What I Don’t Like
1. No basement / cellar
2. Not a lot of variety in build mode items, such as doors and windows. Not many color options. And it’s a bit annoying that doors that should be single-tile take up two tiles and so cannot be centered in a room that has an uneven number of tiles. And whilst I love the Mega Build Set, it’s a bit annoying that it doesn’t have any full-length single tile windows except for the ones with rounded tops – which don’t fit most of the other build items.
3. I loved how in Sims 3 when placing trees / plants, placing more than one of a certain type in a row would result in them being different heights / sizes. That was really cool and made the garden a bit more real.
4. Not being able to build attic rooms with dormer windows – one of my favorite designs (if this is in fact able to be done, I have not been able to make it work!)
5. The fact that all this time is spent building skills on children and nothing remains when they age up to teens.
6. That teens are so tall!
7. No spiral or L-shaped stairs (would love switchback / U shaped stairs, too!)
8. That the house lots are so small. By the time the house is built there’s no room for anything else.
9. That there are so few lots to build on. There needs to be more neighborhoods with lots – of differing sizes – to build on. I like to have tiny lots and huge lots; so far most seem to be the same size.
10. They don’t talk and build relationships while fishing.
11. Time goes too fast!
12. It takes too long to pee / shower / eat. There’s not enough time in the day to do all that skill building necessary for school / work.
13. Not being able to assign sims a bed.
What I Do Like
1. The look and feel of the worlds – they are beautiful. I love the bumblebees by the apple / plantain trees, and the buzzing they make. I love the leaves blowing across the scene in the wind, and the little dust clouds in Oasis Springs. I love the dragonflies by the water, the fireflies, butterflies and moths, the ducks on the pond, the street lamps and the trolley etc. The worlds just look amazing.
2. Gardening seems a lot more streamlined now, and doesn’t seem to take half as long. Though I would love to see the return of the sprinkler water system.
3. I love the emotions and how they change the way a sim does something; slamming the refrigerator door when upset, can bake gummy-bear pancakes when playful, etc.
4. The fluidity of the gameplay. It doesn’t stop / start / pitch / lag / stutter during gameplay, take (literally) 12 minutes for the game to load, and then another 5 minutes to change through each panel of items in CAS… I love LOVE the Sims 3 but for months now I have found it unplayable and so – despite having spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars buying every expansion pack, most of the stuff packs, and just about every store set – I abandoned it because when it got to the point that playing it was more frustrating than fun, it was time to stop. I missed it terribly though
5. The MULTITASKINGGGGG!!!!!!!
6. The continued developing of relationships. In Sims 3 I could have 6 children in a house who all grew up together and half of them would barely know each other as young adults, which was sad. Now, they all know each other, they are all getting along (or not!), and I don’t have to micromanage every single relationship. Which is really nice!
Things I Would Like To See In The Future
1. Pets. I loved what this expansion brought to Sims 3 – chipmunks, squirrels, snakes, birds, lizards, deer, horses – it was just so beautiful to have my Sim out jogging through the neighborhood and spy a wild critter of some description. It added so much.
2. Seasons. DEFINITELY. I miss the rain. And the snow. And thunderstorms. I love having weather in the Sims.
3. More build mode options! Different types of stairs – L-shaped, U-Shaped, spiral, etc. Bigger range of doors and windows in different styles – Mediterranean, nautical, Victorian / Edwardian, 50’s – 70’s, modern, post-modern.
4. University – I bought this in Sims 3 and despite having no mods or CC, it would never, ever work. My game always hung when loading the university for the first time when a Sim was going off. So I never even saw how awesome Uni was in Sims 3 for myself.
5. Being able to go to a restaurant for dinner and being seated and served just like in Sims 2. That was always cool.
6. A farming / orchard / animals expansion pack – sheep, pigs, horses, cows, chickens, tractors, hay bales, a barn, alpacas and LLAMAS, fruit trees and veges (oranges, lemons, peach, nectarine, limes, cherry, passionfruit, grapefruit, pumpkin, watermelon, squash, turnips, parsnips, beetroot, cabbage, silverbeet, beans, peas, corn, etc), nectar / preserve / jam / relish making for all those fruits and vegetables, water wheels (a bit like the mill café from TS3 store), overalls and gumboots, straw hats, etc… a total country-bumpkin package.
7. Continued development of the emotions – maybe a few extra traits.
EA Staff (Retired)
