1. The problem I think, with TS4 houses not being furnished is that when you buy a house, you're given the option to buy it furnished or unfurnished. If you buy a furnished home, it should be fully so for the price and certainly it should be functional.
2. I don't know, I played base game only for a bit and I built all the time. Still managed to create furnished and functional homes, even before I knew about the moveobjects cheat. 🙄 It's more challenging if you're used to having everything, but by no means impossible. And if devs can't furnish a base game house + whatever pack content it's supposed to have without struggling to fill it, what's that say about the game they initially created and shipped?
3. I haven't seen all the rich houses in strangerville, since I don't have the pack and exclusively watch TheSimSupply and he has only visited one (the Roswells I believe) on his play through. He's doing this play through with a sim guru who implied the sparse furnishing was a part of the storyline of that family, like they'd run into money problems or something. How true that is (or if it was even a joke or a cover) I don't know, since again, I haven't seen for myself.
OK, Having all the packs I wouldn't mind EA/Maxis furnishing the houses with all the objects I already have but what about those who haven't got many of them? That's why they look empty.
I don't want to have houses just furnished with basic items but have to put up with them because others don't have all the packs that I have. The less furnished the better for me as I want to fill them with objects from all my packs.
They may be empty because of the story. See, the story counts more than the world having full lots and new lots instead of base game houses reused and resold to you. And lots of players expect Maxis to fill up those worlds (remember the comments about Newcrest was an empty world and some players hated that, they want Maxis to do the world building, and decorating). And I don't think any of us want a base game house resold to us in a GP, but it is.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
The problem is that some people think TS3 was free of issues or bugs (outside of optimization issues) and is pretty much a perfect game on every level (it isn't). Criticizing TS3 too doesn't mean justifying bugs or mistakes in TS4 unless I missed something, it's actually on the contrary. Now glorifying TS3 is pretty hypocritical and I never understood for what purpose those people do that (just in case, this is generalization). I mean both games were published by the same EA, but guess that's what happens when the series competes with itself. Neither game is ideal unfortunately, to the point that even TS1 with TS2 have their advantages over both.
I literally see nobody ever claiming that. Nobody says Sims 3 is without issues, nobody says it’s without bugs. And nobody says it was a perfect game. I’ve been around here for 6 years now and not even in the Sims 3 section are people saying that. People do glorify Sims 3 and no that’s not hypocritical. That’s because in spite of all the flaws and issues and highly annoying bugs (often caused by rushing no doubt), it’s a very entertaining, creative game with lots of options and things to do. It’s a rich game. I can list you numerous reasons why I love it and I promise you none of them will be hypocritical. And on top of that, when listing those reasons, I won’t need to mention Sims 4 in a negative way once.
Well this is the franchise that forgot to put a toilet in a house in the last world. How can you build a bathroom and forget a toilet?
There are lots of things like that. One of the apartments in city living the lobby part isn’t painted properly, they uploaded a restaurant under their account that was built by them that didn’t work and or wasn’t fully decorated with sections missed out.
I guess to them it’s leave it to the builders.
I cannot begin to tell y'all how many things were forgotten, bugged or just plain "why though?", with a lot of the lots from the base game on up. I think the playtesting done is nearly not a thorough or because of funding from the higher ups they don't have the time in their budget to even do it. Its like they have to quickly get everything out. But then again it seems like it's been like that since day one with the Sims 4 so im not even surprised anymore.
"Bada su the gorn bada su the brawn bada bady oda aba donk donk donk gerbits gerbits vo gerbits".
Well this is the franchise that forgot to put a toilet in a house in the last world. How can you build a bathroom and forget a toilet?
There are lots of things like that. One of the apartments in city living the lobby part isn’t painted properly, they uploaded a restaurant under their account that was built by them that didn’t work and or wasn’t fully decorated with sections missed out.
I guess to them it’s leave it to the builders.
I don't quite remember these things happening in TS3 gladly and they had a lot of land to fill. TS4 worlds have much less lots and somehow they are even lazier now at decorating/building them.
Actually it happened on almost every world. Hence why you can download a bunch of vanilla worlds with "fixes". Remember Island Paradise and people saying it was broken? Well, it wasn't so much broken at all as it was just awfully built. The routing areas were a mess leading to stuck sims on many areas and a bunch of lots were built in a way that sims would get stuck constantly. Even so that great EP became widely known for being broken when in fact, it was the world, not the pack.
I seldom use EA builds so I probably wouldn't have noticed a misplaced object or an empty room since I almost instantly replace the lots.
I'm talking totally empty houses. And IP was several years ago, we can't keep making excuses for this company just because of things they practiced in the past. Brand new game, brand new pack, ought to come with brand new quality control, new and improved.
Well this is the franchise that forgot to put a toilet in a house in the last world. How can you build a bathroom and forget a toilet?
There are lots of things like that. One of the apartments in city living the lobby part isn’t painted properly, they uploaded a restaurant under their account that was built by them that didn’t work and or wasn’t fully decorated with sections missed out.
I guess to them it’s leave it to the builders.
I don't quite remember these things happening in TS3 gladly and they had a lot of land to fill. TS4 worlds have much less lots and somehow they are even lazier now at decorating/building them.
Actually it happened on almost every world. Hence why you can download a bunch of vanilla worlds with "fixes". Remember Island Paradise and people saying it was broken? Well, it wasn't so much broken at all as it was just awfully built. The routing areas were a mess leading to stuck sims on many areas and a bunch of lots were built in a way that sims would get stuck constantly. Even so that great EP became widely known for being broken when in fact, it was the world, not the pack.
I seldom use EA builds so I probably wouldn't have noticed a misplaced object or an empty room since I almost instantly replace the lots.
I'm talking totally empty houses. And IP was several years ago, we can't keep making excuses for this company just because of things they practiced in the past. Brand new game, brand new pack, ought to come with brand new quality control, new and improved.
I have to agree. Issues from previous games doesn’t excuse things not done right this generation. If anything that should be an incentive if you will to ensure quality and performance is much better. And while the sims 4 runs better that doesn’t go for much. It has issues of its own, issues that are game breaking for some. And the game isn’t complete yet. I dread to think what state it will be in by time it’s done.
Not to mention the sims 3 is irrelevant. I’m really getting tired of the attitude of not being able to give constructive criticism to the sims 4 without putting the sims 3 down. As LGR said Is that the best thing we can say about the sims 4? That it runs well?
My response was a flat counter to the statement that "this basically did not happen in TS3", it had nothing to do with making excuses or invalidating criticism by putting TS3 down. Come on now.
And quite a laugh from seeing that quote from 2014 LGR, you should probably catch on to the past, hm, almost 5 years. It gets much more in depth in his reviews.
I may have misunderstood what you referring to, but I'm not one to hold TS3 on a pedistal, either. I received as much grief there as here when I complained about obvious things that should have been corrected or were remakes of things I had the game, and or new reskins, or routing problems. I'm just saying people are going to pay to get a new world in this new pack and it comes with empty houses. Some think that is good and let's them decorate their way, but I do know a lot of players who would think that would be a half finished world and need quality control to look at and play test every thing before shipping it. Like the world trees, rocks etc. are not in buildmode (Not even in debug) in this new pack and one guru has no idea why those were not included. We can all make an excuse like deadlines, budget, time, but quality control shouldn't be one of them. Another unfinished world.
Well - if you want to go Original Sims - then almost no house was finished. Even in Sims 2 - houses often had only kitchens and bathrooms done. Look at Sims 2 apartments in Apartment life even. So finished buildings is more of a new thing than a Sims Original thing.
I don't recall any of that, most of them had basic furniture (base game furniture) and the cheaper furniture. Houses in The Sims were to allow you to move in your Sims and play the house your way if you chose not to play the Goths etc. Since TS3 world builders usually fill all the homes with some furniture or at least a kitchen, bathroom and couch.
@Writin_Reg is actually right. There are a lot of lots in TS2 that had the bare minimum. Kitchen and bathroom, which is understandably realistic if you ask me lol. Yes, there were a few that has a bed here and some other decorations there, but I noticed a lot more with mainly just kitchen and bathroom. Personally I don't mind this as I love decorating houses, but I can see how it can be a pain to a person who doesnt want to decorate lol
"Bada su the gorn bada su the brawn bada bady oda aba donk donk donk gerbits gerbits vo gerbits".
I do wish that people would stop comparing old iterations with Sims 4. It always leads to a moderator closing the thread eventually and only old iteration players contributing as the rest of us leave them to it.
I do wish that people would stop comparing old iterations with Sims 4. It always leads to a moderator closing the thread eventually and only old iteration players contributing as the rest of us leave them to it.
you can always revisit older iterations by yourself. Normally games inside a sub-genre would be compared against other games inside a sub-genre, but as there is no competitor for The Sims, we're left comparing between iterations. If you want I could instead compare it to an 1980's text adventure "Alter Ego", or a picture based 10 years in a life of an adult sim "Kudos" and "Kudos 2". I could also be comparing the building aspects to any game with building aspects and etc, but it's more productive to just compare to older iterations as a quality control. Logic dictates that a newer iteration should mean a better game (otherwise, why even iterate upwards?) and while some shortcomings and changes are to be expected, we should overall see The Sims 4's superiority in its systems, which we're not seeing.
Well this is the franchise that forgot to put a toilet in a house in the last world. How can you build a bathroom and forget a toilet?
There are lots of things like that. One of the apartments in city living the lobby part isn’t painted properly, they uploaded a restaurant under their account that was built by them that didn’t work and or wasn’t fully decorated with sections missed out.
I guess to them it’s leave it to the builders.
I cannot begin to tell y'all how many things were forgotten, bugged or just plain "why though?", with a lot of the lots from the base game on up. I think the playtesting done is nearly not a thorough or because of funding from the higher ups they don't have the time in their budget to even do it. Its like they have to quickly get everything out. But then again it seems like it's been like that since day one with the Sims 4 so im not even surprised anymore.
Exactly what my experience with TS4 has been and, sadly, I'm not surprised anymore either. I hold out hope that TS5 will receive the love and attention that I feel this franchise deserves. Unfortunately, based on what I've seen in the production of TS4, I have little faith that TS5 will be a quality product for the same basic reasons that TS4 isn't in my opinion. Restraints in budget for time and money to do the job right.
Not trying to be mean just trying to understand where everyone's mind is regarding the idea of the sims 5.
How is it after what happened to TS3 (how the game was left) and what's currently happening with TS4 can you really trust them to not follow the same path again with TS5?
It's like the saying, "Fool me once; shame on you. Fool me twice; shame on me. Fool me three times; shame on us both".
I'm not trying to say that someone shouldn't have hope, however, I just don't understand why someone would have their hopes up for a highly possible third "disappointment"* just based on Eaxis' track record.
*Matter of opinion, but I digress.
In the beginning, I would have disagreed. I assumed that the next version would have to be better by default, since TS4 was changed in mid-production. However, it seems pretty clear now that production time won't make that much difference in the quality and honesty of the product.
I'm not interested in "stories". For that, I would have bought games that do that job so much better. I loved the Sims series because of the personalities of the Sims and the objects. I loved the ability to make my own stories which included the use of many, many interesting objects/activities. Yet, instead of varied personalities and activities, TS4 has basically been boiled down to set pieces in which the player has little to no control.
So far, there seems to be no effort to improve the quality of the Sims themselves. As well, the quality and functionality of the objects has severely decreased (see: the new "laptop").
I don't recognize the series anymore. I doubt that the successor to TS4 will be any better than what we have now. This is the new normal.
Couldn't agree more. That's why people often excuse the mistakes as just mistakes that can be overlooked; they're normal to see. And I don't have a problem with cutting people some slack when there is an honest mistake...But they're really starting to pile up, so when does it become carelessness or a bad habit?
I actually love things like stories as integrations rather than spin-offs due to the amount of ways I can go on about doing them instead of one, single linear environment. I could make a sim famous by streaming videos of the possessed people, or make conspiracy clubs at night, basically pulling mechanics from other packs into it. That of course is due to my play style, I churn content, I'm not a story maker by any means. I play for simulation, and the smarter and self-sufficient I can make the game, the better. It's one of the reasons I loved TS3 paired with mods.
Couldn't agree more. That's why people often excuse the mistakes as just mistakes that can be overlooked; they're normal to see. And I don't have a problem with cutting people some slack when there is an honest mistake...But they're really starting to pile up, so when does it become carelessness or a bad habit?
I am of the personal belief that because we allowed TS3 to end the way it did, they thought they could do it forever. The Sims 3 IMO was the perfect mixture of "Hey, let's grab this concept, and stretch it as far as we can" and "Broken? We'll get to it...eventually...*iteration ends*" I'm guilty of course, as I played TS3 for 6 years and a LOT of things I found to my dislike were fixed with mods and CC. Tilting the balance either way is never a good thing. You have to progress while maintaining a certain level of *quality*, otherwise your big piles of ideas fail in execution. I ended up loving TS3 but that was in no small part due to the modding community. Had there been no mods, I'd have probably be singing a different tune, and the same goes for TS4.
I actually love things like stories as integrations rather than spin-offs due to the amount of ways I can go on about doing them instead of one, single linear environment. I could make a sim famous by streaming videos of the possessed people, or make conspiracy clubs at night, basically pulling mechanics from other packs into it. That of course is due to my play style, I churn content, I'm not a story maker by any means. I play for simulation, and the smarter and self-sufficient I can make the game, the better. It's one of the reasons I loved TS3 paired with mods.
Couldn't agree more. That's why people often excuse the mistakes as just mistakes that can be overlooked; they're normal to see. And I don't have a problem with cutting people some slack when there is an honest mistake...But they're really starting to pile up, so when does it become carelessness or a bad habit?
I am of the personal belief that because we allowed TS3 to end the way it did, they thought they could do it forever. The Sims 3 IMO was the perfect mixture of "Hey, let's grab this concept, and stretch it as far as we can" and "Broken? We'll get to it...eventually...*iteration ends*" I'm guilty of course, as I played TS3 for 6 years and a LOT of things I found to my dislike were fixed with mods and CC. Tilting the balance either way is never a good thing. You have to progress while maintaining a certain level of *quality*, otherwise your big piles of ideas fail in execution. I ended up loving TS3 but that was in no small part due to the modding community. Had there been no mods, I'd have probably be singing a different tune, and the same goes for TS4.
Though agreeing with the fact it was a disgrace how Sims 3 was left with the bugs and glitches it had, I must object against the phrasing that we, the players, allowed it to happen. We didn’t allow anything, we had no choice. I totally understand why you are putting it like this, how many times have I blamed myself whenever a bug or glitch hit my game (as it happens I’m experiencing one right now in France), going “I shouldn’t have this” and “maybe I shouldn’t have that”. Nonsense of course, it never was my own fault, even when I maybe triggered it to happen by doing something totally acceptable (like sending the parents on a free vacation, NOOOO, don’t do that, stupid, never send them on a free vacation it’s a trap!!). I don’t feel I allowed them to do anything just because I didn’t dream of choosing the only alternative: quit playing.
Well, imho Sims 4 is MEANT to feel incomplete. If it felt complete you could not sell stuff. The concept of the game is that it feels incomplete, so we buy the next EP and GP and it gets a bit better, but of course, something else is not complete. And, of course, everything comes in packs, so you have to buy a complete pack just in order to get one feature of the pack. It is a cash cow. Yes, I am guilty of keeping that system running, Id I am buying all new EP and GP, but I am not happy. (OT, dear Maxis: I love Sims 3 so much that I last year I bought a high end Alienware Gaming PC so that I am now playing it without loading times. Users ARE willing to spend a lot of money on quality game play, especially users who liked building and world building.)
Favourite Game: Sims 3 Favourite Worlds Sims 3: Hidden Springs, Barnacle Bay, Riverview, Isla Paradiso, Sunlit Tides, Monte Vista, Dragon Valley, Al Simhara, Shang Simla, Roaring Heights, Lunar Lakes
Well, imho Sims 4 is MEANT to feel incomplete. If it felt complete you could not sell stuff. The concept of the game is that it feels incomplete, so we buy the next EP and GP and it gets a bit better, but of course, something else is not complete. And, of course, everything comes in packs, so you have to buy a complete pack just in order to get one feature of the pack. It is a cash cow. Yes, I am guilty of keeping that system running, Id I am buying all new EP and GP, but I am not happy. (OT, dear Maxis: I love Sims 3 so much that I last year I bought a high end Alienware Gaming PC so that I am now playing it without loading times. Users ARE willing to spend a lot of money on quality game play, especially users who liked building and world building.)
This has been the most annoying game setup (live service, content in dribs and drabs) I've ever been involved in my entire gaming life. I'm hoping against hope by the time we see the next game it isn't built upon live service and withholding content that is finished until a different quarter etc. But I doubt we have any hope of that.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
Well, imho Sims 4 is MEANT to feel incomplete. If it felt complete you could not sell stuff. The concept of the game is that it feels incomplete, so we buy the next EP and GP and it gets a bit better, but of course, something else is not complete. And, of course, everything comes in packs, so you have to buy a complete pack just in order to get one feature of the pack. It is a cash cow. Yes, I am guilty of keeping that system running, Id I am buying all new EP and GP, but I am not happy. (OT, dear Maxis: I love Sims 3 so much that I last year I bought a high end Alienware Gaming PC so that I am now playing it without loading times. Users ARE willing to spend a lot of money on quality game play, especially users who liked building and world building.)
I started with Sims 1 and have always bought gaming rigs, the most expensive I could afford (here, where I live, about the price of a good used car) so I could play "my game". The Sims is the only PC game I play. I love building, redoing the entire worlds to my liking. I can't do that in Sims 4 so I've saved a lot of money, instead of getting a new PC every time a new iteration of the Sims comes out, I still have the one I bought for 3.
Well, imho Sims 4 is MEANT to feel incomplete. If it felt complete you could not sell stuff. The concept of the game is that it feels incomplete, so we buy the next EP and GP and it gets a bit better, but of course, something else is not complete. And, of course, everything comes in packs, so you have to buy a complete pack just in order to get one feature of the pack. It is a cash cow. Yes, I am guilty of keeping that system running, Id I am buying all new EP and GP, but I am not happy. (OT, dear Maxis: I love Sims 3 so much that I last year I bought a high end Alienware Gaming PC so that I am now playing it without loading times. Users ARE willing to spend a lot of money on quality game play, especially users who liked building and world building.)
@HannaZoja I disagree. Obviously the base game won't be fully complete upon release, but it should be at a state where it feels enjoyable on it's own, yet still has the potential to grow and become an even better experience. You can definitely sell packs with "complete" base game. You can get new traits, new jobs, pets, new activities, new worlds, new clothes, etc.
It certainly should not feel intentionally incomplete, especially after 5 years.
Well, imho Sims 4 is MEANT to feel incomplete. If it felt complete you could not sell stuff. The concept of the game is that it feels incomplete, so we buy the next EP and GP and it gets a bit better, but of course, something else is not complete. And, of course, everything comes in packs, so you have to buy a complete pack just in order to get one feature of the pack. It is a cash cow. Yes, I am guilty of keeping that system running, Id I am buying all new EP and GP, but I am not happy. (OT, dear Maxis: I love Sims 3 so much that I last year I bought a high end Alienware Gaming PC so that I am now playing it without loading times. Users ARE willing to spend a lot of money on quality game play, especially users who liked building and world building.)
@HannaZoja I disagree. Obviously the base game won't be fully complete upon release, but it should be at a state where it feels enjoyable on it's own, yet still has the potential to grow and become an even better experience. You can definitely sell packs with "complete" base game. You can get new traits, new jobs, pets, new activities, new worlds, new clothes, etc.
It certainly should not feel intentionally incomplete, especially after 5 years.
But it does. It's supposed to be simulating life, and if we look at it with that lense, how are groups who can all do the same thing as the other (like syncronized swimming) simulate life? I don't think that represents life at all. Life to me isn't a bowl of cherries. And modern day life, still has home phones, cars, airplanes, farming, chemistry attractions, theme parks, disputes, deaths, diseases, chaos, disasters, demotions, firings, fire patrol, cops, armies, rescue squads, run aways, fits, fears, more than one emotion or trait, growth in changing minds, or growth in seeing where the other person is right, and so and so on. TS4 doesn't quite represent any of that just because we can syncronize cooking or send them to a syncronized dance contest. There is hardly anything in this game that screams life at all in my opinion. It's more TS4 the dress up game.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
Well, imho Sims 4 is MEANT to feel incomplete. If it felt complete you could not sell stuff. The concept of the game is that it feels incomplete, so we buy the next EP and GP and it gets a bit better, but of course, something else is not complete. And, of course, everything comes in packs, so you have to buy a complete pack just in order to get one feature of the pack. It is a cash cow. Yes, I am guilty of keeping that system running, Id I am buying all new EP and GP, but I am not happy. (OT, dear Maxis: I love Sims 3 so much that I last year I bought a high end Alienware Gaming PC so that I am now playing it without loading times. Users ARE willing to spend a lot of money on quality game play, especially users who liked building and world building.)
@HannaZoja I disagree. Obviously the base game won't be fully complete upon release, but it should be at a state where it feels enjoyable on it's own, yet still has the potential to grow and become an even better experience. You can definitely sell packs with "complete" base game. You can get new traits, new jobs, pets, new activities, new worlds, new clothes, etc.
It certainly should not feel intentionally incomplete, especially after 5 years.
But it does. It's supposed to be simulating life, and if we look at it with that lense, how are groups who can all do the same thing as the other (like syncronized swimming) simulate life? I don't think that represents life at all. Life to me isn't a bowl of cherries. And modern day life, still has home phones, cars, airplanes, farming, chemistry attractions, theme parks, disputes, deaths, diseases, chaos, disasters, demotions, firings, fire patrol, cops, armies, rescue squads, run aways, fits, fears, more than one emotion or trait, growth in changing minds, or growth in seeing where the other person is right, and so and so on. TS4 doesn't quite represent any of that just because we can syncronize cooking or send them to a syncronized dance contest. There is hardly anything in this game that screams life at all in my opinion. It's more TS4 the dress up game.
Movies, Books, and tv shows has been doing that for decades - it's nothing new. It's what makes for the most successful stories - look at Harry Potter, Twilight, or even long term tv like Supernatural etc - because no one wants the stories to end - they want more on that story - no new stories. Series is what the modern people clamour for and what they teach students in Creative writing classes.
Look at Star Wars - years later they picked up where they left off - as well as gave earlier stories new life, now they have individual stories - all based of the first main characters. What's more they sell better than they ever did. It is what is successful.
TV is full of it - rebooting the old stories - new movies are really old movies brought back. That is indeed what people spend money on and want to buy.
Super hero comic books - some older than I am - and believe me I am old - are now the big sellers. So yes - todays' society proves tri-fold this is exactly what the public wants. EA is listening to the public. Now a days new is rejected and fails at the movies and books - even on tv - bringing back more of the stories people want instead of new is the way to go. Look around you - it is everywhere and growing.
Post edited by Writin_Reg on
"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.....
Well, imho Sims 4 is MEANT to feel incomplete. If it felt complete you could not sell stuff. The concept of the game is that it feels incomplete, so we buy the next EP and GP and it gets a bit better, but of course, something else is not complete. And, of course, everything comes in packs, so you have to buy a complete pack just in order to get one feature of the pack. It is a cash cow. Yes, I am guilty of keeping that system running, Id I am buying all new EP and GP, but I am not happy. (OT, dear Maxis: I love Sims 3 so much that I last year I bought a high end Alienware Gaming PC so that I am now playing it without loading times. Users ARE willing to spend a lot of money on quality game play, especially users who liked building and world building.)
@HannaZoja I disagree. Obviously the base game won't be fully complete upon release, but it should be at a state where it feels enjoyable on it's own, yet still has the potential to grow and become an even better experience. You can definitely sell packs with "complete" base game. You can get new traits, new jobs, pets, new activities, new worlds, new clothes, etc.
It certainly should not feel intentionally incomplete, especially after 5 years.
But it does. It's supposed to be simulating life, and if we look at it with that lense, how are groups who can all do the same thing as the other (like syncronized swimming) simulate life? I don't think that represents life at all. Life to me isn't a bowl of cherries. And modern day life, still has home phones, cars, airplanes, farming, chemistry attractions, theme parks, disputes, deaths, diseases, chaos, disasters, demotions, firings, fire patrol, cops, armies, rescue squads, run aways, fits, fears, more than one emotion or trait, growth in changing minds, or growth in seeing where the other person is right, and so and so on. TS4 doesn't quite represent any of that just because we can syncronize cooking or send them to a syncronized dance contest. There is hardly anything in this game that screams life at all in my opinion. It's more TS4 the dress up game.
Movies, Books, and tv shows has been doing that for decades - it's nothing new. It's what makes for the most successful stories - look at Harry Potter, Twilight, or even long term tv like Supernatural etc - because no one wants the stories to end - they want more on that story - no new stories. Series is what the modern people clamour for and what they teach students in Creative writing classes.
Look at Star Wars - years later they picked up where they left off - as well as gave earlier stories new life, now they have individual stories - all based of the first main characters. What's more they sell better than they ever did. It is what is successful.
TV is full of it - rebooting the old stories - new movies are really old movies brought back. That is indeed what people spend money on and want to buy.
Super hero comic books - some older than I am - and believe me I am old - are now the big sellers. So yes - todays' society proves tri-fold this is exactly what the public wants. EA is listening to the public. Now a days new is rejected and fails at the movies and books - even on tv - bringing back more of the stories people want instead of new is the way to go. Look around you - it is everywhere and growing.
I know that, glad to see vinyl records are a thing again. But TS4 isn't actually reflecting any of it.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
I don't know there is quite a bit of retro in my game. GF has that new turn-table stereo... that I adore and JA/Parenthood has appliances and kitchen stuff that I rely on almost totally. I could make a list of things I use but .. don't have the time or inclination as I'm not playing in those households at the moment. I do want much more also. There are a number of things in this pack to set a more retro scene though.. if you like quirky sci-fi retro that is. I've been able to set up older houses more like I want too. I'm not there yet.. and I could use cc for some of my wants but I really, really dislike using it at this point. I like to be as cc and mod free as possible. I do like my older, antique and even scary houses.
Mostly I avoid certain storylines and keep them on hold. I have a major want on hold for years. I can imagine for those that actively need a certain element to hit that best simming experience that wait is hard. Much like waiting for toddlers was hard for those that needed them.
I know if I were a supernatural player perhaps one that was waiting on werewolves for example and the next Sims was about to come out I might wait a couple years before even looking at getting it.
I don't worry about the release times even though it can be sometimes frustrating. For me as a non-family/deviant player. That time around the release of Parenthood/City Living/Kids Room Stuff was very, very hard for me at times. My game was satisfying but I was feeling left out. I do enjoy the elements those brought to my pack but none furthered any story I wanted to play with.
I guess that's why I'm so voracious and satisfied with this latest release it speaks to me by it's themes and yes even though others might hate it, it's gameplay.
I don't know there is quite a bit of retro in my game. GF has that new turn-table stereo... that I adore and JA/Parenthood has appliances and kitchen stuff that I rely on almost totally. I could make a list of things I use but .. don't have the time or inclination as I'm not playing in those households at the moment. I do want much more also. There are a number of things in this pack to set a more retro scene though.. if you like quirky sci-fi retro that is. I've been able to set up older houses more like I want too. I'm not there yet.. and I could use cc for some of my wants but I really, really dislike using it at this point. I like to be as cc and mod free as possible. I do like my older, antique and even scary houses.
Mostly I avoid certain storylines and keep them on hold. I have a major want on hold for years. I can imagine for those that actively need a certain element to hit that best simming experience that wait is hard. Much like waiting for toddlers was hard for those that needed them.
I know if I were a supernatural player perhaps one that was waiting on werewolves for example and the next Sims was about to come out I might wait a couple years before even looking at getting it.
I don't worry about the release times even though it can be sometimes frustrating. For me as a non-family/deviant player. That time around the release of Parenthood/City Living/Kids Room Stuff was very, very hard for me at times. My game was satisfying but I was feeling left out. I do enjoy the elements those brought to my pack but none furthered any story I wanted to play with.
I guess that's why I'm so voracious and satisfied with this latest release it speaks to me by it's themes and yes even though others might hate it, it's gameplay.
I really like Strangerville too.
But I would be the first to reject a seperate side game - just like I rejected all the previous side games and wanted that stuff added to my actual Sims games I played. I did not ever consider buying Urbz, Castaways, or any of those games and was downright mad they made Medieval a separate game when I wanted that for the Sims I played. I did get Medieval eventually (thru Steam) and just as i thought was not happy with it - but had they added it to my Sims games would have been thrilled. Thus i was thrilled with a side story added to Sims 4 - as a vet player of the Sims games I would eagerly support more game packs added to the Sims 4 like Strangertown - in a heartbeat. But don't expect me to buy a totally separate game - because I want them in the Sims I play period.
"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 don't know there is quite a bit of retro in my game. GF has that new turn-table stereo... that I adore and JA/Parenthood has appliances and kitchen stuff that I rely on almost totally. I could make a list of things I use but .. don't have the time or inclination as I'm not playing in those households at the moment. I do want much more also. There are a number of things in this pack to set a more retro scene though.. if you like quirky sci-fi retro that is. I've been able to set up older houses more like I want too. I'm not there yet.. and I could use cc for some of my wants but I really, really dislike using it at this point. I like to be as cc and mod free as possible. I do like my older, antique and even scary houses.
Mostly I avoid certain storylines and keep them on hold. I have a major want on hold for years. I can imagine for those that actively need a certain element to hit that best simming experience that wait is hard. Much like waiting for toddlers was hard for those that needed them.
I know if I were a supernatural player perhaps one that was waiting on werewolves for example and the next Sims was about to come out I might wait a couple years before even looking at getting it.
I don't worry about the release times even though it can be sometimes frustrating. For me as a non-family/deviant player. That time around the release of Parenthood/City Living/Kids Room Stuff was very, very hard for me at times. My game was satisfying but I was feeling left out. I do enjoy the elements those brought to my pack but none furthered any story I wanted to play with.
I guess that's why I'm so voracious and satisfied with this latest release it speaks to me by it's themes and yes even though others might hate it, it's gameplay.
I really like Strangerville too.
But I would be the first to reject a seperate side game - just like I rejected all the previous side games and wanted that stuff added to my actual Sims games I played. I did not ever consider buying Urbz, Castaways, or any of those games and was downright mad they made Medieval a separate game when I wanted that for the Sims I played. I did get Medieval eventually (thru Steam) and just as i thought was not happy with it - but had they added it to my Sims games would have been thrilled. Thus i was thrilled with a side story added to Sims 4 - as a vet player of the Sims games I would eagerly support more game packs added to the Sims 4 like Strangertown - in a heartbeat.
I don't want to take it too off topic but I have got to say. I have been playing with families and enjoying it lately.. because of this pack or at least the inspiration/themes it's added in. I'm amazing myself in wanting to see their little lives and not hurry through them. I'm not a completely deviant player don't get me wrong, but normally when I play with kids I gotta keep everyone happy and it's picket fence stuff and .. I can't handle that for long. Because of this twist I can do picket fence stuff very tongue in cheek and enjoy it. I'm not sure if that makes sense or I'm expressing it well but that's how it's coming out anyway.
I don't know there is quite a bit of retro in my game. GF has that new turn-table stereo... that I adore and JA/Parenthood has appliances and kitchen stuff that I rely on almost totally. I could make a list of things I use but .. don't have the time or inclination as I'm not playing in those households at the moment. I do want much more also. There are a number of things in this pack to set a more retro scene though.. if you like quirky sci-fi retro that is. I've been able to set up older houses more like I want too. I'm not there yet.. and I could use cc for some of my wants but I really, really dislike using it at this point. I like to be as cc and mod free as possible. I do like my older, antique and even scary houses.
Mostly I avoid certain storylines and keep them on hold. I have a major want on hold for years. I can imagine for those that actively need a certain element to hit that best simming experience that wait is hard. Much like waiting for toddlers was hard for those that needed them.
I know if I were a supernatural player perhaps one that was waiting on werewolves for example and the next Sims was about to come out I might wait a couple years before even looking at getting it.
I don't worry about the release times even though it can be sometimes frustrating. For me as a non-family/deviant player. That time around the release of Parenthood/City Living/Kids Room Stuff was very, very hard for me at times. My game was satisfying but I was feeling left out. I do enjoy the elements those brought to my pack but none furthered any story I wanted to play with.
I guess that's why I'm so voracious and satisfied with this latest release it speaks to me by it's themes and yes even though others might hate it, it's gameplay.
I really like Strangerville too.
But I would be the first to reject a seperate side game - just like I rejected all the previous side games and wanted that stuff added to my actual Sims games I played. I did not ever consider buying Urbz, Castaways, or any of those games and was downright mad they made Medieval a separate game when I wanted that for the Sims I played. I did get Medieval eventually (thru Steam) and just as i thought was not happy with it - but had they added it to my Sims games would have been thrilled. Thus i was thrilled with a side story added to Sims 4 - as a vet player of the Sims games I would eagerly support more game packs added to the Sims 4 like Strangertown - in a heartbeat.
I don't want to take it too off topic but I have got to say. I have been playing with families and enjoying it lately.. because of this pack or at least the inspiration/themes it's added in. I'm amazing myself in wanting to see their little lives and not hurry through them. I'm not a completely deviant player don't get me wrong, but normally when I play with kids I gotta keep everyone happy and it's picket fence stuff and .. I can't handle that for long. Because of this twist I can do picket fence stuff very tongue in cheek and enjoy it. I'm not sure if that makes sense or I'm expressing it well but that's how it's coming out anyway.
I agree exactly. In fact I started a brand new game to replay the story last night from the start - and I am super taking my time. Love it - even knowing what happens - it still feels new... and fun. This time I started my "battle" Sim in a regular house instead of a trailer - and he is befriending Sims, playing as a normal Sim etc, as well as playing the storyline. As much fun as the first time even...
"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.....
Comments
1. The problem I think, with TS4 houses not being furnished is that when you buy a house, you're given the option to buy it furnished or unfurnished. If you buy a furnished home, it should be fully so for the price and certainly it should be functional.
2. I don't know, I played base game only for a bit and I built all the time. Still managed to create furnished and functional homes, even before I knew about the moveobjects cheat. 🙄 It's more challenging if you're used to having everything, but by no means impossible. And if devs can't furnish a base game house + whatever pack content it's supposed to have without struggling to fill it, what's that say about the game they initially created and shipped?
3. I haven't seen all the rich houses in strangerville, since I don't have the pack and exclusively watch TheSimSupply and he has only visited one (the Roswells I believe) on his play through. He's doing this play through with a sim guru who implied the sparse furnishing was a part of the storyline of that family, like they'd run into money problems or something. How true that is (or if it was even a joke or a cover) I don't know, since again, I haven't seen for myself.
They may be empty because of the story. See, the story counts more than the world having full lots and new lots instead of base game houses reused and resold to you. And lots of players expect Maxis to fill up those worlds (remember the comments about Newcrest was an empty world and some players hated that, they want Maxis to do the world building, and decorating). And I don't think any of us want a base game house resold to us in a GP, but it is.
I cannot begin to tell y'all how many things were forgotten, bugged or just plain "why though?", with a lot of the lots from the base game on up. I think the playtesting done is nearly not a thorough or because of funding from the higher ups they don't have the time in their budget to even do it. Its like they have to quickly get everything out. But then again it seems like it's been like that since day one with the Sims 4 so im not even surprised anymore.
@Writin_Reg is actually right. There are a lot of lots in TS2 that had the bare minimum. Kitchen and bathroom, which is understandably realistic if you ask me lol. Yes, there were a few that has a bed here and some other decorations there, but I noticed a lot more with mainly just kitchen and bathroom. Personally I don't mind this as I love decorating houses, but I can see how it can be a pain to a person who doesnt want to decorate lol
you can always revisit older iterations by yourself. Normally games inside a sub-genre would be compared against other games inside a sub-genre, but as there is no competitor for The Sims, we're left comparing between iterations. If you want I could instead compare it to an 1980's text adventure "Alter Ego", or a picture based 10 years in a life of an adult sim "Kudos" and "Kudos 2". I could also be comparing the building aspects to any game with building aspects and etc, but it's more productive to just compare to older iterations as a quality control. Logic dictates that a newer iteration should mean a better game (otherwise, why even iterate upwards?) and while some shortcomings and changes are to be expected, we should overall see The Sims 4's superiority in its systems, which we're not seeing.
Exactly what my experience with TS4 has been and, sadly, I'm not surprised anymore either. I hold out hope that TS5 will receive the love and attention that I feel this franchise deserves. Unfortunately, based on what I've seen in the production of TS4, I have little faith that TS5 will be a quality product for the same basic reasons that TS4 isn't in my opinion. Restraints in budget for time and money to do the job right.
In the beginning, I would have disagreed. I assumed that the next version would have to be better by default, since TS4 was changed in mid-production. However, it seems pretty clear now that production time won't make that much difference in the quality and honesty of the product.
I'm not interested in "stories". For that, I would have bought games that do that job so much better. I loved the Sims series because of the personalities of the Sims and the objects. I loved the ability to make my own stories which included the use of many, many interesting objects/activities. Yet, instead of varied personalities and activities, TS4 has basically been boiled down to set pieces in which the player has little to no control.
So far, there seems to be no effort to improve the quality of the Sims themselves. As well, the quality and functionality of the objects has severely decreased (see: the new "laptop").
I don't recognize the series anymore. I doubt that the successor to TS4 will be any better than what we have now. This is the new normal.
Couldn't agree more. That's why people often excuse the mistakes as just mistakes that can be overlooked; they're normal to see. And I don't have a problem with cutting people some slack when there is an honest mistake...But they're really starting to pile up, so when does it become carelessness or a bad habit?
I am of the personal belief that because we allowed TS3 to end the way it did, they thought they could do it forever. The Sims 3 IMO was the perfect mixture of "Hey, let's grab this concept, and stretch it as far as we can" and "Broken? We'll get to it...eventually...*iteration ends*" I'm guilty of course, as I played TS3 for 6 years and a LOT of things I found to my dislike were fixed with mods and CC. Tilting the balance either way is never a good thing. You have to progress while maintaining a certain level of *quality*, otherwise your big piles of ideas fail in execution. I ended up loving TS3 but that was in no small part due to the modding community. Had there been no mods, I'd have probably be singing a different tune, and the same goes for TS4.
Favourite Worlds Sims 3: Hidden Springs, Barnacle Bay, Riverview, Isla Paradiso, Sunlit Tides, Monte Vista, Dragon Valley, Al Simhara, Shang Simla, Roaring Heights, Lunar Lakes
Favourite Worlds Sims 4: Britechester, Windenburg, Sulani - possibly Mt. Komorebi
This has been the most annoying game setup (live service, content in dribs and drabs) I've ever been involved in my entire gaming life. I'm hoping against hope by the time we see the next game it isn't built upon live service and withholding content that is finished until a different quarter etc. But I doubt we have any hope of that.
I started with Sims 1 and have always bought gaming rigs, the most expensive I could afford (here, where I live, about the price of a good used car) so I could play "my game". The Sims is the only PC game I play. I love building, redoing the entire worlds to my liking. I can't do that in Sims 4 so I've saved a lot of money, instead of getting a new PC every time a new iteration of the Sims comes out, I still have the one I bought for 3.
@HannaZoja I disagree. Obviously the base game won't be fully complete upon release, but it should be at a state where it feels enjoyable on it's own, yet still has the potential to grow and become an even better experience. You can definitely sell packs with "complete" base game. You can get new traits, new jobs, pets, new activities, new worlds, new clothes, etc.
It certainly should not feel intentionally incomplete, especially after 5 years.
But it does. It's supposed to be simulating life, and if we look at it with that lense, how are groups who can all do the same thing as the other (like syncronized swimming) simulate life? I don't think that represents life at all. Life to me isn't a bowl of cherries. And modern day life, still has home phones, cars, airplanes, farming, chemistry attractions, theme parks, disputes, deaths, diseases, chaos, disasters, demotions, firings, fire patrol, cops, armies, rescue squads, run aways, fits, fears, more than one emotion or trait, growth in changing minds, or growth in seeing where the other person is right, and so and so on. TS4 doesn't quite represent any of that just because we can syncronize cooking or send them to a syncronized dance contest. There is hardly anything in this game that screams life at all in my opinion. It's more TS4 the dress up game.
Movies, Books, and tv shows has been doing that for decades - it's nothing new. It's what makes for the most successful stories - look at Harry Potter, Twilight, or even long term tv like Supernatural etc - because no one wants the stories to end - they want more on that story - no new stories. Series is what the modern people clamour for and what they teach students in Creative writing classes.
Look at Star Wars - years later they picked up where they left off - as well as gave earlier stories new life, now they have individual stories - all based of the first main characters. What's more they sell better than they ever did. It is what is successful.
TV is full of it - rebooting the old stories - new movies are really old movies brought back. That is indeed what people spend money on and want to buy.
Super hero comic books - some older than I am - and believe me I am old - are now the big sellers. So yes - todays' society proves tri-fold this is exactly what the public wants. EA is listening to the public. Now a days new is rejected and fails at the movies and books - even on tv - bringing back more of the stories people want instead of new is the way to go. Look around you - it is everywhere and growing.
"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 know that, glad to see vinyl records are a thing again.
Mostly I avoid certain storylines and keep them on hold. I have a major want on hold for years. I can imagine for those that actively need a certain element to hit that best simming experience that wait is hard. Much like waiting for toddlers was hard for those that needed them.
I know if I were a supernatural player perhaps one that was waiting on werewolves for example and the next Sims was about to come out I might wait a couple years before even looking at getting it.
I don't worry about the release times even though it can be sometimes frustrating. For me as a non-family/deviant player. That time around the release of Parenthood/City Living/Kids Room Stuff was very, very hard for me at times. My game was satisfying but I was feeling left out. I do enjoy the elements those brought to my pack but none furthered any story I wanted to play with.
I guess that's why I'm so voracious and satisfied with this latest release it speaks to me by it's themes and yes even though others might hate it, it's gameplay.
I really like Strangerville too.
But I would be the first to reject a seperate side game - just like I rejected all the previous side games and wanted that stuff added to my actual Sims games I played. I did not ever consider buying Urbz, Castaways, or any of those games and was downright mad they made Medieval a separate game when I wanted that for the Sims I played. I did get Medieval eventually (thru Steam) and just as i thought was not happy with it - but had they added it to my Sims games would have been thrilled. Thus i was thrilled with a side story added to Sims 4 - as a vet player of the Sims games I would eagerly support more game packs added to the Sims 4 like Strangertown - in a heartbeat. But don't expect me to buy a totally separate game - because I want them in the Sims I play period.
"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 don't want to take it too off topic but I have got to say. I have been playing with families and enjoying it lately.. because of this pack or at least the inspiration/themes it's added in. I'm amazing myself in wanting to see their little lives and not hurry through them. I'm not a completely deviant player don't get me wrong, but normally when I play with kids I gotta keep everyone happy and it's picket fence stuff and .. I can't handle that for long. Because of this twist I can do picket fence stuff very tongue in cheek and enjoy it. I'm not sure if that makes sense or I'm expressing it well but that's how it's coming out anyway.
I agree exactly. In fact I started a brand new game to replay the story last night from the start - and I am super taking my time. Love it - even knowing what happens - it still feels new... and fun. This time I started my "battle" Sim in a regular house instead of a trailer - and he is befriending Sims, playing as a normal Sim etc, as well as playing the storyline. As much fun as the first time even...
"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.....