Sims 4 seasons vs. Sims 3 seasons

"Tapio75;c-16573318" wrote:
I find the Sims 4 seasons looking just fine, but compared to Sims 3 seasons its pretty poor if you just look at the weather effects. Winter is big disappointment due the lack of snow depth. The snow color and all that looks great, but the fact that snow is just "painted" on surfaces makes it look meh and makes me frown and want to go back to Sims 3 winter. Spring, autumn aand sumer are all good. I just wish the weather effects be more realistic. For example when it rains, the Sims should get wet and the feet should make splash of water like in in Sims 3. Water should pour down the roof like in Sims 3. It feels more cosmetic right now, an overlay if you will rather than actuaöl weather.

Sims do get wet in 4 and there are water splashes as they walk. All bodies of water also get hit with the raindrops.

First of all, I want to start off by saying the open seamless world without loading screens makes gameplay, to me, so much more alive like a life simulation should be. And because of that phenomenal gameplay mechanic, everything is better on a large scale compared to any Sims game to date. I knew TS3 is a game worth all the trouble which is why I'm still playing 9+ years later and on a much better and suitable computer. <3

TS3 Seasons

-Swimming in oceans, lakes, and rivers. Even able to swim in WA locations such as China, Egypt and France. Any body of water is swimmable as long as it not created on a lot using the pond tool. (I wish ponds were swimmable but it also depends on the technology then and/or restraints of the base game engine, time limits, etc. Regardless, being able to swim in most bodies of water is a huge improvement for gameplay.)


-Slow dancing re-introduced to the series.


-Love letters, online dating, attraction system that may or may not be accurate according to the AI.


-Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and all the weather effects looks beautiful in the open world. Plus, the festivals and other activities really helps to enrich the gaming experience.


There's literally so much more packed into TS3 Seasons.
https://simsvip.com/sims-3-seasons-guide/


TS4 Seasons

-Shower and play in the rain (Cool but nothing big like swimmable bodies of water.)

-Mud puddles (Cute but those flat textures looks bad and so game breaking for immersion but then again I feel that way about the whole of TS4.)

-The only new interaction I see concerning snow is to shovel snow. (That's nice.)

-New interactions with snowpals. (I'm not fond of talking to snowpals and find it overly silly but that's just me. As some find the imaginary doll/friend to be ridiculous but I like it. )

-Weather/Season options. (I find it odd one has to buy an object in order to change the weather effects/season while it's already in progress. In TS3, one can change whatever element whenever they wanted in the options menu. Though, it would take a little time to gradually change. There is also a weather machine in TS3 Seasons. (Anyway, TS4 Seasons options are horrible for players who love to be in the most control over their games without hurdles to jump over or events/holidays to lose or get moved.)


-Pile of gifts with some new interactions.

-Decoration box is new and has new features added. (Not being able to customize decor choices whereas I'm guessing it's already just picked for you is limiting though. Is TS4 not supposed to be better than TS3 in every way or at the very least for the most part?)

-The thermostat sounds useful and a good idea. Not sure if it's implemented decently though but like how it's one of those "optional" things like TS3 laundry.

There's more.
https://simsvip.com/sims-4-seasons-guide/

Let's see.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB5nTGm0j3Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aJPJ_rWZJM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn0hCTyj2Kc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il9mN_Hv4RM

To be honest, there isn't anything about TS4 Seasons that makes me want to play over TS3 Seasons. TS4 is overall extremely underwhelming to me in art style, gameplay and overall immature tone and I couldn't take anything seriously nor even care about the Sims like I had and have with TS/TS2/TS3. I'm an artistic person so I'm quite visually enamored by what I see and have my own preference about what looks good to me or not. So yes, graphics and art style do matter to me and TS4 Seasons takes so many shortcuts in that department that I find it so uninspiring and cheap compared to what The Sims as a whole up until The Sims 3 have strove for both graphically and gameplay wise.

Each iteration wowed me when moving on to the next generation except TS4. Never bothered as I already knew what The Sims was capable of but that's the future now it seems. Oh well, at least I have TS/TS2/TS3. :smiley:

"filipomel;c-16573338" wrote:

"Tapio75;c-16573318" wrote:
I find the Sims 4 seasons looking just fine, but compared to Sims 3 seasons its pretty poor if you just look at the weather effects. Winter is big disappointment due the lack of snow depth. The snow color and all that looks great, but the fact that snow is just "painted" on surfaces makes it look meh and makes me frown and want to go back to Sims 3 winter. Spring, autumn aand sumer are all good. I just wish the weather effects be more realistic. For example when it rains, the Sims should get wet and the feet should make splash of water like in in Sims 3. Water should pour down the roof like in Sims 3. It feels more cosmetic right now, an overlay if you will rather than actuaöl weather.

Sims do get wet and their feet do make splashes, there is no rain dripping off the sides of roofs though, not too bummed about the lack of that detail as when I’m playing with seasons in my sims game, I’m watching my sims, not my roofs. :D

:p

"Deshong04;c-16573481" wrote:

First of all, I want to start off by saying the open seamless world without loading screens makes gameplay, to me, so much more alive like a life simulation should be. And because of that phenomenal gameplay mechanic, everything is better on a large scale compared to any Sims game to date. I knew TS3 is a game worth all the trouble which is why I'm still playing 9+ years later and on a much better and suitable computer. <3

TS3 Seasons

-Swimming in oceans, lakes, and rivers. Even able to swim in WA locations such as China, Egypt and France. Any body of water is swimmable as long as it not created on a lot using the pond tool. (I wish ponds were swimmable but it also depends on the technology then and/or restraints of the base game engine, time limits, etc. Regardless, being able to swim in most bodies of water is a huge improvement for gameplay.)

Spoiler

https://s25.postimg.cc/crceibue7/Screenshot-3901.jpg
(I also love how Sims get a moodlet for joining the polar bear club for swimming in the cold of winter.)

-Slow dancing re-introduced to the series.

Spoiler

https://s25.postimg.cc/j867dn0db/Screenshot-3239.jpg

-Love letters, online dating, attraction system that may or may not be accurate according to the AI.

Spoiler

https://s25.postimg.cc/y2rvm6p3z/Screenshot-3911.jpg

-Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and all the weather effects looks beautiful in the open world. Plus, the festivals and other activities really helps to enrich the gaming experience.

Spoiler

https://s25.postimg.cc/psm91dzj3/Screenshot-1514.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/unkjden8f/Screenshot-15.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/fl3pozdb3/Screenshot-1976.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/sqnt8twkf/Screenshot-141.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/6olr3chi7/Screenshot-9.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/vhtvuc97j/Screenshot-794.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/oanlkq8wv/Screenshot-8.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/pye570ia7/Screenshot-1176.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/yieru63z3/Screenshot-4397.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/a1jbciy0f/Screenshot-75.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/kc0mc435r/Screenshot-739.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/y5oz16ybz/Screenshot-727.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/42ag8ssdb/Screenshot-895.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/b5ibof5in/Screenshot-913.jpg
https://s25.postimg.cc/bf705uhi7/Screenshot-4298.jpg

There's literally so much more packed into TS3 Seasons.
https://simsvip.com/sims-3-seasons-guide/


TS4 Seasons

-Shower and play in the rain (Cool but nothing big like swimmable bodies of water.)

-Mud puddles (Cute but those flat textures looks bad and so game breaking for immersion but then again I feel that way about the whole of TS4.)

-The only new interaction I see concerning snow is to shovel snow. (That's nice.)

-New interactions with snowpals. (I'm not fond of talking to snowpals and find it overly silly but that's just me. As some find the imaginary doll/friend to be ridiculous but I like it. )

-Weather/Season options. (I find it odd one has to buy an object in order to change the weather effects/season while it's already in progress. In TS3, one can change whatever element whenever they wanted in the options menu. Though, it would take a little time to gradually change. There is also a weather machine in TS3 Seasons. (Anyway, TS4 Seasons options are horrible for players who love to be in the most control over their games without hurdles to jump over or events/holidays to lose or get moved.)

Spoiler

https://s25.postimg.cc/plof31py7/Seasons_&_Environment_Options.png

-Pile of gifts with some new interactions.

-Decoration box is new and has new features added. (Not being able to customize decor choices whereas I'm guessing it's already just picked for you is limiting though. Is TS4 not supposed to be better than TS3 in every way or at the very least for the most part?)

-The thermostat sounds useful and a good idea. Not sure if it's implemented decently though but like how it's one of those "optional" things like TS3 laundry.

There's more.
https://simsvip.com/sims-4-seasons-guide/

Let's see.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB5nTGm0j3Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aJPJ_rWZJM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn0hCTyj2Kc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il9mN_Hv4RM

To be honest, there isn't anything about TS4 Seasons that makes me want to play over TS3 Seasons. TS4 is overall extremely underwhelming to me in art style, gameplay and overall immature tone and I couldn't take anything seriously nor even care about the Sims like I had and have with TS/TS2/TS3. I'm an artistic person so I'm quite visually enamored by what I see and have my own preference about what looks good to me or not. So yes, graphics and art style do matter to me and TS4 Seasons takes so many shortcuts in that department that I find it so uninspiring and cheap compared to what The Sims as a whole up until The Sims 3 have strove for both graphically and gameplay wise.

Each iteration wowed me when moving on to the next generation except TS4. Never bothered as I already knew what The Sims was capable of but that's the future now it seems. Oh well, at least I have TS/TS2/TS3. :smiley:

Very well done post with pictures and I agree :)

Atm I can't quite say which is better.

In 3 I liked all the activities, kissing booth, football net, tanning booth, face pairing, snow boarding ramp, haunted house, fast food eating contest, ocean swimming, and going trick or treating and not just having trick or treaters. Also hail, though it doesn't happen often in real life in some places hail is the closest thing to snow they get.

In 4 I like the weather effects more as it feels more real and I like how you can make your own holidays and get rid of ones you don't like and because of the bigger focus on holidays they just feel more important to celebrate and not so easily ignored. And like others have mentioned I hated how in spring and fall winter would either still linger or creep into the seasons making it hard to enjoy them. I know in some places that's realistic but where I'm from spring and fall are rainy seasons with rarely any signs of snow.

Sims 4.

For some reason, the weather is more immersive for me in this latest version. I'm not exactly sure why since there are obvious things missing (snow depth, certain rain effects, sunburn, etc). The rain used to depress me in Sims 3 and I ended up turning it off. Not the same in Sims 4 -- the rain is soothing. Maybe it's the lighting, maybe it's the sound effects, I can't tell you why.

And... the customization of the holidays and events - LOVE. The way the Sims celebrate the holidays is more in-depth.

I've played for hours and haven't even explored all the features yet such as beekeeping, flower arranging, and scouting.

"Tapio75;c-16573318" wrote:
I find the Sims 4 seasons looking just fine, but compared to Sims 3 seasons its pretty poor if you just look at the weather effects. Winter is big disappointment due the lack of snow depth. The snow color and all that looks great, but the fact that snow is just "painted" on surfaces makes it look meh and makes me frown and want to go back to Sims 3 winter. Spring, autumn aand sumer are all good. I just wish the weather effects be more realistic. For example when it rains, the Sims should get wet and the feet should make splash of water like in in Sims 3. Water should pour down the roof like in Sims 3. It feels more cosmetic right now, an overlay if you will rather than actuaöl weather.

The lack of snow depth is a disappointment, but winter as a whole had a heck of a lot of more attention to detail put into it in this game than in The Sims 3 (and The Sims 2). A lot of people may not care and think that winter equates solely to snow, but I have to disagree. The Sims 3's snow effects certainly win in almost every case (The Sims 4 has one edge with blowing snow), but aside from that, if you take away the snow, Winter is actually distinct in The Sims 4, and not just bare trees (which is pretty much all they did to distinguish Winter in TS3).

For example, let me take one of s1mszzang's screenshots from The Sims 4 Seasons Screenshot topic:

https://i.imgur.com/xtEmkEB.jpg

If this were The Sims 3, all of the plants there aside from the trees would be the same as they are in the Spring and Summer. They would be green, and if any plants with flowers were present they'd have their flowers. Plus if there were any lily pads? Those would be present in the water, all green and blooming.

Plus, the terrain. The terrain makes such a huge difference to the feel of winter and fall.



The differences here are MAJOR. In all honesty, the developers not paying any attention to differentiating non-tree plants for Seasons in TS3 is very much an aesthetic failure that at least comes close to TS4's lack of snow depth. A lot of people don't care, I get it, but Winter is so much more than snow, and TS4 *finally* got that right.

Overall, I feel like most of The Sims 4 Seasons' aesthetic shortcomings are solely because the game itself has those shortcomings. Like the broken ice on the rivers and ponds is neat, but the texture resolution of them is so horrifically low that you have to keep your distance from them for them to look any good... But then again, I think of The Sims 3's plants. They don't look so hot if you get too close to them either.

For me the Sims 3 all the way.

I think the weather details are much better in Sims 3, and the Sims 3 also had much more content imo. What activities does the Sims 4 seasons offer? There is skating and the usual snow'pal' building and snowangels.

When it comes to seasonal activities; the Sims 3 takes the cake. The festivals had much more content on offer compared to what we got with the Sims 4 Seasons.

Also the weather details like I mentioned:
- No hail?
- No rain FX on puddles when it rains
- No rain dripping off umbrellas and roofs
- No icicles on the roofs in winter
- No snow depth
- Puddles disappearing as soon as it stops raining

No, when it comes to details it's the Sims 3 for me.

However before people start moaning and groaning; that doesn't mean the Sims 4 Seasons is a BAD pack, it just could have been much better imo.

My general complaint with the Sims 4 and its packs is that they seem to focus on one 'big' feature, which is obviously the calendar this time. The calendar is a nice addition, but I think they could have focused much more on seasonal activities outside of the house.

Isn't it weird they didn't touch pools at all? Probably they will come out with a (Pool) Stuff Pack(s) to deliver the rest of the activities.

"@JoAnne65;c-16570622" wrote:
I’m starting to become curious for this pack, because it seems like everybody is very positive and enthousiastic about it.

@jackjack_k This for instance makes me curious:

The Sims 3 focused too much on Festival gameplay objects which left almost none for everyday gameplay. If you didn’t play with Festival objects, there wasn’t really a lot about Seasons that impacted day to day life as much as 4

I always figured Seasons would be an atmosphere like pack rather than a gameplay pack. Like you say, the festivals you only use every now and then, they’re not something that affects your sims daily. Weather in the game does though. When it starts raining or snowing or there’s a thunderstorm, I’m always surprised when I look outside and the sun is shining. I sometimes turn off rain for this reason because it can really bring me down. The weather in the game influences me and also my sims. So I’m curious, in what way does the TS4 pack influence your sims in a day to day manner that sets it apart from predecessors?

A p.s. by the way: whenever people start praising the current team in a comparison thread, giving them kudos for their great job, it feels as if they are slating the work of previous teams (quite often the same people). I don’t know Sims 4’s Seasons so I cannot compare, but I’d like to leave my huge appreciation for the beauty and variety of Sims 3’s Seasons here to those devs who it may concern. I love what it added to my game and I think they did a great job with that pack as well. Sims 3 was Sims 3, Sims 4 is Sims 4.

ETA:

"Ceres_Meiriona;c-16570184" wrote:
At this point, it's kind of like comparing apples to oranges. They both have their good points.

Now if you ask me which one I actually play, that'll be TS4 Seasons, and I can definitely share with you why that is! I enjoy the focus on the sims and the family via the customizeable holidays. Children have a lot of ways to participate, and I like that. They feel like active members of the household with crafts and activities that they can actually do to contribute to holiday preparation. Even toddlers have holiday goals that include them in the holiday process. I really like that, it breathes life into the various life states and makes my simming heart happy.

Spoiler

I very much enjoy the aesthetics of Sims 4 Seasons, too. The shimmering heat in the sweltering summer, gently falling leaves of fall, the insane thunderstorms (really impressed by those, actually), brutal winter blizzards that send sims slipping and falling on the streets, and the gentle breezes and bright colors of spring. How the environment gradually changes between them, is really impressive to be honest. It gives everything new life, and I find myself snapping pictures of mundane locations that previously held no appeal to me, simply because they are so visually different and thus more interesting with the addition of seasons.

I actually think this might answer my question :)

Take away the Festivals and you have a few activities based on the Season and that’s pretty much it. A lot of the holidays in Sims 3 Seasons are just Festivals or a day off. There’s no gameplay around these days but the game will tell you why you got a day off and leaves you to do the rest.

Sims 4 Seasons has holidays with NPC’s that change how Sims behave on these days. Or random holidays that change the structure of the normal day for players that come randomly. The calendar really makes sure that everyday is thought of and people are just playing a whole week on fast forward trying to think of something to do.

The way that Gardnening and Bee keeping work really affect how the household runs day to day. The fact Christmas is a proper holiday with Father Winter, creates excitment through the whole year,

Travelling to different places affects the climate.

It is really hard to explain, but takeaway the festivals and there’s not a huge variety of gameplay outside of the actual weather.

My only complaint though as I feel more could have been done with fruit and veg. Jam Making or more recipes would have been ideal. A gardening overhaul that mostly focuses on flowers annoys me slightly haha

Yeah I think that was another thing that annoyed me about ts3 seasons was that if you took away the festivals you didn't have much. Holidays revolved mostly around festivals and the stuff you did at home felt boring but all the stuff that revolved around festivals is what made the pack more entertaining because you had a lot to do.

Ts4 seasons doesn't have as much activities but holidays are more detailed but I do wish that they had added more traditions but I guess since most activities fall under some tradition it's really up to you what you do to fulfill the tradition.