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No hate, but how can a game from 2014 have such terrible AI?
Huiiie_07
Posts: 1,200 Member
Like really, sometimes these sims are just stupid, especially their autonomy and behavior leaves much to be desired. They take a small portion of fruit cake out of the fridge when their hunger is already in the orange despite having a full group meal in the fridge. Or alternatively, they want to grab leftover mac and cheese for breakfast instead of the pancakes from just the day before. They walk into the bathroom to shower while another sim is sitting on the toilet (in TS3, a game from 2009, they would never or rarely walk into the bathroom when another sim is doing their business in there, no matter which appliance they wanna use). Sims decide to talk to a stranger passing on the street, despite having a whole family at home to talk to. They don't change out of their winter coats despite being inside. They don't sit down to eat, but decide to stand in the front of the fridge while the empty table is right next to them, blocking anyone else's access to the fridge on the way. They wanna take a bath one hour before work despite having a functional shower. They decide to wash the dishes in the bathroom sink despite having a functional sink in the kitchen right next to them. They just got insulted by another sim, but return to friendly chatting as soon as the interaction is over. They get up from their chair at the dining table just to hug their parent before sitting down and finally talking. They had a bad day at work, their child drowned in the swimming pool, they embarrassed themselves when their roommate walked into them on the toilet and had an argument with their partner, but instantly forget about all these negative things that happened to them as soon as they walk into a nicely decorated room.
Those are just a few things that drive me nuts about TS4s AI. Now I won't say that those issues I've listed are exclusively problems in TS4. Many of those also appear in TS3 (along with its own little annoyances), but either in a much lesser dose or simply in a less annoying way. My suggestions: rework the AI to give these sims more of a brain to use. We shouldn't be forced to turn off autonomy just because a game from 2014 has a worse AI than it's predecessor from 2009.
Those are just a few things that drive me nuts about TS4s AI. Now I won't say that those issues I've listed are exclusively problems in TS4. Many of those also appear in TS3 (along with its own little annoyances), but either in a much lesser dose or simply in a less annoying way. My suggestions: rework the AI to give these sims more of a brain to use. We shouldn't be forced to turn off autonomy just because a game from 2014 has a worse AI than it's predecessor from 2009.
Origin ID: Huiiie_07
I like to build stuff
I like to build stuff
Post edited by Huiiie_07 on
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Comments
But I like having it on because I’d like to think it cues me into each Sims’ personality or interests. For example, I have a household of four YA sims. Two are a couple. The other two are not a couple but I’m planning them to be. With AI on, I can see that even without my directing them, they tend to seek each other out for conversations which tells me okay they might actually be a good match even if I don’t force it.
But yeah I wish Sims would do things that make more sense. I had one Sim want to autonomously go outside to his cooler to get food only to realize it was raining, and then ran back inside even tho he had made it down the steps and a bit through the courtyard. Either commit and go get the food or recognize that it was storming before you went outside because you can hear the thunder and see the rain from out the window.
Oh I didn't fully deactivate autonomy either. I tried to some time ago, but the micromanaging just became too much for me. Now I just have it turned off for the currently selected sim because I just hate when they randomly queue something up before I can choose something else for them to do. As for autonomy behavior, I don't really see a difference between sims. They tend to do the same kind of stuff, either filling their needs, going to the computer or watching tv.
Anyway, there are also some other autonomous actions which are probably intended, but don't make much sense to me and can also be a bit annoying. I don't get why all sims have to run outside when it snows for the first time. It kinda makes sense when they're children or have the childish trait, but other than that it's just weird. I also really hate how they automatically want to run inside during a thunder/snowstorm. I mean, players should be able to decide for themselves whether they want their sims to be outside during a storm or not.
I like to build stuff
I’ve stopped having to worry about Sims watching too much tv or using their phones or comps because I’ve been playing off the grid. However, now my Sims keep interacting with the bookcase. Obviously they do go to other things like the chess table and the foosball table but not nearly as much. So I’m constantly having them clean up books...oh Sims...
I think this is a two-fold issue. AI is not refined on its own merit which is why Sims play musical chairs and in general do things that don’t make sense. And autonomy rarely follows any indicators of a Sims personality because there are so few ways to actually create personality within the game.
There doesn't seem to be any people over there that just plays the game and checks to make sure that these things are properly balanced. They seem to just check that it works.
It's fascinating how much better the game gets once you improve some of those things with mods. I just wish that maxis could improve the game themselves.
You mean servos? I just got DU yesterday and didn't get to that point yet, but this just sounds ridiculous and like a perfect example of emotions overriding literally everything. They could've just made servos immune to water like the plumbots from TS3. Even the simbots from TS3, which weren't immune to water, were smart enough to not go into the shower. They even automatically used an umbrella when going outside during rain. I'd probably just lock the bathroom door for the servo to get around this problem, but this shouldn't even be an issue to begin with had the devs just took more care while designing the servos.
I like to build stuff
I did mean those. Sorry, confused with them naming the same sorts of things differently over different versions of the series!
They do use umbrella's in the rain. I think this one was just a case of the emotions overriding everything, however it does highlight the problems with emotions perfectly IMO.
Good to know that they use umbrellas atleast. If not, this would have made them literally unplayable. From what I've seen, I prefer the plumbots from TS3 over TS4's servos anyway because the latter don't seem to be that customizable.
I like to build stuff
I like to build stuff
I am sorry but this made me laugh too hard. I haven't even had a chance to get any of my sims to build a servos and now, I want to.
I have a sim who lives alone and she has a bathroom and a pee bush. I added the pee bush because I thought it looked nice, but she prefers to use it instead of going to the bathroom.
The sims 1, 2 and 3 had all charm and quirky without all of the sims being quite so daft. I half agree with you, I don't want them to be super smart either, but I don't think all the sims should be quite so dumb. A vegetarian sim should NEVER willing eat meat unless I've told them to do so. Some of the traits are downright broken, the emotion system is broken and it's all affected their AI.
I don't believe either, that this was the intention initially since they were touted as "the smartest sims yet" but they have now let go of that tag line for their ad campaigns.
It's not just hugging other sims either, now with the addition of pets, they do the same with not just household members, but their cats and dogs too.
Honestly, I just let it win that fight, and stopped playing. If my urge for Simming comes back, I'll certainly do what I have been, and go straight back to TS2 and TS3, which are definitively Sims games in the experiences they offer. Hopefully, when the world gets back on its feet, Maxis will too, and head straight to the planning board for The Sims 5.
I actually don't really want them to make a The Sims 5, probably because it's already being rumored that i's gonna be multiplayer (or atleast having a multiplayer component), which is already showing that they couldn't care less about listening to us, the players. Also me (and my parents) already spent too much money on both TS3 and TS4, going through this whole process again isn't really something I should have to do to get a modern, enjoyable sims game. I can understand though why you and other players rather want to move on to the next iteration instead of this one getting fixed. Sims 4 isn't for everybody, some players find it unenjoyable at its core, something no patches could fix. I personally just wish they would start looking more at what the players want to see in the game. Atleast here on the forums, a vast majority wants bug fixes, no new packs that could add onto the problem.
I like to build stuff
Something that has really been bothering me is that I have a simple family of 3, I serve food... there is no guest in the home. Four plates are served and then the idiot grabs another plate, sits and eats with the plate in had, over the other plate. 3 people, 5 plates and 1 idiot... smh
-SEESIN8 (CC)
I agree Sims 2 takes the hat, however I feel that what you suggest is the issue. We should not be leaping to sims 5. I still do not love sims 4, tolerated sims 3.... I mean we need to really bring it in sims 5. I got this game at 10 years old... I have played sims on different platforms...I am 25 now...15 years later I can agree that this game is a gem but, as everything else..the system is set up to make money. I mean lets be serious... The sims 4 was released without pools or toddlers... & the babies are in the cloth.. in a basket... ORIGINAL SIMS style... Were buying the same things every year but updated for better graphic? next time we can see them blink, but everything else will be the same or less because we'll have to pay for pets, seasons and university... 3 things that should already be in base game of sims 5. Fans bought this same concept 4 times already. Be reasonable. As of now I will not be pre-ordering or buying sims 5 at the $50/$60 value, I'll be waiting for a bundle or $19.99 markdown. This game has become a disappointment over the years.
- Seesin8 (CC)