Sigh. I really, really, REALLY tried to get into TS4. But Uni was the EP that broke my TS4 experience. That and the inability to upload, travel to and/or live in whatever customized world/hood that simmers share. But back to Uni. This EP since TS2 has been a core game play pack for all my simming. More specifically since TS3, I simply cannot play without this EP. Or if any of Seasons, NL/LN, Pets are missing from the base game. IMO these EPs form the core every base game should ship with.
Anyhow back to TS4. The dev team did a solid job of making Uni as realistic as I remember in my college days. The added realism of creating and submitting presentations, writing term papers, doing research etc. for classes is a detailed game play aspect I've also sorely missed in TS3. Before TS4 Uni, I always wanted to make my Sims use the Uni blackboard. No mods for that existed, so I used to take the TS3 presentation board & podium and hire NPCs using Twallan's SP. Pay them to give lectures & chat there. Then make my Uni sims attend these lecture symposiums after classes. Then do their homework right after for a bit of RP realism. So TS4 fixed that hole in gameplay for me.
But the fact
1. my poor Simmies can't freely wander the neighborhood anymore. I know. It's TS4. But my sims loss of mobility to directly walk to an adjacent lot and freely wander around the hood without load screen is pure torture. The fact all computers (including laptops) can now handle a Twallan optimized version of TS3 due to advances in CPU/graphics tech curve make open hoods a non issue to date IMO. I mean seriously.
2. Type of custom non academic classes (like Horseback Riding 101) are no longer possible. In TS3, I always added a stable and custom pet lot in my Uni towns. So my animal loving sims could learn horseback riding as a custom sandbox elective. Or pickup some pet bonding skills by volunteering at the local ASPCA in town. These activities lead to them pursuing a well paying jockey or Vet career after graduation. I love that TS4 fully fleshed out the Vet career. But I & my simmies sorely miss our equine pet friends. And freedom to go just about anywhere :disappointed:
3. Lack of social life. Because. NOT ENOUGH LOTS to add non academic buildings. I get sims can now travel to other hoods solo or with their club mates. One of the best updates in TS4. But when you're forced to create a 5 story (above ground) and 1 story (below ground) super mall of Brichester. Fill it with all the single lot activities you get like roller skating rinks, movie theaters, all DLC content from EPs like Dining Out restaurants etc etc. Just so you can save on travel time & economize on lack of Uni hood social spaces. Your Sims know you're past the depression milestone of desperation as their Builder....
4. The non existent SIZE of the TS4 Uni campuses and shared neighborhood area (Gibbs Hill). The joke number of free or even occupied non residential lots you can repurpose or customize. These literally number less than all the fingers on one hand minus 2 digits.... :o WTH were the dev team thinking when they designed the Uni hood?
TS4 = too much loss of freedom IMO. Whole Sim experience is like being blind (TS2), miraculously gaining your sight (TS3), then losing it all over again (TS4). IMO TS4 is genuinely a good game. But by default of being a distinctively different game design v TS3, it's literally gone backwards in time on world/neighborhood design.
For me, Uni has become the deal breaker. I'd rather have ONE single Uni world with TWO associated custom schools belonging to SAME Uni (like you could have back in TS3) aka a Liberal Arts College and College of Science/Engineering etc. Instead of 2 separate schools where you can't manage/switch between your science/art minded sims. Which makes large families a total kill joy to play :disappointed:
/end disappointed wall of text essay>
TL DR
Basically some 90% of what @Kbobster posted. I'm a realism sim gamer so got all the EPs & non supernatural GPs/SPs on a massive sale discount on Steam. So for me, my TS4 game universe is pretty much complete. But compared to TS3, TS4 is still lacking in quality of mod content. TS3 modders like ATS3 Sandy and MTS are excellent reasons why it's hard to move on from TS3. So IMO because of the insane level of customization tools (i.e. CAW, Color wheel, CAS sliders, and CAP tools), TS3 will always be the best gen of this franchise Sadly, THIS lack of customization and creative freedom is why I <333 TS3 more. I don't have a lot of high hopes for TS5 in future. Assuming it's ever going to exist that is....
