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    LEAKED! Early Gameplay of the Sims 4 + new information.

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    jackjack_kjackjack_k Posts: 8,601 Member
    edited May 2017 in The Sims 4 General Discussion
    Here is a video of how the Sims 4 looked while it was being built:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8XX2g0u2kw

    Apparently, there were screenshots of this video that were released earlier this year, but now we have the video and some more info. People on Twitter are getting information from the devs website.

    I'm posting what they post below:

    Chi Chan talked about the UI in the Sims 4 and revealed new information about the original Sims 4 game.
    I bolded the important parts.
    The design of the UI for the Sims 4 changed many times throughout production, as the type of game the Sims 4 would be was forever changing. Originally, the UI had to be the same for three different types of gameplay styles, which meant developing a design that felt easy to use, while easily displaying different types of gameplay modes in a clear way. The Sims 4 was originally a different title, with a Story Mode, Online Mode and Freeplay Mode. The Story Mode was similar to that of the earlier Sims consoles games, which required different icons that wouldn't be available in Online Mode and Freeplay Mode. Story Mode would show different menus and icons showing game progress and unlocked items. Some aspects of Story Mode remain in the final game, such as the interface for accessing secret areas (which was originally a Story Mode exclusive, but ended up as Hidden Lots in the final game) and unlocking objects as you progress through Careers (which originally was there to unlock items in Story Mode as you progressed). Online Mode allowed players to play in a way that was again unique, and allowed you to create a single Sim and move them into a home. You could choose your friends as Neighbors and clicking on a friends house would include a UI format of moving a friend via their online account. This was completely removed in the final game. Online Mode was more of a virtual chatroom, and you compete with friends in certain activities, such as racing to reach a certain milestone in game, or completing goals the quickest. This came entirely with it's own UI. The final mode, Freeplay Mode, was a more traditional experience, but was more streamlined than the previous titles, as it was more of an extra gameplay mode built from the Story and Online mode, rather than a gameplay mode built from scratch. This meant that several icons from the Story and Online Mode were present in the UI, but greyed out and unclickable.
    As changes were made, and the game was left with just a Freeplay mode, the UI was streamlined to be more simple and required less icons, which at first meant the removal of a top panel for other gameplay modes. However as final touches were made, some of the icons from the bottom panel were made for a much smaller top panel.

    http://www.chichan.org/
    Jackeline. She/Her.
    Insta: https://instagram.com/jkarajs?igshid=oef2ymrand3g
    Post edited by jackjack_k on

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      jackjack_kjackjack_k Posts: 8,601 Member
      edited October 2015
      Also, it's interesting to note:

      The objects and textures in the early version of the game show much higher polycounts, and much more detail in the items.
      It's interesting to see that alot of the texture quality was reduced for the final game, even though the developers created much higher detailed content.
      Even the pockets on her jacket aren't 2D.

      Devs don't usually go to the trouble of creating more detailed items, just to simplify them further on.
      Makes me wonder if EA made the devs reduce the polycount and textures so more people could play the game.

      Hmm.

      ----

      Also, Hidden Lots and why they exist make more sense. And it's interesting to see there was a Story Mode.
      Post edited by jackjack_k on
      Jackeline. She/Her.
      Insta: https://instagram.com/jkarajs?igshid=oef2ymrand3g
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      ScobreScobre Posts: 20,665 Member
      edited October 2015
      Ooh those dust particles. I like the grass better. The world size and the water and the Sims and houses look the same to me. I think they used a lot of Olympus assets to develop the Sims 4. Notice the real roads and the car parked on the street? That neighborhood map is much better.

      A Simmer at MTS did confirm they found Olympus files in their Sims 4 folder.
      "Well, I have a bunch of error logs in my TS4 docs folder, and they all contain this:
      Code:<sku>ea.maxis.sims4.13.pc</sku><createtime>2015-10-19 20:24:50</createtime><buildsignature>Local.Unknown.Unknown.1.11.64.1020-0001.0200.0000.0150.Release</buildsignature><categoryid>(AS)olympus.browser::"
      “Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
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      GabbyGirlJGabbyGirlJ Posts: 6,858 Member
      jackjack_k wrote: »
      Also, it's interesting to note:

      The objects and textures in the early version of the game show much higher polycounts, and much more detail in the items.
      It's interesting to see that alot of the texture quality was reduced for the final game, even though the developers created much higher detailed content.
      Even the pockets on her jacket aren't 2D.

      Devs don't usually go to the trouble of creating more detailed items, just to simplify them further on.
      Makes me wonder if EA made the devs reduce the polycount and textures so more people could play the game.

      Hmm.

      I absolutely think that choices like the reduced polycount and the lack of collision detection when the game was released (is there collision detection between sims now?) would make sense if they were designing this game as a multiplayer experience originally.
      IHJCfa6.jpg
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      elelunicyelelunicy Posts: 2,004 Member
      Not sure about polycount, but the terribly compressed textures in the final game probably have a lot to do with TS4 being a 32-bit game and incapable of using more than 4GB RAM.

      TS4 uses dx9 and textures have to be mirrored in the system RAM. Better textures = higher memory usages = game would crash way more often, regardless of your computer specs.
      qidpmcvgek8y.png
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      jackjack_kjackjack_k Posts: 8,601 Member
      GabbyGirlJ wrote: »
      jackjack_k wrote: »
      Also, it's interesting to note:

      The objects and textures in the early version of the game show much higher polycounts, and much more detail in the items.
      It's interesting to see that alot of the texture quality was reduced for the final game, even though the developers created much higher detailed content.
      Even the pockets on her jacket aren't 2D.

      Devs don't usually go to the trouble of creating more detailed items, just to simplify them further on.
      Makes me wonder if EA made the devs reduce the polycount and textures so more people could play the game.

      Hmm.

      I absolutely think that choices like the reduced polycount and the lack of collision detection when the game was released (is there collision detection between sims now?) would make sense if they were designing this game as a multiplayer experience originally.

      Very true :)
      Jackeline. She/Her.
      Insta: https://instagram.com/jkarajs?igshid=oef2ymrand3g
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      jackjack_kjackjack_k Posts: 8,601 Member
      edited October 2015
      The final mode, Freeplay Mode, was a more traditional experience, but was more streamlined than the previous titles, as it was more of an extra gameplay mode built from the Story and Online mode, rather than a gameplay mode built from scratch. This meant that several icons from the Story and Online Mode were present in the UI, but greyed out and unclickable.

      This part is the most interesting to me. So the Sims 4 was never built as a normal Sims game, and had a Freeplay option built from a Story Mode and Multiplayer mode? So it was never built as a normal Sims game?

      Reminds me of The Sims Life Stories, with Story Mode and then a limited Free Play mode:

      the-sims-castaway-stories-0318ce.jpg
      The Sims 4 was originally a different title, with a Story Mode, Online Mode and Freeplay Mode.

      And this part sounds like the game was supposed to be more like The Sims Bustin Out or Sims Urbz. Not the Sims 4.

      Bustin Out and Urbz have a Story Mode, Freeplay Mode and Online Mode:

      the_sims_bustin_out_urbz_sims_in_the_city.jpg
      Jackeline. She/Her.
      Insta: https://instagram.com/jkarajs?igshid=oef2ymrand3g
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      MrSimmisMrSimmis Posts: 1,693 Member
      Only thing I like about this is the map view if it was way more refined and looked better.
    • Options
      jackjack_kjackjack_k Posts: 8,601 Member
      edited October 2015
      sparkfairy1 wrote: »
      drake_mccarty wrote: »
      When players said the game was never built as a traditional sims game, and instead a single-sim experience they were right. Sounds like they were originally developing a console game.

      Exactly. EA/Maxis biggest problem is their customers weren't born yesterday and know a lot more than suits the company.

      It's not like Single Sim games aren't popular though. They made a trilogy with the "Stories" games, and each console game has a single player story mode (except 3) and they all sold really well. The console games for Sims 2 outsold the PC game.
      As of March 2012, The Sims 2 had sold 13 million across all platforms and six million on PC

      All versions of the Sims 2 have a story mode as the focus except the PC version. And the Sims 4 started development in 2012 apparently.

      Maybe EA used this data, and then backtracked when they realised what PC players wanted? The console version outsold the PC version, and there was two main differences between them.

      - Only Young Adults
      - Story Mode focused

      This article honestly fills in a lot of blanks for me.

      I FINALLY know at least why they had secret worlds that seemed so random haha.
      Jackeline. She/Her.
      Insta: https://instagram.com/jkarajs?igshid=oef2ymrand3g
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      sparkfairy1sparkfairy1 Posts: 11,453 Member
      @jackjack_k how did you find this? Does it change your opinion a bit?
      toddlersig3_zps62792e0c.jpg

      https://twitter.com/sparkfairy1
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      NeiaNeia Posts: 4,190 Member
      The more I learn about the early TS4, the more I think they really took the good decisions. Story mode and Multiplayer mode sounds far less fun than the TS4 we know now.
    • Options
      ScobreScobre Posts: 20,665 Member
      All I can say, is see, when I said the Sims 4 is a side game, it is based on its roots. It isn't meant as an insult, but the game's origin. But yes I wish they had not called the Sims 4, the Sims 4 but something else instead. But yep, it was originally going to be an online game which I heard about prior to joining forums. I just didn't see the concept pictures and videos until after I had joined forums though.
      “Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
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      sparkfairy1sparkfairy1 Posts: 11,453 Member
      Scobre wrote: »
      All I can say, is see, when I said the Sims 4 is a side game, it is based on its roots. It isn't meant as an insult, but the game's origin. But yes I wish they had not called the Sims 4, the Sims 4 but something else instead. But yep, it was originally going to be an online game which I heard about prior to joining forums. I just didn't see the concept pictures and videos until after I had joined forums though.

      *sigh* I didn't know until after release when I'd already lost my money.
      toddlersig3_zps62792e0c.jpg

      https://twitter.com/sparkfairy1
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