When will the Sims 4 become too taxing for average users pc? 29 packs currently...

Its been mentioned the Sims 4 is a service game (meaning constant expansion and development like an mmo) and now further confirmed S4 has no development end date.

In retrospect the loading of areas (via loading screen) helps the game compartmentalize game blocks/areas for future proofing against performance drain. Further the 64bit move (I remember when Maxis once said they HAD NO PLANS for 64bit jaha) is clearly meant to support a robust aka taxing underlying foundation to allow greater expansion.

I'm running a core i9 and the game at 4K, just recently I've noticed a drop in FPS in "busy" areas like City Living - if its taxing my system I can't even imagine how it will run in 2 years without some form of further optimization.

After writing this, I wondered what my point was and I guess its a warning to others who own all the packs/that you'll probably need to do some upgrading in the future if you plan to keep adding more packs too.

Currently the game has 29 packs released - 3 more have been officially announced, I'm sure we will get 1 or 2 more before 2020.

If they keep up a pace of say 5 per year with base game upgrades for the next 2 years, that will be nearly 50-60 packs total (crazy right?).

Also..when and if the Sims 5 is ever released - its never going to approach the amount of content the Sims 4 will have and take years to catch up.

The Sims 5 will have to be revolutionary without being hated for being so empty in comparison - but first they have to make it work on Frostbite which was never built for the Sims and has no development tools for such a game, let alone modding possibilities for the community. This alone could explain why The Sims 4 wil remain a service product into foreseeable future.

Not to speak of high system requirements which the majority of the Sims community DOES NOT fulfill on the scope required to run what will be a very taxing game.

On that thought, perhaps thats why its simply more profitable to keep expanding the Sims 4 and sales have risen over the last 2 years for packs. The game now has a very large install base and providing a positive income growth to EA. Sims 5 is a huge risk and I suspect expansion of it will take much longer too. Sims 4 is easy in comparison to develop for as it continues to increase its player base with a new generation of gamers.

The problem is I don't know if the Sims 4 is truly and properly built to be endlessly expanded upon. When the Sims 4 released the original producers stated they had no plans for 64bit and its a big tell in how the game was originally developed. Since then the game has changed python engines and now code foundation - which does actually require a lot of development time and money. Very few games see this happen except service games like League of Legend or World of Warcraft that have no development end date.

So this is really telling because it means EA has put new money into development for long term growth of the game, otherwise the Sims 4 expansion development would be coming to an end and they wouldn't bother.

I guess this means we will also have to keep upgrading to play it lol.

feedback

51 Replies

Suziish
Seasoned Ace
7 years ago
I see it more as only 13 current packs, since I don't see SP as taxing on a system. It's just stuff. So, by the end of the year, we'll have 15 packs that really matter. But I am not surprised that some people have issues with all packs installed on low end pc's.

I was actually just talking to my husband about this same subject a couple days ago. I'm sure, at some point, it'll start being too taxing on even more powerful pc's, but hopefully that day isn't coming anytime soon. I imagine when that day does start to come, they will decide to move on to Sims 5.

I do think the devs don't intend for people to buy every pack, even though a good majority of people do.
enjoyfulsimmer0
7 years ago
I would say that the game's system requirements are more relevant.Not "average" pc versus "above average" pc. And I would have to say that probably 50 percent of the Sims player base is running the Sims 4 on computers that aren't recommended and some are running it on systems that are barely meeting the minimum requirements. A fragment is playing on pc's below minimum requirements. Now, most forum users are less casual and may have computers with recommended specs. But in the facebook group I was in there were many who fit into the above category. For those players the game is already under heavy tax, unless they play on the lowest settings and dont have many packs.

As far as Sims 5. It does need to be outstanding. Because if it offers nothing new then people will continue playing Sims 4 or the other one. I know I will (continue playing sims 4) because Sims 4 has amazing graphics and in my own personal view, the sims 4 has incredible very easy to love Sims characters. So I will not being moving on to Sims 5 unless 1)open world returns 2)CASt returns 3)Improved realistic graphics has been introduced and Im also waiting until it has a good amount of entertaining content. If those requirements arent met im sticking with Sims 4 anyway, because I like it very much.
EntityofDesire
Seasoned Ace
7 years ago
I think and this might sound crazy since I'm talking about system performance, for the game to survive into the next decade they will need to not only up the texture sizes to 4k but improve the games underlying foundation/performance.

Otherwise the games textures will start to make the game look dated by 2021. If they plan to keep the Sims 4 as a service game - then they need to approach it as such and that includes improving the graphics. That doesn't mean an overhaul - just higher textures.
AquaGamer1212
Seasoned Ace
7 years ago
I currently play on two laptops; my MacBook Pro 15 in. late 2013 (used). And my MSI gaming laptop (currently in hiatus until I get my fan fixed). While my MacBook is doing great, and my MSI can get the job done I do hope to get a desktop PC by the end of next year. I don’t have space for one at home at the moment so that’s why I didn’t bother. But space is definitely an issue, although I can upgrade my laptop.
enjoyfulsimmer0
7 years ago
"TOLKIEN;c-17102689" wrote:
I think and this might sound crazy since I'm talking about system performance, for the game to survive into the next decade they will need to not only up the texture sizes to 4k but improve the games underlying foundation/performance.

Otherwise the games textures will start to make the game look dated by 2021. If they plan to keep the Sims 4 as a service game - then they need to approach it as such and that includes improving the graphics. That doesn't mean an overhaul - just higher textures.

What do you mean by "service" game?
OldeSimsFan
Seasoned Ace
7 years ago
I seriously doubt there will be 30 more packs by 2023. We are currently running at 4 per year, which works out to 7.5 years for 30. Also, there is every possibility that the issue rate will continue to drop as it has consistently since 2015. Just enough to maintain our addiction, not so much as to tax resources.
kaeyresky
7 years ago
Everyone seems concerned that the game is going to become too taxing on our computers, but in my opinion the more urgent issue is the game becoming too taxing on itself. There are already so many stupid things that can lead to performance issues regardless of what type of computer you're playing on - Like having too many things in your inventory, or having too many relationships, or having a large tray folder. San Myshuno ran like garbage for the whole year that they took to fix it and it's still not even perfect. And the devs have already expressed concern over the game being able to handle things like large worlds going forward. The list of bugs is growing larger and the patches to fix them have been fewer.

That's why when I see people raving about how the game is going to go on for 4 or 5 more years and getting excited about that I'm like, yeah, okay. I have absolutely no confidence that it'll even be able to run 4 years from now if it keeps going at this rate. Hopefully something changes though.
Zmias1
Seasoned Ace
7 years ago
Even though I have a relatively new computer with required specs. I have noticed that since adding the last two packs (an EP and GP), my game has slightly slowed down in that it seems to occasionally, lag or my Sim just stands there running the clock down more often for longer times (on the highest graphic settings). I have plenty the computer space. However, I do wonder how many more game packs (esp. expansion packs) can my computer handle without making gameplay to slow. That said, I can't imagine Sims 5 coming out until at least another year and it will be interesting to see how much of a graphic update can they make it. Yet playable for those who don't want to vastly upgrade their computer to much higher specs. or purchase new ones.
filipomel
Seasoned Ace
7 years ago
My only concern would be the growing list of bugs, as for content the game seems to still be running fine, even on my laptop (at lower graphics settings of course) the game still runs fine, or as fine the sims 4 can run considering all the bugs. If they manage to tone down the bugs significantly, I can see this game running perfectly fine by the end of its cycle.
EntityofDesire
Seasoned Ace
7 years ago
"EnjoyfulSimmer;c-17102846" wrote:
"TOLKIEN;c-17102689" wrote:
I think and this might sound crazy since I'm talking about system performance, for the game to survive into the next decade they will need to not only up the texture sizes to 4k but improve the games underlying foundation/performance.

Otherwise the games textures will start to make the game look dated by 2021. If they plan to keep the Sims 4 as a service game - then they need to approach it as such and that includes improving the graphics. That doesn't mean an overhaul - just higher textures.

What do you mean by "service" game?

Again basically the game is serviced without an end of life date and provided regular new content. Its basically like an MMO in the sense that they just keep releasing new expansions for it rather then make an entirely new game. So by providing a game "service" their are maintaining it as a featured current and growing product.