I've been making several starts of the game as I'm playing on two laptops and moving lots etc., over but I haven't actually "played" with the Sims for several weeks. I've been catching up with other things like books and films. I'm just hoping that the new Patch and possible new Pack will bring my enthusiasm back.
I like building most so those terraforming tools might do the trick for me. I hope you get your Sims mojo back.
I think that boredom comes a little easier with Sims 4 because it's more predictable and linear and feels a little more childish than the previous versions. I'm not saying this to be insulting, I just think it's the way the game turned out. Without things like Fear, crime, obstacles, and heavier negative impacts like those we had in other iterations, the game just plays a little more safely than the others. For me, it's hard to really engage in the gameplay for any length of time without those elements of surprise and challenge.
I agree. The lack of negative experiences in what seems like a perfect world of overly-emphasized safety can be a bit of a buzz kill.
Maybe that's why we have a load screen from one house to another. So we don't get hurt crossing the street. lol.
Maybe it's just me but the fear of having vampires sneak into my Sims homes at night and sucking their blood was pretty terrifying to me. I didn't live in the forgotten hollow. So I had to make my Sims quickly level up and make garlic wreaths.
Sure, there are times I get bored of Sims but I always come back because only in the Sims can I create a visual of characters I have for my stories and building houses.
I know the feeling of being burned out, but to be fair, when I play a game, I play it intensely. I've put in a couple of thousand hours into Sims 4 but within all of that I have taken breaks of weeks or months. I usually play another game for a while and then circle back to the Sims.
I totally agree with @LiELF that the game would be more compelling with more challenge, uncertainty and consequences. That is why I took my last break; I'd been playing a legacy and by about the 3rd generation everything was feeling too predictable. However, despite the lack of challenge, the creativity aspect continues to draw me back. I'm still on a short break but have been feeling the itch to start up my legacy again; just debating whether to wait until the new terrain tools, and other hinted-at-content is available.
I have felt this same way since the beginning of TS4. There has been absolutely nothing that keeps my interest in this game, although I have almost all the packs (I don't have Seasons, C&D, My First Pet Stuff, Vampires, JA, Outdoor Retreat and GF). The only pack out of those I don't have that I don't plan on getting is Vampires. I will own the others soon. Maybe that will draw me back into the game. I KNOW University (when it comes) will make me play again.
The game is just sitting there waiting for the next EP which I hope will draw me back into it. And the number of hours played according to Origin backs up how bored I am with this game (72 hours) compared to TS2 (1523). I have tried many times to like this iteration of the series but it just doesn't feel complete for some reason.
I have felt this same way since the beginning of TS4. There has been absolutely nothing that keeps my interest in this game, although I have almost all the packs (I don't have Seasons, C&D, My First Pet Stuff, Vampires, JA, or Outdoor Retreat). The only pack out of those I don't have that I don't plan on getting is Vampires. I will own the others soon. Maybe that will draw me back into the game. I KNOW University (when it comes) will make me play again.
The game is just sitting there waiting for the next EP which I hope will draw me back into it. And the number of hours played according to Origin backs up how bored I am with this game (72 hours) compared to TS2 (1523). I have tried many times to like this iteration of the series but it just doesn't feel complete for some reason.
Oh definitely waiting for Uni here too. Oddly I have games going in both Sims 2 and Sims 3 with the Uni's in those.
"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'm also waiting for the next installment of the series.
For me, I guess it's that, besides talking, there isn't very much that the Sims do together unless prompted by an object. I find it sad that, already in the fifth year, TS4 Sims still don't dance together or lay in their partners arms. Children don't play games. Teens don't have have activities/desires that are uniquely their own...
I'm ready for something more. Hopefully, that something will be TS5. Or, maybe, there will some day be a life simulator from another company that is willing to tackle such a daunting task. I'd jump at the chance to play a life simulator that was created with a fresh set of eyes. At this point, I think that EA has been making the Sims for so long, they no longer see the forest for the trees.
Depends on the version. I feel the same as the OP regarding TS4. On the other hand, TS2 is everything TS4 should be and isn't. To use a car comparison, TS2 is a top of the field muscle car (remember those?), TS4 is a Yugo. Guess which one I consistently drive.
You might be burned out on this game. And actually time to go find something else to do or return to a different one. Because I can honestly say, I would never dream of uninstalling TS2 or TS3, though, I hardly ever play TS3 but it's there in case I get the whim again one day. TS4, I left behind over a year ago, and unlike the other games I haven't seen anything that can tempt me to reinstall it. I stopped at Parenthood. I have never left the other games for this amount of time. I have always picked TS2 back up or even played in TS3 for a few months between breaks of TS2 etc. But once you return to the other games, you start to see that bright colors and flat textureless art style is more annoying than you first realized. Then you start to think, wow, these Sims are more annoying than when I first played TS4, so you eventually say it's enough and though some love it because it's light weight version of the others, it's not deep enough for your taste. And honestly, I don't know how some can play the same aspirations and careers over and over and over for four years. With the same base game rewards etc. Hardly any new traits and hardly any (if any) new emotions added in four years. If you can't feel it, then it doesn't exist.
I actually feel the opposite - as we have literally hundreds of games - some not even a year old and when ever I think I want to play something else - within an hour I have already changed games 5 times because not a one of them is like the Sims as in no freedom to do what I want to do using no rules or having to find some useless weapon or armour or worse wait to reach a level or some other ignorant thing the game has the nerve to tell me I must do as if I am some mindless drone waiting for a games commands.
It is belittling and demeaning todays games with all their goals and rules - when I just want to do what I want to do - no goals - no requirements - just build, or grow a family or get any career I feel like it - with no demanding I do or have this or that first... Even if it has some requirements in skills you have ample choices of how to reach that level in the Sims. I have been spoiled and cannot enjoy myself when a silly game makes the rules.
Even the simplest games are demanding - says I have to have so many friends or buy some crazy thing or other to do something or worse earn more time to play. Are they nuts? People like this? I cannot imagine how I ever used to love stuff like that - now it's all so demeaning.
I will simply start a different kind of game in my Sims - believe me most games do not cut it now a days no matter how much we pay for them. Even Fallout 4 quickly went down the tubes for me - and that had a degree of freedom - but not enough to make me who owns the darn game to feel I am in charge and I make the rules. ONLY the Sims games do that - and that's a fact......
I also have games going in Sims 2 and 3 - so I also step into one of those games now and then. I especially like jetting off to the Future world in ITF and working on some of my robots and such. I like that instrument that comes with ITF as well so enjoy my sim playing a few songs and such. I love all the hoover craft to and visiting with my sims future relatives.
I do tend to miss that world the most playing Sims 2 or 4 - I do have to admit that and of course some of Rflongs amazing CAW worlds. But I really don't have a hard time getting back into stories I have going in Sims 4 either. Just any non-sims game lately I find so boring - even some of my newest ones. So I know the Sims has really spoiled me for all the old and newest versions of games I used to love. It's the freedom missing in all other games. It really is to me.
Yes, The Sims series is the best for just relaxing (no goals! yay!) and having fun whether just messing around in buildmode or CAS or external tools, or playing a storyline you made up in your own head. But if players have to force themselves to play a game, then there is something wrong with it. And time to move on. Not saying they can't add something later that would tempt me to reinstall, but so far since Parenthood, I haven't seen anything that would make me put up with it once the novelty wore off. Doesn't mean TS4 doesn't have some fun stuff, it does, but after four years it's no longer enough.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
I do get disappointed pretty much every time I play because of lack of detail, lack of interactions with objects, some things being cartoony and ridiculous looking like the machine they use now to pull weeds, and lack of connection with the outside world like how we don't even have to gather flowers to arrange them at the table etc...I hate how everything just appears out of thin air and how so many tasks are completed without much or any visible interactions.
Overall the game is in fact watered down and you can tell corners were cut to get things out faster. I play sims 4 way less than I played sims 2 and 3. Lately I only seem to play sims 4 after new content comes out just hoping it will help but the same lack of everything I spoke about above seems to be maintained throughout every expansion and pack, except vampires.
There are things I enjoy, the storms and snow are beautiful, the multitasking is essential, I love the photography, the restaurants run great both owning them and eating out with others, love the food stalls and learning new cuisine, love the yoga, I like how the sims themselves look like the graphics for them, love the toddlers, love the drag aspect of cas and build mode.
So, There are things I love about sims 4 but lack of detail and interactions, as stated above, make me feel disconnected from the game. Immersion is missing that I had with previous sims.
I find myself getting a little bored when a major plotline comes to an end. Like when the oldest generation dies but I haven't yet decided on a story for the next generation.
But inevitably something occurs to me down the line.
I can't really compare with older games since TS4 is my first, but aside from wishing there were more paranormals in the game (something I think we might still get in TS4), I haven't found myself wishing for features I don't have.
Of course, I'll be sure excited for the TS5 whenever it exists, but I'm also happy with what I have for now.
Watch me mash together Sims and Pokémon to tell a story about battling glitches in Penny Saves Paldea. Updated every other Thursday.
Red some interesting views from you guys that I can use to understand what is going on for me. One of that is that many play other games and take a break from the sims. I have played a few other games (GTA, race games, FIFA) beside it in the passed, but now i can not like any other game that much, so that it can take my mind of The sims rather then that I will start missing it more. The same reason for that is, as someone else mentioned here.. the lack of possibilities and the enforcements into reaching goals and the game telling you 'do this' 'put this here' etc. The mobile version of the sims makes me cringe for that same reason. It feels like the PC version has this system deeply buried in it as well. I want to play a sandbox game with a wide open world full of consequences and meaning behind every decision I make.
Someone else mentioned he/she gets disappointed each time he/she opens the game. I feel the same. I start up my save with good hope, new motivations, new ideas and then BAM.. The sims 4 did it again. The lack of possibilities and meaning hits me right in the face. The great ideas i got that I spend so much time and effort on to come up with and planning out, are made so meaningless by the game. 'It could have been so good!' I tell myself.
It's kind of a lost hope with the sims 4 and it's not just a phase that appears after you played too intense. I only had this particular feeling with the sims 4 game, cause it's lacking that sandbox feeling. That never ending feeling when you open the game and be like: OMG so much possibilities, I don't even know where to start!', I never had this with The sims 4, despite all the creative ideas people bring in, all the packs, updates, free stuff, 'fixes' etc. The base and the system the game is build on, is just not good enough to ever provide that unlimited feeling. This is why I feel like this and makes me crave for the next series that I HOPE desperately will have that sandbox feeling to it.
I think the TS2 brought it the best for it's time We really need devs that played this game with the same passion as us, understand why it was good and what will bring that feeling back for the time we live in now added with features and possibilities that technology from this era can provide.
With the sims 4 I always felt it was like: Give back this cool feature in exchange for this new one (one that was cut in half anyway). We shouldn't have to sacrifice, we should move forwards and the game should get better and bigger, not the same size, but with different features. It first of all cuts all the nostalgia feels out of a game that MADE the game to begin with and then we also do not have a game that is the right size for it's time. Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade!
Red some interesting views from you guys that I can use to understand what is going on for me. One of that is that many play other games and take a break from the sims. I have played a few other games (GTA, race games, FIFA) beside it in the passed, but now i can not like any other game that much, so that it can take my mind of The sims rather then that I will start missing it more. The same reason for that is, as someone else mentioned here.. the lack of possibilities and the enforcements into reaching goals and the game telling you 'do this' 'put this here' etc. The mobile version of the sims makes me cringe for that same reason. It feels like the PC version has this system deeply buried in it as well. I want to play a sandbox game with a wide open world full of consequences and meaning behind every decision I make.
Someone else mentioned he/she gets disappointed each time he/she opens the game. I feel the same. I start up my save with good hope, new motivations, new ideas and then BAM.. The sims 4 did it again. The lack of possibilities and meaning hits me right in the face. The great ideas i got that I spend so much time and effort on to come up with and planning out, are made so meaningless by the game. 'It could have been so good!' I tell myself.
It's kind of a lost hope with the sims 4 and it's not just a phase that appears after you played too intense. I only had this particular feeling with the sims 4 game, cause it's lacking that sandbox feeling. That never ending feeling when you open the game and be like: OMG so much possibilities, I don't even know where to start!', I never had this with The sims 4, despite all the creative ideas people bring in, all the packs, updates, free stuff, 'fixes' etc. The base and the system the game is build on, is just not good enough to ever provide that unlimited feeling. This is why I feel like this and makes me crave for the next series that I HOPE desperately will have that sandbox feeling to it.
I think the TS2 brought it the best for it's time We really need devs that played this game with the same passion as us, understand why it was good and what will bring that feeling back for the time we live in now added with features and possibilities that technology from this era can provide.
With the sims 4 I always felt it was like: Give back this cool feature in exchange for this new one (one that was cut in half anyway). We shouldn't have to sacrifice, we should move forwards and the game should get better and bigger, not the same size, but with different features. It first of all cuts all the nostalgia feels out of a game that MADE the game to begin with and then we also do not have a game that is the right size for it's time. Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade!
Ok, that was a long rant
By the way many of the same devs that worked on Sims 2 even some that worked on the Sims 1 still work on Sims 2 and worked on Sims 3 as well. Grant, Jill, Lyndsay, Daniel who recently left, Duke, Gils, are just a few of those devs. There are many more as well. I know they know how those games were because they made them. But because they made them they also know each one has to be different than the former - whether or not we like it - they cannot be a carbon copy as they are not an extension of Sims, Sims 2, and 3 but a new rendition, different era - etc, etc. So because of this even each new rendition is going to be different than any before - where as the players seem to want it to recapture what it was that endeared that game to them - that is not the way EA sees it. Sometimes rehashing the sameness kills a game no matter how great it was and that is a fact and why all long term running games tend to follow new, untried directions for a sense of freshness - that makes it different enough to warrant the huge costs of the Sims game. I do think the different enough design sometimes is not well recieved while a game is in develop,emt but seems to come back to people as greatness when the next different enough version appears. I saw it happen with each rendition to be honest. People hated on even the great Sims 2 - believe me - I did it myself for it's differences to Sims 1. It only became better when Sims 3 was the new game and we had that one to hate on. Oddly now Sims 3 is the greatest to many I know for a fact often proclaimed their hate for it who oddly now have bought into Sims 3.
Memories are short I guess - but one simmer I know of that stayed forever with Sims 2 - recently finished buying all the Sims 3 and now suddenly they say they cannot believe they never saw how great that game was all those years. Now they call Sims 2 dated. Perhaps we all change as obviously the game does not.
I am glad I realize myself Sim by and large is the kind of game I prefer. Other games are inferior period because they control us - like it or not all the Sims 1 -2 -3 and 4 are sandbox - it is the detail that changes not the sandbox and what we build or do within our sandbox, and how many details the designers add to that particular idea - the difficulties come when on sandbox eliminated some of that detail - but compared to other game - well to me - me being in control is first and foremost. It is not the game devs - many are the same and other grew up playing the games - it is the differences I think some find issues with more than anything - but as things go with sims - no matter what you think of the present game eventually it seems it will rank higher on your like chart 2-3 years after the next Sims game is out. It always does eventually.
"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 take breaks now and then. I was busy playing Animal Crossing New Leaf and Pokemon Heartgold not too long ago. I've since taken a break from those and I'm playing the sims 4 again. I also have saves for the Sims 2 and 3 and I was playing harvest moon for SNES for giggles a while back. Been debating on firing up Earthbound again. I swear I can play that game over and over again and never get enough of that awesome feeling from the storyline and once I beat it!
Let me also add, in the sims 4, I took a few months off from "playing" to start renovating the lots and townies in my game and recently finished it.
my point is sometimes we all need a break from a game to explore other games or hobbies 😊
"Bada su the gorn bada su the brawn bada bady oda aba donk donk donk gerbits gerbits vo gerbits".
Sims 4 would do much better if it did not make the sims addicts to electronic devices. That is the current trend that I noticed and why I no longer have TV, radio, computers, etc in the homes of my sims. If I could get rid of the cellphone, I would do that too.
I purposely take a break from the game from time to time so I don't burn out. Especially when I tend to play the same sims while adopting the same careers for them lol. At least I build them an original house each new play-through.... lol that's a start.
It's normal to get bored of the game. (as was shared by Writin_Reg). I agree... it's all part of being a simmer. Maybe take a break, spend some time playing a different game for a bit, keep posting on the forum and soon maybe a conversation or two will have you missing the sims again.
Good luck.
I take breaks as well -- I'll check out the Gallery and find a house I can remodel to suit current or future needs or I'll remodel some of my neighborhoods (I have a bunch of Eichler/MidCentury Modern houses in Oasis Springs, for example). I also come up with creative names based on themes -- for example my MidCenture Modern and Eichler neighborhoods are named for US National Parks and Monuments, so I have Yosemite, Yellowstone, Bears' Ears etc, and in Willow Creek I have a Craftsman neighborhood named for birds (Hummingbird Hill, Eagle Crest, etc.).
Check out my Gallery! Origin ID: justme22
Fun must be always -- Tomas Hertl (San Jose Sharks hockey player)
Sims 4 would do much better if it did not make the sims addicts to electronic devices. That is the current trend that I noticed and why I no longer have TV, radio, computers, etc in the homes of my sims. If I could get rid of the cellphone, I would do that too.
See to me this is more in line with how the world is today though. I understand not wanting this for your sims as it bugs me too(i'm with you on the cellphones), but it's how the world is today. Everyone always on their phones or on the computer. I mean you even play the sims on your computer or console, and come to these very forums on your computer. We may not like it but it is what it is. I agree that maybe they should have focused more on other things (careers, family, education, etc.) rather than the worlds growing electronic addiction but they didn't. As a result, we get a game that is a little shallow and empty from a storytelling perspective, thus making it easier to get bored of.
Have a super fantastic awesome splendid amazing day! -TheQxxn
Sims 4 would do much better if it did not make the sims addicts to electronic devices. That is the current trend that I noticed and why I no longer have TV, radio, computers, etc in the homes of my sims. If I could get rid of the cellphone, I would do that too.
See to me this is more in line with how the world is today though. I understand not wanting this for your sims as it bugs me too(i'm with you on the cellphones), but it's how the world is today. Everyone always on their phones or on the computer. I mean you even play the sims on your computer or console, and come to these very forums on your computer. We may not like it but it is what it is. I agree that maybe they should have focused more on other things (careers, family, education, etc.) rather than the worlds growing electronic addiction but they didn't. As a result, we get a game that is a little shallow and empty from a storytelling perspective, thus making it easier to get bored of.
Not "everything" is online. Those that live in silicon valley and are very much out of touch with reality.
Red some interesting views from you guys that I can use to understand what is going on for me. One of that is that many play other games and take a break from the sims. I have played a few other games (GTA, race games, FIFA) beside it in the passed, but now i can not like any other game that much, so that it can take my mind of The sims rather then that I will start missing it more. The same reason for that is, as someone else mentioned here.. the lack of possibilities and the enforcements into reaching goals and the game telling you 'do this' 'put this here' etc. The mobile version of the sims makes me cringe for that same reason. It feels like the PC version has this system deeply buried in it as well. I want to play a sandbox game with a wide open world full of consequences and meaning behind every decision I make.
Someone else mentioned he/she gets disappointed each time he/she opens the game. I feel the same. I start up my save with good hope, new motivations, new ideas and then BAM.. The sims 4 did it again. The lack of possibilities and meaning hits me right in the face. The great ideas i got that I spend so much time and effort on to come up with and planning out, are made so meaningless by the game. 'It could have been so good!' I tell myself.
It's kind of a lost hope with the sims 4 and it's not just a phase that appears after you played too intense. I only had this particular feeling with the sims 4 game, cause it's lacking that sandbox feeling. That never ending feeling when you open the game and be like: OMG so much possibilities, I don't even know where to start!', I never had this with The sims 4, despite all the creative ideas people bring in, all the packs, updates, free stuff, 'fixes' etc. The base and the system the game is build on, is just not good enough to ever provide that unlimited feeling. This is why I feel like this and makes me crave for the next series that I HOPE desperately will have that sandbox feeling to it.
I think the TS2 brought it the best for it's time We really need devs that played this game with the same passion as us, understand why it was good and what will bring that feeling back for the time we live in now added with features and possibilities that technology from this era can provide.
With the sims 4 I always felt it was like: Give back this cool feature in exchange for this new one (one that was cut in half anyway). We shouldn't have to sacrifice, we should move forwards and the game should get better and bigger, not the same size, but with different features. It first of all cuts all the nostalgia feels out of a game that MADE the game to begin with and then we also do not have a game that is the right size for it's time. Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade!
Ok, that was a long rant
By the way many of the same devs that worked on Sims 2 even some that worked on the Sims 1 still work on Sims 2 and worked on Sims 3 as well. Grant, Jill, Lyndsay, Daniel who recently left, Duke, Gils, are just a few of those devs. There are many more as well. I know they know how those games were because they made them. But because they made them they also know each one has to be different than the former - whether or not we like it - they cannot be a carbon copy as they are not an extension of Sims, Sims 2, and 3 but a new rendition, different era - etc, etc. So because of this even each new rendition is going to be different than any before - where as the players seem to want it to recapture what it was that endeared that game to them - that is not the way EA sees it. Sometimes rehashing the sameness kills a game no matter how great it was and that is a fact and why all long term running games tend to follow new, untried directions for a sense of freshness - that makes it different enough to warrant the huge costs of the Sims game. I do think the different enough design sometimes is not well recieved while a game is in develop,emt but seems to come back to people as greatness when the next different enough version appears. I saw it happen with each rendition to be honest. People hated on even the great Sims 2 - believe me - I did it myself for it's differences to Sims 1. It only became better when Sims 3 was the new game and we had that one to hate on. Oddly now Sims 3 is the greatest to many I know for a fact often proclaimed their hate for it who oddly now have bought into Sims 3.
Memories are short I guess - but one simmer I know of that stayed forever with Sims 2 - recently finished buying all the Sims 3 and now suddenly they say they cannot believe they never saw how great that game was all those years. Now they call Sims 2 dated. Perhaps we all change as obviously the game does not.
I am glad I realize myself Sim by and large is the kind of game I prefer. Other games are inferior period because they control us - like it or not all the Sims 1 -2 -3 and 4 are sandbox - it is the detail that changes not the sandbox and what we build or do within our sandbox, and how many details the designers add to that particular idea - the difficulties come when on sandbox eliminated some of that detail - but compared to other game - well to me - me being in control is first and foremost. It is not the game devs - many are the same and other grew up playing the games - it is the differences I think some find issues with more than anything - but as things go with sims - no matter what you think of the present game eventually it seems it will rank higher on your like chart 2-3 years after the next Sims game is out. It always does eventually.
I loved all the Sims games. 1, 2 and 3. I loved them all for what they were and what they had and never "hated" any of them, it's a game. How does one hate a game? But I moved on each time a new iteration came out and enjoyed all the new and different things it brought, although sometimes it took some getting used to.
I never went back. I didn't play Sims 3 and think, I hate this, I'll go back to 2.
I was excited when they announced Sims 4. I thought, new and greater. I preordered the base game like I always did. Then I started seeing posts, no this, no that but I thought how bad can it be? For me, I found out. It was lacking so much, especially my favorite Create-a-Style and open world, which I loved. I liked being able to edit the town, redo every world pretty much the way I wanted. Recolor all my appliances and furniture to match. And along came Sims 4. I couldn't do anything I was used to doing.
It went backward. Not even Sims 2 backward, where I could still redo my worlds but couldn't recolor anything, but way backward. I tried to play it, I wanted to move on to the latest and greatest iteration and I just couldn't. I missed stuff, big ticket stuff that was now gone. I understand they have to have something different but they took too much from me.
Sims 4 would do much better if it did not make the sims addicts to electronic devices. That is the current trend that I noticed and why I no longer have TV, radio, computers, etc in the homes of my sims. If I could get rid of the cellphone, I would do that too.
See to me this is more in line with how the world is today though. I understand not wanting this for your sims as it bugs me too(i'm with you on the cellphones), but it's how the world is today. Everyone always on their phones or on the computer. I mean you even play the sims on your computer or console, and come to these very forums on your computer. We may not like it but it is what it is. I agree that maybe they should have focused more on other things (careers, family, education, etc.) rather than the worlds growing electronic addiction but they didn't. As a result, we get a game that is a little shallow and empty from a storytelling perspective, thus making it easier to get bored of.
Not "everything" is online. Those that live in silicon valley and are very much out of touch with reality.
True. I think many forget this. There are many places one earth where people don't live this typical life at all, but you never see them for many reasons. These people still play the sims etc. And besides that, also not everyone wants lives a digital life. I for one prefer a tent, somewhere in nature with a book and that's what i would want over anything else. Not even so attached to a phone. I lived without one for more then a year. Greatest time of my life xD
@NorthDakotaGamer I agree, I'm only saying that this seems to be what they chose to focus the sims 4 on. Thus leaving it a little lacking. Even the new fashion career they are releasing looks like it's going to be mostly an online/rabbit hole career with the ability to give makeovers, rather than a making your own fashions and having a runway show with models like a lot of us wanted. I'm not saying they shouldn't add social media careers for those who want them. I just wish they had more variety for those who don't. I would much rather have a generations ep with daycare, education/university ep/career, or even something from medieval times that I could actually tell a story with. That's why I tend to get bored faster while playing this iteration than I do with the previous games.
Have a super fantastic awesome splendid amazing day! -TheQxxn
While I understand (I think) where Writtin_Reg's coming from, I still think the current game is lacking. I loved TS1 since the day it was released, same for TS2. I tried 3 when it came out, but just couldn't get into it: all the sims look alike, loss of albums, only 1 household per save were the main reasons. Not to say it didn't have great features, it did, but too much was lost for me so I stayed with 2 as it has the depth and flexibility I like. 4 came out, and tried it, keep on trying it, lots of great features again, but it just doesn't hold me. No depth, the little details in animations and things to do are lacking, the lack of connected reality (when was the last time a plate levitated into your hand?), still no household albums, time passes for everyone even if I'm not playing them (which can and has really messed up relationship development, among other things), and more. A game does not have to be a carbon copy of what was before to have the elements that made those great. It just needs to stay on the sure foundation built on the rock, and from there it can safely go where no game has gone before. I keep getting the feeling TS4's foundation is built on shifting sand, a defect no amount of new content can fix.
I do get disappointed pretty much every time I play because of lack of detail, lack of interactions with objects, some things being cartoony and ridiculous looking like the machine they use now to pull weeds, and lack of connection with the outside world like how we don't even have to gather flowers to arrange them at the table etc...I hate how everything just appears out of thin air and how so many tasks are completed without much or any visible interactions.
Overall the game is in fact watered down and you can tell corners were cut to get things out faster. I play sims 4 way less than I played sims 2 and 3. Lately I only seem to play sims 4 after new content comes out just hoping it will help but the same lack of everything I spoke about above seems to be maintained throughout every expansion and pack, except vampires.
There are things I enjoy, the storms and snow are beautiful, the multitasking is essential, I love the photography, the restaurants run great both owning them and eating out with others, love the food stalls and learning new cuisine, love the yoga, I like how the sims themselves look like the graphics for them, love the toddlers, love the drag aspect of cas and build mode.
So, There are things I love about sims 4 but lack of detail and interactions, as stated above, make me feel disconnected from the game. Immersion is missing that I had with previous sims.
@soko37 Since I literally agree with 99,9% of what you’re saying, you make me curious for that 0,1 Why do you consider multitasking essential? (I ask because for me multitasking actually can be added to that feeling of being disconnected, everything takes way too long and seeing sims doing two things in turns looks too unrealistic for me to make a difference; I get triggered by the use of the word ‘essential’, what aspect would you miss so much that it would be a dealbreaker)
P.s. I doubt if the fact developers worked on previous games is very telling to be honest, because I could imagine it matters who’s in charge. People who were just helping to develop back then, seeing things/having to do things they perhaps didn’t like, might be in charge now and making decisions they consider good (and obviously a part of the fanbase does too), but another part of the fanbase was happier with the old point of view, of the people in charge back then.
I do get disappointed pretty much every time I play because of lack of detail, lack of interactions with objects, some things being cartoony and ridiculous looking like the machine they use now to pull weeds, and lack of connection with the outside world like how we don't even have to gather flowers to arrange them at the table etc...I hate how everything just appears out of thin air and how so many tasks are completed without much or any visible interactions.
Overall the game is in fact watered down and you can tell corners were cut to get things out faster. I play sims 4 way less than I played sims 2 and 3. Lately I only seem to play sims 4 after new content comes out just hoping it will help but the same lack of everything I spoke about above seems to be maintained throughout every expansion and pack, except vampires.
There are things I enjoy, the storms and snow are beautiful, the multitasking is essential, I love the photography, the restaurants run great both owning them and eating out with others, love the food stalls and learning new cuisine, love the yoga, I like how the sims themselves look like the graphics for them, love the toddlers, love the drag aspect of cas and build mode.
So, There are things I love about sims 4 but lack of detail and interactions, as stated above, make me feel disconnected from the game. Immersion is missing that I had with previous sims.
@soko37 Since I literally agree with 99,9% of what you’re saying, you make me curious for that 0,1 Why do you consider multitasking essential? (I ask because for me multitasking actually can be added to that feeling of being disconnected, everything takes way too long and seeing sims doing two things in turns looks too unrealistic for me to make a difference; I get triggered by the use of the word ‘essential’, what aspect would you miss so much that it would be a dealbreaker)
P.s. I doubt if the fact developers worked on previous games is very telling to be honest, because I could imagine it matters who’s in charge. People who were just helping to develop back then, seeing things/having to do things they perhaps didn’t like, might be in charge now and making decisions they consider good (and obviously a part of the fanbase does too), but another part of the fanbase was happier with the old point of view, of the people in charge back then.
Your very right with the last statement I also do believe their team currently is very weak... they don’t seem to have much zest for new ideas they just seem very aimless at the moment and they are “working hard” on old content we have seen in past games what’s the point it’s idle time spent and we are paying big bucks for a diluted game and add on packs it’s all a money skeem if that’s the game do pay to play on mobile and stop making pc games!
Comments
I've been making several starts of the game as I'm playing on two laptops and moving lots etc., over but I haven't actually "played" with the Sims for several weeks. I've been catching up with other things like books and films. I'm just hoping that the new Patch and possible new Pack will bring my enthusiasm back.
I like building most so those terraforming tools might do the trick for me. I hope you get your Sims mojo back.
Maybe it's just me but the fear of having vampires sneak into my Sims homes at night and sucking their blood was pretty terrifying to me. I didn't live in the forgotten hollow. So I had to make my Sims quickly level up and make garlic wreaths.
Sure, there are times I get bored of Sims but I always come back because only in the Sims can I create a visual of characters I have for my stories and building houses.
I totally agree with @LiELF that the game would be more compelling with more challenge, uncertainty and consequences. That is why I took my last break; I'd been playing a legacy and by about the 3rd generation everything was feeling too predictable. However, despite the lack of challenge, the creativity aspect continues to draw me back. I'm still on a short break but have been feeling the itch to start up my legacy again; just debating whether to wait until the new terrain tools, and other hinted-at-content is available.
Sim Stuff by Pegasys
The game is just sitting there waiting for the next EP which I hope will draw me back into it. And the number of hours played according to Origin backs up how bored I am with this game (72 hours) compared to TS2 (1523). I have tried many times to like this iteration of the series but it just doesn't feel complete for some reason.
Oh definitely waiting for Uni here too. Oddly I have games going in both Sims 2 and Sims 3 with the Uni's in those.
"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.....
For me, I guess it's that, besides talking, there isn't very much that the Sims do together unless prompted by an object. I find it sad that, already in the fifth year, TS4 Sims still don't dance together or lay in their partners arms. Children don't play games. Teens don't have have activities/desires that are uniquely their own...
I'm ready for something more. Hopefully, that something will be TS5. Or, maybe, there will some day be a life simulator from another company that is willing to tackle such a daunting task. I'd jump at the chance to play a life simulator that was created with a fresh set of eyes. At this point, I think that EA has been making the Sims for so long, they no longer see the forest for the trees.
Yes, The Sims series is the best for just relaxing (no goals! yay!) and having fun whether just messing around in buildmode or CAS or external tools, or playing a storyline you made up in your own head. But if players have to force themselves to play a game, then there is something wrong with it. And time to move on. Not saying they can't add something later that would tempt me to reinstall, but so far since Parenthood, I haven't seen anything that would make me put up with it once the novelty wore off. Doesn't mean TS4 doesn't have some fun stuff, it does, but after four years it's no longer enough.
Overall the game is in fact watered down and you can tell corners were cut to get things out faster. I play sims 4 way less than I played sims 2 and 3. Lately I only seem to play sims 4 after new content comes out just hoping it will help but the same lack of everything I spoke about above seems to be maintained throughout every expansion and pack, except vampires.
There are things I enjoy, the storms and snow are beautiful, the multitasking is essential, I love the photography, the restaurants run great both owning them and eating out with others, love the food stalls and learning new cuisine, love the yoga, I like how the sims themselves look like the graphics for them, love the toddlers, love the drag aspect of cas and build mode.
So, There are things I love about sims 4 but lack of detail and interactions, as stated above, make me feel disconnected from the game. Immersion is missing that I had with previous sims.
But inevitably something occurs to me down the line.
I can't really compare with older games since TS4 is my first, but aside from wishing there were more paranormals in the game (something I think we might still get in TS4), I haven't found myself wishing for features I don't have.
Of course, I'll be sure excited for the TS5 whenever it exists, but I'm also happy with what I have for now.
Someone else mentioned he/she gets disappointed each time he/she opens the game. I feel the same. I start up my save with good hope, new motivations, new ideas and then BAM.. The sims 4 did it again. The lack of possibilities and meaning hits me right in the face. The great ideas i got that I spend so much time and effort on to come up with and planning out, are made so meaningless by the game. 'It could have been so good!' I tell myself.
It's kind of a lost hope with the sims 4 and it's not just a phase that appears after you played too intense. I only had this particular feeling with the sims 4 game, cause it's lacking that sandbox feeling. That never ending feeling when you open the game and be like: OMG so much possibilities, I don't even know where to start!', I never had this with The sims 4, despite all the creative ideas people bring in, all the packs, updates, free stuff, 'fixes' etc. The base and the system the game is build on, is just not good enough to ever provide that unlimited feeling. This is why I feel like this and makes me crave for the next series that I HOPE desperately will have that sandbox feeling to it.
I think the TS2 brought it the best for it's time
With the sims 4 I always felt it was like: Give back this cool feature in exchange for this new one (one that was cut in half anyway). We shouldn't have to sacrifice, we should move forwards and the game should get better and bigger, not the same size, but with different features. It first of all cuts all the nostalgia feels out of a game that MADE the game to begin with and then we also do not have a game that is the right size for it's time. Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade!
Ok, that was a long rant
By the way many of the same devs that worked on Sims 2 even some that worked on the Sims 1 still work on Sims 2 and worked on Sims 3 as well. Grant, Jill, Lyndsay, Daniel who recently left, Duke, Gils, are just a few of those devs. There are many more as well. I know they know how those games were because they made them. But because they made them they also know each one has to be different than the former - whether or not we like it - they cannot be a carbon copy as they are not an extension of Sims, Sims 2, and 3 but a new rendition, different era - etc, etc. So because of this even each new rendition is going to be different than any before - where as the players seem to want it to recapture what it was that endeared that game to them - that is not the way EA sees it. Sometimes rehashing the sameness kills a game no matter how great it was and that is a fact and why all long term running games tend to follow new, untried directions for a sense of freshness - that makes it different enough to warrant the huge costs of the Sims game. I do think the different enough design sometimes is not well recieved while a game is in develop,emt but seems to come back to people as greatness when the next different enough version appears. I saw it happen with each rendition to be honest. People hated on even the great Sims 2 - believe me - I did it myself for it's differences to Sims 1. It only became better when Sims 3 was the new game and we had that one to hate on. Oddly now Sims 3 is the greatest to many I know for a fact often proclaimed their hate for it who oddly now have bought into Sims 3.
Memories are short I guess - but one simmer I know of that stayed forever with Sims 2 - recently finished buying all the Sims 3 and now suddenly they say they cannot believe they never saw how great that game was all those years. Now they call Sims 2 dated. Perhaps we all change as obviously the game does not.
I am glad I realize myself Sim by and large is the kind of game I prefer. Other games are inferior period because they control us - like it or not all the Sims 1 -2 -3 and 4 are sandbox - it is the detail that changes not the sandbox and what we build or do within our sandbox, and how many details the designers add to that particular idea - the difficulties come when on sandbox eliminated some of that detail - but compared to other game - well to me - me being in control is first and foremost. It is not the game devs - many are the same and other grew up playing the games - it is the differences I think some find issues with more than anything - but as things go with sims - no matter what you think of the present game eventually it seems it will rank higher on your like chart 2-3 years after the next Sims game is out. It always does eventually.
"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.....
Let me also add, in the sims 4, I took a few months off from "playing" to start renovating the lots and townies in my game and recently finished it.
my point is sometimes we all need a break from a game to explore other games or hobbies 😊
I take breaks as well -- I'll check out the Gallery and find a house I can remodel to suit current or future needs or I'll remodel some of my neighborhoods (I have a bunch of Eichler/MidCentury Modern houses in Oasis Springs, for example). I also come up with creative names based on themes -- for example my MidCenture Modern and Eichler neighborhoods are named for US National Parks and Monuments, so I have Yosemite, Yellowstone, Bears' Ears etc, and in Willow Creek I have a Craftsman neighborhood named for birds (Hummingbird Hill, Eagle Crest, etc.).
Fun must be always -- Tomas Hertl (San Jose Sharks hockey player)
See to me this is more in line with how the world is today though. I understand not wanting this for your sims as it bugs me too(i'm with you on the cellphones), but it's how the world is today. Everyone always on their phones or on the computer. I mean you even play the sims on your computer or console, and come to these very forums on your computer. We may not like it but it is what it is. I agree that maybe they should have focused more on other things (careers, family, education, etc.) rather than the worlds growing electronic addiction but they didn't. As a result, we get a game that is a little shallow and empty from a storytelling perspective, thus making it easier to get bored of.
Not "everything" is online. Those that live in silicon valley and are very much out of touch with reality.
I loved all the Sims games. 1, 2 and 3. I loved them all for what they were and what they had and never "hated" any of them, it's a game. How does one hate a game? But I moved on each time a new iteration came out and enjoyed all the new and different things it brought, although sometimes it took some getting used to.
I never went back. I didn't play Sims 3 and think, I hate this, I'll go back to 2.
I was excited when they announced Sims 4. I thought, new and greater. I preordered the base game like I always did. Then I started seeing posts, no this, no that but I thought how bad can it be? For me, I found out. It was lacking so much, especially my favorite Create-a-Style and open world, which I loved. I liked being able to edit the town, redo every world pretty much the way I wanted. Recolor all my appliances and furniture to match. And along came Sims 4. I couldn't do anything I was used to doing.
It went backward. Not even Sims 2 backward, where I could still redo my worlds but couldn't recolor anything, but way backward. I tried to play it, I wanted to move on to the latest and greatest iteration and I just couldn't. I missed stuff, big ticket stuff that was now gone. I understand they have to have something different but they took too much from me.
So I've stayed with Sims 3.
True. I think many forget this. There are many places one earth where people don't live this typical life at all, but you never see them for many reasons. These people still play the sims etc. And besides that, also not everyone wants lives a digital life. I for one prefer a tent, somewhere in nature with a book and that's what i would want over anything else. Not even so attached to a phone. I lived without one for more then a year. Greatest time of my life xD
P.s. I doubt if the fact developers worked on previous games is very telling to be honest, because I could imagine it matters who’s in charge. People who were just helping to develop back then, seeing things/having to do things they perhaps didn’t like, might be in charge now and making decisions they consider good (and obviously a part of the fanbase does too), but another part of the fanbase was happier with the old point of view, of the people in charge back then.
Your very right with the last statement I also do believe their team currently is very weak... they don’t seem to have much zest for new ideas they just seem very aimless at the moment and they are “working hard” on old content we have seen in past games what’s the point it’s idle time spent and we are paying big bucks for a diluted game and add on packs it’s all a money skeem if that’s the game do pay to play on mobile and stop making pc games!