Top 6 Reasons I'm Not Getting Sims 3 Anytime Soon

I guess everyone knows I'm not getting the Sims 3, at least not anytime soon, but with its immiment(ish) release, I wanted to go over why... it's a big list, probably bore you to tears, but hey, I like blogging about things.

In reverse order of importance (er, more or less):

6) EA's patch distribution policy. I've been ticked off at this for a while, though it wouldn't have been enough by itself to keep me away from EA's games. If you buy all the EPs, you probably haven't noticed this, but EA is in the frequent habit of making it so that patches that fix things in earlier EPs are only available in patches distributed for later EPs, e.g., fixing Base Game or University problems in OFB, without distributing an updated patch for the BG or Uni. This is, frankly, bullshit, but it would be livable bullshit if I didn't have any other complaints.

5) The graphics. Again, probably wouldn't have been enough by itself, but frankly, a next-gen game should have a significant update in graphics, not just little tweaks. They appear to have used slightly more detailed texture files, additional bump-mapping, some specularity, and a small increase in poly count. If you aren't looking at the details, the game honestly looks pretty static when compared to TS2. I'm not saying that it looks bad... I can see they did make improvements. They're just pretty minor. And the actual skins look worse to me, sadly.

4) I'm not done with Sims 2. Normally that wouldn't necessarily mean I'd not buy a sequel, though given their history, I certainly wouldn't before they had at least one patch and possibly at least one EP (and its patch) in any event. But I have two currently-stalled projects running and a third in the planning stages (yes, really) and one of those projects would be long-term even if I managed to get back on a regular play and update schedule (yes, I still hope to). That's a lot of projects, and I'd rather concentrate on them, and what I don't get is why EA doesn't realize that I'm not alone... they just released more TS2 stuff, even (hell, the latest EP is still relatively new). I guess they figure people would play both? Eh, whatever, point is, I'm not done.

3) SecuROM. I don't think I need to explain this to anyone who reads this blog. Though I should note, incidentally, that I hear they were considering changing this. Presumably the Spore complaints and sales had an impact. And yes, if they went back to Safedisk, I would actually consider buying stuff from them again. It's still not ideal, but it's got fewer issues, smaller security holes, and is more easily removable, even for the non-tech-savvy. Of course, better still would be going with an installation-key-only, no-disk-in-game-or-backups-allowed system, but that's a different rant, except to mention that Stardock is having no issues with that and have been selling more copies than ever of their games...

2) Certain Gameplay Changes. No, not all of them; the traits system, for instance, sounds pretty interesting... but there are definitely some things that do not sound good to me. For one thing, there's the "other households do things while you're not there" thing... and while this is an interesting feature, it should be optional; last I heard, it is definitely not, and that's enough right there to keep me from wanting the game much. Maybe they'll change that later. A bit less importantly, I'm not sure I like what I'm hearing about the new Needs-like system. It's not that I'd miss watching my Sims do the potty dance two inches from the toilet so much as that it seems like they're removing some of the challenge of the game by changing this, and I'm not sure I'd like that. And lastly, the seamless neighborhood means that community lots are now folded in, and while you've got Sim A at a community lot, Sim B is burning the house down, er, I mean, cooking... I don't know how I feel about that at all.

1) Certain Customization Changes. Again, not all of them; I'd love to be able to customize furniture in game with clicks. But there's a few problems. For one, reports from the Creator Camp suggest that meshing and using custom textures is either going to be hard or all-but-impossible, at least to start. That means their colours, their patterns, their styles, at least for a while, which is okay but not ideal. More importantly, unless there's news I missed (and there could be), they're sticking you with one neighborhood, which you can't set up from scratch, populated with their townies and their unchangeable stores and so forth... which to me misses the whole point of having a playground. And, while I'm sure they will change this in the future if they have even half a brain (and I'm pretty sure the execs between them have that much at least), until they do, I don't think I want to deal with it. And, lastly, from all reports, they are not only in bed with the paysites but explicitly allowing them this time around. Some people may not have an issue with that. I do.

Additional Notes

Honestly it sounds to me like they really have made something closer to the failed Simsville project than a true Sims successor. I think that even if I could be persuaded to get it (the removal of SecuROM and the existence of good reports of low bugginess and/or patches fixing things would be required) it would be sufficiently different that it would in no way be a replacement for Sims 2.

It might be an interesting tool for storytelling of a non-legacy sort, but unless/until they make it so I can choose whether or not households advance when I'm not playing them (call it a 'stasis option'), I'm pretty sure I wouldn't enjoy trying to do a legacy in it, since I like following at least some spares. Certainly if I did a generational thing in TS3 it'd end up in a far different style, as it'd follow only certain character's viewpoints and everyone else would be a side character... I wouldn't dare go play another household besides the main one because I might miss something important in that one. And it would be extremely difficult at best to stage certain types of scenes.

So while it might be interesting to try out, I can't imagine moving entirely to it. Rather, if they do change things enough that I decide to get it, it'll be a side thing I play around with at best.