Sims 3 tried to approximate that, though in reality Sims that you couldn’t see around at the moment had a very simple alternate simulation instead of the full sim for those you were watching.
The illusion mostly worked and you technically had a full seamless small town you could visit and interact directly with.
Sims 3 was also an unstable nightmare, but it was made for what is now 15-year-old hardware and, I assume, held together with shoestrings.
They got rid of the seamless part in 4, instead splitting the world in tiny groups of a couple buildings each, meaning even EA probably thought the open town was too much trouble. Too bad because the separate blocks are a lot more boring too… Like most of the Sims 4 really.
Sims 3 tried to approximate that, though in reality Sims that you couldn’t see around at the moment had a very simple alternate simulation instead of the full sim for those you were watching.
The illusion mostly worked and you technically had a full seamless small town you could visit and interact directly with.
Sims 3 was also an unstable nightmare, but it was made for what is now 15-year-old hardware and, I assume, held together with shoestrings.
They got rid of the seamless part in 4, instead splitting the world in tiny groups of a couple buildings each, meaning even EA probably thought the open town was too much trouble. Too bad because the separate blocks are a lot more boring too… Like most of the Sims 4 really.