This is TS4! Don't expect everlasting negative consequence in this game? It's happyville utopia.
Unfortunately Sometimes the game seems like it was made for 6 year olds.
I started letting my niece play The Sims with me when she was 7 (now 8). She very much prefers TS3 over TS4, as does my 10 year old nephew. I can't quite figure out what the target audience is supposed to be, unless it's the mobile game community.
Why would they target the game at mobile gamers who don't play PC games?
I don't see the logic in this. But TS4 sure can't be targeted at simmers who loved TS3 either. Therefore I only can see one option which is a hat TS4 must have been mainly targeted at new simmers who don know TS2 or TS3. If this is correct then everything make sense. Even why they simplified TS4 so much that it would become so simple and uncomplicated that even an unexperienced 10 yrs old could play it without much help.
That wasn't really meant to be a theory. I just meant that it's so simplified and non-immersive that it's hard to imagine them targeting PC gamers or veteran simmers. It makes sense that they were targeting new simmers, but my niece and nephew even at their young age don't really care for TS4.
i fully disagree i went the sims4 to remain drama free i went all my sims to be friends with other sims no fighting no drama
Fine, but maybe there are some other simmers that enjoy drama and don't want to play a happy-perfect-disney-world game? TS4 seems perfect for this kind of playstyle though. No seriously, I don't understand the T-Rating of the game, due to the overall happiness it's not really a game most teens enjoy.
I played TS3 for the last days and noticed the huuuge differences in gameplay. Just more content overall. For various reasons I am annoyed by TS4 to no end at the moment, especially the sims' obvious adhd. Like @Skobee said so nicely, I also only play the game for the aesthetics and to take some pictures. The AI is unbearable.
And I also disagree that the game is mostly targeted at "young teens". My cousin for example is 13 next month, and she hates TS4 to no end and only wants to play TS3.
This game needs a cooling off period for sims that have engaged enough negative socials that it makes sense that they wouldn't want to speak to each other anymore or it doesn't make sense to have friendly interactions. The Sims 2 had that. Sims didn't want anything to do with other sims that they were mad at.
The Sims 3 has a social context mechanic.
TS4 could borrow from that too. Being rude and mean should set a social context that will make it difficult for friendly socials to be accepted unless several friendly socials or an apology has been made.
I would love to see townies interacting and observing rudeness, meanness, and practical jokes being met with being annoyance and silence from other sims when their antagonizes try to go on like nothing happened.
They can make this part of the Drama And Danger Game Pack.
I think this is already the case to a certain extent. Just maybe not as overt as you might want. I'm pretty sure friendly interactions are more likely to fail when deep into meanness, but it may be more dependent on relationship than social context. I haven't looked closely at the code on that one; just going off of what I remember in gameplay.
I wish that when a Sim finishes all the social interactions I've lined up then the stop talking. Unless I line up another action after the social interactions they just keep talking to the Sim forever! And then it goes to the problem mentioned, where the autonomous chatting undoes anything I've done in the conversation. When all the social interactions are finished my Sim should just stand there doing nothing until I tell him otherwise. There are probably mods out there that stop that autonomous chatting, but it's really something the game developers should address.
i fully disagree i went the sims4 to remain drama free i went all my sims to be friends with other sims no fighting no drama
Fine, but maybe there are some other simmers that enjoy drama and don't want to play a happy-perfect-disney-world game? TS4 seems perfect for this kind of playstyle though. No seriously, I don't understand the T-Rating of the game, due to the overall happiness it's not really a game most teens enjoy.
I played TS3 for the last days and noticed the huuuge differences in gameplay. Just more content overall. For various reasons I am annoyed by TS4 to no end at the moment, especially the sims' obvious adhd. Like @Skobee said so nicely, I also only play the game for the aesthetics and to take some pictures. The AI is unbearable.
And I also disagree that the game is mostly targeted at "young teens". My cousin for example is 13 next month, and she hates TS4 to no end and only wants to play TS3.
My nephew hates TS4, purely because it's boring him. I always asked where the mummies are or the weird colours we could give our Sims in Sims 3. He misses the creativity in TS4. So whenever he comes by I make sure TS3 is up and running so he can actually play however he wants to.
Sims 4 is nice, it really is, but for me that's all. It's nice to look at, but not pleasing to play for a long period of time. It's all to disney like which you said.
This bothers me too. I wish they could fix this because I feel like it would make gameplay more interesting. I know there are actually mods that fix this and it definitely makes the game better.
I hated that too, if you are not opposed to mods may I recommend the Personality Please mod. It prevents this by having their autonomous actions be more appropriate. Since I got this mod when my sims are being mean they keep at it more realistically. And angry sim won't be friendly with someone that just insulted them
Where would we find that mod please?
I have a family in one of my worlds where the dad is meant to be real mean and nasty, he's about as mean as a fluffy pink pony.
This is TS4! Don't expect everlasting negative consequence in this game? It's happyville utopia.
Unfortunately Sometimes the game seems like it was made for 6 year olds.
I started letting my niece play The Sims with me when she was 7 (now 8). She very much prefers TS3 over TS4, as does my 10 year old nephew. I can't quite figure out what the target audience is supposed to be, unless it's the mobile game community.
Why would they target the game at mobile gamers who don't play PC games?
I don't see the logic in this. But TS4 sure can't be targeted at simmers who loved TS3 either. Therefore I only can see one option which is a hat TS4 must have been mainly targeted at new simmers who don know TS2 or TS3. If this is correct then everything make sense. Even why they simplified TS4 so much that it would become so simple and uncomplicated that even an unexperienced 10 yrs old could play it without much help.
That wasn't really meant to be a theory. I just meant that it's so simplified and non-immersive that it's hard to imagine them targeting PC gamers or veteran simmers. It makes sense that they were targeting new simmers, but my niece and nephew even at their young age don't really care for TS4.
This doesn't surprise me because in the Sims 2 days several teens told us that they sometimes were the only one in their school class who played the game. Others told that only one or at most two were interested in the game too. But 1-3 young teens in every school class are still many more than about adults because if you asked 30 random colleagues at your job then I think that you should be very lucky if just one of them played the game. Or said in another way: if you ask 100 random young teens then I am quite sure that there will be something like maybe about 5 who play the game. But if you ask 100 random adults working in some company then I think that you have to be lucky just to find one who plays the game.
So I think that about 70-80% of the simmers are young teens while at most 20% of the simmers are adults. This is also confirmed by EA in the way they make the game because otherwise it of course wouldn't have been so extremely important for EA to keep the game T rated and to keep the game so simple and easy that newcomers won't find it difficult at all either.
So I think that about 70-80% of the simmers are young teens while at most 20% of the simmers are adults. This is also confirmed by EA in the way they make the game because otherwise it of course wouldn't have been so extremely important for EA to keep the game T rated and to keep the game so simple and easy that newcomers won't find it difficult at all either.
Don't get your hopes up. TS4 is otherwise known as "HappyVille" where everyone has a cheezy smile on, the sun is always shining and there's never even a rainy day. This game is so PG what I wouldn't give for a little dose of reality in game.
Please Bring BackToddlers, Realistic Teenagers and Create a World.
Make the Sims (4) Great Again<3
Which is why death mods exist XD and I hear that S4 is separate from the Sims timeline, so maybe this is an au where everyone gets along...a bit too well...
:) Target audience and how the game is rated don't have anything to really do with one another in our modern marketplace. It's a numbers game controlled by an organization that consists of a small group of conservative people on Hollywood's payroll. There are all kinds of fascinating documentaries about it on Netflix and beyond.
Hollywood and the gaming industry monopolies (think places Activision with their movie licenses and EA, companies that we know are in it for the money) lobby to get their games and movies placed at a T rating because statics prove that no other age group of people spends money like teenagers. Teenagers are responsible for consuming roughly 30% of their parents expendable income.
If they were really making this game for teenagers, they would do more to include them in the game play. Right now, teens are poorly represented. Even they agreed on that.
Right now, about 40% of gamers are women, and most of them are in their 30s. I don't think this game was made for them. They'd do a better job with weddings and babies. I don't think it was made for males either. Look at their choice of wardrobe and hairstyles!?
To tell you the truth, I don't think EA targeted any specific audience. I think they targeted the people that owned Sims 3.
We gave them over 700 USD (if you bought all the worlds and neighborhoods) for a game that worked 10% of the time.
They KNEW we were going to give them nearly 400 USD (what I have spent on Sims 4 w/ all expansions and what not) for less than 25% of the content volume. They KNEW that we (modders and builders) were going to do the work and make the game playable. They EXPECTED us too.
The did nothing for world building, nothing for stories, they gay you a blank dollhouse and said: Live Life!
In other words, EA's fan base might be predominately veteran Simmers (which is why I think the complaints against this game are louder than any we've ever seen before.)
For instance, this out cry from veteran Simmers is a fascinating case study for "Loss Impact." Basically, people can cope with not having things a lot easier if they were never introduced in the first place. Once they're introduced, they're removal is seen as a loss. I don't know about you but I didn't cope well when they released the game without toddlers. I was truly upset and I had no idea why. I don't play w/ them very often.
I can only assume that's human nature to what to avoid loss. (Again, lots of study about this all over the internet.)
based on what I've seen, I can only assume that more people are not playing the Sims than ever before. We are simply more aware of one another. Also, the general profile of a gamer suggests that a large portion of them are Type A personalities and introverted. They don't like participating in things like surveys unless a) they can do so anonymously b) they have the ability to go back and correct any errors they see in their answers. I think this forum has way more people who lurk/read then those who participate.
And finally, we must always remember that EA puts money before anything else. Supreme Court shouldn't have to tell you to pay your people...ever. At one point they staged a protest, I would be very leery of taking any of their actions at face value.
On that note, these are just my observations. Don't take them at face value. Do your own research. You might surprise us all w/ genius.
-SD
PS. By lobby, I mean they do pretty much all the "dirty" tricks that tobacco companies use. That's why some movies/games that are clearly R Rated are released for Teens. While some movies (usually the ones that fight any system) can't have ANY violence or they're NA. For real.
Woody: You, Are, A, Toyyyyy! You're not the real thing. You're an action figure. You are a child's play thing! Buzz Lightyear: You are a sad, strange little man. Farewell.
Target audience and how the game is rated don't have anything to really do with one another in our modern marketplace. It's a numbers game controlled by an organization that consists of a small group of conservative people on Hollywood's payroll. There are all kinds of fascinating documentaries about it on Netflix and beyond.
Hollywood and the gaming industry monopolies (think places Activision with their movie licenses and EA, companies that we know are in it for the money) lobby to get their games and movies placed at a T rating because statics prove that no other age group of people spends money like teenagers. Teenagers are responsible for consuming roughly 30% of their parents expendable income.
If they were really making this game for teenagers, they would do more to include them in the game play. Right now, teens are poorly represented. Even they agreed on that.
Teens don't mind so much to be a little higher in the game than they are in the real world. In their gaming they want to be a few yrs older and dream about living an easy life with partying and dating all the time. This is exactly was TS4 is mostly about.
It is their parents and other adults who still don't like to see their teens as adults and it is also their pareents and other adults who missed the toddlers and thought that the game should be much more about taking care of babies, toddlers and immature teens instead.
Right now, about 40% of gamers are women, and most of them are in their 30s. I don't think this game was made for them. They'd do a better job with weddings and babies. I don't think it was made for males either. Look at their choice of wardrobe and hairstyles!?
It was decades ago that only 40% of the gamers are females. All recent reports say that now females game just as much as males. They just don't play the same games.
Sports games and action games are still completely dominated by males according to all reports. But casual games, dating games, dress up games, Sims games and even farming games too are dominated by female gamers who play such games much more than male gamers do.
It isn't different from other things in our societies. If you are a member of a boxing club then you still won't find many females among its members - and likewise if you are a member of a club for amateur ballet dancers then you will still also find that such a club is very dominated by female members
To tell you the truth, I don't think EA targeted any specific audience. I think they targeted the people that owned Sims 3.
Not at all! If EA had targeted TS4 at the same simmers who loved TS3 then EA wouldn't have made any simplifications but made the game more advanced instead! EA would never have omitted the open world and toddlers or let babies be confined to their cribs or let teens become as high as adults if this was the case!
So what was EA's ideas about making all those omissions and simplifications? For me to see there is only one possible explanation: EA wanted TS4 to be an easy and attractive games for new simmers which therefore must have mattered much much more to EA than all the TS3 simmers. Why? Because EA knew that the old simmers often stop playing the game anyway and because EA knew that most Sims games are bought by new young simmers who buy a Sims game as their very first big game.
We gave them over 700 USD (if you bought all the worlds and neighborhoods) for a game that worked 10% of the time.
They KNEW we were going to give them nearly 400 USD (what I have spent on Sims 4 w/ all expansions and what not) for less than 25% of the content volume. They KNEW that we (modders and builders) were going to do the work and make the game playable. They EXPECTED us too.
EA only cares if we buy the games. We won't pay EA for bug fixes or the tools which so many simmers here have been asking for. So EA of course doesn't want to make such things more than absolutely necessary.
The did nothing for world building, nothing for stories, they gay you a blank dollhouse and said: Live Life!
In other words, EA's fan base might be predominately veteran Simmers (which is why I think the complaints against this game are louder than any we've ever seen before.)
Yes, this forum is completely dominated by a hundred veteran simmers who think that they are the most important simmers in the world and that EA therefore should just make the game for them. But the game sells in millions of copies and the gigantic silent majority of much other less dedicated simmers therefore means so extremely much more to EA even though none of us veteran simmers like it at all.
@Erpe I don't have the brain cells for debate or anything like that. Nor do I particularly have a need for anyone to agree with me. I do have a link to one of the many articles I based my averages on for gamers. This is a 2016 article quote. I can't seem to post the link. (I'm super new to this place. lol)
" 155 million Americans play games regularly (This means 3 or more hours per weeks). 4 out of 5 households own a video game console. The average age of gamers is 35. The average number of years gamers have been playing games is 13."
I don't really have the time to fact check your post about the target audience but I appreciate the feedback. I only post the additional info so that others may decide for themselves. ;)
Thanks! -SD
Woody: You, Are, A, Toyyyyy! You're not the real thing. You're an action figure. You are a child's play thing! Buzz Lightyear: You are a sad, strange little man. Farewell.
Guess one thing that really bother me is when emotions are all over the place, one sec sims very happy, next second confident then a few seconds later very flirty it's ridiculously feels like person is a complete emotion wreck with a borderline personality.
@Erpe I don't have the brain cells for debate or anything like that. Nor do I particularly have a need for anyone to agree with me. I do have a link to one of the many articles I based my averages on for gamers. This is a 2016 article quote. I can't seem to post the link. (I'm super new to this place. lol)
" 155 million Americans play games regularly (This means 3 or more hours per weeks). 4 out of 5 households own a video game console. The average age of gamers is 35. The average number of years gamers have been playing games is 13."
I don't really have the time to fact check your post about the target audience but I appreciate the feedback. I only post the additional info so that others may decide for themselves.
Thanks! -SD
That is very okay with me
But the problem still is that average numbers for all games don't tell the truth about the Sims games at all. Alas it is impossible to get access to detailed data about the average age of simmers and about how many percent of them who are males/females.
The average age of all gamers are 35 yrs to 38 yrs depending on which research about it you trust. But there are huge differences between the different types of games.
If we consider a console game which mainly is meant to be played by two players who use each their controller to play at the same console at the same time and fight or compete against each other then the average age is much lower and likely even below 25 yrs.
If we instead consider casual puzzle games and similar games that mainly require a lot of patience and have no exciting action at all then I wouldn't be surprised if the gamers who prefer such games are even more than 50 yrs old in average because I am sure that they are played by many seniors who have retired from their jobs.
The average age of a sports gamer is also difficult to judge. But my guess would still be that it is below 30 yrs old.
So what about the average age of people who play Sims games? I still think that most of the people who play such games are young teens who buy the games for their pocket money or pursuade their parents to buy the games for them. This would also explain why EA now prefer to make cheaper expansions than earlier where it was easier for young teens just to wish the latest EP for their birthdays and for Christmas. But what does the average age of some young teens and a 85 yrs old simmer tell us? So little that I wouldn't care about it at all anyway
I know you're all talking about the emotion system being at fault here. But I noticed something this week. One time my sim started talking like a normal person would! None of that slow talking goo goo gaga funny light-hearted talk. It was like a different game. I think it was one of those new voice bits they sometimes add in expansions. It really gave my sim a lot of personality, a depth of character. Her conversation even sounded interesting to me. So yeah, it's not always the emotion system's fault. Sometimes a voice actor can make a difference in that regard.
Comments
That wasn't really meant to be a theory. I just meant that it's so simplified and non-immersive that it's hard to imagine them targeting PC gamers or veteran simmers. It makes sense that they were targeting new simmers, but my niece and nephew even at their young age don't really care for TS4.
Fine, but maybe there are some other simmers that enjoy drama and don't want to play a happy-perfect-disney-world game? TS4 seems perfect for this kind of playstyle though. No seriously, I don't understand the T-Rating of the game, due to the overall happiness it's not really a game most teens enjoy.
I played TS3 for the last days and noticed the huuuge differences in gameplay. Just more content overall. For various reasons I am annoyed by TS4 to no end at the moment, especially the sims' obvious adhd. Like @Skobee said so nicely, I also only play the game for the aesthetics and to take some pictures. The AI is unbearable.
And I also disagree that the game is mostly targeted at "young teens". My cousin for example is 13 next month, and she hates TS4 to no end and only wants to play TS3.
I like to build stuff
My nephew hates TS4, purely because it's boring him. I always asked where the mummies are or the weird colours we could give our Sims in Sims 3. He misses the creativity in TS4. So whenever he comes by I make sure TS3 is up and running so he can actually play however he wants to.
Sims 4 is nice, it really is, but for me that's all. It's nice to look at, but not pleasing to play for a long period of time. It's all to disney like which you said.
@lasummerb wouldn't be nice if people were like that.
I have a family in one of my worlds where the dad is meant to be real mean and nasty, he's about as mean as a fluffy pink pony.
So I think that about 70-80% of the simmers are young teens while at most 20% of the simmers are adults. This is also confirmed by EA in the way they make the game because otherwise it of course wouldn't have been so extremely important for EA to keep the game T rated and to keep the game so simple and easy that newcomers won't find it difficult at all either.
So I think that about 70-80% of the simmers are young teens while at most 20% of the simmers are adults. This is also confirmed by EA in the way they make the game because otherwise it of course wouldn't have been so extremely important for EA to keep the game T rated and to keep the game so simple and easy that newcomers won't find it difficult at all either.
Sure, Jan.
Didn't you make a huge fuss about leaving? haha
OUTER SENSHI PRIDE
Please Bring Back Toddlers, Realistic Teenagers and Create a World.
Make the Sims (4) Great Again<3
Hollywood and the gaming industry monopolies (think places Activision with their movie licenses and EA, companies that we know are in it for the money) lobby to get their games and movies placed at a T rating because statics prove that no other age group of people spends money like teenagers. Teenagers are responsible for consuming roughly 30% of their parents expendable income.
If they were really making this game for teenagers, they would do more to include them in the game play. Right now, teens are poorly represented. Even they agreed on that.
Right now, about 40% of gamers are women, and most of them are in their 30s. I don't think this game was made for them. They'd do a better job with weddings and babies. I don't think it was made for males either. Look at their choice of wardrobe and hairstyles!?
To tell you the truth, I don't think EA targeted any specific audience. I think they targeted the people that owned Sims 3.
We gave them over 700 USD (if you bought all the worlds and neighborhoods) for a game that worked 10% of the time.
They KNEW we were going to give them nearly 400 USD (what I have spent on Sims 4 w/ all expansions and what not) for less than 25% of the content volume. They KNEW that we (modders and builders) were going to do the work and make the game playable. They EXPECTED us too.
The did nothing for world building, nothing for stories, they gay you a blank dollhouse and said: Live Life!
In other words, EA's fan base might be predominately veteran Simmers (which is why I think the complaints against this game are louder than any we've ever seen before.)
For instance, this out cry from veteran Simmers is a fascinating case study for "Loss Impact." Basically, people can cope with not having things a lot easier if they were never introduced in the first place. Once they're introduced, they're removal is seen as a loss. I don't know about you but I didn't cope well when they released the game without toddlers. I was truly upset and I had no idea why. I don't play w/ them very often.
I can only assume that's human nature to what to avoid loss. (Again, lots of study about this all over the internet.)
based on what I've seen, I can only assume that more people are not playing the Sims than ever before. We are simply more aware of one another. Also, the general profile of a gamer suggests that a large portion of them are Type A personalities and introverted. They don't like participating in things like surveys unless a) they can do so anonymously b) they have the ability to go back and correct any errors they see in their answers. I think this forum has way more people who lurk/read then those who participate.
And finally, we must always remember that EA puts money before anything else. Supreme Court shouldn't have to tell you to pay your people...ever. At one point they staged a protest, I would be very leery of taking any of their actions at face value.
On that note, these are just my observations. Don't take them at face value. Do your own research. You might surprise us all w/ genius.
-SD
PS. By lobby, I mean they do pretty much all the "dirty" tricks that tobacco companies use. That's why some movies/games that are clearly R Rated are released for Teens. While some movies (usually the ones that fight any system) can't have ANY violence or they're NA. For real.
Buzz Lightyear: You are a sad, strange little man. Farewell.
It is their parents and other adults who still don't like to see their teens as adults and it is also their pareents and other adults who missed the toddlers and thought that the game should be much more about taking care of babies, toddlers and immature teens instead.
It was decades ago that only 40% of the gamers are females. All recent reports say that now females game just as much as males. They just don't play the same games.
Sports games and action games are still completely dominated by males according to all reports. But casual games, dating games, dress up games, Sims games and even farming games too are dominated by female gamers who play such games much more than male gamers do.
It isn't different from other things in our societies. If you are a member of a boxing club then you still won't find many females among its members - and likewise if you are a member of a club for amateur ballet dancers then you will still also find that such a club is very dominated by female members
Not at all! If EA had targeted TS4 at the same simmers who loved TS3 then EA wouldn't have made any simplifications but made the game more advanced instead! EA would never have omitted the open world and toddlers or let babies be confined to their cribs or let teens become as high as adults if this was the case!
So what was EA's ideas about making all those omissions and simplifications? For me to see there is only one possible explanation: EA wanted TS4 to be an easy and attractive games for new simmers which therefore must have mattered much much more to EA than all the TS3 simmers. Why? Because EA knew that the old simmers often stop playing the game anyway and because EA knew that most Sims games are bought by new young simmers who buy a Sims game as their very first big game.
EA only cares if we buy the games. We won't pay EA for bug fixes or the tools which so many simmers here have been asking for. So EA of course doesn't want to make such things more than absolutely necessary.
Yes, this forum is completely dominated by a hundred veteran simmers who think that they are the most important simmers in the world and that EA therefore should just make the game for them. But the game sells in millions of copies and the gigantic silent majority of much other less dedicated simmers therefore means so extremely much more to EA even though none of us veteran simmers like it at all.
" 155 million Americans play games regularly (This means 3 or more hours per weeks). 4 out of 5 households own a video game console. The average age of gamers is 35. The average number of years gamers have been playing games is 13."
I don't really have the time to fact check your post about the target audience but I appreciate the feedback. I only post the additional info so that others may decide for themselves. ;)
Thanks! -SD
Buzz Lightyear: You are a sad, strange little man. Farewell.
But the problem still is that average numbers for all games don't tell the truth about the Sims games at all. Alas it is impossible to get access to detailed data about the average age of simmers and about how many percent of them who are males/females.
The average age of all gamers are 35 yrs to 38 yrs depending on which research about it you trust. But there are huge differences between the different types of games.
If we consider a console game which mainly is meant to be played by two players who use each their controller to play at the same console at the same time and fight or compete against each other then the average age is much lower and likely even below 25 yrs.
If we instead consider casual puzzle games and similar games that mainly require a lot of patience and have no exciting action at all then I wouldn't be surprised if the gamers who prefer such games are even more than 50 yrs old in average because I am sure that they are played by many seniors who have retired from their jobs.
The average age of a sports gamer is also difficult to judge. But my guess would still be that it is below 30 yrs old.
So what about the average age of people who play Sims games? I still think that most of the people who play such games are young teens who buy the games for their pocket money or pursuade their parents to buy the games for them. This would also explain why EA now prefer to make cheaper expansions than earlier where it was easier for young teens just to wish the latest EP for their birthdays and for Christmas. But what does the average age of some young teens and a 85 yrs old simmer tell us? So little that I wouldn't care about it at all anyway