Why?
So, I needed to say something after the release of this new pack because I need to think about the path this game it is taking. The Sims 4 is quite different from others series. This game is a turn...
Forum Discussion
I've been a member of this forum for 9 years, mostly lurking, but playing the Sims even longer (I owned Sims 1, played the Sims 2 on my friend's computer, owned Sims 3. I also have the Create-A-Sim Demo that came out right before the Sims 4 was released). Not that how long I've been playing makes me more of an expert on the subject, but I feel like people who unconditionally love the Sims 4 are often put down as "new players" who don't remember the good-ole-days.
I remember grinding just to get my Sims needs to not tank into the red. I remember the social bunny in my house all the time because I never had time to speak to a human. I remember back before the Sims games had weekends, when you had to go to work every day without a break. I remember my PC struggling to play the Sims 3 until eventually I couldn't play at all. My speed controls wouldn't work because of lag, so overnights while my Sims slept, and all day while they worked, I just sat and waited as the minutes ticked by. I couldn't open Create-A-Style without 5-10 mins of lag, per item I wanted to change. My heart almost broke when the Sims 4 was announced, surely my PC wouldn't be able to play that either.
But, it could. Playing was easy. Super-speed was a thing, so night-time and work-time passed in a flash, leaving me free to play the fun parts! Build mode was AMAZING, intuitive, easy, fast, and amazing graphics. Those were my first impressions, as a mid-range desktop PC owner.
The game did seem empty after a couple of hundred hours and I did shelve it for a while. I've shelved every game for a while at some point, some 10 hours in, some 500 hours in. But when I picked it up again a couple of years ago, the base game had been updated SO MUCH. Free toddlers, pools, objects, and now terrain tools. It motivated me to play and get caught up on buying packs. And all of a sudden I've got over 3,000 hours of gameplay and still love The Sims 4 so, so much.
I'm not a newbie who doesn't know any better, I'm not "putting up" with sub-par packs. I genuinely love it and appreciate the packs being kept streamlined so I can keep playing. I upgraded my CPU and graphics card last year (to play Arkham Knight) so I thought I'd try The Sims 3 again to see if it's more bearable when it runs better. The open world is still laggy as heck, Create-A-Style is filled with 100% ugly swatches and I forgot that Sims can't even multi-task. All your family is sitting around a table to eat, completely silent and all feeling lonely? They can't paint and listen to music, or use their cell phone on the toilet. It's still a lot of grinding as you fill each need one-by-one. I didn't see it as very fun, personally, compared to the fun I have with 4. And Sims 3 with one pack still runs worse than my Sims 4 game with ALL packs.
The Sims 4 is much less grindy in my opinion, most low needs cause an uncomfortable moodlet, but not impending doom, and when you can fill 2-3 needs at once it leaves a lot more time for creative gameplay.
And P.S. I love Strangerville. One play-through had my Sim at level 5 charisma and level 5 logic, with quite a few friends, without me even noticing or 'feeling the grind'. I think it's a great little story to start off with before settling into a career or having a family, and I can't wait for more story packs. I low-key love being possessed as I never had to worry about my needs lol. Yes, it had load screens. But Get Famous got me more used to a lot of travelling (I used to stay on one lot/neighbourhood as much as possible, GF motivated me to get out so I could be famous, and now I love taking my Sims to clubs, the gym, restaurants, etc).
I'm happy they have 3 more years of content planned out, I have a feeling the Sims 5 will be a rough transition for me and I may not take to it well! But if my computer can play it, I guarantee I will.
I remember grinding just to get my Sims needs to not tank into the red. I remember the social bunny in my house all the time because I never had time to speak to a human. I remember back before the Sims games had weekends, when you had to go to work every day without a break. I remember my PC struggling to play the Sims 3 until eventually I couldn't play at all. My speed controls wouldn't work because of lag, so overnights while my Sims slept, and all day while they worked, I just sat and waited as the minutes ticked by. I couldn't open Create-A-Style without 5-10 mins of lag, per item I wanted to change. My heart almost broke when the Sims 4 was announced, surely my PC wouldn't be able to play that either.
But, it could. Playing was easy. Super-speed was a thing, so night-time and work-time passed in a flash, leaving me free to play the fun parts! Build mode was AMAZING, intuitive, easy, fast, and amazing graphics. Those were my first impressions, as a mid-range desktop PC owner.
The game did seem empty after a couple of hundred hours and I did shelve it for a while. I've shelved every game for a while at some point, some 10 hours in, some 500 hours in. But when I picked it up again a couple of years ago, the base game had been updated SO MUCH. Free toddlers, pools, objects, and now terrain tools. It motivated me to play and get caught up on buying packs. And all of a sudden I've got over 3,000 hours of gameplay and still love The Sims 4 so, so much.
I'm not a newbie who doesn't know any better, I'm not "putting up" with sub-par packs. I genuinely love it and appreciate the packs being kept streamlined so I can keep playing. I upgraded my CPU and graphics card last year (to play Arkham Knight) so I thought I'd try The Sims 3 again to see if it's more bearable when it runs better. The open world is still laggy as heck, Create-A-Style is filled with 100% ugly swatches and I forgot that Sims can't even multi-task. All your family is sitting around a table to eat, completely silent and all feeling lonely? They can't paint and listen to music, or use their cell phone on the toilet. It's still a lot of grinding as you fill each need one-by-one. I didn't see it as very fun, personally, compared to the fun I have with 4. And Sims 3 with one pack still runs worse than my Sims 4 game with ALL packs.
The Sims 4 is much less grindy in my opinion, most low needs cause an uncomfortable moodlet, but not impending doom, and when you can fill 2-3 needs at once it leaves a lot more time for creative gameplay.
And P.S. I love Strangerville. One play-through had my Sim at level 5 charisma and level 5 logic, with quite a few friends, without me even noticing or 'feeling the grind'. I think it's a great little story to start off with before settling into a career or having a family, and I can't wait for more story packs. I low-key love being possessed as I never had to worry about my needs lol. Yes, it had load screens. But Get Famous got me more used to a lot of travelling (I used to stay on one lot/neighbourhood as much as possible, GF motivated me to get out so I could be famous, and now I love taking my Sims to clubs, the gym, restaurants, etc).
I'm happy they have 3 more years of content planned out, I have a feeling the Sims 5 will be a rough transition for me and I may not take to it well! But if my computer can play it, I guarantee I will.
