Was Multitasking worth the loading screens?

"@DeservedCriticism;c-16286643" wrote:
NOPE

By definition, it's not even really multitasking. Sims 3 (heck, even Sims 2 AND even Sims 1) showcased superior multitasking in some specialized cases. I mean if my Sims sit down to eat breakfast together, a Sim family in Sims 3 can successfully eat their breakfast and gain socialization without slowing themselves down at all. If a family does the same in Sims 4, it turns into a nightmare where you have to cycle around the table canceling everyone's social desire before they all end up late for work, and it's a never-ending battle cause the little jerks will constantly re-queue new social interactions even after they've been canceled.

Multi-tasking to me means multiple actions being done simultaneously for a boost to efficiency, such as doing the laundry while watching the news and chatting on the phone for an increase in social and fun while the laundry itself gets completed at about the same rate it usually would. In Sims 4, it means the game periodically cycles between action A and action B. When action A is being completed, action B is completely put on pause and vice versa. It's not multitasking, it's a dumb little automated toggle they honestly would've been capable of implementing in any of the past Sims game. The problem this has is that Sims in Sims 4 obsessively socialize at all times, even when they don't need it, so the multitasking system usually just means the player's desired action for the Sim will be slowed down by their obsession with social tasks. If not for the multitasking system, we wouldn't need to babysit our sims half as much as we do because they wouldn't constantly hunt chat partners.

"Multi"tasking and the emotion system are probably the two biggest bombs of Sims 4. Both of them were promised to be revolutionary and both are absolutely terrible. If there was an option to turn off multitasking in the game options, I think it would be very tempting to do so. It would more or less function as a mini-free will toggle that solely effects their obsession with

Sims in The Sims 2 actually take longer to eat and talk than they do in The Sims 4. Often if you serve breakfast in TS2, it’s almost lunch if you don’t cancel the talk interactions (which I believe was a patched feature due to complaints as it’s not present in The Sims Life Stories from memory, I served Lunch Meat Sandwhiches at 1pm and it was getting dark once all 4 of them had finished).

And in The Sims 3 the eating animation is really unnatural it’s like they’re forcing it down.

I don’t think they’ll ever get it right.

Also, that’s my only experience of that happening is with eating. Often I can have Sims listen to music while skill building, or Sims talk while doing basic stuff. I don’t have them randomly cycle between actions to that degree.


Since you mention it, I love the emotion system.
I believe people don’t like it because of Sims being bipolar, but a quick test shows Sims can be just as bipolar in The Sims 3. Going from extremely unhappy to happy just from one bad Moodlet (like filthy surroundings). My Sim went from depressed to happy just because she was afraid of the dark.

It’s more an issue with the Moodlet system imo with Moodlets often being too strong (eg Nicely Decorated is way too powerful), but the Emotions expand on the mood system in TS3 in the best way. I just wish it wasn’t so huge in the UI.