"SimmerGeorge;d-975867" wrote:
Hey guys,
Huge fan of the Sims series here, playing since 2008. I wanted to start this discussion so I can get a few things off my chest. I am not trying to badmouth or sabotage the game in anyway. I simply want to discuss this issue with the community.
My experience with The Sims 4 has not been the best and I've always wanted to voice my opinion in the past, so with the announcement of this pack, I am finally here. After watching the trailer for this pack I was dissapointed. Unlike previous packs that were lacking, the trailers were still great. This trailer though throws a bad light on the pack because of the similarities in features from previous packs (ex. Get to Work, University, Tiny Living, Laundry Day you name it), but also because of the weak new features coming with this.
Aside from the trailer Eco Lifestyle seems to be following the same pattern previous packs have:
- First, it features the same Sims 4 utopian concept we've been getting over and over. It focuses around putting effort into creating a perfect world, cleaning up, using renewable energy sources, recycling and everything else sugar and rainbows. And to everyone out there saying it includes the polluted air, I'll say one thing. The point of the pack is to get rid of pollution so there won't be a lot of focus on the smoke.
- Second, the main features have again no depth. Candlemaking, renewable energies, recycling are all skills or things to do once or twice. In the past we got stuff like these as minor features, now they are marketed as the main features. How many candles are you gonna make, how much trash are you gonna pick up? We need more tools that give us freedom to create our own unique stories (ex. Create a holiday, Create a Club, Run a business). All of these give us a freedom to tell our own stories rather than play in predetermined paths.
- Also focusing more on visuals than gameplay. Needless to say the clothes and worlds always look great in packs but what's the point when you can't interact with your suroundings? As for the clothes, Sims need clothes that match their personalities not the other way around...
Sims can't even drive cars, yet there's pollution?
- Finally, a very high price tag. There are whole games out there that cost 40 dollars, complete games! How do you justify paying 40 dollars just for an expansion pack? The amount of features is nowhere near the amount we used to get in previous installments and even if we get less content, its quality and depth is also lacking.
This is why I think we as consumers should take a moment and rethink buying some of these packs. Like everyone out there I always want to have the latest pack for The Sims 4 but at the same time I realize that by paying more and more money I am hurting the franchise and the game I love. There is no point in complaining about a pack and a game after you have already bought it 'cause at the end of the day if it brings the company money they are not going to change it.
It's okay to be dissatisfied, it's okay to demand more, it's your hard earned money.
It’s not just a utopian concept though, the devs have said multiple times on Twitter you can make the pollution situation worse if you want and play that out, you even have the option of spreading the pollution to existing worlds outside of Evergreen Harbor. How is that not allowing sims to affect or interact with their environment? You aren’t obligated to live an eco lifestyle or clean anything up if you don’t choose to, there is no guided gameplay in the pack. The pollution judging from the trailer will have an effect not only on your sims, but the NPC sims around them.
As for CAS and BB needing to suit your sims personality instead of the other way around, that doesn’t even make sense. At this point at least for me with all packs I can tailor my sims clothing and homes to suit my head canon and their personalities even more specifically with each bit of dlc I accumulate.
I think this pack has the potential to switch this game up significantly just like Seasons did because it will touch multiple aspects of the existing game, and it will give the environment a chance to impact your sims (like Seasons) and for your sims to impact the environment for better or for worse depending on how you choose to play it out.
