4 Years Later

I forgot to add something that drove me nuts in TS4, the use of the Sim's pc for almost every thing. How over used is that object? to the hilt! It's almost like developers couldn't actually think of new ways to play outside of just connnecting everything to the Sim's pc. I know we use them every day in our own lives, but c'mon, no use in getting excited about a new career or aspriation if it's right back to the handy dandy Sim pc. Boring!

"Cinebar;c-16708848" wrote:
I forgot to add something that drove me nuts in TS4, the use of the Sim's pc for almost every thing. How over used is that object? to the hilt! It's almost like developers couldn't actually think of new ways to play outside of just connnecting everything to the Sim's pc. I know we use them every day in our own lives, but c'mon, no use in getting excited about a new career or aspriation if it's right back to the handy dandy Sim pc. Boring!

Agreed. It's really boring how you can buy everything at the computer - medicine, upgrade parts, vampire literature, books, seeds etc. And then it just magically appears in your inventory without your Sims even sitting down to order it :neutral:

"Writin_Reg;c-16708292" wrote:

"damageincracing;c-16708276" wrote:
Four years in, and I still play Sims 3 more than Sims 4. I just can't get into it. I've played since the original Sims, and 4 is just lacking on so many levels. The game play bites, the graphics bite, the worlds bite, the careers bite. I would guess it's a safe assumption that the game bites. It's just too "cartoony" for a Sims game.

Well good for you - you still prefer Sims 3 then if that is how you feel. You still have them so what's the problem?

I personally like all the Sims games - as much for their differences as for anything. I guess to each their own as I enjoy having several to pick from and enjoy. As for cartoony well several times over the years devs have asked us and people always vote for cartoony. I generally vote for more realistic myself - but always get outvoted as most people say they would feel weird playing the Sims with realistic characters. I still enjoy the games though even if I wanted more realistic myself - I am just glad we still have The Sims games to play. I actually value their differences.

I like the Sims 4, but it's still very meh compared to it's predecessors. Then there's the same old expansions, and stuff pack we have all paid for at least twice. Really I honestly hope what we have got with TS4 was just the result of a reboot, and having to abandon much of the older code. It's really common for developers to reuse code, and if they chose too or couldn't reuse a lot of code from the older games it may explain the lack of features. Sometimes it better too start with a clean slate. I really wish though they could be a little more creative when it comes to EPs, GPs, SPs. At $40, $20, and $10 it is really getting old paying for the same stuff over and over again.

"Cinebar;c-16708848" wrote:
I forgot to add something that drove me nuts in TS4, the use of the Sim's pc for almost every thing. How over used is that object? to the hilt! It's almost like developers couldn't actually think of new ways to play outside of just connnecting everything to the Sim's pc. I know we use them every day in our own lives, but c'mon, no use in getting excited about a new career or aspriation if it's right back to the handy dandy Sim pc. Boring!

My PC is my TV, Library, work, learning center, etc. It's almost never off. It just gets rebooted a couple times a week. The 2nd hard drive in it according to magic disk has over 5,000 hours of use on it. So I would say it fairly accurate.

"MidnightAura;c-16707309" wrote:
Four years later whilst it has improved in many ways, for every step it takes it takes ten steps backwards. For example: We can have apartments but only in one world, we can have pets that are limited to cats and dogs (unless you pay more for a caged pet that is a re skin) and you cannot view your cats and dogs informtarion nor control them so in short they are avatars.

Four years on the game still feels shallow, sims still all behave the same way and many traits have little to no impact. The traits that do have an impact are extremely limited. An evil sim will laugh maniacally a lot. Big deal. On the other end a sim with a jealous trait will be jealous if their significant other isn’t in the same room as them but they are in the house. That’s just ridiculous.

Four years on we still cannot create our own worlds, we have very limited build options and are limited in building community lots. I.e the game forces you to have certain items for a lot to be functional and other sims to visit it. Four years on our sims still have very limited romance options and sims are attracted to anybody when they are feeling flirty. Four years on this game still suffers from lack of depth and consequence.

I hear a lot of people say “the game has potential” but after four years it hasn’t reached its potential there is something very, very wrong.

This right here is why I can't play this game for more than a few days at a time with months, sometimes year long breaks in between. I love this game franchise so much. I hate to see it going in this direction. :'( Four years later and I've gone back to the sims 3.

For me the game has improved a lot in the 4 years - it could be the best iteration so far if the technical status was better. Fortunately for me TS4 doesn't lag or freeze like TS3 did, but the number of bugged features is worse than with any predecessor. It's so sad that I never can play retail like it was meant to work, that Sims in crazy outfits are running through stinky leaf piles, that an excellent pack like Spa Day is plagued with broken animations and never-used massage tables. I really hope the team take their time this autumn to fix all this (and also the ruined Gallery). Otherwise I don't see how this game could continue for several more years

"wormstache999;c-16708858" wrote:

"Cinebar;c-16708848" wrote:
I forgot to add something that drove me nuts in TS4, the use of the Sim's pc for almost every thing. How over used is that object? to the hilt! It's almost like developers couldn't actually think of new ways to play outside of just connnecting everything to the Sim's pc. I know we use them every day in our own lives, but c'mon, no use in getting excited about a new career or aspriation if it's right back to the handy dandy Sim pc. Boring!

Agreed. It's really boring how you can buy everything at the computer - medicine, upgrade parts, vampire literature, books, seeds etc. And then it just magically appears in your inventory without your Sims even sitting down to order it :neutral:

Well it could be because that is exactly what modern consumers do now a days. I rarely go to a mall or store myself. It's so easy to just buy online and get it delivered. So they sort of reflect that in the game too.

I do go to farm stores and get fresh veggies and eggs, fruits, berries, maple syrup, and honey. Stuff I know is fresh anf grown organically - why go to a grocers -no point. Even my medication is delivered to me direct from the labs - no middle man involved and at a better price than a pharmacy. Why waste gas to go to a store, pay higher prices for often far less fresh products? Never mind all the time to do those things when I know what I want and it's down around the corner or better yet no further than my pc? I sort of like the fact my sims reflect the way I actually live and not like my mother and grandmother lived. The only grip I have is no living in our own home businesses - as that's a thing now a days more than ever - at least it is here in Maine. I find it odd that Sims 2 had that when it wasn't so common as a choice - but Sims 4 doesn't. So I just don't bother with retail in my game in Sims 4 but do enjoy using pc for many purchases.

Of course if it had been just like Sims 2 - then we would be paying for the same game - so I suppose it needed to be done differently. Even if I preferred how Sims 2 did it, I can understand it being different. I know I can always go back and play that way in Sims 2 anytime I want.

I too preferred Sims 3 up until they brought in toddler and the amazing Vamps. I still miss a lot of things from Sims 3 - but I can also enjoy where Sims 4 is now as well - and for things I do think Sims 4 does better. It does not make me not miss things I could do in Sims 3 though, so I can understand how some people prefer to play that game as I said. I just don't think I would have still been here complaining if I already had the perfect game - that's all. 4 years is a long time to be constantly unhappy.

"Writin_Reg;c-16708266" wrote:

"StrawberryYogurt;c-16708176" wrote:
Its better, but its still shallow.

Isn't that the story of life in general?
So goes the world.

I'm genuinely sorry that you feel that way :/ But in answer to your question: No. That is not the story of life. It most definitely shouldn't be the way of a AAA game either.

In regards to the original topic:

Four years later, buy mode items are much nicer. In particular, the trees and shrubs are vastly improved.

CAS is still fun. It's wonderful, in fact. The problem is that it's more entertaining and engrossing than Live mode. That's a serious issue.

Once the Sims start to move and to speak, they take on totally different looks and personas than what I gave them when I first created their appearance and chose their traits. Their faces are elastic-plastic that contort into overly exaggerated, unnaturally creepy expressions. Worst of all, their reactions to any given scenario are lackluster and inconsistent. Events and subsequent emotions have no meaning. Give it a second and the Sim will have forgotten that anything ever happened.

Not. Good.

I can learn to live with the the funky facial expressions and the perpetual smiles. However, the lack of personalities, emotions, and authentic connections among the Sims is all kinds of wrong for a Sim game.

In the beginning, MCCC made things better. It still does, to a large extent. Andrew's pose player, Blender, and other community-created poses have been invaluable. Those third-party resources have allowed me to utilize the game that I paid for. Albeit, not in the way that I had intended. Because I mainly use the game's content for scenery and atmosphere.

TS4 is brilliant at that; the most recent worlds are breathtaking. Regardless, I've spent too much money for the game to wind up as a glorified movie set for digital dolls. It saddens me that I'm still at that point with this game -- even after the Seasons launch.

I want to love TS4. (That's the reason why I'm still here!) Yet, I'm still waiting for the game to show me its soul, so to speak.

To be more specific, I'm waiting for TS4's Sims to show me their souls. But I see no real effort in that direction. All of the focus is on things and more things. Meanwhile, the foundation of the series, the Sims themselves, are all but ignored.

After four years, I'm afraid that this is probably as good as it gets. Because what company would wait five, six, or seven years to finally show the consumers what their product is made of? After four long years, what company would continue to tell paying customers: 'We're working on it', 'We're trying some things', or the ubiquitous, 'There's really great stuff coming, just be patient'?

In the beginning, that kind of talk was fine. However, at the start of the fifth year, it's not right. No way is it right.

Cynna - I guess we will just have to agree to disagree - but I do feel the game has improved tri-fold otherwise I would not be here playing it.

As for the subject of life - well that's far too deep and out of place for me to delve into - but I can tell you one thing, years ago I thought like you did when I was in my twenties and thirties - and that's all I am going to say on that subject, other than life is neither fair or kind to everybody no matter how hard they try. I am glad to have a game about life that I can get myself lost in - well where people like characters are actually pretty happy most of the time if you let them be happy.

"Writin_Reg;c-16709524" wrote:

"wormstache999;c-16708858" wrote:

"Cinebar;c-16708848" wrote:
I forgot to add something that drove me nuts in TS4, the use of the Sim's pc for almost every thing. How over used is that object? to the hilt! It's almost like developers couldn't actually think of new ways to play outside of just connnecting everything to the Sim's pc. I know we use them every day in our own lives, but c'mon, no use in getting excited about a new career or aspriation if it's right back to the handy dandy Sim pc. Boring!

Agreed. It's really boring how you can buy everything at the computer - medicine, upgrade parts, vampire literature, books, seeds etc. And then it just magically appears in your inventory without your Sims even sitting down to order it :neutral:

Well it could be because that is exactly what modern consumers do now a days. I rarely go to a mall or store myself. It's so easy to just buy online and get it delivered. So they sort of reflect that in the game too.

I do go to farm stores and get fresh veggies and eggs, fruits, berries, maple syrup, and honey. Stuff I know is fresh anf grown organically - why go to a grocers -no point. Even my medication is delivered to me direct from the labs - no middle man involved and at a better price than a pharmacy. Why waste gas to go to a store, pay higher prices for often far less fresh products? Never mind all the time to do those things when I know what I want and it's down around the corner or better yet no further than my pc? I sort of like the fact my sims reflect the way I actually live and not like my mother and grandmother lived. The only grip I have is no living in our own home businesses - as that's a thing now a days more than ever - at least it is here in Maine. I find it odd that Sims 2 had that when it wasn't so common as a choice - but Sims 4 doesn't. So I just don't bother with retail in my game in Sims 4 but do enjoy using pc for many purchases.

Of course if it had been just like Sims 2 - then we would be paying for the same game - so I suppose it needed to be done differently. Even if I preferred how Sims 2 did it, I can understand it being different. I know I can always go back and play that way in Sims 2 anytime I want.

I too preferred Sims 3 up until they brought in toddler and the amazing Vamps. I still miss a lot of things from Sims 3 - but I can also enjoy where Sims 4 is now as well - and for things I do think Sims 4 does better. It does not make me not miss things I could do in Sims 3 though, so I can understand how some people prefer to play that game as I said. I just don't think I would have still been here complaining if I already had the perfect game - that's all. 4 years is a long time to be constantly unhappy.

Of course you can order most stuff on the computer nowadays, but my point was that there's not even an animation where your Sims sit down and order it. And it doesn't arrive via mail two or three days later, but just magically and immediately appears in your inventory.