I just feel like since it's not directly game/content related it could have been announced elsewhere especially since not all Sims 4 players have the device.
They don't need an Echo. The Alexa Phone App will let you do the same thing.
Sorry, but some people are just so ungrateful. We have devs that are so passionate about the game, have some random idea they think we'll like and work beyond what they have been paid to do just to give us something different and all some people can do is complain.
Free time is just that, it's something they are not paid to do and is done outside of their work expectancy.
I understand your point, but I've never in my life seen a thread or a tweet about wanting an Alexa app or something like that, or even talking toilets.
You can never say "it didn't take time from any pack or update". It does & it did. She is just trying to say it to calm everyone down.
SUPPOSEDLY, it didn't take any time away from that, they could've invested that time IN the packs.
From what I understand, this was something done by developers on their own time, like First Person camera mode. Sometimes people want an extra challenge, just to prove that it can be done. So no, it didn't take anything away from a pack or update. It's not like a small group of develpers is going to be able to produce a pack's worth of content.
I'm not an Alexa owner/operator, nor do I have a desire to be one, but if some folks might get pleasure out of it then I have no beef with it.
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Fun must be always -- Tomas Hertl (San Jose Sharks hockey player)
Sorry, but some people are just so ungrateful. We have devs that are so passionate about the game, have some random idea they think we'll like and work beyond what they have been paid to do just to give us something different and all some people can do is complain.
Free time is just that, it's something they are not paid to do and is done outside of their work expectancy.
I understand your point, but I've never in my life seen a thread or a tweet about wanting an Alexa app or something like that, or even talking toilets.
Talking toilets and other technology is a big thing in Japan and other parts of the world.
The talking toilet was a small feature to reflect the multicultural aspects of San Myshuno, along with the food stalls, the decor pieces and the CAS. I don't get why people make such a big deal about it.
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Fun must be always -- Tomas Hertl (San Jose Sharks hockey player)
You can literally build your own dog house. Or you could download cc dog houses someone else made or converted from previous games. As for snow depth or hail, wasn't there an issue with functionality? Either way, if they had focused their time on adding either of those things, someone else would have probably complained. Like, "wow, dog houses? What about [insert random thing here]?"
The way I understand it, this was done by a couple of devs as a side project. It doesn't add anything to the game, but neither would any of your suggestions. I mean, I'm sorry, but snow depth? I find that as useful as, well, whatever this Alexa thing is. But I won't complain, because I understand that these people aren't robots that have to devote their time on creating things I personally find useful, especially when it's just a couple of people working on something to add. For free. Because they want to.
But don't worry, maybe a few devs will get really passionate about snow one day and we'll get snow depth.
I'm pretty meh about it, I don't have a Alexa, and I probably won't be downloading the app on my phone or tablet. It just doesn't interest me. I'm sure some players will enjoy it. I'm a bit disappointed this was what was announced, I thought it might be something about new content coming, but it's only Jan 8th, so plenty of time.
I am not even sure what was announced...lol
How is Alexa working with the sims?? Anyways, I am not really interested in it nor do I have an Alexa.
I can understand the frustration of some of the people here. The last expansion pack had a world so tiny an ant could barely move around in it. Even if this Alexa project was done on their own time, I rather they spent their own time fixing bugs or making bigger worlds. How many times have we heard, we didn't have time to add something in when they could have taken their passion time and added it in. I am not trying to be negative but special projects are a hard pill to swallow when we have so many bugs in the game and they are releasing expansion with a world with eleven lots.
It will be an Amazon Alexa skill that can be enabled on Echo devices or the Amazon app on your phone. It will play Sims music, tell you fun facts about the series, trivia, etc.
Sorry, but some people are just so ungrateful. We have devs that are so passionate about the game, have some random idea they think we'll like and work beyond what they have been paid to do just to give us something different and all some people can do is complain.
Free time is just that, it's something they are not paid to do and is done outside of their work expectancy.
I understand your point, but I've never in my life seen a thread or a tweet about wanting an Alexa app or something like that, or even talking toilets.
Talking toilets and other technology is a big thing in Japan and other parts of the world.
The talking toilet was a small feature to reflect the multicultural aspects of San Myshuno, along with the food stalls, the decor pieces and the CAS. I don't get why people make such a big deal about it.
Because they referred to the toilet as a "feature".
Exactly, Maxis Monthly just became another GuruGarage.... what's the point of having both "types" if they're more of the same?
The only appealing thing about monthly was the anticipation for new content, anything.
I agree with this statement. They got rid of the teasers and the minute I saw Kates message that new content would not be mentioned in the maxis monthly I realized there was nothing for me to tune in for and maxis monthly just became guru garage in my opinion. Initially, I had planned to get home in time to watch and promptly changed my mind and spent my time getting a massage.
I have absolutely no hype for this game anymore ever since they took away quarterly teasers and restructured the teams. People complained and now look at what we have. Nothing.
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I hope my Sims and lots aren't too terrible!
I can understand the frustration of some of the people here. The last expansion pack had a world so tiny an ant could barely move around in it. Even if this Alexa project was done on their own time, I rather they spent their own time fixing bugs or making bigger worlds. How many times have we heard, we didn't have time to add something in when they could have taken their passion time and added it in. I am not trying to be negative but special projects are a hard pill to swallow when we have so many bugs in the game and they are releasing expansion with a world with eleven lots.
I can't. I also can't really understand how people think they should have a say in what someone does outside their paid work hours. That's called slavery. Besides, one guy wasn't gonna fix game-breaking bugs or expand DSV in his off-time.
I am going to reference the Game Development Triangle...
What is being shown here is in Game development you have Three key things that make up what is defined in our industry as "quality"...
1) Time
2) Scope
3) Cost
There is a saying in game development that your project can achieve two out of the three, but there is no way to achieve all the three at the same time.
Changing any of the sides impact the others... add a new Feature you impact Scope which increases Cost, in turn increases Time needed to complete the project.
Now I show this to highlight one thing that where ONE developer having a little free time can and is a powerful thing, most of us CAN NOT turn out the feature work needed for multiple disciplines, it is unrealistic to expect one developer to create a feature like Dog houses on their own.
But here at Maxis we are allowed to work on our passions so occasionally you get Guru's who create things like First Person Camera, Terrain Tools, this Alexa app, and in the past I was able to work on the Gardener NPC as a passion project that was released, I understand that not every one is passionate about the same things and so I am sorry if this particular feature does not excite you hopefully future ones will.
I have stated part of this on another thread. I love that some of the devs are so passionate about the sims that they play this game on their own time. I love that their ideas are actually listened to and then incorporated into the sims experience. I think it is a great way to encourage creativity.
I was disappointed that a full Maxis Monthly was spent talking about this feature. I feel like it should have been introduced with other sims info or maybe a Q&A with the gurus.
I can understand the frustration of some of the people here. The last expansion pack had a world so tiny an ant could barely move around in it. Even if this Alexa project was done on their own time, I rather they spent their own time fixing bugs or making bigger worlds. How many times have we heard, we didn't have time to add something in when they could have taken their passion time and added it in. I am not trying to be negative but special projects are a hard pill to swallow when we have so many bugs in the game and they are releasing expansion with a world with eleven lots.
I can't. I also can't really understand how people think they should have a say in what someone does outside their paid work hours. That's called slavery. Besides, one guy wasn't gonna fix game-breaking bugs or expand DSV in his off-time.
You are entitled to your opinion but releasing Alexa integration when the game itself needs TLC feels wrong so I get why people might be frustrated. As for working off the clock maybe I misunderstood when the guru said here at Maxis they are allowed to work on their passions. The statement did not sound like off the clock to me but maybe I am wrong. It sounds like a one off project to me.
You are entitled to your opinion but releasing Alexa integration when the game itself needs TLC feels wrong so I get why people might be frustrated. As for working off the clock maybe I misunderstood when the guru said here at Maxis they are allowed to work on their passions. The statement did not sound like off the clock to me but maybe I am wrong. It sounds like a one off project to me.
I can understand the frustration of some of the people here. The last expansion pack had a world so tiny an ant could barely move around in it. Even if this Alexa project was done on their own time, I rather they spent their own time fixing bugs or making bigger worlds. How many times have we heard, we didn't have time to add something in when they could have taken their passion time and added it in. I am not trying to be negative but special projects are a hard pill to swallow when we have so many bugs in the game and they are releasing expansion with a world with eleven lots.
I can't. I also can't really understand how people think they should have a say in what someone does outside their paid work hours. That's called slavery. Besides, one guy wasn't gonna fix game-breaking bugs or expand DSV in his off-time.
You are entitled to your opinion but releasing Alexa integration when the game itself needs TLC feels wrong so I get why people might be frustrated. As for working off the clock maybe I misunderstood when the guru said here at Maxis they are allowed to work on their passions. The statement did not sound like off the clock to me but maybe I am wrong. It sounds like a one off project to me.
You are entitled to your opinion but releasing Alexa integration when the game itself needs TLC feels wrong so I get why people might be frustrated. As for working off the clock maybe I misunderstood when the guru said here at Maxis they are allowed to work on their passions. The statement did not sound like off the clock to me but maybe I am wrong. It sounds like a one off project to me.
On its own, I would interpret it the same way. But regardless of how you interpret that comment, it seems to me that it has already been said (at least for the first person camera and the alexa features) that neither project took away from development resources. I don't see the comment as a reason to disregard that statement, but perhaps the guru who said it could further clarify what he meant.
Sorry, but some people are just so ungrateful. We have devs that are so passionate about the game, have some random idea they think we'll like and work beyond what they have been paid to do just to give us something different and all some people can do is complain.
Free time is just that, it's something they are not paid to do and is done outside of their work expectancy.
I understand your point, but I've never in my life seen a thread or a tweet about wanting an Alexa app or something like that, or even talking toilets.
Does it matter if people had been asking for it or not? It was an idea a dev had that they really wanted to try out and THOUGHT we might like it so worked on in their off time to get it working. Time they did not have to spend as they were not getting paid and it was not something on their workload.
I think what it boils down to is... The timing of the announcement for the feature was wrong. I watched the stream partway until I realized the Alexa thing was the only thing being shown and I told my partner this wouldn't end well. Seems like I was right.
Now, it's a nice feature, but I think the devs should have waited at least till the next MM before showing off the feature and just used this stream to maybe welcome simmers to the New Year, maybe do a giveaway, talk about last year in review or something like that. Sure, people would still be disappointed at the lack of new updates, but the backlash would not be so severe.
Timing matters a lot, especially when you're dealing with a diverse community like this. Yes, Simguru Kate did say not every MM would mean showing off something new, but at this point, the devs need to study their audience and act accordingly. I'm willing to bet that if they had held off showing off Alexa until at least, one patch had dropped and simmers have had their need for content mollified for the time being, very few would have batted an eyelash.
It's highly unrealistic to expect people to behave like adults, I mean this is the internet, the place where fools rule and anyone can be a keyboard warrior.
My advice to the devs; study your community and know when to drop news like this. I'm not a dev, but even I know that choosing the first MM of the year to announce a niche feature would result in chaos. I think it's a nice feature and I'm grateful someone took their free time to work on it, but the timing of the delivery was all wrong.
It's like giving a hungry roomful of preschoolers nicely wrapped storybooks and hoping they'd be grateful. Give them food first, and then the books, sit back and watch happiness ensue.
I think what it boils down to is... The timing of the announcement for the feature was wrong.
It's like giving a hungry roomful of preschoolers nicely wrapped storybooks and hoping they'd be grateful. Give them food first, and then the books, sit back and watch happiness ensue.
Timing makes no difference. When they announced the first-person camera, it was coming at the same time as terrain tools and a brand new EP. Two things to "feed the preschoolers" so to speak. Yet, there was still uproar over the camera because it wasn't CAW or preteens or whatever else. I'd imagine that this is something that will continue to happen as these free "extras" get released.
I should clarify that I understand people's various frustrations with the development team, but I do think directing those frustrations towards these types of features is extremely misguided.
I think actually the devs can’t win with this. This is a community that speculates wildly on “hints” from pretty much anything the Gurus say be it verbally or on twitter so much so to the extent every announcement has to have a “don’t hype it” warning. This is a community on the live stream last night that within minutes of the stream opening started asking if it was cars and when are we getting cars and then it went from that to university.
Had the devs did a live stream that was a round up up news from last year- there would have been backlash, had they announced something for mobile and not pc- more backlash, ditto if had they announced something for console and not pc. If and when any of these situations occur there will be backlash. There are some within the community that expect information on upcoming content and or free things with every Maxis monthly but even when we have got free things there still has been backlash - first person camera mode wasn’t received well. Realistically had they announced this in February the same backlash will have occurred because people would have just said “That’s all we have had? We didn’t get anything in January” Some people have already complained we aren’t getting new content I don’t think and that it’s been dry but actually the game got free content in December and November it had an EP.
Basically I think the Maxis monthlies will only be successful if they reveal news on upcoming dlc and or talk about free dlc coming for the game that month. I don’t care for the Maxis monthlies bit then I don’t need constant communication with the dev team.
When I'm not satisfied with something the game has or doesn't have to offer, I try not to blame anyone directly because there are so many things going on that I can't possibly know about, but one thing I don't understand is why Grant keeps saying on Twitter that bathroom stalls and urinals would be hard to make and take time away from other, more interesting features. I'm not a game developer, so I won't pretend to know anything about programming, but... aren't those just objects at this point? A bathroom stall is literally just an ordinary toilet surrounded by walls and a door that needs to open when a sim passes through, and the pee-while-standing animation required for the urinal is already in the game, so all they'd have to do is model the objects, and that can't be so hard or distracting, can it? If someone could tell me why my assumption is wrong, I'll gladly rectify it.
Yet, there was still uproar over the camera because it wasn't CAW or preteens or whatever else. I'd imagine that this is something that will continue to happen as these free "extras" get released.
I should clarify that I understand people's various frustrations with the development team, but I do think directing those frustrations towards these types of features is extremely misguided.
I can only speak for myself, but when I was disappointed about the great mystery feature being the first person camera and not something more game-changing, I wasn't actually mad at the developers or the feature itself, but at some of the Sims 4 YouTubers for totally overhyping it, and then at myself for not believing Kate instead when she called it "fun but small". I figured when people who actually play the game say we're going to "lose our minds" about it, maybe the gurus simply underestimate the effect this supposedly small feature will have on the community? I mean, they do sometimes overestimate little things, so I thought it could be the other way around this time, but then it wasn't (for me, anyway). But even though this camera mode is not something I desperately needed, it's a nice feature that I find myself using quite a bit, and I'm thankful to the guru who spent his free time on developing it.
Basically I think the Maxis monthlies will only be successful if they reveal news on upcoming dlc and or talk about free dlc coming for the game that month.
I agree, especially since that's the reason I (and probably many others) are watching those streams in the first place. Unfortunately, Kate said in a recent tweet that they're no longer going to announce any new packs in Maxis Monthlies "from now on", and even though it's fun to watch the gurus fool around on screen, that can only hold my attention for so long if they're not talking about anything that interests me personally. Yesterday's stream wasn't for me, but I think I'm still going to give the next one a chance. I'm just curious what they have to share.
Well, I don’t have an Alexa, but it is a cute idea to have the sims music, trivia and stuff set up into one. And what’s more, I don’t think this would be considered a waste of time for the developers because I am sure the Alexa thing is great for advertisement, possibly bringing more people into the sims fold. However, I do wish they had given us a bit of a hint about what’s coming up next in the sims 4.
IIRC, Kate warned us that they were going to 'go dark' for a bit on new packs, so I wasn't expecting them to announce the next release. I wasn't the least bit interested in GF, and I'm as eager as anyone else for new content, but I also realise that they can't announce the next pack until the powers that be authorise it. They'll announce it when they've got a preview and release date. (I'm guessing we won't see a new pack until March.)
Comments
I understand your point, but I've never in my life seen a thread or a tweet about wanting an Alexa app or something like that, or even talking toilets.
From what I understand, this was something done by developers on their own time, like First Person camera mode. Sometimes people want an extra challenge, just to prove that it can be done. So no, it didn't take anything away from a pack or update. It's not like a small group of develpers is going to be able to produce a pack's worth of content.
I'm not an Alexa owner/operator, nor do I have a desire to be one, but if some folks might get pleasure out of it then I have no beef with it.
Fun must be always -- Tomas Hertl (San Jose Sharks hockey player)
Talking toilets and other technology is a big thing in Japan and other parts of the world.
The talking toilet was a small feature to reflect the multicultural aspects of San Myshuno, along with the food stalls, the decor pieces and the CAS. I don't get why people make such a big deal about it.
Fun must be always -- Tomas Hertl (San Jose Sharks hockey player)
The way I understand it, this was done by a couple of devs as a side project. It doesn't add anything to the game, but neither would any of your suggestions. I mean, I'm sorry, but snow depth? I find that as useful as, well, whatever this Alexa thing is. But I won't complain, because I understand that these people aren't robots that have to devote their time on creating things I personally find useful, especially when it's just a couple of people working on something to add. For free. Because they want to.
But don't worry, maybe a few devs will get really passionate about snow one day and we'll get snow depth.
How is Alexa working with the sims?? Anyways, I am not really interested in it nor do I have an Alexa.
I can understand the frustration of some of the people here. The last expansion pack had a world so tiny an ant could barely move around in it. Even if this Alexa project was done on their own time, I rather they spent their own time fixing bugs or making bigger worlds. How many times have we heard, we didn't have time to add something in when they could have taken their passion time and added it in. I am not trying to be negative but special projects are a hard pill to swallow when we have so many bugs in the game and they are releasing expansion with a world with eleven lots.
Because they referred to the toilet as a "feature".
I agree with this statement. They got rid of the teasers and the minute I saw Kates message that new content would not be mentioned in the maxis monthly I realized there was nothing for me to tune in for and maxis monthly just became guru garage in my opinion. Initially, I had planned to get home in time to watch and promptly changed my mind and spent my time getting a massage.
I hope my Sims and lots aren't too terrible!
I can't. I also can't really understand how people think they should have a say in what someone does outside their paid work hours. That's called slavery. Besides, one guy wasn't gonna fix game-breaking bugs or expand DSV in his off-time.
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Thank you very much for these explanations.
I was disappointed that a full Maxis Monthly was spent talking about this feature. I feel like it should have been introduced with other sims info or maybe a Q&A with the gurus.
You are entitled to your opinion but releasing Alexa integration when the game itself needs TLC feels wrong so I get why people might be frustrated. As for working off the clock maybe I misunderstood when the guru said here at Maxis they are allowed to work on their passions. The statement did not sound like off the clock to me but maybe I am wrong. It sounds like a one off project to me.
This is how I understood it also.
I also interpreted it this way.
On its own, I would interpret it the same way. But regardless of how you interpret that comment, it seems to me that it has already been said (at least for the first person camera and the alexa features) that neither project took away from development resources. I don't see the comment as a reason to disregard that statement, but perhaps the guru who said it could further clarify what he meant.
(◡‿◡✿)
Does it matter if people had been asking for it or not? It was an idea a dev had that they really wanted to try out and THOUGHT we might like it so worked on in their off time to get it working. Time they did not have to spend as they were not getting paid and it was not something on their workload.
Now, it's a nice feature, but I think the devs should have waited at least till the next MM before showing off the feature and just used this stream to maybe welcome simmers to the New Year, maybe do a giveaway, talk about last year in review or something like that. Sure, people would still be disappointed at the lack of new updates, but the backlash would not be so severe.
Timing matters a lot, especially when you're dealing with a diverse community like this. Yes, Simguru Kate did say not every MM would mean showing off something new, but at this point, the devs need to study their audience and act accordingly. I'm willing to bet that if they had held off showing off Alexa until at least, one patch had dropped and simmers have had their need for content mollified for the time being, very few would have batted an eyelash.
It's highly unrealistic to expect people to behave like adults, I mean this is the internet, the place where fools rule and anyone can be a keyboard warrior.
My advice to the devs; study your community and know when to drop news like this. I'm not a dev, but even I know that choosing the first MM of the year to announce a niche feature would result in chaos. I think it's a nice feature and I'm grateful someone took their free time to work on it, but the timing of the delivery was all wrong.
It's like giving a hungry roomful of preschoolers nicely wrapped storybooks and hoping they'd be grateful. Give them food first, and then the books, sit back and watch happiness ensue.
Timing makes no difference. When they announced the first-person camera, it was coming at the same time as terrain tools and a brand new EP. Two things to "feed the preschoolers" so to speak. Yet, there was still uproar over the camera because it wasn't CAW or preteens or whatever else. I'd imagine that this is something that will continue to happen as these free "extras" get released.
I should clarify that I understand people's various frustrations with the development team, but I do think directing those frustrations towards these types of features is extremely misguided.
(◡‿◡✿)
Had the devs did a live stream that was a round up up news from last year- there would have been backlash, had they announced something for mobile and not pc- more backlash, ditto if had they announced something for console and not pc. If and when any of these situations occur there will be backlash. There are some within the community that expect information on upcoming content and or free things with every Maxis monthly but even when we have got free things there still has been backlash - first person camera mode wasn’t received well. Realistically had they announced this in February the same backlash will have occurred because people would have just said “That’s all we have had? We didn’t get anything in January” Some people have already complained we aren’t getting new content I don’t think and that it’s been dry but actually the game got free content in December and November it had an EP.
Basically I think the Maxis monthlies will only be successful if they reveal news on upcoming dlc and or talk about free dlc coming for the game that month. I don’t care for the Maxis monthlies bit then I don’t need constant communication with the dev team.
I can only speak for myself, but when I was disappointed about the great mystery feature being the first person camera and not something more game-changing, I wasn't actually mad at the developers or the feature itself, but at some of the Sims 4 YouTubers for totally overhyping it, and then at myself for not believing Kate instead when she called it "fun but small". I figured when people who actually play the game say we're going to "lose our minds" about it, maybe the gurus simply underestimate the effect this supposedly small feature will have on the community? I mean, they do sometimes overestimate little things, so I thought it could be the other way around this time, but then it wasn't (for me, anyway). But even though this camera mode is not something I desperately needed, it's a nice feature that I find myself using quite a bit, and I'm thankful to the guru who spent his free time on developing it.
I agree, especially since that's the reason I (and probably many others) are watching those streams in the first place. Unfortunately, Kate said in a recent tweet that they're no longer going to announce any new packs in Maxis Monthlies "from now on", and even though it's fun to watch the gurus fool around on screen, that can only hold my attention for so long if they're not talking about anything that interests me personally. Yesterday's stream wasn't for me, but I think I'm still going to give the next one a chance. I'm just curious what they have to share.
Something wicked this way comes!
I don't use MCCC.