Was TSM worth the purchase?

[kayls42]

I've been debating whether or not to get the Sims Medieval for quite awhile now. I'm still on the fence, so I'd thought I'd ask Simmers that already have it, if it was worth the purchase ^^;

Do you regret buying TSM?
Is it as fun / more fun than regular TS2/3?
... etc.?

[Elledee]

I got it for Christmas, it wasn't what I expected at all but I enjoyed playing it in a different way than regular Sims. I think it's worth the money but, I didn't feel that the P & N expansion was worth it as you don't really get that much extra with it. At the time I was heavily into TSM and was left wanting more and thought P & N would sort me out but alas, it did not. However, I do think TSM on it's own is worth it, but you just have to kind of forget what you know about TS2/3, IMO.

[kawaiipd]

I've definitely enjoyed it. I've taken a break from it currently but I know I'll play it again.. maybe when Showtime's newness has run off.

I personally think in some ways it's a better game then The Sims 3. Of course in other ways it isn't.

[DarthKitsune]

for sure! I've moved on to other games (CKII FTW!!!) but I still love TSM!

[ladyskye]

I've been debating whether or not to get the Sims Medieval for quite awhile now. I'm still on the fence, so I'd thought I'd ask Simmers that already have it, if it was worth the purchase ^^;

Do you regret buying TSM?
Is it as fun / more fun than regular TS2/3?
... etc.?

Our regrets or lack of them shouldn't have a whole lot to do with whether or not you buy the game. There is only one question. Will you like it?

For the most part, the people who have bought it love to play it. I have yet to read anything on these lists where someone wrote they were sooo disappointed that they bought it. But the game has many issues that are as yet (and are likely to remain) unresolved. Get the disk if you can and forgo the digital download. Customers have reported many problems with the digital download and with Origin that have, like problems in the game, gone unresolved. EA's customer service with issues in this game has been, at best, unsatisfactory.

Will you like it? Depends. What do you expect from the game? What are your preconceived notions about it?

Do you expect The Sims 3 goes Medieval? Then you will be gigantically disappointed. There is no build function. The camera view is radically different. You don't even have a save function to save a room you have recently decorated. Your options for customization are severely limited compared to Sims 2 or 3. The only mode of transportation in The Sims Medieval is walking. There are no horses, there are no dogs, there isn't even a cat chasing a rat. This is the only place that you will find Mods for TSM. It has proven very very difficult to Mod and the tools have yet to be created for successfully modding most of this game. Mods for Sims 2 and 3 don't exchange with this game. Compared to those games this one has only a handful and the people who have developed them worked very hard at their craft to do it. This is not an historically accurate game, it is more in the line of Medieval fantasy. There will be no more add ons. What you see is all we will have.

If you are looking for a fully functioning action RPG, this isn't it. Most of the action is story boarded or rabbit holed.

If you are new to both the Sims and to RPG games, this is a good game to break into both.

This game has fewer demands than a guided RPG and is more relaxed. This game makes fewer demands than The Sims 3 and the people in Medieval are much more attractive. You build your characters through various levels of accomplishments with your daily responsibilities, professional responsibilities, and questing. The characters do interact with each other much like a regular Sims game. You can have sex and produce children like a regular Sims game. But unlike Sims 2 or 3 there is no function for setting up genetic lines and family dynasties like there is in Sims 2 and 3. This annoys some players and others find it easier to deal with. There is little interaction between household members, spouses, and children. Children do not age up unless your hero is killed (unless you have the mod to age them up).

There are only a handful of characters that are really playable. That's your heroes. The ones most fun to play seem to be the Wizard and the Blacksmith. The most difficult, by common consensus, seems to be the Merchant. Most often voted useless is the bard. Each character has certain chores and abilities that are specific to that character and the level that they're at. (You can change this with some Mods.)

The problem is that once you beat your first ambition, you have to start from scratch and rebuild each Kingdom with the same buildings and the same hero set over and over and over again. The quests can be completed by different characters but the outcomes are pretty much the same even if you have different play with the different characters making different decisions. Most of this is story boarded also. So, depending on your level of skill in playing the game and how quickly you catch on, the game may not have as much staying power as it might have had if EA had spent a little more time in development.

But those of us who bought it only regret that it isn't easier to mod and that EA gave up on it so quickly.

The game has some issues with certain video chipsets and cards, especially on laptops. It also has some problems with certain Mac OS. You will get very little help from EA if you have those problems. So be ready for that.

The up side is that someone here or on EA's TSM list is ready to help if they can. The game has a small but very, very loyal following. And while some of the able modders shrugged and went away, the ones we have left for the game have not given up, and we have added a couple new ones.

It's a fun little game with amusing game play, pretty graphics and people, and really amazing ambiance. It can be a challenge to keep up with both questing and daily responsibilities, especially playing more than one hero on a quest.

So I reiterate, and this is rhetorical; what do you expect from the game? What makes you want to buy it (or not)? What do you want it to be?

[kayls42]

Thank you so much, all of you, and especially ladyskye ^^;
I'm still not sure yet, but the information will most definitely help! (:

[l8nytsimmer]

In my opinion YES! :up: I love playing Sims Medieval. I especially love the Quests. It makes the game interesting. When I'm playing Sims 3, I do tend to get bored now and then. With Medieval, there's no time to get bored. And, the new Skin for the characters is fantastic! It's so close to normal human skin! I with EA would add this to Sims 3. I'm really hoping there will be additional expansions for Medieval. :D

[ChickieTeeta]

In my opinion YES! :up: I love playing Sims Medieval. I especially love the Quests. It makes the game interesting. When I'm playing Sims 3, I do tend to get bored now and then. With Medieval, there's no time to get bored. And, the new Skin for the characters is fantastic! It's so close to normal human skin! I with EA would add this to Sims 3. I'm really hoping there will be additional expansions for Medieval. :D

The general opinion is that there won't be any more EP's. EA seem to have given up on TSM. It does seem to be that way, but I've played TSM since it came out, and still love it, so I do hope we're wrong.
I love the look of TSM sims as well. I so wish EA would fix the freakish looking TS3 sims as well, but this late into the series I doubt they will. I'm now living in hope that TS4 sims will look like the TSM sims.

[ChickieTeeta]

I've been debating whether or not to get the Sims Medieval for quite awhile now. I'm still on the fence, so I'd thought I'd ask Simmers that already have it, if it was worth the purchase ^^;

Do you regret buying TSM?
Is it as fun / more fun than regular TS2/3?
... etc.?

If you enjoyed the idea behind the quest element in TS3 World Adventures, then you'll probably like TSM. It's not exactly the same, but if you want some element of TS3 to compare it to, then WA is probably the closest you'll get.

I always really loved the look of TS2 sim characters, and I used to wish they'd made TS2 sims in a TS3 style world, but I recently went back to TS2 (I miss the University EP) and even they look like freaks compared to TSM sims. So if you play partly for the look then you really can't beat TSM for that.
The clothing is more detailed than other Sims games as well. Tiny details like necklaces and belts have been meshed on instead of just textured on. Even things like studs etc on some outfits are meshed rather than textured.

The biggest gripe seems to be that although the buy mode functions in the same way, there's no build mode. So if this is an element of the sims games that you really enjoy and would want in TSM, you're probably going to be disappointed. You can still decorate to your hearts content, but changing the actual buildings you can't do.
It doesn't really bother me, and Shimrod has some beautiful textures for some of the buildings to change the outer appearance, which keeps me happy.

The kids are pretty useless. They give you a buff if you interact with them, and you can send your own kids to the village store to save yourself the journey, and you can use them as a second inventory, but aside from this, there's no real purpose to them....well, if your hero dies you can have one of their kids take over the profession, which is the only time they age up, which I like the idea of, never had a call to use it yet though. With Grim's mod you can make the kids age up anytime you like without assigning them to a profession. There is a genetics system, but I'm not sure how involved it is. All my kids seem to get their Dad's eyebrows, except for one who
got the mothers. I've had a few that looked pretty much the same when grown up, so I imagine the genetics is fairly limited, but to be fair I've never played to any generation beyond child though so I can't really comment.

A lot of people don't like starting again in a new kingdom (which looks the same as your last kingdom...think of only ever having 1 neighborhood in TS3). I like starting again from scratch with different characters, so it's a matter of opinion. Each kingdom has a different ambition to achieve, and so many quest points given to achieve it in. I enjoy this element too, but again it seems to be a matter of opinion.

There is also an achievement system, which a lot of people don't seem to like, but I love.
I see they introduced this idea into TS3 as well.
The weirdest achievements I've found are for the bard. There's 2 you have to get on the bard which are very specific, which I found a bit odd, but the rest are totally do-able by normal gameplay. A couple seem to be bugged though. Getting the achievements increases your watcher score and every time you get a new level as the watcher you unlock new things, (clothing and furniture). If this isn't your kind of thing then Shimrod has a mod that gives you all the achievements and unlocks all that stuff straight away. I love the extra challenge though, so I'm happily working my way through the achievements, so again it's a matter of opinion.

The retail price is a lot to part with if you're still unsure, but if you can find it at a reduced price, it's certainly worth the purchase to check it out.
I'm going to buy another copy of each disc before they all disappear, just incase anything happens to the ones I have.

[Simsy]

I was in your exact position two nights ago when I was wondering whether I should buy TSM. Here's an excellent http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F50xuorpn8 review for the game which I thoroughly enjoyed, it persuaded me to get the game later that night.

To keep things short, I'll say this: I spent all of yesterday playing TSM because it's so addicting. I'm not even exaggerating, from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed I was playing it. I really recommend it although you should probably look around the internet for the cheapest option since EA sucks.

[ChickieTeeta]

I was in your exact position two nights ago when I was wondering whether I should buy TSM. Here's an excellent http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F50xuorpn8 review for the game which I thoroughly enjoyed, it persuaded me to get the game later that night.

To keep things short, I'll say this: I spent all of yesterday playing TSM because it's so addicting. I'm not even exaggerating, from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed I was playing it. I really recommend it although you should probably look around the internet for the cheapest option since EA sucks.

I like this review, funny, fast and informative. Nice find :)
It is fair to point out, that since this review was made, the cameras are much better, and you can age a child if your hero dies and have them take over the parent's profession.
Also the game can be modded too, so if you have Grim's core you can age any child, and Shimrod has better cameras for download.
Great review though, I enjoyed watching it.

[Silverprinz]

Oh Yeah.. worth the bongo bucks for sure. Heck just the frustration factor especially at first is worth the price. It grows on you to eh?

[lulume]

If you like the Sims games and just want more Sims, then you might not like TSM as much. You have to like the Fantasy RPG aspect at least a little (although I guess there is an option to play the kingdom sandbox style (I haven't done it). But it's also not a full-fledged RPG. It's like Sims with lots of demands and constraints, or an RPG with more hero down-time.

My major complaint, and I only sometimes feel this way, is that the children are so useless. If they can go shopping, their parents should also be able to send them off to gather wildflowers or go fishing so they're not so horribly useless.

That one complaint aside, I really like the game, and I would buy it again if I didn't already have it.

[kawaiipd]

I would definitely buy this again.

[Artimis]

In some ways yes and some ways no. I did not like the graphics in the game or the rabbit holes which made up most of quests. I hated the lack of buliding, camera and filiming options in the game but some of the quest like the animus slaver where epic. Some of the poses the sims make in this game are funny at times, the outfits are nice to look at although I would like them all converted to sims 2 along the poses and the animations for witch queen as I would like to see iether Kailan or Vanessa doing some of the black smith animations with full face expressions.