Why the sims 4 feels lacking and divided.
I have played the sims since late 2005 beginning with the sims 2. I took a while to get into the sims 3 (in fact only this year have I learned how fun it can be) thanks to new mods that make the game more stable, and mods that allow kids and toddlers to do more.
The sims 4 was fun at first, and I loved the look of the sims and worlds, but it over time it became boring. No matter how much content I bought, the game still felt hollow. I have been thinking for a long time why this is the case, and I think I now finally understand. I will list them below.
1. The game is bug ridden. I have many mods to fix bugs, and even then new one crop up.
2. The game lags more than it should and has no reason to do so. On larger lots, sim occasionally bob their heads or become unresponsive (even on a good PC).
3. Sims have no personality. You can only choose 3 traits and they do little to influence your sim besides putting them in various emotions (some traits do add significant gameplay like childish).
4. There is no randomness, danger, or surprises. If you want something to happen that is unexpected, you have to do it yourself. In previous sims games (2 & 3), unexpected things happen whether good or bad such as chance cards at work, buglers robbing your house, a sale happening at the local grocery stores, etc.
5. There is no meaningful challenge. Everything is so easy in the sims 4 (except for high bills), and whenever something bad happens, there is always a easy way out (such as self extinguishing fires).
6. The emotions system is broken and actually hinders the game. Sims in the same emotion act the same regardless of their traits, and tying negative events to emotional buffs means that sims can quickly forget impactful events (such as death) so long as they get enough happy buffs (which is easy to do).
7. Autonomy is boring, and sims end up doing the same thing regardless of traits. Also idle chat, makes it so that in community lots, all you mostly see is groups talking with each other (unless you use clubs to help simulate life).
8. Sims are constantly happy, and it is hard to get them in negative emotions without intentional player involvement.
9. Many life stages don't feel unique. While toddlers are the best yet, teens young adults, and adults and elders basically act and look the same (aside from wrinkles and grey hair). There is no unique gameplay for any of these stages at all. (this may change with the new high school EP).
10. The game is overly modern and hip, and is marketed as such. The old sims game definitely had things of their generations, but the trailers usually focused on the features of the EP. Furthermore, those game had a better balance between modern technology, activities and ideologies and things that are old fashioned. Many aspects of the sims 2 and 3 feel timeless, while the sims 4 feels like it will become dated in the next 1-2 decades.
Overall, it feels kind of sad, especially since the sims 4 has some things it does very well (CAS and build/buy). Unfortunately, I don't think that these problems can be easily fixed, as they are rooted in both the sims 4 engine, and the way they market the game (and the main audience they are trying to sell the game to). Hopefully others can find some joy in the game even if I can not.
The sims 4 was fun at first, and I loved the look of the sims and worlds, but it over time it became boring. No matter how much content I bought, the game still felt hollow. I have been thinking for a long time why this is the case, and I think I now finally understand. I will list them below.
1. The game is bug ridden. I have many mods to fix bugs, and even then new one crop up.
2. The game lags more than it should and has no reason to do so. On larger lots, sim occasionally bob their heads or become unresponsive (even on a good PC).
3. Sims have no personality. You can only choose 3 traits and they do little to influence your sim besides putting them in various emotions (some traits do add significant gameplay like childish).
4. There is no randomness, danger, or surprises. If you want something to happen that is unexpected, you have to do it yourself. In previous sims games (2 & 3), unexpected things happen whether good or bad such as chance cards at work, buglers robbing your house, a sale happening at the local grocery stores, etc.
5. There is no meaningful challenge. Everything is so easy in the sims 4 (except for high bills), and whenever something bad happens, there is always a easy way out (such as self extinguishing fires).
6. The emotions system is broken and actually hinders the game. Sims in the same emotion act the same regardless of their traits, and tying negative events to emotional buffs means that sims can quickly forget impactful events (such as death) so long as they get enough happy buffs (which is easy to do).
7. Autonomy is boring, and sims end up doing the same thing regardless of traits. Also idle chat, makes it so that in community lots, all you mostly see is groups talking with each other (unless you use clubs to help simulate life).
8. Sims are constantly happy, and it is hard to get them in negative emotions without intentional player involvement.
9. Many life stages don't feel unique. While toddlers are the best yet, teens young adults, and adults and elders basically act and look the same (aside from wrinkles and grey hair). There is no unique gameplay for any of these stages at all. (this may change with the new high school EP).
10. The game is overly modern and hip, and is marketed as such. The old sims game definitely had things of their generations, but the trailers usually focused on the features of the EP. Furthermore, those game had a better balance between modern technology, activities and ideologies and things that are old fashioned. Many aspects of the sims 2 and 3 feel timeless, while the sims 4 feels like it will become dated in the next 1-2 decades.
Overall, it feels kind of sad, especially since the sims 4 has some things it does very well (CAS and build/buy). Unfortunately, I don't think that these problems can be easily fixed, as they are rooted in both the sims 4 engine, and the way they market the game (and the main audience they are trying to sell the game to). Hopefully others can find some joy in the game even if I can not.
