The general backwardness in The Sims 4
by GarnnettOriginal Post
@Garnnett, the problem is that The Sims 3 didn't work on many people's computers, or if it did work, it would take forever to load, and then it would lag like crazy, often coming to a grinding halt for a while (and this would take a lot longer than the simple loads that TS4 has!) TS3 would overclock many Simmers' laptops, and while I didn't play with a laptop, I still had lots of trouble by the end of TS3's run! 
I would always have to have a big book to read while "playing" TS3 so I had something to do on my downtime -- and I read a lot of these books during the Sims 3. I never have to read during the loading screens of TS4! There's no time for it! 
The concept of TS3's open world was great, but in reality, it didn't work as intended for many people.
This is why EA made TS4 the way they did. Even when TS3 wouldn't' lag, or altogether stop, the open world didn't always work to our advantage. For example, sometimes our Sim would have a task to accomplish that would require interacting with a Sim they didn't live with, but their work hours didn't' permit them to socialize until the middle of the night. The problem is that in an open world, most of the Sims would be at home "in bed". You would send your Sim down to some local hot spot like a bar or restaurant, but there were no Sims to interact with. (By the time any Sim reached that spot, your Sim would be too tired to do anything, or would have to go to work.) So you would look for another place to send them to that looked like it had one or 2 people to interact with, but by the time your Sim got there, those Sims were gone, leaving that venue empty as well! 
What good is an open world if no one is there when you need them? 
I never have that problem with TS4! If my Sims travels somewhere late at night, there is always other Sims to interact with! 
To me, the Sims3 open world was a lure that often didn't pay off. It was as if I was promised pizza but got lima beans instead.
Also, some aspects of TS4 are better than TS3. For starters, I love that Sims 4 lets your Sims multitask! This makes them seem more life-like, and makes it easier to accomplish much more with them. Also, Vampires and Toddlers were done much better in TS4 than TS3. I am not the only person who has stated this. Furthermore, families (if you have the Parenthood Game Pack) feel much more like families that they ever did in any of the versions of The Sims! 
By far, the best part of TS3 was the Create A Style (CASt) that allowed you to take any color or pattern and place it on any object your Sim wore or owned. It would also let you take any pattern and change it to a color you liked! But this too had its perils! I admit a lot of it was my fault since I was soooo addicted to CASt that I couldn't stop adding patterns and colors! 
This clogged up my game immensely and any time I would go into Build/Buy Mode or give them a new outfit, it would take 40-45 min just for all my CASt selections to load! 
My favorite version of The Sims is probably TS2! The graphics wouldn't hold up today, but the storytelling was fantastic ! I preferred TS2 gameplay over TS3. :eahigh_file:
As for using TS3 as a reference for TS5, (unless EA can figure out how to give us an open world that actually works on most people's computers), I don't think they will be doing an open world again. Not everyone can afford an expensive gamming computer.
That said, they would probably take some cues from all of the Sims versions if and when they ever make a Sims 5!
Happy Simming on whichever version(s) of the Sims you like best!
@Garnnett, sorry to take so long to answer back! But thank you for replying to my reply!
Boy, that was some trailer for TS2! I have seen that trailer before, but not in a long time! 
Even though the actual game never had some of the activites that the trailer showed (such as toddlers hanging from a spinning ceiling fan!) it still brought back a lot of memories! Thanks!
Yes, you are right about needing higher RAM memory for The Sims 3 -- I didn't have enough so my city was sparsely populated compared to some others' cities. But with TS4 they are trying to make a game that that most people will be able to play. 
Apparently, even with this there are still some people that are having problems with being able to have space for all the expansions for The Sims 4 on their laptops/notebooks. I don't have that problem since I play on a desktop, but I'm sure there are quite a bit of people who play on a notebook. Just in the last hour, I replied to a person who had this very problem! (The thread was about the possibility of allowing TS4 to be online to utilize the Cloud so less powerful computers could handle it. Feel free to read it, if you want).
And yes, our technology is much improved from what it used to be. But that doesn't necessarily mean that EA "currently have no excuse to create a more advanced game". I used to wonder why we could go to space and even land on the moon, but no one could invent pantyhose that didn't run and snag. But then I learned to knit, and only then did I understand the problem that I had assumed for years was so easy to solve! 
Sadly, this isn't the only time I had assumed something could easily be fixed with current technology only to find out the problem was much more complicated than I had imagined. How do you make a complex computer game that allows most people to play it, but still has pushed the boundaries of the game's genre? 
I think that EA struck a balance between TS2's closed world and TS3's open one. TS4's semi-open world really seems like a blend of these two styles. I'm happy with that! 
Now, if they were able to have an open world that worked like it should have for all players, then that would be perfect!
As for the problem with some packs needing other packs in order to get all the features, no, that isn't ideal. But then again, most people who would want the extra stuff that comes with My First Pet SP are animal lovers and probably already have (or are planning to get) the Cats & Dogs GP. I think more people are upset at the principle of this than they are with it actually being a problem in their game.
As for if and when there is a Sims5, I don't know if it would be a good idea for EA to make it more "mature" like you suggested. I know of a great many people (myself included) that are adults and still find The Sims interesting enough to play! Plus, how "mature" should a game like this go? No matter what boundaries you might think are acceptable, some one else will want to push the envelope even farther, while others will be completely turned off. Since the Sims has always been for Teens and older, I think it should stay that way.
Also, the Sims had an online version over 10 years ago. But it must not have worked out as planned since it didn't last that long. I do not know if they would be willing on trying an online version again or not. But I do hope they enable the Sims to work on as many platforms (like Nintendo Switch) as possible! :eahigh_file:
Finally, thank you for responding to me in a polite manner even if I don't agree with everything you mentioned! Your respect is much appreciated!
Happy Simming!
