Sims 5 will have a realistic style! «12...Next Go

BlueOvale

According to this article found on SimsCommunity.com, back in 2018 the developers of Sims 5 were looking for a character modeler whose job description included this line...

Create, model, UV, and texture fashion assets such as t-shirts, jeans, jackets, shoes, etc. in a realistic style to a high level of aesthetic quality.

The thing is, even TS4's models and clothing accessories could be labeled realistic.
So maybe there's not much news here except that TS5 will not be overly cartoony.

LatinaBunny

Sounds like the clothes at least will be realistic…?

I hope the models are still in the semi-cartoony style like past Sims games (Sims 2/3), though.

SheriSim57

I hope it isn’t overly cartoony….. I don’t think dying of laughter was a very good addition to the Sims 4.

PlayerSinger2010

Ew, please no. Overly realistic graphics can be downright creepy.

luvdasims55

The more realistic, the better imho.

StrawberryYogurt

I hope not! I love the art style of TS4!

temporalgod

No Thanks, Realistic Sims are creepy, I'd rather pour gasoline on realistic Sims and set them on fire.

VeeDub

I personally prefer a more realistic art style for most of the games I play, but in the case of the Sims series I think it's more likely to be a very stylized kind of realism they seek for the future, similarly to how it has been in the past and present. Not that the character or item models would necessarily appear exactly the same, but possibly an updated version of similar styling. I hope they mean that they want more realistic and varied detailing for them, though.

Chicklet453681

Are we sure that is for the next "The Sims" game? Isn't Maxis currently working on some other game?

Anyway, if it was indeed for TS5 (or whatever it will be called), I would like a little more realistic-ish stuff

• Actual eyelashes, no thick sharpie drawn on black lines
• Eyebrows that actually look like hair
• Hair that's not playdough looking
• Meshes that have actual detailing and not painted on fake details, such as buttons and zippers, and folds and pockets
• Normal sized objects that reflect the appropriate size as their RL version does (you know end tables that aren't taller than a sofa, no microscopes that are ginormous, cupcake baking thingy that is, you know, the size of an actual small appliance, etc)
• Fingernails that are actually on the skin, none of this completely blank nail beds

AlpineCuriosity

This would be the best TS5-news so far in my opinion 💙

ChadSims2

I hope this is true the more realistic the better I really don't like the art style poor details like black lines for eyelashes, playdoh hair and the color choices they went with on Sims 4.

WildIrishBanshee

As long as it doesn't look like Sims 3 - the sims mostly - I will be okay with realistic. They could do some amazing things with the Unreal Engine - and most games out there have a realistic look about them, without going into uncanny valley.

JPNeko

I hope it's not true. I don't like games with a "realistic" style. The more "realistic", the creepier they look.
The dead stares, the stiff faces, the waxy complexion... Guácala.
The sims we got now are about my limit in terms of how real they look.

DaWaterRat

The trickiest thing with "realistic" is that different people have different Uncanny Valley tolerances. So what looks believable and alive to one person may look uncomfortably wrong to another.

So I like Sims staying in roughly the "Pixar" look of slightly toony.

That said, better detailed clay hair (as opposed to transparency mapped hair, which is easier for straight hairstyles than textured ones, or stranded hair which can be a system taxing nightmare), better eyelashes, better normals giving better details ... these are things I wouldn't object to at all.

AlpineCuriosity

^^ My hopes are that if we’d get more realistic-looking sims we’d also get sims that behaved a lot more realistic/ less cartoony and at the same time appeared more as unique individuals 💙

Cinebar

Chicklet453681 wrote: »

Are we sure that is for the next "The Sims" game? Isn't Maxis currently working on some other game?

Anyway, if it was indeed for TS5 (or whatever it will be called), I would like a little more realistic-ish stuff

• Actual eyelashes, no thick sharpie drawn on black lines
• Eyebrows that actually look like hair
• Hair that's not playdough looking
• Meshes that have actual detailing and not painted on fake details, such as buttons and zippers, and folds and pockets
• Normal sized objects that reflect the appropriate size as their RL version does (you know end tables that aren't taller than a sofa, no microscopes that are ginormous, cupcake baking thingy that is, you know, the size of an actual small appliance, etc)
• Fingernails that are actually on the skin, none of this completely blank nail beds

I agree. Realistic doesn't have to be a photorealistic thing but at least have objects a size that is compatible to the size of a Sim. And yes, eyelashes should have been something that was possible in the fourth iteration. Textures matter to me, it's why when I look at TS4 pictures I see Toy Story and not something I can actually believe. Or I see Pixar rather than cartoony almost as if I can just touch their faces the air would escape and they would go flying across the room, like a leaking balloon.

Pamtastic72

Hyper-realism will ruin the game in my opinion. If sims look super realistic the deaths in game that are currently humorous and lighthearted will instantly stop being so. Instead they will become dark, and even in some cases, like death by fire, kind of gruesome and scary. No thanks.

chickenow

I think more detail is required, but I'm not sure about "super realistic." I've found that games which stuck to the most up to date in terms of realism can tend to look dated after a number of years. If we are assuming that the next iteration will go like Sims 4 (ie releasing content over 8-10 years) I'd prefer to see Sims maintain their own charm and style whilst using realistic proportions.

cyncie

I definitely would not want hyper-real sims. I agree that too much realism would rob the game of it’s quirky charm and tend to make it date much too quickly. Compared to the other games, I think Sims 4 has aged the best, overall. I actually like the current art style, especially CAS when compared to the spuds of Sims 2 and the dollies of Sims 3. More detail in hair and textures would improve things for Sims 4 style sims, which would be fine enough for me.

The worlds in Sims 4 are the most beautiful in the game, ever, IMO. As much as I loved open worlds and color wheels in Sims 3 at the time, I always found the default palette to be dull and murky and had to work hard to create bright, cheerful colors for my sims. And even then, the world around my sims stayed dull looking. As for object proportions and the ability to place objects, Sims 4 is the best of the lot for that, as well, in my opinion. In Sims 2 a sofa and chair are gigantic and take up half a room and in Sims 3 routing issues limited placement, so all houses in both games had to be either huge or empty. With a few exceptions, most objects in Sims 4 seem better proportioned to the Sims and the environment, and sims are better able to navigate without constantly waving their arms around because they need a huge amount of room.

I get that most high end adventure games tend toward hyper-realism, but The Sims isn’t like any of those games, and never has been. It would be a shame for the game to lose what makes it unique for the sake of a fake “realism” that will look strangely unrealistic in a few years.

temporalgod

cyncie wrote: »

I definitely would not want hyper-real sims. I agree that too much realism would rob the game of it’s quirky charm and tend to make it date much too quickly. Compared to the other games, I think Sims 4 has aged the best, overall. I actually like the current art style, especially CAS when compared to the spuds of Sims 2 and the dollies of Sims 3. More detail in hair and textures would improve things for Sims 4 style sims, which would be fine enough for me.

The worlds in Sims 4 are the most beautiful in the game, ever, IMO. As much as I loved open worlds and color wheels in Sims 3 at the time, I always found the default palette to be dull and murky and had to work hard to create bright, cheerful colors for my sims. And even then, the world around my sims stayed dull looking. As for object proportions and the ability to place objects, Sims 4 is the best of the lot for that, as well, in my opinion. In Sims 2 a sofa and chair are gigantic and take up half a room and in Sims 3 routing issues limited placement, so all houses in both games had to be either huge or empty. With a few exceptions, most objects in Sims 4 seem better proportioned to the Sims and the environment, and sims are better able to navigate without constantly waving their arms around because they need a huge amount of room.

I get that most high end adventure games tend toward hyper-realism, but The Sims isn’t like any of those games, and never has been. It would be a shame for the game to lose what makes it unique for the sake of a fake “realism” that will look strangely unrealistic in a few years.

Exactly the Sims was never realistic to begin with, while It may be a life simulator, it's also a satire on U.S. Consumer Culture first and foremost, if you thought that it was based on real life, then you don't understand the Sims at all.

cyncie

temporalgod wrote: »

cyncie wrote: »

I definitely would not want hyper-real sims. I agree that too much realism would rob the game of it’s quirky charm and tend to make it date much too quickly. Compared to the other games, I think Sims 4 has aged the best, overall. I actually like the current art style, especially CAS when compared to the spuds of Sims 2 and the dollies of Sims 3. More detail in hair and textures would improve things for Sims 4 style sims, which would be fine enough for me.

The worlds in Sims 4 are the most beautiful in the game, ever, IMO. As much as I loved open worlds and color wheels in Sims 3 at the time, I always found the default palette to be dull and murky and had to work hard to create bright, cheerful colors for my sims. And even then, the world around my sims stayed dull looking. As for object proportions and the ability to place objects, Sims 4 is the best of the lot for that, as well, in my opinion. In Sims 2 a sofa and chair are gigantic and take up half a room and in Sims 3 routing issues limited placement, so all houses in both games had to be either huge or empty. With a few exceptions, most objects in Sims 4 seem better proportioned to the Sims and the environment, and sims are better able to navigate without constantly waving their arms around because they need a huge amount of room.

I get that most high end adventure games tend toward hyper-realism, but The Sims isn’t like any of those games, and never has been. It would be a shame for the game to lose what makes it unique for the sake of a fake “realism” that will look strangely unrealistic in a few years.

Exactly the Sims was never realistic to begin with, while It may be a life simulator, it's also a satire on U.S. Consumer Culture first and foremost, if you thought that it was based on real life, then you don't understand the Sims at all.

Add to this the fact that we all have different definitions of what level of realism is preferred. On this forum you can find people advocating for more realistic death and more realistic illness as well as people complaining about Sims taking time to eat and potty. This game has always had its tongue firmly planted in its cheek. Hyper-realism would cause the game to lose that identity.

ImDragone

I would love an ultra-realistic Sims, please. Maybe with a filter kit sold right away to apply filters to the game for alternative art styles to realism, so people wanting it cartoony are happy.

boneethugg

That would be cool but also creepy, I feel like it won't be as weird because it's on a screen but I think it would be cool If we could do VR with sims 4, I'm sure this is already a thing though.

Benjamilian

temporalgod wrote: »

Exactly the Sims was never realistic to begin with, while It may be a life simulator, it's also a satire on U.S. Consumer Culture first and foremost, if you thought that it was based on real life, then you don't understand the Sims at all.

Whoops! It turns out I understand the Sims at all. Could you explain this a bit?

cyncie

Benjamilian wrote: »

temporalgod wrote: »

Exactly the Sims was never realistic to begin with, while It may be a life simulator, it's also a satire on U.S. Consumer Culture first and foremost, if you thought that it was based on real life, then you don't understand the Sims at all.

Whoops! It turns out I understand the Sims at all. Could you explain this a bit?

Well, I can’t speak for @temporalgod, but a game that includes cow plants, tragic clowns, ghosts, vampires, witches, llama obsession, an actual grim reaper, aliens, Bonehilda, Simlish, ambrosia, grilled cheese obsession, Plant Sims, resurrection by death flower, etc,etc,etc…that game was never meant to be a seriously realistic life simulation.