(no subject)
Well, I made this for a reason, didn't I? I don't expect to be updating this as much, unless I work out how to do the skinning/custom content thing and upload stuff here. (If I do, it'll probably be for The Sims 2; recolouring and retexturing for The Sims 3 seems a daunting task!)
Re Sims fandom: I think I've finally realised why so many people gripe about Sims 3 and consider Sims 2 a better game-the social interactions are better. There's a lot more charm in the game, in general, than there is in Sims 3. I do give Sims 3 the open neighbourhoods, CASt and better relationship handling, but so many social interactions are missing; the children and toddlers are so, so limited; the elders (really, most of the characters) are hideous without custom content; the default clothing is almost unwearable, even with CASt. I've recently started playing TS2-I skipped it when it first came out, as my computer was absolutely in no way capable of handling it-and I'm charmed by it in a way I wasn't by TS3. I love the wants and memories and non-mutual relationships and...why did EA rip all of this out when making TS3? I was pretty impressed by TS3 when I bought it last October, but I hadn't played any Sim games in about four years--I was still playing TS1 when I last played it. I can't play premade TS3 Sims without tossing them through Twallan's Master Controller 'edit Sim in CAS' function; I can play TS2 premades and swop out their hair and clothing without changing their faces too much.
I'm convinced that a lot of the charm of The Sims left when Maxis weren't responsible for it any more.
Also, The Sims 3 is full of inexcusable typos and bad copy throughout the game. It's the most stilted text I've ever seen in a commercial software product. I don't see those errors in The Sims 2, and I didn't see them in TS1 when I played it ages ago. The language seems more natural, less contrived, more engaging. In TS3, I'll constantly see grammatical howlers in object descriptions and other game UI text. I'm a grammar stickler (yes, complete with a nice illustrated copy of Eats, Shoots and Leaves tucked somewhere in my messy flat) and it drives me insane.
Do I hate TS3? No; I still consider it fun, and don't think of it as a poor game. I do think, though, that EA could have done so much more with it than they did. Gameplay is better in Sims 2, no matter how nice the visuals are in TS3.
Re Sims fandom: I think I've finally realised why so many people gripe about Sims 3 and consider Sims 2 a better game-the social interactions are better. There's a lot more charm in the game, in general, than there is in Sims 3. I do give Sims 3 the open neighbourhoods, CASt and better relationship handling, but so many social interactions are missing; the children and toddlers are so, so limited; the elders (really, most of the characters) are hideous without custom content; the default clothing is almost unwearable, even with CASt. I've recently started playing TS2-I skipped it when it first came out, as my computer was absolutely in no way capable of handling it-and I'm charmed by it in a way I wasn't by TS3. I love the wants and memories and non-mutual relationships and...why did EA rip all of this out when making TS3? I was pretty impressed by TS3 when I bought it last October, but I hadn't played any Sim games in about four years--I was still playing TS1 when I last played it. I can't play premade TS3 Sims without tossing them through Twallan's Master Controller 'edit Sim in CAS' function; I can play TS2 premades and swop out their hair and clothing without changing their faces too much.
I'm convinced that a lot of the charm of The Sims left when Maxis weren't responsible for it any more.
Also, The Sims 3 is full of inexcusable typos and bad copy throughout the game. It's the most stilted text I've ever seen in a commercial software product. I don't see those errors in The Sims 2, and I didn't see them in TS1 when I played it ages ago. The language seems more natural, less contrived, more engaging. In TS3, I'll constantly see grammatical howlers in object descriptions and other game UI text. I'm a grammar stickler (yes, complete with a nice illustrated copy of Eats, Shoots and Leaves tucked somewhere in my messy flat) and it drives me insane.
Do I hate TS3? No; I still consider it fun, and don't think of it as a poor game. I do think, though, that EA could have done so much more with it than they did. Gameplay is better in Sims 2, no matter how nice the visuals are in TS3.