I'm not ready for Sims 5

[Aribeth Zelin]

Okay, so I watched it. I never play the pre-built Sims, and that's mostly what she covered. Also, I have played since The Sims, so my thoughts go back one more level.

On some levels, Sims 1 was the best, and the worst. Graphics, it was horrible, but every single expansion had stuff in it to work with previous ones, if you had them. Superstar spells with Makin' Magic, for example. But the isometrics + low end graphics make it near impossible to play any more [I tried late last year.]

Sims 2 did have some of the most realistic personalities, and the only one of the four to actually use alphas for lattices. Since, its just black filling in the holes But I hated having to load every single time I went anywhere. And it was kinda of annoying to have to make mods for textures. Sims 2 also did have better customization than 1 or 4.

Sims 3 is my personal fav, but it has to have mods because otherwise it just keeps making new sims and more new sims and.... *boom*, but the open worlds, the customization options, and wall height and such.... Also, the Future pack was amazingly cool.

Sims 4 has some wonderful build tools, and the sims look much better than 3, but... a severe lack of customization options just.... eh.

Sims 4 also suffers from redoing most things done in 2 or 3 worse. Magic isn't as fun as previous versions, running a business isn't as well done, and forget playing a master chef who cooks at their own restaurant. The superstars pack reminds me most of Sims 1, though much less annoying, and Pets.... again, not as well done.

Or, you know, TL;DR, I pretty much agree with her conclusion, but for different reasons.

 

[Jolene Benoir]

Okay, so I watched it. I never play the pre-built Sims, and that's mostly what she covered. Also, I have played since The Sims, so my thoughts go back one more level.

On some levels, Sims 1 was the best, and the worst. Graphics, it was horrible, but every single expansion had stuff in it to work with previous ones, if you had them. Superstar spells with Makin' Magic, for example. But the isometrics + low end graphics make it near impossible to play any more [I tried late last year.]

Sims 2 did have some of the most realistic personalities, and the only one of the four to actually use alphas for lattices. Since, its just black filling in the holes But I hated having to load every single time I went anywhere. And it was kinda of annoying to have to make mods for textures. Sims 2 also did have better customization than 1 or 4.

Sims 3 is my personal fav, but it has to have mods because otherwise it just keeps making new sims and more new sims and.... *boom*, but the open worlds, the customization options, and wall height and such.... Also, the Future pack was amazingly cool.

Sims 4 has some wonderful build tools, and the sims look much better than 3, but... a severe lack of customization options just.... eh.

Sims 4 also suffers from redoing most things done in 2 or 3 worse. Magic isn't as fun as previous versions, running a business isn't as well done, and forget playing a master chef who cooks at their own restaurant. The superstars pack reminds me most of Sims 1, though much less annoying, and Pets.... again, not as well done.

Or, you know, TL;DR, I pretty much agree with her conclusion, but for different reasons.

Yes, The Sims 1 was fantastic for its day, not so much lately. I remember being awestruck and playing it constantly and, of course, waiting for every new expansion.

She definitely favors 2 and I don't think she gave much time to 3. She left out some important details there like the fact that not all were rabbit holes. In University, for example, you actually went into a classroom. But then, I think she was just covering base game. Yes, the Sims 4 definitely went back to 2 for inspiration, I think, at least in terms of having locations you could fully enter but, to me, they often are dead. But yeah, the method of transport being loading screens is probably the biggest one.

I like them all for different reasons.

For 2, I do like the likes/dislikes, being able to enter lots, the wide open building ability (love that).

For 3, I absolutely love the open world aspect, being able to hop on a horse, in a car, on a bike, on a skateboard, etc...and just wander around the world was fantastic. I did also really like the ability to change textures right down to multiple parts of an object. The worlds were pretty nice, as well, though some of them were pretty glitchy like Island Paradise.

For 4, I love how easily it runs, it runs butter smooth. I do like the build mode and am quite happy with the ability now to do split level staircases. That has opened up quite a few options for me. Like her, I do think the emotions are very hit or miss, and that yes, you do tend to end up with cookie cutter sims after awhile. She has a good point about the objects affecting emotions and about their whims tending toward new objects in expansion packs.

Overall, though, the Sims is a franchise that I really like. There are things I dislike intensely like the endless expansion packs that have less and less content or real gameplay. But I will likely be playing the Sims 5 in due time, though probably not out of the gate. It took them some time to make the Sims 4 something that would cover the things I like in the game. I am also enjoying my trip back into Sims 2 world.

ETA: Just a further thought about her dislike of what they've done to story lines. Yeah, I do remember playing those families and they did have good stories, something totally missing now. I think back then, perhaps the expectation was that people would want to play a story. You could make your own sims, of course, but as an example you couldn't move them from one hood to another without corrupting the game.

 

[Jolene Benoir]

Grr...So, they had another sale and I decided to finish up buying the remaining game packs that I was missing, except for the Star Wars one. I got Vampires and Jungle Adventure. My game runs terribly. My fps drops are untenable.

I've researched it and everyone and their uncle has this problem. It's the DLC's; just like with the Sims 3, probably one or two problematic ones. EA just tells people to turn off their internet. That didn't help for me and it's not something that I would like to do as I like using the gallery.

 

[Jolene Benoir]

Here's a video by that same gal talking about what she loves about the Sims 4. There are many things to like about it and that I hope they carry forward. On a side note, I was somewhat able to get the game to run slightly better. I'm not sure what the problem was and it's still not quite up to the fps I would like, but I had MCC do a bit of culling and I broke up script heavy items in the house in which I was having issues. It was worst when I was outdoors by the pool and by the wishing well. I will perhaps play with the seasons settings for rain and snow, as well.

Since I just got Get Together not long ago she gave me some great ideas for clubs and I like the results.

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

I do hope, if they do go forward to the sims 5 that they..

Bring back having expansions interreact to each other from 1. If you have magic and fame packs, then you would have spells that can change fame levels, or spells affecting weather, or grades.

Bring back the use of alphas for lattice foundations from 2.

Bring back the ability to set your own season set up from 2 [if you wanted you could make it just go between spring and winter, or summer and fall, or any combination of the four. There was even a challenge that started with you setting it to just winter until you met certain goals.

Bring back open worlds from 3.

Bring back CAS and CAW from 3.

Bring back the building tools and cheats from 2-3, while keeping tools from 4 [or well, make split levels work better than they did in any previous. Tiny homes don't work right because they just did not do it right at all.....]

Either just give us seasons, pets, children, college, fame, magic, et al from the start, or do those first and then give us new things. There really isn't any excuse to make us have to buy the same damn things over and over and over again.

Ideas for new things; Sci Fi pack, Historical Period packs.

And would be a lot nicer then to keep releasing 1950s stuff, or 1980s stuff in dribbles and drabs.

And dear gods, can you, if you are going to do crossovers, do it right?

 

[Beebo Brink]

I've been listening to Pleasant Sims videos ever since Jolene posted this, and I especially liked the Essential Mods Cindy recommends to give sims more personality and improve social interactions.

The Sims 4 Mods List for Improved Game Play

I have to confess that currently I play a completely vanilla game, no mods. I tried a few at the very beginning, but I stripped them out when I was trouble-shooting performance issues. I've avoided them ever since because enabling/disabling seemed to complicate game updates and I was afraid they would bog down my gameplay again. But her descriptions sound so tempting that I'm thinking about dipping my toe in the water again.

These are the three mods I'm most interested in using. Can anyone offer advice or experiences to relate?

• Have Some Personality Please
• Meaningful Stories
• MC Command Center

Tomorrow is the Super Bowl, so I'm going to have some free time on my hands while Mrs. Beebo watches football.

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

I've been listening to Pleasant Sims videos ever since Jolene posted this, and I especially liked the Essential Mods Cindy recommends to give sims more personality and improve social interactions.

The Sims 4 Mods List for Improved Game Play

I have to confess that currently I play a completely vanilla game, no mods. I tried a few at the very beginning, but I stripped them out when I was trouble-shooting performance issues. I've avoided them ever since because enabling/disabling seemed to complicate game updates and I was afraid they would bog down my gameplay again. But her descriptions sound so tempting that I'm thinking about dipping my toe in the water again.

These are the three mods I'm most interested in using. Can anyone offer advice or experiences to relate?

• Have Some Personality Please
• Meaningful Stories
• MC Command Center

Tomorrow is the Super Bowl, so I'm going to have some free time on my hands while Mrs. Beebo watches football.

So, mccc is a good mod - but last I checked, its not updated to the last patch. But, if it is updated, it is worth getting. Not familiar with the other two, but sound good.

I downloaded a set of mods that are neat, but took up over 15 gigs of space for something not more than 'Oh, neat' so...

Also, for tips and such, look for Carl's sims - he does some decent rundowns, including on other good mods.

 

[Jolene Benoir]

I've been listening to Pleasant Sims videos ever since Jolene posted this, and I especially liked the Essential Mods Cindy recommends to give sims more personality and improve social interactions.

The Sims 4 Mods List for Improved Game Play

I have to confess that currently I play a completely vanilla game, no mods. I tried a few at the very beginning, but I stripped them out when I was trouble-shooting performance issues. I've avoided them ever since because enabling/disabling seemed to complicate game updates and I was afraid they would bog down my gameplay again. But her descriptions sound so tempting that I'm thinking about dipping my toe in the water again.

These are the three mods I'm most interested in using. Can anyone offer advice or experiences to relate?

• Have Some Personality Please
• Meaningful Stories
• MC Command Center

Tomorrow is the Super Bowl, so I'm going to have some free time on my hands while Mrs. Beebo watches football.

I've been using MCC for ages. Yep, it hasn't been updated to the last update that brought the scared emotion because of the Paranormal pack, but I have still been using it with no issues (I think). I recently added UI Cheats to my repertoire and that is great. It allows you to right click on an item, say a need, skill or relationship and raise or lower, as well as remove moodlets with a right click and so on. I also use TwistedMexi's Better Build/Buy mod. That's great for finding debug items which normally are a complete mess as well as expanding the build/buy catalog.

I have Meaningful Stories in the folder I have set up to download mods before putting them in-game but haven't yet. There is an education one that interests me, as well in that toddlers can go to pre-school, children and teens can have online classes and so on. A Slice of Life is yet another to consider as well as Have Some Personality, Please that you mentioned.

All in all, what I am planning to do with the ones that alter gameplay more fundamentally in the relationship/sim category is to try one at a time, test it out on say, a family, then decide if it is for me. Pleasant Sims has mentioned a jealousy one that interests me quite a bit, as well.

I second Aribeth's recommendation for Carl's Sims. He's been around for a long time. I frequently read his pages during the Sims 3 era. He has a YouTube channel as well.

Carl's Sims 4 Site - Guides & News for PC, Xbox and PS4

Get the latest news on the Sims 4, along with a Guide for PC, Mac and Console with information on Skills, Careers, Cheats, and an info-sharing Forum Community.

www.carls-sims-4-guide.com

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0IIEZuaOermmnQCzudUo-g

I found a good listing of mods here. Most of them have videos of YouTubers demonstrating them in action.

Sims 4 Mods That You MUST Try in 2023

The Sims 4 is a fun game, but is made even more interesting if you add mods to your game. This list has 100+ mods to make The Sims 4 better.

ultimatesimsguides.com

ETA: Added Carl's web page.

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

I was using the UI Cheats longer than mccc - I've been over on MTS since it was MTS 2, and well, it used to be my first stop for mods for the Sims.

I think the main thing it doesn't do that the MCCC does that I use it for, is it has controls for your neighborhood repopulation, so you can dictate where they get pulled from, and what age groups and the likes. Oh and the degree and caster cheats, but I can turn off aging and needs and do those the hard way if needs be.

 

[Jolene Benoir]

I was using the UI Cheats longer than mccc - I've been over on MTS since it was MTS 2, and well, it used to be my first stop for mods for the Sims.

I think the main thing it doesn't do that the MCCC does that I use it for, is it has controls for your neighborhood repopulation, so you can dictate where they get pulled from, and what age groups and the likes. Oh and the degree and caster cheats, but I can turn off aging and needs and do those the hard way if needs be.

That is one of the things that I like about MCC in that you can determine the population. It can be set so that it only pulls from sims that you create (that can be time consuming, but rewarding to make them), or you could just go into your library and alter the ones there to your liking using the unblocked CAS. It can pull them from the gallery if you so chose, though that could be a bit of a disappointment if people have uploaded sims that already have filled out all of their skills, and of course if neither of those is your cup of tea there are many other settings, such as age/gender and so on. It can help negate those cookie cutter sims that the game loves to toss into your worlds.

Another thing I use it for is to alter how quickly they learn skills and change the % of relationship decay. It can seem daunting in the menu at first, but it is all explained when you click on an item. The important thing to remember is that clicking on the computer will generally get you to MC Command Centers settings itself, while clicking on an individual sim gets you to cheats specific to them. Clicking on another sim gets you to cheats for them.

 

[Leslie Trihey]

I hate to add onto the the not being ready for the sims 5; but paralives is worth keeping an eye on. Looks far more promising then anything EA games has been able to produce in the last decade. Not that I haven't put a few hundred hours in the sims 4 myself lol.

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

I hate to add onto the the not being ready for the sims 5; but paralives is worth keeping an eye on. Looks far more promising then anything EA games has been able to produce in the last decade. Not that I haven't put a few hundred hours in the sims 4 myself lol.

Ohhhh - let me add that now.

 

[Jolene Benoir]

I have been testing out a bunch of mods in addition to those I already had (MCC, UI Cheats, Better Build/Buy). I downloaded a save file from Pleasant Sims whereby she *fixed* all of the built in families, so I could use that as a test case. I put in Slices of Life, Meaningful Stories, Have Some Personality, Please, Wonderful Whims, WooHoo Wellness, Cooking Overhaul, Sim National Bank and Bills and Whims Overhaul as well as Retail Overhaul which I haven't really gotten to yet.

So far, my game has not broken. It is running the same as it ever has. It does make a serious change in that it is much more common for your sim to be bored or unhappy unless you do something that fits their personality. They seem to autonomously do these things as well much more than the vanilla game.I see none of the *this item is making me happy* stuff. I haven't gone as far as cheating nor death to test those out yet.

It certainly does change the menus from everything we are used to, to new things though some of them make no sense, like asking if someone has woohoo'd. Overall, I think there are a few that made the most difference and that would be Wonderful Whims, Slice of Life and Meaningful Stories at least in a way where you can see it working. Have Some Personality, Please doesn't really make itself felt menu wise, but may well be working in the background. The bank one you would notice right off the bat, of course, as none of the utilities are turned on initially. The menstruation part can be irritating as it almost always hits right after a load with them being all cranky to be followed by complaints about blood flow where you need to buy supplies. That module can be left off if you do not want it.

That is the thing with some of these bigger mods. You need to read the description by the modder as to what is optional and what is necessary and pick and choose what you want. Also, you need to read about compatibility. For example the bank/bills one has an autopay function. If you have that turned on in MCC you need to turn it off. For the most part they are all compatible with other mods. In some cases, they work well together like the WooHoo one works with Wonderful Whims. Another thing to pay attention to is how to access things from the mod, so for example do you access it via in-game menu or a computer or phone. All important things to know as your sim cries in desperation for a chill pill or a tampon, lol.

Just wanted to let folks know where I'm at with testing them.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Well that was disappointing. Their Sims are plug ugly and sort of... dead looking. For me, the characters are central to my enjoyment and the EA Sims are so charming. The contrast is really stark.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Well that was disappointing. Their Sims are plug ugly and sort of... dead looking. For me, the characters are central to my enjoyment and the EA Sims are so charming. The contrast is really stark.

Leslie Trihey -- So I'm not exactly taking back my earlier comment, but after spending the last hour digging into more of the Paralives videos and development background, I have a much better context for what I was seeing the first time. I wasn't aware that the game is only in pre-alpha, which makes quite a bit of difference in the relevance of my criticism.

The build UI is awesome, as are most of the interfaces for content customization. This really is a pretty impressive showing for this stage of development. I'm assuming now that the lack of facial animations -- which I found so off-putting -- is an aspect of character that will be addressed later, layered on the framework of what they have now. I've seen so many virtual world simulations do a crappy job of characters, but I'm going to remain optimistic that these developers won't overlook that part of character building.

My one concern about the quite delightful sizing flexibility is that they'll end up with the SL Avatar Syndrome, of wide ranges of heights that shatter immersion... oh wait, this isn't a shared world. I don't have to look at any sims that I didn't create. Bring it on!

 

[Jolene Benoir]

EA can certainly use a competitor. I'm not really commenting about Paralives, how it looks or anything else about it. I give them credit for being willing to undertake the gargantuan task. Beyond that, we shall see as time goes on.

 

[Beebo Brink]

This video series is AMAZING!

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

This video series is AMAZING!

Ever watch someone doing something and wonder why you even bother?

Of course spouse then says 'Because you enjoy doing it'

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

I hate to add onto the the not being ready for the sims 5; but paralives is worth keeping an eye on. Looks far more promising then anything EA games has been able to produce in the last decade. Not that I haven't put a few hundred hours in the sims 4 myself lol.

Oooh, this looks intriguing! I wish they were making it Linux-compatible.

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

So, watched a bunch of Schnuck's tutorials, and now I think I'm going to be spending the next year trying to get -all- those paintings painted as masterpieces [because why not?]..... By the way, tested it - if you put a masterpiece in a room and save it to your gallery, when you plop it down, it is still a masterpiece.

Also, as near as I can tell, you -only- need to do this for paintings, every thing else is under show hidden objects.