What I like:
1: CAS is much improved
2: General building / construction tools have improved
3: General gameplay feels smoother / better
What I don't like:
1: No terrain modification tools (apparently the world is now flat)
2: No custom colour / texture tool, only preset choices available
3: Extremely limited "edit town" options
4: Lack of basements (I realise this was NOT a feature of the Sims 3 base game though)
5: Seemingly no height adjustment for sims in CAS so they're either child or adult height
6: So many loading screens (yes it helps performance but it could be handled better)
7: Removal of in-depth Baby / Toddler life stages
8: Art style seems too "cartoony" now, more so than previous games
Overall Thoughts:
So far Sims 4 as a whole feels like a "One step forward, two steps back" release, while my above list may not read as such there is a good amount of improvement from Sims 3 in my opinion but for every good change there are more bad changes.
The whole "Building Tools" thing is a great example of this, generally I think there are some huge improvements in that area with things like the modular rooms but while it makes building much easier in general there is a distinct lack of advanced building tools now. The "Create-A-Style" tool from Sims 3 was an invaluable tool for advanced building as you could recolour / retexture almost everything, so for example you could make two identical structures look completely different just by changing the colours and textures and so the whole style / theme. Add to that the lack of terrain modification so every house MUST have flat ground, no longer can we create uneven or elevated areas for that more natural yard look.
General Sim interaction and gameplay is another good example, generally everything has improved and feels more fluid until you come to having children. That element of gameplay has regressed to a Sims 1 level now, the complete removal of the in-depth baby / toddler life stages is a gross error in my opinion.
Suggestions:
1: Add basic terrain modification tools so we can add elevated or uneven areas of ground to lots.
2: Add some kind of "Create-A-Style" tool like Sims 3 had to allow custom texture / colour combinations.
3: Add more "edit town" functionality, the ability to add / move lots around and so on, or release some kind of simple "World Editor" tool that can edit saved game worlds as well as blank / new ones.
4: Instead of only loading just ONE lot at a time add the option to load all lots for the block / section you travel to. I appreciate that restricting the amount of detailed lots that load is a good way to improve performance for those with low spec PCs but there's no excuse for forcing those with better PCs to endure the same and when they should be capable of loading a few more lots at a time without any performance loss, especially given how the game world appears to be broken down into sections now.
5: Release a more realistic / less cartoony texture pack for optional download.
6: Add some kind of optional toddler life stage like Sims 2 and 3 had, so those that want to interact with toddlers can do so and those that don't can have the simple version.
EA Staff (Retired)
