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Is Sims 4 just pretty graphics compared to its predecessors?

Jasper7702Jasper7702 Posts: 300 Member
Is sims 4 just pretty graphics? Sims 3 apparently is supposed to be the one not praised, but yet it is! Sims 4 is pretty, but gameplay and bugs are just not allowing for it to surpass expectations.

What do you think down below, along with another question of wether they should raise prices to give us exactly what we want?
Post edited by Jasper7702 on

Comments

  • Colton147147Colton147147 Posts: 10,453 Member
    The Sims 4 is one of the best Sims games ever made and you can do whatever your heart desires in the Sims 4. o:)
    Your Justine Keaton Enthusiast and the Voice of the Sims Community.
  • ScobreScobre Posts: 20,665 Member
    edited July 2019
    Yep pretty much what it has going for it the most. I think it will become outdated even with graphics fairly soon just because games these days have better tech and graphics. I mean I'm even going to get the chance to try out cloud based gaming. They always raise price with each iteration and Sims 4 is the most expensive Sims game yet with the packs with packs totaling $600 so far and I wouldn't be shocked if it reached $1,000 to get the complete pack DLC experience.
    Post edited by Scobre on
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  • So_MoneySo_Money Posts: 2,536 Member
    It goes beyond graphics. Build mode and CAS, for instance, are far better than TS3. And no multitasking in TS3 is a big step back.
  • IyasenuIyasenu Posts: 325 Member
    Raise prices to give us exactly what we want?
    No... Not just because that's not how it works, but because I definitely wouldn't want this game's price to go up even more.

    If anything they could benefit from a permanent 50% price slash.

    One day, after Sims 4 is all complete and no longer being updated, I hope they give it the Sims 2 treatment, where you can just buy an "Ultimate Edition" that includes every expansion pack, preferably for an affordable price.

    None of my friends want to touch the Sims 4 because they want a complete experience.
    They see the packs and go "I'd want to get all of those if I got the Sims 4." since that is their definition of a "complete experience".
    Then they see the pricetags and how much it'd cost to actually have them all and go "I don't want to spend that much money on a single game."

    I can't blame them, but that makes me the only one in my group who does any Sims stuff.
    I'm waiting on sales again myself, to round out my collection of packs. Partly because I kind of share my friends' definition of a "complete experience" and partly because... well I've already gotten most of them anyways...
  • SindocatSindocat Posts: 5,622 Member
    I was slow to move over from TS3 but I have to say, while I am glad I waited for some things to become part of the base game, like Toddlers, I do not feel like gameplay is any less deep. The rhythm is a bit different, and not every effect is obvious, but I do honestly feel that even with minimal additional packs, I am getting the full Sims experience. I understand not everybody feels that way, but I don't see why we need new forum topics every week to say so.
  • KaronKaron Posts: 2,332 Member
    I have mixed feeling towards Sims 4. It has a better art style than Sims 3 (#nomorepuddingface), and its graphics are amazing for me, but it lacks so many stuff that should be basic. While the Build & Buy mode is more easier than ever, it restricted us in a lot of ways, We can't do a lot of stuff in the lot boundaries as we could in previous games, no ceiling tiles, we can't place column freely, we can't place anything underneath stilt foundations, we can't place multiple foundation pieces underneath the same room, no working elevators, no pond tool, and a lot more. On Create-A-Sim, we can't add personal biography, in Sims 3 we had 3 body sliders (Weight, Muscle Tone and Muscle Definition) while we only have 2 of them in Sims 4, we don't have a lot of body/face sliders that we could previously change like nromal/double chin, we can't save our own styled looks (i know that we never had styled looks, but why we don't have the power to add our own favorite clothing choices?), we can't change the opacity of our sims make up, or add/remove eyelashes and chenge their lenght, we can't freely place tatoos however and whichever body part we want, we don't have body hair (and Grant made it clear that they are never going to add that to the game), we have only 3 trait slots, not even half of the trait variety we had in Sims 3, there are few aspirations being added in each pack, we can't select our sims gender preference, we don't have favorites, turn on/turn offs... And i am not even going to mention the lack of create-a-style. They can give me any excuse for that feature to be removed, but we are in freaking 2019, there are games that run way heavier stuff more easily than Sims 3 could've ever dream of... Babies = objects, occults = few of them, worlds = small and we can't place our own lots, design our worlds or do anything with them, cats & dogs = a joke.
    There are a lot of great features and systems that i would have loved to see in SIms 3/2/1, but there are a lot of basic things, things that became routine for simmers, that they decided to remove to be able to add other stuff. In my perception they could've added a lot of the things that they removed + the new stuff (like the club system, or the calendar). But, meh... I guess we can't do anything besides being EA's hostage. Maybe if someone released a life simulator competitor we would have more power as consumers in our hands. I hope that Sims 5 brings us everything we love + everything we didn't knew we needed, instead of being another game were some thigns have to be cut for them to add new things.
  • HimRumiHimRumi Posts: 1,444 Member
    Build and CAS in the Sims 4 are simply upgraded from what was in the Sims 3.

    We have sliders and can drag walls and floors in Sims 3. It has more trait slots, more traits etc.

    So I’m not understanding what’s so hyped about TS4 besides its graphics... I agree with op.
  • MidnightAuraMidnightAura Posts: 5,809 Member
    Yes.

    Style over substance.
    Pretty graphics over in depth, consequential game play.
  • PrincipleOfEntropyPrincipleOfEntropy Posts: 389 Member
    People say the CAS is better and the build mode is better, and in some areas they certainly are, but in other ways they're lacking. It's easier to build great looking homes and buildings, but then without create a style or even just a colour wheel you're then more limited than you were in 3 when it comes to decorating them. CAS is the same, great design tools but then styles are all preset. Creativity suffers.

    Style over substance is evident in other areas of the game. Island Living was largely marketed based on style more than anything.
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  • DeKayDeKay Posts: 81,474 Member
    Like what others say, CAS is pretty good. Especially the one for pets!
    But other than that, the game lacks depth for the most part and a lot of the things are repeated, in terms of the social interactions.
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  • MidnightAuraMidnightAura Posts: 5,809 Member
    And as for raising prices? Are you kidding? This game is over 500 dollars to date. That figure will increase. Expansions are almost the cost of a brand new game and are lacking.

    Making the game more expensive will not fix the issues.
  • ScottDemonScottDemon Posts: 504 Member
    edited July 2019
    Scobre wrote: »
    Yep pretty much what it has going for it the most. I think it will become outdated even with graphics fairly soon just because games these days have better tech and graphics. I mean I'm even going to get the chance to try out cloud based gaming. They always raise price with each iteration and Sims 4 is the most expensive Sims game yet with the packs with packs totaling $600 so far and I wouldn't be shocked if it reached $1,000 to get the complete pack DLC experience.

    Actually the Sims 3 is the most expensive. Back when the game was still supported it would cost $780 total for the Base Game, all EP's and SP's and if you throw in the Sims 3 Store well over $3000.
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  • JoAnne65JoAnne65 Posts: 22,959 Member
    The Sims 4 is one of the best Sims games ever made and you can do whatever your heart desires in the Sims 4. o:)
    I miss the stampeding buffalos of yore :p
    So_Money wrote: »
    It goes beyond graphics. Build mode and CAS, for instance, are far better than TS3. And no multitasking in TS3 is a big step back.
    You can’t take a step back when you came first. At most you could say multitasking in Sims 4 is a move forward. You could, if they’d done it properly. No CASt, that’s a huge step back.
    ScottDemon wrote: »
    Scobre wrote: »
    Yep pretty much what it has going for it the most. I think it will become outdated even with graphics fairly soon just because games these days have better tech and graphics. I mean I'm even going to get the chance to try out cloud based gaming. They always raise price with each iteration and Sims 4 is the most expensive Sims game yet with the packs with packs totaling $600 so far and I wouldn't be shocked if it reached $1,000 to get the complete pack DLC experience.

    Actually the Sims 3 is the most expensive. Back when the game was still supported it would cost $780 total for the Base Game, all EP's and SP's and if you throw in the Sims 3 Store well over $3000.
    If you just buy Sims 3’s EP’s, you have the full experience. The rest is paint. For Sims 4 you’ll need it all. That’s the difference. That being said: yup, Sims 3 was very expensive as well. That doesn’t make Sims 4 a cheap game, costs wise. My son who plays other games can’t believe his ears when I tell him what it all costs.

    As for the OP, I think in the beginning they did pay attention to gameplay. It’s not gameplay that can hold my attention, but it was gameplay. By now however I have a feeling they are paying more and more and way too much attention to how it looks and not to how it plays. Sometimes I wonder if they realize they’re creating a game even, not something to just sit and look at. I also can’t help wondering whether the cause might be they keep selling that way, but the game can’t carry much more by now.
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  • MidnightAuraMidnightAura Posts: 5,809 Member
    edited July 2019
    ScottDemon wrote: »
    Scobre wrote: »
    Yep pretty much what it has going for it the most. I think it will become outdated even with graphics fairly soon just because games these days have better tech and graphics. I mean I'm even going to get the chance to try out cloud based gaming. They always raise price with each iteration and Sims 4 is the most expensive Sims game yet with the packs with packs totaling $600 so far and I wouldn't be shocked if it reached $1,000 to get the complete pack DLC experience.

    Actually the Sims 3 is the most expensive. Back when the game was still supported it would cost $780 total for the Base Game, all EP's and SP's and if you throw in the Sims 3 Store well over $3000.

    Actually that’s not true.

    If you buy the sims 3 right now
    Sims 3 starter pack =29.99
    Sims 3 expansions 29.99 x 11 = 329.89
    Stuff packs 14.99 x 9= 134.91
    = £494.79

    Sims 4
    Base game 34.99 (deluxe edition 44.99)
    7 expansions 34.99 x7 = 244.93
    7 Game packs 17.99 x7 = 125.93
    14 stuff packs 9.99 x 14 = 139.86

    = £545.71 or £555.71

    Not to mention sims 4 has an additional stuff pack and game pack on the way and three more years worth of content. Sims 4 is more expensive. That is a fact.


    Excluding store content as that’s not essential and you actually get free sims points with every expansion registered. I should know as I have 8GB of free store content thanks to that and watching ads.

    And that is today’s prices. During the original sims 3 run I didn’t pay those prices. I paid £10 for a stuff pack and £24 for an expansion.
    Post edited by MidnightAura on
  • ScottDemonScottDemon Posts: 504 Member
    edited July 2019
    ScottDemon wrote: »
    Scobre wrote: »
    Yep pretty much what it has going for it the most. I think it will become outdated even with graphics fairly soon just because games these days have better tech and graphics. I mean I'm even going to get the chance to try out cloud based gaming. They always raise price with each iteration and Sims 4 is the most expensive Sims game yet with the packs with packs totaling $600 so far and I wouldn't be shocked if it reached $1,000 to get the complete pack DLC experience.

    Actually the Sims 3 is the most expensive. Back when the game was still supported it would cost $780 total for the Base Game, all EP's and SP's and if you throw in the Sims 3 Store well over $3000.

    Actually that’s not true.

    If you buy the sims 3 right now

    Sims 3 expansions 29.99 x 11 = 329.89
    Stuff packs 14.99 x 9= 134.91
    = £464.80

    Sims 4
    7 expansions 34.99 x7 = 244.93
    7 Game packs 17.99 x7 = 125.93
    14 stuff packs 9.99 x 14 = 139.86

    = £510.72

    Not to mention sims 4 has an additional stuff pack and game pack on the way and three more years worth of content. Sims 4 is more expensive. That is a fact.


    Excluding store content as that’s not essential and you actually get free sims points with every expansion registered. I should know as I have 8GB of free store content thanks to that and watching ads.

    And that is today’s prices. During the original sims 3 run I didn’t pay those prices. I paid £10 for a stuff pack and £24 for an expansion.

    Today's prices yes but as I said back when the game was still being supported EP's where $10 higher and the SP's $15 higher at least where I live. And I own everthing that was ever in the Store including all the Special Promotions and other stuff.

    Not all regions where the same. Some had to pay more. So in my area it was in fact $780.
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  • AprilDawnAprilDawn Posts: 795 Member
    Yes - for the most part - it is just nicer to look at. Gameplaywise - it is inferior to Sim 2 and Sims 3 IMO. CAS is better for creating a sim but when it comes to clothing - it is worse because there are so limited selections for colors/patterns. I do like the search function in build mode in Sims 4. I am not that much of a builder but some things are easier for building in Sims 4 and some things are harder and there is no water tool to put a pond on a lot and limited colors/patterns. Multitasking just seems to create more problems than it is worth and is apparently limited since they cannot even multitask at all in a lounge chair. At least in Sims 2 and 3 they actually sat at a table to eat and talked to each other w/o playing musical chairs. For a game that was promoted on the big feature being the emotions - that is a joke because they are meaningless - my sim beats up another sims and they hug afterward! In Sims 2 and 3 - you always knew what emotion they experienced by their facial expressions and actions. Sims 4 sims all seem the same - the few traits there are seem to do little to distinguish them. Sims should also have wants and fears based on their personalities and situations ( not just the same buy a bee box whim over and over) and they should have memories. Seems like they have just given up on whims even because there have not been any new ones since seasons. There are very few group activities - especially for kids - and the few they have done are lame, like snowball and water balloon fights - those were much better in Sims 2 and 3.
  • Sigzy05Sigzy05 Posts: 19,406 Member
    So_Money wrote: »
    It goes beyond graphics. Build mode and CAS, for instance, are far better than TS3. And no multitasking in TS3 is a big step back.

    Ok. Build mode? No. TS3 has curved and l shaped stairs, ladders, elevators, modular sofas, there’s celling paint, platforms, you can put penthouses in any world, you can recolor almost any asset, you can create garages, and so on....

    Multitasking in TS3 is a step back but TS3 is not the sequel lmao. Look how manh step bakcs did TS4 take.

    Yes TS4 is mostly a pretty game and nothing more. There are some instances where it improves on previous games but overall it always falls short compared to it’s predecessors.
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  • MarvinKoshMarvinKosh Posts: 20 Member
    The bugs spoil what would otherwise have been a good iteration in the franchise.

    I'm not wild about the 'you must use travel to go to another part of the neighbourhood or load a different lot' but with a modern gaming PC, the loading times are fast enough that it's open-ish.

    But yeah, where it fails for me is when there are glitches, things don't work properly, and it takes months for things to get fixed, if they get fixed at all.

    I'd much rather that there was a big clearing out of bugs than get new content and some bug fixes. I'd much rather that new content took longer to arrive and was relatively free of bugs.

    This probably isn't economically viable though, because if there isn't any new content being made, presumably there's a big cross-section of staff who have nothing to do except wait until the next update ships or, they can get started on new content but can't finish because other people are busy working on testing, fixing, testing, and more fixing.

    However, I'll tell you what else isn't economically viable. Expansion packs which sell less than previous ones. Every customer who turns away from newer expansion packs because of the bugs or other annoying issues that still exist in the old ones, even when they're massively discounted, that's a lost sale that could not be accounted for. Sure, it's possible to get an idea of what budget to pour into an expansion pack so that there will be a net profit, but it might not be the profit that was hoped for.

    I would speculate that the reason why an expansion pack, game pack, and stuff pack were announced earlier this year was because the number of units (of base game or existing expansions) being shifted, did not match expectations. To keep people interested in the game, it's got to have even more content. At least, that what seems to be the driving direction at the moment.

    I haven't bought Island Living because I'm not happy about the quality of the game, and more content isn't going to fix that.
  • Jordan061102Jordan061102 Posts: 3,918 Member
    It's superior on the look but inferior in term of gameplay.
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  • drake_mccartydrake_mccarty Posts: 6,114 Member
    Sims 4 is all for show. They put more effort into the decor backdrop than they do the gameplay and don’t get me started on all of the novelty content they make for this game. It’s pretty obv to me that there’s no other way for Sims 4 to go.

    They took an online-multiplayer game out of the trash can and turned it into Sims 4 (literally that’s what they did) and given everything we can’t do I would say that makes this game a dud. A pretty dud, but a dud nonetheless. Hence why they desperately push the game toward young teens and children hoping they see it and buy it on visuals alone since the simulation is trash. The developers know the simulation in this game is garbage too, they just refuse to admit it or even fix it. Whatever is easiest for them, is what they will choose to do.
  • icmnfrshicmnfrsh Posts: 18,789 Member
    edited July 2019
    TS4 isn't the best, but it does offer some good things, like multitasking, click and drag CAS sculpting, the Parenthood pack, toddlers, clubs, and customizable holidays.

    I think if they manage to fix most of the bugs, reintroduce some old base game features, and retool some of the base systems, it could be an even better game. We'll just have to see.
    Post edited by icmnfrsh on
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  • FurSimsOfficialFurSimsOfficial Posts: 2,362 Member
    I think most threads on this forum answer this question brilliantly!
    There are some pretty good things about the Sims 4, but it will never feel like a true sims game to me, cause it just does not hold the soul of one.
  • SharoniaSharonia Posts: 4,853 Member
    It's hard for me to compare with the Sims 2. It was so long ago now that I barely remember the game play. I know I loved it at the time though.

    Sims 3 I disliked for many reasons and to me the Sims 4 will always be superior to that version in every way.

    Sims 4 lacks randomness and consequences to actions and it has unfixed bugs that have been left for far to long. Those are the only things I find are an issue with the Sims 4 for me personally and even with those faults I still enjoy the game very much and play it daily. It's all really just a matter of preference. If you prefer an older version then good for you.
  • Akl500PAkl500P Posts: 2,986 Member
    No I don’t feel this way. Yes it’s pretty but it has many other things that are great about it. CAS, build mode, multitasking, being able to easily travel to all worlds without mods. I like a lot about sims 4 in comparison to sims 3. Honestly tend to prefer it and I loved sims 3 when it was out and advocated for it when others didn’t. I just like certain things about 4 better and I have a hard time returning to sims 3 now. I find the systems like holidays, fame and even the vampire system are the best we’ve ever had. Toddlers are fantastic and I hated them in sims 2 and 3. Sims 4 has a lot going for it and it still has a few years to go.

    Yes the game is buggy but so were it’s predecessors that’s just a common theme among sims games. We can only hope they don’t leave it a mess like sims 3.

    I hate that people feel this way about sims 4 but not everyone will like every sims game and I know that. We all want different things. There were a lot on the dislike train for 3 as well because it was too different from 2. I guess I just accept each game for what it is. They are the same series but they tend to be drastically different in a lot of ways. I didn’t like 4 at first but after it was out for a few years (2017) I really started playing and haven’t stopped. Maybe sims 5 if it comes will be a perfect combo of all three games, taking the best from each. Wishful thinking for some I know but I’m hopeful.
  • fruitsbasket101fruitsbasket101 Posts: 1,530 Member
    Yep. Pretty to look at but not much substance.
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