I remember back when Get Famous came out and DSV was the least popular world because of its neighborhood/lot count, and now it seems like that's the average world size... Why aren't we getting world sizes like the base game ones anymore? I'm not even asking for a Windenburg sized world, but Willow Creek has 5 (6 including the park) neighborhoods, with 21 lots... The worlds have shrunk smaller than the pre-established base game worlds (and we don't even get hidden lots anymore). I'm getting tired of my main sims living in Brindleton Bay, but there's no where else to move them now that the towns are getting so small. I'm finding myself making more and more multi-purpose community lots because it's the only solution that makes room for the families I have. And now this new town is just another on the pile of worlds that are hard to use if you're a player who rotates between more than 4 households.
Also I wouldn't be in favor of buying world packs. They've already given us a free world in the past, and it was a decently sized one too (it looking like an extension of WC not part of the discussion). TS4 packs already feel so cut down and split up. I wouldn't be in favor of cutting them down further, but I do understand the balancing of the budget for an EP and that more of that is probably going into the world than into gameplay (there's been an aversion to adding new animations for years now and IMO that's one of the biggest problems for me gameplay-wise because it keeps gameplay from expanding if you have to figure out how to make new content around pre-existing animations).
It's safe to say TS4 has a budget problem. I don't blame the devs for this. But there are a lot of decisions made that just make me scratch my head. I also do not necessarily buy the "catering to low end pc players" line anymore either. Because like others have said, we've had larger worlds already, and we know how the game loads lots. HOWEVER, if I am to believe them about the low spec users, low spec players (should) understand the limitations of their systems. Low setting options exist for a reason. Why cater to the lowest specs? I understand wanting to have a broad audience, but it's 2023 already. What computers do they use as a "guideline" for their game design?
If they want to cater more towards low spec players, why not add more rabbit hole lots to all the empty buildings that are just set dressing? I would be fine with that. I would LOVE more window shops like TS3 had. Little cafes and diners that your sim can grab a snack to-go from (or maybe even work at? Like in TS3?). All those empty shells by the pier fair in Copperdale I thought were going to be little souvenir shops or bait shops stuff like that. But nope, empty. And an empty apartment building too that I was REALLY hoping was going to be functional like the ones in Evergreen Harbor, because that's a GREAT WAY to make a lot of use out of a tiny space! Why don't we have more little apartment complexes? If world size is such an issue and people need room for more families, why not have more apartments? They don't need to be skyscrapers like in San Myshuno. Just little complexes would be enough with 2 or 3 living spaces.
From the tweets I've seen, it really feels like they have a very strong "vision" when it comes to their worlds. It's good to have a strong vision and clear focus of your desired goals, but it's really starting to cement for me that the desires of the devs and the desires of the players are not in the same place. Unless the devs are constrained by limitations they can't share with us, I don't understand the aversion to at LEAST adding more lots in all of the empty spaces around the worlds now. It's not like being connected to a road is a requirement for TS4, so they can be put literally anywhere. I'm getting so tired of all the shell buildings in between the functional lots. The worlds are getting more and more sparse because everything is so separated! I don't have HSY but I've seen people say Copperdale feels like a ghost town. And the lots can just be empty, there's no reason every lot needs to be built up from launch. Give people space to build! Because now with each new world all the townies need to get kicked out for space which is a shame.
I don't think we'll see a solution to this problem within TS4's lifetime. Maybe we'll get more rabbit hole window shops. All I hope for is that this design philosophy does not carry over into TS5. I'm just hoping for a CAW tool in TS5 because I've always gotten the most enjoyment out of building up my own towns from scratch. Let me decide what my computer can handle.
