@Paryhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouH0G6-wK9g To be honest with you I think the social activity was largely increase in The Sims 3. With The Sims 2 I felt I didn't have enough time to increase family social action so I never bothered to try. In The Sims 3, you have more time to increase your families interactions. They focused on trying to give you room to increase those in The Sims 3 without worrying about your other needs. So it never felt like a chore. I go back to this video and I look at everyone in this video and how much fun they were having creating The Sims 3. They loved what they were doing, and I feel all the love they were having went into The Sims 3. All levels of enjoyment they were having was left into The Sims 3 as a whole. If I had to pick a dislike of The Sims 2, it was the fact that the game forced you to do something that didn't give you the time to do, and even if you do reach that, it falls down too fast and by the time you tried reaching it by the end of your age cycle, it doesn't help in the end giving your sims a negative trait as they age up. That is one of the draw back in The Sims 2 and these developers knew that and created a better reality in The Sims 3, giving you a much better gameplay and you were able to do more things in the game as a whole, including focusing socializing with your family and being able to co-exist the people you love. Personally in my opinion The Sims 2 was better to do other things with the expansion packs then trying to be shut in your home all the time, such as starting your own business.
I don't believe there is more focused socialising in TS3 at all. None. I've had sim families move around their homes like fish in a bowl, barely acknowledging anyone elses existence.
Children are able to be left at home on their own. Some people might see this as a plus but I don't.
No longer do children run to greet their parents as they got home from work as in TS2.
Children can no longer dance with their parents on their feet, nor do they have their own cute child like dance moves. Every kid dances like a pro Beyonce backup dancer.
Toddlers no longer dance to music while sitting on the floor.
Families rarely converse while eating dinner. Often, the only acknowledgement or response to a rare remark in a + or - above a sims head. Meals that used to take an hour or more for sim families have simply become a race to see who can shovel their food down the fastest, like a front end loader.
There was no setting out of dinner plates for all family members. It's simply a battle to get to the food plate first.
Sims are unable to bathe their toddlers or babies in the bath or the sink
Sim children are unable to play games like cops and robbers, Mary Mack, etc.
family members don't have the option to give another family member a kiss.
You can't goose your partner anymore
Makeout interactions are tame and watered down.
So is the slow dance
Slapping and fighting interactions are also watered down.
Sims don't really stay as angry with the need to take time to cool off as they did in TS2, and from what I can see, TS4 is even worse for this kind of thing.
There are many more, too many to list.
I love TS3, but I'm not blind to its faults. It gave us a lot with open world and improved skills etc, it did push the series forward. But it sacrificed a lot to do so. It forgot a lot of the little things that made the sims so endearing. I don't believe it was made with quite the same love that went into TS2.
Okay I'm not sure why my post has a line break in between virtually every line because it isn't written like that, but it's terribly annoying. @EA_Mage , is there some kind of issue with the forum?On looking around I've noticed a lot of posts have massive line breaks unless it's a continual sentence run. It isn't happening to me anywhere else, and I thought in the beginning it was just me, but now I'm not so sure..
I think most of what they wanted was for the player to do all the interactions, and I kind of find that the setting out the plates to take a bit longer on the short time frame that the game has, and I think they were aware of it and decided to cut back on a lot of that stuff so that you had more time to do other things without the animation taking up too much of our gameplay.
.. I never felt as if I wasted money on a pack, and the developers were just concerned with ways they could drive the genre of life simulation forwards in the wacky, but also sensible form of The Sims.
I think these are really key points.
I never felt like I wasted a single cent with any TS2 packs either. They had plenty of content, and what content there was often tied in with the rest of the stuff included with the game or other packs. I always felt like I got value for money, in regards to the included items and the amount of enjoyment I got from said packs in terms of playing the game.
Though I wasn't really around on the TS2 boards back in the day ( I played more than I looked at forums ) I always felt as if the game had been developed by people who really cared about it. As if the game actually meant something to them too, rather than being just a job, or just to see what dumbest or silliest things they could put into the game ( talking toilet, animal costumes )
The humour of Ts2, while wacky, is sophisticated, whimsical and it actually IS amusing. Unlike TS4, which is just riddled with inane, dumb toilet humour, and TS3 which doesn't quite have the same standard of amusement as TS2 does.
I always felt as if the developers of TS2 actually sat back and seemed to think "now, how can we improve this in a way which is in keeping with the charm of the game, and the Sims overall?"
With TS3 I do think they missed the mark a bit. They gave us wonderful improvements in the form of open world, and improved skills like gardening for instance, but they sacrificed a lot in regard to the little things, like family interactions. I feel that with TS3 it was more a case of materialism and what "stuff" we could give our sims rather than anything quality in the interactions between sims themselves, compared to its previous counterpart TS2.
With TS4 all I get is the feeling of "now how can we charge the most money for the least amount of effort?" It's almost as if previous iterations and the love for them have gone right out the window.
I agree. This model, whether intentional or not, feels like EA is trying to squeeze every dollar out of the customer. Through its stuff packs, and even some expansions of The Sims 4, it feels like The Sims has become too object-centric and focused on aesthetic/vanity, which I firmly believe is a path the PC game should never take. That stuff belongs in the mobile game.
Foremost, the PC version should always be designed as a life simulation game. Any improvements, and each expansion, should consistently look towards providing content which drives this genre forward. The Sims 4 was on a semi-decent track, with its emphasis on smarter Sims, multitasking, and group conversations. However, when we actually got the game, we found these Sims aren't as smart as we were lead to believe. They lack memories, individual personality, have poor environmental awareness, and do silly things such as moving around to 10 different chairs for one conversation. Multitasking is also a culprit of poor design; Sims freeze around, seemingly because they are incapable of processing many different interactions at once.
And, unfortunately, packs really don't feel all that innovative nor did they stick to the base game's promise of smarter Sims, etc. Get Together did with its club system, but Get to Work, City Living, Pets, and Seasons did not convince me that this is truly the next generation of The Sims. It more so felt they just took the design of each in another direction from their predecessor version. In other words, it feels like each pack is just a side step from what we've had in the past, rather than a step forward.
All of this isn't to say The Sims 4 is universally a bad product, but rather, it is not of the caliber of The Sims 2, when it was in its prime. Nothing makes me as impressed as The Sims 2, or even The Sims 3 did, when I first experienced each game and their individual expansions. I look at trailers of other games, such as Cyberpunk 2077, and one may see massive improvements in the RPG genre with titles such as it. I am still waiting to see life simulation take as big of a leap forward with The Sims.
In a nutshell, TS4 is not a "bad game", it has its faults and it is really very simplified, be it in the general details, like those that really are much more perceptible, but it is not "bad", only that it does not reach the level of details of TS2(or TS3), either in animations, expansions, neighborhoods, etc. In addition, selling you the capacity to wash clothes and open restaurants separately...I do not know, the best is not. ---- Since this is talking about TS2, I want to ask, it's been years since I played it, and recently I tried to download it, along with the various Fixes for W10, the case is...well, it's W10, it's less compatible than anything, currently I have planned to format an old PC that I have, what OS should I install to play correctly?
I think most of what they wanted was for the player to do all the interactions, and I kind of find that the setting out the plates to take a bit longer on the short time frame that the game has, and I think they were aware of it and decided to cut back on a lot of that stuff so that you had more time to do other things without the animation taking up too much of our gameplay.
I'm sorry, I may agree watching a Sim read a skill book and having to sit through that boring animation is probably taking up too much of our gameplay, I agree, but simulation is everything to me, most days, and TS3 took a great deal too many short cuts for my tastes. There is no point in a life simulator if everything is cut down to fast walking, fast, hurry up and get from point A to B, hurry up and skip many animations sort of gameplay to get to the goals and levels. TS4 did this x10 and many animatios were removed and we can thank TS3 for that. TS4 is TS3's baby, everyone wants to say it's TS2's baby, but no, skipping animations, hurrying up and getting through something to gain levels and to do lists started in TS3 and TS4 inherited all those short cuts and more. Any game with a moodlet system instead of emotions and one that has buffs for every darn thing such as TS3 and TS4 aren't really a part of the series in my eyes. Not saying TS3 isn't a big, massive, impresive game, but it had too many short comings even with open world, for it to fit the idea of the series in my opinion. Going to a buff system and moodlet system over life simulation is the mother of TS4 and why we even have the watered down TS4. No one should ever blame TS2 for TS4. I can put that blame on TS3.
ETA: I'll just remark about one thing many take for granted and or don't realise. Sims in TS3 when blocked stand and toe tap right? I've seen it a hundred times. Well, that's all on purpose. An animator had to create the toe tapping of shoe and waiting and waiting and waiting for another Sim to move. This doesn't just miraculously happen, there wouldn't be a toe tapping session if they didn't create the animation. Therefore, my Sims in TS2 just walking around a Sim (some prebuilt stairs cause problems in later EPs they got lazy on testing) is better animations rather than creating the toe tapping while two Sims stand there and won't go around. That's TS3, and TS4 because of that decided hey, we will just walk through each other instead, someone also had to create that, so TS2 is the better game just on that one point right there.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
@Cinebar I can understand your concerns, but remember The Sims 3 was on a entirely new engine. I mean if they went back and worked on The Sims 3 now, they can add all of that today. But at the time, they weren't sure how it would fair with the platforms they were working with. If there is anything that you suggest and have a feedback on The Sims 3, you are more than welcome to talk with EA and give them your concerns. They love hearing feedbacks from hardcore Sims fans like yourself. We all need to use our voice and express ourselves and build a Sims game we like and be able to have a sims game that we can all enjoy. No one is ever going to forget The Sims 1, 2, and 3 for their unique elements into the series.
I think most of what they wanted was for the player to do all the interactions, and I kind of find that the setting out the plates to take a bit longer on the short time frame that the game has, and I think they were aware of it and decided to cut back on a lot of that stuff so that you had more time to do other things without the animation taking up too much of our gameplay.
I'm sorry, I may agree watching a Sim read a skill book and having to sit through that boring animation is probably taking up too much of our gameplay, I agree, but simulation is everything to me, most days, and TS3 took a great deal too many short cuts for my tastes. There is no point in a life simulator if everything is cut down to fast walking, fast, hurry up and get from point A to B, hurry up and skip many animations sort of gameplay to get to the goals and levels. TS4 did this x10 and many animatios were removed and we can thank TS3 for that. TS4 is TS3's baby, everyone wants to say it's TS2's baby, but no, skipping animations, hurrying up and getting through something to gain levels and to do lists started in TS3 and TS4 inherited all those short cuts and more. Any game with a moodlet system instead of emotions and one that has buffs for every darn thing such as TS3 and TS4 aren't really a part of the series in my eyes. Not saying TS3 isn't a big, massive, impresive game, but it had too many short comings even with open world, for it to fit the idea of the series in my opinion. Going to a buff system and moodlet system over life simulation is the mother of TS4 and why we even have the watered down TS4. No one should ever blame TS2 for TS4. I can put that blame on TS3.
ETA: I'll just remark about one thing many take for granted and or don't realise. Sims in TS3 when blocked stand and toe tap right? I've seen it a hundred times. Well, that's all on purpose. An animator had to create the toe tapping of shoe and waiting and waiting and waiting for another Sim to move. This doesn't just miraculously happen, there wouldn't be a toe tapping session if they didn't create the animation. Therefore, my Sims in TS2 just walking around a Sim (some prebuilt stairs cause problems in later EPs they got lazy on testing) is better animations rather than creating the toe tapping while two Sims stand there and won't go around. That's TS3, and TS4 because of that decided hey, we will just walk through each other instead, someone also had to create that, so TS2 is the better game just on that one point right there.
it takes two to make a baby @cinbar I think sims 2 and 3 both played a part
@Cinebar I can understand your concerns, but remember The Sims 3 was on a entirely new engine. I mean if they went back and worked on The Sims 3 now, they can add all of that today. But at the time, they weren't sure how it would fair with the platforms they were working with. If there is anything that you suggest and have a feedback on The Sims 3, you are more than welcome to talk with EA and give them your concerns. They love hearing feedbacks from hardcore Sims fans like yourself. We all need to use our voice and express ourselves and build a Sims game we like and be able to have a sims game that we can all enjoy. No one is ever going to forget The Sims 1, 2, and 3 for their unique elements into the series.
I think they aren't going to listen to anymore feedback about TS3. That's why they built TS4,because they said they heard us when some of us complained about TS3. Now we see what they did with what they thought they heard.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
They still seem to take feedback from people anyways. Though I still gave them feedback about The Sims 3 anyways as The Sims 4 broke a lot of the series formula.
They still seem to take feedback from people anyways. Though I still gave them feedback about The Sims 3 anyways as The Sims 4 broke a lot of the series formula.
They may think about something about TS3 if they decide to add story progression to TS4, and may go back and look at old feedback concerning how it really didn't work right in the base game, and why so many installed a mod to make that better. They may remember some feedback like that, or how many complained about empty community lots...but they still made TS4 players designate a lot type, so they didn't really understand what people meant because that would always limit when, what time and who can show up. TS2 didn't have that sort of problem up until about FT, when Sims started to scatter and not show up on a community lots for about another hour (their time) or so if your own Sims stays on lot past eleven P.M. A lot of stuff they were adding to TS3 while building it somehow worked it's horrible way into TS2. But I still like TS2 better.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
Safe to say that they all had their own flaws in the series. But what game is really perfect? With each new development they have to learn these things and make it better. One day they will make a sims game that will be loved by all simmers alike. That's why many people still plays The Sims 1, 2, and 3 because it has gameplay they enjoy and hoping that everything will eventually come together to make a better sims game.
The premade Sims and stories. The neighboorhood really interacts with eachother and that's something that I really miss in the Sims 4. A lot of funny moments, texts, reaction to things. Sims don't look al alike eachother.
English is not my first language so sorry if I make any mistakes!
I loved and still love Sims 2 (even if it’s not perfect and needed some improvements), because it was a game with lots of little details in so many things and has lots of personality. It also gave me an easier way to do my rotational play, and it gave me a lot to do in the game, and provided a bit of challenge.
Sims 3 improved a lot, and I do enjoy it (some or most of the time), but it sacrificed some personality and charm and details from Sims 2, so it’s why I still tend to prefer Sims 2 overall for some of that detailed gameplay and for the charming Sims.
Just something about Sims 2 that still gets me, ya know?
TS2 is simply the best to this day, I love it. TS2 was the first Sims game EA actually made from start to bottom, so the quality level was really good, they weren't thinking of money as their primary goal, but instead to deliver after the world wide success of TS1.
TS2 was the first game that introduced lifestages and family relationships, so these were made with attention and given a lot of detail and care. TS2 had whole social systems behind it even as just a base game, and even though recent games have them too, they are much simpler in scope, because currently there are other priorities, like multitasking and emotions let's say. TS2 was also made to be an actual game and not just a shallow, blank storytelling platform like TS4. You had to complete what your sim desired to do for them to feel good, sims had an aspiration system, a mood system, careers that would get you sweet unique rewards (not just decorations), and there were many many things that could go wrong, making the game challenging.
TS2 also reflected life itself much more accurately than recent games, like having to shop for clothes, getting groceries, sharing gossip, etc. Everything was made to make sims's life seem fuller and part of something bigger.
And each Expansion added a slate of new experiences for your sims, further expanding their everyday life. A lot of those were 100% new, which was another reason they were more successful than current EP's and their themes. Maxis nowadays doesn't think outside the box, even with occurring themes, I have seen the Firemonkeys put a better spin on some of them, making interesting objects and assets that are more in tune with today's reallity, instead of trying to be hip and cool with giant rocket ships and gaming rigs and viral things that show up in a second and die in another.
There hasn't been a better vacation planner until today in a sims game other than in Bon Voyage. There hasn't been a better business system than in Open for Business. Cars and restaurants haven't been as good as the ones in Nightlife.
- My ancient laptop handles it very well
- there's tons of CC out there to add to the experience
- the music is fantastic
- every pack is like a game of it's own considering how impactful they are
- it has the best cars, business system and apartments.
- best rotational play out of all the Sims games
- only sims game with hair animations
- a very peaceful, cozy atmosphere
The sims 2 was the first sims game i played on PC when i was young. It always holds a special place in my heart. Considering how long It's out, it aged very well - plus i always discover something new while playing - Also the small cutscenes are always something i miss in newer sims versions.
I love the attention to detail, they don't pull everything out of their behinds, they actually go through the motions of doing things. No instant poofing. How the sims react, I love they have memories they can dredge up at anytime, the way personalities are done, and the attraction system. The genetics are outstanding. I love going through generations to see who might have inherited great grandpas eyes or nose.
Everything about the game seemed so carefully thought out, and fleshed out. I love the cut scenes, I have never skipped one in my life. It is truly a very solid game, so long as you don't do something to make it explode.
I agree with that. Once, I had my female Sim sobbing while her eldest child, a toddler at the time splashed in the toilet. She is named Janice Bobbie and is a Scorpio. She will probaly grow up to be one of the bullies of Pleasantview.
I love the attention to detail, they don't pull everything out of their behinds, they actually go through the motions of doing things. No instant poofing. How the sims react, I love they have memories they can dredge up at anytime, the way personalities are done, and the attraction system. The genetics are outstanding. I love going through generations to see who might have inherited great grandpas eyes or nose.
Everything about the game seemed so carefully thought out, and fleshed out. I love the cut scenes, I have never skipped one in my life. It is truly a very solid game, so long as you don't do something to make it explode.
The genetics part seems to be false. First Born Syndrome is a prominent issue for those that want variety. My sims two children she birthed look almost identical, down to their personality and zodiac!! I modified the personality of the youngest to make her nicer though.
I love the attention to detail, they don't pull everything out of their behinds, they actually go through the motions of doing things. No instant poofing. How the sims react, I love they have memories they can dredge up at anytime, the way personalities are done, and the attraction system. The genetics are outstanding. I love going through generations to see who might have inherited great grandpas eyes or nose.
Everything about the game seemed so carefully thought out, and fleshed out. I love the cut scenes, I have never skipped one in my life. It is truly a very solid game, so long as you don't do something to make it explode.
The genetics part seems to be false. First Born Syndrome is a prominent issue for those that want variety. My sims two children she birthed look almost identical, down to their personality and zodiac!! I modified the personality of the youngest to make her nicer though.
To get around the first born glitch you only need to go into CAS before loading a household again (if you had stopped playing) and roll the dice for randomize a number of times (do it a different amount after every birth) . If you continue playing the same household for more then one birth, without stopping, then you don't need to worry about it.
I don't believe there is more focused socialising in TS3 at all. None. I've had sim families move around their homes like fish in a bowl, barely acknowledging anyone elses existence.
I agree with you @Pary ...the other sims you don't play got visits and the sims you play barely got one by chance.
TS2 people are like TS4 more social than the Sims 3 but they don't have the deepness of the Sims 3.
I could be wrong for the sims 2. I am waiting for a miracle that I can play my game.
I love TS2 because of the attention to detail. The overall gameplay/replay value, interactions, the home and community lots, the Sims themselves, were the best I have seen (TS4 comes close when it comes to the lots and Sims). Also, the amount of content released in the packs (EPs and SPs) made customizing homes and dorm rooms fun for me. The University EP was my favorite EP, followed by FreeTime. I used a lot of the items from the SPs also, like the clothes and some objects in rooms in houses and my playable Sim's dorm room.
My Sims 2 Sims LOVED the MP3 player, cell phone and handheld game they could use to entertain themselves if I didn't notice they came back from work or class. Every college student I played owned one of each and would buy one for their significant other before leaving college.
I loved the college dorm environment. There was just so much to do in there. Only thing I did not like was that the Evil Cow Mascot would screw up some of the relationships my Sims had with other Sims (and sometimes it wouldn't take a lot of input from me for Sims to develop romantic relationships). I would send my Sims to different locations to work on skill points, term papers, etc. The lots were amazingly detailed and made me want to visit them.
FreeTime was another favorite for me because my Sims would choose their predestined hobbies and worked on them whenever they weren't socializing, or working on college work. I would send the Sims to their Hobby Lot sometimes when there was nothing to do, once they unlocked the lots.
The houses and community lots in the game were so detailed that I could never really build a house to match the pre-made lots in the game which led me to use some of them in my own Legacy games (which I know we're not supposed to but I couldn't help it LOL).
Finally, the attention to the detail in the Sims was amazing. You could really tell the difference between the different age groups in the game. It was great to see what babies and toddlers would look like as they grew up in the game. Interactions and reactions of the Sims to whatever you asked them to do (or they would randomly do on their own) ranged from funny to sometimes frustrating (like one house of students I had constantly fighting each other).
All of this is making me really miss my current saved game I have on my laptop right now but I don't have a flash drive currently to transfer that save to another laptop if I have to replace it due to the battery not charging properly.
Comments
Happy simming, and a Happy Snowflake Day.
Children are able to be left at home on their own. Some people might see this as a plus but I don't.
No longer do children run to greet their parents as they got home from work as in TS2.
Children can no longer dance with their parents on their feet, nor do they have their own cute child like dance moves. Every kid dances like a pro Beyonce backup dancer.
Toddlers no longer dance to music while sitting on the floor.
Families rarely converse while eating dinner. Often, the only acknowledgement or response to a rare remark in a + or - above a sims head. Meals that used to take an hour or more for sim families have simply become a race to see who can shovel their food down the fastest, like a front end loader.
There was no setting out of dinner plates for all family members. It's simply a battle to get to the food plate first.
Sims are unable to bathe their toddlers or babies in the bath or the sink
Sim children are unable to play games like cops and robbers, Mary Mack, etc.
family members don't have the option to give another family member a kiss.
You can't goose your partner anymore
Makeout interactions are tame and watered down.
So is the slow dance
Slapping and fighting interactions are also watered down.
Sims don't really stay as angry with the need to take time to cool off as they did in TS2, and from what I can see, TS4 is even worse for this kind of thing.
There are many more, too many to list.
I love TS3, but I'm not blind to its faults. It gave us a lot with open world and improved skills etc, it did push the series forward. But it sacrificed a lot to do so. It forgot a lot of the little things that made the sims so endearing. I don't believe it was made with quite the same love that went into TS2.
Okay I'm not sure why my post has a line break in between virtually every line because it isn't written like that, but it's terribly annoying.
@EA_Mage , is there some kind of issue with the forum?On looking around I've noticed a lot of posts have massive line breaks unless it's a continual sentence run. It isn't happening to me anywhere else, and I thought in the beginning it was just me, but now I'm not so sure..
PoppySims Archive
InnaLisa Pose Archive
Devolution of Sims - a once customisable open world sandbox which has become a DLC Party catalog in a shoebox
I ♡ Pudding
Happy simming, and a Happy Snowflake Day.
I agree. This model, whether intentional or not, feels like EA is trying to squeeze every dollar out of the customer. Through its stuff packs, and even some expansions of The Sims 4, it feels like The Sims has become too object-centric and focused on aesthetic/vanity, which I firmly believe is a path the PC game should never take. That stuff belongs in the mobile game.
Foremost, the PC version should always be designed as a life simulation game. Any improvements, and each expansion, should consistently look towards providing content which drives this genre forward. The Sims 4 was on a semi-decent track, with its emphasis on smarter Sims, multitasking, and group conversations. However, when we actually got the game, we found these Sims aren't as smart as we were lead to believe. They lack memories, individual personality, have poor environmental awareness, and do silly things such as moving around to 10 different chairs for one conversation. Multitasking is also a culprit of poor design; Sims freeze around, seemingly because they are incapable of processing many different interactions at once.
And, unfortunately, packs really don't feel all that innovative nor did they stick to the base game's promise of smarter Sims, etc. Get Together did with its club system, but Get to Work, City Living, Pets, and Seasons did not convince me that this is truly the next generation of The Sims. It more so felt they just took the design of each in another direction from their predecessor version. In other words, it feels like each pack is just a side step from what we've had in the past, rather than a step forward.
All of this isn't to say The Sims 4 is universally a bad product, but rather, it is not of the caliber of The Sims 2, when it was in its prime. Nothing makes me as impressed as The Sims 2, or even The Sims 3 did, when I first experienced each game and their individual expansions. I look at trailers of other games, such as Cyberpunk 2077, and one may see massive improvements in the RPG genre with titles such as it. I am still waiting to see life simulation take as big of a leap forward with The Sims.
In addition, selling you the capacity to wash clothes and open restaurants separately...I do not know, the best is not.
----
Since this is talking about TS2, I want to ask, it's been years since I played it, and recently I tried to download it, along with the various Fixes for W10, the case is...well, it's W10, it's less compatible than anything, currently I have planned to format an old PC that I have, what OS should I install to play correctly?
I'm sorry, I may agree watching a Sim read a skill book and having to sit through that boring animation is probably taking up too much of our gameplay, I agree, but simulation is everything to me, most days, and TS3 took a great deal too many short cuts for my tastes. There is no point in a life simulator if everything is cut down to fast walking, fast, hurry up and get from point A to B, hurry up and skip many animations sort of gameplay to get to the goals and levels. TS4 did this x10 and many animatios were removed and we can thank TS3 for that. TS4 is TS3's baby, everyone wants to say it's TS2's baby, but no, skipping animations, hurrying up and getting through something to gain levels and to do lists started in TS3 and TS4 inherited all those short cuts and more. Any game with a moodlet system instead of emotions and one that has buffs for every darn thing such as TS3 and TS4 aren't really a part of the series in my eyes. Not saying TS3 isn't a big, massive, impresive game, but it had too many short comings even with open world, for it to fit the idea of the series in my opinion. Going to a buff system and moodlet system over life simulation is the mother of TS4 and why we even have the watered down TS4. No one should ever blame TS2 for TS4. I can put that blame on TS3.
ETA: I'll just remark about one thing many take for granted and or don't realise. Sims in TS3 when blocked stand and toe tap right? I've seen it a hundred times. Well, that's all on purpose. An animator had to create the toe tapping of shoe and waiting and waiting and waiting for another Sim to move. This doesn't just miraculously happen, there wouldn't be a toe tapping session if they didn't create the animation. Therefore, my Sims in TS2 just walking around a Sim (some prebuilt stairs cause problems in later EPs they got lazy on testing) is better animations rather than creating the toe tapping while two Sims stand there and won't go around. That's TS3, and TS4 because of that decided hey, we will just walk through each other instead, someone also had to create that, so TS2 is the better game just on that one point right there.
Happy simming, and a Happy Snowflake Day.
Anyways, I like Sims 2 because I have the UC from EA so there's a lot more I can do in it compared to Sims 3 and 4 where I only have the base games.
Happy simming, and a Happy Snowflake Day.
it takes two to make a baby @cinbar I think sims 2 and 3 both played a part
I think they aren't going to listen to anymore feedback about TS3. That's why they built TS4,because they said they heard us when some of us complained about TS3. Now we see what they did with what they thought they heard.
Happy simming, and a Happy Snowflake Day.
They may think about something about TS3 if they decide to add story progression to TS4, and may go back and look at old feedback concerning how it really didn't work right in the base game, and why so many installed a mod to make that better. They may remember some feedback like that, or how many complained about empty community lots...but they still made TS4 players designate a lot type, so they didn't really understand what people meant because that would always limit when, what time and who can show up. TS2 didn't have that sort of problem up until about FT, when Sims started to scatter and not show up on a community lots for about another hour (their time) or so if your own Sims stays on lot past eleven P.M. A lot of stuff they were adding to TS3 while building it somehow worked it's horrible way into TS2. But I still like TS2 better.
Happy simming, and a Happy Snowflake Day.
Sims 3 improved a lot, and I do enjoy it (some or most of the time), but it sacrificed some personality and charm and details from Sims 2, so it’s why I still tend to prefer Sims 2 overall for some of that detailed gameplay and for the charming Sims.
Just something about Sims 2 that still gets me, ya know?
(She/her)
TS2 was the first game that introduced lifestages and family relationships, so these were made with attention and given a lot of detail and care. TS2 had whole social systems behind it even as just a base game, and even though recent games have them too, they are much simpler in scope, because currently there are other priorities, like multitasking and emotions let's say. TS2 was also made to be an actual game and not just a shallow, blank storytelling platform like TS4. You had to complete what your sim desired to do for them to feel good, sims had an aspiration system, a mood system, careers that would get you sweet unique rewards (not just decorations), and there were many many things that could go wrong, making the game challenging.
TS2 also reflected life itself much more accurately than recent games, like having to shop for clothes, getting groceries, sharing gossip, etc. Everything was made to make sims's life seem fuller and part of something bigger.
And each Expansion added a slate of new experiences for your sims, further expanding their everyday life. A lot of those were 100% new, which was another reason they were more successful than current EP's and their themes. Maxis nowadays doesn't think outside the box, even with occurring themes, I have seen the Firemonkeys put a better spin on some of them, making interesting objects and assets that are more in tune with today's reallity, instead of trying to be hip and cool with giant rocket ships and gaming rigs and viral things that show up in a second and die in another.
There hasn't been a better vacation planner until today in a sims game other than in Bon Voyage. There hasn't been a better business system than in Open for Business. Cars and restaurants haven't been as good as the ones in Nightlife.
- there's tons of CC out there to add to the experience
- the music is fantastic
- every pack is like a game of it's own considering how impactful they are
- it has the best cars, business system and apartments.
- best rotational play out of all the Sims games
- only sims game with hair animations
- a very peaceful, cozy atmosphere
And most importantly, it's just plain fun
I agree with that. Once, I had my female Sim sobbing while her eldest child, a toddler at the time splashed in the toilet. She is named Janice Bobbie and is a Scorpio. She will probaly grow up to be one of the bullies of Pleasantview.
The genetics part seems to be false. First Born Syndrome is a prominent issue for those that want variety. My sims two children she birthed look almost identical, down to their personality and zodiac!! I modified the personality of the youngest to make her nicer though.
To get around the first born glitch you only need to go into CAS before loading a household again (if you had stopped playing) and roll the dice for randomize a number of times (do it a different amount after every birth) . If you continue playing the same household for more then one birth, without stopping, then you don't need to worry about it.
I agree with you @Pary ...the other sims you don't play got visits and the sims you play barely got one by chance.
TS2 people are like TS4 more social than the Sims 3 but they don't have the deepness of the Sims 3.
I could be wrong for the sims 2. I am waiting for a miracle that I can play my game.
on wordpress: thesimsophonique.wp.com / on dreamwidth: simsophonique.dreamwidth.org
Follow me on tumblr (sims only)
simsophonique.tumblr.com (please no triggers I am autistic asperger)
My Sims 2 Sims LOVED the MP3 player, cell phone and handheld game they could use to entertain themselves if I didn't notice they came back from work or class. Every college student I played owned one of each and would buy one for their significant other before leaving college.
I loved the college dorm environment. There was just so much to do in there. Only thing I did not like was that the Evil Cow Mascot would screw up some of the relationships my Sims had with other Sims (and sometimes it wouldn't take a lot of input from me for Sims to develop romantic relationships). I would send my Sims to different locations to work on skill points, term papers, etc. The lots were amazingly detailed and made me want to visit them.
FreeTime was another favorite for me because my Sims would choose their predestined hobbies and worked on them whenever they weren't socializing, or working on college work. I would send the Sims to their Hobby Lot sometimes when there was nothing to do, once they unlocked the lots.
The houses and community lots in the game were so detailed that I could never really build a house to match the pre-made lots in the game which led me to use some of them in my own Legacy games (which I know we're not supposed to but I couldn't help it LOL).
Finally, the attention to the detail in the Sims was amazing. You could really tell the difference between the different age groups in the game. It was great to see what babies and toddlers would look like as they grew up in the game. Interactions and reactions of the Sims to whatever you asked them to do (or they would randomly do on their own) ranged from funny to sometimes frustrating (like one house of students I had constantly fighting each other).
All of this is making me really miss my current saved game I have on my laptop right now but I don't have a flash drive currently to transfer that save to another laptop if I have to replace it due to the battery not charging properly.