Man I must be from another planet cause I'm finding the game great, so does my sister who was extremely apprehensive due to all that no pools no toddlers kerfuffle.
One thing I would like to know is.... If EA had been working on the game for so long, how come a lot of people are saying it feels 'rushed' I mean what have they been doing with it this whole time?
One thing I would like to know is.... If EA had been working on the game for so long, how come a lot of people are saying it feels 'rushed' I mean what have they been doing with it this whole time?
They were creating their online game until about 2 years ago, it would only have included young adults. So it is rushed
One thing I would like to know is.... If EA had been working on the game for so long, how come a lot of people are saying it feels 'rushed' I mean what have they been doing with it this whole time?
The game was originally being developed as an ONLINE game, in the same way that Simcity was developed for online cooperative play. When Simcity flopped as hard as it did, there was probably a lot of panic, and they retooled the MMO engine to be a single player game for S4.
It's that retooling that has led to a lot of these missing features and problems (like the terrain issues). It was never meant to be a single player game, so all the talk of 'optimization' has nothing to do with unstable gameplay, and everything to do with keeping up with server loading.
They pretty much had to dump 85% of their work a year and a half ago. That did not leave much time to add new content and bug test anything.
One thing I would like to know is.... If EA had been working on the game for so long, how come a lot of people are saying it feels 'rushed' I mean what have they been doing with it this whole time?
They were creating their online game until about 2 years ago, it would only have included young adults. So it is rushed
Maybe they could have scrapped it and done it properly? I think most people would wait a couple of years for a decent game with decent content than have a half done game with nothing in it and then wait 5 years for a new game
One thing I would like to know is.... If EA had been working on the game for so long, how come a lot of people are saying it feels 'rushed' I mean what have they been doing with it this whole time?
They were creating their online game until about 2 years ago, it would only have included young adults. So it is rushed
Yup.
I personally kind of feel they should have rebranded Sims 4 and went ahead and released it as an online game. Something like what they did with 'The Sims Freeplay'. The actual Sims 4 title should have been a game developed as a single-player game from day 1.
I'm sorry, but the Sims has been a sandbox simulator from day 1. Sandbox simulators have not and will not do well online, because it destroys the sandbox element. The fact that they thought this would ever work for Simcity or the Sims tells me that there's person working management in EA who really needs to go back to school and get a side-degree in game design and development as opposed to business.
The closest thing you'll ever get to online sandbox play is Minecraft and things like Wurm Online. In Minecraft, people go to great lengths to control their own servers because nobody agrees on how the game should be played, and on Wurm Online... well, that's an RPG, not a simulator, so it's apples to oranges.
Man I must be from another planet cause I'm finding the game great, so does my sister who was extremely apprehensive due to all that no pools no toddlers kerfuffle.
How's the clipping? I'm honestly asking a question, not being a snark.
One thing I would like to know is.... If EA had been working on the game for so long, how come a lot of people are saying it feels 'rushed' I mean what have they been doing with it this whole time?
They were creating their online game until about 2 years ago, it would only have included young adults. So it is rushed
Yup.
I personally kind of feel they should have rebranded Sims 4 and went ahead and released it as an online game. Something like what they did with 'The Sims Freeplay'. The actual Sims 4 title should have been a game developed as a single-player game from day 1.
I'm sorry, but the Sims has been a sandbox simulator from day 1. Sandbox simulators have not and will not do well online, because it destroys the sandbox element. The fact that they thought this would ever work for Simcity or the Sims tells me that there's person working management in EA who really needs to go back to school and get a side-degree in game design and development as opposed to business.
The closest thing you'll ever get to online sandbox play is Minecraft and things like Wurm Online. In Minecraft, people go to great lengths to control their own servers because nobody agrees on how the game should be played, and on Wurm Online... well, that's an RPG, not a simulator, so it's apples to oranges.
and look how popular Minecraft is, old fashioned graphics but people like it although I have never played it myself while TS4 has 'advanced' ahem *standard* graphics yet people are complaining?
One thing I would like to know is.... If EA had been working on the game for so long, how come a lot of people are saying it feels 'rushed' I mean what have they been doing with it this whole time?
They were creating their online game until about 2 years ago, it would only have included young adults. So it is rushed
Yup.
I personally kind of feel they should have rebranded Sims 4 and went ahead and released it as an online game. Something like what they did with 'The Sims Freeplay'. The actual Sims 4 title should have been a game developed as a single-player game from day 1.
I'm sorry, but the Sims has been a sandbox simulator from day 1. Sandbox simulators have not and will not do well online, because it destroys the sandbox element. The fact that they thought this would ever work for Simcity or the Sims tells me that there's person working management in EA who really needs to go back to school and get a side-degree in game design and development as opposed to business.
The closest thing you'll ever get to online sandbox play is Minecraft and things like Wurm Online. In Minecraft, people go to great lengths to control their own servers because nobody agrees on how the game should be played, and on Wurm Online... well, that's an RPG, not a simulator, so it's apples to oranges.
and look how popular Minecraft is, old fashioned graphics but people like it although I have never played it myself while TS4 has 'advanced' ahem *standard* graphics yet people are complaining?
Graphics are no longer necessary to bring gameplay.
That's proven by Minecraft, and Wurm Online (which has awful graphics, but rakes in tons of money and interest). Then you have single-player sandboxes like Dwarf Fortress, that don't even have graphics at all besides player-supported tilesets. They are all successful games -- but for different reasons.
Minecraft is an first-person builder sandbox and a lot of its gameplay elements beyond that are the direct result of server mods. It's made for small groups of players who want control over their world. The Sims 4, had it been online, would not have been that at all; it would have been an instance-based universe with a predefined world. (Although, I personally would love to see a first-person online Sims game -- especially if it was open-world, and worked like SecondLife, only with, you know, gravity and *clean* gameplay, ha)
Now that I think about it, I think a thought like this is natural. If someone is really looking forward to the next installment of a franchise they've loved, and the one that literally just came out, in their opinion, is nowhere near what they expected or wanted even after trying it, it's natural to want to move beyond the one they dislike and be hopeful for the next title to be more along the lines of what it is they're wanting or expecting.
Man I must be from another planet cause I'm finding the game great, so does my sister who was extremely apprehensive due to all that no pools no toddlers kerfuffle.
How's the clipping? I'm honestly asking a question, not being a snark.
Still interesting to see happening and what they'll clip through. Makes taking pictures a pain trying to find a good angle when trying to take take that perfect shot.
There's definitely still clipping, but it's not AWFUL. To be perfectly honest, I did not notice any more clipping than I saw in the Sims 3 while watching live streams.
It does still have some weird items-get-stuck-in-hands bugs. Figured they would have at least fixed that.
Oh well. I've taken a deep breath and told myself that maybe, just maybe, the stars will align and the angels will sing in an EA rep's ear and they'll release a megapack in a few months that includes a ton of the major missing features. A peace offering by EA at this point will go a long way to re-inspire people to buy the base game and look forward to other content.
One thing I would like to know is.... If EA had been working on the game for so long, how come a lot of people are saying it feels 'rushed' I mean what have they been doing with it this whole time?
The game was originally being developed as an ONLINE game, in the same way that Simcity was developed for online cooperative play. When Simcity flopped as hard as it did, there was probably a lot of panic, and they retooled the MMO engine to be a single player game for S4.
It's that retooling that has led to a lot of these missing features and problems (like the terrain issues). It was never meant to be a single player game, so all the talk of 'optimization' has nothing to do with unstable gameplay, and everything to do with keeping up with server loading.
They pretty much had to dump 85% of their work a year and a half ago. That did not leave much time to add new content and bug test anything.
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't EA make the engine that they are using in house? Experience with the Star Citizen Forums, they bought their engine along with its source code and they turned a FPS engine into a FPS and Flight simulator. How the hell can EA tell us that their engine can't handle terrain modifications if people who didn't even develop their own engine can modify someone else's? EA's has the people that made the Sims 4 engine on staff (unless they fired them?) who should have been able to tailor this game into something that actually feels like a Sims game.
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't EA make the engine that they are using in house? Experience with the Star Citizen Forums, they bought their engine along with its source code and they turned a FPS engine into a FPS and Flight simulator. How the hell can EA tell us that their engine can't handle terrain modifications if people who didn't even develop their own engine can modify someone else's? EA's has the people that made the Sims 4 engine on staff (unless they fired them?) who should have been able to tailor this game into something that actually feels like a Sims game.
It feels like they threw away a great opportunity to expand the series into the future and not leave it in the past (IE back in 2004)
One thing I would like to know is.... If EA had been working on the game for so long, how come a lot of people are saying it feels 'rushed' I mean what have they been doing with it this whole time?
The game was originally being developed as an ONLINE game, in the same way that Simcity was developed for online cooperative play. When Simcity flopped as hard as it did, there was probably a lot of panic, and they retooled the MMO engine to be a single player game for S4.
It's that retooling that has led to a lot of these missing features and problems (like the terrain issues). It was never meant to be a single player game, so all the talk of 'optimization' has nothing to do with unstable gameplay, and everything to do with keeping up with server loading.
They pretty much had to dump 85% of their work a year and a half ago. That did not leave much time to add new content and bug test anything.
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't EA make the engine that they are using in house? Experience with the Star Citizen Forums, they bought their engine along with its source code and they turned a FPS engine into a FPS and Flight simulator. How the hell can EA tell us that their engine can't handle terrain modifications if people who didn't even develop their own engine can modify someone else's? EA's has the people that made the Sims 4 engine on staff (unless they fired them?) who should have been able to tailor this game into something that actually feels like a Sims game.
This is kind of hard to answer without knowing how familiar you are with programming and design. Game engines are not easy to make, and by the time you get to a point where you can actually start using it to make a finished game, it's usually a steaming, heaping mess. Changing a feature in it usually involves backtracking and tearing out a ton of other features that are dependent on it, many of which may be too essential to easily remove.
The people who are building and adding features into the game may or may not have access to the core engine. At the end of the day, redevelopment of an engine or core features costs time, and time is money, and EA does not like to spend money.
Man I must be from another planet cause I'm finding the game great, so does my sister who was extremely apprehensive due to all that no pools no toddlers kerfuffle.
How's the clipping? I'm honestly asking a question, not being a snark.
Still interesting to see happening and what they'll clip through. Makes taking pictures a pain trying to find a good angle when trying to take take that perfect shot.
Off topic (apologies), but I'm wondering if the white haze outline around the Sim with the red hair and clipping is seen in-game. I've noticed that in several screenshots from different players and I can't figure out why it's around some Sims and not others.
Just curious is all. Nice screenshot by the way.
Never mind: Did some early morning reading and found out what the white aura is.
I think it's far too early to start thinking about The Sims 5. The Sims 4's only just been released; I haven't even got the game released in my country yet! Give it another three or four years until we start thinking about The Sims 5.
Honestly, if TS4 doesn't sell well it simply because of the quality of the game. Prior to TS4 I never considered getting the game another way. Also if TS5 shapes up to be a much better game TS4 and an advancement of TS3 I will be purchasing the game. I would feel dupped, cheated, and essentially tricked if I ever bought TS4
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They were creating their online game until about 2 years ago, it would only have included young adults. So it is rushed
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Thank you @MDianaSanders for halloween-fying Golluma
The game was originally being developed as an ONLINE game, in the same way that Simcity was developed for online cooperative play. When Simcity flopped as hard as it did, there was probably a lot of panic, and they retooled the MMO engine to be a single player game for S4.
It's that retooling that has led to a lot of these missing features and problems (like the terrain issues). It was never meant to be a single player game, so all the talk of 'optimization' has nothing to do with unstable gameplay, and everything to do with keeping up with server loading.
They pretty much had to dump 85% of their work a year and a half ago. That did not leave much time to add new content and bug test anything.
Maybe they could have scrapped it and done it properly? I think most people would wait a couple of years for a decent game with decent content than have a half done game with nothing in it and then wait 5 years for a new game
Yup.
I personally kind of feel they should have rebranded Sims 4 and went ahead and released it as an online game. Something like what they did with 'The Sims Freeplay'. The actual Sims 4 title should have been a game developed as a single-player game from day 1.
I'm sorry, but the Sims has been a sandbox simulator from day 1. Sandbox simulators have not and will not do well online, because it destroys the sandbox element. The fact that they thought this would ever work for Simcity or the Sims tells me that there's person working management in EA who really needs to go back to school and get a side-degree in game design and development as opposed to business.
The closest thing you'll ever get to online sandbox play is Minecraft and things like Wurm Online. In Minecraft, people go to great lengths to control their own servers because nobody agrees on how the game should be played, and on Wurm Online... well, that's an RPG, not a simulator, so it's apples to oranges.
How's the clipping? I'm honestly asking a question, not being a snark.
and look how popular Minecraft is, old fashioned graphics but people like it although I have never played it myself while TS4 has 'advanced' ahem *standard* graphics yet people are complaining?
Some people want it now, right now, this minute, this second!!!
Less sims more emotions...
Graphics are no longer necessary to bring gameplay.
That's proven by Minecraft, and Wurm Online (which has awful graphics, but rakes in tons of money and interest). Then you have single-player sandboxes like Dwarf Fortress, that don't even have graphics at all besides player-supported tilesets. They are all successful games -- but for different reasons.
Minecraft is an first-person builder sandbox and a lot of its gameplay elements beyond that are the direct result of server mods. It's made for small groups of players who want control over their world. The Sims 4, had it been online, would not have been that at all; it would have been an instance-based universe with a predefined world. (Although, I personally would love to see a first-person online Sims game -- especially if it was open-world, and worked like SecondLife, only with, you know, gravity and *clean* gameplay, ha)
Next we will have a game with no Sims...
The Sims 5, purchase the Sim mode from the store...
Still interesting to see happening and what they'll clip through. Makes taking pictures a pain trying to find a good angle when trying to take take that perfect shot.
It does still have some weird items-get-stuck-in-hands bugs. Figured they would have at least fixed that.
Oh well. I've taken a deep breath and told myself that maybe, just maybe, the stars will align and the angels will sing in an EA rep's ear and they'll release a megapack in a few months that includes a ton of the major missing features. A peace offering by EA at this point will go a long way to re-inspire people to buy the base game and look forward to other content.
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't EA make the engine that they are using in house? Experience with the Star Citizen Forums, they bought their engine along with its source code and they turned a FPS engine into a FPS and Flight simulator. How the hell can EA tell us that their engine can't handle terrain modifications if people who didn't even develop their own engine can modify someone else's? EA's has the people that made the Sims 4 engine on staff (unless they fired them?) who should have been able to tailor this game into something that actually feels like a Sims game.
It feels like they threw away a great opportunity to expand the series into the future and not leave it in the past (IE back in 2004)
This is kind of hard to answer without knowing how familiar you are with programming and design. Game engines are not easy to make, and by the time you get to a point where you can actually start using it to make a finished game, it's usually a steaming, heaping mess. Changing a feature in it usually involves backtracking and tearing out a ton of other features that are dependent on it, many of which may be too essential to easily remove.
The people who are building and adding features into the game may or may not have access to the core engine. At the end of the day, redevelopment of an engine or core features costs time, and time is money, and EA does not like to spend money.
Off topic (apologies), but I'm wondering if the white haze outline around the Sim with the red hair and clipping is seen in-game. I've noticed that in several screenshots from different players and I can't figure out why it's around some Sims and not others.
Just curious is all. Nice screenshot by the way.
Never mind: Did some early morning reading and found out what the white aura is.