Why didn't you change to Sims 3?

[lipglosschaos]

After playing TS3 for about a year, and having accumulated all but one expansion pack, I am thoroughly disappointed. The "seamless" gameplay was junky, all the CC trashed my computer, and loading was a nightmare. I loved the in-depth CAS screen, but it would take me about an hour to make a character once I had accumulated some decent CC. I loved Create-a-Style, but it took too long and was too frustrating to build houses.

I was also thoroughly disappointed with all the expansion packs, except maybe Pets. I had never played The Sims before TS3, but seeing all the cheap TS2 expansion packs made me feel like TS3 should have included nearly all the features that had been introduced in TS2 (coughSEASONScough).

I recently went to my local Half-Priced Bookstore and purchased a couple of $5 Sims 2 expansion packs (University and Open for Business, if you care) and dug up my copy of TS2. I am so happy.

It loads in less time than it takes me to have a shower, the not-so-seamless gameplay doesn't bother me, and it's not nearly as complicated as TS3. Even though I appreciate attention to detail and sigh at the smeared faces of my TS2 Sims, I have never loved compromise more. The best part? I can run it while running the Internet or Word or any other program.

Why do you prefer TS2 over TS3? Post below!

NOTE: If you don't like this thread, don't comment or read it. It doesn't hurt you for this thread to be here, so stop complaining about how it's already been done.

[RahRahReplica]

I don't think my computer can handle it.
The Sims aren't as pretty.
I have heard quite a few disappointed reviews and people switching back to TS2.
I love TS2.
I've become quite attached to my characters.

[MattShizzle]

Heard too many bad things about it and the sims in sims 3 do look ugly to me.

[Orilon]

I switched over to Sims 3 because my integrated graphics chip couldn't handle Sims 2, but I could play Sims 3 on low settings with just the World Adventures and Ambitions EPs.

I got an actual graphics card installed in April and I can play both Sims 2 and Sims 3 now. I play Sims 2 the majority of the time because I don't like Story Progression (Twallan's SP mod makes it less annoying, but its still annoyed me at times), I don't like the way Sims 3 Sims look most of the time, The open world can be a pain in the butt to navigate at times I (1 Sim Hour of traveling time for my Ghost Hunter Sim to travel to get to houses to do his job, 3 or more Sim hours spent biking in China, at least the scooters in France are a little faster) and the lack of mods to make toddlers less annoying.

[annoainthere]

I think my computer would go into blue screen mode if I even tried playing TS3, I have enough troubles with the graphics in TS2 blacking out or going weird (but that's my fault for having a lame computer so I just generally ignore that issue). Otherwise I love the style of TS2 and ability to play all my families equally without that silly timeline thingy TS3 has. (I have played TS3 a few times thanks to a friend, but never really got into it, mostly because it annoyed me.)

Of course TS3 has better facial modifiers, but overall I find the rest of the game quite annoying, and annoying me leads to angry me and angry me usually chucks things out the window in a sudden fit of rage. TS2 has never caused that to happen, and so I opt to keep happy me happy, so as to prevent issues with broken computers. :D

While TS2 can't stand on the same ground as TS3 when it comes to graphics, personally I enjoy the blockish/cartoonish style. While at the same time being able to use CC to create a more realistic sim, sometimes it's cuter to use the cartoonish style.

I think the best thing is the ability to run TS2 in a window and other programs with it, allowing more creativity in stories and ideas. Oh and to keep up with the forums and other miscellanious tasks needing to be done.

Overall I just never converted to TS3.

[Saturnfly]

Do we really need another thread about this? Yes? Okay...

I play TS3 as an amusing time waster. It's a cute game and all, and if TS2 or TS1 hadn't been developed, I probably would play it a lot more. But the fact is, TS2 & TS1 are better games. At least to me, anyway. They run better, don't have as many glitches, they can look good on full settings on just about any computer (except neighbourhood view, heheh).

Humour in TS3 feels second hand, it's not the same as the previous games. TS2 has so much content and mods, you can customize it completely to your liking. I tried to make a TS3 medieval world, but gave up fairly quickly. Having a TS2 medieval neighbourhood, when done properly, feels really authentic. Besides, sims look better in TS2, why? Because they look... Different. People in the real world don't look like marshmallow heads.

[maxon]

I tried TS3 when it came out. It bored me rigid within a week. I have real problems with boredom - I can't bear it. I tried a couple more times. It's just awful for a story-teller like me. I have long since uninstalled. Mind you, it wasn't nearly as bad as Medieval. I thought that was an insult to my intelligence and all the custom EA has had from me.

[joandsarah77]

I agree, hasn't this topic been done to death? Also why do people assume you must play either Sims 2 or 3, can't a person play both?

Like Saturnfly I think TS3 is an amusing time waster. If it had been a step up like Sims 2 was to Sims 1 then I would have switched. But it's not, it's a different game to me along with Sim stories or Sims Medieval. DH recently bought me WA and Show Time on a good special and I've been having fun playing those EP's. Although I've had to turn my graphics way down to prevent it freezing every minute on me and my sims faces, squishy as they were without custom content are now melting off. Maybe when I can get my computer upgraded some more and it plays better (I hope) I may play it more.

If I want 'normal' play, challenging play, building or story telling play, I play Sims 2. Sharp graphics, a smooth camera, a ton of cc and mods and no glitches much except what I myself caused by installing some mod or bad cc.

[Simonut]

After playing TS3 for about a year, and having accumulated all but one expansion pack, I am thoroughly disappointed. The "seamless" gameplay was junky, all the CC trashed my computer, and loading was a nightmare. I loved the in-depth CAS screen, but it would take me about an hour to make a character once I had accumulated some decent CC. I loved Create-a-Style, but it took too long and was too frustrating to build houses.

I was also thoroughly disappointed with all the expansion packs, except maybe Pets. I had never played The Sims before TS3, but seeing all the cheap TS2 expansion packs made me feel like TS3 should have included nearly all the features that had been introduced in TS2 (coughSEASONScough).

I recently went to my local Half-Priced Bookstore and purchased a couple of $5 Sims 2 expansion packs (University and Open for Business, if you care) and dug up my copy of TS2. I am so happy.

It loads in less time than it takes me to have a shower, the not-so-seamless gameplay doesn't bother me, and it's not nearly as complicated as TS3. Even though I appreciate attention to detail and sigh at the smeared faces of my TS2 Sims, I have never loved compromise more. The best part? I can run it while running the Internet or Word or any other program.

Why do you prefer TS2 over TS3? Post below!


@>>>lipglosschaos >> I am sorry to say this "But enough already" this TS2 over TS3 have been fried, boiled, and baked over and over too many times. At this point this subject have become very "Stale and have turn rotten". There are plenty of posts on this baked over subject. I myself have had it with this same subject over and over. :blink:

[Bwinney43]

This horse isn't dead yet?

[Orilon]

Some people keep tying to give it CPR.

[Saturnfly]

Reminds me of the cow in Me, Myself & Irene. xD
Quick! Someone hold it down whilst I yank on its nostrils.

[julmoo]

I have played only the base game of TS3 and I found it absolutely boring. There was no spark to it, whereas I remember being absolutely obsessed with TS2 when I got mine xD I had only the base game for years and I played every day for more than 12 hours <.<

Why I dislike TS3:
1. Ugly puddingface-y Sims
2. The Sims don't have any character. They are all the same
3. TS2 has so many little things such as easter eggs, hidden stories, mysteries, gestures, etc. TS3 feels like mass produced crap intended to print money for EA
4. BUILD MODE IS A NIGHTMARE. OH MY GOD!
5. The houses are so dark, it's ridiculous. If I want a decently lit room I need to place 10 lamps and it's still not enough during day time.
6. The furniture looks ugly and bulky
7. Their story progression is horrible
8. Skilling and getting promoted is ridiculously hard
9. The traits were kind of a let-down

[VerDeTerre]

Like Saturnfly I think TS3 is an amusing time waster. If it had been a step up like Sims 2 was to Sims 1 then I would have switched. But it's not, it's a different game to me along with Sim stories or Sims Medieval.

The Sims (Sims 1) is a very different game from Sims 2, just as Sims 2 is different from Sims 3. Sims 2 was in no way a "step up" from The Sims as it changed the focus of the game as well as how it's played. If anything, the focus of Sims 3 is a little bit more similar to The Sims than it is to Sims 2.

[Rulue]

I tried to like Sims 3, I really did. But it felt like there was always something missing.

My favorite part of it would be creating sims, definitely. Unlike most people, I love the look of the TS3 puddings, they are so ridiculously cute that I want to hug them! I would spend hours creating a pretty sim, loved that I could recolor anything on the fly, that I could make really skinny and really fat sims, I loved pretty much everything in CAS, but... when I were done and it was time to actually play them, it was...boring. Incredibly boring. It would be fun for about five minutes, then I would be bored immediately. Even though they have personality traits, which might be seen as an improvement, their personality feels incredibly shallow, even more than the ones in TS2, which were based in points. Their relationships are superficial, and, I don't know, everything feels empty and just plain boring. Not to mention the rabbit holes, which makes the open world feel so empty since there are few things you can actually DO. Everything is a rabbit hole, while in TS2 I could have my sims go to restaurants and dine together, follow them while they buy groceries or clothes(and,in the case of a few sims, lots of amusing things could happen during these trips!). In TS3, I can have them visit empty nightclubs and parks and... probably something else, but you get the point. It doesn't feel fun for me when the open world means that I go "Oooh, look, I can follow my sim riding a bike to the bookstore! There he goes! And he arrived...and now I wait outside until he is done. Neat!"

In my opinion, it doesn't really feel like a Sims game like 1 or 2 were, probably because Maxis is no longer in charge. It is very different, to the point that if it was called something besides "Sims", I wouldn't bat an eyelid or say it was a rip-off or something like that, since the games are nothing alike, at least in my opinion. I thought maybe it was because I didn't have all the EPs while I had all of them in TS2, so I borrowed some of them from a friend(I only bought the base game and Pets, and used, because I was unsure if I would like it.). Nope, still not as fun as 2.

I currently have both in my computer in case I ever want to play 3 for a change or something, but I never play TS3. Even with CC, mods and such, it still feels shallow and lacks the charm that made me love TS2 so much. So, I think I will stick with TS2. Until the Supernatural expansion comes out, then I will give it another try, since supernaturals are my fav. part of TS2. Probably going to be disappointed once more, though, but I never learn.

[AlexandraSpears]

Here's why I haven't tried Sims 3 yet:

--The base game alone, around here, is $50. Where I got Double Deluxe (Sims 2 base game, Nightlife and Celebration Stuff) and other combo packs for $20 apiece.

--PUDDING FACES!

--I've watched gameplay videos on YouTube. Let's just say I'm satisfied with Sims 2, and as I told my husband, I *really* don't need another distraction. I mean, I'm a housewife, I have things to do....

[Kristin76]

I got a new computer recently thinking I wanted to try Sims 3 but then I just on a whim installed Sims 2 on it and I discovered a whole new game. My old computer was not able to support all the graphic *perks* of Sims 2, so I never saw weather, reflections, shadows, etc. Unfortunately when I was originally playing Sims 2 I stopped at Bon Voyage (the last EP I got when it was still new) ... and I missed FreeTime and Apartment Life. I did get FreeTime for a good price but still hunting out a deal for Apartment Life (I prefer having the physical CD rather than the download from EAxis).

Also as a read more and more about it, Sims 3 doesnt sound like something I would enjoy, plus I dont want to exhaust my new computer with working it extra hard to support the memory and graphics needed for it.

I am happy with my Sims 2
:)

[joandsarah77]

The Sims (Sims 1) is a very different game from Sims 2, just as Sims 2 is different from Sims 3. Sims 2 was in no way a "step up" from The Sims as it changed the focus of the game as well as how it's played. If anything, the focus of Sims 3 is a little bit more similar to The Sims than it is to Sims 2.


I guess if that's how you feel, then that's how you feel, but for me Sims 2 was an immediate step up. I loaded it up played and was hooked. I uninstalled Sims 1 and never played it again. I'm quite sure if a poll was set up you would find most people who played Sims 1 did exactly the same thing-uninstalled it and didn't look back except for nostalgia.

With Sims 3 there are also some people who uninstalled sims 2 and never looked back, but I think you will also find a lot of players reinstalled Sims 2 and dropped Sims 3 altogether and some like me have both installed and play both. I'm not counting younger new players who never played Sims 1 or 2 in this.

[klapaucius]

1. The ugliness. Not just of the Sims, but the furniture, the houses... bleh. Everything looks so... wide. The Sims themselves, I could never, ever get used to looking at. I didn't like the look of the textures of the clothes. And don't even get me started on the screaming vapours that I got from the cold deathly stares of the toddlers. Every time I think that I am even remotely tempted to play TS3 again, I go to the TS3 boards and check out the pics there, and that sends me running straight back to my beloved TS2.

2. Too much choice = not always a good thing. Yes, I could recolour my Sim's couch in eleventy billion different patterns and shades, but for someone like me (who has to check out EVERY SINGLE PATTERN just to see what it'd look like) it was a total nightmare, it'd take me forever just to pick a couch.

3. Gameplay is boring. When left to their own devices, the Sims would just stand and stare blankly. It was creepy. And even when they had conversations, it was just having to go over and over the same motions each time, then being rewarded with a pop-up telling me how the other Sim was feeling.

4. I just couldn't get attached to the Sims. With my TS2 Simmies, I felt like I really 'knew' them. Even if it wasn't actually in the game, I had made up enough of a backstory in my head to explain their behaviours. With TS3, I found that I could not care less. There was no emotional attachment at all.

5. Lack of decent genetics - didn't think this would bother me, but was surprised to find it did. I love watching a a 'family nose' get passed down from generation to generation in TS2. You could always spot a Goth family member in Pleasantview! But in TS3, the first time I had a pink-haired mother pop out a pink-haired baby, I was all WHAT THE HELL.

[HarVee]

This horse isn't dead yet?

Surprisingly the Horse is still living, even without a heart.

[LaurellKH]

Every time I download for Sims 2 cc I see in the comments this over and over, "Could you make this for Sims 3?" When I stop seeing that then I consider moving to TS3 because I really want my Sims to have a pet horse and TS3 is said to have horses. But I never investigate the horses. Maybe they are lame?

And then there is cost I have to save money irl and I get Sims 2 cheep from people.

And better graphics scare me. I tried to put Final Fantasy 14 on my PC and nothing moved lagged to stand still. That is after installing graphic card! No, I think game makers should think less of graphics and more about interesting gameplay.

[Simsica]

The most interesting part about this topic is that it keeps popping up. The horse (or was it a cow?) is obviously still not dead. Maybe we're trying our best to finally kill it?

It was a series many people took for granted. I know I did. I thought each and every title of it would be as charming as the first two had been. It didn't work out that way. It's kind of nonsensical to discard something because it lacks something as undefinable as "charm". I can only say that TS2 Sims make me laugh, still. After all these years, and even though I know by heart what their reactions will be. I still laugh both at them and with them.
When I played TS3 I laughed a very different tune though. It was a bitter laugh of someone who, though dissapointed and tired of all the glitches and problems, tried and tried to make it work. TS3 made me laugh at myself in the end. I was so stupid that I tried to force what no one could ever force. I tried to love the silly game, as I loved the first two. It didn't work. I was so ready to accept it, and yet it felt as there was nothing to accept. Nothing. This "nothing" was just too damn annoying and I eventually turned back to TS2, which has never been empty and devoid of all sense like that. Like my boyfriend said: why would I go for the 100th time into the park and make my Sim play his guitar? Simply put, in TS2 I have a very good reason to do it. In TS3 I had none. And that can only result in boredom. And/or anger, depending on your expectations. Mine were high.

Maybe these high expectations are the single reason we still have to beat the undead horse of this topic until it finally dies?

[mirjamsim2love]

I did not even trý for the Sims 3. I could not care less beforehand.
Got hooked once on the Sims 2 and stayed with it.
Saw pictures of the Sims 3 'people' and found it 3 times nothing.
To me the Sims 2 is the best and I do not even have all the expansion packs.
(Don't have seasons and apartment life and could not care much about that either)
Maybe you just can have 'one true love' :D

[Mootilda]

I did change to Sims 3. I kept finding myself looking for something more fun to do, like maybe cleaning my toilet (I hate cleaning toilets). After 6 months of complete agony, I changed back to Sims 2. ;)

[klapaucius]

I did change to Sims 3. I kept finding myself looking for something more fun to do, like maybe cleaning my toilet (I hate cleaning toilets). After 6 months of complete agony, I changed back to Sims 2. ;)


Yeah, that was me, too. I was all prepared to love the crap out of Sims 3. I uninstalled TS2, got rid of all my downloads, even bought game guides (game guides, FFS!). I made excuses to start with (oh, it'll be better when there's an expansion pack or two..or three...). So I bought the expansion packs, and shoved statues around in tombs endlessly, and then another pack where I tattooed my Sims up the wazoo... but still...

I tried so hard to love it, and when that didn't worked, I tried hard just to LIKE it. Then I just gave up and went back to TS2, where I am happy. :)

[rogue_55]

I'm another one who doesn't have a good enough computer to play sims 3. By the time I can afford to get a new computer, everyone will be playing sims 4, or maybe sims 5. I'm still addicted to sims 2 anyway. There's so much to do that I never get bored of it.

[FranH]

I was never even tempted in the first place.

But with this newest EP (Supernatural), everyone will be drooling all over the place, until they find they've been gypped yet again.

It's sad that so many people expected too much from EA, and got nothing but frustration, heartbreak, anger and boredom from their game.

Not to mention: lots of money got spent. That's all EA really wanted, and got.

They're the ones beating the horse until the skeleton shows-not the players, who are for the most part trusting souls who believe EA's capacity for imagination is unparalleled-a completely false belief.

EA has no imagination, nor capacity to have one. They're just pumping out whatever they think can get players to throw money at them. It's really pathetic when you consider that they have never even attempted to fix some of the most common problems besetting that game from the very start.

They merely pile on more problems and hope that nobody notices.

I've gotten my game to the point of minor perfection and I would not trade it in for something so bug-ridden, problematic and cheap looking as Sims 3. I've worked too hard to get this game to this end, and don't want to bash my head in the wall over something that is a badly coded knockoff.

[Issie]

This is why I gave up at Generations, realised it just isn't the game I want it to be.

Those toddlers/children still scare me, I don't know why but they are just so creepy looking. They give me "Chucky" vibes and it just isn't pleasant.

[Elphiron]

Ok, I know I'm stepping into the proverbial lion's den here but I feel like standing up for the Sims 3 a little bit here. Firstly, I played the Sims 2 too much. Way too much. I have pages and pages of neighbourhoods to scroll through, all teeming with simmish life. I only got the Sims 3 a month ago, and as yet, I'm impressed with it.

I think it's all a matter of projection. The sims we play don't really have their own personalities, we invent them and project them onto the little pixels. When a Sim has lost his job for instance, then goes to the fridge for a snack, we may interpret that as the sim comfort eating, trying to cheer himself up, rather than simply obeying some little equation in it's programming.

That is what gives our sims 'souls'. Now, most of the disparaging comments I read about the Sims 3 on this and other sites, seem to refer to sims on the Sims 3 as soulless, bland, lacking in personality, now how can that be when essentially there was no 'soul' to begin with? Is it the dodgy animations? The relationship system? The AI (which is apparently smarter)?

Now I agree that the relationships could (and should) be hugely overhauled in the Sim 3. I miss fury, crushes, chemistry and personality points. But to shun the game completely because of that?
I'm not really sure what's caused this reticence to 'project' a personality onto our little simmy friends on the Sims 3, but I do think it's sad. I made a 'slider abuse' family recently (so ugly, it was comical) and I instantly fell in love with them, because I imagined them getting bullied in school and work and all the difficulties the found in making friends. It's sad that people seem to find doing this harder for the Sims 3 then they did with the Sims 2. It's sad that the Sims 3 seems to prevent people from playing imaginatively, maybe because of the forced story lines and 'RPG elements'?

Ultimately though, it's all about which game gives you the most enjoyment, rather than which one is better, per se. Right now the Sims 3 is giving me more enjoyment, so I play this one more. Next week, I may think of a family I want to create on the Sims 2, and my focus of enjoyment will shift. I think that's a more helpful way of looking at it. Happy simming!

[Amairani]

I switch back to Sims 3 like once in 2-3 months only to either spend an evening playing adventure (I absolutely LOVE those three adventure worlds, would love to have something similar in Sims 2 as regular neighborhoods) or to check out some pre-made family I haven't touched yet (there are too many of them, way too many >_<).

Seeing Sims 3 as a different game from Sims 2, I was ready to take what it has to offer and enjoy it with no prejudice. I can deal with any difference from beloved Sims 2, however there are two things that made me impossible to immerse myself with Sims 3 as I do with Sims 2 - 1) ridiculously sped up aging for Sims I don't play at the moment 2) the way Sims walk...it just annoys me how they move. And while I enjoy the endless possibilities for making anything for Sims in CAS, same endless possibilities annoy me while trying to personalize Sims' place, especially since I couldn't figure out how to paint other pieces of furniture by using the same pattern I chose at first (ex. how to customize the other chairs in the same tone/pattern I spent 20 minutes making for the first chair?..)

So after completing/almost completing an adventure, I exit and start Sims 2....




..another turn off: you never know when Sims 3 will crash on you >_< It just did, right at the same instant when I thought I should save just in case... and it was too late.

[mozgun]

You know, if you posted a Sims 2 version of this question on the Sims 3 discussion page, I bet you would get exactly the opposite results!

I have only ever played Sims 2 (I'm only 14 and got Sims 2 last year, so I am far from being a seasoned simmer!), but my friend just got Sims 3 as his first Sims game. I watched it, and it seemed really fun. I liked how there was stuff like guitar skill and painting skill so that your sims wouldn't play the piano constantly and then suddenly know how to paint. The sims looked weird, but they weren't too bad. I could get used to them. They aren't as hideously ugly as everyone says! Everyone is just used to Sims 2 people. In the careers, you had to make friends with the boss, coworkers, and have a performance skill. People said that this made promotions harder, which I would actually enjoy. I've heard people complain about glitches in the sims 3, but the Sims 2 has glitches too. Overall, it seemed really fun!

However, I still discover things about the Sims 2. I just found out yesterday that my sims could levitate and teleport! I'm not really a "builder", or a "storyteller", I just play for fun. I really love the Sims 2 and I am used to it. If I got Sims 3, I wouldn't uninstall Sims 2. They both seem fun for me. Different types of people and players have their own preferences. Like I said before, the people on the Sims 3 discussion page are probably raving about the game! I don't care which game you like; everyone can make their own decisions.

[M.M.A.A.]

After playing TS3 for about a year, and having accumulated all but one expansion pack, I am thoroughly disappointed. The "seamless" gameplay was junky, all the CC trashed my computer, and loading was a nightmare. I loved the in-depth CAS screen, but it would take me about an hour to make a character once I had accumulated some decent CC. I loved Create-a-Style, but it took too long and was too frustrating to build houses.

I was also thoroughly disappointed with all the expansion packs, except maybe Pets. I had never played The Sims before TS3, but seeing all the cheap TS2 expansion packs made me feel like TS3 should have included nearly all the features that had been introduced in TS2 (coughSEASONScough).

I recently went to my local Half-Priced Bookstore and purchased a couple of $5 Sims 2 expansion packs (University and Open for Business, if you care) and dug up my copy of TS2. I am so happy.

It loads in less time than it takes me to have a shower, the not-so-seamless gameplay doesn't bother me, and it's not nearly as complicated as TS3. Even though I appreciate attention to detail and sigh at the smeared faces of my TS2 Sims, I have never loved compromise more. The best part? I can run it while running the Internet or Word or any other program.

Why do you prefer TS2 over TS3? Post below!

I just love to see sims 3 players come (back) to sims 2. *Evil laugh*

And again:

Quoting Peni Griffin from another thread:

Welcome (back) to the fun side of the sims!


4. BUILD MODE IS A NIGHTMARE. OH MY GOD!


What's wrong? Oh please do tell! *Evil grin*

[julmoo]

I find build mode so nightmarish because it's....confusing.

You have such little grids that let you place objects and walls and what not in a really individual style, but to me it was TOO much like nit-picking.
Also when you look at the walls you have thousands of recolours for the same kind of wall, it takes ages to scroll through all of this stuff and by the time you find what you like you still have to compare 100 shades of red to suit your building.
Okay in TS2 it's similar but not as bad. I'd like it if they could kind of bunch them together into "this style of painting", *click*, "this recolour". Similar to buy mode.

Again, the houses are so dark, it feels like playing in a cave. And if I don't see properly I can't build properly.
In the Sims 2 I sometimes tear pieces of walls down until I'm finished building on the inside so I can see properly.
In TS3: Nopeee.

[colazocker13]

Long story short: It sucks and I don't like it.

Besides, I don't fancy creating a sim family and house for about 5 hours and then see the game crash (every f#&*ing time) so I have to do it all over again.

[Lerf1950]

In a word Rabbitholes. It looks to me* like you spend all your time walking around so you can go into a decorated box-thingie and have the game tell you what you did. Big whoop.

*From trying to play SIms Medieval.

[DasRabennest]

My graphics card makes the TS3-Sims look ugly. It's not just 'pudding' but pudding with cracks. As I love seeing pretty things, this turns me off completely and that's why I didn't bother any further.

DasRabennest

[DJ.]

Well, it was a big change for me, switching from TS2 to TS3.

After I got my new computer, I finally gasped "Yes, TS3, here I come!" (And you know, with 6 GB of RAM like myself, you can easily run Word, Internet and other programs. That seemed weird to me and I had to point that out.)

I got really excited because of the open-neighborhood concept. Because if any of my family members in TS2 aged up, I believe I was forced to go to a community lot. (And since I've been playing TS2 on a crap computer before, I'm still recovering all the nerves that I've lost during the loading screens. Now, on my new computer, that's not a problem, thank God, but still, there are loading screens.) Especially when I installed Bon Voyage - having my Sim to go on a vacation took like going to a vacation myself! And not to talk that I desperately wanted to visit the whole island while on vacation.
In The Sims 3 loading screens are past. It takes me less than 10 seconds to get to the main menu, and the maximum of 2 minutes to load the actual gameplay. And there are no loading screens after those two (except for those little ones when saving, going in and out of Town Editor and stuff). But, that seamless experience could be due to a fact that I have minimal CC and no expansion packs installed.
So far, TS3 for the win.

When I look back, I've been playing The Sims 2 since 2004. All my early ages... I remember getting the game when I was 14 - I believe it was the first day the game shipped to Croatia. Also, all the crazy stuff I did while playing the game. Now that I'm kinda of a grown-up guy it's not so "OMGWTFIAJFILAAAAAH" when I buy an expansion.
TS2 brings the good memories back.

When I first started playing The Sims 3, it's was hella of complicated. "The dishwasher cannot be upgrated while running." "Your Sim has an opportun -- oh wait, here's another one!" "Should your Sim work hard, slack off or do boss' paperwork today at work?" ... I mean, it wasn't that complicated. I found myself around, found out about the "Supress Opportunities" option... people are saying that TS3 was a very little step from TS2 - I say they're wrong. (TS1 to TS2 - we got a 3D camera; TS2 to TS3 - what, we're supposed to get a fricking 4D camera or something?!) EA worked on a lot of details on Sims - like I've mentioned that thing with the dishwasher, and jobs, and also meal qualities and stuff... and also the game isn't designed in a purpose that using the functions given, you can ruin your game in a couple of months (talking about Delete button in TS2 Sim Bin, for example).
Speaking about the way game was coded and amount of glitches and bugs in the game, I'd say TS3 is for the win. But, if I refer to simplicity, I'd definitely choose TS2.

So there ya have it, a draw. That's why I play both, The Sims 2 and The Sims 3.

In The Sims 2 I have a family tree I built - in The Sims 3, I keep with that family tree - only I change people's looks and personalities.

The Sims 2 brings up the good old memories back. The Sims 3 has nothing to bring up, since I've bought it a month ago.

For me, both games for the win.

~DJ.

[el_flel]

I like The Sims 3. I like the open world, I like the improvements EA implemented with regards to careers, I enjoy each EP. But the reason I'm barely playing it at the moment is because I can barely play it. My PC is perfectly capable of running the game but, for whatever reason, I can't play for more than 30 mins at a time without crashing to desktop, or get beyond generation 3 without getting save errors, and it's pissing me off. I plan to attempt a reinstall at some point to see if that stops this nonsense but right now I just can't be bothered. I'm sticking to The Sims 2 for now until I get the patience to try 3 again.

[poisonapple88]

I have the Sims 3 Suite Life and Pets expansion. I tried playing when if first came out and I just couldn't do it. I tried again this year and lasted longer, but ended up going back to the Sims 2. I don't like the open world because I feel like it makes the houses and details in comparison less noticeable. I do have a good graphics card and even then I think the detail is poor compared to the second one. The style of animation isn't my style. I love the way the Sims 2 people and houses look. Custom content is easy to get and organize while in the Sims 3 I got so confused! Too many options for jobs, relationship building was a nightmare. I think I'll stick with playing the Sims 2. I've been playing this game for almost a decade. I'm not leaving!

[VerDeTerre]

I guess if that's how you feel, then that's how you feel, but for me Sims 2 was an immediate step up. I loaded it up played and was hooked. I uninstalled Sims 1 and never played it again. I'm quite sure if a poll was set up you would find most people who played Sims 1 did exactly the same thing-uninstalled it and didn't look back except for nostalgia.

With Sims 3 there are also some people who uninstalled sims 2 and never looked back, but I think you will also find a lot of players reinstalled Sims 2 and dropped Sims 3 altogether and some like me have both installed and play both. I'm not counting younger new players who never played Sims 1 or 2 in this. You could be right. It would be interesting to see the numbers.

[Kamilia1010101]

I don't really like Sims 3 That Much. I purchased the origanal and generations but I guess it didnt work out for me. But its an awesome game! I Love the fact that you can go places without your car dissapearing! xD

[TychoH]

For me the biggest turn off about Sims 3 is the open world. I prefer it when my Sims stay at home all time and not to have to a book store to buy a book about cooking or something else. As a control freak I don't like that you can control only one household. I want to play all my Simmies, all my houses, not just the one I play right now.

The details in Sims 3 were fun for me. But I prefer less detail so I can focus on my family tree lines.

With Sims 2 I became obsessed. I played for days after days. With Sims 3, I played maybe one hour before I went back to my beloved Sims 2. Maybe I just gave Sims 3 not enough time. But when I first played Sims 1 and Sims 2, I was totally in it right from the beginning, so because of the open world and the you-can-only-control-one-household-thing I will prefer Sims 2.

Maybe Sims 4 is different. But that's a long long way to go. A long long Sims 2 way for me :) .

[Orilon]

I have both installed and I like and dislike things about Sims 2 and Sims 3. Right now I'm playing Sims 3, and the husband put up the wish to have a boy after he found out his wife is pregnant (they can have generic child wishes, or wishes to have a boy or girl. If Master Controller is right, they will have a boy. Its not quite as accurate as the ACR pregnancy scanner for Sims 2.) Sims 3 Sims can show personality through their wishes, but I do have to admit its hard to get to that point at times.

[iCad]

I very recently gave TS3 another shot. (Because I have a computer with a compatible graphics card now, so it'll run for more than 5 minutes without going all crashy. :lol: ) And while there ARE several things I like about 3... Overall, I still don't like it, no. Granted, I've only got access to the base game, which my daughter got for her birthday shortly after the game came out and no CC or anything, but... I dunno. I don't like how it looks. And I'm NOT talking about the Sims; a Sim's appearance is not a priority for me. I'm talking about the landscape, which everyone raves about but I don't like because I'm contrary and curmudgeonly. I think the colors are waaaaaay oversaturated. It looks even worse, IMO, on my "new" desktop monitor than it did on my laptop. Plus, I'm not a fan of story progression or the open world and the game play seems more directed than I like. (I like to do my own weird things.) Yes, I know I could turn off story progression and get all kinds of mods and CC and crap...but I figure it this way: Why go to all the effort of making 3 like 2 when I can just play 2? So, yeah, I don't see me straying from 2 any time soon. Which I guess is a good thing because I still have a boatload of stuff I need to recolor. :lol:

I never played the original Sims. I'm thinking I might like to, but I'm thinking it might be hard to find now...

[VerDeTerre]

Honestly, I play all three games. Sims 2 occupies most of my time these days, but every now and again I go on a Sims 3 or The Sims bend.

[shoo_flee]

I was soo excited when i heard there was going to be Sims 3. . . but i just can't stand the look of the sims- so cartoony! Just from watching the trailers and seeing the gameplay, the 'feel' of the game just doesn't appeal to me. I'll stick with Sims 2 for now, who knows what could happen in the future.

[Issie]

I like The Sims 3. I like the open world, I like the improvements EA implemented with regards to careers, I enjoy each EP. But the reason I'm barely playing it at the moment is because I can barely play it. My PC is perfectly capable of running the game but, for whatever reason, I can't play for more than 30 mins at a time without crashing to desktop, or get beyond generation 3 without getting save errors, and it's pissing me off. I plan to attempt a reinstall at some point to see if that stops this nonsense but right now I just can't be bothered. I'm sticking to The Sims 2 for now until I get the patience to try 3 again.

Exactly this. I have no patience with getting it to work properly anymore. Every few months I give it a shot and then give up.

[Trixie39]

The first time I had ever heard of Sims was at my friends house and she had just gotten Sims 3. So then I decided I wanted to get the sims, and seeing the sims 2 double deluxe was only $19.99 compared to Sims 3 $59.99 (Not sure exactly, sorry if I'm off on the price) I honestly just don't feel like paying all that money for a game and I doubt my computer would even work if I had Sims 3.

[esmesqualor]

Now I agree that the relationships could (and should) be hugely overhauled in the Sim 3. I miss fury, crushes, chemistry and personality points. But to shun the game completely because of that?

Well, if your game play centers around Sim relationships, then yes, shunning the game because they chose to emphasize other things at the expense of relationships makes sense to me. Why play a game you don't enjoy?

There are many things - taken separately - that I really like about TS3. And because of those things, I really wish I liked the entire game better than I do. I described it once (on the other thread that is similar to this :p ) as the difference between getting engrossed in a show and channel surfing. I realized that, for me, even though I had sims that I loved and houses that I loved, ultimately TS3 was like channel surfing.

Ultimately though, it's all about which game gives you the most enjoyment, rather than which one is better, per se.

And whichever one gives me more enjoyment is the better game for me :beer:

[Mootilda]

You know, if you posted this on the Sims 3 discussion page, I bet you would get exactly the opposite results!Not if the discussion topic is "Why didn't you change to Sims 3?". Of course, some people will always ignore the discussion topic. ;)

[jthm_nny]

I was 100% going to get it to replace my broken beyond repair Sims 2 game, but I saw Sims 2 double deluxe on sale for $10 so I bought it. So much easier to buy than the $30 Sims 3 basegame.

[simsrsexy]

I'm another one who doesn't have a good enough computer to play sims 3. By the time I can afford to get a new computer, everyone will be playing sims 4, or maybe sims 5. I'm still addicted to sims 2 anyway. There's so much to do that I never get bored of it.

I don't play sims 3 because although my comptuer says it has enough space to run it, and the video card is great, etc. It takes FOREVER to load. I can load sims 2 in 5 minutes or I can wait five hours for sims 3. Take your pick lol

[Anonymous Miss]

I have a very odd situation regarding Sims.

Initially, I started into the series with Sims 3, but due to my living arrangements, I am using a computer that can't handle Sims 3, so I got the Sims 2 instead. There are a lot of things I like about both, and a fair few I dislike about both. I love relationships in the Sims 2. I love the humor. I love that each expansion pack feels like an expansion pack. I love how my Sims family actually talks to each other. I love aliens. I love the variety in interactions. And SEASONS.

But there's a lot that I miss from Sims 3, too. I loved Ambitions (Inventors for the win!), and I wish Downtown was at the same level of urban as Night Life. I liked Sims 3 vampires better, too. I also miss the amazing CAS. I would spend hours upon hours creating a Sim, because there was so much detail I could go into. I don't think they looked creepy at all, just different. I miss the World Adventures worlds. They were absolutely beautiful. I liked the open neighborhood, too. Loading screens get very grating after a while. Hated romantic reputations, though.

Overall, they're both very good games, but they are extremely different, as well. Their appeal is dependent on the play style, not because one is particularly better than the other.

[SusannaG]

I very much doubt my computer could handle Sims 3, even if I wanted to try it. It is seven!

(It's had brain surgery, but I still don't think it could handle it.)

[Simsica]

Ok, I know I'm stepping into the proverbial lion's den here

Where did you get that idea? lol

I think it's all a matter of projection. The sims we play don't really have their own personalities, we invent them and project them onto the little pixels. When a Sim has lost his job for instance, then goes to the fridge for a snack, we may interpret that as the sim comfort eating, trying to cheer himself up, rather than simply obeying some little equation in it's programming.

That is what gives our sims 'souls'. Now, most of the disparaging comments I read about the Sims 3 on this and other sites, seem to refer to sims on the Sims 3 as soulless, bland, lacking in personality, now how can that be when essentially there was no 'soul' to begin with? Is it the dodgy animations? The relationship system? The AI (which is apparently smarter)?

Um. Objection. The beauty and the truth and stuff like that can all be in the eyes of the beholder, but how do you explain then that the same beholder, i.e. me for instance, can project so many souls onto TS2 Sims while completely failing to do so with TS3 Sims?

I'd say that these "souls" emerge in cooperation of the player's imagination/projection AND the AI engine, that helps her/him to make sense (ensoul, so to speak, the pixels) of what goes on in front of those beholding eyes.

I simply refuse to accept that in one case I can endow a pixel doll with a personality and in the other I can't. Is it something in me that's preventing me from doing this in the case of TS3? After all, I'm the same person. The engine, however, has changed.

I conclude that it's the engine's fault. The engine isn't giving me much to project on. Sorry.

[Elphiron]

I totally agree with you!

Which is why I said in my post, "Is it the dodgy animations? The relationship system? The AI (which is apparently smarter)?" EA promised that the AI would be smarter, but I see people standing around doing nothing most of the time on the Sims 3! I had trouble 'bonding' with my sims to start with and I know others did to, my post was not meant to sound one sided, sorry, I was just trying to find out why people find it so hard to 'gel' with the Sims 3 :)

[julmoo]

Yeah the bonding is something I really missed too.

When I started playing the Sims 3 I started by making a self-sim and my former crush (I know, I know, that's kind of odd).
In the Sims 2 I also made thousands of self-sims once I just got the game xD

I didn't even like my self-sim in TS3 really much.
Right now I'm playing a new neighbourhood and I like the (random!) Sims I have there much more than any Sim in TS3. In fact I'm kind of cheating so that the farmer-daddy can have his six married children <.<

[Simsica]

I totally agree with you!

Which is why I said in my post, "Is it the dodgy animations? The relationship system? The AI (which is apparently smarter)?" EA promised that the AI would be smarter, but I see people standing around doing nothing most of the time on the Sims 3! I had trouble 'bonding' with my sims to start with and I know others did to, my post was not meant to sound one sided, sorry, I was just trying to find out why people find it so hard to 'gel' with the Sims 3 :)

Oh, okay then. As long as we agree. ;)
I haven't had a single Sim there that I cared about. An AI disaster, that's what it is.
I want to be fair here - the game was a step up in so many other areas, and I'm aware of that. But for me the AI *is* The Sims and if it's lacking there's no game to speak of.

I just wanted to say that we that still stick with TS2 are not any lions or haters that are "gonna hate" - we're just deeply dissapointed and very much invested in both the dissapointment and the series.

[Elphiron]

Oh, okay then. As long as we agree. ;)
I haven't had a single Sim there that I cared about. An AI disaster, that's what it is.
I want to be fair here - the game was a step up in so many other areas, and I'm aware of that. But for me the AI *is* The Sims and if it's lacking there's no game to speak of.

I just wanted to say that we that still stick with TS2 are not any lions or haters that are "gonna hate" - we're just deeply dissapointed and very much invested in both the dissapointment and the series.

Fair enough, I can understand that :) (Those comments were more tongue in cheek, by the way rather than a petty jab at TS2 community- sorry if I caused offence)

[M.M.A.A.]

What does AI stand for?

[Lerf1950]

Artificial Intelligence. The set of routines the game uses to make Sims do what Sims do.

[music2ologist]

I was offended by Sims 3. As soon as I started it up, I saw that it would be a wretched thing unless I started spending more money to get colours, textures, nice furniture from the store. It seemed to me, the very first day I played it, that the game was devised to soak more money out of suckers. I rebelled. I uninstalled the game, and there it sits on my shelf. I know many people love it, and I might have done, too, if I had persevered. I was just reluctant to be taken for a sucker.

[rogue_55]

I don't play sims 3 because although my comptuer says it has enough space to run it, and the video card is great, etc. It takes FOREVER to load. I can load sims 2 in 5 minutes or I can wait five hours for sims 3. Take your pick lol

Does it really take 5 hours for sims 3 to load for you? That's crazy. I don't think I would have patience for that either and I normally don't care how long it takes for a game to load. Sims 2 doesn't take more than 15 minutes for me. I really want to play sims 3. I think it looks fun. I don't expect it to be the same as sims 2 though. I would accept it for what it is. When I get a new computer, I want to get one that will be capable of playing sims 2 and 3. I would probably play sims 1 too if I could find the complete collection for a reasonable price. I played sims 1 on the Nintendo 64, so that should tell you how long ago that was. lol

[mirjamsim2love]

The only thing I was and am curious about in Sims 3 is that you have more character or personality things to choose from. Don't know any other word for it. This is not my native language. In the Sims 2 I have the feeling that it is sometimes too much of the same. I accept that because I really am hooked on 2 but I wonder what would have been if we already had that in 2. (fear of water, don't like children, stuff like that I mean)
And since I already invested enough in 2, time, money and downloads, I am not willing to do that again for 3.
Besides that, maybe my computer would not like the switch either.

[M.M.A.A.]

The only thing I was and am curious about in Sims 3 is that you have more character or personality things to choose from. Don't know any other word for it. This is not my native language. In the Sims 2 I have the feeling that it is sometimes too much of the same. I accept that because I really am hooked on 2 but I wonder what would have been if we already had that in 2. (fear of water, don't like children, stuff like that I mean)
And since I already invested enough in 2, time, money and downloads, I am not willing to do that again for 3.
Besides that, maybe my computer would not like the switch either.

Ok, fear of water is one thing which is okay, but seriously, disliking children is not my idea of a game that probably many age cohorts play. :( I don't know, that's just my opinion.

[Fivey]

I'm cheap.

[Y2Jay]

I tried my friend's copy and was disappointed (perhaps it's better now with all the mods and EPs)
One thing I noticed from the start, even with high graphics everything looked..smooth? Shiny? Plastic? All of the above. It looked like the entire town had gotten bad plastic surgery. I hated, and still hate, even with the mod improvements I've seen, the look of the Sims. I just can't place my finger on it..but there's something off about them..Almost as if they're in-game soulless.

The only thing that excited me was the free-roam, but they killed that (in the base game) with the lack of interiors. So that feature may be better now with the EPs.

[mirjamsim2love]

Ok, fear of water is one thing which is okay, but seriously, disliking children is not my idea of a game that probably many age cohorts play. :( I don't know, that's just my opinion.
I don't see it like that.
I see it as an oppertunity to cause drama for your Sims lives in the game, which could make it interesting.
Ofcourse: children do play the game but I guess they understand there are people who do not like children for whatever reason and they probably would not take it (that) personal. :)
Other than that it is sure oke to not like that in a game.
I mentioned those two because those were the only ones I remembered when I posted this and I had to name something to make clear what I meant. :D

[M.M.A.A.]

I don't see it like that.
I see it as an oppertunity to cause drama for your Sims lives in the game, which could make it interesting.
Ofcourse: children do play the game but I guess they understand there are people who do not like children for whatever reason and they probably would not take it (that) personal. :)
Other than that it is sure oke to not like that in a game.
I mentioned those two because those were the only ones I remembered when I posted this and I had to name something to make clear what I meant. :D

Oh, I know, I know there are other traits besides these, but, everyone's got an opinion.

Its just that, it is as if the age boundary for the game should be raised. :faceslap:

[farawayy & so close]

I played TS3 over spring break when I went home with a friend from college. My friend seemed to like it, but I found it completely insulting to my imagination. Since my imagination is what makes playing Sims fun, I'm sticking with TS2. I'm still happy. :)

[frankokomando]

I got frustrated just trying to build a house in The Sims 3 so I flipped off my computer screen and shut the game off. It hasn't been played since.

[MattShizzle]

I also before it came out was wary that it would have SecuROM (turns out it didn't) but I also thought there was a good chance it would be bad. EA doesn't do nearly as good a job as Maxis did. For those who also play Sim City (I only ever played the original, SC4 and the horrible last one.) Remember/know how good SC4 is/was - and then just how terrible Sim City Societies was even disregarding SecuROM?

[Simsica]

The only thing I was and am curious about in Sims 3 is that you have more character or personality things to choose from.

I think this is one of the more erraneous preconceptions about TS3. There are gazillion of "traits" to choose from, sure, but every living psychologist on this Earth will tell you that character can't be succesfully defined with a system like that.

System used in TS2 though is much more likely to produce a simulated character (here I go again...) because it's conceived and executed as a structured, layered whole. We have, in all our expansions, gotten ourselves the Sims that have primary and secondary aspirations (which can be harmonious or in conflict with each other, like conscious and subconscious are); the chemistry system allows for diverse dis-likes (one person can like someone who likes someone else better than they like them, and there you have it - unhappy love); hobbies also add a dimension to a Sim in the sense that they act as habits that are hard to avoid, etc.
With the added use of hacks that allow you differring LTW with regards to primary aspiration you can get really intrugining, diverse, even paradoxical characters.

In TS3 you choose 5 (five) traits. And then in most cases all they mean turns out to be a different set of pie menu strings: "evil" shower, for instance. What is that?!

[mirjamsim2love]

I think this is one of the more erraneous preconceptions about TS3.
I don't think it is a mistake to be interested in such a thing. :heyhey:
But thanks for the explanation. It sure was helpfull.
I am not a hack user so I can't add what you mentioned and that is why I sometimes think there is not enough variaty for me. But that is just a minor thing. It does not spoil anything. :)

[Spylace]

Well first of all, my laptop can't run it though it shouldn't be running sims 2 either. Second, I don't know. Really not a fan of how sims look in sims 3. It can seem super-realistic sometimes or faker than sims 2 and I don't know, I've played the game at my friends house and it seems to take forever to get anything done. And okay, I didn't expect for the sim to take two RL hours (on the highest speed) to die of starvation :x

[lazzybum]

recently ive been wanting to reinstall my sims 3 game. I've given it chances every couple of months, and the outcome is always boredom within 10 mins. Although I want to try out the new stuff in Showtime and parts of the game I haven't discovered yet, I know all the time installing and patching isn't worth it for how much time I will actually "play". TS3 is way more time consuming, even with CAS or choosing patterns for furniture. Then I'd gotta get core hacks and grab a few defaults. Arg, even typing all of this discourages me..but my curiousity always comes and bites me back xP

[Firelira78]

I actually did change to Sims 3 as soon as I could manage to. But when I discovered that the game being marketed as Sims 3 was actually an entirely new game called Sims: Open Neighborhood, I changed back to Sims 2 :)


As for the never-ending Sims 2 Vs Sims 3 debate, it depends on what one likes:

Do you prefer an open, explorable neighborhood which is mostly empty (without mods) with sims mostly sitting isolated and reading Raymundo?

Do you prefer lots of text options to choose from and don't mind reading about emotions as opposed to see sims enact them?

Is it absolutely necessary to have your dress match your sofa or toilet seat?

Do you prefer guided gameplay with EA helpfully telling you what to do every step as opposed to being a supreme controlling entity of your sims?

Do you think it is a task to manage multiple sims in multiple families, their growing up, weddings, careers and deaths?

Do you want to play the latest game in the series so as to seem "in with the times" no matter however it is?

Then Sims 3 is for you. Otherwise not. The above things don't appeal to me. I prefer the funny weird goofy unpredictable antics of the sims and see my little people live a life guided by me where I'm a sort of supreme God (I know I'm sounding shamelessly egoistic here :)) rather than being reduced to being a helper who needs to follow EA's directions constantly.

It is Sims 2 all the way for me. I wish Sims 4 (if it is ever made) becomes a true successor to Sims 2. Though, if it is being made by the same team, I see little chance of that happening.

[Simsica]

miriamsim2love, of course it's not a mistake to be interested. I just wanted to say that sometimes people feel something to be more complex because there's more of the same thing to choose from. And complexity is usually more complex than that.

[joandsarah77]

Lack of soul in Sims 3 is one of the reasons I can never get as invested in them as I do with Sims 2 sims. I've done extractions and backups as well as a rebuild to keep my sims 2 families. With Sims 3 I had to reinstall a couple of times and I never bother to save families I just start again. I often delete a hood without feeling sad for the loss of those sims, as they simply don't mean much. I've seen other people mention the soullessness of them as well. One example from a recent sims 3 family I made to play showtime. I let the kids have random traits and the son got the loner and workaholic trait, but instead of spinning up wants for things that would go with his traits he spun up as a teen wants to a teen party and to booby trap the school. He couldn't throw that party anyway as he had no friends. But if I had have been able to fulfil that want he would of had a bad moodlet from all the people. Then I managed to get the daughter married to a rich sim just down the road, send mum over and go to give the daughter a hug and I can’t see it under friendly so I have her offer a graduation gift and get refused with the pop up "I don't know you well enough" what?! This is her mother and she only moved out the day before They had been best friends when she was a child and hadn't even argued when she was a teen but now somehow they weren’t even friends and she doesn't know her well enough! Mum did two chats and a few other social but still wasn't known well enough. There is no 'family connection'. I lost interest in them now. I just can't be bothered to send her over there for the hours it will take to get them friends again only to have them stop being friends again.

[maxon]

"dress match your toilet seat ...." <snigger>

[M.M.A.A.]

Who said loading screens were bad? *Trying to make people with bad graphics and specs happy*

Do you know all of the safety rules about using PCs and laptops? One of them states that you need to take frequent 5 mins breaks to rest your eyes. Loading screens are one way to encourage you to do that, while your game/hood/house is loading, go do something else, the main thing is that you rest your eyes.

[Darby]

I also before it came out was wary that it would have SecuROM (turns out it didn't) but I also thought there was a good chance it would be bad.

Uh...
http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,18840.0.html

[LordOrochimaru]

My laptop (It's going on 5 years old now.) probably couldn't run it, and if it could, it would probably take forever to load.

Plus I like all the CC that's available for Sims 2.

Also Darby, wow. Sims 3 has that?

[Orilon]

A little bit of background on why I did switch from Sims 2 to Sims 3: I had to. My new computer's integrated graphics chip couldn't handle Sims 2 on low settings but could handle Sims 3 on low settings. I didn't wan't to completely give up playing Sims, so I tried playing the Sims 3 base game and Ambitions on low settings and my computer could handle it on low settings. I bonded with the Sims because I had to. I had an actual graphics card installed in April and now I can switch between Sims 2 and Sims 3.

I like Sims 3, but there are still a lot of things I don't like. I don't like the open world (as I have said before, it takes a long time for Sims to get from place to place), I don't like Story Progression, I don't like how hard it is to get relationships to progress, while I appreciate the fact that Twallan has made ErrorTrap and Overwatch, I hate the fact that they are necessary to keep the game running sometimes.

On the other hand I don't like how easy it is to corrupt Sims 2, and how easy it is to completely screw up your game so your only option is to reinstall.

[jthm_nny]

I played the sims 3 at my friend's house and I liked it. The animations were cool and I stayed up pretty dam late to get everything perfect. My only issue from the actual gameplay what I was able to play was that the whole thing takes forever to prepare for. I mean, I make the whole family in several hours, the house takes an extra hour, and if I'm given a time limit I wouldn't be able to get much done. :cry:
I also had an issue with relationships. I was trying to make a love/hate relationship with two young adult sims, but they both ended up falling in love with each other. :faceslap:
It was very annoying.
The sims themselves look kind of creepy, and all male sims look female. It's not really terrible, but sometimes I want to make male sims that look male. I'm personally not a fan of both TS2 and TS3 skintones, but I wasn't able to replace the skintones because it was my friend's game.
I also didn't like the "store content at the top of the page thing." It almost makes it look like it's part of the clothes your sim can wear until you realize you have to pay for it. Don't trick people, EA. It's mean.

I guess my opinion is that the game is really fun, but costs too much and is harder to mod. I have a cheaper laptop and can't run it, and don't have enough money for it anyways. Buying 3 Sims 2 expansion packs on amazon can equal about what you pay for 1 sims 3 expansion pack. Plus, double deluxe only cost $10 but you wouldn't hear that about TS3 until at least 5 years or more in the future.

[Darby]

Also Darby, wow. Sims 3 has that?

Well, I don't have the skillz to check for myself, but I have absolutely no reason to doubt Pescado on things like this. So yeah, whether or not they call it "SecuROM", it's at least as invasive a DRM as what they used in the later parts of Sims 2, if not more so. Sounds like more so.

[MattShizzle]

Wow. EA really doesn't have a clue. Their stock price went way down after people learned of SecuROM and it was also put in Spore and now they pull something similar?

[Darby]

I'd say they've got a pretty good clue. Knowing they'd get a lot more flack for continuing to use a widely-hated DRM, they get around that by simply not calling it SecuROM. Always with things like this, someone like Pescado will shine a light on it anyway, but the word doesn't get out to everyone.

[Mootilda]

The DRM included with Sims 3 is a simple disk check. It's not that offensive and can be turned off.

However, EA has decided to spy on your computer, regardless of the DRM used. This is only going to get worse as they make their games online-only and possibly even Origin-only.

[mirjamsim2love]

miriamsim2love, of course it's not a mistake to be interested. I just wanted to say that sometimes people feel something to be more complex because there's more of the same thing to choose from. And complexity is usually more complex than that.
I thought it would be interesting if we had all those extra things to choose from in Sims2. Just curious how that would turn out but I do not have experience how it turns out in Sims 3. Never played 3 and I also do not have much technical knowledge so I can't say if it is better or worse than how it is arranged in 2.

[Darby]

However, EA has decided to spy on your computer, regardless of the DRM used. This is only going to get worse as they make their games online-only and possibly even Origin-only.

Yeah. I hate that. It bothers me that games on disks seem to be going the way of the dinosaur rapidly. I can get around the DRM on disks, but is it even possible to do so with digitally downloaded games? Wave of the future is disturbing. :/

[forgoodness]

I play Sims 3 from time to time, but not very often. I really prefer Sims 2. The graphics are better, the sims are just prettier, and I just prefer Sims 2 in general. I think the sims in Sims 3 look too cartoonish, and my game lags majorly even though I don't have any custom content, only expansion packs. I like how when you go to play on a different family in a neighboorhood in Sims 2, time doesn't pass, and you can resume where you left off. I don't know, just my opinion.

[MattShizzle]

TBH EA hasn't made anything good (meaning EA itself, not games made by subsidiaries they had bought like Maxis) since the 90s if not the 1980s. Anyone else rember Wasteland, Mail Order Monsters and such? Now it's all marketing, extreme DRM and half-assed actual work on the game - and minimal if any testing for bugs before release.

[Simsica]

On the other hand I don't like how easy it is to corrupt Sims 2, and how easy it is to completely screw up your game so your only option is to reinstall.

Interesting, since for example I haven't had to reinstall my TS2 game ever since I got my current HD, which was a long time ago. Unlike the other one, which once I reinstalled three times in one day. Not counting the other days. That silly piece of software got reinstalled more times than I could count. It wasn't funny.
I don't think I'd be still playing TS2 for all these years if I had to reinstall that much, no matter the charm of its AI.

It is easy to corrupt your hood - just delete a Sim or move them to another hood - but by the same token, the corruption is easy to avoid too. Just don't do the things that corrupt the hood. But even if you ended up corrupting it, it doesn't mean you have to reinstall.

Seriously, it's not necessary to reinstall that much, unless you have a penchant to meddle with Program Files side of installation. In that case, it's your fault, not the game's. I know how to differentiate between my own mistakes and the game's flaws. Left in its vanilla state, TS2 is a stable game in my experience.

Or am I just that lucky?

[VerDeTerre]

Here are most of the reasons I play the game significantly less than the other Sims games:

I have a lot of technical problems with Sims 3 and I don't really know why. The game plays for a while and then, all of a sudden, everything lags horribly. I end up deleting games/neighborhoods and starting all over. I haven't kept any neighborhood past three generations and most have ended after one. It doesn't happen in all the neighborhood, just too many to enjoy the game much.

Another issue I've had with enjoyment of Sims 3 is that I just don't feel connected to my Sims in the same intimate manner that I did in Sims 1 or 2. They feel removed from me, their issues and wants aren't as pressing or interesting.

I do like the world and much of what's do-able in it. I fire the game up every now and again and play a day or two's worth and then immediately go back to Sims 1 or Sims 2.

I hate it when the pudding Sims get muscular and too many of them tend towards fatness. I wouldn't mind a small number of fit or fat Sims, but I have what seems like close to a town full of them.

I don't like rabbit holes overmuch. I suspect that they needed them to extend the game play without writing the impossible game, but they're rather boring.

There's too much guided game play.

[LibraryGuy]

I tried 3 but never got too invested in it. I still like to play with 2-it's familiar, easy, and fun.
Though I did get seriously hooked on Medieval. I wish they had made a version of 2 with the same ideas. Limited area, limited families, clear achievements, funny in-jokes.

[Saturnfly]

Uh...
http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,18840.0.html

Eeheh, all of my simming is done on an offline computer, so EA can go suck on a lemon.

[maxon]

Or am I just that lucky?
Nope, you are sensible. There seems to be so much advice for TS2 (some of it from EAxis themselves) that when something goes wrong you need to reinstall but the fact is what you need to do about 99% of the time is just delete the corrupted neighbourhood (or, if you are very sensible, delete it and replace it with the back up copy you made). If the worst comes to the worst, you can just delete the whole TS2 folder in My Documents and reset the whole lot. TS2 is very stable as far as I can see - much, much better than the first game was. TS3 sounds like it's gone back to that.

[Abby-_-]

Cause i play sims 2 for a long time and i think sims in sims 2 are more beautiful.'
I play sims 2 for create something that i like and play sims3 as a game

[vera's_atelier]

I love sims2's sims more than Sims3.
I have many children(sims) in sims2 and play with them in many years. I can't leave them.

[dieKristina]

I started to play sims in september 2010, so Sims 3 was already out by then. I decided to buy sims 2 anyway, because I thought my computer wouldn´t be able to handle sims 3. Now I know that was a wrong assumption, but I´m glad I didn´t know it since I would have bought sims 3 instead then. If you are new to a game it´s easy to think the newest version = the best. Of course that´s far from always the truth, but it´s easy to think like that if you don´t know about the older versions of the game. Ever since september 2010 I have been playing sims 2, and after I realized my computer actually could handle sims 3 I have just not been tempted to try it. Some reasons:

- The genetics. I love the way genetics work in S2 with dominant and recessive genes, and in S3 that doesn´t exist. If a sim dye their hair blue his/her babies can even be born with blue hair. :wtf: I also dislike the way S3-sims look and even more I dislike the fact that they all look almost identical. I want some diversity in my game!

- Story progression. I love to play a whole neighborhood in rotation and to be there when all special things happens to my sims. I do not want to play one family and later find out that sims in on of my other familes have aged without me playing them. Like I said: I want to be there and see when everything important happens.

- Bugs. Yeah, sims 2 has bugs too and I hate the fact that a neighborhood sooner or later most likely will implode. But thanks to patches and hacks, the game is playable and enjoyable. When I read about all glitches in S3 however, the problems in S2 feels like nothing. And when EA releases new patches it seems like they fix some problems, but create several new ones. I want my game to be stable, and for me S2 is at least pretty stable (and if only the problems with neighborhood corruption was solved it would be absolutely perfect).

These are the reasons I can think of, and I can only hope these will be fixed in Sims 4. Then I´ll doubtless give it a shot and maybe switch for good, but only maybe. ;)

[May93]

At the time it came out, my computer wouldn't have been able to run it well.
Now I have a computer that could play it, I just seen it for a price I'm willing to pay. (it's a few years old so I'd expect it to have gone cheaper)

[Sparrow]

I've played sims 3 with all expansions plus some custom content and I find it just doesnt have the same fun factor as sims 2. Also I hate the way the sims in sims 3 look. I enjoy the ability to modify the body shape and such but in the end they seem to look better in pictures than they do in game imo. When I got my new computer the first game I installed was sims 2 I never bothered putting sims 3 on it :lol:

[genchigen17]

I wish I Had Of Kept My Sims2!!! :cry: when the Sims3 came out I gave them to Salvation Army.. Not trying to be selfish or anything, I just wish I had of kept it beacuse it was so much more realistic than Sims3!! But I plan on getting my Sims2 back beacuse Im getting a laptop just for my Sims!!!!! :D

[Sutorumie]

I like both games but my computer can't handle Sims 3, plus I'm a huge downloads junkie and Sims 3 can't handle all the downloads I tried to throw at it. Even though I could explore the community in Sims 3, I still stayed at home. xD Sims 2's features outweigh Sims 3's features by far. Although Sims 3 Supernatural will probably change that, but my computer STILL won't be able to handle it at all. I guess I still play Sims 2 because it runs better, more/better CC, my computer can handle it and there are more interesting goals (business, college, etc).

[smellincoffee]

The speed settings don't seem to work on vanilla Sims 3, so playing a game means I spend a lot of time sitting and waiting. Life is too short. I am told this is a bug fixed with the first patch, but there are so many different patch versions I have given up trying to find the right one. I figure I'll get one of the expansion packs eventually and let it auto-patch the game. I also don't like the way Sims 3 sims look. I prefer the Sims 2 version. The biggest lures for Sims 3 for me are the dynamic town and the more interesting approach to careers.

[RowenaLupin]

It has taken me years to finally be fully happy with my Sims 2 game, and to learn everything about the game itself. Also I played Sims 3 with the Ambitions pack, but I couldn't stand the play style. Its way too different than Sims 2, and it was no fun. I turned around and sold it on eBay. I might be persuaded to try it out after all the packs are out, the patches to, and I can find them on eBay or Amazon for really really cheap.

[scarletwings]

Though my computer could handle the graphics, I didn't like what I saw in The Sims 3 - I just didn't get on with those floppy faces and, given that I'm staring at my sims for most of the time I'm playing, it's important that I like the look of them.

EA alienated me from future sims games, too, by holding back part of the content of the game and demanding registration to download the rest of it (Riverview) - not to mention the requirement to be registered to download patches, and the push to include live advertising (which I believe they retreated from, but hey, they annoyed me even by thinking that I'd want their lousy adverts infesting my machine after I *paid them* for a game!). The online connection to the store via the game peeves me too - I just want to get on with my game and be left alone with it - I don't want anything connecting to anywhere just because I want to play for a while. Just let me play, curse you, even if I want to play in a tent in the middle of Alaska or at the bottom of a salt mine or in a treehouse in the Amazon...

I did like the ability to recolour/repattern things - think that's the only thing I miss since I switched back. I'm happy to be back with Sims 2 and I'm already plotting what lovely things I can try to make for it again (I do a lot of trying and have very little success, but it's fun to keep going, keep learning and trying again! :) )

Edit: Oh, and I forgot to say that I still have love in my heart for Sims 1 too - nothing has come close to the joy of some of the expansions for me, even in Sims 2. Got to love a dog that pees on the crops to "help" with the gardening and the ability to kiss frogs and find a handsome prince! *wanders away singing #Cheddar Booo#* (I still whistle the postman's whistle, sometimes, too :lol: )

[Artimis]

I have played both sims 3 and sims 2, unfornately I have not got sims 2 installed yet but sims 2 is better than sims 3 as you can do more in 2 and it is much kinder to filming and storytelling. Also their is more and better cc for sims 2 unlike sims 3. I play sims 3 and unless it improves dramaticaly I will stick sims 2 and probably wo'nt change to sims 3 not matter what EA throws at me.

[Orilon]

The speed settings don't seem to work on vanilla Sims 3, so playing a game means I spend a lot of time sitting and waiting. Life is too short. I am told this is a bug fixed with the first patch, but there are so many different patch versions I have given up trying to find the right one. I figure I'll get one of the expansion packs eventually and let it auto-patch the game. I also don't like the way Sims 3 sims look. I prefer the Sims 2 version. The biggest lures for Sims 3 for me are the dynamic town and the more interesting approach to careers.

Each time an EP or SP is released, they release a new patch. However,given EA's history of breaking something when they fix something else, sometimes there are patches to fix what was broken in the previous patch. The most recent patch is 1.34, so if you ever are tempted to play you will need at least patch 1.34 or the patch for Diesel stuff or the patch number for Supernatural when it comes out.

[ella_in_wonderland]

I found the game much too complicated when I first started playing. I prefer the simplified Sims 2! Also, the Sims 2 offers much more in the way of snapshot-taking and ingame storytelling.

Edit: Also, the sims of Sims 3 look so weird!! Their faces are all really round and there's nothing I could do to make one with a longer face! They seem stockier, shorter, kind of chubbier (not that there's anything wrong with that chubbiness. I find the sims 2 way too skinny - but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. GO SIMS 2!)

[StrangeTownChick]

In my case, I didn't need it. I like the way Sims 2 is set up, and it works for me. There is one girl, however, who I want to make a sim of but I think really needs the "open world" of Sims 3. Her I shall make in Sims 3 as soon as I can get it on PC (because IMO the Wii version is crap and impossible to control).

[McChoclatey]

My computer is not a gaming computer. But surprisingly, it can run the Sims 2 and it's expansions well on high graphics settings.

When it comes to the Sims 3 however, it's glitch galore and a guaranteed crap-out on my computer's account. Since I have a bad graphics card, I can't play the sims 3. I've upgraded my PC to have 4 GB of RAM, but that wasn't enough apparently. First, you need money order to get a better graphics card. And then you need to know how to install it (which requires taking your computer a part). But to do that, I'd need a professional, like my aunt or my uncle to do it. But they're busy and have lives, too, not to mention that they have already tried to help me once, sitting at my computer for hours trying to get the Sims 3 to work.

It would make more sense to just spend money on a whole new gaming computer than to constantly upgrade a computer that obviously isn't fit to run a game as advanced as the Sims 3. But gaming computers still cost money, and why throw out a perfectly good computer? Especially when my parents paid a lot of money for 4GB of extra RAM to have installed on my computer? I'd rather pester my mother for a new expansion pack for the Sims 2 and keep my old computer than to put her through hell, asking for a new computer or another graphics card. She even told me she's tired of hearing about the Sims, and that if I can't get it to work, then I should just keep playing the Sims 2.

[NaeShelle]

The only thing I'm willing to spend $60 on is a purse, pair of shoes, food or some product or other for my hair. Not a computer game.

Which is exactly why I didn't switch over. For the first few months (when I was made delirious from the fumes of all of those hair products - the only time I would have considered it), it was $60 - $80 around here and I had more pressing financial concerns. Then, when I managed to be able to wrangle up a few dollars, I read so many bad reviews, I just decided it wasn't even worth it.

[MattShizzle]

From what I hear, I wouldn't buy it if it cost 10 cents.

[dinucits]

The quality of TS2 is much better than TS3 on my computer, I kind of need my game to be in high quality.
I'd need to download stuff for years to make TS3 sims look pretty.
TS3 is a lot more complicated and the game decides more things itself, and since I'm a control freak, I don't like that.
Many things that I love in TS2 are not in TS3 (yet).

[TotallySimsCrazy]

Sims 2 Quality = :)
Sims 3 Quality = :(

Sims 3 Faces are so ugly! I mean they look like someone found some Plasticine on the floor that had been steped on 100 times and put some Features & glasses on it!

No Seasons?????????

Custom Content is way better on TS2! So many files!

Sims 3 is new. Which means many PCs wouldn't run it!

You can't make custom worlds! Which realllllllly put me off!

Clothes on sims 2 are so much better!

If it wasn't for sims 2, i'd be out of 7 creations!

[maxon]

Sims 3 is new. Which means many PCs wouldn't run it!
I agree with a lot of what you said but I have to point out that this is no longer true. TS3 was released in 2009. It's three years old (more or less this month) and, by the standard of virtually every other type of game, it is old. Even by the standards of the franchise, it is past the half way mark in its run.*

*Which means the answer to anyone who tries that "you need to give it time to develop. It's no good comparing it with TS2 which is a finished game" argument with "sorry, love, it's just not going to get any better than it is now."

[Josepina]

The theme song sucks too. The S2 music you can listen to again and again. It has some style. S3 music is just nauseating.

[joandsarah77]

I actually really like the tunes that come with ShowTime for your professional singer sims. I find them quite catchy. Of course if the game didn't freeze on me and disallow my singer from actually performing at her gigs I'd like it even more! Just like EA to say look at these new cool things you can do with this game! Then turn around and break it.

But more even then that or the look of the sims (Mine barely runs without cc) is there is not the family connection. The last family I played was a mum, dad and two kids. The parents were good friends with their children when they were child age. As a teen mum taught the daughter to drive and interacted somewhat as time allowed. The kid had school and mum had her gigs and stuff so it's not like they could hang out all the time. In sims 2 I know they would have still been best friends if not friends for life. The daughter grows up and moved to the house next door. I send mum over next day to give her a present for the house and get the pop up "I don't know you well enough" :wtf: Also she can't give her daughter a hug and they aren't friends. Even after four social interactions she isn't known well enough. I quit playing them right then and there. It seems either I can have a family who stay close if that’s all I concentrate on or parents who have careers who aren’t even friends with their kids. Teaching the kid all their toddler skills, helping with homework, family meals and learning to drive seem to count for nothing. With this same family the parents seemed reasonably close. They would autonomously flirt and stuff. Dad rolled up a whoohoo want and I get something saying “he doesn’t know anyone well enough” argg! It's this lack of family connectives that disappoints me more than anything.

[lil bag2]

With all the expansions and a buttload of mods(big thanks to Twallan), the Sims 3 isn't so bad anymore. I play them both now but the only thing that I like to do on the sims 3 more than I do on the sims 2 is build houses. As far as gameplay is concerned, I stick with 2 most of the time. With the open environment and Story Progression under control (again, thank you Twallan) the sims 3 gameplay isn't SO bad. But I feel like I spend all of my time fulfilling their wishes, completing opportunities, and helping them get promoted rather than actually goofing around with the family like I can do in the sims 2.

[lovebirds45]

when the sims 2 stopped working on my computer I basically quit. But then i heard of sims 3, so....I gave it a try. I got hooked for maybe a day or two and got bored again. When I got a lap top i decided that maybe sims 2 would still work...but on a diffrent computer. So I installed the very first sims 2 (Duh) and gave it a try. Then BOOM! It worked! :gjob: It had no pauses or lagg! :anime: So that's why i never stopped playing sims 2...Because it still works!! :beer:

[ButchSims]

Sims 2 Quality = :)
Sims 3 Quality = :(

Sims 3 Faces are so ugly! I mean they look like someone found some Plasticine on the floor that had been steped on 100 times and put some Features & glasses on it!

No Seasons?????????

Custom Content is way better on TS2! So many files!

Sims 3 is new. Which means many PCs wouldn't run it!

You can't make custom worlds! Which realllllllly put me off!

Clothes on sims 2 are so much better!

If it wasn't for sims 2, i'd be out of 7 creations!I would just like to point out that you CAN make custom worlds. true, it may be a bit harder, but it can be done. And as for faces, well, you can make sims look like anything you want, using the right sliders...

[lovebirds45]

Ok, well, i'll admit that I did change to sims 3 but after i saw how the sims 2 was better I never went back there again.

[Josepina]

I would just like to point out that you CAN make custom worlds. true, it may be a bit harder, but it can be done. And as for faces, well, you can make sims look like anything you want, using the right sliders...

Is there a way to fix the tree stump necks and long dangling arms?

[ButchSims]

Is there a way to fix the tree stump necks and long dangling arms?arms, maybe, I dunno. but there IS a neck slider out there somewhere

[Darby]

Or the ridiculous wide-legged stance?

I can imagine maybe getting used to the faces in time, but the way Sims 3 sims stand and move makes me want to throttle someone.

[Josepina]

They are painfully slow too.

Whiterider made a neck thickness slider but it hasn't been available for a long time.

[Liv Lukas]

Or the ridiculous wide-legged stance?

I can imagine maybe getting used to the faces in time, but the way Sims 3 sims stand and move makes me want to throttle someone.

I HATE HATE HATE that damned hipcock thing they do. I HATE IT.

They walk like they have a rolling pin up their ---.

[Darby]

Yes, HATE! 1000 agrees! Legs splayed wide, hips forward, arms weirdly back and dangling - who the hell decided that "look" is anything other than violence-inspiring? :alarm:

And since we're on a good harangue, their interactions with each other are awfully stilted and unnatural. Sims 2 sims do a certain amount of "docking" (finding the perfect position in relation to each other or an object), but what I've seen of it, it looks far worse in Sims 3.

Oh, and ohmygod, a Sims 3 mom in labor is ridiculously weird. They moan and cry while having contractions, then just stand like a bump on a log with arms hanging in between. Worse is the reaction of observers. You'd think she was being axe murdered, the way observing sims scream. SCREAM!!!

Playing Sims 3 would do very bad things for my blood pressure, let me tell you.

[TotallySimsCrazy]

The theme song sucks too. The S2 music you can listen to again and again. It has some style. S3 music is just nauseating.

Yeah I Agree. The music on S3 is like The Sims Freeplay for the iPhone!

Also, Sims 3 is kinda like Sims Freeplay with a couple of other things added!

I would just like to point out that you CAN make custom worlds. true, it may be a bit harder, but it can be done. And as for faces, well, you can make sims look like anything you want, using the right sliders...

i know you can make worlds But all That going and downloading the software, installing, then taking forever.

[lovebirds45]

I don't think my computer can handle it.
The Sims aren't as pretty.
I have heard quite a few disappointed reviews and people switching back to TS2.
I love TS2.
I've become quite attached to my characters.


That's what happend to me. When i played TS3 It made me miss TS2 and my sims even more. My sister still plays Sims 3, but i think she is only in it for the horses.... :faceslap:

[TotallySimsCrazy]

That's what happend to me. When i played TS3 It made me miss TS2 and my sims even more. My sister still plays Sims 3, but i think she is only in it for the horses.... :faceslap:

Yeah Same Here! My Sister Loves Sims 3! I'm Like "why It's So Boring!"

I Can never Get The Sims Right like i did in sims 2!

[xptl297]

Some of my friends tried TS3 and reported back that I could never play it. It is sort of "give you tasks and time to accomplish them". Well, my (real) cat got sick and should take medicine regularly at exact time. Well, he died! I'm very sorry but if it was me instead of him that had to comply with exact timing, well, I would be dead!
I started to play Sims because of TS1. It was really charming and even today I have sort of feeling experience when I hear the original sound track. It was something in it that it was magic. We abandoned TS1 because it was really obsolete because TS2 was sort of a pain. They could move better and more autonomously but even today they get trapped between two chairs, pee themselves when there are 5 toilets free in the house, use absolutely boring objects up to drop dead, invite guests or bring a friend home and don't even try to contact them. You put kids together and they are only interested to contact adults, babies are a bore, family sims are the worst parents ever and are more suitable to be prosts, there are vampires and not a totally night hood like the Making Magic, etc, etc. Besides, when we played TS1 we were 5 players, each one with own game complete set. The total price paid was about Kr 15000,- As soon as TS2 was launched, the whole TS1 was for sale for Kr 500,00 and we felt as total idiots that threw Kr 14500, out of the window.
Besides, we play a game because of what the game is. Would you still be interested on football if suddenly they decide that you will kick the ball with your butt instead of your feet? What about Buttball World Championship? If they were not interested to continue a line, they could open old TS to the community development. Ha-Ha! The Sims 2 was too big for a normal CD but extremely small to fill a DVD, so if you could take out all the junk from the game, you could exchange it with your friends in a stick memory. I have been creating for TS2 all over these years and if I compress my downloads folder into a zip I cannot still fill an old CD.
I got a super computer (i7, 3.5 Ghz, 24GB RAM) to play TS2. It loads in 30 seconds and can play for 5 hours by self without crashing.
Besides I'm crazy, have no sense for timing, hate to be commanded, get easily bored and change everything everyday. Can you do this with TS3?

[LaurellKH]

I cannot afford TS3. Some money has to go to food and pay bills. And where I live all women have lost government hospital insurance so time to spend less on games and more on sickness fund.

[xptl297]

Sincerely sorry to hear. In fact I started to play games to scape the reality. My spouse is right now upstairs and watch the news, I can't. I fall in the deepest depression only to hear that everything is going wrong and no one can do a thing about it. So, I prefer to be together with my computer that helps me keep a little bit of the sanity I still have. Because probably soon, all of us will be in the same boat and with the degree of violence that became "normal" in the present human society, I doubt any game will make us blind. Sincerely sorry, I take the game as time killing.
I'm old and has worked my shirt sweat to have a brighter future. I look outside and see dark clouds, so I enjoy the time left.

[DeLoure]

I have The Sims 3, actually. All EPs and SPs (except for that damned Katy Perry SP). The reason I ran back to Pleasantview is because ... well, TS3 is getting on my nerves. I just don't have the patience for it right now. Plus, TS2 runs like a dream on my computer - even though I need to clean it out and all that jazz.

[Sof_m9]

I have The Sims 3, actually. All EPs and SPs (except for that damned Katy Perry SP). The reason I ran back to Pleasantview is because ... well, TS3 is getting on my nerves. I just don't have the patience for it right now. Plus, TS2 runs like a dream on my computer - even though I need to clean it out and all that jazz.

I've also got all expansion packs except Showtime and I have mixed feelings about Sims 3. There are aspects about it that I can't stand but there are others that I really like. I'm giving it another chance and am enjoying it more (really can't wait for Supernatural to come out!!) but I'm already missing my Sims 2 too much. :) My main problem with Sims 3 are the lack of little details such as bending over to the floor to pick things up, placing and taking dishes from the table, the way these animations were done it looks like objects are being teleported to the Sims hand.
Not being able to open car doors to get inside, not checking in to the hotel desk (when on vacation)
What I really like are:
The graphics and the atmosphere I can create using the fog emitter,
Parents reading children a bedtime story as they drift off to sleep, telling children to go to bed, go to school, to do homework, clean the dishes and then complimenting them for it,
The animation of playing with the mirror (I find it really funny) ;)
Ice-cream maker, ice-cream truck,
the tree houses,
the trampoline,
Etc.

I wish Sims 2 had all that. When I'm with Sims 2 I also find myself missing those items lol!

[mickey461]

I would just like to point out that you CAN make custom worlds. true, it may be a bit harder, but it can be done. And as for faces, well, you can make sims look like anything you want, using the right sliders...True you can get the right sliders for every part of the body but you shouldn,t have too. More complicated than the game needs to be or should be. :faceslap:

[Sof_m9]

True you can get the right sliders for every part of the body but you shouldn,t have too. More complicated than the game needs to be or should be. :faceslap:

It's not complicated lol. ;) All you have to do is drag the cc files to your Downloads or Mods folder.

[labellavienna]

I think she meant that after 2 very successful predecessors and countless expansion packs/stuff packs...EA should have gotten the gist of what the Sims' weaker points and stronger points are-- and should have expounded (and greatly improved upon) those key weaknesses.

Finding quick fixes are easy, just like the Sims 2 (it only took 8 years for modders to come up with every single fix/hack/mod to repair this game!) expanded greatly throughout the years...but what made the sims 2 amazing were the modders and the creators...they fundamentally revolutionized what this game is and was.

But the truth is...it shouldn't have been this way, EA should have fixed everything that was wrong with the Sims 2 (and made them better) and instead of tweaking the superficial things for the Sims 3, they should have listened to their most loyal fans and visited sites like Modthesims and GOS to get ideas.

I feel if this were to be the case-- TS3 would be a greater game than what it is currently.

[Lerf1950]

I suspect it's because EAs test marketing group consisted of teenagers and 20-somethings. I know every time I went to one of their polls the second I checked my age as over 45 it immediately thanked me for taking the poll and ended.

So all they got was, I wanna be able to see them go to work, I wanna see them go to a friends house, etc. etc. As a result the rest of us, who actually play the game for more than a couple of weeks, got stuck with a game where you walk around and get told what your Sims just did. And it's just as boring as I expected it would be.

[BeckyBoo8]

Just never interested me. I love Sims 2 :)

[mickey461]

It's not complicated lol. ;) All you have to do is drag the cc files to your Downloads or Mods folder.When I said complicated it is when you need 2 types of folders to install downloaded stuff. 1 by the sims3 installer straight into the game other by messing about with downloads folder you have to create for each individual expansion & making sure all the codes match up.More complicated than extracting a rar file & putting folder or package into your game regardless of your expansion packs. :cry:

[gazania]

I think she meant that after 2 very successful predecessors and countless expansion packs/stuff packs...EA should have gotten the gist of what the Sims' weaker points and stronger points are-- and should have expounded (and greatly improved upon) those key weaknesses.

Finding quick fixes are easy, just like the Sims 2 (it only took 8 years for modders to come up with every single fix/hack/mod to repair this game!) expanded greatly throughout the years...but what made the sims 2 amazing were the modders and the creators...they fundamentally revolutionized what this game is and was.

But the truth is...it shouldn't have been this way, EA should have fixed everything that was wrong with the Sims 2 (and made them better) and instead of tweaking the superficial things for the Sims 3, they should have listened to their most loyal fans and visited sites like Modthesims and GOS to get ideas.

I feel if this were to be the case-- TS3 would be a greater game than what it is currently.

Exactly. I did notice that EA "borrowed" certain mods, hacks and meshes on this and other free sites to use for the later EA Sims 2 releases and Sims 3, such as apartments. It's their right to do so. Nothing wrong about that.

But it almost seemed as if they glossed over the comments on these downloads and Sims boards. It would have given them a much better feel for what people hoped for in Sims 3, I believe.

Sims 3 could have been a game that would have made people say, "Sims 2? What Sims 2?" .... kind of like how most people felt about Sims 2 after Sims 1. (Not all, but most.) It didn't do that, no matter how hard EA tries.

[M.M.A.A.]

Sims 3 could have been a game that would have made people say, "Sims 2? What Sims 2?" .... kind of like how most people felt about Sims 2 after Sims 1. (Not all, but most.) It didn't do that, no matter how hard EA tries.

Let's hope it stays like that, since they are releasing a new Seasons EP now with aliens. :(

[Orilon]

When I said complicated it is when you need 2 types of folders to install downloaded stuff. 1 by the sims3 installer straight into the game other by messing about with downloads folder you have to create for each individual expansion & making sure all the codes match up.More complicated than extracting a rar file & putting folder or package into your game regardless of your expansion packs. :cry:

...the heck are you talking about? Yes you need set up a mods folder to put package files in, but its not by expansion. I have all my package files in one package folder and it works for all the expansions I have.


I just heard about the release of Sims 3 of Seasons with aliens. I'm tempted to get it, but I'm worried about the effect of weather over the whole world. Lag anyone?

[mickey461]

...the heck are you talking about? Yes you need set up a mods folder to put package files in, but its not by expansion. I have all my package files in one package folder and it works for all the expansions I have.


I just heard about the release of Sims 3 of Seasons with aliens. I'm tempted to get it, but IT'm worried about the effect of weather over the whole world. Lag anyone?Then you were or are lucky some of the cc content I got had to go in separate folders in each ep to show up in the game.,which did work .I am going on when world of adventure & high end stuff pack came out, I also had problems with regional codes to because my games were either UK in US box or Visa Versa.It meant that I had to change codes in the registration so the game would work without borking.Believe me I was among many people that had these problems.I got the game when it first came out patching problems ,regional codes & bad cc content were the norm then so I went back to sims 2 & never regretted it.
:wtf:

[jenieusa]

Then you were or are lucky some of the cc content I got had to go in separate folders in each ep to show up in the game.,which did work .I am going on when world of adventure & high end stuff pack came out, I also had problems with regional codes to because my games were either UK in US box or Visa Versa.It meant that I had to change codes in the registration so the game would work without borking.Believe me I was among many people that had these problems.I got the game when it first came out patching problems ,regional codes & bad cc content were the norm then so I went back to sims 2 & never regretted it.
:wtf:

Wow...i dont remember ever having to seperate downloads by Ex/st pack....even in the beginning...its always just went into the mods/packages folder...even before EA moved it...

[Saturnfly]

It's not complicated lol. ;) All you have to do is drag the cc files to your Downloads or Mods folder.

Installing custom lots is a bit more complicated, though, in TS2 you just double click to install, or install with clean installer where you can see every bit of CC that's included.
I remember trying to install a lot for the first time in Sims 3, I kept double clicking and double clicking, waiting, waiting, lol. Even after learning how to do it properly, I often forget and get annoyed that it won't just bloody install.

I have also experienced a lot more crashing due to bad CC in TS3, I've only got maybe 40mb's, and even some stuff downloaded from here made my game crash.
Have only experienced one crash with TS2, though, with about 4GB's of downloads.

IDK, it does seem more complicated with CC in TS3, they could have just left it how it was for the sake of those who have a well crafted routine. That does sound a bit precious, though, doesn't it, lol.

[The SimWhisperer]

I didn't switch to Sims 3 for a few reasons.
1) I had already invested a lot of money in Sims 2, that I didn't want to invest in Sims 3 when it first came out.
2) I've heard it takes a long time to get anything patched.
3) I was really thinking about getting it, when they added horses to the game, but learned my computer couldn't handle it. I'm not buying a new computer for at least another year or so.
4) I started reading the comparisons from players whom played both Sims 2 and 3. And what struck me, was most players of Sims 3, that switched back to Sims2, often said that they got bored very quickly with Sims 3. Which, had me concerned, seeing that I've been playing Sims 2 since 2004, and it still holds my attention. If I'm going to play a game and invest in ep's, I expect that game to keep me interested for many years!
5) I didn't like the sound of not being in control of my game. I like playing mulitple families, and hearing that household continues on, while I'm not playing it, is a big no no in my opinion.
6) I thought many of the face templates in Sims 2 were weird, but seeing Sims 3 face templates, makes me reconsider my original opinion on Sims 2 templates....
7) I build everything, and I heard that building options in Sims 3 are limited, or difficult to accomplish.
8) Why have beaches, if Sims can't swim in them anymore?
9) I've heard Sims 3 is more about quests, then about wants and fears. I like my Sims to be an open ended game. If I want to do tasks, or quests, or something that has an end result, I'd do a challenge of some kind. And also, again, I want control over my game!

There's probably more, but I'll think I leave it at that!

[M.M.A.A.]

2) I've heard it takes a long time to get anything patched.


True, because it can sometimes be as large as 1 GB to download.

[simprobable]

My video card is too dumb to handle anything beyond the base game and the base game itself is rather short on objects compared to TS2.

[gummilutt]

1. I refuse to give EA more money. I already spent double money for the same ideas with Sims 1 -> Sims 2, and SIms 3 is not special enough for me to want to buy the same thing again. If they had been original in their EPs and done totally new things, I might have considered it, but they just re-make the same thing with new graphics.

2. The graphics are AWFUL and make me want to barf. Every sim face looks fat, even though it's not. Balloon-faces, no thank you.

3. I am perfectly happy with Sims 2. I have modded it to work in ways I want it to, I have clothes/hair/accessories that make it fun. No reason to switch just because there is something else out there.

I am rather loyal to things I like. I don't switch my phone until the old one is totally dead (usually takes 4-5 years), and I play the same games for a very long time.

That was why I didn't get it when it started. Having since read about how it actually works, I am absolutely never getting it. This is due to

1. Open hood. Sure, less loading is great, but it also means it is constantly more draining. I rather have it lag at loading than have it lag always.

2. Households continue while I am not playing them. Oh hell no. I decide what happens, not the game.

[Charmful]

I'm just not done playing Sims 2 yet! I JUST bought Bon Voage, I' know, I'm five years too late on everything, But I do think Sims 2 look better, and after all the cc hunting and modding I have the game working like I want. PLUS I am not interested in the way it's open hood in TS3. It's great that they all age at the same pace but If I'm concentrating on playing/following one family, I don't want to miss out on watching another one of my families develop and grow up :(

[AlexandraSpears]

I just got Sims 3 a few days ago...and while I love a lot of the features in it...if it weren't for the pudding faces I'd enjoy it a bit more. I got the base game because it was only $20 at Game Stop (it was $50 for the base game when it first came out) and I figured, why not?

If you took the best features of 2 and combined them with 3...it'd be a really awesome game.

If you like playing just one family, Sims 3's story progression is okay. Multiple families, it's best to stick with 2.

I've been playing Sims 2 since 2009 so yeah I'm a bit late on things myself. :)

[Lili975]

For me, it has been from a beginning and still is a visual thing, Sims 3 are just ugly, and common, they look like any other 3D pixel, unlike Sims 2 (I'm talking the bare pudding, here, I'm not saying that players can't make beautiful pics with TS3 with a lot of skill, work, and CC).

There's also a bit of anti-consumerism and hatred of the Big Brother aspect that goes with Origin and having to log in all the time and pay real money for everything, but mostly, it's their ugly bodies and bubble-heads, really.

[Misty_2004]

I did change to Sims 3. I kept finding myself looking for something more fun to do, like maybe cleaning my toilet (I hate cleaning toilets).

Okay, so I got this far in reading but have to run, and I have to say I resemble this remark. Not necessarily with TS3 but with a number of things that are supposed to be fun. When I find myself wanting to do housework instead of playing a game I know there's something very wrong.

At any rate, I'm going to post but not on my behalf, as TS3 is currently the only Sims game installed on my computer (have been meaning to change that as soon as I can because I do want to reinstall Sims 2).

Anyway, one weekend when my daughter was home for school I asked her if she wanted to try TS3. Being a long-time Sims lover (she started playing the original right after I did and she was about twelve then--then later migrated to Sims 2) she said sure! She played for a while and never again. Last fall she called me and said, "Hey, guess what! I just got Sims 2 Deluxe at a thrift shop for five bucks!" She was SOOO excited! The next weekend she was home she spent most of her spare time downloading mods and what-nots. Come Christmas expansion packs for Sims 2 was one of the two things on her wish list.

As I said, I'm wanting to reinstall it as well, just have been working as much as possible on finishing my Sims 3 world. I don't want to totally give up Sims 3 but I do want to see if I still have any love left for my TS2 game--shoot, for all I know by now some of the magic might even be back. I know I THINK I do and would never have uninstalled it except at the time my computer couldn't hold both. One thing I know for sure is there are definitely things about TS2 I liked WAY better than TS3 and vice versa. Oddly enough, some of the things I love in TS3 I also hate. Like the CASt tool. I love being able to decorate everything to match but dad-gum, it takes umpteen hours to decorate a house!

Anyway, must run!

[ansleon]

Technically, I guess, I am also a TS3 player. Except I haven't played it in months. I bought University Life and haven't even taken the wrap off the package; and since I've read up on how it's working for people, I'm totally turned off by just those descriptions seeing as how it doesn't have any of the stuff from TS2 Uni that I love, and so many things I'd hate. E.g., I adore dorms in TS2, but I know for a fact I'd hate them in TS3--only 8 sims, no dorm cook, stupid routing and stupid puddings.

Likewise I love the sound of "Island Paradise" or whatever it's going to be called, but I just know it's going to be full of fail. So I'm not sure I even want to buy that expansion.

Meantime, I play TS2 on a daily basis and continue to love it.

[ieta_cassiopeia]

There are two reasons why The Sims 3 has never seen the inside of my house.

1) My computer is waaaaay too slow for Sims 3. Granted, my machine isn't (yet) a museum piece, but nobody with sense would call it a modern gaming machine. It's not exactly a bullet train running The Sims 2 (in fact, when all EPs are installed it barely meets minimum criteria in a couple of areas, and misses MTS2's suggested minimums in the video card department). Hardly surprising when parts of my computer are older than The Sims 1 (secondary hard drive and one CD-Rom from 1999, keyboard and floppy drive from 1997...). Asking it to run The Sims 3 would probably result in my computer collapsing in laughter at such a ridiculous request.

Incidentally, I agree with gummilutt on phones. My current phone/PDA was bought six years ago last week, and when it was temporarily missing a couple of years back (in the least competent mobile phone theft I've ever heard about), I went on eBay and got the exact same model. My philosophy on technology in general is "don't replace it until it's unfixable or there's a true need for an upgrade".

2) I played a console version at Meadowhall when EA was promoting The Sims 3. They had 3 demonstrator machines set up - the PS3 version (the one I played), one for Wii and another for XBox. I found the game sluggish (even compared to my barely-on-minimum-spec machine playing Sims 2), charmless and the much-vaunted "open neighbourhood" concept didn't work. It just kept trying to load when my Sim left his home lot, and never actually loaded. I couldn't find the person in charge of the demonstrator to report the problem, so all I could do was accept that this game hadn't really appealled to me at first blush.

Now, I was pretty resistant to The Sims 2 initially because I'd loved The Sims 1 and worry somewhat about change. However, with The Sims 2, I had the benefit of being able to read reviews that reassured me that the bits I worried about the most (aging, graphics effects that looked too fancy - note that The Sims 2 was the first true 3D game I'd considered playing - and wants/fears) could be turned off or ignored without losing too much of the game. (And then, of course, I found that those things were among the things that converted me off Sims 1 permanently!)

I have no idea how one would turn off "charmless" because it is so subjective. Furthermore, the inability to code decent speed or reliability of a game that was supposed to work on a console - something much simpler than a PC due to the fact you can rely on the specification being the same for all the devices of a given model - made me fear that the PC version was going to be completely broken. Thankfully, it emerged that TS3 was at least functional, but I still didn't see the point of getting a new computer just to get TS3. Especially after the kerfuffle with custom content around the time of TS3's first EP.

I can see how TS3 would be attractive to a certain kind of player. It just so happens that for several reasons, that "kind of player" is not me. I'm absolutely fine with this because TS2 is a great game and its replayability is really high. Besides, as long as there are keen coders improving The Sims 2, it'll always be an ever-changing, ever-improving product, with love and care and attention lavished onto it. Much like an old teddy bear.

[ZestuFan]

I think the sims 2 is more fun. I like playing The sims 2 but i also play The sims 3. So i guess i basically like both. But my number 1 fav is Sims 2.

[d_dgjdhh]

I didn't change to The Sims 3 because I didn't feel the game was much different from The Sims 2. Sure, open neighborhood concept, it's great...And then traits? Sure...but it's graphically similar. Not very new in the way game play is done. I don't know, why make the investment into something new when it's not very different from its predecessor?

My biggest problem would be that EA knows when they eventually release a new Sims franchise (e.g. Sims 4), they're gonna make expansion pack after expansion pack...the actual cost of the game will be several hundreds of dollars, and by luck it'll probably be online-always, because they want everything to be more social, blah, blah, blah.

I didn't invest in Sims 3 because I've already done that with Sims 1 and Sims 2. Sims 1 was amazing until Sims 2 came out, but Sims 2 had new graphics and game play experience that made the investment worth it. Sims 3, not so much for me. So no money from me from my wallet/bank account for EA. Quite disappointed with the reviews and video game play seen on YouTube for SimCity 2013, so no money for them on that too.

[PenelopeT]

I actually did change to the Sims 3, the day it was released in June 2009.

I'd stopped playing the Sims 2, somewhere around the time Apartment Life had been released, and only got back into it for a short while, when Mansion & Garden was released. By the end of 2008, I'd given up on TS2...again. I'd just been too excited about the upcoming newer version of the Sims, and was ready to move on.

Then, there was a delay in the release of TS3. That almost sent me back to playing TS2. But instead, I played TS1 for a bit, as well as some other games to hold me over. Finally, TS3 was released. From day one, the one thing that roped me in, was the beauty of the surroundings. The sunset, sunrise, movement of the trees, the faint sound of wind blowing, the water....oh the water (have always been a in game picture taking addict...so these things were a huge plus). The customizing tool was a big selling point as well. However, lots of other things didn't wow me. The Sims themselves, the almost non existent awareness they had, the available interaction options, and the lack of actual game content.

Despite all of the cons, I tried to make it work, I'd been a Sims fan since the release of the first Sims. So, I didn't want to just give up.

So, long story short, after buying all of the EP's and SP's up through Pets, buying all of the store content up til that point as well, and even getting a new gaming laptop (just for the Sims 3), I finally had enough in 2011...and walked away (uninstalled TS3 and offered to give the games away for free). I'd had it with the direction EA was going with the game, the way they did business overall, the mirco-transactions, the lack of quality control and so many other things that bugged me. It was past time to walk away.

So, I vowed to never purchase another EA distributed game (on any platform)...or spend any money on anything else with their name attached to it (It's amazing how easy it's been to keep this vow).

By the late 2011, I'd pulled out my TS2 games, and had started the big search for TS2 fansites and content. Finding that during my almost four year hiatus, that the game now had so much more to offer, and that the modding community had really taken the game to a whole new level, was more than a treat.

So, I am back to playing the Sims 2, and loving every minute of it! Just glad that I'd not sold, or given away my copies of the TS1 or TS2 games.

[MattShizzle]

Yep - sims3 looks like crap for everything said so far and if the recent version of SC is any indication no way will I buy Sims 4. I refuse to subject myself to Origin, spyware, online play, etc. Maybe if they don't have that and the Sims look more realistic/less cartoony than Sims 2 and definitely not the balloon-faces of Sims 3 - especially if they keep the things like any recolor within game from 3 and improve graphics even more - or especially things like gradual aging and actual English (or other language for other places) rather than Simlish. If not, hey I had fun with Sims 2 without using any EPs or SPs from Sep 2004 until late Sep 2012 and by then end of 2012 had all EPs and All SPs except the holiday one - so even if there isn't new CC (which there will be) I could probably have fun with it for the next 20 years, or maybe even more.

[joandsarah77]

I have both installed, if you can call base game Sims 3 and only two EP's having the game installed. I have the disks, just the more I add the worse the whole thing looks. Diesel is still in it's wrapper. For me Sims 3 lacks everything that is most important in a sims game while offering some great things which ultimately aren't important at all. Kind of like here's the icing, sorry I took your cake. The game looks pretty (so long as I don't install any more then 2 ep's) As PenelopT said the trees and the water are beautiful. But I'm not playing scenery, that's just the background. Open world? great idea but not if I can't go inside the restaurant and make my own shops. Design tool, great! But not when I have to put a hash number in 10 times to make the room match. (or am I missing something there?) I spend as long decorating a room in TS3 and I do in TS2 and when I am done it's dark. I can't figure out why the walls are always so dark and I can't zoom in as the sims disappear. Not that I really want to get too close to them because then I might have to look at their ugly faces.The sims fall far far short of what they could and should have been. They should have been an improvement on what we already had with the sims 2. They should have looked better and had the same but more reactions and interactions. There should have been both personality points and traits. Instead they looked bad and there interactions and reactions fell far far short of expectations, and no amount of petty or new gimmicks will fix that. It could have been a great game but EA messed it up. I remember going 'whoa' at the first screen shots, firstly wow look at that scenery and then I focused in on those sims picnicking on the blanket and went "Eww" That opinion hasn't changed.

[ttowntallyho]

I think Will Wright did an interview and explained why he didn't use an actual language. The conversations would be very limited and would get boring fast. Imagine every time a sim told another a dirty joke, it was the same one each time (or one of 5 or 10 programmed). It would be dumb after awhile. With simlish and the thought bubbles, the player can imaging hundreds of different dirty jokes and is not limited to those 5 or 10 or whatever fixed number there is.

The main thing that killed TS3 for me was the way the sims looked (like most people have already said) and the routing, at least in the base game. My sim would approach a set of stairs, pause and reset stance, walk up the stairs, pause and reset stance, then continue walking. That was really annoying to me. But I loved loved LOVED the story progression. I tend to play only one family at a time in TS2 and I would love if the rest of the neighborhood evolved with my family. I also loved being able to visit another sim's house. But I just couldn't get past the way they looked and the routing, so I gave up on it. Now I just use the blender to progress my neighborhood in TS2.

[MattShizzle]

^ Possibly. It would also be hard to have the lips match the words in dozens of languages - not to mention actual dirty jokes might raise the game to an "M" rating - though if it got rid of stupid barbie skins and the blur that would be a positive rather than a negative. Of course - at least in Sims 2 - that's an incredibly easy thing to find mods to fix if you want. It is kind of funny imagining what the dirty joke is with the bubbles (OK - this guy is skiing - it starts raining - and he goes to jail! And there's a cow involved!) I never play the same house twice in a row - always move around - and get bored with a neighborhood after 2 or 3 months at most. In fact, I name the houses "1", "2", etc now (I used to name them the date I finished building them) and play them in order - occasionally skipping a house or so. I don't like the idea of playables aging while not being played - but I like the idea for townies - as I do for how it happens if you have FT for sims 2.

[Fivey]

I have Sims 3, and I rarely play it. I'm not particularly interested in it, although I just have BG installed. It crashes too much for me to stay focused, and it's all rather bland.

[ohgreatone22]

I didn't change to TS3 because:

1. All the sims faces look like balloons (like other people have said)
2. I like to play different families and build relationships between them, in TS3, you can only play one family while the other families have babies, move out and do things without you directing them.
3. I spent all this money on TS2, why would I shell out more money for a game that's not even finished yet? That brings me to:
4. There's so many bugs with each expansion that comes out and it takes EA forever to release a patch that fixes it, and when they do, the patch they release breaks something else in the game
5. There's no true vacation EP, I've been watching AndrewArcade's World Adventures LP on youtube and I hate how it's not even a vacation based EP, you just do a whole bunch of quests and it gets really boring.
6. The open neighborhood is cool and all, but what fun is it if you can't even see your sims go in the shop, school, hospital, restaurant, etc. Rabbitholes are annoying.
7. The university EP is cool and all, but I don't like that they only included one university, so if you attach a university to another world, you'll see the same university NPC's.

There's probably more, but that's it for now. I only know about some of the things from TS3 from watching AndrewArcade's LP's on youtube and his livestreams, but I think I'll stay with TS2 for now.

[aquarius2]

I did change to TS3 for awhile. In fact, until a few weeks ago, I barely ever even played TS2- only a few times when I was little and I didn't get much accomplished because I had no idea what I was doing. But I knew it was fun, and later when I heard they were making a Sims 3 I was very excited for it. I bought it the first day it came out, and I loved it. However, as time went on, I noticed a lot of general dissatisfaction with my game that never seemed to go away- no matter how pretty I made my sims with all the nice cc out there (and not to mention the complicated things you have to do to install cc/mods or make your own cc left a bad taste in my mouth). Well, I still liked the game an awful lot and I started reading the Sims Wiki an awful lot and obviously that led me to pages regarding TS2 and it's expansions and man, so many things just sounded so cool, there were so many things that I wanted in TS2 but couldn't have in TS3. I think what finally made me go back and find my old copies of TS2 (and aquire all the EPs and SPs) was a thread I read on The Sims 3 website forum- the one where the OP talks about the reasons why TS3 sims seem so lifeless and empty (having to do with their lack of personality points and responses to things, instead trading it in for traits which are little more than perks and moodlets which are simply temporary buffs.) I started playing TS2 again and for my playstyle I just couldn't be happier. I tend to want to know my Sims very intimately, to treat them as a unique character and person, and there are so many little details in TS2 that cater to that- the full and varied personalities, the zodiac signs that actually mean something, how your sim shows how they feel rather than tells you via text over a moodlet, all their little interests and hobbies, and of course the chemistry/attraction system which I just love. How they get real memories that aren't just annoying spam and that tell a story of their life and are the things they'll talk to other sims about. There are some elements of this in TS3, but they're not nearly as clear to the user and like other things in Sims 3 (cough cough rabbitholes) they're less really there and more just text. Plus it's much more user-friendly when it comes to creating custom content and installing mods, everything you need is just right there, it even includes BodyShop which is wonderful. The Sims 3 is still a very fun game, and I do still play it, but it's a different kind of game. It's not an improved evolution to TS2, like TS2 was to TS1, it's really just a very different game, and I can respect that. But, as far as what I look for in a Sim game, I prefer The Sims 2, and it's what I play the most now. :up:

Edit: Oh yeah, and one of the biggest things for me is the fact that Sims 3 sims somehow move so much slower, traveling is a huge pain and so much time is wasted because they just don't seem to move as fast as related to the speed of time as TS2 sims do.

[simonem]

One thing that has annoyed me since the start with it is the word 'buff'.

That's what I do to my car or my nails, not anything to do with my game. I thought English was my first language even if I am Australian, so it had me scratching my head a bit.

But that's nothing compared to the intense irritation I get when I see a bunch of them standing around all slumped over staring into the distance then whipping out the same book they've read fifty times in favour of actually interacting with anyone else.

I lived in hope of a meteor strike for about a week, then gave up and uninstalled the damn thing.

[Rokazzz]

I prefer sims 2, because, because i don't know, for me it is just better :D :lovestruc

[ieta_cassiopeia]

One thing that has annoyed me since the start with it is the word 'buff'.

That's what I do to my car or my nails, not anything to do with my game. I thought English was my first language even if I am Australian, so it had me scratching my head a bit.

"Buff", as The Sims 3 uses it, is a role-playing game term, originally used in Dungeons and Dragons. Maybe that explains everything...

[simmer22]

I do play TS3 once in a while, but the reason I haven't changed? I still love sims 2 more than I can ever love sims 3!
The sims are prettier, especially babies and toddlers (some of my favorite ages), and the TS3 ones look like badly moulded clay and can't do half of what they can in TS2.
As for the pets and the environment, that's something I would have taken out of TS3 and put into TS2 if I had the chance - they're the only things I like more about TS3, but not enough to convert.

I play TS3 once in a while, but despite having a slightly more evolved gameplay with surprises and whatnot, it has not been able to capture me completely. The look of the sims and the animations are my main complaints, and since my main love with the game is to take pictures and tell a story, those two are the most important complaints I've got with the game. So I'll stick with TS2. So be it that I have to be creative with the environment and have to load lots one by one - it is the most stable game (my TS3 game crashes for nothing, despite having minimal CC, and I never got the hang of patches). My TS2 game is so instinctive by now that even with the lagging and all (I've got several gigs of downloads) I don't get annoyed, because there are only two reasons the game crashes: Bad CC and out of memory. And I always know which it is and how to fix it.

[TheAussie17]

Well me and sister are incredibly unorganized and for years our sims collection has been scattered throughout the house with each of us constantly swapping and exchanging games with each other. She'd often be on sims 3 and I'd be on sims 2, then she'd ask me for the sims 1 and I'd go onto sims 3. A few weeks later she'd be on sims 2 and me on sims 1. It used to go on like this annually each summer break :) There isn't really any clear cut lines anymore on what games belong to who. She kinda used to own them all and I was like the young apprentice but she's pretty much moved on and I'm in charge.

Anyway, I'd be on sims 3 probably but like I said, I'm changing games like every 3-6 months, playing sims on and off. Right now though I have almost all EP's for sims 2 but none for sims 3, so I guess they're a fair incentive for me to play. And so far I'm really enjoying it :)

[simonem]

"Buff", as The Sims 3 uses it, is a role-playing game term, originally used in Dungeons and Dragons. Maybe that explains everything...

That does explain a lot! I thought it was just EA at it again :lol:

You can probably tell this is the only game I play :giggler:

[Eowyn24]

I used to play sims 3.. then my game stopped working for some unknows reason so I switched back to good old sims 2. I tried sims 3 not so long ago and now it works again.. but I find it quite boring now so xD

[Katya Stevens]

I have TS3, all EPs up to Seasons (waiting for University Life to drop in price) and a small amount of store items (two worlds and a few premium items & sets). However, TS3 for me is more a game I load up and play around in for a bit before saving and exiting. I've only once got to generation 3 in the almost three years since I've had the game.

TS2, in comparison, I play a lot more and when I'm busy with something else (or should be, like this month with Camp NaNoWriMo) I have to ensure I don't spend too much time playing it as it's a time sponge. I have whole hoods I've set up with interconnected sims, and I play them all -- something I've tried and failed in TS3. No matter how many options I change on numerous mods, I'm still not happy with it. In TS2, if I leave a family I know exactly where they'll be when I load up that household again; in TS3, I feel like I'm herding cats trying to find everyone and see where they've got to and what they're doing.

Admittedly, it did take until the release of FreeTime (Feb 2008, or thereabouts) for me to really sink in to TS2 so I'm still digging in to some of the things people who've played continuously since its release have seen. Being a finished game, TS2 also has the advantage where people are really starting to dig into the coding and allow us to do various things that might not have been done had the game engine been continually added to.

[rosalinarocks232]

I tried hard to like it, but just couldn't.
All the adults, children and teenagers seem depressed, and the toddlers seem bored. In sims 2 the sims looked like they were genuinely happy. I dunno, it doesn't seem like something I would call a "Sim" game. I still feel kinda uncomfortable playing it. The past sims kinda seem more stable. Overall, I like sims 2 better. :)

[starryeyedSim]

O.K. I was a stanch resister to TS3 because in the beginning all it did was crash on my very good machine. Went back to TS2 but I stopped playing TS2 so much last year. Picked up a few EPs for TS3 and tried it again.
It was ok..but there are so many problems with it..the basic mechanics. I even got Uni.Life recently and that EP is fun..omg, I did say that..however, the basic mechanics still irk me. I really do love the open hoods, and some building materials in that game. Seeing the neighbors out and about and some things I don't have in TS2. However, it is just recently that Gurus started listening it seems and started adding back things players have been wanting for longest of time. Sims now are beginning to socialize more instead of read everywhere they go, especially none read in the Uni EP town. They actually socialize. That is what makes it 'fun'. But if you return home they all may go back to finding a book to read instead of doing things with others or using other objects. Too many mods are needed to make it work the way it should. I don't play with mods in that game. They are 'needed' where as in TS2 they are extra enhancements. That's the difference. More than half that play TS3 would never dream of trying it without their Mods that fix and reroute, and delete cloning Sims and cars and all the other lag problems...but if they would uninstall their mods they would see the basic mechanics of that game can really get on your last raw nerve. I'm still playing both..but as far as total freedom you won't find it in TS3, that's TS2's shining star. Build anything and Sims show up no matter what time..that won't happen in TS3, ever.

[starryeyedSim]

Think about it, TS3 players say their game doesn't feel complete, and they have 8 EPs. How many is it going to take? Even with TS2 finished I feel that way, however, I can play all day with just a few EPs installed or all of them. Some weren't my favorites, like FT, or the reputation system in AL, but in TS3 you are always saying..yeah but we don't have this or that, yet. 8 EPs and they still are complaining about no open restaurants, no enter the world without having to load the last saved Sim, no way to toggle night or day when entering Edit town, no way to go straight into world if to just build or make Sims from the Menu unless, must load last family Before you can Edit Town....Sims still think Sims are rude for using their toilets or cooking them a meal though they are starving. No deaths to speak about..no illness, the ones from Seasons TS3 won't 'kill' them. It's a candy coated game, imho, no aspiration failure, can't get fired, killed (you really got a work at that one) don't freeze to death just all bad moodlets.

[M.M.A.A.]

Think about it, TS3 players say their game doesn't feel complete, and they have 8 EPs.

And what frustrates me is that they keep on buying them. Just stop buying them, go back to sims 2, buy the digital version, (if possible) save the files on some disk if you think you're going to lose them. :blink:

[ani_]

And what frustrates me is that they keep on buying them.
We keep buying them because every EP brings more to the game, the same way EP's improved TS2 gameplay :)

I'm sure some people buy every EP just because it's new and it exists but many don't unless the EP brings something of interest to their game-play.

Just stop buying them, go back to sims 2, buy the digital version, (if possible) save the files on some disk if you think you're going to lose them. :blink:

As a TS3 player who enjoys the game enormously, could you please tell me why should I go back playing a game I don't find fun to play? I know you love TS2, and so many other people love it too but, if it would be a universal fact that TS2 is the best game, then shouldn't everybody just fall in love with it and never look back at TS3 again?

I think the biggest question is, why are you frustrated about people playing a game you have no interest in? I mean, it's not away from your life if we find it fun to play TS3.

[Darby]

As a TS3 player who enjoys the game enormously, could you please tell me why should I go back playing a game I don't find fun to play?

Don't go pickin' fights. You know darned well that comment wasn't directed at people who enjoy Sims 3.

Besides, this is the Sims 2 section. Is it really surprising that a lot of people here prefer Sims 2 over Sims 3?

[iCad]

I think the biggest question is, why are you frustrated about people playing a game you have no interest in? I mean, it's not away from your life if we find it fun to play TS3.

Fer th' same reasons as folks at the turn of the 20th century whined about them damn horseless carriages that spewed smoke everywhere and drove too fast, bein' all like to kill someone 'n all.

Seriously, it's the same thing. Some of us (me included, because darn sure tootin' I'm a curmudgeon) just like what we already have and see no reason for the new-fangled. And we tend to feel threatened by the new-fangled, too, just like many folks did when cars were new. Or telephones. Or cell phones. Or...whatever. There'll always be people who cling to the old. And we can just as easily turn your question around, too. Why are the 3 folks worried about us 2 folks? :)

Really, it's all personal preference. I gave 3 numerous tries and didn't like it. I realize that I COULD mod it and get expansion packs and go through all the rigamarole and then maybe I might like it more...but I don't wanna. That's what it boils down to. For me, at least.

[ansleon]

I realize that I COULD mod it and get expansion packs and go through all the rigamarole and then maybe I might like it more...

I did all this to the Nth degree and I still find TS3 disappointing and distressing. Even if TS2 didn't exist I wouldn't be playing TS3. But happily for me, TS2 does exist and I can still play it.

[marka93]

We keep buying them because every EP brings more to the game, the same way EP's improved TS2 gameplay :)



It is no where close to TS2 with the new EP/SP, the more they add to TS3 the worst it gets.
Travel bug is still there. (Not quite fix even with mods.)
If you don't use mods after about 2 weeks of play your game start to crash on you.
When you invite over Sims after in-game play of about a week they all come over with less than 20% on needs, before you can get them fed they cry about sleep or the wet them self.

No, Sims 3 is still to mess-up and EA wont fix it, I will not spend another dime on any more EA products.

[joandsarah77]

We keep buying them because every EP brings more to the game, the same way EP's improved TS2 gameplay :)

I'm sure some people buy every EP just because it's new and it exists but many don't unless the EP brings something of interest to their game-play.



As a TS3 player who enjoys the game enormously, could you please tell me why should I go back playing a game I don't find fun to play? I know you love TS2, and so many other people love it too but, if it would be a universal fact that TS2 is the best game, then shouldn't everybody just fall in love with it and never look back at TS3 again?

I think the biggest question is, why are you frustrated about people playing a game you have no interest in? I mean, it's not away from your life if we find it fun to play TS3.

That was a rhetorical question or a question aimed at people who buy and play TS3 but don't enjoy it that much, not to people who prefer TS3.
You or anyone can prefer whatever game they like. I do still wonder how those of you who do prefer TS3, how you get away from the sims AI. The way they react to each other. To me coming from TS2 it's like a great big glaring sore. I want to enjoy my Sims 3 games, I really do, but I can never get away from this fundamental lacking in the AI.
So I thought I would play through the goal EP's starting with WA. But I can't even play through WA the way I intended as I can't find away to give my sim the good Egypt adventures and no one has replied on my thread about it either. My plan was play through WA, uninstall and call that EP done and move onto Showtime. But I can't even do that with it.

[neriana]

Fer th' same reasons as folks at the turn of the 20th century whined about them damn horseless carriages that spewed smoke everywhere and drove too fast, bein' all like to kill someone 'n all.

No, it's really not the same thing.

I play brand new games all the time. I didn't just upgrade my computer so I could throw money away -- I did it so I could play new games that require a better computer than I had. I don't play games I do not enjoy. I could, yet again, reiterate why I don't enjoy Sims 3, why I think it's a far inferior game, but I'm tired of that.

I don't play Sims 3 for the same reason I don't play Master of Orion 3 or Civilization 5: I do not like it. I find the gameplay in these sequels to be not only anemic, but broken. I play Sims 2 for the same reason I play Master of Orion 2 or Civilization 4: I do like it. Newer is not necessarily better. It's also not necessarily worse.

I'm not going to stop listening to The Beatles. That doesn't mean I'm going to stop buying P!nk's albums. But the day I listen to Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift is the day I end up in hell.

[iCad]

No, it's really not the same thing.

It is for some people, like I said. I'm a curmudgeon and danged proud of it. It's why I don't really own a cell phone. I mean, I have one. It lives in my car plugged into the cigarette lighter in case the car dies when I'm on the road in the middle o' nowhere so I can call AAA. That's it. (And I don't let my Sims have 'em, either. AH-HAHAHAHAHAH!) Anyone who knows me knows if they want to talk to me and I'm not home, email me.

That said, I'm not a curmudgeon about everything. But when it comes to TS2 vs. TS3...Oh, yeah. Curmudgeon Me comes out, throws a temper tantrum, digs in her heels, and won't budge. That, and I don't like the game much, either. Some things are kind of fun. Most of it...meh.

[thismustbetheplace]

The main reason is that my computer doesn't have enough memory for the Sims 3. But there are other reasons too why I probably won't be buying it even after I get a better computer. Many of the expansion packs for Sims 3 don't look very good and don't look true to the original game. I hate how they turned World Adventures and Ambitions into goal-oriented games, when the entire point of The Sims is that it's open gameplay and that you get to set your own challenges. The Sims 1 Vacation was awesome (haven't gotten Bon Voyage yet for Sims 2 but it looks to be the same general premise as Vacation), and was supposed to represent an archetype of real life. Why did they have to turn it into some weird thing where you go exploring through ancient ruins and stuff? Like that just seems like so random of a concept to me and would not enhance my experience playing the game at all. I just want my Sims to relax on vacation, not have to try to get "Vacation Points" so they can go on a longer vacation and just explore through more ruins...what's the point? Ambitions is similar in that it becomes goal-oriented gameplay and the whole purpose of the game revolves around having jobs, instead of a more whole approach to your Sims' life. Sure it is cool to get to control them at work, but in the Sims 3 original base game you already got to do that by selecting options of working harder, talking to the boss, etc. Even in the Sims 2 there are chance cards. In Late Night too, there's those "Celebrity Points" to worry about. I see what they were trying to do there, they were trying to make the game more goal-oriented to attract a larger segment of the population (ie. people who are competitive and into games with a general purpose rather than open-ended games), but that's not what The Sims was supposed to be about, and they ended up alienating their fans that were devoted for years. The Sims has cultural staying power, but I don't feel like these expansion packs do.

Also, in the Sims 3 you can't swim in the ocean. That may sound like a tiny thing to dislike, but it bothers me for some reason.

There are lots of cool things about Sims 3, like the open neighborhood, the customization capabilities of all items in the game, the ability to rob other Sims and be homeless, being able to adjust lifespan (although you can do this in Sims 2 with cheats too), but I just wish the expansion packs were better.

(Disclaimer: I've never actually played the Sims 3, but I have watched Let's Play the Sims 3 videos on Youtube, so this is my opinion of The Sims 3 based on that.)

[Orilon]

@joandsarah77 by the time I saw your thread, I got a warning about how old it was. Are you using Twallan's Traveler mod? The updated version is more likely to give you the "bigger" adventures and not just the repeatable little ones.

I play both Sims 2 and Sims 3 and there are parts I like about Sims 3 and parts I don't like about Sims 3. One thing I don't like is the fact that I need to use Twallan's Traveler mod because EA's travel code sucks. I've lost Sims and lost the interface countless times. Sometimes I'm in the mood for an Adventure and sometimes I want to go on a Vacation more like what is available in Bon Voyage but can't because of the way they set up World Adventures.

@thismustbetheplace Sims can now swim in the ocean as of patch 1.42 and the Seasons EP.

[ani_]

Don't go pickin' fights. You know darned well that comment wasn't directed at people who enjoy Sims 3.
And how was I suppose to "darn well" know a general, "let them go back to TS2" was suppose to exclude one group of people?

Criticizing something you like doesn't mean you hate the rest of it. I'm one of those who would like to see "real" restaurants make a comeback, see OFB make a comeback, and who currently will moan about how stupid a future themed EP sounds and wish they would make something more normal than time travel. But, that doesn't mean I don't love what we currently have in TS3. People complain the most about what they love the dearest :)

Besides, this is the Sims 2 section. Is it really surprising that a lot of people here prefer Sims 2 over Sims 3?
I'm not surprised people some people prefere TS2 over TS3, I'm not even surprised that some people prefere TS1 over TS2. Just don't get all so worked up just because not everybody shares your love for the game you enjoy so much :)

joandsarah77: I honestly don't see the lacking AI you mention so often in your posts. I like how the sims interact with each other. Just yesterday one of my guys was watching tv with his wife, he was chatting with her and at the same time constantly looking between the tv and at the floor where his toddler daughter was playing. It was extremely cute him checking on on her. I wouldn't mind if EA decided to add some transition animation between the normal and flirting pose but other than that I have no complaints.

The only thing that comes to my mind about lacking AI is that if your computer can't handle the game so well then sims will tend to stand around because processing powers are distributed elsewhere. But if your computer can handle the game, the sims are extremely vivid and animated.

When I did try playing TS2 not so long a go, one thing that I actually didn't like was the roboticness of the sims. Like how they always sit exactly the same way on the couch. One of my most earliest OMG moments in TS3 was with the base game when my sims sat on the couch, and crossed his legs. I just find the sims in TS3 so much more lively and natural.

I know writing this in a TS2 section will give me sixtythousand disagrees, but this is not a flare post, or a "picking fight" post. Just my answer to a comment :beer:

[joandsarah77]

Ani, Certainly my computer wouldn't be helping. Any more then about two Sims 3 EP's installed and I noticed the graphics start going downhill. The standing thinking and kind of small bopping movement they do is a part of it, but I also don't like the pop ups such as 'Garry thinks Sandy is being flirty' I don't like that my married couple who have a decent relationship can't fulfill their whoohoo want before work and I get told 'there is no one to whoohoo with' when I click on the tub, when it was okay just the day before. That when she goes to kiss him, he stops her like she smells or something. I guess if you are used to that it might be okay, but coming over from Sims 2 that isn't. Then there is the whole long training thing with the toddlers and no sleep mats or baths and even though they seemed like good friends as kids by the time they leave home and mum goes to visit I get told 'I don't know you well enough' Normal families not dysfunctional ones. I don't see toddler siblings interact with each other, I don't see the affection between partners or kids and parents the way I am expecting to see it. I don't see the free for all fights or romances developing like I do with Sim 2.
What I'd really like is to be able to have all the EP's that I own installed and I also really wished I liked it better.

[Fivey]

Also, in the Sims 3 you can't swim in the ocean. That may sound like a tiny thing to dislike, but it bothers me for some reason.


To be fair to Sims 3, it's pretty hard to swim in the ocean in a good amount of areas irl. The closest you get to swimming in the ocean in California (where I live) is "wade around trying not to get crushed by salty fishpoop waves, or wrangled up in kelp, which feels really icky".

[Misty_2004]

Speaking (again) of the lacking AI in Sims 3, no doubt it's because all the Sims are so busy with getting here and there they don't have a lot of time for anything else. It always bothered me in Sims 2 base game that the sidewalks rolled up at 10 p.m. Night Life fixed that by bringing in the downtown area with clubs. In TS3, if I have a Sim that works a real job, just about the time they are ready to have some social life everyone else in town is headed to bed. It's been some time since I played but that just reminded me of something I really hate. I have a Sim or two that are basically night owls. If they're on their home lot and have anywhere under a half full energy bar, come 10:30 they automatically head to bed! To top that, unlike TS2 Sims where children, young adults and adults sleep until 6 a.m. with a full energy bar, TS3 Sims pop out of bed just as soon as their energy bar is full, no matter what time it is. So here you have a Sim getting up at 3 a.m. because the game forced them into bed when they weren't even tired.

I don't like that my married couple who have a decent relationship can't fulfill their whoohoo want before work and I get told 'there is no one to whoohoo with' when I click on the tub, when it was okay just the day before. That when she goes to kiss him, he stops her like she smells or something. I guess if you are used to that it might be okay, but coming over from Sims 2 that isn't. Then there is the whole long training thing with the toddlers and no sleep mats or baths and even though they seemed like good friends as kids by the time they leave home and mum goes to visit I get told 'I don't know you well enough' Normal families not dysfunctional ones. I don't see toddler siblings interact with each other, I don't see the affection between partners or kids and parents the way I am expecting to see it. I don't see the free for all fights or romances developing like I do with Sim 2.
It doesn't happen. It's just not there. I think one of the expansion packs brought some interaction between children and toddlers and it took an expansion pack for a parent to be able to play with their toddler with one of the toys. It's crazy!

The only way I've seen romance "develop" in my game is because of a good story progression mod. I never used ACR and I always had Sims in TS2 falling in love with each other all on their own! I was looking through some screenshots yesterday and had to laugh when at the Townie Orlando swooning over one of my Sims' daughters. It's the cutest thing!

TS3 babies are pupae, that's all, naked little bodies wrapped in a cocoon. I think they were trying to address the whole always half-naked baby thing but it should've been done better. They're not even to be thought of as babies. I have them delivered then age them up ASAP with MC into toddlers. Even as toddlers I don't much like them. TS2 toddlers are adorable. TS3 toddlers are just skinny little things that don't even do anything cute. EVERYTHING TS2 toddlers did was cute! Sometimes it's nice that a diaper change will fix their hygiene bar but I do miss the baths. I used to laugh at my grandparent Sims bathing their grandbabies, thinking how badly that had to hurt their backs, but it was so adorable!

I'm hoping maybe this week to get my TS2 game reinstalled and see which it ends up being: something I still enjoy playing or best left a fond memory. I do hope it's the former.

[joandsarah77]

Oh my gosh yes, the babies. Such a huge disappointment. I'm a huge lover of sim 2 babies, more then many players as I have umpteen downloads for them from cute outfits, hairs, seats and a pram which are really cribs and numerous nursery sets.

Coming from this

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e397/joandsarah77/Sims/Baby%20Clothes/0c4c32af-1b9f-4c84-aa84-e55de5f2efe1_zps4754ac19.jpg

To this...

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e397/joandsarah77/Sims/Sims%203/Screenshot-10.jpg
Legless lava when they should have been better. They should have been Sims 2 babies plus, but instead they don't even have legs.
It's like a step backwards. Yes that Sims 2 baby is posed, not that it was hard he was just moved from the bouncy seat onto the sand with move objects nothing more.

[swarmofbutterflys]

I didn't because I simply can't afford it. :faceslap: My sister gave me her old sims 2 for free last year and Sims2 is a perfectly fine game to play!! :luff: Therefore I do not think I can afford to spend all my pocket money on something that has better graphics.

I have watched gameplays on youtube of the sims 3 and it looked...well, like there hasn't been MUCH change since sims 2 anyway. I also think the open nieghbourhood might annoy me ...
Also I read sims 3 doesnt have aliens :wtf: :( I love the aliens in the sims 2 , they give it a bit of humor, and they make it a bit more interesting. :lol:

[kennyinbmore]

Think about it, TS3 players say their game doesn't feel complete, and they have 8 EPs

Not this one

Also I read sims 3 doesnt have aliens :wtf: :( I love the aliens in the sims 2 , they give it a bit of humor, and they make it a bit more interesting. :lol:

Yes it does

I hate how they turned World Adventures and Ambitions into goal-oriented games, when the entire point of The Sims is that it's open gameplay and that you get to set your own challenges.

You can play WA and Ambitions without goals

[starryeyedSim]

The half hearted AI is like the elephant in the room. But I will get to that in a minute. Yes, your Sim may chat and look around while sitting on the couch watching TV with another Sim...but! Try sitting two Sims down on that same couch no TV on. Do they talk to one another? No. Do they gain relationship points? No. One will probably get up and find a book to read. There are many good things, like toddlers can crawl over and watch TV..yay! instant babysitter, but interactions on the couch are very limited.

Concerning the AI, how long does it take a Sim to walk up to another Sim near other Sims and ask a question or start a conversation? Let's see..move forward, then two steps over, then shuffle feet, turn go back, redo, other Sims don't move away, get closer to Sim but then your Sim feels they are too close, back up, reshuffle, side step, then speak.

That's about three mintues too long to walk over, other Sims move, and then start talking. Other things that irk: Sims turn on a dial, they no longer have to move their feet..they just spin..it annoys me greatly. As if they are spinning on a round object on the floor. Instead of turning as a human, something invisible on the floor just spins them around no foot movement at all. They lean forward when they walk. It's not as bad as it used to be, but that crouch when they are walking very fast is an eyesore. That brings to mind the animation of cooking, who do you know that crouches when they use a mixing bowl. Maybe my granny that is 95 years old.

The dollhouses are pretty no doubt about it. I like a lot of objects only take up one tile...however, try placing something under a two tile painting, the game will tell you it can't intercept the object because even paintings take up the floor space beneath them. (some do). If I want a very structured game about collecting and or doing acheivements I play TS3, but if I want to cut loose and have 'fun' and laugh my assets off, I play TS2.

[ani_]

I don't like that my married couple who have a decent relationship can't fulfill their whoohoo want before work and I get told 'there is no one to whoohoo with' when I click on the tub, when it was okay just the day before. This is a bug, I had it with one of my sim, she could never woohoo just by clicking the shower or bed. All my other sims have never had this. This woman died over 2.5 RL years ago and I have never had this issue since.

That when she goes to kiss him, he stops her like she smells or something. lol, I actually do like it that my sims are not always in the mood. I mean, you wouldn't jump on your wife in RL and not consider what mood she is in. My sims do however have so many kids that it does prove they are sometimes in the mood :)

I guess if you are used to that it might be okay, but coming over from Sims 2 that isn't. But my dear, I did come from the sims 2. I played it from the day it was released until the day TS3 came out. And that's the thing. When I was playing TS2 before TS3 even existed, I was constantly saying, I like this game but I wish.... and TS3 fulfilled so many of my wishes that it completely won me over.

Then there is the whole long training thing with the toddlers and no sleep mats or baths and even though they seemed like good friends as kids by the time they leave home and mum goes to visit I get told 'I don't know you well enough' Normal families not dysfunctional ones. It's an oversight from EA that people with a certain relationship level/tag can't do stuff in other peoples homes. But, I guess I just was so in love with being able to visit sims I didn't take this oversight so personally. Now I just give everybody the "inparppriate but in a good way" life time reward" and this issue no longer exists:)

I don't see toddler siblings interact with each other, I don't see the affection between partners or kids and parents the way I am expecting to see it. I don't see the free for all fights or romances developing like I do with Sim 2.
What I'd really like is to be able to have all the EP's that I own installed and I also really wished I liked it better. There are quite many adorable interactions between kids and toddlers, like the peekabo game, reading to a toddler, playing with them. But toddlers have always been the neglected age group in the sim franchise. Even in TS2 the number one complaint was always, why can't toddlers do this or that, why no new toddler interactions in EPs. I wish EA would give us a toddler and kids EP, would love that so much better than time travelling.

[Lord St.Croix]

It's interesting. I actually played Sims 3 first, but then I read about some of the families in Sims 2, and I was like, "I have to try this", and so I play them both. Admittedly, I play Sims 2 more, mainly because Sims 3 moves along on its own

[joandsarah77]

But my dear, I did come from the sims 2. I played it from the day it was released until the day TS3 came out. And that's the thing. When I was playing TS2 before TS3 even existed, I was constantly saying, I like this game but I wish.... and TS3 fulfilled so many of my wishes that it completely won me over.

Lol, I know you did and I'm glad you like it. You keep on preferring Sims 3 and I'll keep on preferring Sims 2. And maybe..only maybe, because this is EA after all; Sims 4 will make everybody happy. Not holding my breath though as I think it will be online like simcity 5 is. And yes I have Simcity 5 as well, as I like wasting my money like that, weeeee!! :lol: :Pint:

[MattShizzle]

From everything I see Sims3 stinks like a really rotten egg - one that's been left in a hot attic for like a week or a toilet that has been pissed, crapped and vomited in on a daily basis for 50,000 years and never once flushed. Or you can say it sucks as if every vacuum cleaner on the planet was given 100 times power and all turned on at the same time in the same direction. Or that it should not be tossed aside lightly but rather should be thrown aside with great force (that one is not my creation but rather by Dorothy Parker. Others are mine.)

[joandsarah77]

Well I wouldn't say it stinks, but then we all know you just love shocking the 12's with your delightful turns of poetic phrasing.

The Sims 3 has some fun stuff but for me little heart, so it will always be that game I think about when I get bored of Sim 2 -holy cow! I get bored of Sim 2!! Yeah now and then, sometimes I even go play Simcity 5! Or my very old and ancient copy of Alpha Centauri which came out before Sims 1. Oh my how shocking!! Send an ambulance!!

Enjoy what you like people.

[SusannaG]

Terrific game, Alpha Centauri. (I fire it up too, sometimes.)

[joandsarah77]

I don't know what it is but I find that old AC game strangely compelling.

[neriana]

The only thing that comes to my mind about lacking AI is that if your computer can't handle the game so well then sims will tend to stand around because processing powers are distributed elsewhere. But if your computer can handle the game, the sims are extremely vivid and animated.

Nope. My computer is quite awesome. The Sims 3 Sims are puddings. Further, their interactions are dull. Also, ridiculous. For instance: a Sim has to basically go on a date with her husband before he'll think woohoo is "appropriate". Talk->flirt->kiss->makeout oh wait rejected for makeout, hm, go back -- come on, we have five kids together and I have to gossip with you before you'll want woohoo?! Oh and I'm told in popups, not in animations, lovely, well the animations are boring anyway.

I'm happy for you that you like Sims 3. Please stop trying to persuade those of us who don't that it's a good game. I don't think it is, and you're not going to persuade me I'm having fun when I'm not.

[MattShizzle]

I still don't get why they made the Sims look WORSE in 3 than 2 - they should have improved like other graphics. Also, why so much of what goes on you don't actually get to see.

[Tempscire]

I still don't get why they made the Sims look WORSE in 3 than 2 - they should have improved like other graphics.
They are technically improved. Softer features, not pointy/jabby like some Sims 2 features can be, and their skin and eyeballs are supposed to be reflecting/scattering light more like in real life. Their fingers, hands, and wrists are much cleaner. There are also various other handicaps to setting their appearances which were/are a bit backwards (no real genetics and inadequate slider ranges, for example). Whether such things actually look appealing is purely a matter of opinion, but they did get an upgrade.

[sushigal007]

Whether such things actually look appealing is purely a matter of opinion, but they did get an upgrade.

Yeah, pretty much every single operating system upgrade ever has taught me that "upgrade" never ever means "better".

[Fivey]

Nope. My computer is quite awesome. The Sims 3 Sims are puddings. Further, their interactions are dull. Also, ridiculous. For instance: a Sim has to basically go on a date with her husband before he'll think woohoo is "appropriate". Talk->flirt->kiss->makeout oh wait rejected for makeout, hm, go back -- come on, we have five kids together and I have to gossip with you before you'll want woohoo?! Oh and I'm told in popups, not in animations, lovely, well the animations are boring anyway.

I'm happy for you that you like Sims 3. Please stop trying to persuade those of us who don't that it's a good game. I don't think it is, and you're not going to persuade me I'm having fun when I'm not.

Well, when I was playing Sims 3, I always took the need to excessively flirt and kiss before making out and shagging as foreplay. Most people aren't down to bone the second you request it. They usually have to be turned on first. Or bored.

[kennyinbmore]

Yeah, pretty much every single operating system upgrade ever has taught me that "upgrade" never ever means "better".

I disagree. Windows 7 kicks XP's ass

[dfryer36]

I hate that you have to micromanage every aspect of their lives. I don't want to have to jump around to two or more different locations to manage my sims at work, school, the park, etc. Plus the sims in TS3 are just plain ugly.

[neriana]

Well, when I was playing Sims 3, I always took the need to excessively flirt and kiss before making out and shagging as foreplay. Most people aren't down to bone the second you request it. They usually have to be turned on first. Or bored.

They are if you're married to them. Or dating them seriously. Or...

Yes, you usually (not always!) need foreplay, but that's after you're already in bed (or wherever) -- you do not have to go through an entire date with them first. It's stupid. The game should check if you've been maintaining your relationship (the daily/lifetime is high enough), and if you're in love and/or crush (again, maintaining the relationship), and that's it. The way it is, is so utterly ludicrous that even if I loved everything else about the game, it would wreck the game for me.

[cdgoff]

Hi -

I have TS3 on my Laptop and TS2 on a dedicated computer (the only thing on it is that game). I have tried playing 3 - have a couple of the EP's and even just bought University for it, but I don't play it that much. What I don't like is how hard it is to build up a relationship and how difficult those relationships are to maintain. Plus the fact that if I want a second "controllable" family in the same neighborhood I have to play both families hour by hour almost. I can't do a few days on one and then go and do a few days on the other.... because while I was playing family one - my teen in family two refused to her her homework (because I wasn't in control of her to force her to do it) so now her grade is tanked. I do think the sims in 3 look a little like pudding but figured that eventually there would be CC to fix that (probably currently is). I just can't seem to get invested in TS3 characters the way I do my TS2 creations. Somehow the way the 3 game plays seems to diminish the development of character. There doesn't seem to be time between keeping moods and needs taken care of to let the Sim just be a Sim. And if there is CC out there to turn the Opportunities off completely let me know! Who has time for those when I can barely get a sim fed before work and then deal with needs when they get home before they are falling over ready for bed again.

It is true that I have a lot of CC for my TS2 game - but very few of them are game MODS. I like the way TS2 plays. Every time I play TS3 I catch myself saying "Why did they change that?" or "Where did this feature go?"

[Honeywell]

Someone asked me pretty much this same question the other day. I didn't switch because the game was a huge disappointment to me that had nothing to do with my hardware -- I'm an adult gamer, I've always had good computers. :p

"I was one of the people eagerly awaiting the release and excited for the “living neighborhood”. But I think the concept was poorly executed (the neighborhood isn’t alive, it’s random nonsense) and the animations/routing/processing is stilted even with an i7 processor. Add those things to an art style that I just don’t like and the few neat/clever things about the Sims 3 I think are great can’t even begin to make up for the things I find lacking. After a few expansion packs I stopped going back to play the game in the hopes something would click for me and I’d enjoy it."

[joandsarah77]

Originally Posted by ani_
The only thing that comes to my mind about lacking AI is that if your computer can't handle the game so well then sims will tend to stand around because processing powers are distributed elsewhere. But if your computer can handle the game, the sims are extremely vivid and animated.

I don't know why my computer is having the trouble it's having with the Sim 3, it's not like it's an overheating laptop with a crummy chip; it's a desktop built for gaming. Although I do have my doubts about the tech who set it up. It recently got cleaned and our other tech friend moved a lot of things from my overfull C Drive to my rather empty D drive partition, so we'll see. Next step will be to go from 4 to 8 Ram and get a new card. But given what others have said I don't think this is going to make the AI suddenly wonderful. Maybe the sims will idle less which will be nice, but that is only the tip of the AI troubles with Sims 3.

They are if you're married to them. Or dating them seriously. Or...

Yes, you usually (not always!) need foreplay, but that's after you're already in bed (or wherever) -- you do not have to go through an entire date with them first. It's stupid. The game should check if you've been maintaining your relationship (the daily/lifetime is high enough), and if you're in love and/or crush (again, maintaining the relationship), and that's it. The way it is, is so utterly ludicrous that even if I loved everything else about the game, it would wreck the game for me.

^This^ I don't want to do foreplay for sims, thanks. :wtf:

[Fivey]

They are if you're married to them. Or dating them seriously. Or...

Yes, you usually (not always!) need foreplay, but that's after you're already in bed (or wherever) -- you do not have to go through an entire date with them first. It's stupid. The game should check if you've been maintaining your relationship (the daily/lifetime is high enough), and if you're in love and/or crush (again, maintaining the relationship), and that's it. The way it is, is so utterly ludicrous that even if I loved everything else about the game, it would wreck the game for me.

I never said it was a good thing, I just said that's the reasoning for it. ;)

[neriana]

I disagree. Windows 7 kicks XP's ass

Windows is like Star Trek movies used to be: every other iteration is crap. 95 and XP and 7 work. ME was a disaster, Vista was atrocious, 8 is some kind of sick experiment. Etc.

[MattShizzle]

I though 95 was supposed to have been horrible? My first was XP, so not firsthand familiar.

[gazania]

I liked 95 and 98. Not crazy about Me or Vista. Might try 7. Do not plan to go within 20 yards of 8 if possible, at least not for a while.

[MattShizzle]

7 is pretty good overall, but there are games that worked in XP that don't work on it - mostly older ones. And the "are you sure you want to do this?" popping up everytime you want to do virtually anything gets annoying sometimes.

[Fivey]

I remember using 98, though I don't remember it quite frankly, considering I'm a '95 baby. XP I remember using extensively, and I know it's a favorite across the general modding and hacking community. Vista sucks, though I have a fair amount of experience with it. I prefer 7 over Vista, but it has it's downsides. If you don't disable the updating, it will literally update every day. I have it disabled out of need (RemoveWAT won't work if it Windows 7 is updated), and so far nothing horribad has happened.

Windows 8 scares me. I'd like a normal start menu, danke. None of this 'tiles' crap.

[neriana]

7 is pretty good overall, but there are games that worked in XP that don't work on it - mostly older ones. And the "are you sure you want to do this?" popping up everytime you want to do virtually anything gets annoying sometimes.

There are lots of seriously annoying things about Windows 7, as it is a Windows operating system and they always must have seriously annoying things in them. I hate how it doesn't let you change files on your own #$%! computer without being battered into submission. But once it's been properly folded and spindled, it does run pretty well, comparatively speaking. I haven't had problems running any old games on it yet that I couldn't solve with a few tweaks and enough swearing.

[joandsarah77]

We have a friend who worked for Mircrosoft Australia and he was against the new way of doing things. Basically he was told tiles are the way of the future blah blah. When he said how being closer to the screen and back problems wouldn't be helped they couldn't care less.

[Lerf1950]

... and their skin and eyeballs are supposed to be reflecting/scattering light more like in real life.... Whether such things actually look appealing is purely a matter of opinion, but they did get an upgrade.

So that's why the eyes in S3 creep me out. They always look like something at a wax museum. And I hate wax museum figures.

[jesusismyairbag]

This horse isn't dead yet?

I hear it's getting stuffed into burgers in the UK.

[ZenGarden]

I play both

[ZenGarden]

I have played a lot more on TS2 than TS3 but i still prefer TS3. On TS2 i have only reached generation 3 and i have tried and tried and tried but something stops me, it gets boring or something like that, but i still think TS2 is easier to handle than TS3. TS3 is always '' buybuybuy '' they even have commercial in the game and there is lots of bugs. But on TS3 i have reached generation 6, and i think its easier to play and there is more stuff to do in TS3. I don't play TS3 anymore as my graphic card reaaallyy sucks, i'm not sure which one i prefer actually and i have a really messed up relation with TS3..

With a good graphic card TS3 beats TS2. The sims looks better, the nature, the neighbourhoods etc.

[Eiszimmer]

There are elements of both the Sims 2 and the Sims 3 that I like, and that I do not like. For one thing I adore the open world of the Sims 3 and it would be amazing if we had the Sims 2 with that without getting rid of any of the interactions and options we had in the Sims 2. I think if the development team took more time to work on it they could have ironed out all the problems presented in the open world-- like teleporting in & out of cars and the other subtleties that make the Sims 2 more charming while Sims 3 is prettier in some ways. I can be happy having both, though I dream of an ultimate Sims game with all the best elements of the Sims 1, 2, & 3 with no glitches. I can admit sometimes the seemingly endless sea of options on the Sims 3 as far as patterns go can be overwhelming though it's somewhat nice to not have to search high and low for recolors of EAxis' awful defaults. BUT, I enjoy the adventure of Sims 2, and the imagination it inspires while in Sims 3 there is all the pretty bells and whistles but it's harder for me to get attached to a Sim, while in the Sims 2 it feels like I am interacting with them like when a shy Sim is told to kiss another Sim, and she groans at me -- like, WHY are you making me do this? The Sims 3, they are robots who just sit around idly like soulless but very pretty robots. I can admit either game unmodded and without custom content is ugly but at least on Sims 2 I don't need to search and wait for custom sliders to be made to de-puddingize their faces. It's a lot easier to make Sims look like someone, of course within a small margin of error which is expected but I can look at a Sim and say -- Ah, he or she looks like so-and-so. I still like my people from the Sims 3, as I did spend a lot of time on them but I spend more time playing with the Sims 2 than the Sims 3. I will never uninstall the latter, but I can say I only played the Sims 3 for half an hour in the past two weeks, while the Sims 2 I could play all day if I could.

[neriana]

With a good graphic card TS3 beats TS2. The sims looks better, the nature, the neighbourhoods etc.

I'm getting really tired of people saying the problem with people who don't like TS3 is that our computers are bad. I have a great graphics card and computer. The plants look awesome in TS3. And in stasis, so do the Sims. But in *action*, the Sims look like automatons. Lazy, bland automatons.

Graphics just don't matter all that much. This is a game, not a series of Poser pictures. Art style does matter, and I see very little style of any kind in TS3 (outside the pretty plants). TS2 has exaggerated features and gestures because that is what makes people identify with the little pixels on the screen. That's why cartoons are the way they are; it would be possible to draw them photo-realistically, but people would get creeped out and also not feel the attachment to the characters that we do with cartoons.

This article goes a long way toward describing how I feel about the looks of Sims in Sims 3: http://animation.about.com/od/relatedtopics/a/Avoiding-The-Uncanny-Valley-How-To-Keep-Your-Animation-From-Creeping-People-Out.htm. To me, this is particularly important: "This is part of conveying facial expressions that evoke an emotional response, and part of why cartoons are easier to relate to than detailed animations with more subtle expressions." (Though Sims 3 Sims aren't that detailed; their faces are too "soft".)

But even if I liked how the Sims in Sims 3 look, it wouldn't matter, because I can't stand the gameplay. I'm not going to play a game to look at the pretty plants.

[VeronicaLodge]

I played the Sims 3 from it's release from about 1 week ago when I finally bought some Sims 2 games for MAC'S on Ebay. One reason why I bought the Sims 2 was because I never really fell in love with the characters from the Sims 3, sure they had back stories but I never really felt like they would be remembered you know what I mean? For example who can forget the Strangetown Characters especially the Grunts & Smiths. Those were my favorite families to play with. I'm still waiting for my games but heck when they arrive i'll be going full force with them! Gosh i've missed the Sims 2!! I should also add that the Sims 2 sims also have a more "realistic" look to them..which I find really important because thats my simming style, but all to its own so, really depends on the simmer. Anyways I prefer the Sims 2. Sims 3 was fun but just felt...empty? Oh and that my computer was terribly laggy when playing the game anywho still wouldn't of enjoyed it if it ran like a dream..... i'm happy returning to my precious sims 2 simmies

[kennyinbmore]

7 is pretty good overall, but there are games that worked in XP that don't work on it - mostly older ones. And the "are you sure you want to do this?" popping up everytime you want to do virtually anything gets annoying sometimes.

That's adjustable

Windows is like Star Trek movies used to be: every other iteration is crap. 95 and XP and 7 work. ME was a disaster, Vista was atrocious, 8 is some kind of sick experiment. Etc.

XP can't use over 3GB of RAM. I guess it's good to have if you play a lot of old games

Windows 8 scares me. I'd like a normal start menu, danke. None of this 'tiles' crap.

I like the tiles. For example to access my gmail with W7, I have to open a browser and go to the gmail site. With 8 I just tap the gmail tile and I'm there

[Darby]

XP can't use over 3GB of RAM. I guess it's good to have if you play a lot of old games

So not true. Whether or not a computer can see more than 3GB of RAM is a 32-bit versus 63-bit issue - not a general OS issue. I'm running 64-bit XP, and my system recognize 7.6GB of the 8GB of RAM I have installed. :P


And in stasis, so do the Sims. But in *action*, the Sims look like automatons. Lazy, bland automatons.

I don't like the looks of most of them even in stasis, but yeah, it's when they move that they really horrify. Yesterday, I watched a Let's Play review of Pets, and the animals' movements are even worse.

Sims 3 movements seem, in general, to involve a lot more "docking". Sims 2 has some of this, but it's smoother (shorter pauses) and less obvious.

[LaurellKH]

Everyone keeps saying how complex it is to make a sim. How they have to many choices. If they keep it up I am leaving Sims 2 for Sims 3. I cannot understand how this could possibly be a bad thing!

[M.M.A.A.]

Everyone keeps saying how complex it is to make a sim. How they have to many choices. If they keep it up I am leaving Sims 2 for Sims 3. I cannot understand how this could possibly be a bad thing!

I don't think the word 'complex' best suits the description. In TS3, there is so much 'flexibility' in CAS that people get encouraged/intrigued to use the CAStyle tool. It seems that people get addicted to the fact that things need to match (or something like). This means that they are wasting more time on creating sims and building homes rather than actual game play.

(That's how I see it.)

[ansleon]

Sims 3 movements seem, in general, to involve a lot more "docking". Sims 2 has some of this, but it's smoother (shorter pauses) and less obvious.

How a sim in Sims 3 walks up onto a single-step-high stage:

-- Walk up to stage area
-- Pause
-- Adjust position to be exactly facing stage
-- Pause
-- Take single step up onto stage
-- Pause
-- Reposition
-- Pause
-- Walk to final destination on stage

Every time, every sim. It's as if all the sims are actually 90 years old and should have walkers.

I don't think the word 'complex' best suits the description. In TS3, there is so much 'flexibility' in CAS that people get encouraged/intrigued to use the CAStyle tool. It seems that people get addicted to the fact that things need to match (or something like). This means that they are wasting more time on creating sims and building homes rather than actual game play.

Basically, you spend 20 hours building a starter house (starter houses are far more expensive in TS3, plus the eleventy billion options in CAST are both tempting and maddening), another 5 hours making and dressing the single sim that's going to live there (since you don't want them to have puddingface), you FINALLY GET TO PLAY THE GAME...and then you realize "oh yeah, the gameplay is still boring."

[Orilon]

Or it may mean Sims 3 keeps crashing so many times that they continually have to start over with a new Sim and new house (which is what happens to me usually). Sims 2 may not have the CAStyle tool that allows players to recolor furniture and clothes without having to download a ton of re-colors, but most of the time my Sims 2 is a lot more stable than my Sims 3.

[M.M.A.A.]

Sims 2 may not have the CAStyle tool...

Thank God! :anime:

[Eiszimmer]

Or it may mean Sims 3 keeps crashing so many times that they continually have to start over with a new Sim and new house (which is what happens to me usually). Sims 2 may not have the CAStyle tool that allows players to recolor furniture and clothes without having to download a ton of re-colors, but most of the time my Sims 2 is a lot more stable than my Sims 3.

That much is true, while it would be nice to have something similar it is often overwhelming for me. Especially when one has thousands of custom patterns. I wasted so much time doing that alone in the Sims 3.

[ZenGarden]

I'm getting really tired of people saying the problem with people who don't like TS3 is that our computers are bad. I have a great graphics card and computer. The plants look awesome in TS3. And in stasis, so do the Sims. But in *action*, the Sims look like automatons. Lazy, bland automatons.

Graphics just don't matter all that much. This is a game, not a series of Poser pictures. Art style does matter, and I see very little style of any kind in TS3 (outside the pretty plants). TS2 has exaggerated features and gestures because that is what makes people identify with the little pixels on the screen. That's why cartoons are the way they are; it would be possible to draw them photo-realistically, but people would get creeped out and also not feel the attachment to the characters that we do with cartoons.

This article goes a long way toward describing how I feel about the looks of Sims in Sims 3: http://animation.about.com/od/relatedtopics/a/Avoiding-The-Uncanny-Valley-How-To-Keep-Your-Animation-From-Creeping-People-Out.htm. To me, this is particularly important: "This is part of conveying facial expressions that evoke an emotional response, and part of why cartoons are easier to relate to than detailed animations with more subtle expressions." (Though Sims 3 Sims aren't that detailed; their faces are too "soft".)

But even if I liked how the Sims in Sims 3 look, it wouldn't matter, because I can't stand the gameplay. I'm not going to play a game to look at the pretty plants.
It was my opinion that i think with a better graphic card TS3 beats TS2. Graphics is not everything but it sure increases gameplay. I know graphics is not everything but i can't stand playing with really bad graphics like with an integrated card. As you prefer TS2 (i like both really, really much and TS2 has something TS3 will never have) i prefer TS3. I said nothing about you not liking the game as you have bad graphic cards as im sure you have great ones.

[ZenGarden]

I love XP in my own way, its charming
Vista is pretty ok
7 is the best one
8 is just scary and makes me nervous - do i have to handle this crappy system when i buy a new computer?

[MattShizzle]

I HATE cartoonish features - but still think Sims3 sims look less realisitc than Sims2 - ie balloon-faces.

[Fivey]

I love XP in my own way, its charming
Vista is pretty ok
7 is the best one
8 is just scary and makes me nervous - do i have to handle this crappy system when i buy a new computer?

No, just download a different OS instead of Windows 8. Plenty of people still use XP on shiny new computers.

I don't think the word 'complex' best suits the description. In TS3, there is so much 'flexibility' in CAS that people get encouraged/intrigued to use the CAStyle tool. It seems that people get addicted to the fact that things need to match (or something like). This means that they are wasting more time on creating sims and building homes rather than actual game play.

(That's how I see it.)

Some people prefer sim and house creation over actual gameplay. Heck, it's been a while since I did anything besides pre-made makeovers and retexturing hair. I might of done some actual gameplay for like an hour a few days ago, but my most recent opening of the game itself was to take photos for a download preview.

[LaurellKH]

I love XP in my own way, its charming
Vista is pretty ok
7 is the best one
8 is just scary and makes me nervous - do i have to handle this crappy system when i buy a new computer?

All new PC's and laps come with 8. No escape from Microsoft progress.

[Fivey]

All new PC's and laps come with 8. No escape from Microsoft progress.

When you get a new hard drive (you can buy them separately from computer), they don't come packaged with an OS. You can easily replace the HDD on a Windows 8 PC and download a different OS onto it. TO HELL WITH MICROSOFT PROGRESS.

[carlydunham]

i got my gaming pc custom built in febuary with windows 7

[VampDeLeon]

My computer's not advanced enough to never lag in game or take 20 minutes to load up Sims 3.. plus, it's bothersome to go through updating the mods after each new expansion installed. I love Sims 3, don't get me wrong, it's great with the customizing furniture and clothing, and that I don't have to be constantly jumping through many families just so they don't fall a few generations behind from the others.. but it's just easier to deal with Sims 2 at the moment until they're done with the expansions :P.

[IChoseThisName]

I did for a time, and it's a good game in its own right. But I kept finding things that made me mentally refer back to TS2. Specifically the limited amount of social interactions and the borked genetics system. Eventually, my game just imploded, and pretty much crashed every time I tried loading it aaaand the thought of reinstalling everything just made me go 'meh'.
I have since installed all of my Sims 2 games, and I'm very happy. The only thing I really miss from 3 is story progression.. The fact that all the sims in my neighborhood are frozen in time really makes me appreciate when they were out on their own growing older, getting married, making babies.. If I could have TS2 with CAS and story progression, I'd be in heaven.