"Naus;c-16992350" wrote:
@Ceres_Meiriona Half the BB stuff in StrangerVille is deco only, and tons of small clutter stuff. The only decent content are the Build items (doors, windows and fences) and some CAS items. The rest are just decorative or very specific in theme. How many times are you going to use all those deco science objects? And then there's all the repeats. All those masks and toys could've been ONE object with different swatches, but just like they did with rodent cages, they separate the items in order to INFLATE the number of content you get. In reality if it's the SAME MESH it shouldn't be separate items. And then all those decals LMAO... I guess some people may find a use for them, but in terms of value, they are FLAT objects (2-polygon mesh) with basic textures. And can we talk about that floor that has no swatches whatsoever? It looks like you're getting a lot, but appearances are deceiving.
You mean the only decent deco for YOU. That's 100% opinion, and not a fair criticism of the pack. I am a sci-fi and high fantasy player, so I will use them a lot. You know what I won't use, those windows and doors. However, you won't see me throwing biased shade on those items, because someone does like them somewhere, and they will be useful assets for that person. Their inclusion did not diminish the pack for me, even though I will not be making use of them. Deco items help us to set the setting for our stories. They are not the most important thing in the game, but they are useful props and help storytellers set the stage for their stories.
As for inflated items that make it look like you're getting "more", Lucky Palms is sporting 4 recolors of the same darn cactus. Your bias is glaringly bright.
TS4 we are not restricted to living or visiting just one world.
You aren't restricted to living or visiting one world in TS3 either. You can travel to China, France, Egypt or Oasis Landing. You can buy homes and live there, and in the case of the future world you don't EVER have to go back home. With NRaas Traveler, you can travel to any world at any time. Though I understand if you don't want to count it, as you need a mod to enable that functionality.
Do you understand that if people don't buy every piece of DLC they have a ridiculously low amount of lots, right? I think WC, OS and Newcrest all three combined have 57 lots. You are "forced" to buy more packs in order not to run out of space. In contrast, you didn't need to buy any world in The Sims 3. You could add your own lots on routable terrain, or use the Create-A-World tool to create your own, or download any of the thousands of FREE worlds made by fans, sometimes doing a better job than in EA. Talk about freedom...
So basically you're tossing out the "there is a mod for that" blanket fix that I have heard people say from TS1 all the way through to TS4. While mods are great and mod creators are the unsung heroes of any sims iteration, that is never an acceptable answer. Also, vacation worlds don't count! I can stay in vacation worlds as long as I want in TS4, as well, but that is not the same as what I was referring to in my original post, and you know it. You cannot move fluidly between worlds without Mods in TS3, you can only visit vacation worlds, so when setting up a world in TS3 the devs had to make sure you could fit everything you could ever possibly need in one setting. In TS4 you can move fluidly between both, WITHOUT mods, so the devs do not need to focus on worlds with a massive lot count. I mean no disrespect to modders, either, when I say mods don't count. There are mods that fix many of the issues plaguing TS4 for simmers, and while that is awesome of the creators to do, I still feel it is the Sims Team's responsibility to deliver those features to the player base in a supported version. Modding away TS3's flaws but shining on a spotlight on anything you dislike about TS4, is not a fair comparison.
I think you fail to realize how varied the Sims player base is. I have literally never filled all of the lots in my Sims 4 game. Up until Strangerville released, I was rotating between two saves. One where my sims only utilized the lots of Magnolia Promenade and Midnight Hollow, and the other was in San Myshuno. Literally all the other lots in the other worlds were bulldozed and blank, because I did not need nor want them. The only thing I left were the parks, which were remodeled for specific scenarios like weddings. From my perspective, we are drowning in lots but need more environmental diversity, which Strangerville gave us. A dusty worn out town in the middle of no where was a refreshing change of pace from the overly beautiful settings of other worlds. No one is forced to buy anything. I could use that same argument against Lucky Palms. If you want an evil well child or a sprawling desert city, you are FORCED to buy Lucky Palms! Even worse, if you want the casino and evil well child, you have to buy a HIGHER PRICED version of the content! :gasp: At least TS4 didn't release Strangerville and offer the story and new interactable objects in a "gold" edition for $10 more.
It sounds like you have an extreme bias for massive amounts of lots and an open world. Which is ok! There is nothing wrong with that. TS4, though, will never have massive amounts of lots in one world nor an open world. That is not how it is designed. It's like asking an orange to be sweet like an apple. Just go get an apple if that is what you are after.
At the end of the day, both of you value more the amount of content that EA gives you, rather than powerful tools to turn ANY content into whatever you want. I rather have Create-A-Style and less content (though in the case of BB, there's actually more and better content for TS3; TS4 is full of clutter, deco and decals, and modern furniture) than more content with the 20 or less swatches EA has decided I should use.
E'ghads you make presumptions! I liked CasT, and do in fact miss it, but I do not miss how terribly optimized it was, which is a developer flaw with TS3, just as TS4 has its own developer flaws. Currently we have two choices, have CasT and a poorly optimized game, or ditch CasT and have a well optimized game. Obviously, I chose to ditch CasT. In a perfect world, we should be able to have both, but that is not the game they made, and CasT will never be implemented in TS4. Again, it's like asking an orange to taste like an apple. They're different fruits, and you either like them or you don't, and you can appreciate them for what they are, or you can rant about those darn oranges not tasting like apples until you pass out from exhaustion.
My point in showcasing the items was an attempt to explain that TS3 and TS4 are two different games with different features, focuses, and needs. Certain aspects cannot be fairly compared. It's clear you don't want to hear that, though, you just want to vent your disappointment that TS4 is not TS3.
TS3 allows you to model the world and environment of your dreams.
TS4 allows you to model the sim of your dreams.
CAS is powerful in TS4, and at the end of the day, simmers stayed or moved onto the version that gave them what they most wanted in a sims game. For me, that was being able to model a sim, as I was not a world creator. For other simmers, it's the world, and thus they stayed with TS3. For TS2 players, it's an authentic and genuine sim personality with attention to small details. There is no right or wrong choice here, just different features and options. Would it be nice if we didn't have to choose? Heck yes! That is not the reality of the situation, though.
@Goldmoldar
I honestly would have no issue with someone saying, "I want more lots in Strangerville." What I take issue with, is these tiring TS3 versus TS4 comparisons. The two games are vastly different and hinge around different features and both have their weak links. I do want to be able to customize the world around me in TS4 more and the objects too. While I
can shape incredibly unique sims in TS4, the world and build tools still
need improving. I'm not saying TS4 is perfect, it's not anywhere close, but I
am saying a Lucky Palms versus StrangerVille comparison is a plumbob way to try to make a valid criticism.
