Sims 4 have different architectural themed neighborhood inside each world, if this was more than 5 lots (one neighborhood) that would have probably meant different themes.
While this could work in a fully fledge supernatural ep (like in Sims 3), it doesn't really in a game pack about reclusive vampires. What would the other options be ? The modern vampires district ? They would be better off in San Myshuno.
In previous games we had occasional vampirey lots scattered around Downtown/Moonlight Falls, but we've never had an actual vampire community and I look forward to that.
@PrincessVee I didn't actually read all your post, only skim read it and realized that once again someone still does not understand the point I am making.
Lets just say that the share holders are delighted that we are so easily pleased.
I am the last person here 'easily pleased'. But when you listen to me and a zillion other vampire lovers, and build a pack about vampires with the things we watch, see, and read about, and old legends...I have to give the team credit. I don't mind the world is a 'special place' thank goodness I can make a Sim live there. I can't in OR. OR is a total waste to me. Visited once. I will play this in many ways off and on, probably will always have a vampire in all my saves. It's what I do. Doesn't mean I will play the vampire everytime, Because I switch households constanstly that's also something I absolutely loved about The Sims. The freedom to switch anytime I felt like it.
Of course people are thrilled about something they begged them to do in TS2, TS3 and now TS4. Focusing all this on one life state in a GP is not a bad idea. It's rather helps them fully flesh out a character. (I hope). But listening when we started complaining on TS3 on day one about sparkly vampires and what we would have liked better, and for those who don't want to bite anyone since it's beneath them....and like drinking or eating 'food' better it was a great compromise. Both!!!! I never liked how TS3 offered a new world but if I wanted to see it, experience it, I had to move a Sim there or play a different save. A small niche off in a part of town that I may never visit in real life seems pretty reasonable. I'm going to pretend if you go up into the mountains of WB...or stumble there you find this little village...and regret it. Just past the bluffs, a long trek through the heavily wooded mountains....you find Forgotten Hollow. Fits my game perfectly. And I am the last person to be easily pleased.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In my opinion 5 lots is a fair amount, especially that the neighbourhood looks pretty amazing and has a really cool vibe. Sure, it would be awesome to have more lots, but I wouldn't really expect a bigger world from a GP.
Why? OR was much, much larger. Not only in amount of lots but also in the space our sims can actually walk around freely in.
Don't lower your expectations or we will end up getting nothing! It's important as fans we give our feedback and stop this 'grateful to get anything' approach. We pay for the content... let's get as much value for our buck as possible.
I'm not really 'grateful to get anything'... I much prefer to have a pretty and atmospheric neighborhood than something that is just... big. It's 'quality over quantity' for me. I'm not a fsn of OR as it feels empty to me. Yeah, the world is pretty big, but there is nothing to do there really. My sims go to Granite Falls very rarely, since it's just boring to me. It's nice to have a vacation option, but I don't have much use of it in my game.
I can't really tell before I play Vampire GP, but it seems pretty interesting and it seems to add lots of gameplay, stuff, plus - new world, which looks amazing to me so far. So I don't mind the world not being the biggest ever.
Maybe I'm a bit biased since vampires will probably never be the main and most important part of my game.
I'm not after 'the biggest ever' I'm after...raising simmers awareness of not settling for less. EA will make money cuts wherever possible as that is their responsibility to the share holders...
As gamers, we need to always push for more... and quality. Not one at the expense of the other.
I'm not saying you don't have a point when you're saying we need to have high expectations as customers. I'm just saying that in my opinion, being glad with how Vampire GP turned out is not 'settling for less' since it pretty much meets my expectations.
But in this instance, it really comes down to differences of opinion about what is "worth it" and what kind of content expectations there should be for a GP. Asking for more is great, as long as it's realistic. In this case, it seems to me that they put most of their resources into the life state itself. With OR, it was vitally important that a wooded outdoor area be large enough to feel like a wooded outdoor area. There was no such thematic need here, concerning size. Arguably, the opposite theme, in fact, as Vampires are often portrayed as living in smaller areas, closed off or hidden from the rest of society.
I am all for asking for more, as long as it makes sense. And the reality is, we as gamers are not always going to agree about where that line is.
Does it take a rocket scientist to see that OR was a VACATION PACK with the focus on camping and THE CAMPING LOCATION aka the world?
And Vampires GP focuses on vampires and their abilities as opposed to the world?
It kind of makes sense that a vacation pack about camping would have a bigger world. It's its selling point. Camping, tents, bonfire, spooky stories... The world was a given. After all, sims needed a place to go camping. They couldn't just place a tent in their backyard and be like "Yup. I'm on vacation".
On the other hand. No one expected Vampires GP to even have any type of world or neighborhood. Because it's not a pack about a world and things to do there. It's a pack about vampires and their specific lifestyle.
Those of you who can not see the point I am making are refusing to see what so many simmers from around the world see. The simming world is a lot bigger than this forum.
I'm a girl who likes to play with boys, what can I say...
“Instead of putting players in the role of Luke Skywalker, or Frodo Baggins, I'd rather put them in the role of George Lucas.”Will Wright.
5-6 lots (that is if the park can be edited) is perfect for a game pack. Must I remind you that an EP came with a neighborhood with ONLY 4 lots? AN EP, now that was inexcusable.
It came with 4 Neighborhoods, though. The two workplace hoods + Sixam.
If they had shown up on the map, no one would have cared, lmao.
It came with 1 neighborhood which was magnolia with 4 lots, and sixam. No one is counting the hidden lots.
Those of you who can not see the point I am making are refusing to see what so many simmers from around the world see. The simming world is a lot bigger than this forum.
Wrong...the blog says they have been two years in the making which means people literally spent two years wasting their time. (Nice attempt at self aggrandizement though...)
Those of you who can not see the point I am making are refusing to see what so many simmers from around the world see. The simming world is a lot bigger than this forum.
Of course it is. And if you want to credit all those who consistently fought the good fight for toddlers, I won't argue that particular example, I've no doubt there's merit there, and I'm extremely happy for everyone who wanted them and never gave up. But meanwhile, the supernatural lovers are getting the most amazing vampire pack that's ever been, with many of our very own ideas incorporated into it... Just from having many respectful, creative discussions about our preferences, to each other, and also to the devs. That means there is more than one way to get what we want. And that's not a bad thing
Those of you who can not see the point I am making are refusing to see what so many simmers from around the world see. The simming world is a lot bigger than this forum.
Wrong...the blog says they have been two years in the making which means people literally spent two years wasting their time. (Nice attempt at self aggrandizement though...)
Oh for goodness sake... everyone is so bitter here. It is a time to celebrate the people who have been pushing and giving direct feedback to the developers have been doing so since soon after launch. There is a lot more going on behind the scenes than you would think. It is not about me..it is about those people who have literally given up many many hours of their own time, for free to push for toddlers and more family play.
I had no part in pushing for family play as that isn't my thing per say, although I love the added game play.
The simple truth is behind closed doors there are a lot of people working under NDA who are fans who are constantly trying to push for improvements that fans want. It is just a pity that some fans seem to be doing their best to just settle instead of always wanting the best out of a game.
I can't say any more than this. And I am not interested in trying to change anyone's mind. lol I couldn't give a toss really what people think that I don't know but I will always state my point of view regardless who agrees with me or doesn't. It's not a contest. Merely an exchange of ideas and if you read condescension into my posts well, that is on you as that is not the tone in my head as I type.
If my comments offend you then perhaps it is because you are not ready to face a different view that is challenging to your beliefs around what is a common practice the gaming world over. Normally fans push for more content, deeper game play and are united. Simmers are rather unique in this aspect and would rather argue with each other.
Now for specifics. I think the vamp pack looks amazing. The new neighborhood is all I imagined it would be, apart from being rather small. I am super glad the creepy walk is optional as that definitely ruins the mood for me.
It looks as though these could well be the best vamps we've had yet to date in a sims game. That being said, more than 5 lots would have be very welcome indeed.
I'm a girl who likes to play with boys, what can I say...
“Instead of putting players in the role of Luke Skywalker, or Frodo Baggins, I'd rather put them in the role of George Lucas.”Will Wright.
Those of you who can not see the point I am making are refusing to see what so many simmers from around the world see. The simming world is a lot bigger than this forum.
Of course it is. And if you want to credit all those who consistently fought the good fight for toddlers, I won't argue that particular example, I've no doubt there's merit there, and I'm extremely happy for everyone who wanted them and never gave up. But meanwhile, the supernatural lovers are getting the most amazing vampire pack that's ever been, with many of our very own ideas incorporated into it... Just from having many respectful, creative discussions about our preferences, to each other, and also to the devs. That means there is more than one way to get what we want. And that's not a bad thing
So I guess we all win. Happy simming.
Indeed, I count myself in that particular group as supernatural has been one of my biggest hopes for The Sims 4.
I'm a girl who likes to play with boys, what can I say...
“Instead of putting players in the role of Luke Skywalker, or Frodo Baggins, I'd rather put them in the role of George Lucas.”Will Wright.
... today we now have free toddlers because of their endless feedback.
Respectfully, no.
Which part warranted your "no" comment? Was it "free", "toddlers" or "because of their...feedback" ????
Were they always planned to be released in a free patch, two years and a quarter after the original date of release? Did the boycotts and constant feedback and negative publicity have no effect on the decision making process?
Without providing more information, your comment can be taken as disparaging, if not denigrating. (Although that does seem to have become a habit of some Maxis staff members.)
... today we now have free toddlers because of their endless feedback.
Respectfully, no.
Which part warranted your "no" comment? Was it "free", "toddlers" or "because of their...feedback" ????
Were they always planned to be released in a free patch, two years and a quarter after the original date of release? Did the boycotts and constant feedback and negative publicity have no effect on the decision making process?
Without providing more information, your comment can be taken as disparaging, if not denigrating. (Although that does seem to have become a habit of some Maxis staff members.)
I think he was just referring to the "free" part. My guess is that toddlers were always intended to be patched in for free once they were finished. I don't think he was trying to disregard anyone's efforts.
TL;DR It's been part of the plan for a long time. We knew folks wanted it and so did we. We've been working on them throughout a lot of the "endless feedback".
Longer explanation:
Toddlers are something we've desperately wanted to do since we launched. And for free as a patch too - not paid content. We felt strongly about that and it was very important to us. It took time to get everything in order (balancing SP, GP, EP, and free content development simultaneously is no easy task. It's actually quite challenging). Simple as that.
Trust me, at several points we wanted to scream from the highest mountaintop "THEY'RE COMING!" but were simply unable to. So we kept our heads down, weathered the repeated feedback, and did our best to get quality content into your hands as soon as we possibly could.
With a little luck we've made Simmers happier today and given them something to enjoy.
I hope you all enjoy it too! You deserve it!
That's a better explanation. Thank you.
Hopefully the feedback on the rest of the base game serves the same diligence for the next version of the game. That is, if TS4 has made enough money to warrant one.
Because frankly, the toddlers look brilliant. They look like they were created thoughtfully, lovingly and diligently. These are exactly the aspects of TS2 many of us wanted returned. I just wish I could say the same for the design decisions of the rest of the game, but unfortunately that ship has sailed.
TL;DR It's been part of the plan for a long time. We knew folks wanted it and so did we. We've been working on them throughout a lot of the "endless feedback".
Longer explanation:
Toddlers are something we've desperately wanted to do since we launched. And for free as a patch too - not paid content. We felt strongly about that and it was very important to us. It took time to get everything in order (balancing SP, GP, EP, and free content development simultaneously is no easy task. It's actually quite challenging). Simple as that.
Trust me, at several points we wanted to scream from the highest mountaintop "THEY'RE COMING!" but were simply unable to. So we kept our heads down, weathered the repeated feedback, and did our best to get quality content into your hands as soon as we possibly could.
With a little luck we've made Simmers happier today and given them something to enjoy.
I hope you all enjoy it too! You deserve it!
I'm glad for the clarification
I'm fairly sure it's been really frustrating for you to not be able to communicate as it has been for those of us waiting two years for the potential to be turned into reality in the face of a lot of comments about how they weren't worth it, we weren't a proper play style and other stuff. It's been plum all around waiting!
I'm glad it was important to the team and I'm sorry you've had to endure this rough ride with the releasing unfinished thing. I just hope against all hope we never see this with another base. TS4 deserved better, you deserved better and so did we. I know it will have been from above you guys in how that was all handled and I have always said that. I am hoping it's all a good learning experience.
These toddlers are very well done. First time I've really enjoyed TS4 They've taken a very long time and I'm sad that they don't work with all the previous expansions to the game because I would have bought them straight away if they had been. That's part of why I was worrying. The longer it took, the harder it was for you guys in catching up. Hopefully as you catch up with stuff that wasn't finished two years ago on release it'll free up money and time for doing more with the new stuff I'm hoping that's why the vampires look so great-that you guys are finally catching up with yourselves for the future
TL;DR It's been part of the plan for a long time. We knew folks wanted it and so did we. We've been working on them throughout a lot of the "endless feedback".
Longer explanation:
Toddlers are something we've desperately wanted to do since we launched. And for free as a patch too - not paid content. We felt strongly about that and it was very important to us. It took time to get everything in order (balancing SP, GP, EP, and free content development simultaneously is no easy task. It's actually quite challenging). Simple as that.
Trust me, at several points we wanted to scream from the highest mountaintop "THEY'RE COMING!" but were simply unable to. So we kept our heads down, weathered the repeated feedback, and did our best to get quality content into your hands as soon as we possibly could.
With a little luck we've made Simmers happier today and given them something to enjoy.
I hope you all enjoy it too! You deserve it!
Hello. First of all, I want to thank all of the team for the hard work on toddlers, they are way better than I thought they would be. Infinite thanks!!
Does the team knows about the space, lots, bigger worlds that most of the community wants? Can you share something about the future of the worlds sizes? A word on it or something, please? Thank you all for listening!
GAME packs are intended to add more/new Game Play. This isnt a full on expansion pack. I'm not sure why some people were expecting a vampire expansion pack.
you forgot there were a expansion pack with 3 lots on it and another with 17? This is the amount of lots we got on The Sims 1.
+ they always focus on the esthetic more than nothing else. we had decorative subways, houses, cities, cars and a lot of time wasted on just making the things look 'good'
I'm not the biggest fan of ts4, but this are by far the best vampires yet.
I agree with you on that, I tend to see the good side on things but sometimes it's hard with the bad that big.
I mean the only thing that still bothers me is that I hate that I won't have vampire toddlers... but well at this point I'm used to playing with young adults
TL;DR It's been part of the plan for a long time. We knew folks wanted it and so did we. We've been working on them throughout a lot of the "endless feedback".
Longer explanation:
Toddlers are something we've desperately wanted to do since we launched. And for free as a patch too - not paid content. We felt strongly about that and it was very important to us. It took time to get everything in order (balancing SP, GP, EP, and free content development simultaneously is no easy task. It's actually quite challenging). Simple as that.
Trust me, at several points we wanted to scream from the highest mountaintop "THEY'RE COMING!" but were simply unable to. So we kept our heads down, weathered the repeated feedback, and did our best to get quality content into your hands as soon as we possibly could.
With a little luck we've made Simmers happier today and given them something to enjoy.
I hope you all enjoy it too! You deserve it!
Hey, no one points the finger at you nor any of your work colleagues. Today is a wonderful day for The Sims 4. It is simply the best patch ever! But the point remains that without fans there is no game, without knowing what we want there is no direction for the game. That is simply the point I am making. It is a symbiotic relationship I guess! lol You basically said as much in your post.
Having just spent the day playing with toddlers I can say, hand on my heart, it is the most fun I have had with TS4. having toddlers has completed the life cycle and its 100% awesome.
it must be a huge day for everyone who worked on this amazing update and there is nothing better than a long-term goal met and met resoundingly well. You all deserve to feel appreciated and also proud of your work.
But I'm still gonna push for more content, bigger worlds/more lots etc... and all that good stuff.
I'm a girl who likes to play with boys, what can I say...
“Instead of putting players in the role of Luke Skywalker, or Frodo Baggins, I'd rather put them in the role of George Lucas.”Will Wright.
TL;DR It's been part of the plan for a long time. We knew folks wanted it and so did we. We've been working on them throughout a lot of the "endless feedback".
Longer explanation:
Toddlers are something we've desperately wanted to do since we launched. And for free as a patch too - not paid content. We felt strongly about that and it was very important to us. It took time to get everything in order (balancing SP, GP, EP, and free content development simultaneously is no easy task. It's actually quite challenging). Simple as that.
Trust me, at several points we wanted to scream from the highest mountaintop "THEY'RE COMING!" but were simply unable to. So we kept our heads down, weathered the repeated feedback, and did our best to get quality content into your hands as soon as we possibly could.
With a little luck we've made Simmers happier today and given them something to enjoy.
I hope you all enjoy it too! You deserve it!
Hey, no one points the finger at you nor any of your work colleagues. Today is a wonderful day for The Sims 4. It is simply the best patch ever! But the point remains that without fans there is no game, without knowing what we want there is no direction for the game. That is simply the point I am making. It is a symbiotic relationship I guess! lol You basically said as much in your post.
Having just spent the day playing with toddlers I can say, hand on my heart, it is the most fun I have had with TS4. having toddlers has completed the life cycle and its 100% awesome.
it must be a huge day for everyone who worked on this amazing update and there is nothing better than a long-term goal met and met resoundingly well. You all deserve to feel appreciated and also proud of your work.
But I'm still gonna push for more content, bigger worlds/more lots etc... and all that good stuff.
I may be reading this wrong, but I think the distinction here is that yes, fan feedback helped them shape what toddlers ultimately became, in terms of design, but no, fan "campaigning" did not make them get implemented, as they were already planned from the beginning.
I don't want to step on any fan's toes and give them the impression that their feedback isn't important because I do believe it is. But I do want to point out that "without knowing what we want there is no direction for the game" is overstating it. The fans help in providing ideas, in making it known what they want, and of course, in supporting the game, but every dev team has paid designers on staff and part of the job of the designers, creative leads, etc. (whatever title you'd like) is to try to create something that will (1) fit with the vision of the game, (2) be a fun and repeatable game experience, and (3) in the case of a franchise like this, improve on past designs while also taking into account what features are most popular and most feasible with the resources available and the constraints being dealt with.
At least, that's a rough sketch of it. The point being that there are people paid to figure out the direction of the game. They can't rely on fan feedback for that, or they'd be dead in the water on day one. They can use fan feedback as one of many compasses to guide them to what will hopefully be a successful content release (which is what, I'm sure, most of them do).
I don't want people to think I am singling them out or lumping them into a group (neither is my intention) but I'd also like to point out that there may be a lesson here about aiming to keep "campaigning" for features as peaceful, positive, and constructive as possible, knowing that there may be a zipped lips group on the other side who wishes they could share their plans with you, so that you know you don't have to campaign in the first place. I am not the model fan and I am not always polite myself (in some communities in the past, I grew rather bitter, due to unhappiness with the direction of the game, which may or may not be grossly understating it). And the last thing I want to do is be the guy who gets up on a high horse and tells other people how to act, so realize that I'm saying this from experience of being rather embittered and cynical: Sometimes I wonder if the best thing to do is to state what you like and don't like, offer ideas if you have them, and then move on.
This idea of campaigning for features, as we can see with toddlers as an example, is more complicated than it looks. Where one person sees silence and gets frustrated, assuming they are being ignored, someone on the other side sees perpetual asking and (I would imagine) can get frustrated or disheartened knowing that they can't say a word about what they're working on.
Ultimately, I think as long as we respect each other (fans respect each other, fans respect devs, devs respect fans, etc.) we'll be ok. Speaking from experience (and some insight from people much more experienced in life than myself), it's when we lose respect for the other party that things can quickly get out of hand. I never really understood it in those words until recently, but looking back on times when I felt that I was over the top as a fan for a game, I had lost respect for the devs on some level. Even if it was just some head guy/gal in charge that I scapegoated as the problem, I didn't respect that guy/gal and there was little they could say or do that meant anything to me other than "here they go again with more [thing I don't like]."
Anyway, I don't want to be too serious when so many are enjoying themselves. But apparently I am already doing that anyway. It's the teacher in my genes. I can't turn it off.
TL;DR It's been part of the plan for a long time. We knew folks wanted it and so did we. We've been working on them throughout a lot of the "endless feedback".
Longer explanation:
Toddlers are something we've desperately wanted to do since we launched. And for free as a patch too - not paid content. We felt strongly about that and it was very important to us. It took time to get everything in order (balancing SP, GP, EP, and free content development simultaneously is no easy task. It's actually quite challenging). Simple as that.
Trust me, at several points we wanted to scream from the highest mountaintop "THEY'RE COMING!" but were simply unable to. So we kept our heads down, weathered the repeated feedback, and did our best to get quality content into your hands as soon as we possibly could.
With a little luck we've made Simmers happier today and given them something to enjoy.
I hope you all enjoy it too! You deserve it!
Hey, no one points the finger at you nor any of your work colleagues. Today is a wonderful day for The Sims 4. It is simply the best patch ever! But the point remains that without fans there is no game, without knowing what we want there is no direction for the game. That is simply the point I am making. It is a symbiotic relationship I guess! lol You basically said as much in your post.
Having just spent the day playing with toddlers I can say, hand on my heart, it is the most fun I have had with TS4. having toddlers has completed the life cycle and its 100% awesome.
it must be a huge day for everyone who worked on this amazing update and there is nothing better than a long-term goal met and met resoundingly well. You all deserve to feel appreciated and also proud of your work.
But I'm still gonna push for more content, bigger worlds/more lots etc... and all that good stuff.
I may be reading this wrong, but I think the distinction here is that yes, fan feedback helped them shape what toddlers ultimately became, in terms of design, but no, fan "campaigning" did not make them get implemented, as they were already planned from the beginning.
I don't want to step on any fan's toes and give them the impression that their feedback isn't important because I do believe it is. But I do want to point out that "without knowing what we want there is no direction for the game" is overstating it. The fans help in providing ideas, in making it known what they want, and of course, in supporting the game, but every dev team has paid designers on staff and part of the job of the designers, creative leads, etc. (whatever title you'd like) is to try to create something that will (1) fit with the vision of the game, (2) be a fun and repeatable game experience, and (3) in the case of a franchise like this, improve on past designs while also taking into account what features are most popular and most feasible with the resources available and the constraints being dealt with.
At least, that's a rough sketch of it. The point being that there are people paid to figure out the direction of the game. They can't rely on fan feedback for that, or they'd be dead in the water on day one. They can use fan feedback as one of many compasses to guide them to what will hopefully be a successful content release (which is what, I'm sure, most of them do).
I don't want people to think I am singling them out or lumping them into a group (neither is my intention) but I'd also like to point out that there may be a lesson here about aiming to keep "campaigning" for features as peaceful, positive, and constructive as possible, knowing that there may be a zipped lips group on the other side who wishes they could share their plans with you, so that you know you don't have to campaign in the first place. I am not the model fan and I am not always polite myself (in some communities in the past, I grew rather bitter, due to unhappiness with the direction of the game, which may or may not be grossly understating it). And the last thing I want to do is be the guy who gets up on a high horse and tells other people how to act, so realize that I'm saying this from experience of being rather embittered and cynical: Sometimes I wonder if the best thing to do is to state what you like and don't like, offer ideas if you have them, and then move on.
This idea of campaigning for features, as we can see with toddlers as an example, is more complicated than it looks. Where one person sees silence and gets frustrated, assuming they are being ignored, someone on the other side sees perpetual asking and (I would imagine) can get frustrated or disheartened knowing that they can't say a word about what they're working on.
Ultimately, I think as long as we respect each other (fans respect each other, fans respect devs, devs respect fans, etc.) we'll be ok. Speaking from experience (and some insight from people much more experienced in life than myself), it's when we lose respect for the other party that things can quickly get out of hand. I never really understood it in those words until recently, but looking back on times when I felt that I was over the top as a fan for a game, I had lost respect for the devs on some level. Even if it was just some head guy/gal in charge that I scapegoated as the problem, I didn't respect that guy/gal and there was little they could say or do that meant anything to me other than "here they go again with more [thing I don't like]."
Anyway, I don't want to be too serious when so many are enjoying themselves. But apparently I am already doing that anyway. It's the teacher in my genes. I can't turn it off.
You know what's sad? That the family play thread has been one of the most peaceful, accepting and friendly threads around. We also had a lot of support for the devs and were frustrated by the limitations placed on them and shared sympathy for that. But still nothing was ever good enough and constantly we had this narrative of 'family players or toddler fans are unreasonable'. No they aren't, and never were. The issues sprang from the game being released too early. That was never a fault of any fan.
Just because the odd person was rude, or upset or whatever else didn't make the entire fan base that wanted a similar thing to be responsible for their INDIVIDUAL behaviour. It doesn't work that way. That is placing artificial responsibility across thousands of fans (and customers!) and it makes zero sense. Vilify a whole group over the actions of a few? As a teacher that's a really important lesson to put across, because that is a common mistake made! Just because x commits a crime doesn't mean all other people with his background, economic group, etc etc are guilty by association.
We all know trolls took advantage of the situation anyway. (We saw a lot of terrible things on the forums post release) I'm guessing some of the most ridiculous mean comments from any direction were from those types exploiting the situation for their sick brand of entertainment.
It's great that finally toddlers are here. It's just a massive shame that we've missed out on two years when we could have been enjoying them in our new base games! Or waited to have them ship in time. The reception to TS4 was because someone at EA made the decision to ship an unfinished game. Which, by the way, the month it happened EA CEO promised they would never do again. So presumably they are aware that it was damaging their reputation and chances for the game across all the games that occurred with. I just hope this is the last time and next generation can flu from the first day with no excuses
It's important for customers to always hold companies to account in terms of quality and expectations. It's actually saving EA money when people give detailed feedback because often people don't care enough about the product or company to bother and then when something goes awry they have to chase answers using expensive focus groups and research. It can even cause a lot of damage to the company when it comes as a shock if people didn't say and just stopped supporting them. Here they have lots of *free* articulate feedback that they can sift out through the other noise. They can pull a lot of information out of this forum and for a lot cheaper than from hiring expensive firms to carry out research.
TL;DR It's been part of the plan for a long time. We knew folks wanted it and so did we. We've been working on them throughout a lot of the "endless feedback".
Longer explanation:
Toddlers are something we've desperately wanted to do since we launched. And for free as a patch too - not paid content. We felt strongly about that and it was very important to us. It took time to get everything in order (balancing SP, GP, EP, and free content development simultaneously is no easy task. It's actually quite challenging). Simple as that.
Trust me, at several points we wanted to scream from the highest mountaintop "THEY'RE COMING!" but were simply unable to. So we kept our heads down, weathered the repeated feedback, and did our best to get quality content into your hands as soon as we possibly could.
With a little luck we've made Simmers happier today and given them something to enjoy.
I hope you all enjoy it too! You deserve it!
I would like to think hearing from your customers helped you shape this game. I would like to think whether money poured in or not, helps you decide what is important to your customers. I enjoy many things you guys want to do that maybe I didn't think about before, but you know, I enjoy what I want in the game more. And that was toddlers.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
Comments
My Mood:
Ahahahaha no.....But it does look pretty good.
I see it as another extension of Willow Creek or a...well..."Forgotten Hollow" between the worlds.
While this could work in a fully fledge supernatural ep (like in Sims 3), it doesn't really in a game pack about reclusive vampires. What would the other options be ? The modern vampires district ? They would be better off in San Myshuno.
In previous games we had occasional vampirey lots scattered around Downtown/Moonlight Falls, but we've never had an actual vampire community and I look forward to that.
I am the last person here 'easily pleased'. But when you listen to me and a zillion other vampire lovers, and build a pack about vampires with the things we watch, see, and read about, and old legends...I have to give the team credit. I don't mind the world is a 'special place' thank goodness I can make a Sim live there. I can't in OR. OR is a total waste to me. Visited once. I will play this in many ways off and on, probably will always have a vampire in all my saves. It's what I do. Doesn't mean I will play the vampire everytime, Because I switch households constanstly that's also something I absolutely loved about The Sims. The freedom to switch anytime I felt like it.
Of course people are thrilled about something they begged them to do in TS2, TS3 and now TS4. Focusing all this on one life state in a GP is not a bad idea. It's rather helps them fully flesh out a character. (I hope). But listening when we started complaining on TS3 on day one about sparkly vampires and what we would have liked better, and for those who don't want to bite anyone since it's beneath them....and like drinking or eating 'food' better it was a great compromise. Both!!!! I never liked how TS3 offered a new world but if I wanted to see it, experience it, I had to move a Sim there or play a different save. A small niche off in a part of town that I may never visit in real life seems pretty reasonable. I'm going to pretend if you go up into the mountains of WB...or stumble there you find this little village...and regret it. Just past the bluffs, a long trek through the heavily wooded mountains....you find Forgotten Hollow. Fits my game perfectly. And I am the last person to be easily pleased.
I'm not saying you don't have a point when you're saying we need to have high expectations as customers. I'm just saying that in my opinion, being glad with how Vampire GP turned out is not 'settling for less' since it pretty much meets my expectations.
Well said.
Agreed.
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/15457060/#Comment_15457060
Those of you who can not see the point I am making are refusing to see what so many simmers from around the world see. The simming world is a lot bigger than this forum.
“Instead of putting players in the role of Luke Skywalker, or Frodo Baggins, I'd rather put them in the role of George Lucas.”Will Wright.
It came with 1 neighborhood which was magnolia with 4 lots, and sixam. No one is counting the hidden lots.
Wrong...the blog says they have been two years in the making which means people literally spent two years wasting their time. (Nice attempt at self aggrandizement though...)
Of course it is. And if you want to credit all those who consistently fought the good fight for toddlers, I won't argue that particular example, I've no doubt there's merit there, and I'm extremely happy for everyone who wanted them and never gave up. But meanwhile, the supernatural lovers are getting the most amazing vampire pack that's ever been, with many of our very own ideas incorporated into it... Just from having many respectful, creative discussions about our preferences, to each other, and also to the devs. That means there is more than one way to get what we want. And that's not a bad thing
So I guess we all win. Happy simming.
Oh for goodness sake... everyone is so bitter here. It is a time to celebrate the people who have been pushing and giving direct feedback to the developers have been doing so since soon after launch. There is a lot more going on behind the scenes than you would think. It is not about me..it is about those people who have literally given up many many hours of their own time, for free to push for toddlers and more family play.
I had no part in pushing for family play as that isn't my thing per say, although I love the added game play.
The simple truth is behind closed doors there are a lot of people working under NDA who are fans who are constantly trying to push for improvements that fans want. It is just a pity that some fans seem to be doing their best to just settle instead of always wanting the best out of a game.
I can't say any more than this. And I am not interested in trying to change anyone's mind. lol I couldn't give a toss really what people think that I don't know but I will always state my point of view regardless who agrees with me or doesn't. It's not a contest. Merely an exchange of ideas and if you read condescension into my posts well, that is on you as that is not the tone in my head as I type.
If my comments offend you then perhaps it is because you are not ready to face a different view that is challenging to your beliefs around what is a common practice the gaming world over. Normally fans push for more content, deeper game play and are united. Simmers are rather unique in this aspect and would rather argue with each other.
Now for specifics. I think the vamp pack looks amazing. The new neighborhood is all I imagined it would be, apart from being rather small. I am super glad the creepy walk is optional as that definitely ruins the mood for me.
It looks as though these could well be the best vamps we've had yet to date in a sims game. That being said, more than 5 lots would have be very welcome indeed.
“Instead of putting players in the role of Luke Skywalker, or Frodo Baggins, I'd rather put them in the role of George Lucas.”Will Wright.
Respectfully, no.
Respectfully yes... sorry but fan feedback drives the gaming world over.
“Instead of putting players in the role of Luke Skywalker, or Frodo Baggins, I'd rather put them in the role of George Lucas.”Will Wright.
Indeed, I count myself in that particular group as supernatural has been one of my biggest hopes for The Sims 4.
“Instead of putting players in the role of Luke Skywalker, or Frodo Baggins, I'd rather put them in the role of George Lucas.”Will Wright.
Which part warranted your "no" comment? Was it "free", "toddlers" or "because of their...feedback" ????
Were they always planned to be released in a free patch, two years and a quarter after the original date of release? Did the boycotts and constant feedback and negative publicity have no effect on the decision making process?
Without providing more information, your comment can be taken as disparaging, if not denigrating. (Although that does seem to have become a habit of some Maxis staff members.)
I think he was just referring to the "free" part. My guess is that toddlers were always intended to be patched in for free once they were finished. I don't think he was trying to disregard anyone's efforts.
Longer explanation:
Toddlers are something we've desperately wanted to do since we launched. And for free as a patch too - not paid content. We felt strongly about that and it was very important to us. It took time to get everything in order (balancing SP, GP, EP, and free content development simultaneously is no easy task. It's actually quite challenging). Simple as that.
Trust me, at several points we wanted to scream from the highest mountaintop "THEY'RE COMING!" but were simply unable to. So we kept our heads down, weathered the repeated feedback, and did our best to get quality content into your hands as soon as we possibly could.
With a little luck we've made Simmers happier today and given them something to enjoy.
I hope you all enjoy it too! You deserve it!
Hopefully the feedback on the rest of the base game serves the same diligence for the next version of the game. That is, if TS4 has made enough money to warrant one.
Because frankly, the toddlers look brilliant. They look like they were created thoughtfully, lovingly and diligently. These are exactly the aspects of TS2 many of us wanted returned. I just wish I could say the same for the design decisions of the rest of the game, but unfortunately that ship has sailed.
I'm glad for the clarification
I'm fairly sure it's been really frustrating for you to not be able to communicate as it has been for those of us waiting two years for the potential to be turned into reality in the face of a lot of comments about how they weren't worth it, we weren't a proper play style and other stuff. It's been plum all around waiting!
I'm glad it was important to the team and I'm sorry you've had to endure this rough ride with the releasing unfinished thing. I just hope against all hope we never see this with another base. TS4 deserved better, you deserved better and so did we. I know it will have been from above you guys in how that was all handled and I have always said that. I am hoping it's all a good learning experience.
These toddlers are very well done. First time I've really enjoyed TS4 They've taken a very long time and I'm sad that they don't work with all the previous expansions to the game because I would have bought them straight away if they had been. That's part of why I was worrying. The longer it took, the harder it was for you guys in catching up. Hopefully as you catch up with stuff that wasn't finished two years ago on release it'll free up money and time for doing more with the new stuff I'm hoping that's why the vampires look so great-that you guys are finally catching up with yourselves for the future
https://twitter.com/sparkfairy1
Hello. First of all, I want to thank all of the team for the hard work on toddlers, they are way better than I thought they would be. Infinite thanks!!
Does the team knows about the space, lots, bigger worlds that most of the community wants? Can you share something about the future of the worlds sizes? A word on it or something, please? Thank you all for listening!
am I some kind of Nostradamus or something
Hey, no one points the finger at you nor any of your work colleagues. Today is a wonderful day for The Sims 4. It is simply the best patch ever! But the point remains that without fans there is no game, without knowing what we want there is no direction for the game. That is simply the point I am making. It is a symbiotic relationship I guess! lol You basically said as much in your post.
Having just spent the day playing with toddlers I can say, hand on my heart, it is the most fun I have had with TS4. having toddlers has completed the life cycle and its 100% awesome.
it must be a huge day for everyone who worked on this amazing update and there is nothing better than a long-term goal met and met resoundingly well. You all deserve to feel appreciated and also proud of your work.
But I'm still gonna push for more content, bigger worlds/more lots etc... and all that good stuff.
“Instead of putting players in the role of Luke Skywalker, or Frodo Baggins, I'd rather put them in the role of George Lucas.”Will Wright.
I don't want to step on any fan's toes and give them the impression that their feedback isn't important because I do believe it is. But I do want to point out that "without knowing what we want there is no direction for the game" is overstating it. The fans help in providing ideas, in making it known what they want, and of course, in supporting the game, but every dev team has paid designers on staff and part of the job of the designers, creative leads, etc. (whatever title you'd like) is to try to create something that will (1) fit with the vision of the game, (2) be a fun and repeatable game experience, and (3) in the case of a franchise like this, improve on past designs while also taking into account what features are most popular and most feasible with the resources available and the constraints being dealt with.
At least, that's a rough sketch of it. The point being that there are people paid to figure out the direction of the game. They can't rely on fan feedback for that, or they'd be dead in the water on day one. They can use fan feedback as one of many compasses to guide them to what will hopefully be a successful content release (which is what, I'm sure, most of them do).
I don't want people to think I am singling them out or lumping them into a group (neither is my intention) but I'd also like to point out that there may be a lesson here about aiming to keep "campaigning" for features as peaceful, positive, and constructive as possible, knowing that there may be a zipped lips group on the other side who wishes they could share their plans with you, so that you know you don't have to campaign in the first place. I am not the model fan and I am not always polite myself (in some communities in the past, I grew rather bitter, due to unhappiness with the direction of the game, which may or may not be grossly understating it). And the last thing I want to do is be the guy who gets up on a high horse and tells other people how to act, so realize that I'm saying this from experience of being rather embittered and cynical: Sometimes I wonder if the best thing to do is to state what you like and don't like, offer ideas if you have them, and then move on.
This idea of campaigning for features, as we can see with toddlers as an example, is more complicated than it looks. Where one person sees silence and gets frustrated, assuming they are being ignored, someone on the other side sees perpetual asking and (I would imagine) can get frustrated or disheartened knowing that they can't say a word about what they're working on.
Ultimately, I think as long as we respect each other (fans respect each other, fans respect devs, devs respect fans, etc.) we'll be ok. Speaking from experience (and some insight from people much more experienced in life than myself), it's when we lose respect for the other party that things can quickly get out of hand. I never really understood it in those words until recently, but looking back on times when I felt that I was over the top as a fan for a game, I had lost respect for the devs on some level. Even if it was just some head guy/gal in charge that I scapegoated as the problem, I didn't respect that guy/gal and there was little they could say or do that meant anything to me other than "here they go again with more [thing I don't like]."
Anyway, I don't want to be too serious when so many are enjoying themselves. But apparently I am already doing that anyway. It's the teacher in my genes. I can't turn it off.
You know what's sad? That the family play thread has been one of the most peaceful, accepting and friendly threads around. We also had a lot of support for the devs and were frustrated by the limitations placed on them and shared sympathy for that. But still nothing was ever good enough and constantly we had this narrative of 'family players or toddler fans are unreasonable'. No they aren't, and never were. The issues sprang from the game being released too early. That was never a fault of any fan.
Just because the odd person was rude, or upset or whatever else didn't make the entire fan base that wanted a similar thing to be responsible for their INDIVIDUAL behaviour. It doesn't work that way. That is placing artificial responsibility across thousands of fans (and customers!) and it makes zero sense. Vilify a whole group over the actions of a few? As a teacher that's a really important lesson to put across, because that is a common mistake made! Just because x commits a crime doesn't mean all other people with his background, economic group, etc etc are guilty by association.
We all know trolls took advantage of the situation anyway. (We saw a lot of terrible things on the forums post release) I'm guessing some of the most ridiculous mean comments from any direction were from those types exploiting the situation for their sick brand of entertainment.
It's great that finally toddlers are here. It's just a massive shame that we've missed out on two years when we could have been enjoying them in our new base games! Or waited to have them ship in time. The reception to TS4 was because someone at EA made the decision to ship an unfinished game. Which, by the way, the month it happened EA CEO promised they would never do again. So presumably they are aware that it was damaging their reputation and chances for the game across all the games that occurred with. I just hope this is the last time and next generation can flu from the first day with no excuses
It's important for customers to always hold companies to account in terms of quality and expectations. It's actually saving EA money when people give detailed feedback because often people don't care enough about the product or company to bother and then when something goes awry they have to chase answers using expensive focus groups and research. It can even cause a lot of damage to the company when it comes as a shock if people didn't say and just stopped supporting them. Here they have lots of *free* articulate feedback that they can sift out through the other noise. They can pull a lot of information out of this forum and for a lot cheaper than from hiring expensive firms to carry out research.
https://twitter.com/sparkfairy1
I would like to think hearing from your customers helped you shape this game. I would like to think whether money poured in or not, helps you decide what is important to your customers. I enjoy many things you guys want to do that maybe I didn't think about before, but you know, I enjoy what I want in the game more. And that was toddlers.