Lack of Long-term gameplay in TS4

"CAPTAIN_NXR7;c-17557897" wrote:

"@Cinebar;c-17557529" wrote:
I'm not going to blame parents for the lack of long term interest and gameplay in the TS4 but those who continue to buy it. Most who love this game are eager to get a new 'world' and move their Sims there or start a new save. Very little interest in a long term goal for their existing Sims. Can't blame that on parenting but the boredom of TS4. Compared to anyone who did play TS2 or TS3 and still do many still are playing the save they had back when those games were first released (16+ years later) not to say they never started a new game or 'themed' world and or played in different hoods, most of the players I know of the older games still have their saves they played for years and years. They may take a break from that save and do other things in those games, but they never let that save go.

TS4 players may also have a save and play it today however, they are quick to start new saves, move their Sims and uproot their story to a different 'town' and theme etc. There is very little replay value about TS4 in my opinion.

I still believe that it's a sign of the times, as I mentioned in some of my other comments in this thread, which I won't repeat here. Chewing through my essays can be a challenge in itself. ;)

One has to look at every aspect of the matter. It's impossible to blame one thing when all the things involved feed into one another causing a snowball effect. We'll have to go back and see where the source of the problem is.

There are so many people with short attention span, because it's encouraged by the media and society. In return, the media and society responds to the needs of those people by offering quantity upon quantity, and more sensational, but less meaningful content. Quality often suffers. And it keeps going back and forth. It's hard to tell where it started unless one is to do extensive research.

This short term attention behavior is not only present in kids, teens or young adults alone.
I constantly see it in adults. 2 out of 3 adults that I have a 1 on 1 conversation with, will pull out their phones the moment it gives a little *bleep* and they will read through their new messages regardless of me having a conversation with them. I mean conversation, not small talk. They will even return a message and all this goes at an incredible speed.
They are oblivious to my presence for the brief time they're doing it. And they're the same people who'll then smile back at me and tell me that they're great at multitasking.
Multitasking doesn't exist. I believe a human can only focus on one thing at the time. But society thinks it can multitask. I'm aware I'm going all philosophical here, but does 'long term game play' even exist anymore in our current society?

Game data may show that very few people actually have the patience to focus on 'long term' game play. How many people hold that fast speed button flying through the interactions, so they can fast speed through the next? I'm sure there are many many simmers out there that do just that.
Obviously game data can't show everything. That's why there are forums and surveys.
And yes, in the meantime EA is a corporation that will try and make as much money as it possibly can. It's a beast and Its survival is paramount.

I personally agree that the sims themselves need more personality and consequential game play based on their traits, perhaps their gender, their environment, their social relations. But for another player it's not important.

"@Cinebar;c-17557529" wrote:
Let's be honest Maxis, gender patch doesn't really address any wants or fears of transgenders, in gameplay, nor thoughts, desires, or Sim wishes/wants or struggles or whatever. It's just fluff patch, all for show and no depth. I don't use gender patch so it was nothing to me to have it added, however, many others do and what they got was not 'gameplay' but just more adjustments to body types, clothes choices etc. That's not gameplay. It's all CAS assets.

The CAS options are part of the game play, however, it's simple and above all it's safe.
This is such incredibly sensitive subject matter. I believe a lot of research needs to be done before the implementation of any additional game play. Same goes for the addition of disabilities.
I'm not surprised if the devs just can't find a way of patching it into the game in fear of offending people or leaving out important elements.

As far as gender patch goes there are some simple things (maybe programming isn't that simple) they could add such as when a player changes their Sim in CAS they would be presented with do they prefer male or female or some other term as a possible mate. Gender preference has been requested over and over in this game for as long as I can remember back in TS3's game, too. That adds depth to a Sim's personality by deaming who the Sim would hold more attraction to and at least add reasons (attraction system) of why one Sim is attracted to another.

I assume this changes when one transgenders to male or female or was always there, but now more important once transgender was completed. I know Simmers of all stripes who keep requesting this sort of patch or gameplay where their own Sims should not flirt nor be seduced by the opposite sex and or vice versa the same sex.

The neutral gender mechanics of this game is not what most people adhere to in real life, so I can't understand why they don't do this already. Let players pick a gender preference for their own Sims. Townies can remain bi as they are all now, if they don't want to deal with that much programming. But at least let players decide for themselves in CAS. Or when they make adjustments to their Sims.

I know of several gay players here who are very unhappy the game decides their Sim now prefers females. And I know I would prefer one of my straight Sims to remain straight especially when I rotated away to play a different household. That is programming I think most people can get behind.

If anyone wants to know why everyone has short attention spans these days it's because the internet rewires the brain. There are many studies about it. Yes, even adults have fell prey to this rewiring of brain impulses that eventually do rewire the way the brain fires off neutrons. Perhaps not giving a one or two year old a phone or a tablet is actually better for them to develop more critical thinking than just hive mind.