Forum Announcement, Click Here to Read More From EA_Cade.

How The Sims Has Changed

Comments

  • JoAnne65JoAnne65 Posts: 22,959 Member
    zubop81 wrote: »
    I too have played from the beginning and I have to say I love The Sims 4 the best!!! I know people were upset with how bare bones the base game was but I liked it because the gameplay was so different it didn't over complicate it and allowed me to get used to all the new features without overloading me with content! I love when new packs come out it keeps the game so interesting.

    I also love the download option, no longer do I have to worry about disks wreaking or not losing them when I want to reinstall them all on a new machine. Digital download may take longer (based on your connection) but at least you will never lose them! I love that!
    You’ll never lose them? I’m not so sure about that?
    5JZ57S6.png
  • daisy1989daisy1989 Posts: 87 Member
    edited June 2020
    I've loved The Sims since the original game, though I didn't get my own copy for a while as my parents had a Mac.
    I loved making stories for my Sims and reading what other's had created on The Sims Exchange website. It seems limited now but at the time there were so many things to explore

    When The Sims 2 came out I was so excited but my poor laptop just couldn't handle it so again I couldn't play for a long time :( But it was a huge change from the first game - we had improved graphics, different ages, more customisation (at the time), more camera angles, wants/fears, aspirations, memories...the list goes on. Eventually I got a desktop PC which ran the game perfectly.
    All the expansion packs added new depth to the gameplay - for the first time we had weather, university, owning your own business as well as nightlife, holidays and pets like the previous EPs. Freetime was my favourite.
    In my early twenties I came down with glandular fever and literally all I had the energy to do was play The Sims 2 😅

    I also had a bunch of the PS2 games like The Urbz and The Sims: Bustin' Out as well as the console version of The Sims 2. These were really fun and I still sometimes play them now

    I know that 3 bought a lot of new things to the table like the open world and more customisation than ever. But I never really played it, so I don't have much to say about it. What little I did play never grabbed me - I found the Sims ugly looking which I could never get past... 🤭

    I know people were disappointed (and still are) with 4.
    I love it but I know it has its problems. The world feels bland and the Sims themselves aren't very dynamic or unpredictable. However I really like the artstyle, CAS and the build/buy mode. I know that the devs are releasing free updates but in my opinion all these things should have been included in the base game. If the Sims 1 had it then there is no reason for 4 not to. For one thing - why were babies reduced to not much more than an object when they were so fleshed out in The Sims 2? There's no excuse for that step down.

    The community are asking for things we're consistently not getting - like Sims with more personality and more traits. We should not have to rely on modders for this.
    I disagree with how many packs EA are releasing - not so much the EPs but endless the stuff and game packs seem like a cash grab to me. Some of them could be combined and they should least be cheaper.

    But saying this I will always play The Sims. This franchise is ever evolving as technology improves and it's interesting to see what will happen next



    Check out my YouTube channel @ DaisySims
  • OldeseadoggeOldeseadogge Posts: 4,973 Member
    Have much the same simming profile as you, though have always had a PC that could play it. (Keeping graphics cards ahead of TS2 is another story...) Sims 1 was a huge wow, TS2 an off the charts wow. Am still finding things in it not seen before - and I've been playing it since day 1. TS3, while it has some fine features and I periodically try it again, just does not hold my attention. Like you I find the sims ugly (and all look the same). Open world is a nice idea but hardly an easy way to play, the graphice (at least on new machines) are muddy, and I don't like screenshots being dumped into a common pot. TS4 has a lot of nice features, but like you I find it shallow and in many ways a step or two backwards. The less said about how they do packs this time around the better.

    Still, like the series over all, whether to tell stories, build, or unwind after a long & stressful work day.
  • ClarionOfJoyClarionOfJoy Posts: 1,945 Member
    edited June 2020
    I still love The Sims 3 as my all time favorite! I used to love TS2 but TS3's open world is by far much better. I play the entire world (and with Twallan's Traveler mod, I go to even MORE open worlds in one savegame!)

    The look of the sims aren't as important to me. Besides, since TS3 is so customizable, people can use fan-made skins if they don't like the default look. I think that's better because again, you're given choices, unlike in TS4 and TS2. I personally don't like the goofy perma-smiles of TS4 sims and I didn't think the TS2 sims were any better.

    The gameplay is the most important factor in ANY game. So TS4 falls flat in that area because it has so few gameplay features which are oftentimes buggy and broken. And as much as TS2 simmers like to exalt TS2 as the greatest game, it gets bogged down too much in statistics and meters so that it distracts from the focus of the gameplay itself.

    This is where TS3 shines. Gameplay flows well because you're not slammed with any loading screens and you don't have to watch any statistics or meters. A lot of the gameplay is flexible and people have been able to combine its features into mods that can change the genre of gameplay. TS2 and TS4 can't quite pull it off as well as TS3 can!

    Personalities are just as good in TS3 than in TS2 although they like to think it's better. Combination of TS3 traits oftentimes unlock special animations - not just single traits.

    So once I played TS3 (and still do of course!) it had been hard for me to go back to TS2 and I can't even touch TS4 it's been so lacking in gameplay which is broken and boring.

    The Sims has changed because EAxis leadership changed. All of the best games that EA has published were during the early 2000s and went downhill pretty much in 2013 when its leadership changed to what we have now.

    I don't know if they're learning anything from the major mistakes they're making though, not just with this franchise, but with all the other games they've published under their leadership. Hopefully they will - they can always consult with the old leadership that made better games.

    Post edited by ClarionOfJoy on
  • OldeseadoggeOldeseadogge Posts: 4,973 Member
    You must know secrets I don't. I'm having so much fun with my 5th attempt at TS3 I'm scratch building a model of the USS California. The old battleship, not the recent missile ship. As for simming, I'm still a TS2 fan that thinks it's the best of the bunch. Everyone has their own play style, so we gravitate to the version that matches it best. No right or wrong, just a matte of fit.
  • Placebo7Placebo7 Posts: 107 Member
    Ugh, those defending TS4 very often have not played other iterations, so they just have low expectations to begin with.

    And while I get that "everyone has an opinion," the fact that the sims in TS4 have very little personality is not an opinion; it's a fact. Compared to the traits in TS3, for example, there are SO MANY FEWER to choose from. This is fact. There are also far fewer aspirations. FACT. It's also a fact that the traits you DO select do not have gameplay consequences the way they did in TS2 and 3. There are many videos to watch if you need to educate yourself on this. TS4 is taking more of your money for less content. WELL-DOCUMENTED FACT. Google it. So that seems like NOT something to be happy about, to me.

    So for those who want a game that is a LIFE SIMULATOR, including, LIFELIKE, UNIQUE sims, TS4 is inferior. If you want something that LOOKS pretty, well, then, congrats, you got it. If you want something that is EASY TO PLAY and has almost no RISKS (like burglars, firings, sims being mad at you, etc.), well then congrats, you got it.

    But a life simulator, no. TS4 is a step BACK from that, and if that is the franchise, then I think it is a fair conclusion that this game is worse than its predecessors.
  • OldeseadoggeOldeseadogge Posts: 4,973 Member
    My little 'Prune Barge' is done after about 3 years of on-off-on working on it, so now maybe it's time to give TS3 a good go. My ignorance of how to get the game humming notwithstanding. Yeah, the Sims as an overll game has changed, and not for the better. There is enough frustration in life without something that's supposed to be fun adding to it.
  • SimsLovinLycanSimsLovinLycan Posts: 1,910 Member
    edited June 2020
    Placebo7 wrote: »
    Ugh, those defending TS4 very often have not played other iterations, so they just have low expectations to begin with.

    And while I get that "everyone has an opinion," the fact that the sims in TS4 have very little personality is not an opinion; it's a fact. Compared to the traits in TS3, for example, there are SO MANY FEWER to choose from. This is fact. There are also far fewer aspirations. FACT. It's also a fact that the traits you DO select do not have gameplay consequences the way they did in TS2 and 3. There are many videos to watch if you need to educate yourself on this. TS4 is taking more of your money for less content. WELL-DOCUMENTED FACT. Google it. So that seems like NOT something to be happy about, to me.

    So for those who want a game that is a LIFE SIMULATOR, including, LIFELIKE, UNIQUE sims, TS4 is inferior. If you want something that LOOKS pretty, well, then, congrats, you got it. If you want something that is EASY TO PLAY and has almost no RISKS (like burglars, firings, sims being mad at you, etc.), well then congrats, you got it.

    But a life simulator, no. TS4 is a step BACK from that, and if that is the franchise, then I think it is a fair conclusion that this game is worse than its predecessors.

    This is so true. I mean, if TS4 was not a mainline Sims title, if it was a spin-off title called Sims Lite or a game made and published by a completely different company trying to dip their toe into the life sim genre, it would just be judged as an O.K. game that makes some technical stride here and there, but is still not up to par with any mainline Sims title, and it wouldn't be controversial to say that. But, it was released as a mainline title in a long-standing and well-loved cult hit franchise, so of course people are going to be harder on its failures and shortcomings, especially if they've played the earlier, deeper, more challenging titles in the series.

    TS4 reminds me of another "Softer and Easier to Try and Pull in Younger Kids and Casual Gamers" entry into a long-running, well-loved, cult hit franchise: Monster Rancher Evo aka. Monster Farm 5. I've brought this up in other threads, but to make a long story short, the developers basically stripped most of the depth and difficulty out of the fifth game in the Monster Rancher series, which is a creature breeding, training, and battle sim that focuses on the bond between you and your monsters, fighting your way up the tournament ranks, breeding ever stronger monsters by combining your retired monsters, and being the very best like no one ever was. In previous games, you hand fed, disciplined, rewarded, and coached your monster through training, which involved a lot of micromanagement of their diet, training regimen, and the standards you set for them in terms of what performance should be praised and what they should be scolded for. MR1-MR4 are very deep games and I recommend that you check them out if you never played them before, especially if you have an old PS2 that's still in working order or can get them on virtual console somehow.

    But, Monster Rancher Evo removed the tournament system, replaced the normal training with circus performances and arcade style mini-games that determined how said performances went, and completely removed the player from the monster rearing process by having an NPC automatically feed your monsters, having other NPC's deciding how to reward or motivate four out of five of your monsters, and having no real bonding interactions between you and the monster you were technically in charge of. That took a lot of the depth and challenge out of the game, even as they made massive improvements to the dungeon crawling aspect, the post game, and the game's towns. As a result, we got an O.K. collectable creature RPG, but a lackluster Monster Rancher title. They tried to rebrand this game outside of Japan as a spin-off title, but because it was released in the age of the internet, it was too little, too late. This game and its reception nearly killed this franchise, and it's a real shame.

    In both cases, you see a loss of core gameplay depth and challenge that was meant to bring in new fans by making the game more casual-and-child-friendly, but frustrated and alienated long-time fans. All the things that made Monster Rancher Monster Rancher, at its heart, were stripped out or watered down to the point of being only barely recognizable. The surface elements--iconic monster species like Tiger and Mochi, battles, scanning your disks in real life to generate monsters in-game, filling your monster book, a female assistant character--were all there...but the meat, the soul of the game was gone in favor of attempting to reach "a new generation" and "a broader audience." That's why I call when this happens to a game "Monster Rancher Evo Syndrome." Like what happened to that game, it's usually the result of a company trying to make a game franchise more popular or gain the next generation of fans, but in their rush to do so, forgetting or failing to see what made that franchise good in the first place. As a result, you get an O.K. game...but a poor entry into the series as a whole that feels like a huge step back to long-time fans.
    There is a song I hear, a melody from the past...
    5MNZlGQ.gif
    When I woke for the first time, when I slept for the last.
  • EricasFreePlayEricasFreePlay Posts: 849 Member
    In my opinion, this is how I rank the games from favorite to least favorite (and I have played all 4, though the last 2 less often than the first 2):

    Sims 2: Best gameplay ever in the series hands down.
    Sims 1: Will always have a special place because it was the first in the series.
    Sims 3: Didn't really enjoy the graphics when it came to the Sims themselves. The objects, lots, and other gameplay were good though.
    Sims 4: I give up after 30 minutes when I get a new pack.
  • OldeseadoggeOldeseadogge Posts: 4,973 Member
    For me:
    1 TS2 - best in gameplay, tools, and creative potential - the best banana in the bunch
    2 TS3 - lousy looking sims but really good otherwise, admittedly running it on a high-powered PC
    3 TS1 - comparatively primitive but still ground-breakingly innovative, only real downer is the limited camera, typical for its era
    4 TS4 - pretty, but looks aren't everything
  • ApparentlyAwesomeApparentlyAwesome Posts: 1,523 Member
    I couldn't get into Sims 4 like I could Sims 3 or even Sims 2. I don't think I've ever played Sims 1 so I can't say much about it but I do know the hardcore players aren't the focus of The Sims team really. They're trying to draw in newer and younger players, hardcore players are sure to stick around to them but I don't know. I've been more interested in their possible competition in the genre and their previous games than their current one. I don't know why this is the route they've taken with lackluster sims, making the game a live service that's supposedly better, touting diversity and inclusion when the sims are only diverse in the most shallow ways... I could go on, but I can't see myself sticking around for Sims 5 if this is the route they're going to continue down for that game too. It's not a matter of them changing in general to me but I just don't see where I as a player benefit from the changes made so far. The game hasn't changed for the better and what little they've made better to me isn't worth what all was lost or abandoned to achieve it.

    I played Sims 2 on PS2 and adored it and I adore Sims 2 on PC as well, but where I really fell in love with this franchise is starting with and learning Sims 3 on PC. The personality traits helped me to differentiate my sims personalities on a deeper level than points and zodiac signs where I could never quite get my sims just right. The game seemed to pick up how I played each sim and when I'd play another sim the sim I had been playing would act in accordance to how I had them acting. The best way I heard it described is that the sims in Sims 3 are like newborns. You have to play with them, let them experience things and learn and then they come alive. Their personalities blossom over time spent nurturing them and with personality traits as a base line there was this magic that I loved and it's a big part of why I still play Sims 3 today. That along with the gameplay and the creative freedom made it my favorite.

    I know some players and devs think those of us complaining only want our favorite Sims game updated for this day and age but I think what's forgotten is that we'd like to enjoy it too which is why we complain. And some of us know we may never get the changes necessary that would draw us into Sims 4 like we were drawn to one or more of the previous games but at least they'll have that feedback for Sims 5. I want Sims 5 to blow its predecessors away. I also know some Sims 4 players think those of us with a preference for one of the previous games are nostalgic and exaggerating how much more fulfilling those games were, but I'd encourage them if they have a decent computer and can look past the art style of those games to give them a try. Because I noticed recently that some of the ones who have tried Sims 2 or Sims 3 for the first time in years with a better PC or for the first time ever see our complaints aren't rooted in us viewing those games rose colored glasses. They see the in depth we are talking about. They see why we have an issue with Sims 4. It's not something we made up to spite the current game because it's not "our" game, it's not all in our heads.

    And I do hate disc aren't much of a thing anymore and Origin is basically required. Physical copies are so much more convenient for me than digital. If people want the digital option and to deal with Origin then cool, but I wish those of us who didn't want that had an option to just buy a physical copy and be done. No internet connection or online registration needed.

    On the topic of Sims 3 sims appearance, I have to admit I never really got the whole Sims 3 sims looking bad or like potatoes deal because they looked no better or worse than any other sims to me. I always thought it's just a matter of being good or bad at using CAS. I've also heard how hard it is for people to create good looking sims which I didn't get either because the power to sculpt them with the sliders is in our hands (though I feel there could've been more sliders) but again it goes back to being good or bad at using CAS but I think with Sims 3 unless you're actively paying attention and have a good enough computer to notice, the sliders are pretty subtle. I actually prefer Sims 3 sims but until recently (like the few years ago) I didn't really use the sliders and I didn't notice it. :grimace:

    I remember one of my sims got a lot compliments but after I got a better computer and was using Nraas mods (I forget which one, maybe Master Controller, but it puts a number above each slider when you edit in CAS and it was pretty helpful) I realized while taking notes on what position his sliders were in that I hadn't used that many sliders at all on him. I think of all the sliders only 3 to 5 of them at weren't at 0. I was shocked. So I started going through my other sims in that save and for only 4 out of the 14 did I get fully detailed using the sliders, the rest were mostly at 0. That was when I finally noticed some of them did indeed look alike but their personalities were so different, they acted so different, I never really bothered to pay attention to how they looked because I was too busy having fun. That and I had also been playing on a cheap $200 laptop when I created them originally. Unless I moved the sliders between extremes then focused on what part I was changing sometimes I wouldn't even notice a change.

    I went back and edited all of those sims, I have a lot more that I need to edit, and I've created even more sims and it's become an even longer process to create a sim because I love playing with the sliders now and seeing what looks I can get. Every sim I create looks unique now. I finally get why people like giving pre-mades makeovers too, lol. And I don't use CC skins, just hair and clothes. The art style may not be everyone's favorite, and I wouldn't say the sims are ugly (at least not to me) but I can see why it's hard to some to create good looking sims.
    KqGXVAC.jpg
  • alexandreaalexandrea Posts: 2,432 Member
    I don't understand the hate TS4 receives sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I don't love it but I do enjoy it. The game is soooo smooth. No more bugs and numerous time out of my gameplay trying to edit game files to make the game playable (error code 12 nightmare). TS4 is so immersive. We can dine out, cook numerous meals, make numerous drinks, do our makeup, go shopping... It's just so much better than those rabbit holes. TS3 sims were just so dead. It's so flat in comparison to TS4. If TS4 had open world and the ability for us to create our own worlds, I would play it forever. And this is coming from a long time Sims fan. This iteration is really expensive though.
    p6tqefj
  • GoldmoldarGoldmoldar Posts: 11,966 Member
    alexandrea wrote: »
    I don't understand the hate TS4 receives sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I don't love it but I do enjoy it. The game is soooo smooth. No more bugs and numerous time out of my gameplay trying to edit game files to make the game playable (error code 12 nightmare). TS4 is so immersive. We can dine out, cook numerous meals, make numerous drinks, do our makeup, go shopping... It's just so much better than those rabbit holes. TS3 sims were just so dead. It's so flat in comparison to TS4. If TS4 had open world and the ability for us to create our own worlds, I would play it forever. And this is coming from a long time Sims fan. This iteration is really expensive though.

    Yes, it runs smooth for you but not so much for others as far as open world goes which is an dead issue, it was the tools that allow me to make my own worlds as well as create my own lots which you mentioned I cannot play forever as I am always looking for more space and EA/Maxis maintains an hold on letting one create their own Neighborhoods as Neighborhoods are now paid content and the last free Neighborhood was given in 2015. So for me Sims 4 is like decaffeinated coffee and Sims 3 has the caffeine but it is an older program but an goodie for me and shame EA/Maxis could not get an grip on what they had and lost it like they lost Sim City 2013.
    Omen by HP Intel®️ Core™️ i9- 12900K W/ RGB Liquid Cooler 32GB Nvidia RTX 3080 10Gb ASUS Ultra-Wide 34" Curved Monitor. Omen By HP Intel® Core™ i7-12800HX 32 GB Nvidia 3070 Ti 8 GB 17.3 Screen
  • wickichickwickichick Posts: 11,130 Member
    I played the sims beginning with the first version and was very addicted to the game play. I have enjoyed each game that came out since....but it is hard when a new series begins and the base game is pretty flat...waiting for whatever it might be that is important to your game is really hard because it can be over a year away..look at seasons with The Sims 4. I am a much older player and I am not sure I am grasping what the op is saying....each sim version had it's charm and when not recycled into the next series that charm is missed to be sure. I left the sims 4 shortly after it came out but not because the sims 4 version was disappointing but rather the process of starting a new series was. Also the sims community became fragmented....between the original community ..youtube...twitter....and so on the closeness of the community was so changed. I started playing the sims 4 again in November of 2019. I took a five year break and so I think the essence of what Sims 3 was ..was distant memory. I liked the format of the open world however the game didn't function well for so many folks.....that was a shame. Sims 4 is not so extensive but it captures the essence of the Sims flavor in a plain wrapper so to speak. My sims have always been very dependent on how my imagination defines them....so I do create neighborhoods with cozy locations to go to such as clubs, coffee shops, bakeries etc minus the flair that once was the sims 3 perhaps however the loading screens are not bothersome to me. I found this discussion interesting but as mentioned I believe I missed the point of the op which would like to understand better.
  • PreCiiousPreCiious Posts: 353 Member
    @alexandrea
    alexandrea wrote: »
    I don't understand the hate TS4 receives sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I don't love it but I do enjoy it. The game is soooo smooth. No more bugs and numerous time out of my gameplay trying to edit game files to make the game playable (error code 12 nightmare). TS4 is so immersive. We can dine out, cook numerous meals, make numerous drinks, do our makeup, go shopping... It's just so much better than those rabbit holes. TS3 sims were just so dead. It's so flat in comparison to TS4. If TS4 had open world and the ability for us to create our own worlds, I would play it forever. And this is coming from a long time Sims fan. This iteration is really expensive though.

    I enjoy the sims4 too, but can understand when people get frustrated with the game. It is frustrating on how they release content for the sims and espacially when.

    People have been begging for more kids content and updated babies... Yeah it might not be the majority but why beeing silent about it after 5years... Its theyre shady business and marketing practices that rubs people the wrong way...

    Releasing a balcony on an appartement that they cleary know can not be build on, but inform the players after they complained, hoping no one sees or cares about. Be honest about stuff like that.

    I also think this Video sums it up quiet well... She loves to play the sims4 and gives valid feedback. Its a bit loud though :D

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd7UckPMOmQ

    I think this disscussion should be in the franchise discussion. The Sims 4 focuses more on creating, controling and imaginate your stuff. Period... That wont change, they wont listen to the people who want the sims4 to be a more of a complex programmed game. Its been 5years... they have an audience who likes it that way. A part of that audience would immediatly jump ship, when paralives comes or if they could play the other iterations lets not denie that.
  • GoldmoldarGoldmoldar Posts: 11,966 Member
    PreCiious wrote: »
    @alexandrea
    alexandrea wrote: »
    I don't understand the hate TS4 receives sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I don't love it but I do enjoy it. The game is soooo smooth. No more bugs and numerous time out of my gameplay trying to edit game files to make the game playable (error code 12 nightmare). TS4 is so immersive. We can dine out, cook numerous meals, make numerous drinks, do our makeup, go shopping... It's just so much better than those rabbit holes. TS3 sims were just so dead. It's so flat in comparison to TS4. If TS4 had open world and the ability for us to create our own worlds, I would play it forever. And this is coming from a long time Sims fan. This iteration is really expensive though.

    I enjoy the sims4 too, but can understand when people get frustrated with the game. It is frustrating on how they release content for the sims and espacially when.

    People have been begging for more kids content and updated babies... Yeah it might not be the majority but why beeing silent about it after 5years... Its theyre shady business and marketing practices that rubs people the wrong way...

    Releasing a balcony on an appartement that they cleary know can not be build on, but inform the players after they complained, hoping no one sees or cares about. Be honest about stuff like that.

    I also think this Video sums it up quiet well... She loves to play the sims4 and gives valid feedback. Its a bit loud though :D

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd7UckPMOmQ

    I think this disscussion should be in the franchise discussion. The Sims 4 focuses more on creating, controling and imaginate your stuff. Period... That wont change, they wont listen to the people who want the sims4 to be a more of a complex programmed game. Its been 5years... they have an audience who likes it that way. A part of that audience would immediatly jump ship, when paralives comes or if they could play the other iterations lets not denie that.

    I agree however many may move to paralives if it does much more than Sims 4 does and some of the features look very good but must wait until an alpha version is released as I will be ghost if the game lives up to what it could do.
    Omen by HP Intel®️ Core™️ i9- 12900K W/ RGB Liquid Cooler 32GB Nvidia RTX 3080 10Gb ASUS Ultra-Wide 34" Curved Monitor. Omen By HP Intel® Core™ i7-12800HX 32 GB Nvidia 3070 Ti 8 GB 17.3 Screen
  • ApparentlyAwesomeApparentlyAwesome Posts: 1,523 Member
    alexandrea wrote: »
    I don't understand the hate TS4 receives sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I don't love it but I do enjoy it. The game is soooo smooth. No more bugs and numerous time out of my gameplay trying to edit game files to make the game playable (error code 12 nightmare). TS4 is so immersive. We can dine out, cook numerous meals, make numerous drinks, do our makeup, go shopping... It's just so much better than those rabbit holes. TS3 sims were just so dead. It's so flat in comparison to TS4. If TS4 had open world and the ability for us to create our own worlds, I would play it forever. And this is coming from a long time Sims fan. This iteration is really expensive though.

    Based on some of the complaints I've read I don't think it's that great on the bug front, and that was even before Eco Lifestyle but I need more than just it runs well personally. That should be a given to me, it's the sims and the gameplay and all the stuff you mentioned besides makeup (I don't care for it personally for my sims) we can do in Sims 3. I've had my sims go out to eat whether alone, as a couple or even as a large group. I've had sims cook numerous meals for parties or just because I felt like letting their kids have variety. My mixologist sims make numerous drinks and even man the bar at parties or at the club when I can get the bartender to step away or get my sims to arrive at the bar before the bartender. They go shopping, they go to the spa, the park, camping, on vacations, adventures, to the local pool, the beach, the gym.

    To me in Sims 3, and Sims 2 for that matter, the personalities and the interactions were so much more enriching. For me it's the Sims 4 sims that feel not dead but like robots or something. I went from having sims with their own distinct and unique personalities, even if some traits overlapped to having sims that all feel the same. There's little to nothing unique about their traits and emotions are the personality. Sims 3 and Sims 2 weren't perfect to me on this front but they were definitely better. I think these post sum it up pretty well. I put them in the spoilers to save space.

    First of all, emotions worked better in The Sims 3. Maxis says that 4 is the first to have emotions but that's an outright lie. In 3, traits determined a Sim's personality and how they responded to situations. In 4, all Sims respond exactly the same to all emotions. Traits have no bearing on that whatsoever.
    Emotions.png

    Then you've got Create A Sim, which in 3 had more options for creating unique Sims with more in depth personalities than in 4.
    Create-A-Sim.png

    Then there's The Sims and The Sims 2 which had interests and two sided relationships. Sims could feel different about each other and they didn't share a relationship bar, they had their own individual ones. Interests added tonnes of depth - you could watch your Sim grow and change over the course of their lifetimes. Interests determined what Sims did autonomously, what they liked to talk about and who they would get along with.
    Interests.png

    The Sims in previous games had leagues more depth than they do in 4, hands down.

    Traits also had far more depth. Take any trait from The Sims 3 and compare it to The Sims 4 and this is what you get.

    3vs4-Evil.png

    3vs4-Family-Oriented.png

    3vs4-Good.png

    Meanwhile an entire page of traits in The Sims 4 is essentially worthless due to how it's all moodlet based play now.

    Worthless.png
    KqGXVAC.jpg
  • To7mTo7m Posts: 5,467 Member
    It changed because EA and the devs/gurus did not listen to long term fans, catered to children and think everyone walks around on their mobile phones, simpering, telling everyone how fantasticly awesome they are where nothing bad ever happens.

    What do you expect?

    —T
  • drake_mccartydrake_mccarty Posts: 6,114 Member
    Pretty obvious Sims 4 takes a lot of it’s design inspiration from mobile games. Especially when it comes to live mode gameplay. The tone has shifted to be a more kid-friendly, family inclusive game, but even with that the underlying gameplay is pretty shallow and meaningless.

    Sims Mobile’s “live mode” gameplay is exactly the same just with a real time counter.
  • ClarionOfJoyClarionOfJoy Posts: 1,945 Member
    I don't understand the current leadership at EA about focusing on "new" and younger players and dumbing down the game for them.

    The previous iterations always had new and younger players playing these more complex games and somehow managed to figure out how to play the game and stick with it. And these new and younger players are now die-hard veteran simmers. So why dumb down the game now? I think more likely that EA's being cheap - not so much dumbing the game down, but more likely not adding as many interesting features and therefore less work paying out salaries.

    Smh....I REALLY miss the older leadership.....


  • Renato10Renato10 Posts: 472 Member
    edited July 2020
    I'm honestly giving up! My expectations are 0 nowadays. I wish it was diferent but it is what it is...
    I genuinly think TS4 will never feel complete and a lot of things will never be fixed. Im sorry!
    Post edited by Renato10 on
  • GoldmoldarGoldmoldar Posts: 11,966 Member
    Renato10 wrote: »
    I'm honestly giving up! My expectations are 0 nowadays. I wish it was diferent but it is what it is...
    I genuinly think TS4 will never feel complete and a lot of things will never be fixed. Im sorry!

    Yeah I am finding that to be true as they never fixed some things in previous versions.
    Omen by HP Intel®️ Core™️ i9- 12900K W/ RGB Liquid Cooler 32GB Nvidia RTX 3080 10Gb ASUS Ultra-Wide 34" Curved Monitor. Omen By HP Intel® Core™ i7-12800HX 32 GB Nvidia 3070 Ti 8 GB 17.3 Screen
  • SimAlexandriaSimAlexandria Posts: 4,845 Member
    edited July 2020
    Sims 4 is my favourite! I really enjoy the fact that we are freer to create our own stories in it rather than the Sims creating the stories. THe art style is a lot nicer than all previous versions, and overall, it's just more enjoyable and fun for me. I LOVE the gallery as well. The ability to go between worlds

    For the records: I'm almost 40, played for 20 years since Sims 1 (and Sim City before it) and play for the game play as I"m not interested in the CAS or Build (though those are awesome too. ) My play style is to play large families and I love playing babies, tots and kids more than older sims but the families all spend a lot of time together. They all have diff hobbies, join clubs, do fun things together... I cheat needs/money as I play to tell stories not to grind money or needs and not for a "challlenge" but as a relaxing way of watching the stories (that I write first) come to life. I get really invested in my sims and play them for a long time, my current family going on 4 years now and the second generation is just starting to become young adults with with oldest kids and the oldest first gens just became elders. I am looking forward to playing it for many more years!

    Thoughts on Sims 2: . It's a great game and I used to play but after playing Sims 4 and realisiing how much better 4 is for my personal play style I have trouble going back to sims 2 now. However every time I do return I am blown away by how fluidly the sims move. I may not like the game nearly as much as Sims 4, because the way the sims act on top of the horrid cut scenes, art style, and ui but Sims 2 easily have the best animations to me. It's a terrific game. I think my favourite animation is kids dancing on parents feet. I really miss that.

    Sims 3 I have played but only very little and unlike 2 & 4 I don't have all the packs in it. I just can't get into it the same way. I think I only have World Adventures and Generations for it. I'm sure it's a good game that I would have liked if I Had played it PRIOR to other versions, but I didnt. I knew I loved Sims 2, and that I REALLY loved Sims 4 and I had heard it was a good game too and a lot of people liked it even more than 4, plus I really wanted to play world adventures, so when I saw it come up for sale for super cheap I decided "hey, why not? at that price?" SO I purchased the base game and packs about a year(ish? ) ago for the first time for like $5 each. I was super excited and kept trying to like it but unfortunately it just wasn't enjoyable with my playstyle so I ended up going back to 4. I'd rank it honestly about equal to Sims 2.. I don't think I have a preference from one over the other.

    Sims 1 I'm not going to judge, it was SOOOO long ago since I've played, I stopped even before Sims 2 came out, and honestly there is very little I remember about the game other than hating burlars that kept stealing my stuff and wishing they werne't in the game haha. I DO know that I spent a lot of time in the game, but not as much as in Sims 4. But the gameplay itself I don't recall that clearly anymore so yeah, not ranking it.

    Post edited by SimAlexandria on
  • OldeseadoggeOldeseadogge Posts: 4,973 Member
    Interestingly enough TS4 is what is enabling me to see TS3 in a much better light than my earlier attempts before it came out. My favorite is still TS2 for more reasons than can be shared without a huge post. When that was all I had to compare TS3 to, 3 consistently lost on many fronts. Now I can see the game for what it offers in its own right, more in depth sims, better gameplay, much less fakery, larger worlds, and so much more than 4 offers in so many areas.
Sign In or Register to comment.
Return to top