As much as I would like another sim-like game that isn't made by EA I'd like to know more before I part with money.
Going a bit off topic here, but some alternatives are @Mikezumi
Tomodachi Life: (Nintendo 3ds systems. Import your Mii (avatar) into an island and watch it grow. Miis have traits and quirks similar to Sims, and can even start families as well.)
Any of the Harvest Moon Titles.
Kerbal Space Program (Very similar to Minecraft and the building aspect of The Sims)
HomeStreet (IOS and Android.)
Any of the Fallout games (a bit more action adventure)
Back to the topic of the post. As much as I would want that to happen as well, they may not do so well. There is an obscure knockoff 18+ game called Singles that is just blatantly NSFW and a stripped down version of it.
@Bubbz3388 None of those meet my needs. I have played a couple of the Harvest Moon titles and they amused me for a short time and a couple others I am familiar with because I have seen my son playing them. Thanks for the suggestions but these are not for me
@ciane That was concept art. They have stated the 'real' habs will be very realistic, just not realistic enough to hit 'uncanny valley'. My term, not theirs. I copied this from their description:
"Most notably, the look’n’feel of the Habs™ is a vitally important design element. We’re keen to have a realistic feel to our Habs™ that is not necessarily 4K HD true facial replication, but a "not-far-from" realistic perspective that provides for emotive, rich tones that shows Habs™ as realistic, but not “automatonic”.
So my thought is that they want realism but not so far as to hit that 'uncanny valley' mark.
This is a link to an article written about them from one of the journalists at PAX last weekend.
I haven't pledged but I suppose there's no harm in it as they clearly state that it's "All or nothing. This project will only be funded if it reaches its goal by Wed, December 12 2018 3:30 PM ACDT." All or nothing funding means that no one will be charged for a pledge towards a project unless it reaches its funding goal.
But if they have only reached $500 on their first day, which really should be their biggest funding day I just don't see them making $3.5 million in 40 days. In my opinion I don't think the project will take off at all. Good on those that have pledged, the article on that goto website was well written! I hope they write up more updates during the campaign to entice new people. I want to be impressed but I just don't feel it yet.
@coco They don't seem to be reaching their target audience, which is simmers. I just happened to see a comment about it on a private thread of another forum and reached out to them to see if it was for real.
@ZeeGee If I knew about it earlier I could have reached out to them as I'm also based in Australia, and I studied Media and Marketing. They have a great idea I just hope they find a way to reach more people. It would be so exciting to have another simulation game on the market. I've been craving something to play but I just can't find anything else like the Sims out there.
@coco To put it into perspective, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was funded in 4 hours and made a total of 1.5 million on its first day.
If they want to reach people, they have to advertise. Barely anybody goes to Kickstarter to look for these types of things. They know about them beforehand because the announcement was hyped up.
You are right. All or nothing campaigns charge you for your pledge if and only if the campaign reaches or exceeds its goal by the designated time. 42 days for this one. $500 AUD in your first day isn't a very good sign. Especially since that came from only 8 people. Even if they got 500 every day from now on they wouldn't come close to reaching their goal.
Just an idea I thought up just now but I think their Kickstarter needs to tell a story. Throughout TS1-TS3 we had the Newbies, the Goths, the Caliente sisters etc. Those characters have kept simmers entertained for years. It would be cool if they had a "Day in the Life of a Hab" section on the Kickstarter page where they showed us (even if it's just drawings or concept art) the way that Habs start and end their day. It could be a good way of showing off different types of lots, the build and buy tools, customisation, learning skills, the range of jobs and careers to choose from and more of the map. There needs to be more excitement and hype.
I thought this bit was interesting.
“[From Ray’s conversation with the ANZ community manager of Kickstarter] She goes, “Do you have a community?” I went, “Oh yeah.” She goes, “Have you built it up?” I said, “We don’t need to build it up. We just need to adopt an existing community.” You know, there’s 16 million Facebook followers of The Sims. So, we know there’s a huge community there.”
“It’s not as if we’re trying to build a market from nothing. There is a market. It’s big. It’s incredibly loyal. And, from what I’ve read–and I’m not a gamer–but when I read these boards, they’re manic and they’re really passionate.” – Ray
So they make it sound like the community is going to come to them. I wouldn't have known about it at all if it wasn't for this thread. Their Facebook page only has 16 likes!
It looks interesting from what I'm able to view on my phone. A lot from the video is stuff I've been hoping for EA to do with the Sims for a while, especially in terms of detail with the sims. And this is just a glimpse of what they hope to achieve? I need to see more and I'm definitely going to look more into it but I do think EA needs competition even though it may be difficult for a competitor to rise up.
Maybe, hopefully someone from EA looks at this and picks up an idea or several whether this game gains traction or not.
Hey guys! Evie, co-creator of Habs here. Firstly, thank you for talking about this. All of your feedback has been great, the good and the bad. So I'm here just to clarify a few things.
Firstly, the time and budget has all been confirmed doable by game studios down in Melbourne. We are not pulling these numbers out of nowhere so hopefully that gives some comfort. I know none of this is will be a rush job, we've all seen what happens to games that are rushed. There is NO WAY I would allow Habs to go down that path.
Secondly, the images you see are NOT the final product. I've played the Sims religiously since 1 through 2 and 3 (and a bit of 4). Believe me, I don't want the cartoony look. I want it looking realistic. I want Habs to look like they will fit in the environment. Problem is, the small funding we had to make that trailer came from family funds and we aren't wealthy like EA. There's only so much we could do.
Lastly, if you want more information on what Habs will offer you then please look at the kickstarter page itself, not just the website. I've never been active on the forums so of course I can't post the link, haha but it's easy to get to through the website since the link is there. The kickstarter page has a lot more information about what the game will give, including more information on what the Habs themselves will be like.
Rest assured that because I'm obsessed with the Sims (it's ...kind of ridiculous how much money and time I've put into the series XD) I WANT to give us players what we've been wanting. With that in mind, I don't blame anyone here for being reluctant or hesitant to drop money. I get it, I really do. No hard feelings. At the very least I'd want to give EA a scare or a notice that they've dropped the ball recently. EA doesn't care about us or the Sims. They care only about our wallets.
If there's any more questions you'd like to ask, don't hesitate. I'd love to hear from you guys. ~ Evie
@Evie_Revie Hi, Evie! Your biggest pledger here. hehehe (I think ) I wish you guys the best of luck, but if I could give a word of advice -
Get the word out. Discord servers, subreddits, even if they are for just games in general. Spread your game around. Even people outside of this community might be interested and it is crucial to your success to get as much buzz going as possible.
Discord servers will also have rabid communities in them. Try finding invites to even just general gaming discord servers. They would likely be happy to support an aspiring gaming studio, for sure. Simulation game or not.
@Emily4331 Hey Emily. Thank you SO MUCH for pledging that amount. It means a lot to us. We're currently trying to get the word out as best as can. Journalists are starting to write stories on us luckily. But your advise is extremely helpful. I'll let our community manager know and we can start bothering people on those sites too :D ;)
Honestly? The concept is great and I'd love to see some of the features in the franchise- base game seasons, adjustable clocks, and man- that sunset!
It's honestly such a nice concept, it really is, and while I understand it's still a WIP- but the trailer makes the game looks bland and boring. The animations are too slow to be natural and their Sims (i forgot what they named them) look absoloutely lifeless and terrible. I would never want to look one in the eye.
Honestly? The concept is great and I'd love to see some of the features in the franchise- base game seasons, adjustable clocks, and man- that sunset!
It's honestly such a nice concept, it really is, and while I understand it's still a WIP- but the trailer makes the game looks bland and boring. The animations are too slow to be natural and their Sims (i forgot what they named them) look absoloutely lifeless and terrible. I would never want to look one in the eye.
I think I'll stick with The Sims.
It is already said several times the sims would look different, but for now they don't have the funds yet to make them how they want.
I've been burned by kickstarter scams and cons so many times I'm reluctant to fund anything on there ever again sorry (most recently josh parnell of limit theory running off with 200k, £100 of it mine!).
but this looks interesting and i do wish you all the best and hope something comes of it. i'd certainly pay full price for the final product when you have it on steam
i played sims 4 once, for like 20 minutes and i thought 🐸🐸🐸🐸 is this? i was so disappointed beyond belief, thank god i still have sims 3 to go back to. i've always hoped something like the sims 3 would come along but nothing ever has.
From the studio:
"Welcome, and yes, our ambitious, brash Kickstarter project is parked for the foreseeable future.While some see failure as doom, Google actually has a process by which to gauge, learn and move on from it. Habs™ has taken us on a fascinating journey so far, and while no one has questioned our passion & drive, nor the market gap that we’re trying to fill, we’ve miss fired on a few issues including the trailer and lack of community engagement.
So were going to address a few behind closed doors, while we address lack of community with an open door – on the clear understanding – we don’t have the bank roll of AAA studios or some moneyed up benefactor. What you see is what you get.
“A picture is worth a 1000 words” – while the trailer and the toony look was never intended to be final product, initial impressions killed interest before we could get people to read on and have faith in our vision for Habs™ - our bad, we’ll try to do better next time.
It’s Now Up to You Too!
So if you’re here because the current suite of life simulation games 🐸🐸🐸🐸 you off, and you’re sick and tired of being ignored by the big companies, then register your interest below – and SHARE!!!
Tell us what you want as well as what you’re willing to do to pitch in (ideas, thoughts and eventually yes some $$) – and that’s all we’re going to ask of you for now*. When we’ve reached a number that satisfies us that we can re-launch our crowdfund project again then we’ll do so.
Finally, if you decide to do nothing, we hope you continue to enjoy what the current offerings provide you in the life simulation genre.
@Jemkatk Yes. If you look at Emily's post directly above yours she posted a copy of the company statement on why they cancelled and that they hope to come back if they get enough support. So head over them and show them your support!
Comments
Np anyways.
"Most notably, the look’n’feel of the Habs™ is a vitally important design element. We’re keen to have a realistic feel to our Habs™ that is not necessarily 4K HD true facial replication, but a "not-far-from" realistic perspective that provides for emotive, rich tones that shows Habs™ as realistic, but not “automatonic”.
So my thought is that they want realism but not so far as to hit that 'uncanny valley' mark.
This is a link to an article written about them from one of the journalists at PAX last weekend.
https://goto.game/habs-potential-aussie-competitor-sims/
But if they have only reached $500 on their first day, which really should be their biggest funding day I just don't see them making $3.5 million in 40 days. In my opinion I don't think the project will take off at all. Good on those that have pledged, the article on that goto website was well written! I hope they write up more updates during the campaign to entice new people. I want to be impressed but I just don't feel it yet.
If they want to reach people, they have to advertise. Barely anybody goes to Kickstarter to look for these types of things. They know about them beforehand because the announcement was hyped up.
You are right. All or nothing campaigns charge you for your pledge if and only if the campaign reaches or exceeds its goal by the designated time. 42 days for this one. $500 AUD in your first day isn't a very good sign. Especially since that came from only 8 people. Even if they got 500 every day from now on they wouldn't come close to reaching their goal.
I thought this bit was interesting.
“[From Ray’s conversation with the ANZ community manager of Kickstarter] She goes, “Do you have a community?” I went, “Oh yeah.” She goes, “Have you built it up?” I said, “We don’t need to build it up. We just need to adopt an existing community.” You know, there’s 16 million Facebook followers of The Sims. So, we know there’s a huge community there.”
“It’s not as if we’re trying to build a market from nothing. There is a market. It’s big. It’s incredibly loyal. And, from what I’ve read–and I’m not a gamer–but when I read these boards, they’re manic and they’re really passionate.” – Ray
So they make it sound like the community is going to come to them. I wouldn't have known about it at all if it wasn't for this thread. Their Facebook page only has 16 likes!
Maybe, hopefully someone from EA looks at this and picks up an idea or several whether this game gains traction or not.
Firstly, the time and budget has all been confirmed doable by game studios down in Melbourne. We are not pulling these numbers out of nowhere so hopefully that gives some comfort. I know none of this is will be a rush job, we've all seen what happens to games that are rushed. There is NO WAY I would allow Habs to go down that path.
Secondly, the images you see are NOT the final product. I've played the Sims religiously since 1 through 2 and 3 (and a bit of 4). Believe me, I don't want the cartoony look. I want it looking realistic. I want Habs to look like they will fit in the environment. Problem is, the small funding we had to make that trailer came from family funds and we aren't wealthy like EA. There's only so much we could do.
Lastly, if you want more information on what Habs will offer you then please look at the kickstarter page itself, not just the website. I've never been active on the forums so of course I can't post the link, haha but it's easy to get to through the website since the link is there. The kickstarter page has a lot more information about what the game will give, including more information on what the Habs themselves will be like.
Rest assured that because I'm obsessed with the Sims (it's ...kind of ridiculous how much money and time I've put into the series XD) I WANT to give us players what we've been wanting. With that in mind, I don't blame anyone here for being reluctant or hesitant to drop money. I get it, I really do. No hard feelings. At the very least I'd want to give EA a scare or a notice that they've dropped the ball recently. EA doesn't care about us or the Sims. They care only about our wallets.
If there's any more questions you'd like to ask, don't hesitate. I'd love to hear from you guys.
~ Evie
Get the word out. Discord servers, subreddits, even if they are for just games in general. Spread your game around. Even people outside of this community might be interested and it is crucial to your success to get as much buzz going as possible.
Just sayin, the gaming reddit is 19 million strong: https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/
r/games has 1.4 million subs: https://www.reddit.com/r/games/
And, of course, r/thesims has about 105,000 subs: https://www.reddit.com/r/thesims/
Discord servers will also have rabid communities in them. Try finding invites to even just general gaming discord servers. They would likely be happy to support an aspiring gaming studio, for sure. Simulation game or not.
It's honestly such a nice concept, it really is, and while I understand it's still a WIP- but the trailer makes the game looks bland and boring. The animations are too slow to be natural and their Sims (i forgot what they named them) look absoloutely lifeless and terrible. I would never want to look one in the eye.
I think I'll stick with The Sims.
It is already said several times the sims would look different, but for now they don't have the funds yet to make them how they want.
Ultimate cc-list
My top 5
but this looks interesting and i do wish you all the best and hope something comes of it. i'd certainly pay full price for the final product when you have it on steam
i played sims 4 once, for like 20 minutes and i thought 🐸🐸🐸🐸 is this? i was so disappointed beyond belief, thank god i still have sims 3 to go back to. i've always hoped something like the sims 3 would come along but nothing ever has.
"Welcome, and yes, our ambitious, brash Kickstarter project is parked for the foreseeable future.While some see failure as doom, Google actually has a process by which to gauge, learn and move on from it. Habs™ has taken us on a fascinating journey so far, and while no one has questioned our passion & drive, nor the market gap that we’re trying to fill, we’ve miss fired on a few issues including the trailer and lack of community engagement.
So were going to address a few behind closed doors, while we address lack of community with an open door – on the clear understanding – we don’t have the bank roll of AAA studios or some moneyed up benefactor. What you see is what you get.
“A picture is worth a 1000 words” – while the trailer and the toony look was never intended to be final product, initial impressions killed interest before we could get people to read on and have faith in our vision for Habs™ - our bad, we’ll try to do better next time.
It’s Now Up to You Too!
So if you’re here because the current suite of life simulation games 🐸🐸🐸🐸 you off, and you’re sick and tired of being ignored by the big companies, then register your interest below – and SHARE!!!
Tell us what you want as well as what you’re willing to do to pitch in (ideas, thoughts and eventually yes some $$) – and that’s all we’re going to ask of you for now*. When we’ve reached a number that satisfies us that we can re-launch our crowdfund project again then we’ll do so.
Finally, if you decide to do nothing, we hope you continue to enjoy what the current offerings provide you in the life simulation genre.
Have a great day.
Revie"
Thanks @Emily4331 for posting that