"Oldeseadogge;c-17758133" wrote:
Sims will readily tell you what they think of your house decoration choices
Actually, that is also a feature in The Sims 3. Sims will autonomously check out the new object. Sometimes, they will like the object, sometimes not.
TS2 also has an attraction system
TS3 has the Western zodiac/astrology compatibility system, and it is up to the player whether to make a match between seemingly compatible partners. The attraction system from TS2 doesn't really play that much in my playstyle, because even Sims who are not attracted to each other can still fall in love. It just takes some work. It's like having the Unflirty trait in The Sims 3, in which Unflirty Sims take some work to flirt with.
A huge plus is the mentioned album. The player has full control of photo sequence and has ample room for captions, as in several lines.
Actually, The Sims 1 allows the option to take pictures, and you can write lengthy captions as well. The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 both have Family Albums to tell Family Stories, giving ample room for writing and imagination. The Sims 3 no longer has Family Albums anymore, but it is possible to upload your screenshots to TS3 Exchange and write your stories outside the game. It's just not a built-in feature like previous games. The Sims 4 has no Family Albums and no way to share written stories whatsoever, which is a great bummer for me, because written stories have always engaged me with The Sims. Writing stories allows me to include stuff that would be otherwise impossible in game. Nowadays, people just automatically go to YouTube and watch a Let's Play and call that a "story". But I don't see them as "stories". They feel more like gameplay videos. An actual written story allows things beyond what the game can do; a gameplay video allows things based on what the game can do and thus can be very limiting in this regard.
A huge plus for TS4 is the graphics, it's easily the best looking version in the series to date. In view of the advances in technology since TS2, it had better be. Overall gameplay feels much simpler than before, even shallow, many things being automatic, even almost magical. Won't go into the personality side as the forums are filled with laments on that issue. Build mode is a mix, better in some ways than before, worse in others. Rotational play is tough. Different games for different play styles.
Well, when I got The Sims 2 for the very first time, The Sims 2 was still in its prime, selling like hotcakes and rolling out expansion packs. I just had the base game. I was like, "Hmmm... do I want The Sims Complete Collection or The Sims 2?" Then, I remembered what I read on Wikipedia about The Sims 2's biggest features like aging and aspirations and generational gameplay, and I was sold. I got the Sims 2 base game over The Sims Complete Collection, simply because The Sims 2 felt like a real life simulator, while The Sims 1 sounded like playing house - no aging, no genetics, and no generational gameplay. Plus, The Sims 2 at the time had much better graphics than The Sims 1.
I still like The Sims 2 graphics and Maxis art style. I also like The Sims 3 graphics and Maxis art style, especially when my Sims run around the big open world and I can see the gorgeous view. I also like The Sims 4 graphics and Maxis art style. While you are playing on the lot, you can observe the gorgeous scenery in the background.
Well, The Sims 2 Sims aren't that very smart. Children won't do their homework autonomously, and if they have too much homework left undone, that may mean a trip to the Social Worker. You really have to micromanage the house, making sure that the children do their homework assignments and the parents pay the bills or the REPO man will come.
The Sims 3 Sims are pretty much living individuals and can take care of themselves. Instead of micromanaging everything for needs and daily responsibilities, you can just look at the bigger scope and help a household fulfill wishes to buy certain LifeTime Rewards. The highest Aspiration Reward in TS2 is the Elixir of Life, and that one costs only 30,580 aspiration points. The Sims 3 has even bigger rewards, so it really takes a much longer time to earn those points. If you have a big house, then it's extremely challenging trying to earn lots of points for everyone. Fortunately, Sims in The Sims 3 can take care of themselves better, so that really helps in earning those points. The Collection Helper is a very useful reward to search for items around the world.
The Sims 4 is okay in terms of gameplay. If you have a big household with careers and kids, then fulfilling everyone's aspiration can be very challenging, and those rewards are not easy to get either.
As for personality, I think TS4 personality can be resolved by a return of TS1-style or TS2-style Family Albums, where players imagine and write in a personality. A family album can definitely compensate the lack of a personality system in TS4, IMO. I personally don't mind a TS4 game with just a Family Album but no personality; I can just use my imagination and write it out.
The Sims 3 is the only game with 2 different styles of basements. You can make a traditional basement like you would in TS2, but you can also use the basement tool. This gives the option of a walk-out basement in TS3. Lighting is also much better in TS3 than TS2, because you can have enclosed spaces with sun shining through. In TS2, if you make an enclosed space with walls, the game will automatically interpret that as a room, making it difficult to make a courtyard in TS2. The boolprop constrainFloorElevation true/false cheat allows split levels and attached garages in TS2. The Sims 4 foundations work differently, so no walk-out basements, and split-level homes may be done with platforms.
I think The Sims 1, 2, 3 and 4 can all be played rotationally. The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 has classic rotation gameplay, because Sims are saved in the exact same position, wherever you left off. The Sims 3 has an open world, and all Sims in this open world are connected to each other. I have already customized my aging system to make 1 Sim day equal 1 Real-life year, so if I ever want to play a family longer and help the family earn more points and fulfill wishes, then I'll just turn aging off. At a certain point, I may drop the promised wishes for one household and switch to a different household, and help that other household do the same, earning points and all. The Sims 4 has the option of allowing aging based on active household or not, so all Sims may age up at the same time, or just the active household, or no one ages up.
