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Expansions and Game Packs are not going to make The Sims 4 better
tweedle
Posts: 89 Member
I think this is a pretty popular opinion with anyone who is critical about The Sims 4 but I still think there are a number of people who don't realize this. No matter how many fun and interesting DLCs are added to the TS4, this game is always going to feel shallow and boring to many because the core of the game's problem lies in issues that are in the base game. These issues include things players have been complaining about for years such as the need to improve personalities, relationships, emotions, buffs/moodlets, whims, story progression, and much more (i.e. bugs). Another problem that makes this game feel very lackluster is the lack of dynamic and unique interactions and animations. In a previous post I made I mentioned that pretty much every object in this game is turned on with a TV remote (radios, thermostats, fireplaces, etc.) and there are no unique interactions with functional objects depending on what traits you possess so every sim looks and feels the same. Traits are not used to create your sims' personalities in this game, it's just a tool to get your sims into a specific mood.
I'm sorry if this post seems like a ramble and a bit confusing to follow (I'm very tired) but I wanted to share my thoughts on this because, to be honest, I think that The Sims 4 has the some of the best and most in-depth expansion packs than the other main series Sims games but it doesn't matter because the base game play is so shallow that the enjoyment of these packs fade away after the very first playthrough.
TL;DR: The Sims Team need to take break from DLCs and focus on making an enjoyable and in-depth base game.
I'm sorry if this post seems like a ramble and a bit confusing to follow (I'm very tired) but I wanted to share my thoughts on this because, to be honest, I think that The Sims 4 has the some of the best and most in-depth expansion packs than the other main series Sims games but it doesn't matter because the base game play is so shallow that the enjoyment of these packs fade away after the very first playthrough.
TL;DR: The Sims Team need to take break from DLCs and focus on making an enjoyable and in-depth base game.
Ding-dong! Your baby is gone!
-Social Worker, probably
-Social Worker, probably
31
Comments
The Gurus don’t communicate, they don’t update us with dev blogs or twitch streams about the direction of the game and there is no roadmap.
Most of the improvements of this game could be used by updating the DLCs we already have. It’s the least they can do by communicating with us about that last survey they did about “game improvements”... maybe for that 20th anniversary day. Still, nothing.
Was that survey a spoof? Something to distract us? False hope?
Communication of some kind would really be appreciated.
I’m tired of assuming. I just want to see them treat their customers with respect.
You're correct in this line of thinking.
• Preference for emotions over personality - sims devs think this is OK and not a flaw (all sims feel the same)
• Lack of proper family connections (anything beyond parent or sibling seems to be ignored by gameplay) - sim devs assume nobody is really a family player and think this is OK
• Missing basic build options - lack of ladders and spiral stairs, no ability to pick side stair railings go on, incomplete build packs w/ single tile, double tile, and three tile windows and doors missing in many packs, wood trims not coordinating between packs or even within packs, lack of basic black and white swatches on most old decor, kitchen counters incomplete or recolored clone of old packs, lack of cabinets, lack of matching bathroom items (a sink and shower but no bath or toilet?), almost total negligence of cross-pack play, lack of toddler and child integration - kids cannot do anything that teens+ can do (what happened to the easy bake oven??)
• Played sims spawning in outfits the player didn't make - devs find this funny and amusing and not at all the absolute PROBLEM it really is despite complaints for YEARS
• Complete lack of attention and items/CAS/hobbies/activities for toddlers, children and elders - devs assume people only play with young adults and nothing else
• No sim memories, likes/dislikes, or interests - something that was well loved in past iterations of the game seems to be totally overlooked in favor of all sims being over-emotional and stale - devs aren't hearing our pleas for a system like this despite it being totally viable
Well I think it's more of a thing where players expected the sims 4 to EXPAND on what the previous three games had - like sims 2 expanded on 1, and sims 3 expanded on 1 and 2. Sims 4 feels like it ignores the history of the franchise and doesn't improve or expand on any old ideas/gameplay that was wildly enjoyed by fans in previous games.
That's where I feel the majority of the disappointment comes from.
I think one reason is because some flaws are based on the original code and how the game works, I am very skeptical if they are willing to give sims more personality like it seemed in the survey because that could conflict with how all the buffs and interactions work.
Unfortunately this seems to have become a major part of their development to the point that they don't even want to go back and check how old things work and they don't even check if everything works properly in their packs so they constantly break things with their patches.
Their focus are instead to make new content regularly for the sims4. They don't have time or the budget to change how the game works with their new packs. It doesn't even matter to them if the flaws are making the packs worse because that is just part of the sims4. A game that is unpredictable and unexpected because they don't know how it will react when you will add new things to it. People will buy their packs anyway.
I honestly think the best thing to do now is to not support them for more than what you feel that they are worth. Don't show blind support by buying their packs at release and don't accept their lack of quality or variety with their content. Be a more critical customer.
Yeah, that's the problem. If people weren't so eager to purchase every pack, then maybe EA would be more keen on improving the game. As consumers, simmers need to express their feedback through their wallets. Everyone can come on here and complain about the newest pack that they were disappointed with, but at the end of the day, they still bought it at full price without any hesitation.
-Social Worker, probably
People who say this put too much faith in EA. Unless they learn from their mistakes and the player base stops throwing money at them, these problems will persist in the next installment, albeit in different ways.
-Social Worker, probably
Even if they implement what was in the survey that would not resolve the issues. It would improve the game to a degree yes, but not to where it should be. Now some might say "where it should be" is subjective. However I disagree, simply because they advertised certain features that to this day five years later we do not have i.e. distinct/unique personailites and big personalities. That all I ask for what was advertised.
The trait system really sucks. First of all we only have a choice of three and it is made even worse if you play as a child or something because you get even less. Then within those traits are things like dog lover, bookworm, dance machine etc. So if I were to pick these traits where is the actual personality for my selected sim? Why aren't those traits part of favourite things, likes/dislikes, or hobbies/pastimes. Why are they shoehorned in to traits which is already so severly limited and lacking.
So, unless future DLC's are meant to fix these areas, adding more "stuff" to the game won't change a darn thing.
The survey sent seemed to indicate they were at least interested in fixing this. But maybe it was just a tease. :(
-Social Worker, probably
Personality,depth,humor,consequences,lore,customization.
Yeah, honestly I’d rather have TS3 traits over TS4 emotion systems anyday.
-Social Worker, probably
> I agree with all the problems you point out. But couldn't this be at least partially fixed in a "relationships" pack or something like that, where they add traits, change the way relationships work in the game? Can they not add memory in a pack? Can they not add new animations?
>
> The survey sent seemed to indicate they were at least interested in fixing this. But maybe it was just a tease. :(
What's next: turn on and turn offs game pack? wants and fears game pack? Yeah.... not buying that should be fundamentally in the base game itself.