Sims 4: A Disappointment?

Re-reading my post and damn, I sound so critical and cold. But I truly love this game and I want it to be even better, yet I have only been disappointed recently. Maybe I expect to much and maybe I need to soften my approach.

I think it's a matter of opinion really. I'm on console so no mods for me, and I thoroughly enjoy my game, I don't feel mods would add anything for me and I personally wouldn't use them. I've seen what some mods do and why players may enjoy them, but they just aren't for me. :smile:

So, personally I don't think mods are required, because it is absolutely possible to play and enjoy the game without them, but you are right, some players would not enjoy the game without mods.

I agree that aesthetic seems to have taken a forefront in new packs. I love a beautiful scenery and stunning CAS/BB, but that means very little without gameplay.

I'm less disappointed in the packs (because I can choose not to buy them) and more so in the constant bugs. I don't think it's fair that a forced patch (i.e. you must have the latest update to play the new pack) can cause so many issues in the game.

Anyway, do I enjoy the Sims 4, very much. Am I a little disappointed with it at times? Absolutely.

@GirlFromIpanema ...I started playing Sims 4 back in 2014 without mods and it was fine. I had no expectations. Mods created another dimension of possibility and as those mods evolved and flourished, suddenly the game became something truly unique to the player. After playing with mods, I couldn't go back to the vanilla game anymore. The randomness of behaviour would end me. Mc Command Centre is one mod that makes your game better...even if you are an anti-modder...give it a shot, mess about with some settings, change YOUR world.

I'm not anti-modder, I'm all for other players using mods if they want to, but I am really happy with my vanilla game and wouldn't want to change it with mods. :smiley: But I do totally understand why you get enjoyment from them. Anyway, in on console so mods aren't available to me anyway.

@GirlFromIpanema ...consoles, of course. I'm glad you enjoy the game as it is. It has many moments of pure enjoyment!! I'm just a whiner, never satisfied with my lot!

I understand what you are getting at. I've played since Sims 1, but I didn't really know about mods until the Sims 3 era. Even then, I didn't need them. (Though I did debate looking for something to keep the needs up when I reinstalled and played 1, even if I didn't end up doing it.) The Sims games were never really mod candidates for me. I had fun regardless and the official cheats could get me out of sticky situations or act as my sandbox controls.

I did end up trying some with 4, but it confirmed the hassle I thought they were. There are great mods and talented modders in this community, but absent a Steam Workshop equivalent on Origin it isn't worth the constant management in my opinion.

But I understand where you are coming from. I was probably the most cynical when Batuu released. It was mind blowing in a bad way. The real kicker to me is it just did so many things wrong that I couldn't be as happy as I should have been for the people that liked the theme because they deserved better than what Batuu gave. I say this having got the pack to share builds with an IRL friend.

Personally, I really like CoL, but I am super biased. I despised the Sims 3 store back in the day, but still considered the cow and chicken objects. Plus the lot challenges and cooking updates are going to open up a lot of avenues for me to play. They even addressed my one complaint about 4's build mode, the pond tool. So this was preorder day one content like C&D to me, which ended up disappointing me the most. I kind of doubt that will be the case here, though. I am fairly optimistic about the fun I am having with 4 right now.

"Faraway_Son;c-17939685" wrote:
@Calico45... good point, well made. I'm still on the fence regarding CoL...I should just buy it and learn to love it.

I'm waiting for a bit until I've seen some reviews and photos. I'll likely get it eventually but I'm not in a rush. :smile:

For me, Sims 4 feels utterly mediocre in most areas. I do like some things, like building can be a lot of fun. But they seemed to have made a lot of (in my opinion, of course) bonehead moves with the game.

The reason I play it? There is no real competition. We've had what, like maybe half a dozen 'sims-like' games released over the years, and all have been pretty poorly done. So you can either stick with an older version of the Sims or play this one despite its flaws.

And I'm not trying to put words in anyone's mouth. I know plenty of people LOVE the game! And that's really cool. I just find that it feels with every pack or expansion they are close to excellence, but they just end up making them too simplistic or repetitive. The game tries to focus a lot on moods, for instance, but how many 'mood altering' items, powers, objects, do we really need? And just why does everything have to be a rabbit hole? And, as beautiful as some of the neighborhoods are, why aren't they adding more lots? It's one of the whole selling points on loading small zones, because loading is fast and you can deal with having more lots.

Not to mention of course the silliness of how long it took to get our aging progressions of the sims right, pools, and the like to come around, and various bugs that persisted for so long (like the gardening issues with plants reverting) :dizzy:

Things like that, they just constantly pile up. But, again, not really much of a choice in games of this style, and there still is certainly a lot to love and charm to the game. It's not all bad! Maybe one day someone will come around to challenge them and they will be allowed to focus more on making a much greater experience, but I'm not holding my breath. So in the mean time I live with it, because I still do enjoy the experience at its core. I'm just disappointed because it could be so much more.

"SmakitDaSailor;c-17939740" wrote:
For me, Sims 4 feels utterly mediocre in most areas. I do like some things, like building can be a lot of fun. But they seemed to have made a lot of (in my opinion, of course) bonehead moves with the game.

The reason I play it? There is no real competition. We've had what, like maybe half a dozen 'sims-like' games released over the years, and all have been pretty poorly done. So you can either stick with an older version of the Sims or play this one despite its flaws.

And I'm not trying to put words in anyone's mouth. I know plenty of people LOVE the game! And that's really cool. I just find that it feels with every pack or expansion they are close to excellence, but they just end up making them too simplistic or repetitive. The game tries to focus a lot on moods, for instance, but how many 'mood altering' items, powers, objects, do we really need? And just why does everything have to be a rabbit hole? And, as beautiful as some of the neighborhoods are, why aren't they adding more lots? It's one of the whole selling points on loading small zones, because loading is fast and you can deal with having more lots.

Not to mention of course the silliness of how long it took to get our aging progressions of the sims right, pools, and the like to come around, and various bugs that persisted for so long (like the gardening issues with plants reverting) :dizzy:

Things like that, they just constantly pile up. But, again, not really much of a choice in games of this style, and there still is certainly a lot to love and charm to the game. It's not all bad! Maybe one day someone will come around to challenge them and they will be allowed to focus more on making a much greater experience, but I'm not holding my breath. So in the mean time I live with it, because I still do enjoy the experience at its core. I'm just disappointed because it could be so much more.

That sounds like you were writing my own thoughts! I play because it's the newest and it's super fast to get into, but there are a lot more irritating things about this iteration than there were in the previous games (at least to me and how I play).

I can honestly say that if there was ever a company who created a life simulation game that incorporated all of the best things that past sims games and TS4 has combined, I would immediately jump ship and never, ever look back.

My biggest gripes (besides no colorwheel, CASt ability, editable worlds, and the ability to create our own apartments), is just the skimpy amount of content in the packs. It's so hard to not compare TS4's amount of content vs TS3. I try not to because it just gets on my nerves and makes me not want to play. But it's always there in the back of my head.

The focus on physical appearance (hairs & clothing ... and it being mainly female YA clothing), buy mode objects, and large beautiful worlds that are nothing but dead space set dressing with a teeny, tiny amount of lots in the packs instead of engrossing, new and exciting game play, things to do, activities for our sims to get to experience is another reason I'm so dissatisfied by TS4. And the moodlets, I want to "see" my sims mood thru animations, I don't want to be "told" how they're feeling, I want to actually watch my sim and be like "Yikes! They're upset about this or that". I want autonomy to actually be done according to that unique sims traits and not be a clone of the sim next to them.

But, this is just how it is and dwelling on it and complaining about, isn't going to change how things are done. So, I just accept TS4 as a very limited version with some improvements of what The Sims games used to be like, and try and enjoy the few things that I do like about it.

@ Chicklet453681...you are 100% right when you say, 'But, this is just how it is and dwelling on it and complaining about, isn't going to change how things are done.'

And this is the universal problem with Sims 4. EA aren't listening, they don't want to know! This is business and Sims makes money! Profit wins over creativity everytime. I have been known to complain from time to time...vainly hoping that someone is actually listening. No-one is listening and that's a given...they post big declarations of 'bug fixing patches' and half of the bugs are still there...it's all smoke and mirrors and profiteering. Adding cute animals into this pack is a win-win for EA and will make them a ton of money. The pack itself may be lacking in any gameplay advances or innovations, but throw in some cute animals and you're onto a winner.

I don't believe I've been to harsh on Sims 4...I potentially could have created a tome full of disgruntled posts...I believe the 'SimGuru's' are there to deflect criticism from EA and that is there primary focus. Their secondary focus is to blame 'mods' for everybody's issues and douse the flames of discontent.
After all that...I've actually managed to find a lot of enjoyment out of Sims 4 and the 35 packs I have is enough content for me to be relatively content. Sims 5 will be online based, so, I'm out as, in my opinion, it will destroy Sims as we know it. I'm sure the pretty graphics will encourage a whole new generation of simmers!

This is my last post. Sims 4 has captured me like no other, I lead a whole alternate life through this game!! I am lucky to have two self-built computers with multiple hard drives, which will keep my Sims 4 gaming alive.

I hope Sims 5 does well and proves me wrong.