Honestly, I would say that Sims 3 was the best Sims game, but the sheer mess that the code of this game is that makes it unplayable even after heavy modifications just disqualifies it from being the best. My two favorites are The Sims 1 and The Sims 2. The first one when I want to get a bit nostalgic and simple, and the second when I want to build something more complex. I also have a metric fuckton of custom items for both of them.
Honestly, I would say that Sims 3 was the best Sims game, but the sheer mess that the code of this game is that makes it unplayable even after heavy modifications just disqualifies it from being the best. My two favorites are The Sims 1 and The Sims 2. The first one when I want to get a bit nostalgic and simple, and the second when I want to build something more complex. I also have a metric fuckton of custom items for both of them.
I like 3 because with mods you can do shit like this, also there is a direct control mod were you can like fully control your sim, its a bit buggy and you can get stuck sometimes, but it is fun being able to run around the city and shit, like its somewhat GTA
I like TS3 and I like TS2, but I have some gripes with them:
1. Stability issues - even TS2 requires third-party plugins to prevent save corruption and other problems. Also, quite a lot of DLC content in TS2 is buggy, and Maxis didn't bother to fix it, which again requires third-party mods. Don't even get me started on TS3.
TS4's biggest achievement was making the game much more stable and lightweight compared to TS3 (shame it required axing the open world, though).
Although as I remember, base TS3 was very quick and didn't run like ass. Probably it's the weight of all expansion packs that makes the game so unstable.
2. TS4's pathfinding is much better than in earlier games.
3. TS3 eats hard drive space like crazy, particularly on drive C, because it writes all the object and neighbourhood cache in its folder in Documents (and Settings). I have a pirate repack by R.G. Mechanics that puts all paid Sims 3 content together with the base game files, otherwise it would, again, be placed on drive C.
4. As much as I hate the devs for TS4's atrocious user interface, they got one thing right - you can search buyable/buildable items by name, character skill or design style. TS2 has that stupid "collection" folder system. TS3 allows filtering items from certain expansion packs, but all Sims 3 store items are lumped together. Heaven help you if you need to find specific items from a specific DLC world, for example.
Regarding OP's complaints about "SJW bullshit":
1. Mandatory game updates where your required to download shit you may or may not want in your game. Mainly pride shit, and hijab shit. You don't want it in your game? too fucking bad if you don't update can't play your game bigot.
2. Questioning it is discouraged. When the hijab update was announced everyone reed because they called it a cultural thing not what it is a religious thing. A lot of people ate forum bans after questioning it.
3. the gender binary is broken in the sims 4, In stead of making female or male sims you can only choose whether or not they can inpregnate be impregnated or be sterile.
1 and 2. LGBT symbols and religious symbols in particular are purely cosmetic - there is no obligation to actually use them whatsoever, and they are completely independent from the game's actual romance system, which defaults to straight relationships unless you deliberately force characters to flirt with characters of the same sex. Fun fact: gay relationships has been available in the Sims since the original TS1. The base version of TS2 added same-sex marriage. There have never been any real life religious mechanics in Sims games, and EA can't add them without pissing off any foreign markets.
3. Unless we're playing radically different versions of TS4, the character creator allows changing genders the same way it is done in previous games (there are ♂ and ♀ buttons right next to the age buttons); you need to click the plumbob, because stupid UI is stupid:
Making nonbinary/trans characters requires you to find the custom gender settings menu. It is hidden by default:
Default settings are, surprise surprise, not trans - you cannot get trans/non-binary Sims from random character generation, even if you use that bullshit Buzzfeed-style character quiz the game tries to force you to use. Like all LGBT content in the game, you need to deliberately create these Sims yourself, unless you use custom characters from the official Sims Gallery (no idea about that - I haven't got a legit copy) or the Internet (and why would you download that stuff anyway?)
RE The Sims 4 LGBT stuff: more customization of Sims is always better. If you don't like it don't use it or even mod it out if you need to. Sims 4 has far worse issues with overpriced DLC and expansions that never go under half off ($20), mods being required to make the game fun but forced updates breaking mods, and the shallow gameplay. It's a lot better than it was on release just like Simcity (2013) is, but I'd still much rather play Sims 3 or Cities: Skylines.
For the Sims 3, I use Awesomemod as both a no-cd crack and as a core mod that cleans stuff up gameplay wise. With a just modern low-end graphics card and an SSD, The Sims 3 has finally come into it's own despite being buggy and poorly optimized on release. Definitely the best Sims experience unless you want to go for the nostalgia of another game.
The Sims 3 is horrifically unoptimized, and the sims are horrifically ugly unless you replace everything with custom content. The game has absolutely no art direction or style compared to TS2 and even TS4, and also has (IMO) the worst OST in the series.
HOWEVER
It's the game that offers the most in terms of an open-world community simulation, and has the most easily-accessible options for personalization.
Finally, it has a world creator, meaning that the game offers infinite settings for you to play and set your stories in.
That makes up for nearly everything (except for the poor optimization) and surpasses some of the other titles, in my view.
Honestly, I would say that Sims 3 was the best Sims game, but the sheer mess that the code of this game is that makes it unplayable even after heavy modifications just disqualifies it from being the best. My two favorites are The Sims 1 and The Sims 2. The first one when I want to get a bit nostalgic and simple, and the second when I want to build something more complex. I also have a metric fuckton of custom items for both of them.
Sims 2 best. No contest. The jump from Sims 1 to 2 was mind blowing.
OFB, Nightlife and Apartment Life were the best expansions and introduced so much new fun gameplay.
I couldn't get Sims 3 to work on my computer as a kid, and can't get it to work on my laptop now. But whatever, models are fugly.
As for Sims 4, one of the reasons it's so shitty is because it started as a mobile game.
I like TS3 and I like TS2, but I have some gripes with them:
1. Stability issues - even TS2 requires third-party plugins to prevent save corruption and other problems. Also, quite a lot of DLC content in TS2 is buggy, and Maxis didn't bother to fix it, which again requires third-party mods. Don't even get me started on TS3.
TS4's biggest achievement was making the game much more stable and lightweight compared to TS3 (shame it required axing the open world, though).
Although as I remember, base TS3 was very quick and didn't run like ass. Probably it's the weight of all expansion packs that makes the game so unstable.
2. TS4's pathfinding is much better than in earlier games.
3. TS3 eats hard drive space like crazy, particularly on drive C, because it writes all the object and neighbourhood cache in its folder in Documents (and Settings). I have a pirate repack by R.G. Mechanics that puts all paid Sims 3 content together with the base game files, otherwise it would, again, be placed on drive C.
4. As much as I hate the devs for TS4's atrocious user interface, they got one thing right - you can search buyable/buildable items by name, character skill or design style. TS2 has that stupid "collection" folder system. TS3 allows filtering items from certain expansion packs, but all Sims 3 store items are lumped together. Heaven help you if you need to find specific items from a specific DLC world, for example.
Regarding OP's complaints about "SJW bullshit":
1 and 2. LGBT symbols and religious symbols in particular are purely cosmetic - there is no obligation to actually use them whatsoever, and they are completely independent from the game's actual romance system, which defaults to straight relationships unless you deliberately force characters to flirt with characters of the same sex. Fun fact: gay relationships has been available in the Sims since the original TS1. The base version of TS2 added same-sex marriage. There have never been any real life religious mechanics in Sims games, and EA can't add them without pissing off any foreign markets.
3. Unless we're playing radically different versions of TS4, the character creator allows changing genders the same way it is done in previous games (there are ♂ and ♀ buttons right next to the age buttons); you need to click the plumbob, because stupid UI is stupid:
Default settings are, surprise surprise, not trans - you cannot get trans/non-binary Sims from random character generation, even if you use that bullshit Buzzfeed-style character quiz the game tries to force you to use. Like all LGBT content in the game, you need to deliberately create these Sims yourself, unless you use custom characters from the official Sims Gallery (no idea about that - I haven't got a legit copy) or the Internet (and why would you download that stuff anyway?)
if I want it I'll mod it, the fact is all this stuff such as the hijab shit and gay shit is included in mandatory updates. Like it isn't a problem it exists but the fact it's included in required updates and not as an optional dlc is what pissed me off. 2 I think the gender settings are still bullshit. :/
TS2 has always been more stable for me once you install the fixed Neighbourhoods. TS3 was a resource hog and I never had a nice enough computer to run it very well until long after it wasn't cutting edge anymore, and the hard drive space it took up...
But the fact that in TS2 you can't delete families from the neighbourhood screen without causing corrupted save files over time is inexcusable.
But TS2 is the best sims game for me. SC4 is the best city game, Afterlife is the best simcity-clone (Pharaoh and Stronghold are close).
As much as I like 3, i just don't like how everyone looks like they have fat faces, i feel like there is less interactions too in 3, I'd still say 2 was the best, if 2 had the open world and the custom patterns and the ability have custom hair colors without having to download multiple files and the body sliders and some other stuff, it would be top tier,
There is Free Sims Online that comes with Simitone that still in beta or whatever that makes the sims 1 look like 2, where its in full 3d and not isometric, i mean the base objects look somewhat fine but any custom content looks werid, but i don't know how they 3dfied the objects though, and custom skins are finicky like it doesn't like multiple skins for the body mesh, and it doesn't support Body mesh that have a letter in the name like example ba31mafit_whatever. you have to rename them to have numbers
There is Free Sims Online that comes with Simitone that still in beta or whatever that makes the sims 1 look like 2, where its in full 3d and not isometric, i mean the base objects look somewhat fine but any custom content looks werid, but i don't know how they 3dfied the objects though, and custom skins are finicky like it doesn't like multiple skins for the body mesh, and it doesn't support Body mesh that have a letter in the name like example ba31mafit_whatever. you have to rename them to have numbers
TS1 uses a combination of 3d models (sims, walls, terrain) and sprites (objects), and I believe that each sprite had a depth map to determine if sims had to be in front or behind them, which is what allowed them to 'turn' a flat object into a 3d one. I believe that Simcity 4 used the same technology as well.
Of course, it's far from perfect, but it's an ingenious and frankly amazing method of quickly turning everything 3D (imagine having to remake all those objects).
TS2 has always been more stable for me once you install the fixed Neighbourhoods. TS3 was a resource hog and I never had a nice enough computer to run it very well until long after it wasn't cutting edge anymore, and the hard drive space it took up...
But the fact that in TS2 you can't delete families from the neighbourhood screen without causing corrupted save files over time is inexcusable.
But TS2 is the best sims game for me. SC4 is the best city game, Afterlife is the best simcity-clone (Pharaoh and Stronghold are close).
yeah the sims 2 is fine to play with; but I am stuck on a project for modding the sims 3. basically I'm nodding a real birth mod, with animations, as well as trying to merge onikis menstrual cycle+noonas breast feeding mod as well as adding bc abortions and miscarriages. it's been a bitch to code. Anyone got the hospital overhaul mod?
kool thanx I need some coding from it I'm literally taking multiple mods and just Frankensteining a reproductive/fertility mod. Basically onikis kinky world touches on periods and a mensutral cycle and bc but doesn't go far enough ihmo.
I just want to say that TS3 is yes, the best of the franchise, now is 2021 and rumors about TS5 are spreading and I bet it´s gonna be even more shittier than TS4 (if that can be possible) definitely the full customization, awsome expansion packs and the open world where god tier, sure it has a lot of optimization errors but I honestly prefer that than pay 80 dollars for fucking annoying dust bunnies
I've been working on finally making a thread reviewing every single mermaid or mermaid-adjacent movie (and even thinking about doing episode-by-episode reviews for the tv shows). I have my list and everything out there, just need to finally sit down and do it. I think my problem is that I'm too ambitious, as I also want to have everyone be able to watch each with me on lolcow.tv before I review it.
I just want to say that TS3 is yes, the best of the franchise, now is 2021 and rumors about TS5 are spreading and I bet it´s gonna be even more shittier than TS4 (if that can be possible) definitely the full customization, awsome expansion packs and the open world where god tier, sure it has a lot of optimization errors but I honestly prefer that than pay 80 dollars for fucking annoying dust bunnies
sims 4 does have a better cas and build mode than 3, but it'd be even better if i wasnt restricted by the grid or if we had color wheels for everything
or, you know, actually had meaningful gameplay
I just want to say that TS3 is yes, the best of the franchise, now is 2021 and rumors about TS5 are spreading and I bet it´s gonna be even more shittier than TS4 (if that can be possible) definitely the full customization, awsome expansion packs and the open world where god tier, sure it has a lot of optimization errors but I honestly prefer that than pay 80 dollars for fucking annoying dust bunnies
I can only imagine how barebones 5 is going to be after seeing the shitshow that was launch TS4. EA being EA knows they have legions of consoomers who will eat up any shit they serve with the Sims name on it too.
Also yes 3 is the best, janky, but the best. 4 is alright with all the wank-mods enable though.
