The biggest mistakes TS4 has made is not remembering TS2 and TS3 exist. We know better, no matter the excuse.
I think this is it right here I would take it further to say that instead of totally recreating the game they should have just updated it. Instead what they did with S3 and S4 was create a new game based on themes from the previous one.
The biggest mistakes TS4 has made is not remembering TS2 and TS3 exist. We know better, no matter the excuse.
I think this is it right here I would take it further to say that instead of totally recreating the game they should have just updated it. Instead what they did with S3 and S4 was create a new game based on themes from the previous one.
S3's first EP had a brand new theme (adventuring). So did the second one (open careers). The third one: life in the city. The 4th one, Generations, gave us things the basegame should have had. Pets, the 5th, was the first one that redid a theme. And the one that closed the series (ITF) was unique as well. The way it's always felt to me, being a newby, was EA giving us a game with constantly new and innovative ideas and fans surrounding me on forums moaning about pets and seasons and retail while I was busy hoping in vain for something following the tombs idea (not identical but based on that kind of gameplay, exploring).
I always say that everybody is triggered by something. Even I have what you might call 'triggers' (nothing that makes me sit down and cry, of course, but things that really rile me up).
Sims 4 has a T-Rating to accomadate the Woo-Hoo and really bad arguments, despite the fact that with or without Woo-Hoo, kids wouldn't be interested. It's just not a kid's genre. The average age is actually around 27.
You're right about this. My nieces are more interested in roblox than the sims. They like fast paced games as it seems most kids do. I do feel like they aimed for the wrong age group. And as a child I always appreciated the maturity of the sims. I liked the feeling of living an adult life lol.
The biggest mistakes TS4 has made is not remembering TS2 and TS3 exist. We know better, no matter the excuse.
I think this is it right here I would take it further to say that instead of totally recreating the game they should have just updated it. Instead what they did with S3 and S4 was create a new game based on themes from the previous one.
S3's first EP had a brand new theme (adventuring). So did the second one (open careers). The third one: life in the city. The 4th one, Generations, gave us things the basegame should have had. Pets, the 5th, was the first one that redid a theme. And the one that closed the series (ITF) was unique as well. The way it's always felt to me, being a newby, was EA giving us a game with constantly new and innovative ideas and fans surrounding me on forums moaning about pets and seasons and retail while I was busy hoping in vain for something following the tombs idea (not identical but based on that kind of gameplay, exploring).
TS3 is full of innovative play. The first time that I saw the Island Paradise trailer, I had to sit down and watch it again and again. Boats, you say? Houseboats, what?!! Diving, windsurfing, waterskiing? All new. The only truly innovative thing that I can credit TS4 with is the Seasons calendar.
However, in TS4 there's a huge con for every pro. The game shipped with no possible way to plan an event in advance. You'd better be ready because as soon as you closed the event window, guests were on their way. It was years before a staple base game feature such as planning an event in advance finally made an appearance in TS4. I'm not sure, because I never use that Seasons planner. But were we really required to pay additional money in order to be able to plan ahead as in other games? Hopefully, that was one of the things that EA patched in.
The biggest mistakes TS4 has made is not remembering TS2 and TS3 exist. We know better, no matter the excuse.
I think this is it right here I would take it further to say that instead of totally recreating the game they should have just updated it. Instead what they did with S3 and S4 was create a new game based on themes from the previous one.
S3's first EP had a brand new theme (adventuring). So did the second one (open careers). The third one: life in the city. The 4th one, Generations, gave us things the basegame should have had. Pets, the 5th, was the first one that redid a theme. And the one that closed the series (ITF) was unique as well. The way it's always felt to me, being a newby, was EA giving us a game with constantly new and innovative ideas and fans surrounding me on forums moaning about pets and seasons and retail while I was busy hoping in vain for something following the tombs idea (not identical but based on that kind of gameplay, exploring).
TS3 is full of innovative play. The first time that I saw the Island Paradise trailer, I had to sit down and watch it again and again. Boats, you say? Houseboats, what?!! Diving, windsurfing, waterskiing? All new. The only truly innovative thing that I can credit TS4 with is the Seasons calendar.
However, in TS4 there's a huge con for every pro. The game shipped with no possible way to plan an event in advance. You'd better be ready because as soon as you closed the event window, guests were on their way. It was years before a staple base game feature such as planning an event in advance finally made an appearance in TS4. I'm not sure, because I never use that Seasons planner. But were we really required to pay additional money in order to be able to plan ahead as in other games? Hopefully, that was one of the things that EA patched in.
Sims 4 seems very focused on catering nostalgia (trying to) with a face-lift to me, always has. It did come with innovative ideas (the club system, the Strangerville idea, indeed the calendar). But that’s about it I think (where packs are concerned). And that’s rather mechanics than actually a theme.
Moreproof this is no longer a game but social-political propaganda.
Maxis PR Manager, Charlie Sinhaseni, August 2014
“We strive for inclusion whenever possible. We look at our own diversity as a studio in terms of understanding what it is we want to achieve with the game. Our senior leadership is all women—our VP, our GM, our two most senior producers, lots of the department leads. We talk about these topics a lot, and it’s really encouraging that you bring them up. We think about them every single day."
Efforts to be inclusive are nice and all but when it becomes the driving force of the studio, over actually making a game, the game stops being a game and it becomes very easy to see it as the propaganda you describe.
I don't see how have a senior position of all women. is inclusive.Personally I don't think a company should try to be inclusive.They should tried to have the best people for the job.
Who's to say these women aren't the best people for the job? It seems you're implying they were hired simply because they're female.
I said doing stuff just for the sake of diversity.If the women were hire because of the skills good.I have no problem with that .but if they were only hire because their woman, or their race.Just so the company can be diverse for social points..That is not good.The problem is they seem to care more about diversity.Than having a good, bugged free, and flesh out game.Also I don't see how its diverse to have a female staff.
Basically, the mistake was how the game was originally envisioned and designed, as an online-only game. When 2013's Sim City flopped big time, they changed it, but not that much. The Sims 4 seems stripped down, in many ways to its predecessors, TS2 and TS3. I feel the online-only origin resulted in a stripped-down engine that can't really support a lot of the features in older games. And, especially how, in other games, certain locations were added to each world in TS2 and TS3, but in TS4, new features are really only added to the world with which it ships on. And how TS4 worlds are so tiny.
This thread is giving me serious nostalgia vibes. TS2 & TS3 had the immersion down. The focus was game play and it certainly was king. TS4 is content heavy while strangely not adding much. Even in TS1 I felt more immersed. Trying to get your sim to eat and stay alive while sad because they had no wallpaper or windows because you sold them to have money for food... the struggle was real. And 'Making Magic' still one of my top favorites. Amazing I've played The Sims for 20 years and probably my demographic is one of the reasons why it sucks now. I buy every pack just to relive the 'good ol' days' just to be disappointed again and again. I've seen it said many times; Once EA starts losing money on this crap-shoot they call a game they might actually make it better.
Edit: Yep EA has lost the plot. Censoring "naughty" words that aren't naughty. Wouldn't want to trigger anyone by using regular everyday mild vernacular, right? I'm just about done with EA as a whole. With the added virtue-singling "inclusive" progressive BS and there isn't much left to support. What a bunch of lazy entitled California elitists that have nothing but contempt for those that keep them employed.
FYI: The no burglars is because of the communist Chinese market. They had to remove them from the game to sell in China and were too lazy to make a patched version with burglars for other countries.
Hear, hear, IB! I've been doing Sims since day 1 so can relate completely. Maybe because it was so challenging I had some of my best sims stories in that version, including mystery stories and secret agent capers. Not heard of the red China thing, but don't doubt it one bit. Similar censorship may be involved in other missing game features - the wider the market the more taboos you hit. Add a lame engine to the PC nonsense and it's no wonder we have a mess. EA has to get back to the basics of what made the earlier versions so great or get their lunch eaten.
The recent survey they put out had a rather extensive section regarding the improvement of Sim personalities in the game, asking questions regarding things like the addition of interests, chemistry, a fury system and similar things to The Sims 4 amongst other things. What gets me is that almost all of the features asked about in the personality section were literally in The Sims 2 over a decade ago. The fact they're only considering these things for 4 now just blows my mind.
Seeing those questions praised by some of the same groups that have repeatedly told older players to stop complaining about what's missing from previous games is pretty infuriating as well. Some older players have been asking for this kind of content for five years.
The recent survey they put out had a rather extensive section regarding the improvement of Sim personalities in the game, asking questions regarding things like the addition of interests, chemistry, a fury system and similar things to The Sims 4 amongst other things. What gets me is that almost all of the features asked about in the personality section were literally in The Sims 2 over a decade ago. The fact they're only considering these things for 4 now just blows my mind.
Seeing those questions praised by some of the same groups that have repeatedly told older players to stop complaining about what's missing from previous games is pretty infuriating as well. Some older players have been asking for this kind of content for five years.
It's because they know the sims 4 content is not that deep.I mean they know the sims are not that deep personality wise .So they will be happy with any improvement.
The recent survey they put out had a rather extensive section regarding the improvement of Sim personalities in the game, asking questions regarding things like the addition of interests, chemistry, a fury system and similar things to The Sims 4 amongst other things. What gets me is that almost all of the features asked about in the personality section were literally in The Sims 2 over a decade ago. The fact they're only considering these things for 4 now just blows my mind.
Seeing those questions praised by some of the same groups that have repeatedly told older players to stop complaining about what's missing from previous games is pretty infuriating as well. Some older players have been asking for this kind of content for five years.
Lol, yes. Great ideas in that survey, chose option 10 quite a few times. If they’ll manage to implement all that in Sims 4, I just might decide to reopen my game and actually start enjoying it.
The recent survey they put out had a rather extensive section regarding the improvement of Sim personalities in the game, asking questions regarding things like the addition of interests, chemistry, a fury system and similar things to The Sims 4 amongst other things. What gets me is that almost all of the features asked about in the personality section were literally in The Sims 2 over a decade ago. The fact they're only considering these things for 4 now just blows my mind.
Seeing those questions praised by some of the same groups that have repeatedly told older players to stop complaining about what's missing from previous games is pretty infuriating as well. Some older players have been asking for this kind of content for five years.
Right? *facepalm*
For me, it just further validates my feelings/thoughts that the 🐸🐸🐸🐸 will just buy anything Maxis/EA throws at them. We say it and it's shush. They say it and they're a flipping genius and "innovative". *eyeroll*
However, in this case it actually IS everything I wanted. (Well most things) Now it's just wait and see if they can actually implement most of it, if not all of it.
Sims 4 seems very focused on catering nostalgia (trying to) with a face-lift to me, always has. It did come with innovative ideas (the club system, the Strangerville idea, indeed the calendar). But that’s about it I think (where packs are concerned). And that’s rather mechanics than actually a theme.
The following is just my opinion, of course. However, I don't think of it as nostalgia so much as staples that the community has come to expect in a Sims game: pets, university, vacations, generational play, seasons, occults, etc. If the latest game in the series didn't have some or all of those things, could it still be considered to be part of the series, or is it something else?
As well, I don't consider the club system to be innovative. It's the group system with the addition of Dos and Don'ts. It's more of a progression than something totally innovative. Strangerville is a simplified retread of every adventure game that ever existed and (again, IMO) it is out of place in The Sims genre. Players were meant to create their own stories, not to be led by the story in the game. It's even impossible to use the world of Strangerville without being confronted by elements of the story -- Sims with odd and disturbing animations that do not converse as usual but are accompanied by cryptic statements about 'The Mother'.
Anyway, I digress. The one thing that I truly consider innovative within TS4 gameplay is the Seasons calendar. I could be wrong, however, I haven't personally seen anything like it anywhere else.
Sims 4 seems very focused on catering nostalgia (trying to) with a face-lift to me, always has. It did come with innovative ideas (the club system, the Strangerville idea, indeed the calendar). But that’s about it I think (where packs are concerned). And that’s rather mechanics than actually a theme.
The following is just my opinion, of course. However, I don't think of it as nostalgia so much as staples that the community has come to expect in a Sims game: pets, university, vacations, generational play, seasons, occults, etc. If the latest game in the series didn't have some or all of those things, could it still be considered to be part of the series, or is it something else?
As well, I don't consider the club system to be innovative. It's the group system with the addition of Dos and Don'ts. It's more of a progression than something totally innovative. Strangerville is a simplified retread of every adventure game that ever existed and (again, IMO) it is out of place in The Sims genre. Players were meant to create their own stories, not to be led by the story in the game. It's even impossible to use the world of Strangerville without being confronted by elements of the story -- Sims with odd and disturbing animations that do not converse as usual but are accompanied by cryptic statements about 'The Mother'.
Anyway, I digress. The one thing that I truly consider innovative within TS4 gameplay is the Seasons calendar. I could be wrong, however, I haven't personally seen anything like it anywhere else.
Yeah, I agree, nostalgia’s indeed not the right term here. As for the club system, it’s the groups system with an automatic mechanic that makes sure the player doesn’t have to do anything. Quite frankly I’ve never seen the charm of it. When I create a group in Sims 3 anything can happen. Personally I love that. When I create a club, I basically tell the game what I want them to do and they do it. I call it innovative though, because it was something never done before that way and the system clearly has its fans. Strangerville was kind of the same, though they did something similar with Dystopia/Utopia before. I think, because I’ve never done the Dystopia/Utopia thing, it never appealed to me. I get annoyed whenever my game comes with the “you better think this through first because it can affect your sim’s future” notification. Well too bad, I’m going to do it anyway. For me indeed this has nothing to do with Sims but again, some love it and it was new, a set up story the player just goes through. I’m not quite sure what the calendar does to be honest. You tell the game every friday is X-day and then when your sim wakes up on friday it’s X-day? I don’t want every sim-friday to be X-day. If that’s what it is of course, maybe it’s not. It was new to the series though.
Sims 4 seems very focused on catering nostalgia (trying to) with a face-lift to me, always has. It did come with innovative ideas (the club system, the Strangerville idea, indeed the calendar). But that’s about it I think (where packs are concerned). And that’s rather mechanics than actually a theme.
The following is just my opinion, of course. However, I don't think of it as nostalgia so much as staples that the community has come to expect in a Sims game: pets, university, vacations, generational play, seasons, occults, etc. If the latest game in the series didn't have some or all of those things, could it still be considered to be part of the series, or is it something else?
As well, I don't consider the club system to be innovative. It's the group system with the addition of Dos and Don'ts. It's more of a progression than something totally innovative. Strangerville is a simplified retread of every adventure game that ever existed and (again, IMO) it is out of place in The Sims genre. Players were meant to create their own stories, not to be led by the story in the game. It's even impossible to use the world of Strangerville without being confronted by elements of the story -- Sims with odd and disturbing animations that do not converse as usual but are accompanied by cryptic statements about 'The Mother'.
Anyway, I digress. The one thing that I truly consider innovative within TS4 gameplay is the Seasons calendar. I could be wrong, however, I haven't personally seen anything like it anywhere else.
Yeah, I agree, nostalgia’s indeed not the right term here. As for the club system, it’s the groups system with an automatic mechanic that makes sure the player doesn’t have to do anything. Quite frankly I’ve never seen the charm of it. When I create a group in Sims 3 anything can happen. Personally I love that. When I create a club, I basically tell the game what I want them to do and they do it. I call it innovative though, because it was something never done before that way and the system clearly has its fans. Strangerville was kind of the same, though they did something similar with Dystopia/Utopia before. I think, because I’ve never done the Dystopia/Utopia thing, it never appealed to me. I get annoyed whenever my game comes with the “you better think this through first because it can affect your sim’s future” notification. Well too bad, I’m going to do it anyway. For me indeed this has nothing to do with Sims but again, some love it and it was new, a set up story the player just goes through. I’m not quite sure what the calendar does to be honest. You tell the game every friday is X-day and then when your sim wakes up on friday it’s X-day? I don’t want every sim-friday to be X-day. If that’s what it is of course, maybe it’s not. It was new to the series though.
I agree with a lot of what you've said. At first, I was intrigued by the group system until I realized that it was merely a means for the player to make the world seem more alive. The group system is a replacement for a better personality AI. Sims are given a list of Dos and Dont's and they're off to show up wherever they've been instructed to show up. Or wherever other members happen to be.
I never played the ITF story. Although, I made use of a lot of elements in the pack. I especially enjoyed some of the shell buildings and build/buy assets. They were great.
You're correct about there being some kind of story element to that pack. That's why I don't think that Strangerville is innovative, even for The Sims series. To me, the major difference is that players can still have ITF and not have the 'story' interfere in their gameplay. Delete the time portal and forget about it. Strangerville, not so much.
I liked the idea of the calendar at first. I thought that it could be used for birthdays and whatnot. However, as with most things in TS4, everything doesn't quite work as expected. For example, if a Sim doesn't celebrate a holiday, they get an automatic negative mood buff. If you want to use the calendar to plan for things that aren't necessarily related to a holiday -- dinner dates and such -- you need a mod.
Sims 4 seems very focused on catering nostalgia (trying to) with a face-lift to me, always has. It did come with innovative ideas (the club system, the Strangerville idea, indeed the calendar). But that’s about it I think (where packs are concerned). And that’s rather mechanics than actually a theme.
The following is just my opinion, of course. However, I don't think of it as nostalgia so much as staples that the community has come to expect in a Sims game: pets, university, vacations, generational play, seasons, occults, etc. If the latest game in the series didn't have some or all of those things, could it still be considered to be part of the series, or is it something else?
As well, I don't consider the club system to be innovative. It's the group system with the addition of Dos and Don'ts. It's more of a progression than something totally innovative. Strangerville is a simplified retread of every adventure game that ever existed and (again, IMO) it is out of place in The Sims genre. Players were meant to create their own stories, not to be led by the story in the game. It's even impossible to use the world of Strangerville without being confronted by elements of the story -- Sims with odd and disturbing animations that do not converse as usual but are accompanied by cryptic statements about 'The Mother'.
Anyway, I digress. The one thing that I truly consider innovative within TS4 gameplay is the Seasons calendar. I could be wrong, however, I haven't personally seen anything like it anywhere else.
Yeah, I agree, nostalgia’s indeed not the right term here. As for the club system, it’s the groups system with an automatic mechanic that makes sure the player doesn’t have to do anything. Quite frankly I’ve never seen the charm of it. When I create a group in Sims 3 anything can happen. Personally I love that. When I create a club, I basically tell the game what I want them to do and they do it. I call it innovative though, because it was something never done before that way and the system clearly has its fans. Strangerville was kind of the same, though they did something similar with Dystopia/Utopia before. I think, because I’ve never done the Dystopia/Utopia thing, it never appealed to me. I get annoyed whenever my game comes with the “you better think this through first because it can affect your sim’s future” notification. Well too bad, I’m going to do it anyway. For me indeed this has nothing to do with Sims but again, some love it and it was new, a set up story the player just goes through. I’m not quite sure what the calendar does to be honest. You tell the game every friday is X-day and then when your sim wakes up on friday it’s X-day? I don’t want every sim-friday to be X-day. If that’s what it is of course, maybe it’s not. It was new to the series though.
I agree with a lot of what you've said. At first, I was intrigued by the group system until I realized that it was merely a means for the player to make the world seem more alive. The group system is a replacement for a better personality AI. Sims are given a list of Dos and Dont's and they're off to show up wherever they've been instructed to show up. Or wherever other members happen to be.
I never played the ITF story. Although, I made use of a lot of elements in the pack. I especially enjoyed some of the shell buildings and build/buy assets. They were great.
You're correct about there being some kind of story element to that pack. That's why I don't think that Strangerville is innovative, even for The Sims series. To me, the major difference is that players can still have ITF and not have the 'story' interfere in their gameplay. Delete the time portal and forget about it. Strangerville, not so much.
I liked the idea of the calendar at first. I thought that it could be used for birthdays and whatnot. However, as with most things in TS4, everything doesn't quite work as expected. For example, if a Sim doesn't celebrate a holiday, they get an automatic negative mood buff. If you want to use the calendar to plan for things that aren't necessarily related to a holiday -- dinner dates and such -- you need a mod.
I guess my playing style very much depends on being surprised (by the game). I really need that to have fun, which means I don’t want to set things in a calendar. That’s personal though, obviously.
As for ITF: well, exactly. I’ve very much enjoyed that pack and everything in it, also using the portal, but completely ignoring the Dystopia/Utopia story. That’s not even an effort, I actually have no idea how I should trigger it even, I’d have to look it up lol.
I'm hoping they are serious about making a change via giving us this particular survey (thank the heavens its not the same questions they were asking a while back). Either way if they do plan on improving personalities and relationships it will definitely get me to open my game back up lol. But only time will tell... I also hope they go back and tune up some of the old packs like *cough* get to work *cough*. They can get a lot of notes from modders who have taken parts of that pack and made them work in more of a way it should have.
"Bada su the gorn bada su the brawn bada bady oda aba donk donk donk gerbits gerbits vo gerbits".
The recently released simplified Chinese translation has so many mistakes. It is confusing and sometimes even embarrassing for a Chinese speaker. To name a few:
The "degree" was not translated as the degree as an academic degree but the degree as in room temperature; The "Fine Art" degree was translated as "drawing"; To "tutor" at universities was translated as "become a university professor of"; "Examine Water" was translated as "to assess water quality"; "Tuck in" for asleep children and toddlers was translated as "to put someone to sleep";
I've been playing the sims since 2001 and the Chinese translations have always come with misunderstanding and confusion...
Sims 4 seems very focused on catering nostalgia (trying to) with a face-lift to me, always has. It did come with innovative ideas (the club system, the Strangerville idea, indeed the calendar). But that’s about it I think (where packs are concerned). And that’s rather mechanics than actually a theme.
A large part of the problem has been the fact that this is what everybody screamed for right from the start.
"We want University."
"We want Seasons."
"We want Pets."
"We want Apartments."
etc, etc, etc. If they didn't include those features, they're wrong and ignoring the fanbase and 'it's not a proper simulation game etc'. When they do, of course, they're catering to nostalgia.
They're never going to win round here. Everything they do is going to inspire outrage in one corner of the community and placate the others. I guess if the Sims 4 hasn't got what you personally want after 5 years, maybe Sims 3 will be for you after all?
Sims 4 seems very focused on catering nostalgia (trying to) with a face-lift to me, always has. It did come with innovative ideas (the club system, the Strangerville idea, indeed the calendar). But that’s about it I think (where packs are concerned). And that’s rather mechanics than actually a theme.
A large part of the problem has been the fact that this is what everybody screamed for right from the start.
"We want University."
"We want Seasons."
"We want Pets."
"We want Apartments."
etc, etc, etc. If they didn't include those features, they're wrong and ignoring the fanbase and 'it's not a proper simulation game etc'. When they do, of course, they're catering to nostalgia.
They're never going to win round here. Everything they do is going to inspire outrage in one corner of the community and placate the others. I guess if the Sims 4 hasn't got what you personally want after 5 years, maybe Sims 3 will be for you after all?
If it's true they can't win around here, there are reasons for that. Look at the packs they did create under the nostalgia genre. Take a look at Seasons, it's not as well loved as past Season packs because they didn't do what they did before with snow depth. If they had implemented snow like in the past it would have been a bigger hit wouldn't it? But nope, it's just some FX features that do little for immersion, seasons has always been about immersion, umbrellas don't even work half the time, they went the pc direction and named snowmen, snowpals, the holiday calander, even if a new fun idea, doesn't work right half the time, and the whole family winds up bugged or have to come home or whatever. It doesn't work right, either. It doesn't work right with vacation days, either. So, if they can't win around here it might be because what they do redo in this version doesn't live up to past pack features.
Look at C&D, they can't win around here? Well...it only has cats and dogs how is that living up to the legacy of Pets in either 1, 2 or 3? Then it adding strays everywhere that can't be cured or overtakes a save and only annoys players. It's no wonder they can't win around here.
The vet career was broken right out of the box....a nice idea and new but it doesn't work right half the time. If players are upset with them it's no wonder.
Look at University, broken right out of the box. Some things can't be completed because they are bugged and remain bugged. With university packs people expect dorm building..what did they get? Decorate a room. Ho hum how is that innovative? It's not. It's no wonder people aren't pleased with the packs they redid for this version.
Look at CL, nice idea but players expect to build their own apartment buildings like in 2 nd 3. Can they in TS4? no...how is that innovative and new and exciting to just decorate a predetermined cell?
If their reputation is suffering, it's no one to blame but Maxis. Features that don't work even before you can unwrap a new pack, features that are no longer included, and watered down gameplay that makes the idea of rereleasing previous packs a nightmare and a joke. Every one of these packs are lackluster versions of previous packs. And very little innovation and make even TS1 look like some brilliant packs that TS4 can only hope to someday copy.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
If it's true they can't win around here, there are reasons for that. Look at the packs they did create under the nostalgia genre. Take a look at Seasons, it's not as well loved as past Season packs because they didn't do what they did before with snow depth. If they had implemented snow like in the past it would have been a bigger hit wouldn't it? But nope, it's just some FX features that do little for immersion, seasons has always been about immersion, umbrellas don't even work half the time, they went the pc direction and named snowmen, snowpals, the holiday calander, even if a new fun idea, doesn't work right half the time, and the whole family winds up bugged or have to come home or whatever. It doesn't work right, either. It doesn't work right with vacation days, either. So, if they can't win around here it might be because what they do redo in this version doesn't live up to past pack features.
Look at C&D, they can't win around here? Well...it only has cats and dogs how is that living up to the legacy of Pets in either 1, 2 or 3? Then it adding strays everywhere that can't be cured or overtakes a save and only annoys players. It's no wonder they can't win around here.
The vet career was broken right out of the box....a nice idea and new but it doesn't work right half the time. If players are upset with them it's no wonder.
Look at University, broken right out of the box. Some things can't be completed because they are bugged and remain bugged. With university packs people expect dorm building..what did they get? Decorate a room. Ho hum how is that innovative? It's not. It's no wonder people aren't pleased with the packs they redid for this version.
Look at CL, nice idea but players expect to build their own apartment buildings like in 2 nd 3. Can they in TS4? no...how is that innovative and new and exciting to just decorate a predetermined cell?
If their reputation is suffering, it's no one to blame but Maxis. Features that don't work even before you can unwrap a new pack, features that are no longer included, and watered down gameplay that makes the idea of rereleasing previous packs a nightmare and a joke.
Snow depth? Is that what the fuss was about with Seasons? People are complaining about the snow depth? I didn't even notice it was an issue.
- What's the issue with the umbrellas? I haven't got problems with them.
- The holiday calendar isn't working? News to me. I use it all the time and not had a problem with it. Likewise the vacation days, not having problems over here.
- Strays have been in every version of pets. Aside from one womrat, or whatever it was in Sims 2 that hardly anybody used (to my knowledge), Sims 2 pets only had Cats and Dogs. I thought the issue was with My First pet Stuff here, not the Cats and Dogs themselves. Or is this just because horses never made a comeback? Because apart from horses, I'm not seeing the legitimate complaint that it doesn't "live up to past pack features", as it were.
- I haven't worked with the Vet career yet, so I can't comment on that one. What's broken about it, anyway? A few friends of mine don't seem to be having problems?
- How on earth is University broken? I'm playing a game with it now and have been for weeks and it's working just fine. What things can't be completed? I must be missing all these
- Erm, I'm pretty sure you can build your own dorms? The lot tag's right there, I saw it last night. So it's a little more than decorating a room, actually. You can build the dorms in any world, not just Britechester.
I have to wonder though - if the game is so watered down, awful, a joke, 'not a real Sims game' etc: why is it still selling well? Let's be honest, if it wasn't, Maxis wouldn't be continuing it now, would they? So universally, it can't be that bad really. Not in the eyes of the majority who are still enjoying it, getting excited for new packs, 5 years down the line. It's only the forum-dwelling/social media crowd that seem up in arms about every little thing.
Just my opinion, though. I guess I'm lucky not to be getting these game-breaking bugs so many seem to be getting
There's more to it than the whole, "if you dont like it go back to *insert pervious game title*". It irks the heck out of me when people say that because it makes me feel like my constructive criticism is irrelevant.
My theory is, EA/Maxis is still selling because they have no competition. So where is there to go to when they're literally the only ones who make a simulation game like the sims? Even if one were to go back thats still money in their pockets if said individuals still buying even old packs from the sims 3 and since they are still making money not only on the sims 3 but also on the sims 4 they should have the funding to create fuller packs with enhanced gameplay and its just not cutting it. It's clear with a lot of nostalgic packs they've cut corners and that's where simmers are upset. I dont believe they're playing on nostalgia by bringing old packs back because they've done it in the past with the sims 3, however the difference is how it was implemented within the sims 3 that made it expand from the sims 2.
For example take a look at seasons. Now I wont lie and say they didn't add things that expanded on it in the sims 4. I absolutely love the calendar system in seasons, and how major holidays work but that's about it. A lot of things are broken like snow ball fights and those everlasting stinky leaf piles (it's been a whole since ove played so idk if thay was ever fixed). So on and so forth. The problem the sims 4 is having is really bringing a strong pack that stays strong. Their weakest points for me right bow is gameplay and bugs. I mean sims personalities can use some help too so I guess we can add that in there.
The point of the matter is undermining some feedback whether "positive" or "negative" by telling them to go back and play a previous game or to go play the sims 4 if they love it so much doesnt solve the true problem we have. And I'm not sure why people aren't getting that after all these years in this forum. I wish I knew the solution. I know they cannot make everyone happy and I dobt expect that all I expect is my game work right and I get to utilize the features I'm given for what I paid for. And I'm not getting that.
"Bada su the gorn bada su the brawn bada bady oda aba donk donk donk gerbits gerbits vo gerbits".
There's more to it than the whole, "if you dont like it go back to *insert pervious game title*". It irks the heck out of me when people say that because it makes me feel like my constructive criticism is irrelevant.
The reason I say it so often is because there are a lot of people who really seem to despise the game, calling it the worst ever. The thing is, they've given their feedback hundreds of times. If the game still isn't what they want after all this time, maybe it's the time to find the version that does more? It must be awful to feel so frustrated when the game isn't what you want it to be. I'm not saying that to discredit their complaints; after all, I see the game differently to, say, yourself and the features some feel 'should' be there, I have reasons for being glad they're not. I only say that when it seems that the game is making them so unhappy. The Sims, whichever version you're playing, should make you happy. When any one of them stops making you happy, maybe it is the time to find a different version. Nobody's constructive criticism is ireelevant; it's vital for companies to keep delivering after all.
Announcements that 'The Sims 4 is the worst in the franchise', however, are not constructive. They're subjective because every indidivudl on this forum will have an opinion for a variety of reasons.
My theory is, EA/Maxis is still selling because they have no competition. So where is there to go to when they're literally the only ones who make a simulation game like the sims? [/quote]
Maybe a lot of people really do enjoy The Sims, regardless of competition. Even when Paralives eventually releases, a lot of people will still buy The Sims, regardless of generation simply because they enjoy it. There's nothing wrong with that.
For example take a look at seasons. Now I wont lie and say they didn't add things that expanded on it in the sims 4. I absolutely love the calendar system in seasons, and how major holidays work but that's about it. A lot of things are broken like snow ball fights and those everlasting stinky leaf piles (it's been a whole since ove played so idk if thay was ever fixed). So on and so forth. The problem the sims 4 is having is really bringing a strong pack that stays strong. Their weakest points for me right bow is gameplay and bugs. I mean sims personalities can use some help too so I guess we can add that in there.
Wait, snowball fights are broken? They were working fine for me the other day! The leaf piles did get fixed last year, I believe. I haven't seen any for a long time so I think that did get addressed. I guess I am missing most of these bugs, though because I feel like I'm playing a totally different game here.
I've felt for a long time that the Sims 4 packs are stronger, in my opinion, than, say, some of the Sims 3 ones. They feel more structured; like the objects and features within are actually relevant to the pack's theme, not as random as I know a lot of the Sims 3 ones were. Every single feature is something I play again and again; I haven't been able to say that for all of the Sims 3 ones. Again, though, that's just my opinion based on my gameplay experiences and preferences.
The point of the matter is undermining some feedback whether "positive" or "negative" by telling them to go back and play a previous game or to go play the sims 4 if they love it so much doesnt solve the true problem we have. And I'm not sure why people aren't getting that after all these years in this forum. I wish I knew the solution. I know they cannot make everyone happy and I dobt expect that all I expect is my game work right and I get to utilize the features I'm given for what I paid for. And I'm not getting that.
Like I said, I only say it when it seems like the Sims 4 is perpetually making somebody unhappy; the same applies to any game, really. If you're really dissatisfied, it might be time to stop. I still feel like a lot of the "problems" with the Sims 4 are subjective and depend upon people's idea of their perfect simulation game. When The Sims 3 was the current game, people were often frustrated with features that weren't brought over from Sims 2 (the hobby and attraction systems and Open For Business spring to mind instantly and I know there were a lot of others) but nobody ever classed it as a bad game just because of that at the time. It only seems to be within the last few years that we suddenly have "This generation is the WORST because of X, Y and Z!".
It just feels like so many were willing to accept each generation on it's own merits, some 7, 8 even 9 years ago. People weren't as dissatisfied with the game they were playing and were willing to enjoy the features it did have. Maybe it's just me but it feels like the community has become more critical, less constructive over the last few years. It's all "This should be in by now!" instead of "Wouldn't it be great is this got added?", which I remember seeing loads of, back in TS3's heyday.
Sims 4 seems very focused on catering nostalgia (trying to) with a face-lift to me, always has. It did come with innovative ideas (the club system, the Strangerville idea, indeed the calendar). But that’s about it I think (where packs are concerned). And that’s rather mechanics than actually a theme.
A large part of the problem has been the fact that this is what everybody screamed for right from the start.
"We want University."
"We want Seasons."
"We want Pets."
"We want Apartments."
etc, etc, etc. If they didn't include those features, they're wrong and ignoring the fanbase and 'it's not a proper simulation game etc'. When they do, of course, they're catering to nostalgia.
They're never going to win round here. Everything they do is going to inspire outrage in one corner of the community and placate the others. I guess if the Sims 4 hasn't got what you personally want after 5 years, maybe Sims 3 will be for you after all?
Sims 3 all the way, no doubt about it. With all its flaws. But actually the same thing you describe there happened when they were developing Sims 3 as well. “I want retail”, “I want sims to really step out of their car”, “I want to bathe babies in the sink”, “I want seasons”, “I want pets”. So no, that doesn’t explain Sims 4’s shortcomings, Sims 3 managed to be great fun and innovative regardless. Again, in spite of its flaws.
Comments
I think this is it right here I would take it further to say that instead of totally recreating the game they should have just updated it. Instead what they did with S3 and S4 was create a new game based on themes from the previous one.
You're right about this. My nieces are more interested in roblox than the sims. They like fast paced games as it seems most kids do. I do feel like they aimed for the wrong age group. And as a child I always appreciated the maturity of the sims. I liked the feeling of living an adult life lol.
TS3 is full of innovative play. The first time that I saw the Island Paradise trailer, I had to sit down and watch it again and again. Boats, you say? Houseboats, what?!! Diving, windsurfing, waterskiing? All new. The only truly innovative thing that I can credit TS4 with is the Seasons calendar.
However, in TS4 there's a huge con for every pro. The game shipped with no possible way to plan an event in advance. You'd better be ready because as soon as you closed the event window, guests were on their way. It was years before a staple base game feature such as planning an event in advance finally made an appearance in TS4. I'm not sure, because I never use that Seasons planner. But were we really required to pay additional money in order to be able to plan ahead as in other games? Hopefully, that was one of the things that EA patched in.
I said doing stuff just for the sake of diversity.If the women were hire because of the skills good.I have no problem with that .but if they were only hire because their woman, or their race.Just so the company can be diverse for social points..That is not good.The problem is they seem to care more about diversity.Than having a good, bugged free, and flesh out game.Also I don't see how its diverse to have a female staff.
Edit: Yep EA has lost the plot. Censoring "naughty" words that aren't naughty. Wouldn't want to trigger anyone by using regular everyday mild vernacular, right? I'm just about done with EA as a whole. With the added virtue-singling "inclusive" progressive BS and there isn't much left to support. What a bunch of lazy entitled California elitists that have nothing but contempt for those that keep them employed.
FYI: The no burglars is because of the communist Chinese market. They had to remove them from the game to sell in China and were too lazy to make a patched version with burglars for other countries.
Seeing those questions praised by some of the same groups that have repeatedly told older players to stop complaining about what's missing from previous games is pretty infuriating as well. Some older players have been asking for this kind of content for five years.
Right? *facepalm*
For me, it just further validates my feelings/thoughts that the 🐸🐸🐸🐸 will just buy anything Maxis/EA throws at them. We say it and it's shush. They say it and they're a flipping genius and "innovative". *eyeroll*
However, in this case it actually IS everything I wanted. (Well most things) Now it's just wait and see if they can actually implement most of it, if not all of it.
The following is just my opinion, of course. However, I don't think of it as nostalgia so much as staples that the community has come to expect in a Sims game: pets, university, vacations, generational play, seasons, occults, etc. If the latest game in the series didn't have some or all of those things, could it still be considered to be part of the series, or is it something else?
As well, I don't consider the club system to be innovative. It's the group system with the addition of Dos and Don'ts. It's more of a progression than something totally innovative. Strangerville is a simplified retread of every adventure game that ever existed and (again, IMO) it is out of place in The Sims genre. Players were meant to create their own stories, not to be led by the story in the game. It's even impossible to use the world of Strangerville without being confronted by elements of the story -- Sims with odd and disturbing animations that do not converse as usual but are accompanied by cryptic statements about 'The Mother'.
Anyway, I digress. The one thing that I truly consider innovative within TS4 gameplay is the Seasons calendar. I could be wrong, however, I haven't personally seen anything like it anywhere else.
I agree with a lot of what you've said. At first, I was intrigued by the group system until I realized that it was merely a means for the player to make the world seem more alive. The group system is a replacement for a better personality AI. Sims are given a list of Dos and Dont's and they're off to show up wherever they've been instructed to show up. Or wherever other members happen to be.
I never played the ITF story. Although, I made use of a lot of elements in the pack. I especially enjoyed some of the shell buildings and build/buy assets. They were great.
You're correct about there being some kind of story element to that pack. That's why I don't think that Strangerville is innovative, even for The Sims series. To me, the major difference is that players can still have ITF and not have the 'story' interfere in their gameplay. Delete the time portal and forget about it. Strangerville, not so much.
I liked the idea of the calendar at first. I thought that it could be used for birthdays and whatnot. However, as with most things in TS4, everything doesn't quite work as expected. For example, if a Sim doesn't celebrate a holiday, they get an automatic negative mood buff. If you want to use the calendar to plan for things that aren't necessarily related to a holiday -- dinner dates and such -- you need a mod.
As for ITF: well, exactly. I’ve very much enjoyed that pack and everything in it, also using the portal, but completely ignoring the Dystopia/Utopia story. That’s not even an effort, I actually have no idea how I should trigger it even, I’d have to look it up lol.
The "degree" was not translated as the degree as an academic degree but the degree as in room temperature;
The "Fine Art" degree was translated as "drawing";
To "tutor" at universities was translated as "become a university professor of";
"Examine Water" was translated as "to assess water quality";
"Tuck in" for asleep children and toddlers was translated as "to put someone to sleep";
I've been playing the sims since 2001 and the Chinese translations have always come with misunderstanding and confusion...
A large part of the problem has been the fact that this is what everybody screamed for right from the start.
"We want University."
"We want Seasons."
"We want Pets."
"We want Apartments."
etc, etc, etc. If they didn't include those features, they're wrong and ignoring the fanbase and 'it's not a proper simulation game etc'. When they do, of course, they're catering to nostalgia.
They're never going to win round here. Everything they do is going to inspire outrage in one corner of the community and placate the others. I guess if the Sims 4 hasn't got what you personally want after 5 years, maybe Sims 3 will be for you after all?
If it's true they can't win around here, there are reasons for that. Look at the packs they did create under the nostalgia genre. Take a look at Seasons, it's not as well loved as past Season packs because they didn't do what they did before with snow depth. If they had implemented snow like in the past it would have been a bigger hit wouldn't it? But nope, it's just some FX features that do little for immersion, seasons has always been about immersion, umbrellas don't even work half the time, they went the pc direction and named snowmen, snowpals, the holiday calander, even if a new fun idea, doesn't work right half the time, and the whole family winds up bugged or have to come home or whatever. It doesn't work right, either. It doesn't work right with vacation days, either. So, if they can't win around here it might be because what they do redo in this version doesn't live up to past pack features.
Look at C&D, they can't win around here? Well...it only has cats and dogs how is that living up to the legacy of Pets in either 1, 2 or 3? Then it adding strays everywhere that can't be cured or overtakes a save and only annoys players. It's no wonder they can't win around here.
The vet career was broken right out of the box....a nice idea and new but it doesn't work right half the time. If players are upset with them it's no wonder.
Look at University, broken right out of the box. Some things can't be completed because they are bugged and remain bugged. With university packs people expect dorm building..what did they get? Decorate a room. Ho hum how is that innovative? It's not. It's no wonder people aren't pleased with the packs they redid for this version.
Look at CL, nice idea but players expect to build their own apartment buildings like in 2 nd 3. Can they in TS4? no...how is that innovative and new and exciting to just decorate a predetermined cell?
If their reputation is suffering, it's no one to blame but Maxis. Features that don't work even before you can unwrap a new pack, features that are no longer included, and watered down gameplay that makes the idea of rereleasing previous packs a nightmare and a joke. Every one of these packs are lackluster versions of previous packs. And very little innovation and make even TS1 look like some brilliant packs that TS4 can only hope to someday copy.
Snow depth? Is that what the fuss was about with Seasons? People are complaining about the snow depth? I didn't even notice it was an issue.
- What's the issue with the umbrellas? I haven't got problems with them.
- The holiday calendar isn't working? News to me. I use it all the time and not had a problem with it. Likewise the vacation days, not having problems over here.
- Strays have been in every version of pets. Aside from one womrat, or whatever it was in Sims 2 that hardly anybody used (to my knowledge), Sims 2 pets only had Cats and Dogs. I thought the issue was with My First pet Stuff here, not the Cats and Dogs themselves. Or is this just because horses never made a comeback? Because apart from horses, I'm not seeing the legitimate complaint that it doesn't "live up to past pack features", as it were.
- I haven't worked with the Vet career yet, so I can't comment on that one. What's broken about it, anyway? A few friends of mine don't seem to be having problems?
- How on earth is University broken? I'm playing a game with it now and have been for weeks and it's working just fine. What things can't be completed? I must be missing all these
- Erm, I'm pretty sure you can build your own dorms? The lot tag's right there, I saw it last night. So it's a little more than decorating a room, actually. You can build the dorms in any world, not just Britechester.
I have to wonder though - if the game is so watered down, awful, a joke, 'not a real Sims game' etc: why is it still selling well? Let's be honest, if it wasn't, Maxis wouldn't be continuing it now, would they? So universally, it can't be that bad really. Not in the eyes of the majority who are still enjoying it, getting excited for new packs, 5 years down the line. It's only the forum-dwelling/social media crowd that seem up in arms about every little thing.
Just my opinion, though. I guess I'm lucky not to be getting these game-breaking bugs so many seem to be getting
My theory is, EA/Maxis is still selling because they have no competition. So where is there to go to when they're literally the only ones who make a simulation game like the sims? Even if one were to go back thats still money in their pockets if said individuals still buying even old packs from the sims 3 and since they are still making money not only on the sims 3 but also on the sims 4 they should have the funding to create fuller packs with enhanced gameplay and its just not cutting it. It's clear with a lot of nostalgic packs they've cut corners and that's where simmers are upset. I dont believe they're playing on nostalgia by bringing old packs back because they've done it in the past with the sims 3, however the difference is how it was implemented within the sims 3 that made it expand from the sims 2.
For example take a look at seasons. Now I wont lie and say they didn't add things that expanded on it in the sims 4. I absolutely love the calendar system in seasons, and how major holidays work but that's about it. A lot of things are broken like snow ball fights and those everlasting stinky leaf piles (it's been a whole since ove played so idk if thay was ever fixed). So on and so forth. The problem the sims 4 is having is really bringing a strong pack that stays strong. Their weakest points for me right bow is gameplay and bugs. I mean sims personalities can use some help too so I guess we can add that in there.
The point of the matter is undermining some feedback whether "positive" or "negative" by telling them to go back and play a previous game or to go play the sims 4 if they love it so much doesnt solve the true problem we have. And I'm not sure why people aren't getting that after all these years in this forum. I wish I knew the solution. I know they cannot make everyone happy and I dobt expect that all I expect is my game work right and I get to utilize the features I'm given for what I paid for. And I'm not getting that.
The reason I say it so often is because there are a lot of people who really seem to despise the game, calling it the worst ever. The thing is, they've given their feedback hundreds of times. If the game still isn't what they want after all this time, maybe it's the time to find the version that does more? It must be awful to feel so frustrated when the game isn't what you want it to be. I'm not saying that to discredit their complaints; after all, I see the game differently to, say, yourself and the features some feel 'should' be there, I have reasons for being glad they're not. I only say that when it seems that the game is making them so unhappy. The Sims, whichever version you're playing, should make you happy. When any one of them stops making you happy, maybe it is the time to find a different version. Nobody's constructive criticism is ireelevant; it's vital for companies to keep delivering after all.
Announcements that 'The Sims 4 is the worst in the franchise', however, are not constructive. They're subjective because every indidivudl on this forum will have an opinion for a variety of reasons.
My theory is, EA/Maxis is still selling because they have no competition. So where is there to go to when they're literally the only ones who make a simulation game like the sims? [/quote]
Maybe a lot of people really do enjoy The Sims, regardless of competition. Even when Paralives eventually releases, a lot of people will still buy The Sims, regardless of generation simply because they enjoy it. There's nothing wrong with that.
Wait, snowball fights are broken? They were working fine for me the other day! The leaf piles did get fixed last year, I believe. I haven't seen any for a long time so I think that did get addressed. I guess I am missing most of these bugs, though because I feel like I'm playing a totally different game here.
I've felt for a long time that the Sims 4 packs are stronger, in my opinion, than, say, some of the Sims 3 ones. They feel more structured; like the objects and features within are actually relevant to the pack's theme, not as random as I know a lot of the Sims 3 ones were. Every single feature is something I play again and again; I haven't been able to say that for all of the Sims 3 ones. Again, though, that's just my opinion based on my gameplay experiences and preferences.
Like I said, I only say it when it seems like the Sims 4 is perpetually making somebody unhappy; the same applies to any game, really. If you're really dissatisfied, it might be time to stop. I still feel like a lot of the "problems" with the Sims 4 are subjective and depend upon people's idea of their perfect simulation game. When The Sims 3 was the current game, people were often frustrated with features that weren't brought over from Sims 2 (the hobby and attraction systems and Open For Business spring to mind instantly and I know there were a lot of others) but nobody ever classed it as a bad game just because of that at the time. It only seems to be within the last few years that we suddenly have "This generation is the WORST because of X, Y and Z!".
It just feels like so many were willing to accept each generation on it's own merits, some 7, 8 even 9 years ago. People weren't as dissatisfied with the game they were playing and were willing to enjoy the features it did have. Maybe it's just me but it feels like the community has become more critical, less constructive over the last few years. It's all "This should be in by now!" instead of "Wouldn't it be great is this got added?", which I remember seeing loads of, back in TS3's heyday.