Man went back to Sims 3 and there are SO many interactions...

If you could only pick 3 expansion packs from The Sims 3 game, what are your top three choices?

"JasonPogo;d-923230" wrote:
I just went back to the Sims 3 for the first time in like forever. The first thing that hit me was that when I went to talk with another Sim there was a ton of interactions! I forgot what it was like to have options and have interactions with other Sims not feel like a chore!

Sorry but man it just shocked me. I completely forgot how much more stuff there was in the Sims 3...

It feels like I haven't played ts3 in ages, but it's not that long. But I still manage to forget what is in it and where everything is.

Having quit ts4 in a rage last Friday, I am back in ts3 (but just Lot editing at the moment). I am looking forward to all the things you can do in it - I am already enjoying all the extras available in build/buy mode.

I have grown to appreciate the uniqueness of each rendition.

TS of course was ground breaking in itself

TS2 for me offered the most for family style play. Sims appeared truly attached and to an extent dependent on one another in there interactions. In TS2 I couldn't really just focus on one sim because their happiness more times than not (in my experience) depended on the interaction with other sims as opposed to interaction with objects. I really loved this because it fit my play style perfectly.

TS3 felt far more singular focused. My sims really didn't seem to care or be as dependent on each other. It felt very representative of the "me" culture that was blooming at that time. It offered tons of variations of the same things but was somehow still satisfying. Then of course color wheel *YES!* Story progression! YES! Open world, tons of exciting stuff that made up for the fact that my sim families weren't so tightly tied anymore.


TS4 feels like its trying to do everything, without really mastering any of it. So it offers something (but not all of anything) for everyone. I am finally *FINALLY!* enjoying family play after 2 loooooooooong years.


Anyway I got off topic a bit, I'm glad to see other people enjoying older versions of the game still. I go back to TS2 pretty often and sometimes TS3 though since the toddler patch I open those games far less often.

"JoAnne65;c-15956630" wrote:
I just play the game, take pictures like mad and then use what I can use (I guess about 1/4 of what I shot). There's so much variety the game comes up with, I adore the detail in facial expressions and body language. I hardly ever lead my game where it comes to storytelling, I mainly follow and my imagination adapts. I start with an idea and then my sims decide how things will work out.

Me too, I uiually get about 65-70 shots and then maybe use about 1/4 of it. But there are some interactions...in the Apoca-Sims fic that I'm working on right now which involve military drill and discipline and that's when the "moveobjects" to line them up in military formation comes into play.

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bDuidvrDu24/WYpzQKyMCRI/AAAAAAAABWc/Gu9FjbwRWJUQRYaeRjJNDtZdCUhiLdDqQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Screenshot-73-edit.jpg

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N5-M4qfKzBo/WZHT_Mbg1NI/AAAAAAAABdE/mvUCQX6kAgwMOfSS81BdLvY8xWr5hm1FgCLcBGAs/s1600/Screenshot-26.jpg


In my other Legacy, I pretty much play what they give me.

What I love about TS3 is the crazy amount of possible combinations. You can play a fairy who runs a daycare center with a plumbot on a houseboat in Bridgeport and one day runs away to China. In comparison TS4 is still so small and has no freedom. You can be a doctor in the always same hospital, live perhaps in an apartment - and then? End of the story.

@Nikkei_Simmer That looks really good. I occasionally do some setting up as well by the way, when there's no way around it to get the story across. Like here:

http://kobayne.weebly.com/uploads/1/7/3/2/17320944/656793_orig.png

And here I used the ingame pose player:

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l512/Jo-Anne2/Album2/Eacuteowyn_003a.png

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l512/Jo-Anne2/Album2/Eacuteowyn_003b.png

(the angry and the sad brother in the background)

So yeah, sometimes it's just fun in itself to do that.

ETA: And sometimes I cheat in a different way :mrgreen:
Those pictures:

http://i.imgur.com/XCev6Jb.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/twswa4g.jpg

Became:

http://i.imgur.com/ZTdtEA2.png

Sometimes the poses and the facial expressions are perfect, just not on the same picture :p

:D Like they say. Whatever furthers the story the way that you want it to be told. :D That's the beauty of Sims 3. To be able to craft a story and make it resonate with the audience.

"Treleifin;c-15956634" wrote:
If you could only pick 3 expansion packs from The Sims 3 game, what are your top three choices?

Pets, Seasons, World Adventures. (and that was hard because there are a couple more I really like!)

There are a lot of opportunities to tell a story without pose player. My Sims were having a cooking contest and Abeni won. So I had them high five each other and their mother just happened to walk in the kitchen holding Udo. Since I'm always pausing the game to take screenshots, it's easy to find something interesting.
https://s25.postimg.cc/qm2seentr/Screenshot-2240.jpg

Paused at the right moment to tell the story of convincing Fatima the house is perfect for their family.
https://s25.postimg.cc/r3or2ryn3/Screenshot-2139.jpg

And here are other examples from my game of Sims being Sims.
https://s25.postimg.cc/o5ffjgq73/Screenshot-2423.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/cadva1jfj/Screenshot-4290.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/wukmp3jxb/Screenshot-5081.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/3tgafozhb/Screenshot-5082.jpg

Prom is fun to stage. I mean why was it ever an RH event? A new party type, Prom, could have been added. But at least I can still play this scenario out. But still, because this is a life simulation, I want to play with life and it's so frustrating how some features are skipped or done in a slapdash manner.
https://s25.postimg.cc/b991p1d7j/Screenshot-3293.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/gypa9cjdr/Screenshot-2679.jpg

I set up a Java Hut where musicians can earn money. Eventually, I would like to add more lots for both bands and solo musicians.
https://s25.postimg.cc/6rbcaomjj/Screenshot-982.jpg

Taking school photos was just telling the Sim to go sit down on the stool and then I took the screenshot.
https://s25.postimg.cc/n3le0f0v3/Screenshot-3497.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/9b6z4sa3j/Screenshot-3594.jpg
CC is not needed but I like it because it looks professional especially for my photographer Sims.
https://s25.postimg.cc/twlqworof/Screenshot-3570.jpg

I remember in school I used to do my homework before the school day ended so there was no homework. :D Too bad this is not an option in TS3 since it would come in handy as well for teens who have part-time jobs.
https://s25.postimg.cc/e5w2pbj1b/Screenshot-456.jpg

It's not that it cannot be done to force a story onto the Sims, however, the fun for me is when I go with the flow and the story directs itself with my intervention whenever I want. I get that the Sims are not marionettes and my role is not a puppeteer. However, to me, that is a part of what makes The Sims amazing and always something new to discover. It is indeed a real Life Simulator. This game is not like The Movies or any such game and that makes it not only unique and stands out but also intriguing to see what the AI does all on its own.

As far as recycling animations and facial expressions. TS has that too excluding facial expressions. So does TS2, TS3, and TS4. For me, it's fine as long as there are enough animations/facial expressions to convey a variety of emotions and body language. Also, I'm pretty sure many humans "recycle" both body language and facial expressions. Happy, Sad, Upset, Annoyed, Furious, Bored, etc. Though what TS3 lacks is the differences based on the individual's personality displaying the same emotion and/or body language. I know this is done in TS3 already to some extent with traits based on their actions and reactions but even more could be possible if expanded upon. But that is most unlikely to happen in terms of a real sequel.

There is a good amount of facial expressions.

"I know something you don't and I find it amusing how clueless you are." According to gameplay, yes that is true.
https://s25.postimg.cc/r0mle02hr/Screenshot-4368.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/jf4vsf5lr/Screenshot-4369.jpg

"You seriously just asked that? If you don't know then that's your problem." I had Chi use the Worry About Relationship. That's how I interpret it.
https://s25.postimg.cc/wfgmous67/Screenshot-2451.jpg

Furious
https://s25.postimg.cc/ss0visjz3/Screenshot-1025.jpg

Content
https://s25.postimg.cc/ydip93va7/Screenshot-552.jpg

"Really?"
https://s25.postimg.cc/5gcrtp5pb/Screenshot-1436.jpg

Frustrated
https://s25.postimg.cc/8bl9mtkbj/Screenshot-239.jpg

Upset
https://s25.postimg.cc/nf7fqx6ov/Screenshot-2291.jpg

"Oh no! This isn't good."
https://s25.postimg.cc/5pacjmihr/Screenshot-576.jpg

Disturbed
https://s25.postimg.cc/e0wwte13z/Screenshot-978.jpg

"Being selfish and proud of it regardless of who it hurts."
https://s25.postimg.cc/5is22sjz3/Screenshot-637.jpg

Perturbed and Haughty
https://s25.postimg.cc/liapmcg0v/Screenshot-663.jpg

Disgust
https://s25.postimg.cc/5vo1mprmn/Screenshot-2899.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/4550l8a3j/Screenshot-3479.jpg

"I'm aware that you are there."
https://s25.postimg.cc/q4f3jfifz/Screenshot-4191.jpg

Happy
https://s25.postimg.cc/kq3g9emfz/Screenshot-492.jpg

Sad
https://s25.postimg.cc/ljg220sgv/Screenshot-1575.jpg

Modest (After receiving a compliment this was his expression.)
https://s25.postimg.cc/aikwx007z/Screenshot-1553.jpg

When you internally freakout and it shows on your face.
https://s25.postimg.cc/hgtmgonq7/Screenshot-2694.jpg

And there are other facial expressions as well.

I use pose player rarely because story telling isn't really my thing. I do use NRaas: Animator quite a bit because while I don't story tell, I sometimes document my game on tumblr and if I miss something I can recreate it with Animator. You can play any game animation on command with it.