On Rabbitholes...

Metamorp

My thoughts on them,

I remember when I first loaded up The Sims 3, I was filled with joy to find out that I had an entire world at my disposal to explore! Free of all loading screens! After setting up my house, the first thing I did was take my Sim down to the diner to grab a bite. When my Sim walked in, I was expecting for the walls to drop down, and I would see a lovely little 1950's styled diner with a bar, tables, chairs and a cook frying up greasy delights... But that didn't occur!

I couldn't figure out why all I was seeing is a greyed out little box. I tried zooming in and out but it didn't seem to work! I was convinced that something went wrong, so I exited the game and tried again. The darn thing wasn't working! I then tried the supermarket and the bookstore, all was the same! That is when I found out about rabbitholes, and I really did feel like crying! (not really)..

One of my favourite things to do in the Sims 1 and 2 was to go to community lots and explore! Visiting the restaurants, mingling with the Sims, watching them do foolish things and laughing all the way. Unfortunately, that just doesn't occur in The Sims 3. Atleast it /has/ gotten better, we do have more community lots to explore now, and I am thankful that EA didn't "rabbitize" everything.

I'm guessing that the reason is technical limitations, or something that the game engine in The Sims 3 just can't preform. Now that I know a bit more about the game, I like to think that having all of those lots open would probably create a routing-hell for all of us.

I'm hoping that in The Sims 4, that will all change! I'm hoping to once again have the open supermarkets, and have the lovely little restaurants and bookshops that we once had!

I really could care less about my Sims workplace, however. I know a lot of players really want to see inside the schools and office buildings, but I really do think that would be quite boring.. Sure, it would be neat to watch your Sim click about on the computer or teach a classroom as a teacher, but I like to imagine that would get old fast!! Atleast having the option to see inside the workplace would be neat, but I really can't see much of a gameplay value there!

Solstice401

I agree.
I desprately miss the open restaurants with hosts, waiters and chefs.

Erpe

Unfortunately it was part of the price that we had to pay for the huge open neighborhood. I found the price way too high and therefore saw it as a mistake to give us the open neighborhood already in the Sims 3.

But I agree that EA should open up some of those rabbitholes again in the Sims 4. (I don't think that EA can or should remove the open neighborhood again though because people have now become used to it.) Our computers are better now so EA should be able to reduce the price for the open neighborhood in the Sims 4.

Sk8rblaze

Erpe wrote:

Unfortunately it was part of the price that we had to pay for the huge open neighborhood. I found the price way too high and therefore saw it as a mistake to give us the open neighborhood already in the Sims 3.

But I agree that EA should open up some of those rabbitholes again in the Sims 4. (I don't think that EA can or should remove the open neighborhood again though because people have now become used to it.) Our computers are better now so EA should be able to reduce the price for the open neighborhood in the Sims 4.

This. I don't think we were ready for an open world in TS3.

Anyway, if I wanted to stare at buildings, I would play SimCity. Will Wright created The Sims to focus on these creatures themselves rather than the city they live in. Bringing rabbit holes in the game just showed how out of touch these developers were with the franchise in one way of many, many ways.

I would like to see work places opened, but it's understandable if I don't see them in TS4. I do expect everything else to be completely opened and functional if it is in the game even with the open world. Now they should be able to do this.

Anavastia

Well maybe something can be done to offer my open venues in a open world but with smaller more focused neighborhood.

I really do feel neighborhoods need to be just that with maybe a theme and about 2 to 3 open venues. With variety attached you can have a suburban hood that has a grocers, an arcade, a bar, and a small family restaurant. You got to the next neighborhood (mind you not town but neighborhood) and you see more of a downtown look tall buildings a theater, malls, night clubs, a gym. You can travel to a more urban area and may find graffiti, but there is a art studio, pizza place, dance studio, and a hair salon/tatoo parlor. Then players can start too create their own special them neighborhoods too add one but you can connect these hoods and move into them when you want and visit them when you want and walk around them when you live in them or jog etc. Might be some load screens, but you aren't confined to one map, and you can travel and experience all the different expansion themes.

Sk8rblaze

Anavastia wrote:

Well maybe something can be done to offer my open venues in a open world but with smaller more focused neighborhood.

I really do feel neighborhoods need to be just that with maybe a theme and about 2 to 3 open venues. With variety attached you can have a suburban hood that has a grocers, an arcade, a bar, and a small family restaurant. You got to the next neighborhood (mind you not town but neighborhood) and you see more of a downtown look tall buildings a theater, malls, night clubs, a gym. You can travel to a more urban area and may find graffiti, but there is a art studio, pizza place, dance studio, and a hair salon/tatoo parlor. Then players can start too create their own special them neighborhoods too add one but you can connect these hoods and move into them when you want and visit them when you want and walk around them when you live in them or jog etc. Might be some load screens, but you aren't confined to one map, and you can travel and experience all the different expansion themes.

Similar to sub-hoods? I really hope they're able to bring them back straying away from whatever TS3 had causing us to lose our sims, corrupt saves, crash, etc.

Anavastia

Sk8rblaze wrote:

Anavastia wrote:

Well maybe something can be done to offer my open venues in a open world but with smaller more focused neighborhood.

I really do feel neighborhoods need to be just that with maybe a theme and about 2 to 3 open venues. With variety attached you can have a suburban hood that has a grocers, an arcade, a bar, and a small family restaurant. You got to the next neighborhood (mind you not town but neighborhood) and you see more of a downtown look tall buildings a theater, malls, night clubs, a gym. You can travel to a more urban area and may find graffiti, but there is a art studio, pizza place, dance studio, and a hair salon/tatoo parlor. Then players can start too create their own special them neighborhoods too add one but you can connect these hoods and move into them when you want and visit them when you want and walk around them when you live in them or jog etc. Might be some load screens, but you aren't confined to one map, and you can travel and experience all the different expansion themes.

Similar to sub-hoods? I really hope they're able to bring them back straying away from whatever TS3 had causing us to lose our sims, corrupt saves, crash, etc.

Kind of yes they'd be open neighborhoods still just not open towns like sims 3. You can have a larger map with this and more personalized neighborhoods. I just think it'll bring more life to sims and less stress on the hardware. Of course their will be load screens but nothing as harsh as it was in 2.

You know with all these expansions it takes a good 5 to 6 minutes right now for me to make it past the first load screen then 10 minutes to load up the second. If i travel out the map to another the same. So o.o honestly right now i don't feel i got away from the load screens lol.

Bluercoket94

I think there should be not rabbitholes or building shells at all for the Sims 4. Rabbitholes were so boring and are easy for EA to avoid making any detail of the inside of the building. I just hate when my sim goes in and you cannot see the great things that are supposedly happening. They shouldn't allow rabbitholes because I think it will be fun to see all the actions happening at work. Like sleeping in the closet at work and no one noticing. However, even if they do remove rabbitholes there still has to be an aspect where the sim walks into a room and the player cannot follow, which I understand, I don't want to see my sim performing surgery (and that will force EA to move the rating from T to M for the game if the whole building work place is see-able. But I will still like to walk in and make the sim do what I want them to do, like take a longer than usually bathroom break or go around and talk to coworkers than doing work.
Also, I said they should not have any building shells as well, this is because I feel the sims games is a game that makes the player be creative to go crazy and build the world they want. By creating building shells it feels as though EA is trying to limit the player and force them to stay in the boundaries they set. Although you can build out of those limits it just seems weird and not natural. Just look at Bridgeport no matter how many worlds are city based all will look pretty much the same because they are all using the same building shells to create that sky line. I suggest they don't build any build shells for Sims 4 and allow simmers to build very tall buildings and to create unique and different buildings.

Erpe

In TS2 the schoolbus just drove off the map and disappeared. In TS3 the school is visible as a building (rabbithole). What is the difference? Was the TS2 way better?

Ifreshyeh

Erpe wrote:

In TS2 the schoolbus just drove off the map and disappeared. In TS3 the school is visible as a building (rabbithole). What is the difference? Was the TS2 way better?

See, that's what I was thinking. If anything, I believe that the simmers that moved onto TS3 were spoiled a little bit on some things. (Yes, even me.) We've come to just expect some things, which is normal. But what I often see is the nostalgic mist fall over someone's eyes and they go on about how TS2 was the greatest game in the world, it had no faults, whatsoever, yada yada yada. And sometimes they play it regularly and still let the mist fall upon them. I admit though, I sometimes feel in certain ways I like TS2 more than TS3, the only difference is I play it regularly. In fact, I just got the Freetime EP. I'm still dealing with the bugs that came with the last 2 EP's.

My point is just that they had to sacrifice some things for TS3 to be an open world. Was it a wise decision? No, but they did have to sacrifice something. It could have been worse. Rabbithole houses (for neighbors) anyone?

But nonetheless, if they have been focusing well enough on the base game engine, we could have an better, open world. However, I don't think at all that they will remove all rabbitholes. If anything, I feel strongly that they will come back, but just certain ones, and I don't mind that. I, along with many others, want there to be school and work rabbitholes. If you've ever tried to manage more than 1 sim, the ambition and Showtime careers were a nightmare. Eventually I start a family, and they can't have those careers anymore. So I and some others think and want those rabbitholes to come back.

ncmonkey01

PLEASE EA LISTEN!!!!!!!
NO MORE RABBIT HOLES!!!!

Ha! Bet that (didn't) catch their attention!

I completely agree-even if it means Sims 4 comes out later, it'd mean soooo much to us if you went to the bother of designing the restaurants,grocery stores and book shops! How cute would it be to go down lil' isles with your sims and pick out apples and stuff?!

Metamorp

Erpe wrote:

In TS2 the schoolbus just drove off the map and disappeared. In TS3 the school is visible as a building (rabbithole). What is the difference? Was the TS2 way better?

That is true! Atleast some thought went into it however! Sims actually boarded the school bus, you could see them walk on, wave to the driver and seat themself. Now all they do is magically teleport into the bus and vanish within the school.

I couldn't care much if buildings such as the schools and certain workplaces (like the Office, City Hall, Science Lab, Military Base, Stadium, Hospital) were rabbitholes.

As stated above, it is extremely difficult to manage Sims at work. Not to mention, it would be hard to keep track of them (knowing how Sims seem to have the minds of monkeys at times).

However, my idea for the other buildings would be open and limitless. Even if the buildings were shells, just having the ability to see within certain structures would be key!

The only problem is Sims who would work within those buildings (for example, if the restaurant was open, where would the cook go?). That's why I thought perhaps having a magical door for your working Sim to walk into would be something that I would accept for a career. As long as the rest of the restaurant (kitchen, dining room, etc) was open, I would be totally cool with a rabbithole door placed somewhere just for Sims to enter if they worked there.