and being priced the same as we ever paid.
Yes, they cant just rewrite the game and release that as a update for those who have bought it, but they can port the game for a better graphics and better developed game.
They have to stop throwing the entire game to the trash and starting over again, this is extremely dumb.
The SIms is a franchise of high fame (one of the most sold in the world), but is being treated with such disrespect having so little money invested in its production, that if it continues like this, Sims 5 will be even worse.
Luckily the same Cities producer: Skylines should be getting ready to compete with The SIms, because that's what EA needs to learn to value their fans.
And, Sims 3 took all Sims 2 lifespan to be developed, and SIms 4 also took all Sims 3 lifespan to be developed, but it was revealed last year that TS5 is not being produced. Maybe they were producing it in secret and didnt want Sims 4 to suffer if they revealed that, and will have more production time then all the other sims games had, or they started its production just this year, but... yes, i agree with you. Sims 5 need the extra development time.
Shigeru Miyamoto is Nintendo's most respected video game developer and he once said: "A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad!".
I'm hoping this is why TS4 has such a protracted schedule.
If they're doing preliminary planning or already working on TS5, more power to them and godspeed!
I share your pessimism but you never know... All I know is that my pessimism over Sims 4’s future in relation to myself is even darker because that game has shortcomings that hinder me in really embracing it. I sort of enjoy it, that’s as far as it apparently is able to take me and it’s not enough to be interested in a years long future for the game for me. I also want to be tickled and triggered and challenged by the game, next to enjoying it.
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I just can’t stand the fact that the gameplay is so awful compared to sims 2 and 3. I don’t feel anything as I play the game, so I’ve turned aging off and just filled all words with my own sims and buildings (I still enjoy building and creating sims). If I try to make a story happen, I do it in my head and use cheats for instant results. No point of playing thru as it only feels like doing chores / watching repeating scenarios. Also the world looks like a film setting - random ppl walk around without interacting with the world and literally nothing happens that’s not on the script. The game never surprises me.
I still wish that they made Sims 4 better by completely revamping the code as I won’t buy sims 3 in 2018 due to the graphics. (I can’t use my old sims 3 game as I activated the game on my old laptop that broke down ages ago and microsoft disabled the windowslive email I had linked to the account I had back then)
A smile is the prettiest thing you can wear
Time enjoyed is never time wasted
Honestly, it's already dated. So many aspects of the game are circa early 2000s.
And I definitely disagree about a main issue being the amount of content per pack; I just want deep, rich, detailed core gameplay and THEN functioning add-ons (quality over quantity) like a modern TS2 with a lot more added in packs (like laundry, entertainment careers, semi-open worlds, clubs, holidays, and maybe another life stage to incorporate both kinds of toddlers, but cuter younger toddlers). Sure, the packs might have been bigger, but I still think the bigger issue is the quality of gameplay, not amount of interactive objects or even features.
My Game Twitter
EA, fix the EA app & CAW EIG!
We will have fully fleshed out sims with personality.
We will have a complete, bug free base game full of actual gameplay.
We will have open worlds and create a world.
We will have choices! We will have lots and lots of choices!
We will have a realistic budget and a realistic timeline for all game content to come out finished and full.
Yes, I know I am delusional.
Seriously, I do not know if we are even going to get a Sims 5. I am hesitant to wish for it because I do not know if it will be any better than Sims 4. It might be even more chopped up with an even smaller team and budget. I do know that I am never again going to invest in any game that takes four years to feel playable and complete. Sims 5 is going to have to earn my trust to get any access to my money.
I have no doubt of the current iteration's potential, but sometimes, the artist just has to scrap that sketch and start again from scratch.
Though I don't believe that it is "impossible" to rewrite the game's base code. Like clay or a painting, games are capable of changing into something completely different. And for a game that is suppose to mimic Life itself, it is definitely possible, but highly unlikely...
I have great respect for the modding community. We currently have mods that can easily convert this T rated game into M.
We have enhanced and complex body sliders, animations, interactions, custom content, extra options, and even new entities!
All done by mods and those who have created them.
Of course, I am most well aware that modifying the game's core is exceedingly difficult, tedious, and will require advanced tools, but it isn't impossible. You can do a lot of wonders with programming.
Though I will agree that once some modder does happen to manipulate the game's base/core code (Like creating an open world, implementing Create A Style, and tweaking the AI to enhance the AI's quality), the game would no longer truly be considered as The Sims.
Plus, I'm sure there are some Laws involved with that entire matter, but again, it isn't impossible.
Sometimes, I think it would be a good idea to make a completely new game! A game that is super friendly, in fact, praises modders, artists, and content creators! A game where you make your own game! A blank canvas with easy and advanced tools to create your very own reality!
Want simulated characters? Boom! You can tweak their AI as you see fit and you don't even have to know anything about programming and AI! Want dramatic lighting, jaw dropping scenery, and landscapes that you would only find in your very dreams (that or in the mind of some exceedingly creative and eccentric artistic genius)? Boom! And you can even share your work!
Play with Life? How about make it! And as you see fit. Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror, Realism, it doesn't matter! You're the creator!
Make the sky purple! Give that moon a face and a different color! Make that moon into a different shape!
Defy the laws of physics and have logic bend to your will!
Everything you know about existence itself can be modified, designed, played on your very own monitor!
It's your canvas! Your universe!
That would seem like something I would pay top dollar to get done.
Though I'm getting off track here...
I doubt EA and Maxis will extend The Sims 4's life and I wouldn't recommend it.
or maybe its going to be released for mobile devices mainly
I play free play sometimes. It has more features because it has been out longer. Free play did add cars, and horses, and a subway, and hobbies with collections, but like Sims 3 it has rabbitholes. It also has active career for the movie studio instead of the active scientist or doctor. Apparently open world is not possible without either online servers to support larger maps, or rabbitholes. Also like Sims 3 store, Sims free play is full of microtransactions.
Lucky me downloaded a modded save game file ages ago when it was possible and I have like multibillion of all currencies
Agree 100%