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Alchemist
#26 Old 30th Jan 2020 at 6:20 PM
Seconding all the little details and Easter eggs. I love that there are hidden things I still haven't seen for myself, even after all these years. I also like the weird, slightly unsettling things like the invisible therapist and social bunny.
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Mad Poster
#27 Old 30th Jan 2020 at 9:14 PM
Quote: Originally posted by thewrittenletter
I forgot to mention about the humor of TS2 too. It's so great and "random" (like TS1 also was)! I feel like the humor in the TS3 and TS4 is really not as good and tongue-in-the-cheek, especially in TS4.

The game has serious moments yet it still provides humor that is funny for all the ages, meanwhile TS4 humor seems to be more for preschoolers (poop jokes, talking toilets..). It's hard to explain but in TS2, the game has lots of dark humor that TS4 lacks.

Something about the Will Wright projects (TS1-2), compared to the later EAxoid projects, seem to have more mature satire and dark humour with a sense of intellectualism and a hint of adult themes. Later two games don't seem to have much of this and have changed humour and writing to simpleton jokes and internet parodying, which makes TS3-4 feel more dated to me than 1 & 2 do.

Because the earth is standing still, and the truth becomes a lie
A choice profound is bittersweet, no one hears Cassandra Goth cry

Mad Poster
#28 Old 31st Jan 2020 at 12:22 AM Last edited by simmer22 : 31st Jan 2020 at 3:58 PM.
Yeah. TS4 is filled with bad jokes and childish humor. I don't know what the book is called in English, but there is one that's clearly a parody on Hunger Games (the name is pretty much straight in your face, and the description even more so - and it's just one out of many). The paintings are often simplified copies of existing art, and it's almost like the creators think they're very clever for reusing all kinds of recent popular culture. You sit there and think "yeah, yeah, I know...". In TS2 these references were more of an easter egg hunt, and not so in your face. Maybe after playing for several years you notice the "missing person" image of Bella on a milk carton. If you are interested you can go egg hunting, and if you aren't, then you don't get bombarded with them at every turn. TS2 is also more self-referencing, building on its own lore rather than borrowing everything from popular culture.

(I enjoy a well placed popular culture reference, but it's a bit too much when the entire game is drowned in them).
Forum Resident
#29 Old 31st Jan 2020 at 11:03 AM
I love how customizable TS2 is. I can control every little detail down to having multiple types of saves from medieval to modern times. Plus creating a neighborhood with sub hoods that can all interact and just grow into your own little world with sims who have their own stories is all so fun and has kept me playing through all of these years.

aka fir3princ3ss
My Youtube Channel
Currently playing:
-Medieval Charter Challenge on The Sims 2
-Ye Olde Royal Kingdom Challenge on The Sims 3
Mad Poster
#30 Old 31st Jan 2020 at 1:57 PM Last edited by HarVee : 31st Jan 2020 at 2:22 PM.
My favourite feature? Ah the good old ubermegawesomesaucehood, of course. I like having 30 'hoods connected together because that's just how I've always been since the 1st game had everything connected. I like that sense of connection to a larger world. It is a little weird to see sims from Pleasantview roaming around my Egypt 'hood all casual like, but I'd rather deal with that then have no way to connect at all. Those TS3 worlds just feel so disconnected from the rest of SimEarth.

Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
TS2 is also more self-referencing, building on its own lore rather than borrowing everything from popular culture.

Couldn't have said that better myself. TS4 really is stuck in it's own head. TS2, on the other hand, feels connected and established with the series lore as a whole, while still managing to be its own thing.

Because the earth is standing still, and the truth becomes a lie
A choice profound is bittersweet, no one hears Cassandra Goth cry

Lab Assistant
#31 Old 31st Jan 2020 at 2:22 PM
The interactions are pretty detailed, like when sims are chatting. For example, if a rocket appears on their chat bubble, they will make gestures of a rocket flying. If music related stuff appears on their chat bubble, they make gestures of rocking out a guitar, or if cuisine related stuff appears on their chat bubble, they will make gestures of mixing food with a spoon and tasting it.

Also, once the kid of my sim brought a friend from school and they went to watch TV. They were watching some kids show (the one where there is a robot at SimCity). When they began talking to each other while watching the show, a robot appeared on their chat bubble as if they were talking about the show. Pretty detailed.
Mad Poster
#32 Old 31st Jan 2020 at 4:09 PM Last edited by simmer22 : 31st Jan 2020 at 4:22 PM.
^ Absolutely! Those gestures make it seem like they're actually talking about a spesific theme, rather than just making random motions with their hands.

Quote: Originally posted by HarVee
TS4 really is stuck in it's own head. TS2, on the other hand, feels connected and established with the series lore as a whole, while still managing to be its own thing.


I found it a bit annoying that TS4 uses footage from TS3 for most of the channels rather than doing what TS2 did and make actual TS2-based shows. I think TS3 did some of the same as TS4, using TS2 footage for the channels. The TS2 creators probably didn't have much choice, but I still think it's a much better way to go about. It feels more "realistic" to have TV shows based off of their own world (and probably a bit of SimCity4, which technically is related to TS2 neighborhoods) rather than a different set of sims with a different look.

It also makes me a bit happy to know how much fun the TS2 creators had making some of that footage, like the soap operas, garden gnome movie or the weather station with all the text popups.

I think one of my favorite things about TS2 is that toddlers and kids can actually properly skill, and retain all their skill points. (I hated the pretend-skilling in TS3, and it's only marginally better in TS4 - toddlers never get past toddler skills, and kids spend all that time skilling and only keep 2 points, unless they get past level 10, then level 2 of the actual skill, and can only build up a select few actual skills until they're teens - seriously? With all the tons of skills in TS4? Who came up with that stupid idea? It's almost as if the toddler and child stages don't even matter, which is quite frustrating. Being able to skill is one of the things that makes the younger ages worthwhile, because they don't feel useless. They can get a lot of skilling done in their younger years).
Scholar
#33 Old 31st Jan 2020 at 5:46 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
Yeah. TS4 is filled with bad jokes and childish humor. I don't know what the book is called in English, but there is one that's clearly a parody on Hunger Games (the name is pretty much straight in your face, and the description even more so - and it's just one out of many). The paintings are often simplified copies of existing art, and it's almost like the creators think they're very clever for reusing all kinds of recent popular culture. You sit there and think "yeah, yeah, I know...". In TS2 these references were more of an easter egg hunt, and not so in your face. Maybe after playing for several years you notice the "missing person" image of Bella on a milk carton. If you are interested you can go egg hunting, and if you aren't, then you don't get bombarded with them at every turn. TS2 is also more self-referencing, building on its own lore rather than borrowing everything from popular culture.

(I enjoy a well placed popular culture reference, but it's a bit too much when the entire game is drowned in them).

That and pop culture references tend to be dated after a few years.
Lab Assistant
#34 Old 31st Jan 2020 at 7:03 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
^ Absolutely! Those gestures make it seem like they're actually talking about a spesific theme, rather than just making random motions with their hands.

Oh and by the way, gossip is also detailed. One of my sims lost a fight to someone and two of my sims began gossiping, so I looked over them and on the chat bubble it included the sim that lost the fight, the glove with an X over it meaning a lost fight and if I'm sure the image of the sim that won the fight.

On The Sims 3 and onwards, their conversations make no sense at all! They simple wave their hands and a bunch of random stuff appears on their chat bubble like in this sequence: dinosaur, cooking, robot, music, sleep.
Mad Poster
#35 Old 31st Jan 2020 at 7:48 PM
Quote: Originally posted by HarVee
My favourite feature? Ah the good old ubermegawesomesaucehood, of course. I like having 30 'hoods connected together because that's just how I've always been since the 1st game had everything connected. I like that sense of connection to a larger world. It is a little weird to see sims from Pleasantview roaming around my Egypt 'hood all casual like, but I'd rather deal with that then have no way to connect at all. Those TS3 worlds just feel so disconnected from the rest of SimEarth.


In TS3, I actually used an NRAAS mod to attach all possible worlds as travel locations, but it ended up destabilizing the game badly and running out of memory when I tried to save.

I'm secretly a Bulbasaur. | Formerly known as ihatemandatoryregister

Looking for SimWardrobe's mods? | Or Dizzy's? | Faiuwle/rufio's too! | smorbie1's Chris Hatch archives
Scholar
#36 Old 31st Jan 2020 at 9:04 PM Last edited by Clashfan : 31st Jan 2020 at 9:23 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by crazyangrysim974
Oh and by the way, gossip is also detailed. One of my sims lost a fight to someone and two of my sims began gossiping, so I looked over them and on the chat bubble it included the sim that lost the fight, the glove with an X over it meaning a lost fight and if I'm sure the image of the sim that won the fight.

I love this feature too. I really love after a successful party all my Sims in the Greek house will talk about it the next day to each other. All their chat bubbles feature the party symbol so you know there rehashing the events of the previous night. Now that's realistic.
Lab Assistant
#37 Old 31st Jan 2020 at 11:14 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
Yeah. TS4 is filled with bad jokes and childish humor. I don't know what the book is called in English, but there is one that's clearly a parody on Hunger Games (the name is pretty much straight in your face, and the description even more so - and it's just one out of many). The paintings are often simplified copies of existing art, and it's almost like the creators think they're very clever for reusing all kinds of recent popular culture. You sit there and think "yeah, yeah, I know...". In TS2 these references were more of an easter egg hunt, and not so in your face. Maybe after playing for several years you notice the "missing person" image of Bella on a milk carton. If you are interested you can go egg hunting, and if you aren't, then you don't get bombarded with them at every turn. TS2 is also more self-referencing, building on its own lore rather than borrowing everything from popular culture.

(I enjoy a well placed popular culture reference, but it's a bit too much when the entire game is drowned in them).


Completely agreed. It's like TS4 jokes are like "i'm so witty for thinking about this joke and i will put it to your face" level but TS2 jokes are more down to earth (if that's right word to use) and realistic humor that almost anyone, even without knowledge of current media, can get. Like in TS2, your sim can wish for someone they hate to outright die (to see their ghost) and even drink them, or randomly turn someone dead into a zombie. There's nothing like that in TS4, it's just pop culture references after another. I'm sure if there's a "whim" about turning someone into a zombie, it'd be some kind of reference to popular zombie movie or something again.
Mad Poster
#38 Old 1st Feb 2020 at 1:36 AM Last edited by simmer22 : 1st Feb 2020 at 1:52 AM.
They can drink sims in TS4 and can do it autonomously if a sim gets truly eaten. There is one ambition (can't remember if that's the proper word) of planting a cow plant at the end of the gardening ambition, but those are the same for all sims, so it kinda takes the fun out of it. Honestly, the cowplant is quite boring in TS4. I think the default is that it spits out the sim the first time, and eats them the second time (if they still have a "drained" moodlet or some such). I like my sims too much to risk them getting eaten, but I was curious how they worked and saw a video where a player set up a lot of cowplants and had sims running on autopilot to see who would be the last one surviving. It seemed to follow the same pattern each time, and sim would interact with it, which is why I've followed the same rule I usually did with TS2 cowplants - fence it in and make sure there's a locked gate... I think I had one sim get accidentally eaten but spit back out the first time I played around with cowplants in TS4, so I don't trust them and will only interact with them the minimum amount required (I planted one and had 5-6 sims in the same family reach the top in the gardening ambition at once, which funnily enough is something you can do with a lot of the ambitions in TS4, because sometimes they work on lot basis rather than individual sims - some would perhaps think this is cheaty, but for a lot of these cheats and mods aren't even required, and if the game allows it by default, then it's not cheating in my book - having sims collect a lot of stuff is more than time consuming enough).

Not sure if there are zombies in TS4, but I don't think so. I know there are in TS3 (annoying bastards - I'd much rather deal with the TS2 version over these creeps), but if there are any in TS4 they must be EP/GP spesific or a mod or some such.
Mad Poster
#39 Old 1st Feb 2020 at 2:24 AM
About gossip and scandal: here's for realism-in Tinsel Town the biggest scandal was when Darrell Walton found his new wife kissing her ex-husband..and the gossip still hasn't died down, 5 years after the fact! Everyone talks about it-he's the joke of the neighbor hood.

Receptacle Refugee & Resident Polar Bear
"Get out of my way, young'un, I'm a ninja!"
Grave Matters: The funeral podium is available here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/e6tj...albits.zip/file
My other downloads are here: https://app.mediafire.com/myfiles
Mad Poster
#40 Old 1st Feb 2020 at 11:25 PM
Starting to miss TS2 already when under conditions I can't play it TS3 does have ways where it certaintly improve on things TS2 lacked or fails at, but the ability to select a neighborhood template setup to start a new untouched uninhabited world to play in and way of playing rotation without having to have a headache are among-st my favorite things about the game. Along with traits, the personality system should carry onto any next game whoever decides to take a next spin to the genre.

P.S. Sorry for my bad english.
Mad Poster
#41 Old 2nd Feb 2020 at 1:40 AM
Agreed. I can't really get into TS3 worlds as much as I'd like. Setting them up is too much hassle, and when you get it all set up you then have limited ability to customize it beyond the default. Yeah, you can place foliage, and lots, but without CC decorations all the worlds start to feel bland.

For me, oddly, I find the 'hoods in TS2 more immersive and, with cc, more believable as real towns.

Because the earth is standing still, and the truth becomes a lie
A choice profound is bittersweet, no one hears Cassandra Goth cry

Mad Poster
#42 Old 2nd Feb 2020 at 6:54 PM Last edited by simmer22 : 3rd Feb 2020 at 3:54 PM.
When sims in TS2 are angry at each other (enemies), they will often refuse to do things together, and will frequently show their anger through outbursts at that sim - if free will is on, they'll randomly get into fights, or they'll get fiery thought bubbles about the other sim, paired with a furious stance. If I remember correctly, they won't agree to sleep in the same double bed even if it's the only bed on the lot.

(Cue TS4, where even if they're sworn enemies (which is an actual thing) they don't mind being in the same room, same bed, and will happily sit down and talk with the other sim and interact as if nothing ever happened once the angry moodlet goes away - though making them become friends again did seem a bit of a challenge, even if I've so far not seen them have any autonomous angry/furious interactions, which is kinda weird, since my TS2 sims would absolutely do those if angry enough at someone. The kid in the test family I'm prestering at the moment - just to get a feel of the range in TS4, which is frustratingly small - is pretty much hated by his mom and his dad, and his half brother's trait is "hates kids", and the kid isn't even crying about it or showing any sort of emotion outside of direct confrontations where he gets an angry moodlet for a couple hours, which is quickly taken care of with a cold shower or some sort . The whole family has various angry and evil traits, but outside of the "mad" one where they just talk to themselves a lot, I can't say it's showing much, except for one of them playing around with a woodo doll at any time of the day he feels like. EDIT: Two of the "sworn enemies" who had their socials all in red are now happily married, through half an evening with positive interactions. I have a feeling this would never have happened as easily in TS2 ).

Needless to say, the emotional range of TS2 feels a lot wider and more long-lasting, despite not having "eeemotiooooons!!11!!1!" TS4 offers (basically short-term moodlets and a selection of just 3 traits, which I honestly don't think makes them any varied - the emotions pretty much always have the same effect, and are triggered and calmed down by pretty much the same events). The TS2 sims get angry, sad, happy, and while they don't always clearly show which emotion they have, they tend to choose activities based on their AI logic they're following based on interests and personalities. One sim may love to work out, another loves to paint, a third will love to jump on the couch and play with the fridge door at every opportunity. I think the personality points give them a wider personality with some hidden features you only discover when you play around with them.

I haven't looked much into the modded trait system for TS2, but I don't think it's something I'll add to my game. I'm not too fond of the traits in TS3/4 (especially TS4, because the CAS ones are extremely limited and the added ones through gameplay don't actually do much except give them a few added options here and there), but I guess it could come in handy for some types of gameplay in TS2.
Scholar
Original Poster
#43 Old 2nd Feb 2020 at 7:39 PM
I think if there were to be a new Sims game, I'd like to have the personality options from 1 and 2, as well as other traits that aren't already well defined by aspirations, like hydrophobic. That'd be fun.
Mad Poster
#44 Old 2nd Feb 2020 at 7:46 PM
I disliked traits being the only option in 3. It made Sims feel more like caricatures.

I'm secretly a Bulbasaur. | Formerly known as ihatemandatoryregister

Looking for SimWardrobe's mods? | Or Dizzy's? | Faiuwle/rufio's too! | smorbie1's Chris Hatch archives
Mad Poster
#45 Old 2nd Feb 2020 at 9:03 PM
So 15 years ago Maxis gave life to the baby "The Sims 2". Over the 15 years The Sims 2 has been grown into the independent teen.
I like how we can modify almost everything for our liking and modern hardware and software.
Mad Poster
#46 Old 2nd Feb 2020 at 11:37 PM
Quote:
I haven't looked much into the modded trait system for TS2, but I don't think it's something I'll add to my game. I'm not too fond of the traits in TS3/4 (especially TS4, because the CAS ones are extremely limited and the added ones through gameplay don't actually do much except give them a few added options here and there), but I guess it could come in handy for some types of gameplay in TS2.


It's actually pretty straightforward to use them.
You get the set, and install it (along with the mask that's used for randomly picking traits), and the traits are put into the inventory.
You can pick your own, or use the mask to choose them for you, and it has the option of checking the personality of the pixel that's being traited.
Depending on the trait, it will have some effect on their behavior, or none at all.

It's a fun little option, and doesn't make for any dramatic changes, except perhaps for the way you might play that pixel.

Receptacle Refugee & Resident Polar Bear
"Get out of my way, young'un, I'm a ninja!"
Grave Matters: The funeral podium is available here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/e6tj...albits.zip/file
My other downloads are here: https://app.mediafire.com/myfiles
Mad Poster
#47 Old 3rd Feb 2020 at 11:52 PM
I've literally just today started adding traits to some of my Sims! I haven't downloaded any of the mods that work with them yet, I plan to do that once I've given everybody else traits.
Mad Poster
#48 Old 4th Feb 2020 at 12:59 AM
Have all the traits been converted yet? I believe that I was looking into it, but decided to wait until they were finished so I could sort out any mod conflicts all at once.

I'm secretly a Bulbasaur. | Formerly known as ihatemandatoryregister

Looking for SimWardrobe's mods? | Or Dizzy's? | Faiuwle/rufio's too! | smorbie1's Chris Hatch archives
Mad Poster
#49 Old 4th Feb 2020 at 1:25 AM Last edited by simmer22 : 4th Feb 2020 at 1:48 AM.
Quote: Originally posted by FranH
It's a fun little option, and doesn't make for any dramatic changes, except perhaps for the way you might play that pixel.


Probably, but truth is, I haven't played TS2 much in a legacy, family, challenge, "see what happens" kind of way in over 10 years, primarily focusing on various forms of scripted storytelling and pictures/contests, so that's why I'm not too interested. Maybe at some point I'll try them out.

(I have played more generational/family style in TS3 and TS4. Not interested in storytelling or taking posed pictures there, because it requires learning a couple new ways of posing, not too interested in building up a CC base either. Apart from some unlocked items and some annoyance fixes in TS3 I had very little CC, and for TS4 I have one mod + a set of item unlockers, which is about as CC-free as you can get - which is probably one of the reasons why I often "play for a few hours and get bored" or on occasion "haven't played in 6 months and don't miss it much" as long as my TS2 game works - I have a very basic TS4 with 2 EPs and no updates since I don't know when, and haven't played TS3 in years. Lately, TS4 has basically been the game I play when I don't have a working TS2... I probably should get around to fix up my TS2 game, but it's a big job building up a 'hood from scratch, you know...).
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#50 Old 4th Feb 2020 at 1:36 AM
I haven't replied here because I don't know what to put. It would be much easier for me to list what I don't like and that is lot imposters. My favourite features are everything really.
Animations, generations, genetics, relationships, babies, toddler, kids, personalities, wants and fears and chemistry systems, businesses, travelling, making hoods. Building, creating.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
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