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Don't Forget Us!
Simalleyaile
Posts: 865 Member
Please developers, when you design your worlds, and are thinking about your new concepts to add to the game, please remember to allow us the player to have fun too. Please don't reduce us to just voyeurs (one who receives pleasure from viewing only).
Your designers and meshers etc are doing an outstanding job with making our worlds look beautiful. In my opinion, Windenburg is SPECTACULAR visually and San Myshuno is impressive too, but they are not providing the player with much to do other than admire someones else's creativity and hard work.
I'm in my game right now, with a family at the Chateau and have sent them wandering the maze. This area is trully breathtaking. I'm in awe of the detail, and can appreciate someone has taken a lot of care and pride in putting this scenery together for us. But for the player, other than admiring the work of this person/s who has made these beautiful environments, there is not much fun to be had. There is not much interaction. My sims wandered the maze - their fun didn't increase, and then they just stopped and started doing what they always do - chat. There's a lovely water fountain statue you've put there, but you can't view it. We can read signs. Then what? We can toss a coin in the fountains on the lot. Then what? What's the incentive for the player to return to these areas if there's little gameplay involved?
The maze isn't the only example. The worlds are full of things we cannot interact with - like all the statues and sculptures in the world we cannot even get our sims to 'view.' What little gameplay there is - like the maze -is very shallow and very unsatisfying. I am frustrated about the beautiful upcoming Butterly Garden in Myshuno Meadows. Gorgeous design, visually very interesting, I can see that someone has put a lot of work into designing and building it, but the gameplay for the player is clicking on a sign, reading what someone else has written, going to the next one, clicking, reading and if we do this to all of the signs we get a text message saying we've achieved something. It's disheartening. All this effort on your part only for the player to be bored. It would be far more interesting for the player if they could catch butterflies, then view them, talk to them, release them in their own backyard. With all the beautiful flowers, it would be good to have the option to admire them, smell them, pick them, take them home and put them in a vase.
The same for the pigeons. You're excited over new technology because they now flock. To be honest, I don't think a player would even care. What we would care about is if we could view them, feed them, chase them and watch them fly away. In other words, make our sims interact with their world. I like the idea of swans, but again, what can I the player, do with them? What can I make my sims do with them?
You've put so much work into giving us gorgeous sunsets and sunrises, and beautiful views. But we can't make our sims acknowledge it or be aware of it. Adding an 'admire the view' to our sims personal menu would suddenly help the player feel like their sim knows about their surroundings.
So much gorgeous environment, so little possibilities!
Don't let all your hard work basically amount to 'meh'.
Your designers and meshers etc are doing an outstanding job with making our worlds look beautiful. In my opinion, Windenburg is SPECTACULAR visually and San Myshuno is impressive too, but they are not providing the player with much to do other than admire someones else's creativity and hard work.
I'm in my game right now, with a family at the Chateau and have sent them wandering the maze. This area is trully breathtaking. I'm in awe of the detail, and can appreciate someone has taken a lot of care and pride in putting this scenery together for us. But for the player, other than admiring the work of this person/s who has made these beautiful environments, there is not much fun to be had. There is not much interaction. My sims wandered the maze - their fun didn't increase, and then they just stopped and started doing what they always do - chat. There's a lovely water fountain statue you've put there, but you can't view it. We can read signs. Then what? We can toss a coin in the fountains on the lot. Then what? What's the incentive for the player to return to these areas if there's little gameplay involved?
The maze isn't the only example. The worlds are full of things we cannot interact with - like all the statues and sculptures in the world we cannot even get our sims to 'view.' What little gameplay there is - like the maze -is very shallow and very unsatisfying. I am frustrated about the beautiful upcoming Butterly Garden in Myshuno Meadows. Gorgeous design, visually very interesting, I can see that someone has put a lot of work into designing and building it, but the gameplay for the player is clicking on a sign, reading what someone else has written, going to the next one, clicking, reading and if we do this to all of the signs we get a text message saying we've achieved something. It's disheartening. All this effort on your part only for the player to be bored. It would be far more interesting for the player if they could catch butterflies, then view them, talk to them, release them in their own backyard. With all the beautiful flowers, it would be good to have the option to admire them, smell them, pick them, take them home and put them in a vase.
The same for the pigeons. You're excited over new technology because they now flock. To be honest, I don't think a player would even care. What we would care about is if we could view them, feed them, chase them and watch them fly away. In other words, make our sims interact with their world. I like the idea of swans, but again, what can I the player, do with them? What can I make my sims do with them?
You've put so much work into giving us gorgeous sunsets and sunrises, and beautiful views. But we can't make our sims acknowledge it or be aware of it. Adding an 'admire the view' to our sims personal menu would suddenly help the player feel like their sim knows about their surroundings.
So much gorgeous environment, so little possibilities!
Don't let all your hard work basically amount to 'meh'.
84
Comments
Maybe the developers should just give us the tools to make our own worlds. Or even, the ability to modify existing worlds.
...
You know?
Like they did in TS2 and TS3.
I mean, they...played..that..right?....
I doubt that all of them have played TS2 or TS3, as some of them, while replying to the questions about City Living, wondered how building of an apartment complex would differ from building a regular lot.
Complexity is our enemy when building The Sims, so we look for any opportunity to keep it down. (c) - @SimGuruMax (LINK)
So yeah, They Rule - not You (us)
--T
If that is true, then where is (insert frequently asked about missing feature here)?
It doesn't work like that. We'd end up with a game that wouldn't work if they put stuff in just because we asked. Game company isn't a wish fulfillment factory.
Laundry would break the game?
Toddlers would break the game?
Grocery stores?
Farming?
Games are made for player enjoyment (or at least they USED to be) so I think what the player wishes plays a huge role, or it should anyway.
We'd end up with some strange hybrid of game that you'd need three gaming computers to run. It'd have to have more options but less (because people ask for features but then want the ability to turn them off) with about every object known to man, that has to have loading screens but should be open world. It should be a mixture of all the games (which is about impossible to do because three have load screen, one is open world and one is some strange combination of closed world with a great expanse of open part). The time has to freeze when you're off home lot, but shouldn't because we like the world to act like it's a world not a per lot game. The sims should be hugely tactile, but incredibly dim because some don't want their sims to do anything but what they're told, immediately because we don't like waiting. It's got to have incredible customisation, but hardly any for those who don't want it. Are we seeing a problem with this yet?
They can't please us all and they can't listen to us all. It's not possible. They have budgets and time restrictions and such. They can't include everything you can possibly think of, every life state but none.
How do you even start on who they listen to?
@Simalleyaile Absolutely Amazing post! straight to the point. I really don't think this is too much to ask. However, as I and others pose the same questions/concerns it can seem as though we are ungrateful.
Maybe a clear explanation as to what the DEV's originally intended us to expect from the game; maybe could help us accept it the way it is.
Example: Day one from EA/Maxis DEV's, "this game is mainly for esthetic's and a few object interactions and more about our passion of what WE want to show you, that is most interesting to US Dev's, Designer's, etc. and what we are capable of doing with graphics and some game play; hoping you like it too."
We want more because we were once given more. In this extreme high tech world it is easy for us all to find it hard to believe these simple request can't be granted. I mean, I already pay a lot of money for the games, I would pay way more if it could just be a little more fun for me and my sims. It does get a little boring with game play and then I just go build something.
However, I do totally get it... People keep telling me if the previous games have what your missing; go play those games that's why you have them. Could be the fix we need, but I think there's nothing wrong with the desires and making simple requests(which I assume is why they created the forums anyway). Hoping for more, but will just have to take what I can get.
Considering this is a life simulation game, I'm going to say start with the basics and add the fluff later. All we have with TS4 is fluff. A lot of simmers want the basics back first before they can enjoy the fluff.
though i personally am beyond the point of asking for something
i admire your patience, your understanding & your eloquence, thank you
Telemetrics can tell you what people are doing, but it can't tell you why, and it certainly can't substitute for good old fashioned empathy.
For example, put your personal wants and desires aside for a second and answer the question honestly.
If you are a producer in charge of the design team do you drop
a) Swimming pools or b) toddlers
Hypothetically telemetrics might indicate that more Simmers use swimming pools than interact with toddlers, but it can't measure the amount of passion removing one or the other would evoke, There were some very poor decisions made, and if I were them I wouldn't go around telling interviewers that's how they rolled their d20's
And the person or persons who decide what the basics are is.....? Because as far as I can tell, as far as we simmers are concerned, what the basics are differs from person to person.
Look at the feedback forums. Alot of people agree on the basics. Give us deep and meaningful sandbox game play with the tools for us to mold and create our own stories.
Right now all we are getting is RESTRICTIONS. It's all set dressing. The sims 4 is just partying and eating in a new setting each update.
Exactly. Gurus that don't even have any knowledge of previous games or are purposely acting oblivious so their game doesn't seem as lacking. smh
There's no room in EA/Maxis' vision equation for "us." It's okay. I've cried enough for both of us.
Origin ID : kateteaa Twitter: MunchPumpkins
Sims 3 wishlist: http://store.thesims3.com/myWishlist.html?persona=teaa5
Sims 4 origin wishlist: https://www.origin.com/gbr/en-us/view-wishlist/7a1SQrtJtdHoNce4KS_ZTg--
yes!!
Origin ID : kateteaa Twitter: MunchPumpkins
Sims 3 wishlist: http://store.thesims3.com/myWishlist.html?persona=teaa5
Sims 4 origin wishlist: https://www.origin.com/gbr/en-us/view-wishlist/7a1SQrtJtdHoNce4KS_ZTg--