Insimenator.org

Hi Everyone,
So with the release of TS3 pending, Im sure plenty of you guys are foaming at the mouth with anticipation. This post will be about making an informed decision on whether you're really interested in this game, or just going along with it because its a new "evolution" of Sims. Or like me, not interested.

While my personal opinion is of great weight here, and the reason for posting here (I wont deny it), see this as your soap box too, by all means. Have your say.

First off, Ill start by showing a few screenshots of TS3, some you have probably seen.

(http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/tomkatty2/ts3_1.jpg)

(http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/tomkatty2/ts3_2.jpg)

Looks pretty doesn't it? Look at the guy painting...now look at the other two painting...isn't it awesome? They paint scenery. All new actions. The mind boggles. Oh wait...thats also available in TS2...? my bad...
And Dad's shave? amazing... must have been done with some serious waxing.
And whats that? new furniture? WOW!! look at that end table...the fence on the balcony...the little flowerpot, mom's hair...and little Timmy's stool! All new? This is amazing! Great job! Good show! Loving the palm trees too. Doesn't look anything at all like something we've seen before...

(http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/tomkatty2/ts3_3.jpg)

OMG. Look at the pretty painterly eyes on this chap. Its like...looking at a real person. I almost died. Right there. Its uncanny! Dead ringer for that guy in Shrek 1. Now if only they started mass producing this as a doll. Im sure barbie wont mind Boho-guy. He has painted on eyes...just like her. At least Mr Boho-Bellhop has some sizzling threads...and some narly eyebrows that redeem him.

OKAY> Moving on now.
Since this is a comparison I guess you wanna see what else I have on my mind. Some more screenie-goodness. Right ahead.

These are from Oblivion. As 1 or 2 people may or may not know that game has some similarities to The Sims, with some more action. Create a custom character ala The Sims, level up, survive. Want a new outfit? buy one. or kill someone and take the clothes off their backs. Build a relationship with someone high enough and they might just help you out. Buy a horse and wander endlessly through the countryside. Get into magics, and cast some pretty spells.
Okay, I hear you, enough Oblivion talk. Thats not the point. Look at these screenshots:

(http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/tomkatty2/obl3.jpg)

(http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/tomkatty2/obl2.jpg)

(http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/tomkatty2/obl1.jpg)

Cozy fireplace... nice looking chapel... and lush greenery.. Pretty. BUT...is it better than TS3 graphic wise? Keep in mind that this game was released in March 2006. Thats 2-3 years before TS3 is due. Now scroll up... look at the TS3 screenshots again. Compare.

Another one for good measure. Just...because. Its no secret that Im a HUGE Tomb Raider fan. Im even biased towards it. This is from the upcoming Tomb Raider: Underworld.

(http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/tomkatty2/tru.jpg)

Look at the shadows...Teeth. Hair texture. Sweat. Skin Bump mapping. Compare the eyes to Boho-Bellhop's. This game is to be released mid->late November THIS year.

I used to be a firm believer in The Sims, and I justified and defended all the bugs, all the mediocrity. But The Sims 3? Not getting my vote. Not this time.
Im sorry. But do you need more proof?

Im not saying that you SHOULDN'T buy TS3, just think carefully about it. Are you really worth the sub-effort and mediocrity? Doesnt TS2 already afford you that? Keeping in mind that TS3 doesnt feature custom content by talented community members. Only stuff you'll get from the official website. And we ALL know how helpful and self-reflecting they are:

"I have a problem with my game crashing..."
RE: "Thread closed. The game is perfect. Its your PC."

Wonderful.
Use your discretion with TS3.

Getting off the soap box now. Please, if you disagree/agree with any of this, post here. Get your words and wisdom out in the world. Prove me wrong. Post more screenshots. Do whatever you feel like doing. Discuss!

Heck, even the windows are new!   :laugh:

I've always had a problem with the eyes on those sims... hey, I like "cartoony"-looking eyes, but those eyes just don't fit with the whole spectrum of the new sim design IMHO.  :pale:

Oh yeah... and Little Timmy could use a better barber there.  That haircut he has freaks me out a bit.  :shock:  Maybe it looks better from a different angle, but it looks odd around the back of his neck.  :?

guess you have a point. They could at least have put some much better graphics in sims3. And a lot of new stuff. It' really needed. I at least hope the child, toddler and infant ages are better covered. We've barely seen the children in the screenshots. The clothes don't look extremely much better either. Maxis still kept those 60-80's style and colours... *shudders*... they really need to visit a couple of fashion stores or something...

sims3 graphics seems slightly better than sims2 - but I'm not sure whether it's worth filling up my computer with (maybe wait until sims4? :D - but by then, I'm probably tired of the entire game...). if you're going to make a new version of a popular game, you really should make it a LOT better, so that people wants to by it - NOT make a slightly better copy! Looks like Maxis didn't even try hard.

(the woods in that screenshot looks so real! I want that in my sims game!!!!)

To me Sims 3 looks like it should be called Sims 1.5. I don't think it looks as realistic as Sims 2, and that's saying something considering Sims 2 is hardly realistic. In fact I'd say Sims 3 might be considered a step backwards [as is obvious by the fact that numbers don't go 0, 1, 2, 1.5, unless there's some new cool way of counting I haven't been told about].

Also, yea! That guy DOES look like any male character from Shrek [not including Donkey, Shrek, or the short prince guy, but like the angry townsfolk]

I agree that Sims 3 should look a lot better than this;
Oblivion: amazing, love it. Tomb Raider: same. But Sims 3 - it doesn't even look like they really tried.

That being said, I know I'm gonna get sucked in to Sims 3, but I'm gonna hate myself :s

I told people to look at pictures from Oblivion and Sims 3.
Oblivion looks beter than Sims 3. And Oblivion is from 2006.
But people just don't want to see that.
So I believe that Sims 3 won't be the best game of 2009, because there will be games that look beter and there graphics much more improved.

If you want to just go by the pretty pictures, the game doesn't exceed Sims 2. If you want to talk about how it plays, we won't know the details until they release it-and from what little I've heard, it doesn't sound promising.
More like Sim Societies, from what descriptions I've read. I could be wrong, true..but EA has not been very forthcoming with those details about the game play so far.
Also there is a little problem with the DRM and the possibility of a 3 installs limit. That's enough to make me exceedingly cautious with even thinking about buying it.

I would have thought that the step up from Sims2 to Sims3 would be as dramatic as from Sims1 to Sims2 (I still play 1 every now and again), but it appears that is not the case. I've so much loaded for 2 that I will likely let the Sims3 dog lie and sleep for a while until it has gotten a good shake-down from experienced simmers and then decide whether or not to invest in it. Pretty graphics is a real plus for a game, but ever improving content and play experience is just as important.

Amen.  Looks aren't what make the game, it's the gameplay.  (...don't take this wrong, though.  I'm not defending EA at all... just the proven fact itself)  You can have the ugliest little stick figures running around the screen for all I care... as long as the game is fun, it's worth it, right?  

But, contradicting myself right now, I'm still not impressed with some of the looks after seeing those Oblivion shots, though.  One does expect a little bit more than what they have, considering some of the older games out there that do have better graphics and run fairly well on older PCs and graphics cards.  :dontknow:  But then again, Sims is not Oblivion, and Oblivion isn't sims.  (...kinda wish there was a way to mix both the graphic (Oblivion... moreso in textures/lighting than style) and gameplay (Sims) elements in though... that'd be pretty cool, though probably not as cartoony.)  :(

And amen to that, Tenshii. I have been hoping that, given the ever-growing computer power, the games and the graphics would steadily improve. Oh well. Some of the older games are being re-done with good results. For example, an old Sid Meier game "Colonization" is being re-written with upgraded graphics and made available free. It is being written in JAVA, of all things. It can be found at freecol.org. I've added that to my laptop, as well. It was one of my favorite games. Long on play, strategy, etc., kinda lacking in the graphics department, though.

Those are some pretty awesome pictures from Oblivion and Tomb Raider.  Just going on the pictures alone...well, let's look behind the pictures a bit.

That chapel/room in Oblivion, was it player created with all those objects that can be moved and or interacted with, or is it a fixed backdrop that the avatars just walk through?  Same with that forest castle scene; player built or developer built and you as the player get no options to customize it to your likeing?

Isn't Lara Croft a fixed avatar with limited options, if any for customization?  As would be the NPCs she deals with, all pretty much "what we give you is what you get?"

It's one thing to develop a game where the player experience is limited to within limited boundaries that you, the developer, establish.  You can focus more on the background pretties and not have to worry about creating custom objects for a custom cottage in a custom land with custom landscape.  Custom here is refering to the way players could customize the game with what you've provided them, not specifically custom content.  A bookcase is just an image along with the rest of the backdrop with a MOB on top of it for the one book containing the one clue you need.

I think the comparison you've made is like comparing apples and oranges.  In one, TS2/3, or 1.5 if you want to call it that, you have freedom to interact with whatever you want.  In RPGs you generally have to follow a given story line with limited options along the way.  Simulations only end when you decide to end it.  RPGs end once you defeat the Big Boss; you win.

The sarcastic comments about TS2 objects in TS3, after cutting through the sarcasim, are more valid.  But let's take another popular game and see how it evolved, Sid Meier's Civilization.  The original Civilization was basically just a board war game, ala Avalon Hill, SPI and OSG, converted to computers.  Each subsequent version of Civilization improved on the graphics and added a little more in gameplay, but what was used in the previous version was improved upon, not tossed out the window completely.

With TS3's time going continuously for all families and townies, a massive rework of the game engine had to have been done.  The game went from "turn-based"  to "real-time" action.  That is major!  Sure to save development time and costs, things were ported from TS2 to TS3.  Makes sense to do so rather than reinventing the wheel each time.  I'm sure there's some new objects in there too.  And in keeping with the Sims marketing, give a taste now, then release an add on with more for more profits.  Nothing new in that either.  Call of Duty, Star Wars, Battlefield 1942, Delta Force.  They've all done it too.  MMORGs aren't immune either.

MaryH hit my biggest fear of the game.  Just as SimCities was dumbed down to make Sim Societies, I fear TS3 may be a dumbed down game intended for console play and ported over to PC.

well now that u ask; i guess ome of it has to do with the evelution of the game...but there are some features in ts3 that i have been looking for and dont wanna miss; which is not to say i'll never play ts2 again. due to the amt of money and time ive spent trying to perfect my sims2 games thats not gonna happen. but i am very interested in breaking in ts3 and seeing whats new and hott in it.

Hello

i know that in my case i will buy the sims 3 because i know that i am going to like the game. and its going to be intressing to see witch familys will be in the Game.

I don't know if any of you know the game CRYSIS but it is completely moddable and has AMAZING graphics.

crysis screenshot (http://lostmoya.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/crysis-screenshot-3.jpg)

If sims got to this level I would quit my real life and be like a matrix character...I think.

Still looking forward to sims 3 and especially what the modders end up doing with it, because I think in a way the modders are the reason that maxis is so lazy, they know they don't HAVE TO make cool and exciting stuff and pay for it, they just sell the game and the lovely modders come and do their job.

SO thankyou modders for being awesome and cool and no thankyou maxis for being complacent leeches. Sorry that I sond so scathing but I think this is the reason for it. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Right, not trying to destroy EA's reputation, but it seems a lot of gamers I know hate EA. Lately, EA hasn't been going the right way.

Actually I find this comparsion to a waste of space.  The reason being is until the game is released any and all comparsion's between it and any current game is a joke as we don't know for sure how the game will look and what the developers actaully have in mind.

Also I have more faith in a video clip showing the game then a still photo, as almost every still shot is enhanced to get you think thats the actual quality of the game.

I'm not blaming Tomkat for making this topic as the questions actually raised could be valid just as easy as they might not be, but a comparsion between two unreleased games at the time of Tomkat opening post and one that is released don't do anything to impress me either way.

Now I'm still not sure if I'll get it or not but still have somewhere between 6 months to a year to make a informed choice though I'll most likely get it.

Again read reports, watch videos and know what your system is able to do and what would be needed to get the most fun of whatever version of The Sims you plan on playing but figure over time the custom content for the older versions will become less and less

i dont think it looks that bad i mean the sims is not supposed to look like oblivion or tomb raider so it seems a bit pointless to cmpare and anyway i think what the new game play offers is much more important than how it looks

Im still probably going to buy the game, but i don't think it will be immediately. While the graphics weren't the improvement that i was hoping for, there are other things that they seemed to have greatly worked on. For one, the square placement method is out of the window, you can place stuff anywhere (finally) and the architectural customization looks amazing.

And where did you hear that the game isn't gonna allow customizable content? Thats still up in the air, i haven't heard from anyone that they for sure not going to allow it. I'm hopeful that EA will realize what a dumb move they would be making if they were to not allow CC. Having no CC would be the only factor that would prevent me from purchasing the game.

I'm probably not going to buy this game...It looks too confusing. The moodlets? I prefer the basic eight. The whole thing with other neighbors getting married, dying, etc, would have my panicking, because I won't control everything. It looks too complicated.

I just hope that when Sims 3 is out, that people continue to make mods and custom content for Sims 2...

To clear the air up a bit more about my 1st post:
I didnt intend to say that Oblivion or TR (for that matter) is the best games out there -I just used them as 2 examples of what else is available, in the endless sea of games. They are 2 I have experience in playing (not UNDERWORLD obviously, in general, and especially the CD created ones -since that gives a good idea of what you can expect of the new installment), so I needed some solid ground to place my soapbox on.

Also... TR...yes, I think the environment will be static. No shooting through tree trunks (ala crysis).  Oblivion: the environment is completely interactive. Food on plates, the plates themselves etc can be thrown around (by example.) You have to create buildings & environments to add into the game separately, or download new content if youre not creatively inclined. You cant choose to hang a painting where you want, just buy a set of ready made furnishings. Since Im not a modder I dont know the extent of customization, but ive seen some pretty awesome CC. BUT thats not the point...

What I tried to do is open it up for discussion, using my POV as an example. It might seem like it from the first post, but I wasnt planning to make my own opinion the sole purpose for this thread -and thanks to those who chimed in with their 2-cents worth ;)

I just want people who might want to buy TS3 to have a reference point. And I think if they read all the valid points people in this thread have highlighted, even the ones that contradict my own, that they'll make a better, informed decision, instead of just sheepishly falling into the same old grooves of "I MUST buy this because its sims related..."

But by all means, continue the discussion, maybe even my semi-set-in-stone opinion will become more favourable :)

I don't really like the idea of the game continuing when I'm not playing it...
Would that mean that my sims could get married, have kids and die of old age when I'm not even playing it?
And if there's no CC, I'm definitely not buying it, unless they miraculously hire a clothes/furniture designer that actually has a decent fashion sense. And judging from the screenshot, they haven't.

I hate to piddle on your parade, but a lot of the people in Oblivion are quite ugly. And every NPC of the same race looks kinda samey. And they all have really huge faces. While a lot of the scenery looks quite pretty, I don't want my Sims looking like Oblivion people.

I think you need to take into consideration that the Sims 2 appeals to nearly everyone. The average person does not have a graphics card powerful enough to power Crysis or Mass Effect. If I were an average person who plays only one game on his or her machine, I would not have spent $1,000 on a new computer. Most people will spend their $1,000 on clothing, or shoes, or something else of more importance to them.

In essence, EA has sales in mind. They will sell more games if more computers can run them. Nontraditional gamers usually have mediocre systems not built for extensive gaming. So The Sims 3 has compensated its graphical performance so that every modern computer can run the game. More people will buy it this way.

I think EA should have 2 versions of the game: one with kick-ass graphics and one with okay graphics

TomKat I agree with everything you said, one thing I don't like about the Sims 3 is the silly expressions, I thought Sims 3 was going to be even more realistic.  I know some people like the silly expressions but I hate them.

(http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh128/bluefairy286/distirbing.jpg)

:roll:

I for one reserved it, haha I love the sims1, sims2, simcity games and the only reason I will buy Sims3 is cause of the new open area of the neighborhood, but really, I do wish they would of made this an Update Pack, not an expansion Pack, what I was thinking if they made the sims3 an new game with an option as an update pack if  you have sims2 installed, this way, with all the stuff packs and expansion packs thats in the game will still be available for the sims3, yes when updating it to the new neighborhood style of the sims3 it will reset your game to the beginning, all your sims  you made will be in the sims bin, im sure if they did this it be an option to upgrade or single install, this way they can make new expansion packs and not repeat sims2 expansion packs, and this way we all can enjoy the game a bit better, I just hope they did this but they won't, still going to buy it not cause i have to, it cause I want to buy it.

I do agree that the sims look cartoony, and that they could be much more realistic if realism is what they're going for. And I don't like the eyes so much, but it almost seems like this is intentional because they don't want the sims to look 'too' real. I mean yeah, we all have seen many games where the realism in the facial features and how the people are is intense. Better than the sims. But I don't think appearance is what they're going for so much in this game. Another thing though, I hate how they advertise. Like all companies they boast, and with EA they're acting like they're creating something revolutionary to the world. I really don't think they should be so happy with themselves if most of their TS2 fans aren't happy with the way the sims are looking. They don't listen to the community as much as they say they do, obviously.
But still, they might be focusing less on appearance and more on the actual gameplay because they're /trying/ to make it genuinely different from tS2.
uniqueness from other games is what got people playing the sims. And as you've heard people say, the jump from TS1 to TS2 was pretty extreme.
But with them adding the same stuff to TS3 as they've added to TS2,
Not so extreme.
The graphics don't look quite as good as they could. It being a 2009 game.
You'd think them being who they are, would be able to come up with something better.
Because they sold what, 1 million copies of the TS2?
Amazing, wow. They must be the most special people on earth.
But yeah, I get where they're coming from. They want the game to sell. But it won't if they're too stuck up to stick only to THEIR ideas and not listen so much to the community.
The Sims Community, they should worship. Because they are the ones that buy the games, and feed them their money.
I don't think many people should get TS3 because, they need to realize what they're doing when they finally see a drop in the budget. They can't make anything if it doesn't sell; there would be no point.
They would have no choice but to listen to the community.
I'd say I'm kind of 50/50 on this whole thing, though.
I mean, I think they're adding (most?) of the same things in the game because they don't want to drift too far away from what the sims is, if they didn't leave in anything that was the same, it would be an entirely different games. Like all the other ones. I like how the sims is the only game in it's kind, and it's uniqueness basically.

BUT, making a thousand expansion packs and then a few years later another sequel..
Financially, they're geniuses.
Logically, they're morons.
I was watching a video (the walkthrough) for the TS3 from a link i got from snootysims
And I was reading the comments.
Someone said 'this game really knows how to bone their fanbase'
And I completely agree in some ways.
I haven't heard it said better, lol.
But I like the game overall, I love them for that.
I don't know how I feel. I can argue both sides.

TS2 is still appealing to me though, despite all of the 'OMG [the] revolutionary TS3 is coming out!!!11111111' bullshit.

LOL,Tomcat,you have a great sense of humor,lol.
Will I buy it?Oh,yes!
And remember,anti PR is very good PR.

Some question and answer with executive producer Ben Bill and a video

http://pc.ign.com/articles/937/937310p1.html

As for the silly expressions, I don't mind them so much. I like going into the game in the Sims 2 and it making me laugh a little. That's part of what makes a game enjoyable.

Also, I still preordered the game (collectors edition actually :P) because I want to see how it is for myself,
then judge the game. Because I can make legitimate arguments about it once I've played.
But I don't know, it might be really good. No idea.

original poster is spot correct. if those TS3 photos are retouched in anyway, then he is more correct. besides... two things:

-i don't like the new game play
-securom is illegal spyware that breaks pc's. i make a living fixing pc's botched by EA.

they are not going to change the proposed gameplay.
and they are not getting rid of rootkits that hijack your pc.

one of those reasons alone is enough to avoid it as well as spore or any other monstrosity they shrink wrap and set on a shelf.

From what I saw, I mainly skimmed over your initial post, it seems to be that you are mainly focusing on the graphics. There are several issues with this:

1) Oblivion's graphics looked good, yes, although the AI rarely encountered heavy use and most of the stuff only had to be focused on rendering since there were few processor-eaters.
2) Oblivion's "shading" was also mostly just a basic bloom effect. It's even obvious in some of the pictures. Outside of that, it was basic ideas for shadows, perspective of sunlight, blah blah blah.
3) That picture of Tomb Raider is obviously a render inside the modeling software. Although technology has advanced at rapid speed, if you tried running things with that low compression rate, just constantly re-drawing the frame would kill the FPS to about 15 fps, which is the opposite of what they'd want for an action game, of which are generally FPS-intensive games.
4) The Sims 3 is featuring a new system to have the entire neighborhood have actions encountered. Obviously, to avoid a situation with Crysis, where most machines are unable to run it at even some of the lowest specs, this feature will be dumbed down a whole lot, but with the current rate of technology, as well as the inefficiency that persists in computers today.

I say, it's too early to write this game off, but it's too early to praise it as a god among games. Otherwise, we'll get another form of the Crysis situation, in which it looks amazing, but may play like shit.

EDIT:

Seems like I'm still not done, because I know there's more to say on this subject.

So, I touched up on the idea that graphics aren't everything. As a metaphor, most guys would love to be with that supermodel in life, but would probably end up hating it because she's probably a dumb stick.

Also, Tomb Raider will probably be released on consoles. If it's on PC, and here's the shocker, they'll have to kill the quality of their work to get it to play. Why?

X360: The only process running on this thing is the game. That's pretty easy, you don't even need to worry about prioritizing anything.
PS3: Is simply oozing power. Pure, amazing, awesome power. The PS3's cell processor is the strongest processor out there, the graphics are quite worthy of mention, but only if you have a 1080p HDTV. The sound obviously relies on the power of your sound system. And it's the same case with the X360, there is nothing but the game to be running, and maybe a basic background process for friends and stuff like that.
Wii: Of course the graphics on it will be small, if it is even ported to the Wii. The Wii follows Nintendo's trend as it lately has, portability and innovation.
PC: It has the ability to be powerful, but it's efficiency is that of a dead fat man. It's only upside is that you don't have to restart anything or take out any CD's to start a new game, and you can do multiple things at once. Although the beauty of DirectX 10 is as I described it, beautiful, computers have a long way to go still before they take advantage of the power they're capable of. Especially with Windows latest creation, Vista, which kills all efficiency and tried to go for user-compatibility. It may work for some, but most people are eager for Windows 7.

The new gameplay, from what I understand, branches out on the idea of personalities (furthering AI), and creates a system where time is constant for everything.

freoninferno, you blame securom for breaking PC's. Although EA's idiocy makes me want to puke sometimes, claiming it's spyware seems uninformed. They would run into huge legal issues if otherwise. All securom is is a process run at the start to check if it is a genuine copy. Probably through something to do with the registry.

The day The Sims looks real is the day that people start confusing what reality is. I'm fine with the way it looks, and those obsessed with graphics only should not classify themselves as "gamers", but instead as "art enthusiasts".

For my own part, I expect I'll get Sims 3 anyway - except for a few harder to find sim games early, I've gotten everything from simcity on.

I'm not worried about the graphics.  Skins are textures, and thus replaceable, since they keep repeating we can use our own textures.  Eyes and the like being on a slider for colour is no big, either - you make a greyscale texture to replace and it should work - its how its done in SL, and it means less clogging of recolours.  Imagine having to only do one eye in a texture instead of 7 or 8 to get shades you want?

On the other hand, the things I'd like the most still aren't in game, as far as I've been able to find out.  No round walls, no diagonal stairs, and both are things that interior design programs have had for 15 years now, even the ones you can just buy to play with.  Surely they could do them with the sims.

But my biggest issue is that they have securom and seem to be heading for Steam as well - and I'm not really partial to either.  Nor am I fond of them charging -me- an arm and a leg, then forcing me to have advertising in my -games-.  Ads are one reason I watch little television. :P

I totally and completely disagree.
You're comparing The Sims 3 to these games?
In these games, they end when you finally solve the mystery...whereas in TS3, it never ends.
And in these games, they have a lot of stuff you can do...but can you make them do anything you want them to do? In these, you have to do what it tells you, or you won't win.
In TS3, you do whatever you want.

And you like TS2 better, I assume?
Did you forget how UGLY the sims were before the CC?
How TERRIBLE the eyes looked before CC?
How HIDEOUS the clothes were before CC?


And yes, of course there are some of the same objects. Okay....a LOT of the same objects.
But it looks a lot better in this game that in TS2, in my opinion.
And the dad's shave??
Maybe he LIKES IT LIKE THAT?!?!?!

You can't expect EVERYTHING to be new.
And did you even notice the angle that the couch was at?
And the angle that the easels were at?
And the chairs?


I'm not trying to come off as mean or anything like that, but you people look at the bad things and complain a lot more than you look at the good things.

If you don't like the game so much, JUST DONT BUY IT.
And there are much better places to vent your inner feelings than the internet. I recommend you buy a journal.


I'm so sorry that i sound really mean and stuck up right now, but it really pushes my buttons when people try to use the internet as their personal journal.
I understand that you are only trying to know what other people think, but if you've already decided not to buy it, then why are you still complaining?

I would understand if you were still trying to decide wether or not to buy it, but geez!

I dont think i should go any further into how frustrated I am.......

Im so sorry that I have to sound so mean =/

 :kiss: :kiss:
Penguinz
 

Some of my comments are shared with "openguin" above, I'm not here to defend EA but one must look at the sims and other "close-ended" games like Crysis differently.  True, EA's graphics still leave quite a bit to be desired, and that's because I don't think that with their actual programming skills EA could produce a game that would run well on the majority of PC's out there, actual proof of this is the poorly coded expansion packs coming out, they've lost touch with the openness of their own game and regardless of the money we've put in their pockets they have decided to let it be as it is.  It looks like with TS3 things will be different, the single 'hood tells me they're trying to maintain more control of the overall game.  From the beginning, the TS3 screenshots haven't looked right to me; more like clay-molded figures and cartoonish faces that don't appear to be the next "higher-up" stage to the evolution of TS2 3D characters.  The rest of the graphics look OK, not at all like typical 3D rendered PC graphics but good overall.  Recently I've read about the simultaneous development of the PC and console versions, and that's where I really get suspicious about TS3 in that its looks appear to be those of a game being ported from a console version instead of a game originally developed for the PC like TS2.  If so, that would explain the relatively short release date (from the time it was officially announced), the single neighborhood, and the graphics.  I'm still a hard core fan of TS2 for its highly customizable nature and general openness, and I'm sorry if anyone is offended for my lack of trust in EA, but for the past 2 years they've proven time and again that they will attempt to sell what THEY want to sell and not what we want or like.

Personally, i'm very much looking forward to the sims 3. While the graphics may not have improved much, the sims do look slightly more real with each game, and the game play, well, i've been waiting for that ever since i started playing multiple families in the sims 2 (Do you realize how ANNOYING it is to make yourself and your Boyfriend as teens, and have them grow up, but have one end up turning into a young adult before the other so they can no longer date? Ugh.).

A LOT of work has gone into this game to get the details of game play just so. i'm excited to see how it turns out.

Someone mentioned the 60s-80s clothing. What you have to realize is that the sims 3 is set BEFORE the sims 1, so of course it will have "outdated" clothing. You can always mod it to look newer. They give you this option now. And on the question of player created custom content, well, i'm sure Maxis wouldn't make that impossible - they LOVE seeing our new clothing and hair, and they encourage us to make mods. What they are doing by putting customization into the game is making it easier for those who don't know how to mod or don't have the software to do so. You know. People like me, for instance. ^_^

Personally, i'm very much looking forward to this game, as i can FINALLY play how i've wanted to. i'll also be looking forward to custom content by players. And, plus... i'm a 60's child at heart, so i think the clothes are rad. :p

clarice.

I'm really confused why there are so many people who are so pessimistic about The Sims 3! EA hasn't let us down yet with The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 and I really think that there are a lot of good ideas put into this game. The characters will look more realistic when CC is out (and you know that if you compare a person with cc to one without in The Sims 2 it isn't exactly pretty).
Just because some of the furniture is the same doesn't mean that the game is going to be exactly the same. There are so many new things with The Sims 3.
Anyway I just think that if you don't want to get The Sims 3 don't, but really you don't have the game yet so how can you say it's crappy?

I've played Oblivion, but not all the way through. A bug stopped me from finishing the game. I'll tell you one major difference with sims vs any RPG I've ever played. Housing. In Oblivion, you can buy several houses, a pay to furnish them. But that's all. You can't built a castle from the foundation up, you can't decide what house will look like as well. And yes, you can create the character you run, but only that one character. Other games like Fable you can buy houses, grow older and get married, but the character interaction is extemely limited, as is your choices for homes and mates. Plus no children. The only thing I'd love to see with Sims, would be an RPG fantasy setting, so your Sim can go out on quests, fight monsters (like in spore) and still have total freedom as to creating homes and characters.

Not all sims 2 maxis were ugly, I think dina is nice, there wa smostly jsut one head I liked and 2 0r 3 hairystles, I agree the clothes and make up were bad though.

I think the gameplay in sims 3 will be much more fun. I'm getting pretty bored now with only 5 personality types. More will be great. If the game allows modding, I hope better skins arrive. And hacks are possible. If not, I'll save sims 3 for my kids.