Ok. I'll be honest. I've played The Sims since I was a toddler. Sims kept getting better and better and when Sims 3 was released my mind was blown! It was the best Sims game EVER! (and yes, most of the glory goes to horses and open world). I loved the Sims and I loved how the game grew. It became better and better.
And then one glorious day they announced Sims 4. I was surprised and I remember telling my cousin, "Well, I don't know how they're going to top Sims 3. I think Sims 4 is going to be a flop." My cousin looked at me and she said, "We also didn't think they'll be able to top Sims 2, but here we are". At that moment I decided to give Sims 4 a chance and on release date, I got my copy of the game. Huge disappointment. I played it for like a week and then decided it was trash. I uninstalled the game and kept playing the Sims 3.
Well... With the release for Sims 4 for PS4, I got a copy of the game for my PS4 again and somehow the improvement in just the base game itself was remarkable. I then started playing Sims 4 on PC again an bought all of the EP, GP and some SP to spice the game up a bit. And honestly now I just can't get enough. The Sims 4 has done it again! They made a better game than Sims 3. So yes, give them all the time in the world that they need to finish the Sims 4. I'll wait, because it's worth it.
Here is my opinion: The Sims 4 has so many small (and even hidden) details. These details might not be noticed by all, but they still take time to perfect and put in the game. They are what makes this game more realistic and the closest to a life simulation than the Sims team has ever been before. These little details are just perfect to me. I mean sure, Sims 3 went all out and had amazing features that would make Sims 4 an even better game if brought into the Sims 4, but they didn't and it's ok. The Sims 4 is it's own game. It's a new game. It's a detailed and fantastic game. It's a life simulation like no other. It's The Sims 4 and not The Sims 3, The Sims 2 or The Sims. It's perfect and every EP and GP that get's added just makes this game better and better
I respect you love the game but think of what I just posted, then tell me later, after about $1,000 or more if you thought it was worth the price tag, when the seven years have ended and you have seen the same emotions, traits, aspirations, and using the Sim pc over and over for everything if you would have paid that or would have gladly given $40 for a more entertaining, fuller, more indepth base.
With respect. Why should anyone answer you? It's becoming like bringing homework to the teacher.
It's our money and if it does last out the seven years that money has been well spent if you enjoy the game as it is.
Because the thread is about after four years, should it continue since it is still lacking most of everything (AI, objects, gameplay, Animations, Interactions, packs) the others had by this time, and they didn't cost an arm and a leg. ETA: Point to get most of that you or some would have paid out triple and seven years of your life, just askin' if that seems reasonable to you.
I've already answered the reasonable question .. yes for me it is. Everything is smoother animated and more involved than my Sims 2 gameplay ever was. I can tell more stories and delve deeper into playing different characters types as these packs come out. I can have them do things that for story purposes are way more involved. I like the current system that takes an idea and fleshes it out. I have many for instances but yoga is a good stereotypical for instance for me. I can make a more new-agey type that is into yoga and wellness, eats vegan, grows and splices their indoor garden, keeps bees for honey, collects crystals, burns incense, meditates, maybe practices massage and dresses the part (in different ways even) all while looking wonderful doing it with great, smooth animations to watch and back up my story. If I go in game I bet I can list a few other things that help that stereotype along actually or take it down diverging paths. In Sims 2 I could have them practice goofy yoga anywhere in a sweatsuit if there was more to it I never ran across it or couldn't find enough to make that character work or even contemplate having that type in my game. Other iterations at least the ones I played didn't have this by that time.. they never had this at this level. Do I have to play for it .. umm yes. You gotta pay for most stuff you want in this world. Do I want more fleshing out for different characters like I have for that new agey character... oh yes. I already have many other types in my game actually that way surpassed what I had in the last games I played and I want more for them even, because all those little details make the story bigger.
As for what @Simburian said... I do agree actually. There is no need to justify and many smarter simmers than me that enjoy Sims 4 just stay away from feedback threads like this at this point. It's been happening for awhile now... I'm learning, albeit slowly. This isn't an overview of what simmers in general want or even those on this form want. It's a thread about being disgruntled with what is happening in this game and series and that's okay. But don't expect that people will flock to the thread to tell you why this series should last longer. They are giving their attention to the game or other things that matter to them.
That probably is the difference between the way you and I play.
I get zero fulfillment out of watching a Sim do yoga and burn incense. That, to me, is not fun at all. I do like telling stories in my game, but even that's a challenge with the random, wacky emotion system of TS4, Sims that I can't truly personalize the way I'd like, and the necessity for me to use an overwhelming amount of my own imagination because the game is frequently doing its own thing.
I think that really highlights the issue with TS4, though. It's too focused on material things -- buying a $20 pack solely to watch your Sims go do yoga and head to a spa that offers no significant gameplay depth other than just sitting there and watching them get moodlets from animations. Spending $20 to watch them take a whole day to eat food at a fancy restaurant. Spending $10 to watch them bowl.
Dine Out has much more than just eating at a restaurant, it offers the type of in depth customization you'd expect from The Sims building or running it. I loathed how restaurants were rabbit holes before, that was just disgusting even the bistro store set. Same with spas, rabbit holes. That is 0 gameplay. I welcome such additions and hopefully I never have to see rabbit holes for such things ever again in future iterations.
But yeah, comes down to play style. I don't create stories, I don't use my imagination, I play for content and things to do and skills to obtain. I play it more like a sandbox simulation, and to me I try to make or mod the sims to be more dynamic and smarter and let the game do its thing while I control my own household. Same way I used the SP mod in TS3 to let the game do its own thing and stories. I also enjoy themes and having a sim centered around being outdorsy or a complete wellness freak that likes to bathe in rose petals and meditate on top of a zen garden then paint while breathing some incense is wildly pleasurable for me as well.
The Bistro Set was okay, except that kids couldn't dine out (something about not being able to use the menu I think). I think I used it most with University Life, putting it in my dorms and having an actual chef there. I have no interest in running a restaurant but I love having them available for my Sims, especially if I'm playing a single Sim. I found out that if you have Seasons and add the Grand Meal dishes to your restaurant menu, eating a Grand Meal at a restaurant fulfills the holiday tradition. (Love your wellness ideas == gives me a new idea for a wellness garden with a glass roof in a future build.)
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Fun must be always -- Tomas Hertl (San Jose Sharks hockey player)
But back to motives, because they are soooo easy, I would like to have seen them set back to the TS2 ratio, it was pointless to call up a friend to take them to dinner, to build relationship, have fun, and fill hunger when 90% if the time the Sim had ruined my plans by pulling out the phone and filling up the small about of fun they needed, social was topped out no need to talk to anyone, and had pulled imaginary food from their rear end and no longer hungry. I think the direction of the game has already been changed to make some of us who enjoyed the past hiarchy of the original concept to feel this game sort of tore all that apart, and made it about goals to fill, over relationships to build or reasons to leave the house. By removing comfort they also sort of defeated the reason to buy better furniture, since these Sims are happy, happy with a two dollar picture, and a $1 bed. Or no bed at all. Or half built homes with unfinished walls, or perfectly happy sleeping on benches in the game, where as I was hoping I could make one miserable and cry all the time but living on a vacant lot didn't phase them much. And I have yet to have a Sim die in TS4 other than old age. I don't know if that means I'm just too clever of how to care for them or if it's just ABC easy, and any first grader could manage it.
For me fulfilling motives are actually secondary to my gameplay. Just because my sim's fun bar is in the green doesn't mean I'm going to have her sit at home staring at the wall as opposed to visiting a friend. Just because her hunger bar isn't in the red doesn't mean I'm not going to send her out to meet a friend for lunch or accept an invitation to meet at a restaurant. Just because her social is in the green doesn't mean I'm not going to send her out to a bar or lounge to have fun. To me that type of gameplay seems more forced and goal oriented. Everything revolves around your sim's motives. My sims do what I want them to do and fulfilling motives is rarely a consideration when I'm selecting activities for my sims. It all just seems to fall into place. As for purchasing furniture there are cheap beds that provide less comfort and energy and sims wake up tense and sore. So just because there's no longer a comfort motive doesn't mean they aren't effected by the quality of the furniture.
Then it becomes redundancy. Eat when not hungry and the Sim gets fat. Work out and you will have to push them to lose weight. Then there they go doing push ups at a formal event or dinner party or on a date. Do you see what I'm saying? Motives to me made more sense than pushing a Sim to obtain some emotional buff in order to fill a goal to level up and rinse and repeat. I'm not saying they should have lowered motives down to where The Sims were originally, because those were extremely annoying and frustrating sometimes especially since fun, hunger, energy, etc. were not that easily managed in that game when objects or interactions barely moved the needle. However, I think TS2's levels were very managable and more realisitic to me. Some Sim who is rarely hungry, rarely needs to be around anyone, or to talk or to have fun is one boring dress up game. I'm looking at it from the point of the Sim, it's hardly necessary if I want to watch animations to ski or use a water slide etc. (not in this game btw) when they don't even want to have any fun...and if they did, even with free will off, they may whip out that phone and fill it or keep on using it, even when fun is full.
I don't want the motives to backtrack in future games. I hope they don't. I don't like strict time management scenarios.. That's a huge grind to me. It's hard to tell stories that way to me or have my sims live how I want them to live, and I hate to cheat the needs. I will but I don't like it to be part of my normal gameplay. What's funny to me is when I see people complaining that the needs/motives are too hard to do now.
The Sims is a time management game. At its core it’s about keeping your sims alive while balancing whatever story you are wanting to tell. Sims 4 is very unbalanced in that regard. Needs require little involvement from the player, because they decay so slowly and because sims can pretty much fulfill them all on their own. This makes story telling super easy, which for people looking to do that is great, but for people who are looking for a game and not an interactive story book it’s kind of boring. For me TS4 drags in live mode. With Sims 2 and especially 3 I would play live mode for hours and I would never feel like I have done everything there is to do or get bored of playing the game. With Sims 4 I can play live mode for 30 min to an hour before I finally turn it off. It’s a boring game where nothing really happens unless you go out of your way to make it happen. Some people like that, and some people don’t. I’m on the side of the fence that wants more of a game, not a make your own story book. However, seeing how this game was designed as an online multiplayer hangout game and not a life simulator I’m not surprised it’s strong points appeal to players more interested in the story telling aspects than the actual time management features that make it more of a game.
I agree 50%. The way time flows in The Sims leaves me little time to properly do anything. If motives decay fast, then a 4 hour visit at a nightclub ends up being 50% bathroom and eating, and the actual partying is minimal as well as socializing which is unrealistic and boring given I enjoy sandbox games. There should be a toggle for motive decay rates for those that don't use mods
The problem for me is the time speed. This franchise has always had this issue for me. Time moves too fast. Well in TS2 you would travel to another lot then be back home at the original time you left so in a way I liked that, it meant going out for lunch did not swallow 5 hours of daytime. In TS3 I used Nraas Relativity to make time half speed. Vanilla speed is just not enough for how long it has always taken sims to do basic things like go to the bathroom (10-15 minutes), shower (30+ minutes), etc.
I don't care much for motives though, they feel restricting at times. I want my sims to do what I want, not do things based on their needs all the time given all the hobbies and side activities that take copious amounts of time or even retail i.e.
Sadly I'm still waiting for someone to do a mod like relativity for TS4, as MCCC is not relative and scales length of actions too.
I think motives are way too easy in TS4. It's not that I want to grind away trying to fill motives but as others pointed out, I can hardly relate to making a Sim dance all day (for fun) if fun is full. Or sit around playing the pc if fun is full. So, what does that leave to do if fun is full? Grinding to fill aspirations, whims and levels to gain a promotion etc. I never wanted to see badges in the game for players, like in TS3, that's where I and Maxis parted ways, and I became critical of what direction they were going with this series. There were many discussions I had with players of TS3 of why such a thing was even in The Sims, it wasn't about the player but the Sim and life simulation. I thought it was a waste of money, time and talent to add in lists for players to gain some sort of badge, or self gradification having nothing to do with the game, to make a Sim do this or that fifteen times. That is where the focus of what type of games they were going to build changed for me. I can find that sort of thing in any fly by night game out there for the past fifteen years. For The Sims to also turn into those sort of games was a huge disappointment to me. And told me developers had no idea what The Sims were actually about, or some developers or producers. Throwing in any genre of game elements seemed like such blasphemy to the Life Simulator. lol
It's not about motives per se, but let's look at it from my point of view. Take bowling, (which doesn't even build relationships btw) as an activity to use to build a friendship, fill fun and get them out of the house or have a night set aside for a family to go do. It's hollow, because this game doesn't even build relationship points while they bowl together. Heck they can't even talk to each other while bowling or fishing. Hollowness and just a fluff activity added to gain a goal to get a fish (for collecting for the player instead of the Sim). Not only does it not reflect life simulation and why a Sim would be doing either, but it's about the player and what they gain, instead of the Sim. Bowling is like pointless other than to waste time watching a half baked animation. They don't even play a real game. Past games in TS2 were real, real chess game, not willy nilly animations of just moving pieces on a board. I've never needed more 'time' in these games because it was never about the levels and promotions or things I could gain that had little to do with the Sim. It's about the life, not the goal.
Like you can't even stop a Sim from getting a promotion in TS4, we didn't have to move on to next promotion for the TS2 Sim. (Or TS1). Motives motivate, it's realisitic to know humans eat about every five hours, that seemed pretty normal to me in TS2. And why you purchased better objects is because with better stove, better food points, better skills they didn't need to eat as often. That all makes sense to me. If I eat turkey I'm not going to be hungry two hours later, right? That seemed like a better plan than Sims hardly ever being really hungry in this game, and no need to worry about them in this game, either. They aren't going to die like in other games, then I might as well just turn it on and watch it like TV and not even worry about getting any groceries for several upon several days.
And look at cafes, the townies and your own Sim though they just ate, go back and reorder and reorder, that's all just fluff, and has little to do with life, it's animations set on loops, to repeat and repeat, and has little to do with fun, building relationships and or life. You would think they would be full and stop eating. Maybe have a conversation and or strike up some sort of game interaction with each other, or read a book or something. But they eat and they eat. (You can see that sort of developement in any cheap tycoon game out there).
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
@Cinebar Very well put, I agree half way. Motives are not too relevant for me. I don't particularly need to have social or fun lowered to find it meaningful to go out dancing and chatting or visiting friends. I just do it because it either feels fun or it makes sense to what I want my sim to do. I tend to make my sim do everything there is to do, so I have a sim running retail, restaurant, an active job, paint, write, make videos, take care of 4 pets, garden, etc. So I seldom look at motives. They loop interactions since the sims time scale is so out of touch with itself that ordering and drinking coffee takes like what' 2-3 sim hours? By that time I'd be wanting another one too lol! But yeah, motives for non played sims is just fluff, has always been that way. It just depends on autonomy settings for most.
I'm not ready for the Sims 4 to end seeing I could not really get into it until the missing toddlers etc came back - so I don't even count the first two years of the game at all - because I mainly went back to Sims 2 and 3 until they and the Vamps at least came into the game. We defintely need a sims game to play and I don't see the Sims 5 even making a decent appearance for at least another 3 years - as I surely would not want another example of Sims 4's beginning with missing and incomplete base game or worse for the first couple years.
The call out for new team for a new sims game only went out a matter of months ago - and we already know what happens when a base game just gets 2 years - hope that never happens again. Never mind the fact it sounds as if the new game coming may not even be a part of the series seeing they asked for all new team - and I see a nightmare scenario of devs working on a Sims game that is all new devs. Past sims games at least had some of the former devs on the team - makes me wonder what we will get.
My other fear still is online - I could not tolerate anyone playing in my sims game - I despised all 4 versions of Sims Online and EA land. It ws awful and bored me to tears so bad I could not even tolerate testing the games. One house - one character to play and nothing but constant skilling. Nope will never go with a sims online again - for sure.
Nothing could be worse to me than that so I technically don't even care about a Sims 5 if that is where they are headed - and I am still interested where this game can go anyway. To me it has just been at most 3 years into this game as it was too incomplete to count the first 2 plus years in my view. I want witches, other supernatural, robots, and Uni - some fun vacation spots - maybe something new. I see way more life that could be added to this game. So moving on to me is fearful - not a solution in my book. Fear the unknown - I say.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
What I understood was not that it was impossible but much more time consuming than just changing the simulation ticks. You would have to individually change each interaction's speed, and given there are hundreds...well, yeah.
Tedious, yes, but it is tempting and I might just dive into it using MCCC as a reference point.
@Archieonic Impossible to do with a single mod is what I meant. You would need individual tuning mods for each interaction. Mind you, you could package them all into one file and pretend it was a 'single mod' but it would be a ton of tuning mods all packaged together. This also means you wouldn't have the ability to quickly make a change with a single setting if you wanted to adjust things by like 10% or whatever, each individual tuning would need to be edited...again.
That's the reason no one has done it, I'm sure. A ton of work, and no easy way to customize it across the board without a ton more work. There are already a whole lot of mods out there which adjust this tuning for various things individually. There are even some that make some things take longer rather than be faster (I use the slower painting mod, for example, which is an example of this kind of tuning mod).
What I understood was not that it was impossible but much more time consuming than just changing the simulation ticks. You would have to individually change each interaction's speed, and given there are hundreds...well, yeah.
Tedious, yes, but it is tempting and I might just dive into it using MCCC as a reference point.
@Archieonic Impossible to do with a single mod is what I meant. You would need individual tuning mods for each interaction. Mind you, you could package them all into one file and pretend it was a 'single mod' but it would be a ton of tuning mods all packaged together. This also means you wouldn't have the ability to quickly make a change with a single setting if you wanted to adjust things by like 10% or whatever, each individual tuning would need to be edited...again.
That's the reason no one has done it, I'm sure. A ton of work, and no easy way to customize it across the board without a ton more work. There are already a whole lot of mods out there which adjust this tuning for various things individually. There are even some that make some things take longer rather than be faster (I use the slower painting mod, for example, which is an example of this kind of tuning mod).
To be honest I just started using the setting at 50 (2x slower) and oh my, beautiful. Everything flows so much better. Social outings are enjoyable, restaurants don't take forever, my retail store sells 30+ items a day (helped by a retail mod that makes employees work properly), and surprisingly, some interactions are not being scaled relatively. For example, cooking. You know the progress circle outline that tells you how much progress a certain action is at on your queue? It snaps half way and my sim moves on to the next stage. Same with painting. Unexpected yet beneficial.
And yeah, I was thinking more along the lines of making common actions scale with it, not all. Like using the toilet, bathing, cooking, etc. The rest I can live with, and just the fact that my sim takes half time to reach across the house or any lot is plenty time saved in my book.
I'm not ready for the Sims 4 to end seeing I could not really get into it until the missing toddlers etc came back - so I don't even count the first two years of the game at all - because I mainly went back to Sims 2 and 3 until they and the Vamps at least came into the game. We defintely need a sims game to play and I don't see the Sims 5 even making a decent appearance for at least another 3 years - as I surely would not want another example of Sims 4's beginning with missing and incomplete base game or worse for the first couple years.
The call out for new team for a new sims game only went out a matter of months ago - and we already know what happens when a base game just gets 2 years - hope that never happens again. Never mind the fact it sounds as if the new game coming may not even be a part of the series seeing they asked for all new team - and I see a nightmare scenario of devs working on a Sims game that is all new devs. Past sims games at least had some of the former devs on the team - makes me wonder what we will get.
My other fear still is online - I could not tolerate anyone playing in my sims game - I despised all 4 versions of Sims Online and EA land. It ws awful and bored me to tears so bad I could not even tolerate testing the games. One house - one character to play and nothing but constant skilling. Nope will never go with a sims online again - for sure.
Nothing could be worse to me than that so I technically don't even care about a Sims 5 if that is where they are headed - and I am still interested where this game can go anyway. To me it has just been at most 3 years into this game as it was too incomplete to count the first 2 plus years in my view. I want witches, other supernatural, robots, and Uni - some fun vacation spots - maybe something new. I see way more life that could be added to this game. So moving on to me is fearful - not a solution in my book. Fear the unknown - I say.
Yeah, I do argree to a point we don't want another hit and miss game. Glad you are back, hope you are doing well. I sort of have selfish reasons for wanting to find out or hear more about the next Sim game from Maxis. It will tell me if it's time to hang it up, let it go, not stress over it like I did TS4 (since I thought TS4 was probably the last of the series). I could move on shortly, maybe go start a TS2 blog or something, lol, and finally realise dinosaurs like me no longer fit into these new visions and no need to care anymoe about this franchise if it's full blown online, cloud save, MMO etc. I may have personal reasons for wanting to be done with it all. But as long as this one is going on, and a spark of hope for the next then I will continue to hang around (due to my addiction to The Sims) but if that was all ended with the ending of this one and no interest in the next for reasons I stated, then I could get on with it. lol
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
I'm not ready for the Sims 4 to end seeing I could not really get into it until the missing toddlers etc came back - so I don't even count the first two years of the game at all - because I mainly went back to Sims 2 and 3 until they and the Vamps at least came into the game. We defintely need a sims game to play and I don't see the Sims 5 even making a decent appearance for at least another 3 years - as I surely would not want another example of Sims 4's beginning with missing and incomplete base game or worse for the first couple years.
The call out for new team for a new sims game only went out a matter of months ago - and we already know what happens when a base game just gets 2 years - hope that never happens again. Never mind the fact it sounds as if the new game coming may not even be a part of the series seeing they asked for all new team - and I see a nightmare scenario of devs working on a Sims game that is all new devs. Past sims games at least had some of the former devs on the team - makes me wonder what we will get.
My other fear still is online - I could not tolerate anyone playing in my sims game - I despised all 4 versions of Sims Online and EA land. It ws awful and bored me to tears so bad I could not even tolerate testing the games. One house - one character to play and nothing but constant skilling. Nope will never go with a sims online again - for sure.
Nothing could be worse to me than that so I technically don't even care about a Sims 5 if that is where they are headed - and I am still interested where this game can go anyway. To me it has just been at most 3 years into this game as it was too incomplete to count the first 2 plus years in my view. I want witches, other supernatural, robots, and Uni - some fun vacation spots - maybe something new. I see way more life that could be added to this game. So moving on to me is fearful - not a solution in my book. Fear the unknown - I say.
Yeah, I do argree to a point we don't want another hit and miss game. Glad you are back, hope you are doing well. I sort of have selfish reasons for wanting to find out or hear more about the next Sim game from Maxis. It will tell me if it's time to hang it up, let it go, not stress over it like I did TS4 (since I thought TS4 was probably the last of the series). I could move on shortly, maybe go start a TS2 blog or something, lol, and finally realise dinosaurs like me no longer fit into these new visions and no need to care anymoe about this franchise if it's full blown online, cloud save, MMO etc. I may have personal reasons for wanting to be done with it all. But as long as this one is going on, and a spark of hope for the next then I will continue to hang around (due to my addiction to The Sims) but if that was all ended with the ending of this one and no interest in the next for reasons I stated, then I could get on with it. lol
I feel pretty much the same way except, I'll just continue playing TS3 until the wheels fall off.
Well I do know that - "In June 2018, it was announced that The Sims 4 will continue to produce new content through 2021" so no matter what that is a sure thing seeing it was part of their public company announcements - that are more or less cast in stone. It was also mentioned that date is still not an end date to production of Sims 4 and it is subject for review at that time. So no matter what Sims 4 has at the very least to be worked on until that date - period.
Public companies have a very different set of rules than just ordinary studios and cannot be changed just on a studios or Parent companies whims like they could do when they were not part of the Public Companies. So the chances of the Sims series going anywhere sounds very remote - but that said I do not know how much that can result in changes to the direction the Sims series can go to. It jut appears to me there is little chance of the Sims series going away anytime soon or easily as the company used to dismiss studios, etc. EA has them tightly wrapped up in their public company packaging - combining Maxis with Hasbro and other powerful studios now under the EA, Maxis Label.
ETA - Thank you for the good thoughts - but at this point it is just day to day. Never know what to expect now a days. I had no inkling at all I would be suddenly rushed off to the hospital two weeks ago - so one day at a time is all I can do.
Post edited by Writin_Reg on
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
ETA - Thank you for the good thoughts - but at this point it is just day to day. Never know what to expect now a days. I had no inkling at all I would be suddenly rushed off to the hospital two weeks ago - so one day at a time is all I can do.
Really sorry to hear you had to go to the hospital. I hope you are feeling better.
... maybe go start a TS2 blog or something, lol ...
You should do that regardless! A Sims 2 blog would be so awesome lol what kind of things would you decide to put in your blog?
Ah, thanks, but I have no idea how to start a blog or write one. I would probably put in a lot of boring stuff that only appeals to me, so I have never tried it. lol Hang in there Writn_Reg, good thoughts coming your way. It's rough, I know, but we like to see you here.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
ETA - Thank you for the good thoughts - but at this point it is just day to day. Never know what to expect now a days. I had no inkling at all I would be suddenly rushed off to the hospital two weeks ago - so one day at a time is all I can do.
Really sorry to hear you had to go to the hospital. I hope you are feeling better.
Thank you - for the good thoughts.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
... maybe go start a TS2 blog or something, lol ...
You should do that regardless! A Sims 2 blog would be so awesome lol what kind of things would you decide to put in your blog?
Ah, thanks, but I have no idea how to start a blog or write one. I would probably put in a lot of boring stuff that only appeals to me, so I have never tried it. lol Hang in there Writn_Reg, good thoughts coming your way. It's rough, I know, but we like to see you here.
Thank you - I love being here and reading everyone's thoughts and ideas.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
Ah, thanks, but I have no idea how to start a blog or write one. I would probably put in a lot of boring stuff that only appeals to me, so I have never tried it. lol Hang in there Writn_Reg, good thoughts coming your way. It's rough, I know, but we like to see you here.
Hah! That's funny cause that's my own problem as well
Also sending good thoughts your way, Writin_Reg, hope you'll feel better very soon!
Ah, thanks, but I have no idea how to start a blog or write one. I would probably put in a lot of boring stuff that only appeals to me, so I have never tried it. lol Hang in there Writn_Reg, good thoughts coming your way. It's rough, I know, but we like to see you here.
Hah! That's funny cause that's my own problem as well
Also sending good thoughts your way, Writin_Reg, hope you'll feel better very soon!
Thank you.
Maybe it would help for those wanting to write blogs to check out a few other simmers keep. I know several Sims 3 simmers write blogs and share some share their creations - some just tell their stories and some just talk about the games.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
One imprtant factor - how ever you like the game is your choices as much as you can make it your choice - no one plays it wrong as there is no right or wrong way to play - we may be limited as vets - but we find ways to get around what we can and enjoy our games and the newbs like the pace they can enjoy the game without all the little detail. EA has found a bit of a sweet spot - so they get continued success.
The issue though is that the game is broken. And continues getting more and more broken instead of getting fixed. Are you telling me that these people do not play with apartments, pets, restaurants, get to work careers?
Why anyone would continue to buy content for a broken game is beyond me,
Welcome to The Sims franchise, selling broken since 2009, fixes not guaranteed.
I'm pretty sure all the games in The Sims from 2000-2014+ has leftover glitches. The more ambitious the game engine, the more possibility for errors. And seeing how some or even most game developers are rushed into completion even though the game is clearly not ready to be released explains this issue is unfortunately common in the gaming industry overall. Not just The Sims.
I would prefer a quality game that the developers can take their time to get things right the first time by thoroughly testing for as many problems as possible and correcting any errors found before moving on to the next content.
To clarify the difference between TS3 and TS4 for me in terms of this issue. TS3 has many pros than cons, whereas TS4 has many cons than pros. Despite, the game's flaws I can easily overlook it when it comes to what is brought to the franchise and that greatly helps to make up for its shortcomings. Though, there shouldn't be any trade-offs to begin with unless because of a technological limitation. Some game companies lose their focus on creating games for fun and entertainment. They no longer seem to be represented as gamers for gamers and everything shifts to being business-minded and money, money and more money.
Despite the flaws in all The Sims games from 2000-2013, nothing compares to the lowest of low which is TS4. Look at TS's base game, TS2's base game coming from TS, TS3's base game coming from TS2 and TS4's base game coming from TS3. A series of games that are supposed to advance and improve after the one before it or what is the reason for playing the same old, same old and paying more money for it?
Of course, nothing wrong if that's what some like and want. It's not my money so I don't care what others do with theirs but I do ponder the logic behind it. But hey, everyone is different and has different preferences so it is what is and that's all that needs to be understood.
Yes all Sims games had glitches and bugs but nothing like the trend that TS3 started and TS4 continued.
As far as the rest, color for tastes and I've learned to not undermine anyone's taste when it comes to sandbox or simulation games, specially after being an avid harsh critique of TS4 and now mainly enjoying it (even if I still remain criticizing it). It's about perspective. I very much enjoyed TS3's focus on the world as a whole, but found myself seldom observing or enjoying details. It also depends on play style. I personally find many areas that I enjoy more in each iteration than in previous ones, and depending on quality I may or may not end up not missing previous features, which is still not an excuse for going backwards in some areas. The all time low for me was the introduction of TS3 store. And sure it was optional, but it was massive amounts of time and manpower spent on objects and new bits of gameplay mostly lackluster costing thousands upon thousands. That's why SPs don't even bother me at all in this one specially since at least they properly slashed the price instead of being worthless $20 SPs. Much of the constant store release time and money could have been spent on a better game but nope.
The main logic behind it is rather simple. People may or may not enjoy X game for Y, Z and W reasons. What you may find invaluable for enjoyment may not be what others need.
I already mentioned the more "ambitious" the game, the more possibilities for errors. But that is not the issue at all, the issue is how EA/Maxis/The Sims Studio deals with these glitches. The best method, the way I see it, is to make sure most of the problems are corrected before moving on and/or releasing a new project over something that clearly still needs to be worked on and not ready for more additions which will likely exacerbate the problem. Especially, over time of keep sweeping things under the rug to hide and/or take care of it later if ever.
Most, if not all, the issues TS3 does have may be usually caused by unrealistic time limits for a game as dynamic as it is. Besides, not the best optimal coding, etc. Like I said before, some game companies only care about the business/money side of things. Though, sometimes even given the proper amount of time the quality is still poor in some cases and that is just a waste to me.
"IF" I remember correctly, TS3 had 2 different EP teams which is why there were usually at least 2 EP's a year. Maybe there were 2 different SP teams as well and I think I do remember The Store had its own team solely dedicated to just that. So no, I don't agree that The Store took any resources from the main game. Like I said, time management which seems to be a part of the issue with some game companies who just don't care about quality and a good standing reputation more than quick and easy money.
And being curious about the logic behind supporting a game that clearly screams of poor workmanship all around for the most part, the way I see it, and charges a higher price than previous iterations can be taken any way anyone wants to. Perception is quite interesting and just as varied among many. It is what it is. If TS4 was actually a decent game then it wouldn't have so many complaints. I mean TOO MANY complaints. But anyone can still check out the user scores between previous installments vs TS4. Anyone can learn of TS2 and TS3 success during its launch but I haven't heard any accomplishment about TS4 that topped TS2 or TS3. There are a lot of things that are quite telling. There is always more to the story than just one side.
“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”
... maybe go start a TS2 blog or something, lol ...
You should do that regardless! A Sims 2 blog would be so awesome lol what kind of things would you decide to put in your blog?
Ah, thanks, but I have no idea how to start a blog or write one. I would probably put in a lot of boring stuff that only appeals to me, so I have never tried it. lol Hang in there Writn_Reg, good thoughts coming your way. It's rough, I know, but we like to see you here.
One imprtant factor - how ever you like the game is your choices as much as you can make it your choice - no one plays it wrong as there is no right or wrong way to play - we may be limited as vets - but we find ways to get around what we can and enjoy our games and the newbs like the pace they can enjoy the game without all the little detail. EA has found a bit of a sweet spot - so they get continued success.
The issue though is that the game is broken. And continues getting more and more broken instead of getting fixed. Are you telling me that these people do not play with apartments, pets, restaurants, get to work careers?
Why anyone would continue to buy content for a broken game is beyond me,
Welcome to The Sims franchise, selling broken since 2009, fixes not guaranteed.
I'm pretty sure all the games in The Sims from 2000-2014+ has leftover glitches. The more ambitious the game engine, the more possibility for errors. And seeing how some or even most game developers are rushed into completion even though the game is clearly not ready to be released explains this issue is unfortunately common in the gaming industry overall. Not just The Sims.
I would prefer a quality game that the developers can take their time to get things right the first time by thoroughly testing for as many problems as possible and correcting any errors found before moving on to the next content.
To clarify the difference between TS3 and TS4 for me in terms of this issue. TS3 has many pros than cons, whereas TS4 has many cons than pros. Despite, the game's flaws I can easily overlook it when it comes to what is brought to the franchise and that greatly helps to make up for its shortcomings. Though, there shouldn't be any trade-offs to begin with unless because of a technological limitation. Some game companies lose their focus on creating games for fun and entertainment. They no longer seem to be represented as gamers for gamers and everything shifts to being business-minded and money, money and more money.
Despite the flaws in all The Sims games from 2000-2013, nothing compares to the lowest of low which is TS4. Look at TS's base game, TS2's base game coming from TS, TS3's base game coming from TS2 and TS4's base game coming from TS3. A series of games that are supposed to advance and improve after the one before it or what is the reason for playing the same old, same old and paying more money for it?
Of course, nothing wrong if that's what some like and want. It's not my money so I don't care what others do with theirs but I do ponder the logic behind it. But hey, everyone is different and has different preferences so it is what is and that's all that needs to be understood.
Yes all Sims games had glitches and bugs but nothing like the trend that TS3 started and TS4 continued.
As far as the rest, color for tastes and I've learned to not undermine anyone's taste when it comes to sandbox or simulation games, specially after being an avid harsh critique of TS4 and now mainly enjoying it (even if I still remain criticizing it). It's about perspective. I very much enjoyed TS3's focus on the world as a whole, but found myself seldom observing or enjoying details. It also depends on play style. I personally find many areas that I enjoy more in each iteration than in previous ones, and depending on quality I may or may not end up not missing previous features, which is still not an excuse for going backwards in some areas. The all time low for me was the introduction of TS3 store. And sure it was optional, but it was massive amounts of time and manpower spent on objects and new bits of gameplay mostly lackluster costing thousands upon thousands. That's why SPs don't even bother me at all in this one specially since at least they properly slashed the price instead of being worthless $20 SPs. Much of the constant store release time and money could have been spent on a better game but nope.
The main logic behind it is rather simple. People may or may not enjoy X game for Y, Z and W reasons. What you may find invaluable for enjoyment may not be what others need.
I already mentioned the more "ambitious" the game, the more possibilities for errors. But that is not the issue at all, the issue is how EA/Maxis/The Sims Studio deals with these glitches. The best method, the way I see it, is to make sure most of the problems are corrected before moving on and/or releasing a new project over something that clearly still needs to be worked on and not ready for more additions which will likely exacerbate the problem. Especially, over time of keep sweeping things under the rug to hide and/or take care of it later if ever.
Most, if not all, the issues TS3 does have may be usually caused by unrealistic time limits for a game as dynamic as it is. Besides, not the best optimal coding, etc. Like I said before, some game companies only care about the business/money side of things. Though, sometimes even given the proper amount of time the quality is still poor in some cases and that is just a waste to me.
"IF" I remember correctly, TS3 had 2 different EP teams which is why there were usually at least 2 EP's a year. Maybe there were 2 different SP teams as well and I think I do remember The Store had its own team solely dedicated to just that. So no, I don't agree that The Store took any resources from the main game. Like I said, time management which seems to be a part of the issue with some game companies who just don't care about quality and a good standing reputation more than quick and easy money.
And being curious about the logic behind supporting a game that clearly screams of poor workmanship all around for the most part, the way I see it, and charges a higher price than previous iterations can be taken any way anyone wants to. Perception is quite interesting and just as varied among many. It is what it is. If TS4 was actually a decent game then it wouldn't have so many complaints. I mean TOO MANY complaints. But anyone can still check out the user scores between previous installments vs TS4. Anyone can learn of TS2 and TS3 success during its launch but I haven't heard any accomplishment about TS4 that topped TS2 or TS3. There are a lot of things that are quite telling. There is always more to the story than just one side.
And how exactly has Eaxis dealt with the issues? If memory serves right, from 2009 it's been all sweeping under the rugs up until this day. Sure some things here and there get fixed, but many don't and some noticeable ones at that.
I still stand by The Sims 3 store taking resources away. They can have 3 teams dedicated to different things, it does not mean that merging one of said teams into another (say, EPs) would not be beneficial in many ways if their skills translate (which they did).
Whereas some areas you could say they charge more, others they don't. SPs for $20 were such a huge ripoff IMO and I'm a huge fan of the idea behind GPs.
Of course, TS4 was absolutely shady at launch, so much that I stayed away for years. I recall chuckling when I heard people were freaking out over swimming pools being added *ahem, reintroduced* and thinking really? And ghosts...right.
One imprtant factor - how ever you like the game is your choices as much as you can make it your choice - no one plays it wrong as there is no right or wrong way to play - we may be limited as vets - but we find ways to get around what we can and enjoy our games and the newbs like the pace they can enjoy the game without all the little detail. EA has found a bit of a sweet spot - so they get continued success.
The issue though is that the game is broken. And continues getting more and more broken instead of getting fixed. Are you telling me that these people do not play with apartments, pets, restaurants, get to work careers?
Why anyone would continue to buy content for a broken game is beyond me,
Welcome to The Sims franchise, selling broken since 2009, fixes not guaranteed.
I'm pretty sure all the games in The Sims from 2000-2014+ has leftover glitches. The more ambitious the game engine, the more possibility for errors. And seeing how some or even most game developers are rushed into completion even though the game is clearly not ready to be released explains this issue is unfortunately common in the gaming industry overall. Not just The Sims.
I would prefer a quality game that the developers can take their time to get things right the first time by thoroughly testing for as many problems as possible and correcting any errors found before moving on to the next content.
To clarify the difference between TS3 and TS4 for me in terms of this issue. TS3 has many pros than cons, whereas TS4 has many cons than pros. Despite, the game's flaws I can easily overlook it when it comes to what is brought to the franchise and that greatly helps to make up for its shortcomings. Though, there shouldn't be any trade-offs to begin with unless because of a technological limitation. Some game companies lose their focus on creating games for fun and entertainment. They no longer seem to be represented as gamers for gamers and everything shifts to being business-minded and money, money and more money.
Despite the flaws in all The Sims games from 2000-2013, nothing compares to the lowest of low which is TS4. Look at TS's base game, TS2's base game coming from TS, TS3's base game coming from TS2 and TS4's base game coming from TS3. A series of games that are supposed to advance and improve after the one before it or what is the reason for playing the same old, same old and paying more money for it?
Of course, nothing wrong if that's what some like and want. It's not my money so I don't care what others do with theirs but I do ponder the logic behind it. But hey, everyone is different and has different preferences so it is what is and that's all that needs to be understood.
Yes all Sims games had glitches and bugs but nothing like the trend that TS3 started and TS4 continued.
As far as the rest, color for tastes and I've learned to not undermine anyone's taste when it comes to sandbox or simulation games, specially after being an avid harsh critique of TS4 and now mainly enjoying it (even if I still remain criticizing it). It's about perspective. I very much enjoyed TS3's focus on the world as a whole, but found myself seldom observing or enjoying details. It also depends on play style. I personally find many areas that I enjoy more in each iteration than in previous ones, and depending on quality I may or may not end up not missing previous features, which is still not an excuse for going backwards in some areas. The all time low for me was the introduction of TS3 store. And sure it was optional, but it was massive amounts of time and manpower spent on objects and new bits of gameplay mostly lackluster costing thousands upon thousands. That's why SPs don't even bother me at all in this one specially since at least they properly slashed the price instead of being worthless $20 SPs. Much of the constant store release time and money could have been spent on a better game but nope.
The main logic behind it is rather simple. People may or may not enjoy X game for Y, Z and W reasons. What you may find invaluable for enjoyment may not be what others need.
I already mentioned the more "ambitious" the game, the more possibilities for errors. But that is not the issue at all, the issue is how EA/Maxis/The Sims Studio deals with these glitches. The best method, the way I see it, is to make sure most of the problems are corrected before moving on and/or releasing a new project over something that clearly still needs to be worked on and not ready for more additions which will likely exacerbate the problem. Especially, over time of keep sweeping things under the rug to hide and/or take care of it later if ever.
Most, if not all, the issues TS3 does have may be usually caused by unrealistic time limits for a game as dynamic as it is. Besides, not the best optimal coding, etc. Like I said before, some game companies only care about the business/money side of things. Though, sometimes even given the proper amount of time the quality is still poor in some cases and that is just a waste to me.
"IF" I remember correctly, TS3 had 2 different EP teams which is why there were usually at least 2 EP's a year. Maybe there were 2 different SP teams as well and I think I do remember The Store had its own team solely dedicated to just that. So no, I don't agree that The Store took any resources from the main game. Like I said, time management which seems to be a part of the issue with some game companies who just don't care about quality and a good standing reputation more than quick and easy money.
And being curious about the logic behind supporting a game that clearly screams of poor workmanship all around for the most part, the way I see it, and charges a higher price than previous iterations can be taken any way anyone wants to. Perception is quite interesting and just as varied among many. It is what it is. If TS4 was actually a decent game then it wouldn't have so many complaints. I mean TOO MANY complaints. But anyone can still check out the user scores between previous installments vs TS4. Anyone can learn of TS2 and TS3 success during its launch but I haven't heard any accomplishment about TS4 that topped TS2 or TS3. There are a lot of things that are quite telling. There is always more to the story than just one side.
And how exactly has Eaxis dealt with the issues? If memory serves right, from 2009 it's been all sweeping under the rugs up until this day. Sure some things here and there get fixed, but many don't and some noticeable ones at that.
I still stand by The Sims 3 store taking resources away. They can have 3 teams dedicated to different things, it does not mean that merging one of said teams into another (say, EPs) would not be beneficial in many ways if their skills translate (which they did).
Whereas some areas you could say they charge more, others they don't. SPs for $20 were such a huge ripoff IMO and I'm a huge fan of the idea behind GPs.
Of course, TS4 was absolutely shady at launch, so much that I stayed away for years. I recall chuckling when I heard people were freaking out over swimming pools being added *ahem, reintroduced* and thinking really? And ghosts...right.
Guess good workmanship ended with TS2.
Same devs.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
Just a quick reminder, while blogging is great fun this isn't a topic about that. If you want to continue having a conversation about that, a DM might be better.
~my hair color is frequently changing, so my Sim reflects that~
I think the main problem with Sims 4 (at least the Base Game) was that half way through the project word came from "on High" that the direction of the game had to change (i.e. changing from an online format to "stand alone" game). It takes several years of not only programming, but planning as well to execute a video game. I am pretty sure that the Developers had a time table that they were keeping to and suddenly everything went out the window and they had to scramble to get something together to send out by the "release date". And most of the community can agree that at release date, Sims 4 was a hot mess.
If EA/Maxis was smart and they are starting on Sims 5, they need to look at what made Sims 2 and 3 really tick, be fun for hours, read the Community has said is wrong with the current game (bugs and glitches aside) and create a game that is built on past games and go forward. The Sims needs to be a sandbox game, with no end goals, various means of achieving certain outcomes, and robust tools to create the Sims, clothes, houses, world they live in.
Just my two coppers worth.
Second Star to the Right and Straight on 'til Morning.
Comments
The Bistro Set was okay, except that kids couldn't dine out (something about not being able to use the menu I think). I think I used it most with University Life, putting it in my dorms and having an actual chef there. I have no interest in running a restaurant but I love having them available for my Sims, especially if I'm playing a single Sim. I found out that if you have Seasons and add the Grand Meal dishes to your restaurant menu, eating a Grand Meal at a restaurant fulfills the holiday tradition. (Love your wellness ideas == gives me a new idea for a wellness garden with a glass roof in a future build.)
Fun must be always -- Tomas Hertl (San Jose Sharks hockey player)
I agree 50%. The way time flows in The Sims leaves me little time to properly do anything. If motives decay fast, then a 4 hour visit at a nightclub ends up being 50% bathroom and eating, and the actual partying is minimal as well as socializing which is unrealistic and boring given I enjoy sandbox games. There should be a toggle for motive decay rates for those that don't use mods
I think motives are way too easy in TS4. It's not that I want to grind away trying to fill motives but as others pointed out, I can hardly relate to making a Sim dance all day (for fun) if fun is full. Or sit around playing the pc if fun is full. So, what does that leave to do if fun is full? Grinding to fill aspirations, whims and levels to gain a promotion etc. I never wanted to see badges in the game for players, like in TS3, that's where I and Maxis parted ways, and I became critical of what direction they were going with this series. There were many discussions I had with players of TS3 of why such a thing was even in The Sims, it wasn't about the player but the Sim and life simulation. I thought it was a waste of money, time and talent to add in lists for players to gain some sort of badge, or self gradification having nothing to do with the game, to make a Sim do this or that fifteen times. That is where the focus of what type of games they were going to build changed for me. I can find that sort of thing in any fly by night game out there for the past fifteen years. For The Sims to also turn into those sort of games was a huge disappointment to me. And told me developers had no idea what The Sims were actually about, or some developers or producers. Throwing in any genre of game elements seemed like such blasphemy to the Life Simulator. lol
It's not about motives per se, but let's look at it from my point of view. Take bowling, (which doesn't even build relationships btw) as an activity to use to build a friendship, fill fun and get them out of the house or have a night set aside for a family to go do. It's hollow, because this game doesn't even build relationship points while they bowl together. Heck they can't even talk to each other while bowling or fishing. Hollowness and just a fluff activity added to gain a goal to get a fish (for collecting for the player instead of the Sim). Not only does it not reflect life simulation and why a Sim would be doing either, but it's about the player and what they gain, instead of the Sim. Bowling is like pointless other than to waste time watching a half baked animation. They don't even play a real game. Past games in TS2 were real, real chess game, not willy nilly animations of just moving pieces on a board. I've never needed more 'time' in these games because it was never about the levels and promotions or things I could gain that had little to do with the Sim. It's about the life, not the goal.
Like you can't even stop a Sim from getting a promotion in TS4, we didn't have to move on to next promotion for the TS2 Sim. (Or TS1). Motives motivate, it's realisitic to know humans eat about every five hours, that seemed pretty normal to me in TS2. And why you purchased better objects is because with better stove, better food points, better skills they didn't need to eat as often. That all makes sense to me. If I eat turkey I'm not going to be hungry two hours later, right? That seemed like a better plan than Sims hardly ever being really hungry in this game, and no need to worry about them in this game, either. They aren't going to die like in other games, then I might as well just turn it on and watch it like TV and not even worry about getting any groceries for several upon several days.
And look at cafes, the townies and your own Sim though they just ate, go back and reorder and reorder, that's all just fluff, and has little to do with life, it's animations set on loops, to repeat and repeat, and has little to do with fun, building relationships and or life. You would think they would be full and stop eating. Maybe have a conversation and or strike up some sort of game interaction with each other, or read a book or something. But they eat and they eat. (You can see that sort of developement in any cheap tycoon game out there).
The call out for new team for a new sims game only went out a matter of months ago - and we already know what happens when a base game just gets 2 years - hope that never happens again. Never mind the fact it sounds as if the new game coming may not even be a part of the series seeing they asked for all new team - and I see a nightmare scenario of devs working on a Sims game that is all new devs. Past sims games at least had some of the former devs on the team - makes me wonder what we will get.
My other fear still is online - I could not tolerate anyone playing in my sims game - I despised all 4 versions of Sims Online and EA land. It ws awful and bored me to tears so bad I could not even tolerate testing the games. One house - one character to play and nothing but constant skilling. Nope will never go with a sims online again - for sure.
Nothing could be worse to me than that so I technically don't even care about a Sims 5 if that is where they are headed - and I am still interested where this game can go anyway. To me it has just been at most 3 years into this game as it was too incomplete to count the first 2 plus years in my view. I want witches, other supernatural, robots, and Uni - some fun vacation spots - maybe something new. I see way more life that could be added to this game. So moving on to me is fearful - not a solution in my book. Fear the unknown - I say.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
@Archieonic Impossible to do with a single mod is what I meant. You would need individual tuning mods for each interaction. Mind you, you could package them all into one file and pretend it was a 'single mod' but it would be a ton of tuning mods all packaged together. This also means you wouldn't have the ability to quickly make a change with a single setting if you wanted to adjust things by like 10% or whatever, each individual tuning would need to be edited...again.
That's the reason no one has done it, I'm sure. A ton of work, and no easy way to customize it across the board without a ton more work. There are already a whole lot of mods out there which adjust this tuning for various things individually. There are even some that make some things take longer rather than be faster (I use the slower painting mod, for example, which is an example of this kind of tuning mod).
The Winters family Tree --- My Mods
To be honest I just started using the setting at 50 (2x slower) and oh my, beautiful. Everything flows so much better. Social outings are enjoyable, restaurants don't take forever, my retail store sells 30+ items a day (helped by a retail mod that makes employees work properly), and surprisingly, some interactions are not being scaled relatively. For example, cooking. You know the progress circle outline that tells you how much progress a certain action is at on your queue? It snaps half way and my sim moves on to the next stage. Same with painting. Unexpected yet beneficial.
And yeah, I was thinking more along the lines of making common actions scale with it, not all. Like using the toilet, bathing, cooking, etc. The rest I can live with, and just the fact that my sim takes half time to reach across the house or any lot is plenty time saved in my book.
Yeah, I do argree to a point we don't want another hit and miss game. Glad you are back, hope you are doing well. I sort of have selfish reasons for wanting to find out or hear more about the next Sim game from Maxis. It will tell me if it's time to hang it up, let it go, not stress over it like I did TS4 (since I thought TS4 was probably the last of the series). I could move on shortly, maybe go start a TS2 blog or something, lol, and finally realise dinosaurs like me no longer fit into these new visions and no need to care anymoe about this franchise if it's full blown online, cloud save, MMO etc. I may have personal reasons for wanting to be done with it all.
I feel pretty much the same way except, I'll just continue playing TS3 until the wheels fall off.
Public companies have a very different set of rules than just ordinary studios and cannot be changed just on a studios or Parent companies whims like they could do when they were not part of the Public Companies. So the chances of the Sims series going anywhere sounds very remote - but that said I do not know how much that can result in changes to the direction the Sims series can go to. It jut appears to me there is little chance of the Sims series going away anytime soon or easily as the company used to dismiss studios, etc. EA has them tightly wrapped up in their public company packaging - combining Maxis with Hasbro and other powerful studios now under the EA, Maxis Label.
ETA - Thank you for the good thoughts - but at this point it is just day to day. Never know what to expect now a days. I had no inkling at all I would be suddenly rushed off to the hospital two weeks ago - so one day at a time is all I can do.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
Really sorry to hear you had to go to the hospital. I hope you are feeling better.
Ah, thanks, but I have no idea how to start a blog or write one. I would probably put in a lot of boring stuff that only appeals to me, so I have never tried it. lol Hang in there Writn_Reg, good thoughts coming your way. It's rough, I know, but we like to see you here.
Thank you - for the good thoughts.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
Thank you - I love being here and reading everyone's thoughts and ideas.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
Hah! That's funny cause that's my own problem as well
Also sending good thoughts your way, Writin_Reg, hope you'll feel better very soon!
Thank you.
Maybe it would help for those wanting to write blogs to check out a few other simmers keep. I know several Sims 3 simmers write blogs and share some share their creations - some just tell their stories and some just talk about the games.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
I already mentioned the more "ambitious" the game, the more possibilities for errors. But that is not the issue at all, the issue is how EA/Maxis/The Sims Studio deals with these glitches. The best method, the way I see it, is to make sure most of the problems are corrected before moving on and/or releasing a new project over something that clearly still needs to be worked on and not ready for more additions which will likely exacerbate the problem. Especially, over time of keep sweeping things under the rug to hide and/or take care of it later if ever.
Most, if not all, the issues TS3 does have may be usually caused by unrealistic time limits for a game as dynamic as it is. Besides, not the best optimal coding, etc. Like I said before, some game companies only care about the business/money side of things. Though, sometimes even given the proper amount of time the quality is still poor in some cases and that is just a waste to me.
"IF" I remember correctly, TS3 had 2 different EP teams which is why there were usually at least 2 EP's a year. Maybe there were 2 different SP teams as well and I think I do remember The Store had its own team solely dedicated to just that. So no, I don't agree that The Store took any resources from the main game. Like I said, time management which seems to be a part of the issue with some game companies who just don't care about quality and a good standing reputation more than quick and easy money.
And being curious about the logic behind supporting a game that clearly screams of poor workmanship all around for the most part, the way I see it, and charges a higher price than previous iterations can be taken any way anyone wants to. Perception is quite interesting and just as varied among many. It is what it is. If TS4 was actually a decent game then it wouldn't have so many complaints. I mean TOO MANY complaints. But anyone can still check out the user scores between previous installments vs TS4. Anyone can learn of TS2 and TS3 success during its launch but I haven't heard any accomplishment about TS4 that topped TS2 or TS3. There are a lot of things that are quite telling. There is always more to the story than just one side.
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”
How To Start a Blog – Beginner’s Guide for 2019
BLOGGING BASICS 101
https://www.bloggingbasics101.com/how-do-i-start-a-blog/
I still stand by The Sims 3 store taking resources away. They can have 3 teams dedicated to different things, it does not mean that merging one of said teams into another (say, EPs) would not be beneficial in many ways if their skills translate (which they did).
Whereas some areas you could say they charge more, others they don't. SPs for $20 were such a huge ripoff IMO and I'm a huge fan of the idea behind GPs.
Of course, TS4 was absolutely shady at launch, so much that I stayed away for years. I recall chuckling when I heard people were freaking out over swimming pools being added *ahem, reintroduced* and thinking really? And ghosts...right.
Guess good workmanship ended with TS2.
Same devs.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
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yet no Will Wright, making me think that he was responsible for forcing most of the quality control.
If EA/Maxis was smart and they are starting on Sims 5, they need to look at what made Sims 2 and 3 really tick, be fun for hours, read the Community has said is wrong with the current game (bugs and glitches aside) and create a game that is built on past games and go forward. The Sims needs to be a sandbox game, with no end goals, various means of achieving certain outcomes, and robust tools to create the Sims, clothes, houses, world they live in.
Just my two coppers worth.