Sims 4 compared to Sims 3

Tay-way654 · July 2020

What are some noticeable difference that you’ve seen between sims 4 and sims 3?? I just recently redownloaded the sims 3 after I found out that the farming pack was a hoax because I needed and missed horses. Yet lately I’ve noticed that I enjoy and stay more entertained playing sims 3 than I ever did with sims 4. I’m not sure why but sims 4 gets old and boring after an hour for me. Even after spending hours making a house and family I still don’t get nearly the same satisfaction as the sims 3! The gameplay and even the expansion packs in the sims 4 can’t even compete with the sims 3 in my opinion. Unfortunately the sims 3 takes forever to load and crashes every time I enter CAS yet after 5 hours of making a family (due to crashes) the sims 3 is still substantially more entertaining than the sims 4. What do y’all think could make the sims 4 better and why do you think the creators downgraded from the sims 3? I’ve heard that the loading and crashing of the sims 3 made the game not as great yet I’d rather deal with the crashes and play sims 3 for hours rather than the sims 4. The sims 3 had always been my favorite game of all time yet the crashes are annoying. Still though I’d rather play the sims 3 with hourly Mac crashes than attempt to play the sims 4. I could be alone on this (and I’ve never played sims 1 or 2, yet I feel like sims 4 had gone backwards in comparison to the sims 3). So for one, what are ways to make sims 4 interesting without challenges? I’m not going to continue buying expansions as they always get old after a few gameplays so what are some ways y’all keep it interesting?

Calico45 · July 2020

The Sims 4 does not have the depth of gameplay and a laughable personality system in comparison. Traits have little to no effect for making unique Sims, at least partially because the emotion system was supposed to be what made the Sims smarter than ever (which was left aside and not improved upon).

Anyway, I believe the rumors that have been circulating since before launch that Sims 4 was supposed to be a whole other animal-- Something online only akin to Sim City. When the latter failed, they changed course far too close to launch leaving the current gen with a janky, limited base. It has persisted too long with discussions and datamines.

I do agree that it was probably toned down for laptops after 3, but that does not explain every single limitation. No open world? Laptops. No personality depth? Laptops. No color wheel? Laptops. Child stage limitations? Laptops. No pet slots? Laptops. No replaceable lots? Laptops. No create a world? Laptops. No pools, toddlers, etc. at launch? Laptops. I can continue, but it is too excessive.

Anyway, I like 4's toddlers, vampires, graphics, and CAS the best, but I get bored in live mode far more in 4 than 3. Plus my favorite packs are Pets packs. In my opinion, 3 has the absolute best and 4 has the worst (look great, play awful because they are NPCs that take up a family slot).

As for improvement, they need to make emotions and personalities better. Also, address some of the DLC weaknesses. Finally, just get rid of the bugs.

Tay-way654 · July 2020

Calico45 wrote: »

The Sims 4 does not have the depth of gameplay and a laughable personality system in comparison. Traits have little to no effect for making unique Sims, at least partially because the emotion system was supposed to be what made the Sims smarter than ever (which was left aside and not improved upon).

Anyway, I believe the rumors that have been circulating since before launch that Sims 4 was supposed to be a whole other animal-- Something online only akin to Sim City. When the latter failed, they changed course far too close to launch leaving the current gen with a janky, limited base. It has persisted too long with discussions and datamines.

I do agree that it was probably toned down for laptops after 3, but that does not explain every single limitation. No open world? Laptops. No personality depth? Laptops. No color wheel? Laptops. Child stage limitations? Laptops. No pet slots? Laptops. No replaceable lots? Laptops. No create a world? Laptops. No pools, toddlers, etc. at launch? Laptops. I can continue, but it is too excessive.

Anyway, I like 4's toddlers, vampires, graphics, and CAS the best, but I get bored in live mode far more in 4 than 3. Plus my favorite packs are Pets packs. In my opinion, 3 has the absolute best and 4 has the worst (look great, play awful because they are NPCs that take up a family slot).

As for improvement, they need to make emotions and personalities better. Also, address some of the DLC weaknesses. Finally, just get rid of the bugs.

You’ve just put all my thoughts into real words and then some more💜

peragogo · July 2020

I can’t get into 3 anymore. After spending ages to make a potato looking sim hot on the heels of spending ages to load the game, the sims go off, get jobs and then I stare at the neighbourhood for a while and shut it off.

I’d rather play Sims 2 over Sims 3.

SheriSim57 · July 2020

Yeah, I heard they had a new engine for the sims 4. Like Calico45 said it was supposed to be an online game but, when sim city crashed and burned for being online they decided to go in the other direction with the sims 4. When I started I heard their weren’t ghosts or pools or toddlers. It was only half finished when it launched. Toddlers took years to get here, and babies still haven’t been fixed, they are objects, so much behind sims 2. I also think they should have used dressers to store clothes rather than doing premade outfits. If we had to buy the clothes piece by piece it would have made having clothing stores so much more fun. Also, I was so disappointed you couldn’t buy clothes off the rack, and had limited mannequins to buy off of, and someone has to own the store to set it up properly. No food from the fridge should be free, you should have to buy it. They limited children too much, they can’t garden, they can’t catch big fish, they can’t play with frogs or feed them. Babies are objects tied to the crib. And like I said, there were no toddlers for years. The ‘Smart Sims’ are not that smart. The towns are small. I like to have many community lots..... there is just not enough room for all the businesses I would like to make or download. I remember in sims 2 children could play tag, and cops and robbers together, and 8 people volleyball. It just seemed more real. There are also some stupid deaths in the sims 4, like laughing yourself to death. Apartments in other iterations were better too. I also wish we could live in vacation worlds and vacation in worlds we live in. I miss being able to change colors and patterns of furniture and clothes with the color wheel so much. It’s the little things that matter.

Now that being said, I have been able to play the same Sims 4 game for many years without it crashing which is great. Sims can move from world to world, and all my sims can become friends with each other, I do wish we could have more favorited, played sims by this time though. Some of the things they have added like being able to eat and watch tv at the same time is great too. I thought the 3 jobs in get to work were great, unfortunately a lot of people complained about them and I haven’t seen as good of jobs with work places in any of the packs since. That pack kept me really entertained for 6 months....., and I still like it. My doctor delivers all the babies in town. Sims 4 is not as exciting for me as Sims 2 was. I stopped playing 3 early ( after two packs.). My gamy game kept crashing and I hated all the rabbit holes it started out with. I heard it became really good later though.

I hope sims 5 can bring the best of all the sims games together...... I would love that!

simmerLella · July 2020

Overall there are too many for me to get into. Bless those with the patience to try.

peragogo wrote: »

I can’t get into 3 anymore. After spending ages to make a potato looking sim hot on the heels of spending ages to load the game, the sims go off, get jobs and then I stare at the neighbourhood for a while and shut it off.

I’d rather play Sims 2 over Sims 3.

Well, you didn't play long enough to learn how to make TS3 Sims or to populate your world enough. I love looking around the open world to see what everyone's/anyone's up to. They're REALLY up to stuff!!! A new world is less populated though, but just give it some time.

I love TS3 the most but TS4 has its perks too. I wish Eco Lifestyle weren't bugged and they coded the eco status to not decay (or confirmed whether that IS a bug, at least). That EP's potential was one thing TS4 could have had going for it because, aside from a few objects, it really seems like new gameplay we can't get elsewhere - in theory. Apparently, the EP barely works for now though.

Sorry, a little tangent, sort of.

AnnLee87 · July 2020

I have not play The Sims 3 since The Sims 4 came out.

I remember that when I went to venue in TS3 there would only be a few Sims there. Go to a venue in TS4 there are a lot of Sims around. It gets lively quickly.

I remember TS3 being empty and spread out. It might take a while for my Sim to go places especially on a bike or walking. Not much scenery either. I don't mind the loading screens in TS4 and it's pretty.

The Sims 3 was unstable crashed a lot. By the time I got the world populated enough the save would stop working. The Sims 4 never has crashed me back to the desktop. I find it unstable in legacy play also.

I never bought all the packs from TS3 because it crashed a lot. I have all the packs for The Sims 4. It's buggy and things break but it is playable. I have never lost game play with The Sims 4.

I think the toddlers are the best in TS4 but my daughter in law likes Sims 2 toddlers more. She never played The Sims 3.

When I played multiple households in TS3 nothing would change while playing another household. I don't play a rotation in The Sims 4 because things change while playing another household. The Sims grow romantic relationships when not playing even if they are married. I have to mod the game to keep marriages intact.

TS3 had maternity cloths. Most TS4 cloths look distorted on a pregnant Sims. The patterns or buttons look bigger around a pregnant belly. Clothing for men does the same thing. Put a button down shirt on a man with a pot belly and the buttons appear bigger around the belly area. (Father Winter) It bugs me! Now with cable knit sweaters in my game they do it too. The knit pattern becomes distorted around the belly.

That's all! I could sit here and write all night but not doing that.

Sha2520032003 · July 2020

For me, I think TS3 served its purpose for the time it was in. When it was out, I was completely invested. Loved the open world and I really liked the supernatural pack the best & I loved the houseboats plus the horses. I tried to go back to it, but just couldn't get into it....and even on a gaming laptop, my computer can barely run the game without constant crashes.

I don't have a desire to go back to TS3. But without mods, I couldn't play TS4, whereas I never needed mods for TS3 or even TS2. So I think that alone says a lot that TS4 just doesn't have enough 'meat' compared to the other versions. I've always felt that the next iteration was supposed to be a step up from the previous iteration and there might be some things that don't carry over, but generally the next iteration is supposed to be "better". I've always felt that TS4 was a step down from TS3 or TS2. The enhancements or new things in TS4 didn't overshadow all the things that was missing. It was hard for me to go from having babies in TS3 that my Sims could put in strollers, carry around, put in play pen etc. to having baby objects in TS4. My list can go on, on the things that didn't carry over, that made TS4 base game seem lacking. In addition, I think the emotion system, memory system and just overall depth is what TS4 lacks. & it's taken way too long to get basic NPC's which I believe should have been there from the start such as the firefighter. Still missing the burglar.

However, on the plus side, I do think TS4 has the best toddlers, vampires, CAS, and building system. & with my heavily modded version of TS4, I get what I need that I feel is lacking (story progression, emotions/jealousy reactions, memories, etc.) I have fun with the game.....I feel that I'm able to create some super creative and dynamic stories that I wasn't able to in TS2 or TS3. From what I recall with TS2....the game was actually really, really challenging, so I didn't have time to create a story, I was trying to survive lol. & TS3, I just played, really wasn't trying to create a stories or do challenges. So I don't know.....it's a hard one for me, to compare TS4 to the other versions. I can totally see both sides....of what is missing in TS4 and what is good.

texxx78 · July 2020

There are a lot of things missing in 4 that were there in 3 and some other things that we have in 4 and are great, that we didn't have in 3. A lot of those things have already been mentioned above.

But to me the biggest difference is in how i play each game.

In 3 my play was driven by wishes. It was such an in depth mechanic, with wishes showing according to traits, skills and overall anything that happened in my sim's lifes. I loved that.

Well, when i started playing 4 i couldn't play like that... whims are just there, but they aren't deep, they don't evolve as the character evolves. It was disapointing and it made me stop playing for four years! When i got back i knew i had to play in a different way. So that was when i started inventing my stories without relying in any game's mechanics. And it ended being my favourite way of playing. Creating my own stories, throwing them on the game and embracing the unexpected events. It has led me to deeper stories than those i had in 3 and to a greater enjoyment of the game.

This doesn't mean i couldn't have played 3 like that, but it was in 4 that i found how to play this way and it's the game im enjoying the most in the series (i haven't played much 2 cause i was too busy with real life back then).

I have went back to 3 latelly and yet i couldn't connect to thi game anymore. Maybe cause im now used to 4's mechanics... maybe cause i can have such a big save with several played households and several generations and i can keep going cause the game can handle it...

TS1299 · July 2020

telmarina wrote: »

There are a lot of things missing in 4 that were there in 3 and some other things that we have in 4 and are great, that we didn't have in 3. A lot of those things have already been mentioned above.

But to me the biggest difference is in how i play each game.

In 3 my play was driven by wishes. It was such an in depth mechanic, with wishes showing according to traits, skills and overall anything that happened in my sim's lifes. I loved that.

Well, when i started playing 4 i couldn't play like that... whims are just there, but they aren't deep, they don't evolve as the character evolves. It was disapointing and it made me stop playing for four years! When i got back i knew i had to play in a different way. So that was when i started inventing my stories without relying in any game's mechanics. And it ended being my favourite way of playing. Creating my own stories, throwing them on the game and embracing the unexpected events. It has led me to deeper stories than those i had in 3 and to a greater enjoyment of the game.

This doesn't mean i couldn't have played 3 lile that, but it was in 4 that i found how to play this way and it's the game im enjoying the most in the series (i haven't played much 2 cause i was too busy with real life back then).

I have went back to 3 latelly and yet i couldn't connect to any of this games anymore. Maybe cause im now used to 4's mechanics... maybe cause i can have such a big save with several played households and several generations and i can keep going cause the game can handle it...

I bit agree With this. With the Sims 3 my playstylewas driven by the game or by the sims, but in The Sims 4 it is driven by the stories you tell. I know many people don;t want that bust as a writer, It really is great. Still I would like my Sims to have deeper personalities

Onverser · July 2020

To be honest I go between. Each game has its pros and cons for me. I feel like ironically Sims 4 premades have more personality than Sims 3 ones. All the Sims 3 ones look exactly the same!

The biggest pro for the Sims 3 for me is the storyline. For example in World Adventures there's tons of quests to do in the worlds, Into the Future has a quest, I think Island Paradise has a story quest aswell and the ambitions careers all have storylines and goals. Whilst in TS4 there isn't really anything like that. Closest thing to quests is the lifetime ambitions, even Strangerville the story pack is a lifetime ambition rather than a quest.

Sims 4 I enjoy CAS, build-buy, etc a lot more and as I mentioned above the premades have more diversity and personality which makes them more interesting to interact with (even if they all act the same atleast they all look different).

AncientMuse · July 2020

Ahhh, Sims 3.... the good old days when we could put any pattern/colour on any piece of clothing/furniture. *sigh*

I miss building a houseboat and zipping around from island to island, docking at some resort for a bite to eat and a plunge down a waterslide into a pool. Customizing each world was also a big one for me, loved getting each world to look just the way I wanted with my own little personal touches everywhere.

It's tempting to reinstall Sims 3 and play it again. I even have a whole bunch of my old cc saved in a file collecting dust somewhere on my computer.

peragogo · July 2020

simmerLella wrote: »

peragogo wrote: »

I can’t get into 3 anymore. After spending ages to make a potato looking sim hot on the heels of spending ages to load the game, the sims go off, get jobs and then I stare at the neighbourhood for a while and shut it off.

I’d rather play Sims 2 over Sims 3.

Well, you didn't play long enough to learn how to make TS3 Sims or to populate your world enough. I love looking around the open world to see what everyone's/anyone's up to. They're REALLY up to stuff!!! A new world is less populated though, but just give it some time.

I just checked and I have 368 hours in Sims 3, so that is actually a fair enough point.

Hermitgirl · July 2020

I played Sims 1 and 2 and then tried 3 on release (paying full price). I don't have much good to say about it because I couldn't play it for long.. it was not the game for me. I did get the starter pack again Base/Late Night and High End Loft a few years after Sims 4 released just because of all the comparisons and thought to try it again and with tips from others maybe I'd like it. I still didn't. Looks like I've logged 17 hours total since that time on Sims 3. I'm near 6000 hours on Sims 4. To say that I like it better is quite an understatement.
I was disappointed when I tried Sims 3 when it came out and I know things changed and were added, but I wasn't disappointed with the base Sims 4 game when I loaded that in. It felt like I came back to a sims game that was meant to be continued from Sims 1 and 2. First yes.. I didn't like the look of the sims in 3. I don't like to spend hours in CAS, and still don't unless really inspired. I didn't like story progression in Sims 3. I had liked the way they did it in Sims 2 and it was jarring to see how it was done in 3. I didn't like driving or walking to rabbitholes.. that was disappointing. I thought when I went into a bookstore.. I'd be in the bookstore and it didn't happen. I didn't like the wish things driving my play (although I understand you don't have to play that way now). I didn't like open world... it took forever to get anywhere and when I played at least the needs would go down basically by the time I got somewhere. The animations, the weird way they move to stand, the run... yeah it looks bad to me. In comparison for me... I can travel easily in Sims 4. I can add anything to community lots and fill my needs easily there from day one while my sim is on the lot. Just go into build quick and plop down a bed for instance. If I get a reward trait I can basically live in other sims houses and use all their stuff (this reward trait wasn't needed at launch). It just made it pleasurable to play, tell stories, be a vagabond... Do whatever. I have a variety of worlds that my sims can go to for different scenery in each save. I can tell the stories I want to tell. I also am very pleased I don't need cc anymore. That turned into a huge part of my play time in the first two games eventually. Just the searching all night then adding it in to play for a short while. I imagine if I could have held out on Sims 3 it would have been the same way. Just so I could tolerate the way the looked.
Sims 4 just has a ton of features that make it better for me. Managed worlds, the ease of the gallery, CAS features like hats and hair and ease of use, body push and pull, musculature. Building isn't hard for a rookie and with patches things have gotten better. Multitasking, fluidity of animations, the list just goes on and on. I do think though because I am a story teller and want to tell my stories my way without it being game driven to the extent of 3 or prior games for that matter it makes me appreciate Sims 4 that much more.

Goldmoldar · July 2020

For me Sims 3 was very good for the time period it came out but there were an few things that was not in Sims 3 favor. one, it was not properly tweaked by EA/Maxis as Sims 4 has the same problem. EA/Maxis was slow on the draw on fixing the bugs that existed in Sims 3 and again the same with Sims 4. The way Sims 4 began was no accident as it was built on an failed project meaning it had to stay within the limitations the engine was built for, instead of building an engine from scratch. Sims 4 has not followed an normal evolution like most games experience. So for me while Sims 3 was not perfect and by the way My sims never looked like potatoes, it had better gameplay than Sims 4, Sims 4 packs for me is gimped as not to shake feathers and I wish I could get the gameplay where I can play for hours and when I get out I want to go back in. Sims 4 is not totally bad but it is not GOTY material for it lacks most features that really allowed me to get creative. The creation of new worlds was free in Sims 3 was free and I did not have to wait for EA/Maxis to give me one which now does cost money and even that is far and in between for that is now their new way of getting money.

Another thing Sims 4 returned to an old feature that was gone in Sims 3 multiple loading screens even though for some there was an long or short loading screen when Sims 3 loaded up at the start of the game and nearly none afterwards but in Sims 4 there are multiple loading screens which lessens the immersion effect for me and one of the reasons some features may not work in Sims 4. I can go on and bring out all of Sims 4 disadvantages but I will leave it at that. Sims 4 should have been an extension of Sims 1 through 3 and it is not for old features and new features are mixed and sadly not in Sim 4 and when they try to it is an gimped form. However the best version for me was Sims 2 even with it's Twilight Zone effect which truly allowed me to tell stories.

Sharonia · July 2020

I didn't like the Sims 3. It caused me to stop playing the sims for many years. Most of the things people love about that iteration I didn't like. Colour wheels, open worlds, the graphics all of it was just not for me. It was honestly a huge let down to me after the Sims 2.

When the Sims 4 released I was so happy to see that they had gone back to the more simple times of cartoon style graphics, loading screens and swatches. Sadly the base game released without toddlers and was rather lacking. I was not happy with it back then, it was obvious to me that it was rushed and released before it was ready. I only really started to enjoy the Sims 4 after seasons was released. It's far from perfect and it took a long time to get it where it is now but for me it's still a definite improvement.

The only things I wish they would improve on in the Sims 4 is their attitudes to family play, stop focusing on young adults so much. Give us real babies and more things for the other neglected life stages, improve personalities and for god sake start testing products before releasing them to the public. Every new pack brings a multitude of bugs and it feels like they don't test them at all.

TomasGrizzly · July 2020

TS4 has a superior build mode. Drag-and-drop room adjustments... I wouldn't be able to build without that.

logion · July 2020

I was introduced to the sims with the sims4 and I played the sims3 for a while after that. There was a while where I played both the sims3 and the sims4 but I had to give up on the sims3. The performance is so bad on my computer and I have a gaming PC which can run a lot of the latest games on ultra settings.

Other things that made me lose interest in the sims3 was that a lot of the sims looks the same, they also have strange behavior which I assume was introduced in updates and other packs. I got love letter in the mailbox every day, got invited to go on dates with complete strangers, literally every sim I met was introduced with a flirty tune, I had a party and every sims was going around, pointing fingers and laughing, I took my sim to university and all my roommates almost starved to death because they could not take care of themselves, if I leave my sim to take care of their own needs, they will watch tv until they starve or their bladder is so low that they complain.

I downloaded a bunch of mods to help remove all that and used NRAAS to fix the performance...somewhat. Now I have encountered a problem where the game is just laggy no matter what I do so I have just given up.

Sims4 is more stable, and gives me more customization, and the sims behavior are not as annoying, they can actually somewhat take care of themselves. But I do miss that there was more to do in the sims3 and I think we can do that without sacrificing performance. Especially in 2020.

Simmingal · July 2020

Sharonia wrote: »

I didn't like the Sims 3. It caused me to stop playing the sims for many years. Most of the things people love about that iteration I didn't like. Colour wheels, open worlds, the graphics all of it was just not for me. It was honestly a huge let down to me after the Sims 2.

When the Sims 4 released I was so happy to see that they had gone back to the more simple times of cartoon style graphics, loading screens and swatches. Sadly the base game released without toddlers and was rather lacking. I was not happy with it back then, it was obvious to me that it was rushed and released before it was ready. I only really started to enjoy the Sims 4 after seasons was released. It's far from perfect and it took a long time to get it where it is now but for me it's still a definite improvement.

The only things I wish they would improve on in the Sims 4 is their attitudes to family play, stop focusing on young adults so much. Give us real babies and more things for the other neglected life stages, improve personalities and for god sake start testing products before releasing them to the public. Every new pack brings a multitude of bugs and it feels like they don't test them at all.

this. I was majorly depressed during ts3 era cause everything about that game is just stressful somehow and i couldnt get into it
i almost didnt even get ts4 due to fearing itd be the same

and ts4 felt similar at start
but after few packs and updates I started getting more into it and now I can say im starting to really enjoy playing it

just wish we could have some personality/relationship/emotion depth of ts2

and some weirdness/nostalgia of ts1

wickichick · July 2020

i played the sims 3 and i loved it but it was not the most stable game...i had every pack installed. There was a lot about sims 3 that i did enjoy but i also enjoyed the community and spent a good amount of time in the forums ...it was challenging with how so many were having game play issues and how folks would look forward to what was new that was coming out and then be so upset because it created conflicts ...so i don't miss that ..with sims 4 it has been more stable game play...folks have long saves that they have enjoyed ...it is a tune up graphically as well ..overall i would say i am happier with the sims 4 version ...i don't think going online is going to work for the sims because the online population is nice but the terrible folks do exist and cause unsavory issues way too frequently...i have no idea where the future is going to go with the sims and i do wonder why sims 5 has not come up.

GalacticGal · July 2020

I began with Sims2 years ago. I found Sims3 lacking in so many ways compared to the Sims in Sims2. I'm not surprised that those of you who's first Sim experience was with Sims3 finding something similar when you switched to Sims4. For me, the Sims in Sims4, are far more full of personality than they ever were in Sims3. The traits did little to alter their interactions in Sims3 as well. While I did play Sims3 everyday for hours at a time, I had a love/hate relationship with it. I started using mods in that game just to stabilize it (and I was playing on a gaming rig). I use mods now, to augment the game itself in Sims4. Slice of Life has a terrific personality system that will affect how the Sim interacts. I'm having the time of my life again.

sketches · July 2020

AncientMuse wrote: »

Ahhh, Sims 3.... the good old days when we could put any pattern/colour on any piece of clothing/furniture. *sigh*

I miss building a houseboat and zipping around from island to island, docking at some resort for a bite to eat and a plunge down a waterslide into a pool. Customizing each world was also a big one for me, loved getting each world to look just the way I wanted with my own little personal touches everywhere.

It's tempting to reinstall Sims 3 and play it again. I even have a whole bunch of my old cc saved in a file collecting dust somewhere on my computer.

I'm tempted SO OFTEN to play The Sims 3 again.

It was my favorite. I never got to zip around in boats, though... What expansion pack is that??

I have bunches of Sims 3 CDs right on my shelf. I pass by them everyday. The temptation haunts me. I just fear EA doesn't keep it updated, and there's no one I can share my passion with. But I just might re-install the game...

My laptops (yes, I exclusively use laptops) never, ever had issues with The Sims 3. So, "crashes" and "loading" are not even a problem — unless it might have compatibility issues with Windows 10? I don't know?

simslover1145 · July 2020

Sims 3 had a solid base, packs filled with content and after 4 years, it was a completed and well-rounded game (IMO). Sims 4, on the other hand, still hasn't reached its full potential, even after 6 years, which is very disappointing, and missing features are being added dreadfully slowly. I do have to say that TS4 did improve on some things, but you would expect much more from the forth generation of the sims.
Also, I feel like with TS3, they would incorporate many ideas into one pack, but with TS4, one idea is often split into five different packs.

SimmerGeorge · July 2020

Basic difference: I have 7EPs 6GPs and 6SPs for the Sims 4 and I still feel the game is empty and boring.
I have only 6EPs for The Sims 3 and I am having a lot more fun for some reason.

simgirl1010 · July 2020

sketches wrote: »

AncientMuse wrote: »

Ahhh, Sims 3.... the good old days when we could put any pattern/colour on any piece of clothing/furniture. *sigh*

I miss building a houseboat and zipping around from island to island, docking at some resort for a bite to eat and a plunge down a waterslide into a pool. Customizing each world was also a big one for me, loved getting each world to look just the way I wanted with my own little personal touches everywhere.

It's tempting to reinstall Sims 3 and play it again. I even have a whole bunch of my old cc saved in a file collecting dust somewhere on my computer.

I'm tempted SO OFTEN to play The Sims 3 again. It was my favorite. I never got to zip around in boats, though... What expansion pack is that??

I have bunches of Sims 3 CDs right on my shelf. I pass by them everyday. The temptation haunts me. I just fear EA doesn't keep it updated, and there's no one I can share my passion with. But I just might re-install the game...

My laptops (yes, I exclusively use laptops) never, ever had issues with The Sims 3. So, "crashes" and "loading" are not even a problem — unless it might have compatibility issues with Windows 10? I don't know?

The Sims 3 has a very active forum full of very passionate simmers.

https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/categories/general-discussion-en

simgirl1010 · July 2020

Tay-way654 wrote: »

What are some noticeable difference that you’ve seen between sims 4 and sims 3?? I just recently redownloaded the sims 3 after I found out that the farming pack was a hoax because I needed and missed horses. Yet lately I’ve noticed that I enjoy and stay more entertained playing sims 3 than I ever did with sims 4. I’m not sure why but sims 4 gets old and boring after an hour for me. Even after spending hours making a house and family I still don’t get nearly the same satisfaction as the sims 3! The gameplay and even the expansion packs in the sims 4 can’t even compete with the sims 3 in my opinion. Unfortunately the sims 3 takes forever to load and crashes every time I enter CAS yet after 5 hours of making a family (due to crashes) the sims 3 is still substantially more entertaining than the sims 4. What do y’all think could make the sims 4 better and why do you think the creators downgraded from the sims 3? I’ve heard that the loading and crashing of the sims 3 made the game not as great yet I’d rather deal with the crashes and play sims 3 for hours rather than the sims 4. The sims 3 had always been my favorite game of all time yet the crashes are annoying. Still though I’d rather play the sims 3 with hourly Mac crashes than attempt to play the sims 4. I could be alone on this (and I’ve never played sims 1 or 2, yet I feel like sims 4 had gone backwards in comparison to the sims 3). So for one, what are ways to make sims 4 interesting without challenges? I’m not going to continue buying expansions as they always get old after a few gameplays so what are some ways y’all keep it interesting?

Have you asked for help in the Sims 3 forum? There are some wonderfully talented simmers who would be glad to help you with your Sims 3 game issues?

The Sims Forums

Sims 4 compared to Sims 3

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