A lot of other posters in this thread just hit the nail on the head, especially @RnM92 . But if I had to summarize very shortly what makes TS4 the weakest entry of the series, its the fact it fails to innovate within the franchise. The very few things it claims to improve upon (such as "greater Sim AI/interaction/multitasking) it simply does not do well.
It's just every release with TS4, every pack, there is always something that is incredibly bothersome. Get to Work features careers, EACH of which are broken in their own way, limited by the base game's faults, or too uninspired/grindy. Get Together is a game pack with a town. City Living is more like City Watching, as the fake backdrops give a better illusion of a city than what you actually can interact with. Cats & Dogs is alright, but I wouldn't pay more than 20 dollars even for that.
Then you move onto the game packs, where they are charging you 20 dollars for things that so easily could have been in expansion packs, making the expansions better worth the price they charge. We were told the teams split so they could pay more attention to detail in these game packs. But then you look at Dine Out, experience the incredibly long all-day affair of eating out due to Sim lag and so on, and the inability to manage restaurants to the degree we should be able to, and it entirely negates all of that.
I don't know. In my honest opinion, I think a new base game should be introduced for reasons other than a means of charging fans 10 dollars to watch their Sim do laundry for a moodlet that doesn't matter, which activates an emotion which does not matter at all.
I feel like TS4 has been a failed experiment. This game...was an mmo first, than it had a story mode, than it became a weak main sims game. It wasn't meant to be a main game and it shows.
The biggest "innovations" of this game are it's biggest flaws. Emotions clearly didn't work out the way they probably planned, I don't even think moodlets were supposed to be a thing since they weren't on the first TS4 gameplay video but they are here and they are a major problem. Multitasking makes sim AI lag, a lot, and it's a wall in development.
The EP's are for the most part decals and decoration objects, with so little features or even none. I still don't understand how a Cats and Dogs only pack doesn't even make dogs and cats more detailed than in previous games a aprt for some "quirky" hidden traits, doesn't make pets roam around every world, doesn't have pet trainer NPC's or actual contests with an NPC and other sim's that can win. And only two pet beds. It's all so.....low end. They have also been recycling the EP and GP content as of late which....just shows how much development they are putting into these packs.
Build mode is a mess. Only basements, pools (I don't even know how a sims game came out without pools) roof types that somehow didn't make it to the base game in time and half walls were added in 3 years. Foundations are a problem, every lot is flat, ponds are objects, only one type of stairs, elevators aren't real, there's a huge lack in wallpapers and floor tiles, no sliding doors, etc. We only got new wall trim types in the vampires GP I believe, so this iteration isn't even expanding on the new features it has.
Sims have no personality in TS4, and they only tried to expand upon them in Parenthood, but you can't set character values in CAS.
They even removed the memory timelines from the game in a patch and added the more simple screenshot viewer because they didn't want to work on a better system, removing the option to manually dictate a memory's emotion. Now it's automatic.
Whims in this game are a joke to behold, they might as well not be there. The aspiration rewards aren't that amazing and the devided aspiration goals instead of just the major one doesn't work. The concept of aspirations and the reason for them to not be changeable in TS2 is because aspirations in TS2 work like a trait (romance aspiration would make your sims keen on cheating and not really care too much if the partner cheated on them, they did not like to get married). They would dictated how your sim reacts to certain events and what he/she wants or fears. On TS4 it's just a boring way to somehow reward the player for completing a bunch of goals.
I still to this day don't understand why you can change a sim's body type and whatever suits you in CAS through the wardrobe. It's way too op and it feels like a feature an RPG would have when you make a mistake on your character. In TS3 you have to pay to get plastic surgery and in TS2 you have to go through an entire career. I don't know why this game is praising on the cheaters. I always feel like I'm going to the Black Emporium into the magic mirror to change my inquisitor when I see the change sim option on a mirror and not even there I 100% agree with the feature.
All the complaining made a T rated game an SJW political delight. No slapping, no shoving, no bumping, no showing off a fist, but we can have all the potty humor we want. No robbers, no meteors, no spontaneous combustion, no death by flies, no death by elevator, and death by emotions has been nerfed to hell.
Overall TS4 feels very much like a children game, it's easy and simple as simple can be, the artstyle looks like a cartoon network show (I guess some people like it, but I'm not living for the plastic hair, playdoh skin and over saturated tonality), animations are too much and unrelatable especially when sims talk, those smiles and arm movement is crazy, and the clipping bothers me a lot, that and sims talking through walls.
However I give it a 4 because it does have some good concepts regarding certain features and it can keep me entertained for some time though it's not as fun as previous games as it tends to get really repetitive really fast.
I had to go with a rating of 4 we're 3 and a half years in and are still missing so many basics I need. No cars water tools CAW or even a way to edit the worlds babies are still objects and teens have been given nothing unique except being able to be parented.
The expansions are repetitive reusing content over and over such as active careers (mini games) in 3 out of 4 expansions and worlds are being passed off as new content instead of being a place to explore and play with all the new game expanding content that we should be getting. When you have to turn to a $20 game pack to add any resemblance of game play over a $40 expansion which should offer a wide variety and does not something is wrong.
Sims 4 went from "You Rule" to "One of the stories we want you to tell"
There is a reason EA is called the worst company in America. The Sims 4 is like SimCity (2013 of course), such a utter disappointment, and such an utter mess that is lacking in heart and soul, that I hope one day other studios and developers come up with a worthy competitor to the Sims as Cities: Skyline by Colossal Order did to SimCity.
For one example on how the Sims 4 is a disappointment, look no further than the EP's. Expansion Packs are supposed to be massively defining addons and improvements to the base game, be it adding new worlds, new life states, new gameplay features, etc, and while the EP's do that in an essence, Expansion Packs are all but over glorified stuff packs, with most adding nothing to gameplay, and giving us tiny 'worlds', or should I say towns for a more accurate term, that have cumbersome loading screens that seem illogical simply because the neighborhoods we are given are tiny, with some just having 4 lots. Just look no further than San Myshuno in City Living to Bridgeport in the Sims 3. San Myshuno pales in comparison to the scope of content that Bridgeport and Late Night had, everything from gameplay, NPC's, lots, size, etc.
Another problem is the stuff packs. Many things that are in stuff packs should've been included in the base game to begin with or in expansion packs instead of adding on another 10 dollars, one example is laundry and the concept of doing laundry. It would've been logical if laundry was included in the Parenthood Game Pack for example, or in the Cats and Dogs EP. In Parenthood it would've made sense in regards to the responsibility feature for teenagers and children, with possible events being 'Spring Cleaning' where a household would work together as a family to do laundry. In Cats and Dogs, it would've made sense in the essence that you have cats and dogs now, and accidents happen where cats and dogs get clothes dirty, from accidentally going to the bathroom on clothes, to getting hair and saliva on clothes, to getting their dirty paws on clothes, this just some examples. EA is known to love in app purchases, just look at their mobile games, from the Simpsons: Tapped Out, to the Sims Freeplay, they are everywhere, ranging from 1 dollar to over 100 dollars.
As I said in another thread, I enjoy the Sims, I love buying new content to better enhance the Sims, but to mishandle the game and make it similar to a freemium game where its just about the money in the context that it is NOT about enhancing the base game is a big no no. This is why I welcomed the massive blacklash that EA received for their Battlefront disaster. In getting the most disliked comment in Reddit history did EA finally do something good in removing transactions for Star Wars, momentarily no doubt, and I hope that the Sims community continues to purse efficient dialogue and criticism on ways to improve the Sims that EA and Maxis understand and take note of the frustration that we Simmers have when it comes towards the Sims and the way the series is moving towards the future.
I hope the Gurus and EA Community Managers and Administrators realize that we are not criticizing the game and EA and Maxis just to criticize, but because we want to make the Sims 4 a better game that can positively impact both the consumers, and EA and Maxis. We love the Sims, that is why we are on this forum talking about this.
There is a reason EA is called the worst company in America. The Sims 4 is like SimCity (2013 of course), such a utter disappointment, and such an utter mess that is lacking in heart and soul, that I hope one day other studios and developers come up with a worthy competitor to the Sims as Cities: Skyline by Colossal Order did to SimCity. For one, Expansion Packs are all but over glorified stuff packs, with most adding nothing to gameplay, and giving us tiny 'worlds', or should I say towns for a more accurate term, that have cumbersome loading screens. Many things that are in stuff packs should've been included in the base game to begin with or in expansion packs instead of adding on another 10 dollars to do laundry for example. It would've been logical if this was included in the Parenthood Game Pack for example, or in the Pets EP.
I welcomed the massive blacklash that EA received for their Battlefront disaster, in getting the most disliked comment in Reddit history did EA finally do something good in removing transactions for Star Wars, momentarily of course, but I hope that the Sims community continues to purse efficient dialogue and criticism on ways to improve the Sims that EA and maxis understand the frustration that we Simmers have.
That (Worst Company branding) was a few years ago (2012 & 2013), and basically over bad Customer service -
EA Did respond - and admitted their errors -
7/10 bc the aesthetic is great and I feel like the gameplay has been heading in a good direction lately. I feel like there is improvement needed still in areas but I also feel the game feels incomplete without the basic expansions that come with sims normally (seasons, university)
I feel like there a lot of basic aspects missing from the base game that should have been included (burglars, cops etc)
Overall I enjoy the game. I can spend hours in BB and CAS and I enjoy live mode as long as I am storytelling.
There is a reason EA is called the worst company in America. The Sims 4 is like SimCity (2013 of course), such a utter disappointment, and such an utter mess that is lacking in heart and soul, that I hope one day other studios and developers come up with a worthy competitor to the Sims as Cities: Skyline by Colossal Order did to SimCity. For one, Expansion Packs are all but over glorified stuff packs, with most adding nothing to gameplay, and giving us tiny 'worlds', or should I say towns for a more accurate term, that have cumbersome loading screens. Many things that are in stuff packs should've been included in the base game to begin with or in expansion packs instead of adding on another 10 dollars to do laundry for example. It would've been logical if this was included in the Parenthood Game Pack for example, or in the Pets EP.
I welcomed the massive blacklash that EA received for their Battlefront disaster, in getting the most disliked comment in Reddit history did EA finally do something good in removing transactions for Star Wars, momentarily of course, but I hope that the Sims community continues to purse efficient dialogue and criticism on ways to improve the Sims that EA and maxis understand the frustration that we Simmers have.
That (Worst Company branding) was a few years ago, and totally over bad Customer service - At least get your dissatisfaction in the proper prospective, truth, and time period. That CEO is gone - keep in mind.
EA Did respond - and admitted their errors - somewhat here:
They admitted it was wrong only after they were called out, and then they regressed by trying to continue on with their shady model. To Maxis fans such as myself, this is the same ol' tune we've seen before (SimCity 5).
I don't think one needs an official 'branding' to be called the worst company in America, either. And EA's customer service, from what I have seen, has always been praised left and right. Rightfully so. EA has the best customer service of pretty much any gaming company, even over Steam.
However, their business models, development quality, and commitment to their games/fans is absolutely abysmal -- probably the worst I have ever seen. Any hardcore Maxis fan can easily see this, after SimCity and then The Sims 4. We should have gotten far better, even after all these patches they are still trying to add into this game. That, among many other reasons, are why they still are extremely disliked amongst the gaming community.
There is a reason EA is called the worst company in America. The Sims 4 is like SimCity (2013 of course), such a utter disappointment, and such an utter mess that is lacking in heart and soul, that I hope one day other studios and developers come up with a worthy competitor to the Sims as Cities: Skyline by Colossal Order did to SimCity. For one, Expansion Packs are all but over glorified stuff packs, with most adding nothing to gameplay, and giving us tiny 'worlds', or should I say towns for a more accurate term, that have cumbersome loading screens. Many things that are in stuff packs should've been included in the base game to begin with or in expansion packs instead of adding on another 10 dollars to do laundry for example. It would've been logical if this was included in the Parenthood Game Pack for example, or in the Pets EP.
I welcomed the massive blacklash that EA received for their Battlefront disaster, in getting the most disliked comment in Reddit history did EA finally do something good in removing transactions for Star Wars, momentarily of course, but I hope that the Sims community continues to purse efficient dialogue and criticism on ways to improve the Sims that EA and maxis understand the frustration that we Simmers have.
That (Worst Company branding) was a few years ago, and totally over bad Customer service - At least get your dissatisfaction in the proper prospective, truth, and time period. That CEO is gone - keep in mind.
EA Did respond - and admitted their errors - somewhat here:
They admitted it was wrong only after they were called out, and then they regressed by trying to continue on with their shady model.
I don't think one needs an official 'branding' to be called the worst company in America, either. And EA's customer service, from what I have seen, has always been praised left and right. Rightfully so. EA has the best customer service of pretty much any gaming company, even over Steam.
However, their business models, development quality, and commitment to their games/fans is absolutely abysmal -- probably the worst I have ever seen. Any hardcore Maxis fan can easily see this, after SimCity and then The Sims 4. We should have gotten far better, even after all these patches they are still trying to add into this game. That, among many other reasons, are why they still are extremely disliked amongst the gaming community.
You do realize who runs that vote is Consumer Reports - keep in mind.
It was done by a company called Consumerist, which was then absorbed into Consumer Reports. Once it was absorbed, that whole arbitrary media attention-seeking worst company contest was put to rest.
While I hope the fact EA won their final two "worst company" contests alerts many consumers, one really does not need that whole fancy show to really see how utterly anti-consumer EA can be. Which is what I was saying -- you can be a terrible company without being featured on a website that is looking for revenue. I think that's evident, judging by the enormous amount of negative feedback amassed on Reddit during the Battlefront 2 debacle, with a thread concerning the matter becoming THE largest downvoted thread on the entire website.
There is a reason EA is called the worst company in America. The Sims 4 is like SimCity (2013 of course), such a utter disappointment, and such an utter mess that is lacking in heart and soul, that I hope one day other studios and developers come up with a worthy competitor to the Sims as Cities: Skyline by Colossal Order did to SimCity. For one, Expansion Packs are all but over glorified stuff packs, with most adding nothing to gameplay, and giving us tiny 'worlds', or should I say towns for a more accurate term, that have cumbersome loading screens. Many things that are in stuff packs should've been included in the base game to begin with or in expansion packs instead of adding on another 10 dollars to do laundry for example. It would've been logical if this was included in the Parenthood Game Pack for example, or in the Pets EP.
I welcomed the massive blacklash that EA received for their Battlefront disaster, in getting the most disliked comment in Reddit history did EA finally do something good in removing transactions for Star Wars, momentarily of course, but I hope that the Sims community continues to purse efficient dialogue and criticism on ways to improve the Sims that EA and maxis understand the frustration that we Simmers have.
That (Worst Company branding) was a few years ago, and totally over bad Customer service - At least get your dissatisfaction in the proper prospective, truth, and time period. That CEO is gone - keep in mind.
EA Did respond - and admitted their errors - somewhat here:
They admitted it was wrong only after they were called out, and then they regressed by trying to continue on with their shady model.
I don't think one needs an official 'branding' to be called the worst company in America, either. And EA's customer service, from what I have seen, has always been praised left and right. Rightfully so. EA has the best customer service of pretty much any gaming company, even over Steam.
However, their business models, development quality, and commitment to their games/fans is absolutely abysmal -- probably the worst I have ever seen. Any hardcore Maxis fan can easily see this, after SimCity and then The Sims 4. We should have gotten far better, even after all these patches they are still trying to add into this game. That, among many other reasons, are why they still are extremely disliked amongst the gaming community.
You do realize who runs that vote is Consumer Reports - keep in mind.
It was done by a company called Consumerist, which was then absorbed into Consumer Reports. Once it was absorbed, that whole arbitrary media attention-seeking worst company contest was put to rest.
While I hope the fact EA won their final two "worst company" contests alerts many consumers, one really does not need that whole fancy show to really see how utterly anti-consumer EA can be. Which is what I was saying -- you can be a terrible company without being featured on a website that is looking for revenue. I think that's evident, judging by the enormous amount of negative feedback amassed on Reddit during the Battlefront 2 debacle, with a thread concerning the matter becoming THE largest downvoted thread on the entire website.
They are one in the same though - they were a division of CR.
Exactly, that's no different from what I had posted in my last post. It was not always owned by Consumer Reports upon creation, if that's what you are saying.
Either way, and this is just a personal anecdote, their opinion really means little to me. That whole contest was voted by the Internet itself, rather than the company, and I prefer other companies, websites, and Internet personalities when it comes to product reviews.
Since I am not into writing books, I will keep Mine short, I will give the Sims 4 a 4\10 , because of the fact that Being a Gothic type Player is no fun when you do not have the items you need to play the game you want to play, I have been wanting More Gothic items and clothes and LONGER HAIR EA & Maxis !! , Not short hair or Up - do's like we been getting , I been wanting Bunk Beds as well since day 1, and still no where in sight, Been wanting Long & Medium Length Painted Fingernails, I can not use any CC, so I have to rely on EA or Maxis to add this stuff into the game, so far I have gotten every single pack, just to see what items I could use for My type of game play, and I have to say not much can be used for Gothic spooky type , only a few items from what 2 packs out of how many so far? , to Me it is just lame that I have to try and hunt down items just to try and make My Sims homes unique and Gothic the way I want them, in the Previous games before Sims 4, I had no trouble at all finding what I needed to use for My game play, Maybe that is why I still play those , and not The Sims 4 as much anymore, Until they add in more Gothic type stuff like Witches, or Werewolves, or even Zombies again, I won't be playing this game much, I want Hooded Robes, and Gothic Long Sleeve long dresses and Brooms for My witches to ride on as well, There has been some interesting items and such already added to the game, but most of it has nothing to do with being a Gothic Player like Myself, so Please add more Gothic type stuff, and then I just might want to bother to play My game more, that is how I feel bout it.
I feel like TS4 has been a failed experiment. This game...was an mmo first, than it had a story mode, than it became a weak main sims game. It wasn't meant to be a main game and it shows.
The biggest "innovations" of this game are it's biggest flaws. Emotions clearly didn't work out the way they probably planned, I don't even think moodlets were supposed to be a thing since they weren't on the first TS4 gameplay video but they are here and they are a major problem. Multitasking makes sim AI lag, a lot, and it's a wall in development.
The EP's are for the most part decals and decoration objects, with so little features or even none. I still don't understand how a Cats and Dogs only pack doesn't even make dogs and cats more detailed than in previous games a aprt for some "quirky" hidden traits, doesn't make pets roam around every world, doesn't have pet trainer NPC's or actual contests with an NPC and other sim's that can win. And only two pet beds. It's all so.....low end. They have also been recycling the EP and GP content as of late which....just shows how much development they are putting into these packs.
Build mode is a mess. Only basements, pools (I don't even know how a sims game came out without pools) roof types that somehow didn't make it to the base game in time and half walls were added in 3 years. Foundations are a problem, every lot is flat, ponds are objects, only one type of stairs, elevators aren't real, there's a huge lack in wallpapers and floor tiles, no sliding doors, etc. We only got new wall trim types in the vampires GP I believe, so this iteration isn't even expanding on the new features it has.
Sims have no personality in TS4, and they only tried to expand upon them in Parenthood, but you can't set character values in CAS.
They even removed the memory timelines from the game in a patch and added the more simple screenshot viewer because they didn't want to work on a better system, removing the option to manually dictate a memory's emotion. Now it's automatic.
Whims in this game are a joke to behold, they might as well not be there. The aspiration rewards aren't that amazing and the devided aspiration goals instead of just the major one doesn't work. The concept of aspirations and the reason for them to not be changeable in TS2 is because aspirations in TS2 work like a trait (romance aspiration would make your sims keen on cheating and not really care too much if the partner cheated on them, they did not like to get married). They would dictated how your sim reacts to certain events and what he/she wants or fears. On TS4 it's just a boring way to somehow reward the player for completing a bunch of goals.
I still to this day don't understand why you can change a sim's body type and whatever suits you in CAS through the wardrobe. It's way too op and it feels like a feature an RPG would have when you make a mistake on your character. In TS3 you have to pay to get plastic surgery and in TS2 you have to go through an entire career. I don't know why this game is praising on the cheaters. I always feel like I'm going to the Black Emporium into the magic mirror to change my inquisitor when I see the change sim option on a mirror and not even there I 100% agree with the feature.
All the complaining made a T rated game an SJW political delight. No slapping, no shoving, no bumping, no showing off a fist, but we can have all the potty humor we want. No robbers, no meteors, no spontaneous combustion, no death by flies, no death by elevator, and death by emotions has been nerfed to hell.
Overall TS4 feels very much like a children game, it's easy and simple as simple can be, the artstyle looks like a cartoon network show (I guess some people like it, but I'm not living for the plastic hair, playdoh skin and over saturated tonality), animations are too much and unrelatable especially when sims talk, those smiles and arm movement is crazy, and the clipping bothers me a lot, that and sims talking through walls.
However I give it a 4 because it does have some good concepts regarding certain features and it can keep me entertained for some time though it's not as fun as previous games as it tends to get really repetitive really fast.
A lot of what you write in this post is pretty factual. And pretty sad. One can rate this game with a 10 all they like (which means flawless), the facts in this post simply stand.
Sims 4 is a game that was sold on it’s potential to do whatever “we” want, but has struggled to do anything since release. What they have made is a glorified children’s game that’s being sold to adults on the premise that it’s going to get better.
They should drop Sims 4 and come out with a Sims game that can actually do something. Getting a million choices of food, some unique clothing, and a few low-level gameplay objects just does not cut it for DLC, which is primarily what makes up Sims 4 Packs. I have no issue paying for good packs, but I haven’t paid full price for any Sims 4 Expansion pack aside from GTW because they have progressively gotten worse.
The only reason why I gave it a 2 instead of a 1 is because I do like the few new building tools that were introduced with this version of the Sims. Other than that, TS4 is a big fail for builders that have supported the franchise through the years. So many tools from the past were left out of this version, I am still shaking my head in disgust.
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
In my opinion it's a well done game, with a stable system, but it's a boring game, they are focusing much in SP that only give us some items and maybe a new objects with some gameplay, but not really changes the game. It's like playing dolls house but worst, because with real dolls we can actually dress the dolls, brush their hair, the rest it's the same, it's all in our imagination, because the game don't have nothing to surprise us, something that change the course of the game (sims life). Death it's almost impossible in this game, we don't have burglars, for example in apartments when pipes are leaking we shouldn't be able to have water...... It's those little things that could make this game less boring. Maybe now they are starting to understand what simmers really want, content is starting to become better, but not good enough.
I edited just to say one more thing, the time play that my account could possible have, most of the hours counted it's because i fall asslepp with the game open, really i'm not joking, i really fall asslepp playing this game.
Interesting how based on the replies you would think the majority dislike this game, but based on the poll results, most actually do like it. I guess it's about the vocal minority.
Interesting how based on the replies you would think the majority dislike this game, but based on the poll results, most actually do like it. I guess it's about the vocal minority.
Interesting how based on the replies you would think the majority dislike this game, but based on the poll results, most actually do like it. I guess it's about the vocal minority.
I play the sims since the first sims game, i love this type of game, i don't really like the sims 4, but we don't have nothing similar, so from times to times i give a chance on the sims 4, but it's useless, i think, perhaps they lost the formula to this franshise be sucessfull. EA, started to become a little paranoid about do more money with less content, and that it's killing the sims, a game that i used to love.
Interesting how based on the replies you would think the majority dislike this game, but based on the poll results, most actually do like it. I guess it's about the vocal minority.
Nobody has the numbers of those who like it vs those who do not, but everybody can see that The Sims 4 is the most controversial entries in the main series if they go on any website that focuses on The Sims, gaming, simulation, etc. I have never seen such a large margin between people who like the game and those who just flat out think it was an utter miss.
In my opinion it's a well done game, with a stable system, but it's a boring game, they are focusing much in SP that only give us some items and maybe a new objects with some gameplay, but not really changes the game. It's like playing dolls house but worst, because with real dolls we can actually dress the dolls, brush their hair, the rest it's the same, it's all in our imagination, because the game don't have nothing to surprise us, something that change the course of the game (sims life). Death it's almost impossible in this game, we don't have burglars, for example in apartments when pipes are leaking we shouldn't be able to have water...... It's those little things that could make this game less boring. Maybe now they are starting to understand what simmers really want, content is starting to become better, but not good enough.
I edited just to say one more thing, the time play that my account could possible have, most of the hours counted it's because i fall asslepp with the game open, really i'm not joking, i really fall asslepp playing this game.
Wow, and here I thought I was the only one who falls asleep in My chair while playing the Sims 4, thanks for letting Me know I am not the only one, that is why I went back to My other games so I won't fall asleep,
Comments
A lot of other posters in this thread just hit the nail on the head, especially @RnM92 . But if I had to summarize very shortly what makes TS4 the weakest entry of the series, its the fact it fails to innovate within the franchise. The very few things it claims to improve upon (such as "greater Sim AI/interaction/multitasking) it simply does not do well.
It's just every release with TS4, every pack, there is always something that is incredibly bothersome. Get to Work features careers, EACH of which are broken in their own way, limited by the base game's faults, or too uninspired/grindy. Get Together is a game pack with a town. City Living is more like City Watching, as the fake backdrops give a better illusion of a city than what you actually can interact with. Cats & Dogs is alright, but I wouldn't pay more than 20 dollars even for that.
Then you move onto the game packs, where they are charging you 20 dollars for things that so easily could have been in expansion packs, making the expansions better worth the price they charge. We were told the teams split so they could pay more attention to detail in these game packs. But then you look at Dine Out, experience the incredibly long all-day affair of eating out due to Sim lag and so on, and the inability to manage restaurants to the degree we should be able to, and it entirely negates all of that.
I don't know. In my honest opinion, I think a new base game should be introduced for reasons other than a means of charging fans 10 dollars to watch their Sim do laundry for a moodlet that doesn't matter, which activates an emotion which does not matter at all.
The biggest "innovations" of this game are it's biggest flaws. Emotions clearly didn't work out the way they probably planned, I don't even think moodlets were supposed to be a thing since they weren't on the first TS4 gameplay video but they are here and they are a major problem. Multitasking makes sim AI lag, a lot, and it's a wall in development.
The EP's are for the most part decals and decoration objects, with so little features or even none. I still don't understand how a Cats and Dogs only pack doesn't even make dogs and cats more detailed than in previous games a aprt for some "quirky" hidden traits, doesn't make pets roam around every world, doesn't have pet trainer NPC's or actual contests with an NPC and other sim's that can win. And only two pet beds. It's all so.....low end. They have also been recycling the EP and GP content as of late which....just shows how much development they are putting into these packs.
Build mode is a mess. Only basements, pools (I don't even know how a sims game came out without pools) roof types that somehow didn't make it to the base game in time and half walls were added in 3 years. Foundations are a problem, every lot is flat, ponds are objects, only one type of stairs, elevators aren't real, there's a huge lack in wallpapers and floor tiles, no sliding doors, etc. We only got new wall trim types in the vampires GP I believe, so this iteration isn't even expanding on the new features it has.
Sims have no personality in TS4, and they only tried to expand upon them in Parenthood, but you can't set character values in CAS.
They even removed the memory timelines from the game in a patch and added the more simple screenshot viewer because they didn't want to work on a better system, removing the option to manually dictate a memory's emotion. Now it's automatic.
Whims in this game are a joke to behold, they might as well not be there. The aspiration rewards aren't that amazing and the devided aspiration goals instead of just the major one doesn't work. The concept of aspirations and the reason for them to not be changeable in TS2 is because aspirations in TS2 work like a trait (romance aspiration would make your sims keen on cheating and not really care too much if the partner cheated on them, they did not like to get married). They would dictated how your sim reacts to certain events and what he/she wants or fears. On TS4 it's just a boring way to somehow reward the player for completing a bunch of goals.
I still to this day don't understand why you can change a sim's body type and whatever suits you in CAS through the wardrobe. It's way too op and it feels like a feature an RPG would have when you make a mistake on your character. In TS3 you have to pay to get plastic surgery and in TS2 you have to go through an entire career. I don't know why this game is praising on the cheaters. I always feel like I'm going to the Black Emporium into the magic mirror to change my inquisitor when I see the change sim option on a mirror and not even there I 100% agree with the feature.
All the complaining made a T rated game an SJW political delight. No slapping, no shoving, no bumping, no showing off a fist, but we can have all the potty humor we want. No robbers, no meteors, no spontaneous combustion, no death by flies, no death by elevator, and death by emotions has been nerfed to hell.
Overall TS4 feels very much like a children game, it's easy and simple as simple can be, the artstyle looks like a cartoon network show (I guess some people like it, but I'm not living for the plastic hair, playdoh skin and over saturated tonality), animations are too much and unrelatable especially when sims talk, those smiles and arm movement is crazy, and the clipping bothers me a lot, that and sims talking through walls.
However I give it a 4 because it does have some good concepts regarding certain features and it can keep me entertained for some time though it's not as fun as previous games as it tends to get really repetitive really fast.
The expansions are repetitive reusing content over and over such as active careers (mini games) in 3 out of 4 expansions and worlds are being passed off as new content instead of being a place to explore and play with all the new game expanding content that we should be getting. When you have to turn to a $20 game pack to add any resemblance of game play over a $40 expansion which should offer a wide variety and does not something is wrong.
For one example on how the Sims 4 is a disappointment, look no further than the EP's. Expansion Packs are supposed to be massively defining addons and improvements to the base game, be it adding new worlds, new life states, new gameplay features, etc, and while the EP's do that in an essence, Expansion Packs are all but over glorified stuff packs, with most adding nothing to gameplay, and giving us tiny 'worlds', or should I say towns for a more accurate term, that have cumbersome loading screens that seem illogical simply because the neighborhoods we are given are tiny, with some just having 4 lots. Just look no further than San Myshuno in City Living to Bridgeport in the Sims 3. San Myshuno pales in comparison to the scope of content that Bridgeport and Late Night had, everything from gameplay, NPC's, lots, size, etc.
Another problem is the stuff packs. Many things that are in stuff packs should've been included in the base game to begin with or in expansion packs instead of adding on another 10 dollars, one example is laundry and the concept of doing laundry. It would've been logical if laundry was included in the Parenthood Game Pack for example, or in the Cats and Dogs EP. In Parenthood it would've made sense in regards to the responsibility feature for teenagers and children, with possible events being 'Spring Cleaning' where a household would work together as a family to do laundry. In Cats and Dogs, it would've made sense in the essence that you have cats and dogs now, and accidents happen where cats and dogs get clothes dirty, from accidentally going to the bathroom on clothes, to getting hair and saliva on clothes, to getting their dirty paws on clothes, this just some examples. EA is known to love in app purchases, just look at their mobile games, from the Simpsons: Tapped Out, to the Sims Freeplay, they are everywhere, ranging from 1 dollar to over 100 dollars.
As I said in another thread, I enjoy the Sims, I love buying new content to better enhance the Sims, but to mishandle the game and make it similar to a freemium game where its just about the money in the context that it is NOT about enhancing the base game is a big no no. This is why I welcomed the massive blacklash that EA received for their Battlefront disaster. In getting the most disliked comment in Reddit history did EA finally do something good in removing transactions for Star Wars, momentarily no doubt, and I hope that the Sims community continues to purse efficient dialogue and criticism on ways to improve the Sims that EA and Maxis understand and take note of the frustration that we Simmers have when it comes towards the Sims and the way the series is moving towards the future.
I hope the Gurus and EA Community Managers and Administrators realize that we are not criticizing the game and EA and Maxis just to criticize, but because we want to make the Sims 4 a better game that can positively impact both the consumers, and EA and Maxis. We love the Sims, that is why we are on this forum talking about this.
That (Worst Company branding) was a few years ago (2012 & 2013), and basically over bad Customer service -
EA Did respond - and admitted their errors -
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-exec-responds-to-worst-company-in-america-contr/1100-6443178/
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
Oh, I'm not. Don't you worry your sweet little teddy bear head for a moment. Thanks so much for concerning yourself with the happiness of others
I feel like there a lot of basic aspects missing from the base game that should have been included (burglars, cops etc)
Overall I enjoy the game. I can spend hours in BB and CAS and I enjoy live mode as long as I am storytelling.
They admitted it was wrong only after they were called out, and then they regressed by trying to continue on with their shady model. To Maxis fans such as myself, this is the same ol' tune we've seen before (SimCity 5).
I don't think one needs an official 'branding' to be called the worst company in America, either. And EA's customer service, from what I have seen, has always been praised left and right. Rightfully so. EA has the best customer service of pretty much any gaming company, even over Steam.
However, their business models, development quality, and commitment to their games/fans is absolutely abysmal -- probably the worst I have ever seen. Any hardcore Maxis fan can easily see this, after SimCity and then The Sims 4. We should have gotten far better, even after all these patches they are still trying to add into this game. That, among many other reasons, are why they still are extremely disliked amongst the gaming community.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
It was done by a company called Consumerist, which was then absorbed into Consumer Reports. Once it was absorbed, that whole arbitrary media attention-seeking worst company contest was put to rest.
While I hope the fact EA won their final two "worst company" contests alerts many consumers, one really does not need that whole fancy show to really see how utterly anti-consumer EA can be. Which is what I was saying -- you can be a terrible company without being featured on a website that is looking for revenue. I think that's evident, judging by the enormous amount of negative feedback amassed on Reddit during the Battlefront 2 debacle, with a thread concerning the matter becoming THE largest downvoted thread on the entire website.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
Exactly, that's no different from what I had posted in my last post. It was not always owned by Consumer Reports upon creation, if that's what you are saying.
Either way, and this is just a personal anecdote, their opinion really means little to me. That whole contest was voted by the Internet itself, rather than the company, and I prefer other companies, websites, and Internet personalities when it comes to product reviews.
They should drop Sims 4 and come out with a Sims game that can actually do something. Getting a million choices of food, some unique clothing, and a few low-level gameplay objects just does not cut it for DLC, which is primarily what makes up Sims 4 Packs. I have no issue paying for good packs, but I haven’t paid full price for any Sims 4 Expansion pack aside from GTW because they have progressively gotten worse.
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
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I edited just to say one more thing, the time play that my account could possible have, most of the hours counted it's because i fall asslepp with the game open, really i'm not joking, i really fall asslepp playing this game.
Sim Stuff by Pegasys
6+: 56 (10 explained why)
I play the sims since the first sims game, i love this type of game, i don't really like the sims 4, but we don't have nothing similar, so from times to times i give a chance on the sims 4, but it's useless, i think, perhaps they lost the formula to this franshise be sucessfull. EA, started to become a little paranoid about do more money with less content, and that it's killing the sims, a game that i used to love.
Nobody has the numbers of those who like it vs those who do not, but everybody can see that The Sims 4 is the most controversial entries in the main series if they go on any website that focuses on The Sims, gaming, simulation, etc. I have never seen such a large margin between people who like the game and those who just flat out think it was an utter miss.
I think that's telling enough.
Wow, and here I thought I was the only one who falls asleep in My chair while playing the Sims 4, thanks for letting Me know I am not the only one, that is why I went back to My other games so I won't fall asleep,