Carl's review of Dream Home Decorator pack is out

"SamDenny;c-17899910" wrote:

"ashcrash19;c-17898207" wrote:
Is it just me or has he become more and more negative? I remember when Carl's Guides were neutral or positive. The last year or so it seemed he's always upset.

It's because he's being influenced by the increased negativity of the fanbase in general. It gets to a point that you feel out place for thinking differently than the majority, this allows negative influences to make adjustments to way you think. I'm sad to say that I've only come to understand this now because I, myself was undergoing it.

Case in point, it follows the same deal of if you hear a lie enough times it becomes the truth.

Gotta love the idea that everyone is just "so negative" for no reason at all and we just get enjoyment out of being frustrated, and that it's a "hot new trend" instead of, I don't know, maybe the game has some actual serious flaws that people have been begging to be addressed for years, and instead we keep getting packs of diminishing quality?

I'm not here to start a fight or anything, I just really don't understand this mentality that this "negativity" is unfounded. I'm glad you're having fun with the game, but that doesn't mean everyone is? And maybe the reason why it seems so "popular" to be negative now is because more people are starting to realize how shallow the simulation gameplay in a series titled The Sims currently is?

Like, I'm still able to squeeze enjoyment out of this game because my playstyle just barely fits into the way the team is trying to encourage players to, well, play this generation. Which is to imagine your own little story and micro-manage every little interaction and fill in the gaps in gameplay/interactions/animations with your imagination. I just want good autonomy and sims with personality who aren't default nice all the time... (and wants and fears and better aspirations). Man, now I'm just remembering the gossip system from TS2 and getting sad... Memory systems... Sigh....

Like, everyone on this forum is here because we care about this game/franchise. Regardless if our opinions are positive or negative. People who seem "so negative" are upset because we realize there is so much room for improvement this iteration. I actually stand by the opinion that this generation could be just as great as the previous ones, IF they implement a few core features. This opinion has definitely wavered the last couple of years, as the systems we get continue to lack real depth to them (WHY won't my sims autonomously do things they like? WHY do they keep dancing autonomously even though they hate dancing (back to micro-managing)?? Lifestyles are almost useless and since they are pack specific they will never be expanded upon. Sentiments are... nice... but like most things in this game act as flavor-text and give another moodlet to the increasing number of moodlets that I can't keep track of anymore (good point about sentiments: sims with positive ones will autonomously want to be near each other, very cute!).

I'm glad we still have Carl's reviews (and Pleasant Sims). I loved LGR but he stopped reviewing most packs because he realized what so many of us "negative" people here have realized. That this iteration has some serious flaws that cannot be fixed with each new pack acting as a coat of paint to hide the mess underneath. In his review, Carl was trying to prove an idea, and he did. According to one of the previous posts, sims in TS3 Ambitions could recognize mess in their house for the final review. That does not seem to be the case for TS4 DHD. It being cheated there or not isn't the point. It's still recognizable and the sims reacted to it positively! He intentionally pushed the limits of the game (as you should, I think), and found one of its breaking points. Someone on twitter realized you could throw entire parties at the clients house (on their dime, apparently)! You can steal their stuff and leave them with nothing but a tub and still get paid. But some people are seemingly failing jobs for no discernable reason? To me, this points to the pack not being coded in a thoughtful way.

Every "negative" person you see just wants this game to be good. Just because we are frustrated does not mean that we aren't still finding some enjoyment out of this iteration. I'm literally about to jump into TS4 right now (and I don't even use mods). Which is why it gets doubly frustrating when people say to just "play another game if you're so upset, why play something you don't like?" Because maybe we do like it? But also see where it can do better? Things can't improve without criticism, that's literally just how life works. Again, I'm glad you don't feel "negative" about TS4, but can you at least understand that the "negativity" is not without reason? I'm critical, not a "hater".