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[BoxManLocke]

Thank you EA for making me save 99 €.

My girlfriend wanted me to buy the collector's edition. I told her to wait for the reviews but she wouldn't hear it. Then I showed her the missing features list.

She'll keep playing The Sims 3.

 

[fluffydelusions]

Well I knew stuff was being cut and read about it a while ago but just looked at the OP...WOW just wow. Had no idea some of that stuff was out...EA is crazy

 

[fader]

Thanks OP for saving me $60. Awesome OT

 

[McNum]

Nice OP, but would it be possible to include the full list of careers that are believed to be in the game

Done. New Careers bullet point updated. I knew I forgot something.

And to all of you saying that I just saved you money. Nah, it wasn't me. I just laid out the facts. It's EA who made all the choices that you're reacting to. I'm just the messenger.

I feel I've been exceedingly polite towards the game. Despite the somewhat cruel subtitle for this thread. This is what it is. NEW and NOT. And I really wish the NOT list was shorter, but I've kept the worst nitpicks off it, and it's still that big. Honestly, I could have done a much more scathing OT, but I'm just going to lay out the facts in a collected and easy to follow manner. Somehow that seems even more cruel. But that's on EA, not me.

 

[PBalfredo]

The open world and freely walking between lots was the biggest improvement Sims 3 made on the formula. So weird to see them regress. I want to be excited about a new Sims game, but if there isn't enough system level improvements, it just feels like an excuse to sell more expansion packs.

 

[Feltrol]

Wow, more things got cut than I thought.

Looks like I might have to wait. Sorry, EA!

 

[inky]

I was thinking, since Create-a-Sim supports hashtags if we should come up with a common one for Gaf created Sims. Like #GafSim or something. Just so we can find eachothers' Sims easier. I mean, Create-a-Sim is free, and looks to be the best part of the game, really, so we might as well share some good Sims. Or crimes against nature. Or Bish. Or sub-community mascots, if we have any.

Eh, if people want to go for it I guess that's fine. The tools I found OK and I always enjoyed the build/creation aspect more than the gameplay (used to do the sims and houses for my lil bro), but I don't see myself spending much more time with the demo. Here's my stab at Chris Evans:

For some reason making males with likeness seems a lot harder than females, and the limited hairstyles and some bad tools (eyelashes/makeup for example) keep it from really shining. I feel there still a lot that can't be done, but if you want Miley Cyruses and Kim Kardashians the game's got you covered I guess.

 

[Tempy]

Hoping mods will make it good.

 

[fluffydelusions]

Game got the simcity treatment

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

Man I would love to see a postmortem on this game. The world is so segmented, that it seems like instances. And those careers read more like character classes with builds for each than normal careers. Then of course there is the engine that can't even do sub ground stuff now? I feel bad for maxis/ sims studio on this one. I can't imagine they are happy with this.

Hopefully they can add back a lot of this missing stuff but some stuff like the open world etc just seems like it won't be back.

 

[Ithil]

It's not even the Sims 1.5.

 

[ArchersOfAgincourt]

Great thread for a pretty crappy game, OP!

I would add in either the missing features list or recommended specs list that the game has no 64-bit client, so it can only use at maximum 4 GB of RAM. It was this fact alone that made all the PR they shoveled out after the pools-n-toddlers incident about their "focus on performance" seem like utter nonsense. My rig has 16 GB, so it's nice to know 3/4s of my computer's power will just be twiddling its thumbs.

That said, I'll always be a fan of the core sims experience, and I remember how awful The Sims 3 was at launch and how different of a game it was a year or two down the line. Hopefully similar things can happen here.

 

[Persona7]

I love The Sims but I will be waiting on a sale for this one.

 

[Trigger]

I enjoyed playing around with the sim sculpting stuff. I might buy a future bundle if they add back in Create-A-Style and throw out some fun expansions.

 

[jgwhiteus]

Man, I've complained so much about the missing features in the pre-release threads but I completely forgot this was coming out next week - guess it shows how much my excitement has fallen off a cliff from when it was first announced.

I'll wait a couple of months for some patches and expansion packs / re-releases as combination packs, and see how things are.

How do you even screw up something like the Sims? The popular features and mechanics have been in place for over a decade - all they had to do was some nice graphical upgrades (oh if only it was more than a 32-bi exe / could access more than 4GB of RAM), some fun mechanics additions, and I would have shelled out my money day one. I guess that's what you get when you over-reach for that "social" / MMO gold-mine - didn't they learn from the first "Sims Online" in 2002?

 

[RP912]

It's not even the Sims 1.5.

Maybe it's The Sims Begins...prequel to The Sims 1.

 

[RP912]

http://www.twitch.tv/thesims

Stream is up

 

[Rentahamster]

http://www.twitch.tv/thesims

Stream is up

LOL so many people in chat telling them to build a pool.

 

[Sandfox]

I'll be picking this game up after I finish with playing new entries in franchises I enjoy more.

 

[Kouriozan]

LOL so many people in chat telling them to build a pool.

Oh the irony.

 

[Sandfox]

Oh the irony.

Its probably intentional.

 

[Kouriozan]

Trees on roof, that's a megaton.
Edit : oh god he made a fountain like a pool.

 

[Rentahamster]

They can make fountains but not pools. Mmkay.

 

[DataGhost]

Wow, well at least we know pools are coming considering a fountain can be built. I guess I'll wait for the game to go on sale with the expansions and dlcs

 

[Mrdrboi]

If there is no Repoman what happens if you dont pay the bills?? The repoman served a purpose and a consequence for not paying the bills.

 

[A.D. Skinner]

If there is no Repoman what happens if you dont pay the bills?? The repoman served a purpose and a consequence for not paying the bills.

Water gets turned off and things like that.

 

[McNum]

If there is no Repoman what happens if you dont pay the bills?? The repoman served a purpose and a consequence for not paying the bills.

The power gets cut. All electric items stop working. And I think water as well.

 

[Bilollipop]

I've had a preorder down for this game since late January, but I'm debating whether I should cancel it since it's such a step backwards.

 

[McNum]

So that livestream is now over, and you know, there's two things I take away from it.

1. Build Mode looks pretty neat. Sure fixes a lot of annoyances from the previous games, but at the cost of some flexibility (most notably terrain sculpting.)

2. EA has still not shown actual unscripted gameplay like a The Sims player would play it in Live Mode.

 

[DataGhost]

So that livestream is now over, and you know, there's two things I take away from it.

1. Build Mode looks pretty neat. Sure fixes a lot of annoyances from the previous games, but at the cost of some flexibility (most notably terrain sculpting.)

2. EA has still not shown actual unscripted gameplay like a The Sims player would play it in Live Mode.

I thought live mode was tommorow?

 

[McNum]

I thought live mode was tommorow?

Well, let's hope so. I just want to see the normal gameflow of going to work, socializing with other Sims, building skills and not keeling over from hunger, or fall down tired in the process. You know. The Sims gameplay.

 

[Sacul64GC]

OT has more effort than the game itself, good job! Have you considered cutting out a section and making it exclusive to Gaf Gold members?

 

[Sol_Goodguy]

Great OT, even if the length and content of the missing features list make it a bit of a depressing read.

My last run-in with this series was almost 10 years ago with the PS2 version of The Sims 2. Admittedly, it was a little light on features but even then it still had splitscreen multiplayer, pools, and essential NPCs (like firemen); all things that The Sims 4 is lacking.

I'm curious to see how it reviews; especially since reviewers were denied access before the game's release.

 

[ghostjoke]

Having now finally seen the degree to the removed features (thanks OP) all I can say is WTF. Maybe a sequel to The Sims 1 at best. And no fire fighters? Fire = death

 

[TiredGamer]

I'm in despair! The Sims 4 has left me in despair!

 

[Red The Hunter]

I'm in despair! The Sims 4 has left me in despair!

But seriously I'm not happy with the changes either to the Sims 4, while the game looks nice and there are some features that I'm welcome to having to make the experience playing the game a whole lot better, but taking out basic things that have been in the game since the original Sims (Like pools, SERIOUSLY you take out pools) is inexcusable. I'm gonna wait til we see an expansion or two before deciding whether it's worth my time or not.

 

[ebullientprism]

Is there a reason why so much of what you would expect to be in a Sims game is missing from it?

Did the development team not get enough time to make it or was the original vision for this game something completely different. The cynic in me wants to say its being held back for DLC but I dont think they could/would add that much even with DLCs.

 

[McNum]

Is there a reason why so much of what you would expect to be in a Sims game is missing from it?

Did the development team not get enough time to make it or was the original vision for this game something completely different. The cynic in me wants to say its being held back for DLC but I dont think they could/would add that much even with DLCs.

This is all a rumor, but a fairly likely one.

Word has it that The Sims 4 was in development for a long time as an online game, like SimCity, focused on young adult Sims, parties, and microtransactions. You know, because The Sims Social was such a huge hit. Oh, wait... You'd control a Sim and talk go out and socialize with other people's Sims.

Then SimCity happened.

EA now knew that if it didn't have the resources to handle the launch of SimCity on its servers, then The Sims 4, expected to sell three to four times of that would be dead in the water. And that's just not a gamble they wanted to take with their cashcow. So, the The Sims 4 that was got canceled, and The Sims 4 we see got rushed. Like, seriously rushed. This version might use some art assets of the online one, but the game code is probably not much more than a year and a half old.

But, of course, EA has neither confirmed nor denied this. It would go a long way to explain some of the design choices, though, if they had to work with the assets and what pieces could be salvaged from the online game.

 

[jiiikoo]

Just showed this thread to my girlfriend and it seems like she's going to stick with Sims 3 for the time being. She's hopeful they will add most of those in the future, but this is not a day 1 purchase for her anymore.

 

[jakomocha]

Being a huge fan of the Sims franchise (I actually played 3 first, then went back and bought 2 and 1), this game has hugely disappointed me. The more I heard about it, the more I'd rather play the older Sims games . Ultimately, I don't even care if this game somehow gets good reviews. The features they removed were a kick in the nuts to all Sims fans and I will not be buying this game anytime soon. What I wanted from Sims 4 was a blend of the best parts of all three Sims games (1 had charm, 2 had the best social interactions, and 3 had the best and most cohesive worlds), and instead this seems like it's even a step back from The Sims 1 in so many ways.

Everyone who doesn't own Sims 2/3 should instead buy that on Sims 4 launch day to make a point to EA

Spoiler

hahaha like they would even care that'd just mean more $$$ for them.

 

[Black Stabbath]

Look at all of those omissions. Nope, not buying this

 

[Sayers]

This Sims fansite has a well sourced article that points not only to the ripped out online requirement but to a terribly mismanaged studio as the culprits.

http://honeywellsims4news.tumblr.com/post/90934806596/the-sims-4-pools-toddlers-what-happened

Also, I'm not so sure the "ignorant Sims fans" are going to be enough to make this game a success. This stuff is being talked about on fansites and the reaction everywhere I have looked is absolutely venomous.

 

[McNum]

This Sims fansite has a well sourced article that points not only to the ripped out online requirement but to a terribly mismanaged studio as the culprits.

http://honeywellsims4news.tumblr.com/post/90934806596/the-sims-4-pools-toddlers-what-happened

Yeah. That's the rumor I was referencing.

Funny thing about that site, by the way. If you were to post that link on the official The Sims forums, use it in your blog or anything tied to the official The Sims site, it gets auto-flagged for moderation. Someone hit a nerve somewhere.

EDIT: Added that link to the OP as a source for the online game rumor bit. Thanks!

 

[JNA]

I really wanted to budge and get this but after seeing that missing features list...I just...I can't.

Seriously what's up with that? I thought sequels were supposed to add more to the game than it's predecessor, not remove.

 

[TetraGenesis]

I'm going to post about how much of a disaster this game is on Facebook a couple times this week in hopes of informing a few casuals.

Quite a long time ago, before all this came to light, I posted about how excited I was for Sims 4. I ended up getting a big response and I think a few people hadn't heard it was coming before and got hyped too. I hope to reach those same people so I know that, even indirectly, I absolutely did not support this game.

 

[Carcetti]

Amazing OP. This whole debacle really makes me want to play Sims 3 but the game takes so much hd space with those expansion packs that I can't even fit it in without deleting stuff I'm playing right now.

 

[RP912]

Amazing OP. This whole debacle really makes me want to play Sims 3 but the game takes so much hd space with those expansion packs that I can't even fit it in.

The game is also a nightmare to install. I spent the whole evening trying to install the sims 3 and still got the expansion packs to worry about :/

 

[Larogue]

Thanks OP, not gonna bother with this.

 

[carlsojo]

I'm definitely getting Dingdangronpa 2 which comes out the same day, so if I play Sims 4 at all I'll probably just use my fiancee's game on her (awful) laptop.

 

[C.Dark.DN]

So the cheapest edition is called "limited edition". Is that a troll?