Why is Sims 3 better than 4?

[Jack The Ripper]

Just wondering considering Sims 4 isn't terrible but a LOT of people seem to think this game is superior and I just wanna know why.

[DZ1987]

For me it is the open world. The Sims 4 puts everything behind loading screens again, which makes the world a lot less fluid and lot less like...the world.

[BoSs_391]

Originally posted by DZ1987:

For me it is the open world. The Sims 4 puts everything behind loading screens again, which makes the world a lot less fluid and lot less like...the world.

That and the fact that Sims 4 DLC content is cut down and expensive,. Example, Sims 3 Supernatural, it has magic, zombies, vampires, witches, etc. Sims 4 has a seperate magic DLC, a Vampire DLC, etc.

[[ITA]ZaZinga9700]

because the sims 3 has a soul, the sims 4 is only money grabbing

[HiFive]

The open world(s). You can ride a bike, jog, or drive through towns and landscapes. Gathering fruits and vegetables around town and in the wild and growing them in gardens is more realistic in this game. Fishing in the ocean and lakes is more "real", as well. The graphics are all just more realistic to me. I also prefer the color wheel and the many choices I have for creating clothing and flooring and wall coverings in Sims 3. Pretty much everything is more realistic and immersive for me, compared to Sims 4.

[Sindorei]

All that and I cant stand games that go down the cartoony route like Sims 4 did, Civ 6 has done the same mistake.

[kaykes]

this is kinda restating everything thats already been said, but sims 3 just has more personality. literally. the sims in sims 4 are all the same even with different traits and it doesnt help that you're only allowed 3 traits for an adult sim in sims 4. besides that the sims 3 has open world where you can take your car that sims 4 doesnt have and go to the GROCERY STORE (which sims 4 ALSO doesn't have) and keep in mind, all the stuff i just mentioned is part of the base game. like someone else said, the sims 4 pumps out packs that SHOULD be in the same pack, but for some reason are split into two packs and both cost 20-40 dollars. they did this with cats & dogs and my first pet stuff. it might just be my nostalgia for the game but in my mind, everything is better in sims 3, down to the music and loading screen. seriously, sims 3 has ONE loading screen and they make it more bearable by giving you a little "find the item" game. sims 4 needs loading screens to go anywhere and its just a white screen basically.
also generations is the best sims pack to ever be released and its in sims 3 so :)

[kaiyl_kariashi]

no joke the Ambitions dlc itself (40 bucks on release) was split up into 280 dollars worth of game-paks and expansions for Sims 4. And it still doesn't have all the content Ambitions does.

World Adventures by itself is like 20 of their "adventure style" game-paks.

Yes the Sims Store content is on about the same level of ♥♥♥♥ as what EA released for Sims 4, but the SimsStore is out of sight/out of mind (and most of it trash you don't want in your game anyway or that you can get something equivalent or better for free with mods).

And due to create-a-style you don't even really need that much in the way of mods since all you really need is a base model and you can make it's design almost anything you want.

While the dlcs constantly spam you if you're missing any.

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About the only thing Sims 4 did somewhat better is some aspects of Build-Mode are a bit less tedious to use and you can make your own blueprints easily.

Sims 3 supports blueprints (and includes several alright options) but actually designing your own is a pain in the ass to get them imported as there's no normal in-game way to create them.

[johanlouwet78]

I have played Sims 1 not that much but Sims 2 and 3 I spend thousands of hours and played all expansions. I have rebought Sims 3 base game a few days ago. Even though the options are limited I was quickly hooked again. Compare that to Sims 4 base game which I bought a while ago on Steam. I played for a few days. It was one exercise in frustration. Everything that I liked about 3 was dumbed down in order to have smoother gameplay and better graphics. Too bad I played for too long (hoping it would get more fun after a while) otherwise I would have asked for a refund.
The Sims 3 expansions, dlc's are on sale in 1 big bundle, that's what I'm going for now. :)
Screw the Sims 4, like others have said it looks like a cash grab where every expansion from previous installments are just divided in more parts.

[Caz]

Ever since this question first popped up, the most common answer by far is some variation of "Sims 3 has an open world".
While there's a lot I like about Sims 4, I just can't stick with it. To even go to the next door neighbor's throws you into a loading screen.

I still remember the house I built on a 64x64 lot in Sims 3 and how I could see the entire town from the backyard across a large field. And when it snowed, the view was like something straight out of a Christmas movie. You can't get anything remotely like that in Sims 4. And that level of immersion is what a lot of Sims fans really enjoy.

[Haruspex]

The open world is a big part of it. I could have mom partying and flirting with strangers at the club while dad watches the kids at home by himself, and I can seamlessly switch back and forth between them with no loading and no pause in the action.

There's also the progression and character development. There are a LOT more traits to pick from in The Sims 3, and you can apply more of them, making for more interesting characters. Your characters in The Sims 3 can also WANT things. They can have goals, and stories get told on the way to those goals. It's truly emergent gameplay. You can also completely customize EVERYTHING, down to the pattern and color of each component of each piece of furniture or clothing. Want a lime green floral patterned blouse with purple buttons and a canary yellow collar? Sure, you can do that.

In Sims 4, fewer traits, characters never seem to want anything, never seem to say no. They seem to have less personality, like weird robot Stepford people. It's more like playing with dolls than simulating people with all their quirks and flaws.

Sims 4 has better building tools and CAS is easier to work with, and that's about all I can say it has going for it. It also runs a bit better, but that's mostly due to it utilizing more modern tech and it being so scaled down compared to The Sims 3. If The Sims 3 were updated to use a 64 bit executable and a more modern rendering system like DX12 or Vulkan, it would run like a dream on modern PCs.

[FiftyBucks]

Originally posted by kaiyl_kariashi:

no joke the Ambitions dlc itself (40 bucks on release) was split up into 280 dollars worth of game-paks and expansions for Sims 4. And it still doesn't have all the content Ambitions does.

World Adventures by itself is like 20 of their "adventure style" game-paks.

Yes the Sims Store content is on about the same level of ♥♥♥♥ as what EA released for Sims 4, but the SimsStore is out of sight/out of mind (and most of it trash you don't want in your game anyway or that you can get something equivalent or better for free with mods).

And due to create-a-style you don't even really need that much in the way of mods since all you really need is a base model and you can make it's design almost anything you want.

While the dlcs constantly spam you if you're missing any.

---------------------------------------

About the only thing Sims 4 did somewhat better is some aspects of Build-Mode are a bit less tedious to use and you can make your own blueprints easily.

Sims 3 supports blueprints (and includes several alright options) but actually designing your own is a pain in the ass to get them imported as there's no normal in-game way to create them.

This really puts it into perspective to breakdown an expansion as popular as Ambitions into Sims 4 cost. Yes, the sims 3 store can be ignored as easily as Bethesda's creations club content can be for Skyrim. That's the best thing I can think of to compare it to.

[LC-DDM]

To put it simply, and lending credence to many of the other replies in this thread without repeating what they're saying almost verbatim:

In terms of functions and gameplay, Sims 4 would be more at home being Sims 2.5.

[QHD_144hz_MLED_5ms]

Originally posted by johanlouwet78:

Everything that I liked about 3 was dumbed down in order to have smoother gameplay and better graphics. Too bad I played for too long (hoping it would get more fun after a while) otherwise I would have asked for a refund.

Sims 4 has worse graphics in everything except the shaders lol

[Peno11]

In order to not repeat what others said, I can say this: Sims 3 is better because with Sims 4 EA got lazy and greedy. That may not sound fair to the ordinary developers, but that's really the feeling I, ordinary player, have.