By the way, I didn't read all the topic yet but ... no one guessed a new npc from the picture? Cause the elder lady holding the baby looks like a nanny to me...
Have you read at least half of the thread? Camon...
Why else would they shove a baby and old lady there, who's bottle feeding the thing? It's not just going to be the SP, since there's free content in there... somewhere.
Just some random Simmer you probably don't even follow on the gallery! Gallery name's the same as my username! Did I just rhyme there?
What do you know for sure about the teaser? Nothing. Since the "clues" in DO about the T word, people were getting hyped about it. Than they launch a teaser about something (that we are not sure about). It's just... too much hype for something that could go very... "not that much that was expected"
If toddlers were coming they would be on the teaser pronto. There is no hype train even happening.
Honestly, I'm expecting them to announce EP3 at Gamescom, where toddlers, and they can't announce it in the teaser because stupid finance rules, but I'm probably just trying to keep my hopes up.
Just some random Simmer you probably don't even follow on the gallery! Gallery name's the same as my username! Did I just rhyme there?
1. So the animations themselves from the link you posted, is the reason why toddlers, an open neighborhood, create a style, so much more is not included in the sequel. THAT is where I'm lost. The Sims is not a indie title and has not only had multiple teams of development, but has also had backing. The link mentioned it was an upgrade..an upgrade in the traditional sense does not throw out its basis..it simply improves upon them. New engines and systems are technical .. Which is why I am still in shock over the DEVELOPMENT of it all.
On a personal level TS4 is a new journey for The Sims. I understand that players loved somethings from the previous iterations and were hoping we would bring them back (I'm speaking more specifically to open world, create a style, create a world) but we decided to try something different with TS4. Our focus was on neighborhoods and making them feel alive and to make sure that the game could be handled on a wide variety of machines, not just the top of the top.
2. You are right, those titles are campaign based, yes, but I am not comparing apples to oranges. There was nothing like TS2 when it came out - no level of customization or general gameplay could match it. However, in 2016, you have a console game like GTA V and Watch Dogs who added more mapping, NPC, and simulation gameplay, as a BONUS/EXTRA. While the fourth itieration of The Sims cannot even compete with the 2004 release of The Sims 2 in terms of general gameplay and navigation.
Any townie within TS4 is playable, that is not the same for something like GTA or Watch Dogs which are one character player controlled and the rest are NPCs. You aren't living a life in those games, you aren't creating stories, you are playing through a story that has already been mapped out for you with a clear end destination (I'm not including Multi-player in this because most of those are mission based or PvP). So again, apples and oranges.
3. I was going by the "5 million units pin" that was constantly tweeted by the Gurus, but I guess we can only take what they say with a grain of salt..
I don't recall anyone saying what the pin was for, what I do recall is community speculation on what it could be.
4. My apologies, you claimed you were part of the communications team.
I am on the communications team but I don't manage our Twitter or FB. I am player communication and run the forums, influencer programs, SimGuru stuff, and anything else that might require a "public face." There are other members on the team that manage our social channels and blogs.
5. But they go hand in hand..It's exactly like selling kitchen stuff and then pantry stuff. Car stuff and garage stuff. Office stuff and studying stuff.
To be fair, not everyone who studies has an office (I know I don't have an office at home).
6. The Sims 2 started off with more in it's base than The Sims 4. Neighborhood, lot placement, exc. No doubt it took more time for them to find their footing, but they were also releasing groundbreaking content that was not watered down like Get to Work and Get Together.
We've also expanded our Create a Sim to be more robust than it was in the past, we've even expanded on it to allow for even more customization. Building is much easier now than it was in the past. Get Together included a new system that allows for even more ways to tell stories.
7. I cannot and will not tell you how to do your job, However, please understand that the wide reception has not been good from a community point of view. It hasn't been since the delay, also Polygon mentioned all of this in it's dismal review of 6.5. I'm seeing things I have never seen before from outsiders of the forum, and that is general concern. The recent FB post proves it, the video rants on YouTube, exc.
Most producers/team management wouldn't even respond, so I appreciate the fact that you took time to do so. I have faith in the series and I have even greater faith in you.
TS2 = major change/upgrade from TS1.
TS3 = major change/upgrade from TS2.
TS4 = major downgrade and exclusion in ways we have never seen before from TS3/TS2.
I'm sure all three games have had to have major upgrades to systems, animation, audio, exc. However they all delivered. TS4 was rushed when it wasn't even close to finished. There is no way that toddlers, an open neighborhood, no loading screens, create a style, exc. Were not included because of the upgrade. Games have never been more complex and more animated than ever before. It was rushed, we all know it.
Good luck with the team.
People tend to look at the reactions they want to see. That isn't to say that any one persons view is wrong. But if you are looking for negative you will find it, if you are looking for positive you will find it. People rant on YouTube all the time for a multitude of reasons and most of the time people are just quick to judge before knowing more information. I watched several of those rant videos after our first seasonal / quarterly teaser - most of them weren't focused on the content we did show as much as voicing what they are personally interested in seeing / knowing. If you look now how many of those who made rant videos stopped making The Sims 4 videos? How many of them did reviews / LPs of Dine Out? Or of Kids Room Stuff? Our seasonal teasers are a new thing and will obviously take some time to get used to (like all new things do) but if people actually give the content a chance they tend to see things differently.
It takes a while for any one whose been a fan of a franchise that has been long running like ours to be open to new experiences.
I'll actually use my own experience as a fan of pokemon for an example:
When I saw that Rotom was taking the place of a Pokedex I wasn't thrilled but I understand that they need to appeal to more than just me. Any time I was skeptical of Pokemon I was pleasantly surprised at the end (though I am still sad they didn't do anything with the Pokewalker outside of HeartGold/SoulSilver but understand why they didn't.)
@SimGuruDrake What I don't understand is why this vision, and all it entails, is still be pursued, if there even is a real vision, and we are not being spoon fed some kind of PR talk. A lot of fans of the series, both short term and long term, are not a fan of it at all. It's understandable drastic changes cannot be seen until the next generation of The Sims (which I have very little hope for, personally, after this mess), but there is no middle ground ever being sought by the developers to try and please both parties, or so it feels like.
We've also expanded our Create a Sim to be more robust than it was in the past, we've even expanded on it to allow for even more customization. Building is much easier now than it was in the past. Get Together included a new system that allows for even more ways to tell stories.
I'm not trying to nitpick your post at all, but this just shows how little innovation there truly is in The Sims 4. We did get great looking Sims and a great system to accommodate it, but everything, including CAS was dumbed down or simplified to a large extent in the process. I just read this quote, and I myself wonder how EA and the developers could think these few features warrant an entire new generation of The Sims alone. If I copy/paste this to a friend to try to get them to play TS4, I know they will laugh and go back to playing TS3 or TS2.
As a fellow Pokemon fan, Rotom being the pokedex is by no means as drastic as what was done to The Sims. The core of the game remained in that series from Generation 1 up to this new game coming out, Generation 7, more than a decade after the first release. The vision and core of the game was NEVER changed, only vastly improved upon, and I can say confidently, if things were drastically changed for the worse, GameFreak would not continue to shove their faulted vision down their loyal fans' throats. I wouldn't even expect such a thing to occur from that studio, but I digress.
I didn't read all the posts but is this for real? How much more backyard stuff do we need? We had patio stuff and romantic garden stuff, now a backyard stuff?
What breaks the straw on the camel's back is, not only that, but this is the only thing we will be getting all quarter (or rather given the option to pay for).
I don't get it, personally. The packs don't feel any greater than TS3 or TS2 at all, in terms of content provided. It'd be a completely different story if we got one expansion a year, but it provided an immense amount of content to hold us over for a very long time. Regardless, I don't see what the issue was with giving us 2 expansions a year -- it has worked very well in maintaining fan interest in the series for a pretty good amount of time. I guess there is less funding required to push out about 4-6 stuff packs in the place of an expansion pack to cover the cost of one.
By the way, I didn't read all the topic yet but ... no one guessed a new npc from the picture? Cause the elder lady holding the baby looks like a nanny to me...
Have you read at least half of the thread? Camon...
Why else would they shove a baby and old lady there, who's bottle feeding the thing? It's not just going to be the SP, since there's free content in there... somewhere.
-.-
That re-enforces my point. I'm not saying it isn't a possibility, but in fact that people have guessed this way before this was on page 10.
@SimGuruDrake What I don't understand is why this vision, and all it entails, is still be pursued, if there even is a real vision, and we are not being spoon fed some kind of PR talk. A lot of fans of the series, both short term and long term, are not a fan of it at all. It's understandable drastic changes cannot be seen until the next generation of The Sims (which I have very little hope for, personally, after this mess), but there is no middle ground ever being sought by the developers to try and please both parties, or so it feels like.
We've also expanded our Create a Sim to be more robust than it was in the past, we've even expanded on it to allow for even more customization. Building is much easier now than it was in the past. Get Together included a new system that allows for even more ways to tell stories.
I'm not trying to nitpick your post at all, but this just shows how little innovation there truly is in The Sims 4. We did get great looking Sims and a great system to accommodate it, but everything, including CAS was dumbed down or simplified to a large extent in the process. I just read this quote, and I myself wonder how EA and the developers could think these few features warrant an entire new generation of The Sims alone. If I copy/paste this to a friend to try to get them to play TS4, I know they will laugh and go back to playing TS3 or TS2.
As a fellow Pokemon fan, Rotom being the pokedex is by no means as drastic as what was done to The Sims. The core of the game remained in that series from Generation 1 up to this new game coming out, Generation 7, more than a decade after the first release. The vision and core of the game was NEVER changed, only vastly improved upon, and I can say confidently, if things were drastically changed for the worse, GameFreak would not continue to shove their faulted vision down their loyal fans' throats. I wouldn't even expect such a thing to occur from that studio, but I digress.
You are not personally a fan of the version. You do not speak for the entire player base. If people were not interested in what we were making we wouldn't continue what we are making. Our data shows us differently.
Also my example with Pokemon wasn't to compare to the The Sims. It was an example of me, as a player, not liking a specific choice in content which is exactly what is happening here. Loyal fans don't stick around forever, I've known plenty of friends who were super into pokemon and now its no longer their cup of tea. Which is why they make changes to appeal to more players by incorporating things from other games to try and gauge whether they are interested or not.
This next comment isn't directly towards you but to a comment I saw but can't seem to find regarding "not all players have data turned on in Origin": Why wouldn't you want us to see how you are using content?
@SimGuruDrake if you really wanna know how people feel and what they want, you should make a poll on twitter and ask EVERY PLAYER their opinion. It would be interesting to see what the results you'd get... (PS: I'm outlining "every player" because to some of as it doesn't seem fair that polls are being sent to only a small sample of players which makes it statistically inaccurate)
Not every player is on Twitter or Facebook or the Forums or Reddit so to do that would give inaccurate information (also people can easily create multiple accounts to lean voting in their favor.)
Hmm, no disrespect indented here, couldn't the same argument be presented for the stats you so happily posted previously with the intention to prove the reception was positive?
I used those posts specifically as they had visible stats on hand. Did I say they represent a large majority? No. But I did say that X amount of people follow our FB page and X amount of people follow our Twitter to compare the conversation numbers.
I know what you said, I read it. However, X amount of people can be people with multiple accounts. It's quite easy to do, all one needs is multiple email accounts. So those stats could quite possibly be skewed and should not be used as a sign of anything really.
You're correct there could be multiple accounts by people which is why I compared all available data on that page to show that considering the high number of people that follow us versus the number of conversations happening it clearly can't be stated that a "majority" is being vocal about something when that isn't the cause. The same thing can be said for this thread: The number of posts does not equal the number of individual people speaking here.
@SimGuruDrake What I don't understand is why this vision, and all it entails, is still be pursued, if there even is a real vision, and we are not being spoon fed some kind of PR talk. A lot of fans of the series, both short term and long term, are not a fan of it at all. It's understandable drastic changes cannot be seen until the next generation of The Sims (which I have very little hope for, personally, after this mess), but there is no middle ground ever being sought by the developers to try and please both parties, or so it feels like.
We've also expanded our Create a Sim to be more robust than it was in the past, we've even expanded on it to allow for even more customization. Building is much easier now than it was in the past. Get Together included a new system that allows for even more ways to tell stories.
I'm not trying to nitpick your post at all, but this just shows how little innovation there truly is in The Sims 4. We did get great looking Sims and a great system to accommodate it, but everything, including CAS was dumbed down or simplified to a large extent in the process. I just read this quote, and I myself wonder how EA and the developers could think these few features warrant an entire new generation of The Sims alone. If I copy/paste this to a friend to try to get them to play TS4, I know they will laugh and go back to playing TS3 or TS2.
As a fellow Pokemon fan, Rotom being the pokedex is by no means as drastic as what was done to The Sims. The core of the game remained in that series from Generation 1 up to this new game coming out, Generation 7, more than a decade after the first release. The vision and core of the game was NEVER changed, only vastly improved upon, and I can say confidently, if things were drastically changed for the worse, GameFreak would not continue to shove their faulted vision down their loyal fans' throats. I wouldn't even expect such a thing to occur from that studio, but I digress.
You are not personally a fan of the version. You do not speak for the entire player base. If people were not interested in what we were making we wouldn't continue what we are making. Our data shows us differently.
Also my example with Pokemon wasn't to compare to the The Sims. It was an example of me, as a player, not liking a specific choice in content which is exactly what is happening here. Loyal fans don't stick around forever, I've known plenty of friends who were super into pokemon and now its no longer their cup of tea. Which is why they make changes to appeal to more players by incorporating things from other games to try and gauge whether they are interested or not.
This next comment isn't directly towards you but to a comment I saw but can't seem to find regarding "not all players have data turned on in Origin": Why wouldn't you want us to see how you are using content?
I know that is not to Me, But I don't have My info on in origin, cause I do not trust most, so I keep My stuff private, that is the only reason I could think of to not have any info on in origin, for Me that is, to many can not be trusted as I have learned the hard way in life.
@SimGuruDrake if you really wanna know how people feel and what they want, you should make a poll on twitter and ask EVERY PLAYER their opinion. It would be interesting to see what the results you'd get... (PS: I'm outlining "every player" because to some of as it doesn't seem fair that polls are being sent to only a small sample of players which makes it statistically inaccurate)
Not every player is on Twitter or Facebook or the Forums or Reddit so to do that would give inaccurate information (also people can easily create multiple accounts to lean voting in their favor.)
Hmm, no disrespect indented here, couldn't the same argument be presented for the stats you so happily posted previously with the intention to prove the reception was positive?
I used those posts specifically as they had visible stats on hand. Did I say they represent a large majority? No. But I did say that X amount of people follow our FB page and X amount of people follow our Twitter to compare the conversation numbers.
I know what you said, I read it. However, X amount of people can be people with multiple accounts. It's quite easy to do, all one needs is multiple email accounts. So those stats could quite possibly be skewed and should not be used as a sign of anything really.
You're correct there could be multiple accounts by people which is why I compared all available data on that page to show that considering the high number of people that follow us versus the number of conversations happening it clearly can't be stated that a "majority" is being vocal about something when that isn't the cause. The same thing can be said for this thread: The number of posts does not equal the number of individual people speaking here.
GuruDrake. Do you think this game is fun? Having played the last games of this franchise...seriously.
@SimGuruDrake What I don't understand is why this vision, and all it entails, is still be pursued, if there even is a real vision, and we are not being spoon fed some kind of PR talk. A lot of fans of the series, both short term and long term, are not a fan of it at all. It's understandable drastic changes cannot be seen until the next generation of The Sims (which I have very little hope for, personally, after this mess), but there is no middle ground ever being sought by the developers to try and please both parties, or so it feels like.
We've also expanded our Create a Sim to be more robust than it was in the past, we've even expanded on it to allow for even more customization. Building is much easier now than it was in the past. Get Together included a new system that allows for even more ways to tell stories.
I'm not trying to nitpick your post at all, but this just shows how little innovation there truly is in The Sims 4. We did get great looking Sims and a great system to accommodate it, but everything, including CAS was dumbed down or simplified to a large extent in the process. I just read this quote, and I myself wonder how EA and the developers could think these few features warrant an entire new generation of The Sims alone. If I copy/paste this to a friend to try to get them to play TS4, I know they will laugh and go back to playing TS3 or TS2.
As a fellow Pokemon fan, Rotom being the pokedex is by no means as drastic as what was done to The Sims. The core of the game remained in that series from Generation 1 up to this new game coming out, Generation 7, more than a decade after the first release. The vision and core of the game was NEVER changed, only vastly improved upon, and I can say confidently, if things were drastically changed for the worse, GameFreak would not continue to shove their faulted vision down their loyal fans' throats. I wouldn't even expect such a thing to occur from that studio, but I digress.
You are not personally a fan of the version. You do not speak for the entire player base. If people were not interested in what we were making we wouldn't continue what we are making. Our data shows us differently.
Also my example with Pokemon wasn't to compare to the The Sims. It was an example of me, as a player, not liking a specific choice in content which is exactly what is happening here. Loyal fans don't stick around forever, I've known plenty of friends who were super into pokemon and now its no longer their cup of tea. Which is why they make changes to appeal to more players by incorporating things from other games to try and gauge whether they are interested or not.
This next comment isn't directly towards you but to a comment I saw but can't seem to find regarding "not all players have data turned on in Origin": Why wouldn't you want us to see how you are using content?
Because *I* don't want EA to go through a whole load of extra data on my pc unrelated to the sims 4 data that you have to agree to if you play with data on. Also I've found having the internet on inevitably slows the game. So many times origin has been the issue when you run into issues with the game-case in point. First time people approached EA support during TS3 they would be told to turn off the internet to help the game run better.
Now so let me pin this down from some of the comments so far today. Is it now EA's position that you only care to listen to people who praise your work and don't want to hear from the loyal customers who through no fault of their own had content most beloved to them thrown out of the game? And how does your data tell you who wants content you've not provided the potential for in game? How does your data tell you players like @Writin_Reg have stopped playing as they most enjoy to accommodate your game as you aren't offering what she enjoys and instead playing as is available? Relying so heavily on your data isn't giving you a full picture at all.
This is not people just falling out of love with the sims. This is EA excluding them by not offering the features they loved most in the sims.
@SimGuruDrake if you really wanna know how people feel and what they want, you should make a poll on twitter and ask EVERY PLAYER their opinion. It would be interesting to see what the results you'd get... (PS: I'm outlining "every player" because to some of as it doesn't seem fair that polls are being sent to only a small sample of players which makes it statistically inaccurate)
Not every player is on Twitter or Facebook or the Forums or Reddit so to do that would give inaccurate information (also people can easily create multiple accounts to lean voting in their favor.)
Hmm, no disrespect indented here, couldn't the same argument be presented for the stats you so happily posted previously with the intention to prove the reception was positive?
I used those posts specifically as they had visible stats on hand. Did I say they represent a large majority? No. But I did say that X amount of people follow our FB page and X amount of people follow our Twitter to compare the conversation numbers.
I know what you said, I read it. However, X amount of people can be people with multiple accounts. It's quite easy to do, all one needs is multiple email accounts. So those stats could quite possibly be skewed and should not be used as a sign of anything really.
You're correct there could be multiple accounts by people which is why I compared all available data on that page to show that considering the high number of people that follow us versus the number of conversations happening it clearly can't be stated that a "majority" is being vocal about something when that isn't the cause. The same thing can be said for this thread: The number of posts does not equal the number of individual people speaking here.
GuruDrake. Do you think this game is fun? Having played the last games of this franchise...seriously.
Yes I do think this game is fun. My boyfriend can attest to how much I play it on the weekends. But I've also always understood that the franchise continues to bring new experiences with every piece of content added on to it and I have always just waited to see what comes next (but I also know I'm a ridiculously patient person so I am the exception not the rule lol.)
@SimGuruDrake What I don't understand is why this vision, and all it entails, is still be pursued, if there even is a real vision, and we are not being spoon fed some kind of PR talk. A lot of fans of the series, both short term and long term, are not a fan of it at all. It's understandable drastic changes cannot be seen until the next generation of The Sims (which I have very little hope for, personally, after this mess), but there is no middle ground ever being sought by the developers to try and please both parties, or so it feels like.
We've also expanded our Create a Sim to be more robust than it was in the past, we've even expanded on it to allow for even more customization. Building is much easier now than it was in the past. Get Together included a new system that allows for even more ways to tell stories.
I'm not trying to nitpick your post at all, but this just shows how little innovation there truly is in The Sims 4. We did get great looking Sims and a great system to accommodate it, but everything, including CAS was dumbed down or simplified to a large extent in the process. I just read this quote, and I myself wonder how EA and the developers could think these few features warrant an entire new generation of The Sims alone. If I copy/paste this to a friend to try to get them to play TS4, I know they will laugh and go back to playing TS3 or TS2.
As a fellow Pokemon fan, Rotom being the pokedex is by no means as drastic as what was done to The Sims. The core of the game remained in that series from Generation 1 up to this new game coming out, Generation 7, more than a decade after the first release. The vision and core of the game was NEVER changed, only vastly improved upon, and I can say confidently, if things were drastically changed for the worse, GameFreak would not continue to shove their faulted vision down their loyal fans' throats. I wouldn't even expect such a thing to occur from that studio, but I digress.
You are not personally a fan of the version. You do not speak for the entire player base. If people were not interested in what we were making we wouldn't continue what we are making. Our data shows us differently.
Also my example with Pokemon wasn't to compare to the The Sims. It was an example of me, as a player, not liking a specific choice in content which is exactly what is happening here. Loyal fans don't stick around forever, I've known plenty of friends who were super into pokemon and now its no longer their cup of tea. Which is why they make changes to appeal to more players by incorporating things from other games to try and gauge whether they are interested or not.
This next comment isn't directly towards you but to a comment I saw but can't seem to find regarding "not all players have data turned on in Origin": Why wouldn't you want us to see how you are using content?
Maybe the data statistics are interpreted differently than I know of but I question just how accurate it is in determining how people play. Maybe you can explain how it is used.
Here's an example. In TS2 toddlers were lively, had a lot of interactions and did some very cute stuff. As a player who isn't over the moon about toddlers I would still play them just because they did cute things. When I tried playing TS3 toddlers I couldn't age those little suckers up fast enough because in TS3 their interactions had been severely curtailed and they just weren't fun any more. Does the data show that toddlers might not have been played much because they were....well kind of boring...and not because players didn't want them?
Another example. In TS3 a lot of Supernatural Sims were done to the point of over kill. I didn't mind because I love Supernaturals but all you have to do is read the forums and you'll see that some players hated how fast they spawn. How would data show that players really did like Supernaturals but turned them off because there were just too many?
"People really love to explore 'failure states. In fact, the failure states are really much more interesting than the success states." ~ Will Wright
@SimGuruDrake What I don't understand is why this vision, and all it entails, is still be pursued, if there even is a real vision, and we are not being spoon fed some kind of PR talk. A lot of fans of the series, both short term and long term, are not a fan of it at all. It's understandable drastic changes cannot be seen until the next generation of The Sims (which I have very little hope for, personally, after this mess), but there is no middle ground ever being sought by the developers to try and please both parties, or so it feels like.
We've also expanded our Create a Sim to be more robust than it was in the past, we've even expanded on it to allow for even more customization. Building is much easier now than it was in the past. Get Together included a new system that allows for even more ways to tell stories.
I'm not trying to nitpick your post at all, but this just shows how little innovation there truly is in The Sims 4. We did get great looking Sims and a great system to accommodate it, but everything, including CAS was dumbed down or simplified to a large extent in the process. I just read this quote, and I myself wonder how EA and the developers could think these few features warrant an entire new generation of The Sims alone. If I copy/paste this to a friend to try to get them to play TS4, I know they will laugh and go back to playing TS3 or TS2.
As a fellow Pokemon fan, Rotom being the pokedex is by no means as drastic as what was done to The Sims. The core of the game remained in that series from Generation 1 up to this new game coming out, Generation 7, more than a decade after the first release. The vision and core of the game was NEVER changed, only vastly improved upon, and I can say confidently, if things were drastically changed for the worse, GameFreak would not continue to shove their faulted vision down their loyal fans' throats. I wouldn't even expect such a thing to occur from that studio, but I digress.
You are not personally a fan of the version. You do not speak for the entire player base. If people were not interested in what we were making we wouldn't continue what we are making. Our data shows us differently.
Also my example with Pokemon wasn't to compare to the The Sims. It was an example of me, as a player, not liking a specific choice in content which is exactly what is happening here. Loyal fans don't stick around forever, I've known plenty of friends who were super into pokemon and now its no longer their cup of tea. Which is why they make changes to appeal to more players by incorporating things from other games to try and gauge whether they are interested or not.
This next comment isn't directly towards you but to a comment I saw but can't seem to find regarding "not all players have data turned on in Origin": Why wouldn't you want us to see how you are using content?
Because *I* don't want EA to go through a whole load of extra data on my pc unrelated to the sims 4 data that you have to agree to if you play with data on. Also I've found having the internet on inevitably slows the game. So many times origin has been the issue when you run into issues with the game-case in point. First time people approached EA support during TS3 they would be told to turn off the internet to help the game run better.
Now so let me pin this down from some of the comments so far today. Is it now EA's position that you only care to listen to people who praise your work and don't want to hear from the loyal customers who through no fault of their own had content most beloved to them thrown out of the game? And how does your data tell you who wants content you've not provided the potential for in game? How does your data tell you players like @Writin_Reg have stopped playing as they most enjoy to accommodate your game as you aren't offering what she enjoys and instead playing as is available? Relying so heavily on your data isn't giving you a full picture at all.
This is not people just falling out of love with the sims. This is EA excluding them by not offering the features they loved most in the sims.
@SimGuruDrake What I don't understand is why this vision, and all it entails, is still be pursued, if there even is a real vision, and we are not being spoon fed some kind of PR talk. A lot of fans of the series, both short term and long term, are not a fan of it at all. It's understandable drastic changes cannot be seen until the next generation of The Sims (which I have very little hope for, personally, after this mess), but there is no middle ground ever being sought by the developers to try and please both parties, or so it feels like.
We've also expanded our Create a Sim to be more robust than it was in the past, we've even expanded on it to allow for even more customization. Building is much easier now than it was in the past. Get Together included a new system that allows for even more ways to tell stories.
I'm not trying to nitpick your post at all, but this just shows how little innovation there truly is in The Sims 4. We did get great looking Sims and a great system to accommodate it, but everything, including CAS was dumbed down or simplified to a large extent in the process. I just read this quote, and I myself wonder how EA and the developers could think these few features warrant an entire new generation of The Sims alone. If I copy/paste this to a friend to try to get them to play TS4, I know they will laugh and go back to playing TS3 or TS2.
As a fellow Pokemon fan, Rotom being the pokedex is by no means as drastic as what was done to The Sims. The core of the game remained in that series from Generation 1 up to this new game coming out, Generation 7, more than a decade after the first release. The vision and core of the game was NEVER changed, only vastly improved upon, and I can say confidently, if things were drastically changed for the worse, GameFreak would not continue to shove their faulted vision down their loyal fans' throats. I wouldn't even expect such a thing to occur from that studio, but I digress.
You are not personally a fan of the version. You do not speak for the entire player base. If people were not interested in what we were making we wouldn't continue what we are making. Our data shows us differently.
Also my example with Pokemon wasn't to compare to the The Sims. It was an example of me, as a player, not liking a specific choice in content which is exactly what is happening here. Loyal fans don't stick around forever, I've known plenty of friends who were super into pokemon and now its no longer their cup of tea. Which is why they make changes to appeal to more players by incorporating things from other games to try and gauge whether they are interested or not.
This next comment isn't directly towards you but to a comment I saw but can't seem to find regarding "not all players have data turned on in Origin": Why wouldn't you want us to see how you are using content?
Maybe the data statistics are interpreted differently than I know of but I question just how accurate it is in determining how people play. Maybe you can explain how it is used.
Here's an example. In TS2 toddlers were lively, had a lot of interactions and did some very cute stuff. As a player who isn't over the moon about toddlers I would still play them just because they did cute things. When I tried playing TS3 toddlers I couldn't age those little suckers up fast enough because in TS3 their interactions had been severely curtailed and they just weren't fun any more. Does the data show that toddlers might not have been played much because they were....well kind of boring...and not because players didn't want them?
Another example. In TS3 a lot of Supernatural Sims were done to the point of over kill. I didn't mind because I love Supernaturals but all you have to do is read the forums and you'll see that some players hated how fast they spawn. How would data show that players really did like Supernaturals but turned them off because there were just too many?
Absolutely!!!! Raw data actually tells you very little without the in depth research as to *why*.
Is the sound byte on the teaser also a clue of what's to come? I feel like at the end of it, there is a happy child that could be using, maybe, a pool slide? Or, perhaps, some other enjoyable "yard" object? Just an innocent guess.
By the way, I didn't read all the topic yet but ... no one guessed a new npc from the picture? Cause the elder lady holding the baby looks like a nanny to me...
Have you read at least half of the thread? Camon...
I'm trying but the forum keeps giving me the maintenance page and this is not helping at all.
@SimGuruDrake if you really wanna know how people feel and what they want, you should make a poll on twitter and ask EVERY PLAYER their opinion. It would be interesting to see what the results you'd get... (PS: I'm outlining "every player" because to some of as it doesn't seem fair that polls are being sent to only a small sample of players which makes it statistically inaccurate)
Not every player is on Twitter or Facebook or the Forums or Reddit so to do that would give inaccurate information (also people can easily create multiple accounts to lean voting in their favor.)
Hmm, no disrespect indented here, couldn't the same argument be presented for the stats you so happily posted previously with the intention to prove the reception was positive?
I used those posts specifically as they had visible stats on hand. Did I say they represent a large majority? No. But I did say that X amount of people follow our FB page and X amount of people follow our Twitter to compare the conversation numbers.
I know what you said, I read it. However, X amount of people can be people with multiple accounts. It's quite easy to do, all one needs is multiple email accounts. So those stats could quite possibly be skewed and should not be used as a sign of anything really.
You're correct there could be multiple accounts by people which is why I compared all available data on that page to show that considering the high number of people that follow us versus the number of conversations happening it clearly can't be stated that a "majority" is being vocal about something when that isn't the cause. The same thing can be said for this thread: The number of posts does not equal the number of individual people speaking here.
GuruDrake. Do you think this game is fun? Having played the last games of this franchise...seriously.
Yes I do think this game is fun. My boyfriend can attest to how much I play it on the weekends. But I've also always understood that the franchise continues to bring new experiences with every piece of content added on to it and I have always just waited to see what comes next (but I also know I'm a ridiculously patient person so I am the exception not the rule lol.)
Do you use mods in your game? If not how do you cope with the relationship decay, the culling and all of the other things that are bothering a lot of us.
"People really love to explore 'failure states. In fact, the failure states are really much more interesting than the success states." ~ Will Wright
@SimGuruDrake What I don't understand is why this vision, and all it entails, is still be pursued, if there even is a real vision, and we are not being spoon fed some kind of PR talk. A lot of fans of the series, both short term and long term, are not a fan of it at all. It's understandable drastic changes cannot be seen until the next generation of The Sims (which I have very little hope for, personally, after this mess), but there is no middle ground ever being sought by the developers to try and please both parties, or so it feels like.
We've also expanded our Create a Sim to be more robust than it was in the past, we've even expanded on it to allow for even more customization. Building is much easier now than it was in the past. Get Together included a new system that allows for even more ways to tell stories.
I'm not trying to nitpick your post at all, but this just shows how little innovation there truly is in The Sims 4. We did get great looking Sims and a great system to accommodate it, but everything, including CAS was dumbed down or simplified to a large extent in the process. I just read this quote, and I myself wonder how EA and the developers could think these few features warrant an entire new generation of The Sims alone. If I copy/paste this to a friend to try to get them to play TS4, I know they will laugh and go back to playing TS3 or TS2.
As a fellow Pokemon fan, Rotom being the pokedex is by no means as drastic as what was done to The Sims. The core of the game remained in that series from Generation 1 up to this new game coming out, Generation 7, more than a decade after the first release. The vision and core of the game was NEVER changed, only vastly improved upon, and I can say confidently, if things were drastically changed for the worse, GameFreak would not continue to shove their faulted vision down their loyal fans' throats. I wouldn't even expect such a thing to occur from that studio, but I digress.
You are not personally a fan of the version. You do not speak for the entire player base. If people were not interested in what we were making we wouldn't continue what we are making. Our data shows us differently.
Also my example with Pokemon wasn't to compare to the The Sims. It was an example of me, as a player, not liking a specific choice in content which is exactly what is happening here. Loyal fans don't stick around forever, I've known plenty of friends who were super into pokemon and now its no longer their cup of tea. Which is why they make changes to appeal to more players by incorporating things from other games to try and gauge whether they are interested or not.
This next comment isn't directly towards you but to a comment I saw but can't seem to find regarding "not all players have data turned on in Origin": Why wouldn't you want us to see how you are using content?
I feel not once did I imply I spoke for the entire player base. I did say, however, there is quite a large amount of fans, including myself, that are not a fan of this version and its vision, and the developers have not sought to try and find a middle ground for those people (who have purchased the game and its packs!) with others, who are in favor of the vision. I can use the example of goal based gameplay, but this could extend further than that. Goal-based/checklist gameplay was not at all well-liked in the base game, and GTW only exacerbated the issue for fans who were not in favor of such a gameplay mechanic to the point where it became mandatory to deal with if you wanted to interact with the new careers. A lot of fans were just not expecting that, and have voiced support for it being toned down to not be so focused on a box feeding you directions in the corner of the screen. Since then, nothing has changed, but we were told this was a live service, things would constantly be added and changed in our game, as we have actually seen in the past -- the careers were adjusted quite largely in favor of fans who disliked the original requirements needed to get promoted. Should fans not expect to see adjustments to released content? What constitutes going back and changing released content?
But isn't it a bit off that a franchise just randomly drops everything it was working towards to completely shift in design and direction to pick up a new demographic, when it already had such a tremendous following? Can you imagine the backlash if that happened in Pokemon? Maybe it is purely subjective, but I just feel like the changes implemented to TS4 were a bit too far. As it stands, the developers of this game no longer call this franchise a life simulation, but a time management (new genre?) game. I think that would be akin to Pokemon announcing it is no longer an RPG, but some kind of Pokemon drama simulator, just something vastly different from the core of the game, and decided to take after mobile games which people play for a day and then abandon! I just didn't get this kind of vibe from TS3. It introduced new ways to play, taking inspiration from other games, like you said, with the open world, but the core of the game remained pretty much the same.
Anyway, true I didn't make that comment, but I could understand why someone wouldn't want to see how you are using content. If I recall correctly, Rachel Franklin made a statement, that being toddlers and other features were omitted because telemetry showed fans did not interact with them. Sometimes, designing things with telemetry being in mind to a great extent isn't always a smooth idea, I guess. It also leaves me worried that I'll be responsible for kids being scrapped in TS5 because I don't play them often, with them having not quite a lot of content at this time.
What do you know for sure about the teaser? Nothing. Since the "clues" in DO about the T word, people were getting hyped about it. Than they launch a teaser about something (that we are not sure about). It's just... too much hype for something that could go very... "not that much that was expected"
If toddlers were coming they would be on the teaser pronto. There is no hype train even happening.
Honestly, I'm expecting them to announce EP3 at Gamescom, where toddlers, and they can't announce it in the teaser because plum finance rules, but I'm probably just trying to keep my hopes up.
There is a possibility. If it's being released at, say, the start of the next quarter it would make no sense to only announce it in a seasonal preview the week before.
That said, I am really not getting my hopes up after this disappointment.
Comments
Why else would they shove a baby and old lady there, who's bottle feeding the thing? It's not just going to be the SP, since there's free content in there... somewhere.
Honestly, I'm expecting them to announce EP3 at Gamescom, where toddlers, and they can't announce it in the teaser because stupid finance rules, but I'm probably just trying to keep my hopes up.
*claps for days*
What breaks the straw on the camel's back is, not only that, but this is the only thing we will be getting all quarter (or rather given the option to pay for).
I don't get it, personally. The packs don't feel any greater than TS3 or TS2 at all, in terms of content provided. It'd be a completely different story if we got one expansion a year, but it provided an immense amount of content to hold us over for a very long time. Regardless, I don't see what the issue was with giving us 2 expansions a year -- it has worked very well in maintaining fan interest in the series for a pretty good amount of time. I guess there is less funding required to push out about 4-6 stuff packs in the place of an expansion pack to cover the cost of one.
-.-
That re-enforces my point. I'm not saying it isn't a possibility, but in fact that people have guessed this way before this was on page 10.
You know things are wrong when even the people who are the most loyal are beginning to get agitated.
You are not personally a fan of the version. You do not speak for the entire player base. If people were not interested in what we were making we wouldn't continue what we are making. Our data shows us differently.
Also my example with Pokemon wasn't to compare to the The Sims. It was an example of me, as a player, not liking a specific choice in content which is exactly what is happening here. Loyal fans don't stick around forever, I've known plenty of friends who were super into pokemon and now its no longer their cup of tea. Which is why they make changes to appeal to more players by incorporating things from other games to try and gauge whether they are interested or not.
This next comment isn't directly towards you but to a comment I saw but can't seem to find regarding "not all players have data turned on in Origin": Why wouldn't you want us to see how you are using content?
You're correct there could be multiple accounts by people which is why I compared all available data on that page to show that considering the high number of people that follow us versus the number of conversations happening it clearly can't be stated that a "majority" is being vocal about something when that isn't the cause. The same thing can be said for this thread: The number of posts does not equal the number of individual people speaking here.
I know that is not to Me, But I don't have My info on in origin, cause I do not trust most, so I keep My stuff private, that is the only reason I could think of to not have any info on in origin, for Me that is, to many can not be trusted as I have learned the hard way in life.
GuruDrake. Do you think this game is fun? Having played the last games of this franchise...seriously.
I'm personally looking forward to this pack.
Because *I* don't want EA to go through a whole load of extra data on my pc unrelated to the sims 4 data that you have to agree to if you play with data on. Also I've found having the internet on inevitably slows the game. So many times origin has been the issue when you run into issues with the game-case in point. First time people approached EA support during TS3 they would be told to turn off the internet to help the game run better.
Now so let me pin this down from some of the comments so far today. Is it now EA's position that you only care to listen to people who praise your work and don't want to hear from the loyal customers who through no fault of their own had content most beloved to them thrown out of the game? And how does your data tell you who wants content you've not provided the potential for in game? How does your data tell you players like @Writin_Reg have stopped playing as they most enjoy to accommodate your game as you aren't offering what she enjoys and instead playing as is available? Relying so heavily on your data isn't giving you a full picture at all.
This is not people just falling out of love with the sims. This is EA excluding them by not offering the features they loved most in the sims.
https://twitter.com/sparkfairy1
Keep dreaming.
Luv your Pic, so cute
Yes I do think this game is fun. My boyfriend can attest to how much I play it on the weekends. But I've also always understood that the franchise continues to bring new experiences with every piece of content added on to it and I have always just waited to see what comes next (but I also know I'm a ridiculously patient person so I am the exception not the rule lol.)
Hopefully pool slides.
Maybe the data statistics are interpreted differently than I know of but I question just how accurate it is in determining how people play. Maybe you can explain how it is used.
Here's an example. In TS2 toddlers were lively, had a lot of interactions and did some very cute stuff. As a player who isn't over the moon about toddlers I would still play them just because they did cute things. When I tried playing TS3 toddlers I couldn't age those little suckers up fast enough because in TS3 their interactions had been severely curtailed and they just weren't fun any more. Does the data show that toddlers might not have been played much because they were....well kind of boring...and not because players didn't want them?
Another example. In TS3 a lot of Supernatural Sims were done to the point of over kill. I didn't mind because I love Supernaturals but all you have to do is read the forums and you'll see that some players hated how fast they spawn. How would data show that players really did like Supernaturals but turned them off because there were just too many?
All good question's Yup,
Absolutely!!!! Raw data actually tells you very little without the in depth research as to *why*.
https://twitter.com/sparkfairy1
I'm trying but the forum keeps giving me the maintenance page and this is not helping at all.
Do you use mods in your game? If not how do you cope with the relationship decay, the culling and all of the other things that are bothering a lot of us.
I feel not once did I imply I spoke for the entire player base. I did say, however, there is quite a large amount of fans, including myself, that are not a fan of this version and its vision, and the developers have not sought to try and find a middle ground for those people (who have purchased the game and its packs!) with others, who are in favor of the vision. I can use the example of goal based gameplay, but this could extend further than that. Goal-based/checklist gameplay was not at all well-liked in the base game, and GTW only exacerbated the issue for fans who were not in favor of such a gameplay mechanic to the point where it became mandatory to deal with if you wanted to interact with the new careers. A lot of fans were just not expecting that, and have voiced support for it being toned down to not be so focused on a box feeding you directions in the corner of the screen. Since then, nothing has changed, but we were told this was a live service, things would constantly be added and changed in our game, as we have actually seen in the past -- the careers were adjusted quite largely in favor of fans who disliked the original requirements needed to get promoted. Should fans not expect to see adjustments to released content? What constitutes going back and changing released content?
But isn't it a bit off that a franchise just randomly drops everything it was working towards to completely shift in design and direction to pick up a new demographic, when it already had such a tremendous following? Can you imagine the backlash if that happened in Pokemon? Maybe it is purely subjective, but I just feel like the changes implemented to TS4 were a bit too far. As it stands, the developers of this game no longer call this franchise a life simulation, but a time management (new genre?) game. I think that would be akin to Pokemon announcing it is no longer an RPG, but some kind of Pokemon drama simulator, just something vastly different from the core of the game, and decided to take after mobile games which people play for a day and then abandon! I just didn't get this kind of vibe from TS3. It introduced new ways to play, taking inspiration from other games, like you said, with the open world, but the core of the game remained pretty much the same.
Anyway, true I didn't make that comment, but I could understand why someone wouldn't want to see how you are using content. If I recall correctly, Rachel Franklin made a statement, that being toddlers and other features were omitted because telemetry showed fans did not interact with them. Sometimes, designing things with telemetry being in mind to a great extent isn't always a smooth idea, I guess. It also leaves me worried that I'll be responsible for kids being scrapped in TS5 because I don't play them often, with them having not quite a lot of content at this time.
There is a possibility. If it's being released at, say, the start of the next quarter it would make no sense to only announce it in a seasonal preview the week before.
That said, I am really not getting my hopes up after this disappointment.