What Sims 4 got wrong and brings me back to Sims 3. Can still be fixed!
I play the Sims 4, mostly to tell aka direct stories.
On occasion when I play without my story direction, I'm constantly reminded how limited the "active world" of the sims 4 for creating its own drama.
Everything revolves around your active household, the outside world literally resets based on where you go.
For example go to a bar, it will fill with random sims. Change households, go to same bar it resets with new sims, ejecting the ones there vs a living world where Sims go along their daily lives no matter WHERE you are. For example you'd never see an employed sim walking past your house in the sims 3 - sims 4?
ALL the time.
So why is this important? Because it makes the world more immersive, more alive rather then a doll house that only has the life I put into it.
I was HEAVILY reminded of this difference last night when I jumped into the Sims 3 and had some crazy random drama unfold that could never take place in the Sims 4, which makes me sad and I wanted to illustrate below.
Quick backstory, I made girl named Sam (short for samantha) who went to university, met rapper boy who tries to cheat on his gf with her - but Sam won't have that even if he's a celebrity. Not her style.
Sam comes home to hidden springs and meets another boy she really digs. Meanwhile the game pushers "tourists" from other worlds to visitor your current world, its totally random when and who it sends but if you've met sims in other worlds they retain their relationship meters if they come to visit so their arent totally strangers.
So I've been playing this couple for the better part of the fall now. They go on a date at a lookout far above Hidden Springs.
https://i.imgur.com/7ljtGq1.jpg
As her BF seeks washroom, I direct her to look in telescope to pass time. What I do not expect is her weird reaction. Now thats just sims being weird but for fun I decide, ok lets see where she would be looking based on where the telescope is/line of sight. I take the camera zooming it out from the lookout to lets say...central park far below.
https://i.imgur.com/IX6yQWw.gif
That guy? At the end of lens chatting up a girl? Ya thats rapper boy from university visiting hidden springs. LIKE what are the chances I'd have her look through the telescope at this moment and see him? From a story tellers point of view, I could see her being like what the PLUM is he doing in hidden springs?!
First off the VERY fact that I have two sims on a date while rapper boy is ALL the way across the map trying to pick up women is something in itself and would NEVER happen in the sims 4.
https://i.imgur.com/s12oW0L.jpg
I LOVE THAT about Sims 3, that this is even happening so far apart from where my sims are and the CHANCES it would be him of ALL sims!?
So anyway time goes on, I don't see rapper sim anymore and winter comes around a few days later and Sams boyfriend proposes.
What happens literally after this very special moment?! TOTALLY randomly rapper boy shows up again - and FLIRTS with her? RIGHT after she's been engaged.
https://i.imgur.com/OK7whGA.jpg
I laughed so hard at the crazy and this is what the Sims 4 is missing. This random active world craziness.
I LITERALLY could not have asked for better drama and the best drama for me is when I'm not planning it.
It doesn't get more real then this...if they could add this into the Sims 4 still I'd be in heaven.
Oh random chaos...
https://i.imgur.com/S7Naegn.gif
On occasion when I play without my story direction, I'm constantly reminded how limited the "active world" of the sims 4 for creating its own drama.
Everything revolves around your active household, the outside world literally resets based on where you go.
For example go to a bar, it will fill with random sims. Change households, go to same bar it resets with new sims, ejecting the ones there vs a living world where Sims go along their daily lives no matter WHERE you are. For example you'd never see an employed sim walking past your house in the sims 3 - sims 4?
ALL the time.
So why is this important? Because it makes the world more immersive, more alive rather then a doll house that only has the life I put into it.
I was HEAVILY reminded of this difference last night when I jumped into the Sims 3 and had some crazy random drama unfold that could never take place in the Sims 4, which makes me sad and I wanted to illustrate below.
Quick backstory, I made girl named Sam (short for samantha) who went to university, met rapper boy who tries to cheat on his gf with her - but Sam won't have that even if he's a celebrity. Not her style.
Sam comes home to hidden springs and meets another boy she really digs. Meanwhile the game pushers "tourists" from other worlds to visitor your current world, its totally random when and who it sends but if you've met sims in other worlds they retain their relationship meters if they come to visit so their arent totally strangers.
So I've been playing this couple for the better part of the fall now. They go on a date at a lookout far above Hidden Springs.
https://i.imgur.com/7ljtGq1.jpg
As her BF seeks washroom, I direct her to look in telescope to pass time. What I do not expect is her weird reaction. Now thats just sims being weird but for fun I decide, ok lets see where she would be looking based on where the telescope is/line of sight. I take the camera zooming it out from the lookout to lets say...central park far below.
https://i.imgur.com/IX6yQWw.gif
That guy? At the end of lens chatting up a girl? Ya thats rapper boy from university visiting hidden springs. LIKE what are the chances I'd have her look through the telescope at this moment and see him? From a story tellers point of view, I could see her being like what the PLUM is he doing in hidden springs?!
First off the VERY fact that I have two sims on a date while rapper boy is ALL the way across the map trying to pick up women is something in itself and would NEVER happen in the sims 4.
https://i.imgur.com/s12oW0L.jpg
I LOVE THAT about Sims 3, that this is even happening so far apart from where my sims are and the CHANCES it would be him of ALL sims!?
So anyway time goes on, I don't see rapper sim anymore and winter comes around a few days later and Sams boyfriend proposes.
What happens literally after this very special moment?! TOTALLY randomly rapper boy shows up again - and FLIRTS with her? RIGHT after she's been engaged.
https://i.imgur.com/OK7whGA.jpg
I laughed so hard at the crazy and this is what the Sims 4 is missing. This random active world craziness.
I LITERALLY could not have asked for better drama and the best drama for me is when I'm not planning it.
It doesn't get more real then this...if they could add this into the Sims 4 still I'd be in heaven.
Oh random chaos...
https://i.imgur.com/S7Naegn.gif
