So I've sampled the actually LEGAL game...

[simpleprincess]

Well all Il say he one lucky manager to have gotton it sooner to try out.lol
Im defianlty overall sticking with my sims 2 but im going to s ee this sims 3 as a seperate game like the sims stories before I get bored and shelve it..

[kaoz666]

That's actually a wise outlook to have. It's clear as day that TS3 will NOT replace TS2. NOT even remotely. But if you play it more as a separate game more so then a replacement, you might actually get "some" enjoyment out of it. But a clear cut, bonafide follow-up to TS2 it's not.

[DaSpecial1]

That's actually a wise outlook to have. It's clear as day that TS3 will NOT replace TS2. NOT even remotely. But if you play it more as a separate game more so then a replacement, you might actually get "some" enjoyment out of it. But a clear cut, bonafide follow-up to TS2 it's not.

I agree with Ancient.   I'd say you accessment was much milder that I would have thought.    I've alway said it's not about bashing sims 3, it's about passing on information good or bad to help people understand what they're buying.  But you are 100% correct--this game should be viewed not as a continuation of TS2 but as a separate game.  It has it's perks but TS2 is far more versatile & interesting.

If you like Mario Bros and wish you could convert it to simland this game is for you.  It's all about collecting things (as opposed to coins) and making money i.e. he who has the most (toys) valubles wins. Family & relationships are only periferal to it and have little meaning.

What was sad to me was going to EA's Official Sims 3 exchange this week after they opened it online.  Check out the items there that you can purchase and add to the game... see for yourself the quality (or lack thereof) of the items they are offering to us as rewards for buying the game.  I think after that visit you'll understand the lack of effort EA has put into the actual game vs the hype.

I hope to hear all of your honest opinions of the game after you've spent some time playing it.   I think you might find we all pretty much agree that this was a great idea not given the chance to reach it's true potential.  That's not game bashing, it just the truth.

[El Lectro]

As Kaoz said the game is alright, but given the opportunity it can be unreal,and that can only happen if they alter that stupid EULA, and the only way they will back of from that is if the thing flops.

Hahah, whatever.  Do you even know what that line in the EULA, where they forbid modification, is for?  It's to cover their asses when people come up with adult mods that get the parents all up in arms.  EA can just point to the EULA and say they had no part of it, and even took steps to prevent it.  In actuality, I think they're okay with modification.  They'd have to be completely ass-backward stupid and financially suicidal not to be.  They're not going to help modders mod with tools, sure, that would cost them money, but would they really stop them?  Are they able to stop them?

As for my reaction to the first impressions, well the enthusiasm faded a bit when I heard the genetics are a step down from the sims 2.  That was my favorite feature of the second game.  Getting only fugly children and townies kinda turns me off.  So until I can be assured of fixes, I'll be laying my hands off of my copy of TS3.  I'll eventually get to playing it, but probably should wait on when it sounds a better game, and I have a much better computer.

It's a bummer that I have to play an entire neighborhood again (It takes me so fing long just to get through one generation), but it looks like the neighborhood progression in TS3 is almost mortally borked anyway.

Haha, I guess I deleted all my CC for the sims 2 rather prematurely.  I'm such a dork.

[Paden]

Go forth and download anew, I say to thee, and thou shalt have a smegload to enjoy while the borked game is worked upon by the miracle workers of the community! Or not, being as how you and they see fit to spend their time.

[roerzman]

Improving or upgrading something that works is great,it will insure the further continuation and success of that product. But make that change to radical and people will resist.
Microsoft learned that lesson when they took something that worked well and changed it into some alien and unfamiliar,eg. Windows to Vista now back to Windows.
EA. could well find themselves in a similar situation, if customers start trying to hand the thing back demanding a refund.
Sims 1 to Sims 2 was a huge improvement, that is why it sold so well. From what I'm reading, Sims 3 is basically Sims in name only with the odd piece of furniture carried over in order to give it some resemblance to Sims 2.

[Teh Warmonger]

Yea really probably not worth my money, I like the gameplay of it tho, but nothing less.

The graphics aren't worth for my rig. Come on I spent big amounts of money to build myself an awesome game machine that will last for five years. They just added the fancy Shader Model 2 into the game. You get water reflections, better mirror reflections, bump mapping, and moar eye candy that were introduced to the world more than four years ago.

I turned it off and went to play me some Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead ftw 

[Wednesday17]

You get water reflections, better mirror reflections, bump mapping, and moar eye candy that were introduced to the world more than four years ago.

Bump maps? Where? I was totally mad that they forgot to include them again. Do I need glasses?

[Skaarjy]

They still use bumpmapping? Ehhhh, sims would look much better normal or even parallax mapped.  Well at least it's better than solid fill LOL

[kaoz666]

Normal Mapping I believe would be to much for a game like The Sims. You usually see Normal Mapping on games that involved high rates of motion, such as FPS and Racing Games. Plus that would put a huge strain on low to mid-end PCs because they'd have to process those textures at a much slower rate of speed, meaning even the most juiced up GFX Card would be gasping for air on anything less then a $2000+ rig. Bump Mapping is the "safe" way to go, but a game that used Normal or Parallax Mapping in the style of The Sims would be a sight to behold.

[simpleprincess]

That's actually a wise outlook to have. It's clear as day that TS3 will NOT replace TS2. NOT even remotely. But if you play it more as a separate game more so then a replacement, you might actually get "some" enjoyment out of it. But a clear cut, bonafide follow-up to TS2 it's not.

lol *blushes* Thanks for saying im wise har. Yeah I agree its not a patch on the sims 2 not one bit.
You know what I noticed? The other day I was in town the local game shop had all this sims 3 preview stuff in the window promoting the game 2 days alter it was replaced,mmm.

[kaoz666]

That the Gamestop my buddy manages, they're pretty much doing nothing to promote the game. Not so much as a poster for it. It's just listed on the "New Releases" section along with all the other games. Kinda tells you something when retailers aren't going out of their way to sell a game. Needless to say, the saga unfolding as it has on the internet has dampened and in some ways even tarnished the game. But EA will just shrug, shake it off, and cater to the casual gamers they were marketing it to in the 1st place. It's no big thing to them, they'll turn a profit regardless, though it won't even be remotely close to the scale that they turned at the initial release of The Sims 2. Between the 1st game and the sequel it was a monumental improvement. Between the sequel and the 3rd installment it's just a few new bells and whistles. Anyone in sales or marketing knows that when the air gets let out of an IP, there's very little you can do to save or promote it, especially when it's been hyped up so much. (Fable anyone? Or maybe Snakes On A Plane.) Hell, at E3...the biggest gaming expo of the year which started today, you'd expect EA to go to town promoting a game that hits shelves today. Not so much. If that doesn't tell the story of what direction the game's going unless they do some serious damage control, I don't know what will. What baffles me is all of the people who are still going to get the game and still believe in their heart of hearts that they're gonna be blown away by a game far more superior then The Sims 2. Man...are they ever in for a let down. Not just because the game is lacking in some key areas that's already been posted all over the place...so I won't bother mentioning them. But because let's not forget...this is a BASE game. There is to much content available for TS2 for TS3 to even remotely be considered it's better. Maybe 4 years from now when there are 4 or so EPs on the market as well and obvious fixes to the game can you consider it as being EQUAL to The Sims 2, but it still won't be better unless EA does something about the EULA and allows for mods to be made. Then it'll have the potential to be more then what TS2 is. But that's just my opinion.

[Tenshii~Akari]

Well, I can tell you for sure... they've got Wal-Mart in their back pockets.  The doggone "Let there be Sims" thing is at both entrances in two of them in my area.    Other than there, I haven't seen much in physical advertising elsewhere to my knowledge. 

I still say they would've done better if this version were made for next-gen consoles, and they actually took the time to make a truer sequel for PC/Mac... though I'm probably in the minority for that suggestion now. 

[michelle]

What a surprise, i thought sims 3 would be an extension of sims 2. Its interesting to hear about it, so thanks! I still love my sims2, so i'm not fussed. I don't even play that often. (I play sporadically but obsessively.)

BTW i have NO IDEA what half of you are talking about most of the time. (Or is that most of you half of the time??) lol.

 

[kaoz666]

What a surprise, i thought sims 3 would be an extension of sims 2. Its interesting to hear about it, so thanks! I still love my sims2, so i'm not fussed. I don't even play that often. (I play sporadically but obsessively.)

BTW i have NO IDEA what half of you are talking about most of the time. (Or is that most of you half of the time??) lol.

 

Good. This means you haven't been corrupted yet. We're proud of you, lol.