I really did want to like - love, in fact - the Sims 3, but I'm sorry to say I did not. I don't even bother keeping a copy installed on my pc anymore.

Ever since I bought it I kept trying to play it every so often to find something to grab me, but it never works and now I've given up.

It was the worst waste of money in my 20 odd years of gaming.

I loved the Sims 1.

The Sims 2 seemed like a huge leap forward, though I was exceedingly sad that certain goodies from the Sims 1 never made it in - I loved that infernal canning station Nonetheless, I adored (still do, in fact) the Sims 2.

Sims 3 I can't even say was going backwards, because that would be an insult to the Sims 1 and 2.

It was time for innovation. Sims 2 - while still retaining the spirit and fun of the Sims 1 - was a vast improvement. It was worth the wait and worth the time and money for the expansions. Not to mention worth downloading too many mods to count

Sims 3 hasn't fixed any of the issues that held the Sims 2 back.

While many people have problems with the bugs, ugly characters, things not built in to the base game, etc, my greatest gripe is simply lack of innovation.

A free roam world.

The perfect time to do away with the dreadful controls that have made the Sims sluggish from day one.

The perfect time to get REAL jobs into the game.

The perfect time to revamp skills and actually make them fun to do.

The open world is wasted. Held back by rabbit holes and shockingly bad gameplay. An open world requires a system of controls that allows for fast actions and reactions. The Sims series has always been slow, but up until 3 it could be tolerated because it only applied to - essentially - a single space.

I realise they're an entirely different genre, but I must use the following games as examples:

Oblivion: Beautiful, non-linear, free roam. It's soon to-be-released sequel, Skyrim, sounds like it'll be boasting some interesting skills. In fact, apparently all the NPCs will have jobs and lives and anything they can do, you can do. Work in the mines, wood cutting, etc.

Runescape: Dreadful to look at, but incredibly slick interactions with skills and surprisingly easy to handle gameplay.

GTA series: VC, SA, IV, you name it. IV took the NPCs to a whole other level: It's a living, breathing city.

I realise the above is a strange set of games to be bringing up in a Sims 3 debate, but I'll explain why I feel I must:

I felt more like I was playing a real life simulation when I was playing GTA IV than I ever did playing the Sims 3. The driving, the exploring, doing insane jumps of buildings, even being evil and beating up the odd pedestrian Changing outfits and styles, recolouring my vehicle, etc.

I can cook, trade, make money, build a house and roam a decent size world in Runescape which has given me far more fun than the hideous excuses for skills the Sims series has. (Well, with the exception of things like the canning station and the things you actually INTERACT with, rather than watching your character read a book and have no input.) Plus it has long term appeal given that it takes YEARS to max out. (Yet still manages instant gratification exceedingly well.)

Oblivion is a delight to look at and the direction the Elder Scrolls series is heading is pretty bloody close to perfection in terms of non-linear gameplay and character development and skills. (If only you could marry and have children and build a house I don't think I'd ever need the Sims again!) And thanks to some amazing mods, more hair and outfits than you can poke a stick at.

If the Sims series is going to continue, it needs to expand far beyond what's been done in the previous versions.

Ironically, the games mentioned above are - in small ways - expanding more towards the Sims than the Sims are expanding towards them.

The world spaces in games have reached a stage now where many developers are looking at new ways to fill them up - concentrating on varied forms of content. Many of the things which were once very much a primary Sims-domain, are now creeping in to other games.

The Sims series has been locked in the same rut all along with very little expansion. Each game, although remarkably fun in many ways, has been more of a rehash of the same concept over and over without many major leaps forward.

Let's face it, there's been no real innovation since Sims 1.

Reading a book to learn a skill?

Proper jobs should have been available long ago in Sims 2. (At least Open For Business took a stab in that direction.)

Watching your sim do everything but actually having surprisingly little input in their actions in terms of gameplay? I want to DO, not WATCH. At least some of the time.

Runescape, in regards to doing, has a simple yet effective way to cook, build, craft, etc. The timing, the items and ingredients - you can gather, create, etc. There's real interaction between you and your character. And thankfully your personal speed and reflexes and techniques can actually be a determining factor in how effecient you are.

In the Sims, you're as slow as the automated system and there's nothing more to it.

Frankly, while I love my Sims, I want more control over them. I want their actions to reflect more of MY input: I can click and command a damn sight faster than an automated system.

I'm not saying the element of free will should go - not by any means. But for our active characters, there needs to be more control and more interest in doing things.

I think one reason I love build mode so much is that I'm doing something. I'm active and engaged and putting in effort. I'm not just watching a character go through the motions of existing.

For me, this perpetual watching my Sims and rarely having to lift a finger - in regards to skills and basic actions - is a pain and always has been.

Cooking is no fun. There's no real input. And it should be a blast. Cleaning was never properly touched and it would be great fun if it involved more than a right click and 'clean' and watch your sim going about cleaning without you getting any input - as usual.

The interaction with other Sims is far more apt because at least you're in considerable control of them and what they say during a conversation. And watching them converse - thanks to the marvellous humour and quirks of their personalities - is genuinely enjoyable.

Watching them during other activities, however, is not.

And every interaction is painfully slow and response times are as rotten as ever.

Didn't the fast forward option really say it all from the start of the series? It speaks volumes of an inherent flaw. This game can be so boring you want to fast forward great chunks of it?

While there's a great deal of charm in the voyeuristic element of the Sims, to me it feels as though I'm too detached from my character.

I've designed a beautiful house, I want to roam in it and feel like I'm THERE. I feel like I'm playing with a doll's house. A seemingly pretty building with a big open back to reach my hand through and manipulate what's inside. The beauty of most games - Oblivion, Doom, GTA - go as old or as new as you like - is that you can feel like you're THERE. The immersion is such a huge part and ironically it's something that's missing from the Sims.

Again, before Sims 3, I could live with it. But it's too far along in the series to be ignored now.

By all means, have some automation for those that want it and it's obviously necessary for the NPCs. But it's time to offer some input for those who want more from the game. People who want to DO instead of WATCHING.

Of course, when we get back to the open world debate, the controls come back into play. They've been inferior in every series and they absolutely fall apart in the open world.

When you look at typical games, you can do a hell of a lot of skilling and interacting with standard controls. The Sims system is akin to a sluggish Sierra point-and click-game from the early 90s.

Runescape is somewhat point and click, but as I said before, it's incredibly slick.

The Sims, even after all these years, takes forever to do anything. And the open world is boring as...er...bat poop with the controls as they are.

If I want to go swimming for fun, I'd rather do it in Oblivion any day of the week. Again, because I'M controlling it - I'm not just watching my character do it.

A fundamental aspect of having real control over your movements in games is that it can truly get you lost in the world of the game.

I don't want the controls - or lack thereof - to be a barrier between me and my Sims. Whichever active Sim I choose, I want - in a sense - to BE them. And I want sitting back and watching to be MY choice - not have it rammed down my throat.

I don't want a reason to hit that fast forward button.

I want to have that rather evil and convoluted sense of power in the game

So, while I still love Sims 1 and 2, I think I've come to the end of my interest in anything new until something radical comes along to change the series dramatically. If I want the same old stuff tarted up time and time again, I'll stick with adding more CC to the Sims 1 and 2.

And, in all honesty, I suspect other genres are - ironic as it is - going to give me a fuller experience with quite a hefty dose of Sim-like elements than the future Sims ever will.

I could live with the money-grabbing and endless expansions for the first two games, because they were ultimately worth it. Sims 3 wants you to pay for it all again without offering anything new.

In fact, perhaps what left me so flat when I first fired up the Sims 3 was the feeling that it was outdated and already behind even when it was so new.

As I said, other games are growing and expanding because they have to. The Sims are stagnating because EA is as stuck in rehashing the same old formula as Hollywood is with boy-meets-girl-boy-loses-girl-boy-and-girl-get-back-together

I would like to add that I don't intend the above as a rant. If people enjoy the Sims 3, the great. I'm glad somebody does.

I've gotten many happy hours from my Sims and will do so for a long time to come. But 3 just wasn't for me. Not enough substance, not enough spirit, not enough innovation and - silly as it sounds - not enough heart. Felt like a commercial exercise with no interest in even an ounce of quality content.

I'd also like to add that the Sims 3 would have been the perfect time to get some proper driving in.

Not to mention making weddings and parties more fun and detailed and exciting. And structured, at least to some degree.

The same concepts are rehashed, but not genuinely improved.

To all intents and purposes, the childbirth is as dull as ever.

All the bones are there for a brilliant game. Rather than having wasted time on the Sims 3, they might as well have just continued with expansions for the Sims 2 if they were determined to follow the same old course.

Sims 2 works competently within the standard formula and it does most things a lot better than 3.

3 was the time to really put effort into changing and improving the existing content. Let's fact it, there's only so much to a life simulation game. From 1-3, there's been a pretty standard set of things to do.

Rather than superficial tarting up, the daily activities needed a major overhaul to make them more absorbing and enjoyable.

Across the series, little has been done to make those things more interesting. Sims 2 came closer to nailing it with the improvement in the childcare:

Having a baby / toddler / child was a hell of a lot more fun in 2 than in 1 or 3. That's the sort of content that is gold.

The expansion packs were already at the point in Sims 2 of needing to not only add new bits and pieces, but to improve on what already existed.

Superficially some content changes, but underneath it's still the same thing done over and over without being really any more entertaining.

Also, the base game should be bloody solid. Any expansion should be a genuine enhancement: not a rip-off because EA wants to draw things out.

*faints dead away*

*Fans you lightly*

Well, I do love my Sims, I always will. It's just rather overdue for a good overhaul I think the modding community has given me a lot more quality content than EA has. That's yet another sad aspect of the way the Sims 3 turned out: Making it so CC-unfriendly. Sorry to use it as an example yet again, but makers of the Elder Scroll Series are incredibly mod-friendly and that community is just a blast. It can extend the life of a game by YEARS. (As any member of this community would know.)

It's such a pity to brush that important element aside. Modding communities keep games alive a lot longer than a lot of developers give credit for. The sensible ones understand that and encourage it. EA heading in the opposite direction does them a lot more harm than good. And us as well

I think my infernally long lecture probably sounded very depressing and negative.

Only the plus side, the Sims 3 nailed one element that I've wanted to see from day one: Easy recolouring of skin and furniture and hair. And the patterns and different fabrics. I would kill to have this feature in the Sims 2. Though I'd like to see it extended to plants as well. I've recoloured all the terrain grass and indoor and outdoor plants to suit my taste for deeply saturated colours and it would have been sheer heaven to be able to do that in the same manner you can recolour things in the Sims 3. (I think without SimPE I would have gone insane.)

And, while I still think the Sims 2 probably has my favourite all time character creation system (the sliders being the most expansive and varied I've used compared to many other games with supposedly advanced character creation systems) there are some bits and pieces in the Sims 3 character creation that Sims 2 really needed. Put the two systems together and the world would be filled with gorgeous Sims!

Having more control over your body type in Sims 3 is - while far from perfect - a step in the right direction. Yes, they made things a bit too round and plump, but the general idea is good.

But, even if you took the best from 1, 2 and 3, there are still flaws inherent in all that need addressing.

Admittedly, even if the series never takes any real leaps forwards, I'd probably always enjoy 1 & 2. But I can't help feeling excited and frustrated at this mountain of potential lurking in these games.

They're addictive and highly entertaining. But there are just some major clunky points and confinements that prevent them from being perfectly brilliant.

Nonetheless, after a recent reinstall of my OS, I finally got around to reinstalling my Sims 2 again - base game plus every expansion and all my favourite mods. Good to have it back :D

*EDIT*

Some additional points I'd like to make: (Oh no, here she goes again!)

Ironically, despite being an absolute obsessive downloader of content for my Sims 1 & 2, technically speaking if the Sims 3 base game had done its job right and really worked the new recolouring system and character creation such a heavy amount of CC shouldn't have been needed at all for 3. This system - had it been even vaguely close to what I think a lot of us assumed it would be - could have drastically cut the need for CC. It also - had EA not been so pointedly determined to snub the modding community from 3 - could have been so marvellous for helping us to create CC.

The eyebrows are a good example of one of the worst parts of creating a new sim: Why on earth can't we edit and tweak the eyebrows more?

Why did there have to be so few furniture styles with the base game?

Why can't we do more with creating our own hairstyles?

I realise the larger part of the answers to these questions is that EA wanted us to cough up money by downloading their content. But, they've given minimal and TERRIBLE options for downloads in the hair dept. They don't seem to bother with it, so they can't expect to make much from it.

I don't know what it is about the people who create hair in games, but the modding communities literally ...er...poop all over default hairstyles every time. I've never seen more beautiful hair than what modders on sites like these have created. (And that applies to games outside of the Sims as well.)

The base game has to be solid. And if the customisation system in Sims 3 had been more carefully thought out it could have been such a knockout. Save the expansion packs for something special. Hair, character creation and a good set of basic furniture and household items is a must for the BASE game.

@ H.R.HMabs Thats alot of typing!

When I played the Sims 2 I kept putting down the Sims 3. I was so
bad I even got a warning! This wasn't helped by the fact that lots of
people said there were glitches and tons of things that were missing
from the Sims 1 + 2. I stayedd well away from it until I had a twenty
pound note in my hand ready to spend and couldn't decide whether to
get the Sims 2 Apartment life or the Sims 3. I watched the Sims 3
trailer and decided to try that.

I was really happy. My game had barley any glitches and the no
loading screens makes it amazing. I love the open-neighbour hood
and the fact that you have to 'chat the Sim up' before you get the
option to WooHoo or get married. One of the main things about
the Sims 3 was the C-A-S tool. It is amazing. My Downloads (Mods)
folder is so much neater and less clogged up. No more download
one hair and download another ten recolours.

Another thing, I find is the community is more populated. There are
usually around fifty people on the Sims 3 Disscusion and only about
two on the Sims 2 Disscusion.

I love the graphics on the Sims 3. It must have been one of the main
reasons I decided to play it. No more blue sheets as water, no more
complicated water mods! I love the open neighbour hood,
it adds so much more life to your game and visiting friend's houses
is fun.

I think that EA are making cool EPs and people should stop putting
down the game because there are no seasons or weather. It will come
in time I bet thats what everyone was saying when the Sims 2
came out:
'No pets. Stupid EA', 'No monsters. EA sucks.' etc.
EA will put as little into the base game as it can and make more 'full
' EPs to make more money. Wouldn't you?

Right now I am seriously deciding whether to uninstall Sims 2 and
sell it or keep it.

Overall Sims 3 is really good, in my opinion and the Pets EP looks
amazing. I really can't wait!

I have been typing for ages and its still not nearly as long as as H.R.HMabs whom should buy a dollhouse :D

I think you'd better go and buy a dollhouse. Here's a link:

Dollhouse

Dolls

Thanks, but I'll stick with Sims 2

I'm glad you enjoy Sims 3. Obviously plenty of people do. And then there are those of us who don't. And even the ones who like both. Not saying other people shouldn't like S3. In its own right, it's not a bad game. I'd use it if I didn't have 1 & 2. But to me, once I compare it against 2, 2 always wins out.

I hope eventually the series will really expand. Meantime, I don't mean to be rude, but you missed my point entirely about the dollhouse. But ah well

I hope there's a Sims 4, because I'll be fascinated - and hopeful - to see where the series goes. And you never know, depending on the expansions for 3, one of them might spark some interest for me.

Why can't I vote? I would be I LOVE IT selection because it truly is better then sims 2, even vanilla base games (compared to each other, and I even had NL with my vanilla sims 2 game). I have to say, people who complain of pudding faces just aren't trying enough or are influenced by the mutated townies (the person who made most the townies should be fired!), and now with the CC sliders, you can really get a liking to whomever you want I love that you can choose eye colour and skin colour, I was really bothered by the fact I couldn't make hazel eyes for my sim self in my sims 2 game. I just think the sims 3 has more fleshed out graphics. I do think that there needs to be less rabbit holes, but my sims are anti-social little beings anyway and don't go out to much besides parks XD I like that the store is more fleshed out (and hopefully never closes like the sims 2 one) and that you get free points with the base game so you can at least get something from the store, and each expansion pack comes with more store stuff. I really just like this game more, and hope that there are gazillions of expansions to come so I'll never get bored (Because I can get bored rather quickly, not because the game is boring)

(I know this post is older, but I just now saw it)



But you see, that's Runescape. The Sims is not supposed to be about how fast your reflexes are, and that's one thing I've always loved about it. I am not the most skilled when it comes to other kinds of video games. I can still enjoy them, but The Sims is not like the other video games. And I believe this is part of its appeal that brings it to a crowd that usually doesn't give video games a second look.

I would just hate it if they changed The Sims in that way. It's not about your reflex skills, it's about your ability to manage a Sim's family and all of their needs, while trying to make them successful and happy in life. Turning it into skill based would just turn it into another generic video game series. People already complain about the quest based gameplay that The Sims 3 has introduced. I'm okay with that, but skill based? Please, no. I get enough of that with other video games. The Sims challenges us in another way, and that's part of its appeal.

Bassoon, I love many of the unique elements that makes the Sims what it is. But, I will have to amiably disagree with you about the speed of the game. I find it painfully slow to do very basic things and that annoys me. I think certainly it should be friendly towards people who like it a gentler pace, but I also think it wouldn't hurt to have an option to increase the reaction times of the Sims and to allow those of us who want it a bit more speed. There's no reason, however, why that can't be optional

As games are becoming progressively less linear, it's an ideal time to be focusing on optional / alternative forms of gameplay. Also on bulking up and fleshing out the content of the game worlds which have reached a rather impressive size.

Anyway, speed is just a matter of preference. To me, the Sims can be painfully and frustratingly slow at times - far beyond what one might call a 'relaxed' pace. And I can't help but compare it to other games where I'm in better control of my character, because (again, to me) the Sims has always had sluggish gameplay. I can't see that as unique in a positive way. There's a fine line between relaxed and slow and - purely in my opinion - the Sims has always been on the wrong side of it.

As to the skills, again, obviously plenty of people like them as they are. I think a lot of them - including the ones in the Sims 2 - are as boring as bat shit. Watching my character read a book to learn about something is slow, dull, and entirely lacking any interaction.

However, I loved the gardening, magic, canning stations, baking and going off the studio to record a few songs in the Sims 1. There was comedy, interaction, distraction and entertainment in those things. As there is with many things across all the games. But just not enough at times in the ONE game...even after so many expansions.

I guess all I'm saying is I think the evolution of the skills and jobs and less sluggish gameplay has been severely lacking after the Sims 1. With most series you tend to get some major leaps forward. At times I think the Sims has taken a handful of leaps forward, but also a hell of a lot of steps backward.

And how, after all this time, can we still be lacking REAL jobs? That seems like such an obvious piece of content for a series like this

I'm not saying anyone has to agree. I don't mean to come across as argumentative and I apologise to anyone if I seem a bit...er...uppity This is one of the rare times I've actually bothered to air a few thoughts on the series, so I hope some people will realise it's not intended as a major rant. It's just an opinion. (Albeit a long and convoluted one.) I don't think anyone has to agree or come around to my point of view. Just sharing a few wishful thoughts, I suppose.

I wouldn't be here if I didn't enjoy playing the Sims.

I just question the evolution of the series...or lack thereof

True innovation or glitzy repackaging ad nauseum?...Perhaps a touch of both.

On the plus side, I'm going to be Simming for years to come. I love controlling, dominating, mismanaging (at times) and expanding my Sim Empire. Gotten years of fun out of the series and I'm always going to be obsessed with it to some degree. I suppose that's the ultimate bonus of owning all 3 games and the extra goodies and expansions up until TS3. Can swap between the lot to cover all my evil needs!

Ill try to keep it short, i havnt had a opnion for the past year, been busy trying other games and exploring 3D art a bit more.
Befor that i played each "The Sims" edition that has been released, upto the release of "The Sims 2 - Pets", the first bought, and the second, and now third, downloaded. The reason i downloaded is simple actually, the content of the game is to poor for me to actually get a retail version.
Ok now for the comments xD

I can see they worked on the "poor content" issue, sadly enough for the base game release its across the board, and with things like "The Grandfather Clock" being removed its kinda the same. The start is cool nice choices, easy building a house and gaining skills, cant put my finger on what they changed in friendships but im liking it.

Tho getting futher into the game (still talking basegame here), there are just a few objects you really want, all high-end houses are starting to look the same again (mood meters ftl). Unless offcourse you get stuff from the sim store, or stumble across a place called "Mod The Sims" Im even disliking store content, i expected more cool things, was easy to find a DL of this content so maybe thats why. Then offcourse when roofing your bigger and more complex houses, youll eventually grab a cheat list witch then again might srew up you non cheat town (who doesnt like testingcheatsenabled true). And in some cases youll just stick with a bungalow roofing cause its just easyer and you hardly ever look at it. Iff you do try to get it done with or without cheats, youll find out that moving walls is a lot easyer, witch is good, but the roofs still dont get cut off in the proper way to make for example a simple L-shaped roof. And sometimes the intersection of roofs get a empty sqaure with no textures, allowing you to look into the house while the roof is on.
And there is still this issue with fireplaces, atleast i think there is, you can make it look cool spending a lot of time redoing the roof or replacing the fireplace (iff its not on a outerwall btw) never the less its to much trouble.

Overall the game got a lot better in some places, but also bit wierd (or worse) in others, dint really feel like buying the game yet tbh.
Where is the diving board btw from the outdoor pool

Then i slowy installed all the expansion packs, and other extra's, hoping to refind my sim adiction, witch i did luckly enough.
Roofing how even dint get more robuste, and there are still pre-made houses with roof you cant make with out using the cheat menu, as manny things still are. The extra proffesions and skills how ever do rock, even tho i need a shower next to the invention bench (or pool), it adds a lot to the game. Real estate, being best friends with you car, more show-off counters and shelfs, sim-bot and a pets expansion to look forward to.

Was really close to actually going out and buying the game in stores, until i realized that all i have been doing inside the game for the past 3/4 weeks. Is Cheating, building way to big houses, clearing towns to rebuild them and then delete them again half way done, making 1 pefect save game with a bunch a sims in a million simdollar house with perfect skill list using the static needs trick, build another bunch of houses, got frustrated over lot size, modded the game to overcome the frustration, got frustrated over town layouts, downloaded the create a world tool, and i ended upback into the first town until i get an idee for a cool hood (or rahter more, get into making a working hieght mapping).
I havnt spend time on rolling a sim in a normal way since i installed the expansions, and im even wondering why the game is still called "The Sims" and not something along the lines of "Neighberhood Tycoon Deluxe" .....

Im still hoping that a version 4 will be released someday, removing some of the small game breakers and returning some of the missing items. Untill then ill just see what i can make of the game, still got a lot stuff in my RL house that i would love to remake into The sims world (like a big round dinner table that is wider then a coffee table). And i still have a lot of tombs and stuff explore while i think of more items i could make and possibly upload.

So much for keeping it short enjoy the read

I guess I'm somewhere in between love and hate. The whole "going out and doing things" aspect doesn't really grab me, it's not really how I play. I tend to make quite socially awkward sims and not answer the door unless I specifically want a relationship with that sim. But I don't hate it either, it's just not make or break to me. I suppose I could experiment with it but I guess I'm lazy.

Then there's build mode, it's more in-depth but there isn't enough content even with mods. Adding the pattern/colour changing aspect (while it is nice) does not replace the need for plenty of good content. Seems like EA got a bit slack here, kinda like they want they community to do everything for them.

Create-a-sim mode nudges me closer to the dislike side of the fence. With just the base game and no mods installed as I started off it is unbearable. ALL of the sims have overly shiney skin and pudgey faces, I could find no way to make slender sims properly. I had to add sliders to get them almost right and I still can't get them perfect but that's not the game's fault. All the in-game hair and clothes are rubbish too, another thing that had to be modded to bearability. I can't quite put my finger on what else is wrong with CAS, but there is something that is missing.

It also seems like when you compare the base games they've taken a ton of content out,to me that's a step in the wrong direction. And (thisis just a personal thing) there's STILL no lawyer career. Law and politics are not the same and neither is law enforcement. I want to be a lawyer not a politician or police woman. And since it's such an overly sensitive game modding easily causes crashes even when you've been doing it for yonks.

As I said, I don't hate it, I enjoy playing it and still get that sentimental connection to my sims and I'm pretty excited for pets (I get rather lonely without pets in my game) and with mods it makes the game playable. I guess you could call my opinion 'disappointed' especially since we know EA can do better. I still play sims 2 and on the odd occasion the original sims. I just feel that sims 2 was better as a whole. But I'll keep pushing on with it because I sincerely love the sims games, I might even try making CC instead of just downloading it xD

Disclaimer This is just my opinion (however vague and uncertain it may be) you don't have to agree, after all wouldn't the world be even worse if we all thought the same.


You are more than welcome to message me with tips on sorting out my issues (at the moment it's mainly how to make decent faces, I use Bella3lek4's extra facial sliders and jonhas body sliders. If someone could say more than "just play around 'til you get it right" it'd beveryhelpful. Maybe a screen shot I can use as a nice starting point to fiddle with to get what I want? I'd really appreciate your help)

I want to get the sims 3 but the faces really creep me out...ick.

TS3 is good enough for me, and it wins my attention from TS2 because only one thing : Seamless Neighborhood. If this feature is in TS2, then maybe I'll never buy Sims 3...

My sims want seasons and weather, their worlds are boring without it!

I really don't know if I should get the Sims 3 after seeing all the mixed emotions about it?

Am I better off sticking to the Sims 2? :/

Although this isn't the right place, at least I don't think so, I will say this, it's up to you whether or not you want to get the game or not as you shouldn't let someone else's opinion over your own. Although, I will just say in terms of advancement in technology, features, expansions etc..Overall Sims 3 is worth getting, rather than sticking with Sims 2, but remember you don't have to drop Sims 2 if your getting 3, but at some point you may not like going back to Sims 2, at least from most experiences I've heard and seen, that seems to be the case.

It really is hard to say. The changes made to the Sims 3 aren't enough to definitively say that you will love 3 and never look at 2 again. You will probably have to get it and try it out for yourself to truly know. You could try 3 and really love it.

For about 2 years I have been trying to get into the sims 3, but have ultimately been unsuccessful. My biggest issues are with the lighting outside of CAS(CAH now), the clunky, repetitive animations and the lack of interactions.

I don't like taking steps backwards. I've been gaming since the early 90's and I have always moved forward. I don't usually play games for sentimental/nostalgic reasons. I felt the sims 2 was a better game(other than CAS), but I just couldn't bring myself to live in the past. I deleted all my cc for sims 2 to make certain I wouldn't play it. I still couldn't like sims 3. I quit the sims series altogether. I kept coming on this site for updates on the game, but I had lost interest.

Then Late Night was announced and my interest was peaked. I have a thing for vampires and one of my fav games was Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. I even decided to buy the previous expansions. In the end I was disappointed with EA's so called vampires: juice boxes, vegetarian, becoming friends with your prey in order to feed, hunting is obsolete, buggy skilling, special abilities were trivial.

I was again disappointed when Generations didn't add as many family interactions as I hoped it would. I tried Sims Medieval since I love Medieval fantasy. Yep, that's right. I was disappointed again, this time by the rabbit hole adventures and the clunky fighting. I just kept feeling short changed.

So I have done what I thought I would never do. I reinstalled the sims 2 and hunted down all the old cc I once had and I am now playing that in between my mmo of choice and other console/pc games.

Maybe I'll take another look at sims 3 when weather comes out.

Thank you guys!

I'm gonna buy the base game tomorrow, and try it. I'm hoping I'll love it and get the expansions! If not, it's 30 bucks down the drains.

Love it! Especially a mod I found called ultra90%offskillshiddenskills. Made my sims build their skills in super time...I have no idea how to go about making mods but now I have pets it's no longer properly compatible as it stopped me being able to see the riding books for purchase in the book store and interacting with my pets properly.
If someone could make it compatible with this latest EP I would be very grateful

For anyone still wondering if they should buy it or not... check out some of the many actual game play videos on youtube. Hope that helps!

So how'd you like it?! (:

Not sure if this thread is where this post belongs...moderators please feel free to remove if this post is in the wrong place. *clears throat* Hello all, my name is danceactsing96 and I am a first time player of thie sims franchise. On my birthday last year, I recieved the Sims 3 Deluxe as a gift. When I first started playing the game, I was addicted. After playing endless amounts of tycoon and other simulation games, this game seemed like exactly what I had wanted for so long. It had all the elements of family-style gaming, micromanaging aspects, customization and was free of RPG "challenges." I felt like this was the first game where I could do whatever the doodle I wanted to. Recently this year, I started looking to ths Sims community. It was then that I discovered the Sims 2. I went on several opinions sites and forums such as these and learned that people were very angry at my favorite game. I was confused. How could any simmer prefer the Sims 2 over this new, updated, version? Wouldn't they be stepping back? I decided to download the Sims 2 free trial online to see what everyone was up in arms about. I was shocked at the new gameplay. Even with only an hour of gameplay, I understood so very clearly what the Sims 3 was missing. I then researched again in the community and with other sites and learned that a lot of people felt the same way. I then went to the official site to find out more and was greeted with a very unpleasant surprise.. The sims 2 official site had shut down entirely. What was the problem? I wondered. Why would a intelligent-minded company alienate a large fan base as well as an opportunity to make more money? This is where I am now. I am still playing the Sims 3, of course, but I am anxiously awaiting the opportunity where I may play the Sims 2 once again.

danceactsing96: Why wait for an opportunity? TS2 EP's and base-game are still sold. A quick search in ebay shows that the prices are really low.



All previous Sim games have their solid fan-base but legacy game fans are a minority. Alienating and angering a minority group will not costs EA money. Big companies can afford to have a few enemies and people who swear they will never again buy any game from EA. So they concentrate all their efforts on the newer version that still can generate lots of income.

The same thing happened with TS1 when TS2 came out and it will happen again with TS3 when TS4 comes out, and it will continue to happen until EA stops making the Sims series all together.

Good to know ani.. I tend to be a bit skeptical with the legitamacy of ebay, but I will definitely look for the game at other stores. Walmart and Game-Stop did not carry it.