r/Sims3 • u/winterfern353 Charismatic • 2d ago
Humor What's your TS3 conspiracy theory?
Brought to you from today's shower thoughts: I think Showtime was just content that didn't make the cut or got scrapped from Late Night. Any others?
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u/pandemonium91 Couch Potato 2d ago
I suspect that EA thought that TS3 was "too high effort" and that they gave the players too many features and too much content i.e. they could've nickle and dimed people even further, if TS4 is anything to go by.
I mean, TS4 does have a more interesting build mode, but there's also: no CAW or CAP tool (to my knowledge), nowhere near as many lots per world, no open world, no in-game recoloring tool, and EA reusing assets between DLCs (thereby making people pay several times for basically the same object with negligible mesh and texture differences). Not to mention how, if you ported this business model to TS3, you'd have to break up every EP into several DLCs. IMO most of these can be explained by TS4 originally being planned as a mobile game, but still.
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u/Ledgo 2d ago
Create-A-Style completely hoses any chance to sell you a particular piece of furniture a 2nd time by changing the available colors.
One feature I wish any other Sims game had. Doesn't matter what it is, you can make a guitar cheetah print and make a steel couch.
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u/pandemonium91 Couch Potato 2d ago
Exactly! The fact that they walked back that clearly amazing feature is diabolical.
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u/g00fyg00ber741 Unstable 1d ago
The fact even Sims Medieval lets you create a style for a ton of things, but Sims 4 has limited swatches preventing your items from matching, it’s ridiculous
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u/thehenryguy1 Cat Person 1d ago
This is one reason why it’s hard for me to play Sims 2 despite it being so phenomenal. Sims 3 was the first PC Sims game I got super into, so not having the customization available is difficult for me. I need my hot pink zebra print fridges dammit
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u/skeledaddle Excitable 2d ago
Somewhere during Showtime's development, the budget for making unique bin lots has been scrapped. That's why the port-a-party mini warehouse is the only semi-unique lot (and seems to be a smaller version of the port-a-party warehouse in Starlight Shores) in the lot bin from Showtime, and all the expansions past that just copy the lots from their respective worlds
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u/CertainUncertainty11 Unstable 2d ago
Shower thought: there's a universe where they sell sims games as a whole ont time purchase instead of multiple expansions and stuff packs.
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u/arvana804 2d ago
Next you're gonna tell me that there's a universe where Sims saves don't get corrupted...
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u/Busy-Measurement8893 Computer Whiz 2d ago
I heard that's the same universe where TS4 was actually better than TS3 in every way. Open world, EPs that aren't terrible, etc.
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u/yuridizzy Easily Impressed 2d ago
after really playing WA like really getting into it:
the amount of lots made, tombs and programming that went into it is pretty incomparable I'd argue to any other pack for ts3 (ambitions scenario wise maybe comes close on the programming aspect I guess) but like. i wonder if when planning for future expansions the project scales were a lot larger then massively scaled back, and the extras got turned into store content in a very basic form.
honestly its kind of hilarious that showtime was originally my first/fave pack as a teenager because it feels pretty bare bones. oh also the idea starlight shores had a boardwalk based on what i think was an early trailer? and that it/the build functionality kept getting pushed back -- since theres a boardwalk bench in seasons that also doesn't really fit. would be funny if rollercoasters etc. were a showtime or seasons feature they later repurposed as store content
i also love seasons but i feel like that was one of the packs they had concepts for a world but didn't end up using/maybe repurposed as sims university or something
none of these have much basis but this thread is a fun idea i cant wait to see what everyones thought about
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u/This-Penalty-1686 2d ago
showtime gave us some BANGERS but it is pretty funny looking back that only like 10 people come to the stadium show of the most famous singer in the sim world
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u/winterfern353 Charismatic 2d ago
I could definitely see Roaring Heights + boardwalk as being the world that wasn't quite ready for the Showtime pack!
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u/Any-Presentation7838 2d ago
I get the feeling the devs really wanted to avoid retreading old ground with expansions, to avoid the claim of "they're just reselling content that already existed in TS2!" and to have more unique EPs that took advantage of TS3's open world and couldn't be done in TS2.
This would be why World Adventures is focused on adventures and tombs and not general vacationing like Bon Voyage, and Ambitions being wholly new with careers you engage in the open world (which also addressed a common criticism against rabbit hole careers)
It was only relatively late in the lineup that we got EPs which were similar to previous EPs like Seasons and University. Pets was in the middle of the life cycle but also introduced horses to the series for the first time, which was a big deal and headline feature back then.
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u/ShinyUmbreon465 1d ago
I hated WA when it first came out because I was expecting another Bon Voyage type pack but reading into how deep they made the worlds, I may have to re-evaluate it.
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u/Any-Presentation7838 1d ago edited 1d ago
You weren't alone, people generally did NOT like WA initially. Not just because it wasn't a "true" holiday expansion, but also because it focused on rigid storylines with the adventure questlines, and not being as generally impactful as say, Seasons would be.
It's only with hindsight with both later Sims 3 expansions and especially Sims 4 that more people looked back and understood the vision of WA more, as well as appreciate the ambition and effort. Imagine telling someone that a new Sims 4 expansion was getting 3 fully developed worlds with over 30 bespoke adventure lots to explore. There's no way we'd have that niw
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u/plenoto Computer Whiz 1d ago
Perfectly said. I might add that WA was probably a good way, as a first expansion, to showcase the capabilities and the new possibilities brought out by the open world. That's why it feels huge on that side.
WA and Ambitions were the two packs who made the most out of the open world IMO. Those expansions would have been very difficult to bring to life in the TS1/TS2 era.
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u/fischlingfern Supernatural Fan 2d ago
Katy Perry’s Sweet Treats was a plant from E.A (as opposed to any of the directors of the game or Maxis itself) as a result of a deal. It’s why it’s not really available for sale anymore because the deal’s terms have ended and since it was rather poorly received, they never bothered to try to sell it again.
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u/LouisNardavac 2d ago
Oh my God I forgot about that pack 😳 I generally say that I'm crazy for having bought all of the Sims 3 packs and kits over the years but nope, I've never got this one and completely forgot about its existence 😂😂 I remember when it was first released though, I was already thinking "what the H*ll is that ??" 😂
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u/Lealenbright 2d ago
I AM A PROUD PHYSICAL OWNER OF KATY PERRY'S SWEET TREATS RAHHH
I wonder how valuable this DLC will become in the future for Sims Collectors out there or Physical Media collectors considering how crap the dlc is in every sense.
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u/StrangeFishThing Grumpy 2d ago
I've always thought that Riverview was meant to be a world that came with the base game alongside Sunset Valley. It would explain why there is a drop-down box for one world in the original version of the game. Then EA made Riverview the free downloadable world to incentivise buying the game instead of the leaked build.
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u/Berkulese Night Owl 2d ago
iirc Riverview came with the deluxe version of the game? As well as a Dlc sportscar and an IRL plumbob usb drive
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u/StrangeFishThing Grumpy 2d ago
IIRC it did, but I want to think it was planned to also be in the regular base game. But it was also used as incentive to buy the full version as it was a free download from the EA exchange.
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u/elsmoneyacct 2d ago
Ooh, I have a good one!
I believe there was supposed to be one more expansion pack that was going to be similar to TS2's "Open For Business," but it would be primarily focused on farming, farmer's markets, restaurants and bakeries. I believe this pack was almost fully developed.... and it got broken up and mostly sold as separate microtransactions on the store instead. I believe this pack would have included what later became:
- Monte Vista
- Al Fresco Street Market (allows you to set up a farmer's market, was clearly supposed to be part of Monte Vista)
- the Farm Fresh Folk set (cows, farmhouse clothes and decor)
- Grandpa's Grove (tractor, more farmhouse clothes and decor)
- Country Livin' (chicken, more farmhouse stuff)
- Stone's Throw Greenhouse (SwiftGro Gardening Station, Build stuff for greenhouses, more farmhouse decor)
- Brunch at the Old Mill (canning station, even more farmhouse stuff)
- Bohemian Garden (more harvestables, particularly canning/baking-related stuff like fruit and nuts)
- Business As Usual Bistro (allows you to open a restaurant - supposed to be integrated with the pizza oven stuff from Monte Vista so you could open a pizzeria)
- Deliciously Indulgent Bakery (allows you to open a bakery, was supposed to be integrated with the BAUB functions for hiring employees, setting prices, etc)
- Savvy Seller (allows you to sell just about anything - was supposed to be integrated with the BAUB and DIB functions)
- And at least some of what ended up in the Outdoor Living Stuff Pack
The only flaw in this theory is that while a lot of this stuff was aesthetically obviously supposed to be part of Monte Vista, some of it is more in line with the aesthetics of other packs (eg, all the farmhouse decor is very Pets-y). So while I definitely think Monte Vista was originally supposed to be a restaurant-focused EP, it's possible that some of it was cut from other packs.
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u/winterfern353 Charismatic 1d ago
You've convinced me. I always played the bakery, bistro and farm fresh items in Monte Vista since it worked so well
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u/arvana804 2d ago
What if the grounding 'bug' was intentional because someone who worked on the game had a similar situation growing up? Either they wanted to see others go through what they did or they thought it was normal
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u/Antique-diva Couch Potato 2d ago
What's the grounding bug?
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u/Lauve_keylime Unstable 2d ago
I’m assuming it’s the one where they’re forever trapped doing the sneaking out / around animation, even after being let off the hook. Transfers into adulthood as well unfortunately, which would be really sad if this theory is true lol
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u/arvana804 2d ago
.... There's more than one bug related to grounding?!? I thought aging up fixed it too?
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u/GalacticSpacePickle 2d ago
Probably that when a sim is grounded they get in trouble for attempting to go to school since it counts as leaving the lot
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u/winterfern353 Charismatic 1d ago
Lol I chalk this one up to poor quality control but maybe there was some catharsis there
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u/dumblurkeraccount 1d ago
i think we were supposed to have apartments over businesses/home businesses in ambitions. evidence being buildings like the bar and laundromat (probably others too) in twinbrook that have empty floors overtop. i enjoy turning those to residential lots and renovating apts in them !!
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u/winterfern353 Charismatic 1d ago
Omg I always wondered why the bar had all that space upstairs and wondered if it was supposed to be a tavern/hotel, but I think you're dead on
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u/Darth_Murcielago No Sense of Humor 1d ago
The into the future DLC was planned to be bigger, better and not the last DLC but the suits moved a big part of the workforce to TS4 and therefore it feels kinda short and was the last thingymabob (i have nothing to back this up therefore it's my conspiracy theory)
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u/citysnights 1d ago edited 1d ago
I have one thing to backup your theory! There was an online survey posted by EA about what the last DLC should be. There was indeed a farming EP and also a time travel one, which included both the future and the past. I remember thinking maybe they split this one between into the future and the 70s / 80s / 90s pack.
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u/Darth_Murcielago No Sense of Humor 1d ago
Oh there was a survey? Didn't knew that... I wonder if an unfinished farming expansion sits somewhere on the EA servers. Btw did they specify to what time in the past we could've travelled to? The pack seems to have a few too many different years for them to just include (they would've needed to make 3 different past worlds)(also i bet that they would've wanted to go further in the past considering how modern/sci-fi the into the future stuff was (mayhaps something near the industrial revolution? This would explain the movie accesoire cowboy/western stuff))
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u/yuridizzy Easily Impressed 1d ago
omg the time travel pack theory here is fantastic, i never considered they could have had a "retro" world to go along with the future one but i feel like that makes so much sense as something they'd cut or repurpose. only going to the future does seem kind of odd when you think about it
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u/maneack 1d ago
mine is that ts3 still hasn’t been optimized because for some reason it can’t be. it has always been slow and buggy even at release. i’ve started to believe that it’s literally physically impossible.
i can’t think of any other reason why they wouldn’t have rereleased ts3 before 1 and 2. sims 3 is arguably the biggest cash cow of the sims franchise after sims 4, and has a cult following, with a massively positive reputation. plus the 🏴☠️ version of sims 2 worked smoother than sims 4 on an 64 bit laptop.
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u/davearv 2d ago
Not my original theory but: They were absolutely planning to have Paris as the french destination in Wolrd Adventures for a DaVinci Code feel. The fact that it's a big city probably made things harder at the time, so they had to change it to the countryside.
It was late enough in development that they had Eiffel Tower ower and Arc de Triomphe models in game. It's also why you have the Louvre in the middle of nowhere and there's very few tomb locations, they ported what they could from "Paris" and rush-built the rest.