The issue isn't with changes to already purchased and installed software: that revenue is already recognized. The issue is with recognizing revenue on new basegame sales when an update to them has been announced. That update has to be delivered in the same quarter for those sales (the ones in that quarter) to be considered "delivered", with full utility available, and the revenue recognized:
That idea makes sense, yet at the same time it doesn't. The people who are buying the base game today are not buying the same base game that people bought two years ago. That much is true. However, the updates to the game are free. Someone buying the base game today isn't paying any more for the update than someone who's had the base game for two years, so I'm still confused about how that causes an issue with recognizing revenue. I could understand if the updates were paid content which would require having to collect revenue during that specific quarter, but this isn't the case.
The issue isn't with changes to already purchased and installed software: that revenue is already recognized. The issue is with recognizing revenue on new basegame sales when an update to them has been announced. That update has to be delivered in the same quarter for those sales (the ones in that quarter) to be considered "delivered", with full utility available, and the revenue recognized:
That idea makes sense, yet at the same time it doesn't. The people who are buying the base game today are not buying the same base game that people bought two years ago. That much is true. However, the updates to the game are free. Someone buying the base game today isn't paying any more for the update than someone who's had the base game for two years, so I'm still confused about how that causes an issue with recognizing revenue. I could understand if the updates were paid content which would require having to collect revenue during that specific quarter, but this isn't the case.
It has to do with receiving what has been indicated to you that you'll receive when you purchase. So a person who sees that staff have said that basements are going to be patched in and then buys the basegame has to get those basements before the next quarter for that revenue to be recognized in that quarter, or they haven't actually received their full purchase - their full purchase is more than mine was when I bought on release day - my revenue was counted way back in that July-September 2014 quarter. It's done; the story is revenue from basegame sales in the current quarter. (Basements did, indeed, get released in the last week of March, before that quarter ended.) Maxis seems to have been told that anything hinted at that is due to be a patch applies in this same way.
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The issue isn't with changes to already purchased and installed software: that revenue is already recognized. The issue is with recognizing revenue on new basegame sales when an update to them has been announced. That update has to be delivered in the same quarter for those sales (the ones in that quarter) to be considered "delivered", with full utility available, and the revenue recognized:
That idea makes sense, yet at the same time it doesn't. The people who are buying the base game today are not buying the same base game that people bought two years ago. That much is true. However, the updates to the game are free. Someone buying the base game today isn't paying any more for the update than someone who's had the base game for two years, so I'm still confused about how that causes an issue with recognizing revenue. I could understand if the updates were paid content which would require having to collect revenue during that specific quarter, but this isn't the case.
It has to do with receiving what has been indicated to you that you'll receive when you purchase. So a person who sees that staff have said that basements are going to be patched in and then buys the basegame has to get those basements before the next quarter for that revenue to be recognized in that quarter, or they haven't actually received their full purchase - their full purchase is more than mine was when I bought on release day - my revenue was counted way back in that July-September 2014 quarter. It's done; the story is revenue from basegame sales in the current quarter. (Basements did, indeed, get released in the last week of March, before that quarter ended.) Maxis seems to have been told that anything hinted at that is due to be a patch applies in this same way.
Fine - then where are my toddlers? We were told all our wishes would be met - my wish since day one was the toddlers. So where are they? End of story.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
Gamescom would have been the perfect opportunity to build stronger relations with fans domestic and afar.
I don't understand why it was decided to use up valuable time to discuss game packs. It seems to me that discussion about game packs and what they have to offer should have been done before deciding to release three of them. And pretty much every one who frequents the forums and other Sims communities knows how far the game has come over the past two years.
The only good that could come out of this is hearing more about what this "live service" is because I've seen it in other games and it looks nothing like the way the Sims team is handling it.
I find it very valuable for my time to actually meet our international fans and talk to them face to face. We have talked about what game packs are in the past but there is clearly still some confusion on how they fit in to the grand scheme of things so we want to provide some clarity. Also everyone who frequents the forums and other Sim communities do not know what goes in development or what our production is like, you just have the speculation of members who do not know about our inner workings and so we are going to talk about them. Again, this isn't something that is NDA'd, those who are attending can share what they learn to everyone afterwards.
@SimGuruDrake That is all nice, but how about building some stronger relationships here. We are in the dark all the time, secrets, can't talk about that. All we ever hear is speculation and no comments about if they are true or not. What is the point of simmers asking for toddlers and we cannot even get a truthful answer. If they are not coming in Sims 4, just be honest and say so, Keeping customers wondering, and hoping for something that might not even come, to me is not good relationship.
Good relationship is truthful open communication with one another no matter what it is. Don't mean to be offensive, but with all the asking about toddlers around here is very disturbing with no answers.
Gamescom would have been the perfect opportunity to build stronger relations with fans domestic and afar.
I don't understand why it was decided to use up valuable time to discuss game packs. It seems to me that discussion about game packs and what they have to offer should have been done before deciding to release three of them. And pretty much every one who frequents the forums and other Sims communities knows how far the game has come over the past two years.
The only good that could come out of this is hearing more about what this "live service" is because I've seen it in other games and it looks nothing like the way the Sims team is handling it.
I find it very valuable for my time to actually meet our international fans and talk to them face to face. We have talked about what game packs are in the past but there is clearly still some confusion on how they fit in to the grand scheme of things so we want to provide some clarity. Also everyone who frequents the forums and other Sim communities do not know what goes in development or what our production is like, you just have the speculation of members who do not know about our inner workings and so we are going to talk about them. Again, this isn't something that is NDA'd, those who are attending can share what they learn to everyone afterwards.
@SimGuruDrake That is all nice, but how about building some stronger relationships here. We are in the dark all the time, secrets, can't talk about that. All we ever hear is speculation and no comments about if they are true or not. What is the point of simmers asking for toddlers and we cannot even get a truthful answer. If they are not coming in Sims 4, just be honest and say so, Keeping customers wondering, and hoping for something that might not even come, to me is not good relationship.
Good relationship is truthful open communication with one another no matter what it is. Don't mean to be offensive, but with all the asking about toddlers around here is very disturbing with no answers.
I build relationships with all of you every day that I talk to you in these forums. You get infinitely more attention than any other non-english language community in the Sims. You aren't in the dark you just assume you are. There are no secrets. And there are things we can't talk about and won't until we are ready to.
When we have something to say about Toddlers we will. We aren't going to answer anything until then --that will always be our answer until we have something to say about anything that falls under future content.
Additionally since it is being talked about in here: We are not obligated in any way, shape, or form to tell you about revenue recognition. That is not something consumers need to know whatsoever. The only reason we even explained it to you was to tell about just one of the reasons why we don't talk about stuff early. I've said it plenty of times now, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, that we have been transparent with you and have been getting even more transparent with you in the past year. I don't "consider" it I know we have and if you choose not to listen and instead want to find double / hidden meaning in my words or any other member of studios words I can't very well control that. I can only tell you what I can and what you take from it is on you.
The issue isn't with changes to already purchased and installed software: that revenue is already recognized. The issue is with recognizing revenue on new basegame sales when an update to them has been announced. That update has to be delivered in the same quarter for those sales (the ones in that quarter) to be considered "delivered", with full utility available, and the revenue recognized:
That idea makes sense, yet at the same time it doesn't. The people who are buying the base game today are not buying the same base game that people bought two years ago. That much is true. However, the updates to the game are free. Someone buying the base game today isn't paying any more for the update than someone who's had the base game for two years, so I'm still confused about how that causes an issue with recognizing revenue. I could understand if the updates were paid content which would require having to collect revenue during that specific quarter, but this isn't the case.
It has to do with receiving what has been indicated to you that you'll receive when you purchase. So a person who sees that staff have said that basements are going to be patched in and then buys the basegame has to get those basements before the next quarter for that revenue to be recognized in that quarter, or they haven't actually received their full purchase - their full purchase is more than mine was when I bought on release day - my revenue was counted way back in that July-September 2014 quarter. It's done; the story is revenue from basegame sales in the current quarter. (Basements did, indeed, get released in the last week of March, before that quarter ended.) Maxis seems to have been told that anything hinted at that is due to be a patch applies in this same way.
Fine - then where are my toddlers? We were told all our wishes would be met - my wish since day one was the toddlers. So where are they? End of story.
Anything that changes prior to a base game release does not fall under the same revenue recognition / quarter issue as at that point we hadn't collected any money for it (pre-orders aren't considered recognized revenue until AFTER release). Anything stated about any future content after a release is a different story as we have already recognized revenue for the base game and thus what Luth describes goes into affect.
@SimGuruDrake I hope in the new rules in Sept..that there's a rule stating whether or not we are allowed to ask about having disabilities in the game or not. Since you never really got back to me on that from June.
I think we're definitely being left in the dark compared to past Sims games....but nvm
And what if toddlers aren't future content? Will people just never hear an answer, or will they have to wait until the game is ending to hear something concrete?
I assume they are working on toddlers as well.. because if there are no plans, it would just be bad business for future iterations to leave people hanging the entire duration of Sims 4.
I think we're definitely being left in the dark compared to past Sims games....but nvm
Unfortunately, it looks like we all are just going to have to agree to disagree. Maxis thinks that it's been transparent and open regarding communication towards its customers. Others, I included, have reasons to think otherwise.
Gamescom would have been the perfect opportunity to build stronger relations with fans domestic and afar.
I don't understand why it was decided to use up valuable time to discuss game packs. It seems to me that discussion about game packs and what they have to offer should have been done before deciding to release three of them. And pretty much every one who frequents the forums and other Sims communities knows how far the game has come over the past two years.
The only good that could come out of this is hearing more about what this "live service" is because I've seen it in other games and it looks nothing like the way the Sims team is handling it.
I find it very valuable for my time to actually meet our international fans and talk to them face to face. We have talked about what game packs are in the past but there is clearly still some confusion on how they fit in to the grand scheme of things so we want to provide some clarity. Also everyone who frequents the forums and other Sim communities do not know what goes in development or what our production is like, you just have the speculation of members who do not know about our inner workings and so we are going to talk about them. Again, this isn't something that is NDA'd, those who are attending can share what they learn to everyone afterwards.
@SimGuruDrake That is all nice, but how about building some stronger relationships here. We are in the dark all the time, secrets, can't talk about that. All we ever hear is speculation and no comments about if they are true or not. What is the point of simmers asking for toddlers and we cannot even get a truthful answer. If they are not coming in Sims 4, just be honest and say so, Keeping customers wondering, and hoping for something that might not even come, to me is not good relationship.
Good relationship is truthful open communication with one another no matter what it is. Don't mean to be offensive, but with all the asking about toddlers around here is very disturbing with no answers.
I build relationships with all of you every day that I talk to you in these forums. You get infinitely more attention than any other non-english language community in the Sims. You aren't in the dark you just assume you are. There are no secrets. And there are things we can't talk about and won't until we are ready to.
When we have something to say about Toddlers we will. We aren't going to answer anything until then --that will always be our answer until we have something to say about anything that falls under future content.
Additionally since it is being talked about in here: We are not obligated in any way, shape, or form to tell you about revenue recognition. That is not something consumers need to know whatsoever. The only reason we even explained it to you was to tell about just one of the reasons why we don't talk about stuff early. I've said it plenty of times now, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, that we have been transparent with you and have been getting even more transparent with you in the past year. I don't "consider" it I know we have and if you choose not to listen and instead want to find double / hidden meaning in my words or any other member of studios words I can't very well control that. I can only tell you what I can and what you take from it is on you.
The issue isn't with changes to already purchased and installed software: that revenue is already recognized. The issue is with recognizing revenue on new basegame sales when an update to them has been announced. That update has to be delivered in the same quarter for those sales (the ones in that quarter) to be considered "delivered", with full utility available, and the revenue recognized:
That idea makes sense, yet at the same time it doesn't. The people who are buying the base game today are not buying the same base game that people bought two years ago. That much is true. However, the updates to the game are free. Someone buying the base game today isn't paying any more for the update than someone who's had the base game for two years, so I'm still confused about how that causes an issue with recognizing revenue. I could understand if the updates were paid content which would require having to collect revenue during that specific quarter, but this isn't the case.
It has to do with receiving what has been indicated to you that you'll receive when you purchase. So a person who sees that staff have said that basements are going to be patched in and then buys the basegame has to get those basements before the next quarter for that revenue to be recognized in that quarter, or they haven't actually received their full purchase - their full purchase is more than mine was when I bought on release day - my revenue was counted way back in that July-September 2014 quarter. It's done; the story is revenue from basegame sales in the current quarter. (Basements did, indeed, get released in the last week of March, before that quarter ended.) Maxis seems to have been told that anything hinted at that is due to be a patch applies in this same way.
Fine - then where are my toddlers? We were told all our wishes would be met - my wish since day one was the toddlers. So where are they? End of story.
Anything that changes prior to a base game release does not fall under the same revenue recognition / quarter issue as at that point we hadn't collected any money for it (pre-orders aren't considered recognized revenue until AFTER release). Anything stated about any future content after a release is a different story as we have already recognized revenue for the base game and thus what Luth describes goes into affect.
Thank you for answering this, but players have their doubts. We are not asking "When toddlers or other stuff will come". All players want some kind of assurance from EA, like "be patient, we are working on that" "Rest assured, it will come in time"
Instead of all that all the players get is "We cannot talk about future content"
This kind of reply became so annoying that it feels it is an auto reply from an answering machine.
I remember asking one of the gurus when the Sims 2 base game was released in one of those live chats if they intend to release rain since it was supposed to be in the base game, you know what did he answer me? "No, it wont be rain alone but full seasons"
Someone else asked if pets will be part of Sims 2 and the answer was "Who don't want pets? it has to come"
What happened to this kind of honesty? It gave us players so much to look forward to. It is totally the opposite with TS4. We players feel that EA is not trusting its own product that is why does not want to talk about the possibilities.
Whatever happened to the strong foundation we've been told about?? If in 2 years this foundation is still not touched when it will? We all know every base game has a life cycle of 5 years and we are nearing half the life cycle of TS4 and you can still read lots of dissatisfaction of the direction.
Edit: And this is coming from someone who loves The TS4!!
Everything I post is an opinion here and I think every post of others is as well.
I build relationships with all of you every day that I talk to you in these forums. You get infinitely more attention than any other non-english language community in the Sims. You aren't in the dark you just assume you are. There are no secrets. And there are things we can't talk about and won't until we are ready to.
When we have something to say about Toddlers we will. We aren't going to answer anything until then --that will always be our answer until we have something to say about anything that falls under future content.
Additionally since it is being talked about in here: We are not obligated in any way, shape, or form to tell you about revenue recognition. That is not something consumers need to know whatsoever. The only reason we even explained it to you was to tell about just one of the reasons why we don't talk about stuff early. I've said it plenty of times now, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, that we have been transparent with you and have been getting even more transparent with you in the past year. I don't "consider" it I know we have and if you choose not to listen and instead want to find double / hidden meaning in my words or any other member of studios words I can't very well control that. I can only tell you what I can and what you take from it is on you.
And I've said it plenty of times now, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, that adding culling, relationship culling, and inactive played relationship decay to the game without warning players what was about to happen to their games is not transparency. It reads to the costumers as either a very poor understanding of how we use your product or downright cowardice.
I build relationships with all of you every day that I talk to you in these forums. You get infinitely more attention than any other non-english language community in the Sims. You aren't in the dark you just assume you are. There are no secrets. And there are things we can't talk about and won't until we are ready to.
When we have something to say about Toddlers we will. We aren't going to answer anything until then --that will always be our answer until we have something to say about anything that falls under future content.
Additionally since it is being talked about in here: We are not obligated in any way, shape, or form to tell you about revenue recognition. That is not something consumers need to know whatsoever. The only reason we even explained it to you was to tell about just one of the reasons why we don't talk about stuff early. I've said it plenty of times now, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, that we have been transparent with you and have been getting even more transparent with you in the past year. I don't "consider" it I know we have and if you choose not to listen and instead want to find double / hidden meaning in my words or any other member of studios words I can't very well control that. I can only tell you what I can and what you take from it is on you.
And I've said it plenty of times now, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, that adding culling, relationship culling, and inactive played relationship decay to the game without warning players what was about to happen to their games is not transparency. It reads to the costumers as either a very poor understanding of how we use your product or downright cowardice.
I build relationships with all of you every day that I talk to you in these forums. You get infinitely more attention than any other non-english language community in the Sims. You aren't in the dark you just assume you are. There are no secrets. And there are things we can't talk about and won't until we are ready to.
When we have something to say about Toddlers we will. We aren't going to answer anything until then --that will always be our answer until we have something to say about anything that falls under future content.
Additionally since it is being talked about in here: We are not obligated in any way, shape, or form to tell you about revenue recognition. That is not something consumers need to know whatsoever. The only reason we even explained it to you was to tell about just one of the reasons why we don't talk about stuff early. I've said it plenty of times now, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, that we have been transparent with you and have been getting even more transparent with you in the past year. I don't "consider" it I know we have and if you choose not to listen and instead want to find double / hidden meaning in my words or any other member of studios words I can't very well control that. I can only tell you what I can and what you take from it is on you.
And I've said it plenty of times now, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, that adding culling, relationship culling, and inactive played relationship decay to the game without warning players what was about to happen to their games is not transparency. It reads to the costumers as either a very poor understanding of how we use your product or downright cowardice.
I'm pretty sure all these things weren't supposed to be apparent to the players. The game code is full of this kind of under-the-hood things that help the simulation run smooth and in an enjoyable and believable way. It's just that most of these are going unnoticed.
And I've said it plenty of times now, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, that adding culling, relationship culling, and inactive played relationship decay to the game without warning players what was about to happen to their games is not transparency. It reads to the costumers as either a very poor understanding of how we use your product or downright cowardice.
I'm pretty sure all these things weren't supposed to be apparent to the players. The game code is full of this kind of under-the-hood things that help the simulation run smooth and in an enjoyable and believable way. It's just that most of these are going unnoticed.
Too bad culling isn't enjoyable or believable..."optimization" that noticeably affects the way a player plays the game should be made known.
@Neia, maybe relationship culling and inactive played relationship decay are enjoyable and believable to you, but I think it's clear that many players don't see that it that way. I don't understand how you or the team could seriously think that most players wouldn't notice their Sims' relationships disappearing, that these wouldn't almost immediately become apparent to players. They clearly did, and I don't understand what sort of game the team thinks we're playing when we wouldn't notice our Sims' relationships disappearing.
I build relationships with all of you every day that I talk to you in these forums. You get infinitely more attention than any other non-english language community in the Sims. You aren't in the dark you just assume you are. There are no secrets. And there are things we can't talk about and won't until we are ready to.
When we have something to say about Toddlers we will. We aren't going to answer anything until then --that will always be our answer until we have something to say about anything that falls under future content.
Additionally since it is being talked about in here: We are not obligated in any way, shape, or form to tell you about revenue recognition. That is not something consumers need to know whatsoever. The only reason we even explained it to you was to tell about just one of the reasons why we don't talk about stuff early. I've said it plenty of times now, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, that we have been transparent with you and have been getting even more transparent with you in the past year. I don't "consider" it I know we have and if you choose not to listen and instead want to find double / hidden meaning in my words or any other member of studios words I can't very well control that. I can only tell you what I can and what you take from it is on you.
And I've said it plenty of times now, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, that adding culling, relationship culling, and inactive played relationship decay to the game without warning players what was about to happen to their games is not transparency. It reads to the costumers as either a very poor understanding of how we use your product or downright cowardice.
I don't know why this game is just so focused on low end systems. How can this game ever make progress when all they do is focus on low end of the spectrum with their culling mechanisms, closed worlds, loading screens, and all that plum.
It's a normal thing PC players should be aware of the fact that PC games advance and hardware becomes outdated. It's not a weird thing in the PC industry to upgrade your PC once in a while.
If you can't run a game, it's probably time to upgrade. If they keep using the ''low end systems in mind'' excuse all the time, this is what we will be stuck with forever.
For this Q&A to have any credibility at all, the toddlers question must be asked and responded to. This is the #! question players have asked for 2 years and MUST be asked at the very least. If there isn't a question dealing with toddlers, we'll all know this Q&A was set up by EA and is of no interest to any of us.
But why ask a question that you already know the answer to ? They won't talk about it as it's future content so the answer is: We can't talk about that.
Maybe it could be asked about toddlers if they think it would be possible to have toddlers in the game. That's not saying they will put them in or when they will, but if it will be possible. I keep waiting to raise my sim bsbies thinking they will be put in the sims 4 at sometime. But I think they should at least tell u if it is possible....
I don't know why this game is just so focused on low end systems. How can this game ever make progress when all they do is focus on low end of the spectrum with their culling mechanisms, closed worlds, loading screens, and all that plum.
It's a normal thing PC players should be aware of the fact that PC games advance and hardware becomes outdated. It's not a weird thing in the PC industry to upgrade your PC once in a while.
If you can't run a game, it's probably time to upgrade. If they keep using the ''low end systems in mind'' excuse all the time, this is what we will be stuck with forever.
Except this game was not made to be played on PC. The foundation is still Olympus. They had to scrap that project but keep the foundation. It is not about old PCs, but the game itself. It seems the game engine cannot tolerate more data. Hence we are not going to see many EPs like in the past. SPs will be easier because there will only be one or two game play objects and the rest are just clutter like CCs.
I think the developers before making any new EP they have to sit and scratch their heads thinking what to cull in order to add the new data!! We will reach to a stage where everything will be culled like skills, aspirations etc
Everything I post is an opinion here and I think every post of others is as well.
I don't know why this game is just so focused on low end systems. How can this game ever make progress when all they do is focus on low end of the spectrum with their culling mechanisms, closed worlds, loading screens, and all that plum.
It's a normal thing PC players should be aware of the fact that PC games advance and hardware becomes outdated. It's not a weird thing in the PC industry to upgrade your PC once in a while.
If you can't run a game, it's probably time to upgrade. If they keep using the ''low end systems in mind'' excuse all the time, this is what we will be stuck with forever.
Except this game was not made to be played on PC. The foundation is still Olympus. They had to scrap that project but keep the foundation. It is not about old PCs, but the game itself. It seems the game engine cannot tolerate more data. Hence we are not going to see many EPs like in the past. SPs will be easier because there will only be one or two game play objects and the rest are just clutter like CCs.
I think the developers before making any new EP they have to sit and scratch their heads thinking what to cull in order to add the new data!! We will reach to a stage where everything will be culled like skills, aspirations etc
Yeah, I agree.
But still, with this crawling speed of EP's lately.. I hope it will not be the standard (most likely will).
This game will be StuffPack simulator since it seems Stuffpacks are ''the'' thing for this game. I guess after that city thing we have to wait another year for the 4th EP. >.<
I wonder, would it be possible to update an engine so that it's capable of doing more or optimize it so it handles data more efficiently? Sorry if this question is dumb, I have no idea how programming works but I thought I could ask. If it would be possible, what prevents them from doing so (pushing the aspect of money aside)? Currently the game seems a bit weak and not able to handle complexity well. But maybe we don't even see the full scale.
Also about culling, why can't that be optional? So that people with stronger PCs can tick it off in the options. Why isn't that an option (as well as alien abductions and male pregnancy they should have made this chooseable as well but that's not the point of the discussion now) Sims is about customization, right? So why not giving the player these options so that they can change the game in a way they can enjoy. If their PCs can't handle that, they can always turn something off and start to think about an upgrade while still enjoying the game. That way both ends would probably more satisfied. IF the engine can handle it, that is. You did it with the amazing gender options. Why not culling as well?
Sorry if any of this doesn't make sense. Like I mentioned above: I have no idea, haha. But asking doesn't hurt, right?
There's no point arguing over it anyway. If EA don't want to tell us something they won't. Sometimes I think these conversations get people's blood pressure up for no result. Fight and flight response is meant to bring about some solution, not just feed on itself.
Thank you for answering this, but players have their doubts. We are not asking "When toddlers or other stuff will come". All players want some kind of assurance from EA, like "be patient, we are working on that" "Rest assured, it will come in time"
Instead of all that all the players get is "We cannot talk about future content"
This kind of reply became so annoying that it feels it is an auto reply from an answering machine.
I remember asking one of the gurus when the Sims 2 base game was released in one of those live chats if they intend to release rain since it was supposed to be in the base game, you know what did he answer me? "No, it wont be rain alone but full seasons"
Someone else asked if pets will be part of Sims 2 and the answer was "Who don't want pets? it has to come"
What happened to this kind of honesty? It gave us players so much to look forward to. It is totally the opposite with TS4. We players feel that EA is not trusting its own product that is why does not want to talk about the possibilities.
Whatever happened to the strong foundation we've been told about?? If in 2 years this foundation is still not touched when it will? We all know every base game has a life cycle of 5 years and we are nearing half the life cycle of TS4 and you can still read lots of dissatisfaction of the direction.
Edit: And this is coming from someone who loves The TS4!!
Ahhh ... how refreshing that would be. And yes, that's sort of what I meant with basic honesty & very basic indication of direction. And no matter what they and some other people here say, there are a LOT of games / game series that tell you well in advance, sometimes while still in the development stage, what kind of stuff players can expect. I mean look at the way Planet Coaster is released - wait, they want player's input even before officially releasing the game to make it better for them?
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That idea makes sense, yet at the same time it doesn't. The people who are buying the base game today are not buying the same base game that people bought two years ago. That much is true. However, the updates to the game are free. Someone buying the base game today isn't paying any more for the update than someone who's had the base game for two years, so I'm still confused about how that causes an issue with recognizing revenue. I could understand if the updates were paid content which would require having to collect revenue during that specific quarter, but this isn't the case.
It has to do with receiving what has been indicated to you that you'll receive when you purchase. So a person who sees that staff have said that basements are going to be patched in and then buys the basegame has to get those basements before the next quarter for that revenue to be recognized in that quarter, or they haven't actually received their full purchase - their full purchase is more than mine was when I bought on release day - my revenue was counted way back in that July-September 2014 quarter. It's done; the story is revenue from basegame sales in the current quarter. (Basements did, indeed, get released in the last week of March, before that quarter ended.) Maxis seems to have been told that anything hinted at that is due to be a patch applies in this same way.
Fine - then where are my toddlers? We were told all our wishes would be met - my wish since day one was the toddlers. So where are they? End of story.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
@SimGuruDrake That is all nice, but how about building some stronger relationships here. We are in the dark all the time, secrets, can't talk about that. All we ever hear is speculation and no comments about if they are true or not. What is the point of simmers asking for toddlers and we cannot even get a truthful answer. If they are not coming in Sims 4, just be honest and say so, Keeping customers wondering, and hoping for something that might not even come, to me is not good relationship.
Good relationship is truthful open communication with one another no matter what it is. Don't mean to be offensive, but with all the asking about toddlers around here is very disturbing with no answers.
I build relationships with all of you every day that I talk to you in these forums. You get infinitely more attention than any other non-english language community in the Sims. You aren't in the dark you just assume you are. There are no secrets. And there are things we can't talk about and won't until we are ready to.
When we have something to say about Toddlers we will. We aren't going to answer anything until then --that will always be our answer until we have something to say about anything that falls under future content.
Additionally since it is being talked about in here: We are not obligated in any way, shape, or form to tell you about revenue recognition. That is not something consumers need to know whatsoever. The only reason we even explained it to you was to tell about just one of the reasons why we don't talk about stuff early. I've said it plenty of times now, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, that we have been transparent with you and have been getting even more transparent with you in the past year. I don't "consider" it I know we have and if you choose not to listen and instead want to find double / hidden meaning in my words or any other member of studios words I can't very well control that. I can only tell you what I can and what you take from it is on you.
Anything that changes prior to a base game release does not fall under the same revenue recognition / quarter issue as at that point we hadn't collected any money for it (pre-orders aren't considered recognized revenue until AFTER release). Anything stated about any future content after a release is a different story as we have already recognized revenue for the base game and thus what Luth describes goes into affect.
And what if toddlers aren't future content? Will people just never hear an answer, or will they have to wait until the game is ending to hear something concrete?
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
Unfortunately, it looks like we all are just going to have to agree to disagree. Maxis thinks that it's been transparent and open regarding communication towards its customers. Others, I included, have reasons to think otherwise.
Thank you for answering this, but players have their doubts. We are not asking "When toddlers or other stuff will come". All players want some kind of assurance from EA, like "be patient, we are working on that" "Rest assured, it will come in time"
Instead of all that all the players get is "We cannot talk about future content"
This kind of reply became so annoying that it feels it is an auto reply from an answering machine.
I remember asking one of the gurus when the Sims 2 base game was released in one of those live chats if they intend to release rain since it was supposed to be in the base game, you know what did he answer me? "No, it wont be rain alone but full seasons"
Someone else asked if pets will be part of Sims 2 and the answer was "Who don't want pets? it has to come"
What happened to this kind of honesty? It gave us players so much to look forward to. It is totally the opposite with TS4. We players feel that EA is not trusting its own product that is why does not want to talk about the possibilities.
Whatever happened to the strong foundation we've been told about?? If in 2 years this foundation is still not touched when it will? We all know every base game has a life cycle of 5 years and we are nearing half the life cycle of TS4 and you can still read lots of dissatisfaction of the direction.
Edit: And this is coming from someone who loves The TS4!!
And I've said it plenty of times now, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, that adding culling, relationship culling, and inactive played relationship decay to the game without warning players what was about to happen to their games is not transparency. It reads to the costumers as either a very poor understanding of how we use your product or downright cowardice.
Add Manage Neighbourhood Options - assign your own Sim to NPC jobs!
The Problems with Death in The Sims 4
Distinguish Elder gameplay with Elder-only reward traits
Filter Rugs by Room Size
It's ''Selective Transparency''
I'm pretty sure all these things weren't supposed to be apparent to the players. The game code is full of this kind of under-the-hood things that help the simulation run smooth and in an enjoyable and believable way. It's just that most of these are going unnoticed.
Add Manage Neighbourhood Options - assign your own Sim to NPC jobs!
The Problems with Death in The Sims 4
Distinguish Elder gameplay with Elder-only reward traits
Filter Rugs by Room Size
Is that the same thing as opaque?
It's a normal thing PC players should be aware of the fact that PC games advance and hardware becomes outdated. It's not a weird thing in the PC industry to upgrade your PC once in a while.
If you can't run a game, it's probably time to upgrade. If they keep using the ''low end systems in mind'' excuse all the time, this is what we will be stuck with forever.
Maybe it could be asked about toddlers if they think it would be possible to have toddlers in the game. That's not saying they will put them in or when they will, but if it will be possible. I keep waiting to raise my sim bsbies thinking they will be put in the sims 4 at sometime. But I think they should at least tell u if it is possible....
Except this game was not made to be played on PC. The foundation is still Olympus. They had to scrap that project but keep the foundation. It is not about old PCs, but the game itself. It seems the game engine cannot tolerate more data. Hence we are not going to see many EPs like in the past. SPs will be easier because there will only be one or two game play objects and the rest are just clutter like CCs.
I think the developers before making any new EP they have to sit and scratch their heads thinking what to cull in order to add the new data!! We will reach to a stage where everything will be culled like skills, aspirations etc
Yeah, I agree.
But still, with this crawling speed of EP's lately.. I hope it will not be the standard (most likely will).
This game will be StuffPack simulator since it seems Stuffpacks are ''the'' thing for this game. I guess after that city thing we have to wait another year for the 4th EP. >.<
Also about culling, why can't that be optional? So that people with stronger PCs can tick it off in the options. Why isn't that an option (as well as alien abductions and male pregnancy they should have made this chooseable as well but that's not the point of the discussion now) Sims is about customization, right? So why not giving the player these options so that they can change the game in a way they can enjoy. If their PCs can't handle that, they can always turn something off and start to think about an upgrade while still enjoying the game. That way both ends would probably more satisfied. IF the engine can handle it, that is. You did it with the amazing gender options. Why not culling as well?
Sorry if any of this doesn't make sense. Like I mentioned above: I have no idea, haha. But asking doesn't hurt, right?
Ahhh ... how refreshing that would be. And yes, that's sort of what I meant with basic honesty & very basic indication of direction. And no matter what they and some other people here say, there are a LOT of games / game series that tell you well in advance, sometimes while still in the development stage, what kind of stuff players can expect. I mean look at the way Planet Coaster is released - wait, they want player's input even before officially releasing the game to make it better for them?
Mindblowing stuff...