What is the point of Sims?

[GECK.O]

On 5/16/2019 at 12:19 PM, Z0mBieP00Nani said:

I decided to try this game out on a whim (as I've seen a number of screen shots of mods that have caught my eye over the years). So far my experience has been less than satisfactory, I created a sim, picked a "world" and was immediately greeted with a blank lot in a park to build a house on, I decided not to do anything with that because I don't have money yet. Then I noticed "careers" (yay, a way to make money) and some other stuff, but I also noticed that there doesn't seem to be a map or a way to go to work or school, then I noticed that my range of travel is very limited, I can see buildings in the distance but I can't go to those areas or enter the buildings (I can't really explore). Through interacting with one of the other sims in the game I manged to get invited to go to another map to do what exactly, I don't know. The sim I made is now constantly starving, constantly unhappy, constantly tired, and they stink because they can't bathe, because they don't have a house (I guess) and there doesn't appear to be any place to bathe. The social interaction doesn't make a lot of sense (other sims get stressed or pissed off out of the blue it seems, and I mean before I've really even done anything), the movement, camera angles, and controls are terrible (as far as I can tell), the time seems to fast forward randomly, the game world seems kind of dead and pointless... From the perspective of someone just jumping into the game, I have to say, the game makes no sense.

 

How did this franchise even make it past one release? Clearly I must be missing something.

 

Basically there's no point playing The Sims.

 

It's a sandbox game, you make your own target, your gamaplay way, world theme, build the buildings, create the sims, etc.

 

Then installing mods to perfecting the gameplay and add more cc.

 

Then you realized you are addicted, seek for new mods, cc everyday and play the game aimlessly.

 

That's all.

[HentaiGnome]

On 5/16/2019 at 12:19 AM, Z0mBieP00Nani said:

I decided to try this game out on a whim (as I've seen a number of screen shots of mods that have caught my eye over the years). So far my experience has been less than satisfactory, I created a sim, picked a "world" and was immediately greeted with a blank lot in a park to build a house on, I decided not to do anything with that because I don't have money yet. Then I noticed "careers" (yay, a way to make money) and some other stuff, but I also noticed that there doesn't seem to be a map or a way to go to work or school, then I noticed that my range of travel is very limited, I can see buildings in the distance but I can't go to those areas or enter the buildings (I can't really explore). Through interacting with one of the other sims in the game I manged to get invited to go to another map to do what exactly, I don't know. The sim I made is now constantly starving, constantly unhappy, constantly tired, and they stink because they can't bathe, because they don't have a house (I guess) and there doesn't appear to be any place to bathe. The social interaction doesn't make a lot of sense (other sims get stressed or pissed off out of the blue it seems, and I mean before I've really even done anything), the movement, camera angles, and controls are terrible (as far as I can tell), the time seems to fast forward randomly, the game world seems kind of dead and pointless... From the perspective of someone just jumping into the game, I have to say, the game makes no sense.

 

How did this franchise even make it past one release? Clearly I must be missing something.

Don't play the game vanilla since it's actually more challenging that way (hence your less than satisfactory experience). Much like with Bethesda games, the Sims is more enjoyable with mods and cheats enabled. It's up to you as to what you want to use; you can go all-out or instead limit yourself so you're not playing god-like mode. Also, contrary to the titular name of the Sims being a real-life simulator, I think it's better to look at it as a RPG set in a realistic (albeit cartoony) world. Where fantasy RPGs have classes, the Sims has traits; fantasy RPGs have abilities, the Sims has skills; fantasy RPGs have quests, the Sims has aspirations and daily tasks, etc. etc. 

 

The franchise made it past one release because it offered something new to the table for its time. At this point, it's garnered a strong fandom that four major releases have been made for the game, and every release has gotten stronger due to mods (kind of like Bethesda games). You have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy the Sims, so yeah it's not for everyone, but again thanks to mods (especially WickedWhims for Sims 4 and KinkyWorld for Sims 3) it makes the games that much more enjoyable.

 

EDIT: As far as controls are concerned in Sims 4, I will admit that I'm not fond of it and I prefer the Sims 3 controls instead, so under options I just enable Sims 3 controls. Feels more intuitive imo. Also, it's just one of those things that you'll have to keep playing in order to get used to it. The Sims is a unique set of games and you don't really find any other triple A title with similar gameplay mechanics. It's not a FPS, it's not a typical RPG, it's not a racing game, it's not a fighter, etc.

[jurneends]

For me, I enjoy creating unique places and the Sims offers this on a level I have yet to find in any other game. I typically use cheats while I play primarily because I’m more focus on the building aspect.  The Sims isn’t the conventional game where the goal is to win or beat an opposing player.  I think if you look it the way you would a kids playing dolls/action figures or legos -boring unless you use your imagination to bring them to life or create something magnificent. 

 

[FauxFurry]

The point varies from entry to entry but over-all, the point is to build a home, family and/or community from scratch, make it flourish then see how many generations you can keep it all going for. The only loss conditions in the series comes from a family being unable to sustain itself by having no surviving adults on the lot. 

[2cool4u_1]

1 hour ago, FauxFurry said:

The point varies from entry to entry but over-all, the point is to build a home, family and/or community from scratch, make it flourish then see how many generations you can keep it all going for. The only loss conditions in the series comes from a family being unable to sustain itself by having no surviving adults on the lot. 

That's one way to play. There are many, many others. For example (I've done this in Sims 3); You can take a building (it could be a house, but a shopping mall works better), take a household of random sims, a bunch of zombies, and lock them all in. See who survives. Another example; kill sims in various ways, like while they're swimming, build walls around the pool so they eventually drown.

 

It's all about the scenarios you use to play.

[Z0mBieP00Nani]

3 hours ago, 2cool4u_1 said:

That's one way to play. There are many, many others. For example (I've done this in Sims 3); You can take a building (it could be a house, but a shopping mall works better), take a household of random sims, a bunch of zombies, and lock them all in. See who survives. Another example; kill sims in various ways, like while they're swimming, build walls around the pool so they eventually drown.

 

It's all about the scenarios you use to play.

Ok... sadist, lol.

[WandererZero]

5 minutes ago, Z0mBieP00Nani said:

Ok... sadist, lol.

Sadism and sims4 have gone together like peanut butter and jelly since the original Sims. 

[Z0mBieP00Nani]

3 hours ago, WandererZero said:

Sadism and sims4 have gone together like peanut butter and jelly since the original Sims. 

Yes, I've heard stories that describe such years back.

 

By the way, are there any benefits to becoming a vampire? Is that even possible? Are there any mods for it?

[WandererZero]

1 hour ago, Z0mBieP00Nani said:

By the way, are there any benefits to becoming a vampire? Is that even possible? Are there any mods for it?

Yes there are benefits, and it offers some very unique play. You should look into getting the Vampires DLC. 

 

Yes, there are mods for it. There are mods for just about everything. 

 

 

[Guest]

I think a LOT of people play the Sims (especially on the official forums) as a child would play with their action figures or a doll house.  You basically take characters premade or otherwise, dress them how you like and then play out stories with them from whatever your imagination can come up with.  With expansions and stuff its always been about extending the "play area" for your sims.   Such as universities or going camping, vacations, ect.

 

I get that a LOT of people who play games struggle with the Sims though, I've had this conversation many times in real life since the Sims came out because most people who play video games are used to them having some kind of goal.  Tasks to complete.  A victory condition or competition. And the thing is some of them find it REALLY hard to come up with their own stories or play a without a direction, or they simply don't enjoy the Sims.

 

For myself its about telling stories, I play the Sims to tell stories.  Both in-game and through screenshots.  To me I think that's what the Sims series has actually done the worse job of - allowing players to capture their stories better with more filters and stuff.  Especially for players with erotica stories, its hella fun to look back on the naughty adventures of your sims or create a story arc of them and see little ms. nice turn into little ms.toilet cum dumb in pictures.  Because you can always go back and LOOK at the before images lol.  Stuff like that.

 

Per your comment below, personally I'm not opposed to the DLC model as you call it.  The Sims series has always extended itself via packs and the great thing is you don't have to buy the packs your not interested in to get the most of the game.  For example, the vampire pack - love vampires buy it!  Hate vampires?!  Then dont' buy it and you will never see, hear or feel their presence in your game directly or indirectly.

 

Its allowed us to keep extending our game and I'd rather pay for a pack then a monthly fee via an mmo. 

 

With that said I think their packs for the Sims 4 have been really wanting compared to previous releases.  We seemed to get more content and more depth to them before, with the Sims 4 packs they are a real mess of good and bad, well thought out and limited.

 

Personally though I have no problem paying full price for an expansion like seasons and they go on sale A LOT  for 1/3 the price.   Also keep in mind I know based on polls on the official forums that a huge portion of Sims players primarily play the Sims games.  For a lot of gamers, we tend to go through a large library of games and despite being a heavy sims player I still can't resist buying the next new cool looking game that grabs my attention - although my tastes are niche like Atelier series.

 

On 5/16/2019 at 11:53 AM, WandererZero said:

I actually have no real complaints about 4, believe it or not....aside from the ridiculous business model with regard to how they sell DLC.

[FauxFurry]

On 5/23/2019 at 2:57 PM, Z0mBieP00Nani said:

Yes, I've heard stories that describe such years back.

 

By the way, are there any benefits to becoming a vampire? Is that even possible? Are there any mods for it?

Immortality, teleportation, mind control, no need to sleep or eat (they need only drink and meditate), super strength and speed and they sparkle in the sunlight (with the right perk). The only real downside is a lack of a reflection, something which one of Little Miss Sam's mods gives one the option to undo (with a new vampire power).