More lots

@AndyZhang2896 I think that would be related to the 'open world dynamic' for loading - going from one lot to another in a manner in which you have full interaction and are considered to 'be there'. There are some situations where you can pan around a bit further than the lot and not interact. There are also situations where you can explore and walk around with the sim. Ie... You can follow them as they go for a walk/jog, walk a dog, explore hidden lots or worlds (like Sixam) and caves, explore for items to collect or when fishing, go on vacation to  and have them interact, you can vacation at Granite Falls or Selvadora, for just a few examples. It feels a bit like a 'compromise' to me.

@AndyZhang2896, you stated, " They have made the world not open, and that's okay. Many say TS3 is unplayable because of open-world (I can't relate because I'm a new sims player and didn't own TS3 EP). And now a smaller world? color wheel is gone. What's next?"

What's next?🤔... The lack of an open world, the worlds being smaller, and the "color wheel" all being gone were all things that were missing from the beginning of TS4.  Its not as if TS4 had these things and then they were removed! 🤨 So there is no "next"  in that the game is how it is.🙂  They aren't' taking things from the game, but they have been adding things to the game that weren't' there in the beginning! :eahigh_file: There were no toddlers, pools, basements, repairmen, or  ghosts at the beginning. Many of these were added very soon after, with toddlers coming much later, but Toddlers in TS4 are much better than even the TS2 toddlers which is quite an accomplishment! 🤨🥳 They have more recently given us terrain manipulation, and have  just given us adjustable stairs .  😇

Minimizing the world is part of what went in to improving the performance.  And the "color wheel" was far more than a color wheel since it played with patterns too! :eahigh_file: It was called "Create A STyle" or CASt for short. It was truly magical... and truly problematic!  🤨  I loved CASt… I was addicted to it❤️.  As almost the only thing I liked better about TS3 over TS2, I relied heavy on it because I was so disappointed in TS3 for gameplay reasons.  TS3 had a lot of whistles and bells, but nothing worked as it should... the huge open world would be empty😢.... you would have to go to a public lot to complete a task for a wish your Sim had, or for their job and when you got there it would be empty.  You would wait and nobody would come.😬  Finally one or two would trickle in after several Sim hours, but your Sims would be exhausted and have to go home without accomplishing the task.😞 Then there were the many, many rabbit holes.  Most of what you drove your car to do , like eat at a restaurant or go to a store, were just rabbit holes.  There were a few venues like I mentioned above , but they were often empty especially late at night! Those were mostly parks. 

But back to CASt… since I used it soooo much, it got bigger and more bloated and since both CAS and Buy/Build Modes utilized CASt, it would take longer and longer and longer to load.  The more people added to it, the longer it took to load.  So, yes, this was partially my fault, but other people had the same experience.  The only people who didn't have problems with it are the people who hardly used it!  😃  I think by the end of TS3 it was taking 40 or so minutes to load CASt. 😮  

So, yes , I want the CASt back, but no, I don't want it back! It was marvelous 🥳and terrible!😢 Now, if TS3 had the gameplay that TS2 had, then I wouldn't' have spent as much time with CASt.  But I still would have had too much patterns and color combinations saved, just not nearly as many! 😳

I like the idea of a survey to see player's computer specs... but we see all the time here at AHQ people asking if their computer can run the Sims 4, and often it can't.  Doing a survey like this, while good, might just lead to an even less complicated game, which I don't think that is with either you @AndyZhang2896 , or @SqueamishNerd  would really want! 🤨

@SqueamishNerd, true when you said "TS4 is 5 years old now, and when they started to develop it they had to make the game work smoothly on computers at that time, and they also wanted to have the possibility to add new content for at least 5 years (TS1 had updates for 5 years, TS2 had updates for 5 years, TS3 had updates for 5 years), they didn’t want it to become what TS3 became, so they simplified it a lot."  But it was more than what TS3 became, because it had problems from the beginning, or at least a year into the game.  It was recommended by Sim Gurus that players not have all the packs loaded to play TS3 properly! 😮

But TS4 was designed to have a longer life by years compared to any previous version of the Sims.  We still have at least 2 years, possibly more left in TS4! Which might be why they are keeping each world small, since they can better see the trajectory that this game has than we can. 

But @SqueamishNerd , you are also right in that we have more worlds than there were in TS3!  But this is a complex issue becaseu in TS3 they did let you make your own worlds (I found it tricky to do it adequately ) and they also had really expensive worlds you could buy in the TS3 Store, which was horribly overpriced and nickel and dimed you to death with little to show for it. It was ridiculous! 😠 So, if you had all the packs for TS3 and all those worlds, you had less than TS4, but you could get a lot more worlds in the store and pay a ton more money!  It was awful. 😢 You couldn't play with all the packs, yet they overcharged you for more worlds so you can have more than what the packs gave you?  It was crazy! 

And yes, you are both right in that some worlds you could visit in TS3 but some you couldn't.🤨  Everyone could vacation in Isla Paradiso or in the World Adventures worlds of France, Egypt, and China, and the world the University was in, but those were designed to be temporary worlds.  Basically, it would be as if you lived in Oasis Springs in TS4, and you could travel to Granite Falls, Slevadora, and a University town, but could never go to Willow Creek, Brindleton Bay,  New Crest, Glimmerbrook, or San Mayshuno, etc. 😉

@PugLove888@PugLove888Yeah, they add many things that originally not at launch tho, but let's see the upcoming University pack. I hope they didn't remove any good features/content that the previous game has for the sake of "performance" again.

Yup, the color wheel is a bit lagging for me too. But it's been a decade now, I believe they can do it better. It's just sad some object looks great but the color doesn't match. And there's always few objects that TS4 Team forgot to include the color swatches. For example, Get Famous pack, they forgot to put white/orange gold swatches for the windows/bookshelf/wardrobe (forgot the exact items).

Awww, that's so boring! Living in the same town for the whole gameplay, I prefer to travel here and there.

@AndyZhang2896, But they didn't remove anything from TS4 for the sake of performance that was already in TS4! 🤨 They only left out stuff that was in TS3!  So, they aren't going to take anything from TS4 that is in TS4.  They might not have a big town for University or future packs, but they have never taken away lots from existing towns or packs! 🙂

Well, yes, it has been a decade since CASt was first created in TS3, but it has only been 5 years since we last used it.  While people say that computers are better capable now of running TS3, that still doesn't mean that most people can adequately run TS3 even today.  A feature like CASt is probably still going to put a strain on most people's computers unless they hardly use it. And if you hardly use it then what is the point?  🤔

But I agree with you in that there are many, many items that almost match but don't quite match. 😢  And there are other items that only come in bright colors while others only come in muted colors.  And let's not forget how some swatches have a barely perceptible difference!😞  That really aggravates me since I feel that one of those swatches could have been used for an entirely different color! 😠 I have OCD, so the colors not matching drives me crazy.  ☹️  Even if they fix many of these items, they won't or can't fix all of them.  One of my pet peeves are the jewelry. I have to use different jewelry than what I want to use just because what I want to use doesn't have the right colors!  And of course, you mentioned when they forget to put all the swatches like they did with some of the Get Famous stuff. 😢  I hope they can fix that!  🤞

Yes, I much prefer to travel from town to town in TS4 than to be stuck in one big town in TS3.  At least you could go on vacation, but the vacations took an extremely long time to load, especially Isla Paradiso since it came later a few years into TS3's reign.😞  I like the ability in TS4 to live in Brindleton Bay, but be able to quickly drop into San Mayshuno and gab some food from the street vendors and then quickly go home again, or catch an event in Del Sol Valley! 🥳

@PugLove888
"A feature like CASt is probably still going to put a strain on most people's computers unless they hardly use it."
If people can't use it, they can just leave CASt alone. But I know some people might not happen when a feature they can't use is added to the game and put some weight (probably tens of megabytes or even hundreds). But I still believe more people excited about this.

"And there are other items that only come in bright colors while others only come in muted colors."
I love modern lots and I really hope they added basic/neutral colors such as black, white, dark wood, light wood to most objects. Those neutral colors are easier to pair with other colors.

"And let's not forget how some swatches have a barely perceptible difference!"
Yup, some colors barely difference. But I'm glad they still add it. I have seen few objects with 2 similar light/dark color swatches, love one of them but hate the others because it looks bad for me, I have thoughts on why they include the bad swatch. But I'm sure some people out there love the one I hate.

"I have OCD, so the colors not matching drives me crazy."

Color not matching also annoy me, but there's nothing we can do right now. Modern kitchen counter and upper cabinet colors didn't match even they're same color swatches. 😞
I don't want to claim that I have OCD, but I'm a very perfectionist and when building a house, everything should feel right to me. I always repeatedly clicking undo and redo (maybe few times until I stop, then do it again later) when building tho, which is maybe a symptom of OCD.

I think I need to screenshot and tweet to SimsGuru to let them know about unmatching Get Famous color swatches.

My sims have been moving 3 times in a single save file and I didn't own all of the worlds yet. I love that each world has its own characteristics. I'm sure right now with all EP installed, there are more lots in total than TS3 single open world. But I still want more lots! LOL

Get Together and Island Living is on my wishlist! (Even tho I ever stated that Sulani isn't good enough).

@AndyZhang2896, I don't think most people would be able to leave CASt alone.😞 Most adults would have a hard time ignoring CASt if it were in the game, and even more teens would have a harder time ignoring it! 🤨 It just isn't human nature to be presented with something, be told you probably can't use it, and then not at least try to push the limits on it. People will get angry and then constantly would be asking EA why they put in a CASt wheel if most people can't use it.  And then there is that in a game with CASt, what do you use for colors if you actually are able to ignore CASt?🤔  Without CASt there would have to be some sort of swatch system.... and they aren't going to have both a swatch system and CASt!  That would be sure to bog down people's computers! 😠

About what I said regarding the bright colors versus the muted colors... I'm so sorry I wasn't clear in my descritption 🤭… For those bright and dark colors I meant clothing.  For furniture I 100% agree with you that we need a variety of neutral colors !  Black, white, at least one medium gray (but preferably several shades of gray) and various wood tones are all much needed for all Build/Buy Mode items!  But for clothing, we don't need all of the wood tones we need in furniture!  So, for example I want to see  blue in various shades from dark to light, but also in various degrees of saturation.  So, for example, jeans are usually in softer, muted, less saturated colors from dark to light.  But a shirt or dress would also need some vibrant jewel tones and bright pastels! CASt was wonderful for giving us this kind of selection.  

I have to wonder if maybe CASt would work better if it only let you change colors, and not patterns. 🤔 That might be a good compromise! :ealight_bulk:  (It still might not work very well, but it might help).

The color swatches that had barely a perceptible difference... some differences are slight, but still noticeable.😎  But in the base game there are some ankle socks that have 2 identical swatches.☹️ (They might be a half tone off, but when you put them on the Sims they look identical!)   The socks I'm talking about come in about 6 colors and the 2 that are the same are a kind of beige / green color.  We don't need 2 swatches this color! 😞 There are a few more items like this, but most of the others, while similar enough, are still distinguishable when you put them on your Sim! 😇

I don't use the Modern style kitchen counters and cabinets much... can you tell me which ones don't match?🤔 ( I'm aware of the island counters not matching the regular counters in Island Living, but they fixed those! :eahigh_file🙂 

I understand why you are hesitant to use the term OCD to describe yourself since it is a term that is thrown around a lot.  But OCD runs in my family.  Mine isn't as severe as many people's OCD is, but it still affects me.  

I love your idea about taking a screenshot of the Get Famous color swatches that don't match, and Tweeting them to the Sim Gurus.:ealight_bulk:❤️  It might just be something that was overlooked, much like the Island Living island counters were!). 

I don't play rotationally, so I don't need as many lots as most other people.  But I want more lots because most people do play rotationally, and therefore really need more lots! 

Island Living is a gorgeous EP!  I really love the clothing and Build/Buy Mode items that come with that pack! 🥳  

I think you might like Get Together since the town of Windenburg has more lots than any other town in TS4!   Just beware that that town is made to cause more fights to break out than any other town!😮  It was set up like that because some of the clubs are rivals.  And Get Together is many builder's favorite pack because it has a bunch of architectural elements in Build/Buy Mode! 🥳  Also, the Club system in that pack is very unique and powerful.  For example, if you have a huge garden, join the gardening club called the Garden Gnomes... instead of meeting at the default park, have them meet at your house, and they will do all your gardening for you! (You just might want to pick your havestables before you call them over! 😉) So, this feature is totally free, and you even gain club perks that you can use in other areas!  Much better than hiring a gardener! :eahigh_file:

Happy Simming! 🥳

I wonder what their reasoning was to make Windenburg with so many lots compared to the other worlds.

For example StrangerVille only have one empty lot and two empty houses, and they put a lot of the families from TS2 Strangetown in the gallery just at the release of StrangerVille. So if you want to have somewhere for them to live you have to evict the StrangerVille inhabitants.

I have a wish that they make the real  TS2 Strangetown in TS4, and putting the Get to Work lab in it. If you play as a scientist in the Get to Work lab there are sometimes visitors there, but when playing, and not being in the science career, you can’t visit it. That doesn’t really make sense.

I also have a wish that they put the police station and the hospital, from Get to Work, in the Magnolia Promenade world.

I mean, Get to Work is the oldest expansion, it would be nice with an update of it. I also think that they would benefit from it, because then more people who don’t own it yet would be more prone to buy it.

I would also want the ability to live on Sixam, because now Sixam is super boring. It’s super beautiful, so it’s sad that it’s so boring. The only thing you can do there is to collect things, and if you work as a scientist you may be invited to a bar night there (but that’s very rare). The bar night is basically like any other alien bar night but without toilets.

Btw, a little while back I made a post about living on Sixam: https://answers.ea.com/t5/General-Discussion-and-Feedback/It-Should-be-Possible-to-Live-on-Sixam/m-p/8206547

@SqueamishNerd, yes Sixam is so gorgeous ❤️ and even if our scientists get to go there occasionally for work, it is always for such a short period of time! ☹️  And who wouldn't want to live on Sixam!?!? ❤️ If we could build houses and venues there, it would have much more to do there! 

Yes, it would be nice to have the hospital, police station, and GTW Lab in an actual physical location that we can access through a map! 

I think that Windenburg in Get Together was so large because it was a very early EP and unlike Get to Work before it, it relied solely on the town.  I think that since in the early days TS4 was very sparse, so EA was probably trying to make up for some of that sparseness with a bigger new town.  Also, and probably more importantly, since Get Together was all about various clubs, they all needed their own club hangouts. And since each club needed club memebers, they had to add a lot of pre-made households into Windenburg as well.  I think this was how we got such a large town!  😉

Here is an image showing a different color. As you can see, the cabinet looks more lively, brighter, than the pale counter. Some may think it is because of cabinet closer to the light source, but even if I removed ceiling light, it's still the same. Noticeable difference. I've posted it on Twitter and hope it gets fixed. https://twitter.com/AndyZhang2896/status/1180112583396712449

And this one is from Get Famous. Picture 1 the loveseat, armchair, wardrobe and display cabinet didn't have white & gold color swatches like the left side objects. I don't understand why we have white & pale yellow color swatches tho. Picture 2 shows inconsistency of loveseat and armchair color swatches. On the left one, the loveseat white color while the armchair doesn't show white color even it's same swatches. And I don't understand why the armchair has a full zebra pattern while loveseat only has a zebra pattern on the sitting part. It's inconsistent. I really think we need a Create A Style. 😞