Sims 3 exchange is still up, as is the store. As long as the games are selling well, they'll be supported. However, once they stop selling, your guess is as good as anyone's as to how long the servers will stay up.
There may be an reason why Sims 3 has not been archived yet and it may involve how can you have access to the stuff one paid money for. Unlike Sims 2 there was an way to save your stuff to an .PKG set and it is not easy with Sims 3 or 4.If there is no sure way of saving purchases from Sims 3 and EA/Maxis archive it there may be some who may loose there purchases. This is just opinion for I myself worry about when the day do come and I may not be able to access my sets or anything I brought from the store.
I have all my content backed up on both a couple of hard drives and a thumb drive.
I don't know how many people are playing Sims 3 on Origin or without a storefront, staying on patch 1.67, but there are over 3k people playing it on steam right now. It's pretty safe to say, at the time I'm writing this, that there's between 10k-20k people playing. That's not bad at all for a 10 year old game. And people are still buying store content.
Sims 3 exchange is still up, as is the store. As long as the games are selling well, they'll be supported. However, once they stop selling, your guess is as good as anyone's as to how long the servers will stay up.
There may be an reason why Sims 3 has not been archived yet and it may involve how can you have access to the stuff one paid money for. Unlike Sims 2 there was an way to save your stuff to an .PKG set and it is not easy with Sims 3 or 4.If there is no sure way of saving purchases from Sims 3 and EA/Maxis archive it there may be some who may loose there purchases. This is just opinion for I myself worry about when the day do come and I may not be able to access my sets or anything I brought from the store.
I have all my Store stuff backed up (Downloads folder). I’ve reinstalled Sims 3 several times over the years and just replacing the empty Downloads folder by my back up one and install everything through the launcher does the trick.
Wait all after all that time all I had to do was back up my download folder and restore that folder back into an game even if I use a new save? Wow thanks for that info as it shows you can learn something new everyday.
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Sims 3 exchange is still up, as is the store. As long as the games are selling well, they'll be supported. However, once they stop selling, your guess is as good as anyone's as to how long the servers will stay up.
There may be an reason why Sims 3 has not been archived yet and it may involve how can you have access to the stuff one paid money for. Unlike Sims 2 there was an way to save your stuff to an .PKG set and it is not easy with Sims 3 or 4.If there is no sure way of saving purchases from Sims 3 and EA/Maxis archive it there may be some who may loose there purchases. This is just opinion for I myself worry about when the day do come and I may not be able to access my sets or anything I brought from the store.
I have all my content backed up on both a couple of hard drives and a thumb drive.
I don't know how many people are playing Sims 3 on Origin or without a storefront, staying on patch 1.67, but there are over 3k people playing it on steam right now. It's pretty safe to say, at the time I'm writing this, that there's between 10k-20k people playing. That's not bad at all for a 10 year old game. And people are still buying store content.
Oh no that definitely not bad as I think have mine locked and loaded. I am just wondering if you back up the download folder can you use it to restore the back up for an new family w/o playing the old family or sim?
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Sims 3 exchange is still up, as is the store. As long as the games are selling well, they'll be supported. However, once they stop selling, your guess is as good as anyone's as to how long the servers will stay up.
There may be an reason why Sims 3 has not been archived yet and it may involve how can you have access to the stuff one paid money for. Unlike Sims 2 there was an way to save your stuff to an .PKG set and it is not easy with Sims 3 or 4.If there is no sure way of saving purchases from Sims 3 and EA/Maxis archive it there may be some who may loose there purchases. This is just opinion for I myself worry about when the day do come and I may not be able to access my sets or anything I brought from the store.
I have all my content backed up on both a couple of hard drives and a thumb drive.
I don't know how many people are playing Sims 3 on Origin or without a storefront, staying on patch 1.67, but there are over 3k people playing it on steam right now. It's pretty safe to say, at the time I'm writing this, that there's between 10k-20k people playing. That's not bad at all for a 10 year old game. And people are still buying store content.
Oh no that definitely not bad as I think have mine locked and loaded. I am just wondering if you back up the download folder can you use it to restore the back up for an new family w/o playing the old family or sim?
The Sims you see in CAS are in the savedsims folder. Households that are in the library are saved in the library folder, along with all of your venues.
I keep backups of saves as well when I do a lot of work to get the world up and running.
I kind of feel like Sims 4 was a lot about experimenting. I think they have found some things that work (CAS) and some that really don't (The sims themselves suck.) I think they experimented with game packs to try and get more content out to players with less down time between expansions. It was a good gamble on the game packs BUT it took away from content that would have originally been added in expansions. They took time away from expansions and left them a little emptier than expansions from the previous Sims games. There are things that have been learned and things that should not be repeated.
The base game was awful and they gutted it in the name of "better sims, better game play, more emotions." In the end the sims are awful and there is no real depth to them. It's a shame really. If they would have had "better sims," the game would be tremendously better. If the sims had meaningful interactions and there were consequences for things like cheating on a spouse and if there was even the correct reaction to these types of situations, the game would be exceptionally better. They didn't spend more time on the sims though. They didn't make the game play better and the emotions are nothing more than a moodlet that has no effect on the sims or the game you're playing.
What did they do then? They gutted the base game in hopes of selling us all the features back that we are used to (kind of like they've always done but on a grander scale this time and it's just a business model that's old and needs a change.) They shouldn't have. They should have given us weather in the base game. They should have given us University, toddlers and pools and half the other crap they put in expansions. Why? Because then you would get your farm ep. Then you would get your vacations and maybe casinos and all the other ep's that people want but never get put out because they just want to sell you the stuff that should carry over from game to game.
If they keep going in that direction then I would say yes the game will eventually just be a load of 🐸🐸🐸🐸. I think there is still time to fix the game though. If they can get back into the most important part of it, the sims. That is where the most work is needed and I'd be overjoyed if they would put a few stuff packs out that are void of material objects and just clean up interactions, romance, more careers and things that go on in our SIMS lives. We need different venues to take our sims. We need more careers (active and rabbit hole.) We need the option to build different types of businesses (I'd love to make a salon.) We can't even own and run a bar. In Sims 2 I had a Russian mobster sim who owned a bunch of strip clubs and it was a functional way of supporting himself. How about new types of living? Brownstones anyone? The biggest part of the game is being ignored and it was the part of the game we were sold on. I just really wish they'd get away from clothes and furniture and hair and improve the game play. The 🐸🐸🐸🐸 game is called "The Sims" not "The Hair and Clothes and Furniture" simulator.
The poll options are just a tad skewed. I don't think TS4 needs to be "saved" because I don't think it's dying. I think it can be made better and I definitely don't think it's anywhere close to over in general. People, however, may be over it, but that's a different conversation.
(the emergency fix was for a bug that was game-crashing. the fix of the counters and columns? yeah, added quickly because they were pointed out by James and others, but unlikely the reason for the emergency push.)
This poll is so biased Im not disappointed with the sims as is.
I love the Sims (Sims 2 especially), but it wouldn't surprise me if the developers are "over it" with the Sims Franchise in general. New iteration, same expansion packs every single time. Would you be annoyed if you had to create the same content over and over? They want to create new packs, but are afraid to because they worry they might disappoint/anger players if they don't release x pack because it was a fan favorite.
What EP is important to one player, might not be important to another and vice versa. For example: I enjoy/love occult Sims and it is what makes the game fun and enjoyable for me, but another might not like occult Sims, but that doesn't mean they should not not make the pack. Same could be said if another player wants a Uni pack, but I couldn't care less about it. It is something that adds to their gameplay and the story they're telling the same way occults are to me.
They need to step outside their comfort zone. That is what the Sims is about. Creating enjoyable gameplay while bringing innovation to the table.
I get TS4 was created because not that many people have strong PCs, but why should other players have to suffer because of it? Get a job and save up for it. Under-aged? Do chores around the house. If TS5 is to be successful, they cannot use excuses like, "oh, not everyone has a strong pc." It has been a hindrance. It terms of priority, gameplay and functionality first, visuals second. Also stop following trends. The Sims was never about following trends.
I love Sims 4. However, that's because of mods. The mods make the game worthwhile, if EA wasn't in the business of making easily modded games and was more like Take Two entertainment trying to sue modders I would NEVER touch Sims 4.
However I always say, it's NEVER too late for anything. Just like I hope that Mass Effect can make a rebound with Mass Effect 5, I have hope that Sims 5 COULD be good. But since this is EA we're talking about here, be worried!
And the worst part is that the same players complaining about Ea/Maxis decisions, are about the same asking for the next iteration, the Sims 5 ! How come those players believe that EA/Maxis should be able to do the Sims 5 that those players are dreaming of, while they imply that EA/Maxis can't make it with Sims 4? What makes them believe it's going to be any better ? Same company, same team, same purpose.
I'm sure like me many are hoping Sims 5 does not start as an online game like Sims 4 and goes back to the roots of what's important in a Sims game and its sure not the clothing its the Sims themselves. It would be amazing to once again have Sims with personalities who actually interact with each other and are not set up as an online chatting game with "emotions" tossed in as an obvious afterthought. Once simple things like slow dancing or Sims dancing together at all seems to be to much to ask for in this single Sim game.
Sims 4 went from "You Rule" to "One of the stories we want you to tell"
Hmmm, can Sims 4 be saved? it can for some folks depending on what EA/Maxis can do. If it means adding features that can work well with Sims 4 engine then it is an possibility however if not that is an different story. I do not see EA/Maxis adding any editing tools that involve creating neighborhoods, lot creation tools which would enhance my creativity greatly. As is Sims 4 will always have restrictions on what the end user can do for me.
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I no longer have hope for Sims 4 but Sims 5 is (probably) coming and can change everything
I have a gaming computer. Sims 4 has the best graphics and runs smoothly (zero problems), but Sims 2 (runs smoothly) and 3 (broken) had the best Sims personalities. Sims 4 sims personalities dull, boring, flat, lifeless making the game dull boring flat and all the personalities is exactly the same no matter what traits you choose...no different outcome. Sims 4 does not have enough "meat"...gameplay...feels hollow, shallow. I miss world adventures as well. Sims 2 and 3 I could play for hours and hours without rest...it was that addictive. Sims 4 is tedious, everything is oversimplified and there are no consequences to your traits. In Sims 2 and 3 I had empathy with my sim and loved their stories, they felt like a part of my world. I really am seriously disappointed with Sims 4. I cannot play it its too boring. There is not much to do in Sims 4 and the sims are boring. Their personalities is boring. I have never felt bored with sims 2 and 3 and I think it is because of the traits, personalities that the sims has, story telling. There's also not a lot to do in Sims 4. I have all the packs of sims 2 and 3. The last 2 packs of Sims 4 I did not buy as it will only be 2 days of gameplay then it will just be boring, same with the other sims 4 packs. Can I have sims 2 and 3 back, but with Sims 4 graphics? We laughed so much in Sims 2 and 3...I was emotionally invested.
I love the Sims (Sims 2 especially), but it wouldn't surprise me if the developers are "over it" with the Sims Franchise in general. New iteration, same expansion packs every single time. Would you be annoyed if you had to create the same content over and over? They want to create new packs, but are afraid to because they worry they might disappoint/anger players if they don't release x pack because it was a fan favorite.
What EP is important to one player, might not be important to another and vice versa. For example: I enjoy/love occult Sims and it is what makes the game fun and enjoyable for me, but another might not like occult Sims, but that doesn't mean they should not not make the pack. Same could be said if another player wants a Uni pack, but I couldn't care less about it. It is something that adds to their gameplay and the story they're telling the same way occults are to me.
They need to step outside their comfort zone. That is what the Sims is about. Creating enjoyable gameplay while bringing innovation to the table.
I get TS4 was created because not that many people have strong PCs, but why should other players have to suffer because of it? Get a job and save up for it. Under-aged? Do chores around the house. If TS5 is to be successful, they cannot use excuses like, "oh, not everyone has a strong pc." It has been a hindrance. It terms of priority, gameplay and functionality first, visuals second. Also stop following trends. The Sims was never about following trends.
I think the problem to this solution is what I mentioned in my post. They need to carry over more expansion features with each new part of the series. If they want to make new expansions and experiment and go in different directions then just get the stuff people want (occult, toddler, university, weather) out of the way in the base game. They can expand on those things with game packs or whatever but if they would just carry that stuff over they would have more fun with new ideas and players would be happy to have the things they want right away. I find it to be greed that holds them back though and possibly lack of ideas. We crave the same expansion packs because those are things that make the sims a life simulator. They need to get them out of the way asap and move in different directions. Until they stop trying to make us buy back all the features we were use to from the last game, there won't be any room for new ideas. If they aren't confident enough in their own work and innovation and can only sell stuff back then that's on them.
Currently the Sims has two mobile games -- one from Firemonkey and one from Maxis. If that's where the money is, that's where the money will be focused. Mobile gaming really has hurt the entire video game industry.
Currently the Sims has two mobile games -- one from Firemonkey and one from Maxis. If that's where the money is, that's where the money will be focused. Mobile gaming really has hurt the entire video game industry.
The fact that those two games (especially FP) continue to thrive scares me because of how they're making money off of them.
But for what it's worth, they're both with Firemonkeys now (since earlier this year) which might be a good thing.
Currently the Sims has two mobile games -- one from Firemonkey and one from Maxis. If that's where the money is, that's where the money will be focused. Mobile gaming really has hurt the entire video game industry.
(Saying this in general) If you don't like it, don't support it. Every dollar you spend elsewhere counts, and I think people really underestimate that belief.
I was excited when I saw Mario Kart was coming to mobile devices. Once I saw how greedy they were being with microtransactions and that ridiculous 5 dollar a month membership, I uninstalled it without even launching it once. I wasn't even going to give the app my time. The money that I could have put into that, Sims Mobile, or SimCity mobile, could instead go towards an indie developer who is focused on experience, fun, and creating a quality game, rather than abusing the dopamine impulse purchase effect on consumers.
And there are still a ton of great, quality games releasing. We just have the mobile market trying to push its way in, but I for sure am not entertaining it.
Currently the Sims has two mobile games -- one from Firemonkey and one from Maxis. If that's where the money is, that's where the money will be focused. Mobile gaming really has hurt the entire video game industry.
(Saying this in general) If you don't like it, don't support it. Every dollar you spend elsewhere counts, and I think people really underestimate that belief.
I was excited when I saw Mario Kart was coming to mobile devices. Once I saw how greedy they were being with microtransactions and that ridiculous 5 dollar a month membership, I uninstalled it without even launching it once. I wasn't even going to give the app my time. The money that I could have put into that, Sims Mobile, or SimCity mobile, could instead go towards an indie developer who is focused on experience, fun, and creating a quality game, rather than abusing the dopamine impulse purchase effect on consumers.
And there are still a ton of great, quality games releasing. We just have the mobile market trying to push its way in, but I for sure am not entertaining it.
Yep, microtransactions are awful. What's worse is that I believe that only 10% of customers use them, but there are enough whales that it becomes more profitable to have them. And it's exploitative as all get out (I agree with most pundits that loot boxes are gambling, and micro transactions in general are predatory).
Back when MMOs were first being developed, I believe it was Sony that brought psychologists on board to make the games as addicting as possible. Once that model was shown to be successful, other games adopted it. Same with microtransactions, loot boxes and others. A few larger devs brought in psychologists and have worked out models to prey on the subconscious parts of our brain, eliciting reactions. I stay far away from both. I think mobile gaming will run its course -- people will get tired of microtransactions being the best way to get ahead, and the few whales will lose their sense of superior advancement as they'll just mainly be comparing themselves to other whales.
Over course not. Just because people don't have everything they want at once doesn't mean it is low quality or dead. They even said we still a few more years. Years of new packs, patch updates with both new content and bug fixes, etc....
Me neither. My phone is just that, a phone. Screen's so small I couldn't even see a game on it, let alone do anything.
Hear, Hear! I agree.
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I have a gaming computer. Sims 4 has the best graphics and runs smoothly (zero problems), but Sims 2 (runs smoothly) and 3 (broken) had the best Sims personalities. Sims 4 sims personalities dull, boring, flat, lifeless making the game dull boring flat and all the personalities is exactly the same no matter what traits you choose...no different outcome. Sims 4 does not have enough "meat"...gameplay...feels hollow, shallow. I miss world adventures as well. Sims 2 and 3 I could play for hours and hours without rest...it was that addictive. Sims 4 is tedious, everything is oversimplified and there are no consequences to your traits. In Sims 2 and 3 I had empathy with my sim and loved their stories, they felt like a part of my world. I really am seriously disappointed with Sims 4. I cannot play it its too boring. There is not much to do in Sims 4 and the sims are boring. Their personalities is boring. I have never felt bored with sims 2 and 3 and I think it is because of the traits, personalities that the sims has, story telling. There's also not a lot to do in Sims 4. I have all the packs of sims 2 and 3. The last 2 packs of Sims 4 I did not buy as it will only be 2 days of gameplay then it will just be boring, same with the other sims 4 packs. Can I have sims 2 and 3 back, but with Sims 4 graphics? We laughed so much in Sims 2 and 3...I was emotionally invested.
I feel the same even with the new packs added I do not feel that good feeling as I did with the older versions. I really had the peps with Sims 2 new releases and just the peps with Sims 3 but none with Sims 4 guessing it had to do with what I really loved to see in Sims 4 but it is not there.
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I think the other problem that lies is having a divided team. In TS4, there is one team for Eps, another team for Gps, and then another team for Sps. Rather than having 3 different teams to work on 3 different packs, there only needs to be 1 team (merge the teams) that works together on all the packs.
I didn't buy all the packs to look at pretty visuals, I bought them for the gameplay, but when the gameplay is lacking, there is a problem. Some of the objects and sometimes the clothing from packs look like reskins of something we already from previous packs. Don't even get me started on EA/Maxis releasing items from packs and putting it in the base game; a huge slap in the face. Like, are you that lazy that you can't release new items?
Sims 4 Sims have little to no personality. Their mood shouldn't affect their personality. It should be the other way around. Their personality should affect their mood. And I agree, if they want to create new ideas, then they should put things like weather, occults, uni, pets, apartments, etc in the base game. I would rather they take their time to create a polished game with little bugs as possible and with as much enjoyable gameplay as possible. I want them to surprise us.
TS2 will always be my favorite iteration (TS1 and TS2 are a close tie for me tbh), but with TS3, even though it was the least prettiest, it still had the best gameplay compared to TS4. Sims were full of life and personality, unplayed Sims got married, had children, aged, died or moved away. What TS3 lacked in visual, made up for innovation and gameplay. If you wanted to make the game look pretty, one only needed to look for custom content. For some people, the visuals didn't bother them because they had the gameplay to make up for it.
I loved small details like seeing the trees and flora blowing in the wind, seeing the sun and moon go down, sunrises and sunsets. You see all the energy and effort and passion poured into TS1, TS2, and TS3 then you look at TS4 and wonder what happened. I would like to see Will Wright be involved with the development of TS5.
That mod is an example of the kinds of things that the community is currently working on, along with personality archetypes and an attraction system. Why hasn't EA/Maxis taken a crack at any of it?
If anything, the developers' focus on anything other than improving the quality of the base game Sims is what is doing damage to this iteration of the series. If they continue to ignore glaring omissions, their initial buy-in for TS5 may well be greatly reduced in comparison to the previous games. At this point, EA/Maxis has lost a lot of the goodwill and trust that they once had and it's their own fault.
(Sorry, edited to add because one of my pups is very vocal and can't seem to stop barking this morning!)
Perhaps, EA/Maxis could regain some of the community trust capital that they have squandered with this version of the game. They could regain some of the lost confidence in their product if they would:
Put less time and money into creating worlds that 1) players' have no ability to edit and 2) have such strong architectural influences and environmental ambiance that anything a player adds that is contrary to either will clash. TS4 worlds need to stop limiting creativity.
Put less time and money into creating storylines that players will play once and probably never play again due to story outcomes that do not substantially change on subsequent playthroughs.
Stop creating barebone EPs that don't expand the game in general, but are limited to one world. Leave one-trick ponies up to the SPs and GPs. EPs should consist of sweeping and substantive changes that can be applied to all worlds. Here are ideas for a decent start: an apartment system, festivals, functional oceans, and the inclusion of boats that will not look out of place if used outside of Sulani.
Spend more time creating activities that involve more than one Sim and during those activities, Sims should be able to interact with each other in a meaningful way: dancing, skating, boating, and reclining in the new lounge chairs.
Take the time to fix the inadequate whims system instead of hiding it by default. Many players who are not scripted storytellers depend on the whims system to determine the direction and flow of the spontaneous storytelling that happens as a result of gameplay. As such, whims should be intricately intertwined with the trait system as well as immediate and fairly recent events.
Take the time to create a functional and intuitive attraction system. This goes hand in hand with spontaneous storytelling. Right now, Sims have no gender preference or preference in types of friends or romantic partners. That lack of preference is a series first and not in a good way.
Allow more player customization. For example, make it possible for players (not the game) to choose Sims' favorite drinks as well as their favorite meals. Since this installment seems to recognize ranges of color, also allow players to pick their Sims' favorite colors and for Sims to earn personal satisfaction if they are wearing those colors, greater attraction if they meet someone who is wearing those colors, or more positive initial moods upon entering an environment which includes those colors.
Do away with the system that consistently co-opts the outfits that players have spent hours choosing for their individual Sims. That situational system started out okay. Now, it is frustrating and dismissive of player choice. If a situational system must be used, allow the players access to those clothing categories so that the players may choose what they want their player Sims to wear in any given situation: costumes, rain gear, cold-weather gear, and various festival attire. It should also be possible to easily copy one outfit to another category rather than having to build it all over again, step by laborious step. A greater level of customization for each played Sim would only help the outfit issue, not hurt it.
Stop creating traits that are no more than handholding pack advertisements. Once a player purchases a pack, there is no longer a need to advertise it. In addition, players are smart, we don't need handholding in order to discover the intricacies of a pack. In fact, the handholding actually hampers the sense of discovery in TS4, a game which doesn't have much of a sense of discovery in the first place. Instead, create traits that deepen Sims' personalities and individuality. For example, there are still no traits for shyness, or bravery, or cowardice. Furthermore, the traits that do exist have no genuine impact on gameplay. A loner Sim should play significantly different from Sims who are supposed to be the life of the party.
Create an in-depth system of rewards and consequences. Depending on each Sims' trait, cheating on a significant other or playing mean tricks on the wrong Sims should have consequences. Likewise, work/school opportunities should have possible consequences and greater, more interesting rewards. The current changes in performance level and/or moodlets are unimaginative and boring Twenty years into the Sim game, EA should be able to come up with better! For example, a child/teen who fails an opportunity could get detention and be required to spend a few more hours at school. That could cause conflicts with work or make the Sim return home so hungry and exhausted that they don't have the energy to partake in activities which they enjoy. Or, they could be given extra hours of homework with the same result. A child/teen who succeeds in the opportunity could have no homework that night, or they could be given special assignments to give an oral report about a museum or a local business that they must visit.
Try creating more meaningful events such as retirement parties, baby showers, engagement parties where Sims get to show off the rings. (Sidebar: there should be more than one type of proposal.) The event system was a nice idea, however, it wasn't taken nearly far enough.
Likewise, lot traits could have been used for so much more. In this area, modders are running circles around the company who created the idea of traits in the first place. EA, for ideas on lot traits, consider visiting LittleMsSam's website. She can show you the inherent power and flexibility of lot traits for gender, age, and groups of activities for Sims to take part in, in order to create different types of venues other than the ones that came with the game...
The above are simply a few suggestions. They are not particularly imaginative or innovative on my part. In fact, many of them were already implemented in previous titles of the series. Therefore, why doesn't TS4 have any of those features? It would make sense to do away with them if they were replaced with something more interesting and player-inclusive. It is not acceptable to simply omit them in lieu of nothing.
The suspected Uni pack will be the last of the big packs that players looked forward to in order to round out the major systems that have always existed in the series. With that out of the way, it's time for EA/Maxis to release the stranglehold that they've had on the creative elements of the game and to focus on the things that are harder for the average player to emulate or to correct -- actual gameplay. Please, focus on personality traits; an attraction system; likes and dislikes; fears and favorites; better rewards and consequences; better, trait-related reactions to stimuli; and genuine, player-created apartment systems and festival systems which can be utilized in any world!
That mod is an example of the kinds of things that the community is currently working on, along with personality archetypes and an attraction system. Why hasn't EA/Maxis taken a crack at any of it?
If anything, the developers' focus on anything other than improving the quality of the base game Sims is what is doing damage to this iteration of the series. If they continue to ignore glaring omissions, their initial buy-in for TS5 may well be greatly reduced in comparison to the previous games. At this point, EA/Maxis has lost a lot of the goodwill and trust that they once had and it's their own fault.
(Sorry, edited to add because one of my pups is very vocal and can't seem to stop barking this morning!)
Perhaps, EA/Maxis could regain some of the community trust capital that they have squandered with this version of the game. They could regain some of the lost confidence in their product if they would:
Put less time and money into creating worlds that 1) players' have no ability to edit and 2) have such strong architectural influences and environmental ambiance that anything a player adds that is contrary to either will clash. TS4 worlds need to stop limiting creativity.
Put less time and money into creating storylines that players will play once and probably never play again due to story outcomes that do not substantially change on subsequent playthroughs.
Stop creating barebone EPs that don't expand the game in general, but are limited to one world. Leave one-trick ponies up to the SPs and GPs. EPs should consist of sweeping and substantive changes that can be applied to all worlds. Here are ideas for a decent start: an apartment system, festivals, functional oceans, and the inclusion of boats that will not look out of place if used outside of Sulani.
Spend more time creating activities that involve more than one Sim and during those activities, Sims should be able to interact with each other in a meaningful way: dancing, skating, boating, and reclining in the new lounge chairs.
Take the time to fix the inadequate whims system instead of hiding it by default. Many players who are not scripted storytellers depend on the whims system to determine the direction and flow of the spontaneous storytelling that happens as a result of gameplay. As such, whims should be intricately intertwined with the trait system as well as immediate and fairly recent events.
Take the time to create a functional and intuitive attraction system. This goes hand in hand with spontaneous storytelling. Right now, Sims have no gender preference or preference in types of friends or romantic partners. That lack of preference is a series first and not in a good way.
Allow more player customization. For example, make it possible for players (not the game) to choose Sims' favorite drinks as well as their favorite meals. Since this installment seems to recognize ranges of color, also allow players to pick their Sims' favorite colors and for Sims to earn personal satisfaction if they are wearing those colors, greater attraction if they meet someone who is wearing those colors, or more positive initial moods upon entering an environment which includes those colors.
Do away with the system that consistently co-opts the outfits that players have spent hours choosing for their individual Sims. That situational system started out okay. Now, it is frustrating and dismissive of player choice. If a situational system must be used, allow the players access to those clothing categories so that the players may choose what they want their player Sims to wear in any given situation: costumes, rain gear, cold-weather gear, and various festival attire. It should also be possible to easily copy one outfit to another category rather than having to build it all over again, step by laborious step. A greater level of customization for each played Sim would only help the outfit issue, not hurt it.
Stop creating traits that are no more than handholding pack advertisements. Once a player purchases a pack, there is no longer a need to advertise it. In addition, players are smart, we don't need handholding in order to discover the intricacies of a pack. In fact, the handholding actually hampers the sense of discovery in TS4, a game which doesn't have much of a sense of discovery in the first place. Instead, create traits that deepen Sims' personalities and individuality. For example, there are still no traits for shyness, or bravery, or cowardice. Furthermore, the traits that do exist have no genuine impact on gameplay. A loner Sim should play significantly different from Sims who are supposed to be the life of the party.
Create an in-depth system of rewards and consequences. Depending on each Sims' trait, cheating on a significant other or playing mean tricks on the wrong Sims should have consequences. Likewise, work/school opportunities should have possible consequences and greater, more interesting rewards. The current changes in performance level and/or moodlets are unimaginative and boring Twenty years into the Sim game, EA should be able to come up with better! For example, a child/teen who fails an opportunity could get detention and be required to spend a few more hours at school. That could cause conflicts with work or make the Sim return home so hungry and exhausted that they don't have the energy to partake in activities which they enjoy. Or, they could be given extra hours of homework with the same result. A child/teen who succeeds in the opportunity could have no homework that night, or they could be given special assignments to give an oral report about a museum or a local business that they must visit.
Try creating more meaningful events such as retirement parties, baby showers, engagement parties where Sims get to show off the rings. (Sidebar: there should be more than one type of proposal.) The event system was a nice idea, however, it wasn't taken nearly far enough.
Likewise, lot traits could have been used for so much more. In this area, modders are running circles around the company who created the idea of traits in the first place. EA, for ideas on lot traits, consider visiting LittleMsSam's website. She can show you the inherent power and flexibility of lot traits for gender, age, and groups of activities for Sims to take part in, in order to create different types of venues other than the ones that came with the game...
The above are simply a few suggestions. They are not particularly imaginative or innovative on my part. In fact, many of them were already implemented in previous titles of the series. Therefore, why doesn't TS4 have any of those features? It would make sense to do away with them if they were replaced with something more interesting and player-inclusive. It is not acceptable to simply omit them in lieu of nothing.
The suspected Uni pack will be the last of the big packs that players looked forward to in order to round out the major systems that have always existed in the series. With that out of the way, it's time for EA/Maxis to release the stranglehold that they've had on the creative elements of the game and to focus on the things that are harder for the average player to emulate or to correct -- actual gameplay. Please, focus on personality traits; an attraction system; likes and dislikes; fears and favorites; better rewards and consequences; better, trait-related reactions to stimuli; and genuine, player-created apartment systems and festival systems which can be utilized in any world!
With the way sims 4 went, i dont have much hype or hope for the next games. The fall started with sims 3, when they left sloppy glitches and bugs in game. It was still an improvement but you can tell where they started to get lazy with the sims in certain areas. Now we're at the crash, were sims 4 went completely backwardd and regressed on a lot of great things sims 2 and 3 gave us. If sims 5 is anything like 4 or wven less, then i feel it will be the sims funeral
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I have all my content backed up on both a couple of hard drives and a thumb drive.
I don't know how many people are playing Sims 3 on Origin or without a storefront, staying on patch 1.67, but there are over 3k people playing it on steam right now. It's pretty safe to say, at the time I'm writing this, that there's between 10k-20k people playing. That's not bad at all for a 10 year old game. And people are still buying store content.
Wait all after all that time all I had to do was back up my download folder and restore that folder back into an game even if I use a new save? Wow thanks for that info as it shows you can learn something new everyday.
Oh no that definitely not bad as I think have mine locked and loaded. I am just wondering if you back up the download folder can you use it to restore the back up for an new family w/o playing the old family or sim?
The Sims you see in CAS are in the savedsims folder. Households that are in the library are saved in the library folder, along with all of your venues.
I keep backups of saves as well when I do a lot of work to get the world up and running.
The base game was awful and they gutted it in the name of "better sims, better game play, more emotions." In the end the sims are awful and there is no real depth to them. It's a shame really. If they would have had "better sims," the game would be tremendously better. If the sims had meaningful interactions and there were consequences for things like cheating on a spouse and if there was even the correct reaction to these types of situations, the game would be exceptionally better. They didn't spend more time on the sims though. They didn't make the game play better and the emotions are nothing more than a moodlet that has no effect on the sims or the game you're playing.
What did they do then? They gutted the base game in hopes of selling us all the features back that we are used to (kind of like they've always done but on a grander scale this time and it's just a business model that's old and needs a change.) They shouldn't have. They should have given us weather in the base game. They should have given us University, toddlers and pools and half the other crap they put in expansions. Why? Because then you would get your farm ep. Then you would get your vacations and maybe casinos and all the other ep's that people want but never get put out because they just want to sell you the stuff that should carry over from game to game.
If they keep going in that direction then I would say yes the game will eventually just be a load of 🐸🐸🐸🐸. I think there is still time to fix the game though. If they can get back into the most important part of it, the sims. That is where the most work is needed and I'd be overjoyed if they would put a few stuff packs out that are void of material objects and just clean up interactions, romance, more careers and things that go on in our SIMS lives. We need different venues to take our sims. We need more careers (active and rabbit hole.) We need the option to build different types of businesses (I'd love to make a salon.) We can't even own and run a bar. In Sims 2 I had a Russian mobster sim who owned a bunch of strip clubs and it was a functional way of supporting himself. How about new types of living? Brownstones anyone? The biggest part of the game is being ignored and it was the part of the game we were sold on. I just really wish they'd get away from clothes and furniture and hair and improve the game play. The 🐸🐸🐸🐸 game is called "The Sims" not "The Hair and Clothes and Furniture" simulator.
This poll is so biased
What EP is important to one player, might not be important to another and vice versa. For example: I enjoy/love occult Sims and it is what makes the game fun and enjoyable for me, but another might not like occult Sims, but that doesn't mean they should not not make the pack. Same could be said if another player wants a Uni pack, but I couldn't care less about it. It is something that adds to their gameplay and the story they're telling the same way occults are to me.
They need to step outside their comfort zone. That is what the Sims is about. Creating enjoyable gameplay while bringing innovation to the table.
I get TS4 was created because not that many people have strong PCs, but why should other players have to suffer because of it? Get a job and save up for it. Under-aged? Do chores around the house. If TS5 is to be successful, they cannot use excuses like, "oh, not everyone has a strong pc." It has been a hindrance. It terms of priority, gameplay and functionality first, visuals second. Also stop following trends. The Sims was never about following trends.
However I always say, it's NEVER too late for anything. Just like I hope that Mass Effect can make a rebound with Mass Effect 5, I have hope that Sims 5 COULD be good. But since this is EA we're talking about here, be worried!
I think the problem to this solution is what I mentioned in my post. They need to carry over more expansion features with each new part of the series. If they want to make new expansions and experiment and go in different directions then just get the stuff people want (occult, toddler, university, weather) out of the way in the base game. They can expand on those things with game packs or whatever but if they would just carry that stuff over they would have more fun with new ideas and players would be happy to have the things they want right away. I find it to be greed that holds them back though and possibly lack of ideas. We crave the same expansion packs because those are things that make the sims a life simulator. They need to get them out of the way asap and move in different directions. Until they stop trying to make us buy back all the features we were use to from the last game, there won't be any room for new ideas. If they aren't confident enough in their own work and innovation and can only sell stuff back then that's on them.
The fact that those two games (especially FP) continue to thrive scares me because of how they're making money off of them.
But for what it's worth, they're both with Firemonkeys now (since earlier this year) which might be a good thing.
(Saying this in general) If you don't like it, don't support it. Every dollar you spend elsewhere counts, and I think people really underestimate that belief.
I was excited when I saw Mario Kart was coming to mobile devices. Once I saw how greedy they were being with microtransactions and that ridiculous 5 dollar a month membership, I uninstalled it without even launching it once. I wasn't even going to give the app my time. The money that I could have put into that, Sims Mobile, or SimCity mobile, could instead go towards an indie developer who is focused on experience, fun, and creating a quality game, rather than abusing the dopamine impulse purchase effect on consumers.
And there are still a ton of great, quality games releasing. We just have the mobile market trying to push its way in, but I for sure am not entertaining it.
Yep, microtransactions are awful. What's worse is that I believe that only 10% of customers use them, but there are enough whales that it becomes more profitable to have them. And it's exploitative as all get out (I agree with most pundits that loot boxes are gambling, and micro transactions in general are predatory).
Back when MMOs were first being developed, I believe it was Sony that brought psychologists on board to make the games as addicting as possible. Once that model was shown to be successful, other games adopted it. Same with microtransactions, loot boxes and others. A few larger devs brought in psychologists and have worked out models to prey on the subconscious parts of our brain, eliciting reactions. I stay far away from both. I think mobile gaming will run its course -- people will get tired of microtransactions being the best way to get ahead, and the few whales will lose their sense of superior advancement as they'll just mainly be comparing themselves to other whales.
Lets make this a reality!
Hear, Hear! I agree.
I feel the same even with the new packs added I do not feel that good feeling as I did with the older versions. I really had the peps with Sims 2 new releases and just the peps with Sims 3 but none with Sims 4 guessing it had to do with what I really loved to see in Sims 4 but it is not there.
I didn't buy all the packs to look at pretty visuals, I bought them for the gameplay, but when the gameplay is lacking, there is a problem. Some of the objects and sometimes the clothing from packs look like reskins of something we already from previous packs. Don't even get me started on EA/Maxis releasing items from packs and putting it in the base game; a huge slap in the face. Like, are you that lazy that you can't release new items?
Sims 4 Sims have little to no personality. Their mood shouldn't affect their personality. It should be the other way around. Their personality should affect their mood. And I agree, if they want to create new ideas, then they should put things like weather, occults, uni, pets, apartments, etc in the base game. I would rather they take their time to create a polished game with little bugs as possible and with as much enjoyable gameplay as possible. I want them to surprise us.
TS2 will always be my favorite iteration (TS1 and TS2 are a close tie for me tbh), but with TS3, even though it was the least prettiest, it still had the best gameplay compared to TS4. Sims were full of life and personality, unplayed Sims got married, had children, aged, died or moved away. What TS3 lacked in visual, made up for innovation and gameplay. If you wanted to make the game look pretty, one only needed to look for custom content. For some people, the visuals didn't bother them because they had the gameplay to make up for it.
I loved small details like seeing the trees and flora blowing in the wind, seeing the sun and moon go down, sunrises and sunsets. You see all the energy and effort and passion poured into TS1, TS2, and TS3 then you look at TS4 and wonder what happened. I would like to see Will Wright be involved with the development of TS5.
That mod is an example of the kinds of things that the community is currently working on, along with personality archetypes and an attraction system. Why hasn't EA/Maxis taken a crack at any of it?
If anything, the developers' focus on anything other than improving the quality of the base game Sims is what is doing damage to this iteration of the series. If they continue to ignore glaring omissions, their initial buy-in for TS5 may well be greatly reduced in comparison to the previous games. At this point, EA/Maxis has lost a lot of the goodwill and trust that they once had and it's their own fault.
(Sorry, edited to add because one of my pups is very vocal and can't seem to stop barking this morning!)
Perhaps, EA/Maxis could regain some of the community trust capital that they have squandered with this version of the game. They could regain some of the lost confidence in their product if they would:
The above are simply a few suggestions. They are not particularly imaginative or innovative on my part. In fact, many of them were already implemented in previous titles of the series. Therefore, why doesn't TS4 have any of those features? It would make sense to do away with them if they were replaced with something more interesting and player-inclusive. It is not acceptable to simply omit them in lieu of nothing.
The suspected Uni pack will be the last of the big packs that players looked forward to in order to round out the major systems that have always existed in the series. With that out of the way, it's time for EA/Maxis to release the stranglehold that they've had on the creative elements of the game and to focus on the things that are harder for the average player to emulate or to correct -- actual gameplay. Please, focus on personality traits; an attraction system; likes and dislikes; fears and favorites; better rewards and consequences; better, trait-related reactions to stimuli; and genuine, player-created apartment systems and festival systems which can be utilized in any world!
All of those things are way past due.
Same. All I need my phone to do is text and send/receive calls.
I love each and every one of these ideas.