Sims 4: A Disappointment?

Often times we criticize things because we love them. And the Sims 4 is no exception. I've been very vocal in the past about the pit falls I believe are in the game. I still believe there need to be vast improvements to the game, and I still believe that compared to losing an open world what we got wasn't balanced in terms of losses versus gains, I was disappointed in diving, since we didn't have an open world I expected to dive with my sim, since none of the lots loaded at the same time, instead I watch a buoy for 5 minutes while my sim picks up trinkets. That was a HUGE disappointment to me and it still is.

I do have to say it's improved greatly since it was released. Now that we have basements, toddlers, a single hot tub(nonDLC) , locking doors, firefighters, Ghosts and Terrain tools.

I still think we're missing what makes sims really unique, I didn't care about potato people so long as I had one sim that was determined to make every one in town a zombie, have her own zombie army, but her daughter wanted nothing to do with that she just wanted to ride horses, and her other daughter was artistic, and one was so sad just all the time.

Sims 4 my sims all want the same thing and its Bees

I had left Sims 4 a few months ago as I got so frustrated with the lack of depth of gameplay. I gave it a really good run, playing it for over a year, trying the new packs and looking forward to the updates. But I would still get bored easily. I went back to Sims 3 and I should have never left. I had tried mods with Sims 3 years ago and it broke my game so I have not used any mods since and have been skeptical of them. I know there are some great ones out there but I still worry about having to reinstall everything if a mod breaks my game again. The thing is, we really should not need mods to make a game enjoyable to play, especially at the prices we are paying for the games. I always saw mods as something to enhance the game beyond the basics, not bring a game to a baseline that existed in the prior franchise. I watched the forum for feedback on Cottage Living and based on the reports of improved, enjoyable, challenging gameplay, I purchased it and tried again. I spent 2 hours before I got bored. I was amazed at how quickly my sim was gaining skills compared to how hard you have to work at them in Sims 3. I am not necessarily sure that this is a good thing.

I appreciate the attempts at improving the game, but frankly, I don't think it is enough to keep me going with Sims 4. I remain hopeful and check the forum daily for updates and the types of feedback that all of you provide. I find it very helpful to read the positive and negative. I guess we have different expectations and perhaps those who were not as entrenched in Sims 3 (or Sims 2) before Sims 4, this game is fun to play. It was just that Sims 3 had so much more, more depth, more challenge, more choices. There are things in Sims 4 that I do like, don't get me wrong, it is just that they are not enough to sustain me as a player. I know that the developers, artists, etc are working hard to produce a good product, but I wonder if the expectations from the top are too low - that they only look at the bottom line rather than the loyalty of the users. I appreciate their hard work and am sure they get frustrated seeing all of the negative comments. I can understand how that can get demoralizing, and I am not trying to pile on.

I will keep trying to play Cottage Living after I paid so much for that pack, but it just feels like I am wasting time compared to when I play Sims 3 and can get so engrossed, I do not even notice the hours slip by (which was the same when I used to play Sims 1 and Sims 2).

I remain on the fence with Sims 4, hopeful but realistically cynical.

I guess if someone invest not only their money but also time and passion, it founds a way to make The Sims 4 enjoyable, at least to justify the investment. Some may use the philosophy of being grateful for what we have and others will always feel like this game is disappointing and both are totally fine!

Speaking for myself, when I own games like The Sims 2 and The Sims 3, it's hard to play 4 without raising some eybrows and making some questions. The game changed drastically and The Sims 4 is no doubt more simplified than its predecessors.

Now it's on the player side to make a choice on how it sees this situation.

I somehow used to be hopeful for the future of this game but after a couple of releases it made me feel tired and I grew up cynical towards The Sims 4 despite still loving The Sims franchise!

I put in Slice of Life, Meaningful Stories, UI cheats, Better Whims, and a Chemistry mod and had the most enjoyable simming in TS4 to date.
I really don't like managing mods because of all the monthly patching, so I plan to fully mod the game after the game is complete and no longer patched.

Just provide a Generations pack and call it done, so I can really enjoy this game. :)

I see The Sims franchise as a tool, and just like any tool our appreciation for it is highly subjective and depends on how much it meets our personal expectations, which in turn are determined by our play style and what we want to do with it.

Personally, I love TS4, and I am surprised myself to say that. I was super-sceptical about it for years, but now that I have finally given it a chance, it is by far my best loved instalment of this franchise, because it allows me to play how I want in ways I could not with the previous instalments. I've totalled a number of hours in 4 digits playing it, but I'm still far far away from feeling bored or limited by the gameplay it allows. And I play vanilla! Polar opposite of when I first began with TS2.

TS2 was my introduction to the world of TS. But while I enjoyed the concept behind the game, I had a love-hate relationship with it, because, for what I wanted to do with it, it was so limited and frustrating. I had all expansions, but still had to add a ton of mods and custom content to make the game remotely interesting or relatable.

Then TS3 came out and to me it was a revelation. As soon as I got it, I never looked back. I've never felt a moment of nostalgia for TS2. Even just the base game of TS3 to me was a hundred times better than TS2 (with expansions and CC/mods I had added). And for a few years TS3 was a great source of entertainment for me. It allowed a depth of gameplay TS2 could not reach. Then my computer broke and I had other things going on in my life and ended up taking a long hiatus from playing.

Meanwhile TS4 came out. I was extremely sceptical about it - after all I had invested in TS3, both time and moneywise, I wasn't ready to start all over. Also, the reviews were less than stellar. It took me several years to make up my mind and give it a try - which in hindsight was a very good thing, because it saved me a lot of heartache and frustration, since the were a lot more issues with the game in the early years. Still, when I finally bought the base game I didn't expect it to match how good TS3 had been. I was painfully aware it lacked a lot of the things I loved most about TS3. As soon as I got I immediately realised I wouldn't be able to play the same way I played TS3. And yet, in a few days, I was sold. I found it to be the best game of the franchise among those I've played, the one that offers me the best tools to play the way I like playing. It lacks some of my best loved features of TS3 but it also lacks the things I hated about TS3, and has many more things I love.

As a result, I do not feel the need to add mods or CC (in fact I'm adamant I don't want any such content). Also, unlike when I was younger, when I would get any expansions I could get my hands on, I'm very careful with the packs I add now, so I didn't get the expansions that I know have features that would ruin the game for me (Vampires, Get Famous) or that don't really appeal to me (Bust the dust, Luxury stuff, Journey to Batuu, etc).

I can see myself still happily playing TS4 for more years. :smile:

Sims 4 is just full of bugs that they don't seem to care to fix. Dogs for example are just broken. They get taken away because they won't eat from their bowl but we also can't control them. So they get taken away for "abuse" because they can't balance sleeping and eating. Not to mention my toddler will randomly wake up and lose all their energy. Not even always due to nightmares.

I love the game but I hate that I can't enjoy it without mods anymore... and CCs too. Also, I'm still disappointed in the kits' pricing. But I'm enjoying the game nonetheless.

Sims 4 may be good for some and Sims 4 may be an disappointment for others depending on what you wanted to get out it. I am at the point if they was to cease publication and that day will come, I will not miss it. Do I care about others thoughts, no because it is about me and what I want.

It has to be somewhat disappointing to many or they would remove their mods and play it as it is built. They don't just have mods to enhance their game like when we played older games (like live on a business lot etc.) but to actually change it to be more like TS2 and TS3. They don't seem to realize exactly what they are modding and or why because I can see their mods make it as close to the older games as possible. Go figure, if you loved it the mods that do that wouldn't be there.

"Cinebar;c-17965802" wrote:
It has to be somewhat disappointing to many or they would remove their mods and play it as it is built. They don't just have mods to enhance their game like when we played older games (like live on a business lot etc.) but to actually change it to be more like TS2 and TS3. They don't seem to realize exactly what they are modding and or why because I can see their mods make it as close to the older games as possible. Go figure, if you loved it the mods that do that wouldn't be there.

I'm going to have to look for TS2 now, darnit. :) If that's what the mods are actually doing...