Sims 4 - First Impressions

[Stormi71]

I just had my first nooboo, and I loved how the pregnancy/labour was much more realistic. My sim was needing to eat, sleep and pee more often, during the labour she could actually do stuff like take a bath to help her relax. After the nooboo was born, she even kept the "baby weight" rather than just going back to her usual size. Was  a bit weird not being able to check the babies needs, but that just makes it more realistic, too.
My sims boyfriend also walked into the bathroom while she was on the toilet, saying "pewwwww" and waving his hand under his nose. I thought that was pretty funny, I was like "Hey, YOU chose to walk in there when she was doing her business"

[saltpastillen]

I really like how they have redone the notifications. I like that I can click to hide them without loosing them completely, and I like that they have the auto-remove once you hit 200. Now I can go back and see what pay raise my sims had 2 promotions ago

[saltpastillen]

Oh my, my sim can now play country music on the guitar. I am in heaven!

[jesirose]

Something I just discovered while playing: sims still insist on using the bathroom sink to clean dishes instead of the kitchen. I find hilariously ironic that this was toting to have "smarter sims," but they still go out of their way to access the sink that's almost the furthest away. 

I have yet to see this happen in Sims 4.

[hkmaja]

I have yet to see this happen in Sims 4.

That they use the farthest sink? It happens to me too, when they bother to clean dishes at all. I'm finding it mildly annoying that I have to pick up dishes manually since on my machine it doesn't usually "drop" the dishes on the right item and they just end up on the floor.

At the moment, I find I'm getting more excited reading about playing the game than I am playing the game - I feel like I'm getting bogged down in minor worries (I feel like they need to eat way more than in previous games but I'm scared after reading the posts about weight/muscle gain!) and not getting to the really cool parts yet. Only 3 hours so far though and still positive feelings about it. I do miss the standard careers such as medical and business though, the crazy careers are making it feel slightly more cartoonish.

[jesirose]

That they use the farthest sink?

I've also never ever seen that happen in Sims 3 either, so maybe there's something about the way I put my houses together.

[PlatnumDymnd]

Okay even though I have pre-ordered the game and I finally had the opportunity (time) to get in and play. So far this weekend I only created the family, put them on a lot and right before I shut down for the night. I got a job in the Secret Agent Career. Whew a lot for me as I always take a day to create my families.

So far I love the genetics options that are in the CAS. And the setup of the outfits and body details. Well the whole CAS except for one thing... Where is the Sim Bin? Please tell me That a Gallery thing is not all that is out there to save. I could not save my sims individually. I had to upload them as a family. I'm hoping I'm missing something.

The towns, therefore the careers are kinda limited - can't see schools or hospitals... In fact where is the grocery store? Which means no business, science, politician, or teacher career. But I faith in the Sim fathers that there will be more to vine in that.

I have always put my game on highest free will and so far A++ on that. No one is standing in a puddle cuz they have to go potty. Not sure if it's because of the traits that they have more sense or what, but Yay!!
 
So far likes and dislikes are equally balanced.

[Danielle Haydis]

Just putting out my thoughts on Sims 4

Likes
-Smoother animations. It's obvious that they spent some time making the animations smoother and more realistic. I especially like the cooking animations.
-More clothing and hair options in CAS. Seeing as this is just the base game, I'm happy with all the clothes available.
-Populated worlds. It's great to see lots populated with sims instead of an empty venue. I also like that there are sims walking around outside your sim's house.             

Dislikes
-Lack of CASt. I know this has been said before but I really hate that they removed an amazing tool from the game. I especially hate having to use presets for hair and eye color. I think the presets provided are so dull and lifeless. I think that I'll have to learn how to mod to create colors I like.
-The new CAS. I find that there is a lot less we can edit on a sims face compared to TS3. I don't care much for the ability to edit a sims body shape.
-Group conversations. I find them to be more of an annoyance than a convenience. I don't like it when my sim is talking to her date and a random sim comes and butts in.

Mixed Emotions
-The lack of an open world. I understand why they chose to do it and I think it's a great system once expansions start coming out. What I don't like is having a loading screen when I want to visit my neighbor's house. They're right next to each other!
-Career metrics. I always viewed careers as nothing more than a way to pay the bills so having to do something more than simply maxing a skill is kind of daunting.

Overall, I don't regret buying Sims 4. But I do think that I paid too much for the game

[linmayu]

one other thing i'm not big on, is that there is no cheat to age up my young adult sim to adult (there might be one but not found it yet).

linmayu (reply 154) those are okay options but I always get a giggle out of the 'Pee like a champion' option, kinda of annoying at times but still worth a giggle.

You may have found it by now, but just bake a cake, put birthday candles on it and blow them out.  No cheating needed!

I love "Pee Like A Champion.". One of my teenage boy sims did that and took a selfie while sitting on the toilet. 

Also, I take back what I said earlier about it being too hard for sims to bladder fail.  It is quite easy enough, and as usual for me, all it takes is a wedding.  I had one of my sims elope with her boyfriend, which was adorable even though they were both in their athletic wear.  I went back to check on the rest of the household just in time to see her older brother pee himself, then pass out face down in the puddle!  It was the saddest thing ever.

[MarianT]

I really like how they have redone the notifications. I like that I can click to hide them without loosing them completely, and I like that they have the auto-remove once you hit 200. Now I can go back and see what pay raise my sims had 2 promotions ago

Really? You can do this? I've been clicking through all the notifications whenever I got the message saying my notifications were full.

[PlatnumDymnd]

Really? You can do this? I've been clicking through all the notifications whenever I got the message saying my notifications were full.

Oh I didn't know about this either. Where do I go to do that delete at 200 option? Maybe I didn't see it. I'll look again.

I'm not really loving how it is so hard to 'catch' a jogging neighbor to interact with them. I'm spoiled by how they used to stop for my Simmies to come to them. 

[_Annika_]

When you click the drop down box on the top right-hand corner of the screen, you can see all the notifications in a window with a scroll bar down the side. On the top left of that drop down window is a little trash can. Click that and confirm that you want to delete them all. I've only ever seen the 200 limit one once, and I just clicked the trash can. There may be another button for that.

[ManiSims]

Yeah, once when I wanted to only delete one notification, I actually accidentally clicked the trash can and confirmed that I wanted to (I wasn't really paying attention...) once when my notifications weren't full and deleted them all.    Whoops...

[DanteEDM]

Hi,

Having played the game for 200+ hours (shame on me). Here are my thoughts.

What I like:

1. Multitasking
2. The look of the game
3. Being able to explore within your neighbourhood
4. The hidden areas
5. How smooth the game runs and how quick it loads
6. The new skills and emotions
7. Goal specific tasks at social events - I was getting tired of having to buy "Perfect Host" in TS3
8. CAS - I found it very user friendly and intuitive. Now I can make sims that look more like real people.
9. The sheer number of sims at venues and on the street. I was bored with going to a "hotspot" and only having waitstaff and maybe 2 others there.

What I miss:

1. Being able to go next door without a loading screen.
2. Story progession
3. Ghosts and graveyards
4. Story progression
5. Aliens, alien abductions, alien/sim pregnancies
6. Story progression
7. Poodlers (pools + toddlers) - everyone else seems to miss them and I am such a sheep sometimes
8. Did I mention story progression?
9. More differentiation between venues. What exactly is the difference between a bar, a nightclub and a lounge?

What I thought I would miss, but don't:

1. The open world
2. Dishwashers
3 Carpools

Suggestions:

1. A slider for the volume on the stereos. I find the presets either too loud or too soft.
2 Auto-off for above-mentioned stereos. When the last adult either leaves the lot or goes to bed turn off the electronics.
3. Being able to buy the books your sim has written.
4. If Maxis can't/won't bring back CASt - maybe an external program (like the CAS demo) for the players (like me) who have to have everything matching.
5. A TS4 version of Roaring Heights - my favourite world.

Cheers,

DanteEDM

[Trip]

Late to the party, but I still caved in sooner than I thought I would.

I have mixed feelings about the game so far. Parts of it remind me of earlier sims games, for better and for worse.

I loathe the camera zoom. It's really jerky and even though I have the option checked for TS3's camera, I still can't get a handle on the controls. Put it on my "to learn" list. I also don't think I'll ever fully get over not having Create-a-Style. My sims' clothes don't entirely match and it hurts me on the inside.

Don't know how I feel about the transition from LTWs to aspirations. I didn't really pay attention to them in TS2, and I last played that game in 2005 anyways. It does seem to "fit" the game, though.

A lot of the interactions are cute. The sims in general look pretty nice, even if the facial sculpting options are limited, and the base-game fashion isn't godawful for once. Money and needs seem more challenging, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

A lot of this sounded negative, but I'm also hopeful that I'll find more things that I like as time goes on.