I agree wholeheartedly, it's so sad to see this series go in the direction EA is trying to take it. They think they're doing such a great and innovative job turning this game around 180 degrees, but to (most of) us long-time simmers and fans, it's truly heartbreaking. I hope one day another company can take this idea/playstyle and do absolutely amazing things with it and NOT change direction or "visions" of the game, just stay true to what it is from the beginning. I'm really curious about this news though, do you have a link or anything that you could share? I'd like to read this blasphemy for myself lol
When I first saw the trailer it was interesting to me since it was off the path of what we typically get from them in The Sims 4, it's creepy, mysterious, supernatural-like. Although what's still a turn off is those over exaggerated, too happy expressions. If the mystery is a supernatural cult leader making everyone drink the contaminated water or something then that would make sense to me. But what concerned me is the story mode style this heavily leans towards and how much can be played or used if not in this town.
If this were a spin off game I might actually buy it because they probably could've gone more out with the story like say Castaway or MySims Agents and it's the type of thing that interests me. But for The Sims I think that should always be a sandbox with no set story or goal beyond what the player sets for himself or herself. They said you have to play through the first story or challenge or whatever to opt out of the rest of the storyline and just live there like a regular town for the most part but I wonder why not just ask right up front when a player chooses that town if they want this story mode or not? I think they hope players will want to carry out the storyline after a little taste and that they may want to get a number on how many players are actually into this type of play.
That thought troubles me because it could be possible they're testing the waters for a more story based Sims spinoff game or for The Sims to become a more story based game and if it's the second I'm not feeling it at all. It feels like a Sims side game which is a vibe I hate feeling with The Sims but that I've been feeling more and more with The Sims 4.
I've seen some people talking about how this is something new and fresh and while I wouldn't exactly call it new (it reminds me of The Sims 2, obviously, with some elements of The Sims 3) but like I said it's different than what we usually see in The Sims 4 so it has that going for it. Still, I don't think it's going to change much because it's not really a pack that's aim is to add to or make the sandbox experience better. It's a pack adding a story mode.
Before, (days ago, I forgot to hit post comment) I was going to post about their comments on how the game is doing and how I don't take what they say at face value because the way they word things, so I'd rather just wait to see what they do. And I also was going to say I don't expect much to improve beyond amount of content added simply because they're adding content. That's still my thought process after this new pack announcement. To me, unless emotions and personality traits are improved this pack is just another band-aid on a wound that requires surgery.
I agree with most of the sentiments here, but I want to see reviews and footage from people who do play before I judge too harshly. That being said, I completely understand where a lot of you are coming from. A restricted game isn't what some of us want, but it's what we get.
I do like the concept for the strangerville pack, and think it could be fun, and that it's certainly new--at least for ts4. But I have many, many concerns, such as it relying too heavily on pop culture references and references to it's own predecessors instead of it's own merit. Throwbacks and remakes are all the rage right now and I'm a bit disappointed they went near that route with the Strangetown vibes. But we shall see I suppose. All I can do is hope that it works out for the best, and that if there is a 5, it's different. Or that somewhere in the next three+ (long, long) years, they fix things like personalities and emotions, like @ApparentlyAwesome mentioned. I only dread ts4 going on so long because I doubt more and more we'll get better gameplay in a timely manner. Imagine it finally gets better and six months later 5 comes out...
I see no need for a Sims 5 at this point. I much rather have good expansions for Sims 4 than to start over.
And thanks to a more cartoonish style the graphics still holds up after 4 years unlike Sims 3 that looked dated after 1 year.
I hope we get a Magic Expansion, Farming or University
I keep saying I am not interested in a farming expansion, but that's because if we get that, I want a PROPER farmer expansion. Which means a total overhaul of the gardening skill, probably some futuristic harvesting robots, proper fields, meaning areas you have buy like a retail shop and has to spend 8 hours a day taking care of. Not just "oh look you can do wheat in the planter boxes now". And much more.
This is about The Sims not about other games which are different genres and overall like comparing apples and oranges. But if you really want to compare other video games then that's fine. However, you don't provide any explanation or evidence to back up your thesis.
TS is the first in the entry. TS2 improved and advanced a lot but still only one lot at a time with generated Sims on the spot as they interact with other Sims, objects or enter then leave off-screen. TS3 improved and advanced a lot while also innovating gameplay mechanics to something that makes the perfect sense for the genre it represents. Such as the simulation itself is no longer just one lot at a time to imitate liveliness but actually simulates the whole neighborhood at once with all Sims including pets and seasons with impressive weather effects. All with minimal to no lag, of course you must have a good gaming computer to actually experience TS3 the way it is meant to be played.
There's a mod for TS3 called NRass Tagger and I get to see all the Sims from the LIVE map view and everything that they are doing within the neighborhood. All of them are spread out in various community lots or working, or in school, or at home, etc. The town feels alive because it actually is than imitating an illusion to appear so by loading only one lot or small play area at a time like TS/TS2/TS4. Out of the rest in the franchise, TS3 is the only Sims game to date truly considered a life simulator based on the gameplay mechanics.
Not only that, but I suppose some don't know that TS3 Sims have actual memories that was implemented in the base game/game engine. Meaning, everything that your Sim goes through in their virtual lives are recorded and they remember. This is easily noticed when a player becomes observant of how the Sims are interacting with the world and Sims around them and will be able to see the intelligent and life-like A.I. Sims are also very different from each other, not just by their personality, but also in how they develop based on their learning A.I. algorithm. There is a lot more depth than TS2 in that department and from what I understand and observe is the best simulation I have ever witnessed in a video game. And I have been playing video games since I was 4 or 5 years old. Though, to be fair, I haven't played every single game to ever release.
The first time I used Tagger in TS3 was when I was play one of the zombie apocalypse challenges. I had just started the zombie virus and wanted to keep track of it's spread over the town so that is when I installed Tagger. Oh my goodness! I actually started feeling panicky when I saw how it spread throughout the town! And I agree with you, I had always known that the whole town was full of life, but when you see the movements of the townspeople all over the map going about their day, Tagger really gives a full idea of it's liveliness! This is why I love TS3 so much! It's not just your sims having a life - it's the whole world!
Concerning TS4, it's clear that game was not meant for any of the Sims fans and is overly slapdash. I'm not saying it's impossible for EA to create the best Sims game with more innovative features, stunning optimization, etc using TS3 as a base I would hope but no way am I holding my breath. However, given the track record...uh, why would anyone believe The Sims would go back to being The Sims?
I think they laid off most of the people who developed TS2 and TS3. Grant is still around but he's stabbing his own work in TS3 in the back to try to sell TS4. Smh...
Unrelated I suppose, but there's a common saying that true hardcore fans are the ones that stick around no matter what. However, I believe the opposite. True hardcore fans won't take part in something they deem is unfair and/or lost its way just for the sake of holding on to something even when it's mediocre. Because when you really love something, you let it go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moSFlvxnbgk
This is true. When I found out that they took so much out of TS4 and that it was not a progression from TS3, I refused to buy it. I DON'T REWARD SHODDY WORK! And from what I've seen of the packs and how EA manipulates TS4 simmers into buying those packs, I feel even more justified in my decision. I don't have the headaches or heartaches they're going through with the meager amount of quality they're getting in those packs.
But to address the topic of this thread I really want TS5 to be top quality and to be jam-packed with good things just as TS1 through TS3 were so I don't mind if they're working on that right now. I'm not at all crazy about TS4 and I don't own it, but I just feel horrible that TS4 simmers got so little. So I don't mind if EA still puts out packs for them in the 2-1/2 years they've given this iteration.
But TS5 better be AMAZING. I used to be Sims-only gamer. But when I saw how TS4 turned out, I started looking at other games and now I consider myself a PC gamer and not just a Simmer. If TS5 isn't awesome, if I still see the same abuses of gamer-trust that I've seen of EA against TS4 simmers, I am DONE with this franchise and will just play other games instead.
I agree wholeheartedly, it's so sad to see this series go in the direction EA is trying to take it. They think they're doing such a great and innovative job turning this game around 180 degrees, but to (most of) us long-time simmers and fans, it's truly heartbreaking. I hope one day another company can take this idea/playstyle and do absolutely amazing things with it and NOT change direction or "visions" of the game, just stay true to what it is from the beginning. I'm really curious about this news though, do you have a link or anything that you could share? I'd like to read this blasphemy for myself lol
Thanks for the link! But seriously? Strangerville? I remember those videos from the Sims 2 website, it was a whole series and honestly I don't even think I ever figured out exactly what it was about since, iirc, it was all in Simlish lol but it was definitely supernatural and based in Strangetown and from what I do remember it was a group of Young Adults living together going through strange occurances or something to that effect.
I know I'm probably alone in this opinion, but I really despise when companies/people/whatever take something they had or used in the past, like this, and try and turn it around and claim it's new and/or innovative. It's ridiculous and, in my opinion, petty and desperate. If they have such amazing ideas like they keep claiming (that "vision" and everything), why don't they use those new ideas instead of attempting to repurpose a concept they did, and finished, over a decade ago??? Money, that's all it's ever about anymore, and it's really pathetic and sad to me. If this were truly a new concept, it might actually be interesting. But, alas, TS4 has brought about great disappointment in me YET AGAIN.
I agree wholeheartedly, it's so sad to see this series go in the direction EA is trying to take it. They think they're doing such a great and innovative job turning this game around 180 degrees, but to (most of) us long-time simmers and fans, it's truly heartbreaking. I hope one day another company can take this idea/playstyle and do absolutely amazing things with it and NOT change direction or "visions" of the game, just stay true to what it is from the beginning. I'm really curious about this news though, do you have a link or anything that you could share? I'd like to read this blasphemy for myself lol
Thanks for the link! But seriously? Strangerville? I remember those videos from the Sims 2 website, it was a whole series and honestly I don't even think I ever figured out exactly what it was about since, iirc, it was all in Simlish lol but it was definitely supernatural and based in Strangetown and from what I do remember it was a group of Young Adults living together going through strange occurances or something to that effect.
I know I'm probably alone in this opinion, but I really despise when companies/people/whatever take something they had or used in the past, like this, and try and turn it around and claim it's new and/or innovative. It's ridiculous and, in my opinion, petty and desperate. If they have such amazing ideas like they keep claiming (that "vision" and everything), why don't they use those new ideas instead of attempting to repurpose a concept they did, and finished, over a decade ago??? Money, that's all it's ever about anymore, and it's really pathetic and sad to me. If this were truly a new concept, it might actually be interesting. But, alas, TS4 has brought about great disappointment in me YET AGAIN.
What is 'new' is for the first time in the series of this game they have decided story driven gameplay is what any of us wanted. Like in Sims Life Stories where it's linear in many ways, and you have to follow the story line. Yes, people may be able to avoid the 'story mode' but if you want it gone from the game it's my understanding you have to play it once to get rid of it. And or do some of it, then go to sandbox. If you ignore it and have your Sim live there, then you are paying $20 for a new, small world. No strangeness will take place so you are paying for a new world if you avoid the story mode somehow.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
I agree wholeheartedly, it's so sad to see this series go in the direction EA is trying to take it. They think they're doing such a great and innovative job turning this game around 180 degrees, but to (most of) us long-time simmers and fans, it's truly heartbreaking. I hope one day another company can take this idea/playstyle and do absolutely amazing things with it and NOT change direction or "visions" of the game, just stay true to what it is from the beginning. I'm really curious about this news though, do you have a link or anything that you could share? I'd like to read this blasphemy for myself lol
Thanks for the link! But seriously? Strangerville? I remember those videos from the Sims 2 website, it was a whole series and honestly I don't even think I ever figured out exactly what it was about since, iirc, it was all in Simlish lol but it was definitely supernatural and based in Strangetown and from what I do remember it was a group of Young Adults living together going through strange occurances or something to that effect.
I know I'm probably alone in this opinion, but I really despise when companies/people/whatever take something they had or used in the past, like this, and try and turn it around and claim it's new and/or innovative. It's ridiculous and, in my opinion, petty and desperate. If they have such amazing ideas like they keep claiming (that "vision" and everything), why don't they use those new ideas instead of attempting to repurpose a concept they did, and finished, over a decade ago??? Money, that's all it's ever about anymore, and it's really pathetic and sad to me. If this were truly a new concept, it might actually be interesting. But, alas, TS4 has brought about great disappointment in me YET AGAIN.
What is 'new' is for the first time in the series of this game they have decided story driven gameplay is what any of us wanted. Like in Sims Life Stories where it's linear in many ways, and you have to follow the story line. Yes, people may be able to avoid the 'story mode' but if you want it gone from the game it's my understanding you have to play it once to get rid of it. And or do some of it, then go to sandbox. If you ignore it and have your Sim live there, then you are paying $20 for a new, small world. No strangeness will take place so you are paying for a new world if you avoid the story mode somehow.
Yeah that tweet is a bit confusing. If there's a toggle, why do those that don't want the story have to play through it to get rid of it? It should just be a simple toggle, on or off. The rest makes sense, once you do the story you can choose to get rid of it (cure) or let it ride.
Even so, I'm not so much looking at the story but the other stuff, mainly the active military career which I've been wanting for a while (did not expect it to be an active career tbh), and the hobbies/build/buy items. Well, 11 editable lots for a GP isn't half bad for a residential world given that the only other one we've gotten is...Forgotten Hollow with a whooping 5 lots. Although I do find it kind of confusing how for $20 they give us an 11 lot world, and for a full $40 EP (GF) was also 11 lots. This just floors the idea that they have to reduce world sizes, because a GP most certainly wasn't where I'd have expected that amount of lots.
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Store content was worth thousands upon thousands of dollars. Someone did the full math and it was insane. Once I get home I can look up the sources but a quick google of TS3 total store cost will probably yield it.
I'm glad it's gone tbh. It was the pinnacle of fragmenting content and making it flawed like savvy seller or the indulgent bakery. And yes, if the game at this point in time does not meet someone's satisfaction it is highly unlikely that it will ever change. I most certainly agree with you there.
It may have been worth thousands of dollars (although that sounds like an exaggeration and I'm not sure I believe that), but I have most of the Sims 3 store. I'm a bargain hunter at heart though so I bought most everything when offered as daily deals, or through make-a-deal. It took a while to build up my collection. I bought the highest amount of points at Origin 3 times: ($160.00 for 24,360 points) x 3 = $480.00 for 73,080 points and this was sufficient for the most part to buy most of the store. So maybe around $500-$600 is what I'm estimating for the whole store so long as you wait for deals.
The savvy seller collection was disappointing because you can't sell what you created. I never understood the logic of that when the devs made the decision to restrict that. But since I have it, I'm not going to let it waste unused - I installed Ani's mod, Savvier Seller which is a mod that expands the savvy seller collections selling range, so you can sell your own handy work and other stuff it couldn't sell before.
I actually love the Indulgent Bakery Set! I do use the Cupcake mod for it - I use the cold display for many of my community lots so that where ever my sims are, they can just get some food from it to eat if they're hungry. Without the mod, it's still pretty neat though and I love the recipes and build items it comes with.
Overall, I love the Sims 3 store - it has so many useful items! And I do use a lot of what they sell in all my worlds. I really hope that when TS5 is here that they will also do a Sims 5 store for it with the same great quality and useful content that TS3 store has.
PS - I'm not sure why you're raging at the Sims 3 store. It does bring in profit for EA and could very well help to fund the development of TS5 and quite probably help keep the development of TS4 going until the 2=1/2 years are up.
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Store content was worth thousands upon thousands of dollars. Someone did the full math and it was insane. Once I get home I can look up the sources but a quick google of TS3 total store cost will probably yield it.
I'm glad it's gone tbh. It was the pinnacle of fragmenting content and making it flawed like savvy seller or the indulgent bakery. And yes, if the game at this point in time does not meet someone's satisfaction it is highly unlikely that it will ever change. I most certainly agree with you there.
It may have been worth thousands of dollars (although that sounds like an exaggeration and I'm not sure I believe that), but I have most of the Sims 3 store. I'm a bargain hunter at heart though so I bought most everything when offered as daily deals, or through make-a-deal. It took a while to build up my collection. I bought the highest amount of points at Origin 3 times: ($160.00 for 24,360 points) x 3 = $480.00 for 73,080 points and this was sufficient for the most part to buy most of the store. So maybe around $500-$600 is what I'm estimating for the whole store so long as you wait for deals.
The savvy seller collection was disappointing because you can't sell what you created. I never understood the logic of that when the devs made the decision to restrict that. But since I have it, I'm not going to let it waste unused - I installed Ani's mod, Savvier Seller which is a mod that expands the savvy seller collections selling range, so you can sell your own handy work and other stuff it couldn't sell before.
I actually love the Indulgent Bakery Set! I do use the Cupcake mod for it - I use the cold display for many of my community lots so that where ever my sims are, they can just get some food from it to eat if they're hungry. Without the mod, it's still pretty neat though and I love the recipes and build items it comes with.
Overall, I love the Sims 3 store - it has so many useful items! And I do use a lot of what they sell in all my worlds. I really hope that when TS5 is here that they will also do a Sims 5 store for it with the same great quality and useful content that TS3 store has.
PS - I'm not sure why you're raging at the Sims 3 store. It does bring in profit for EA and could very well help to fund the development of TS5 and quite probably help keep the development of TS4 going until the 2=1/2 years are up.
I've already stated before why I despise TS3 store. The Savvy Seller Collection for me was disappointing not just because of that, but because it was shallow, rudimentary, half-baked replacements for a very well done concept (TS2 OFB) and then just a bunch of objects and overpriced worlds when there already were $20 SPs. Whether or not it helps development of TS4 or TS5, quite frankly there are certain practices that I'd rather be gone and if they depend on them to fund TS4 after 4 years and possibly TS5 after 7+ years then clearly there's an issue. TS4 should be self-sufficient by this point, and judging by the info available it is, and if it's not well, then the product failed to deliver.
You could apply bargain hunting to anything really. You could potentially buy TS4 + every single DLC and save 75% if properly waiting and hunting for bargains. You could get $40 EPs for $15 i.e. I still (and I believe most do) judge the content by what it is meant to be and the price tag that it is truly priced at by the developers. So I judge the store at raw price. Otherwise, I'd have to judge things like Get Famous as a game pack because that's what I paid for it. But I don't. So while yes, you can save greatly bargain hunting, the original price for content is something I very much cringe at.
You could apply bargain hunting to anything really. You could potentially buy TS4 + every single DLC and save 75% if properly waiting and hunting for bargains. You could get $40 EPs for $15 i.e. I still (and I believe most do) judge the content by what it is meant to be and the price tag that it is truly priced at by the developers. So I judge the store at raw price. Otherwise, I'd have to judge things like Get Famous as a game pack because that's what I paid for it. But I don't. So while yes, you can save greatly bargain hunting, the original price for content is something I very much cringe at.
If you get things at full price but then complain it costs too much when you KNOW there is opportunity to buy it much cheaper during daily deals, then that's not the fault of the store. It's just overacting exaggeration that you "cringe" at its full price at that point. Why would you not want people to be aware that you can get everything at the Sims 3 store for much cheaper through the daily deals and make a deal?
But you don't get much bang for you buck with TS4. Even if I got it at basement price I would still feel ripped off with all that has been taken out of it. And you have to admit the quality of the game and stuff isn't that great. That's why I totally opted out of buying into this iteration because I knew it would be a bad investment and a money pit.
I never felt ripped off with any of my TS3 purchases. Also, the Savvy Seller Collection isn't the only thing in the store and even if you don't choose to use it, it comes with other useful items, but it seems that is all you mention. I use a ton of the stuff at the store in my worlds: the farm sets with cows and chickens, the surfing station (I place them in ALL my worlds in their oceans, lakes, rivers), the canning station, the tea set, the watermill (which turns out sims not only can fish in it, it saves energy and reduces your bills!), the roller coaster with the boardwalk, the violin, basketball court, wall climbing, ice cream maker, the teppanyaki grill, pizza oven, etc. - the list is too long for me to mention all that I use!
I also think it's great that you can pick and choose what you want at the Sims 3 store - you don't necessarily have to buy the whole set. Likewise, if you bought an individual item and decide to get the set, you can buy the set at a much reduced price point since you already have items from it, especially if it goes up for the daily deal! So I even think this marketing method is great! You get to look at the items and buy what you want. You can't do that with TS4 items because they lump them all together in packs and you're stuck with whether you want them or not.
You could apply bargain hunting to anything really. You could potentially buy TS4 + every single DLC and save 75% if properly waiting and hunting for bargains. You could get $40 EPs for $15 i.e. I still (and I believe most do) judge the content by what it is meant to be and the price tag that it is truly priced at by the developers. So I judge the store at raw price. Otherwise, I'd have to judge things like Get Famous as a game pack because that's what I paid for it. But I don't. So while yes, you can save greatly bargain hunting, the original price for content is something I very much cringe at.
If you get things at full price but then complain it costs too much when you KNOW there is opportunity to buy it much cheaper during daily deals, then that's not the fault of the store. It's just overacting exaggeration that you "cringe" at its full price at that point. Why would you not want people to be aware that you can get everything at the Sims 3 store for much cheaper through the daily deals and make a deal?
But you don't get much bang for you buck with TS4. Even if I got it at basement price I would still feel ripped off with all that has been taken out of it. And you have to admit the quality of the game and stuff isn't that great. That's why I totally opted out of buying into this iteration because I knew it would be a bad investment and a money pit.
I never felt ripped off with any of my TS3 purchases. Also, the Savvy Seller Collection isn't the only thing in the store and even if you don't choose to use it, it comes with other useful items, but it seems that is all you mention. I use a ton of the stuff at the store in my worlds: the farm sets with cows and chickens, the surfing station (I place them in ALL my worlds in their oceans, lakes, rivers), the canning station, the tea set, the watermill (which turns out sims not only can fish in it, it saves energy and reduces your bills!), the roller coaster with the boardwalk, the violin, basketball court, wall climbing, ice cream maker, the teppanyaki grill, pizza oven, etc. - the list is too long for me to mention all that I use!
I also think it's great that you can pick and choose what you want at the Sims 3 store - you don't necessarily have to buy the whole set. Likewise, if you bought an individual item and decide to get the set, you can buy the set at a much reduced price point since you already have items from it, especially if it goes up for the daily deal! So I even think this marketing method is great! You get to look at the items and buy what you want. You can't do that with TS4 items because they lump them all together in packs and you're stuck with whether you want them or not.
No, I don't *have* to admit that. Far from it. Much like with previous iterations, there are some things I greatly enjoy and others I loathe. There are some things in TS4 I enjoy much more than I did in previous iterations, and there are also a bunch of things I loathe both in execution and quality. I don't over-exaggerate in either direction, I'm partial to the iteration's ups and downs. Same way I don't praise the SP "new gameplay" items, is the reason I don't even bother to mention TS3 store items that you have mentioned. Tea set? Cool, drink some tea...Basketball court? Loop some animations. Violins? Um, ok, included in TS4 base game, an instrument. Ice cream maker? Why is that a premium item? (And I mean both in TS3 AND TS4, like why was it something befitting a SP?) So if you were to go right now for it, $3.09 to get an ice cream maker only (309 simpoints) And for $10 in TS4 you get that plus a few dozen items (that you may or may not want), yet it quickly adds up if you hunt for premium items alone. Want the canning station right now? Well that's 1700 simpoints or $17.00 (since the standalone cannot be bought anymore) and you get 28 items. Price may vary depending on the package of simpoints you buy of course, so if you go for the $20 option of 2040 simpoints you get effectively around 1.96% extra simpoints.
Again, I'm not talking about how you can get things cheaper, you can do that with all iterations. I'm saying I hold the product to its original price/type of content it is meant to be. Just because I can get TS4 GTW for $15 does not mean I'm gonna say "Welp, it's decent for the price", because it is not. It is a full $40 Expansion Pack, it is supposed to have what an Expansion Pack is supposed to have whether you get it for $40 or $10. So no, it's not overacting, it's a basic review of content vs price.
Are you all really, really ready to go back to a base game with no weather? No pets? Potentially only 3 worlds to choose from again? Maybe no laundry?
Because I'm not ready to hear all those complaints again.
I know I could - I have TS3 to fall back on. When TS5 base game comes out, I know it's just the beginning. All i'm expecting is that the devs bring back EVERYTHING they took from TS4 that was essentially part of TS1 through TS3. And then, I'm looking for new features that are added on top of what should already be there. And it has to be playable, something I can stick with until the first EP comes out. I would be satisfied with that.
When TS2 and TS3 base games came out, I was pretty satisfied with them even when the other EPs, etc. hadn't been out yet. It's because they were already pretty playable at the base game level: I created sims, gave them jobs, gave them homes, I explored their neighborhoods, got to know the townies, found out how customizable the games were to what and how I want it to play - so there were plenty of things to do.
So if TS5 follows in like fashion, then I'll be satisfied with that game as well. If I want a fuller game, I have TS3 to fall back on until the EPs and other packs come out for TS5.
This is about The Sims not about other games which are different genres and overall like comparing apples and oranges. But if you really want to compare other video games then that's fine. However, you don't provide any explanation or evidence to back up your thesis.
TS is the first in the entry. TS2 improved and advanced a lot but still only one lot at a time with generated Sims on the spot as they interact with other Sims, objects or enter then leave off-screen. TS3 improved and advanced a lot while also innovating gameplay mechanics to something that makes the perfect sense for the genre it represents. Such as the simulation itself is no longer just one lot at a time to imitate liveliness but actually simulates the whole neighborhood at once with all Sims including pets and seasons with impressive weather effects. All with minimal to no lag, of course you must have a good gaming computer to actually experience TS3 the way it is meant to be played.
There's a mod for TS3 called NRass Tagger and I get to see all the Sims from the LIVE map view and everything that they are doing within the neighborhood. All of them are spread out in various community lots or working, or in school, or at home, etc. The town feels alive because it actually is than imitating an illusion to appear so by loading only one lot or small play area at a time like TS/TS2/TS4. Out of the rest in the franchise, TS3 is the only Sims game to date truly considered a life simulator based on the gameplay mechanics.
Not only that, but I suppose some don't know that TS3 Sims have actual memories that was implemented in the base game/game engine. Meaning, everything that your Sim goes through in their virtual lives are recorded and they remember. This is easily noticed when a player becomes observant of how the Sims are interacting with the world and Sims around them and will be able to see the intelligent and life-like A.I. Sims are also very different from each other, not just by their personality, but also in how they develop based on their learning A.I. algorithm. There is a lot more depth than TS2 in that department and from what I understand and observe is the best simulation I have ever witnessed in a video game. And I have been playing video games since I was 4 or 5 years old. Though, to be fair, I haven't played every single game to ever release.
The first time I used Tagger in TS3 was when I was play one of the zombie apocalypse challenges. I had just started the zombie virus and wanted to keep track of it's spread over the town so that is when I installed Tagger. Oh my goodness! I actually started feeling panicky when I saw how it spread throughout the town! And I agree with you, I had always known that the whole town was full of life, but when you see the movements of the townspeople all over the map going about their day, Tagger really gives a full idea of it's liveliness! This is why I love TS3 so much! It's not just your sims having a life - it's the whole world!
Concerning TS4, it's clear that game was not meant for any of the Sims fans and is overly slapdash. I'm not saying it's impossible for EA to create the best Sims game with more innovative features, stunning optimization, etc using TS3 as a base I would hope but no way am I holding my breath. However, given the track record...uh, why would anyone believe The Sims would go back to being The Sims?
I think they laid off most of the people who developed TS2 and TS3. Grant is still around but he's stabbing his own work in TS3 in the back to try to sell TS4. Smh...
Unrelated I suppose, but there's a common saying that true hardcore fans are the ones that stick around no matter what. However, I believe the opposite. True hardcore fans won't take part in something they deem is unfair and/or lost its way just for the sake of holding on to something even when it's mediocre. Because when you really love something, you let it go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moSFlvxnbgk
This is true. When I found out that they took so much out of TS4 and that it was not a progression from TS3, I refused to buy it. I DON'T REWARD SHODDY WORK! And from what I've seen of the packs and how EA manipulates TS4 simmers into buying those packs, I feel even more justified in my decision. I don't have the headaches or heartaches they're going through with the meager amount of quality they're getting in those packs.
But to address the topic of this thread I really want TS5 to be top quality and to be jam-packed with good things just as TS1 through TS3 were so I don't mind if they're working on that right now. I'm not at all crazy about TS4 and I don't own it, but I just feel horrible that TS4 simmers got so little. So I don't mind if EA still puts out packs for them in the 2-1/2 years they've given this iteration.
But TS5 better be AMAZING. I used to be Sims-only gamer. But when I saw how TS4 turned out, I started looking at other games and now I consider myself a PC gamer and not just a Simmer. If TS5 isn't awesome, if I still see the same abuses of gamer-trust that I've seen of EA against TS4 simmers, I am DONE with this franchise and will just play other games instead.
Sims 3 had a lot of bugs and lag as well - I had to install mods like Overwatch from NRaas to resolve them. Remember the spawning cars bug from Late Night? Then I used Master Controller to turn off features that were causing save bloat and corruption, like the memories feature, or that were just plain annoying like every Sim turning into a celebrity with Late Night, or into supernaturals with Supernatural. Then I found that I liked the customization options in NRaas' Story Progression, Register allowed me to control autoomous actions so my Sims wouldn't get diabetes from continuous use of the ice cream machine and deep fryer...etc.
??? You don't need MasterController to turn off memories, celebrities or supernaturals. You can do that within the game itself - no mods required.
Register doesn't turn off autnomous actions, you mean Retuner.
The thing with TS3 is that even with the bugs, it's gameplay and how customizable it is are such great features that people make the effort to fix those bugs and continue to play the game anyway. Since TS3 is finished, all of TS3's problems have well-documented solutions and they're all pretty easy to fix. Plus the whole TS3 community are only very willing to help others fix those problems.
Honestly, I just think it is so much better than TS4. That's why it's still being sold. I know that TS4 is on Amazon's 100 best seller list, but did you know that TS3 is on there too, as well as some of it's expansion packs? It's also made Steam's bronze list of Best Sellers of 2018. Not bad for a game that is 10 years, despite being supposedly "buggy and laggy", and in competition with much newer games!
Sims 3 had a lot of bugs and lag as well - I had to install mods like Overwatch from NRaas to resolve them. Remember the spawning cars bug from Late Night? Then I used Master Controller to turn off features that were causing save bloat and corruption, like the memories feature, or that were just plain annoying like every Sim turning into a celebrity with Late Night, or into supernaturals with Supernatural. Then I found that I liked the customization options in NRaas' Story Progression, Register allowed me to control autoomous actions so my Sims wouldn't get diabetes from continuous use of the ice cream machine and deep fryer...etc.
??? You don't need MasterController to turn off memories, celebrities or supernaturals. You can do that within the game itself - no mods required.
Register doesn't turn off autnomous actions, you mean Retuner.
The thing with TS3 is that even with the bugs, it's gameplay and how customizable it is are such great features that people make the effort to fix those bugs and continue to play the game anyway. Since TS3 is finished, all of TS3's problems have well-documented solutions and they're all pretty easy to fix. Plus the whole TS3 community are only very willing to help others fix those problems.
Honestly, I just think it is so much better than TS4. That's why it's still being sold. I know that TS4 is on Amazon's 100 best seller list, but did you know that TS3 is on there too, as well as some of it's expansion packs? It's also made Steam's bronze list of Best Sellers of 2018. Not bad for a game that is 10 years, despite being supposedly "buggy and laggy", and in competition with much newer games!
I agree with what you been posting, and I feel Sims 3 was before it's time as far as features goes and whatever hindered for some folks falls on the Devs Imo as they truly did not take the time to fix what was wrong with it for them.I only had problems when it was an problem with coding that was done by the devs like the AMB patch which was not based on an systems specs but an patch created by the Devs. Yes, it is 2019 and technology still has not caught up with Sims 4 in certain areas. One may have to wait for the next version to see how different it is if it does come about. However, I am not holding my breathe Sims 3 must have meant something as you can see the site has not been archived yet and the store is still running. It did not take long to archive Sims 1 or 2 when the cycle of production has ceased. Sims 4 is not all bad but at the same time it just lacks that extra pizazz and it is also limited in what it truly can do for various reasons such as performance wise. Some of the EPs are nice but again limited. I do not care if an game just runs, all I want out of it is fun and it is there but not as long as it should be even after each release of an new pack but fun can be imterpreted differently by each player and as I always say one thing Sims 4 is consistant on and that is controversy, also an player do not need to run out and buy an high end system as Sims 4 cannot scale up or down unless one plan on playing an preformance driven game like Doom or RE2.
Post edited by Goldmoldar on
Omen by HP Intel®️ Core™️ i9- 12900K W/ RGB Liquid Cooler 32GB Nvidia RTX 3080 10Gb ASUS Ultra-Wide 34" Curved Monitor. Omen By HP Intel® Core™ i7-12800HX 32 GB Nvidia 3070 Ti 8 GB 17.3 Screen
Again, I'm not talking about how you can get things cheaper, you can do that with all iterations. I'm saying I hold the product to its original price/type of content it is meant to be. Just because I can get TS4 GTW for $15 does not mean I'm gonna say "Welp, it's decent for the price", because it is not. It is a full $40 Expansion Pack, it is supposed to have what an Expansion Pack is supposed to have whether you get it for $40 or $10. So no, it's not overacting, it's a basic review of content vs price.
I agree with you. EPs for TS4 are never the level that TS1-TS3 expansion packs are/were. The full price for each really IS a total rip-off for what you're getting. I understand your view on that. With TS3 store, I don't feel as much angst against it as you do because it IS all optional - the items sold don't add gameplay features the way EPs do. For example, TS3 store offers the surfing station so your sims can surf in the ocean, other bodies of water and even pools. But that is not a gameplay feature to me like what comes in the Island Paraidise EP that brings scuba diving, resort management, hidden islands, etc. etc. So yeah, it can be sold at full price, which I'd never buy it at, but wouldn't be offended at it because it's not something I feel that I would need to buy to add that functionality to my TS3 games like I do an EP such as Island Paradise. For that, I can happily wait for a daily deal to buy it - it just doesn't anger me much the way the high price of TS4 EPs do.
Just because something like TS4 is newer doesn't mean it's better.
That is so true.
Omen by HP Intel®️ Core™️ i9- 12900K W/ RGB Liquid Cooler 32GB Nvidia RTX 3080 10Gb ASUS Ultra-Wide 34" Curved Monitor. Omen By HP Intel® Core™ i7-12800HX 32 GB Nvidia 3070 Ti 8 GB 17.3 Screen
Again, I'm not talking about how you can get things cheaper, you can do that with all iterations. I'm saying I hold the product to its original price/type of content it is meant to be. Just because I can get TS4 GTW for $15 does not mean I'm gonna say "Welp, it's decent for the price", because it is not. It is a full $40 Expansion Pack, it is supposed to have what an Expansion Pack is supposed to have whether you get it for $40 or $10. So no, it's not overacting, it's a basic review of content vs price.
I agree with you. EPs for TS4 are never the level that TS1-TS3 expansion packs are/were. The full price for each really IS a total rip-off for what you're getting. I understand your view on that. With TS3 store, I don't feel as much angst against it as you do because it IS all optional - the items sold don't add gameplay features the way EPs do. For example, TS3 store offers the surfing station so your sims can surf in the ocean, other bodies of water and even pools. But that is not a gameplay feature to me like what comes in the Island Paraidise EP that brings scuba diving, resort management, hidden islands, etc. etc. So yeah, it can be sold at full price, which I'd never buy it at, but wouldn't be offended at it because it's not something I feel that I would need to buy to add that functionality to my TS3 games like I do an EP such as Island Paradise. For that, I can happily wait for a daily deal to buy it - it just doesn't anger me much the way the high price of TS4 EPs do.
Don't take my example out of proportion, there's quite a few EPs for TS4 I absolutely love the way they did it in this iteration as opposed to previous ones and consider them much more enjoyable. I understand you may be of the opinion that previous iterations were all better, but I do not share that view at all. EPs like Cats & Dogs and City Living IMO were a huge downgrade, whereas Get Famous, Seasons and Get Together were a complete hit for me. I did not claim ALL EPs were a total rip-off for what you were getting. Same way I considered Showtime a subpar shallow EP, but absolutely loved Island Paradise (yet despised how resorts were half rabbit holes where only amenities were open). I enjoy GTW and would be content with its price had retail worked properly and be done more ala TS2 OFB. But since retail is a mess without mods, and it's one of the primary aspects of the pack, I got it at half price.
I also definitely enjoy the change of paying $20 for a decent GP that has a good mix of gameplay and content, whereas before the same price tag yielded a SP.
I agree with what you been posting, and I feel Sims 3 was before it's time as far as features goes and whatever hindered for some folks falls on the Devs Imo as they truly did not take the time to fix what was wrong with it for them.I only had problems when it was an problem with coding that was done by the devs like the AMB patch which was not based on an systems specs but an patch created by the Devs.
I agree. Despite it not being perfect, TS3 was truly a brilliant piece of work in terms of a fully open world that not only kept track of your own sims, but also all of the townies (which to me is amazing - it's the first time in Sims that I really felt my sims was part of the town) and all the unpredictable events (the equivalent of TS2 chance cards1). I think the problems it has for some were a little intimidating though and this is why some people won't play it, but I think if they realized just how easy the problems are to fix, then they would like it. That's why I always encourage people to try it out and if they have a problem with it to bring it to the TS3 forum and ask for help.
Also I think some people don't like it because they don't know what it can do. I would read about how some people don't think it can do rotational play for example, but it actually can. It does need the NRaas SP mod though and to configure it for rotational play, but I know Igazor can help out with that.
Yes, it is 2019 and technology still has not caught up with Sims 4 in certain areas. One may have to wait for the next version to see how different it is if it does come about. However, I am not holding my breathe Sims 3 must have meant something as you can see the site has not been archived yet and the store is still running. It did not take long to archive Sims 1 or 2 when the cycle of production has ceased.
I'm glad that EA at least recognized that TS3 and its store will still make a good profit for them even though it is competition for TS4. That's why the TS4 crowd constantly tries to put it down. But you know? If EA decided to still sell TS2, that it would probably be attacked by the TS4 crowd as well since I know it would probably do well against TS4 too. All that TS4 has is "supposedly" good graphics (which is subjective) and smooth operation (it's buggy too though) but it's not feature-rich like TS2 or TS3.
Sims 4 is not all bad but at the same time it just lacks that extra pizazz[= and it is also limited in what it truly can do for various reasons such as performance wise. Some of the EPs are nice but again limited. I do not care if an game just runs, all I want out of it is fun and it is there but not as long as it should be even after each release of an new pack but fun can be imterpreted differently by each player and as I always say one thing Sims 4 is consistant on and that is controversy, also an player do not need to run out and buy an high end system as Sims 4 cannot scale up or down unless one plan on playing an preformance driven game like Doom or RE2.
It was a mistake by EA bigwigs to try to salvage the Olympus online game and make it a single player pc game because they've had problems with TS4 from the very beginning. I think they should have just kept making content for TS3 while they start over from Olympus and build a proper successor to the Sims franchise. They said that TS3 couldn't handle anymore EPs but TS3 simmers have the option of switching EPs in and out so this wasn't a problem - I just don't think they foresaw this and that they COULD have added more EPs or at the very least more content for the store or stuff packs.
So here we all are now, stuck with TS4 and hoping and waiting for TS5 that it isn't anything like TS4 and that EA doesn't abuse us with the marketing tactics it has inflicted on TS4 simmers.
Don't take my example out of proportion, there's quite a few EPs for TS4 I absolutely love the way they did it in this iteration as opposed to previous ones and consider them much more enjoyable. I understand you may be of the opinion that previous iterations were all better, but I do not share that view at all. EPs like Cats & Dogs and City Living IMO were a huge downgrade, whereas Get Famous, Seasons and Get Together were a complete hit for me. I did not claim ALL EPs were a total rip-off for what you were getting. Same way I considered Showtime a subpar shallow EP, but absolutely loved Island Paradise (yet despised how resorts were half rabbit holes where only amenities were open). I enjoy GTW and would be content with its price had retail worked properly and be done more ala TS2 OFB. But since retail is a mess without mods, and it's one of the primary aspects of the pack, I got it at half price.
I also definitely enjoy the change of paying $20 for a decent GP that has a good mix of gameplay and content, whereas before the same price tag yielded a SP.
I just don't get all that upset about prices. though. Let's say I DID decide to get TS4. Of course I wouldn't buy it at it's full price, especially after hearing that it took so much out of the base game, I'd just wait for the deepest discount I can get for it.
I know I'm probably alone in this opinion, but I really despise when companies/people/whatever take something they had or used in the past, like this, and try and turn it around and claim it's new and/or innovative. It's ridiculous and, in my opinion, petty and desperate. If they have such amazing ideas like they keep claiming (that "vision" and everything), why don't they use those new ideas instead of attempting to repurpose a concept they did, and finished, over a decade ago??? Money, that's all it's ever about anymore, and it's really pathetic and sad to me. If this were truly a new concept, it might actually be interesting. But, alas, TS4 has brought about great disappointment in me YET AGAIN.
@SeloBee you're not alone. I couldn't agree more. If you're rehashing something, it better be with a new spin that changes what it used to be or be because the original was truly terrible (Better yet to not bother and do something new). Nine times out of ten people do this and the circumstances are neither, and we're all just bored, tired, and disappointed. I feel this way even with the Sims expansions I like--"the classics" like seasons, pets, likely eventually University. It isn't exciting for me to see the same thing released again, and so I'm an advocate for including some of them in the base game. But nooooo the company needs money. (I mean I get it you have to keep the lights on, but it's just... frustrating).
Comments
The Sims 4 Game Pack Forum
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/categories/the-sims-4-game-packs
If this were a spin off game I might actually buy it because they probably could've gone more out with the story like say Castaway or MySims Agents and it's the type of thing that interests me. But for The Sims I think that should always be a sandbox with no set story or goal beyond what the player sets for himself or herself. They said you have to play through the first story or challenge or whatever to opt out of the rest of the storyline and just live there like a regular town for the most part but I wonder why not just ask right up front when a player chooses that town if they want this story mode or not? I think they hope players will want to carry out the storyline after a little taste and that they may want to get a number on how many players are actually into this type of play.
That thought troubles me because it could be possible they're testing the waters for a more story based Sims spinoff game or for The Sims to become a more story based game and if it's the second I'm not feeling it at all. It feels like a Sims side game which is a vibe I hate feeling with The Sims but that I've been feeling more and more with The Sims 4.
I've seen some people talking about how this is something new and fresh and while I wouldn't exactly call it new (it reminds me of The Sims 2, obviously, with some elements of The Sims 3) but like I said it's different than what we usually see in The Sims 4 so it has that going for it. Still, I don't think it's going to change much because it's not really a pack that's aim is to add to or make the sandbox experience better. It's a pack adding a story mode.
Before, (days ago, I forgot to hit post comment) I was going to post about their comments on how the game is doing and how I don't take what they say at face value because the way they word things, so I'd rather just wait to see what they do. And I also was going to say I don't expect much to improve beyond amount of content added simply because they're adding content. That's still my thought process after this new pack announcement. To me, unless emotions and personality traits are improved this pack is just another band-aid on a wound that requires surgery.
I do like the concept for the strangerville pack, and think it could be fun, and that it's certainly new--at least for ts4. But I have many, many concerns, such as it relying too heavily on pop culture references and references to it's own predecessors instead of it's own merit. Throwbacks and remakes are all the rage right now and I'm a bit disappointed they went near that route with the Strangetown vibes. But we shall see I suppose. All I can do is hope that it works out for the best, and that if there is a 5, it's different. Or that somewhere in the next three+ (long, long) years, they fix things like personalities and emotions, like @ApparentlyAwesome mentioned. I only dread ts4 going on so long because I doubt more and more we'll get better gameplay in a timely manner. Imagine it finally gets better and six months later 5 comes out...
And thanks to a more cartoonish style the graphics still holds up after 4 years unlike Sims 3 that looked dated after 1 year.
I keep saying I am not interested in a farming expansion, but that's because if we get that, I want a PROPER farmer expansion. Which means a total overhaul of the gardening skill, probably some futuristic harvesting robots, proper fields, meaning areas you have buy like a retail shop and has to spend 8 hours a day taking care of. Not just "oh look you can do wheat in the planter boxes now". And much more.
The first time I used Tagger in TS3 was when I was play one of the zombie apocalypse challenges. I had just started the zombie virus and wanted to keep track of it's spread over the town so that is when I installed Tagger. Oh my goodness! I actually started feeling panicky when I saw how it spread throughout the town! And I agree with you, I had always known that the whole town was full of life, but when you see the movements of the townspeople all over the map going about their day, Tagger really gives a full idea of it's liveliness! This is why I love TS3 so much! It's not just your sims having a life - it's the whole world!
I think they laid off most of the people who developed TS2 and TS3. Grant is still around but he's stabbing his own work in TS3 in the back to try to sell TS4. Smh...
This is true. When I found out that they took so much out of TS4 and that it was not a progression from TS3, I refused to buy it. I DON'T REWARD SHODDY WORK! And from what I've seen of the packs and how EA manipulates TS4 simmers into buying those packs, I feel even more justified in my decision. I don't have the headaches or heartaches they're going through with the meager amount of quality they're getting in those packs.
But to address the topic of this thread I really want TS5 to be top quality and to be jam-packed with good things just as TS1 through TS3 were so I don't mind if they're working on that right now. I'm not at all crazy about TS4 and I don't own it, but I just feel horrible that TS4 simmers got so little. So I don't mind if EA still puts out packs for them in the 2-1/2 years they've given this iteration.
But TS5 better be AMAZING. I used to be Sims-only gamer. But when I saw how TS4 turned out, I started looking at other games and now I consider myself a PC gamer and not just a Simmer. If TS5 isn't awesome, if I still see the same abuses of gamer-trust that I've seen of EA against TS4 simmers, I am DONE with this franchise and will just play other games instead.
Thanks for the link! But seriously? Strangerville? I remember those videos from the Sims 2 website, it was a whole series and honestly I don't even think I ever figured out exactly what it was about since, iirc, it was all in Simlish lol but it was definitely supernatural and based in Strangetown and from what I do remember it was a group of Young Adults living together going through strange occurances or something to that effect.
I know I'm probably alone in this opinion, but I really despise when companies/people/whatever take something they had or used in the past, like this, and try and turn it around and claim it's new and/or innovative. It's ridiculous and, in my opinion, petty and desperate. If they have such amazing ideas like they keep claiming (that "vision" and everything), why don't they use those new ideas instead of attempting to repurpose a concept they did, and finished, over a decade ago??? Money, that's all it's ever about anymore, and it's really pathetic and sad to me. If this were truly a new concept, it might actually be interesting. But, alas, TS4 has brought about great disappointment in me YET AGAIN.
What is 'new' is for the first time in the series of this game they have decided story driven gameplay is what any of us wanted. Like in Sims Life Stories where it's linear in many ways, and you have to follow the story line. Yes, people may be able to avoid the 'story mode' but if you want it gone from the game it's my understanding you have to play it once to get rid of it. And or do some of it, then go to sandbox. If you ignore it and have your Sim live there, then you are paying $20 for a new, small world. No strangeness will take place so you are paying for a new world if you avoid the story mode somehow.
Yeah that tweet is a bit confusing. If there's a toggle, why do those that don't want the story have to play through it to get rid of it? It should just be a simple toggle, on or off. The rest makes sense, once you do the story you can choose to get rid of it (cure) or let it ride.
Even so, I'm not so much looking at the story but the other stuff, mainly the active military career which I've been wanting for a while (did not expect it to be an active career tbh), and the hobbies/build/buy items. Well, 11 editable lots for a GP isn't half bad for a residential world given that the only other one we've gotten is...Forgotten Hollow with a whooping 5 lots. Although I do find it kind of confusing how for $20 they give us an 11 lot world, and for a full $40 EP (GF) was also 11 lots. This just floors the idea that they have to reduce world sizes, because a GP most certainly wasn't where I'd have expected that amount of lots.
It may have been worth thousands of dollars (although that sounds like an exaggeration and I'm not sure I believe that), but I have most of the Sims 3 store. I'm a bargain hunter at heart though so I bought most everything when offered as daily deals, or through make-a-deal. It took a while to build up my collection. I bought the highest amount of points at Origin 3 times: ($160.00 for 24,360 points) x 3 = $480.00 for 73,080 points and this was sufficient for the most part to buy most of the store. So maybe around $500-$600 is what I'm estimating for the whole store so long as you wait for deals.
The savvy seller collection was disappointing because you can't sell what you created. I never understood the logic of that when the devs made the decision to restrict that. But since I have it, I'm not going to let it waste unused - I installed Ani's mod, Savvier Seller which is a mod that expands the savvy seller collections selling range, so you can sell your own handy work and other stuff it couldn't sell before.
I actually love the Indulgent Bakery Set! I do use the Cupcake mod for it - I use the cold display for many of my community lots so that where ever my sims are, they can just get some food from it to eat if they're hungry. Without the mod, it's still pretty neat though and I love the recipes and build items it comes with.
Overall, I love the Sims 3 store - it has so many useful items! And I do use a lot of what they sell in all my worlds. I really hope that when TS5 is here that they will also do a Sims 5 store for it with the same great quality and useful content that TS3 store has.
PS - I'm not sure why you're raging at the Sims 3 store. It does bring in profit for EA and could very well help to fund the development of TS5 and quite probably help keep the development of TS4 going until the 2=1/2 years are up.
I've already stated before why I despise TS3 store. The Savvy Seller Collection for me was disappointing not just because of that, but because it was shallow, rudimentary, half-baked replacements for a very well done concept (TS2 OFB) and then just a bunch of objects and overpriced worlds when there already were $20 SPs. Whether or not it helps development of TS4 or TS5, quite frankly there are certain practices that I'd rather be gone and if they depend on them to fund TS4 after 4 years and possibly TS5 after 7+ years then clearly there's an issue. TS4 should be self-sufficient by this point, and judging by the info available it is, and if it's not well, then the product failed to deliver.
You could apply bargain hunting to anything really. You could potentially buy TS4 + every single DLC and save 75% if properly waiting and hunting for bargains. You could get $40 EPs for $15 i.e. I still (and I believe most do) judge the content by what it is meant to be and the price tag that it is truly priced at by the developers. So I judge the store at raw price. Otherwise, I'd have to judge things like Get Famous as a game pack because that's what I paid for it. But I don't. So while yes, you can save greatly bargain hunting, the original price for content is something I very much cringe at.
If you get things at full price but then complain it costs too much when you KNOW there is opportunity to buy it much cheaper during daily deals, then that's not the fault of the store. It's just overacting exaggeration that you "cringe" at its full price at that point. Why would you not want people to be aware that you can get everything at the Sims 3 store for much cheaper through the daily deals and make a deal?
But you don't get much bang for you buck with TS4. Even if I got it at basement price I would still feel ripped off with all that has been taken out of it. And you have to admit the quality of the game and stuff isn't that great. That's why I totally opted out of buying into this iteration because I knew it would be a bad investment and a money pit.
I never felt ripped off with any of my TS3 purchases. Also, the Savvy Seller Collection isn't the only thing in the store and even if you don't choose to use it, it comes with other useful items, but it seems that is all you mention. I use a ton of the stuff at the store in my worlds: the farm sets with cows and chickens, the surfing station (I place them in ALL my worlds in their oceans, lakes, rivers), the canning station, the tea set, the watermill (which turns out sims not only can fish in it, it saves energy and reduces your bills!), the roller coaster with the boardwalk, the violin, basketball court, wall climbing, ice cream maker, the teppanyaki grill, pizza oven, etc. - the list is too long for me to mention all that I use!
I also think it's great that you can pick and choose what you want at the Sims 3 store - you don't necessarily have to buy the whole set. Likewise, if you bought an individual item and decide to get the set, you can buy the set at a much reduced price point since you already have items from it, especially if it goes up for the daily deal! So I even think this marketing method is great! You get to look at the items and buy what you want. You can't do that with TS4 items because they lump them all together in packs and you're stuck with whether you want them or not.
Again, I'm not talking about how you can get things cheaper, you can do that with all iterations. I'm saying I hold the product to its original price/type of content it is meant to be. Just because I can get TS4 GTW for $15 does not mean I'm gonna say "Welp, it's decent for the price", because it is not. It is a full $40 Expansion Pack, it is supposed to have what an Expansion Pack is supposed to have whether you get it for $40 or $10. So no, it's not overacting, it's a basic review of content vs price.
I know I could - I have TS3 to fall back on. When TS5 base game comes out, I know it's just the beginning. All i'm expecting is that the devs bring back EVERYTHING they took from TS4 that was essentially part of TS1 through TS3. And then, I'm looking for new features that are added on top of what should already be there. And it has to be playable, something I can stick with until the first EP comes out. I would be satisfied with that.
When TS2 and TS3 base games came out, I was pretty satisfied with them even when the other EPs, etc. hadn't been out yet. It's because they were already pretty playable at the base game level: I created sims, gave them jobs, gave them homes, I explored their neighborhoods, got to know the townies, found out how customizable the games were to what and how I want it to play - so there were plenty of things to do.
So if TS5 follows in like fashion, then I'll be satisfied with that game as well. If I want a fuller game, I have TS3 to fall back on until the EPs and other packs come out for TS5.
So... welcome to 2014?
Seriously?
??? You don't need MasterController to turn off memories, celebrities or supernaturals. You can do that within the game itself - no mods required.
Register doesn't turn off autnomous actions, you mean Retuner.
The thing with TS3 is that even with the bugs, it's gameplay and how customizable it is are such great features that people make the effort to fix those bugs and continue to play the game anyway. Since TS3 is finished, all of TS3's problems have well-documented solutions and they're all pretty easy to fix. Plus the whole TS3 community are only very willing to help others fix those problems.
Honestly, I just think it is so much better than TS4. That's why it's still being sold. I know that TS4 is on Amazon's 100 best seller list, but did you know that TS3 is on there too, as well as some of it's expansion packs? It's also made Steam's bronze list of Best Sellers of 2018. Not bad for a game that is 10 years, despite being supposedly "buggy and laggy", and in competition with much newer games!
I agree with what you been posting, and I feel Sims 3 was before it's time as far as features goes and whatever hindered for some folks falls on the Devs Imo as they truly did not take the time to fix what was wrong with it for them.I only had problems when it was an problem with coding that was done by the devs like the AMB patch which was not based on an systems specs but an patch created by the Devs. Yes, it is 2019 and technology still has not caught up with Sims 4 in certain areas. One may have to wait for the next version to see how different it is if it does come about. However, I am not holding my breathe Sims 3 must have meant something as you can see the site has not been archived yet and the store is still running. It did not take long to archive Sims 1 or 2 when the cycle of production has ceased. Sims 4 is not all bad but at the same time it just lacks that extra pizazz and it is also limited in what it truly can do for various reasons such as performance wise. Some of the EPs are nice but again limited. I do not care if an game just runs, all I want out of it is fun and it is there but not as long as it should be even after each release of an new pack but fun can be imterpreted differently by each player and as I always say one thing Sims 4 is consistant on and that is controversy, also an player do not need to run out and buy an high end system as Sims 4 cannot scale up or down unless one plan on playing an preformance driven game like Doom or RE2.
I agree with you. EPs for TS4 are never the level that TS1-TS3 expansion packs are/were. The full price for each really IS a total rip-off for what you're getting. I understand your view on that. With TS3 store, I don't feel as much angst against it as you do because it IS all optional - the items sold don't add gameplay features the way EPs do. For example, TS3 store offers the surfing station so your sims can surf in the ocean, other bodies of water and even pools. But that is not a gameplay feature to me like what comes in the Island Paraidise EP that brings scuba diving, resort management, hidden islands, etc. etc. So yeah, it can be sold at full price, which I'd never buy it at, but wouldn't be offended at it because it's not something I feel that I would need to buy to add that functionality to my TS3 games like I do an EP such as Island Paradise. For that, I can happily wait for a daily deal to buy it - it just doesn't anger me much the way the high price of TS4 EPs do.
Just because something like TS4 is newer doesn't mean it's better.
That is so true.
Don't take my example out of proportion, there's quite a few EPs for TS4 I absolutely love the way they did it in this iteration as opposed to previous ones and consider them much more enjoyable. I understand you may be of the opinion that previous iterations were all better, but I do not share that view at all. EPs like Cats & Dogs and City Living IMO were a huge downgrade, whereas Get Famous, Seasons and Get Together were a complete hit for me. I did not claim ALL EPs were a total rip-off for what you were getting. Same way I considered Showtime a subpar shallow EP, but absolutely loved Island Paradise (yet despised how resorts were half rabbit holes where only amenities were open). I enjoy GTW and would be content with its price had retail worked properly and be done more ala TS2 OFB. But since retail is a mess without mods, and it's one of the primary aspects of the pack, I got it at half price.
I also definitely enjoy the change of paying $20 for a decent GP that has a good mix of gameplay and content, whereas before the same price tag yielded a SP.
I agree. Despite it not being perfect, TS3 was truly a brilliant piece of work in terms of a fully open world that not only kept track of your own sims, but also all of the townies (which to me is amazing - it's the first time in Sims that I really felt my sims was part of the town) and all the unpredictable events (the equivalent of TS2 chance cards1). I think the problems it has for some were a little intimidating though and this is why some people won't play it, but I think if they realized just how easy the problems are to fix, then they would like it. That's why I always encourage people to try it out and if they have a problem with it to bring it to the TS3 forum and ask for help.
Also I think some people don't like it because they don't know what it can do. I would read about how some people don't think it can do rotational play for example, but it actually can. It does need the NRaas SP mod though and to configure it for rotational play, but I know Igazor can help out with that.
I'm glad that EA at least recognized that TS3 and its store will still make a good profit for them even though it is competition for TS4. That's why the TS4 crowd constantly tries to put it down. But you know? If EA decided to still sell TS2, that it would probably be attacked by the TS4 crowd as well since I know it would probably do well against TS4 too. All that TS4 has is "supposedly" good graphics (which is subjective) and smooth operation (it's buggy too though) but it's not feature-rich like TS2 or TS3.
It was a mistake by EA bigwigs to try to salvage the Olympus online game and make it a single player pc game because they've had problems with TS4 from the very beginning. I think they should have just kept making content for TS3 while they start over from Olympus and build a proper successor to the Sims franchise. They said that TS3 couldn't handle anymore EPs but TS3 simmers have the option of switching EPs in and out so this wasn't a problem - I just don't think they foresaw this and that they COULD have added more EPs or at the very least more content for the store or stuff packs.
So here we all are now, stuck with TS4 and hoping and waiting for TS5 that it isn't anything like TS4 and that EA doesn't abuse us with the marketing tactics it has inflicted on TS4 simmers.
I just don't get all that upset about prices. though. Let's say I DID decide to get TS4. Of course I wouldn't buy it at it's full price, especially after hearing that it took so much out of the base game, I'd just wait for the deepest discount I can get for it.