Changes from Sims 3 to 4: Fun, Interesting, Weird and/or Disappointing?

[Playalot]

To be honest I hadn't even thought about the moodlet manager until I read your post!
I really like the positive moodlets that a sim can get from upgraded showers/toilets/sinks etc as they really help with work promotions so I haven't thought about buying the rewards that stop needs decaying.
I guess different gameplay style for a different game. 

[MarianT]

@lindsaysoderburg, there is also a Moodlet Solver reward, which fills up all your sim's needs for about a day. It costs 500 points, though. It may also get rid of negative emotions that last less than 24 hours.

[lindsaysoderberg]

Another change from The Sims 3 to The Sims 4 that I REALLY like is that sim's traits are not as significant when it comes to careers and skills.

It removes the stress of choosing the "right" traits for the career you want for your sim and evens the playing field when it comes to both career choice and skill building.

On the other hand, sim's traits are more significant when it come to their overall mood and personality. It makes them a little more fun and unpredictable.

Overall, I feel that the sim's traits in The Sims 4 have a much more appropriate role in the game, and they contribute significantly to bringing each sim "to life." It's great to watch your sims spontaneously act according to their personality traits. It makes the game more dynamic, and I think that's a good thing. 

[lindsaysoderberg]

I really like that if you call a sim to chat, your relationship with them visibly improves in the relationship tab.

I also really like that you can call someone to chat when you have 0 relationship "points" on the meter. Then, after you chat, they have a small amount of relationship "points," and that enables you to "Invite to hang out on current lot" from the phone.

It makes it much easier to make friends and also to resurrect lost friendships.

[Blucher]

I pretty much like all of the changes, esp. the super fast loading times.  The game runs like a dream compared to Sims 3.

There are a few things I'm disappointed with, this go-around.

Mainly, I wish they had improved sim AI/autonomy more.  They go to work (if you make them get a job), and they will take care of their needs.  They will chat all day and goof off on the computer...  But essentially they won't really do anything.  I understand many people like the "doll house" sort of play, where they are in control and everything happens as they want it, but I'd rather experience the stories my sims make.  I had kind of hoped the Sims wouldn't be so listless and apathetic in this version.

Equally disappointing, when I do take an active hand in my Sims' lives it's far too easy to have everything go perfectly.  They can land the perfect job and excel perfectly at it.  They can find the perfect mate, have perfect relationships, and raise perfect kids.  Given enough time, my sims can do anything and everything (more or less) perfectly.  In fact, time seems to be the only limiting factor.

It might sound strange, but I think it would be fun if (at least sometimes) your sims got stuck in a crappy job doing something they hate (and finding out they have no real talent at anything), in a bad marriage with a cheating spouse (or just never finding that special gal/guy in the first place), with bratty kids (or even not being able to have children of their own), and so on.  Sure it would be depressing if it happened too much, but having to work for good things to happen (and counting on a fair bit of luck) would make the game more challenging and interesting to play.  At least, I think so.

Maybe in Sims 5...

[lindsaysoderberg]

@Blucher, you have a really good point! I never thought about it that way. "Autonomy" doesn't really mean, "I do what I want to do, until you tell me to do something else." 

I agree that what you described would be fun, sometimes. I understand why Maxis/EA probably did it this way though. Most people play a game to "win" so-to-speak. And, even though, there's no winning technically in The Sims, players like to get what they want and make their sims do what they want. Adding Lifetime Wishes and now Aspirations to the game has added a sort of "winning" component though.

Maybe your version of sims autonomy doesn't have to wait for Sims 5 or beyond... I don't see why they could not have an option to turn on that sort of "true autonomy" in the game as it is now. Try asking for it on the official Sims 4 bug/question site and see what sort of response it gets. Also, maybe one of the administrators of this site would create a poll about it if you asked.

On a side note, when I first showed "The Sims" to a few friends when I started college in 2002, they hated the game and made fun of me for playing such a "pointless game," in their opinions, because there was not a clear cut goal or way to win, or at least that's how they saw it. Obviously, I disagree. But the scenario you suggested might actually be a way to widen the Sims 4 fan base. Some people want to play more "difficult" games.

[Fiddlesticks]

The Sims 3 was starting to run annoyingly slowly on my PC (I'm talking half-hour loading times, almost as long to save and horrible framerate issues in most neighbourhoods - looking at you, Bridgeport) so I was super glad when The Sims 4 came out.

On the plus side, it runs beautifully. The sims themselves feel much more customisable - everyone I made in The Sims 3 ended up looking like a pudding face, which I suppose was just the game's style, but I think The Sims 4 feels more realistic in that respect. Multitasking and group conversations are the best things ever. @Lindsaysoderberg, I totally agree about the traits. I was kind of disappointed when I realised there were only three, but the extra traits you can get from aspirations evens that out a bit and they do seem to have much more of an impact on the game.

I'm still not sure how I feel about the lack of toddlers. That life stage was pretty annoying, but it added an extra level of realism and challenge. I'm also disappointed that they took out the open world; I'm sure that not having to track every other sim in the neighbourhood is what's making it run so much better, but I miss being able to completely control two different sims on opposite sides of the town. The option to have them build skills while I'm away is nice, but I feel like it's a bit glitchy? Sometimes I have them work on skills for a whole day while I'm out and it doesn't change much at all, but other times they shoot up ridiculously fast in next to no time. I had one chubby sim build athletic skill while I was gone and a few hours later she was stick-thin.

Since I bought The Sims 4, I've found myself alternating between it and The Sims 3. I think the reason is that The Sims 4 is a better, more advanced, more polished game, but it lacks a lot of the detail that The Sims 3 has with all its DLC and expansion packs. I'm sure that eventually I'll never want to play The Sims 3 again, but for now I'd be hard pressed to pick a favourite.