@thevogel only in the sims could you have some as incongruous as supernaturals clearing up after a nuclear accident :D While I like the idea of a nuclear power plant and pretty much all of the scenario you have suggested I would still like to think the upgraded TS3 remains essentially unchanged from the game we know and love now if the player wants it that way. I would like to think both the natural disasters and man made ones could be contained within the EPs. With options for selecting certain disasters or not.
We don't often talk of why people are so drawn to the sims. One reason can be the escapism. Not necessarily the kind which offers challenges which would stretch both you and your sims, but the more basic kind with happier, more positive outcomes. I feel we nearly lost it with the launch of TS4 and it would be a shame to see it go from an upgraded TS3. You talk of immersion and I do too. The kind where you can forget all the plum business every day life can bring with it.
My only other worry would be the disasters scenarios going far enough to satisfy those who want the challenge in their games. Any games designer or producer knows the limits of the rating they have assigned to a game. The end result then might be an upgrade which does not give the kind of stretch you seek. This is surely worse than the situation most of us find ourselves in now with a product we know and love but which is getting old and an alternative which is no alternative.
