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RABBITHOLE COMMUNITY LOTS?!

Why… why in the world did EA decide to do this to us? Was it really that hard to make a lot zone for each of the current Rabbithole lot types and let us BUILD OUR OWN?! Not only this, but you cannot go into them or do anything?! What was EA thinking?!

Now, there is next to NOTHING to do in these so-called “worlds” of TS3. At least with TS2, we could build ANYTHING we wanted on our community lots… and now we are all forced in TS3 to use these atrocious, not even pre-made, buildings and which we cannot do ANYTHING with or inside of?!

This needs to be addressed, and fixed – FOR FREE. No more of this leaving things out of the basegame to make more money off of later because that is just not acceptable. I WILL NOT essentially re-buy TS3 again and again because EA got greedier and decided to leave out crucial components like this out of the basegame to make us have to hand over more $50 bills to get them all later! Even TS2 basegame, as I mentioned, allowed you to do ANYTHING in and on your community lots… so why isn’t this true with TS3 as well?

We are not asking for much EA, just bring back lot zoning and put the necessary community lot objects into the basegame like it used to be with TS2 and let us build our own City Halls, Restaurants, Bistros and whatever else we want!

BRING BACK OUR CREATIVITY OF CUSTOM COMMUNITY LOTS! IF YOU AGREE, POST!

Comments

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    amakachaoamakachao Posts: 422 New Member
    edited February 2010
    firstly i agree with you, i wish they would release some differently designed rabbitholes or the "Rugs" that i mention at the bottom of this post.

    but actually... there is such a thing as lot zoning.

    in edit town select a lot. there is a circle for commercial/residential. if you click it, there is a drop down list under community lots for you to change what kind of community lot. such as "beach" "cemetery" "big park" "small park" and some others.

    the rabbitholes are mostly for careers and the difficulty there would be for you to see your sim working in his cubicle with 25 other sims walking around.

    if you want to build your own architecture for the rabbit holes you can stick the rabbithole in the basement like simmer Amoebius did,
    Swallowwing Hospital v1.2

    or you can use these "Rugs" which are the same rabbit holes just using a different 3d object.
    http://www.customsims3.com/smf/index.php/topic,1931.0.html
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    Evergreen226Evergreen226 Posts: 15,600 Member
    edited February 2010
    I like these. Takes less time to make.
    23uvol1.jpg
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    MagnusAveryMagnusAvery Posts: 56 Member
    edited February 2010
    amakachao: I know you can make SOME community lots, but what happened to the restaurants? What happened to the Stores? Libraries? Clubs?

    I'm just saying, we should still be able to make and actually interact inside of them like we used to with TS2.

    But really, TS3 is supposed to be an IMPROVEMENT on TS2, but if you ask me, it is worse. They have decided to take a huge step backward in this aspect of the game by not allowing us to make the above mentioned lots ourselves and further not allowing us to even follow our sims inside.

    If TS3 was an improvement on TS2 as claimed, then we would be able to do all of that PLUS having our Sims's work be completely opened like the community lots in TS2 used to be. Just saying, I think this is completely unreasonable and that EA needs to fix it.


    Evergreen226: I'm happy for you. But, for many Simmers who loved TS2, what we really enjoyed most was the creativity involved in not just the Sims's houses, but their community as well. Sims 3 advertises a "whole new world", but now there is NOTHING in that supposed "whole new world" to do! Just Rabbitholes to disappear into while we stare at the ugly building exteriors... It's just not right. It makes me want to quit playing, on top of the many other reasons I want to do that already - but this one is the strongest motivator for that for me right now. I just can't stand it!
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    rkalanurkalanu Posts: 158 Member
    edited February 2010
    I agree.

    I did have some fun, though, building my own Sims 3 diner around the Food Vendor register from WA along with Mel's rabbithole signs (the rugs amakachao linked look like a better solution). The diner functions pretty much like an open-for-business lot from Sims 2, while retaining the Sims 3 features. It's busy inside, too, at least when an active sim is there.

    If I weren't so utterly bored with the Sims 3, I'd probably try to build other community lots (a school, city hall, and a bookstore, in particular) following that approach.
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    Coffefreak4LifeCoffefreak4Life Posts: 8,082 Member
    edited February 2010
    would you like some cheese with your whine . If you want to quit then quit its that simple . or is this just false outrage to make a point?

    part of the reason they are rabbit holes is to prevent uber lag which i am perfectly fine with .It also allows them to keep requirements down to reach more customers. (a goal for any company)


    The exit is to your left
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    Jarsie9Jarsie9 Posts: 12,714 Member
    edited February 2010
    Why… why in the world did EA decide to do this to us? Was it really that hard to make a lot zone for each of the current Rabbithole lot types and let us BUILD OUR OWN?! Not only this, but you cannot go into them or do anything?! What was EA thinking?!

    Now, there is next to NOTHING to do in these so-called “worlds” of TS3. At least with TS2, we could build ANYTHING we wanted on our community lots… and now we are all forced in TS3 to use these atrocious, not even pre-made, buildings and which we cannot do ANYTHING with or inside of?!

    This needs to be addressed, and fixed – FOR FREE. No more of this leaving things out of the basegame to make more money off of later because that is just not acceptable. I WILL NOT essentially re-buy TS3 again and again because EA got greedier and decided to leave out crucial components like this out of the basegame to make us have to hand over more $50 bills to get them all later! Even TS2 basegame, as I mentioned, allowed you to do ANYTHING in and on your community lots… so why isn’t this true with TS3 as well?

    We are not asking for much EA, just bring back lot zoning and put the necessary community lot objects into the basegame like it used to be with TS2 and let us build our own City Halls, Restaurants, Bistros and whatever else we want!

    BRING BACK OUR CREATIVITY OF CUSTOM COMMUNITY LOTS! IF YOU AGREE, POST!

    I don't agree. And I seriously think you need to stop acting like a spoiled brat by demanding that EA completely restructure a game that's been out for almost a year now, just to keep you happy. You have no grounds to stand on: those of us who have had the game since release day knew exactly what we were getting when we got it, and it wasn't the Sims 2.5. So sorry it took you this long to figure it out, because I note you only recently registered your game.

    Also, somewhere in Redwood Shores, some EA Programmer is sitting in front of his desk, sipping on a high-energy drink, and calling to his fellow programmers to "Get a load of this loser..." and pointing and laughing at your post. Why? because they know that for every person that screams for EA to turn the Sims 3 into the Sims 2.5, there are plenty of others, like myself, who are perfectly happy with the game the way it is, and who want only a few minor tweaks to the game, such as disabling the car pool and maybe reinstating e-mails. And there are actually people out there for whom the Sims 3 is their first ever Sims game and they have absolutely no loyalty to the Sims 2. And those are the people that EA will now go after, if they have any common sense.

    So, here's my solution to your problem. Quietly uninstall the game, throw it in trash, and reinstall your Sims 2 games. Then you can be happy playing the game you're used to playing your way. But, if you continue along the lines where you *demand* EA meet your needs for free...well, I'm afraid I'm just going to have to join those EA programmers who are now gathered around this one dude (or dudette's) computer monitor and pointing and laughing at your little display of temper.
    EA Marketing Department Motto:
    "We Don't Care If You LIKE The Game, Just As Long As You BUY The Game!"
    B)
    I Disapprove (Naturally)
    I Took The Pledge!
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    Renyc7Renyc7 Posts: 1,167 Member
    edited February 2010
    I believe eventually they will open up the rabbitholes but not for free as you are demanding. Thought expansion packs they will open them up. Frankly I'm bored with the game as well, and would like to see my sims have a social life as well as see them at work too.
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    asheslove85asheslove85 Posts: 104
    edited February 2010
    yeah i wish there werent any rabbitholes and i hope they take them away maybe in the expansions hopefully :D ...

    haha oh and Jarsie9, go ahead and state your opinion, but i suggest you do it in more mature manner... instead of griping about someone elses opinion, maybe you should take your attitude some else wheres hun ;)
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    peaceloveharmonypeaceloveharmony Posts: 6,824 Member
    edited February 2010
    I agree with you... although there are certain rabbitholes which I don't think are necessary and would just slow the game down. I don't really want to see my sims at work or school. I think they should open up the bistro or something more along those lines. It would be ideal if they gave you an option to maybe turn on/off certain rabbitholes. So those who do want rabbitholes or their computer cannot run it, don't need to open them up.
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    Jarsie9Jarsie9 Posts: 12,714 Member
    edited February 2010
    People need to realise that those rabbit holes aren't going anywhere. They're too much a part of the game. You can get jobs at certain rabbitholes, buy groceries, learn skills, and sometimes fulfill quests at them. So, what you are requesting would require a complete rewrite of the entire game code. EA is not about to do that.

    The most that you can expect will be items and certain new interactions that are attached to those items to make it possible for you to open your own restaurant/casino/bowling alley, what have you. So, you'll have to choose betwen adding more houses to your neighborhood or adding more community lots.

    EA is trying to work with what is already in place. I think you'll see the ability to create the kinds of community lots you want in coming expansion packs, but asking for the rabbitholes to be opened up isn't really an option.
    EA Marketing Department Motto:
    "We Don't Care If You LIKE The Game, Just As Long As You BUY The Game!"
    B)
    I Disapprove (Naturally)
    I Took The Pledge!
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    rkalanurkalanu Posts: 158 Member
    edited February 2010
    @jarsie9, I agree that the rabbitholes in the two default neighborhoods are there to stay. I don't agree, though, that the rabbitholes "aren't going anywhere". In future expansion packs, EA will provide new neighborhoods that function without rabbitholes.

    EA has *already* started to do away with the need for rabbitholes with the cash register object introduced in WA. The registers at least provide the goods and services function of the rabbitholes. The tie-in with careers and skills isn't there yet, but it isn't hard to see how these might be introduced as well. EA is moving in this direction because it's required for any sort of "open for business" type expansion.

    As for the belief that opening up the rabbitholes would lag the game, well, it depends on the way they're opened, and how many sims you allow on the lot at the same time, and how many complex interactions you allow within the workplace. If they reasonably limit interactions it's certainly doable. An extreme example would be the chef at the stove in "open for business". He wasn't functioning as a sim, really, while he was cooking. It could be the same for students at their desks, and office workers in their cubbyholes. That would add essentially zero lag to the game. There could be interactions that are limited to isolated spots within the workplace (the cafeteria, the break room, the water cooler...)

    And this wouldn't require "a complete rewrite of the entire game code". Consider that modders are hacking in new sliders and tabs in CAS and rugs and signs that reproduce the rabbithole functions on player-built lots, and they've completely replaced the game's story progression by attaching new scripts. And all of this is being done with add-on package files- without modifying the game's core code at all, in most cases.

    EA just needs to introduce a few more objects to replace the rabbitholes, and nearly all of the new code would be attached to these new objects.
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    PandemoniumPandemonium Posts: 1
    edited February 2010
    I want to agree how lame it is that there are so many buildings you can't go in. Games in a series should IMPROVE and become more advanced... so why is it in the old Sims games I could go in the restaurants (or build my own), Spa, etc. but in this game I have to stare at the outside of a building? I keep hoping they intend to make the inside of these buildings open through expansion packs. Otherwise this is a huge disappointment.
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    SammidysamSammidysam Posts: 133
    edited February 2010
    I want to agree how lame it is that there are so many buildings you can't go in. Games in a series should IMPROVE and become more advanced... so why is it in the old Sims games I could go in the restaurants (or build my own), Spa, etc. but in this game I have to stare at the outside of a building? I keep hoping they intend to make the inside of these buildings open through expansion packs. Otherwise this is a huge disappointment.
    You realize that places you could go in in The Sims 2 were in an expansion pack - Nightlife. Not in the base game, though I think most people would get The Sims 2 Double Deluxe, I think it is, but still, atleast in the BASE Sims 3 you can go inside community lots freely.
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    MASuncat87MASuncat87 Posts: 12
    edited February 2010
    Ok..I don't get it people WANTED to see their Sims go to work and school and that is what they gave us now people are complaining about it. Anyone realize how difficult it would be to see your sims go through a school day with 100 other sims, watch them give birth or in an office with 25-50 more sims?

    I am sure there's a way you can eventually make a dinner,club or shopping center all you have to is when you make a community lot change it to what type of community lot you want then you may be able to chose if you can work there or not so its not a rabbit hole. Maybe we can do something like that now?

    rabbit holes are a pain but least you can see your Sim drive to work and school or drive to the hospital to have a baby.

    At first I wasn't sure about sims 3 but after learning more about it and exploring the game more I actually like it better and think it runs much smoother and looks more realistic.

    pleas let us have pets and weather :)
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    asheslove85asheslove85 Posts: 104
    edited February 2010
    well yeah but being able to see them inside is the fun of it... i mean i dont think anyone expected rabbitholes in the game.. i sure didnt. i didnt even know what it was before. But when i found out they were able to go to work, and school i thought yay i get to see them working, not yay i get to see the outside of the building, but when i got it i was disapointed. i love everything else about the sims 3, Now im just hoping the rabbitholes will go away.

    Oh and the shopping center and bookstore ect, should already have opened in the base game as not being rabbitholes. and the resturants hopefully they will let us see inside in the future, and be able to own any type of shop or resturant, maybe even the jobs.

    Hope for no more rabbitholes! <3
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    rkalanurkalanu Posts: 158 Member
    edited February 2010
    Anyone realize how difficult it would be to see your sims go through a school day with 100 other sims, watch them give birth or in an office with 25-50 more sims?

    It's not that bad. I can track the population of my town and the number of sims per rabbithole with twallan's Supercomputer mod, and in a town I've played since last June, I have a total population 125 sims. Of these, there are anywhere from 5 to 20 sims are present per rabbithole, except for the school- that one's got all the children and teens in the community inside, roughly 1/5th to 1/4 of the total population in my town. That would be cut in half if the school were separated into primary and secondary schools.

    If the interactions within a school or workplace were limited, opening up a rabbithole wouldn't have a terrible effect on game speed (think of the protest gatherings in front of city hall- lots of sims, but not much interaction between them, so not much lag). A party on a lot with 8 sims and 10 guests would be a lot more computationally intensive than the average limited-interaction open rabbithole. And the rabbithole would actually only be open when the player was looking inside.
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    rkalanurkalanu Posts: 158 Member
    edited March 2010
    Looks like the Ambitions expansion pack may address this, since they claim we can control sim interactions at work now.
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    BreeSashaBreeSasha Posts: 644 Member
    edited March 2010
    I'm not sure how far EA will take this. If we can follow your sims on these new jobs, what about the old jobs that came with the base game. Can we follow them to the business building or hospital? We need more details before we can assume that EA is really gonna let us see them at work.
    Check out my Youtube channel where I create life simulation gaming videos including content about the Sims 4! MellowGamerChick YT
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    MagnusAveryMagnusAvery Posts: 56 Member
    edited March 2010
    Coffefreak4Life: Excuse me, but I didn’t realize it was a crime to express any negative feelings I have for this game and EA itself. I was under the impression that this, more or less, was what this particular section of the forums were for – or at least, partially for given the thousands of others who’ve done the same as I have: expressed an opinion!

    But you know what? It wouldn’t matter a single iota. The game would still run the same regardless of if we had completely open community lots – so that theory is totally bunk.

    And no, I’m not going to “quit” – I paid a hard-earned $50 for this rattrap and by God I’ll be playing my money’s worth (well, not really, but you get the gist).

    Jarsie9: How does expressing my opinions about the atrocious decisions of EA make me a “spoiled brat”? No really, I want to know. And you know, I did not come in here to be personally attacked and I do not deserve that from you or anybody else. So please, in future stop trolling to bait people into petty, pointless arguments over AN OPINION meant for EA and others of a like-mind!

    Regardless, and as I have already told the other person I was merely expressing MY OPINIONS and seeking out others who share them. So pardon the hell out of me for doing so, but perhaps next time also, if you don’t like people doing that, stay away from threads you know you aren’t going to like, or indeed agree with – that’s what the titles are for, do you read before you click?!

    By the way, congratulations on your liking the game just as it is, you’re one of the few. I, on the other hand, as I no doubt do not need to explain to you, don’t. Furthermore, I am well within my rights to “gripe” and “whine” about what I don’t like. How else would they set the record straight in future without any feedback?

    Let me ask you this though, when you buy a product and your expect THAT SAME product, but a company sends you something else, or similar, but it is NOT that SAME product, do you or do you not DEMAND an exchange, or indeed a refund? I’m sure you do, and so this is no different than that! The right thing for EA to do would be to REMOVE the rabbitholes and give us the OPTION of building our OWN community lots, which used to be the said rabbit holes – in a game update. It’s not that hard or so gross of a request/demand for EA to follow through on.

    And as per your statements that we all new about the rabbitholes before we bought the game: I certainly wasn’t expecting rabbitholes, and I’m sure the majority of the TS3 base wasn’t either – so no, we did not “know what we were getting into”, and the fact that our community lots were the apply named “rabbitholes” was never advertised at all, otherwise I’m sure many other’s like me would NEVER have bought it at all.

    To take this even further, and as I have again already said, TS3 is supposed to be an improvement of TS2 (2.5 as you called it), and because of this it most certainly ISN’T – and that is fact. They might as well have called this Sims 1.5, because that would be a more honest assessment as all they have done is improve graphics and animations, but took huge steps backwards in actual game-play!

    So sorry you don’t agree with me or my statements of opinion and fact, but that’s not my problem and I would ask you again to please stop trying to troll on those who disagree with your opinions – because it is highly childish and name-calling is so 2nd grade, please grow up and get a decent set of manners!




    As per people insisting the Sims 3 isn’t the Sims 2: duh! I realize this, but again, there were NO rabbitholes in Sims 1, or Sims 2 – so why in the world would they decide to get lazy and do away with what we always had in the Sims basegames like this? Surely they knew it would tick most of the Simmers off!
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    deathquakerdeathquaker Posts: 42
    edited March 2010
    Looks like "Ambitions" will probably open up some of the Rabbit Holes. Or hopefully at least the Architecture path will allow people to customize their own, which will be an improvement. Maybe not what everyone wants, but an improvement nonetheless.
    the restaurants? What happened to the Stores? Libraries? Clubs?

    We've never gotten restaurants and nightclubs in a Sims base game--we didn't get them until three expansion packs in with the original game (Hot Date came after Livin Large and House Party), and not until two expansions in with Sims 2 (Nightlife came after University). I imagine if clubs and restaurants don't show up in "Ambitions" (and they might, since it might go with the Architecture path and maybe some other paths), they'll show up in EP3.

    WA allows you to build stores. Set your lot to "Community Lot - Store" or whatever and plonk in a cash register.

    And Libraries came with the base game and are NOT Rabbitholes. There's one each in Sunset Valley and in Riverview, and you can build your own by setting your lot to "Community Lot - Library" -- and hopefully in that lot you would then build a building with a lot of bookshelves in it. :)

    I can understand the frustration at not being able to see into some of the lots. In the specific case of the bookstore, spa, and grocery store, it does feel like a downgrade for those of us who had those in previous games. At the same time--I can kind of see an argument for making them into rabbitholes, because--you walk in, you click on the register, you buy a book. Does it require all that rendering? Mind, I DO personally prefer just to see the store's interior (and again, that's already been rectified in WA), but I can see why with the core game they might have simplified it.

    The Career Rabbitholes are actually MORE than what we got in the previous games. Before, when our Sims went to School or a standard job that wasn't an OFB personally owned business, they just disappeared into the carpool. The fact that we now see where they go, where it is in the neighboorhood, that actually adds something we never had before. Would it be nice if there were more? Yeah. But it's more than we had.

    Now, if only they made an expansion pack where you COULD see inside your Sim's workplace.... oh. :)

    And again, I imagine only more will be added as time goes on and more complicated options can be implemented. I'd say patience is a virtue, but I imagine my words will be wasted. :)
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