I'm choosing to list the three things that I think have the biggest impact on my ability to fully enjoy Sims 4. These are root problems from the very early programming of the base game, so I feel they are some of the most important because they are probably nearly impossible to change.
1. A Sims game should never, ever default to a Utopian state. The whole purpose of playing a life simulation game is to be met with obstacles that make it a challenge to keep your Sim happy. Having those risks of failure are what keeps the player engaged. That's the entire premise of the "game" part. Otherwise, it isn't much of a game at all, it's a self-running simulation and pretty much omits the need for a player. If we start off with our Sims already winning, the challenge then becomes trying to get them out of their happiness and contentment and that doesn't make any sense.
2. Emotions should never override traits. A Sim's traits are what defines the personality of the individual Sim. If you have all Sims reacting the same way to generic circumstances, then you end up with cookie-cutter Sims who all act alike. Again, this ends up negating the need for player choices and the simulation continues to run itself, overriding the player's wishes.
3. If you're going to represent something, be thorough and balanced. For example, the emotions system is severely lacking in negatives, especially, especially Fear. How can you decide to make the main focus of a simulation game the Sims emotions and then leave out a chunk of the emotional spectrum? Our Sims occasionally go through the animation of fear, like when their house is on fire, but they never actually experience it. There's an entire piece of the emotional system missing that could have been deep and added more substance to personalities and reactions, but it doesn't even exist!
