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Field Researcher
Original Poster
#1 Old 14th May 2020 at 3:19 AM
Default So, I finally bought TS4...
Just the BG, and spent most of yesterday doing "my very first TS4 game" stuff. I played TONS of TS2 and quite a bit of TS3 in the day, and I would reference that but it's not a comparison thread, just "AC's noob impressions while they're fresh" thread.

I was immensely surprised by how smooth it all runs -- The machine I'm playing on is not a "gaming" PC, and most video games from mid-2010s make every fan it has spin up to max RPM, but not TS4, even with fairly high graphics settings (I did switch it into "laptop" mode and to 720p, but that's it) It loads from HDD as fast as TS2 loads from SSD too, -- pure sorcery and black magic. I just love, love, love that, I don't need open world if I can have that kind of performance.

I always thought there's nothing wrong with TS4 looks and style, and I'm glad that I didn't change the opinion now when I'm seeing it in person.

The animation... OK, nothing ever will have je ne sais quoi TS2 would always have for me, but apart from the sims being able to teleport stuff like plates several feet and there still being some "I need to stay in exactly this spot to do that" shuffling (which is less than in previous games) it's very fluid, and OK, I'm saying it, almost as good stylistically.

Speaking of fluid and natural looks, multi-tasking. Apart from a few "huh?" possibilities (eat and brush your teeth at the same time? Really?) it's a very cool system.

I'm yet to play enough to have my opinion on actual mechanics, but one thin I coveted, custom gender that's not some workaround mod, really works and is really cool, another thing I really like so far is the romance. The way it worked in TS3 was kinda... Stilted, you just didn't want sims to do anything but stand in front of each other before they built up the mood to woohoo... Here you don't need to do that as much, and with multi-tasking, the whole thing, while lacking in TS2... pizazz, is actually quite enjoyable for me to play (I'm yet to try dating though, I don't even know how it works this time.)

Whims/aspirations/milestones... I heard bad things about those, but honestly, so far I don't see why people complain. Adding fears, like in TS2, would have been neat, sure, but it's not as bad a system as I was lead to believe. The make-or-break part for me there would be seeing how it interacts with kids growing up -- my biggest complaint about the TS3 (apart from stilted romance) was that second-generation sims weren't really all that different from what you could do in CAS, I wonder how it works here. I'm also wary of "everything is a skill" TS3 approach, TS2 with skills/badges/enthusiasm was kinda messy, but it was also quite flexible, no "yes, you're a guitar god, but a laser harp still totally stumps you because reasons" hyper-specialisation.


Annoying stuff:
I tried to do the tutorial, and had been caught in a bug, re-started it, and got caught in the same kind of bug AGAIN (you need an interaction you're locked out of to complete the next step if you anticipate the game and do certain things before you're supposed to) searching brought me to the EAxis ticket system, where they claimed they fixed it. (There's another still-open ticket where they say they see it's only a partial fix now.)

Discombobulating camera controls wasn't nice, but yes, you can switch them to TS3 (and everything else I can remember right now) "click wheel, not RMB to rotate" control scheme. Fully customizable controls would be neat, I mean, the concept is as old as video games...

NO 24-hour clock? Really, EA? I just hope I simply overlooked the option.

Plumbing and electronics seems to be breaking at a rate that's... Kinda annoying, but perhaps it's cheapo furnishings of the tutorial lot. On the other hand, I was afraid of using oven before my sims skilled up in cooking, but it seems that, well, EA relented and gave sims some common sense not to burn everything in the first 5 minutes.

Is there any way to pin the motives tab? Not seeing the motive bars at all times just puts me in a tense mood. :D
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Scholar
#2 Old 14th May 2020 at 6:52 AM
Quote: Originally posted by ac220
I tried to do the tutorial, and had been caught in a bug, re-started it, and got caught in the same kind of bug AGAIN (you need an interaction you're locked out of to complete the next step if you anticipate the game and do certain things before you're supposed to) searching brought me to the EAxis ticket system, where they claimed they fixed it. (There's another still-open ticket where they say they see it's only a partial fix now.)

Yeah, they tend to do that often. claim they fix things they haven't, or break things while they try to fix other things..
if you encounter a fix by modders, grab it, usually those are working.

Quote: Originally posted by ac220
Discombobulating camera controls wasn't nice, but yes, you can switch them to TS3 (and everything else I can remember right now) "click wheel, not RMB to rotate" control scheme. Fully customizable controls would be neat, I mean, the concept is as old as video games...

From my understanding most users are using the Sims 3 controls, me included. I have no idea how people can even understand the other ones.

Quote: Originally posted by ac220
Is there any way to pin the motives tab? Not seeing the motive bars at all times just puts me in a tense mood. :D

You simply click on it and it stays open until you switch to a different tab, or close it yourself
I have it open all the time, I forgot it was even an option to close it..

loved your overview, it was nice to read.
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#3 Old 14th May 2020 at 8:06 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Keren
You simply click on it and it stays open until you switch to a different tab, or close it yourself
I have it open all the time, I forgot it was even an option to close it..

Yea, but if you click another tab, then click it again to close it, they don't pop back up automatically. Which, I guess, is one of those "2 kinds of people" things, as if it was the way I want, there would be people who complain about extra click to hide all tabs.

Scholar
#4 Old 14th May 2020 at 8:56 AM
Quote: Originally posted by ac220
Yea, but if you click another tab, then click it again to close it



You don't close the other tab, you just go back to the motives one
Instructor
#5 Old 14th May 2020 at 11:05 AM
I tend to keep the motives bar open and click the faces of the family to get them all moving doing something, especially away from the freezer when someone's cooking dinner. They don't tend to kill themselves if cooking a "Grand meal" Sitting round the dinner table at the same time gets them socialized.

I always assign beds before they even get in the house and get someone to cook a Grand meal and someone to set the table for it.

It's best not to have any barbecues, alfresco meal baskets or tents in the garden at the start as they all rush out to use them instead,

Lock the computer for everyone but the family and even more of them until the adults have all found a job!
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#6 Old 15th May 2020 at 4:02 PM
So, the rest of my entertainment budget went on... unscheduled computer repair skill practice (Public service announcement: Don't be like me, don't delay upgrading/changing your PSU forever, do some research and don't be cheap when buying a new one, I was this close to full Star Trek exploding bridge console light show yesterday. It's a miracle the PSU was the only thing in need of replacement.) So, no DLCs for me on this sale, anyway.

(ADD: And no, TS4 wasn't to blame, I actually checked the CPU/GPU loads and temps while playing, they are well within the norm. It was just that PSU's time to go.)

I'm playing a painter now, it was always a low-stress way to get used to the game for me and while I'm really not a big fan of the TS3-like skills, I think TS5 should have something like skill trees instead, I really like the idea of initial aspiration traits so far, they give you some direction, but don't really pigeonhole your character, except maybe family/romance ones, but then, building a big family or a proper love dodecahedron (or is it a love cube now, since you only need 8?) is a long task anyway. It's not perfect, but you do have some genuine wiggle room and possibility of choice with trait builds.

Also, today I leaned that greeting a guest then immediately running off to do something else in hopes they amuse themselves is a Seriously Bad Idea. Realism, yay! :D
Mad Poster
#7 Old 15th May 2020 at 6:03 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Hamishmc
Sitting round the dinner table at the same time gets them socialized.


You mean sitting around on beds (referably 3-4 sims on the same bed), toddler beds (preferably with a toddler sleeping in it), couches, standing arouond, and being pretty much anywhere else than the actual kitchen/dining table?
Yeah... My sims don't seem to understand what a dining table is, but the kids occasionally will do their homework around it...

They do socialize, though.
Instructor
#8 Old 15th May 2020 at 11:10 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
You mean sitting around on beds (referably 3-4 sims on the same bed), toddler beds (preferably with a toddler sleeping in it), couches, standing arouond, and being pretty much anywhere else than the actual kitchen/dining table?
Yeah... My sims don't seem to understand what a dining table is, but the kids occasionally will do their homework around it...

They do socialize, though.


I thought that that was fixed a long time ago. All you have to do is click the table and click "sit together " or else get someone to "set the table" and they all get round it. It also helps for someone to call to the meal as well. Sit together also works in restaurants and cafes. I might have a pack you haven't got though or you don't get the patches.

It's quite natural in real life for people to sit round the TV eating pizzas these days though!

(Do you live in a house where kids don't sit and do their homework at the kitchen table)? I suppose Americans have more space than most of us in the UK.
Test Subject
#9 Old 16th May 2020 at 2:28 PM
The thing I hate about this is the gratuitous amounts of loading screens, it jarring after playing 100s of hours in Sims 3. And can't we have the cars back like in Sims 2? Or Cops and Robbers mechanic the past 2 games had.

And the action queue is god-awful, the autonomy is so messed up. I hate that when you're queuing, your sim automatically cancels his/her current assigned action. Especially when sleeping and eating a meal, And I feel like other sims don't actually go to work, it's just so weird that all of them are at your beck and call anytime except when they're angry at you or sleeping. But none of them seem to be at work or at school.

And also come on! Where are my werewolves at? What's taking so long? I want the Wolff family back in town like in Sims 3 Supernatural that and Fairies, I always find the fairy sims to be criminally underrated.
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#10 Old 16th May 2020 at 4:36 PM
TS2-like cars would be nice from the RP/dollhouse perspective, but sort of pointless, (they actually sort of became pointless in TS2 after an option to walk to work/school was added, well, they were good woohoo location, or at least my sims thought so.) If I was adding cars to TS4, I'd go for full expansion centred around them, - road trips/races (sort of like space missions) a skill and a a career or two centred around cars, car relationships like in TS3 and parents teaching teens to drive... If it's not something like that, then meh.

What peeves me right now is that the moment your sim has a day off, seemingly everybody thinks it's a good reason to just barge in without calling first. At least, between multi-tasking and no TS2 toilet rush it's manageable, and sometimes even useful. I put a few easy chairs and an unlocked PC around the easel, so, usually the first guest starts playing video games, my sim paints, and the rest just chat :D

It's probably me still learning the ropes, but so far careers seem to be actually quite tough to advance, I can manage to get them just a hair short of promotion on a good day, but I still need 2 or even 3 days to really advance, I actually kind of like that.
Mad Poster
#11 Old 16th May 2020 at 4:58 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Hamishmc
I thought that that was fixed a long time ago. All you have to do is click the table and click "sit together " or else get someone to "set the table" and they all get round it. It also helps for someone to call to the meal as well. Sit together also works in restaurants and cafes. I might have a pack you haven't got though or you don't get the patches.


Must be a pack, because it's not too long ago since I patched my game. My guess is Dine Out or Seasons or some such (which I don't have). Actually, I kind of feel the behavior got worse with the latest patch, because now they're more likely to ignore couches and chairs and head straight for beds.
Instructor
#12 Old 16th May 2020 at 5:56 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
Must be a pack, because it's not too long ago since I patched my game. My guess is Dine Out or Seasons or some such (which I don't have). Actually, I kind of feel the behavior got worse with the latest patch, because now they're more likely to ignore couches and chairs and head straight for beds.


I guess the only people whose game works properly are ours who have all the packs. Maybe not having one loses a link somewhere when new packs come out. Dine out is a good pack though. It works well with Get Together.
Test Subject
#13 Old 17th May 2020 at 5:47 AM
Quote: Originally posted by ac220
TS2-like cars would be nice from the RP/dollhouse perspective, but sort of pointless, (they actually sort of became pointless in TS2 after an option to walk to work/school was added, well, they were good woohoo location, or at least my sims thought so.) If I was adding cars to TS4, I'd go for full expansion centred around them, - road trips/races (sort of like space missions) a skill and a a career or two centred around cars, car relationships like in TS3 and parents teaching teens to drive...


Actually that'd be a brilliant idea for an expansion. Maybe a Career/Profession in Automobile Racing with an Auto Mechanic and Racer branches, like the Roaring Heights item a wrecked car that you can fix and customize into working condition, raising your handiness skill. And then use the one in pets where you can paint your pet's fur, only instead of an animal, it's a car. How cool would that be?
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#14 Old 17th May 2020 at 9:35 AM
So, I finally got bored with painting, the house is more or less where I want it to be for a single sim, so I switched the aspiration to Serial Romantic...

OK, it's almost the best romantic system in the series. Dating is part of the basegame and for once, it is neither OP like it was in 2 nor undirected and not really adding anything like the TS3 version, suggestive/amorous/steamy thing is still there but it doesn't reset the moment sims look away from each other for a second, separate romance meter (only took them 20 years) and high romance with woohoos and all doesn't automatically mean sims are officially a couple. Beautifully animated too. And yes, you can make a... (cough) old-school TS2 romance sim, or more "I really want to find the special someone" kind of romance sim, which was really lacking in TS2.

The only downside I see so far is that once the aspiration is complete, there may be less reason to keep doing all of that... Some way to just perpetually stay in one aspiration would have been nice, and that's not just with romance. Then again, aspirations are now fully moddable...
Instructor
#15 Old 17th May 2020 at 9:54 PM
I just bought the Base Game too and i'm waiting for a Gaming Laptop can't wait! already downloaded some CC i need like i heard there's no Siding Walls in the game so i've got some of those, some sets of Tile floors and walls, a set of wooden floors, some childrens wallpapers because i heard there's hardly any kids stuff and i got some makeup some the Jeffree Star sets, a lip tint and some for darker skinned sims, eyeliner and lashes. I really recommend the two Kids Corner Wallpaper Collection packs on The Sims Resource omg... SO CUTE!, and also the simple wallpaper packs by Pralinesims there's a whole spectrum of colors that will give you everything you need for yout game woohoo!.

I'm going to stay as BG because i just don't think any of the packs are worth it, some people bought Seasons too but with just BG it won't add THAT much to my game Seasons is definitely my fave Expansion in TS2 but i'm gonna have to say goodbye :'( i love the weather and dressing them for the different Seasons but at least they've given us the option to pretend dress them lol plus i don't want to do anything again that will make making money too easy and i'm glad to hear it makes you work harder to get the Sims promoted i'm looking forward to that.

I want to make some café/bars too like a bar but with a tiny kitchen some counters with stools, a fridge and cooker so then everyone can eat and your Sim can make everyone plates of food which i know they still obsessively go for LOL especially Nina and Dina Caliente omg... they would eat an entire feast if you put it there they did in TS2, i'd put a whole plate there and they just kept eating haha! but i think that will backfire for them in TS4 since i heard in a video the Sims put on weight as they eat so you need to make them exercise regularly they have like no metabolism at all so it really is more realistic.
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