Perhaps, I shouldn't have said cartoony, but stylized. The Sims 4 needs a good style.

I feel that it's much easier to convey personality and feelings with a cartoony models than realistic ones; it's kind of a balance between defined lines you'd find in a cartoon, and softer ones you'd find in reality. There was a good balance in the Sims 2, while it didn't work as well in the Sims 3 because of a lack of those defining lines (everything kind of blurred together into pudding).

Sims 3:

And this isn't even the in-game engine!

The Sims 4 is taking us back towards the cartoony side, though I would rather prefer a compromise between the two sides- emphasis and exaggeration of certain areas, while retaining a high level of detail.These are a few examples of the sliding scale between realistic and cartoony:

Bioshock:


Wildstar:


Dishonored:


Fuse:


Brink:


These all emphasize and deemphasize certain features in order to convey specific moods and feelings- while retaining enough definition to be interesting. I might add a caveat though- as the Sims is essentially a sandbox game, those moods and feelings are created by the player, and so the models must be plain enough to allow players to customize them to their tastes.

As for a better graphics engine, I think that lighting contributes an incredible amount towards the mood and feeling of a game- lighting in the Sims 3 felt so very flat and failed to define sims well (you either rely on good textures to convey details, or good lighting to illuminate the creases and bumps, the Sims 3 had neither). It's also not so much a cartoony character in a realistic setting but again, a comprehensive art style that fits together. Each of those examples above have a world styled exactly so that they fit into.

I want realism, but I don't want realism that everyone seems to think "real" is. Honestly... people aren't SHINY?!? Why are skins SHINY? They look like an adolescent who hasn't showered in days. At least in my opinion. If someone wants their skins to look like that, more power to them, but I don't want the EA skin to look like that. :/ As for the eyes, I seem to like a more cartoonish eye because I like dramatic color changes, and love giving my Sims purple eyes for whatever reason.

I never thought I would see the word fap used so many times in a thread that wasn't on FARK

I an in agreement that most of the issues with the Sims 3 graphics can be attributed to the awful lighting. It looks great in the world (sunrises, shadows, etc.) but it makes the Sims look either washed out or freakishly ghoulish, depending upon the time of day and camera angle. It also has a tendency to make light coloured objects blindingly bright and dark colours look like vinyl. The dev team really needs to find a good balance in Sims 4. I'd like to be able to use the outside of the colour wheel every now and then.

And yes, it does seem that Sims 3 lack a distinct "style" for the Sims themselves. I'd like the Sims to have a less uniform look, especially as they age; I love some of the nooks and crannies in older faces.

They have a distinct style, it is called "Pudding face".

And to jje1000, I would say the Sims is stepping outside the boundary to be considered a sandbox, since most of the new elements have many quest type features. For example World Adventures, you couldn't really go out and do anything in particular, everything was mostly something you'd see in a RPG but dumbed down for 5 year olds.

My hope is that it goes back to being a sandbox but I have a feeling the game is going to take a whole new direction, one which most players probably don't want.

The lady from Bioshock is what I'm used to (and what I'd want), but I can see the other styles working. As long as it's not pudding face or shiny skins, though. Just as long as it's not either one of them.

Irrational put an incredible amount of work into getting Elizabeth's look and AI just right to engage you in Bioshock Infinite. EA is not exactly known for putting that much work into any one feature, or game, for that matter. Irrational treats their designers well, and allowed for extended development time before bringing the game to market (here's a nice article on the development approach taken in The New York Times ).

Ubisoft has a reputation for treating their artists like superstars (Link) . Just look at the open world of Far Cry 3. EA does not treat their artists and designers with the same care and nurturing.

I would agree that a stylized approach would be the way to go, and is a better description than cartoony. But it takes a lot of work to get that right, and I'm not sure EA is up for it. Although from the info released on IP for TS3 so far, the team might finally be getting the OK to up the quality and creativity, so I guess we can live in hope it will carry over for TS4.

What the hell is a pudding face?

It's where the textures of the face blend together, making the face of the sim appear rounded no matter what you do -- like pudding.

Take a random sim. Set all the sliders to 0. Pudding.

I'll try that when I get home

I need my Sims to be so detailed that I can pause the game, zoom in on their face, and point out their blackheads like a spoiled valley girl.

I really prefer the cartoonish style they're giving to the Sims. It makes animation much more easier; moreover, it gives a lightheartedness to the game itself. (I mean we ARE playing The Sims).
The only requirement that should be mandatory, if the decide to center the graphics around that theme is MOST DEFINITELY SMOOTH ANIMATION AND LESS "looped or loopish" transitions when it comes to queued actions by the player. More variety of interactions, and obviously some common sense coming in from the Sims themselves.

Have you not noticed the distinct round faces of Sims in the Sims 3? The fact that you can't really make unique Sims without sliders and that they look very similar is a problem for most players. My guess is most get used to the 'look' and it doesn't bother them as much over time.

Also if you don't have that chin/neck slider you cannot remove that double chin so all the Sims generally end up with fat round faces, resembling a 'pudding face'.

I'm guessing that EA is making the sims of Sims 4 more cartoony (more like the failed Sims Social) because they won't have to spend as much time coding shaders and the like. (saves time and money and we all know how greedy EA is) That means there probably won't be shiny sims anymore. They only shader they got half right anyway was water. I think though that making it resemble Sims Social won't make it nearly as popular as Sims 3. After all, EA can screw up Sim City, why not Sims 4? After seeing what the sims are going to look like, I doubt I'll be spending a dime on it. I don't mind a mix of cartoony and reality, but they are making it way too cartoony for my taste.

Graphics? Yes. Speed? No.

For the love of god, BUZZ OFF!!
i use exclamatory marks for excitement and caps locks for ANGER!!!!!
(i think i just irritated you right?!!!!!!!):p

I really want Sims 4 to be super fast, unlike Sims 3...

Eventually, yes. But ...

I do know that some consoles DO allow for some backwards compatibility. My daughter can play most of her old GameCube games on her Wii, with a little help from an emulator. No problem. This is one reason why she prefers the Wii.

And depending on what PS3 you have (I believe ... this is more my husband's forte), I believe you can play several PS2 games on it:

http://www.wikihow.com/Play-PS2-Games-on-a-PS3

Since we have an older model, we CAN play most of our PS2 games on it. Have done it for some time now. That was a dealbreaker for us.

IMO, a wise developer WOULD allow for backwards compatibility, particularly in initial models. But that is IMO.

From what I'm reading, a sore spot with many who use Windows 8 or the new XBox is that they CAN'T play several of their older games. I found a list of popular games that people are finding it hard to play on Windows 8 (it isn't just Sims 2), but of COURSE, I can't find it now! :/ If I do find it, I'll post it there. We dinosaurs aren't alone.

Also IMO, it seems that many companies cannot get it through their heads that people LIKE their old games. I know ... sell, sell, sell. They can't make money from oldies. But there is a charm to many old games that the new ones just don't have. I know people who still enjoy games that came out in the mid-90s. It's not that they are Techie Luddites .... either the newer version of the game was lifeless, buggy, or the devs failed to grasp what its fans wanted.

EDIT ... Just a tidbit. Those devs focusing on Windows 8-only games might be taking a chance, at least for a year or two or three:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/0...windows8_sales/

Not a great source, perhaps? Then ...

http://www.infoworld.com/t/microsof...-numbers-219424
http://www.infoworld.com/t/microsof...-rapidly-218050
http://blogs.computerworld.com/wind...dont-believe-it
http://www.zdnet.com/windows-8-cont...ail-7000016222/


Back to the OT ... I rather like the Bioshock character. But all of those other games prove that yes, if EA actually gets a fire up its rumpus, it COULD deliver a game that could awe and astonish. It COULD ... but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Just sayin'.