Forum Discussion
6 years ago
Things that can be learned from TS3 and TS4:
FGS, don't forget the details!!!!
Just as an example, in IL, the team is so busy adding flower petals, sparkles and shooting flames, they don't even bother with the more realistic details such as taking down the boat sails or tethering the boat. I'm not a sailor, but I don't think that I've ever seen one leave the boat with sails full up. Nor do they leave the boat untethered so that it can sail off without them.
The developers may not think that those kinds of details matter but, for players like me, they do. Just as opening cabinets matters, as does being able to take babies anywhere in the house, being able to cuddle in bed with an S.O., or actually touching objects in order to interact with them. TS4 Sims, in particular, all appear to be telekinetic. They're already witches!
Please don't obfuscate or straight up lie to your paying customers! Exhibit A: the cursed lounge chair. Why do the Sims in lounge chairs look like they're dead? Or, perhaps, they've been hit with a blow dart?
Allegedly, the developers needed five years to work on the lounge chair's multitasking. However, once the lounge chair finally arrived, it had no multitasking at all. To me, there are two options there. Either the team is incapable of the programming that is required or all of the excuses were a crock. As I know that the team has been capable of some incredible things in the past, I tend to believe the latter. Which is a shame, because your customers are not stupid. We remember.
The next thing is that Sims almost never have active interactions together. Sims only participate in activities that require them to sit, stand, or kneel in one place. Anything else, it's every Sim for themselves: dancing, skating, boating, 'aqua zips', you name it. Do all Sims have the Loner trait?
More than ever, Sims in TS4 seem isolated and detached. They can't even speak together unless they're standing so far away from each other. They even walk away from each other, mid-conversation, to find a seat. If TS3 Sims were mostly disinterested, TS4 Sims are like magnets that are actively repelling each other.
Speaking of which: the team could learn that TS3 and TS4 have moved too far away from genuine affection and intimacy between Sims. Where are the additional interactions such as cuddling in bed, making out while standing up, goosing, or even teens giving each other noogies? Why is there still no attraction system? Why do pairs of Sims feel exactly the same about each other? There's no unrequited love, no rebuffed friendship -- there are no nuanced relationships, period.
As well, since TS2, there has been a marked difference in romantic interactions. What's going on there? All games in the Sims series have been rated, Teen. So, what's the real deal with the sanitized intimacy between Sims? Is it too difficult to animate (read: expensive)? Do we need to buy a future romantic pack that will finally provide all of those basic things? I don't understand.
All in all, beginning with TS3, the series seems to have lost the plot. Don't get me wrong, I loved TS3 due to its open world and many, many activities. However, it was easy to see that, compared to TS2, the focus had shifted from the Sims themselves to the stuff -- lots and lots of stuff. In TS4, that obsession with stuff instead of substance has accelerated and expanded. The Sims -- how they interact with each other and with the objects in their world -- have become an afterthought.
If anyone from EA reads this, please know: what you can learn from TS3 and TS4 is that you're better than this. You've already proven that you're better than this. Please stop resting on your laurels and provide the games that your consumer base knows that you're capable of providing. We're waiting for your brilliance and attention to detail to show themselves again.
Finally, to anyone who has gotten this far: thanks for reading! <3
FGS, don't forget the details!!!!
Just as an example, in IL, the team is so busy adding flower petals, sparkles and shooting flames, they don't even bother with the more realistic details such as taking down the boat sails or tethering the boat. I'm not a sailor, but I don't think that I've ever seen one leave the boat with sails full up. Nor do they leave the boat untethered so that it can sail off without them.
The developers may not think that those kinds of details matter but, for players like me, they do. Just as opening cabinets matters, as does being able to take babies anywhere in the house, being able to cuddle in bed with an S.O., or actually touching objects in order to interact with them. TS4 Sims, in particular, all appear to be telekinetic. They're already witches!
Please don't obfuscate or straight up lie to your paying customers! Exhibit A: the cursed lounge chair. Why do the Sims in lounge chairs look like they're dead? Or, perhaps, they've been hit with a blow dart?
Allegedly, the developers needed five years to work on the lounge chair's multitasking. However, once the lounge chair finally arrived, it had no multitasking at all. To me, there are two options there. Either the team is incapable of the programming that is required or all of the excuses were a crock. As I know that the team has been capable of some incredible things in the past, I tend to believe the latter. Which is a shame, because your customers are not stupid. We remember.
The next thing is that Sims almost never have active interactions together. Sims only participate in activities that require them to sit, stand, or kneel in one place. Anything else, it's every Sim for themselves: dancing, skating, boating, 'aqua zips', you name it. Do all Sims have the Loner trait?
More than ever, Sims in TS4 seem isolated and detached. They can't even speak together unless they're standing so far away from each other. They even walk away from each other, mid-conversation, to find a seat. If TS3 Sims were mostly disinterested, TS4 Sims are like magnets that are actively repelling each other.
Speaking of which: the team could learn that TS3 and TS4 have moved too far away from genuine affection and intimacy between Sims. Where are the additional interactions such as cuddling in bed, making out while standing up, goosing, or even teens giving each other noogies? Why is there still no attraction system? Why do pairs of Sims feel exactly the same about each other? There's no unrequited love, no rebuffed friendship -- there are no nuanced relationships, period.
As well, since TS2, there has been a marked difference in romantic interactions. What's going on there? All games in the Sims series have been rated, Teen. So, what's the real deal with the sanitized intimacy between Sims? Is it too difficult to animate (read: expensive)? Do we need to buy a future romantic pack that will finally provide all of those basic things? I don't understand.
All in all, beginning with TS3, the series seems to have lost the plot. Don't get me wrong, I loved TS3 due to its open world and many, many activities. However, it was easy to see that, compared to TS2, the focus had shifted from the Sims themselves to the stuff -- lots and lots of stuff. In TS4, that obsession with stuff instead of substance has accelerated and expanded. The Sims -- how they interact with each other and with the objects in their world -- have become an afterthought.
If anyone from EA reads this, please know: what you can learn from TS3 and TS4 is that you're better than this. You've already proven that you're better than this. Please stop resting on your laurels and provide the games that your consumer base knows that you're capable of providing. We're waiting for your brilliance and attention to detail to show themselves again.
Finally, to anyone who has gotten this far: thanks for reading! <3
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