Forum:What would get you to buy TS4?

So, right now any sort of The Sims 4 is, for our purposes, purely hypothetical. If a TS4 is in the works, we haven't heard any legitimate hints thus far what it would contain. But I definitely have a wish list.

Here's the thing, though. I've really lost interest in the series since the release of The Sims 3. I only own three expansions for TS3 and I overall just don't like the "tone" of the game versus the tone in the first two base games. It's a sort of unexplainable quality that I feel the first two games had that the third just doesn't. I'm sure those who play it more passionately might feel it has different qualities that the first two games lack, but I haven't put enough time into the game to see that side of the game.

All that said, if a TS4 was released I would have to seriously consider whether or not I would buy it. There are a few things which I think would tip the scales towards purchase (and alternatively, a few items that would tip me away from buying it). In no particular order, here's my 'wish list' for what TS4 would have that would convince me to return to the series once more.


 * The ability to build and expand neighborhoods within the game. Each game has lacked the ability to control all the elements of a particular neighborhood. I feel The Sims 2 best addressed this by allowing players to design neighborhoods in SimCity 4 then import them, but there were a few problems with that approach: Only people who owned SC4 could do that, the neighborhoods imported often had a lot of issues that made them not useable, you were forced to manually plant trees and decorations, even on parts of the map you couldn't reach, and you weren't able to control the size, layout, etc of the neighborhood once it was imported.

My dream TS4 would have the option to add and remove roads, lots and decorations, within reason. That way, you could start out with a small town and a few lots, then as you create Sims and more move in, your town expands and offers you more to play with.


 * The elimination of rabbit holes. There's a few reasons for this. One, I really like the idea of seeing Sims all the time, and having them disappear within a building is kinda disappointing, especially since you're able to see them across the rest of the town. Additionally, it seems to me a bit unrealistic that a small town with only a few dozen residents would have all of the rabbit hole facilities that are present - a city hall, police station, restaurant, hospital, stadium etc. all in a microscopic city just doesn't strike me as realistic.


 * The revamping of careers/jobs. This one is a big one for me... The current 'career track' model that The Sims uses is overly simplistic, a hold-over from the original game when just about every other aspect of the game has been modernized. It's not realistic for everyone to follow the same path, to work the same 10 incrementally better jobs in the same cookie-cutter career paths. What I would love to see, instead of getting jobs in specific careers, would be to get specific jobs. These jobs would require certain skills in order to earn wage increases, vacations, better hours, and eventually promotions. But the type of promotion (and the subsequent wage increase) would depend on which skills were improved. Rather than saying "you must increase by 1 point", it would say "you can increase and become a 'something' or increase by a point and become a 'something else." Maybe as an example:

Your Sim is hired as a cook at a local restaurant. They have developed a good cooking skill but also have become quite creative. As a result, they are awarded a Pastry Chef position, so they can demonstrate their flair for the artistic. By comparison, A Sim in the same position can build their Logic skill and be awarded an Executive Chef position, because they know how to organize and improve the function and speed of a kitchen.

That's just one not-very-well-thought-out example, but I'm sure there are more, based on the sets of skills included in the game. Additionally, as new expansion packs are added to the game, new jobs could be tied into the existing jobs net based on the skills that are practiced, so that ultimately a Sim can start in one job and end up in a field that might only be somewhat related to their original job. Additionally, a Sim could utilize their influence and education in particular skills to start out at a higher position from the beginning, or form relationships with their higher-ups or with higher-ups in different fields to advance themselves in that manner.

Additionally, one could address the issue of removing the rabbit holes as I've suggested above, by having Sims commute out of town for work in towns that are very small. A small starting town might only have a grocery store, school and a small town hall, so if a Sim was in business, for example, they would commute to work until the town grows enough to house a business office.


 * The inclusion of weather from the beginning. Weather and seasons are such a big part of regular life that it seems silly not to include them in the base game. It just seems like common sense, except that EA loves making money so I don't hold my breath on this one.

Those are my biggest wants in The Sims 4. If TS4 has some or all of these elements, I'll be much closer to deciding to buy it. What are some of your 'wants' in a new game?


 * Note - I'm looking for ideas that might make the difference between you buying and not buying the game, not simply a wish-list of everything and the kitchen sink that you want in a new game.

--  LiR speak ~ read 18:28, November 9, 2012 (UTC)