Legacy Update Postponed

"MidnightAura;c-17103228" wrote:
That’s good for the players affected.

Being honest though, I don’t think the jump to 64 bit only is going to do what a lot of people think it will. I think there are going to be some disappointed people in the future.

Actually as one who has experienced every jump since before 8 bit games - it matters a lot and makes a big difference eventually - even if not right away. You only have to go dig out an old machine and old game to see how far we have come.

I actually started with computer before there were even operating systems and we used to have to type in a game program from a book or pc magazine. It took sometime 2 weeks to type the game into the machine - it was crazy just to get a few stick figures on the screen. I used to like the Zork games that gave you no pictures at all - just words. If people had to go through that now a days I dare say no one would be playing games.

But having seen it all - and having to learn new things all the time - you see the difference it makes. JUst the fact 64 bit utilizes unbelievable amounts of ram is insane when 32 bit cannot even use more than 3 and half gig. In today games 3 and a half gigs of ram are nothing in comparison. If only Sims 3 had been able to have been updated to 64 bit what a difference it would have made. Believe me...

"Writin_Reg;c-17103238" wrote:

"MidnightAura;c-17103228" wrote:
That’s good for the players affected.

Being honest though, I don’t think the jump to 64 bit only is going to do what a lot of people think it will. I think there are going to be some disappointed people in the future.

Actually as one who has experienced every jump since before 8 bit games - it matters a lot and makes a big difference eventually - even if not right away. You only have to go dig out an old machine and old game to see how far we have come.

I actually started with computer before there were even operating systems and we used to have to type in a game program from a book or pc magazine. It took sometime 2 weeks to type the game into the machine - it was crazy just to get a few stick figures on the screen. I used to like the Zork games that gave you no pictures at all - just words. If people had to go through that now a days I dare say no one would be playing games.

But having seen it all - and having to learn new things all the time - you see the difference it makes. JUst the fact 64 bit utilizes unbelievable amounts of ram is insane when 32 bit cannot even use more than 3 and half gig. In today games 3 and a half gigs of ram are nothing in comparison. If only Sims 3 had been able to have been updated to 64 bit what a difference it would have made. Believe me...

I may not be your age but I have been gaming for twenty nine years so I have seen the jump overtime. Yes I agree sims 3 would have benefited from being 64 bit.

Let me be clearer, I don’t think it’s going to make a huge difference that everyone seems to think it will to the sims 4. Some people think with 64 bit we are going to start seeing huge worlds with about thirty lots, open world, create a world and I think that’s a bit unrealistic.

Strange decision on their part, 32-bit applications are barely supported anymore. And the reason that "they want everyone to enjoy the Island Living Expansion Pack" this close to launch is a strange thing to say. You don't just tell everyone that they are deciding to stop supporting a platform and then just go "nah".

"ZhaguiSimmer;c-17103242" wrote:

"Writin_Reg;c-17103182" wrote:


Actually it means everything if you think about the fact that most updates are already only in 64 bit for 64 bit machines so even now people won't be able to update their video cards or their motherboards or processors - even many anti-virus makers are not putting out 32 bit updates anymore so new virus problems and machine will have little to no protection. Video card updates control more than just the video of your game - they also make some fixes for games that 32 bit players can no longer get. Both Nvidia and Radeon stopped updates for 32 bits already. Also apple players also need updates they can't get soon as well. EA is like one of last places going 64 bit - so be glad your game of choice was with EA or you'd already had problems if you only ran 32 bit.

I remember when we went from 8 bit to 16 bit - they did not give notices back then and all the equipment and game companies just updated leaving player all flapping in the wind with nothing to help us play our games at all. The same thing happened when we went from 16 bit to 32 bit. It was brutal - no warnings at all and I had a half dozen games I had just bought my kids and not a one of my pcs back then would play the darn things. So companies giving notice never mind giving a legacy version of the game so people could still play if a courtesy we did not get in the past. Also once your bought a game it was your - no money back - in those days even on unopened packages.

Does this mean people will have to buy a different version of Sims 4? How would I check if my PC is 64bit?

Nope. Existing 32-bit users will get a "legacy version" added to their Origin library, which is TS4 at the state it was before the legacy update drops, and it won't receive future updates.

To check if you're on 64-bit, open your start menu, type "dxdiag" and run it, then check if it says 64-bit in the OS:
https://drive.google.com/uc?id=116IK8wW3l_Od7Z3sURzZB0CHhkLuFnra

If you got your computer new within the last few years, it should be 64-bit

Edit: If you're on Mac, you have to check if your machine supports the Metal API. https://www.imore.com/how-check-if-your-older-mac-pro-supports-macos-mojave-dark-mode

Also, I think developing with the assumption that your customers aren't hard limited to 4 GB of RAM can open up a lot of things. We'll just see what it does in the future

"@MidnightAura;c-17103300" wrote:

"Writin_Reg;c-17103238" wrote:

"MidnightAura;c-17103228" wrote:
That’s good for the players affected.

Being honest though, I don’t think the jump to 64 bit only is going to do what a lot of people think it will. I think there are going to be some disappointed people in the future.

Actually as one who has experienced every jump since before 8 bit games - it matters a lot and makes a big difference eventually - even if not right away. You only have to go dig out an old machine and old game to see how far we have come.

I actually started with computer before there were even operating systems and we used to have to type in a game program from a book or pc magazine. It took sometime 2 weeks to type the game into the machine - it was crazy just to get a few stick figures on the screen. I used to like the Zork games that gave you no pictures at all - just words. If people had to go through that now a days I dare say no one would be playing games.

But having seen it all - and having to learn new things all the time - you see the difference it makes. JUst the fact 64 bit utilizes unbelievable amounts of ram is insane when 32 bit cannot even use more than 3 and half gig. In today games 3 and a half gigs of ram are nothing in comparison. If only Sims 3 had been able to have been updated to 64 bit what a difference it would have made. Believe me...

I may not be your age but I have been gaming for twenty nine years so I have seen the jump overtime. Yes I agree sims 3 would have benefited from being 64 bit.

Let me be clearer, I don’t think it’s going to make a huge difference that everyone seems to think it will to the sims 4. Some people think with 64 bit we are going to start seeing huge worlds with about thirty lots, open world, create a world and I think that’s a bit unrealistic.

We’ve had comments in the past that Ram is a huge issue with 4.

The game needs more and from Cats & Dogs onwards, if you play 32 bit there’s a chance your game will crash.

Also, the answer to “could we see bigger lots in 4?” being no was due to the lack of ram available. When the base game came out, 50x50 was the biggest lot size they were able to successfully pull off due to constraints. They managed to find a work around, but I know that when I play, 4 uses over 4GB Ram when I’m playing big houses.

I think we won’t see *huge* changes, but instead lots of amazing changes that make for one big change over time.

I honestly think the biggest change will be when they don’t have to develop for Open GL on Mac. That’s the biggest hurdle.

The version of Open GL Apple use for MacOS is outdated and most games struggle. And The Sims 4 is one of the only games that is developed for PC & Mac, not ported to Mac.

So EA would have had to work within the constraints of Open GL whereas most games are just ported over even when they don’t run like a AAA game should.

To be clear this update has only been delayed but not canceled.

Truthfully, this makes a lot of sense. The end of OpenGL support on the Mac side that prompted this whole thing isn't technically happening until the fall when the next version of MacOS releases. This update isn't just about switching the Windows version to 64-bit; It's about keeping the Mac version of the game functional by updating it to support Metal. The loss of 32-bit support on the Windows side is a side effect of that. So since the update doesn't need to happen for a little while yet, why not let more people enjoy Island Living?

"PreCiious;c-17103549" wrote:
What does it even mean for the game, when the 32bit Version is not supported anymore. Will there be more Features and less limitation or even bigger Worlds? I dont really get it.
Maybe thats why the Island Living EP has a small world and diving spots as rabbitholes, because of 32bit Version, but who knows?

Hard to say, one thing that the simgurus have mentioned when they were asked about why there are so little furniture and decorations on some of their later DLC's was because they wanted to make sure that computers with low spec's could run them. So them not having to worry about that could lead to more detailed and possibly larger lots for future DLC's but it is difficult to tell how limited they are by 32-bit.

The decision to postpone this just makes me wonder more what changes that could be coming to the game. Like they want to rework the whole game or something.

"logion;c-17103658" wrote:

"PreCiious;c-17103549" wrote:
What does it even mean for the game, when the 32bit Version is not supported anymore. Will there be more Features and less limitation or even bigger Worlds? I dont really get it.
Maybe thats why the Island Living EP has a small world and diving spots as rabbitholes, because of 32bit Version, but who knows?

Hard to say, one thing that the simgurus have mentioned when they were asked about why there are so little furniture and decorations on some of their later DLC's was because they wanted to make sure that computers with low spec's could run them. So them not having to worry about that could lead to more detailed and possibly larger lots for future DLC's but it is difficult to tell how limited they are by 32-bit.

The decision to postpone this just makes me wonder more what changes that could be coming to the game. Like they want to rework the whole game or something.

If any major changes were actually coming due to this update it wouldn’t have been so easily postponed after the announcement of the EP. 32bit is being dropped by necessity not because they’re upgrading the game or it’s DLC. This game will always be designed to run on low powered hardware even when it goes full 64bit. That’s not going to change 5 years into the games lifetime and the situation were in now kind of tells us all that. They’ve known about the EP for a long time and the elimination of 32bit as well. If they were serious about using that to upgrade their DLC capability it would be apparent in the new DLC that was always intended to launch after the removal of 32bit, until they changed their minds which means this pack was never intended to utilize the 64bit even though 32 bit players were never intended on being able to play it.