Mod The Sims - Game is getting slaughtered by customers...

Gillianivy

5th Jun 2009, 10:38 AM

Really, instead of tons of patches, why can't game developers finish/fix their games before market. This exact sort of thing was why my bf and I quit playing Age of Conan and switched back to EverQuest II.

They have testers and such, they know what these game issues are. We (consumers) expect to pay for a "finished" product. Would you go to a hair salon for half a haircut?

These first week reviews are some of the most crucial for the game to not completely flop. How many Sims fans bought the Sims 3, hate it and are now reselling it on E-bay or yelling at EA Games for refunds? The gaming community is very reliant upon word of mouth.

Granted one person will complain about the very thing another person loves. And I've seen comments about horrible graphics, yet others say the graphics are beautiful. I guess opinions are like snow flakes.

xoovermindox

5th Jun 2009, 10:45 AM

It won't flop because the game looks good enough at first, to most. Plus they either bought their reviews, or the reviewers are no longer permitted to spend too much time with their games.

clawsy

5th Jun 2009, 10:52 AM

remeber sims 2 and the jump bug? grrrr. always the bugs! is why i am pondering whether or not to buy sims 3 yet.

The store stuff is what really annoys me how bloody expensive it all is!

alookha

5th Jun 2009, 10:58 AM

Really, instead of tons of patches, why can't game developers finish/fix their games before market.

Yes, this is scandalous. Its not only EA, its almost all game producers. So sad. Dont they realize it OUR money who allowed them to go on ?
What is upset me the most I think is this awful "Sims STORE" :(. Didnt we spend enough money on their creations (sims base game + all expansion packs) ? Cant they just add more content in base game and deliver us a REAL finished and complete one ? ... ;( This is really annoying...

But about the game itself, i'm not as disappointed as people I heard nowadays. I like many many of new features, and I think it could become a very nice game.
Sure we first need to fix some stupids things EA does (like skip sims memories, or remove photo album), and of course I think what we need the most is Custom Content ^^. Some new hairs, new clothes, new face shapes, made by our fantastic modders community will help more than A LOT ;)

But all in all, despite all the mistakes EA did ( i didnt expect anything better from them, unfortunately), I like the Sims 3.

Gillianivy

5th Jun 2009, 11:05 AM

Well, they know we'll spend the money. As we've proven to them with the previous incarnations. Soon we'll be getting Pets and Seasons and Vacations.... They know their game is addictive. Though I think I'm addicted to downloading CC. I just downloaded a bunch of Eyelashes, Brows, Eyes and Lip colors, when I haven't really played the game much since we just got me an account with EQII. I haven't even gotten to really try my latest expansion Bon Voyage, well, long enough to get pick pocketed by an Unsavory Charlatan....

guardianpegasus

5th Jun 2009, 11:34 AM

Yikes, I'm getting scared by all the bad reviews. Though one was very informative which tried to be unbiased, expressing both pro's and con's. To each gamer, there's gonna be something that either makes or breaks the experience. Though one thing I'm concerned about, the story progression mode in which chars may randomly move out, not just townies, and be deleted?

I do also try to be unbiased, but I really feel like it's personal when someone (EA\Redwood Shores) so heavily screw up with my passion for this franchise.

There is certainly cause for optimism - the essence of the game is strong, and the potential for expansions is enormous - but sadly it seems they've pushed out a beta version in order to save EA's butt as a whole. They needed fresh funds badly, and The Sims 3 is just the game to make that happen. There is no getting away from the fact that EA is exploiting us, although I'm sure they plan to make good on it eventually. Meanwhile we have every right to be pissy and frustrated, I feel.

Granted one person will complain about the very thing another person loves. And I've seen comments about horrible graphics, yet others say the graphics are beautiful. I guess opinions are like snow flakes.

I'm mixed on the issue of graphics. I'm not completely content with the graphics engine because structures appear to be disproportionate, and some flowers and bushes really look very, very bad, especially when you move the camera on axis and the flowers seem to follow you, that's very eerie. The scenery (sky, water, grass, rock etc.) though is absolutely gorgeous, the trees are nicely done and likely work better because they're bigger and have more surfaces which give volume. I do hope they upgrade graphics in future expansions, since my computer is a year old and has no problem at all running at max detail and high-res, but the sims as a game is definately not all about graphics, it's about core gameplay and customizability, and they've really drop the ball there with the exception of CAST, which I love and reminds me of the 3D Studio/Bryce material composer about 10 years ago :)

Well, they know we'll spend the money.

Exactly... EA needed money badly... unfortunately I think this can hurt them in the long run.

These first week reviews are some of the most crucial for the game to not completely flop. How many Sims fans bought the Sims 3, hate it and are now reselling it on E-bay or yelling at EA Games for refunds? The gaming community is very reliant upon word of mouth.

I agree, word of mouth is crucial. What confuses me is how raving and positive the official reviews from game mags are. But someone pointed out to me that they are hardly to be considered independant with this huge ad campaign EA is running towards Sims 3, and most of them are probably not simmers anyway, so it's easy to let EA/Redwood get away with all the nastiness in the core game.

Word of mouth so far is pretty devestating though... the game definately has potential up the woozah, but it's obvious that it's been pushed out way too early... and we must wonder what they've been doing from december-june, because this version is essentially identical to the one they showed off.

DevilsAdvocate

5th Jun 2009, 12:19 PM

Wow. I acknowledge that the sims 3 is reeaaally f***'d up. But somehow, I like it. Possibly because I see the potential within it. Once some patches and eps come out, it'll be great.

TheShady

5th Jun 2009, 01:59 PM

I agree, word of mouth is crucial. What confuses me is how raving and positive the official reviews from game mags are. But someone pointed out to me that they are hardly to be considered independant with this huge ad campaign EA is running towards Sims 3, and most of them are probably not simmers anyway, so it's easy to let EA/Redwood get away with all the nastiness in the core game.

Any media that concentrates on video games, be it magazine or website, is of no quality. Journalism at it's worst. There's no investigations, no critical analysis, no unveiling of scandals, not serious questions about the industry, no deep analysis of impact on society and the industry, hardly any economical reports, no structural articles about companies, their teams and the changes of them, etc. etc.

They are mainly concentrating on how fun that game is and how unfun that other game is.

To review a game like The Sims 3, you need at least a whole week of constant playing during the workday, meaning 40 hours. Most reviews, however, need to be put out before release, meaning that they are "granted" a few hours by the developers or publishers to judge the game. No wonder no professional review noticed the Story Progression bug, as the recommended option is "On"...
That "grant", however, no self-respecting journalist would accept as it is journalistic nature to dig in as deep as possible and find out everything there is to know. All there is to find in the specific press is what the publishers offer and the reviews.
For other types of games, like an Ego-shooter for example, you simply need to finish the game. Or does a book reviewer read the first 10 pages then says how good the book is? No. He finishes it.

Quality newspapers frequently interview retired politicians on current political developments just to hear their opinion, to compare to past political developments or to get an expert's opinion. Correct me if I'm wrong but there's not a single interview with Will Wright about The Sims 3 even though many many many many many people would just eat that interview up... multiple times. Even a standard, not particularly skilled journalist would very likely have the idea to make an interview. And that is just an example. I would like to read about an analysis of the past and present Sims-development teams. What changed, what does who focus on and how come The Sims 3 has so many faults, whether they are just perceived or justified. And some annoying journalist continually questioning the responsible people about the heavy criticism from player can only do good things for the games.
Besides, the more attention anything gets in the press, the more pressure is on it. Most people who post here will always buy the newest Sims game, no matter how bad the series goes. Our voices are not truly heard if the media doesn't pick them up. I doubt that a writer for a PC gaming magazine frequents forums other then their own.

Do not take game-reviews seriously. None of them. Not the overly critical, nor the overly positive. They are not proper journalism nor respectable literature.

And those reviews on Amazon tend to be somewhat inconsistent and incomplete. They are either praising entirely, or bashing completely.

gwynne

5th Jun 2009, 02:04 PM

Interesting--it's averaging 2.5 stars now, which means it's official:

Sims 3 = SimCity Societies.

Unlike Simcity Societies, though, there's a chance that rating will go up over time as EA fixes its shit and hopefully reassesses quite a few things. And adds xpacs.

I concur with TheShady, 'professional' gaming news sites hardly ever give any game a truly bad, much less in-depth, review these days.

Zoxell

5th Jun 2009, 02:04 PM

I installed the game yesterday (the game shipped on release date rather than delivered on release day), and was already prepared for some of the bugs from reading these forums. My expectations were already pretty much adjusted for me, so I wasn't as disappointed as I may have been had I played it Tuesday.
There is a long history of software (Vista) and hardware (XBox 360) products not ready for release being released anyway. I've played a few MMOs and it is pretty much an unspoken rule that there will be bugs at launch and the first few months are essentially an open Beta.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning or enabling EA in any of this. I think it's a despicable practice... but unfortunately a reality in the software gaming industry. I am a programmer by profession, and despite best attempts at QA the users always seem to find something we had not though of... it's just the nature of the beast. For that reason I'm rarely an early adopter of new software or hardware, but the Sims 3 really piqued my interest... and playing with my virtual fish bowl is a very soothing escape from RL.
I'm certain that there will be fixes, patches, expansions, and stellar community content and we will look back on this as growing pains.

Ivanava

5th Jun 2009, 02:09 PM

...I feel their pain.

It really was a big let down.

I think EA took over more this time around.

I think i prefer The Sims Busting Out for the PS2 more then this...

I mean I thought it was going to be better then the Sims 2....

TheShady

5th Jun 2009, 02:11 PM

I am a programmer by profession, and despite best attempts at QA the users always seem to find something we had not though of... it's just the nature of the beast.

Well, then you should know that bug != bug. ;)

Some are acceptable if fixed a few days later. Some are unacceptable. A checkbox not doing anything without being disabled is such an unacceptable bug.

Moonring05

5th Jun 2009, 02:54 PM

I am actually happy with the game now. I read some of those reviews, and the game seems to be crashing for a lot of people. I don't know why it would unless your computer did not meet spec requirements. My game hasn't crashed any. It's been running smoothly and fast since I installed it. However, I had an issue with it going from dark to light a lot. It made it hard to play the game and to customize things.

It was because my driver needed updating. There was a new windows vista driver update for my video card that I had not installed yet. Once I installed that it has been fine ever seen. The graphics even look a little better since updating it.

So if people are having trouble with it I would try updating your direct x and your driver. Once you find out who make's your video card you can go to the manufacture’s site and look for updates. If that doesn't work it might be that your computer doesn't meet requirements.

It's sad to see all of those bad reviews. I am happy with the game now that it doesn't go from light to dark all the time.

secretsim

5th Jun 2009, 03:01 PM

sirams

5th Jun 2009, 03:01 PM

Yes, this is scandalous. Its not only EA, its almost all game producers.

And not only game producers but also software producers.
Let's take Microsoft. They got it wrong with Vista. And they have learned the lesson - Windows 7 has an open engineering blog and now, when Win 7 RC is out, people like it much more than Vista. Because they feel that developers have listened to their requests.

So this would really be great to have EA do it similar way - getting our feedback while developing Sims. At least then we would not have reasons to complain - we got what we asked for :P

Anyway, I think, the platform for TS3 is mostly great. It is fast (although I have noticed that there are usually less people on the screen simultaneously than in TS2, maybe developers have optimized guest randomizer, too :lol: )

For now (I have played just a little) I do not like only some minor things - like not being able to see what my sim is doing, while inside some community building - at work or in the restaurant. Of course, it is good that sims now do not disappear totally while at work, at least now they enter some building. But in TS2 I *could* see how my sim eats at the restaurant. Do we need some "Open for Dinner" expansion pack, to get it back? :D

The other thing I (and some other users) have noticed - although the CAS has so many advanced features, sometimes it is not possible to create exactly the same sim's face that was in TS2. And of course I still miss the first person camera (to look through my Sim's eyes) and height adjusting for sims.

When I heard about TS3 the first time I thought, it will contain all the contents from TS2 EPs :lol: Oh, my. It seems, they are migrating the contents to the new TS3 and putting them on the Store.

Zoxell

5th Jun 2009, 03:23 PM

And of course I still miss the first person camera (to look through my Sim's eyes) and height adjusting for sims.

I was a little disappointed not to see a height slider here. For some reason, I remember reading somewhere that height would be adjustable, and that they had fixed the animation issues in regard to this.

Kilani

5th Jun 2009, 03:26 PM

To be honest I don't take amazon "reviews" seriously. A lot of those are just a joke to read. It always just boggles my mind when someone complains that the speed is bad on their end.

I hope this doesn't bring big problems to EA though. They really need to get their shit together with these bugs. Although I haven't experienced any.

Wok

5th Jun 2009, 03:29 PM

I bought TS3 yesterday, and there is, in my opinion, a lot of potential.

Going from TS2 with all the add-ons and massive goodies to this one with very few items made me scowl. I have not visited the EA Store, but I got this $10 voucher to buy stuff. I do not know if there is an option for user-created stuff for poor people like me, or if you can only buy it at the official store. I have not looked into it yet.

I do like the town and being able to go from one place to another without load times.

I like the expanded personality traits and interactions.

Is it just me, or do all the sims look like McGee from NCIS? Now only if I can create a Gibbs and they slap each other on the head.

The graphics are not what I expected. I do have a very nice computer with a high end graphics card, and still, the graphics seem "flat" and dull. Perhaps I am missing some setting. Anyway, it did not look like the previews.

The food choices seem better. :D

Anyway, to me, this game is like getting a Ferrari with a Yugo engine. It looks really cool when you first look at it.

tinydancer80

5th Jun 2009, 03:31 PM

missmo25

5th Jun 2009, 03:40 PM

I was a little disappointed not to see a height slider here. For some reason, I remember reading somewhere that height would be adjustable, and that they had fixed the animation issues in regard to this.

You can adjust height??? You mean for the actual sim? Where???

Zoxell

5th Jun 2009, 03:55 PM

You can adjust height??? You mean for the actual sim? Where???

No, but I remember reading somewhere that they had resolved the animation issues with adjusting height. *shrug*

LondonAlexander

5th Jun 2009, 03:57 PM

Because of the reviews on Amazon and on this website, I'll be holding off on getting the game until bugs are fixed, and the first ep comes out. EA should simply come out with a "We're Sorry" EP with everything that should have been in the base game with a reasonable price of FREE. I might consider getting it sooner if some of our lovely modders spit out the lovely CC and mods we're all so used to! :) Please modders.... HURRY.

crocobaura

5th Jun 2009, 04:06 PM

I would like to read about an analysis of the past and present Sims-development teams. What changed, what does who focus on and how come The Sims 3 has so many faults, whether they are just perceived or justified.

I believe the fault lies in the fact that this time around they decided to ignore the demographics of their fan base and aim it specifically for 16-24 year olds. There's a link to this interview (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/the-sims-3-john-buchanan) with an EA representative on SnootySims where they specifically mention that age range. So that's the reason the game seems designed for people with short attention span and there's such a big emphasis on the community aspect of Facebook and Twitter. They have turned the game into a fast paced, shallow experience. None of the relationships and stories sims develop seem to have any depth to them. So many bad reviewes is not a surprise considering they deliberately left out features people ages 10-90 loved and brought in new strange things that don't sit well with the rest of their former fan base.

xoxSugah

5th Jun 2009, 04:11 PM

I'm enjoying it so far actually. The game feels a little empty after playing sims 2 with all eps, but I've run into very few bugs. The biggest I had was some sort of weirdness where nothing I made could be really black only a silvery grey. That happened after I installed some things from the shop. I reinstalled and now everything seems alright.

I think it'll be awesome after a few patches and a couple of eps though.

I am annoyed that they put so many things in the shop though. It's ridiculous...and a huge slap in the face to the people that paid $70 for collector's edition. For $70 you should have everything that's made available (everything that's available on release day) for the game along with a few little extras.

jedi_knight

5th Jun 2009, 04:14 PM

Serenity3104

5th Jun 2009, 04:17 PM

I like the game, the graphics are beautiful (I put everything on high for like 5 minutes just to see the detail) if only I could play more than 10-15 minutes without the unexplainable crash that others seem to be experiencing also :) anyway, other than that the game runs fast and smoothly for the few minutes i can play, so I won't say that the game is a dud, otherwise I wouldn't keep trying :)

LondonAlexander

5th Jun 2009, 04:21 PM

[QUOTE=jedi_knight]I have done that and many many more things, I think people like me are on the majority and people who need drivers or do not meet the requirements are on the minority.QUOTE]

That information, sir, is false. :(
There are a lot of poor people, like myself, who enjoy gaming but don't have upgraded/ newer systems. It sucks, but is very true.

DM was on fire!

5th Jun 2009, 04:27 PM

I wonder how I will be able to d/l a patch. The pc I have my game installed on isn't connected to the internet, and I tried to redeem my codes for bonus content (for pre-ordering the CE), but my game HAS to be installed on a computer connected to the internet. Basically, I have less than 2 weeks left before my opportunity to download this stuff is gone.

There isn't any way you can put the patches on a thumb drive and transfer it to that computer, or is EA that testy?

Maybe it's a good thing I stuck with 2 instead of getting 3. XD

J. M. Pescado

5th Jun 2009, 04:43 PM

Do not take game-reviews seriously. None of them. Not the overly critical, nor the overly positive. They are not proper journalism nor respectable literature.You should only pay attention to negative reviews. Only negativity is truth. This is true of ALL things in life: Things are defined by the negative. Without the negative, there can be no picture.

blackdaisies

5th Jun 2009, 05:07 PM

I believe the fault lies in the fact that this time around they decided to ignore the demographics of their fan base and aim it specifically for 16-24 year olds. There's a link to this interview (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/the-sims-3-john-buchanan) with an EA representative on SnootySims where they specifically mention that age range. So that's the reason the game seems designed for people with short attention span and there's such a big emphasis on the community aspect of Facebook and Twitter. They have turned the game into a fast paced, shallow experience. None of the relationships and stories sims develop seem to have any depth to them. So many bad reviewes is not a surprise considering they deliberately left out features people ages 10-90 loved and brought in new strange things that don't sit well with the rest of their former fan base.

I totally agree with this. I have been playing the game even with my crap graphics for a while now, and I just can't get into my characters. There are so many aspects of the game that I love. Character creation is great, traits are fabulous, the world has so much potential. In removing all the little details I think they were trying to attract non-Simmers (the "casual gamer") who weren't into the micromanaging aspects of their lives. It's weird, I didn't think I'd miss simple things like the Sims getting into their cars, but I do. It's hard to get too attached to your Sims... particularly if you get bored and decide to play another family your Sim does what the game decides it wants to do anyway and there's not even a memory system in place to figure out how all that worked out.

mishibob

5th Jun 2009, 05:50 PM

A lot of those are just a joke to read. It always just boggles my mind when someone complains that the speed is bad on their end.

.....

The speed problem is a bug. I have an almost brand new computer,everything works with all high settings and I have no graphic problems and no crashes and even I noticed that the game speeds don't work.

Moonbeam_SC

5th Jun 2009, 06:17 PM

I was about to uninstall all the sims 2 games as the sims 3 is crashing grrr luckily i didnt.

I hope the patch will work waste of money so far... :-/

Prana

5th Jun 2009, 06:22 PM

I think what's so frustrating to everyone is that we can all see the potential in the game and we're disappointed that the devs didn't take the time necessary to meet that potential because A. They want our money now, now, now and B. They figure the the CC community will finish the game for them for free, not just regarding CC but also patches and mods. The game is only 75% done (sadly this seems endemic of the PC games industry now) and it's insulting to us that they would abuse our loyalty (especially in this economy) by selling us an incomplete game, nickel and diming us over every item and writing a product description for the Collectors Edition (which I bought sadly) that was misleading at best.

I'm glad people are giving the game negative reviews. I've played the game for a few hours and genuinely enjoy it but I paid for a complete game. I'm unwilling to accept a good game when I paid for an extraordinary game. I like plain cake too, but if I paid for a frosted cake I want my frosting. The only way to affect change when it comes to big companies is through user reviews and sales. I sincerely hope that everyone will go to Amazon and give the game an honest review to show EA we won't be mistreated anymore. And I really hope that all you awesome CC makers WON'T do EA's job and come up with patches and mods. It isn't your job and if you do it for them they'll never take responsibility and do it themselves. I also really hope that everyone will remember this experience when the expansions come out (as well as other EA games) and will wait a couple months to buy them, forcing EA to either sell a complete game or fix all the issues BEFORE we'll buy. Remember folks, we vote with our money. If we keep buying unfinished games they'll keep selling us unfinished games. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

Scorpy_CFS

5th Jun 2009, 06:28 PM

I certainly won't dare say that people's concerns aren't fair nor warranted. I will say that we as gamers have a short memory. That favorite game of ours five years ago will not be as great as we remembered it if we revisited it today. And Sims 2 went through exactly the same public outcry when it first came out. The graphics were generations further from Sims 1 than Sims 3 is from Sims 2, granted. I even feel many animations and other things were reused. However, I haven't personally had a crash and other than some slightly frustrating chugginess of gameplay running full settings on my modest computer, I am quite enjoying the game.

However, I do agree that there could be more customisation options for our sims features. I tried to make a likeness of myself and just couldn't as certain fundamental options were missing. It looks kinda like me from the side though :D It is hard to make attractive sims in Sims 3 but I found it IMPOSSIBLE to make attractive sims in Sims 2. I had to download other people's attractive sims and modify them as I just could not do it.
The bugs that others have mentioned while I have not suffered them are certainly disappointing and the online store prices are inexcusable for a game that shipped with so little decorative content. Especially when other games also utilising microtransactions do so for a minimal fee, eg, Elder Scrolls: Oblivion shipping new locations or quests, etc for a couple of dollars (don't mention the horse armour). But again, whilst the EPs were great for Sims 2, the custom content was what made my game into the addiction it was for me.

I like the game, I think it will be great with patches and outstanding with custom content, but as much as I didn't like the idea of 'stuff' packs and although not outrightly condemning them I chose never to buy any on principle, I believe the Sims 3 store, and particularly the real cost of sim points is both unethical and extremely dissapointing. I do however, remain unsurprised as it is an Electronic Arts initiative. As such I recognise that EA believe corporate ethics are simply italians in business suits and not the requirement to do right by the consumer. It's saddening really.

stygia2002

5th Jun 2009, 06:38 PM

I'm trying an experiment. I re-installed my Sims 2 base game and patch and will be playing that until my Sims 3 arrives. I think it's unfair to compare Sims 3 base game to the Sims 2 with all the bells and whistles of EPs and CC. There are always bugs when a game is released, and it doesn't matter who manufactures the game. Our whole family is big into PC games and we haven't had a new game yet that was bug free and didn't need a patch of some kind (admittedly, some were less buggy than others). I'll post the results of my amateur-level experiment after I've played Sims 3 for a day or two. :)

Nvenya

5th Jun 2009, 06:46 PM

Scorpy_CFS, did you make sims in game or with bodyshop? They come out a lot better in the latter even without CC.

gwynne

5th Jun 2009, 06:56 PM

I think comparing Sims 3 2009 to Sims 2 2004 is giving EA way too much slack.

The series is going on ten years old, they know which features people go nuts over by now, and they *should* have had a better handle on community desires and expectations. I didn't expect pets or vampires, yet, but I did expect the most popular base-game features not to get stripped down or removed entirely.

I also think that comparing Sims 3 to an MMO is flawed; MMOs are already expected to receive numerous patches as the game evolves and they tweak gameplay, and MMOs are usually under immense financial pressure to release as soon as possible and get those monthy subscriber fees rolling in. A single-user PC game with a normal development cycle should have a reasonable expectation of working properly out of the box.

Misty_2004

5th Jun 2009, 06:59 PM

Do not take game-reviews seriously. None of them. Not the overly critical, nor the overly positive. They are not proper journalism nor respectable literature.
Ah, but they ARE proper journalism, the type of which is known as an editorial, aka someone's opinion on something. Editorials are extremely important!

If I buy something post-release I always read reviews from real people and I find them very helpful. Even those posted by people who apparently didn't think to actually check their computer specs before buying are helpful. And do you know why? Because those reviews always remind me to make sure it will actually run on my computer before I buy it. I like to take everything into account and negative reviews are VERY, VERY important for that.

I am also very disappointed by EA's money-grubbing, but the sad thing is, it will work. Shoot, I read the other day where someone bought FOURTEEN points cards during Best Buy's $5 sale! That is SEVENTY DOLLARS they've already spent for downloading the stuff from EA's store! That is the very stupidity that makes things like EA's store profitable and just encourages them to keep going.

The other night I happened across a post in the official forum. It had links to all the "freebies" that are available in the store. Every one of those freebies were obvious promotional items, mainly from Fanta, and to top that were downright ugly. I did download a Prius car (which absolutely will not convince me I should rush right out and buy a Prius) and a computer (I think it had something to do with Spongebob but will definitely make no Spongebob points with me because I hate Spongebob--it just looked like it would be cute for kids), but as for the rest of it, the only way I would put it in my game is if they paid me to do it because it's downright hideous. Yet I don't know how many people were squealing like little girls over this "free content."

I ran into another thing in the store that really irked me too. Did anyone besides me notice there's no food processor in TS3? That's because it's in the store!

Overall, I really am liking TS3. I actually got the opportunity to play it last night for a few hours with Pescado's SP fix, and for the first time it started to be an enjoyable experience instead of me stressing over who is doing what in the neighborhood. Of course it greatly helped that I used the DestroyAllHumans part of that mod to totally clean out the neighborhood before I started, which was all sorts of awesome to have a Sim living in an abandoned town (it actually takes several days for Sims to start moving back in) and I think that feature of Pescado's awesome.package could lead to a lot of really fun and interesting challenges.

gwynne

5th Jun 2009, 07:01 PM

There's a food processor in TS3 without the store.

Fennec

5th Jun 2009, 07:12 PM

So far, I've gotta say that I like it, but it could be better.

First of all, I expected the town to feel a lot more full and for more townies to be around. They need more random single Sims. I had to make some just to have someone for my Sims to marry. I also expected Graphics to be better, since I just got a brand new graphics card, but I probably just need to turn up the settings. I'v never had it crash, but I have had it run like a turtle.

My first attempt at a household got dull quick and made me feel very disappointed. However, this household that I've been playing for the past 3 days is genuinely a joy to play, partly because of the new careers. The political career is loads of fun! I love throwing campaign fund raisers and such.

Create a style is amazing bordering on overwhelming. With some more clothes and furniture meshes it's going to be pretty awesome. However, I was very disappointed with the limitations to faces. You can make different looking faces, it's just not easy at all. I would like to see something that gives you some more options.

Overall, I like it and I can't wait to see what they do with it. I felt comfortable deleting the Sims 2 off my computer and playing simply this. I could never get into legacy style playing before, but I think I will now.

kempy

5th Jun 2009, 07:31 PM

sirams

5th Jun 2009, 08:03 PM

Khm, then I am really lucky. I have Pentium 4 (single core!) 3.2GHz with 2GB RAM and ATI HD 3650 (which is kinda below middle level graphics) and Sims 3 is running great for me - all settings maximal, except screen resolution. Although I have not thrown a party yet, so I do not know what will happen when there are more people around.

CleoTheMuse

5th Jun 2009, 08:04 PM

I don't think the trouble with this game is not so much about a "rushed version."
I think it's flaws are more fundamental. Eaxis created this game without consulting us, the people who are obsessed with Sims.

They instead turned to TSR for their obligatory interaction with potential customers. We all know that the TSR folks are a bunch of sycophants, who were so happy to get their free crap and pats on the head from EA, that they couldn't help but fall over themselves telling EA what a great job they were doing.

So, encased in their "Yes Men" bubble, EA designed the game with their usual chip on their shoulder. When it turned out to have buggy bits (before and after release) they responded in their usual way...which was to ignore it until the complaints got too loud...then move very slowly towards a solution, the whole time reminding us that there's nothing wrong with the game.

Don't get me wrong. TS3 has been fun for me, but if they had asked my opinion on what I wanted to see in it...this would be a different game.

CleoTheMuse

5th Jun 2009, 08:06 PM

You should only pay attention to negative reviews. Only negativity is truth. This is true of ALL things in life: Things are defined by the negative. Without the negative, there can be no picture.

There is scientific evidence to support this. Chronically depressed people apparently see the world more honestly than people with a "normal" perspective.

(Isn't that a cheerful thought?)

sirams

5th Jun 2009, 08:20 PM

Grahf84

5th Jun 2009, 08:28 PM

It's an ok game that could be alot better, the Sims 2 is a much better game EA got greedy and lazy and thought they could just add an half assed free roaming call it the Sims 3 and no one would notice, they actually stripped more from the game then they added and it's disgraceful. I honestly hope they fail, i mean they have some of the loyalist fan base around and they repay you guys by feeding you bs. They'll drop about 8 expansions over the next 4 years to add stuff that they already have made and should be in the game costing loyal fans a few hundred dollars extra to repent!

summersong86

5th Jun 2009, 08:30 PM

There is scientific evidence to support this. Chronically depressed people apparently see the world more honestly than people with a "normal" perspective.

(Isn't that a cheerful thought?)What about those of us who are bipolar? :p

I think I might be bipolar if judging my reaction to the game means anything. I hated it at first and regretted the money spent on it--coulda asked for something else for my b-day. But as I've read further in the game guide and talked to other people on the forums and learned more about the game, I'm hopelessly addicted and impressed by it.

Last night I learned how to explore the town and watch people while my sims are asleep and I don't have to concern myself with their needs. In fact now I make sure to set their sleeptime to normal speed so I can go exploring on my own without my sims. I feel like a ghost just haunting the town. So cool!

I'm getting to the point now where I'm so busy appreciating what the game does have and can do that I'm missing less what it's not got, yet. Except, well--NEED MOAR HAIRS!! Also a lot of the things I thought had been missing, well I found them after all.

I also got to take my sim to visit one of the neighbors and it was so hilarious when their toddler pooped in its diaper. Everyone in the house including my own autonomous-mode sim went running out. But she did run out with a cute guy and they hit it off really well. I don't think I ever enjoyed quite such richness in Sims interactions until Sims3.

I did finally also learn how to make more attractive Sims. I'm getting the hang of the sliders and what they can and can't do and just last night had some breakthroughs in facial sculpting I didn't think were possible with their tools. I have to remember it took me all these years Sims2 has been out to be able to make sims that meet my standards of interesting and attractive. I think if we can get more eyebrow options and cosmetics alphas or whatever they use, I will be able to make the kinds of customized sims I want, after all.

Anyway, I think it's going to be awhile before we see truly fair reviews. People need to work on getting their hardware up to specs and adapting their Sims2 skills to the new paradigm.

KyleTheArtist

5th Jun 2009, 08:34 PM

I bought it the other day, so I have my own copy( so I do not terrorize my friend every day by visiting) I think still Sims 2 is much better.

Grahf84

5th Jun 2009, 08:35 PM

As far as the game speed goes i don't think it's a bug, the devs programed it to run like that for some silly unknown reason.

kittielickie

5th Jun 2009, 08:36 PM

to be honest, i think the game is fun. BUT... My computer shuts down in CAS. I can play with a ready made family just fine, but when i got to edit them in any way, boom! off shuts my computer. At first, i thought it was my system. Now i'm starting to think it's some coding in the game telling my card it's overheating and it shuts off. I'm not the only person with the same problem. I ran into about 50+ other simmers on the ea forum with the same exact problem. I called EA support, of course, they told me it was my computer. I don't know what to think. I one of many that is very upset with the 'finished' product. It could have been worse. Some people can't even install their game. I just hope there will be a fix soon. My word of advice, don't buy it yet if you haven't. Keep playing the sims 2, and wait for all the problems to be fixed.

CleoTheMuse

5th Jun 2009, 08:39 PM

What about those of us who are bipolar? :p

Alas, the study only focused on chronically depressed folks. So, maybe bipolar people are correct half of the time? ;)

sirams

5th Jun 2009, 09:05 PM

I guess bipolar post both -positive and negative comments :cool:

porkypine

5th Jun 2009, 09:13 PM

ahahaha.. EACH and EVERY SINGLE 'hot off the presses' game buyer and player is a BETA tester.. EA tests their stuff but they can not and do not try to test it on every kind of computer that's out in the world, that has who knows what kind of software already installed which may conflict with their game.

So WELCOME to the ranks of Beta Testers and thank you for reporting all the problems to EA.. They might have a patch ready by the time my pre-order arrives.. :lol:

Caupi

5th Jun 2009, 09:13 PM

dream_operator23

5th Jun 2009, 09:33 PM

I actually like the Sims3 and once the bugs are ironed out I think it will be a better game than Sims2. I've had no problem at all getting attached to my Sims3 simmies.

lilsweetiecori

5th Jun 2009, 10:15 PM

...

They'll drop about 8 expansions over the next 4 years to add stuff that they already have made and should be in the game costing loyal fans a few hundred dollars extra to repent!

Oh my gosh, I never did think about that for The Sims 2. Maybe because, like you mentioned, everything was bought over a 4 year span. So in all reality, The Sims 2 put togehter with its EP's cost over $200.00... when I think about it, (in my opinion) thats even a pretty cruddy game for that price :lol:
Heh, can you inagine a game on the shelf selling for $200.00 lol.
Wow, I dont think I want to go through that with the Sims 3 (if I get it that is. heh)

Maybe depressed people are depressed specifically because they see things more honestly than "normal" people. ;)

No kidding huh? LOL

NC17

5th Jun 2009, 10:29 PM

I don't like The Sims 3 at all, I can't even make a sim because everything except the hair is black even though I have all the requirements :(.

I regret ever spending all of that money on it, I should have just stuck with The Sims 2 but I don't even have that anymore because I sold all of them to get 3.

CleoTheMuse

5th Jun 2009, 10:37 PM

I don't like The Sims 3 at all, I can't even make a sim because everything except the hair is black even though I have all the requirements :(.

Huh? Black?

gwynne

5th Jun 2009, 10:48 PM

I don't like The Sims 3 at all, I can't even make a sim because everything except the hair is black even though I have all the requirements :(.

Please list your video card and the date of your current video drivers. :)

Start/run and then type in dxdiag and hit enter to find this informatino.

mishibob

5th Jun 2009, 10:51 PM

The series is going on ten years old, they know which features people go nuts over by now, and they *should* have had a better handle on community desires and expectations. I didn't expect pets or vampires, yet, but I did expect the most popular base-game features not to get stripped down or removed entirely.
I agree totally with gwynne. I read a little more than a page of the amazon reviews and nowhere did I see people comparing the sims 2 and the sims 3. I read them complaining about the stripped features that made the sims 2 great (it's not comparing,it's common sense that the sims 3 should have had those features they stripped off) and how some of the new 'features' fail on so many levels.

I guess bipolar post both -positive and negative comments
That's definitely me,just look at the evidence of my posts in this site. In one thread I say the game is a train wreck while in another thread I express how much I enjoy the easter eggs (like a book titled similar to a Seuss book or a painting by Darren Dreamer).

weblerrik

5th Jun 2009, 11:33 PM

It amazes me how whenever a new game (or new software comes out) that developers should have fixed all the bugs and they talk about how what came before it was so much better. This has never been the case as long as I can remember. Go back to vanilla SIMS 2 and tell me how messed up that was. The SIMS 1 was also just as bad.

It is the nature of the beast for things to go wrong,m terribly wrong when the mass market gets a hold of software. There could be something as simple as a program that doesn't like the new software to something as complicated as the hardware is faulty but only shows up that way with the new software.

As for the button not working for storymode I bet it worked when they went gold with it yet somewhere along the line a byte or a bit got changed and poof now it doesn't work. I can only imagine how horrible it would be to find something like that in the code for this game.

Yes there are things I am surprised was not in the game to begin with, heigh adjuster, chest adjuster and my biggest complaint is the neighborhoods. Yet joy to all of joys there are this site and MATY to add what we want and fix those things that EA is too big and corporate to fix in days or even weeks.

I am happy over all with SIMS 3, especially the creation of houses and the almost overwhelming customization for the game. Oh and by the way this is the first SIMS game that I have ever bought that runs like butter on my system.

Misty_2004

5th Jun 2009, 11:35 PM

I guess bipolar post both -positive and negative comments
There is nothing bi-polar about it. Anyone taking an objective look at things can see both the bad and the good.

J. M. Pescado

6th Jun 2009, 12:16 AM

Anyone who has anything good to say is nothing more than a common shill and cannot be trusted.

candyapplegirl

6th Jun 2009, 12:25 AM

I'm really trying to like this game, but it's very hard to get into it with all the weird things that have happened. I feel like we were misled when they said EVERYTHING was customizable and you can make virtually anything you want. That's not true. You're only given a certain number of patterns to choose from, and there is no way to upload your own.

But, honestly, the thing that disappointed me the most was the CAS. It's horrendous. TS2 CAS was lightyears better than TS3. Why take steps backwards when coming out with a new game? It just feels like they've left out so much basic stuff that should be included. Like more than one decent hairstyle for male sims. Ugh.

lawnbowls

6th Jun 2009, 12:56 AM

I would be shocked if they had decent hairstyles for male sims, it's like an EA tradition to make them as ugly as possible.

Reindeer911

6th Jun 2009, 01:47 AM

I'm guessing that a few people forgot about the early days of TS2... never mind the ongoing problems with bugs in the expansions, and all the work it took to keep the game updated from the standpoint of hacks and whatnot. I for one welcome the fresh start... I say give the mod community a couple of months to really get the ball rolling, then lets see where things stand.

duffdog7576

6th Jun 2009, 02:50 AM

Amazon.com customer reviews (http://www.amazon.com/Sims-3-Pc/product-reviews/B00166N6SA/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending)

Wow, it definately looks like those of us who are critical are no longer alone. There is definately a brewing storm against EA, and if they don't get off their butts and do something major really soon, we could have another spore debacle...

<Gets his pitch fork and lights his torce>

..... God I loved Spore so much, I love it so much that I nearly exploded the day it came on my front step. Then I cryed slowly in disbelief. I didnt want to hate it. I honestly didnt but I slow crept out of denial.

The Sims 3 is doing this to me now..... Not as much. The game at least has a point more then Spore does.

pmylin1

6th Jun 2009, 03:07 AM

I think the idea was genius...the result not so much.
First of all when the lady goes into labor..she gets to have the baby at the hospital- YAY. But we have to stay outside, what a disappointment. I know that creating a complete running hospital would take too mcuh effort, graphics etc.. but we could at least have a peek in the waiting room. They could have chairs, vending machine, some staff and townies running around. It would be cool.
The same thing when my sim went to town. Great, he could drive there and you actually followed along with the car. But once we got to the store, we could not follow the sim inside.

Another disappointment, was the half-a** job with the graphics, walls and appliances, hair styles etc..BORING. Not much new and better than Sims 2.

Like I said, the idea was nice. But it seems unfinished. What's up EA? :blink:

Chazemataz

6th Jun 2009, 03:20 AM

That information, sir, is false. :(
There are a lot of poor people, like myself, who enjoy gaming but don't have upgraded/ newer systems. It sucks, but is very true.

Just for kicks I installed TS3 on my grandma's computer, which has a geforce FX 5500 driver and like 512 RAM of memory. It works just fine. It's laggy here and there, and the graphics suck, but it's sufficiently playable.

This game is good but bland. I had so much custom content and all the EP's and stuff, so I'm used to The Sims 2 being very complex and complicated, with tons of relationships and back stories.
The problem with this game is simply that there aren't any EP's and not enough CC yet. The sims 2 original is better, but that's simply because TS1 sucked (though not at the time, or for the time era). Everyone is just underwhelmed because of how simple the game seems at this time.

If there's one thing TS3 has, it's potential.
Keep in mind that I'm typing this from a perspective of expecting EA to have screwed this up, just like they did Spore, so I was pretty surprised this wasn't a total trainwreck.

momicajack

6th Jun 2009, 03:24 AM

You should only pay attention to negative reviews. Only negativity is truth. This is true of ALL things in life: Things are defined by the negative. Without the negative, there can be no picture.

Sorry but I don't agree with that. Everyone has their own feelings and expresses that. Just because I see a negative review about a new movie coming out it does not change my desire to see the movie. I believe in making my own mind up as to whether I like something or not, and not relying on what everyone else thinks. I'm not a brainwashed robot - I have my own feelings and I use them. Just because chicken little thinks the sky is falling, doesn't mean I'm going to run home and hide.

I like this game. I'll give them time to work out the kinks, but I can still enjoy it as it is for now. All those of you who love TS2 so much and think this game sucks and think TS2 is so much more fantastic in comparison or whatever, just remember that a lot of you same people were griping about one thing or another with TS2 at some point, yet now you're hollering how TS3 isn't as good as the TS2. So silly IMO. Give it time, geez!

How's that for some "negative" truth for ya El Pres? I am negative against agreeing with you! :lol:

CleoTheMuse

6th Jun 2009, 03:25 AM

How's that for some "negative" truth for ya El Pres? I am negative against agreeing with you! :lol:

Is that a double-negative?

momicajack

6th Jun 2009, 03:26 AM

Lol! Yep looks like it! :)

pinkmonkey

6th Jun 2009, 03:32 AM

The game will improve with time and cc. And soon enough you guys will completely forget about TS2, which will then take its place next to TS1 in the dusty, old box of forgotten prequels. You guys will be too busy oogling the newly released cc and expansion packs for the sims 3. :(

CleoTheMuse

6th Jun 2009, 03:39 AM

...And soon enough you guys will completely forget about TS2, which will then take its place next to TS1 in the dusty, old box of forgotten prequels.

We've gone over this before. Many of us still play TS1. It's on my laptop right now. If I didn't carry it around with me...my work day would be terribly boring.

kmfcm

6th Jun 2009, 04:02 AM

we all should've waited

but we were bored

momicajack

6th Jun 2009, 04:03 AM

Not me! I was tired of waiting! I'm having a good time! :)

kmfcm

6th Jun 2009, 04:05 AM

I've not even had all these problems yet, really.

but I've only been playing for maybe two days tops.

My biggest gripe though?

the store.

that's crap.

I'm not buying a thing in there. I'm waiting for people to figure out meshing and etc.

CleoTheMuse

6th Jun 2009, 04:05 AM

Not me! I was tired of waiting! I'm having a good time! :)

Me too. I played all day today.

However, I am dreading my teen moving out...which will force me to play two households.

EmilyJud

6th Jun 2009, 04:26 AM

what bugs me is that I can't play with high graphics or it's really and jumpy and over all so slow that it isn't even worth playing and I have a pretty good computer. Even now, I'm running it on medium and it still freezed every few minutes.
The one other major thing that bugs me is that when I want to move screen it seems to jump from one spot to the next! Even if my sim is in the middle of the two spots! It's very irritating.

duffdog7576

6th Jun 2009, 04:33 AM

Its a double negative with a double postivie squared but rewritten to follow order of operations so it really reads......

Im done with that joke. XD

KGirl

6th Jun 2009, 05:38 AM

The big problem with TS3 is the lack of content from custom content makers and that there are no EP's yet, as well as a few issues-- the move-out issue and a few isolated bugs-- that are likely to be fixed in patches.

I also guess it sucks if your PC isn't powerful enough to run it, which is another thing they need to fix. Maybe it'll be slow if you only meet the minimum requirements, but it shouldn't crash people's computers.

I like it as a great springboard. I can't imagine anyone whose computer can run the game without huge lag not preferring it to TS2 before TS2 had EP's or custom content.

The one big thing I do resent is the store, that they don't give you all that content with the game, when the game is so low on content.

But people will make custom content and mods: We already have from modders things like the debug cheats enabled package, which allows one to get free lifetime happiness points, which is the solution to "shazaam" not working.

There's one small bug that's been annoying me, that of the three realistic skin tone sliders, if you choose #2 of the three, the game's been resetting it to #1 in CAS.

But TS2 and most of the EP's all had those types of bugs, though. TS2 with the available EP's and mods (and its patches) is a better game now than TS3, but TS3 is actually deeper with the traits, with sims' lives going on when you aren't playing them, with sims doing a better job of satisfying their own needs, etc., and has a ton of potential.

Moonbeam_SC

6th Jun 2009, 06:16 PM

I was determined to try to get the game to stop crashing in the build a family mode so burned loads of photo albums from computer onto disk & removed unwanted programmes - I made it through make a family & managed to buy a house and decorate 1 room but then it crashed again eventually it went back to the house but kept crashing grrrrr so I am going to try deleting more things off computer.

I'm pretty sure I do have enough memory though .... so frustrating

Galilee

6th Jun 2009, 06:21 PM

Really, instead of tons of patches, why can't game developers finish/fix their games before market. This exact sort of thing was why my bf and I quit playing Age of Conan and switched back to EverQuest II.

It's not always the producers faults.. they get alot of grief from their investors to get stuff out of production an out on the market.. and so many people are in it for the quick buck now it seems sadly..

gwynne

6th Jun 2009, 09:07 PM

tikkall

6th Jun 2009, 09:23 PM

We've gone over this before. Many of us still play TS1. It's on my laptop right now. If I didn't carry it around with me...my work day would be terribly boring.

I totally play Sims 1 on my work computer because it doesn't have a lot of ram. I am perfectly content with it, and it gives me enjoyment. Actually I haven't played Sims 2 in a few months.

PhantasyGurl

7th Jun 2009, 02:24 AM

pinkmonkey

7th Jun 2009, 03:06 AM

We've gone over this before. Many of us still play TS1. It's on my laptop right now. If I didn't carry it around with me...my work day would be terribly boring.You would be in the minority. :)

Elyssa

7th Jun 2009, 01:52 PM

I convinced my hubby to get me new ram for the game. Woohoo. I figure I might like it if I can leave the house more than once before it freezes and then the black screen comes up.

If not my sims 2 will look and run awesome with new memory XD

beakergirl

7th Jun 2009, 02:02 PM

after waiting 6 months, it arrived friday and i was transported back to my sims1 playing days, it is the biggest rip off since GTA4. how they could say that the sims in this new game are more realistic beats me. but at least i still have sims2 to play and the talented folks on here to make lovely stuff

beakergirl

7th Jun 2009, 02:03 PM

starry8t2

7th Jun 2009, 02:21 PM

I've been reading all these messages while awaiting the release of Sims 3 here (June 5th) I have to say I was very worried but somewhat relieved to find I am quite enjoying it. Loving the character traits.

Yes there are bugs but there were bugs with TS2 (where does the newspaper go after they get a job??). It won't install on my desktop which is high end on the spec but will run on my laptop which is below recomended specs and has vista and onboard graphics, go figure. It also runs with relatively no lag which is surprising.

I think this game has the potential to be great with all the custom created content that is bound to come about.

I'm prepared to put aside the many glitches and the store (Stinking idea EA) and agree with KGirl, there's loads of potential.

Sidheed

7th Jun 2009, 02:39 PM

There are always brewing storms when a new version of a game is released, There are people who refused to play Sims 2 because of some of the lost featured and the initial problems.

I have been having problems myself, but nothing that can not be fixed I suppose.

As for the people spending time writing critical reviews etc it is probably because they have stopped playing the game, the only reason I am not is because I am at work, lol.

What I have seen I like overall, but some of the animations do seem to be a bot Sims 1ish really. But there are still so many things for me to explore!

GuardStud08

7th Jun 2009, 02:41 PM

I will continue to make homes for TS2. :D Sims 3 really isn't making me excited, I don't know why.

TheShady

7th Jun 2009, 02:57 PM

Having played quite a bit now, I realised it's not really a bad game per sé.
It's lacking content, naturally. And that's a little off-putting. Expansions will fix that.
The seamless neighbourhood isn't all that exciting.
Simultaneous Aging and Story Progression... I haven't made my mind up with that yet. What I do know, though, is that AI simply sucks in many ways.
There's no excuse for the lack of animations. Just lazy.
Moodlets are too superficial. A 2 days positive moodlet after marriage isn't really reasonable.
Traits are great. Hopefully there'll be more in future expansion packs.
The graphics I'm getting used to.
Some opportunities are good, some are just plain stupid (bringing home 5 plates...).
The career system is really not bad and I'm sure there'll be more careers in the future.

All in all, it's a fun game but not excellent. It needs many many fixes. But generally, it doesn't excite me that much. Normally, when I buy a game I've waited for for some time I'm glued to the PC not being able to play anything else. But TS3 didn't do that for me. I'm still playing other games a lot and TS3 only on the side. I can't enjoy it properly.
Once I figure out how I want to play the game and how the AI really behaves; once I can design my own neighbourhood and once everything's fixed properly, I might get into it more.

It's just not nearly living up to the hype. It didn't deliver what was promised.

tinydancer80

7th Jun 2009, 03:18 PM

Tempscire

7th Jun 2009, 03:48 PM

3) They didn't take into account that this is a BASE GAME... there are NO EXPANSION PACKS AS YET!

Shouldn't a base game be able to hold up to scrutiny on its own? An acorn is not a tree; a base game, however much potential it has, is not the base + expansions + CC + a neighborhood-making tool + etc.

Your list of negative opinion chain-reaction seems to insinuate that nothing the leaked game players reported is true or bad, or that no one could independently be annoyed by those things. I was expecting something like "1. no neighborhood editor, 2. speeds are borked, 3. can't figure out how to make an attractive Sim yet" and so on. You know-- actual reasons.

laurbake

7th Jun 2009, 03:58 PM

^^^^^
I agree... people may not want to face that their computers just aren't good enough to run this game. Why blame the game because one's equipment is insufficient?

I have NO problems running the game, with crashing or anything else. It literally loads and saves in under 3 minutes.

Agreed, it's not fair bashing the game if you can't play it properly.

My laptop doesn't meet requirements, and it shows. It's far too slow to actually enjoy gameplay, which is why I've invested in the extra RAM I need to fully appreciate the game.

Sucks though, I'll have to wait 'til Wednesday. :(

Annalisa

7th Jun 2009, 04:01 PM

The complaints of people who played the leaked versions are legitimate, and those problems are all still in the game.

I do however think way too many people just read the complaints and then formed all sorts of weird opinions in their minds, some of which are wrong.

Personally, I think the worst combination is:

1) Person doesn't pay attention to any press or information about the game in the months leading up to it and has no freaking clue what the game is like
2) Person is shocked to learn all sorts of things that everyone already knows about the game
3) Person reads about bugs or poor aspects of the game and thinks the sky is falling
4) Person adds 2 and 2 and comes up with 16

Unfortunately there are a lot of ninnies who play the Sims so the above seems to be quite common. Personally, I just recommend that people come into the game without preconceptions, without viewing it as being Sims 2 vers. 2.0; evaluate the good parts vs. the bad parts; think about which of the bad parts can be (and in some cases already have been) fixed; take the time to really learn how the game works before getting all huffy that they can't figure it out; and decide whether it's an enjoyable game based on its own merits.

It is a good game. It's a not a perfect game, and it's inexcusable some of the crap EA left undone or screwed up. But that doesn't change the fact that it's still a very good and very expansive and enjoyable game. In my opinion, it as good as TS2, with the potential of becoming much, much better.

cwf1701

7th Jun 2009, 05:46 PM

the best way to say for the sims 3 right now, if time is given, it could be a lot like sims 2. but some are afraid it could be the Video game equivalent to Joey Harrington (a major bust). one thing they need to fix before they can take me off the fence is the ability to play any house during the game (free play). one day i want to play as house 1 and the next day as house 2. bring that back in sims 3 and i might come off the fence.

tinydancer80

7th Jun 2009, 07:27 PM

Shouldn't a base game be able to hold up to scrutiny on its own? An acorn is not a tree; a base game, however much potential it has, is not the base + expansions + CC + a neighborhood-making tool + etc.

Your list of negative opinion chain-reaction seems to insinuate that nothing the leaked game players reported is true or bad, or that no one could independently be annoyed by those things. I was expecting something like "1. no neighborhood editor, 2. speeds are borked, 3. can't figure out how to make an attractive Sim yet" and so on. You know-- actual reasons.

:wtf: Please re-read my post until you get my actual point.

ANNALISA: I couldn't agree with you MORE! You get it! See, the thing is you have to take both the negatives AND the positives with a grain of salt. Some of it may be true, and some may not, but don't go into the game having the mindset that you're not gonna like it because of what all those ppl said who played the leaked version. I think that's self-prophesizing... if you don't think you're gonna like it, you won't ;)

Tempscire

7th Jun 2009, 08:12 PM

:wtf: Please re-read my post until you get my actual point.

Your point seemed solely to be that many people dislike the game because they went in expecting not to like it based on the negative reports from other players. Yes/no?

Whether you experience something first hand or hear about it elsewhere, if a feature or bug is unappealing to you, it is unappealing. If the initial report was wildly exaggerated, you'll notice that discrepancy when you try for yourself, feel relieved, and dismiss the complaint appropriately. If it was actually rather accurate, well...

tinydancer80

7th Jun 2009, 08:19 PM

Your point seemed solely to be that many people dislike the game because they went in expecting not to like it based on the negative reports from other players. Yes/no?

Whether you experience something first hand or hear about it elsewhere, if a feature or bug is unappealing to you, it is unappealing. If the initial report was wildly exaggerated, you'll notice that discrepancy when you try for yourself, feel relieved, and dismiss the complaint appropriately. If it was actually rather accurate, well...

That was not SOLELY my point. Partially, I suppose, but not entirely. My point is that people really have to make up their minds themselves, and they should give it more time than, say, as long as it take to play with CAS. I guess if ALL you like to do with your Sims game is build, decorate, or create Sims, you probably WILL be disappointed at this point in time. When Sims 2 base game came out, there wasn't much to those areas either. However, with time came MANY wonderful mods, and recolors and whatnot. So it just boils down to not judging the ENTIRE game based on "the tip of the iceberg". There's SO much more to it... I PROMISE! :)

Epsim

7th Jun 2009, 08:23 PM

Okay, really now, I think the reason a lot of people don't like the game is, well, there are a few reasons:

1) They listened to the complaints of those who played the leaked version
2) They told themselves the game was gonna SUCK based on what they heard about the leaked version of the game
3) They didn't take into account that this is a BASE GAME... there are NO EXPANSION PACKS AS YET!
4) They played for about 5 minutes and decided that what everybody who played the leaked version said was true.

Seriously guys! You're ruining it for people who actually LISTEN to your opinion of the game, because they don't KNOW that you haven't played it for more than... a grand total of an hour. That's great. Have ya told a little boy that his new puppy is gonna die someday too, today? :cry: :rolleyes:

Quite presumptuous claims there, don't you think?

I have a lot of reasons to dislike this game, and none of those four are on the list. I didn't even know there was a leak until after I bought the game and began checking online for others' reactions. Hence why I am posting here now rather than playing a brand new game I expected to be glued to nonstop as I was with the previous Sims games.

Having spent a total of $90 on Sims 3 (Collector's Edition + Prima guide), the idea of a "base game" doesn't even register with me. The whole idea is just a dirty trick by EA and ordinary people shouldn't be shilling for them. For $70, I should be getting a complete game, not one deliberately chopped up and crippled to push expensive expansion pack sales and rip people off on that absurd "Sims 3 Store".

tinydancer80

7th Jun 2009, 08:25 PM

Quite presumptuous claims there, don't you think?

I have a lot of reasons to dislike this game, and none of those four are on the list. I didn't even know there was a leak until after I bought the game and began checking online for others' reactions. Hence why I am posting here now rather than playing a brand new game I expected to be glued to nonstop as I was with the previous Sims games.

Having spent a total of $90 on Sims 3 (Collector's Edition + Prima guide), the idea of a "base game" doesn't even register with me. The whole idea is just a dirty trick by EA and ordinary people shouldn't be shilling for them. For $70, I should be getting a complete game, not one deliberately chopped up and crippled to push expensive expansion pack sales and rip people off on that absurd "Sims 3 Store".

Please refer to my previous post. There, I further explain myself.

TheShady

7th Jun 2009, 08:38 PM

Case A: You read official reviews and followed all the information from EA, buy the game with plenty of positive expectations.
1.) The game is good. You realise that all those reviews were true and that EA was really telling the truth about everything. You love the game and have the time of your life.
2.) You realise that the game is full of bugs and is in fact not at all as advertised. You get angry at the reviewers because they lied or because they gave incomplete information about the game. You start visiting forums to complain about the game and download mods to make the game work.

Case B: You read about the leak or even played it, you read all those negative opinions. Since you're a fan, you buy the game anyways, or have already pre-ordered it and didn't cancel the order for some reason. You start the game up.
1.) The game is good. You don't understand what all the fuss was about and realise that people on the internet, once again, are just plain stupid. You love the game and have the time of your life.
2.) You are utterly shocked to find that the BETA-leak is not much different from the final release version and you begin to hate EA. You find people's negative opinions to be true and visit forums to agree with them.

If a game is good, all the negativity that you started playing the game with suddenly vanishes. You dismiss the criticism. And that's not about giving it time. Whenever I start playing a game, I immediately know that the game is good or at least something for me. I have never been wrong with that. It's about your first impression. UI, fluency, controls, style, ease of learning, initially presented content. If a game fails to present itself in its best way right from the beginning, the game is not good. I at least, sense that.

The Sims 3 is a good game because it still contains many very basic gameplay-aspects from the past The Sims series. But as a sequel, it ruined too many of those past aspects and the state the game currently is in is simply unacceptable. On the other hand it didn't advance other content that needed to be advanced, like animations, AI and Sim-personality-complexity.

As a sequel the game failed to get the right balance between new and old. As a game, however, it's still good.

EDIT: The game should also be good without CC, mods and hacks...

tinydancer80

7th Jun 2009, 08:54 PM

As a sequel the game failed to get the right balance between new and old. As a game, however, it's still good.
EDIT: The game should also be good without CC, mods and hacks...

That's fair :) you took everything you read with a grain of salt. You played the game and formed YOUR OWN opinions of it, and they were balanced... positives AND negatives. I commend you for that ;)

humpty

7th Jun 2009, 10:04 PM

Is it possible to load Sims3 and still keep Sims2 on the same comp? Or do we have to delete everything connected to Sims2?

dancehallqueen84

7th Jun 2009, 10:06 PM

Is it possible to load Sims3 and still keep Sims2 on the same comp? Or do we have to delete everything connected to Sims2?

I have both games on my computer and both work fine.

humpty

7th Jun 2009, 10:16 PM

I have both games on my computer and both work fine.

Ah, that`s good, I would like to try Sims3 but I don`t want to lose all of my Sims2 and then find that I hate 3 :)

gwynne

7th Jun 2009, 10:28 PM

I think I'm done with TS3 for now. I just gave it another couple-hour try (I'm up to about 40 or 50 hours of gameplay now) and it's just not for me. I like the look of TS2 so much more, and the relationships feel so much more organic. I tried to take a teen on a date, and just ended up fighting to get her and her date to go in the same rabbitholes at the same time, and to and come out on the same side of the building, and it was just ridiculous. And I hate the interaction trees so much. I'll miss create a style. That's about it. If I want to gather & skill up I'll go back to WoW.

kisamore93

7th Jun 2009, 10:32 PM

Yeah, and happy people usually do not complain on the message boards and amazon, they just play the game.
But anyway - now we cannot find a way to punish Eaxis - it is too late, the game is out and people are buying it. We just can promise not to buy TS4 if EA won't release some big free patch+EP for TS3 soon :D

What you have to say about this game now hits EA directly in the pocketbook. I have not purchased anything yet. As TS3 was developing and I read about it and looked at screenshots of it, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it or not. I have been a fan since TS 1 came out and have given EA (and then Maxis) alot of my money. After these reviews, I'm not inclined at all to leave TS 2 and buy this new game. At least not at this time. Plus unhappy customers are reselling their TS 3 games, so two potential game sales for EA become one instead.

Ragingwitch

7th Jun 2009, 10:53 PM

I've had this for a few days now, since it was released here in the UK. My husband kindly bought it for me as I have all the Sims 2 discs. I must admit, I like the free roaming about, and the lack of loading screens for travelling around, but I miss the edge scrolling, there's next to no choice with regards to doors for houses and clearly, there's no custom content out yet which made Sims 2 so much more fun. EA could have packaged Pets/Nightlife/Vacation-type add-ons into this game already, which would have suggested intelligence on their part about the wishes of their fan-base. The lack of these things is quite an oversight. I must also admit to getting bored feeding/sending to toilet/shower/putting to bed the characters at the expense of the little missions and career building. I thought EA were going to reduce these things so they weren't so time consuming. They've made a lot of basic interactions very tiresome; trying to make friends or fall in love with another sim is fraught with danger! Don't get me started on the CAS screen......where is the fresh, innovative update to the one on TS2 please?!!!

I've liked the new careers, traits, personality selections and so on and I've had no tech issues as my PC is fairly decent.

They've got a lot to add in the expansion packs! (Starting with the selection of front doors...)

gotchan

7th Jun 2009, 10:56 PM

I miss the edge scrolling,
You can enable edge scrolling in the Options panels, but it's so sensitive I've turned it back off.

gwynne

7th Jun 2009, 11:48 PM

I have to say I experience actual relief when playing TS2 again now. :\

I checked the Amazon ratings again, the number of reviews has about doubled, but the rating is staying at 2.5/5. (For comparison, TS2 is 4/5, SimCity Societies is 2.5/5, World of Warcraft bundle sits at 4.5/5.) I'm still curious to see if this goes up, but I have to disagree with the 'only negative people write reviews' thing.

leighcy

8th Jun 2009, 06:41 AM

There is a smear campaign going on at Amazon. This is not my opinion. It's fact. I feel sorry for people who cannot make up their own minds and take what these so called "reviewers" say as gospel. Don't get me wrong. I'm sure some are genuine negative reviews, but as I said.. smear campaign going on, so... It seems the naysayers keep repeating "but the Amazon reviews say" ad-nauseum and I'm sick of seeing that brought up as proof that the game truly sucks when at this point it has no merit.

salice0127

8th Jun 2009, 10:51 AM

You know, I'm kinda new to these simming ways... I only started playing Sims 2 last fall, and when I heard about Sims 3, I didn't take me long to preorder. I love TS2 so much, I knew I'd love TS3; I paid no attention to the leak whatsoever, I was usually too busy downloading content ;) ... then I got the game. I was rather bummed to see that there was no Bodyshop program, but still I fired it up, and then I saw only one neighborhood... that was just messed up. I downloaded the other one, but the buildings (except maybe one or two) are identical (they couldn't make completely different buildings, to at least give the neighborhoods a truly unique look?)--and the rabbit hole thing, don't get me started. I was so used to my sims walking into restaurants and guiding them through dates... well that ended with this game.

That said, I do like the game... honestly I don't notice a bad graphics thing, but I have a nvidia 9600m GT card, 4 gigs of RAM, and a 2.4 processor (want to upgrade that though... besides the point). My game has never crashed... the biggest prob I've ever had, is when I play too many Sim days without saving (say, over a week) the game will save, but the program will never close, so I have to shut it down in my task manager. I also really really miss memories, turn ons and turn offs (but those were an EP add in, so...), and the story progression has basically made it to where I will only play one house at a time, because I don't want them to get all screwed over when I get back to them, which leads to about 5 different save files for one neighborhood.

But truly, I think my biggest problem of all, isn't the bugs, or how the Sims look, or the rabbit holes, or to the stupid hair (with no movement!). My biggest problem is that I'm sure the game will one day be great, when it has tons of EPs and SPs, and custom content everywhere... but I know what I spent on Sims 2, because I spent it all at once last December, as a gift to myself. I got every single EP and SP except for Downtown, Apartment Life, and Glamour Stuff, which I already had... and I spent over 200. I cannot reconcile myself to spending most likely more than that on this game, when I've already spent so much and worked so much on TS2.

Plus it seems to me that TS2 was a creators game... whether you make Sims or houses, or recolors, or whatever... TS3, I have no idea if I'm right or wrong here, just a guess, I think makes it harder to do CC. As I'm not a creator, I have no idea about this, but I just remember thinking, when I saw preview pics of the game, and I saw create-a-style and how CAS was, that it seemed like EA wanted to make it so they had all the customisation you would ever need, and wouldn't bother with CC... just a thought though.

Hmm... long post. Sorry for the ramble ;)

gwynne

8th Jun 2009, 12:16 PM

There is a smear campaign going on at Amazon. This is not my opinion. It's fact.

Could you give us your sources on this fact?

I have to say the constant implications that people with negative opinions are somehow just "wrong" or part of a smear conspiracy is kind of weird. It seems like it's only the people who love the game who are comfortable with attacking other people for their opinions.

I recognize that other people like the game and I don't feel the need to, for example, accuse them of being shills for EA or simply deluding themselves. I limit myself to posting my opinion, not trying to disprove the opinions of others or discredit them. Why can't the same respect go both ways?

kayleigh83

8th Jun 2009, 04:14 PM

Could you give us your sources on this fact?

I have to say the constant implications that people with negative opinions are somehow just "wrong" or part of a smear conspiracy is kind of weird. It seems like it's only the people who love the game who are comfortable with attacking other people for their opinions.

I recognize that other people like the game and I don't feel the need to, for example, accuse them of being shills for EA or simply deluding themselves. I limit myself to posting my opinion, not trying to disprove the opinions of others or discredit them. Why can't the same respect go both ways?

Can't help but agree with you here. Time and again I see threads with people expressing their dissatisfaction with TS3, and people who like the game are coming in and not just saying, "well I really like it!" but actually putting these people down and saying rude things to them about their opinions, simply because they don't agree. I don't see people who dislike the game going into pro-TS3 threads and telling those people to shut up about how much they like the game (in so many words).

Let's all be civil! Everyone is entitled to their opinion and no one has the right to be rude to someone because they don't share it, or imply something rude about them.

WCF

8th Jun 2009, 04:37 PM

Does anyone know if TS2 had a similar reception at launch? You know there's always lovers and haters, even for the best of things.

gwynne

8th Jun 2009, 07:27 PM

Not sure--the community for TS2 wasn't quite as organized and set up for the changeover as this time around. I was on MTS2 and TSR at the time, all I can remember is everyone trying to figure out how to get things edited/modded/etc. I don't remember too many negative threads and TS2 (base game) does have a much higher rating on Amazon now. I was completely engrossed in editing hair alphas at the time, maybe someone else remembers actual 'haters'. (As opposed to people reporting bugs.)

Epsim

8th Jun 2009, 07:36 PM

There is a smear campaign going on at Amazon. This is not my opinion. It's fact.
Huh? No, that's still just your opinion.

The only people with both the motive and the means to organize a "campaign" to manipulate Amazon reviews would be EA itself paying people to post positive reviews.

Mnory

8th Jun 2009, 07:38 PM

For me the main problem was with the Sims 3 that I got used to the Sims 2. So when I playd first time the 3 I missed a lot of things like pets, lovely furniture, great hairstyles, etc... But then I rememberd how it was with the TS2 without cc and ep. So... After I just forgot about the whole thing and started to enjoy TS3. Now I'm already addicted. :lol:

TheShady

8th Jun 2009, 07:41 PM

Personally I had no problem with transition from TS1 to TS2.

About the other thing. It's much harder to see people dislike a game that you like than it is to see people like a game that you dislike. As a liker, you just try to convince people to enjoy the game too, while, as a disliker, you just voice your opinion and get it out there, then move on, thinking the likers "just don't get it".

I can't tell you how much I hate it when people say Call of Duty 4 is better than Call of Duty: World at War. It just hurts!

judithanndl

8th Jun 2009, 08:01 PM

I have not bought the game yet. As it stands now, I don't think I will enjoy it. It sounds like the biggest issue I will have with this game is the speeds. I admit that playing Sims games has taken a large chunk of my life, but I do have a life. If they are really that slow, I cannot excuse spending my time on this game. Since I haven't bought it though, there is a couple things I'd like to have cleared up for me personally:

About the Sim customization: Is there no Body Shop, or comparable tool for this game. If so, what were they thinking?

How much is one "sim point" for the store? I can't look at it without giving a game serial number.

FranH

8th Jun 2009, 08:15 PM

"about the Sim customization: Is there no Body Shop, or comparable tool for this game. If so, what were they thinking?"

They were thinking on the lines of profit. For all the stuff they did not put into the game, you can download it at the Sims 3 shop. Hair, outfits, houses, furniture, etc.
They make money by withholding the stuff. They didn't want to make the game not turn a profit, so they did the only thing they could think of-make it impossible to create easily for (which is being challenged by a lot of modders as I write this) or without having the almighty dollar sign in it.

They saw the enormous demand for free stuff. They decided that was not a proper way to run a game, so they turned the tables on us.

Those free points will end eventually-to be replaced by sheer hard cash.

Mnory

8th Jun 2009, 08:21 PM

They make money by withholding the stuff. They didn't want to make the game not turn a profit, so they did the only thing they could think of-make it impossible to create easily for (which is being challenged by a lot of modders as I write this) or without having the almighty dollar sign in it.

It's just not fair. As we've seen with the TS2 there was nothing wrong with the free stuff. People still bought the games and downloaded custom contents because they looked much better than the original sim-stuff. And now they demanding more money for the downloads wich are not that good looking that cc-s could be.

FranH

8th Jun 2009, 08:41 PM

"There is a smear campaign going on at Amazon. This is not my opinion. It's fact."

Amazon only allows those who bought the game from Amazon to post opinions on their purchase. This was in direction reaction to the Spore rebellion-where people who had not bought Spore from Amazon were posting negative reviews by the dozens.

In this economy, I'd say that I'd read everything negative and positive about people's reactions to the game they bought, and then make up my mind.
I don't know about you, but I sure don't have $1,000 or more to correct EA's mistakes in not posting the correct system requirements or fixing/supporting their product.
That's what it is costing some people to get their computer to actually run this game-because they don't have the right video cards, the right drivers, or even enough RAM to play it.
I will admit that I was beguiled by the idea of the Sims 3-and still am, if only EA would fix the bloody thing so that everyone who has spent so much time and energy trying to play it can.
Until that day, I will withhold my support and funds for a half-completed game. I support those who can play it and wish them well.
But when I orginally posted my "pre-pre" release review at Reclaim Your Game, I noted that EA was known for not having a history of making the system requirements crystal clear. At that time, I had stated that you would need probably 1.5 mg of RAM to start playing it, and more space than they had stated.
I was being honest then-and while some of my review was proven false, a few points were true-the memory you need and the DVD play only.

A smear campaign? No-just the honest truth from some very upset and disenchanted players. Nothing like an unhappy customer to tell you what you did wrong.

CleoTheMuse

8th Jun 2009, 10:30 PM

If I want to gather & skill up I'll go back to WoW.

This made me laugh...because as I was reading you post, my guildmaster emailed me to ask why I hadn't been around to tank on raid night. I had to tell him I'd been playing Sims 3.

Jenl212

8th Jun 2009, 10:52 PM

What I haven't seen too much talk about is this - if the Sims 3 was delayed from February to make further tweaks and fixes, what sort of sorry state was the game in back then?! Unless they pushed it back for monetary reasons.

I think they deserve all the negative reviews that have made, since they shipped it with broken story progression. There are no excuses for that.

Personally, I enjoy many aspects of the game, but my opinion of EA as a company is the same as the majority of posters. I will definately not be spending any money in the Sims 3 store.

Srikandi

8th Jun 2009, 11:27 PM

Yikes, I'm getting scared by all the bad reviews.

The press reviews of the game have been very positive.

As for negative reviews on amazon, that's a means which disgruntled players of many games have taken to make a public protest about features they disapprove of. It's not something which needs to be taken too seriously, though, since folks frequently post on those threads just as a means of "jumping on the bandwagon", often with no clue what they're talking about.

The thousands of protests there about limited installs in the case of Spore, for instance, revealed if you actually read them that the large majority of the posters didn't actually realize that the limit was only a limit on how many computers you installed on, not how many times you installed. In other words, almost all of the outrage was completely misinformed.

Let me be clear: EA needs to fix the story progression bug, and it would be desirable to add more fine-tuned options for controlling autonomy. That would make it a better game, which would appeal to more players.

The game is not a disaster though. Many players, including me, find it a lot more fun and a lot more playable and replayable than Sims 2 was.

And as for modding... modders are modding very happily. We have custom meshes already, months earlier than we did for Sims 2, bodyshop or no bodyshop. We have a custom skin and dozens of gameplay tweaks and hacks. The modding community for Sims 3 is WAY ahead of where it was on Week 1 of Sims 2 release (which was pretty much "nowhere").

clickchick

8th Jun 2009, 11:45 PM

I will say Twitter commentary is very positive as well. Anyone tweeting about it is talking about how they can't stop playing, how awesome the game is, how they are addicted, missing school/work/life to play... A lot of the negative reviews on Amazon seem to be around bugs, story progression, and the lack of great hair/clothing/furniture meshes. Bugs will be fixed, story progression will be patched (mine turns off just fine), and the creative community will step in and make great meshes just as they did with Sims 1 and 2.

gwynne

9th Jun 2009, 12:53 PM

As for negative reviews on amazon, that's a means which disgruntled players of many games have taken to make a public protest about features they disapprove of. It's not something which needs to be taken too seriously, though, since folks frequently post on those threads just as a means of "jumping on the bandwagon", often with no clue what they're talking about.

So once again, negative reviews are inherently invalid, because the posters are ignorant bandwagon-jumpers?

I still don't get it.

Where are all the ignorant, disgruntled bandwagon-jumpers for the games that rate 4 or more stars? All things being equal, shouldn't each game have the same percentage of people who like to complain just to make everyone else unhappy? Since that's all the negative reviews are, after all?

TheShady

9th Jun 2009, 02:19 PM

Bugs will be fixed

We don't know that. EA can go bankrupt anytime or just ignore the issues. They have no legal obligation to fix anything.

story progression will be patched (mine turns off just fine)

There's no such thing as "mine works". We all got the same copy. Once the software runs, it runs the same way on any computer in terms of functionality (as in features, content and algorithm, not performance). It's technologically almost impossible that your Story Progression toggle does work. Besides, it's been confirmed multiple times by unofficial sources and even officially from EA that it does not do anything when you turn it off.

and the creative community will step in and make great meshes just as they did with Sims 1 and 2.

A game, even TS, shouldn't need CC and mods to make it a good game. I do not plan to get any CC and mods and hacks only if EA fails to realise people's Story Progression and Aging wishes (non-global, per household/lot/Sim).

Some people seriously need to stop being so naive and step up if they dislike something or stop making technologically unreasonable or impossible claims.(Like proper animations of entering and exiting and parking vehicles would be too numerous in the seamless neighbourhood. That's just nonsense. There's plenty of games managing hundreds of complex animations at once without problems, especially in the FPS-genre. And the GTA series can do it too, with better graphics and a much less scripted environment.).

Don't try hard to like something and defend something that you don't approve of.

"He who defends everything, defends nothing." - (I know it's a quote but according to the internet, a lot of people have said that. :D)

shadohart

9th Jun 2009, 03:27 PM

They saw the enormous demand for free stuff. They decided that was not a proper way to run a game, so they turned the tables on us.

You bet they did. Is anyone else annoyed by the fact that we have to also buy a version to play on the iToy. Excuse me? When I buy a 15 dollar movie I get a free digital copy to carry around with me. Why would I need to buy this game twice? :wtf:

psalms1188

9th Jun 2009, 04:17 PM

Shikonah

9th Jun 2009, 04:26 PM

From what I can tell, more people are angry about the game than are pleased with it. Personally, I find that in some areas, Sims 3 is far superior, in others, it's about the same. I love the ability to play just one family and never change, no matter how boring someone else may seem it to be--who has time to go around, intimately knowing each sim in the whole neighborhood? Now I can stick to one place, get the legacy to the ultimate place in the universe, and then start over with someone else later to take the spot.

Eventually, I think TS3 is going to turn into the ideal form of Sims 2.5, but that'll take expansions and lots of other additions and tweaking of codes to happen. IMO, the main reason people are so disappointed is because there was such a huge gap of developmental prowess between TS1 and TS2, that everyone was expecting the same leaps and bounds to come between TS2 and TS3 -- which is just impossible. The only way something like that would happen would be to make it a virtual reality Wii game with a digital suit and turn the world into .//sign. :P Maybe we can expect that in the sequel.

Macman361

9th Jun 2009, 04:59 PM

I came into the game with pretty low expectations, and I think that helped me to accept it for what it is...far from perfect but with the ability to expand to epic proportions. I think my main issue with the game is still the way the sims look...sims in TS2 were just so much more attractive.

I can't really say if people are just overreacting or justified in their complaints, since I haven't had any technical issues myself, and awesomemod fixed a lot of the other flaws in the game that would have normally bugged me.

NikiMajor

9th Jun 2009, 06:19 PM

I was really upset to see that after all the talk about being able to customize everything that there's not slider's for simply things like height, breasts etc... I hate the fact that all my female sims look like 12yr old boys in swimwear and undies! If im honest i think the only thing thats going to save this game for me is custom content, the more i play the more i miss the sims 2. I do love all the personality traits and the open world, and the fact you dont have to see any loading screen's is amazing but the lack of hair, clothes and objects is a big let down.

NikiMajor

9th Jun 2009, 06:32 PM

I have to disagree with most people about TS3 being just as good as TS2 when it came out. When I first got TS2, I couldn't stop playing. I played it for a year without any CC nor EPs. Because I'm cheap, I never bought any EPs and I still played the game. Now I do have CC and I love it much better but it's still a lot of fun to play even without it. IMO, it was a HUGE improvement over TS1.

The TS3 has majorly disappointed me. It's an okay game. I was expecting something to be better than TS2 not worse. There are only a handful of things in TS3 that are better and it lacks so many good things about TS2.

What I think they should do is make a Sims 2.5 which is basically ts2 with more stuff in it and add CAS, the seamless neighborhoods and improved careers plus make it possible to go into buildings and increase the graphics. To me, THAT would be a game worth shelling out cash for

That is just what i was thinking! Their should have kept the core of the game, the sims 2 and built it up, such as adding the seamless neighborhoods, traits, no loading screens etc....

I remember the very first time i played the sims 2, i was amazed, everytime i played i was like 'WOW', i couldn't stop smiling, since i've been playing the sims 3 that hasn't happened, instead im like 'oh, i miss the sims 2'

The only way this will get better for me is if i get custom content, which is soooo wrong, i should'nt have to download stuff from other people to make a game good! I never used custom content in the sims 2 untill just recently, and without it the game was still amazing.

NikiMajor

9th Jun 2009, 09:10 PM

We don't know that. EA can go bankrupt anytime or just ignore the issues. They have no legal obligation to fix anything.

There's no such thing as "mine works". We all got the same copy. Once the software runs, it runs the same way on any computer in terms of functionality (as in features, content and algorithm, not performance). It's technologically almost impossible that your Story Progression toggle does work. Besides, it's been confirmed multiple times by unofficial sources and even officially from EA that it does not do anything when you turn it off.

A game, even TS, shouldn't need CC and mods to make it a good game. I do not plan to get any CC and mods and hacks only if EA fails to realise people's Story Progression and Aging wishes (non-global, per household/lot/Sim).

Some people seriously need to stop being so naive and step up if they dislike something or stop making technologically unreasonable or impossible claims.(Like proper animations of entering and exiting and parking vehicles would be too numerous in the seamless neighbourhood. That's just nonsense. There's plenty of games managing hundreds of complex animations at once without problems, especially in the FPS-genre. And the GTA series can do it too, with better graphics and a much less scripted environment.).

Don't try hard to like something and defend something that you don't approve of.

"He who defends everything, defends nothing." - (I know it's a quote but according to the internet, a lot of people have said that. :D)

I agree with you 100%, i am so fed up of people saying, 'EA will fix this and people will created that' When we spend this much money on a game, we shouldn't have to look elsewhere to make it playable! I am soo disappointed with this game, i feel very let down and slighty ripped off.

I for one will be taking mine back, i haven't had any major problems with it tech wise, but a the end of the day i just don't like it, the lack of hair, clothes, objects, the fact the sims all look the same, like you said 'why try to like something you don't approve of'.

DaleyG212

11th Jun 2009, 02:47 AM

i dont just get why they don't simply give you a checklist of things you can turn on and off. in ts2, you could turn on/off things becomning invisible as you got too close to it. why not do that with EVERYTHING?

baby diapers disappear upon removal? on/off
story progression? on/off
infants/toddlers take baths? on/off

if they wanted a game to please everyone all of the time, they should realize some people want opposing things. a game that thrives on personalization really should function under that same premise as often as possible..

woodenbear

11th Jun 2009, 03:08 AM

I don't think you can adjust height, yet.

saintgadreel

11th Jun 2009, 03:20 AM

I think the moral of this story is that a game gains popularity for so many factors that it is hard to follow up with such drastic changes and expect lightning to strike twice.

The Sims 2 spoke to a LOT of people, and it is by far one of the most flexible games I have ever seen. I mean EVER.

The problem is that the brand name does not necessarily guarantee success, or even that the game is good. EA has yet to learn this, as they still pump out 10 piles of garbage for every 1 good game they make. They seem to be trying to break even on the backs of a few titles, but they just seem to go about it the wrong way. Look at SimCity Societies. Simcity rules, but that "episode" in its history is pitiful.

I do like TS3, but having played so much TS2 over the last several years, it just seems to do too much to alienate the player. TS2 was INVITING. It WORKED better, even though it had its share of bugs. Considering the UI in TS2 went through several facelifts and upgrades, I'd say all hope is not lost with TS3, but I definitely believe the problem isn't the game but more how the player gets to control and manipulate it. Most of the people I see complaining point out the slowness, or the cumbersome interface, or the lack of options, etc, etc. I would have to agree, but that points to only one thing in my judgement - a poorly designed UI.

If they can fix that along with the other bugs, we might have a good game on our hands. May take a while though.

JeNNacide

11th Jun 2009, 03:22 AM

I've always been a massive fan of sims games, and after all the slaughtering it got I was a bit wary when I bought it. However, apart from the small glitches, like the music which stops working, and my toddlers going stretchy whenever they watch tv, I've quite enjoyed the game. Nothing about the gameplay itself has bothered me, and I love that I can have different saves now, so my brother and boyfriend can make their crazy pimp/evil characters and they're kept well away from my wholesome good family :P

I know EA has screwed a lot of people over when they made this game, but this is EA. If bitching to them and complaining did anything, then they would have listened to us MONTHS ago. If you don't like it, don't TRY to like it yet. Maybe just put it on a shelf for a while until we have CC and hacks etc and a few expansion packs and then try it again

Cinnabunny

11th Jun 2009, 04:05 AM

You know it's funny I went into this game with trepadation, i'm one of those that LIKED there sims in a "Hamster Cage". So i was very worried how free form this game was going to be with the sims. That being said I do like some of the changes like a coffee table can hold more then two items now.

The sim maker is still not that wire point by point mesh that other 3D programs use and I am not sure it ever will be. That sort of thing may be too complex for some people. I don't think TS3 is horrible, it will take some getting used to, but I won't be leaving TS2 the way I left TS1. The difference between those two games had been lightyears, this one feels like a moderate upgrade but nothing that really outstripes the predacessor.

weblerrik

11th Jun 2009, 04:27 AM

Yes I'm disapointed in the lack of the ability to create out of the box (no body shop), the CAS is not as expansive as I'd like (no height and chest adjusters, I understand the hieght (this has been an animation issue since day one) but really would the chest adustment make this an M rated game?) The lack of an ability to really create my own town sucks too. Couldn't we have a few blank towns? There are also other little things that I think the game is lacking (but having added in the hacks that are out already (much quicker than Sims 2) it has made it much better.

But overall I'm having fun. I am enjoying creating sims and houses. I have demolished major portions of the town and created things my way. I have spent as many hours in the first week on this that I have on any other Sims game. I do not think I've wated my money and am happy for the game.

I also know what EA has planned in getting tons and tons of money from me but there is a reason we all come to this sight as well. Custom content!!!

Bugs are the norm in gaming today (even consoles where the hardware is a known factor). This is not going away for many facots that I won't go into here.

Oh and quite a few of the complaints are graphical in nature or lack of content. And look at it this way 187 reviews on Amazon don't even make a scratch in the over 1 million copies of this game sold already.

Peace.

annadee

11th Jun 2009, 05:41 AM

You should only pay attention to negative reviews. Only negativity is truth. This is true of ALL things in life: Things are defined by the negative. Without the negative, there can be no picture.

lol...I love it. Pescado = consistency...I admire that. ;)

My game is downloading as of now, and I'm curious as to whether it will even run after reading all of this. I've taken a seat back from the game entirely for over a year now, so I was somewhat excited for a new take on the series.

At least I'll know what to expect as far as bugs go. But am I going to wish I'd ordered the actual disc just to throw it out the window??? I don't think so. At least not until the new-ness wears off. And by then their time will have been bought to have come up with a fix for some of these things, I imagine...

btw, nice to be back. :)

Sabii

11th Jun 2009, 06:18 AM

I can't say I didn't see this coming. one thing I noticed is EA made bigger stink about the leak then was needed. It wasn't the first and won't be the last game leaked. If the product was as good as they hoped they wouldn't claim to have called ms Cleo and having her tell them they will lose 9 million dollars. If the game was good as they hoped they would know they're be nothing to worry about.

Knowing that it wasn't all it was cracked up to be they immediately claimed it was the pirates fault if the game is a financial flop...ala X-men origins Wolverine. You don't see Blizzard claiming they are losing money due to private servers or even SoE claiming SWG is a flop cause of private servers do you? They lose more money for a pay to play game then EA would lose for one release.

They knew full well that all but killing off custom content and making people pay real money for stuff that really should have been in the game form the get go wasn't going to fly.

Also the leaked version being 17 builds behind release should have been a red flag. They released a game without testing 17 builds??? Not even blizzard would do that. Trust me I've been in TBC and WotLk Alpha and beta they've done some really stupid things but that takes the cake. Either this is piss poor planing or early damage control.

EA was banking on fans being blind fanboy (and girls) and claiming this game was the next world of warcraft in terms of being a hit. It's EA, they've released the same game that only progressed with the current gaming technology for 20 years (wow I feel old) just slaping new names on the players and tweaking the game play. They did it with sims 1 to sims 2 and got greedy with Sims 3 by not only releasing the game as it is bare bones but now with a sims store. I can see players paying again for rehashed xpacks but late in the S2 life they started milking like Bungie milks halo or capcom milks mega man.

the fans caught on and I can only assume that not even the blindest fan boy will take the 2 steps forward 3 steps back approach to making sims 3.

Next they will claim that they were forced to release the game unfinished cause of the leaked copy :wtf: you know it's funny now with the game out there's no word form EA about the leak VALVe explained the leak of meet the Spy, Blizzard fires people, EA....nothing? really?

As for reviews...I haven't listened to a review since the days of EGM and Gamefan. There used to be a site called Gaming-age (it still maybe around) but some of them were on the GI forums and the reviews of Mario Kart came up. Someone let it slip that they only tell people what they think they want to hear. you can actually find articles on small site on this if you goggle it. Reviewers either don't care, don't have the time or have other interests in mind to give an honest opinion. There are tons of examples but I babbled too much already. Just have to say it's good to see that ign finds ghost busters to be the same in every respect for PS3 and 360 that they just pulled a copy pasta for their reviews, still trying to find the review that says Gear of War is mind numbingly short.

The sims 3 is a fun game, worth the $50...barely. MAYBE sims 3 and the first 2 xpacs would be worth 50 not the $110+ it'll end up costing.

KGirl

11th Jun 2009, 07:34 AM

Shouldn't a base game be able to hold up to scrutiny on its own?

Yes and no. If it weren't for CC creators, I never would have been a fan of TS2, either. The series has succeeded based on CC creators. It's looking like there will be more CC for TS3 than for TS2, not less.

People are comparing it to TS2 + expansions + CC, and that's not a fair comparison.

If you're comparing it base game TS3 to base game TS2, TS3 is, as I see it, an upgrade.

If you're comparing its potential to the potential of TS2, TS3 wins that, as I see it, as well.

CC creators are moving faster on TS3 than on TS2: At the rate we're going, we'll probably have a SimPE equivalent (not to its current version, but to its early versions) in a month or two, and CC will take off.

stagestar111

11th Jun 2009, 12:42 PM

I think that we should get go inside bildings and see what are sim is doing

jessica x gore

11th Jun 2009, 02:18 PM

I don't know if this was mentioned or not but, some of those custom reviews on Amazon are complaining about things they can't do, which in fact you CAN do in the game.

Example:

One person wrote: "You are now forced to play a single family at a time. Start a new family and your old ones become NPCs (non player controlled) characters. You can never go back once you start a new one. Why EA, why? This singlehandedly ruined the game for me."

Now, We all know that you can switch between families to your heart's content in the same neighborhood. Although when you switch back you may have a couple of extra family members then you did before but it can in fact be done. There are many, many more reviews like this on Amazon. I haven't checked other retail's reviews to see if they are also of people complaining about things being impossible when they are. Anyone else come across reviews similar to this?

Edit: Lol, This was in the SAME review as above.

"Next is the drastic step backwards in ease and fun of playability. Why they decided to jack with the control mechanisms that every Sims 2 player is accustomed to"

I'm guessing they are talking about Edge scrolling. Which, You can turn on if you want. =]

stygia2002

11th Jun 2009, 02:28 PM

I don't know if this was mentioned or not but, some of those custom reviews on Amazon are complaining about things they can't do, which in fact you CAN do in the game.

Example:

One person wrote: "You are now forced to play a single family at a time. Start a new family and your old ones become NPCs (non player controlled) characters. You can never go back once you start a new one. Why EA, why? This singlehandedly ruined the game for me."

Now, We all know that you can switch between families to your heart's content in the same neighborhood. Although when you switch back you may have a couple of extra family members then you did before but it can in fact be done. There are many, many more reviews like this on Amazon. I haven't checked other retail's reviews to see if they are also of people complaining about things being impossible when they are. Anyone else come across reviews similar to this?

I've heard similar kinds of things on the other sims board I read. I don't have my game yet (grrrrr :wtf: ), but it should come any day <foot tapping while I'm glaring at the post office, again>. I read somewhere that you have 4 slots to save individual families in and they essentially reside in seperate versions of the chosen neighborhood, is that right? If so, I already have my saved families all figured out...excellent :cool: .

jessica x gore

11th Jun 2009, 02:37 PM

Lol. I hope you get your game soon =D

Yes. That is correct. You can save completely different neighborhoods in 4 slots as well as save many families in the same neighborhood slot and just keep switching back and forth.

The Builder

11th Jun 2009, 02:45 PM

Long before the game was released I said that the game needs a completely change with new gameplay and generally a new perspective. Not the same old gameplay as in Sims 2 only with some updates.

I had some really good ideas but everyone kept telling me to play "Sim Societies".

Now we're here and as I thought, people get bored really quick, because it's not the new features that keeps the mood up and the flame burning, but new and fresh experiences. We need a new game.

kennyinbmore

11th Jun 2009, 02:57 PM

jessica x gore

11th Jun 2009, 03:12 PM

You can have as many save slots as you want, not just 4.

Oh really? I did not know this. I guess I just assumed it was 4 since that is how many I saw. I only have 3 saved at the moment. Actually I HAD 4, but deleted one because I thought I ran out of saved slots and I figured I might have wanted that slot for another family.

Thanks though. And I apologize for my wrong information. Lol that I was just saying how people were giving false information in reviews when I myself gave false information. Go figure.

kennyinbmore

11th Jun 2009, 04:15 PM

ldms510

11th Jun 2009, 06:22 PM

I don't know if this was mentioned or not but, some of those custom reviews on Amazon are complaining about things they can't do, which in fact you CAN do in the game.

Example:

One person wrote: "You are now forced to play a single family at a time. Start a new family and your old ones become NPCs (non player controlled) characters. You can never go back once you start a new one. Why EA, why? This singlehandedly ruined the game for me."

Now, We all know that you can switch between families to your heart's content in the same neighborhood. Although when you switch back you may have a couple of extra family members then you did before but it can in fact be done. There are many, many more reviews like this on Amazon. I haven't checked other retail's reviews to see if they are also of people complaining about things being impossible when they are. Anyone else come across reviews similar to this?

Perhaps this person experienced one or more of their original families "move away" as others have experienced. Without the current fixes and the steady stream of info from Sims sites, that would seem like you could only play one family at a time.

Just playing Devil's Advocate here.

jessica x gore

11th Jun 2009, 07:00 PM

No problem, we all had that opinion. It works kind of like the TS2 neighborhood screen. If you go to save a 5th game , there'll be an arrow to scroll to the 5th save slot. I currently have 6 saves on mine. 4 for me, because I'm experimenting with different things and my 2 sons have their own save slot. My 8 year old was pissed off because he had a famly in my save slot, and because I play with story progression on the last time he went back to it, the father in his family died. so he made his own save slot and remade the family lol

Lol. Awe! I have a 3 year old and almost every day she comes and says, "Mommy can we play the game with the people and that green thing in it again?" ahha. I was actually playing a family and she helped me pick out colors and patterns for clothes and all the home decor. My sim now has a pink kitchen, which doesn't look as bad as you might think. lol. Plus she got really mad because the baby/toddler grew up into a child. She wanted the baby/toddler back. lol. But I haven't really played with two families yet. I just recently moved out a the son of one of my CAS families after he got married into the same neighborhood as his parents but also saved them in a completely different neighborhood slot just in case I got interested in playing them and they disappeared in the neighborhood with his parents. I hope they don't because it would be nice if the parents could meet their grandchildren first at least. I might just keep switching every 2 sim days to make sure everyone is still there and alive. Now quick question.. I assumed that when I play one saved neighborhood, my other SAVED neighborhoods DO NOT go on without me. Am I wrong about that as well? Or is story progression that messed up that they all keep going?

Perhaps this person experienced one or more of their original families "move away" as others have experienced. Without the current fixes and the steady stream of info from Sims sites, that would seem like you could only play one family at a time.

Just playing Devil's Advocate here.

Hmm.. Good point. I just took it as he meant he COULDN'T switch families at all. But I could be wrong, It wouldn't be the first time today....or the last. lol.

woodenbear

11th Jun 2009, 07:27 PM

Unfortunately software is the one thing that doesn't have to work when you buy it. Look at Windows XP intook them years of patching and fixes and it still isn't done right. Now they are moving on to windows 7 as Vista was a bomb and it has more bugss then my garden. The sad part is you cannot take them back for a refund. Gaming software is no different, they get it sold as fast as they can, put up with a lot of critisism, and then patch after patch. There is no more consumer protection exspecially for Computer and Gaming Software. Could this be why there is so much piracy?

nukascrue

11th Jun 2009, 07:32 PM

I just purchased the game because I wanted to see if the plumbob drive would glow. Unfortunately it doesn't

I like meaningless extras and will be CE of games I might like to play, but I couldn't get attached to any of my Sims in Sims 3. The trait system seems interesting, but they are all so ugly I just went back to Sims 2. Still I won't be reselling it and enjoy playing with the flashdrive even if it doesn't glow.

niloc

12th Jun 2009, 01:22 AM

the first day i freaked out and thought i wasted all my money on it, now as i get some of the nice lil download mods from the great clever people on this site, i like it.. can you remember playing sims 2 without this web site content ,,,ewwww it was so bad. its this web site that will make my game play better.. its not EA who will fix the lil probs its modthesims who will :) keep up the great work guys :) oh btw i need a garden fixer upper lol. and i miss my lil derelict home from aelfaed from sims 2 :(

Ruthschoenb

12th Jun 2009, 02:50 AM

Ok, I have to say the first 3 days or so that I played I didnt like the game to much. After about a week I think it is pertty awsome. Yes there are some things that are kind of buggy but your going to have that with any new game.

I didn't really read the directions at first and thought boy this sucks because I didn't understand how to move in and out sims or that you could actually play multiple sims in the same community. Once I went back and read the directions IT really changed my opinion of the game.

YOU REALLY do need to play it for a week to enjoy.

I also think that the amount of objects and clothing that are included are ugly and WHY oh WHY can't they create clothing and objects like some of the things you find on the net.

I can't wait for the expansion packs even though we will have to pay for them :/

TouchMySoul

12th Jun 2009, 03:46 AM

Yes, the game speeds...work half the time..it can be some computers lagging..but my boyfriend has a super nerd computer and the damn speeds don't even work. Honestly, I would NEVER trust Amazon for reviews, I really think some of the people there...are well biased...and just want to have something to b***h about...seriously. The game is kind of boring I guess, but I found the Sims 2 boring without really any custom content. There is a bug I had with a sim where she would keep standing when she was sitting or laying down, and my fat sim keeps getting skinny/fat..weird.

TouchMySoul

12th Jun 2009, 03:48 AM

I agree totally with gwynne. I read a little more than a page of the amazon reviews and nowhere did I see people comparing the sims 2 and the sims 3. I read them complaining about the stripped features that made the sims 2 great (it's not comparing,it's common sense that the sims 3 should have had those features they stripped off) and how some of the new 'features' fail on so many levels.

That's definitely me,just look at the evidence of my posts in this site. In one thread I say the game is a train wreck while in another thread I express how much I enjoy the easter eggs (like a book titled similar to a Seuss book or a painting by Darren Dreamer).
Excuse the double post, but that is really..I honestly think there are a few nuts going out and reviewing a game they have not played, or are upset because it does not have what they want. Give an honest review like oh there's a weird bug, or I just do not find it as fun due to the lack of content, or something, but it seems whenever something is reviewed there is a massive amount of tards creating bad reviews just because, it makes it difficult to really read an honest view of whatever you buy.

AiyaRiordan

12th Jun 2009, 05:38 AM

I totally agree that the store is crap! It's fine if they want to sell things individually that you can get in a pack... For those who only want one or two things instead of the whole SP... But GOD! I calculated how much I would need to spend in the S2 Store for just the Art Nouveau collection... OVER $60!!!!! Over $60 for what should be less than $20 in a flippin' SP... Plus if it HAD been in an SP I would've gotten MORE than just that particular set...

I do like the new game (When I get to actually play it that is... It keeps crashing on me)... I haven't really gotten used to it all that much to be able to pinpoint what is working or isn't for me... I don't really like how you have to change the households but what can you do right? You know... If you got a new part from a car dealer and it didn't work they'd have to give you your money back or replace it while giving you a discount...

AiyaRiordan

12th Jun 2009, 05:40 AM

Right on about the CC creators... I would've lost interest long ago as well... I keep coming here everyday looking for new stuff... lol

Thrior

12th Jun 2009, 07:30 AM

It certainly has been interesting to read those reviews. Some of them are overly critical, some are way too positive and some are honest objective opinions. All in all, this is a great way to learn more about the features. I have long since lost my faith with the "professional" reviews when it comes to sims series. Their point of view isn't one with mine. Most reviews take TS3 as an individual game and really don't seem to know a lot about TS2. Yes, TS3 is a new game but I approach it differently. While those reviewers might be amazed about silly little things which have already been seen in TS2, I can't be. They also fail to mention things that might make the game unplayable for me since I have my own way to play it and I'm seeking for different things.
While TS3 might be great to those who have never before played the Sims, it really can't offer anything to me. It's too similar, yet too different. While I like it that it's not just a clone of TS2 with upgraded graphics, it's still not different enough to make me see it as an individual game and worth buying. The other part of me who was seeking for an improved Sims game is also disappointed because it has robbed some features which made the previous games good. I for example don't like this new gameplay about having only one family at time. I like to create a lot of strange sims, different families, and make them interact with each other. I like to create drama. The way the game works, this isn't possible anymore. Well yes, I have heard about universal aging off or something but I would like to be able to choose this for individual families so that it's possible to let some of them age while the others remain the same. I also really dislike the customizing options for sim faces. What's with not being able to decide the thickness of the eyebrows? Eyebrows are the very essence of giving your sim some character. Where are elf-ears? etc etc.
So yeah, I'm not planning to get the game at all. This may change if they release some awesome EPs or if some talented creators find ways to improve the gameplay and CAS but now... mehh...