Some of the answers made me cringe. It really shows how disconnected and shallow the gurus are, which is something we all should be worried about. Some examples from the last session:
Where did the Idea/Theme of luxury party come from?
SimGuruDaniel: I think we were inspired by a lot of the Hollywood parties getting a lot of press. High end decorations and clothing seemed like something our players could really use.
What is you're personal favourite new item from the pack?
SimGuruLakshmi: I'm really excited for the banquet table. It's so useful for throwing parties!
What made you guys choose luxury party stuff as the first stuff pack?
SimGuruLakshmi: We wanted to add a little more glamour to the game.
Is there anything targeted at fancy kids in the SP ?
SimGuruDaniel: No, this pack is more focused on the types of parties that happen after you put the kids to bed.
Where did the inspiration for the clothes come from?
SimGuruLakshmi: We took inspiration from the high-end parties that actors and musicians throw. It was fun to look at the extravagant fashion and style at those events.
Is there a reason that the first SP was geared toward more night life/ party stuff?
SimGuruCoop: After working so hard in Get to Work, we thought your Sims could use some relaxing parties to wind down.
Do kids also get items or are they left out of the loop again? I think little tea parties would be nice for them....
SimGuruCoop: This specific pack is focused on parties for the teens/adults once the kids go to sleep, but we definitely hear you!
Like, really? A total fiasco if you ask me. I can't believe the people who are making this game are so hollow, empty, superficial, frivolous, empty-headed, etc. Are their lives so boring they have to make everything revolve around partying? *facepalm* I'm glad they stopped this plum.
And if you notice some gurus are aswering the same questions with the same answers. Duh.
@DyingLight
It was a Ask a Guru about Luxury Party, that's only logical they talked about parties.
I would like to see Ask a Guru make a come back, it was great to ask how things were supposed to work, what was intended or a bug, whether one particular bug was being looked at, and to learn a bit more about what goes behind the scene.
I think it was nice to feel we had a direct way of communicating with them. I'd enjoy it coming back but perhaps in a different way. For example a talk all about bugs in the game, and a different one with ideas for the future. Id really like to see polls on the forum where all on here can chime in about future ideas for SP, GPs, and EPs.
Some of the answers made me cringe. It really shows how disconnected and shallow the gurus are, which is something we all should be worried about. Some examples from the last session:
Where did the Idea/Theme of luxury party come from?
SimGuruDaniel: I think we were inspired by a lot of the Hollywood parties getting a lot of press. High end decorations and clothing seemed like something our players could really use.
What is you're personal favourite new item from the pack?
SimGuruLakshmi: I'm really excited for the banquet table. It's so useful for throwing parties!
What made you guys choose luxury party stuff as the first stuff pack?
SimGuruLakshmi: We wanted to add a little more glamour to the game.
Is there anything targeted at fancy kids in the SP ?
SimGuruDaniel: No, this pack is more focused on the types of parties that happen after you put the kids to bed.
Where did the inspiration for the clothes come from?
SimGuruLakshmi: We took inspiration from the high-end parties that actors and musicians throw. It was fun to look at the extravagant fashion and style at those events.
Is there a reason that the first SP was geared toward more night life/ party stuff?
SimGuruCoop: After working so hard in Get to Work, we thought your Sims could use some relaxing parties to wind down.
Do kids also get items or are they left out of the loop again? I think little tea parties would be nice for them....
SimGuruCoop: This specific pack is focused on parties for the teens/adults once the kids go to sleep, but we definitely hear you!
Like, really? A total fiasco if you ask me. I can't believe the people who are making this game are so hollow, empty, superficial, frivolous, empty-headed, etc. Are their lives so boring they have to make everything revolve around partying? *facepalm* I'm glad they stopped this plum.
And if you notice some gurus are aswering the same questions with the same answers. Duh.
I don't get your point, Luxury Party was a party themed SP-what else were they supposed to talk about. Approaches like yours are exactly why ask a guru stopped. It's ok to have an opinion, but name calling? That's not the way to do it. You can respectfully disagree with them
Some of the answers made me cringe. It really shows how disconnected and shallow the gurus are, which is something we all should be worried about. Some examples from the last session:
Where did the Idea/Theme of luxury party come from?
SimGuruDaniel: I think we were inspired by a lot of the Hollywood parties getting a lot of press. High end decorations and clothing seemed like something our players could really use.
What is you're personal favourite new item from the pack?
SimGuruLakshmi: I'm really excited for the banquet table. It's so useful for throwing parties!
What made you guys choose luxury party stuff as the first stuff pack?
SimGuruLakshmi: We wanted to add a little more glamour to the game.
Is there anything targeted at fancy kids in the SP ?
SimGuruDaniel: No, this pack is more focused on the types of parties that happen after you put the kids to bed.
Where did the inspiration for the clothes come from?
SimGuruLakshmi: We took inspiration from the high-end parties that actors and musicians throw. It was fun to look at the extravagant fashion and style at those events.
Is there a reason that the first SP was geared toward more night life/ party stuff?
SimGuruCoop: After working so hard in Get to Work, we thought your Sims could use some relaxing parties to wind down.
Do kids also get items or are they left out of the loop again? I think little tea parties would be nice for them....
SimGuruCoop: This specific pack is focused on parties for the teens/adults once the kids go to sleep, but we definitely hear you!
Like, really? A total fiasco if you ask me. I can't believe the people who are making this game are so hollow, empty, superficial, frivolous, empty-headed, etc. Are their lives so boring they have to make everything revolve around partying? *facepalm* I'm glad they stopped this plum.
And if you notice some gurus are aswering the same questions with the same answers. Duh.
I don't get your point, Luxury Party was a party themed SP-what else were they supposed to talk about. Approaches like yours are exactly why ask a guru stopped. It's ok to have an opinion, but name calling? That's not the way to do it. You can respectfully disagree with them
My point is that if they are really getting inspiration from hollywood parties and "actors and musicians" instead of listening to what the fanbase really wants, then I'm really sorry for the future of this franchise. The luxury stuff pack was a lame excuse of a stuff pack and they should've focused on something else. And if they don't censor my name calling with the word plum, then there's nothing wrong about it. You people are too PC and sensitive, well, excuse if I'm not, this is a public forum and everyone has the right to express their opinion the way they want (following the forum rules of course.) I really don't care if approaches like mine were the reason ask a guru stopped, as I said before, this is a public forum and they should be prepared to receive any kind of questions, if not, then why did they do it in the first place?
I think Gurus ran out of things to talk about. I mean even when packs are released, Gurus don't even talk much about them like they had with previous Sims games. I think passion for the Sims has ran dry for the Sims team.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
People seemed to think that the guros just didn't want to tell them about the future and therefore kept asking them about future stuff anyway hoping to be able to persuade them to tell us anyway. But obviously it wasn't the gurus' own choice not to tell us. It was the top of EA who had made the policy NOT to allow any employee to tell about future games or future content until the marketing department had announced it and given the employees permission to talk about it.
If the gurus had told us anyway then they could lose their jobs or maybe even be brought to court. It was therefore very understandable that they became tired of just telling that "We can't talk about that" when people still didn't seem to understand it anyway...
People seemed to think that the guros just didn't want to tell them about the future and therefore kept asking them about future stuff anyway hoping to be able to persuade them to tell us anyway. But obviously it wasn't the gurus' own choice not to tell us. It was the top of EA who had made the policy NOT to allow any employee to tell about future games or future content until the marketing department had announced it and given the employees permission to talk about it.
If the gurus had told us anyway then they could lose their jobs or maybe even be brought to court. It was therefore very understandable that they became tired of just telling that "We can't talk about that" when people still didn't seem to understand it anyway...
Actually EA allows a bunch of their other games to talk about future stuff, so I doubt it is something coming from EA which is really hard to say considering their reputation. If anything it's a decision coming from the top of Maxis. But makes me think of this article: http://www.gamerevolution.com/news/ea-exec-claims-always-online-for-simcity-was-maxis-idea-18315 So yes I agree some of the Gurus on the development team have no control of what happens to Maxis. Each franchise has heads that decide the direction games to take. So I wouldn't ignore that each franchise has management like with any business. Maxis is responsible for the mysterious vision for the Sims 4 after all. But eh, doesn't matter if EA or Maxis is to blame. Silence in any business never helps it. Policies can change. But oh man the glory days I think were in the Sims 1 and 2 when Will Wright was around. Maxis actually would advertise for the next pack in the cases. It was awesome. I was so excited looking at those. I don't know it is like the Maxis team has lost their passion for the game now. Even current packs don't get talked about with the same enthusiasm. Someone mentioned how when Ryan left, things changed and I think I agree with that. PR for the Sims 4 currently stinks.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
People seemed to think that the guros just didn't want to tell them about the future and therefore kept asking them about future stuff anyway hoping to be able to persuade them to tell us anyway. But obviously it wasn't the gurus' own choice not to tell us. It was the top of EA who had made the policy NOT to allow any employee to tell about future games or future content until the marketing department had announced it and given the employees permission to talk about it.
If the gurus had told us anyway then they could lose their jobs or maybe even be brought to court. It was therefore very understandable that they became tired of just telling that "We can't talk about that" when people still didn't seem to understand it anyway...
Actually EA allows a bunch of their other games to talk about future stuff, so I doubt it is something coming from EA which is really hard to say considering their reputation. If anything it's a decision coming from the top of Maxis. But makes me think of this article: http://www.gamerevolution.com/news/ea-exec-claims-always-online-for-simcity-was-maxis-idea-18315 So yes I agree some of the Gurus on the development team have no control of what happens to Maxis. Each franchise has heads that decide the direction games to take. So I wouldn't ignore that each franchise has management like with any business. Maxis is responsible for the mysterious vision for the Sims 4 after all. But eh, doesn't matter if EA or Maxis is to blame. Silence in any business never helps it. Policies can change. But oh man the glory days I think were in the Sims 1 and 2 when Will Wright was around. Maxis actually would advertise for the next pack in the cases. It was awesome. I was so excited looking at those. I don't know it is like the Maxis team has lost their passion for the game now. Even current packs don't get talked about with the same enthusiasm. Someone mentioned how when Ryan left, things changed and I think I agree with that. PR for the Sims 4 currently stinks.
You should link to the original article at http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-03-27-ea-drm-is-a-failed-dead-end-strategy instead and not to something written by a person who doesn't understand the difference between MMO and DRM. The only point in this old article is that the "always online" feature wasn't meant to be DRM but only a natural thing for an MMO game.
The top of EA of course only give directions while the development team decide on the technical details. But the wish to keep everybody quiet about future stuff can only come from EA's marketing department and EA's top. It can't come from the top of Maxis who only has to make sure that the game development follows EA's rules and plans. The top of Maxis is only the head of the technical development and not of the marketing department.
I know that EA's employees almost certainly have signed documents which forbid them to tell details about their work to the public without permission because otherwise some of the employees would do just that and neither EA's top nor the marketing department would like it. But different types of games could certainly cause differences in the way the games are marketed.
You should link to the original article at http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-03-27-ea-drm-is-a-failed-dead-end-strategy instead and not to something written by a person who doesn't understand the difference between MMO and DRM. The only point in this old article is that the "always online" feature wasn't meant to be DRM but only a natural thing for an MMO game.
The top of EA of course only give directions while the development team decide on the technical details. But the wish to keep everybody quiet about future stuff can only come from EA's marketing department and EA's top. It can't come from the top of Maxis who only has to make sure that the game development follows EA's rules and plans. The top of Maxis is only the head of the technical development and not of the marketing department.
I know that EA's employees almost certainly have signed documents which forbid them to tell details about their work to the public without permission because otherwise some of the employees would do just that and neither EA's top nor the marketing department would like it. But different types of games could certainly cause differences in the way the games are marketed.
Fair enough. There is the NDA I admit that people have to sign, so not going to disagree with that. I actually had someone explain to me in full detail what that was since her fiancé has signed it before. I agree there does seem to be some disconnect in communication between the technical and marketing team at times and it does come off they are two separate teams. Maybe the Maxis heads I was thinking about seem to be part of the top of EA. http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/10/02/maxis-head-lucy-bradshaw-promoted-to-senior-vice-president-at-ea.aspx So yes, my mistake on that.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
I don't see why this should be coming back, since the only questions they got was about future releases and those were the questions they never answered. Besides, most questions that are asked are on twitter and I mostly see people posting important Q&A's here when they're important for the game
I can say I personally asked questions about bugs, problems with game play and other things that had nothing to do with future releases. However I do agree it's something that is kind of worthless because they became adept at ignoring honest questions.
"People really love to explore 'failure states. In fact, the failure states are really much more interesting than the success states." ~ Will Wright
Comments
Where did the Idea/Theme of luxury party come from?
SimGuruDaniel: I think we were inspired by a lot of the Hollywood parties getting a lot of press. High end decorations and clothing seemed like something our players could really use.
What is you're personal favourite new item from the pack?
SimGuruLakshmi: I'm really excited for the banquet table. It's so useful for throwing parties!
What made you guys choose luxury party stuff as the first stuff pack?
SimGuruLakshmi: We wanted to add a little more glamour to the game.
Is there anything targeted at fancy kids in the SP ?
SimGuruDaniel: No, this pack is more focused on the types of parties that happen after you put the kids to bed.
Where did the inspiration for the clothes come from?
SimGuruLakshmi: We took inspiration from the high-end parties that actors and musicians throw. It was fun to look at the extravagant fashion and style at those events.
Is there a reason that the first SP was geared toward more night life/ party stuff?
SimGuruCoop: After working so hard in Get to Work, we thought your Sims could use some relaxing parties to wind down.
Do kids also get items or are they left out of the loop again? I think little tea parties would be nice for them....
SimGuruCoop: This specific pack is focused on parties for the teens/adults once the kids go to sleep, but we definitely hear you!
Like, really?
And if you notice some gurus are aswering the same questions with the same answers. Duh.
It was a Ask a Guru about Luxury Party, that's only logical they talked about parties.
I would like to see Ask a Guru make a come back, it was great to ask how things were supposed to work, what was intended or a bug, whether one particular bug was being looked at, and to learn a bit more about what goes behind the scene.
Repose en paix mamie tu va me manquer :
1923-2016 mamie
I wish I could give you a medal or something for this.
Simming since '09.
My point is that if they are really getting inspiration from hollywood parties and "actors and musicians" instead of listening to what the fanbase really wants, then I'm really sorry for the future of this franchise. The luxury stuff pack was a lame excuse of a stuff pack and they should've focused on something else. And if they don't censor my name calling with the word plum, then there's nothing wrong about it. You people are too PC and sensitive, well, excuse if I'm not, this is a public forum and everyone has the right to express their opinion the way they want (following the forum rules of course.) I really don't care if approaches like mine were the reason ask a guru stopped, as I said before, this is a public forum and they should be prepared to receive any kind of questions, if not, then why did they do it in the first place?
If the gurus had told us anyway then they could lose their jobs or maybe even be brought to court. It was therefore very understandable that they became tired of just telling that "We can't talk about that" when people still didn't seem to understand it anyway...
The top of EA of course only give directions while the development team decide on the technical details. But the wish to keep everybody quiet about future stuff can only come from EA's marketing department and EA's top. It can't come from the top of Maxis who only has to make sure that the game development follows EA's rules and plans. The top of Maxis is only the head of the technical development and not of the marketing department.
I know that EA's employees almost certainly have signed documents which forbid them to tell details about their work to the public without permission because otherwise some of the employees would do just that and neither EA's top nor the marketing department would like it. But different types of games could certainly cause differences in the way the games are marketed.
Oh cool awesome. I thought it was gone for good.
I can say I personally asked questions about bugs, problems with game play and other things that had nothing to do with future releases. However I do agree it's something that is kind of worthless because they became adept at ignoring honest questions.