TOO MANY LOADING SCREENS!!

"Mendota;c-16212619" wrote:
It takes less time in a loading screen than it did to travel across the map in Sims 3. This is Sims 4, not Sims 3 and many of us like it like that. I hated how long it took to get places in Sims 3. I love in Sims 4 how easy it is to click on the phone pick your companions and boom, you are on your way. Pick a destination (In any world - not confined to one) and you are there. That is the beauty of Sims 4. Stop thinking in terms of Sims 3. Or go and play Sims 3.

Did you ever clock that? Because I did and it’s in fact not true.

"JoAnne65;c-15549771" wrote:
I just did a 'speed' test, because I was curious what the differences effectively are between travelling in an open world and travelling between loading screens (for 'scientific' reasons, not because I care but because others seem to care; I don't mind waiting for a bit in 4 myself and I love travelling through an open world).

I made sure to be as 'honest' as possible, so all the sims testing for me were standing in their house and I included everything while timing. Also zooming out to press 'travel' in TS4, and zooming out to view town in TS3 and looking for/selecting the spot I wanted my sim to travel to. Everything was clocked from the moment I decide my sim has to travel till the very moment they arrive there.

Sims 3

I picked Hidden Springs, sending my sim from A to B.




Slowest car (3): 35 seconds real time (speed 3)
Sim time: 11:07 – 12:12 (= 65 minutes)
Fastest car (10): 21 seconds real time (speed 3)
Sim time: 17:23-17:55 (= 32 minutes)
Teleporting (cheat): 15 seconds real time (all-in, finding the spot B on the map and give order to teleport); sim time: 18:13-18:14 (= 1 minute to the very spot you want your sim to be)

Sims 4

From hallway to the café in Windenburg: 30 seconds real time
Back home: 35 seconds real time (due to walking time till loading screen, I used speed 3 of course)
Sim time going: 12:14-12:16 (=2 seconds); returning home: 2:32-2:42 (=10 minutes)

This on the same computer, obviously.

So apart from the fact you can teleport in an open world, even the slowest car is just a fraction slower than Sims 4's loading screen and that is to the far end of the world. When you visit your neighbours you're a lot faster (in Sims 4 you're not).

Hey, you started the comparing business didn't you?

(plus what @Sucom says)(and @aricarai )

"TS1299;c-16212667" wrote:
Currently I am happy with how the worlds are set up. How the loading screens are set up. I think the same way as you as before, I also want to have open neighborhood, however it will come to a cost. The reason why to me I feel The Sims 3 is shallow is the openness it offers. We had no loading screen after the big one loading screen, however if I want to send my sims on a date, the only choice I had fully control of them is at the Park, Pool, and Library. Wanted to see your sim to date at the Spa? Restaurant? Movie Theater? well you had no control of them inside of a rabbithole. Of course we may not see the return of rabbitholes in the game but it will result of the removal of a lot of features.

An example is the business System. The reason why businesses didn't work on The Sims 3 is the open world itself. Without the open world the game can change coding of different lots during a loading screen just like The Sims 2. But since the world in 3 was open, it didn't happen. We didn't get a fully functioning restaurant, and the ability to run a business. Yes we got one in Midnight Hallow however the open world itself was the problem why we need rugs to make them functional, and there isn't a new big gameplay it offer, unlike in Sims 2 and 4 where the new gameplay is confined at that specific lot(e.g. Perks system). Now I don't want features I paid for which is the Retail, Restaurant, and the Vet business to be removed for the sake of loading screen.

Let us not forget that side from that we had simmers who doesn't had high-end computers. The limit per lot is 20 sims add more sims to that it will be a lagfest. Yes the team may give the players an option but what would be the purpose of an openness if the player feels it as a ghost Town because he/she dosen't have a very good computer?

That is my point of view. I however agree about apartments. They need to change that.

Rabbitholes are what make a Sims game playable and that's why all versions have them, including Sims 4. Loading screens don't prevent that. Like the version with the open world has open and functional venues. And it's perfectly possible to change the lot code in an open world. An example are the tombs in Sims 3, and what happens to normal lots when you play a firefighter or a ghosthunter.

"paradiseplanet;c-16212698" wrote:
I don't have any experience with loading screens on the other games, but I understand why Sims 4 has these loading screens through looking at a technical perspective. Let's say a vet clinic, restaurant, and huge retail store (like a mall) were all in the same neighborhood. Now imagine if I loaded into that neighborhood without the loading screens? Imagine the horrible lag I would experience! My laptop is a great high-functioning laptop, but it still can't handle being in large lots with many sims and activity taking place within it. Imagine how upset I'd be if the loading screens for whole neighborhoods went away... Heck even smaller lots with too many sims gets really bad (looking at you libraries).

Open world has some sort of a loading system for lots too (houses, tombs). It's just not a loading screen.

"Sucom;c-16212652" wrote:

"Mendota;c-16212619" wrote:
It takes less time in a loading screen than it did to travel across the map in Sims 3. This is Sims 4, not Sims 3 and many of us like it like that. I hated how long it took to get places in Sims 3. I love in Sims 4 how easy it is to click on the phone pick your companions and boom, you are on your way. Pick a destination (In any world - not confined to one) and you are there. That is the beauty of Sims 4. Stop thinking in terms of Sims 3. Or go and play Sims 3.

Players should be allowed to post their thoughts freely on this forum without having another player come and tell them to 'go back to Sims 3' just because they disagree. That's pretty rude, actually.

There are for's and against's for loading screens. For me, personally, I quite like the open world because travelling around made the game more immersive and realistic. I liked roaming around the open world, but that's just me. Having loading screens plays like second life or similar which is not really my thing. It's all down to personal taste. If they must have loading screens, then at least the neighbourhoods could be open because they went from a completely open world to a completely closed world - one extreme to the other. A compromise might have been more acceptable.

At the end of the day, that is the only option. And if someone doesn't want to hear an opposing opinion, then they shouldn't post at all. They have a right to post, and I have a right to answer. And people visiting the site have a right to hear both sides. I realize that Sims 3 fans would prefer to have it one sided, but that is not the way of the world.

Haven't seen complaints on loading screens in a loooooonnng time.

There's pretty much loading screens in pretty much every game I've ever played and honestly they're not even a inconvenience at this point when I think of certain titles or titles that just did them terribly (Sonic 06. Blaarghhhh~) Though, I'd still more than enjoy being able to visit neighbors or certain lots when I'm in a designated area without a 'loading screen' if possible. Haven't really thought much about the loading screens at all anymore these days.

Also, I dunno why this thread is being derailed with conversations about the Sims 3 and comparisons. OP never mentioned anything about it.

"Mendota;c-16212885" wrote:

"Sucom;c-16212652" wrote:

"Mendota;c-16212619" wrote:
It takes less time in a loading screen than it did to travel across the map in Sims 3. This is Sims 4, not Sims 3 and many of us like it like that. I hated how long it took to get places in Sims 3. I love in Sims 4 how easy it is to click on the phone pick your companions and boom, you are on your way. Pick a destination (In any world - not confined to one) and you are there. That is the beauty of Sims 4. Stop thinking in terms of Sims 3. Or go and play Sims 3.

Players should be allowed to post their thoughts freely on this forum without having another player come and tell them to 'go back to Sims 3' just because they disagree. That's pretty rude, actually.

There are for's and against's for loading screens. For me, personally, I quite like the open world because travelling around made the game more immersive and realistic. I liked roaming around the open world, but that's just me. Having loading screens plays like second life or similar which is not really my thing. It's all down to personal taste. If they must have loading screens, then at least the neighbourhoods could be open because they went from a completely open world to a completely closed world - one extreme to the other. A compromise might have been more acceptable.

At the end of the day, that is the only option. And if someone doesn't want to hear an opposing opinion, then they shouldn't post at all. They have a right to post, and I have a right to answer. And people visiting the site have a right to hear both sides. I realize that Sims 3 fans would prefer to have it one sided, but that is not the way of the world.

Seems to me you’re the one who wants to approach it one sided, since you dodge the fact loading screens in fact take as long as the slowest car in Sims 3 from one end to the other in a huge world. Which was the foundation of your ‘opinion’. Turning out to not be an ‘opposing opinion’, just a wrong ‘fact’. And that is besides the other fact - more important even - your ‘opinion’ was completely ignoring the issue the OP presented: travelling within a small area that takes loading screens as well. Your post was off topic.

"JoAnne65;c-16212843" wrote:

Sims 4

From hallway to the café in Windenburg: 30 seconds real time
Back home: 35 seconds real time (due to walking time till loading screen, I used speed 3 of course)
Sim time going: 12:14-12:16 (=2 seconds); returning home: 2:32-2:42 (=10 minutes)

This on the same computer, obviously.

Since I saw you bring this comparison a couple of times already, I thought I'd mention something odd about it. Why aren't you teleporting instead of taking the scenic route in TS4 ? You don't have to walk to the edge of the neighborhood to travel, you know ? You can press M straight from your bedroom, appear at the door of the cafe, have fun there, press M again from the bathroom and appear at your home door.

"Neia;c-16213444" wrote:

"JoAnne65;c-16212843" wrote:

Sims 4

From hallway to the café in Windenburg: 30 seconds real time
Back home: 35 seconds real time (due to walking time till loading screen, I used speed 3 of course)
Sim time going: 12:14-12:16 (=2 seconds); returning home: 2:32-2:42 (=10 minutes)

This on the same computer, obviously.

Since I saw you bring this comparison a couple of times already, I thought I'd mention something odd about it. Why aren't you teleporting instead of taking the scenic route in TS4 ? You don't have to walk to the edge of the neighborhood to travel, you know ? You can press M straight from your bedroom, appear at the door of the cafe, have fun there, press M again from the bathroom and appear at your home door.

That saves you five seconds returning home then: 30 seconds (the way it is when you go there). I included this extra time when I tested Sims 3 as well.

I made sure to be as 'honest' as possible, so all the sims testing for me were standing in their house and I included everything while timing. Also zooming out to press 'travel' in TS4, and zooming out to view town in TS3 and looking for/selecting the spot I wanted my sim to travel to. Everything was clocked from the moment I decide my sim has to travel till the very moment they arrive there.

In fact you can even narrow the locations where you teleport to even more specific in Sims 3, because they teleport to the exact spot where you want them to go. In Sims 4 they end up where the loading screen takes them.

The reason I keep presenting this comparison by the way, is because others bring it into the discussion as an argument. I’m one of those players who considers travelling gameplay, so I couldn’t care less personally. But on top of that, it appears to be untrue loading screens save the player time when compared to open world.

"JoAnne65;c-16212872" wrote:

"TS1299;c-16212667" wrote:
Currently I am happy with how the worlds are set up. How the loading screens are set up. I think the same way as you as before, I also want to have open neighborhood, however it will come to a cost. The reason why to me I feel The Sims 3 is shallow is the openness it offers. We had no loading screen after the big one loading screen, however if I want to send my sims on a date, the only choice I had fully control of them is at the Park, Pool, and Library. Wanted to see your sim to date at the Spa? Restaurant? Movie Theater? well you had no control of them inside of a rabbithole. Of course we may not see the return of rabbitholes in the game but it will result of the removal of a lot of features.

An example is the business System. The reason why businesses didn't work on The Sims 3 is the open world itself. Without the open world the game can change coding of different lots during a loading screen just like The Sims 2. But since the world in 3 was open, it didn't happen. We didn't get a fully functioning restaurant, and the ability to run a business. Yes we got one in Midnight Hallow however the open world itself was the problem why we need rugs to make them functional, and there isn't a new big gameplay it offer, unlike in Sims 2 and 4 where the new gameplay is confined at that specific lot(e.g. Perks system). Now I don't want features I paid for which is the Retail, Restaurant, and the Vet business to be removed for the sake of loading screen.

Let us not forget that side from that we had simmers who doesn't had high-end computers. The limit per lot is 20 sims add more sims to that it will be a lagfest. Yes the team may give the players an option but what would be the purpose of an openness if the player feels it as a ghost Town because he/she dosen't have a very good computer?

That is my point of view. I however agree about apartments. They need to change that.

Rabbitholes are what make a Sims game playable and that's why all versions have them, including Sims 4. Loading screens don't prevent that. Like the version with the open world has open and functional venues. And it's perfectly possible to change the lot code in an open world. An example are the tombs in Sims 3, and what happens to normal lots when you play a firefighter or a ghosthunter.

I know. I am not just a fan if having rabbitholes to be presented in front of me, such as the restaurants. I never tried to use thombs in sims 3 in a homelot so I had no comment in that. I do think that the open world is the reason why there are features that are limited, such as the rug based retail system where you need a rug to sell an item.

"TS1299;c-16213582" wrote:

"JoAnne65;c-16212872" wrote:

"TS1299;c-16212667" wrote:
Currently I am happy with how the worlds are set up. How the loading screens are set up. I think the same way as you as before, I also want to have open neighborhood, however it will come to a cost. The reason why to me I feel The Sims 3 is shallow is the openness it offers. We had no loading screen after the big one loading screen, however if I want to send my sims on a date, the only choice I had fully control of them is at the Park, Pool, and Library. Wanted to see your sim to date at the Spa? Restaurant? Movie Theater? well you had no control of them inside of a rabbithole. Of course we may not see the return of rabbitholes in the game but it will result of the removal of a lot of features.

An example is the business System. The reason why businesses didn't work on The Sims 3 is the open world itself. Without the open world the game can change coding of different lots during a loading screen just like The Sims 2. But since the world in 3 was open, it didn't happen. We didn't get a fully functioning restaurant, and the ability to run a business. Yes we got one in Midnight Hallow however the open world itself was the problem why we need rugs to make them functional, and there isn't a new big gameplay it offer, unlike in Sims 2 and 4 where the new gameplay is confined at that specific lot(e.g. Perks system). Now I don't want features I paid for which is the Retail, Restaurant, and the Vet business to be removed for the sake of loading screen.

Let us not forget that side from that we had simmers who doesn't had high-end computers. The limit per lot is 20 sims add more sims to that it will be a lagfest. Yes the team may give the players an option but what would be the purpose of an openness if the player feels it as a ghost Town because he/she dosen't have a very good computer?

That is my point of view. I however agree about apartments. They need to change that.

Rabbitholes are what make a Sims game playable and that's why all versions have them, including Sims 4. Loading screens don't prevent that. Like the version with the open world has open and functional venues. And it's perfectly possible to change the lot code in an open world. An example are the tombs in Sims 3, and what happens to normal lots when you play a firefighter or a ghosthunter.

I know. I am not just a fan if having rabbitholes to be presented in front of me, such as the restaurants. I never tried to use thombs in sims 3 in a homelot so I had no comment in that. I do think that the open world is the reason why there are features that are limited, such as the rug based retail system where you need a rug to sell an item.

I regret the team has never been open about that. Is retail in TS3 so crippled because of open world, or is it because they simply hadn’t planned that for Sims 3 (done that in 2, no need to repeat it) and just sort of threw it in there to please fans who asked for it (it’s not an actual EP like in Sims 2 or a GP like in Sims 4, it’s Store stuff, can you really compare)? I’m not familiar with retail in Sims 4, is it equal quality wise to retail in Sims 2? I do know I’m a bit underwhelmed by the GTW venues. It’s a collection of items sims can interact with, where I’d expected actual collaboration between employees. That will work in an open world as well.

Tombs are lots that ‘behave’ differently from other venues with the help of invisible markers and a system of connecting items to each other, turning them into toggles. I guess they achieved the ghostly and the catastrophic atmosphere for the ghosthunter and firefighter careers in a similar way (markers).