So instead of comparing the games yet again... even though I know the comparisons won't stop.... I think the OP is absolutely correct. Anyone who has been a dedicated fan of the Sims should be concerned about how it is being broken up. I no longer play TS4... I stopped a long time ago because of how the packs seemed to have little to no content really. It's not what I want to pay for.
That's the part that bothers me.... the people who play TS4 seem to have no concern that they are being ripped off. They should be demanding quality, not cut and paste. Why pay EA/Maxis $10, $20, $40 bucks for cut and paste. There are so many CC creators that can provide better quality than EA these days. But...I guess until something better comes along, and blows EA/Maxis out of the life simulation community.... this is what we are stuck with.
Well according to the massive complaints back when they finally made it available offline that is what was posted in complaints. As I said as much as I loved Sim City and owned all previous versions through Rush Hour- would not buy Sim City 2013 because they went online. So I can only repeat what players were saying on the EA forum back then. They were definitely saying with out access to the cloud in offline the cities were puny....
That was a major complaint before offline was released too. In the release notes for offline they basically said the simulation couldn’t handle larger maps. I do agree though the maps were way too small. I don’t think their idea of interconnected cities was bad, but the execution was terrible. Cities Skylines pulled it off much better.
Guys, please, stop comparing Sims 3 to Sims 4. It's an argument that is eternal and never-ending. Nobody can win it. And I'm not saying that because I think I've lost either. It's just that I'm not going to convince you and you're not going to convince me.
Just wanna say, the primary reason we have packs in Sims 4, is because it's not Online play. If it was, they'd stick with the Store.
The only thing that matters here, is that EA has steadily escalated to a new high and low - not because it's Sims 4, but because it's a Triple-A publisher looking to get as much money as possible for as little effort as possible. And we need to focus because when it comes to DLC, it only ever gets worse.
I’d love to stop comparing but you see, others are and if you throw the ball you’ll have to play it. When you bring in arguments into a discussion, people will react to those arguments.
I was fine with it at first. I am not sure how I feel about it now. This whole my first pet stuff pack was just wrong. The stuff pack offering the hot tubs was just wrong too.
In my opinion, the Sims 3 store was just as terrible. Selling worlds(not expansions) for like $35 bucks and not being able to get the gameplay item separately. It forced you to buy some worlds. I will give them that the worlds were beautiful enough to sell at that price but most were not utilized because we were confined to one world without mods.
Many people have said with the Sims 3 store you could pick and choose what you wanted to buy and I disagree. There were so many times I wanted one specific thing and I was met with the this is not available for individual sale. If I wanted the canning station, I had to buy the 17 dollar set. If I wanted the popcorn and cotton candy maker, I had to buy the 19 dollar set. If I wanted the playpen and walker, I had to buy the world.
So I have to say I have been concerned about how the Sims 3 was and Sims 4 is being broken up and sold. I will say Sims 3's quality was better but still not worth the prices I had to pay. Buying a "gold" world back then was almost the same cost of an expansion if not more.
True, they did some pretty questionable things with the Store as well and the Worlds indeed were very expensive (you could leave them though, the packs came with enough worlds to choose from). I’ve played in every world I bought by the way, without mods and with one family. The bin system in the game is a very user friendly one (when you say “most were not utilized because we were confined to one world without mods”, I take it you think simmers in general don’t use mods by the way?). Having to buy a set in order to get a certain item is comparable to having to buy a pack to get a certain item, not to deliver only part of a pack and sell the rest seperately a few months later asking more money.
When I say being confined to one world without mods I meant you have one homeworld and the three destination worlds. For instance, you cannot live in Sunset Valley and travel to Isla Paridiso without a mod to make that happen.
If I want one item in sims 4 stuff pack it cost me 10 dollars. If I wanted the premium item that came with the world, I usually had to buy the 40 dollar world. Financially I feel like I am making out better but quality not so much.
(And campus and Oasis Landing) Ah, yes, I see now how I misinterpreted the line “most were not utilized because we were confined to one world without mods”, sorry. You meant while you’re playing, most of those worlds are just lying there in their folders, unreachable. That’s true. I’ve always regretted that but it’s got nothing to do with the subject of this topic. That wasn’t some trick, it was how the game had been designed. And we do have the mod if that bothers us, so it’s theory now
Some of the premium stuff they offered attached to worlds but I don’t quite see the parallel? Because it’s quite the opposite in fact and simply comparable to being obliged to buy a GP just because you’d like a certain item badly. I’d say that’s legit (from EA’s perspective)? The fact you feel it’s not actually underlines why the Store as such was such a great thing: we were so used to be able to pick and choose, that it surprised and annoyed us whenever we couldn’t.
ETA: I also remember getting those free points just twice or so (and the ability to download Riverview for free). Of course there was the ‘Did you get your free points today’ thing but that was for Americans only (untill towards the end of the game ).
I don't know if I am being clear or if I am not understanding your point.
Subject of topic is concern over selling stuff broken up. My point is EA has sold everything broken up before Sims 4 which is why I originally stated I was sort of okay with it up until this latest stuff pack. In my opinion, this highway robbery started with Sims 3 store which is why I mentioned the having to buy the store worlds even if you only wanted the premium content that came with that world. They forced you to spend the 40 dollars to get the one premium content because they wouldn't sell it separately to make a buck. The Sims 3 store itself was a way to sell everything broken up. I just believe people did not have an issue with the Sims 3 store because they were happy with the Sims 3 game. The same cannot be said about Sims 4 which is why it feels like even worse.
As for the free points, I remember getting free points for watching an advertisement but it sure wasn't 1000 points. It was maybe one hundred at the most. I am sure EA was getting advertisement kickbacks for every advertisement watched and I am sure it was more than the one dollar's worth of points we were given. So I was given points for my time not just because they are nice.
Yes, the subject is concern over selling stuff broken up, and you bring in an example where stuff actually wasn’t broken up but - quite the contrary - linked to something else (like when you want one item that comes in a GP; you’ll have to buy the entire GP then too don’t you?). Monte Vista for example came with the pizza oven, Sunlit Tides came with the sauna, Hidden Springs with the fountain of youth. Those items made sense being attached to those worlds. At one point they started to add features to worlds however they knew many people wanted badly (like the toddler stuff to Aurora Skies and the selling system to Midnight Hollow). Can’t help noticing that was towards the end of Sims 3, this change actually struck me back then and it made me angry. Tricks indeed. In fact this is what supports my feeling this is a very well thought through strategy that started right there and then. But not the same thing as what they’ve been doing now. Never have they ever sold us an incomplete EP, offering essential stuff belonging to it later through the Store. You knew that if you bought a pack, it would be complete. You didn’t need the Store to complete it (and that’s exactly the issue people are concerned about now). And before anyone brings in that pet feeding station: nobody needs that, there are food bowls in the pack, including a ‘bottomless’ one you can buy as a LTR. Packs in the old games were complete, C&D clearly is not. That’s the difference.
Watching advertisements enabled you to collect free sim points (5 per video). I managed to get quite a few large Store sets that way (playing them in a different tab).
We are clearly looking at this from two different angles. The Sims 3 store in general is selling stuff broken up in my opinion. Have we not heard over and over how great the Sims 3 store is because we can pick and choose? Isn't that broken up? None of the store items were part of expansion, stuff packs etc. which is why I said from my original comment I was pretty much fine with them selling things broken up within reason because it has been happening before Sims 4.
I also said I feel like I am making out better financially even though the quality of Sims 4 plum. I stated the example of having to buy a 40 dollar world for one item vs buying a 10 dollar or 20 game pack for one item.
You can say they never gave us an expansion and then sold us essential stuff later but it is subjective. I feel like the toddler items that came with Aurora Skies were essential and should have been in the Generations expansion. If I am not mistaken, we didn't even get a world with Generations so that pack did not feel complete by no means to me. Why sell me a world that really had nothing to do with toddlers and add in essential toddler premium content? Even you could see that. In Sunlit Tides, selling me a sauna was no different than selling me a hot tub in a stuff pack except I had to buy the 40 dollar world. It was an essential item for me just like the hot tub which is why I bought both. In my opinion, Sims 3 was just as bad and as I stated before people were just a lot happier with the game vs Sims 4. When you are happy with a game, you might not have the same issues that other people have with the game. It is why people who are happy with Sims 4 are willing to keep buying and praising the game even though it is flawed and the same could be said about Sims 1, 2 and 3.
No, that’s not broken up. Broken up means delivering an incomplete EP deliberately in order to be able to sell your customers a following pack with items that complete it. Recolours, matching furniture and additional pets. There really is just one way to look at this, sorry. The concern is the incomplete pack, not the SP. Simmers were disappointed about the lacking C&D pack, even before they heard about MFP. When they heard about that, that’s when they became mad. I already adressed AS and the toddler stuff, saying that for me, in retrospect, inaugurated a new era. They’re ‘refining’ what they started back then, that’s the concern. Not the excuse. People apparently forget we’re talking about the very same company here. Sims 3 and 4 aren’t persons you know.
“Sims 4 is naughty!”
“Yeah, well, Sims 3 was naughty too!”
“Ah, yeah, you’re right. That makes Sims 4 a lot less naughty.”
Well according to the massive complaints back when they finally made it available offline that is what was posted in complaints. As I said as much as I loved Sim City and owned all previous versions through Rush Hour- would not buy Sim City 2013 because they went online. So I can only repeat what players were saying on the EA forum back then. They were definitely saying with out access to the cloud in offline the cities were puny....
The Cities were ridiculously small.... I could not get over how small. The city size never changed, weather you were online or not. I had the base game... and it was impossible to play. City builders begged them to change it. They gave them all kinds of ideas on how to change it, make it better..... but much like what it going on with TS4 right now... all the suggestions were just ignored.
So All the dedicated players left the forum, un-installed the game and waited for another gaming studio to make a new game.
The pretty funked up part about it is the people who paid all that money for it (Sim City 2013 I mean). That's where I am with TS4. I've paid so much money for this iteration and I honestly regret it. Back when it came out my cousin purchased it first and I asked her about it. Something told me to just finish buying for the sims 3 and I didn't, especially when she told me how different and bare it was. Its like I want to fully uninstall and go back to the previous two iterations but I've spent so much on it I also feel like I need to get my money's worth... because I' definitely not buying any more until EA gets their ish together. (Which is doubtful honestly)
"Bada su the gorn bada su the brawn bada bady oda aba donk donk donk gerbits gerbits vo gerbits".
@MzPigglyPooh Honestly, go back to earlier iterations. I've revisited TS2 here and there. The reason I don't play it all the time is that it feels a little bit outdated. I like the Gallery function because it makes the game feel a lot more relevant. Because even though I don't want or care about an online Sims game, I do think that content sharing brings the community into your game so that you do feel connected. I also would love a co-op version of the game ... I don't care about online, but sometimes I think it would be really cool to play a world with max 3 other people and you all collectively build an entire world together. I think that would be cool.
Anyways, point is, go back to earlier versions if you are unhappy. It will make you appreciate certain things about TS4 and remind you of how great the older versions were.
Guys, please, stop comparing Sims 3 to Sims 4. It's an argument that is eternal and never-ending. Nobody can win it. And I'm not saying that because I think I've lost either. It's just that I'm not going to convince you and you're not going to convince me.
Just wanna say, the primary reason we have packs in Sims 4, is because it's not Online play. If it was, they'd stick with the Store.
The only thing that matters here, is that EA has steadily escalated to a new high and low - not because it's Sims 4, but because it's a Triple-A publisher looking to get as much money as possible for as little effort as possible. And we need to focus because when it comes to DLC, it only ever gets worse.
Sims 3 wasn’t online. In fact Sims 4 has more internet required features than Sims 3. The only internet features in Sims 3 are shop mode, and simport. The former is very much still a thing in Sims 4, just less thrown in your face. Notice how worlds are displayed on the world menu even if you don’t install the packs? Same concept.
I also see nothing wrong with comparisons. I’m going to compare two seasons of the same TV show, even though they are different seasons usually with different plots they are all the same TV show/franchise. The same applies here with The Sims franchise. The only reason people don’t want to compare Sims 3 and 4 is because Sims 3 wins. Doesn’t matter how you personally feel about the game, Sims 3 had a much more successful life in the same amount of time Sims 4 has struggled to get anything.
I completely agree there about the Sims 3. I didn't like the Sims 3, but I still find it to be way better than the Sims 4. It stands out from a mile off, and I only played the Sims 3 base game with no DLC.
@MzPigglyPooh Honestly, go back to earlier iterations. I've revisited TS2 here and there. The reason I don't play it all the time is that it feels a little bit outdated. I like the Gallery function because it makes the game feel a lot more relevant. Because even though I don't want or care about an online Sims game, I do think that content sharing brings the community into your game so that you do feel connected. I also would love a co-op version of the game ... I don't care about online, but sometimes I think it would be really cool to play a world with max 3 other people and you all collectively build an entire world together. I think that would be cool.
Anyways, point is, go back to earlier versions if you are unhappy. It will make you appreciate certain things about TS4 and remind you of how great the older versions were.
No, that is not the point. The point is what the OP says the point is and the OP clearly wants to discuss the future of the franchise, not the past.
@MzPigglyPooh Honestly, go back to earlier iterations. I've revisited TS2 here and there. The reason I don't play it all the time is that it feels a little bit outdated. I like the Gallery function because it makes the game feel a lot more relevant. Because even though I don't want or care about an online Sims game, I do think that content sharing brings the community into your game so that you do feel connected. I also would love a co-op version of the game ... I don't care about online, but sometimes I think it would be really cool to play a world with max 3 other people and you all collectively build an entire world together. I think that would be cool.
Anyways, point is, go back to earlier versions if you are unhappy. It will make you appreciate certain things about TS4 and remind you of how great the older versions were.
I do play 2 and 3 from time to time and there are things I do like about 4 (CAS, decorating seems quicker and easier, I love the fact that you can shrink and enlarge items like TV's) my issue is when I go back and play 2, for example, it just makes me feel like the gameplay and the indepthness of the sims themselves should have been added to 4 and I'm just not getting that in 4 without having to use mods.
"Bada su the gorn bada su the brawn bada bady oda aba donk donk donk gerbits gerbits vo gerbits".
@MzPigglyPooh Honestly, go back to earlier iterations. I've revisited TS2 here and there. The reason I don't play it all the time is that it feels a little bit outdated. I like the Gallery function because it makes the game feel a lot more relevant. Because even though I don't want or care about an online Sims game, I do think that content sharing brings the community into your game so that you do feel connected. I also would love a co-op version of the game ... I don't care about online, but sometimes I think it would be really cool to play a world with max 3 other people and you all collectively build an entire world together. I think that would be cool.
Anyways, point is, go back to earlier versions if you are unhappy. It will make you appreciate certain things about TS4 and remind you of how great the older versions were.
No, that is not the point. The point is what the OP says the point is and the OP clearly wants to discuss the future of the franchise, not the past.
Honestly if they keep going the way they are there is no future for this franchise. At least for me. I won't be supporting any more of things being broken up as they have been. I see it as they've been continuously getting away with it so they're going to just keep doing it. They've gotten enough money from me.
"Bada su the gorn bada su the brawn bada bady oda aba donk donk donk gerbits gerbits vo gerbits".
> You can say they never gave us an expansion and then sold us essential stuff later but it is subjective. I feel like the toddler items that came with Aurora Skies were essential and should have been in the Generations expansion. If I am not mistaken, we didn't even get a world with Generations so that pack did not feel complete by no means to me. Why sell me a world that really had nothing to do with toddlers and add in essential toddler premium content?
As long as you had a little patience, you didn't have to buy the world to get the toddler walker or playpen. The walker is on the sale page of the store right now for 365 points. I know before they stopped rotating the sale page that the playpen had been on there too. I had those things long before I finally got Aurora Skies. Not to mention if you paid attention and spent a bit of time in the store, you could get A LOT of stuff free from complete-a-set combined with daily deal or weekly sale.
All you need is patience
Just a little patience
I agree but the same could be said about sims 4. Lately, I waited for everything to be on sale for 50% off. Jungle Adventure was the first time in a long time I paid full price for a Sims 4 game.
If you compare Day 1 items from Sims 3 store to Day 1 items of Sims 4, I still say I am making out better financially in Sims 4. At least for the items that are essential to my gameplay. I will admit I would not spend my time sitting on the Sims 3 store checking daily deals and weekly sales. When I did see daily deals, either I had it or didn't want it. Ninety percent of the time it was something terrible.
I also still believe selling the toddler items with a world when it could have been released with generations especially since generations did not come with a world is just as bad as cats and dogs with my first pet stuff. Both situations were terrible on EA's part, in my opinion of course.
Generations was released in 2011, and the store set you claim should have been included wasn’t released until 2013. Compared to C&D which released barely 4 months before MFPS, the latter of which has a direct link (requirement) for the former to access all content. Can you say the same about TS3? So no it’s not “just as bad”, or even comparably “bad” at all.
The store was literally a side venture for EA on top of a full production schedule of Expansion and Stuff packs. Sims 4 didn’t have Day 1 DLC (and there’s a reason for that), and yearly has less content released for it so yeah obviously you are going to be saving money, but at the same time getting less even excluding purchasing store content.
In my opinion, I see it as the same situation. I don't care it if it was three years later. Generations did not have a world so I felt like it was incomplete. The toddler stuff being sold with Aurora Skies should have been patched in. Even if it was a side venture, there were items you could not get unless you purchased it from the store like the sauna and the toddler stuff. The post was asking about concern about items being sold to us broken up and I said I didn't really mind because we went through this in Sims 3. Whether you want to admit it or not Sims 3 sold us items broken up. Everyone always says "oh the sims 3 store was great because we could pick and choose what we want." That sounds broken up to me. These items were not sold in the expansion pack or stuff pack. While they not have been essential to you and your gameplay, they were to mine and I had to shell out money to get it on top of expansions and stuff packs and sometimes be forced to buy a whole world that I did not want.
It is easy to find excuses for Sims 3 because people were happy with the game. I remember even buying the greenhouse and it was snowing inside. Oh, another item that should have been given to us in the SEASONS expansion pack instead of broken out into a store set. I am not saying Sims 4 is a better game than Sims 3 or even on the same level. I am saying is Sims 3 was just as bad as Sims 4 with selling content broken up.
Even without a world, Generations still has more content than any of the S4 EPs. Any S3 Ep had more content than any S4 EP. That's without even taking into account the color wheel of S3 that literally gives you thousands of different choices. Which in S4 they give you different color choices as a NEW item! When they put that recolored stuff in the MFP pack, I knew there would never be a color wheel in the Sims series ever again. Not in 4 and not in 5, if there is a 5. Simply because they can recolor something and call it new. They couldn't do that if they gave us a color wheel.
Guys, please, stop comparing Sims 3 to Sims 4. It's an argument that is eternal and never-ending. Nobody can win it. And I'm not saying that because I think I've lost either. It's just that I'm not going to convince you and you're not going to convince me.
Just wanna say, the primary reason we have packs in Sims 4, is because it's not Online play. If it was, they'd stick with the Store.
The only thing that matters here, is that EA has steadily escalated to a new high and low - not because it's Sims 4, but because it's a Triple-A publisher looking to get as much money as possible for as little effort as possible. And we need to focus because when it comes to DLC, it only ever gets worse.
I’d love to stop comparing but you see, others are and if you throw the ball you’ll have to play it. When you bring in arguments into a discussion, people will react to those arguments.
I was fine with it at first. I am not sure how I feel about it now. This whole my first pet stuff pack was just wrong. The stuff pack offering the hot tubs was just wrong too.
In my opinion, the Sims 3 store was just as terrible. Selling worlds(not expansions) for like $35 bucks and not being able to get the gameplay item separately. It forced you to buy some worlds. I will give them that the worlds were beautiful enough to sell at that price but most were not utilized because we were confined to one world without mods.
Many people have said with the Sims 3 store you could pick and choose what you wanted to buy and I disagree. There were so many times I wanted one specific thing and I was met with the this is not available for individual sale. If I wanted the canning station, I had to buy the 17 dollar set. If I wanted the popcorn and cotton candy maker, I had to buy the 19 dollar set. If I wanted the playpen and walker, I had to buy the world.
So I have to say I have been concerned about how the Sims 3 was and Sims 4 is being broken up and sold. I will say Sims 3's quality was better but still not worth the prices I had to pay. Buying a "gold" world back then was almost the same cost of an expansion if not more.
True, they did some pretty questionable things with the Store as well and the Worlds indeed were very expensive (you could leave them though, the packs came with enough worlds to choose from). I’ve played in every world I bought by the way, without mods and with one family. The bin system in the game is a very user friendly one (when you say “most were not utilized because we were confined to one world without mods”, I take it you think simmers in general don’t use mods by the way?). Having to buy a set in order to get a certain item is comparable to having to buy a pack to get a certain item, not to deliver only part of a pack and sell the rest seperately a few months later asking more money.
When I say being confined to one world without mods I meant you have one homeworld and the three destination worlds. For instance, you cannot live in Sunset Valley and travel to Isla Paridiso without a mod to make that happen.
If I want one item in sims 4 stuff pack it cost me 10 dollars. If I wanted the premium item that came with the world, I usually had to buy the 40 dollar world. Financially I feel like I am making out better but quality not so much.
(And campus and Oasis Landing) Ah, yes, I see now how I misinterpreted the line “most were not utilized because we were confined to one world without mods”, sorry. You meant while you’re playing, most of those worlds are just lying there in their folders, unreachable. That’s true. I’ve always regretted that but it’s got nothing to do with the subject of this topic. That wasn’t some trick, it was how the game had been designed. And we do have the mod if that bothers us, so it’s theory now
Some of the premium stuff they offered attached to worlds but I don’t quite see the parallel? Because it’s quite the opposite in fact and simply comparable to being obliged to buy a GP just because you’d like a certain item badly. I’d say that’s legit (from EA’s perspective)? The fact you feel it’s not actually underlines why the Store as such was such a great thing: we were so used to be able to pick and choose, that it surprised and annoyed us whenever we couldn’t.
ETA: I also remember getting those free points just twice or so (and the ability to download Riverview for free). Of course there was the ‘Did you get your free points today’ thing but that was for Americans only (untill towards the end of the game ).
I don't know if I am being clear or if I am not understanding your point.
Subject of topic is concern over selling stuff broken up. My point is EA has sold everything broken up before Sims 4 which is why I originally stated I was sort of okay with it up until this latest stuff pack. In my opinion, this highway robbery started with Sims 3 store which is why I mentioned the having to buy the store worlds even if you only wanted the premium content that came with that world. They forced you to spend the 40 dollars to get the one premium content because they wouldn't sell it separately to make a buck. The Sims 3 store itself was a way to sell everything broken up. I just believe people did not have an issue with the Sims 3 store because they were happy with the Sims 3 game. The same cannot be said about Sims 4 which is why it feels like even worse.
As for the free points, I remember getting free points for watching an advertisement but it sure wasn't 1000 points. It was maybe one hundred at the most. I am sure EA was getting advertisement kickbacks for every advertisement watched and I am sure it was more than the one dollar's worth of points we were given. So I was given points for my time not just because they are nice.
Yes, the subject is concern over selling stuff broken up, and you bring in an example where stuff actually wasn’t broken up but - quite the contrary - linked to something else (like when you want one item that comes in a GP; you’ll have to buy the entire GP then too don’t you?). Monte Vista for example came with the pizza oven, Sunlit Tides came with the sauna, Hidden Springs with the fountain of youth. Those items made sense being attached to those worlds. At one point they started to add features to worlds however they knew many people wanted badly (like the toddler stuff to Aurora Skies and the selling system to Midnight Hollow). Can’t help noticing that was towards the end of Sims 3, this change actually struck me back then and it made me angry. Tricks indeed. In fact this is what supports my feeling this is a very well thought through strategy that started right there and then. But not the same thing as what they’ve been doing now. Never have they ever sold us an incomplete EP, offering essential stuff belonging to it later through the Store. You knew that if you bought a pack, it would be complete. You didn’t need the Store to complete it (and that’s exactly the issue people are concerned about now). And before anyone brings in that pet feeding station: nobody needs that, there are food bowls in the pack, including a ‘bottomless’ one you can buy as a LTR. Packs in the old games were complete, C&D clearly is not. That’s the difference.
Watching advertisements enabled you to collect free sim points (5 per video). I managed to get quite a few large Store sets that way (playing them in a different tab).
We are clearly looking at this from two different angles. The Sims 3 store in general is selling stuff broken up in my opinion. Have we not heard over and over how great the Sims 3 store is because we can pick and choose? Isn't that broken up? None of the store items were part of expansion, stuff packs etc. which is why I said from my original comment I was pretty much fine with them selling things broken up within reason because it has been happening before Sims 4.
I also said I feel like I am making out better financially even though the quality of Sims 4 plum. I stated the example of having to buy a 40 dollar world for one item vs buying a 10 dollar or 20 game pack for one item.
You can say they never gave us an expansion and then sold us essential stuff later but it is subjective. I feel like the toddler items that came with Aurora Skies were essential and should have been in the Generations expansion. If I am not mistaken, we didn't even get a world with Generations so that pack did not feel complete by no means to me. Why sell me a world that really had nothing to do with toddlers and add in essential toddler premium content? Even you could see that. In Sunlit Tides, selling me a sauna was no different than selling me a hot tub in a stuff pack except I had to buy the 40 dollar world. It was an essential item for me just like the hot tub which is why I bought both. In my opinion, Sims 3 was just as bad and as I stated before people were just a lot happier with the game vs Sims 4. When you are happy with a game, you might not have the same issues that other people have with the game. It is why people who are happy with Sims 4 are willing to keep buying and praising the game even though it is flawed and the same could be said about Sims 1, 2 and 3.
No, that’s not broken up. Broken up means delivering an incomplete EP deliberately in order to be able to sell your customers a following pack with items that complete it. Recolours, matching furniture and additional pets. There really is just one way to look at this, sorry. The concern is the incomplete pack, not the SP. Simmers were disappointed about the lacking C&D pack, even before they heard about MFP. When they heard about that, that’s when they became mad. I already adressed AS and the toddler stuff, saying that for me, in retrospect, inaugurated a new era. They’re ‘refining’ what they started back then, that’s the concern. Not the excuse. People apparently forget we’re talking about the very same company here. Sims 3 and 4 aren’t persons you know.
“Sims 4 is naughty!”
“Yeah, well, Sims 3 was naughty too!”
“Ah, yeah, you’re right. That makes Sims 4 a lot less naughty.”
Eh, no it doesn’t.
Yeah this my last explanation because you are going to see things the way you see things. I will see them my way. As I said it is SUBJECTIVE. We have been dealing with items being sold to us separately so why should it bother us now? You can save your naughty explanation because trying to dumb down my point without taking the time to truly understand is just rude.
I was just as vocal with Sims 3 store and how we were being sold content as I am about Sims 4. It is why I compared the two and I have a right like anyone else to do so spare me the pettiness.
Guys, please, stop comparing Sims 3 to Sims 4. It's an argument that is eternal and never-ending. Nobody can win it. And I'm not saying that because I think I've lost either. It's just that I'm not going to convince you and you're not going to convince me.
Just wanna say, the primary reason we have packs in Sims 4, is because it's not Online play. If it was, they'd stick with the Store.
The only thing that matters here, is that EA has steadily escalated to a new high and low - not because it's Sims 4, but because it's a Triple-A publisher looking to get as much money as possible for as little effort as possible. And we need to focus because when it comes to DLC, it only ever gets worse.
I’d love to stop comparing but you see, others are and if you throw the ball you’ll have to play it. When you bring in arguments into a discussion, people will react to those arguments.
I was fine with it at first. I am not sure how I feel about it now. This whole my first pet stuff pack was just wrong. The stuff pack offering the hot tubs was just wrong too.
In my opinion, the Sims 3 store was just as terrible. Selling worlds(not expansions) for like $35 bucks and not being able to get the gameplay item separately. It forced you to buy some worlds. I will give them that the worlds were beautiful enough to sell at that price but most were not utilized because we were confined to one world without mods.
Many people have said with the Sims 3 store you could pick and choose what you wanted to buy and I disagree. There were so many times I wanted one specific thing and I was met with the this is not available for individual sale. If I wanted the canning station, I had to buy the 17 dollar set. If I wanted the popcorn and cotton candy maker, I had to buy the 19 dollar set. If I wanted the playpen and walker, I had to buy the world.
So I have to say I have been concerned about how the Sims 3 was and Sims 4 is being broken up and sold. I will say Sims 3's quality was better but still not worth the prices I had to pay. Buying a "gold" world back then was almost the same cost of an expansion if not more.
True, they did some pretty questionable things with the Store as well and the Worlds indeed were very expensive (you could leave them though, the packs came with enough worlds to choose from). I’ve played in every world I bought by the way, without mods and with one family. The bin system in the game is a very user friendly one (when you say “most were not utilized because we were confined to one world without mods”, I take it you think simmers in general don’t use mods by the way?). Having to buy a set in order to get a certain item is comparable to having to buy a pack to get a certain item, not to deliver only part of a pack and sell the rest seperately a few months later asking more money.
When I say being confined to one world without mods I meant you have one homeworld and the three destination worlds. For instance, you cannot live in Sunset Valley and travel to Isla Paridiso without a mod to make that happen.
If I want one item in sims 4 stuff pack it cost me 10 dollars. If I wanted the premium item that came with the world, I usually had to buy the 40 dollar world. Financially I feel like I am making out better but quality not so much.
(And campus and Oasis Landing) Ah, yes, I see now how I misinterpreted the line “most were not utilized because we were confined to one world without mods”, sorry. You meant while you’re playing, most of those worlds are just lying there in their folders, unreachable. That’s true. I’ve always regretted that but it’s got nothing to do with the subject of this topic. That wasn’t some trick, it was how the game had been designed. And we do have the mod if that bothers us, so it’s theory now
Some of the premium stuff they offered attached to worlds but I don’t quite see the parallel? Because it’s quite the opposite in fact and simply comparable to being obliged to buy a GP just because you’d like a certain item badly. I’d say that’s legit (from EA’s perspective)? The fact you feel it’s not actually underlines why the Store as such was such a great thing: we were so used to be able to pick and choose, that it surprised and annoyed us whenever we couldn’t.
ETA: I also remember getting those free points just twice or so (and the ability to download Riverview for free). Of course there was the ‘Did you get your free points today’ thing but that was for Americans only (untill towards the end of the game ).
I don't know if I am being clear or if I am not understanding your point.
Subject of topic is concern over selling stuff broken up. My point is EA has sold everything broken up before Sims 4 which is why I originally stated I was sort of okay with it up until this latest stuff pack. In my opinion, this highway robbery started with Sims 3 store which is why I mentioned the having to buy the store worlds even if you only wanted the premium content that came with that world. They forced you to spend the 40 dollars to get the one premium content because they wouldn't sell it separately to make a buck. The Sims 3 store itself was a way to sell everything broken up. I just believe people did not have an issue with the Sims 3 store because they were happy with the Sims 3 game. The same cannot be said about Sims 4 which is why it feels like even worse.
As for the free points, I remember getting free points for watching an advertisement but it sure wasn't 1000 points. It was maybe one hundred at the most. I am sure EA was getting advertisement kickbacks for every advertisement watched and I am sure it was more than the one dollar's worth of points we were given. So I was given points for my time not just because they are nice.
Yes, the subject is concern over selling stuff broken up, and you bring in an example where stuff actually wasn’t broken up but - quite the contrary - linked to something else (like when you want one item that comes in a GP; you’ll have to buy the entire GP then too don’t you?). Monte Vista for example came with the pizza oven, Sunlit Tides came with the sauna, Hidden Springs with the fountain of youth. Those items made sense being attached to those worlds. At one point they started to add features to worlds however they knew many people wanted badly (like the toddler stuff to Aurora Skies and the selling system to Midnight Hollow). Can’t help noticing that was towards the end of Sims 3, this change actually struck me back then and it made me angry. Tricks indeed. In fact this is what supports my feeling this is a very well thought through strategy that started right there and then. But not the same thing as what they’ve been doing now. Never have they ever sold us an incomplete EP, offering essential stuff belonging to it later through the Store. You knew that if you bought a pack, it would be complete. You didn’t need the Store to complete it (and that’s exactly the issue people are concerned about now). And before anyone brings in that pet feeding station: nobody needs that, there are food bowls in the pack, including a ‘bottomless’ one you can buy as a LTR. Packs in the old games were complete, C&D clearly is not. That’s the difference.
Watching advertisements enabled you to collect free sim points (5 per video). I managed to get quite a few large Store sets that way (playing them in a different tab).
We are clearly looking at this from two different angles. The Sims 3 store in general is selling stuff broken up in my opinion. Have we not heard over and over how great the Sims 3 store is because we can pick and choose? Isn't that broken up? None of the store items were part of expansion, stuff packs etc. which is why I said from my original comment I was pretty much fine with them selling things broken up within reason because it has been happening before Sims 4.
I also said I feel like I am making out better financially even though the quality of Sims 4 plum. I stated the example of having to buy a 40 dollar world for one item vs buying a 10 dollar or 20 game pack for one item.
You can say they never gave us an expansion and then sold us essential stuff later but it is subjective. I feel like the toddler items that came with Aurora Skies were essential and should have been in the Generations expansion. If I am not mistaken, we didn't even get a world with Generations so that pack did not feel complete by no means to me. Why sell me a world that really had nothing to do with toddlers and add in essential toddler premium content? Even you could see that. In Sunlit Tides, selling me a sauna was no different than selling me a hot tub in a stuff pack except I had to buy the 40 dollar world. It was an essential item for me just like the hot tub which is why I bought both. In my opinion, Sims 3 was just as bad and as I stated before people were just a lot happier with the game vs Sims 4. When you are happy with a game, you might not have the same issues that other people have with the game. It is why people who are happy with Sims 4 are willing to keep buying and praising the game even though it is flawed and the same could be said about Sims 1, 2 and 3.
No, that’s not broken up. Broken up means delivering an incomplete EP deliberately in order to be able to sell your customers a following pack with items that complete it. Recolours, matching furniture and additional pets. There really is just one way to look at this, sorry. The concern is the incomplete pack, not the SP. Simmers were disappointed about the lacking C&D pack, even before they heard about MFP. When they heard about that, that’s when they became mad. I already adressed AS and the toddler stuff, saying that for me, in retrospect, inaugurated a new era. They’re ‘refining’ what they started back then, that’s the concern. Not the excuse. People apparently forget we’re talking about the very same company here. Sims 3 and 4 aren’t persons you know.
“Sims 4 is naughty!”
“Yeah, well, Sims 3 was naughty too!”
“Ah, yeah, you’re right. That makes Sims 4 a lot less naughty.”
Eh, no it doesn’t.
Yeah this my last explanation because you are going to see things the way you see things. I will see them my way. As I said it is SUBJECTIVE. We have been dealing with items being sold to us separately so why should it bother us now? You can save your naughty explanation because trying to dumb down my point without taking the time to truly understand is just rude.
I was just as vocal with Sims 3 store and how we were being sold content as I am about Sims 4. It is why I compared the two and I have a right like anyone else to do so spare me the pettiness.
Items being sold separately, and items being broken up and sold separately are two completely different things. The store set you mention wasn’t broken up from the Generations EP. Sure that EP didn’t include a world, and you are entitled to feel disappointed about that, but the toddler items released nearly two years later is nothing more than a completely different set of content. The store stuff was made by a completely different studio.
The latest SP was made by the same studio as the C&D EP, and in addition to having a subset of pets included (which was previously standard with the Pets EP) it also includes pet specific content, pet specific clothing, and additional content that was designed for the C&D expansion. Oh and both backs were released within 4 months of each other. It’s a different situation entirely.
@MzPigglyPooh Honestly, go back to earlier iterations. I've revisited TS2 here and there. The reason I don't play it all the time is that it feels a little bit outdated. I like the Gallery function because it makes the game feel a lot more relevant. Because even though I don't want or care about an online Sims game, I do think that content sharing brings the community into your game so that you do feel connected. I also would love a co-op version of the game ... I don't care about online, but sometimes I think it would be really cool to play a world with max 3 other people and you all collectively build an entire world together. I think that would be cool.
Anyways, point is, go back to earlier versions if you are unhappy. It will make you appreciate certain things about TS4 and remind you of how great the older versions were.
No, that is not the point. The point is what the OP says the point is and the OP clearly wants to discuss the future of the franchise, not the past.
Honestly if they keep going the way they are there is no future for this franchise. At least for me. I won't be supporting any more of things being broken up as they have been. I see it as they've been continuously getting away with it so they're going to just keep doing it. They've gotten enough money from me.
Yes. I love playing the predecessor of Sims 4, still do (and it doesn’t feel dated to me either). But when I want to discuss my experiences with Sims 3 I turn to the Sims 3 section. The reason I’m here (and I can’t imagine this doesn’t go for others) is because I’m also still interested in the future. My hopes for Sims 4 have faded as well but who knows they’ll surprise us. And who knows there will be this successor we can all love again. Anyway, that’s what we’re here for. Not to hear “go play Sims 2 or 3” again and again.
@keekee53 I’m not under the impression you are taking much effort to understand what I’m saying either. It’s not subjective, it’s factual. You cannot compare the unfinished C&D EP to any EP in the past, least of all by drawing the Store into the discussion. And you can’t prove your point about ‘breaking up content’ in the past by using examples of items and features that were linked to something else. All you’re doing by this “they’ve always done this” arguments is trying to downplay the - very legit - concerns of the OP.
Thanks to the way Sims 4 divides differently, it's impossible to know what activity will come with what pack.
I can never work out what's so great about Open Worlds. What makes them so completely superior? Sure, less loading screens. Funny thing is on my computer each loading screen is less than twenty seconds while people with 10 year laptops complain of over a minute. Well, that's what happens when you play on min-specs. There's plenty you can blame on EA - like how SIms 3's engine only allows you one world per save - but you can't blame the speed of your computer on it.
Vacation Worlds are like World Adventures, but you can travel all the very different worlds anyway - as soon as Get Together came out you could go to a rave in the Bluffs or crazy themed parties, as soon as City Living came out there were four festivals to visit, etc. In fact to complete all your collections you NEED to visit all the worlds.
It’s not less loading screens for me, it’s the cohesion of an actual world. For me that touches a part of reality that apparently is important when it comes to simulating life. The feeling my sims are part of that world. Travelling taking time therefore is part of the experience, the joy for me (which is why I often travel along with them).
As for loading screens: I don’t mind waiting. I do mind the loading screens in Sims 4 are so drastic though, that absolutely nothing in the background continues. For me that would make a major difference (plus backdrops that aren’t fake, which is why JA has made me so happy; that pack touches the experience I want from this game, that jungle is my favourite part of the pack).
I feel the same way.
I would rather play in Sunset Valley than all the chopped up worlds of TS4. I like having control over all my sims when I send sims to other parts of the world. I love having my sims being able to visit other sims homes without loading screens and still have their home lot available to me. The place just feels more alive with sims going about their business, children going to school. It's feels more like a simulation instead of a doll house world.
I have the traveler mod, which was cool to take my sims on trip to Bridgeport, but I don't use it much.
I take huge TS3 breaks, but I always find it a joy to return.
@MzPigglyPooh Honestly, go back to earlier iterations. I've revisited TS2 here and there. The reason I don't play it all the time is that it feels a little bit outdated. I like the Gallery function because it makes the game feel a lot more relevant. Because even though I don't want or care about an online Sims game, I do think that content sharing brings the community into your game so that you do feel connected. I also would love a co-op version of the game ... I don't care about online, but sometimes I think it would be really cool to play a world with max 3 other people and you all collectively build an entire world together. I think that would be cool.
Anyways, point is, go back to earlier versions if you are unhappy. It will make you appreciate certain things about TS4 and remind you of how great the older versions were.
No, that is not the point. The point is what the OP says the point is and the OP clearly wants to discuss the future of the franchise, not the past.
Well my suggestion wasn't for you. My point was related to my words and my post, not OP's.
MzPigglyPooh stated that they felt like uninstalling the game and going back to earlier iterations. Honestly, I understand feeling that way. I think it makes you appreciate certain things from TS4 - like multitasking, Gallery, etc. - but also reminds you of the great things from the earlier games.
As MzPigglyPooh stated, going back to earlier iterations makes you feel like TS4 should have been better. The past of the franchise is clearly not irrelevant.
If MzPigglyPooh doesn't want to take my advice or thinks I'm stupid, I don't care. They are free to think that way.
If people want to discuss solely the future of TS4 and not the past, go ahead. I will give my input and if I feel like going to the past iterations will help, then I will suggest that. People don't have to take my advice. I'm simply recommending them what worked for me. After playing TS4, I tentatively went back to TS2. Because I hate knowing that the era of TS2 has ended. But upon playing it, I found a lot of things that I felt were missing from TS4. I think that helps for creating future content for TS4. There are also certain things that I liked about TS4 that weren't in other versions. I think that helps for creating future iterations of the game.
@MzPigglyPooh Honestly, go back to earlier iterations. I've revisited TS2 here and there. The reason I don't play it all the time is that it feels a little bit outdated. I like the Gallery function because it makes the game feel a lot more relevant. Because even though I don't want or care about an online Sims game, I do think that content sharing brings the community into your game so that you do feel connected. I also would love a co-op version of the game ... I don't care about online, but sometimes I think it would be really cool to play a world with max 3 other people and you all collectively build an entire world together. I think that would be cool.
Anyways, point is, go back to earlier versions if you are unhappy. It will make you appreciate certain things about TS4 and remind you of how great the older versions were.
No, that is not the point. The point is what the OP says the point is and the OP clearly wants to discuss the future of the franchise, not the past.
Honestly if they keep going the way they are there is no future for this franchise. At least for me. I won't be supporting any more of things being broken up as they have been. I see it as they've been continuously getting away with it so they're going to just keep doing it. They've gotten enough money from me.
Yes. I love playing the predecessor of Sims 4, still do (and it doesn’t feel dated to me either). But when I want to discuss my experiences with Sims 3 I turn to the Sims 3 section. The reason I’m here (and I can’t imagine this doesn’t go for others) is because I’m also still interested in the future. My hopes for Sims 4 have faded as well but who knows they’ll surprise us. And who knows there will be this successor we can all love again. Anyway, that’s what we’re here for. Not to hear “go play Sims 2 or 3” again and again.
@keekee53 I’m not under the impression you are taking much effort to understand what I’m saying either. It’s not subjective, it’s factual. You cannot compare the unfinished C&D EP to any EP in the past, least of all by drawing the Store into the discussion. And you can’t prove your point about ‘breaking up content’ in the past by using examples of items and features that were linked to something else. All you’re doing by this “they’ve always done this” arguments is trying to downplay the - very legit - concerns of the OP.
Believe what you want and say what you will. OP asked if anyone else is concerned. I said I wasn't concerned at first because they have done this in the past. It was only this last stuff pack I had a concern with.
As I said, you are missing my point and I was on topic again and again. I went through scenarios to explain why I feel the way I do and how I saw things happen before. I am not trying to trash either game and you are blowing this up into a Sims 3 vs Sims 4 and it isn't. Generations was not a complete expansion because it was missing a world SUBJECTIVE. Other people think it is a complete expansion SUBJECTIVE.
I used Sims 3 it as an example just like other people use past iterations to bring home their point as well. Many times people have used Sims 2 bowling to show that Sims 4 bowling is terrible. Should we grab pitchforks and tell them not to bring up sims 2 as well..come on.
You really don't think the greenhouse should have been part of Seasons...if they pulled that in Sims 4, people would be going crazy...lol In Sims 2, we got greenhouses with seasons.
I actually just went and checked and I got the greenhouse for free as part of the Best of 2012 compilation by playing the DD/Complete a set. I didn't get it until January 2014, but it was free. :) I have pages and pages of free stuff from the store. Not single item things either. I got so many sets free it's not even funny. You cannot compare the store to the stuff packs because there's no way to get any stuff packs free.
I actually just went and checked and I got the greenhouse for free as part of the Best of 2012 compilation by playing the DD/Complete a set. I didn't get it until January 2014, but it was free. I have pages and pages of free stuff from the store. Not single item things either. I got so many sets free it's not even funny. You cannot compare the store to the stuff packs because there's no way to get any stuff packs free.
I just can't....lol
When the Sims 3 was the current game it cost money. The point again is I was using it as an example of how Sims 3 was broken up vs how Sims 4 is broken up now. Who can say what we will get for free when they move on to Sims 5?
I don't know how much more clear I can be. I am literally getting a headache trying to get people to understand what I am saying versus just attacking me with how much the Sims 3 store is great.
The greenhouse should have been included in the Season Expansion and just because you got it free two to three years later doesn't make it okay because many other people paid full price even if they were happy about it.
Guys, please, stop comparing Sims 3 to Sims 4. It's an argument that is eternal and never-ending. Nobody can win it. And I'm not saying that because I think I've lost either. It's just that I'm not going to convince you and you're not going to convince me.
Just wanna say, the primary reason we have packs in Sims 4, is because it's not Online play. If it was, they'd stick with the Store.
The only thing that matters here, is that EA has steadily escalated to a new high and low - not because it's Sims 4, but because it's a Triple-A publisher looking to get as much money as possible for as little effort as possible. And we need to focus because when it comes to DLC, it only ever gets worse.
I’d love to stop comparing but you see, others are and if you throw the ball you’ll have to play it. When you bring in arguments into a discussion, people will react to those arguments.
I was fine with it at first. I am not sure how I feel about it now. This whole my first pet stuff pack was just wrong. The stuff pack offering the hot tubs was just wrong too.
In my opinion, the Sims 3 store was just as terrible. Selling worlds(not expansions) for like $35 bucks and not being able to get the gameplay item separately. It forced you to buy some worlds. I will give them that the worlds were beautiful enough to sell at that price but most were not utilized because we were confined to one world without mods.
Many people have said with the Sims 3 store you could pick and choose what you wanted to buy and I disagree. There were so many times I wanted one specific thing and I was met with the this is not available for individual sale. If I wanted the canning station, I had to buy the 17 dollar set. If I wanted the popcorn and cotton candy maker, I had to buy the 19 dollar set. If I wanted the playpen and walker, I had to buy the world.
So I have to say I have been concerned about how the Sims 3 was and Sims 4 is being broken up and sold. I will say Sims 3's quality was better but still not worth the prices I had to pay. Buying a "gold" world back then was almost the same cost of an expansion if not more.
True, they did some pretty questionable things with the Store as well and the Worlds indeed were very expensive (you could leave them though, the packs came with enough worlds to choose from). I’ve played in every world I bought by the way, without mods and with one family. The bin system in the game is a very user friendly one (when you say “most were not utilized because we were confined to one world without mods”, I take it you think simmers in general don’t use mods by the way?). Having to buy a set in order to get a certain item is comparable to having to buy a pack to get a certain item, not to deliver only part of a pack and sell the rest seperately a few months later asking more money.
When I say being confined to one world without mods I meant you have one homeworld and the three destination worlds. For instance, you cannot live in Sunset Valley and travel to Isla Paridiso without a mod to make that happen.
If I want one item in sims 4 stuff pack it cost me 10 dollars. If I wanted the premium item that came with the world, I usually had to buy the 40 dollar world. Financially I feel like I am making out better but quality not so much.
(And campus and Oasis Landing) Ah, yes, I see now how I misinterpreted the line “most were not utilized because we were confined to one world without mods”, sorry. You meant while you’re playing, most of those worlds are just lying there in their folders, unreachable. That’s true. I’ve always regretted that but it’s got nothing to do with the subject of this topic. That wasn’t some trick, it was how the game had been designed. And we do have the mod if that bothers us, so it’s theory now
Some of the premium stuff they offered attached to worlds but I don’t quite see the parallel? Because it’s quite the opposite in fact and simply comparable to being obliged to buy a GP just because you’d like a certain item badly. I’d say that’s legit (from EA’s perspective)? The fact you feel it’s not actually underlines why the Store as such was such a great thing: we were so used to be able to pick and choose, that it surprised and annoyed us whenever we couldn’t.
ETA: I also remember getting those free points just twice or so (and the ability to download Riverview for free). Of course there was the ‘Did you get your free points today’ thing but that was for Americans only (untill towards the end of the game ).
I don't know if I am being clear or if I am not understanding your point.
Subject of topic is concern over selling stuff broken up. My point is EA has sold everything broken up before Sims 4 which is why I originally stated I was sort of okay with it up until this latest stuff pack. In my opinion, this highway robbery started with Sims 3 store which is why I mentioned the having to buy the store worlds even if you only wanted the premium content that came with that world. They forced you to spend the 40 dollars to get the one premium content because they wouldn't sell it separately to make a buck. The Sims 3 store itself was a way to sell everything broken up. I just believe people did not have an issue with the Sims 3 store because they were happy with the Sims 3 game. The same cannot be said about Sims 4 which is why it feels like even worse.
As for the free points, I remember getting free points for watching an advertisement but it sure wasn't 1000 points. It was maybe one hundred at the most. I am sure EA was getting advertisement kickbacks for every advertisement watched and I am sure it was more than the one dollar's worth of points we were given. So I was given points for my time not just because they are nice.
Yes, the subject is concern over selling stuff broken up, and you bring in an example where stuff actually wasn’t broken up but - quite the contrary - linked to something else (like when you want one item that comes in a GP; you’ll have to buy the entire GP then too don’t you?). Monte Vista for example came with the pizza oven, Sunlit Tides came with the sauna, Hidden Springs with the fountain of youth. Those items made sense being attached to those worlds. At one point they started to add features to worlds however they knew many people wanted badly (like the toddler stuff to Aurora Skies and the selling system to Midnight Hollow). Can’t help noticing that was towards the end of Sims 3, this change actually struck me back then and it made me angry. Tricks indeed. In fact this is what supports my feeling this is a very well thought through strategy that started right there and then. But not the same thing as what they’ve been doing now. Never have they ever sold us an incomplete EP, offering essential stuff belonging to it later through the Store. You knew that if you bought a pack, it would be complete. You didn’t need the Store to complete it (and that’s exactly the issue people are concerned about now). And before anyone brings in that pet feeding station: nobody needs that, there are food bowls in the pack, including a ‘bottomless’ one you can buy as a LTR. Packs in the old games were complete, C&D clearly is not. That’s the difference.
Watching advertisements enabled you to collect free sim points (5 per video). I managed to get quite a few large Store sets that way (playing them in a different tab).
We are clearly looking at this from two different angles. The Sims 3 store in general is selling stuff broken up in my opinion. Have we not heard over and over how great the Sims 3 store is because we can pick and choose? Isn't that broken up? None of the store items were part of expansion, stuff packs etc. which is why I said from my original comment I was pretty much fine with them selling things broken up within reason because it has been happening before Sims 4.
I also said I feel like I am making out better financially even though the quality of Sims 4 plum. I stated the example of having to buy a 40 dollar world for one item vs buying a 10 dollar or 20 game pack for one item.
You can say they never gave us an expansion and then sold us essential stuff later but it is subjective. I feel like the toddler items that came with Aurora Skies were essential and should have been in the Generations expansion. If I am not mistaken, we didn't even get a world with Generations so that pack did not feel complete by no means to me. Why sell me a world that really had nothing to do with toddlers and add in essential toddler premium content? Even you could see that. In Sunlit Tides, selling me a sauna was no different than selling me a hot tub in a stuff pack except I had to buy the 40 dollar world. It was an essential item for me just like the hot tub which is why I bought both. In my opinion, Sims 3 was just as bad and as I stated before people were just a lot happier with the game vs Sims 4. When you are happy with a game, you might not have the same issues that other people have with the game. It is why people who are happy with Sims 4 are willing to keep buying and praising the game even though it is flawed and the same could be said about Sims 1, 2 and 3.
No, that’s not broken up. Broken up means delivering an incomplete EP deliberately in order to be able to sell your customers a following pack with items that complete it. Recolours, matching furniture and additional pets. There really is just one way to look at this, sorry. The concern is the incomplete pack, not the SP. Simmers were disappointed about the lacking C&D pack, even before they heard about MFP. When they heard about that, that’s when they became mad. I already adressed AS and the toddler stuff, saying that for me, in retrospect, inaugurated a new era. They’re ‘refining’ what they started back then, that’s the concern. Not the excuse. People apparently forget we’re talking about the very same company here. Sims 3 and 4 aren’t persons you know.
“Sims 4 is naughty!”
“Yeah, well, Sims 3 was naughty too!”
“Ah, yeah, you’re right. That makes Sims 4 a lot less naughty.”
Eh, no it doesn’t.
Yeah this my last explanation because you are going to see things the way you see things. I will see them my way. As I said it is SUBJECTIVE. We have been dealing with items being sold to us separately so why should it bother us now? You can save your naughty explanation because trying to dumb down my point without taking the time to truly understand is just rude.
I was just as vocal with Sims 3 store and how we were being sold content as I am about Sims 4. It is why I compared the two and I have a right like anyone else to do so spare me the pettiness.
Items being sold separately, and items being broken up and sold separately are two completely different things. The store set you mention wasn’t broken up from the Generations EP. Sure that EP didn’t include a world, and you are entitled to feel disappointed about that, but the toddler items released nearly two years later is nothing more than a completely different set of content. The store stuff was made by a completely different studio.
The latest SP was made by the same studio as the C&D EP, and in addition to having a subset of pets included (which was previously standard with the Pets EP) it also includes pet specific content, pet specific clothing, and additional content that was designed for the C&D expansion. Oh and both backs were released within 4 months of each other. It’s a different situation entirely.
Are you seriously pulling the same studio card? They are all under the same umbrella EA. How can it be a completely different? They released late night and then released like some date night clothing set. It was a stuff pack connected to Late Night. Just because they did not release items right after the expansion does not mean they didn't have an add on idea to one of the current expansions. UGH I will restate...I was okay with them selling stuff broken up because they have sold us separate items in the past iteration, but they went too far with the latest stuff pack.
You are entitled to think Sims 3 was not broken up but in my opinion it was. I stated generations and I stated the greenhouse as examples.
I actually just went and checked and I got the greenhouse for free as part of the Best of 2012 compilation by playing the DD/Complete a set. I didn't get it until January 2014, but it was free. I have pages and pages of free stuff from the store. Not single item things either. I got so many sets free it's not even funny. You cannot compare the store to the stuff packs because there's no way to get any stuff packs free.
I just can't....lol
When the Sims 3 was the current game it cost money. The point again is I was using it as an example of how Sims 3 was broken up vs how Sims 4 is broken up now. Who can say what we will get for free when they move on to Sims 5?
I don't know how much more clear I can be. I am literally getting a headache trying to get people to understand what I am saying versus just attacking me with how much the Sims 3 store is great.
The greenhouse should have been included in the Season Expansion and just because you got it free two to three years later doesn't make it okay because many other people paid full price even if they were happy about it.
I get what you are saying, if it helps @keekee53
I also get what others are saying as well. I tend to think ts3 store was the start of what lead to MFP. It has things like you mentioned that echo how ts4 is being handled.
I also get why people are saying it wasn't quite the same due to, with some patience admittedly, being able to buy 90% of the content one off if one pleases and getting stuff free with ad watching and complete a set stuff.
I for the record am not the biggest fan of the store myself, I only recently started considering getting stuff from it because ts3 is looking like it is going to be my only Sims game I play for the next long while.
Anyways, yeah I know what you are saying and I happen to be kind of agreeing with both sides of this which is why I've been quietly sitting on the sideline not saying much. Probably others like me who get you but aren't chiming in
@MzPigglyPooh Honestly, go back to earlier iterations. I've revisited TS2 here and there. The reason I don't play it all the time is that it feels a little bit outdated. I like the Gallery function because it makes the game feel a lot more relevant. Because even though I don't want or care about an online Sims game, I do think that content sharing brings the community into your game so that you do feel connected. I also would love a co-op version of the game ... I don't care about online, but sometimes I think it would be really cool to play a world with max 3 other people and you all collectively build an entire world together. I think that would be cool.
Anyways, point is, go back to earlier versions if you are unhappy. It will make you appreciate certain things about TS4 and remind you of how great the older versions were.
No, that is not the point. The point is what the OP says the point is and the OP clearly wants to discuss the future of the franchise, not the past.
Honestly if they keep going the way they are there is no future for this franchise. At least for me. I won't be supporting any more of things being broken up as they have been. I see it as they've been continuously getting away with it so they're going to just keep doing it. They've gotten enough money from me.
Yes. I love playing the predecessor of Sims 4, still do (and it doesn’t feel dated to me either). But when I want to discuss my experiences with Sims 3 I turn to the Sims 3 section. The reason I’m here (and I can’t imagine this doesn’t go for others) is because I’m also still interested in the future. My hopes for Sims 4 have faded as well but who knows they’ll surprise us. And who knows there will be this successor we can all love again. Anyway, that’s what we’re here for. Not to hear “go play Sims 2 or 3” again and again.
@keekee53 I’m not under the impression you are taking much effort to understand what I’m saying either. It’s not subjective, it’s factual. You cannot compare the unfinished C&D EP to any EP in the past, least of all by drawing the Store into the discussion. And you can’t prove your point about ‘breaking up content’ in the past by using examples of items and features that were linked to something else. All you’re doing by this “they’ve always done this” arguments is trying to downplay the - very legit - concerns of the OP.
You can still only say in "your" view and their view, but not necessarily the viewpoint of everyone that buys these games. Nor can anyone have a right or more legit view - it's all in the eye of the beholder.
The only thing we can agree on - Sims 4 is not Sims 3,2, or 1. It's Sims 4 and from the beginning not only did Maxis make it vocal this was not those games and never meant to be - but a brand new direction - back to the root of the game - as if Sims 1, 2 and 3 did not exist. Many of us have had issues since the beginning of Sims 4. Maxis did try to make it clear - it is just many of us - yes including me - could not help but constantly compare - but with one difference - I get it now.
After almost 4 years of Maxis telling us this not a sequel of those games but their vision - we have to either accept it or not. That seems to me if 4 years of arguments has not changed a thing - nothing we can SAY - will. It's the only Sims game in town - you can stick with what came before or play this one - even if you go mobile or console - this is the Sims game you get. This is now The Sims, no matter how much we loved the earlier version, this is now. You have 3 choices - go back to the former, quit the game period, or move ahead with this one. Those are our options.
I chose to enjoy my older versions as long as possible, and ALSO enjoy THIS direction seeing as pc games go - those older games will eventually no longer play as systems evolve, and I like updated systems. Fact is many old games I loved that still exist many years later - are truthfully not much at all like their 20 year ago versions. The Sims was after all bound to change - all things do eventually.
"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.....
I will agree that things were broken up in S3. I just don't feel that it's to the extent that things are broken up in S4. I feel the problem is getting worse. Not staying the same and certainly not getting better. For example, I do not know of any object that was just recolored and sold as a new object in S3. I also do not recall any of the exact same style being split in two. Like the bed, end table, etc. that was split in C&D and MFP. Yes, they released similar styles that would go nice together in S3, but not the EXACT same style.
Guys, please, stop comparing Sims 3 to Sims 4. It's an argument that is eternal and never-ending. Nobody can win it. And I'm not saying that because I think I've lost either. It's just that I'm not going to convince you and you're not going to convince me.
Just wanna say, the primary reason we have packs in Sims 4, is because it's not Online play. If it was, they'd stick with the Store.
The only thing that matters here, is that EA has steadily escalated to a new high and low - not because it's Sims 4, but because it's a Triple-A publisher looking to get as much money as possible for as little effort as possible. And we need to focus because when it comes to DLC, it only ever gets worse.
I’d love to stop comparing but you see, others are and if you throw the ball you’ll have to play it. When you bring in arguments into a discussion, people will react to those arguments.
I was fine with it at first. I am not sure how I feel about it now. This whole my first pet stuff pack was just wrong. The stuff pack offering the hot tubs was just wrong too.
In my opinion, the Sims 3 store was just as terrible. Selling worlds(not expansions) for like $35 bucks and not being able to get the gameplay item separately. It forced you to buy some worlds. I will give them that the worlds were beautiful enough to sell at that price but most were not utilized because we were confined to one world without mods.
Many people have said with the Sims 3 store you could pick and choose what you wanted to buy and I disagree. There were so many times I wanted one specific thing and I was met with the this is not available for individual sale. If I wanted the canning station, I had to buy the 17 dollar set. If I wanted the popcorn and cotton candy maker, I had to buy the 19 dollar set. If I wanted the playpen and walker, I had to buy the world.
So I have to say I have been concerned about how the Sims 3 was and Sims 4 is being broken up and sold. I will say Sims 3's quality was better but still not worth the prices I had to pay. Buying a "gold" world back then was almost the same cost of an expansion if not more.
True, they did some pretty questionable things with the Store as well and the Worlds indeed were very expensive (you could leave them though, the packs came with enough worlds to choose from). I’ve played in every world I bought by the way, without mods and with one family. The bin system in the game is a very user friendly one (when you say “most were not utilized because we were confined to one world without mods”, I take it you think simmers in general don’t use mods by the way?). Having to buy a set in order to get a certain item is comparable to having to buy a pack to get a certain item, not to deliver only part of a pack and sell the rest seperately a few months later asking more money.
When I say being confined to one world without mods I meant you have one homeworld and the three destination worlds. For instance, you cannot live in Sunset Valley and travel to Isla Paridiso without a mod to make that happen.
If I want one item in sims 4 stuff pack it cost me 10 dollars. If I wanted the premium item that came with the world, I usually had to buy the 40 dollar world. Financially I feel like I am making out better but quality not so much.
(And campus and Oasis Landing) Ah, yes, I see now how I misinterpreted the line “most were not utilized because we were confined to one world without mods”, sorry. You meant while you’re playing, most of those worlds are just lying there in their folders, unreachable. That’s true. I’ve always regretted that but it’s got nothing to do with the subject of this topic. That wasn’t some trick, it was how the game had been designed. And we do have the mod if that bothers us, so it’s theory now
Some of the premium stuff they offered attached to worlds but I don’t quite see the parallel? Because it’s quite the opposite in fact and simply comparable to being obliged to buy a GP just because you’d like a certain item badly. I’d say that’s legit (from EA’s perspective)? The fact you feel it’s not actually underlines why the Store as such was such a great thing: we were so used to be able to pick and choose, that it surprised and annoyed us whenever we couldn’t.
ETA: I also remember getting those free points just twice or so (and the ability to download Riverview for free). Of course there was the ‘Did you get your free points today’ thing but that was for Americans only (untill towards the end of the game ).
I don't know if I am being clear or if I am not understanding your point.
Subject of topic is concern over selling stuff broken up. My point is EA has sold everything broken up before Sims 4 which is why I originally stated I was sort of okay with it up until this latest stuff pack. In my opinion, this highway robbery started with Sims 3 store which is why I mentioned the having to buy the store worlds even if you only wanted the premium content that came with that world. They forced you to spend the 40 dollars to get the one premium content because they wouldn't sell it separately to make a buck. The Sims 3 store itself was a way to sell everything broken up. I just believe people did not have an issue with the Sims 3 store because they were happy with the Sims 3 game. The same cannot be said about Sims 4 which is why it feels like even worse.
As for the free points, I remember getting free points for watching an advertisement but it sure wasn't 1000 points. It was maybe one hundred at the most. I am sure EA was getting advertisement kickbacks for every advertisement watched and I am sure it was more than the one dollar's worth of points we were given. So I was given points for my time not just because they are nice.
Yes, the subject is concern over selling stuff broken up, and you bring in an example where stuff actually wasn’t broken up but - quite the contrary - linked to something else (like when you want one item that comes in a GP; you’ll have to buy the entire GP then too don’t you?). Monte Vista for example came with the pizza oven, Sunlit Tides came with the sauna, Hidden Springs with the fountain of youth. Those items made sense being attached to those worlds. At one point they started to add features to worlds however they knew many people wanted badly (like the toddler stuff to Aurora Skies and the selling system to Midnight Hollow). Can’t help noticing that was towards the end of Sims 3, this change actually struck me back then and it made me angry. Tricks indeed. In fact this is what supports my feeling this is a very well thought through strategy that started right there and then. But not the same thing as what they’ve been doing now. Never have they ever sold us an incomplete EP, offering essential stuff belonging to it later through the Store. You knew that if you bought a pack, it would be complete. You didn’t need the Store to complete it (and that’s exactly the issue people are concerned about now). And before anyone brings in that pet feeding station: nobody needs that, there are food bowls in the pack, including a ‘bottomless’ one you can buy as a LTR. Packs in the old games were complete, C&D clearly is not. That’s the difference.
Watching advertisements enabled you to collect free sim points (5 per video). I managed to get quite a few large Store sets that way (playing them in a different tab).
We are clearly looking at this from two different angles. The Sims 3 store in general is selling stuff broken up in my opinion. Have we not heard over and over how great the Sims 3 store is because we can pick and choose? Isn't that broken up? None of the store items were part of expansion, stuff packs etc. which is why I said from my original comment I was pretty much fine with them selling things broken up within reason because it has been happening before Sims 4.
I also said I feel like I am making out better financially even though the quality of Sims 4 plum. I stated the example of having to buy a 40 dollar world for one item vs buying a 10 dollar or 20 game pack for one item.
You can say they never gave us an expansion and then sold us essential stuff later but it is subjective. I feel like the toddler items that came with Aurora Skies were essential and should have been in the Generations expansion. If I am not mistaken, we didn't even get a world with Generations so that pack did not feel complete by no means to me. Why sell me a world that really had nothing to do with toddlers and add in essential toddler premium content? Even you could see that. In Sunlit Tides, selling me a sauna was no different than selling me a hot tub in a stuff pack except I had to buy the 40 dollar world. It was an essential item for me just like the hot tub which is why I bought both. In my opinion, Sims 3 was just as bad and as I stated before people were just a lot happier with the game vs Sims 4. When you are happy with a game, you might not have the same issues that other people have with the game. It is why people who are happy with Sims 4 are willing to keep buying and praising the game even though it is flawed and the same could be said about Sims 1, 2 and 3.
No, that’s not broken up. Broken up means delivering an incomplete EP deliberately in order to be able to sell your customers a following pack with items that complete it. Recolours, matching furniture and additional pets. There really is just one way to look at this, sorry. The concern is the incomplete pack, not the SP. Simmers were disappointed about the lacking C&D pack, even before they heard about MFP. When they heard about that, that’s when they became mad. I already adressed AS and the toddler stuff, saying that for me, in retrospect, inaugurated a new era. They’re ‘refining’ what they started back then, that’s the concern. Not the excuse. People apparently forget we’re talking about the very same company here. Sims 3 and 4 aren’t persons you know.
“Sims 4 is naughty!”
“Yeah, well, Sims 3 was naughty too!”
“Ah, yeah, you’re right. That makes Sims 4 a lot less naughty.”
Eh, no it doesn’t.
Yeah this my last explanation because you are going to see things the way you see things. I will see them my way. As I said it is SUBJECTIVE. We have been dealing with items being sold to us separately so why should it bother us now? You can save your naughty explanation because trying to dumb down my point without taking the time to truly understand is just rude.
I was just as vocal with Sims 3 store and how we were being sold content as I am about Sims 4. It is why I compared the two and I have a right like anyone else to do so spare me the pettiness.
Items being sold separately, and items being broken up and sold separately are two completely different things. The store set you mention wasn’t broken up from the Generations EP. Sure that EP didn’t include a world, and you are entitled to feel disappointed about that, but the toddler items released nearly two years later is nothing more than a completely different set of content. The store stuff was made by a completely different studio.
The latest SP was made by the same studio as the C&D EP, and in addition to having a subset of pets included (which was previously standard with the Pets EP) it also includes pet specific content, pet specific clothing, and additional content that was designed for the C&D expansion. Oh and both backs were released within 4 months of each other. It’s a different situation entirely.
Thank you for saving me the hassle of writing that out. People do realise that the store was made by the same company who make TS4? I don't really understand those that criticise that practice but praise the current dlc model. It's not that different in theory.
My view is though that the sims 3 store was not a necessity for your game. The sims 4 stuff packs are. One may be cheaper than a store set if you pay full price but long term stuff packs are ridiculously expensive and they are required to fill the game out and I don't say that as a compliment. I watched a reviewer (an official one) say in a video the answer to keep sims 4 interesting is buy more packs. That statement alone should tell you the base game is not strong enough to stand on its own two feet.
I can't imagine that advice being given in any other gaming community I'm a part of. Someone complains they are bored or don't like the game and then solution is buy more packs and spend more money on a game you aren't finding that interesting?
I agree with @JoAnne65. No matter what the sims 3 did or didn't do (and still does) why it okay for the Sims 4 to do the same thing just using a different horse? It shouldn't be. What happened with My First Pet was a disgrace. I Know many don't agree and thats okay but this will just be the start.
That situation is not comparable to the Sims 3,2,1 or anything in the history. We have never had a product that relies on another to make it worth it. We have never had guru's saying before "We don't recommend you buy x unless you have y, but if you want it we can't stop you buying it" (lets be honest, they don't care. They have covered their backsides by making it crystal clear you need an expansion to be able to fully use every item in MFP. It's all over the trailer and as I've said straight from the horses mouths.
That is a first for this game. That cannot be denied or argued because its never happened before. Dlc for dlc is a new low for this iteration only and one I predict will happen again.
Sims 4 IS NOT part of the Sims 1-2-3 series - Maxis made it clear in 2013 before it came out and again in 2014 after coming out - so comparing it to the previous (1-2-3) series is rather futile, never mind expect it to follow what they did. Remember - what Maxis heads have said since introducing the game before it came out. We chose to ignore it and keep comparing. I remember even objecting to it being called Sims 4 if any of you recall when they said that - BUT nothing changed. This is their vision - their remake of the Sims, their NEW FOCUS Rachel called it - their parallel Universe I think one of them called it. A new and different beginning they tried hard to tell us - it is not their fault none of us could accept that - but I seriously doubt if our objection phased anyone at Maxis, as it has created no back sliding back to the original series after almost 4 years - nothing is going to change that direction Maxis then announced NEW VISION for the sims that it has gone in - including also now the console and mobile versions also going in.
Comments
So instead of comparing the games yet again... even though I know the comparisons won't stop.... I think the OP is absolutely correct. Anyone who has been a dedicated fan of the Sims should be concerned about how it is being broken up. I no longer play TS4... I stopped a long time ago because of how the packs seemed to have little to no content really. It's not what I want to pay for.
That's the part that bothers me.... the people who play TS4 seem to have no concern that they are being ripped off. They should be demanding quality, not cut and paste. Why pay EA/Maxis $10, $20, $40 bucks for cut and paste. There are so many CC creators that can provide better quality than EA these days. But...I guess until something better comes along, and blows EA/Maxis out of the life simulation community.... this is what we are stuck with.
That was a major complaint before offline was released too. In the release notes for offline they basically said the simulation couldn’t handle larger maps. I do agree though the maps were way too small. I don’t think their idea of interconnected cities was bad, but the execution was terrible. Cities Skylines pulled it off much better.
“Sims 4 is naughty!”
“Yeah, well, Sims 3 was naughty too!”
“Ah, yeah, you’re right. That makes Sims 4 a lot less naughty.”
Eh, no it doesn’t.
The pretty funked up part about it is the people who paid all that money for it (Sim City 2013 I mean). That's where I am with TS4. I've paid so much money for this iteration and I honestly regret it. Back when it came out my cousin purchased it first and I asked her about it. Something told me to just finish buying for the sims 3 and I didn't, especially when she told me how different and bare it was. Its like I want to fully uninstall and go back to the previous two iterations but I've spent so much on it I also feel like I need to get my money's worth... because I' definitely not buying any more until EA gets their ish together. (Which is doubtful honestly)
Anyways, point is, go back to earlier versions if you are unhappy. It will make you appreciate certain things about TS4 and remind you of how great the older versions were.
I completely agree there about the Sims 3. I didn't like the Sims 3, but I still find it to be way better than the Sims 4. It stands out from a mile off, and I only played the Sims 3 base game with no DLC.
I do play 2 and 3 from time to time and there are things I do like about 4 (CAS, decorating seems quicker and easier, I love the fact that you can shrink and enlarge items like TV's) my issue is when I go back and play 2, for example, it just makes me feel like the gameplay and the indepthness of the sims themselves should have been added to 4 and I'm just not getting that in 4 without having to use mods.
In my opinion, I see it as the same situation. I don't care it if it was three years later. Generations did not have a world so I felt like it was incomplete. The toddler stuff being sold with Aurora Skies should have been patched in. Even if it was a side venture, there were items you could not get unless you purchased it from the store like the sauna and the toddler stuff. The post was asking about concern about items being sold to us broken up and I said I didn't really mind because we went through this in Sims 3. Whether you want to admit it or not Sims 3 sold us items broken up. Everyone always says "oh the sims 3 store was great because we could pick and choose what we want." That sounds broken up to me. These items were not sold in the expansion pack or stuff pack. While they not have been essential to you and your gameplay, they were to mine and I had to shell out money to get it on top of expansions and stuff packs and sometimes be forced to buy a whole world that I did not want.
It is easy to find excuses for Sims 3 because people were happy with the game. I remember even buying the greenhouse and it was snowing inside. Oh, another item that should have been given to us in the SEASONS expansion pack instead of broken out into a store set. I am not saying Sims 4 is a better game than Sims 3 or even on the same level. I am saying is Sims 3 was just as bad as Sims 4 with selling content broken up.
Completely done with EA
Yeah this my last explanation because you are going to see things the way you see things. I will see them my way. As I said it is SUBJECTIVE. We have been dealing with items being sold to us separately so why should it bother us now? You can save your naughty explanation because trying to dumb down my point without taking the time to truly understand is just rude.
I was just as vocal with Sims 3 store and how we were being sold content as I am about Sims 4. It is why I compared the two and I have a right like anyone else to do so spare me the pettiness.
Items being sold separately, and items being broken up and sold separately are two completely different things. The store set you mention wasn’t broken up from the Generations EP. Sure that EP didn’t include a world, and you are entitled to feel disappointed about that, but the toddler items released nearly two years later is nothing more than a completely different set of content. The store stuff was made by a completely different studio.
The latest SP was made by the same studio as the C&D EP, and in addition to having a subset of pets included (which was previously standard with the Pets EP) it also includes pet specific content, pet specific clothing, and additional content that was designed for the C&D expansion. Oh and both backs were released within 4 months of each other. It’s a different situation entirely.
@keekee53 I’m not under the impression you are taking much effort to understand what I’m saying either. It’s not subjective, it’s factual. You cannot compare the unfinished C&D EP to any EP in the past, least of all by drawing the Store into the discussion. And you can’t prove your point about ‘breaking up content’ in the past by using examples of items and features that were linked to something else. All you’re doing by this “they’ve always done this” arguments is trying to downplay the - very legit - concerns of the OP.
I feel the same way.
I would rather play in Sunset Valley than all the chopped up worlds of TS4. I like having control over all my sims when I send sims to other parts of the world. I love having my sims being able to visit other sims homes without loading screens and still have their home lot available to me. The place just feels more alive with sims going about their business, children going to school. It's feels more like a simulation instead of a doll house world.
I have the traveler mod, which was cool to take my sims on trip to Bridgeport, but I don't use it much.
I take huge TS3 breaks, but I always find it a joy to return.
Well my suggestion wasn't for you. My point was related to my words and my post, not OP's.
MzPigglyPooh stated that they felt like uninstalling the game and going back to earlier iterations. Honestly, I understand feeling that way. I think it makes you appreciate certain things from TS4 - like multitasking, Gallery, etc. - but also reminds you of the great things from the earlier games.
As MzPigglyPooh stated, going back to earlier iterations makes you feel like TS4 should have been better. The past of the franchise is clearly not irrelevant.
If MzPigglyPooh doesn't want to take my advice or thinks I'm stupid, I don't care. They are free to think that way.
If people want to discuss solely the future of TS4 and not the past, go ahead. I will give my input and if I feel like going to the past iterations will help, then I will suggest that. People don't have to take my advice. I'm simply recommending them what worked for me. After playing TS4, I tentatively went back to TS2. Because I hate knowing that the era of TS2 has ended. But upon playing it, I found a lot of things that I felt were missing from TS4. I think that helps for creating future content for TS4. There are also certain things that I liked about TS4 that weren't in other versions. I think that helps for creating future iterations of the game.
But I appreciate your input.
Believe what you want and say what you will. OP asked if anyone else is concerned. I said I wasn't concerned at first because they have done this in the past. It was only this last stuff pack I had a concern with.
As I said, you are missing my point and I was on topic again and again. I went through scenarios to explain why I feel the way I do and how I saw things happen before. I am not trying to trash either game and you are blowing this up into a Sims 3 vs Sims 4 and it isn't. Generations was not a complete expansion because it was missing a world SUBJECTIVE. Other people think it is a complete expansion SUBJECTIVE.
I used Sims 3 it as an example just like other people use past iterations to bring home their point as well. Many times people have used Sims 2 bowling to show that Sims 4 bowling is terrible. Should we grab pitchforks and tell them not to bring up sims 2 as well..come on.
You really don't think the greenhouse should have been part of Seasons...if they pulled that in Sims 4, people would be going crazy...lol In Sims 2, we got greenhouses with seasons.
Completely done with EA
I just can't....lol
When the Sims 3 was the current game it cost money. The point again is I was using it as an example of how Sims 3 was broken up vs how Sims 4 is broken up now. Who can say what we will get for free when they move on to Sims 5?
I don't know how much more clear I can be. I am literally getting a headache trying to get people to understand what I am saying versus just attacking me with how much the Sims 3 store is great.
The greenhouse should have been included in the Season Expansion and just because you got it free two to three years later doesn't make it okay because many other people paid full price even if they were happy about it.
Are you seriously pulling the same studio card? They are all under the same umbrella EA. How can it be a completely different? They released late night and then released like some date night clothing set. It was a stuff pack connected to Late Night. Just because they did not release items right after the expansion does not mean they didn't have an add on idea to one of the current expansions. UGH I will restate...I was okay with them selling stuff broken up because they have sold us separate items in the past iteration, but they went too far with the latest stuff pack.
You are entitled to think Sims 3 was not broken up but in my opinion it was. I stated generations and I stated the greenhouse as examples.
I get what you are saying, if it helps @keekee53
I also get what others are saying as well. I tend to think ts3 store was the start of what lead to MFP. It has things like you mentioned that echo how ts4 is being handled.
I also get why people are saying it wasn't quite the same due to, with some patience admittedly, being able to buy 90% of the content one off if one pleases and getting stuff free with ad watching and complete a set stuff.
I for the record am not the biggest fan of the store myself, I only recently started considering getting stuff from it because ts3 is looking like it is going to be my only Sims game I play for the next long while.
Anyways, yeah I know what you are saying and I happen to be kind of agreeing with both sides of this which is why I've been quietly sitting on the sideline not saying much. Probably others like me who get you but aren't chiming in
You can still only say in "your" view and their view, but not necessarily the viewpoint of everyone that buys these games. Nor can anyone have a right or more legit view - it's all in the eye of the beholder.
The only thing we can agree on - Sims 4 is not Sims 3,2, or 1. It's Sims 4 and from the beginning not only did Maxis make it vocal this was not those games and never meant to be - but a brand new direction - back to the root of the game - as if Sims 1, 2 and 3 did not exist. Many of us have had issues since the beginning of Sims 4. Maxis did try to make it clear - it is just many of us - yes including me - could not help but constantly compare - but with one difference - I get it now.
After almost 4 years of Maxis telling us this not a sequel of those games but their vision - we have to either accept it or not. That seems to me if 4 years of arguments has not changed a thing - nothing we can SAY - will. It's the only Sims game in town - you can stick with what came before or play this one - even if you go mobile or console - this is the Sims game you get. This is now The Sims, no matter how much we loved the earlier version, this is now. You have 3 choices - go back to the former, quit the game period, or move ahead with this one. Those are our options.
I chose to enjoy my older versions as long as possible, and ALSO enjoy THIS direction seeing as pc games go - those older games will eventually no longer play as systems evolve, and I like updated systems. Fact is many old games I loved that still exist many years later - are truthfully not much at all like their 20 year ago versions. The Sims was after all bound to change - all things do eventually.
"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.....
Completely done with EA
Thank you for saving me the hassle of writing that out. People do realise that the store was made by the same company who make TS4? I don't really understand those that criticise that practice but praise the current dlc model. It's not that different in theory.
My view is though that the sims 3 store was not a necessity for your game. The sims 4 stuff packs are. One may be cheaper than a store set if you pay full price but long term stuff packs are ridiculously expensive and they are required to fill the game out and I don't say that as a compliment. I watched a reviewer (an official one) say in a video the answer to keep sims 4 interesting is buy more packs. That statement alone should tell you the base game is not strong enough to stand on its own two feet.
I can't imagine that advice being given in any other gaming community I'm a part of. Someone complains they are bored or don't like the game and then solution is buy more packs and spend more money on a game you aren't finding that interesting?
I agree with @JoAnne65. No matter what the sims 3 did or didn't do (and still does) why it okay for the Sims 4 to do the same thing just using a different horse? It shouldn't be. What happened with My First Pet was a disgrace. I Know many don't agree and thats okay but this will just be the start.
That situation is not comparable to the Sims 3,2,1 or anything in the history. We have never had a product that relies on another to make it worth it. We have never had guru's saying before "We don't recommend you buy x unless you have y, but if you want it we can't stop you buying it" (lets be honest, they don't care. They have covered their backsides by making it crystal clear you need an expansion to be able to fully use every item in MFP. It's all over the trailer and as I've said straight from the horses mouths.
That is a first for this game. That cannot be denied or argued because its never happened before. Dlc for dlc is a new low for this iteration only and one I predict will happen again.
Remember this blog even before the game came out:
https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/pc/news/whats-out-and-whats-in
"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.....