No disrespect but taking EPs and splitting them up into multiple packs isn't something I would put pass the corporate overlords EA HQ. The Sims Franshise is already with no other Franchise coming close the most heavily paid DLC/EP game franchise. Has been from the start. No other game comes close in terms of paid content after release. Sad part is you are already splitting up EPs. Just calling them "Stuff Packs" and "Game Packs" to save face, and between the 4 games there hasn't been many EP that could be called unique and not repetitive.
If you think The Sims is one of the worst franchises when it comes to DLC and DLC prices, then all I have to say is welcome to the gaming world. Because it gets much, much worse, The Sims is actually quite cheap when compared to a lot of games. Like a game I play just released it's third expansion yesterday. You'll easily spend over $700 just to get access to everything the expansion offers and it gets much worse in other games. This one game that my older brother used to play cost him over $700 for a cosmetic cape. Let me repeat, cosmetic cape. And on some games, a gun texture will cost you thousands. And there are a lot of games like this. So no, The Sims doesn't even get in the top 100 games when it comes to DLC and DLC pricing. Trust me, The Sims has got it easy.
Whoa, which games are you playing where aesthetic items go for $700 to thousands? As many games as I play I haven't seen a lot that price items that high. Are you talking about rolling the dice on chests, or actually buying the item? Are these "F2P" games where the profit is made from extra content, or are they games that cost $60 to buy? Just curious, because there can be a lot of factors at play in today's game world.
I've played a lot of games over the past few decades, and as much as I've always loved The Sims, it's up there in terms of amount of extra content, especially for a single player game. Yeah, there are worse, but TS is kind of notorious for its copious amounts of packs. Even people I know who don't play The Sims associate the series with lots of DLC. That's just the way it is.
Anyway, whether it's better or worse than other games doesn't really mean too much to me. I just want better for this game. I don't have a problem with Stuff Packs in general. I own every pack for every previous game. I just think we're overdue for a nice, big expansion. I do appreciate Graham's post. Hopefully we'll see some of the classics soon.
It's a bit of everything really. F2P and P2P, online and offline, random or paid, etc. a lot of games even have it set up where you get something out of a random crate and you can sell for rl money.
Ugh, yeah. I don't bother with loot crates and chests usually.
Graham, That long post still does not answer one of the most important thing. Will there be EPs or they are stopped?
It is a Yes or No answer.
I didnt buy the last SP and GP because I am waiting for an EP, if it is something that I really want I will purchase the previous packs that I did not buy.
But I guess now we have moved to a more critical question whether there will be EPs or not. These game packs and stuff packs are not significant game changers. They can never replace an EP. If there will be no more EPs then we can tell The Sims 4 to rest in peace and move on.
Ya I agree 100% on that score, they just need to tell us Yes or No.
However I am not a big fan of the constant flood of SP's though. Yes, they are a nice way to explore various (small) themes and some gameplay objects with it, but I think this many SP's really take away a lot of attention and resources of expansions. (That's probably why we only have 2 with no new one in sight.)
I think 1 expansion a year is too little, since SP's can't really keep this game up and running in terms of in depth gameplay. This game is missing so many things, and with EP's being so slow, it's really the question how long we have to wait for our ''basics'' (toddlers for example) to return and a lot of other big game changing things like Seasons and Pets.
I am, and have been a fan of the franchise since day one, but TS4 just doesn't really get to me in terms of content and depth so far. With all respect; stuff packs aren't going to solve that, that's what EP''s are for.. and the flood of SP's so far has been a little bit out of control if you ask me. I'd rather start seeing some more EP's instead of small SP's, since I am still waiting for this game to expand in gameplay and depth, not in ''stuff''.
However I am not a big fan of the constant flood of SP's though. Yes, they are a nice way to explore various (small) themes and some gameplay objects with it, but I think this many SP's really take away a lot of attention and resources of expansions. (That's probably why we only have 2 with no new one in sight.)
I think 1 expansion a year is too little, since SP's can't really keep this game up and running in terms of in depth gameplay. This game is missing so many things, and with EP's being so slow, it's really the question how long we have to wait for our ''basics'' (toddlers for example) to return and a lot of other big game changing things like Seasons and Pets.
I am, and have been a fan of the franchise since day one, but TS4 just doesn't really get to me in terms of content and depth so far. With all respect; stuff packs aren't going to solve that, that's what EP''s are for.. and the flood of SP's so far has been a little bit out of control if you ask me. I'd rather start seeing some more EP's instead of small SP's, since I am still waiting for this game to expand in gameplay and depth, not in ''stuff''.
I feel the same way. As slow as EPs are turning out how many years before we get not only the things of how I played in the past and won't play other ways, like to do lists, before we see this games aspirations and traits expanded. I can't imagine players are happy and totally satisfied with rarely (if ever in a blue moon) with not getting as many traits and aspiration choices EPs offered in the other games. Who can continue (just in that little vein of gameplay) to go on for years with the same ones over and over and over. Especially, rotational players> I would have guessed they would be bored to death with those by now. When I think about how may aspirations and new careers TS2 and TS3 offered in each new EP (not just one per EP) and how many traits TS3 added to each new EP it makes me think this game has no budget.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
Personally, I don't think this new plan is working out too well. I'm bored out of my mind with this game. There is no excitement, no looking forward to adding new neat things, just same ole' same ole'
I hardly come by anymore to these forums where I once lived 7 days a week.
If this new plan is working for you, well that's all well and good, but for me it's nothing but dead air
Some things don't seem to work out so well I agree, but it is a fact many bugs in 3 were never adressed (many were by the way) and I think it's a very good thing they're trying to change things to avoid that. For me this isn't related to the quality of the games. Imagine a Sims 3 with this new concept. My sims would be able to explore under water caves!
Hi Jo, yeah, that is a good thing, you're right. I just miss the whole experience we had in ts2 & ts3. This is just so not there for me.
However I am not a big fan of the constant flood of SP's though. Yes, they are a nice way to explore various (small) themes and some gameplay objects with it, but I think this many SP's really take away a lot of attention and resources of expansions. (That's probably why we only have 2 with no new one in sight.)
I think 1 expansion a year is too little, since SP's can't really keep this game up and running in terms of in depth gameplay. This game is missing so many things, and with EP's being so slow, it's really the question how long we have to wait for our ''basics'' (toddlers for example) to return and a lot of other big game changing things like Seasons and Pets.
I am, and have been a fan of the franchise since day one, but TS4 just doesn't really get to me in terms of content and depth so far. With all respect; stuff packs aren't going to solve that, that's what EP''s are for.. and the flood of SP's so far has been a little bit out of control if you ask me. I'd rather start seeing some more EP's instead of small SP's, since I am still waiting for this game to expand in gameplay and depth, not in ''stuff''.
Yeah, I have just picked up the game again after a break and have felt no desire to pick any of the stuff up that has come out since I last played the game. If an EP had dropped that had added more depth, then yeah I may have been tempted.
Awake.
Shake dreams from your hair
My pretty child, my sweet one.
Choose the day and choose the sign of your day
The day's divinity.... The Ghost Song - Jim Morrison
However I am not a big fan of the constant flood of SP's though. Yes, they are a nice way to explore various (small) themes and some gameplay objects with it, but I think this many SP's really take away a lot of attention and resources of expansions. (That's probably why we only have 2 with no new one in sight.)
I think 1 expansion a year is too little, since SP's can't really keep this game up and running in terms of in depth gameplay. This game is missing so many things, and with EP's being so slow, it's really the question how long we have to wait for our ''basics'' (toddlers for example) to return and a lot of other big game changing things like Seasons and Pets.
I am, and have been a fan of the franchise since day one, but TS4 just doesn't really get to me in terms of content and depth so far. With all respect; stuff packs aren't going to solve that, that's what EP''s are for.. and the flood of SP's so far has been a little bit out of control if you ask me. I'd rather start seeing some more EP's instead of small SP's, since I am still waiting for this game to expand in gameplay and depth, not in ''stuff''.
I feel the same way. As slow as EPs are turning out how many years before we get not only the things of how I played in the past and won't play other ways, like to do lists, before we see this games aspirations and traits expanded. I can't imagine players are happy and totally satisfied with rarely (if ever in a blue moon) with not getting as many traits and aspiration choices EPs offered in the other games. Who can continue (just in that little vein of gameplay) to go on for years with the same ones over and over and over. Especially, rotational players> I would have guessed they would be bored to death with those by now. When I think about how may aspirations and new careers TS2 and TS3 offered in each new EP (not just one per EP) and how many traits TS3 added to each new EP it makes me think this game has no budget.
Yeah, I agree with you and Rudy. This is probably why I'm bored to tears with this game. I keep adding stuff...3rd party cc....and the things ea puts out, and nothings makes this game fun for me. I keep opening it up, looking at the hood and closing it down, or going into a sim's house, playing for 20 minutes and shutting it down. I don't know how much longer I'm going to invest in this game, when it isn't any real simming fun!
However I am not a big fan of the constant flood of SP's though. Yes, they are a nice way to explore various (small) themes and some gameplay objects with it, but I think this many SP's really take away a lot of attention and resources of expansions. (That's probably why we only have 2 with no new one in sight.)
I think 1 expansion a year is too little, since SP's can't really keep this game up and running in terms of in depth gameplay. This game is missing so many things, and with EP's being so slow, it's really the question how long we have to wait for our ''basics'' (toddlers for example) to return and a lot of other big game changing things like Seasons and Pets.
I am, and have been a fan of the franchise since day one, but TS4 just doesn't really get to me in terms of content and depth so far. With all respect; stuff packs aren't going to solve that, that's what EP''s are for.. and the flood of SP's so far has been a little bit out of control if you ask me. I'd rather start seeing some more EP's instead of small SP's, since I am still waiting for this game to expand in gameplay and depth, not in ''stuff''.
I feel the same way. As slow as EPs are turning out how many years before we get not only the things of how I played in the past and won't play other ways, like to do lists, before we see this games aspirations and traits expanded. I can't imagine players are happy and totally satisfied with rarely (if ever in a blue moon) with not getting as many traits and aspiration choices EPs offered in the other games. Who can continue (just in that little vein of gameplay) to go on for years with the same ones over and over and over. Especially, rotational players> I would have guessed they would be bored to death with those by now. When I think about how may aspirations and new careers TS2 and TS3 offered in each new EP (not just one per EP) and how many traits TS3 added to each new EP it makes me think this game has no budget.
I am heavy rotational player and I pretty much ignore aspirations now. What I will do is simply cheat them to unlock the traits so I can create the type of sim I want. I still hold off cheating required skill levels, tho'.
Of course, this negates a central game objective and removes a primary 'victory condition' from the gameplay.
This only leaves me sandbox type play which I am, kinda, OK with, but it would be nice to see a steady flow of new goals and objectives for our sims with additional mechanics to support them.
Awake.
Shake dreams from your hair
My pretty child, my sweet one.
Choose the day and choose the sign of your day
The day's divinity.... The Ghost Song - Jim Morrison
However I am not a big fan of the constant flood of SP's though. Yes, they are a nice way to explore various (small) themes and some gameplay objects with it, but I think this many SP's really take away a lot of attention and resources of expansions. (That's probably why we only have 2 with no new one in sight.)
I think 1 expansion a year is too little, since SP's can't really keep this game up and running in terms of in depth gameplay. This game is missing so many things, and with EP's being so slow, it's really the question how long we have to wait for our ''basics'' (toddlers for example) to return and a lot of other big game changing things like Seasons and Pets.
I am, and have been a fan of the franchise since day one, but TS4 just doesn't really get to me in terms of content and depth so far. With all respect; stuff packs aren't going to solve that, that's what EP''s are for.. and the flood of SP's so far has been a little bit out of control if you ask me. I'd rather start seeing some more EP's instead of small SP's, since I am still waiting for this game to expand in gameplay and depth, not in ''stuff''.
I feel the same way. As slow as EPs are turning out how many years before we get not only the things of how I played in the past and won't play other ways, like to do lists, before we see this games aspirations and traits expanded. I can't imagine players are happy and totally satisfied with rarely (if ever in a blue moon) with not getting as many traits and aspiration choices EPs offered in the other games. Who can continue (just in that little vein of gameplay) to go on for years with the same ones over and over and over. Especially, rotational players> I would have guessed they would be bored to death with those by now. When I think about how may aspirations and new careers TS2 and TS3 offered in each new EP (not just one per EP) and how many traits TS3 added to each new EP it makes me think this game has no budget.
I am heavy rotational player and I pretty much ignore aspirations now. What I will do is simply cheat them to unlock the traits so I can create the type of sim I want. I still hold off cheating required skill levels, tho'.
Of course, this negates a central game objective and removes a primary 'victory condition' from the gameplay.
This only leaves me sandbox type play which I am, kinda, OK with, but it would be nice to see a steady flow of new goals and objectives for our sims with additional mechanics to support them.
I have yet to finish one aspiration as I'm not into those goals set out in this game like do this ten times etc. I refuse rpg gameplay in The Sims. lol
However, I give them to my Sims in hopes it defines them more of who they are and what they would like to do and be someday. But this game even fails on that level to me because even those wishes pertaining to aspirations of what the Sim desires is overwhelmed and overshadowed by emotional whims and happiness. And traits are totally lost in that shuffle.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
However I am not a big fan of the constant flood of SP's though. Yes, they are a nice way to explore various (small) themes and some gameplay objects with it, but I think this many SP's really take away a lot of attention and resources of expansions. (That's probably why we only have 2 with no new one in sight.)
I think 1 expansion a year is too little, since SP's can't really keep this game up and running in terms of in depth gameplay. This game is missing so many things, and with EP's being so slow, it's really the question how long we have to wait for our ''basics'' (toddlers for example) to return and a lot of other big game changing things like Seasons and Pets.
I am, and have been a fan of the franchise since day one, but TS4 just doesn't really get to me in terms of content and depth so far. With all respect; stuff packs aren't going to solve that, that's what EP''s are for.. and the flood of SP's so far has been a little bit out of control if you ask me. I'd rather start seeing some more EP's instead of small SP's, since I am still waiting for this game to expand in gameplay and depth, not in ''stuff''.
I feel the same way. As slow as EPs are turning out how many years before we get not only the things of how I played in the past and won't play other ways, like to do lists, before we see this games aspirations and traits expanded. I can't imagine players are happy and totally satisfied with rarely (if ever in a blue moon) with not getting as many traits and aspiration choices EPs offered in the other games. Who can continue (just in that little vein of gameplay) to go on for years with the same ones over and over and over. Especially, rotational players> I would have guessed they would be bored to death with those by now. When I think about how may aspirations and new careers TS2 and TS3 offered in each new EP (not just one per EP) and how many traits TS3 added to each new EP it makes me think this game has no budget.
I am heavy rotational player and I pretty much ignore aspirations now. What I will do is simply cheat them to unlock the traits so I can create the type of sim I want. I still hold off cheating required skill levels, tho'.
Of course, this negates a central game objective and removes a primary 'victory condition' from the gameplay.
This only leaves me sandbox type play which I am, kinda, OK with, but it would be nice to see a steady flow of new goals and objectives for our sims with additional mechanics to support them.
I have yet to finish one aspiration as I'm not into those goals set out in this game like do this ten times etc. I refuse rpg gameplay in The Sims. lol
However, I give them to my Sims in hopes it defines them more of who they are and what they would like to do and be someday. But this game even fails on that level to me because even those wishes pertaining to aspirations of what the Sim desires is overwhelmed and overshadowed by emotional whims and happiness. And traits are totally lost in that shuffle.
Oh I agree - fetch quests belong in the same room in hell along with escort quests. Loathe 'em.
I do like character progression mechanics tho' and obtaining skills with associated traits makes sense to me and I always thought aspirations were a good way of doing this in a believable way. The problem is there simply isn't enough of them - aspirations or traits. What's worse is that much of the content that has been released for the game were great opportunities to do more aspirations and traits for that matter.
I find this to be a very puzzling decision by them. Seems to me that most people would want things that help differentiation of their sims rather than just providing more background detail to their environment.
I would also like to see a full game rebalance to bring out the traits and associated traits more. There has been much said about this in the past, but my evil sims still mostly behave as content kittens.
Awake.
Shake dreams from your hair
My pretty child, my sweet one.
Choose the day and choose the sign of your day
The day's divinity.... The Ghost Song - Jim Morrison
However I am not a big fan of the constant flood of SP's though. Yes, they are a nice way to explore various (small) themes and some gameplay objects with it, but I think this many SP's really take away a lot of attention and resources of expansions. (That's probably why we only have 2 with no new one in sight.)
I think 1 expansion a year is too little, since SP's can't really keep this game up and running in terms of in depth gameplay. This game is missing so many things, and with EP's being so slow, it's really the question how long we have to wait for our ''basics'' (toddlers for example) to return and a lot of other big game changing things like Seasons and Pets.
I am, and have been a fan of the franchise since day one, but TS4 just doesn't really get to me in terms of content and depth so far. With all respect; stuff packs aren't going to solve that, that's what EP''s are for.. and the flood of SP's so far has been a little bit out of control if you ask me. I'd rather start seeing some more EP's instead of small SP's, since I am still waiting for this game to expand in gameplay and depth, not in ''stuff''.
I feel the same way. As slow as EPs are turning out how many years before we get not only the things of how I played in the past and won't play other ways, like to do lists, before we see this games aspirations and traits expanded. I can't imagine players are happy and totally satisfied with rarely (if ever in a blue moon) with not getting as many traits and aspiration choices EPs offered in the other games. Who can continue (just in that little vein of gameplay) to go on for years with the same ones over and over and over. Especially, rotational players> I would have guessed they would be bored to death with those by now. When I think about how may aspirations and new careers TS2 and TS3 offered in each new EP (not just one per EP) and how many traits TS3 added to each new EP it makes me think this game has no budget.
I am heavy rotational player and I pretty much ignore aspirations now. What I will do is simply cheat them to unlock the traits so I can create the type of sim I want. I still hold off cheating required skill levels, tho'.
Of course, this negates a central game objective and removes a primary 'victory condition' from the gameplay.
This only leaves me sandbox type play which I am, kinda, OK with, but it would be nice to see a steady flow of new goals and objectives for our sims with additional mechanics to support them.
I have yet to finish one aspiration as I'm not into those goals set out in this game like do this ten times etc. I refuse rpg gameplay in The Sims. lol
However, I give them to my Sims in hopes it defines them more of who they are and what they would like to do and be someday. But this game even fails on that level to me because even those wishes pertaining to aspirations of what the Sim desires is overwhelmed and overshadowed by emotional whims and happiness. And traits are totally lost in that shuffle.
Oh I agree - fetch quests belong in the same room in plum along with escort quests. Loathe 'em.
I do like character progression mechanics tho' and obtaining skills with associated traits makes sense to me and I always thought aspirations were a good way of doing this in a believable way. The problem is there simply isn't enough of them - aspirations or traits. What's worse is that much of the content that has been released for the game were great opportunities to do more aspirations and traits for that matter.
I find this to be a very puzzling decision by them. Seems to me that most people would want things that help differentiation of their sims rather than just providing more background detail to their environment.
I would also like to see a full game rebalance to bring out the traits and associated traits more. There has been much said about this in the past, but my evil sims still mostly behave as content kittens.
Yeah, some of us thought owning retail would result in an aspiration to own a business. And to own a restaurant would have resulted in wanting to run a five star restaurant, and collecting herbs would have resulted in wanting to be an Herbalist. I don't get it at all. Maybe the base is all there is and everything else will just continue to be fluff and add no depth.without adding depth.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
So far I haven’t been a fan of this live service. I would be happy with bug fixes because indeed, a lot of bugs in TS3 have never been addressed. But I am under the impression that a lot of this free content that is added over the past two years were not thought trough enough. I remember the pools, where no townie would go in because the pools were not coded as fun objects. Then ghosts. They were put in some empty houses by the game, but were coded wrong and couldn’t be played. Then came the family tree that almost instantly was destroyed by culling. After the release of GT all food from retail stores disappeared and after the April patch all my saves, unplayed and new, were invested with growfruit trees…
And that’s only what I have seen in my own game. According to the forums lots of other thing broke after a patch or didn’t work as intended. I became scared for the next new patch and eventually I lost my interest in the game. I might have continued playing from time to time if I had been able to trust the game I had, flawed or not, but this troubleshooting after every patch made me really dishearten.
I don't know. Read the whole thread. Concerning Live content, I would rather have the devs focus more on gameplay and fixing bugs than focussing on what they could add every month when they could easily add it in a pack. I stand by my past statements that patches should be for fixing the game; not constantly breaking the game. They should also be optional as not all of us want the same things if they're going to be adding content every month, but I digress. I already know how the community responds to that idea.
My other question is if this live service is the right fit for this game, as that's where the focus is? Why does culling and decay have to come into play? Why must the game regress in some areas in order to progress in others? This is a new concept to me and it boggles my brain a little bit. Also, while I'm at it, why am I forced to play on speed 1 because of the telly scrambling? (Yes, I'm not letting go of that one because that was the last straw for me).
Sorry Graham. I know this isn't all your doing, and it's not personal. This is just my perspective on the whole ordeal, and if I'm to be bluntly honest, I'll say it reeks of pooh.
Dissatisfied with Sims 4 and hoping for a better Sims 5
Well, thanks @SimGuruGraham. That cleared things up somewhat. You've explained your organizational structure, got that, and your general approach to TS4 as opposed to TS3. It sounds like a much better model for fixing bugs, making tweaks, and coordinating releases to mesh well with all parts of the game.
Even though I liked and understand your analogy about putting pieces of content in different boxes, collaborating, adding, tweaking, etc, the plan for release of paid content is somewhat unclear. Now, this would be fine if things were cooking along. But, in my view, things have been different the past few months with regards to this. The first year of TS4 seemed to have had quite a bit more offerings on the plate. The second year has seen content slow considerably. It sounds as though there will be one Stuff Pack this quarter and no other paid content. That is quite a bit less than any quarter of game's first year that I can recall.
To me, Stuff Packs are the tasty finger food, Game Packs are the main course, and Expansion Packs are the celebratory feasts. (Oh, and the Free Content is snacks, nomnom. ) I need a couple main courses and at least one feast along with those yummy appetizers and snacks. I need something meaty to anticipate and good communication about it to fuel my engagement. ("Good communication," to me, would be the way GTW and OR were marketed. There was no need to say, "What the heck is this Pack about?" It seemed like we kept hearing bits and pieces right along, too.)
Uncertainty dampens my engagement. I begin to wonder about the game's core in general. Is it becoming more difficult to add new content? This leads to memory loss of the location of my pocketbook. I'm not sure where your responsibility lies in planning this and communicating it, but it is a general concern of mine, and you are handy.
There has also been a game feature that was patched in without prior communication. The Sims' Friends, Spouses, Children, etc, relationships are decaying drastically if the household is left to play another one, or even to build on another lot. That has the Simmers who play with relationships, lol, in somewhat of an uproar. Perhaps there could be a word about this from that Team? To have content taken away like this, resulting in the player having to try to continually restore the way their game was, is quite frustrating. It is definitely not an Engagement Feature.
Since this Played Inactive Household Relationship Decay feature was added with the pre Dine Out patch, the game is more often generally freezing for a few seconds, Sims are resetting, etc. I've seen it on my own system, in Let's Plays, and mentioned on the Forums. So I'm not sure this Decay Feature is helping performance. This is where your Live Service Q/A Team should have an opportunity to shine, no? SG Nick was the one who told us about it, and that it was done for performance reasons. I'm so glad he did, even though it upset me. Someone directly involved might be able to shed more light on it as you have done with your explanation?
Thanks again for that nicely worded post. I appreciate The Sims 4 and the hard work of the team to make it the best it can be.
Just the other day, one of my sims was out jogging around their neighborhood. They got about halfway through their run when they just stopped, and changed back into their everyday wear. They didn't even make it back to where they had started their jog from. And they wasn't the first of my sims to do this either. A couple of days before that, another one of my sims did the same thing too.
While I appreciate the explanation, I am a bit wary of the slower pace of this process, thus far. I feel like I am starving for substantial content this time around.
Even though I have very mixed feelings about Sims 3, I still felt there was more substantial content being done for that iteration than this one, so far.
This one EP a year is just not enough to satisfy me in the long run. At this rate, it will take forever for this iteration to play catchup to the older iterations (Sims 2/Sims 3).
I am feeling skeptical that this iteration will ever have that much content in the end. Will seasons ever come? Will pets?
Then there's the decay issue... Will that decay issue ever get patched?
(And, also...yes, I'm still eternally waiting for toddlers, too. I'm a young woman close to 30s. Will I be about 50 before any toddlers come, lol?)
I really believe that this should have been explained in those pre release blogs along with the explanations you have recently came out to say why you say you can't communicate about *missing* base game content.
If you had communicated this shift and the likely amount of time it would take to catch up my money would've stayed in my purse until I saw the *potential* turn into reality. Sadly this has given a poor experience and I no longer feel I can trust the team to buy sight unseen as I did for a decade and a half previously.
That being said I'm glad you spoke to correct the misinformation being spread in relation to the 'pattern' we can see in the future. I think some have forgotten you were the one to say there *isnt* a pattern and to ask people not to try to form their own patterns.
So basically amidst the chaos what I gathered from the announcement is that TS4 will essentially turn into a more expensive version of The Sims Freeplay with all this live nonsense.
I guess EA and Maxis just waited for the fans to forget about the initial subscription model leak before they pulled this. I won't be surprised if it comes back in the endgame.
Did you actually read what Graham wrote, or did you just look at the word live?
I actually read it and the whole thing just reeked of candy coating stuff that'll be problematic in the future. Thanks for being not condescending at all. "It means we're gonna give you more packs!" that's great I could use more mindless stuff packs and game packs that totally weren't chopped off from an EP for more cash. "We'll have more patches and fixes!" oh you mean patches for broken stuff that shouldn't even be there in the first place? Thanks for doing me a solid Maxis!
This whole thing is just plum. I can see the game turning into a glorified mobile game within the year or so with this business model they're slowly suckering players like you into. If they really don't mean for the game to devolve into that maybe they shouldn't have used a term that has such a negative stigma around it.
Also I absolutely love how put down the other guy's opinion of The Sims having a bad DLC model just because he was wrong on it being the worst. I've played a metric ton of games and The Sims is right up there with the horrible DLC with it's only saving grace being that it's a game about life and thus having plenty of opportunities for expansion.
The negative stigma surrounding "live service" on these forums is mostly made up of misconceptions on what that meant, because before this thread I saw very few people who actually knew what it meant. But many just assumed it was bad.
I not once put down their belief that The Sims DLC model is bad, I just pointed out that it's not the worst when there are games far worse out there.
Comments
Ugh, yeah. I don't bother with loot crates and chests usually.
Ya I agree 100% on that score, they just need to tell us Yes or No.
However I am not a big fan of the constant flood of SP's though. Yes, they are a nice way to explore various (small) themes and some gameplay objects with it, but I think this many SP's really take away a lot of attention and resources of expansions. (That's probably why we only have 2 with no new one in sight.)
I think 1 expansion a year is too little, since SP's can't really keep this game up and running in terms of in depth gameplay. This game is missing so many things, and with EP's being so slow, it's really the question how long we have to wait for our ''basics'' (toddlers for example) to return and a lot of other big game changing things like Seasons and Pets.
I am, and have been a fan of the franchise since day one, but TS4 just doesn't really get to me in terms of content and depth so far. With all respect; stuff packs aren't going to solve that, that's what EP''s are for.. and the flood of SP's so far has been a little bit out of control if you ask me. I'd rather start seeing some more EP's instead of small SP's, since I am still waiting for this game to expand in gameplay and depth, not in ''stuff''.
We get another STUFF PACK.. somewhere between July and September. No big content in terms of EP's so far.
Ah okay, thanks a bunch, much appreciated.
I feel the same way. As slow as EPs are turning out how many years before we get not only the things of how I played in the past and won't play other ways, like to do lists, before we see this games aspirations and traits expanded. I can't imagine players are happy and totally satisfied with rarely (if ever in a blue moon) with not getting as many traits and aspiration choices EPs offered in the other games. Who can continue (just in that little vein of gameplay) to go on for years with the same ones over and over and over. Especially, rotational players> I would have guessed they would be bored to death with those by now. When I think about how may aspirations and new careers TS2 and TS3 offered in each new EP (not just one per EP) and how many traits TS3 added to each new EP it makes me think this game has no budget.
Hi Jo, yeah, that is a good thing, you're right. I just miss the whole experience we had in ts2 & ts3. This is just so not there for me.
Yeah, I have just picked up the game again after a break and have felt no desire to pick any of the stuff up that has come out since I last played the game. If an EP had dropped that had added more depth, then yeah I may have been tempted.
Shake dreams from your hair
My pretty child, my sweet one.
Choose the day and choose the sign of your day
The day's divinity....
The Ghost Song - Jim Morrison
Yeah, I agree with you and Rudy. This is probably why I'm bored to tears with this game. I keep adding stuff...3rd party cc....and the things ea puts out, and nothings makes this game fun for me. I keep opening it up, looking at the hood and closing it down, or going into a sim's house, playing for 20 minutes and shutting it down. I don't know how much longer I'm going to invest in this game, when it isn't any real simming fun!
I am heavy rotational player and I pretty much ignore aspirations now. What I will do is simply cheat them to unlock the traits so I can create the type of sim I want. I still hold off cheating required skill levels, tho'.
Of course, this negates a central game objective and removes a primary 'victory condition' from the gameplay.
This only leaves me sandbox type play which I am, kinda, OK with, but it would be nice to see a steady flow of new goals and objectives for our sims with additional mechanics to support them.
Shake dreams from your hair
My pretty child, my sweet one.
Choose the day and choose the sign of your day
The day's divinity....
The Ghost Song - Jim Morrison
I have yet to finish one aspiration as I'm not into those goals set out in this game like do this ten times etc. I refuse rpg gameplay in The Sims. lol
However, I give them to my Sims in hopes it defines them more of who they are and what they would like to do and be someday. But this game even fails on that level to me because even those wishes pertaining to aspirations of what the Sim desires is overwhelmed and overshadowed by emotional whims and happiness. And traits are totally lost in that shuffle.
Oh I agree - fetch quests belong in the same room in hell along with escort quests. Loathe 'em.
I do like character progression mechanics tho' and obtaining skills with associated traits makes sense to me and I always thought aspirations were a good way of doing this in a believable way. The problem is there simply isn't enough of them - aspirations or traits. What's worse is that much of the content that has been released for the game were great opportunities to do more aspirations and traits for that matter.
I find this to be a very puzzling decision by them. Seems to me that most people would want things that help differentiation of their sims rather than just providing more background detail to their environment.
I would also like to see a full game rebalance to bring out the traits and associated traits more. There has been much said about this in the past, but my evil sims still mostly behave as content kittens.
Shake dreams from your hair
My pretty child, my sweet one.
Choose the day and choose the sign of your day
The day's divinity....
The Ghost Song - Jim Morrison
Yeah, some of us thought owning retail would result in an aspiration to own a business. And to own a restaurant would have resulted in wanting to run a five star restaurant, and collecting herbs would have resulted in wanting to be an Herbalist. I don't get it at all. Maybe the base is all there is and everything else will just continue to be fluff and add no depth.without adding depth.
So far I haven’t been a fan of this live service. I would be happy with bug fixes because indeed, a lot of bugs in TS3 have never been addressed. But I am under the impression that a lot of this free content that is added over the past two years were not thought trough enough. I remember the pools, where no townie would go in because the pools were not coded as fun objects. Then ghosts. They were put in some empty houses by the game, but were coded wrong and couldn’t be played. Then came the family tree that almost instantly was destroyed by culling. After the release of GT all food from retail stores disappeared and after the April patch all my saves, unplayed and new, were invested with growfruit trees…
And that’s only what I have seen in my own game. According to the forums lots of other thing broke after a patch or didn’t work as intended. I became scared for the next new patch and eventually I lost my interest in the game. I might have continued playing from time to time if I had been able to trust the game I had, flawed or not, but this troubleshooting after every patch made me really dishearten.
My other question is if this live service is the right fit for this game, as that's where the focus is? Why does culling and decay have to come into play? Why must the game regress in some areas in order to progress in others? This is a new concept to me and it boggles my brain a little bit. Also, while I'm at it, why am I forced to play on speed 1 because of the telly scrambling? (Yes, I'm not letting go of that one because that was the last straw for me).
Sorry Graham. I know this isn't all your doing, and it's not personal. This is just my perspective on the whole ordeal, and if I'm to be bluntly honest, I'll say it reeks of pooh.
Even though I liked and understand your analogy about putting pieces of content in different boxes, collaborating, adding, tweaking, etc, the plan for release of paid content is somewhat unclear. Now, this would be fine if things were cooking along. But, in my view, things have been different the past few months with regards to this. The first year of TS4 seemed to have had quite a bit more offerings on the plate. The second year has seen content slow considerably. It sounds as though there will be one Stuff Pack this quarter and no other paid content. That is quite a bit less than any quarter of game's first year that I can recall.
To me, Stuff Packs are the tasty finger food, Game Packs are the main course, and Expansion Packs are the celebratory feasts. (Oh, and the Free Content is snacks, nomnom.
Uncertainty dampens my engagement. I begin to wonder about the game's core in general.
There has also been a game feature that was patched in without prior communication. The Sims' Friends, Spouses, Children, etc, relationships are decaying drastically if the household is left to play another one, or even to build on another lot. That has the Simmers who play with relationships, lol, in somewhat of an uproar. Perhaps there could be a word about this from that Team? To have content taken away like this, resulting in the player having to try to continually restore the way their game was, is quite frustrating. It is definitely not an Engagement Feature.
Since this Played Inactive Household Relationship Decay feature was added with the pre Dine Out patch, the game is more often generally freezing for a few seconds, Sims are resetting, etc. I've seen it on my own system, in Let's Plays, and mentioned on the Forums. So I'm not sure this Decay Feature is helping performance. This is where your Live Service Q/A Team should have an opportunity to shine, no? SG Nick was the one who told us about it, and that it was done for performance reasons. I'm so glad he did, even though it upset me. Someone directly involved might be able to shed more light on it as you have done with your explanation?
Thanks again for that nicely worded post. I appreciate The Sims 4 and the hard work of the team to make it the best it can be.
Even though I have very mixed feelings about Sims 3, I still felt there was more substantial content being done for that iteration than this one, so far.
This one EP a year is just not enough to satisfy me in the long run. At this rate, it will take forever for this iteration to play catchup to the older iterations (Sims 2/Sims 3).
I am feeling skeptical that this iteration will ever have that much content in the end. Will seasons ever come? Will pets?
Then there's the decay issue... Will that decay issue ever get patched?
(And, also...yes, I'm still eternally waiting for toddlers, too. I'm a young woman close to 30s. Will I be about 50 before any toddlers come, lol?)
(She/her)
If you had communicated this shift and the likely amount of time it would take to catch up my money would've stayed in my purse until I saw the *potential* turn into reality. Sadly this has given a poor experience and I no longer feel I can trust the team to buy sight unseen as I did for a decade and a half previously.
That being said I'm glad you spoke to correct the misinformation being spread in relation to the 'pattern' we can see in the future. I think some have forgotten you were the one to say there *isnt* a pattern and to ask people not to try to form their own patterns.
https://twitter.com/sparkfairy1
The negative stigma surrounding "live service" on these forums is mostly made up of misconceptions on what that meant, because before this thread I saw very few people who actually knew what it meant. But many just assumed it was bad.
I not once put down their belief that The Sims DLC model is bad, I just pointed out that it's not the worst when there are games far worse out there.
I hope my Sims and lots aren't too terrible!