Carl's Guide: A History of the Sims 4

"drake_mccarty;c-17837815" wrote:

"Nikkih;c-17837796" wrote:
When a game is still in development, there's time for improvement, the sims 4 is world's away from where it was at launch, there's also been talk of story progression possibly coming to the game (which I would personally love), the truth is nobody knows where this game will be going or when it will end apart from the developers, i don't believe the sims 4 will have every feature and detail as the previous games, at the end of the day its everyone's own personal opinion of what they think of the sims 4

Sims 4 era will be ending soon. EA wouldn’t have made kits a thing if this game weren’t wrapping up in the next year or two. They want to squeeze every last drop of money out of people who buy Sims 4 content while they still have an audience this size.

Yes I agree that I don't think the sims 4 has too long left but we don't know for certain when and who knows what they will add to the game in that time, perhaps this year and possibly the next will be really good years for patches and packs we don't know

I am torn. I finally listened to this video today, and I agree with a lot of it, especially about the early phases of Sims 4. Some things Carl wants, like story progression, I wouldn't want. Nor do I care about cars. I do want more personality though.

I never bought the base game as I was satisfied with Sims 2 at the time. I wouldn't even have considered it without toddlers, but actually I waited until it was free. So maybe I would be bitter also if I paid for the game.

I have paid for dlc, but almost always at half price sales. So my expectations may be different from someone who paid full price.

The truth is, in spite of all that is missing in terms of Sims personalities and animation, I enjoy the game. I play almost daily. I do use some mods to help, but those don't completely fill the gaps for me. Still I am having fun. I would have a difficult time going back to Sims 2 and not have the ability to travel between worlds or have time pass when I leave the home lot.

I hope the Sims team is serious about fixing bugs. It's discouraging when a brand new kit is released and is so buggy, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.

I also hope we get some serious attention to personality. Sentiments and lifestyles were a good attempt, but don't always make sense.

I am torn. I finally listened to this video today, and I agree with a lot of it, especially about the early phases of Sims 4. Some things Carl wants, like story progression, I wouldn't want. Nor do I care about cars. I do want more personality though.

I never bought the base game as I was satisfied with Sims 2 at the time. I wouldn't even have considered it without toddlers, but actually I waited until it was free. So maybe I would be bitter also if I paid for the game.

I have paid for dlc, but almost always at half price sales. So my expectations may be different from someone who paid full price.

The truth is, in spite of all that is missing in terms of Sims personalities and animation, I enjoy the game. I play almost daily. I do use some mods to help, but those don't completely fill the gaps for me. Still I am having fun. I would have a difficult time going back to Sims 2 and not have the ability to travel between worlds or have time pass when I leave the home lot.

I hope the Sims team is serious about fixing bugs. It's discouraging when a brand new kit is released and is so buggy, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.

I also hope we get some serious attention to personality. Sentiments and lifestyles were a good attempt, but don't always make sense.

"Nikkih;c-17837819" wrote:

"drake_mccarty;c-17837815" wrote:

"Nikkih;c-17837796" wrote:
When a game is still in development, there's time for improvement, the sims 4 is world's away from where it was at launch, there's also been talk of story progression possibly coming to the game (which I would personally love), the truth is nobody knows where this game will be going or when it will end apart from the developers, i don't believe the sims 4 will have every feature and detail as the previous games, at the end of the day its everyone's own personal opinion of what they think of the sims 4

Sims 4 era will be ending soon. EA wouldn’t have made kits a thing if this game weren’t wrapping up in the next year or two. They want to squeeze every last drop of money out of people who buy Sims 4 content while they still have an audience this size.

Yes I agree that I don't think the sims 4 has too long left but we don't know for certain when and who knows what they will add to the game in that time, perhaps this year and possibly the next will be really good years for patches and packs we don't know

I wouldn’t imagine anything substantial. Their track record doesn’t exactly support an about-face on popular requests. Just this last September the fandom was freaking out about the studio not listening to or applying feedback. Have not seen anything that suggests change in that regard; kits are not exactly a good response to those complaints, and don’t get me started on the laundry lists because they reek of marketing. The end of Sims 4 era will be loaded with half baked dlc, overpriced kits, too many bad faith promises, and an increasingly long list of bugs that will be left as-is (just like Sims 3 and Sims 4 legacy edition)

"drake_mccarty;c-17837857" wrote:

"Nikkih;c-17837819" wrote:

"drake_mccarty;c-17837815" wrote:

"Nikkih;c-17837796" wrote:
When a game is still in development, there's time for improvement, the sims 4 is world's away from where it was at launch, there's also been talk of story progression possibly coming to the game (which I would personally love), the truth is nobody knows where this game will be going or when it will end apart from the developers, i don't believe the sims 4 will have every feature and detail as the previous games, at the end of the day its everyone's own personal opinion of what they think of the sims 4

Sims 4 era will be ending soon. EA wouldn’t have made kits a thing if this game weren’t wrapping up in the next year or two. They want to squeeze every last drop of money out of people who buy Sims 4 content while they still have an audience this size.

Yes I agree that I don't think the sims 4 has too long left but we don't know for certain when and who knows what they will add to the game in that time, perhaps this year and possibly the next will be really good years for patches and packs we don't know

I wouldn’t imagine anything substantial. Their track record doesn’t exactly support an about-face on popular requests. Just this last September the fandom was freaking out about the studio not listening to or applying feedback. Have not seen anything that suggests change in that regard; kits are not exactly a good response to those complaints, and don’t get me started on the laundry lists because they reek of marketing. The end of Sims 4 era will be loaded with half baked dlc, overpriced kits, too many bad faith promises, and an increasingly long list of bugs that will be left as-is (just like Sims 3 and Sims 4 legacy edition)

@drake_mccarty The sad thing is, just when one thinks that it will get better EA completely turns it around and ruins everything. 2020 was for me the worst year in the Sims franchise since the launch of the Sims 4 in 2014. And it's not just me, the game has rarely ever gotten as much backlash as this last year. From Spark'd to skintone issues to Eco Lifestyle bugs to Journey to Batuu and now Kits.

I can barely remember the last time the Sims took so many hits so quickly. And something tells me it won't be getting better.

"Sk8rblaze;c-17837454" wrote:

"Sallycutecat;c-17836544" wrote:
I like the Sims 4. I can do what I want and there's not really any obstacle to overcome. I found Sims 2 to be too challenging. I didn't like the aspiration meter, the wants and fears, and the need decay was too fast. I got bored playing Sims 3. I find it boring to watch and wait while my Sim walks from one side of town to the other. The game was also very laggy and didn't run well on my computer. Sims 4 is the first Sims game where I don't need cheats to keep on top of their needs. It's easy to get promotions or do well in school, build relationships, and skill up in whatever I want my Sim to be good at. Sims 4 really suits me and my way of playing.

To preface this, I’m glad you found a Sims game which meshes better with your style of play, and I wouldn’t want them to radically redesign TS4 to take that away from you.

But I don’t think the solution for everyone is to strip the game entirely of fun gameplay systems and make retained systems like Needs way too easy to manage. Not at all insinuating you are, but I’m personally not someone that lives vicariously through my Sims. Keeping the game in normal mode and watching them slowly ski, rowboat, or go to the spa does absolutely nothing for me. That’s all visual stuff. I need depth/meaning behind it, and I need to feel like the game is challenging me in some capacity, otherwise I leave. And I don’t even think it needs to be complex. Things to the extent of TS2’s dating or headmaster system were fine enough.

I’ve said it before, but I definitely think they should make a simplified sandbox mode for players like you and a life simulation mode for players like myself that want challenge, risk, and spontaneity.

The thing is they haven't stripped the game entirely of fun gameplay. What is fun gameplay is all a matter of preference and personal taste so it's not right to say there's no fun gameplay in Sims 4. For me, the need decay being slower allows for more time to do the actual fun stuff. I found having to focus entirely on my Sims needs and have no time for anything else to be rather boring. In Sims 4 I can have them snowboard nearly all day and it only takes a small amount of time for them to take care of their needs. I can play a family of 5 and have them all live a fullfulling life (including their social life). There's not many games out their that meet the needs of those of us who don't want challenge. Sims 4 is one of the few that does.

I do agree that difficulty options would benifit more people. The problem with different modes would be neither mode may suit exactly what we want, but if we could all alter the difficulty in the game options menu then we could set them to what we each individually prefer. Options to change the speed of the need decay, the difficulty of getting promotions, etc. It may be too late for this kind of system to come to Sims 4 so maybe people could advocate for it to be in Sims 5.

I see the Sims 4 DLC as just putting lipstick on a pig. It's the same animations and actions from other packs rebranded as new things. It's adding in things that were missing, but it's exactly the same thing as before (just breaking the original action in the process). I love weeding my easel as much as the next person since Seasons came out, personally.

"PreCiious;c-17838089" wrote:

"Nikkih;c-17837796" wrote:
When a game is still in development, there's time for improvement, the sims 4 is world's away from where it was at launch, there's also been talk of story progression possibly coming to the game (which I would personally love), the truth is nobody knows where this game will be going or when it will end apart from the developers, i don't believe the sims 4 will have every feature and detail as the previous games, at the end of the day its everyone's own personal opinion of what they think of the sims 4

Yeah... hope thats what try to sell isnt it? I just think people set themselfs up for disappointment at this point. Yes that sounds very pessimstic xD. Its just, when have they ever go back and add more to an exsisting pack that they already released beyond bug fixes... Yet they can sit there and ask us in a survey what packs you want polished?! Just one out of many examples-

But i am asking myself, why even bother giving constructive critisism at this point, why writing ideas, suggestions and feedback. After 7years i just talk about the good points/ bad points when it comes to the sims4. whats done is done. Heck they can not even tell you what they are currently working on. A ... yes we do work on improving babies?! No cars is too tricky, we tried....
BUt nooo we just sit in the dark, they work in their bubble. After 7years people do loss patience, maybe thats why a lot of them just get demanding and ranty and feel like they have to make an uproar to be listened.

This is why the sims as a lifeservice is bull*****. Sometimes it just feels like they witheld fan desires for the right moment and for the marketing.
Bunk beds announcement... but at the same time also kits... ya know. All strategically planned

Yeah live service is probably the worst I've seen in any company. Real live services actually bring quality of life patch updates and real communication happening. I never understood their whole reasoning of denying the Sims 4 was the Sims Olympus project until after the Sims 4 is finished development they want to reveal it. It is just weird how the Sims 4 has been handled. Even with being a play tester, how that is set up is very unorganized too. It is like I want to help with bug fixes but often feel like I can't. I just don't get it how they are even making it hard to do things for their volunteer workers.

"PreCiious;c-17838094" wrote:

"SimmerGeorge;c-17837903" wrote:

"drake_mccarty;c-17837857" wrote:

"Nikkih;c-17837819" wrote:

"drake_mccarty;c-17837815" wrote:

"Nikkih;c-17837796" wrote:
When a game is still in development, there's time for improvement, the sims 4 is world's away from where it was at launch, there's also been talk of story progression possibly coming to the game (which I would personally love), the truth is nobody knows where this game will be going or when it will end apart from the developers, i don't believe the sims 4 will have every feature and detail as the previous games, at the end of the day its everyone's own personal opinion of what they think of the sims 4

Sims 4 era will be ending soon. EA wouldn’t have made kits a thing if this game weren’t wrapping up in the next year or two. They want to squeeze every last drop of money out of people who buy Sims 4 content while they still have an audience this size.

Yes I agree that I don't think the sims 4 has too long left but we don't know for certain when and who knows what they will add to the game in that time, perhaps this year and possibly the next will be really good years for patches and packs we don't know

I wouldn’t imagine anything substantial. Their track record doesn’t exactly support an about-face on popular requests. Just this last September the fandom was freaking out about the studio not listening to or applying feedback. Have not seen anything that suggests change in that regard; kits are not exactly a good response to those complaints, and don’t get me started on the laundry lists because they reek of marketing. The end of Sims 4 era will be loaded with half baked dlc, overpriced kits, too many bad faith promises, and an increasingly long list of bugs that will be left as-is (just like Sims 3 and Sims 4 legacy edition)

@drake_mccarty The sad thing is, just when one thinks that it will get better EA completely turns it around and ruins everything. 2020 was for me the worst year in the Sims franchise since the launch of the Sims 4 in 2014. And it's not just me, the game has rarely ever gotten as much backlash as this last year. From Spark'd to skintone issues to Eco Lifestyle bugs to Journey to Batuu and now Kits.

I can barely remember the last time the Sims took so many hits so quickly. And something tells me it won't be getting better.

Dont forget the 20th anniversary.

I think 2019 was pretty bad, when the whole rebrand happened and you could tell, that this will be a game that is all style over substance. Everything felt so rushed. More GameChangers spoke up about the decrease of quality in favor of quantity. I mean you look at the packs released in 2019 and you are like... Man these are some fan favourites... Some big ticket items. But they end up beeing mediocre... just what RionAgrias wrote. The same ❤️❤️❤️❤️ with a different coat, slaped the same gameplay Object and called it a day.


@Scobre

This is why i get so irritated when occult players blame other simmers, for nerfing down Vampires, when in reality its EA to blame, Maxis to blame. They shoe horned you, without giving you an option and lets not act like they simple cant give us options and settings, heck even dust the bust has a setting.
Like they do listen to the community to some degree but dont only make changes for the community, there is a lot more going on on why exactly something happened. But sure lets attack each other when we should focus on the real ''enemie'' here.


Gosh the sims4 what a roller coaster.

Nah I get it read your comment in the other thread too. Yeah the whole tuning and coding of the game is a mess. I thought it was very good and gave it an insightful. <3 Some of the Gurus who did tune it have since been let go from Maxis too, so there probably isn't a way to fix it anyways. I'm not just a fantasy player but a bit of a hybrid player and builder and recolored a few objects. I just don't like the game being too easy for the way I like to play with hybrid families that's all. I'm probably one of the rare species that actually likes raising toddlers both in the game and in real life.

I and others did get silenced during the Ask the Guru thread on forums when the first nerf happened with aliens by many Simmers being told to be quiet in very rude ways back in 2015 so they were partially responsible for what happened. They got rid of males getting pregnant from female aliens and nerfed alien abductions. Thankfully it has been fixed somewhat since because of the gender update. It was a rough time on forums. So yes I do fault those Simmers in that thread for trying to force a gameplay on a pack that they had purchased while those of us that had purchased the pack got punished for it in several ways. It wasn't nice how Get to Work was handled and it still remains one of the most bug ridden pack because apparently breaking the existing coding that initially runs well is more important than fixing the actual bugs of the game and creating more problems. Gets super frustrating for bug testing. Feedback does matter from anyone and there are consequences for it. Sometimes I do wonder if fans even care what happens to the Sims franchise not wanting to talk about the game itself and making it fun for others. Like they want the game to fail and not sell well. It is like the logic of people not wanting to wear masks to protect other people. Society is doomed for failure.

Considering Sims 5 is now in development and "well underway" apparently, we may just see the occasional pack now and then which, I'm actually fine with as long as they fix the bugs. I really don't think the game engine can handle any more expansions anyway. My game gets pretty laggy at times and I have a decent gaming computer. Thankfully they're using Unreal Engine for Sims 5. They should be able to do a lot more with it.