@LiELF Whereas I present empirical information to support my claims, all you do is user your personal preferences as supporting evidence.
"the graphic textures are frequently mismatched and godawful."
That's factually incorrect. The Sims 3 has a consistent standard of mask size (250 pixels per square grid). What means is that a pattern (which can be 256 or 512 pixels) will be repeated 1 time per square grid. The Sims 3 doesn't really have textures. Objects have presets (pre-selected styles) but you can change them into whatever you want. I don't even know what you're talking about when you claim textures are mismatched. Textures are created dynamically in-game and it's up to you to select the patterns and colors you want. It cannot be mismatched unless you mismatch textures on purpose.
"As far as costs, I have presented what prices are showing for me."
And I have presented what prices are showing for me. They're equally as valid. Lucky Palms SE is cheaper than StrangerVille for me. The Gold Edition is only $4.5 US dollars more expensive. I already own Lucky Palms and I'm very satisfied with my purchase. It's one of the worlds I use the most, I love the way it looks, I love the amount of space I have to add community lots from other EPs, and I love the new gameplay added with the Gold Edition. The Casino has infinitely more value (in my opinion, of course) than StrangerVille's 2-hour linear storyline, 3 gameplay objects and a career (that has always been part of the base game, BTW) with 5 new interactions.
"Both Sims 2 and Sims 3 offered a bunch of superficial items and objects for $20."
No. Both Sims 2 and 3 offered a bunch of HIGH QUALITY items for $20. I could start breaking down the number of FUNCTIONAL items you get in each pack, which is less subjective than saying I prefer one or the other, but I let an image speak for itself. This is what you get in BB mode in the first Stuff Pack for each game:
It's not just about the quantity of items. You're also getting more functional objects, like beds; which, if you know anything about rigging and animations, you must know how difficult is to animate bed sheets. And both games, TS2 and 3, gives you more options when it comes to customizing furniture. Beddings in TS2, for example, all share the same textures, so you don't have to struggle to find the bed sheets you want unlike TS4, which has swatches combining both bed frames and bedding.
"one of the things that Sims 4 did right was change what we get for our $20 and reduce the cost of Stuff Packs to half the price"
You're paying what you're getting: lower price, for lower quality items. Do I have to keep bringing up the poor quality of meshes in The Sims 4? The fact that TS2's meshes have a higher polycount. A game released ten years before has higher quality meshes; let that sink in for a second.
"Game Packs, however, are a huge improvement for the customer. I don't see how that can be argued or denied, I really don't. We get a whole lot more now - we get a variety of things ranging from gameplay, CAS, build/buy, new ventures, worlds... and yes, we get experimental developments like StrangerVille. Game packs are meant to be optional, like Stuff Packs."
Except that they include content that had previously been part of expansions but you have to pay EXTRA money now. - Spa day and dine out include features from The Sims 2 Open for Business and Bon Voyage. Meditation was a base game skill. Owning a restaurant is better in The Sims 2 OFB. You can even work as a chef, which Dine Out doesn't give you the option to do. - Outdoor Retreat added a single destination to vacation, whereas Bon Voyage added three for $30 USD ($40 taking inflation into account). - Jungle Adventures added a single location with a single adventure (only thing that changes is layout) for $20. World Adventures added THREE locations with dozens of quests and almost 40 tombs as well as the option to create your own through powerful triggers. - Parenthood adds a tiny bit amount of gameplay compared to Generations for half the price (besides, Generation also adds an insane amount of gameplay objects like spiral stairs, bunk beds, sleeping bags, playground equipment, tree houses, etc, etc, etc). - And I won't even talk about StrangerVille. I think everyone already knows what I think about that pack. - Vampires is probably the only Game Pack that actually EXPANDED a feature from previous games and I think it was justified as its own separate pack. So out of 7 Game Packs, only one feels like it was worth to be released as a separate pack.
Stuff Packs, as I said many times, they mostly include gameplay items that would've been included in EPs in the past like buffet tables (base game), bowling alleys (Nightlife, UL), butlers (Superstar, Apartment Life, Late Night), slip 'n' slide (Generations), laundry (Ambitions), etc. And they barely add any new gameplay to justify these features being their own pack.
"You pick and choose what you want or will use in your game. Isn't that partly what the Sims is about?"
Except I didn't have to pick and choose in the past. Buying EPs would give me all the gameplay Stuff Packs and Game Packs have now. The only exceptions, as I said, are Vampires and Kids Room. The first actually expands a feature enough to be worth being its own pack; the second one has new gameplay (never featured in the series) and it actually has a good amount of replayability.
"You don't like Sims 4 because you prefer the things that Sims 3 offered."
I prefer the way Expansion Packs actually expanded the game in Sims 1, Sims 2 and Sims 3. EPs feel like they barely add anything new now. Why? Because a lot of content is being sold as separate packs.
@Pegasys "the lots in StrangerVille were specifically designed to go with the story."
Oh, yeah... right. That's the excuse they're using now. Not even James Turner, aka The SimSupply, believed that excuse if you watch his reaction to the empty houses with SimGuruRomeo. I guess next time a game-breaking bug occurs they can use the old meme: "it's not a bug; it's a feature."
"As far as the number of faces in the objects, the Sims team is purposely keeping them lower to cut down on lag."
The same way they got rid of open world, create-a-style or a color wheel, story progression, complex simology like in 2, limit the amount of lots, etc. all to cut down lag???? What kind of game needs to do so many sacrifices to cut down? We're talking about a FACT and it's that objects in TS2 and 3, games released 10 and 5 years before TS4, have a higher polycount and their 2014 sequel.
