Author Topic: Sims 4 - First Impressions  (Read 76654 times)

Offline Nutella

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Re: First Impressions
« Reply #15 on: September 02, 2014, 11:35:03 AM »
After a few hours of messing around with one sim and a career, here are my thoughts.  I'll try nooboos and something else later.

Don't Like:

1) Absolutely hate the camera.
2) Map view.  No more following your sim around town, map view takes you to loading screen choose your destination and boom another loading screen you're there.  Maybe I just need to get use to it.
3) Feels a lot like playing sims2 again.  I played sims3 for so long, and now it feels like EA is making me go back to play sims2.
4) The moodlet panel is going to be a problem for me forever.  I like to keep it open for micromanaging purposes, and it keeps collapsing when things happen, and I have to reopen it over and over again.  Sigh.
5) Career, sim just goes off screen to work.  You can't even bring up the job metric menu during work hours, its grey out.

Like:

1) The new career metric is pretty nice, something new.  I do like the new daily tasks.
2) Aspirations is nice too, although EA could add more.  I'm sure with new expansion packs, there will be lots of different aspirations.  If I remember correctly, I think sims2 have aspirations too, so I believe we are going back to sims2.
3) Emotions.  Definitely big selling point for sims4 here, and it is quite fun.  Trying to do different things to get different emotions is a fun new way to play my sim.

Neutral:

1) Multitasking.  I'm not sure if I like or dislike it at the moment, could be hindrance in some cases and could be helpful in other cases.

Offline MarianT

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Re: First Impressions
« Reply #16 on: September 02, 2014, 11:38:40 AM »
To start a new game (am awfully tempted to put this in caps, lol):

Upper right hand corner on the main menu, above the blue play button.

Press the + sign.
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Offline Nutella

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Re: First Impressions
« Reply #17 on: September 02, 2014, 11:43:10 AM »
Ah MarianT, thank you, I love you. 

Offline LenaLJ

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Re: First Impressions
« Reply #18 on: September 02, 2014, 11:48:16 AM »
To start a new game (am awfully tempted to put this in caps, lol):

Upper right hand corner on the main menu, above the blue play button.

Press the + sign.

Good there was an easy way to do it. I could have imagined the pain to pratice for a challenge if we could not have done that.

Offline Shirin

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Re: First Impressions
« Reply #19 on: September 02, 2014, 12:02:22 PM »
Very quick, at work sort of thing.

I had to switch the camera back to Sims 3 style, and I still don't like it. It keeps trying to level out as a "flat across" view instead of doing the bird's eye view I prefer.

Graphics clipping. DEAR CARL. I actually had my simself step into her desk to talk with a guest. Repeatedly. And when I moved my niece's simself in, she walked into my simself to open the fridge. It was a freaky merge. (I guess it's better than the sims 3 pathing issues and stupid dance, but...really?)

Why, oh why, can I make a sim with red eyes, but not purple?

That's about as far as I got, my niece and I were swapping a shared household, and I was playing with the game mechanics while she was playing with the house building.

Offline grimsoul

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Re: First Impressions
« Reply #20 on: September 02, 2014, 12:11:13 PM »
I like that after you make some friends they will often come over to your house to visit you. It seems everyday there are 2 or three showing up and knocking on the door. And that makes me wonder why they done away with the door bell and have them knock on the door now.
And I like when visiting a friends house and I knock on the door they just yell to come on in, instead of having to wait at the door for them to show up and invite you in.
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Offline JudesSims

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Re: First Impressions
« Reply #21 on: September 02, 2014, 12:34:28 PM »
I'm wondering how multiple generations will work. My sim couple is having their first baby. When he/she grows up, will a prospective spouse be available in town or will one have to be brought into the game from the Gallery?

I'm finding it easier to play now. Just a matter of getting used to the new controls I guess.



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Offline Simsperience

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Re: First Impressions
« Reply #22 on: September 02, 2014, 12:45:23 PM »
I must say I had a lot of fun with the game last night for the 3 hours or so I got to play before I absolutely had to get to bed!

I was impressed with all of the additions to CAS, both in outfits and color choices.  I was also super happy that my CC worked as flawlessly in the full game as it did in the CAS Demo!  I think I will be very happy with the additions that can be made with CC.

The game runs beautifully.  Even with CC both CAS and the game respond almost instantly.  Loading the game takes maybe a minute.  The graphics are impressive, especially on Ultra.  Though I did have to check the box that said something about uncompressing textures for the sims under options.  This got rid of the grainy look my Sims had on their skin.

I think the moods make gameplay pretty fun, and I also like how it takes longer than a day to build a relationship with other sims.  It took my girl at least 3 days to get into a relationship with her man.

One problem I ran into was I can't seem to figure out how to ask the guy to divorce his wife and move in with me instead.  I can't propose to him as he is still married.  Anyone figure that out yet?

The only major complaint I have is the camera controls.  I tried the reverted camera controls that were supposed to be like Sims 3 and struggled with that for about an hour.  Then I gave in and decided that it is a new game so I should just learn the new controls, and I am slowly getting the hang of it.  It's just irritating because I go to turn the screen with my right mouse button and it doesn't work in Sims 4.  Clicking takes some getting used to as well, I just keep hitting the wrong buttons.

Gardening still takes all the livelong day for not a lot of profit, but I haven't gotten to the top of it yet though, so maybe the top tier will have some improvements.

Also after about 3 days of eating grilled cheese and eggs and toast and whatnot, my sim has packed on quite a few pounds.  Seems to me the weight gain is maybe a little overly sensitive to the diet.  Back to nothing but salads for all my sims!

*Edit* Oh, one last thing that absolutely just tickled me was that when my sim was in a flirty mood the fridge gave me the option to bake these heart shaped cookies (normally that option isn't there).  Then I had her and her love interest eat the cookies when he visited and it put both of them in a flirty mood ^.^

Offline Echo

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Re: First Impressions
« Reply #23 on: September 02, 2014, 01:11:19 PM »
3) Feels a lot like playing sims2 again.  I played sims3 for so long, and now it feels like EA is making me go back to play sims2.

I got that feeling simply from the change in the CAS graphics.  It feels more cartoon-y than Sims3 did to me, but that's not a bad thing.

Seems like most folks' biggest problem is dealing with the new camera controls.  It has thrown me off for a bit, but then I'd been playing TS3 all day so my brain was pretty much in that mode.  Same thing used to happen when I'd stop playing TS3 and play WoW for a bit (or vice-versa)... it'd take me 5 or 10 minutes to get my camera controls back in the groove.  I expect that it'll become brainwired in short order so long as I don't play other games for now.

I took my geeky-goofy-loner sim out on a date with Summer Holiday (is she adorable or what?) and I found that I really liked how the date actually had individual goals!  Darn it though, I couldn't get a perfect score because I needed to flirt while in a flirty mood and I couldn't get my guy to be flirty at all.  Should have taken a steamy shower before the date!

Speaking of that date, Bella Goth was there and looked rather vapid.  She just stood there, hardly moving and as-far-as-I-can-tell not blinking, as if she were a sim-shaped robotic socialization station waiting for a stimulus to respond to.  A little disconcerting.

I'm finding the mood management a bit tricky, but I figure that is mostly because I am so accustomed to playing a heavily modified TS3 (including Twallan's Master Controller) that I'm not used to actually having to micromanage the activities.  That and my TS3 families are so well developed in their LTW perks that they are much easier to keep satisfied.  Once I put a few thousand points into my TS4 sim I am sure he'll manage just as well.  I'm tempted to prioritize better bladder control just so I don't have to see him walk around with the 5-year-old-weewee-dance walk.

Offline jesirose

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Re: First Impressions
« Reply #24 on: September 02, 2014, 01:20:41 PM »

*Edit* Oh, one last thing that absolutely just tickled me was that when my sim was in a flirty mood the fridge gave me the option to bake these heart shaped cookies (normally that option isn't there).  Then I had her and her love interest eat the cookies when he visited and it put both of them in a flirty mood ^.^

I love that, I can't wait to try that!
- Jessica

Offline TheGoat

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Re: First Impressions
« Reply #25 on: September 02, 2014, 02:25:44 PM »
Okay, I put in a few more hours than I should have last night starting at about 12:01.  :D Here are some things I learned that people who haven't purchased yet may find interesting:

1. The Sims' bodies themselves are less realistic and more cartoony. This is in exchange for you having more control over the details, and, I presume, less strain on your machine. I actually like this. I don't know if it's an Uncanny Valley thing or what, but I think the Sims are overall more attractive this way.

2. This is absolutely a revert to TS2 in many ways. EA looked at what didn't work in TS3 and axed it. The big one is the open world. Do not be fooled. There are no open neighborhoods; it's all window dressing. Remember in TS2 where sometimes people would walk along your front sidewalk and give you a chance to interact with them without leaving your lot? It's just like that, except your front sidewalk has been expanded to include your entire street and perhaps a jogging path or hiking trail. They try to make it look new with the "neighborhood system," but it's not. It's the old system back again. To be clear, this is not a complaint. I actually think it's better this way. And the load times for moving from lot to lot are extremely short.

3. I have not played a family long enough to study generational issues. That will be today. My take from the game settings and what I've read is that we'll need to move families in, and play them at least long enough to get them jobs and get them pregnant, if we want growing families for neighbors. It appears - and I'm sure someone will be able to confirm/deny this before I do - that the worries of switching households in TS3 are over. If you switch to another family to make them do a few things, when you come back, you don't have to worry about new jobs, ex-fiancees, etc. popping up out of nowhere. Your other family will just wait patiently around for you (but not forever, because they will still age).

3a. I hope someone else can confirm this, too, since it doesn't match what I read on a few other sites, but my take seems to be that in each saved game, both towns age together, regardless of which one you are playing. If this is true, it is one of my favorite improvements. Finally, we'll be able to move parts of families to different towns, if for no reason other than story-telling purposes, and continue to interact with them.

4. Speaking of story-telling, I think I can make a good judgment here, since I am a middle-of-the-road player. Sometimes I powergame, and sometimes I tell stories. The changes from TS3 to TS4 does not ignore powergamers, but they were made by and for storytellers. The emotional system and the reversion to TS2 style neighborhoods both act to add flexibility to the stories you want to tell. I'm sure it won't be long until we have the first Dynasty ruleset in place, but the "Miscellaneous Stories" board is the one that is really going to get a lot of play with this game.

5. On a related note, I love the emotion system. Two things to highlight, both of which relate to what I said directly above. First, as I think Carl already pointed out somewhere, you no longer have to spend all day stacking the appropriate moodlets for your Sim to be prepared to work, school, paint, whatever. Once he or she is in the right mood, you can focus on doing what your Sim wants, not what your Sim "needs" (by "needs," I mean "needs to have a maxed mood"). Second, huge variety of available actions that change according to mood is very fun. My artistic Sim came home from a successful date with her husband in a "Very Flirty" mood, and decided to paint a "Flirty Painting." She wasn't very good, so it looked like stick figures to me, but it was something she was able to channel her flirtatious mood into. There are tons of little things like that. For example, if your Sim is in a Flirty or Angry mood, they may roll a whim (desire) to take a cold shower to cool off.

6. I am in love with the multitasking. The way they can keep listening to music or watching TV while talking, eating, even walking around, is amazing. They continue to carry on conversations as they sit down or stand up, or walk around the room. A lot of possibilities here.

Anway, long story short is this: This game is very unlike TS3. Parts of it - like the emotional system and the multitasking - are brand new, while other parts - like the lack of story progression and the neighborhoods - are very much reversions to TS2 style. Overall, I am very impressed. I was most skeptical about losing story progression, but we've been given a system that allows us to essentially ignore our neighbors and let them die off if we choose, while putting in a very minimum amount of time keeping the neighborhood populated. That small effort is a small price to pay for not having your best friend's family all turn into 4-star celebrity vampires out of nowhere before abandoning their house and skipping town.

Goat

Offline MarianT

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Re: First Impressions
« Reply #26 on: September 02, 2014, 03:07:02 PM »
Speaking of story-telling, I have a miscellaneous story ready to link to. I started it in Sunset Valley and am getting ready to put up the 3rd installment.
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Offline Branr

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Re: First Impressions
« Reply #27 on: September 02, 2014, 03:28:52 PM »
My sim read a book while using the toilet. My life is complete.


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Offline Metropolis Man

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Re: First Impressions
« Reply #28 on: September 02, 2014, 03:32:44 PM »
Just an update on resetting the neighborhood — canning all the save files was indeed the trick. The only problem is how the heck are challenge players going to deal with this when they have other save files going on? It could potentially be a mess. Hopefully we'll work out clear cut instructions by that point.

Offline jesirose

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Re: First Impressions
« Reply #29 on: September 02, 2014, 03:35:33 PM »
My sim read a book while using the toilet. My life is complete.


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