Something is Missing in Every Sims 4 Pack

A lack of long term gameplay opportunities is present in The Sims 4. When you finish one thing, you often feel done rather than pursue something else, because there's something missing. Long term goals keep players interested in a game. This can be resolved in several ways but it requires some vision and TLC.
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[@CHLOCHLOLP]

What's missing from every sims 4 expansion? A good base game.

[@m.e.881]

Well said, Voldemort.

[@adey126]

The evil has spoken the truth

[@JianimalGaming]

Hahahaha...the thought of Voldemort play the Sims. To get excited about expansion packs. hahahahaha.

[@CHLOCHLOLP]

@@JianimalGaming i havent made voldemort (myself lol) in the sims but once I made snape and Lily as a couple so he could finally fulfill his dream LOL

[@JianimalGaming]

@@CHLOCHLOLP awwwww...that's actually so sweet. Who would've thought you have such a kind heart buried beneath that evil. pfffff...

[@vsm6847]

Also can we talk about how Sims only recognize relatives from immediate generations? I’m playing a legacy family, and my Sims are flirting with their great-grandparents. It’s so gross and immersion breaking.

[@kitcross]

Not even immediate family--I tried 100-Baby Challenge and was still on my first matriarch.... the oldest daughter (a young adult) ran into one of the youngest sons (a teen, I think he was... baby 28-ish??) at the gym and had absolutely no family socialisation or recognition for him. Even when he introduced himself and I got their friendship up a little, they didn't unlock any sort of family interactions.

[@sunnyr4091]

It’s so creepy how ghosts of the legacy founders come to visit and are flirty with the sixth generation, and then call for dates! I mean what?!?

[@Lovlyb35]

And that's because it has no story progression.

[@XxCatcocanutxX]

I actually hate that in Sims 4. This is why I love Sims 3's relationships so much more... You have your great-grandparents as well as your in-laws. Sims 4 needs to bring that back.

[@Greyfeathers30]

It's one of my top pet peeves in the game

[@dominiclaurence7879]

The game is too easy. You're rich whithin a couple hours, the sims themselves are always happy notheless, skill progressing is basic, traits rarely have a bad side to them, all objects are cheap, you own every piece of outfit in the world, you have wants but not fears, bad things doesn't affect your sims if the decoration is merely good, events have you repeating the same actions, relationships are a chore. And I could go on.

[@elbbdexile]

I totally agree with you. I remember back then when I used to play sims 2, even if you had your sims pretty happy, having good jobs and high aspiration level, there was still a big chance of dying hit by an UFO or being scared to death, or maybe anwsering wrong on some pop quiz about your job and being fired. Sims 4 is way too easy and secure, everything is under control.

[@JellyfeatherQuickshyClearberry]

Isabel margarita totally agree, I hate that there’s no randomness in the sims 4. Nothing unexpected happens, no bad things happen to my sims. It’s not hard for them to get promoted, or do well at school and even if they fail nothing bad happens. It’s hard for them to get sacked. I like the challenge, but for me, there is no challenge.

[@glitchy3550]

I feel weird saying this, but I really miss having my sim's house broken into in the middle of the night. It added so much thrill to the game.

[@MadivDam]

Bear Ben19 your not weird saying it I feel the same about it, it makes it so much more interesting 😂

[@elbbdexile]

@@JellyfeatherQuickshyClearberry Yes! (I like to compare with TS2 bc is my all time favorite) I remember that sims 2 was much more ironic as a game itself! also babies were really messy and evil, that was funny. Rejection was a thing, sims getting mad at each other, revenge, even objects descriptions were really edgy. Like it was a life parody. I think TS4 has a huge lack of humor. Too naive

[@remnants9974]

it being for kids is the weirdest excuse... I remember games I played as a kid still had challenges

[@thepissedoffgerman2459]

Spyro is one of the most challenging games I've ever played

[@miklosnagy1032]

If it's for kids why do we always have young adult packs? The only thing kid got in sims 4 was voidcriters.

[@destinyn63]

Miklós Nagy right!

[@kajetan9906]

I would even argue that The Sims (whole series) isn't for children

[@gamegal1238]

@@thepissedoffgerman2459Yes! Were you able to play the remastered versions? I noticed that they are SIGNIFICANTLY easier than the originals. I don't understand why current devs think that things have to be easier for the current generation. I used to feel a sense of accomplishment when I completed a game as a child because they were difficult, yet so rewarding when you finished them.

[@smramos1979]

My problem is with the relationships and memories. Before, you had to work to gain friends and partners. Like hours of gameplay, matching traits and signs, and complementary likes and dislikes. You had memories of first kisses and great dates. Now cloudgaze for ten minutes and the Sims are ready to move in together. Every relationship ends up feeling the same. And that is boring. Bring that back.

[@namaste_charlei]

I very much miss memories. We need them back!

[@Rebe8d89AH]

I miss memories too. And the wants/fears, which affected sims way more than the Sims 4 'emotions'.

[@ellencampelo3383]

Ahahaha it’s really insane, like you can convive someone to leave their spouse for you in last than one hour, even with your traits don’t match or aspiration or anything else and it’s just the first time they talked/saw each other

[@ArawnNox]

I was just telling a friend, one of the easiest ways to gain relationship points is through chatting on the computer. Start socializing on the computer, turn the speed up to x3 and wait for 3-4 ingame hours to pass and poof, new friend. I was really let down when I discovered that because it made Friend of the World trivially easy and invalidated the whole point of talking face to face. I remember using the pc/phone in previous sims games and those were basically relationship maintenance, not ways to gain friends.

[@DarkMimii]

Or make a photo of them *boom* friend.... or speak to them next to your mikrohome ... BUT if you don´t speak to them in a while you COMPLETLY forget you ever knew them, its so frustating -.-

[@annie1121]

I’ve played Sims since the first game. With Sims 4 I can’t find anything to do but play the 100 baby challenge and build houses!

[@silverbane8065]

which other part packs have you got? have you checked the challenges at mod the sims forums? if you have the vampire, mermaids or magic packs you could try building bloodlines for those supernaturals i guess. i have only been playing sims4 at my fiances house and he only had basegame till a friend donated spare packs codes to him lol.

[@thedevil1667]

I play poor to rich

[@aurelie8220]

Same.

[@amanda.ribeirobe]

Even "poor to rich" is extremely easy and everything you could sell for good money

[@ScudForEver]

CAS is fun, but damn it hurts when you finish building a sims with an idea in mind you can't reflect in the gameplay. Want to make a serious policeman that hunts criminal Sims? NOPE, here is a goofy police that is like a Looney Toones joke, even the criminals are a joke, so limited in the action (wich are basically regular mean actions mostly) they don't need to murder someone, but they could be less cliche.

[@ehknee]

I always wonder if my nostalgia is clouding my memory because I remember being 9 playing the first game for hours on end. Now, I create a character in CAS...place them in a pretty house...play with them for an hour or two...then turn off the game and never play that family again.

[@Jubetube82]

Yo, I recently downloaded the Sims 2. I'm 22, played the Sims 2 when I was like 11, and it absolutely held up. I can play sims 2 for 15 hours straight, just like I could when I was 11. That game is so good at throwing wrenches in your plans and creating genuinely compelling drama. It gives a perfect level of challenge so you feel like your sims have earned all of their success. It's so fun.

[@czfuchs]

I installed both TS2 and TS3 like two months ago and played with each one like 2 - 4 hours a day. I feel like I've played each one since then than I've ever done it with TS4

[@MrDolevdayan]

Same

[@amymyers8785]

Totally agree. Make a sim. Put them in a nice house. Play for a few hours. Forget the game for a few months and then repeat. Sigh...I miss the challenging gameplay.

[@keitea7430]

It’s the same way that a kid can pick up some dolls and play with them for hours, but as an adult you wouldn’t last 5 minutes

[@SimmerCK]

I tend to play story scenarios. They keep me going, but unlike The Sims 2 and The Sims 3, I don't have interesting and unexpected things happen that drive my scenarios into fun unexpected directions. There is also no social alchemy for sims with compatible and incompatible traits. It's really makes for boring game play.

[@featherybee239]

SimmerCK agreed! Autonomy is so boring in this game! Even with strong personalities, sims don't do anything exciting. One of my current households do nothing but "get water" when idle. Over and over. Another household had a bunch of hot headed, jealous sims, and it took so much work getting them to act on their own traits, despite all the pushes I tried to give them. They'd just get mad or sad. And then go dance or something. Blegh.

[@ellencampelo3383]

Yeah, it fells like it doesn’t matter, you can put whatever you want but it doesn’t change anything more than modlets, I always put happy, criativy and tied to the family, not because they are my ultimate favorite but just because I doesn’t matter then or the others, they won’t act slightly differently about it

[@kay45]

I agree! The only thing that leads to spontaneity in my game plays is the slice of life mod that can make sims woohoo randomly and have babies with stranger sims 😂

[@ToushiDiablo]

It's worse than your story not being driven forward. The sims 4 literally derails my messy stories. Trying to make your mom and daughter enemies? Well, better not leave them unattended because the game will make them at least neutral if not friends again, even if they're all the way in the red.

[@featherybee239]

@@ToushiDiablo yes! That drives me nuts! I'm trying to get two sims to hate each other, and one of them just started joking with a sim who'd been mean and nasty. You can't win 😭

[@NeaEmrys]

Oh man it would be great if we could have something to spend all the money on. Expensive cars, helicopters, a driver, own real estate, own different homes, own vacation homes - and that's just one possible way to extend the game play with long time goals.

[@creepydoll2872]

Hotels and resorts would be fun!

[@aleniksimmer9591]

Agree..I'm playing the supersim challenge with two sims from birth (so the have all the toddler/child/behaviour traits maximized) and I make them change work as soon as they reach the last "title". I've got so much money I don't know what to do between work, royalties, reward traits etc. I renovated their home from an EA parenthood build to an house with every "gameplay" object from the game and I still had around 30-40.000.000 left (and I never cheat). Now I'm building a mansion in Sol Valley with the most expensive stuff and full basements and I'm sure I'll still be left with tons of money. I haven't even finished the careers and at this point I'm just playing them for the outfits/objects. I guess the last best option would be retail, resturants and vet clinic as an "investment". And I'm speaking despite enjoying TS4 a lot.

[@hezekiahduckworthy8867]

Another missed opportunity was the Get to Work expansion. They could of also added branches to the active careers. Like with the cops Detective and Metropolitan Cop. With the medical they could of added a doctor and a nurse branch, and with the scientist they could of added Biologist and a space explorer. Or at least added more depth into these careers so it won’t feel repetitive.

[@fyxyy]

agree

[@ShadoeLandman]

They should just make everything more expensive and it would make a huge difference. Lots are way, way, way too cheap. Building walls is too cheap. Roofs and foundations should cost money. There shouldn't be free meals from the fridge. Hiring a maid should never be free. Giving birth should be expensive. (Even in free-healthcare countries, you'd be buying diapers or onesies or something for that munchkin.) Wall coverings/wallpaper, flooring, etc should degrade and lose money over time, and eventually hurt the environment.

[@Rinnu500]

To this day I have not finished everything there is to do in TS3. World Adventures is my favorite expac ever released and I have still not 100% explored every location in the three worlds. Sims 4 could never :(

[@czfuchs]

The fact that that is possible not only in TS3 but also in TS2 and even in TS1 is beyond amazing. I had my first gameplay as a Detective in March and had so much joy. I feel like there are things in each expansion pack I haven't even played with

[@GoBrandi]

I feel the same exact way! The Sims 3 was The best Sims game evert and TS4 has been a slap in the face these past few years to me.

[@loumac8270]

I love world adventures as well brilliant pack that I never finished so in depth!

[@lethaeus.]

if world adventures was added to the sims 4, EA would split it into 3 expansion packs and DONT TELL ME IT SOUNDS RIDICULOUS CUZ ITS TRUE AND WE ALL KNOW THAT

[@22Maggy22]

I agree... Playing TS3 currently and was saving up to go to france for the nectar making skill... But than i got distracted to achieve a money tree and also make a alien baby with my alien boyfriend. 😂 Im a grown woman. But sims 3 is just so immersive! Something new comes up ALL the time! Sims 4 could never. 🙃

[@Longknife]

The Sims 4 Team isn't selling content, they're selling HOPE. They don't sell what the people want to buy. Instead, what you have is one of the top 10 best-selling franchises in video game history (basically...? Kind of a big deal) doing absymally in terms of quality, but the community refuses to let go because the past games have all been iconic. This one isn't though. It just isn't. It's been 6 years, they're still releasing stinkers. When their idea of "environment changing" is two different designs for the skybox, you know this team is lazy. When they somehow manage to screw up the fantastic blueprint of the Vampires pack and make a disappointingly simple system for Witches with loads of copy-pasted abilities, you know the team doesn't have a clue. People do not buy these packs thinking "this definitely looks like it will fix the problem!" No, people buy these packs thinking "boy I hope I'm wrong and this pack will magically make the game amazing." You didn't pay $40 for features, you paid $40 for hope. False hope. The community is in denial, and the team knows this, so they really don't have incentive to care what they put out; you'll buy it anyways. *In short, The Sims Community is the first video game community that might actually qualify for Stockholm Syndrome.*

[@Obsidianone831]

This right here is the absolute true!

[@skywalker6648]

Well, I got it for free, but I still HOPED Eco lifestyle would not be AS bad as mentioned on this channel and by others, but it is. Save or wait until it's $9.99 if you just must have it. Whomever keep saying its fun, are downright lying to you.

[@SoupSpan]

Extremely well said 👏👌

[@runsincircles7200]

Exactly! Like everyone getting excited for. Knitting....🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

[@SEAsnake22]

Oof... you hit the nail right on the head with this one

[@asmalltalk]

I remember spending HOURS everyday as a kid playing TS1 and TS2, then even TS3. It was fun, challenging, packs had so much content...with TS4, I pretty much regret that I ever started investing money into this souless mess of a game. Bought University and Eco lifestyle thinking "Oh, maybe these ones are actually gonna be fun!" ....dumb me.

[@HughLlewellyn]

I totally agree. I think I'm done buying packs just because they're out. I'm going to have to really WANT something in that pack. Like, say, horses. Or fairies. Or bands. There just isn't enough in Eco Lifestyle to convince me to buy it, even if it was half off. It will probably be the first expansion in Sims 4 I won't buy.

[@feraldeercolony]

I'm gonna go back to TS2 lmfao screw this. I got the ultimate edition back when they had it up for free, so I'm set!

[@asmalltalk]

Hugh Llewellyn I was on the fence with purchasing these and unfortunately once again it proved to be a waste of money.

[@37kit]

OMG YOU'RE RIGHT. The game feels soulless. These days i'm buying new packs just to get the build and buy items. Even then, i still can't play the game without cc.

[@Thee.D.Rashad]

I agree! I am so tempted to go back to playing TS3. I never grew bored with TS2 or TS3.

[@Beriorn]

Simmers: We want Sims 4 to have an endgame! EA: What's that, you want an Avengers costume pack and you'll be willing to pay $ 19.99 for it? Coming right up!

[@rashaanburns8876]

Hol up tho I wouldn't mind a superhero/villain pack that builds on the rep system and villain career.

[@thepissedoffgerman2459]

😂

[@Damond_Warrior]

pfg nah if they do it right it’ll be grand

[@skywalker6648]

@@calicoathena True, in this game, players have to do every single thing themselves to get a story launched, so you would have to create a real unpredictable and exciting conflict in the game which is not possible. Thus, not sure how it would turn out. Maybe one day in Sims5 or something.

[@emskis7302]

Sshhh don't give the ideas!

[@Nimeya13]

Most fun I had was propably with vampires Raising a young teenage girl, becomeing a vampire, developing power to become a "good daywalker", becomeing more famous, making friends to drink from... juggeling all that while going to school with top grades, becoming a celebrity through science and eventually building a rocket and fall in love with an alien good times when mermaids came out, becoming and playing as one was just so... shallow. Excuse my pun

[@SimmerCK]

I was recently playing Cassandra Goth. The story line was that Lilith and Caleb would not touch her, nor turn her, because they were terrified of Bella Goth. So Cassandra got a teenage vampire sim to turn her, unknown to Bella. It was so much fun having Cassandra sneaking out the house at night in bat form from the balcony off her bedroom. Unfortunately I stopped playing the game because Eco Lifestyle ruined community lot game play with annoying NAPS.

[@namaste_charlei]

I agree. I think the most in-depth gameplay I saw was in the Vampire GP. I could tell that one was a labor of love.

[@Nimeya13]

​@@namaste_charlei Mermaids, Magicians and Plant-sim should have had at least as much effort put into them as vampires and aliens, if not more as they came later with a supposedly more experienced team

[@ellencampelo3383]

I expected more from the mermaids as well, I mean they are pretty, their tales and scales are really gorgeous, but like that’s it, they are beautiful, can dye of dehydration and don’t like to eat fish, period. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@swamp_croc]

Honestly I think the vampires pack was one of the things they finally did right in this one. It gave me high hopes for the follow ups.. which became more of a short burst of "Ooo" and "Ahhh" and then fizzled out. There was no real goal to work toward.

[@d.d.ucheabba5461]

The goal for the Sims is $$$... if players didnt become bored quickly the xpacs wouldnt sale as quickly or in huge chunks at release...Sims Medevil had quests within quests...with options on who you played for those quests. I've played Sims since the first release and now its just a cashcow without real milk. Dont even care to play anymore or buy their fluff. Still appreciate you though.

[@2CraftySeniors]

Love Sims Medieval and still play it. I redesign the various buildings (not just furnishing them) as well, which gives me even more play time. :)

[@CHLOCHLOLP]

I really want to play sims medieval again but it crashes all the time for me RIP

[@misschaos4247]

I love that you bring up sims medieval, it’s a game I still come back to from time to time and whenever I do, I play so much of it, I miss when sims would do something unique or different with their games, seeing it referenced at the sims college for history presentations made me miss all of it.

[@lumibean7494]

If they remastered Sims Medieval with the Sims 4 graphics but with Sims 3 and 2 options ect. I'd pay tenfold the price I paid for Sims 4 and its packs

[@gamegal1238]

I want a Sims Medieval remaster for current gen consoles. I was never able to play it, but it looks so fun.

[@8Tarkus8]

The Sims 3 is in a better state than 4 just for this reason alone: the game has no challenge, the Sims have no soul as they are all basically the same, and everything is super easy

[@PinkMarshmallows]

It's dumbed down for the masses.

[@lisah.1024]

I miss sims 3 and wish they would at least make it backward compatible on the Xbox One. I may just buy that new power pack for my old 360 just to play again. Sims 4 is a huge disappointment and unfortunately, I have the majority of the packs and add ons for this game.

[@gothiclolitavideos9818]

Also Sims 3 had the actual opportunities system where you'd get phonecalls with quests that could give you money or skill bonuses and continue to an opportunity chain like in world adventures and it was very nice. You didn't have to do them, but the option was there and it was those little random things thrown at you that kept the game interesting

[@gabbythesimsbuilder44]

I’d like to invite you to try my Mall of SimNation. Your input will be greatly appreciated! My ID is Yo Yogabby

[@reneematchett1212]

Yes!!! Add to that the fact that life events molded the Sims in 3. Even when you forgave your cheating husband, you still had the memory and it would occasionally make you mad.

[@fynngodhusen950]

I recently picked up Sims 3 for that exact reason. I didn't know what was missing, but playing it made it clear, and the difference is mind blowing. Sims 3 is a lot more engaging than 4.

[@phoebedenton123]

I just cannot handle the graphics. I LOVE the game. But the graphics kill me.

[@XxCatcocanutxX]

My first time playing Sims 3 last year took my engagement off of Sims 4 for MONTHS, I was definitely missing out. Slowly but surely getting back into Sims 4 since Eco Lifestyle came out so I could have an actual goal... But I just find myself playing Sims 3 for a lot longer.

[@moch.farisdzulfiqar6123]

@@phoebedenton123 put skin retexture, problem solved.

[@D0MiN0ChAn]

@@phoebedenton123 What kind of graphics bother you, though? Is it the skin tones or the default pudding faces? Everything else (environment-wise) looks way more aesthetically pleasing than TS4's oversaturated, cartoony style. At least imho 🤷‍♀️ There's tons and tons of default replecament out there and even more lighting mods to make the worlds even prettier.

[@rowenn1729]

Sims 3 is technically unplayable

[@CarlsSimGuides]

Something important that I regret leaving out. We also talked about branching gameplay, almost like a tree. You start with one idea, and when you max out you get some ability or have an easier time doing some difficult thing, and find yourself on to task #2. This leads to something else, and you wind up doing something totally different than what you set out to do. Additionally, cross-usefulness is nice in general. Collecting would be more popular if there were a use for collectibles. Gardening got a drop in usefulness as a player pastime when seed packets and less player intervention were introduced. There's a lot to this topic but I think there are many reasons a lot of players don't stick with their Sims very long. An extreme opposite of this problem is being OK with the gameplay as is but finding there is no reason to make a *second* Sim because they will just be so much alike.

[@krudmonger]

The only way I'm able to make the game remotely interesting to me is by trying to orchestrate an entire neighborhood of households simultaneously as they all go about their lives and goals, which also requires that I slow down the passage of time since the regular speed doesn't even allow for this type of playstyle.

[@GabrielSantos-rk2mc]

Man, I totally feel uninterested in playing the game after spending about a hour or so just creating a character to be "welcomed" by Vlad, pestered with earbuds and almost starving to death every day simply because I want to do other things other than work, sleep and ignore my Sim complaints about needing fun/social interaction.

[@sketchur]

Yeah - if seed packets were there the entire time, then my time spent collecting/grafting plants for so long now feels like wasted time. I miss the days where, if we wanted guides, then we turned to underground sites like Carl's. I can't stand being spoonfed by The Sims how to play their own game.

[@ravenoctober9936]

I personally started gardening AFTER the sims 3 just because it is much easier to find the seeds. I still wish there was a little more challenge to it, but i found ts3 gardening grueling since you have to really go out of your way for finding seeds. Which isnt realistic and also not great for when i want a sim yo do it casually. If really rare seeds were collectables that would be a nice mix. But personally i found myself gardening more in ts4. Obviously this is just my opinion and plag style and i appreciate people wanting that extra challenge. Just not my personal preference.

[@gabbythesimsbuilder44]

Everyone, I’ve felt the same angst as you and therefore I invite you guys to try my Mall of SimNation...my ID is Yo Yogabby. If you’re interested in retail you will LOVE this great financial opportunity for your Sims.

[@barbie_99]

when eco-lifestyle was released i was expecting to have more variarity in traits: for example, they always add "good" traits. all the traits are about "eco friendly", but what about something like "hates the enviroment"?... it would really make the game more interesting, because on your way to change the world you'd have to face some challenges, or change people's mind (not so easily) for me, it became reeeeeeally boring in just an hour or two of playing, and it happens with all the other EP...

[@barbie_99]

sorry for my bad english, spanish speaker simmer here 👋

[@veredberkin]

@@barbie_99 Your English is really good! No need to apologize. I agree with all your points. Wish they gave us a greater ability to create a "bad" Sim. It's really hard to make an evil/untalented Sim or even to create an Industrial world state...

[@BondhanClanner]

I can say Freegans is half good and bad. I mean, you buy something, then tense comes. But you do get better things when dumpster dive

[@homer_sexual]

This. It's like they only want us to make nothing but goody-goody, politically correct sims, the kind of people we should aspire to be in real life. But these are characters in a game, not real people whose actions have real life consequences. For every "good" path in the game, I feel there should be a "bad" one too. I've noticed that sims who have the erratic, mean or hotheaded trait end up always becoming my favorites because at least they aren't happy-happy and nice and positive all the time.

[@waifu_png_pl6854]

yeah, i expected the polluted neighborhood to be filled with lazy slobs that just dont care, maybe ones that i would have to convince to change sides? instead all i got to do was vote twice, each time with only ne vote: once because the npcs chose to have more trees planted and i cast just one vote because i could, the other for the community space to be turned into a garden because nobody voted on anything and my one vote was enough. two in game days later the nightborhood was green...

[@Kramer3410]

I feel like some older simers (including myself) just don’t get the same kick out of sims 4 as previous games. All those issues have been brought up a million times and I think sims 4 it is what it is at this point and won’t change. It’s not a game that I can play for hours, but I can build a house or create a sim, post a picture of it on reddit, and talk to some people about a common interest we all share. That’s the way I enjoy sims 4 nowadays.

[@CarlsSimGuides]

Yeah, I'm sure other people have noticed it a thousand times over. It struck a major chord with me because of my poor experience with Eco Lifestyle. I don't want to see it get WORSE and I hope if there is demand they will shift away from this direction.

[@122hsrfe]

And theyre making so much money off of selling weak packs, theyre not going to change. Sims 4 is the most popular yet because there's a lot of new simmers. So unfortunately for those of us that like the old game play, they'll probably keep it this way

[@Kramer3410]

Carl's Sim Guides I hope you didn’t take my point the wrong way, I strongly encourage sims 4 criticism! I agree that because the community is mostly non-gamers criticism is ignored and standards are getting lower with every pack. I’m seeing same issues over and over. I support your channel because you are one of the rare ones that are honest and brings up those issues. Community gives feedback; they should take feedback and improve. More and more it feels like they’re not listening to the feedback, that’s what I meant. I also wish other creators would consider the price of the pack when judging it, you and LGR are the only two I remember bringing it up.

[@brookexisxback]

Absolutely! I've been playing since Sims 1, and I can absolutely assure you that I couldn't stop playing sims 2 and 3, I loved them. There was so much to do in gameplay, and it seemed a much more immersive experience. And I find that some sims 4 packs, like realm of magic of vampires, I never replayed, I think it's because is like a one-way experience. Sadly it has become a cash cow, in my opinion.

[@D0MiN0ChAn]

@@122hsrfe I refuse to believe that Sims 4 is the most popular; maybe sales-wise, but within the community? Oh honey, Sims 2 & 3 would like to have a word with you 🤣

[@___anatm]

also, what really bothers me is that expansion packs don’t complement each other. is like playing a completely different game with wich one of them and is really hard to try and play them all at once.

[@e8t788]

Which emphasizes their shallowness

[@xxstaindrosesxx]

I completely agree. I dislike how they introduced off-the-grid in Island Living, but it would have made sense to have it combined with all the eco lifestyle stuff like the wind turbines, eco fuel, water reservoirs, and solar panels. And the Tiny Living pack should have been included in base game. Like I enjoyed the lot features, and a lot of people liked the Murphy Bed, but why does that have to be in its own pack?

[@jaweiss34]

Aside from not complimenting each other they all act like the others don’t exist. If you have all the packs you definitely notice the lack for another packs influence that would have made perfect sense. I download world revamps where people redo all the lots to include things from other expansions. So you can go to the magic realm and see more items than just base game plus the pack.

[@DarkMimii]

The only pack that complements another is Eco Living for Island Living... I actually call Eco Living the "40$ Island Living Patch" .

[@___anatm]

DarkMimii true! i feel like tiny living could also be part of eco living as well.

[@namaste_charlei]

I very much miss memories. I like the reminder of what happened to a Sim, especially if I'm playing different families. I want more than the family tree to remind me of what's going on in a family. Attraction helped my gameplay a lot in Sims 2. I would have a plot in my head but then it turns out one of my Sims gets on better with a different Sim. Ok, well, let's change the story. I dislike that the Sim I'm playing must initiate everything, especially romance.

[@anony1596]

I wish I could upvote this multiple times.

[@Sapphire-dw7sd]

I stopped playing the sims 4 (game play wise) I now just use it as a building sim. The Building is the only good bit about the whole game.

[@CarlsSimGuides]

I definitely see a lot of that, and you can tell even if you aren't super involved just by the things that people share most often. Sims making is also pretty popular just to pass the time.

[@skywalker6648]

That and I also like designing CAS for the gallery. Including fixing up those ugly NPC's you see in the game.

[@catharsismemory]

I actually do like some of the building mechanics. Kinda wish we could just pick up and move the houses back if you built it to close to the road in Sims 3

[@TD-cl3eb]

I have a huge problem with the money system in sims 4. I played for 2 days and ended up with 430, 986 simoleans simply by selling orchids, which I got via grafting. why should I ever go to work and get a career when I can just do gardening with orchids and get to the top tier in 2 days! I was doing rags to riches extreme, and the challenge was over so easily. So I hooked up with Caleb Vatore and had a bunch of vampire babies, but they don't even behave like vampires as babies. Sims 4 is really bland. It took me ages to be rich ins sims 2 and even 3. There were so many options too, with all this ginormous amounts of money, such as investing in buildings and buying out entire towns etc. In sims 4, once you are rich, that's it.

[@aturchomicz821]

This is true for the Sims 1, the Sims 2 and 3 though... Skill based Money earning was always the most efficent way of making money....

[@aturchomicz821]

@thanks guys i got 3 subscriber no vids and??

[@shesustho2880]

Tell me about it! My sim has over 3 million simoleans and I have NOTHING to spend all my money on! Once you're rich that's it

[@MarianadeOliveiraSaitu]

@@shesustho2880 Yes, and at the beginning you couldn't even gift other Sims, it was added YEARS later, and even then you couldn't gift simoleons, we had to wait a little more. And only now, after six years and close to the end of the game, is that we get a bill overhaul.

[@missacat5027]

Also if u got get famous you can get super easy rich by just doing music production. Atleast i always end super rich from this. it feels almost like cheating.

[@CristianGouget]

Honestly the only thing that makes me keep playing is roleplaying and making up stories... but it does get boring after a while, like you said in another video we players are like a god in the Sims 4 and we have to be in charge of everything. There are some mods that help but I guess I would like the game to surprise me or challenge me once in a while, make it feel like a lived in world where stuff happens and drama unfolds.

[@DoveJS]

Not to detract at all from the commentary, because it is quite empty gameplay, but have you considered trying a Wheel Spin for your saves? LilSimsie has done this twice and that really made things interesting for her LPs, plus it added a level of surprise. She chose things based on the general personalities she had in mind for her Sims and then rationalized what she got from the random number generator in the same way, which gave the narrative some cohesiveness. It might be fun to try out (especially if you allow for random deaths or pregnancy.) :)

[@skywalker6648]

Lol, I feel ya on that and though I mostly build things, I'm starting to get bored with that too. For ex. I finally checked out the new Eco-lifestyle pack. Some build items are nice, but as for gameplay, it actually made me want to stop playing (or building) in Sims4 even more :(

[@gabbythesimsbuilder44]

Cristian Gouget I invite you to try my Mall of SimNation and let me know your thoughts, please. My ID: Yo Yogabby

[@evelynd9240]

What I tend to do is stick to one world and hop between families. The thing is, there absolutely is no long-term goal, so I just end up creating stories about these families and then playing them out for as far as I can go before I get bored. Then I switch to a different family/household and do the same thing. So for one family, I basically created an ancient bloodline of spellcasters, and then one family is a newly-turned (to vampire) household, another is a teen living alone when his mother died to the Mother plant, one family has a father that is cheating with their next-door neighbor Eliza Pancakes (but the mom is actively a bitch) etc etc. And then, when I want to properly continue another household's story I switch back. But, there are so many people who don't play like that, and it really isn't fair to them.

[@moon_moodlet]

Could you give me the names of some of these mods?

[@LeoDeStino]

I think the real issue is that all the expansions doesn't feel connected. You get an aspiration and practically you go through the expansion. They don't have depth, they don't add anything meaningful in the gameplay outside of the expansion itself.

[@jordansabolish8521]

I was literally just saying that my problem with the Sims 4 is that all of the packs are so isolated and not well-integrated into the game and I think this video is a great example of that.

[@ChilliDogDave]

this is so true. sims 1,2 and 3 did this far better, you would install a pack/expansion, you get a new intro logo and thats it, you had to dive into what you plan to experience at your own interest. when i installed sims 3 supernatural when i got it a week early i was completely flustered by how much was infront of me because theres was no information on the net and no "push you into it" intro "quest". i had to figure it out myself or just experience the world thats got the additions, hell i didn't even see a super natural beside townie fairies when a full moon came and i got flustered with zombies! THAT is how you do an expansion, give a sly hint at whats new without shoving it down your throat, let it flow to the player at THEIR pace but let the world spawn some of the stuff so they can get little sniffits of it so they can get interested and explore. those start zombies really made me explore how to get more zombies and i started toying with alchemy and spells right then and then.

[@Yen-dc7nn]

That is so true. I have all packs for sims 3, but i didnt care about Into the Future. The most experience i did from that pack was the portal showing up on the lot. But when i was playinga legacy challengw the hologram of the futurist suddenly showed up in my house and even visited personally couple sim days later. I dont know why, but i got an opportunity about it, probably from building a skill or whatever but it was interesting enough to me that i think i might actually try and delve on that pack one day. Tho i havent yet coz i went back and played sims 2 again 😄

[@BlueLithiumxXx]

"something is missing" yeah, interesting gameplay sure is something...

[@ayanaivory5472]

As much as people like to rag on Strangerville, it was nice having an actual story and goals to look forward to. And to me at least, it was fun. If we had story progession like that to look forward to in a regular game without having to spend money to buy that sort of gameplay, then I think there wouldn't be so much dislike for the sims 4. Just my opinion.

[@m1ssbeliever314]

Strangerville is pretty cool but I also burned thru it in a couple hours when i was only focusing on that, its not the content its the longevity.

[@jm.ggonzalez2306]

Exactly, i feel like Strangerville was going through a good direction. But it could have been even better if after completing the main story and aspiration, you'd have side quests to know more about what happened, or maybe a situation where there were long term consequences to your actions. I feel like a similar pack that has a bunch of stuff to do is the selvadorada pack, but sadly because it doesnt count with a story progression like strangerville does, the whole temple search and archeology discoverings feels rather shallow

[@AlexiusDenelle16]

M.G Gonzalez yess ! I think side quest would’ve been really cool. Like maybe having to hang with certain people a bit. Having the option to have to finish the military career. Or even maybe the mother plant coming back at times and having to fight her with more sims and military career npcs

[@ayanaivory5472]

@@m1ssbeliever314 I agree. I wish they'd make it like they did the old console games like 'sims bustin out' or the sims 2 ps2 because they were actually goal oriented and you had to complete different things just to move on to the next part of the game. It gave us something to look forward to and I never got bored.

[@jstal3670]

strangerville was good but there was like no replay ability, i honestly like the packs with a forced storyline bc there’s literally nothing to do in the game

[@rolandbaldwin]

I needed your trademark brand of snark after watching James Turner and Deligracy being so upbeat. I love both of their channels but your choice of clips is always the best. I need to get a cat to eat a hamburger cake now! No you do not complain all the time. I actually think you should do stand up or something. You are incredibly funny. It took me three hours to get from beginner in magic to mage so you are absolutely right about that one. Still the practical spells are great for housework. I usually compartmentalise my families by pack. I have a showbiz family, a magic family and my legacy family whose kids are spreading out into the world.

[@ivanbarrena1545]

Ugh it pains me to see Deligracy and James Turner not using their platform to improve the game in a substantial way. They have *immense* influence and use it for trivial things, while smaller, vocal youtubers like Carl or Plumbella get treated like low-key haters sometimes 🙄

[@featherybee239]

James has said negative things in reviews on gameplay. But he is careful with his phrasing. I think he'd most likely agree with a lot of what's been said here. End of the day, EA doesn't really listen to anyone.

[@catharsismemory]

Never trust Ea game changers, they are extremely biased and only say what Ea wants to hear to help increase sales.

[@idioticSusie]

@@catharsismemory i think that plumbella is a really good one. she hates certain packs and when she first had eco lifestyle, she did her best to make the world disgusting but nothing worked. even she said that that pack had been made to easy to make it better that it's impossible to make it worse. i generally don't like lil simsie but she has a lot of critisims about the sims buildings. how can a team, build so fucking bad.

[@What-fv1yl]

90% of the simmers on yt, or whatever they are, are SO boring to watch and fake saying they love everything from EA. Anyone that played ts4 knows they are lyin byt they still pretend. They are so unwatchable to me

[@sharpiemadness]

I went back to playing the sims 2 and oh my god what a difference. My lover sim has wants like “woohoo with 30 people”, running his own business is super hard, he’s passed out, had a mental breakdown, house broken into 2 times, and the repo man came twice. It’s amazing and I love it! When did the sims becomes to boring and easy. The sims 3 was even still pretty difficult when I did a “get the city pregnant without your wife finding out” goal. I miss how challenging this game was...

[@ArawnNox]

When I got Sims 4, one of my first reactions was "What? No burglar alarm?" Sims 4 is just so safe and easy.

[@elizasbusiness6442]

Romance sim kiddo lol

[@sharpiemadness]

Jessica Petersen thanks love. I’m 25 though, def not a kid 😉

[@masteroctagon6888]

Yes this video!! I felt like I was going crazy, seeing all this love for Eco-Lifestyle when I only enjoyed it for the first few hours of playing it!! It's just so simplified! The complexity of past Sims games is totally gone!

[@haleyferru9098]

I think it's really missing a Want system. I remember in the Sims 3, the wants would guide my game play. My Sim would randomly want to have 10 kids or buy the spa and, boom, there was my goal. In the Sims 4 I have to make up all of those targets

[@merchantfan]

Yeah it seems to driven by objects and not enough by personality or life stages. I was so thrilled when my Mean child actually wanted to tease her brother- though of course when she did they immediately when back to friendly conversation

[@Sirah1981]

The most amusing thing is that since TS2, the most popular long-term or goal-oriented gameplay had been user-created, specifically Legacy and Apocalypse challenges by Pinstar, which have later been embellished into Uglacy/prettacy, Disney legacy, Decades/History or Not your Berry challenges, but all have a legacy core. The ones that deviate from the "genrations of descendants doing stuff" are Black Widow and 100baby challenge (which also spans several gens but with a very different purpose). Plenty more challenges out there but these were the first ones to come to mind. Just makes it very clear that there are very little long-term goals yet simmers do want them and had to come up with them. Sometimes people think that simmers only do CAS or building or story-setting, but challenges prove that there's gameplay-oriented simmers out too.

[@CarlsSimGuides]

If you only did building well, eventually you would be left with a bunch of builders I suppose.

[@m.e.881]

Oh my goodness I love your profile picture! Takes me back to the good ol' days

[@Sirah1981]

@@m.e.881 It is in fact a remnant of a complaint against EA as well. When TS4 base game was still poolless and toddlerless people would put pictures of TS1 pools and TS2 toddlers everywhere to draw attention to it. I just like TS1 so much I never bothered to change it after TS4 got pools.

[@m.e.881]

@@Sirah1981 lol that's great. I didn't bother with ts4 until it was out for two years because of all those flaws (and I honestly wish I never sank a penny into it now), but I'm constantly pulling out my copy of The Sims Complete Collection and playing hours and hours of that, it's just a classic! Still so disappointed in myself that I gave away my sims 2 games and packs to all my friends once getting ts3, I've been craving some sims 2 for so long!

[@thefinalrampage]

Yes, I find myself forcing myself to play a legacy challenge and even then the world around you never develops any depth. You marry a Townie and nobody has skills. Thank goodness for mods carrying this community on it's back! We've been complaining since Day 1. I doubt things will change, yet they continue to Nickle and Dime loyal simmers. The 20th anniversary was when they really showed their true colors. Don't count on anything.

[@ellencampelo3383]

It’s frustrating, sometimes I don’t allow the rest of the world to grow, because at least the people they created to them have a tiny personality and aspirations or 1 skill point whatsoever

[@ShamuManta]

A F*cking HOTTUB?! An item used to promote a different pack, because hot tubs did'nt come with basegame?! just thinking about it makes me angry again.

[@ArawnNox]

@@ShamuManta Remember when the game shipped without toddlers and pools?

[@Hannah-sr6qz]

@@ArawnNox Oh my god don't get me started on the toddlers and pools. Wasn't their excuse for not having pools that they didn't work with the engine they use? But then miraculously, after everybody complains, they suddenly work in the engine and we get them? I know nothing about game development so maybe there was truth in that, but it doesn't seem like that. and the TODDLERS. How did they not include toddlers? If they weren't going to add toddlers, could they not have at least made the babies more than just an object that occasionally needs to be interacted with? Then when we get toddlers, you need to buy another pack to make the life stage actually have depth to it? The Sims 4 is a complete joke.

[@MarkusHansson]

I remember looking at the Eco Innovator Aspiration goals for the Eco Lifestyle pack, and noticed that they just gave up on the third milestone, all the goals are super easy to do except the last one which is just telling you to reach level 10 in the Civil Designer Career.

[@TalesoftheSolstice]

Sims 3 and Sims 4 are part of my tools for developing my paranormal fiction stories. These games are fantastic for helping build characters' appearances, in-depth personalities, etc., but I also like playing for fun when I'm not trying to develop a story character list and such. Long-term goals are definitely missing from Sims 4. At least in Sims 3, I can sit there for WEEKS building a horse ranch from the ground up over several generations. I wish they had brought back the horses in Sims 4 :(

[@DoveJS]

Same! I'd forgive Sims 4 a little more if they could at least give me horses again. I'm not even asking for them to be practical in all neighborhoods, just the one it should include (a horse ranch world with lots of routing.) They could also be useful for the ones with a lot of empty space around the lots to traverse, which isn't sensible but counts for a lot of the newer worlds, as well as Jungle Adventure. I suspect they haven't done this for the same reason that brooms weren't even as developed as the bikes are... EA is rushing things as much as possible and not really concerned with immersion or compatible coding (just look at the newer recipes without calories and all the other randomly forgotten stuff), so maybe it could happen eventually but if the window isn't still open and they don't have it on the list, we'll probably never get it. (That said, given that we do have bikes, I suspect we'll get cars long before we get horses, as a free update, if we ever get them, which sounds unlikely, but I can dream!)

[@fuzzypumpkin7743]

Here's the thing: there's no difference in long-term goals in the game code. It's US who have changed. TS3 didn't have a scenario built in guiding you to create a multi-generational horse ranch. You took things that existed and made up that story yourself. TS4 has flaws...this just isn't a unique one.

[@12wer3wer9]

@@fuzzypumpkin7743 but in the Sims 3 you could if you were ambitious build your whole world up from the ground and change how everything functions. Where is that present in 4? We haven't changed. Every time I think that it's my fault that I get bored so easily with 4 I go back to 2 or 3 and have fun for weeks on end. Edit because of spelling errors :)

[@TalesoftheSolstice]

@@fuzzypumpkin7743 The point is, the tools aren't developed enough for us to feel like creating our own long-term gameplay will be worth it. At least with 3 we had the Challenges like the PlantSim thing and whatnot. Where is that stuff in Sims 4? I haven't seen it yet. Most of the long-term ideas I get have stemmed from trying to get my writing notes together anyways; the horse ranch came to mind because of the CAS tools to create our own coat patterns and such. We don't have the Color & Pattern Pickers in 4. They put way too much on players creating CC and recolors. Not every player is going to be able to do that sort of thing. I remember in Sims 2 we had to have a certain number of Friends on top of Skills in order to proceed in the Promotion ladder when it came to Careers. They removed the Friends Requirement in Sims 3 (which I was so GLAD to be rid of as it was a PITA having to rebuild friendships as they went down the scale and there times we needed 10 or more Friends to advance). They tried to make it more challenging with Sims 4: Get to Work which I actually like joining my Sim at work when I'm not antsy to make a dent in MY work, but they pretty much abandoned the challenges in the game itself after that from what i'm hearing. I do have the Vampire & Get to Work Packs thus far; my budget doesn't allow me to be fully caught up in one go nor as packs are released. I do watch playthroughs on YT at times and I can tell they put more on player-made CC than they did with Sims 3.

[@FaeMagic]

I liked horses too, but here’s the thing... Part of what made horses so strong in the open world is the fact you could ride your horse anywhere. The sims 4 is instanced based, which is probably why they cut it. I imagine horses feeling really clunky in the sims 4, and the fans would complained that it’s yet another ported over feature from the sims 3 that got watered down.

[@anthropomorphisis]

I bought Eco Lifestyle because I was like "this is it, this is the pack with a bit more depth" and played for literally an hour and went back to playing Sims 3. I will not be purchasing any new packs in the future until they introduce some sort of depth to the gameplay. I'm a terrible builder, so 99% of the reason to play is gone for me.

[@roque87]

I really wish Eco Living wasn't a expansion pack.. now they will just give us low effort dlcs

[@lisah.1024]

I completely agree with you. I miss Sims 3. There were more challenges and things to do. I played sims 3 on both PC and XBox 360 and had a blast. I even kept playing my 1st family for 6 generations till the file got corrupted and I wanted to cry. Now that I have all the achievements on the XBOX One, I'm scratching my head wondering what to do next. I've played through only 3 generations of the same family until my original sim finally died. I truly wish there were more to Sims 4. And I also felt like they went backwards from 3 to 4. In Sims 3 our minions bought cars and drove them around, their kids got picked up by the schoolbus. Sims 4 they ride a bike and occasionally ride it for 2 feet in the house before chucking it back into their inventory and both they and their kids vanish on the sidewalk going to school and work. *sigh* I miss Sims 3.

[@___anatm]

when that horrible trailer of eco life came out, i uninstalled the sims 4 and went back to 3, promising i would not spend more money on this game. then i saw all those amazing new features in the game play and bought the pack. i probably played for an hour as well, until i got super bored.

[@Hannah-sr6qz]

I wanna go back to the Sims 3 so badly. I had all the packs when I was younger, but back then they were on discs that came with paper codes and I managed to lose all the codes (before the days of origin), and the fact I'll have to pay for all the packs again, when I already did at one point, just puts me off. I'm trying to get into the Sims 2 since I got the ultimate collection. I'm hoping they do a collection like that for TS3 again so I don't have to buy the packs ahahah

[@bezimen1]

Hhaha knitting funni funni plush ooooo cyute beany o ahaha ugly rocking chair BUY NOW

[@stevej.8742]

I find I have to play rotational families to keep myself interested, and even then I still need a good handful of mods to keep things moving. I really wish they rereleased (reworked?) sims 2 for the 20th anniversary, that's the one I miss playing the most.

[@salemrealistic9748]

A remake of Sims 2 would absolutely be amazing. I'd pay what I originally paid for the Sims 4 (80 bucks at launch, ew) for it, honestly.

[@henryhunter9643]

The Sims 2 was interesting but a few things keep me from ever going back. 1: Only the family you play ages up. I ended up keeping a notepad with a tally of how many days I'd played each family. This sucked the fun out as there were a lot of families I didn't like playing, but it felt dumb to me that Alexander Goth was an Elder while Dustin Broke was still a Teen. 2: The lifespans are just too short for my taste. If there were a baked in way to extend them, that would be great. I imagine there are mods for this though.

[@D0MiN0ChAn]

@@henryhunter9643 You always had the opportunity to stop aging altogether in Sims 2 -- which is what I did when I started playing the premade families; sometimes, they were already about to age up after 1 day of playing them without me having the chance to fully "get to know them" in their current age. So I used the heck out of that simple cheat 😅

[@naomileggoneverland6267]

I would love sims 3 optimize😭

[@SilverHairedGirl]

I think the main problem is the base game. They've neglected major updates to gameplay since toddlers, I think? Everything else has been focused on Build/Buy and CAS. All the DLC packs do is pile stuff on top of a broken foundation. (I still say a trait/personality overhaul would fix 75% of the problem so you at least feel like you're playing a different sim with different relationship/dynamics each time). But the way they've been handling packs has been kinda contained? Like after you do it once, how much do you really want to do it again?

[@GAshoneybear]

I agree. If the trait system and the interactions were overhauled, that would solve like you said a good 75% of the problem.

[@Obsidianone831]

The other 25% would be to fix those social menus. Sometimes you have to go in 6 deep to get the one you need and 2/3 of the items are dumb and pointless. "Debate existence of vampires", "enthuse about fruitcake", "tell a story about sunset valley"....why? who cares?

[@SilverHairedGirl]

@@Obsidianone831 YES I've been saying this!! There are too many friendly socials and there's no scroll back so if you pass the one you want you have to go through them all again!

[@chloexianah3070]

Remember TS3, even TS2. I had a real connection to my sims. In Sims 3 i played families for years.

[@ArawnNox]

They had SO much more personality then, too.

[@BecsterDotCom]

Yup! To this day I still think about one of my Sims 2 characters!

[@karlagerman-skrinjaric6548]

I think replayability is a major issue in TS4. Most of my families are based on me wanting to do something or explore a special part of the game and once I do it I'm done. I've always felt the Lifetime wish system was better in TS3. And let's not even mention how's there's very little content on TS4. Let's just analyze how Vampires were introduced on TS2 and TS3 vs TS4... Plain cash grab.

[@ArawnNox]

I got Sims 4 as a free promotion and much of my gameplay has been focusing on trying out the traits and core aspirations and they're just so.... samey. Nothing unique happens. Its just "Go to work, come home, skill up, eat, sleep, repeat". The most fun I had was making a Mischief focused mean/evil sim because she went around ruining everyone's day rather than being constantly bland and nice. I picked up Get to Work on sale because I thought, maybe, the active careers would give me something more to do. And they do. However, they're still the same thing over and over again. I have yet to try playing a scientist and alien, but that'll probably be the last thing I do in Sims 4. I'm frankly about to go back to Sims 2 and 3 because there was so much more to the games and the sims themselves. So much more personality and I had way better stories to tell about what my sims got up to. There's still things in those games I haven't fully explored and I'm really looking forward to diving in to those neglected systems.

[@katiec7949]

@@ArawnNox the scientist career is pretty fun because you can make an evil clone of yourself and there is also sixam, the alien world, but yeah there isn't too much else there. get to work is really one of the better expansions

[@lethaeus.]

lets be honest: sims 3 packs last longer than sims 4 ones.

[@Iamjustherek]

Oh there’s definitely so much more depth! I mean look at World Adventures vs Jungle Adventure. In the sims 3 you get 3 new worlds to explore, new robust skill trees, new missions and goals built off of the base game, new items and treasure to collect, new CAS content, etc. That’s not even to mention the fact that you often had to travel back and forth to different locations just to complete missions or tomb crawls in World Adventures. Jungle Adventure only gives you one new location, some new CAS content, one set piece to explore, and that’s about it. It just doesn’t hold up to comparison.

[@jstal3670]

bruh even sims 1/sims 2 packs lasted longer then sims 4😔

[@What-fv1yl]

Ts4 packs does not last at all in the first place Im still surprised that people pay 20$or sth for 2 hours of New gameplay

[@noceur2191]

The sims 3 base game lasts longer than TS4 and all its packs combined

[@redwitch95]

It honestly feels like the Sims 4 needs a complete revamp of their design philosophy. The focus is entirely on unlocking new content as quickly as possible, and that makes the game feel really weak. It's quite sad, actually - as much as I *want* to like the Sims 4, the glimpses of gameplay I've got playing it at my friends' is so entirely different to the Sims 3. The Sims 3 got progressively better at endgame content, and I'll admit I'm a bit biased because a fair chunk of that came from the community with the dynasty challenges. But like you said, real estate got added (in an expansion pack or a patch?) on top of the lifetime rewards system which came with the game. In the Sims 3, it took weeks to establish a newly created family as financially stable, let alone successful, whereas that comes way too quickly in the Sims 4. It feels like the Sims 4 focuses on the breadth of gameplay at the expense of depth despite the Sims 3 handling them both quite well. I'm not sure when EA decided to change things or why, because the Sims was already wildly popular between 2 and 3 and they were both quite complicated and deep systems, but it's quite clear they have and don't seem to want to change it any time soon.

[@kitcross]

I think what gets me the most--aside from... the fact there are still people who will blindly purchase every single pack and see nothing wrong with it, which is fine. Like... it's your money and if you want it, because it brings you those few hours of blissful distraction from everyday bs, that's great! Enjoy your purchase and do what makes you happy, friends!!! But more than that, it's this realisation that... EA wholly relies on the GameChangers to sell their products. All of us were confused and not impressed by the Eco Lifestyle (also ffs, *why did they change the naming pattern*). Some Game Changers were genuinely excited because they thought they could play in a disgusting, smoggy world. Some were skeptical. Some just wanted the cool build items (most of us all agree the build items are about the only good coming out of it at this point). But come early access videos... some things were cleared up! We were *kind of* shown what Eco Footprints were. We were shown that "holy sh^t it's harder to make the world industrial than green". We were shown that some of the unique items through Dumpster Diving (callback items) and Fabrication (admittedly, some of those have really cool designs) are actually *really amazing*. (I am personally still confused by Fabrication isn't like... in part, an extension of handiness that could have utilised whatever craft skill we get with Nifty Knitting is going to be to make different cloth patterns for furniture??? idk also juicing being separate from Mixology. like... you're basically just making moonshine.) Regardless, if you go on *any* GameChanger video... you'll find people either solidifying "I'm not buying this until the patch it" or "You convinced me to buy this when I was skeptical!" EA isn't marketing to a broader fanbase--it's relying on the charisma of it's guinea pigs (GameChangers) to keep people interested. And even that's starting to backfire, because *everyone* has mentioned that they dislike something about this pack. Every time we get a new world, Lilsimsie sets out on a quest to fix the buildings. James will give BB a fair shot but still criticize when something doesn't quite work (those doors and windows that only really work in Specific Instances). Plumbella pulls absolutely no punches. Pixelade, try though he may to be optimistic, gets torn down by the salt of the community and people wonder why he doesn't do LPs anymore. You and LGR give indepth gameplay and impact reviews. It's late and I'm not sure where I was going with that, but... my point was, the SimTube community is amazing and y'all deserve all the nice things in a world and a lot better from the company that's using y'all as advertisement.

[@PinkFox983]

thanks for being one of the only people who doesn't accuse the game changers of lying about packs, because they ARE very critical of EA, they're just try to be constructive about it (and apparently that means their brown-nosing or something). I actually also want to mention that I think ea purposefully gives them VERY limited early access so that they don't catch on to how shallow gameplay is before it comes out. Island living is a good example of this. The game changers got, like, 6 hours at sims camp and they didn't even know what the pack was before going in. they all thought it was great because they got so little time and we all know ts4 is good at giving the illusion of depth. then it came out and it turned out to be by far the shallowest expansion to date, and everyone called the game changers liars, which is super unfair, because they were basically tricked.

[@SilvyReacts]

Personally I think one of my biggest issues with game changers is they rarely ever talk about the pricing which I think with how expensive Sims 4 DLC tends to be, really should be talked about more. The problem isn't just the lack of long-term gameplay opportunities but the lack of content in general for how much you are paying. To be frank, I don't even understand why people continue to buy it. I am livid when I see the price to get all the DLC lol. What is it ... over $600 or something like that now? Even on sale they are not cheap. Most games with dlc come with far more content, and are often cheaper even than EA's sale price. More often than not you can get a season pass for he price of a single Sims 4 DLC. Don't even get me started on all the bugs that never seem to get fixed in the game. Anyway, I do know the Game Changers get the dlc for free. So maybe it creates a bit of a disconnect with the value of it all. When you have to pay for something you tend to be more critical of the product at the price than when you get it for free.

[@merchantfan]

Yeah it's still so telling that (1) they didn't notice the balcony problems I guess until the GameChangers noticed it when building and (2) their solution was to permanently make it so you couldn't use the balconies for anything.

[@ParasiteQueen1]

I uninstalled it last week. I loved the that they dug a little deeper with Parenthood and Seasons, but really, there's not much depth. I can use that 20GBs+ for other games.

[@magalimizuki3752]

You can get Skyrim, Mass Effect, State of Decay and Just Cause with that big of GB tbh.

[@YellOw139]

My advice: Get TS3. Preferably all of it. It will fill up those Gigabytes with something worthwhile. It's got goals, personality and depth, and with a modern PC and the custom Sunset Valley 2020 world you can download for free, lag is absolutely gone. It's got more content too, base game, expansions and all. For $40 you can get Late Night, which basically includes City Living($40), Vampires($20), Get Famous($40) in one pack, not counting bands which aren't a thing in TS4.

[@YellOw139]

Not to say you also get cars and open world, more careers in the base game, Create a Style.

[@jstal3670]

Yell Ow the packs are actually $20 not $40 anymore but you’re absolutely right sims 3 is better in every aspect i could care less about the “better graphics”

[@YellOw139]

sim rat I haven't bought packs for TS3 in years, but thank you for pointing the price point out!

[@ReplicatorFifth]

As, always, a good take on the issues with Sims 4

[@xx_emma_xx4357]

When I saw realm of magic I thought there was gonna be some sort of boss to fight so u can restore the realm to its ordinary state but nah they just used that as a reason to why the realm looks the way it dose Not just that but I thought that when u completed it you would have the chance to become sage or whatever and would be well respected within the magic community again that was a no from the sims team like I had such high hopes for realm of magic but when it came out I was a lil disappointed. Name packs you had high hopes for but was disappointed

[@deebraun7488]

For me, I've been disappointed in every dlc except Island Living, but to be fair, I expected to dislike that one and it was a pleasant surprise that I didn't. I believe I expected it to be glitchier because Island Paradise made 3 unplayable.

[@Mai-tai-]

Island living for sure! Sure it works but its half the pack island paradise was

[@namaste_charlei]

Island Living. Eco Lifestyle made me realize how empty Island Living. It saddens me to hear that gameplay for Eco Lifestyle, in the end, is still lacking.

[@ShamuManta]

The Sims 4 basegame.

[@mundanephysics521]

It feels like so many of the Sims 3 packs actively changed gameplay, but most of the Sims 4 packs end up adding one a specific sequence that you'll only be in for like an hour and not want to go back because there's nothing else to do...

[@lacrymos]

Theres literally nothing to do, what the sims 4 adds is objects, objects that they call ''gameplay'' when nothing about objects is gameplay, I want things to happen naturally, I want more drama around the town, I want townies to be more impactful, I want natural relationships, crushes, I want generation style gameplay, I want to stop wasting 40 dollars every month for lackluster packs that add nothing to the game, this new pack, you guys can say whatever you want about it, buts its useless. point, blank, period. After you eat out of a wall for 3 days you are OVER it, I want fun things to happen naturally, why can we not get anything.

[@katiec7949]

exactly. i wish things would happen more spontaneously and naturally, like how kids and teens can meet friends in school. it would be cool if sims could do that at work too or maybe be invited by their coworkers to go out to eat or something. also having literally anything with a lasting impact on the game would be nice.

[@YellOw139]

Fabricating in TS4 is literally a more modern version of woodworking that gives you more objects. And they call it gameplay? Yes, I needed to say this.

[@jennifer386]

one thing that bugs me is that i can’t have love triangles bc instead of the love interest getting mad at the other love interest they mad at my sim

[@kate03-]

And most of those objects are decor pieces😞

[@sarahhumphrey9984]

It seems like it would be so easy to implement a skill challenge system like in Sims 3, and would motivate me to play differently. I’m just so tired of waiting for Sims 4 to “catch up” to previous iterations.

[@raiahy]

That's why I like and play the Sims 3 waaay more. Glitchy or not, it has so much to do, so many long term goals to set, not the mention the open world. Sims 4 is just pretty.

[@D0MiN0ChAn]

I'd argue that it's not even that pretty -- it's cartoonishly oversaturated, kind of tumblr-esque with its aesthetic. I was beyond disappointed when TS4's graphics were revealed; definitely not my cup of tea 🤷‍♀️

[@pcdlee6536]

honestly, the only good thing I can think of sims 4 is just how conviennent stuffs have become like easier build/buy mode, easier cas, and the multi-tasking. but overall, sims 3 just wins. I just hope smth happens so that they'll fix their shitty codes in it and help the game run smoother for longer times.

[@DarkMimii]

Shortly I realized that in Sims 4 I feel like a dog, waiting for my Sims to come back home to play again, in Sims 3 I actually waited at their work oder school for them to get out and explored the world with them, when the were stressed out, we hopped in for some wellness, after a fishing trip we stopped by at the shop to sell those fishies or buy some ingredients for dinner.... The only thing I´d love to have in Sims 3 from Sims 4 is the ability to visit the other worlds too, I wouldn´t mind a loading screen for that if I could roam around freely after that. In Sims 4 I barely leave the house, bc I hate the loading screens -.-

[@catharsismemory]

@@D0MiN0ChAn true graphics was one of the many reasons I didn't buy it. I was not about play this game with sims lacking depth and walking around with Lego/playdoh hair

[@flohwalzer]

ikr, btw The Sims 3's open world is so beautiful.. i downloaded Twinbrook (ts3's city) yesterday and ITS SO GORGEOUS FDJKSJKFJKG

[@vsm6847]

It was so exciting that they actually fixed bugs and added fundamental things like firefighters in the most recent patch. Then NAPs happened and broke the entire game, firefighters don’t even work, and we’re reminded all over again of the toxic relationship we have with the content cycle of this game. I’m officially fed up.

[@elid5424]

a fire happened in my house yesterday and 1. you can't even talk to the firefighters and 2. they just stood at the door so long my whole kitchen almost burned down. my sim had to put the fire out themselves and they didn't even give us enough money to pay for everything

[@HughLlewellyn]

Yeah, I'm really pissed we've had the update, and TWO patches to fix major problems and they STILL haven't fixed the masses of idiotic bugs they introduced. I've been holding off on updating, as much as I want the new stuff they gave us, I don't want to deal with the damned BUGS. And I'm not buying Eco Lifestyle. Meh.

[@Jess-nc4oy]

I think the ts4 is too structured, it needs more sandbox elements. More open ended rather than an end game. TS2 open for business expansion is still the best example of this. I do agree we need high end items and clothes, and hair styles you have to buy. they can give you sim a moodlet and others around can be impressed or not depending on their traits.

[@Ducreuxs]

What I love about TS2 is that your sims not only have an aspiration and wants, but they also have a lifetime want that takes a lot of time and effort to achieve. You can't just spam a bunch of interactions and complete them in a day. I also liked that you couldn't pick them yourself, it made the sim character feel more alive. I wish something like that could be brought to TS4.

[@dannydanbo58]

I totally agree with all of this, especially the seven BIG words. I also think you touched on the major issue. Sims 4 is being made for newbies. People who haven't played the Sims before or play any games very often in an attempt to lure more players with money. That's not necessarily a bad thing except that they are totally ignoring the OG's that are die-hard players from day one. I'm bored. I don't play at all after one day with a new pack and what I loved to do, build, doesn't even interest me anymore because why spend time building in a game I won't play anymore? I could cry "DEV'S, FIX THIS!" but you and I know they won't. I think the devs care about the game, I just don't think they care about pleasing the OG's anymore. I get more satisfaction from playing June's Journey on Facebook than I do from a game I have literally spent hundreds and hundreds (I'm too frightened to add it up) of dollars on. When they have ruined a great game and turned it into a Facebook game, I'll probably play again.

[@barbiquearea]

One other thing the Sims 3 did right was having loads of aspiration rewards which increased by the added expansion pack. You get cool perks like Steel Bladder (which was also included in Sims 4) or useful items like the mood manager. In Sims 4 you don't get many equipable perks and the only items you can get are just potions. They should add more stuff in your aspiration rewards to add more stuff you can spend your aspiration points on.

[@ArawnNox]

Some of the perks always bothered me, though. Like, never hungry and always clean. You can get such good moodlets from eating, bathing and so on, why would you freeze the need down to almost no decay?

[@flohwalzer]

@@ArawnNox yeah but these are the cheapest, you dont need to buy them.

[@shaelynmartin1996]

It definitely feels like Sims 4 was created for builders specifically in mind with not much thought put out for those of us who either A) Don't like building or B) Suck at building. For example, I can compare the reactions of the KZbin Sims community in three bubbles in terms of Eco-Lifestyle: The Simmers who only have barebones nitpicks and adore the pack are all builders. The Simmers who are frustrated with the pack and find literally all the bugs are the non-builders. The Simmers who find this to be a middling pack with its good and bad are a mix of both. But the biggest thing is who each bubble explains their like or dislike. Builders are praising the materials and new building features. Non-Builders are ripping it apart for game-breaking bugs and lack of depth. The mixture say it's good for building stuff, but horrible for gameplay. EA is literally dividing their fanbase in half.

[@jennifervercezes]

Not even for builders, I am a builder and I completely felt the lack of anything to do there in the game There's not even cool stuff to build if not with mods I want to build a victorian house w modern influences, not a blandness of a knitting gradma house

[@anasshole6976]

Dude i really want a long term carl lets play, building a story.Hearing that voice gives me joy.

[@Draconicrose]

I'd love to see Carl 100% the game!

[@kjan917]

Seriously, his Super sim lets play was my favorite thing ever!

[@MarqZePancakeNinja]

I had to impose limitations on myself with RoM. I made it to where I had to be friends with the specific magic school guru...person before my sim could ask to become a spell caster. Then higher friendship was required to get more stuff, like best friends to ask for a potion recipe. Self imposed limitations are the only way that I can lengthen game play of a pack. I miss wants and fears from TS2. Those drove a lot of my game play, even when I had a story in mind for my starting sim(s).

[@indecisive.325]

Carl spitting the truth with every video

[@CarlsSimGuides]

I'm glad that other people agree and hope this desire to see things change isn't pointless. I do have my hopes for 5 that they will try to bring back some of the veteran players.

[@poweredbytofu713]

I get down on myself thinking I’ve changed and why don’t I enjoy the Sims 4 but it’s not us.. it’s EA 😡 I was obsessed with 1, 2, and 3.

[@calamorta]

So sad to see how all player bases hate EA... They release bad games and profit from selling expansions and other DLCs (aka micro transactions) later. It's not you. It's EA. All their recent games suffer from the same curse, but unfortunately this works. Just check how much profit they made after they started taking this approach. It's mind-blowing tbh. They have a franchise named FIFA (soccer/football games), one of the guys responsible for its growing profitability (they started to botch the offline game modes and focus everything on the micro transactions game mode) is now the CEO of EA as a whole. I don't need to say more... They make much more profit now because fans take a while to stop buying a game. We like to give them 2, 3, 4 second chances.

[@madydoll213]

There's something missing...is it a coupon because the prices are lowkey insane

[@xx_emma_xx4357]

Sam I bet the sims developers were like -surprised pickachu face- when they realised close to no one was interacted in eco lifestyle lol yet it costed what £30.99?

[@palletlover8519]

That's why I only buy packs if it's like 50%

[@rhyliemasons7957]

Yeah, now I only buy the pack in bundles. A few days ago eco living became available for bundling and it's been less than a month! I feel bad for all of the people who spent the full price for the pack.

[@SilvyReacts]

@@rhyliemasons7957 I feel bad for people who buy it at all if I am being honest. Even the sale prices tend to be more expensive than most other games DLC which more often than not contain way more content too.

[@ArawnNox]

You want insane? Go look at the prices for the DLC for Sims 3. They're STILL at full release price.

[@BoogerBoy365]

Notice how KZbin sim builders love sims 4 and how KZbin game-play simmers have been pretty quiet with some complaints. It’s because there is nothing to do and each pack is surface level. It’s shallow, it’s stale. I’ve promised myself not to buy anymore packs for sims 4 because no pack is going to fix the game. It’s like a band aid on a bullet wound.

[@e8t788]

And the builders all say they used to play and don’t anymore

[@MadivDam]

Im a builder and I don’t play the gameplay anymore, the last time I played was before the pandemic started and now I build and play the sims 3 again. Sims 4’s house builds even get boring cuz all the good building content we must buy and it costs 3 months of my allowance. My parents literally laugh at me when I tell them what one expansion costs

[@syds8752]

Agreed. I’ve sat out the last two or three packs

[@haleylitman9654]

I hate that there’s no story progression. My families only have children if I’m immediately playing with them and that is not fun. I liked Sims 3 and the way they handled that

[@ashwitshetty5003]

A building will always be out of balance if the base isn't built right

[@teph1256]

I liked the sims 3 special rewards for skills. like make more money if you know every guitar song or make better meals if you know every recipe for cooking

[@CarlsSimGuides]

Yeah! I brought up that Sims 4 needs Sims 3's skill challenges system or something like it in another video last year. It's actually one of the 5 I mentioned in the end. Those made you really work to finish off the objectives, and they were kind of the substitute for aspirations in combination with a Lifetime Wish. Aspirations being made easier just kind of tanked that system.

[@glranboo]

The only thing that makes me have fun in the sims 4 is imagination, I imagine they say this, I imagine they do that because there is no real actions, no real story development, is like playing with dolls

[@sketchur]

This is how I felt with Jungle Adventure, except it lasted at least 8 hrs of straight gameplay, and it was awesome the entire way through. I still love Jungle Adventure!

[@katiec7949]

agreed, i think jungle adventure is by far one of the better packs TS4 has released because there was actual danger but also reward in completing the quests

[@henryduong4728]

I'm no longer excited about these packs. I just like to watch videos like this.

[@12ush.]

I really, honestly hate how expansion pack traits are. They're always too on-the-nose; like the traits are ALWAYS centered to what the pack has to offer, so, if you're wanting to play with nothing to do with a certain pack you're once again stuck with the same old traits that you've always had. Island Living is a perfect example. The only new content personality-wise you got from that pack is ALL centered around the beach and beach-living. So, if you're not planning on living in Sulani or doing anything beach-related, the only things those traits do is take up space. They're just there; literally none of the Sims that I've created since Island Living came out has an IL trait or aspiration because I only use Sulani as a sort of getaway world rather than a place to actually live. The traits that come with packs are just too pack-centered and unusable after you've finished the pack. They really need to work on making things less pack-centered.

[@oswinaltava]

THANK YOU! I've been thinking this for a long time, I have DOZENS of saves where I make a sim, all excited about a new career or skill I want to try with this sim or their family, play for a few hours and then never go back to them because the game is far too easy in comparison to past sim games. The emotions don't create a challenge, the skills are easy and repetitive, there's no challenge or long term goal to strive towards. Getting money is easy, building relationships is easy, hell the only thing that creates a challenge in the game is getting them to die, in past games that would add to the challenge and the fun of it but I literally made a family with the goal of having them all die simply because it was the only challenge in the game I could think of. Just earlier I was watching a Sims 3 stream and thinking how Sims 4 is so much more family friendly, almost too family friendly to the point where it feels like the overpriced packs and constant glitches feel like it's alienating old players. I love the graphics and CAS and how easy it is to build, and Sims 4 got me through some hard times but at the end of the day there's a reason I can think of a goal to set for myself, play for a few hours, then not touch the game for a month, because it provides little reason to go back to it

[@milagrosarroyo5698]

I agree and that causes boredom and loss of interest in the game itself

[@Rianoa19]

I think the problem with The Sims is the monopoly EA have of the life simulation genre. You can't go anywhere else for that kind of game, only go back to the previous entries. I loved all the previous games, though the Sims 4 is different. It is clearly just lazy at this point, with no company to challenge them to bring them in line. All the previous entries expansions have been divided into stuff packs, game packs and expansion packs. For example Laundry day, Tiny living and Eco lifestyle could easily be one pack. Yet we keep buying them as there is nowhere else to get this kind of game. Which is why we buy the packs thinking, maybe this will be the one that makes the game like the Sims used to be.

[@sof9005]

The Sims community has a stockholm syndrome relationship with EA

[@christinalynch7855]

Yeah... I give myself artificial longevity by avoiding much of the different gameplay entirely untill later or for the next generation. Like doctor or scientist I haven't gone through much yet. Never been a vet or most of the jobs. I just did Strangerville not long ago and it was fun... once. Never do it again, of course. There isn't anything hard to achieve unless you force it. Unfortunate.

[@The-Sims]

Thanks for voicing what we all think. EA doesn't care. They didn't care two decades ago, and they don't care now. They have mindless fans as minions that come and defend them publicly when they screw up. The only thing that Electronic Arts cares about is making money, and maintaining dominance. They lost SimCity because of not caring. I'm an architect (a long time ago) so I really build. Game play isn't a huge thing for me. There are some really bad bugs that never get fixed. They never go back to fix anything unless it really stops game play. Also ... why are rocks so expensive? There are so many stupidly priced things in the game that could and should be adjusted.

[@rachray83]

Yep and simmers have been saying it for YEARS. All exp packs are basically just a rehash of previous packs and nothing new, other than a few things, verses Sims 4 picking up where 3 left off, Yes already including everything that came before. Im still waiting for the ability to run a private practice as a doctor not just pets, the gameplay is already there. I think a lot of little changes could increase the replayability-ness

[@CarlsSimGuides]

That's a great idea, yeah. It really is all there, just need to be able to let players customize the building and run it like retail with employee management. Those are the kinds of options that are very fun for players and could definitely cost a good bit up front (one of many ways to work out money problem).

[@AllieAndPeach]

We need something like Sims 2 Stories: story lines or quests (as in World Adventures) that would result in change in behaviour and added memories and traits. Imagine experiences actually affecting your sims! It could be all from having a crazy boss to your kid having a hard time with friends or whatever.

[@katiec7949]

honestly what a dream, wish ts4 would add something like that. they already have that weak memory system that is just screenshots and photos you've taken. it would be so cool if sims had a good holiday or went somewhere and then sometimes got a random moodlet thinking about how that was fun or stressful or angering. and added traits would be amazing, like the unlockable ones except they're given naturally based off of what your sim does/experiences

[@jstal3670]

the sims stories series was one of my favorite sims spinoffs

[@lornaperez]

“Even non gamers enjoy having goals to work towards” = yes!!!!

[@sethg1116]

I feel like when they dumbed down the aspirations it killed a lot of the incentive for gameplay, like idk, I remember them actually being hard? And there was cool goals like watch a sim die, now it's just basic tutorials of the new content, the island living one for instance was a joke Idk, I feel like I have to play this game now is with basemental's mods, having an addict Sim who is constantly pissed off or an ADHD Sim who just gives up and is constantly fighting against you is just a lot more fun too me. I hope someone brings back the older aspirations through a mod, they were a lot more fun then what we have now

[@LisaW509]

For the amount of money they want for each TS4 EP, they really should put more thought into them. It makes me really miss TS2 and TS3.

[@missbilbybadinage1199]

I think gardening activity and legacy challenge are the only long term things, if the player is into those.

[@svetodd882]

Most of my Sims garden or collect...and yes,i play 100 baby challenge...the rest of gameplay is boring for me...

[@liliespetals19]

I despise the tutorial goals so much. As always, relying on the mod community and challenge creators is the only way to keep going

[@Obsidianone831]

I really despise the goaled parties. Remember in Sims 2 all you needed to have a great party was increase friendship meter with everyone just eating, talking, using the hot tub, dancing, maybe someone would woohoo at your party! Now its "have 3 sims be playful" or "have 4 sims eat cake". Boring. Especially the black and white party. It's just discussing things black and white were the items you need are buried in a social menu that is 6 menus deep. How did the devs think that would be fun? It's like they have never heard of or ever played the sims. It's like they just developed the sims 4 while immersed in a bubble. There was one goaled event in sims2 that I remember and that was getting your kid into private school. Extra points if headmaster got in hot tub! Great fun!

[@merchantfan]

@@Obsidianone831 Yeah plus they don't update the parties to include new packs. A birthday party is basically the same as it was in the base game. And you have those a lot unless you want a bad moodlet

[@cami-qi9ts]

Funny that this shows up on my recommended as soon as I redownloaded the game to try it out again. Was laying in my bed watching LilSimsie and got that little spark that makes you wanna play a game that you haven’t in a while. I downloaded the Sims 4 and all the packs I had before I had quit. (I hate that I spent that much for them, too.) I got on, chose a family from the gallery, and customized them a little bit. (I envisioned the family I wanted when it was downloading.) I loaded them up and plopped them into Plumbella’s Willow Creek starter house. Made the mom a lawyer, the dad a doctor, the child a musician, and the toddler was just there. I played for a total of 20-30 minutes before I got bored. I had my tv on next to me and got more interested in a PG kids movie.....I’m a 21 year old.

[@aturchomicz821]

...

[@candiedskull9841]

This explains that empty bored feeling I get each time I boot up the Sims. After playing around with my first family in the base game for a while, I didn't have any desire in doing anything else other then build a few houses even after getting expansion packs

[@sea5063]

Yea. I've found myself getting bored with Eco Living already. The other day I was contemplating moving to another world with my family and then I was like "but wait, you've only just got here!" Already I've had enough of my surroundings :/ One problem for me is the world's are too small.

[@golgarisoul]

Aren't there magical bloodlines that take two or three generations to develop? But I honestly can't think of anything else that long term.

[@CarlsSimGuides]

Yeah, that does exist. They mostly get a head start on leveling up in Caster with extra perk points. The other benefit is less risk from Overload, but that feature only kills you if you're extremely negligent.

[@trude8073]

I didn't know about this. Can anyone explain?😅

[@fuzzypumpkin7743]

@@trude8073 Children of a spellcaster get a Bloodline trait. It starts at Weak and over the generations grows in power, as long as each character goes through a rite of ascension.

[@Draconicrose]

It is a good idea that is immediately undermined by how easy being a master spellcaster is and how difficult it is to overload your caster.

[@vsm6847]

That’s a very cool idea in theory, but with ROM it just serves to make the game easier and easier, and caster is already full on cheat mode.

[@lageylagso8048]

I remember playing sims 3 and putting time into the game to get 200000 simoleons to buy a care but in sims four there's nothing to save up for and money is much easier to get especially through painting

[@KennethStokes]

I played the sims 3 with all it's packs yesterday and remembered how fun it was to have open world and even just a little story progression, which is what the sims 4 is lacking. Nothing seems to matter in the sims 4, and they say they want to leave it up to the player to create their own stories but it's just their lack of programming. That's why packs don't interact with eachother that much. Like why can't my sim use the protest option from city living in eco life to make a difference. There's no life long consequences or memory system. It's just good we wont have to wait too much longer for the sims 5.

[@ArawnNox]

They dont even have the storytelling support of sims 1 and 2. I remember the websites where people uploaded their sims stories and being enthralled by the creativity of the players who wrote all these engaging stories, even it if was just chronicling a Legacy Challenge. That support started to fall apart with the lackluster website of 3 (You had to manually upload screenshots outside the game and they'd break if your story had more than like a dozen pages) and its non-existent with 4, despite it's initial marketing being all about storytelling.

[@crimsoncat8244]

Newcrest was the closest thing I could think of to a long-term goal, because the world was COMPLETELY empty. The Newcrest challenge (I think fandom made that), where you had to make all the neighbors, homes, and community lots, gave you both a reason to play a single household for a long time (start from an empty lot, make a genuinely nice house for them without cheating) and also a reason to play multiple families in one save file (because you have to build not just one lot, but ALL of them). And since your aesthetic is never going to be the same as another person's, Maxis can't guide you to say "okay now make this one like this, and make that one like that". You have nothing more than a premise to go on, there's no hand-holding. The problem is, that's very repetitive gameplay (get some money, build a room, get more money, buy a tv, so on and so forth) and any incentive to actually enjoy it is on the player. The player has to be able to trust themselves to not make all sims have the same traits, careers, skills, relationships, etc. If there's something missing (such as a gym, which is needed in one of the aspirations), the player can just pop into another neighborhood for 20 minutes. There's not enough in-game story-telling and the player has to do it all themselves, but the sims 4, by itself, is not inspiring enough to do that. As a matter of fact, even the player-derived challenges, like legacy runs and rags to riches, all just feel like variations of each other, because the gameplay loop itself isn't variant enough to support multiple playstyles, and that kills sandbox games.

[@nickroden9468]

I find myself constantly going back to Sims 2 and the Sims Medieval, because they make the story telling and gameplay important.

[@beverlylee6357]

This guy is quickly catching up to LGR as my fav Sims content creator.... Almost.

[@moch.farisdzulfiqar6123]

Carl would be the best informative simmers if only he made video since The Sims 3 day. Just take a look at his website, he's not simply promoting or point out a flaw in game, but break it down its features for you. That's dedication.

[@Zothiqueness]

It's gotten to the point that I buy packs and barely play them. I'll just look at the new clothes/build items, maybe play a couple of hours in the new jobs or whatever then go play something else. I'm so bored with the Sims 4. Eco lifestyle is just gross. Why do they do this?

[@Nobbejo2]

This sums up everything! I only play every expansion few days until I don't know what to do anymore. Cats and dogs was one of the biggest letdowns for me because there wasn't any goals at all. You can't even control the pets or do anything with them. They just roll on floor and eat food.

[@GustavoFernandesKing]

(and they also reveal EVERYTHING on trailers and livestreams)

[@stuartvandermerwe8548]

Thank goodness I goof around with mods to make the game more interesting :3 But yeah, I honestly agree with what you are saying in this vid.

[@xx_emma_xx4357]

Stuart Van Der Merwe yea but think of people with toasters for computers that can’t have 0 mods without crashing every two seconds lol (Someone like me) so they have to play the game with only expansion packs

[@DoveJS]

@@xx_emma_xx4357 There are several mods that fix horrible bugs/glitches in the Sims 4 and they could keep your game from crashing, as long as you don't install conflicting mods (and they'll usually tell you what it modifies so you can check if it would conflict.) Even simple package mods can sometimes fix major issues. Back in the day, I needed mods and repaired worlds to keep Sims 3 from crashing on me constantly (and they're still recommended if you continue to play Sims 3.) So, it honestly just depends. You might be surprised at how helpful CC can be.

[@lisah.1024]

Also those of us who play on Xbox where mods aren't allowed and enabling the few cheats we can use disables the ability to obtain the game achievements.

[@salemrealistic9748]

It frustrates me that I should have to modify the game in order to have a good time :/

[@ArawnNox]

I find it hilarious that an Adult mod makes relationships have more depth and are harder to form. Also adds in a version of the old attraction systems.

[@tabytastick]

I can't wait for you to rip apart nifty knitting. (I only said this for the pun, but I know we will always get a great review from you)

[@gabbythesimsbuilder44]

Carl’s Sim Guides: So I’ve began building shopping malls where the ultimate goal is to successfully run the mall by managing your employees, increase your customers, and keep your Sim from losing money. In addition to shopping and revenue, Mall of SimNation 1&2 are also great for employment opportunities.

[@nancyok]

"This is something youtube will probably show to people who dont already watch my channel" ITS LIKE YOU'RE TALKING TO ME DIRECTLY. Also, subscribed.