I like certain things about Island Living, and it does add some stuff to the game, but not enough to call it an expansion nor for asking a price this high. It should have been a Game Pack as best, and even then there are game packs that added more gameplay than IL does. So overall disappointed with what I got for the price and that this is called an "expansion" which means we won't get a new one for a while, but I will play with it nevertheless.
I played 30 minutes and haven't played since... nothing to do!
More to do than in seasons....
Because seasons should have came with ocean swimming, suntanning, lounge chairs and pool floaties. Then they could have focused a bit more on interactive gameplay in island Living.
If I am not mistaken those basic things were in Sims 3 seasons.
I'm having trouble getting into it. I feel like I've already done everything that the pack offers in my first day of gameplay.
I feel this is easily the weakest expansion pack they have released so far in terms of gameplay and it is even weaker than most of the game packs in this regard which is alarming. And that makes me quite sad and not very hopeful about Realm of Magic.
I think it depends on what you consider "gameplay". I have been playing every day since this pack dropped and I still have tons of things to do.
Plus I just genuinely love what I have already done. Spending every day snorkeling, free diving for seashells and doing yoga in the evenings... (who me? Jealous of my Sims? Nah...)
huh It is very clear fun is subjective because watching my sim swim around a buoy, watching bubble as they dive and then watching them finish the evening with yoga...I need more going on in my game for entertainment.
Apparently so.
I loathe interactive careers ( working from home I can deal with, but doctor or scientist? It's soooooo frustrating after awhile).
I also enjoy them doing similar tasks as snorkeling. Which is all the tasks.
I still don't get why snorkeling is wrongfully percieved as a "rabbit hole" when you have the exact same interactivity there as literally all other tasks. You can describe every action in the game like you describe snorkeling: workout? Check. Jogging? Check. Cooking? Check. Swimming in a pool? Check. Karaoke? Check.
Clearly those referring to snorkeling as a rabbit hole are talking about diving. You know that, you’re just trying to play semantic games with it.
Snorkeling is just as thrilling as diving tho. Your sim swims around a small area and pop up’s tell you what they find. I mean at least they don’t disappear but it’s not like snorkeling is a super exciting activity that adds so many dimensions to the game. It’s like a different form of jogging, and I don’t consider that very entertaining to watch given the repetition in just one play through.
So two things:
1. If you first try to correct me then say you don't find a reasonable difference, then your correction is pointless.
2. Why play the Sims if the default-for-all-interractions is boring to you? And has been in all Sims games, 1-4?
What exactly is “default for all”? This is an expansion pack and it should provide a hefty amount of *NEW* gameplay, *NEW* features, and new stuff. Snorkeling is supposedly one of the new gameplay features of this pack and I said it’s about as thrilling as going for a jog. Clearly you aren’t understanding what I’m saying. Whether that’s intentional or not, I don’t really know or care.
I corrected you because you were trying to create an argument based off your own misunderstanding. I’m not trying to get into a game of semantics with you, just clearing up some misinformation you are so gleefully spreading even though you knew what they meant. Other poster thinks I can read minds, no, I can read text on this website.
I really would like you to clarify a bit on that second bullet. It sounds like you are putting words on my mouth on that and I would like more details about what you mean before I respond to it. @Beardedgeek
ETA: @keekee53 you make such an excellent point with the interactive vs skill based gameplay!! You took the words right out of my mouth.
Again, you seem to have an extremely odd expectation for the pack.
And you obviously misunderstood me. What I mean with "like all other interactions" is that's the same TYPE of interactions. To work out you click on the workout equipment and wait for 10 minutes while the sim cycles an animation. Same with gardening. Or diving. Or cooking. Or watching tv.
But for some reason you single out this pack?
I didn’t misunderstand you I asked for clarification, thanks for providing it. Clearly you and I have a much different view of what constitutes “fun” gameplay.
Skill based gameplay is fairly low level for myself. That includes cooking, fitness, gardening, anything that revolves around building skills. It’s more or less a background feature and a means to an end. I don’t play the game to watch my sim constantly cook, or workout, or garden those are skill based activities that fall to the background. I have never appreciated the numerous animations they created for cooking because they don’t change anything about the process or the end result. Cooking is a means to fill hunger, and it’s not like there is a ton of fun gameplay revolving around cooking. Now before you say snorkeling and cooking aren’t the same I am JUST making a comparison! You missed that when I compared snorkeling to jogging and you created a sub-discussion on that when it wasn’t my meaning at all! So I figure I need to clarify numerous times for you to not misinterpret my words.
Snorkeling is not your standard run of the mill activity like cooking, or working out, or gardening. It’s an activity that you won’t be doing daily, and if you do there is no real benefit to doing it. This might be where you and I are at odds, I get where you are coming from, and I am saying that for a “major feature” of this expansion pack this gameplay should be more than what it is. It has the complexity of the run of the mill interactions when it should be interactive and should add something to the game beyond watching your sim swim around a buoy.
As for why I am singling out this pack, am I supposed to single out some other DLC? Snorkeling, diving, both came with IL. Should I single out CL or C&D because snorkeling is a low level feature? This pack is the one being discussed here, I don’t know why you have a problem with anyone singling it out.
Because seasons should have came with ocean swimming, suntanning, lounge chairs and pool floaties. Then they could have focused a bit more on interactive gameplay in island Living.
If I am not mistaken those basic things were in Sims 3 seasons.
Honestly I feel like they couldn't finish seasons as they wanted, so they piece-mealed off the bits in IL and sold it as another expansion. ALL of this should be in the Seasons expansion - now THAT would have been an epic expansion - IL had been part of Seasons. Kinda scandalous they are selling a part of Seasons as another expansion, now really EA, what's up with that?
Allons-y!
---> Afterlife Game Pack Idea - improved ghosts, cemeteries and funerals, psychics, new skills, new career and more! <---
Because seasons should have came with ocean swimming, suntanning, lounge chairs and pool floaties. Then they could have focused a bit more on interactive gameplay in island Living.
If I am not mistaken those basic things were in Sims 3 seasons.
Honestly I feel like they couldn't finish seasons as they wanted, so they piece-mealed off the bits in IL and sold it as another expansion. ALL of this should be in the Seasons expansion - now THAT would have been an epic expansion - IL had been part of Seasons. Kinda scandalous they are selling a part of Seasons as another expansion, now really EA, what's up with that?
Well, that's your opinion. (Still don't know why this forum doesn't let you delete posts).
Because seasons should have came with ocean swimming, suntanning, lounge chairs and pool floaties. Then they could have focused a bit more on interactive gameplay in island Living.
If I am not mistaken those basic things were in Sims 3 seasons.
Honestly I feel like they couldn't finish seasons as they wanted, so they piece-mealed off the bits in IL and sold it as another expansion. ALL of this should be in the Seasons expansion - now THAT would have been an epic expansion - IL had been part of Seasons. Kinda scandalous they are selling a part of Seasons as another expansion, now really EA, what's up with that?
Even if IL and Seasons were combined it wouldn’t be as epic as TS3 Seasons was.
It gave us:
•Horseshoes (butthanks Outdoor Retreat, I guess)
•Slow dancing
•Kissing booth
•Attraction system
•Hail
•Multiple layers of snow cover
•Spontaneous combustion of overheated sims
•Floats
•Ocean swimming
•Face painting
•Soccer
•Snow cones
•Hot dog eating contest (risk of choking death)
•Tanning booth
•Haunted houses
•Bobbing for apples
•Picking AND carving pumpkins
•Lakes/ponds would freeze over and sims could skate on them (in addition to rinks)
•Icicles built up on houses
•Snowboard half pipe
•Sims could make igloos and woohoo in them
•Aliens with UFO that works like a car
•Online dating service
I would encourage anyone to watch some video overviews of TS3 expansions, especially if TS4 is their first Sims game, but even if they’ve played them all because it’s so easy to forget how good we had it before.
Because seasons should have came with ocean swimming, suntanning, lounge chairs and pool floaties. Then they could have focused a bit more on interactive gameplay in island Living.
If I am not mistaken those basic things were in Sims 3 seasons.
Honestly I feel like they couldn't finish seasons as they wanted, so they piece-mealed off the bits in IL and sold it as another expansion. ALL of this should be in the Seasons expansion - now THAT would have been an epic expansion - IL had been part of Seasons. Kinda scandalous they are selling a part of Seasons as another expansion, now really EA, what's up with that?
Even if IL and Seasons were combined it wouldn’t be as epic as TS3 Seasons was.
It gave us:
•Horseshoes (butthanks Outdoor Retreat, I guess)
•Slow dancing
•Kissing booth
•Attraction system
•Hail
•Multiple layers of snow cover
•Spontaneous combustion of overheated sims
•Floats
•Ocean swimming
•Face painting
•Soccer
•Snow cones
•Hot dog eating contest (risk of choking death)
•Tanning booth
•Haunted houses
•Bobbing for apples
•Picking AND carving pumpkins
•Lakes/ponds would freeze over and sims could skate on them (in addition to rinks)
•Icicles built up on houses
•Snowboard half pipe
•Sims could make igloos and woohoo in them
•Aliens with UFO that works like a car
•Online dating service
I would encourage anyone to watch some video overviews of TS3 expansions, especially if TS4 is their first Sims game, but even if they’ve played them all because it’s so easy to forget how good we had it before.
Ugh how sad is that?? I think that list pretty much sums up why many people are upset with the lack of content in this pack and seasons probably got a pass because many were just glad to have weather finally. I did hear people voicing disappointment though. Island Living didn’t have the featured weather to hide behind.
Well babajayne, luckily for you, you can still play TS3. It is still available, the store is still operational, and modders are still modding that game. Personally, speaking as someone who has played all the sims games as they were released, I found TS3 to be the most frustrating, unstable and buggy of the games -- absolutely unplayable without mods. I still played it and enjoyed it while it ran, thanks to Twallan and his excellent mods, but I very much appreciate how stable and bug-free my TS4 game is in comparison. And I loved TS4 Seasons as it was (it is still my favourite pack), in part because it included some elements not in TS3: flower-arranging, customizable holidays and a calendar, a revamped (and greatly improved) gardening system, a new gardening career, family tree decorating and carol-singing, grand meals, more customizable decorations for houses, Flower Bunny and Father Christmas visits, beekeeping, the kiddie pool, and Patchy.
Well babajayne, luckily for you, you can still play TS3. It is still available, the store is still operational, and modders are still modding that game. Personally, speaking as someone who has played all the sims games as they were released, I found TS3 to be the most frustrating, unstable and buggy of the games -- absolutely unplayable without mods. I still played it and enjoyed it while it ran, thanks to Twallan and his excellent mods, but I very much appreciate how stable and bug-free my TS4 game is in comparison. And I loved TS4 Seasons as it was (it is still my favourite pack), in part because it included some elements not in TS3: flower-arranging, customizable holidays and a calendar, a revamped (and greatly improved) gardening system, a new gardening career, family tree decorating and carol-singing, grand meals, more customizable decorations for houses, beekeeping, the kiddie pool, and Patchy.
I don’t think the point of the post was going back to play Sims 3. The post was to show a comparison of content.
I disagree with Sims 4 being bug free because there are so many bugs right now, it is adding to my frustration with the game. Toddlers are unplayable. Parts of Sulani are unplayable. Mermaid genetics are not working etc.
Heh, I guess I'm not much of a Season enthusiast. I don't recall most of those things and of the things I recall the only thing I remember using was the dating service. But as I said that's not a snub against Sims 3, I basically only "use" Seasons in Sims 4 as "Wear skimpy clothing when it's warm" and "never ever ever go out if it's cold". I have built one (1) snowman since Seasons came out, never used Patchy, haven't even considered playing the florist career...
Well babajayne, luckily for you, you can still play TS3. It is still available, the store is still operational, and modders are still modding that game. Personally, speaking as someone who has played all the sims games as they were released, I found TS3 to be the most frustrating, unstable and buggy of the games -- absolutely unplayable without mods. I still played it and enjoyed it while it ran, thanks to Twallan and his excellent mods, but I very much appreciate how stable and bug-free my TS4 game is in comparison. And I loved TS4 Seasons as it was (it is still my favourite pack), in part because it included some elements not in TS3: flower-arranging, customizable holidays and a calendar, a revamped (and greatly improved) gardening system, a new gardening career, family tree decorating and carol-singing, grand meals, more customizable decorations for houses, beekeeping, the kiddie pool, and Patchy.
I don’t think the point of the post was going back to play Sims 3. The post was to show a comparison of content.
I disagree with Sims 4 being bug free because there are so many bugs right now, it is adding to my frustration with the game. Toddlers are unplayable. Parts of Sulani are unplayable. Mermaid genetics are not working etc.
It was difficult for me to play TS3 at time, so I was just saying I didn't always enjoy all of those features listed given all the bugginess of the game (especially true for me of IP which caused nothing but lag on a very good computer). And I did mention (by way of comparison) a lot of unique features in TS4 Seasons which were not present in TS3 that I liked. As for the problems with your TS4 game, I am sorry. Do you perhaps have mods that are not updated yet, or maybe a faulty installation? Or have you tried repairing your game?
Since IL was released, I have literally played everywhere on Sulani, all three islands, as well as fishing (using the canoe) and swimming extensively, harvesting plants and exploring etc and have not found any part of this world to be unplayable. Toddlers are certainly not unplayable in my game: I mainly do family play and all my toddlers have worked as normal the whole way through, using high chairs and potties properly, learning and gaining skills and even aging up normally.
Well babajayne, luckily for you, you can still play TS3. It is still available, the store is still operational, and modders are still modding that game. Personally, speaking as someone who has played all the sims games as they were released, I found TS3 to be the most frustrating, unstable and buggy of the games -- absolutely unplayable without mods. I still played it and enjoyed it while it ran, thanks to Twallan and his excellent mods, but I very much appreciate how stable and bug-free my TS4 game is in comparison. And I loved TS4 Seasons as it was (it is still my favourite pack), in part because it included some elements not in TS3: flower-arranging, customizable holidays and a calendar, a revamped (and greatly improved) gardening system, a new gardening career, family tree decorating and carol-singing, grand meals, more customizable decorations for houses, beekeeping, the kiddie pool, and Patchy.
I don’t think the point of the post was going back to play Sims 3. The post was to show a comparison of content.
I disagree with Sims 4 being bug free because there are so many bugs right now, it is adding to my frustration with the game. Toddlers are unplayable. Parts of Sulani are unplayable. Mermaid genetics are not working etc.
It was difficult for me to play TS3 at time, so I was just saying I didn't always enjoy all of those features listed given all the bugginess of the game (especially true for me of IP which caused nothing but lag on a very good computer). And I did mention (by way of comparison) a lot of unique features in TS4 Seasons which were not present in TS3 that I liked. As for the problems with your TS4 game, I am sorry. Do you perhaps have mods that are not updated yet, or maybe a faulty installation? Or have you tried repairing your game?
Since IL was released, I have literally played everywhere on Sulani, all three islands, as well as fishing (using the canoe) and swimming extensively, harvesting plants and exploring etc and have not found any part of this world to be unplayable. Toddlers are certainly not unplayable in my game: I mainly do family play and all my toddlers have worked as normal the whole way through, using high chairs and potties properly, learning and gaining skills and even aging up normally.
Disclaimer: The whole "I don't have bugs so they don't exist" is something I don't subscribe to.
BUT that said, I have had zero bugs (Forgot one bug that I filed that I don't recall anyone else talking about: My sims can't eat at one-square sized tables after IL came out. They finish their meals standing before sitting down. NO issues with 2 square or longer tables though) in Sulani yet. One reason might be my computer, it's a very old gaming laptop, which means it still can play Sims 4 on ultra super settings, BUT at the same time now have 5 year old tech that is very well tested and stable and all drivers work without a hitch for. I am sure that helps A LOT.
I second the notion about Sims 3 though; loading times, when you had them, were AWFUL, and again, open world is only open as long as you are in that (large but finite) world. Yes I could, and almost always did, jog home from the Criminal Hideout (tm) to the coastal villa in Sunset Valley, it was super handy. But over all it was far buggier than Sims 4 (or Sims 2) for me too.
Turtle eggs, cute, but does this game actually need more happy moodlets? Does it? I mean really, does it. Collectibles, does the game need more? Does this game need to keep collecting for busy work, because there is no actual game play? Fill up the inventory! yay, isn't that a reason TS4 lags according to some smart people? Does the Sim care the inventory is being filled up? Busy work isn't gameplay, it's fluff to hide the lack of gameplay. Off the grid, isn't that a patched option? Isn't WB just as good to live off the grid? Oh, wait you aren't really off the grid, you have running water (where is the well, where is the bucket and the stream?) you have showers, you have stoves, grills, you have power to power phones, don't they die eventually? No, not in TS4. You have a powered fridge..hello insult to Castaway, what a facade this feature is. New drink,...oh great, another relaxed happy mood. Off the grid..and you live in a mansion made of steel, wood, and plastic, copper, pvc pipe, etc. I guess pretend is all TS4 needs. And your Sim didn't even have to build a lean to. Amazing feature.
NO Where in life is there a such thing as too happy ever being a bad thing - except maybe by people who resent others joy. Keep that in mind. I am always happy to find joy - it beats the heck out of unhappy. Can;t help it if you resent happiness. That is your problem - not mine. I find happiness where I can and relish it - not resent it. As for in this game - last I knew you don't even have it installed - so it should not matter to you at all.
This is just a game, right?
We are allowed to ask for challenge and not endless "happy".
Lets not make this personal over the fact that some of us want a deeper gameplay experience.
Turtle eggs, cute, but does this game actually need more happy moodlets? Does it? I mean really, does it. Collectibles, does the game need more? Does this game need to keep collecting for busy work, because there is no actual game play? Fill up the inventory! yay, isn't that a reason TS4 lags according to some smart people? Does the Sim care the inventory is being filled up? Busy work isn't gameplay, it's fluff to hide the lack of gameplay. Off the grid, isn't that a patched option? Isn't WB just as good to live off the grid? Oh, wait you aren't really off the grid, you have running water (where is the well, where is the bucket and the stream?) you have showers, you have stoves, grills, you have power to power phones, don't they die eventually? No, not in TS4. You have a powered fridge..hello insult to Castaway, what a facade this feature is. New drink,...oh great, another relaxed happy mood. Off the grid..and you live in a mansion made of steel, wood, and plastic, copper, pvc pipe, etc. I guess pretend is all TS4 needs. And your Sim didn't even have to build a lean to. Amazing feature.
NO Where in life is there a such thing as too happy ever being a bad thing - except maybe by people who resent others joy. Keep that in mind. I am always happy to find joy - it beats the heck out of unhappy. Can;t help it if you resent happiness. That is your problem - not mine. I find happiness where I can and relish it - not resent it. As for in this game - last I knew you don't even have it installed - so it should not matter to you at all.
This is just a game, right?
We are allowed to ask for challenge and not endless "happy".
Lets not make this personal over the fact that some of us want a deeper gameplay experience.
But... two things:
1. The Sims has never been deep. It's not that type of game, none of the other games in the series have been deep, at all.
2. Challenge? Not all games are about challenge. A large part of the design decisions in Sims 4 was the gradual easiness increase added by developers to please the fans (yes, they do listen).
Sims 1 was BRUTAL. Physics issues aside, like you could have a sim starve to death because he couldn't go thru a door another sim blocked, but it was WAY too easy to get stuck in a downwards spiral of pure depression and misery you could not get out of. Sims 2? Better, but not much. And still too easy to die.
Sims 3? If you listen to the devs they have pointed out several times that players STILL considered it way too easy to lose Sims in 3, to stupid random events, even. Meteor strikes was something I lived in terror for. Death By Repairing? Yeah... I rather didn't repair stuff. Etc.
But even then, not all games are even MEANT to be challenging. Just because it is a game doesn't make challenge obligatory. On the other end of the scale of course is games like Dark Souls, but also old timey games like Ghosts N Goblins and other 1980s platformers, that makes Dark Souls seem like a cakewalk.
@Writin_Reg the problem isn't the happy happy, it's that you don't have to work for it - it's BORING. I want some REAL stakes, and the possibility of FAILURE, which there is NONE in Sims 4. Just please make it challenging on some level, instead of just giving happy moodlet after happy moodlet - it's creepy even, because it's not normal. It's like playing a teletubbie game - super disturbing at times. Just give us SOMETHING that is challenging. That's all. I want happy sims to mean something, not just a freaky unrealistic sunshine and rainbow image of life - I want it to be meaningful, cozy and special. And Sims 4 is making that REALLY hard.
Turtle eggs, cute, but does this game actually need more happy moodlets? Does it? I mean really, does it. Collectibles, does the game need more? Does this game need to keep collecting for busy work, because there is no actual game play? Fill up the inventory! yay, isn't that a reason TS4 lags according to some smart people? Does the Sim care the inventory is being filled up? Busy work isn't gameplay, it's fluff to hide the lack of gameplay. Off the grid, isn't that a patched option? Isn't WB just as good to live off the grid? Oh, wait you aren't really off the grid, you have running water (where is the well, where is the bucket and the stream?) you have showers, you have stoves, grills, you have power to power phones, don't they die eventually? No, not in TS4. You have a powered fridge..hello insult to Castaway, what a facade this feature is. New drink,...oh great, another relaxed happy mood. Off the grid..and you live in a mansion made of steel, wood, and plastic, copper, pvc pipe, etc. I guess pretend is all TS4 needs. And your Sim didn't even have to build a lean to. Amazing feature.
NO Where in life is there a such thing as too happy ever being a bad thing - except maybe by people who resent others joy. Keep that in mind. I am always happy to find joy - it beats the heck out of unhappy. Can;t help it if you resent happiness. That is your problem - not mine. I find happiness where I can and relish it - not resent it. As for in this game - last I knew you don't even have it installed - so it should not matter to you at all.
This is just a game, right?
We are allowed to ask for challenge and not endless "happy".
Lets not make this personal over the fact that some of us want a deeper gameplay experience.
But... two things:
1. The Sims has never been deep. It's not that type of game, none of the other games in the series have been deep, at all.
2. Challenge? Not all games are about challenge. A large part of the design decisions in Sims 4 was the gradual easiness increase added by developers to please the fans (yes, they do listen).
Sims 1 was BRUTAL. Physics issues aside, like you could have a sim starve to death because he couldn't go thru a door another sim blocked, but it was WAY too easy to get stuck in a downwards spiral of pure depression and misery you could not get out of. Sims 2? Better, but not much. And still too easy to die.
Sims 3? If you listen to the devs they have pointed out several times that players STILL considered it way too easy to lose Sims in 3, to stupid random events, even. Meteor strikes was something I lived in terror for. Death By Repairing? Yeah... I rather didn't repair stuff. Etc.
But even then, not all games are even MEANT to be challenging. Just because it is a game doesn't make challenge obligatory. On the other end of the scale of course is games like Dark Souls, but also old timey games like Ghosts N Goblins and other 1980s platformers, that makes Dark Souls seem like a cakewalk.
I shouldn't have to listen to the developers to enjoy a game. I shouldn't have to be told to go backwards in game development for this series - in how to enjoy playing, when the first two iterations got it right.
The first and second versions are based on giving the players leeway and control throughout the various neighborhoods. Giving us players a full experience seemed more important - even, as you keep putting it - in losing their sims - BUT - they gave us pretty fun and "playful" ways to resurrect them if we so chose to.
If you know anything about game design - a successful game does make players feel like THEY have accomplished something - no matter how much of an illusion it is.
It really is all about a player's perception. You can only hope that a game designer is also a player at heart.
Turtle eggs, cute, but does this game actually need more happy moodlets? Does it? I mean really, does it. Collectibles, does the game need more? Does this game need to keep collecting for busy work, because there is no actual game play? Fill up the inventory! yay, isn't that a reason TS4 lags according to some smart people? Does the Sim care the inventory is being filled up? Busy work isn't gameplay, it's fluff to hide the lack of gameplay. Off the grid, isn't that a patched option? Isn't WB just as good to live off the grid? Oh, wait you aren't really off the grid, you have running water (where is the well, where is the bucket and the stream?) you have showers, you have stoves, grills, you have power to power phones, don't they die eventually? No, not in TS4. You have a powered fridge..hello insult to Castaway, what a facade this feature is. New drink,...oh great, another relaxed happy mood. Off the grid..and you live in a mansion made of steel, wood, and plastic, copper, pvc pipe, etc. I guess pretend is all TS4 needs. And your Sim didn't even have to build a lean to. Amazing feature.
NO Where in life is there a such thing as too happy ever being a bad thing - except maybe by people who resent others joy. Keep that in mind. I am always happy to find joy - it beats the heck out of unhappy. Can;t help it if you resent happiness. That is your problem - not mine. I find happiness where I can and relish it - not resent it. As for in this game - last I knew you don't even have it installed - so it should not matter to you at all.
This is just a game, right?
We are allowed to ask for challenge and not endless "happy".
Lets not make this personal over the fact that some of us want a deeper gameplay experience.
But... two things:
1. The Sims has never been deep. It's not that type of game, none of the other games in the series have been deep, at all.
2. Challenge? Not all games are about challenge. A large part of the design decisions in Sims 4 was the gradual easiness increase added by developers to please the fans (yes, they do listen).
Sims 1 was BRUTAL. Physics issues aside, like you could have a sim starve to death because he couldn't go thru a door another sim blocked, but it was WAY too easy to get stuck in a downwards spiral of pure depression and misery you could not get out of. Sims 2? Better, but not much. And still too easy to die.
Sims 3? If you listen to the devs they have pointed out several times that players STILL considered it way too easy to lose Sims in 3, to stupid random events, even. Meteor strikes was something I lived in terror for. Death By Repairing? Yeah... I rather didn't repair stuff. Etc.
But even then, not all games are even MEANT to be challenging. Just because it is a game doesn't make challenge obligatory. On the other end of the scale of course is games like Dark Souls, but also old timey games like Ghosts N Goblins and other 1980s platformers, that makes Dark Souls seem like a cakewalk.
I shouldn't have to listen to the developers to enjoy a game. I shouldn't have to be told to go backwards in game development for this series - in how to enjoy playing, when the first two iterations got it right.
The first and second versions are based on giving the players leeway and control throughout the various neighborhoods. Giving us players a full experience seemed more important - even, as you keep putting it - in losing their sims - BUT - they gave us pretty fun and "playful" ways to resurrect them if we so chose to.
If you know anything about game design - a successful game does make players feel like THEY have accomplished something - no matter how much of an illusion it is.
It really is all about a player's perception. You can only hope that a game designer is also a player at heart.
And that is your opinion. And nobody says you have to listen to them, but it might explain why Sims 4 is not for you; it isn't made for you. It's really simple.
And yes. You are absolutely right. But it does not have to be what you think. You still do the mistake of thinking of Sims as a "game" like Skyrim or Tetris or Overwatch whatnot. It is not. And there are HUNDRED of titles of games that do not subscribe to your old timey and limited definition of what a game is, btw.
Starting with other games from the same studio, to things like Pokemon, Farm Simulator 2019...
But yes, accomplishments come in all kinds of versions. From surviving a big boss fight, to finding all the shiny variants of pokemon, to building that really cool house using techniques I have not used before, to designing the prettiest Sim EVER. But you are only interested in the first kind, and that, quite frankly, is your loss.
Turtle eggs, cute, but does this game actually need more happy moodlets? Does it? I mean really, does it. Collectibles, does the game need more? Does this game need to keep collecting for busy work, because there is no actual game play? Fill up the inventory! yay, isn't that a reason TS4 lags according to some smart people? Does the Sim care the inventory is being filled up? Busy work isn't gameplay, it's fluff to hide the lack of gameplay. Off the grid, isn't that a patched option? Isn't WB just as good to live off the grid? Oh, wait you aren't really off the grid, you have running water (where is the well, where is the bucket and the stream?) you have showers, you have stoves, grills, you have power to power phones, don't they die eventually? No, not in TS4. You have a powered fridge..hello insult to Castaway, what a facade this feature is. New drink,...oh great, another relaxed happy mood. Off the grid..and you live in a mansion made of steel, wood, and plastic, copper, pvc pipe, etc. I guess pretend is all TS4 needs. And your Sim didn't even have to build a lean to. Amazing feature.
NO Where in life is there a such thing as too happy ever being a bad thing - except maybe by people who resent others joy. Keep that in mind. I am always happy to find joy - it beats the heck out of unhappy. Can;t help it if you resent happiness. That is your problem - not mine. I find happiness where I can and relish it - not resent it. As for in this game - last I knew you don't even have it installed - so it should not matter to you at all.
This is just a game, right?
We are allowed to ask for challenge and not endless "happy".
Lets not make this personal over the fact that some of us want a deeper gameplay experience.
But... two things:
1. The Sims has never been deep. It's not that type of game, none of the other games in the series have been deep, at all.
2. Challenge? Not all games are about challenge. A large part of the design decisions in Sims 4 was the gradual easiness increase added by developers to please the fans (yes, they do listen).
Sims 1 was BRUTAL. Physics issues aside, like you could have a sim starve to death because he couldn't go thru a door another sim blocked, but it was WAY too easy to get stuck in a downwards spiral of pure depression and misery you could not get out of. Sims 2? Better, but not much. And still too easy to die.
Sims 3? If you listen to the devs they have pointed out several times that players STILL considered it way too easy to lose Sims in 3, to stupid random events, even. Meteor strikes was something I lived in terror for. Death By Repairing? Yeah... I rather didn't repair stuff. Etc.
But even then, not all games are even MEANT to be challenging. Just because it is a game doesn't make challenge obligatory. On the other end of the scale of course is games like Dark Souls, but also old timey games like Ghosts N Goblins and other 1980s platformers, that makes Dark Souls seem like a cakewalk.
I shouldn't have to listen to the developers to enjoy a game. I shouldn't have to be told to go backwards in game development for this series - in how to enjoy playing, when the first two iterations got it right.
The first and second versions are based on giving the players leeway and control throughout the various neighborhoods. Giving us players a full experience seemed more important - even, as you keep putting it - in losing their sims - BUT - they gave us pretty fun and "playful" ways to resurrect them if we so chose to.
If you know anything about game design - a successful game does make players feel like THEY have accomplished something - no matter how much of an illusion it is.
It really is all about a player's perception. You can only hope that a game designer is also a player at heart.
And that is your opinion. And nobody says you have to listen to them, but it might explain why Sims 4 is not for you; it isn't made for you. It's really simple.
And yes. You are absolutely right. But it does not have to be what you think. You still do the mistake of thinking of Sims as a "game" like Skyrim or Tetris or Overwatch whatnot. It is not. And there are HUNDRED of titles of games that do not subscribe to your old timey and limited definition of what a game is, btw.
Starting with other games from the same studio, to things like Pokemon, Farm Simulator 2019...
But yes, accomplishments come in all kinds of versions. From surviving a big boss fight, to finding all the shiny variants of pokemon, to building that really cool house using techniques I have not used before, to designing the prettiest Sim EVER. But you are only interested in the first kind, and that, quite frankly, is your loss.
Actually Will Wright also thought it was about giving the player a toy - a toy that offered not only autonomy but also a sufficient amount of challenge, and ultimately, a sense of accomplishment. Obviously games aren't made for one specific person, you're right about that, but they are usually made with the intention to appeal to most or even all of the people who like whatever genre they're in. So it's always a bit of a bummer when someone's favorite franchise - the one you'd reasonably expect to want to appeal to you, - releases a title you really can't get behind.
It's unfortunate some had that with 3, and others have it again with 4. Perhaps EA should take a serious, self-conscious look at what exactly made 1 & 2 so popular and take their learnings to one day release a successor that pleases most of us. In the meantime we can always learn a little from anybody's viewpoint 🙂
Turtle eggs, cute, but does this game actually need more happy moodlets? Does it? I mean really, does it. Collectibles, does the game need more? Does this game need to keep collecting for busy work, because there is no actual game play? Fill up the inventory! yay, isn't that a reason TS4 lags according to some smart people? Does the Sim care the inventory is being filled up? Busy work isn't gameplay, it's fluff to hide the lack of gameplay. Off the grid, isn't that a patched option? Isn't WB just as good to live off the grid? Oh, wait you aren't really off the grid, you have running water (where is the well, where is the bucket and the stream?) you have showers, you have stoves, grills, you have power to power phones, don't they die eventually? No, not in TS4. You have a powered fridge..hello insult to Castaway, what a facade this feature is. New drink,...oh great, another relaxed happy mood. Off the grid..and you live in a mansion made of steel, wood, and plastic, copper, pvc pipe, etc. I guess pretend is all TS4 needs. And your Sim didn't even have to build a lean to. Amazing feature.
NO Where in life is there a such thing as too happy ever being a bad thing - except maybe by people who resent others joy. Keep that in mind. I am always happy to find joy - it beats the heck out of unhappy. Can;t help it if you resent happiness. That is your problem - not mine. I find happiness where I can and relish it - not resent it. As for in this game - last I knew you don't even have it installed - so it should not matter to you at all.
This is just a game, right?
We are allowed to ask for challenge and not endless "happy".
Lets not make this personal over the fact that some of us want a deeper gameplay experience.
But... two things:
1. The Sims has never been deep. It's not that type of game, none of the other games in the series have been deep, at all.
2. Challenge? Not all games are about challenge. A large part of the design decisions in Sims 4 was the gradual easiness increase added by developers to please the fans (yes, they do listen).
Sims 1 was BRUTAL. Physics issues aside, like you could have a sim starve to death because he couldn't go thru a door another sim blocked, but it was WAY too easy to get stuck in a downwards spiral of pure depression and misery you could not get out of. Sims 2? Better, but not much. And still too easy to die.
Sims 3? If you listen to the devs they have pointed out several times that players STILL considered it way too easy to lose Sims in 3, to stupid random events, even. Meteor strikes was something I lived in terror for. Death By Repairing? Yeah... I rather didn't repair stuff. Etc.
But even then, not all games are even MEANT to be challenging. Just because it is a game doesn't make challenge obligatory. On the other end of the scale of course is games like Dark Souls, but also old timey games like Ghosts N Goblins and other 1980s platformers, that makes Dark Souls seem like a cakewalk.
I shouldn't have to listen to the developers to enjoy a game. I shouldn't have to be told to go backwards in game development for this series - in how to enjoy playing, when the first two iterations got it right.
The first and second versions are based on giving the players leeway and control throughout the various neighborhoods. Giving us players a full experience seemed more important - even, as you keep putting it - in losing their sims - BUT - they gave us pretty fun and "playful" ways to resurrect them if we so chose to.
If you know anything about game design - a successful game does make players feel like THEY have accomplished something - no matter how much of an illusion it is.
It really is all about a player's perception. You can only hope that a game designer is also a player at heart.
And that is your opinion. And nobody says you have to listen to them, but it might explain why Sims 4 is not for you; it isn't made for you. It's really simple.
And yes. You are absolutely right. But it does not have to be what you think. You still do the mistake of thinking of Sims as a "game" like Skyrim or Tetris or Overwatch whatnot. It is not. And there are HUNDRED of titles of games that do not subscribe to your old timey and limited definition of what a game is, btw.
Starting with other games from the same studio, to things like Pokemon, Farm Simulator 2019...
But yes, accomplishments come in all kinds of versions. From surviving a big boss fight, to finding all the shiny variants of pokemon, to building that really cool house using techniques I have not used before, to designing the prettiest Sim EVER. But you are only interested in the first kind, and that, quite frankly, is your loss.
I take it you have never had the good fortune to play Sims 1 & 2? You don't speak as someone who has played a version of what the game COULD be like.
I feel bad for those who have never been able to experience the "good old days" of real gaming. It was more intelligent.
I find it ironic that you call my view "limited" - you just described Sims 4 in a nutshell - limited.
I wish I was as ignorant - then I wouldn't mind how dumbed down the Sims series has become.
Comments
More to do than in seasons....
Because seasons should have came with ocean swimming, suntanning, lounge chairs and pool floaties. Then they could have focused a bit more on interactive gameplay in island Living.
If I am not mistaken those basic things were in Sims 3 seasons.
I didn’t misunderstand you I asked for clarification, thanks for providing it. Clearly you and I have a much different view of what constitutes “fun” gameplay.
Skill based gameplay is fairly low level for myself. That includes cooking, fitness, gardening, anything that revolves around building skills. It’s more or less a background feature and a means to an end. I don’t play the game to watch my sim constantly cook, or workout, or garden those are skill based activities that fall to the background. I have never appreciated the numerous animations they created for cooking because they don’t change anything about the process or the end result. Cooking is a means to fill hunger, and it’s not like there is a ton of fun gameplay revolving around cooking. Now before you say snorkeling and cooking aren’t the same I am JUST making a comparison! You missed that when I compared snorkeling to jogging and you created a sub-discussion on that when it wasn’t my meaning at all! So I figure I need to clarify numerous times for you to not misinterpret my words.
Snorkeling is not your standard run of the mill activity like cooking, or working out, or gardening. It’s an activity that you won’t be doing daily, and if you do there is no real benefit to doing it. This might be where you and I are at odds, I get where you are coming from, and I am saying that for a “major feature” of this expansion pack this gameplay should be more than what it is. It has the complexity of the run of the mill interactions when it should be interactive and should add something to the game beyond watching your sim swim around a buoy.
As for why I am singling out this pack, am I supposed to single out some other DLC? Snorkeling, diving, both came with IL. Should I single out CL or C&D because snorkeling is a low level feature? This pack is the one being discussed here, I don’t know why you have a problem with anyone singling it out.
Well, that's your opinion. (Still don't know why this forum doesn't let you delete posts).
It gave us:
•Horseshoes (butthanks Outdoor Retreat, I guess)
•Slow dancing
•Kissing booth
•Attraction system
•Hail
•Multiple layers of snow cover
•Spontaneous combustion of overheated sims
•Floats
•Ocean swimming
•Face painting
•Soccer
•Snow cones
•Hot dog eating contest (risk of choking death)
•Tanning booth
•Haunted houses
•Bobbing for apples
•Picking AND carving pumpkins
•Lakes/ponds would freeze over and sims could skate on them (in addition to rinks)
•Icicles built up on houses
•Snowboard half pipe
•Sims could make igloos and woohoo in them
•Aliens with UFO that works like a car
•Online dating service
I would encourage anyone to watch some video overviews of TS3 expansions, especially if TS4 is their first Sims game, but even if they’ve played them all because it’s so easy to forget how good we had it before.
Ugh how sad is that?? I think that list pretty much sums up why many people are upset with the lack of content in this pack and seasons probably got a pass because many were just glad to have weather finally. I did hear people voicing disappointment though. Island Living didn’t have the featured weather to hide behind.
I don’t think the point of the post was going back to play Sims 3. The post was to show a comparison of content.
I disagree with Sims 4 being bug free because there are so many bugs right now, it is adding to my frustration with the game. Toddlers are unplayable. Parts of Sulani are unplayable. Mermaid genetics are not working etc.
It was difficult for me to play TS3 at time, so I was just saying I didn't always enjoy all of those features listed given all the bugginess of the game (especially true for me of IP which caused nothing but lag on a very good computer). And I did mention (by way of comparison) a lot of unique features in TS4 Seasons which were not present in TS3 that I liked. As for the problems with your TS4 game, I am sorry. Do you perhaps have mods that are not updated yet, or maybe a faulty installation? Or have you tried repairing your game?
Since IL was released, I have literally played everywhere on Sulani, all three islands, as well as fishing (using the canoe) and swimming extensively, harvesting plants and exploring etc and have not found any part of this world to be unplayable. Toddlers are certainly not unplayable in my game: I mainly do family play and all my toddlers have worked as normal the whole way through, using high chairs and potties properly, learning and gaining skills and even aging up normally.
Disclaimer: The whole "I don't have bugs so they don't exist" is something I don't subscribe to.
BUT that said, I have had zero bugs (Forgot one bug that I filed that I don't recall anyone else talking about: My sims can't eat at one-square sized tables after IL came out. They finish their meals standing before sitting down. NO issues with 2 square or longer tables though) in Sulani yet. One reason might be my computer, it's a very old gaming laptop, which means it still can play Sims 4 on ultra super settings, BUT at the same time now have 5 year old tech that is very well tested and stable and all drivers work without a hitch for. I am sure that helps A LOT.
I second the notion about Sims 3 though; loading times, when you had them, were AWFUL, and again, open world is only open as long as you are in that (large but finite) world. Yes I could, and almost always did, jog home from the Criminal Hideout (tm) to the coastal villa in Sunset Valley, it was super handy. But over all it was far buggier than Sims 4 (or Sims 2) for me too.
Perfectly said.
This is just a game, right?
We are allowed to ask for challenge and not endless "happy".
Lets not make this personal over the fact that some of us want a deeper gameplay experience.
But... two things:
1. The Sims has never been deep. It's not that type of game, none of the other games in the series have been deep, at all.
2. Challenge? Not all games are about challenge. A large part of the design decisions in Sims 4 was the gradual easiness increase added by developers to please the fans (yes, they do listen).
Sims 1 was BRUTAL. Physics issues aside, like you could have a sim starve to death because he couldn't go thru a door another sim blocked, but it was WAY too easy to get stuck in a downwards spiral of pure depression and misery you could not get out of. Sims 2? Better, but not much. And still too easy to die.
Sims 3? If you listen to the devs they have pointed out several times that players STILL considered it way too easy to lose Sims in 3, to stupid random events, even. Meteor strikes was something I lived in terror for. Death By Repairing? Yeah... I rather didn't repair stuff. Etc.
But even then, not all games are even MEANT to be challenging. Just because it is a game doesn't make challenge obligatory. On the other end of the scale of course is games like Dark Souls, but also old timey games like Ghosts N Goblins and other 1980s platformers, that makes Dark Souls seem like a cakewalk.
Exactly.
I shouldn't have to listen to the developers to enjoy a game. I shouldn't have to be told to go backwards in game development for this series - in how to enjoy playing, when the first two iterations got it right.
The first and second versions are based on giving the players leeway and control throughout the various neighborhoods. Giving us players a full experience seemed more important - even, as you keep putting it - in losing their sims - BUT - they gave us pretty fun and "playful" ways to resurrect them if we so chose to.
If you know anything about game design - a successful game does make players feel like THEY have accomplished something - no matter how much of an illusion it is.
It really is all about a player's perception. You can only hope that a game designer is also a player at heart.
And that is your opinion. And nobody says you have to listen to them, but it might explain why Sims 4 is not for you; it isn't made for you. It's really simple.
And yes. You are absolutely right. But it does not have to be what you think. You still do the mistake of thinking of Sims as a "game" like Skyrim or Tetris or Overwatch whatnot. It is not. And there are HUNDRED of titles of games that do not subscribe to your old timey and limited definition of what a game is, btw.
Starting with other games from the same studio, to things like Pokemon, Farm Simulator 2019...
But yes, accomplishments come in all kinds of versions. From surviving a big boss fight, to finding all the shiny variants of pokemon, to building that really cool house using techniques I have not used before, to designing the prettiest Sim EVER. But you are only interested in the first kind, and that, quite frankly, is your loss.
Actually Will Wright also thought it was about giving the player a toy - a toy that offered not only autonomy but also a sufficient amount of challenge, and ultimately, a sense of accomplishment. Obviously games aren't made for one specific person, you're right about that, but they are usually made with the intention to appeal to most or even all of the people who like whatever genre they're in. So it's always a bit of a bummer when someone's favorite franchise - the one you'd reasonably expect to want to appeal to you, - releases a title you really can't get behind.
It's unfortunate some had that with 3, and others have it again with 4. Perhaps EA should take a serious, self-conscious look at what exactly made 1 & 2 so popular and take their learnings to one day release a successor that pleases most of us. In the meantime we can always learn a little from anybody's viewpoint 🙂
I take it you have never had the good fortune to play Sims 1 & 2? You don't speak as someone who has played a version of what the game COULD be like.
I feel bad for those who have never been able to experience the "good old days" of real gaming. It was more intelligent.
I find it ironic that you call my view "limited" - you just described Sims 4 in a nutshell - limited.
I wish I was as ignorant - then I wouldn't mind how dumbed down the Sims series has become.