hogso Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 Happy for this thread to be used for any game which would fit the simulator label - however, the specific purpose I wanted to create a new thread for was discussion of those simulator games which enable the player to carry out tasks which may be deemed menial, boring, or the very things which people play computer games to get away from. This month on PS+ Farm Simulator 19 was included - at least, the vanilla version. Now, I've played Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon games before, and enjoyed them, but this is something else. Being a 'true' simulator, it's real world based, has a hard on for the processes, and although this seems to vary from game to game based on the subsequent research I've done, you generally can't do all that much in the way of shortcuts - and even if you do, they're those which could be done for real, like hiring workers to do jobs for you which need to be paid. My time with FS19 was pleasant enough, I appreciated the change of pace, and as long as you can take some sort of satisfaction from what ever process needs to be carried out, it's worth looking at. That's really important too, I think. These games are definitely not fun, they don't try to be, and are wide open for criticism on that basis. The satisfaction of getting a job done though...that's a real tangible thing that these devs have tapped in to, and people are happy to pay for that experience. As well as Farm Simulator, there are some other really infamous examples - Flight Simulator, Truck Simulator, things like Sim City and Football Manager too. There's then the games which are simulators, of a sort, but definitely aim to fun - I'm thinking about stuff like Goat Simulator and I Am Bread, and even RPG Item Shop games like Recettear and Atelier. What my short experience with FS19 has opened my eyes to, though, is a whole raft of other, more niche simulator games - namely Car Mechanic Simulator, PC Building Simulator, and my personal current favourite, House Flipper. In House Flipper you start out with a modest sum of money, and start jobs for people which you take via email from your 'office' (shack) laptop. Essentially you're a handyman - painter, decorator, plumber, electrician, plasterer, wrecking ball, interior designer and architect rolled in to one. To start with, you simply clean for people, maybe fix a few radiators, or decorate a specific room. Once you have enough money though, you buy a wreck of a house, fix it up, and sell it. This process of taking a wreck, tidying it up, coming up with a plan, re-designing it a bit, then decorating and furnishing it to take it to auction to make a big profit, then buy a new, bigger house and start all over again, I can say without any shame I find utterly captivating. My level of satisfaction at the job I've done is such that the game becomes fun. Granted, I can play it for a couple of hours before getting burnt out, but even so. I find myself at work thinking about what I'm going to do with the cellar on that new house I bought yesterday. Utility room and games room come office would make sense. I'm eager to try more, I think. Anyone have any sims they play frequently, or would recommend? The more obscure the better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilko154 Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 Downloaded Farm Simulator last night and played for a few hours. Started it on the hardest setting which was probably not the best idea. Finding it quite boring tbh, although it's strangely rewarding at the same time. House Flipper has been one I've had my eye on for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante_Lockhart Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 I remember being fond of the early Sims games. I have got Sims 4 downloaded (free game from PSPlus a few months ago) but not started it yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hornso Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 I played the original Sims quite a bit back in the day. Another one I used to get into quite a bit was Transport Tycoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogso Posted May 14, 2020 Author Share Posted May 14, 2020 22 hours ago, wilko154 said: House Flipper has been one I've had my eye on for a while. I can highly recommended it, as long you go in to it knowing you're going to be doing boring tasks very frequently. There are some very simple skill trees - for example, in the Painting branch, you can upgrade to use 20% less paint, and paint 3 sections of a wall at once - but even so you're still doing the same things over and over. Depending on how willing you are to work through that towards the goal of buying your next house will answer whether or not it's worth the £15 (current price on PSN), maybe cheaper on Steam though? There's a Garden DLC too on Steam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogso Posted September 22, 2022 Author Share Posted September 22, 2022 Hyped for this. Also Looks pretty cool, man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bielesibub Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 On 11/05/2020 at 11:35, hogso said: Happy for this thread to be used for any game which would fit the simulator label - however, the specific purpose I wanted to create a new thread for was discussion of those simulator games which enable the player to carry out tasks which may be deemed menial, boring, or the very things which people play computer games to get away from. ... nothing more boring and menial than Santa Paravia on the TRS-80, my first sim game. I think the main concept was doling out grain to the great unwashed on a yearly basis. How on Earth could I possibly have fond memories of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tegis Posted September 23, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted September 23, 2022 Played the snot out of The Settlers on the Amiga. What a game!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daft Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 1 hour ago, Tegis said: Played the snot out of The Settlers on the Amiga. What a game!! Oh man, talk about nostalgia! generally I like simulators. Have played a lot of sub sims over the years. Silent Hunter series, Sub Command, Dangerous Waters and more arcadey iterations such as Cold Waters. Also used to play the IL2-series of sims as well as DCS, but the increasing complexity of setting up peripherals such as head trackers sort of turned me off those. For more relaxed sims I played a lot of PC Building Simulator some years ago. Really relaxing and fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PussEKatt Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 I cant stop playing Civilization 4,plus its add-ons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogso Posted October 13, 2022 Author Share Posted October 13, 2022 Anybody played Hardspace Shipbreaker? It's reviewed really rather well, and I love the concept. You're a shipbreaker, in space, in the distant future woken day in day out by a Glados-like AI, in a solar system owned by mega-corps, with a debt of $100m...because you have to pay for everything from tools, to licenses, to oxygen. It just recently got a PS5 and Xbox release, but has been available in early access on Steam for some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RunRickyRun Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 The Hunter : Call of the Wild is a great hunting game. It's a few years old but still looks great. The mission structure is decent and the scoring system keeps you tense while you track that elusive diamond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaliver Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 i love simulator games farming simulator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts