Been playing Sims 4 since 2014

I do resonate with a lot of what you said, but I guess I'm still clinging to TS4 and trying to make the Most out of it.
I believe it's a little easier for me as I didn't like TS3, even though I've played TS1 and TS2 a lot.

Completely with you on this. Speaking as one who has played these versions since their release, though TS3 was for only a short time.

I’ve immediately bought Sims 4 on Disc back in September 2014 when the game was truly a nothing, nothing, because my old version of Sims 3 literally became unplayable.? As bad as people think Sims 4 is, it’s not even nearly as bad as what the old Sims 3 was. Sims 3 never ever had the ability to have more than one playable household at a time in the same game save & when I wanted my sims to travel to a venue it had to be only in the World they lived in. Vacation Worlds & University was the only exception. Also, can’t build much. In Sims 4 I had to start all over again & there wasn’t even Toddlers, Personality Traits or even Basements back then.? However there was always Oasis Springs & the sims can travel to any worlds, even without cars. I’ve even finally discovered a love for building, even if I can’t just color everything.?
Even today I still like Oasis Springs World. After playing my Sims 4 for four years I found out that Sims 3 was finally fixed back in 2018, & I thought, REALLY, oi.?
Anyways @ the time I was still getting a bit bored with my Sims 4 even though there was finally Toddlers & Basements put in the game & I just got Seasons in. And because I made a foolish mistake by giving away my whole Sims 3 collection on disk. I decided I wanted my Sims 3 again so I 1st got the Starter Pack on digital & slowly just bought my favorites.
It was so nice to be able to play my sims in Moonlight Falls, Bridgeport, Twinbrook & Appaloosa Plains & to be able to color & texturize everything.? Also, before a certain App, I was even able to finally get & play Dragon Alley, Roaring Heights & Bay.
Now in 2023, with most of my favorite occults in Sims 4 (still missing my Fairies & Genies) & with way more personality traits (still missing Zodiac), no Spiral Stairs, no actual Heartshape Bed, no Drums, no Color Wheel for everything & no Cars.? I now think that Sims 4 finally has potential & I’m so looking forward to Horses & Unicorns in Sims 4 .? I know it will be better than my beloved Sims 3. I even uninstalled my newer Sims 3 version just to make sure my computer holds all my Sims 4.? Furthermore, I had a strong feeling that Fairies will soon be in Sims 4. As for the others, who knows???

I played sims 1 and 2 a lot. I never managed to get into sims 3. I didn't care enough about the sims because I didn't care for the grafical style. The open world made it difficult to keep track of different sims in one household if they were in different parts of the world. I didn't like that new world were completely disconnected from each other and how story progression changed families I wanted to keep around. I started playing Sims 4 after the toddler update. It felt too barebone at the start but once toddlers were added, it felt complete enough to give it a go. The sims 4 but has come a long way with many good updates. The only thing sims 4 lacks is flexibility. Why can't we change the worlds or add lots, why is occult cas locked for normal sims. Why don't we get more options like turn off seasons completely for gardening?

I agree with most of what the OP said except in regards to the sims 4 strong points and weaknesses except for this one

"Hamsysincy;d-1009266" wrote:
...
2. Horribly designed world maps - Also an issue from the beginning. It is a minor upgrade from Sims 2 but a major downgrade from Sims 3 mechanics. ...

The sims 2 had a 3D neighbourhood, no flat over simplified image. It allowed us to place new lots in a world, change the neighbourhood terrain, change neighbourhood decoration and edit the seasons per world. We could even add a blank template and start from scratch. Without the option to add lots it is impossible for me to call Sims 4 world maps and upgrade from sims 2. Once we are in live mode, the worlds in sims 4 look pretty enough but I wish we could edit them to our liking.

I am interested in finding out more about life by you and paralives. They look promising. But both seem to be focused on realism only without intentions for supernatural content. I don't think I can commit to them long term if I can't add something supernatural or magical to those world. If either come with supernatural gameplay or a supernatural DLC, I will be interested. For the time being I will stick with my spellcasters, werewolves, mermaids and aliens. Sims 4 doesn't offer as much flexibility as I'd like but it has enough going on to keep me busy and entertaned.

"83bienchen;c-18277544" wrote:
I do resonate with a lot of what you said, but I guess I'm still clinging to TS4 and trying to make the Most out of it.
I believe it's a little easier for me as I didn't like TS3, even though I've played TS1 and TS2 a lot.

Im feel the same, I gave up TS3 pretty much after the base game came out as even eating out at a restaurant in the base game was a rabbit hole.
I did especially love TS2 though. I play TS4 without custom content and mods and since I’ve learned how to get rid of lifestyles, naps, and dirt pile plants through cheats I’m enjoying it much more, I don’t get quite as frustrated when I can cheat things away I don’t like. I am still annoyed with dine out though, it has bugs I don’t like.

I have been playing TS since Christmas of 2014. One of the things I like most about TS4 is that I’m still playing with the main save I started in 2014, having done save as every so often. My game doesn’t crash like it used to in some of the other TS games, it’s more stable. A couple of other things I like is that it doesn’t matter what world my sims live in, they can change the world they live in and still have the same friends, and can visit any world they want to. I also like the double tasking, like watching tv while eating. TS4 gets better with every pack. I really wish they would bring stuff packs back though. Oh, and since I’m a rotational player, I love that all my sims can interact with each other! I do miss the color wheel a lot though.