It could be nice if you could discuss the following:
1) The lack of challenge and depth in the game
The game is too easy, plain and simple. I get that the Sims 4 is maybe marketed towards a younger generation than myself (I'm from 1997). But I've been playing The Sims since it came out, and I think a lot of the Sims 4 players are actually in their late teens and twenties. It could be nice if the game could grow with the fans, so you don't feel like you are playing a game that is designed for children. I do not ask for violence or nudity! Not at all. The game simply lacks challenge, and that's what makes it boring.
Some of the ways the game is too easy:
- Skills is way too easy to master.
- It is too easy to make money. Every one of my Sims is upper-middle-class, and I'm not even trying! Maybe try to increase bills or make a significant difference between low-end and high-end objects in CAS.
- Romantic interactions are too easy, and dates are just so repetitive and boring. There is no real challenge in finding a romantic partner, and romantic interactions in the game just seem so superficial, especially after you already have created a romantic relationship.
- Life aspirations are... I don't even have words for it. It has so much potential, but again it just seems like it's a way to steer through some of the possibilities in the game or like a tutorial, without it ever becoming a real challenge and a true life aspiration.
- There is no distinction in gameplay between teens, young adults and adults. It could give so much more to the game if teens got to be teens with puppy-love, first dates, school dances, friends and mean kids, insecurities and everything in between. This is something I really, really miss about the Sims 3, because it felt like the teens were actually teens and not mini-adults preparing for adulthood by just practising skills.
2) Meaningless and repetitive gameplay
I truly miss the opportunity to look back at my Sims' life like you could in Sims 2. Having memories, wishes and fears that depends on your Sims' personality are just so central to a game like The Sims, and yet it has been so forgotten in the creation of the Sims 4. Whims have gotten scrapped completely even though it had opportunities.
Your Sims come out just looking like each other all the time because there are too few things that distinguish your sims from each other. Only very few after school activities for kids and teenagers. Your Sims doesn't really have any preferences for a partner or in friends (like prefers an outgoing partner, or dark-haired Sim). You end up picking the same traits for your Sims because the trait system lacks diversity. The responsible and good manners from the Parenthood pack are way too easy to achieve compared to the other traits or the negative traits, so every single one in my household has these traits, without me even trying. It's just so repetitive.
Thank you for your time
EA Staff (Retired)