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Game Design in The Sims, The Sims 2, The Sims 3, The Sims 4

waterywatermelonwaterywatermelon Posts: 473 Member
The Sims: The Sims have basic needs, and how they interact with certain objects or other Sims affect their needs and moods. Sims also have responsibilities in life - household chores, working, studying in school.

The Sims 2: The Sims now have wants, fears, aspirations, aspiration rewards, aging, family trees and albums. The entire gameplay experience is centered around the Sim from cradle to grave. If the Sim dies with a platinum aspiration, then he or she may receive a gold-and-marble tombstone with a marker that displays that Sim's aspiration. Aspiration is a core feature of The Sims 2. Aspiration rewards may be very useful for a Sim's aspirational goal or career goals. Career rewards help out with advancing one's careers. Like the prequel, The Sims, The Sims 2 focuses on day-to-day life of one household.

The Sims 3: The Sims are now in an open world. Sims can go to work, and the player can change how the Sim performs at work, even though the workplace itself may be a rabbithole. But hey, it's a step up from The Sims 2, in which Sims will just drive off the lot and vanish. Sims may have fears, but they are not something that can be realized intentionally or accidentally like in The Sims 2, but Sims may receive a negative moodlet if they are in the dark and they have the Coward trait. Careers are branched for extra replayability value, and each career comes with a boss. The Sims 2 chance cards may imply a boss or supervisor, but that's just part of the story. The Sims 3 literally has a Sim as the "boss". The general gameplay seems to be more focused on the grand scheme of things, as highlighted by the big open world and story progression. Sims are smarter than ever before. They can take care of themselves better, and children don't have to be commanded to do their homework. The player can select one household as the active household and promise the members wishes so they will eventually die with a pretty tombstone. In the meantime, lifetime rewards may be earned, which may help a Sim progress through life. The Sims 3 by default does require a different kind of playstyle, so it may not be for people who prefer the Sims 2 rotational play. So, those people may tweak the ages a bit just so they can transfer over their Sims 2 playstyle to a Sims 3 game. Personally, I just play the Sims 3 as the Sims 3. In my own game, I just set my aging so that 1 Sim day equals 1 real-life year, so Elders tend to have the longest life stage for Humans, Dogs, Cats and Horses. Sometimes, I may play with aging off just so I can help a family gain more LifeTime Points at a certain age, then switch to a different household and help that household earn LifeTime Points, then finally return to the initial household and turn aging back on, allowing everyone to age up and progress the story.

The Sims 4: The Sims are now in a semi-open world. It's somewhere between Sims 2 and Sims 3. Sims can actually go beyond the home lot and forage for things and sell the foraged items. In the Sims 2, the main source of income is through the standard careers; I think foraging (aka "hiking" as it is known in the game) comes later with some kind of EP. In the Sims 2 base game, Sims can buy money trees with their hard-earned aspiration points and harvest them for Simoleons. The Slacker career reward allows Sims to harvest flowers. In the Sims 4 base game, you can buy flowers and vegetables and fruits and herbs. Sims behave like Sims in the Sims 3 in the sense that inactive Sims will move around a lot, will not be fixed in one saved spot, and can age up with the active household. In the Sims 2, Sims have to be playable in order to progress in age, because NPC aging is an EP addition. The core feature of The Sims 4 is "emotions", but some players may complain that the emotional system may be too unbalanced, and the Sims lack personality. While a personality overhaul is a possibility, another solution may just be providing a Sims 2-style Family Album, allowing each household to have a Family Album with pictures and captions tied to that Family. That way, players can create and imagine a personality for the Sims, so it creates an even more dollhouse-like experience. Words can express intentions and aspirations and goals and personality in ways that mere screenshots cannot, so a Sims 2-style Family Album would be nice. The Family Album will work well with the existing Memories+Screenshots system in the Sims 4.
Post edited by waterywatermelon on

Comments

  • OldeseadoggeOldeseadogge Posts: 4,973 Member
    On the whole a nice summation of the basics of the series, good work there. TS2 also has an attraction system and automatic memories keyed to major events with either a positive or negative response keyed to sim personality- no need to manually flag a photo. School and careers have chance cards that can be either a boost or pull down - including getting fired from work. A good vacation gives your sim a choice of 3 of 6 buffs that improve life for a few days. The game is big on little details - when cooking sims will open counter drawers and doors to get the pots/pans/tools they need. Once a sim's gender preference is set it stays that way unless manually changed via interactions. No 'having the hots' for anything that moves. Sims will readily tell you what they think of your house decoration choices and what you do to them if you change their appearance via the mirror. A huge plus is the mentioned album. The player has full control of photo sequence and has ample room for captions, as in several lines.

    A huge plus for TS4 is the graphics, it's easily the best looking version in the series to date. In view of the advances in technology since TS2, it had better be. Overall gameplay feels much simpler than before, even shallow, many things being automatic, even almost magical. Won't go into the personality side as the forums are filled with laments on that issue. Build mode is a mix, better in some ways than before, worse in others. Rotational play is tough. Different games for different play styles.
  • waterywatermelonwaterywatermelon Posts: 473 Member
    Sims will readily tell you what they think of your house decoration choices

    Actually, that is also a feature in The Sims 3. Sims will autonomously check out the new object. Sometimes, they will like the object, sometimes not.
    TS2 also has an attraction system

    TS3 has the Western zodiac/astrology compatibility system, and it is up to the player whether to make a match between seemingly compatible partners. The attraction system from TS2 doesn't really play that much in my playstyle, because even Sims who are not attracted to each other can still fall in love. It just takes some work. It's like having the Unflirty trait in The Sims 3, in which Unflirty Sims take some work to flirt with.
    A huge plus is the mentioned album. The player has full control of photo sequence and has ample room for captions, as in several lines.

    Actually, The Sims 1 allows the option to take pictures, and you can write lengthy captions as well. The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 both have Family Albums to tell Family Stories, giving ample room for writing and imagination. The Sims 3 no longer has Family Albums anymore, but it is possible to upload your screenshots to TS3 Exchange and write your stories outside the game. It's just not a built-in feature like previous games. The Sims 4 has no Family Albums and no way to share written stories whatsoever, which is a great bummer for me, because written stories have always engaged me with The Sims. Writing stories allows me to include stuff that would be otherwise impossible in game. Nowadays, people just automatically go to YouTube and watch a Let's Play and call that a "story". But I don't see them as "stories". They feel more like gameplay videos. An actual written story allows things beyond what the game can do; a gameplay video allows things based on what the game can do and thus can be very limiting in this regard.
    A huge plus for TS4 is the graphics, it's easily the best looking version in the series to date. In view of the advances in technology since TS2, it had better be. Overall gameplay feels much simpler than before, even shallow, many things being automatic, even almost magical. Won't go into the personality side as the forums are filled with laments on that issue. Build mode is a mix, better in some ways than before, worse in others. Rotational play is tough. Different games for different play styles.

    Well, when I got The Sims 2 for the very first time, The Sims 2 was still in its prime, selling like hotcakes and rolling out expansion packs. I just had the base game. I was like, "Hmmm... do I want The Sims Complete Collection or The Sims 2?" Then, I remembered what I read on Wikipedia about The Sims 2's biggest features like aging and aspirations and generational gameplay, and I was sold. I got the Sims 2 base game over The Sims Complete Collection, simply because The Sims 2 felt like a real life simulator, while The Sims 1 sounded like playing house - no aging, no genetics, and no generational gameplay. Plus, The Sims 2 at the time had much better graphics than The Sims 1.

    I still like The Sims 2 graphics and Maxis art style. I also like The Sims 3 graphics and Maxis art style, especially when my Sims run around the big open world and I can see the gorgeous view. I also like The Sims 4 graphics and Maxis art style. While you are playing on the lot, you can observe the gorgeous scenery in the background.

    Well, The Sims 2 Sims aren't that very smart. Children won't do their homework autonomously, and if they have too much homework left undone, that may mean a trip to the Social Worker. You really have to micromanage the house, making sure that the children do their homework assignments and the parents pay the bills or the REPO man will come.

    The Sims 3 Sims are pretty much living individuals and can take care of themselves. Instead of micromanaging everything for needs and daily responsibilities, you can just look at the bigger scope and help a household fulfill wishes to buy certain LifeTime Rewards. The highest Aspiration Reward in TS2 is the Elixir of Life, and that one costs only 30,580 aspiration points. The Sims 3 has even bigger rewards, so it really takes a much longer time to earn those points. If you have a big house, then it's extremely challenging trying to earn lots of points for everyone. Fortunately, Sims in The Sims 3 can take care of themselves better, so that really helps in earning those points. The Collection Helper is a very useful reward to search for items around the world.

    The Sims 4 is okay in terms of gameplay. If you have a big household with careers and kids, then fulfilling everyone's aspiration can be very challenging, and those rewards are not easy to get either.

    As for personality, I think TS4 personality can be resolved by a return of TS1-style or TS2-style Family Albums, where players imagine and write in a personality. A family album can definitely compensate the lack of a personality system in TS4, IMO. I personally don't mind a TS4 game with just a Family Album but no personality; I can just use my imagination and write it out.

    The Sims 3 is the only game with 2 different styles of basements. You can make a traditional basement like you would in TS2, but you can also use the basement tool. This gives the option of a walk-out basement in TS3. Lighting is also much better in TS3 than TS2, because you can have enclosed spaces with sun shining through. In TS2, if you make an enclosed space with walls, the game will automatically interpret that as a room, making it difficult to make a courtyard in TS2. The boolprop constrainFloorElevation true/false cheat allows split levels and attached garages in TS2. The Sims 4 foundations work differently, so no walk-out basements, and split-level homes may be done with platforms.

    I think The Sims 1, 2, 3 and 4 can all be played rotationally. The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 has classic rotation gameplay, because Sims are saved in the exact same position, wherever you left off. The Sims 3 has an open world, and all Sims in this open world are connected to each other. I have already customized my aging system to make 1 Sim day equal 1 Real-life year, so if I ever want to play a family longer and help the family earn more points and fulfill wishes, then I'll just turn aging off. At a certain point, I may drop the promised wishes for one household and switch to a different household, and help that other household do the same, earning points and all. The Sims 4 has the option of allowing aging based on active household or not, so all Sims may age up at the same time, or just the active household, or no one ages up.
  • OldeseadoggeOldeseadogge Posts: 4,973 Member
    My memories of TS1 are ancient & experience with TS3 is minimal, so prefer to not bring in versions I know little about. TS2 does need to be seen in context. For its time it was as revolutionary as TS1 was in its time, and a big advancement. The luster dims as technology advances and new games take advantage of the advance, but it's still, for me, a great game. Depending on land contours, walk out basements are possible in TS2. Takes some fiddling, but doable and expands the options. My play style is at home with TS2, so it's my favorite of the series, TS3 being second. An ideal game would be to take the best parts of all of them, combine in an integrated manner, and keep it off line.
  • waterywatermelonwaterywatermelon Posts: 473 Member
    Depending on land contours, walk out basements are possible in TS2. Takes some fiddling, but doable and expands the options.

    I think that I misspoke in my post above. No idea why.

    But anyway, I once built a replica of one of my real-life homes in TS2, and it had multiple split-levels and a walk-out basement. I actually never created a walk-out basement in TS3, but seeing that the foundation tool works the same way as in TS2, I would assume that it is the case. TS3 not only has a foundation tool, which can be used to carve out a basement, but also a basement tool, which can be used to place TS3 rabbitholes or create underground tunnels and dungeons. That is why TS3 has 2 different kinds of basements. As a result, you can build walk-out basements in both TS2 and TS3, and you can build split-level homes using the constrainFloorElevation cheat in both TS2 and TS3. TS4 basements work differently, and there seems to be no constrainFloorElevation cheat in TS4. Well, at least you have the most recently updated platforms, which can help with creating split-level homes.
    My memories of TS1 are ancient & experience with TS3 is minimal, so prefer to not bring in versions I know little about.

    My Experience with Each The Sims Game:

    The Sims - for many players, The Sims is just nostalgia. But for me, The Sims 2 base game is nostalgia, because for many years, I just had the base game . . . until I got The Sims 2 Best of Business collection pack and then The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection (a huge upgrade for me at the time, considering what I had).
    The Sims 2 - I have played with TS2 the longest, and I actually started Simming with TS2. Never played TS1 until very recently, actually. That's why TS1 is in my recent memory, and I also watch YouTube videos comparing TS1, TS2, TS3 and TS4 in various aspects.
    The Sims 3 - I got this in 2013, before I got the The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection in 2014, and for me, it was a huge upgrade to The Sims 2 base game and Best of Business collection pack.
    The Sims 4 - I got this in 2018, and I know the exact date because I still have my earliest created Sim and House in this game. It was 2018.
    My play style is at home with TS2, so it's my favorite of the series, TS3 being second. An ideal game would be to take the best parts of all of them, combine in an integrated manner, and keep it off line.

    I also like TS2 and TS3, and I spend a lot of my free time playing those games than I do with TS1 or TS4.
    I hardly ever touch TS1. TS1 just feels boring for me, and TS1 graphics reminds me of the time when I played Roller Coaster Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon. I have fond memories playing those simulation games, and both are very business-oriented and a bit challenging, but TS1 is a life simulator, and not very challenging.
    I play TS4 less often than I do with TS2 and TS3. TS4 has a lot of checklists and goals that you have to complete. Careers - checklist. Aspiration - checklist. Active careers - checklist. Dating - checklist. Checklists are fine, but TS4 ones are too easy. TS3 has opportunities and wishes, and those are difficult enough that they require some time to complete. And you really have to work hard on your parties if you want a successful party, while TS4 spells everything out for you and you just have to complete the checklist. Piece of cake. TS2 has fears in addition to wants, and you can lock those fears and make your Sim's life miserable that way.
    I also agree with your last sentence - keep the best parts of all of them, combine in an integrated manner and keep it offline but allow online functionalities like an Exchange or Gallery to share creations.
  • gamingtowin1234gamingtowin1234 Posts: 4 New Member
    I have seen that rocking chairs come with knitting. I will get that pack soon. I think at least one rocking chair should be provided with the kids furniture so that new moms can rock their baby to sleep before putting him in bed. This would be ideal since it is how things are usually done in real life. Hope to see an update soon. Thanks for listening. Ps. I have been playing sims 4 for a couple of months and played sims 2 for a couple of years before updating my computer. Thanks again and hope to see rocking chairs in baby's room of furniture. God bless. This is the best sight ever for researching and learning how to play the game more and more every day.
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