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Massive Article based on Actual Gameplay of Get Together
jackjack_k
Posts: 8,601 Member
I thought I would post this here, since it pretty much explains what the EP is about based on Gameplay itself, rather than that trailer that explains nothing:
It's honest, and informative. The original was posted here:
http://simsvip.com/forums/threads/get-together-behind-closed-doors-presentation-my-thoughts.1347/
A some of you might know, I was invited to Gamescom to see 'Get Together' behind closed doors for SimsVIP.
Let me start off by saying, I went into this presentation unsure what to think of 'Get Together' and I left, still critical about the entire concept of the expansion, as the event did not center on the whole expansion, but was supposed to make clear what clubs mean for the game and how they will change the base game's traditional mechanics.
On those, I now feel confident to say, the clubs really are something we have never seen in any Sims game before and they have the potential to change the game fundamentally for the entirety of the Sims 4 era. But more on that below.
The Sims 4 'Get Together' has a very vague title, showed us a very vague trailer and seems to have a very vague theme. After having seen parts of the expansion in action, I can now understand why. The central theme of this expansion is NOT party-oriented. Neither is it meant to be anywhere near a Night Life expansion, a Free Time expansion or any of the other expansions that 'Get Together' has been compared to recently.
It aims to be its own thing and in doing so it will introduce the clubs as its core feature, as well as new venues for clubs to meet at. These clubs, from what we were shown, integrate seamlessly into the base game. Unlike many expansions we have seen in the past, 'Get Together' will not require you to play a certain world, prepare your current worlds or engage in certain activities to ever get anywhere near witnessing its core feature.
Windenburg will introduce new Sims that come with their own pre-made clubs. Those Sims will wander around your existing saves and worlds, as any other Sim would and that way they will bring the possibility to join their clubs to you, rather than requiring you to find them in Windenburg.
Of course, those clubs can only have so many different themes, so you are able to create your own club whenever you like. And those clubs are only limited by what you are willing to do with them. You choose their logo, you choose their name, you choose their theme (be it a book club, a chess club, a nature club, a food club, a sports club and so on), you choose their age, you choose where they meet and you choose exactly who to invite or kick out of your club.
Be carefull when joining an existing club, though. Because if you don't behave according to your club's rules, it is up to them to kick you out.
Now, what do these clubs do? Why are they so important? What makes them worth an entire expansion? Let me try to explain and tell you my opinion on that.
So far, in every Sims game, our Sims have always been reacting to each other, they could socialize and make a group of friends. But it was never really possible to have a group of friends that is interested in the same activities and themes without your intervention as the player. And even when Sims 3 University introduced social groups, the closest thing we ever had to the new clubs, the things your Sims had in common with other members of that group were always limited. 'Get Together' takes that to a whole new level.
With clubs, interacting Sim to Sim and building relationships between individual Sims is no longer where your limits are set. Clubs allow you to interact with an entire group of Sims as a single Sim. They also allow you to interact with a single Sim as a group of Sims. Or you can have interaction from one club to another. This establishes group dynamics, allows Sims to develop a very specific autonomous behaviour based on their club's theme, but also based on the actions you have your club do. And it will create a very life-like atmosphere, where inactive and active Sims will stop socializing randomly with whoever is available, but instead with Sims who share their interests and are generally liked by a Sim's club.
It will also discourage Sims from interacting with members of a club that is disliked by their own club. This can even go as far as causing an entire club to leave a venue at the same time because a Sim from a rival club tried interacting with them, something we saw happening live at the presentation.
Now this is all factual stuff and won't tell you much about how this club system feels, so maybe my opinion will.
From what we were shown, I can tell you that the club system feels real to life and solid gameplay-wise. Sims stopped doing random stuff and followed their club's interests instead. They no longer interacted randomly with any available Sim, but instead chose to interact with Sims that they liked or who shared their interests. We even saw a sports club separate themselves from the main crowd at a party to stick to themselves instead of interacting with the other Sims, while there where other clubs who got along just well with each other. Again, it felt life-like, something Sims 4 has tried to achieve since the base game.
Best of all, in my opinion, it didn't feel like something that was tucked on or forced onto the game. It felt like it could actually be part of the main game and you will probably use it all the time and stop thinking of it as expansion content, something I always loved about the gameplay added by Generations in Sims 3 and what made it my favourite expansion. The clubs made sense to exist and didn't feel or look out of place.
Also interesting to mention, as we were told by Azure and Lyndsay, Sims in a club will not constantly be following the club's theme. So your book club will not constantly be reading without end while at gathering. Instead, to keep the Sims' interactions as real as possible, a club will develop a certain behavioural pattern based on your own Sim's actions, that will define the club's interests. This will not go as far as to introduce actual Hobbies, like Sims 2 Free Time did, but it will influence how your Sims and their clubs act.
My overall opinion on 'Get Together' still remains sceptical. Even as attandees, we have not yet seen enough of the expansion as a whole, since they wanted us to see and understand the club system, which we did. But there is still a lot of news to come until November.
As for the club system itself, though, I am now convinced that it is a very strong and fundamentally game-changing socializing system that will integrate nicely into the base game and only grow with every new potential club theme, future expansions and game packs are going to add. I can already see myself playing with a Wellness Club that has its weekly meetings at the Spa or a Dog Club, exclusive for Dog owners and their pets, that absolutely despises the old cat ladies' club from Newcrest, as soon as another Pets expansion comes rolling around the corner. Pitting a boy's club and a girl's club against each other also sounds like a fun thing to do. And that's all possible, since the clubs, the pre-made ones in Windenburg aside, don't set any limits. It's us as players who do that.
So if 'Get Together' can deliver nicely when it comes to activities for our clubs, then I am convinced that this expansion will be great with how much potential I have already seen for the clubs. Whether that will actually be the case, though, remains to be seen in the coming months and I will reserve final judgement for November.
It's honest, and informative. The original was posted here:
http://simsvip.com/forums/threads/get-together-behind-closed-doors-presentation-my-thoughts.1347/
Jackeline. She/Her.
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Comments
I guess, but Hot Date/Nightlife/Late Night all brought a Downtown kind of world. The main point of this pack is not to party. It's just one of the things you can do. Late Night was about the City, Nightclubs, Celebrities and Apartments.
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That would be wonderful after we get the hang of clubs.. I can imagine a bowling team. Movie critics.. ect
I feel like their hands are tied and that they're forced to have a family oriented EP next for people who want it, or else someone *cough* *cough* EA *cough* is gonna get emotionally abused. Sorry I have a really bad cold at the moment.
The club feature has a lot of potential -- I'm especially glad that children and teens don't get left out. I think it'll bring more life to all age groups. I also like that instead of conversations with random strangers, Sims will now gravitate toward their fellow group members. I'd imagine that they'd be adding additional features for building groups around -- the article mentioned a sports group, does that mean we're getting more sporting equipment like basketball hoops? That would be extremely cool.
Fun must be always -- Tomas Hertl (San Jose Sharks hockey player)
Sure, you and everyone else, including me ^^, want more new features than the club system (which is, as you said, 'never seen before' isn't that what people howl for left, reight and center?).
Morri’s Showcase Thread
I hope my Sims and lots aren't too terrible!
Origin ID: Kiwicantdie
Willow Creek | Evergreen Harbor
Like GTW EP how they made going to work on paper sound like the biggest thing but it did not turn that good in practice. I have to take my sim to work but instead of doing what I want to do I have to do the same tedious things again and again until I got fed up. The problem now with these jobs if I don't follow my sims in their job locations they will not be promoted.
It's honest and it throws a little safety ladder to hopefully get out of the big hole they dug for themselves at Gamescom.
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