Has The Sims team upped their game? «123...Next Go

Holiday

So now that we have seen the Live Stream for Snowy Escape and the game changers content is starting to filter out, do you think the team have upped their game with this pack and also upcoming patch features?

I understand that different packs speak to different people and some may not have been a fan of some of the packs this year - but putting the themes aside and focusing solely on the depth of gameplay and content we have been receiving, do you think they have upped their game?

Lustianicia

No - Still the same

In my opinion, the only time they ever upped their game was when 'Seasons' was released. That expansion pack came with so many surprises I never expected from The Sims 4 team... especially the calendar feature.

alanmichael1

Yes - A lot

The vacation possibility in every world expands gameplay more than every other free patch content before.

TomasGrizzly

Yes - A lot

Packs are often hit-or-miss thematically for me, and I don't have all of them so I can't say for sure, but it feels they're doing a lot of good stuff even with the limited TS4 engine. Especially all the build mode improvements. Eco Lifestyle and now Snowy Escape try to make the game feel more realistic when it comes to interaction between Sims, even though it doesn't always work as well as we'd hope (such as some NAPs) and the UI could use some extra tabs (because throwing NAP points, parenthood values, and whatever else into a single tab is a mess).

For me, they'll have a lot of work to beat TS4 with TS5 unless TS5 build mode and CAS are at least at the same level as TS4 is now. I could't play without the flexible drag-edit rooms anymore. Is there a lot to improve still? Yes. Are they doing a lot recently to make the game better? Yes.

SageRainWillow

I didn't vote because it's unknown yet. Trailers and live streams look good, but I won't know all the little details until I can play the pack.

Babykittyjade

Yes - A lot

Personally I think it only gets better and better when you look back where we started. Even stuff packs are getting better.
I love many other packs a lot but they outdid themselves on the content of this one including all the new animations.
Moschino was amazing for a stuff pack too

And the definitely do listen. I'm definitely not saying this was all because of me 😅 but I wrote them more than once nice long paragraphs and in surveys about the sims walking together with examples,about activities we need with sims doing things "together" things for kids to be included in and I see 50% of the things I talked about including the personality changes I gave with examples.
Though many asked for this of course.
I'm pleasantly surprised, rather that had any influence or not 🤭 it's nice to have.

The other 50% is occult related so we'll see😃

SERVERFRA

Yes - A lot

Lots that can either be a Residential or Resort in most of the worlds.
Platform building tools.
Improved personalities.
Better Hairstyles.
Color Slides for all Skintones.
Round Houses.
Having YouTube simmers help make the new game.
Devs finally starting to put things in the Sims 4 that look like a mod.

musteni

I have positive feels about the pack & patches coming up, but I need to see how the sentiments and lifestyles work in my game first. Ecolifestyle has some great concepts, but the execution leaves something to desire.

EnkiSchmidt

No - Still the same

They still insist on tying content to their vision instead of allowing true sandbox play:
- CAS unlockables in general and no support for selling between played household via Plopsy
- the inventory-, powers-, build- and even CAS restrictions in JtB
- still no buildable apartments
- festivals still being confined to specific neighborhoods
- winter sports only possible at the slope objects that cannot be placed freely
- clinging to the vacation world concept even after Sulani had been a step forward and rental lots being useable everywhere now

I give them points for the opt-out buttons for npc voting and lifestyles, but that's too little to call it progress.

Nikkih

Yes - A little

I would say after finding out what were getting from both the new patch update and what were getting from the new pack, I think we are definitely heading too the right direction, I'm curious and excited of what 2021 will bring too the sims 4

babajayne

Yes - A lot

If Island Living had come with the update allowing rental properties in any residential world, I think it would have been received better. This is the kind of base game update that gives us more sandbox play options. Sentiments also look really interesting and I think it’s as close to memories as we can get. We asked for consequences and I think they are trying to deliver here.

The EP itself has a nice mix of activities. It doesn’t bother me that the snow sports are tied to the mountain. I’d much rather have this than be limited to a half-pipe which I never used in Sims 3 and I wouldn’t put it in my backyard anyway. The rock climbing looks exciting (love that it’s actually a risk) and it’s a nice surprise to have an event for this, it makes it feel more official- and the rewards are going to make it obvious who my climbers are. I’m going to have so much fun using all these features to add more dimension to my sims’ personalities. There’s more replay value here than I would have expected. Can’t wait!

logion

Yes - A little

Yes, I think so. This pack seems to have a little more longevity with lifestyles and sentiments. We still have a one-time experience with mountain climbing and skiing, it looks fun but I'm not sure how fun it is when you are doing it for the 15th time, but injuries and lifestyles and sentiments will expand the game and improve gameplay and hopefully long-time goals.

I like that they added more reasons for your sims to finding your zen and visiting hot springs, the functionality where they can choose their own emotions is pretty cool.

I think the world looks nice and the fact that game changers helped building the lots definitely makes it look better, I still don't like that a lot of houses are just set dressing though, like the train. They have no functionality and while it is nice that we can have a large zone where we can walk around, it also makes some areas feel deserted, I think they should have made the market a smaller zone so that more sims could spawn there, not just when they have a festival.

Their other updates this year seems to have been more what people have wanted, like ladders, firemen, skin tone updates etc. So I think they have improved.

Calico45

Yes - A little

It is way too early to tell since SE isn't even out yet. Plus it has been a mixed bag. I really liked EL, and was pleasantly surprised by NK, but I really didn't like JTB. I admit JTB was never going to be for me anyway, but if you look at the reaction of the majority of the community I have never seen so much hate for a pack.

Plus, even objectively gameplay was super strangled and kept nearly entirely to one world that supernaturals did not really function in. I also never heard if it was fixed that batuu outfits would mess with supernatural forms. Pretty much everything had an equivalent from another pack, no cross-pack that I can think of, and you were restricted from doing things with the main Disney characters. At bare minimum droids should have kept all their functions when you bring them home, but they don't so what is the point of having them?

So as good as SE looks, and it really does look to be one of my new favorites, we cannot just forget that JTB was the last pack before it.

Onverser

No - Getting worse

I picked getting worse just because they're starting to put more and more fake houses into the new worlds. I'd rather have small worlds or nothing there than worlds that are full of set dressing everywhere because that makes it completely unfunctional and feels like a ghost town

Nate_Whiplash1

No - Still the same

The underlying fault with TS4 is that the personality system is still hopelessly broken. With the newest release they attempt to address that, but it's not a major revamp--instead, they have applied patches on top of the faulty system. I honestly don't think we'll see a big impact in personalities, even with the changes

Vivi_WillowTree

No - Getting worse

Until they go back to the roots of what makes a sims game great, they're getting worse or more desperate to make some money.

TheSpotted_C

No - Still the same

I say still the same for me, but I only have one real complaint about The Sims 4 so I don't consider Snowy Escape to be "upping their game," just expanding. I'm enjoying myself and since this isn't some communally-played game, that's all that really matters to me.

Sharonia

Yes - A little

I think they have a little yes. The Lifestyles and Sentiments show that they have listened and are trying to add improvements to personalities. Whether they are an actual improvement only time will tell but nobody can't say that they haven't tried adding something new.

The fact that they have included children and toddlers more in this new pack also tells me that they are listening and making more of an effort.

Somethings they still could of done way better like the horrible teleport gondola lifts. Details like keeping sims from other worlds out of the new pretty themed worlds would also be nice but maybe I'm just expecting to much here.

Overall I do think they have upped their game a little with this pack.

Scobre

Yes - A little

I think they have a bit. I mean still a ways to go of course, but packs have more gameplay than they used to and aren't just CAS focused. Nice to have gameplay and build modes be important finally too.

So_Money

Meh. I’m not going to judge the new expansion too harshly because I’m not going to buy it and I’m generally disinterested at this point. But I doubt that it will surprise me and bring the kind of innovation I’ve stopped expecting from TS4. On the surface it still seems too small in scope for an expansion, and over-filled with “stuff” as compensation.

As far as I can see the game’s core mechanics haven’t evolved or been changed for the better in any significant way.

Ray_Trace

Yes - A little

I'd say yes a little, but only by a hair or so. I do like a lot of the new features that are introduced and I'll always welcome new content in the game, but I don't think any packs they'll make address the deep underlying issues the game has that a lot of people take umbrage with that can really only be addressed by mods at this point as anything on that level of change will also end up alienating a lot of players content with the current one.

I like how some of the improvements are from fan feedback such as sentiments and ability to place vacation lots in any world you like but I'd hardly call that "upping their game", just sounds like an extra splosh of glitter, maybe an extra room in the house, and maybe some nicer decorations here and there, but you still have the same house.

I don't think it's worse by any stretch of the imagination unless the pack introduces new terrible bugs or some features I don't like such as Eco Lifestyle's Sharing is Caring NAP (which you can disable general NAP anyway iirc).

charmed4life4

No - Still the same

For me it's too soon to tell. We have a way of giving EA credit and then something like Star Wars comes out. I am waiting to see how broken the game will be after this pack.

DeKay

Yes - A little

I picked a little cuz the new skin tone update impressed me with all the many options. The Snowy Escape pack still feels kinda overpriced to me tho for an Expansion Pack.

alyssasim87

Yes - A little

i think that its getting a bit better. were heading in the right direction anyway. theres new things to do with families. like sledding with toddlers, kids looking for voidcritters, more family stuff to do. it still needs more work. but im glad to see them stepping up some. i hope that they continue to include more stuff for families to do. plus i think the new sentiments might turn out to be a pretty good thing. we need some deeper moments in sims lives.

Shachaai

No - Still the same

I'm hopeful about SE and I (mostly) like what I saw in the livestream, but honestly, it's the kind of hope we should have been feeling with the other packs this year - but haven't. The platforms coming in a free update are a nice surprise, but all the other fixes are just problems that have been overdue solving for years. A lot of the packs already released still badly need a patch to fix their individual issues and add things that are so blatantly missing. But at least the team are starting to solve some of the problems now.

The sims team haven't upped their game yet, but at least they seem to have noticed there's a game on now and started putting in an effort to play it. If they keep on in this vein, I'm really positive about what we may see from them in 2021.

MoQ

No - Still the same

Gotta say 'No'. The team peaked when they created that connected-world feeling in the older title.
Don't know why better graphics, build mode "improvements", mood system, or the multitasking system meant we had to lose that... They're all improvements, but honestly its mostly stuff that you could picture happening in the sims 3 if they just kept the kept that game in development for a while longer.