idk i mean CAW would be nice but it would probably be a huge pain in ts4 and would need lots of effort to create worlds hopefully they'll find a way for players to create worlds tho, but i'm not really "expecting" anything
I'd be happy to have the ability to create neighborhoods, such as we could do in Sims2. Took me quite some time before I was 'brave' enough to try my hand at it, but once I did, I made the houses myself and afterward played only in my own self-built neighborhoods.
The problem with Sims 4 is two fold - for one they don't use a map system - it is all free hand so that each little neighborhood floats independently and things are not "placed" but made specifically for visual appeal. Like the roads are not really roads at all - they are just roads in appearance so they cannot be picked up or placed down like roads in CAW. It is really hard to explain unless you have ever used a software program to draw yourself an electronic picture using an electronic drawing device. It is a drawing and not an actual item that is in sections and able to be picked up and placed down. Instead of the road being a guidance device and a pathable object it is the equivalent of paint on a page with 3 d drawn curbings and decor - not parts placed down like in caw. So honestly how can they even make a CAW out of that or items for build mode when it is not a true object any more than the fx sheep is a true electronic pet. It is hardly more than the houses you see in the game we don't even see on the maps because they are just there for appearance sakes only. I am also sure none of that is even remotely routable either but then technically none of it is actually a terrain - just a visual thing to make things appear to be an actual place, etc.
Add to all that nothing about the hoods is connected to each other either - we simply port from one to the other as each is it's own separate landing port. Cars will never work anymore than any of the water in the presently created places. The devs will have to make all new and very much changed aspects to new worlds to make any of the things that was possible in previous sims games to be in the Sims 4. Previous sims games were more than just an electronically painted picture.
ETA - Just to add, I am trying to totally simplify the explanation, as I am sure it involves a great deal more to create the Sims 4 as just an electronically produced picture - it is hardly that simple as a whole - but it is the best way I can explain it so it makes sense. There is a ton of work involved that I do not even come close to explaining. LOL. Just wanted to clarify that.
"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.....
@Writin_Reg I think I misunderstood your original meaning. I do have the blue print mode in Sims 3 BUT I thought you were referencing being able to save your own player created blueprints to the game to re-use later. I know pre-made blueprints from the developer are available to build with in game but I didn't think it was possible to create my own designed and furnished room to save as a blueprint for later use- except for using a mod which I believe Mod-the-Sims made after this update and which I never tried, it looked like too many steps- lol. I'll look up te info though, again and see if there's something I've missed about saving player created or even just player adjusted Maxis created blueprints in the Sims 3 for future reference. One thing I like about 4 is the ability to save rooms you've created on your own for future use in a sort of blueprint fashion. It's handy when building apartment, hotels and the like that requires a lot of replication but to be honest I didn't use it much and it still didn't outweigh losing CASt- nothing in 4 has imo.
I'm not really a world builder, but in Sims 3, I liked to put down large empty lots and just build mansions. I didn't kept to a theme for like an entire neighborhood, I just build. Sims 3 is when I really started building. All the console Sim games and Sim 2: Ultimate Collection, didn't really built anything amazing.
In Sims 3, it took really long and it was aggravating sometimes. I don't like how the stairs were like. Took forever to plop one down and if I mess up, I have to delete it again! I don't think I can go back to this. Sims 4 has made it too convenient. I need stairs for large buildings. I didn't had any expansions besides Pets for Sims 3, so I didn't have elevators. I did enjoy spiral staircase for one of my smaller buildings. Sims 4 definitely needs spiral staircases. Gimme (>OwO)>
Although, I did tried the Sim 2's stair and I was like.....what heck, this is easier than Sims 3?
The same with roofs....I can't go back to that again. Thank you Sims 4, for making it easier and simple. I never liked doing roofs in Sims 3. I either did flat roofs, autoroofs, or take an hour on building a roof. As I said, I had the Pets expansion, so roofs were important for barns. Oh geez, that took forever lol. Those large roofs man, won't miss them in Sims 3 lol. In Sims 4, I've been doing a lot with roofs. It's just really easy and makes sense. Although, I think Sims 3 had more variation in roofs because wasn't there an octagon roof? Sims 4 doesn't have one.
Also, rooms. This is like a godsend. I had to keep deleting rooms in Sims 3. Sims 4, resize, move. I did much more renovations in Sims 4 and it felt welcoming. The only thing is....Sims 4, you definitely need to watch videos or look at tutorials online to figure it out. Plopping down just one wall doesn't count as a room. I'm pretty sure you understand what I mean. It can get aggravating sometimes. I'm pretty confident to say I understand it well. I'm able to make open ceiling basements, do split floors, all these pretty cool things.
Wall decorations, this is amazing lol. Being able to resize things and adjusting the height of where the items, this is awesome. I don't think I could plop down a mirror on a tree in Sims 3. I might have to read up on tutorials. People might of thought Outdoor Retreat was boring, but I like the textures and objects and everything that came from it.
The thing in Sims 3, I never really used cheats. In Sims 4, I've been abusing them like crazy lol. I think in Sims 3, I was more of a fledging builder while in Sims 4, I've been adding more details and starting to grow more as a builder.
In Sims 3, I didn't really use the create a style. It just took forever to find what I want and if I did it for every build, I would be stuck building for days lol. It would be cool, but I like the default stuff as well. Although, I admit, I made a really cool green and black curtain in one of my builds.
The terrain tools are cool. It would look cooler in Sims 4. All that stuff I have on Sims 4, I want to suddenly build a hill house. I'm thinking of how to do it, but it definitely will look artificial and blocky...or a lot of rocks lol. I didn't really use terrain tools in Sims 3 for normal houses. I kept it nice and flat. Although, it doesn't always work well because the area around the lot isn't flat. Sims 4 didn't have any problems with that, of course....I made a really cool mansion with the stairs on the lower part of the terrain leading up to this massive mansion. It had a large pond/garden area thing, a library, etc. That is why I need a pond tool in Sims 4. I might not had abused all the terrain tools in Sims 3 to it's fullest, but I definitely abused the pond tool lol. The fountain tool is just ugh....please, get rid of the wall!! That is why I suggested getting a "get rid of wall" option for fountain tool. If they can't make a pond tool, at least do that. Coloring the wall into a natural color doesn't work. You need a million rocks and plants to cover it. (I did made a really cool natural stream out of it though using the petal pool water color lol). Sims 4 doesn't have terrain tools, but it did come with extra wall heights and foundation heights. OH, that's another thing I mentioned in another tread. Why can't we build different foundations of varying heights? They're all the same heights in the same lot! That would bypass a bit of missing terrain tools. You could create varying heights of terrain and put foundations. Then put stairs to connect them. Dang, this is something I want in Sims 4 because stairs feels like it takes so much space....
Idk, I just feel like I can do more in Sims 4 than Sims 3's house building, besides the other cool stuff that involves terrain. If you do flat lots only, Sims 4 looks better than Sims 3's.
So, my opinions of Sims 4....As my friend said (he doesn't actually play Sims though), get Sims 3 open world with Sims 4 cool building tools with terrain tools, and it's perfect. More Newcrest type of worlds please. I need them for my builds so I can build and share (btw, gallery is so much better than Sims 3's. I can't share lots with mods and creative content unlike in Sims 4 where it just says it has custom content. Rip dreams.) Also, being able to plop down lots straight from the gallery and browsing it while in game? Yes. Thank you.
As a builder, I would say get Sims 4 for the extra tools, but also keep playing Sims 3 because Sims 3 is still amazing despite some aggravation. Sims 4 does have some bugs, like idk what's the deal with the friezes. Make them like fences, yes, I agree with you. Thats something I will contest to about the new room deal in Sims 4. Sometimes, the rooms don't make sense at all and you have to fumble around with it. Sims 4....can get complicated with that sometimes And the lighting too....ugh. It's the nicest, but idk, it glitches out sometimes. Pretty sure we've experienced complete rooms with outside lighting.
At first I was really excited with the new building model. But then again; My previous Sims game was the Sims 2 so I came from far. Now that I put several hundreds of hours in the Sims 4 I am sort of getting fed up with a lot of the features in building mode. The main thing that annoys me is that you can't have different heights on a lot. It also annoys me that you cannot construct a room by just dragging a wall manually. I still believe the building mode has a lot of potential and in some ways it's really easy to use, but it I feel very limited when building. I have to say I am also disappointed with the amount of items you got with the vanilla game and I was kind of 🐸🐸🐸🐸 off I had to buy expansion packs to get a hottubs.
I was about writing a huge rant about how dissapointed I am with TS4 build mode, no edit the world mode and no even real worlds for a TS4 CAW being needed, but then I thought twice, it is not worthy, I give up, TS4 is off for me (just a couple of hundreds dollars out of my pocket for nothing...), toddlers or better NO toddlers is just the top of the iceberg because it really affects stright to the game play, but build mode is just a joke, ofcourse easier and simpler just as everything is in the new game (well now it is not even so much new and shinny..., its getting old not as a good wine but as a bad one that changes into vinagger), No CASt, no terrain tools no editing world, just 2D backdrops, teleporting everywhere (with loading screens on top of it...) fake townies culled and recreated once and again, everything is meant to play short sesions and forget and re-start again, there is nothing of the old deep inmersión (meh... just IMO)
I can play at last TS2 TS3 and TS4 So great that toddlers are here!!!
At first I was really excited with the new building model. But then again; My previous Sims game was the Sims 2 so I came from far. Now that I put several hundreds of hours in the Sims 4 I am sort of getting fed up with a lot of the features in building mode. The main thing that annoys me is that you can't have different heights on a lot. It also annoys me that you cannot construct a room by just dragging a wall manually. I still believe the building mode has a lot of potential and in some ways it's really easy to use, but it I feel very limited when building. I have to say I am also disappointed with the amount of items you got with the vanilla game and I was kind of plum off I had to buy expansion packs to get a hottubs.
I also came from S2. At first, I also thought it was great and so much easier. But that ease came with limitations and no promise of advancement.
There was a time early in when I believed they would expand upon the new features. It didn't take me long to realize I was kidding myself.
Needless to say, this game showed no advancements to me whatsoever. All it did was drive me back to the older games where freedom and imagination played a key role in creation.
Dissatisfied with Sims 4 and hoping for a better Sims 5
Boy, I sure do miss the fixed camera angles and isometric views in TS1! The lack of basements, only two story tall buildings, and roofs with no flat siding sure were a plus! Who needs half walls, curved decks, a build/buy mode search feature and filters anyway, am I right?
Oh! And don't even get me started on that plum gallery they got these days. I mean, who didn't love having to recreate your favorite kitchen by scratch every single time back in the day. Being able to load in rooms, or delete them in a single key stroke, is so passe! Why, I cherish the hours I'd have to delete half the walls in a room, just to extend it a few spaces on the grid.
Gave you time to think, you know? Gee whiz, those sure were the days.
One difference being that the isometric, fixed camera, basement and floor level lacking Sims 1 was just that: The first. This game is the fourth and lacks in areas that the first game did. It has no excuse.
Maybe you should take your own advice and think before you type these..."witty" posts.
I'd take being able to pick up and move whole rooms up and down any 6 levels and placing them anywhere over making little hills on the ground that messed with Sims pathing and couldn't be built on anyway. *shrugs* I'd take being able to make a 'hidden' home underground with a cleverly hidden staircase and otherwise open lot over ponds that couldn't connect to anything. And beyond hills (or the opposite, valleys), and that pond tool, there was literally nothing else in Sims 1 build mode that Sims 4 did have and lots that it didn't.
Saying Sims 1 build mode compared to Sims 4 is a 'mic drop' moment is laughable at best.
Only laughable if you are really dishonest.
TS1 was released over 16 years ago. And yet they thought of adding as many tools as possible to make the simulation feel real. Because the real world has pools, is not only made of flatlands and has ponds. Even the pre-rendered map os TS1 was animated, giving the feeling to the player that he was entering an actual city.
The tools were clunky and a pain, yes. But they were very expansive in terms of content, at least for a first game.
All the other games kept adding more tools and improving on the old ones. It all culminated with TS3 where you can actually could build and entire city from scratch.
And then come TS4, which makes some tools more user friendly and less clunky, which is great. But it has simply forgotten some tools behind, like somehow those aspects were wiped away from real life. Maybe you hate hills, but where I live we have hills everywhere. I can't recreate my life in the game because TS4 pretends the world is flat.
For christ's sake, it's the FOURTH iteration. They had 16 YEARS to build on their game. Stop making excuses for it.
The point is: even TS1 had tools (simple, expected tools) that TS4 DOESN'T.
I'm not really a world builder, but in Sims 3, I liked to put down large empty lots and just build mansions. I didn't kept to a theme for like an entire neighborhood, I just build. Sims 3 is when I really started building. All the console Sim games and Sim 2: Ultimate Collection, didn't really built anything amazing.
In Sims 3, it took really long and it was aggravating sometimes. I don't like how the stairs were like. Took forever to plop one down and if I mess up, I have to delete it again! I don't think I can go back to this. Sims 4 has made it too convenient. I need stairs for large buildings. I didn't had any expansions besides Pets for Sims 3, so I didn't have elevators. I did enjoy spiral staircase for one of my smaller buildings. Sims 4 definitely needs spiral staircases. Gimme (>OwO)>
Although, I did tried the Sim 2's stair and I was like.....what heck, this is easier than Sims 3?
The same with roofs....I can't go back to that again. Thank you Sims 4, for making it easier and simple. I never liked doing roofs in Sims 3. I either did flat roofs, autoroofs, or take an hour on building a roof. As I said, I had the Pets expansion, so roofs were important for barns. Oh geez, that took forever lol. Those large roofs man, won't miss them in Sims 3 lol. In Sims 4, I've been doing a lot with roofs. It's just really easy and makes sense. Although, I think Sims 3 had more variation in roofs because wasn't there an octagon roof? Sims 4 doesn't have one.
Also, rooms. This is like a godsend. I had to keep deleting rooms in Sims 3. Sims 4, resize, move. I did much more renovations in Sims 4 and it felt welcoming. The only thing is....Sims 4, you definitely need to watch videos or look at tutorials online to figure it out. Plopping down just one wall doesn't count as a room. I'm pretty sure you understand what I mean. It can get aggravating sometimes. I'm pretty confident to say I understand it well. I'm able to make open ceiling basements, do split floors, all these pretty cool things.
Wall decorations, this is amazing lol. Being able to resize things and adjusting the height of where the items, this is awesome. I don't think I could plop down a mirror on a tree in Sims 3. I might have to read up on tutorials. People might of thought Outdoor Retreat was boring, but I like the textures and objects and everything that came from it.
The thing in Sims 3, I never really used cheats. In Sims 4, I've been abusing them like crazy lol. I think in Sims 3, I was more of a fledging builder while in Sims 4, I've been adding more details and starting to grow more as a builder.
In Sims 3, I didn't really use the create a style. It just took forever to find what I want and if I did it for every build, I would be stuck building for days lol. It would be cool, but I like the default stuff as well. Although, I admit, I made a really cool green and black curtain in one of my builds.
The terrain tools are cool. It would look cooler in Sims 4. All that stuff I have on Sims 4, I want to suddenly build a hill house. I'm thinking of how to do it, but it definitely will look artificial and blocky...or a lot of rocks lol. I didn't really use terrain tools in Sims 3 for normal houses. I kept it nice and flat. Although, it doesn't always work well because the area around the lot isn't flat. Sims 4 didn't have any problems with that, of course....I made a really cool mansion with the stairs on the lower part of the terrain leading up to this massive mansion. It had a large pond/garden area thing, a library, etc. That is why I need a pond tool in Sims 4. I might not had abused all the terrain tools in Sims 3 to it's fullest, but I definitely abused the pond tool lol. The fountain tool is just ugh....please, get rid of the wall!! That is why I suggested getting a "get rid of wall" option for fountain tool. If they can't make a pond tool, at least do that. Coloring the wall into a natural color doesn't work. You need a million rocks and plants to cover it. (I did made a really cool natural stream out of it though using the petal pool water color lol). Sims 4 doesn't have terrain tools, but it did come with extra wall heights and foundation heights. OH, that's another thing I mentioned in another tread. Why can't we build different foundations of varying heights? They're all the same heights in the same lot! That would bypass a bit of missing terrain tools. You could create varying heights of terrain and put foundations. Then put stairs to connect them. Dang, this is something I want in Sims 4 because stairs feels like it takes so much space....
Idk, I just feel like I can do more in Sims 4 than Sims 3's house building, besides the other cool stuff that involves terrain. If you do flat lots only, Sims 4 looks better than Sims 3's.
So, my opinions of Sims 4....As my friend said (he doesn't actually play Sims though), get Sims 3 open world with Sims 4 cool building tools with terrain tools, and it's perfect. More Newcrest type of worlds please. I need them for my builds so I can build and share (btw, gallery is so much better than Sims 3's. I can't share lots with mods and creative content unlike in Sims 4 where it just says it has custom content. Rip dreams.) Also, being able to plop down lots straight from the gallery and browsing it while in game? Yes. Thank you.
As a builder, I would say get Sims 4 for the extra tools, but also keep playing Sims 3 because Sims 3 is still amazing despite some aggravation. Sims 4 does have some bugs, like idk what's the deal with the friezes. Make them like fences, yes, I agree with you. Thats something I will contest to about the new room deal in Sims 4. Sometimes, the rooms don't make sense at all and you have to fumble around with it. Sims 4....can get complicated with that sometimes And the lighting too....ugh. It's the nicest, but idk, it glitches out sometimes. Pretty sure we've experienced complete rooms with outside lighting.
Ummmm - Sims 3 stairs were endless example compared to any Sims game - so I fail to understand why you felt limited - of course some did come with game packs and store packs and sometimes the base game had the new stair types added - I can't say exactly which ones seeing I own all packs and the entire Sims 3 store - so I see every tool and stair type made for the Sims 3 - it is vast and amazing. Same for roof types - every roof type exists if you own everything like I do - so again I can see the limitations one might have not having everything - but one thing I can say - every pack and every store world and tons of new store lots always added some new things in build mode along with buy mode - unlike what has happened thus far in Sims 4.
But anyway - here is just some of the many stairs possible in Sims 3 - they are endless and easy to build - some are even already built and just place-able:
Just one more note - here is a Sims store set that added a ton of good build mode to the game as well buy items as well for under 20 dollars (when it first came out - probably cheaper now - not sure, lol) but Sims 4 does not even come close to very useful packs like this for the same 20 dollars -
This one is just one of many sets I have purchased and feel the money was well spent - that so expanded the Sims 3 - there are so many more though and building in Sims 3 takes solely the length of your imagination - as anything you can think of you can build if you have all they offered in Sims 3. It is not even offered in Sims 4, and that is my biggest problem with Sims 4. I need to be able to have a dream and then the ability to bring that dream to fruitation and use it in my game. Not just imagine something that is happening or seen that I cannot touch or make in the game. There is a point where imagination needs to end and the ability to create it all needs to be there in a game like the Sims. It is just the way it is - and therefore it is way more than just missing toddlers - which I can tell you - for me is an extremely sore subject.
"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.....
you are making me want to dust off my sims 2 copy and see if I still have any of my eps for it. Also I loved being able to use Sims City to create a world and then add stuff to it, I miss being able to do that - but and this is a huge but, I never saw anything as pretty as what I have seen in Sims 4 in Sims 2, it would be great to have both the look and softness of S4 with the utility of S2.
you are making me want to dust off my sims 2 copy and see if I still have any of my eps for it. Also I loved being able to use Sims City to create a world and then add stuff to it, I miss being able to do that - but and this is a huge but, I never saw anything as pretty as what I have seen in Sims 4 in Sims 2, it would be great to have both the look and softness of S4 with the utility of S2.
Yeah. S2's graphics are outdated. I don't always want everything to be polished and pretty though, as evidenced by my worlds. There is a fine line between pretty and just too over-the-top happy, happy, joy, joy.
The more I realized I was only ever going to get what they gave, the less enjoyable the overall game became.
I've turned to S3 for the pretty feel and openness. I could handle the micro-hoods and I'm
Not opposed to them, but after always looking at the same surroundings and never being able to do anything with them, I'll take a fully open or fully closed world with less polished graphics over it any day.
Post edited by kremesch73 on
Dissatisfied with Sims 4 and hoping for a better Sims 5
@Writin_Reg I think I misunderstood your original meaning. I do have the blue print mode in Sims 3 BUT I thought you were referencing being able to save your own player created blueprints to the game to re-use later. I know pre-made blueprints from the developer are available to build with in game but I didn't think it was possible to create my own designed and furnished room to save as a blueprint for later use- except for using a mod which I believe Mod-the-Sims made after this update and which I never tried, it looked like too many steps- lol. I'll look up te info though, again and see if there's something I've missed about saving player created or even just player adjusted Maxis created blueprints in the Sims 3 for future reference. One thing I like about 4 is the ability to save rooms you've created on your own for future use in a sort of blueprint fashion. It's handy when building apartment, hotels and the like that requires a lot of replication but to be honest I didn't use it much and it still didn't outweigh losing CASt- nothing in 4 has imo.
I do believe you are right - as I am one who does not generally use mods in Sims 3 - but I do sometimes use what I look at as tools, lol - I know d.u.m.b on my part - and I do happen to have the blueprint maker from modthesims - which does explain how I was able to have blueprints. Sorry about misleading you - as I honestly somehow got the impression it was in the game. But you are very right and I was very wrong. So it is nice they do have it in the game in Sims 4 then.
"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.....
you are making me want to dust off my sims 2 copy and see if I still have any of my eps for it. Also I loved being able to use Sims City to create a world and then add stuff to it, I miss being able to do that - but and this is a huge but, I never saw anything as pretty as what I have seen in Sims 4 in Sims 2, it would be great to have both the look and softness of S4 with the utility of S2.
Yeah. S2's graphics are outdated. I don't always want everything to be polished and pretty though, as evidenced by my worlds. There is a fine line between pretty and just too over-the-too happy, happy, joy, joy.
The more I realized I was only ever going to get what they gave, the less enjoyable the overall game became.
I've turned to S3 for the pretty feel and openness. I could handle the micro-hoods and I'm
Not opposed to them, but after always looking at the same surroundings and never being able to do anything with them, I'll take a fully open or fully closed world with less polished graphics over it any day.
Now see, I cant stand the way S3 looks, I just cant get past the cut and paste feel of everything. I felt like I was simulating in a bad photoshop contest. I wont get into the whole paid content/store thing, that in itself was a massive turnoff but that has nothing to do with the way the game looked and felt to me. I felt like S3 looked too much like S1, I know that probably is a real head scratcher for most, but there was just something about the harshness of the focus/shadowing and lighting in general that I found really distracting. Also all of the textures feel like they have too much noise in them or something. As for the genetics of the sims and the way they look I was/am even less thrilled, everyone had the same overall pudgy look to them that felt like they came from a pudding factory. What I mean is I like the depth of field and focus visually in S4, it has a certain blending and softness in the colors/textures/lighting that I find appealing. I do love grit and dirt, I wish Oasis was bigger and had more and I am really hoping Urban/City Life delivers like I think it will.
Now see, I cant stand the way S3 looks, I just cant get past the cut and paste feel of everything. I felt like I was simulating in a bad photoshop contest. I wont get into the whole paid content/store thing, that in itself was a massive turnoff but that has nothing to do with the way the game looked and felt to me. I felt like S3 looked too much like S1, I know that probably is a real head scratcher for most, but there was just something about the harshness of the focus/shadowing and lighting in general that I found really distracting. Also all of the textures feel like they have too much noise in them or something. As for the genetics of the sims and the way they look I was/am even less thrilled, everyone had the same overall pudgy look to them that felt like they came from a pudding factory. What I mean is I like the depth of field and focus visually in S4, it has a certain blending and softness in the colors/textures/lighting that I find appealing. I do love grit and dirt, I wish Oasis was bigger and had more and I am really hoping Urban/City Life delivers like I think it will.
I hear you. I used to feel the exact same way. It's grown on me though and I'm really enjoying it. Took me until this past December to get past my aversion to it. I really disliked it. Funny thing is I really liked S4's graphic-style at first. But now I just look and it and feel meh toward it. Can't really say what changed for me in that regard. All I know is 4 doesn't cater to me in a way that entertains me or allows me to be creative. I can nit-pick all of the sims games, tbh. None of them are perfect. Yet I still enjoy playing 1 through 3.
Dissatisfied with Sims 4 and hoping for a better Sims 5
I wish there was a terrain tool. The whole world is so flat, it's so limiting. I genuinely want to like the game, but it just seems like EA is trying to keep us on a short leash. If they are planning on keeping the Sims 4 lasting more than four years, then I would understand, but they need to communicate more (I know, I know, it's the same thing everyone says).
"Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass… It’s about learning to dance in the rain" - Vivian Greene
I agree with you @kremesch73 . I recently went back to playing TS3...and you know what...It did not take that long for me to get used to the change in graphics. it grew on me really fast. TS3 has so many more options with building and, yes @paige35617 a terrain tool is much needed in TS4. Thankfully we have it in TS3, and I've really enjoyed using it here lately.
I spent hours customizing my neighborhood and building houses. I chose to play Sunlit Tides... and you know what...the graphics are actually really good. the water is fantastic. I built a lovely two story home with a garage and large pool, leading out to the beach and that beautiful ocean. With seasons I just turn off snow, since it's a tropical world, and with pets... I get the joy of watching dogs and cats in the neighborhood running around. I forgot how many layers the actual game play has.
I don't care if the graphics are not as smooth and soft as TS4.... I will take the open world of TS3 and the different building tools and variety and actual fun game play any day.
Really wish they would have taken the last 2 years to tweek TS3 and just make it a better game, instead of giving us the empty very boring Sims4.
I also feel the same which is why I’ve been rebuilding the sims 4 without mods with the intent to upload my safe file so other simmers can have a world that’s fun and exciting to play in. I started a discussion asking other Simmers about the families they remember and which ones should have been added to the sims 4 instead of an Alternate Universe that doesn’t make sense. It is a lot of work but even through building I’m finding the world is starting to feel more full and lush with storylines and mystery.
I also feel the same which is why I’ve been rebuilding the sims 4 without mods with the intent to upload my safe file so other simmers can have a world that’s fun and exciting to play in. I started a discussion asking other Simmers about the families they remember and which ones should have been added to the sims 4 instead of an Alternate Universe that doesn’t make sense. It is a lot of work but even through building I’m finding the world is starting to feel more full and lush with storylines and mystery.
This topic is about building worlds and the ability to customize it, change it. Not so much about what families you play with. It is a great idea though, having a world with interesting households.
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The problem with Sims 4 is two fold - for one they don't use a map system - it is all free hand so that each little neighborhood floats independently and things are not "placed" but made specifically for visual appeal. Like the roads are not really roads at all - they are just roads in appearance so they cannot be picked up or placed down like roads in CAW. It is really hard to explain unless you have ever used a software program to draw yourself an electronic picture using an electronic drawing device. It is a drawing and not an actual item that is in sections and able to be picked up and placed down. Instead of the road being a guidance device and a pathable object it is the equivalent of paint on a page with 3 d drawn curbings and decor - not parts placed down like in caw. So honestly how can they even make a CAW out of that or items for build mode when it is not a true object any more than the fx sheep is a true electronic pet. It is hardly more than the houses you see in the game we don't even see on the maps because they are just there for appearance sakes only. I am also sure none of that is even remotely routable either but then technically none of it is actually a terrain - just a visual thing to make things appear to be an actual place, etc.
Add to all that nothing about the hoods is connected to each other either - we simply port from one to the other as each is it's own separate landing port. Cars will never work anymore than any of the water in the presently created places. The devs will have to make all new and very much changed aspects to new worlds to make any of the things that was possible in previous sims games to be in the Sims 4. Previous sims games were more than just an electronically painted picture.
ETA - Just to add, I am trying to totally simplify the explanation, as I am sure it involves a great deal more to create the Sims 4 as just an electronically produced picture - it is hardly that simple as a whole - but it is the best way I can explain it so it makes sense. There is a ton of work involved that I do not even come close to explaining. LOL. Just wanted to clarify that.
"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.....
In Sims 3, it took really long and it was aggravating sometimes. I don't like how the stairs were like. Took forever to plop one down and if I mess up, I have to delete it again! I don't think I can go back to this. Sims 4 has made it too convenient. I need stairs for large buildings. I didn't had any expansions besides Pets for Sims 3, so I didn't have elevators. I did enjoy spiral staircase for one of my smaller buildings. Sims 4 definitely needs spiral staircases. Gimme (>OwO)>
Although, I did tried the Sim 2's stair and I was like.....what heck, this is easier than Sims 3?
The same with roofs....I can't go back to that again. Thank you Sims 4, for making it easier and simple. I never liked doing roofs in Sims 3. I either did flat roofs, autoroofs, or take an hour on building a roof. As I said, I had the Pets expansion, so roofs were important for barns. Oh geez, that took forever lol. Those large roofs man, won't miss them in Sims 3 lol. In Sims 4, I've been doing a lot with roofs. It's just really easy and makes sense. Although, I think Sims 3 had more variation in roofs because wasn't there an octagon roof? Sims 4 doesn't have one.
Also, rooms. This is like a godsend. I had to keep deleting rooms in Sims 3. Sims 4, resize, move. I did much more renovations in Sims 4 and it felt welcoming. The only thing is....Sims 4, you definitely need to watch videos or look at tutorials online to figure it out. Plopping down just one wall doesn't count as a room. I'm pretty sure you understand what I mean. It can get aggravating sometimes. I'm pretty confident to say I understand it well. I'm able to make open ceiling basements, do split floors, all these pretty cool things.
Wall decorations, this is amazing lol. Being able to resize things and adjusting the height of where the items, this is awesome. I don't think I could plop down a mirror on a tree in Sims 3. I might have to read up on tutorials. People might of thought Outdoor Retreat was boring, but I like the textures and objects and everything that came from it.
The thing in Sims 3, I never really used cheats. In Sims 4, I've been abusing them like crazy lol. I think in Sims 3, I was more of a fledging builder while in Sims 4, I've been adding more details and starting to grow more as a builder.
In Sims 3, I didn't really use the create a style. It just took forever to find what I want and if I did it for every build, I would be stuck building for days lol. It would be cool, but I like the default stuff as well. Although, I admit, I made a really cool green and black curtain in one of my builds.
The terrain tools are cool. It would look cooler in Sims 4. All that stuff I have on Sims 4, I want to suddenly build a hill house. I'm thinking of how to do it, but it definitely will look artificial and blocky...or a lot of rocks lol. I didn't really use terrain tools in Sims 3 for normal houses. I kept it nice and flat. Although, it doesn't always work well because the area around the lot isn't flat. Sims 4 didn't have any problems with that, of course....I made a really cool mansion with the stairs on the lower part of the terrain leading up to this massive mansion. It had a large pond/garden area thing, a library, etc. That is why I need a pond tool in Sims 4. I might not had abused all the terrain tools in Sims 3 to it's fullest, but I definitely abused the pond tool lol. The fountain tool is just ugh....please, get rid of the wall!! That is why I suggested getting a "get rid of wall" option for fountain tool. If they can't make a pond tool, at least do that. Coloring the wall into a natural color doesn't work. You need a million rocks and plants to cover it. (I did made a really cool natural stream out of it though using the petal pool water color lol). Sims 4 doesn't have terrain tools, but it did come with extra wall heights and foundation heights. OH, that's another thing I mentioned in another tread. Why can't we build different foundations of varying heights? They're all the same heights in the same lot! That would bypass a bit of missing terrain tools. You could create varying heights of terrain and put foundations. Then put stairs to connect them. Dang, this is something I want in Sims 4 because stairs feels like it takes so much space....
Idk, I just feel like I can do more in Sims 4 than Sims 3's house building, besides the other cool stuff that involves terrain. If you do flat lots only, Sims 4 looks better than Sims 3's.
So, my opinions of Sims 4....As my friend said (he doesn't actually play Sims though), get Sims 3 open world with Sims 4 cool building tools with terrain tools, and it's perfect. More Newcrest type of worlds please. I need them for my builds so I can build and share (btw, gallery is so much better than Sims 3's. I can't share lots with mods and creative content unlike in Sims 4 where it just says it has custom content. Rip dreams.) Also, being able to plop down lots straight from the gallery and browsing it while in game? Yes. Thank you.
As a builder, I would say get Sims 4 for the extra tools, but also keep playing Sims 3 because Sims 3 is still amazing despite some aggravation. Sims 4 does have some bugs, like idk what's the deal with the friezes. Make them like fences, yes, I agree with you. Thats something I will contest to about the new room deal in Sims 4. Sometimes, the rooms don't make sense at all and you have to fumble around with it. Sims 4....can get complicated with that sometimes
I was about writing a huge rant about how dissapointed I am with TS4 build mode, no edit the world mode and no even real worlds for a TS4 CAW being needed, but then I thought twice, it is not worthy, I give up, TS4 is off for me (just a couple of hundreds dollars out of my pocket for nothing...), toddlers or better NO toddlers is just the top of the iceberg because it really affects stright to the game play, but build mode is just a joke, ofcourse easier and simpler just as everything is in the new game (well now it is not even so much new and shinny..., its getting old not as a good wine but as a bad one that changes into vinagger), No CASt, no terrain tools no editing world, just 2D backdrops, teleporting everywhere (with loading screens on top of it...) fake townies culled and recreated once and again, everything is meant to play short sesions and forget and re-start again, there is nothing of the old deep inmersión (meh... just IMO)
I can play at last TS2 TS3 and TS4 So great that toddlers are here!!!
I also came from S2. At first, I also thought it was great and so much easier. But that ease came with limitations and no promise of advancement.
There was a time early in when I believed they would expand upon the new features. It didn't take me long to realize I was kidding myself.
Needless to say, this game showed no advancements to me whatsoever. All it did was drive me back to the older games where freedom and imagination played a key role in creation.
Only laughable if you are really dishonest.
TS1 was released over 16 years ago. And yet they thought of adding as many tools as possible to make the simulation feel real. Because the real world has pools, is not only made of flatlands and has ponds. Even the pre-rendered map os TS1 was animated, giving the feeling to the player that he was entering an actual city.
The tools were clunky and a pain, yes. But they were very expansive in terms of content, at least for a first game.
All the other games kept adding more tools and improving on the old ones. It all culminated with TS3 where you can actually could build and entire city from scratch.
And then come TS4, which makes some tools more user friendly and less clunky, which is great. But it has simply forgotten some tools behind, like somehow those aspects were wiped away from real life. Maybe you hate hills, but where I live we have hills everywhere. I can't recreate my life in the game because TS4 pretends the world is flat.
For christ's sake, it's the FOURTH iteration. They had 16 YEARS to build on their game. Stop making excuses for it.
The point is: even TS1 had tools (simple, expected tools) that TS4 DOESN'T.
Ummmm - Sims 3 stairs were endless example compared to any Sims game - so I fail to understand why you felt limited - of course some did come with game packs and store packs and sometimes the base game had the new stair types added - I can't say exactly which ones seeing I own all packs and the entire Sims 3 store - so I see every tool and stair type made for the Sims 3 - it is vast and amazing. Same for roof types - every roof type exists if you own everything like I do - so again I can see the limitations one might have not having everything - but one thing I can say - every pack and every store world and tons of new store lots always added some new things in build mode along with buy mode - unlike what has happened thus far in Sims 4.
But anyway - here is just some of the many stairs possible in Sims 3 - they are endless and easy to build - some are even already built and just place-able:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Sims+3+build+mode+stairs&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj_rOTRuYXPAhUCrD4KHSpuBHsQsAQITg&biw=1913&bih=959
Also here are SOME of the many rooftypes from Sims 3:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Sims+3+build+mode+roofs&biw=1913&bih=959&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiAku7mu4XPAhXC7iYKHf2LDbMQsAQIXQ
Just one more note - here is a Sims store set that added a ton of good build mode to the game as well buy items as well for under 20 dollars (when it first came out - probably cheaper now - not sure, lol) but Sims 4 does not even come close to very useful packs like this for the same 20 dollars -
http://tazreentasnimsblog.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-now-and-then-century-manor-review.html
This one is just one of many sets I have purchased and feel the money was well spent - that so expanded the Sims 3 - there are so many more though and building in Sims 3 takes solely the length of your imagination - as anything you can think of you can build if you have all they offered in Sims 3. It is not even offered in Sims 4, and that is my biggest problem with Sims 4. I need to be able to have a dream and then the ability to bring that dream to fruitation and use it in my game. Not just imagine something that is happening or seen that I cannot touch or make in the game. There is a point where imagination needs to end and the ability to create it all needs to be there in a game like the Sims. It is just the way it is - and therefore it is way more than just missing toddlers - which I can tell you - for me is an extremely sore subject.
"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.....
you are making me want to dust off my sims 2 copy and see if I still have any of my eps for it. Also I loved being able to use Sims City to create a world and then add stuff to it, I miss being able to do that - but and this is a huge but, I never saw anything as pretty as what I have seen in Sims 4 in Sims 2, it would be great to have both the look and softness of S4 with the utility of S2.
Yeah. S2's graphics are outdated. I don't always want everything to be polished and pretty though, as evidenced by my worlds. There is a fine line between pretty and just too over-the-top happy, happy, joy, joy.
The more I realized I was only ever going to get what they gave, the less enjoyable the overall game became.
I've turned to S3 for the pretty feel and openness. I could handle the micro-hoods and I'm
Not opposed to them, but after always looking at the same surroundings and never being able to do anything with them, I'll take a fully open or fully closed world with less polished graphics over it any day.
I do believe you are right - as I am one who does not generally use mods in Sims 3 - but I do sometimes use what I look at as tools, lol - I know d.u.m.b on my part - and I do happen to have the blueprint maker from modthesims - which does explain how I was able to have blueprints. Sorry about misleading you - as I honestly somehow got the impression it was in the game. But you are very right and I was very wrong. So it is nice they do have it in the game in Sims 4 then.
"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.....
Now see, I cant stand the way S3 looks, I just cant get past the cut and paste feel of everything. I felt like I was simulating in a bad photoshop contest. I wont get into the whole paid content/store thing, that in itself was a massive turnoff but that has nothing to do with the way the game looked and felt to me. I felt like S3 looked too much like S1, I know that probably is a real head scratcher for most, but there was just something about the harshness of the focus/shadowing and lighting in general that I found really distracting. Also all of the textures feel like they have too much noise in them or something. As for the genetics of the sims and the way they look I was/am even less thrilled, everyone had the same overall pudgy look to them that felt like they came from a pudding factory. What I mean is I like the depth of field and focus visually in S4, it has a certain blending and softness in the colors/textures/lighting that I find appealing. I do love grit and dirt, I wish Oasis was bigger and had more and I am really hoping Urban/City Life delivers like I think it will.
I hear you. I used to feel the exact same way. It's grown on me though and I'm really enjoying it. Took me until this past December to get past my aversion to it. I really disliked it. Funny thing is I really liked S4's graphic-style at first. But now I just look and it and feel meh toward it. Can't really say what changed for me in that regard. All I know is 4 doesn't cater to me in a way that entertains me or allows me to be creative. I can nit-pick all of the sims games, tbh. None of them are perfect. Yet I still enjoy playing 1 through 3.
I agree with you @kremesch73 . I recently went back to playing TS3...and you know what...It did not take that long for me to get used to the change in graphics. it grew on me really fast. TS3 has so many more options with building and, yes @paige35617 a terrain tool is much needed in TS4. Thankfully we have it in TS3, and I've really enjoyed using it here lately.
I spent hours customizing my neighborhood and building houses. I chose to play Sunlit Tides... and you know what...the graphics are actually really good. the water is fantastic. I built a lovely two story home with a garage and large pool, leading out to the beach and that beautiful ocean. With seasons I just turn off snow, since it's a tropical world, and with pets... I get the joy of watching dogs and cats in the neighborhood running around. I forgot how many layers the actual game play has.
I don't care if the graphics are not as smooth and soft as TS4.... I will take the open world of TS3 and the different building tools and variety and actual fun game play any day.
Really wish they would have taken the last 2 years to tweek TS3 and just make it a better game, instead of giving us the empty very boring Sims4.
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