For me, gameplay is content a player can interact with. Gameplay can be more specific to content only accessible with certain traits and life states. For example, merfolk gameplay would be content more accessible, or exclusively accessible, to merfolk to interact with.
An example of gameplay I found most lacking in Island Living is the complete absence of underwater lots that would be more accessible to merfolk introduced with the pack.
In the Sims 3, Underwater lots do exist and sims can visit them as merfolk or scuba dive. I assume that the Sims 4 is played with better Software and should, hypothetically, be more equipped to support underwater lots AND, as a sequel, support underwater residential lots. I play the Sims on the Playstation 4 and that game system does support underwater gameplay with a game called Subnautica that is more graphically demanding.
My problem with poor gameplay in Island Living is how the Beach Cave AND the Deep Water Bouys are as bad as loading screens because they go nowhere and you can't do anything with your sim while they are underwater or in the cave.
If I'm upset about Island Living gameplay, it's because sooo much of the content you interact with in Island Living is heavily dependent on other packs.
But... Sandbox gameplay is what they complain about? A LOT of posts are along the lines of "Maxis wants us to make our own fun" which is what sandbox play IS.
Lack of gameplay in a sandbox means that the user finds the features lacking. Is that so strange?
I am once again seeing review where the claims "not enough gameplay" or "no gameplay" or "no replayability" is thrown around.
I... don't get it. I 500% don't get what these people actually MEAN by "gameplay". They are not happy when something is scripted, like Strangerville; they are not happy when something is open like Island Living.
Again, what do these people MEAN with gameplay?
Not to mention Replayability. Strangerville I get. Batuu I get. But anything else? If you don't think there is "replayability" in the new pack, or in say Island Living, then why do you play Sims at all? I mean if there is no replayability in Island Living how much replayability is it in going to the bathroom or doing laundry?
With IL it's not so much what it has, it's what it doesn't. For about the same price, in Island Paradise you got secret islands, resorts (which were in part rabbit holes), sun tanning (sims could listen to music while sun tanning, or read a book from their inventory, multitasking which TS4 somehow does not have for this interaction), underwater lots, mermaids, 2 new underwater deaths, death by sea monster, boat houses, boats which multiple sims can ride not just 1 per boat, boat fishing, sand castles, active lifeguard career (which you can have in any world/beach), sea shells collection, scuba diving skill, windsurfing, etc.
So...this is what's wrong with TS4. Lack of gameplay, lack of replayability and too many world restricted features.
I am once again seeing review where the claims "not enough gameplay" or "no gameplay" or "no replayability" is thrown around.
I... don't get it. I 500% don't get what these people actually MEAN by "gameplay". They are not happy when something is scripted, like Strangerville; they are not happy when something is open like Island Living.
Again, what do these people MEAN with gameplay?
Not to mention Replayability. Strangerville I get. Batuu I get. But anything else? If you don't think there is "replayability" in the new pack, or in say Island Living, then why do you play Sims at all? I mean if there is no replayability in Island Living how much replayability is it in going to the bathroom or doing laundry?
So...this is what's wrong with TS4. Lack of gameplay, lack of replayability and too many world restricted features.
...And so we went full circle. I guess I'll never get it.
With IL it's not so much what it has, it's what it doesn't. For about the same price, in Island Paradise you got secret islands, resorts (which were in part rabbit holes), sun tanning (sims could listen to music while sun tanning, or read a book from their inventory, multitasking which TS4 somehow does not have for this interaction), underwater lots, mermaids, 2 new underwater deaths, death by sea monster, boat houses, boats which multiple sims can ride not just 1 per boat, boat fishing, sand castles, active lifeguard career (which you can have in any world/beach), sea shells collection, scuba diving skill, etc.
1) According to my calculations 40$ in 2012 is more like 47$ in 2020.
2) And once again, Sims 3 would be much better game if it was a bit more modest with the features and put a bit more effort into optimisation. What's the point of all this if you can't play it?
With IL it's not so much what it has, it's what it doesn't. For about the same price, in Island Paradise you got secret islands, resorts (which were in part rabbit holes), sun tanning (sims could listen to music while sun tanning, or read a book from their inventory, multitasking which TS4 somehow does not have for this interaction), underwater lots, mermaids, 2 new underwater deaths, death by sea monster, boat houses, boats which multiple sims can ride not just 1 per boat, boat fishing, sand castles, active lifeguard career (which you can have in any world/beach), sea shells collection, scuba diving skill, etc.
1) According to my calculations 40$ in 2012 is more like 47$ in 2020.
2) And once again, Sims 3 would be much better game if it was a bit more modest with the features and put a bit more effort into optimisation. What's the point of all this if you can't play it?
1) That's not how inflation works. It doesn't excuse lack of content and TS3 EP were 5€ cheaper in the 2012's on retail. So they were adjusted at some point.
2) I can play it. And while it could be better optimized it's not like TS4 is without it's extensive bugs and problems.
An example of gameplay I found most lacking in Island Living is the complete absence of underwater lots that would be more accessible to merfolk introduced with the pack.
I feel the same way, I do not think IL is a bad pack but it just always feels like there is something important missing from it and to me that is underwater gameplay, with it (even if it didn't include lots) IL would be perfect in my eyes.
...And so we went full circle. I guess I'll never get it.
well, I think it is rather clear that it all comes down to playstyle/preference in the end, yours was a question that has no absolute answer.
In the end you do not have to "get it", just enjoy what you enjoy.
Inflation works exactly like that. Products become more expensive, money become cheaper, with video games prices go up even without the inflation. Maybe the price tag for IL + underwater lots + house boats would be like 60$. But I would rather pay 40$ for actually important part - swimming in ocean, boats, mermaids, fun on the beach, toddlers playing in the ocean aww. Odd jobs are cute too. Mermaids I think better. And there is whole traditions and culture thing that makes the pack more intresting. In Sims 3 everything is America even the tropical island.
2) I can play it. And while it could be better optimized it's not like TS4 is without it's extensive bugs and problems.
As I've said it doesn't really matter if it can be played today. It had to be working in 2014. With all the EPs. For most players, not some of them. There is no excuse for what it did.
But if you can play it and love it, good for you, play it. At least someone got their money worth from the game. I know I didn't. Couldn't play then because optimisation is not "minor thing that could be better", it's essential for the game to be optimised. And can't play it now, find TS3 kinda boring now and missing important aspects.
Inflation works exactly like that. Products become more expensive, money become cheaper, with video games prices go up even without the inflation. Maybe the price tag for IL + underwater lots + house boats would be like 60$. But I would rather pay 40$ for actually important part - swimming in ocean, boats, mermaids, fun on the beach, toddlers playing in the ocean aww. Odd jobs are cute too. Mermaids I think better. And there is whole traditions and culture thing that makes the pack more intresting. In Sims 3 everything is America even the tropical island.
2) I can play it. And while it could be better optimized it's not like TS4 is without it's extensive bugs and problems.
As I've said it doesn't really matter if it can be played today. It had to be working in 2014. With all the EPs. For most players, not some of them. There is no excuse for what it did.
But if you can play it and love it, good for you, play it. At least someone got their money worth from the game. I know I didn't. Couldn't play then because optimisation is not "minor thing that could be better", it's essential for the game to be optimised. And can't play it now, find TS3 kinda boring now and missing important aspects.
Yeah I don't agree at all with any of your statements, but you do you I guess.
But... Sandbox gameplay is what they complain about? A LOT of posts are along the lines of "Maxis wants us to make our own fun" which is what sandbox play IS.
I disagree with this definition of sandbox games to an extent. You can only make your own fun within the parameters the game gives you. If content you expect to be there isn't there, then the gameplay, the way you want to interact with the game to have fun, doesn't exist.
If the way I want to make my own fun involves playing with merfolk underwater, then there needs to be content to support that.
I can always choose to play Subnautica or Sims 3, but if those are my options and Sims 4 plus will never give me what the customers want, it might kill the franchise. I mean, why buy anything new if their old stuff is the only instance they provide what I want as a customer. It doesn't help the franchise if the customers drop future games for games that have a sandbox structure and deliver on what is expected.
It's pretty easy to see what people mean if you've played the previous installments. Especially Sims 2 has SO MUCH MORE depth and content gameplay wise it's not even a fair comparison.
@Aine it's not fair to Sims 2 at all. I play sims 2 too and it's fun but... sims 4 has more content and more depth.
For example yesterday my sim in sims 2 found out his wife cheated on him. Ok, he slapped her. A minute later he was idly smiling and business as usual. Because he wasn't angry. He was incapable of feeling angry, poor thing. The sin would stop once in a while to show me an flaming thought bubble to show he is furious with his wife. But gameplay wise - he wasn't struggling at all. His needs and aspiration were high so he was his ususal happy self, no struggle. And I had zero problem fixing his relationship with his wife.
If he was in Sims 4 he would actually be angry, storming around, kicking the trashcan, taking it out on random ppl. Sims 4 does have a problem that sims aren't always in the emotional stand you want them to be, but you can fine tune it, if you want to. But you can't tune emotions when they are not in the game. I've only realised how important they are to the game when I've started playing sims 2 again.
And gameplay wise Sims 2 is limited. Toddlers and kids life stage are very short because they don't have much to do. And after teaching toddler skills and helping with homework one time, parents have no more parenting to do. And it is unfair to compare it to Sims 4 because Sims 2 is much older game.
I love sims 2 for memory system (but it can corrupt hoods, need to be carefull in sims 2), some cute details, iconic characters and well... nostalgia. But "depth" and "more things to do" is not on my sims 2 list.
I'm sorry, it's just when ppl talk about how deep sims 2 was, I'm like "I play sims 2. Can someone plz send that deep immersive gameplay to my sims 2? Because I would like my sims 2 to get more deep but it's not".
I understand what you're saying, but for me it's the opposite with the emotions in Sims 4 - they seem SO hollow to me. In Sims 2 you didn't NEED emotions to tell how a sim was feeling, because you could tell by their body language and actions and facial expressions. In Sims 2 you have memories and yes you can 'fix' their relationship easily if you work on it -but in Sims 4 you don't even NEED to fix anything, because there are NO consequences. Also there's the attraction system in Sims 2 that makes it easier and harder for sims to connect. Ofcourse if a sim has had a long relationship with someone in Sims 2, they're not gonna just throw that away - but if you really wanted to, you could completely wreck their relationship - in Sims 4 that's not even possible - yes their relation ship bar can go down, but it doesn't really make any difference in how they interact with each other. In Sims 2 they would have trouble even talking without getting negative reactions after that.
I get that for you, it's a different point of view, but I find the sims 4 'emotions' shallow and doesn't match their actions it doesn't have consequences past a short while. for me the Sims 2 of doing emotions was way more immersive, because I could clearly 'see' what they were feeling anyway through all the AI and memory system. Not to mention, sims 2 sim could get actually scared of things - Sims 4 sims doesn't even feel fear.
I couldn't disagree more about the gameplay comparison with Sims 2 and 4 - for me Sims 2 is superior in every sense of the word. Sims in sims 2 could become true enemies, not just 'angry' for a while and then forget about it.
I honestly think that Sims 4 emotions could be ground breaking if they added a memory and attraction system. If sims actually remembered if a certain sim was their enemy or had been mean to them, and react accordingly, that would change the entire dynamic of the social interactions. I think the biggest flaw currently is that there is no real consequences. As in Sims 2, I would want to have to work for repairing the relationship - and that it would be easier if the sims are attracted to each other, and harder if they're not. Also the game desperately needs a fear emotion. It's just not the same without it.
Lets hope the new updates and the new pack brings us some much needed depth for Sims 4 - it would change how I feel about the game A LOT if they pull that off for sure.
Allons-y!
---> Afterlife Game Pack Idea - improved ghosts, cemeteries and funerals, psychics, new skills, new career and more! <---
Inflation works exactly like that. Products become more expensive, money become cheaper, with video games prices go up even without the inflation. Maybe the price tag for IL + underwater lots + house boats would be like 60$. But I would rather pay 40$ for actually important part - swimming in ocean, boats, mermaids, fun on the beach, toddlers playing in the ocean aww. Odd jobs are cute too. Mermaids I think better. And there is whole traditions and culture thing that makes the pack more intresting. In Sims 3 everything is America even the tropical island.
2) I can play it. And while it could be better optimized it's not like TS4 is without it's extensive bugs and problems.
As I've said it doesn't really matter if it can be played today. It had to be working in 2014. With all the EPs. For most players, not some of them. There is no excuse for what it did.
But if you can play it and love it, good for you, play it. At least someone got their money worth from the game. I know I didn't. Couldn't play then because optimisation is not "minor thing that could be better", it's essential for the game to be optimised. And can't play it now, find TS3 kinda boring now and missing important aspects.
Man, this is something that simmers really don't seem to have much realization about. Inflation is definitely an important factor. The EPs have been the same exact price since Sims 1. So for 20 years they've never changed the price to reflect new tech and higher wages. Developers do have to be paid, expenses exist and marketing needs to be done. I play a thirteen year old MMO and their EPs are way higher now than they were in the first couple of years of operation. Most of the other games, particularly triple A games, have a much higher cost now for that kind of thing. And they usually have tiers for special content added to each version of the EP that goes even higher, some over $100.
This is why I feel like the EPs really need to be bumped up by five or ten dollars to expand the budget a little and make them feel worth it. They should have considered this in the first year when players were complaining there wasn't enough in the packs. But I think EA is trying their own version of "microtransactions" by trying to keep the packs affordable, albeit with less in them. I feel like they don't want to make chunky packs anymore, they want to do more smaller and manageable packs that they can whip up faster and sell a lot of.
I would have really liked some underwater gameplay for Mermaids and real diving and cave exploring/spelunking in Island Living. Raising the EP prices might have allowed for this.
For me:
1. Spending 6 hours getting the perfect ear lobe in CAS.
2. Spending a week in Build Mode trying to place one single toilet roll holder on the wall in the downstairs bathroom of that starter home.Perfection is key.
3. Spending an hour staring at a bunch of seagulls walking around on a Brindleton Bay beach.
4. Spending half an hour following a tumbleweed in Strangerville. They sometimes disappear. So do the floating bags in Eco Town.
5. Listening to my busker sim for 15 - 20 minutes straight. Love the Latin songs.
6. Following the maid for a day and see if she really deserves to get paid.
7. Watching my sim sleep at normal speed. In the cheapest bed.
8. Watching the curtains move. They move, did you know?
9. Waiting for the helicopter in Selvadorada to fly over. I love that sound.
10. Exploring the world in cinematic mode. QWEAS from every angle...
I can go on for a lot longer and my sim hasn’t even welcomed their fruitcake neighbors.
I must be the most boring simmer in the world but...hey..once I’m in the game gameplay is gameplay. I sure have a truckload of things I would like to see added to the game. I would like to see certain mechanics get fixed. But I like the updates we’re getting.
Overall this game is plenty enjoyable for me.
So whatever we call The Sims 4 Gameplay...it suits me. Very much so. Happy Simming folks. 😊
For me, it's about depth. You can give me a billion snowboarding animations, but what is the point when all it is is an animation tied to a skill, which will very quickly become repetitive in the grand scheme of the game? Same thing with creating a whole $20 pack out of Spa content. What's the sense when all it does is influence moodlets and emotions slightly?
Compare The Sims 3: Island Paradise and The Sims 4: Island Living. Google and look at what each pack offered. It's crazy that, for the same price with The Sims 3, you are getting a TON more innovative gameplay. I mean, alone, the thought of having a transportable houseboat that you can not only customize but ride around the whole, huge world was such a great idea. It had so many objects, but they were only the tip of the iceberg, as the pack offered many other things like owning resorts, many different boat types, new build features, a fully interactable underwater experience, and so on.
Packs were just made better, even the ones that weren't as good. I recommend anyone try The Sims 2: Open for Business. It really feels like you are playing a whole separate game when you are managing a shop, within The Sims. It's that well designed, and that's only part of the pack.
I must be the most boring simmer in the world but...hey..once I’m in the game gameplay is gameplay. I sure have a truckload of things I would like to see added to the game. I would like to see certain mechanics get fixed. But I like the updates we’re getting.
Overall this game is plenty enjoyable for me.
So whatever we call The Sims 4 Gameplay...it suits me. Very much so. Happy Simming folks. 😊
I shortened the quote, but this is my general opinion too. There are many things that I want or expected, but I would not have bought so much of the game if there wasn't something I wanted out of the packs or didn't enjoy.
For all that Island Living lacks with content, I still enjoy what comes with it. Similar to City Living, there are unannounced events, or festivals, in Sulani. Sulani has an event everyday of the week that spawns stuff in the open world. If you add the Island Living Lot Traits you will get the full Island Living experience with the volcano. I don't think the conservation career is as one sided as some people say it is. Marine Biologist merfolk can snorkel, and the career tasks do change with the Island's Condition.
The biggest thing that would make Island Living more complete is the creation of underwater lots that are like a counterpart to the island accessible through the bouys. I would want these lots to be like underwater neighborhoods, and I would love to be able to create lots exclusive to the underwater environment. Maybe these could be my own underwater dive spots like a sunken ship or a reef I create.
The cave leads to a few different places, a sunken ship that sinks underwater with the tide, a lagoon with colorful water and sand, a glow bug cave, and a flooded lava tube. I would love to visit those places with my sim, and I think some of them could be outstanding places to visit underwater via the underwater lots. They could actually include something with tides, and because they actually create so many worlds with so much attention to detail, I would buy a game pack that adds things in greater detail than just a simple patch.
I mean, Aliens, Spellcasters, and Vampires have content to literally fill the home with stuff from a themed bassinet and into every life stage, but the content from Island Living isn't merfolk themed as much as it is polynesian themed. That's not a fault, but the content I would prefer for merfolk does appear to be lacking. Merfolk babies don't even get a merfolk themed bassinet like the other occults.
I still choose to play the game because I still enjoy a lot of other content. I don't play the game just for the merfolk, but the presence of merfolk is why I bought the game and chose to support the franchise. Merfolk done at the minimum level of quality is extremely hard to find as playable characters in video games. The closest to what I look for at the minimum was done in Kingdom Hearts 1: Atlantica. Atlantica in Kingdom Hearts 2 was a disappointment.
I have Subnautica for both my Laptop and Playstation 4. I play more video games on my Playstation 4 to preserve space on my Laptop for family photos, school, writing my book, and etc, but the point of mentioning Subnautica is that a sanbox survival game with an open world environment that takes place underwater with greater graphics than sims 4 with an auto save feature exists for every platform I play games on. I know I'm not a programmer, but the minimal amount of content that I want to interact with that would add depth to the game is something that I think should be possible.
Inflation works exactly like that. Products become more expensive, money become cheaper, with video games prices go up even without the inflation. Maybe the price tag for IL + underwater lots + house boats would be like 60$. But I would rather pay 40$ for actually important part - swimming in ocean, boats, mermaids, fun on the beach, toddlers playing in the ocean aww. Odd jobs are cute too. Mermaids I think better. And there is whole traditions and culture thing that makes the pack more intresting. In Sims 3 everything is America even the tropical island.
2) I can play it. And while it could be better optimized it's not like TS4 is without it's extensive bugs and problems.
As I've said it doesn't really matter if it can be played today. It had to be working in 2014. With all the EPs. For most players, not some of them. There is no excuse for what it did.
But if you can play it and love it, good for you, play it. At least someone got their money worth from the game. I know I didn't. Couldn't play then because optimisation is not "minor thing that could be better", it's essential for the game to be optimised. And can't play it now, find TS3 kinda boring now and missing important aspects.
Man, this is something that simmers really don't seem to have much realization about. Inflation is definitely an important factor. The EPs have been the same exact price since Sims 1. So for 20 years they've never changed the price to reflect new tech and higher wages. Developers do have to be paid, expenses exist and marketing needs to be done. I play a thirteen year old MMO and their EPs are way higher now than they were in the first couple of years of operation. Most of the other games, particularly triple A games, have a much higher cost now for that kind of thing. And they usually have tiers for special content added to each version of the EP that goes even higher, some over $100.
This is why I feel like the EPs really need to be bumped up by five or ten dollars to expand the budget a little and make them feel worth it. They should have considered this in the first year when players were complaining there wasn't enough in the packs. But I think EA is trying their own version of "microtransactions" by trying to keep the packs affordable, albeit with less in them. I feel like they don't want to make chunky packs anymore, they want to do more smaller and manageable packs that they can whip up faster and sell a lot of.
I would have really liked some underwater gameplay for Mermaids and real diving and cave exploring/spelunking in Island Living. Raising the EP prices might have allowed for this.
Raising the price of EP's is something that I have mixed feelings about. I am aware that it has become more expensive to make games, several studios mentioned this when people started to discuss of the price for new games for the next consoles which are launching soon, some people would like the price for new games to be raised and cost $70 because making games have become more expensive. They make so much DLC, Microtransactions and offer special editions and preorders so that they can cover the massive costs with making a game.
On the other hand, the developers who have said this are studios who are making AAA games where they have invested loads of money into making the games use the latest tech in order to get a game that will sell just because it has so much quality and effort put into it. I don't see that at all in the sims4, they improve the game, but just some yearly updates, otherwise they just keep making DLC.
I would only be okay with them raising the price for EP's if they would have more people work on the game and improve it. Get more teams that make these packs so they will have more time to work on their packs and offer more content. Otherwise we are just giving them more money for the same model that they have used for 6 years.
For me:
1. Spending 6 hours getting the perfect ear lobe in CAS.
2. Spending a week in Build Mode trying to place one single toilet roll holder on the wall in the downstairs bathroom of that starter home.Perfection is key.
3. Spending an hour staring at a bunch of seagulls walking around on a Brindleton Bay beach.
4. Spending half an hour following a tumbleweed in Strangerville. They sometimes disappear. So do the floating bags in Eco Town.
5. Listening to my busker sim for 15 - 20 minutes straight. Love the Latin songs.
6. Following the maid for a day and see if she really deserves to get paid.
7. Watching my sim sleep at normal speed. In the cheapest bed.
8. Watching the curtains move. They move, did you know?
9. Waiting for the helicopter in Selvadorada to fly over. I love that sound.
10. Exploring the world in cinematic mode. QWEAS from every angle...
I had to reread this twice to make sure this wasn't sarcasm. I applaud you for getting your money's worth, but oh my gosh, I could never boot my game up just to watch my Sim sleep in their designated corners for 15 minutes (real time) before switching the view to the same curtains since 2014 swaying from a mysterious draft inside every lot.
For me, The Sims was best when it played like an actual game; a simulator, not too far off from SimCity, Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon, etc. Keeping my Sims alive, finding ways to make or break their success, getting thrown a curveball every so often so I was always left on my toes, etc. The game is too predictable and easy, and in-depth gameplay is almost non-existent.
And I absolutely think they could deliver that while also giving players like @CAPTAIN_NXR7 more visual-oriented details to keep them entertained and having fun.
@CAPTAIN_NXR7 lol, just the other day I was sat watching the curtains move. But I don't think all of them do. I went around the whole house checking the different ones.
For the record and clarity, the Sims 4 has waves and a weak representation of the ocean. The ocean is so much more dynamic than what is seen in Island Living.
Tides are present in all bodies of water. I have seen the High and Low tide of the ocean impact waterways miles inland. This tidal action exposes islands during low tide and submerges them during high tide. There are lots in Island Living that could have a high and low tide and not just waves hitting the shore.
Edit: If my memory serves me, the beach I usually visited had an AM high and low tide followed by a PM high and low tide. Given how time moves for Sims in game, I can see a low or high tide during AM and the other tide in the PM. I mean, the tides actually follow a predictable schedule.
Regardless, this is mostly wishful thinking on my part for future content that I would go into more detail in another thread.
Last edit: Storm Surges are related to tides and cause flooding during tropical weather. Sulani experiences a unique type of weather called monsoons and even though tropical weather causes water near coastal regions to rise, the weather in game has no visible effect on the ocean even though most tropical weather is a product of the earth having oceans.
I'm going for breadth here in my explanation rather than depth, so I apologise if this is a little jumbled, but, for me, when I'm asking for more gameplay in Sims 4, I'm asking for more things to do in the game rather than more things to look at, and for what I do do to actually feel meaningful to the world I'm playing in. Ergo, for me, gameplay is meaningful gameplay that will - often but not always - have a long(ish)-term impact in the game I'm playing, and challenge me at least a little to do.
Sandbox play is only sandbox play when the sandbox actually has sand in it, otherwise you just get, like Sims 4, a very, very pretty box. The sparse lot amounts per world, sparser off-lot elements and growing tendency towards shell buildings and view-only items heavily contribute towards this empty box feeling. There's nothing to do in a lot of the neighbourhood spaces that feels like it contributes anything towards your sims' lives, and you can't build there (without a mod). (Aside from the very important cultural/historical debates, which were and are majorly important, I think some of the above is partially why there was such a blow-back recently against removing the proposed 'bow' interaction from the new shines coming in Snowy Escape. Taking a new interaction away from the items in game when it doesn't feel like there are many new interactions (with new animations, especially!) is extremely disheartening.)
I, for one, am definitely getting a little weary of view-only items: they only occasionally provide my sim with a short-term 'happy' or 'inspired' buff, and that's usually the only thing they do, apart from those aspirations where it's also a goal to look at this item. Once. If I'm going to take my sim around a neighbourhood or off to see a particular item, I'd like a meaningful reason for taking there there. Because if I want to explore the neighbourhood, I can just pan around it with my camera. 'Meaning' for me here could be: I've obtained a collectible that can only be collected in this one hard-to-reach spot in the game; my sim has gained some kind of achievement or special reward for sailing all around the islands in Sulani, or my sim got a special long-term buff that they can only get from doing this one action in this one or two ways. Otherwise, once I've taken a sim to one area of one world and looked around it with them, there's no need for me to ever do it again, so the replay value is extremely low. There's got to be a reason for taking different sims there - and that reason can't only, always, just be 'tick off this one aspiration goal.'
Meaningful gameplay with the sims in particular would be individual sims caring about where they are (and are going), what they're doing and who they're doing it with. The team have been making some strides in the latter point: the sentiments system in SE really looks like it'll affect interpersonal relationships between the sims, but I'll wait to see it in action. I honestly really miss the daily/lifetime relationships of the early Sims games iterations, because those allowed for the natural daily upsets of life without swinging your sims' relationships from one extreme to the other. At the moment in Sims 4, if a sim gets into a fight with a good friend, the two will end up heavily disliking one another, taking the relationship into the red. A few apologies later, and the 'angry' emotion has faded, the relationship has returned to green, and it's like nothing happened at all. That's not meaningful at all. My sims should be able to carry a grudge and remember a fight for longer than a few hours or a handful of apologies and deep conversations - the daily relationship should take a hit, and I should feel motivated, on behalf of my sim, to repair that relationship for them before it too negatively affects their lifetime relationship (unless, of course, I want that sim to lose their friend).
I would like to see sims reacting and interacting more - and autonomously - with their environment. The SE 'hike' activity, where they travel different routes and interact with parts of the environment even we, as the player, don't seem to able to click on, seems pretty interesting! But elaborating more here is a digression, so...
As for sims caring about what they're doing - in Sims 4, they don't, really. There's occasional tense moodlets when a video game enthusiast hasn't played on a computer in a while, or an outdoors-loving sim hasn't been outside, and not much more. The Sims team keeps introducing new activities for sims to do and skills for sims to learn and that's great, honestly it is, but it still feels a little shallow when 90% of the sims in a game can do the exact same activity and level up in it in the exact same way and get the exact same buffs for doing it - and then forget they've even done the activity. There needs to be more differentiation between the behaviours and abilities of sims for this to feel like 'real' gameplay, because then there would be some sort of challenge here, and the feeling that, *although everyone might do the same activity, there might be an endless number of ways to do it.*
And that, for me, really would be a way for Sims 4 to let me 'tell my own story.'
The Sims games as a whole need to strike a fine balance between scripted play and unscripted play to add 'gameplay', and, to me, Sims 4 feels like it's been veering to one side or the other and missing the mark. There are always tasks your sims must do repeatedly - sleep, eat, pay bills, go to work etc. - to provide a base challenge for everyone, but there needs to be spontaneity in the game as well to provide interest and break up the monotony. Strangerville seems to have upset people because it was too scripted, and you accomplished the pack's goals by doing the same thing the same way every time. Replay value comes from the ability to do the same thing numerous different ways. To continue the sandbox metaphor - yes, for this activity there's sand, but to accomplish anything, the only thing the game will allow me to do with it is build a very generic castle. Occasionally, I'd like to be able to advance in the game by sculpting a bungalow. Or a whole fiefdom.
Here's a full screenshot of freediving at a deep water bouy. How is looking at this while your sim performs a task better than a loading screen for an underwater neighborhood or lot?
I would rather sit through a loading screen to follow my sim to some places over this, and this isn't the only place like this in all the different packs. I talk about merfolk so much because that's what I play with, but they are hardly exclusive when it comes to stuff like this. In fact, I think they have the least amount of content for the pack they were introduced in.
And, obviously my sim gets to have an experience underwater. The thought about the pufferfish as well as what they collect and any narrative that appears in the notification is proof of that, but for the player, this is hardly a memorable experience or the most enjoyable thing to do. It is a good way to almost always get collectables using various tools, and you can get pictures that are random, but premade regardless of relevant circumstances.
I would rather go underwater with my sim to see what they see. I would rather follow my sim and find seashells and buried treasure around the underwater lot. I would prefer to use an underwater camera to take my own underwater pictures instead of generating some kind of random image. When I talk about gameplay, when anyone talks about gameplay, it probably has something to do with this.
IDK, unless they felt some packs needed just a little more. As far as the upcoming Snowy Escape, I wish it had Lg standing screens and female old time hair up do's, but I may be thinking more Chinese like, IDK. Maybe, kid/toddler toys like a baby doll(Japanese). Maybe toddlers getting burned on the small heater. But really, I'm very happy with the new pack and what it has. Would've loved Yeti, cabins, and cabin decor, but maybe they can do a Vacation Ep with hotels and add them along with the Cruise ship, casinos, and ect.
IL needed an underwater part like Sims3 had, houseboats, and hammocks and I could've been happier as I did like the rest a bunch.
I wanted a real crystal ball S3 with job, moving people pictures S3, magic mirror that talks like S3 witch hats with the ROM pack
I wished Outdoor retreat had campers
Holidays- There is so much more they could give in updates. Did we even get any Halloween related stuff? Holidays should yield stuff
City Living- maybe one more building and maybe buildings done differently
Vampires- more coffin choices, larger world, maybe cemetery and more goth should've come into this
Bowling- more video games
Fitness stuff- never been happy about the gym-always same old stuff- need Lg round ball, stepper, fitness flyer, st bike, trampoline, chin up bar, small hand weights, and this pack needed to be a GP with exercise class and instructor, headbands, more clothes, ect.
With S3 Pets having dogs, cats, horses, unicorns, pet rocks, small animals to capture, small caged animals, and fish tanks worth having and real fish, Sims4 C&D was disappointing. I liked it and loved the world and Mayor Whiskers is my fav. about the pack, but really fish, pet rock, caged animals, and small collectable animals in the wild should've been there. I would've been ok with horses, pegasus, and unicorns having their own pack, but just two animals wasn't very nice for what should've been a big pets EP
Jungle adventure- I wish they would've had a store and vending machine in addition to the tables so that supplies were readily available instead of hit and miss on most.
MFP should've been in a Pets EP
Seasons- just wished more waterways had opened up. Can't remember if we got the kissing bothe back, but I liked it in the Sims3
DU- real professor and dean careers
Tiny Living- Wish they had given us another world like the free one we got that has a couple 60x60 lots and then a huge amount of small lots in an update/not with the pack
Nifty Knitting- bummed about all the neat stuff they had on the drawings I didn't get- the cloud toddler girl outfit, the granny outfits, the door with paper rack, and so many other neat things.
SW- ability to woohoo with who you want, be any character you want, and alien oriented suburb to the side with more aliens instead of the other hood- I haven't looked at the bonus hood/I may like it, IDK. Just bought it on 50% off, but loving the little toddler coats. Haven't been able to look at any of it, but I haven't looked at Strangerville either. Not really my kind of play and not enough sims like.
Possibly they just want to be able to look at a pack and say I don't know what I want to do first. I did that all the time in Sims3 and I next to never have done it in the Sims4, but I have to say that Sims4 is starting to fill out more and that it is better than it was.
Gameplay, enough or not.. to me (note, only to me) Is up to player.
Sulani, the so much "nothing to do world".. I make my sims to have lots to do in there, I have a seafood restaurant, nightclub what serves well for weddings too, a spa, very crowded beach what includes pretty much something of every pack I own. I even build EL communitylot there, sims visits all the time to skill, craft, plant , harvest and socialize.
It is my busiest world, also my favorite.
Merfolks, festivals, pretty look.. is just a bonus.
Nuf said --->
My love, my love, my fearless love, I will not say goodbye..
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
I know this was not aimed at me, but I do want to chime in as someone that has played all the main entries with pretty well all the packs. Short summary: loved Sims 1, loved Sims 2, hated Sims 3 at first and grew to love it after Pets, and with Sims 4 was disappointed but have since sort of embraced its faults and started playing different ways.
I think 4 has better graphics, CAS, and BB than 3, however I think 3 does have the better sandbox, personalities, and live mode. To name some of the sandbox things I miss from 3: color wheel,super in depth personalities, controlling seasons, and CAW. I don't care a thing about open worlds and story progression (the latter I actively dislike), but I dislike how 4 did it, too, with half open neighborhoods. I would want open neighborhoods, then load screen to other neighborhoods and other worlds.
However, talking specifically about sandbox elements, you cannot beat CAW. I made my own island where it was winter 3/4 of the time and I never placed a school and a bunch of urban elements to maintain seclusion. I cannot even think of doing half of that in 4, so I had to change the way I play. I have had fun with the game, but I did feel a lot of control was taken away from me. Even my favorite packs in pretty well every other entry are not anymore.
What super in depth personalities are you talking about? Because I've been playing the game since day one and I'm simply not seeing it.
"Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character."
Comments
An example of gameplay I found most lacking in Island Living is the complete absence of underwater lots that would be more accessible to merfolk introduced with the pack.
In the Sims 3, Underwater lots do exist and sims can visit them as merfolk or scuba dive. I assume that the Sims 4 is played with better Software and should, hypothetically, be more equipped to support underwater lots AND, as a sequel, support underwater residential lots. I play the Sims on the Playstation 4 and that game system does support underwater gameplay with a game called Subnautica that is more graphically demanding.
My problem with poor gameplay in Island Living is how the Beach Cave AND the Deep Water Bouys are as bad as loading screens because they go nowhere and you can't do anything with your sim while they are underwater or in the cave.
If I'm upset about Island Living gameplay, it's because sooo much of the content you interact with in Island Living is heavily dependent on other packs.
Lack of gameplay in a sandbox means that the user finds the features lacking. Is that so strange?
With IL it's not so much what it has, it's what it doesn't. For about the same price, in Island Paradise you got secret islands, resorts (which were in part rabbit holes), sun tanning (sims could listen to music while sun tanning, or read a book from their inventory, multitasking which TS4 somehow does not have for this interaction), underwater lots, mermaids, 2 new underwater deaths, death by sea monster, boat houses, boats which multiple sims can ride not just 1 per boat, boat fishing, sand castles, active lifeguard career (which you can have in any world/beach), sea shells collection, scuba diving skill, windsurfing, etc.
So...this is what's wrong with TS4. Lack of gameplay, lack of replayability and too many world restricted features.
...And so we went full circle. I guess I'll never get it.
1) According to my calculations 40$ in 2012 is more like 47$ in 2020.
2) And once again, Sims 3 would be much better game if it was a bit more modest with the features and put a bit more effort into optimisation. What's the point of all this if you can't play it?
1) That's not how inflation works. It doesn't excuse lack of content and TS3 EP were 5€ cheaper in the 2012's on retail. So they were adjusted at some point.
2) I can play it. And while it could be better optimized it's not like TS4 is without it's extensive bugs and problems.
I feel the same way, I do not think IL is a bad pack but it just always feels like there is something important missing from it and to me that is underwater gameplay, with it (even if it didn't include lots) IL would be perfect in my eyes.
well, I think it is rather clear that it all comes down to playstyle/preference in the end, yours was a question that has no absolute answer.
In the end you do not have to "get it", just enjoy what you enjoy.
As I've said it doesn't really matter if it can be played today. It had to be working in 2014. With all the EPs. For most players, not some of them. There is no excuse for what it did.
But if you can play it and love it, good for you, play it. At least someone got their money worth from the game. I know I didn't. Couldn't play then because optimisation is not "minor thing that could be better", it's essential for the game to be optimised. And can't play it now, find TS3 kinda boring now and missing important aspects.
Yeah I don't agree at all with any of your statements, but you do you I guess.
I disagree with this definition of sandbox games to an extent. You can only make your own fun within the parameters the game gives you. If content you expect to be there isn't there, then the gameplay, the way you want to interact with the game to have fun, doesn't exist.
If the way I want to make my own fun involves playing with merfolk underwater, then there needs to be content to support that.
I can always choose to play Subnautica or Sims 3, but if those are my options and Sims 4 plus will never give me what the customers want, it might kill the franchise. I mean, why buy anything new if their old stuff is the only instance they provide what I want as a customer. It doesn't help the franchise if the customers drop future games for games that have a sandbox structure and deliver on what is expected.
Sorry, Edits because of phone typos.
I get that for you, it's a different point of view, but I find the sims 4 'emotions' shallow and doesn't match their actions it doesn't have consequences past a short while. for me the Sims 2 of doing emotions was way more immersive, because I could clearly 'see' what they were feeling anyway through all the AI and memory system. Not to mention, sims 2 sim could get actually scared of things - Sims 4 sims doesn't even feel fear.
I couldn't disagree more about the gameplay comparison with Sims 2 and 4 - for me Sims 2 is superior in every sense of the word. Sims in sims 2 could become true enemies, not just 'angry' for a while and then forget about it.
I honestly think that Sims 4 emotions could be ground breaking if they added a memory and attraction system. If sims actually remembered if a certain sim was their enemy or had been mean to them, and react accordingly, that would change the entire dynamic of the social interactions. I think the biggest flaw currently is that there is no real consequences. As in Sims 2, I would want to have to work for repairing the relationship - and that it would be easier if the sims are attracted to each other, and harder if they're not. Also the game desperately needs a fear emotion. It's just not the same without it.
Lets hope the new updates and the new pack brings us some much needed depth for Sims 4 - it would change how I feel about the game A LOT if they pull that off for sure.
Man, this is something that simmers really don't seem to have much realization about. Inflation is definitely an important factor. The EPs have been the same exact price since Sims 1. So for 20 years they've never changed the price to reflect new tech and higher wages. Developers do have to be paid, expenses exist and marketing needs to be done. I play a thirteen year old MMO and their EPs are way higher now than they were in the first couple of years of operation. Most of the other games, particularly triple A games, have a much higher cost now for that kind of thing. And they usually have tiers for special content added to each version of the EP that goes even higher, some over $100.
This is why I feel like the EPs really need to be bumped up by five or ten dollars to expand the budget a little and make them feel worth it. They should have considered this in the first year when players were complaining there wasn't enough in the packs. But I think EA is trying their own version of "microtransactions" by trying to keep the packs affordable, albeit with less in them. I feel like they don't want to make chunky packs anymore, they want to do more smaller and manageable packs that they can whip up faster and sell a lot of.
I would have really liked some underwater gameplay for Mermaids and real diving and cave exploring/spelunking in Island Living. Raising the EP prices might have allowed for this.
For me:
1. Spending 6 hours getting the perfect ear lobe in CAS.
2. Spending a week in Build Mode trying to place one single toilet roll holder on the wall in the downstairs bathroom of that starter home.Perfection is key.
3. Spending an hour staring at a bunch of seagulls walking around on a Brindleton Bay beach.
4. Spending half an hour following a tumbleweed in Strangerville. They sometimes disappear. So do the floating bags in Eco Town.
5. Listening to my busker sim for 15 - 20 minutes straight. Love the Latin songs.
6. Following the maid for a day and see if she really deserves to get paid.
7. Watching my sim sleep at normal speed. In the cheapest bed.
8. Watching the curtains move. They move, did you know?
9. Waiting for the helicopter in Selvadorada to fly over. I love that sound.
10. Exploring the world in cinematic mode. QWEAS from every angle...
I can go on for a lot longer and my sim hasn’t even welcomed their fruitcake neighbors.
I must be the most boring simmer in the world but...hey..once I’m in the game gameplay is gameplay. I sure have a truckload of things I would like to see added to the game. I would like to see certain mechanics get fixed. But I like the updates we’re getting.
Overall this game is plenty enjoyable for me.
So whatever we call The Sims 4 Gameplay...it suits me. Very much so. Happy Simming folks. 😊
Compare The Sims 3: Island Paradise and The Sims 4: Island Living. Google and look at what each pack offered. It's crazy that, for the same price with The Sims 3, you are getting a TON more innovative gameplay. I mean, alone, the thought of having a transportable houseboat that you can not only customize but ride around the whole, huge world was such a great idea. It had so many objects, but they were only the tip of the iceberg, as the pack offered many other things like owning resorts, many different boat types, new build features, a fully interactable underwater experience, and so on.
Packs were just made better, even the ones that weren't as good. I recommend anyone try The Sims 2: Open for Business. It really feels like you are playing a whole separate game when you are managing a shop, within The Sims. It's that well designed, and that's only part of the pack.
I shortened the quote, but this is my general opinion too. There are many things that I want or expected, but I would not have bought so much of the game if there wasn't something I wanted out of the packs or didn't enjoy.
For all that Island Living lacks with content, I still enjoy what comes with it. Similar to City Living, there are unannounced events, or festivals, in Sulani. Sulani has an event everyday of the week that spawns stuff in the open world. If you add the Island Living Lot Traits you will get the full Island Living experience with the volcano. I don't think the conservation career is as one sided as some people say it is. Marine Biologist merfolk can snorkel, and the career tasks do change with the Island's Condition.
The biggest thing that would make Island Living more complete is the creation of underwater lots that are like a counterpart to the island accessible through the bouys. I would want these lots to be like underwater neighborhoods, and I would love to be able to create lots exclusive to the underwater environment. Maybe these could be my own underwater dive spots like a sunken ship or a reef I create.
The cave leads to a few different places, a sunken ship that sinks underwater with the tide, a lagoon with colorful water and sand, a glow bug cave, and a flooded lava tube. I would love to visit those places with my sim, and I think some of them could be outstanding places to visit underwater via the underwater lots. They could actually include something with tides, and because they actually create so many worlds with so much attention to detail, I would buy a game pack that adds things in greater detail than just a simple patch.
I mean, Aliens, Spellcasters, and Vampires have content to literally fill the home with stuff from a themed bassinet and into every life stage, but the content from Island Living isn't merfolk themed as much as it is polynesian themed. That's not a fault, but the content I would prefer for merfolk does appear to be lacking. Merfolk babies don't even get a merfolk themed bassinet like the other occults.
I still choose to play the game because I still enjoy a lot of other content. I don't play the game just for the merfolk, but the presence of merfolk is why I bought the game and chose to support the franchise. Merfolk done at the minimum level of quality is extremely hard to find as playable characters in video games. The closest to what I look for at the minimum was done in Kingdom Hearts 1: Atlantica. Atlantica in Kingdom Hearts 2 was a disappointment.
I have Subnautica for both my Laptop and Playstation 4. I play more video games on my Playstation 4 to preserve space on my Laptop for family photos, school, writing my book, and etc, but the point of mentioning Subnautica is that a sanbox survival game with an open world environment that takes place underwater with greater graphics than sims 4 with an auto save feature exists for every platform I play games on. I know I'm not a programmer, but the minimal amount of content that I want to interact with that would add depth to the game is something that I think should be possible.
Raising the price of EP's is something that I have mixed feelings about. I am aware that it has become more expensive to make games, several studios mentioned this when people started to discuss of the price for new games for the next consoles which are launching soon, some people would like the price for new games to be raised and cost $70 because making games have become more expensive. They make so much DLC, Microtransactions and offer special editions and preorders so that they can cover the massive costs with making a game.
On the other hand, the developers who have said this are studios who are making AAA games where they have invested loads of money into making the games use the latest tech in order to get a game that will sell just because it has so much quality and effort put into it. I don't see that at all in the sims4, they improve the game, but just some yearly updates, otherwise they just keep making DLC.
I would only be okay with them raising the price for EP's if they would have more people work on the game and improve it. Get more teams that make these packs so they will have more time to work on their packs and offer more content. Otherwise we are just giving them more money for the same model that they have used for 6 years.
I had to reread this twice to make sure this wasn't sarcasm. I applaud you for getting your money's worth, but oh my gosh, I could never boot my game up just to watch my Sim sleep in their designated corners for 15 minutes (real time) before switching the view to the same curtains since 2014 swaying from a mysterious draft inside every lot.
For me, The Sims was best when it played like an actual game; a simulator, not too far off from SimCity, Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon, etc. Keeping my Sims alive, finding ways to make or break their success, getting thrown a curveball every so often so I was always left on my toes, etc. The game is too predictable and easy, and in-depth gameplay is almost non-existent.
And I absolutely think they could deliver that while also giving players like @CAPTAIN_NXR7 more visual-oriented details to keep them entertained and having fun.
Should we form a boring simmers group?
Tides are present in all bodies of water. I have seen the High and Low tide of the ocean impact waterways miles inland. This tidal action exposes islands during low tide and submerges them during high tide. There are lots in Island Living that could have a high and low tide and not just waves hitting the shore.
Edit: If my memory serves me, the beach I usually visited had an AM high and low tide followed by a PM high and low tide. Given how time moves for Sims in game, I can see a low or high tide during AM and the other tide in the PM. I mean, the tides actually follow a predictable schedule.
Regardless, this is mostly wishful thinking on my part for future content that I would go into more detail in another thread.
Last edit: Storm Surges are related to tides and cause flooding during tropical weather. Sulani experiences a unique type of weather called monsoons and even though tropical weather causes water near coastal regions to rise, the weather in game has no visible effect on the ocean even though most tropical weather is a product of the earth having oceans.
Sandbox play is only sandbox play when the sandbox actually has sand in it, otherwise you just get, like Sims 4, a very, very pretty box. The sparse lot amounts per world, sparser off-lot elements and growing tendency towards shell buildings and view-only items heavily contribute towards this empty box feeling. There's nothing to do in a lot of the neighbourhood spaces that feels like it contributes anything towards your sims' lives, and you can't build there (without a mod). (Aside from the very important cultural/historical debates, which were and are majorly important, I think some of the above is partially why there was such a blow-back recently against removing the proposed 'bow' interaction from the new shines coming in Snowy Escape. Taking a new interaction away from the items in game when it doesn't feel like there are many new interactions (with new animations, especially!) is extremely disheartening.)
I, for one, am definitely getting a little weary of view-only items: they only occasionally provide my sim with a short-term 'happy' or 'inspired' buff, and that's usually the only thing they do, apart from those aspirations where it's also a goal to look at this item. Once. If I'm going to take my sim around a neighbourhood or off to see a particular item, I'd like a meaningful reason for taking there there. Because if I want to explore the neighbourhood, I can just pan around it with my camera. 'Meaning' for me here could be: I've obtained a collectible that can only be collected in this one hard-to-reach spot in the game; my sim has gained some kind of achievement or special reward for sailing all around the islands in Sulani, or my sim got a special long-term buff that they can only get from doing this one action in this one or two ways. Otherwise, once I've taken a sim to one area of one world and looked around it with them, there's no need for me to ever do it again, so the replay value is extremely low. There's got to be a reason for taking different sims there - and that reason can't only, always, just be 'tick off this one aspiration goal.'
Meaningful gameplay with the sims in particular would be individual sims caring about where they are (and are going), what they're doing and who they're doing it with. The team have been making some strides in the latter point: the sentiments system in SE really looks like it'll affect interpersonal relationships between the sims, but I'll wait to see it in action. I honestly really miss the daily/lifetime relationships of the early Sims games iterations, because those allowed for the natural daily upsets of life without swinging your sims' relationships from one extreme to the other. At the moment in Sims 4, if a sim gets into a fight with a good friend, the two will end up heavily disliking one another, taking the relationship into the red. A few apologies later, and the 'angry' emotion has faded, the relationship has returned to green, and it's like nothing happened at all. That's not meaningful at all. My sims should be able to carry a grudge and remember a fight for longer than a few hours or a handful of apologies and deep conversations - the daily relationship should take a hit, and I should feel motivated, on behalf of my sim, to repair that relationship for them before it too negatively affects their lifetime relationship (unless, of course, I want that sim to lose their friend).
I would like to see sims reacting and interacting more - and autonomously - with their environment. The SE 'hike' activity, where they travel different routes and interact with parts of the environment even we, as the player, don't seem to able to click on, seems pretty interesting! But elaborating more here is a digression, so...
As for sims caring about what they're doing - in Sims 4, they don't, really. There's occasional tense moodlets when a video game enthusiast hasn't played on a computer in a while, or an outdoors-loving sim hasn't been outside, and not much more. The Sims team keeps introducing new activities for sims to do and skills for sims to learn and that's great, honestly it is, but it still feels a little shallow when 90% of the sims in a game can do the exact same activity and level up in it in the exact same way and get the exact same buffs for doing it - and then forget they've even done the activity. There needs to be more differentiation between the behaviours and abilities of sims for this to feel like 'real' gameplay, because then there would be some sort of challenge here, and the feeling that, *although everyone might do the same activity, there might be an endless number of ways to do it.*
And that, for me, really would be a way for Sims 4 to let me 'tell my own story.'
The Sims games as a whole need to strike a fine balance between scripted play and unscripted play to add 'gameplay', and, to me, Sims 4 feels like it's been veering to one side or the other and missing the mark. There are always tasks your sims must do repeatedly - sleep, eat, pay bills, go to work etc. - to provide a base challenge for everyone, but there needs to be spontaneity in the game as well to provide interest and break up the monotony. Strangerville seems to have upset people because it was too scripted, and you accomplished the pack's goals by doing the same thing the same way every time. Replay value comes from the ability to do the same thing numerous different ways. To continue the sandbox metaphor - yes, for this activity there's sand, but to accomplish anything, the only thing the game will allow me to do with it is build a very generic castle. Occasionally, I'd like to be able to advance in the game by sculpting a bungalow. Or a whole fiefdom.
I would rather sit through a loading screen to follow my sim to some places over this, and this isn't the only place like this in all the different packs. I talk about merfolk so much because that's what I play with, but they are hardly exclusive when it comes to stuff like this. In fact, I think they have the least amount of content for the pack they were introduced in.
I would rather go underwater with my sim to see what they see. I would rather follow my sim and find seashells and buried treasure around the underwater lot. I would prefer to use an underwater camera to take my own underwater pictures instead of generating some kind of random image. When I talk about gameplay, when anyone talks about gameplay, it probably has something to do with this.
Possibly they just want to be able to look at a pack and say I don't know what I want to do first. I did that all the time in Sims3 and I next to never have done it in the Sims4, but I have to say that Sims4 is starting to fill out more and that it is better than it was.
Sulani, the so much "nothing to do world".. I make my sims to have lots to do in there, I have a seafood restaurant, nightclub what serves well for weddings too, a spa, very crowded beach what includes pretty much something of every pack I own. I even build EL communitylot there, sims visits all the time to skill, craft, plant , harvest and socialize.
It is my busiest world, also my favorite.
Merfolks, festivals, pretty look.. is just a bonus.
Nuf said --->
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
What super in depth personalities are you talking about? Because I've been playing the game since day one and I'm simply not seeing it.