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Sims 4 game balance is a joke

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  • ReclusiveEagleReclusiveEagle Posts: 86 Member
    edited April 2021
    I don't understand why when people try to defend the Sims 4 they bring Sims 3 into the discussion out of nowhere and bash it in order to make the Sims 4 look good.
    Why does it matter if the Sims 3 did something worse, that doesn't erase the problems with the Sims 4. If the Sims 4 has room for improvement then it has room for improvement and the Sims 3 has nothing to do with it.

    Which is ironic because then if you counter argue the same people say "The Sims 4 is not TS3 stop comparing". People want to feel validated. TS4 currently costs $900. Imagine spending that then someone says "This is the worst game in the series". People will wholeheartedly defend it if they are new and don't know what TS1-3 had or they only ever watched gameplay of the previous games and never played them

    The Sims 4 ranked 9th on the list of games with most DLC (in price) of all time so I guess people who have bought everything have spent a looot of money on it and do feel attached to it. I just don't see what the Sims 3 ever had to do with this.

    Also your last sentence is going to trigger a lot of people saying "I actually played the Sims 1, 2, 3 etc." which of course some have, exceptions exist too afterall.

    If that triggers the Sims community then that should just tell you the state of TS defenders in 2021.

    Imagine driving a family car from 1940 and a hypercar from 2021. You'd expect the hypercar to be better in every single aspect. But now imagine the hypercar performs worse and is slower and doesn't turn as well as the boat turning on the 1940s family car. You'd be extremely upset especially if you support that company. Now imagine despite that you have people defending the hypercars performance and features and calling it adequate and extremely good. That person is the same person defending Sims 4
    Eagle.
  • ScobreScobre Posts: 20,665 Member
    Scobre wrote: »
    Sk8rblaze wrote: »
    Scobre wrote: »
    So this is part of the problem why the game doesn't balance and fails at actually simulating in gameplay, it is a very deep deep deep bug that still needs addressing:

    This should really be priority #1. Simulation not working as intended in a simulator game is kind of embarrassing.
    Yeah it is funny. I mean it is supposed to be the Sims short for simulation. If a game isn't simulating right that is a huge red flag.

    I mean TS3 had massive simulation lag with micro freezes but that never stopped interactions from working or made the Sims stand there for 20 minutes not moving because they are still processing commands and pathing. Which is extremely Ironic because 90% of the decisions taken when making TS4 was for it not to turn into TS3 performance yet here we are. In fact TS3 runs better than TS4..... And TS3 has 200+ concurrent interactions it needs to perform for the 150+ sims in a town vs the 2 that are on a TS4 lot.
    Yes I agree. Sims 3 does run better for gameplay.
    “Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
  • Mstybl95Mstybl95 Posts: 5,883 Member
    Scobre wrote: »
    Sk8rblaze wrote: »
    Scobre wrote: »
    So this is part of the problem why the game doesn't balance and fails at actually simulating in gameplay, it is a very deep deep deep bug that still needs addressing:

    This should really be priority #1. Simulation not working as intended in a simulator game is kind of embarrassing.
    Yeah it is funny. I mean it is supposed to be the Sims short for simulation. If a game isn't simulating right that is a huge red flag.

    I mean TS3 had massive simulation lag with micro freezes but that never stopped interactions from working or made the Sims stand there for 20 minutes not moving because they are still processing commands and pathing. Which is extremely Ironic because 90% of the decisions taken when making TS4 was for it not to turn into TS3 performance yet here we are. In fact TS3 runs better than TS4..... And TS3 has 200+ concurrent interactions it needs to perform for the 150+ sims in a town vs the 2 that are on a TS4 lot.

    I'm pretty sure the difference comes down to how it's coded. The different speed settings have never worked in TS4 and if you try to use anything other than speed one, the sims just stand around for long periods of time. Is it truly simulation lag or just the coding that doesn't speed up idle interactions?

    I remember when this game first came out and one of the gurus was explaining why they made certain choices and I distinctly remember him saying that they wanted an engine where they had certain features baked in so they could, say, toggle a couple of switches to activate those features. So to me, that said they didn't want to hire programmers to make changes to the code. They wanted probably their extra FX designers to be able to putz around in the engine and cause whatever mayhem we see before us. This game is so bug ridden because they literally designed an MMO and then tried to create a game over it. Everything they put over the MMO is buggy and total crap, like the different speeds and any type of expansion systems that should integrate into the base engine. None of it ever works properly and I'll wager that it's because they still don't want to hire programmers to do the work or because the engine is that messed up that it's impossible to do without breaking other systems.
  • Sk8rblazeSk8rblaze Posts: 7,570 Member
    edited April 2021
    Scobre wrote: »
    Sk8rblaze wrote: »
    Scobre wrote: »
    So this is part of the problem why the game doesn't balance and fails at actually simulating in gameplay, it is a very deep deep deep bug that still needs addressing:

    This should really be priority #1. Simulation not working as intended in a simulator game is kind of embarrassing.
    Yeah it is funny. I mean it is supposed to be the Sims short for simulation. If a game isn't simulating right that is a huge red flag.

    I mean TS3 had massive simulation lag with micro freezes but that never stopped interactions from working or made the Sims stand there for 20 minutes not moving because they are still processing commands and pathing. Which is extremely Ironic because 90% of the decisions taken when making TS4 was for it not to turn into TS3 performance yet here we are. In fact TS3 runs better than TS4..... And TS3 has 200+ concurrent interactions it needs to perform for the 150+ sims in a town vs the 2 that are on a TS4 lot.

    I think the lag in The Sims 3 is different. I mean, yeah, lag is lag and it's quite annoying either way, but I don't think the lag is simulation-related with TS3.

    In The Sims 3, from my experience, I saw time freeze whenever the game froze. So, it was a game as a whole having an issue. With The Sims 4, when simulation lag occurs, time continues to flow but everything in the game is stuck. Time is unstable, too, and will actually move backwards sometimes too. Yet, the camera can still move flawlessly without lag. I mean, the whole game is wonky like that -- I noticed whenever I reload a lot, my Sims are in positions I didn't leave them in upon exiting the lot last, or they'll be out of bed, etc. Which makes me wonder if the game prematurely functions as the loading screen is showing?

    These are just issues that were never a problem in The Sims 2 and The Sims 3. And, like you said, there is absolutely nothing that excuses this because the whole reason for The Sims 4 cutting back on features that we were given was to ensure better performance.

    I bolded, "that we were given" because it doesn't mean that is necessary true. I definitely think the real reason is time and budget constraints.
  • GoldmoldarGoldmoldar Posts: 11,966 Member
    I don't understand why when people try to defend the Sims 4 they bring Sims 3 into the discussion out of nowhere and bash it in order to make the Sims 4 look good.
    Why does it matter if the Sims 3 did something worse, that doesn't erase the problems with the Sims 4. If the Sims 4 has room for improvement then it has room for improvement and the Sims 3 has nothing to do with it.

    As far Sims 3 doing something worse than Sims 4 I do not see it as far features goes and I would say it is the reverse as Sims 4 has features that appear to be watered down compared to what was offered in previous versions for me. The only thing I can say about Sims 3 and it is now happening in Sims 4 now is how well EA/Maxis addressed the problems for that is one of the reasons for some not getting an good experience. I am an feature player and that is how I judge my games for it comes down to what can it do and what can the new version do and the experience in Sims 4 is not telling me much and I am not going to sugarcoat it for EA/Maxis been in the game for many years.
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  • matheus_mar_1999matheus_mar_1999 Posts: 105 Member
    Even with MCCC set to raise skills 0.5 faster and Tiny Living skill boosts I can't get 1 skill level per minute.
  • ravynwolvfravynwolvf Posts: 1,073 Member
    It could be that everyone was mentoring your sim while they worked out. That would explain the friendships (takes very little time, which is why I have it modded off). The skills, not sure how you accomplished that without mods. Half their conversations are idle chat, which adds nothing to anything (like comedy or charisma).
  • kwanzaabotkwanzaabot Posts: 2,440 Member
    My favourite unbalanced thing are the Influence points.

    So to enact a NAP, it costs about 10 Influence for a vote, and you'll want probably 4 votes. For a 2 Sim household, that's 20 Influence each. Or you could wing it like I did in the test run I'm playing right now: over the course of a weekend, most NAPs got 1-2 votes, only one got 3, and the NAP I voted for received an additional 2 votes, bringing it up to a total of 4 votes.

    So you do the interactions, and get about 2 Influence per interaction. That's 10 interactions to reach 20. That's easy.
    Odds are, over the course of a week you'll receive way more than 20 Influence points.

    Let's use "Foodies Unite" as an example. 2 Influence per meal prepared. 3 meals a day, 7 days in a week.
    2x3 gives us 6 Influence per day.
    6x7 gives us 42 Influence per week.
    That's enough for four votes! Just for one Sim! That all but guarantees your chosen NAP will be elected.

    If you play it smart and vote twice with that one Sim and twice with another Sim making their own meals, each Sim will have 20 Influence leftover.
    The week after that, they'll have 40.
    And then 60.
    Then 80.
    Then 100.

    Each week you'll have exponentially more Influence saved, and nothing to spend it on.
    You could even ignore voting altogether and just reap the benefits of whichever NAP gets elected, and just constantly rack up more and more Influence points!

    Week 1 you have 40 Influence, week 2 you've got 80. Then 120. Then 160. Then 200.

    And what can you do with all that Influence? Spend it on NAPs. But the only benefit to doing that is gaining Influence, which you spend on Naps. Which provide Influence. Which. You. Spend. On. NAPS.

    It's a feature that is already easy for a single-Sim household.
    If you play with a family, it becomes trivial.

    How is that engaging gameplay? It's an "I win" button. Every week you get exactly what you want, no questions asked.
    That's not balanced gameplay. Not at all.
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  • drakharisdrakharis Posts: 1,478 Member
    Remember in TS3 when you had to work hard to get things? And TS2 and TS1 and all the console games like Urbs and My Sims ect?

    Right, So. Started a new game. Had my Sim eat 3 times in 3 days when they were hungry.
    They got fat (Like ???)... decided to go to the gym. Let me tell you what happened with the click of a single button.
    Keep in mind they are a new Sim with only 1 level of cooking and Free Will is turned off so they can't do anything else.

    I clicked "Workout", went to go make a coffee (Which took 3 minutes irl). Left the game on Speed 1 (3-4 hours passed in game), came back to:
    1. 4 and a half Levels of fitness
    2. 3 Levels of Comedy
    3. 3 Levels of Charisma
    4. 3 New "Good friends" that my Sim met and raised their relationship with to halfway.
    5. 1 New "Best Friend" (The trainer that walked up to my Sim).
    6. A new potential romance from a random Sim that was in a flirty mood.

    Like what is this?? In The Sims 3 even as a Vampire at night with frozen motives ONLY working out the entire day with "Push Limits"-
    I still can't even get 4 levels in a Single day. Never mind if I actually wanted to make a friend the amount of struggled and effort I'd have to put in to become good or best friends with someone would mean spending 3-5 days with them spamming interactions.

    TS4 is the definition of do nothing and get rewarded and if emotions, The "ReVoLuTioNaRy" core of the game
    (That Maxis told us was the reason they didn't add pools, toddlers, basements, ghosts ect ect ect when the game first came out) - is an issue just enable the Aura on the $2 poster your Sim found on the street and completely disable all "negative" gameplay elements.

    And by negative gameplay elements I mean things that slow down the game and make it take a while to progress, instead of instant gratification. It's just getting more frustrating as time goes by. And I know I'm not the only one frustrated. Like when World Adventures came out I put over 800 hours into that one expansion pack .. even before Ambitions (The 2nd pack) was released let alone after. I can't even get 80 hours of TS4 with almost all content owned. Its really, really boring, this "Click one button or better yet don't even click anything just watch" kind of gameplay.

    What traits does your sim have. Some traits like athletic can have your sim gain athletic skills faster than a sim without the trait. Goofballs gain mischief and comedy faster. Romantic Sims gain romantic relationships faster and so on that was before traits were reworked and improved in the games.

    If your romantic sim is flirty that increases their romantic gain quicker. If your goofball sim is playful they'll gain comedy quicker.

    If your athletic sim is energized they'll gain athletic skill faster.

    Traits help with gains. I use a lot of custom traits in the game. Custom traits are great to help with different trait gains at least in my experience.

    If your sims fame level is higher they have quicker romance and friendship gains.

    Traits to a point can speed up your skill gain to a point along with emotions can affect them wanting to tell jokes, watch comedy exercise, have romantic interactions with other sims etc.
    Playtesting - not just tabletop games and card games any more. Really that should have been playtested in Beta and not [img]just with accounting and marketing but actual players. https://i.imgur.com/t48COW6.jpg[/img]
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