In addition to all of the above, here's a few things I miss:
1. Animated clocks
2. Doorbells
3. Two seater framed wooden patio swing w/cushions. It had a romantic mood option if I remember correctly. When I wanted to get two Sims together, I always tried to get them to sit on it together. I think it was in TS1, but TS2 might've had it too. All my Sims lots had one.
4. Bunnies that could get in your garden if you didn't put a fence around it.
5. Military obstacle course career reward object
6. RC Toy cars
7. Toy Sailboat Rental Kiosk. Kids could rent one and sail it on a little pond.
8. Static electricity shock animation. Kids could drag their feet on a rug and then zap other Sims by touching them.
9. Dinner table romantic animations. i.e., Footsie, Proposals, holding hands
10. Surprise gifts for a great date. i.e., Flowers, a love letter in the mail, or even a big screen TV!
11. Pet fish and the need/animation to feed them.
12. Electro Dance Sphere. So funny seeing Sims get thrown out of those things! Cool when they sometimes got abducted by aliens while using it too!
I could write a monster list of things I miss, but I'll stop here.
I just installed the sims 3 again this evening since I was feeling nostalgic and I forgot how nice the open world was, omg. You can send your child sim on a playdate after school, check in on them briefly, and then just zoom back over to the main house, all without a loading screen!
Also you have to make your sims bed in the morning. I love little details like that.
This is a small simple thing I don't often if ever see mentioned, but I miss so much the sewing machine from S2. I enjoyed having my stay-at-home moms make their kids clothes. The knitting pack is cool, I enjoy having my sim knit her kids and husband sweaters, but it doesn't go far enough. I'm sure this is so obscure most people have probably forgotten it existed, haha, but I do miss it.
It's a staple in any build that has room for it, along with the pottery wheel. TS2 also has a large model railroad layout that not only lets you run the train but can build on.
From TS1: the wandering sax player in that community lot area, the little pond where you could sail little boats and feed fish, the shack where you got the boats and fish food, the functioning picnic baskets from said shack, hot dog carts with attendant, the food counters with attendants that offered ice cream/pastries/hot dogs, burgers, etc - a different counter for each type, the chemistry set, the ability to put the burglar alarm *outside* the house
Click on a sim & they could jump rope, food processor, sinks/stoves/counters/toilets/showers that need cleaning, neat sims clean windows, if appliances/electronics/plumbing breaks/clogs sims can attempt repair with appropriate tool -boosts mechanical skill. What the others have said. The bed actions are also available in TS2. Speaking of buying as some above were, how about actually needing to restock the fridge, and if a sim wants more than 1 outfit in a category actually needs to go to a store.
I actually don't miss babies that you could carry around. I am still semi-traumatized from one Sims 2 outing where the Tinkers came along as guests. We had a fun time at the bowling alley, it was time to go, and the taxi cab pulled up RUNNING OVER THE TINKERS' NEWBORN BABY WHO HAD BEEN LYING IN THE ROAD THE ENTIRE OUTING without anyone noticing or apparently caring. She was not harmed by the taxi cab, but I was.
Happy to have the nooboos stay in the bassinet till they're toddlers, thanks.
I miss quite a bit from Sims 2, and a bit from Sims 3 as well, even though I didn't play Sims 3 as much.
Sims 2: Miss the teens doing the thing in the shower where they act like pirates depending on their personality.
Hobbies for Sims, as well as the game play it brought. The interactions between kids and adults when they played was adorable in that pack.
The ability to have as many lots in a town as you wished, also the custom neighborhoods you could make. (I like Sims 4 giving you all the worlds, and linking them, but I miss that.)
Want and Fears, and the randomness of the game play. I don't always want to micromanage my Sims, and random events spiced up the game play without having to do to much to force it.
Knowledge Sims, they were hilarious, because they wanted to be struck by lightning, see ghosts, and other bizarre things.
Where your Sims basically had to earn being part of a supernatural group, like befriending the leader of the pack to become a werewolf. Befriending a good/bad witch to become a witch, etc.
There are others from Sims 2 but the list would be too long.
For Sims 3, I miss the ability to create a Sim with detail. I miss being able to decide on hair color from root to tip, and other functions of CAS. We didn't have a lot of clothes, but the color wheel and patterns more than made up for it.
The horses in Sims 3 pets, I would love to see them back in Sims 4/
The werewolf class and fairy class from supernatural.
The in-depth game play of some the worlds.
I would've played Sims 3 more, but my computer couldn't handle it, so didn't play it as much.
The toy oven. Fairies and their tiny house. The Sims 3 merry go round and roller coaster. Teens throwing parties when parents are out of town Necter making and Sims 3 pizza oven.
Last night I was playing a Master Vampire who was working on ranking up to Grand Master. His energy got so low that he had to actually sleep in his coffin. I had forgotten that in Sims 2 someone could peek in a sleeping Vampire's coffin. His teenage son was in his bedroom playing a video game so I checked to see if he could take a peek. Sadly, there was no such option. There are so many things missing from Sims 4 that should have come in from Sims 1 and Sims 2. Everything in the OP for sure. I'd also include the polar bear rug from Sims 1.
The "Invite Household" option, and parents coming to collect their children from your house if they were out too late. Oh, and the "Make Bed" option - I loved those little details.
There were just so many pre-made lots in TS3!! After playing again for the first time in years last night, it really made me realize how bland the pre-made lots in TS4 feel. There are fire stations, junkyards, restaurants, beaches where you can swim in the ocean, cemeteries, actual buildings for every career, a spa, grocery store, etc. And yes 50% of them were rabbit holes but still so fun to be able to follow your sim places and give them so much more to do just around their own town. Also all the houses are actually real and editable - none of that fake scenery like in TS4. I love the ease of the “build on this lot” cheat too, I know you can enable free build on TS4 but there are so many places that just aren’t editable
Omg, slow dancing, and I think I remember begging for it for a few years in Sims 3. Gah! This is so watered down, in Sims 2 the romantic animations were so cute and not watered down. The slow dancing hasn't been as good as Sims 2, period.
In my house, dog hair sticks to everything but the dog.
The arched western driveway sign from TS1
The mechanical bull
The lips loveseat
The flat wall counter that you could put things underneath but still use as a kitchen counter
The way the horns on the moose head and the eyes on paintings would follow you
Comments
1. Animated clocks
2. Doorbells
3. Two seater framed wooden patio swing w/cushions. It had a romantic mood option if I remember correctly. When I wanted to get two Sims together, I always tried to get them to sit on it together. I think it was in TS1, but TS2 might've had it too. All my Sims lots had one.
4. Bunnies that could get in your garden if you didn't put a fence around it.
5. Military obstacle course career reward object
6. RC Toy cars
7. Toy Sailboat Rental Kiosk. Kids could rent one and sail it on a little pond.
8. Static electricity shock animation. Kids could drag their feet on a rug and then zap other Sims by touching them.
9. Dinner table romantic animations. i.e., Footsie, Proposals, holding hands
10. Surprise gifts for a great date. i.e., Flowers, a love letter in the mail, or even a big screen TV!
11. Pet fish and the need/animation to feed them.
12. Electro Dance Sphere. So funny seeing Sims get thrown out of those things! Cool when they sometimes got abducted by aliens while using it too!
I could write a monster list of things I miss, but I'll stop here.
Happy Simming!
Also you have to make your sims bed in the morning. I love little details like that.
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/924539/features-that-needs-depth-and-ways-to-improve
It's a staple in any build that has room for it, along with the pottery wheel. TS2 also has a large model railroad layout that not only lets you run the train but can build on.
From TS1: the wandering sax player in that community lot area, the little pond where you could sail little boats and feed fish, the shack where you got the boats and fish food, the functioning picnic baskets from said shack, hot dog carts with attendant, the food counters with attendants that offered ice cream/pastries/hot dogs, burgers, etc - a different counter for each type, the chemistry set, the ability to put the burglar alarm *outside* the house
TS3 unicorns
Happy to have the nooboos stay in the bassinet till they're toddlers, thanks.
Sims 2: Miss the teens doing the thing in the shower where they act like pirates depending on their personality.
Hobbies for Sims, as well as the game play it brought. The interactions between kids and adults when they played was adorable in that pack.
The ability to have as many lots in a town as you wished, also the custom neighborhoods you could make. (I like Sims 4 giving you all the worlds, and linking them, but I miss that.)
Want and Fears, and the randomness of the game play. I don't always want to micromanage my Sims, and random events spiced up the game play without having to do to much to force it.
Knowledge Sims, they were hilarious, because they wanted to be struck by lightning, see ghosts, and other bizarre things.
Where your Sims basically had to earn being part of a supernatural group, like befriending the leader of the pack to become a werewolf. Befriending a good/bad witch to become a witch, etc.
There are others from Sims 2 but the list would be too long.
For Sims 3, I miss the ability to create a Sim with detail. I miss being able to decide on hair color from root to tip, and other functions of CAS. We didn't have a lot of clothes, but the color wheel and patterns more than made up for it.
The horses in Sims 3 pets, I would love to see them back in Sims 4/
The werewolf class and fairy class from supernatural.
The in-depth game play of some the worlds.
I would've played Sims 3 more, but my computer couldn't handle it, so didn't play it as much.
The mechanical bull
The lips loveseat
The flat wall counter that you could put things underneath but still use as a kitchen counter
The way the horns on the moose head and the eyes on paintings would follow you
Amen on this! My #1 pet peeve with TS4.