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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 3:41 AM
Default What do people think of the new 'look' to sims?
I just finished browsing through some of the new screens on the Sims 3 site, and I am not sure what I think of the actual sims. They have a strange look, and for some reason they all seem kind of ugly to me. Now, I have never been a huge fan of maxis-made sims, but still. I noticed that even across races the sims all seem to have the same face. Maybe it's just me who feels this way.

So what do other people think of how sims look now? Do you think they will really be as customizable as they say? Anything you're worried about in terms of face templates, etc.?
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Top Secret Researcher
#2 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 3:49 AM
At first look, I thought they weren't going for a cartoony look, like in TS2. They want to be realistic. And fat sims are much more convincing.

Skintones aren't as good as I expected. So far, I haven't seen a sim with freckles. And ethnicities--well, I think I'm sticking with TS2. I'm just not convinced.

Just a warning: I do expect too much from TS3. I'm really not willing to uninstall TS2 for TS3.
#3 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 3:58 AM
i love the new look. the faces look smoth compare to TS2. its hard to see the pixels that make up their faces unlike TS2. ive seen what might be 5 new skintones(there might be more) that look better then the TS2 CC skintone. it looks natural not shinny. dont go judging the few pictures of what we have of TS3.
Lab Assistant
#4 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 4:06 AM
They are a lot rounder than the sims in the sims 2. I like the roundness. It makes them look a bit more realistic. The previous sims seemed a bit too stiff. And with the new sims you can see their muscles and such. Major plus for me.
Mad Poster
#5 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 4:38 AM
I like the look but I agree that many of the faces are similar. However, it could just be the advertising. I still like these Sims better than in Sims 2. I do, however, want to see all the different types of faces, seeing as how we have been told that we can now make anyone we want to.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#6 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 6:59 AM
Quote: Originally posted by sesshomarusgirlplayer
dont go judging the few pictures of what we have of TS3.


Oh I wouldn't make a final judgment on it so soon, I'm just saying that what I have seen so far I am unsure about it. Of course I will wait to see more!

I'm hoping the similar faces has more to do with the fact that these are the original come-with-the-game kinds of sims. I'm hoping that once we get playing with the new sliders and things that more interesting faces will emerge. Someone mentioned that the new sims seem rounder, and I agree, I think that's what I'm unsure about. I think smooth lines are good, but some people have sharper angles/features and it would be nice if that was at least possible. But of course it is very early on, hence the reason I put this in the 'wild speculation' board.
Theorist
#7 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 7:00 AM
They look like claymation to me. I like TS2 better, I think.
Lab Assistant
#8 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 7:22 AM
They look extremely...cartoonish.They look like they are from an animated movie. Very pixar/dreamworks-esque. Although the faces, and possibly, the graphics do look smoother, the roundness of the faces lend a child-like or baby-like quality to the sims. That's not what I had hoped for. Just slap on some huge eyes and the adults will look like oversized infants. :o
Field Researcher
#9 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 7:24 AM
I really hate the new look of the sims.
They are extremely bland looking, they look like dolls! They have no personality/character whatsoever. There's no realism here, -in some ways even the cartoony sims in sims 2 look better imo, because, butt-ugly as they are, at least they show character and characteristics, -they don't all look the same.
There's something very naive about the new sims looks that makes me think of a children's game, you know what I mean?
Lab Assistant
#10 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 10:55 AM
I agree that every face is well 'round' and they all have the same size neck, meaning if we are seeing the limitations, it gonna be very difficult in making most Self-Sims or Celebrity Sims look right or even regnoisable.

Already I wouldn't want any of those sims that are on EA's Sims3 site in my game.
Lab Assistant
#11 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 11:57 AM
They seem to be bit too close to the uncanny valley among the other things. However, if the faces seeming to be all same is any indication, we are just seeing early versions and much more work will go in to them.

A lurking translator who goes stealthily converting text strings into finnish when he feels like doing that, which is very rarely.
world renowned whogivesafuckologist
retired moderator
#12 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 12:00 PM
They don't look awful to me. Sims 2 Maxis sims look bland, boring, and all the same to me - but look at what you can do with some work on face sculpting, plus some nice custom skins, eyes, makeup, etc. - they are a little weird looking, but I think once some talented folks get a chance to make custom content for them, they'll look a lot better.

my simblr (sometimes nsfw)

“Dude, suckin’ at something is the first step to being sorta good at something.”
Panquecas, panquecas e mais panquecas.
Field Researcher
#13 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 1:03 PM
Quote: Originally posted by HystericalParoxysm
<snip>.. they are a little weird looking, but I think once some talented folks get a chance to make custom content for them, they'll look a lot better.

I'm sure they will, but I just don't think it's right that we have to rely on custom content to be able to play the game, because, as Conrad said, I wouldn't want any of the sims we see in the screenshots in my game. =/

This is starting to become a trend. I play alot of roleplaying games and I see this alot in those too. The designers put down loads of time and effort in making the environments look awsome but the character models seem to be paying for this. They usually look really bad compared to the rest of the game. (good examples on this is Oblivion and Neverwinter Nights 2) Don't they realise how important the looks of their characters are to people in RPGs? (and I much think of the Sims games as rpgs too even if technically they're simulation games) You have no idea how many posts I have seen on games forums with complaints over how awful the characters look in these games (and others) Players put down a lot of energy, time and love to get their characters right. It's time the designers did the same. It's much as if they make the character models as an afterthought once they're happy with how the rest of the game looks *sigh*
Lab Assistant
#14 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 4:56 PM
Hey, what's wrong with NWN2? Elves not looking like supermodels? I don't even think they should. I think good looking trees are simply easier to make than good looking faces. Anyways, there's custom content (And without a doubt a lot of such CC for Oblivion, but I don't play that.)

They don't look awful to me either. They grow on you, and I still say we are not seeing finished version here.

A lurking translator who goes stealthily converting text strings into finnish when he feels like doing that, which is very rarely.
Scholar
#15 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 5:07 PM
I think once you slap a better skin on those sims, they'll look worlds better.

edit: *agrees with NWN2 faces being ugly* Yuck!
Field Researcher
#16 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 5:21 PM
The elves in NWN2 look scary, -like aliens. I cringe when I look at them, and it's these more than anything that have received negative reactions on the forums all over. I don't need supermodels, come on, it's a far step from a scary looking alien to a supermodel. (Having said that, different lore, also the original lore (which is Scandinavian btw) state that elves are beautiful

But now I'm getting off topic.
Lab Assistant
#17 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 5:25 PM
and you guys who are saying they look life-less, you do notice that in most pictures showing faces they aren't doing any actions. The ones that are full body the bodies look amazing.

I like them.
Scholar
#18 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 6:00 PM
I don't like them at the moment. I agree with those who have said that they look all the same. But, it is early days, I'm sure that the graphics and such will improve over time.
Lab Assistant
#19 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 6:36 PM
Well, elves should look both otherworldy and beautiful. Maybe they failed making the combination, but at least they didn't go for the usual supermodel path. As I said, there's CC, and NWNs are all about CC... well, third party modules at least. What NWN2 really needs is more animations, IMO.

But enough of that off topic.

A lurking translator who goes stealthily converting text strings into finnish when he feels like doing that, which is very rarely.
Instructor
#20 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 7:12 PM
I quite like them, they seem realistic as a far as a cartoon goes. They have that apparent cartoon look but it's more true to life this time round. They could do with a little bit of texture where skin is concerned though, they seem quite flat.

I'm not too convinced they'll be as customizable as EAxis are making out - purely because all the Sims we've seen are very similar (that could just be EAxis though, they aren't known for creating very unique and individual looking sims!) - they probably will be quite customizable compared to The Sims 2, but I'm not expecting a celebration and fireworks... if that makes sense
#21 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 7:29 PM
They all look good to me, and in fact it's quite easy for me to see the difference. I actually don't mind the skin texture at all, although if they put in freckles I would just die, it's impossible to make me without my freckles... and I'm only lightly freckled. The eyes could use some recoloring, but I think this time I should be able to do most of that myself.

When you get down to it they are making face templates, not unique sims. We are the ones that make the Sims in any form great. Not Maxis or EA.
Forum Resident
#22 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 7:35 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Elyasis
They all look good to me, and in fact it's quite easy for me to see the difference.

Couldn't agree with you more. Some of the sims look alike, but that doesn't bother me too much. They still look pretty good. Much more rounded than in The Sims 2. Heck, if they make it easier for us dreadful sim creators to make good looking sims, I'll be happy.
Inventor
#23 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 7:45 PM
I don't know, they look kind of strange to me. Kind of like they're made out of clay or something. All their features look really small too. Like someone else said though, I have high expectations for TS3 though.
Scholar
#24 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 7:45 PM
I don't really like it for now (maybe too used to the Sims 2 look ). But it can be changed until next year. :p
Test Subject
#25 Old 25th Mar 2008 at 7:58 PM
But we all know what Townies and NPC's look like in TS2 and how different our sims look so it's probably EAxis 'wonderful' talent at making sims LoL
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